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Music From Memory returns with their penultimate release of 2016, this time bringing together a compilation of works by the Italian composer and musician Roberto Musci. While studying guitar and saxophone in his hometown of Milan, Musci developed a deep fascination for non-western music and set out to travel across India, Asia and Africa, which he would do extensively between 1974-1985. During his many journeys Roberto would become deeply embedded in each unique world of rhythms, scales and approaches to making and performing music. Throughout this period of travel he would make many field recordings as well as collect and study many traditional and indigenous instruments that he would then later combine with synthesizers and electronics on his return to Italy.

Combining personal documents of music and sounds deeply connected to the history and cultures of those lands, with his own explorations and experiments with cutting edge sound technology Roberto Musci would develop through his music a very unique and at times wholly mystical space, where ancient and modern would evolve into a new musical language.

As well as making his own music, during the 1980’s and 1990’s Roberto would also regularly broadcast radio shows of experimental and indigenous music on Italian radio stations such as Rai and Radio Popolare. Deeply connected to the arts he would also compose and perform numerous pieces of music for theatre, dance and performance art pieces as well as soundtracks for film and television.

‘Tower of Silence’ brings together a double LP of material from Roberto Musci’s solo recordings commencing with the Loa of Music sessions from 1984 up until later very recent works. The compilation also includes a number of collaborative pieces, many performed and written in collaboration with Giovanni Venosa, such as material taken from their ‘Water Messages On Desert Sand’, which as an album was Grammy-nominated in in the UK in 1987. A unique and at times intensely mesmerising musical world ‘Tower of Silence’ offers an introduction to the work of a unique and visionary artist.

Robin Carolan’s latest soundtrack for Robert Eggers’ highly anticipated Nosferatu is a haunting, gothic-infused and meticulously crafted work that draws from a vast palette of sounds, instruments, and inspirations. Following their successful collaboration on The Northman, Carolan reunites with Eggers to bring the legendary tale of Nosferatu to life, infusing the film with a score that is as complex and nuanced as the story itself. With Daniel Pioro, one of Britain's most exciting young classical musicians, at the helm as the orchestra leader and first chair for a vast majority of the recording, the soundtrack features a vast orchestration, including 60 string players, a full choir, various horns and woodwinds, a harpist, and two percussionists. Despite the grandeur of the orchestration, one of the most challenging pieces was the music box used at the film's beginning. Carolan and Eggers struggled to perfect its sound, a process marked by their meticulous attention to detail, which Carolan describes as almost telepathic. Set in the 1800s, Nosferatu allowed Carolan to incorporate contemporary instrumentation, though he made a deliberate effort to ensure the score didn't sound overly modern. Letty Stott, who also worked on The Northman, contributed ancient horns and pipes, enhancing the soundtrack’s eerie atmosphere. Additionally, percussionist Paul Clarvis custom-built a toaca-like instrument for added authenticity. Carolan’s inspirations for the soundtrack were as eclectic as they were profound. He frequently drew upon the works of Bartok and Coil, while films like The Innocents, Angels and Insects, and Eyes Wide Shut provided cinematic inspiration. Additionally, he explored the more obscure side of Hammer Horror soundtracks and found a deep connection to the music of the Ukrainian film The Eve of Ivan Kupalo, which helped shape the score’s otherworldly tone.   Carolan intentionally moved beyond the typical horror score, focusing on capturing the tale's melancholy and tragic elements while weaving in a sense of warped romanticism. The result is a soundtrack that not only complements the film but also stands on its own as a testament to Carolan’s artistry and the enduring power of collaboration.

On his crazy solo debut album, EVOL’s Roc hails Eurodance x happy hardcore x acid trance as mutant folk music with a 2 hour collection of live recordings, oddities and installation works directly inspired by the contemporary Catalan dance sound of Mákina - a massive tip if yr into Pastis & Buenri, Nana Makina, The New Monkey, Acid in the Style of Peter Beardsley… Marking 25 years since EVOL’s first record, ‘Principio’ (1999) for Mego, the prolific project’s main man, Roc Jiménez de Cisneros, deploys a distinctly personalised conception of Mákina from his Barcelona IP. After 10 years of adding to its special folder, Roc yields 28 psychoactive cuts marinaded in synthetic bath salts and sweat to wickedly skew the sound’s conventions - virulent 303 arpeggios, see-sawing melodies, and in-your-face beats - with the sort of playfully singular bloody-mindedness that has come to define his EVOL works with Stephen Sharp and others. However, the sound here is distinguished by Roc’s personalised inflections and warped nuance that locates unique vitality in the viscera of Europe’s most maligned, but equally beloved, hard dance style. Although technically rooted in the ‘90s megaclubs of Valencia, Mákina (machine) music also became native to its Catalan neighbours, including Roc, based further up the Spanish coast. And with thanks to a bunch of entrepreneurial Mackems who were bitten by the Makina buzz in the late ‘90s, it more unusually sparked a phenomenon in North East England and Scotland, where it alloyed with happy hardcore and rhythmelodic auction-style MCs to form a whole new offshoot in its own right, heard everywhere from the estates to notorious/legendary clubs such as The Blue Monkey/The New Monkey by Charvers trotting their Rockports off in a sword-dance style hyperfolk step. Roc’s ‘Makina Trax 2013-2023’ follows with a celebration of the sound’s role as regional rave soundtrack and folk signifier, paying no concession to “taste” or normality as he isolates, gurns and exaggerates Mákina’s features to a ludicrous yet immediately functional effect as divisive and energetic as marmite-flavoured wizz. Pinging from gibber-jawed 303 graffiti to durational 14’+ screwball pounders, and even a killer old skool 808 electro variant (‘Makina Trax 22’), Roc really gets under the hood of this sound with results unmistakably comparable to the style and pattern fascinations of his EVOL gear, yet surely tweaked out with a notably more live-wire, hands-on, accentuation. We hear it in the 50 seconds of anthemic fanfare to ‘Makina Trax 16’, the pitching, throaty yowl of ‘Makina Trax 03’, and in the scuttling briskness of ‘Makina Trax 04’, with particular standouts in the screwed, almost bloozy Makina sleaze of ‘Makina Trax 06’, the extreme flange of ‘Makina Trax 19’, and a 180bpm goblin bop ‘Makina Trax 28’. Basically some of the most potent tackle by one of the leading rave experimenters of his generation, whose uncompromising, brilliant work links everyone from the dearly departed Peter Rehberg to Florian Hecker, Mark Fell, to Lorenzo Senni. Aweee the radgies, pasty droppers and pooter hooligans; it’s your time.

As it turns out, they are versions of ten Everton Da Silva productions from 1978 featuring, among others, co-producer Augustus Pablo. No other band members are credited, but one could likely draw from a pool of usual suspects. Prince Jammy is at the controls here and from track to track. These versions vary quite a bit with regards to the utilization of delay and general trickery. These are exceptionally solid rockers tracks striped to the bone and as deep as any in the genre.

Sick session of heavyweight soundsystem killers x dreampop dub doozies mixed up by Marcus Burrowes of Rockers NYC for Aussie downbeat stalwarts Good Morning Tapes, drawing lines and parallels from shoegaze outliers to vintage roots and digital fancies over an hour and 11 mins of the gloriously sunny but heavy stuff.

A product of NYC’s deeply rooted links with Jamaica, Marcus Burrowes runs clothing and lifestyle brand RockersNYC, whose aesthetics clearly reference classic soundsystem futures, and beyond. His entry to GMT’s immaculate catalogue is an authentically skooled and perfectly blended session of divine digs that join dots from Maximum Joy and A.R. Kane-type dub-gaze delights and roots reggae, to the sweetest lovers delicacies, Brenda Rey-esque reveries and digi-dubbed steppers pressure. 

Usually heard alongside Queen Majesty on their Lot Radio show of the same name, burrowes here toggles the gauge to keep bodies in motion with a judicious hand on the effects and controls, often deploying 45 killers at a chopped & screwed pace, on a rinse and repeat special request for summer 2025 and beyond.

"GLOW WORLD is Rod Modell's new project resulting from his collaboration with Taka Noda. The duo delivers what could be an example of perfect elegance and musical refinement, but the resulting sounds are once again dirtied, ruined and ravaged by a noise capable of deafening us, sounds that come from afar, that seem to fade away but suddenly illuminate the world around us, which lands on us and which no longer belongs to us, leaving us lost in an infinite melancholy. GLOW WORLD is a work characterized by buoyant ambient sounds from which delicate rhythmic textures emerge, and never speeding up they run along the routes of an electronic music that surely knows how to be as minimal and suffused as it is distressing. Touches of piano, slow pulsations of bass lines and constantly disturbed sounds that nevertheless almost lull the listener into listening to this timeless music, perfect for letting go, observing time inexorably slipping out of our hands forever. Sounds that are timeless, it was said. Rod Modell and Taka Noda are visionaries, and GLOW WORLD is a rare gem. Simply another masterpiece."

 

"GLOW WORLD is Rod Modell's new project resulting from his collaboration with Taka Noda. The duo delivers what could be an example of perfect elegance and musical refinement, but the resulting sounds are once again dirtied, ruined and ravaged by a noise capable of deafening us, sounds that come from afar, that seem to fade away but suddenly illuminate the world around us, which lands on us and which no longer belongs to us, leaving us lost in an infinite melancholy. GLOW WORLD is a work characterized by buoyant ambient sounds from which delicate rhythmic textures emerge, and never speeding up they run along the routes of an electronic music that surely knows how to be as minimal and suffused as it is distressing. Touches of piano, slow pulsations of bass lines and constantly disturbed sounds that nevertheless almost lull the listener into listening to this timeless music, perfect for letting go, observing time inexorably slipping out of our hands forever. Sounds that are timeless, it was said. Rod Modell and Taka Noda are visionaries, and GLOW WORLD is a rare gem. Simply another masterpiece."

Rod Modell returns with Frequencies In The Fog, a deeply immersive work built from minimal structures, patient motion and finely judged restraint. Pads, discreet electronic details and slow, enveloping bass lines form the core, while distant, treated voices and subtle textural creaks surface like echoes caught in mist.

The music unfolds in gentle cycles, where circular movement alternates with moments of liquid stasis and near-silence. Sounds appear and recede without warning, revealing fleeting impressions of place before dissolving again into a shifting haze. There is a sense of suspension throughout — as if the listener is drifting through intangible terrain, guided more by atmosphere than direction.

As with much of Modell’s work, the power lies in the details: the careful balance between density and space, the tension between motion and stillness, and the way each element feels inseparable from the whole. Frequencies In The Fog invites deep listening, rewarding patience with a quietly absorbing journey through blurred environments and half-remembered forms.

Rod Modell returns with Frequencies In The Fog, a deeply immersive work built from minimal structures, patient motion and finely judged restraint. Pads, discreet electronic details and slow, enveloping bass lines form the core, while distant, treated voices and subtle textural creaks surface like echoes caught in mist.

The music unfolds in gentle cycles, where circular movement alternates with moments of liquid stasis and near-silence. Sounds appear and recede without warning, revealing fleeting impressions of place before dissolving again into a shifting haze. There is a sense of suspension throughout — as if the listener is drifting through intangible terrain, guided more by atmosphere than direction.

As with much of Modell’s work, the power lies in the details: the careful balance between density and space, the tension between motion and stillness, and the way each element feels inseparable from the whole. Frequencies In The Fog invites deep listening, rewarding patience with a quietly absorbing journey through blurred environments and half-remembered forms.

A year on since the collaborative Mystic AM project in 2022, Rod Modell returns solo to Astral Industries with AI-35. The album - entitled ‘Ghost Lights’ - comes as a gatefold 2x vinyl LP, showcasing the latest epoch of Modell’s signature soundscapes. Spread across four parts, ‘Ghost Lights’ draws out a wide, cinematic sound - with long arching contours, rippling textures and cavernous sound design. Woven with layer upon layer of hidden fragments and supernal transmissions, each chapter takes the listener successively deeper into the twilight zone. Harking to dramatic off-world topographies and interstellar spaces, the work glistens with opulent sound treatment and monumental grandeur. Dense pulsations move with oceanic force, marked by washes of celestial light and subterranean drones. Exercising another side to Rod Modell's typically atmospheric productions, this album comes with an ambitious framework and a more assertive sound. Featuring some of Modell’s most epic storytelling to date, ‘Ghost Lights’ delivers a powerful immersive experience.

Winding through cavernous passages of sound, Rod Modell builds a patient, tactile world shaped by low-end pulsations, drifting electronics and finely observed environmental detail. Gurgling currents, rustling textures and crystalline drips move in and out of focus, giving way to heavier sound masses before opening onto unexpectedly calm, almost soothing spaces.

What appears abstract at first gradually reveals a strong emotional pull. Modell’s control of dynamics and pacing allows small shifts in tone and texture to carry real weight, with moments of darkness offset by sudden glimmers of light and stillness. Electronic spirals rise and dissolve, while quieter passages create a sense of suspension, as if time has briefly slowed.

The result is a deeply considered listening experience that rewards attention. Every nuance feels deliberate, each detail contributing to a broader sense of tension, release and atmosphere. Rather than overwhelming, the music draws the listener inward, balancing restraint and drama in a way that feels both immersive and quietly affecting.

Winding through cavernous passages of sound, Rod Modell builds a patient, tactile world shaped by low-end pulsations, drifting electronics and finely observed environmental detail. Gurgling currents, rustling textures and crystalline drips move in and out of focus, giving way to heavier sound masses before opening onto unexpectedly calm, almost soothing spaces.

What appears abstract at first gradually reveals a strong emotional pull. Modell’s control of dynamics and pacing allows small shifts in tone and texture to carry real weight, with moments of darkness offset by sudden glimmers of light and stillness. Electronic spirals rise and dissolve, while quieter passages create a sense of suspension, as if time has briefly slowed.

The result is a deeply considered listening experience that rewards attention. Every nuance feels deliberate, each detail contributing to a broader sense of tension, release and atmosphere. Rather than overwhelming, the music draws the listener inward, balancing restraint and drama in a way that feels both immersive and quietly affecting.

"Generative sonic backdrop for bus stations. Designed to enhance space and portray a mod of progressiveness, grandeur, and ethereal calm. A slowly shifting static backdrop designed to enhance modern architecture, rather than compete with it. Sounding as if the structure itself was resonanting. Hovering sound-fields that utilizes sonic phenomena proven to induce states of calm. Can be presented as a multichannel, polyrhythmic installation with different components of the composition emanating form different areas within the structure, and elements constantly shifting in relationship to other elements, creating an organic sonic-tapestry that never repeats the same way. In essence, the soundscape becoming a living organism with unpredictable behavior. Inspired by avant-garde bus station designs such as Domitianus Arquitectura's station in Rio Maior, Portugal; Bluck & Morgen's Busbahnhof Poppenbuttel in Hamburg, Germany; and Metaraum Architect's bus station in Pzorzheim, Germany." - Rod Modell

"Generative sonic backdrop for bus stations. Designed to enhance space and portray a mod of progressiveness, grandeur, and ethereal calm. A slowly shifting static backdrop designed to enhance modern architecture, rather than compete with it. Sounding as if the structure itself was resonanting. Hovering sound-fields that utilizes sonic phenomena proven to induce states of calm. Can be presented as a multichannel, polyrhythmic installation with different components of the composition emanating form different areas within the structure, and elements constantly shifting in relationship to other elements, creating an organic sonic-tapestry that never repeats the same way. In essence, the soundscape becoming a living organism with unpredictable behavior. Inspired by avant-garde bus station designs such as Domitianus Arquitectura's station in Rio Maior, Portugal; Bluck & Morgen's Busbahnhof Poppenbuttel in Hamburg, Germany; and Metaraum Architect's bus station in Pzorzheim, Germany." - Rod Modell

"Generative sonic backdrop for bus stations. Designed to enhance space and portray a mod of progressiveness, grandeur, and ethereal calm. A slowly shifting static backdrop designed to enhance modern architecture, rather than compete with it. Sounding as if the structure itself was resonanting. Hovering sound-fields that utilizes sonic phenomena proven to induce states of calm. Can be presented as a multichannel, polyrhythmic installation with different components of the composition emanating form different areas within the structure, and elements constantly shifting in relationship to other elements, creating an organic sonic-tapestry that never repeats the same way. In essence, the soundscape becoming a living organism with unpredictable behavior. Inspired by avant-garde bus station designs such as Domitianus Arquitectura's station in Rio Maior, Portugal; Bluck & Morgen's Busbahnhof Poppenbuttel in Hamburg, Germany; and Metaraum Architect's bus station in Pzorzheim, Germany." - Rod Modell

Northern Michigan Snowstorms is an auditory journey that captures the serene beauty and introspective magic of stormy winters nights in the countryside. Each track transports listeneres to cozy cottages nesteld in tall pines. Music that mirrors the serene solitude of a snowy evening, where time slows, allowing the listener to be enveloped in a cocoon of sonic wonder. Ambient layers mimic the gentle wishpering of the wind through snow covered branches. Eight tracks of blurry loops, soft pads, and recordings of snowfall in the forest. An immersive experience designed to transport you to the hear of nature's winter wonderland, all white nesteld in the confort of your favorite retreat. Another ''monumental'' work by Rod Modell.

Authentic Brazilian music inspired and respected by the most legendary musicians of the genre: Seu Jorge, Arthur Verocai (who arranged strings on both Curyman albums), Arlindo Cruz (cowrote 100% Samba). A masterful contemporary that carries the legacy of the best of Brazilian music: past, present and future. Latin Grammy-nominated and Brazilian Music Awards-winning artist Rogê has become a pivotal figure in the resurgence of Música Popular Brasileira (MPB). With a rich career spanning over two decades, Rogê has released seven solo albums that have solidified his place in the contemporary Brazilian music scene. In March 2023, he released his U.S. debut album Curyman under Diamond West Records. Produced by Thomas Brenneck of the Budos Band who has worked with artists like Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Amy Winehouse the album is a celebration of samba infused with messages of resilience and redemption. Curyman not only marked the launch of Brenneck's new label but also reflected Rogê's deep belief in the power of music to inspire hope and perseverance. Now comes Curyman II. Building on the success of his U.S. debut, this album promises to deliver even more vibrant samba rhythms and thought provoking lyrics. As Rogê continues to evolve his sound and push the boundaries of Brazilian music, he remains dedicated to spreading the rich cultural heritage of Brazil to audiences around the world.

Cameroonian artist, musician, author, composer, performer and guitarist Roger Bekono made a deep mark in the contemporary history of Cameroonian music through the four-on-the-floor, ribald intensity of bikutsi. The Ewondo-language dance-pop style that forms an undulating tapestry of interlocking triplet rhythmic interplay came to international prominence in the European “world music” scene as the 90s began. But the relentless sound of bikutsi developed in Yaoundé at the hands of Bekono and many others, as it developed from a village-based singing style performed mostly by women into a cosmopolitan music force that rivaled the popularity of established musics like Congolese rhumba, merengue and makossa. With his unique—some say suave—voice, Bekono contributed much over a period of more than 10 years as part of the evolution of this traditional rhythm-turned-urban dance movement. Roger Essama Bekono was born June 15, 1954 in Atéga, Central region. His mother Scolastique Essama nicknamed him Beko-bâ-Andela, in homage to his great-grandfather who died a few years before his birth. From an early age, he was soon confronted with the harshness of daily life in the village. Young Bekono walked four kilometers to school from the family home each day followed by extensive domestic chores. So he had little time to devote to football and other types of children's games. Instead, he spent his time singing while working, developing his distinctive vocal timbre and from the age of 7, he joined the choir of the Catholic Church of Atéga where he sang for several years every Sunday. His mother worked hard to put him through school and eventually get him to the city for further education. In 1968, Bekono left his native village to settle in Yaoundé, the capital city, with the ultimate goal of completing his secondary studies. 14 years old and living with his uncle, he went to high school and met some young people who shared the same passion as him, music. After class, they would go in groups near discotheques to listen to the music of their favorite artists of the time. They also discovered the events of the "Youth Mornings" organized at the Mefou cinema in Mvog-Mbi. During these events, the young Roger lets his talent speak through the popular songs of his idol who was none other than Mariam Makeba. She was an undeniable star throughout Africa. He was so into her his first nickname in music was simply “Mariam Makeba,” because of his ease in interpreting her popular songs, and because of her timeless, suave vocal timbre. At the time he was also a fan of Michael Jackson, Edith Piaf, Michel Sardou and Elvis Presley. Sometime in the mid-1970s Bekono made an abrupt stop to his studies. His mother and his adoptive father were angry and demanded answers. He dreamed of going into music full time. However, being a musician at that time in Cameroon was not yet perceived as a worthy profession. Cameroonian musicians did not have a secure income despite their renown, and no copyright society had been set up yet. They had for the most part a bad boy image, thought of as people without a future. Therefore, it was difficult for his parents to accept. His mother was certainly disappointed by the sudden decision but she has always believed in him. So his step-father gave him a classical guitar and a tape recorder so that he could work independently on music full time. Bekono knew you have to think about composing original music and lyrics instead of covering classics like those of Mariam Makeba. your own words and the music of your songs, the field of reflection is vast between your own experience and the evils that undermine society. However, he hadn’t yet settled on a musical style, so he initially composed songs with foreign colors like his song "Bòngo Ya Cameron,” which has a French flavor and of Rumba but sung in his own Ewondo language. His music is appreciated by those close to him and in the cabarets of Mvog Ada where he performs on certain weekends, he learned to play the guitar and perfectly masters the art of singing. At each of his live performances, he makes a good impression in front of a crowd amazed by his talent, and in front of certain actors and pioneers of a rhythm that is gaining ground in Cameroonian music known as bikutsi. Note here that the bikutsi is basically sung in the Beti language and can be defined as a music and a traditional dance from Cameroon, specifically an urbanize form of pop music based on Beti musical forms, originating in the Cental and South provinces where the Beti ethnic group resides. Bekono falls in with some of the main characters in the bikutsi scene and little by little he learns the basics, adapts and a few years later decides to release his very first project. It was in the 1980s that the big names in bikutsi emerged. The style began to have international visibility. A multitude of vibrant, young talent appeared on the Cameroonian music scene. There had already been the crucial groundwork laid by the father of modern bikutsi Messi Martin who discovered how to transpose the sound of the traditional balafon (xylophone) to an electric guitar. Bekono sensed that bikutsi was in its golden age amid fierce competition he took his time to prepare his first solo album by working with the big names of the time, from both the old and new generations. At the end of 1984, Bekono released his first project Oget Mongi on LP and as soon as it was released, the lead single "Ngon Nnam" hit the capital's radio stations. The end of the year in Cameroon is always marked by happy events like weddings, communions, baptisms, etc. and this song was heavily played at these types of events following the album’s release. He quickly became one of the rising stars of bikutsi and was invited to radio shows all over Cameroon and perform in the popular clubs and cabarets around Yaoundé. Oget Mongi was produced by Bekono himself under his Label Beko Production with the unconditional support of his parents (his step-father funded the project). Television arrived in Cameroon in 1985, the year following his debut album, so there is no video clip of any of the songs from Bekono’s Oget Mongi. Indeed, Pope John Paul II’s first visit to Cameroon (over 1/3 of the population is Catholic) is one of the various elements that accelerated the process of the start of television in Cameroon. This papal visit is inextricably linked to Bekono’s story: Bekono was enlisted to write and compose the official welcoming song for His Holiness’s arrival. The song appeared just as attention for his debut album was in full swing. It became like a hymn during the Pope's stay in Cameroon, on television and on the radio, in Christian localities. Even after the Pope's visit, the song could be heard at various events. Things continued to progress for the young artist, as his career climbed his home life developed. His daughter Ebah Marie Christine had been born a few weeks after Oget Mongi was released. His eventual wife Madeleine Bikié and he were so secure and happy that they had the capacity to help his younger cousins from the village who were then able to continue their secondary studies in Yaoundé. In 1987, Bekono released Assiko 100,000 Watts on LP and cassette. Very quickly the album became a hit with "Biza" and "Assiko 100,000 Watts" receiving radio play. He sold plenty of records and cassettes and toured the nation. This album brought him to northern Cameroon, where met Ali Baba (the father of Soul Gandja, a style of his own design), a rising star of modern music in the region. They became close friends during that period. The album title refers to yet another style of dance and music, assiko, It is important to note the assiko is not a traditional Bassa dance, but rather a dance adopted by Bassa-speaking folks. It is a traditional Cameroonian healing dance transformed into a party dance, especially found among the Bassa and the Beti. It is therefore thanks to this song that Bekono gets invited to perform in this coastal part of Cameroon, Bassa country, where he meets assiko legends Jean Bikoko and Samson Chaud Gar. The song “Biza" also made a lot of noise outside the capital, and even in the Beti villages during celebratory events. Bekono set his sights on international superstardom though. So he began work on his third album, to be released at the end of 1989. Let’s rewind a little bit first—the bikutsi rhythm was originally played by a balafon orchestra known as a mendzang (see mvett). Based on a cadence and stomping rhythm, it is also marked by a strong presence of percussion. In the 1970s, bikutsi was modernized with the introduction of electric guitar and bass, keyboards, horns and drum kit. The legitimate originators are Anne-Marie Nzie, Messi Martin and Ange Ebogo, but it was with the emergence of Les Têtes Brûlées that bikutsi will experience a earth shaking revolution with the talent of its master to play Zanzibar (Epeme Théodore), who, according to legend, was born with six fingers, allowing him to play with one string more than the others. In the mid- 1980s, the bikutsi rhythm evolved significantly both lyrically and harmonically. It became very danceable because the newest generation of artists added electric lead and bass guitars, as well as electric drums, to it to give it more percussive oomph. During this same period, Clément Djimogne aka Mystic Jim (or Djim) launched an innovative concept that would solidify his reputation as a legend in Cameroonian popular music, having already performed on or produced boundary pushing recordings in the region. Mystic Jim built a recording studio called Mobile Studio equipped with a 4-track recorder, instruments, sequencers and amplifiers, which he set up in his living room. He surrounded himself with an experienced team of musicians to embark on musical production on an almost industrial level. We can’t talk about bikutsi and not discuss this actor and his role within the framework of the music in general and specific role he played in the realization of Roger Bekono's third album in particular, because according to the words of some elders that we have been able to collect for the background of this project, his studio had become an essential place for most of the bikutsi artists of that time. With modest equipment, his productions and his arrangements were better than those that came from the national radio studio. (As in many other African music capitals of the time, the best-equipped studios often sat on the national television or radio grounds, rather than in the hands of private citizens.) Bekono therefore worked with him and his musicians as part of the production of Jolie Poupée. Technology had certainly evolved at that time in terms of musicality in the formerly traditional rhythms, but the programming of this music was not yet at its peak as it is today. His first two albums were recorded to tape in one or two perfect takes the old-fashioned way, so the musicians had to be extremely tight. There was no overdubbing or recording parts separately. For Jolie Poupée Mystic Jim programmed the kick or bass drum, adding effects to have a heavier bass. Overall the album represented a new level of finesse and professionalism after a two-year musical silence. In the middle of 1989, Jolie Poupée was released by the label Inter Diffusion System and aggressively hit the radio, discos and national television. The music video for the title track was on loop on TV. It felt like everyone was talking about it, even artists in adjacent music scenes like makossa. The album came out on vinyl and cassette and remains Bekono’s best-selling recording to this day. With Jolie Poupée Bekono finally made an impact outside Cameroon as the record captured listeners in some Central African countries like Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo and Sao Tome & Principe. Why in these countries more precisely and not in other African countries? In these countries, we find the Fang or Mfan people (also known as Ekang), Bantu-speaking ethnic groups that are also found in Cameroon. This umbrella language group includes the language in which bikutsi is mainly sung. Most of Bekono’s songs are in French, Ewondo (of which Beti is a dialect) and Pidgin. After Bekono catapults to international renown with Jolie Poupée, he was constantly invited to “Tele Podium,” the television program reserved for Cameroonian music elite, and guest of honor by the high authorities of certain countries such as Equatorial Guinea. The technical sheet of this successful album contains the names of the brilliant musicians who made it possible: Gibraltar Drakus & Roger Mballa (backing vocals); John Paul Mondo (bass); Noon Pierrot (congas); Jean Anthony Foe Amougou (Engineer); Daniel-Cimba Evoussa (guitar); Mystic Jim (music director and engineer); Jean-Paul Assamba (percussion); Steve Ndzana (percussion, drums, Gong); Francis Z. Saho (producer); Pierrot Ahénot (rhythm guitar). The four songs on Jolie Poupée are all considered bikutsi classics. After this long period crowned with success and above all at the height of his art, Bekono decided to take a break from his musical career to enjoy family life while continuing to perform everywhere in Cameroon and even outside its borders. During this period, he became friends with some of his colleagues including Govinal (Ndi Nga Essomba), Gibraltar Drakus and Saint Desir Atango. They decided to form a quartet called Bikutsi System. In 1991, Bikutsi System released a long-awaited debut tape. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet expectations and wasn’t successful. Many younger artists had emerged in recent years like Fam Ndzengue, Bisso Solo, Opick Zoro, Zélé Le Bombardier, with a new kind of bikutsi in terms of both musicality and dance. Perhaps the album didn’t work because the term “bikusti" referred to a somewhat different sound than it did when these all star veterans first hit the scene. Nevertheless, they recorded a second album together which was much more successful and then moved on separately to solo projects. Bekono began thinking of releasing a double album, as full-force return to a solo career. At the time, most of those he worked with on his previous albums were unavailable. Zanzibar had tragically died on the eve of Les Tetes Brûlées inaugural European tour, for example. However, there was a talented new generation, thus he worked with new key people such as François Engoulou “Docta” and Tsala Martin Roger, produced by well-known figure in the bikutsi world Mr Ebanga. The double album consists of two separate cassettes Ding Ma and Makeu Aluck. In 1994, after much anticipation among audiences awaiting new songs from the now-established bikutsi star, the newly created copyright structure SOCINADA was to handle distribution. However, on the eve of the project's release, Bekono and its producer Ebanga didn’t agree on certain points about marketing the album, so the double cassette’s release was continually delayed with thousands of unsold cassettes—and years of hard work—remaining at the SOCINADA warehouse. The failure annihilated Bekono psychologically, pushing him to put an end to his professional career. In the mid-2000s, he had the ambition to open his own recording studio. Shortly after, though, he fell seriously ill and was diagnosed with severe diabetes. So he followed treatment for several years while continuing to write and compose songs just with his guitar and his sweet voice. He began to buy equipment to open his own recording studio. But the equipment was expensive. So he gradually bought what he needed but he relied on the computer skills of his eldest son Owono Bekono Emmanuel Ferdinand. He spent most of his time in the studio in his final years, with some fans still approaching him, and his friendly attitude hadn’t changed over time. Weakened and slightly emaciated by illness and the advancement of age, he continued to nurture his ambition to open his own recording studio and why not release a final album that would surprise everyone? On September 15, 2016, Bekono died of a long illness at the age of 62. In the wake of his passing the media published a wave of tributes, thanking him for what he did for Cameroonian music. He was an admired musician, songwriter and guitarist, and some of his old colleagues and some of the new generation of performers showered Bekono with vibrant tributes via social media, many of which noting something to the effect of: “The artist dies but his works remain.”

Cameroonian artist, musician, author, composer, performer and guitarist Roger Bekono made a deep mark in the contemporary history of Cameroonian music through the four-on-the-floor, ribald intensity of bikutsi. The Ewondo-language dance-pop style that forms an undulating tapestry of interlocking triplet rhythmic interplay came to international prominence in the European “world music” scene as the 90s began. But the relentless sound of bikutsi developed in Yaoundé at the hands of Bekono and many others, as it developed from a village-based singing style performed mostly by women into a cosmopolitan music force that rivaled the popularity of established musics like Congolese rhumba, merengue and makossa. With his unique—some say suave—voice, Bekono contributed much over a period of more than 10 years as part of the evolution of this traditional rhythm-turned-urban dance movement. Roger Essama Bekono was born June 15, 1954 in Atéga, Central region. His mother Scolastique Essama nicknamed him Beko-bâ-Andela, in homage to his great-grandfather who died a few years before his birth. From an early age, he was soon confronted with the harshness of daily life in the village. Young Bekono walked four kilometers to school from the family home each day followed by extensive domestic chores. So he had little time to devote to football and other types of children's games. Instead, he spent his time singing while working, developing his distinctive vocal timbre and from the age of 7, he joined the choir of the Catholic Church of Atéga where he sang for several years every Sunday. His mother worked hard to put him through school and eventually get him to the city for further education. In 1968, Bekono left his native village to settle in Yaoundé, the capital city, with the ultimate goal of completing his secondary studies. 14 years old and living with his uncle, he went to high school and met some young people who shared the same passion as him, music. After class, they would go in groups near discotheques to listen to the music of their favorite artists of the time. They also discovered the events of the "Youth Mornings" organized at the Mefou cinema in Mvog-Mbi. During these events, the young Roger lets his talent speak through the popular songs of his idol who was none other than Mariam Makeba. She was an undeniable star throughout Africa. He was so into her his first nickname in music was simply “Mariam Makeba,” because of his ease in interpreting her popular songs, and because of her timeless, suave vocal timbre. At the time he was also a fan of Michael Jackson, Edith Piaf, Michel Sardou and Elvis Presley. Sometime in the mid-1970s Bekono made an abrupt stop to his studies. His mother and his adoptive father were angry and demanded answers. He dreamed of going into music full time. However, being a musician at that time in Cameroon was not yet perceived as a worthy profession. Cameroonian musicians did not have a secure income despite their renown, and no copyright society had been set up yet. They had for the most part a bad boy image, thought of as people without a future. Therefore, it was difficult for his parents to accept. His mother was certainly disappointed by the sudden decision but she has always believed in him. So his step-father gave him a classical guitar and a tape recorder so that he could work independently on music full time. Bekono knew you have to think about composing original music and lyrics instead of covering classics like those of Mariam Makeba. your own words and the music of your songs, the field of reflection is vast between your own experience and the evils that undermine society. However, he hadn’t yet settled on a musical style, so he initially composed songs with foreign colors like his song "Bòngo Ya Cameron,” which has a French flavor and of Rumba but sung in his own Ewondo language. His music is appreciated by those close to him and in the cabarets of Mvog Ada where he performs on certain weekends, he learned to play the guitar and perfectly masters the art of singing. At each of his live performances, he makes a good impression in front of a crowd amazed by his talent, and in front of certain actors and pioneers of a rhythm that is gaining ground in Cameroonian music known as bikutsi. Note here that the bikutsi is basically sung in the Beti language and can be defined as a music and a traditional dance from Cameroon, specifically an urbanize form of pop music based on Beti musical forms, originating in the Cental and South provinces where the Beti ethnic group resides. Bekono falls in with some of the main characters in the bikutsi scene and little by little he learns the basics, adapts and a few years later decides to release his very first project. It was in the 1980s that the big names in bikutsi emerged. The style began to have international visibility. A multitude of vibrant, young talent appeared on the Cameroonian music scene. There had already been the crucial groundwork laid by the father of modern bikutsi Messi Martin who discovered how to transpose the sound of the traditional balafon (xylophone) to an electric guitar. Bekono sensed that bikutsi was in its golden age amid fierce competition he took his time to prepare his first solo album by working with the big names of the time, from both the old and new generations. At the end of 1984, Bekono released his first project Oget Mongi on LP and as soon as it was released, the lead single "Ngon Nnam" hit the capital's radio stations. The end of the year in Cameroon is always marked by happy events like weddings, communions, baptisms, etc. and this song was heavily played at these types of events following the album’s release. He quickly became one of the rising stars of bikutsi and was invited to radio shows all over Cameroon and perform in the popular clubs and cabarets around Yaoundé. Oget Mongi was produced by Bekono himself under his Label Beko Production with the unconditional support of his parents (his step-father funded the project). Television arrived in Cameroon in 1985, the year following his debut album, so there is no video clip of any of the songs from Bekono’s Oget Mongi. Indeed, Pope John Paul II’s first visit to Cameroon (over 1/3 of the population is Catholic) is one of the various elements that accelerated the process of the start of television in Cameroon. This papal visit is inextricably linked to Bekono’s story: Bekono was enlisted to write and compose the official welcoming song for His Holiness’s arrival. The song appeared just as attention for his debut album was in full swing. It became like a hymn during the Pope's stay in Cameroon, on television and on the radio, in Christian localities. Even after the Pope's visit, the song could be heard at various events. Things continued to progress for the young artist, as his career climbed his home life developed. His daughter Ebah Marie Christine had been born a few weeks after Oget Mongi was released. His eventual wife Madeleine Bikié and he were so secure and happy that they had the capacity to help his younger cousins from the village who were then able to continue their secondary studies in Yaoundé. In 1987, Bekono released Assiko 100,000 Watts on LP and cassette. Very quickly the album became a hit with "Biza" and "Assiko 100,000 Watts" receiving radio play. He sold plenty of records and cassettes and toured the nation. This album brought him to northern Cameroon, where met Ali Baba (the father of Soul Gandja, a style of his own design), a rising star of modern music in the region. They became close friends during that period. The album title refers to yet another style of dance and music, assiko, It is important to note the assiko is not a traditional Bassa dance, but rather a dance adopted by Bassa-speaking folks. It is a traditional Cameroonian healing dance transformed into a party dance, especially found among the Bassa and the Beti. It is therefore thanks to this song that Bekono gets invited to perform in this coastal part of Cameroon, Bassa country, where he meets assiko legends Jean Bikoko and Samson Chaud Gar. The song “Biza" also made a lot of noise outside the capital, and even in the Beti villages during celebratory events. Bekono set his sights on international superstardom though. So he began work on his third album, to be released at the end of 1989. Let’s rewind a little bit first—the bikutsi rhythm was originally played by a balafon orchestra known as a mendzang (see mvett). Based on a cadence and stomping rhythm, it is also marked by a strong presence of percussion. In the 1970s, bikutsi was modernized with the introduction of electric guitar and bass, keyboards, horns and drum kit. The legitimate originators are Anne-Marie Nzie, Messi Martin and Ange Ebogo, but it was with the emergence of Les Têtes Brûlées that bikutsi will experience a earth shaking revolution with the talent of its master to play Zanzibar (Epeme Théodore), who, according to legend, was born with six fingers, allowing him to play with one string more than the others. In the mid- 1980s, the bikutsi rhythm evolved significantly both lyrically and harmonically. It became very danceable because the newest generation of artists added electric lead and bass guitars, as well as electric drums, to it to give it more percussive oomph. During this same period, Clément Djimogne aka Mystic Jim (or Djim) launched an innovative concept that would solidify his reputation as a legend in Cameroonian popular music, having already performed on or produced boundary pushing recordings in the region. Mystic Jim built a recording studio called Mobile Studio equipped with a 4-track recorder, instruments, sequencers and amplifiers, which he set up in his living room. He surrounded himself with an experienced team of musicians to embark on musical production on an almost industrial level. We can’t talk about bikutsi and not discuss this actor and his role within the framework of the music in general and specific role he played in the realization of Roger Bekono's third album in particular, because according to the words of some elders that we have been able to collect for the background of this project, his studio had become an essential place for most of the bikutsi artists of that time. With modest equipment, his productions and his arrangements were better than those that came from the national radio studio. (As in many other African music capitals of the time, the best-equipped studios often sat on the national television or radio grounds, rather than in the hands of private citizens.) Bekono therefore worked with him and his musicians as part of the production of Jolie Poupée. Technology had certainly evolved at that time in terms of musicality in the formerly traditional rhythms, but the programming of this music was not yet at its peak as it is today. His first two albums were recorded to tape in one or two perfect takes the old-fashioned way, so the musicians had to be extremely tight. There was no overdubbing or recording parts separately. For Jolie Poupée Mystic Jim programmed the kick or bass drum, adding effects to have a heavier bass. Overall the album represented a new level of finesse and professionalism after a two-year musical silence. In the middle of 1989, Jolie Poupée was released by the label Inter Diffusion System and aggressively hit the radio, discos and national television. The music video for the title track was on loop on TV. It felt like everyone was talking about it, even artists in adjacent music scenes like makossa. The album came out on vinyl and cassette and remains Bekono’s best-selling recording to this day. With Jolie Poupée Bekono finally made an impact outside Cameroon as the record captured listeners in some Central African countries like Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of Congo and Sao Tome & Principe. Why in these countries more precisely and not in other African countries? In these countries, we find the Fang or Mfan people (also known as Ekang), Bantu-speaking ethnic groups that are also found in Cameroon. This umbrella language group includes the language in which bikutsi is mainly sung. Most of Bekono’s songs are in French, Ewondo (of which Beti is a dialect) and Pidgin. After Bekono catapults to international renown with Jolie Poupée, he was constantly invited to “Tele Podium,” the television program reserved for Cameroonian music elite, and guest of honor by the high authorities of certain countries such as Equatorial Guinea. The technical sheet of this successful album contains the names of the brilliant musicians who made it possible: Gibraltar Drakus & Roger Mballa (backing vocals); John Paul Mondo (bass); Noon Pierrot (congas); Jean Anthony Foe Amougou (Engineer); Daniel-Cimba Evoussa (guitar); Mystic Jim (music director and engineer); Jean-Paul Assamba (percussion); Steve Ndzana (percussion, drums, Gong); Francis Z. Saho (producer); Pierrot Ahénot (rhythm guitar). The four songs on Jolie Poupée are all considered bikutsi classics. After this long period crowned with success and above all at the height of his art, Bekono decided to take a break from his musical career to enjoy family life while continuing to perform everywhere in Cameroon and even outside its borders. During this period, he became friends with some of his colleagues including Govinal (Ndi Nga Essomba), Gibraltar Drakus and Saint Desir Atango. They decided to form a quartet called Bikutsi System. In 1991, Bikutsi System released a long-awaited debut tape. Unfortunately, it didn’t meet expectations and wasn’t successful. Many younger artists had emerged in recent years like Fam Ndzengue, Bisso Solo, Opick Zoro, Zélé Le Bombardier, with a new kind of bikutsi in terms of both musicality and dance. Perhaps the album didn’t work because the term “bikusti" referred to a somewhat different sound than it did when these all star veterans first hit the scene. Nevertheless, they recorded a second album together which was much more successful and then moved on separately to solo projects. Bekono began thinking of releasing a double album, as full-force return to a solo career. At the time, most of those he worked with on his previous albums were unavailable. Zanzibar had tragically died on the eve of Les Tetes Brûlées inaugural European tour, for example. However, there was a talented new generation, thus he worked with new key people such as François Engoulou “Docta” and Tsala Martin Roger, produced by well-known figure in the bikutsi world Mr Ebanga. The double album consists of two separate cassettes Ding Ma and Makeu Aluck. In 1994, after much anticipation among audiences awaiting new songs from the now-established bikutsi star, the newly created copyright structure SOCINADA was to handle distribution. However, on the eve of the project's release, Bekono and its producer Ebanga didn’t agree on certain points about marketing the album, so the double cassette’s release was continually delayed with thousands of unsold cassettes—and years of hard work—remaining at the SOCINADA warehouse. The failure annihilated Bekono psychologically, pushing him to put an end to his professional career. In the mid-2000s, he had the ambition to open his own recording studio. Shortly after, though, he fell seriously ill and was diagnosed with severe diabetes. So he followed treatment for several years while continuing to write and compose songs just with his guitar and his sweet voice. He began to buy equipment to open his own recording studio. But the equipment was expensive. So he gradually bought what he needed but he relied on the computer skills of his eldest son Owono Bekono Emmanuel Ferdinand. He spent most of his time in the studio in his final years, with some fans still approaching him, and his friendly attitude hadn’t changed over time. Weakened and slightly emaciated by illness and the advancement of age, he continued to nurture his ambition to open his own recording studio and why not release a final album that would surprise everyone? On September 15, 2016, Bekono died of a long illness at the age of 62. In the wake of his passing the media published a wave of tributes, thanking him for what he did for Cameroonian music. He was an admired musician, songwriter and guitarist, and some of his old colleagues and some of the new generation of performers showered Bekono with vibrant tributes via social media, many of which noting something to the effect of: “The artist dies but his works remain.”

Allchival’s admirable, ongoing Roger Doyle retrospective takes in his brace of rudely glitching piano scapes and subtly febrile dream sequences written between 2011-2017 and comparable to everyone from the Eno siblings to K. Leimer or aspects of Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Chasing invaluable reissue reminders of Doyle’s pioneering post-punk classics with Operating Theatre and The Threat in recent times, the languid and restless airs of ‘Homemade Ivory Dreams’ weighs in as a Doyle’s second solo curio to be dusted down and redressed by new ears increasingly attuned to Ireland’s lesser-covered past. More sublime and spacious than the expansive yet dense and delirious ‘Babel’ suite, which covered his late C.20th computer-based scores for theatre, the elegant and labyrinthine corridors of ‘Homemade Ivory Dreams’ spotlight farther sides to the Irish composer who is considered among the leading, progressive and experimental voices of his country and generation. 

Doyle typically parses a range of extra-musical cues from literature, poetry, and film within the 10 tracks on show, variously navigating fissures of memory and figments of figurative forms with a poetic grasp of musical metaphor that has long been his calling card. The notion of dreams seeded in the title guides him thru parallel dimensions of cuboid chamber classical in ‘CBG’ to ruder bouts of offbeat Autechrian electronica on ‘Skunk Hours in the Demon Mist’, and spur him to more rage dervishes of keys and guitar on ‘Enniode’, a tribute to Ennio Morricone, or setting of Irish language poem ‘Urnaí Maidne’ to a sort of brooding Euro film score vernacular on ‘The Nenuphar of Nina.’

He is perhaps most effective when more simply bask in the half light of memory on ‘Growing Up In Formaldehyde’, whose title is canny transliteration of a friend’s comment, “’what would you know - you grew up in formaldehyde”, which is a “benign reference to the village of Malahide where I spent my youth. Embalmed memory” and redolent of his shortcircuiting of the musical links between dialect, accent, and memory in the title and music of his classic ’Oizzo No’. Along with the feathered nuance of ’The Long Take’ and melancholia of ‘No Lone Man’ it’s a quietly charming 44’ in Doyle’s presence.

Roger Robinson is one of the most versatile voices in the dub poetry scene today, seamlessly blending the power of the written word with the raw energy of the soundsystem. Teaming up once again with Dub wizard Disrupt to conclude an album trilogy that began with “Dis Side Ah Town” and “Dog Heart City“, Robinson pulls a wide range of riddims straight from the Jahtari vaults to create “Heavy Vibes“, a killer fusion of bass, poetry, and social consciousness. With a voice oscillating between soulful falsetto and deep poetry thunder Robinson’s verses hit as hard as the bass, challenging the listener to confront uncomfortable truths, while Disrupt’s richly textured, dub-heavy production ensures the music moves both body and mind. You’ll find yourself dancing, but more importantly, you’ll find yourself thinking. Coming with stunning cover art by Kiki Hitomi and featuring deadly riddims by Tapes, Naram, Jura Soundsystem, Maffi and Bo Marley, “Heavy Vibes” balances the weight of oppression with a glimmer of hope – the belief that change is possible, that the beat goes on, and that through solidarity and art, new futures can be forged.

Rare and seriously sought after instrumental album of Gay Feet rocksteady hits from 1968.

Eleven elegant instrumental tracks, and one female vocal, showcasing the tenor sax artistry of master musician Roland Alphonso, ably assisted by Aubrey Adams on organ and the inestimable Lynn Taitt on guitar, interpreting a selection of Mrs Pottinger’s most memorable hits of the era.

Great news for fans of electronic music: Reiger Records Reeks is set to release a new 5-CD box set dedicated to Roland Kayn’s Cybernetic Music. The collection is based on the original recordings from the Lydia and Roland Kayn Archive, which were sensibly remastered by Jim O’Rourke,

The box set includes the tracks from legendary opuses MAKRO I, II, III, created at the Institute for Sonology, and Elektroakustische Projekte, featuring works like Cybernetic I, II, and III, which were recorded at the Studio di Fonologia in Milan, alongside Entropy PE31, Monades, and Eon. These pieces – previously available only on rare out-of-print vinyl editions – highlight both Kayn’s innovative approach to musical structures and his significant impact on the development of electronic and cybernetic compositions.

A hitherto-unreleased electronic masterpiece from Roland Kayn, singular pioneer of cybernetic music.

Over a period spanning the late 70s through the early 80s, Kayn (1933–2011) issued a quintet of extended works that quietly but definitively redrew the map of electronic music. Informed by cybernetics and a desire to actualise analogue circuitry as an agency in the compositional process, this music adopted a form that can only be described as oceanic, as side after side of vinyl allowed a wholly new vocabulary of electronic sound to find its shape.

In the decades that followed, these multi-LP boxed-set releases became hallowed documents of contemporary music (as well as highly prized collectors’ items). Kayn’s initially subtle influence belied a gradual shift towards the widespread adoption of his ideas and practices in the 21st century, incorporating both the rise in popularity of modular synthesis as a music-making tool, and the huge advancements in machine learning and AI.

Following the recent reissue of ‘Simultan’ (1977) and the first-time release of late work ‘A Little Electronic Milky Way of Sound’ (2009), it was clear that a new generation of listeners and musicians were eager to discover Kayn’s vision in all its vastness.

Kayn's own label, Reiger Records Reeks, has been reawakened by his daughter Ilse, and her long-cherished dream of releasing this music is now finally a reality. Across 10 CDs of immersive audio, expertly remastered by Kayn aficionado Jim O’Rourke, listeners are now finally able to digest Kayn's little-known masterpiece, and to inhabit sonic territory that has waited unspoilt for decades.