MUSIC

lovesliescrushing's Bloweyelashwish is an ambient masterpiece, originally recorded in 1992 with a 12-string guitar, 4-track recorder, looping pedal, and boundless reverb. Scott Cortez’s project, alongside the haunting vocals of Melissa Arpin Duimstra, transformed bedroom daydreams into a serene, moonlit journey on a timeless sea. This expanded and remastered double album features five additional tracks, each distortion-laden and hypnotic, alongside lyrics and a replica postcard to guide listeners deeper into its world. Blindness, not eyewash, is the intended experience.

Sydney-based Korean drummer and improviser Chloe Kim considers New York's constant movement on this volatile solo workout, exploring heady rhythmelodic cycles, extended percussion techniques and unexpected textures. RIYL Milford Graves, Max Roach, Buddy Rich, Eli Keszler or Chris Corsano. Solo drumming albums are still a rarity, so 'Ratsnake' is already a pretty thrilling prospect, but this one's worth getting a little gassed over. Kim's a pro - a lecturer at Sydney's Conservatorium of Music and a seasoned performer who's played in improv trio Holopeak, alongside Aussie saxophonist Jeremy Rose and with iconic "avant groove" act Medeski Marin & Wood. And 'Ratsnake' is her chance to broadcast her own signature techniques in high definition without interruption; for a drummer who's best-known for playing solo for 100 hours in 10 days (seriously, check '100 Hours' on Bandcamp for the juicy edited highlights), that shouldn't be too hard. 'Ratsnake' is her fifth solo release, but Kim considers it her proper debut album - it's been recorded and mixed by Randall Dunn, after all - and on the title track, she shows us what she's capable of. Her tempo-flexing, circuitous rhythms are front and center, sure, but there's no shortage of tonal experimentation on show. She doesn't play melodies as such, but Kim knows her kit so well that the melodic outlines appear like ghosts, generated by her arsenal of tuned gongs, scraped cymbals and carefully balanced toms. Similarly, on 'Birth Dream' Kim balances out her courtly marches with ringing, regal resonances that she uproots with chaotic fills. The name of the album and some of its track titles relate to Korean folklore; the Korean rat snake is a symbol of abundance, and Kim's mother had seen one in a "conception dream" before Kim was born. So it's hard not to hear a link between the percussionist's living, breathing patterns and the tempo-fluxing rhythms that sit at the center of Korean folk music. She explored these essential beats in 2018 and there are still traces of that framework here; even though Kim's style has been shaped by jazz and free improv, there's still something personal and idiosyncratic in there, just like that rat snake.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra present a limited 12" drawing from 70s and 80s Italian horror & Black Sabbath. "UMO’s 'CURSE' EP reflects these cursed times we find ourselves in. Taking inspiration from Italian horror films of the 1970s and 1980s, the six songs on the release are as cathartic a listen as the band has ever recorded. Featuring both abrasive, Black Sabbath inspired riffs on “BOYS WITH THE CHARACTERISTICS OF WOLVES” as well as the laid back, intricate guitar playing UMO is maybe most famous for on “DEATH COMES FROM THE SKY”, the CURSE EP is the perfect soundtrack to your next confrontation with the void."

Expanded edition of Sufjan Stevens 2015 LP, celebrating its 10 year anniversary.

"A decade after its release, Carrie & Lowell continues to resonate as one of Sufjan Stevens’ most personal and beloved albums—“a fall-down gorgeous and emotionally devastating masterpiece” (The Guardian). To mark the anniversary, Asthmatic Kitty Records presents Carrie & Lowell –10th Anniversary Edition, featuring seven never-before-released demos that offer a rare window into the album’s creation. With updated cover art, a beautifully designed 40-page booklet and new essay reflecting on the album by Sufjan, this special edition celebrates and expands the legacy of one of his most cherished works. Arriving on May 30, 2025, this anniversary edition is a must-listen for fans and newcomers alike, inviting listeners to experience the music’s evolution and reflect on the raw emotional landscapes that influenced its creation."

Originally released in 1985 on Japan Records, "Trap" marks the second solo venture from pioneering Japanese musician Chiko Hige. Delving deep into the raw energy of the No-Wave movement, Hige crafts a powerful, hypnotic sonic journey brimming with hyper-kinetic grooves, jagged guitar textures, and contorted saxophone lines. "Trap" stands as a snapshot of controlled chaos—its blend of frenetic rhythms and edgy soundscapes continues to resonate with fresh relevance, captivating new listeners and longtime fans alike. "Trap" exemplifies Chiko Hige's mastery of the Japanese No-Wave scene, offering a singular mix of experimental punk, jazz-inflected improvisation, and post-punk brutality. The album's tracks feature propulsive drum work, energetic guitar riffs, and twisted, melodic saxophone interludes, all woven into a hypnotic soundscape that feels both organic and intentionally chaotic. Chiko Hige, well-known as the drummer for Friction, explores new artistic ground in this solo effort, further establishing his role as an innovator in Japan's underground music scene. Despite its release over four decades ago, "Trap" remains a strikingly modern listen, capturing the imagination of contemporary audiences with its unbridled energy and genre-defying arrangements. The album's experimental approach continues to influence cutting-edge musicians worldwide, making "Trap" a foundational touchstone for collectors and fans of post-punk, avant-garde, and No-Wave music. For those discovering Chiko Hige today, "Trap" offers a thrilling portal into the feverish creativity and unstoppable drive of 1980s Japanese underground music.

Organic Music Society is an album by trumpeter Don Cherry. Many critics consider this album the one which gives a fuller picture of Cherry as ensemble leader, spiritualist and cultural synthesizer. Indeed, Organic Music Society is a bold exploration of global musical traditions, reflecting Cherry's vision of music as a universal. Here, Cherry makes a significant shift from his free jazz roots toward a more expansive, world music fusion. Recorded in Sweden, the album features a diverse ensemble blending Swedish, Turkish, Brazilian, and African musicians. Cherry himself contributes not only trumpet but also vocals, harmonium, flute, conch shell, and piano. The compositions include his own works, as well as interpretations of pieces by Terry Riley, Pharaoh Sanders, and Dollar Brand. The album's sound is eclectic and experimental, with tracks ranging from meditative chants like "North Brazilian Ceremonial Hymn" to the dynamic "Relativity Suite."

Ayalew Mesfin stands aside the likes of Mulatu Astake, Mahmoud Ahmed, Hailu Mergia and Alemayehu Eshete as a legend of 1970s Ethiopia. Mesfin’s music is some of the funkiest to arise from this unconquerable East African nation.

Mesfin’s recording career, captured in nearly two dozen 7” singles and numerous reel-to-reel tapes, shows the strata of the most fertile decade in Ethiopia’s 20th century recording industry, when records were pressed constantly by both independent upstarts and corporate behemoths, even if they were only distributed within the confines of this East African nation.

Though Mesfin was forced underground by the Derg regime that took control of Ethiopia in 1974, he has returned almost 50 years later with this triumphant set albums – the first time that his music has been presented in this form.

These albums give us a chance to discover a rare and beautiful moment in music history, in anthologies built from Mesfin’s uber-rare 7” single releases and from previously unreleased recordings taken from master tapes. Each individual album contains an oversized 11” x 11” 16 page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin’s role within it. An OBI wrapped “box set” of all five albums is available at a discounted price. The box set only contains one booklet.

Mot Aykerim (You Can’t Cheat Death) gives us a chance to discover a rare & beautiful moment in music history, in an anthology built from previously unreleased songs re-discovered on master tapes. Contains an oversized 11” x 11” 16 page book that tells the story of modern Ethiopian music and Mesfin’s role within it.

Highest grade sand trampling proto-Goa trance invocations from Alexis Le Tan & Joakim’s prized Parisian project Full Circle, hailing the likes of Chris & Cosey, early Nu Groove, and more ancient ritualist spirits, on a new set of lush, buoyant steppers and sidewinders for Good Morning Tapes.

After leaving loosey goosey dancers hanging for a few years since their coveted Good Morning Tapes editions, Full Circle pick up exactly where the ‘Further Knowhere’ mixtape left us in a utopian 3rd place slipstream. ‘Beyond Knowhere’ pursues a particular late ‘80s/early ‘90s dragon, and in return answers a certain dancefloor need for music that propels both body and spirit with an effortless sensuality that’s lesser heard in clubs nowadays.

Perhaps most notably they emphasise the influence of Chris & Cosey over that era in lead ace ‘Odd Perceptions’ in the lushest whorl of dubbed-out 909, sitar, and overtone singing for 8 minutes practically guaranteed to trigger sweat and palpatations. If you’re not feeling the frisson by the time of its bassline coda 7 mins deep, you may need to see a doctor.

Chakras aligned, they continue to elevate the senses with the pendulous acid stepper ‘Painting Noise’, reframing a vocal sample - “take this brother, may it serve you well”, as also found on Major Problems’ Overdose’ - in a tripper early trance-steppers style riding gunky acid bass and head-smashing FX, before taking it down a gear to the Konders-esque digi-dub chug of ’Sharp Water’, again rubbing Nu Groove influence with a damn effective, psychedelic steez.

Big tunes!

A captivating deep cut from the golden age of Italian library music, Il Ponte Dell’Asia stands as one of Piero Umiliani’s most evocative and exotic soundscapes. Originally released in 1967 as a private pressing for Italian the TV documentary by Corrado Sofia, this elusive gem blends Far Eastern motifs with the elegance of mid-century European jazz and the textured experimentation that defines Umiliani’s best work.

On Il Ponte Dell’Asia, Umiliani constructs a cinematic bridge between continents, layering modal melodies, sinuous flutes, shimmering vibraphones, and richly orchestrated strings over hypnotic rhythms and subtly psychedelic touches. The result is a masterful fusion of East-meets-West that channels both travelogue fantasy and avant-garde sophistication — a rare synthesis of traditional instrumentation and modernist sensibility. Exported from the original tapes, pressed on high-quality vinyl and with faithfully restored artwork, this reissue offers a long-overdue return to one of Umiliani’s most immersive sonic journeys, an essential for fans of Italian library music, film scores, and genre-defying jazz. Rediscover a lost jewel from the vault of one of Italy’s most visionary composers — where bamboo forests, smoky clubs, and dreamlike landscapes converge in sound.

Victory present a reissue of Haruomi Hosono, Takahiko Ishikawa, and Masataka Matsutoya's The Aegean Sea originally released in 1979. The album is somewhat of a companion piece to the previous year's Pacific (V 25AH426). A beautiful piece of Japanese smooth fusion-jazz with elements of traditional Greek music and Balearic grooves, it's one of Hosono's cleanest and most focused works to date. Long sought-after by collectors, this record is nearly impossible to find in original pressings outside of Japan and this is a welcome reissue of one of the greatest titles in Hosono's seemingly infinite catalog. Essential Japanese jazz fusion.

Marking what will inevitably be a holy grail moment for fans of Italian library music, and an inevitale revelation for anyone approaching it for the first time, the venerable Dialogo returns to their broader initiative dedicated to the Italian arm of RCA’s legendary “Original Cast” series with the first ever vinyl reissue of “Industria 2000”, an astounding 1974 LP created by the legendary Italian pianist and composer, Amedeo Tommasi, under the moniker Jarrell. Regarded by many as one of the greatest experimental library records ever made - at times missable for the contemporaneous byproducts of studios like GRM or EMS, while doubly foreshadowing the synth infused soundtracks of John Carpenter and the idioms of Industrial music and Noise - it’s an immersive marvel that was years ahead of its time.
** Ltd. 300 copies, remastered edition, audiophile pressing. Perfect replica of the original packaging, newly remastered for optimal sound. ** Italy is a treasure trove of obscure and archival sounds. For decades, the products of its free-wheeling sonic cultures - spanning numerous musical genres - remained as sinfully overlooked, before being uncovered by devoted diggers and illuminated by numerous reissued initiatives. Recently, the Milan based imprint, Dialogo, has led the charge into the shadows of Italy’s past, releasing a steady stream of holy grails, from the astounding Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai “Dimensioni Sonore” box set, issued in 2020, and a dedicated initiative to the work of Piero Umiliani, to a slew of coveted albums from the legendary Cramps catalog, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Their latest, the first ever reissue of “Industria 2000”, an astounding 1974 LP created by the legendary Italian pianist and composer, Amedeo Tommasi, under the moniker Jarrell, joins their recent reissues of “Equinox” and “Solstitium”, to launch Dialogo’s broader initiative dedicated to the Italian arm of RCA’s legendary “Original Cast” series, one of the most coveted and rare bodies of library music ever laid to tape. Regarded by many to be among the best and most forward-thinking experimental efforts in the entire field, and among the only library records to have ever been offered the Creel Pone treatment, “Industria 2000” is an absolute marvel of wild, avant-garde electronics and synthesis, pushing toward glorious states of pure abstraction, threaded by unexpected anchors in pop. Issued in a beautiful, perfect replica highly limited vinyl edition, if ever there was a perfect introduction to the wonders of Italian library music, this is it!

Resting within the vast expanse of visionary albums produced in Italy during the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, is the territory loosely categorised as Library music; recordings that were commissioned and owned by record labels, to be licensed for use within television programs, radio, and film, as stock. While Library music was produced in numerous countries during this period, nowhere was it more unique and groundbreaking than in Italy. Many of the country’s most noteworthy composers - Ennio Morricone, Piero Umiliani, Egisto Macchi, Bruno Nicolai, Sandro Brugnolini, etc. - used the context as an aggregator of radical experimentation and creative freedom, as well as a means to deliver forward-thinking music to broad audiences. Long coveted by diggers, samplers, and beat makers, these albums collectively represent one of the great treasure troves of 20th Century recorded sound: vast in its breath and endlessly adventurous and unpredictable in realisations of creative ambition.

Library music is notoriously mysterious. Its creators often worked in the shadows, with their music becoming far more familiar than the names of those who created it, something made that much more complex by the fact that composers often worked under numerous monikers and aliases, making it often impossible to know who truly made these astounding works. Among the most noteworthy of these figures was the pianist and composer, Amedeo Tommasi, who in addition to leading numerous, highly regarded jazz bands during the 1960s, and recording with artists like Chet Baker, Bobby Jaspar, René Thomas, Buddy Collette, Conte Candoli, and Jacques Pelzer, produced a large body of library music across the 1970s and '80s under the names Amedeo Forte, Atmo, Konnell, Mantissa, Silva Savigni, and Jarrell. It was under the latter alias that he created the 1974 LP, “Industria 2000” for RCA’s now legendary “Original Cast” series. Over the years, this single gesture has become one of the most highly regarded experimental library records ever laid to tape, commanding eye watering prices on the secondary market.

Comprising twelve tracks centred around the process of synthesises, “Industria 2000” is thematically rooted around the environments and work in a mechanised and industrial world. Rather than the here and now, it seems to project itself into some imagined future, and in so doing embodies this notion by presenting a totality of music that is often years ahead of time and stands almost entirely on its own within the field of 1970s creativity. Ranging from hypnotic, minimal pieces like “Mondo Industriale” that foreshadow the work of John Carpenter by a handful of years; to wild, complex electroacoustic gestures like “Industria 2000”, “Meccanizzazione” and “Sala Macchine” that could easily be mistaken for the contemporaneous byproducts of experimental electronic studios like Groupe de Recherches Musicales GRM or Elektronmusikstudion EMS, the proto-industrial rhythmical textural assaults of “Energia Pesante” that prefigure numerous idioms of noise and underground electronic music by a decade or more, and wrenches thrown by pastoral, melodic pieces like “Lavoro Sereno”, and off-kilter, completely uncategorizable works like “Lavoro a Catena”. Once encountered in both its discrete moments and totality, there’s little question why it made the cut and passed the rigorous criteria for inclusion in Creel Pone’s incredible catalog of CDr reissues back in 2012.

An absolute marvel that’s remained almost entirely inaccessible on vinyl for decades, Jarrell’s “Industria 2000” is a true visionary release, transcending the perceived bounds of Italian library music as one of the greatest experimental works in the entire canon, as well as one of the most definitive artefacts of Amedeo Tommasi’s celebrated career. Joining Dialogo’s broader initiative dedicated to the Italian arm of RCA’s legendary “Original Cast” series, this beautifully produced, limited edition LP immaculately reproduces the original Italian press and marks it’s first appearance on vinyl in roughly 50 years. An engrossing listen from the first sounding to the last, this is a holy grail moment for fans of Italian library music, and an inevitable revelation for anyone approaching it for the first time.

Sons Of Jah were a vocal trio formed in Trenchtown, Jamaica, in 1976, led by the enigmatic Trevor Bow. This album -- originally released in 1980 and recorded at Treasure Isle Recording Studio -- assembles a fantastic cast of musicians: Negus Dawtas contribute superb backing vocals, Aston 'Family Man' Barret is on bass, Earl 'Chinna' Smith on guitar and the great Rico Rodriguez has the horns. Enlisting also a couple of mandatory instrumental tracks, The Sons of Jah delivered a majestic third album.

Fully remastered and licensed, limited to 500 copies. Reissued here for the first time, in an extended version, the only album by the British reggae band, originally released on Ball Record in 1978. One of the best kept secrets of the British reggae scene of the late 70‘s and mid 80’s who, with Steel Pulse, competed for the title of best reggae band in Birmingham. The album includes these eight tracks plus both sides of the band's final single and a couple of unreleased tracks.

An important piece in the history of experimental music, Richard Maxfield's 1969 album “Electronic Music” has been reissued by PAROLE! The album contains electronic music/music concoctions created in the early 1960s while Maxfield was a member of Fluxus and deeply involved with La Monte Young, David Tudor, and others. Pastoral Symphony" is a soundscape of continuous electronic sounds, an innovative experiment at the time. Bacchanale" is a collage of disparate materials, including jazz, Korean folk songs, spoken word, and Terry Jennings' saxophone. Piano Concert for David Tudor" has an underground tension, mixing internal piano techniques with amplified metallic sounds. The “Amazing Grace” piece, which is a minimalist work that anticipates Steve Reich and Terry Riley by layering tape loops at different speeds, greatly expands the possibilities of electronic music of the 1960s, and is also connected to the origins of minimalism and contemporary music. It still has a stimulating resonance. The vintage equipment and hand-crafted collage textures that stand out only on analog vinyl are irresistible!

Sounds From The Screen reissues Paolo Ferrara’s 1974 album "Sound," newly remastered for today’s listeners. Blending rare groove, psychedelic flair, and cinematic funk, the album features energetic rhythms and inventive arrangements, reaffirming Ferrara’s status as a visionary in Italian library music.

Sounds From The Screen proudly announces the reissue of Sound, the legendary album by Italian composer Paolo Ferrara. Originally cut in 1974 on the iconic Italian library label Canopo, Sound returns in a newly remastered edition, inviting a new generation of listeners to experience its unique blend of rare groove, psychedelic flair, and cinematic funk.

Sound is an alchemic mixture of frenzied rhythms, bossa-tinged themes, and acid funk stompers. The album’s percussive nature and genre-blurring arrangements showcase Ferrara’s mastery in crafting evocative soundscapes that transcend time. Well known for his psychedelic and electronic explorations, Ferrara is in full rare groove mode here, delivering a record that is as enthralling today as it was at its inception

Long considered a hidden gem among collectors and connoisseurs of Italian library music, Sound has been meticulously rescued from the dust and given the reissue treatment it deserves. This release offers both seasoned fans and new listeners the chance to immerse themselves in Ferrara’s visionary world, where every track pulses with energy and inventive spirit.

Established in 1968 by Romano Di Bari, Canopo was the first brick in the building of Flippermusic, the leading production music library in Italy. Revived after decades of hiatus, the label is now devoted to the reissue of Flippermusic’s historic catalogue of the 1960s, 1970s and 80s for the first time since its original release onto vinyl, digitized and re-mastered from the original master tapes so that these legendary recordings can be heard once again. This classic Italian production music was all recorded in Rome recording studios by a heritage of composers including Alessandro Alessandroni, Amedeo Tommasi, Gerardo Iacoucci, Remigio Ducros, Romolo Grano, Daniela Casa, Piero Montanari and many more.

“Italiany Library Vaults” is a 12 track compilation bringing together the best tracks produced by Flippermusic in the first years of his activity. Ranging between different musical genres, it offers a wide range vision of this great musical legacy. This volume features a unique cover design, replica of the original albums published on Canopo label from late 60’s.

Faitiche presents Beispiel (German for example, also suggests playing together), a joint project by Frank Bretschneider and Jan Jelinek. Muster is their first album. Free electronic music, the result of spontaneous improvisations. “Meaning” is a concept that is overused in connection with music. Muster does not call for the same kind of air quotes. With its title, German for patterns/exemplars, Beispiel’s album frees itself from the ballast of teleological semantics. There is no overarching theme, no preparation, no reading list, no reason for this music. Just two facts: Frank Bretschneider and Jan Jelinek have known each other a long time and appreciate each other’s work; and they share a love of modular synthesizers and of experimental set-ups designed to capture surprise. Bretschneider and Jelinek got together for their first joint session in 2016 and the years that followed brought more such meetings at Jelinek’s studio for open-ended musical dialog – at irregular intervals and with no clear objective. The improvisations were recorded in two stereo tracks: one track for Bretschneider’s audio, one for Jelinek’s. After each session, the recordings were processed separately, the options essentially limited to cutting and altering the frequency range. The nine pieces for Muster were selected from the resulting material. This approach reflects an ideal: music is when you play your first note without knowing what the third or fourth will sound like. When your 290th note still sees you leaving the beaten track, and when curiosity grows as the piece unfolds. Duping is part of Beispiel’s practice. Improvisation is about disagreement. It’s a matter of addressing the right issues. What’s happening here? What’s mine, what’s yours? Are “why” and “where next” legitimate questions? Muster is an exemplary work. Nine suggestions for what can be. Nine ideas for possibilities of listening. Arno Raffeiner

Tristes Tropiques is an album of synthetic exotica, pseudo-ethnographic music and manipulated field recordings.
Find out more about Andrew Pekler’s Tristes Tropiques in the following interview:
Jan Jelinek: You’ve titled your album Tristes Tropiques – a reference to Claude Lévi-Strauss’ famous account of his travels among native peoples in the Mato Grosso. If I remember correctly, the book can be read in two ways: as an ethnographic study of indigenous Brazilian tribes, and as a critique of anthropological methods. What exactly about Tristes Tropiques inspired you? The melancholy travelogue, or the formation of a new, critical school of thought?

Andrew Pekler: Both. Lévi-Strauss’ constant reflection on the purpose of his work and the often melancholy tone of his writing constitute an internal tension which runs throughout the whole book. Tristes Tropiques is many things; autobiography, traveler’s tale, ethnographic report, philosophical treatise, colonial history. But ultimately, it’s the author’s attempt to synthesize meaning from fragments of his own and other cultures that resonated most strongly with me – and led me to a new perspective on how I hear and make music.

JJ: Listening to Tristes Tropiques I noticed a certain oscillation between references, which is what I really like about it. Obviously, your music alludes to the beloved fairytale kitsch of exotica, but it also repeatedly shifts to a mode of ethno-poetic meditation music that seems to have no beginning or end. Where do you yourself locate the tracks gathered here?

AP: As a listener and as a musician, exotica music of the 1950s and 60s has always been a constant reference point and inspiration. And perhaps my listening has been ‘ruined’ by exotica, but as I have dug deeper into ethnographic archives of ‘traditional’ music, I’ve come to the realization that all recordings that evoke, allude to, or ostensibly document other musical forms have a similar effect on my imagination: I am most intrigued when I perceive some coincidentally familiar element within the foreign (a tuned percussion recital from Malawi that immediately brings to mind Steve Reichian minimalism, or the Burundian female vocal duet that sounds uncannily like a cut-up tape experiment, etc.). I suppose this album is an attempt to recreate the same kind of listening experience as what I’ve described, just with the electronic means that I have at hand.

JJ: I know that you perform Tristes Tropiques not only as music, and that there is visual and spatial aspect to the presentation. Can you reveal more about this?

AP: I made an accompanying video – mainly close-up footage, shot in Thailand, of various tropical flora. The video was recorded at very slow speed and this gives the plants, flowers, trees, bamboo, etc. the appearance of rather abstract objects. In live performance, this abstracting effect is further emphasized through real-time modulation of the colors, brightness and other parameters of the video image. There is also an installation version of the video that is meant to be projected on multiple screens / walls and with its own soundtrack of heavily manipulated field recordings captured in the same locations in the jungle.

JJ: We can get an idea of what this looks like from the beautiful video stills on the back cover of the album.

New LP from New York/Tamil Nadu-raised singer Ganavya - co-produced by Nils Frahm.

"New York-born, Tamil Nadu-raised singer and transdisciplinarian GANAVYA – “among modern music's most compelling vocalists,” according to the Wall Street Journal – has announced details of a new album, Nilam, due May 23, 2025. It follows last year’s Daughter Of A Temple, Gilles Peterson’s BBC 6 Music Album of the Year, similarly declared one of 2024’s Top 10 Best Global Albums by The Guardian, who applauded GANAVYA’s ability to harness “the power of communal harmony to touch something deeper than song.” Co-produced by Nils Frahm at LEITER Studio in Berlin’s Funkhaus complex, the new album by “the singer whose work,” says the New York Times, “feels like prayer…with listeners hanging onto her every word” will be released by LEITER on vinyl and via all digital platforms.

Listening to the remarkable Nilam, it seems implausible now that its inception might ever have been in doubt. So astonishing is its stillness, so profound its communication of sentiment, it feels as if it was always meant to be. A celebration of the ties that bind, and possibly the most tender-hearted music we’ll hear this year, it’s intimate and honest, a poignant expression of gratitude for the blessings which keep us grounded, if only we’ll recognise and welcome them. Indeed, it could have been transmitted directly from soul to stereo, from the way ‘Not A Burden’ lifts a weight off the world’s shoulders to the peaceful ‘Sees Fire’, with ‘Land’’s gentle groove full of space, ‘Nine Jeweled Prayer’ serenely precious, and, throughout, GANAVYA’s vocals like ripples on a lagoon.

Yet the truth is it owes its existence to chance – an entity, like truth, to which GANAVYA is forever faithful – and the few days between her 2024 Berlin sold out debut and another sold out performance at London’s Union Chapel. This opportunity, she was persuaded by LEITER’s co-founder Felix Grimm, could be exploited to capture at last songs she had often performed live. And so, accompanied by long-time touring companions, bassist Max Ridley and harpist Charles Overton – with whom she’s toured over a decade, describing them as “two of [her] most precious friends and teachers” – she entered the hallowed Funkhaus with Frahm behind the desk.

Nilam’s central theme, GANAVYA confesses, is “doing what we need to do to keep carrying on.” This perhaps isn’t surprising given her touring not one but two albums in a single year. Earlier in 2024, she’d released the equally acclaimed like the sky i've been too quiet, recorded with Shabaka Hutchings, and a debut single for LEITER, ‘Draw Something Beautiful’, arrived soon after in July. “I feel like I barely made it out this past touring cycle,” she says. “Some days are good, and some days are bad. But the actual singing is always good. I realised, with every bone in my body, that unless you absolutely, absolutely want to be a musician, there's just no sense doing this professionally. And still... I wake up every day and I am certain that I want to keep singing.”

Nilam takes its title from “nil”, the Tamil word for ‘land’, a decision made instinctively, and not just because firm ground was what she was seeking during a difficult period of touring. “The word ‘nil’ can be a command either to move or to stay still,” GANAVYA points out. “To the person being senselessly quiet, it is a command to stand up for what is right. To the person being senselessly loud, it is a command to stand still. To me, it is balance, the heart of the true rhythm of life, of change, of land, of landing.” All the same, the word perfectly describes these songs she’s played, on and off, across the years with Ridley and Overton. “The world changes and shifts and everything becomes dizzying as the earth keeps disappearing from under you,” she concludes, “but these songs have always been a place for me to stand, a place for us to be in a way that I don't really know how to describe. Music has always been the one true land...”"

An archaeological sound source from the famous label Unseen World, which continues to send obscure electronic music. An early collection of early recordings by Carl Stone, an American composer who studied under Morton Subotnick and is a professor at Chukyo University, and a master of sampling and cut-up collage.
This work consists of 6 unreleased songs from the 70's and 80's and 7 songs of "Shing Kee" excerpted from the work "Mom's" released by New Albion in 1992. "Shing Kee" (1986), which is a sampling of Schubert's "Bodhi" sung by Akiko Yano, has a great sense of ambience for sustained sounds, and Seth Graham and Kara-Lis Coverdale are also surprised by the timeless three-dimensional electronic sound. , "Shibucho" (1984) and "Dong Il Jang" (1982) are also ambitious works in which cut-ups were attempted using sampling methods. Our Rashad Becker is in charge of mastering. An avant-garde electronics masterpiece that unfortunately demonstrated a strange soundscape like melting modern architecture. Even if I listen to it now, it doesn't feel old at all. Recommended for a wide range of people from DJ material to new age to ambient drone lovers. A gatefold specification & booklet & DL code limited track is also included.

Now on the cusp of his third solo album, Norwegian saxophonist Bendik Giske knows himself well. With his new, self-titled record, he is in his prime as an artist: confident in his voice and abilities, buoyed by critical acclaim from all corners – including two Norwegian Grammy nominations – and a surge in audiences everywhere. With the intriguing choice of Beatrice Dillon as album producer – clearly the British electronic musician is a fellow traveler in the practice of original aesthetic expression – her influence is immediate and keenly felt. Together, they strip away a layer of melodicism, honing in on pattern and rhythm to bring out a different dimension of his mesmerizing sound. While again working with single-take recordings, no overdubs, only saxophone and his body, gone is the reverberant space and mellifluous glamor. Giske finds the result akin to musical full-frontal nudity – every detail, every huff and puff audible, no obscuring, no aestheticizing. People may look away when it’s not as pretty, but what’s left feels more present and potent. Confrontational, it demands greater attention, but through its physicality – you can hear and feel his body in the music – it takes you to a flow state, somewhere between ecstasy, elation, and spiritual awakening. Intensely human, there’s stark tension there, too – there always will be when fighting for existence and validity – elegantly illustrated by Florian Hetz’s striking photographs of the artist on the covers of the release. In part, Giske is inspired by Judith Halberstam’s The Queer Art of Failure. As much as he has benefitted from his training and participation in the environment of the jazz conservatory, his path took him far outside its confines. Working these new explorations with his instrument has been a ten-year process of peeling away what he knew ultimately didn’t fit, finding the sonic territory of his lived experience. What emerged were systems that allowed for studies of tempo and proportion, a starting point for an immersive improvisatory approach, mapping years of musical probing. It’s the sound of social emancipation through the meditative pulse and velocity of circular breathing and the dance of the body, especially fingers, tongue, and lips. Giske knows that music can be a powerful tool in bringing people together to find ideas, and the longevity of his project is at its utmost a call for care, togetherness, storytelling, and the ability to gather for a shared cause. In all earnestness, Bendik Giske is a proposal for truthfulness and existence, a space for one to express their most profound self.

Shutting Down Here is a special work. Symbolically, it covers a period of thirty years, between two visits by Jim O'Rourke to the GRM, the first, as a young man fascinated by the institution and his repertoire, the second, as an accomplished musician, influential and imbued with an aura of mystery. Shutting Down Here is a piece shaped like an universe, a heterogeneous world in which collides the multiple musical facets of Jim O'Rourke: instrumental writing, field recordings, electronic textures and cybernetic becomings, dynamic spaces, harmonic spaces, silent spans . This variety of approach, strangely, does not in any way weaken the coherence of the whole and this is the talent of Jim O'Rourke, a talent, properly speaking, of composition, where all the sound elements compete and participate to stakes that exceed them and of a common destiny, that is to say of an apparition.

Sweeping ambient from Colorado's Matthew Sage.

"Tender / Wading finds Matthew Sage, aka M. Sage, in the foothills and pastures of Colorado, writing, recording, and returning to a patch of his homeland and identity, one act of sympathetic care informing the next. Constructed primarily on piano and clarinet, and then embellished with guitar, modular synthesizer, percussion, and field recordings captured around the perimeter of his home, the album is a sweeping, serene vision of vitality, radical softness, and the reassuring sense of coming home, even if home has changed. Since the early 2010s, Sage has assembled an idiosyncratic catalog of music that sprawls in various sound directions, manifesting with releases on Geographic North, Orange Milk, and Moon Glyph, and garnering both critical attention and a loyal listenership present for each new turn. In 2023, Sage debuted on RVNG Intl. with Paradise Crick, which coincided with his ongoing output within the improvisatory ambient jazz quartet, Fuubutsushi, and he now delivers his next solo endeavor and direction. Tender / Wading follows Sage’s return to Colorado after nearly a decade in Chicago, now nurturing a couple acres of neglected space with his young family thirty miles outside his hometown. In a holistic contrast to Crick’s synthetic sound-world, Sage renders art from the act of stewarding new growth, questioning constructs of domestic life, and understanding the footsteps of his former self through the dirt-smeared, sweat-fogged lens of the present. The yield is his most autobiographical material to date, marked by time and changes in perception and meaningful details from Sage’s psychic search."

Toronto rising Soul star Tanika Charles unleashes the new album “Reasons To Stay”.

Two-time Juno awards nominated and three-time Polaris Prize listed, Canadian soul star Tanika Charles unleashes the new album “Reasons To Stay” that drops worldwide on May 16 via independent soul specialist label Record Kicks.

Soul music at its best is a high form of alchemy. The transformation of pain into beauty, perseverance into celebration. With her fourth studio album, “Reasons To Stay,” Tanika Charles demonstrates a new level of mastery, mining the depths of a life spent running away from the unfulfilled promises and a broken home, to give us her most raw and intimate offering to date. By coming to terms with past trials and ensuing tribulations, Ms. Charles delivers a modern Soul classic.
Playing like a series of intimate letters to members of her family, to herself and to the listener, “Reasons To Stay” is an examination of the skeletons dangling in the family closet, and the damaged relationships at the root of a woman’s journey to acceptance and self love.

“I love this album. I love singing these songs. I love the conversations that have begun with them. It’s forced me to face the root causes of some of the insecurities I carry to this day. It’s about trauma, but it’s not a victim story. It’s making peace with the baggage I carry and finding a way to thrive in spite of it.”

Backed by the tight-knit team of Scott McCannell (Lydia Persaud, Henry Nozuka), Kyla Charter (Aysanabee) and Chino de Villa (Jessie Reyez), a guest feature from Quebec-based singer/songwriter Clerel, and vocal support from Aphrose and Claire Davis, Tanika Charles’ “Reasons To Stay” is steeped in experience, pulling threads from past eras to weave a record that feels retro futuristic and timeless.

Masterfully mixed by Monophonics’ frontman Kelly Finnigan, whose trademark analogue grit saturates Tanika’s sheen, “Reasons To Stay” also winks at the Hip-Hop heads perennially digging in crates. It captures the essence of Blues, Jazz, and Gospel-influenced R&B before spilling into Psychedelia and back, with a rawness and urgency that compels you to flip the record over again.
This is Tanika Charles, as compelling as ever, soul laid bare.

Two-time Juno Awards R&B/Soul Recording of the Year nominee and three-time Polaris Music Prize long-list nominee Tanika Charles in synonymous with Canadian Soul music. She has embraced the sound and aesthetic of the genre without gimmick, whilst pushing the boundaries of what audiences can expect. Her music revels in honesty and attitude, her live show is high energy and endearing, and she continues to organically win audiences over one album, one stream, and one encore at a time. Her previous studio albums – “Soul Run” (2017), “The Gumption” (2019), and “Papillon De Nuit” (2022) - have propelled her to international acclaim. Extensive touring across North America and Europe has further solidified her reputation, with standout performances at festivals such as Trans Musicales in France, Fusion Festival in Germany, Mostly Funk & Soul Festival and Jazz Festival in the UK, Holy Groove Festival in Switzerland, and Canarias Jazz Festival in Spain. She has also shared the stage Estelle, Mayer Hawthorne, Haitus Kayote, Lauryn Hill, Bedouin Soundclash and Macy Gray. Tanika’s meteoric rise and undeniable artistry have been widely championed by outlets such as KCRW, KEXP, BBC6 Music, Exclaim!, CBC Music, Uncut Mag, PopMatters and Albumism further solidifying her position as a global soul sensation.