MUSIC

The Peak Oil-affiliated False Aralia return with a class 3rd session in transit from Sade-esque holographic dub soul to rugged experiments in compression a la Torsten Profrock and Topdown Dialectic.

In the glistening wake of their first batch of 12”s by Zero Key & Selfsame, the label double their tally with two sterling new works swimming in refined space between deepest ambient soul and rudely tactile delicacies. Label bosses Brian Foote (Peak Oil, Kranky) and pal Izaak Schlossman keep the vibe meticulously on course with the first introduction to Externalism, whose sound palette suggests it may well be the same character behind Topdown Dialectic, but could be a collective for all we know - and that enigma is a key part of the pleasure of these EPs.

Comparisons with Sade are kinda inevitable in a standout first bit of soulfully blissed syllables swirled on a bassline straight out of the Rhythm & Sound playbook, suspended in thizzing contrails- pure hair-kissing styles - whilst the rest of the EP appears to be progressively smudged versions of that opening gambit, blurring the vox into the dub aether on the 2nd, and dialling up the bass in gritty Dynamo/Various Artists/T++ offbeats in the 3rd, and ultimately into shifty, subaquatic coruscations on the 4th. Magic.

Tip!

Alien D, aka Daniel Creahan, is a staple in the NYC underground, known for his releases on labels including Lillerne, 1432 R and Banlieue Records. On his latest album, For the Early Hours of a World in Bloom – his first for Theory Therapy – Creahan takes us deeper into the dubby landscapes of his previous work, with a renewed focus on groove and movement.

Where Lillerne’s Spiritual World leaned toward ambient abstraction, Early Hours pulses with kinetic energy, with tracks like “Soil Dub” and “Sleepy’s Gambit” propelling us forward with dubwise rhythms crafted for the dancefloor.

The album thrives on its infectious, steady groove, with repeating phrases and subtle shifts that keep the music in constant motion. Nowhere is this more evident than on the gentle roller, “Breather.” Over 13 minutes, Creahan lets small variations in tone and a propulsive low-end evolve gradually alongside Ben Seretan’s guitar.

While Early Hours embraces a more rhythmic direction, it still retains the eccentricity and atmosphere that defines Alien D’s sound. Conceived in the first days after the COVID lockdown, there’s a hopeful quality to the music – flickering tones, soft percussive elements and organic textures that hover just behind the beat – making it feel both intimate and expansive. It’s as though Creahan has bottled those transcendent moments that can occur during the early hours of a party, when everything feels suspended in a state of potential.

Trailcam is the latest project from Toronto-based artist Rita Mikhael, formerly known as E-Saggila. With Drumlin Loop, she delivers a bold and introspective statement that continues to expand her sonic range. Opening with a hip-hop-inflected instrumental, the record shifts into more abstract, textured terrain—balancing emotional weight with fearless experimentation. True to Mikhael’s uncompromising ethos, Trailcam defies genre and expectation, showcasing her skill for weaving rich detail and restless energy into each composition. Written and produced in Toronto, the release was mastered by Giuseppe Tillieci at EnissLab in Rome, with artwork by Trailcam and design by Dominique Saiegh.

Alpenglühen continues to establish itself as a trusted source for forward-thinking ambient techno with its latest vinyl release, introducing Vanertia, the new collaborative alias from Vand and !nertia. This debut offering fuses the distinctive sonic DNA of both artists into a deeply textured and rhythmically intricate EP. The record draws heavily from the dub techno tradition, with spacious delay lines and submerged chord stabs setting the tone across all tracks. Yet it’s the subtle interplay between syncopated grooves and classic 4x4 pulse that gives the record its driving energy. The percussion is detailed and organic, riding a bed of carefully sculpted low-end that never overwhelms but always supports the movement. The result is a hypnotic, immersive listen that balances club functionality with introspective richness. With Vanertia, Vand and !nertia have laid the groundwork for what promises to be a highly fruitful collaboration.

Carrier makes his Modern Love debut with a collaboration alongside Equiknoxx leader Gavsborg, blending dub techno precision with stripped-back, bass-heavy steppers. Known for reshaping the intersection of dub and drum & bass, Carrier (Guy Brewer, Shifted et al.) here doubles down on the fundamentals, while Gavsborg’s distinctive vocal presence — previously heard on productions for Busy Signal and Thom Yorke — adds a dark, hypnotic edge. ‘The Fan Dance’ on the A-side is a masterclass in reductionist rhythm: intimate vocals drift across spacious stereo fields, sharp hi-hats, deep subs and spectral detail. The B-side dub pares it back even further, exposing skeletal mechanics that echo early Burial and latter-day T++. Guy Brewer never misses!

At the latest with the release of the albums "Zauberberg" and "Königsforst", in the mid-1990s, one associates GAS, Wolfgang Voigt's very own artistic cross-linking of the spirit of Romanticism and the forest as an artistic fantasy projection surface, with intoxicatingly blurred boundaries of post-ambient infatuation and the impenetrable thicket of abstract atonality. The distant, iconic straight bass drum marching through highly condensed, abstract sounds taken from classical music by the sampler or modulated accordingly, and the enraptured gaze through pop art glasses into the hypnotic thicket of an imaginary forest, manifested over the years this unique connection of audio and visual, which to understand fully, then as now, would be neither possible nor desirable.

Quite the opposite. The album GAS - DER LANGE MARSCH once again invites us to follow the deep sounding bass drum, to give in to its irresistible pull into a psychedelic world of 1000 promises. In the process, the journey leads us past stations of memories sounding from afar, from "Zauberberg" to "Königsforst" and "Pop", from "Oktember" to "Narkopop" and "Rausch", back and forth, now and forever.

Way. Destination. Loop. Forest loop.

A certain post-peak revelry and shaky fidelity of memory triggers and recall underlies Sebastian Carghini’s subtly trippy debut bow for topo2, the label run by erstwhile Dekmantel programmer Bert de Rooij and home to upsammy and Windu.

With a compelling poetic quality Carghini seduces us deep into hypnagogic states of mind with the mercurial ephemerality of his ‘Ramble’ album, an idealised iteration of the peculiar, subtle sound he’s developed over the past decade for the likes of Second Sleep, enmossed/Psychic Liberation, and Total Stasis. 

Leading on in the steps of upsammy’s gently febrile ‘Strange Meridians’, and the featured flows of ‘Juxtapose’ by Wind, the 11-part suite chases a frayed thread of memory looping logic thru processes that appear to uncoil and re-stitch the strands into forms of smudged dub tech and decayed electronica shades away from Actress’s iridescent greyscale, the Peak Oil x False Aralia dubtech soul axis, or even the sounds Andy Stott’s machines make when he’s not listening. 

originally released on Main Street Records in 1994, and repressed in 2025.

Quickly following March’s The Fool - our label debut - Sa Pa reveals his new album Ambeesh on Short Span.

Coming five years after In A Landscape, and nearly a decade since his debut Fuubutsushi, Ambeesh is a collection of Sa Pa’s unreleased work.

Written between 2014-2019, the album has been conceptually curated as a follow up to his FORUM debut. Ambeesh possesses the unique language and liveliness of ambient, layered field recordings, and dub techno found in those earlier records, with those seamless skydives through pressure formations that were found on the Enter Sa Pa mix.

These pieces have been crackling under the surface of Sa Pa’s released work to date and there’s little else that compares. It’s a cache of some of his deepest and most texturally thrilling music.

Singular in its combination of atmosphere; Ambeesh presses on the body at the right volume, and moves in thrust and riposte with the listener’s circadian rhythms. Sa Pa continues to dissolve the border between club-informed experimentation and intimate headphone listening.

Ambeesh marks the artist’s return to his homeland Australia and an exciting new chapter.

Civilistjävel! returns with Brödföda, the successor to 2022’s Järnnätter and his fourth release for FELT. The record features collaborations with Laila Sakini, Mayssa Jallad, Thommy Wahlström, ELDON, and Withdrawn. Tomas Bodén is a revered figure of the aural murk, known primarily for his work as Civilistjävel. It’s an alias that has spawned a catalogue of self-released peculiarities, featuring music that scorns traditional form, instead opting for unfussed symphonies of ice-hued minimalism; soft murmurs that emanate from his studio in the High Coast of Sweden. On Brödföda, his latest album for Fergus Jones’s FELT imprint, subtle new developments in mood prevail. Across its 75 minutes, Civilistjävel! unveils a breadth of emotions that on previous releases seemed distant. He also invites collaborators on record for the first time: Beirut-based singer Mayssa Jallad mournfully croons on “IV”, “VIII” hosts Coldlight’s ELDON & Withdrawn for an abstracted session of dub-hop murk, Laila Sakini offers a hallucinogenic monologue amidst melodica, sticks & bells playing on “IX”, and Thommy Wahlström floats scant acid dub stylings on “VI”. These additions and developments bring a forlorn intimacy to the music, and suggest an ambition that few artists of his ilk strive for. FELT’s (un)reliable cast of audio ghouls routinely summon the odd, with Civilistjävel! often its primary culprit; Brödföda gently modifies this path to pursue some of his and the label’s most quaintly beautiful music yet.

XTCLVR’s debut album for Sferic conjures a vivid, disoriented blur of ambient trap and dub techno, shaped under the strain of Ukraine’s wartime curfews and shelling. Written during long nights of uncertainty, these ten tracks navigate a fractured sonic landscape—lush yet anxious, synthetic but emotionally charged.

Unintelligible vocals drift through fogged beats and smeared textures, evoking both the disarray of conflict and the dream logic of post-party comedowns. Tracks like ‘Perspective’ diffuse vocoder lines into gauzy clouds, while ‘Allergen’ and ‘Storm Shadow’ crackle with nervous energy, recalling the destabilised rhythms of Nazar’s Hyperdub output. Guest contributions deepen the haze: BSW948 threads bars through the warped pulse of ‘Night Shift Cut’, OB3TH shimmers through ‘The Wise Mystical Tree’, and Indy appears on the ambient drill-laced ‘Acid Flavour’. Final track ‘Dead Smoke’ sinks into submerged dread, a murky metaphor for psychic fallout.

Fans of Topdown Dialectic, False Aralia, and Sa Pa will find themselves pulled into this blurred and flickering world—part escapism, part document of a brutal reality.

With a clutch of EPs under his belt spanning a wealth of pallets, Henzo narrows the focus on his debut studio album “The Poems We Write For Ourselves” - a culmination of persistent iterations over several years, distilling his sonic milieu into something that feels decidedly his own. The album proper is coupled with a debut live performance which reinterprets the tracks and splices them with omitted material from the time of writing - recorded in full in the intimate confines of Manchester’s growingly infamous Stage and Radio basement. Honing his craft in the shadows of Lancashire, Poems is an expansive reflection of the producer’s time spent away committing to the scope of an LP.

A thread of stratified sound design weaves throughout the record, but with a discerning dancefloor proclivity mostly prevalent. Cold opener “Noggin” riffs on noughties Raster-Noton a la Byetone rebuilt with fractal tear out DnB, with closer “Indulgence” following suit on a puckered plod of Dub Techno ambience. More club-focussed moments come in the form of “Rustica Slump” and “Blue Will...”, the former’s sickly sweet vocals resolved by the latter’s stoic UKG/Techno rudeness. “A Bouquet of Clumsy Words” channels mechanical shuffle with a stripped back 2/4 pulse whilst maintaining a firmly FWD>>energy alongside “Plant Your Roots In Me” on a similar vector - swapping out a straight kick pattern for a bludgeoning 808 assault on an early Hessle-indebted tip.

“Take Stock, Touch Grass” harks to golden era ClekClekBoom and Night Slugs with a bare bones kick and vocal motif, updating the formula with a tweaking lead line that places it firmly in the contemporary space. “Swell:Shrink” sings from the same sheet with a shrieking, space age wobble doing the heavy lifting, knocking the pace back to a shoulder-lean swagger on a slow fast conundrum Henzo has shown his flair for on previous releases.

The outliers to Henzo’s more known approach, “Worm Grunting” with Belfast’s Emby, an amalgamation of halfest time DnB and illest mannered Road Rap, plus “The Rest Is The Mess You Leave”, a starkly anti-retro Ghettotek endeavour, give grounds to the LP. Clearly rooted in the comfortable universe of the dancefloor, these tracks expand the producer’s realm into loftier heights as he graduates into long play land.

ZamZam 95 is a link with the enigmatic French producer Hiss Is Bliss. We’ve been fans since the very first drop on their 777Hz label and these two sides drive straight to the heart of the dub techno galaxy. Little is known about Hiss Is Bliss beyond the fact that they hail from France, are steeped in esotericism, and create tunes as masterfully grounded in roots reggae as they are in techno and related strands of electronic music. Their releases are utterly free of hype, beautifully crafted 10” vinyl plates that let the singers and tracks speak for themselves. At the risk of being cheeky, “Nope” is absolute dub techno bliss. The 808 kick propels the track relentlessly forward, saturated washes of color streak the night sky, while syncopated hi hats and warm, soulful chords bring life- dare we say funk- to a style too often stiff and clinical, too in thrall to the past to truly step forward. Matching Hiss is Bliss in mystery, Ras Lys’ vocal brings a Dread perspective on music and the sometimes shady business of music, a grounded contrast to the deep inner space explored by the tune itself. The B-side version “Abbadia” splits musical atoms through the desk, focusing squarely on the stripped 4/4 elements and gloriously distorted pads that echo and cycle like tides in a darkly shimmering sea.

The album includes the excellent track "Rasta Forever," which explodes with hypnotic and blissful dub techno sounds accompanied by powerful narration by Horace Andy.

Mark Ernestus and Moritz von Oswald's dream project Rhythm & Sound, which brought legendary reggae singers into the modern era, released the See Mi Ya remix series in 2006. The highly anticipated 2025 reissue of this masterpiece, remixed by Carl Craig and Basic Channel, is finally here!

Originally released in 1996 as the M series, Vainqueur's outstanding and universal masterpiece of minimal techno has been repressed in 2025 and includes a remix by Maurizio.

Originally released in 1993 as the M series, Vainqueur's outstanding and universal masterpiece of minimal techno has been repressed in 2025 and includes a remix by Maurizio.

unification of techno and dub reggae. An outstanding universal masterpiece of sound dub/minimal techno released in 1994 by German Mark Ernestus & Moritz von Oswald's Basic Channel, repressed in 2025.

unification of techno and dub reggae. An outstanding universal masterpiece of sound dub/minimal techno released in 1995 as M-Series by German Mark Ernestus & Moritz von Oswald's Basic Channel, repressed in 2025.

Om Unit pairs with Baroque Sunburst co-capo Soreab for 'Pressure 3D', a four-track EP featuring two stellar flips from Al Wootton and Ottomani Parker.

The duo, both known for traversing varying musical landscapes and bold approaches to electronic composition, meet in fruitful common ground, spinning percussive webs and crushing grooves ripe for reinterpretation. Opener "Last Breath" is relentlessly moody and hypnotic, reimagining a dancehall-centric groove with heaving sub-bass pulses, deep into the bass bins for a late-hour pelter. "Tunnel Drift" switches lanes with its distinct tech-stepping 90's throwback style, a forward-thinking take on a nostalgic sound.

Al Wootton steps in to remix A1 into characteristically fresh and inventive dubbed-out house, adding his signature layering of atmospheric textures and a deep and groovy bassline.

A2 is reworked by dub techno-jazz outfit Ottomani Parker (comprised of BSUN’s other co-honcho Big Hands, trumpeter Abraham Parker, sax maestra Izz Karpel and pianist Hayato Takahashi). After a blissful opening, their take sees horns, keys and live hand-drumming ride the driving percussion, an uplifting finale to an EP that packs a punch from start to finish.

日本の伝説的衛星放送〈St.Giga〉から名前を取った先鋭レーベル〈CITY-2 ST. GIGA〉を主宰。〈The Trilogy Tapes〉や〈Incienso〉にも作品を残す、東京の要注目プロデューサー、DJ Trysteroによるセカンド・アルバムが〈FELT〉からリリース。ダブ・テクノの深淵を漂う全9曲を展開していく本作では、リズムは曖昧に、メロディは断片的に、音響は霧の中で揺らめき、聴く者を夢と現の狭間へと誘います。濃霧が晴れ、しおれたダブの形が浮かび上がる瞬間が印象的な"Untitled 6"など素晴らしいです。Huerco S.やCivilistjävel!を想起させる、減衰と残響の美学が光る一枚！

Originally released in small quantities on the esteemed Smallfish imprint back in 2007. An outline and blueprint of the cv313 sound; lush analog submersion enveloping one's mind into an altered hypnotic state. This release features the original in an entirely new dimensional surround mix utilizing heavier analog tape processing/saturation and remastered to a state of sonic perfection. Also featured is a newly remastered version of the subtraktive "re-imagined" edition and an unfathomable depth found in the unreleased version (reprise) culled from a live performance @ AIR (Toyko, Japan) This one rest somewhere in the upper regions of air beyond the clouds, reminding of those early Chain Reaction works of Vladislav Delay or the horizontal analog based dream-time experiments of Steve Roach.

This release also features three new never-before-heard epic analog incarnations from the ever-evolving variant guise in various forms of sonic conversion. An exciting new development is the inclusion of a long forgotten recording (from the archives) captured from the first ever live performance of the Intrusion project (along w/brock van wey) @ the Little White Earbuds Showcase (Chicago / March 2009). Captured from a blissful moment over a decade ago and it truly hasn't aged a single solitary second. This project encapsulates the culmination of nearly 12 years of recordings and manifest into an epic hypnotic state for the ages, an opus of sorts and in one word - timeless.

Pulled from the Smallfish archive (published: 2007):

So, am I pleased, thrilled and proud to be able to announce this next Smallfish 3″ CD release? You bet I am! Coming out of Detroit and shortly to be releasing an EP on the hotly tipped Echospace label run by Rod Modell and Steve Hitchell, aka Soultek, comes this anonymous piece of music from cv313 that is simply stunning. For lovers of Dub Techno this is an absolute must-have as it’s, once again, coming in a limited edition of 100 copies only – no represses! Subtraktive is a 15 minute track featuring the sort of aquatic depth and beauty that we’ve come to associate with the likes of Echospace, Basic Channel, Deepchord and the Meanwhile label and allow me to tell you that this piece just flies by. A deep, hypnotic and subtly building intro with an insistent high-end percussive sound leads you along, drawing you in to what inevitably grows into an-ultra refined 4/4 track with a steady, wonderfully atmospheric groove that’s drenched in reverb, metallic chord licks and tape delays. Just check the samples to see exactly what I mean… and if you’re a fan of this sound (and I’m pretty sure you all know that we here at Smallfish are *big* devotees of the purity of Detroit / Berlin Techno) you should consider this an essential release. Great to be able to put something out on CD as most of this gear comes on vinyl, so for those who feel they’ve missed out on some great sounds, here’s a perfect opportunity to enjoy some authentically deep Dub Techno pleasure. Many thanks to cv313 for allowing us to release this complete and utter gem. DO NOT MISS! Due to demand for this item we are having to restrict it to one copy per customer. -Smallfish, London, UK

As the highly respected fellas at Boomkat so eloquently stated:

"The original is a classic of the Echospace catalogue, merging beatless misty dawn atmospheres with an aura of heavy influences....like a Rhythm & Sound tape stretched out on a Jamaican beach until the edges begin to fray and curl unpredictably."

A miraculous reprint of a great masterpiece. This is a work that still fascinates many listeners. Biokinetics", the ultimate masterpiece in the history of dub techno/ambient, was released by Porter Ricks as the first release for Chain Reaction, a sub-label of the sacred Basic Channel, and has been reissued by Mille Plateaux on 2LP and CD. Following three 12" releases, this was the label's first album release and is still considered one of its best. This is a masterpiece that reconstructs the spacious ambience pioneered by label bosses Mark Ernestus and Moritz Von Oswald into a gem of techno sound, infusing it with cold, isolated experimentalism and minimalism like early Plastikman.

これぞ、追悼と再生の音響彫刻！故Mike Huckabyが遺したモジュラー・サウンドスケープを、cv313ことStephen Hitchellが深遠なダブ・エレクトロニクスとして再構築した作品が限定プレス。Mike Huckabyが愛用していたWaldorf Waveシンセサイザーに捧げられたトリビュート作品。ディープ・テクノの核心を静かに照らし出すような時間感覚と質感が息づいており、重力から解き放たれたような空間構築、漂うアナログの残響が美しいです！