MUSIC

Sooj — a collaborative project between members of Duster and Dirty Art Club. Picking up where their 2024 two-sider Anhedonia II b/w Ecstasy Cowgirl left off, Crusher sees Duster’s slowcore drift dissolve into Dirty Art Club’s sample-heavy, collage-minded production. The result is neither band, nor side project, but something more elusive — a third space built from tape hiss, chopped memory, and late-night signal bleed. Across its runtime, the album avoids the gravitational pull of nostalgia. Instead, it hovers in a liminal present — part collaboration, part escape route.

Two raw minimal cuts from '94 that will piece up any self respecting dance floor; Mika Vainio, Ilpo Väisänen & Sami Salo at the controls - an ESSENTIAL 12" from Sähkö Recordings, TIP!

“I first composed this music for myself as an adjunct to meditation, Tai Chi, and bodywork, and as music to play in the background of life, to replace the everyday cacophony with new and ordered sounds of an unpredictable nature. New sounds freed from preconception. …over time, friends who heard the music asked if I could make them copies. I then wrote two more pieces with the same intent: to relax the body, mind, and spirit and facilitate meditation.” - Lou Reed Lou Reed’s final solo album, Hudson River Wind Meditations, is one of his most personal musical works, combining Reed's love of creating drone music with his passion for Tai Chi, yoga and meditation. The album's ambient soundscapes have been described as a counterpoint to his intense Metal Machine Music album—but they are similar outliers in Reed's 40+ year exploration of drone music and feedback harmonics. It's for a certain time and place of mind. The album has been remastered by the GRAMMY®-nominated engineer John Baldwin with vinyl pressed at Record Technology Inc. (RTI). The Double LP and CD releases are designed by GRAMMY®-winning artist, Masaki Koike and feature new liner notes by renowned Yoga instructor and author, Eddie Stern, who guided Reed’s practice for years. Also included in the physical editions is a fascinating conversation between author/journalist Jonathan Cott (Rolling Stone, The New Yorker) and Reed’s wife, artist Laurie Anderson, who discusses the album, as well as her husband’s devotion to Tai Chi – one of the album’s primary inspirations. Hudson River Wind Meditations marks the latest release in LITA’s Lou Reed Archival Series. Launched in 2022 in tandem with the late artist’s 80th birthday, the ongoing series has celebrated one of America’s most influential songwriters through such acclaimed collections as Words & Music, May 1965 featuring many of Reed’s earliest (and previously-unreleased) recordings, including the earliest-known versions of “I’m Waiting for the Man” and “Pale Blue Eyes.”

Adrian Sherwood teams up with Speakers Corner Quartet and African Head Charge for new four track EP Barbican Heights, a project which traverses the musical worlds of dub, jazz, electronic, afrobeat, and beyond. Barbican Heights is born out of a spirit of collaboration, bringing together one of the UKs most innovative and influential producers, Adrian Sherwood; one of the longest serving and most iconic members of the On-U Sound family, African Head Charge; together with Speakers Corner Quartet, a rising force whose influence is integral to the sound of the contemporary UK jazz scene. Recorded during a singular day of creative spontaneity at Wicker Studios, the three acts, alongside Alex White of Primal Scream and Fat White Family, combined for semi-improvised reworkings of classic African Head Charge composition “Wicked Kingdom Of This Earth”, Speakers Corner Quartet’s own “Topanga”, as well as two new tracks constructed from scratch during the session

The album is built on a singular concept: every sound is produced from a single cello. While effects pedals are used to extend and amplify the instrument, no other instruments or field recordings are involved. What remains is the act of performance itself—an ongoing exchange between body and instrument, where sound emerges as voice. Yet the resulting sonic landscape resists any sense of limitation. Layered textures of percussive gestures, micro-noise generated by a self-made bow, and sustained drones unfold into a complex, immersive environment.

The album is built on a singular concept: every sound is produced from a single cello. While effects pedals are used to extend and amplify the instrument, no other instruments or field recordings are involved. What remains is the act of performance itself—an ongoing exchange between body and instrument, where sound emerges as voice. Yet the resulting sonic landscape resists any sense of limitation. Layered textures of percussive gestures, micro-noise generated by a self-made bow, and sustained drones unfold into a complex, immersive environment.

After recent forays into darkly psychedelic drone music, the Mexican American producer returns to the dancefloor with an album that fuses techno and guaracha into a throbbing polyrhythmic juggernaut.

For years, Takuro Okada has carried a quiet question: how can a Japanese musician honor the music of African Americans without simply borrowing it? That search shapes his new album Konoma, a work guided by the idea of “Afro Mingei.” The Tokyo guitarist, producer, and bandleader has lived inside this tension since childhood, drawn to blues, jazz, and funk records that nourished him, yet hesitant in the face of the histories they hold. The concept of Afro Mingei, which Okada first encountered in an exhibition by artist Theaster Gates, gave him a way forward. Gates connected Black aesthetics with Japanese folk craft, both rooted in resistance — “Black is Beautiful” defying racism, the Mingei movement preserving everyday beauty against industrial erasure. That kinship became the compass for Konoma, a record attuned to echoes across cultures and time.

Konoma holds six originals and two covers, all shaped by this dialogue. The elegantly unhurried “Portrait of Yanagi” drifts like a standard half-remembered from another era, while the brief but potent “Galaxy” gestures toward Sun Ra’s late 1970s electric organ experiments, the fractured propulsion of Flying Lotus’s early beat tapes, and the shadowy atmospheres of trip-hop. Okada’s choice of covers sharpens the conversation: Jan Garbarek’s “Nefertite” shimmers with the cool austerity of 1970s ECM, reframing Europe’s own search for identity inside jazz, while Hiromasa Suzuki’s “Love” channels the electric vibrancy of 1970s Japanese fusion, when musicians fused psychedelia, funk, and folk into a distinctly local dialect. Together, they anchor Konoma in a lineage of artists who bent borrowed forms toward something new.

Okada’s life has been shaped by such crossings. He grew up in Fussa, where the Yokota U.S. Air Force base loomed large, learning guitar in rowdy clubs for American servicemen while teaching himself recording at home. That hybrid education led to collaborations with Haruomi Hosono, Nels Cline, Sam Gendel, James Blackshaw, and Carlos Niño, and to a body of work spanning film soundtracks, collaborative projects, and exploratory solo albums. Earlier this year, Temporal Drift released The Near End, The Dark Night, The County Line, which features selections from Okada’s expansive archive of recorded material, cementing his reputation as one of Japan’s most adventurous contemporary musicians. With Konoma, co-released by ISC Hi-Fi Selects and Temporal Drift, Okada delivers his most personal and expansive statement yet: a meditation on connection, influence, and the beauty that survives across cultures.

- Words by Randall Roberts

An album etched not only in the history of Japanese rock but also in the history of rock worldwide!A miraculous sound that never ages!Due to popular demand, re-released on clear vinyl!

●Why did the world's avant-garde musicians want to create "sound" with Conny Plank back then? The album "Phew" (released in 1981) was produced at the legendary Conny's Studio, which spawned masterpieces by Kraftwerk, Neu!, DAF, Eno, and others, with former Aunt Sally member Phew joining them.

●Holger Czukay and Jaki Liebezeit, former members of the German rock band Can, who had a great influence on techno and post-rock, participated.

●Conny Plank's outstanding engineering and Holger Czukay's ingenious editing created a groundbreaking sound world that still resonates uniquely and never fades even today.

The definitive release of Dubhei & New Chanel, the extraordinary musical work by Shinro Ohtake, known as an artist. Shinro Ohtake is currently known as an artist, but his career began in music. JUKE/19., which was among the first in Japan to respond to NO WAVE and incorporate it into their work, was far ahead of its time in 1980. Yet, their work quietly influenced many later artists. Yamataka EYE of Boredoms, in particular, openly acknowledged its immense influence, and in the 90s, he even started a duo with Otake himself, PUZZLE PUNKS (the unit continues to this day).

Dabuhei & New Chanel represents the ultimate expression of Otake's musical vision. This band, featuring guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, and turntables, was entirely remote-controlled, creating an extraordinary system where each stage performance itself became a work of art. Yamataka EYE was once featured in this system, performing with Destroy All Monsters, and his collaboration with Kazuhisa Uchihashi was also released as a CD work.

This release captures Dubhei & New Chanel's performance at the Toyama Prefectural Museum of Art's TAD space on the final day of the touring “Shinro Ohtake Exhibition,” which began at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo in 2022. It is presented across three analog discs and two CDs.

　For this performance, Toshiharu Toyama, a close ally who had worked with Ohtake and JUKE/19. since the early 80s, brought his own modified instruments and joined Dubhei & New Chanel mid-performance. Their playing plunged into a black hole-like sonic world that could never have emerged from Dubhei & New Chanel alone, creating an intense, condensed history of Ohtake's music starting from JUKE/19. , creating an intense experience that felt like a sudden condensation of the entire history of Ohtake's music, starting from JUKE/19.. Ohtake's live performance added to the ultimate industrial sound mass, creating a physical chaos.

Both the packaging and content differ between the analog and CD versions.

The analog packaging is unprecedented: a B-size silk-screen printed poster cut into three pieces, each housing one record, then all stored within a silk-screen printed clear case. When connected, they form a B-size silk poster. During cutting, the request was: “Blow out the bass at full volume—a lighter player might blow the needle off!”

Please note that the jacket image is a concept rendering and may differ slightly from the final visual.

Infant crafts eight immersive dub pieces built from echo-laden rhythms, shimmering ambient textures and spacious production. Drawing on Detroit techno and sound system culture, the album unfolds with patience and depth, favouring mood over momentum, with blissed soundscapes that ripple and refreact like liquid metal. Recommended for fans of the ambient side of echospace [detroit] axis.

Ampoule's Pub returns with a fresh remaster of the classic 'Summer' and a brand new track titled 'The Fragile Root'

'Summer' was originally released 20 years ago on the Vertical Form label - a result of a multitude of completely live and improvised studio sessions, that gently swell and evolve over the tracks 16 minutes.

'Fragile Root' is a brand new track, think vintage idm - intricate rhythms and melodies crossed with massive dub chords.

Mastered by Dubplates & Mastering

Multi-instrumentalist, producer & composer memotone (Will Yates) announces the release of his album Warm Shadows and a homecoming on Accidental Meetings. The record will arrive on May 15th and the album shows a glint of itself through the single ‘Round The Bend’ which features Jabu's guest. Warm Shadows sees Yates’ discography continuing to flourish and traverse into new territory once again, his ever-growing sound palette commands total attention throughout the LP, within the album sees delicate collaborations with Lithuanian artist Ugné Uma, Jabu’s guest and percussionist, Typesun. Memotone (Will Yates) is a learn-by-playing multi-instrumentalist and producer, working with minimal, ambient and contemporary classical music. Predominantly an improviser, recent years have seen memotone lean towards a more free-form approach, exploring jazz, drone and more meditative music, also showing a keen interest in sound design and textural experimentation. Will has released music with various labels over the years to critical acclaim, most notably; World of Echo, The Trilogy Tapes, Sähkö Recordings, Accidental Meetings, Patience/Impatience & Black Acre.

‘vernacular’ is the debut studio album by improvisation-based artist, and founder of life is beautiful, aloisius. built entirely from layers of improvised instrumentation recorded via laptop microphone, using various instruments such as: guitar, piano, cello, trumpet, saxophone, drums & voice. vernacular is inspired by the spirit of collective improvisation, and embodies aloisius' instinctual & organic approach to musical composition. crafted solely by aloisius (except for track 6, which features a layer of piano by life is beautiful member, friend & collaborator Bianca Scout). "Crisp, chaotic and unashamedly euphoric, it's fully human, packed with irresistible flaws and delusions that can't help but keep us completely gripped." (Boomkat) physical editions will feature a secret unlisted bonus track. to celebrate the release of the album, a semi-improvised interpretation of the project will be performed live by ‘orchestra379’ (a collective improvisation project curated by aloisius, consisting of a fluctuating lineup that differs on each occasion of performance). this iteration of orchestra379 shall feature: Isaiah Hull (vocals), abi asisa (cello), Jasper Maurice (guitar), Bianca Scout (organ), Damsel Elysium (violin), BJ Holy (trumpet & flugelhorn) & aloisius (drums & saxophone). preluding the orchestra379 performance will be a special, intimate performance by May Kershaw (of the band Black Country, New Road), performing using voice & church organ.

Copenhagen’s meme-able, custom line of genre-blurring songwriters yields Lithuanian talent, Gintè Preisait, fresh from the conservatoire and an LP with Toshimaru Nakamura, on an enchanted, waking dream blend of lower case concrète, trip hop and avant-classical experimentation calling to mind the refined crafts of ML Buch, Ugné Uma, Svitlana Nianio, Smerz, Lucrecia Dalt, Julia Holter or Martyna Basta, thru the reaches of Finland’s Fonal Records. It was bound to happen at some point, right? We've written more than enough about how Copenhagen's Rhythmic Music Conservatory has become the central node in a scene that's prioritized the permeable membrane between pop, classical training and unhinged technological experimentation - honestly where else are you gonna find Clarissa Connelly, Astrid Sonne, Erika de Casier, ML Buch and Fine? Gintė Preisaitė pushes even further into uncharted waters on her debut album, letting the pop forms evaporate like vapors around her intricately woven experimental collages. We're already off to a good start with 'Vigilance', a lengthy introduction that pays its respects to Preisaitė's past, present and future. The classically trained improviser, producer and composer begins with an ensemble of moaning acoustic instruments that she gradually chips into, tearing through the acoustic sounds with electronic treatments and introducing subtle, grounding field recordings before adding her voice and completely shifting the direction. The unwieldy blend of elements prepares us for an arguably bolder experiment, 'Summary Saint Mary', where Preisaitė matches her gamelan-like prepared piano phrases with Björk-ish vocal loops, OPN-inspired electronic touches and wheezing processed acoustic sounds. And it's remarkably well controlled; even in capable hands, it's a tough palette to work with and Preisaitė makes it look almost easy, never stepping too far in any direction or another. Because it's not really a pop record at all, it's an album that's aware of pop, doesn't avoid its charms, but manages to corral its characteristics into the avant garde's misshapen spirit. Even the relatively upbeat, straightforward 'Aéroport', a track that would have sounded stylistically comfortable on Smerz's RMC love-in 'Big city life EDITS', she never goes full James K, letting the melodies curve towards freeform abstraction in the final act before hitting us with three tracks of choppy, half-dissolved prepared piano. It's ambitious stuff, and all the better for it.

Originally released in 1999 on the German sound‑minimalism stronghold ~scape, Kit Clayton’s debut album Nek Sanalet stands as a landmark work of minimal dub and clicks & cuts.

Following Music From Memory’s landmark compilation Virtual Dreams—which reframed ambient techno and IDM through a new age lens—comes another groundbreaking survey. Telepathic Fish: Trawling The Early 90s Ambient Underground revisits the legendary early ’90s London ambient party Telepathic Fish. Conceived by Mario Aguera, David Vallade, and Kevin Foakes (DJ Food), the series intersected with experimental spaces like Ambient Soho and Megatripolis, and this release captures that moment in vivid detail. Featuring unreleased and rare material from the likes of Global Communication, Spacetime Continuum, and Nightmares On Wax, the set reflects the multifaceted character of the ambient underground in its formative years. Complete with a 20-page booklet of photographs and archival materials, this is an essential document that reconnects sound with its era and hands the spirit of ’90s ambient and chillout into the present.

Following two lauded EPs on cult label South of North, Amsterdam-based Devon Rexi prepare to release their much-anticipated debut album, recorded by and in collaboration with elusive 5 Gate Temple devotee, musician and producer John T. Gast, whose acclaimed catalogue continues to flourish. Devon Rexi is a trio made up of Nicola Reverda (Nicolini), Nushin Naini and Goya van der Heyden (La Rat). They’ve quickly carved out their own sonic world, traversing krautfunk, post-punk and psyched-up no wave, all laced with a dub-heavy experimental mentality. Breathstep captures the band’s bass-heavy incantations, ripe with melodic chaos and rhythmic improvisation, while devilish cackles and processed vocals flirt over a jukebox of dubbed snippets and sliced textures. The introduction of John T. Gast as producer and collaborator pulls the Devon Rexi sound deeper into bubbling dub territory, while his own palette is stretched and pushed into new terrain. Though Gast has firmly cemented his singular sound over the last decade, this interconnected process marks new ground for all involved. The result is a supreme convergence of esteemed musicians and a wickedly fine debut collaborative record. Breathstep finds its home on Bristol imprint Accidental Meetings, whose ever-evolving sound and wide-ranging discography continue to grow. The album was recorded over the last year across Amsterdam, Lisbon and London.

Yaka slips into the APPX: catalogue with a hi-def 8 part narrative. Coated in silky sonic camouflage the Philadelphian sound designer, producer, and apparent amphibophile, conjures an aquatic instrument-rack straight out the estuary, and re-engineers it into a kind of amphibient-bass eco-system: part poolside bio-luminescence, part Severn-side subsidence. Welling with emotion ‘Dream Big’ is a joyride with your favourite frog-sage homies. It's devotional, yes, but with a wink. Orchestrated by a bayou-mystic who’s just as likely to kiss the ring-modulator as they is to throw a shaka from their boogie board as they carve a line down stream. The opening track “chrysalis of peace” builds like a choral summoning, beckoning you outward. “blubstep” shakes itself off and stretches into scattered breaks, sprinkles of underworld energy flickering beneath the surface. On “la pari,” the daemons find their stride in a huge leap into bass, punctuated by vocal satire, kitschy melodic fun, and an Amazonian sweat capable of humidifying any dancefloor. “miss that beach” slows the A-side into a thoughtful drift on a lilo, the distant sounds of cousins playing while wind lifts leaves overhead. Flipping the disc, “buggged” arrives as a beat you can imagine bounding out of a Timbaland studio, tiptoeing in and out of 4/4 club jack. “back at the pad” breaks stride with a halftime depth that keeps you poised, like the surface tension of a water droplet in zero gravity. “weavin’ web” threads ascending melodic patterns over raised nodules of rhythm. Closing the album, “secret dream” dissolves into a private horizon — something half-remembered, half-invented — left for the listener to discover on their own.

Friend, james K’s critically-acclaimed third album, opens as a portal and continues to garner a life of its own, a constant earworm that continually resonates as the map of its emotional cartography shifts into new ground. The map continues to unfold with Friend Remixes. Speaking on the remixes, K says: “Friends remix Friend. It is such a sweet honour to have my friends and collaborators, whose work has inspired mine, interpret and translate this work into new narratives.”

Straight from the weedy fields of swampville Bruxelles we bring you 8 ‘tranches de vie’ of deep zone-hall by weirdtronic bass veteran Michael Crabbé’s best fitting sound costume to date: the mighty Rudi J! You might know him from earlier outfits but that’s not the main issue here. Rudi J is!When this swamp thing touches the pads, it’s off-road after three seconds, even if you’re in the middle of Europe’s capital. Mixing analog dirt and digital sound bits in a very loose and personal take on dancehall, we’re pretty far away from the dance floor but definitely swinging. It’s a trippy affair wandering around concrete flowers with a deep ambient flavor, but it’s edgy.A hot summer fever dream following his own lusty path, full of life and wonder but with something sinister hiding around every corner. Often reaching for the stars, a deeper shade of bass keeps things nicely grounded. These sounds are built with a sound system in mind and bass culture at heart. Even if you can definitely surf on it from your couch, picking out all of its ear-pricking details, it will very much come alive on a big sound.A layered affair with almost jazzy and orchestral elements peeping through the stereo-field, spectral and dissonant but also playful. Like early dubstep, some of these tunes can destroy a clubsound, keeping you skunking out in pedestrian mode and snorting up the atmospherics, finally forgetting about that damn phone.

Go Kurosawa is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and co-founder of the independent label Guruguru Brain. Best known as the drummer and vocalist of Kikagaku Moyo, he has spent the past decade building bridges between East and West, sound and silence, rock and ritual. soft shakes is something different. A personal chapter in Go’s journey, it marks his first solo album, created entirely by himself and made, for the first time, purely for himself. After Kikagaku Moyo disbanded, Go spent some time producing records for other artists, but with soft shakes, there was no plan. Just the instinct to pick up an instrument, play, and see what might unfold. As he puts it, “The whole framework is new. When I made music for the band, I always knew who would play what. This time, it was just me. No plan, no expectation. And weirdly, that became the concept: doing it all myself, for the first time.” Go has a rare kind of musical instinct. He can play anything, hears everything, and yet never takes himself too seriously. For a long time, making music alone wasn’t part of the plan. Music had always been about connection. But over time, as he travelled, collected instruments and set up Guruguru Brain studio in Rotterdam, the sound of a solo voice emerged. soft shakes came together between January and June in Rotterdam, through dark, rainy, quiet days. Each day, Go would head to the studio, pick up whatever instrument was around and simply play. The process was slow and instinctive. “If something still moved me the next day, I’d add to it. If not, I’d start something new. One step at a time, without pressure.” Even as a solo record, the music doesn’t feel tight or controlled. It has the looseness of jamming, the joy of following where the sound wants to go. “I wanted that feeling, even if I was jamming with myself.” What comes through is music that feels playful, layered, rhythmic and delightfully unexpected. Just like Go. The album artwork was created by his partner Ao, her first time doing artwork for a record. “It captures the freedom and boldness of trying something new and I love it,” he says. soft shakes arrives at a moment of transition. Go recently relocated to Fukuoka, Japan, after years of living and working in Europe. “While making this album, we were deciding where to move. I knew it would be my last creation while living in Europe. When I listen back, I can hear that longing for something, towards a far away home.” The record feels like the closing of one chapter and the beginning of another. “Now I’m excited to build a studio in Japan and start again. I don’t know what will come next, but I want it to be shaped and influenced by new surroundings.” And while this record might be personal, Go hopes it offers something to others too. “I wish people would travel somewhere else through music. You float around, lose track of time, and when the record ends, you feel the soft comfort of coming home again.”

Somewhere between revelation and delusion, Euphoria Bound maps a familiar trajectory: the irresistible pull towards dissolution, the gradual erasure of memory, the self rendered irretrievable. It moves between states of consciousness where such distinctions of enlightenment or self-deception are erased.

Across ten tracks, the album constructs a spectrum of sound that is both ambitious and uncompromising.

The approach here is more direct than recent releases, with textures that accumulate and disintegrate with renewed urgency.

Feedback Waves — the new imprint from independent label Rings of Neptune — is proud to present Trill, the first and only album by Palomatic. Almost thirty years after its original release on CD in 1995, this beautiful nine-track work is now available on vinyl for the first time. Palomatic is an alias of Koji Takahashi, an active member of the bubbling Japanese electronic music scene of the early-to-mid 90s. Besides his solo work, he was a core member of Takahashi Tektronix (with Nic Yoshizawa) and Mutron (with Kiyoshi Hazemoto, aka Interferon), as well as working as a synth programmer for supergroup Denki Groove. Following the release of his debut track ‘Halo’ on Syzygy Records in 1993, Takahashi made a series of contributions to compilations on the scene-defining Transonic label. His first and only full-length album, Trill, combined these tracks with original material to form an absorbing and versatile standalone statement of the Palomatic sound. From the oscillating lilt of ‘Flutter’, which opens proceedings at a measured 104bpm, through to the symphonic epilogue of ‘Soar’, Trill is rooted in the fertile territory between organic and synthetic sounds — ground that was nourishing the work of many likeminded producers worldwide at the time. West Coast psychedelia and East Coast funk, the moody bass weight of Bristol trip-hop and Sheffield bleep, and the chemical rush of German techno and Belgian trance: with a distinctly Japanese sensibility, Trill drew these strands together into an elegant musical tapestry. The result is timeless — indeed, album centrepiece ‘Foaming Waves’ would sound right at home on the faster-paced dancefloors of today.