MUSIC

Following the reissues of Pub's beloved early classics "Summer" and "Do You Regret Pantomime?" comes a generous EP of new material. Thankfully the euphoric ambient trance / dub pulse hasn't weakened at all: it's like he never went away. Just in time for fall, Ampoule takes a break from the reissue program to put out the first new material we've heard from Pub in what seems like forever. 'Autumn' plays like a direct continuation of the throbbing hypnotics we last heard on 2001's enduring "Do You Regret Pantomime?" - far more so than Pub's later releases like 2006's gloomy "Sekatuo Ton" and 2012's drifting "Creid", for example. Pub's production, though, has been dragged into a new era, and sounds brighter than ever: the title track brittle and fictile - it's the same old Pub, but with a fresh lick of paint and a nice pink bow. Other than the sound quality, the general musical mode is pretty much unchanged; Pub's distinct blend of arpeggiated analog trance, Chain Reaction dub sonix and THC-laced horizontalism still gives us that floating feeling we had when we heard 'Vilees Wideoo' or 'Summer'. 'Fall in Leaves' absorbs an 'Analogue Bubblebeath' level of oddness, with detuned synths and skittering, spring reverb-drenched beats, a mode that's extended on the record's most generous track - the 12-minute 'Bubble Folder'. It's the most upfront Pub's ever been, wiped clean of any production muck almost glittering in the sunlight, shifting from frangible electro to pulsing, inverted ambience and into key-stepped beat music before sparkling into silence. 'Essence' is the clear high point though, with drums stripped completely to allow Pub's familiar cascading arpeggios to take pride of place. Captivating electronic music that reminds us of simpler times.

Shirk is the new AOR flavored free improvisation solo album by Sam Shalabi featuring Eric Chenaux and Nadah El-Shazly where Synth Pop and Sound Poetry fester. Sam Shalabi is an Egyptian-Canadian composer, improviser and guitarist living between Montreal and Cairo. Starting out during the late 70s punk era, his work has evolved into an experimental synthesis of modern Arabic Music that incorporates free improvisation, traditional Arabic music, noise, classical, text, and jazz. Other than his numerous solo albums, he is a founding member of Shalabi Effect, a free improvisation quartet that bridges western psychedelic music and Arabic Maqam. He has also released four albums with Land Of Kush, the experimental 30-member orchestra which he directs. He has appeared on over 30 albums and toured Europe, North America and North Africa.

Modern Love debut from Delia Beatriz aka Debit; a study of Mayan wind instruments from the late post classical period, rebuilt as synth instruments and deployed with ultimate heft and wooooze. Delia Beatriz’s musical output straddles two distinct artistic poles; her debut solo album, 2017’s acclaimed “Animus”, oozed from sensual, beatless soundscapes to high-octane club music, while her 2019-released 'System' harnessed tribal guarachero elements while simultaneously scraping ideas from industrial techno. On 'The Long Count', the Mexican-American producer has inked her most rigorous statement to date, sublimating opaque ancestral knowledge into vaporous AI-stirred fog banks, activating an ancient rite that reaches into tomorrow. It’s audacious electro-acoustic archaeology that sounds disorientating, anachronistic and arcane. 'The Long Count' is rooted in research Beatriz made into Mayan wind instruments - whistles, ocarinas, flutes and trumpets - using the archive of the Mayan Studies Institute at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, the oldest and largest collection of its kind. Developing a set of digital instruments that could be played using different types of temperaments and scales, Delia processed these sounds using machine learning techniques to shuttle the distant past into our extant artistic universe, peering into Mexico’s pre-colonial history and weaving those ideas into complex tonalities gleaned from musique concrète and contemporary electro-acoustic music. Beatriz describes the Mayan instrumentation as ancestral technology, part of a world that’s not so much been forgotten, but purposefully erased. And although it’s impossible to know exactly how Mayan music may have sounded, it’s feasible to converse with history using modern technology to conduct a ceremony of remembrance. Featuring soundscapes that are haunted by indistinct, shared memories and centuries of pent-up emotion, the material here is as intentional, direct and meticulously crafted as the work of Deathprod or Thomas Köner; Debit's microtonal compositions are psychedelic to their core, shapeshifting through dimensions and painting complex mental images while retaining a stylistic focus and lucidity that’s all too rare. Although 'The Long Count' was nurtured by machines, human experience is coded into its DNA - an ancient-future heirloom that whispers through countless generations. File under: magick concrète.

Alexis Le Tan and Joakim return to Good Morning tapes as Full Circle. On 'From Back There Again' they glance backwards in order to progress forwards. They're on a mission to sloooow your circulation, as they take elements from ambient, trance and Italo disco and reduce the tempos to a gentle chug, resulting in a more spacious, laid-back psychedelic groove that wouldn't have been out of place in the back room of yer fave '90s rave, with a wee bit of contemporary flavour.

Jonas Wiese’s TIBSLC (standing for The International Billionaire’s Secret Love Child) presents its second album on the sferic label. ‘Hypertranslucent’ derives from the same recording sessions as 2021’s sprawling ‘Decisive Tongue Shifts - Situation Based Compositions’ double LP, with late Nineties ambient music being used as a particular source of inspiration to create evocations of massive cityscapes at night. and , after the post-industrial / deconstructed club. A work that integrates the Ethereal sound design of Mastering is also great with Stephan Mathieu! Limited to 500 copies.

You will be swallowed by the beauty, depth, and sharpness of the "over there" side. Kali Malone, a female minimalist living in Stockholm, Sweden, who is familiar with our big and big bestseller "The Sacrificial Code" and produces extremely excellent drone / experimental works from the depths of the current underground such as and The extremely rare debut work left in 2017 is jointly reissued by and ! The original was privately pressed as a numbered record with only a limited number of 100 copies, and it is a very popular work that has also added over $300 in the marketplace, and it is a miracle reprint! Works composed, recorded and produced in Stockholm from 2015 to 2016. R1 Reaktorhallen (Sweden's first nuclear reactor), electroacoustic studio EMS, and a unique hardcore minimalist made with strings, gongs, lutes, electronics, tape, etc. at various locations such as the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. / Noise Drone Masterpiece! Limited to 1000 copies.

Michel Banabila is an indispensable part of the Dutch experimental music scene, where he has acquired a special place with many, in the 40 years that he has been releasing music. Michel is also just as active as a composer for the theater and ballet world, as well as for TV productions, to considerable fame. The threat of drowning in the sea of his oeuvre is real in view of the unprecedented amount of output, but once sailing unmissable monolithic rock formations loom up rapidly. Echo Transformations' is one of them. It's a magical album, where everything falls into place in a rich domain inspired by the Fourth World dimension. A world of sound arises from our imagination, stimulating the senses. A concept album where every sigh has its place and where no superfluous tone can be heard. What remains is to embrace the inevitable surrender that accompanies unstoppable change. This is Banabila at his best.

The latest act to emerge from MFM's new album series is another super-powerful one. Heisei No Oto" is a masterpiece that presents even Japan's unique book-off style digs to the world, and "Virtual Dreams" is a must-have 90's techno and house compilation that looks through the prism of the new age revival. The Zenmenn, a mysterious new band from the newly established Music From Memory label, has released their debut album. Their fresh and organic indie music is a combination of oriental lefty pop, new age/ambient, Sufjan Stevens, and even Shintaro Sakamoto. The band's name may also come from the word "Zen"? Their timeless sound and vibes make for a great listening experience no matter where you are!

When not overseeing A&R and label operations for Isle Of Jura, label boss Kevin Griffiths makes time for music creation in his garden studio in Moana, a sleepy suburb of Adelaide in South Australia. It’s an idyllic location surrounded by palm trees and tropical birdlife and an inspiring spot to fire up the machines, typically with the studio door wide open to soak up the soundtrack provided by mother nature. The resulting tracks, recorded in the midst of the pandemic with no gig distractions, were all heavily influenced by this backdrop of tropical birdsong and wind blowing through the palms, field recordings of which made it into most of the tracks. The album traverses Deep House, Nu-disco, Balearica and Ambient along with some Leftfield samples and a heavy dose Dub throughout. The LP is Pressed on heavyweight 180 Gram Vinyl with sleeve design by IOJ resident designer Bradley Pinkerton.

1983’s Waves of Peace is an album of gentle reflection. The sound of ocean waves permeates every track. Sitar, tambura, synthesizer, and bamboo flute are among the instruments that Aziz & Friends use to conjure their blissful oceanic meditation. “Waves of Peace was born in the beautiful oceanside town of Santa Cruz, California.” Aziz recalls. “Living there in 1982 was the first timeI had ever lived so close to the ocean. I would walk down to the beach on a daily basis. Nature has always been a major source of inspiration in my quest to create beautiful original music. Equally important to me has been recognizing the healing potential of harmonious sound.” “Waves of Peace was my first album to combine instru- mental music with the sounds of nature. Graced by the presence of some truly exceptional local musicians, most of the music was performed and recorded live in the studio.” Aziz explains. “Waves of Peace was created to facilitate relaxation, meditation, healing, and awakening for the body, mind, heart and soul. Let the rhythmic waves of the ocean nourish and inspire you to find your peace within.”

Originally released in 1978, Music By William Eaton is a private-press album from the accomplished experimental stringed instrument builder. The atmospheric recording techniques, mixed with a hint of Fahey/Takoma-lineage make for a listening experience akin to the mountainscape drawing represented on the album cover. The experience may seem simple at first, but like any great trip in nature, new details consistently reveal themselves upon each listen.

“When I started building instruments, playing guitar took on a whole new dimension. From the conception to the birth of each instrument, new layers of meaning unfolded. Cycles, connections and interdependencies became apparent as I contemplated the growth of trees from seed to old age, and the transformation from raw wood to the building of a musical instrument. I sought out quiet natural environments to play and listen to the “voice” of my 6 string, 12 string, 26 string (Elesion Harmonium) and double neck quadraphonic electric guitar. Deep canyons contained a beautiful resonant quality and echo. A starlit night with a full moon provided all the reflection and endless space by which to project music into the cosmos. The sound of a bubbling stream and singing birds added a natural symphonic tapestry to a melody or chord pattern. As I perceived it, everything was participating in a serendipitous dance. Everything was part of the music.

During this time, I decided to record an instrumental album of music. The idea was simple; it would be a series of tone poems with no titles or any information attached, only the words ‘Music by William Eaton.’ While some of the songs evolved out of composed chord progressions, most of the songs were played spontaneously, only on the occasion of the recording. These improvised songs haven’t been played since.” -- William Eaton

"For the very first time, ITDR spaceship travels back in time to unearth 4 tracks from 'Genuine' (aka Chris Zippel) finest productions originally released on Ninetysix sounds in 1997. Celebrating the 25th anniversary of this project, 'Nu Ambient Grooves' is the ultimate mindtrip experience for downtempo, IDM and TB-303 lovers."

Bruno De Angelis and Giovanna Gulinello unwittingly met in London in the late 70’s, after being introduced by a mutual friend. Both Bruno and Giovanna arrived with varying ambitions. Giovanna wanted to learn English or be a painter, while Bruno found work at the Royal Post Office, which he found testing. It wasn’t until Bruno rescued Giovanna from an awkward date that the pair became a couple. At the time, music was just something they did for fun. Bruno already had an acoustic guitar and G bought a bass. Those were the days when you could start a new band, whether you could play or not, and new independent labels were springing up. Rough Trade Records was literally around the corner. In 1981 the pair moved back to Italy and found an apartment in Rome. It’s here that they began to focus on their music and where they started ‘recording’ their tracks. First, they would record the rhythm, maybe add the Gigster (the name of their “cheap drum machine”), the bass, and then, as they made a copy of the first cassette onto a second cassette they would add guitar, more synth, or both at the same time. After that, it was not unusual to copy from the second cassette back into the first cassette adding even more “stuff”. As with many artists during the early 80’s, the Influenza Prods’ sound was the direct result of the accessibility of emerging electronic instruments and the recording equipment available to them. The duo was resourceful and inventive, acquiring new equipment as resources allowed. They recorded dialogue from British Soap Operas on their TV set, which were later added to their tracks, while further making use of their family’s cutlery sets, which were used to fill in certain percussion sections The duo’s homespun recordings found a web of admirers in the unofficial distribution of tape trading and mail-art scenes. Despite the DIY ethos and the fact that most tapes were handmade, the Influenza Prods managed to ‘release’ three tapes which comprised of the Greatest Tits (1983), Cheek-A-Bomba (1984) and Quasi Solo (1985). Bruno and Giovanna were sadly subjected to serious family problems, including the loss of loved ones in their lives and eventually parted ways, concluding the Influenza Prods. However, to this day they remain close friends who keep in touch regularly.

Kita --------! It's like presenting a new style and outlook on music through a "book-off" music dig that is unique to Japan. also got a score of "8.4" and BEST NEW MUSIC, but 10 points are necessary for historical significance ... The last sanctuary released on CD in Japan in the 90's Heisei. It's no exaggeration to say that the overwhelming piece "Heisei No Oto", which is a compilation of unknown left-field pop music, has ignited various revival since the 10's and is a prestigious name in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Appeared from the label ! Including Jun Sato and Love, Peace & Trance, which were also published in "New Age Music Disc Guide", Haruomi Hosono produced Yosui Inoue's Japanese realic "Pi Po Pa", and Toshifumi Hinata produced Xácara, Sakurai. Keisuke's statement Deep House "Harai", Yoshihiko Yokokawa (P-Model, 4-D, etc.) and Kazuko Hashimoto's new-age, ambient, and experimental sounds, as well as An ambitious compilation album that includes the abstract texture peculiar to 90's J-POP, which has not been revival yet like POiSON GiRL FRiEND and Tomoko Kino, which were mentioned before. It seems to be the freshest lineup among the editing boards released from the neighborhood that has promoted the obscure analog recurrence boom since the 10s. The music was selected by Norio Sato of and Eiji Taniguchi of , both the managers of a well-known niche store in Osaka. Supporting is a heart-warming gem called ! And the perfect liner notes by Chee Shimizu. It's a monument! MUST !!!!!!!!!!!

You’ll Never Get To Heaven (Alice Hansen and Chuck Blazevic aka Slow Attack Ensemble) returns with their fourth release Wave Your Moonlight Hat for the Snowfall Train, a collection of ethereal songs that move through the mercurial weather patterns of minimalism and dream pop. The duo named this album after the closing track on Phil Yost’s 1967 release Bent City, inspired by its prescient use of delay processing in elevating spare beatless arrangements into haunting arrays of sonic afterimages — an approach Hansen and Blazevic explore on this outing in their own way, with a few favoured instruments and a Chorus Echo and Revox in hand. The result is a collection of sparse, lightly dub-infused songs and instrumentals, equally icy and wistful, characterized by melodic fretless basslines, spaced-out harmonics, watery piano and marimba, hushed vocals, and tape echo treatments. Stylistically, it’s almost as if the duo was imagining what an early This Mortal Coil demo might have sounded like had Ivo enlisted in lieu of the usual cast, with a pared back L’Empire Des Sons as the session band, and June Hardin or a young Julee Cruise on lead vocals. The album evokes an overcast autumnal evening of cloud-watching, an inner journey witness to an expansive spectrum of moods, from nimbus clouds to shimmering sun showers. RIYL: Broadcast, Weekend’s ‘81 Demos, Chantal Weber, Orquesta de las Nubes, Hydroplane, The Moon and the Melodies, Eberhard Weber.

EM Records celebrates Roland P. Young’s 80th adventurous year on the planet with “Spontaneous Bounce”, the sixth RPY solo release on the label. After a musical youth in Kansas City followed by audio activities in San Francisco and New York and elsewhere, he began releasing self-produced solo music in 1980 with “Isophonic Boogie Woogie”, the title of which hints at the forward-thinking yet earthy nature of his sound, a soulful and spiritual multi-world avant-music, drawing on elements of ambient, jazz, soul, new age and electronic music. His ‘Isophonic Music’ concept crystallizes these elements through a comprovisational use of soprano sax, keyboards, drum machines and the possibilities of the recording studio. This release features 13 new pieces, a diverse array of appealing and joyful celebrations of music and life. Available on CD, LP and (DL/download). Come and join the celebration!

EM Records celebrates Roland P. Young’s 80th adventurous year on the planet with “Spontaneous Bounce”, the sixth RPY solo release on the label. After a musical youth in Kansas City followed by audio activities in San Francisco and New York and elsewhere, he began releasing self-produced solo music in 1980 with “Isophonic Boogie Woogie”, the title of which hints at the forward-thinking yet earthy nature of his sound, a soulful and spiritual multi-world avant-music, drawing on elements of ambient, jazz, soul, new age and electronic music. His ‘Isophonic Music’ concept crystallizes these elements through a comprovisational use of soprano sax, keyboards, drum machines and the possibilities of the recording studio. This release features 13 new pieces, a diverse array of appealing and joyful celebrations of music and life. Available on CD, LP and (DL/download). Come and join the celebration!

First Babe Roots album perfectly executed. This is the perfect balance between dub structures and reggae rhythms. Album composed and produced by Babe Roots in Berlin (DE) and Turin (IT) between 2013 and 2016. Mastered by Mathieu Berthet at Berthet Mastering Paris. Artwork by Miranda. 12" 180gr black vinyl.

Les Filles de Illighadad present their first ever studio album “Eghass Malan.” The female led avant rock group hailing from the village of the same name bring their new genre of Tuareg guitar mixed with traditional rural folk. Versed in tradition, Fatou Seidi Ghali and her band have created contemporary studio versions that are unlike anything ever before recorded, transporting rural nomadic song into the 21st century. Les Filles are all from Illighadad, a secluded commune in central Niger, far off in the scrubland deserts at the edge of the Sahara. The village is only accessible via a grueling drive through the open desert and there is little infrastructure, no electricity or running water. But what the nomadic zone lacks in material wealth it makes up for deep and strong identity and tradition. The surrounding countryside support hundreds of pastoral families, living with and among their herds, as their families have done for centuries. The sound that defines rural Niger is a music known as “tende.” It takes its name from a drum, built from a goat skin stretched across a mortar and pestle. Like the environs, tende music is a testament to wealth in simplicity, with sparse compositions built from a few elements, vocals, handclaps, and percussion. Songs speak of the village, of love, and of praise for ancestors. It is a music form dominated by women. Collective and communal, tende is tradition for all the young girls of the nomad camps, played during celebrations and to pass the time during the late nights of the rainy season. In the past years, certain genres of Tuareg music have become popular in the West. International acts of “desert blues” like Tinariwen, Bombino, and Mdou Moctar have become synonymous with the name “Tuareg.” But guitar music is a recent creation. In the 1970s young Tuareg men living in exile in Libya and Algeria discovered the guitar. Lacking any female vocalists to perform tende, they began to play the guitar to mimic this sound, replacing water drums with plastic jerrycans and substituting a guitar drone for the vocal call and response. The exiled eventually traveled home and brought the guitar music with them. In time, this new guitar sound came to eclipse the tende, especially in the urban centers. If tende is a music that has always been sung by woman, the Tuareg guitar was its gendered counterpart, and Tuareg guitar music is a male dominated scene. Fatou Seidi Ghali, lead vocalist and performer of Les Filles is one of the only Tuareg female guitarists in Niger. Sneaking away with her older brother's guitar, she taught herself to play.While Fatou's role as the first female Tuareg guitarist is groundbreaking, it is just as interesting for her musical direction. In a place where gender norms have created two divergent musics, Fatou and Les Filles are reasserting the role of tende in Tuareg guitar. In lieu of the djembe or the drum kit, so popular in contemporary Tuareg rock bands, Les Filles de Illighadad incorporate the traditional drum and the pounding calabash, half buried in water. The forgotten inspiration of Tuareg guitar, they are reclaiming its importance in the genre and reclaiming the music of tende. Recorded on their debut tour in Europe after just a handful of concerts, “Eghass Malan” maintains a feeling that is spontaneous and inspired. With a minimal effects in an artist led production, Les Filles stay true to their form and origin. Hypnotic guitar riffs, driving rhythm, and polyphonic resonant vocals combine to create an organic sound that is timeless and ancient, bridging ancient tradition and modern worlds. With songs of love, celebrating the village, and praise for the desert and its people, Les Filles create a repertoire of ancient songs, village tende favorites, and new classics. Les Filles de Illighadad breath new life into the genre, and "Eghass Malan” promises to shake up Tuareg guitar both at home and abroad.

Sam Gendel and Antonia Cytrynowicz didn’t set out to make a record – it just happened. LIVE A LITTLE, a collection of songs resulting from one late summer afternoon in Gendel’s Los Angeles home, is less an album and more a moment. The ten tracks here were recorded mostly in one sitting, fully improvised, in the order in which they appear. It was the first and last time the songs have been played – a snapshot of an idea, an artifact of inspiration, at once both a beginning and an end. At the time of recording, Cytrynowicz was only eleven years old. The younger sister of Gendel’s significant other and creative partner Marcella, Cytrynowicz is an artist in her own way. She has no formal musical training, but is the product of a creative family and is someone who makes art the way many kids do – in the purest way, simply because they are moved to. On LIVE A LITTLE, she spontaneously crafted all the melodies and lyrics on the spot as Gendel played alongside her. Cytrynowicz’s musicality is sophisticated, strange, and other-worldly, and the resulting record is experimental jazz colliding with some sort of fantasy universe. Because of that, LIVE A LITTLE is a stand-out amidst Gendel’s extensive and varied catalog. Over the years, the multi-instrumentalist has been known for his prolific musical output as both a sought-after collaborator and as a solo artist. During 2021 alone he collaborated with Vampire Weekend, Maggie Rogers, Moses Sumney, Laurie Anderson, and Mach Hommy, as well as released Notes With Attachments with Blake Mills & legendary bassist Pino Palladino. In the same year he also released the 52-track Fresh Bread, as well as the follow-up to the acclaimed Music for Saxophone & Bass Guitar with Sam Wilkes. Then Mouthfeel / Serene, AE-30, Valley Fever Original Score, and singles “Isfahan” and “Neon Blue.” LIVE A LITTLE, though, exists on its own island. For one, the majority of Gendel’s work under his own name skews instrumental, but here the playfulness of his saxophone and nylon-string guitar work alongside the twinkle of Cytrynowicz’s voice. It’s the sound of unapologetic imagination running amok – and really, more than anything, the sound of having fun. Cytrynowicz is the ideal collaborator for Gendel, who throughout his career has remained largely unconcerned with the pageantry and presentation of the music business, instead focused solely on the music-making itself. Here, he found the purest sort of writing partner – he admires Cytrynowicz’ “supreme openness,” explaining: “Whatever is happening, she’s there with you. We really meet right where we are. She’s all ears, I’m all ears. I don’t even know how to explain what it is. It just works out somehow.” Gendel remembers first being impressed by her musicality one day while they were gathered in the backyard at her family’s home; she improvised a strange and fully-formed little composition. The melody struck Gendel - he pulled out his iPhone and had her sing into it, then later orchestrated an ornate, fully fleshed out world around the voice memo. It came easily and simply. The subsequent LIVE A LITTLE session unfolded naturally, too – no discussion, no plan, no ambition – just “let it rip.” They started when it felt right and ended when it felt finished, once the flow of ideas dissipated. Then they put it away without discussion and moved on to the next activity. For a week afterward, Gendel tinkered with the live recording, adding a part or three on top of the initial session, sculpting it into its final product; a moment of raw creativity condensed into a polished little stone. Then he brought it back to Cytrynowicz, who hadn’t heard it since that summer afternoon, and was floored by hearing what they had created. LIVE A LITTLE is a series of “what ifs” cascading into one another, off-kilter and experimental, a kaleidoscope of spontaneity and imagination. It’s a sweet distillation of the musical present, of daring to follow through on an impulse – what happens when a project is helmed by someone who doesn’t have time for second thoughts or self-doubt. “That’s why she and I can make music I think, because I don’t think I ever deviated from that approach - or at least, I hope I didn’t,” Gendel says. “I really think that’s the best way that works for me musically – that ‘no mind’ sort of thing.” And here they both decisively follow that intuition, chronicling the way an idea blossoms and moves through you. The moment is the thing, and LIVE A LITTLE just happens to capture it.

A lingering guitar note. A cushion of a bassline nudging along a hushed cadence unspooling impressionistic poeticism one halting line at a time; the sparse snap of a snare providing punctuation. This is how Boston’s Karate opened their third full-length, 1998’s The Bed Is In The Ocean. Perhaps this was a reaction to the aggressive punk tones that marked their previous album, or maybe they hoped to capture the somnambulant dusk on one of those pristine fall days that make living in a town whose population swells when colleges welcome back students all worthwhile. Then again, Karate never made a point of chasing the same idea twice, and “There Are Ghosts” remains in line with the band’s stylistic intrepidness and unpredictability. Even the group’s lineup appeared constantly in flux. After expanding from a trio to a quartet and employing a dual-guitar attack with 1997’s In Place of Real Insight, founding member Eamonn Vitt hung up his axe to attend medical school. Karate soldiered on as a trio, with mid-stream addition Jeff Goddard’s bass work helping establish a sidewinding path forward through the smoky jazz melodicism and sun-beaten blues brushstrokes that hung in the background of the band’s catalog. In their short time together, Karate helped bolster the national punk ecosystem, a scene in which individual artistic vision was prized but rarely achieved. Their exacting precision and emotive interplay helped recombine the DNA of the dignified grace of slowcore, the hot-and-sweaty atmospherics of the blues, and the high-wire tension of post-hardcore to deliver drawling instrumental curveballs and a furtive riptide climax with a controlled grace on “Outside Is The Drama.” Singer-guitarist Geoff Farina frequently teased out the emotional nuances of each song, his worn-in voice shading in the complexities of his enigmatic lyrics; no matter how difficult it may be to parse his snatched-from-daily-life wisdoms, on The Bed Is In The Ocean Farina sounded like a guy who knew exactly the right thing to tell whoever may be listening. And with Karate’s snaking turns through quasi-punk reveries no one else appeared capable of mustering, it’s comforting to hear it accomplished by a band that knew exactly what they were doing.

Morio Agata cuts "Submarine" and "Airplane" as singles from his 1980 incidental masterpiece and world-important work "Norimono Zukan"! 7" Analog Limited Edition!

Diseñar y destruir [Design and Destroy] is the second album by Varsovia, an electronic punk project created in Lima at the beginning of 2012 by Dante Gonzales (synthesizers), Fernando Pinzás (synthesizers) and Sheri Corleone (guitar, vocals). Unlike their celebrated debut album Recursos inhumanos [Inhuman Resources] (2014), this new production reflects a greater influence of styles such as industrial music and EBM, but maintaining the sound of analog synthesizers as a principle. The lyrics follow a concept based on the period of violence that Peru experienced in the 1980s, with samples of General Juan Velasco Alvarado and songs that refer to situations such as blackouts, bombings of terrorist groups, and the uncertainty of living in the midst of the armed conflict in a city lost in chaos. The songs of Diseñar y destruir were recorded between 2015 and 2017, and finished during 2021. This process was marked by the exit of Corleone (when she moved to the Netherlands) and the entry of Carla Vallenas as lead singer, with whom the first version of the album was recorded and a promotional video was released. During this period, the band shared the stage with important artists such as She Past Away, Sixth June, Ash Code, Mueran Humanos or the legendary group of the 60s, Silver Apples. After a few years of activity, Carla Vallenas left the band, and both Dante Gonzales and Fernando Pinzás went on to work on different personal projects. Until 2021, when, after a brief activity of Varsovia as a duo, they decided to re-record the album with Sheri Corleone on vocals and guitar, marking the return to the original formation of the group. Varsovia has gathered great international attention in recent years thanks to the inclusion of a song from its first album in the soundtrack of the HBO series Los Espookys. The band was again invited to include a new song in the second season of the series, which premiered during 2022. Diseñar y destruir is published by Buh Records in vinyl format in an edition of 500 copies and includes guest musicians such as Mexican saxophonist Martín Escalante and guitarist Óscar Reátegui of the legendary band Dios Hastío. It was recorded and mixed at Paraíso del Silicio by Dante Gonzales, and mastered by Alberto Cendra at Garden Lab Audio. Cover art by About Studio.

This sampler compiles 14 killer tropical tracks for the dance floor, all taken from the vaults of Peru’s MAG records, including cumbias to descargas, boogaloo to salsa. Classic songs such as ‘Arroz Con Coco’ or ‘Aprieta (Oye Como Va),’ and also obscure recordings like the stunning ‘Ritmo Veregua’ by Tito Chicoma or the totally under-the-radar —recorded in Lima— ‘Mi Son Combinado’ by Cuba’s legendary Orquesta Revé. MAG will turn 70 in 2023 and is a pivotal label in Peruvian music, mainly focused on tropical rhythms although its extensive catalogue also includes rock, pop and jazz recordings. This compilation celebrates the recent addition of Discos MAG to the Vampisoul family, where the best and most elusive titles from the MAG archive will become available again.