MUSIC

Big Crown Records is proud to present the sophomore full-length from Les Imprimés, Fading Forward. Spearheaded by self-taught multi-instrumentalist and producer Morten Martens, the album explores mortality, escapism, and a myriad of experiences associated with love.

Martens made a tremendous impression with his highly acclaimed 2023 debut Rêverie and has since cultivated a diehard fanbase whose demographics are as wide-ranging as the influences that shape his music. He mixes tones from ’60s and ’70s soul with arrangement nods to doo-wop records, takes drum energy from hip-hop, and covers the whole thing with vocal stylings drawn from ’90s and 2000s alternative. But it is Martens’ lyrics, emotion, and delivery that truly bring everything together and help him stand out from his peers. There’s an infectiousness and pop sensibility in the writing, executed with the utmost class and taste, giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens with repeat listens.

Hailing from Kristiansand, Norway, Martens plays nearly every instrument on Fading Forward, produces and arranges the album, and of course sings. “It’s soul music, but I don’t exactly have the soul voice,” Morten explains humbly. “But I do it my own way, in a way that’s mine.”

Album opener “You & I” is Morten’s homage to his partner, who sticks it out “through the chaos and the blunders” with him. Punchy drums and cascading pianos make this one a proper two-stepper and an anthem for those lucky enough to find someone who understands them and helps them through the parts of life where they need it most. “Again & Again” slows the pace and deals with the heavier side of love and life, as Martens professes his resilience through the mishaps, heartbreak, and letdowns of love affairs gone wrong. “Untainted Love” brings the sweet side of new love center stage with a tune that plays on the title of the Gloria Jones classic. “Get Lost” leans into the metaphysical with an invitation to leave reality behind and spend time with Les Imprimés, where there’s room to dream. “Only Love” is built over a gritty drum break, with a chorus that is simple yet profound, and an arrangement that gives it the energy of a mantra. The album turns to the dancefloor on “With You,” an uptempo, uplifting tune about a fleeting encounter that leaves you pining for more. Martens longs for her, but joyfully—as if simply remembering that such a connection is possible is exactly what he needed. Martens is joined by guest vocalist Ama Li on “Miss the Days,” a slow-burning ballad that reckons back to simpler times when love felt easier. Fading Forward closes on a wholly somber note with “Paradise,” a tune that wishes freedom and peace to a friend who passed away.

In the small town of Kristiansand, Norway, there is a huge talent who spent much of his life laying low and playing in the background. Signing to New York’s Big Crown Records inspired Morten Martens to begin sharing his own music. The response to his debut Rêverie pushed him out of the studio and onto the stage, serving as inspiration to push his artistry to new heights—heights that are fully realized on Fading Forward.

Lady Wray makes her highly anticipated return with Cover Girl, her third album on Big Crown Records. The album opener “My Best Step” says it all, “my next step is my best step”, and indeed she is taking her artistry to a new high and making the best music of her life. The celebratory Cover Girl takes listeners on a free-spirited joyride glittered with ‘60s and '70s-inspired soul and disco, ‘90s hip-hop and R&B, and perhaps the most defining element, gospel. Following the healing journey that was 2022’s Piece of Me, Nicole has performed on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, NPR’s Tiny Desk, and toured the world. After this period of growth, Lady Wray is now ready to let her hair down and embrace all of what life has to offer. Reunited with producer Leon Michels (Norah Jones / Clairo / El Michels Affair) for the record, the outcome is effortless and undeniable, a reflection of their longtime collaboration that extends over a decade.

“I've gravitated more towards love and self-care with this album. Piece of Me was realizing that I was going to be a mother, and all those feelings were on my heart,” Lady Wray says. “Now I'm able to sit back and be a real boss. I got my career, my motherhood, and my marriage by the horns. I've grown into this more self-aware and beautiful flower for Cover Girl.” With an almighty voice, soul-stirring lyrics, and a magnetic personality, the singer-songwriter reflects her appreciation for her family, her faith, and her renewed love for herself—all of which drive her new record.

Lead single “You’re Gonna Win” is a report to the dance floor, feel good banger. Cole lets loose while naming and claiming her power “I do not care who came before me, after me there will be none” as she likens her company to winning the lottery. The Fabulous Rainbow Singers choir joins on the chorus taking the whole affair to church and putting it next to the finest gospel-disco records ever pressed. “Be a Witness” is a funky, mid-tempo powerhouse that would make Prince proud. Nicole finds the perfect groove over punchy drum machines and infectious synthesizers, singing about a love destined to happen, and spreading the good vibes to everyone in earshot. Cover Girl’s title track is one of the album’s most vulnerable moments. Lady Wray delivers a show-stopping performance over the stripped down track as she details her journey to finding herself again: “I lost myself trying to please someone else / I want to be me again.” The title stems from a childhood nickname she earned for her consistently manicured style. Lady Wray explains. “As I grew up and got into the music business, I lost that happy part of me. I see that happiness in my daughter, who’s just beautiful, talented, and smart. ‘Cover Girl’ is me going back to that little girl. It’s about getting back to loving yourself and healing.” Similarly on “Where Could I Be,” she reclaims the happiness and sense of identity that she lost focus of through life’s struggles. Nicole gushes about her love and respect for her marriage on “Best For Us” & “Hard Times”, both acknowledging the imperfection and referencing the strength and resilience of true love. She sings to her daughter on “Higher,” teaching her how to love and be loved, encouraging her to be confident and persistent.

Lady Wray was born to sing, sharing her soul and her life with us through her music. She has amassed a diehard worldwide fanbase with her relatable messages and incomparable voice. Whether singing of her struggles or strengths, there’s a comfort that comes from the way she makes us know we are not alone in any of it. Nicole Wray is inspiring and uplifting. Having been through a lot, she’s taken all of it and made herself a better person and a better artist.

“You need to rule your own world. Don't let anybody get in your way. You rock with your dreams until the wheels fall off,” Lady Wray says. “That's what I've been doing with my career since 1998. I know who I am and what I bring to the table. It's been a heck of a journey, and I feel so happy to be making the best music of my life.”

When Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their first record, Sounding Out The City, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented “cinematic soul” sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later—all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry—Michels has trademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not a lake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Roots crew. Releasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is called Glorious Game and it is a remarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides his bottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some of the more personal and transparent verses we've ever heard from him. Michels and Black Thought have been in each other's orbit for a while now. The two first met in the 2000s when Thought was first getting familiar with the contemporary soul scene. "Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Band was probably my favorite," recalling the funk and soul group Michels was a founding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musicians from that collective—Dave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on sax —are now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually led Leon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Philly together. "Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time," Michels explains. "Then, fast forward to 2020 and COVID lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy." Being that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, the best live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approach to this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, he pulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from his collection. "I'm a big fan of soul music," as if Michels has to remind us. "And part of hip-hop's appeal to me has always been the sample-based production" For Glorious Game, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soul songs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and/or loop up his sounds and create instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a more traditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other people’s music but then adding live instrumentation on top. But for the most part, it's him reinterpreting his own compositions into something new. The result is an organic feel of loop-based tracks that breathe and fluctuate enough for Black Thought to flex on. "What I write about is determined by the equation of the producer's energy and my energy," Black Thought says. "It's about where we meet." So armed with Michels sampled and re-sampled soul cinematics, Black Thought rhymes through personal memories and distinctive perspectives, all dripping with visuals. The first single titled "Grateful"—a thick, low-end banger with a haunting flute line—gives you a nice intro into how the record will go. Black Thought's verses lay heavy in the way we've come to love: cadences that walk a line between street teacher and poet, explanation and experience, as he pays homage to what's come before him and how it's made him". The title track “Glorious Game” with its unhurried bassline and bouncing drum track finds Black Thought rhyming double-time about the trials of fame and respect but also speaking to his gifts and his well established place in hip-hop. On “The Weather”, he paints a vivid portrait of growing up in Philly. You can almost see his Grandma’s house in your mind as he rides the tempo changes of the track flanked by ghostly background vocals. "To me," Black Thought says about Glorious Game, "these songs are like scenes from a film that is my life. That's the way it evolved." And with his pure lyrical skill on full display and Michels' custom-made approach to making beats, this record is a bit of a rarity in today's hip-hop atmosphere: there are no flashy guest features and no attempts to be on trend. "This is an effing rap record. He's a storyteller; the point is to listen to the story. It's not a verse-chorus, verse-chorus approach. Listen to what he has to say and the way he has to say it."

What is Buck?
Buck is a state of mind, a way of life, a demeanor that gets you through the good times and the bad. If you ask Brainstory, It is also the energy that permeates their debut album.
Kevin, Tony, and Eric are a trio of brothers bounded by blood, fate, and a small town with nothing to do. Their story begins in the long lost lands of the San Bernardino Valley, in the twilight zone known as Rialto, California: An arid wasteland of boredom and empty lots. Through punk rock and skateboarding they found temporary liberation from the local monotony. However, it wouldn’t be long before a hunger for more led them to explore musical realms beyond that of the hardcore punk they admired. After stints at music school and steady disappointment trying to navigate their local jazz scene they moved to Los Angeles and Brainstory was born.
Through a introduction from Chicano Batman’s bassist, Brainstory caught the ears of Big Crown head honchos Danny Akalepse and Leon Michels. Shortly thereafter they were on their way to Queens, to record at The Legendary Diamond Mine with Michels at the helm. An instant chemistry yielded 10 songs in 10 days and now Brainstory has gifted the world with one hell of an introduction to all things Buck. Highlights include the sublime slow burner, “Dead End” which was the A-side to their first 45 on Big Crown that sold out in a matter of days. With Kevin’s sublime falsetto floating atop Tony and Eric’s unflappable and unmistakable backbeat, this tune has become a favorite with the ballad heads, the low-riders, and the slowie collectors. “Breathe” showcases another side of their sound taking a page out of the Shuggie Otis playbook and flipping the script with some stoned out west coast swag. Kev and Tony’s father, Big Tone, an accomplished performer himself, steps in on “Peter Pan” to sing lead vocals over a chorus of friends and family. Bassist extraordinaire, Tony, takes over lead vocal duties on “Sorry”, a smoked out, G Funk groove that is just waiting to be sampled.
These guys have come a long way from their self released EPs and opening tours with Chicano Batman. Their musical growth is undeniable, and taking their California sunshine vibes and mixing them with Michels’ NYC aesthetic has proven to be an amazing combination. It’s a debut record that pulls influences from so many genres seamlessly it’s hard to nail down. Call it Funk, call it Rock, call it Soul, but over here at Big Crown HQ, we’ve decided to call it BUCK. 

Fresh off of their 2020 offering Adult Themes, El Michels Affair is back with a new full-length release. Titled Yeti Season, this newest album has everything we've come to expect from EMA’s patented cinematic style of instrumental soul music. Where Adult Themes inspired a soundtrack to an imaginary film, Yeti Season brings us to a different place in time—with new inspirations. Taken with Turkish-styled funk and an almost Mumbai-esque take on soul, El Michels Affair offers us a different kind of drama and imagination with Yeti Season. If you've been following along, this shouldn't be viewed as too far a departure for El Michels Affair. The first single off of Yeti Season showed their hand back in 2018. A double-sided banger, that release brought the musical textures to the fore that dominate this record. The first song, titled "Unathi," is fully realized with the beautifully haunting-yet-hopeful vocals of Piya Malik, formerly of 79.5. Singing in Hindi, Piya's ethereal voice is telling us to work and strive together toward progress. Even if you don't understand her language, you can still hear the urgency of purpose, creating a lasting vibe that sits on top of it all. Leon Michels explains that Piya had a vital influence on this record: "When Piya started singing in Hindi, she had a different voice, a different tone. I knew we had to do something together." And so Piya appears on three other songs on Yeti Season: "Zaharila," "Murkit Gem," and "Dhuaan." Each providing particular signatures to the album. "Zaharila" is a building and changing love song punctuated by blaring trumpets, driving drums, and Piya's pleading lyrics. While the more upbeat "Murkit Gem" opens with a fuzzed out, Wu-Tang-esque baseline that buoys Piya's stylings. The psychedelic guitar and Piya's changing tones and textures singing about an all-consuming love are what pushed "Dhuaan" on to the second single from Yeti Season. There is also a vocal appearance from Shannon Wise of The Shacks, yet another Big Crown artist. Her song called "Sha Na Na," lies more in the familiar EMA vein: melodic, hypnotic, soulfully visual. But between Shannon's airy singing, the jumpy baseline, moody vibes, the active drum lines, it sounds like a pensive walk home after a strangely dramatic night. So what is Yeti Season? It could be more of a feeling than an actual place or time of year. It's a heavy album—as evidenced by the signature musicianship and dramatic vocal expressions. But it's also a hopeful record, with phrasings, textures, and chord changes that hint at something better—or fuller—coming our way. You hear it in songs like "Ala Vida," with its stabby, pulsing chords laying a bedrock for EMA's bright, atmospheric horn lines. Or even in "Fazed Out," which leaves you with a feeling of determination, a striving for resolution even though the driving, march-like song structure should accompany some conquering army. This persistence has to come from the fact that Leon Michels and company finished this record during the lockdown. It was a tough and troublesome time. But look at what has come of it: Yeti Season—a record of high and heavy drama, but also one of hope and promise. It may take a year like 2020 behind us to find hope in a winter big footed creature like a Yeti, but that's where we are.

This is the first album by Teno Afrika, a hot project led by Lutendo Raduvha, a 21-year-old young musician who is one of the most important figures in the latest "Amapiano" movement born in South Africa, where homegrown jazz, boogie, Afro-house, kwaito, etc. are rapidly being revived. This is the first album from Teno Afrika, a project led by Lutendo Raduvha, a 21-year-old young musician who is a key figure in the latest Amapiano movement emerging in South Africa. Born in the townships of Gauteng, South Africa, Teno Afrika has rapidly gained momentum over the past five years, evolving into a nationwide mainstream genre of "amapiano," a new genre influenced by kwaito. Having spent most of his life moving back and forth between Johannesburg and various townships in the suburbs of Pretoria, Gauteng, he has incorporated the influences of these areas into this exciting new collection of Afro-dance tracks.

Awa Poulo is a singer of Peulh origin from Dilly commune, Mali, near the border with Mauritania. Largely pastoral and often nomadic, Peulh- (or Fula-)speaking peoples are found from Senegal to Ethiopia but predominate in the Sahel region of West Africa. Awesome Tapes From Africa is proud to release Poulo’s newest recording of highly virtuosic folk-pop, fresh from the studio, broadcasting her vision of Peulh music beyond the grazing grounds and central markets of her remote home region in southwestern Mali. 

It’s not very common to find a female singer performing publicly among the Peulh. But Poulo’s mother’s co-wife is Inna Baba Coulibaly, who is a celebrated singer most Malian music fans know. Coulibaly herself was brought into music by forces outside her control when a regional music contest required an entry from her village and she was chosen to be a singer. So, set in motion by a surprising series of events, young Poulo’s entree into the music world was auspicious as she gained popularity across the region. After several locally released tapes and CDs, this record is Poulo’s first internationally-distributed record. 

On Poulo Warali, she and her band combine the hallmarks of Peulh music―warm flute floating over cross-rhythmic n’goni (lute) riffs and resonant calabash gourd hand percussion―with broader Malian sounds like lightly-distorted guitar and a heavier, rollicking inertia. Shape-shifting layers of rhythm and woody overtones match Poulo’s commanding voice in a jocular yet deliberate dance. 

This is a relatively rare example of Malian Peulh music played in a modern, cosmopolitan context, reflecting the mixed society of Dilly, where Bambara, Soninke and Peulh-speaking people live among each other. 
Poulo’s conscious lyrics about community concerns speak to the distinctive identity of her broadly-flung people. While Peulh represents less than 10% of Mali’s melting pot of languages, the dynamic music here powerfully resonates well beyond the linguistic borders.

In "Carrie and Lowell," Sufjan Stevens is a child again or, more specifically, the child character in the family of man drama that often but not always centers on the story of love given, or love forsaken, but isn't that the same thing to the poet? That the love Stevens sings about having left or given or been born to--thank you, Carrie--is a perceptible wound not only on the singer's throat, but his sleeve: he wears love's incomprehensibility, and the deep incomprehensibility of being a son, like a backing vocal on "Carrie and Lowell," which is also filled with colors, hearts, trees, conclusions, and beginnings, all adding up to the kind of intimacy that caught my eye the morning I sat in the diner waiting for the sun to get stronger as I saw intimacy pass by while going about it's business, like something sung and felt by Sufjan Stevens on his new beautiful solitary and rich record filled with faith and disbelief and the resurrection of trust and dreams. - HILTON ALS

First time on CD for this classic Merzbow duo album from 1983...
......Material Action is a favorite among early Merzbow free-music, junk-noise workouts. Psychedelic improvised instrumental energy abounds on this essential early recording that is PURE MERZ.

Masami Akita plays tapes, percussion, electro-acoustic noise, organ
Kiyoshi Mizutani overdubs tapes, synthesizer, violin, machine noise

Includes bonus track not available on vinyl reissue

25th anniversary reissue of MERZBOW's legendary Tauromachine, now remastered by James Plotkin and featuring unreleased bonus material!

Another set of crucial Twinkle Brothers rhythms - Dub Massacre style! Each one of the Dub Massacre LPs has been a real joy to get our hands on and ears into (we'd been seeking them out ever since buying a CD copy of the first Dub Massacre album from a record stall at a Channel One soundsystem session in Bristol many, many years ago). This one, the Part 4, entitled The Killing Zone - yes these dubs are deadly - originally came out in 1989 and has not been up on here on our site for your perusal yet, so we're glad to fill the gap for our collection as well as yours potentially, in case you're also a fan of this series, and feel the need to have each one as much as we do. These dubs, compiled from rhythm tracks taken from - Breaking Down The Barriers, Twinkle In Poland and the (at the time of release, still forthcoming) Twinkle Brother* - Chant Rastafari albums. "This is the killing zone dub style!" and feature killer pacey dancehall/steppers-styled cuts such as the first track 'Panic In The Street', proper gun-shot / tape-wheelup, majestic dub such as Urban Gorilla, typical 80's uk roots, not a million miles of Aswad and Dennis Bovell's sound at the time ' Hunger And Starvation', big tunes such as 'Zulu Warrior' (quite possibly a nod to their close collaborator and musical family / official soundman Twinkle production dubplate champion Jah Shaka).... Then there's the big heads-down stepper 'Fighting Fight'.. Oooph, lots of heavyweight rhythms and deadly versioning on this one! Listen for yourself and you'll see that this is definitely one of the bigger Dub Massacre LPs, totally crucial gear. ...Love the artwork too!

Twinkle Brothers strike again, in dubwise style and fashion - Entitled 'Lion Head', this LP represents the fifth in the brilliant 'Dub Massacre' series... Packed with dubs, from straight-up dubwise killers to the brilliantly obscure digi-dancehall flavoured cuts, Lion Head consists of 9 selected instrumentals from the Twinkle Brothers studio, circa 1990. Worth it for the artwork and design aesthetic alone, it's also musically a killer LP that should be sat, either on your record shelf, or be spinning on your deck, depending on what time of the day it is...

1976's "Earthquake Dub" by The Revolutionaries, produced by Ossie Hibbert amounts to a crisp, spacy and texturally nuanced soundscape. The bass is front and center, very deep, rich and clear. In fact the listener may (for once) want to turn the bass down just a tad in order to hear the small, elegant details which are hidden below like tiny fossils. Several tracks feature some fine solo and ensemble horn lines (featuring Tommy McCook), which are appropriately spaced-out and ethereal. There is a also a bit of organ providing some sweetness to the mix, including some courtesy of Ossie himself. In fact, it may be Hibbert's capacity as a musician which allowed him to make such tasteful dubs on this, his very first dub album. There are virtually no vocals bringing Earthquake Dub down to earth, and that fact helps elevate it to true high art, abstract, nonlinear, and unfettered by earthly concerns. The deftly applied echo and reverb, augmented by the occasional bleep and bloop makes the tracks feel startlingly modern and fresh. It's marvelous how creative and ahead of their time the 1970s Jamaican dubmasters (including Hibbert) actually were. This is essential for any fan of the Revolutionaries, even for the track "River Bank" alone, which is an upbeat dubbed-out solo sax work out, with a skanky, almost carnival-sounding rhythm which will remind you why it's good to be alive.

Minyo Crusaders, who shocked not only Japan but the entire world with their hybrid of Japanese folk songs and Latin, cumbia, reggae, afrobeat, etc., released their masterpiece first album "Echoes of Japan" at the end of 2017. This 2-disc LP version is now a standard catalog item! This album, packed with killer tunes such as "Kushimoto Bushi," "Tanko Bushi," and "Aizu Bandaisan," will be delivered on vinyl for years to com

Classic Studio One instrumentals featured on Lennie Hibbert's essential album, including the spellbinding Roselen and bonus versions of Twilight Zone and Village Soul.

Twinkle BrothersのNorman Grantをプロデューサーに迎え、Dub JudahやMad Professor周辺の重要人物たちが参加した、UKルーツ・レゲエ・シーンを代表する女性シンガーAishaの1993年作『Daughters Of Zion』。90年代ニュールーツの発展期に生み出された作品として知られる1枚で、ラスタファリアン思想に根差したメッセージと凛としたヴォーカルが印象的に響く。重厚なベースラインと深いダブ感覚を軸にしながらも、過度に装飾へ走ることなく、伝統的なルーツ・レゲエの精神性をしっかり受け継いだサウンドが魅力。Aishaの力強く気品ある歌声が楽曲全体を貫き、UKニュールーツならではの硬質なリズムとスピリチュアルな空気感を結び付けている。90年代UKルーツを語るうえで外せない、〈Twinkle Music〉屈指の名作。

There are a dozen nice sultry instrumentals on this LP, released in the early '70s, though as always with vintage reggae albums, that doesn't necessarily indicate that all of the material was recorded then. Certainly it has the sound of the best rocksteady music, some of its trancier grooves hinting at the dub era.

Dub Judah's 1992 dub album, released on Twinkle Music. An 11-track instrumental set built around rhythms associated with the Twinkle Brothers, showcasing the distinctive sound of early 1990s UK digital dub, with production work carried out in part at Ariwa Studios.

Kyoto-based lo-fi home-recording funk duo Khan Brown and OHHKI return with a strictly limited 7-inch single cut from Ryokan, their self-released mini-album originally issued on cassette in 2025. Following a release on the renowned US label PPU, the pair deliver another dose of their distinctive DIY funk sound, now pressed on an exclusive 7-inch format.

Recorded spontaneously in Brooklyn with no written compositions, Openess finds Laraaji working through ambient music, spiritual jazz and meditative improvisation. Isaiah Collier contributes drums and tenor sax, adding restless percussion and expressive horn work to Laraaji’s intuitive playing. Produced by Sonny Daze, it’s a free-form set built for deep listening.

Rio de Janeiro producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Fabio Santanna returns with Copa Astral, an eight-track journey through modern Brazilian boogie, disco and Balearic grooves. Released by Rio’s Onda Boa, a label founded by Joutro Mundo, the album captures the warmth of the city's sunlit days and the cinematic glow of its nights, blending lush synths, live horns, percussion and rich vocal arrangements into an unmistakably Brazilian sound. Opening with the slow-burning title track, introduced by the unmistakable cry of a cuíca, Copa Astral sets the mood before unfolding into the rolling grooves of "Ponto de Areia" and the Afro-Brazilian pulse of "Odoya Beat". Elsewhere, "Nesse Tempo" drifts into dreamy nostalgia, while side B moves effortlessly through the carefree boogie of "Jabuticaba", inspired by Brazil's beloved fruit; the warm, enveloping feeling of longing in "Senti Saudade"; the seaside romance of "À Beira Mar"; before closing with "Cantagalo", a heartfelt tribute to the neighbourhoods, memories and spirit that continue to shape Santanna's music. Inspired as much by Rio's beaches as its neon-lit avenues, Santanna draws from Brazilian boogie, 1980s cinema, vintage record sleeves and classics such as Junior Mendes' Copacabana Sadia, filtering those influences through the city's unique rhythm. Produced at his Copacabana studio with live brass, percussion and vocal harmonies, Copa Astral is both timeless and contemporary - an album equally at home on the dancefloor, by the ocean or during a late-night drive along the coast.

When a British alt-soul and art-pop duo collaborates with Filipino musical royalty, the result is a blinding flash of artistic spirit that transcends geographical and generational barriers. For Margate-based act Thandii, a chaotic whirlwind of a trip to Manila allowed Graham Godfrey and Jess Berry to explore a new cultural context of song-writing. After several prolific years of self-released albums together, they took the opportunity to channel Graham’s Filipino heritage through an ambitious and somewhat zany project proposed by the label Sama Sama Records: for Thandii to make their next album with the most recorded drummer in the Philippines, Jun Regalado. Now in his late 70s, Jun Regalado has recently gained more recognition internationally after the reissue of his track ‘Pinoy Funk’ (from the Soundway compilation Ayo Ke Disco in 2024), along with the discovery of nearly 500 album appearances that are now finding themselves in the collections of younger generations. And on Coco Okayo - the first time he has collaborated outside of his contemporaries - Regalado effectively passes the torch. Not only does Thandii take inspiration from the 70s ‘Manila Sound’ movement, the sound of Manila itself is inescapably embedded in the album via the local recording studio. It was “like stepping into a time-warp”, the duo say. “Period correct pre-amps, compressors and instruments recreated the tones of the era, and combined with Sir Jun’s magical sound and touch – it created an authenticity so completely right for the moment.” In exploring a sound born of the diaspora with roots in British soul music, Coco Okayo makes full use of the polymath abilities of both Jess and Graham. While they provide vocals, percussion, flutes and production, they still manage to carve out space for regular Margate collaborators (including keyboardist Steve Pringle, Graham’s bandmate in Pigeon), as well as tapping Filipino connections in the United States such as Wyn Avillas and Ian Santillano. “I felt like the melodies and flurries of flute poured out of me during this whole process - it was quite freeing and explorative and unlike any album we’d made previously”, says Jess. The resulting album dances around genres and influences, from OPM to soul, disco-funk and trip-hop, refusing to be categorised as any one thing and yet cohesive in its sound. Thandii likes to dub it MAR-NILA. “It’s a new genre coming from Filipino diaspora artists paying tribute to the Manila sound of the 70s,” say Thandii, “but combining it with modern day post-punk-disco, beat-driven-art-pop music coming from the small seaside town of Margate”. Whichever way the listener might interpret it, it’s clear that Coco Okayo is not stuck between worlds, but rather, has built a utopian world of its own.

Hidden away amidst the bustle of Rio de Janeiro’s Catete neighbourhood is a small alleyway behind a cast iron gate. At its end is Bairro Saavedra, the courtyard surrounded by Neo-colonial houses where Brazilian guitar virtuoso Fabiano do Nascimento spent much of his childhood. Built in 1928, this secluded neighbourhood with its wooden shutters, tiled floors and tranquil benches, provides the inspiration for the title of Do Nascimento’s new album Vila, a collaborative project with a sixteen piece orchestra led by trombonist and arranger Vittor Santos. Recorded between Rio de Janeiro and Los Angeles, Vila is grand, tender, warm, playful and nostalgic. On this stunningly ambitious work, the delicate compositions led by Nascimento's guitar, which sits central in the mix, are surrounded by Santos’ breathtaking orchestral arrangements which swirl in all directions: complimenting, questioning, responding; in constant conversation. Like the eclecticism of the architecture Do Nascimento grew up surrounded by, his music straddles many worlds at once. He is known as a Brazilian acoustic guitar master and as such has collaborated with Arthur Verocai, Airto Moreira and Itibere Zwarg. But equally at home in Los Angeles's jazz and experimental music scenes, Do Nascimento is also known for his work with artists like Sam Gendel and Carlos Nino. Vittor Santos is an arranger and Trombonist who has worked extensively with many of the greats of Brazilian music, including João Donato, Marcos Valle, Toninho Horta, and Elza Soares.

Electronic musician nthng presents his fifth album, Last Light of the Sun, his debut release on topo2. Renowned for his meticulous productions and quietly distinctive artistic voice, nthng continues to move effortlessly between ambient, IDM, dub techno, and drum & bass without ever feeling bound by genre. Last Light of the Sun shows that the album format is a natural home for nthng's expansive musical vision. Throughout its ten compositions, the album moves gracefully between dreamlike melodic passages, restrained, fragile 4/4 structures, melancholic drum & bass punctuated by vintage house vocal fragments, and spacious ambient compositions that feel unmistakably his own. The double LP is released by adventurous electronic music label topo2 on October 2, 2026. The record is pressed on two 180-gram discs of ICCS-certified bio-vinyl and housed in a heavyweight full-colour gatefold sleeve. Mastered by Isabel Schröer at OLO Mastering, with artwork by Alyssa Warren and Raen Coplin. Additional contributions include bamboo flute on "Flutter" by Temple Rat and typewriting by Karina Rovira.