Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Marseille label Secousse turn their attention to the debut single of Senegalese musician Maxidilick Adioa. 'Toubab Bile' was originally released in 1987, and it tackles the harrowing story of the West African soldiers betrayed by the French army in 1944. Having worked as a percussionist for years before that, Adioa invested his own money into recording the track in Paris and finding distribution through Safari Ambiance until his talents were picked up on by Island's Chris Blackwell. The track single-handedly launched Adioa's solo career, and it's not hard to hear why - the perfect synergy of West African and Jamaican music with a potent call for justice in its heart.

Review: Aesop Rock were a fixture of the New York underground hip-hop scene throughout the early 90s and began writing and honing his rapping delivery, culminating in his first album in 1997. Daylight came out just a few years later in 2001 to critical acclaim, including later being ranked at number 68 on Fact's "100 Best Indie Hip-Hop Records of All Time" list. The title track showcases the talents of the producer, largely recognized as one of the last links of the 90s New York style of the genre. Being respectful of his roots, Aesop Rock samples in some classic parts of other 80s tracks onto his sublime downtempo jazz foundation for a perfect example of the style known as Conscious. Not to be outdone, 'Nickel Plated Pockets' is the perfect B-side to this EP, bringing a harder sound to balance out things. Included are the instrumentals for each of the three tracks to make this DJ friendly.

Review: BOOM! Our favourites, Cititrax, roll the third editions of Tracks out onto our shelves, and the results are unsurprisingly strong on this excellent various artists comp. It's a mixed bag of skills, as per usual, and the sounds are those of a new NYC, fuelled by a new sort of post-industrial sensibility. Amato Y Mariana open with the tight beats and groove of "Queires Bailar", followed closely by the ominous compositions of the EBM-flavoured "Montgat" from The Sixteen Steps. On the flip, His Dirty Secrets bleeps out some morphed acid on "Structures", and "Another Stranger" from Further Reductions churns out a slow, mild-mannered house experiment with its roots clearly planted in the coldest of waves. Sick.

Review: There's a delightfully celebratory feel about this debut volume of Cititrax Tracks, a new 12" series from Minimal Wave offshoot Cititrax. As beautifully presented as we've come to expect, Tracks Volume 1 boasts a quartet of dancefloor-ready smashers from a blend of new faces and label stalwarts. Amato (aka The Hacker) kicks things off with the glistening EBM funk of "Physique" - all restless synth refrains and pounding bottom end - before LIES affiliate Tsuzing go all dark, psychedelic and twisted on the thrillingly intense, acid-flecked "King of System". An-I go all DAF (with a touch of Front 242) on the fuzzy and dystopian stomper "Mutter", before Cititrax regulars Broken English Club delivers a storming chunk of industrial-tinged analogue funk ("Glass"). Bravo!

Review: Given that Ricardo Villalobos was one of a handful of guest producers who featured on Oren Ambarchi's recent Hubris album - a krautrock-influenced minimalist techno exploration that also boasted contributions from Jim O'Rourke and Mark Fell, amongst others - it seems fitting that he's been roped in to provide two new remixes. The Chilean's contribution to the album was largely rhythm-based, and his two lengthy Variations - each stretched across one side of wax - promote undulating, heads-down dancefloor hypnotism above all else. Naturally, his drum programming and use of subtle stylistic shifts is as on-point as ever, with Ambarchi's original textures being manipulated into mind-altering new shapes.

Review: Earlier this year Minimal Wave offshoot provided one of this year's most visceral dancefloor weapons in Kino-I, the debut from Doug Lee's new An-I project. Taking inspiration from techno, jack, industrial and punk, An-I successfully drew a line under some of the Berlin-based artist's previous disco-flavoured endeavours. And then some! If you like the Kino-I 12" you will love the new triplet of An-I productions housed on this appropriately titled Gutz 12". The title track alone should come with a health warning; such is the furious onslaught of machine funk it contains, whilst the unnerving "Rut" is the most schizophrenic production you will hear this year. Best of all id closing track "Save Us" sounds like a cross between in Aeternam Vale and Silent Servant. Pressed on a rather thick and dashing slab of magenta orange vinyl!

Review: Miss You's latest missive takes us back to 1979 and the sole single from Italian singer Angela - a previously 7" only affair that made limited impact outside of Italy on its initial release. Lead cut 'Teneremante' is a typically colourful and camp Italian translation of disco, whose over-the-top excellence and bold lead vocal from Angela have an endearing 'easy listening era singer does disco' vibe. Musically, it soars, with the addition of lo-fi but spacey synth sounds (alongside classic disco orchestration) making it sound a bit more eccentric than it actually is. Original flip side 'Angela E Cosi' is a more suspenseful, low-slung affair built around a slower and headier groove, AOR disco instrumentation and another soaring vocal from Angela.

Review: While his AR antics and massive stage shows might be a far cry from the subversive rave culture he came up in, Aphex Twin remains one of the most fascinating and gifted electronic dance music producers of his generation. Get past the fanfare and bluster, and it's still an incredibly exciting prospect to be opening up a new box of his charms, and he's as generous as he's ever been on this new four-track EP. As a key architect of the braindance sound (whether he likes the tag or not), Richard D. James demonstrates his gift for uncanny emotionality and dexterous drum programming on the lead single 'Blackbox Life Recorder 21f', hitting a spot not too far from the realm of his last album Syro and The Tuss material. With a lush fold-out sleeve to house it all in, it's another fine addition to the canon of a true cult phenomenon.

Review: You wait three years for a new Arca album and then two come along at once. The Barcelona-based, Venezuelan artist has already dropped 'Kick I' and 'Kick II' on his standard XL stomping ground this month, and has now decided to remind us why we fell in love in the first place. &&&&&& is the producer's seminal debut album, and it still sounds fresh today.

Occupying a space somewhere between techno, the proto-footwork and juke popularised by the likes of Addison Groove at the turn of the last decade, IDM and ambient, it's a difficult thing to get your head around, from the strange piano discordance of 'Mother' to 'Feminine''s suggestion of intense 140s and the submerged liquid downtempo of 'Anaesthetic'. A seminal moment in recent dance history.

Review: DJ Scientist aka John Raincoatman's Berlin-baed The Outer Edge label has got another sensational Art Programming release on its hands here. Originally this was the last track on their self-titled 1983 cassette only album on the P.A.P. label. It's basically unknown because it never landed on wax but had it done it would no double be a game changing classic. It's an eight minute opus driven by exhilarating electro breaks and laden with drums and effects that echo the sounds of Detroit. It's a proto-techno track straight out of Bremen that still sounds unique and futuristic today.

Review: James Clements continues his explorations into the depths of the grey zone as ASC with The Farthest Reaches double pack on Auxiliary. Samurai Music's Presha has excitedly called these four tracks "a definitive musical statement from one of the most important electronic musicians of our era," and who are we to argue with him? Making full usage of the format and available space, this is ASC in exploratory mode across a quartet of deep ten minute plus productions that have it all; sound design, atmosphere, groove, bass weight. To simply call these epic is selling The Farthest Reaches short!

Review: In a meeting between generations of broken beat titans, Andrew Ashong and Kaidi Thatham's Sankofa Season rightly earned classic status soon after its release in 2020, and now we're being taken back into the heart of these tracks with a heavyweight remix package from some serious talent. Mala's imperious dubstep touch brings some low-end pressure to 'Low Ceilings' or Shy One chopping up 'Learning Lessons' in her peerless deft style, there's a lot of ground covered by this considered gathering of minds. Special mention goes to Equiknoxx's Gavsborg and Shanique Marie, bringing a sweetly soulful touch to 'To Your Heart'.

Review: Atmosphere continue to plot a course through the weirder corners of indie hip-hop with their latest EP, which spins off from 2023 LP So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously. On this record Minneapolis' finest rap misfits toy with electro and boogie and give it a distorted twist, resulting in party starting anti-anthems like 'Wetter', sludgy funk workout 'Rotary Telephone' and tripped out synth-scape 'Don't Mind Me'. The sounds may be freaky, but the flows are as sharp-witted as ever as Slug and A.N.T. barrel through surrealism and observation with a flair they've made all their own since the late 90s.

Review: 'The Omega Sessions' is a five-song EP recorded by Bad Brains in 1980 and released in 1997. The tracks were recorded and mixed at the original Omega Recording Studios in Rockville, Maryland, and overall, the EP contains early versions of songs which eventually appeared on later releases, including a revamped reading of 'I Against I.' This reissue marks the seventh release in the remaster campaign that is now upon us, re-launching the Bad Brains Records label imprint. Just five incendiary originals screamers, all the way through to the inimitable sass-monster that is 'Attitude', are enough to turn our brains mushy once more.

Review: The seemingly unstoppable rise of De:tuned continues, as they take a break from serving up sci-fi techno, IDM and ambient techno to deliver something a lot more intense: a surprise EP from original House of God Birmingham resident DJ Paul 'Damage' Bailey. Channeling the spirit of his friend Surgeon while offering up something fresh, the two original tracks on show are undeniably inspired. 'Hadal Zone' adds weirdo noises, bleeps and mind-mangling electronic pulses to a slipped Afro-techno groove, while 'Decompression' is a wonky, triple-time workout full of Ket-addled electronics and wayward loops. Makaton re-imagines that track as a locked-in late-night techno throb-job, while James Ruskin turns 'Hadal Zone' into a buzzing, industrial-influenced electro-bleep number.

Review: Kalita Records are proud and honoured to announce the first ever official reissue of the four choice tracks from Randolph Baker's privately pressed sought-after 1982 disco album 'Reaching For The Stars', plus an unreleased instrumental take of 'Party Life' sourced from the original 24-track analogue master tapes.

Originally recorded at Jim Morris and Rick Miller's Tampa-based Morrisound Studios, 'Getting Next To You' features both a mixture of both local Florida talent plus jazz superstar Nat Adderley and bassist John Lamb at their finest. Originally pressed in a limited run of just one-thousand copies, with no distribution and most copies being sold in the local city and on Randolph's own merchandise table at the back of live gigs, original copies have long been sought-after by both collectors and DJs alike, acknowledged as a true grail and masterpiece in the disco scene and deservedly demanding extortionate figures to those lucky enough to find their own.

Here, in collaboration with Randolph, Kalita Records have chosen to re-release the four choice tracks from the album: 'Getting Next To You', 'Jazzman', 'Callin' Me' and 'Party Life'. The former is an in-demand horn and chant-filled disco masterpiece, which, as Randolph explains, concerns unity and "everyone on the same level in other words, everyone just loving life". It is arguably the song that Randolph is most well-known for in the disco and funk scene and perfect for the modern discerning dance floor. 'Jazzman' is an instrumental track with prominent trumpet and saxophone solos working with funky basslines to produce a truly great jazz-funk groove. It was "a tribute to Nat Adderley and Duke Ellington's bass player, John Lamb, for being so generous and saying yes to the project". 'Callin' Me' is a soulful disco number featuring the lead vocals of Laurie Erickson and is "about being on the road and ensuring loved ones that you will always come back home no matter what. It was like a promise to ensure loved ones they didn't have to worry". Lastly, 'Party Life' is a joyous disco track with a strong funk bassline and horns. As Randolph recalls, it "was the joy like after an actor finishes a movie. There was nothing but joy. It's finished; let's celebrate big time. Where everyone in the studio yelled at the top of their lungs - The End!" Here, with access to the 24-track master tapes we have been able to include the original version plus an unreleased instrumental take, allowing us to focus on the infectious bassline and make it even more ready for the modern dance floor.

Accompanied by extensive interview-based liner notes and never-before-seen photos.

Review: This official reissue of Bela Lugosi's Dead: The Bela Session comes on black and red splattered vinyl this time around and includes previously unreleased tracks that have been mastered from the original demo tapes of their first ever recording session together. The post-punk outfit's debut single was released initially in 1979. Bela Lugosi's Dead is not only their first single, but also often gets mentioned as the first goth record. It has since been covered by Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and Nouvelle Vague. The rest of the tunes from the demo session remain hugely innovative, reflecting their post-punk and dark-glam style with dub reggae influences that would further evolve in their output that followed and explain why the band went on to such cult status.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


This official reissue of Bela Lugosi's Dead: The Bela Session comes on black and red splattered vinyl this time around and includes previously unreleased tracks that have been mastered from the original demo tapes of their first ever recording session together. The post-punk outfit's debut single was released initially in 1979. Bela Lugosi's Dead is not only their first single, but also often gets mentioned as the first goth record. It has since been covered by Nine Inch Nails, Massive Attack and Nouvelle Vague. The rest of the tunes from the demo session remain hugely innovative, reflecting their post-punk and dark-glam style with dub reggae influences that would further evolve in their output that followed and explain why the band went on to such cult status.

Review: 2022's stunning album Once Twice Melody was a fine example of Beach House doing what they do best - living bang up to that name, with intimate-but epic instrumentation falling somewhere between surf-y jangle and grand shoegaze. 'Become' is definitely on a similar tip, and as such feels much like an extension of the long form.
Dig a little deeper, though, and scratches begin to show. While the full-length record represented Beach House reaching for the stars, or at least the moon, and stepping into the role of festival headliners, here the sense of pure confidence and occasion is less pronounced. That may not be a bad thing, mind, because while Once came across like a finished article, refined and prepared, things here seem somehow rawer, as though we're sitting in on a session as oppose to getting the signed off product.

Review: Beach House gets in on this year's Record Store Day hype with The Become EP, which is a collection of five songs from the Once Twice Melody sessions. Say the band, "We didn't think they fit in the world of OTM, but later realized they all fit in a little world of their own.' As such they are presented here with their own scuzzy and spacious sound and special capturing of live playing spirit. The tunes are outliers for where the band is generally headed right now but still offer plenty of fans old and new to enjoy.

Review: Classic deep house here by Beanfield, an outfit comprised of Compost Records chief Michael Reinboth with Jan Krause, Michael Mettke and Tobias Meggle, who released one of their biggest tracks 'Tides' with vocalist Bajka back in 2004, taken from the album Seek. Featured is the timeless Beanfield Chant Mix and of course Detroit icon Carl Craig's now legendary rework, as well as Swiss deep house hero Ripperton's impressive perspective. Providing newer reinterpretations is veteran of the Toronto scene Art Department, and Italy's Toto Chiavetta who injects the track with his signature brand of high tech soul.

Review: There are as many opinions on 'Now & Then' as there are people, but regardless of your own thoughts on this revived Lennon sketch there's no denying the arrival of the final Beatles single has been one of the major musical events of 2023. Collectors and completists, meanwhile, of which we gather The Beatles have more than a few, will be trampling on top of each other to get hold of these Japanese editions of the single.

Review: Once again, Music From Memory has dug deep for inspiration. Very few will have come across the original 1987 pressing of Ich Traume So Leise, a long-forgotten collaborative album that brought together trumpet player Heinz Becker, songwriter Karl-Heinz Stegmann, and poet Isabel Zeumer. Predictably, though, the tracks which the Dutch label has chosen to reissue are exceptionally good. "Mein Tanzlied", for example, features Becker's meandering trumpet lines and Zeumer's eyebrow-raising spoken word vocals seemingly drifting over an intoxicatingly funky, mid-80s dancefloor groove, while "Dir" is a seriously atmospheric chunk of beatless jazz poetry. Flip for the Balearic electro-funk of "Der Schnupfen" and the languid, new age ambience of "Abends".

Review: During the latter stages of the "Philly Soul" era, New York remixer Tom Moulton delivered a string of inspired, DJ friendly reworks for the Philadelphia International label. For proof, check this fine selection of classic Moulton mixes for the storied imprint. Check first his version of Archie Bell and the Drells' "Where Will You Go When The Party's Over", which he brilliantly teases out and increases in intensity over nine spellbinding minutes. The funkier flex of People's Choice's "Jam, Jam, Jam (All Night Long)" is a sweaty, low-down treat, while the Teddy Pendergrass rework is a soaring disco classic in the Philly Soul style. Best of all, though, is the string-drenched disco celebration that is his mix of Lou Rawls' "See You When I Git There".

Review: Barbie Bertisch's debut album Prelude made quite the stir when it dropped back in June. It was also ripe for remixing and so it is that Love Injection have enlisted six top talents to add their own spin "in dialogue" with the originals. First in the series we have Montreal's Gene Tellem on the A-side flipping 'After The Storm'. The resulting tune is faster than the original: it is a wavy, dreamy deep house cut with superbly subtle synth work over the rolling drums. It gets you in a trance in no time with its lush atmospherics. On the flip, Tamar sumo and Lakuti, well known to the heads at Berlin's P-Bar where they are residents, go for a powerful peak time rework. It has chattery claps and intense synths layered up over the unrelenting drums to make for something textured and euphoric and sure to make a big impression. We already can't wait to hear the rest in this series.

Review: The story goes with this one that a collective of seasoned musicians came together and discovered a rare camaraderie. With no hesitation, they poured their everything out onto tape and the results are now presented here on this one-sided and etched 12" under the title Better Lovers. Out features former Every Time I Die members Jordan Buckley on guitar, Steve Micciche on bass, and Clayton "Goose" Holyoak on drums with frontman Greg Puciato on vocals and Grammy-winning producer Will Putney. The music is dense metal with walls of sound washing over you and full of big guitar riffs, guttural vocals and dark energy.

Review: Beyonce's last album was widely heralded as a triumph by all. It found her diving into house music and working with scene stalwarts like Luke Solomon and Honey Dijon. It won a Grammy for its efforts. Now, even though plenty of the originals were ready to work a club dancefloor, we get treated to some remixes. They all focus on the standout single 'Break My Soul' and we get funky and soulful stuff from Terry Hunter, broken beat from Will I Am, house thumps from Honey Dijon, and filter-heavy stuff from The Queens. Add in the Nita Aviance club mix and the original version and you have a useful package indeed.

Review: Top Ranking Sound rolls out more featured reggae gold from the vaults here with a new 12" that features tow originals and two versions. Black Survivors open up the account with 'Come Away Jah Jah Children' which is brilliantly unhurried. The horns are lazy and steamy, the vocals seductive, the drums seriously heavy. A dub version allows more focus on the noodling acoustic guitars, then Original Survivors step up with their own version on the flipside under the same title. This one is a little more bright and uplifting with a dub that is just as good closing out the record.

Review: We have been really liking what we've heard from the Dolphin label out if the US of late. Now we get a taster of an upcoming album from Blaque Dynamite with a second single from it. Beka Gochiashvili features on keyboards and synthesizers throughout the cut. The Stefan Ringer remix is a wet and funky mix of jazz, house and experimental sound. It has a sleazy sense of vocal naughtiness to it with shuffling broken beats and rich layers of percussion. The original is an organic and loose-limbed deep house vibe and Ben Hixon brings a little more edgy tech to the drums.

Review: A first-time remix LP of Stephan Bodzin's Systematic classic album - 'Tron Caligula Marathon Man' - containing stellar new reworkings of the tunes made between the years 2005 and 2006. Raxon (Ellum, Kompakt), Mathew Jonson (Wagon Repair, M_nus), Elax, Fedele (Ex-Agents Of Time) and Hannes Bieger all make appearances, lending gloomy and gargantuan extra credence to a time-honoured techno masterpiece.

Review: Bona Fide returns on All Day I Dream with his first proper release named Entropy. The Amsterdam-based DJ and producer has certainly found a fitting home for his style of dreamy house on Lee Burridge's label, with highlights on the full-length not limited to: the mesmerising title track with its sublime steel drums playing centre stage, the deep dive into the exotic that is 'It Comes Around', through to the deep and sensual mood music of 'Alter Ego' featuring Zone+, the melodic fantasy of with 'Love Sparkles' with Wassu and the blissed-out closing cut 'Luminous' which is the perfect soundtrack to open-air rooftop style fun in the sun.

Review: Archeo Recordings bring us some more Balearic Italian treasure here with some gold initially recorded in Bologna almost two decades ago. It's a collaboration between friends Bottin and Lucio Dalla that has never before been on vinyl. 'Lunedi Cinema' was an ident that played before Monday night movies on of one of the main Italian TV channels for many years. This electronic version includes the Martedi Mix from 2008, a Minibar Bonus Track and also a mix by pioneering Italian dream house dons Leo Mas & Fabrice with a Bottin dub sealing the deal. It's a superb package of real Italo music history.

Review: Even if you've no idea who Boygenius are the subtitle of this reissue alone should warrant investigation. Originally released in 2018, five years on the American indie group are looking to revisit and relive their wildly successful debut EP, which at the time of its initial release had critics fawning over the quality of its content. NME, for example, awarded it a perfect score, while the normalised rating on Metacritic, which aggregates all reviews and works out the average, gives it 84 out of 100. So what was so good about the record? Well, for one thing, each of the artists involved brings their own personality to the equation, resulting in a wonderful stylistic marriage that sounds like minimalistic and melancholic rock and poetic folk pop. And thematically, this is emotionally very highly charged stuff, destined to grab you by the heartstrings and never let go.

Review: German masked crusader Boris Brejcha returns this week with another set of massive hi-tech minimal anthems on the esteemed Frankfurt imprint Harthouse. Club Vibes Part 02 features the strobed-out main room locomotion of 'Bumblebee' featuring all the hypnotic elements, white noise build-ups and clipped rhythms you've come to know him for, while over on the flip he treats you to the emotive and bittersweet tech house journey 'Jawbreaker' which once again displays his clever use of melody on another 'maximal' masterpiece by the FCKNG SERIOUS head honcho.

Review: Boris Brejcha tops up his functionally named 'Club Vibes' series with a refreshing pair of minimal/deep techno tunes, both of which provide a unique take on the style. 'In The Shadows' is a big-room EDM number replete with talking bass 'yuhh's, sinister horror voices, and It-madhouse melodies, pulling of the difficult-to-nail mood of cheeky, yet horrific. 'Schwartz', meanwhile, plunges us into the void with farty reeses and soft synth whoops, building to an overall cavernous sonic image.

Review: Big week for the inimitable Boris Brejcha, who returns with a vengeance on the fourth installment of the Club Vibes series. Heavy duty peak time artillery takes aim at you on this one, featuring A-side cut 'Knocking Bars' which is exactly the kind of maximalism you've come to know and love from the German producer, that will definitely have you reaching for the lasers. Over on the flip however, the FCKING SERIOUS co-head will have you pogo-ing on the dancefloor amongst all the many hands in the air on the playful minimal funk of 'LSD Waterpipe' incorporating mesmerising melodies and his cheeky spoken word vocals.

Review: German innovator Boris Brejcha had a couple of solid releases drop at the tail end of December 2022. As well as an entire double pack of fresh tunes he has also served up this Club Vibes Part 05 12" on Harthouse. 'Black Unicorn' opens up and is a playful tech groove with some bright melodies dropping in from above as a twisted bassline and crispy drums get you locked in below. On the flipside is 'Sit Back & Take It Down' which is another lively and elastic groove with colourful chords and some dark vocals over blasts of synth. Two useful tech tools for sure.

Review: Boris Brejcha is a big deal in the techno world and for good reason. He has an all consuming sound that works in a wide array of different settings. He serves it up on veteran German label Harthouse here with a coloured 12" packing one solid punch on each side. 'Moment In Life' is a moody one that teases and pulls back, with suggestive synth motifs and textured synth modulations all suggesting something is just around the corner. 'Lost Memory' is a much deeper and more pensive cut with lonely lead speaking of real pain.

Review: Boris Brejcha's distinctive style of 'high-tech minimal' has earned him much credo over the years, enough to warrant the rerelease of several of his most enduring tracks under the recently embarked-upon Classics series. The tracks this time around are 'Festival Of Love' and 'Wolcke 7', originally released in 2007 and 2008 respectively on the Harthouse label before taking the international minimal scene by storm. Though they're both shuffling, popcorny sundowners for those who like it clean, classy and glassy, these tracks explore different zones, with the A-sider far jankier than the more accessible B.

Review: Everything about Bring Me The Horizon is stadium scale. Heavy metal proudly wearing deathcore and emo patches, from unapologetically direct lyrics through power chords and a vast timbre that makes each track feel ocean deep, fans of the Sheffield outfit will find them on as ferocious form here as at any point in their near-17 year career together.

Firing on all cylinders and then some, from 'Dear Diary' onwards it's a classic case of pissing off the parents and turning things up to 11. Then ravaging the mic in a cannibalistic frenzy. A sign of the times, tracks like 'Itch For The Cure (When Will We Be Free?)' And 'Obey', the latter featuring a guest appearance from YUNGBLUD, reflect increasing use of rave and drum 'n' bass nuances in the metal world right now, while 'One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest...' closes on dark, dramatic opera.

Review: West End's double-pack re-edit series continues, with long-standing UK electrofunk hero and scalpel rework specialist Greg Wilson sharing a quartet of revisions. There are airings for two of Wilson's most sought-after scalpel works from the "Credit To The Edit" series - superb versions of Brenda Taylor's "You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat It Too" and Raw Silk's "Do It To The Music" - as well as a couple of previously heard rearrangements that are on-point as per usual. Wilson first adds even more mind-altering delays and low-slung dub disco flavour to Forrrce's "Keep On Dubbin'", before superbly stretching out the mostly instrumental "Melt Down Mix" of Shirley Lites' synth-laden peak-time classic "Heat You Up".

Review: JP Buckle's 1998 album Flying Lo-Fi is an unsung gem of the Rephlex catalogue, full of crunchy flair and all the qualities you want in a kick-ass braindance record. Buckle has more recently been reactivated with scattered releases on Bandcamp and the like, and now he's revisited his finest hour with a remix double pack which takes us back to some of the album's standout cuts bolstered by remixes from the current crop of electronica legends. 'Flex' and 'One For Da Laydeez' sound as fantastically crunchy as they did back in the day, but it's great to hear emergent acts like Crispy Jason (spotted elsewhere on Winthorpe Electronics) getting freaky with such feisty source material. Look out for the Roy Of The Ravers version of 'Flex' - another highlight on this high-grade braindance affair.

Review: Reissued from the 1983 original press on House Of Music - and subject to many a reissue since, for good reason - the Italian duo BWH hear their enduring classic 'Livin' Up / Stop' rereleased once more. Something about the collaborative effrots of Stefano Zito and Helene Zito made for a dizzying concoction in Italo, and the lasting interest in this single is backed up by the song's squeezy-clean mix and Hi-NRG synth rollicks. 'Stop' on the B-side, too, is slower and more rapacious, and without it, the single wouldn't be the same.

Review: Matti Bye is Between Darkness & White Snow on this deeply absorbing new 12" on Northern Electronics. It comes as four separate pieces that all play out as part of a larger narrative. First up is 'I', a quiet, gloomy landscape on a grey winter's day with the gentle sound of flowing water and muted synth modulations placing you right in the middle of it. 'II' has more presence, a growing sense of melancholy and unease and 'III' allows a little heavenly light into the mix to gently uplift. The final chapter has a feeling of hope with subtle keys radiating from deep inside.

Review: When Cabaret Voltaire returned to the release schedule in 2020 as the one-man Richard H Kirk show, fans were relieved to find that mind-bending meld of 1970s Kosmische, techno, dub, house and space-age experimental electro was as pure as it ever has been - the results being a typically fresh and forward-thinking record the man in question summed up as "no nostalgia... normal rules do not apply. Something for the 21st Century. No old material."

Less than six months later and the big CV has more next level business to offer us, coming in the form of Shadow of Funk, a new EP that offers something of a counterpoint or extension to last year's full-length, Shadow of Fear. Based on 'Billion Dollar' alone - an acid-driven big, dark room banger that closes this EP -this release looks set to make an equally heavy impact, but as with anything this man touches, the joy is in discovery. So, let's leave it at that.

Review: Mondo Groove is one of the leading purveys or disco, Italo and nu-disco and it has been for ages. This new and limited 12" is packed with four hard to find gems from between the years of 1983 and 1988. They have all been taken from the original master tapes for this special reissue. Camomilla's chugging and snappy 'Queen Of The Night' opens up with a squelchy arp and heavenly melodies, Noa-Noa gets more cosmic and De Dion offers the drama and neon colour of 'Sexy Cola' with a fine extended version while Sandy Samuel's 'I Like Sado Music' is a loose limbed percussive workout.

Review: 1asia is a label that focusses on Asian artists from a broad array of genres and Caslean is next up with the beguiling Sweet Adventure, a remix EP that finds her work reinterpreted by an array of innovative talents. 'Munir's Bandung First Trip' is serene electronica with lush and dreamy lines and naive vocals floating up above the smooth and uplifting rhythms. 'Meng Que's Yard' brings jumbled percussion and sugar synths to a broken beat jumble and 'Mogwaa's Studio In 07307' is a retro-future cut that pairs bouncy nu-disco with dubby pads. Last of all is 'Knopha's Re-clockwork,' another innocent and pure electronic world of neon synths and intriguing vocals.

Review: Florin Buchel's work as Contra Communem Opinionem has bridged the gap between seemingly disparate labels like Lux Rec, Mathematics, Drumpoet Community and Photic Fields without missing a beat. More recently, he's funnelled the CCO output through his own label Silum to bring us some EPs of dazzling hardware tech house with ample melodic content to keep the dark clouds at bay. 'Atmospheric Inversion' toys with jazzy discord, but the vibe is primarily soulful and synth-driven, while 'Atmospheric Extinction' heads wholeheartedly towards uplifting chord sequences to get your hair standing on end. 'Atmospheric Pressure' takes a snappier, techier approach but the tools and signal chains are the same, so the pervading warmth of the tracks maintains. This is house music which instinctively connects back to the gritty strain of machine soul pioneered in Detroit - if you're always searching for that quality in your club tracks you won't want to overlook this one.

Review: BMG reissue the second ever release by the pioneering Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost, originally released in 1985 as an EP. Emperor's Return often goes criminally undersung as a fleshing-out of black metal as a genre, with the bleak imagery surrounding it going on to cement the style as its own niche. Their first record to feature American drummer Reid Cruickshank (aka Reed St. Mark), the EP comprises five thrash-come-black metal rabble-rousers, ahead of their time for 1985.

Review: Ceremonie hail from France and have an '80s-inspired sound that hits differently. Their songwriting reaches new levels and draws on well-chosen, well-designed sounds with a wonderful sense of melancholy and just the right balance of drama and subtlety. After an indie-pop leaning cassette a few years ago they now land on Enfant Terrible with a contemporary take on retro new wave and synth-pop. Three of the tunes are originals, one is a cover of French 1980s new wave band Message and there is a whole new album in the works, apparently. Great stuff.