Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Belgian-born, Vietnam-based innovator Peter Van Hoesen returns to the fore here with a daring four-track EP that dives deep into experimental techno. Known for his precision and intensity, Van Hoesen lives up to that as he crafts a cerebral yet visceral journey through chaotic structures and abstract rhythm. From the hypnotic disarray of 'Definition by Absence' to the stormy turbulence of 'Variables Edit 1,' each track embraces unpredictability without forgetting the floor. 'Prime Directive' disorients with anti-club energy, while 'Morphology' offers a slightly more grounded groove that gives form to his conceptual explorations. Fearless stuff as ever from big Pete.

Review: Dutchman Boris Bunnik is a man of many moniker,s but here he returns as the electro-leaning Versalife with Parallax Effect PT.2, the second and final chapter in his series, which pushes his rhythmic vision into more elastic, unpredictable terrain. Shifting from the precision of PT.1, this release coils low-end pressure and restless sequences around percussive frameworks that flicker between tension and release. Each track feels alive-mechanically structured yet pulsing with organic energy unfolding in real time. The balance of restraint and propulsion gives the EP a kinetic, suspenseful edge which means that PT.2 doesn't just follow its predecessor; it refracts it, bending the narrative into new shapes.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks, record slightly warped***


'How Do You Do It?' We'd like to ask Victorious much of the same question, as his reissued four-track EP via Sex Tapes From Mars is a serious befuddler, leaving us with just that question at the tips of our lips. First released in 1997, this is a long-lost soulful vocal house seducer from the genre's golden era. The record became a quick cult favourite, and its status among heads has remained exalted to this day, going for obscene prices on the 'ogs (there should, of course, be more regulation). Victorious aka. Victor Davies hailed from Canada and had already released one other EP before this one, via the serendipitously named Sex Records. But 'Liquid Squid' is really the teuthid oozer of choice, its lustrously sweet vocals sounding as if they'd been sung in secret by an illegitimate lover and its various analogue knocks and hums working to splashy effect.

Review: Survival horror franchise Alan Wake saw its second instalment in 2023, following the game series' 2010 debut. Again, we follow novelist Alan Wake, as he attempts to escape his imprisonment in an alternate dimension by penning a horror story about an FBI agent, Saga Anderson. Both a detective story and a shoot 'em up, the second game bolsters the franchise's neo-noir and gothic Midwestern tropes; the soundtrack is fittingly both lachrymose and chilling, with its contributing scorers - Petri Alanko, Old Gods Of Asgard, Jean Castel and more - portraying Nordic moods of modern, nailbiting mystery. Through stark, grim, minor-keyed anthems, trip-hop furrowers and trembly orchestral laments, we find dead bodies found in the woods, fight spriggan-esque creatures, and soak in moods of noir crime psychodrama, all chillingly captured in a single sonic melange.

Review: Turkish DJ and producer Carlita brings a 60-minute DJ rethread to Fabric, weaving the audio aids of Butch, Alex Metric, Paco Osuna, Prunk, Toman and Alinka into a seamless, 60-minute redline ride through house and techno. Among the 13 selections are two of her own standout tracks: 'Raf' (with Andrew Zimmer), a rave-leaning house cut loaded with soulful vocals and breaks, and 'Stop Now', a heads-down tech house roller that builds exponentially on its own momentum. Accompanying the release is a short documentary that trails Carlita through Istanbul, offering glimpses of her family, food, and creative beginnings in the city where cultures collide.

Review: Gilles Peterson remains a man with his finger firmly on the pulse and this is another album to prove it: International Anthem is a special double compilation highlighting the renowned DJ and curator's deep connection with Chicago's celebrated contemporary jazz label. Featuring selections drawn from Peterson's BBC 6Music, Worldwide FM and syndicated shows, the collection showcases standout tracks from the label's first decade and also included is an exclusive, previously unreleased live recording from Worldwide FM. Pressed on "Frozen Lake Michigan" coloured vinyl, this Record Store Day exclusive is part of International Anthem's "IA11" series-celebrating 11 years by honouring their past while shaping the future of boundary-pushing global sounds.

Review: Analog Africa doesn't do anything other than special releases really, but this one tracing the label's origins back to Zimbabwe over 20 years ago is a real standout. A carefully curated collection of 25 tracks with a fine booklet proving plenty of extra context, it captures the birth of the country's modern music scene and brims with the creative sound explosion of the 70s and 80s. Before genres were fully defined, artists blended rock, rumba, soul and traditional rhythms in bold, experimental ways that still stand up and get diggers and dancers excited in 2025. Included are never-before-released tracks from Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mtukudzi and more and they all add up to rich and dynamic snapshot of Zimbabwe's peerless musical evolution during what was a transformative era.

Review: Way back in 2004, Sanctuary Records commissioned pre-Britpop pop hipsters St Etienne member and serial compilation curator Bob Stanley to put together a collection celebrating the British 'acid folk' movement of the late 1980s and early 1970s. Long deleted, the previously CD only compilation is finally returning on vinyl - this time in expanded form, with the inclusion of additional tracks and a few picks from its (also unavailable) sequel. It's a superb set all told and one that showcases a take on folk heavy on effects, unusual rhythms, sweet vocals, horror-adjacent sounds and pastoral but otherworldly instrumentation. A few well-known names aside, it's a genuinely deep dive too - as you'd expect from someone of Stanley's knowledge and experience.

Review: London label Footnotes turn the page on a bold new drop cap with Annotations, a handpicked compilation reflecting on the label's growth since its inception in 2018. Helmed by LSB, the project draws from a pool of core contributors - Alibi, Anile, Tokyo Prose, and Bazil - alongside fresh voices, all credited as shaping the current drum & bass landscape. LSB's interwoven originals pockmark further remixes and collaborations, presiding over a quality output emphasising nuance over impact.

Review: In the latter half of the 1990s, the lines between indie-rock, Britpop and dance music became increasingly blurred, indie club DJs being blessed with all manner of heady, high-octane treats to enjoy - including notable big beat, trip-hop and techno reworks. This four-disc set from Cherry Red does an excellent job in celebrating this fertile musical period via a mix of chart-bothering faves (Norman Cook remixing Pierre Henry and Cornershop), heavy club revisions (the Chemical Brothers taking on Bomb The Bass and the Charlatans), bona-fide dance classics (Leftfield, Orbital, Basement Jaxx), quirky rock-rave (Black Grape, the Prodigy), big beat workouts (Indian Ropeman, Death In Vegas, Bentley Rhythm Ace, Lo Fidelity Allstars), and eccentricities (the All Seeing I, Jimi Tenor, Future Sound of London).

Review: Alt's 'N Outs unearths hidden gems from the vaults of Blue Note Records here and presents alternate takes and bonus tracks from six iconic albums, all of which now land on vinyl for the first time. Pressed on 180g opaque blue wax, this Record Store Day exclusive features rare session material from legendary recordings including Cannonball Adderley's Somethin' Else, Grant Green's Idle Moments, Wayne Shorter's Speak No Evil, Art Blakey's Moanin', Jimmy Smith's Back at the Chicken Shack and Sonny Clark's Cool Struttin'. Long available only on CD or digital, these tracks offer a fresh perspective on classic sessions and show the spontaneous brilliance that made Blue Note so legendary.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Case cracked, product in perfect working order***


Some 21 years after volume one appeared in stores, PTG's ongoing Masterpiece: The Ultimate Disco Funk Collection series has reached its 36th instalment. Given the series' longevity and the sheer number of tracks already showcased across volumes one to 35, the cuts on display here are genuine rarities, cult classics and sought-after gems. As usual, highlights are plentiful, from the soulful vocals, dreamy chords and rubbery slap-bass of In Touch's 'Why Did You Stop Loving Me' and the boogie-era sunshine shuffle of 'I'm Yours' by Hollywood Tucker, to the big studio swell of Spence's mid-80s jam 'Gonna Party', the 80s soul smoothness of Jimmy Scott's 'Games' and the synth bass-propelled post-boogie brilliance of 'Divided Love' by Haywoode.

Review: British producer Joe Thornalley aka Vegyn made his name working with the likes of Frank Ocean and Travis Scott. This project is something quite different - a rework of the iconic French duo Air's seminal downtempo album Moon Safari. He collides its blessed out and beauty Balearic nostalgia with new studio techniques and a deft atmospheric and experimental touch so that tracks like 'Sexy Boy' and 'La Femme d'Argent' retain their lush, ambient roots but evolve with newly textured beats and modern flair. This remix LP isn't about revisiting the past; it's about reshaping it, and Vegyn's vision works as both a tribute and a bold reinterpretation for a new generation.

Review: British producer Joe Thornalley aka Vegyn brings forward-facing, abrupt and clippy stylishness to Air's 1998 debut album Moon Safari, in a daring reimagining crossing both audio and English Channels. Vegyn's desultory dynamics prove a toothy match for Air's comparatively amniotic French downtempo pop sound, though we *can* hear the ways in which Vegyn might've always somewhat taken after Air's production, his dream-rap sound lent well John Glacier's album released not long ago. Of course, 'Sexy Boy', 'All I Need', and 'La Femme d'Argent' are synonymous with the vibe of an era, and Vegyn's LP-remix (an increasingly popular format in 2015) honours Air's e-steamed essence, reconditioning their turn-of-the-digital vibe in jerkier retrospective tones.

Review: Venom’s arrival in the early 80s marked a seismic shift in the UK metal scene, grabbing the gourmand attention of both metalheads and punks alike for their sludge-mired shreds and vocal catharses. Asmodeic shapeshifters and crimson fiends are heard terrorising London on this latest, greatest hits compilation from the band, reaffirming their rather tense relationship with the big smoke following their comeup in Newcastle upon Tyne. Most of Venom’s early material was penned by bassist and frontman Conrad Lant (aka Cronos) and guitarist Jeffrey Dunn (aka Mantas), with a distinctive focus on satanic imagery. Get ready for a ravelling, blackened English metal catabasis, perfect for those listeners who need it raw.

Review: Recorded in 1992 in London and New York, Voyager 1 is a unique live album by UK outfit The Verve-then known simply as Verve-that was cunningly designed to resemble a bootleg but was officially released to introduce the band to US audiences via Virgin's indie label Vernon Yard. It actually predates their debut album A Storm in Heaven, but the set captures the band's raw, psychedelic energy - we're well before the Britpop years, when Ashcroft and co were in a decidedly more sonically swampy, shoegaze groove - with standout versions of 'She's A Superstar,' the hypnotic early single 'Gravity Grave' and 'Slide Away.' Also included is 'South Pacific,' which remained unreleased in studio form for decades, proving to be a swirling, oceanic closer, faithfully remastered from analogue tapes at Abbey Road Studios.

Review: The Stockholm punks are back with their follow-up to 2022's Cave World. This fourth album of theirs was launched with the lead single 'Man Made Of Meat', which recalls English upstarts The Cool Greenhouse, Boston icons The Modern Lovers and 1977-era UK punk. Viagra Boys have been further teasing the album with new songs now making it onto their live set and 'The Bog Body' has become a fan favourite, as it's bombastic enough to spark circle pits. The mighty Pelle Gunnerfeldt (The Hives, Refused) is a frequent collaborator and remains the co-producer meaning there's no drastic changes in direction. Released via their own newly-launched record label, Shrimptech Enterprise, this self-titled effort is set to be a potent fertilizer for their popularity, as they continue to march around the globe, earning the public's respect as one of the century's best live punk bands.

Review: There's no two ways about it: Viagra Boys will go down in history as one of the great Swedish success stories, alongside The Hives, Refused and ABBA. And they've done it without a squeaky clean image, which is refreshing in modern times - this is a band your mum probably wouldn't want you listening to as a kid. In terms of strengthening their status as modern titans of punk and rock n' roll in their country and globally, this fourth studio album is going to do just that. Lead single 'Man Made Of Meat' sets them up perfectly, it's like a sequel to The Stranglers' 'Peaches' in the verses and there's a rabble rousing chorus that you can't help but want to shout-a-long to. What's interesting sonically is they've been indulging in studio effects to twist guitars to sound like synths, meaning they've broadened their sound a lot compared to when they burst onto the scene with 'Sports'. That drive to innovate makes them all the more alluring, but they've not lost any of their character or feral sensibilities.

Review: There's a good reason that the Viagra Boys' latest album is self-titled. Unlike their previous album, 2022's satirical, politically-charged Cave World, the Swedish post-punkers' latest set is lyrically far more introspective, with frontman Sebastian Murphy offering (in the band's own words), a "self-deprecating exploration of his own absurdity" (or, in the case of opener 'Made of Meat', "your mom's Only Fans"). Musically sitting between energetic, horn-heavy early 80s post-punk and grunge-fired US alt-rock - with occasional nods to more tropical and melody-driven flavours - the album is heaps of fun with strong songs aplenty, not least the jaunty 'Pyramid of Health', the low-slung, synth-sporting 'Waterboy' and the surprisingly pastoral 'River King'.

Review: Norwegian pianist and composer Bugge Wesseltoft, a jazz innovator known for the diversity of his sound, is back with 'Am Are,' which is an expressive exploration of many sonic textures and dynamic contrasts. This album showcases Wesseltoft's inspiring collaborations with a constellation of superb musicians who bridge generations and styles. From sparse arrangements to complex layers of dubs and loops, Am Are highlights the power of human connection through improvisational interplay. Wesseltoft's curated selection demonstrates his passion for projects that spark creativity and celebrate the beauty of musical communication and make another fine addition to his catalogue.