Back catalogue: All genres

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


For a four track electronic music EP, there's a lot here. Opening with 'Burning Fields' by Aphonia, the uninitiated might expect the whole package to nod to that classic electro sound, highly detailed but lo-fi, packed with dark atmosphere but all about dance floor energy. Skip to track two, though, and Angles of Pompeii present mutant indie-punk-dance in the vein of Detroit Grand Pubahs at their most guitar-y, and minimalistic.

Elsewhere, 'Retreat' is a slow mo maximalist triumph, acid lines flailing over the top of a muffled cacophony of noise that places the emphasis on a lunging, head-nodding bassline. Add 'Athma', Odopt's sinister low end and drum machine tune up that could almost be an accidental piece from the movie They Live and you've got not only a complex release, but one boasting replay value set to last for years after the investment.

Review: After four years away from the label, Tomasz Guiddo returns to Compost Disco with a cut that defies easy categorization. It features lead vocals from Louie Austin, a classic, 'Rat Pack' style crooner who first collaborated with Guiddo back in 2016. 'Pain My Heart' combines squelchy, slow-motion grooves (complete with lo-fi, Latin-tinged drum machine beats), undeniably Balearic musical flourishes (including Spanish guitar solos and dreamy chords), and Austin's classy, emotive lead vocals. Quite where it sits is open to debate, but it's an immaculately executed and memorable song. Soundway sorts Meridian Brothers provide a suitably humid remix, adding Austin's weary vocals to loose-limbed Latin beats, deep bass and suitably tropical guitar licks. It's a revelatory revision and one of the strongest remixes we've heard so far this year.

Review: NX12X is the first in a new series of experimental records from this label and the artists given the keys for the inaugural release are Goldsmiths student and modular synth maestro Sam Hostettler and electronic innovator La Leif who tackle a pair of tracks each. Hostettler's sounds are the moody, heavy ambient atmospheres of 'Pointalims' and the more light and airy li-fi soundscapes of 'Opalescence.' La Leif offers broken beats with a skeletal feel and a burial-style synth aesthetic on 'Kyoto' and then crunchy breaks and fizzing, distorted synth malfunctions of 'Kimochi.'

Review: Lady Wray's Piece of Me is a second sizzling album of superb soul. It marked something of a homecoming for the artist as she debuted on this label back in 2016 and found her leaning towards her usual soul and r&b as well as more hip-hop influences than ever: classic boom-bap drums and chunky bass hist loud and proud and for that reason the originals are ripe for remixing as they are here. Two legends of the game in Pete Rock and Ghostface Killah step up and bring their own signature sound and dusty drum beats to make for a crucial little 7".

Review: This is one of those disco holy grails that doesn't even need to convince you of its worth, and its no surprise original copies have been so coveted for so long. Chicago's Magic Touch label was a low key affair, but jams like this ensure its impact remains strong to this day as LaJohn and Sheela lay down the feeling in no uncertain terms. 'Too Far Gone' is a smouldering, bittersweet track which deserves to reach as many soulful heads as possible, so this tasty remaster courtesy of Numero couldn't come soon enough.

Review: LaJohn and Sheila's 'Too Far Gone' is an otherworldly disco cut from the Chicago label Magic Touch, which is benefitting from a reissue spotlight courtesy of Numero. The track was unearthed by Mr Peabody for a BBE compilation a long way back, but finally the tune is getting its own proper outing thanks to this tidy little 7", which comes in clear blue on this edition. Some tracks are holy grails for more than their scarcity, and this is truly one of those perfect records that everyone will want in their lives for all time once they clap ears on it.

Review: The fabric originals label goes from strength to strength here with a new EP from Bristol-born, London-based LCY, which the artist has said "is a songbook written in relation to organised religion, its relations to my continued unpacking of gender and sexuality and how a lot of these forced conformities have subconsciously affected my musical expression and often conflict my existence and ability to move forward." The EP opens with dark synth waterfalls and chopped-up vocals and goes into dense percussive territory, glitchy sound design and abstract composition that sounds like little else.

Review: Take a trip back into the underground of early 80s Chicago and the raw, brilliant sound of the Magic Touch label. Numero have taken on the task of picking up some of the label's most sought-after jams and giving them a fresh pressing, and this sure shot from the Light Touch Band is a fine place to start. This is a record which offers two very different vibes depending on what you're after, as the A side slips into a feel-good, funked up rap joint celebrating all things Windy City and the B side takes a surprise turn into wild-eyed P-funk territory. The diggers and sharks have been circling this one for a long time - let it reach the people so they can all get down to the unreal sounds.

Review: Numero are taking a look through the cult Chicago label Magic Touch and dusting down some of the most coveted releases from their archives, starting with this smokin' hot joint from Light Touch Band. It's a record of two halves which kicks off with the laid back rap of 'ChiCAGO (Is My Chicago)', a funky-as-hell jam which pays tribute to the Windy City in fine style. The flip is the real gem though, as 'Sexy Lady' swerves into P-funk flavoured waters with dazzling results. The OG copies of this record were changing hands for crazy money, so don't hang around while this one's in reach.

Review: LNS and DJ Sotofett explore a new direction on their latest EP, 'The Reformer,' released on Tresor Records. Moving away from their debut album, the duo fuses digital artifacts, scanner sounds, and vocoder voices with melodic colors that radiate across cold electro landscapes. The opening track, 'Reform,' takes a deep dive into the electro sound, while 'Plexistorm' blends synthesised strings with arpeggiated acidic bleeps. 'Electric Terraforming' uncovers charged energy sources for life on another planet, and '909 The Controller' features washes of dub over a skipping beat, with a slow, rippling melody and percolating synths. The vinyl version includes exclusive locked grooves by DJ Sotofett.

Review: Legendary Belgian record label WeMe has long been a pioneering force in the drum & bass underworld. It is Lord of the D who makes a devastating return here with all consuming sounds towering over you and do as they please with your brain and body. 'Dunstable' is all fizzing synths and hammering drum breaks then 'O Ixed Mpo' absolutely cuts loose with sonics in meltdown, reversed stabs and drum carnage that never resolves. 'DBLE' is another fucked up drum track that will leave you bedraggled and bewildered.

Review: Los Sospechos first dropped 'Jano's Revenge' on Colemine back in 2010, and it's since gone on to become a stone-cold classic of heavy funk played by the most discerning DJs. Now it's finally getting a limited repress on green marbled vinyl, giving you a fresh opportunity to savour the sweet, soulful sound and share it with the world. There's a timeless quality to this instrumental and its spiritual cousin 'Mirror Door' on the flip, where the brass section takes the leads and hammers out hooks to sink your teeth into.

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


The Lounge Society has been hotly tipped for a while, with plenty of Ones To Watch declarations coming their way at the start of 2021. They have served up super quick selling 7"s like 'Generation Game' which touched on the unrest in American society and then their follow up headed into edgy punk-funk territory, sneering at culture wars and decrying the impact of a class divided society. Now comes 'Cain's Heresym' which takes aim at the negligent political class as well as highlighting the danger inherent in the spread of misinformation and their disdain for celebrity-worshipping. The young English band are heirs apparat to the throne of protest music.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record warped, but in working order***


Lovers' rock down the yapper. First released on the Brixton-based reggae and dub distributor Studio 16 circa 1980 - as part of a series of releases by the Love & Unity alias, an in-house project of producer Winston Edwards - 'Can't Let You Go' is a joyous number to jab into the dial. With singer Sandra Cross on vocals, we're assured "I am yours and you are mine", doulbing up nicely with the resampled voicemail that appears at the start - "I just had to call you to tell you that I'll never let you go." it's an expansively melodic sound, and well deserving of its new reissue by the label, who are still going on strong.

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


LSN's music is always constructed with a real sense of foreboding and plenty of textural girt. That is the case again here with some enacting and snapping drum work and extra heavy mic work. But that's not to say the sound is austere - they still draw you in with enticing rhythms and structures that you want to gaze at. 'Power Shift' (feat Flowdan) is a top opener with arching bass and badman bars while 'Devolve' is more angsty and unsettled with its broken beats. 'Trust' is icy and full of late-night tension then LSN & Youngsta's 'End Theme' (feat ZAMEEN-A) closes with some lush string sounds over neck-snapping beats.

Review: .Anthem incoming! Having generated some powerful hype and attention online through an unofficial stream, Lyra's take on Ojerime's 'Give It Up 2 Me' now finally gets an official release on Leisure Collective. Capturing the universal turbo movement that's taking most genres by storm right now, each version tickles a different spot. The original is a pounding speed bass bumper, L Major brings some jungle magic to the mix while Limoux drops the tempo for a bubbly bass house cut. Finally Jag Limbo takes us all the way to trance town. All corners covered.

Review: Some undeniably classic reggae here on this reissue from Duke. It is a red hot double sider that was originally recorded in 1968 by the one and only dub legend Lee "Scratch" Perry and taken from a solo 7" box set that was assembled a few years ago by the name of People Funny Boy. The A-side What A Botheration' is a rhythm from his legendary band The Upsetters with Perry's typically esoteric vocal style up top. On the flip is The Inspirations with the seriously warm and soul-drenched tune 'Stand By Me' which radiants sun rays and earthy grooves.

Review: Long Island outfit The Lemon Twigs frequently leave critics confounded and confused, in part because their shape-shifting style tends towards the over-the-top and grandiose. Rooted in a love of 70s glam, the theatrical rock pomp of Queen and a tongue-in-cheek love of overblown rock operas, they seem to delight regular listeners while rubbing reviewers up the wrong way. On Everything Harmony, their new album, they've re-set their influences once more, delivering a blend of folk-rock, Simon & Garfunkel style folk revivalism, prime Beatles and the close harmony bliss of the Beach Boys, with a dash of fuzzy garage rock and giddy psychedelia thrown in. It's well-crafted and expertly executed stuff that's hugely easy-going and enjoyable, whatever sniffy critics may say,

Review: Gustav Ahr, better known as Lil Peep, was one of the pioneering voices of the emo-trap movement that ballooned out of the underground over the past decade, with its insidious influence stretching to the mainstream with the likes of Machine Gun Kelly, Olivia Rodrigo, Willow (Smith) and even Demi Lovato embracing punk and emo compositional motifs in their most recent output. With Peep's tragic passing at the end of 2017 due to an accidental fentanyl overdose cutting short an immensely promising career which had seen him just release his debut album Come Over When You're Sober on Columbia; efforts have since been made by the late artist's mother and extensive team to clear the sample rights to his extensive back catalogue of highly influential mixtapes. Most notable of all is 2016's Hellboy, released right around the time of his joining the GothBoiClique collective, and boasting features from several of its most prominent members such as Lil Tracy and Horse Head, while the project distilled the young artist's knack for consistently sourcing a unique sonic intersection between the swagger of hip-hop, the unhinged energy of trap, the aggression of punk and emo's earnest, almost uncomfortably honest vulnerability. In essence, an underground internet classic that's been in dire need of physical media ever since it first reared its seminal head on Soundcloud almost a decade prior.

Review: Contemporary jazz heroes Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad have impressive pulling power. Since inaugurating the Jazz Is Dead series, the multi-instrumentalists-turned-producers have been able to entice a string of jazz, soul and jazz-funk greats into their Los Angeles studio, including Roy Ayers, Azymuth, Jean Carn, Marcus Valle and Phil Ranelin. They've done it again on volume 17, with all-round legend Lonnie Liston-Smith bringing his spiritually-enriching, sun-soaked jazz-funk sound to the table. His soulful, life-affirming voice soars above bustling jazz breaks, twinkling piano parts, smooth bass, flanged funk guitars, spacey synths, hazy horns and sonic translations of the Californian coastline at dusk. As brilliant as you'd expect it to be, all told.

Review: Exactly pinpointing the essence of Little Dragon's sound is tough - it's always soulful and groovy, but it's not soul in the classic sense and there's plenty of other musical influences in the mix - but by now it barely matters. Each of their albums thus far has been special, and Slugs of Love is no exception. The Swedish four-piece impresses early with the head-nodding grooves, echoing house pianos and swirling atmospherics of 'Frisco', opts for a New York no-wave disco flex on 'Slugs of Love', and offers a perfect platform for mic man JID to the warped, hip-hop-goes-synth-pop shuffle of 'Stay'. There are highlights aplenty elsewhere across the album too, with our picks including Damon Albarn hook-up 'Glow', the moody house-not-house of 'Gold' and the picturesque, breakbeat-driven pop breeziness of 'Tumbling Dice'.

Review: First released on streaming services back in December, Little Simz fifth album, No Thank You, finally makes it onto CD. Chances are you've already heard it, but if not, we can confirm that it's a genuinely brilliant set that more than lives up to the dizzy heights of its Mercury Prize-winning predecessor, 2021's Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Constructed in great sonic detail by long-term production partner InFlo - all sultry strings, head-nodding R&BV beats, sampled horns, background and chorus vocals from Cleo Sol and warming bass - the ten-track set contains some of Little Simz's most potent lyrics - all of which are delivered with the kind of seamless, London-accented flow that we've come to expect from her. Another triumph from one of the UK's greatest MCs.