New releases last two weeks: All genres

Review: MURO Select presents yet another crucial 7" for Fourth Wave Record Factory for anyone whose ears prick up when it comes to Far Eastern soul, city pop and jazz cause this one has two of Hamada Kingo's urban mellow gems. He was a key figure in 80s city pop and AOR and his iconic track 'Dream Is Alive' from the Earthian image album makes its vinyl debut and is full of The flip side features 'Yokaze,' another standout urban mellow tune that captures the smooth, soulful vibe of his work and is perfect for those close listen bar sessions or the gentle moments early in the evening.

Review: For Fourth Wave Record Factory, MURO has put together a couple of new and exclusive 7" releases that feature two classic Japanese AOR tracks by artists who very much played a part in defining the sound. Firstly, Ginji Ito's smooth and soulful 'Heart and Soul,' originally from his tenth album, shines with mellow mid-tempo vibes and glossy vocals and melodies. On the flip side is 'Uwaki na Kare,' a beloved cover of a classic US disco track from Ritsuko Kazemi's third album that comes correct with a catchy, laid-back Saturday love groove. This release marks the first time these iconic songs have been pressed on 7".

Review: When it comes to genuinely open-minded and hard-to-pigeonhole Balearic fare, Alex Storrer AKA Lexx remains one of the best in the business. That much is proved by the producer's fourth artist album in six years, the gorgeous and languid Rhythm of Love. Unlike its predecessor, which saw Storrer explore instrumental pastures, Rhythm Of Love is a far more soul-flecked and vocal-heavy affair, with guest singers Laura Quinn, Stimulator Jones and Ella Thompson all making their presence felt across the album. Across 12 gorgeous tracks, Storrer and co sashay between sun-soaked, head-nodding soul ('Special'), lovers rock-inspired synth-soul ('Right By Your Side'), warm dancefloor adjacent sweetness ('Cherish'), reggae-soul ('Rhythm of Love'), organic deep house ('Far Away') and gorgeous ambient soundscapes ('Guiding Star'). As impeccable as you'd expect.

Review: The latest Lindstrom album is so good that he appears to have dispensed with the spell-checker for the copy i but it's always such a terrific pleasure to hear new music from the Norse disco titan that even the most uptight proofreader will surely forgive him. Back in the noughties, he and compatriot Prins Thomas flipped the script with their immaculately crafted take on the meta-disco sound. And though the frequency of Lindstrom's output has slowed over time, the quality of his production retains its magnificent allure. Syrius Syntoms begins with a bang i glistening synths, snappy drums and pristine melodics on 'Crkl' i before taking acidic turns via 'Thousand Island Man' and drifting into dreamland on 'Moo)n'. 'These Are a Few of My Favorite Strings' adds a little NY house bump, with evocative keys and low-end groove, while the feel-good arps and bouncy bass of the title track are vintage Lindstrom i full of kitsch sparkle and joyous main room energy. Top marks.

Review: Mixed by Japanese producer and DJ Muro, who has a background in hip-hop, this connoisseur is never short on deep cuts and takes us on a journey through soulful, vintage AOR sonics from his home country. Whilst no two tracks are by the same artist, there's a cohesion to the tracklist thanks to Muro's ear in pulling out things that sit so well together. Asakawa Mak's 1988 cut 'American Night' is a smooth nod to sophisti pop greats Prefab Sprout; whilst Seri Ishikawa's elegant and lush number, 'Eternal 1/2', highlights how innovative she was in forging new sounds back in 1985. These two cuts are just the tip of the iceberg, yet this compilation is an ideal entry point to some of the finest Japanese music of the late 20th century. You can bank on Muro delivering the goods.

Review: While he's used the NAD alias for numerous commissioned re-edits and reworks, it's been a decade since Idjut Boy and Record Mission co-founder Dan Tyler last released an EP under the alias. Given his track record as a dub delay and space echo living editor, this surprise outing in the excellent Duca Bianca imprint is a more than welcome development. He begins by dubbing out, extending and rearranging a Germanic new wave gem ('Dow Wordy', with its dead-eyed spoken word vocals), before showcasing a lower-tempo, French language obscurity on the Balearic-not-Balearic shuffle of 'Histoire De Cul'. 'Krapps Smack' sees the Oslo-based Brit add extra layers of echo-laden insanity to a low-slung, extra-percussive punk-funk number, while 'Release The Pigoen' is a spacey, slow-motion AOR gem drenched in effects and saucer-eyed intent.

Review: Switzerland's Palace Pasador step out from behind the Fuga Ronto curtain with a dreamy, groove-heavy debut of their own i a tightly wound suite of dub pop vignettes laced with synth shimmer and slow-motion charm. It's a brand new release that pulls from cosmic lounge, vintage dub and leftfield synth-pop, stitched together with just the right amount of space-dusted mystery. 'Footprint Affair' sets the tone with crooning vocals, squelchy bass and starry-eyed synths, while 'Looking For Clovers' rides a gentle shuffle that feels like a love letter to hope itself. 'Fizzy Spells' and 'Susanna's Side Eyes' are lighter, winking affairs, full of charm and earworm melodies. On the flip, dub versions stretch things further into the clouds i 'Alpha Nightsky (Bonus Dub)' in particular is a highlight, all woozy delays and submerged euphoria. It's the kind of record that feels both featherlight and deeply intentional i oddball but intimate, escapist but grounded. Fans of Music From Memory, Not Not Fun, or any sun-bleached Balearic B-sides will find plenty to fall for here. A quietly confident arrival from an act clearly in no rush, and all the better for it.

Review: It's a remarkable statistic that Payfone - the long-serving production partnership of Phil Passera and Jimmy Day - have not released an album before, despite building up a killer catalogue of singles over the last 12 years. The vinyl-only Lunch, then, is a genuinely significant release .- and, happily, a rather brilliant one too. Featuring an impressive roll-call of guest vocalists and musicians, it sees them deliver six excellent riffs on their analogue-rich, hybrid house/Balearic/nu-disco sound. The plentiful highlights include the dubbed-out, low-slung and atmospheric opener 'Movin' On', the infectious, spaced-out boogie of 'Joan of Arc' (whose chorus will be stuck in your head for days), sensual jazz-funk jam 'Spend The Night' and the warming, sun-soaked delight that is 'Pony Bar'.

Review: Naya Beat, the LA reissues and reworks label gathering and recasting some of the most delicious sounds of the South Asian diaspora, gathers some of its standout digital-era reworks onto vinyl for the first time, offering a vibrant cross-section of global disco, house and experimental editry from its roster. At the centre is a brand-new reimagining of Asha Puthli's 'Our Love Is Making Me Sing' by Bernard Fevre, better known as Black Devil Disco Club, who brings to the fore his signature moody synth atmospheres. Also included is a pulsating disco mix of Pinky Ann Rihal's 'Party Tonight' by Turbotito & Ragz, already spun by the likes of CC:DISCO and Barry Can't Swim. JKriv then twists RD Burman's 'Birth of Shiva' into a house stomper laced with bansuri and squelching bass, while Daniel T. transforms 'Zindagi To Zindagi Hai' into a dubbed-out Bollywood journey.

Review: Geordie one-man production line Smoove's Multitrack Reworks series consistently delivers the goods, with the popular funk, soul, breaks and disco DJ/producer dropping fine, Reflex style revisions of both classic cuts and lesser-celebrated gems. He begins volume ten by reworking Steely Dan's 'Peg', a cut beloved of hip-hop DJs thanks to its killer drum-break and use in De La Soul's 'Eye Know'. His version makes great use of the multi-track stems, teasing out the break and slowly building the instrumental elements before unleashing the vocals. It's a genuinely great rework, as you'd expect. Over on the flip, he gives 'Baby Be Mine', with its' crispy drums, glistening disco guitars and squelchy synth-bass, a similar treatment, before successfully chopping up a heavy, percussion-laden deep AOR soul number ('This Time').