unafraid to push boundaries, ephemerals third album, egg tooth, explores new directions: their modern soul and r&b songs now tinged with flavours of jazz, afrobeat, psychedelia and bluesy cinematic orchestral arrangements. with influences ranging from nina simone to kate tempest, steve reich to alice coltrane, egg tooth sees songwriter hillman mondegreen and singer wolfgang valbrun combine beautifully, marrying direct and honest lyricism with powerful vocal delivery. it s an album with recurring themes of rebirth, love, world politics and philosophy in a varied and eclectic collection of songs - an eclecticism perhaps a reflection of ephemerals diverse backgrounds: the singer wolfgang is a new yorker living in paris, the writer in nottingham, the sax player lives in france, while the keys, trumpet and rhythm section are in bristol, sussex and london.

hot on the heels of their recently released label compilation we make colourful music because we dance in the dark, and an ep from new talent tcts, london via berlin collective greco-roman get set to release *our town* by letthemusicplay featuring kate tempest. starting out as a teen rapper in lewisham and now hailed by the guardian as one of the brightest british talents around, 27 yearold south london spoken word phenomenon kate tempest has been causing a stir at poetry slams and performances up and down the uk, from glastonbury festival to the edinburgh fringe. this year saw her self-penned performance piece brand new ancients claim the ted hughes award for innovation in poetry – making her the first person under 40 to do so – and shortly after her victory she was one of eight poets commissioned to perform at the hayward gallerys light show in london.

a new drift is emerging from america and she s in the middle of it: kate iwanowicz aka miskate is not only co-founder of the highly respected foundsound-label from philadelphia, but also a high-definition producer in its own right. after several ep s on her s and others labels like microcosm records she now pays a visit to karloff to expand her boundaries and fuelling the eclectic cut-up-funk she s already known for with solid, defined beats, boosting the focus on the dancefloor as another target to be aimed at. however the steady drive obtains the required substance through interspersed well-crafted distractions like filleted choirs and hymnal strings, constantly winding through the structure and blazing it up. brilliantly reflective and ecstatic at the same time this record gives you more than just a seasonal tempest in a teapot