bringing some much needed soul to the party, emotive 001 sets the tone for the imprint, a label that aims to give you more than a quick fix, tapping the listeners emotions with each release. 001 comes courtesy of silk 86 & blamma blamma, a collaborative two track ep, ‘never think’ & ‘still love’ were born from the same studio session and feature the signature flair both parties are known for – percussive grooves, jacking drums and that ear for a hook.

2016. twentyfive years after der dritte raums first release on sven vaeths harthouse and eye q label, andreas krüger aka der dritte raum locked in his studio again to create electric friends, an album ostensibly meant to make up for his previous album aydszieyalaidnem and it marks a shift to a more pop direction. the double vinyl lp includes a download code for the full album.

marcus lambkin aka shit robot returns with his third full length album for dfa records, entitled what follows. the 11-track album was conceived and recorded at marcus’ home studio in a small town outside stuttgart, worked on in various new york studios and then mixed over the course of 11 intense & coffee-fuelled days in dfa label mate juan maclean’s new hampshire studio. the album follows lambkin’s previous long-players, from the cradle to the rave (2010) and we got a love (2014), which drew plaudits from the likes of the guardian and pitchfork, and featured reggie watts and james murphy among the array of contributors.
the double vinyl lp comes in a gatefold sleeve with download code included.

playfulness, this is it. take one of the world leading jazz trombone players, gianluca petrella. take one of the brightest emerging talents within the european jazz scene, gianluca guidi. take a mad scientist of percussions, leonardo ramadori. take the flaming club culture charisma of dj ralf. take the mixing and recording studio mastery of fresco. let them meet – it’s a bunch of people who are true masters within their own field. and let them play.

for the latest instalment in the apollonia story we look to argentina and the talented producer federico molinari. having been based in germany for the last couple of decades, federico has refined his sound, developing a strong signature through his dj sets and his studio productions, most of which he has released via his label oslo. federicos ability to craft effortless grooves and timeless rhythms is evident here on this killer new three-tracker. side a is the eight-minute long roller * congo toys*. the focus here is on a crisp 4x4 beat, which keeps things simple – under this lies a sturdy bassline. all the while, the low end is accompanied by a series of bleeps, which could almost be the chatter between two archaic computers, modulated and weaving in and out of the beats and bass. on the flip, we have two more dance floor-ready joints. like * congo toys*, * tres cuartos* is focused around a simple foundation, with layers of unusual effects – an overriding sense of playfulness comes through in molinaris production, perfect for the boogie down crew. last up, * joyfex* takes us further into leftfield, hypnotic, hazy atmospherics draw us into their web and we are tangled up in a mesh of vibrating whirrs and echoing, distorted voices. sublime business from an apollonia favorite…

the deewees say: we met bolis in 2006 via myspace, and then later in real life when we toured asia. to escape the unbearable boredom of his native macao, bolis had decided to try his hand at making electronic music - inspired by a jean-michel jarre concert - and we have stayed in touch all these years. this record is the result of bolis visit to deewee in gent where he was enchanted by the world of analogue synths. we should also mention that bolis had a previous life as south east asias number 2 rubiks cube champion in 2003. think logic system and telex. sleeve design by ill studio.

on a fishing trip two years ago, the two main guys behind africaine 808: d leyers and nomad - went to a tackle shop to buy some creepy crawlies (saltwater worms), not knowing that they were about to make a life changing discovery. in front of the shop a blind man was jammming on a little electronic organ, stomping his feet, singing, growling and basically making a scene. the boys were quite impressed with the fella, who introduced himself as blind double d . they offered to bring him home and record him. he turned the offer down, but offered instead that they could record him on the spot in front of the tackle shop - if they bought him a bottle of good bourbon. he explained that he would never set foot into a studio again in his life: he was sick of music production and the music industry in general, and that he just wanted this bottle of bourbon and to be left alone. the boys got him the bottle, and recorded blind d.d. on the spot with a tape recorder they borrowed from the tackle shop. unfortunately, the tape was stored in one of the tackle boxes over the trip, and some of the creepy crawlies crawled into the tape and stank it all up. this added some extra funk to the recording. with dirk and nomad s usual studio trickery and production skills, they created the two versions of this very very funky, creepy, stanky track. we hope you ll enjoy it as much as we do.

longstreth lud bombino in sein applehead studio in new york ein, um gemeinsam an “azel” zu arbeiten. und dabei erwies sich longstretherwies als fantastischer produzent. er hat großen respekt vor der musikalischen tradition der tuareg und führte die sessions mit sanfter und geschickter hand. fans von bombino und tuareg-musik werden ein paar bemerkenswerte innovationen auf diesem album entdecken. die erste neuerung ist die einführung eines völlig neuen stils, für den bombino hier pionierarbeit leistet. die sonnige mischung aus blues/rock und einem reggae-onedropandbounce-beat nennt er liebevoll “tuareggae”. eine weitere neuerung ist die erstmalige verwendung von westlichen vokal-harmonien in tuareg-musik-aufnahmen (durch longstreths einfluss), was den songs eine völlig neue tiefe und farbe verleiht. “azel” ist der name einer kleinen wüstenstadt, nur ein paar kilometer von agadez entfernt

nice price deal !!! second ep from the paltrx series. 3 tracks from the studio vaults taking variations from dub and ambient modulations. long stabs, heavy rythmics, full ride !

electronic music composer, synthesizer connoisseur and studio wizard david morley returns with a brand new release for the belgian de:tuned label. “the origin of storms” is a series of purely synth based tracks inspired by the music of conrad schnitzler and consorts. beautifully crafted ambient presented as a limited 12 + 10 inch vinyl package, let the music take control!

in meteorology, haar is a coastal fog along certain lands bordering the north sea.
the first release features sonitus eco’s vision for the label, shrouded in mist.
remixes by dar dra and ness. mastered by neel @ enisslab mastering studio.
limited to 300 white/blue marbled 180g vinyl incl. a4 insert.

weichgeklopft und richtig glücklich: ellen allien meldet sich mit „turn off your mind“ zurück, einer ep deren titel darauf verweist, das es der berliner dj, produzentin und labelchefin um in klang gegossene monotonie geht, durch die der geist den leib verlässt und nur noch der körper im wind der bässe und rhythmen flattert. „hoo“ und „off“ heißen ihre beiden neuen tracks. sie sind schnell, fesselnd und roh wie ungeschliffener stahl. produziert wurden sie an der guten, alten roland aira tr-8, der roland tb 303 und einem jupiter synthie anfangs bei ellen allien im wohnzimmer - einem ort der sich perfekt für tiefschürfende zeitreisen eignet, um dann später im studio fortgesetzt zu werden. ihre beiden musikalisches trips gehen zurück ins berlin der neunziger, jener zeit in der sie gast und resident in legendären clubs wie dem e-werk, dem planet und dem tresor war und sich vom sog der nacht tief ins innere grober techno- und acid-sphären aufsaugen liess. beide tracks dehnen sich auf epische acht minuten aus, verbreiten durchdringende technomagie und lassen sie mit sounds tanzen, die zum bedingungslosen „lost in music“ auffordern. eine kraftvolle ep, gemacht für nächte, in denen niemand merkt das der tag jenseits der dancefloor-euphorie anbricht. zeitgleich zur veröffentlichung startet die bpitch control chefin eine neue party reihe mit dem titel bpitch boogy, die in einem berliner warehouse ihre neue heimat hat. und natürlich tourt sie auch um den planeten und stellt die treibende energie ihrer an die roots von techno und acid erinnernden tracks einem weltweiten publikum vor

played by disco halal, red axes, rss disco, benjamin fröhlich, naduve
for its 4th release, malka tuti is welcoming j.a.k.a.m. to its ever-expanding family. born in tokyo japan, j.a.k.a.m. has been been one of the leading figures developing the music scene in japan from the early 90s as a dj, producer and a band member. his wide variety of musical influences ranges from house, hip hop, drum&bass, techno, reggae, jazz, rock and world music. with combining these different styles of inspirations and tradition, he creates the most unique time and space on the dance floor, a kind of fusion of early tribal house (recording live instruments in the studio), world music with a pinch of shamanic spiritual vibes. on his ep for malka tuti he delivers 2 original epic tunes, followed by a smokey dub version by versatile records boss gilb r and a total dance-floor smashing remix by aussie prodigy - dreems.

from piero umiliani, legendary soundtrack composer for numerous italian movies of the 60s and 70s, and the man behind mah na mah na (muppet show, benny hill, sesame street), the omnicron label (sound library works) and the sound work shop recording studio. for fans of experimental music, avant garde, synth experimentations, ennio morricone, riz ortolani, giallo movies, mondo movies, soft erotica, and wonderfully weird stuff. the album is fully remastered for new levels of enjoyment.

mannequin records is proud to present the second volume of der zeltweg - italian tapes industrial music 1982-1984 , the legendary musumeci s tape label existed for some few years in the early 80 s. edition of 500 copies on 160 gram black vinyl. coloured vinyl. while the a-side is filling all the music produced by some of their side projects (errata-s-corrige, gasdehyde and herpes-z) that we already introduced in the first volume, plus an unreleased musumeci very early studio track apologia/musumeci , the b-side is presenting for the first time the full reissue of the psychophatic blossom - il fantasma della libertà tape (der zeltweg 002), an unexpected guitar-bass-noises experimental album, permeated by philosophical declamations in italian language and short pulsating rhythmic compositions.

despite building their careers out of strikingly different musical places, both dbridge and radioactive man have taken influence from the field in which each other operate. dbridge (darren white) was part of the iconic drum & bass outfit bad company and he helms one of the scene’s most solid and quality imprints in exit records and radioactive man (keith tenniswood) was born from the acid house scene and the off kilter electronics of his two lone swordsman projects (alongside andrew weatherall) which led him to create his decidedly uk take on drexciyan electro. it’s by no means a stretch to learn that both producers have crates that contain their favourites from each genre but they’ve also found a mutual respect and connection in the studio over the last few years, leading to the dbrm moniker for craig richards the nothing special label.

despite building their careers out of strikingly different musical places, both dbridge and radioactive man have taken influence from the field in which each other operate. dbridge (darren white) was part of the iconic drum & bass outfit bad company and he helms one of the scene’s most solid and quality imprints in exit records and radioactive man (keith tenniswood) was born from the acid house scene and the off kilter electronics of his two lone swordsman projects (alongside andrew weatherall) which led him to create his decidedly uk take on drexciyan electro. it’s by no means a stretch to learn that both producers have crates that contain their favourites from each genre but they’ve also found a mutual respect and connection in the studio over the last few years, leading to the dbrm moniker for craig richards’ the nothing special label.

during their european tour earlier this year, canadian duo jokers of the scene stopped over for a couple of days at club bizarre studio in northern france. the two pair of producers locked up and came up with betaville and breakwater, two killer lo-fi and spaced out tracks. betaville is a fuzzy dream that will make you dance in slow motion with your head in the clouds. boasting a strong melodic and nostalgic feel, it unfolds its warm analog synth pads, old school sequences and drum machine to psychedelic effect. imagine boards of canada wanting to make you dance. even slower is breakwater, a dirtier, chunkier track that ditches the softness of betaville in favour of a more in your face bass line and all together rougher attitude. it chugs along to old fashioned beat box claps and percussion and quirky synth melodies. lastly betaville gets the timothy j fairplay treatment of being violently pulled apart and chucked in all corners. reminiscent of early chemical brothers music, a heavy beat slaps over agressive drugged up analog sound effects while a repetitive, haunting melody screams on top and reverberated vocals whisper in your ears. scary.

a key artist in the shaping of electronic music, dan curtin has explored many styles in his career and now he has come full circle. the hardware repopulates the studio, bringing with it the inventive, organic techno sound he is most fondly known for, this time with a modern twist. these tracks take you to the heart of the man and are some of his best work.

-documents 1975- enthält bislang unveröffentlichtes material der krautrock-pioniere, teils live-, teils studioaufnahmen von 1975. das album war bislang nur bestandteil des limitierten vinyl-boxsets -complete works- (2015) und erschien vorab in einer mini-

this instrumental hip-hop 45 is an ode to the love of jazz fusion and that dusty sound with a handful of tracks recorded from 2013/2015. both of the tracks love fusion & floating were made over the course of three epic days locked in the studio on the mpc 2500. as simiah tells it, “diamonds for me was basically the tipping point to where i could rock new grooves. it was like i had made another mistake, but it was a step in the right direction. new chops and new vibes.”  the cover art is by j byles with the layout by bee. full colour artwork in a sleeve with spine

after nearly a year of studio silence, and 9 releases under their belt the painfully anonymous dj / production trio italojohnson finally reveal that they are in fact the ghostbusters. to mark the anniversary of their 10th release they ve decided to amp up their usual white labels to black. who you gonna call?

im a cliches first release of 2016 comes from label boss cosmo vitelli. after a five year hiatus during which he was kept busy by his band bot ox and relocating from paris to berlin, this is the very first release to come out of his new studio located in berlins marzahn district.

matt karmil is a british musician currently residing in sweden. ++++ is his third album, following 2014 s pnn debut - - - - and idle033, released on bristol label idle hands earlier this year. his output also includes a variety of singles for labels such as new yorks beats in space recordings and stockholm s studio barnhus. on this new album, karmil can be heard exploring the concepts of impossible objects, reflection, symmetry, infinity perspective, truncated and stellated polyhedra, hyperbolic geometry, tessellations and lost love. while making the music that constitutes ++++ he interacted with mathematicians george pólya, roger penrose and harold coxeter as well as the crystallographer friedrich haag, and also conducted his own research into tessellation. the result is ++++, karmil s most clever, strange, emotional and fun work yet, a testament to his breadth and depth as a musician. did we forget to mention that he s an awesome party dj?

a new collaboration project on crowdspacer. bryce hackford, part of one of the most daring dj crew in nyc (deep trouble), true purveyor of a certain new york club culture legacy (think arthur russell) and author of 2 acclaimed albums, came to joakims studio and after a few hours of live synth and drum machine jamming, jhack was born. i would describe this as psychedelic voodoo house music. but its up to you really.

using the success of his album “swinger” as a door opener in america, mano meter has also grooved straight into the hearts of artists like parov stelar, simina grigoriu - paul kalkbrenner’s wife and alle farben. it was only a matter of time, to present his latest work from the studio. together with david gerlach, who’s kind of an wunderkind on the piano, he has produced a song called “polyphobia”. you’ll find a pearly, extremely fresh groove which has already influenced dancefloors from europe all the way to burning man! he finally had mercy with the ordinary music lovers and released this well kept secret to the public on vinyl and digital! it has been enhanced with remixes from der schmeisser & der tietz, das fachpersonal and nikolas noam.

after the mindblowing release of andy kolwes, its time for matei tulbure to step up and do his thing. first making waves as part of the infamous groove duo tc studio, matei is here exploring sonic science on his own. for ptx007 * gateway ep*, he crafted three superb and diverse cuts for any occasion. we are really looking forward to this one!

italian artist fabio monesi has been busy these years working hard in the studio while also running the wilson records label among his other production projects. here we get three tracks of no nonsense party jams sure to burn the floor. from acid storm to palladium, all bases are covered on this ep with big basslines, punching acid and well placed samples chopped just right for you and all your dj needs.

the original motion picture soundtrack for the movie “amy”, including original film score by antonio pinto and classic amy winehouse tracks. the double vinyl release is housed in a gatefold sleeve.

juan atkins and moritz von oswald – the two indispensable protagonists of the electric garden – plug back into the wilderness. ‘transport’ – the new full length effort of the borderland collaborative project – brings together a new set of studio-refined sequences aimed at colonizing some of the dark energy that pulsates through those areas that are thoroughly electrified, even if not ‘on the grid’. ‘riod’ is the first streak to bolt through. the detroit-berlin axis triangulates to a third point which, like the atomic particle that lives in two places at once, flickers between a form of techno-charged ambience and a futuristic club-jazz which cannot be broken down into constitutive parts. borderland remains caught in a state of enraptured stillness, invisibly moving between every imagined future for electronic sound making. the result: a font from which springs serene and exhilarating musical ideas that vibrate with refined energy for sixty seconds in every minute.
the vinyl release includes a download code.

kris- & konflikthantering ii/iii (kln008) features 4 tracks including songs from haralds live repertoire as well as a remix of his studio barnhus debut sabor latino now interpreted by the queen of pampa, areal and kompakt, ada. kris- & konflikthantering is swedish for crises and conflict management, as well as a course at university guiding you how to manage scenarios involving crises and strategies in handling conflicts.

two years ago i played at studio 9 in vilnius, lithuania. the following day i missed my flight home and ended up spending an extra day, which gave me a chance to explore the city with my friend linus, who took me to the contemporary art centre. it was there i spotted a book named ‘rojus’, that linus told me translated as ‘paradise’. the word and striking cover of the book stuck in my mind. a few days after returning home, i turned on to a national geographic documentary named ‘designed to dance’, explaining the courtship rituals of birds of paradise. as i watched, i jokingly began drawing similarities between these birds’ attempts to captivate and impress the opposite sex with dance, and the way strangers try to attract one another in clubs and interact on the dance floor. this gave me the idea of creating a record of functional club music, sequenced as if it were a club night, from doors to closing, using samples of these birds of paradise and their habitat. thus, rojus. leon vynehall 2016

two tracks from a brand new (second in a row) ep by warsaw-based duo tumult hands fully illustrate paradoxical approach of jacek sienkiewicz and jurek przeŸdziecki to the creation of a common integrated form. spontaneous compositional decisions and minute sound interventions are contrasted here with a persistent precision of rhythms generated by both musicians in a reality of an inter-studio space, in moments of an encounter, sometimes, fully controlled collision, of two worlds. full of inner rigour and logic (record is a prime example of modern functionalist music), although teeming with fantasy and flourish, tumult hands current explorations also announce duos full-length lp, soon to be released through recognition records.

here comes another release by echologist aka brendon moeller. brendon did several releases over the year and here comes the next bomb!! these tracks were recorded in autumn of 2016 in brendon’s home studio that is conveniently located in the basement of his home in upstate new york. the tracks were made using a combination of hardware and software. the protocol, well, sync all machines via midi and cv and then jam. once a jam seems to take on a form he multitrack record all elements in ableton and then create a final arrangement and mix down.

regular studio sparring partners october and borai rekindle their ongoing partnership for hometown label happy skull, eschewing the conventions of club-ready house and techno in favour of two decidedly dark industrial interpretations.

this is idle033: the sound of an accomplished dancefloor producer stretching out. these aren t straight dance tracks, neither is this a ponderous ambient lp. this is vivid, vital electronic music for modern times. tracks to cut through the monotony of depressingly average house and techno releases. the music shimmers with warmth and humanity, a testament to karmil s personality as well as his skill as a producer. one can sense in the tracks that this a musician who has travelled and absorbed much along the way: long drawn out winter nights in sweden with the studio barnhus crew. years spent in cologne with its distinguished electronic sound, a city which has given so much to the world with kompakt and more. last but not least you can sense karmil s upbringing here in the uk, the roughness and rudeness all added to the mix. idle hands has never been a label to follow trends or to take the easy path. it has strived to keep people guessingand to remain in awe and wonder at new music being produced. inmatt karmil it has found a producer whoembodies this notion.

born to italian/moroccan parents, laila sakini was raised in the forest areas of outer melbourne, australia, later moving to the inner-city, and then to london. after years of involvement in dance music culture and djing, she turns inward, exploring club sounds via personal melodic-based electronic music. she also speaks fluent chinese. written between melbourne and london, polished at deewee, belgium. sleeve design by ill studio.

beautiful sonic sorcery from cristi cons and dewalta. elegant, warm, subtle but energetic music, creating a momentum of infinity. our favorit romanian artist known for his productions, his quality amphia label, a:rpia:r as well as his sit project with vlad caia teams up with dewalta from berlin who continues to refine his output on meander. these two kindred spirits met at dewaltas studio to create a spaced-out musical treatment, captivating body and mind. lisa milloy, joined the creative process, adding beautifully flowing words, recorded in one take as stream of conciousness. breath in and dance to their melodies with a clever groove that just flows onwards. with the record basorelief, released in 2014 meander already introduced the greatly talented cristi cons to its circle. now these two artists, bringing bucharest and berlin further together, deliver a hightly anticipated follow-up with this record filled with rhythmic material for the space between. 180gram vinyl, available in two editions: either as full cover-artwork or as limited edition with hand-made screen-printed cover-art.

bret winans (aka cb-r & cb radio) produces music out of a studio in brooklyn. using a variety of gear that has been amassed over the past decade, hes experimented with house, italo, techno and more. 2014 saw the release of cb-rs inside existence, an ep of dub techno and ambient textures that launched the s/p/a imprint. hes also appeared on the 100% silk 2015 label comp, sunset silk, as cb radio with the more italo leaning pacific ocean blues. with each release were opened up to another side of the producers world. available on full color jacket lp by new york based visual artist and musician jay goitia.

maeve is the record label run by three close friends, mano le tough, the drifter and baikal. for maeve’s eighth outing it has enlisted the talents of long time friend ed davenport. the record grew from a chance hearing of some new material at eds studio one night and after a brief discussion it was decided that the tracks would find a fitting home at maeve. although recently more known for his harder techno releases under the moniker inland, silver walks is some what a return to eds roots. slower, emotive, more contemplative tracks, recorded over a pretty short period of focused studio time. silver walks is a synth-led jam. the arpeggiator holds pride of place as the centre of the tune with filter tweaks complementing its progression. kuromaku has a tougher attitude - heady and cosmic with a deep kick. it means black curtain in japanese.

new release on eye teeth by israel vines featuring the hybrid techno bass electro anthem “gatekeepers”, the dark techno gem “unscathed” and the ambient “repose in dub”. we started this sublabel as way of exploring pure and experimental techno in an entirely contemporary context (where it often uses historical lenses and a wider musical context). this is techno from detroit and america, not detroit techno. we would like to see american techno evolve, and this new imprint is an attempt to be a catalyst in that arena. this ep was pre-mastered by neel at enisslab studio in rome. the vinyl was mastered by carl at trutone and pressed at archer records in detroit.

following the success of left-handed, daniel steinberg’s third full length album, the german producer and label owner has invited a stellar cast of electronic music visionaries to reimagine the lp’s nine original cuts. the much anticipated release, scheduled for march 18 on steinberg’s own arms & legs imprint will feature a wealth of talent including paul johnson, nick holder, 808 state & crazy p. making a mockery of the concept of ‘highlights’, this is a remix album of brimming with exceptional studio craft that glides across a slew of dance floor genres. from the the jacking techno madness of paul johnson’s ‘bones’ to the rock solid funk of crazy ps peace to the silky soulfulness of nick holders no one can change me and the raw avant-electronica of 808 states crucial, its safe to say that there is no filler on this impressively versatile collection. on bringing together some of the most respected names in electronic music steinberg states: its a huge honour, each of the 9 artists have been a big influence on my work over the years. i couldnt be happier with the result.

get real is the new project from legendary producers, green velvet & claude vonstroke. the pair, hailing from chicago and detroit, headed out on the road together for a string of shows at the tail end of 2015. get real was born and vonstroke was soon heading to green velvets chicago studio to work on new music. the result of that trip is the debut get real ep featuring two slices of amazing future funk from two creative giants.

aladdin is an atypical project at versatile, even for versatiles standards. in the base, the group consisted of nicolas ker singer, chaotic poet (known from poni hoax, paris, and his solo project yet to emerge) and gilbert cohen, boss of the label. the two met in the studio after breaking up with their then-girlfriends, resulting in an album filled with inner pressure.

kris- & konflikthantering is swedish for crises and conflict management, as well as a course at university guiding you how to manage scenarios involving crises and strategies in handling conflicts. this album was put together while harald was taking this course. this album was made during semi-unconscious conditions and is an emotional transcription of experiences to the language of sequences and frequencies. the soundscape is a warm fuzzy travel from krauty basslines, vocal fragments and mantras through echoes and reverberating tunnels with shimmering arpeggios, field recordings and programed patterns in ancient japanese roland techniques. all recorded on the studer b67 master tape recorder, the heart of the kranglan broadcast studio.

whities come with this a tasty one from san francisco born / berlin based avalon emerson. 3 tracks on a theme. tip! first record of the year on whities which comes from rising star avalon emerson. the release features two distinctive lead tracks with emotional synths underpinned by sturdy rolling basslines, alongside an ambient synthapella. it comes in a beautiful handmade sleeve designed by peckhams studio c&c collective.

2016 repress, without artwork cover
heist kicks off the new year with the first ep of dam swindle since they put out their album boxed out back in march 14. the punch drunk ep is the result of a series of jam sessions in their studio, experimenting with their ever growing studio setup.

benedikt frey crafts a musical aesthetic that (much like the esp institute) might only be seen in its true form from a birds-eye view—a whole greater than the sum of its parts. his playful indifference to genre specifics and pre-prescribed instrumentation or production techniques makes for a loose and refreshing collection of work, and this debut for the esp institute, the lobbyist, serves up an incongruous three tracks so bewildering and narcotic we’re already impatiently fiending for more. on side a, the title track is no less than a medieval assault. led by a stomping war drum and a blasting bass synth that might literally have caught the studio on fire, an erratic array of clanking percussion, hi-hats and cymbals push us into a sinister corner where his whispering chant grants us the smallest bit of humanity before continuing with the beating. on side b, cupids delight (ft tcb) and gravel both explore variations on beauty—the former in a blur of ghost-like vocals smeared in harmony across a low-slung machine drums, and the latter evoking a tropical affair gone psychedelic, complete with drawn-out disorienting marimba and ritual clave/tom arrangements. welcome home brother benedikt, what took you so long?

passafire has built their reputation up through relentless touring and a series of studio albums that have upped the ante each time out with its songwriting, musicianship and production. the band’s fifth studio album, vines, is their strongest yet, featuring a super tight set of songs that draw on reggae and alternative rock in equal measures. produced by the band and mixed by paul leary (sublime, slightly stoopid, pepper, meat puppets). the limited vinyl release includes a download code.