Back catalogue: All genres

Review: It should come as no surprise that the latest from Icelandic musical fantasists Sigur Ros was originally composed in either the 14th or 15th Century, and is written in the Edda tradition, a term used to describe to manuscripts that together make up the main sources of Norse mythology and Skaldic poetry. After all, this is a band that have been singing in their own imagined tongue since before most people cottoned on to them.

It's certainly the group's most gothic effort to date, an orchestral epic that also features the artists and composers Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, Steindor Andersen and Maria Huld Markan Sigfusdottir, whose collective CV includes pioneering musical composition with computers and Rimur chanting. Their combined efforts feel steeped such timeless atmosphere your peripheral vision might as well be catching torchlights flickering off solid stone walls. Another work of extraordinary beauty, then.

Review: As part of Amniote Editions' fifth birthday, the admirably experimental label has decided to release a full-length excursion from Mirror Zone founder Spekki Webu, AKA Heliobolus. The multi-disciplinary artist has decided to utilise both aliases on the album, a way of reinforcing the key conceptual idea behind it - that it is a "story of intertwined storylines" akin to "parallel universes that connect and diverge". Musically, it's an intriguing affair, with pulsating, full-throttle sci-fi techno workouts sitting side by side with darker, more intense cuts, sound design-heavy experimental techno soundscapes, and nods towards the horror end of the cinematic soundtrack spectrum. Throw in a few mutant, noise-laden post-IDM compositions and you have a genuinely impressive full-length excursion.

Review: The latest volume in BBE's J Jazz Masterclass series is something of a stone-cold classic: then young Japanese pianist Makoto Terashita's 1983 album-length collaboration with legendary tenor saxophonist Harold Land. Somewhat surprisingly, this is the first time that the sought-after set has been reissued since, making it something of a must-have for serious jazz fans. Both players are clearly audible throughout the LP, with the accompanying bassist and drummer generally kept low in the mix. It's an approach that pays dividends from start to finish, with highlights including the poignant and picturesque "Dear Friends", the epic dancefloor flex of "Dragon Dance" and the raucous, high-octane thrills of "Crossing".

Review: Memphis crew Three 6 Mafia are one of the most vital forces in Southern rap, still reigning supreme more than 30 years since they formed. Back in 2000 they helped define the sound orbiting the group and their label with the Hypnotise Camp Posse compilation, bringing in all their different collaborations and configurations and other MCs riding on beats from DJ Paul and Juicy J. Gangsta Boo especially shines on the likes of 'We Ain't Playin' while Lord Infamous tears it up on 'Don't Make Me Kill'. This is the real deal, from the razor-sharp beats to the deadly flows from the extended Three 6 family, now pressed up on a double 12" with an insert.

Review: The creative partnership between Tiga & Hudson Mohawke expresses a mutual love of "hardcore romance," a liminal state where the bounds between euphoria, melancholy and the raw power of friendship disintegrate completely. Recorded in Los Angeles from 2019-2023, these commonalities ebbed and flowed through various recording sessions, culminating in their debut album - L'Ecstacy - the sounds in which "all come from the same place, the same musical universe," in Hudson Mohawke's own words. Referencing the album's locus of bouncy elasticity and cinematic gloss - "we're building a particular kind of zone where it all fits together. A place lost in time." With guest appearances by luminaries like Abra, Channel Tres, and Jesse Boykins III, as well as album artwork by Wolfgang Tillmans, the result is delivered with "no apology, no cynicism, no irony, no winking."

Review: HudMo is on rampant form at the moment, firing off collaborations left, right and centre and, as usual, never missing. That said, this project feels like something very special indeed, as he doubles down on kinship with Canadian techno legend Tiga to make an album in thrall to the surge of feelings that hit us when we submit to the possibilities of the night. It's a romantic kind of techno that comes on like early B12 or Artificial Intelligence-era techno in places, but there's also some crafty hooks and flamboyance as you would rightly expect from such a heavyweight studio pairing.

Review: Canadian artist Tiga and Scotsman Hudson Mohawke's creative bond thrives on, they say, a mutual love of "hardcore romance," which is a unique blend of euphoria, melancholy, and raw friendship power. From 2019 to 2023 in Los Angeles, their mutual inspirations shaped L'Ecstasy, which is their debut album on Tiga's Turbo label. It was originally envisioned for 6am rave catharsis but then the project evolved to embrace 90s rave influences. It features chill-out ambient tracks like 'Exit Warehouse at Dawn' and 'LMZNIN' but also bangs with more immediate anthems like 'IN ORDER 2,' 'VSOD,' and 'Ascending into the Clouds', all of which leave indelible marks. This album captures this accomplished pair's journey through sonic landscapes and celebrates the highs and lows of their musical kinship in a space of creative ecstasy.

Review: Making their debut on Warp, Hudson Mohawke and Lunice proudly cross their beams to rain down a sick and slick kind of future-crunk, aptly demonstrated in in the introductory nature of bass-rich teaser "Top Floor" with its juke leanings and menacing posture. There's a detuned nature to the recognisable bleeps and wails on offer here while the beats remain crunchy and steadfast. "Higher Ground" is more overt in its use of juke to create a twisted kind of hype, while "Bugg'n" drips and drops in a loping vat of sub bass and slow-mo strangeness, leaving you with one of the oddest takes on the contemporary mess of electronic beats.

Review: Bugge Weseltoft and Henrik Schwarz first crossed paths on 2011's Duo, a sophisticated blend of Schwarz's cosmic disco tendencies and Wesseltoft's exquisite jazz piano. It was understated, but brimming with inspiration, and it's widely hailed as something of a modern classic. As such, it's a treat to see the pair reunited for Duo II, once more on Jazzland, but if you were expecting a repeat of the first album, think again. With guest vocalists and musicians stirred into the stew, Schwarz and Wesseltoft explore all kinds of new terrain without losing that immediacy and delicacy that made their first joint effort so charming.

Review: Brazilian vocalist, musician and producer Hyldon De Souza Silva teams up with Adrian Younge on a brand new psychedelic Latin soul album, infused with the golden spirit of jazz, honouring both Hyldon's 60s and 70s opuses and Younge's trademark analog productions. With late drummer Ivan "Mamao" Conti on percussion, this is yet another tribute to the "Black Rio" movement in Brazil, an intoxicating infusion of Brazilian MPB and Black American rhythm & blues. The effect is major yet seductive, riffing on insporations from Marvin Gaye to Tim Maya to flatten the embossed edges of bossa nova and erotic funk, with remarkably paced and measured drumming and swirling vocal lines.

Review: Brazilian music legend Hyldon teams up with producer Adrian Younge for the 23rd edition of Jazz Is Dead. A psychedelic soul album reimagining the magic of Hyldon's 60s and 70s work through a modern lens, Hyldon's vivant vocals and poetic storytelling are paired with the rich analogue production that made Younge's name, honouring the past and yet still keeping things afresh. It also stands as one of the final recordings of the late Ivan "Mamao" Conti, the iconic Azymuth drummer and Hyldon's longtime collaborator. Fusing MPB, tropicalia, and Black American r&b, we're slack-jawed with awe at this spiritual, which elutes from the ethereal 'Olhos Castanhos' to the cosmo-funk of 'Viajante do Planeta Azul'.

Notes: Stand-alone high resolution blu-ray audio disc featuring the stunning 50th anniversary 5.1 surround sound & stereo mixes of 'Space Ritual'. This legendary live album was recorded on the Hawkwind's UK Tour of December 1972, which followed the release of the band's recent studio album 'Doremi Fasol Latido'.

Region code: ABC (universal)

Notes: The birth and growth of the Jamaican recording industry...

Records have played an integral part in the history of Jamaican music and the importance of making records, as opposed to making music, can never be overstated.

These are the stories, told through first-hand accounts wherever possible, of the men and women... manufacturers, musicians, arrangers and record producers... who made the records and who made the sound of reggae available worldwide.

"An absolutely crucial survey of the origins of the Jamaican music industry replete with chapter and verse quotes from many of the pivotal movers and shakers. A wealth of new information, expertly marshalled: this is a book whose time has come."

Steve Barrow- Co-author of 'Reggae The Rough Guide'

"Noel Hawks' history of Jamaican studios and the characters involved provides an intriguing insight into the development of ska, rock steady and reggae. His lifelong love and deep knowledge of the music prove to be invaluable assets as he takes us on a journey from the primitive 'direct-to-disc' mento recordings of the Fifties through to the sophisticated roots and dub reggae of the Seventies. As both a music fan and a reggae business insider he has had access to the main players in the Jamaican music scene, and this book offers a genuine and unique insight into Kingston's studios and the producers and musicians who worked in them."

Chris Lane- Fashion Records

"Any music reference book should balance knowledge of an expert and enthusiasm of a fan in roughly equal measure. Noel Hawks' 'Jamaican Recordings' unquestionably succeeds in doing both. The wealth of facts and information that Noel has amassed in almost fifty years of researching and collecting reggae and its musical antecedents are presented here in a way that will show any reader that Noel still gets as much pleasure out of finding new classic music, not to mention acquiring new know how about it, as he and others among us did when we started our individual collector odysseys.

'Jamaican Recordings' is a fine read and a book that anybody with more than a passing interest in Jamaican recordings will need to add to their library right away."

Tony Rounce- Author & Music Historian

Format: 188 Page Hardback Book Illustrated throughout with period photos, artefacts & record labels