Back catalogue: All genres

Review: Meiko Kaji's third album sees her deepening the atmospheric world of cinematic pop she became known for, with her music garnering the same iconic status as her acclaimed roles in 70s classics like Lady Snowblood and Stray Cat Rock. A symbol of cool, rebellious femininity, Kaji blends Japanese pop, folk and cinematic grooves, often crafting songs as dramatic and intense as her screen roles. With admiration from figures like Quentin Tarantino, her music continues to resonate, bridging generations and cultures. Kaji's body of work stands not just as a reflection of her cinematic legacy, but as a genre-defying exploration of mood, melody and raw emotion. Opening with a somber yet beautiful tone, the title track leads into a journey of bold contrasts, where songs like 'Sunset' capture a melancholy, almost dreamlike quality, while 'Watashi Umarete Fushiawase' dips into light, wistful folk. 'Kiba No Ballad' marks a standout, weaving together stark simplicity and a raw, affecting vocal performance. Kaji continues to explore themes of loss, longing and defiance with 'Hagure Bushi,' while 'Shura No Hana' (famously featured in Kill Bill) offers a stirring close. The album goes beyond showcasing her voice, serving as a bold declaration of the diverse musical realms she masterfully inhabits and shapes.

Review: Eli Keszler hears the New York percussionist and composer of the same name lord his soundworld over as yet unhaunted terrains. Rooted in dust residues of American abstraction, jazz noir, ancient melodic memory and crumbling industrial forms, the record unfolds as a footworking meditation on beauty and erosion, gawping at the anguishes and awes of the present moment. Keszler's metamorphic practice spans releases on PAN, Empty Editions, and ESP Disk, as well as collaborations with Oneohtrix Point Never, Rashad Becker and Laurel Halo. Icons emerges as a natural continuation of his previous, equally as unsettling LP Stadium from 2018, and this one emerges as its natural progression. The release coincides with a conversation between Keszler and filmmaker Adam Curtis, framing the album within a wider dialogue on sound, history and collapse.

Review: Evergreen jazzers Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino mark an impressive 30 years performing and recording as Kyoto Jazz Massive with this superb selection of favourite covers the brothers have enjoyed playing across their storied careers. Embellished with the vocal prowess of Vanessa Freeman and Bembe Segue, the immaculately presented collection blends elements of Latin, jazz, disco and funk over a typically fusionist set. Opening with the gentle waves of 'Black Renaissance', the record bursts into life with the samba flex of 'Kowree Sambazzi'. The soul-heavy thrust of 'No Cross No Crown' stirs the senses, before the nocturnal energy of 'Karmapa Chenno' veers ever so slightly off-piste with its jagged rhythms and grooves. Finally, the hands-in-the-air positivity of 'Love Is Everywhere' ends on a joyously uplifting note.

Review: For the first time, experimental saxophonist and composer Jimi Tenor finds Norweigan dance powerhouse DJ Sotofett, both teaming up for a collaboration: 'No Warranty Dubs'. Completing the trifecta is Berlin ensemble Kabukabu, the five-piece Afro-jazz-funkers whose original recordings - many of which were overseen expertly by Tenor himself - now come redistilled through a dubwise filter paper. The loose-limbed, lackadaisical energy of Kabukabu's live instrumentation merge fully with Tenor's genre-blurring composites, as Sotofett recasts fifteen tracks into rhythm-driven, bass-heavy versions. The original free jazz and Afro-influenced elements remain present, but they here serve as rawer material for layered studio treatments, channelling echo-drenched edit work and hypnotic repetition, where nothing ever rests to the point of complacency.