Review: This 7" is a reissue of one that first dropped back in July and soon sold out but with two extra cuts. It offered a rare chance to discover hidden gems from the Austrian Public Broadcasting Institution (ORF) vaults which were all vinyl debuts in summer. This gatefold double 7" kicks off with Stefanie & ORF Big Band's 'Compared to What,' a hard-hitting funk track featuring lo-fi vibes and powerful horns. The A-2 offers a subtly tweaked version, maintaining the same high energy. 'Feelin' It' then comes on the flipside with big brass leads, deep-cut drums and a stirring, emotive female vocal lead. A second alternative is also featured.
Review: A rather calming lovers rock track reissued on 12". When reggae drummer Lindel Lewis teamed up with singers Vincent Taylor and Claudia, few could anticipate the sonic romance that would blossom. 'You, Me & He' seems to capture two such triangulations, one lying at the heart of the real collaboration between artists, and the other evoked in the imaginary love tryst explored in the song. Wafty reverb vocals from the sweetly voiced Claudia give an admissive, coy impression of the persona she channels, which is lent a soothing antiphony from Taylor. Lewis, meanwhile, evidences his solo drumming and dubbing chops on the smooth 'Me & He' versions under the name One Man Band, twinning coldness and haziness.
Review: Gale-force sonic apneas from Planet Rhythm, the label and unstoppable phonic force from Rotterdam. The imprint's latest V/A release in the Dubwars series this time takes on its own name, 'Minerals', and welcomes rambunctious techno troilers from the likes of Unknown Code, OFF / GRID, and Luca Accardi. Rhythmically dragged, diminished stab-chords define the A1 and A2 against metal girdered kick patterns, with 'Moment' especially nailing that ever-sought-after sweet spot of energy and anhedonia, a mixed feeling perhaps only achievable within techno's ambit. Dub techno inflections turn to infarctions, as Accardi's 'Minerals' sucks the sonic substrate dry with ballistic echoes, giving way to Gockel's minimal mountaintop NDE, 'Meditation In Tibet'.
Review: Premade heavyweight Obscure Shape and classically trained musician Conrad team up; Berg Audio proudly welcome them as a new duo addition to their roster, together under the name Urban CC. Throwing back to real-deal minimal-ambient techno of a steezy kind, something between Maurizio, Move D and Ghost, 'Pegasus' and 'Marly' cycle through fluttering dub techno and 1-2-step garage respectively, the latter bringing an eyebrow raising combo of yearnsome garge vocal science and pulsewidth techno shots, post-drop. 'Hadban' sneaks a cheeky drum & bass bullet train onto an otherwise techno-centric platform, marking Sleepnet-style vocal etherics and sold-on-us liquid. 'Shagya' finally restricts the mix, with a dubtech-house full of beeping, filtered vocal shouts; a Strictly Rhythm-meets-Chain Reaction contraction.
Review: With a title inspired by the utterances of The Oracle of Delphi, a cult of female priestesses who reportedly "changed the course of civilisation" by inhaling volcanic vapours, it's clear that Lee Burtucci and Olivia Block's first collaborative album is rooted in paganistic visions and experimental mysticism. It's comprised of two lengthy tracks, each accompanied by edited 'excerpts', and combines Burtucci's experimental synth sounds and tape loops with Block's processed vocalisations and hazy field recordings. Dark and suspenseful, with each extended composition delivering a mixture of mind-mangling electronics, creepy ambience and musical elements doused in trippy effects, it sits somewhere between the charred "illbient" of DJ Spooky and the deep space soundscapes of the late Pete Namlook.
Review: Bill Henderson may not have been a widely known jazz singer, but his 1963 album proves he deserved more recognition. Backed by the exceptional Oscar Peterson Trioifeaturing Ed Thigpen on drums and Ray Brown on bassiHenderson more than holds his own. His rich, expressive voice brings new depth to classics like 'All or Nothing at All' and 'You Are My Sunshine' which font his unique style and vast emotional range. Rather than being overshadowed by his legendary accompanists, Henderson rises to the occasion which helps make this a standout gem in vocal jazz.
Review: It's been a long time since Halo: Combat Evolved revolutionised the word of first-person shooter video games. Graphically superior to anything that had come before it, the franchise also benefits from a spectacularly gripping storyline in which humans are outgunned and out-teched by a ruthless and uncompromising alliance of superiorly equipped alien races united as The Covenant. The titular Halo adds a kind of Prometheus air of uncertainty, as nobody really knows what it does until attempts to activate the galaxy-destroying weapon reveal something worse than death - a parasitic breed called the Flood. If all that was enough to blow everyone away in 2001, 2004 brought us to a whole new level of immersion in this future scape. Just like its predecessor, a big part of the impact was the visionary score by gaming soundtrack masters Martin O'Donnell and Michael Savatori. Now here it is in all its Gregorian chanting glory.
The Gun Pointed At The Head Of The Universe (2:25)
Trace Amounts (1:50)
Under Cover Of Night (3:38)
What Once Was Lost (1:40)
Lament For Pvt Jenkins (1:08)
Devils Monsters (1:28)
Covenant Dance (1:46)
Alien Corridors (1:34)
Rock Anthem For Saving The World (1:18)
The Maw (1:04)
Drumrun (1:00)
On A Pale Horse (1:34)
Perchance To Dream (0:55)
Library Suite (6:37)
The Long Run (2:17)
Suite Autumn (4:19)
Shadows (3:47)
Dust & Echoes (2:59)
Halo (1:11)
Review: In the right circles,, Martin O'Donnell and Michael Savatori are living legends. Working with the iconic US video game company Bungie Inc, the pair put their names on the map - or maybe maps? - by creating soundtracks to a number of high profile titles, either as a duo or individually. O'Donnell is arguably the better known, or at least has the bigger online persona, but both composers deserve plenty of credit. Halo: Combat Evolved was the first title in what is now a huge and genre-defining first person shooter franchise, and the score reflects the emergence of video game music as an integral part of the on-screen action. O'Donnell and Savatori's efforts to ensure instrumentation dramatically changed with events in the game, which is by nature relatively non-linear, was a revelation. While their efforts to separate these into individual suites foresaw the rise of playable stories as films in their own right.
Review: Laced Records and Halo Studios partner up to bring the epic soundtracks of the original Halo trilogy to vinyl for the first time, remastering and revamping 83 original scores from Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3. the music that defined a franchise is thus ethered in perpetuity. Weaving orchestral elements, prog rock, drum corps marches, and heavy metal, Halo presents a perfect bottling of angst and militancy; owing to its popularity with a certain teen gamer cohort, Halo 2's score especially made history as the first video game OST to chart on the Billboard 200. Now, each soundtrack is presented in its own sleeve with custom artwork, and comes in a collector's box adorned with a debossed Halo logo and silver laminate finish.
The Gun Pointed At The Head Of The Universe (2:26)
Trace Amounts (1:50)
Under Cover Of Night (3:41)
What Once Was Lost (1:40)
Lament For Pvt Jenkins (1:15)
Devils Monsters (1:30)
Covenant Dance (1:57)
Alien Corridors (1:42)
Rock Anthem For Saving The World (1:17)
The Maw (1:04)
Drumrun (1:01)
On A Pale Horse (1:34)
Perchance To Dream (1:01)
Library Suite (6:43)
The Long Run (2:11)
Suite Autumn (5:17)
Shadows (2:49)
Dust & Echoes (2:57)
Halo (1:09)
Halo Theme Mjolnir Mix (4:11)
Peril (2:47)
Ghost Of Reach (2:22)
Heretic, Hero (2:35)
Flawed Legacy (1:58)
Impend (2:24)
Ancient Machine (1:39)
In Amber Clad (1:40)
The Last Spargtan (2:19)
Orbit Of Glass (1:16)
Heavy Price Paid (2:32)
Earth City (3:07)
High Charity (1:59)
Remembrance (1:17)
Prologue (2:35)
Cairo Suite (9:43)
Mombasa Suite (6:39)
Unyielsing (3:06)
Mausoleum Suite (8:13)
Unforgatten (2:12)
Delta Halo Suote (7:49)
Sacred Icon Suite (11:08)
Reclaimer (3:06)
High Charity Suite (8:30)
Final (3:11)
Epilogue (3:48)
Luck (3:15)
Released (5:19)
Infiltrate (3:49)
Honorable Intensions (2:45)
Last Of The Brave (4:02)
Brutes (5:07)
Out Of Shadow (4:39)
To Kill A Demon (3:40)
This Is Our Land (4:00)
This Is The Hour (2:08)
Dread Intrusion (3:45)
Follow Our Brothers (5:05)
Farthest Outpost (5:11)
Behold A Pale Horse (5:38)
Edge Closer (3:02)
Three Gates (4:34)
Black Tower (6:04)
One Final Effort (3:07)
Keep What You Steal (2:33)
Gravemind (5:22)
No More Dead Heroes (5:01)
Halo Reborn (3:57)
Greatest Journey (4:49)
Tribute (2:51)
Roll Call (5:56)
Wake Me Up When You Need Me (2:18)
Legend (0:39)
Choose Wisely (1:18)
Movement (0:28)
Never Forget (3:07)
Finish The Fight (2:26)
Review: The full 83 track suite from the original Halo trilogy of video games is here, bringing you an exemplary score befitting of one of the most acclaimed Arcadian future combat shooter game series in the world. Now you can figuratively "don" your very own sonic Spartan supersoldier suit, as the game's trademark musical motifs - mystical Gregorian choral chants, missionary orchestral movements, gloried verging-on-prog upswells and downturns - are laid in pristine electronica-augmented fashion, by composers Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori and C Paul Johnson. The midpoint of the record marks a highlight, where the Halo 2 soundtrack heard a long list of A-list musician collaborators, marking a heavy metal and nu-metal sojourn.
Review: We didn't see this coming but we're very much delighted it has: the peerless dub techno don Steve O'Sullivan with a full length of past triumphs and unreleased gems on Nina Kraviz's always adventurous Trip label is always going to be worth hearing. The Brit stretches his legs and pulls out all the stops here to cover plenty of ground while reaming true to his signature sound design excellence: bouncy, minimal but strobe-lit cuts like 'Kesk', twisted 90s techno sounds like 'Grun', barely-there IDM-adjacent sounds like 'Groente' and ice cold dub cuts like 'Botala'. A real masterclass.
Review: Oaagaada is a mysterious quartet from Finland that has long been one of the scene's best-kept secrets. That will change now as they release their highly anticipated debut album on We Jazz Records. Their music is rooted in the spirit of acoustic free jazz pioneers and moves forward on its own unique path. Eschewing sterile hi-fi sounds without embracing a tired lo-fi aesthetic, Oaagaada's album captures the raw energy of their live performances and was recorded at Hameenlinna's Odd Funk studios. Highlights include the brief opener 'Oag-Ada Sweet' and the four-part 'Suite Tuli' while 'Seagull Shapes' evokes the meditative energy of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders.
Review: London-based New Zealander Arjuna Oakes impresses hugely with this debut album, a contemporary soul and jazz fusion, global folk, electronica and post-rock motifs all woven in. Like any good LP, While I'm Distracted is a deeply personal journey exploring common themes of vulnerability, identity and hope in a world shaped by ever-more existential angst and social media stress. We're told that Arjuna approached this full-length album like a filmmaker crafting a feature and aiming to evoke emotion over concept. Performing vocals, piano, synths and arranging strings himself, he also leads a talented ensemble of collaborators who help him on this emotional odyssey.
Review: An album that led to a lot of scrutiny at the time of release in February 2000, not least because of Creation's attempt to make sure it only landed in the inbox of already-proven supporters of the band. But in hindsight their fourth long player has aged beautifully and sounds utterly inspired. The looping Zeppelin-esque riff on 'Fuckin In The Bushes' is pure genius and provides the foundation for the track that's one of the greatest album intros of all time, as well as making Guy Ritchie's Snatch that bit better. Meanwhile, 'Go Let It Out' is a great sing-along and would be a very welcome addition to their comeback gigs in summer 2025. As per usual, Noel takes up most songwriting duties, but there is a cut here written by Liam: 'Little James' is the first song Liam is credited for in Oasis. It's a Lennon-esque beauty delivered with the raw emotion that makes him one of the best rock n' roll singers to have ever walked the earth. Elsewhere, 'Gas Panic' shows off the band's more experimental approach: they were more embracing of sounds outside of that orthodox baseline of guitar/bass/drums than ever before.
Review: Ocean Moon, the alias of Cornwall-based producer and Lo Recordings founder Jon Tye, presents his latest offering, an ambient electronic work imbued with a gentle positivity. Tye, also known for his work with the UK ambient duo MLO, explores themes of artificial intelligence and consciousness evolution throughout the album. Side one delves into AI through a philosophical lens, drawing inspiration from Buddhist perspectives and texts like 'The Physics Of Immortality' and 'Novacene'. Tracks such as 'Ways To The Deep Meadow' and 'Souls Fall Away' offer a refreshing counterpoint to the often-negative portrayals of AI, radiating a sense of optimism and possibility. Side two features two extended compositions created for visual projects. 'Made In Dreams', utilising AI technology, creates an ethereal, warm atmosphere and 'An Ending Full Of Light', composed for Vix Hill Ryder's Wild Edges film, evokes a sense of serenity and resolution. Subtle melodies and delicate touches help craft music that truly nourishes the soul here.
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