Back catalogue: All genres

Review: American label Deep Bow makes a notable vinyl debut with this heavyweight 10" featuring King Stanley and Prince Jamo, both voicing over a thunderous riddim crafted by producer Dub Sev?. This roots-driven slab stars with King Stanley's passionate cries over sleek drums with shiny digital synths and neat guitar licks. It stays true to the deep, meditative spirit of sound system culture and becomes much more roomy and spaced out in the hands of Dub Seva. Prince Jamo's 'Joke' has a cleaner vocal and some natty keys, and also gets dubbed out by Dub Seva. A strong introduction from Deep Bow that showcases talent from both sides of the Atlantic.

Review: Global Essence Sampler is a new series from Deep Inspiration Show Records that calls upon a fine roster of international producer talent to serve up one track each and reflect on what deep house is today. For Allstarr Motomusic the answer is smooth and cruising house grooves with elastic basslines and distant vocal wails. Barce explores classic Larry Heard-style cosmic melodic territory with plenty of star-gazing potential, and Zarenzeit's 'Zahara' is another one that floats amongst the stars with lush ambient pads. Jank offers a more dusty, rhythmic house sound for cosy backroom parties, and then come the jazzy melodies and soulful bass noodling of Jan Kincl's '3300 Gratiot Ave.' Magic stuff.

Review: Parade's 'Parade 004' bursts with high-energy, classic breakbeat vibes, perfectly crafted for fans of rave anthems. Side-1 kicks off with 'Austria', a high-octane track that fuses uplifting piano riffs with a driving beat, embodying peak 90s rave energy. It's the kind of track that fills a dancefloor, blending nostalgia with fresh, invigorating production. Side-2 dives deeper with 'Heartbeat' and 'Higher', both loaded with feel-good, jungle-tinged piano lines that bring a pure, euphoric lift. These tracks capture the essence of breakbeat's roots, while infusing it with a modern twist that keeps things exciting. Parade manages to be both a celebration of breakbeat's legacy and a re-energised take for today's dance sceneiideal for anyone looking to relive or discover that classic sound.

Review: Austrian label forTunea hits its quarter century with a tasteful 10" that comes hand numbered and is limited to just 300 copies, which are sure to fly as the grooves here are super sweet. Peletronic serves them up, starting with the busy and direct 'Sanguine' which is as bold optimistic as the title suggests. It has warm and rushing chords overlaid with vocal whoops to bring the emotion. 'Reflections' then has a more inward vibe with melancholic minor chords over a more loopy and less direct beat. It's still a house cut to make the floor take flight.

Review: Spiritual flute jazz by the mastermind Antti Vauhkonen aka. Oiro Pena. Coming only to a limited edition lathe-cut 10'', of which only 20 copies exist, there's something in the ultra-exclusivist approach to release and distribution here that seems to mimic and or bottle the sentiment of the record. Oiro Pena, first released via Ultraaani in 2019, was made after the Finnish musician found solace and inspiration in the question: who was the first person to create instrumental music? Arriving at the conclusion that this person was probably alone, the ensuing LP is an engaging testament to the idea that wellsprings of spiritual, flauting sonics might gush forth from such thought experiments. Through four pieces of rippling flute-jazz, backed by free-strained piano and double bass accompaniments and sprinkled thereover by keyboards, drums, strings and reams of percs, all of which were at some point played by Vauhkonen himself.

Review: Renowned reeds player, composer, and producer Finn Peters unveils his latest offering Red, Green and Blue and it is a vibrant fusion of global influences condensed into three potent tracks of what Peters dubs 'ancient techno'. This solo endeavour continues Peters' sonic exploration and expands upon the palette he began with his Purple and Yellow EP nearly a decade ago. MPC3000 and SP12 percussion intertwines with cosmic flute choirs and transcendent saxophone, guided by analogue synths that bridge eras past and future. Inspired by dreams of the Miraculous Mandarin, an immortal mystic from the future, Peters crafts musical resonance here, awash with alchemy and timelessness.

Review: Adrian Sherwood lends a generous remixing hand to the label Dubmission and their flagship productions duo come solo artist Pitch Black (Mike Hodgson), producing an effects-laden leap through four dub drastics all based on original music first recorded by Mike. This is an exemplary case of "don't meet your heroes" being disproven, as 'Echoes Of The Night' and its filial sonic friends all worked as source material for an anything but disappointing remix bundle by Sherwood. The opening 'Transient Transmission' version is lilting enough, but the gears really get meshing on 'Third Light', which brings a turntablist's whistle, a wet yet naked guitar, and a dubstep flavour to things; finally, B-siders 'A Doubtful Sound' and '1000 Mile Drift' deconstruct things to complemetary effect, effecting dually electric Lee Perry vocals and halved trumpet importunes, the latter of which is heard set against a conspiratorial vocal sample.

Review: Unknown artistic exigencies from Planet Rhythm, on a new techno EP sunny-side-down flip of Groove Armada's 'Superstylin''. On the word-playing 'Super Groovin'', MC M.A.D.'s unmistakable vocals are lent an extra filling-out, as tranches of dub-technical motifs outpour from the centre mix. 'Just Won't Do It' eases up on the productive accoutrements, reducing the mix to a sustenant piping of 4x4 kick and organic pulsation, though the track makes ironic reuse of the acapella from Tim Liken's 'It Just Won't Do' in the breakdown.

Review: Portishead's limited edition 10" vinyl release showcases live renditions of 'Sour Times' and 'Roads', capturing the band's signature trip-hop essence. Recorded in 1998 at The Warfield in San Francisco and Norway's Quart Festival, the tracks highlight Beth Gibbons' haunting vocals and the group's atmospheric instrumentation. The minimalist red sleeve with debossed cover adds a tactile dimension, making it a must-have for collectors and fans seeking a tangible connection to Portishead's live artistry.

Review: What better way to celebrate the charm of Elvis Presley than with 'Love Me Tender' on limited edition 7" pink heart-shaped vinyl? Featuring the iconic ballad that captured hearts worldwide, this single was originally recorded in 1956 for Presley's film debut, Love Me Tender. It showcases the King's tender vocals and enduring romantic appeal and the heart-shaped design adds a touch of whimsy and nostalgia, making it a perfect tribute to one of the most beloved songs in rock 'n' roll history, as well as a unique slab of wax for the shelves.

Review: For a project that has taken thirty years it would be totally inadequate to call the formation of Hypocritical Beatdown a lockdown-project. There's a deep history and psychology in these records by Violators Of The English Language and their spin-off groups Magnets (Rap Group) and ProVerbs, that combines stage-fright, loss, pride, creative-schizophrenia, racial inequality, surrealism, personal politics, brotherhood, artistic-constipation, better judgment, love, anti-love, soul searching and much more.

The one remaining untapped energy source here is perhaps FEAR, refreshing when used correctly, but never imposter syndrome. As maligned and mutated as this British Hip-Hop might appear to be, it could not be more pure. Each member of all of the Hypocritical Beatdown crew were committed to this cause as soon as the doors opened. They rapped on stages before they had even tasted beer or lost their virginity and the curse had already taken hold in the years when these youngsters still had to be back home before dark and it has never left their bloodstreams.

That's why this record NEEDED to be made. Completed, recorded, exorcised, committed to vinyl, rotated and liberated. Not unlike the VHS tape in a well known Japanese horror film, every listened copy, complete with its broken beats, old-school sensibilities and Marmite Mancunian accents, adds to the mystic circle... breaks the dream... some people might even like it. If you were given a chance to go back and meet your teenage self, wouldn't you?

Review: Some 25 killer library music cuts by the German film music maestro Peter Thomas, on audiophile pressing, in a deluxe 2×10? set. Uber-rare, never-before-released material spanning 1968-1976 - and sourced from Thomas' personal reel-to-reel tape archive - this bombastic instrumental set spans a whole range of quirky overseen by the composer himself, documenting an approach to composition that essentially augurs electronic music production as we know it today. Prolific in scope, the 25 pieces here rival the sheerly industrious proliferations of many of today's artists, and even outstrips them in quantitative ambition; but then again, what less might one expect from a soundtrack artist by trade, whose work spanned over 600 films? Best of this bunch have to be 'Meeting Palermo', whose brushes revel in a beaucoup frisson, and 'Astral Snow' - a whacked-out absurdist electro-disco frazzler for the most frenetic out there. This one also comes with four recently unearthed 'lost' tracks from Warner Chappell's CPM Archive series, which have never been released on vinyl before. We'll hazard a quip: the word 'timeless' often doesn't come to mind, yet it has done here.

Review: This intriguing little 10" LP charts some of the so-called king of rock n' roll's most romantic tunes to ever hit the shelves. On pink and green vinyl comes 'Blue Suede Shoes', 'Blue Moon' and 'Tutti Frutti', reminiscing on a thoroughly missed era of the skiffle monarchist Presley's heyday. Watch out, as it comes with a 16-page booklet full of exclusive track breakdowns and extra notes. Thank you very much.