Back catalogue: All genres

Review: It has been a rather remarkable three years since Yuko dropped its first release, but finally, they are back with more. It is co-founder Emo Omar who features both solo and in collaboration with Luje from Club Pizza while two exciting new French talents Chud and Vivant also make their mark. 'Pollen' is a bright and hooky melodic electro sound then 'You & Me' gets more percussive, with old school cow bells staying busy next to all sorts of wonky synth work. 'Tomorrow's Made Of Breaks' is built on rigid funk and trippy synth bleeps and 'Zeus' shuts down with some retro-future vocoder vocals. This is a great return from a label we hope now pushes on.

Review: Belgian-born, Vietnam-based innovator Peter Van Hoesen returns to the fore here with a daring four-track EP that dives deep into experimental techno. Known for his precision and intensity, Van Hoesen lives up to that as he crafts a cerebral yet visceral journey through chaotic structures and abstract rhythm. From the hypnotic disarray of 'Definition by Absence' to the stormy turbulence of 'Variables Edit 1,' each track embraces unpredictability without forgetting the floor. 'Prime Directive' disorients with anti-club energy, while 'Morphology' offers a slightly more grounded groove that gives form to his conceptual explorations. Fearless stuff as ever from big Pete.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks, record slightly warped***


'How Do You Do It?' We'd like to ask Victorious much of the same question, as his reissued four-track EP via Sex Tapes From Mars is a serious befuddler, leaving us with just that question at the tips of our lips. First released in 1997, this is a long-lost soulful vocal house seducer from the genre's golden era. The record became a quick cult favourite, and its status among heads has remained exalted to this day, going for obscene prices on the 'ogs (there should, of course, be more regulation). Victorious aka. Victor Davies hailed from Canada and had already released one other EP before this one, via the serendipitously named Sex Records. But 'Liquid Squid' is really the teuthid oozer of choice, its lustrously sweet vocals sounding as if they'd been sung in secret by an illegitimate lover and its various analogue knocks and hums working to splashy effect.

Review: Survival horror franchise Alan Wake saw its second instalment in 2023, following the game series' 2010 debut. Again, we follow novelist Alan Wake, as he attempts to escape his imprisonment in an alternate dimension by penning a horror story about an FBI agent, Saga Anderson. Both a detective story and a shoot 'em up, the second game bolsters the franchise's neo-noir and gothic Midwestern tropes; the soundtrack is fittingly both lachrymose and chilling, with its contributing scorers - Petri Alanko, Old Gods Of Asgard, Jean Castel and more - portraying Nordic moods of modern, nailbiting mystery. Through stark, grim, minor-keyed anthems, trip-hop furrowers and trembly orchestral laments, we find dead bodies found in the woods, fight spriggan-esque creatures, and soak in moods of noir crime psychodrama, all chillingly captured in a single sonic melange.

Review: Joseph Capriati has very quickly risen from underground techno player to top-tier titan. The Italian hails from Naples, a famous hotbed of minimalism that has spawned stars like Marco Carola. whose footsteps Capriati has followed in by securing his own Ibiza residency for his Metamorfosi party. The sort if sounds you can expect to hear on that label and at the events are well showcased here on his new mix of the legendary Global Underground series. From dark and driving techno to more emotional and melodic house, it's a colourful and widescreen ride that features a couple of his own fresh jams and many more from contemporary artists.

Review: Smoove props up his rep as a highly consistent big beat, funk and disco crossover producer with a freight-class shipment of 'Heavy Goods'. Somersaulting out from his Geordie soul group Smoove & Turrell - on top of his sought-after multi-track vinyl re-edits, as well as his remixing prowess across hip-hop, soul, and funk - this Jalapeno Records follow-up continues Smoove's recent favourite postal theme. Indeed, the postal system is what keeps us afloat (and cue the boundless irony of Royal Mail's latest sale to a Czech billionaire, the name of whose LLC is, apropos of online music retail, "EP Group"). Betty Black & The Family Fortune, Emma Noble, Kraak & Smaak, Izo FitzRoy, The High & Mighty, and Bahama Soul Club, all are all loaned Smoove's Pygmalion hand, honing a musing work of art from many a die-cut classic. Whirlwind D's 'Labels', Izo Fitzroy's 'Blind Faith' and TGH Collective's 'Higher Collective' are special versions too. Assuming you didn't already know the songs in question, you really wouldn't be able to tell the edit jobs from the originals. Mint condition!

Review: ***B-STOCK: Case cracked, product in perfect working order***


Some 21 years after volume one appeared in stores, PTG's ongoing Masterpiece: The Ultimate Disco Funk Collection series has reached its 36th instalment. Given the series' longevity and the sheer number of tracks already showcased across volumes one to 35, the cuts on display here are genuine rarities, cult classics and sought-after gems. As usual, highlights are plentiful, from the soulful vocals, dreamy chords and rubbery slap-bass of In Touch's 'Why Did You Stop Loving Me' and the boogie-era sunshine shuffle of 'I'm Yours' by Hollywood Tucker, to the big studio swell of Spence's mid-80s jam 'Gonna Party', the 80s soul smoothness of Jimmy Scott's 'Games' and the synth bass-propelled post-boogie brilliance of 'Divided Love' by Haywoode.

Review: British producer Joe Thornalley aka Vegyn made his name working with the likes of Frank Ocean and Travis Scott. This project is something quite different - a rework of the iconic French duo Air's seminal downtempo album Moon Safari. He collides its blessed out and beauty Balearic nostalgia with new studio techniques and a deft atmospheric and experimental touch so that tracks like 'Sexy Boy' and 'La Femme d'Argent' retain their lush, ambient roots but evolve with newly textured beats and modern flair. This remix LP isn't about revisiting the past; it's about reshaping it, and Vegyn's vision works as both a tribute and a bold reinterpretation for a new generation.

Review: The Velvet Underground's Loaded, a pivotal rock record from 1970, returns in a meticulously remastered SACD format. The album marked the band's bid for mainstream success, with label head Ahmet Ertegun pushing Lou Reed to deliver a record "loaded with hits". The result was a shimmering rock collection, though one far removed from the group's avant-garde roots. Though Reed left the band before its release, Loaded still shines as a masterclass in rock archetypes. Tracks like 'Sweet Jane' and 'Rock & Roll' cemented their status as proto-punk pioneers, while the sunny cynicism of 'Who Loves the Sun' and the rollicking 'Head Held High' showcased the band's sardonic wit. With Doug Yule taking on a leading roleisinging four tracks and playing much of the instrumentationiand Maureen Tucker absent on maternity leave, the album stands as both a departure from and a reflection of their earlier works. A near-perfect rock album, yet its polished production and radio-friendly leanings make it an outlier in the Velvet Underground canon. The SACD reissue offers audiophiles the ideal digital experience, capturing the tension between pop ambition and artistic identity that defines this bittersweet swan song. Everyone should own a copy of this magnificent album.

Review: Encore has been remastered from the original tapes and features 11 compositions by Arthur Verocai who was joined by the legendary Azymuth, Ivan Lins and a nine-piece string section. The album was a long-awaited follow-up to his 1972 debut so bridges 35 years and bottles up Brazilian influences with American soul and cinematic experimentation. Initially overlooked amongst his wider canon, Verocai's debut gained cult status thanks to Far Out Recordings' Joe Davis who rediscovered it in the late 80s. In 2004, producer Dave Brinkworth brought Verocai back to the studio to reignite his musical brilliance. A master arranger, Verocai's work with Brazilian legends shaped his visionary sound and have helped to cement him as a timeless force in music history.