Review: New York emcee Hassaan Mackey (Rawkus 50) delivers sharp, unfiltered lyricism, packing rhymes with onomatopoeia and raw street wisdom. Set to blackout beats by Detroit producer Apollo Brown (The Reset, Brown Study, Gas Mask, Clouds), we've the ideal backdrop here: deep bass set to the the crackle of well-worn vinyl. The result is a record on which we're given much more than our Daily Bread. Lyrical picturebooks of faded spirit photographs return like plasmic ghosts, each booing line steeped in a mood of eerie reckoning. Atonement lingers in every note, experience weighs heavy, yet a fierce hope burns through.
Review: The Moon and the Melodies, a collaboration between Cocteau Twins and ambient pioneer Harold Budd, stands as a unique gem in both artists' discographies. Originally released in 1986, this ethereal album is now being reissued on vinyl, remastered from the original tapes by Robin Guthrie. Unlike anything else the Cocteau Twins ever produced, this record blends their dreamlike soundscapes with Budd's serene, improvisational piano work. The result is an atmospheric journey, at once intimate and expansive. Tracks like 'Sea, Swallow Me' shine with Elizabeth Fraser's otherworldly vocals, intertwined with Guthrie's shimmering guitar and Raymonde's grounding bass, creating a sound that feels both familiar and entirely unique. Instrumentals like 'Memory Gongs' and 'The Ghost Has No Home' highlight Budd's delicate piano, enhanced by the band's signature ambient textures. The album is a study in contrasts, vocal tracks sit alongside instrumentals, each contributing to a cohesive yet diverse listening experience. For fans, this reissue is a chance to revisit a pivotal moment in the evolution of dream pop and ambient music. The album's enduring appeal is evident in its continued influence in social media. The Moon and the Melodies remains a shining light that can happen when artists from different realms come together to create something truly timeless.
Review: The celebration of this series continues with a reissue of the second installment of the legendary Christmas salsa album. Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe returned here to bring the unique sounds that made Volume I a Latin music classic. For this one, Colon and Lavoe were joined by renowned cuatro player Yomo Toro and legendary percussionists Milton Cardona and Jose Mangual Jr. Together, they crafted salsa versions of beloved Puerto Rican Christmas songs while mixing traditional musica jibara with Cuban guaguanco, son montuno and African-American jazz. It delivers on all fronts with vibrant, festive blends that bring real Puerto Rican authenticity to salsa fans worldwide.
Review: Now here's a rarity for you. Not even many of the most committed megafans know that Brian Eno, Holger Czukay and J.Peter Schwalm, accompanied by Raoul Walton and Jern Atai, performed a secret live music show, outside the esteemed Kunst-und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, the Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany, situated in the city of Bonn, in August 1998. Forming a part of the opening party of Eno's Future Light-Lounge Proposal multimedia installation, this furtively-recorded album hears an exclusive slice of incidental "high-altitude food music", of course made during Brian Eno's airborne ambient era. Now reissued via Gronland, this five-piece cut of sophisti-ambi-krauttronica makes for a welcome surprise.
Somethin' 'Bout My Love (feat Polly Gibbons) (4:07)
Eleventy-Three (feat Danny Keane) (3:34)
There's Nothing You Can Tell Me (feat Yvette Riby-Williams) (3:26)
Fluoresce (feat Valerie Clarke) (5:01)
Review: Since 2009, Hackney Colliery Band has redefined brass band music and captivated audiences with dynamic live performances and critically acclaimed releases. Now, 15 years into their career, the nine-piece collective prepares to unveil their sixth album, Collaborations: Volume Two. Following the success of Collaborations: Volume One, which featured world music icons like Angelique Kidjo and Mulatu Astatke, this new album shifts focus to vocal tracks alongside instrumental pieces featuring harp, guitar, cello, and conch shell. Frontman Steve Pretty and fellow composers say it was the joy of innovation that fuelled the album, which includes collaborations with DJ Yoda, Joe Armon-Jones and more.
Review: Ensemble Modern and experimental, Berlin-based music composer and sound artist Hainbach come together for Primer, an album sourced from their 2022 Checkpoint concert and reworked in the studio with bassist Paul Cannon. The record transforms their fine live performance into a rich, immersive home listening experience with Hainbach's signature use of nuclear research gear, tape loops and vintage electronics weaving haunting, ever-shifting textures throughout. As such the pieces pulse with a sonic spark that captures the spirit of experimentation and collaboration and is taps into plenty of avant-garde thinking in its approach to drone and ambient.
Give Thanks (feat Arjuna Oakes & Mark De Clive-Lowe) (4:38)
Belo Dia (6:06)
Notes (5:26)
Review: ]Nathan Haines, the renowned New Zealand musician, unveils his 11th studio album, marking his first solo venture since 2014. Known for his talents of saxophone, flute, and composition across jazz, electronic and dance genres, Haines melds his signature jazz sound with vibrant electronic and disco influences on Notes. This labor of love began years ago in collaboration with the late UK producer Phil Asher, whose influence permeates the album despite his passing during its creation. Featuring guest vocalists like UK soul-diva Vanessa Freeman and emerging talents Ajuna Oakes, Ruby Cesan, La Coco, and EO, Notes showcases a diverse range of voices intertwined with Haines's own instrumental strength. With contributions from bassist Jkriv and electronic jazz innovator Mark de Clive-Lowe, alongside beats by Marc Mac and acoustic bass by his father Kevin, the album is full of spirit and musical evolution. Frank Booker's production on three tracks adds depth, while the acoustic rendition of Rare Silk's 'Storm,' featuring vocalist Rachel Clarke, stands out as a poignant artistic highlight.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Love You More (6:58)
Night Moves (feat Ruby Cesan) (5:48)
Just Holdin' On (feat Eo) (3:48)
Journey To The Peak (7:06)
Brother Of Mine (feat Vanessa Freeman) (5:44)
Sleek (5:02)
Come Into The Light (feat La Coco) (5:25)
Storm (feat Rachel Clerk) (5:20)
Don't Think (feat Eo) (6:45)
Running Man (1:51)
Give Thanks (feat Arjuna Oakes & Mark De Clive-Lowe) (4:38)
Belo Dia (6:06)
Notes (5:26)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
]Nathan Haines, the renowned New Zealand musician, unveils his 11th studio album, marking his first solo venture since 2014. Known for his talents of saxophone, flute, and composition across jazz, electronic and dance genres, Haines melds his signature jazz sound with vibrant electronic and disco influences on Notes. This labor of love began years ago in collaboration with the late UK producer Phil Asher, whose influence permeates the album despite his passing during its creation. Featuring guest vocalists like UK soul-diva Vanessa Freeman and emerging talents Ajuna Oakes, Ruby Cesan, La Coco, and EO, Notes showcases a diverse range of voices intertwined with Haines's own instrumental strength. With contributions from bassist Jkriv and electronic jazz innovator Mark de Clive-Lowe, alongside beats by Marc Mac and acoustic bass by his father Kevin, the album is full of spirit and musical evolution. Frank Booker's production on three tracks adds depth, while the acoustic rendition of Rare Silk's 'Storm,' featuring vocalist Rachel Clarke, stands out as a poignant artistic highlight.
Review: The sixth studio album from Half Waif aka. Nandi Rose, See You At The Maypole, hears the musician process loss, motherhood and miscarriage through 17 lissome songs of graceful, chin-up synthetics and indie spoken word. These tracks were originally intended as a departure from her earlier, darker works; the mood is timely autumnal, literally and figuratively turning new yet browned leaves; despite the electronically inflected and modern buzzing feel of 'Heartwood' and 'Ephemeral Being', all tracks were composed in a small cabin overlooking a luscious and rain-rippled pond, as part of a solo retreat in the Catskill Mountains in New York. And yet despite its singular locality, Half Waif commands a stylistic range that is unsettled as it is expansive, weaving between unseelie autotune, bracken textures and rustling melancholia.
Review: You can probably work out what's going on here from the title: a superb collection of reworked Hall & Oates classics inna reggae style. They are the fine work of Black Market Dub who likes to reimagine classic sounds through a 70s Jamaican lens. The techniques used throughout are superbly authentic with hissing hi-hats, lazy tumbling beats and snaking baselines. The vocals remain in their original, often polished, falsetto style and extra horns are added for a lush sunny impact. Great fun, but also great quality.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Abandon (3:55)
Naked To The Light (4:14)
Late Night Drive (4:43)
Sick Eros (4:07)
Belleville (2:21)
Sweat, Tears Or The Sea (2:42)
Atlas (6:45)
Reading The Air (5:30)
You Burn Me (1:12)
Earthbound (4:08)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
The fourth ever solo studio album from the acclaimed electronic artist and composer Laurel Halo, Atlas is intended to guide the listener through their own subconscious mind, coming as an intense sequence of soaring ambiences and beatless jazz montages. Finding its footing in instrumental improvisation by Halo herself, plus featuring artists Coby Sey, James Underwood and Lucy Railton - and then blowing any assumptive connotation with jazz out of the park with its subtly effected vocal processing and electronic tinkerings and washes thereafter - fans can be sure that this is not going to be your stock experimental affair.
Review: Big emotions often come in small, intimate packages. Initially at least. Judith Hamann opens her stunning contemporary classical-ambient meditation with the kind of hush that means music and sound creep over you without making themselves instantly known. Before we know it, the transformation - or, perhaps more accurately, transportation - is complete. Using field recording techniques, Hamman augments the electronic harmonies and refrains with au naturel noises, from the hubbub of distant conversation to an asthmatic's whistle, all of which places the plugged-in and synthesised in a very human place. The result is something that feels timeless, as crystalline and clear as it is water-weathered and sepia-hued. The overall affect is mysterious and adventurous, like walking down a serene empty beach only to realise you can't remember which direction you came from.
Review: Per Hammar and Berlin-based label Sushitech are a match made in heaven as both have long since proven their credential in the world of dub techno. As the label turns 20, it kicks off its year with an album that has been two years in the making and features a top-quality array of dub techno sounds. Malin Genie features on two of the more kicking and propulsive cuts, while Jannik Jivung adds an organic touch to two more. In between those sounds are percolating slow-mo jams like 'Representant Dubb' and more kinetic sounds like 'TX Files' with its fresh kicks and rolling bass.
Review: The now 20-year-strong Sushitech have been working on this one for two years and finally it drops - a new album from cultured dub techno don Per Hammar. This is a seriously deep journey into his signature sound that melds the genre's most classic side with a fresh modern twist. Cuts like 'Generation Drive' have a nice crisp sense of motion as well as lovely warped pads, while 'Juvial' brings a sense of curiousness with its undulating drums and bass. 'Defender' leans into sleek techno styles and will have you cruising in no time. An instant classic album, for sure.
Review: Beres Hammond's venture into soul and r&b, backed by a lineup of reggae legends, offers a surprising break from his usual style. The album blends disco-inspired elements with Hammond's rich vocals, yet tracks like 'Keep My Wheel Turning' and 'I'm Lonely' stand out with a raw edge, adding grit to the smooth soul vibes. The title track showcases Hammond's emotional depth in a yearning romantic ballad, yet it's the overall feeling of experimentation that gives the release its unique charm. While this detour into soul isn't a permanent shift, it finds Hammond working at the peak of his expressive powers, offering an unexpected but satisfying listen.
Review: Back in the depths of the global Coronavirus pandemic, Nick Hoppner and Alex Kassian decided to join forces to record an album, one that would set aside their club credentials and instead focus on their collective love of krautrock, ambient and 'guitar-driven music'. The result is The Big Melt, the duo's first missive as H.A.N.K. Beginning with the immersive, enveloping sound world that is 'Cruise' - a slow-build, effects-laden dreamscape that offers nods to classic Tangerine Dream, shoegaze and 1990s ambient electronica - the album bobs along attractively, with exotic rhythms and intoxicated electronics ('A Useful Fever') sitting side by side with shuffling Balearic instrumentals ('Azul's Garden'), kosmiche epics ('Jag Aar Jag'), sitar-laden wonders ('While My Tar Gently Weeps'), and analogue-rich nods to Neu!, Can and Dunkelziffer ('No Harm').
Review: Having built plenty of hype over previous outings, Hardacre finally drops this long-awaited debut on Alien Communications. It's a standout long player with acid, house, electro and techno all jumbled up into effective, 'floor-facing sounds that are high on power. There are lithe, metallic twitchers like the Kraftwerkian 'Transmission' as well as more future-facing and acid-laced bumpers such as 'Alien Intelligence' with plenty of cinematic and atmospheric bits like 'Radio Command' in between. A classy take on a classic sound.
Review: Paul Hardcastle's self-titled 1985 debut receives a special reissue for Record Store Day 2025 in celebration of its 40th anniversary. Remastered at AIR Mastering for the occasion, this synth-pop milestone showcases Hardcastle's innovative fusion of electro, jazz-funk and socially conscious themes. It is of course anchored by the chart-topping anti-war anthem '19' but also features standout tracks like 'Just For Money,' 'Rainforest' and 'Don't Waste My Time' featuring Carol Kenyon. The album comes from a key moment in '80s electronic music this reissue reaffirms Hardcastle's enduring influence on it.
Mike Parker - "Shakuhachi Two" (Hardspace mix) (4:50)
Review: Released on lovely transparent blue vinyl, the fourth volume of Figure's Hardspace series offers six fresh reinterpretations of Len Faki's favourite tracks under his staunchly underground Hardspace alias. Josh Wink's 'Sixth Sense' gets a powerful low-end rework while Aoki Takamasa's minimalist dub transforms into a high-energy and peak-time slammer. DJ Yoav B's iconic 'Energize' reaches new rave heights with its relentless groove and Huxley's dark take on 'Weapon 3' comes on with explosive force. Tuttle's 'Function' ups the intensity with Faki's signature claps and sirens while Mike Parker's '90s classic 'Shakuhachi Two' gains extra drive with Hardspace's propulsive percussion for a dynamic techno workout.
The Queer Art Of Slowness (feat Sasha Wilde) (2:48)
Dual (feat Alex McKenzie, Memory Play & Sasha Wilde) (4:36)
Quantology (2:02)
How Do I Know What I Want When Everybody Is Telling Me I Should Want What I Dont Have (feat Memory Play) (6:18)
Laying On The Floor Staring Up At Dust In The Air (1:31)
Breathing Room (feat Laura Misch) (3:57)
Language Couldn't Say (feat Laura Misch) (3:07)
Pataphysical (feat Laura Misch) (3:23)
Wildest Imagination (feat Laura Misch & Marysia Osu) (4:21)
Review: El Hardwick's sophomore album, Process of Elimination, explores illness as a pathway to personal and anti-capitalist transformation. Rooted in their experience of chronic illness after years of pushing their body beyond its limits, the album reflects Hardwick's journey toward healing through mysticism and natural remedies. Turning away from the need for a formal diagnosis, Hardwick embraced a process of self-rewilding, rejecting capitalism and gender norms to reconnect with their body and the earth. Musically, Process of Elimination combines lush, dubby soundscapes with cosmic experimentation. Tracks like Dual feature sparse synthesiser tones alongside woodwinds and double bass, creating a spacious environment for Hardwick's spoken-word reflections. Collaborations with musicians such as Alex McKenzie and Laura Misch bring a range of organic textures to the album, enhancing its sense of natural exploration. The album shifts between ambient meditations and more rhythmic moments, with highlights like 'Quantology' and the IDM-tinged 'How Do I Know...?' revealing a balance between introspection and forward momentum. Hardwick's process is further mirrored in their personal journey of coming out as trans non-binary, which they describe as another form of elimination, moving beyond binary definitions. Ultimately, Process of Elimination is a powerful reflection on healing, acceptance and the reclaiming of energy, inspired by thinkers like Silvia Federici and Donna Haraway, and enriched by contributions from London-based artists and friends.
Review: Harlem, the Stockholm-based duo, return with an eight-track exploration of dark, pulsating electronics. Drawing on influences ranging from King Tubby's dub to Robert Hood's minimal techno, they craft a sound that defies easy categorisation. Echoing the no wave dissonance of early ESG and the industrial edge of Cabaret Voltaire, they fuse these disparate elements into a potent sonic cocktail. 'Shut Your Body' opens with a muscular intensity reminiscent of Nitzer Ebb, its driving rhythms and gritty textures setting the stage. 'Fantasy Scan' picks up the pace, a dancefloor-ready jam that recalls Underground Resistance's hypnotic grooves. 'Blow By Blow' channels a nihilistic energy, its sparse arrangement and spoken-word vocals evoking the cold wave sounds of Kas Product. The B-side continues the sonic exploration with 'Dummy Up', a track that evokes the frenetic energy of a cult gathering, its electro and body influences recalling the darker side of the 80s underground. 'Sleuth' takes a more introspective turn, its repetitive grind suggesting a relentless search for the unknown. 'Contact High' brings back the seductive energy, its dancefloor-ready rhythms and infectious melodies reminiscent of early Detroit techno. The album closes with 'Wiggle Walker', a melancholic track that suggests a journey into the unknown. Harlem's music is a thrilling ride through a landscape of sonic extremes, a sonic experience that is both exhilarating and unsettling. Visceral but thought-provoking, this is a potent blend of genres and influences that defies expectations.
Review: This 50th Anniversary Edition resurrects a forgotten gem of 1970s soul-jazz, showcasing the masterful arrangements and musicianship of The Harold Wheeler Consort. It's a thrilling colliision of jazz harmonies, funk grooves and soulful melodies, with Wheeler's piano leading the way through a series of vibrant and eclectic compositions. From the infectious energy of the title track to the smooth sophistication of 'Then Came You', the album is a testament to Wheeler's talent as a composer and arranger. The B-side continues the journey, with tracks like 'Color Me Soul' and 'Feel Like Makin' Love' showcasing the band's versatility and deep understanding of soul and jazz traditions.
Review: IDM powerhouse and still-fresh Brainfeeder signee Hakushi Hasegawa returns with Mahogakko, the latest mindmelter to paint the perpetually morphogenic work of art that is their... ahem... music. Once again, this is a broad set of bad-apple, black MIDI-influenced compositions, all of which push the sonic limit to the floating point of timeline-breaking cacophony, verging on sugar-rushing ideasthetic noise. Imagine an alternate universe of techno-faeries all aflutter in some forest grotto out of conscious sight; despite meaning well and maintaining a vivid glee, this pixie-hive's demeanour defaults to a wild, puckish, erratic and swarming fever, to the point of grave danger for the human visitant. We hold this image firmly in mind, as it concurs with the news of Hasegawa's recent grand gestural face reveal, after which interpretations of their music will never be the same. A thoroughly dynamic record, Hasegawa is unafraid of the contrast between loud and quiet, in a totally singular fashion that bucks the expectation usually laid at the feet of electronica artists. Every sound here, from 'Boy's Texture' to 'Forbidden Thing (Kimmotsu)', is as machine-elven, fidgeting and hyperrealistic as would be expected, yet also unexpected, of today's zeitgeist, that of TikTok-dancing phantasmagorias and disgust-threshold broaching cute slime aesthetics. Everything is so crisp and glossy that the sonic metal deployed in its making sound to have far surpassed their liquidus points, not long before having been strained into a kind of magick philtrum set aside for the braving of fatal fairy realms and fatal fairy realms alone.
Review: Russell Haswell brings Deep Time, marking his sixth release on Diagonal following a productive 2024, which included the 4x12" compilation 13, on top of a UK-wide tour. Deep Time spans a vast influential range, reflecting Haswell's diverse background in computer music, black metal, noise, techno, and improvisation. Deep Time explores all from geopolitical tension to the incomprehensible scale of time itself, drawing sublime inspiration from his solo trips to the Scottish Hebrides and the rock formations glimpsable there. Album highlight 'Unconformity' references James Hutton's geological discovery and its connection to the Earth's history, with typography for the album sleeve designed by MuirMcNeil.
Russell Haswell - "Heavy Handed Sunset (Autechre Form Conversion)"
Viviankrist - "Creatures"
Powell Tillmans - "Stairwell"
NHK - "Binah"
Russell Haswell - "Hypersonic"
Review: Diagonal celebrates its 13th anniversary with a 4x12" release, highlighting both long-time label artists and notable collaborators. LP1 kicks off with a dark, atmospheric remix of Russell Haswell's 'Heavy Handed Sunset' by Autechre, transforming their 2016 version into something more intense. Label boss Powell joins forces with Turner Prize winner Wolfgang Tillmans for a quirky pop experiment, while NHK and Viviankrist deliver moments of striking beauty. Russell Haswell's nod to Cybotron rounds out the set, embodying the boundary-pushing, eclectic spirit that Diagonal has championed for over a decade.
Review: Chihei Hatakeyama's Lucid Dreams is an ambient exploration that ebbs and flows like the tides it references. The opening 'Overflowing' sets the tone with gentle, cascading sounds that evoke a sense of quiet movement. 'Dance of the Ghosts' (feat Cucina Povera) adds a spectral quality, its ghostly vocals dissolving into the atmosphere. 'Three Dice' leans into meditative minimalism, creating a calm before the slight shift into the darker textures of 'End of Summer.' Tracks like 'Wind from the Mountains' (feat Nailah Hunter) introduce organic warmth, balancing out the release's ethereal tendencies.
Review: Young South London dance veteran Ben Hauke delivers a worthy full-length LP for Touching Bass, Club Cute, a self-described love letter to the city's club culture. Feeling outwards from his establishing, Rye Wax-adjacent EPs and 12"s - which sounded more rooted in 4x4 house, albeit with an unmistakably SE-tinged wonky bent - Hauke's latest here leans further into the broken beats and UK garages more befitting of a full-length dance record. Welcoming a star cast of vocal and production plus-ones to the party (Jadasea, Brother Portrait, Shy One, even Katy B (!)), the effortless feel of UK club culture, particularly the midnight moods endemic to quote-unquote 'SELDN' and its many nighttime haunts in centres like Peckham, Deptford, New Cross and Bermondsey, is felt lightheartedly - cutely - throughout.
Review: It's been a busy time for Hawksmoor, with the critically acclaimed Telepathic Heights album arriving last year and a re-release of the stunning Saturnalia landing on Library of the Occult earlier in 2024. Now we have a brand new studio collection waiting to be explored, and it's every bit the record fans will have been hoping for given the track record here. Owing plenty to seminal German electronic acts such as Cluster, Neu!, Michael Rother, Can, and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, there's also plenty here rooted in more melodic synth schools of music alongside the ambient work of Brian Eno and more. The result is something that sounds at once modern and old, timeless yet out of time. A work of extraordinary talent and just a little bit of genius, we'd say it has been worth the wait but the remarkable thing here is just how prolific Hawksmoor seem to be.
Review: When it comes to hunting the very of best library music cuts out there, De Wolfe's discography is likely the best place to start, and finish. The British music production company were the first to license such music exclusively for film and TV and thus single-handedly popularised the now DJ's favourite genre. Here on this reissue, Aussie producer, musician and double bassist Johnny Hawksworth (one of two famous library musician "hawks", only once removed from the perhaps more eminent Alan Hawkshaw), prizes open both falcon's eyes and auriculars: 'Bite Hard Breaks', the star, makes for an unfathomably cool piece for the playing of seductive games. Unsurprisingly, but with this fact not known to many, this record has been much sampled by hip-hop titans, from Beyonce to Drake to Jay Z to Madlib.
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