Album of the Week

*Another highly anticipated limited vinyl pressing from the excellent Digitalis imprint - this time from Boxhead Ensemble's Scott Tuma who manages to weave a sound that incorporates dense and unsettling field recordings with Takoma-esque porchside strums, wiry violin, rhythmic metal scrapes, music-box interludes, spectral banjo plucks and distant piano sequences. 400 copies only for the world* Dandelion' arrives with no small amount of anticipation. The first thing we hear is the exaggerated whirr of phased tape treatments opening up to expose beautiful, disjointed music box chimes that … Read more

Album of the Week

*Limited Second part to this amazing set exploring the ghostly echoes emanating from old Wagner recordings, slowly disintegrating into a haunted landscape of frayed tape loops and gradually exposed vapour trails of forgotten sounds and memories...so good* Following on from where its equally enigmatic predecessor left off, Plays Wagner Part 2 finds Pat Maherr returning with another volume of dark, phantasmagorical soundscapes. These somnolent, dreamlike passages bear all the hallmarks of that most overused of buzzwords: hauntology, and there's little avoiding comparisons between Indignant… Read more

Single of the Week

Finders Keepers' Compacta series uncovers a hard rocking diamond in Soreng Santi's psych-rock slaying version of 'Iron Man'. Until his freakish death in 1982, Soreng was responsible for a string of Thai hard-rock, with his cover of the Sabbath standard counting among his greatest achievements. The track works exactly as you'd imagine, replacing Ozzie's howl with an exotic incantation which we can only assume has been translated directly, while the band recreate that crushing riff and breakbeat with a commendable force. On the flipside we get the strange fruit of 'Dub Fai Kuigan', a superb… Read more

Single of the Week

Altered Natives drops the much awaited follow-up to the 2009 anthem 'Rass Out' backed up with a kinky Zed Bias remix. The three tracks here cut a little deeper than their predecessors, stirring a burning deep house flavour into the brukked-up ruffage to suit current dancefloor moods. 'Believe In Me' feat Sascha Williamson comes in two versions, the extended AN original built from convective keys and small traces of the break/bass from 'Rass Out', and the kinky percussive mix from Zed Bias on the flip. Those looking for a straight-up killah should dash for 'Raaatid Einstein' fuelled by chu… Read more

Album of the Week

*HEAVYWEIGHT 2010 REISSUE OF THIS ABSOLUTELY CASSIC ELECTRONIC SOUNDTRACK FROM GOBLIN - GATEFOLD VINYL WITH A CUT-OUT POPUP INSERT* Goblin's seminal soundtrack to the equally famous Dario Argento flick 'Suspiria' has just made our week, dropping on heavyweight vinyl housed in a luxury gatefold sleeve with a freakin' pop-up centre! As successive generations of audiences have discovered, Goblin's Italian prog-rock is practically inseparable from the visual delights/horror of Argento's celluloid creations. Like Tangerine Dream and Michael Mann, or Popol Vuh and Werner Herzog, their music con… Read more

Single of the Week

*STRICTLY LIMITED VINYL EDITION - INCLUDES THE KILLER BULLION REMIX, PLUS A PAIR OF DEEP AND DEADLY REWORKS FROM LUKID, AND THE RETURN OF BOGDAN RACZYNSKI* Osborne (aka Soundmurderer) hands his Ghostly International catalogue over to Bullion, Bogdan Raczynski and Lukid for a wickedly varied remix package. Bullion starts the session with a terrific remix of 'Afrika' sounding uncannily like Boards Of Canada revising Fela Kuti. Its totally fresh and on the money - possibly the best and most original thing we've heard from Bullion yet. The undeniably talented Bogdan Raczynski makes a rare app… Read more

Single of the Week

Latest single to be lifted from the inescapably addictive XX album features suitably weighty remixes from Untold, The Blue Nile, Nosaj Thing and Delorean. From the bloodied edge of the Dubstep vanguard, Untold's remix is the certified highlight, using his bone-dry palette of percussion and eye-quivering subs to turn 'Islands' into an exceptional XXXX'step anthem. Just add those vocals and let the shivers commence. In an inspired move from the band, the second mix comes from enigmatic Scots The Blue Nile, who live up to their mystical status with a wee dram of economical post-punk percussi… Read more

Single of the Week

Untold and LV step into the future with a slab of advanced Afro-tek backed with a Mount Kimbie remix on Hemlock recordings. The collaboratory effort on the A-side is exceptional, with Untold kneading maleable subbass into fluid forms at the bottom of the spectrum while melodic percussion plugs the gaps between post-garage shuffle and shoulder-dipping Afro-flex. Noticably LV's contribution comes in the stealthy camouflage of smoked dub vibes, favouring spooked FX and crackling textures woven into the rhythm with a deft crispness. Providing a lighter counterpoint on the flipside Mount Kimbi… Read more

Album of the Week

Beautiful gatefold edition of 'Profondo Rosso', Goblin's amazing debut album, and also their first working alongside Dario Argento. Here, they would find their style of synth and drums driven prog-rock drama that suited the stylish celloid imagery so, so well. This symbiosis of sound and cinematography lead to 'Profondo Rosso' originally selling over 1 million copies within one year of release in 1975, topping the Italian album charts for twelve months and occupying a space in the history books as one of the most revered soundtracks of all time. We can hear elements of the Yes, Genesis an… Read more

Single of the Week

Blunted Robots' Shortstuff and Mickey Pearce (aka Martin Kemp) merge talents on Ramp's latest. Both sides rank among the best we've heard from these two, crashing multiple styles like a skanker in a china shop. 'Tripped Up' trims B-more, Electro-funk and clipped party-step into a thrilling mass. There's shades of Kingdom's NYC ruff-house bounce, splayed with a sense of stylishly controlled UK urban flavour to fire up the party good and proper. Wile out fun! On the flip 'Coconuts' slashes dischordant strings over grimy bass splurts and Zomby-esque wonky synth bobbles to strut with a neon r… Read more

Single of the Week

Whetting the appetite for the forthcoming 'Triangulation' album, Scuba gives two varied rhythmic vantage points on Funk and neo D'n'B from his Berin/UK perspective. Both tracks display the huge advancements in his sound from the 'Mutual Antipathy' era, taking on Funky-synced traits in the percussion of 'You Got Me' while adding a melancholy build of glossy synthlines, while 'So You Think You're Special' comes from the emotionally charged halfstep angle of the Autonomic crew with interesting percussion and a sci-fi female housed at it's melodic core. Strictly limited copies, DON'T sleep!

Single of the Week

Another chance to cop one of the most essential dub 10"s ever. To our knowledge this is the third official repress of Rhythm & Sound's 'No Partial', the opening track from the R&S compilation CD and one of the most important foundational tracks for the Berlin dub style. The only drawback to this 10" is that they've now omitted the original Wailers cuts on the flip, but on it's own 'No Partial' still remains one of the most immersive seven minutes of dub purity from recent years. You should know the score with this, if you dont already own it, make the investment now and thank yourself later. ESSENTIAL.

Recommended release

Oustanding 12" from the Firecrackers Fam's Fudge Fingas, dropping three heavily romantic house paeans on Prime Numbers ahead of his debut album. If you follow modern deep house you really should be familiar with the work of Fudge Fingas and his cohorts Linkwood and House Of Traps. They're making some of the realest, deepest and most effective house music coming out of the UK right now. The breadth and scope of this EP shows Fudge's versatile abilities, from slo-throbbing 100bpm house songs like 'It's About Time' which sound like Larry Heard in a dream sequence to the stunning house odysse… Read more

Recommended release

Starkey puts a new spin on his sound for 2010 with the ultra-melodic 'Stars' lifted from his forthcoming 'Ears Drums and Black Holes' album, featuring the blissed-out vocals of Anneka and backed with a grimy Slugabed remix. He's clearly in loved up mode here, serving florid electronics with a lilting dubstep swing to get you in the mood after listening to all that noisy stuff. The Slugabed version gives the riddim a boost with ruffed-up grime snares while draping it in psyched-out glitch textures. Then, just in case you thought Starkey had gone all soft, he slews it with the Crunked hoove… Read more

Recommended release

*Vital 2010 reissue, stamped white label styles* One of the best techno 12"S ever - finally back in stock! Much like his cohorts Regis and Surgeon, Female has continued to pursue an uncompromising path through the most disturbed and outrageously tight Techno variants you'll ever have the pleasure of hearing. Pounding with a skittering skip that sounds like the imaginary conflagration created by Autechre had they decided to produce dubstep within a techno template - is there anyone really producing anything this heavy, sharp and innovative in the Techno community? Industrial technoid futurism that is quite simply in a league of its own. Massive.

Recommended release

Second single to be lifted from Pantha Du Prince's highly acclaimed 'Black Noise' album, featuring remixes from Efdemin, Four Tet, and Lawrence. Famously, 'Stick To My Side' features an invaluable contribution from Noah Lennox aka Panda Bear who lends his hypnotic Beach Boy charms to a lush pulse of supremely hi-end tech-house music. Efdemin folds the track inwards, concentrating on spherical bell tones and supple deep house rhythms, reserving Noah's distinct chants until the ripest moment. Four Tet meanwhile finds himself revolving in a a phasing channel of flanging NYC-style hi-hats and… Read more

Recommended release

From the Glasgow enclave of the Forward Strategy Group comes a new label dedicated to purist and purified techno minimalism. The first release on the label comes from Smear, who pares back the driving functionalism of previous releases to expose a pulsing mechanical core fuelled by ice-cold bleeps and subbass sculpted kicks. Fans of Sleeparchive and Mika Vainio, you've been warned! Newcomer Adrian Ross takes control on the flipside, slowing the track down to a sluggish dread throb with dense layers of drone followed by an Retail & Leisure take on dubstep with half-timed pace and stoically… Read more

Recommended release

'Steptoe' on the A-side of this platter is simply one of the best tracks we've ever heard from Calibre. He joins the ranks of Amit, Instra:mental and more recently Nether with a locked-on halfstepper finding the groove between rigid programming and sumptuous bass weight. For the junglists - MASSIVE TWELVE.

Recommended release

Lush new Gatefold edition from the Italian AMS imprint! Goblin's fourth album, completed and released in 1978, is widely considered to be their finest moment on wax. 'Il Fantastico Viaggio Del "Baggarozo" Mark' is certainly their most ebulliant, featuring a cavalcade of epic synth arrangements from Claudio Simonetti in proggy-rock and psyched-out Euro disco styles all marked with Massimo Morante's urgent Italian vocals. "Baggozzo" is a concept cycle of songs revolving around the theme of a bug named Mark who lives in a technicolour land, meeting other creatures and having mad adventures a… Read more

Recommended release

An incredible new edition of this classic album from mighty Electronic-Prog pioneers Goblin, 'Roller' was released in 1975, in between the better known 'Profondo Rosso' and 'Suspiria' LPs. It's one of the few inclusions in their catalogue not intended for use as the soundtrack to an Argento film. Instead, it features the group in freestyle mode with complex percussive arrangements and a typically great use of synths, probably best heard on the self-titled 11-minute epic 'Goblin'. This reissue comes housed in glossy full-colour gatefold sleeve with original artwork and heavyweight vinyl pressing - unmissable.

Recommended release

Eglo records assemble a stellar set of deep-leaning gangster funk for Fatima's debut solo single featuring beats from Dam-Funk, Funkineven and Veebeeo. The 'Mindtravelin' EP follows her appearance on Funkineven's 'Kleer' with a choice set of future vintage modern soul. On the A-side Dam-Funk works Fatima's harmonised tingles into an ace electro-funk jam for 'Warm Eyes' but our interest has been diverted by the two shockers from Funkineven on the flip. His fluid, kinetic and ultimately cooool-as-f*ck synthlines provide thrilling surfaces to reflect Fatima's bold vocals, complementing her w… Read more

Recommended release

Breakage teases the dubstep and D'n'B posse ahead of his sophomore LP 'Foundation' with a limited 4-track 2x12" for Digital Soundboy! 'Open Up' inaugurates the session with a tightly wound steppers killer, using the barest of ingredients - dub chords, rolling dread bass, evil sirens and Mala-esque rhythm programming - to build a superb dramatic tension. Meanwhile 'Old Skool Ting' and 'Foundation' shows the past and present of Breakage's junglist oeuvre with two stylish rinse-offs and 'Over' slips into garage mode with a darker 2-step flex embellished with deeply soulful vocals and beautif… Read more

Recommended release

Friendly Fires and DFA band Holy Ghost indulge in a spot of mutual appreciation and cover each other's songs for this new release. The former do a superb job with 'Hold On', really making it their own via the band's by-now finely honed brand of indie-funk. Shuffling disco drums and rubbery Bootsy Collins-inspired basslines dictate the pace, while some well placed dub-style edits, effects laden guitar and (you guessed it) cowbell all help the mix blossom. Holy Ghost's take on FF's 'On Board' goes for a more laidback electronic feel than the original, calling upon the assistance of the "… Read more

Recommended release

This heavyweight double-vinyl edition of The White Stripes' Canadian tour document, Under Great White Northern Lights, is obviously an audio-only affair, representing a comparatively lean package compared with the CD+DVD set doing the rounds, yet it still does an admirable job of capturing the restless, kinetic brilliance of the duo in a live setting. You can hear the ferocity dripping off Jack White's guitar strings during 'Black Math', or the discordant blues dirge 'The Union Forever', while titanic, instant-classic riffs abound with searing renditions of 'Icky Thump', 'Blue Orchid' an… Read more

Recommended release

*REPRESSED ON TRANSLUCENT RED VINYL WITH NEW ARTWORK* Initially released in January 1982, Flex Your Head was the very first full-length release from Dischord Records. The LP packs 32 songs by 11 of Washington DC's greatest ever punk and hardcore bands. Expect material from Minor Threat, Teen Idles, State Of Alert, Red C and Iron Cross among others. This album has been reissued several times over, rightfully kept in print as a significant historical document. Each version seems to have been presented in a slightly different fashion however: "Different pressings of this sampler have fe… Read more

Recommended release

W*nky IDM displacements from the Helsinki-bassed Non Person. His 'Presenser' 12" follows the excellent Clouds record 'Spit' for Channel Zero with a unique sweep of elasticised rhythm programming which reminds us of Funckarma or Hermutt Lobby's considered approach. We wouldn't really call this dubstep, it's too electronic and basically not very dubby but does put an interesting spin on the style that fans of electronic hiphop will savour. Fans of Kuedo should check this!

Recommended release

One of the very best tracks from Lindstrøm & Christabelle's 'Real Life Is No Cool' is remixed by Prins Thomas and The Idjut Boys in contrasting styles. There's no denying the Idjut Boys version is a full-blooded anthem, shaking out big mid-tempo Linn drums and snaky 80s disco bass like to sound like some long lost Michael Jackson track. It's bloody remarkable, that's what it is! Heading in a very different direction on the flip, Prins Thomas provides one of his narcotic specials, using dubby rolling tribal percussion and pitching Christabelle's vocals down for a druggy treat. Both tracks are guaranteed winners if you've got a disco to snort out.

Recommended release

Another thoroughly beautiful suite of instrumentals from Western Vinyl quintet Balmorhea, who for Constellations exercise the kind of restraint and economy a good many other neo-classically inclined ensembles would do well to observe. This third album finds the band stripping away so much of the baggage associated with music of this ilk - no grand ascents towards crescendo here, nor the overused integration of classical instrumentation with post-rock tropes - the band instead strip their sound to its key constituents, largely forsaking full drum kits and linear build-ups in favour of wo… Read more

Recommended release

Recorded in 1979, this shows the funky alien and his band of merry men on fine (upbeat...) form with three of the most soulful jams they've ever committed to wax. The big moment here for me is the extended twenty minute freak-out of 'Seductive Fantasy' which gives you on one side of vinyl the reason why so many of us are obsessed with Sun Ra - it's free jazz to a point, but rarely does free music become so triumphant and so enjoyable. There's nothing stuffy about the jams here, we're catching Ra in his late 70s period, where he plays for the love of playing and has surrounded himself with… Read more

Recommended release

South London's Potentz makes his release debut proper with a dope four tracker for Police In Helicopter. Potentz Terra Fonix, to give him his full title, has come up through the classic schooling of pirate radio DJ slots and some on-the-side production with mates Kromestar and Cessman. With this in mind, the vibes of 'Mission Riddim' and the vocals from Soom T and Solo Banton make a lot of sense, classically rooted in digi-dub principles and weighted with proper South London bass sensations. 'Mission Riddim' also reminds of Kromestar's 'Kalawanji'/Surgery' 12" which is never a bad thing, … Read more