Review: For Record Store Day 2025, Bloom Japan presents a lovely 7" from the 45TRIO, who reimagine Minnie Riperton's classic 'Inside My Love.' This reinterpretation delivers a lush, jazz-infused instrumental take that honours the original's unique sensuality while introducing a fresh, soulful groove for modern 'floors. 45TRIO's tasteful blend of live instrumentation and vintage tones helps breathe new life into this timeless gem while the B-side offers a stripped-down version perfect for late-night spins or sample hunters. This is one to pick up and drop during those loved-up moments.
Review: NY breakbeat craftsman 88 Katanas gets explorative on Silent Force with four outstanding jungle adventures. The brilliantly titled 'The Standard Of The Archipelago' ignites the EP with a brisk drumfunk type of flavour that's comparable to Seba. From there we move inland to brutalist terrains... 'Radiant Energy' is a halftime march through thick swamps and woodland, and 'Bit Rot' takes us onto elevated fields where the air is fresher but the ground is very slippery underfoot. 'Subconscious Emotions', meanwhile, takes us back to a much calmer shore where a good looking ship awaits for voyage home.
Review: Portuguese legend and 30-year scene veteran A Paul is no stranger to Planet Rhythm - in fact he has already dropped an EP on the vital label this year. But now he's back with more on this Shadow Light six tracker. The opener is fast and dubby, stripped back and seductive for body and mind. 'Magnatizm' fizzes with more electricity and alien energy and 'Nocturnal' brings manic, anxiety-inducing loops. There is glitch and pent-up tension in 'Magnolia' while 'Dramatism' and 'Naperon' close out with more streamlined and tunnelling techno depths.
Review: Planet Orange Records' fifth release is a four-tracker from the legendary minds behind Alien Recordings, aka A2 and Stopouts, who take one side each. From the opening moments, the Beyonders EP weaves a thread between the halcyon days of tech and minimal from the 90s but with forward-thinking energy. A²'s 'Glider' is a happy, piano-laced celebration to start with ,then 'Let's Get It Together' cuts loose with lithe pads and more mid-tempo drums. Stopouts steep up for the flip and soon melts the mind with some tightly woven acid and cosmic tech on 'Sin City' and 'Kartwheel' then brings a more freewheeling and loopy groove with some neon colours dripping down its face.
Review: Wild breaks from the wild west; Welsh beat sculptor Abstract Drumz gets busy on the mighty Over/Shadow. Four cuts heavy, each one designed to slap your rave silly. 'Just A Ride' opens the EP with atmospheric aplomb. Brisk pads and live jazzy breaks set the scene, hitting hard in all the right places. Elsewhere 'I Like The Rain' galvanizes AD's Celtic status with unhurried charm before 'Ethereal Remix' gets a lot more frenetic. Finally 'Culture '24' closes the EP with some of the heaviest chops of the set. Wallop!
Review: UK ensemble Abstract Orchestra is led by producer Rob Mitchell and has built its name through jazz-infused hip-hop tributes to legends like J Dilla and MADVILLAIN. Their latest cut, 'Big Bad Wolf,' features Detroit MC Guilty Simpson, whose booming baritone drives the track's cinematic narrative. Originally shelved and not put out, Mitchell revived the collaboration by rewriting the entire instrumental. The result is a two-part journey: from eerie, dreamlike strings to hard-hitting live drums, textured synths and reverb-heavy vocals. With lines like 'when a good guy becomes a villain' Simpson's in raw vengeance mode and jay lyrical grit meets with tight musicianship for modern hip-hop orchestration at its boldest.
Review: After years of silence following the loss of Sonny Knight in 2017, former Lakers members Blair Krivanek and Cy Pierpont return with their new project, Ace Box Shift. The duo have made plenty of standout contributions to the soul revival scene before now and here they debut on Secret Stash Records with another pair of fiery instrumental cuts that work exceptionally well for DJs and dancefloors alike. They find Krivanek's jazz-infused guitar work meeting Pierpont's pounding rhythms with raw, funk-driven results that make for a bold, high-energy comeback that pays tribute to their roots while also moving things onwards.
Review: Acid For The Grandma's fourth release is another boundless trip into warped rhythms and surreal soundscapes with acid liquid textures that make for a psychedelic experience that sparks the imagination while pulling you into otherworldly dimensions. 'Login Beat' casts you adrift amongst circling snares over jacking beats and 'Biancone Interno' then cuts loose with freewheeling arms and sci-fi motifs that leave long neon trails. 'Strobe Transforms Thinking' taps into more taught dub tech with sinewy leads and last of all, 'Light And Illusion' places you in a colourful world of refracted rhythm and slivery tech house drums sent back from a distant planet.
Review: New week, new Planet Rhythm, same old tech class. Aero is no stranger to this label and hail from Northside Dublin, where they Baldoyle native has been cooking up his take on techno - it's always driven by punchy rhythms but with plenty of synth craft making it much more than mere DJ tool fodder. 'Buried In Noise' has urgent and anxious melodies lighting up the drums while 'Velvet Kiss' is a deeper, more late-night prowler. 'State Of Burn' then bangs with steel-plated loops and 'Scarred' layers up synths that feel like they're going to fall over themselves with a hypnotic and time-keeping drum thud. 'The 242' closes with astral anxiety and a never-ending sense of rush.
Review: Hotly-tipped South London newcomers Ain't release a limited edition 7" featuring two singles produced by Theo Verney, who is one of Brighton's most celebrated guitar music producers, having worked on records by the likes of Traams, Blood Wizard and Lime Garden. As a group, Ain't cleverly weave shoegaze guitars with emo vocal cadences to create a sound that's likely to do just as well within the burgeoning new wave of American shoegaze scene as it is on the London indie scene, where they are currently among the most talked about new bands.
Review: Leeds is a city that has always primarily been known for its house scene, but Nathan Alexander is an ever more vital talent who is delving deep into futuristic techno. After a fine outing on Drum Workouts late last year, he's now back on NIX with a shadowy, body-moving three-tracker. Opener 'Language' sets the tone with sharp stabs and a moody tension that gets the space-trip underway. 'Pulsewidth' raises the energy with heavy low-end and warped textures, glitchy stabs and funny, swinging drums. The title track 'Skin' stretches into tribal rhythms, hypnotic vocal snippets, and deep filter sweeps and taps into that liminal space where reality slips. All in all, these are seriously punchy but sensual and immersive late-night weapons.
Review: Ross Alexander debuts on Yore and brings with him a more tech-leaning sound that you might expect of this traditionally techno-centric outlet. It still calls on plenty of Motor City signifiers, however, such as warm synth soul, machine grooves and a dusty depth. 'Soul Roots' has all that and a cosmic melodic air, 'Cycles' gets more twisted with a pressurised baseline and drums full of rebound while 'All I Need' sets off on freewheeling, psychedelic pads and serene grooves that carry you away in a reverie before 'Reflections' shuts down with twinning cosmic pads and gurgling low ends. A classy and escapist EP of futuristic bliss.
Review: The Alien Edits label and in-house and eponymous production outfit serves up a pair of banging, Summer festival primed house edits. The first is a shuffle, high inapt take on a Wailer's classic with the original vocals left in for maximum bait for dancers. On the flip, it's another stone-cold gem that gets the treatment with 'Abacadabra' reworked into a big, bubbly house sound complete with vocoded Steve Miller vocals coming back from the future to infuse it with irresistibly hooky energy.
Review: Phoenix man Eddie Amador is synonymous with one track more than any other artist in the game. He wrote 'House Music' in 1997 and it soon became a club anthem that has endured over the years. Now, decades on, he is back with a follow-up of sorts in the form of 'House Music Dos (Doin' It House Style.' The lyrics from the original, "not everyone understands house music, it's a spiritual thing, a body thing, a soul thing," still hold true and fragments of that tune appear here next to fresh funky drums and gritty chords. 'Househeads In Full Effect' has a darker vocal that infuses low-slung drums and a funny bassline with real menace.
Review: The fledgling WEorUS label rolls out more stylish, minimal and tech here from a trio of artists. Andrade goes first with 'Kubernetes,' a driving minimal house cut packed with hefty groove. It is followed by 'Content Security Policy' which is a slick, rhythm-forward roller that locks you into its flow. Flip to side-B and get swept into Dragosh's 'One Way,' a deep, hypnotic workout that's all tension and release and rounding off the trip is Fabrizio Siano's 'Control Your Emotions,' a poignant, late-night burner that delivers introspection through rhythm.
AfroQbano - "El Bucanero" (feat Kevin Ford - Dez Andres remix) (4:40)
Review: Chicago label Future Rootz is a collective of mix media DJs who all play and rework global roots, tropical bass, world electronic and Latin house. Who better to do that than Detroit's Dez Andres, a deep-diving DJ, house head and producer with Cuban roots. He goes first here with 'El Trombone', which has a signature low-end thump with sunny Latin vocals, joyous horns and florid melodies. He then slows things down with one of his trademark remixes of AfroQbano's 'El Bucanero', which has noodling bass and poolside charm.
Review: This is the first in a new collaborative series between Derailed Records and Planet Rhythm who have teamed up for a new vinyl series that launches with Rotterdam's ARKVS. 'Sonus' rumbles with low-end threat and fizzy static that locks you in the moment. 'Deviate (feat Ronald Nels)' is more sparse with claps echoing out to an event horizon as supple acid tones linger in the air. 'Amphibian Velocity' layers up gurgling synths and pent-up drum tension and 'Crashing Rhythms' is a punchy but deep closer and a fourth and final evocative and sophisticated offering which gets this series underway in style.
Review: The Alone Together Remixes EP breathes new life into Viken Arman's acclaimed 2023 album and has standout reinterpretations from Acid Pauli, Session Victim and Mano Le Tough. Session Victim first infuse 'You With Me' with their signature soul and craft a rhythmic, percussive journey. Acid Pauli blends 'You With Me' and 'Lonely Raver' into a surreal, experimental trip of modular rhythms and dreamlike textures and deep house master Mano Le Tough offers a wonderful take on 'Vibrations'. It is a pulsing club workout designed for peak-time with plenty of lush synth textures. Importantly, each remix is sympathetic to Viken's original analogue warmth.
Review: Chicago house newcomer Arsene's 'Jack Shit' is guaranteed to detonate on impact, because its 7" release back in February has already done plenty of damage and got shouts from Luke Solomon, Moodymann and Danny Krivit among more. Now the Chicago upstart finally unleashes the full EP with three other, equally fresh cuts of raw, tracky Windy City house. Crunchy drum machines, hypnotic basslines and that unmistakable Chi-town swing are all present and correct here, with dark undertones but persuasive atmospheres all packed with Arsene's own urgent spark. No weak imitations here - this is a familiar analogue grit with future intent.
Review: Smiling Phases returns with its second outing and hands it over to Parisian producer Arve, who clearly has a deep understanding of many different genres as the two tunes he serves up go way beyond the predictable. Opener 'Pyroclast' is a fast and physical one that blends radiant house grooves with deep, disruptive rhythms and myriad cosmic synth lines that swirl around the mix. 'Tephra' is another busy workout with pumping drums and an array of different synth textures spraying around the groove. On the B-side, 'Pyroclast' gets a remix by Belgian producer DC Salas, who takes it into retro-future 90s trance-techno territory and Italy's Paolo Mosca, who injects warmth and depth as well as a little cosmic mystery.
Review: Polish label FOMO_ debuts with the first in its news Spectral series, and who better to kick off with than the ever innovative ASC. He is a master of musical tension and abstraction and shows that with four tracks that build up the pressure and never let it go. 'Calm Under Pressure' is soothing up top with its smeared, spectral pads, but there's pent-up tension in the low end that keeps you on edge. 'Dark Arches' soundtracks an underground cavern with haunting pads and icy, watery droplets and 'Maelstrom' gets more direct with jostling broken beats, hissing trails and unsettling deep space mystery. 'Torsion' is the most maximal of the lot - an in-your-face collage of loopy, snappy drums and sordid synth sludge.
Review: Following his powerful Waveforms 13-14, Aural Imbalance returns to ASC and Presha's 90s jungle inspired imprint with 15-16. As always with the label, the tracks are just numbered and as always with Simon Huxtable's AI alias, there's a full focus on the drums and powerful sense of atmospherics. 15 slaps hard with choppy breaks while an ice cold pad whips up early Tango & Ratty or Krome & Time vibes. 16 is a little more driving and looser, more Justice and Modern Urban Jazz in its flavour. Both hit the spot. Make sure you do, too.
Review: Rising Glasgow-based quartet Azamiah return with another engaging new EP that bridges their acclaimed debut In Phases and what's to come. Blending UK jazz roots with atmospheric electronics, dub-infused basslines and James Blake-esque textures, this one showcases the band's evolving sound and emotional depth as tracks move fluidly between moody introspection and radiant optimism, all played with a raw, fresh intensity. This outfit's promise as one of the UK jazz underground's most exciting crossover prospects is more than realised with this deeply moving new outing.
Review: Florence-born Ricardo Baez has been making moves for more than a decade. He heads up his own party and has landed on cult labels like Live At Robert Johnson and Mule Musiq, which is where he returns now with four more cultural deep house offerings. 'A Sunny Day In Florence' is as warm and breezy as you'd hope from the title, while 'Dark Room' is a jumble of live broken beats, bongos and haunting synths for a steamy workout. 'Whisper Wood' is acid, Balearic style, and 'Animarara' taps into a percussive and wiggy tech house groove. 'The Life Of Larry' is feathery, jazzy and late night house excellence. Baez masters many different styles on this standout EP.
Review: LEGRAM VG & Rubber Ducky Records have come together for this playful Game of Tunes series, and the third entry in it offers four more wafty tech house delights. Baldov's 'Dance Connection' is a balmy and breezy opener with some warm synth injections to soften the rickety tech beats. Sif B's 'Small World' is a bubbly cut with sci-fi motifs and Buenaguas's 'Music Or Noise?' Marries distant cosmic pads with sparky synth sequences that make for some nice colourful combinations. Alich's 'The Evidence' is the best of the lot - a pent-up, garage-tinged kicker with ass-wiggling beats and acid prickles. Pure heat.
Review: Spanish musician Bass Lee comes through with a dynamic rockers-style instrumental on his latest 7" release, 'Enlightenment.' The single has a killer groove and smooth dub vibes and comes from Lee's upcoming album, which, on this evidence, is going to be a vital pick up when it drops. The single was recorded and mixed by Roberto Sanchez at A-Lone Ark Muzik Studio and he does a fine job of fusing deep, roots-inspired rhythms with rich melodic elements that cut through nicely. The band's stellar lineup includes Sanchez on drums, percussion and piano, with Lee providing bass and lead strings, while additional contributions come from Reuben Telford on strings and clavinet, and Saioa Jorrin on alto sax.
Review: Bastian's early work on Berlin's iconic Acid Orange sublabel, Tanjobi Records, is a hidden gem that's now resurfaced with serious buzz. This debut release has become increasingly rare and often gets snapped up online by crate-digging heads who rediscover its charms more than a decade on. Channelling the spirit of Khan and the legendary Cologne crew, each track is a masterclass in stripped-back, acid-laced techno minimalism, which is why it's now getting the flowers it always deserved-pure underground gold with title cut 'Centre Fold' being a particularly well-crafted mental and physical workout.
Review: Way beyond its New Beat roots, Boccaccio was one of Europe's most influential clubs and known for operating at the cutting edge of house, techno, acid and beyond, and for shaping a distinct sound that defined Sundays in rural Destelbergen. Curated by Olivier Pieters and Stefaan Vandenberghe, Boccaccio Life 1987-1993, released by Belgian label Music Man Records, captures the raw energy of a scene ahead of its time. Four VA Eps from it bring the tracks to wax and this one has four seminal US artists at their most visceral and impactful.
Review: Scruniversal's sub label Tunes Delivery invites Moscow scene veteran Leonid Lipelis to don his Beard In Dust moniker for their third instalment, one which dips into various different eras of dance history for inspiration. There's a distinctly late 80s feel to opening tune 'Music of the U', complete with sampled bell stabs and the kind of beats that wouldn't be out of place on an S'Express or early Coldcut house affair. 'The Armenian Break' and 'City of Love' look back even further, back to the female-fronted disco efforts of the 70s, the latter adding a touch of Balearic flourishes. 'Abstractish P' circles around some serene arpeggios, with rave whistles and, as it progresses, twisting guitar notes, lending it an individual air, while closer 'RoRyaRe' nods to ExCel-era 808 State with some nice bleepery before settling into more progressive headnodding territory and some distinctive synth play.
Review: Rinse France branches out with a brand new label of its own and who better to inaugurate it than Paris-based Beatrice M. The producer makes a knowing nod to dubstep's golden era on this debut with the first version of 'Magic.' It is built on steppy rhythms with seriously wobbling basslines that are all-consuming. Glitchy effects and shimmering synths finish it in style and leave you dreaming of dubstep dances gone by. The B-side is a Techno Mix that reimagines the original with a driving four-on-the-floor rhythm and plenty of richly atmospheric pads.
Review: Juuz out of Hungary continues to break new ground as it lays out its sonic identity with another tasteful various artists EP that roam free across the minimal world. Silat Beksi & Fedo get things underway with the heady but also playful and cheeky sounds of 'Porque Tu' before Minube's '909 Things' is a textural blend of found sounds, great sound designs and perfectly rubbery, dubby drum kicks. Daniel Broesecke's 'No Name' then gets more dark and down and dirty with a stripped-back mix of caps and bass that is pure backroom. Chris Llopis shut down its trippy sine waves and spinning hi-hats from the classic school of minimalism on his 'Manipulator.'
Review: Paris-based Gabriel Belabbas returns to Automatic Writing with his debut solo EP for the label, and a fine one it is too. Having first appeared on the imprint's 2020 various artists compilation, this outing marks a new chapter in a long-standing creative relationship and one that showcases Belabbas' versatility, weaving together influences from Perlon-style minimalism, 90s house and peak-time tech-house. Each track is crafted for a specific moment on the dancefloor-whether early morning grooves or late-night intensity-offering a mature and dynamic sound. It's a strong statement from an artist who captures the spirit of exploration that defines this label
Review: B2 Recordings is one of those labels that is deeply entrenched in proper house circles. Its latest comes from Begoa who keeps it nice and chill on 'I Won't Love You' (feat Mimi X FY). The drums are low-slung, the chords are breezy and warm. 'Bibi's Funk' then layers in some lively percussion that adds a nice texture to the swaggering, slo-mo grooves. 'Listen' picks up the pace with some electro-charged rhythms and corrugated bass funk and then 'Exiles' leaves you with another classy, spacious sound with persuasive claps and big splashy cymbals.
Lewis Bennett & Donovan Kingjay - "Jail House" (3:43)
Lewis Bennett - "Jail House Dub" (3:25)
Review: Doncaster-based reggae producer (you don't read that often, do you?) Lewis Bennett teams up with veteran vocalist Donovan Kingjay for this new single, which is a heavyweight slice of spiritual roots and steppers. 'Jail House' delivers deep basslines, militant rhythms and conscious lyrics in classic sound system style. Kingjay's commanding vocal presence brings a timeless message of justice and resistance, while Bennett's production strikes a perfect balance between movement and meditative depth. This is a powerful, no-frills release for true roots heads, designed for the dubwise dance and built to shake speaker boxes.
Review: Blast head honcho Bertran aka German Fabian Oellers drops a heavy-hitting, genre-blurring debut here on the Psycho Thrill Cologne label. Known for collabs with techno icons like FBK, Patrik Skoog, DJ Surgeles, Lex Gorrie and Stefan Rein, he flexes serious range across eight tracks that move fluidly between deep house, shadowy techno, raw acid and Detroit-infused grooves. The EP closes with a killer remix by Canadian legend Teknobrat, who cooks up squelchy 303 lines with dense atmospherics before unleashing floor-melting madness. Essential heat.
Review: The man behind legendary London underground techno bash Lost, Steve Bicknell is back on KR3 with a nine-track LP that helps mark the label's fifth anniversary. Bicknell delivers seven of his raw signature sounds here and they combine the physical drive of techno with plenty of heady and atmospheric pads, all of which are frazzled, dusty and imperfect across four sides of wax. The first three are all intense and unrelenting deep techno odysseys with shadowy corners and unsettling sounds that bring a menacing presence. Side D shifts the tone with a 15-minute ambient piece that is tribal, luminous and meditative with cosmic signifiers and deep space energy, all keeping your mind locked in the moment.
Review: Nick Bike has been at it again, crafting high-grade club cuts that always make an impact. These two have already been well road-tested with great effect. 'Party People (Night & Day)' is the first and is a brilliant collision of some funky, soulful disco classics into one new and strident sound with irresistible claps and vocal hooks. On the flip is the scorching 'Every Night (Hold Me Tight)' which is just timeless and super smooth disco-funk with a persuasive charm. Two no-brainers here that will bring next-level fun to any set.
Review: Norm Talley's Upstairs Asylum label approaches its 20th outing with more of that low-key, high-quality house tackle it has long been associated with. Black Eyes is behind the beats and opens up with the nice and lazy, low slung grooves of 'Gerry The Fish Whisperer' then 'Valley Of Sharks' gets more raw and percussive with its energy. 'Soul Fish' lands on heavy, knackered sounding kicks with soft shakers along for the ride and 'The People Want Hydro' closes down with heady pads swirls and wispy motifs that occupy mind and body as one.
Review: The latest deep dive into Galaxy Sound Co.'s Black Hole series is another carefully dug out delight featuring three essential jazz-funk-psych cuts. Joe Pass' 'A Time For Us' opens with beautiful cinematic strings, sparse drums and ghostly guitar that has been famously sampled by J Dilla and the Slum Village crew, and sounds powerful in situ here. Milt Jackson & Ray Brown's 'Enchanted Lady' follows with hypnotic modal swing, again famously flipped, this time by Pete Rock, De La Soul and Knxwledge. Closing out is Archie Whitewater's 'Cross Country', which is a funky, soulful groove with brass and keys that have been immortalised by Kanye and Common, but remains a burner here in its original form.
Review: Blackwater Holylight sacrifice their latest EP 'If You Only Knew' to the Suicide Squeeze gods, providing an intermezzo of cosmos and sludge. A chthonic dark psych explosion if we've ever heard one, we hear metal, shoegaze, and psychedelia culminate to an iconoclastic crunch point, as strange auraic statues of Cthulhu shatter before our eyes, evoking the god beast in actuality, not just representation. Lead track 'Wandering Lost' hears the band tear up constellate skies, as producer Sonni DiPerri shapes the track's many shifting structural tides, evoking the many emotional turmoils and stretching-thins of life; Sunny Faris (vocals, guitar, bass) further emphasises its point, that is, to embrace the inequitable unknown.
Review: There are tens of members of The Blassics crew from Scandinavia, including Joona Venalainen, Juha Sarkkola, Ville-Pekka Jarvinen and several more, and they are expert genre-fusionists who draw on funk, soul, jazz, hip-hop and more to cook up their brilliant instrumental sounds. They have been doing it for more than a decade and have plenty of great albums to their name. Here they return to Funk Night with another red-hot 45 rpm. 'Fishing Break (45 mix)' is powered by raw drum breaks with brassy horns and cowbells for company, then 'Nokova' slows things down and allows a more sultry trumpet to take the lead. 'Lunki Mood' slows it down even further for late-night and loved-up jazz-funk introspection.
Review: The Blassics is a creative crew from Scandinavia featuring the likes of Hanna Lotti, Joona Venalainen, Juha Sarkkola, Ville-Pekka Jarvinen and several more musicians. They have turned out several brilliant instrumental albums over the last decade and show their chops again ion this new 7" via Funk Night. 'Addis Hop (part 1)' collides funk, jazz, spy theme soundtracks and hip-hop into a storytelling sound with a driving bassline and shimmering chords and keys. It comes in two parts, and both are effortlessly evocative and mesmerising.
Review: Bob & Marcia's Young Gifted & Black album on Trojan came back in 1970 and was produced by Harry J. It included the title track, which was a UK top five hit that has remained a favourite. The cool and breezy groove carries a potent socio-political message and lo-fi drums that lodge deep. It is reissued here on anew 45rpm that is featured alongside Marcia Griffiths' soulful 'Working To The Top' which mixes authentic reggae and slightly more swaggering ska vibes and heartfelt, steady groove. Together, these tracks take it back to a golden age of reggae and are perfect for loud plays on sound systems this summer.
Review: Margate-based Braga Circuit showcases a refined signature style and knack for killer sampling with this standout debut on Air Miles. 'Fall' kicks off with amped-up chord stabs and brilliantly well-swung, rolling kicks that soon get those hips moving. 'Closer' oozes summer cool thanks to the balmy chords that soften the percussive, garage-flecked house drums. There is also plenty of Kerri Chandler soul in these here beats that makes them all the more essential. 'Filter Feed' layers up dusty perc and thudding kicks with sultry vocal whispers. It's steamy and irresistible and last but not least, Leod is another talent from the coastal town of Margate and remixes this one with a more direct and dubby style.
Review: Remastered from a lost cassette in composer David Toop's archive, Unsettled Scores Records has secured the rights to a first-ever release of the legendary title track from Dick Fontaine's iconic 1988 graffiti documentary. Originally airing on Channel 4, the film followed Brim's 1985 journey from the Bronx to the UK, where he linked up with future icons like Goldie and 3D of Massive Attack. A formative piece for graffiti writers and hip-hop heads alike, Brim's 'Bombin'' became a cult classic and remained so. This long-awaited 7" includes the full version and unreleased mixes.
Review: The first official reissue of Brooklyn People's rare 1975 soul-funk classic 'Peace and Love / Wreck' arrives courtesy of Selector Series for Record Store Day 2025. Originally released on Cheri Records half a century ago, this sought-after 7" has fetched prices of around L50 on the collector's market. It's one of those true crate-digger gems with its perfect mix of soulful, spiritual deepness and driving, dynamic drum grooves that never quit. 'Wreck' has atmospheric crowd sounds as well as jazzy keys and horns to really take things up a notch.
Review: Bruce is back for the second release from Poorly Knit and it's an experimental three-track for more out there dancefloors. 'Belly (Two Mississippi)' has hurried drum loops that flap and underlap beneath tortured pads, shrieking elephant trumpets and ghoulish vocals that really are unsettling. 'Burned Alive (More Gauze)' as you may guess from the title, is another freaky bit of rhythm and sound with distant alarms, mangled vocal fragments and a dub underbelly. 'Hot One (Chapped Lips version)' is a wispy and minimal soundscape full of paranoia and intrigue. Play loud, but only if you dare.
Review: Landing with a curbstomp the year before their debut full-length Matando Gueros, 1992's iMachetazos! served as only the second 7" EP (of what would become a lengthy discography) from drug cartel death metal outfit Brujeria. While performing with their faces covered and under gangster pseudonyms, anyone within the scene knows the collective alumni boasts (or has at one point) Fear Factory's Dino Cazares and drummer Raymond Herrera, as well as Billy Gould (Faith No More), Nicholas Barker (Cradle Of Filth Dimmu Borgir) and Jeff Walker (Carcass). Lyrically touching on tops of Satanism, torture, gang violence and drug dealing, all united through Mexican imagery and gangster aesthetic; when coupled with the band's extreme form of death metal imbued grindcore, the resulting menace is akin to waking up in a mosh pit during Sicario.
Review: Esente Records' young journey continues with a second offering that builds on the good work of the first. This one comes from Bucharest's BRYZ and is a masterclass in refined electronic minimalism. Opening up the trip is 'Slippery,' a fluid blend of supple rhythm and texture with plenty of characterful sound designs and details peeling off the beats. 'Self Definition' follows with introspective tones that invite personal exploration and on the B-side, 'She's Infinite Bliss' delivers an ethereal, almost otherworldly atmosphere while 'Eternal Sheevy' closes the journey with a timeless, lingering resonance. Each track reflects the deep, minimal aesthetic Esente is known for-subtle but not lacking power, and introspective yet dancefloor-ready.
Review: British producer BufoBufo makes profound electro tunes that are as much defined by their storytelling synths and their fresh rhythms. He draws on acid, breakbeat and classic house on this new EP, which though cosmic and journeying also retains a real human soul. 'Celandine' glistens with rueful pads and taught basslines that rise and fall next to lush synth outbreaks. 'Bittern' is more dark and prickly with a menacing undercurrent and 'Quantum Tunnel' shuts down with a slower, more reflective sound, beautiful arps and languid drums. Our favourite is the open though, 'Petroglyph', with its nimble basslines and widescreen psychedelic synth explosions.
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