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Review: Frappe launched its inaugural studio EP with the original version of the tracks that now get remixed and in doing so marked a new milestone for the Parisian label. They found renowned house producer Art Of Tones and the jazz-funk band Chatobaron combine expertise and top-quality studio musicians into some lush house sounds. Now they get reworked by the likes of Crackazat, Pal Cut and Trubojazz into deep jams, funky and percussive jams, disco-tinged and organic jams and lush downbeat jams.

Review: Keyboardist Stale Storlokken leads the trio through six stellar compositions, showcasing hypnotic, magical, and razor-sharp polyrhythms. The album - the follow up to their acclaimed album Arrival of The New Elders - maintains the band's signature groovy mix of high-energy rock and power jazz while incorporating more structure and reflection and displaying a more diverse and mature approach. Recorded and mixed by producer Mattias Glava, Mythical River solidifies Elephant9's position as a contemporary, timeless and futuristic band.

Review: Eloi (Eloi Chazelas), a producer based in Paris, France, has released his latest work on the German label LTDBLBL. This 13th release showcases Eloi's mastery of deep house and jazz influences. 'The Great Delusion' sets the tone with its soulful touch and jazzy undertones. 'Foundation's Edge' delves deeper into jazz territory, featuring evocative horn samples. Side two opens with 'A Perfect Misconception,' a perfect blend of house and disco. Finally, 'I Hope It Ends Well' exudes a laid-back cafe house vibe with its jazzy nuances. Through this release, Chazelas demonstrates his versatility and ability to create music that both captivates and soothes. This kind of house music is great for day or night and for a bar or club.

Review: Much-loved Berlin party wreckers Fjaak have got a brilliant new album on the way soon that traverses every conceivable style of beat and is sure to be of the year's best. But that hasn't stopped them also serving up this 11th EP of hand-stamped goodness on their own self-titled label. It kicks off with some searing acid madness on 'Redemption' then slips into a raw, rib-cracking techno stomper in the form of 'Hustle'. 'Mechanic Love' is pure old-school rave with oversized synth blasts that tickle your inner ear and last of all is a vocal tool, 'Unity' (feat Red Eye - acappella). Very useful indeed.

Review: Fleet Dreams has worked on labels like PPU and All City but now launches the freshly formed Vinezza Records with an aim of putting out into the world "an eclectic tapestry of magnetic rhythms". The first EP comes from the label founder and kicks off with a tom-laced, dusty and muted melodic house affair that bangs pretty hard but also has a soft and gooey heart. 'Tan Gallant' is just as thumping but marbled with vocals and melodies that bring the soul and 'Deep Respire' gets busy with rising synth pads and swirling keys. 'Echoes Of Ego' is the full-throttle tribal closer with a steamy jungle atmosphere.

Review: We always feel that a one-sided 12" is a real sign that an artist are label are hugely happy with what they are seeing up. And Adam Goldstone has every right to feel that way frankly as his 'Edge of the Night' is a classic deep house sermon that will bring plenty of emotions to the fore when it is dropped, either in the dead of night or just as the sun is coming up one morning, much like a tune such as Ron & Chez's 'Morning Factory'. The smoky vocals are well-treated, the smeared pads bring the soul and the drums and cuddly and warm. Perfect.

Review: Christian Linder Essential Elements is a new label from Christian Linder that will serve up the essential elements needed for late-night dancing, so you can't fault its name. The first EP sets out its stall in fine style with two versions of the same cut. 'Circular Motion' (Emotional) is a mix of amped-up and slick drum loops that are detailed with some alien sound effects and a rising sense of synth warmth that brings a subtle sense of euphoria. 'Circular Motion' (Vivid) is a gentle tweak that has more bright pads and a more driving but still dubby and smooth groove. Two different sides to the same coin that will work in many different settings.

Review: The limited 7" edition of Marine Eyes' latest full-length ambient record 'To Belong' hears a distilling of the original fourteen-track record down to just four selections. Though every track on the digital version of the album works in its own right, the choice on offer here - 'Hushed', 'Of The West', 'Bluest' and 'Call & Answer' - are particularly deserving of the study on wax. Something static, nigh time-crystalline is achieved on the B2, with its held root note evincing something of the quality of an infinite dream; the A1 recalls some mix of DJ Healer, Malibu or David Motion with its three note tenor-pad lilt; the A2 gets at the best of both worlds, sounding like a paradisiacal bathhouse vision set in slow motion; the B1 is the tensest, opting for a moodier key, but its reversed guitar taps and sustained choir-synth working in a no less lachrymose aesthetic.

Review: What does it mean To Belong? Cynthia Bernard aka. Marine Eyes only begins to scratch the surface of this question on her latest ambient record (yet leaps a great deal forward in wrestling with it nonetheless), following up her prior effort 'Chamomile' with a distinctly beauteous fortnight of forenoon drones, all of which spur the realization that "belonging is everywhere and nowhere". Belonging is indeed a kind of ephemeral longing of being than can only ever be partly grasped, attained. Through its looping washes of warmed, brackish, padded backwash - not to mention its many bass-undergirded angel choirs - the likes of 'Timeshifting', 'Bridges' and 'Mended Own' stand out as such revelatory highlights, all contributing to an incredible album of sonic diaristic reflection, in which every sound sticks out clearly yet plays its proper part in a humble, rose-smelling gestalt.

Review: MELTS' sophomore album Field Theory is a captivating exploration of interpersonal connections set against a backdrop of turbulent electronic psych-rock. Recorded live to tape and produced by Daniel Fox, the album delves into the intricate dynamics between individuals, drawing inspiration from the scientific concept of Field Theory. Through bulldozing motorik synth lines, layered guitars, primal percussion and Eoin Kenny's cavernous vocals, the band navigates the unseen forces that bind us together. Moving away from the macroscopic scale of their debut, Maelstrom, Field Theory delves into the intimate spaces between people, capturing the gravitational pull and light waves of human interaction. It's a hypnotic sonic journey that reminds us of the profound impact we have on each other's lives, resonating with the pulsating energy of our interconnected world.

Review: Dublin-based electro-rock four-piece MELTS are back with a stunning follow up to their knockout 2022 debut Malestrom. This is a band who know exactly how to draw the best out of their psych-leaning rock and fuzzy analogue electronics for a maximum energy rush, as perfectly demonstrated on the album's fiery opener 'Figment'. Recorded and produced with Gilla Band's Daniel Fox, the album explores themes of human interaction on a micro and macro level, and with a sound fit for massive festival stage grandstanding they're poised to bring together vast swathes of people for all manner of massive shared experiences.

Notes: Honey is a palm-sized, touch-based noise instrument based on the bytebeat principle. It runs on a single AAA battery and emits sound through a speaker. It doesn't have an audio jack. It creates dynamic sounds by manipulating variables and mathematical operations through touch.

The internal dynamic equations consist of five variables and four operations, with six possible operators for each operation. They are constantly changing and forming new equations, creating chaotic randomness.

If the unit does not respond correctly, the battery needs to be replaced.

Powered by one AAA battery

Review: There are not many songs in the history of hip-hop that are more important than 'Hip-Hop Hooray'. The track single handedly helped catapult underground rap sounds into mainstream success. The song was a massive hit moving into the top ten on the Billboard and #1 on the hip-hop chart and with a memorable video directed by Spike Lee, it was in heavy rotation on every music and video platform. Naughty By Nature became household names and the single went on to sell platinum status. You could not escape this anthem of the streets. Now, the groundbreaking song is reissued on 7" for the first time in over 30 years.

Notes: The eleventh issue of We Jazz Magazine, "Oni Puladi" for Carla Bley. 128 pages, 170 x 240 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers. All articles presented in English. Carla Bley by Stewart Smith, Gondwana Records by Debra Richards, [Ahmed] by Seymour Wright, Amirtha Kidambi by Ayana Contreras, Ruth Goller by Daryl Worthington, Abdul Wadud by Pierre Crepon / David Neil Lee, Francois Jeanneau by Bret Sjerven, Mette Henriette by Debra Richards, Nduduzo Makhathini by Rob Garratt, Discaholic column by Mats Gustafsson, We Jazz Festival 2023 photo essay by Julius Toyryla, album & live reviews, plus more.

Review: For the first time ever, this new silver vinyl release combines the iconic music from all the three Hobbit films into a comprehensive collection all masterfully performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Howard Shore's award-winning compositions for this as well as The Lord of the Rings trilogy have captivated audiences worldwide, often accompanied by live film screenings. The meticulous attention to detail in bringing Tolkien's world to life through music is legendary, incorporating diverse musical styles and instruments to evoke the rich landscapes and characters of Middle-earth. From 'Song Of The Lonely Mountain' to 'Protector Of The Common Folk', this journey through cinematic composing is truly extraordinary.

Review: It's rather hard to nail the Halloween dance vibe and yet also keep things light and jumpy, but the latest 'Out Of The Crypt' V/A compilation by the sweet folks over at Spooky Wooky have done just that. In fact, they're an entire label dedicated to the cartoon vampire-batty, kitsch smiling pumpkinned, brains-starved nuts-and-bolts-Frankenstein'ed theme: the propulsive monster-mashes therein are just as wicked and weird, with opener 'Je Suis Dans La Nuit' deploying reflective eskimo synths and crepuscular bass progressions; Phase O'Matic's 'Diskotech' making use of raw, flitty bleep leads and dead-of-night screams; and Lazer Man's 'Ozonar 12' opting for hollowed-out dub techno stabs and slinky minimal movements down below.

Review: .Stepping into spring with true style and just the right amount of nostalgic sass, unpredictable Finnish artist Otto Taimela follows a string of techno dispatches with this sublime four track jungle narrative that's perfect the sunnier seasons. With its lively, unkempt edits and jumps, 'Sunflower' has a powerful warmth of a timeless jungle dancefloor tune while carrying a certain amount of nostalgic IDM haze. It's a vibe which is maintained throughout the EP; 'Sunwarmed Window' has a dreamier edge that wouldn't have gone amiss on Warp at any point during the early to mid-90s, 'Sunshine Reloading' rides a much busier drums palette while 'Imagined U' brings us back down to earth with a gentle beatless ambient kiss. Stunning.

Review: Tilman returns to Off Track with a four-tracker for ostensible dancefloor pleasure, but our ears can confirm it goes further to sate the home-listeners' predilections too. Continuing the verve of his old skool 90s garage-intoned releases on his very own Pleasant Systems label, Tilman's newest spans dreamatics, whorling deep stabs and saturated toppers; with just the right ratio of sizzle, body and booty to make for a full collective somatic ecstasy.

Review: Lux Interior and Poison Ivy, of Cramps fame, team up to deliver Leather Jackets and Diesel Smoke, a whopping 50-track compilation that documents their utmost personal favourite rock recordings, in the micro-veins of acid folk, rockabilly and psychobilly. We'll doff and eat our hats if both said punk legends' rising signs aren't Scorpio. With madcap performances from Donnie James with the Mighty Joe Houston Orchestra, Tall Tonio And The Mello-Dees, Chris Christian And The Chordaires, Elisabeth Waldo, Fred Katz and John Reedy and His Stone Mountain Trio among many more, this is a cavalcade of no-hit wonders, every last one of them a gem. Amounting to a contemporaneous account of the music that The Cramps heard and loved during their rise to notoriety, not to mention the lesser-known music that would've graced the halls of New York's CBGB club, of which they were favourite performers.

Review: Wots My Code has been back on our shelves recently with some of his most seminal EPs getting reissued. His self-titled effort from 1992 came back in October, as did his All Seasons EP also on Kiteforce, both of which sounded as good as they did back when first crafted. Now his The New Dubplates EP drops on Just Another Label with 'Dubplate' kicking off as a remix by Bay B Kane that takes no prisoners. A Sikka remix then tweaks the energy level and on the flip is 'Pass Me A Dubplate (92-3)' a short but sweet closer.