Lo Recordings Vinyl & CDs

Review: Black Devil Disco Club brings its unique sense of style this this special pink vinyl LP which arrives in seriously limited quantities. These are psyched-out takes on disco with a rugged edge but plenty of thinking arps such as on the opener 'Corps Magnifique' with its French spoken words adding an air of romance. 'Corps Magnifique' pairs haggling metal synths with rugged beats and 'Etincelles' then has rugged bass and acidic leads bring menace to the party. The flipside features three more curious and left-of-centre takes on disco.

Review: The absorbing Crescendo album is the fruit of a collaboration between Swedish producers Emil Holmstrom and Peter Wikstrom of Ecovillage. They are joined by a talented ensemble of musicians who all share a passion for improvisation and experimentation. Recorded between 2019 and 2022 in Los Angeles and Umea in Sweden, the album explores a fusion of jazz and ambient and as it goes it aims to break new ground and challenge conventional ambient music. Featuring ten tracks, each of which offers a unique mood and style, Crescendo ranges from uplifting and energetic compositions to mellow and dreamy soundscapes. With vocals spanning soft whispers to powerful chants, the artists' creative vision and spirit is well reflected.

Review: Red Snapper return with Barb And Feather, celebrating 30 years since their debut album. Liquidising the band's signature jazz, funk, and electronic grooves into a prostrate puree of vivid, electronically augmentable sound, we once again hear Rich Thair, Ali Friend, Tom Challenger and new addition Tara Cunningham perform a brilliant post-punk-dub-disco dramaturge, mullioned at the midpoint by a cracking instrumental redo of David Bowie's 'Sound And Vision', upheld by a true Balearic trestle. The second half, on the other hand, hears a four-track collaboration with the legendary David Harrow, pushing Red Snapper ever further towards unsnapped chunks of dietetic punk-disco delight.

Review: The Spaciousness series looks to "explore the connections, the overlaps, the roots and the future" of overlapping genres of music that include new age, downtempo, ambient, world and post-classical. The first volume was exceptionally well done and this second one is too. Plenty of heavy hitters feature including new age legends Laraaji and Iasos, Coil member Michael J York, Ulrich Schnauss and modern mainstays like Andras Fox and Seahawks. Between them, they help make for a widescreen selection of sounds that will uplift, bring a tear and soothe, sometimes all at once.