WRWTFWW Switzerland Vinyl & CDs

Review: To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Grauzone's sole, self-titled album, WRWTFWW Records has put together a luxuriously packaged, expanded edition. The original album - an inspired and unusual mixture of driving post-punk rock, icy coldwave, ambient soundscapes, Radiophonic Workshop style experiments and spaced-out new wave - resides on the first record, with the second platter gathering together everything else the Swiss band released during their all-too-brief career. The included insert also boasts a superb essay from Swiss music historian Lurker Grand, who not only tells the story of one of Switzerland's most forward-thinking bands of the post-punk era, but also puts their work in context. In a word: essential.

Review: WRWTFWW Records is back with a third collaboration with Japanese electronic, ambient and synth-pop group Interior. This time they reissue a forgotten 1989 solo gem by band member Daisuke Hinata that very much deserves more spotlight. Tarzanland captures the essence of late-'80s California with sun-soaked kanky? ongaku, minimalistic proto-chillwave and breezy synth melodies all washing over you in delightful fashion. Its lush soundscapes evoke the likes of Steve Winwood and Steely Dan as it is infused with nostalgia and serene electronic sounds. They make for a blissful journey through simple pleasures, where ocean waves and warm breezes empty your mind of all but the nicest of thoughts.

Review: "In 1987, a Japan-only Laserdisc was published by intermission. It showcased one our of works created by renowned German environmental artist NILS-UDO with specially commissioned music by Japanese Kankyo-Ongaku group Interior... Soon after, the world vanished." As a label, WRWTFWW Records have done a stellar job at setting the scene and establishing the perfect atmosphere for Sculpture of Time: Apocalypse. Released on vinyl for the very first time since it was made, almost 40 years ago, it's a lush, tranquil, and reflective slice of earthly ambient that sounds as though someone has just walked out of the jungle and picked up a synthesiser. You can almost reach out and touch the blue and green spaces the soundtrack evokes. Transportive in the truest sense.

Review: Polish producer, multi-faced musician and multi-instrumental maestro Albert Karch knows his way around the sound engineer's desk. So much his finesse is unmistakeable, with a number of standout records already behind him. For example, the 2019 stunner, Celestially Light, created in collaboration with Japanese folk singer and songwriter Ichiko Aoba, Here, he delivers another exceptional joint project, teaming up with Irish ambient icon Gareth Quinn Redmond, himself no stranger to the WRWTFWW label, for a sublime outing of precise strings and pianos. A slow, meandering journey into melodic immersion which captivates and lulls, it moves between moments of sparse quiet, electronic experimentation, and more complex and full sounding arrangements in a way that holds the attention until the very last. A thing of patient beauty that deserves to be in your shopping basket.

Review: Danny Scott Lane's CAPUT album first arrived in 2021 as a cassette-only release and became a mini classic amongst those who know. It's a comforting, welcoming, soothing and serene ambient-jazz blend with thoughtful melodies a plenty and nice lazy rhythms. It's 'desert music inspired by the city' says the artist and is a pleasurable escape to emotionally rich places that go gentle on your soul. The pads are soft and smudged, the percussion is organic and deft, the melodies often fade to nothing as if distracted and the whole thing is a timeless work of great beauty.

Review: Swiss imprint WRWTFWW continues to do deep dives into the forgotten corners of electronic music history, returning with shining sonic pearls of genuine historic significance. Here they deliver a first ever vinyl pressing of early Japanese electronic music producer (and bona fide experimental hero) Yashio Ojima's 1983 album Club, a set that was originally only released on an exceptionally limited cassette. Given its vintage, the album has held up incredibly well, in part because its unique, unearthly blend of minimalist electro, music concrete-inspired loop experiments, off-kilter ambient soundscapes and picturesque, post new-age soundscapes remains as far-sighted and unusual in 2024 as it did 41 years ago.