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Review: In Li Yield's Chinese homeland, the title of this album translates back to English as 'childhood' or 'dishevelled hair'. Both are fitting. The London-based multi-instrumentalist and composer follows on from 2021's spellbinding OF with a second full-length record, and this time looks to try and immortalise the experience of growing up young, seeing the world through wide open eyes and learning by engaging with it. The technical back story is impressive - Nonage is packed with outtakes of old Chinese TV shows, mechanical toys and instruments that were made by the artist for this project. Yilei's own childhood piano jams, and half-memories, are also interspersed. In the end, it's a beguiling listen, intriguing and curious, and consistently hazy, just like those recollections from when you were only just able to reach the counter top.

Review: Akira Yamaoka, Marcin Przybylowicz and PT Adamczyk's original soundtrack for Cyberpunk: Edgerunners hears original OST numbers written for the award-winning anime series set within the futuristic dystopian world of Cyberpunk 2077, which originally spawned as the offshoot of the video game of the same name. Fitting for the music's breathy progressive house and electro oeuvre, which is interspersed with more traditional expressionist orchestral climaxes and builds, the Edgerunners series centres on a crack team of cyberpunk renegades, as they traverse the beastly underbelly of Night City, located in a futuristic vision of LA, navigating a world replete with corruption, gang violence, and cybernetic addiction. A note for fans: this vinyl edition includes unused, never-before-heard tracks composed by Yamaoka for Edgerunners, but which does not appear in the series.

Notes: Euphoric sound with digital clarity and analogue richness from Rupert Neve Designs transformer

The euphonia produces a euphoric sound with the clarity of digital and the richness of analogue that's never been heard from a DJ mixer before.

To deliver a clearer sound quality that accurately reproduces the expression of the music, the euphonia uses high-quality 32-bit A/D and D/A converters as well as 96kHz/64bit floating point mixing processing operations in the DSP, utilizing the digital signal processing technology AlphaTheta has developed over many years.

All sound coming out of the euphonia passes through a transformer circuit co-designed by AlphaTheta and Rupert Neve Designs, the legendary makers of outstanding analogue audio circuitry and mixing desks revered by artists and sound engineers around the world. This transformer circuit, tuned specifically for the euphonia, adds harmonics to the music and creates a glossy and energetic sound that's smoother for mixing. Low frequencies such as kicks and bass are more stable and punchy, mid frequencies like vocals and instruments have more presence and gloss, and high frequencies such as hi-hats sound silky and natural. The transformer breaks down the barrier between vintage live and modern electric sounds, making mixing easier and surprisingly natural, as if recordings in different styles were originally one piece of music.

Specially developed rotary fader makes you feel one with the music

When you touch the faders on the euphonia, you won't want to let go. To enhance its intuitive mixing experience, the unit is loaded with rotary faders that feature a brand-new carefully developed design to give you the feeling that you and the mixer are one. After extensive testing, the perfect knob sizes were chosen, with an elastomer applied to the outer circumference of each to ensure a comfortable and reliable grip as well as a high level of vibration absorption.

The uniquely developed mechanism for the faders also benefits from optimum weighting. You'll notice a difference in the feel of the knobs when you turn them at different speeds, as a smooth load is applied when you turn a knob slowly for delicate fine-tuning and a limited load level is applied when you turn a knob quickly to instantly reach your intended volume level. And the fader volume curves have been optimized through feedback from numerous DJs, enabling smooth and natural mixing without equalizing, so you can concentrate on volume control. This innovative fader allows for musical expression that will move your audience and enhance your performance.

Energy Visualizer for understanding overall sound at first glance

Get an instant visual grasp of the status of your mix and the balance of track volume levels by glancing at the euphonia's Energy Visualizer. Conventional VU meters only have 1 needle meter, making it difficult for DJs to grasp multiple channel levels at the same time. But the euphonia's uniquely developed Mix Level Meter features a needle meter for each channel so you can visually check the levels for all channels and mix smoothly while keeping the groove going. You can even keep an eye on the balance of the master output by looking at the Spectrum Analyzer, which helps you keep your mixes sounding consistent and smooth, even in a long set, as you "watch" the euphonia's output and adjust it to create your perfect sound.

Next-generation 3Band Master Isolator that transforms sensibility into sound at your will

Highest-quality isolator

The size of the isolator knobs is perfect for rapid turns from centre to maximum or minimum, and the torque load is perfectly balanced for both quick operation and fine sound quality adjustment, with a luxurious feel that's not too light. The cut-off frequency and slope are set to control and highlight the kick, melody, and rhythm bands in a natural yet sharp manner.

Brand-new Boost Send for one-handed effects application

Add one of the built-in Send Effects, or an effect from an external unit, to the sound of any of the master isolator frequency bands.

Specifications

Max. external dimensions (W × D × H): 429.2 × 331.0 × 119.9 mm / 16.90" × 13.03" x 4.72"
Main unit weight: 9.5 kg / 20.94 lbs.
Frequency response: 20 Hz - 40 kHz (LINE)
S/N Ratio: 107 dB (USB, DIGITAL IN)
88 dB (PHONO)
105 dB (LINE)
79 dB (MIC)
Power requirements: AC 110 V - 240 V, 50 Hz / 60 Hz
Power consumption: 43 W
Accessories: Power cord
Warranty (for some regions)
Quick start guide
Precautions for use

Compatible software:
rekordbox
Serato DJ Pro

Terminals

Inputs:
DIGITAL IN × 4 (coaxial)
LINE × 4 (RCA)
PHONO × 4 (RCA)
MIC x 1 (XLR & 1/4" TRS jack)

Outputs:
MASTER × 1 (XLR)
BOOTH × 1 (1/4" TRS jack)
REC × 1 (RCA)
PHONES × 2 (1/4" stereo phone jack, 3.5 mm stereo mini jack)
USB: USB Type-C × 1

Others:
SEND × 2 (1/4" TS jack)
RETURN × 2 (1/4" TS jack)

Review: Much loved Canadian rock band SUM 41, known for their multi-platinum success, inked a new recordings deal with Rise Records for their final album, Heaven :x: Hell. The first single, 'LANDMINES,' accompanied by a video, set the stage for this highly anticipated release and soon won over fans. In a heartfelt Instagram post, the band expressed gratitude to those fans for their unwavering support throughout their 27-year journey. With over 15 million records sold globally, Billboard chart-toppers, a Grammy nomination, Juno and Kerrang! Awards, SUM 41 leaves an indelible mark on rock history, capping off their illustrious career with an album that promises to be a fitting farewell.

Review: Leeds-based duo Hawthonn express their inspiration from Coil in their artist name (a tribute to the late Jhonn Balance) and it doesn't take long listening to their music to hear that indelible mark on their sound. Earth Mirror marks Layla and Phil Legard's second album for the Ba Da Bing! label out of NYC after 2018's Red Goddess (Of This Men Shall Know Nothing). Weaving a compelling mixture of low, murmuring industrial tones and pastoral folk with an occult twist, the duo move through enveloping, atmospheric spaces. At times Layla Legard's voice cuts through the mist, and elsewhere we reside in instrumental pastures, but the mood remains haunting and evocative from start to finish, not to mention masterfully rendered.

Review: Sonic Cathedral share the debut album of Not Me But Us, Two, facilitating the Neapolitan duo's astonishing talent for production and pitch-bent melancholy. Made up of Bruno Bavota and Fabrizio Somma (aka. K-Conjog), this new effort blends each of their influences with echoes of ambient, techno, 2000s club culture, postclassical music and hints of post-rock, making for a fascinating electronica cocktail. Lending well to Bavota's usual piano-based pieces, the new collaborative approach, which fed a new interest in analog gear, also resulted in an effective vehicle to process grief and gaze into new horizons for the artists.

Review: Where's My Utopia? is the highly anticipated follow up to Leeds post-punk darlings Yard Act's Mercury Prize-nominated debut LP The Overload, and continues their eccentric, whimsical and sobering assessment of life in modern day Britain with a cheeky smile plastered over decades of embittered rage. Following on from last year's bizarre Black Mirror-inspired eight-minute single 'The Trench Coat Museum', this sophomore effort succeeds at every turn a second album should. Linking up with Gorillaz' Remi Kabaka Jr to handle production, the move has led to a curious wading into influences that might have seemed obvious to outside ears, with a newfound embracing of new wave synth pop whilst tapping into the psychedelic sonic world and political ethos of Fela Kuti. Lyrically, taking the UK to further task for its endless shopping list of fuck ups, whilst also touching on their seemingly overnight ascension, and the irony that comes with being signed to a subsidiary of another monolithic, faceless corporation endorsing the myriad of issues completely at odds with the morals embedded into the Yard Act DNA, Where's My Utopia? sees the band beating everyone to the punch, both musically and topically.

Review: Following their succinctly titled 2019 debut full-length Cunts, the Los Angeles based hardcore mob of the same name (sans the one vowel), would only briefly tour the project before the 2020 pandemic put a stop to all live shows. During this time, vocalist Matt Cronk suffered from a paralyzed vocal cord as result of a surgical error following a car crash injury. With other members Kevin Avery and guitarist Mike Crain keeping busy in Retox while the latter also serves as bass-man for Mike Patton-fronted Dead Cross, Cronk recovered against any medical predictions and between his personal strife and the state of utter division across the US, he has a whole load of hate to get off his chest on their cynical sophomore statement, Thoughts & Prayers.

Review: .Straight out of Lincoln Park, Michigan, circa 1963, MC5 are one of those incredible rock & roll bands that people should be talking about more, still to this day. And we really, really do mean rock & roll, a genre in which they rank among the finest bands of all time, falling somewhere between proto-punk, hard rock, garage, blues and heavy bits, helping set the sonic foundations from which outfits such as AC/DC could go on to thrive and, to some extent at least, commercialise. Live In Europe presents nine tracks originally recorded for German and Finnish TV, and it offers both cover versions - which MC5 were renowned for - and originals. For collectors, it's worth noting in particular that 'Let It Rock' and 'Black To Comm' have never been been included on any release from the group, and, like much of what's here, serve as reminders of the incredible connection between the twin axe men, Wayne Kramer and Fred 'Sonic' Smith.

Review: Rhythm & Blues follows on from the success of its Mott The Hoople at the BBC 1970 release - well worth a look (or listen) - with another retrospective compilation that makes a convincing case for us all diving headfirst into the band's full back catalogue to marvel at what's there. A collection of broadcast tracks from Top Gear, Sounds of the Seventies, and The John Peel Sunday Concert are included, and all sound gritty, growly, raw and vital. Among the highlights are versions of Like A Rolling Stone and When My Mind's Gone, which the release notes argue are "rare-as-hens-teeth", and we're not in position to argue, while the take on 'What'd I Say' feels soaked in enough spilt whisky and blues you could probably get loaded on the fumes alone. Ultimately, though, there's no point picking individual parts here. Instead, think wall-to-wall reasons why the Hoople were such a rare breed.

Review: Numero Group brings together a slew of desirable and very rare soul and funk songs together for one fantastic compilation. Many of these tracks in their original physical release form - you'd be looking at hundreds of dollars for the first pressings, so thank Numero Group for gathering these together and saving the fans from spending a lot of money and a lot of time finding them. Tracks like the amazing 'Mr.Lucky' by Betty Wright - which sounds fit for a blockbuster movie soundtrack - Trinikas' 'Remember Me' and the James Brown-like funk 'Good Things' by Pearl Dowdell are must have scarce tracks, but there's a host of yet to be discovered gemes here too, like Fay Cooper's 'Closer Together' and Betty & Angel's 'Everlasting Love'.

Review: In 1984, Jamaican-born producer Tony Williams gifted the British jazz-funk scene with two exceptional 12" records, both now rare gems. One of these, Nat King Cool's 'Checking Out,' showcases a fusion of MFSB's 'Mysteries of the World' with quintessential UK Brit-funk vibes. Originally released on the Tai Wan label, this single remains as fresh today as it did in 1984, with its captivating flip-side instrumental. Remastered from tapes, these essential 80s Brit-funk tracks are presented on pristine vinyl, adorned with bespoke repro-labels, and packaged in a groovy Soul Jazz/Funk Masters house bag, which means it looks as good as it sounds.

Review: Trojan Record always do a fantastic job with their compilations. They are a great way for experienced and inexperienced reggae fans to collect a lot of really great music that can be very hard to find original copies. Uptown Top Ranking: Trojan Ska & Reggae Chartbusters is chalk full of classic material from beginning to end. Fabled blueprints for the genre include Desmond Dekker & The Aces 'Israelites', The Upsetters 'Return Of Django' and Desmond Dekker & The Aces '007 (Shanty Town)' among many others gems. To get 50 amazing songs onto two pieces of vinyl makes this one of the best VFM releases in record buying history.

Review: Orb offshoot project Sedibus has proved popular with fans for two reasons: it reunites Alex Paterson with Andy Falconer, who worked extensively with the Orb between 1990 and 1994, and the music they make recalls some of the pair's best moments of that period - albeit with a quite different instrumentation. Seti, the pair's sophomore album, has been described by their label, Cooking Vinyl, as "ambient unplugged". That only tells half the story. While it does boast all manner of acoustic instruments - sitar, guitar, piano, tabla and other percussion - it also features Paterson's trademark spoken word snippets and the dreamiest of electronic chords and aural textures. With beautiful, immersive and typically lengthy compositions, it feels and sounds like a grown-up version of the Orb's mightiest early 90s work.

Review: Costin RP is, to us at least, one of the newer names to emerged from the ever fruitful Romanian scene. Of course he makes minimal for the late night hours, but his own take on it has a little sense of fun and playfulness as evidenced by this new EP on BPLR. 'About Us opens up with a drunken sense of off-balance rhythm and shiny synth leads that never stop evolving. Sit then remixes and brings more defined drum funk to his version while 'Bad Waters' shuts down with some raved-up synth stabs and tripped lines that rise up and down through the mix in nice loose fashion.

Review: Soul Departure clicks up its fifth EP here with Kikko Esse the able producer at the helm for the occasion. 'Deep Mind' is indeed deep but it's fulsome too - warm pads rush through the air waves as the drums and kicks establish the groove below. '4 PM' is more stripped back to the thudding kicks and lo-fi synth leads but diffuse chords bring plenty of late night soul. There is an upbeat energy to the surging house warmth of B-side opener 'Take It Easy' then 'Make It' shuts down in devastatingly emotional fashion with heart-melting chords and nagging little vocal hooks.

Review: Having spent six years apart from one another, Marvin & Guy now reunite with Life and Death for two infectious tracks, breaking their two-year silence from original releases. Departing from their signature melodies, the duo presents minimalist compositions tailored for the dancefloor. Born from playful experimentation with a synthesiser bassline, these tracks boast distinctive rhythmic and harmonic shifts - the irresistible appeal of' 'Who Dis' is its fatness and apparently simplicity. Incorporating sounds like shattered glass and Formula 1 engine roars - both meticulously recorded for these tracks - the joy and fun of the creative process shines through in the music and results in effective good time party tracks.

Review: Aural Imbalance is in a super productive and super good run of form that has seen him serve up a wealth of great EPs over the last year. Now he is back on his own Spatial platform. This latest one comes on translucent grey smokey and green splattered vinyl, starting with the busy and unrelenting amen breaks workout of 'Spacewaves' then pulling back into more suspensory and delicate synth realms on 'Tranquil Sea'. On the flip, the crisp snares and underlapping drum loops of 'Concordia' have you in a state of meditation and then last of all is another sublime bit of ambient laced and dreamy jungle in 'Fading Fields'.

Review: In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Looper's cult classic Up A Tree receives a deluxe reissue that breathes a little new life into the indie favourite. Marking a milestone in the band's career, this edition on limited and translucent green vinyl (including a one-sided organ flexi-disc) offers remastered tracks that showcase Looper's signature blend of electronic experimentation and infectious melodies. Packed with nostalgic charm and still-innovative production, the record which reached #21 on the UK Independent Album chart continues to captivate audiences and comes with remixes, reworks, new sleeve notes and alternative artwork.

Review: Mano De Fuego is an alias of Los Hermanos Cedillo also known as Soul of Hex and it launched back in 2022 from from Underground Resistance headquarters in Detroit. This is their debut for Yaxteq and it brims with that signature Motor City soul. 'Sagrada' brings lots of lush synth strings over lithe techno drums and 'Aztek Obelisk' is a more broken beat with jittery synths to amp up the energy while 'Fuerza' sinks into soulful chords, finger clicks and laid-back house beats full of warmth. 'Fuerza' (DJ Dex remix) closes out with some playful and jazzy sax motifs over electric and bass-charged beats.

Review: Portuguese producer and Enchufada label owner Branko is back with his fourth full-length solo album and once again he pushes his own high standards even further. Soma was recorded in Lisbon over a three-day jam session that saw him asking plenty of top local Lisbon-based musicians to improvise over rhythmic frameworks. The resulting man-hours live recording was the blueprint for the album which Brano then worked into the compelling and worldly tunes you have here with vocals from the likes of London, Cape Verde, and Brazil, including Jay Prince, June Freedom, BIAB, and Tuyo.

Review: Axis of Time is the stunning debut album from Philadelphia mallet percussionist and poet Angelo Outlaw. Featuring Eraserhood Sound's signature synth & soul production, the LP is a dazzling blend of jazz, rare groove, funk, soul and r&b. Outlaw's statement of intent is to transport the listener to a dissociated, dream-like state; a retreat into a fantasy from which one may not wish to return. That of a sonic holiday is indeed the vibe of this vibraphonic virtuosum, with landscapes of flute, wah-pedalled guitars and, of course, bell-like harmonies played by Outlaw himself, all evoke the sense of riding on the back of a paradisiacal bird, and into the anaesthetic distance.