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Review: Lurka ended the year on a high with a kick-ass new EP on his own new label Make Your Own Meaning. He is now set to start 2023 in an equally strong fashion with four more futuristic bass fusions. 'Wire' is a minimal stepper with bursts of bass and flitting percussive lines. 'Molten Drum' is another twitchy mix of malfunctioning computer sounds, refracted vocals and fizzing synths that keep you on edge then 'Machine' picks ups the pace with jumpy rhythms and militant snare work. 'Zone (Packet)' rounds out with a double-speed workout and juke patterns that head out on a cosmic journey.

Review: It's five up for the Palmetto Street label and this one finds them turning to Ben Pirani & The Means Of Production who manage to again find new ground in this great EP. The lead single from the 7" is a soft and melancholic sad song with none other than Brian Jackson (who collaborated with Gil Scott Heron) playing the flute parts. He cuts through the smokey mood with daring harmonies while on the flip things get even more forceful with 'Something So Precious'. Pirani goes it alone on the vocals for this one while a strong quartert adds the sumptuous melodies.

Notes: Do you use pedals that don't match the outputs of your power supply? With EBS new power adapter cables, there's a way to solve most matters.

It sucks when you realize your coolest vintage pedal or latest digital processor-driven unit can't be fed from your pedalboard power supply because they are thirstier or uses different power inputs than your power supply features. At worst, you may even skip bringing your favourite toys to avoid the hassle. However, with the new EBS adapter cables, you can solve many of these issues easily and save the space that those extra power supplies may occupy.

Need to convert a 2.1 mm plug to 2.5 mm? No problem.
Need more current than you get from one output? No problem.
Need 18 or 24V DC power from 9 and 12V outputs? No problem.
You can even change the polarity from the common Center Negative to Center Positive using one of the new EBS adaptor cables.

Here's how you do it:
To go from 2.1 to 2.5 mm, use the DC1-48 90/0 2.5 adaptor.
Want to change the polarity? Use the DC1-48 90/0 RP adaptor.
To increase the current, use the DC1-48 90/0 PAR and connect two outputs from your power supply. The total current will be the current from both outputs added together.*
To increase the voltage, use the DC1-48 90/0 SER and connect two outputs from your power supply. The total voltage will be the voltage from both outputs added together.*

* IMPORTANT! Requires a power supply with isolated, floating outputs.

Review: We cannot get enough of Washington, DC-based label Peoples Potential Unlimited. It deals in a particular brand of lo-fi funk and disco with a hit of the leftfield about it. This time out they unearth some lost recordings from Landyhill (Timex Social Club) Bay Area funk. It has the rude girl vocals of Jamie Vallo over crunchy beats, squeaking synth motifs and raw drum work. Word on the street is more demos have been found from the same era and are to be unveiled soon, but this previously unreleased jam is a great starter.

Review: German artist Stephan Bodzin has done a fine job of keeping himself at the forefront of the melodic techno world, not least with his always boundary-pushing live shows. He takes that energy into the studio when cooking up his scintillating club tracks, too, and always has. This reissue on his own Herzblut label revisits one of his many stand cuts. 'Valentine' is a wonky one with creepy bass and mysterious melodies over crunchy tech beats. 'Papillon' takes flight like its butterfly namesake, with elegant leads and rubbery bass all doused in glorious melodic rain that has a sci-fi edge.

Review: Bobby Harden & The Soulful Saints are back with a new 7" that arrives in conjunction with their new album Bridge of Love with arrives in May. These two tunes exemplify what to expect from the long player with sleek seventies pop sounds. 'One Night of the Week' is led by Harden's voice with the dexterous Soulful Saints adding the buttery support next to Latin percussion, horns and even a string quartet. On the flip is the exuberant 'Rase Your Mind'. This outfit has performed live and recorded together with acts such as Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and The Wu-Tang Clan and it's easy to see why.

Review: Given her length of service (her first appearance as a guest vocalist was way back in 1992), it seems extraordinary that The Love Invention is officially Alison Goldfrapp's debut solo album. It's a typically sparkling, colourful and entertaining affair, taking the synth-pop sound that marked out her long collaboration with Will Gregory as Goldfrapp, and injecting it with a big dose of dance-pop energy. It's hardly a radical recalibration of her sound, though the influence of some of her collaborators - most notably co-producer Richard X (who was involved in some of the album's strongest moments) - is certainly evident. Goldfrapp naturally stars throughout, channelling her inner Roisin Murphy, with highlights including the sub-heavy, house-influenced synth-pop strut of 'So Hard So Hot', the vibrant 'The Love Injection' and catchy opener 'Never Stop'.

Notes: Inside this brand new issue:

Totally Wire-d: A 20 page special unpicking everything you wanted to know about Mark E Smith and The Fall by the totally Wire-d writers' squad: Claire Biddles, Graham Duff, Esi Eshun, Louise Gray, Michael Fenton, Jo Hutton, Leah Kardos, Stewart Lee, Craig Leon, Eugene S Robinson, Bruce Russell, Dave Segal, Richard Thomas, Spenser Tomson, Brian Turner and Kek-W

House Of All: Tessa Norton talks to the new band formed by ex-Fall members about life after Mark E Smith

Invisible Jukebox: No Home: Will The Wire's mystery record
selection raise Fucking Hell for the London DIY artist? Tested by Meg Woof

Nondi_: Pennsylvanian footworker reports from Flood City. By Neil Kulkarni

Kristen Roos: Vancouver synthesist embraces limitations. By Robert Barry

Natalia Beylis: Kyiv born sound artist makes water magic. By Brian Coney

Andy Akiho: Sculpted sounds from the US composer. By Kurt Gottschalk

Unlimited Editions: Edition Telemark. By Peter Margasak
Unofficial Channels: The Deep Ark. By Michaelangelo Matos

Global Ear: Oakland: Anti-gentrification in the East Bay. By Collin Smith

The Inner Sleeve: DJ Scotch Egg on Faust's You Know Faust

Epiphanies: Adele Bertei heeds the siren call of Patti Smith

Print Run: ESG's Come Away With ESG by Cheri Percy; Alien Territory: Radical, Experimental & Irrelevant Music In 1970s San Diego by Bill Perrine; Come My Fanatics: A Journey Into The World Of Electric Wizard by Dan Franklin; Season Of The Witch: The Book Of Goth by Cathi Unsworth; Neil Ardley: Kaleidoscopes And Rainbows by Vivian Ardley with John Coles & Dave Gelly; Empire Roller Disco: Photographs By Patrick D Pagnano by Sara Rosen & Patrick D Pagnano; The Future Of Rock And Roll: 97X WOXY And The Fight For True Independence by Robin James; Ain't But A Few Of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story by Willard Jenkins (Editor)

On Screen: Jordan Albertsen Boom: A Film About The Sonics; Christina Batte WNYU: The World's Best Radio Station In The World

On Location: Bergamo Jazz Festival, Bergamo, Italy; aya x MFO, London, UK; Borealis, Bergen, Norway; Big Ears, Knoxville, US; Birds Of Paradise, Utrecht, Netherlands; Counterflows, Glasgow, UK; Claire Rousay, London, UK; The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York, US; Moin, London, UK; Fred Moten/Brandon Lopes/Gerald Cleaver, London, UK; Sixth Edition: Festival For Other Music, Stockholm, Sweden; Tremor, Sao Miguel, Portugal; Object Collection: HOUSECONCERT + Neil Luck & Mimi Doulton, London, UK; Sonic Protest, Paris, France; Rewire, The Hague, Netherlands

On Site: Season

Soundcheck: Nancy Andrews & Linda Smith, Martyna Basta, Andrea Belfi, DJ Brittle, Gerald Cleaver, Cold Comfort, Paul B Cutler, Mark Dresser, Paul Dunmall Ensemble, Fire! Orchestra, Fourth World Magazine III, Godflesh, Goodiepal & Bananskolen, Gunnar Gunnsteinsson, Heleen Van Haegenborgh, Alexander Hawkins Trio, IzangoMa, Rickie Lee Jones, Zubin Kanga, Marie Kruttli, Lucy Liyou, Dave Lombardo, Mandy, Indiana, Donny McCaslin, Metallica, Me:You, Modern Cosmology, MV & EE, Old Saw, Joaquin Orellana, Aruan Ortiz Trio, Massimo Pupillo/Malcolm McDowell/Gabriele Tinti, Taiko Saito, Marta Salogni & Tom Relleen, Brandon Seabrook, Skull Practitioners, Wadada Leo Smith & Orange Wave Electric, Sparks, Specime, Temps, Henry Threadgill Ensemble, Alan Wilkinson/Alex Ward/Jem Doulton, Venamoris, VHS Head, Jozef Van Wissem & Jim Jarmusch, Wobbly, billy woods & Kenny Segal, MC Yallah, Yetsuby, Various Music Perspective Vol 1

The Boomerang: Enhet For Fri Musik, Milford Graves with Arthur Doyle & Hugh Glover, Anna Homler & Richard Sanderson, Juju, Roland Kayn, Angus MacLise, Toshimaru Nakamura, Julien Ottavi, Joel Stern, Suicide, Lewis Taylor, Uboa, Alan Vega, Various Suburban Annihilation: The California Hardcore Explosion From The City To The Beach 1978-1983

Notes: UK Garage Volume 1 features the likes of Casa Trax, Groove Yard, Locked On, Social Circles, Swing City and many more.

Notes: Replacement DJ stylus for Reloop's SPiN Cartridge.

*** The cartridge is not included, it is shown in the photo for demonstration purposes only ***

Review: Takovou stakes his claim to a wider audience with 'Perfect Match', a wonky four-tracker with a sense of depth and slow unfurling that is hardly achievable by most artists (presumably, they'd lose their patience). Dreamy movers like 'Homesickness' and 'Bubbles' are at once light and deep, perhaps reflecting the airy and unburdened headspace of this obscure Russian artist, who now resides in Tbilisi. A curveball also comes in the form of 'Another The Same', which more recalls Four Tet than the prior, less dense ambient works heard before.

Notes: The Icon Catalogue is a series of small A6 zines profiling 40 record labels in various dance music genres such as Jungle, UK Garage and Dubstep. From the most important labels responsible for the scene's foundations to rare, hard-to-find imprints now defunct, plus a few heavy-hitting newcomers.
Jungle Volume 1 features the likes of Dread, Legend, Moving Shadow, Rugged Vinyl, White House and many more.

Review: For his latest outing on the Good Timin' imprint he set up some years back, Jex Opolis is joined by Ian D Knight. The St Louis-based performance artist notably makes his presence felt on "Look At My Car", delivering a vocal inspired by "consumerism and rampant motorism" over the NYC producer's superb, Padlock-inspired, boogie-dub groove. The Compass Point influence also comes to the fore on closer "Guitar Sands", where intertwining guitar and synthesizer motifs stretch out across a Larry Levan-friendly backing track. The EP's other cut, "Rimini Nite", successfully pays tribute to the halcyon days of Italo-disco. It's every bit as thrilling as the rest of this superb 12".

Review: Reggae mainstay Delroy Wilson dropped this easy soul skanker back in the mid-70s. Now the original Clocktower label reissues it again on a limited 7" as the OG has become hard to find and much coveted. It's a brilliantly laidback tune and warming organ chords at its core, lazy drum hits and fat bottom kick down below, all finished with the laissez vocal coolness of Delroy. Flip it over for an even more slowed down and sensuous rhythm version, but the a-side with its sweet vocal takes some beating if you ask us.

Review: Originally released in the mid 80's on UK cassette label Bite Back!, this nearly lost gem finds new life 30 years later on Cocktail D'Amore Music. Steve has cobbled together a superbly melancholic electronic concept album. Wistful melodies often evoke sentiments of a lost childhood and hazy English mornings. Each song within remains untitled allowing full perceptive freedom as to what they all communicate, a language for the feelings that have no name. Untitled A1 - A6 leads one along intimate soundscapes of pattering drums and tinkering piano, a sense of closeness and trust develops with the introduction of each new idea much like the beginning of a bed time story. Untitled B1 - B3 then begin to breathe more openly awash in angelic colours before abruptly turning downward on B4, a wall of booming drums and atmospheres from the furthest reaches of the galaxy before the last trio of songs settles gently back on Earth.