nagoyaka na kaze / 和やかな風 – (quiet wind): a collection of forward-thinking electronic experiments sourced from central Japan – co-curated by Nagoya artist abentis for Facta & K-LONE’s Wisdom Teeth imprint. The project profiles a close-knit community of music makers operating in and around the Japanese city of Nagoya: one of the country’s most populous and industrial cities, but one all too often overlooked in terms of its cultural significance.
Curated in close collaboration with local scene organiser Yuya Abe – aka abentis – the record seeks to capture the creative energy of a community of artists making hard-to-define, future-facing electronic music away from the clamour of the bigger cities.
Tag Archive: Various Artists
1. Caroline Polachek – Look at Me Now
2. Mike Polizze – Cheewawa
3. Royal Trux – Waterpark
4. King Kong – Scooba Dooba Diver
5. Steve Gunn – The Handshake
6. Red Red Meat – Gorshin
7. Oneohtrix Point Never – Krumville
8. The Halo Benders – Virginia Reel Around the Fountain
9. Jessica Pratt – World On a String
10. Kim Gordon – Dirty Tech
11. Viktor Vaughn – Vaudeville Villain
12. Stress Eater – Giving Back to the Universe
13. Sun Ra – Trying to Put the Blame On Me (Live)
14. Sunburned Hand of the Man – Nimbus
15. Kurt Vile – Constant Repeat
Browse the live listings in Tokyo long enough and you’ll inevitably stumble across a party themed around modular synthesizers. Whether it’s an annual event at a multi-level nightclub (Festival Of Modular) or an intimate set at a cozy neighborhood venue (Modular Wednesday at Shibuya Otto), the itinerary remains the same-artists plugging away in the moment, tinkering ad hoc for a live audience.
Ephemeral & Fleeting: Modular Music of Japan celebrates the transient nature of the country’s contemporary modular scene. Curated by accomplished modular artist Yumi Iwaki, these 10 songs are a chronicle of the diverse sonic approaches taken by synthesizer aficionados, and the creative rewards that await those steadfast enough to master…
Lowell George may well be the most underrated and underappreciated figure in the history of rock ’n’ roll. As a writer, guitarist, singer, and producer, his influence spanned genres—rock, R&B, country, blues, and the adventurous rhythms of West Coast jazz—and seemed to know no bounds.
Born and raised in Hollywood, California, George mastered multiple instruments at an early age. His prodigious talent soon caught the attention of Frank Zappa, leading to a stint with The Mothers of Invention. In 1969, after parting ways with Zappa, George formed Little Feat. With Zappa’s support, the band secured a deal with Warner Bros. Records and quickly became a musicians’ band, revered for its originality and virtuosity. Alongside George were standout players…
There was a time when Djax-Up-Beats was spoken of in the same breath as Tresor, R&S, Soma and Peacefrog: a cohort of labels that shaped the sound of European techno. Founded in 1989 by Saskia Slegers, AKA Miss Djax, the Eindhoven label operated as a vital transatlantic conduit, connecting sounds from Chicago and Detroit with a rapidly expanding rave infrastructure in Europe. The cultural exchange went both ways, as US producers found eager audiences while Dutch and Belgian artists pushed that raw machine funk into harder and faster territories.
This storied legacy isn’t at risk of erasure — Dekmantel reissued Djax-Up-Beats material as recently as 2019, after all. But a new retrospective compilation series from another…
1. Miles Davis – When Lights Are Low
2. Sarah Vaughan – It Might As Well Be Spring
3. Sonny Rollins Quartet – I Know
4. Charlie Parker’s All Stars – Ah-Leu-Cha
5. Miles Davis – Jeru
6. Coleman Hawkins All-Stars – Bean-A-Re-Bop
7. Miles Davis – Weirdo
8. Miles Davis – Générique
9. Michel Legrand – ‘Round Midnight
10. Lee Konitz Sextet – Odjenar
11. Miles Davis All-Stars – Milestones
12. Cannonball Adderley – Autumn Leaves
13. Miles Davis – The Maids of Cadiz
14. Herbie Fields Band & Rubberlegs Williams – That’s The Stuff You Gotta Watch
15. Miles Davis Quintet – Solar
When Dave Grohl and Nate Mendel took over the curation for the May 2026 issue of MOJO, they didn’t just pick a few favorite songs—they built a bridge between the Foo Fighters’ legendary past and their 12th studio album, Your Favorite Toy.
Foo.Fm functions as a 15-track “musical odyssey.” It’s a rare look behind the curtain at the records that fueled the band’s recent creative pivot back to their punk-rock roots.
The tracklist is a masterclass in balance, weaving together the “holy trinity” of their influences: legacy pioneers, contemporary heavyweights, and the new guard of alternative rock.
The compilation kicks off with a heavy nod to the underground. The inclusion of Hüsker Dü and Kim Gordon acts as a reminder…
During the late ’70s, the beginnings of a wave of music heavily inspired by the garage rock and psychedelia of the 1960s began to swell. Chalk it up to many factors — the availability of a number of reissues, especially the Pebbles series, a disillusionment with the restrictive rules of punk rock, the passage of enough time so that the era seemed glamorous, the chance to get cheap vintage gear — but the result was an underground that evolved in many interesting directions and even went quite overground at different times. Cherry Red’s 2026 collection This Can’t Be Today: American Psychedelia & the Paisley Underground 1977-1988 looks to document the scene, gathering together the many strands and sounds of the time to present a comprehensive view.
The Beatles are a singularly iconic rock band. While plenty of classic rock groups, like the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and, most successfully, Queen, continue to rack up tens of millions of monthly Spotify streams, no other band remains as relevant as the Beatles. Many YouTubers build popular channels by explaining musical theory through their songs or by delving into the supposed mysteries of how their music was created.
That makes it increasingly more challenging to find a new perspective on the group. With a Little Help from My Friends: Covers of the Beatles 1967-1970 may well provide some interesting new points of discussion. Does it make for an equally enjoyable listening experience?
This 3-disc box set from Cherry Red Records…
Hopes and Dreams is the title of the brand new compilation series from Tramp Records. This new series draws on the music selection of ‘Praise Poems’, not only in terms of obscurity, but also in terms of genius. Similar, but anything but a poor copy, the focus is on rare grooves from the 1970s. The album contains genuine rarities that definitely deserve more attention. Take, for example, the opener by Guamanian Frankie & the Karter’s Peanut Organization. The protagonist comes from Guam, a tiny island in the western Pacific, a good 5000km north of Australia. The previously unreleased ‘Back In Time’ comes from an acetate pressing. As far as we know, it is the only existing copy. Easy and Carrie Chaplin & Mark Perron delight us with light folk soul, and fans of Terry Callier will…
Since its inception in 2002, independent label Soundway Records has unearthed coveted musical gems from far-flung corners of the world, with foundations that are rooted in meticulously sourced reissues. A collection of fourteen digital reggae, deep roots and dub rarities from the Nigerian underground, spotlighting a time when Jamaican reggae entwined with Nigerian styles, politics and consciousness, creating a bridge between Lagos and Kingston. Fight the Fire is a companion piece to Soundway’s seminal “Doing it in Lagos” and “Nigeria Special” compilations, celebrating the innovation and musical experimentation of Nigeria in the 80s. Features rare tracks from key figures of the time including Oby Onyioha (with a crucial Burning Spear cover) and Orits Williki.
Curated by Ricardo Villalobos, When There Is No Sun reflects on Afrofuturist icon Sun Ra’s influence on electronic music. The release (issued as a single CD or three 12″s, one of which includes bonus mixes) draws from the Sun Ra Arkestra album Living Sky, as well as My Words Are Music, an album of Sun Ra’s poetry recited by Saul Williams, Last Poet Abiodun Oyewole, TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe, and others. Detroit techno collective Underground Resistance appears twice, both times with Williams, adding sparse but insistent beats to lyrics about natural blackness and cosmic waves of sound. Chez Damier and Ben Vedren also contribute two tracks based on Ra’s poetry, with “The Three Dimensions of Air” featuring lush kora playing along with restrained…
Author Philip K. Dick spent his career poking at the porous boundary between reality and illusion, questioning the reliability our perception and memory. Using motifs such as artificial intelligence (AI), mind-altering drugs, simulated realities, and corporate and governmental power, he examined our sense of identity, the nature of truth, and the very essence of reality. Given recent advances in AI as well as ongoing sociopolitical changes, Dick’s work now seems more prescient than ever.
Ubikuitous, yet another thematic compilation from Unexplained Sounds Group, uses experimental ambient and acousmatic music – with a touch of glitch and techno – to explore these concepts. Many of the 14 tracks employ synth-based droning with dark overtones as a core element,…
1. The Black Crowes – Cruel Streak
2. Snail Mail – My Maker
3. Andrew Wasylyk – Private Symphony #2
4. Courtney Barnett – Mantis
5. Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection – Rowan Tree
6. Flea – Traffic Lights (feat. Thom Yorke)
7. Bruce Hornsby – Indigo Park
8. Tinariwen – Imidiwan Takyadam
9. Ellie O’Neill – Anna with the Silver Arrow
10. The Long Ryders – Stand a Little Further in…
11. Bonnie “Prince” Billy – Hey Little
12. Memorials – Dropped Down the Well
13. Charlotte Cornfield – Lost Leader
14. Billy Fuller – Rummer
15. The New Pornographers – Ballad of the Last Payphone
1. The Studio 68! & Dani Turner – Funky People
2. The Delines – The Meter Keeps Ticking
3. Altin Gun – Öldürme Beni
4. Bill Callahan – Stepping Out for Air
5. Marielle V Jakobsons – Everything Lost Remains
6. Ulrika Spacek – Picto
7. Iron & Wine – In Your Ocean
8. Cardinals – I Like You
9. Crooked Fingers – Haunted (feat. Sharon Van Etten)
10. KMRU – With Trees Where We Can See
11. Hen Ogledd – Clara
12. The Wave Pictures – The House Painted Blue
13. Buck Meek – Ring of Fire
14. Clémentine March – Lucie
15. Isabel Pine – Fables
After topping the U.K. dance charts with his first two albums and garnering Brit Award nominations, Barry Can’t Swim presented a volume of the Late Night Tales mix series, showcasing music he’s fond of but wouldn’t necessarily be appropriate for him to drop in a club. While there’s a little of the type of lush, organic house that he produces, much of the mix is more downtempo, often exploring Balearic chillout territory, but also venturing into a few other directions.
Loket’s cosmic trip-hop number “Afternoon at Barenquell” is an early highlight, working up a jazzy groove before clearing out for a lovely string-based coda. Following a short excerpt of Superpitcher’s 20-minute, harp-based chugger “Yves,” a handful of introspective pieces…
Intensely expressive free-verse vocal laments over sliding violins, hammered santouri, guitar, and oud – the hybrid sounds of the Mediterranean in the early 20th century.
“Aman Aman” cry the singers on these recordings, their voices preserved on 78rpm discs cut between 1911-1935. The phrase roughly translates to “mercy,” a call of despair, but also one of joy and admiration. On many of these sides, that full range of emotion is transmitted at once.
Some of these artists are legends, others lost to time. Nearly half are female vocalists, a big part of the Cafe Aman tradition but not as well represented on contemporary releases. All were affected by conflicts leading up to the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1923, and the forced…
Almost three years after the release of É Soul Cultura, Vol. 2, Luke Una harvests another unmixed crop of deep dancefloor truffles that spans decades, genres, and continents. The well-traveled U.K. underground club institution asserts his intent with track one, “Spread Love” – impelling disco-funk from Harris & Orr, a duo on the same wavelength as Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson.
The ’90s and 2020s are each represented with two cuts, including DJ Harvey’s aloft and beatless mix of DJ Food’s “Peace” and a shadowy downtempo gem from Fatdog. All else dates from the latter half of the ’70s through the late ’80s, and though there’s wide variety even among what was made within close proximity, a dialogue of sorts occurs from track to track.
Following Léve Léve Vol. 1, this second volume continues a long-term exploration of the popular music of São Tomé and Príncipe, with a clear focus on rhythm, movement and dancefloor energy. Curated by Tom B., Léve Léve Vol. 2 brings together emblematic recordings from the 1970s and ’80s, carefully restored and remastered, designed as much for close listening as for DJ use.
The compilation deepens and completes the first volume by returning to key groups such as Sangazuza, Conjunto Equador, Africa Negra and Pedro Lima, while also unveiling previously unreleased or hard-to-find tracks. Across the record, puxa and socopê rhythms unfold with remarkable intensity, capturing these bands at the height of their powers: tight…
Compiled by Jonny Slut of the influential mid-week London club night Nag Nag Nag, When the 2000s Clashed: Machine Music for a New Millennium anthologizes the hipster club scene of the decade, starting with the electroclash movement and moving through dance-punk revival on to blog-house. Electroclash stapes like Peaches, ADULT., Fischerspooner, and Ladytron all appear on the first two discs, which also feature neo-electro classics like Vitalic’s vampire-rave bloodcurdler “Poney Pt. I” and Legowelt’s sublime “Disco Rout.” The haunting vibes continue with a remix of Golden Boy and Miss Kittin’s “Rippin Kittin” and Pet Shop Boys’ remix of Atomizer’s “Hooked on Radiation,” while the likes of Detroit Grand Pubahs’ “Sandwiches” and Avenue D’s “Do I Look Like a Slut?” revel…