Javier Hernando / Angel Lalinde / Alain Wergifosse - Casamata [Industrial Complexx]

Released via the Valencia-based Industrial Complexx label on January 19th, 2k26 is "Casamata", a new collaborational album effort cooked up by long-standing Industrial / Experimental Music pioneers Javier Hernando, Angel Lalinde and Alain Wergifosse who are going back to their roots with this one according to the accompanying press sheet, employing classic original production techniques harking back to the very beginning of the Industrial movent. Over the course of eight pieces and a total runtime of roughly 39 minutes the triumvirate explores a highly experimental sonic realm opening with a collage of layered, yet distant motor sounds and interceptions of harsh and heavy metallic sweeps in "Interior" culminating in hostile Noize eruptions towards the end whereas "El Centro" brings forth a whirling maelstrom of toxic alien sludge - or: lava - in combination with repetitve beeps, drowning echoes of what seem to be remnants of vocals in the very background of the mix and short modulation sweeps of probably electro-acoustic nature. With "Sobrevuelo" the trio explores rather calm, yet earth shaking low end movents, Scanner'esque communication recordings and a brooding, claustrophobic take on Dark Ambient for those who know whereas "Reconstruction" brings forth cold swathes of brittle, ever decaying midrange frequencies reminiscent of respiratory devices embedded into swampy Cold Ambient and an ever intensifying feel of psychic tension whereas "Transicion" fully enters a realm of genuinely evil and abrasive Harsh Noize. Furthermore we see "Corredor" on a rather subdued and minimalistic tip in comparison to its predecessor, allowing for a moment of relief whilst "Exterior" follows up with the sound of ever moving electrical currents and interferences as well as ultra high pitch variations at the upper end of the audible spectrum in combination with ghostly echoing voices before "Salidas" rounds things off in a rather spatial, yet therefore not less intense or hostile take on grinding exoterrestrial Noize music. Recommended for those who can take it.

Ben Wood Inferno - Beloved Bloodbath [Sumo Rex]

Scheduled for release on March 6th, 2k26 via the Sumo Rex imprint is "Beloved Bloodbath", a 19 track celebration of the long-standing band outfit known as Ben Wood Inferno which have been around for nearly a well astounding quarter of a century. Collecting tracks and songs from this period, from past and probably long time sold out releases to previously unreleased material, live recordings from Vienna - "With Her Love (Tango)" - and even Tokyo - "The Red Eyes Of The Blues" - and even alternative remix takes Ben Wood Inferno, along a set of guest artists, deliver an early dancefloor bang0r with the hyper tense, spooky and spiralling quasi GothPunk x Batcave ecstasy of "The Beast Of Hatred" featuring the Japanese singer Garuda on vocals and fall directly back into their trademark Rock'n'Roll X Garage vibe with the thundering "If I'm Out Of My Mind (It's Alright With Me)", go down the classic, shredding and well hounded Rock'n'Roll lane with "Never Enough (Herman)" whilst songs like "Blues Ex Machina" weigh in high octane-fueled drama in parts backed by spooky theremin action and heavy, earthy, muscular riffing with a funky twist. Furthermore the live recorded of "With Her Love (Tango)" sees the band unfold a raw, driven and yet rather hypnotic on stage presence whereas "Hold On To Your Structure" brings forth more uptempo Spook'n'Roll for whirling peaktime dancefloor action, the "Motor Mouth Babe" and its well catchy shout-along quasi chorus, seductive Goth melodies and over the top organ rides presents another well hounded highlight whilst the final cut that is "She Said" waves goodbye with what seems to be a dug up lo-fi demo session approach and a well over the top comedic twist for a closing just to name a few. This is quintessential Ben Wood Inferno and defo a ramp up for another 24 years to come. Go check.

Extensa - Echomora [Gusstaff Records]

Released via the trusted Poland-based Gusstaff Records label on November 28th, 2k25 is "Echomora", the sophomore album effort by the trio operating under the name of Extensa. Put out on the circuit roughly two years afterthei fristling the group caters a nine track and approximately 48 minutes spanning longplayer, immediately drawing the avid listener in to a heavy sonic realm infused by Doom and Sludge Metal, a highly focused wall of noise and hypnotizing feedbacks with especially the opener that is "Stay Asleep!" also catering whirling krautsy, at times almost kosmische Synth whirlings whereas the subsequent "Level 4" is on a livelier, yet not less dense tip catering to already heaving moshpits and spiralling circles of doom. With "Where Is The Pope?" Extensa are answering important questions in a rather ethereal manner, focusing on hovering and sustained harmonic passages and a somewhat shoegaze-y feel backed by thundering drums too heavy for PostRock but still related to exactly that vibewise. "Polimorfia" sees the group at energetic heights, weighing in a well funky Crossover attitude - minus any vocals, though - and therefore hitting the spot for forthcoming concert tours (just imagine them sharing a stage with MathRock legends DYSE... the energy would be enough to tear holes into concrete walls...) and underground radio rotation whilst "The Diffuser of Waves" harks back to more esoteric, floating Metal spheres and the final "No!$€" follows suit, drowning the audience in an almost emotionally overwhelming, yet restrained and never overly distorted sludgestrom for a closing. Defo a well worthy follow up this one which, btw, sports an amazing cover artwork once again. Good stuff.

Album artwork on Instagram!

The Sephardics - Sephardic Dialogues [Umland Records]

Put out on the circuit via Essen's ever active Umland Records label on December 1st, 2k25 is "Sephardic Dialogues" a triple CD album set by The Sephardics quartet in cooperation with artists like the Marseille-based band outfit Biensüre, Oren Ambarchi and percussionist Ramesh Shotham as well as NYC-composer Elliott Sharp for one of the albums CDs respectively. Collaborating with Biensüre on the first album the interpretation of Sephardic songs turns out to be a rather hot and dancefloor focused, percussion driven affair with a surprisingly uplifting twist at the end of the opening piece "Nananina" whilst cuts like "After" rely on seductive Downbeat rhythms and a TripHop-esque vibe as well as the expressive voice of Hakan Toprak whereas "Dicho" seems to go down a more minimalist and thrillingly enchanted sonic route. In conjunction with Oren Ambarchi and Ramesh Shotham The Sephardics are following a rather solemn and melancholia-driven approach in pieces like "A Donde" which perfectly reflects Oren Ambarchi's oftentimes minimalist and stripped down experimentalism, at time even bordering echoes of Post-PostRock for those who know whilst "M-O-R" weighs in fascinatingly off-kilter violins, tongue-in-cheek sweeps and dense, perfectly executed Improv sequences which seem to be rather at home in Contemporary Classical x Modern Composition than in a context of religious tradition whilst "Rosa" even features rather Indietronica- x Electronica-leaning crossover sequences reminiscent of past works of producers like Pluramon on labels like Mille Plateaux. Finally we see composer Elliott Sharp leading The Sephardics into a realm of complex Jazz arrangements and rather seductive groove sequences with "Migrant" whilst further exploring the depth of complex, yet subdued Avantgarde Jazz and longing, sustained non-vocalisms and what seem to be heavy electric guitar solos blown over from afar with "Splash", followed by the yearning string melancholia of "Drift", the deeply spiritual Jazz minimalisms of "Current" and, in contrast, the tender, soft and all embracing vocal storytelling of "Cien Drahmas" just to name a few. Quite a fascinating album which surely transcends the sephardic realm for many a reason. Go check.

Album artwork on Instagram!

The Hunt Is Over. Finally.

That's quite a weird thing to say for someone like me who's been on the hunt for new music for the most part of his life. A fascination which started in the late 80s after discovering AcidHouse, NuBeat, Agreppo and SynthPop at primary school age before becoming a dedicated raver and die-hard fan of electronic music a few years later before stepping into the public light as a DJ in 1997. DJ'ing and hosting radio shows have been a main focus for me for almost 30 years even though - especially in the post pandemic period - they've become less important due to a growing feel of disconnect with most of the electronic music scene, a change in attitude within it, and for the most part a lack of communication skills in bookers, venues and event promoters as well as a lack of reliability - not necessarily in financial terms but in a broader, more general sense and therefore an ever growing feel of being fed up with people and a growing unwillingness to deal with bullshit. The latter is one of the reasons I finally decided to call it quits when it came to working shifts at the record store I used to work at in late 2k24 after more than 25 years.

Whatever this scene had become, I didn't want nothing to do with it anymore. I still felt love for the music, even though the popular trends had never really interested me and I've always rather explored the harsher and more experimental underground things. I had stopped going out to clubs a long time ago when DJ'ing went digital and I had built what I'd always called 'my own bubble' of close friends and artists which seemed to exist in an entirely different universe than the rest of the so-called 'scene'. This bubble still exists and I'm absolutely happy with this tightly knit network of like-minded outsiders and an infrastructure of websites, labels, social media channels, merch and a global distribution partner who's able to get our releases to record stores and online vendors basically everywhere in the world - Australia, China, Japan, the US, UK, all over Europe, you name it. Yet, with all that being said I still felt the urge to hunt for new music on a daily - hundreds of open tabs in a browser filled with DJ mixes I still felt I needed to listen to. Daily stops on Soundcloud to listen to new tracks and podcasts. And - working a dayjob in a vinyl distributors warehouse and physically coming across hundreds and hundreds of freshly released imports resulted in adding a weekly average of fifty plus records to my ever growing Discogs wantlist which soon exceeded my already vast collection in numbers by far. The interest was there, the love for the music still is.

But something changed. The hunt for new music started to feel like a daily grind. FOMO set in. Also the realization that financial resources - and probably the part of my lifespan still ahead... - wouldn't be ever enough to acquire and listen to all the records sitting on my wantlist right now. Or to fully honour the majority of the multi-thousands of sound carriers I do already own. A two metrical ton archive of vinyl records, CDs, tapes and floppy disks, probably hundreds of DJ mixes and other unreleased demos on CD-r as well. Which probably all need to be listened to, catalogued and evaluated a new at some point. So I just stopped. Not entirely but I radically cut back on buying new music and decided to focus on backwards completing my collection and archives for the most part. I don't miss the FOMO and the hunt. At this point I don't really need more music right now. I don't even miss being on the DJ and radio circuit and my return to it is rather unlikely at this point in time. And it feels rather freeing and liberating.

So what does all of this mean? And why am I even posting this?

- For this website not much will change. I do enjoy the regular influx of new music and the process of writing reviews which will be and remain the main focus of this operation. So keep on hitting me with promos - probably at a new address soon - and I'll continue to review those. Probably I might even be going back to write reviews for other publications as well in the future. Yet I might even start to implement other content, commentary, thoughts, observations and other things on here as well as interests are shifting and new things start to inspire me more and more - e.g. I feel myself drawn to abstract art, architecture, film and design rather than to music x vinyl related posts on Instagram recently which some of you might have already seen being reflected in my stories feed.

- The Youtube channel will continue to operate, yet also covering a broader spectrum of topics and probably further exploring the shorts format.

- I even feel the desire to dive deeper into Tumblr culture again and go with whatever sparks my curiousity over there.

- Musically I see myself turning more towards experimental, harsh, unformatted electronic music again - with an ever growing interest in Goth, Industrial, EBM, Minimal Wave, PostPunk, Ingenious Dilletantes and reissues of early experiments in those styles. The curiosity about the dancefloor x club music aspect will most likely be covered by a retiring DJ's vinyl collection I'll be taking over which will also be the foundation of increasing Discogs sales activities on my part. Also two further CD collections I've taken over, including both a ton of electronic music promo CDs and a few hundred Library Music CD albums, will provide me with plenty of music to explore for a foreseeable future.

- The future main focus clearly lies on my label Intrauterin Recordings and its subsidiaries which will most likely resume new release activities within a 6-24 months time frame, with prioritized focus on a backlog of still unreleased music. Studio sessions and the creation of new music are halted for now until most of the backlog has been taken care of. Exceptions might occur for dedicated commission works, remixes and x or physical releases on other labels.

That's the news. For now.

Tanithblog Is Back - Tanithblog 3.0.

Long standing DJ Tanith - better known as Thomas Andreczak to his parents - who's not only been a staple and innovator within the German electronic music realm but also an outspoken voice and commentator on the state of the scene in general has recently returned to the blog format on his website www.tanith.org, sharing bits, bops and thoughts to a German speaking audience whilst also providing a stream of now digitized mixtapes - rudimentary track lists included! - harking back to the early stages of his DJ career via the freshly launched Youtube channel T - Tape Archiv these days. We highly recommend to check in, follow through and join the ongoing discussion in his websites comment section for a reason. Good stuff.

Hugo Race Fatalists - I Made It All Up For You [Gusstaff Records]

Scheduled for release via the ever growing Polish Gusstaff Records label on March 20th, 2k26 is "I Made It All Up For You", the forthcoming ten track album project by the Hugo Race Fatalists - another collaborative offshoot amongst many others thought up and dreamt up by Melbourne-born yet world travelling jack of many musical trades known as Hugo Race. Over the course of roughly 44 minutes Race and a plethora of collaborating artists explore a surprisingly accessible, yet still dark'ish and intimate fusion of Alternative Rock and echoes and echoes of Goth-leaning atmospheres with the most beautiful opener "Against The World" which feels like a love child bands like The Convent, The Cult and R.E.M. could create in a cult setting baptized by DesertRock whereas pieces like "Broken Love" dive deep into stripped down, heart-felt emotions rolled out over a subdued instrumental backing at the very far end of the mix whilst "I Was Born To Fly" turns out to be an intimate amalgamation of thoughtful, inward-looking DesertRock and elements of deep Folk elements with an additional Country-leaning banjo twang backed by yearning electric guitars for roadtrips into the middle of nowhere. Furthermore "45 In The Shade" weighs in a surprisingly muscular AltRock ballad sprinkled with memories of Morricone, yet composed for an imaginary setting dreamt up by David Lynch, "I Collide" brings forth a dreamy fireside duet telling atmospheric tales of foreverness and what lies beyond love whereas "The Comet Drops" showcases Hugo Race's deep connection to Blues and inherent melancholia without failing to provide a silver lining at the horizon captured by most beautiful and softly shimmering string arrangements as a contrast to the songs rather ruminant and self-reflecting feel just to name a few. Probably the most AltPop and song-oriented release on Gusstaff Records we can think of - and yet one that will end up in heavy rotation for more than one reason. Excellence is one. Go check.

bohbi - Factory Dimension [Umland Records 071]

Released via the ever active Umland Records label as their cat.no. 071 on November 21st, 2k25 is "Factory Dimension", the debut album by the Anton Zimmermann-led project that is bohbi. Over the course of seven brand new compositions and roughly 42 minutes runtime Zimmermann on drums and his musical collaborators which, amongst others, include Umland staple Jan Klare on sax and flute explore a heavy, relentless and rather obviously Metal- x Doom- x NoiseRock-infused wall-of-sound attitude based on heavy bass and guitar riffing, thundering drums of doom, intense, yet intensely funky guitar solos and screaming feedbacks in the opening cut "What Am I Doing This For?" before syncopated Broken Beats, mesmerizing pianos, enchanted flute lines and silky, smokey vocals take over in the subsequent "Confusion Or Illusion (In A Memory)". With "The Lightbulb Is Everything" the group x ensemble is back into thundering, earth-shaking and most of all haunted DoomJazz madness, "Monday Night" takes the groups raw and unfiltered attitude into the wee hours of the night without losing its muscular edge whereas "Desolation Swing" even throws a little bit of heavy, yet down to earth BluesRock into the mix, evoking faint memories of voodoo magic and uncharted Mississippi swamps. Furthermore "Martys Maeth (Von Flüchen Und Gerüchten)" has bohbi on a Crossover tip, weighing in both elements of scintillating Sludge / Doom as well as surprising German vocals with a not really HipHop-oriented speak-singing attitude before the "24/7 Grind" waves goodbye on a rather deep, nocturnal but still droning and avantgardistic Jazz tip for those who know. If you fondly remember dark, heavy and still somewhat atmospheric projects like Village Of Savoonga and are still listening to DJ Shadow's "Endtroducing..." on a regular you're about to love this for a reason - imagine this to a be a lovechild of these two poles, with more and heavier guitars thrown into the mix.

Antonio Bertoni / Massimo De Mattia / Stefano Leonardi - Tatzlwurm [Aut Records 144]

Another fresh release on the ever expanding Italian Aut Records label is "Tatzlwurm", a full on acoustic single-take improvisational album affair conceived by Antonio Bertoni, Massimo De Mattia and Stefano Leonardi who, over the course of nine pieces and roughly 55 minutes of total playtime, pay homage to the ancient Austro-German mythological creature of the "Tatzlwurm" - hence the albums title. Put out on the circuit on January 28th, 2k26 the album features an array of non-western instruments interacting with a more traditional foundation of cello, percussion and flute / alto flute, opening new sonic realms touching base with Jazz, Improv and - for the lack of a better term - World Music with the opening piece that is "The Dark Mountain" providing a set of interlaced, ever meandering flute melodies laid out over slow, yet damp and fever'ish tribal drum rhythms before "Axis Mundi" enters deeper, more explorative and enchanted territories whilst adding a probably slightly oriental twist whereas the "Zigzag Wanderer" brings forth dense and dramatic movements, whirling imitations of exotic bird calls, busy percussion harmonies and intense background drums for dancing dervishes and attentive listeners, telling multiple layered stories at once, probably best consumed in the vicinity of open fires and dim, flickering lights. Furthermore super intense, vibrating cuts like "Walking Along The Scream" evoke memories of voodoo, spells cast and hyperrealistic nightmares one doesn't recover from within seconds after waking up whilst the "Return Of The Primordial Stillness" pairs more hyperactive interwined flutes and sparse muscular and somewhat Industrial-leaning drums and percussion to a spine-tingling effect whilst the concluding "Monster's Lullaby" waves goodbye on a rather playful and excited note which might keep the monster occupied and wide awake instead of putting it to sleep. A lovely album which might even speak to parts of the Krautrock community due to its non stop and ever evolving nature.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Raviglia / Orefice / Santimone / Dallaporte / Paoli - Divine Songs [Aut Records 134]

Put out on the vinyl circuit via the Italian Aut Records label on January 14th, 2k26 is "Divine Songs", a five track quintet affair paying homage to the music as well as musical spirituality of Alice Coltrane. Led by Marta Raviglia on vocals the small ensemble opens with the captivating, hypnotic Downbeat-cut that is "Shivaya" which amalgamates longing vocals and vocal repetitions, subtle Indian influences and Contemporary Jazz vibes followed by the deep late night Jazz and soft, intimate Spoken Word approach of the ever meandering "Bombay Stopover" which, in this form, could be regarded as a future Future Jazz classic to be whilst "About Alice" weighs in a beautifully corresponding interplay of Marta Raviglia's voice and Filippo Orefice on tenor sax. On the B-side of this album we see the ensemble on a slow, yet heavy, muscular, powerful and expressive tip leaving room for tectonic bass rumblings as well as extended improvisations whilst also providing a wide dynamic range with "Journey To Satchidananda / Krishna, Krishna" whereas the closing cut named "Ideal Wife" waves goodbye on a rather deep, intimate and romantic tip and rounds off things most beautifully for all fans and followers of Contemporary Jazz on vinyl. Lovely.

Andreas Davids - Blanc_Space [AD DIY 004]

Andreas Davids is back with another beautiful self-released item in his fully independent AD DIY-series, the fourth in total and once again this one is put out on the circuit in a limited quantity of 25 hand-numbered copies which are only given away and not to be sold. With the rectangular shape CD holding a single track of 04.34 minutes the lucky few to ever get their hands on one of these are catered with a journey into epic droning and well scenic Synthbient futurism, probably influenced by early Synth and Berlin School masters as well as 80s science fiction movies and their neon and chrome aesthetics, backed by ethereal harmonics, metallic synth stabs and steady, yet somewhat unstable rhythm signatures relying on ever evolving percussive movements without being backed by a continuous string of ever present bassdrums. This is nothing short of a cinematic masterpiece. Period.

Gatefold artwork on Instagram!

Zihua Tan / No Hay Banda - What Came Before Me Is Going After Me [No Hay Discos]

Put out on the circuit via No Hay Discos on November 7th, 2k25 is "What Came Before Me Is Going After Me", the first ever collaboration album cooked up between Malaysian-born and Vancouver-based composer Zihua Tan and the prolific No Hay Banda outfit which brings two extended compositions to life over the courcse of 59 minutes. Opening with "Remnants Presents", a solo percussion piece executed by Noam Bierstone, we're taken into a realm reminiscent of electro-acoustic practices with its cold distant scraping and clanging metal sounds in parts accompanied by solemn and meditative, sustained and almost gong-like hits fading out into droning background atmospheres and therefore hits a special spot for us, providing a flashback to the experimental electronic x electroacoustic music we discovered in the mid 90s in all its spatial glory, filled with nerve-wrecking squeals and rasping, well unsettling outbursts. Furthermore the albums main and title piece, rolled out over more than 34 minutes, stays on a path of eerie, minimalist atmospheres and more quasi-electroacoustic scraping, whirling and non-tonal bowing abstractions, yet pairs this foundation with ethereal, well angelic non-vocalisms and harmonic outbursts, echoes of Post-PostRock abstractions, dark, klaxon'esque dronings and retrofuturist off-harmonics, sequences of quasi-white noize and - as a stark contrast - densely layered instrumentation which work their way up to an intense crescendo and infernal climax before slowly and errily fading away into unsettling mad- and nothingness. Highly recommended. We really dig this!

Album artwork on Instagram!

Noah Franche-Nolan - Rose-Anna [Cellar Music]

Released via the Vancouver-based label Cellar Music on November 7th, 2k25 is "Rose-Anna", the latest album release cooked up by piano player x composer Noah Franche-Nolan who, alongside Nicholas Bracewell and Jodi Proznick on drums and bass respectively, presents an eleven pieces and roughly 42 minutes spanning longplayer focusing on a distinct trio setting - and his piano. "Rose-Anna", titlewise a tribute to Franche-Nolan's great grandmother, sees the explorative Vancouverite not only deliver on his usual instrument of choice but also branching out towards classic organ sounds on two occasions, the first one being the droning nocturnal, yet all embracing opening piece "Sublimation I" which feels like an long forgotten echo of the Future Jazz movement blown over from afar whereas the subsequent "Nasz Dom" pays homage to playful etudes in Classical Music with its cascading piano sparkles later on backed by rather muscular Downtempo rhythms and "Hawks" weighs in a rather seductive mid-tempo Jazz groove for the first time this album, with its driving piano lines leaving plenty of room for a complex interplay between the backend drum and bass foundation. Furthermore "Prayer" opens on a surprisingly subdued, tentative and experimental note, offering an ever meandering take on stripped down KrautJazz for those who know and therefore considered a personal favorite for us, "Sublimation II" enters deeply caressing, thoughtful and even dreamy Piano Jazz territories followed by the rather dramatic "A Triangle Is A Bird" - which should be a t-shirt print, btw... - whilst the second to last piece that is "Devotion" is an inward-looking, solemn miniature affair just to name a few. Surely a Jazz album to share with loved one, preferrably in a candle-light setting.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Patrick Smith - Words Underlined [Lit Soc Records 001]

Put out on the circuit as cat.no. 001 of the freshly launched Lit Soc Records imprint, an offspring of the Toronto-based bookstore Sellers And Newell, on December 12th, 2k25 is "Words Underlined", the live in store-recorded album by sax player Patrick Smith who's accompanied by Dan Pitt on guitar and Lowell Whitty on drums. Within the stores intimate confines the trio caters an eleven pieces and roughly 40 minutes spanning session opening with the warm, dreamy, romantic and most of all comforting and all embracing "Hazel" which is as timeless as things can get before the subsequent double feature "Banff (Intro") / "Banff" seems to draw inspiration from raw Stoner x Math Rock as well as classic blaxploitation vibes - and chase scenes in old espionage flics... - with its ever spiralling sax lines, dirty guitar licks and muscular drums. Furthermore pieces like "As Years Go By (Intro)" / "As Years Go By" once again tap into the realm of super smooth late night Jazz with the subsequently following "End Of The Road" trodding a similar, yet even deeper and melancholia-driven path whilst the concluding "Grass In Summer" fully indulges in full on Jazz romanticisms once again just to name a few. Defo one to check for all live Jazz connaisseurs.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Anna Pidgorna - Invented Folksongs [Redshift Records]

Released via the ever active Canadian label Redshift Records on November 21st, 2k25 is "Invented Folksongs", the six compositions and 48 minutes spanning longplay debut by Vancouver-based and Ukraine-rooted vocalist x composer Anna Pidgorna who, with the help of Boston's Ludovica Ensemble, brings forward her own interpretation and take on Ukrainian Folk traditions, pairing the musics original elements with a stylistically broad mosaic of invented x improvised and scraped together dialects and vocalizations and her prior experience in Contemporary Classical and Modern Composition. Over the course of four extended songs and two instrumental pieces Pidgorna's vision oftentimes exceeds the Folk drawer by far, especially in the powerful, muscular and expressive opening piece "What Else Can Gave Him?" which feels closer to certain Rock x Metal genres than anything else despite being backed by a traditonal ensemble setting whereas "Teach Your Daughters" unfolds in a dynamic, ever spiralling and climactic way perfectly suitable for a theatrical or operatic stage performance whilst the "Second Meditation", despite being intrumental, once again touches base with a kind of muscular Avantgarde / Progressive Rock vibe rather than Folk just to name a few examples of what an Avantgarde-savvy audience might expect from this longplayer.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Quatuor Memoire - Chronos, Kairos Et Aion [Mnemosyne Records 001]

Put out on the circuit on December 12th, 2k25 as the very first release of the fresh Mnemosyne Records label is "Chronos, Kairos Et Aion" which marks the longform debut of Montreals Quatuor Memoire, a string quartet comprised of Bailey Wantuch, Meggie Lacombe, Marilou Lepage and Audreanne Filion. Taking on three contemporary pieces with a combined musical arsenal of two violins, a viola and a cello over roughly an hour of playtime the ensemble opens with Florence M. Tremblay's "Inside", a piece focusing on droning swells and oftentimes sustained, carefully layered off-harmonic interplays with a certainly melancholia-inducing overall character speaking not only to fans of Contemporary Avantgarde but also to an audience of Deep Listening Music connaisseurs before further progressing into dynamic, yet stripped down and purposefully accentuated Contemporay Classical territories, followed by Louis-Michel Tougas' "Quatuor A Cordes No.2", not only head and founder of Mnemosyne Records but provider of enchanted movements and playful, explorative interactions which have single instruments perform intricate little dances around each other before occasionally speaking in unison or almost falling silent for a moment. Finally we see the title piece "Chronos, Kairos Et Aion", a composition by Olivier St-Pierre, unfold over the course of 34 minutes, exploring the quartets full dynamic range, exploding with rather agressive strikes and stabs roughly 8 minutes in followed by fast, shrieking, yet highly detailed high frequency movements, tender inward looking episodes, rural tones and even occasionally plucked strings just to lay out a rough outline on this piece of Avantgarde Chamber Music for those who know.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Tim Brady - For Electric Guitar [People Places Records]

Released via the Canadian imprint People Places Records on November 14th, 2k25 is "For Electric Guitar", the latest album outing by long-standing Montreal-based composer x guitar player Tim Brady which also marks his first solo guitar work after more than a decade. Drawing from a remarkable experience after being on the scene for a staggering 40 - !!! - years Brady opens his extended 2CD outing with the title bearing triptych "For Electric Guitar" which explores the possibilities and range of his preferred instrument and FX pedals in a steady, yet comforting ebb and flow of harmonic variations, a steady dialogue between carefully struck chords, tender pluckings and dreamy twangs corresponding with complex and expertly executed fast lane variations and even riffing quasi Improv sequences which in parts might even speak to fans of Avantgarde Metal whereas other elements tell tales of a burning desert sun - or brooding, droning sci-fi dystopia. Subsequently the aptly named "Really, Really Solo Electric Guitar Music" serves exactly that, bringing forth a rather inward looking, yet not less intricate approach not shying away from the occasional twang and echoes of echoes of intimate and slightly Blues-infused vibes for those in the know. Furthermore the second half - and CD - of his longplayer caters a menu of eleven shorter pieces subsumed under the title of "9.75 Pieces About Change" which add an additional looper module to the proven combination of electric guitar and FX, allowing for denser layering and further eperimentation in the field resulting in hovering Deep Listening Music x Ambient cuts like "No. 2", the cascading waves and rather romantic closure of "No.5" as well as the icy, angelic atmospheres of "No.7" just to pick a few examples here. This makes "For Electric Guitar" a deeply multi-faceted longplayer for dedicated and well-informed fans of the genre as well as a strong proclamation of Brady's unbroken will to continue on his path of exploration even though he was confronted with a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease only a few weeks prior to working on this album - which therefore is a well worthy addition to well specialized collections for sure.

Album artwork on Instagram!

2k25 - A Short Recap In A Single Number.

797981. That's the number Blogger stats reveals for the total amount of visitors x views in the past 365 days. From January 1st, 2k25 to January 1st, 2k26. Despite a steadily, yet unfortunately declining number of incoming physical promos and therefore an unprecedentedly and unusually low number of posts on this website in combination with a bunch of admittedly distracting and rather severe adversities that need and needed to be adressed on other fronts of life it seems like these pages - after 21 years of continuously running as a simple no fuzz music blog in this format after we switched to English in April of 2005 and left the rudimentary CMS we ran on in the years prior behind - are still going strong and even exceeded the former mid-pandemic alltime high of activity marked by roughly 600k visitors x views in a 365 days period by far. This is way more than we ever dreamt of, given that nitestylez.de is still run as a fully independent one-man show by baze.djunkiii without a team of collaborating writers and editors, without any revenue generated from advertisements and, probably most importantly, without any further promotion apart from the occasional post on Twitter or Instagram. So we assume this number does reflect organic growth and interest and that's what we are most proud of, especially when taking into account the underground, leftfield and rather experimental nature of the music we're dealing with. So thank you all for coming back on a regular - we're looking forward to bigger and better things to come in 2k26.

And for those who want to support - tote bags, merch and a few other things are available now via Quality Electronic Music!

Jacopo Fagioli - Dialogue [Aut Records 128]

Another fresh album released via the Italian Aut Records imprint, this time on November 12th, 2k25, is Jacopo Fagioli's "Dialogue", a seven compositions and roughly 50 minutes strong label debut for the Italian trumpet player who is joined by Davide Strangio, Amedeo Verniani and Mattia Galeotti on guitar, double bass and drums respectively on his sonic journey. Opening on a raw and rather intense trip into Contemporary Avantgarde Jazz with "Avoid Thoughts Of Power And Domination" before traversing into rather deep and thoughtful sonic territories the quartet paves the way for pieces like the yearning "Multicultural Heritage" and its hovering retrofuturist background atmospheres as well as the playful and well classy harmonic trumpet solo works which are the focus of "Greenwashing" which are backed by a rather subdued yet not less complex background groove section once again incorporating rather spaced out guitar modes. The interestingly titled "AAA AAA" comes full circle with a raw, rugged, almost Blues-infused Improv mode whilst staying close to an innate heartfelt melancholia not free from nor afraid of psychedelic and x or oriental desert infusions and the 12+ minutes spanning "Desertification" closes on an intimate and inward-looking tip with its folksy, summery guitar motif, deep low end end rumbles and vaguely tex-mex oriented trumpet harmonies just to provide a brief overview on what's to expect on here for lovers of Contemporary Italian Jazz. If that's you, go check!

Album artwork on Instagram!

Verso - Echoes Of Remembered Things [Aut Records 139]

Released via the ever busy Italian imprint that is Aut Records on November 4th, 2k25 is "Echoes Of Remembered Things", the nine tracks and roughly 42 minutes spanning debut album by Verso - a trio comprised of Marta Frigo, Diego Albini and Francesco Bigoni. Combining saxophones, piano, synths and vocals the group immediately draws the attentive listener in with the touching and emotional, in parts even broadway'esque opening Jazz ballad named "Sunbeam" which paves the way for further things to come like the subsequent "Now I Write", a tune which evokes faint memories of early works of the Hamburg-based group Spherical in the late 90s despite being deeply rooted in and backed by lively, ever spiralling and meandering Jazz excursions and not TripHop / Drum'n'Bass. With "Closure" the group explores a stripped down, rather romantic approach towards late night BarJazz x JazzPop speaking of smoky backrooms, cigars and a hand-picked selection of top tier spirits vibewise, the extended 7+ minutes spanning "Home At Last" once again fully indulges in touching Jazz(Pop) oceans which also is true for the certainly heart-warming closing cut "Mode IV" just to name a few. Certainly, yet surprisingly, one of the most Pop-, or better: song-, leaning releases on the label so far which therefore might resonate with a wider audience than the oftentimes Avantgarde-informed output which makes up the majority of the Aut Records catalogue. One to share with a loved one for sure.

Album artwork on Instagram!

Hugo Blouin - Le Buffet [Ambiances Magnetiques 283]

Another fresh release put out on the circuit via the long-standing Ambiances Magnetiques label on December 5th, 2k25 is "Le Buffet", the latest full length album effort cooked up by Montreal-based bass player x composer Hugo Blouin who has been pulling together a fully flung band ensemble for this ten pieces and 53 minutes spanning longplayer which - according to the accompanying press sheet - deals with culinary food recipes collected from many of his friends conceptually. With this well interesting approach in mind we're entering a realm of eclectic, yet super funky Dancefloor Jazz with the opening piece "Soupe Pragmatique" flanked by frolicking female vocals playfully exploring upper registers for the most part before later evolving into a stripped down, yet not less groove oriented dancefloor vibe somewhat, yet only vaguely, reminiscent of the short-lived late 90s Exotica revival whereas "Apres Tu Manges" offers more of a dreamy and partly even romantic take on a (very) late night BarJazz ballad groove, "Un Art Du Temps" serves some breezy and slightly Latin-infused swing for a change and will surely be a rather welcome edition to the sets of experienced and adventurous Jazz DJs out there with its highly dynamic Improv sequences buidling up to a screaming climax whilst "La Sauce" weighs in a playful, classy, yet still laid back Jazz groove, "Pain-Beure-Chocolat" is as deep as it gets in terms of a classic ballad based on subdued piano sparkles and intimate bass grooves backed by minimalistic percussion and the concluding "Un Carmion Pizza" rounds things off with an infusion of heart-felt melancholia and an undeniably classy - and... well... French... - attitude songwise. One for the genre connaisseurs, this.

Geraldine Eguiluz & Michael F Cote - Hors Temps [Ambiances Magnetiques 284]

Released via the long-standing Canadian label that is Ambiances Magnetiques as their cat.no. 284 on December 5th, 2k25 is "Hors Temps", an - albeit rather unusual - collaborational album effort created by Geraldine Eguiluz and Michael F Cote which is based on a collection of early 90s cassette recordings by Eguiluz newly re-arranged into collages by herself before being further fragmented, enhanced, twisted, overdubbed, complimented and re-splintered by Cote to end up in a final form - this album. With a total of sixteen pieces rolled out over the course of roughly 42 minutes "Hors Temps" caters a highly fascinating and highly complex amalgamation of almost ritualistic Field Recordings with a Tribal attitude ("Territoires Perdus #1"), ethereal Freak Folk backed by eerie reverse tape loops ("La Montana Y El Agua"), glitches, cut-ups and Musique Concrete references, ghostly inner city Jazz ("La Montana Y El Viento"), dark and deeply nocturnal pieces with score'esque qualities like the ominous "Les Grands Departs" with its slightly dusty vintage feel and slightly off-kilter minor piano tones, echoes of Industrial, FoundSound and even bits of a chanson'esque attitude to be found in "Despedida" whereas cuts like "La Montana Dorada" open with a captivating melodic grandeur before defragmenting into a million Free Improv x Free Jazz informed details just to name a few. Highly interesting and defo an album to reveal a plethora of hidden layers over the course of many a listening session to come. And probably one speaking to all those who still remember the 'Ekkehard Ehlers Plays...' -series released via the Staubgold label in the early noughties which catered a similarly intimate and collage'esque overall feel at the time. Recommended.

Bill Brennan & Andy McNeill - Dreaming In Gamelan [self-released album]

Put out on the circuit on October 24th, 2k25 by the respective musicians as a self-released album affair is "Dreaming In Gamelan", the new - obviously... - Gamelan-focused one-off album affair cooked up by Canadian artists and composers Bill Brennan and Andy McNeill. Over the course of ten pieces and a total runtime of approx. 39 minutes the duo takes on and provides a new and personal angle on West Javanese Gamelan music rooted in a shared compositional effort from a quarter of a century ago when the two worked on the score for Carol Moore-Ede's documentary 'Surgeons Of The Future'. Revisiting and reworking these initial recordings with modern techniques, re-editing and re-arranging them whilst adding further electronic treatments and overdubs including contributions on violin by Toronto-based Hugh Marsh reshapes the initial score works into a chiming, hovering and ever floating sonic dreamstate, a somewhat surreal fever dream exploring a realm located in between the overlapping spaces of Ambient X New Age, World Music and the shimmering yet slightly pastel tones of Vaporwave aesthetics as well as digital rabbitholes to be explored on abandoned Tumblr blogs, with cuts like "Morning Beams" touching base with early morning ChillOut dancefloors despite an obvious absence of percussive rhythms whereas the subsequent "Cloud Forest" indulges in solemn, inward-looking minimalism before "Temple" brings forward a slightly meditative vibe backed by additionally layered percussions and "Reverie" rounds things off with a 10+ minutes lasting trip into classic, yet stripped down Ambient / Deep Listening Music territories with a well nocturnal twist just to name a few. A most beautiful album, this. Go check!

Francesco Guerri x Nicola Guazzaloca - Keep Your Hands Free (The Angelica And Mavarta Concerts) [Aut Records 140]

Put out on the circuit via Aut Records on November 18th, 2k25 is "Keep Your Hands Free (The Angelica And Mavarta Concerts)", the latest collaboration album by cello player Francesco Guerri and pianist Nicola Guazzaloca which, and we think that's a first on the label, present excerpts from live shows they played as a duo on January of 2022 and February of 2025 respectively . With the 2k22 recordings of "Angelica I" and "Angelica II" the duo makes a rather dramatic and highly dynamic musical entrance before exploring a realm of surprisingly subtle and spatial minimalism turning into complex and intricate harmonic dialogue on the brink of thundering Free Improv and Avantgarde Jazz whilst certainly not being averse to even reference Modern Classical music in certain sequences. Furthermore this years live pieces "Mavarta I" and "Mavarta II" seem to start not less dramatic, yet more light-heartened and drawn to a certain romanticism expressed through yearning and sustained cello tones and, despite still running the fast lane in terms of sonic events per second, a seemingly more solemn tone followed by a short period of near silence and Free Avantgarde string experimentation placed at the very background of the mix, more hyperdetailed execution with a jazzy twist, whirling, spiralling crescendoes of sound and even - this goes especially for "Mavarta II" - timeless and enchanted vibes which wouldn't feel out of place being used as a score in a dark and mythical Fantasy flic of the future. Defo an album which unravels over time and might reveal many additional layers over the course of many focused listening sessions.

Manga Saint Hilare - Outernational

Manga Saint Hilare · OUTERNATIONAL

Proper Grime vibes are proper. This is a Manga Saint Hilare appreciation post.

A New Line (Related) - Crewe Away EP [Sound In Silence 126]

Put out on the circuit via the ever expanding Athens-based label Sound In Silence as their cat.no. 126 on October 20th, 2k25 is the "Crewe Away EP", the latest musical outing by Andrew Johnson's A New Line (Related) project. With a total of four tracks rolled out over roughly 34 minutes the title track "Crewe Away" caters a well surprising spatial and reverberating take on fever'ish RitualAmbient x TribalAmbient backed by hypnotic and mind-numbing midrange drones, eerie whispers and fascinating harmonic shifts followed by the brooding and fluttering low frequency shifts of "Slow And Through Once" which are accompanied by slightly Jazz-inspired minimal rhythms and what seem to be echoes of echoes of washed out DubTechno remnants. With the subsequent "Save A Window For Me In The Bliss Tomorrow" Mr. Johnson serves another take of sparse, yet rhythmically complex IDM / Electronica whereas the closing cut "Lytham And Sound (Low Light And C Version)" finally enters the dancefloor and waves goodbye on a deep and timeless DubTechno x Armchair Techno tip. A recommended and musically thrilling journey, this. Go get.

Album artwork on Instagram!

baze.djunkiii Chart Haul 12/2k25

Q_e_M - Quality Electronic Music: An Early December 2k25 Discogs Round Up

The journey continues. nitestylez.de head honcho baze.djunkiii has been grinding a bit to get the Q_e_M - Quality Electronic Music on Discogs presence going and it has been a grind indeed. Working through a bunch of mainstream Classical Music albums, Blues, Jazz, Chansons, super cheesy Vintage Soul and other non-electronic albums felt like doing chores at times but on the other hand that specific stack of off topic items needed to be - and has been nearly - cleared to pave the way for things to come. Which is a few boxes holding a three digit number of electronic music and related promo CD's from an abandoned collection we took over as well as roughly a few hundred Library Music CD's which were rescued from the archives of a long time defunct advertisement firm more than a decade ago and remained unchecked until now. And even though the CD format might not be the most valuable and sought after on Discogs right now it feels like a resurgence is imminent, especially with second hand / pre-loved items as more and more bands and artists are pulling away from Spotify and other streaming platforms and a young digital only generation seems to discover that subcription and physical ownership are two entirely different things.

Restocks:

1. Triple R & Walker - Aufraeumen! [XXC3 601]
Another classic rescued from the vaults of the former Liquid Sky Cologne and Liquid Sky Berlin which could be described as a blueprint for timeless analogue Ambient Techno x Armchair Techno. Over the years we've sold way more than 70 unplayed archive copies of this forever favorite through different channels and one of the last remaining now found a new home in Denmark recently. Therefore we listed it again.

Added new and unplayed highlights:

1. Tristwch Y Fenywod - Tristwch Y Fenywod [Night School 096]
One of baze.djunkiii's favorite albums of 2k24 and it still is a mesmerizing, ethereal and outerworldly affair. Welsh RitualFolk meets Industrial and Medieval Batcave, anyone?

2. DJ Heartchore - In Love [Heartchore 001]
baze.djunkiii already praised this release on these pages in January of 2k25 for '... its raw production approach, over the top Gabber x Happy Hardcore fusion vibe, fast tempo, continous Rave stab attacks, twisted synth tones and uplifting, yet hypercheesy vocoder breakdown sequence.' and it still feel like it's 1993 for a reason. R-A-V-E.

Pre-loved and collectible:

1. Tangerine Dream - Destination Berlin (From The Original Motion Picture) [Hansa]
Tangerine Dream and their soundtracks can be a bit of a hit and miss affair but this defo is an entry copy for anyone who's keen to dive into this specific rabbit hole. And it's one of the most affordable copies on Discogs right now.

2. Earth, Wind & Fire - The Very Best Of Earth, Wind & Fire [Arcade Crown]
This came in as a bit of a surprise. At least we considered Earth, Wind & Fire to be a rather mainstream band, 'Best of...' compilation albums to be less desirable and Arcade / Arcade Crown to have been a quasi-major / mainstream label at the time so we assume there must've been thousands of copies of this specific album around at some point - even if it's a Dutch pressing. So why on earth quite a bunch of these things sold for north of the 25€ mark is a mystery to us. That's why we've priced our copy at the low and more reasonable end of the spectrum. Go grab it.

Find Q_e_M - Quality Electronic Music on Discogs!

Tell No Lies - Mantica [Aut Records 137]

Put out on the circuit via Aut Records on October 29th, 2k25 is "Mantica", the latest album outing by the Italian five piece ensemble Tell No Lies which has been operating under this name for more than a decade by now. Still led by composer x piano player Nicola Guazzaloca the quintet serves a menu of eight brand new tracks on this body of work, this time rolled out over a total of roughly 47 minutes. With influences of African Jazz cited in the accompanying info sheet we're entering a rather deep, yet somewhat nervous and highly detailed sonic realm in the intro sequence of "Chipirone" which later u-turns into hot vintage Jazz grooves with a surely tropical touch which still remains evident within the pieces more improvisational and Free Jazz-infused sequences. The subsequent "Scoulta" follows the path laid out and evolves from a seductive uptempo groove into utter high speed FreeJazz madness for the most Avantgarde savvy listeners out there whereas the intricate "Diva" is rather subdued, minimalist and in parts surprisingly romantic and restrained with an emphasis on an innate emotional warmth and comfort whilst "Impro" sonically is as close to its title as it gets even though the attentive listener might discover some tongue-in-cheek moments and even brief Jazz Noir references in there before the closing cut that is "Zavata", once again a rather complex and detailed affair, brings forth more defragmented grooves and intricate harmonic dialogue just to name a few. File under: Avantgarde.

Album artwork on Instagram!

XOTOX - I AM NOMAD [Infacted Recordings Promo]

After we've already posted the official music video for XOTOX' November 21st, 2k25 released digital single "I Am Nomad" we now received a promotional CD-r version of Andreas Davids' latest outing on Infacted Recordings. Opening with the so-called 'Club Version' of "I Am Nomad" XOTOX delivers a raw, futuristic and most certainly (post)apocalyptic fusion of raw Industrial, Rhythmic Noize and Industrial Techno driven by highly distorted synth power and a menacing vocal sample before the 'Remix 01 by MS Gentur' serves densely layered hyperbrutalism for late night Industrial Noize floors lit by relentless strobes, yet lacks a little in terms of grooves and peak time power. With the second original track on this single named "Danse Des Atomes" we're in for a treat in terms of a muscular ElectroTechno x EBM x WonkyTechno fusion which puts the entire Brighton posse in its place whilst the second remix outing by MS Gentur presents a way more functional and interesting re-interpretation, declaring full on sonic war on each- and everyone within its vicinity for a reason whereas the final "I Am Nomad *Instrumental" adds a thing of adventurous HardTechno / Industrial DJs out there. Destructive power galore.

CD-r promo on Instagram!