Young Echo: ...Building on the foundations built over years of mutual understanding and musical endeavours as part of the Young Echo team, the London-via-Bristol rapper has been climbing that MC Escher type lyrical ladder for years now, painting pictures with word-sound in the coolest & deadliest ways, and forming his very own style.Somehow he makes it sound easy when these intricate rhymes and words spill across O$VMV$M’s skewed symphonies, dropping slapdash punchlines in the midst of highly real observations about life in the city, lights off, lights on. Manonmars, to us, depicts a lens of someone who isn’t about to conform to any stream, not about to give in to the relentless pace of capitalism, not up for the rat-race, more up for slowing time, and seeing things for what they are, a surrealist take on what could otherwise be a mundane world.I guess it’s fair to say that life can be grey sometimes - so for our own sanity, we need to make sure to add colour. Manonmars does this, with heaps of imagination and witty real-talk, fired off in bullet time, perfectly hitting that fine-line between entertainment, and deadpan seriousness - a balancing act, juggled with verbs & conjunctions, over a backdrop of timeless rhythm & melody.Perhaps a less insular album than the first self-titled record, this LP sees guest appearances from Young Echo’s ‘Guest’ and Bogues (both voices of Jabu) on vocals. Fresh Bristol blood ‘Birthmark’ and ‘Axel Holey’ appear with lyrics too, and there is a special vocal injection from Paulina Korobkiewicz, reciting writings by Polish painter and colour artist Wojciech Fangor, and drawing a connection between the music and the visual aspect of Manonmars’ practice.

Z.B. Aids is Hendrik Hegray. “Music for implantation” is a full blast of electronic sounds recorded and mixed in 2016 by Krikor Kouchian and mastered in February 2017 by James Plotkin. Artwork by H.H. / layout by Camille Dauteuille. 200 copies.'.Notes.Z.B. Aids is Hendrik Hegray.Recorded and mixed in 2016 by Krikor Kouchian.Mastered in february 2017 by James Plotkin.Artwork by H.H. / layout by Camille Dauteuille.Grazie to Die for reproducing their logo without their authorization.This record is dedicated to the memory of Jacques Noel.

Here is a portal to a vast and relatively unknown world, the Japanese cyber-occult underground media scene of the early 1990s; our guide is the late Henry Kawahara, a media artist and electronic music producer whose expansive and visionary conception of digital technology merged with a desire to break free of the constraints of mere rationality. This collection, the first-ever archival release of his work, is drawn from recordings released during the period 1991-1996, an exceptionally fertile time for Kawahara. Originally released on CD by a few Japanese independent labels including Hachiman Publishing, a cyber-occult/new-age book specialist, the releases were available mainly in book stores, so this sumptuous and prescient music has remained relatively unknown. The original titles and tag lines of the CDs give clues about Kawahara’s interests and the music itself: Digital Mushroom, Subtropical Illusion, Never-ending Asia, and so on. This 15-track gateway compilation is available on double 12” vinyl and DL; the CD version has two extra discs featuring sound from two art installations entitled "Dysteleology - α" and "Dysteleolog - β" from the 1990s. All formats feature extensive English liner notes.

“Da Qween can rap and sing with the best of them,” says Seattle radio station KEXP, while adding that “one listen to this music and you’ll experience freedom, rebellion, ingenuity, and unabashed self-love.” This album slaps hard and shows off Seattle’s vibrant rap scene. Northwest underground hip-hop label Crane City Music has released Da Qween’s acclaimed “Renaissance Bitch” album on limited-edition, purple vinyl. The self-described reefer-smoking, black, queer, non-binary, hard-femme delivers quick-wit bars that will bury your favorite rapper. Look no further than the second track, “When Worst Comes To Worst”—three-and-a-half minutes of unrelenting, baller versus with nary a breath. You’ll also find new anthems for playing Nintendo and for celebrating 420, too. Da Qween’s undefinable “Renaissance Bitch” is an expansive, ambitious, and theatrical listen that will easily be one of your new favorites. Only 500 individually numbered copies have been pressed.

P-Vine: ...“Phew” is a Japanese female vocalist, well known as a member of the legendary punk band “Aunt Sally”. Undoubtedly, this album is one of the important records of Japanese new wave and German krautrock history. This album was originally released in 1981 as her solo debut album.

Hus Kingpin is an underground fixture whose evocative, understated music fits firmly within the lane that fellow Long Island native Roc Marciano blazed a decade ago. Hus released a album called Portishus, which he says is "inspired by" Portishead's music now available in physical formats for the first time.

EM Records: ...A hotline to the gods! Kagura is a thousand-year-old form of Japanese Shinto sacred music and dance, accompanying the chanting of myths; the word "kagura" can be translated as "god-entertainment". Passed down over countless generations, the music is rare and recordings even rarer. Shigeo Tanaka was a master of the yumi (bow), an uncommon single-string percussion instrument, which is a true bow: arrows are fired off at the end of each ceremony to fend off evil sprits. The instrument is difficult to play; it's hard to draw out the proper sound and maintain the rhythm.Yumi kagura is the oldest of all the various forms of kagura. The Tanaka family, based in rural Jōge-cho, Hiroshima prefecture, has passed down this yumi kagura tradition for hundreds of years; this lineage continues to this day in the person of his daughter Ritsuko Tanaka. The Jōge-cho yumi kagura, which prays for family well-being, bountiful crops and good fortune, was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1971. The piece featured here, "Takusa saimon", based on the myth "Ama no iwato" (The Rocky Celestial Cave), is mesmeric, reaching back across ages to the time before time, with Tanaka's voice and yumi, accompanied by flute and metal percussion, drawing us closer to the primal activities of the gods. Listeners may find affinities with aspects of musics as diverse as German electronic minimalism like E2-E4, certain Ethiopian music, "spiritual jazz" and more, all tapping into the deep root of forever. Previously available only on a ridiculously obscure 1990 cassette release, Yumi kagura is the first collaborative release by EM Records and Riyo Mountains, a Japanese folk song research team. “Inagahachiman jinja yumi kagura hōnō" is recorded in 2016 by Tanaka's daughter and successor Ritsuko Tanaka.

Bristol NormCore: ...''When you're alone and life is making you lonely.You can always go…''Far beneath ivory towers in the seedy underbelly of the city, where neon flashes and the real wildlife lurks, there's a house of ill-repute where hungry pleasure seekers enact their sordid fantasies. In this nocturnal playground, the ringleader rattles his cage, struts and gyrates, while drums slam hard against the rafters and pound deep into the night.Kelan's debut solo outing is seven tales of sleazy noir, vice and earthly transgression - along the way taking a verbal match to the flag, spitting venom at vampiric landlords and erupting into lewd, schoolyard chants.Join in the decadence and debauchery 'Downtown'.''How can you lose…?''

Following up from 2019's 'Confessions of a Crudlord' Datkid makes a long-awaited return to High Focus in collaboration with the legendary Illinformed with their brand new album; 'Wakmo'.Available to pre-order on all formats now, 'Wakmo' is due for release on 17/06/21.Album is available on limited edition 2 x 12" black vinyl.Vinyl comes with a digital download of the album upon fulfillment of your order.