Summer Sale: 30% off over 600 records

ACT! soundtracked a number of filters for Snapchat created by artist Karen Vanderborght in 2019, all of which were based around interviews with senior citizens. ‘Grey Matter AR Snapchat Compositions’ now gathers up all of those fascinating audio snippets on one LP.

Adam Wingard is a U.S. director, producer and composer known for works in the horror genre. For his latest work he went into a hypnotic state to see if he could find answers about his past life, and the experience inspired this new album 'Past Life Regression' on Death Waltz Originals. The music is a series of dark and cinematic synthscapes which, as you might imagine, are deeply personal.

Released via his own Jazz Is Dead label, Adrian Younge delivers arguably the most profound musical statement of his prestigious career with ‘The American Negro’. Examining the racial tensions inherent in U.S. society, Younge played every note of the rhythm section himself and conducted a thirty-piece orchestra through the rest of the music he arranged.

'Flu Game’ is the second LP by British rapper AJ Tracey. 'Flu Game’ is a concept album based around, but not specifically about, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The title is a reference to the time Michael Jordan played a blinder for the Bulls despite suffering from food poisoning. The many guests on ‘Flu Game’ include Kehlani, T-Pain, SahBabii, NAV and Millie Go Lightly.

Multi-media artist Alex Somers releases twin double albums simultaneously. ‘Siblings’ is the first of these, featuring material that’s been carefully developed over a period of five years. Influenced by years of work in film soundtrack composition as well as collaborations with other artists, it consists of thirteen tracks drawing on ambient music, post-rock and contemporary classical.

‘Mirages’ is the debut solo album from Belorussian-born musician Alexei Orechin. Having shared stages with megastars like Nas, worked on film soundtracks and fronted his No Seas project, Orechin steps into the spotlight himself on this ambient, experimental beauty, one which will find favour with fans of Boards Of Canada and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

After releasing more than half a dozen EPs in the four years since he emerged as a prodigiously talented teenager, Alfie Templeman embarks on a longer project for the first time. Billed as a mini-album, ‘Forever Isn’t Long Enough’ is pitched between classic FM rock influences and contemporary indie giants like Tame Impala.

Releasing two highly acclaimed singles and their first EP, Not Yours!, since their formation four years ago, Swiss quartet Annie Taylor deliver their debut studio album. Completing their gradual evolution from anthemic indie-rock to hazy psychedelia, Sweet Mortality is an accomplished collection for a band so young.

‘A Perfect Time’ is the first new music from reunited Swedish progressive outfit Archimedes Badkar in over forty years. In addition to a number of Per Tjernberg’s original compositions, these largely first-take sessions included deconstructions of music from Willie Dixon to The Rolling Stones, and presented as a double album.

‘Oddities Sodomies Vol.1’ by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti is a collection of odds and ends recorded between 1997 and 2004 that didn’t make it onto Pink's early albums. The record was originally released in 2008, the album shows the formative years of his musical career, from leaving high school onwards. Expect experimental indie rock lo-fi weirdness from the man Wayne Coyne once referred to as a ‘genuine oddball’ - takes one to know one!

Super Sad Generation was the first EP by the highly rated South London artist Arlo Parks. It is repressed to include her second EP, Sophie, and a spoken word poem, 'London' (this track is not included on the CD). Although she’s only 19, having had a tough time growing up with her identity, she feels this record will help anyone going through similar difficulties. 

Marking the date on which police violently cleared out squatters from a series of properties in reunified Berlin, 14.11.90 was the creation of Marc Weiser and Jurgen Hendlmeier as Arurmukha. With its themes of exploitation as urgent as ever in 2020, it now gets a 30th anniversary re-release on vinyl, complete with an insert chronicling the events in depth. 

When Trover Saves The Universe was released last year, it won plenty of acclaim for its stunning, often psychedelic visuals. What gained less attention was the equally wonderful soundtrack by Asy Saavedra, a perfect accompaniment crafted from elements of pop, synth and dance which is now presented on vinyl. 

Atrax Morgue is Italian industrial noise musician Marco Corbelli. He released a significant amount of recordings, mainly on cassette, on his own Slaughter Productions label during the ‘90s and early ‘00s. Esthetik of a Corpse, his 10th recording of grating electronics and debauched lyrics, was originally released in 1995. 

Responsible for the viral (and immensely irritating) ‘Harlem Shake’ in what seems like a different age now, American producer Baauer gives us his second studio album, Planet’s Mad, a prescient title indeed. Four years on from his debut Aa, it’s an intelligent collection characterised by hard-hitting beats and rhythms influenced by trap, hip-hop and house. 

A splinter project from Cloud Nothings - of whom Dylan Baldi and Jayson Gerycz are both members - Blessed Repair is an expression of experimentalism freed from the pressure of expectations. With Baldi playing the saxophone and Gerycz on percussion, it’s the sound of two close friends and creators exploring different territory together. 

'Juice B Mixed' by Battles features four remixes of tracks from the US experimental rock duo’s fourth album 'Juice B Crypts'. The record contains remixes by DJ Dairy & DJ Orient of Black Midi, Shed, Delroy Edwards and DJ Nigga Fox. Each new version matches Battles’ desire for experimentalism and uniqueness.

British singer-songwriter and twelve-string guitarist Trevor Midgley originally recorded a brace of albums under his alias Beau at the turn of the Seventies, gaining a cult following before reviving his career at the end of the Noughties for a prolific run of albums since. Timeless and reflective, with his writing power undiminished, ‘The Way It Was’ came out originally in 2011 via Cherry Red, this physical edition following the next year.

Ben Howard prefaces his fourth studio album ‘Collections From The Whiteout’ with first single ‘What A Day’, backed here with another of the album’s tracks in ‘Crowhurst’s Meme’. Set to gentle drum-pad rhythms and hazy acoustic guitar, it continues a journey into increasingly mellow and abstract territory for the former BRIT Award winner. Sounds like Fink or something.

Making the most of the continued hiatus of his band Suuns, the group’s lead singer Ben Shemie presents his second solo album in as many years in A Single Point of Light. Manifestly brighter and more optimistic than the slate-grey A Skeleton, there’s still a darkness to the lengthy psychedelic explorations here. 

When All Keyed Up by Ben Tankard was originally released in 1989, it was hailed as a fusion of jazz, gospel, soul, dance and funk that had never been heard before. He likes to call it gospel jazz. Whilst multi instrumentalist Tankard still makes music, his last release being 2018, he is now star of his own US TV reality show as well as being a pilot and motivational speaker. 

Bérangère Maximin is an electroacoustic and expert sound artist from France. Land of Waves is her sixth album. Here, she creates a fully immersive world, representing the natural and the man-made, using synths, electric guitars, voice, percussion and electronics, manipulating sounds and stitching them together like only she can.

Constructed from lost sessions for his ‘Plaisirs Américains’ album, Bernardino Femminielli presents us with the first of a triptych of releases. ‘L'Exil Part 0’ was inspired by an arrest by U.S. border authorities. It flits between precision and abstraction, with idling beats, soundscapes of effects and distorted pianos the backdrop to his smoky, lustrous vocals. This is ultra ouetre art-pop which invokes Japan and The Lounge Lizards.

Mumble-rapper BERWYN may look all blurry and lo-fi but he's actually signed to major label giant Columbia, and 'neath the lo-fi electronics are the sort of mainstream-bothering ballads that saw him come in at a healthy number three on the BBC's top tips list for 2021. This is the much-anticipated debut from the Romford-by-way-of-Trinidad songwriter, and it's got a bit of a James Blake/Frank Ocean vibe to it.

London trio Big Joanie are an indie/punk band whose sound can be similar to acts such as Helium and Sleater Kinney. Their contribution to ‘The Kluster Room Sessions’ is their sparse and beautiful song ‘Cut Your Hair’. On the flip is 'Bad Attitude' by London DIY punk band Charmpit, a gloriously irreverent, sub-two minute pop racket which lands somewhere between Lois and Bikini Kill.  

Hamburg-based psychedelic rock outfit Blackbird Mantra present their debut studio album via Membran. Generating airy, pastoral yet defiantly strange sounds with organs and guitars, threaded through with sturdy bass, ‘High And Dry’ is a reminder that nature is both beautiful and dangerous.

Canadian death metal/grindcore band Bleeding Out were formed by former members of Endless Blockade, Column Of Heaven, Abyss and Slaughter Strike. 'Lifelong Death Fantasy' is their debut album, following a split release with Skullshitter (is there an award for best band name of all time?) in 2019. If you’re a fan of any of the members’ previous bands, or luminaries like Napalm Death, Full Of Hell, Nails etc, then 'Lifelong Death Fantasy' is for you. On Profound Lore.

Blockdata is an operating moniker for Scottish electronic musician Gav Hislop - who has also gone under the alias Babyshaker - and ‘Vacuum Decay’ is the first physical release for the project. Consists of four tracks - the first three are controlled detonations of drum and bass executed with clinical precision while the closing number ‘Siren’ brings things down to a steadier, more reflective pace.

How much Bob Mould do you need? Well, if 'a lot' is the answer then his 'Distortion' series is perfect for you. 'Distortion: 1996-2007' covers those exact years, containing six studio albums such as 'The Last Dog and Pony Show' and Mould's electronica folly 'Modulate'. Also includes a compilation of bonus tracks and B-sides as well as a twenty-eight-page booklet.  

Named the best album of 1984 by the NME, ‘The Poet II’ continued R&B icon Bobby Womack’s golden streak in the first half of the Eighties. Featuring three duets with Patti LaBelle and the singles ‘Love Has Finally Come At Last’ and ‘It Takes A Lot Of Strength To Say Goodbye’, it’s a masterful record of earthy, timeless R&B.

‘Whole Wide World’ by Bobby Would - aka Robert P from Heavy Metal and Itchy Bugger - is the follow-up to his 2018 LP ‘Baby’. Unlike its space-rockin’ predecessor, ‘Whole Wide World’ is an album of mostly lo-fi ballads which bemoan the heavy bummer that was 2020. However, these songs will serve as a soothing balm and set you right.  

'Old Moon, New Moon / The Image of 36’ is a split LP by experimental Melbourne acts Bonnie Mercer and YLP. Both acts spring from an incredibly fertile scene in the Australian city. On side A, Bonnie Mercer brings doom drone that channels the spirit of genre masters Sunn O))). On Side B, YPL blend drum machines, desert blues and space rock.

It did well for Lizzo, so Born Ruffians thought they’d piggy back her success by calling their new album Juice. Of course, the Canadian four-piece play an angular brand of indie rock and not scantily-clad flute pop. This album has a more polished approach from the band and sees them mining the mid-70s for  sounds.

Oliver Ho delivers the third instalment in his ‘White Rats’ series under his Broken English Club alias. On ‘White Rats III’ Ho again takes elements of EBM, techno and detached, icy electronic music to filter them through his unique vision, one charged with industrial, punk-influenced energy. File next to Silent Servant.

Metalcore quintet Bury Tomorrow return on the Music For Nations label with their sixth studio album Cannibal. Boasting the already-released singles ‘The Grey (VIXI)’ and its title track, Cannibal is an eleven-track journey that fits with the Southampton band’s previous outfit, exploring both their melodic and aggressive sides. 

Bushpilot were a post-rock band out of mid '90s Leeds that had all the correct influences in Can, Talk Talk and Slint but never perhaps got their due. God Unknown are currently re-issuing their back catalogue which should be of further interest to customers of Norman Records due to the appearance of a young Phil Leigh (Norman Records owner) in the Jaki Liebezeit role. 

Over the 2010s Caixa Cubo established themselves as arguably the greatest new Brazilian jazz act off the back of their high-energy ‘samba doido’ sound. ‘Angela’, arriving via Heavenly, is their first album to be licensed for release in Europe. This LP plugs into classic Brazilian jazz and dance sounds but updates them for the modern age.

Cardinal & Nun delivers his debut full-length album for L.I.E.S., a noisy onslaught of EBM, abrasive synths and pounding beats titled ‘Dancing In The Evil’. A brace of atmospheric, more sombre cuts populate the album’s second side, but for the most part the Marseille-based DJ sticks to the militant, sharp-edged electronic music that’s made him one of the most promising newcomers in Europe.

Recorded over a three-year period (2015 to 2018) in his native Lithuania, electronic artist Caroil gets a debut EP release on June Records. Vega showcases all the elements that have made him such a long-established figure in Vilnius, using a mix of analogue and digital hardware to make his combination of electronic body music and Italo disco. 

Caroline are an eight-piece from London. They build their songs from a wide range of influences such as emo, Appalachian folk, dance and minimalist classical music. Not content with a song being simply done, they deconstruct and reconstruct until they have the finished article. Dark Blue is their debut 12” single.

You may not know Casper Clausen by name, but I think you'll sit up when I tell you that he is the frontman for post-rock collective Efterklang. 'Better Way' is Clausen's first ever solo work and features the instrumental and production talents of one Sir Sonic Boom. It is an expressive album that touches on the cornerstones of Krautrock, progressive pop and experimental/whatever music.  

‘Powerlines’ is an EP by indie-pop band Cassia. Their chilled, summery vibe is built on clean guitar lines and layered vocal harmonies. Vampire Weekend are a clear influence on this lot, but they also look a little further back to the likes of Talking Heads, Paul Simon and The Beach Boys.  

'We Come From The Sun' (doo-doo doo-doo!) is an album composed by Cerys Matthews and performed by Hidden Orchestra & 10 Poets. The LP is her response to the situation that the events of 2020 have left us in. Matthews is keen to point out that the album offers a range of viewpoints - it features the poems of MA.MOYO, Raymond Antrobus, Lemn Sissay, Liz Berry, Anthony Anaxagorou, Adam Horovitz, Cia Mangat, Imtiaz Dharker, Kim Moore and Kayo Chingonyi. On Decca, but the breathy electronics within have more of an Erased Tapes vibe.

Charlotte de Witte is a Belgian disc jockey who is just as potent in the studio as she is behind the decks. Her latest EP features some hard hitting techno, dark and menacing thumps and slithers of uplifting and emotive trance. There are three original tracks plus a colourful and vibrant remix by Kangding Ray.  

Progressive ambient music from Austrian sound artist Christina Nemec, otherwise known as Chra. Recorded over a period of nearly two years and mastered by Russell Haswell, Seamons is a peculiarly enervating and immediate listening experience despite none of the musical elements being obvious in their intentions. 

Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band are the kind of band you need to hear play live. ‘Rare Dreams: Solar Live 2.27.18’ gives you that opportunity. The band rip through a set of high energy extended jams and visceral psych/blues rock at London's celebrated Cafe OTO venue. The songs here are taken from the LPs ‘The Rarity of Experience’ and ‘Dreaming The Non-Dream’. Also included are not one, but two, Neil Young songs.  

Recorded in September 2019 during Chris Forsyth’s residency at Nublu, the guitarist was joined on stage by drummer Ryan Jewell, bassist Spencer Zahn and fellow guitarist Dave Harrington. First Flight is basically the very definition of improvised - the four musicians had only all met each other around half an hour before it was recorded! - but the jams laid down here spark with creativity.

‘Athenian Primitivism’ is a collection of recordings made on cassettes by Christos Chondropoulos over a period of five years. Ancient Greece and its musical traditions are a key source of inspiration, but Chondropoulos’ avant-garde persuasions mean that these recordings have an unmistakably forward-thinking aspect. Final side contains collaborations with Athenian singer Sofia Sarri.

Formed in the aftermath of The Purple Hearts’ disintegration, Liberate Rock: Singles and More 1972-1975 collects up the six single releases of Australian outfit Coloured Balls, plus a planned single that was cancelled just before their split and two live tracks recorded at the Sunbury festival in 1973. 

A follow-up to 2012 compilation 'In Decay', a record that collected demos and tracks only previously available on internet mixtapes and SoundCloud, 'In Decay, Too' fills in the gaps in Seth Haley’s work as Com Truise over the last half a decade or so. It feels like a line drawn under a distinct era for Haley, one of expansive synthwave and retro electronica.