Back in stock: All genres

Review: There's certainly plenty to talk about here. British chart-topping and stadium-filling enigmas The 1975 return to prove you really can't predict what the troupe will do next, delivering what would be their most divisive and explorative album if it weren't for the fact they command so much loyalty from fans you could be forgiven for thinking dark forces were at play. 'Notes On A Conditional Form' is easily the furthest we've wandered from the formative years of a band that cut teeth doing teen-punk covers, and it's hard not to notice the subtle theme here. From 'Having No Head', which rides on a sharp house groove, through the garage breaks of 'Yeah I Know', low slung dub of 'Shiny Collarbone' and the shoegaze of 'Streaming', it plays out like a celebration of the breadth and diversity of UK pop culture.

Review: Three years after delivering a stunning debut album that cemented their position as this century's finest fusionists of Middle Eastern music and analogue electronic music, Acid Arab return with a sophomore set that's every bit as impressive. The basic ingredients remain the same - think Arabic vocals, instrumentation and percussion mixed with heavy drum machine rhythms, raw electronics and mind-altering TB-303 motifs - though the resultant tracks arguably draw on a wider range of electronic music influences. So as well as nods towards acid house and techno, the album also contains throbbing, dancefloor-centric workouts informed by EBM, Italo-disco, new wave, synth-pop and industrial. It's a subtle switch-up, but one wholly in keeping with the French quartet's distinctive vision.

Review: During the 1970s, composer and multi-instrumentalist Alessandro Alessandroni and Giovanni Tommaso were two of the most prolific contributors to SR Records, an Italian library music label whose releases are now sought after by collectors worldwide. Their 1972 joint album "Open Air Parade" has long been one of the imprint's most hard-to-find sets, with copies regularly changing hands online for four figure sums. As this reissue proves, it remains an entertaining and hugely enjoyable set that giddily flits between psychedelic rock, quirky soundtrack style compositions, cheeky jazz-funk and the kind of whistle-laden kitsch cuts that you could imagine providing backing music to a saucy Italian sex comedy.

Notes: The ZED-12FX is ideal for groups who need to travel light. Even with its small footprint, the 12FX squeezes in 4 auxiliary channels and swept semi-parametric EQ on top of the already impressive feature set including configurable USB audio in/out makes it easy to capture stereo recordings.

Getting audio to and from a computer easily is now a common requirement for live sound and music production. The way this has been implemented on ZED-12FX is super-flexible and super-easy. No longer do you need to fiddle around the back of your PC to get to the soundcard inputs, only to find that the levels are all wrong and noisy. Just plug in a USB lead to your ZED, select the USB routing on the mixer and the device on your computer and that's it.

USB AUDIO FLEXIBILITY
Getting audio to and from a computer easily is now a common requirement for live sound and music production. The way this has been implemented on ZED is super-flexible and super-easy! No longer do you need to fiddle around the back of your PC to get to the soundcard inputs, only to find that the levels are all wrong and noisy. Just plug in a USB lead to your ZED, select the USB routing on the mixer and the device on your computer and that's it! CD quality audio to and from your PC or Mac. Switches and connection through jack socket terminals provide different send/return configurations:-

SEND OPTIONS
1) Main Mix Left + Right (Post-fade)
2) Main Mix Left + Right (Pre-Fade)
3) Auxes 1-2
4) Auxes 3-4

RETURN OPTIONS
1) To Stereo 3 channel

MUSIQ
ZED-12FX features a responsive 3-band, swept mid frequency EQ design which utilises MusiQ - with optimised slope (or Q factor) for equalising individual instruments.

ZED-12FX has an essential selection of 16 time-delay effects, designed for small groups who don't want to carry around an effects unit with their gear but who still want great quality FX at their gigs and on their recordings. Our DSP engineers worked hard, crafting and refining beautiful reverb algorithms to enhance every performance. These effects are available nowhere else at this price point - this quality and integration is only available from the ZED-FX. ZED effects are easily controlled using 3 buttons with 9 display LEDs. For example, the ideal delay time can be quickly tapped-in, or the perfect amount of reverb on the lead vocal can be dialled-in. There is one-stop navigation and editing - in fact, it's just as easy as using effects pedals. To alter effects parameters, the TAP button is held down and the up/down buttons pressed to adjust the specific parameter for that effect, for example, the decay length on PLATE, or the depth on CHORUS.

Based on the proven pre-amps from the hugely successful PA series, ZED-12FX has DuoPre pre-amps, which use a two stage design, with carefully controlled amounts of gain in each stage. When amplifying the signal from the XLR input, the gain range is huge - 69dB of range to be exact - and is very evenly distributed around the gain control, meaning better control of signal level. Most of the gain comes from the first stage, so unwanted noise is kept to a minimum. Line level signals are simply plugged into the second stage of the pre-amp by using the line input jack socket, which has the great advantage of less noise when using the line input and also matching to a
higher input impedance.

Notes: Inspired by the early 80s Synton Syrinx, the SER-2020 is a semi-modular monster, featuring an excellent formant filter section, unique Touch 'N Bend Control and MPE-compatible MIDI interface.

Supplier's Notes:
The SER-2020 is a monophonic semi-modular analog synthesizer with an formant filter section, designed to use as standalone synthesizer or in combination with Eurorack modules. Inspired by the Synton Syrinx *(1) added the flexibility of an MS-20. Its filter design features a combination of a 24dB/octave VC Low Pass Filter, and two independent Resonant VC Peak Filters for precise and dynamic sound shaping. The sound is ranging from solid bass sounds to articulated formant effects. Other features on the SER-2020 are the Touch 'N Bend Control together with the MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) capabilities makes the SER-2020 a special instrument which response to its player. The flexible routing makes the SER-2020 a versatile machine for sound effects.

Key Specifications:
2 VCO's (CEM3340 based)
1 Sub-Oscillator
Ring Modulator
Noise Generator
Audio Mixer
Multi-Mode Sync & Sync D-Tune
3 VCF's (CEM3350 based)
2 ADSR's
2 LFO's with Reset & Shaper Modes
Auto-Glide
Multiple Triggering
Touch 'N Bend Pad
Bend Assign
Sample and Hold
Semi Modular Setup - CV inputs and outputs
Signal and Headphone output.
MIDI interface
USB MIDI interface
MPE compatible - Sensitive for; Strike (note-on velocity), Press (aftertouch), Glide (pitch bend), Slide (brightness) and Lift (note-of velocity).

The SER-2020 consist of two VCO's and one sub-oscillator, driven by VCO 1. Both VCO's deliver a triangle, sawtooth, square wave and pulse signal, which can be selected. A rich spectrum can be obtained with Pulse Width Modulation of VCO 1 and VCO 2. The LFO 1 and 2 signals can be feed to the pulse width modulation section introducing phase shift effects and Doppler frequency shifts. Since the both VCO's have a separate LFO for PWM, chorus-like effects can be obtained by controlling both pulses with different LFO speeds. VCO 2 can be synchronized to VCO 1 in different modes. Synchronization is applied when two or more VCO's have to produce exactly the same pitches, without phase shift or beat effects. When VCO 2 is detuned from VCO 1 another effect occurs, which will result in quite dramatic tone colors.
Each VCO has an individual output, also the noise generator and sub-oscillator has individual outputs.

The most important sections of this synthesizer is the filter. The SER-2020 features a very extensive filtering system, which consists of the standard 24 dB/octave low pass filter and two independent band pass filters, which together form the Voltage Controlled Formant filter.
Both band pass filters have a frequency control and a resonance control for setting the selective amplification in the pass band. The bandpass filters are equipped with a control voltage mixer for LFO, ADSR and key range voltages. The LFO control can be used for the external modulation input.
The low pass filter is an standard 24 dB/octave roll-off. It has a frequency control and a modulated CV mixer from several sources like LFO, ADSR and the key range. The LFO control can be used for the external modulation input. Also the resonance of the low pass filter can be controlled.

The SER-2020 has two ADSR generators, of which one is used to control the internal VCA, and the other one to control the filter section. The control signal can be inverted by means of the ADSR controls in the filter section, so that the filters can be swept in opposite directions.
ADSR 1 and 2 have a positive and negative (inverted) direct output available on the patch panel.

The SER-2020 has two independent Low Frequency Oscillators (LFO's) of which the rate can be controlled, and for LFO 2 also the wave shape.

LFO 1 generates a triangle wave which exclusively is routed to the pulse width modulation control input of VCO2. LFO 1 also generates a square wave and a pulse wave. The square wave is available as direct output on the patch panel. The pulse wave of LFO 1 is internally routed to the sample and hold generator as clock source.

LFO 2 is more versatile and can be used for the modulation of the VCO's and the filters. Moreover LFO 2 can be used as a one shot generator which means that a signal is generated much alike an Attack/Release generated function. Except for the LFO 2 rate control with the preset knob, it also can be controlled dynamically with the pad.

Several sections in the synthesizer can be controlled with the bend pad, by pressing it with the left hand index and middle finger. The pressure sensitivity for the VCO, VCF and VCA can be adjusted. The touch 'N bend pad also reacts on the MIDI modulation control and the MIDI brightness (CC#74) control for MPE compatibility.
Also the speed of the rise/decay mode of the LFO 2 is possible. Pressing the UP pad will result in a shorter cycle, and pressing the DN pad in a longer cycle.

Notes: Very nice old-school vocoder for Eurorack, featuring a built-in mic pre-amp and full 10-band patch bay. Internal VCO and straightforward control setup help simplify operation.

Supplier's Notes:
The VXC-2220 is an 10-band analogue vocoder with patch-bay for each individual filter section. VXC-2220 vocoder is based on the iconic classics 222 vocoder. For stand alone usage the VXC-2220 is equipped with an internal oscillator generating saw and pulse waves form C1 to C6. A simple and efficient vocoder.

Specifications

Microphone input for speech signal
Line input for speech signal
Line input for carrier signal
Input level control for speech and carrier signal
Output level control
Line output
10-Band analyzer outputs
10-Band synthesizer input
Internal VCO (1 semi-nut step size);
* Saw wave (C1 - C6)
* 3x 10% Pulse wave (C1+C2+C3 - C4+C5+C6 )
* White noise
- Synthesis for 's' and 't' sounds
- Feed-trough level control for speech and carrier channel
- Bypass switch
- 10pin power connector (+/-12V)

Dimensions:
(36HP) 128,5×182.5mm (depth: ca. 35mm incl. power connector)

Power Consumption:
+12V = 125mA
-12V = -125mA

Review: The story behind this one is that Vivian Yabby You Jackson once put together a tape that had been labeled The Best Of Patrick Andy but had never been put it out. On it was three unreleased tunes, one unreleased dub, and stereo mixes of several previously mono-only singles. For whatever reason it now sees the light of day and we're glad about it - this forms a fine tribute to a top singer and a legendary producer with some timeless dub. The horns pan, the rhythm tracks are heavy, the studio trickery is impressive throughout.

Notes: Compact phono stage to boost turntable output to line level. Add turntable inputs or upgrade the sound of your DJ mixer. Adjustable capacitance and gain to suit a range of cartridges.

Supplier's notes:
The DJ PRE II acts as an interface between your turntable and your audio recording/playback system. The analog input capacitance can be switched between 100pF and 200pF to optimize your phono cartridge response. A switchable low cut filter removes turntable rumble while leaving the audio pristine. The front gain trim control and signal/clip LED allow you to optimize the preamp's gain for a wide range of input sources. The built-in low noise phono preamp circuitry is highly accurate and precisely conforms to the RIAA standard. The line output jacks are low impedance and can be used with any sound card. Housed in an all aluminum black anodized case, the DJ PRE II can be powered by a wide variety of external supplies. If you need to amplify and EQ your vinyl records to interface with your audio workstation, sound card, home stereo system or main monitor system, the DJ PRE II gives you flawless audio reproduction in a rugged and reliable package.

Review: For their latest must-check full length, Swiss ambient and jazz enthusiasts WRWTFWW have offered up a timely reissue of Satoshi Ashikawa's previously Japan-only 1982 album "Still Way". In some quarters it's considered a triumph of Japanese minimalism - an ambient set that was equally as inspired by Erik Satie as Brian Eno. The sounds are sparse, atmospheric and alluring, with simple harp, vibraphone, piano and flute motifs taking it in turns to rise and fall across the soundspace. It's intricate, soft-focus and hugely poignant, evoking memories of similarly lauded sets by Ashikawa's countrymen Hiroshi Yoshimura and Midori Takada. In other words, it's sublime.

Review: This coming together of two dub and reggae giants might never have been heard had it not been unearthed in some long-forgotten vaults. Originally recorded at some unknown point in the seventies, it follows their debut album Ital Dub, and later King Tubby Meets The Rockers, and is just as vital. Lead by the trademark harmonica expressions of Pablo, with the contagious rhythms of Tubby, it is a free flowing record that explores a number of different moods and grooves from deep and hazy to more life affirming and direct. As a result, it keeps you utterly locked throughout.

Review: A tale of two sides, Azimuth's classic "Manha" should be recognisable to many; taken from their self-titled LP in 1975, its golden harmonies and lavish, lolloping Bob James style jazz are as timeless as they were 40 years ago. Flip for "America Latina". Conjured by prolific collaborator Osmar Milito (whose discography features the likes of Sammy Davis Jr, Spanky Wilson and Liza Minelli), its striking, sing-along charms are no accident... It was actually created for 70s Brazilian soap opera Selva De Pedra.

Review: B12's 1993 debut album, Electro-Soma, has long been regarded as one of intelligent dance music's "must-have releases". Offering a decidedly intergalactic blend of otherworldly techno, ambient and deep space electronica, it remains a brilliant piece of work. Here, Warp Records give it the reissue treatment, packaging the peerless original album with a second disc of early B12 rarities and hard-to-find cuts recorded during the same period. There's naturally plenty to admire on this bonus disc, from the shimmering electro bustle of "Transient Pathways" and Motor City futurism of "Debris", to the intoxicating ambient brilliance of "Go With The Hiss". That this material is every bit as good as the tracks included on Electro-Soma is testament to the (then) duo's rarely matched brilliance.

Review: Together under the starry skies of the 70s, Arnaud Rodrigues and Chico Anysio made some of the most incredible music of that decade, under the name of Baiano & Os Novos Caetanos. Their legendary debut LP from 1974, under their own name, has become a Brazilian funk addict's must-have, not to mention a Holy Grail for contemporary sampling. Until now, it's been difficult to get a hold of it on viny format, so we're super psyched that the irresistibly reliable Far Out label has decided to reissue it. With 11 tracks to marvel at, there is a slice of funk for all walks of life and, of course, there is so much grooving to done! Quite simply, this is feel-good music for feel-good people, and this duo's vibes are just about the best thing we could ask on this June morning. Cop it before it's too late - we wouldn't want you to suffer at the hands of the online sharks, now!

Notes: Bananuts are anodized aluminium custom minijack nuts, following Buchla/Serge colouring code: Blue, purple, red, orange, yellow, white, green and black. Perfect lovely thingies to pimp your modular, code your inputs and outputs with colours or just give a touch of beauty to your favourite gear!

Notes: Bananuts are anodized aluminium custom minijack nuts, following Buchla/Serge colouring code: Blue, purple, red, orange, yellow, white, green and black. Perfect lovely thingies to pimp your modular, code your inputs and outputs with colours or just give a touch of beauty to your favourite gear!

Notes: Bananuts are anodized aluminium custom minijack nuts, following Buchla/Serge colouring code: Blue, purple, red, orange, yellow, white, green and black. Perfect lovely thingies to pimp your modular, code your inputs and outputs with colours or just give a touch of beauty to your favourite gear!

Notes: Bananuts are anodized aluminium custom minijack nuts, following Buchla/Serge colouring code: Blue, purple, red, orange, yellow, white, green and black. Perfect lovely thingies to pimp your modular, code your inputs and outputs with colours or just give a touch of beauty to your favourite gear!

Notes: The EVEN VCO is a voltage-controlled oscillator that offers stability and high precision tuning over 10 octaves. A redesigned temperature compensation circuit maintains the oscillator stable against voltage and temperature drops.

Specifications:

Current needs: +12V: 36mA, -12V: 26mA
Width: 8 HP
Depth: 22mm, (28mm DIY) including power connector
Aluminium, heat-treated front panel.
Designed, kits prepared and completed modules assembled in Barcelona.

Notes: STMix is a four-channel stereo mixer in 28hp and 1U format. It can work independently or as an expansion of Befaco's Hexmix module via the six-pin connector located in the back. The module is designed under the Intellijel 1U format.

Features

Four channels stereo inputs with volume control.
AC Coupled inputs to improve audio performance.
Output clipping LED indicators.
Connector at the back to interface with the Hexmix module.
1U Intellijel format

Specs:

Current needs: +12V: 30mA, -12V: 30mA
Width: 28 HP
Depth: 20mm (including power connector)
Aluminium, heat-treated front panel
Designed, kits prepared and completed modules assembled in Barcelona

Notes: The Befaco Synth Duster is a super soft brush to keep your modular synth and audio equipment far away from dust.

Review: Interplugreaction is a track from Beroshima's 2007 album Real To Reel, but it's wasn't until 2023 that we (now get to) hear the cream of its reinterpretations. If only every track in the world could hear a remix from the likes of Marcel Dettman and Rodhad! Perhaps this calls for an entirely new industry - in fact, let's lock the artists in a room just so they can churn out the music and nothing else. Actually, a whopping four techno heavyweights (also including Frank Muller and Henning Baer) to reinterpret the classic track, with the new mixes ranging from stuffy and oppressive to airy and stark. Certainly not one to miss.

Review: Amsterdam label Music from Memory are steadily becoming the most interesting archivally minded operation out there, with this retrospective of Mallorcan guitarist Joan Bibiloni following essential issues of work by Gigi Masin and Leon Lowman. On El Sur, MFM founders Tako Reyenga, Abel Nagenast and Jamie Tiller cast their gaze over Bibiloni's work from the more experimental era of his long career (he first released a single in 1967) selecting tracks from a six album run which commenced with the album Una Vida Llarga I Tranquila, originally released in 1984. It was during this time that Bibiloni began to compose with the assistance of tape loops, drum computers and synthesisers and these primitive experiments make for compelling listening across the ten tracks on El Sur.

Review: This is a reissue of Bikini Kill's second EP, "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah". Recorded in 1992 with Tim Green (Nation Of Ulysses) at The Embassyia group-house in Washington, DC, it was the first Bikini Kill release to feature the band's song, "Rebel Girl." Originally a split EP with the Brighton, UK-based band, Huggy Bear, the B-side now features seven previously unreleased Bikini Kill songs drawn from era-appropriate live shows and practice tapes. The artwork has also been updated to include archival photos and liner notes from the Bratmobile's Erin Smith, Comet Gain's David Feck, and the members of Bikini Kill.

Bikini Kill was a feminist punk band based in Olympia, WA and Washington, DC, forming in 1990 and breaking up in 1997. Kathleen Hanna sang, Tobi Vail played drums, Billy Karren (aka Billy Boredom) played guitar and Kathi Wilcox played bass. Bikini Kill is credited with instigating the Riot Grrrl movement in the early '90s via their political lyrics, zines, and confrontational live performances. This EP is the second release in a larger campaign to reissue the complete Bikini Kill catalog on vinyl and CD.

Review: 
The vocalist on this one sure does sound like a celebrated British pop vocalist. And the hints in the mystic text accompanying it certainly don't lessen that feeling. Either way, her textured tones on 'The First Narcissus' are weaved into a gritty, low slung groove that has crashing claps and a dirty baseline that wouldn't sound out of place in the Berghain basement. On the flip, 'Jealous Groove' is a punchy but clipped disco beat with a sense of urgency and streetwise swagger that sounds true fresh. West End Records mysterious Bitter End off-shoot strikes again with this one.