Soundway 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Remastered release of Circus Underwater's 1984 self titled outing, including unreleased tracks taken from the original quarter inch tapes. Something of an unsung, DIY prog-electronic masterpiece, Circus Underwater now comes reissued with an insert, which retells the unique story of this oddball duo. An incredibly obscure LP and musical project first conceived under the aegis of Washington DC label Glass Wing, its two founding members are still unknown to us; all we know is that they are/were two friends who set off on a psychic quest - from the beatnik suburbs of their US capital city to the parallel hippie recesses of San Francisco - and produced this ambient prog jetsetter in the process.

Review: Eelco Topper's latest release as FELBM is a conceptual affair, with the Dutch producer delivering a 38-minute piece (here split into two parts for vinyl, each of which finishes with a locked groove to give the impression of the track creating an infinite musical loop) that mixes and matches tape loops, cyclical samples, repeating melodic motifs and pastoral-sounding snatches of flute, bansuri, bass trumpet, saxophone and pedal steel. While the concept, inspired by the artist's thoughts about 'the cyclical nature of the world around him" is important, of more significance is the utter brilliance of the piece itself - a genuinely gorgeous, warming, atmospheric and ambient-leaning concoction tailor-made for imagined afternoons in the countryside and woodland walks at dawn.

Review: Recorded in a single weekend, 'Yagana' is a choice afro-disco and synth collab from Margate 5-piece Pigeon. With the band drunkenly forming after a pub session, it's got Guinean singer Falle Nioke heading up frontman duties, while Graham Godfrey on drums, Steve Pringle on keys, Tom Dream on guitar and Josh Ludlow on bass take up phat instrumental space. The result is a cosmic space jam and call into a cold universe, facing eternity with a friendly, synthy, and even grungy sonic greeting: "it's been a while".

Review: Ritmo Fantasia is the name of this superb 21 track selection, and it has been curated by Berlin-based, Venezuelan-born producer, DJ and record obsessor Trujillo. As the name suggests, this is music plucked from the outer fringes of the Spanish electronic scene from the 80s and 90 with plenty of proto sounds from the worlds of bleep, hip house, electro, boogie, Iberian pop and plenty more. It is a treasure trove of obscure but essential grooves for Balearic heads and music lovers alike. The artwork alone is worth the cover price, so big up Soundway for this one.