Back in stock: Leftfield

Review: Beau operates at the sharp end of the UK electronic underground and creates an immersive, dark ambient sound that is influenced by trailblazers like Burial. His soundscapes combine ethereal textures with moody rhythms and that is very much the case here on Lacuna, his new album for Feat PLAtes. It is full of roomy sounds, icy glass synths, smeared pads, late-night moods and evocative atmospheres that draw you in ever deeper, sometimes looking over your shoulder, always lost in deep thought. A real lost tape from the short-lived night bus genre, you could say.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Still riding high from the success of his superb re-make of Manuel Gottsching on Test Pressing ('A Reference to E2-E4'), Alex Kassian returns to Pinchy & Friends - who released his similarly popular 2021 EP 'Leave Your Life' - after a three-year break. Beginning with the lusciously languid, Balearic, effects-laden and sonically layered title track ('Body Singer', where Jonny Nash style guitars and tumbling sax motifs rise above a sparse drum machine beat and shoegaze-esque aural textures), the Berlin-based producer offers up a loved-up mix of weightless ambient bliss (Kinship), kosmiche soundscapes (the sun-flecked 'Skinship'), revivalist Krautrock (the Can-after-several-spliffs headiness of 'Trippy Gas') and immersive, cinematic excusions (the gorgeous 'Mirror of the Heart').

Review: Next up on Bordello A Parigi is the prolific Kirill Junolainen under his Konerytmi alias with a four-track EP bridging disco, Italo, synth pop and wave. The title track is an emotive analogue ride full of glittering synths and distant melancholy, and is followed by the icy electro of 'Klassikkoelokuva' with crisp claps and bending basslines. On the flip, 'Hirvijarvi' takes a slow, sci-fi-inspired journey through spacey synths and probing percussion. Closing cut 'Uusiaalto' blends computer chirps, soaring strings and fractured drums for a bold yet fragile finish. It makes for a colourful showcase of Konerytmi's breadth and is melodic, mysterious and unmistakably good.

Review: Back by popular demand comes this four track revisitation of the famous 80s synthpop classic, which emerged in December 2024 with the kind of slightly Euro twist in the vocal department you might expect from the Netherlands-based Random Vinyl stable. The Master Mix is perhaos the most poignant, given that its airy, lush pads were put together by the late producer Marc Hartman who very sadly passed away in August 2024 at the far too young age of 58. But all four show due reverence to this monolithic moment in electronic music history, without resisting the temptation to add a little new. Grey-t stuff.