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Record of the Week
Formed in 2019, Lawne is the result of a meeting of minds between old friends and self confessed music nerds Joe Nicklin and Joe Martin. Their sound draws upon myriad influences with dub, electronics, hip hop, psych, jazz, post-punk and Afrobeat all somehow ingrained within the mix.
Their debut LP, Attic was released last year to much critical acclaim from DJs and tastemakers alike, receiving radio play from Gilles Peterson, Cerys Matthews, Robbie Vincent and many more besides.
“One of the most exciting releases of the year!” Deb Grant (BBC 6 Music)
“The entire album is sublime.” Colleen Cosmo Murphy (Balearic Breakfast / The Loft)
“One of my favourite groups at the moment!" Bill Brewster (Lowlife / NTS)
To celebrate the release of the LP, Lawne pitched up at North London vintage musical emporium Audio Gold to play a Tiny Desk style set for an intimate, personally invited audience that included soul music DJ legend Robbie Vincent, Balearic bossman Bill Brewster and Gilles Peterson co-presenter Pedro Montenegro in its ranks. The set featured favourites from the LP, early works and a number of surprises, including a very unexpected medley of early 00s hip hop, R&B and pop classics from Justin Timberlake, Busta Rhymes, Jah Rule, Eminem and many more, all given Lawne’s unique, untouchable stamp. Joe
Nicklin explains more:
“The whole idea of the night at Audio Gold was to say thanks to people that had supported us over the last year or so with a special intimate show. We wanted to make this night different from our previous shows in any way possible, especially as the majority of the audience had already seen us live at least once before."
Syncopated bass lines, melancholic melodies, and the emotional energy of the cello invite you on a cinematic journey. Lead single Els is accompanied by a beautiful performance video, filmed at Max Richter’s ‘SRM Sounds’ studio, located in rural Oxfordshire.
Vega Trails is a chamber-jazz project of Milo Fitzpatrick, Portico Quartet, featuring saxophonist Jordan Smart, pianist Taz Modi and an expanded line up that includes cello, orchestral strings, vibraphone and piano.
Inspired by the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains north-west of Madrid, his home since August 2022, each piece on the album unfolds according to its own sweeping narrative, often wonderfully evocative of the mountains.
Milo explains: “I wanted to make sounds that felt equal to where I’ve been roaming in the mountains and forests out here, that reflect the incredible scale of the place. You get these huge views and skylines, which it’s hard to find words for.”
The ‘Sierra Tracks’ really is medicine for the mind, body and soul.
Azzecca, Chicago’s acid/hi-energy house/dark dance DJ & producer and now an international sensation spearheading the new spacey cosmic sound, drops single ‘Dance Of The Desert’ once more on Higher Ground.
Azzecca stormed into the new year as one of DJ Mag’s ‘Ones To Watch 2025’, Beatport Next’s ‘Class Of 2025’, and Arielle Free’s BBC Radio 1 ‘Future Star’. The new single follows her recent massive hit ‘Holding Back’ on Three Six Zero Recordings which was championed by BBC Radio royalty inc. Pete Tong, Danny Howard, Sarah Story, and was an Arielle Free ‘Big Whoppa’. Such accolades are incessant these days, as her hot mix of melodic cuts, acid-laced jams and hypnotic heaters with that signature Azzecca edge become cosmic in more ways than one.
‘Dance Of The Desert’: Hits the ground running, with dynamic vocal repeated riff -‘do it, do it’ – a breaksy beat and spacey, fuzzy hoover sounds, some with multi-doppler effect. A jazzy synth theme comes in to carry a deep, female spoken vocal. Intriguing melange of diverse elements skilfully arranged for both dancefloor and ambient listening.
'Dance of the Desert' is out now.
Pete Josef’s latest release, Looking Up, captures the uplifting spirit and emotional resonance reminiscent of his first solo album, Colour, on Sonar Kollektiv. As we celebrate the decennial anniversary of this critically acclaimed album, the single stands as a testament to Josef’s enduring partnership with the label and his ongoing creative evolution as a multi-talented musician.
Following the socially conscious Defence EP of 2024, Josef reaches for spiritual elevation with his new EP, Lifeline. This collection shifts focus toward the joy of human connection and the hope found at the end of hardship.
Blending afro grooves, highlife guitars, and Eastern jazz influences, Looking Up radiates a unique fusion of esoteric styles wrapped in an intrinsic pop sensibility. The steady groove anchors the track, while evolving melodic layers and rhythmic intricacies drive it forward. A particularly heartfelt moment comes as Josef’s six-year-old son, Art, joins him for the refrain:
“There’s a rhythm to life’s music, you just gotta choose it.
Yeah, there’s a rhythm to life’s music, no matter where the rhythm goes, it flows, it always comes back home.”
Together with vocalist Anna Ryan, Art’s contribution infuses the lyrics with profound meaning, echoing the wisdom and warmth passed between generations. The song’s message encourages listeners to seek nurturing relationships and communities that inspire and support:
“There’s community, people; there’s a scene with ready open arms for you, where things are looking up.”
The track features a distinctive double bass hook from long-time collaborator Jihad Darwish (Sting, Van Morrison, Moses Boyd) and drums by Miguel Andrews. Josef himself performs all other instrumental elements, including the vibrant tuned percussion.
Looking Up was inspired by a close friend who, despite later-life challenges in seeking love and companionship, has a wealth of wonder and life to share. Like many of Josef’s songs, it also reflects an introspective message—an encouraging reminder to embrace change and look upward for inspiration.
The track and the Lifeline EP draw additional influence from Japanese art and Shinto principles, which resonate deeply with Josef for their emphasis on purity, harmony, and community values.
Both Looking Up and the Lifeline EP will be released as part of his new album, alongside the Defence EP, solidifying Pete Josef’s place as one of Sonar Kollektiv’s most dynamic and visionary artists.
Jalen Ngonda - Just as Long as We're Together
Jalen Ngonda is today sharing a brand new slice of soul with the track 'Just As Long As We're Together'. The track started to take shape when Jalen was visiting his family home in Wheaton, Maryland before producers Michael Buckley and Vince Chiarito helped pull it all together.
At just 17 years old, Jalen took the huge leap to move from his home-town in Maryland, USA - to cross the Atlantic and begin studies at Liverpool's Institute of Performing Arts, honing his rich, nuanced voice and sublime falsetto. After a chance meeting with Daptone Records co-founder Neal Sugarman following a last minute opening slot for Jools Holland, the pair set the wheels in motion to get Jalen out to New York to begin writing and recording. The result, Jalen's debut album “Come Around and Love Me” was released in September 2023 to rapturous reviews. It's heavy arrangements and introspective lyrics shone with Motown sophistication, leaving listeners in a blissful wash of wonderment and staking its claim as one of the finest soul albums of the decade and a stone-cold future classic.
Despite his young career, Jalen has already amassed a troop of A-List fans in Elton John, Snoop Dog & Jill Scott to name a few. His touring resume reads like that of seasoned veteran - gracing such stages as Newport Folk Festival, Glastonbury, Rock Werchter, New York City’s Summer Stage and Montreux Jazz Festival as well as captivating performances on prestigious platforms such as Piano Rooms Sessions for Radio 2, Graham Norton and Jools Holland.
Anthony Joseph - Rowing up River to Get Our Names Back (Vol. 1)
Poet, novelist, musician and academic, Anthony Joseph releases new single “Tony”–the first official focus track to be lifted from his new album ‘Rowing Up River To Get Our Names Back’ (Vol. 1), for which he teamed up with legendary UK producer Dave Okumu.
Dave Okumu is known perhaps best as frontman for The Invisible, though digging deeper into his production credits huge names emerge such as Grace Jones, Amy Winehouse, Jesse Ware, Rosie Lowe and Eska. On this album, the magic and alchemy of Dave’s production style showcase subtlesonics and deep layering resulting in a contemporary sound to carry Anthony’s afrofuturistic metrical meanings.
Already garnering support on BBC 6Music from Gilles Peterson, album opener ‘Satellite’ is a fine example of how this new partnership of Anthony & Dave pans out.
New musicians have been enlisted; Dan See (Drums), Aviram Barath (Synths), Nick Ramm (Fender Rhodes) and Byron Wallen (Trumpet).
Add to that the mighty vocal power house of Eska and we have a whole new dimension of soul and depth, to carry Anthony’s statements. “You build a wall, we go under, you build it higher, we go higher, like a satellite”
Anthony Joseph releases ‘Rowing Up River To Get Our Names Back’ (Vol. 1) via Heavenly Sweetness 7th February 2025.
Moscoman, the genre-defying producer, DJ and Disco Halal label head is set to release his latest studio album on June 6th, a deeply personal and sonically expansive record that captures the spirit of movement, reinvention, and raw emotion. Created over the course of two years, 'Caviar' marks a departure from his signature electronic sound, embracing live instrumentation, indie influences, and a journey through time zones and musical landscapes.
Unlike his previous club-centric productions, 'Caviar' is designed for a full-band live performance. With real bass lines, live drums, and minimal synth work, it redefines how Moscoman’s music can be experienced. “It’s not pure dance music,” he explains. “It’s meant to be performed, felt, and lived.”Written and recorded primarily in LA, the album was born out of necessity and experimentation. Without a dedicated studio space, Moscoman turned to sampling and manipulating sounds, later layering live drums, guitars, and synths to craft a dynamic and textured sound. This unconventional approach resulted in a record that is both structured and spontaneous—a true reflection of his transient lifestyle and creative process. “This album feels like a road trip,” Moscoman explains. “It started as a more experimental, shoegaze-meets-dance-floor concept, but evolved through collaborations and production refinements into something more polished yet still raw.”Influenced by his rediscovery of indie, shoegaze, and grunge, Moscoman draws from The Cure, The Smiths, Smashing Pumpkins, and Cocteau Twins, blending nostalgia with modern production.
The result is a sound that feels familiar yet fresh—“it doesn’t sound old, but it feels old,” he says. While still carrying his signature “happy-sad” Nordic-inflected vibe, the album also resonates with the warmth and expansiveness of the Californian landscape where much of it was conceived.Bringing together a diverse array of artists, the ten tracker features COMA, SCUDFM, Tom Sanders, Justin Strauss, The Golden Dreggs and Talee, with each artist bringing their own interpretation to Moscoman’s foundations. The artist comments on how he never tells collaborators what to do, “I let them respond to the music in their own way, and that’s what makes it a true collaboration.”When asked how he feels about the album, Moscoman reflects, “I’m just happy I’ve done it. It sounds better than anything I’ve done before, and I hope people connect with it like I did.” It’s an album that has continually evolved—both sonically and emotionally—shaped by time, travel, and transformation.Along with the release of his album, the Berlin based producer, DJ, live musician and label head will be celebrating ten years of Disco Halal in 2025, marking a decade of innovative music and boundary-pushing artistry. The imprint was founded by Moscoman in 2015 and its music output has significantly influenced the underground music scene by blending diverse genres and cultural sounds. Rooted in the vibrant musical landscape of Tel Aviv and based in Berlin, the label has cultivated a dedicated community of musicians, producers and music lovers alike. While specific events commemorating the 10th anniversary have yet to be announced, a label compilation is set for release along with Moscoman performing Caviar live.Dancers can always be sure of one thing with Moscoman, a certain unpredictability and energy will always define the music he serves up.
As well as having a background in indie and rock, he plays house, acid, techno, dark disco, synth, all from a more alternative angle. For that reason he is a regular at wide-ranging but iconic places like Space in Miami, Panorama Bar, Glastonbury and Pacha Ibiza.2025 will bring new mind bending music, together with the return of Mosco's live band. In the studio he has always switched up from one release to the next: raw and rugged machine disco, Indie Dance and wonky house on ESP Institute, Because, Greco-Roman and I'm A Cliché all feature in his discography. Next to all this, Moscoman continues to focus on building his Disco Halal label and brand into a real family. It is a place where artists like Simple Symmetry, Red Axes, Trikk and Auntie Flo and many others have all freely expressed themselves. Like Moscoman's own approach to music, it is an unrestricted label that never fails to subvert and surprise.
Drama on the Corner - Dzatsu
Drama On The Corner return with a killer live version of ‘Dzatsu’ from their new ‘Orixa EP’, the muscular Lonnie Liston Smith-inspired groove showcasing the Parisian outfit’s compositional and production chops to full effect. A compelling, jazzier counterpoint to the vocal version featuring Ghanaian artist K.O.G - the lifelong connection between keys wizard Adrien de Araujo and drummer Gérald Portocallis can be heard in their intuitive, vamping interplay. Melding 70s’ jazz-funk influences with a contemporary attitude, a driving rhythmic organ is joined by Mandrill-esque cloud-burst synths, supertumbles of glissando Rhodes and broken beat-influenced drums that pulsate with urgency and inspiration.
Leon Raum is a prolific German producer, drummer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist and creative who has worked with several live bands and music projects across a number of different genres. These include instrumental electronic outfit Bokoya, whose style ranges from ambient to drum & bass and dub, as well as hip hop duo Wyl, a downtempo collaboration with DJ and producer Felix Fleer, and soul jazz project Wukan.
Indeed, it’s jazz that’s very much at the heart of Leon Raum’s music. The way the genre encompasses all of the technical intricacies of the instruments themselves is central to his production remit. Leon’s father was a huge influence in this world, mentoring him in the basics of
playing and also helping him with the skills of multi-track recordings.
Having worked as a multiinstrumentalist in several bands and projects for over a decade, Leon now finally feels that the time is right to step out of the shadows and into the light to showcase his own solo productions.
“There are so many influences and impulses that don’t find actualization when in a collaborative setting, that I feel it's so enriching to establish oneself as a solo artist, not being bound to expectation or compromise even in the creation of music. I aim to spread my musical love and creative vulnerability with this project. Of course, I hope to reach people with it, but my priority is really to be transparent and creative in making music. ”
Leon’s debut EP offers up snapshots of different periods of the producer’s process. Its title, Basement Meditation, comes from the fact that these tracks were made alone in the studio, where the emerging loops often created a trance-like meditative state. The loops are a mixture of analog instruments and synthetic sounds, and whilst the music is very much an independent, individual project, the artwork that accompanies it is drawn by Leon’s own sister, Penelope.
Finding a label to release this deep, introspective and very personal collection of beats was an important task, but happily Leon feels that joining forces with Sonar Kollektiv was the right choice for him:
“Collaborating with Sonar Kollektiv has enabled me to unveil this raw, unfiltered sound that resonates with the core of my natural being.”
The opening track on the EP is the laid back and low slung Cascade. Leon describes the track as “classic basement meditation with keyboard sounds and rhythmic arpeggios” and indeed, the track does have the feel of an instant classic, complete with multiple ambient layers and, of course, those boom-bap drums.
“For years, this was my favourite beat on my hard drive, especially because of the transition from the ‘calm arpeggio’ to the higher more ‘aggressive arpeggio’ ”.
As a drummer, Leon comes very much from the hip hop side of things - hugely influenced by the beats of J Dilla and Questlove. This sound is particularly strong in For QnD, the second track on the EP . The piece is very much a tribute to the pioneering pair, who have such an impact on Leon’s work, as he explains further:
“Questlove and J Dilla are my two biggest long-term sources of inspiration and role models. I learned the basics of drumming from these two. The beat is how I imagine baseball college vibes in the U.S.!”
Champloo is another classic Basement Meditation and one that found its source of inspiration from Japanese anime series Samurai Champloo, as well as its theme tune performed by Japanese producer Nujabes. Insistent piano stabs and swinging drums build tension throughout the track as Leon explains:
“I was watching a lot of Samurai Champloo, and I visualised a hectic yet collected sword fight scene while making this.”
Finally on the EP , All Night raises the tempo and is the only Basement Meditation that developed into an all-night dance with a pure, four to-the-floor early 2000s house sound.
“The recording process took about 10 minutes, during which the entire studio was wired up, and the spirit made no compromises for a moment.”
This four track EP is a very special collection of sonic reveries, crafted from moments of solitary creation. Within these tracks lies the essence of meditative studio sessions, where loops emerged to captivate and enthral. Fusing predominantly analog instrumentation with delicate synthetic nuances, Basement Meditation invites listeners on a journey of introspection and exploration, where every note tells a story of solitude and serenity. Who knows where the journey will take us next….
Multi-instrumentalist and synth wizard Paul White readies his third album for R&S Records, offering up a cinematic journey on ‘Peace In Chaos’ that captures the current mood with its shadowy electronic prowess.
With an unabashed love of 80s synth music and film scores, the South London based producer presents an album of perhaps his most pop leaning tracks yet, following on from 2018’s ‘Rejuvenate’ and 2014’s ‘Shaker Notes’. Across eleven tracks, White delves into a world of esoteric electronic pop, as waves of melodic synths wash over towering drum patterns and majestic bass, with White adding his own enigmatic vocals to many of the productions.
Paul explains the themes he was looking to capture when producing ‘Peace In Chaos’ I"ve always heard music in a very visual way. I'd like to put this album out here as film, or game scenes, and it’s a movie or game about trying to find peace in a chaotic world.“
Having previously written & produced for many artists, including Danny Brown, Sudan Archives and Jessy Lanza, White puts himself centre stage on ‘Peace In Chaos’, writing, performing, producing and recording entirely on his own, flexing his prodigious studio skills and keen ear for a powerful and engaging tune. None more exemplified than on this new album.
Nigerian-born, North Carolina-raised musician Uwade will release her long-awaited debut album Florilegium next month via Thirty Tigers, and today she shares another preview of the forthcoming album with “Harmattan.” Uwade grew up steeped in the sounds of hymnal choral music and Nigerian Highlife on her late-father’s car radio. “Harmattan” in particular emerged from a period where she was immersed in West African music, specifically afrobeats and string instruments that she found bordered on medieval European harpsichords. While tracking the drum solo for the track, she shared with percussionist Jason Burger videos of an Esan dance masquerade called Egbabonelimhin that was performed during her father’s burial for reference; during his first few takes she got the chills. The resulting track is an album standout. We meet a new side of her musical aesthetic here too, more true-blue pop earworm.
On the new single, Uwade shares "For a long time, this song was a giant puzzle. I couldn’t figure out lyrics, a compelling arrangement, or how to transform it from the earliest stages of the demo to what it is now. Somehow the song’s creative cycle is reflected in the subject matter–lots of questions, few answers, and being forced to find comfort in the chaos. It turned out that every new phase of experimentation unlocked another element of the song that I loved. As Harmattan went from demo to studio to demo to studio, I refined my vision and the song became exactly what I wanted. ‘Will you sway with me when my voice gives out?’ Is one of my favorite lyrics on Florilegium. Writing it helped me to unravel a huge knot of anxiety around being a musician that I’d been dealing with for some time. I don’t think there’s an answer, but I’m ok with that for now."