Rock — LPs  

Cyclist rides in with Bones In Motion – a joint release by Stones Throw and Leaving Records – an icy cool mix of early electro and housey influences with grittier, more experimental touches! The hypnotic approach and 80s era synth atmosphere bring Tour De France era Kraftwerk to mind – which sure makes the name Cyclist an apt one – and whether the name is a Kraftwerk nod or not, there's a lot more going on here! It's ultimately quite unique and all Cyclist's own. There's a hazy digital fog hanging over these instrumentals that give it a far fuzzier vibe than most 80s electronics-inspired sounds of the post millenium years – plus a thoroughly modern take on avant sampler dynamics. Distorted as they might be, there's usually a compelling, danceable beat underneath, too! Titles include "Feel Beauty", "Mangel", "Bones In Motion", "Sheen", "Makeshift", "Stove", "The March", "Visions", "Fleet Meeting", Black Train", "Another Exploitation", "

If this is reality, lead us onward – as the set is a mindblowing batch of trippy psych-funk from The Heliocentrics – even more offbeat and experimental than before, in ways that make the combo the true heirs to the legacy first begun by Stark Reality! The album's definitely funky at the core, but it's also filled with loads of amazing sounds – instruments tuned weirdly, played weirdly, and produced weirdly – so that over the heavy drums, there's often lots of freaky, fuzzy bits and tripped-out sounds – in ways that make the record feel like some lost acid trip outtakes from the Westbound studios of the early 70s – or like some obscure funk band that dropped acid at Andy Warhol's loft! The packaging offers up a visual example of what your ears will be going through when you tune into the music – and titles include "Mysterious Ways", "Collateral Damage", "Black Sky", "Calabash", "Path Of The Black Sun", "Mr Owusu I Presume", "Eastern Begena", and loads of cool interlude tracks too.

A full scale joint effort from the always unpredictable Stones Throw label and the cassette-centric Leaving Records – featuring audio adventurers Julia Holter, dak, Cyclist, Trance Farmers, Dem Hunger, Run DMT, Soundwizard BZB & MC Set, Oscar McClure, Odd Nosdam, Sun Araw and more. Cool, creative and diverse stuff – a good deal of it with kind of a darkness-tinged electro atmosphere – and an array of eerie broken beats, abstract instrumentals and vocals. 19 tracks in all: "Visions" by The Cyclist, "Into The Night" by Davis, "Lions Den" by dak, "Labelle Gross" by Oscar McClure, "You & Me Both (Live Arthur Russell Tribute)" by Julia Holter, "Sisters" by Odd Nosdam, "Right Off" by Sun Araw, "Bardo States Dream Walker Version" by Run DMT, "Purple Hay" by Trance Farmers, "Sadnis" by Knx, "Atimo" by Yuk and more.

A great follow-up EP to Anika's addictive Stones Throw debut – a darkness-tinged batch of covers – bringing some great songs by The Kinks, The Crystals, Chromatics and Shocking Blue along with a pair of dubbed up versions of earlier Anika singles. There's a bit of no wave vibe of stark electronics and moody vocals, but Anika's got an overall presense unlike anyone else. Once again she gets some excellent production by Geoff Barrow of Beak> and Portishead. Titles include "I Go To Sleep", "He Hit Me", "Love Buzz", "In The City", "No One's There (Dub)" and "Yang Yang (Dub)".

Amazing electro from the early 80s – a host of rare and wonderful tracks that even surpasses the greatness of the first Minimal Wave Tapes compilation! The set's awash in great keyboards, spare drum parts, and brooding basslines – all with a spare, stark quality that recalls the best moments of the Sheffield and Manchester scenes – with a dose of Italian Cosmic and German new wave thrown in as well! Most of the tunes here are totally new to us – and that's saying a lot, because back in the day, we were heavily into sounds like this – which means our hat's off to compilers Peanut Butter Wolf and Veronica Vasicka for doing such a great job with the collection – unearthing this secret history of electronica that bubbled in the global underground of the post-punk, post-disco years. Tracks include "Fire" by Ruins, "Cinnamon Air" by Antonym, "HSTA" by Das Ding, "What Happened To You" by Subject, "The Drum" by Ohama, "The Sleep Room" by Geneva Jacuzzi, "Japan Japan" by Felix Kubin, "Out Of Line" by Class Info, and "Dirty" by Hard Corps.