Cleo Sol - Gentlewoman

Cleo Sol embarks on her new album, Gentlewoman, speaking from a place of honesty and finding strength through life and its challenges.

Cleo is guided by her faith and belief that better days will come and throughout its ups and downs Love remains.

Tracklist:
1. I Only Look to You
2. Gentlewoman
3. Sweet Thing
4. Imagine
5. Force of Love
6. Sentimental Love
7. Let Me Cry
8. Family Ties
9. Together
10. Their Smiles Are Not the Same
11. Honest Talk
12. All Because of Love
13. Thank You
14. Little Things
15. Gentlewoman (Acknowledgement)

Djrum - I Wander

Following the success of Under Tangled Silence last year, DjRUM returns to Houndstooth with a 16 minute continuous EP featuring a custom etched artwork on Side B.

Felix (DjRUM) was a child prodigy as an instrumentalist and his advanced musicality has always been prominent in his music, but here he has put himself front and centre as a composer. And this sense of exposure as a performer interweaves with an unflinching emotional openness too. Where sometimes electronic production as advanced as this can use intellect and techniques as shields from soul-baring, this is the sound of someone who can boldly say “I feel things, I cry all the time, and I'm not afraid to say it or show it in the music.” But this doesn’t mean there’s a move away from the soundsystems and dancefloors where Felix made his name as a uniquely innovative vinyl DJ, this EP encapsulates his musical upbringing weaving in percussive elements across the stereo field to create a truly mesmerising listening experience.

Tracklist:
1. I Wander (I)
2. I Wander (II)
3. I Wander (III)
4. I Wander (IV + V)
5. I Wander (VI)
6. I wander (VII)

Saul Williams - Leap Life

With his upcoming record, 'Leap Life,' Williams expands the definition of what music itself can be, operating on the philosophy that "the voice is the instrument." Throughout the album, Williams speaks, chants, improvises and testifies over fluid arrangements that blur the lines between spoken word, jazz abstraction, hip-hop cadence, West African rhythmic logic, ambient composition and ceremonial sound design. Moving beyond traditional rhyme structures, the project embraces spontaneity, treating language as a rhythmic, vibrating force while capturing the essence of a jazz improviser chasing revelation in real-time, reflecting a lifetime of artistic preparation.

It’s a risky process — surrendering control inside a medium built on permanence — but Williams sees revelation in that uncertainty. “What does it mean to trust the moment?” he asks.

Tracklist:
1. Baobab Constellation
2. Mazahua
3. I Think I Get It Now
4. Great, Great-Grandmother
5. The Dagger
6. Controlled Is Not Controllable
7.1 3 Moons
8. Une Photographie
9. Not Everything For Sale
10. Robot Slave
11. Conspiracy
12. Vengeful Spirit
13. Friends I Ain't Met Yet
14. Coming Forth

Jaga Jazzist - Live with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra

For more than 30 years, the Norwegian collective Jaga Jazzist have been a unique creative force on the international music scene. Since the band’s humble beginnings in Tønsberg in 1994, they have been driven by a constant desire to explore what a large group of exceptionally talented musicians with ambitious visions can achieve together. Having released on world-renowned labels such as Smalltown Supersound and Ninja Tune, the group found a home at Brainfeeder – the imprint owned by Flying Lotus – in 2020 to release their ninth studio album “Pyramid”. Taking a deep dive into post-rock, jazz and psychedelia influences they nodded to forebears spanning from 80s jazz band Out To Lunch and Norwegian synth guru Ståle Storløkken, to contemporaries Tame Impala, Todd Terje and Jon Hopkins. ‘Tomita’ is a nod to Japanese composer and synth player Isao Tomita, and ‘The Shrine’ alludes to Fela Kuti’s legendary Lagos venue.

Composer Lars Hornveth said at the time: “I feel that this album is a small symphony, each part containing its own rooms to explore.” Therefore, it was a very natural progression to create new orchestral versions of the compositions on “Pyramid” and record them at the historic Store Studio in Oslo, home of The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (Kringkastingsorkestret abbreviated as KORK).

“The way we arrange the music for Jaga and the orchestra is based on the idea of remixing ourselves. Lars’s music contains so many layers, countermelodies and hooks that can be expanded and rearranged into long, symphonic pieces. The music on this album was arranged by Erik Johannessen, with plenty of ideas and input from Lars. We drew inspiration from composers we love, including Jean-Claude Vannier and Serge Gainsbourg, Bernard Herrmann, Claude Debussy and Henryk Górecki. The opportunity to work with an orchestra doesn’t come along very often, so we took great pleasure in placing the orchestra front and centre, creating long overtures that take detours into both Vertigo and Melody Nelson, before everything finally comes together as one grand ensemble.” 

Tracklist:
1. The Shrine (feat. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra)
2. Tomita (feat. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra)
3. Spiral Era (feat. The Norwegian Radio Orchestra)

Dahi - Black Boy (Alternative)

Grammy-winning producer and sound architect Dacoury "Dahi" Natche (Dahi), who spent two decades shaping the sound of modern hip-hop and R&B for major industry figures, presented his debut solo album Black Boy (Alternative) via Alter Music. The release serves as a conceptual exploration of Black identity, self-expression, and uninhibited artistic evolution free from conventional industry labels.

The record bridges a wide spectrum of sonic influences, ranging from 1990s alternative rock and experimental hip-hop to neo-soul and West African rhythms. The project's musical core centers on organic instrumentation, spacious acoustic mixing, and deep emotional interplay between live arrangements and vocal performances. The album features a guest list including Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, Moses Sumney, Vince Staples, Amber Mark, Ravyn Lenae, Fousheé, Obongjayar, Channel Tres, and Baby Rose. Black Boy (Alternative) stands as a victory of auteur artistic vision over commercial tropes, delivering an immersive journey through modern alternative R&B and experimental soul.

Tracklist:
1. Who Are You (feat. Vince Staples, Channel Tres, & French Anthony)
2. Find Me (feat. Moses Sumney & Mez)
3. How To Pray (feat. Kendrick Lamar & Amber Mark)
4. Running (feat. Childish Gambino)
5. Love Me (feat. Obongjayar)
6. They Don't Know Me (feat. Mez)
7. The Night (feat. Kurtis Wells)
8. Rest of Your Life
9. Stand For Something (feat. Jesse Boykins III, Baby Rose, & Ant Clemons) 
10. Square Up (feat. Fousheé)
11. Drowning (feat. Elmiene & Ravyn Lenae)

Cold Diamond & Mink - Organ-ized

Through the ages, several people from moustachioed party boat troubadours to jazz elite like Jimmy Smith/McGriff and Shirley Scott have wielded the power of the electric organ to hypnotize listeners. Now, taking all the possible cues from these musical heavyweights, and breaking through the musical sound barrier to organ-ize your mind comes Mr. Sophisticated Fingers.

Together with the ever-faithful Cold Diamond & Mink this mystical key stroker rephrases ten of the greatest hits from Emilia Sisco’s debut album “Introducing” in a unique lyrical style. In Organ-ized’s Slow Dance & Soul album these songs continue for further greatness.

You may have heard them before, now listen to them again, as now they’ve been organ-ized by the musical maestro Mr. Sophisticated Fingers, baby!

Tracklist:
1. Walk With Me
2. I Wish I Was Yours
3. Dreaming Of Love So Divine
4. I Can't Go On
5. When I Fall In Love
6. It's Too Late
7. Light It Up With Your Smile
8. Let My Soul Catch Fire
9. Is It True Baby
10. I Dream That You Stay

Inkswel - The Creator

For years now, Inkswel has been part of the extended Apparel Music family, moving freely through our frequencies with a creative force that always finds fertile and open ground to evolve. His music lives in rhythm first, with his grooves that twist, breathe, collide and regenerate continuously, driven by a compositional instinct that always feels visionary. Yet one of the most beautiful aspects of his artistic universe is the way he surrounds himself with other sensitive minds and voices, artists capable of expanding his rhythmic architecture into harmonic, soulful and emotional territories. “Creator”, out on August 14th on Apparel Music, perfectly captures this spirit. The EP opens with the hypnotic “Creator”, where the vocals of Alice Payne and the talent of Willie Dynamo slide effortlessly through Inkswel’s unmistakable Late Nite Club Mix, a deep and fluid introduction that immediately sets the tone for the journey. The original version keeps the same soulful tension while stripping things back into a warmer and more direct groove, before the instrumental counterpart reveals how much detail and movement is hidden inside the rhythmic layers alone. “Cry For Mount Lebanon” shifts the atmosphere into something more cinematic and spiritually charged, showing Inkswel’s ability to move beyond club structures without losing momentum, while “Stand Out In The Crowd” sees the unmistakable presence of Colonel Red bringing raw soul energy and human warmth to one of the EP’s most infectious cuts. On “Fig Leaf”, the elegant voice of Lizzie Bradley with the help of Leonard Charles shape a softer and more introspective dimension, balancing the record with sensual harmonies and delicate melodic tension. The instrumentals included throughout the release are not simply alternate versions, but another way to enter the architecture of the EP itself, exposing the precision, freedom and musical intelligence behind every groove. “Creator” once again confirms Inkswel’s rare talent for building collective worlds through rhythm, where every collaborator becomes part of a larger emotional and sonic conversation.

Tracklist:
1. Creator (Inkswel's Late Nite Club Mix) [feat. Alice Payne & Willie Dynamo]
2. Creator [feat. Alice Payne & Willie Dynamo]
3. Creator (Inkswel's Late Nite Club Mix Instrumental)
4. Cry For Mount Lebanon
5. Stand Out In The Crowd [feat. Colonel Red]
6. Fig Leaf [feat. Lizzie Bradley & Leonard Charles]
7. Stand Out In The Crowd (Instrumental)
8. Creator (Instrumental)
9. Fig Leaf (Instrumental)

Mike D - Thank You

Mike D will release his debut album Thank You on August 28, marking the first full length offering of new music from a Beastie Boys alum since 2011. Tracing its origins back to a series of zero-pressure, experimental recording sessions at Mike’s home studio, the album features a dozen servings of sonically inventive post-electronic grooves and hypnotic hooks that find Mike D’s unmistakable voice leading the listener through an aural playground that defies categorization.

Tracklist:
1. Switch Up
2. What We Got
3. True Colors
4. That’s Right
5. Secrets Pt. I
6. Secrets Pt. II
7. I Don't Care
8. Make It Stop
9. Crypto
10. Here We Are
11. Back To Start
12. It’s Time
13. Thank You

VA - DJ Perry Louis (JazzCotech) presents the Shiftless Shuffle

IMPRESS!VE Collective & BBE Music present:

DJ Perry Louis – Shiftless Shuffle: UK Dancefloor Jazz Compilation

Perry Louis is a pivotal figure in the UK jazz dance movement. As a dancer and choreographer, producer, DJ, broadcaster, and founder of the internationally respected jazz dance collective JazzCotech Dancers, he is perfectly placed to curate this collection.

Perry has been at the heart of the scene since the early 1980s, from JAFFAS, the Electric Ballroom, Dingwalls, Acid Jazz, Hi Hat, and Messin’ Around, taking its energy and sound as far as Japan, the USA, St. Lucia, India, Canada, and across Europe.

This compilation celebrates 25 years of Shiftless Shuffle, with Perry as its ambassador and driving force. Over the years, he has collaborated with top DJs including Paul Murphy, Gilles Peterson, Snowboy, Colin Curtis, and Shuya Okino, helping shape the UK jazz dance sound into a global phenomenon.

The album blends deep jazz, fusion, Latin, and groove-driven tracks, reflecting both the scene’s rich heritage and its forward momentum.

From the brand-new exclusive track by Kyoto Jazz Massive, Get It Together (Samba Fusion Mix), to Bunny Brunel’s Fickle Funk appearing on vinyl for the very first time, and the hard-hitting Caribbean Fire Dance by Tom Grant, this compilation tells the story of a movement—an underground culture born on UK dancefloors that has now captured a worldwide audience.

Tracklist:
1. Kyoto Jazz Massive - Get It Together (Samba Fusion Mix)
2. Bunny Brunel - Fickle Funk
3. Norbert Gottschalk;Matthias Broede - Samba Picante
4. Dave O’Higgins - Samba Express
5. Uglješa Novaković - Don’t Slam the F... Door
6. Jen Kearney - Warm Bath Eyes
7. Tom Grant - Caribbean Fire Dance
8. Colonel Red;GeeW - You Say I Say
9. Nation of Multiverse - Hanikami
10. Eileen Howard - Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly
11. Pierre-Louis Garcia - Tipaza