Category Archives: News

New music – Dave Angel – A Time And Place (R&S)

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posted by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release.

British electronic music pioneer Dave Angel returns to R&S Records with A Time And Place, his first full-length album release for the seminal Belgian label. Arriving thirty-five years after Dave first joined the R&S family, the album reunites one of UK techno’s defining voices with the imprint that helped launch his career, renewing one of electronic music’s most enduring creative partnerships.

The first track to be made available from A Time And Place is Reflexion, featuring trumpeter Steve Waterman, an airy and jazz-inflected number that you can watch below:

A Time And Place feels less like a return than the continuation of a conversation left unfinished. Rather than revisiting former achievements, the album reflects the perspective of an artist whose creative journey has continued to evolve. Reconnecting with the label that first championed his work, Angel delivers his most personal and musically expansive statement to date.

Across fifteen compositions, the album reaches beyond the conventions of techno to reveal the full breadth of Angel’s musical identity. Drawing on jazz, soul, improvisation and richly textured electronic production, the album balances rhythmic precision with warmth, melody and emotional depth. Reflections on family, heritage, nature and the communities that have shaped his life sit alongside broader observations of the world around him, creating a body of work that feels both intimate and expansive.

That openness is reflected in a carefully chosen cast of collaborators. Celebrated trumpeter Steve Waterman features on both Réflexion and The Yellow Butterfly, bringing a lyrical, Miles Davis-inspired voice to the album after first catching Angel’s attention through his work on Paul Hazel’s Out Of This World. Elsewhere, legendary Chicago vocalist Robert Owens appears on Harmony Serenade, while guitarist Merv Carswell and vocalist Aurii Sky (Dave’s daughter, adding a poignant family connection) add further colour and texture to a record rooted in musicianship and shared expression.

While Dave Angel’s influence on British electronic music has long been established, A Time And Place reveals another dimension of an artist whose foundations were laid long before techno. Raised in a household immersed in live music and jazz culture, Angel has spent a lifetime absorbing sounds beyond the club, allowing those influences to surface naturally throughout a career defined by curiosity rather than convention.

For R&S Records, the album renews a relationship that stretches back to the label’s formative years. For Dave Angel, it reflects both the path travelled and the road ahead. Thirty-five years after 1st Voyage first announced his arrival, A Time And Place reunites artist and label with the same forward-looking spirit that brought them together in 1991, proof that the strongest creative partnerships continue to evolve.

Published post no.2,964 – Friday 31 July 2026

New music – Sennen: New Quiet (Sonic Cathedral)

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posted by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release. Sennen photographed by Brian David Stevens

Sennen release New Quiet, their first album in over 10 years, on 30 October. It’s a wonderfully warm and fuzzy record, self-recorded by the band but with the end results mixed by James Chapman, aka Maps. It sounds at once fresh but familiar, with the band approaching their music with an uncomplicated honesty.

The first single – the Big Star-shaped Here It Comes – is out now on all digital platforms. It is a bittersweet, summery song with a hopeful message, with its repeated refrain of “everything will be OK”.

“I didn’t write that line with any cynicism,” says singer / guitarist Larry Holmes. “There’s an awareness of how fragile being OK is, and the magic of the things in your life that make you feel like everything will be OK. Us making this new record was definitely one of those things.”

You can watch the video by Innerstrings below:

On New Quiet, the now London-based four-piece’s familiar influences are still there, but this time they are leaning into them rather than shying away. “In the past we’ve felt uncomfortable, but you can end up sabotaging a good idea like that,” explains singer/guitarist Rich Kelleway. “On this album, I think we’re feeling a sense of freedom from self-imposed stipulations we’ve put upon ourselves.”

In short, they’re having fun and enjoying being a band again, something that was inspired by putting together an expanded anniversary reissue of their classic debut album Widows in 2021. This certainly explains the slightly wistful atmosphere that pervades New Quiet, a mix of nostalgia and acceptance.

“When we did the Widows reissue we were able to recognise the unfiltered joy we got from being in a band and making music together when we were in our early 20s,” says Rich, “and making the new album has brought that into focus again.

“I’ve accepted that I need this band in my life. I like to think we’ve funnelled that feeling into making this record and it’s an honest expression of us, now.”

“Sennen is a lifeboat for us, and always has been,” adds singer/guitarist Larry Holmes. “The happy-sad, fear, hope stuff comes from us getting older and having to experience a fair old fucking slice of life here and there – as does everyone.”

Essentially, New Quiet is an album about itself; about the importance of being in a band; about making a record; about listening to music.

This band could be your life.

Published post no.2,963 – Thursday 30 July 2026

New music – Bibio & Dorian Concept: Shame (Warp Records)

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posted by Ben Hogwood, with text from the press release

Since first meeting in 2009, Shame sees Bibio and Dorian Concept explore a shared language across sound and moving image, through a process rooted in experimentation, improvisation and exchange.

Shame arrives alongside a music video, created by the pair:

Published post no.2,958 – Saturday 25 July 2026

New music – Justine Perry & Paula Koski: Paired Works (Ostgut Ton)

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posted by Ben Hogwood, with text from Bandcamp

Paired Works is a double EP by Justine Perry and Paula Koski, developed in parallel within the same time and environment. Evolving through years of shared surroundings and creative exchange, the record emerges as a natural extension of that connection.
Produced separately, the tracks document two distinct inner worlds shaped through proximity. Justine Perry leans into deep, hypnotic forms, while Paula Koski moves through dubby and spacious structures driven by texture.

Across four sides, the record shifts between focused, forward-moving passages and more atmospheric moments, creating a subtle push and pull. Rather than settling into one singular moment on the dancefloor, it stretches across the shifting phases of a long club night. Timeless and elegant in its approach,

Paired Works will be released on 24 July 2026, and marks the debut release on Ostgut Ton for both artists

Published post no.2,949 – Thursday 16 July 2026

New music – Cephas Azariah: conditions for observing light (Anjunachill)

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by Ben Hogwood, from the press release

British-Indian composer, producer, and pianist Cephas Azariah returns with his highly anticipated sophomore album, conditions for observing light, out 3rd September.

Always drawn to classical composition, Cephas studied Music Theology and the Arts at Middlesex University and began composing film and TV soundtracks immediately upon graduating. His debut LP, Joy Paradox, was released in late 2024, drawing on the full spectrum of his influences. It marked his introduction to the neo-classical, ambient, and electronic space, receiving heavy support from the likes of BBC 6 Music, KEXP, Wonderland, CLASH, and Ólafur Arnalds.

Taking a philosophical approach to society and culture, the new LP finds Azariah contemplating where radiance can be found in an increasingly dark world. Across ten immersive tracks, he explores light in all its forms, from the natural energy of the sun and lightning to the intimate glow of a candle and human-made artificial light.

Written between his home studio and the secluded wilderness of Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park, Azariah (above) spent months recording textures that represent light-related phenomena, weaving them into ambient soundscapes. Cephas presents light on this album as a way of understanding ourselves and illuminating the world around us: “It reveals both the light and dark of our environment, and marks the beginning of a journey towards something brighter.”

This evolution is mirrored in the album’s sonic journey. Early moments like ‘sakura’ and ‘faint (a short story)’ lean into light-hearted piano work reminiscent of the first blossoms of spring, while the latter half of the record scales in sound toward something more euphoric. The title track, inspired by the expansive minimalism of Jon Hopkins, serves as the album’s finale, gradually building from sparse fragments into a wall of lush legato strings and driving percussion.

The project is also a celebration of collaboration, welcoming a cohort of talented artists. Cephas joins forces with London-based producer Kidnap on ‘lightning’, a dark, cinematic production that captures the restless tension of a storm. “I remember being in the studio with Kidnap; we began to write a piece with a more upbeat feel, but once the piano and synths were down, I had the idea of writing two versions, one with a beat, and one that was more low-key and cinematic,” Cephas recalls. “This version is darker and resembles the tension within dark skies and lightning strikes.”

The album also features his second collaboration with British electronic duo josh & sam who are twins. The trio explores the principle of “coherence” – a physics concept where waves fall into sync and reinforce one another, reimagined here as a warm, upbeat track reflecting the gentle shift from spring into summer through rhythmic pianos and synths.

On ‘nova’, Cephas collaborates with Colorado-based ambient composer Be Still the Earth. Mirroring the life cycle of a star, the track moves from a delicate beginning into a rich swell of arpeggios and analogue Juno tones before gradually fading away. “Everything has its time – even the light, even stars, even in space,” he notes.

Seoul-born pianist-composer Yujin Baek joins Cephas to close the project with their delicate offering ‘if time could rewind us’, which first debuted on Anjunachill’s World Piano Day 2026.

At the heart of the LP lies ‘2.22pm wishyouwerestillhere’, a poignant piece of storytelling rooted in a childhood memory. The timestamp marks the exact moment Azariah learned of his grandmother’s passing; using spacious sounds and melancholic guitars, it encourages the listener to ponder the heavy, quiet chapters that define a life.

”Emotions are vast and varied when you consider the light and shade of society – the good and the bad. The album as a whole sounds darker, and while there are many soft moments, the project leans into the cinematic drama of light,” Cephas says.

Cephas Azariah’s brand new album, conditions for observing light, is available to pre-order now via the Anjunastore.

Published post no.2,947 – Tuesday 14 July 2026