Collabs 3000 – Chris Liebing & Speedy J (aka Jochem Paap) -announce the 20th Anniversary Edition of their smouldering collision of taught techno rhythms and sonic abstraction, Metalism,and the release of tracks from their first collaboration in nearly two decades. Metalism will be available in full on vinyl for the first time, and on CD and digitally – both with the original artwork by The Designers Republic – on 14 November. That will be preceded by the ‘2025 EP’, available now on vinyl (limited edition of 500), with the digital following on 7 November, via NovaMute.
The 2025 EP kicks off with ‘Zwart’, a track of driving kaleidoscopic techno burrowing deep into your brain and limbs, and ‘Spiegeling’, where propulsive techno rhythms, and minimal ricocheting melodies coalesce for this essential dancefloor track. Both cuts offer a tantalising glimpse of what these two these two Techno titans have been creating nearly 25 years after they originally joined forces for Collabs 3000. Artwork for the EP is a playful nod to ‘Comedian’, Maurizio Cattelan’s controversial conceptual artwork and references the duo’s “bass banana”, which is passed between them to signal whose turn it is to lead the beats.
Techno innovators, Chris Liebing & Speedy J, began their Collabs 3000 project in 2001, at Frankfurt’s notorious U60311 club. Liebing and Paap, already key players in the European Techno scene, performed an off-the-cuff set that saw Liebing mixing out of a Speedy J live set and Speedy J bouncing off Liebing’s selections behind the deck, creating an utterly unique set.
Soon after that set the pair recorded at Paap’s studio in Rotterdam for a release for Speedy J’s celebrated collaborative series on NovaMute, Collabs. The resulting 12” helped to define the sound of early ‘00s Techno and their chemistry in the studio meant that they soon reconvened to record an album, Metalism.
The 20th Anniversary edition of Metalism has been remastered by Chris Liebing, and comes housed in the original art by The Designers Republic. The eleven relentless, layered tracks that move from brutal tough drums and dancefloor bound techno to more experimental meanderings, combine the pair’s mastery of subversive electronics and peak time techno and have lost none of their sheer power in the intervening years.
The 20th Anniversary Edition of Metalism is available on double vinyl, CD and digitally on 14 November via NovaMute. Pre-order HERE 2025 EP is out now on limited vinyl, and digitally on 7 November via NovaMute. Pre-save HERE
Published post no.2,661 – Thursday 18 September 2025
The Utopia Strong (Steve Davis, Kavus Torabi and Mike York) have shared a new track, the latest to be taken from their forthcoming album, Doperider out via Rocket Recordings on 10 October 2025.
You can listen to their new release, The Atavist, below. It is a wonderfully atmospheric piece, a cloud of synthesized sound with a passing similarity (in a good way!) to Mark Snow’s music for The X-Files:
The life of a psychonaut can take one to many plateaus of reality. Opinions vary as regards which of these are either desirable or optimal. All things considered though, it’s fair to say that once the average cerebral wanderer finds themselves a stoned skeleton on a motorbike, it’s a sign that they’re going places.
Such were the movements of The Utopia Strong, in making their third and arguably trippiest full-length album for Rocket Recordings. As the band explain: “When recording we tend to have books, bits of art and interesting things lying around the place. (Kavus) had recently bought the Paul Kirchner compendium, Awaiting The Collapse. Paul’s character Dope Rider (the skeleton in question) drives around the desert, getting into all manner of high jinx and spouting cosmic philosophy, highlighting the absurdities of life, death and the American mythos. “When we had created that particular track, one of our most beautiful and outré, it seemed to name itself. Certainly, we were looking at the comic strips while listening to it and something about its wide-screen vibes and the beautiful desert seemed to marry together.”
Serendipity has always played a strong role in The Utopia Strong, with the improvisatory approach of Steve Davis, Kavus Torabi and Mike York – as well as the innate chemistry between the trio – allowing them to take extensions through dimensions that frequently end up as much of a surprise to the band as the listener.
The band has summarily found ways to evolve its approach to facilitate the most adventurous exploratory missions possible. In this realm, the band’s formidable history – Steve as a snooker champion and bona fide household name, Kavus as a psychedelic and progressive polymath in the like of Gong, Cardiacs et al, and Mike in his work with Coil, Current 93 and as one of the UK’s foremost bagpipe makers – is transcended and usurped by their combined psychic chemistry.
Yet more than anything else this remains an evolutionary process. “All the pieces on Doperider began as purely electronic pieces, with Mike and Steve on modular synths and Kavus on an analogue synth” the band relate. “We were deliberately trying to not repeat ourselves and, for this reason, made a point of changing the model a little. Not that we’ve ever been necessarily conventional but I think this album goes a little deeper than the previous two studio albums.”
Doperider does indeed take the band down a variety of auditory pathways previously unexplored, and further into the realms of more surrealistic visions akin to the systems-built bliss of Caterina Barbieri, the unforgiving noisescapes of Hiro Kone or the alien soundtracks of latter-day Laurie Spiegel. “Certainly, Steve’s listening habits have changed somewhat since the first album, he has gone deeper into abstract electronica and musique concrete as well as becoming increasingly adept with his modular set up. This seems to have formed a backbone to how the music developed” reflects Kavus.
Hence the coruscating intensity of the title track and the elegiac rapture of ‘Unity Of Light’ showcase a still more moving and melancholic approach to their art, alongside the blissful ‘Harpies’, which features the vocals of Katharine Blake (Miranda Sex Garden/Mediaeval Baebes). Elsewhere curveballs strike such as the strident and stentorian curtain-raiser ‘Prophecy’, which utilises the influence of Magma and Zeuhl music – a longstanding passion for all three members – for the first time in earnest. “It sits better at the start of the album as otherwise it would disrupt the decent into the beautiful hell hole that unfolds” as Steve notes.
Essentially however, the mission of The Utopia Strong remains intact – to offer a transformative pathway to wonders anew. “Well, we are making psychedelic music or, if you will, head music” reflects Kavus. “We put an awful lot of detail into each piece. It’s certainly not minimalist. Often after our shows people will remark that we had made them feel like they were on drugs. That’s the idea really. We’ll take you on a voyage of self-discovery that won’t preclude showing up to work on time the next day. Although really the core message of our music is ‘Quit your job and start a commune.”
As Steve notes: “Hopefully we’ve done justice to the comic book character Dope Rider and that he’d have loved riding along on his Harley Davison on another quest, with the wind blowing through his rib cage, listening to this album. If the audience choose the psychonaut road, then we are delighted to have been of service.”
Doperider is out on vinyl, CD and digitally on 10 October 2025.
Published post no.2,660 – Wednesday 17 September 2025
The press release for John Tejada’s new album puts his subtle shift in musical direction in perspective. The Watchline is described as “a quiet evolution in tone and form”… “emotionally focussed, sonically weathered”.
His fifteenth album, it is a more personal affair, more than likely influenced by experiencing the trauma of the 2024 fires in California, more or less on his doorstep.
What’s the music like?
Tejada’s deeply personal writing is some of his best music yet. Always a consistent producer, he has often explored the mechanical side of techno to excellent effect – but this time, bringing in tightly woven guitar lines and strong, solid beats, he has hit the sweet spot.
Until The End Of The World encapsulates where he is right now, a dynamic track that builds gradually but with increasing strength and depth, and an underlying feeling of strength in adversity.
Tejada uses a beefier sound here, with bigger drums that are especially evident on the scattered beats of Hollowcrest and the excellent Vaporail, a broken beat shapeshifter. Elsewhere there are widescreen panoramas, with the broad expanse of Driftreturn a notably open affair, while Static Searching benefits from an excellent blend of strong, danceable rhythms and electronic chatter, topped with guest vocals from March Adstrum.
Does it all work?
It does. A cohesive and really strong set, with no weak links.
Is it recommended?
It is. Always a consistent producer, John Tejada has excelled himself here with some of the finest music he has made to date. Emotive and beautifully weaved together, this is a deeply rewarding collection of subtle yet meaningful techno music.
Listen / Buy
Published post no.2,659 – Tuesday 16 September 2025
adapted by Ben Hogwood from the press release. Pictures by Capucine de Chocqueuse (Marie Laure Garnuer and Celia Oneto Bensaid), Peak Motion Films (The Erlkings), Rosie Hardy (Soraya Mafi), Guido Werner (Konstantin Krimmel)
The UK’s largest song festival, now in its 24th year, features 67 events over 16 days.
The Festival boasts a headline series of evening song recitals and a rich array of other events, including choral music, dance, chamber works, and talks.
Among several world premieres is Nice Weather for Witches, a specially commissioned song cycle by Elena Langer, as part of a programme based on the Slavic legend of Baba Yaga.
With ‘Pay More/ Pay Less’ and ‘Pay What You Can’ options, free events, £10 tickets for under-35s, and a variety of discounts and concessionary rates, the Festival is accessible to all.
Taking place from 10 to 25 October, the Oxford International Song Festival promises an exhilarating and ambitious fortnight filled with adventure, discovery, and vision this autumn. This year’s theme of storytelling will feature over 150 singers, instrumentalists and speakers, who will perform hundreds of works across 67 events. The Stories in Song programme ranges from fairytales and ballads to the life stories of composers and poets, from Baroque lute songs to Irish folk music, and from a Schubert Weekend to a day of Spanish and Latin American song.
Artists include Benjamin Appl and Sholto Kynoch who give the opening night recital on 10 October; bass-baritone Stephan Loges with pianist Libby Burgess(11 Oct);soprano Juliane Banse and pianist Daniel Heide (12 Oct); Christian Immler and Anne Le Bozec (13 Oct); Nicholas Mulroy with Toby Carr and ElizabethKenny (14 Oct); Stéphane Degout and Cédric Tiberghien (15 Oct); Dietrich Henschel and Angharad Rowlands (16 Oct); Marie-Laure Garnier (above) and Célia Oneto Bensaid (16 Oct); Thomas Oliemans and Paolo Giacometti (19 Oct); Camilla Tilling and Paul Rivinius (21 Oct); and Konstantin Krimmel (below), with Ammiel Bushakevitz (24 Oct). Artists appearing for the first time include Nikola Hillebrand with Julius Drake (19 Oct) and Sir John Tomlinson (25 Oct).
The first of this year’s world premieres is Wild Nights, a new work by Oxford Song Young Artist Will Harmer (10 Oct), performed by Sebastian Hill with Will Harmer, as one of eight showcase recitals given by Oxford Song Young Artists who are completing their 18-month programme of training and performance opportunities.
A new song cycle by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, based on the Untold Lives collection in the British Library, will be sung by Neil Balfour with Sid Ramchander (15 Oct). Oliver Johnston and Natalie Burch give the world premiere of two songs by Elena Langer, setting the Russian poet Osip Mandelstam (22 Oct).Oxford Song’s Associate Composer Emily Hazrati creates a new cycle for Soraya Mafi (above), and Ian Tindale (23 Oct), Book of Queens, inspired by the Shahnameh (‘Book of Kings’), the 10th-century epic poem by the Persian poet Ferdowsi.
Elena Langer’s new cycle, Nice Weather for Witches, is the centrepiece of a programme of song and dance, based on the legend of Baba Yaga, with mezzo-soprano Rowan Hellier, dancers Ana Dordevic and Carola Schwab, and choreographer Andreas Heise (22 Oct). The performance is preceded by a partnership storytelling event with the Crick Crack Club.
The middle weekend of the Festival (17-20 Oct) will be dedicated to the songs of Franz Schubert. Graham Johnson will continue his survey of the composer’s life 200 years on, delving into Schubert’s world in 1825, joined by the soprano Martha Guth and an ensemble of singers from Oxford Song’s Young Artist Programme. Other recitals are given by Henk Neven, Thomas Oliemans,and Nikola Hillebrand. The weekend will culminate with a performance of Die Schöne Müllerin by Roderick Williams and the Carducci String Quartet. The Erlkings (above), the unique Schubert-inspired band based in Vienna led by singer Bryan Benner, will be in residence throughout the weekend, celebrating their tenth year with a new version of Winterreise, as well as performances for students and families, and a concluding Schubert party.
Song Connections events throughout the Festival offer a range of enriching experiences for festivalgoers. On an informal Song Sofa, Katy Hamilton will lead conversations with Roderick Williams and Benjamin Appl in a new format designed to bring audiences closer to both artists and music. There will be an introduction to the Spanish language, highlighting its many regional and continental variants, and discussing its delights and challenges for singers. There will also be a session on the principal poets from the ‘Golden Age’ of Spanish poetry in the 16th and 17th centuries, through to Romanticism and the 20th century. Professor Philip Ross Bullock will explore the life and music of Dmitry Shostakovich, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death. Natasha Loges explores a rich legacy of composers from around the globe who studied in Europe, were drawn to the voice-piano combination of song, and subsequently integrated Western idioms with vernacular languages, harmonies and rhythms.
Late-night events include a performance by Argentinian bandoneon virtuoso Victor Villena, who will deliver an electrifying set of tango music (14 Oct), mezzo-soprano Olivia Vermeulen and pianist Jan Philip Schulze with their latest programme, ‘In Heaven’ (17 Oct), and a Halloween-inspired concert with Aphrodite Patoulidou and Keval Shah (24 Oct). An Irish folk-music performance with Zoë Conway and John McIntrye concludes a day focused on the music and poetry of Ireland (23 Oct).
Some events are free or priced at just £6-£10, and there are thousands of tickets available for £18 or less. A generous range of discounts are offered to anyone booking multiple events, and under-35s can attend any event for just £10.
Sholto Kynoch, Artistic Director of the Oxford International Song Festival, shared his excitement: “Telling stories is a fundamental element of song, at the heart of all we do. It is part of the fusion of words and music that creates such magical sparks. In this year’s Festival, we explore stories in many different forms, from fairytales and ballads to the human and artistic relationships behind the songs, and the developing stories of national song traditions. Whether classical song is new to you or you’ve been a regular visitor to the Festival, be assured of the very warmest welcome: the music is thrilling and profound, but the Festival remains informal, sociable and friendly. I look forward to seeing you there.”
Public booking for the Oxford International Song Festival is now open. Book tickets online at http://www.oxfordsong.org or call the Box Office on 01865 591276 (Mon-Fri 9.30am – 1pm).
Published post no.2,658 – Monday 15 September 2025
The longevity of UK dance artists from the 1990s is truly impressive – with some, like Faithless, evolving through forced circumstances. When they lost the charismatic frontman Maxi Jazz in 2022 to a long-term illness, bandmates Rollo and Sister Bliss harnessed the spirit of collaboration, bringing in extra voices while acknowledging their band could never be the same again. And yet there is still room for ambition. Champion Sound is the biggest Faithless album to date, a ‘double double’ epic that takes its listener on a voyage. It is cleverly divided into four, essentially a group of mini albums that can be experienced as separate entities or as part of the bigger whole.
What’s the music like?
Consistently good. Champion Sound shows that the versatility Faithless showed in first two albums Reverence and Sunday 8pm was not misplaced – and they build on it impressively here.
We visit the club – of course – but in two very different ways. The second segment, Phone Number, tells through vocalists Nathan Ball and Amelia Fox the story of a couple who meet on the dancefloor but then can’t work out if their attraction is genuine or was situation-bound. Their songs are vulnerable and at times hit an emotional high.
Book Of Hours follows this, a broad instrumental section of reflective landscapes. Conceived as a tribute to DJ Shadow’s Entroducing album, it builds slowly but surely, opening out with strings and intricate breaks before an affirmative choral section, surely destined for Ibiza’s Café Del Mar.
From here the natural goal is within sight, and Champion Sound itself ends on a high with four no-nonsense anthems, making great use of guests L.S.K. (on the title track), Suli Breaks and Bebe Rexha (on the excellent anthem Find A Way) and finally Anthony Szmierek’s closing thoughts on Yes I Want It Too. Setting all this up is the first section, Peace And Noise, where Suli Breaks is the ideal match for the beats. “Let’s find love between the beats”, he suggests, “before we search for it between the sheets. Can we put the world on pause, while we take the night off and rejoice?” Prior to this we hear some of the last words recorded by Maxi Jazz, his brooding presence eliciting both a smile and a tear.
Does it all work?
Pretty much. It is hugely ambitious, and time constraints will mean Champion Sound can’t be experienced in its entirety – which is where the decision to divide it into four mini-albums of differing moods pays dividends.
Is it recommended?
It is – a really impressive achievement by Faithless, an album of highs and lows that shows Rollo and Sister Bliss still have the fire for their art. It rewards both dancing and thinking in equal measure.
Listen / Buy
You can explore purchase options for Champion Sound on the Beatport site
Published post no.2,657 – Sunday 14 September 2025
Arcana.fm 