New releases this week: All genres

Notes: Transport bag for Roland SH-4D

This carrying case from Analog Cases is specially designed for the Roland SH-4D synthesizer.

In contrast to conventional nylon bags, the cases of the PULSE line are made of sturdy EVA (a moulded polymer that has so far only been used for high-quality housings in consumer electronics). It retains its shape and provides excellent protection. The sturdy carrying strap and low weight make the PULSE Case the ideal companion for a variety of common mini controller keyboards, smaller electronic musical instruments or audio interfaces. Inside, the separate nylon mesh pocket brings order to the cable chaos.

Analog Cases stands for practical and stylish design. The robust and lightweight bags are designed for modern music creators whose equipment is as mobile as their lifestyle. About its name, the manufacturer says:

"The name Analog Cases reflects our design philosophy: Bags should be simple, cool and stylish. For us, analogue is more than just a kind of sound - it's a way of life. Analogue means timeless, creative and beautiful. That's what motivates us to make music, and it's what motivates us to create cases."

Notes: Unleash your creativity

Designed for seamless pairing with MiCreator Studio, the Satellite microphone unlocks powerful creative flexibility. Link Satellite and MiCreator Studio via the in/out ports to track an additional sound source or even achieve true stereo recordings and capture the energy of the moment. Satellite even works as a standalone mic and offers a headphone jack. Start recording how you want, when you want with Satellite.

Custom Condenser Capsule - Record in top notch audio quality
Max SPL: 130 dB SPL - Record even very loud sources
FlexTilt mechanic - Easily position the mic head for optimal recording
Full metal housing - Longlasting and durable
Headphone jack
Exchangeable & customizable face plates for an individual and personalized look

Technical Specifications

Directional characteristic: Cardioid
Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Max. SPL: 130 dB SPL
Weight: 220g
Dimensions: 100 x 60 x 28 mm

Notes: The Austrian Audio MiCreator is a new type of creative tool. Equal parts high-quality condenser microphone and simple audio interface with USB-C r connectivity, MiCreator gives you the flexibility to create what you want-how you want. Just plug in and start recording in top-notch audio quality instantly. Or expand your setup using MiCreator's additional input to achieve stereo recordings, record an additional sound source, and more. And whether you're recording at home or on the go, you can create with confidence thanks to MiCreator's ultra-durable metal housing. So, whether you're looking for a capable plug-and-play microphone or a multifaceted production tool, MiCreator simplifies your creative process and delivers no-compromise results.

MiCreator System

Unleash your creativity

MiCreator Satellite

TRRS microphone with headphone jack
Custom Condenser Capsule - Record in top notch audio quality
Max SPL: 130 dB SPL - Record even very loud sources
FlexTilt mechanic - Easily position the mic head for optimal recording
Full metal housing - Longlasting and durable
Headphone jack
Exchangeable & customizable face plates for an individual and personalized look


MiCreator Y-Lav
Lavalier microphone with headphone jack
Pairs seamlessly with MiCreator Studio to unlock powerful creative flexibility
Connected via the Link Connection (In/Out jack on the MiCreator Studio)
Record high-quality audio for video projects and more
Connect a second pair of headphones via the built-in headphone jack

Cubase LE

free Steinberg software included

Cubase LE is the perfect introduction for aspiring music producers and composers. It's a powerful yet easy-to-use DAW that gives you everything you need to create professional music. With its intuitive interface and comprehensive features, Cubase LE is the perfect way to learn the basics of music production. Cubasis LE for iOS devices is unlocked when MiCreator Studio is connected to an iOS device.

WaveLab Cast

free Steinberg software included

WaveLab Cast is the ultimate audio production and podcast software for Mac and Windows. With its powerful features and intuitive user interface, WaveLab Cast makes it easy to create professional audio content. Whether you are an experienced podcaster or just starting out, WaveLab Cast has everything you need to create great sounding podcasts.

Technical Specifications
Digital Resolution: max 48kHz/24-Bit
Digital Connector: USB-C - USB Audio Class 1.0/2.0 compliant
Directional characteristic: Cardioid
Frequency range: 20 Hz - 20 kHz
Sensitivity:- 35dBFS/Pa (low gain)/-15dBFS(high gain)
Hardware Gain Switch: 0dB (low)/20dB (high)
Equivalent noise level: 22 dB SPL (A) (high gain)
Max SPL: 130 dB SPL (low gain)
Output Power: 45mW (32Ohm Load)
Dynamic Range: 89 dB(A)
In/Output TRRS: for instrument cable, 2nd headphone or MiCreator Satellite or Y-Lav
Dimensions: 155 x 60 x 37 mm
Weight: 370g

Notes: Turn your MiCreator Studio into a mobile content creation powerhouse with Y-Lav. Record multiple speakers simultaneously by tethering Y-Lav to your MiCreator Studio. And hear your audio in real time with onboard direct monitoring output. No matter what you create, make sure it sounds as good as it looks with Y-Lav.

Pairs seamlessly with MiCreator Studio to unlock powerful creative flexibility
Connected via the Link Connection (In/Out jack on the MiCreator Studio)
Record high-quality audio for video projects and more
Connect a second pair of headphones via the built-in headphone jack

Technical Specifications

Polar pattern: Omni
Connections: 3.5 mm / 1/8" TRRS, 3.5 mm 1/8" TRS Klinke
Weight: 30 g
Dimensions: 35 x 17 x 17 mm

Notes: Fire-themed version of the expressive J-Play Pack from Joue. Based around the idea of making music more organic and natural, the Play Pads transform the J-Play's behaviour, allowing you to control and perform in a range of ways.

Supplier's Notes:
The J-Play transforms your musical experience with a complete system combining an expressive multi-instrument, an intuitive application and interactive content to practice.

A unique playing experience

The J-Play instrument merges the quality of traditional musical instruments with the technology of the digital world. It is sensitive to natural gestures for unparalleled expressivity. It is also a modular instrument, once placed on the J-Play Board, the interchangeable Play Pads instantly transform the instrument into a guitar, keyboard, drums, xylophone or vocal effects station. Each pad has its own bank of instruments. Explore different musical styles and experiment with new sounds thanks to the integrated effects!

With you, everywhere you go, the design of the J-Play has been thought out to adapt to all playing styles. Compact and lightweight, it slips easily into a backpack and follows you on the go. Don't let any musical idea slip away!

Intuitive & powerful app

Create, modify and share your songs in an intuitive way thanks to the included application. No need to spend hours on overly complex music software anymore, the Joue Play application guides you step by step through the process of creating music to make it intuitive. The app has been designed as a simplified music creation software: making music is easy and fun!

The Joue Play app is freely available for Windows, macOS, iPadOS and very soon for iPhone (before end of 2023).

Exclusive content

Practice at your own pace and recreate your favourite songs: each week, a new playable cover track is added to the large collection of well-known covers already available in the J-app. Replay the rhythms of your favourite artists, and get creative by remixing them. Change the sounds, the tempo or add your own rhythms!

Grow with it

The perfect instrument for beginners, a great first step into digital music making for musicians but also a powerful MPE MIDI controller for advanced music producers. The J-Play will always suit your style in accordance with your skills and needs. Discover a whole new way to control your software. Combine all your controllers into one device that will always be at hand in your studio or on stage.

1 wooden board
5 Play Pads (Fire): guitar, piano, drum, audio, keys
USB-C to USB-C cable
Storage bag
J-App included with dedicated tutorials and sound banks

(!) If you want to use your J-Play with an iPad, make sure the port type. USB-C to lightning adapters are available as accessories.

Review: Coming up on Innamind, Killa Sound and Moonshine Recordings, Ago has been flying the flag for soundsystem innovation in the scene where dubstep still pushes forwards and the connection to traditional dub values remains at the forefront of the practice. It makes perfect sense he's now been snapped up by V.I.V.E.K's System label then and he arrives on the label with four outstanding cuts pushing at typical 140 forms and offering something wholly unique. 'Your Eyes' keeps plenty of space in the half-step rhythm, but the springy synth out front runs with an urgent double time which elevates the impact of the track. 'Crippling' is a more claustrophobic pressure cooker, while 'Eight Times Eight' turns out a leftfield strain of steppas before 'Riverwind's techy propulsion brings the record home in outstanding fashion.

Review: For their next voyage into the peak time techno dimension, Token welcome Altinbas for a swift follow-up to the Illumination 12" from earlier this year. This four-tracker is brimming with tension and invention as the Brussels-based producer brings some deft programming flair to classic 909 drum sounds. 'Presence' has an atmospheric, dubby mood thanks to its reverb drenched synth blooms, but 'Spoken Word' shifts the focus onto the rhythms and keeps the energy up with dynamic switches between formations of vintage percussion. 'Spirit Moves' has a little Robert Hood-flavoured paranoia in its synth line, and 'Blue Lace' brings the record full circle with a spacious cut that lets the melodic elements lead, albeit still strapped to some of those incisive beats.

Review: Constant Black and Josh Baker are two key parts of the current underground conversation and here they come together in perfect harmony here as the UK's hit maker Baker gets down and dirty with his signature blend of minimal and tech. 'Sometimes Cap' opens up with rolling, fleshy bass and light footed drums that get you hopping. 'Some Of That' brings muted acid lines and curious bell hits while the squelchy bass rolls deep. 'Repeat Business' keeps the pressure up with a bristling mix of snares and hits over slick drums that have plenty of drive. 'Cheshire Badger' shuts down with real urgency and dark tech funk that is perfect for strobe lit backrooms.

Review: Barker makes his debut for Smalltown Supersound here with four cuts that find him move away from the beatless experiments of his 2019 album Utility and his Debiasing EP the year before. Here the Berghain resident explores what he says is "the variability and sonic possibilities of the kick-drum." The EP kicks off with the acid-laced first single 'Birmingham Screwdriver' which is a fine introduction to what is a fine EP. The EP reflects the organic approach that Barker takes to making music and showcase great ideas and fine sound designs throughout.

Review: Batu has proven himself hugely capable of making a wide range of music. He might be best known for his perfect techno designs but here delves further into the world of ambient. Across four tracks he explores a number of moods with painterly synth work that is detailed with gentle percussion, gorgeous keys, and in the case of 'Flown,' jazzy splashes of cymbal. 'Half Speed' is idk a slow awakening on a distant planet. 'The Fifth' brings more bright and energy synth motifs and 'Seams' is a soothing lullaby. A beautifully escapist listen.

Review: Electro heavyweight Marco Bernardi is back on Harbour City Sorrow with his first release in four years. Given his considerable history exploring the outer limits of machine funk, you'll be pleased to know this new single offers another two excursions into parts unknown that shirk the formulaic tendencies of so much contemporary electro. 'Shuiler' opens the record up in a shimmer of high-definition synth lines tipped towards melancholic braindance and perfectly suited to warm-up hours or the afters alike. 'Fusilli' takes a wholly different approach steeped in sharp, abrasive drums more indebted to industrial than electro, and some deadly rompler slap bass which will keep dancers on their toes in the parties adventurous enough to give this mutant beatdown a spin.

Review: The latest record to be added to Lil Static's catalogue is 'Respiration', a classic track by Mos Def and Talib Kweli under the duo name Black Star - and featuring an uncredited cameo verse from fellow rap stalwart Common - first released in 1998 on their self-titled album. Known for famously sampling a monologue from the hip-hop/graf documentary Style Wars in its intro, the pair exchange authentic rhymes and riffs, contemplating many ideas in the lyrics such as inner city Brooklyn life, personal philosophies, and Pan-Africanist ideas.

Review: We always love to hear from the Club Unite label because if nothing else it has our favourite catalogue numbering system of any label out there. The tunes are of course class too - old school house with a heavy Chicago influence. This various artists selection starts with the taught bass and spangled synths of Blak 'N' Orange's 'Feeling Real Good.' Black Chunes gets more raw and off kilter with the organ claps and clipped vocal cries of 'Don't Hold Back!' and then up the party with the piano bounce of 'Feel The Flow' complete with smooth and seductive vocal coos. Last of all, The Deep Music Agenda brings some US garage swing to 'That Crazy Thing'.

Review: Blue Hour is very close to a quarter of a century of releases but just ahead of that notable milestone the label daunter and eponymous techno project step up with two bangers on a nice limited 12". 'Dimensions' is a brilliantly unbalanced techno workout with distant church bells bringing some unusual chaos to the high-speed drums and prickly percussion. It's a great one that will cut any floor loose. 'Sun Dogz' on the flip gets even quicker and fires lasers out like bullets. High octane stuff that is pure fire for the club.

Review: 
BootyBart keeps things in house again for this third outing and it is another one with the dance floor squarely in mind. As well as the label, EP and artist all coming under than name, the tracks do too, which suggests this artists is all about the music rather than the faff around it. In the case of the opener it is percussive tackle with sleek drums and loops smoothing the grooves. On the flip is 'BootyBart03.2' which flips the vibe and layers in some buttery Sade samples to a dreamy deep house groove. Last of all is 'BootyBart03.3', a more intense and percussive tech cut with a fluttering snare up top and acidic bassline.

Review: Even if you've no idea who Boygenius are the subtitle of this reissue alone should warrant investigation. Originally released in 2018, five years on the American indie group are looking to revisit and relive their wildly successful debut EP, which at the time of its initial release had critics fawning over the quality of its content. NME, for example, awarded it a perfect score, while the normalised rating on Metacritic, which aggregates all reviews and works out the average, gives it 84 out of 100. So what was so good about the record? Well, for one thing, each of the artists involved brings their own personality to the equation, resulting in a wonderful stylistic marriage that sounds like minimalistic and melancholic rock and poetic folk pop. And thematically, this is emotionally very highly charged stuff, destined to grab you by the heartstrings and never let go.

Review: On this latest drop on EPM, the steadfast UK techno label welcomes steadfast UK techno titan Mark Broom for a collaboration with Australian in Berlin Patrik Carrera. The result is four slices of no-nonsense jackhammers from two experts in the field, leading in with the edgy loops and bludgeoning kicks of 'Kos' and neatly stepping over to the shoulder-shaking pressure of 'ZZZZ'. 'Track 4' features one of those deadly chord stabs which just lands squarely between the eyes, while 'F9' rides the cymbals mercilessly and keeps an abundance of funk in the low end - pure dancefloor dynamite in action from two well-versed detonators.

Review: Matti Bye is Between Darkness & White Snow on this deeply absorbing new 12" on Northern Electronics. It comes as four separate pieces that all play out as part of a larger narrative. First up is 'I', a quiet, gloomy landscape on a grey winter's day with the gentle sound of flowing water and muted synth modulations placing you right in the middle of it. 'II' has more presence, a growing sense of melancholy and unease and 'III' allows a little heavenly light into the mix to gently uplift. The final chapter has a feeling of hope with subtle keys radiating from deep inside.

Review: 1985 Music's brilliant 2023 ends with one more fine EP. This one follows on from an outing from the boss man Alix Perez back in November and comes from Cesco. It's a fresh fusion of dubstep, trap and grime with opener 'GITP' riding a lurching beat with filtered vocals bringing some streetwise swagger. 'Overdue' (feat Bidl) has filthy and screwface bass drilling down deep and 'Up The Place' is all about the manic loops and skittish double-time drums. Last but not least is 'Swing King' (feat Hamdi) which is another hot stepping nu-dubstep devastator.

Review: It is now 13 releases deep and each and every time a new one arrives, Private Recording System's music sells out. This one comes from returning label regular, 2 Bit Crew member and Safe Radio associate CK who again cooks up a future fusion of house, tech and minimal. 'Speedstick' is first out of the blocks and is an intergalactic tech trip with hurried drums and silvery hi-hats and snares riding the beats. '99 Basstones' then gets more tribal and stripped back with compelling kicks and bass bringing plenty of bounce and 'Faker' shuts down on something of a funky, loopy techno tip.

Review: Adam Craft is back with a second selection of his Renata Tracks. The first EP in this series came back in 2017 on Arsenik Records but here he lands on Phorma. Things kick off with the cinematic ambient of 'Pace' (Variation) which then becomes a deep and dubby techno roller in original form. Things stay well below the surface with 'Into Dust' which is another fresh dub cut that is rippled with frosty chords. 'I Only Said' is a traintrack groove that locks you into its linear rhythm and keeps you there for a lovely old hypnotic trip.

Review: Londoner Cody Currie is a master of dusty and loveably rough-edged house music that is packed with emotional heat. He serves up another fine EP of just that here on Razor-N-Tape and soon wins you over with the synth-laced house funk of opener 'Evernight' (feat Stee Downs & Mik). 'Yes Bruv' (feat Mik) has a more low-slung and late-night deep house sound and then things take a jazzy and broken beat direction on the lounge vibes of 'Holding On' (feat Marlena Dae). On the flip side is the hip-swinging goodness of Vincenzo's remix of 'Everynight' amongst other timeless sounds.

Review: D:fferent Place started life back in 2019 and key a low profile and has done the same ever since. We still are not sure who or what is behind these releases but they keep coming at an unhurried rate but always with great style. This sixth offering is another club-ready mix of house, tech and minimal starting with the dry, stiff beats of 'Mr Science' before bringing more loose feels and broken beats to the deft 'Funkadelic.' 'U Got Me UP' is pure backroom house tackle with dubby undercurrents and last of all is the bumping, acid laced 'Analog Tales' for a nice mid tempo workout.

Review: Pietro 'Peter' Macaluso has been around for some time, operating between Berlin and his native Sicily, though remarkably this is the first time his productions have been showcased on vinyl. It comes via Balance Recordings, with boss man Chez Damier acting as 'executive producer'. There's much to admire across the EP, from the suspenseful, alien electronics and slow-build groove of deep Afro-tech bubbler 'Low Pressure (Afro-Acid Mix)', and the light-touch deep house hypnotism of 'Feel Me (Deep Mix)', where DJ Ronaldo-esque synth string sounds catch the ear, to the ultra-deep techno haziness of 'Cantico (Synth Wave Mix)' and the tough, bleeping throb of 'Take It Off (Techno Mix)'.

Review: New York City native Darand Land is one of many dons of deep house to come from the Big Apple and its environs. He sits right at the top of the pile alongside the likes of Fred P for his smoky, low-lit basement sounds as he once again shows with this new EP on regular label Downbeat. 'Melanin Vegan' is a gorgeously bottomless and smooth as you can imagine with wispy pads and vocals off in the distance. It's gorgeously melancholic and is backed up by the heads down 'Deep4life Retrograde', more upbeat and airy 'Wonder Seven', and final gem 'Dug Deep'. What a doozy.

Review: It's time for a showcase of the finest electro transmitting out of Spain, as Sismo invites Dark Vektor and Gravedad Cinetica to pool their talents on a 12" trip to the dark side of the force. At a time when the electro coming out of their country is at an all time high in both quality and quantity, on this 12" the duo prove themselves to be right at the crest of the wave. 'Hoy Tengo Ganas' is a pitch-perfect slice of synth noir which calls to mind Miss Kittin & The Hacker, while 'Galactic Echo' nods to Drexciya and Jonzun Crew in equal measure. There's some more experimental angles to 'La Cuarta Dimension' and 'You Clear Me The Space To Fall' comes on heavy with the influence of the Motor City pioneers from Stinson & Donald to Aux 88.