Review: Shaka - About Love & Pain EP (MATE)

How you doin' MATE? 

Our last feature on MATE was Bress Underground's 'Take Me Higher' EP (see review HERE) and as excellent as that is, you're not going find any bigger flute gang monster than 'Love & Pain' gives us for some Latin inspired house shuffle.

Brilliant stuff and it's backed up with some 'Sonic Of Joy' with vocals from Eve that's "jazzy synth work and swaying, vibey grooves that show off some serious piano chops" and a big saxy solo.

Anything else is a bonus, 'Inner Balance' is more than that too as there's echoes of jazz-funk dance with big organ and a heavy Jonnny Hammond touch (with acid!)

Spain is full of deep house experts but as this is only the 22nd release on the label, definitely ones to get up to date with and follow.

BUY LINK / Pre Order: bit.ly/3IXVt0s

Artist: Shaka

Title: About Love & Pain EP

Release date: 3rd February, 2026

Label : MATE 

Catalog Number : MATE 022

Format: 12" / Bandcamp 

Review: Eshach - Ada EP (Karakol)

Mornin' as Eshach opens his 'Ada' EP from the beautiful soundscape of a garden in Porto, awaiting the school bell to stop and let the birds sing!

That's how the debut release from producer and composer Eshach starts this EP (with 'Intro (Bingin') as the other three tracks mark "a refined and confident entry into the electronic music landscape. Melodic, cinematic, and soulful to the core, Ada is a carefully curated introduction to Eshach’s world… one where emotion, groove, and storytelling coexist across four distinct yet cohesive tracks".

The title track, 'Ada'  continues the link to the outdoors with more twittering birds in the background but the location moves to more of a workshop environment with factory banging sheet metal/bottle shop that turns echoy dub but without getting industrial; quite the opposite, as it rolls on a funky baseline.

Wasn't expect an Afro-house switch with 'Am I Here' but you can't go wrong with a bit of flamingo jazz flute gang business and then to finish off, 'Piantito' that's arguably more mainrom as it references some of the the elements in the other three track with a melodic theme that weaves pictures around your head.

We're told this EP "represents the beginning of Eshach’s solo journey… an assured debut that balances club functionality with musical storytelling" and YATM are happy to agree. 

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: Eshach.o | Instagram | Linktree

Artist: Eshach
Title: Ada EP 
Release date: 6th February, 2026
Label: Karakol
Catalog Number: KR001
Format: Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Alistair Colling vs. Tortured Soul ft. Sabina - When You Find Your Love... Hold On (DJ Spinna & Musclecars Remixes) (Razor-N-Tape)

25th Anniversary Mixes!  No way - some of us weren't even born in 2000 when the original track came out on Central Park Recordings, Bowery, New York; how has that resurfaced with remixes in 2026? 

It's hard to remember a time when there were masses of records store in towns and cities everywhere and in particular, New York was the home of loads with a need to serve DJs and clubs.  At that time Satellite Records was connected the the Satellite Records store and one of the sub-labels fell on a deep house hit by Alistair Colling that needed a vocal and were lucky enough to gett Tortured Soul's frontman and songwriter John-Christian Urich to write it.

Not only that, 'I love you' and 'la la lahs' were elevated to a feel good classic level with Sabina Sciubba (then of Brazillian Girls) to record the vocals plus remixes by another Brooklyn stalwart Jon Culter (a regular name on the wall of London record shop racks and opened 60 Million Postcards at about this time!) 

No only is it a classic that's stood the test of time, the re-issue is connected with today's Razor N Tape is the co-founder JKriv (who was Tortured Soul's bassist and collaborator of 10 years) so who better to revive this one and with his networking abilities he's got the strong-arms of New York house 'names/, Musclecars (as in 'Dubble Honey Pack' - see review HERE) and another remix legend, DJ Spinna (as in Galatic Soul and 'The Sound Beyond Stars: The Essential Remixes - see review HERE).

In terms of the vinyl that's available on pre-order, there's the Galatic Soul Remix and what sounds like a heavy-weigh musclecars remix on the A-side.  Along with the original mix, along with some franciase, there's Jon Cutler's Distant music mix on the flip.

If quantity is you thing, the digital also includes instrumentals of DJ Spinna and musclecars plus the original Jon Cutler mixes giving you 9 versions including the original and the little known Alistair Colling Breakbeat Mix.

Superb way to start the new year and one that'll will last another 25 years in clubs and at home.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER Vinyl: Tortured Soul, Alistair Colling - When You Find Your Love…Hold on (25th Anniversary Mixes) [feat. Sabina Sciubba]

Artist: Alistair Colling vs. Tortured Soul ft. Sabina

Title: When You Find Your Love... Hold On - DJ SPINNA & MUSCLECARS REMIXES 

Release date: 13th February, 2026

Label : Razor N Tape

Catalog Number : RNTD131 / RNTR086

Format: 12" Vinyl / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Oscilloscope - There Is Always Darkness, There Is Always Light (Independent)

Once more we return to the dichotom of yin and yang, darkness and light, peace and war etc - but this time as an 11 track study of electronic sounds that's been produced by the Oscilloscope!

Released on Bandcamp Friday, the Oscilloscope (aka Jason Cooke - he of Comedy Balloon and Charity Shop Classics on All FM) recorded these tracks in the January 2026, mostly "in one take, although some had additional pads and solos added in post production" and you'd never know as there's hardly any element of time contraint; mostly gentle soundscapes that'll any electronic influences of the likes of Ravi Shankar, Alice and John Coltrane from the spiritually enlightened 60s/70s.

Perhaps 'Back To Work' is more 'industrial' (with a small 'I') getting into Tangerine Dream more than Kraftwerk; bearing in mind it was recorded at the Institute Of Psychedelectronics, Manchester and mixed Rhosneigr Beach, Anglesey.Of Psyche (Ed. note his connection with 'Comedy Balloon')

Of course, there's the obligatory space themes (more of the Star Trek than modern today Musk) with 'Return To The Space' and 'Full Of Stars' but this is no vanity project as it's complimentry to Manu Delago & Max ZT forthcoming duet, 'Deuce'  and duo of Ben Seretan and Jake Thayer and their formcoming album, 'Sunbean Of No Illusion'.

I must admit, I prefer the longer, more Edgar Froese / Klaus Schulze Kraut-synth tracks 'Prologue - The Action Is The Decision' and 'Erebus Rising' but as in the Light vs. Darkness envelope, tracks like 'Proton' and 'Stylo' are the other side of the coin toss mind of the ever changing Oscilloscope.

"Great stuff" as a wise man once said - recommended.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: There Is Always Darkness, There Is Always Light | Oscilloscope

Artist: Oscilloscope 

Title: There Is Always Darkness, There Is Always Light
Release date: 6th February, 2026
Label : Independent
Catalog Number  TBC
Format:  Digital / BANDCAMP

Review: Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Haf (Bubblewrap Collective)

Keep on smiling with Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18's new 10 track album 'Haf' because, when it comes to poppy "samba, salsa, Andean balladry, Latin soul, tropical funk and sun-soaked grooves, sung in Welsh, English, and Spanish" no body does it better! 

Yes, that's right, 2026 might have its most uplifting album already with 'Haf' as this magical combination Hall & Oates meets Brazilian folk and Latin jazz  to the track with the extremes of 'Gwenyn y Gwanwyn' to the "Salsoul" 'Como Te Amo' to 'Shades Of Red' sung in English by Anglo-Brazilian Nina Miranda (previously 50% of Zeep with past releases on Compost, Far Out Recordigns, etc).

This is the third album by Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 in little over a year as is earmarked as a "break through" which is not to say, third time lucky.  This is perfectly crafteed even though Carwyn was also envolved with Edwyn Collins and the North Mississippi Allstars at the time!

Even track is like a little 'Bubblewarp' of odd-pop sunshine with 'Whistling Sands' (about a beach in North Wales) and the instant 'Keep On Smiling' as standouts.

And if you're wondering about the track 'Haf' and album title, it's dedicated to Carwyn's late music teacher Haf Morris who, he says, “her focus, guidance and patience shaped me like no other. I hope she’s enjoyed my musical journey, from wherever she’s watching. Diolch, Haf”.

The album is on the Cardiff based label and is on black vinyl or double CD (as it includes the immediate. previous album 'Fontana Rosa').

P.S. Today marks 43 years of the release of the single 'Rip It Up' by Orange Juice (fronted by Edwyn Collins).

 

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 - Haf | Bubblewrap Collective

Haf | Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 | Bubblewrap Collective

Artist: Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18

Title: Haf

Release date: 6th February, 2026

Label: Bubblewrap Collective

Catalog Number: BWR084

Format: Vinyl LP / 2 x CD (inc. previous album 'Fontana Rosa') / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Owelu Dreamhouse - Owelu Dreamhouse (Hopestreet Recordings)

Drawing from West African records, Latin influences, and 90s R&B, the duo that is  Owelu Dreamhouse with co-producer Henry Jenkins have got  and Melbourne's top session players to create tracks that'll make 'Owelu Dreamhouse' a must have album. 

The compilation to celebrate Hopestreet  Studios 16th Birthday (see review HERE) did not give us any warning about Owelu Dreamhouse debut, 'Owelu Dreamhouse'.

The artist based co-operative who have released 50 records whilst "fostering a community spanning soul, R&B, funk, Latin, Bollywood psychedelia and more" have excelled themselves on Owelu Dreamhouse as their Charles Stepney meets Motown opus as Nkechi Anele (vocals with Saskwatch) and multi-instrumentalist Nic Ryan-Glenie with a blend of Afrobeat, soul, psych, jazz in an cinematic setting a la prime Curtis Mayfield / Isaac Hayes.

'Struggle For Kasawa' hints at 70s Blaxploitation with a 60s Bassey/Winehouse element, throw in some beats with 'Okra 4 Bilalli' and gentle jazz ('Yellow Trumpet'), the album explores "being a third-culture kid, with the band's name playing on Nkechi's grandmother's village Owaelu in Nigeria - single 'Tourist' captures the complexity of returning home while simultaneously feeling out of place" whilst the heavy percussion and horns keep it Afrobeat centric, like the stand-out 'Oluwatsam' and the Manu Dibango-influenced 'Stutter' (Ed. the Cameroonian saxophonist who had world wide hits with 'Soul Makossa', 'Big Blow' and many more).

Touched by the poetry of 'Daughters Always Listening' that flows into the the soul-pop of 'Niger River' the Hopestreet 17th Birthday party is going to be special as the the spirit of West Coast Africa links up with south coast Aussie.

"Trust me when I say that this is seriously good." Josh 'Somewhere Soul' Mason-Quinn (8 Essential New Albums From Around The World)

BUY LNK / PRE-ORDER: Owelu Dreamhouse | Owelu Dreamhouse

Artist: Owelu Dreamhouse

Title:  Owelu Dreamhouse

Release date: 6th February, 2026

Label : Hopestreet Recordings

Catalog Number :  HS

Format:  Vinyl LP / Digital / Bandcamp 

Review: Dina Ögon - Människobarn (Playground Music)

The Dina Ögon are a now on their fourth album and this time they've nailed their identity as the premier Swedish post-folk popsters with the 13 track baby 'Människobarn'!

We've been tracking the four-piece Dina Ögon since their track 'Bakom glaset' made it onto Vol. 6 of the Mr Bongo Record Club compilaiton (see review HERE) which got a litttle overlooked sitting next to Sweden's Sven Wunder and being a bit poppy!

However, we are now fully onboard with the summery jingley/jangley sixties pop sensibilites last year with thier single, 'Orion' (see review HERE), the double A sider 'Dålig teve' ('Bad TV') and 'Margaretas sång' ('Margareta's Song') (see review HERE) that are both on the album.

Of course these two tracks stand out now on the album as they're both embedded in a consciousness, along with 'Orden brann' (that you might find in Stockholm's 'Peace' Culture Project in the near future) but it'd be easy to pick 'singles' as it so good throughout; possible due to being sung in Swedish by Anna Ahnlund's voice.

Not that I can understand any Swedish, 'Människobarn' does come over as "bittersweet", like early Bowie/Spiders verses the 5th Dimension and Joni Mitchell with a a gentle Pixies!

The electric guitar of Daniel Ögren (he of Fastingen 92 on Mr Bongo - see HERE) is as high profile as Anna's vocals and whilst it can sound Fleetwood Mac at times, tracks like 'Du ska va kvar', 'Verdandi', 'Hack i häl' and the closing track 'Hélena', melt in their summer sound.

In fact, whilst I can only think of Tunng as a experiment folk-pop comparision you'd have to transpose them to 60s California which is a pretty good recommendation in anyone's book. 

The tracks are mostly in the constaint of the pop/radio 3-4 mins and it'd be cool if the tracks had a "jazz" version with solos and Anna doing a full Norma Winstone - but that's just me as this 'Människobarn' is perfect just as it came out.  .  

BUY LINK:  https://dina-ogon.ffm.to/manniskobarn-album

Artist: Dina Ögon

Title:  Människobarn 

Release date: 6th February, 2026

Label : Playground Music

Catalog Number : -

Format: Digital / Bandcamp 

Review: Perth Lewis - Distance Between (NuNorthern Soul)

Perth Lewis has perfectly measured the 'Distance Between' these new nine tracks on his album coming out on the NuNorthern Soul label.

 

NuNorthern Soul's boss, Phat Phil Cooper, loves to start the new year down under and has found the 'Distance Between' with Perth Lewis (aka Luke Fugar), he of 'Moments In Time' that came out last year, (see review HERE).

Like his last album, these new nine tracks have already found fans with varied taste makers such as Richard Dorfmeister (he of  Kruder & Dorfmeister), Nick Warren and Chris Coco.

We're told, "Written and recorded with the same DIY heart, the album leans into longer forms, deeper textures, and a stronger sense of melodic drift" and that's without doubt this albums' strength: perversely being mellow, reflective (like sun on the sea: check 'Float Away') and contemplative.

The Perth Lewis guitar style has been stretched into gentle breezes and jangley electric piano gives the downtempo jazzy moods without being jazz.  I feel Pat Methany's spirit is in here somewhere along with hip-hop roots that have been jetisoned into the midsts of time to be replaced with found sounds of the sea harbours and birdsong (see 'Broken Headlight' and 'Across The Broadwater').

The title track perfectly encapsulate the album as 'Distance Between' is almost like a stripped 'Albatross' (as in Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac) at the pace of a circuling albatross with more grace.  Perhaps catching a 'Slipstream' and ending, with the track, 'A Strange Feeling' which gives you the strange feeling that you need to listen to the whole album again - did I miss something?  Did I need this insight into his emotions?  After the last track, 'Rest Assured', is it that we've just esperienced the equivalent of a beach yoga session?  I think it is.

If you don't live near the sea or harbour, I believe Perth is based in Sydney, this album will give you a virtual boost of sea air and if you do live by the coast, it'll do exactly the same.  .

BUY LINK / PRE- ORDER:  https://perthlewis.bandcamp.com/album/distance-between

 

 

Artist: Perth Lewis

Title: Distance Between

Release date: 6th February, 2026
Label : NuNorthernSoul
Catalog Number : TBC
Format:  Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers - Alpha & Omega (Colorful World Records / Rush Hour)

It's always exciting to find a new 12" with Amsterdam's Rush Hour's seal of approval on it and can you imagine Prince, Isley Bros. and George Clinton going to the church of funk with some great gospel singers? 

And we're not talking any old singer, when you've got, "Texas born gospel singer Brandon Delagraentiss, longtime collaborator Marissa Nyamekye aka Mariseya and the legendary LA-born vocalist Rocq-E Harrell who - in her career spanning decades - has sung with Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Earth Wind & Fire, and toured with Diana Ross and the legendary Barry White"; aka The Perpetual Singers.

Like Arpy Brown, Arp Frique's love of the Arp Instruments vintage analog synths, matched with Chic's 'Le Freak' plus The Perpetual Singers have producer an EP with 4 tracks on it that follows the album, 'The Gospel Of Jesamy' but more intensely like the 'Hold The Line' rework.

I can't say I've read the bible for a while so i'm not up with the meaning of 'Alpha & Omega' but 'For Your Love' (not the 60s hit) is one to join in with the girls, raise your arms and "Praise him and sing Hallelujah"

'Help Me Jesus' is the surprise in the packag as its the most Isley Bros.in their 70s period on the fast-track railroad as they catch the tain to check out Pastor T. L. Barrett as the ship is about to sail: gospel rock house?  And the title track is in even more overdrive than this one!

'Live Together Live' is in the same ball park but with George Clinton leading the funky congregation in the church of a atomic dog house; with cautionary lyrics about the love of money, bettter mend your ways people.

These track moves the project along that already has loads of 'big head' fans like Gilles Peterson, Louie Vega, Moodymann which has led to appearances at festivals like We Out Here, North Sea Jazz and all the best ones in Europe; expect to hear more from these guys.

It's Bootsy baby, but not as we know it.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: ▶︎ The Gospel Of Jesamy | Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers | Arp Frique

Artist: Arp Frique &The Perpetual Singers

Title: Alpha & Omega

Release date: 6th February, 2026

Label: Colorful World Records / Rush Hour

Cat. No: TBC

Format:  Digital / Bandcamp.

Review: Tom Esselle - WOLFEP083 EP (Wolf Music)

I hear you say, 'Praise Bes', from 2022?  So it's a welcome return to Wolf Music for Tom Esselle and more dancefloor modern disco.

After Frits Wentink's 'Remixed' EP' (see review HERE), the guys at WOLF Music have decided to go all in with Tom Esselle and this four track EP. 

Coming off the back of Peckham's favourite label, Rhythm Section International and the 'Evolutions & Revolutions' 12", we've got more adventurous takes on what 2026 has instore, if not speed garage, some variable revolution update.  That's particularly the opening track 'Livewire' and the deeper Detroit 'vocal sampled' heavy 'Small Talk' and the dreamy Parrish-esque 'Spaced Out'. 

All 3 will lead to heavy rotation but you're not going to get much better than the track 'Don't Have To' which the label say, "is a strong contender for standout moment, pairing luscious keys with a sweet vocal for peak-time soulful impact".  Got to say, you'll find us in total agreement even thought the glitchy-treky 'Livewire' is our current office favourite.

Whilst we must thank Bradley Zero / Rhythm Section International for re-igniting Tom's productions last year, Wolf Music is clearly a happy home; praise be(s) you might say.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: TOM ESSELLE/WOLFEP083/WOLF MUSIC - Vinyl Records Specialists, London Soho Vinyl Music Records - Phonica Records - Latest Releases, Pre-Orders and Merchandise

WOLF Music · Tom Esselle - WOLFEP083 (WOLFEP083) (Snippets)

Artist: Tom Esselle

Title: EP
Release date: 6th February, 2026
Label :Wolf Music Recordings
Catalog Number  WOLFEP083
Format: 12" VINYL / Digital / Bandcamp