I recently sat down with my partner in music and life, Pablo Martin. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pablo is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, engineer, and master mixer. He’s been making music since he was sixteen years old, starting with Argentinian goth heroes El Corte.

We spoke about his early musical life and journey to New York. First working with R&B icons like Mary J. Blige as an engineer, to joining the Tom Tom Club as lead guitar, to forming The Du-Rites and Lulu Lewis, and making ten full-length albums between both of these last two acts over the last decade.

He has worked with an array of artists as a producer, mixer, and engineer. J-Zone, Atmosphere, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sergio Rotman, Kid Cudi, and Ghost Face Killah are some to note. I’m amazed at Pablo’s abilities, which I have watched up close for a decade.

Coming up next for him will be yet another Du-Rites EP entitled “Tenement.” Lulu Lewis just released our first single in a bit, which we slaved over for some time, as we always do. It came out last week. It’s called “Sinner.” Proper ’70s disco with a twist. Upcoming is a live album which we recorded in May 2025 at The Bridge Studio in Brooklyn.

Catch Pablo on Instagram to follow along.

Radar features discussions with artists and industry leaders who are creators and devotees of music and is produced by Dylan Hundley and The Vinyl District. Dylan Hundley is an artist and performer, and the co-creator and lead singer of Lulu Lewis and all things at Darling Black. She co-curates and hosts Salon Lulu which is a New York based multidisciplinary performance series. She is also a cast member of the iconic New York film Metropolitan.

I generally avoid angry bands. You know, the kinds of bands who play aggro music and feature a bellowing apoplectic who’s all up in my face, going on about this, that, and the other thing. But. Should the words coming out of said bellowing apoplectic make me laugh, all bets are off. I’ll forgive a funny geezer anything, even his beet-red apoplexy.

Such is the case with England’s very aggro punk duo Soft Play, who are one of those rare successful bands who changed their name (until 2022 they went by Slaves, a name they ultimately found troubling in its connotations) in mid-career. The name change angered many of their fans, and on one of the best songs (“Punk’s Dead”) on their new name debut, 2024’s Heavy Jelly, congenitally apoplectic vocalist Isaac Holman takes great delight in channeling all of the abuse heaped upon Soft Play by the myriad fans deriding them as “snowflakes” and “soft babies” for changing their name. “Soft Play? More like soft cunts!” he shouts at one point. And Robbie Williams joins in the fun!

Holman and multi-instrumentalist Laurie Vincent formed Slaves in Royal Tunbridge Wells in 2012, and were critical darlings and commercially successful from the get-go. Heavy Jelly is their fourth album and a near-chart topper despite the new name, which the band more or less predicted in “Punk’s Dead” with the words “Snowflake, snowflake, cherries on the woke cake/But I’ll still see you at your show.” Soft Play is a very odd choice of a name for this band, no shit. But they’ve pulled it off, the soft bastards.

It’s hard to overstate the sheer aggression of this band. Holman doesn’t even stop bellowing on the shockingly pretty mandolin-strummer “Everything and Nothing,” a tribute to a dead friend. Soft Play are ravers and ragers, and like to keep things loud, hard, and fast. Nothing special there, but Holman’s sense of humor gives them a decided boost in the Great Punk Rock Sweepstakes. Were he a lout with an irony deficiency who spends all his time trashing his girlfriend, I’d have no time for this band. Instead, he spends an entire song (“Bin Juice Disaster”) turning an accident in his kitchen into high drama, and it’s hilarious.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue French pop icon Brigitte Fontaine’s landmark 1968 album Brigitte Fontaine Est Folle, originally released on the cult label Saravah and arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier.

This special 2-LP edition, approved by the artist, features the original album, newly remastered from the original tapes, along with a second LP of demos, instrumentals, and a live rendition of “Il Pleut” recorded for France Inter/ORTF. The release also includes a 20-page bilingual booklet with introductions by journalist Jeremy Allen and Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, essays by Brigitte Fontaine’s biographer Benoît Mouchart and Benjamin Barouh, plus full lyrics and rare archival photos.

Brigitte Fontaine needs no introduction. An inspiring figure in French music since the 1960s, she has long been revered by a wide array of musicians—from Stereolab to Sonic Youth, Beck, and Jarvis Cocker. Originally released in 1968 on Pierre Barouh’s cult Saravah label, Brigitte Fontaine Est Folle shattered conventions.

Fusing Fontaine’s lyrical brilliance—tackling themes like death, social revolt, and female desire—with Vannier’s lush, funky arrangements, the pair created a work that was ahead of its time. The album has been newly remastered from the original tapes, recently rediscovered in the Saravah vaults by Benjamin Barouh, and is now reissued in a deluxe 2-LP edition featuring a wealth of bonus material.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Latino proudly celebrates the legacy of legendary singer-songwriter Chalino Sánchez with the first vinyl reissue of El Pela Vacas, releasing on August 29th, a day before what would have been Chalino’s 65th birthday.

Originally released by Discos Musart in 1992, this reissue marks the album’s long-awaited return, as well as its debut on vinyl and in 192/24 hi-res digital audio. Available for pre-order today, the vinyl release features lacquers cut from the original analog master tapes (AAA) by Clint Holley and Dave Polster at Well Made Music, and original artwork replicated on the LP jacket. Additionally, a limited-edition “Noche Morada (Purple Night)” color vinyl variant (only 300 copies) is available as a stand-alone or a bundle option that includes a collectible “Pela Vacas” T-shirt, exclusively online at Discosmusart.com.

A cornerstone of Chalino’s groundbreaking discography, El Pela Vacas delivers 15 raw, unflinching corridos that helped define the modern regional Mexican sound. Backed by his longtime collaborators Nacho Hernandez y Los Amables del Norte, the album features fan favorites like “Ya después de muerto,” “Corrido del Gallito,” and “La muerte del Pela Vacas.” Notably, 11 of the 15 tracks were penned by Chalino himself, showcasing the uncompromising storytelling that made him a voice of the people.

Each song on El Pela Vacas plays like a page torn from a gritty outlaw diary—full of vengeance, pride, and hard-earned legacy. Among the album’s standout corridos is the Chalino-penned haunting track where he seemingly predicts his own death, “Ya después de muerto.” In the fan favorite song about “what happens after I die,” Chalino delivers a chilling meditation on mortality and honor.

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Remembering Ron Asheton, born on this day in 1948. —Ed.

I suppose somebody had to do it. I suppose somebody had to go and make an album that isn’t an album, but a great sucking sound that slowly drags you through the filthy, rat-infested back alleys of rock’n’roll straight to the dark and dirty portal to Hell that is “L.A. Blues.” “The derangement of all the senses” was what the 19th Century French poet Arthur Rimbaud was seeking, and all I can say is it’s a pity he never got the chance to hear The Stooges’ “L.A. Blues,” or the album it closes, 1970’s Fun House.

Because Iggy Pop and the Stooges’ best album isn’t just a slow descent into atonal skronk, it’s a road map to Hades. From its opening cut to its close it takes you down, down, down, into an abyss from which there’s no return. “Take it down!” howls Iggy, and he’s talking about everything, the whole damn world; the shrieks that follow demonstrate that once you’ve entered the fun house, everything collapses; the Stooges take you from the street into a maelstrom of sax-based (long live the late Steve MacKay) madness. Iggy’s words are unintelligible; he screeches and howls, and it’s too late to turn back now.

“L.A. Blues” isn’t a song; it’s a free jazz explosion, with enough electrical feedback to power the city it was named after. Jim Morrison loved the city of motel money murder madness, but not even “L.A. Woman” can compete with “L.A. Blues”; somebody once compared Hollywood to a tour of a sewer on a glass-bottomed boat, and on Fun House Iggy (aka James Osterberg) and his compadres (brothers Ron and Scott Asheton on guitar and drums, respectively, and Dave Alexander on bass) are the guys doing the rowing. This is it, right here and now, the sound of the apocalypse scorching you like a blowtorch through your headphones.

On chug-a-lug opener “Down on the Street” Iggy struts his stuff, “deep in the night, lost in love.” Ron Asheton’s guitar is pure insanity, the rhythm section pounds and pounds, and Iggy is in his element, looking to fuck or suck or score something he can put up his nose or shoot into a vein. The intensity leaps fourfold on follow-up “Loose,” on which Iggy shouts, “Look out!” before sticking it deep inside, and we’re not sure whether he’s talking about his cock or a needle full of junk. “Chow chow chow chow chow!!” he shrieks as Ron Asheton solos, and for pure sonic energy there may be no beating this song, by anybody, ever. “Cuz I’m LOOSE!” shouts Iggy, a panther in heat escaped from his cage, and no one, and I mean no one, is safe.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Recordings is thrilled to announce a 45th anniversary reissue of Baby Beluga from the award-winning singer, songwriter, and ecology advocate Raffi. Originally released 45 years ago today, the Platinum-selling album is a jewel in the world-renowned children’s entertainer’s prolific catalog, having brought joy to multiple generations, thanks to such enduring songs as “All I Really Need,” “Thanks a Lot,” and the beloved title track, “Baby Beluga.”

This special reissue also marks Raffi’s first release on LP in over 30 years. A devoted environmentalist who has long opted for more sustainable ways to distribute his music, Raffi chose to partner with Good Neighbor, an eco-friendly record manufacturer that uses a non-toxic alternative to vinyl that’s 100% recyclable, produced and made without PVC. This blue pressing of Baby Beluga arrives 10/3 and is available for pre-order.

For nearly 50 years, Raffi has delighted successive generations of kids—and their parents—with his playful, exuberant personality and irresistible songs. 1980’s Baby Beluga marked the singer-songwriter’s fourth children’s album, and, thanks to its delightfully infectious title track, it became one of his most iconic releases. “Baby Beluga” was inspired by a 1979 visit to the Vancouver Aquarium. “I fell in love with this gorgeous creature,” he told Canada’s CBC in a 2020 interview.

Opening with charming beluga whale vocalizations, the song tells the story of a happy young whale swimming free. With its joyful melody and memorable chorus, “Baby Beluga” not only became a favorite for millions of children around the world but also helped foster a respect for nature. It was a turning point for Raffi, whose ecological activism would play a greater role in his work over the years.

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Born in Ohio and currently based in Athens, Greece, John Also Bennett, or JAB for short, is a composer, flautist, and synthesist whose new album Στον Ελαιώνα / Ston Elaióna comes out July 25 on vinyl (black or arctic pearl), compact disc, and digital through Shelter Press. Bennett’s work visits the crossroads of minimalism and the avant-garde and is noted for conjuring up rich electroacoustic atmospheres. For his latest, Bennett utilizes a bass flute, Yamaha DX7-ii and SY77 synths, digital oscillators, and a Eurorack. The results offer a warm tranquility across nine tracks and a bonus tenth on the physical formats.

John Also Bennett emerged as a musician in the 2000s as part of the Columbus, OH scene in the outfit Eagle Nebula. He then moved on to the ambient duo Seabat with Forest Christenson and shifted to experimental electronics in the outfit Forma. Bennett has also collaborated with noted minimalist composer and multi-wind-instrumentalist Jon Gibson and with composer and musician Christina Vantzou on a series of releases as CV & JAB.

In 2019 Bennett made his solo debut with Erg Herbe, which was released by Shelter Press, the French label that is issuing Ston Elaióna. Much of Bennett’s output in between his debut and his latest has been issued on his own label, Editions Basilic, although his 2022 album Out there in the middle of nowhere was released by Poole Music.

Ston Elaióna is an impressively focused recording. Bennett’s skill on the flute is immediately evident in the opening title piece, as is his ability to avoid the standard tropes of modular synths. If calm, Ston Elaióna is an expressive affair, as Bennett composed and played all the music, as well as recording and mixing the album.

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | It’s Never Over: Jeff Buckley arrives in theaters August 8, 2025.

Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (Deliver Us From Evil, Janis: Little Girl Blue, West of Memphis), the documentary covers the life of the rising young star with an otherworldly voice and boundary-pushing artistry, who left the ’90s music world reeling when he died suddenly, at age 30, after the release of his critically acclaimed debut album Grace.

Told through never-before-seen footage from Buckley’s archives and intimate accounts from his mother Mary Guibert, former partners Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser, Jeff’s former bandmates, including Michael Tighe and Parker Kindred, and luminaries like Ben Harper and Aimee Mann, It’s Never Over: Jeff Buckley illuminates one of modern music’s most influential and enigmatic figures.

VIA PRESS RELEASE | “Buena Vista Social Club brings the thrill of music making to Broadway.” —The New York Times

The producers of the new hit Broadway musical Buena Vista Social Club™ and World Circuit Records have announced that the show’s Original Broadway Cast Recording will be released on CD on 1st August 2025. Produced by GRAMMY® Award Winners Dean Sharenow and David Yazbek, co-produced by Marco Paguia and Orin Wolf, and Executive Produced by Allan Williams, a vinyl version will be available later in 2025.

Winner of 5 Tony Awards, including Special Tony Award for Best Band (the first time this award has been presented to a band), Best Choreography, Best Orchestrations, Best Sound Design of a Musical, Best Performance by an Actress (Natalie Venetia Belcon) in a Featured Role in a Musical, Buena Vista Social Club™ is making history on Broadway as the first musical featuring its entire score sung completely in Spanish, with the show’s story and scenes performed in English.

The recording features the original Broadway cast as well as the Tony Award winning Buena Vista Social Club Broadway Band: Marco Paguia (Piano, Music Director), David Oquendo (Guitar), Renesito Avich (Tres), Gustavo Schartz (Bass), Hery Paz (Woodwinds), Eddie Venegas (Trombone), Jesus Ricardo (Trumpet), Javier Díaz (Percussion), Mauricio Herrera (Percussion), Román Diaz (Percussion), and Leonardo Reyna (Piano).

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VIA PRESS RELEASE | Craft Recordings and Jazz Dispensary are thrilled to announce Dream a Dream with Studio G: Cratedigger’s Archive (1970–2009), a brand-new compilation culling 25 of some of the most compelling, sexy, and psychedelic mood-music cues famed UK music library production house Studio G ever produced.

Out August 22nd, on vinyl and hi-res digital formats, Dream a Dream assumes the role of a surreal soundtrack scene-setter, casting moods in two distinct directions: morning and night. The limited-edition Opaque Red LP set comes housed in a gatefold jacket and features commentary from Saint Etienne founding member Bob Stanley, liner notes by musician, producer, and dee-jay Ryan Jebavy (aka Leslie Saucer), and illustrations by renowned gig poster artist Ivan Minsloff—known for his work with New York Dolls, Willie Nelson, Queens of the Stone Age, and SXSW. Pre-order/pre-save the album today.

Established by John Gale in London in 1966, Studio G produced a wide range of genres and styles, geared toward local TV, sports programming, and adverts. As Ryan Jebavy, producer of Dream a Dream, explains in his liner notes, it unleashed “pastoral folk, maniacal horror, funk-spat jazz, quixotic pop, alluring electro and the usual novelty side spells of national anthems, children’s music and whatever other utilitarian cues society demanded of the moment” upon the commercial space.

Even as more sizable outfits such as KPM, Bruton, De Wolfe and Chappell consumed the majority of the marketplace, Studio G offered a truly fetching alternative—sleek, hip art not previously seen on mostly unremarkable album covers released by neighboring companies, not to mention bold, daring and adventurous music cues unique to Studio G.

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The music of the late Frank Zappa continues to be reissued at a breakneck pace. Whether reissues of previously released audio and video, or first-time releases of archival material, the quality of these projects matches the quantity.

Through the Zappa Family Trust, the amount of previously unreleased archival music now available is greater than the number of albums Zappa released in his lifetime. This newest project is the debut on Blu-ray/CD and vinyl of a concert recorded in 1974, entitled Cheaper Than Cheep. It was filmed at Zappa’s own California rehearsal space, with a small crowd standing, dancing, and sitting wherever they might find a place to take a load off their feet.

While previously never aired due to technical issues, those problems have now been fixed. It’s a very informal affair befitting the blue-denim bonhomie of the time. The show came at the end of a long and successful tour to mark the 10th anniversary of the Mothers of Invention. What the concert makes clear is that, for all of Zappa’s sly anarchy and pushing of the envelope, he was the consummate musician and a guitar god, who surrounded himself with the finest musicians. While some other groups thrived on revolution, anarchy, occasionally poor but amusing bad taste, and sticking it to the man, they often burned out quickly and never developed beyond the agitprop anger and anarchy of the ’60s and early ’70s.

Zappa made albums that explored many styles and, as exhibited by this project, along with many others, presented his experimental and satirical music, along with his guitar prowess, in new musical forms. He was a rock artist who helped define, shape, and expand the possibilities of jazz rock and jazz fusion, two labels Zappa himself might have rejected. There’s a similarity between Zappa’s approach in this period and that of other guitar gods such as Brits John McLaughlin and Jeff Beck.

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Editrix is the contempo power trio of guitarist-vocalist Wendy Eisenberg, drummer Josh Daniel, and bassist Steve Cameron, and with the July 25 release of The Big E, their third full-length record is complete. It’s the band’s first for Joyful Noise Recordings after two for Exploding in Sound Records, and it maintains the precise intensity and elastic heaviness of their prior efforts while marking progress in development. If mathematically progged-out and with occasional raucous outbursts, The Big E is also a fun album to experience. Experimental intricacy is rarely this engaging.

Before there were any Editrix LPs, there was a cassette of four songs titled “Talk to Me,” issued by the band in 2019, the release still available via Bandcamp. Next came Tell Me I’m Bad on vinyl and digital in 2021 and then Editrix II: Editrix Goes to Hell the following year. A few years have elapsed since, but as The Big E unwinds, the ten songs evince no traces of rust.

Eisenberg and Daniel have remained busy musically as Cameron focused on scholarly pursuits. Within the community that’s clued in to such happenings, Eisenberg has the highest profile, playing in the Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet and numerous other outfits along with delivering key contributions to the albums of others (e.g. Jon Irabagon’s Server Farm earlier this year) and her own solo efforts, with records released on Tzadik (The Machinic Unconscious, 2018), Ba Da Bing! (Auto, 2020), Out of Your Head (Bloodletting, 2021), and American Dreams (Viewfinder, 2024).

Daniel plays in Landowner, with that band’s most recent set, Escape the Compound, issued in 2023 on Born Yesterday Records (his earlier bands include Hot Dirt and The Leafies You Gave Me). Daniel has stayed back in Massachusetts, where Editrix was formed, as Eisenberg and Cameron have moved to New York City.

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