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A plea for championing back catalogue

Ahl Nana - L'Orchestre National Mauritanien, Yassine Nana - Modern Pop from Mauritania

I spent almost my entire career working in the popular music industry and one thing that has struck me is how music - within that scene - seems to have this relatively short expiration date. Whether working at a record label or a festival, the focus is often heavily on new releases. I completely support new artists and albums, however, it bothers me how short this time span of promoting actually is and how often the music is falling into some sort of oblivion afterwards. Journalists do write about older albums, but it seems there always needs to be a “good” reason - e.g. celebrating anniversary editions - rather than sharing music just out of love. In the music industry relevance seems of great importance, but I don’t think that’s how we should treat art. For me, art - and therefore music - is timeless and should definitely not have something that comes even close to an expiration date. What I’d like to see is that the music industry (writers, sellers, bookers etc.) would focus more on rediscovering and championing its own back catalogue — not just as a commercial practice, but as a genuine act of music preservation. Working independently with all the great music out there - new, old and rereleased.

MAY 2026

Yassine Nana - Modern Pop from Mauritania (1984-1989)
During the seventies, the influential Mauritanian family band Ahl Nana (later L’Orchestre National Mauritanien) changed Saharan folk music by using Western instruments like the electric guitar and paved the way for famous artists like Ali Farka Touré and Tinariwen. The great talent of the group was the youngest brother Yassine, who was their lead singer. This compilation brings together songs from Yassine Nana as a solo artist years later, when he formed his own musical group. On the album, the modernisation of Saharan folk music goes even further by using not only electric guitars, but also synths and drum computers. Blending reggae, soul, new wave with Mauritanian languages ​​and melodies, this record is an ultimate Summer jam!
Arabic pop | Saharan folk | new wave | reggae

Swell - …well?
First there was Nirvana, then Pavement, and now Swell may be the next thing to watch out for. That’s what the influential British radio DJ John Peel once said about this San Francisco band from the nineties. The first two bands probably need little explanation, but the last one got significantly less recognition. This second Swell album, though, is definitely of the same quality. Released in 1992, the album blends acoustic guitar and electric distortion with a cinematic feeling, thanks to vocalist/guitarist David Freel - who originally worked as a film director. Their first live show was a support slot for Mazzy Star in San Francisco, which seems like a perfect fit given the dreamy and hypnotic sound. The LP has been out of print for a very long time now, so waiting desperately for someone to rerelease this gem!
indie rock | 90s | cinematic | neo-psychedelia

Duistre Kamers, The Fool and Manrira from Ambassade

Ambassade - Manrira
Although each Ambassade record is completely unique, the Amsterdam-based project is always consistent in quality. Debuting with their synthwave banger Duistre Kamers (2019), to their rather experimental second record The Fool (2023), they’ve now released Manrira, an album containing tracks with neo-classical elements, as well as nods to breakbeat and techno. Although each album is completely unique in its sound, Manrira is again a typical Ambassade release. The overall melancholic feeling in the music and the hypnotizing, repetitive melodies are characteristic and also the synthesizer is still there. It’s a bold choice to shift through all these genres over the years, but that makes this such a good record. After all, predictability is not a fertile ground for exiting music. Once again, a great album that shows the Ambassade is bursting with creativity.
electronic | neo classical | synth | breakbeat

There is no “old” music - only music you have already heard and music you haven’t.