Brown Spirits (AU), Menk

Brown Spirits don’t stick to one lane. One minute it’s motorik-driven krautrock, the next it slips into free-jazz chaos or slow, funk-leaning grooves — all played like there’s no tomorrow. The Melbourne trio keep things firmly DIY, from recording to release, yet still found their way onto Soul Jazz Records in the UK, becoming the first Australian act on the label. After their 2023 album Solitary Transmissions and a run of instantly sold-out 45s, they’re back with Cosmic Seeds, recorded and mixed entirely by the band. It pushes further out — less about straight-line repetition, more about movement: warmer, looser, with Moog lines, deep rhythm sections, and a stronger pull toward jazz and funk without losing that kosmische core. “Cosmic Seeds is an unforgettable sonic journey that stands out in today's psychedelic landscape.” — Juno UK “One of the key escapist records of 2023, taking psychedelia to the outside world.” — Sun 13 Magazine Menk, now based in Berlin, operate in a different but equally immersive space. Formed in St. Petersburg in 2017 and now a duo (Jura Titov and Anton Viktorov), they build dense, shifting soundscapes out of reverb-soaked guitars, heavy bass, and slow-burning rhythms. It’s part neo-psych, part noise rock — music that feels less like songs and more like environments you step into.