Sly & The Family Stone’s earliest days as a live band are finally on the record via today’s release of The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967. The recording comes from their run as the house band at Redwood City, CA’s Winchester Cathedral from December 16, 1966, to April 28, 1967. Near the end of this stretch—in the wee hours of March 26, 1967 to be exact—Stone’s first manager Rich Romanello pressed record. Not long after this recording, the band signed to Epic Records and released their breakout track “Dance To The Music.” So the 7-inch analog tapes went into storage where they sat for thirty-five years. The reels were rediscovered in 2002 by Dutch twins Edwin and Arno Konings, renowned Sly & The Family Stone archivists, and carefully restored by their co-producer Palao for this set. And now we’re here, the record is out in full, and you can download the socially and sonically innovative “I Gotta Go Now (Up On The Floor) / Funky Broadway” for FREE to get the party started.

New Zealanders The Beths have a bouncy, ‘'90s-esque-jangle-rock sound that keeps us feeling forever young. “Metal” is a solid example of how the four-piece always keeps it upbeat and inviting… even on songs born from rigorous touring and mental health issues. Revel in the joyful relatability of The Beths when they rock The Wiltern on Friday, Nov. 7 alongside Bret McKenzie and Phoebe Rings.

Elvin Estela is a hero of the LA underground. Most notably as a co-founder of the taste-making club night Low End Theory, and producing boundary-expanding beats as Nobody. Now he’s enjoying a vibrant new chapter as ELESTELA as he plunges the depths of the LA house music scene. Need an entry point? Check out the thick bass notes, crunchy beats, and dance-floor readiness of “Bounce Back.”

Today we celebrate the long-awaited vinyl reissue of Funkadelic’s 1970 debut. Loud, seductive, and gritty, this album was released as the American optimism of the 1960s waned into unrest and adversity. 

Funkadelic caught fire with the listening public for their blending of psychedelic rock, blues, gospel, and R&B into a new form of Black expression; a counterpoint to the sound of Motown. Today’s Top Tune, “I Bet You,” delivers a hypnotic groove that’s both subversive and rapturous.

Composers and multi-instrumentalists Rachika Nayar & Nina Keith are combining their powers as Disinblud. They recently dropped a self-titled debut album that holds a multitude of beatific sounds, including “Give-upping (feat. Julianna Barwick).” It’s a song for tapping into the Buddhist truth of holding onto past experiences as a source of suffering. Download it now; reach new levels in your meditation practice. And for the immersive experience, KCRW Presents: Disinblud at 2220 Arts on Friday, Oct. 24. 

Leroi Conroy is the alter-ego of Colemine Records’ owner, recording artist, and sound designer Terry Cole. And he just dropped a slithering, hypnotic, instrumental called “Panther Cry,” a piece to whet our appetites for his debut album A Tiger’s Tale.  Look out! … For some serious hip-hop drumming, bass dropping, and head-nodding (the latter of which will be your own).

Consummate collaborator Marissa Nadler (Father John Misty, John Cale, Angel Olsen, etc.) will release her tenth studio album New Radiations on Aug. 15 via Sacred Bones Records. The ethereal and haunting title track is just what you need to enjoy a contemplative journey through her dusty, dreamlike soundscapes.

New Jersey-based synth-rock-soul purveyor 54 Ultra slays us with First Work, a six-track EP that contains the Spanglish single “No Tengo Valor.” The song title is open to interpretation: either “I Don’t Have Value,” or “I Don’t Have The Guts or Valor.” Intense subject matter aside, the song functions as a lighthouse of sonic components as Ultra 54 weaves his Puerto Rican and Dominican roots into a super-catchy (and formidable) Latin Soul number. 

“Mystic” offers a cinematic sneak peak into Other Lives’ forthcoming album Volume V (due Oct. 10 via Play It Again Sam). The ten track album marks the latest chapter in the band’s saga, and finds them pushing new boundaries with their epic arrangements, melodies, and orchestrations. 

Queens-based artist Juan Wauters’ new LP MVD LUV celebrates his hometown of Montevideo, Uruguay. “Manjando Por Pando” (which was world premiered on MBE)  takes its classic songwriting style from candombe, an Afro-Uruguayan musical and dance tradition dating back to the eighteenth century.