Elkka’s deep intuition is the unifying thread throughout Cardiff-born DJ and producer’s illustrious career. Vibrant releases for Local Action, Ninja Tune and her own label and party, femme culture, have marked her as an unstoppable force within the London underground.
This recognition metabolised when she was awarded BBC’s prestigious Essential Mix of the Year in 2021, spotlighting her radiant blend of classic house, breakbeat and experimental electronica to the world over.
As the next curator of DJ-Kicks, Elkka is voyaging through rave euphoria. “This is a really special moment for me because DJ-Kicks has been a formative part of my musical education,” she says.
An intoxicating journey through Chicago house and disco, leftfield techno, UK bass and electro-punk, Elkka conjures up an atmosphere that is as primed for the club as it is the listener’s interior world.
Lee Stevens returns to Luv Shack Records for his first solo EP in over ten years, after exploring a more relaxed sound under his Rising Seed moniker.
The opening track “Right On” creates a sonic universe where Ennio Morricone and John Carpenter have joined forces to make synth heavy dance music.
„Maskaron“ sounds like a full homage to new wave and the obscure side of italo disco, topped with chanting reminiscent of 1970s western movies.
On "Trippin´ On Your Love" Lee Stevens taps into early proto-house and synth-dance, complete with arp bass and occasional breakbeats.
Track number four, "Ju Know," features Lee Stevens and long-time collaborator Simonlebon in a moody, upbeat jam with heavy low-end synths, bittersweet vocal samples, and 80s pop-style piano chords.
Finally, the closing track "Destruction" features tight 808 drums accompanying a dark bassline and eerie vocals, with uplifting synth chords reminding us there is still hope.
Mit ihrem neuen Meisterwerk "Beautiful Distortion" melden sich THE GATHERING am 29.04.2022 eindrucksvoll zurück! Die bisher nicht für den Handel erhältliche EP "Interference" enthält 2 brandneue Songs sowie einen Live-Track.
For the past 30-plus years, Paul Oakenfold has remained in the vanguard of the global electronic music community. With more than 110 million streams collectively, over 5 million albums sold worldwide, three GRAMMY nominations and more awards and accolades than you can count, Oakenfold is one of the industry’s most revered and most successful artists—ever. Hailed as the “Godfather of electronic music,” he’s been voted the world’s best DJ twice by DJ Mag, named the most influential DJ of all time by the London Evening Standard and recognized as the world’s most successful DJ by Guinness World Records. His hands-on involvement in the foundational establishment, international popularization and ongoing evolution of modern dance music spans nearly four decades.
Oakenfold’s discography includes three full-length studio albums, countless live/compilation albums, singles and remixes, and +20 DJ mix albums. He has written and produced for major stars like Cher, The Happy Mondays, U2, and Madonna and also counts +100 remixes for +100 artists, including The Rolling Stones, Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and Elvis Presley.
This release is a reissue of his classic - Southern Sun from 2002. Originally released as a double A side with "Ready Steady Go", it peaked at no 16 in the UK chart. It was taken from 1M worldwide selling album Bunkka which was released the following month. Featuring vocals by Carla Werner, the original version and various remixes have been included on over 70 compilation albums.
Now remastered for 2023 – this remix package features the full 9.44 trance journey by Tiësto & the equally dazzling Gabriel & Dresden Remix, which can be seen selling on Discogs for up to £225.
It will be followed by the album Bunkka remastered double LP later this year, it will be the 1st time the album has been made available on vinyl. Paul’s biography ‘Ready Steady Go!’ will also be out this year.
Some gorgeous soulful boogie tracks right here!! The French Philippe Lecauchois, better known as "Phil Boogie Times" and Claudio Casalini, the factotum of the Italian label Best Record, teamed up with the intention of carrying on their identical passion, being devoted to Boogie, Funk, Soul and " Old School Disco". There couldn't have been a better choice to start this conjunction of passions and sharing of ideals: the first 12inch, produced by Darryl Payne in 1983, sees two precious gems such as "What's the Deal" b/w "Have You for My Love" by the charming ex Salsoul artist, Carol Williams (BTBS-12001). The other reissue of Phil and Claudio is 1984's "Come Back Lover" masterfully sung and arranged by Carl Smith (BTBS-12002). Listening to these splendid 40-year-old productions again will do good to the hearts of all the followers and fans of true soul music made in the USA. Coming on a limited vinyl edition!
Proper boogie action by Carl Smith! The French Philippe Lecauchois, better known as "Phil Boogie Times" and Claudio Casalini, the factotum of the Italian label Best Record, have teamed up with the intention of carrying on their identical passion, being devoted to Boogie, Funk, Soul, and " Old School Disco". There couldn't have been a better choice to start this conjunction of passions and sharing of ideals: the first 12iinch, produced by Darryl Payne in 1983, sees two precious gems such as "What's the Deal" b/w "Have You for My Love" by the charming ex Salsoul artist, Carol Williams (BTBS-12001). The other reissue of Phil and Claudio is 1984's "Come Back Lover" masterfully sung and arranged by Carl Smith (BTBS-12002). Listening to these splendid 40-year-old productions again will do good to the hearts of all the followers and fans of true soul music made in the USA. Must have vinyl edition of this gem!
For all Italo Disco and Spacesynth fans the album „FROM THE
DAWN OF TIME“ by KOTO is an absolute MUST HAVE!
This re-release of the original album from 1992 will bring great
joy not only to the sworn fan community. Also for all those
who feel like cranking up their disco laser system in the party
cellar, this album offers the perfect sound to do so
Over the course of a 19-year career, Marshall Watson has released all manner of musical treats for a similarly wide array of labels, yet it’s the effortless beauty of his downtempo works – and particularly his ambient and Balearic excursions – that have often left a lasting impression.
It certainly caught the attention of NuNorthern Soul founder Phil Cooper, who brought the West Coast producer to the label in the summer of 2021. That EP, Sunsets on Larkin Parts 1 & 2, was undeniably special. The same can be said about his belated return to the label, Foothills, an EP packed to the rafters with slow-burn melodies, sustained chords, becalmed textures and gently unwinding grooves.
Watson’s distinctive take on Balearic naturally comes to the fore on EP opener ‘High Desert’, a soft-focus delight where languid electric guitars, starry electric piano lines, echoing chords and gently pulsing electronics stretch out across a shuffling groove. While tailor-made for watching the sun set off his beloved Pacific Coast – and over the Mediterranean Sea – ‘High Desert’ offers a dose of hazy sonic sunshine that can brighten up even the greyest of days.
Fittingly, the accompanying remix comes from long-time friends of the label Seahawks, whose textured, layered and atmospheric productions similarly blur boundaries between Balearic, ambient, pitched-down dancefloor grooves and glassy-eyed psychedelia. Employing opaque, shape-shifting pads, effects-laden guitars, subtle spoken word snippets and yearning, almost melancholic chords – all atop a crunchy, head-nodding beat and toasty bassline – the duo deliver a remix that’s as emotive and sonically stunning as Watson’s original mix.
The EP’s three other tracks amply demonstrate the subtle variety within Watson’s downtempo output. Vocalist Julie Childe makes her mark on ‘Sweet Sounds’, a brilliant blend of warming deep house and laidback Balearic nu-disco that sports subtle hints to his work as one half of synthwave duo Causeway, while ‘Open Sky’ brilliantly wraps undulating TB-303 acid lines and echoing Spanish guitars around a hypnotic, locked-in dancefloor groove.
Then there’s ‘The Landscape’, a deliciously saucer-eyed slab of breakbeat-powered, TB-303-sporting genius that evokes the immersive, early morning waviness of the ambient house era, the beach party psychedelia of San Francisco’s free party movement, and the bleeping wonder of turn-of-the-90s UK dance music. Like the rest of the EP, it’s an enveloping, head-soothing and mind-expanding treat.
e B2 High Desert Seahawks High Sky Remix
As bassist for dance-punk outfit The Rapture, Mattie Safer cut his teeth in the music scene alongside a wave of now-legendary early 2000s NYC acts like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem and more (a time period recently immortalized in the documentary film ‘Meet Me In The Bathroom.’) Fast-forward nearly 2 decades and Mattie has found the sweeter side of dance music as the current lead vocalist for slo-mo kings Poolside, and now he presents his solo lovetempo project on Razor-N-Tape.
A chilled-out singer/songwriterly affair, the lovetempo EP moves between organic laidback disco, modern bossa nova treatments, and Sade-esque grown-n-sexy jazz grooves. Hitting notes of both melancholy and positivity, Mattie’s plaintiff vocals wind through all 4 of the original songs, delivering catchy and singable hooks. RNT regular Yuksek does what he does best, and takes the most uplifting tune of the pack into positively joyous hands-in-the-air territory with a stunning remix.
Repress!
Two of Jean Carn's seminal hits combined. 'Was That All It Was' is a big hitting disco exploration with hints of Jean's gospel choir background coming to the fore. The flip houses the classic 'Don't Let It Go To Your Head' - covered on many an occasion since it's release back in '78.
Exceptionally talented keyboardist, DJ and producer Moon Boots (Peter Dougherty) has revealed his third studio album ‘Ride Away’. The ten-track LP will land on March 17th on Anjunadeep. The first single, ‘Hot Minute’ featuring Black Gatsby, is out today. Written and produced over a nearly two-year period beginning in early 2021, ‘Ride Away’ contains themes of love, companionship, and personal exploration. Hauling in a crate’s worth of musical influences, Moon Boots has imbued ‘Ride Away’ with his characteristic blend of soul, disco, and house music, whilst also introducing the sounds of synthpop, breakbeats, and psychedelica. Marrying these eclectic styles is part and parcel of Moon Boots idiosyncratic sensibility, honed through years of living and DJing in Chicago, the birthplace of house music, and in the musical melting pot of Brooklyn. ‘Hot Minute’ is the first single and features the vocals of longtime collaborator Black Gatsby. With a sassy chorus that echoes Anderson Paak and Sylvester with a gospel-inflected breakdown, ‘Hot Minute’ shows off the full range of Black Gatsby’s talents and his unique musical rapport with Moon Boots. This bop is a tantalising taste of what Dougherty has been up to in the studio. ‘Hot Minute’ follows the recent release of ‘Come Back Around’ which featured indie darling Cherry Glazerr. The summer anthem was supported by the likes of KCRW, Triple J, and SiriusXM. ‘Ride Away’ follows in the footsteps of Moon Boots’s debut ‘First Landing’ (2017) and sophomore album ‘Bimini Road’ (2019). With an impressive catalogue atypical of the dance world, Dougherty’s third album represents both his tenacity and evolution as a producer and songwriter.
Featuring a swathe of colourful vocalists including the likes of Cherry Glazerr, Dope Earth Alien, and Nic Hanson, ‘Ride Away’ celebrates Dougherty’s longstanding affinity for collaboration, fun effervescent songwriting, and dance-focused production. Other international artists on the album include French singer Praa and Norwegian band Ora The Molecule, whilst longtime collaborators Ross Clark (St. Lucia) and Steven Klavier feature as writers and instrumentalists on the record, rounding out a global ensemble of incredible talent. Having accrued well over 100 million streams on Spotify alone, and having been championed by the likes of Annie Mac, Diplo, Danny Howard, and The Blessed Madonna, Moon Boots has established himself as a trailblazer of R&B-infused dance music.
WRWTFWW Records is proud to present the first official worldwide reissue of the debut album from fabled Japanese folk singer-songwriter/actress/writer Hako Yamasaki, Tobimasu. The limited edition 180g vinyl LP comes in a heavy sleeve with the original artwork, and the digipack CD has one bonus track. Tobimasu is also available in digital formats.
Originally released in 1975 on legendary independent label Elec Records, Tobimasu is a masterpiece of melancholy carried by one of the most beautiful, moving, melodic, and haunting voices in the history of Japanese music. An extraordinary singer and guitar player, Hako Yamasaki wrote the album at only 18 years old, showing incredible emotional maturity and music making skills, and creating, out of nowhere, a downright classic of folk music, brilliantly arranged and sequenced.
Hako Yamasaki’s folk is bluesy, psychedelic, soft, and poetic, perfectly fitting the themes of nostalgia, love, and nature she covers with heartbreaking intensity. Her songs capture sorrow ravishingly, offering glimpses of empowering hope and uplifting wisdom. A unique voice, a unique approach, and nothing less than magnificent music.
Hako Yamasaki, a pioneer in both the creative boom and the rise of feminism in 1970s Japan, went on to release over thirty albums, building an impressive discography and a fascinating career filled with ups and downs. Her work, inimitable and timeless, deserves the utmost recognition and should be celebrated. Again and again and again.
Tobimasu is released in conjunction with Hako Yamasaki’s beautiful follow-up Tsunawatari, also available on WRWTFWW Records.
In its main mix, Surprise is a classic early nineties house track that heavily nods towards the Big Apple, house music’s disco roots and the power of swinging drum programming, albeit with meticulous production work and engineering. In short, it sounded and sounds as un-German as Germans can. The Holy Bassline Mix on the other hand is already in the shape of things to come. Carried by a Roland TB-303, sprinkled with trance bits and elegiac pads, its in perfect balance.
Others thought so as well. Heavily supported by David Holmes and Andrew Weatherall, it was the manager of the latter who licensed it to Eye-Q Records UK with the addition of the Fake Jazz Mix and ordered remixes by freshmen Isoleé and Losoul who became pillars of Playhouse. The first known for his idiosyncratic and sculptural ways of creating dance music meets the irresistible funk of his peer and both add spice to the already great menu. Here you have the chance to listen and digest Surprise in all its glory and entirety for the first time. Carefully remastered and processed by Lopazz and packaged by Running Back. Remember the good times and get some more.
The popularity of Brazilian music from the 60s, 70s and 80s has experienced quite the renaissance; artists such as Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil, Arthur Verocai, Joyce et al, have become household names to an international audience passionate about global sounds. However, even for die-hard fans and collectors of Brazilian music of the past, discovering contemporary Brazilian artists is not always easy, nor accessible. But, if you know where to look, you will see that there is a resurgence well underway that can be epitomised by an exciting new wave of Brazilian artists beginning to break through and gather momentum overseas. It’s with thanks to Sound and Colours, a website devoted to promoting Latin American music and culture, that we can help shine a light on one particular collective, bursting with creativity and camaraderie.
‘Hidden Waters: Strange and Sublime Sounds of Rio de Janeiro’ is compiled by Joe Osborne (founder of specialist Brazilian music platform Brazilian Wax) and Russ Slater (editor at large of Sounds and Colours). Focusing solely on the 'Rio Scene', rather than taking on the mammoth task of tackling Brazil as a whole, this collection presents 20-plus ground-breaking artists selected from Rio’s resurgent music scene. By presenting a snapshot into the pulse of the city and the vibrant musicians that live in it, ‘Hidden Waters’ collates tracks from a wide spectrum of musical genres from the avant-garde edge to bossa nova, samba, Candomblé, lo-fi rock, jazz and funk.
‘Hidden Waters’ showcases musicians such as iconic Rio mainstays Negro Leo & Ava Rocha, Brazilian jazz upstart Antônio Neves, critically lauded Avant-pop trailblazer Thiago Nassif, breakthrough artists Ana Frango Elétrico and Letrux, lo-fi psych rocker Lê Almeida, plus the Latin Grammy-winning Bala Desejo who are set to explode onto the world stage. The music featured on ‘Hidden Waters’ is unequivocally Brazilian, swelling with samba, bossa nova, funk, and jazz. But it’s within the album's blend; from sunny psychedelia to dusky synth-pop via experimental electronics, that marks the compilation as the sound of modern, multicultural Rio.
This comprehensive compilation comes with album artwork designed by Rio music’s leading album artwork designer, Caio Paiva. It features essays by professor and music critic Bernardo Oliveira and music journalist Leonardo Lichote, plus extensive notes on each track by the artists themselves.
Spatial & Co Vol. 2 may well be the best album in the Spatial & Co series. It's absolutely flawless. Again created by French disco lord and Arpadys maestro Sauveur Mallia for French library label Tele Music in 1979, it leans far more into the space disco sound than the clean cosmic funk of its predecessor. And it's all the more thrilling for it.
Wide-eyed opener "Discomax" is starts as pure piano-disco brilliance with a bassline to die for before heading off into wigged out territory, all acidic squelches and jaw-dropping percussive breakdowns. Perfection. "Space People" follows, an eerie, half-beatless sci-fi synth workout played out against a hauntingly metronomic pulse for the first half - proper slow-mo space disco business - before the beat kicks in, the electric guitar solo wails beautifully and the bassline that emerges at its conclusion rides in on some other shit.
Closing out the A-Side, the six minute long "Bass Power" is, unsurprisingly, a deep, low-end roller with head-nod drums, whizzing synths, blissed out ambient vibes and Mallia's otherworldly bass playing super high in the mix. It's white hot funk, make no mistake, and it sounds like a re-geared library version of Roxy Music. Yes, *that* good.
Side B is laced firstly by "Holidays Morning", an emotional disco-pop groover, all electric guitars, skipping drums and synthy bleeps with more than a few moments of pure driving funk.
One for the deep heads, longtime favourite "Electric Maneges" follows, a bleepy, haunted dancehall gem, uncut tropical balearic-funk from another dimension. The sophisticated digi-soul of "Loving Discovery" comes on like a weird, interplanetary Sade instrumental, all swelling synths, warm keys and syrupy guitar rhythms. Hearing is believing.
Arguably saving the best til last, the fierce, proto-techno of "Exotic Guide" closes out this extraordinary set. The intro genuinely sounds like Detroit would a good few years later - just wild - before it glides into a driving percussive funk break complete with both stabbing, insistent synths and those of a more winding, laconic variety. The one complaint? It's over far too soon. Remarkable.
Sauveur Mallia is a crucial figure in the history of electronic and dance music and a hugely underrated French library bass player and composer from the Arpadys / Voyage crew. This is just the beginning of Be With's Mallia - Tele Music reissue campaign!
The audio for Spatial & Co Vol. 2 has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring the punch of Sauveur's bass and those sick drums come through to the fullest. Pete Norman’s expert skills has made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original and iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.
The duo WILDES from the south of Germany, consisting of Jana Pantha and Jenny Tulipa, presents a musical mix of electro-synth-pop, post-punk and dark disco influences. After the release of their first EP “RAWWR” in 2021, their debut album entitled “KLISCHEE” will be released on 3 February 2023. Released via the Kommando 84 label, the album features 11 songs and a musical re-interpretation of German-language Neue Deutsche Welle sounds. The songs combine spoken word passages in which the singers combine a certain irony with word-playful rhymes. In addition to world-political, social issues, the songs revolve around the complexity of the new romance in love - between cosmos and stereo. The strong and experimentally avant-garde lyrics accompany the danceable pulse of the drum computer, melodic synth waves and the shimmering solos of the lead guitar.
The album “Klischee” begins with an electro-pop track that combines consistent grooves with atmo- spheric sound arrangements and a lead guitar that accompanies our journey to the moon. With the chorus’ high-pitched words, „Konsum - leg mich auf den Moon“ (“Consumption - put me on the Moon”), WILDES dryly yet humorously allude to a society that couldn’t fly “higher”.
The following cheeky song Leger in Schwarz combines impeccable post punk with influences from the NNDW scene. A short love story led by the electronic beat of the synthesizer makes the hearts of the night beat faster. With casual reduction, a guitar riff leads through the song. The guitar solo finally rounds off the plea about the longing for a good flirt.
Italo disco shimmers and pulsates on the driving song Capri. With lyrics like “Pack the boats - Vai a bordo”, Capri is a homage to the tried and tested Italo feeling with a cappucino on the terrazza, or indeed on the yacht with a view of the rocky walls of the island. An electric charge of sequencers and synth tracks acts here as a lightness of being in contrast to the porosity of the rock.
An electrifying electric guitar solo kicks off the fourth track with a mysterious invitation to Steig ein translated, get in. Hypnotised by the lights of the road, dazzled in the side mirror, a clearly repeating rhythm leads into the chorus and through the coming verses. English spoken-word lyrics add to the stoicism of the German language. The song’s great power ends with the line Lost in the dark, holding open the finale of the “Night Drive” encounter.
Digital and stereo on all channels, the distinctly tight and robust rhythm sounds in the song Apparat. A clear and simple synth melody is heard as a contrast and the electric bass gives the balance of the machine at points. Hiddenly, WILDES points here to the superior power that can control human action beyond all limits. A piece as a laudation to all the science fiction novels that play with the switching of the individual parts.
Side One of the vinyl is finalised by a song called La Grande Bellezza that motivates to dance and sing along. The punky pop craft lives through the recurring beat of the rhythm guitar. Here the focus is on the woman in all her facets. The great beauty, una donna, who can do everything as well as wanting everything and nothing...a strong woman who, however, also staggers and wants to jump off the cliff. Clearly and distinctly, the musical accompaniment of the drum machine and the accompanying synth melody reflect hidden parallel worlds and the ambiguity of character - of life? We get a desire for more and turn the round record.
The B side starts with a powerful guitar riff, complemented by a catchy and strong bassline that runs through the song. In this work, WILDES provocatively describes the West’s lust for the much-cov- eted Schwarzes Gold black gold. The song is reminiscent of the works of the band D.A.F. and thus ties in with the electronic punk sound spate.
The driving guitar riff joins in with the reduced synth bass sequence - the electro-pop song with the title Hitze (Heat) came onto the digital music market as the first single from the LP in the summer of 2022. Pulsatingly, the drum computer lets the beats vibrate to the rhythm of heated air. The duo po- etically describes heat with supercooled voices, a clarity in the sky that makes everything flow, that makes the breath dry. The work ends with a melodic synth solo.
Ich lad dich ein, I invite you - we have all said or heard this sentence before. A chance meeting of two people later leads to the altar in love. A far-reaching question that more or less arises in many love relationships at some point “Do you dare?” positions itself in lyrical contrast to the simple ques- tion in the refrain “Do you need sugar?”. WILDES plays with laconic poetry and, full of irony, makes the listeners think about living together. Krautrock contours are skilfully used in this piece. Reduced to the essentials, the chorus immediately sticks in the ear. A cheerful mix of steel drums and infec- tious solo.
Toccami - touch me! We sit on padded leather chairs - “you’re a rocket! Peng Puff Peng” - this song by the band WILDES joins experimental art-punk-pop, electronically with flowing synth waves we take off immediately. Melodically sung, lyrical layers of lyrics dance loosely light and gracefully in the ears of the viewer. The rhythmic beat visualises the feeling of floating in a spaceship. It’s love in the universe - “I love you, my darling” sounds tipsy in the beat-heavy disco refrain.
Hypnotically, WILDES launches into the final song of the entire LP. The title Zone takes us on a journey through time. Inspired by the film Stalker, we find ourselves in a science fiction setting that couldn’t be more present in today’s European events. The musicality of the electric guitar riffs ac- companied by simple new wave drums drives the listener into unknown realms.
Repetition and electronic synth sounds play a compositional role alongside rocking guitar riffs like their forerunners in the NDW scene. Lyrically, each song varies between pop-romantic and politically critical passages. Listeners start pondering about hedonistic life and its consequences. Sometimes it feels like listening to a Tarantino soundtrack in German, other times it feels like listening to an 80s track by a James Bond. Science fiction fantasies and reality add up in dadaistic theatricality to spir- ited synthpunk of the New German Wave from the South. Discoid beats and driving drums in digital are included.
Swing Family's Music Force is dramatic mid-80s synth-funk. From the maverick mind of Sauveur Mallia, it's a thrilling and uniquely brilliant album from start to finish. It's undoubtedly known and revered for its unbelievable standout track, "Mission Africa". Those that know, know. And if you don't know, get to know. It's the reason this record has been hugely sought-after for the best part of two decades. Originally released on Tele Music in France in 1985 but now tear-inducingly rare, this is the definition of "a welcome reissue."
Swing Family is basically a supergroup of French Funk royalty. Led by French disco lord and Arpadys maestro Sauveur Mallia, they were augmented by trombonist Alex Perdigon from legendary French funk rock collective Godchild, trumpeter Kako Bessot from funky fusion group Synthesis and saxophonist Pierre Holassian, a member of Giant, Janko Nilovic's French jazz orchestra. So, about as heavyweight as it gets for funky French goodness. Mallia handles, of course, bass duties throughout, as well as utilising his arsenal of synths including his E-mu, Yamaha Dx7, Roland MSQ 700, Mini Moog and Oberheimm.
The maximalist disco fusion of "Exorcistor" is perhaps a bit too 80s French cheese for most tastes, so either linger on its singular style or head straight to the soundtracky typo-funk of "Greewich Boulevard". A deep, swaggering powerhouse, it comes on like mid-80s Chic jamming on the set of Beverly Hills Cop with Kashif. Yes, *that* good. It's followed by the vital "Music Force", a synthy, sleazy instrumental full of sax and flute and those 80s drum fills. Just the right side of acceptable.
OR! You can even choose to forget all the rest and just stick "Mission Africa" straight on. A rumbling, strutting, afro-cosmic low-profile banger. The slick drums hit hard, the synth strings warm things up, overlapping horns add swagger whilst electric guitar flourishes and a chanted refrain sit in the mix quite perfectly. A track that's almost impossible to describe and do justice to. You just need to hear it. Preferably as you saunter into your favourite after-hours club, after spotting all your friends at once, as you cut a swathe to the bubbling dance floor. A track quite like no other, it makes you sit up within its first bars and, to us at least, sound like something you'd have heard on a Print Thomas mix from the mid 00s. Basically, it's cosmo-galactic.
The B Side opens with "Musical Stars", an oh-so-80s funk-lite track which, at times, sounds like something Daft Punk may have left on the cutting room floor during their Discovery sessions. Another unimpeachable favourite of ours is the druggy brilliance of "Gentleman & Musician". You can almost hear the white powder through the speakers, as soaring, acidy synths, slick, heavy beats and the irresistible interplay of the primo horn players create a real sleazy wonder. "Film Action" follows, a galloping horn-heavy synth romp with moments of extreme bass breakdown brilliance before the drama-synths of "Episode Double" take things up another notch as it oscillates between gorgeous funky horns and urgent bleepy magic. Super tense, super funky and super stylish. Just ace. The elctro-tinged horn workout "Fatal Lady" closes things out majestically.
The audio for Music Force has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring the punch of Sauveur's bass and those sick drums come through to the fullest. Pete Norman’s expert skills has made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original and iconic sleeve - complete with perky Liberty Belle - has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.
Veteran artist Sebra Cruz releases his debut album ‘Don't Worry Psy Happy’ on DJ Tennis’ revered Life & Death imprint. The daring eleven track LP is as experimental as it is definitive and encapsulates the Italian spirit in perfect style.
The LP follows two previously teased singles; ‘Margaret’, an ode to Cruz’ girlfriend which is a deeply passionate and expressive melodic house offering and album title ‘Don’t Worry Psy Happy’ a hedonistic, tripped out soundscape.
The lead track ‘Sunfish’ is a melange of powerful synths overlaid with sporadic vocals and a swinging breakbeat which make the record the perfect soundtrack for early morning dancefloor euphoria.
The album continues its genreless motif and is hard to pin down. It broaches a variety of styles including cinematic and ambient leaning sonics such as ‘Optimist’ and ‘Poliziesco’, the latter which includes Gabriele Fabbri’s atmospheric guitar riff throughout.
‘The Siebel Road To Mars’ is a similarly powerful yet emotive record which samples current Italian President Sergio Mattarella between the piano and the extraterrestrial sound palette. Continuing with the more abstract tracks ‘Flying Junior’, which was named after Cruz’ own sailboat, emulates the peacefulness and tranquillity of the sea. It’s yet another reflection of Sebra Cruz’ artistic personality.
Juxtaposing the calm and serene records from the album, ‘AltreCose’, inspired by the energy of the Neapolitan people during Sebra’s DJing residency in the 90s, is a more high energy disco-infused record. Similarly ‘When Life Was Slow’, released on Life & Death back in 2020, is another upbeat dance interpretation and a tribute to Cruz’ passion for Italian composers from the 60s and 70s.
Speaking about the album Sebra says: “What emerges is in my opinion an album with predominantly Italian spirit, disco, house with both edgy and gentle influences. I never decide what to do first, I simply follow my spur of the moment instinct. Releasing an album for Life & Death is cool because I've always had huge respect for Manfredi.”
Sebra Cruz and DJ Tennis have a long lasting and trusting collaborative relationship exhibited by the former's numerous releases on Tennis’ Life and Death label. DJ Tennis’ encyclopaedic musical brain and shared passion for Italian composers perfectly complements Sebra’s stylings.
Striking an impeccable balance between abstract and obscure sonics and more methodical and conventional melodies, 'Don't Worry Psy Happy’ is a body of work that exquisitely expresses Sebra Cruz’ personality via different worlds and mediums.
"The Concert" is the first discographic collaboration between percussionist Alexandre Babel and visual artist Latifa Echakhch. The record is intimately linked to the eponymous exhibition presented at the Swiss Pavilion during the 59th Venice Art Bienniale.
For her exhibition in the Swiss Pavilion, Latifa Echakhch created an orchestrated and enveloping experience, a rhythmic and spatial proposal that allowed the visitor a complete perception of time and of his own body. What is the origin of rhythm? How does the body perceive time? How does the mind rearrange it? Can we substitute one perception for another, the visual for the sound? Can fragments of memory go back in time and recreate a different story?
Her proposal entered a dialogue with the building around it, designed by Bruno Giacometti. The artist revisited its architectural programme as well as the prototypical progression of these exhibition spaces, originally defined for the display of classical art. She appropriated the entirety of the spaces, simultaneously exploring continuity, movement and sequence. Their relationship to light, and the different sounds that emerge from them. Yet the exhibition was entirely silent and the musical composition "The Concert" functions as its sound rendering, by following a similar path.
This one-sided vinyl is a complementary and inseparable partner piece to the exhibition and its eponymous catalogue, the latter having been published in April 2022 by Sternberg Press. The music features field recordings made at the Swiss Pavilion itself as well as pre-recorded percussion sounds and significant contributions by the Berlin-based musicians Jon Heilbronn, Rebecca Lenton, Theo Nabicht, Nikolaus Schlierf.
The record, available only after the closing of Latifa Echakhch’s exhibition offers a concluding phase to the project. The resonance of its sensory score. It reactivates the experience of the physical journey of the installation, without imposing itself as a transcription or an illustration. Through texture, temporality and its totality, the record stands as a resonance of the rhythms that have structured the pavilion, the harmonies that have composed it and the sounds that have inhabited it.
Latifa Echakhch Lives and works in Vevey, Switzerland. She graduated from the École nationale supérieure d’arts in Cergy-Pontoise and the École nationale des beaux-arts in Lyon. Galleries representing her include kamel mennour (Paris and London), kaufmann repetto (Milan and New York), Dvir Gallery (Tel Aviv/Brussels) and Pace (New York). She took part in the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale Arte in 2011 and was awarded the prix Marcel-Duchamp in 2013 and the Zurich Art Prize in 2015. Through her interdisciplinary installations, Latifa Echakhch is recognized for the fine balance between forcefulness and fragility of her visual language, inserting surrealist and conceptual elements, and her use of symbols that–in her own words–are both "political and poetic".
Alexandre Babel Lives and works in Berlin. He is a drummer, composer, and curator. His projects redefine the boundaries of musical convention, confounding listener expectations in the conquest of new contexts. Babel has been the artistic director of the contemporary percussion group Eklekto 2013–2022. In 2020, the monographic Festival Les Amplitudes in La Chaux-de-Fonds focused on Babel’s compositional and curatorial work. He is a laureate of the Swiss Music Prize from the Federal Office of Culture 2021.
Wistful, quietly positive, and a little bit melancholic; ambient artist Umber is set to release kaleidoscopic new album ‘Sometimes that light, that shine, seemed like a pretty nice thing’ on 17th March 2023. Focused on melodies that engage the heart as much as the mind, the album brings his electronic influences to the fore, combining shimmering soundscapes with a throbbing pulse of movement.
Umber, the project of Nottingham based Alex Steward, has been steadily releasing sublime music since 2011. Living in a small town provides Alex with a balance between the peace of rolling green fields and the energy of community. This life on the edge of the countryside comes across in his music, which finds the verve of night life enveloped in organic textures and environments.
Wistful, quietly positive, and a little bit melancholic; ambient artist Umber is set to release kaleidoscopic new album ‘Sometimes that light, that shine, seemed like a pretty nice thing’ on 21st April 2023. Focused on melodies that engage the heart as much as the mind, the album brings his electronic influences to the fore, combining shimmering soundscapes with a throbbing pulse of movement.
Umber, the project of Nottingham based Alex Steward, has been steadily releasing sublime music since 2011. Living in a small town provides Alex with a balance between the peace of rolling green fields and the energy of community. This life on the edge of the countryside comes across in his music, which finds the verve of night life enveloped in organic textures and environments.
Alex draws from his experience as a part time palliative care giver, which has had a significant impact on this record. He says, “Through caring for elderly patients, whose time is in short supply, I have discovered that life needs to be celebrated. Even if it’s just playing a game of Scrabble or the way that the shadows of trees dance on a living room wall on a sunny day; there is beauty everywhere. Sometimes we just need to slow down and look a little harder.”
The evocative track titles stem from phrases Alex has heard or read, with the album’s title taken from Stephen King’s book The Shining. They range from the literal (‘It Is Going To Be Ok’, ‘The Last Perfect Day’) to the oblique (‘Hologram Shut Stability’, ‘Sun House Chant’), bestowing the everydayness of fleeting inputs and thought processes to more conscious mantras.
“I feel that my music taps into a part of who we all are”, says Alex. “I try to create music that will emotionally resonate with the listener. Ultimately the album is about finding hope in the smallest actions, something that can often be overlooked or discarded in a world that doesn’t always make a lot of sense.”
Umber’s ‘Sometimes that light, that shine, seemed like a pretty nice thing’ is set to be released on vinyl and digital formats via California-based label Subtempo on 17th March 2023.
Liberation is the latest evolution by David West, a dedicated underground dweller and traveler with his groups Rat Columns and Rank/Xerox and previously spotted in Lace Curtain and Total Control. Many familiar elements of West's songwriting creep out from the speakers this time around, albeit in a sonically more adventurous and personal manner. Swathed in analogue and FM synths, pinned down by near-funk drum machines, and with a vision expanded into the past and future. While in previous incarnations, West's alienated and fragile vocal has battled with jangling guitars and distortion, Liberation sets free his woes and ruminations into space. Taking inspiration from the heyday of Mute Records, the beginnings of electronic dance music's rudimentary sampling, broken and sound art, Liberation's debut LP is 10 songs of the road, about the nameless ghosts on the highway, accidental lovers, the alienation of the stranger in a strange land, the unbearable weight of freedom.
Beginning with a curveball, Liberation's first vocal sets out the position of the forever-cuckold, the sad lover hanging on: Looking For A Lover combines a Roland 707's loping mid-tempo with creeped-out synth lines as West intones his intentions close to the ear. Continuing in a more baroque manner, Move Me makes astounding use of string samples and space, with esteemed engineer Mikey Young's (Total Control / Eddy Current Suppression Ring) production prowess making for a distilled yet inviting loneliness. Forget is the night-drive centerpiece of the album, a 7 minute that erupts into a nihilistic sub-disco darkness. A constant theme of Liberation is the friction between West's characters: a frustrated love in victim-status paired with a menacing intent. The adorable, fragile stalker in the moonlight, illuminated by Whatever You Want, a
subjugated protagonist offering they have while the city burns. The brightest pop moment of the album has this in abundance: Cold And Blue, a classic synth pop jam to be played on repeat til the end of time, like New Order played by one man in his bedroom, with no drugs for a cushion, coming down the stairs, she looks like a perfect fear and Im a monument to your existence. But West has moments of touching sincerity that speak direct to the listener, as in album highlight Leaves Falling; a sparse string arrangement frames his vocal, "why do I keep falling for you I must just really like to be alone." Liberation is the freedom from attachments, about how sometimes they're what you want most.
For polymath artist Wesley Joseph, writing a song is like shooting a film - he sees in terms of scenes and colors, lighting the proper mood, drawing the right emotional arc. Music and filmmaking are Joseph’s two great loves. Film came first—he started making DIY videos at age 12 to entertain himself and his friends growing up in a small town in the UK. “There wasn’t really much happening,” he remembers, “and from a young age it created this mindset that doing everything myself was the only way to do it.”
But when he moved to London to study as a filmmaker, he discovered something in the freedom and independence of city life that demanded to be captured in song, and found a crew of collaborators—including A.K. Paul, Dave Okumu, Joy Orbison, Leon Vynehall, Lexxx, Loyle Carner and his childhood friend Jorja Smith—to help him do it. The result was his breakthrough single ‘Ghostin’’ and the 2021 debut ULTRAMARINE - released on his own imprint EEVILTWINN - a deeply textured collection of avant-R&B and soulful future-pop that stretched from psychedelic ballads to hard hip-hop bars (often in the span of a single track) and crystallized the mood of a young cohort trying to find love and live their dreams while the world is falling apart. Whilst his collaboration with Loyle Carner on single ‘Blood On My Nikes’ lead to him featuring on the artist’s critically acclaimed - and #3 charting album - earlier this year.
Now the nascent auteur returns with his Secretly Canadian debut GLOW, eight more songs of love, loss, anxiety, and joy about coming of age at a time of unprecedented change. Showcasing his range across songwriting, performing, and production—not to mention his flawless transitions between singing and rapping, between character studies and raw emotional honesty—it’s a stunningly beautiful work that makes it clear Joseph’s on the path to becoming a world-changing talent.
GLOW opens with the title track’s warm analog synths and cascading vocals that channel the harmonious Northern soul Joseph’s dad raised him on, a shimmering bed of clouds for the project’s opening credits. But like any good director, he quickly deepens the mood, drawing together disparate influences and emotions to build a unique sonic world spilling over with synchronicities and juxtapositions. “MONSOON” conjures nocturnal hedonism at the same time as it contemplates grief.
As on previous projects, Joseph is providing his own visual accompaniments for GLOW, creative directing its artwork and adding to his growing filmography as a director—he’s repped by the renowned production company Stink—with its first video. “COLD SUMMER” finds Joseph singing from a supervillain’s perspective over woozy film-score strings, and the concept bleeds over into its video accompaniment, a cryptic post-post-Tarantino film shot in Kazakhstan.
“I've never really seen them separately,” Joseph says of music and film. “They kind of just constantly drift into each other. And when they come together, it's like it was meant to be in my head the whole time.
It’s usually hyperbole to call an artist as young and new as Joseph “visionary,” but it’s undeniable that he has a vision, one that transcends old ideas of genre and medium, one that seems to get bigger and richer every time he steps into a studio or behind a camera. GLOW is one of the deepest and most satisfyingly cinematic listening experiences of the year—and Wesley Joseph is just getting started.
WRWTFWW Records is proud to present the first official worldwide reissue of the sophomore album from fabled Japanese folk singer-songwriter/actress/writer Hako Yamasaki, Tsunawatari. The limited edition 180g vinyl LP comes in a heavy sleeve with the original artwork, and the digipack CD has one bonus track. Tsunawatari is also available in digital formats.
Recorded right after her outstanding debut Tobimasu, Tsunawatari was released in 1976 on Elec Records, one of the first independent labels in Japan, and solidified Hako Yamasaki as one of the most gorgeous voices of the country and an exceptional musician and singer. A truly perfect follow-up, it immortalizes the bitter beauty of heartache with tearful performances and nostalgic empowerment.
The beauty of melancholic songs reaches heartbreaking heights in Tsunawatari, a magnificent ode to the sorrow of lost love and the time that passes offered to the world with a very unique brand of folk music. The kind of folk that goes for the guts, folk that shamelessly flirts with tearful blues, contemplative soft pop and psychedelic nostalgia. Put the needle on "Help Me" - there’s simply no holding back.
Hako Yamasaki, a pioneer in both the creative boom and the rise of feminism of 1970s Japan, went on to release over thirty albums, building an impressive discography and a fascinating career filled with ups and downs. Her work, inimitable and timeless, deserves the utmost recognition and should be celebrated. Again and again and again.
Tsunawatari is released in conjunction with Hako Yamasaki’s classic debut album Tobimasu, also available on WRWTFWW Records.
Spatial & Co is a synth-drizzled, spaced-out bass-heavy discoid-funk masterpiece from French disco lord and Arpadys maestro Sauveur Mallia. Recorded for French library label Tele Music, in 1979, it's by turns cosmic funk and creeping crime funk, bursting with low slung, k-i-l-l-e-r basslines, loping drum breaks and sparkling percussion. It's so funky it hurts.
Confidently swaggering out the gate is "Future Vision", with its loping yet dextrous bassline across strutting beats setting the scene. "Cosmic News", with its live crowd noises over killer bass work is reminiscent of Bernard & Nile's "Chic Cheer". The bass vs synth workout "Baby Bass" increases the propulsion whilst the dark and mysterious vibes of "Star Odyssey" serve as cosmic respite from being overpowered by funk. The temperature and tempo are raised with the bouncing sophisticated funk of "Meteor One", a slinky interstellar instrumental of the highest order before the sultry, melodic "Bass For Love" offers some attractive slow-mo sleaze to close out the first side.
Opening up Side B, the menacing, beatless "Space Alert" sounds like all those sci-fi theme tunes from your childhood, synthesised into one glorious (black) whole. "Galaxy Wars" is next, another majestic cosmic gem, sans drums. The ultra-percussive flex of "All The Bass" sees the return of the frenetic funky bass and neck-snapping drums. The stretched out funk of "O.V.N.I. Telex" is irresistible and cavernous in scope whilst the swirling, dramatic "Galactics" is an ominous yet melodic wonder. The throwaway funk-lite "Animals Bass" is a bit of a daft way to close out this otherwise flawless set but, hey, flirting with perfection is probably always more fun than actually achieving it.
Sauveur Mallia is a crucial figure in the history of electronic and dance music and a hugely underrated French library bass player and composer from the Arpadys / Voyage crew. This is just the beginning of Be With's Mallia - Tele Music reissue campaign!
The audio for Spatial & Co Vol. 1 has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring the punch of Sauveur's bass and those sick drums come through to the fullest. Pete Norman’s expert skills has made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original and iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.
Anaïs Tuerlinckx is a Belgian pianist who has been living in Berlin since 2008.
She began playing the piano as a child and discovered the world of free improvised music as a teenager. Her approach to the instrument is based on an intuitive sonic research of the piano, which is extended by using a variety of found objects.
Since 2021, she has been playing on a string box instrument, made by Henri Seiferth. The string box, a simplified piano, is a wooden resonator with shortened piano strings mounted on it. Miroitements Étranges was recorded in her home, where the first piece on the A-side album was composed using her string box, while the rest of the material was recorded with a broken Wiener Zither. The B-side is played on her grand piano.
PREDATORY VOID entstand, als Lennart Bossu (Amenra, Oathbreaker) feststellte, dass er Material schrieb, das nicht wirklich für Amenra geeignet war. Da Oathbreaker eine längere Pause einlegten, brauchte er ein neues musikalisches Ventil. Er versammelte eine Gruppe Gleichgesinnter, die in der Nähe von Gent leben, darunter die vielseitige Sängerin und Tattoo-Künstlerin Lina R. Die Band spielte ihre erste Show auf dem renommierten Soulcrusher Festival (NL) neben Bands wie Ihsahn, Envy, Cave In und Heriot, was in der Szene bereits für Aufsehen sorgte. Weitere Shows sind bereits bestätigt, darunter Supports für Amenra und das Alcatratz Festival (BE). Bleibt dran und werdet Zeuge, wie sich PREDATORY VOID entwickelt...
The inaugural 2023 vinyl release Neapolitan Soul Records comes with a new EP produced by Neapolitan Soul.
On side A "JUST BREATHE ON ME" an elegantly deep track, with an energetic afro disco groove, rich percussion and an "underground" atmosphere with an old school Moog melody.
On side B, the Neapolitan producer in collaboration with the London dj/producer Ace Shyllon remixes the track "SEE MY LOVE", which, as the title suggests, voice, groove, synth and pads merge into a sensual and incisive groove suitable for the "underground" dancefloor more demanding.
An essential and perfect EP to create a warm and deep trip for a unique atmosphere on the dancefloor for all deep house lovers.
Emotional Rescue can be relied on to dig up obscure, left of centre dance gems and serve them up to newer, wider audiences. Adu's reggae-pop cut 'Burkina Faso' is a great example, re-purposed for the dancefloor without any of its original flavour lost in the overhaul. A
South Saharan/West African emigre to Brixton, Rauf Adu would go on to fairly sizeable European fame with the Eddy Grant-esque 'Human To Human'. This, however, is his 1982 debut for Copasetic Records, another reggae-pop inspired, ludicrously catchy effort with scorched electric guitar and a Compass Point-style drum/bassline providing rhythmic rocksteadiness. As well as the buffed up original, there's a dub mix, which gives his beautiful guitar plenty of room to breathe, and an appearance from the Isle of Jura Sound System boss Kevin Griffiths , whose remix completes the trio of mixes.
Speedbeforedeath is the debut album from Misteriseparli "the duo with an enigmatic name".
Many influences emerge across Speedbeforedeath. They populate Misteriseparli multiverse where electronic music, funk, ambient, surf, house, psychedelic, disco, exotica and who knows what else, always find an easy way-in to the club.
Pink Vinyl. In the fateful year of 2020, Vincent John and Maxwell Perla of Eraserhood Sound were fortunate enough to stumble upon the score to the long lost, never completed 1974 Italian film Riblle Di Mare. It was not long before they realized they had discovered an opus, written by legendary film composer Sandro Galileo in what was to be his final soundtrack. Only it never came to pass. The film was abandoned before it could be completed, and the ashes of Galileo's final work were swept aside and forgotten. Until today. Eraserhood Sound is proud to present Ribelle Di Mare in all its glory, produced and performed by house band Fantasy 15 in their signature "Synth & Soul" sound. Enjoy the nine stunning tracks that follow, which range in style from dramatic Philly Soul balladry, Spaghetti Western r&b, and Italian library funk.
Happiness Therapy continues its 2023 release schedule this April with a welcome re-appearance from French talent Mogan. The five track Flowers Remember marks his debut full-length feature on the imprint and includes a remix by label mainstay B From E.
Fast-emerging, with a clear ear for what makes the perfect dancefloor melody, French talent Mogan is one of the country’s leading musical exponents. His discography speaks for itself, with a string of releases on Gents & Dandy’s and Sampling As An Art Records. He’s no stranger to Happiness Therapy either, having appeared on the two most recent Happy House compilations, which led to him receiving massive support from french legend Laurent Garnier. Yeah that’s right! Now, Flowers Remember marks his first full-length outing on the imprint, proving that Mogan is just getting started.
Italian producer duo 'Crossroads' are back 10 years after their first release.
Inspired by classic R&B, Disco and Neo-Soul they have had the knack of finding talented unsigned vocalists from all over the globe to feature on their tracks. This time around, the Italian singer Raffaella Zago covers a super soulful track originally composed in the 70's by the disco-soul duo Grey & Hanks.
'If You're In Need' is the perfect link between original 70's disco to contemporary soulful nu-disco, mixing live instruments with modern rhythms and synths. The b-side starts with a more uptempo remix by French DJ and producer Young Pulse, who is set to establish himself as one of the best remixers in the contemporary disco scene. Last but not least 'Call Me Dub' pays more attention to the instrumental parts of the track taking you on a deeper journey into the whole song.
Edition OF 500 copies, Comes with insert and download code.
An album that sounds like The Menahan Street Band playing in a tropical jungle, at dawn, right at the point when the first rays of sunlight penetrate the dark depths of the forest. During the 2022 summer of natural disasters, under an unprecedented heatwave, and haunted by news reports of ancient relics, sunken ships, and hunger stones resurfacing as rivers dried-up all-over Europe, Amsterdam based multi-instrumentalist producer Alex Figueira started to hear uncanny metallic vibrations And eerie melodies of untraceable origins, day and night. He recalls nightmares of winged creatures inside timeless structures of Escherian architectures playing cosmic instruments amidst tropical storms
and acid rains. As the visions came more often, his wife reported that he babbled during his sleep about South American demon Yurupari. Soon, Alex found himself in a sleepless state and decided to cleanse the studio, with hallowed rites and
the intense burning of Palo Santo. After almost burning the studio down, he turned to his neighbourhood’s most experienced psychic, seeking answers. He was told there were “cosmic entities” trying to manifest a message “too complex for us to understand in this dimension” and the only way he could find peace was to deliver those messages in a decipherable form. It was then he decided to transmute his hallucinations into music, an all-or-nothing cathartic solution.
Alex entered a feverish dream, fuelled by the kaleidoscopic motion of the cosmos, ancient meteor showers, and visions of forgotten interstellar South American gods. He remembers very little of the work, but the outcome is this record. Entirely composed, recorded, produced, and mixed in a frenetic nine-day studio stint.
How the experts describe it:
”Just when outernational vinyl vampires thought they had it all sewn up, the metronomic makeshift
magician known as Alex Figueira unravels the entire fabric of your record collection to expose a gaping
hole where PUNKUMBIA and Transplant-Tropicalia should be. Reducing an expansive palette of
influences to a recipe that tastes wildly exotic but comfortably over-familiar, Alex’s roles as both
scavenger and chef, bookend a whole ensemble of other highly adept musical personalities in between.
Discover this record NOW, or wait until all your friends (or enemies) recommend it to you later.”
Andy Votel (Finders Keepers)
“Incendiary, lysergic takes on South American and Caribbean music from one of the scene's truly
authentic and eccentric producers. You can always count on Venezuelan-born, Amsterdam-based,
multi-instrumentalist, music-fanatic Alex Figueira to surprise and innovate, whilst consistently keeping it
true and real. The former Fumaça Preta drummer & front-man's debut solo album does not disappoint!”
Miles Cleret (Soundway)
“The one man band Alex Figueira comes through with some major flavors on this one. Cumbia beats and
psychedelic elements with that Latin touch of soul & Funk!”
Kenny Dope (Masters at Work)
“I really respect Alex Figueira’s DIY ethos. From running his own little funky recordstore to running his
own label and making his own music by playing every instrument himself. I was already a fan of the song
“Aprende” which he released on 7 inch and with“Mentallogenic” he takes it a step further in that same
vibe. From songs like “La Culebra” making use of a vocoder in his typical latin sound to songs like
“Serious” playing with rhythmic changes and topping it off with some synth flavors. A lovely and fun
album”.
Antal (Rush Hour).
An intergenerational meeting of minds, Galaxy is the first collaborative EP from Meanjin, Brisbane musicians Sam Poggioli aka Sampology and Charlie Hill. Equal parts brain dance and body music, Galaxy’s seven tracks represent a vivid intermingling of 70s jazz-funk, fusion, machine-funk, Latin house and broken beat, accented by flourishes of minimalist composition. Considered as a whole, it evokes the possibility and potential of a space-age future where technology and nature exist in simpatico.
One of the most in-demand young jazz drummers in the Meanjin (Brisbane) music scene, Charlie started producing electronic music on his laptop three years ago. It was a vibe shift that hit him after several months spent immersing himself in Europe’s jazz and electronica scenes on the eve of the global coronavirus pandemic. After returning home, he approached Sam about recording some music together.
Sam, a well-travelled Australian DJ, producer and Worldwide FM radio host, was cautious about starting a new side project. However, when he heard his demos, he realised Charlie was blending rhythmic fundamentals he’d learned while completing a music degree with a beautifully wide-eyed approach to jazz-tinged electronica.
With Charlie on drums and Sam on MPC, they set about recording the songs on Galaxy, along the way discovering Sam’s mother taught Charlie visual art as a child. They also learned that Charlie’s mother plays with Sam’s father in the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, synchronicities which made their collaboration feel like it was meant to be.
As part of the Galaxy sessions, Sam and Charlie collaborated with fellow Australian vocalists Tiana Khasi and Merinda Dias-Jayasinha. On ‘Constant Call’, Tiana threads neo-soul/modern soul melodies through a backdrop that sounds like Burial on a future jazz tip. ‘Merinda’, on the other hand, sees Merinda laying a repeated Steve Riech-style vocal refrain over a man/machine instrumental accented by stargazed synths.
At the same time as they were creating Galaxy, Charlie was also busy recording his debut solo EP Yore, both of which are due for release in August 2023, respectively, through Middle Name Records.
Groove Culture serve up possibly their biggest release yet. This release features some of the best tracks that Micky More & Andy Tee have done during their career.
As the title suggests you will find four superb disco-infused cookies, these are not just re-edits of the originals, but revisited and rearranged with musicians as the Italian duo love to do!
DJ Support:
David Morales, Dave Lee ZR, Tony Humphries, Grant Nelson, Michael Gray, The Shapeshifters, Tedd Patterson, Dr Packer, Hector Romero and many more...Recommended for the lovers of the genre.
When you see Dr. Packer’s name on the tin you know you are in for a treat! He takes BB&Q Band’s classic “Main Attraction” and turns it with his magic into a Nu-Disco boogie-down floor fest.
Produced by Kae Willams II and with vocals by the great Curtis Hairston, the Dr. from ‘down-under’ manages to encapsulate the 80’s funk soul feel from BB& Q Band’s seminal original to carry those heady days of dancing till the sun’s up into 2023 and beyond.
I was lucky enough to release Godflesh 'Love is a dog from Hell' on my old label Pathological many moons ago. I was equally lucky to drop JK Flesh 'In Your Pit' on my new label PRESSURE three years ago, and then follow that up with the G36 vs JK Flesh sound clash 'Disintegration Dubs' last year. Justin has consistently handed me pure audio gold, and actually gifted me some of my favourite releases from him full stop, in an incredible career of riches which he has tirelessly. produced since Napalm Death til today. So again, I’m now totally psyched to drop 'Sewer Bait' on my label PRESSURE. The sixth album from JK Flesh, this album is a Slo-mo, Slo-fi, Sewer tech journey into utter gutter level filth. Overdriven, corroded, corrupted and absolutely blasted, it contains so many essential elements of clubland low life, but yet manages to remain beautifully original whilst pushing all levels deep into the red until it hurts in the best possible way. Anyone hooked on Andy Stott's dirtiest works, Porter Ricks deepest explorations or Techno Animal's speaker punishing grooves will find addictive nourishment within these relentlessly distorted heavyweight grooves.... Not so much hard as completely f-ckin brutal, the master stroke from Justin Broadrick however, is takin his raw materials and feeding them militantly into the dub chamber. This is like a wholesale destruction of Techno, 4/4 for people too wasted and strung out to give a f-ck about dancefloors, yet compelling enough and magnetic enough to completely insist upon fully body hypnotism in an undersized room with an oversized rig. The album's title track sounds like Drum & Bass don Digital or the peak of the Metalheadz label dragged down into hell for the ultimate bad rave trip, whilst 'Crawler' could be Killing Joke, jammin with Regis and his aggro allies from Birmingham Techno's underappreciated discography, deep in a warehouse warzone. You don’t have to dig techno to dig this dirt, you just have to enjoy having your head taken off and your body physically punished. If Jeff Mills output had been chopped, screwed and then painfully, slowly crushed, it may resemble the monolithic, psychedelic, crawl of 'Sewer Bait'.” – Kevin Martin
Drop a needle on Psyché's debut double-sider – the debut album is out on May 19th – and you'll see visions, or rather Mediterranean visions, be they of waves of heat shimmering above dunes of sand, or of women dancing around a bonfire on a rocky plain, or of bushy cliffs overlooking emerald-green and turquoise sea. The name Psyché is of course ancient Greek for 'soul' or 'mind',signifying the band's love of psychedelic funk, but also the wide range of Mediterranean influences – from Southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula, and from Anatolia to the Maghreb – that provide an endless source of inspiration for their hypnotic sound and minimalist style.
Psyché members Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) have been active in the Naples music scene for almost two decades, most notably during the first wave of the new Neapolitan Power movement (Slivovitz, Revenaz Quartet). Over the years they have often crossed paths and collaborated on side projects in various genres (math-rock duo Arduo and, more recently, Italo-disco duo Fratelli Malibu), before working together as the rhythm section of Nu Genea's live band. Following their first tour with Nu Genea in 2018, they started Psyché with the intent of exploring more minimalist styles and making musicwith just a few elements.
A unique combination of psychedelia, groove and improvisation, the music of Psyché goes back to the roots of our future; it evokes visions of a mythical past, blending centuries-old music traditions and mixing them with modern genres. Like a warm Mediterranean breeze, it travels across lands, seas and eras, distilling essential rhythms and cosmic pulsations.
"Cumbia Mahàre", on side A of the 7-inch, dives deep into the origins of rhythm, drawing us into the movements of an imaginary ritual dance (the term mahàre was used in Southern Italian dialects to indicate witches). Through the interplay between minimal synths and exhilarating rhythmic patterns of drums, percussion, guitar and bass, Psyché take a fresh and bold approach to contemporary afrobeat and cumbia fusion.
"Ophis", on side B, is a mesmeric blend of African, Balkan and Turkish rhythms and sounds. Ethereal vocalizations and warm, hypnotic bass lines combine with psychedelic riffs and haunting melodies on guitar to evoke ancient cultures whose spiritslithers like a snake across the dunes of a sun-scorched desert.
After a tour in alternative venues and small festivals, Agar Agar announced a new album to be released on January 20th
and a European tour !
The duo composed of Clara Cappagli and Armand Bultheel is back with a video game developed by Jonathan Coryn, an
immersive visual and sound experience directly linked to the twelve new tracks.
"Player Non Player", name of the album and the video game, speaks about the intrusion in the intimacy, the need to escape
from the finished borders… or even dragons !
A whole universe to discover live !
Beloved Rio de Janeiro veteran producer and live act, Fabio Santanna, brings his heady take on the tropical flavors of modern Brazil on Onda Boa’s second release, a pulsating double-sider that serves as a loving tribute to two giants of Brazilian boogie, Marcos Valle and Lincoln Olivetti. “Ao Som De Marcos Valle" kicks things off with a mix of organic elements layered alongside synths and Rhodes that Master Marcos himself would approve of, with lyrics that slyly reference some of Valle’s most iconic moments from his 80s boogie period. Razor N Tape’s Jkriv turns up the heat even further on his remix, bringing a touch of that NYC fire to the already sultry beaches of Rio.
“Chega Mais Lincoln” on the flip applies the lessons learned from “O Mago do Pop”, Lincoln Olivetti, utilizing sophisticated synth arrangements over a delicious mid-tempo groove and a vocoder calling out in praise… "Lincoln!”. Joutro Mundo’s remix takes things into dubbyer territory with his trademark approach to dance music that carefully balances tropical bliss with swirling, synth-thetic psychedelia, capping off an epic sophomore 12” for the label that manages to occupy the spaces in-between cosmic disco, tropical balearica and modern boogie… and always with that unmistakable Brazilian swing.
Juan Pablo Torres was one of the best trombone players in the Latin-jazz community of the second half of the 20th century.
He was the director of Algo Nuevo and a member of Irakere, two of the leading exponents of Afro-Cuban jazz in the 1970s and 1980s. He has also directed various Cuban supergroups such as Estrellas de Areito and Cuban Masters.
Almost all of his albums were made for Areito de La Habana, Cuba.
‘Cuba Disco’ was the only album released in his name in Europe; recorded in Milan in 1984 and produced by Aldo Pagani. In Italy in the same year he participated in two records by Pino Daniele and one by Astor Piazzolla.
Accompanied by his faithful Gruppo Algo Nuevo, with the addition of some guests such as the Italian jazz guitarist Angelo Arienti, his traditional Afro-Cuban vein is contaminated by disco and balearic moments; as in the case of the magnificent ‘Bermuda Triangle’ which anticipates the current atmosphere of Nu Genea.
Limited edition. Released from the transfer of the original master tape.
‘’Ace Todmorden label makes a significant discovery on its own doorstep: a superb cache of ‘loner folk’ songs recorded in the early-70s by Hebden Bridge’s answer to Nick Drake’’ UNCUT PLAYLIST
"This is music that can confidently hold its own with pioneers such as Davey Graham, Michael Chapman, Bert Jansch and Jackson C Frank, as influenced by jazz, blues and steel guitar as any of the old songbook classics from ancient Albion.” Benjamin Myers
"Defiantly Northern and out of this world" Folk Radio
Anti-counter culture loner folk from a teenage attic in the heart of rural Northern hippiedom.
Today the valley town of Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire is world-renowned as something of a bohemian backwater. It wasn’t like this back in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, when a disparate selection of radicals, drop-outs, heads, musicians, artists and writers started to be attracted to the Calder Valley. Local lad and future poet laureate Ted Hughes called the area “the fouled nest of industrialisation”.
Over time, those seeds of radicalism and collectivism ensured Hebden Bridge evolved into a place where people could be themselves and all shades of individual oddness not only tolerated but actively encouraged. But back at the turn of the dreary 1970s it remained a monochrome world defined by its unforgiving surrounding landscapes, where the old gritstone over-dwellings were stained with soot and rain lashed down for weeks.
It was here that Trevor Beales, who was born in 1953, grew up, and from where he drew musical and lyrical inspiration.
Perhaps it was this dual nationality heritage, unusual in the valley’s largely white working class population at the time, that gave the teenager Trevor Beale’s music an outsider’s perspective. The discovery of Bob Dylan, Django Reinhardt, The Byrds and James Taylor at a young age, lead to him picking up a guitar at the age of ten, and he was soon writing his own originals and performing them at local (though often remote) folk clubs and pubs.
Recorded in the attic of the family home at Ivy Bank in Charlestown on the verdant wooded slopes at the edge of Hebden Bridge between 1971 and 1974, these early recordings are collected here for the first time and mark Trevor Beales long-overdue solo debut.
In these songs is a suffer-no-fools sense of realism that is defiantly Northern, yet also expresses a worldliness that belies Beales’ young years, whilst also showcasing an inherent storyteller’s ear for narrative. Here is a postcard from the past at that crucial musical period of transition, when the idealistic exponents of the 1960s emerged into an austere new decade that was to be shaped by strikes, rising unemployment and economic upheaval.
Two aspects of this music make it remarkable: Beales’ natural ability showcases a sophisticated guitar-picking style that was leagues ahead of many of his (older, more recognised) contemporaries. This is music that can confidently hold its own with pioneers such as Davey Graham, Michael Chapman, Dave Evans, Bert Jansch and Jackson C Frank, as influenced by jazz, blues and steel guitar as any of the old songbook classics from ancient Albion.
Secondly, his lyrics are a far cry from either the naïve bedroom scribblings of a teenager who has barely left his upland home, nor do they fall foul of the type of lazy cliches and sub-Tolkien imagery that was still in abundance in the early 1970s. Most remarkably the earliest songs here were laid down less than a year after he left school (an unearthed report written by his headteacher on July 3rd 1970 noted he had “a considerable ability and interest in music”, though his education ended abruptly when he simply walked out of a science lesson one sunny day while at sixth form, never to return).
Trevor’s music is grounded in reality – his reality. ‘Then I’ll Take You Home’, for example, considers the Guru Marajai, who encouraged his acolytes to give over their worldly possessions, yet who drove a Rolls Royce and lived like a playboy. Unsurprisingly, this latest in a long line of spiritual charlatans found several followers in Hebden Bridge, and Beales casts a disdainful eye over the growing popularity for such false prophets.
With its ancient narratives and propensity for myth-making, folk has certainly produced it’s fair share of cult figures who have enjoyed rediscovery or career resurgence and with this debut compilation of home recordings, rescued from cassette tapes, Trevor Beales might just be the latest addition. Certainly he was the real deal.
Crucially, Beales' music is never jaded or cynical, but instead possesses a poet’s ear, a strong sense of self and some sound critical faculties. And much of it recorded at an age when he could neither vote nor order a pint of heavy.
Trevor Beales died suddenly and unexpectedly on March 29th 1987, aged 33. He left behind Christine and their young child Lydia.
Gold Vinyl[35,84 €]
Trey Gruber's posthumous debut double LP Herculean House of Cards. A compilation of early demos, studio demos, and live recordings. A tortured songwriter and struggling addict who jolted the tired Chicago DIY scene with his own brand of primal despair, Trey Gruber and his band Parent were on track to join the ranks of Twin Peaks, Mild High Club, and Whitney. His death in 2017 at the age of 26 brought it all to a halt. In his final years Trey wrote and recorded hundreds of previously unheard demos, dandelions in the cracked concrete of 21st century disconnect, an alphabet's worth of which have been compiled by his family and friends for his only album: Herculean House Of Cards. The 26-song 2xLP covers years of material, from home tape recordings, sessions at Mathew Roberts (Mild High Club) & Paul Cherry's home studio, to a studio session with Charles Glanders (Whitney) at Chicago's Foxhall Studios, along with audio taken at The Hideout during his last live performance, among others. Though Gruber was an unrelenting perfectionist who was constantly self-deprecating about his best demos, Herculean House of Cards is a wholly comprehensive and accurate reflection of his infectious charisma and raw songwriting. He had a charmingly distinct way with words but also could be disarmingly vulnerable. Like he was in life, Gruber never shied away from being open with his struggles with alcoholism and addiction. On the vivid opener "Eisenhower to the West Side," he sings in painstaking detail of, "A jail-skin cell, a junkies fight/Corner-boys full of grace/And Jesus Christ full of spite." He told then-future bandmate flautist Rebecca Ridge, "It's not some Lou Reed glorification of drugs _ `makes me feel like a man'_ I talk about the disconnect and the ugliness. They're sad pop songs." But even with the pain and the darkness in his lyrics, Gruber's songs had an unmistakable sense of hope and catharsis.
Black Vinyl[35,84 €]
Trey Gruber's posthumous debut double LP Herculean House of Cards. A compilation of early demos, studio demos, and live recordings. A tortured songwriter and struggling addict who jolted the tired Chicago DIY scene with his own brand of primal despair, Trey Gruber and his band Parent were on track to join the ranks of Twin Peaks, Mild High Club, and Whitney. His death in 2017 at the age of 26 brought it all to a halt. In his final years Trey wrote and recorded hundreds of previously unheard demos, dandelions in the cracked concrete of 21st century disconnect, an alphabet's worth of which have been compiled by his family and friends for his only album: Herculean House Of Cards. The 26-song 2xLP covers years of material, from home tape recordings, sessions at Mathew Roberts (Mild High Club) & Paul Cherry's home studio, to a studio session with Charles Glanders (Whitney) at Chicago's Foxhall Studios, along with audio taken at The Hideout during his last live performance, among others. Though Gruber was an unrelenting perfectionist who was constantly self-deprecating about his best demos, Herculean House of Cards is a wholly comprehensive and accurate reflection of his infectious charisma and raw songwriting. He had a charmingly distinct way with words but also could be disarmingly vulnerable. Like he was in life, Gruber never shied away from being open with his struggles with alcoholism and addiction. On the vivid opener "Eisenhower to the West Side," he sings in painstaking detail of, "A jail-skin cell, a junkies fight/Corner-boys full of grace/And Jesus Christ full of spite." He told then-future bandmate flautist Rebecca Ridge, "It's not some Lou Reed glorification of drugs _ `makes me feel like a man'_ I talk about the disconnect and the ugliness. They're sad pop songs." But even with the pain and the darkness in his lyrics, Gruber's songs had an unmistakable sense of hope and catharsis.
New Born is a group of four Italian immigrants who all lived in the area around Ulm/Bavaria.
Primarily they sang more Italian songs and were more on the traditional side of Italian music.
This record is a perfect example of what can happen when the drummer says “Let´s jam” to the musicians. The outstanding track “Galaxy” came out, the vibe of it is like an early piano house track and a hybrid of cosmic and disco.
The original copy of the record is nowadays a highly requested collector´s item, that skyrocketed in terms of prices. Originally released as a 45 single in 1981 the record was pressed in a very small run. Try to find a unicorn it’s easier.
We decided not to do only a simple reissue of it, we asked the creme de la creme of cosmic disco to make us a new born version of the track “Galaxy”. Camp Cosmic aficionados “Albion” & “Spacelexx” are responsible for two mesmerizing versions of this song. On top, we pressed the whole record as a 12″ from the original master tapes.
Prinz & Prinz is one of the most mysterious bands from 1980s Austria. It remains unknown who the two of them actually were. Their music has never been sold in shops, either. It only appeared on one of the obscure Youngers of Vienna-compilations, which were the outcome of a local band contest. If this was a one-off project, it certainly was a brilliant one. The first song on this 7“, “Kleine Segelschiffe” (little sailboats), does everything right in combining reggae rhythms and German vocals. The second track, “Einsamkeit” (loneliness), is a weird, organic lo-fi disco tune that amounts to the best Austrian take on Philly disco we have heard yet. Neither of the pieces disappoints. Both will make you want to find out more about Prinz & Prinz.
Repress!
Outstanding free jazz session recorded in 1973 in Paris by Chicago outfit BAG.
It was Lester Bowie, trumpeter with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, who suggested that the Black Artists' Group (BAG) should head for Paris. In 1972 several members of BAG took his advice and flew to France for an extended stay. The following year a concert featuring saxophonist Oliver Lake, trumpeters Baikida Carroll and Floyd LeFlore, drummer Charles Bobo Shaw and trombonist Joseph Bowie (Lester's younger brother) was recorded and subsequently issued as In Paris, Aries 1973, a strictly limited edition LP on the group's own label.
Since the formation of Black Artists' Group in 1968, the home of this multidisciplinary arts collective had been St Louis, Missouri, the city where the Bowie brothers had grown up. It was there that Lester Bowie had started to investigate the expanding horizons of jazz before moving, in 1966, to Chicago where he joined the recently established Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). His close friend Oliver Lake visited Bowie, attended AACM concerts and meetings and was inspired not only by their artistic vision and integrity but also by their efficient organisation. In Chicago musicians were making things happen for themselves, taking control of their own destinies and giving shape to their lives as creative artists.
In June 1969, the Art Ensemble of Chicago had taken their music to France. During the preceding decade Paris had established a reputation for audiences that were unusually well-informed and open-minded, receptive to the uncompromising music of black American innovators such as Cecil Taylor, Ornette Coleman, Albert Ayler and Sun Ra. The city that had nurtured not only Cubism and Surrealism, but also Jean-Luc Godard and contemporary cinema's Nouvelle Vague was well prepared for the sonic collage forms and stylistic dislocations of the Art Ensemble. During that same month violinist Leroy Jenkins, trumpeter Leo Smith and saxophonist Anthony Braxton also arrived in Paris, three further emissaries from the AACM.
The adventure of collective improvisation resonated with the Parisian zeitgeist. Enthusiastic audiences attended their concerts and coverage in the media. In Paris, Aries 1973 offers an isolated and fascinating glimpse into that phase of the group's existence. The album is dedicated to the memory of Kada Kayan, a bassist who had hoped to make the trip from St Louis to France but, tragically, had grown ill and died. His absence adds special poignancy to the sound of the bass when it appears on this recording, played by Baikida Carroll. Listeners keen to hear Kayan himself in the company of Lake, Bowie, Shaw, LeFlore and Carroll should seek out Red, Black and Green by the 10-piece Solidarity Unit, Inc. That album, recorded on 18th September 1970 and dedicated to Jimi Hendrix, who died on that day, features an earlier version of Shaw's composition 'Something to Play On.'
In Paris, Aries 1973 reveals BAG's musical affinities with the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Both groups preserved an independently minded approach to the notion of free jazz and a carefully filtered awareness of pan-African musical practices, while their creative interest in space, mobile structure, chance occurrences and simultaneity also suggests parallels with the concerns of leading experimental composers working at that time. These performances in Paris of Shaw's 'Something to Play On' and Lake's 'Re-Cre-A-Tion,' plus two collective compositions/improvisations, display the dedication to structural fluency and sensitivity to coloration that accompanied BAG's unorthodox group dynamics and their unconventional instrumental combinations. In this case the musicians embrace congas, log drums, marimbas, woodblocks, cowbells and gongs. This is not a showcase for solos, but a shape-shifting and multi-centred statement of togetherness, quest and discovery. Removed from BAG's original multidisciplinary context the music still exudes an exhilarating spirit of collaborative exploration and shared excitement.
More in tune now with the rhythm of the sun and moon, Xylouris White (Dirty Jim White and George Xylouris) speak to each other across great distances with the intuition and fellowship that can only be found over years in each other"s company. With fewer distractions, appreciative of the freedom to play with new sounds and spaces, they carve The Forest In Me from unbelievably thin air. Once you set the needle down on the record and hear for yourself, the intimacies and impressionism, abstraction and unfiltered emotion found in The Forest In Me, you may wonder what was the mood of the room in which this music came to be. George, Jim and long-time producer (and secret third member) Guy Picciotto share their thoughts: Guy Picciotto: "In late 2019, we had begun taking steps to working on new material. In a haphazard fashion, Jim and I started tracking drums in my basement, cutting them up into shapes with no set landing in mind. Some of it we sent to Giorgos in Crete - he responded with his lyra and his lute. Without intention we had initiated a process that would soon become more ruthlessly mandated by the world events that separated and isolated us to three corners of the globe in the following year." Giorgos Xylouris: "While we were recording, I noticed that the music had a certain solitude about it, both from the title and from inside. That led us to find more music from within that we had not yet discovered." Jim White: "The idea emerged, naturally nourished and nourishing a record with none of our usual angles and themes, no verbal language, no angst nor sudden dynamics, a more subtle structure. And we found The Forest In Me." The first revelation from The Forest In Me is "Latin White", in which Jim"s jaunty pattern sets the stage for George"s Cretan lyra and lute figurations, giving this short dance piece the feel of a welcome hoedown around the campfire, warding off the encroaching darkness of an emptied world. The repetitions, gathered to induce joy, have a glassy-eyed mechanical drive to them; their dervish-istic seeking betrays any suggestion of balm.
Marcos Díaz has been part of Buenos Aires underground for many years, being in projects like Bosques and making solo music under the pseudonym Entidad Animada (animated entity). Under this project, Marcos has explored sounds that involve a mix of feedback/distortion through synthesizers, guitars and drum machines that hint at the influence of Stereolab, Spacemen 3, and mid-nineties shoegaze. However, there are also ambient soundscapes with a slight rubbed of the ritualistic psychedelia of the Popol Vuh. The display of colours in his music comes together in the midst of a playful, relaxed and optimistic environment that is simultaneously melancholic. Because of the nature of those pieces, but also because in Entidad Animada there is also space for collage sounds that blend randomly with textures of a primitive analog sound, which inevitably causes a paradox between what is alive and what is inert. And it is because Entidad Animada is precisely that, a spectrum or a vision, a ghost. And these sounds are proof of his existence.
Pruebas de existencia (proofs of existence) is a collection of recordings that Marcos has made in recent years and that we have selected for this album, his first work on Umor Rex. A couple of these pieces were only released digitally, while the others have been on ltd cassette editions through Fuego Amigo Discos in Argentina. Pruebas de existencia is an Umor Rex compilation and remastered edition.
Guitar, sampler, synthesizer, organ, bass, drums & electronic beats, vocals, recording and mixing by Entidad Animada in Buenos Aires. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri at Black Knoll Studio, NY. Cover photography Natch Tablescape (1979) by Langdon Clay. Layout by Daniel Castrejón, Mexico City.
Playboy is the third studio album from Adedamola Adefolahan, known professionally as FIreboy DML, and features the hit singles, “Peru (feat. Ed Sheeran),” “Playboy,” & “Bandana (feat. Asake).” Discovered by Nigerian rapper, Olamide, and signed to his label, YBNL Nation, he is without question one of the leading voices in Afrobeats, and is emerging as a truly global superstar in his own right, scoring collaborations with notable megastars, Ed Sheeran (“Peru”) & Madonna (“Frozen Fireboy DML Remix”). At 14 tracks, Playboy sheds light on how life has changed for Fireboy DML in unimaginable ways, and explores a future in which he can pursue his dreams without worry or fear. 2LP pressed on Bone colored vinyl. Music found on LP1 (both sides) & LP2 (side one); LP2 side two is etched with no music.
Welcome vinyl reissue of the rare and in-demand boogie classic 'Summer Groove' by The Joneses. Originally released in 1981 on tiny US label Good Records, the 12' features the full eight and a half minute long 'Moving On' version of this magnificent soulful disco burner. Big on the UK's jazz-funk scene at the time as well as in the US, this super-cool grooving track still fills floors today with its soaring strings and vocals, hi-voltage guitars and pumping heavy bass. Essential summer party jam - don't miss!
For the 7th installment of their split-series, Dalmata Daniel welcomes both Roberto Auser for his sophomore contribution to the label, as well as a fresh addition to the catalogue: Cestrian, aka. Ali Renault, the tireless Margate-based DJ and producer, well known for his frantic, dazzling and rough releases at labels like Bunker, Cyber Dance Records or Mechatronica.
Massive, thumping kickdrums and hypnotic whispers introduce the first tunes of side A, that is 'Awakening' - Auser's take on slow, EBM-esque industrial vibrations as an eerie, industrial waltz. 'Selvage' drives effortlessly to disco- and retrofuturistic territories, arriving at the closing track of Auser's side, 'Long Night' This third cut is his longest one, steadily building up harmonic layers of dark, intertwining melodies with the devoted beats of a minimalistic drum machine, full of echoes and shimmering high-ends.
Side B starts with the energetic, rolling bassline of 'Satan'. Ideal title for such a fiery, blazing electro hit: if you ever find yourself in any sort of Inferno-situation trying to Shazam that heated banger you hear, it is likely that it's one of Cestrian's intense tracks from this 12". 'Zoltan' delivers a gentle rumbling of a dusty bass-synth. An atmospheric, chill sequence dominates the split's penultimate track, with dreamy chords and smooth twists on a chaotic noise-source. Finishing off the split, Cestrian hits us with 'Lids' - an excited and raw vision of electro, full of hazy sparks and detuned, tense oscillations. The bass cuts into our minds like blades from a giallo-opus, leaving behind nothing but the unsolved mystery of ineffable horrors.
Out of the many artists, both new and established, that Futurepast has welcomed to its family, Spanish producer and DJ Eduardo De La Calle is one that we can definitively call a legend. His vast discography includes many of dance music's most appreciated labels, so we're humbled to present a full EP from him.
His EP "Kardama" emerged as the winter of 2022 bled into 2023, a period where he'd actually been producing more downtempo works, so "Kardama" is his most recent take on techno; a genre he is certainly well-versed in with over 25 years experience.
As a reflective work, De La Calle processes emotions and thoughts with analog methods, reverse delays and pedals on "Kardama". The emotions that he holds close to himself show up in the detail that sits deeper within each track.
"I simply make music with the intention of feeling better" says De La Calle, "it is a therapy for my mind and for my spiritual state. Through a creative process, I feel calm and useful for the world and for myself."
Malice was one of the more noteworthy bands of the ‘80s Los Angeles metal scene. License to Kill was their second album and was originally released in 1987. Max Norman produced, engineered, and mixed the album, he’s best known for producing several Ozzy albums during the ‘80s, as well as Megadeth’s Countdown to Extinction, and albums of various other metal bands like Y&T, Armored Saint, Savatage, and Lynch Mob a.o.
Old-school Megadeth fans will be tickled to discover that Mustaine and Dave Ellefson are credited with background vocals on two songs. Another guest appearance was made on this album by Tommy Thayer of Kiss. Founder Jay Reynolds later joined Dave Mustaine’s band Megadeth for a brief spell, and after that became a member of Metal Church.
License To Kill is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on translucent blue coloured vinyl
The Bass Junkie sound spans the old school beats and vibes of the Electro genre’s origins, to the borderline industrial. Phil is a battle hardened Bass Bot from the future armed with his trusty MPC.
The obsession with all things sci-fi continues with this 'Cruising The Bass Nebula' EP. Out this February on my Asking for Trouble label, this is testament to his non-stop love of the genre and keeps on evolving with this funky 10".
Phil Klein aka Bass Junkie has been part of the Bass furniture for decades. I first came across him at my local roller disco somewhere in the 80s where he would flex his early DJ skills. Phil was cutting and scratching on the decks way before anyone I knew.
His history is quite something. In the early 90s he contacted Dave Noller from Dynamix II in Florida and after sending demos (pre-Internet of course). He ended up going there to make some tunes under the name of Cybernet Systems.
Phil has had many monikers and worked with lots of people over the years. Model Citizens with Matt Whitehead, IBM, Gods of Technology and Kronos Device with Si Brown (Dexorcist) and myself both as The Brink and part of The Resonance Committee to name a few. 2021 saw the release of the album Sub Sonic Survivor on Bass Agenda. He's had releases on lots of labels over the years including Control Tower, Firewire, SMB, Ed DMX's Breakin records, Andrea Parker's Touchin Bass label, Billy Nasty's Electrix and his own Battle Trax label.
Throbullating throughout the galaxy since 1986!
ZYX Italo Disco New Generation Vinyl Edition 6 presents 8 selected Italo Disco songs.
Look forward to songs by
Sauvage
Lars La Ville feat. Gauvey-Kern
Diego
Love Kills
Stockholm Nightlife feat. Helly
Soulya ID
Marc Fruttero & Alex Papale
Valerie Dore
Vinyl lovers, be invited to enjoy almost 50 minutes of iconic analog sound quality!
The 90’s San Francisco underground electronic scene always commanded a great deal of love and respect here at OCD. It played an important role not only in the development of the global electronic music scene, but also in our personal, never-ending journey of discovery.
Back in 1996, between the early releases of one of the SF’s scene most important and pioneering record labels, Sunburn Records, an EP titled “Plum Pudding EP” by an artist called “Trailmix” appeared. It featured 4 tracks spanning between early hours progressive-house and more gentle, mellow breaks with a hint of electronica.
For many years it has been one of our most favourite record from that scene and era.
27 years later, we’re beyond stoked to have being able to successfully track down that gentleman by the name of Alan Aronoff (Trailmix) who, with no hesitation, allowed us to reissue that special EP on The Secret Sun.
Pressing Info: 180g translucent pink vinyl, limited to 250 copies, download card included. Five years on from their 2018 debut album 'Great Vowel Shift', Lviv, Ukraine-based krautrock outfit Sherpa The Tiger are now returning with their second album, 'Ithkuil, via Fuzz Club Records - with 100% of the profits from the release going to the band to help support them during the war. Where their previous work was centred around vintage synths, minimal ambient and neon-lit kraut-disco grooves, 'Ithkuil' sees Sherpa The Tiger explore more expansive and layered structures and compositions - incorporating intricate guitars, flute, arpeggiators and jazzy piano references, alongside an array of other elements that originate from a broad spectrum of past and present music genres. "This album bears the name of 'Ithkuil' for a reason", the band state: "Like the language we borrowed the title from, the sound of the record has a lot of levels, layers, and orchestral nuances. We consider this album and its pieces a single journey. Every track of the LP works as a mandatory stop for contemplation and reflection that happens on the route of the listener." Sherpa The Tiger began working on the new material in 2019 during their EU live shows in support of 'Great Vowel Shift' and chalk the more textured and cinematic results down to a more collaborative approach. "We wanted to rethink the Krautrock heritage explored on our last album and made a clear stylistic shift that was determined by a totally different approach to our music-making. The tunes on 'Great Vowel Shift' were cooked in a sort of live-looping mode with two musicians jamming. This time, with 'Ithkuil', the process of creation was shared among 4 musicians, and that approach had a great impact on the final result." Several years in the making and now released against a backdrop of war and invasion in their home country, 'Sherpa The Tiger' say that 'Ithkuil' acts as a snapshot of pre-war times: "Since the war caught us in the middle of planning the release as opposed to creating the music itself, the album can be perceived as a wistful reminder of the pre-war life that doesn't seem to be coming back. The life we actually experienced but lost any recollection of and which we are desperately trying to bring back through the music created by the other us now dwelling in an absolutely different reality."
On Labyrinth, Heather Woods Broderick serves as our reflective host, subverting expectations of conventional songcraft with impressionistic language and quietly relentless explorations of the human experience that's at once light and dark, more circular and less linear. "Many of us yearn for stillness and peace, as an escape from the movement all around us," she explains when asked about the themes of the album. "Yet movement is perpetual, happening all the time on some level. It's as wild as the wind, yet eternally predictable in its inevitability. It is linear in part, but infinite in its circuitry. Our lives just punctuate it." Broderick began crafting Labyrinth in March 2020, when most forms of move- ment were brought to a screeching halt. The Maine-born, Los Angeles-based songwriter _ who, in addition to her work as a solo musician, built a life playing and touring with acts such as Sharon Van Etten, Beth Orton, Damien Jurado, and Efterklang _ was suddenly forced off the road for the first time in her career. She used this disruption as an opportunity to pare down her creation process and construct the scaffolding for Labyrinth in her apartment. Employing only the most crucial tools at her disposal, Broderick found herself opening different artistic doors as she focused on sharpening her recording skills, capturing the majority of the album on her own before finishing the remainder with co-producer D. James Goodwin. For all of Broderick's sage lyricism and vocal authority, Labyrinth never provides the listener with any easy answers. If the image of the labyrinth represents the enormity of modern life and the difficulty of navigating it, Heather Woods Broder- ick provides a guide to its endless kinetic wonders _ of being present, aware, and connected despite its disconnects. She describes the texture of its walls, its indifferent rhythms, and the inherent poeticism of feeling lost amid the dead-ends and unexpected turns. At this point in our history, perhaps that's all we need to keep moving.
Grey Vinyl
On Labyrinth, Heather Woods Broderick serves as our reflective host, subverting expectations of conventional songcraft with impressionistic language and quietly relentless explorations of the human experience that's at once light and dark, more circular and less linear. "Many of us yearn for stillness and peace, as an escape from the movement all around us," she explains when asked about the themes of the album. "Yet movement is perpetual, happening all the time on some level. It's as wild as the wind, yet eternally predictable in its inevitability. It is linear in part, but infinite in its circuitry. Our lives just punctuate it." Broderick began crafting Labyrinth in March 2020, when most forms of move- ment were brought to a screeching halt. The Maine-born, Los Angeles-based songwriter _ who, in addition to her work as a solo musician, built a life playing and touring with acts such as Sharon Van Etten, Beth Orton, Damien Jurado, and Efterklang _ was suddenly forced off the road for the first time in her career. She used this disruption as an opportunity to pare down her creation process and construct the scaffolding for Labyrinth in her apartment. Employing only the most crucial tools at her disposal, Broderick found herself opening different artistic doors as she focused on sharpening her recording skills, capturing the majority of the album on her own before finishing the remainder with co-producer D. James Goodwin. For all of Broderick's sage lyricism and vocal authority, Labyrinth never provides the listener with any easy answers. If the image of the labyrinth represents the enormity of modern life and the difficulty of navigating it, Heather Woods Broder- ick provides a guide to its endless kinetic wonders _ of being present, aware, and connected despite its disconnects. She describes the texture of its walls, its indifferent rhythms, and the inherent poeticism of feeling lost amid the dead-ends and unexpected turns. At this point in our history, perhaps that's all we need to keep moving.
The duo of Charles McCloud and Roslyn Johnson made only two albums during their career…but those two albums (Everything Must Change and Spirit of the Living God) are among the most collectible records ever made in the gospel genre. In fact, they are so hard to find that we’re still searching for Spirit of the Living God to scan the artwork, but we managed to snag a copy of their 1981 debut Everything Must Change on the obscure Cheri label (though we may have to pass a collection plate to recoup the cost!).
It’ll just take the first track to show you why these records are in such demand; you have never heard such a soulful (check out those harmonies!), slow-burning rendition of that hoary chestnut “Amazing Grace” in your sanctified life! And with able production by keyboardist Julius Brockington, who played with Larry Young and headed up several outfits of his own, Everything Must Change is a crossover album in the best sense of the word, blending the spiritual fervor of gospel with the danceable grooves of soul and—dare we say it?—disco. Don’t miss the Donny Hathaway cover “Someday We’ll All Be Free,” too. Black vinyl release, first ever reissue in any format…limited to 1000 copies!
If Es’ debut album for Upset the Rhythm explored the “tension between intent and interpretation”, the London group’s 2023 EP, ‘Fantasy’, constructs a coda for resistance against the distorted gaze. A four-track contact-high anxiety amid fact and facsimile, the new release attempts to define a sound that still resonates in an increasingly confused public theatre, where cerebral dreams manifest in corrupt fascination.
Echoing the legendary Pylon or the later, disco-inspired releases from PIL, tracks like ‘Emergency’ and ‘Unreal’ blend the band’s established disjunctive style of gothic restlessness with brighter, poppy, and danceable tones. These stylistically unwind in transition with the increasingly claustrophobic pieces like ‘Too Late’ and ‘Swallowed Whole’, syncopating a parallel design of the frantic and the fashionable.
Paired with a lyrical intricacy which emits a desire to break the fetish of false representation, ‘Fantasy’ reminds us that worthy punk records, like any manifesto of neurotic suspicion, balance testimonial, speculative-fiction, and social critique. Indebted to the past but pointed sharply to the future, Es deconstruct our modern wreckage of personhood and self-deceit, granting a sense of solidarity inside alienation. Inside ‘Fantasy’ we visualize our own estrangement, and it is only when this mirror fades that we find the tools to fight back.
Toy Tonics presents a new producer team: Sound Support consists of two enthusiastic synth and house aficionados that everybody knows (in the scene): Lars Dales from Dam Swindle and Lorenz Rhode (keyboard wizard and producer genius).
Together they are doing extremely groovy, jazz infected dance music that connects the good things of 1990ies house with the indie disco of the 2000s.
Lars Dales & Lorenz Rhode connected through their mutual love for all things musically unusual. After years of having worked together on several projects, such as the Dam Swindle live show, they finally got around to making music together. The result has been nothing less than an avalanche of tracks, mostly made in 4 day coffee fueled studio sessions in Lorenz’ studio in Cologne. All reminding the big funk house tracks of the early 2000s. Yes a lot of Daft Punk is here, A lot of NYC disco influences. Larry Levan and Laurent Garnier, DJ Harvey and Masters at Work.. all influences on this record.
After their first two Sound Support EP’s on Prins Thomas’ label, Internasjonal, they’ve ventured out to House of Disco and other labels with a wide array of immensely enjoyable synth heavy tracks. 2023 sees these two venture more into house territory with releases on AUS music and Toy Tonics, two labels that have cemented themselves deeply into the underground scene. In any case, it’s clear that Sound Support have found its signature sound and there is much more of that to look forward to. Toy Tonics is the key label for the wildstyle house scene and Sound Support fit perfectly. Welcome!
NeighbourSoul Rhythms ain't playing around with this one. The third installment of its acclaimed NeighbourSoul Edits ranges from space disco to funk, and it's guaranteed to get your booty shaking on the dancefloor! This fourth release to date is all about the disco vibes, and Mark Gursane delivers the goods. If you're a fan of Felipe Gordon, Rahaan, or Jacques Renault, you already know what's up. “NeighbourSoul Edits Vol.3” is a fourth track banger focused on one thing and one thing only - making you dance. These four disco-funk cuts are tailor-made for the club, and they're sure to get the party started.
Following in the footsteps of "Mind Palace" and "Lost Spirits", respectively issued in 2018 and 2021, Hidden Empire return to Stil vor Talent with their eagerly anticipated third studio full-length, "Momentum". Going the same route that came to define their sound throughout the years, Branko Novakovic and Niklas Schäfers cook a savvy mix of deep electroid flavours and prog techno magnitude which flourishes in the long-playing format. Orbiting the frontier between proper no-nonsense, floor-focussed effectiveness and a trademark exploratory take on electronics, Hidden Empire here delivers one of their most accomplished slices to date, which not only spans the largest span of their many-faceted influences, from tribal anchorage to hypermodern escapology, but breathes a truly epic wind into it.
Draped in luscious, silken envelopes and easternmost ambiences, "Dawn" gets the ball rolling on a mystique-imbued note, halfway meditation-friendly material and square-shouldered club busting wares. Moving into Afro-infused house grounds, "Modesty" finds Branko and Niklas heading for the deeper end of the spectrum, as they pull out a clinically precise blender of rattling percussions, opaque incantations, lush synth swashes and verbed-out machine talk, tailored for nightly boogie rituals in the forest. "Avalanche" opts for a more brooding, deadlier approach. Cutting its path away from prying eyes, this one finds Hidden Empire pulling the stealth weaponry to absolute hypnotic effect - perfect for serious in-between peak time business with its thick, thriller-like tension, mist-shrouded atmosphere and surgical focus. Featuring Felix Raphael on vocals, "Who We Are", is a pop-influenced chugger that perhaps best defines Hidden Empire's ambivalent style, both hi-NRG and innervated with a melancholy that infuses down to the bass and most functional elements. Geared up for big-room traction with its seesawing synths and clinical drumwork, Raphael's moving timbre does more than offer a sensible counterpoint to the track's overall sturdy backbone, it takes it to a whole other dimension completely.
"Repeat The Good" ft. Wolfson balances out a fast-ticking groove with those subtle melodic lines Hidden Empire champion to astounding vibrancy, offering a particularly satisfying glimpse into their vortical imaginarium, whereas "Last Call" has us journeying to straight out Moroder-esque territories, flush with the aptly configured palette of fuzzy space disco bass, fast-paced Italo churn and vocodized talk for good measure. All in breaks and chopped-up euphoria, "Vivid" runs the hoodoo down in muscular fashion and with impressive levels of energy throughout, all set at cranking up the heat one notch further, while "Rebel" provides us with the kind of rough-around-the-edges EBM horsepower and neon-clad synth engineering that'll get the basement in a state of alert. Encompassing all of the pair's idiosyncratic merger of styles - from pop-laced Italo to spaced-out techno wares, through jagged motorik and heavily mecched-out jacking house, "Alright" shows off Hidden Empire's wide arsenal of pyrotechnics under the most compelling of lights. A more openly jagged and quirky weapon that hatches into a full-fledged solar number around the half, "Momentum" roars up the club's highway at full throttle, proving a formidable asset when it comes to plunging dancers into a state of weird, left-of-centre euphoria.
A stroboscopic eclipse is predicted as "Dark Sun" enters the room, deploying its obscure wingspan over the ravers, not quite a bad omen as it lets more light in with every bar, its brittle piano lines and heart-wrenching vocals cutting a path into the crowd's pulsating hearts. Graceful as Hidden Empire's music can be, a moment of utter exhilarating beauty. "Savasana" wraps up the voyage with a pure slab of cyphered 4x4 seduction, as an ASMR-like voice guides us across the soul-questioning haze that blankets our pathway onto a luminous finale. A piece of elusive nature, clearly designed for the club and yet telling a tale of off-piste initiation through twelve fascinating movements, "Momentum" will undoubtedly etch on the listeners' mind as one of the German pair's most strikingly powerful emanations.
Download:
1. Hidden Empire - Dawn Interlude
2. Hidden Empire - Modesty
3. Hidden Empire - Avalanche
4. Hidden Empire & Felix Raphael - Who We Are
5. Hidden Empire & Wolfson - Repeat the Good
6. Hidden Empire - Last Call
7. Hidden Empire - Vivid
8. Hidden Empire - Rebel
9. Hidden Empire - Alright
10. Hidden Empire - Momentum
11. Hidden Empire - Dark Sun
12. Hidden Empire - Savasana
13. Hidden Empire & Felix Raphael - Who We Are (Instrumental)
WRWTFWW Records is overjoyed to announce Ar Ais Arís, the third album by Irish producer Gareth Quinn Redmond, following his amazing Satoshi Ashikawa-inspired Laistigh Den Ghleo released in 2019 and this year’s ambient-meets-Irish-traditional-music soundscape Umcheol. The 8-track LP comes as a limited edition of 500 copies worldwide with an artwork by Dublin artist Barry Gibbons and liner notes from Gareth Quinn Redmond himself. It is available in digital format as well.
Ar Ais Arís is Gareth Quinn Redmond’s fortuitous love affair with the art of tape loops - a practice he discovered while performing with Ross Chaney and Myles O’Reilly in late November 2020. Fascinated, he spent months experimenting with the technique: "By cracking open the shell of a cassette, cutting the tape and splicing the ends together, I created repeating sound loops of varying lengths. After reassembling and slotting the cassette into the Tascam Portastudio, I recorded and played back the sounds of the tape loop. These sounds were then manipulated using the pitch wheel to make subtle and warbly inflections to the recordings. This is achieved by speeding up or slowing down the playback speed of the tape, which offers dynamic contrasts in both mood and texture."
The result is 8 deliciously enchanting minimalistic tape loops creating a very rare kind of daydreaming environmental music full of accidental miracles and dusty soothing backdrops. It’s a very very very pleasant listening experience inspiring a feeling of enveloping warmth and gentle coziness, with an uncanny touch of spellbinding magic. Press play.
Gareth Quinn Redmond’s previous albums, Laistigh Den Ghleo, an ode to the work of Satoshi Ashikawa, and Umcheol, mixing ambient with traditional Irish music instruments, are still available on WRWTFWW Records - perfect occasion to complete the collection!
From Ellen Allien to U.R. Trax, Miss Kittin to Anetha, or Chloé to Romane Santarelli Discoverall the greatest female producers of Electronic Music in a nice double vinyl LP : Women Of Electro ! - Including - Miss Kittin - Chloé - Romane Santarelli - TDJ - Maya Jane Coles - Anetha - Cinthie The Blessed Madonna - Lilly - Palmer - Helena Hauff - Ellen Allien - Mansfield.TYA DeLaurentis - Grimes - Louisahhh !!! - U.R.Trax - Monika Kruse...
Discover all the gems of House and Techno music in a double vinyl special collection! A selection by the Rex Club, the emblematic Parisian club that has hosted the greatest names in electronic music, from Laurent Garnier with the Wake up nights to Jeff Mills, as well as Chloé or Ellen Allien. DISCOVER THE FIRST VOLUMES OF THE REX CLUB COLLECTION! HOUSE & TECHNO
Following the intergalactic odyssey of their first release, Hi Quality Records are back for round two. Switching to hyperdrive for another blast round the sun with two feel-good, cosmic channelling, disco burners from the mighty More Amour aka Artwork and Jon Solo.
Cruising out across the cosmos ‘Solar Flair’ is a sublime slice of boogie brilliance, with an infectious bassline and keys to match. Turning the heat up to 10 with Jon Solo on the solos, spiritually working those keys as Artwork conjures up his magic at the production controls. If you could drop the top on this spaceship and roll those windows down, this is definitely the groovin’, head bobber you’d have soundtracking your beam across the interplanetary highways.
With that non-existent breeze flowing over your spacesuit, ‘Heatwave’ ramps up proceedings on the B side. A funk-fuelled trip where sweltering Rodgers-esque riffs and slap basslines dance around string stabs and smile-inducing chords, with a signature spellbinding synth solo to top it all off. Break glass in case of emergency, this is your ticket out of any subdued dancefloor.
Denver producer and visual artist John T. Hastings aka RUMTUM returns to Bastard Jazz for his second album on the label, "Arcadian Daze". The album is a contemplative drive down a nostalgic highway, reflecting on a period of his late adolescence growing up in Ohio, spending time at Arcadia Beach on Lake Erie and discovering the likes DJ Shadow, Madlib, Fila Brazilla, early Four Tet, the original Ninja Tune roster and more. Revisiting these coming of age memories, John purchased an older MPC 2000XL and set out to musically capture the excitement of putting his first nascent loops together, inspired by this pivotal era of electronic music that has since birthed movements like such as Lo-Fi/Chillhop, Vaporwave, LA's mid-2000s Beat Scene / Low End Theory, etc.
The end result of "Arcadian Daze" is indeed filled with that nostalgic spirit paying homage to those aforementioned sounds, but also presents a forward thinking musical palate that's very much grounded in RUMTUM's sensibilities as a producer and time spent learning to program new & vintage outboard gear. The album moves away from the warm, dreamy sounds of last year's "Isles in Indigo" LP, and touches more into a mystical, pensive vibe with elements of darkness and light.
Matador makes his debut appearance on Crosstown Rebels with his absorbing new EP ‘My Yellow Coat’, accompanied a remix from NYC house and techno favourite Levon Vincent.
An outstandingly technical live artist, DJ and producer, Matador, real name Gavin Lynch, has a prolific discography with releases on renowned labels such as Minus, Hot Creations, and Cocoon. A resident at Richie Hawtin’s iconic ENTER series in Ibiza, the past decade has seen the Irish talent tour the globe consistently with performances at some of the world’s most prestigious festivals and clubs, including Awakenings, TimeWarp, and Neopop, while featuring in Resident Advisor’s ‘Tip 20 Live Acts’ on three separate occasions. ‘My Yellow Coat’ marks his first appearance on Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels, describing the debut as “a result all round” with the imprint featuring as a personal favourite of his over the years.
The EP features two original tracks, ‘My Yellow Coat’ and ‘What You Say Is So’, showcasing a dynamic approach to electronic music with a deep dive into rich beds of emotive and spellbinding tones. Title track ‘My Yellow Coat’ is a slow-blooming and delightfully suspenseful production guided by the track’s charming vocals as soft synth melodies and refined percussion build gracefully across its eight-minute duration. . Novel Sound boss Levon Vincent’s dynamic interpretation of the title cut welcomes a new side to his expansive sound, building on his distinctive sound palette and welcoming a shift towards faster realms.
Red Vinyl
Super smooth and funky 2 track EP, limited red 10 Inch. UK Duo Flying Mojito Bros have their unique sound, mixing several US styles together to make their own brand: Disco, Westcoast and Swamp/Stoner Rock become: Swamp Disco! (side b of our release is an edit for none other than the Grateful Dead!) They have a huge following and just released their debut album. The duo has their boots firmly planted in dusty 70s sunsets, their pan-USA productions take cosmic country funk and rock to modern dancefloors via NYC latin disco and baggy acid house - on a bed of hefty contemporary rhythms. Their music has turned party people loose in clubs, parties and late-night festival tents at Glastonbury, Bestival, Pikes Ibiza, Austin City Limits and beyond. In addition to residencies at The Social, Spiritland and Nobu, they've been invited to work their hoodoo on remixes of Flamingods, Raf Rundell (The 2 Bears), Black Peaches, Jouis, 77:78, Scott Hirsch, James Matthew VII, Katy J Pearson, Jeffrey Silverstein, Rudy Norman and more - releasing on prestigious independent labels such as Heavenly, Paper Recordings and Ubiquity. The Flying Mojito Bros have seen over a million streams worldwide and a mushrooming US fanbase.
Standout track Disco currently sits at 88 million plays on Spotify. Surf Curse has over 8 million monthly listeners on Spofity. Departing from the overblown visceral sound of previous Surf Curse records, 2019’s Heaven Surrounds You is a bold step towards HIFI for the Los Angeles DIY scene veterans. The polished orchestral production and driving cinematic moments would feel at home in any of the cult films that inspired the album’s coming-of-age stories. Lyrically, the record finds the duo returning to themes of love, loss and mystery veiled beneath more symbolism and mysticism creating their most emotionally poignant record to date. One ingredient the band doesn’t change is the earworm guitar melodies and massive hooks that have always fueled their famously raucous live shows
Colour Vinyl[31,89 €]
“Wild Boy …” is a reissue of the well-known 2016 release curated by Brian Chidester, renowned researcher and biographer of Eden Ahbez. Especially for this album, Brian wrote an interesting text about Abi’s life, which definitely became the decoration of the release.
With the new 2020 re-release, we went a little further and kept what is commonly referred to as studio cuts. It’s a few more minutes in the studio with ahbez himself, full of emotion and life. In addition, to the delight of fans, the edition includes an additional composition Nature Boy (Mantovani Orchestra).
Especially, it is worth noting the outstanding mastering prepared from practically decomposed tapes by the Grammy-nominated Jessica Thompson, which guarantees the deepest and warmth possible sound. Jessica a huge ahbez fan and we’re highly appreciated for what she has done to save his music for the future.
Eden Ahbez is definitely at the origin of psychedelic music and this release can be taken as further proof. Over the past twenty years, the iconic figure of the world’s first hippie Eden ahbez has become famous primarily for his 1948 song “Nature Boy”, praising universal love, and his amazingly solo album from the 1960s called “Eden’s Island” – one from the first concept albums in the history of music and probably the first psychedelic music album. “Wild Boy: The Lost Songs Of Eden Ahbez” deepens understanding of the origins of the psychedelic movement in the 1950s.
The disc contains a musical selection of works by Eden ahbez himself, written by him in the period after Nature Boy. The inclusion of songs such as “Palm Springs” – Ray Anthony Orchestra and “Hey Jacques” by Erta Kitt gives the listener the chance to discover for the first time the little-known recordings of world-famous artists composed by Eden ahbez. Through “Wild Boy” and “Surfer John” you can hear the author’s handling of absurd rock and exotic experimentation, as well as sweet psychedelic pop like Monterey (with Paul Horn on flute). Overall, Wild Boy: The Lost Songs Of Eden Ahbez offers an overview of the lost works of 1949-1971 with seven unpublished recordings and eight rare singles.
If in 2020 you are missing the hallucinogenic content in Eden Ahbez, it amazingly makes up for that deficiency with simple chords, expansive arrangements, and lyrics about travel, relaxation, free love, and spirituality. Thus creating the standard of psychedelic music. Eden Ahbez’s songs weren’t only fantasy and his personal philosophy was the real thing that he lived.
reviews:
“This carefully and extensively researched compilation culls covers by top notch mainstream artists juxtaposed with unreleased Eden recordings. What might sound like a mixed bag is actually more like a chronological, musical non-fiction novel about Eden Ahbez. While Eden was writing hundreds of songs and performing live and making recordings in various styles, his songs were also being picked up by popular artists like Nat King Cole and Eartha Kitt who recorded with a more polished mainstream style. There are also some early rock n roll style recordings here. Eden’s professionally recordings often end up as Novelty Pop records such as “Child of Nature” and “The Clam Man” but if you read between the lines and listen to the lyrics it is pretty eye-opening that he is singing about Eastern-religion-style and pre-hippie philosophies about being at one with the planet Earth.
All of this is explained in the lengthy liner notes inside the lp along with a few choice photos that establish Eden as a founding father of Southern California mystic/psychedelic music.” – Tiki_News
“Eden Ahbez’s life philosophy was summed up in the lyrics of his most famous song, “Nature Boy,” a 1948 hit for Nat King Cole: the song describes a “strange enchanted boy” who wanders the world in search of truth. “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn,” he concludes, “is to love and be loved in return.” Ahbez was a pre-cursor of California’s beatniks and hippies, and an exalted icon of ex-otica via his rare 1960 album Eden’s Island. Beyond “Nature Boy” and Eden’s Island, though, there were nu-merous lesser-known Ahbez record-ings. Ahbez biographer Brian Chidester has been doing an exemplary job of archiving and documenting that catalog of work. The Exotic World of Eden Ahbez (reviewed in UT#38) appeared a few years ago, gathering together 14 Ahbez-related rarities” – Ugly Things
All of us carry a piece of where we’re from with us, but these parcels of fallow land often in a uniquely mysterious way become the prey that nourishes our aspirations. Agnès Gayraud a refined thinker by day that transforms into la Féline at night left Tarbes many years ago in search of greener pastures. After making a name for herself with Adieu l’Enfance (2014), Triomphe (2017), and Vie Future (2019), the author and musician has evolved once again. Her latest release Tarbes reinvents the circle of life and challenges our preconceived notions. She welcomes us to her hometown with sweet and clear melodies over the backdrop of an electronic hum, reminiscent of Mark Twain classic Tom Sawyer. Tarbes is no more than a listen away. Physically prevented from returning to her hometown by the viral threat we all know all too well, Agnès found her way back with a small Electone home organ. The constraints of off-peak hours that called for some DIY savvy, slowly but surely, roused her spirit. With a drum machine, a bass and a guitar, she succeeded in making the young girl inside her smile again. With 13 songs and just as many adventures Tarbes is a concept album that tells the story of a young woman’s formative years, as spent in her hometown. The returning hymn doesn’t only imprint nostalgia, it paints the full emotional portrait of a town. Because for Agnès, Tarbes is not just her theater, but her whole world, showing how fiercely protective she is of her hometown in the song Solazur. Under a magnifying glass of emotion, and with the sentimental testimony that is La Panthère des Pyrénées, the artiste shows us the skeletons in our own closets. Tarbes, more than a brief stopover in a rail journey to the coast, broaches issues that touch on abandonment, desertification, aging and redevelopment that many French towns and cities face today. Alexandre Guirkinger’s photographs serve as album art that illustrates this strangely unique singularity. While fine-tuning this collection of stories, in an oh-so-intimate album where solitude rips away the mask of confidence, Agnès found solace in uniting with other spirits. For 3 songs Tarbes, Jeanne d’Albret and Fum, inspired by an Occitan poem of Louisa Paulin (1888-1944), she invited the young voices of Conservatoire Henri Duparc a building she knows intimately, despite never feeling allowed to enter as a child to breathe the energy of their adolescence into this record. She also collaborated with Lyon’s own François Virot to imbue his delicate rhythms into her work, as well as Belgian guitarist Mocke Depret. Lastly, La Féline entrusted the last production stages to her eternal partner in music, Xavier Thiry, with Stéphane “Alf” Briat on the mixing board. The final piece has a complex tranquility, surrounded by non-verbality, with Jeanne d’Albret, Louisa Paulin and the Pyrénées safeguarding Agnes’ secrets. With the calm reassurance of her metamorphoses, La Féline delivers a slice of silence to her town, serving as both her cradle and theater. Tarbes’ Théâtre des Nouveautés is where Agnès Gayraud, La Féline, has decided to present Tarbes to its residents on October 14, 2022. While “nouveautés” evokes newness, this theater is reminiscent of a future which is already outdated, where modernity is only vague and fictional, carrying reminders of French haute-kitsch accordionist Yvette Horner, whose parents were the caretakers of what was then called the Cani Eldorado a bastion of virtue through the 30s, with its lineup of Catholic films. However, by the 60s, it would have become a temple of pornographic cinema. Tarbes, “Les Nouveautés”, end card. In the mid 90s, then 16 years old, Agnès discovered the volatile dust and the ghosts of the past that were hidden in this apostate theater. This phantom bequeathed song the teenager with the gift of her undeniable talent at her first appearance on stage a high school performance of a guitar-laden ballad sung in Spanish, a language her Andalusian mother has infused her with. On October 14, 2022, Agnès returns to the stage, bass in hand and joined by François Virot (drums), Mocke Depret (guitar), Léa Moreau (keyboard) and the Conservatoire de Tarbes singers to perform the album in its entirety
Over the past 20 years, The New Pornographers have proven themselves one of the most excellent bands in indie rock. The group’s ninth album and first for Merge establishes them alongside modern luminaries like Yo La Tengo and Superchunk when it comes to their ability to evolve while still retaining what made them so special in the first place. A dazzling and intriguing collection of songs, Continue as a Guest finds bandleader A.C. Newman and his compatriots Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey, and Joe Seiders exploring fresh territory and shattering the barriers of their collective comfort zone. Newman began work on Continue as a Guest after the band had finished touring behind 2019’s In the Morse Code of Brake Lights. Themes of isolation and collapse bleed into this album, as Newman tackles the ambivalence of day-to-day life during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Newman says that Continue as a Guest’s title track also addresses the concerns that come with being in a band for so long. “The idea of continuing as a guest felt apropos to the times,” he explains. “Feeling out of place in culture, in society, being in a band that has been around for so long—not feeling like a part of any zeitgeist, but happy to be separate and living your simple life, your long fade-out.
Living in a secluded place in an isolated time, it felt like a positive form of acceptance: find your own little nowhere, find some space to fall apart, continue as a guest.” Newman discovered new vocal approaches within his own talent. There are new and rich tones to Newman’s voice throughout Continue as a Guest, from his dusky lower register over “Angelcover” to his slippery slide over the glimmering synths of “Firework in the Falling Snow,” to bold tones he embraces on the soaring “Bottle Episodes.”
Another sonic change comes courtesy of saxophonist Zach Djanikian, whose tenor and bass luxuriate all over Continue as a Guest’s alluring chassis, especially on the menacing build of “Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies.” Along with Newman’s usual collaborators, several songwriters contribute. The bursting opener and first single “Really Really Light” is a co-write with Dan Bejar (Destroyer, the New Pornographers). Then there’s “Firework in the Falling Snow,” a collaboration with Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz and Sad13. “I was feeling like I wanted some help, so I sent it to Sadie and she sent me back this complete song that had these great lyrics,” Newman says. “She included the line ‘A firework in the falling snow,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s great.’ Sometimes you need that one thing to center the song, and even though I only used a few lines of hers in the end, I couldn’t have finished it without her.”
Even as Newman embraces a collaborative spirit more than ever, Continue as a Guest is a testament to his ability to discover new artistic sides of himself. “I started out as a songwriter more than as a singer, but at some point, you have to sing your own songs,” he says with a chuckle. “For a long time, I felt like the idea of changing a song because I couldn’t hit a note wasn’t okay—I could just get someone else to sing it. But I’m learning now that my songs can actually be a lot more malleable than I thought.” And it’s in that spirit that Continue as a Guest sounds like a thrilling path forward for The New Pornographers, with songs that generate a contagious feeling of excitement for the future as well.
AZMLP01COR[19,29 €]
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White/Purple Vinyl[26,01 €]
Part 21 Edition Or[26,01 €]
Concerto Pour Détraqués" was ranked 52nd best French rock album by Rolling Stones magazine in 2010.
Eleven tracks like so many vitriolic pictures of a sick society: rape, extreme right-wing, psychiatric confinement, security paranoia, alcoholism and all the other crap that the future seems to hold. Loran and François express more than ever their rage and their refusal of the adult world in a recital with three chords: more aggressive guitars, more incisive lyrics and voices while an armada of chorus members and a saxophone come to heckle or underline this darkness.
"Concerto Pour Détraqués" is the band's reference album, with a string of hymns to insubordination and freedom: Petit Agité, Vivre Libre ou Mourir, Les Rebelles, Porcherie, Hélène et le Sang...
The band's name alone evokes the epic of alternative rock: rebellious and committed.
Born by mistake on a February evening in 1983, Bérurier Noir soon found itself the driving force behind a vast "Youth Movement", determined to take control of its life in the face of a society that was ultra conservative at the time. Times have hardly changed.
From the first self-produced records distributed by hand to the creation of self-managed labels, from concerts in squats and wild appearances in demonstrations, on the street or in the metro to endless tours, from interviews given to fanzines and free radio stations to unclassifiable appearances in the mainstream media, Bérurier Noir has waged the most exciting war of independence in the history of French rock, with only a microphone, a guitar, a drum machine, a few red noses and patched-up theatre masks.
The last finger of honour of this turbulent and irrecoverable raia, François, Loran and their "Troupeau d'Rock" commit hara-kiri, at the peak of their glory, during three last concerts in the heart of Paris in November 1989.
Forty years after its birth, Bérurier Noir's work still resonates, whether in demonstrations or free parties, nourishing the hopes of those who wish to overthrow this world to build a truly libertarian, united and fraternal society.
The label Archives de la Zone Mondiale reminds those who missed this unprecedented adventure, 8 discographic parts of the group Bérurier Noir in the form of reissues on particularly original colour vinyls (crown finish), in a limited series and distributed throughout the year.
Extra Muros is an annual itinerant artistic residency initiated in 2017. The third edition was co-organised during the winter 2021-2022 by the FLEE art collective in collaboration with the Music Department of the Museum of Ethnography, Geneva (MEG). Five artists participated in this residency including: Prins Emanuel, Nabihah Iqbal, Jaakko Eino Kalevi, Cosmic Neman, and Maria Spivak.The residency was held at the MEG in two phases. The first part of the residency and encounter represented an opportunity for the artists to explore the museum’s archives, collections, and exhibition spaces. The second phase was dedicated to the composition and production of original musical content in an ephemeral studio set up in the auditorium of the Genevan institution.
In this context, the pieces presented in this album were all conceived during this residency. Having never worked together, the five artists and musicians, each with their own distinct musical path, discovered a variety of sound resources at the Museum. These included eleven traditional instruments from the African continent, Asia and Oceania from the MEG collections, as well as synthetisers, audio effects units, amplifiers and several other vintage emblematic analog electronic devices from the collection of the Swiss Museum and Center for Electronic Music Instruments (SMEM) in Fribourg. In addition, recordings of traditional music from the five continents belonging to the museum’s International Archive of Folk Music (IAFM) were also made available to the artists.
In pairs, the residency’s participants were able to combine their respective creative worlds with the museum’s historical instruments as well as sound archives. This compilation is the result of this rich dialogue.
Over the past 20 years, The New Pornographers have proven themselves one of the most excellent bands in indie rock. The group's ninth album and first for Merge establishes them alongside modern luminaries like Yo La Tengo and Superchunk when it comes to their ability to evolve while still retaining what made them so special in the first place. A dazzling and intriguing collection of songs, "Continue as a Guest" finds bandleader A.C. Newman and his compatriots Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey, and Joe Seiders exploring fresh territory and shattering the barriers of their collective comfort zone. Newman began work on "Continue as a Guest" after the band had finished touring behind 2019's "In the Morse Code of Brake Lights". Themes of isolation and collapse bleed into this album, as Newman tackles the ambivalence of day-to-day life during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Newman says that the album's title track also addresses the concerns that come with being in a band for so long. "The idea of continuing as a guest felt apropos to the times," he explains. "Feeling out of place in culture, in society, being in a band that has been around for so long_not feeling like a part of any zeitgeist, but happy to be separate and living your simple life, your long fade-out. Living in a secluded place in an isolated time, it felt like a positive form of acceptance: find your own little nowhere, find some space to fall apart, continue as a guest." Newman discovered new vocal approaches within his own talent. There are new and rich tones to Newman's voice throughout Continue as a Guest, from his dusky lower register over "Angelcover" to his slippery slide over the glimmering synths of "Firework in the Falling Snow," to bold tones he embraces on the soaring "Bottle Episodes." Another sonic change comes courtesy of saxophonist Zach Djanikian, whose tenor and bass luxuriate all over Continue as a Guest's alluring chassis, especially on the menacing build of "Pontius Pilate's Home Movies." Along with Newman's usual collaborators, several songwriters contribute. The bursting opener and first single "Really Really Light" is a co-write with Dan Bejar (Destroyer, the New Pornographers). Then there's "Firework in the Falling Snow," a collaboration with Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz and Sad13. Even as Newman embraces a collaborative spirit more than ever, his new album is a testament to his ability to discover new artistic sides of himself. "Continue as a Guest" sounds like a thrilling path forward for The New Pornographers, with songs that generate a contagious feeling of excitement for the future as well.
Ltd. Green & Blue Vinyl
Over the past 20 years, The New Pornographers have proven themselves one of the most excellent bands in indie rock. The group's ninth album and first for Merge establishes them alongside modern luminaries like Yo La Tengo and Superchunk when it comes to their ability to evolve while still retaining what made them so special in the first place. A dazzling and intriguing collection of songs, "Continue as a Guest" finds bandleader A.C. Newman and his compatriots Neko Case, Kathryn Calder, John Collins, Todd Fancey, and Joe Seiders exploring fresh territory and shattering the barriers of their collective comfort zone. Newman began work on "Continue as a Guest" after the band had finished touring behind 2019's "In the Morse Code of Brake Lights". Themes of isolation and collapse bleed into this album, as Newman tackles the ambivalence of day-to-day life during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Newman says that the album's title track also addresses the concerns that come with being in a band for so long. "The idea of continuing as a guest felt apropos to the times," he explains. "Feeling out of place in culture, in society, being in a band that has been around for so long_not feeling like a part of any zeitgeist, but happy to be separate and living your simple life, your long fade-out. Living in a secluded place in an isolated time, it felt like a positive form of acceptance: find your own little nowhere, find some space to fall apart, continue as a guest." Newman discovered new vocal approaches within his own talent. There are new and rich tones to Newman's voice throughout Continue as a Guest, from his dusky lower register over "Angelcover" to his slippery slide over the glimmering synths of "Firework in the Falling Snow," to bold tones he embraces on the soaring "Bottle Episodes." Another sonic change comes courtesy of saxophonist Zach Djanikian, whose tenor and bass luxuriate all over Continue as a Guest's alluring chassis, especially on the menacing build of "Pontius Pilate's Home Movies." Along with Newman's usual collaborators, several songwriters contribute. The bursting opener and first single "Really Really Light" is a co-write with Dan Bejar (Destroyer, the New Pornographers). Then there's "Firework in the Falling Snow," a collaboration with Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz and Sad13. Even as Newman embraces a collaborative spirit more than ever, his new album is a testament to his ability to discover new artistic sides of himself. "Continue as a Guest" sounds like a thrilling path forward for The New Pornographers, with songs that generate a contagious feeling of excitement for the future as well.
"Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo (1936-82) issued only three live recordings during his lifetime. Significantly, the first of these, The Sorcerer (1967), remains the most popular album in the guitarist’s all-too abbreviated discography. But there were also More Sorcery (1968) and Gabor Szabo Live with Charles Lloyd (1974), offering Szabo totally in his element and at his bewitching best.
Several more of Szabo’s concert recordings have surfaced in the intervening years, including this one, superbly captured for radio broadcast live in 1976 at the 600-seat Agora Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio. It is a revelation. There is a sense here that concert patrons may have been hearing an altogether different Gabor Szabo than record buyers.
For one thing, Szabo is heard fronting what is likely his own group, rather than an army of studio musicians. In 1976, Szabo was leading a tremendous quartet with George Cables (or Joanne Grauer) on piano, Tony Dumas on bass and Sherman Ferguson on drums. Szabo had not had a band with this much jazz clout since his famed quartet with Jimmy Stewart in 1967-68 – and it is a union worth savoring: Szabo’s records during this period were light, at best, on jazz.
It’s unclear if any of these musicians are on the Agora date, but as Dumas’s “It Happens” opens the program, it’s a good bet, at least, that the bassist is on board here. But as Szabo’s ’76 quartet is not known to have recorded a studio record, Live in Cleveland is the closest thing to what a mid-seventies Szabo jazz album would sound like.
Gone, are the strings, vocals and concessions to commercial consideration so prevalent on so many of Szabo’s studio records at the time. What is present, though, is fine craftsmanship, tremendous interplay, and the exciting improvisation that good jazz always yields.
This particular concert was part of Sansui’s “New World of Jazz,” a series of 13 hour-long jazz concerts recorded at Cleveland’s iconic Agora Ballroom and broadcast over 40 FM radio stations. The series was sponsored by Sansui Electronics, a Japanese manufacturer of audio and video equipment, which previously sponsored a similar series of rock concerts recorded at the Agora as well.
Sansui was promoting its matrix QS 4-channel sound system – offering, what was considered at the time, superior diagonal separation and stereo compatibility. The firm, partnering with Agora Ballroom and Agency Recording Studio owner Hank LoConti (1929-2014), was looking to take advantage of what they rightly felt was the then-current jazz renaissance.
Each show’s 16-track master tape was mixed through the Sansui QS 4-channel encoder,” according to an August 1976 Billboard article detailing the arrangement, “for distribution to the 40 FM stations throughout the United States that bought the series” – allowing for three commercial spots for local dealers to advertise."
The recording is available for the first time on CD and VINYL. Mastering by grammy-nominated Jessica Thompson.
• Bob Thiele is one of the great producers. For his work with John Coltrane alone, where he gave free reign to the saxophone great's wildest musical visions including “A Love Supreme”, ignoring the usual cost consciousness of a major label, he deserves to be lauded. In addition to this, his eight years at Impulse! saw him recording seminal works by scores of musicians including late-blooming masterpieces by Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges, and a whole wave of 'new thing' jazzers such as Archie Shepp and Pharoah Sanders. He didn't stop there and when he launched his own label, Flying Dutchman in 1969, he continued to innovate and record music that reflected its times, but that also resonates down through the ages. It is to Flying Dutchman that we are paying tribute on this compilation.
• Gil Scott-Heron's recordings for the label ran to three records, which sold well but not spectacularly at the time. They have since taken on a resonance that makes the album "Pieces Of A Man" in particular one of the most important recordings of the last century, and its opening track 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' an anthem. Pianist Lonnie Liston Smith had been on Thiele's final important Impulse! Recording, Pharoah Sanders’ "Karma", and continued to appear on Flying Dutchman, first as a sideman and then as a leader. His 1975 album "Expansions" was the perfect encapsulation of his 'cosmic jazz' and the title track is a moment of near perfection which has become one of the foundation pieces of modern dance music.
• Flying Dutchman's other great discoveries are here. Vocalist Leon Thomas found a new route for jazz vocals in the early 70s, which made him a star and earned him a place in Santana. Gato Barbieri became one of the major saxophone stars of the era, after Thiele enabled him to meld his free jazz leanings to the rhythms of South America. The label also made important recordings with Tom Scott (featured on Thiele's own 'Head Start'), Ornette Coleman and Oliver Nelson, whilst interesting records appeared by Esther Marrow, Harold Alexander and many more.
• This is Flying Dutchman is a considered tribute to the label, and features in depth and fully illustrated sleeve notes. In the year when Bob Thiele's son is gearing up to release the first new music on the label since 1976, it is an apt and timely reminder of the power of the music.
Light in the Attic’s Pacific Breeze series has supplied the world’s growing legions of Japanese music fans with an expertly curated selection of the most sought-after City Pop recordings—the mesmerizing and nebulous genre of Japanese bubble-era music of the ‘70s-’80s that encompasses AOR, R&B, jazz fusion, funk, boogie and disco. These familiar sounds are spun through the unique lens of optimistic, cosmopolitan fantasy colored by Japan’s affluence at the time. Much of the music has previously been nearly impossible to acquire outside of Japan and continues to captivate listeners with its unique blend of groove-laden escapism, even birthing wholly new genres such as Vaporwave.
Pacific Breeze 3: Japanese City Pop, AOR & Boogie 1975-1987 marks the latest chapter in the famed series and features holy grails plus under-the-radar rarities. The collection bursts at the seams to reveal some of the greatest Japanese tracks ever laid to tape, pushing towards the edge of City Pop to reveal glimmers of the next waves of styles to spring forth from the country’s creative minds. The appearance of Pizzicato Five hint at the emergence of Shibuya-kei while the influence of hip hop and electro as an emerging global trend are also evident here through the prevalence of heavier programmed drum beats on tracks such as “Heartbeat” by Miho Fujiwara.
This volume of Pacific Breeze, like its predecessors, is a female-forward offering with many tracks being voiced by women who would become household names in Japan as actresses and pop idols. Their songs here subvert the norm and brim with an innovative spirit that shatters gender roles in favor of sonic transcendence. Techno-pop classics from Susan, Miharu Koshi and Chiemi Manabe sit alongside sublime funk from Atsuko Nina and Naomi Akimoto while Teresa Noda slides into the mix with a sultry reggae jam. The genre span is stretched wider with hypnotic jazz fusion by Parachute and Hiroyuki Namba, a synthesizer fantasy from Osamu Shoji, and magnetic pop by Makoto Matsushita and Chu Kosaka.
Although not front and center, the visionary members of Yellow Magic Orchestra are still very present on Pacific Breeze 3, with Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yukihiro Takahashi taking up producer and musician roles on many of these tracks. Pacific Breeze 3 serves up a captivating musical journey that adds an essential chapter to the iconic compilation series.
Tracklist:
Naomi Akimoto - Bewitched (Are You Leaving Soon), Atsuko Nina - Tonkachi, Miho Fujiwara - Heartbeat, Miharu Koshi - Scandal Night, Chu Kosaka - Shirakechimauze, Teresa Noda - Tropical Love, Makoto Matsushita - Business Man Pt. 1, Susan - Ah! Soka, Yukako Hayase - Suiyoubi Madeni Shinitaino, Parachute - Kowloon Daily, Hiroyuki Namba - Tropical Exposition (Who Done It? Version), Pizzicato Five - Boy Meets Girl, Mari Iijima - Love Sick, 1986 Omega Tribe - Cosmic Love, Osamu Shoji - Pub Casablanca, Chiemi Manabe - Untotooku
Star Funeral is the full-band solo project of Nikki Es- posito. Stepping into the spot light from behind the bass in Secret Tapes, Esposito adds guitar and lead vocals to her list of duties while drums are handled by Ethan Kreidemaker. Sonically, Star Funeral walks a fine line between pleasant and somber tones- dreamy guitars splash through plodding bass and drums with Esposi- to’s vocals driving them forward through a flurry of aching longing and regret. This is indie rock at its finest and Star Funeral feel set to be a standard bearer for a long time. “In the Dark” came together in 2020 after urging from close friends and producer Billy Mannino (Bigger Better Sun, Oso Oso). Singer/multi-instrumentalist Nikki Es- posito built this solo project from the ground up, per- forming all instruments alongside Ethan Kreidemaker’s studio percussion. It’s a lightning bolt of intensity and harrowing growth set to honor and expand upon her primary influences, a flash of self-understanding while re-entering a lightless era. Star Funeral’s debut is a potent discovery of new ways to shoulder old wounds, such as the murmurs of body dysmorphia trailing be- hind double-jaw surgery (“Mouth Bleeder”), the lack of closure in lost friendships (“Outgrow”), and the anxiety of letting others in after these hurdles (“Breather”).
The first thing that grabs you about Altin Gün"s new album is the energy. With Ask, the Amsterdam-based sextet turn away from the electronic, synth-drenched sound of their 2021 albums, Alem and Yol. While those two, created at home during the pandemic, paid homage to the electronic pop of the 80s and early 90s, Ask, marks an exuberant return to the 70s Anatolian folk-rock sound that characterised Altin Gün"s first two albums, On (2018) and Gece (2019). But there"s development here too. Ask is the closest the band have come so far to capturing the infectious energy of their live performances. "It"s definitely connecting more with a live sound - almost like a live album," says bassist Jasper Verhulst. "We, as a band, just going into a rehearsal space together and creating music together instead of demoing at home." "We didn"t record it like we did the last album," agrees vocalist Merve Dasdemir. "We basically produced that one at home because of the pandemic. Now we"ve gone back to recording live on tape." How many more worlds do Altin Gün visit in this joyful expedition? "Rakiya Su Katamam" is glowering space rock as though Gong had taken a stopover on the Bosphorus. "Canim Oy" is a psychedelic freak-beat stomper from a world where Istanbul"s Kadiköy district was the Carnaby Street of the east. "Güzelligin On Para Etmez" is a dreamy acid-folk anthem. And the finale, "Doktor Civanim," is an irresistible slice of sci-fi disco camp with lava-lamp synth squiggles that wouldn"t sound out of place next to Baris Manço"s "Ben Bilirim." Fresh yet timeless. Rooted in antiquity yet yearning for heavenly futures. Ask wants to take you places. All you have to do is strap yourself in
LTD CRYSTAL CLEAR EDITION
Electronic pop quartet Ladytron announce their highly anticipated seventh studio album "Time"s Arrow". Crystalline melodies enveloped in icy textures and rippling arpeggios, shoegaze, disco, and industrial sounds that combine in their signature electro pop style. Forming in Liverpool in the late 90s, Ladytron"s debut album "604" was released a year ahead of 2002"s "Light & Magic in 2005 - "a quantum leap record" said Pitchfork. The group were lauded as leaders of the new electro pop and electroclash scenes then flourishing, and "Light & Magic" went on to be influential, for both independent and mainstream electronic pop music which followed.
Nowadays Records has never lost its taste for compilations. And after having released dozens of them to date, the label is planning to release new ones for the occasion, directly from the Club Nowadays' aerial nights, where artists from different scenes, lesser-known heads and label figures are mixed together, always with this key word: openness.
More than just a name for a party or a compilation, Club Nowadays is also becoming a real artists' collective.
On the 1st compilation "Club Nowadays, Vol. 1" released in June 2022, we found house and techno sounds in the Nowadays style by the artists Chien Méchant, Grand Soleil, La Fine Equipe, Fulgeance, Trifouille1er, Ténéré and Vect (who also signed the whole visual DA of the project).
Nowadays is back with "Club Nowadays, Vol. 2", with other artists such as Phantom Traffic, Le Bag, Jeff The Fool,... In a word, Nowadays gives us its definition of club music. It may not be universal, but it is unique and inseparable from the label's image.
The sound of the classic period of Psychic TV - featuring Peter Christopherson and Geff Rushton (John Balance) of COIL, this full show is interspersed with recordings of the Pagan marriage between Genesis and Paula P-Orridge conducted by Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson Allsherjargodi. Psychic TV at their most esoteric, their most ritual, and often most extreme, a perfect accompaniment to the legendary 'Dreams Less Sweet' album of the same year "Thee First Will To And Testament Ov Psychick TV. All our works remain interconnected, interfaced, and intentional. Thee Process is thee Product". These recordings ov a live disconcert by Psychic TV in Reykjavik, Iceland that took place November 1983 organised by HÖH and GRAMM Records, to whom, eternal and infernal thanks all ways. Out of print for 23 years, this is the ultimate edition for Psychick Youth - meticulously remastered, with the track order finally arranged into what was the original show. Available as ltd white vinyl 2LP w/ inserts, classic black 2LP w/ inserts and CD in glossy digipak with 12-page booklet.
This new album by Austin-based rockers Fire From the Gods was produced, engineered and mixed by Erik Ron (Godsmack, Motionless In White, Panic! At The Disco) and masterfully blends inspiration and aggression with soul-searching. For some artists, making music isn't a choice, but is fuelled by something bigger than themselves. This is undoubtedly true of Fire From The Gods, whose brand mantra sees them adopting the tagline 'In Us We Trust', meaning that 'We the People' are responsible for change; a unifying statement in order to try to prevent society from succumbing to the growing malaise brought on by soul-sucking technology, divisive politics and environmental destruction.
Far Out Recordings proudly presents laid back Brazilian groove maestro Joao Donato’s synth-heavy collaboration with his son Donatinho. Sintetizamor sees the father-son duo jovially hurtle through space and time across ten tracks of sparkling pop, Brazilian boogie and club friendly disco-funk.
Joao Donato has been a hugely influential figure in the development of Brazilian music since the mid-1950’s. He’s played and recorded with virtually every one of his fellow Brazilian masters. Many of his own albums (of which he’s recorded over three-dozen) are regarded with such adulation that ‘cult-favourites’ doesn’t quite cut it.
Aged 82 at the time, Donato’s collaboration with his prodigious, synth obsessed son Donatinho - whose keyboard talents have been called on by the likes of the late Gal Costa, Djavan and Donatinho’s contemporaries such as Diogo Strausz - was originally released back in 2017, as a limited Brazil-only release.
For Record Store Day 2023, Sintetizamor will be available on vinyl (for the first time outside of Brazil) from participating stores.
The sound of the classic period of Psychic TV - featuring Peter Christopherson and Geff Rushton (John Balance) of COIL, this full show is interspersed with recordings of the Pagan marriage between Genesis and Paula P-Orridge conducted by Sveinbjörn Beinteinsson Allsherjargodi. Psychic TV at their most esoteric, their most ritual, and often most extreme, a perfect accompaniment to the legendary 'Dreams Less Sweet' album of the same year. "Thee First Will To And Testament Ov Psychic TV. All our works remain interconnected, interfaced, and intentional. Thee Process is thee Product". These recordings of a live disconcert by Psychic TV in Reykjavik, Iceland that took place November 1983 organised by HÖH and GRAMM Records, to whom, eternal and infernal thanks all ways.
Winston Surfshirt's album Sponge Cake is a critically acclaimed and highly anticipated body of work that showcases the Australian singer-songwriter's unique blend of soul, funk, and hip-hop. The album, which was released in 2017, has been widely praised for its catchy hooks, intricate production, and thought-provoking lyrics. Now, fans of Winston Surfshirt and vinyl enthusiasts alike can purchase a physical copy of Sponge Cake on vinyl. Whether you're a longtime fan or discovering Winston Surfshirt for the first time, Sponge Cake on vinyl is an album you won't want to miss.
On behalf of re:discovery records, it is with great excitement that we announce the 3rd and last EP of the set highlighting the music of 1990's Norwegian electronic act Neural Network. Part 3 hones in on their unreleased album that was never formely named. The band and those in the industry who heard it felt it was their best music yet. There were label suitors for this album including a top tier Belgian label but sadly things did not work out as that label folded. And this project was left on DAT's.
Of the 9 tracks we chose, there were 4 we felt would most fit the vinyl medium and the theme of the first 2 EP's. These fit in with music like B12, Stasis and As One for some lofty comparisons and we think it fit's perfectly in that esteem company. The Detroit-esque beautifully somber 'Lambent' sounds almost 'Tedra' like from Kenny Larkin. 'Jetstream' is pure melodic robotic funk from the future. The side B track 'Floatation' coming in at just over 18 minutes and is a prime example of the sci-fi music they so wonderfully produced. This 3 record series is a great example of re:discovery records' mission to present the past for the future. All feature amazing artwork from UK's Grid Pattern complete with insert that features info on the music and their history. Bring back the Chill Out Rooms!
Club culture in France would have been different if not for Micky Milan (real name Milan Zdravkovic). He is one of the true trailblazers of what is known today as French Boogie.
It all started when he was the in-house DJ of the highly popular club L'échappatoire in the Parisian suburb of Clichy sous Bois. In those days, he was well connected with Champs Disques, back then, the hippest record shop located on the Champs Élysées and had privileged access to the best imported U.S. 12" thus making his club the undisputed stronghold of disco funk.
A significant fact is that he is one of the very few French artists signed on the legendary U.S. Salsoul record label with the song "Quand tu danses". Teaming up with funkateer and close friend François Feldman, the track was recorded with Feldman on keyboards along with the Gibson Brothers on percussions, drums and keyboards, a French group, originally hailing from Martinique and Kamil Rustam who later went on to work to the who&who of soul and funk music adding his powerful licks of funky guitar. The influence of Lamont Dozier of "Going back to my roots", fame is that of a tutelary god all over these tracks. The goal behind this EP is to highlight Micky Milan’s multifaceted musical talents, from disco funk to jazz and synth pop. The record contains two tracks never previously released on vinyl, the groovesque “Paris amour” built on guitar riffs carrying the sexy voice of Alexandra and the instrumental version of "Quand tu danses"; epitomizing the essence of funk and the power of a sound on par with the American productions of the time. Hail to the pioneer.
This long-awaited inaugural release from DJ Fred Spider's Voom Voom Records visits an iteration of the legendary South African jazz funk ensemble of the 20th century. Spirits Rejoice recorded two incredible jazz fusion albums in the late 70’s with amble lashings of funk and soul. As the currents of popular music shifted in the 1980s, the group got behind a modern dance side project led by guitarist Paul Petersen and produced by the genius Patric Van Blerk.
The result was Doctor Rhythm and an album entitled I Feel It Rising from 1981. Based out of Cape Town's premier vintage vinyl emporium, Voom Voom presents the album's sultry slow-burner "I'm So Strong Now" (paired with a modern remix) and well as two versions of the disco-boogie swinger "Hook It Up" written by the pianist Mervyn Africa (the original track alongside a Fred Spider & Simbad edit and a crisp rework by DJ Turmix from NY to boot). The result is an essential dancefloor release documenting what is surely South Africa's best take on band-driven New York boogie from the disco years. Calum MacNaughton (Sharp-Flat Records/As-Shams-The Sun)
Following up from their smash collaboration with live band Cotonete, Dimitri From Paris and Heartbeat records shop boss Melik Bencheikh, team up once again to launch their new label, Le HeartBeat.
In an ongoing mission to champion the live side of dance music, they locked themselves up in a studio, with the ace players of new Parisian combo, Chatobaron. The first outing on Le HeartBeat draws from the cheekiness of London’s Punk Funk, meeting with New York’s Disco Not Disco. The all acoustic performance invokes the spirits of Ian Dury, Arthur Russell, bouncing on the walls of the Paradise Garage, to enter the soul of Chatobaron’s expert players, each at the top of their game.
Dimitri gets on mixing duties and makes sure the rhythm section keeps the dancefloor busy. In his signature roller coaster style, he provides vocal and dub versions, chock full of breaks and drops.
Working with seasoned players, using the best of vintage and modern recording techniques, Le HeartBeat Records aims to bring decades of record digging culture onto todays dance floors.
Anish Kumar shares “Bollywood Super Hits!”, a five-track compendium of pulsating Bollywood turned house-and-disco cuts that have been turbo-charging Kumar’s recent DJ sets.
The introductory “Asha” bursts open the doors to the project with thumping four-to-the-floor rhythms and the saunter of sampled electric guitar melodies. Followed swiftly by “Sadhana”, a stomping, effervescent jaunt that’s received widespread club-support from the likes of industry stalwarts Daphni and Four Tet. “Nazia” is delightfully percussive and steeped in analog warmth, a soon-to-be disco anthem that yearns for peak time warehouse usage. The penultimate track, “Ananda”, is laced with wandering basslines and hair-raising vocal sampling, leading steadily into the project's conclusory cut “Lata”. Nocturnal and pressurised, the final track rises like a crescendo of razor-sharp techno synthesis and sheer vocal prowess.
“'Bollywood Super Hits!' is a compilation of 5 Bollywood flips I've been playing out in my sets. Classic Bollywood is a genre that holds great importance to me as I grew up listening to many of the hits from that era. It's been amazing to see faces in the crowd light up when they recognise, for instance, a hook from a track that is commonly played at Indian weddings, or the haunting vocal of an old
Sunergy brings together synthesists Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Suzanne Ciani for the thirteenth installment of FRKWYS, RVNG Intl.'s intergenerational collaboration series. For this edition, a panorama of the Pacific Coast provides the place and head space for a musical appreciation and consideration of a life-giving form vast and volatile with change. Fortuitously (as is the freaky way), Smith and Ciani were discovered to be neighbors in the small coastal community of Bolinas, California. The two had become close friends, bonding over their experience as woman musicians and, more unusually, their shared passion for the Buchla synthesizer. The music of Sunergy embraces this kinship, with Ciani and Smith respectively performing on the Buchla 200 E and the Buchla Music Easel, two modern configurations of the innovative instrument developed in the '60s by Don Buchla.
Sunergy was recorded in the Bolinas home where Ciani has lived for the last twenty-four years. Her living room overlooks the Pacific Ocean from a cliffside perch, creating an idyllic, inspired setting for music making. Setting up their synths side-by-side, Ciani and Smith took turns keeping time and freely improvising for the album sessions. As a complete piece, Sunergy is shaped by slow, pulsing forms and sinuous, melodic sequences that conjure both an oceanic world and the unlimited sound made possible by modular processing.For her part, Ciani has long been a Buchla voyager. Suzanne proselytized the potential of Don's synthesizer instruments in the '60s and '70s, performing her own compositions before introducing synthesized jingles and sound effects to household audiences. Ciani then achieved wide recognition for her debut album Seven Waves, a collection of colorful, classical song-like melodies fluidly working with harmonic textures and sounds of the ocean shore. Since its 1982 release, Seven Waves has become an important chapter of the ambient canon within which contemporary artists like Smith have developed their own synth syntax. Smith was born just a few years after the appearance of Seven Waves, growing up in Orcas Island, Washington. A place of profound natural beauty, the islands would inform Tides, her first instrumental collection from 2014. Smith composed Tides as an accompaniment for Yoga classes, ultimately freeing her from conventional songwriting into the exploratory, synth-based compositions demonstrated in ecstatic variety on 2016's Ears. Despite the serene setting where Sunergy was realized, the album does not romanticize a complete oneness with nature. Smith and Ciani use their collaborative ground to reflect on the unstable forces at play across the Bolinas horizon. Sunergy takes stock of Bolinas in the 21st century, a once-thriving artist's refuge now vulnerable to real estate pressure extending from affluent San Francisco, and more irreparably, the specter of climate change erasing its many waterfront habitats.
A diametric dynamic is present in Sunergy, a somber meditation amidst the intense cultural and solar forces transforming the landscape, and a hopeful assertion of the surviving creative culture of Bolinas. Far from rehashing the gentle grace of the artists' seminal works, Sunergy instead seeks to awaken and bear witness, employing the Buchla waveforms to mirror the infinite rhythms of the ocean and our essential relationship to it.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith and Suzanne Ciani's Sunergy will be released on September 16, 2016 on LP, CD, and digital formats. An accompanying documentary by Sean Hellfritsch will be offered in tandem.
Red Coloured Vinyl[41,60 €]
Before MF DOOM donned his mask and became one of the most prolific MC-producers of modern Hip-Hop, he was a member of KMD, an early ‘90s rap group whose work still goes criminally under-appreciated to this day.
Following their 1991 debut album, Mr. Hood, the former trio shed one member leaving only two remaining – Subroc and his brother, Zev Love X (better known today as MF DOOM). Originally scheduled for release in 1994, their sophomore album Black Bastards showed clear progression from their debut. It was a truly amazing record, both sonically and lyrically, full of youthful creativity and tinged with the stresses of growing up as Black men in urban America. Songs like the lead single “What A N*gga Know”, the slippery, bass-driven “Get U Now”, and the album’s title track explore Black consciousness viewed through young-but-experienced eyes. Musically alternating between bouncy and raw – many times both, concurrently – the tracks gave the MC’s the springboard they needed to express themselves clearly.
Sadly, Subroc would face a sudden and untimely death in 1993, just as the duo were finishing the album. Grief-stricken, his brother Zev Love X – now the sole remaining member of the group – was determined to carry the legacy of KMD onward, but Elektra Records unceremoniously shelved the project in the eleventh hour, due to controversy surrounding the album’s provocative cover art. Following the fallout with Elektra, Zev tried for years to release the album on other labels, but he was continually met with dead ends. Struggling through the pain of losing his brother, coupled with the inability to release their final project together, a discouraged Zev Love X quietly withdrew from the scene and began quietly plotting his revenge on an industry that had broken him spiritually. Thus, in order to understand the true origin story of the super-villain, MF DOOM, one must recognize and appreciate the evolution of his former group, KMD, and the backstory of their pivotal album, Black Bastards.
Travel, the 19th studio album by Australian improvisational trio The Necks, documents their recent practice of starting each day in the studio with a 20-minute trio improvisation.
The recordings offer some of their most ecstatic and captivating music cut to tape. As bassist Lloyd Swanton puts it: "It's a really nice communal activity to bring us together in focus each day, and some lovely music has resulted from it." Although a straight "live" improvisation has never been recorded in the studio by the band, these tracks (save for some light overdubs/post-production) feel closest to what they've been doing live for more than 30 years now.
In 2017 Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic Organ label released the band's lauded Unfold, which first offered up this uncharacteristic studio work: four sub-20-minute pieces - instead of the typical 60+ minute arc for which the band is known - along with an obfuscated track list which leaves play order to the listener's hand. The album quickly sold out, and persists as a treasure in collections or as a high-priced 'Want' on Discogs. Travel marks a return to this double-LP format, offered in a beautiful gatefold package that features photography by Traianos Pakioufakis and impeccable mastering by Doug Henderson.
Little Fritter returns to Hot Creations, delivering an energetic pair of house cuts across ‘My People’. Australian DJ/producer Little Fritter is on a roll of late, with the boisterous talent and Need2Freak boss serving up high-octane originals and remixes via Club Bad, elrow, Sola, &Friends and Thick As Thieves across a highly productive 2022. A previous signee to the label in August of 2020, April sees the Gold Coast artist return to Jamie Jones and Lee Foss’ iconic Hot Creations imprint with his two-track EP, ‘My People’.
Guided by a resonant vocal at the heart of the production, ‘My People’ is a vibrant and warm ride through funky bass licks, swirling synths and bright stabs, while ‘FLY HI’ harnesses disco-influenced loops and further vocal interludes above rolling percussion and sweeping melodies across almost seven-minutes of joy.
To celebrate the 50th release of Visions Recordings, Alex and Stephane Attias present here a 3 track EP featuringSohan Wilson on keyboards.
Starting on the A side with a long deep slow disco vibe and a shifting bass line, “In My Mind” will take you on a journey, a repetitive groove, a long jam that simply celebrates the essence of Visions Recordings with a soulful vibe.
On the B side we have “Overtones” a crazy dancefloor jam with a simple beat based on a kik drum and some percussions. The key to the track lies in the sick bass line and haunting piano riff that builds to a peak reaching a higher state of moody funkyness.
Rounding out the B-side, “Skylite” is a funky disco house track with a healthy dose of sunshine, pads, and keyboards by the wizard Sohan Wilson.
Released by Lisbon’s Welt Discos, Rafiki’s debut EP release The Source takes three decades of UK rave heritage — hardcore, breaks, house, garage and bass music — and throws it into the pot with the producer’s own Indian heritage, then gives it a healthy stir. Rafiki is the alter ego of Sohail Arora — a pioneering figure in the Indian music industry, who significantly shapes club culture as the founder of Krunk and Krunk Kulture.
After the ambitious A Distant (Dark) Source (2018) and the subsequent artistic triumph of its live recording in 2021, French avant-garde metal outfit HYPNO5E return with their sixth studio album. Once more, these four visionary musicians and cinematographers take us back to the lost shores of the palaeolithic Lake Tauca, where we dive deeper into its dark source to fnd vibrant visions of a memory both distant and hazy as well as warm and evocative. Sheol shows HYPNO5E at the top of their game, revealing the epitome of their idiosyncratic sound while also exploring new and exciting aspects of their artistic identity. Since 2006 HYPNO5E have been taking grand strides in honing their brand of cinematographic metal, with each of their albums developing elements that would become essential building blocks to their sound. Their 2007 debut album Des Deux l'Une Est l'Autre harnessed a raw, chaotic energy, while the following Acid Mist Tomorrow (2012) saw them apply a hazy filter to their ferocious sound. On Shores of the Abstract Line (2015) HYPNO5E already transformed into the true modern metal grandmasters they are today, while the special soundtrack album Alba - Les Ombres Errantes explored a more subdued acoustic side of the band. Sheol sees the band sounding warmer and brighter than anywhere else in their storied discography, and the arrival of new drummer Pierre Rettien and bass player Charles Villanueva adds a fresh touch the classic HYPNO5E sound. The sweeping finales of «Lands of Haze» and «The Dreamer and His Dream» as well as the pastoral qualities of the quiet finger-picked parts on «Bone Dust» and «Lava From The Sky» hearken back to the old prog rock records of the seventies, albeit with an updated sonic palette and modern production parameters. Besides, these eight tracks also see the band carefully exploring new patterns, shapes, and forms within their own musical universe: from the alternating use of ritardando and accelerando on the aforementioned rim-clicks to the increased employment of string sections and vocal harmonies. With the addition of a whole new palette of warmer and brighter tones, HYPNO5E superbly bridge the sounds of the modern progressive metal and retro prog-movements creating an evocative sonic experience. FOR FANS OF Gojira, Opeth, Periphery, Uneven Structure, Steven Wilson Limited (100 copies ww) Single Colour (Gold Vinyl) Edition!
Ever since the first white labels appeared at the end of Summer 2013, Emotional Especial has been putting out music that is slightly left of (club music) centre. Influenced as much by and including dub, electro, disco, proto-house, house and techno, guided more by a feeling than a sound.
This thinking has been that exemplified by every 10th release being a label sampler - a showcase of unreleased tracks or remixes of what has come before, plus the odd one off cut by an artist to watch. Some 4 years since the last Sampler, the label's 40th release presents new label heads Giraffi Dog, returning after their recent "live" Multiverse EPs, here teaming up with GF Rich for a breaks anthem. Sub bass rising, the persistent build leads to piano before drop and Acid mayhem ensues, highlight why G Dog are such a producer to watch.
Label mainstay Alphonse returns, with White Pepper from the "Stolen Sunrise EP", here remixed by House stalwart Toby Tobias. Having released for a who's who of labels including REKIDS, ESP Institute, Delusions Of Grandeur and Futureboogie, the illusion these past years of who is Alphonse can finally revealed as Toby himself. The remix of his alter ego takes the 'Balearics' of the original and adds breaks and 303, all retaining a laid back feeling for summers return.
On the flip, the label welcomes rising star, Remotif. With a series of EPs showcasing a growing talent, his recent Coymix release sealed the deal. Here, his comedically titled Beam Me Up Softwoiii belies a party anthem, where breaks and arps rise in unison before an Aphex sunrise burst, drops and heads down in pure dance.
Akio Nagase returns to close with another of his Japanese folk meets lilting 303 Acid House. An Okinawa traditional folk song, conveying a life lesson, here to Hosenka flower is laid across slo-mo acid bubbles to quirkily and perfectly complete another 10th release of the Especial path.
With the release of Piero Umiliani’s ‘Discomania (Jolly Mare Lifting)’ Four Flies launched RELOVED, a vinyl series where contemporary DJs and producers rework tunes from Italian golden age soundtracks and library music.
The aim of the series is to spark a conversation between past, present and future, joining the dots between Italy’s great film and library-music tradition and a global scene of forward-thinking producers - the names confirmed so far include Dengue Dengue Dengue, Free The Robots, Jolly Mare, Koralle (feat. Illa J), Fratelli Malibu, Mounika, Oké aka Deda, Luke Beats, Ollie Teeba of The Herbaliser
and Deca.
First in line is the 7” ‘Autumn 2001 / Autumn 2021’, with an original track from Italian jazz pianist and electronic music pioneer Gianni Safred and a rework from musician, DJ and beat maker Free The Robots.
‘Autumn 2001’ comes from the 1978 Italian library LP Futuribile (The Life To Come), a retro-futuristic masterpiece by Gianni Safred, one of the great pioneers of Italian electronic music.
Chris Alfaro, aka Free the Robots, is a musician, beat maker and DJ known for his ability to jump in and out of different sonic worlds, creating a unique signature sound blending electronic, hip hop, jazz and psychedelia.
A triple threat of signature Reflex Revisions for the third release on the fully licensed Discolidays. Bruise’s anthem ‘When Pianos Attack’ is first up for an expert reworking from the French maestro, before Lou Hayter’s cover of the Steely Dan classic ‘Time Out Of Mind’ gets Reflexed twice in a row in dub and vocal mix form.
DJ Support:
Dave Lee / Gilles Peterson / James Lavelle / François K / Glitterbox / Skream / The Blessed Madonna / Bill Brewster
Disco Segreta reissues another uber rare 70s Italian disco holy grail !
“Stripiz (Strapazzo)” – a made-up word meaning “Scramble” – was originally recorded in 1978 for the tiny Roman label SGR by Lele Pathà, moniker of musician Emanuele Degni, for what will be his only release, only issued on 45 in just a few hundred copies, specifically targeted to a clubbing environment.
“Stripiz” is a truly unique record in the panorama of Italian 1970s disco during its climax years and is nothing short of pure madness: a fully instrumental track made out of synthesizers, moog lines, bells, drums topped by a male voice that goes “Striiiipiiiiiz”, a picture perfect portrait of the immensely free Italian creative outpour in disco music at the end of the 1970s, not to mention the wonderfully lisergic cover art!
The first ever 12” reissue of “Stripiz” comes lovingly remastered, respectful of the actual tracks’ 70s vibe, and features the original 45 version plus a contemporary reintepretation by Italian mastermind Marcello Giordani DJ that turns “Stripiz” into a dark disco monster!
Note this is a strictly limited edition and – as with all of our 2023 releases – will NEVER be reissued again.
The first ever complete overview of Goth culture will be released in 2023.
Finally, after a decade of work, countless interviews and immersing himself into the culture, John Robb's definitive book is a journey far into The Art Of Darkness. The first in-depth book on Goth is a deep dive into the enduring culture and the social, historical and political backdrop that created the space for The Art Of Darkness to thrive.
680 pages with interviews with the likes of Andrew Eldritch, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, The Cult, The Banshees, The Damned, Einsturzende Neubauten, Danielle Dax, Johnny Marr, Trent Reznor, Adam Ant, Laibach, The Cure, Nick Cave and many others, this is a deep
dive and walk on the dark side and into the very heartland of Goth.
Every generation has got to deal with the blues - embrace the melancholy. Find a beauty in the darkness, a poetry in sex and death...Whether it’s the Roman love of ghost stories, European macabre folk tales of the Middle Ages, Romantic poets, or the original Gothic tribes sacking the Eternal City, a walk on the dark side has always had its attractions. In the post-punk period, Generation Xerox saw music, clothes and culture come together to create one of the most enduring pop cultures of them all that still resonates to this day..
Goth.
It may have been a retrospective term for a scene that was already thriving, but its back story goes back millennia. The book starts with the fall of Rome and ends with Instagram and Tik Tok influencers, taking diversions through Lord Byron, European folk tales, Indian sadhus, Gothic architecture, Romantic poets, philosophers and idealists before coalescing through the dark end of the Sixties’ youthquake, and then blooming like Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs Du Mal in the post-punk period.
Defying the broken heartland of the post-industrial cities, the semi-forgotten satellite towns and the grim real politic of the Thatcher years, this was a post-punk culture full of dark dance and a death disco. The music soundtracked the style and a Stygian obsidian soundtrack fused the many fragments of culture that had been flirted with in the post-war pop narrative; a darker culture that began to coalesce around the holy trinity of the Doors, the Velvets and the Stooges in the late Sixties before flirting with glam rock, being amplified by punk, exploding as Goth, and then splintering into electronic dance music, industrial, psychobilly and new Goth, before finally filtering through dystopian Hollywood blockbusters, modern literature and throughout the modern world.
In the late Seventies, Goth culture emerged around a clutch of bands who found a new form of beauty in the apocalyptic foreboding, as a new youth tribe took glam rock from the catwalk to the cobbles and onto their own dance floors, creating their own art of darkness.
Part 1[29,20 €]
A tribute to the late Kenny Hawkes, London's dark lord of house music. Lovingly selected and curated by Luke Solomon, Jonny Rock and Leon Oakey.
Running from 1995 to 2002, 'Space' was a Wednesday night founded by Kenny Hawkes and Luke Solomon. It inhabited the underground world of Bar Rumba right in the heart of London's West End and took place each and every week. Kenny and Luke had both been regular fixtures on infamous London Pirate Radio station 'Girls FM', and were seeking a suitable place to play the kind of music they supported on their respective radio shows. They were presented with a weekly opportunity at Bar Rumba and snapped it up.
'Space' was THE place for 7 solid years, hosting local and international guests from the house music community week in week out, to 200+ hardcore and dedicated followers. Regular guest bookings read like a 'who's who' of the music scene with sets from Derrick Carter, Andrew Weatherall, DJ Harvey, Tom Middleton, A Man Called Adam, Ralph Lawson and Huggy, Harri and Domenic, Francois Kevorkian, Salt City Orchestra, Carl Cox, Chez Damier and Ron Trent.... the list goes on and on and on! Music from seminal record labels such as Classic, Prescription, Cajual, Paper, Relief was played on rotation amongst a killer mix of Disco classics, alternative 80s music, left-field B-sides and techno. The night undeniably became a cauldron of amazing music and midweek hedonistic chaos.
As Soho changed beyond recognition and clubbing moved Eastwards, Kenny and Luke decided to call it a day. Sadly, Kenny Hawkes died in 2011, leaving a huge hole in the dance music community. Kenny was a legendary figure with an unmistakable sound and DJ style, he had a warped sense of humour and a huge personality and he continues to be dearly missed by all to this day.
As a tribute to Kenny, his musical partner in crime Luke Solomon alongside 'Space' regular and DJ / Editor supreme Jonny Rock, and former Classic Records label boss Leon Oakey have joined forces to celebrate his life through music. 3 years of tweaking, pooling music and clearing tracks have culminated in 2 very special double albums and a digital compilation. A collection of 'Space' classics, underground jams and the tracks that shook the Shaftesbury Avenue dance floor, shaping one of London's most revered midweek sessions.
All profits from the compilation will be donated to the British Liver Trust.
Daddario debuts at Ragoo Records with the 'Quinto Quarto' EP, a record that fuses beatmaking attitude with funk, disco and electro vibes. 'Quinto Quarto', which means entrails in Italian, is the result of his deep research about roots. From the broken funk of 'Shift' to the heavy percussions of 'Space Lou', each track is full of grooves and details that showcase Daddario's skills on the MPC as well as on synthesizers. The project is enriched by collaborations with percussionist JZP, guitarist Lorenzo Mantovani, bassist Michele Freguglia, trumpeter Matteo Pontegavelli, and two remixes from Astratto and The Mechanical Man.
Bizarro Records returns to its Australian roots for three functional tracks from Eora/Sydney local Eastern Distributor, alongside a remix from Montreal prodigy Maara. Drawing heavily from the psychedelic influences of our country’s bush doof scene, ‘State of Equilibrium’ alludes to trance and techno relics of the past whilst accelerating into a hybrid psy-tek sound.
‘Affinity’ delivers a functional, peak-time psychedelic motion, ebbing and flowing into dark resonant euphoria. ‘Balance’ sticks closer to the modern Australian scene; an upbeat, bubbling tech-house influenced track, presenting a futuristic psy take on a sound marking contemporary dance floors. The third track ‘Endorphin’ is a bouncing techno tool, infinitely ascending from powerful low-frequency buzz to progged-out elation. The EP comes to a close with a taste of Maara’s signature sound - characterizing her take on ‘Endorphin’ with an irresistible dancefloor oriented bassline, filled with the angelic pads that define her discography.
The incongruous, yet glorious, creative partnership between Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood was well underway when the two singular artists reunited to record 1972’s Nancy & Lee Again, a follow-up to their bestselling duet debut, Nancy & Lee. Nancy, the eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra, had been working with the Oklahoma-born songwriter since 1965, when she topped the pop charts with “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” Over the next five years, the two artists forged a prolific relationship in the studio, with Hazlewood writing and producing many of Nancy’s solo hits. Soon, the duo found success with a series of duets, including “Sand,” “Summer Wine,” and “Some Velvet Morning” – all of which appeared on their highly-influential 1968 debut.
Not long after the critical acclaim and chart success of Nancy & Lee died down, however, Hazlewood unexpectedly relocated to Sweden, leaving his musical partner in the proverbial dust. America, meanwhile, was in the midst of a cultural shift, as the Vietnam War waged on. By the turn of the decade, the musical landscape had changed significantly. “Trivial music and not profound music became unimportant,” recalls Nancy, speaking to Hunter Lea. “It was a tough time.” And yet, despite the circumstances, the stars somehow aligned for the duo to record some of their most magnificent music together.
Returning to Los Angeles for the project, Hazlewood – who reprised his role as producer – chose to take a new direction with the duo’s sophomore album. Nancy recalls, “It was more dramatic; it was more fun to do, more challenging to do…. It was more grandiose.” For the lush, orchestral arrangements, they collaborated with Larry Muhoberac (an original member of Elvis Presley’s TCB band, whose early ‘70s credits also included Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, and Lalo Schifrin) and Clark Gassman, who had worked on Hazlewood’s 1970 LP, Cowboy in Sweden. Backing vocals from brothers John and Tom Bahler, who remain two of the most recorded singers in history, added additional texture to several songs.
The big sound that Nancy describes above is exemplified in the album’s cinematic opener, “Arkansas Coal (Suite).” Clocking in at nearly six minutes long, the dynamic overture tells the tale of an ill-fated coal miner (sung by Hazlewood), while Nancy adjusts her vocals to sing as both the miner’s daughter and his wife. Hazlewood’s knack for vivid, nuanced storytelling shines throughout Nancy & Lee Again, particularly in “Paris Summer,” which details the conflict that a married woman faces, as she engages in a passionate affair. Another highlight is the country-inspired hit, “Did You Ever,” which was released as the album’s lead single. After it landed at No.2 on the U.K. pop charts, the song served as an alternate title track in several countries, including LP pressings in the U.K., Germany, and Canada.
One of the most emotionally-charged moments on Nancy & Lee Again is a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Down From Dover.” The heartbreaking tune tells the tale of a pregnant teenager, who has been abandoned by her lover and her family and ultimately gives birth to a stillborn baby. While Parton’s 1970 version was sung from the teenager’s point of view, Hazlewood and Sinatra transformed the country song into a duet. Hazlewood, who offers the man’s side of the story, sings in a notably deeper octave than his signature baritone.
Another poignant selection is “Congratulations,” which describes a soldier coming home from Vietnam. “His face has grown old and his eyes have grown cold/And they tell you of where he has been/Congratulations, you sure made a man out of him,” Hazlewood sings, pointedly. Nancy, who performs as the vet’s wife, argues that the song had a deeper meaning for her duet partner. “Lee started out a hawk, he was an army guy, so he was all for the war in the beginning. We didn’t talk about it, but at some point, he changed radically. ‘Congratulations’ was almost like an apology from him. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but it was as though he was saying ‘I’m really sorry.’”
The song “Friendship Train” could also be interpreted as an apology of sorts – this time to Nancy. “You’ve been hurt and I’ve been hurt/Now we’re living pain,” the tune opens. When Hazlewood moved to Sweden without telling his longtime musical partner, Sinatra was understandably upset. “I felt pretty betrayed. I mean, who does that? Who just up and disappears like that? I’ll never understand it,” she reveals. But the uplifting duet – a slice of ‘70s pop perfection – offers reaffirming words of love between friends. “Lee felt things very deeply and tended to express his feelings in song instead of in real life,” explains Nancy.
The 10-track album closes with the stripped-down “Got It Together.” Backed by an acoustic guitar, the song is equal parts playful and candid, as the duo has an impromptu, spoken-word conversation about their lives. “I wish that we’d quit getting so old,” laments Nancy, who later shares her wish to have children (she would do so in the next few years). Hazlewood, meanwhile, attempts to remedy his past wrongdoings – this time asking his partner, “Can I go back to Sweden?” With that, Nancy gives her blessing.
This definitive reissue of Nancy & Lee Again also includes two bonus tracks. Both are stylistic departures for the duo – but fit right in with the psychedelic pop of the era. The first one, “Think I’m Coming Down,” is a harmony-filled reflection on a toxic relationship. “I think that was one of [Lee’s] drug things. I don’t mean that he used drugs; I mean that he was trying to be part of that culture. Trying to be hip,” explains Nancy, who delivers an emotive vocal performance on the solo track. Also included is “Machine Gun Kelly,” penned by a staple of the 70s singer-songwriter movement, Danny Kortchmar (James Taylor, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt). Recorded several months after the release of the album, the song found Nancy reuniting with Billy Strange, who arranged many of her solo albums, as well as Nancy & Lee. Sinatra and Hazlewood first performed “Machine Gun Kelly” during their residency at Las Vegas’ Riviera Hotel in February 1972 (later released as a concert documentary on Swedish television). While the recording has long remained a career favorite of Nancy’s, it would be decades before it was officially released.
Nancy & Lee Again remains a creative high point in the careers of Sinatra and Hazlewood and, upon its release, garnered rave reviews from Billboard, Record World, and Cash Box, among others. Yet, Nancy & Lee Again never received the spotlight it so utterly deserved. “We didn’t have label support at all in those days,” recalls Nancy. “Without the strength of a label, records die. We were old. We were old-fashioned. We were just not what was happening. It’s a very ageist kind of business.” Nevertheless, she adds, “I think it’s a very good album. I think it’s timeless.” Now, after years of being a sought-after rarity, this gem in the Sinatra-Hazlewood canon can finally get its due.
Five decades later, Nancy’s legacy only continues to grow, as new generations discover her impressive catalog (which boasts nearly 20 studio albums – her duets with Hazlewood among them – and dozens of charting singles, including the theme song to the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice). In 2020, Sinatra was recognized by her peers when “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” was inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame. That same year, Sinatra partnered with Light in the Attic for Nancy Sinatra: Start Walkin’ 1965-1976, a definitive survey of her most prolific period. LITA has also reissued Sinatra’s classic debut, Boots, and her iconic, 1968 album with Lee Hazlewood, Nancy & Lee. The label looks forward to celebrating Nancy over the coming years with a variety of special releases, exclusive merchandise, and more.
The incongruous, yet glorious, creative partnership between Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood was well underway when the two singular artists reunited to record 1972’s Nancy & Lee Again, a follow-up to their bestselling duet debut, Nancy & Lee. Nancy, the eldest daughter of Frank Sinatra, had been working with the Oklahoma-born songwriter since 1965, when she topped the pop charts with “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.” Over the next five years, the two artists forged a prolific relationship in the studio, with Hazlewood writing and producing many of Nancy’s solo hits. Soon, the duo found success with a series of duets, including “Sand,” “Summer Wine,” and “Some Velvet Morning” – all of which appeared on their highly-influential 1968 debut.
Not long after the critical acclaim and chart success of Nancy & Lee died down, however, Hazlewood unexpectedly relocated to Sweden, leaving his musical partner in the proverbial dust. America, meanwhile, was in the midst of a cultural shift, as the Vietnam War waged on. By the turn of the decade, the musical landscape had changed significantly. “Trivial music and not profound music became unimportant,” recalls Nancy, speaking to Hunter Lea. “It was a tough time.” And yet, despite the circumstances, the stars somehow aligned for the duo to record some of their most magnificent music together.
Returning to Los Angeles for the project, Hazlewood – who reprised his role as producer – chose to take a new direction with the duo’s sophomore album. Nancy recalls, “It was more dramatic; it was more fun to do, more challenging to do…. It was more grandiose.” For the lush, orchestral arrangements, they collaborated with Larry Muhoberac (an original member of Elvis Presley’s TCB band, whose early ‘70s credits also included Barbra Streisand, Neil Diamond, and Lalo Schifrin) and Clark Gassman, who had worked on Hazlewood’s 1970 LP, Cowboy in Sweden. Backing vocals from brothers John and Tom Bahler, who remain two of the most recorded singers in history, added additional texture to several songs.
The big sound that Nancy describes above is exemplified in the album’s cinematic opener, “Arkansas Coal (Suite).” Clocking in at nearly six minutes long, the dynamic overture tells the tale of an ill-fated coal miner (sung by Hazlewood), while Nancy adjusts her vocals to sing as both the miner’s daughter and his wife. Hazlewood’s knack for vivid, nuanced storytelling shines throughout Nancy & Lee Again, particularly in “Paris Summer,” which details the conflict that a married woman faces, as she engages in a passionate affair. Another highlight is the country-inspired hit, “Did You Ever,” which was released as the album’s lead single. After it landed at No.2 on the U.K. pop charts, the song served as an alternate title track in several countries, including LP pressings in the U.K., Germany, and Canada.
One of the most emotionally-charged moments on Nancy & Lee Again is a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Down From Dover.” The heartbreaking tune tells the tale of a pregnant teenager, who has been abandoned by her lover and her family and ultimately gives birth to a stillborn baby. While Parton’s 1970 version was sung from the teenager’s point of view, Hazlewood and Sinatra transformed the country song into a duet. Hazlewood, who offers the man’s side of the story, sings in a notably deeper octave than his signature baritone.
Another poignant selection is “Congratulations,” which describes a soldier coming home from Vietnam. “His face has grown old and his eyes have grown cold/And they tell you of where he has been/Congratulations, you sure made a man out of him,” Hazlewood sings, pointedly. Nancy, who performs as the vet’s wife, argues that the song had a deeper meaning for her duet partner. “Lee started out a hawk, he was an army guy, so he was all for the war in the beginning. We didn’t talk about it, but at some point, he changed radically. ‘Congratulations’ was almost like an apology from him. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but it was as though he was saying ‘I’m really sorry.’”
The song “Friendship Train” could also be interpreted as an apology of sorts – this time to Nancy. “You’ve been hurt and I’ve been hurt/Now we’re living pain,” the tune opens. When Hazlewood moved to Sweden without telling his longtime musical partner, Sinatra was understandably upset. “I felt pretty betrayed. I mean, who does that? Who just up and disappears like that? I’ll never understand it,” she reveals. But the uplifting duet – a slice of ‘70s pop perfection – offers reaffirming words of love between friends. “Lee felt things very deeply and tended to express his feelings in song instead of in real life,” explains Nancy.
The 10-track album closes with the stripped-down “Got It Together.” Backed by an acoustic guitar, the song is equal parts playful and candid, as the duo has an impromptu, spoken-word conversation about their lives. “I wish that we’d quit getting so old,” laments Nancy, who later shares her wish to have children (she would do so in the next few years). Hazlewood, meanwhile, attempts to remedy his past wrongdoings – this time asking his partner, “Can I go back to Sweden?” With that, Nancy gives her blessing.
This definitive reissue of Nancy & Lee Again also includes two bonus tracks. Both are stylistic departures for the duo – but fit right in with the psychedelic pop of the era. The first one, “Think I’m Coming Down,” is a harmony-filled reflection on a toxic relationship. “I think that was one of Lee’s drug things. I don’t mean that he used drugs; I mean that he was trying to be part of that culture. Trying to be hip,” explains Nancy, who delivers an emotive vocal performance on the solo track. Also included is “Machine Gun Kelly,” penned by a staple of the 70s singer-songwriter movement, Danny Kortchmar (James Taylor, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt). Recorded several months after the release of the album, the song found Nancy reuniting with Billy Strange, who arranged many of her solo albums, as well as Nancy & Lee. Sinatra and Hazlewood first performed “Machine Gun Kelly” during their residency at Las Vegas’ Riviera Hotel in February 1972 (later released as a concert documentary on Swedish television). While the recording has long remained a career favorite of Nancy’s, it would be decades before it was officially released.
Nancy & Lee Again remains a creative high point in the careers of Sinatra and Hazlewood and, upon its release, garnered rave reviews from Billboard, Record World, and Cash Box, among others. Yet, Nancy & Lee Again never received the spotlight it so utterly deserved. “We didn’t have label support at all in those days,” recalls Nancy. “Without the strength of a label, records die. We were old. We were old-fashioned. We were just not what was happening. It’s a very ageist kind of business.” Nevertheless, she adds, “I think it’s a very good album. I think it’s timeless.” Now, after years of being a sought-after rarity, this gem in the Sinatra-Hazlewood canon can finally get its due.
Five decades later, Nancy’s legacy only continues to grow, as new generations discover her impressive catalog (which boasts nearly 20 studio albums – her duets with Hazlewood among them – and dozens of charting singles, including the theme song to the 1967 James Bond film, You Only Live Twice). In 2020, Sinatra was recognized by her peers when “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” was inducted into the GRAMMY® Hall of Fame. That same year, Sinatra partnered with Light in the Attic for Nancy Sinatra: Start Walkin’ 1965-1976, a definitive survey of her most prolific period. LITA has also reissued Sinatra’s classic debut, Boots, and her iconic, 1968 album with Lee Hazlewood, Nancy & Lee. The label looks forward to celebrating Nancy over the coming years with a variety of special releases, exclusive merchandise, and more.
Here you have the second EP part of Minimono "Half Way Trough" mini saga.
Bosco050.5 follows the sound of the previous one serving four most exciting electro, italo-disco and acid infected floor burners!
"Run it Back" is a simple and dry tune, has those big cutting edge sounds typical of the early 2000 80's contaminated electro.. perfect for your starting set or in recreating that unique atmosphere.
On the A side follows "Half Way Trough", an effortlessly driving tech-acid house tune, strangely compelling, with a timeless feeling.. looking like an essential weapon for any dancefloor.
B side starts with the spicy electro-disco tune "Over The Machines" epic and functional at the same time with evocative arpeggios and a mechanical vocodered speach.
The Ep ends with the cyberfunk stomper "Revolution" , a twisted electro funk groover in typical Minimono vein.
Fabio Della Torre and Ennio Colaci celebrate this 50th.5 release on Bosconi in great style, remodernising the sound that they used to like when they first met in the early 2000, under the influence of those Berlin labels like Areal, Sender, Festplatten, Funkhaus, Beautycase, Lasergun, Gigolo.. and all of those labels who trademarked the sound of those unforgettable Berlin day
Last year BABYMETAL concluded their 10-year journey culminating in the celebration of the formation of the revered Japanese metal band with the vinyl release of their retrospective album 10 BABYMETAL Years. Later they released a cryptic video that announced BABYMETAL will be "sealed" from the world until further notice. Today, BABYMETAL break the seal, making their return to Earth. Their official website has revealed a LEGEND MAP depicting all of BABYMETAL"s future activities, including the news that BABYMETAL"s first concept album THE OTHER ONE will be released worldwide on Friday, March 24th, 2023. The concept album reveals the other side of the BABYMETAL story that until now remains untold. A total of 10 songs have been discovered within THE OTHER ONE restoration project, with each song representing a unique theme based on 10 separate parallel worlds that they have discovered. Full length audio of each of the 10 songs will finally be revealed when fans get their hands on the album next March. Leading up to the concept album"s release, five pre-release digital singles will be available worldwide for download and streaming, each respectively scheduled to release in October 22, November 22, January, February 23, and March 23.
Drawing inspiration from the depths of late 70’s
NYC proto-rap disco instrumentals, Nigerian boogie,
Jamaican dub and modern jazzy house - The
Lahaar is a Trans-Tasman collaboration between
Julien Dyne, Horatio Luna and Surprise Chef’s
Lachlan Stuckey, featuring Mara TK and Toby Laing on vocals.
The EP embarks on a 5-track rollercoaster - kicking
off with “Doin’ It”, fast-paced jazz-funk peppered
with marimba and organ riffs, balanced out by the
siren vocals of Mara TK.
“Step 2” suddenly brakes and swerves into cruise
mode, repurposing the trumpets and dub echoes
- picking up tempo in the soulful melancholia of
“Work Work Work”. In the last two tracks the organs
and guitars make a frenetic comeback by way of
disco-house, ending with a nod to 70s cop movie
funk.
Sometimes, a change of view can transform a person’s world. On ‘Don’t Come Down’, the artist formerly known as Matt Pond PA can be found with his “shoulder on the concrete” of a pavement, scoping out the world anew. This granular realignment of perspective serves as an open door to the debut album from The Natural Lines. At once clearly Pond’s work yet a huge leap forward in its measured songcraft, melodic immediacy, collaborative detail and wryly questioning lyrics, the result is a gorgeous album of intimate reflections from a relocated, renamed, revivified talent.
Recorded with close collaborators and friends over a period that saw Pond make vital adjustments to his life, its stealth emergence reflects his desire to set a fresh pace for himself and come from somewhere new, somewhere more open.
Now based in Kingston, New York, with his partner and wild dog Willa, Matt explains the album’s gestation thus. “It was something different from the start. I wanted to write as purely as I could. Instead of getting stuck in the ‘tour, write an album, release an album, tour’ cycle, which is not a natural way of writing or living, I wanted to write an album and when it was done I wanted to make sure it was done. I didn’t want this feeling of, ‘Oh, we didn’t have time’, or, ‘I don’t know whether I believe in the songs but it’s coming out anyway.’ I used to be always racing to the finish line, but I’m not anymore.”
For Matt, the call to ring the changes came with the recognition of “a certain nihilism or narcissism” involved in making music. “In some ways, you have to get in your own head and I think I went too far with that, with drinking and shutting people out. In something that I believe is collaborative, it’s not helpful.”
“I quit lying,” he adds. “I checked my harsher tones. I cut my drinking down. I went to therapy and figured out how to stop shouting at cars.”
Car troubles inspire ‘No More Tragedies’, the album’s standout second track, where he wryly details his desire to dampen his twinned impulses to take pictures of license plates blocking his parking space or take bricks to said car windshields. Warming melodies and harmonies soothe his rage, a balance maintained elsewhere on the album.
A need for connection underpins the lilting ‘Alex Bell’, where Matt’s lyrics playfully reference the inventor of the telephone over a plaintive cello and bubbling keyboards – evidence of the album’s carefully nurtured arrangements. With nimble sequencing, ‘My Answer’ follows with a question: do artists really need to get messed-up to create? Matt may not have the answer, he admits, but he articulates the question beautifully, channelling the influence of Blue Öyster Cult’s ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ into a song of fleet, melodic electric-folk drive.
Featuring 17-year-old MJ Murphy on misty backing vocals, the softly insistent ‘Don’t Come Down’ is an album centrepiece, detailing a need to see things anew. Like The Flaming Lips writing a classicist piano ballad, the twinkling ‘Artificial Moonlight’ finds Matt writing late at night, illuminated by the lights from streetlamps. Finally, ‘Mahwah’ closes the album on a note of arrival. While Matt Pond PA’s albums emerged from the disconnection of touring and living in vans, Pond is now happily – cruel winters aside – ensconced in Kingston. “I have found a place I love. Mercury Rev lives near here. It is a cool place to be, an artistic, mountainous, wild place to live. So – maybe this is it.”
In the case of The Natural Lines, a sense of arrival suggests itself. For Matt, the album follows two decades’ worth of Matt Pond PA records and soundtrack works. In a career he once described as “a series of benign mistakes,” Matt travelled far, moving from his band’s starting point in Philadelphia to Florida, Oakland and beyond while releasing 14 well-received albums. In 2017, he declared his intent to retire the Matt Pond PA name, though it lived on briefly in the reissue of The State Of Gold and EPs such as Free Fall, a tribute to Philadelphia.
Now, the name change honours his collaborators. Among a revolving cast, one constant presence in his work has been Chris Hansen, who plays guitar, bass, keys, saxophone and vocals on The Natural Lines’ debut. Matt’s partner, Anya Marina, contributes vocals. Other band members number Hilary James (cello/vocals), Kyle Kelly-Yahner (drums), Louie Lino (keys), Sarah Hansen (horns), Sean Hansen (drums/bass), Kat Murphy (vocals) and, also on vocals, MJ Murphy, for whom Matt brims with praise: “She can do anything she wants to musically.”
A heartening rebirth for Pond and his friends, the result also pays warming, witty, reflective and infectious testimony to the value of reconfiguring one’s outlook. “Once I took control of my mind, I could see what I wanted to say more clearly,” says Matt. “Instead of random floods of mania and panic, I felt like I was composed and composing. It has become as simple as reading the words of a sentence in the right order. As small as the pause before I hit ‘send’.” A development, you might say, conducted along the most natural of lines.
Elias Devoldere is the drummer in bands such as Nordmann, Hypochristmutreefuzz, Suwi, Robbing Millions, and John Ghost. Following an ep, Kaiku, released last summer, Bloomed > Exploded is his debut full length as a solo artist. Besides writing and singing, he composed, played, recorded, and produced the bulk of the ten songs himself. 'Everything blooms', he explains the title of his first album. 'Until it explodes, and something else is able to grow from it'. In this case, what came full cycle is an intimate coming-of-age album of intangible atmospherics, crisp melodies, and understated rhythmical patterns.
BLOOMED >
'As a kid, I just wanted to play football, you know?', says Elias. 'But when I was eight years old, my parents made me choose between drawing school and music school'. And thus began a dedication to rhythm for Elias. At 18, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown of Ghent, opting for a jazz education. 'Not because I aspired to become a master 'jazz drummer', but to learn music, to become a good musician'. It was at the academy that, after an impromptu jam session, Nordmann first came together. The exhilarating instrumental quartet went on to win second place at the prestigious Humo's Rock Rally in 2014, and released three albums to critical acclaim, with a new one in the works.
Devoldere, in the meantime, had completed his degree with a craving - ironically - for music. 'I was in over my head with jazz for such a long time, and went on an epic discovering spree. Moses Sumney, James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Connan Mockasin... Lots of stuff I had missed over the years. In a way, I reconnected with the kind of music I was into before jazz dominated my life. Pink Floyd was my first love, for instance, and later Radiohead proved to be a game changer. Diving back into those kind of sounds, I was feeling the urge to follow my old dreams, of being a solo artist - or something more than 'just' a drummer, anyway. So I bought a guitar, an interface for my laptop, and started writing'.
EXPLODED
When he released his 5 track ep Kaiku in the summer of 2021, it summarised a lot of firsts for Elias. First time writing lyrics, first time as a lead vocalist, first time recording his own songs all by himself. The songs had been around for a while, but taking those leaps took a long time. 'Making the ep helped me to find my voice, in every way possible'. Still, in the aftermath of the pandemic, the songs on Bloomed > Exploded sprouted in a time of upheaval. 'Musically the album is quite serene, gentle even. But the themes speak of internal unrest and uncertainty. There are a lot of questions on the album, as it turned out. Duality, as the title suggests, coming from the struggle between a wish to turn everything upside down and a search for peace. Honestly: the prospect of my 30th birthday was messing with my head too'.
Recording during a period of solitude in France, Elias initially relied heavily on synthesizers and drum machines. 'Explode / Boalis was one of the first songs I wrote for this album, and pivotal for its atmosphere, based mostly on electronic elements. Later, I did use 'real' drums on most of the other songs, though, and contributions from other musicians, but the overall mood is very cohesive'. 'Pure', that's how Bruno Ellingham, the UK engineer who mixed the album, described it. Much to the delight of Elias, who reached out to Ellingham because of his previous work with bands such as Massive Attack and Portishead. 'Hearing the end result, I thought he really captured the essence of the original demo's. For me, that adds to this album being a sincere reflection of my true self. 'Take a dive/ Into the place where it's more quiet', as I sing in the last song, that kind of sums it up for me'.
Oliver Cherer is back with a new Gilroy Mere record which follows on from his other much lauded Clay Pipe releases (The Green Line, Adlestrop and last year’s D Rothon collaboration, Estuary English).
Over the last two decades Ollie has released numerous collections of music in an ever shifting array of modes, from folktronic, singer-songwriter styles through psychogeographic electronica to jazz-tinged, confessional ghost-pop and most recently, the “guitar tainted machine rock disco” of Aircooled.
Gilden Gate is an album of two halves. Side 1 ‘Rising’ celebrates the sun-drenched beaches, pastures and heaths of rural Suffolk, whereas Side 2 ‘Falling’ explores the underwater world of the lost city of Dunwich and its five church spires.
Oliver says:-
“A few years ago I discovered the lost city of Dunwich. I’d made a trip to Suffolk to shoot a short film about Sizewell Nuclear Power Stations and stayed in the old Coastguard’s Cottage on Dunwich Beach within sight of Minsmere Nature Reserve and the power plants. It’s a wild, sleepy place of pines and heath and North Sea winds and a strangely mysterious air – Sutton Hoo is nearby and Eno’s reference to the very beach that I was staying on made perfect sense. In the small museum at Dunwich I learned that this tiny hamlet had once been a major medieval city of international trade. It seemed unlikely and even now, knowing Dunwich as a small village, I find putting what I know about the place into perspective as a city a certain kind of impossible.
It seems that over a period under the influence of the weather, natural erosion and market rivalry the thriving harbour port was inundated by the North Sea and eventually slipped into and under it. The city of churches was lost and all the spires engulfed and toppled. What remains are the few houses, and the ruin of Greyfriars crumbling inexorably down the cliff and exposing the bones of buried monks as the graveyard follows the building’s stones into the sea.
There are local legends surrounding the site including stories of fishermen hearing the bells of lost churches and seeing the ghostly, lighted city beneath their boats as they return to the shore.
Gilden Gate is named for one of the entrances to the old city and is a musical meditation on Dunwich past and present. Frances Castle’s beautiful sleeve art depicts the surface and the sub-marine, the warm and the cold, the past and the present. The glass rises and the glass falls and in the background there are sirens, fog horns, church bells and Eno, and on the sea bed there are the scattered remains of a once great city.”
Gilden Gate is named for one of the entrances to the old city and is a musical meditation on Dunwich past and present. Frances Castle’s beautiful sleeve art depicts the surface and the sub-marine, the warm and the cold, the past and the present. The glass rises and the glass falls and in the background there are sirens, fog horns, church bells and Eno, and on the sea bed there are the scattered remains of a once great city.”
Pig&Dan and Gregor Tresher come together for a powerful 10-track album ‘Soulcatcher’, now released on vinyl after a successful digital release in 2021.
‘Soulcatcher’ marks only the seventh album release on Truesoul in the label’s 19-year history, the little brother imprint to Drumcode helmed by Adam Beyer. It’s a space for boundary-less experimentation, where the finest in house and techno explore the groovier and more melodic side of their musical personas.
Pig&Dan are techno treasures, with one of the deepest discographies in the genre. They remain one of the most reliable contributors to Beyer’s labels over recent years, with ‘Soulcatcher’ marking their third release on Truesoul alone in 2021. Gregor Tresher has soundtracked the development of the European techno sound over a 25 years period, gifting the scene tried and true genre favourites such as ‘Goliath’ and ‘A Thousand Nights’.
As a collective they are master hands in the studio and ‘Soulcatcher’ encapsulates their crisp yet stirring sound palette. The album spans bright airy house, progressive and melodic techno textures, and cuts from the darker end of their sonic spectrum. It’s hints at the freedom that awaits us and better days ahead.
One more drop from the Switch label vaults - another killer UK disco-boogie gem from T.J. Johnson, originally released in in 1982 and recorded at the legendary Landsdowne Studios!
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"Switch Records was started by myself alongside Bill Campbell in the early eighties", says Aaron Harry - a library music producer who began using Lansdowne Studios in Holland Park for his productions on the renowned Bruton Music label. The studios had been operating there since the late 1950s, becoming the breeding ground for some key & early UK jazz and pop records (owner Adrian Kerridge teamed up with Joe Meek to lay down the first recordings there in 1958). It was here that Harry and engineer Chris Dibble started to work together as a regular team. After spending some time at the studio observing them in action, Kerridge and (Burton MD) Robin Phillps "recognised what a good team Chris and I had become" says Harry, "so, it was inevitable that I would also make pop music alongside Production Library Music."
The output of the relatively obscure Switch label is the result of this work, and Freestyle has licensed 3 of the most hard to come by 12"s as part of their series of rare & foundation UK funk & soul records. This one, Pretty Lady b/w Come On Let's Do It (Let's Rock) is provided by T.J. Johnson - a talented and seasoned guitar T.J. Johnson aka T.J. Bedeau is still working the gig circuit to this day. Jump on it!
Gaïsha is the collaboration between the Belgian-Moroccan singer Aïcha Haskal and some exquisite musicians, bringing you oriental & psychedelic grooves. Aicha Haskal’s voice is smooth and warm, and switches seamlessly between Arabic chants, parlando and even rap. The diverse background of the musicians (Absynthe Minded, Sylvie Kreusch, Va Fan Fahre, Echoes of Zoo, De Beren Gieren) results in a brilliant melting pot of styles, ranging from cabaret to spaghetti westerns and eastern elements.
Their first album will be released on the 24th of March 2023. In November they dropped the single ‘Ana Aïcha’. An ode to the singer’s name, spreading a clear message: gender equality. The melody translates this protest into a great psychedelic oriental trip.
The previous track ‘Ghalat’ got some promising reviews:
•“Who is a fan of the music of Altin Gün, has a nice discovery with this new single from the Ghent based Gaïsha.” - Indie Style
•“The rhythm, synths and groove seem western, but otherwise everything about this track exudes an eastern melancholy. And when Haskal switches to French, you imagine yourself somewhere in a shisha bar in cosmopolitan Paris.” - Damusic
•“Sounds like: an Arab-psychedelic cracker with a pinch of funk and Serge Gainsbourg” - Cutting Edge
This sensational post-Disco, Boogie classic from 1981 gets pulled from deep within the legendary Sam Records company vault, and sees a vinyl-only re-release on 4-time Grammy Award Nominee Kenny Dope's Kay-Dee Records, with his own special re-rubs. What makes the re-issue of this dance floor gem most authentic is Kenny's process that stays true to old school form, both technically and sonically. That is, the song painstakingly taken from the original 24-track multi-track master and mixed down to 1/2" master tape, and then mastered from tape to vinyl. Kenny proves this process needs to be done the way it was back in the day in order to produce a true analog record; not a record that sounds like a cd on vinyl nor mastered from digital files for vinyl. This is unlike what everyone is doing these days and what separates Kay-Dee Records from the rest. Kenny's O'Gutta Dubba, the other remix on the flipside of the vinyl, brings even more of that boogie sound back with all original new live drums, rubber bass and other classic instrumentation. You may very well have heard this single being played by Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage, David Mancuso at The Loft or Tee Scott Better Days. Today, you might hear these remixes at parties like Body & SOUL, 718 Sessions, Bump & Hustle, or many of the specialty radio shows like Kenny Dope's Anything Goes on Rinse FM UK. Originally produced by Gary R. Turnier of Gary's Gang and produced/written by Andre Booth who has also collaborated with Big Daddy Kane, Lords of the Underground and others, a whole new generation of dancefloor devotees will discover this throwback first hand.
Soul Revolution, das neueste Album der Rocker von Fire From The Gods aus Austin, wurde von Erik Ron (Godsmack, Motionless In White, Panic! At The Disco) produziert und gemischt. Die CD und die Vinyl-Veröffentlichung in mehreren Varianten vereinen meisterhaft die Gefühle von Inspiration und Aggression mit dem Gefühl der Seelensuche. Für manche Künstler ist das Musikmachen keine Wahl, es wird von etwas angetrieben, das größer ist als sie selbst. Dies trifft zweifellos auf Fire From The Gods zu, die sich den Slogan "In Us We Trust" auf die Fahne geschrieben haben, was bedeutet, dass "wir, das Volk", für den Wandel verantwortlich sind; ein vereinigendes Statement, um zu verhindern, dass die Gesellschaft dem wachsenden Unbehagen erliegt, das durch seelenraubende Technologie, spaltende Politik und Umweltzerstörung hervorgerufen wird.
Mississippi Moonshine Vinyl[24,75 €]
A '70s homemaker stuck between the studio and a getting dinner on the table, Joyce Street eked out an arresting countrypolitan discography in the margins of an otherwise traditional American life. With lyrics drawn from the pages of her diary, Street's stirring Mississippi warble led her into the fly-by- night world of custom studios, cutting tracks for upstart country concerns like Reena, Sonobeat, Revelation, and Arc. Channeling the honky tonk angel energy of Bobbie Gentry, Lorretta Lynn, and Jeannie C. Riley, Tied Down compiles a decade's worth of melodies disguised as lottery tickets.
Black Vinyl[23,49 €]
A '70s homemaker stuck between the studio and a getting dinner on the table, Joyce Street eked out an arresting countrypolitan discography in the margins of an otherwise traditional American life. With lyrics drawn from the pages of her diary, Street's stirring Mississippi warble led her into the fly-by- night world of custom studios, cutting tracks for upstart country concerns like Reena, Sonobeat, Revelation, and Arc. Channeling the honky tonk angel energy of Bobbie Gentry, Lorretta Lynn, and Jeannie C. Riley, Tied Down compiles a decade's worth of melodies disguised as lottery tickets.
[m] 13 CALIFORNIA YOU'RE SLIPPIN' [DEMO]
A ’70s homemaker stuck between the studio and a getting dinner on the table, Joyce Street eked out an arresting countrypolitan discography in the margins of an otherwise traditional American life. With lyrics drawn from the pages of her diary, Street’s stirring Mississippi warble led her into the fly-by-night world of custom studios, cutting tracks for upstart country concerns like Reena, Sonobeat, Revelation, and Arc. Channeling the honky tonk angel energy of Bobbie Gentry, Lorretta Lynn, and Jeannie C. Riley, Tied Down compiles a decade’s worth of melodies disguised as lottery tickets.
[m] B6. California You're Slippin' [Demo]
It seems like an age since Icelandic producer Adalsteinn Gudmundsson's last album as Yagya, 2020's "Old Dreams and Memories." The first album to be released on his own label Small Plastic Animals it was followed by the four-track "Always Maybe Tomorrow" EP in 2021. "Faded Photographs" is his ninth studio album, the most involved and time-consuming project to date and collaborative on a scale not seen since 2012's "The Inescapable Decay of My Heart." It also marks an exceptionally confident return to the art of song-writing, but where that earlier album was a more upbeat dub techno-pop affair, "Faded Photographs" is nostalgic, wistful, reflective and steeped in poetic romanticism. Gudmundsson's love of the art of the album is also more pronounced here than ever before, almost every single track tied together by the particularly unifying use of triplet rhythms in combination with 4/4 beats, beguiling hushed vocals and enveloping, molten dub bass tones. Combined with a typical dedication to sound design and production, "Faded Photographs" is rendered an utterly seamless experience, demanding to be heard as a whole. Written and produced when we had become more distant and disconnected from one another than ever before, "Faded Photographs" brings together and showcases an ensemble of artists in a spirit of collaboration that flies in the face of adversity, a true product of its time.
The Cult brings on board a legend. From DMC scratch champion in the late eighties to the missing link between Detroit and Amsterdam in the nineties. Dutch producer Orlando Voorn needs little introduction and with seminal hits like his dancefloor destroying KMS smash ‘Fix’ under his belt, it is no surprise that the ever-innovative producer is as in demand today as he ever was. Having worked alongside techno originators such as Juan Atkins and honed his production skills under an incredible number of monikers over the years, we bring the multi-talented producer into the Cult. Here he produces an EP of techno brimming with the musicality and inventiveness that is regularly stamped all over his productions.
Opener ‘Between the Surface’ rolls along effortlessly with its Detroit house leanings, loose jazz drums and buoyant walking bass line driving the groove onwards. Hitting hard, ‘Dazed’ is up next with its jackin’ DX style bass and deep evolving arpeggios, that hark back to the glory days of early house music. Finally, ‘Immortal’ ventures into deeper territory for a twisted journey of discordant synths, electro bleeps and haunting synth melodies. His debut on Rhythm Cult is rich with ideas and showcases the creativity that has made Voorn a force to be reckoned for nearly three decades in the game. Joining the dots between Amsterdam and Detroit this new EP brings fresh inspiration with every listen.
Remedy is Basement Jaxx’s joyous debut album from 1999. It was one of the most assured, propul-sive full-lengths the dance world had seen since Daft Punk’s Homework. A set of incredibly diverse tracks, Remedy is indebted to the raw American house of Todd Terry and Masters at Work, and even shares a penchant for Latin vibes (especially on the horn-driven “Bingo Bango” and the opener, “Rendez-Vu,” which trades a bit of salsa wiggle with infectious vocoderized disco).
This second collection of edits from Italy's matter-of-fact Edits Collection label offers another quarter of superbly feel-good disco sounds. 'Slow Luv' has lush strings and plenty of Philly vibes, while 'Stranger Beat' layers up the jumbled percussion, sliding hi-hats and funky bass. Flip it over for 'Xpress Yourself' which is sure to weave its way into your soul with its hip-shaking groove and more funky bass frets than you know what to do with. 'Xpress Yourbeats' is a more raw and drum focused sound for amping up those energy levels on the floor.
On behalf of re:discovery records, it is with great excitement that we announce the 1st of a 3EP set highlighting the music on 1990's Norwegian electronic act Neural Network. In 1993-1995 they released 2 full albums or Origo Sound that featured label mates Biosphere. In 1993 they opened up for Prodigy and shared the bill with other seminal acts like AFX, Autechre, Orbital and H.I.A among other heavyweights. However, their 2 full albums 'Brain-State-In-A-Box' & 'Modernité' did not get picked up by any other label or distributer and their popularity stayed regional. In fact a 3rd album was never released (Until part 3 comes from this series!) and sadly they went their separate ways to form other electronic acts in 1997. We hope to shine a bright light on their early music. Side A features the wonderful aquatic adventure in 'Aqueous' followed by a shift into the sci-fi realm with the mysterious 'Mechanical Heart'. Two great examples that show off the group's deep post rave sound for the future. A real melding of styles. All 3 EP's have inserts where the band shares their memories of the early days.
All these tracks in the series are placed on vinyl for the first time with fantastic artwork by UK's Grid Pattern. Dare to Dream! Its not only our credo at re:discovery records but it's also our goal in hearing music that was made for the stars.
Exploring the unknown can be both exciting and intimidating, and that's exactly what electronic music producer Oleka, captures in his new underground industrial techno EP, "Xenisation” on Snork Enterprises.
This four-track release follows a traveler as he ventures into unfamiliar territory, where every step is a new discovery. From pulsing beats to metallic soundscapes, the EP takes listeners on a journey through the highs and lows of traveling to a new place. "Xenisation" sets the stage with its accentuated beat and crisp synths, evoking the feeling of a long journey ahead. "Fjord" takes the listener on a journey to the furthest reaches with its driving futuristic rhythms. "Sudor" ratchets up the intensity with its pounding drums conveying the sense of excitement and anxiety that comes with exploring new worlds. Finally, “Point Nemo” brings the journey to a close.
"Xenisation" is a must-listen for fans of underground industrial techno. Oleka's signature sound is on full display in this snorky crafted release, making it another thrilling addition to a decent techno collection.
In the mid-70s, Bob Shad’s cult New York Jazz label Mainstream Records turned to the burgeoning underground Disco scene and released a handful of great singles produced by the likes of Tommy Stewart, Jimmy Roach or Bert DeCoteaux. Featuring artists from the early Disco hotbed including South Side Coalition, Chocolate Syrup and Three Ounces of Love, these singles, proving Shad's great flair, accompanied the rise of the New York club and block party culture that was going to revolutionise the musical landscape a few years later. Most of the singles are officially reissued here on vinyl for the first time, with Three Ounces of Love's "Disco Man" full mix previously unissued on vinyl. Remastered by Colorsound Studio in Paris, with liner notes by Charles Waring and artwork by Thomas C. Bradley
Funk and Soul in the early 70s were mutating to a new sound spearheaded by such labels as Philadelphia International Records (PIR), Scepter and Salsoul: Early Disco was taking off and Its sound was earthier and more urban, mixing the nascent Disco beat with strong funk and soul elements. New York was at the epicentre of the phenomenon, thanks to its thriving club scene and also to a new wave of DJs from the Bronx who started playing the music at block parties along with James Brown and Mandrill. bubbling under was a cohort of small independent labels that released some great music on 7" singles to meet the growing demand. Industry veteran Bob Shad and his label Mainstream Records started investigating this new scene and asked his circle of independent producers to bring him their latest production for release. For the occasion, he set up two sub labels, IX Chains and Brown Dog.
Among the producers who'd heard Shad's call were Tommy Stewart who came up with The South Side Coalition's funky '(Don't You Wanna) Get Down Get Down' in 1975 and Prophecy's 'What Ever's Your Sign' a year later. Seasoned arranger/producer Bert DeCoteaux (Patti Austin, Maxine Brown, The Main Ingredient) brought Lenny Welch's soulful 'A Hundred Pounds of Pain' and the superb mid-tempo instrumental 'Nothing Between Us' by The Electric Ladies. Arranger Jimmy Roach came with his latest single with The Dramatics ('No Rebate on Love') whom he'd worked with at Volt and with Three Ounces of Love on their aptly titled single 'Disco Man,' whose unissued long version merging Side 1 and 2 is released here on vinyl for the first time. The sister group would go on to sign with Motown in 1978 and release their sole album self-titled 'Three Ounces of Love.'
Other highlights on 'Mainstream Disco Funk' include The Grand Jury's 'Music is Fun To Me' with its languid funky rhythm arranged by Ted Bodnar, a producer and studio engineer who'd work with Sir Joe Quarterman, Blair and Al Johnson. Also featured on the set is Crystal Image's superb 'Gonna Have a Good Time (part 1 & 2) which typifies the blend of urban funk, glitzy strings and metronomic beat that were signature elements of early Disco.
The style would keep getting more commercial over the years and reach overkill in the late 70s but the block party scene which more than embraced this breakbeat-filled genre would soon morph into hip hop in the second half of the 70s with the help of a few key industry figures such as Sylvia Robinson (Sugar Hill Records). By that time, Bob Shad had ceased releasing records and relocated in Los Angeles but he left behind a small treasure trove of superb obscure singles which are now making their LP debut on 'Mainstream Disco Funk' for the delight of all funk and disco lovers.
Dino Lenny returns to Crosstown Rebels with his latest single ‘I’ve Learned That’, accompanied by remixes from Shadow Child and Jonathan Kaspar - plus his own take with Fed Conti.
A regular on labels including Afterlife, Ellum, Innervisions, and Diynamic, London-based Italian-born DJ/producer and Fine Human Records boss Dino Lenny’s solo and collaborative catalogue continues to grow as he features as one of the most consistent names within the worlds of house and techno. Having released his first EP on the label in 2019, he now returns to Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels for a second outing with the release of his touching new single ‘I’ve Learned That’ - which is one of a collection of records dedicated to his daughter - with remixes from Shadow Child, Jonathan Kaspar, and his own interpretation alongside Fed Conti.
Shaped by emotive piano keys, blooming strings and refined drums, ‘I’ve Learned’ showcases a rich and heartwarming production taking cues from dance music and beyond as the track’s uplifting and inspiring vocals carry the production across nine minutes of delight.
Beginning the transition towards more traditional electronic spheres, his remix alongside Fed Conti utilises vibrant guitar licks and a luminous bassline to head into a late-night discovery of disco influences. Next, Shadow Child’s ‘Classic Mix’ is a skippy house gem as bumping low-ends work amongst hazy chords, with Jonathan Kaspar’s remix moving deeper via surging synths for a hypnotic and thrilling ride to close.
Avid Habibi Funk listeners may be familiar with Libyan composer / producer Najib Alhoush, who’s track “Ya Aen Daly” - the Bee Gee’s “Stayin Alive” cover - was included in our second compilation. While the original track never excited us, Najib’s version managed to strip it from its pop approach that had taken over disco during the genre`s peak. At that time, disco tracks mostly were aiming to appeal to the widest audience possible. Najib had turned the original track into something different and very unique. Upon further research we found that Najib was actually the singer and founder of The Free Music band alongside Fakhreddin, Salim Jibreel, Abdulrazzak ‘Kit-Kat’, Mukhtar Wanis and Mohameed Al Rakibi.
Initially, we only licensed Najib Alhoush’s “Ya Aen Daly” from Yousef Alhoush, Najib’s son, who was pleased to hear that there was interest in his father’s music form someone abroad. In the process of exchanging and learning about Najib’s music and career, our understanding was that The Free Music only recorded the one album. This couldn’t be further from the truth, in fact, there were ten albums produced by the group, all impressively coherent with a clear influence from disco, soul, funk and reggae.
The Free Music album was probably the longest it ever took us to gather information, photos and musical source material in a good enough quality to be reissued. This is largely due to the complicated political situation in Libya, compounded by the fact that Libya is still largely cut off from international payment systems, so getting an advance payment to the right person can be a process that takes weeks. The same goes for getting master tapes to a studio abroad and afterwards back to Libya.
When we look for music that works under the umbrella of Habibi Funk, we often come across albums where bands experimented with influences from Soul, Jazz, Funk, Disco and more, usually on a single track or two but then they often go down to a different path for the rest of the album. This was not the case for The Free Music. All their albums are fully dedicated to their unique blend of Disco, Reggae and Funk and it feels that when we made the selection for this album, we could have chosen a completely different number of tracks and the album would be been equally strong.
The lead-off single is the stupendously groovy “Ana Qalbi Ehtar” out February 3rd along with LP pre-order to capitalize on Bandcamp Friday. From the outset, the rhythmic strumming of the funkified guitars give way to the galloping drums and bass, opening up to anthemic vocals and rounding out with a blistering guitar solo, a certified disco-funk classic through-andthrough.
Second single, out February 17th is the disco slammer “Hawelt Nensa Ghalaak.” Guitars, harmonized horns, synths and bouncing bass and drums collide w/ spaced out vox to make the track a dancefloor sureshot for any party.
Third single is “Mathasebnish,” out March 3rd, a pure disco-funk slammer if there ever was one – with stabbing horns, funky bass riffs, a riding rhythm guitar and anthemic vocals, rounded out with stunning flute and guitar solos – the track will surely be on repeat along with the arrival of warmer weather.
Album focus track “Men Awel Marra” is another standout disco-infused tune, showcasing the immense creativity out of Najib and The Free Music. This past summer we finally had the opportunity to get together with Yousef face-to-face at a coffee shop in Istanbul’s central Istiklal road together with our friend Anas El Horani. Yousef told us the whole story of how his father got into music, the start of the band and his father’s continued conflicts with the Gaddafi regime that probably kept his career from becoming even bigger. As always, both vinyl and CD come with an extensive booklet featuring background on The Free Music and Najib Alhoush, including words from Najib’s son, Yousef, as well as unseen photos, cassettes and more.
Als Secret Discovery 2006 in die Zeitmaschine stiegen, ahnten sie noch nicht, dass sie 17 Jahre später, im Jahr 2023, mit einem neuen Album aussteigen würden. Dabei herausgekommen sind 9 brandneue Songs – über Liebe, Hass und menschliche Abgründe sowie über soziale und gesellschaftliche Missstände.
Von atmosphärisch, melodiös und indielastig bis hin zu brachial, metallisch und hart präsentieren sich die Songs in alter Secret-Discovery Manier mit einem guten Schuss musikalischer Reife. Eingängige Hooks, hypnotische Melodien zwischen Nostalgie und Aggressivität, eingebettet in runde Arrangements und expressive
Harmonien - auf den Punkt gebracht durch Kai Hoffmanns charismatische Stimme.
Charakteristisch ist die für die Secrets typische perfekte Symbiose aus Rock und Elektronik.
Auch als Special Edition im Digipack erhältlich! Aufgepeppt mit 3 nagelneuen Bonustracks als Ergänzung zum Standard Album sowie 2 Remixen und eine bearbeitete Version des Songs „In My Life“ der Band „Alice2“. ’In my Life’ ist eine extended Version mit einem Gitarrensolo von keinem geringeren als Gitarrenlegende Axel Rudi Pell!
Die 2 Remixe von ’Dein Reich’ könnten unterschiedlicher nicht sein: Eine Electronic Dark-Dance Version sowie eine Extended-Guitar Version von Dirk Riegner , der unter Anderem bei Peter Heppner für die Keyboards verantwortlich ist.
Death Is Not The End's 333 sub-label follows the reissue of Devon Russell's Darker Than Blue LP late last year with a first-time reissue of a veritable reggae-dancehall holy grail - Robert Ffrench's 1985 LP 'Wondering'.
Pioneering artist and producer (and cousin of the late, great Pat Kelly) Robert Ffrench was born in central Kingston in 1962, recording his first records in 1979 at the age of 17. Coming out off the back of a slew of roots & early dancehall-style 45s cut with a wide range of producers thoughout the early '80s, the Wondering LP followed closely after two acclaimed LP sets ('Showcase' produced with Lord Koos & 'The Favourite' for Ossie Thomas' Black Solidarity label - plus a split showcase LP with Anthony "Gunshot" Johnson for Jah Thomas' Midnight Rock label).
Ffrench would write and produce the Wondering LP himself in it's entirity, laying down the tracks at Herman Chin-Loy's Aquarius & Michael Carroll's Creative Sounds studios with the help of engineer Christopher Daley. Representing the sound of an artist first confidently sriking out on his own, the album elegantly mixes a classic rub-a-dub & lovers rock-inspired sound with nascent digi-esque flourishes. It boasts an enviable list of contributors too, incl. Sly & Robbie, Dwight Pinkney, Robbie Lyn, Nelson Miller (Burning Spear) and Ronald "Nambo" Robinson among others, with Beres Hammond also providing backing vocals in places.
Following the release of Wondering, Ffrench would continue to write and produce, soon after releasing two further self-produced LPs for Edgar White's Parish label - and founded his own 'France' label in the late 80s, through which his productions would start to hit big, most notably alongside Courtney Melody on 'Modern Girl', and with US rapper Heavy D on the track 'More Love'. Robert's productions released through later label 'Ffrench' would go on to boast the cream of the crop of dancehall artists throughout the 90s and early 2000s, and he is often credited with discovering Buju Banton (producing his first single "Ruler" on the Stamina riddim). Ffrench is still actively producing music of his own to this day, having released singles 'Everyday of My Life' and 'Black Is a Colour' in late 2022 and Feb 2023 respectively, available through all digital platforms now.
333, under exclusive license from Robert Ffrench.
There’s something almost magical about a great
collaboration. When two artists are able to
synchronize on an infinitesimal level, where each
note and breath and strum aligns to create a
perfect whole. The Colorist Orchestra know how to
do this - in fact, they’ve made it their speciality. Since 2013, the Belgian duo (comprised of multiinstrumentalists and long-time friends Aarich Jespers and Kobe Proesmans) have made a
career out of reimagining the discographies of a wide array of artists, using their background in
pop, electronic, and world music to transform the songs. Recently, they have reconnected with acclaimed
Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini, with whom they first collaborated in 2018, on the album, ‘The Colorist Orchestra & Emilíana Torrini’. This time, however, the project exceeded even
their own expectations. In 2023, The Colorist Orchestra and Emilíana
release ‘Racing The Storm’, a joint record tha takes both artists to towering new heights. An album of all original material, it melds The Colorist Orchestra’s classical chamber pop roots with the
power and fragility of Emilíana’s understated
songwriting. LP pressed on 140g white vinyl in 350gsm spined
sleeve on silver foil board with 200gsm reverse
board inner sleeve
Portland is a project born of instant connection, yet it’s also one
that has survived some of the darkest life can throw at them.
Dreamy songwriting bathed in beauty, the Belgian two-piece
thrive on pure expression, infusing their beatific, ethereal work
with incredible honesty. New album, ‘Departures’, pushes them
to the brink, forcing them to open up as never before, and in the
process discover themselves all over again.
The story starts almost a decade ago. Sarah Pepels was new in
town, a music student attempting to make some roots. Hearing
music coming from down the corridor in her student home, she
knocked, and met Jente Pironet for the first time. One
conversation led to the next, and within hours they were writing
together, playing each other their ideas and sharing some
profound secrets. “We shared the same passions,” she reflects.
“We became best friends, soul mates… and the band emerged
from that.”
The two won the prestigious De Nieuwe Lichting prize - one of
Belgium’s top honours for young songwriters - before releasing
their precocious debut album ‘Your Colours Will Stain’ in 2019.
Word quickly spread on their hazy dream pop - reminiscent of
Beach House or School Of Seven Bells - but the pandemic
pulled the shutters down on their burgeoning careers. As Jente
puts it: “We went through some difficult times, I guess. The
pandemic was very isolating for us both, and as a result the
music took on board those emotions.”
‘Departures’ was born of this. Put simply, it’s magnificent - all
the promise of their earlier work realized, it drifts between the
grace of Slowdive and a sense of classic songwriting that
recalls everyone from Fleetwood Mac, say, to Angus and Julia
Stone. Sonically beautifully and emotionally gripping, it’s a
profound song cycle, the work of musicians digging deeper than
ever before.
For fans of Beach House, Angus & Julia Stone, Mazzy Star,
Ben Howard.
Portland is a project born of instant connection, yet it’s also one
that has survived some of the darkest life can throw at them.
Dreamy songwriting bathed in beauty, the Belgian two-piece
thrive on pure expression, infusing their beatific, ethereal work
with incredible honesty. New album, ‘Departures’, pushes them
to the brink, forcing them to open up as never before, and in the
process discover themselves all over again.
The story starts almost a decade ago. Sarah Pepels was new in
town, a music student attempting to make some roots. Hearing
music coming from down the corridor in her student home, she
knocked, and met Jente Pironet for the first time. One
conversation led to the next, and within hours they were writing
together, playing each other their ideas and sharing some
profound secrets. “We shared the same passions,” she reflects.
“We became best friends, soul mates… and the band emerged
from that.”
The two won the prestigious De Nieuwe Lichting prize - one of
Belgium’s top honours for young songwriters - before releasing
their precocious debut album ‘Your Colours Will Stain’ in 2019.
Word quickly spread on their hazy dream pop - reminiscent of
Beach House or School Of Seven Bells - but the pandemic
pulled the shutters down on their burgeoning careers. As Jente
puts it: “We went through some difficult times, I guess. The
pandemic was very isolating for us both, and as a result the
music took on board those emotions.”
‘Departures’ was born of this. Put simply, it’s magnificent - all
the promise of their earlier work realized, it drifts between the
grace of Slowdive and a sense of classic songwriting that
recalls everyone from Fleetwood Mac, say, to Angus and Julia
Stone. Sonically beautifully and emotionally gripping, it’s a
profound song cycle, the work of musicians digging deeper than
ever before.
For fans of Beach House, Angus & Julia Stone, Mazzy Star,
Ben Howard.
Veils Of Transformation 1972 - 1980 is a collection of the earliest works of Gregory Kramer, one of the 20th century masters of textural electronic music. This collection is available on CD and cassette with liner notes from Gregory Kramer and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, who first brought this fascinating work to the attention of Important Records.
“Greg is one of the pioneers of electronic music and these pieces are unique opportunities to discover how intricate and dynamic early synthesizers are.” Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Kramer developed a musical language focused on continuous transformation of timbre, yielding a continuity of attention. This musical language, formed of timbral change, is a compelling aesthetic in its own right and a source of meditative experience. The four works on this album share a deep sense of order derived not from organizing pitches or rhythms, but from the evolution of timbre itself.
Gregory Kramer (b. 1952) is a pioneering electronic composer, inventor, researcher, teacher and author. In 1975 he co-founded Electronic Musicmobile, a synthesizer ensemble later renamed Electronic Musicmobile, a series of synthesizer concerts in New York from which he formed the Electronic Art Ensemble, a highly regarded all electronic quartet. His work extended to developing synthesizers and related equipment. Kramer also co-founded the not-for-profit arts organization Harvestworks in New York City. He is recognized as the founding figure of the intensely cross-disciplinary field of data sonification. Since 1980, Kramer teaches Buddhist meditation.
The four compositions collected here each represent Kramer’s unique approaches:
The structure of Meditations on 32 Parts of the Body (1978) is derived from the means of its production. Recording 5 people chanting an ancient meditation text, then layering to gradually achieve more than one million voices. The layering was all done using analogue tape recorders. The decomposition of the sound reflects the anomalies of tape machines out of sync, and the build up of artifacts from the audio tape itself, such as uneven response curves and tape hiss, are all engaged as musical materials.
Role (1972) was generated using one complex patch on a large hybrid Buchla 200/100 system. Emerging from a zeitgeist that valued pure synthesis as a combined artistic and technological research. At the time this piece was realized its as exceedingly difficult to produce electronic sounds that were internally complex.
Blue Wave (1980) is built on Kramer’s timbral development technique Veils Of Transformation which allows for disparate timbres to be woven into a continuously developing sound.
Monologue (1977) is a virtuosic performance of a massive patch on a Buchla/Electron Farm hybrid electronic instrument. Built into the patch is a pathway for continuous transformation of voice and voltage-controlled synthesizer. The blunt, raw and sometimes harsh sounds of this piece reflect an attitude prominent among composers that music can, or even should, be difficult, contrary to what’s already been done and, by all means, new.
After spending the past 20 years in the studio, on concert stages all over the world and at the literal top of the charts, All-American Rejects co-founder Tyson Ritter didn’t start Now More Than Ever in 2018 with the expectation it would turn into a real band – but a real band is very much what it has become. In tandem with veteran musicians/songwriters/producers Scott Chesak (All-American Rejects, Panic! At the Disco, Weezer) and Izzy Fontaine (Taking Back Sunday, Tegan & Sara, Glassjaw), Ritter has begun a meaningful and exciting new chapter in his music career with Now More Than Ever’s debut album Creatrix, which will be released March 17, 2023, by Thirty Tigers. Now More Than Ever shimmers with that spirit of freedom, its nine tracks gracefully surfing the peaks of the past four decades of pop and rock. These are the kinds of songs that used to be on the radio and certainly still should be today – the ones that make you dance, shake your ass and forget about everything else for a while. Now More Than Ever is here to help make sure the pillars of pop and rock will never fall, and they’re prepared to go down believing. “This is our little monolith,” Ritter says. “It might be six feet tall amongst giants, but it’s pure. And it’s truth for us. It’s saccharine as fuck, and I love it.”
With French Connection, discover rare tracks of Funk, Soul and Jazz made in France. 23 avant-garde nuggets from the 60"s and 70"s gathered in a nice double vinyl! With: Cortex, Janko Nilovic, Godchild, Francis Lai, Bernard Estardy, Philippe Sarde, Edition Spéciale, Bruno Leys, Jean-Claude Petit, Serge Gainsbourg...
'Originally released in 1971, Detroit's 'El Count Executives' epitomise the mythical, spoken sentiment of love through their only single, 'Pot Of Gold' & 'Nothing Comes To a Sleeper (But A Dream)', written & released by Ohio native, Kennedy Hollman, on his record label
'Gemini", aptly named after his astrological sign.
Hollman, who had his debut single 'l've Got Style' in 1967, recorded as 'The Mints', later known as 'The Imperial Wonders', became a leading figure amongst the Cleveland circuit.
His initial release by 'El Count Executives', recorded in Detroit at Gary Rubin's 'Pioneer Recording Studio', was shortly followed by 'The Soul In-Pressions', released on 'Aquarius',
another astrologically tipped label ran alongside Henry Watkins, Jr. & James Lately. Towards the late 70s, Holman was part of Detroit's Soul/Disco act, 'Solid Solution' Now available as a limited 7" single for the first time in over 50 years, kindly licensed from
the Holman estate’
Shahrokh Dini delivered two top notch EPs in 2022, “Now We Can Dance” w/ Illinois and “Ubuntu”. After gathering some decent remixes, a proper vinyl release became self-evident. Here we go now with splendid re-works by the likes of Lehar, David Mayer, Omer Tayar, Tooker, Kovi, Patrick Zigon and Apoena. A superb package!
Shahrokh Dini left Karlsruhe, while he is even more active than ever in his old and new basecamp Berlin. Not even that he played a lot of nice gigs during summer (Amsterdam, few times on Ibiza, lot of gigs in Berlin, Italy, Corfu, Sardinia), he is also busy in the studio with several releases and remixes (btw.: one for Compost artist Felix Laband). “Now We Can Dance” with the strong and lovely vocals by Illinois is a contemporary house smash with an 80ties indie dance twist. Shahrokh met Illinois at the Garden Of Babylon parties, where Shahrokh is virtually the resident DJ, too.
Further we have stunning remixes by Lehar (Diynamic Music, Connaisseur Recordings), David Mayer (formerly Keinemusik, Ouïe), Apoena (Freerange), Omer Tayar (The Gardens of Babylon/Tel Aviv), Patrick Zigon (Biotop, Traumraum), Tooker (Ouïe, Crosstown Rebels), Kovi (Compost, Frau Blau).
Shahrokh Dini has a long lasting release history, among them a lot on Compost, also under his moniker Shahrokh Sound Of K. Check both his discographies on Discogs.
Run by Gabriele and Paolo, Italy based newborn label Sunny Crypt's first output is a reissue of the sought-after "Random Rooms" album by Danish poets and multidisciplinary artists Niels Lyngsø and Morten Søndergaard. Both attending the Literature university in Copenhagen, they were linked at first by a mutual passion and fascination towards music - or rather "sound" - even before unveiling each other that they were writing poems. Niels and Morten started bringing their solo homemade DIY sound experiments together, giving birth to a wide genre-spanning album that ranges from slow tempo mutant disco to folk inspired synth-pop to sound collages and more musical compositions that is fairly complex to put in a precise musical genre box.
First released in 1992 on the same day as their debut poetry collections, Random Rooms should be a house or a flat or an exhibition space that you could walk through and in each room you would come across something new. A fusion of genre and bits and pieces of culture and play.
A kaleidoscope of past, present, and future.
Mikal Asher hails from the legendary reggae group Morgan Heritage and he was behind plenty of top musical moments. His vocal work here comes on top of original off stems from disco don Gary Davis, but served up with all-new fire in the form of two mixes by DJ and producer Knoe1 and Warehouse Preservation Society. Knoe1 goes first and flips the OG into boogie-laced funky stepper with squelchy bass and lush melodies. Warehouse Preservation Society then go for a more heavy, percussive and dubbed-out house cut that has tropical sound effects and humid grooves to make you move. All this comes on a mega limited 7" that is sure to vanish in quick time.
It is with a singular pleasure that we welcome Marc Romboy to the ever growing stable of live artists at ASW!
Marc Romboy is an artist renowned within the electronic scene for his eclectic, boundary-pushing approach and decades worth of experience working both behind the scenes and behind the decks.
In recent years he has embraced performing live as another creative outlet and, indeed, creative challenge. As an artist and performer, Marc has always pushed the boundaries of his creativity and this, Marc’s first studio album in 6 years is a true masterwork of techno from one of the masters of the genre.
Growing up in the West of Germany close to the borders of both The Netherlands and Belgium, Marc was always instinctively drawn to music. He would attend the acid house parties prevalent in the area, with an epiphany of sorts on the dancefloor of Front club in Hamburg in 1987. An avid record collector, he would listen to Krautrock, breaks, Italo disco, Chicago house and more, and experienced some of the first all house and techno clubs in Europe; the legendary Roxy club in Amsterdam and Dorian Grey in Frankfurt. Learning to DJ, and later on produce, was a natural step.
He founded the ’Le Petit Prince’ imprint in 1993 as a platform for the music of friends he was playing out, which went on to be named Label Of The Year by various German electronic music publications the following year. Its reputation led Marc into collaborating with other DJs to manage their labels too.
Meanwhile, Marc went on to notch up an impressive discography of EPs, tracks and collaborations, carving his own sound; emotive, versatile, and featuring distinctive basslines.
2004 was a landmark year for the artist, with the beginning of his own, completely self-run label Systematic. Since It's birth, the label has provided a home for productions from the likes of Robert Hood, Kenny Larkin, Omar-S, Terrence Parker, Timo Maas, kINK and many more. It also provided the platform for Marc’s first album, ‘Gemini’ in 2005, followed by four further LPs; 2008’s ‘Contrast’, 2009’s ‘6 Monde’ with Stephan Bodzin (which birthed the pair’s now-legendary track ‘Atlas’), 2013’s ‘Taiyo’ with Ken Ishii, and 2014’s three-disc retrospective compilation ‘Shades’. And his collaborative orchestral LP ‘Voyage de la Planète’, Marc’s forward-thinking last album. Pushing the boundaries between classical and electronic music, it makes for a moving , atmospheric outing for the producer - “I feel like there are still a couple of beautiful sounds to create”.
Marc’s output has been exemplary and with his inspiration rising for performing live he now brings us the wonderful “Music Made for Aliens”. A work of true electronic inspiration. Marc will be performing live at ASW events coming up soon.
NYC's Disco powerhouse West End Records should need no intro. The home of too-numerous-to-list club classics for over 30+ years is still impacting today on what we know to be club culture. The label started by one Mel Cheren (RIP) with assistance from Larry Levan and more way back in 1976 is still held in such high regard today with it's catalogue constantly being played, rediscovered, reinterpreted and loved by waves and waves of new fans and admirers. One such admirer is one of the UK's longest serving DJ's and editors, a truly legendary Northern selector who's unique reel to reel DJ sets and reworks has gained him fans worldwide and continues to do so. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Greg Wilson's West End versions, 4 tracks of unparalleled funk touched by the man himself who has also kindly supplied some choice words about this special release:
"West End has a particular place in my heart. Along with Prelude, it was my main go-to label during the early '80s, an underground New York powerhouse issuing a relentless run of now classic and cult-classic club cuts during the time I was DJing at Legend in Manchester. For me personally, the label is forever connected with this then futuristic venue, West End's progressive approach to dance music, incorporating electronic elements to play a key role in ushering in the Electro-Funk era, finding its perfect environment at Legend, with tracks by Stone, and especially the Peech Boys' hugely influential 'Don't Make Me Wait', providing major stepping stones. This is a project that holds a deeper resonance for me, given my personal relationship with the label, and I'm so happy to contribute the series; the 4 favourites tracks I selected for this release illustrating West End's best qualities - serious grooves and soulful vocals.
The edit of 'You Can't Take Your Cake And Eat It Too' by B.T. (Brenda Taylor) was originally featured on my first Credit To The Edit compilation, back in 2005, whilst Raw Silk's 'Do It To The Music' was also edited around the same period, but has never been made available until now. 'Keep On Dubbin'' by Forrrce, although not as big as the other inclusions at the time, was an ahead of its time hybrid, mixed by Francois Kevorkian, whose dub awakening had taken place the previous year, and Shirley Lites 'Heat You Up (Melt You Down)', which draws from the instrumental 'Melt Down Mix', the version of choice at Legend, where dub and instrumental mixes often trumped the main vocal versions"
A truly golden era of dance music history, all killer - no filler! All tracks featured re-edited by Greg Wilson and re-mastered, re-pressed and re-released with the permission of and in conjunction with West End Records, New York City / BMG. '
Freestyle puts out another reissue 12" in their drive to unearth rare and classic UK funk, soul & boogie records - this time a much needed pressing of the late Candy McKenzie's heavy boogie-funk cover of Patrice Rushen's classic Remind Me. Produced by Candy's late cousin, and seasoned session bass player, John McKenzie (and licensed from the family estate) this was originally released in 1983 - and comes with an excellent dubbed-out 'Different Style' instrumental version on the flip.
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Candy McKenzie (1953-2003) was a North West London-based vocalist from a Guyanese family heavily steeped in musicianship . She began learning the piano at a young age, picking up vocal harmony from her father, a jazz bass player. Her brothers Bunny & Binky, were also celebrated bassists. Candy would marry young in 1970 at the age of 17, though just one year later her brother Binky (who played with the likes of Cream, Alexis Korner & John Mclaughlin in the late 60s) tragically killed her mother and father, along with Candy's husband in an attack at the family home to which Candy was present. Candy was also injured but escaped with her life.
In the years that followed the tragedy Candy, regularly accompanied by her brother Bunny, would find reggae vocal session work - often at the Chalk Farm Studios frequented by many key producers & acts. She found her way onto Aswad's first album and Keith Hudson's legendary Flesh Of My Skin Blood Of My Blood LP - and a little while later on a couple of sessions with Bob Marley for Island, under the supervision of Lee Perry.
The latter two parties took a keen interest in Candy, with Island wisking her away to Jamaica in 1977 to record an album at the legendary Black Ark. Her vocals found their way onto The Congos seminal Heart of the Congos LP, but the album she recorded with Perry was shelved - with just the Black Art holy grail 12" Disco Fits / Breakfast in Bed finding it's way to release at the time.
Back in London, Candy spent the early to mid 80s recording various lovers and funk/soul 12"s, including this fantastic cover of Patrice Rushen's Remind Me, produced by her cousin John. She went on to record singles for labels like Elite & Cooltempo throughout the '80s and early '90s, and appeared as backing vocalist with the likes of Leonard Cohen, Whitney Houston, Elton John and Diana Ross. She passed away in 2003, with her one and only album recorded at the Black Ark finally seeing release on Trojan in 2011.
Candy's cousin John McKenzie got his starts in the music industry in the mid 70s as part of prog group Man and communal festival rockers Global Village Trucking Co., as well as playing with the likes of Annette Peacock and Steve Hillage. His father Mike McKenzie was also a key Carribbean jazz figure in the UK throughout the early 1950s, through to the '60s and '70s. John would become a heavily in-demand session musician - playing with everyone from the Eurhythmics to Bob Dylan - while also finding time to produce this record, alongside a couple of excellent 12"s with Mel Gaynor as Finesse, between 1982 and '83. He would regularly tour the world as a live musician for a huge array of headline acts, appearing on multiple chart hits, and in his later years was a member of the excellent group Ibibio Sound Machine. He lost his battle with cancer in 2020.
This reissue is dedicated to the memory of both John & Candy McKenzie.
Ben Glas (b. 1992) is an experiential composer based in Berlin. Through ephemeral compositions Glas' work questions preconceived notions between the acts of passive hearing and active listening. In seeking to discover open ended forms of music and pragmatic listening perspectives, Glas' compositions focus on the realms of subjective perception and cognition, via the use of acoustics, psychoacoustics and space as tools for sonic composition. His work has been exhibited and performed internationally, including the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), Glasgow's Radiophrenia Festival, the Soundwave Biennial (SF) and the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art (CICA). He is currently receiving his M.A. in Sonic Studies at the UdK.
Ben Glas writes… "Anonymous Sextet for Perverted Piano is a conceptual performance piece that combines a traditional grand piano, six long-distance remote controlled vaginal/anal vibrators and the prolonged use of the piano's sustainer pedal.
The six vibrators were strategically (and preparedly) placed atop of the strings of a various grand pianos (and one harpsichord), while random strangers around the globe connected to and operated the sex toys remotely. After the random and unwitting performers had befriended and synced-up with a catfishing account linked to the six individual vibrators and controlled by three different smartphones, they then sent vibrational patterns and pulses to stimulate their assumed target. The then-kinetic vibrators bounced, slid and bopped aleatorically through the tonal possibilities that the piano and piano's soundboard itself permits. The piano's sustain pedal was held down throughout the performance, elongating the triggered notes and the good vibrations.
All tracks on side A are performed by those unwitting performers, while side B's single track was performed with (more than) a little help from my friends (Anonymous (1), Genesis Victoria, Harry Hudson-Taylor and Hayden Dean)." – Ben Glas, Berlin, 16 February 2023.
Mordisco Records is happy to present the brand new Italoconnection ‚Nordisko‘ The catchiness and sobriety of the songwriting and style of
Scandinavian music is something that keeps attracting us
since many years, so we decided to pay tribute to some of our
favorite artists and songs.
Music coming from the cold, melancholic with a European feel that we always aim to attire in our productions.
Artist and songs coming from different backgrounds that we tried to make ours by adding some of our club friendly sound respecting the original songs attitude.
All the songs were chosen from the repertoire of fairly different
artists, both from the past and present days. Picking from the modern crooner style of Jay-Jay Johanson, past glories like Secret Service and Fake, the early nineties extravaganza of Army Of Lovers, the very unique singer-songwriter flair of Saralunden, the talented duo charm of Carino Cat, the finnish electro disco pioneers Digital Dance and the synthpop innovator‘s Jaakko Eino Kalevi uniqueness, all artists have a special place in our heart.
Available on LP vinyl and CD (including two bonus remixes from On The Radio and Donna Rouge
"El Pasaje del Aumento" is a collection of syncopated rhythms for hypnotic slow dance. An accident of oppressive atmospheres with a humorous sense of rhythm and composition, which moves between downtempo, African rhythms and dub. With a certain oriental softness, it introduces you into a state of enchantment, spell... a hypnotic and mysterious restlessness, almost uncomfortable. Sentuhlà squeezes his Yamaha Rm1x on this second album, creating rhythms that you would never believe possible with a single synthesizer. He spins, twists and strangles it to the limit, til getting the last drop of frequency and oscillation.
Without too obvious references, it recalls the rhythms of Toulouse Low Trax or Wolf Müller, the experimentation of Muslimgauze, the repetition of Huerco S... But if you ask Sentuhlà himself, he will also mention Fela Kuti, Sun Ra, Can, Cabaret Voltaire, Tom Zé or Lee Scratch Perry...
Sentuhlà is one of the many aliases of musical jack of all trades José Guerrero, a long-standing figure in the already rich underground scene of Valencia. In this solo excursion, he explores the vast possibilities of mechanical repetition, the machine funk of dirtbag rhythms, and proper boogie DIY synth music, sculpting a syncopated sound that is both modern and atavistic. Coming from a deep knowledge and ability to communicate very diverse sounds, slow jams unfold into dance music for clear-eyed lounge lizards for whom sleaze comes not dizzy but focused. Whitened African rhythms beat up no-wave disco pleasure points, managing the hard task of being very cool and nonchalant, but also hot and dedicated.
