Funeral For Justice is the new album by Mdou Moctar. Recorded at the close of two years spent touring the globe following the release of 2019 breakout Afrique Victime, it captures the Nigerien quartet in ferocious form. The music is louder, faster, and more wild. The guitar solos are feedback-scorched and the lyrics are passionately political. Nothing is held back or toned down. The songs on Funeral For Justice speak unflinchingly to the plight of Niger and of the Tuareg people. "This album is really different for me," explains Moctar, the band"s singer, namesake, and indisputably iconic guitarist "Now the problems of terrorist violence are more serious in Africa. When the US and Europe came here, they said they"re going to help us, but what we see is really different. They never help us to find a solution."
Funeral For Justice is the new album by Mdou Moctar. Recorded at the close of two years spent touring the globe following the release of 2019 breakout Afrique Victime, it captures the Nigerien quartet in ferocious form. The music is louder, faster, and more wild. The guitar solos are feedback-scorched and the lyrics are passionately political. Nothing is held back or toned down. The songs on Funeral For Justice speak unflinchingly to the plight of Niger and of the Tuareg people. "This album is really different for me," explains Moctar, the band"s singer, namesake, and indisputably iconic guitarist "Now the problems of terrorist violence are more serious in Africa. When the US and Europe came here, they said they"re going to help us, but what we see is really different. They never help us to find a solution."
Sonic Behavior by Driftmachine & Ammer is an album exploring the origins of sound, noise, and various music genres. Alongside lyrical declarations of love for noise ("Song To Noise"), the album delves into sonic reflections on how beauty and emotion emerge from mundane vibrations in the air ("The Siren Is A Simple Device"). For the first time, the analog sound researchers of Driftmachine (Andreas Gerth, Florian Zimmer) incorporate spoken language and noise into their sound research. They have collaborated with word and sound artist Andreas Ammer, renowned for his radio plays with Acid Pauli, aka Console ("Spaceman 85"), or FM Einheit ("Radio Inferno," "Symphony of Sirens").
In "The Siren Is A Simple Device," the words are spoken by 81-year-old musician and poet legend Ted Milton (Blurt, Loopspool). Despite its simplicity and obvious ability to produce high volumes, the siren has led a marginal existence as a musical instrument. Yet, it is capable of evoking the most intense emotional states in the listener in the shortest possible time, like almost no other sound-producing mechanism. "Sonic Behavior" capitalizes on this fact. The familiar hypnotic sounds of Driftmachine are accompanied by a siren organ inspired by the revolutionary Russian futurist Arsenij Avranov and built by Andreas Ammer, while the lyrics talk about the simple physical reasons behind the sound chaos that has just been unleashed: A siren ... chops the air into sound.
The core of the album is "Song To Noise," an electro-acoustic mini-symphony about the beauties of noise and all its producers, which is based on a poem by the British poet Deryn Rees-Jones and spoken by the poet herself and Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten, Hackedepicciotto). Driftmachine & Ammer develop a soundtrack that is as powerful as it is loud and danceable (which is why the LP also includes a textless version of the composition).
"Sonic Sculpture" is the zenith of the work: a text/music track spoken by Ted Milton, which creates the possibility of a sound sculpture that encompasses the universe: What if one could imagine the infernal sound that encompasses all conceivable harmonies at the same time? A piano does when you throw it down an earthly staircase (the epitome of music is a piano falling down the stairs) through silent space to the next theoretically life-filled, Earth-like planet, Proxima Centauri B. The radio makes it possible. Driftmachine & Ammer tried it. The result will be heard there in 4.24 light-years. On planet Earth, the time has come on May 2, 2024. On this day, Sonic Behavior will be released, a conceptual album by Driftmachine & Ammer exploring sound, its creation, and its power.
Much-anticipated debut album from Leeds post-punk power-trio and 6Music favourites Objections. Optimistic Sizing is comprised of ten kitchen-sink dramas, ten miniature worlds to lose yourself in. The key topics are covered: performative royal mourning, ill-suited sexual relationships, coastal gentrification, motormouth bigots and - of course - snogging. Objections formed in the post-lockdown period after drummer Neil and guitarist Joe's former band (and cult favourites) Bilge Pump slowed to an amicable halt. They wanted to continue the musical dialogue they had built up over decades and turned to Claire Adams (Nape Neck, Beards) to start something new and Objections was born. The 3 members have also played in/with: Polaris, Yann Tiersen, HiM, Enablers, Felix and Damo Suzuki (among others). Objections released their debut 7" - BSA Day/Better Luck Next Time on Wrong Speed in 2023 and have recorded two Marc Riley / Gideon Coe BBC 6Music sessions. At Wrong Speed we are not fond of genres, we are here to release music we love not tell you how to file it. But Optimistic Sizing is genuinely post-punk in the literal sense of the term. Objections take the freedom and anyone-can-do-it promise of punk and run somewhere new and adventurous with it, creating a vibrant and living musical language with which to communicate their own unique world view. As a result, Optimistic Sizing is not only a classic debut album but a timeless one. "We like to think we know what we're talking about....believe us when we say, Objections are a band to watch" - Louder Than War
2024 repress and recut inna green transparent plate.
Excellent acid mental tribe EP from Winprod. A loud sick mental sound, full of good evolutions and uncomon efficient kicks. B side long tune kicks a 168 BPM, and on A side you get a 187 and a 177 BPM tunes.
Before Circus Lupus landed on DC’s venerable Dischord Records, the group’s original Midwest lineup recorded a full album’s worth of songs less than a year after forming. With the demise of DC’s Ignition in the late ’80s, bass player Chris Thomson headed to Madison, WI for college. Before leaving DC, he dove headfirst into being a vocalist fronting the short-lived throwback punk / hardcore project Fury. Thomson served up pointed and profound Tony Cadena-inspired screeds about betrayal, disappointment and poseurs all set to a soundtrack of furiously primitive and chaotic music supplied by members of the DC punk band Swiz. Brief yet influential, this band marked Thomson’s switch to vocals, putting him on course to front Circus Lupus and claim a notable spot in the DC punk timeline of the late 20th century. Soon after arriving in Madison, Thomson was invited to join a new project started by friends Chris Hamley, Arika Casebolt, and Reg Shrader. Circus Lupus marked a change in direction from the familiar sounds of DC punk that Thomson had been associated with for years. The newly formed group looked to noisier Touch & Go and Homestead bands for inspiration, aligning themselves with bands from Chicago, Louisville and Milwaukee. One early supporter of the band described the new group as “profoundly familiar yet uncategorizable. Like if the Germs had gone to college and never got pulled into hard drugs and suicidal behaviors.” The original Circus Lupus lineup played a dozen shows and recorded these songs with Eli Janney at Inner Ear studios in August of 1990 while on a brief tour. Within a year, the band would decide to permanently relocate to Washington DC, where they felt they had more opportunities. Shrader opted to move to Chicago and would ultimately join the Touch and Go band Seam. Old friend Seth Lorinczi (Vile Cherubs) would become their new bass player, forming the version of the band that most listeners are familiar with. While a few of these ended up on their first single, the rest were shelved, some later to be rerecorded with Lorinczi and released on Dischord. L.G. Records is proud to have helped this notable recording see the light of day. The original tapes were recovered by Ian MacKaye and transferred by Darren Edwards. Tim Green remixed and remastered the original recordings at Louder Studios in California.
Loing time awaited first LP on the Kabal Soundsytem records label. 8 powerfull Speedcore/Hardocre/noisecore tunes. Everything was done for it to be a miracle, sound is loud... even visual have been worked properly : Printed Cover and printed Undercovers.
At the occasion of the Monsters of Mashup 2017 tour, and after a looong silence, Kriss records takes it over and comes back louder and CORE than ever... First tune from Bong-Ra goes straight Ragga breakcore... While Shiptmat develop his Hardcore skillz and EndUser join back his first loves on Sonic Terror ! And Skull Vomit ? ah..bah Euhhhhhrghhhhh !!!! Yeah !!
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Chasing dopamine in free fall through a burning world. Looks that make you want to go swimming, even though you know you're going to drown. Where is my value? Who do I want to be? And who do I definitely not want to be?
Mental health, body positivity, queerness, sexualized violence and self-determination: Elena Rud sings about these things, loud and wild. With a voice that sometimes seems on the verge of breaking and then hangs deep in the ear canal again. As raspy as after a handful of cigarettes. So distinctive that you will recognize them again and again from a big bunch of newcomer bands.
Because the songs go through the marrow and bone. Under the skin or into the heart. Maybe left in and right out, but it's good in between. Because you feel that you're no longer quite so alone with yourself and this shitty world.
Mental Health, Body Positivity, Queerness, sexualisierte Gewalt und Selbstbestimmung: Elena Rud singt von diesen Dingen, laut und wild. Mit einer Stimme, die mal kurz vorm Wegbrechen scheint und dann wieder ganz tief im Gehörgang hängt. So kratzig wie nach einer Handvoll Selbstgedrehten. So markant, dass man sie aus einem großen Haufen Newcomer-Bands immer und immer wieder erkennen wird.
Mittlerweile hat Elena ein Rudel aus vier Jungs dazu gewonnen. Ein Rudel, das seiner Frontfrau nicht nur den Rücken stärkt, sondern sich auch gegen die toxischen Ideale wehrt, an denen sie selbst gemessen werden - für mehr Schwäche, Unsicherheit und GlitzerMakeup statt Dominanz, Unterdrückung und Aggression. Auch in Sachen Sound. Die fünf Münchner:innen klingen ehrlich, tanzbar und wild. Nach Indie-Rock und Punk. Oder nach NDW
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Christina Kubisch’s Stromsänger finds this legendary sound artist at the top of her game mixing electromagnetic wave recordings with a score for six voices, creating powerful results. Stromsänger is based on a collaboration with the Norwegian vocal ensemble Trondheim Voices and on a special experience while researching and recording electromagnetic waves in the city of Trondheim.
“The general theme of the composition is the idea of sounds which travel. During a tram ride from the city up to the hills with an old tram I discovered not only stunning views of the surrounding landscape but as well a special soundscape. Wearing a custom made induction headphones, I could hear the normally hidden electromagnetic fields of the tram, which were so impressive and musical to me that I immediately decided to base my piece for Trondheim Voices on this discovery.
As a start, a series of pure vocal recordings were produced by Trondheim Voices while listening to a choice of electromagnetic tram sounds and following score instructions. This material was mixed in my Berlin studio and afterward was played back through a multi-loudspeaker setup into the room of the Elisabeth Church in Berlin and was instantaneously recorded. The emerged recording was played back and recorded again. The process of playing back the previous recording was repeated numerous times, generating numerous “re-recordings”, until the voices sounded aethereal and abstract. The last one of these recordings became the very beginning of the Stromsänger piece.
Part A is based on the electromagnetic sounds of the waiting tram and previously recorded voices. The singers come on stage and start to sing together with their recorded part which slowly fades out while the live singing takes over: a kind of choral for electrical tram waves and voices.
Part B is based on the actual tram ride with strong and intense electromagnetic sounds. The single recordings were treated electronically and were divided into six channels. Each singer has chosen one of these files and improvises with the magnetic sounds as a soloist or in duos or trios.
Part C is based on the itinerary of the tram ride to Lian, where a pilgrim's path starts. The names of the single stops, which have very beautiful and poetic names, are performed together as a kind of "sound poetry". The singers walk around on stage and/or can choose special positions for their performance. The recording of the word "Lian", the final stop, was recorded beforehand and played back and re-recorded several times in the open Norwegian landscape near the final tram stop. The voices slowly disappear and fade out.”
Babehoven’s previous album, "Light Moving Time" — lauded by Pitchfork as a blend of the “diaristic and philosophical, disarming and inviting, introspective and far-reaching” — was released on October 28, 2022. The Hudson-based duo makes a triumphant return with their latest album, "Water's Here In You", set to release everywhere on April 26th, 2023. The album journeys through the indie folk landscape they had previously etched out, now adorned with touches of eerie, atmospheric, and occasionally dissociative tones. Singer-songwriter Maya Bon and long-time collaborator and producer Ryan Albert paint a canvas weaving in and out of drony darkness and sunny folk moments
ACxDC—full name Antichrist Demoncore—are anything but subtle. So to make sure that their message is heard loud and clear, they take things a step further, smashing these ambiguous, sophisticated, and abstract notions into a pulp and shoving them down throats. What’s left are sharp, caustic, and unabashedly vicious bits of truth and poisonous tongue-in-cheek propelled by bursts of powerviolence, metallized hardcore, and grindcore. Over the seventeen short songs, the music closely follows these themes.
Japanese emo rockers nim have released their latest EP "Mushy" via Austin, TX label Shifting Sounds Records (Magnet School, Startographers, Gentlemen Rogues, Swallow The Rat). The style of nim is based in emo-rock, but the songs are unconventional and full of melodies. The band mixes male and female vocals to perform a gentle but overwhelming live performance with their sound. nim has grown in harmony with the independent scene both domestically and internationally. So far, they have released 3 full-length albums and many other singles, and have also conducted large-scale overseas tours in Australia, China, and South Korea. Their new EP "Mushy" is being released by Shifting Sounds on 10" Classic Black Vinyl. On their new EP "Mushy" the band further their emotionally charged alternative rock with a melodic and dreamy landscape. The songs are driven by chiming layered guitars and clean vocal harmonies under an indie pop song structure with lots of quiet to loud dynamics, often ending in climatic guitar explosions while sounding beautiful all at once. The band clearly draws inspiration from 90s sounding emo, shoegaze, dream pop, and jangly indie/emo rock are are not afraid to showcase these influences in their songwriting on the new EP. Japan has a number of up and coming bands paying homage to 90s emo, shoegaze and dream pop and nim should definitely be in the discussion.
Advitam Aeternamour, Cléa Vincent's third album, will be released on 29 March 2024 by Midnight Special.
If the 90s gave us “French touch,” then the 2010s ushered in “French pop,” and it was in the midst of this revival that Cléa began her artistic journey. As early as the music video for
“Achète-le-moi” from her debut LP Retiens mon désir (2016), we witness the singer striking selfie-like poses with her French pop comrades (La Femme, Bertrand Burgalat), appearing pell-mell on screen in the form of their vinyl records. Since then, whether singing with Philippe Katerine or co-producing (and composing) Jeanne Balibar's D'ici là tout l'été (2023), Cléa Vincent has effortlessly carved out a niche for herself in the French pop scene. The advantage of being a “jack-of-all-trades” — Cléa is a writer, composer, and producer — is that her music casts a wide net. Both highly acclaimed in the indie circuit and “as seen on TV” (on Quotidien, among others), she has also enjoyed a stint as the host for web-TV show Sooo Pop, for which she regularly interviewed a plethora of French artists. Beyond France, the singer tours extensively. After a run of concerts in Europe, Asia, North and South America, it was her visit to Latin and Central America that inspired Tropi-cléa (2017-2020-2022). The three EPs bathed in a tropicalist glow do more than just dip their toes in the water; they mark a deep desire to escape in a post-lockdown world.
In between these projects emerged Cléa’s LP Nuits sans sommeil (2019). The album quickly became an instant classic and lives up to its name, since Clea never seems to stop — writing, composing, singing, or dancing. Mixed by Stephane ALF Briat, who has lent his magic touch to records by Phoenix, Bonnie Banane, Air, and Flavien Berger, Cléa Vincent's third LP Advitam Aeternamour proves once again that her music is in perpetual renewal. The artist takes risks both in her pursuit for innovative sounds and in the themes she tackles: coming out, incest, grief...and of course, she will always be a true romantic at heart; there’s no need to be ashamed of loving love. Cléa’s songs are full of “explicit lyrics,” but not in the typical sense: rather than ringing harsh and raw, her words are tinged with sweetness and melancholy, at the risk of shocking less sentimental listeners.
Written hand-in-hand with Raphaël Léger, her creative soulmate for the last ten years who also recorded and produced the album, Advitam Aeternamour features lyrics charged with Epinal and equinox imagery. On the poignantly sober title track, sudden flashes of light are padded by tinkling synthesizers swathed in the voices of an angelic choir, as also heard on “Nuit de Yalda.” Cléa offers a modern take on 90s house music (“C'est Ok”) and 2-step garage (“Free Demain”). Particularly influenced by The Beloved, she is not above dipping pop songs into the electronic melting pot to get them through the club door (“État Second,” where we “turn up the BPM”). And whether on “Shut down ma tête,” or “Douce Chavirée,” Cléa pushes the champagne cork down even further so that the party never stops. The bass gets louder, the rhythm intensifies — the melodies of these eternal hits are an invitation onto the dance floor, lit up by her smile.
As depicted in the soothing embrace that appears on the album artwork, the bright psychedelic hues are the perfect complement to her therapeutically inclined synthetic pop. Even if they tackle themes such as breakups, Cléa's songs, which are vitamin-packed and deep on the surface, are intended to heal and repair. “Se laisser partir,” with its light vocoder echoes, emulating the vocal shadow of a loved one, is an optimistic breakup song. Advitam Æternamour gives us life, from birth to grief — and in the middle, wild, beating passion. If her songs resonate with us, it's because Cléa speaks to us in her songs, as heard on the girl power anthem “Free demain,” where she addresses the listener as a friend (“put the pedal to the metal and you’ll take off for the stars”). When she shares the microphone with Jacques on “État Second,” enveloped by the sounds of unidentified musical objects, the complementary nature of the two artists is evident. The album is as much a tribute to the healing virtues of music as it is a self-portrait of Cléa inhabited by her art. Ad vitam æternam and with love.
On the outskirts of Bratislava, in the pulsating shadows of a refinery's burning chimneys, on the plot of a family house, there stood a small shack. Initially, it housed trials in domestic mushroom growing. Later, after a makeshift acoustic touch-up - lining the walls with old cardboard egg cartons - it became a shelter for music. Sensitive, evocative, nostalgic, lo-fi music by a man named Cadillac Face.
Today we would probably use the term 'safe space', but back then it was (in Cadillac's words) kutica, a cubbyhole. He hid there from a world that ached. Here, Cadillac secretly smoked, sang, and composed. And tried not to go crazy from anxiety. He wrote music unlike anything during his time.
Here, he struggled. With sound (unable to adjust it to his liking), with instruments (which he couldn't bring himself to play), with the world (with which, understandably, he was at odds).
Cadillac Face was a man who didn't belong here.
He wrote and sang in English (in a post-socialist and early-capitalist Slovakia, when command of English was no matter of course); he also wrote in Slovak (blogs and diaries, which, due to a stream-of-consciousness and surrealist style, were as incomprehensible as they were immersive and intimate); gave advice to teenagers (to their quasi-banal questions on talking forums about relationships, life and adolescence, where they were often met with ridicule and mockery); he composed electronic and noise music (at a time when no one had a clue what the abbreviation DAW meant).
This Cadillac's compilation album is not aiming to compete with/replicate Noizy Days - a compilation of Cadillac's contributions to the project Noize Konspiracy. Underground compilations circulated through a local proto-social network. Borderline music without rules - open but often inaccessible. There, Cadillac contributed mostly with experimental-electronic compositions. Noizy Days was compiled by Ďuro Ďurček, one of the initiators of Noize Konspiracy. Both Ďuro and Cadillac have been dead for years.
Songs For The Trees is a selection from Cadillac's songwriting. The most intimate of his intimate recordings. Cadillac at his most fragile, brittle, and quiet. The most romantic, the most tormented, the most painful and direct of his songs I know.
Cadillac became an anthropomorphic grotesque tree. Neither broadleaf nor conifer. Or perhaps it's a candle slowly incinerating – bored, sad, playing the guitar. A tragicomedy. Sometimes it kindles what it doesn't mean to, and it can't put itself out. Or can it?
Label mainstays Fouk just dropped the perfect dancefloor Bomb with ‘Mirage’ paired with a high-octane Elisa Bee remix
We all know Dutch duo Fouk from their soulful, bouncy take on house music. They’re also responsible for some of Heist’s biggest tracks like Kill Frenzy or their Lil Louis inspired 2021 release ‘Blue Steel’. On their new EP, the talented duo shows us a fresh side of their sound: the main-room hands-in-the-air-going-wild side. To top things off, Italian producer Elisa Bee made time in her busy schedule of DJ’ing and releasing for artists like Ben Sims on his Hardgroove imprint and Unknown to the Unknown to deliver a killer remix of the title track.
Fouk’s return to Heist after 3 years is a welcome one and with ‘Mirage’, they might just have given us their biggest house track in their decade spanning career. The track is built around a stuttering synth loop and a seductive female vocal chanting ‘What made you wanna…” The real star here is the bassline, which propels the track into a seriously infectious groove. Add some lush strings and moody changeovers and you’ve got yourself a full-blown dancefloor weapon. Mirage has been a staple in Dam Swindle’s sets for the past months and has been one of their set highlights ever since.
“Coffee” is one for the classic Fouk fans. It’s got lovely Rhodes, a joyous combination of whoo’s, snare-rolls and synth hits grooving on top of an infectious orchestral background loop. “Tapioca” is a hybrid latin-electronic groove that builds on punchy synths, live percussion and drunk keys to balance the energy of the track.
Elisa Bee’s remix of ‘Mirage’ is an intense percussive workout that builds on a breakbeat loop and a rave-bassline. The tempo is turned up a notch or 2 and that stutter synth and vocal of the original make this remix a wild warehouse affair.
Closing track of the EP is ‘Abalone’; A lovely bleep-house affair that still has a bit of that warehouse vibe. It’s got the perfect amount of distortion the drums while keeping things dreamy with some face-melting pads throughout the track.
As always, enjoy the music and play it loud!
Lars & Maarten
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FIRST 100 ORDERS COME WITH A DOUGLAS DARE OMNI CONDOM, ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS**First Pressing on Limited Translucent Red Vinyl**British artist Douglas Dare announces the release of his fourth album Omni. Seen by Douglas himself as a bold rebirth and embrace of the electronic, Omni is all at once a throbbing, avant-garde, queer, dark and cinematic record imbued with a love of rave culture and sense of fearless storytelling that’s deeply evocative. Omni will be released on May 10 via Erased Tapes. To mark the announcement, Douglas today shares the first taster of the record with ‘Mouth To Mouth’, a pulsing, synth-laden track that begs to be played loud. ‘Mouth To Mouth’ sees a collaboration with label mate Daniel Brandt who appears on production duties, with beats supplied by Rival Consoles. Speaking on the track, Douglas says, “life, death, fate and orgies; this is the heartfelt club track I always wanted to write.” Since 2013, Douglas has blurred classical, chamber-pop, folk and avant-garde to dazzling effect, with a startling voice that can stop you in your tracks. It’s why he’s played with luminaries like Nils Frahm, Perfume Genius and Ólafur Arnalds, and was selected by David Lynch and The Cure’s Robert Smith for their respective cultural festivals in Manchester (MIF) and London (Meltdown). But Douglas’s fourth album, Omni, is a fresh awakening. Encouraged by Erased Tapes founder Robert Raths, he decided to step away from acoustic instruments, especially the piano he grew up playing, and swapped them for synths and drum machines. His new music has much in common with Arca and the late SOPHIE, two artists for whom self-expression meant liberation. “I got to hang out in the studio with her,” says Douglas of the latter musician, “the way she made music made a big impression on me.” And yet Omni is steeped in the kind of deft storytelling, sweeping strings, elegant contrasts and fairytale atmosphere that marks Douglas out as a crucial and singular voice. It’s not often you hear a strutting electro banger that could have been straight out of 90s Soho, with vocal loops inspired by US experimentalist Meredith Monk. For Douglas, Omni is about reconciling all those different sides of himself – the songwriter, the raver, the lover, the observer. It’s a hugely queer record: seductive, sexy, lusty, untethered from the genre binary. “It’s even got sailors on it!” laughs Douglas. “You don’t get more queer than that.
Drummer Kendrick Scott and bassist Alexander Claffy join rising-star Danish pianist RasmusSorensen for the release of a special trio project - BalancingAct- recorded in true jazz spirit in the heart of New York City. Timeless repertoire and intricate originals combine in a piano trio session which captures thetradition of years gone by: three players meeting in a studio to produce music which somehow sounds as if they spent a lifetime together. Sorensenrelocated to New York City in 2018 to pursue his studies at the Manhattan School ofMusic on a full-tuition scholarship and within five years had proved himself as a compellingcreative force, playing alongside some of the scene"s most reputable musicians and performing his original compositions in some of the world"s mostrevered jazz clubs. In line with New York"s fast paced spirit, the session with Claffy and Scott was set up, planned and recorded within a matter of days, with the musicians meeting on the day and spending just three hours together in the studio. It"s something of a rite of passage for pianists to showcase their treatment of classic jazz repertoire;Sorensen choses a selection of Great American Songbook classics and a lesser-knownColtrane number for this, his sophomore album. Alongside a handful of originals, the recording with two veteransof New York"s prestigious scene is a masterclass in energetic, spontaneous, playful and exciting piano trio playing. Effortless groove, rich contemporaryharmony, virtuosic improvisations, dextrous rhythmiccomplexity and intricate arrangements make for an adventurous and thrilling listen; the first meeting of three fearless and experienced masters of their craft. Jazz is no stranger to the concept of passing the baton from one generation to the next, not through loud exclamations and accolades, but by who the greats choose to work with. With Balancing Act, Sorensenhas not only produced a beautiful trio album, but staked his claim - with the help of Scott and Claffy - as one of the ones-to-watch from the new generation of pianists.
Cerrone steps up for a new single, cut loud and proud on either side of a 12 inch on his own Malligator Préférence label. In the words of the main man himself…
“I composed ‘For You’ with the desire to get back to all the musical sensations I've experienced in 50 years; to translate all that makes the universe, emotion and sensuality about Disco Music. To do so, I chose to record with real musicians (pianist, string and brass sections, etc.) that were playing live, while taking the best of nowadays's recording and production techniques. I really made this creation which is a musical voyage For You. Enjoy!” - Marc Cerrone
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Blue Bendy are kicking off 2024 with news of their highly anticipated debut album ‘So Medieval’ which is being released via state51 on 12 April. Alongside this big announcement the band are sharing the latest new track from the record, ‘Come On Baby, Dig!’, and dates for their UK tour including their largest headline show to date at The Garage in London on 9 May and a special Album Launch Show in the band’s hometown of Scunthorpe to celebrate the release.
‘So Medieval’ captures all the musical foibles, idiosyncrasies and departures from the norm which Blue Bendy have displayed across their previous releases. Expressing their sound over the course of a full record for the first time, ‘So Medieval’ is an explosive mix of genre, atmosphere and emotions. The end result is something rare for a new band: a debut album which is as experimental as it is confident and assured, as tender as it is visceral, as quiet as it is loud, as bloody as it is teary.
Released 25th January, new single ‘Come On Baby, Dig!’ follows on from previously released album tracks ‘Cloudy’ and ‘Mr. Bubblegum’. Simmering down the tempo and darkening the mood, the track stacks forlorn lyrics against an assortment of riffs, tones and textures. The music video, directed by Michael Julings, depicts an unnamed character locked in an existential battle with an immovable black fridge. Starring Laura Schuller, a performance artist recently cast in the Marina Abramović retrospective at the RA, the video also features the band coming together to conjure supernatural powers at the video's climax.
Singer and lyricist Arthur Nolan explains that “Dig is dedicated to an old flame and a city break. I was eat pray loving, digging around for some culture in the wake of breaking up. The wheels came off the trip quickly, and now I won’t go back to Bologna, I’m banned.”
Building on the momentum of their 2022 EP ‘Motorbike’ Blue Bendy are stretching out into vast new sonic terrain. Their following two singles ‘Mr Bubblegum’ - a joyously intricate piece of experimental guitar pop - and the frenetic, propulsive yet incredibly deft sprawl of ‘Cloudy’, saw the band reach new heights creatively. Of the former, The Guardian enthused: “indie is riddled with addled, verbose frontmen right now, but none so rapturous as Blue Bendy’s Arthur Nolan: here he dances all over splayed post-rock and micro-cataclysms.”
Having toured as main support for Squid and Cola as well as playing packed out tents at festivals like End Of The Road and Green Man, Blue Bendy have struck a balance between being obviously skilled musicians, writing complex, layered, overlapping and ambitious compositions, while also utilising space, breadth, and restraint. Their music is bursting with dynamism, exploring push-pull dynamics that results in something ceaselessly unpredictable.
Diane Birch emerges as a formidable American singer-songwriter and pianist, boasting a repertoire of critically lauded releases spanning a rich decade-long career. With an eclectic array of musical influences stemming from a globe-trotting childhood - ranging from her humble beginnings as a preacher's daughter in Zimbabwe and South Africa to her transformative years as a gothic teen immersed in the vibrant cultural underbelly of Portland, Oregon. Her discovery while living in London via Myspace led to a record deal in New York, where she then spent the next few years.
Diane's journey is as diverse as her sound. Her profound experiences have culminated in a unique musical blend, characterized by her stint performing soulful covers and original pieces in the swanky lounges of the Beverly Hills elite. Receiving widespread attention with her debut album "Bible Belt" and her follow-up projects "Speak A Little Louder" and "Nous", these works not only cemented her position in the international music scene but also earned her accolades and respect from esteemed peers including Prince, Daryl Hall, Mark Ronson, Dave Stewart, Questlove, Elvis Costello, Bryan Ferry and Stevie Wonder.
Returning with her latest work, "Flying On Abraham", Diane presents a meticulously crafted collection of original compositions. This album is a heartfelt homage to her vast and varied musical roots, weaving together the rich tapestry of 70s AM radio, soul, jazz, classic rock, 80s/90s pop and R&B. Despite the eclectic mix, Diane's sound remains distinctly her own - her voice a blend of raw emotion and refined grace, echoing the legacy of iconic artists like Carole King, Carly Simon and Rickie Lee Jones, yet standing out with an authenticity and individuality that is unmistakably Diane Birch. Produced by renowned English musician Paul Stacey, known for his work with Noel Gallagher and the Black Crowes, "Flying On Abraham" was recorded in the UK, backed by an impressive lineup of musicians. This album is not just a collection of songs but a narrative of her artistic journey, offering a window into the soul of a woman who has traversed continents and musical genres to create something truly extraordinary.
With "Flying On Abraham", Diane Birch reaffirms her status as a musical virtuoso, continuing to enchant audiences worldwide with her evocative lyrics. It represents Diane's enduring vision of "making American music with an English sensibility."
One of the more melodic and interesting bands of ska’s third wave, Grand Rapids’ Mustard Plug’s ‘Yellow #5’ features a mix of melodic choruses and horn charts, loudly distorted guitar and upbeat punk or rock beats. Now available on purple vinyl. “Fans of early Bosstones would like this a lot, and the band get extra points for not succumbing to easy novelty lyrics, instead writing about the more introspective sides of life and love” - Reno Gazette
The 13th studio album from Old 97’s arose from what vocalist / guitarist Rhett Miller refers to as a ‘de-evolution’: “As much as I want us to calm down and grow up, the songs that felt right for this record were mostly big and loud and brutal and dirty.”
Produced by Tucker Martine and featuring appearances from Peter Buck (R.E.M.) and Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5), ‘American Primitive’ is gloriously rowdy, revealing a band more attuned than ever to the raw, reckless energy of timeless rock-and-roll
Recorded and produced by Pink Floyd engineer Andy Jackson, the audio is via analogue transfer to 96khz/24 bit by John Dent at Loud, with vinyl mastering by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road. Formed in 1984, Fields of the Nephilim is the creation of vocalist and front man Carl McCoy. Highly influential, especially in the world of goth, but also within the metal and electronic genres, their legacy endures to this day. You can hear their influence on bands like Swans, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Explosions In The Sky, Wolves in The Throne Room, Behemoth and more. The band"s unique sound, an apocalyptic fusion of Victorian underworld meets Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western, had an appearance to match (wide-brimmed hats, long duster coats and cowboy boots, usually black and smothered in white flour as a substitute for dust), and set them apart from their contemporaries. Elizium is one of their most beautiful albums and considered by many to be their best. As The Quietus wrote, "it was both their most accessible and their most experimental work, concluding and consolidating the Nephilim"s five-year shamanic journey. Lead-off single and opening track "For Her Light" featured a lengthy mid-section that anticipated the apocalyptic post-rock of Godspeed! You Black Emperor (unsurprisingly, it failed to chart), and the album featured some of the band"s hardest rock in the wah-overload of "Submission," as well as further incorporating dance elements - more successfully and organically than many of their peers, it must be said - on second single "Sumerland"." Louder Sound also called "Sumerland" their "greatest ever track".
The fourth leg on the early emo table of Rites of Spring, Moss Icon, and Cap'n Jazz, Indian Summer's Giving Birth To Thunder compiles their complete discography. Emo's second wave crashed into the Bay Area in the summer of 1994 in a rage-filled capsule of quiet and loud, octave chords, angry sons, Spock haircuts, and screaming. At the eye of this pissed-for-the-hell-of-it storm were Indian Summer. In the quartet's 12-month existence they wrote ten songs, appeared on a dozen singles and comps, and played over 100 gigs across the U.S. and Canada before burning out, passing out, and moving out of their Blue House in Oakland. Their hand-screened aesthetic is replicated in alarming detail in the accompanying by 24- page book with detailed liner notes, flyers, and miscellaneous propaganda.
"Jerskin Fendrix should have tea with Jarvis Cocker" - Iggy Pop on BBC 6 Music "Winterreise has proved his brilliance, but it has also only affirmed his status as an enigma" - The Quietus. Originally billed as the "quasi-godfather of the south London Scene" by The Quietus for his influence on bands like Black Country, New Road, Black Midi and Famous, Jerskin Fendrix has recently made the leap onto the global stage for his Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe-nominated film score for Yorgos Lanthimos' latest film 'Poor Things'. Since this stratospheric rise to red carpet fame, the Shropshire-born musician's debut 'Winterreise' has been put into a fresh perspective; at the time of its release it was lauded as something of an enigma, a collection of errant pop songs that gave little away about the artist behind them. Now, the record that was awarded album of the year in 2020 by Loud & Quiet, can be seen as a prototype for Jerskin's strange blend of baroque, pop, electro, punk - an amalgam that takes the record beyond the referential. Having been out of print for a number of years, untitled (recs) has re-pressed it with its original artwork on a limited run of 1000 copies
Technically, Yeah. Detroit artists Eddie Logix and Jo Rad Silver alchemize sonic matter on Real, No. The EP emerges from years of creative collaboration and blends each of the artists’ strengths into a deep-house, hi tech jazz, dubby leftfield assemblage straight from the pulse of today’s Detroit.
Since 2017, the pair has been producing tracks and co-curating Technically, Yeah., an influential monthly happening that encourages (Live) electronic musical expression. The duo’s curation is grounded in community, widely genre-diverse and steadfast in commitment to technological experimentation. The Real, No. EP distills this ethos and puts it on wax.
While Jo Rad is known for techno leanings and Eddie for organic jams (recently on Rocksteady Disco,) the two transform beats into substance with a diverse and thoughtfully constructed release. Glued together with attuned mixing from Salar Ansari and cut loud at Archer Pressing in Detroit, the EP’s range puts deep grooves in the bag for every discerning DJ.
AKKA’s Side: “King David” sticks the synthy deep house groove right in gear with a driving, bubbling bassline and floating effervescent vocal chops from and for a special someone. “Mango Strut” offers a slight island twang and dives into a breaky depth of a bracing cathartic arpeggiated, hand drum ecstasy. A vitamin filled chugger.
BEEP’s Side: The duo recorded “June Buggy” the first time they jammed together on a borrowed Juno. This propulsive Italo-ish conga groover is a mechanical piece of action. The record ends by summoning the ancestry of “Callin’ Dybbs,” a textured hi-tech jazz heater. Kasan Belgrave, young-gun horn of known pedigree, lays down the sax. The sultry brass tones lock in with buxom stabs. For those who know and those who don’t yet. This one holds depths!
“Fierce jazz buggin futurism in outerspace” - Luke Una
“Driving and psychedelic and gorgeous hi-tech.” - Peter Croce
“Perfectly crunchy soul squeezed jams begging to be rinsed” - 2Lanes
“Funky, jackin’, atmospheric, groovy, ravey and ethereal”- Father Dukes
“I’m calling dibs on callin’ dybbs!” - DJ Etta
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"Back in the 1990s original Verve pressings of this record were hot items pushed into prominence in great part by write-ups in The Absolute Sound, particularly by my friend Frank Doris. I found a few, and even a few in pretty good condition, but none of them begin to compare to this double 45 RPM set that offers more of everything, particularly transparency and instrumental separation. ...Ella's on a microphone with a slightly rising high end but if it sounds icy, don't blame the recording or the mastering. It's your system. If it's well-balanced and your cartridge is a good tracker, the vocal transparency and clarity are spooky and the sibilant articulation is precise. These double LPs cut at Sterling Sound use the original tapes, not copies of the original tapes and the clarity and transparency coupled with QRP's drop-dead silent pressings are remarkable. The original pre-MGM buyout LP has a pleasingly nostalgic quality and the added warmth produces a bit more room sound, but in my opinion it can't compare to this reissue unless you like hearing things through rose-tinted loudspeakers. Elegantly produced, arranged and recorded and easy to recommend ..." Music = 9/11; Sound = 9/11 - Michael Fremer, February 15, 2013.
Fourteen numbers from the heyday of swing, composed sometime between 1930 and 1945 - played and sung time and time again in ballrooms, or on the radio to advertise biscuits or war bonds, were recorded by Ella in completely new and personal interpretations in 1961. No one should be put off by the rather unfortunate cover. Clap Hands... is absolutely top notch as regards musicality, perfect recording quality, superb accompaniment by a small ensemble, with room for improvisations; it offers a wonderful opportunity to discover something new in these evergreens, despite the occasionally banal lyrics. The songs of this recording conjure up bygone days, with listeners in the 21st century being offered a highly personal homage to one of the most successful periods in the 100-year history of jazz.
Heavy, düster, tiefgründig, eindringlich und vielleicht sogar ein bisschen mitreißender als jemals zuvor: Auf "Rattle The Cage" zeigen sich THE RODS in ihrer besten Form!
Textlich haben sie sich von David "Rock" Feinsteins Cousin Ronnie James Dio inspirieren lassen, denn Songs wie "Now And Forever", "Cry Out Loud", "Play It Loud" und der Titelsong vermitteln dem Hörer ein ähnliches Gefühl von Hoffnung und Unverwüstlichkeit im Angesicht einer sich ständig verändernden Welt.
Musikalisch ist die Band tighter denn je!
Zu den Gründungsmitgliedern David "Rock" Feinstein (Gesang, Gitarre) und Carl Canedy (Schlagzeug) hat sich der neue Bassist Freddy Villano (Quiet Riot, Widowmaker) gesellt, und das Ergebnis dieser Zusammenarbeit ist einfach grandios.
Die Songs sind rhythmisch tighter, aber dennoch musikalisch offener gestaltet, die Grooves härter und die Melodien noch dynamischer.
Abgemischt und gemastert von Chris Collier, profitiert "Rattle The Cage" von seinem meisterhaften, modernen Touch, der dem Album einen Sound verleiht, der sowohl langjährige Fans als auch die neue Generation von Hörern ansprechen wird!
Hua Li has often worked the fruitful tension between opposing forces, whether being mixed-race, bisexual, or overtly political and softly vulnerable. Now the “half-Chinese, half-militant, half-rapper of your heart” is back with "ripe fruit falls but not in your mouth", her most ambitious and personal record to date. Playing between hazy R&B, hip-hop, jazz and electronic, Hua Li’s sophomore LP takes the imaginary garden as a proxy for cultivating home. With complex vocal arrangements, lush production by Alex Thibault (aka Gloze), and big, vibrant mixing by TNGHT’s Lunice, ripe fruit is a private confessional on a loud-ass record.
Following 2019’s Dynasty and 2020’s critically acclaimed Yellow Crane EP, "ripe fruit" is characteristically libertine. Textured and sensual, the Montreal multi-hyphenate balances her rich, waveforming tone with danceable, electronic signatures. The rapper is fierce and frequently funny, erupting from gauzy runs to deliver a quick uppercut that stings. With hooky, addictive features by Ambrose Getz and Darkus Millon, ripe fruit is an intimate record of healing, with Montreal’s nightlife at its heart. An artful collaborator, Hua Li co-wrote and performed on Gayance's 2023 Polaris short-listed album, Masquerade, and is the touring DJ for Inuk electro-pop throat singer, Riit.
Her charismatic stage show has taken her around the world, including tours with Cadence Weapon and Fat Tony (serving as the former’s touring DJ), to Reykjavik’s Secret Solstice Festival, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, and Pride Toronto. Luminous and compelling, Hua Li shows it takes tenderness to let things ripen, and guts to let things die. In-between is a kind of rapture that begs to be savoured.
For Fans Of: Gayance, Tirzah, FKA Twigs, Heems, Tkay Maidza
Ryan Kaiser has already made a name for himself creating daydreamy, sun-blasted, Polaroid-pop as Yot Club. With his second full-length, Rufus, Kaiser is expanding his sonic palette and challenging his own established modes of music making by letting collaborators in. The record includes co-writes with the likes of Tommy English (Carly Rae Jepsen, Kacey Musgraves), and singer Charli Adams, with Patrick Wimberly (formerly one-half of Chairlift) on mixing duties, and the result is a collection of songs that sounds bolder and brighter. From the shimmering surf-pop of opener “Stuntman,” to the minor chord angst and quiet-loud-quiet pulse of “New Day,” to The Strokesian swoon of album closer “Lazy Eyes,” Kaiser lo-fi hooks have a new cinematic scope. It continues Kaiser’s coming of age — looking back, picking it all apart, trying to work it all out, and constantly pushing forward.
DRIFT. Is British-Italian producer Nathalia Bruno, releasing music under the guise since 2015. Her 'techno-pop' EPs 'Black Devotion' and 'Genderland' released with Avant! records were the first explorations in finding the sound of DRIFT. but as the name suggests, is in constant flux. In 2020 'Symbiosis' the debut record was released on Hamburg's Tapete Records, an assemblage of lo-fi futurism reflecting on the breakdown of communication and interaction Nathalia felt was increasing around her. Channelling classic industrial electronica, haunting melodies, using samples, field recordings and curated sound as a 'canvas to rewire the vision of the future as colourful and old, ceremonial and rust beaten. A shrine like ornament and clinical machine language plaited together.'. In 2022 DRIFT. Self released 'The nature of things', a 30 minute piece entitled 'CTRL/ Algorhythm of love' written and produced for designer Mona Cordes' 'Cellusion' show for London fashion week. "_a journey into the dark heart of the dancefloor. The glimmering bass-heavy trance of its opening section could be classic Underworld, while its ambient center is genuinely Eno-esque. And then it all kicks off again as a Berlin school style banger. It's terrific" says Electronic Sound Magazine. This year, 2023 will give birth to DRIFT.'s second album released with God Unknown records '11 points In Time' written for and based on disappeared artist Rosi Crucci, compiled of sounds/field recordings recorded onto cassettes found in the attic of the home she last lived at, interpreted into song using some of her poetry and journal entries of what was happening in the world around her, attempting to finally give Rosi a voice. PRESS Louder Than War album review 'Symbiosis' (2020) "...blends passion with precision to create a tapestry of machine-made sounds that are bursting with ideas and filled with emotion. "We live in times where nothing means nothing," she sings on Visualise The Invisible. "And nothing is true." Never more so than now...Over the course of its ten tracks, Symbiosis draws from pretty much every strand of electronic music throughout its 50-year history" Shindig Magazine review 'Symbiosis' 2020 "A brilliant, fascinating album" Post Punk Magazine review 'Symbiosis' 2020 "is an exercise in disjointed meditation, a trip through the doors of the spirit lodge and inner workings of the human psyche." Pop Matters Review 'Symbiosis' 2020 "...One track in particular, "In Orbit", speaks to this new disturbing unknown we are creating. A distorted, three-note death knell drives it as repeated knocking seems to come from a dank tunnel. If it sounds bleak, it's likely also to be therapeutic and finds common ground with the entrancing industrial thud of Throbbing Gristle or Third Eye Foundation..."
Hot on the heels of TN EDITS 01 - featuring Lotte Kaersa's: "Prov og gor li'som jeg" (Bjorn Svin Remix), this marks the second release of the reborn danish label Tech-nology, and it's truly an exceptional release. Every track, in its unaltered state, has been extensively club tested by label owner & DJ Mester Jakobsen and is now reedited with finesse of love to be played loud on a wide selection of dancefloors.
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FRN Dancehall might have emerged in Jamaica, but over the last few decades the popular genre's tendrils have stretched out across the globe. In Kampala, Ratigan Era is adding a distinct Ugandan twist to dancehall, fusing it with East African humor and hyper-melodic afrobeats elements imported from Ghana and Nigeria. The versatile MC grew up listening to Jamaican music like Vybz Kartel, Busy Signal and Mavado - in his hometown of Kawempe there was almost no way to avoid it - and it blurred into the background, blending with local church music, US hip-hop and radio pop. He developed this diverse range of influences into a completely unique Afro-dancehall flow that simmers between Luganda, patois, Spanish and English, reflecting the melting pot of cultures and dialects that characterizes contemporary Africa. Ratigan broke out with a memorable feature on Pallaso's Ugandan hit 'Nsaba', a track that echoed throughout the country booming from nightclubs, motorcycle loudspeakers or from convenience stores. Now he's assembled his first album "Era", a furiously inventive interweaving of rubbery vocals and memorable chants backed by futuristic beats from Hakuna Kulala's most boundary-pushing producers. Congolese producer Chrisman takes the reins on 'Gorilla Attack', providing a downtempo groove that echoes recent Jamaican chop deployments from breakthrough artists like Skillibeng and Skeng. For his part, Ratigan ducks and dives between Chrisman's gqom-inspired low end womps and corrosive synths, commanding attention with his smart, dextrous flow and tongue-twisting lyrics.The Modern Institute and Golden Teacher's Richard McMaster handles 'Top Strike Force' leaving space in his wiry, minimal beats for Ratigan to flit between anthemic repetitions and ice-cold AutoTuned wails. On stand-out track 'Badman Style', Ratigan's guttural patois is measured against a dizzy trap-dancehall hybrid beat from HHY & The Kampala Unit's Jonathan Uliel Saldanha, aka Lithium Beats, while on the surreal 'Drop it Down', Japanese mad scientist Scotch Rolex brings out Ratigan's cheeky sense of humor with toytown bleeps and laser zaps. MC Yallah collaborator Debmaster appears on 'Gan Dem', meeting Ratigan's double-time raps with soundsystem destroying rolling subs, and veteran US noisemaker Kush Aurora sprinkles magic dust on 'Cool and Deadly', galvanizing the link between global bass mutations, Jamaica and East Africa.And despite the grab-bag of producers and inspirations, "Ratigan" is a strikingly coherent listening experience that accurately snapshots Kampala's colorful froth of sounds and phrases. Ratigan's outsized personality is welcoming and captivating, providing the sights, sounds and smells of the city with a frenetic rhythm that's as intimate and local as it is far-reaching. It might just be the future we so desperately need.
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“My heart is loud,” Julia Holter sings on her sixth album Something in the Room She Moves, following an inner pulse. The Los Angeles songwriter’s past work has often explored memory and dreamlike future, but her latest album resides more in presence: “There’s a corporeal focus, inspired by the complexity and transformability of our bodies,” Holter says. Her production choices and arrangements form a continuum of fretless electric bass pitches in counterpoint with gliding vocal melodies, while glissing Yamaha CS-60 lines entwine warm winds and reeds. “I was trying to create a world that’s fluid-sounding, waterlike, evoking the body’s internal sound world,” Holter says of her flowing harmonic universe.
“What is delicious and what is omniscient?” she sings on “Spinning”, the album’s incantatory centerpiece. “What is the circular magic I’m visiting?” Or as Holter put it: “It’s about being in the passionate state of making something: being in that moment, and what is that moment?” She found it anew on Something in the Room She Moves, singing in somatic frequencies.
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“My heart is loud,” Julia Holter sings on her sixth album Something in the Room She Moves, following an inner pulse. The Los Angeles songwriter’s past work has often explored memory and dreamlike future, but her latest album resides more in presence: “There’s a corporeal focus, inspired by the complexity and transformability of our bodies,” Holter says. Her production choices and arrangements form a continuum of fretless electric bass pitches in counterpoint with gliding vocal melodies, while glissing Yamaha CS-60 lines entwine warm winds and reeds. “I was trying to create a world that’s fluid-sounding, waterlike, evoking the body’s internal sound world,” Holter says of her flowing harmonic universe.
“What is delicious and what is omniscient?” she sings on “Spinning”, the album’s incantatory centerpiece. “What is the circular magic I’m visiting?” Or as Holter put it: “It’s about being in the passionate state of making something: being in that moment, and what is that moment?” She found it anew on Something in the Room She Moves, singing in somatic frequencies.
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Individualität lebt von Unvorhersehbarkeit. Anstatt einem ausgetretenen Pfad zu folgen, bahnt sich Royal Tusk ihren eigenen Weg. Das Trio aus der
kanadischen Provinz Alberta verbindet hypnotische Hooks mit harten Riffs, die von unnachgiebigen Rhythmen und unbestreitbar ehrlichen Texten
begleitet werden. In einem Moment servieren sie ein erdbebenartiges Sperrfeuer aus Verzerrungen, nur um im nächsten Atemzug einen kühnen,
stadiongroßen Singalong zu entfachen.
Nach mehreren Millionen Streams und Lob von Billboard, Loudwire, CoS, Brave Words und vielen anderen, werden sie sich auf ihrem kommenden
dritten Album "Altruistic" noch einmal steigern.
Stop. Breathe. Reload. And dive into "El Paso, Elsewhere: The Album". Black Screen Records, Lost In Cult Records and Strange Scaffold are teaming up to bring the original songs of RJ Lake and LAKE SAVAGE to life on glorious vinyl. "El Paso, Elsewhere: The Album" takes aim at the key songs that punctuate the game's dark and introspective journey through haunted hallways - with heavy doses of hip-hop, electronica and Trace-Wave coalescing into a pellucid vision of influences and a deeply entrenched sense of identity, akin to the works of seminal hip-hop artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Open Mike Eagle. All tied together within the beautiful gold foil cover artwork by Bri Neumann. RJ Lake shared some of their thoughts going into the creation of this album: "Months before the first thing I ever started working on with Nelson Dog Airport Game (that's not the actual title, but it might as well be) even came out, he asked me if I knew anyone who could make a horror game. I knew a guy. A few months in, we did a touch-base about the music and mutually agreed that none of it at that point was totally working. It was good (look, I'm not going to put myself down here; even back in 2020, it kicked ass) but it wasn't RIGHT. He gave me a bunch of reference materials and kept pointing to them and saying: 'Okay, but these? These are RIGHT. These have the juice we want.' The thing every single song he showed me had in common, was that every one of them had vocals. After some back and forth, we both agreed: 'El Paso, Elsewhere' had to be a rap record as much as it had to be a game. So, three and a half years later, here we are. This is probably the most lavishly mixed thing I've ever made, full of weird, intricate beats, layered vocals from both myself and Nelson, lyrics that go everywhere from bleak to so-party-that-you'll-die to totally ridiculous, loads and loads of genre switch-ups, and absolutely zero subtlety. For 'El Paso, Elsewhere', I made a full score, but that's not what this is. This vinyl is a fucking album and it's sequenced like one. Play it loud!" Alongside the LP, explore what happens after the events of "El Paso, Elsewhere" within the diaries of James Savage - an exclusive in-world archive of the thoughts and feelings directly from the heart and soul of our protagonist within the liner notes. As well as a 5-page excerpt from the "El Paso, Elsewhere" original script and never before seen concept art by Demente Animation Studio.
The early-mid "80s had their share of insane combos -- The Birthday Party, Black Flag and Minor Threat had the raw power to melt your mind in seconds. SWANS, Einsturzende Neubauten and Big Black created enough overwhelming sonic pressure their sounds might actually flatten you. And Sonic Youth displayed such a dizzyingly unpredictable mix of art, pop culture and violence you"d sometimes leave their shows drooling. The Buttholes shared elements with all of these groups, but added an insane psychedelic edge and a propensity for bizarre spectacle. This evolution continued on "Rembrandt Pussyhorse," which featured a set of tunes for which the Buttholes" rock-based form destruction was mixed with experimental, tape-mangling passages of many flavors. Haynes was handling all audible vocals by this point, and his mastery of post-tongue dynamism was finally in full flight. Meanwhile, their live shows became legendary examples of excess and derangement, and their music just kept getting louder and stranger and more savage. It was the diametric opposite of the hardcore scene from which it had emerged, which was heading in ever more codified and stylistically conservative directions.