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Nine-piece West Africa-via-Melbourne ensemble Ausecuma Beats and improvised collective Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange, also known as Z*F*E*X, reveal a new collaborative EP out August 19 via Music in Exile.

Call it a match made somewhere in musical heaven, the minds behind Ausecuma Beats, comprised of members from Senegal, Mali, Cuba and Guinea, found they melded easily with Z*F*E*X following weeks of recording and sharing material remotely together.

Z*F*E*X themselves, an ensemble comprised of drummer Zeke ‘Ziggy’ Zeitgeist, keyboardist and producer Lewis Moody, bassist Matthew Hayes, and a rotating cast of guests, are prolific musicians themselves with weighty credentials spread across their base locations of Australia, the United Kingdom, and Europe.

Thus, from a backyard shed in Dandenong North, Australia, some of West Africa’s finest would record simple percussive tracks, which then surfed the airwaves via studios in Melbourne, Berlin and London, to finally land back on listeners doorsteps as a forthcoming collaborative EP, Deep Heat/Tropical Storm.

Starring two guest vocalists who are some of the most invigorating in their respective scenes - Latin America via Berlin star Gotopo, and Melbourne’s own Rara Zulu - the EP’s beginnings in percussive exploration are transformed into a must-have record of all bangers.

Expect the duelling minds of two highly respected acts to reveal a combined EP of complex compositions that remain wholly accessible thanks to addictive harmonies and melodies. Emotionally thrilling, and easy to love, listen and dance to.

The experimental legends BASTARD NOISE and MERZBOW present their new collaborative album, RETRIBUTION BY ALL OTHER CREATURES. A lashing out against man-made institutions that perpetuate animal cruelty, every second of BASTARD NOISE's contribution to this collaboration is simply put - pitch-black, palpable fury. Elsewhere, the iconic MERZBOW's influence creeps in with a two part concept - the ZooNOsISE tracks, firing off MERZBOW's calling card - grainy, unsettling distortion that builds and builds, set against wretched technological wailing and alarming constants.

The record's intent is both a call to action, and a foreboding signal of end times. "Stand up against any form of animal abuse you witness at all cost," BASTARD NOISE mastermind Eric Wood writes in his liner notes. "Be part of positive, compassionate change and spit on the grave of the status quo." MERZBOW/Masami Akita's message is simple, but hits hard - "TIME IS RUNNING OUT. NOISE IS MUSIC"

Oli Stewart is Casbah 73. American-born, Madrid-based DJ, producer, vinyl collector and selector extraordinaire with several decades of experience under his belt.

Classic soul, funk and disco at its finest, with releases on mainstay outlets such as Glitterbox and Lovemonk, we're extremely proud to have him in the Boogie Angst record bins.

Casbah 73's Boogie Angst debut is a two-sided live band funk workout reminiscent of early 70's acts and labels such as 24 Carat Black, Black Heat and Strata East, but also connects to the current sounds of Black Jazz Chronicles, Sault and Nu Genea.

Let's Invade the Amazon is a highly grooved piece of live musical wizardry, with vocal performances to match. Beautifully extended and ongoing, the steady backbone interplay with funky electric pianos, with the occasional synth riff popping up for a breath of fresh air. And in the words of Casbah himself: "Quite possibly - no, definitely, the only soul-disco track ever to be inspired by Michael Mann's book "The New Climate War", The Clash, Sun Ra... and Dr Seuss".

On the B-side we find Pale Splash of Blue; some top shelf live Moog-, Rhodes- and Hammond featuring jazz funk. Punchy organs stab away alongside Casbah 73's signature electric piano sprinkles, bouncing around his unique rhythmic groove. All resulting in a driving pace and attractive up-tempo moment; more than worthy of that evening beach club get-together.

Casbah 73's sound is a clear amalgamation of his broad range of influences, and the two songs on this release are a definite showcase of his love for funk, soul and disco.

With some excellent remixes on their way, keep an eye out for the upcoming limited edition vinyl release.

'Casbah 73 – Let's Invade the Amazon' is out on all digital portals on May 20, 2022, via Boogie Angst

Alexandra Sauser-Monnig and Amelia Meath have been yodeling together for upwards of fifteen years – in the backseat of a Prius while on their first cross-country tour, on back porches and backstages. It’s what led them to Fruit, their debut release as The A’s – a joyous ten-song collection spanning genre and decades, with interpretations of traditionals, lullabies, and an original song, it weaves between the weird and the wonderful. “Why I’m Grieving,” originally recorded by the DeZurik Sisters, was the inspiration for the A’s existence. The A’s reach into the past to hold hands with the DeZurik Sisters, two farm girls from rural Minnesota who taught themselves to yodel amongst all their animals, in a continuing celebration of the tradition of folk eccentricity and whimsy. The A’s played their first show together in 2013 after Sauser-Monnig first moved to North Carolina, where Meath had been living at the time, but it wasn’t until summer 2021 that they thought seriously about making Fruit. They decamped to Sylvan Esso’s Chapel Hill studio, Betty’s, for two weeks in the midst of a balmy and blooming Carolinian summer. They rehearsed during the day, deconstructing yodeling parts phonetically and staring absurdly into each other’s eyes as they practiced tongue twisting harmonies - and recorded in the nighttime, candles lit, a flickering glow against the windows framing the violet twilight outside. “There was a lot of giggling during the session,” Sauser-Monnig explains. “At one point I was getting a tangle out of my hair and was like, oh, my God, that sounds really cool – the sound of my hands in my hair. And then I thought, what if we recorded hair for a percussion track? And then it just sort of snowballed.” Across the record, the A’s employ a bizarre-o ghost orchestra of strange noises that are percussive and melodic. The credits include nylon shorts, string (singular), hair, shoes, ice chunk, gravel, frog sample, and shoelace, among other unexpected makeshift instrumentation. The backing band is built out by a more traditional group of players: saxophone from Sam Gendel on “Copper Kettle,” backing vocals from Jenn Wasner (Flock of Dimes, Wye Oak) on “When I Die,” string arrangements from Gabriel Kahane on “He Needs Me,” and more. Fruit is made up simply of songs the A’s love to sing – there are lullabies and love songs; “He Needs Me,” written by Harry Nilsson and first released by Shelley Duvall in the 1980 Popeye film; traditional ballads like “Swing and Turn Jubilee,” “Copper Kettle” and closer “Buckeye Jim,” a multiplying song about frogs and nature. The sole original track to appear on the album is the penultimate “When I Die,” written by Meath. It contains both wishes and instructions for the celebration of her death, a low synth bubbling beneath Sauser-Monnig and Meath’s voices. It’s a collection of ten seemingly incongruous songs, but with the throughline of Sauser-Monnig and Meath’s vocals and sense of humor working in tandem, they fit together into a cosmic yodeling-folk masterpiece. Fruit feels like blowing the dust off a precious artifact of decades past, but also winking and modern. Sauser-Monnig sums up their ethos on the project succinctly: “If it doesn’t make you cackle or cry, it doesn’t belong.”

The Bay Area legend – Rapper, entrepreneur and Cookies Don, Berner, is back with his 19th solo studio album, Gotti. Paying homage to the infamous mob leader, John Gotti, Berner flexes his mafia favors and assembles one of his most impressive cast of features on the 19-track album, including Future, Cozmo, Rick Ross, Nas, Jadakiss, Kevin Cossom, Rod Wave, Mozzy, Conway The Machine, Styles P, Benny The Butcher, Ty Dolla $ign, Ryn Nicole, Millyz, Wiz Khalifa, Janelle Marie & Madeline Lauer, as well as never-before-heard audio from from the mob leader’s trial. After a banner year with both highs and lows, Berner ends the year on a high note with some of his finest work.

For Oleg Azelitskiy, known as DJ Slon, the nineties and the first half of the aughts were an era of "firsts". First squat parties on the banks of the Obvodny Canal and more legitimate ones at Tunnel, first proper techno club in Russia. First DJ sets, first vinyl records in his collection, first radio shows at Port FM. He is a true veteran of the Russian techno movement, who carried his love for the genre through three decades and inspired more than one generation of musicians. Album Nr. 1 is the first edition of his music on vinyl. It comprises the music that Azelitskiy made during 1995 - 2005, except for the track My 40th Vesna, produced in 2010.

Azelitskiy's love for techno was born out of contradictions. Thanks to the Soviet synth band Zodiac and the French pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre, he had loved electronic music since his childhood. When he grew up, he got into the dark, introspective pieces by Einsturzende Neubauten and Bauhaus. Not only does the wide-ranging palette on Album Nr. 1 reflect its creator's taste, it echoes the changing times of the Russian nineties. It was the time when confrontations with criminals were inseparable from the parties and get-togethers bustling with local artists.

His affection for various genres led to many monikers and projects, all represented here on Album Nr. 1. He recorded most of his music as DJ Slon. Then there was a project Zhutkiy Lazer (Scary Laser), where Azelitskiy made music that was more experimental but still techno-oriented, with the occasional help of his friend Aleksey Gaponenko (Lazer became a proper solo project of DJ Slon in 1999). There are also tracks under the aliases Mass Fatality, which combined techno and synth-pop, and Razrushiteli Mozgovych Uliev (Brain Hive' Destroyers), with its more direct tight techno tracks.

The music of DJ Slon sounds fresher and more alive on Album Nr. 1 than ever before.
Noticeably, this record, first and foremost, is dance music. As a voice on one of the album tracks boldly states, we came to dance.

'No Sub Reino dos Metazoários' is the first and only record by musician and poet Marconi Notaro, out of Pernambuco, Brazil. Originally released independently, however, with the support and distribution of Rozenblit, the 1973 album featuring Lula Cortes, Zé Ramalho and Robertinho de Recife is part of the holy trilogy of "Psicodelia Nordestina" amongst the equally mindblowing Paebiru (1975) and Satwa (1973). For its non-comercial a raw aesthetics, the record became a true rarity among collectors worldwide and one of the most important albums of Brazilian Psychedelia. For years it was known that the master tape of 'No Sub Reino dos Metazoários' had been lost during two floods that wrecked the Rozenblit Studios. Lots of equipment were damaged and plenty of material gone. However what no one expected was that the tapes were kept on the highest shelves in the studio where the water did not reach with the thought of "equipment can be replaced, master tapes are unique". Notaro's daughters inherited and rescued the tape and made it available so that Fatiado Discos could release the first and remastered version from the original tapes since 1973. The lysergic highest moments come with nature elements textures as water and wind mixing together with the unmistaken sound of the Tricórdio Acústico - which is a very unique instrument that Lula Côrtes brought himself from India and then adapted it with the help of a local luthier to the regional sound of the Brazilian northeast. The gatefold designed by Lula Côrtes is portrayed in this release and it also has its inner side designed by Cátia Mezel, apart from an extra insert with unpublished photos of Marconi provided by the musician's family.

L.A. Woman is the sixth studio album by the American rock band the Doors, released on April 19, 1971, on Elektra Records. L.A. Woman was recorded in November 1970 over six days at the Workshop, the band’s rehearsal space on Santa Monica Boulevard. A success both critically and commercially, the album contains some of the band’s most enduring music, including hits “Riders On The Storm,” “Love Her Madly,” and the title track.
December 2021 saw the release of L.A. Woman (50th Anniversary Deluxe), a new 3-CD/1-LP set to commemorate the album's 50-year anniversary. Featured on the album anniversary set, this 1LP, 180g black vinyl release is the newly remastered breakout of the original studio album.

1990 Monster LP Repressed !!
The debut, self-titled album from West London's Brand New Heavies, went onto launch a stunning career which made them one of the most successful soul groups of the 1990s. The Heavies were one of the first soul bands to utilise vintage equipment to reference the classic sounds of jazz and funk, a mantle that is today taken up by the likes of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Lee Fields, Charles Bradley and others. This is where that whole movement started.

The album includes the songs that helped the band to make their name, including 'Dream Come True', 'Stay This Way' and 'BNH' which was sampled by Arrested Development on their international hit 'Tennessee'.

"His music filled me with the urge to connect with the world," Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith says of Emile Mosseri. She first heard his work while watching the 2019 film The Last Black Man In San Francisco; just minutes in, she paused it to look up who did the score and wrote to him immediately. "I love Emile's ability to create melodies that feel magically scenic and familiar like they are reminding you of the innocence of loving life." Those talents saw recognition in 2020 with an Oscar nomination for Mosseri's original score to the film Minari. He was already a fan of Smith's and became increasingly intrigued by her impressionistic process as they started to talk. "The music feels so spiritual and alive and made from the earth," Mosseri says. "I think of her as the great conductor, summoning musical poetry from her orchestra of machines." I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon, their two-part collaborative album, introduces an uncanny fusion of their sonics. Constructed using synthesizer, piano, electronics, and voice, this soft-focus dream world is lush, evocative, and fleeting. It finds two composers tuning their respective styles inward as an ode to mutual inspiration, a celebration of the human spirit and its will to surrender to the currents of life. As a full album set, I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon moves fluidly from track to track, panning through textural vignettes. Two roughly 17-minute halves, the set evokes the bittersweet sense of something too bright or rare to last, a short-lived glimpse into a golden hour. There is a dreamy, elemental intention to this music, which Smith and Mosseri say came naturally, as they both embraced intuitive interplay throughout their creative back-and-forth. The stylistic threads of each composer are recognizable yet become more ambiguous as the album progresses, sewn into a singular vision.

Highlights: Limey and the Yanks' A-side 'Love Can't Be A One Way Deal' is a garage song with a sound pitched somewhere between the Beau Brummels and the Beach Boys. 'Guaranteed Love', on the flipside, is an outstanding bluesy number with a stinging fuzz guitar, a concise harp solo and a rousing Bo Diddley-fied groove that has made its way to various compilations since the early 80s and now gets reissued for the first time on a 7" single. This release includes notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things Magazine) Details: In California in the mid-sixties, with the British Invasion raging, having an authentic Englishman as the lead singer of your band was an ace in the hole that gave you an edge over the competition. Such was the case with Limey & the Yanks a quintet from Buena Park in Southern California's Orange County. Limey was young Steve Cook, and his Yanks by 1965 were guitarists Gregg DeLorto and Tim Gunne, bass player Bob Batman and drummer Wes Hunsinger. With his blonde Keith Relf-style hair, Steve was a striking front man who fortunately also possessed a decent voice, and with his father managing the group they were soon making waves throughout the area. A victory at a Battle of the Bands at the Hollywood Palladium put them on the map in Los Angeles, attracting the attention of producer Gary Paxton. By this time Wally Downing had joined on lead guitar, replacing Gregg DeLorto who had defected to the Spats. Paxton produced their debut single in late 1965, and it was released in January of the following year on his Starburst label. Paxton's business partner in Starburst was Lloyd Johnson, and the single's A-side was written by Lloyd's son Ken, who also recorded for Starburst with his group Ken & the Forth sic Dimension. Paxton had already produced a version of 'Love Can't Be A One Way Deal,' a couple of years earlier with the Rev-Lons, a girl group from Bakersfield, but the version by Limey & the Yanks took a completely different approach, turning it into a lovelorn garage number with a sound pitched somewhere between the Beau Brummels and the Beach Boys, with bright harmonies, mournful harmonica and a melodic twangy guitar solo. Swinging on a guitar hook based on Bobby Parker's 'Watch Your Step,' 'Guaranteed Love,' took a bluesier approach with a confident Limey vocal, stinging fuzz guitar, a concise harp solo and a rousing Bo Diddley-fied groove. The single was not a hit, but it added heft to the group's growing reputation. A second single, 'Out of Sight, Out of Mind,' was released in October, but it would be the group's last, although they did continue, through several lineup changes, into 1967. Limey's legacy lives on_

Somewhere in the middle of the first track, “Torres e Baldios”, there’s a sudden change of pace with percussion rhythms interfering with the trance-like sound of the first six minutes. It sounds like steps, people running away on a corridor bashing their feet. It dazzles you because of how unexpected it is, how unpredictable those sounds sound like and, most of all, how it makes perfect sense. It is a monstrous piece. And the beginning of a new age for Ondness, in the same year he defied his Serpente moniker to create an absolute classic, “Dias da Aranha”.

What makes “Oeste A.D.” so remarkable is the intangible idea of nostalgia. “Aqua Matrix Alternative Nation” recreates with a slowed down mentality the theme of one of the main events of the Expo 98 in Lisbon. It’s nowhere similar to the original, what it does is to mess around with the global ideas that were such a big part of that event. The Portuguese musicians that were invited to collaborate with Expo 98 were mesmerized by the ideas of union and globalization, creating overpriced music that sounds like shit today. “Aqua Matrix Alternative Nation” messes around with that vibe in a positive way. Think Mark Leckey playing around with his rave memories. Same thing, but in Portugal we had Expo 98.

Jokes aside, B Side is more futuristic with “Torres e Baldios II” and “Endless Domingo”, a nod to “Endless Summer”, by Fennesz, and “Endless Happiness” (from “Beaches And Canyons”), by Black Dice, mashing up – freely - both covers and reminding of how great 2001/2002 was for experimental music. Both tracks are full of sci-fi drama and this sickness of the future that has been travelling with Ondness since its early days. But the approach here is somehow different. Before “Oeste A.D.” the Ondness sound was fragmented, sparse and intensively reflexive. There was this uncertainty to it that made the previously releases so good. But “Oeste A.D.” is full of clarity, the phrases are straightforward, and the music moves in one direction, continuously. Before, there were loads of unanswered questions. The only doubt is when will the world start to care and listen to Bruno’s brilliant music. Now sounds like a good time.    

In many ways Kumoyo Island represents the culmination of a journey for Kikagaku Moyo. While their decade-long career can be summarized as a series of kaleidoscopic explorations through lands and dimensions far and near, there's a strong intention in each of their works to take the listener to a particular place, however real or abstract they may be. In that sense, the title and cover art for the band's fifth and final album draws you into a magical mass of land surrounded by water-but the couch suggests that Kumoyo Island may not be a fleeting stop, but rather a place of respite, where one could pause and take it all in. Reconvening at Tsubame Studios in Asakusabashi, Tokyo, where their earliest material had been recorded, the five members of Kikagaku Moyo found new inspiration in a familiar and comfortable environment. With their adopted homebase of Amsterdam under lockdown and their touring activities halted due to the pandemic, the band felt a renewed sense of freedom being back in shitamachi, or the old downtown area of their hometown. With unrestricted time in the studio, they began to build upon the demos and song fragments they'd amassed since their last tour. In the 1.5 months spent in Tokyo, everything started to come together. "Monaka", its name taken from a type of Japanese wafer sweets, takes melodic inspiration from traditional minyo folk styles, while "Yayoi Iyayoi" is a rare instance of the band singing in their native tongue, its evocative lyrics utilizing archaic words taken from old poetry and nature books found in one of the many secondhand bookstores of Tokyo. For "Meu Mar", an Erasmos Carlos cover, the original Portuguese lyrics were translated into English, then to Japanese. Strangely enough, the words seem to conjure an image of the protagonist floating among the clouds, looking down upon Tokyo Bay. In fact, it may be possible to draw a parallel between the topography of the band's home country-an island nation, surrounded by bodies of water-and the mysterious isle of Kumoyo. Are they one and the same? Has the band finally made it back home? It's up to the listener to decide.

coloured vinyl.

* A classic and highly influential dub set from 1989, regarded by some as the one of the album’s that kick-started the UK dub scene revival along with the likes of Jah Shaka and Mad Professor.
* Produced by Sound Iration (Nick Manasseh & Scruff) and originally released on Youth’s Mr Modo label.
* 8 Pieces of bass-heavy dub cuts with melodica, flute and vocals floating in and out of the mix.
* This is the dub companion album to Tena St­elin - `Wicked Invention’ (PRTLLP013).

With their sophomore full-length "Gotta Light?", dark rock innovators CRONE are cruising in a high octane fuelled hotrod. Channelling their personal musical inspirations that range from ALICE IN CHAINS, via KILLING JOKE, NEW MODEL ARMY, and JOY DIVISION to PINK FLOYD among many others, the Germans leave their very own and personal mark on the genre that has been brought back to the forefront of interest by acts such as GHOST in recent years. While composer, guitarist, and singer Phil Jonas had felt tired, burned out, and empty, working on new songs for CRONE provided the spark that kindled the firestorm of fresh ideas and led to the creation of "Gotta Light?". The album title was inspired by the haunting eighth episode of David Lynch's masterpiece TV series "Twin Peaks". A corresponding element of the mysterious and surreal permeates all of the new songs that revolve around topics such as the hope of receiving signals from the afterlife ('Waiting for Ghosts'), shattered dreams ('Abyss Road'), and a guiding last will ('Gemini'). CRONE was conceived out of a musical collaboration between Phil "sG" Jonas and EMBEDDED drummer and guitarist Markus Renzenbrink. Both musicians wanted to explore musical horizons beyond the metal limits of their regular bands at the time. As a result the "Gehenna" EP was released in 2014 and sparked a first wave of interest. Critics labelled the first effort post-rock, post-punk, and even as shoegaze. The well-received debut full-length 'Godspeed' hit the streets in 2018 and its more focussed and consistent songs got often filed under "post-rock". With CRONE having been elevated to the main band of each protagonist, the band's renewed focus and urgency is clearly audible on "Gotta Light?". With Christian Schmidt a permanent keyboard player has been added to the line-up that now also features lead guitarist Kevin Olasz for added sparkle and sonic depth. From the ashes of SECRETS OF THE MOON a dark reborn phoenix is rising with CRONE and this bird of prey is ready to rock humanity's unstoppable descent into madness: "Gotta Light?"

With their sophomore full-length "Gotta Light?", dark rock innovators CRONE are cruising in a high octane fuelled hotrod. Channelling their personal musical inspirations that range from ALICE IN CHAINS, via KILLING JOKE, NEW MODEL ARMY, and JOY DIVISION to PINK FLOYD among many others, the Germans leave their very own and personal mark on the genre that has been brought back to the forefront of interest by acts such as GHOST in recent years. While composer, guitarist, and singer Phil Jonas had felt tired, burned out, and empty, working on new songs for CRONE provided the spark that kindled the firestorm of fresh ideas and led to the creation of "Gotta Light?". The album title was inspired by the haunting eighth episode of David Lynch's masterpiece TV series "Twin Peaks". A corresponding element of the mysterious and surreal permeates all of the new songs that revolve around topics such as the hope of receiving signals from the afterlife ('Waiting for Ghosts'), shattered dreams ('Abyss Road'), and a guiding last will ('Gemini'). CRONE was conceived out of a musical collaboration between Phil "sG" Jonas and EMBEDDED drummer and guitarist Markus Renzenbrink. Both musicians wanted to explore musical horizons beyond the metal limits of their regular bands at the time. As a result the "Gehenna" EP was released in 2014 and sparked a first wave of interest. Critics labelled the first effort post-rock, post-punk, and even as shoegaze. The well-received debut full-length 'Godspeed' hit the streets in 2018 and its more focussed and consistent songs got often filed under "post-rock". With CRONE having been elevated to the main band of each protagonist, the band's renewed focus and urgency is clearly audible on "Gotta Light?". With Christian Schmidt a permanent keyboard player has been added to the line-up that now also features lead guitarist Kevin Olasz for added sparkle and sonic depth. From the ashes of SECRETS OF THE MOON a dark reborn phoenix is rising with CRONE and this bird of prey is ready to rock humanity's unstoppable descent into madness: "Gotta Light?"

John Carpenter is a legend. As the director and composer behind dozens of classic movies, Carpenter has established a reputation as one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of modern cinema, as well as one of its most influential musicians. The minimal, synthesizer-driven themes to films like Halloween, Escape From New York, and Assault on Precinct 13 are as indelible as their images, and their timelessness was evident as Carpenter performed them live in a string of internationally sold-out concert dates in 2016. Anthology: Movie Themes 1974-1998 collects 13 classic themes from Carpenter's illustrious career together on one volume for the first time. Each theme has been newly recorded with the same collaborators that Carpenter worked with on his hit Lost Themes studio albums: his son, Cody Carpenter, and godson, Daniel Davies.

Unterstützung fanden die beiden Musiker in Mads Haarlov (UNDERGANG) und Jon Rudin (WOMBBATH). Der erste Longplayer rockt gewaltig. Es ist eine futuristische Multi-Metal-Eruption. Die Songs auf ´Pickled For Posterity´ sind eine Mischung aus viszeraler Extremität, symphonischem Pomp und wilden, progressiven Einfällen und zeigen äußerst leidenschaftliche Musiker mit einer einzigartigen und genialen Sichtweise auf die amorphen Rudimente des Metals. Fresh, frickelig, furios. FORMALDEHYDIST könnten durchaus als perfekte Ergänzung zu den Bands PAGANZER, BENEDICTION
und MASSACRE gelten.

Plying their own distinct breed of art-punk - taking
in fleet-footed guitar and drum motifs, bite-andbark vocals and popping electronics - Speedy
Wunderground’s The Lounge Society have made
quite the reputation for themselves in their short
time together.
 After releasing their debut EP, ‘Silk For The
Starving’, to universal acclaim in 2021 (“The
Lounge Society have the world at their feet” -
NME) the band toured extensively throughout the
UK performing sold-out, enthralling headline
shows across the country, before taking their first
steps onto European festival stages.
 This autumn, the Hebden Bridge outfit hit the road
again, playing the biggest shows of their career in
support of their very first long player, ‘Tired of
Liberty’, their highly anticipated debut album,
produced by Speedy Wunderground boss and
revered producer Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Kae
Tempest, Fontaines D.C.).
 Recorded over two weeks in November 2021,
‘Tired of Liberty’ is a stunningly ubiquitous
snapshot of instrumental meltdown, and timeless
adolescence. This is the sound of young England:
articulate, enraged and energised

Pello Joxepe is in the bar, but this time he's moving his hips to the sound of Curtis Mayfield's Superfly funk-soul Groove. These are the kind of psychedelic visions created by this esoteric "Akelarre Sorta", an unparalleled gem. The African American saxophonist, pianist and composer William S. Fischer, who worked in the 1950s with stars of the stature of Ray Charles, Muddy Waters, Joe Zawinul and Roberta Flack, in 1972 made an album of catchy, funky versions of popular tunes. And that's it, as simple as it is mysterious and surprising. Little more has ever been known about this recording or about the reasons behind William's visit to the Basque Country. So here it is, ready to attract a new audience to join the cult following it has gradually built up over nearly 50 years. Warning: Try it once and you'll be hooked.

Stemming from a great legacy of poetry, Quintal de Clorofila was a duo from the south of Brazil composed by two musician brothers, Dimitri and Negendre Arbo, who turned their dad's poetry into music. In the album O Mistério dos Quintais, the two brothers presented a Brazilian Hippie Folk full of psychedelic touches a times with flanger effects, reverb and synthesizers, a times totally raw with medieval melodies, flutes and strings. The record goes with the original artwork, insert with lyrics plus unreleased photos including the one of the debut album O Mistério dos Quintais featuring the bird (a canary) that sang on stage with its own microphone. O Mistério dos Quintais was released originally in 1983 via a some sort of crowdfunding, before the term itself and even the existence of internet. Supporters who invested in the project had their names in the acknowledgements on the first edition insert. Given the fact that it was released independently, the purity and innocence of the Arbo brothers came to light and set them free to grace the listeners with sounds of nature, mysticism, influences from the Peru Andes and even some madness such as taking the family's bird (that was used to singing along with the brothers at their rehearsals at home) to then record in the studio. When the record was ready, the band realized that the record RPM was wrong. The songs were a bit faster, slightly 1/2 a pitch higher. However, it was too late, nothing else could've been done. Because they were a small band, the manufacturing plant refused to repress the records and they had to endure this. Almost 40 years later, Fatiado Discos present the first version of O Mistério dos Quintais in its original rotation speed, the right one.

With arrangements and piano by Alfredo Linares, this is a thrilling double-sider sought after by collectors and DJs because of the funky dancefloor cuts 'Enyere Kumbara' (covered by Quantic a few years back) and 'INS-Rock'. Proper Afroantillano party business melting Cuban, Nuyorican and Colombian tropical traditions. First time reissue on 7" vinyl. Julián y su Combo was founded in 1962 by left-handed guitarist Julián Angulo Ponce, who was originally from Guapi, Cauca, Colombia and made his name in Cali and Buenaventura, signing initially with Bogotá's Sello Vergara in 1966. During a 20-year period Julián y su Combo released eight records (with several band name variations). Angulo was part of the first generation of artists from the Colombian Pacific who migrated to Bogotá in the 1970s, and his combo enjoyed popularity in his adopted city as well as in Medellín and Mexico. The band also travelled to Venezuela and the US. Angulo described his sound as Afroantillano, combining Cuban, New York Latin and Puerto Rican elements with Colombia's own tropical traditions. The combo's arrangements were distinguished by the bandleader's funky, jazzy electric guitar work (Angulo played without changing the order of the strings), a hot rhythm section and the potent brass line-up of two saxophones and a trumpet (much like Cortijo y su Combo). At that time Alfredo Linares was musical director at INS and this album -the first one Julián Angulo recorded for the label- bears his influence in the funky 'Mambo Rock' sections (breaks and handclaps galore!) and hot Cuban and Latin jazz piano styles that also graced his own records.

With their ability to move seamlessly from the triangle to the donkey jaw, cymbals to Chinese gong, vibraphone to wind machine, percussionists are undoubtedly the most atypical members of the classical orchestra. Paul Changarnier, Nicolas Cousin and Alexandre Esperet are a case in point. Having set their sights on the marimba - Latin American xylophone, cousin of the African balafon - they decided to use it as the main vehicle for their artistic dreams. With the label No Format, they embarked on a project which would see them taking on pop hits of the kind that are produced in mega studios on the other side of the Atlantic and dazzle with a thousand lights and special effects. But they wanted to do it without leaving France or their beloved instruments. They wanted to make pop without machines, guitars, bass or synths. They ended up finding a hitherto unknown instrumental formula that belongs to them and them only, one conceived as the perfect fit for the voices from the well-known French artists that were called upon to interpret the songs. Camille, with her extraordinary energy, makes Rihanna"s "Don"t Stop the Music" waltz in a new organic mode; Blick Bassy redecorates Ariana Grande"s "One Last Time" in the colours of Bassa; Malik Djoudi envelopes Frank Ocean"s "Super Rich Kids" with a subtle ethereal texture; Camélia Jordana made her mark on this bonanza of reinvention by slowing down the tempo of "Dance Monkey"; The voice of Sandra Nkaké, imbued Lana del Rey"s "Video Games" with a solemn and sublime mystery. Like an old love that"s rediscovered with new eyes, an air that comes back from far away but could have been born today, somehow familiar but never seen before. Déjà vu but never heard until now. Déjà Vu: the name of this magnificent, unprecedented experience, this unidentifiable flying platter.

Spanish artist Helena Piti continues to establish her artful Argia alias with a mini-album on Atomnation. Across six superb tracks, the formally trained artist brings serenity, musicality and gorgeous melody to her stylishly designed sounds.

Piti has been immersed in music all her life. From a young age, she studied piano and double bass at the conservatory before evolving into the electronic world and quickly making her mark. She has released with the likes of Stil Vor Talent, Sincopat and DUAT while holding down her esteemed residency at Madrid's well-known Mondo Disko and touring places like Watergate and about:blank. This self-taught producer uses music as a way of expressing a wide range of inner feelings and she has plenty lined up for 2022 including this adventurous new release.

Fresh and zesty with subtle tropical flavours, this is a delightfully listenable debut from Matthieu Beck on Growing Bin. Inspired by the lilting rhythms, jazzy instrumentation and slow listening gems found on his Love In The Afternoon radio show, the Frenchman has crafted a gorgeous collection of laid back sophisti-pop, perfect for long summer days or seasonally affected escapism.
Any suggestion of sorrow in the album title is actually a mislead - this may be a solo LP, but Matthieu's surrounded himself with the musical friends he's made over the years, serving as composer and bandleader to a willing troop of collaborators. Longtime friend and former Metronomy bassist Gabriel Stebbing, Source Ensemble drummer Emmanuel Mario, and of course Laetitia Sadier herself, stepped in to lend their services and bring Matthieu's music to life, before Jérôme Caron (Blackjoy) expertly mixed it all down.
Though the tracklist may read like a travelogue, these nine tracks all began at home with Matthieu sat behind a Fender Rhodes with a drum machine by his side. Soon live bass, saxophone and flute strolled into his unhurried arrangements, retaining the simplicity of his demos while expanding the emotion. Weighty synth drones and bubbling bass balance the airy elements of tracks like "California" or the dream-pop romance of "Rooftop Rome", while the mellow "Malika" and joyful "Retour De Plage" showcase the Frenchman's relationship with jazz. Elsewhere there's hints of digi-dub ("Island" and "Suede"), coastal boogie ("Tokyo Montana"), stripped back city pop ("California") and downtown nostalgia ("Dora"), before Beck arrives at the poetic, progressive but peaceful finale "Piano Fin", which recalls Air at their prettiest, without stepping outside Matthieu's well defined sound.

Round number four on the Frank Music Rarities series: Music that deserves being cut on a platter. "Come Closer" may sound like a long-lost Chicago House record from the late 80's but it's new. Jakob Mäder rides on a melody you've never heard before, still all about the love. On the flip you shall find two songs out of Iron Curtis' & Johannes Albert's current "Moon III" album. Oui madame, the french touch arrives via "Enjoy" and a little pop music shines through "Something Unique" featuring Indie rockets Zoot Woman on vocal duties.

Madonna is the first and only recording artist to have 50 #1 hits on any single Billboard chart. To celebrate this historic milestone, Madonna curated a new 50-track collection titled FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE: 50 NUMBER ONES which includes her favourite remixes of those chart-topping dance hits that have filled clubs worldwide for four decades as well as an abridged 16-track version, titled FINALLY ENOUGH LOVE. This 140-gram 2LP gatefold jacket includes single covers and a track-by-track on all featured 16 number one singles.

This collection highlights You Can Dance, Madonna’s first ever remix collection. Celebrating 35 years this year, You Can Dance has sold more than five million copies worldwide and is still the second best-selling remix album of all time. The collection also pays homage to “Everybody,” Madonna’s first single. Each remix was newly remastered for the collection by Mike Dean, who produced Madonna’s two most-recent studio albums, Rebel Heart (2015) and Madame X (2019). Along with those rarities, this album also introduces the “Offer Nissim Promo Mix” of “Living For Love” as its first official release.

SONIKKU announces the release of their new album ‘Joyful Death’, via Bella Union. “I love songs that make you want to cry and dance at the same time,” says Tony Donson, the London-based musician who records as SONIKKU. That sense of unfettered release and liberation drives their new album, ‘Joyful Death’. A fluent, fertile and full-colour hybrid of vibrant Italo-house, liquid synth-pop, righteous disco and French philosophical asides, it’s an album that signals the emergence proper of SONIKKU - a fully formed dancefloor artist. It’s also a farewell of sorts, perhaps, but with an emphatic rebirth at its heart. “This album feels like a transformation in the sense that I’m creating the music I’ve always wanted to make. A fully realised, coherent pop record that showcases my craft as a song-writer and producer.” Total control of their craft is swiftly asserted on ‘Let The Light In’, where the
influences of lost-in-music disco and the Pet Shop Boys merge under vocals from immersive, exploratory British singer-songwriter Douglas Dare. The pace accelerates as ‘WKND’ gets into a groove pitched somewhere between Madonna, Daft Punk and Indeep, with LA future-pop singer LIZ primed for dancefloor abandon on vocals. Meanwhile, SONIKKU’s independent intent is firmly asserted on the freestyle-inspired ‘Don’t Wanna Dance with You’, where singer Aisha Zoe coolly brushes off unwanted advances in favour of dancefloor pleasures.
LIZ assumes vocal duties again for ‘Sweat’, a song fully equipped to make dancefloor devotees do as its title suggests. Dreamily melodic evidence of SONIKKU’s dynamism (and love of melancholy Swedish electro-pop queen Robyn) beckons on ‘X Hopeless Romantic’, where Little Boots contributes a sweetly loved-up vocal over a sublimely
infectious chorus. Pummelling synths signal a dramatic shift of pace on the almost electro-darkwave dash of ‘Remember To Forget Me’, where actor/singer Chester Lockhart presides over a summit meeting between Depeche Mode and New Order. Performance artist Tyler Matthew Oyer takes the vocals for the Italo-disco-inspired title-track, a vividly imagined album manifesto - of sorts - inspired to varying degrees by an 1892 poem, French thinker Gilles Deleuze’s concept of the “body without organs” and a 1997 anime called The End Of Evangelion. Finally, that grand piano takes over as Dare returns, presiding over an achingly stripped-back version of ‘Remember To Forget Me’. With help from friends and artists they admires on vocals, ‘Joyful Death’ is a hugely confident and self-contained leap forward for SONIKKU after his time as a feted DJ. Having moved from Derby to London at the age of 18, Donson worked as an intern (at MTV, Dazed & Confused, SHOWstudio and elsewhere) then turned to DJing (from
London to Tokyo, Paris and Berlin) after they were signed to London label Lobster Theremin. Though they continues to DJ regularly at Tottenham’s LGBTQ rave-up Adonis, they have extra ambitions in mind: “I love DJing but I’m more looking forward to developing a live show.” LP pressed on mint green vinyl with digital download.

Bassist and composer Milo Fitzpatrick (Portico Quartet) launches new collaborative project with saxophonist Jordan Smart (Mammal Hands)

Vega Trails is a new project from double-bassist and composer Milo Fitzpatrick, a founder member of Portico Quartet, who has also performed with the likes of Nick Mulvey and Jono McCleary and features saxophonist Jordan Smart (Mammal Hands, Sunda Arc) in a richly powerful duo bringing together two powerfully charismatic musicians. The project which takes its name from Carl Sagan's science fiction novel 'Contact' (a book about signals of new life detected from the Vega system) andwas born out of a desire to bring the elements of bass and melody to the foreground in their rawest form and Fitzpatrick explains that he deliberatelychose the stripped back approach.

"There is so much in just one musician's sound; the emotional, the intellectual, the vulnerability and power of their character. But often these delicate nuances can be submerged in the quest for a group sound. In Vega Trails I wanted to grant the musicians space to breathe and be heard and for the listener to witness the intimacy and depth of a conversation between two voices, bass and melody. I was also interested in how the limitations would guide both the composition and performance and to push us both to places close to the limits of what we could play, and it is in this place where I believe the character of a musician blossoms and comes forward".

Tremors in the Static was composed during Lockdown as Fitzpatrick immersed himself in music that had space and sparseness such as Swedish fiddle music and Indian Classical music. Jan Johansson's legendary 'Jazz på Svenska' (jazz versions of Swedish folk songs) was another influence, as was a collection of ancient lullabies by Spanish soprano singer Montserrat Figueras. Through exploring the harmonic and textural possibilities on the bass, Fitzpatrick would cycle riffs and motifs whilst singing melodies, and he began to create the music debuted here. However, it was only after listening to Charlie Haden's album of duets, 'Closeness', that the project would come into focus as a duo, and Fitzpatrick immediately knew that the second musician had to be Jordan Smart.

"I saw Jordan play at two Gondwana Records events – in Berlin and Tokyo. Both times I was mesmerised by the intensity and conviction of his playing. His commitment to the cause of transcending himself and the listener made a lasting impression on me. When I began writing this record, I knew I needed a strong player who had equal conviction in their playing as me, but also someone who understood the importance of melody"

It was an inspired idea as Smart brought an openness and positivity which allowed the music to be both experimental and bold. Smart's ability to play tenor and soprano saxophone with equal command, as well as bass clarinet and Ney flute, allowed them to open up the pallet of sound and pull the melodies into varying emotional landscapes.The final piece of the puzzle was the performance space. Fitzpatrick knew that he wanted the two players to react off of a third element. The music was written for an ambient space which interacted with the notes: decaying and disintegrating them into silence. They found the perfect space in a church in Fitzpatrick's local neighbourhood of Stamford Hill.

"The recording space is the canvas on which the sound interacts and flows, it is the frame in which notes can live, breathe and die and is as important as the other elements. A resonant recording space, like a church, allows this stripped back sound to resonate, echo and linger, enough to create images and landscapes in which stories can play out".

This then is Vega Trails, a project that brings together two open-mined and communicative musicians for the first time, to tell beautiful winding stories together and to create something soulful and new.Something bigger than both of them and something that leaves us all richer for hearing it. Enjoy!

A previously unreleased project of Henning Christiansen, monumental in scope, traversing years, countries and now, formats. The Henning Christiansen Archive is proud to finally present one of the crown jewels of the archive, the masterpiece ‘Penthesilea’ as a 2LP and 5CD set. Both limited to 300 copies. Pentheseila is one of the most ambitious works in the entire Henning Christiansen oeuvre. A large-scale work from the mid eighties based on the play of the same name by Heinrich von Kleist (1808). Both Henning and his widow, Ursula Reuter Christiansen, were enthusiastic about Kleist’s text, both making works around the themes within this portent text. Henning Christiansen first developed a work around this text for the Rosenfest festival performed in Berlin in 1984. Rosenfest was curated by René Block and featured a variety of composers presenting works in response to Kleist’s work including Robert Ashley, “Blue” Gene Tyranny etc. Henning formulated a composition utilising tape, field recordings, voice, soprano, and violoncello alongside the home made instruments of Werner Durand. The live presentation was then expanded upon and first performed two years later at Teatro Olímpico, Rome on the 8th November 1986 as directed by Carlo Quartucci. The two releases presented here include a 2 x vinyl LP of the Rosenfest recordings in 1984 and a 5CD set sharing the four and a half hour backing track prepared for the Teatro Olímpico performance in Rome in 1986. Together these two releases make up a substantial overview of one of the most significant works in the entire Christiansen canon. THE REALITY IS A GHOST IN MY MIND (LP1) is a work that unfolds patiently with a mix of field recordings; wind, bird song and the sound of snow being crushed underfoot all unite in a foreboding atmosphere. IN PENTHESILEAS HÖHLE (LP2) features electronic treatments to the original field recordings found on THE REALITY IS A GHOST IN MY MIND, a representation of psychological reorientation perhaps? A deep ground tone (or ROOT as Henning calls it) leads the listener through a variety of realistic and unrealistic environments. As Henning says in his essay reprinted on the back sleeve: “Then comes a section where the field recordings of the sea, the storm, birds, cars and other things, are built together so that the realism of these sounds become unreal. For example the cars drive into the sea and the birds are singing within the storm. When you hear footsteps in the show, it’s Kleist sneaking past Deutsche Schauspielhaus. When you hear a deep, human sleeping noise, it’s Achilles sleeping. When you hear hammering it’s the weapon smith working. When you hear a stone being thrown it means the unanswered question: “Who threw the first stone?” These recordings lead to the finale where Carla Tatò’s haunted vocals into her singing mournfully along with Jan Tilman Schade’s violoncello and tuba, then a chainsaw appears. Presented in a deluxe di-cut sleeve with writings by Ursula Reuter Christiansen and Henning Christiansen and adorned with an artwork, Penthesilea by Ursula Reuter Christiansen, 1983.

• 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
• DELUXE LIFT-OFF BOX SET
• INCLUDES 20-PAGE PHOTO ALBUM
• 4LP SET FEATURING “HEARTBREAK HOTEL”, “HOUND DOG”, “IN THE GHETTO”, “WOODEN HEART” & “VIVA LAS VEGAS”
• LIMITED EDITION OF 2500 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON GOLD & BLACK MARBLED VINYL

Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits Vol. 1 is a compilation box set by the King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley. This four-album set was originally released in 1970, as his 38th album. The set peaked at #45 on the Billboard 200 and was certified double Platinum not long after its release. Of the 51 tracks that are featured, four made their album debut in this collection back when it was originally released: “Viva Las Vegas”, “Suspicious Minds”, “Don’t Cry Daddy” and “Kentucky Rain”.

Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits Vol. 1 is available as a deluxe lift-off box set containing 4LP’s and a 20-page photo album. It is available as a limited edition of 2500 individually numbered copies on gold & black marbled vinyl.

Back in stock !

Canadian songwriter and producer Jeremy Haywood-Smith needed an escape from his state of mourning when he began working on Slingshot, his most recent LP as JayWood. After the loss of his mother in 2019, and a global standstill with multiple social crises throughout 2020, Haywood-Smith yearned for some forward momentum. "The idea of looking back to go forward became a really big thing for me _ hence the title, Slingshot." Feeling disconnected from his past and ancestry after the death of a parent, Haywood-Smith made a conscious effort to better understand his identity and unique Black experience living in the predominantly white province of Manitoba. Merging fantasy scenarios, personal anecdotes, and infectious pop and dance instrumentals, Slingshot is a self-portrait of JayWood at his surface and his depths. Musically, Slingshot reaches into sounds and styles Haywood-Smith has continued to explore throughout his catalog. "I think I made a really big deal to not pigeonhole myself," he explains. "Whatever is inspiring me at one point will work it's way into whatever I'm creating." Slingshot is an amalgamation of Haywood-Smith's many musical sensibilities, achieved with help from a crew of talented peers. Haywood-Smith wrote and performed a bulk of the track's instrumentations, but the LP has notable appearances from Canadian contemporaries Ami Cheon (on "Just Sayin") and Mckinley Dixon (on "Shine.") The album's penultimate track, "Thank You," was co-produced with Jacob Portrait of Unknown Mortal Orchestra. The song brings JayWood's sound full circle, offering something reminiscent of Haywood-Smith's earliest recordings, while flaunting that "The best is yet to come."

Im Dezember 2021 veröffentlichte Alicia Keys ihr neues Album »Keys«, zunächst digital. 2022 dürfen wir uns nun über das physische Release des Longplayers auf Doppel-Vinyl freuen.

»Keys« ist bereits das achte Studioalbum der amerikanischen Sängerin, Songwriterin und R’n’B-Ikone, der Nachfolger von »Alicia« aus dem Jahr 2020.

Das Doppelalbum umfasst 26 Tracks und besteht aus zwei Teilen, einem Piano-Album mit dem Titel »Original« und einem Bonusalbum namens »Unlocked«, das sich zwischen Hip-Hop, R’n’B und EDM bewegt. Zehn der Titel findet man auf beiden CDs und demnach in unterschiedlichen Versionen, neben sechs weiteren Songs.

»Die Originals kommen von der klassischen Seite von mir! Es ist die AK, die wir wollen! Eine Heimkehr. Auf der Unlocked-Seite wollte ich die Originale sampeln, um ein ganz anderes Klangerlebnis zu schaffen«, so die Sängerin. Das ihr das gelungen ist, machte sie bereits mit den Singles »Lala (Unlocked)« und »Best Of Me« klar.

Auf ihrem neuen Album »Keys« war Alicia Keys als Produzentin und Songwriterin an allen Songs beteiligt. Unterstützt wurde sie allerdings von Kollegen wie Mike Will Made It, Sia, Raphael Saadiq oder Natalie Hemby. Außerdem lud sich die Sängerin ein paar Duettpartner ein. Auf beiden Albumteilen warten Gäste wie die Sänger und Rapper Khalid, Lil Wayne, Pusha T, Swae Lee, die Country-Sängerin Brandi Carlile und der britische Sänger und Komponist Jacob Collier.

Alicia Keys gehört zweifelsohne zu den größten R’n’B-Sängerinnen der Welt. 2001 veröffentlichte sie ihr Debütalbum »Songs In A Mirror«, das es auf Platz eins der US-Charts schaffte. Von sechs weiteren Alben erreichten drei ebenfalls Platz eins in den USA. Im Laufe ihrer Karriere verkaufte die Sängerin und Songwriterin weltweit mehr als 30 Millionen Tonträger. Zudem gewann sie zahlreiche Preise, darunter bislang 15 Grammys.

Kingdemonium highlights the core essence of HAMMER KING and fully reflects on the strengths of the band. The album starts off with “Invisible King”. The title track, “Kingdemonium”, is pure power from the first tune and goes all the way with thundering drums, riffs made of steel, and energetic vocals. Followed by “The Four Horsemen”, starting off slower, the track quickly picks up the pace mid-journey through the world of the Hammer King. “Guardians of the Realm (featuring Ross The Boss)”, stands out from the rest of the songs with the vigorous vocals riddled with acoustic guitar elements, while "Live Long, Die Nasty" is a future live hit that will have all crowds screaming along immediately. An album made of pure steel in the name of the Hammer King!

When talking aout Ska Music one group of musicians whose name always comes to the forefront of the conversation are The Skatalites.
Formed around 1965 and named originally after the Soviet space satellite which was big news at the time.
With a little help from band member Tommy Mc Cook making a play on the characteristic 'Ska'sound made by the guitar when following the 'after beat' of the music.
The band would have a name to go with its distinctive musical style.
The time span of The Skatalites career considering their output of hundreds of tunes was a relatively short one of around two years.
We have caught a great set of tunes that the band cut at the legendary Treasure Isle Studios, built out of wood and positioned above Duke Reid's liquor store, it somehow worked in getting a great sound out of the band.
We have cherry picked a selection for your musical pleasure..
We hope you enjoy the set....

Johnny Clarke ruled the Dancehall in the mid 1970’s, using the cleaver 'Flyers Rhythms' that gave some of his tunes an edge with the Sound Systems. But his voice was always.
bigger than this and his versatility to sing a wide range of vocal styles, has seen him cut through the decades as one of Reggae’s best voices.

Johnny Clarke (b.1955.Jamaica) cut his musical teeth at the age of seventeen, recording his first song ‘God made the sea and sun’ for Producer Clancy Eccles. A low-key release but one that led to Johnny catching Producer Rupie Edwards eye, when he appeared at a talent contest at Bull Bay. Impressed by his voice both live and on disc, Rupie cut a few tunes with Johnny, ’Don’t Go Julie’ and ‘Everyday Wondering’ the latter of which had success not only in Jamaica, but also in the UK reggae market. The back bones of ‘Everyday Wandering’ now voiced by Rupie himself would lead onto an even bigger hit in the 70’s with the classic ‘Irie Feelings’.

Johnny Clarke’s decision to move on around this time coincided with producer Bunny ‘Striker’ Lee looking for a new singer to compete in the ever-moving Dancehall arena. Johnnie’s break came in a strange way, having provided backing vocals initially to a Bunny Lee produced cut, Earl Zero’s ‘None Shall Escape the Judgment’. The very same session the drummer on the track, Carlton ‘Santa’ Davis, when asked by Bunny to come up with some new sound and while working the High - Hat cymbals, hitting it when open, then when shut (based on the Philadelphia Disco Sound known as the Phili - Sound) gave what the reggae world would call a ‘Flyers Sound’. On transferring the tune to four tracks to mix down at King Tubby’s studio, Earl Zero’s vocal was mistakenly left off. Johnny Clarke being present at King Tubby’s and knowing the track already inside out, then sang the lead vocal. The track became a smash Sound System favourite and the rest as they say is history.

Johnny Clarke became one of Bunny’s main vocalists during the heyday that was the 1970’s. It’s from this vast cannon that we have selected some of the singer’s finest cuts. His soulful voice worked the musical field from Dread to Rockers to Lovers Rock.A great gift that on playing this album we hope you’ll agree carries through with the tests of time.

Next up on the Kyiv-based label Kashtan comes from a very promising Ukrainian artist Monoconda.

Oleksandr Filonenko aka Monoconda is a Kyiv based multi-instrumentalist, music composer, sound producer and a live performer. While making music for commercials, theater and public places, Monoconda started to release his own electronic music in 2018 with an album called "Alphabet". His second release, "Low Light" was recorded during the pandemic isolation, and was named as one of the best records of the year by top Ukrainian musical journalists. There was much music recorded after that, alone and in collaboration with different musicians, but the pandemic and the war have made the release process somehow impossible or at least quite a hard quest. But the music is always being done, cause that's what he is here for.

The main concept of the Kyiv label Kashtan is to identify and carefully choose the pearls of Ukrainian electronic music, which are not defined and limited by genre definitions. This playing with genres has been released through the album "Horizon" by musician Monoconda.

Bobby Oroza follows up his newly released Get On The Otherside album with another must have 45. The A side is one of the mid tempo stand outs, "My Place, My Time" where Bobby humbly pours his heart out about his own difficulties and how he made up his mind to get passed them. Like a lot of the other tunes on this album there is a message of encouragement and an invitation to a new perspective Bobby has found at this stage in his life. Cold Diamond & Mink's backing track has the perfect tone to carry the message and the whole tune comes out somehow tough, sweet, encouraging, and introspective all at once. The B side "Through These Tears" is a heavy duty ballad sure to become a staple in the slowie sets. As usual for Bobby he does it up in his own way, with his own tone, and it stands out from his peers. Although it has all the makings of a classic B side ballad, a closer listen finds Bobby again with a message of getting past the trouble and coming out on the otherside of it all.

“20 Centuries Gone” is a collection of two new original songs and six cover songs that span the timeline of SPIRIT ADRIFT’s most foundational influences. Featuring artwork by Brian Mercer (Lamb of God, High on Fire, Mastodon), and mixed by Zeuss (Overkill, Crowbar, Municipal Waste), this release is a powerful journey through the past, present, and future of classic metal’s most exciting new band. SPIRIT ADRIFT mastermind Nate Garrett comments: “I always thought it would be a cool experience to record some songs by bands that are foundational to the DNA of SPIRIT ADRIFT. These choices are obvious and on the nose to me, but maybe unexpected to the fans. That made the whole thing a lot of fun. A band like Lynyrd Skynyrd might not be the first thing you think of when considering SPIRIT ADRIFT’s influences, so the task for me became figuring out how to honor these great songs, but in the distinct SPIRIT ADRIFT style. To make the whole thing even more special, I channeled these influences and wrote a couple of new songs to kick things off. There’s a lyric in ‘Sorcerer’s Fate’ that mentions ‘past and future both aligned,’ and that became the concept here. The whole thing is presented in reverse chronological order. That way, you get a sense of where SPIRIT ADRIFT is headed, but you’re also taken on a journey back in time through our most fundamental influences. Hope y’all enjoy it!” “20 Centuries Gone” is available as: LP, Standard CD Jewelcase and Digital Album