Buscar:4 hero

Greg Dowling and Shane Johnson return to the Go Deep label for their third album, ‘This Bit of Earth’. Beginning work in the relative normality of 2019 and finishing over the strange summer of 2020, the resulting music mirrors the thoughts that such upheaval brings out - our world and our place in it - while also functioning as a kind of travelogue of journeys past and planned, real and imaginary.

Mixing samples with modular synths, programmed drums with jazz loops, and quirky plugins with outboard gear, the album ranges far and wide while retaining a warm, natural core sound.

The title track opens proceedings on an ambiguous note. A simple double bass motif weaves around a misheard vocal sample, layers of piano and vibraphone take up the call, and the whole thing gradually spins off axis to a distorted, disjointed finish. ‘Suburban Key’ follows on a groove of busy drum work and deep sub bass, the stately piano and strings setting the stage for an undulating synth solo.

Further in, ‘Alice on Jupiter’ takes a deep breath and blends field recordings, gently swelling pads, modular bursts and a recurring picked melody.

‘Back Trace Dub’ strolls the imagined streets of Irish author Kevin Barry’s ‘City of Bohane’, noting the “taint of badness” in the air and revelling in the tense, dub-noir atmosphere. Later on, the spoken word intro of ‘I Could See’ expresses the dread of confinement and the relief and ecstasy of release, a theme the music reflects as it steadily builds to a joyful climax.

And closing the album on an optimistic note, the languid, emotional Culatra Ferry remembers better, beautiful days in the sun and looks hopefully forward to more.

“Highlights are the stunning sonics of Suburban Key, with its dusty groove and fast paced drums, stately piano, and cinematic strings reminiscent of a Four Hero orchestral masterpiece. High As Scaffold is full of warmth and soul and is yet another example of Fish Go Deep going even deeper into the dark blue waters of their brilliant musical minds.” Ban Ban Ton Ton review, Japan

“So good. Real beauty” Laurent Garnier, Radio FG, France

“Really liking this, would love to support on radio” Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy, WorldwideFM, UK

“Lovely album” Osunlade, Yoruba Soul, US

“Very very nice album...love the new directions here” Charles Webster, Openlab, SA

“Absolutely beautiful piece of work” Darimont, RWAV, Germany

“A lovely LP of eclectic sounds” Jimpster, Freerange Records, UK

“Delightful album this. Very much appreciate the musicianship and we need that in the world right now as the commercial music world starts to fire up its nonsense for the new beginning” Vince Watson, Yoruba, Netherlands

“Such a fucking great body of work, and on par with ANY of the great albums I've listened to recently” Billy Scurry, Ireland

“There’s some REAL magic here. Possibly the deepest year from this duo” Charles Levine, Soul Clap, US

“A fabulous surprise. I'm sure if he were still alive Jose Padilla would have hailed this as his number one album of the year, it certainly is mine” Steve Miller, Afterlife, UK

“Great album... will play in next shows” Franck Roger, Real Tone, France

“Beautifully produced and great atmospherics” Ashley Beedle, Black Science Orchestra, UK

Radio and DJ support from Ron Trent, Hector Romero, Ame, Cian Ó Cíobháin, Bill Brewster, DJ Sprinkles, Harri, Honey Soundsystem, Alexkid, Moodymanc, Hifi Sean, Kassian, Freddie Garcia, 6th Borough Project, Stuart Patterson, Lars Behrenroth, Fred Everything, Mark Roberts, Cut n Shut, Will McGiven, Stefano Tucci, Tristan Jong, Matthias Schober, Trevor Fung, Ben Davis, Max P and more.

From the very beginning in 2011 the concept was simple and crystal clear.

Mad Mats & Tooli's new label Local Talk had two main focus points.
First, the actual music was to be inspired around those magical 4/4 house rhythms...and beyond.

Second, the logo! The idea was that a simple and direct visual point together with a strong dance MUSIC message would make the label stand out among other labels in their northern neck of the woods.
In Scandinavia, the main theme is electronic 4/4 rhythms (techno, tech-house etc) and with Local Talk being more inspired by black dance music this has made them the black sheep in the hometown of Stockholm.

To set the musical direction straight from the very start they released Bassfort's 'Moon Shadow' which got instant attraction from both house heads and the more open-minded clubbing community.
With its warm, melodic chords, infectious piano theme and big strings it's always been the label's fave jam from their now +150(ish) releases.
When they decided to choose a track that would define the label for their 10-year anniversary, the choice was simple.

Mats & Tooli thought long and hard about who they wanted to interpret 'Moon Shadow' and after months of discussing options they decided that the only one they could trust to give the track a quality boost was NYC legend Joe Claussell.
Back in the late 90's, Mats used to book Joe for his legendary Raw Fusion parties in Stockholm so the connection and mutual respect were already in place. The result is a +11 minute long musical house journey that builds and builds until those characteristic piano chords make an entrance and transform the dynamics into a rainbow of sounds. Epic is not a word big enough to explain this grand musical production !

But the goodness does not end there, we're only halfway in on this anniversary release. The blood brothers Javi & Luis aka Kyodai (and 2/3 of Bassfort) made their own mix on the B side track from the original release, Moonlight.
As schooled jazz musicians they diverted from the electronic soundscape and went for a live jazz-funk production.
The final product is a warm and musical version with live drums, bass, piano, strings and even vocals from the brothers themselves.
The track almost comes across as something 4 Hero would put out back in the day.

All we can say, enjoy the dance!

Gondwana Records sign LA bassist and composer Seth Ford-Young's Phi-Psonics project and announce a remastered deluxe-edition of The Cradle featuring bonus material

Phi-Psonics is a meditative, immersive instrumental group from Los Angeles, led by bassist Seth Ford-Young and featuring Sylvain Carton on woodwinds, Mitchell Yoshida on electric piano, and Josh Collazo on drums. Their deeply soulfulmusic draws on jazz and classical influences together with Ford-Young's own musical experiences, relationships, and his introduction to spirituality, yoga and philosophy at a young age, to create something uniquely its own. Phi-Psonics' name and ultimate aim is to find 'Phi' – the golden mean – in art, nature and self. Ford-Young explains:

"It's a bit of a cliché, but music saved my life many times and instilled in me a belief in the great power of healing through art. It is my hope and intention that this music provides healing to someone somewhere."

Originally from Washington DC area, Ford-Young moved to California in the early 90s and fell in love with the deep sounds of the upright bass and the music of Charles Mingus, John and Alice Coltrane, and Duke Ellington along with Bach, Chopin, Pärt, and Satie. He immersed himself deeply in music and keen to learn combinedintense personal study with collaborations, tours, and recordings with artists such as Tom Waits, Beats Antique, and John Vanderslice. In 2010 he moved from the San-Francisco Bay area to the Los Angeles hills and continued his explorations. But great music is rarely just about music and Ford-Young's meditative, soulful music draws on more than just the twin wellsprings of jazz and classical music:

"My mother was a yoga teacher from the early 70's until recently and taught me yoga and meditation at an early age, my stepfather is an Aikido instructor and student of the teachings of Gurdjieff. Those were all early areas of study that I came back to many times throughout my life. Phi-Psonics has been a project that unapologetically synthesizes some of these ideas into our music".

It's this mixture of influences, musical and extramusical, that gives the music of Phi-Psonics it's immersive quality and quiet power. Revealingly the music that would becomeThe Cradle, wasn't written specifically for an album, originally Ford-Young was just writing down what was coming through. As time went by and the album began to take shape, the world situation seemed to be getting darker and his compositions aim to offer hope as a response to the negative influences that abound today. Remarkably for such a beautiful sounding record, it was recorded at the composer's home, rather than in a studio, but the relaxed nature of this process gives the music an airy lightness that propels the music to some magical spaces.

Originally self-released on vinyl in a limited run just as the world went into lockdown, The Cradle reached Matthew Halsall (founder of Gondwana Records) when he aws looking for music for his Worldwide FM show and he was blown away, hearing a kindred spirit at work. Halsall explains:

"Phi-Psonics make beautiful, humble and honest music, it's not showy, but it has a deep vibe that will elevate your mind and soul if you let it. When we heard The Cradle we reached out and are really super delighted to welcome Seth and his band to our label". Whereas for Ford Young: "Connecting with Matthew and the Gondwana records family has been a light in the darkness of the last years - to have my music make connections even as we are more isolated."

Ford-Young is currently putting the finishing touches to the second Phi-Psonics record, but aware that only a select few had heard The Cradle, let alone had the chance to buy a copy, and entranced by its deceptive simplicity and elevating energy, Halsall suggested that Gondwana present the album as a remastered 'deluxe edition' with an extended running time featuring extra tracks and new artwork from Daniel Halsall.

The Cradle starts with First Step, perfectly setting the tone for the whole album, it is a beautiful, soulful slice of musical calm gently propelled by Ford-Young's resonant bass and elevated by sublime flute and Wurlitzer electric piano solos. The seductive title track The Cradle was written way back in 2011 during a time of great personal change that led the composer to a feeling of newness and nurture. The magical, winsome Desert Ride is inspired by many rides through the grandly cinematic Mojave Desert. You can experience how incredibly full of life it's harsh landscape is if you slow down to its tempo. The gentle, sublime Mama is a tribute to mothers of all kinds, beautiful and heroic. Drum Talk was largely improvised, Ford-Young and the band agreed on a topic and recorded their conversation. Choosing their notes based on how Josh's drums were tuned. Like Glass is named for the special properties of Glass. Like some music, glass is delicate, yet has structure. The first of the two bonus tracks Still Dancing was written during the early days of 2020 in response to the challenges we all were facing then. It's a reminder that the figurative dance continues and that real dancing is essential. And the second, The Searcher, also written as a response to 2020, is a gently hypnotic song about the introspection and growth that can spring from a difficult situation.

This then is The Cradle, a quiet self-contained masterpiece, life-affirming and elevating in equal measure and the first offering from a wonderful new voice in spiritual jazz and the latest members of the global Gondwana Records family.

19 tracks by Croteam’s in-house composer, Guest appearances by Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck and the band Undercode, Translucent yellow discs, Original artwork by Tom J Manning

Extravaganter als Elton John, catchy wie ABBA, intensiv wie Slipknot und cooler als Limp Bizkit – all das und mehr ist TROLLFEST. Nach ihrer Napalm Records Debüt-EP Happy Heroes, kehren TROLLFEST mit ihrem neunten offiziellen Studioalbum Flamingo Overlord am 27. Mai 2022, zurück und liefern elf Tracks, die zweifellos neue Fans überzeugen und die alten begeistern werden.

Auf Flamingo Overlord verbinden TROLLFEST ihre Liebe zur Musik in all ihrer Vielfalt mit Extravaganz, Ausgelassenheit, Wahnsinn und einer Ansteckungskraft, die sich nur als pures K.A.O.S. beschreiben lässt. TROLLFEST wurde 2003 von Gitarrist John Espen Sagstad (Mr. Seidel) und Sänger Jostein Austvik (Trollmannen) gegründet und machte sich mit energiegeladenen Auftritten auf renommierten Festivals wie dem Wacken Open Air, 70.000 Tons of Metal und Summer Breeze einen Namen. Die Band erreichte Millionen von Streams auf allen Plattformen und hat sich eine treue Fangemeinde erspielt, die TROLLFESTs einzigartige Fähigkeit schätzt, Genres mit ihrem K.A.O.S.-getriebenen Sound zu verschmelzen. Die erste Single
des neuen Albums, ””Dance Like A Pink Flamingo””, brachte ihnen sogar die Teilnahme am norwegischen Melodi Grand Prix ein, der Qualifikationsshow für den renommierten Eurovision Song Contest!

Across eight studio albums, DECAPITATED grew from the adolescent dream of teenagers from a small Central European town to one of the leaders of the metal genre. Each successive album further expands the band’s sound with genre-bending authenticity and integrity. As Metal Injection rightfully observed, “any self-respecting death metalhead knows the name well.”

DECAPITATED’s music is a weapon forged by four young men from a historic medieval-fortified town in Poland, which catapulted them to the top of a worldwide subculture. Like a rose in the devil’s garden, the DECAPITATED story builds triumph from tragedy. The gleeful grotesquery of extreme metal imagery and rifftastic bludgeoning beckons listeners to uncover broader truths.Upon the release of 2017’s Anticult, Metal Hammer declared DECAPITATED “a serious successor to the likes of Pantera and Lamb Of God – a band who can draw new legions into the metal world as its new champions.” Their diverse follow-up, 2022’s Cancer Culture, delivers on that promise.

Instantly recognizable devastation and deceptively sinister hooks abound. Freshly minted DECAPITATED anthems like “Last Supper,” “Hello Death,” “Just Cigarette,” “No Cure,” “Iconoclast,” and “Cancer Culture” shimmer with sonically sharp production and unrelenting bombast. There’s also a newly increased emphasis on melody, even venturing into darkly romantic territory. Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (guitar), Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski (vocals), Paweł Pasek (bass), and James Stewart (drums) are at the top of their game, delivering the goods at peak performance. Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk and Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn make guest appearances.

Set on the descending plains of a mountain range amid a dense forest, Krosno boasts a 14th-century Gothic church, a Subcarpathian museum, and stunning artisan glassware. In this Polish town, teenage music student Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka discovered records from bands like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Metallica, and Machine Head. The guitarist and his younger brother, drummer Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka, cofounded DECAPITATED in 1996, inspired by a wide range of technical death, blackened thrash, and local heroes, like KAT and the world-renowned Vader. Death and black metal reigned supreme in the Polish scene of the 1990s, where Behemoth originated as well. In fact, a Vader song called “Decapitated Saints” inspired the band’s moniker.
The organic musical chemistry between the Kiełtykas was akin to the brotherly connectivity and vibe driving Pantera, Gojira, and the classic era of Sepultura. In 2006, Kerrang! praised the first three DECAPITATED albums - Winds of Creation (2000), Nihility (2002), and The Negation (2004) – as “superbly conceived and executed eruptions of technical brilliance and razor-sharp songwriting that turned these youthful Poles into one of the genre’s most widely respected bands.” That year’s Organic Hallucinosis further perfected Vogg’s penchant for blending extremity with catchy hooks.

The rule-breaking ferocity and invention of the first four albums reinvigorated death metal, as DECAPITATED inspired a new generation of bands who followed suit. Sadly, this era came to a shocking end in late 2007. While touring Russia, the band’s bus collided with a large truck near the border with Belarus. Both Vitak and then-singer Adrian “Covan” Kowanek sustained severe head injuries. Tragically, Vitak passed away in a Russian hospital a few days later. He was just 23.Vogg summoned the courage to continue, in honor of his brother and what they created, and returned with a new incarnation of DECAPITATED and the fiercely adventurous comeback album, Carnival is Forever (2011) featuring new vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski. Blood Mantra (2014) introduced bassist, Paweł Pasek. Blabbermouth declared it “perhaps the most poised and gutsy” DECAPITATED album, adding “its courageous bends make it a turbulent but pleasurable ride.”

Cancer Culture sounds brilliant, modern, and tasty. “There is no place for any fake, plastic, bullshit drum machine or anything like that,” Vogg insists. “It’s all organic, pure, and clear, showing the true face of the band. Vogg and company entrusted the Cancer Culture mix to David Castillo at Sweden’s Fascination Street Studios / Studio Gröndahl (Sepultura, Carcass, Opeth, Katatonia), and legendary American producer Ted Jensen (Metallica, Slipknot, Pantera, Machine Head, Korn).
The devoted supporters who traveled to see DECAPITATED on international tours with the likes of Lamb Of God, Meshuggah, Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Suffocation over the years will recognize the ever-present pummeling backbone. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will connect to the variety of atmospheric depth throughout Cancer Culture’s ten boundlessly energetic and creative tracks.
“If you told me 25 years ago, in my neighborhood in the South of Poland, that I would be in Machine Head, sharing riffs with Robb Flynn,” Vogg marvels. “It’s simply incredible. It means that everything is possible in your life. That gives me the faith to believe that I can achieve even more in my career. The dreams we have when we are kids, things we can barely imagine, can happen.” Flynn contributes a hauntingly beautiful vocal to the Cancer Culture track “Iconoclast.” “Clean vocal singing is a really new thing in DECAPITATED,” Vogg notes. “It’s really unique and amazing.”

Driven by Vogg’s passion and integrity, the dual emphasis on creative invention and technical prowess maintains DECAPITATED’s stature as genre-leaders in 2022 and beyond. The band’s supporters continually demonstrate confidence and absolute certainty DECAPITATED will deliver.

Across eight studio albums, DECAPITATED grew from the adolescent dream of teenagers from a small Central European town to one of the leaders of the metal genre. Each successive album further expands the band’s sound with genre-bending authenticity and integrity. As Metal Injection rightfully observed, “any self-respecting death metalhead knows the name well.”

DECAPITATED’s music is a weapon forged by four young men from a historic medieval-fortified town in Poland, which catapulted them to the top of a worldwide subculture. Like a rose in the devil’s garden, the DECAPITATED story builds triumph from tragedy. The gleeful grotesquery of extreme metal imagery and rifftastic bludgeoning beckons listeners to uncover broader truths.Upon the release of 2017’s Anticult, Metal Hammer declared DECAPITATED “a serious successor to the likes of Pantera and Lamb Of God – a band who can draw new legions into the metal world as its new champions.” Their diverse follow-up, 2022’s Cancer Culture, delivers on that promise.

Instantly recognizable devastation and deceptively sinister hooks abound. Freshly minted DECAPITATED anthems like “Last Supper,” “Hello Death,” “Just Cigarette,” “No Cure,” “Iconoclast,” and “Cancer Culture” shimmer with sonically sharp production and unrelenting bombast. There’s also a newly increased emphasis on melody, even venturing into darkly romantic territory. Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (guitar), Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski (vocals), Paweł Pasek (bass), and James Stewart (drums) are at the top of their game, delivering the goods at peak performance. Jinjer vocalist Tatiana Shmayluk and Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn make guest appearances.

Set on the descending plains of a mountain range amid a dense forest, Krosno boasts a 14th-century Gothic church, a Subcarpathian museum, and stunning artisan glassware. In this Polish town, teenage music student Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka discovered records from bands like Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, Metallica, and Machine Head. The guitarist and his younger brother, drummer Witold “Vitek” Kiełtyka, cofounded DECAPITATED in 1996, inspired by a wide range of technical death, blackened thrash, and local heroes, like KAT and the world-renowned Vader. Death and black metal reigned supreme in the Polish scene of the 1990s, where Behemoth originated as well. In fact, a Vader song called “Decapitated Saints” inspired the band’s moniker.
The organic musical chemistry between the Kiełtykas was akin to the brotherly connectivity and vibe driving Pantera, Gojira, and the classic era of Sepultura. In 2006, Kerrang! praised the first three DECAPITATED albums - Winds of Creation (2000), Nihility (2002), and The Negation (2004) – as “superbly conceived and executed eruptions of technical brilliance and razor-sharp songwriting that turned these youthful Poles into one of the genre’s most widely respected bands.” That year’s Organic Hallucinosis further perfected Vogg’s penchant for blending extremity with catchy hooks.

The rule-breaking ferocity and invention of the first four albums reinvigorated death metal, as DECAPITATED inspired a new generation of bands who followed suit. Sadly, this era came to a shocking end in late 2007. While touring Russia, the band’s bus collided with a large truck near the border with Belarus. Both Vitak and then-singer Adrian “Covan” Kowanek sustained severe head injuries. Tragically, Vitak passed away in a Russian hospital a few days later. He was just 23.Vogg summoned the courage to continue, in honor of his brother and what they created, and returned with a new incarnation of DECAPITATED and the fiercely adventurous comeback album, Carnival is Forever (2011) featuring new vocalist Rafał "Rasta" Piotrowski. Blood Mantra (2014) introduced bassist, Paweł Pasek. Blabbermouth declared it “perhaps the most poised and gutsy” DECAPITATED album, adding “its courageous bends make it a turbulent but pleasurable ride.”

Cancer Culture sounds brilliant, modern, and tasty. “There is no place for any fake, plastic, bullshit drum machine or anything like that,” Vogg insists. “It’s all organic, pure, and clear, showing the true face of the band. Vogg and company entrusted the Cancer Culture mix to David Castillo at Sweden’s Fascination Street Studios / Studio Gröndahl (Sepultura, Carcass, Opeth, Katatonia), and legendary American producer Ted Jensen (Metallica, Slipknot, Pantera, Machine Head, Korn).
The devoted supporters who traveled to see DECAPITATED on international tours with the likes of Lamb Of God, Meshuggah, Soulfly, Fear Factory, and Suffocation over the years will recognize the ever-present pummeling backbone. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will connect to the variety of atmospheric depth throughout Cancer Culture’s ten boundlessly energetic and creative tracks.
“If you told me 25 years ago, in my neighborhood in the South of Poland, that I would be in Machine Head, sharing riffs with Robb Flynn,” Vogg marvels. “It’s simply incredible. It means that everything is possible in your life. That gives me the faith to believe that I can achieve even more in my career. The dreams we have when we are kids, things we can barely imagine, can happen.” Flynn contributes a hauntingly beautiful vocal to the Cancer Culture track “Iconoclast.” “Clean vocal singing is a really new thing in DECAPITATED,” Vogg notes. “It’s really unique and amazing.”

Driven by Vogg’s passion and integrity, the dual emphasis on creative invention and technical prowess maintains DECAPITATED’s stature as genre-leaders in 2022 and beyond. The band’s supporters continually demonstrate confidence and absolute certainty DECAPITATED will deliver.

Die schwedischen Progressive-Rock-Legenden The Flower Kings und ihr langjähriger Labelpartner InsideOutMusic werden 2022 eine umfangreiche Wiederveröffentlichungskampagne starten, bei der der gesamte Katalog der Band auf CD und Vinyl in remasterten Versionen neu aufgelegt wird, wobei viele der Alben zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl erhältlich sein werden. Den Anfang machen 'Back In The World of Adventures' von 1995 und 'Retropolis' von 1996, die beide in der Besetzung Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin, Michael Stolt, Jaime Salazar, Hasse Fröberg, Ulf Wallander und Hasse Bruniusson erschienen. Sie werden als Ltd. CD Digipak & Gatefold 180g 2LP+CD & LP-Booklet erhältlich sein, beide mit remastertem und teilweise neu abgemischtem Audiomaterial und erweitertem Artwork und Fotomaterial aus dieser Zeit.

* In 1980 Gerald Moore - of G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars and Heron fame - was in Kingston, Jamaica working with Lee Perry on the `Return of Pipecock Jackxon' LP. Gerald went into Harry J's studio with James Lascelles (Global Village Trucking Company, The Breakfast Band) and Bud Beadle (Ginger Baker & Salt) alongside members of Zap Pow: Don Grant, Cornell Marshall and Dwight Pinkney.
* Of the four tracks recorded (two vocal and two instrumental) only `Utopia' was ever released (on the Black Star Liner label in 1980 and then reissued by Partial in 2014).
* The tapes sat around gathering dust for the best part of 40 years and are now finally unearthed. * Mixed directly from the masters by Dougie Wardrop are `Jerusalem', `Working For The Dollar' and `Constant Spring'. Also `Utopia' gets a fresh mix.
* A cuts followed by their respective dub mixes.
* Review confirmed in February's edition of The Wire magazine.

Part of The Optic Sevens 4.0 Reissue Series.
Limited to 1000 copies worldwide. Please check your allocation with your sales rep.
Pressed on Red Vinyl.
Includes postcard and poster. Non-Returnable.
The Monochrome Set were something of the unsung heroes of the post-punk world; they fitted into absolutely no category whatsoever and their puckish take on spaghetti western soundtracks meets lounge jazz via the twisted lyrical imagery of vocalist Bid was as singular as it was unique.
Comprising a couple of ex-Ants in Andy Warren and Lester Square, with singer / guitarist Bid and drummer JD Haney, their filmic, playful material found favour with many, including John Peel although they failed to match this with commercial success.
The Jet Set Junta was originally released on Cherry Red in 1983 with its urgent, ringing guitars surrounding Bid’s lyrics telling of dodgy arms dealings and armoured limos as Lester Square’s Ennio Morriconetwang bends and reverbs as a counterpoint.

Home Again Records push forward presenting their 4th release, this time welcoming label affiliate Sandilé. The Cologne based artist has become notable for her eclectic sound which is reflective of her background appreciation of broken beat, UKG and the musical essence of London, as well as warm funk and soul. This limitless exploration of genre is perfectly depicted on Home Again 04 which is her debut release for the Berlin label, the EP features 3 originals plus a remix from house mainstay Malin Genie.

The EP kicks off with the fast paced four-to-the-floor ‘Bossbias’, featuring classic house vocals and skippy high hats, interestingly the track originated as a collaboration between Sandile and UKG hero Zed Bias, hence the title reference. Found on the flip side is ‘Sista From Da Block’, a dreamscape of liquid jungle fused with soulful jazz vocals, whilst on the B-side ‘Trayvon’ offers a deeper head-down club track that unfolds inspirational male vocals, bouncy undertones and an
uplifting whistle throughout the body of the track. Malin Genie re-jigs ‘Trayvon’ layering up with some retro feels on the B2 completing the package.

‘Everyone’s now getting back on the dancefloor...house music without dancing and people coming together sure had a different taste. I guess it’s the perfect timing for my first Home Again release, because it sure does feel like I’m finally coming home again!’ – says Sandilé

Limited edition LP (500 copies) on LRK Records

Another identifier for the LP album is that as well as LRK-LP01 it has a different Cat number on the spine LRK-LP02

Also on a CD but the CD has 5 bonus tracks which are not on the Vinyl LP

I Am (who I want to be) is a slightly different mix to the 45. The version on the LP is the string version"Im Yours" was played a few times on the Craig Charles Radio 2 show and it was selected in "The best of 2022 so far mixtape" on Radio 2

I Am and Rise again were played by Janice Long (RIP) on her BBC Wales show

I Am was played for a month on Jazz

Rise Again was also played on Jazz FM and was Nigel Williams's "Breakfast track of the wee

David White also spun " I am " and "I'm Yours" on his BBC radio Cornwall show

Rise Again was played on BBC Manchester by Karen Gabay

The daily express gave the album "Rise Again" 4 stars and a great review

Precious Metals are excited to announce "Chaos Butterfly", the debut album from the Vietnamese-Canadian electronic music producer, vocalist and filmmaker, x/o. “Chaos Butterfly” is an epic tale of catharsis and self-actualization explored through metamorphosis. It is a free-falling kaleidoscopic journey into a beautiful nightmare, both cataclysmic and tender. Expanding on the themes present in their first EP “Cocoon Egg”, the album builds a parallel world from a different perspective. “Chaos Butterfly” tells a loose narrative about an anti-hero navigating trauma through whirlwinds of grief and anger; a vengeful spirit who finds true strength in inner healing and forgiveness. An allegory for transcending societal concepts of gender, “Chaos Butterfly” is a journey of self-acceptance and reflection of x/o’s own path towards their non-binary identity. Throughout the voyage, x/o pulls apart and collides masculine and feminine tropes both theoretically and musically by utilising contrasts between soft and hard, internal and external, calmness and anger, loud and quiet. This system of symbolism and influences reveal a pattern that is the overarching theme of duality. Colliding disparate but interconnected influences, x/o references Playstation 2’s Final Fantasy X world-building, Fight Club, the half-yoma warriors in the anime Claymore, as well as the real legends of the Vietnamese Trưng Sisters. Musically, “Chaos Butterfly” resists easy categorisation, playfully fusing moments of reversed breakbeat, with elements of solemn ambience, distorted metal, and trip-hop catharsis, with inspiration from artists such as Yoko Kanno, to Bone Thugs-n-Harmony as well as Deftones, Massive Attack, Orbital, and Aaliyah. The album journey begins with opener “Chrysalis Wrath”, a prologue to the story, and emblematic of the metamorphosis of the album. A soft and unassuming exterior to the hard shell and bone that lies beneath. Delicately cascading melodies and disembodied vocals are torn asunder by a brooding, ominous synth, punctuated by blasts of percussion, like dark clouds forming on the horizon, the egg cracks; a foretelling of what is to come and a reference to what has been. This is followed by “Red Alert,” the first single from the release, which blends airy melancholic vocals with a flurry of drum breaks and synths plucks, an ambitious and cinematic exploration of intuition against recurring trauma. Melodies drifting and out of focus under the swirling vocal, like the blur of neon street lights reflecting in a rain-soaked cityscape. It’s a liminal poem about listening to your inner voice to protect you from harm. Duality is never more apparent than on “Promise : Armour” delicate piano melodies drift and settle like snowfall before crushing blows of hardstyle kicks blast through the ether, as their soulful, but anguished vocal harmony is overcome by a demonic refrain “Cross your heart, don’t cross me”. x/o is a founding member of s.M.i.L.e, a trail-blazing collective of like-minded artists in Vancouver pushing the boundaries of club experimentation, showcasing artists such as Actress, Hitmakerchinx, Mechatok, Nídia, and Shygirl. This is an album that reaches dizzying heights, and in 2022 we expect x/o to do the exact same.

Mobys neuestes Album Reprise - Remixes ist jetzt verfügbar. Das Doppelalbum enthält persönliche Zitate aller beteiligten Remixer, sowie von Moby selbst. Reprise – Remixes erobert ein Grenzland, in dem elektronische und akustische Klänge aufeinandertreffen. Das Album erscheint am 20. Mai 2022 bei Deutsche Grammophon, pünktlich zum Jubiläum von Mobys erster Scheibe, die 1992 erschien.
Zwölf Künstler:innen – zwölf Stimmen: Bambounou, Biscits, Max Cooper, Efdemin, Anfisa Letyago, Mathame, Planningtorock, Topic, Felsmann + Tiley, Peter Gregson und Christian Löffler kommen auf Reprise

– Remixes zusammen. Und auch Moby selbst ist mit vier Remixes dabei.

Funny to think there was a time not so long ago when Stiff Richards was a name that required explanation - but not to you, of course, o punk connoisseur. This is your territory, after all. Music is your oxygen and the sound of the underground is your clarion call. You can explain the distinction between ‘Know Your Product’ and ‘No, You’re Product’. Hey, you’re probably pretty good-looking too. You know your shit, either way. So no wonder you’re drawn to this relative holy grail of modern garage rock - the 2017 self-titled debut album by the aforementioned Stiff Richards. Originally released on their own Stiff Records (and again by Legless in 2020), it lays down all the elements that made last year’s mighty ‘State of Mind’ LP such an instant classic. OK, we’ve established you know the drill, but let’s recap: scintillating Aus-punk that recalls the heroic high-speed riffs of their countrymen The Saints and Radio Birdman. It sounds like Royal Headache covering Motörhead, or maybe the other way around. It’s a full-on riot in 30 minutes - the rawest of rock’n’roll bleeding into the grimiest of power chords with hooks for days. You already know you’re gonna love it. Whether going full-throttle and aiming straight for the nerve receptors that get your head a-nodding and your toes a-tapping - like on sub-three-minute highlight ‘Strung Out’ - or sludgin’ their way through groovier cuts like ‘Bustin’ Out’, they’re never less than a treat that’s guaranteed to get your serotonin flowing and your speakers up to 11 (or beyond). As a certain similarly-named record label once said, if it ain’t Stiff, it ain’t worth a fuck. Frightfully rude, but that’s rock music for you, I suppose. Get it in your ears.

The 8 tracks on this LP capture the guitar hero at his creative best; Jingo from the 1969 album Santana grabs our attention with a flurry of conga drums and snare drum rhythms. Carlos leaps into the fray with an anguished cry from his Gibson SG, displaying the sustained, melodic blues notes that became his signature sound. Carlos then does that voodoo that he does so well, on a studio version of Soul Sacrifice where he launches his cosmic guitar into outer space.
While Let’s Get Ourselves Together is a nicely constructed arrangement. Side 2 features As The Years Go By, a tasteful blues ballad, that has Santana caressing the strings with expertise and passion. Followed by a live performance of Evil Ways, one of Santana’s greatest hits that reached Number 9 in the U.S. Billboard chart in February 1970.

Strut continue their deep dive into the archives of Black Fire Records with a new reissue of Oneness Of Juju’s Bush Brothers & Space Rangers, showcasing the band at the peak of their powers in 1977.

Oneness had enjoyed two fruitful years with Black Fire prior to these recordings, breaking through with the African Rhythms and Space Jungle Luv albums. “When we recorded African Rhythms we didn’t use a guitar,” explains bandleader Plunky Branch. “So, when vocalist Jackie Eka-Ete and guitarist Ras Mel Glover came in in around ‘75, that moved our sound into a more soulful direction. The drummer on this album, Tony Green, was the drummer with Gil Scott Heron and he added a little more sophistication to our soulfulness. African percussionist Okyerema Asante was also fully incorporated into the band after joining in 1976. By 1977, we were in full production mode recording songs; one or two of the tracks here also feature Brian Jackson, known for his work with Gil.”

Primarily recorded at Arrest Studios in Washington DC, the album is packed with landmark Oneness tracks including ‘Be About The Future’ (“possibly the first ecology-themed song that I know of”) the George Clinton-influenced ‘Plastic’, an acoustic alternative version of ‘African Rhythms’ and strong covers of Caiphus Semenya’s ‘West Wind’ and Bobby Womack’s ‘Breezin’’. Plunky continues,

The Mutual Torture pay homage to many of their music heroes from the early 80es. Consequently, their modus operandi is deeply rooted in Post Punk paranoia, alien soundtracks, improvisation, and simulation. Their outcome is coolness that's glowing cold under the red sun, structure and order, and 12 transcendental messages. In the end, there are no more heroes left but just The Mutual Torture.
This band of non-standard humans appears with a conceptual approach to transforming the energy and the boldness of a genre which is known for its pioneering spirit, overwhelming playfulness and a strong desire to experiment. The Mutual Torture are soulmates of those who formed this genre: a German-Chilean band with an attitude and a plan to tour their album live. In particular: Tobias Freund (drum computers and electronics), André Schöne (bass), and Javiera González (vibrantly morphing vocals).
All tracks have been written and produced by Tobias Freund at Non Standard Studios ©2021.

Retro Active was the band’s first compilation, it was released in 1993 and features touched-up versions of B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from the band’s recording sessions from 1984 to 1993.