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180g audiophile vinyl reissue of guitarist John Abercrombie and pianist Andy LaVerne's 2003 duo album 'Timelines', which is appearing on vinyl for the frst time 40 years ago Bill Evans and Jim Hall recorded two brilliant duo albums called 'Intermodulations' and 'Undercurrent'. Andy Laverne and John Abercrombie whose collaboration dates back to the late 1960s have been inspired by the Evans- Hall recordings and have been experimenting with the format.

Andy LaVerne remarks, "Over the years we have collaborated as a duo many times in concerts, club dates, workshop sessions. I guess Bill and Jim set a wonderful example to us of what could be achieved by the piano/guitar instrumentation".

This album - with 8 of the 11 original tracks making the LP cut - though is neither recreation nor copying of the original material, is an evolution of the predecessors.

John Abercrombie: guitar
Andy Laverne: piano
Recorded September 2002

Frozen Music’ was recorded in New York City 32 years ago and like most of
pianist Andy LaVerne’s releases this album has not lost its original energy
and charm.
Tenor and soprano saxophonist Rick Margitza was then a young rising star under contract with Blue Note. Andy was already a prolific composer who penned
all the tunes of this album. Bassist Marc Johnson who was a member of Bill
Evans’s last trio gave graceful and subtle colouring to LaVerne’s compositions.
“Frozen Music, Andy LaVerne’s third album for SteepleChase, is a solid, modern
blowing session...he makes skilful use of suspensions, pedal points, and ostinatos, which along with the music’s floating harmonies, give the soloists a wealth
of elbow room.” - Mark Stryker, Cadence
Personnel: Andy LaVerne (piano), Rick Margitza (tenor and soprano saxophone), Marc Johnson (bass), Danny Gottlieb (drums)

Floating Points' personal collection of global soul, ambient, jazz and folk treasures form the latest in the warmly revered Late Night Tales series.

Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points' music taste is notoriously tricky to define, ranging from ethereal classical at one end to coruscating techno at the other, united only in a firm belief in the transcendental power of music to move hearts, minds and - yes - feet. Similarly, his production career has ranged from early experiments in dance music with breakout records such as the 'Shadows EP' and collaborating with legendary Gnawa master Mahmoud Guinia to his expansive album 'Elaenia', which met with critical acclaim upon its release in 2015.

This Late Night Tales excursion into the depths of the evening reflects his broad tastes. The globally-travelled producer has collected untold treasures on his travels from dusty stores in Brazil to market stalls near his hometown. There's the gorgeous 'Via Làctea', culled from Carlos Walker's debut album, Abu Talib's (Bobby Wright) plaintive 'Blood Of An American' and Robert Vanderbilt's gospel reworking of Manchild's 'Especially For You'. Raw soul and feeling oozing from each song's pores.

At the other end of the music scale are the modernists, such as Québécoise Kara-Lis Coverdale who weighs in with the indelible 'Moments In Love', Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith whose 'Milk' is an exercise in tranquility, while Sarah Davachi's meditative mix-opener offers respite from a weary world.

We have some exclusive tracks for Late Night Tales; alongside Davachi's offerings there is also Toshimaru Nakamura's 'Nimb #59', as well as the now traditional cover version. hepherd delved into his childhood
memory for this one, a track taken from the first album his parents bought him, Kenny Wheeler's 'Music For Large & Small Ensembles': Sam offers up his interpretation of 'Opening Part 1'. Wheeler also contributes horns to Azimuth
track The Tunnel, written and performed by Norma Winstone and John Taylor who, coincidentally, are the parents of Floating Points' drummer Leo Taylor. Closing the album, Lauren Laverne reads the suitably nocturnal poem 'Ah! Why, Because The Dazzling Sun' by Emily Brontë.

'I tried to find music that reflects the stillness of night. And because my musical interests lie all over the place, it's quite difficult to distil that notion down to just a few songs. I was quite keen to have some electronic music in there but I also really wanted to have some soul music mixed in, so I had to try and find a pathway between all of this different music.' - Sam Shepherd (Floating Points) March 2019

Love or its absence dominates the intimate songs on the new album from ARBORIST – the musical outlet of Mark McCambridge. Looking For Love, Arborist’s fourth album of exquisitely inventive Americana, places us firmly in his hometown of Belfast, allowing it to act as a microcosm of the wider-world, with all its foibles and charms. We find fictional protagonists scouring the dark corners of the city, wiling-away afternoons in strip clubs, wandering the streets in all weather and reflecting on the harsh reality of modern society, all in search of an elusive love – emphasising our need for it now more than ever.
Looking for Love is ARBORIST’s first album to be self-produced by McCambridge, largely from his home studio in Belfast – and at times it feels like we are in the room with him. It’s a different kind of record for him as previously he has always sought collaboration; whether it be with Kim Deal who chose to sing intertwined harmony on his debut single “Twisted Arrow”, or recording in The Curfew Tower owned by The KLF’s Bill Drummond who described Mark’s songwriting as being “riven with more loss than any record since Leonard Cohen quit this world”, and who Matthew E White and his Spacebomb band collaborated with to such astonishing effect on the previous Arborist LP, 2023’s An Endless Sequence of Dead Zeros, winner of the prestigious Northern Ireland Music Prize. This time, with no outside producer steering the way, McCambridge found that the quiet hours were where he felt most at ease, despite periods of trial and error, and, by his own admission, moments of feeling genuinely lost in it all.

Despite playing many of the parts himself, McCambridge still called upon old friends from the community around him; Spacebomb’s resident bassist Cameron Ralston (Bonnie Light Horseman, Hiss Golden Messenger) again features throughout the record, alongside Eamon Ferris (The Waterboys) on drums, with the great and the good from Belfast’s vibrant music scene. Grainne Meyer plays concert harp and Aga Olek plays violin for the quasi-title track “Looking 4 Love” – an off-kilter love-letter to Belfast. Meilana Gillard provides a sleazy saxophone on “Bye Bye Johnny Cash” – a seedy tale of a man obsessively visiting a dancer in a club, and The Larne Community Youth Choir provide backing vocals for “Go Kill The Fatted Calf” – a song Mark wrote about his son growing up, a take on the parable of the prodigal son, with Jonny Ashe’s blistering guitar solo adding an album highlight. The Errigal Ensemble String Quartet and Aisling Agnew’s breathtaking flute solo feature on “What Is It You’re Asking” – a song about love, or its absence, both personally and universally in these times.
McCambridge was recently honoured with a “Fellowship” by the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University Belfast where he collaborated with such illustrious names from the literary world as Nick Laird, Caoilinn Hughes and Conor McPherson. Through the University he was given access to the music department's Steinways and pipe organs, and decided to try one out for the album’s centrepiece “I’ve Been A Flaneur”. As Mark explains, "The drone on the pipe organ — and the sound of it starting and stopping — was so visceral that I decided to try a half-written song against it right there and then, and this came out in one take… The song was a breakthrough artistically - I don't think I'll ever record in the same way again after this."
The album was engineered by longtime collaborator Ben McAuley (Van Morrison) and mixed by Jimmy Robertson (Anna Calvi, Beth Gibbons, Fat Dog). The results are staggering, devastating and uplifting in equal measure, calling to mind albums such as Songs Ohia’s Magnolia Electric Co., The Divine Comedy’s Regeneration, The Blue Nile’s Hats and Wilco’s Ode to Joy, as well as early-70s records from John Cale, John Lennon and Bill Fay.

Belfast native Mark McCambridge played his first show as Arborist supporting James Yorkston. A solo tour followed, and impressive performances led to notable support slots alongside Low, Cat Power, Echo & The Bunnymen and Guy Garvey. Arborist's debut single, the Americana-tinged "Twisted Arrow," caught the attention of the critics with an astonishing duet with Kim Deal of The Breeders. The debut album Home Burial (2016) and its follow-up, A Northern View, both received glowing praise, from The Guardian ("instant classic" ----) to MOJO ("devastatingly bleak… upliftingly beautiful" ----) to Uncut (8/10), with BBC 6 Music play from Cerys Matthews, Cillian Murphy, Lauren Laverne, Radcliffe and Maconie and Gideon Coe — and Steve Lamacq calling single "Taxi" "one of those records that makes you immediately stop what you're doing." He went on to even greater success with the 2023 Northern Irish Music Prize winning third LP, An Endless Sequence of Dead Zeroes, which was recorded at SpaceBomb Studios in Virginia with musician and producer Matthew E White. For his fourth LP, Looking For Love, he has signed with Fika Recordings and with a tour approaching in November, 2026 looks set to be a seminal year for the Irish artist.

DJ Support: Gilles Peterson and Lauren Laverne on 6Music, with club play from the likes of Axel Boman, Peter Kruder and Erol Alkan.

Photay drops epic acid breakbeat magic on ALWAYS COSMIC. The A-side features his remix of United Freedom Collective’s ‘Always Open’ (featuring the vocal talents of Falle Nioke) in both original and instrumental form. With early plays by Gilles Peterson & Lauren Laverne, the hype around this incredible track is building for good reason. There is an exceptional combination at play: slick, detailed, hifi dance production with powerful, prodigious talent on the drums – we call it ‘the PHOTAY advantage.’ The B-side brings expansive cosmic dub versions, the first track derived from the Always Open session, the second from Photay’s recent remix for Conclave & Toribio. Deep, emotional stuff that doesn’t lose track of fun-factor with sheer, un-fakeable excitement in the rhythm section!

Limited Green LP is for Indies only. all LPs include a DL card. Island Family is the fifth album from Isle-of-Eigg dwelling electro-acoustic psych-pop wonder Pictish Trail, AKA Johnny Lynch. A strange, unpredictable, sardonic and yet deeply personal record inspired by all from Fever Ray to The Flaming Lips, Liars, Mercury Rev and Beck, Island Family is Pictish Trail's contrarian view of arcadia; a search for the euphoric in the bucolic, bound up in sometimes conflicting ideas and feelings around nature and environment, sincerity and artifice, escapism and belonging. It's an album about how no man can remain an island, however hard he might try. Released by Fire Records, with support from Johnny's own label Lost Map, and produced by long-term collaborator Rob Jones (The Voluntary Butler Scheme, The Gene Dudley Group), 'Island Family' opens with its title track, a song of death, ghosts and the ties that bind, fusing abrasive electronic beats with a tongue-in-cheek fireside folk refrain and the haunted ice cream van melody of a digitally reincarnated traditional Scottish jig. A purgative surrender to nature's whim driven by a clattering machine drumbeat rolled in a puddle of filthy dirty fuzz, 'Natural Successor' is five-and-a-half-minutes of cathartic churning bass. 'In The Land of The Dead' is an eight-bit glitch-core reflection on island party excesses spasming into existential dread and regret, suitably accompanied by a funereal mariachi band. It's followed by the epic 'It Came Back', the understated verses and arms-aloft falsetto chorus of which are accompanied by a tense, foreboding bass-driven electro hip hop instrumental with (spoiler) a brain-shattering industrial-metal meltdown. 'Melody Something' is the album's purest moment, a cautiously uplifting solar-powered-ballad about losing track of time in the cycle of the seasons, and the gap between memory and reality. Shapeshifting closer 'Remote Control' is a channel hopping cabin-fever-dream flipping from warped boyband ballad to deep-fried fuzz pop. "One of my favourite artists" Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music

Brooklyn duo The Still Brothers is a musical project of childhood friends Evan Heinze (The Shacks/Big Crown) and Andrew LeCoche (Ula Ruth). Heinze has toured with the likes of Khraungbin, Lee Fields and Cut Chemist, while LeCoche’s old band once opened for Paul Simon and Edie Brickell. A former student of Madlib’s uncle Jon Faddis, LeCoche has scored music for Netflix and Patagonia and sound design for Twitter, Patron, and Marvel. Signing to Lewis Recordings in 2020 the band’s first single ‘The Deep’ was instantly picked up by Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music who regularly plays it to this day. ‘Wake Up’ featuring the vocals of Marina B. spent six weeks on the BBC 6 Music playlist gaining support from Lauren Laverne, Gilles Peterson, Mary Anne Hobbs, Craig Charles, Huey Morgan, Cerys Matthews, Don Letts, Tom Ravenscroft and Guy Garvey. Lockdown didn’t slow down the band’s creativity with many tracks on their self-titled debut EP recorded remotely. Two such tracks were the collaborations with London based singer/songwriter Shauna Kelly aka Shoshy. ‘It’s Not Over’ and ‘Crazy’ were released on 7” and both received BBC radio support. Marina B stepped back on the mic with the upbeat hit ‘I Wanna Be With You’, a dancefloor filler mixed by St. Frances Hotel (producer for Michael Kiwanuka). The b-side ‘Sungalz’ is a hazy dream pop number that started life as an instrumental jam

Don Leisure has cemented his name as one of the most forward-thinking and experimental beatmakers & producers within the current musical ecosystem. As well as being 50% of Darkhouse Family (alongside Earl Jeffers) he has collaborated with the likes of Angel Bat Dawid, Gruff Rhys, DJ Spinna and First Word label-mates Amanda Whiting & Tyler Daley (Children of Zeus). Garnering serious support from Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Huw Stephens, Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, The Vinyl Factory, Clash, Uncut and many more. Following the release of ‘Cynnau Tân (feat. Carywyn Ellis)’ (which gained support across BBC Radio from Tom Ravenscroft, Zakia & Huw Stephens) Welsh beatmaker Don Leisure announces the release of a new album ‘Tyrchu Sain’) as he returns with a new single ‘Tyrchu’ due for release on 22nd January 2025. ‘Tyrchu’ features the soft-spoken vocal stylings of Gruff Rhys over a gently rolling, tape saturated and expertly chopped instrumental, creating (in Gruff’s own words) ‘Shiny new beat-treasures with ghostly reflections of Welsh pop’s past - skillfully dug from Sain Records’ deepest veins’

A dedicated student of music, over the years, Don has amassed a vast encyclopaedic knowledge of music genres and subcultures, including a fascination with Welsh psychedelic folk music from the mid-20th century. This introduction was made by respected musician, producer & selector Andy Votel’s 2005 two-part compilation series ‘Welsh Rare Beat’ (in collaboration with Gruff Rhys and Don Thomas), comprising twenty-five tracks from Sain Records’ back catalogue. Now the oldest independent record label in Wales, Sain is a wildly influential bastion of home-grown Welsh talent, co-founded by Welsh-language folk singer Dafydd Iwan, whose music has seen a cultural resurgence in recent years with his 1983 song Yma o Hyd (We’re Still Here) becoming a huge anthem for Wales football fans. Set up in the Welsh capital, many of Sain’s early releases were recorded at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, but in the early 1970s the record company moved to the Caernarfon area and opened their first recording studio in 1974 near Llandwrog. Announcing a huge digitisation project throughout 2024, Sain Records took on the mammoth task of painstakingly digitising their entire back catalogue spanning 55 years, working in partnership with the National Library of Wales the resulting archive then be submitted for to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, preserving them for future generations to enjoy. Taking this period of rediscovery as an opportunity to reimagine their impressive inventory, Sain invited Don Leisure to dig into their musical treasure chest, creating a sprawling sonic tapestry from the dusty gems within. On this exhilarating excursion, Sain Records founder Dafydd Iwan explains: ‘Imagine someone gave you access to over 50 years of Welsh popular music – almost all of it unknown to you before. It would be a strange experience of discovery, an unknown territory which could baffle and excite. This happened to Jamal (Don Leisure) – and he was captivated by a world of music he barely knew existed, and when he was asked to distill the experience into one album, he immediately warmed to the idea. And this is the result – a kaleidoscope of sounds to encapsulate a half century of Welsh music. To call it unique would be superfluous: no-one could ever recreate this album. Listen, and enjoy.’.

The resulting product is ‘Tyrchu Sain' (translating to ‘Digging Sain’), a fearless and exploratory album, which sees Don put his signature unparalleled and unpredictable skills to work, weaving together moments of forgotten beauty into celestial and otherworldly compositions. The record features appearances by artists from Wales who have a similar obsession as Don Leisure in these classic Welsh rarities including Gruff Rhys, Carwyn Ellis, Earl Jeffers Amanda Whiting and Boy Azooga. A shimmering patchwork quilt of sound, ‘Tychru Sain’ traverses a shifting landscape of acid folk, eerie vocal melodies and interstellar soundscapes, propelled forth by crisp, head nod-inducing drums and grainy textures. Breathing new life into compositions lost to time, and paving a path for new listeners to discover the magic that lies within.

Bert At the BBC is a comprehensive collection of Jansch’s appearances at the BBC, featuring over eight hours of rare and unreleased recordings, including live-on-air spots, studio sessions and full concerts straight from the BBC vaults, delving further into this legendary performer’s canon. Bert Jansch was the very essence of folk music, providing inspiration for everyone from Paul Simon and Neil Young to Led Zeppelin and countless folk revivalists. This unparalleled limited-edition compendium is available as a 4xLP and 8xCD set, housed in a coffee-table book set with a lavish 40-page book tracing the recordings from Bert’s earliest moments at the BBC. It includes interviews and insights from Lauren Laverne, Jools Holland, Johnny Marr, Jacqui McShee, Bob Harris, Bernard Butler, Mark Radcliffe and many more. Twenty broadcasters, producers and collaborators contribute at length to the booklet, with great affection for this gentle, maverick genius. Bert’s BBC legacy remains the most significant and exciting untapped reservoir of his music. The undeniable advantage of recordings made for broadcast is that they were, by their nature, created for public consumption and, barring live-on-air appearances – which might go well or go badly, but were going out either way – were explicitly signed-off by the artist as representations of his art that were good enough to be heard. The set is compiled by Colin Harper, author of Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British folk and blues revival (Bloomsbury, 2000), who contributes detailed liner notes to the package. The release is mastered by IFTA award-winning engineer Cormac O’Kane. The vinyl release features 48 tracks on LP and is accompanied by a download card with over six hours of extras spanning 1966–2009, including BBC4’s St Luke’s concert (2003), and a complete Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh concert (2004) for BBC Radio Scotland. It is also available as a special 8xCD set containing all 147 tracks and encased within a coffee-table book. Bert Jansch At The BBC is an epic and enduring trail, 45 years in the making. “He was that rarity, a musician who really did deserve to be regarded as a legend.” The Guardian // “As a guitar player there was no one like him. He was jazz and blues and folk but there was a whole world in there that was just him, esoteric”

First Word Records are very proud to bring you 'Ghouls', the 6th studio album from Bastien Keb.

Through the reflective and introspective multi-mood journey of its 19-tracks, this album spans psychedelic-chamber-funk, warped anti-ballads, cinematic instrumentals, Ethio-jazz & ethereal ambience.

Part soundtrack, part beat-tape, part memoir, this is a dreamlike soundscape sewn together from half-forgotten memories & late night breakdowns.

Entirely sample-free, this album is full to the brim with musical experimentation, with Keb's compulsion to make all the individual pieces of music independently; combining strings, harps, saxophones, theremins, clarinets, flutes and trumpets.

He signals to the fuzzy, nostalgic nebulous of mid '90s skate videos, as well as harking back to the scores & moods of movies like The French Connection, Taxi Driver, The Warriors and La Haine. There are whispers of sounds in the air from jazz clubs, street preachers & Turkish restaurants.

Keb describes the sonic experience of this album simply as this… "You're half awake, and half asleep, but you're warm…"

For this 19-track opus, Keb is joined extensively by Malik Ameer Crumpler; a poet, composer, editor and professor based in Paris, who's been involved in numerous albums while writing for various forms of experimental media.

A multi-instrumentalist originally from the Midlands, Bastien Keb (aka Sebastian Jones) previously released his highly-acclaimed album '22.02.85' on First Word back in 2017; this new album being a very welcome return to the Worldwide Award-winning UK independent label.

His music has been widely supported across BBC Radio in the past by DJs including Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Mary Anne Hobbs, Nemone and Tom Ravenscroft. This is in addition to glowing press reviews from the likes of Pitchfork, The Guardian and The Line Of Best Fit.

He's built up a steady fanbase through his extensive catalogue over the years, with material for labels like Def Pressé, Gearbox, One-Handed Music and most recently for Shabaka Hutchings' Native Rebel Recordings imprint, on a collaborative project with South London's Confucius MC (Speakers Corner Quartet).

Keb concludes "this record is for anyone feeling lost in a world that seems to have lost itself without knowing it. It's for the people who know that the world is missing the beauty of the lights in the distance, whilst being distracted by new shoes and flashy phones..."

'Ghouls' is due to be released on vinyl & digital worldwide, November 14th 2025.

These new collaborations follow the mesmerising 'Dissolve In the Rain' in 2022 where Calibre leaned into the blues of Chelou.

Belfast-born Dominick Martin has spent the last 30 years creating. With over 100 Singles and 25 albums, encompassing a myriad of tempos and genres. Painter, Multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer, producer and DJ.

Chelou is the moniker of London-based artist Adam Gray, a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer known for his psychedelic blend of folk, blues, and indie electronics. Raised in Camden and influenced by a musically rich environment, Chelou developed a reverb-soaked, dreamlike sound that combines minimal vocals, distorted guitar, ambient textures, and offbeat lyricism. His name, "Chelou," is French slang for "bizarre" or "strange," reflecting his enigmatic and unconventional identity.

He emerged in 2014 with the DIY EP The Quiet, gaining early support from BBC Radio 6 Music DJs like Lauren Laverne and Tom Ravenscroft. Tracks like "Halfway to Nowhere," "Out of Sight," and "Garden" drew attention for their raw, intimate tone and distinctive visual accompaniments. His debut album Out of Sight (2018) expanded his sound and artistic reach, featuring a popular animated video created by Robin Eisenberg.

The incredibly elusive band Sault release their debut album 5 on Vinyl via independent record label Forever Living Originals. The record fuses African, soul, funk and post-punk vibes amongst other flavours. With support from Radio 6's Lauren Laverne and USA's KWRC and KEXP, the band are set to go from strength to strength becoming one of the most prolific bands of 2020 with a barrage of material up their sleeves

Dean Josiah Cover aka Inflo has been composing for Michael Kiwanuka, The Kooks, Tom Odell, The Jungle and Little Simz

Illusive Bristolian producer Claude Cooper returns with ‘Friendly Sounds Vol 1’; part psychedelic trip, part romping beat tape, part party. The album was inspired by the vinyl discoveries made from Cooper’s months of digging and cataloguing the bulging inventory of Bedminster’s Friendly Records record shop. Cooper fed these myriad captured sounds through the studio and then, blurring the lines between sampling and performance, arranged and embellished them with keyboards, drum machines, bass guitar and more, also co-opting BEAK> bassist Billy Fuller and esteemed composer Ben Salisbury to contribute.

With most of the tracks in and out within 90 seconds, the album is best enjoyed as a continuous course. Play side A, play the B, then flip it back and listen all over again. Stand out moments include tremulous cut ‘n’ paste jam ‘Jackie’, the moody string-laden ‘Rainbow Eternity’, funky sitar workout ‘Nerd Nork’, and atmospheric closer ‘Take Flight’. Sharing a similarly broad and experimental sound palette as the likes The Avalanches, Madlib, The Go Team, and Edan; ‘Friendly Sounds Vol 1’ is the soundtrack to a wild joyride down South Bristol’s North Street, foot on the gas, hand on the horn, LPs spilling from the boot.

Cooper’s irrepressible debut album ‘Myriad Sounds' (Jan ‘22) caught the attention of the UK's press and radio alike. Mojo's four star review described it as “Bristol’s beat scene backdrops late night jams”, Uncut enjoyed the "rugged psych-funk romp" and Louder than War declared "it’s vital and vibrant and exactly what we need to kick start the year”. Bonus round 'More Myriad Sounds' (Apr ‘23) added Brooklyn vocalist Brain Fog to the melange with a bounty of pyretic vocal performances. DJ Mag called it “A fierce, kaleidoscopic trip” while Bandcamp Daily said “This album of cross-genre influences is as likely to get it included in any number of best-of columns, with the theme of serious fun as their common element”. Called a "mysterious Bristol breaks scientist" by Lauren Laverne, BBC radio DJs including Cerys Matthews, Gideon Coe, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Stuart Maconie, and Tom Ravenscroft have rinsed Cooper’s tracks, with Huey Morgan inviting Cooper to contribute a Block Party Mix for his show.



‘Stay A While’, the first showing of Cooper’s new shop sampling stunners, was released on 7” in January ‘24. Lush string flourishes sliced with 6Ts girl-group vocals and rollicking piano chords resulted in a dreamy, end of night, lights up anthem in-the-making that The Arts Desk called “A horn-fired, beatsy, chop-around that recalls The Avalanches”. Releasing the album is Friendly Records, the best little record shop in Bristol and now a burgeoning record label. Opened by Tom Friend on North Street in 2016, it’s gone on to become a hub of the local musical community. As well as Claude Cooper, the label has released LPs by Alison Cotton, Floating World Pictures, Christian Madden & The Enemy Chorus, Nick Craft, as well as handling the War Child series of 7”s with BEAK>, Idles, J Dilla, PJ Harvey, Portishead, and Sleaford Mods + Hot Chip.



Claude Cooper will DJ at the one-day Friendly Festival on 10th May in aid of War Child, which will feature Sleaford Mods, Katy J Pearson, The 45s, Zalizo and DJ sets by Ishmael Ensemble, Heavenly Jukebox and Friendly Records DJs.

Founded by Robbie Redway and psychedelic researchers Mathieu Seynaeve and WaiFung Tsang, UK-based 'United Freedom Collective' has grown into a network of artists including Jordan Stephens, Falle Nioke, Eliza Shaddad, Labdi, William Rees and Facesoul. Originally conceived around psychedelic therapy sessions, online yoga and breathwork channels, the musical scope has expanded on each of the four EPs released on Maribou State's 'Dama Dama' label, and here continues with their debut on Multi Culti. This time Robbie takes the lead on production and sole vocal duties on all five tracks, presenting a range of influences and style. Lead single 'Between Memories' blends tropes of ecstatic dance with uplifting vocal piano house, somehow making flutes fit in with Detroit strings to epic, hands-in-the-air effect.' Title track ‘Bright Patterns’ bridges the gap between Jungle, Jai Paul, and Jamiroquai, a fusion of funky filtered disco-house and electroclash with side-chained pop vocal hooks. ’El Yo’ smooths things out, a dope, laid back groove with a measured reflection on psychedelic healing and the perils of spiritual bypassing. ‘Higher Drums’ warms things back up for the dancefloor with trumpet, afro-latin percussion, and flute flourishes. Finally, ‘Moonshine’ is a soaring, Amapiano-inflected post-desert-house ballad. Influenced, in their words, 'by birds, trees, Buddhism, yoga, headless way meditations, Jungian analysis, Zen Taoism, Chinese plant medicines, indigeneity, Amazonian and psychedelic cultures, icaros and world healing traditions,' the music is eclectic, ranging from afro-inspired jazz to Chinese folk, psych-rock to dub and dance music, an ambitious and inclusive range, collabs that extend well beyond the borders of western musical traditions. Their sound was described by Clash Magazine as an 'aural mosaic that glitters with colour and potential,' and while the sheen of the production and precision of the arrangements might seem a departure from Multi Culti's left-field endeavours, the psychedelic idealism and global connectivity make it a natural fit with the open-ended ethos of the label. Having already had radio support from KEXP, BBC6 Music (Laverne, Ravenscroft, Charles, Nemone, Letts), Jazz FM and Worldwide FM (Gilles Peterson), with a live show that sold out Dalston Curve Garde and The Waiting Room as well as supporting Maribou State for their recent comeback show at Islington Assembly Hall in London the collective's future is looking exceptionally bright.

Rare Seventies Big City Street Soul

In 1971, film producer David Gil and his business partners Robert S Sinn and Paul Frankenberg launched a film company called GSF. Over the next few years, it would be involved in a small number of productions. But, in 1971 the movie business was kind of old-hat, music was where it was at, and so GSF Records, a well-funded label, headed by Larry Newton was formed. Today Newton is largely remembered for his attempts to prevent Louis Armstrong from recording 'What A Wonderful World' but that didn’t stop him from growing ABC from a second division company to an industry leader. As he approached his 52nd birthday he was unveiled as GSF Records’ president a full-service music company, involved in records and publishing across all genres. Through a joint venture with drummer Bernard Purdie the label targeted the R&B charts and soul & funk dominated GSF's release schedule.

Black music ruled and this was reinforced by the hiring of Lloyd Price as head of A&R (veteran R&B star), and producers George Kerr (All-Platinum), Mickey Stevenson (Motown) and Jerry 'Swamp Dogg’ Williams. No wonder then, unintentional as it was, that GSF left behind such an extraordinary legacy of rare soul treasures.

NEW YORK’S BEST KEPT SOUL SECRET Features legendary Northern Soul classics courtesy of Anderson Brothers, Skull Snaps and Connie Laverne Produced by hit makers George Kerr and Motown veteran Mickey Stevenson Starring the Whatnauts and Eddie “Hey There Lonely Girl” Holman

Die 10 Tracks auf CHAOS, dem ersten LUCKYME® Release der Londoner R&B-Künstlerin TYSON (Tochter von Neneh Cherry und Cameron McVie) wurden von ihrem Jugendfreund Oscar Scheller (Lady Gaga, PinkPantheress, Shygirl) mitgeschrieben und produziert. Das symbiotische Songwriting der beiden am selben Tag Geborenen erweitert den düsteren R&B und modernen Soul ihrer Vorgänger, dringt tiefer in die UK Basskultur (Breakbeats, Street Soul, Trip-Hop) vor und inkludiert eisigen 80er Synthpop und weitläufigen 00er R&B. Der Leadtrack "Grunge" featuret Wu-Lu (Warp Records), das Vinylformat enthält 3 exklusive Instrumentals.

TYSON ist seit Jahren in der Londoner Musikszene unterwegs und die Tochter der legendären Künstlerin Neneh Cherry und des Produzenten Cameron McVey (Massive Attack, Portishead, All Saints, Sugababes), die Schwester der Sängerin Mabel und Grossnichte der Jazzlegende Don Cherry. Ihr verschwommener, melancholischer Gesangsstil brachte ihr Kollaborationen mit Undergroundgrössen wie Dean Blunt, Leon Vynehall, Ezra Collective, Coby Sey und rRoxymore ein, auch ist sie auf Joy Orbisons Album "Still Slipping Vol. 1" (2021) zu hören. TYSON wurde von The Guardian als "One To Watch" gefeiert und erhielt starken Radiosupport von Annie Mac, Benji B, Lauren Laverne, Mary Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova, u.v.a.

2024 Repress ON BLACK VINYL

The album and single news follows closely on the heels of Daudi’s recent tracks “oMo” and “Fool Me As Many Times As You Like” which have received high praise from the likes of Gilles Peterson on Worldwide FM and BBC 6 Music as well as Lauren Laverne, and have been featured in several Spotify editorial playlists including The Most Beautiful Songs in the World, The Other list, The Listening Post, and Fresh Finds. Having released just two independent EPs – “A Brief Introduction to Failure” and “The Lingering Effects of Disconnection” – to date, Daudi has toured with GoGo Penguin, Keaton Henson, and Portico Quartet, whilst also being a participant of the Red Bull Music Academy in Montreal 2016. He also received a standing ovation at this years The Great Escape Festival, and plays as a member of Do Nothing’s live band, who he is currently on tour with. Through his unique brand of modern albeit reverent folk, Daudi continues to offer his listeners a space for understanding and introspection. Deft, melancholic picking reminiscent of Nick Drake is tempered by contemporary percussion and instrumentation. Matsiko’s vocals derive their strength from their seeming fragility. With every song, his confessional lyrics cut to the marrow.

Described by Steve Lamacq as “so elegant and haunted, in an almost gothic way, but with that bass momentum of proper post-punk”. This is the debut album from bloody/bath. 10 tracks inspired by the unsettling sounds of horror soundtracks, early 2000’s indie rock guitar lines and mental illness, ‘In An Empty Space, I’m Screaming’ is as anthemic and cathartic as it is eerie. Produced by Matt Peel (Yard Act, WH Lung, Dream Wife, Divorce, Eagulls), the record is dissonant post-punk filtered through a myriad of sonic palettes. Lead single ‘Suffering’ evokes catchy indie rock while opener ‘Strangling of the Dog’ finds itself firmly in the harsher edges of the genre. The album also features ‘Idle Hands’ which was championed by Iggy Pop and played on BBC Radio 6Music by Iggy, Steve Lamacq and Lauren Laverne. This limited edition vinyl on translucent red with black smoke marble is limited to only 100 distro copies. Link to Soundcloud tracks - ‘Strangling of the Dog’, ‘Heather’ and ‘Unholy Cross II’

REPRESS

In celebration of the 21st Anniversary of this popular Christmas double album, Jeepster and War Child are releasing It’s A Cool Cool Christmas on vinyl for the first time. Originally released on November 20th 2000 as a CD only release, it will now be available on vinyl on November 19th 2021. This double album is released with colourful inners within a wide spine sleeve.

In celebration of the 21st Anniversary of this popular Christmas double album, Jeepster and War Child are releasing It’s A Cool Cool Christmas on vinyl for the first time. Originally released on November 20th 2000 as a CD only release, it will now be available on vinyl on November 19th 2021. This double album is released with colourful inners within a wide spine sleeve.

Phantastic Ferniture, the delightfully lightheaded project of Julia
Jacklin, Elizabeth Hughes, Ryan K Brennan and Tom Stephens,
release their self-titled debut album via Transgressive Records.
The mission is obvious: don't overthink it. These artists' shared
want to shake the shackles of their meticulously crafted solo
work to experience a second, giddy adolescence is evident in
the garage-pop perfection introduced today.
I'd gone straight into folk music,' says Jacklin, 'so every
experience I'd had on stage was playing sad music with a
guitar in my hand. I thought, I would love to know what it's like
to make people feel good and dance.'
Phantastic Ferniture's spiritual home may be the garage but
they were born in a bar, specifically the hallowed basement of
Frankie's Pizza in Sydney. One late night in 2014, on Jacklin's
birthday, a group hug manifested amid the pinball machines,
with all ten participants vowing to form a band. 'Only four of us
remembered the next day,' notes Hughes.
United by fern puns and a love of leisurewear, the band met up
whenever schedules would allow, writing songs and playing
smatterings of dates to an increasingly devoted audience.
Eventually it was decreed that this was no side project and an
album should follow. The result is one of the most enjoyable
albums of 2018. 'It feels really good,' Jacklin says with
satisfaction. 'It's like having an alter ego.'
A slice of defiant brilliance that feels effortless in its
execution.' - London In Stereo
LP pressed on pink vinyl with digital download code.
Press - Reviews in Clash, DIY, Q , Loud & Quiet, The Skinny. Radio - 6Music Lauren Laverne Track Of The Day
Online - DIY, Too Many Blogs, Most Radicalist, Giglist, London In
Stereo, Loud and Quiet, The Skinny, God Is In The TV Zine.

UK DJ & Radio support:Craig Charles, Gideon Coe, Lauren Laverne, Deb Grant, Huey Morgan, Huw Stephens, Amy Lame, Chris Hawkins(BBC Radio 6 Music), Ex Friendly(Radio Alhara),Rita Ray & Max Reinhart, DJ Kobayashi (Soho Radio),Steve Barker(On the Wire),Debbie Golt(Resonance FM),EHFM, Celtic Music Radio, Poppyland Radio

BBC Jools Holland confirmed TV appearance (film 13th May, TX Sat 15th June)
BBC Radio 6 Music Playlist (2 x weeks B list, 1 x C list )
BBC Radio 6 Music Craig Charles interview (Broadcast 1st April)
BBC Radio 6 Musiclive session with Craig Charles (15th May)here
BBC Radio 3live session for Music Planethere
BBC World Service Session and ITW - here
BBC Africa(Africa Daily) Session and ITW -here

The Telegraph feature confirmed here
MOJO Rising feature published
MOJO album review confirmed
MOJO Playlist - Sharaf included here
Far Out Mag album review here
Songlines feature confirmed
Songlines Top of the World here
Songlines album review May 2024 (#197), on sale April 5.


Sahra Halgan, Somaliland's iconic singer, freedom fighter, and cultural activist, returns with third album Hiddo Dhawr, a culmination of enduring friendship and global exploration

Seamlessly blending age-old Somali traditions with abrasive guitar riffs, sun-drenched percussion, and vintage keys, the album offers a fresh take on the music of Somaliland, the independent but not internationally recognizedd state in the Horn of Africa

Inside a large, tent-like structure in downtown Hargeisa, Somaliland's tranquil capital city, the atmHiddo Dhawr, Somaliland's first music venue. Halganoured head scarfs, revealing elaborate hairdos and impeccable eyebrows, as they rise to their feet and start to dance. On the stage at the far end of the room a drummer and oud player up the tempo, while the singers pass the microphone to one another. The atmosphere is electric, and as the evening progresses, the joy in the room is palpable.

This is Hiddo Dhawr, Somaliland's first music venue. "I started it because I wanted to bring back our culture, so that people can be proud of it," says Sahra Halgan, cultural activist, musician, and founder of this lively Hargeisa cultural hub, which opened in 2013.

Hiddo Dhawr, which translates to "promote culture", is also the name of Halgan's new album, an electrifying blend of Somali melodies, distorted guitar riffs, thumping West African percussion, and Halgan's unique, warbling vocals. Halgan chose this name for the album to honour the women of Somaliland.

'Freak The Speaker' is an evolution of The Allergies trademark sound, seeing duo Moneyshot and Rackabeat deliver their biggest beats to date on their latest album. They enlist a quality melting pot of artists to bring additional vibrancy with K.O.G, Ohmega Watts, Dynamite MC, Dr Syntax, and Skunkadelic, all stepping up to the plate. Long-time collaborators and live tour band members Andy Cooper Ugly Duckling, sax supremo James Morton and soul sensation Marietta Smith, continue to keep it nice and lively, rounding off another quality album full of funk, soul and hip-hop, guaranteed to provide good vibes and shake your sound system.

Promo

"A banger from those Bristol boogie boys" Craig Charles on 'Koliko'

"Obsessed with this new track from The Allergies." Lauren Laverne on 'Koliko'

"I love that it's recognisably you but also an evolution from what you've done before... " Adam Walton - BBC Wales

"All over this one. Absolutely incredible." Lauren Laverne on 'No Flash'

"Hot new release." Steve Lamacq on 'No Flash'

"Boom-bap rap cut from the finest cloth." Chuck D (Public Enemy) on 'No Flash'

Death Is Not The End together all three LP volumes of the critically acclaimed If I Had a Pair of Wings LP compilation series for a bundled edition.

"...all of the music on this compilation is the result of the forward-thinking artists and producers that realised the worth of local Jamaican artistry during a time when the island's leading political figures had not yet managed to throw off the colonial yolk. These are sounds with a certain innocence and the optimistic promise of better to come, with the influence of American pop ballads and doo-wop looming large, yet already pointing to the innovations of the future. Listen keenly and take in the sounds of the Jamaican music industry at its very beginnings, its singers and players drawing from the popular styles of the island's larger neighbour and already changing those styles into something their own." - David Katz

Lauren Laverne's comp of the week on BBC Radio 6 Music w/c 11th Jan.

Big Wave, the sixth full-length release from the Catalan singer-songwriter, strides boldly in a new direction, its songs charged with a fresh power -- precipitated by changes in her personal life. On her previous albums, particularly Hardcore From The Heart and Dripping Springs, Joana's music engages in a tug-of-war between fragility and intensity, a dynamic that has caught the attention of major publications such as Mojo, Uncut, and The Guardian, as well as Lauren Laverne, Guy Garvey and Gideon Coe on their BBC 6 Music show. Her songs have been described as "torrents of familiar heartache made startling and luminous". Big Wave retains her characteristic use of reverb and pop melody, but is tighter, fiercer, shrouded in distortion. An emotional and sonic ferocity because "I wanted to be more aggressive," Joana explains. "Because I was going through a period where I was feeling very uncomfortable."

Folly Group become the first band on Ninja Tune imprint Technicolour
(Elkka, Sofia Kourtesis, VTSS) with their new EP ‘Human and Kind’.

The four-piece of Sean Harper, Louis Milburn, Kai Akinde-Hummel and Tom Doherty formed in the tumultuous melting-pot of the London musical circuit. They released their debut EP ‘Awake and Hungry’ last year, receiving wide acclaim for their electronic infused post-punk sound and furiously brilliant live shows, landing coveted slots at Pitchfork Music Festival, in NME’s 100 Artists On The Rise and a co-sign from IDLES’ singer Joe Talbot.

Speaking about the EP, Folly Group said: “Where ‘Awake and Hungry’
doubled as a diary of the band’s formative months and encapsulation of our live show, ‘Human and Kind’ is a projection of our ambition, and our desire to push ourselves through what we might previously have
perceived as the ceiling of possibility for four players.”

For fans of Black Country, New Road, Squid, Yard Act, Black Midi, Dry Cleaning, Shame, Do Nothing.
140g crystal clear vinyl in 12” sleeve with spine and printed inner, plus
digital download code. Pressed sustainably within a 99% circular
environment at Deepgrooves.

“Every track is so good. They haven’t released anything that isn’t
amazing.” - Joe Talbot (IDLES, speaking on BBC 6 Music)
“thriving in well-crafted chaos.” - NME
“brilliant, experimental jungle rock” - i
“Give me that post-punk syncopation any day of the week” - Lauren
Laverne, who has made the band’s last three singles (including ‘I Raise You…’) her While You Were Sleeping Track Of The Day.
Headline UK Tour starting 31 March, taking in London, Bristol,
Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Nottingham, Margate, Newcastle,
Southampton, Milton Keynes and more.

Needle Mythology, the label founded by music writer, author and broadcaster Pete Paphides, is thrilled to announce the signing of the eagerly anticipated debut album by London singer-songwriter and renowned DJ Iraina Mancini. Iraina’s singular pop vision will be known to regular listeners of 6 Music, where her singles ‘Undo The Blue’, ‘Deep End’, ‘Shotgun’ and ‘Do It (You Stole The Rhythm)’ have all been enthusiastically embraced. Iraina's obsession with music stretches back into her early childhood, much of which was spent absorbing her parents’ collection of old 45s, in particular her dad’s Northern Soul records – an alternative education which meant that, by her early 20s, she was a familiar presence in the DJ booth at many discerning London club nights. Her love of French ye-ye, British freakbeat, Brazilian bossa nova, soul, and Turkish psych will be well-known to regular listeners of her Soho Radio show. Having always sung from a young age, Iraina embarked on a string of collaborators such as Jagz Kooner (Sabres Of Paradise), Sunglasses For Jaws (Miles Kane) and Simon Dine (Paul Weller, Noonday Underground) which truly saw her find her metier as a songwriter, conjuring melodies that stand shoulder to shoulder alongside her impeccable influences. Iraina describes her first single for Needle Mythology ‘Cannonball’ as “a celebration of that moment when you meet someone you really fall for and it knocks you for six. It can be a bit scary, but you’ve just got to go with what your intuition is telling you.” Written with Simon Dine, the vertiginous heart-in-mouth abandon of the song perfectly mirrors the circumstances that brought it into being. Iraina cites Jacqueline Taïeb’s 1967 single 7h du Matin as an early inspiration for the song: “There’s such a great energy about that song. Her vocal is amazing and all those stops and starts that grab your attention.” “This is an artist I absolutely love, one of our rising stars at 6Music.“ Lauren Laverne BBC 6Music “Iraina seizes on the best aspects of the past, blurring those impeccable 60s and 70s influences with a touch of modernity.” Clash “Full of femme fatale poise and swooning chanteuse flourishes.” The Times

Late Night Load Out is the debut LP from Dublin five piece band Papa Romeo.

The release is a collection of work which catalogues their first two years of rehearsing and gigging together around Ireland, a process which has forged their sound. The tracks journey through sound palettes which variously touch on dreamy spaced out indie rock, moments of ambient contemporary jazz, and rougher post-punk influenced sounds.

The ‘Late Night Load Out’, became the term to describe loading gear out of venues late at night after a show, which is a moment to both dread and cherish, the (sometimes) hard work which follows elation.

Now primarily based in London, Papa Romeo’s music has connected with London based DJs and broadcasters. Their debut single ‘Yellow Magic Orchestra’ was supported by Flo on NTS, as well as Avalon Emerson, and appeared as the A1 on a vinyl compilation from All City Records Dublin. Singles from ‘Late Night Load Out’ have also gained early support on BBC 6 Music and from Ross Allen on NTS.

In the meantime the band have been busy on the Irish circuit with appearances at Cork Jazz Festival, Other Voices, All Together Now and Another Love Story, as well as repeat sold out shows at Dublin’s Sugar Club. They have built a reputation as a versatile band who can bring the energy to a packed room, and were named an Artist to Watch for 2024 by Hot Press Magazine.

‘Late Night Load Out’ will be released on digital and vinyl in May 2024.

Papa Romeo is Paddy Rogers, Mark Rogers, Dan Coyne, Rob de Boer and Chris Wong.

Radio Support:

Ross Allen - Soup to Nuts NTS

Colleen Cosmo Murphy - NTS

Lauren Laverne - BBC 6 Music

Esk - Rinse FM

District Magazine (Ireland)

Peter Curtin - RTE

New Music Fix on BBC 6Music

Bill Brewster

Bristolian producer Claude Cooper returns with hot new single ‘Stay A While’, inspired by the vinyl discoveries made from months of digging and cataloguing the bulging inventory of Bedminster’s Friendly Records record shop.

‘Stay A While’ introduces some delightful twists to Cooper’s psychedelic-funk sound. Blurring the lines between sampling and performance, lush string flourishes are sliced with 6Ts girl-group vocals and rollicking piano chords resulting in a dreamy, end of night, lights up anthem in-the-making. The track is backed with the insistent ‘Dance Tonight’, a ragged bass-boogie surf-rocker that doesn’t take no for an answer.

Cooper’s irrepressible debut album ‘Myriad Sounds' (Jan ‘22) caught the attention of the UK's press and radio alike. Mojo's four star review described it as “Bristol’s beat scene backdrops late night jams”, Uncut enjoyed the "rugged psych-funk romp" and Louder than War declared "it’s vital and vibrant and exactly what we need to kick start the year”. BBC radio DJs including Cerys Matthews, Gideon Coe, Huw Stephens, Jamie Cullum, Lauren Laverne, Stuart Maconie, Tom Ravenscroft rinsed the singles, with Huey Morgan inviting Cooper to contribute a Block Party Mix for his show.

Bonus round 'More Myriad Sounds' (Apr ‘23) added Brooklyn vocalist Brain Fog to the melange with a bounty of pyretic vocal performances. DJ Mag called it “A fierce, kaleidoscopic trip” while Bandcamp Daily said “This album of cross-genre influences is as likely to get it included in any number of best-of columns, with the theme of serious fun as their common element”.

Behind the release is Friendly Records, the best little record shop in Bristol and now a burgeoning record label. Opened by Tom Friend on North Street in 2016, it’s gone on to become a hub of the local musical community. As well as Claude Cooper, the label has reissued two of Alison Cotton’s albums, 'The Twenty-Three Views' by outernational ambient jazz project Floating World Pictures, and Christian Madden & The Enemy Chorus’s organ heavy ‘The Extra Weight’.

Claude Cooper will return with a new album on Friendly Recordings this year.

TVAM announces ‘Costasol’, his new EP for Invada Records. The 10” EP is pressed on translucent blue vinyl, and housed in a reverse board, spined sleeve.  TVAM returns to the sun lounger to deliver a horizontal view from the pool of self-reflection. Joe Oxley, aka TVAM, offers, “‘Costasol’ began life as two atmospheric interludes that I wrote for my last album, ‘High Art Lite’. Over time these ideas took on a life of their own and demanded that I take another look at them. I slowly began putting the pieces together and ended up with a track which became much more than the sum of its parts.” The resultant ‘Costasol’ is a song about longing, loss and regret wrapped-up in heatwave bass and shimmering guitars, all perfectly enhanced by Mona’s dreamlike vocal.  TVAM self-released his much-acclaimed debut, ‘Psychic Data’, in the Autumn of 2018. Something of a cult-classic, the album joined the dots between Suicide’s deconstructed rock ’n’ roll, Boards of Canada’s irresistible nostalgia and My Bloody Valentine’s infinite noise. ‘High Art Lite’, released in October 2022, took a different tilt to its predecessor by emphasising the immediate and the personal. The colours were blown-out and the brightness was cranked up.  It’s in this world where TVAM’s new ‘Costasol’ EP exists. Full of colour and noise, with a vibrant, distorted palette. Though the title track may find a home at some poolside retreat, the subsequent tracks return to TVAM’s claustrophobic realm. ‘Ephemerol’ evokes its own mutant groove, part ‘Midnite Vultures’ Beck, part ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ Nine Inch Nails, with ‘Heart Attack’ and ‘VHF’ rounding off this bold, bright, brief encounter.  Radio - BBC 6 Music Lauren Laverne, New Music Fix, Emily Pilbeam, Amazing Radio B-List.  Tourdates - October 22 SWN Festival Cardiff, November 11 Hebden Bridge Trades Club, 18 What Music? Liverpool.

For fans of Khraungbin, El Michels Affair, Skinshape, The Shacks. Taken from the forthcoming debut EP ‘The Still Brothers’ Firm favourites with BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq, Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan and Lauren Laverne, Brooklyn’s The Still Brothers return with another double header. ‘I Wanna Be With You’ was created by The Still Brothers in New York much like their previous single ‘Wake Up’. Created in isolation, while much of the world was reeling from the effects of Covid and precautions were still in place, the basic tracks of the instrumental were laid down in a light hearted attempt to impart the joy and excitement of a live concert. The song was sent to collaborator Marina B., whose initial impulse inspired her to write the lyrics and an equally exciting melody. ‘Sungalz’ was created in the Summer of 2021 by The Still Brothers in New York. It began as a jam between Andrew and Evan which gradually evolved into a moody and relaxing piece. Marina B. contributed lyrics and a melody which evoke themes of dreaming and self-reflection. ‘I Wanna Be With You’ produced by The Still Brothers and mixed by St. Francis Hotel ‘Sungalz’ produced and mixed by The Still Brothers.

The debut 7” vinyl from bloody/bath ‘Idle Hands’ is also the debut release by Kooky>Too, an offshoot of Kooky Records est 1996 (previous output including the acclaimed Durutti Column album ‘A Paean To Wilson’). This limited 7” is a peach – a gloomy neu wave banger for our gloomy fin de siècle death-spiralling age. And it’s increasingly relatable - previous bloody/bath digital single ‘Washed Out’ was championed by Lauren Laverne on 6 Music. Limited to 300 distro copies – black vinyl – 300gsm spined sleeve – reverse board printing. Sonically a bout of sleep paralysis, emotionally a midnight text from your favourite ex, bloody/bath are feverish, infectious and bewitching taking a post-punk passage that sounds distinctly their own. Catchy melodies dance throughout the tracks, disguising a heaviness, a desperation, drowning somewhere beneath the surface. Louder Than War describe the bloody/bath sound as “Stop-The-Clocks pop. Music to submerge yourself in. Wallow deep, then count your blessings”. Summoned initially by Northampton singer-songwriter Kailan Price, but now a fully fledged five-piece band, interest has been soaring following their incendiary live sets invited to play for Slow Dance at the Brixton Windmill, and other shows in London, Bristol and Bedford with Ritual Howls, Do Nothing and Minor Conflict. Bloody/bath have steadily created a large following on spotify with over 1.8 million streams and over 36,000 monthly listeners - particular streaming numbers in London, Berlin and across Eastern Europe - their sparse expanses, concrete homogeny and heavy atmospheres - perhaps testament to what bloody/bath are creating and why people are listening. Bruised and beaten down, a whole load of listeners can’t get enough of bloody/bath.

LP with Digital Download Card

"Honestly, this album from Sam Redmore is having it" - Craig Charles

"Very clever. Very Nice." – Fatboy Slim

"Totally loving this. It's been on repeat since I heard it." – Nemone

"Amazing. Where can I get all your stuff?" - Jazzy Jeff

Having established himself first as a DJ and then as a remixer, Sam Redmore is now very much making himself known as an original producer of quality global grooves that can light up any dancefloor, carnival or party.

After garnering early support for his remixes from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Quantic, Nightmares On Wax, The Nextmen, Lauren Laverne, Danny Krivit and Craig Charles, Sam has built a name for crafting soul-drenched remixes of the classics, with his army of fans eagerly awaiting every new re-work.

Signing to Jalapeno Records for his debut album of original material, Sam has kept the eclectic tastes of all his fans satisfied with a series of very different singles showcasing the wide range of styles he is known for - all picking up rave reviews and a very wide spread of radio support including Radio 1 / 6 Music / Radio 2 / Jazz FM / Worldwide FM in the UK as well as hitting Number 1 most added on US college radio charts (world).

The single Nagu in particular has become a mainstay on daytime 6 Music but each successive release has been finding new fans. From his killer cumbia covers (Tears / Just Be Good To Me) through to the afro-house exuberance of One More Time and leading neatly up to Just Can't Wait, an extremely soulful disco house floorfiller, this is an album with broad appeal both in the UK and overseas.

In the meantime, Sam has been honing his live shows throughout 2022, with festival bookers keen for a piece of the action. Boomtown, Wilderness, Green Man, Kendal Calling and a whole host of others have seen what the punters at Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul Festival saw last summer, when Sam debuted his live show on the main stage of a key festival on the Saturday afternoon. Anyone who was there and saw the audacious 12-piece live ensemble playing their first show knew they were seeing something special.

Brighton sextet Opus Kink share their debut EP ‘‘Til The Stream Runs Dry’,
via Nice Swan Records (Sports Team, Pip Blom, FUR, English Teacher).
• Partnering up with the cult indie label for their first extended release, the
enigmatic collective - comprised of Angus Rogers, Sam Abbo, Fin Abbo, Jed
Morgans, Jazz Pope and Jack Banjo Courtney - lend a blend a dizzying
array of influences in their ever-evolving enigmatic style, producing an
experimental patchwork of explosive material that’s consistently earned
widespread plaudits since bursting onto the scene.
• With EP lead singles ‘I Love You, Baby’, ‘The Unrepentant Soldier’ and ‘Dog
Stay Down’ attracting praise from all corners of the press landscape (NME,
DIY, So Young, Dork, Clash, Gigwise), not to mention countless BBC 6
Music (Steve Lamacq, Lauran Laverne) spins, the six-piece are clearly
primed for a busy summer.
• Having already ticked off live dates alongside labelmates Malady and
Mandrake Handshake, in addition to a sold-out headliner at London’s
legendary 100 Club last month, the band have a slew of festival appearances
lined up in the months to come, as well as shows with FEET and Bull.
• Detailing their EP, Opus Kink stated: “You may begin by dipping one stained
and rancid toe, but you know that once those waters have been tasted
there’s only one way to go - into the stream, away down the valley like
flotsam and windfall. Here lie six songs of bad love, ill winds, possession,
stagnation and earthly delights.”
• “Horn-fuelled filth-funk, where punk & jazz combine in grimy circumstances” -
NME
• “A land where growled-jazz meets the blues in a showdown to end all
perceptions of genre… Opus Kink have succeeded in turning listeners on
their head” - So Young
• “A frenetic groove-filled glimpse of what’s to come” - DIY
• “Intense blast of guitar pop” - Clash
• “There is a sense that they are still only just beginning to hit their stride” - M
Magazine
 Tourdates - August 20 Beautiful Days, September 28 Oslo London, 29 Record
Junkee Sheffield, 30 YES (Pink Room), Manchester.

Having scooped the prestigious Record Store Day Unsigned 2020 award, her debut album 'In The Blue Corner' was released as a limited edition run on turquoise sparkle vinyl in November 2021. Now available on a full digital and physical release including a new vinyl pressing on dusk blue coloured vinyl. "Loving this. Really cool voice_ love the voice!" Craig Charles (6Music) // "The most original sound. Like Little Richard, Mark Ronson, Nina Simone and Nick Cave all got locked in a New Orleans speakeasy" Record Store Day Unsigned Panel 2020 // "Wow, I mean what's not to like about that? That is sensational! How groovy is that?! Mark Radcliffe, BBC 6Music // "What a voice!" Robert Elms, BBC London // "Her voice is stunning, powerful and unique, and her stage presence hits the back of the room at any venue she plays" DJ Anne Frankenstein, Jazz FM // Included in Craig Charles' Funk and Soul 'Ones to Watch 2022' list. From London via Lagos, charismatic chanteuse Sister Cookie will take you on an eclectic excursion into the roots & fruits of black music. Old sounds, new tricks. Sensuous, seductive and moody. As well as possessing a distinctive voice that's tender and sweet when it needs to be, she's a composer and self-taught pianist who writes honest and raw songs about pain, heartbreak, suffering - all that bad (meaning-good) stuff. A mainstay on the vintage Soul & R'n'R circuit since 2015 with slots at Wilderness, Latitude, Red Rooster, Port Elliot and more under her belt - as well as touring across Europe with her band - Sister Cookie has so far been supported by Craig Charles, Mark Radcliffe & Cerys Matthews at 6Music, Robert Elms on BBC London plus plays on Resonance, Jazz FM and Amazing Radio. Craig Charles is a big supporter on BBC 6 Music and has played current single 'Ain't No Good (But It's Good Enough For Me)' several times. Steve Lamacq and Lauren Laverne have also given the track multiple plays. The track has also been playlisted at Jazz FM. Singles from the album have been played many times across European radio stations including France Culture, Rock Radio (Greece), Radio Nova (Portugal), Mach 5 (Italy), HR Radio Sijeme (Croatia). She's performed at some of the UK's most esteemed venues including the 100 Club and Union Chapel, The Round Chapel and has enjoyed a number of stints as a guest vocalist with The Soulful Orchestra, Jim Jones & The Righteous Mind, Future Shape Of Sound & MFC Chicken. Sister Cookie Is going to be part of the judging panel for Record Store Day Unsigned competition in April, the competition she won in 2020.

‘Emotional Eternal’, out on Domino, is a glorious consolidation
of the lessons learned along the way, seen through the eyes of
someone who has taken a step back, and who can see clearly
as a result.

 As with her previous acclaimed 2018 album ‘Bon Voyage’, this
album was initially recorded in the outskirts of Stockholm, with
Reine Fiske, the multi-instrumentalist member of Swedish rockband Dungen, who has worked with the likes of Travis Scott and
Anna Järvinen, and Fredrik Swahn, the musician, producer and
engineer best known for his work with Swedish indie-rock band
The Amazing.

 A deeply human collection of songs full of prolonged moments
of sonic transcendency, ‘Emotional Eternal’ is a record rooted in
adulthood, but one that still regards the world with a childlike
wonder. It includes ‘Alma_The Voyage’, a beautiful paean to
motherhood concluding with resounding violins and EBow;
‘Personal Message’ featuring a giddily assured vocal
performance from Melody, vertiginous and breathy and the
ornate and catchy, ‘Where The Water Clears the Illusion’.

 Listening to the album feels like coming across an abundant
treasure chest; strap in and get ready to be transported to
another heavenly, mediative and groove-filled world.

 CD in printed inner wallet with 18-page poster booklet.

 LP with 2-page insert plus 12” circular ‘optical effect’ card platter
disc with digital download code.

 Press - Reviews in Uncut, MOJO, Loud and Quiet, Record Collector,
Reader’s Digest, Shindig, Electronic Sound, The Skinny, NARC,
Aesthetica, Spin, All Music. Features in Clash, Shindig Magazine,
Pitchfork, The Eagle, The Line of Best Fit, Far Out Magazine.

 Radio - 6 Music Lauren Laverne, Craig Charles, Amy Lame, Radcliffe
& Maconie, BBC Radio 1 Jack Saunders, Radio X John Kennedy.

First Word Records is very pleased to present a brand new full-length album from Sarah Williams White! Emanating from the "hilly fields of Lewisham" in South London, Sarah Williams White is a singer songwriter, multi-

instrumentalist and producer. Her sound is a unique blend of psych-soul, folktronica and experimental synth-pop.

Sarah released her acclaimed debut album 'Of The New World' on First Word in 2015, which was written, produced and performed by Sarah from her home studio, with the assistance of drummer, engineer & husband, Timmy Rickard. Her projects have seen support from the likes of Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Nemone & Chris Hawkins (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), FIP Radio, Clash & The Guardian, to name a few, and she's toured the UK with Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Golden Rules (Lex). There have been additional collaborations with label-mate Quiet Dawn (on the 2021 compilation / EP 'A Family Affair') and with her brother, Paul White - a revered producer in his own right, with credits including Danny Brown and Sudan Archives.

Following a hiatus, Sarah now brings us her sophomore album, 'Unfathomable'. A project that offers up escapism from the mundane, enticing us to connect with our natural planet in this prevalent time, via the eyes of a new mother.

In her words, Sarah states that the album is "about escape. It's about deflating the ego by looking up to the endlessness of outer space, connecting with the greatness of mother nature, and loving how unfathomable the universe and life itself is".

11-tracks in all, including the recent singles 'Nebula', 'Green' and 'Monsters', this opus sees Sarah's buttery lathing of vocals merged with cutting beats and atypical pop sensibilities across the project, again entirely self-produced from home, defining her as one of the UK's most irresistible DIY psych-soul talents.

With a voice reminiscent of Peggy Lee, tapestried harmony akin to Hiatus Kaiyote, beats fit for Little Dragon, and experimental production evocative of Kate Bush, Sarah Williams White's signature genre-defying sound invites us into a world uniquely hers.

'Unfathomable' is released on vinyl and digital in late January 2022.

"Joe Turner is fast becoming a household name. A tastemakers, tastemaker - the DJ, Producer & multi-instrumentalist has already received nods from Jamz Supernova & Chris Hawkins (6Music), BBC Radio 1’s Chillest Show (Sian Eleri) and Future Artists (Jack Saunders), Jaguar, Pete Tong, BBC Introducing London, triple j, Selector Radio, TSHA, John Digweed and DJ Mag.
Born and raised in Croydon, Joe Turner has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting young producers around. His self-released debut single Atmosphere (2019) gained the support of ex-BBC Radio 1’s Phil Taggart, BBC 6 Music’s Tom Ravenscroft and BBC 1Xtra’s Jamz Supernova, who was so impressed with Joe’s talents that she signed him to her own record label Future Bounce to release double A side Retina / Stay. The tracks hit #1 on the HypeMachine chart and gained further support from the likes of BBC Radio 1's Annie Mac, BBC 6 Music's Lauren Laverne, i-D's The Best New Music, and Eton Messy."

Hot on the heels of her standout debut single ‘Cool Kid’, hotly tipped 17-year-old YALA! Records signee Cathy Jain has today shared the title track from her highly anticipated forthcoming debut E.P ‘Artificial’

Echoing the modernist pop of Billie Eilish, the production flair of Frank Ocean’s more soothing moments, and Lana Del Rey’s nostalgia for the recent past; ‘Artificial’ is a hazy, sun-kissed, R&B-tinged alt-pop track that stands Cathy out as a unique new voice.

Cool Kid immediately made an impact at Radio 1 with the track added to their coveted Introducing playlist; garnering big on-air talk ups from Annie Mac, Clara Amfo and Greg James, while Jack Saunders subsequently named it as his Next Wave pick. Further radio support came from Lauren Laverne and Steve Lamacq at 6music. Whilst glowing write-up’s from NME, Clash, and Line Of Best Fit added to the groundswell of support from leading industry tastemakers.

Driven by support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Quantic, Nightmares On Wax, The Nextmen, Lauren Laverne, Danny Krivit and most prominently Craig Charles, Sam Redmore has built a name for himself over the last few years for crafting soul-drenched remixes and reworks of both solidified classics and lesser-known material.

Having spent so much time re-working the classics it is no surprise that production values are high when it comes to his own original music.

At the start of 2021 Sam signed to Jalapeno Records, giving everyone involved cause for celebration after a difficult year and his debut album is slated for May 22.

Many of the album tracks were purpose-built for inclusion in his DJ sets - which can range from cumbia, afrobeat, samba, funk and reggae through to house, broken beat, disco and everything in between…

On The One will be the first single to drop from the album and features the inimitable vocals of poet and rapper Mr. Auden Allen as well as the soul drenched horns of Renegade Brass Band. Debuted on BBC 6 Music when Sam performed a guest mix in April this year, it seemed the perfect track to debut from Sam's new record.