Buscar:âsan

ATA Records are proud to present the new release by Work Money Death, A Portal to Here. This album continues WMD’s exploration of Spiritual Jazz and the sounds and styles that evolved out of the 60s New Thing, particularly the recordings of

Alice Coltrane and Pharaoh Sanders. The first WMD album released since the tragic death of ATA guitarist Chris Earl Dawkins in early 2025, all four tracks reference the journey that band members and the studio have been on – in many ways this record is a testament and tribute to Chris, his musicality and creativity.

Featuring WMD stalwarts Tony Burkill, Neil Innes, Sam Hobbs, and Sam Bell, the album introduces Sorcererskeyboardist Johnny Richards to the WMD sound. Richards brings a fresh new take to the piano role here, drawing on what is clearly a broad knowledge of jazz history and channelling that through his own unique 21st century musical perspective.

The album also features contributions from Alice Roberts on harp, bringing the spirit of Alice Coltrane, Ben Powling on baritone saxophone, Richard Ormrod on woodwind, and Kev Holbrough & Steve Parry on brass. Those Sun Ra-esque horn sections lift the mood whenever they appear.Standout tracks are the second, Dance of the Spirits, with a strong core of Baptism and The Blues and some lovely playing by Richards, and the third track, Brother Earl, which begins with Tony on flute over rhythms that are directly reminiscent of open-hearted, late-60s spirituality. Tony later moves to tenor and, as on all four tracks here, eventually builds to the peaks of shattering emotional intensity that fans of Work Money Death - and spiritual jazz in general - love.

Silver Vinyl

Koma Saxo, the explosive quintet led by Berlin-based Swedish bassist/producer Petter Eldh, returns on We Jazz Records with their new album, cut live at We Jazz Festival in Helsinki, December 2019. Whereas their lauded debut was a triumph of remapping the goal posts for an acoustic jazz combo for the 2020's, "LIVE" takes you right to the heart of the actual ensemble sound, with 5 musicians tearing the place down, no post production. From the fiery opening sequence kicking off with "Euro Koma", on to the much calmer beauty of "Waltz Me, Waltz Me Baby, All Night Long" and the first single "Fiskeskärsmelodin", the 8-song set is pure fire, never failing to convey the extraordinary intensity of the group: Eldh on bass, Otis Sandsjö (Y-OTIS), Jonas Kullhammar and Mikko Innanen on saxes, and Christian Lillinger on drums.

An excerpt of liner notes by Peter Margasak:

"When I first saw Petter Eldh's quintet Koma Saxo in Berlin in September of 2019 I was floored. The raw, sprinting energy of the band was both infectious and astonishing, but what I most remember was a sense of cognitive dissonance. Was this the same combo that recorded a fantastic eponymous 2019 studio album that represented one of the most convincing, pleasurable, and driving hybrid's of searing post-bop and the production ethos of hip-hop? There have been endless stabs by producers trying to remap the machinations of an organic, all-acoustic jazz band with electronic post-production, but Eldh, channeling a sonic language heavily informed by J Dilla, nailed it in a way I'd never experienced before. Having the trust of his three imaginative, high-octane saxophonists—Jonas Kullhammar, Otis Sandsjö, and Mikko Innanen—he used their grainy sound as raw material, smudging and smearing it like a painter creating new hues on a palette, and then extending, editing, and powering it up within the imperturbable grooves meted out by he and drummer Christian Lillinger. He didn't really alter the essential core of the band's performances. There's no question that a seriously burning quintet had laid the tracks down, even if the performances reflected the kind of concision many jazz groups adapt for a studio endeavor. But the way his jacked-up bass lines and Lillinger's impossibly peripatetic, stuttering rhythms buffeted the massed saxophones elevated Koma Saxo to plane all its own, and I repeatedly returned to that place—half the time trying to figure out what the hell Eldh had done, and the other half lost in giddy ecstasy.

The live show, on the other hand, featured the band without any production tricks. Its soaring, pithy repertoire came alive in a different way, and this excellent live recording from the 2019 We Jazz Festival, has reminded me of how fun and visceral that experience was."

Koma Saxo "LIVE" is released by We Jazz Records on 30 April 2021 on two vinyl editions (silver + black), as a bundle with an unreleased 7" (+ silver vinyl edition), on CD and digitally. The vinyl versions plus the CD come complete with silver embossed lettering. The vinyl is delivered on heavy-duty tip-on sleeve, complete with an insert featuring liner notes by Peter Margasak, Andreas Müller, Matti Nives and Petter Eldh.

a 01: Euro Koma (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
b 02: Puls Koma (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
c 03: Fanfarum for Komarum III (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
d 04: Waltz Me Baby, Waltz Me All Night Long (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[e] 05: Otis and Christian (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö & Christian Lillinger]
[f] 06: Blumer (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[g] 07: Fiskeskärsmelodin (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]

[a] 01: Euro Koma (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[b] 02: Puls Koma (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[c] 03: Fanfarum for Komarum III (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[d] 04: Waltz Me Baby, Waltz Me All Night Long (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[e] 05: Otis and Christian (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö & Christian Lillinger]
[f] 06: Blumer (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[g] 07: Fiskeskärsmelodin (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]

Koma Saxo, the explosive quintet led by Berlin-based Swedish bassist/producer Petter Eldh, returns on We Jazz Records with their new album, cut live at We Jazz Festival in Helsinki, December 2019. Whereas their lauded debut was a triumph of remapping the goal posts for an acoustic jazz combo for the 2020's, "LIVE" takes you right to the heart of the actual ensemble sound, with 5 musicians tearing the place down, no post production. From the fiery opening sequence kicking off with "Euro Koma", on to the much calmer beauty of "Waltz Me, Waltz Me Baby, All Night Long" and the first single "Fiskeskärsmelodin", the 8-song set is pure fire, never failing to convey the extraordinary intensity of the group: Eldh on bass, Otis Sandsjö (Y-OTIS), Jonas Kullhammar and Mikko Innanen on saxes, and Christian Lillinger on drums.

An excerpt of liner notes by Peter Margasak:

"When I first saw Petter Eldh's quintet Koma Saxo in Berlin in September of 2019 I was floored. The raw, sprinting energy of the band was both infectious and astonishing, but what I most remember was a sense of cognitive dissonance. Was this the same combo that recorded a fantastic eponymous 2019 studio album that represented one of the most convincing, pleasurable, and driving hybrid's of searing post-bop and the production ethos of hip-hop? There have been endless stabs by producers trying to remap the machinations of an organic, all-acoustic jazz band with electronic post-production, but Eldh, channeling a sonic language heavily informed by J Dilla, nailed it in a way I'd never experienced before. Having the trust of his three imaginative, high-octane saxophonists—Jonas Kullhammar, Otis Sandsjö, and Mikko Innanen—he used their grainy sound as raw material, smudging and smearing it like a painter creating new hues on a palette, and then extending, editing, and powering it up within the imperturbable grooves meted out by he and drummer Christian Lillinger. He didn't really alter the essential core of the band's performances. There's no question that a seriously burning quintet had laid the tracks down, even if the performances reflected the kind of concision many jazz groups adapt for a studio endeavor. But the way his jacked-up bass lines and Lillinger's impossibly peripatetic, stuttering rhythms buffeted the massed saxophones elevated Koma Saxo to plane all its own, and I repeatedly returned to that place—half the time trying to figure out what the hell Eldh had done, and the other half lost in giddy ecstasy.

The live show, on the other hand, featured the band without any production tricks. Its soaring, pithy repertoire came alive in a different way, and this excellent live recording from the 2019 We Jazz Festival, has reminded me of how fun and visceral that experience was."

Koma Saxo "LIVE" is released by We Jazz Records on 30 April 2021 on two vinyl editions (silver + black), as a bundle with an unreleased 7" (+ silver vinyl edition), on CD and digitally. The vinyl versions plus the CD come complete with silver embossed lettering. The vinyl is delivered on heavy-duty tip-on sleeve, complete with an insert featuring liner notes by Peter Margasak, Andreas Müller, Matti Nives and Petter Eldh.

a 01: Euro Koma (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
b 02: Puls Koma (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
c 03: Fanfarum for Komarum III (Live) feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger
[d] 04: Waltz Me Baby, Waltz Me All Night Long (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[e] 05: Otis and Christian (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö & Christian Lillinger]
[f] 06: Blumer (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[g] 07: Fiskeskärsmelodin (Live) [feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]
[feat. Otis Sandsjö, Jonas Kullhammar, Mikko Innanen & Christian Lillinger]

The third 7" box set from We Jazz Records, including five 7" releases from 2020-2021 (WJ0711-WJ0715) and including a sheet with release info plus a We Jazz sticker. Features The Stance Brothers, Antti Lötjönen, Koma Saxo, Eric Malmberg, Otis Sandsjö and Tampo.

Haf is the third album from Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 in little over a year, no mean feat in and of itself but especially considering Carwyn’s work with other artists (including Edwyn Collins and the North Mississippi Allstars) this year too.

The album picks up where their last (Fontana Rosa) left off, with around half the album being recorded analog to tape at Gizzard Studios in London, with one last tune remaining from their sessions at the legendary (but now closed) Toerag Studios.

There are echoes here of their first album, Joia! - the recordings were once again instigated by the great Brazilian producer and multi-instrumentalist who happened to be visiting London earlier in the year. He suggested doing something.... so they did. And there is a return to more definite Brazilian influences too - Tonnau Ar Tonnau is an homage to ‘Onda’ by Cassiano, Keep On Smiling has a distinct samba / chorro feel. Gwenyn y Gwanwyn (about helping a bee out if you see it struggling) is very much a nod to the psychedelic samba funk of Antonio Carlos e Jocafi. But other Latin styles still loom large: on the sultry salsa of Bella Estrella or the melancholic Andean ballad, Lagrimas Frias.

Anglo-Brazilian singer Nina Miranda features on the Lalo Schifrin goes samba Shades of Red, while new addition to the Rio 18 family (at least on record), Miriam Isaac adds a real RnB edge to the record, along with some beautiful duets: the Salsoul banger Como Te Amo and the gorgeous Whistling Sands (about a beach in North Wales) are standouts.

In reverse to how Carwyn made the first two Rio 18 albums, Haf was recorded in London
and Wales and mixed over five hectic days in Rio. Three days later, it was mastered and at
the pressing plant. Time doesn’t wait for Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18!!

Finally, the song ‘Haf’ and the album itself are dedicated to Haf Morris, Carwyn’s late music teacher - he says, “her focus, guidance and patience shaped me like no other. I hope she’s enjoyed my musical journey, from wherever she’s watching. Diolch, Haf”.

Swiss artist Lukas Traxel releases his powerful debut album One-Eyed Daruma on We Jazz Records, March 10. The trio features Traxel on double bass, Otis Sandsjö on sax and Moritz Baumgärtner on drums. Compact, deep, and organic to the bone, Traxel & co's sound echoes the innovations of rhythmically driven avantgarde jazz while keeping things moving at all times. There's both drive and freedom to this sound.
ONe-Eyed Daruma features eight new compositions by Traxel, who crafted the outline for the album while dealing with the loss of his father. The group came together after an open invitation from the Zurich jazz club Moods to present a new group. The trio of Traxel, Sandsjö and Baumgärtner creates a full, symphonic, and powerful body of sound despite the instrumentation without a harmony instrument. The trio functions as a collective where the boundaries between composition, melody, and accompaniment are in flux, while keeping the common goal of creating new music together in sight at all times. Traxel reports that after playing bass in various groups with guitar and/or piano, he wanted to create a counterpoint of sorts with his new group and specifically go about it with a more sparse setup. As One-Eyed Drama proves, the idea behind the trio dynamic is a strong one and the unit makes use of their extra space in creating evocative, moody, swinging creative jazz with a distinguishable fingerprint of its own.
Lukas Traxel says:

"The process of composing this music while dealing with the loss of a loved one resulted in a writer's block at first. The notes would just not flow out of my pen until I noticed a mysterious-looking figure in the right upper corner of my piano. It was a daruma, an eyeless figure that in the Japanese tradition brings luck and prosperity. According to the myth, the first eye must be drawn onto the figure while expressing a wish. The second eye can be added only if the wish comes true. My daruma is meant to stay one-eyed as my wish, strongly connected and intertwined with my now gone father, is not meant to be fulfilled. The feeling of unfulfillment and imperfection of life serves as a common thread throughout this album, right down to its title. In a similar fashion, a composition remains incomplete until it is interpreted by musicians, and given form as music. That being said, for me playing together with this trio symbolises the upside: the sense of fulfillment in music and life.

Our musical influences include the American composer and singer Caroline Shaw, Swiss pianist Colin Vallon's trio, and composer/singer-songwriter Gabriel Kahane. In addition, I have listened a lot to the trio albums of Jimmy Guiffre and Sonny Rollins. Besides that, my musical heroes like Charlie Haden, John Coltrane, and Keith Jarrett always flow into the music. Another very important influence in the music is the work of American visual artist Agnes Martin, in whose works the imperfection of a multiplicity of repetitions results in a lively big whole in the end. (See "Wild Flower")

Live, the trio takes a lot of freedom in interpreting this music, yet we have a deeper, almost pop-like attitude towards the live performance as an experience. For me it's always important to build a strong narrative with the band while on stage."

One-Eyed Daruma by Lukas Traxel is released on 10 March 2023 by We Jazz Records on LP/CD/digitally. The LP edition is shelved in an inside-out sleeve and pressed on white vinyl. The CD is housed in a cardboard digisleeve with UV lacquer finish.

Für Mandy, Indiana, ist die Wahrheit der einzige Weg. Auf "URGH", ihrem ersten Album bei Sacred Bones präsentiert, sich das Quartett - bestehend aus Sängerin Valentine Caulfield, Gitarrist und Produzent Scott Fair, Synthesizer-Spieler Simon Catling und Schlagzeuger Alex Macdougall - als eine Kraft von unheimlicher Natur, die ein Album geschaffen hat, das ebenso sehr ein Aufruf zum Handeln ist wie eine Reise in die Vergessenheit und Transzendenz. In den zehn Tracks verwebt die Band ihre eigene unkonventionelle Sprache zu einem Mantra für Selbstbestimmung und Widerstandsfähigkeit und schafft so eine Vorlage für eine bessere Zukunft, bevor alles in Dunkelheit versinkt. Ein Großteil des Albums wurde während eines Aufenthalts in einem unheimlichen Studiohaus am Stadtrand von Leeds geschrieben und anschließend in Berlin und Greater Manchester aufgenommen. Es war eine intensive Umgebung, was zum Teil auf die gesundheitlichen Probleme zurückzuführen war, mit denen Caulfield und Macdougall während des Schreib- und Aufnahmeprozesses zu kämpfen hatten. Dennoch bleiben Mandy, Indiana kompromisslos. Caulfield setzt ihre Stimme als verzerrtes Instrument und Waffe ein, die zwischen verspielt und vernichtend oszilliert. Der pulsierende Sirenenton von ,Magazine" steht neben dem zerhackten Vocal Fry von ,try saying" und der sich wandelnden Wildheit von ,ist halt so", das die Dringlichkeit von Protestbewegungen kanalisiert, auf den Widerstand gegen den Völkermord in Gaza verweist und gleichzeitig allgemeinere Kämpfe thematisiert, während der letzte Track ,I'll Ask Her" eine bewusste Direktheit ist, die die toxische Boy-Club-Kultur anprangert, und eine hartnäckige Abrechnung, die über dem gesamten Album schwebt. Obwohl es immer noch unbestreitbare ,Knaller" gibt (wie der zerfetzte Rap von ,Sicko!" mit Billy Woods), wirkt "URGH" oft wie präzise geschnitztes Kino. Vom sprühenden Techno von ,Cursive" bis zu den dekonstruierten Feedback-Loops von ,Life Hex" bewegt sich das Album zwischen industrieller Katharsis und filmischer Unruhe und spinnt eine Spannung, die Fair als ,Remix seiner selbst" beschreibt. Diese kontrastreiche Palette ist sowohl ein notwendiger Aspekt des Albums als auch das zugrunde liegende Bindeglied. Obwohl "URGH" sehr persönlich ist, spiegelt es den gewalttätigen, zerbrochenen Zustand der Welt wider. Caulfields Texte setzen sich mit Gewalt, systemischer Gleichgültigkeit und der Allgegenwart von Schmerz auseinander, betonen aber auch Momente der Schönheit und Solidarität. URGH gehört in die physische Welt, und das Artwork von Carnovsky mit einer anatomischen Illustration von Andreas Vesalius unterstreicht die viszerale Auseinandersetzung des Albums mit dem Körper und seinen Grenzen. URGH ist sowohl jenseitig als auch physisch und kathartisch, sowohl ein erster Schritt zur Heilung als auch eine Weigerung, das Gespräch sterben zu lassen.

Alice Costelloes Debütalbum ,Move On With The Year", das im kommenden Februar beim britischen Kultlabel Moshi Moshi erscheint, ist ein bahnbrechendes Werk - 10 Tracks mit bezauberndem Art-Pop, der auf Selbstvertrauen, Instinkt und einem notwendigen Prozess der kreativen Entflechtung basiert. Das Album wurde von Mike Lindsay (LUMP, Laura Marling, Tunng) in seinem Studio in Margate produziert und bricht mit der Indie-Rock-Tradition, aus der Alice stammt. Gitarrensoli werden durch Mellotron, Taishogoto und Flötenmelodien ersetzt, die während des Unterrichts aufgenommen wurden, wobei Unvollkommenheit als die wahrhaftigste Form des Ausdrucks angesehen wird. Hinter diesem Sound verbirgt sich eine schwerwiegendere Geschichte: die Last einer komplizierten Elternbeziehung und eine Trauer, die sich nicht einfach so auflösen lässt. Im Kern ist dies ein Begleitalbum zum erneuten Erwachsenwerden - nicht über einen einzigen Herzschmerz, sondern darüber, wie man sein gesamtes emotionales Gerüst und seine Identität neu formt, um in den nächsten Lebensabschnitt einzutreten.

San Francisco Power Violence underground legends, Spazz. 64 tracks from 1993-1996 compiled from splits with Charles Bronson, Brutal Truth, Rupture, Floor, and more plus the debut EP, tracks from a bunch of comps including “Better Read Than Dead” and live at KFJC and 924 Gilman St. Everything remastered, or in some cases mastered for the first time by Dan Randall at Mammoth Sound. Originally released on Slap A Ham Records in 1997 and out of print for over 15 years.

Der US-amerikanische Sänger und Songschreiber Bill Withers veröffentlichte 1971 sein Albumdebüt "Just As I Am", das von Booker T Jones produziert wurde. Darauf enthalten waren legendäre Songs und Underground-Klassiker wie "Harlem", "Ain't No Sunshine" und "Grandma's Hands". 40 Jahre nach der Erstveröffentlichung des Albums erscheint nun eine exklusive Jubiläumsausgabe als Deluxe Super Jewel Case mit einem Booklet mit umfangreichen Liner Notes.

Mit ihrem neuen Werk "Liturgy of Death" bekräftigen MAYHEM ihren Status als kompromissloseste Kraft des norwegischen Black Metal. Nach vier Jahrzehnten des Exzesses hat die Band einen neuen Höhepunkt erreicht: schneller, heftiger und finsterer als alles andere in ihrem bisherigen Schaffen. Das Album entfaltet sich als unerbittliche Meditation über den Tod in all seinen Erscheinungsformen - existentiell, spirituell und absolut. Vom wütenden Chaos von "Despair" und "Funeral of Existence" bis zur düsteren Erhabenheit von "Ephemeral Eternity" und "Aeon's End" zieht jeder Track den Hörer tiefer in ein Ritual des Elends und der Transzendenz hinein. "Propitious Death" und "The Sentence of Absolution" verbinden Brutalität mit einer bedrohlichen Atmosphäre, während "Life Is a Corpse You Drag" und "Sancta Mendacia" keinen Zweifel daran lassen, dass Mayhem nach wie vor unübertroffen darin sind, Verzweiflung in Klang umzusetzen.

Mit Necrobutcher, Hellhammer, Attila, Teloch und Ghul, die enger denn je zusammenarbeiten, präsentiert "Liturgy of Death" eine Band, die sich nicht mit ihrem Erbe zufrieden gibt, sondern entschlossen ist, die Grenzen des Extremen selbst zu erweitern. Das Ergebnis ist ein gnadenloses Album - düster, schnell und unerbittlich -, das Mayhem in ihrer gefährlichsten und vitalsten Form einfängt. Vierzig Jahre nach ihrer Gründung in Langhus verkörpern MAYHEM weiterhin das Chaos und beweisen einmal mehr, dass der norwegische Black Metal eine Kraft ohne Ende ist.

Mit ihrem neuen Werk "Liturgy of Death" bekräftigen MAYHEM ihren Status als kompromissloseste Kraft des norwegischen Black Metal. Nach vier Jahrzehnten des Exzesses hat die Band einen neuen Höhepunkt erreicht: schneller, heftiger und finsterer als alles andere in ihrem bisherigen Schaffen. Das Album entfaltet sich als unerbittliche Meditation über den Tod in all seinen Erscheinungsformen - existentiell, spirituell und absolut. Vom wütenden Chaos von "Despair" und "Funeral of Existence" bis zur düsteren Erhabenheit von "Ephemeral Eternity" und "Aeon's End" zieht jeder Track den Hörer tiefer in ein Ritual des Elends und der Transzendenz hinein. "Propitious Death" und "The Sentence of Absolution" verbinden Brutalität mit einer bedrohlichen Atmosphäre, während "Life Is a Corpse You Drag" und "Sancta Mendacia" keinen Zweifel daran lassen, dass Mayhem nach wie vor unübertroffen darin sind, Verzweiflung in Klang umzusetzen.

Mit Necrobutcher, Hellhammer, Attila, Teloch und Ghul, die enger denn je zusammenarbeiten, präsentiert "Liturgy of Death" eine Band, die sich nicht mit ihrem Erbe zufrieden gibt, sondern entschlossen ist, die Grenzen des Extremen selbst zu erweitern. Das Ergebnis ist ein gnadenloses Album - düster, schnell und unerbittlich -, das Mayhem in ihrer gefährlichsten und vitalsten Form einfängt. Vierzig Jahre nach ihrer Gründung in Langhus verkörpern MAYHEM weiterhin das Chaos und beweisen einmal mehr, dass der norwegische Black Metal eine Kraft ohne Ende ist.

Overtoun is a Death/Thrash band based between Santiago, Chile, and Boston, MA, fusing the rich musical heritage of Latin America with the complexity and aggression of technical death metal. Founded by Agustín Lobo and Matías Bahamondes, the band solidified its lineup with Yoav Ruiz-Feingold (Atheist, Graviton) on vocals and Matías Salas on bass. Fused with Chilean rhythms, folk-inspired guitars, and memorable riffs, it features guest appearances by MAX PHELPS (CYNIC, DEATH TO ALL), ENRICO H. DI LORENZO (HIDEOUS DIVINITY), and SHANTANU VYAS (HAZING OVER). With virtuosic musicianship and a raw, organic sound that recalls the primal spirit of classic metal, Overtoun channels both precision and rage. Produced by renowned Argentinian producer MARTIN FURIA (DESTRUCTION, BARK) and released via Time To Kill Records, Overtoun asserts itself as one of the most exciting and promising Latin American Metal acts today.

180g, cream white Vinyl, Gatefold Sleeve. Das vierte Album von Dina Ögon ist länger als alles, was sie bisher veröffentlicht haben. Während das selbstbetitelte Debüt, das zweite Album Oas und das jüngste Album Orion alle abrupt endeten, zieht die Band nun alle Register und fordert unsere ungeteilte Aufmerksamkeit. In einer Zeit, in der das Albumformat weitgehend in den Hintergrund gedrängt wurde und stattdessen lose, digitale Single-Veröffentlichungen ohne inhaltlichen Zusammenhang bevorzugt werden, schlagen Dina Ögon den entgegengesetzten Weg ein und veröffentlichen ein Doppelalbum.

Here’s an expanded edition of one of Nurse With Wound’s most intense, unique opuses, so unique that for long-time fans it was a strange, chaotic loundge bizzarie when it first came out. For the first time, all four audio sides are complete (originally, there were only three sides). And to crown it all, a magnificent new cover by the great and talented Babs Santini, who is none other than Steven Stapleton behind his pseudonym of plastic artist, still in the luxurious tradition of the “silver collection” at Rotorelief Records.

Nurse with Wound’s album Huffin’ Rag Blues is unique in NWW’s discography. Stapleton teams up with composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Liles, his co-creator of musical terrorism, to tackle the exotica and lounge genres, crushed into a cacophonous mess. Long-time NWW friends Colin Potter and Matt Waldron are also on board. Blues, jazz, crime films, bachelor pads and soap opera music are processed and discarded, then chopped up and recycled in a mix that contains a ton of space, but also overflows with dynamic tension, hilarious asides, sexually suggestive poetry and a certain rock & roll abandon.

This is a very surprising opus for long-time fans, is like a soundtrack that could illustrate a David Lynch film It’s brilliant, maddening, hilarious and sinister enough to earn a place in any collection with a little quirkiness and eccentricity. Huffin’ Rag Blues incorporates more familiar musical elements – including instruments (played live, even), rhythm and vocals – than almost any other Nurse With Wound album to date. The album’s main concern is, as always, to create environments for lucid dreaming rather than to create music as such.

We Jazz Records kicks off their new series of archival 7" releases with Esa Pethman "In Belgium 1967" released 23 September 2022. The two-tracker is licensed from the Belgian VRT radio archives and both of the pieces are previously unreleased. Finnish jazz legend Pethman, heard here on alto flute and tenor sax, joins forces with European jazz greats such as Heinz Bigler, Uffe Karskov and Jean Fanis. This is a small but valuable piece of unheard European jazz history from the early heyday of modern jazz. The physical release is a quality "inside-out"-styled EP with 3mm spine and small center hole on the 45rpm vinyl.

An excerpt from the liner notes by Mikko Mattlar:

"Esa Pethman (b. 1938) was one of the key figures of modern Finnish jazz in the 1960s. His album The Modern Sound Of Finland was the first Finnish modern jazz album and his composition "The Flame" a true modern Fenno-jazz evergreen.

Pethman was born in Kuusankoski, 135 kilometres from Helsinki in the Kymenlaakso area. The jazz scene was active even though it was an area of rural landscapes and paper mills. Pethman discovered jazz when he heard a Charlie Parker record being played at a local music shop in the late 1940s. Following Parker, bebop became his favourite style of jazz.

Young Pethman played flute and saxophone in local bands who accompanied schlager singers. They played tangos and waltzes for dancers, but usually started a typical dance event with an hour of jazz. In 1959 Pethman moved to Helsinki to study music at the Sibelius Academy. Back then it was a strictly classical music academy, but Pethman later described the studies as crucial for his development and career. He quickly made his way to studio sessions and into the best orchestras in Helsinki.

As a student of composition, Pethman also began writing his own music. "The Flame" was a melody he just got on his mind one night, and he decided to write it down. The catchy composition was released as a 7" single in 1964, a year before Pethman's debut album. Both records stand as benchmarks for modern Finnish jazz. The album consisted entirely of Pethman's compositions, not versions of jazz standards like a lot of the Finnish jazz released until then.

In the mid 1960s, Finnish jazz was also taking its first international steps. Pethman's quintet took part in the first Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in June 1967. At the Montreux jazz band competition, the quintet came in fourth of the twelve contestants. Despite not winning the competition, the band got an honourable mention, and Pethman was now recognized outside Finland.

In December 1967 Pethman travelled to Brussels. His visit was organised by the national Finnish broadcasting company Yleisradio and their jazz program producer Matti Konttinen. Konttinen was supposed to go to Brussels with Pethman, but the musician ended up traveling alone.

In the Decca recording studios Pethman played two songs. He recorded a version of his most famous composition "The Flame", where he played the alto flute and was accompanied by Belgian musicians. On Swiss saxophonist Heinz Bigler's composition "Like Steel", Pethman played the tenor saxophone. The band was now more international, consisting of Bigler, the Italian Francesco Santucci, the Dane Uffe Karskov, a Belgian rhythm section and Pethman. After 55 years, Pethman still remembers Bigler's remarkable skills as a saxophonist.

The two-day visit included the recording session, a dinner and a concert. Pethman and the other non-Belgian musicians came to Brussels mainly to play at a jazz concert organised by the European Broadcasting Union EBU. They played at the studio first, and the concert was held the following day. Pethman and all the other soloists played as members of an international big band. The studio and live session were produced by the Belgian Radio and Television jazz section leader Elias Gistelinck."

Helsinki's We Jazz Records presents "Ateneum 2019", part 2 of their ongoing "We Jazz Live Plates" series documenting the label's live activity. Recorded at the historic Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki during spring 2019, the intense live compilation brings together three acts on the label's roster: Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen, OK:KO and Alder Ego, each performing two tracks here.

OK:KO opens proceedings with their sound electrified by Toomas Keski-Säntti changing from piano to Fender rhodes, a little touch that opens up new avenues in their sound. The band who made a big splash with their 2019 debut album "Syrtti", present energetic new versions of the title track and the looping "Piik". Alder Ego, led by drummer Joonas Leppänen, shifts gears with a new deep version of their 2018 album track "Cubism", and add a new track "Mystery Room Nr. 6" into the mix. Timo Lassy & Teppo Mäkynen strecth out their compact tracks "Fallow" and "Goldenrod", which grow into new lenght and depth in the live setting.

"Ateneum 2019" released together with "Lonna 2019", We Jazz Live Plates vol. 3, is an inspiring example of the active and high quality jazz scene in Helsinki.

Being a musical playground for Dixon and Âme since the beginning of the label. Our Secret Weapons series symbolizes a constantly forward moving train of both artistic expression and musical exploration. With the aim of showcasing tracks that circled through the sets during the year and will do beyond. Part 17 finally available on 3LP.

Guitars On Life solves a nagging mystery about the fate of a musician who stood out as a singularly spectacular bloom even in the verdant creative fields of the San Francisco Bay Area at the turn of the century. After more than two decades of recording silence and about a dozen years away from the bandstand, Jack West is back, still immediately recognizable as a guitarist and composer but miles from the last stop on his ongoing musical journey. There’s poetic symmetry in discovering that his detour from life as a performing musician involved fruitful work devising innovative solar technologies, as he had similarly distinguished himself as an inveterately inventive musician. When we last heard from West he’d carved out a vibrant niche as a guitarist with a percussive attack and lustrous group sound. Wielding a custom-built eight-string acoustic guitar with uncommon rhythmic dexterity, he released six albums featuring his original tunes, mostly recording with his band Curvature (though he also played mesmerizing solo recitals). West’s knack for crafting glistening, minutely detailed soundscapes full of surprising twists and oddly inviting textures prompted NPR to describe his work as “a whole new sub- genre of jazz.” Drawn back to performing in recent years, West saw guitarist Walter Strauss at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage in 2022 and suspected he’d found a kindred spirit. Intrigued by Strauss’s unusual approach to guitar, West “wondered what a musical conversation might sound like between two guitarists who had developed such uniquely different ways of playing the instrument.” An invitation to play together led to them writing the tune ‘More Guitar,’ the bravura opening track that launches Guitars On Life. Several months later they spent a week in Florida together writing intensively, resulting in most of the material for this consistently thrilling project.