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Good things take time. What’s 17 years? Not even a quarter of Keith Richards! 17 years lay between Heiko Voss’ debut album “Call Me Killer” and the incredible follow-up “3:30 Minutes To Live”, which saw the light of day in 2022 on Michael Mayer’s “other label” IMARA. There are serious voices saying that the 80s were only really complete with the release of this album. Now it took the blink of an eye of a year for the remixes to be finished. And they turned out so well that Michael Mayer from KOMPAKT licensed the “3 Remixes for Heiko Voss” without further ado.

Running back guru GERD JANSON was an early adopter of the album. Highly motivated, he twirls “Follow Your Line” rhythmically somehow in the direction of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”. How did he do that? Never mind. It grooves like crazy and keeps even larger floors moving.

ADA, the Hamburg grand dame of techno pop, has taken on the in tongue speaking funk banger “Talking Man” and dipped it in fairy dust. The result is probably the most sensational, soulful club track ever. Honestly.

The package is rounded off with a powerful Dub Version of “Follow Your Line” by the IMARA and KOMPAKT boss himself. Because he can do it.

Open your heart, let the remixes in.

Gut Ding will Weile haben. Was sind schon 17 Jahre? Nicht mal ein Viertel Keith Richards! 17 Jahre lagen zwischen Heiko Voss’ Debutalbum “Call Me Killer” und dem unglaublichen Nachfolger “3:30 Minutes To Live”, der 2022 auf Michael Mayers “anderem Label” IMARA das Licht derWelt erblickte. Es gibt ernstzunehmende Stimmen, die besagen, dass die 80er Jahre eigentlich erst mit der Veröffentlichung dieses Albums vollendet waren. Nun hat es einen kurzen Wimpernschlag von einem Jahr gedauert, bis die Remixe fertig waren. Und die sind so gut geworden, dass Michael Mayer von KOMPAKT die “3 Remixe für Heiko Voss” kurzerhand lizenziert hat.

Ein “early adopter” des Albums war Running Back Obermotz GERD JANSON. Top motiviert zwirbelt er “Follow Your Line” rhythmisch irgendwie in Richtung Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”. Wie hat er das nur gemacht? Egal. Es groovt wie Bolle und hält auch größere Floors in Bewegung.

ADA, die Hamburger Grand Dame des Techno Pop hat sich des in Zungen sprechenden Funk Kloppers “Talking Man” angenommen und ihn ordentlich in Feenstaub getunkt. Dabei entstand der wohl sensationellste, soulfulste Club Track ever. Ehrlich.

Abgerundet wird das Paket mit einer kräftigen Dub Version von “Follow Your Line” vom IMARA bzw. KOMPAKT Boss selbst. Weil er’s kann.

Herzklappen auf, Remixe rein.

Die gefeierte irische Singer-Songwriterin Sinéad O'Connor veröffentlichte 2014 ihr brandneues Studioalbum "I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss" über Nettwerk Records. "I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss" enthält zwölf brandneue Songs, die das Beste von Sinéad zeigen und verdeutlichen, was sie so besonders macht: leidenschaftlich und direkt, aber mit einer übergeordneten zerbrechlichen Schönheit. Sinéads Stimme und Texte sind ebenso kraftvoll wie zart. Unter Vertrag bei Nettwerk Records ist "I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss" ihr zehntes Studioalbum in einer Karriere, die Jahrzehnte umspannt. Sinéad ist in der populären Musik eine seltene Erscheinung, eine absolut einzigartige Künstlerin. Von ihrem ersten Durchbruchshit, "Mandinka" von 1987, über den globalen Multi-Platin-Erfolg von 1990 mit "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" und seinem unvergesslichen Nummer-eins-Hit "Nothing Compares 2 U" hat Sinéad ständig überrascht und erfreut. Von einer Millionen verkaufenden Künstlerin zu furchtlosen genreübergreifenden Ausflügen in die irische Folklore und Roots-Reggae sowie Zusammenarbeiten mit Künstlern so vielfältig wie Peter Gabriel, Massive Attack und The Chieftains hat Sinéad einen einzigartigen Weg beschritten und ist zur ikonischsten irischen Künstlerin der letzten dreißig Jahre geworden.

The latest by Texan-turned-Angeleno progressive vaporwave producer Carlos Ramirez aka AURAGRAPH finds him shifting focus to the dance floor across eight chrome clockworks of cosmic acid house and liquid rave glide: 'New Standard'. Inspired by lessons learned during a 5K mile American road trip tour in the summer 2022, he set to work in his Simi Valley Tuff Shed of synths and hardware, pursuing an explicitly DJ-friendly muse: "I realized I wanted to make a record where every track could go off in a live setting."These cuts do just that, revved and rhythmic, peppered with slap bass, Madchester whistles, filtered acid, gated snares, baggy cowbell, and sample pack classics - record scratches, orchestral stabs, the "Yeah! Woo!" from Lynn Collins "Think (About It)." Ramirez describes the process as immediate and instinctual: "I'd turn on the MPC, pick a tempo, and just improv - it was incredibly fun."From sleek freeway techno ("110 Cruising") to arcade lurker acid ("Coast 2 Coast") to big room bangers ("666 Ambience"), the tracks time-travel across the canon of club music, sifting tricks and styles to fashion fresh anthems of hypnagogic jack. It's an album channeled as much as crafted, tapping into the decks of mythic warehouse infinities past and present, where the system rips all night and acid never dies.

- Newly Expanded Deluxe Double LP Edition! - Includes the original 1972 album, plus all of Larry Mark's acoustic demos and tracks from his unreleased 1970 LHI LP for the first time on vinyl - Previously unreleased session outtake of "Cold Hard Times" plus demos of obscure Hazlewood compositions "Drums," "The - Start," "Susie," "Miracle on 19th Street," and "Peppermint Morning" - 30 total tracks - Remastered by GRAMMYr-nominated mastering engineer John Baldwin - Liner notes by GRAMMYr-nominated reissue producer Hunter Lea including interviews with Larry Marks, Joe Cannon, Torbjörn Axelman & Suzi Jane Hokom - Lee Hazlewood comic strip, the story of 13 told through original artwork by Jess Rotter - Double LP housed in a gatefold jacket // DESCRIPTION "Pimps_ whores_ pushers_ dopers_ gangsters_ and bottom of the human chain shit-heels. Now you're probably thinking I'm writing about major record companies and their unscrupulous executives_ and lawyers. You could be right_ but this time_ YOU'RE WRONG! I'm describing the characters in my album `13' _Some I knew_ some I invented _ some are true_ some are false_ some I liked_ some I didn't. But they all had a story to tell and I told it_none of `em seem to care_ and I don't either_ have fun_" - Lee Hazlewood "He (Lee) took my voice off the album and put his voice on the album. Now don't forget these were in my keys, it was my charts, it was my everything. Lee Hazlewood was not even remotely going to be considered as an artist for this album and that's the way he wanted it." - Larry Marks The album 13 was never supposed to be a Lee Hazlewood album. It is perhaps the strangest record in one of the most varied discographies in music. The Bombastic brass heavy funk, deep blues and soul paired with Hazlewood's subterranean baritone would be best enjoyed with a tall Chivas in an off-strip seedy Vegas lounge. By 1972 Lee Hazlewood had settled in his new homeland of Sweden. His days were spent carousing, making movies with Torbjörn Axelman and releasing albums. To keep up his prolific recorded output, Lee began to mine the recently defunct LHI Records archives for material. One such gem, was an unreleased album by Larry Marks (LHI producer, artist and the voice of the first Scooby-Doo theme). Larry's concept was to take Hazlewood's strongest compositions and arrange them in a soul vibe. An album was completed, but with no distribution in America and no funding, Lee had no vehicle to release Larry's record. The tapes were taken to Sweden, Larry's voice was wiped and Hazlewood's was dubbed_ 13 was born.

Jordan Munson ist ein Komponist, Performer und Multimedia-Künstler. In seinen Werken erforscht er die Erinnerung und unsere Beziehung zur Technologie, und es heißt, dass er "akustische Melodien und elektronische Rhythmen mit aufregender Absicht verschmilzt" (The New York Times). Seine Kompositionen beruhen auf einer Ausbildung in Perkussion, Improvisation, Pop und Sounddesign und stellen subtile Landschaften mit reichhaltigen Texturen und treibenden Melodien einander gegenüber. Munson setzt Technologie ein, um natürliche Klänge zu interpretieren und umgekehrt, wobei er sich auf die Übertragungsverluste konzentriert, die durch diese ständige Neusynthese entstehen. "Heartless Fools" wurde 2018 in den Greenhouse Studios in Reykjavík, Island, aufgenommen. Seit diesen ersten Aufnahmen ist die Musik durch weitreichende Zusammenarbeit mit Musikern aus Jazz, Klassik und Pop gewachsen. Zu den Künstlern gehören das experimentelle Pop-Trio Square Peg Round Hole, die Sänger*innen Isaiah Robinson und Hanna Benn sowie die isländische Cellistin Pórdís Gerdur Jónsdóttir. Während die Musik selbst nicht politisch sein soll, bezieht sich der Titel "Heartless Fools" auf die Reaktion von zwei Personen auf die aktuelle politische Landschaft. Die erste arbeitet sich durch Schock und Trauer, während sie die Realitäten dieser Welt wahrnimmt, und versucht, dem Ganzen einen Sinn zu geben. Die andere, angeheizt durch einen Verlust der kulturellen Identität, ist voller Wut, die sie antreibt, unmenschliche Dinge zu tun. Dies zeigt sich in der Musik als Kampf zwischen Ordnung und Chaos, Kontemplation und Ungeduld. Die Werke stehen in einem ständigen Spannungsfeld, sowohl intern und miteinander.

Goldene Deluxe Edition zum 10-jährigen Jubiläum des Debütalbums von Princess Chelsea. 180g goldfarbenes Vinyl in einer gestanzten Gatefold-Hülle mit Goldfolienrücken, Songtexten und einem Poster im DIN-A1 Format. Lil' Golden Book ist das Debütalbum der neuseeländischen Künstlerin Princess Chelsea. Es wurde ursprünglich am 2. Mai 2011 über Lil' Chief Records veröffentlicht. Das Album wurde von Jonathan Bree und Chelsea Nikkel produziert und erzählt die Geschichte des Aufwachsens als Teenager und junger Erwachsener in Neuseeland. Nikkel gab an, dass die Produktion des Albums fast drei Jahre dauerte. The Sunday Star Times beschreibt es treffend als "when cute meets creepy". "Princess Chelsea veröffentlicht anno 2011 mit gerade mal 19 Jahren ihr Langspiel-Debüt "Lil' Golden Book". Darauf regiert kurioser Pop. Mit dem Video zu "The Cigarette Duet" landet sie völlig überraschend einen Youtube-Hit. Der Track handelt von den unterschiedlichen Haltungen zweier Partner zum Thema Abhängigkeit. Die eingängigen Melodien, die sie in vielfältige Arrangements bettet, ordnen viele dem Baroque-Pop bei. Vor allem Klavier und die feengleiche, spröde Stimme der Dame dominieren die Songs, die oft zwischen Sadcore und Ambientpop oszillieren. Darin finden immer wieder entrückte Synthieflächen und vereinzelt elektrische Schnipsel Einzug. Zusammen mit orchestralen Parts ergibt dieser schrille Cocktail einen cinematischen Sound, der in drei Jahren Heimarbeit entstanden ist." - LAUT.de

- New repress Edition - Pressed on Metallic Silver Wax - LP housed in an expanded gatefold jacket - Includes lyric insert and repro archival newspaper fold-out // Reissue of the pioneering group's debut album First Issue. In 1976 Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols set the agenda for punk's year zero with 'Anarchy In The UK', a song that summed up the spirit, sound and attitude of the band in one shocking package. Two years later, the Sex Pistols were in tatters, but Rotten was as unsentimental as you'd hope. He reverted to his real name - John Lydon - and set about forming a band whose very identity kicked against press and media manipulation. Featuring bassist Jah Wobble, drummer Jim Walker and guitarist Keith Levene, his new group were Public Image Limited. The public image would be limited. PiL were a very distinct prospect from the Pistols, founded with a greater thought for rhythm, and with a sound that turned the page from snarling punk to a more experimental sound fusing rock, dance, folk, ballet, pop and dub. But that's not to say Lydon's new outfit lacked vitriol. 'Public Image' hits out against the notorious British tabloid press, who never gave Lydon an easy ride, and against his own Sex Pistols public image - "You only saw me for the clothes I wore". The debut single (and the album that followed) operated as a theme song and a manifesto: "_my entrance/My own creation/My grand finale/My goodbye," as the lyrics had it. It is, essentially, the sound of four people letting loose in a studio - and not caring what anyone else thought.

Aptly titled Two Worlds, Tigers Jaws sophomore full-length draws on the strengths of the band's raw, minimalist atmospheres and driving grunge-rock rhythms, funneling them into a catchy, brooding and brilliantly focused album. Sounding as confident as ever in abandoning dependence on traditional pop structures, songs ebb and flow naturally as the band explores fresh tones and textures. Firmly planted in their own niche of the 90 s-era Midwestern emo sound, Two Worlds probes Superchunk's indie-punk stylings, Weezer's discordant pop moments and the far edges of Kurt Cobain's brain while managing to sound almost nothing like those groups. Chimey clean guitars weave in and out of the mix, juxtaposing a gain guitar laden with thick grit. Standing alone, the tones create familiar Tigers Jaw moods, but when combined, the effect lays the foundation for swelling walls of sound. Pulsing bass fills the low end, locked with the drums in rhythmic unison, alternately tracing guitar lines and stepping forward to grab the listener s car. Similarly, the drumming style perfectly compliments the songwriting with steady beats and measured flash. Lush and resonant cymbal splashes constantly flourish, adding color and a new spaciousness. Keyboards swell in a wave of warmth creating the band s defining ambiance, in parts taking on more adventurous melodies and chord tones. At its core, Two Worlds is a Tigers Jaw album through and through. It evokes many moods the band is known for, but adds a depth that will leave listeners discovering new reasons to love them with each new listen.

Zusammen mit Krautrocklegende Ax Genrich (Guru Guru, Agitation Free, Ax Genrich Band) wurden verschiedene Sessions des Musikerkollektivs Weltraum in den Red Roof Studios aufgenommen. Das wunderbare Zusammenspiel der einzelnen Musiker spiegelt sich in den Aufnahmen wieder. Nicht nur klassischer Psychedelic & Space Rock, beeinflusst vom Krautrock der 70er Jahre, findet sich im Sound der fünf Musiker, sondern auch tiefsinnige Überschneidungen mit verschiedenen Genres der Musiklandschaft. Das Abtauchen im musikalischen Weltraum gelingt dabei faszinierend mühelos.

A Bad Diana is a project from Diana Rogerson, someone I first became aware of aged 12 when I read about Nurse With Wound and their United Dairies label in Smash Hits magazine. I was confused, mystified and intrigued in equal measure, and a couple of years later as a result I bought my first Nurse With Wound album. This led to an interest in all things NWW related. I guess Diana could be described as the matriarch of the Nurse With Wound world but she also had her own very distinguished pre-history with Fistfuck, an early-80s extreme noise outfit. She then made two mid 80s cult classic albums as Chrystal Belle Scrodd, both far out there rollercoaster rides of audio wildness, highly recommended to anyone with wide open ears. She then moved to rural Ireland and raised a family. There was the odd collaboration and then in 2007 A Bad Diana’s “The Lights Are On But No-One’s Home” was released on CD. I feel this is her meisterwerk and it has become something of a cult favourite over the years. Now for the first time, almost two decades later it is available on vinyl on Optimo Music Archiv. Produced in association with Steven Stapleton and Colin Potter from Nurse With Wound and irr. app. (ext.)’s Matt Waldron this is some seriously beautiful and strange listening. Next level sound design means this is an incredible headphone record but it is also a deeply warm and engaging home listening gem. Beautiful, magical, ultra hypno, soulful reverberations with the deep emotion of Diana’s voice tones and bio-vibrations.

Die progressiven Sludge-Meister LORD DYING aus Portland verwandeln Tragödien in Triumphe. Zwei Alben, angetrieben von zermalmenden Riffs und konfrontierendem Howls haben die Doom Dogs der Welt vorgestellt. Im Jahr 2019 lieferten sie Mysterium Tremendum ab, ein Album, das Kerrang!

als "Prog-Metal-Meisterwerk" bezeichnete.
Die berauschende und abenteuerliche existenzielle Meditation über den Tod bildete den Auftakt zu einer Trilogie. Diese Geschichte wird 2023 mit einem zunehmend ambitionierten Nachfolger fortgesetzt, dem treffend benannten Clandestine Transcendence.

"Letztlich geht es auf dem Album um Selbstfindung und darum, das zu werden, was man angesichts von Hindernissen werden will, egal wie die Karten gegen einen gestapelt sind", sagt Olson. "Ich bin nicht wirklich ein spiritueller Mensch. Aber ein Text auf dem Album handelt von der Umwandlung von Energie und davon, dass Materie weder geschaffen noch zerstört werden kann. Das ist vom issenschaftlichen Standpunkt aus betrachtet." Er lacht. "Aber vielleicht ist die Wissenschaft spirituell."

Wo Master draufsteht, ist auch Master drin. Das neue Album "Saints Dispelled" ist 100% Master! Kniet jetzt vor dem Meister nieder!
Die tschechischen Death/Thrasher Master gehören zu den Gründungsmitgliedern des Death Metal und waren von Anfang an eine der ersten Bands,
die sich diesem Stil verschrieben haben, als das Genre noch in den Kinderschuhen steckte. Jetzt, vierzig Jahre nach dem Start und mit Album Nummer
vierzehn, legen die Titanen mit "Saints Dispelled" ein erdrückendes neues Werk vor.
Master, auch bekannt als die Motorhead des Death Metal, liefern uns 2024 ein weiteres zähflüssiges Death Metal-Werk. Sie haben es wieder einmal
geschafft, hochoktanigen, ohrenbetäubenden, unerbittlichen Death Metal zu produzieren. Mit einer Diskografie, die man nicht an zwei Händen
abzählen kann, haben sie selten einen Takt ausgelassen, um die schnelle Brutalität zu produzieren, die wir alle so lieben und genießen. "Saints
Dispelled" ist keine Ausnahme, vielleicht würden wir es zu ihren besseren Alben zählen (die Zeit wird es zeigen). Dies ist eindeutig nicht die Art von
Album, die man sich anhören kann, während man ein schönes Buch liest und einen warmen Tee trinkt.

Dutch lute player and composer Jozef Van Wissem's new album The Night Dwells in the Day out 19th January 2024. “It's like a part of my body,” says Jozef Van Wissem of the relationship he has to his chosen instrument, the lute. “The complexity of it is what keeps me going because you can always find something new.” The ability to constantly extract something different and explore fresh terrain is evident throughout Van Wissem’s sprawling back catalogue and up to his latest album, ‘The Night Dwells in the Day’. Over the years he’s released countless solo albums stretching into double figures, there’s been collaborations with Jim Jarmusch and Tilda Swinton, award-winning computer game soundtracks, along with award-winning film soundtracks, from Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive to Pierre Creton’s 2023 film A Prince. Since studying the lute in New York with Patrick O'Brien in the 1990s, Van Wissem has gone on to create works equally as rooted in classical Renaissance and Baroque forms of lute music, as contemporary sounds spanning drones, electronics and field recordings. Throw in some of his formative influences from the no wave and industrial scenes, alongside a dedicated approach to minimalism and this has resulted in Van Wissem producing distinct and singular work whose sound is often a marriage of opposites; meditative and intense, forward thinking but with a sense of the arcane. The Quietus has called him “probably the most famous lutenist in the world”. The genesis for his latest album began during lockdown in Warsaw, where Van Wissem splits his time between Rotterdam. “The Call of the Deathbird” was the first song he wrote from the album and is the first to be shared, along with an accompanying video today. Over a hypnotic yet beautifully fluid and plucked melody - captures scenes of deserted streets, death and the intense isolation that gripped us all. One of the relatively rare tracks that Van Wissem sings on - along with some stirring and enveloping guest vocals from Hilary Woods (who will tour with Van Wissem later this year – details below) - his towering voice circles above the music much like the swooping deathbird he sings of. Normally Van Wissem writes all the music for one album within a confined period but this one song from a few years ago stuck around and took on a new lease of life and so joined a bunch of freshly written songs for the album. While one song written during, and about, the pandemic came to be the album’s centerpiece, the rest of the album grapples with the world as it moved on and all the dualism and dichotomies that followed. “It has to do with darkness and light,” Van Wissem says of the album. “The title can mean different things to people but sometimes people say that if I play a happy piece of music that it still sounds sad. So this is why I came up with that title.”

The heavyweight trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi return with their 12th and most epic release to date, the triple LP With pats on the head, just one too few is evil one too many is good that's all it is. Documenting the entirety of their final performance at the dearly departed Roppongi home of Tokyo underground institution SuperDeluxe in November 2018, the music spread across these six sides splits the difference between the guitar-bass-drums power trio moves and experiments with novel instrumentation that have defined the trio’s decade of working together. Containing some of the most delicate music the three have committed to wax since the gorgeous 12-string acoustic guitar and dulcimer tones of Only wanting to melt beautifully away is it a lack of contentment that stirs affection for those things said to be as of yet unseen (BT011), this wide-ranging release also offers up some of their most blistering free rock performances yet.

The side-long opening piece finds Haino on a single snare drum in duet with O’Rourke on unamplified electric guitar, playing in the lovely post-Bailey vein heard on his classic 90s recordings with Henry Kaiser and Mats Gustafsson. Spiky dissonance and ringing harmonics interweave with flowing melodic fragments as Haino single-mindedly explores the resonance of the snare like an untutored Han Bennink. On ‘Right brain, left brain; right, left; right wing, left wing. Just how many combinations can be made from these?’, O’Rourke moves to synth and electronics, joined by Ambarchi on drums, who at first focuses on sizzle cymbals before hypnotic cycles of gentle tom rhythms combine with electronic burbles and flutters to suggest a dream collaboration between Masahiko Togashi and Jean Schwarz. Ambarchi’s percussion is then joined by Haino on wandering, overblown flute, before the man in black switches back to the snare for a bizarre, stuttering drum duet.

For the first trio performance, Haino makes another new addition to his seemingly infinite catalogue of instruments, this time a homemade contraption he refers to as ‘Strings of Dubious Reputation’. Joined by O’Rourke on increasingly spaced-out electric guitar and Ambarchi on skittering percussion, Haino’s wonky, slack strings adds a definite ‘musique brut’ edge to this side-long performance, certainly one of the most enchantingly odd in the trio’s discography. When the group reconvene for the second set, spread out across the final three sides, they seem ready to breathe fire from the first instant. O’Rourke slashes distorted chords on the six-string bass, Ambarchi breaks into his signature irregular caveman thump, and Haino squeals and squawks on heavily delayed oboe before unleashing an overpowering electrical storm when he first picks up the guitar. For over half an hour, the trio pound out one of their most relentless performances, a constantly rearranging kaleidoscope of tortured fuzz guitar, insanely busy bass riffing and propulsive, tumbling drums. A hushed atmosphere initially reigns on the final long piece, given the mournful title ‘There are always things I wish to say but I can only convey them in this language August 6 August 9’. Haino’s clean guitar strumming calls up the shimmering tones of his PSF classic Affection, gradually building to a surging wall of sound, bass and drums lumbering through a roar of jet-engine guitar. Arriving in a deluxe trifold package with photos by Lasse Marhaug alongside inner sleeves with extensive live images, this epic release is perhaps the most remarkable document yet of this unique trio’s stamina and continuing inventiveness.

It's not hyperbole to state that Touché Amoré's third album Is Survived By is the band's most pivotal album. Released 10 years ago on September 24th, 2013 via Deathwish Inc., Is Survived By tackles the complicated nature of leaving a lasting legacy and the uncertainty that surrounds that; ultimately resulting in a record about learning to find the validation and love within one’s self. Produced by the legendary Brad Wood (Sunny Day Real Estate, Liz Phair, mewithoutYou), the recording sessions were a lesson in growth for the Los Angeles quintet - vocalist Jeremy Bolm, guitarists Nick Steinhardt and Clayton Stevens, bassist Tyler Kirby, and drummer Elliot Babin - as the band transformed from a group of individuals who play hardcore songs to the established headlining act that Touché Amoré is today. Is Survived By received critical acclaim from the likes of Pitchfork, The A.V. Club, The Needle Drop, and more - resulting in the album being 13th highest rated album of 2013 per Metacritic. It was also the band's first record to chart on the U.S. Billboard 200, peaking at 85. But most importantly, Is Survived By is beloved by fans new and old.

Richmond, Virginia's twin titans of doom team up for the split album of the year with 'Reflection Of The Negative'. Cough deliver a typically electrifying one song down-tuned epic side, while Windhand serve up two brand new songs for their half of the dirge. This is premier doom at its absolute gloomiest.

Es ist eine futuristische Musik, die auf dem Debut-Album von THE DRAW zu hören ist - mit einem elektroakustischen Set-Up aus modularen Synthesizern und akustischem Schlagzeug. Ursprünglich hatten die beiden Musiker Uwe Haas und Eric Schaefer, die sich für dieses Projekt zusammengefunden haben, zwei Alben geplant. Deshalb besteht das Doppel-Vinyl MAIKRO eigentlich aus zwei Teilen, die thematisch und musikalisch klar voneinander abgegrenzt sind - und doch in einem Spannungsverhältnis zueinander stehen. So sind auf dem ersten Longplayer mit dem Titel MAKRO Spielformen des Dub, Industrial und Noise zu hören. Mit ihrer Kraft und Vitalität von verzerrten Drums und pumpenden Bässe erinnert diese Musik an den akustischen Raum repetitiver Clubmusik. Im Gegensatz dazu ist MIKRO von der Anmutung und dem Detailreichtum der Musique concréte und des Ambient geprägt. Nahe mikrophonierte Perkussion, Field-Recordings und Oszillatoren führen in eine Welt, in der feine, kaum hörbare Klänge, wie unter ein Mikroskop gelegt, vergrößert werden. Die beiden Musiker lassen ihre Improvisationen auf MAIKRO organisch wuchern, lassen Klanglandschaften entstehen, aufregend, ungehört und unberechenbar - und halten ihre Kompositionen doch stets in der Schwebe zwischen Spontaneität und struktureller Klarheit.

COUGH return with their first album in over five years. Produced by Electric Wizard’s Jus Oborn and recorded by Oborn and Windhand’s Garrett Morris, Still They Pray is the kind of monolithic cosmic doom that will take the listener to the heights of despair and the bottom of the abyss. With Still They Pray, COUGH summon psychedelic feedback-driven melodies just to deconstruct them to their core. This is easily COUGH at their most focused: pessimistic riffs and tortured grooves collide in melodic agony alongside a hallucinogenic blend of harsh and clean incantations, crushing and cathartic yet utterly mesmerizing. Step through the gates of madness and stare into the void. FFO Windhand, Electric Wizard, Pallbearer, Sleep, YOB, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats

Ist es eine spukhafte Welt, die der/die/das (ominöse) EZ bewohnt? Eine unheimlich-geisterhafte? Mysteriös-beängstigende? Das Wortfeld eerie gibt zahlreichen Interpretationen Raum - genau so wie Ulrike Haages wundervolle Musik, der hier einmal mehr das Zusammenspiel aus Anstrengung und Leichtigkeit, aus konzeptioneller Schwere und melodieseliger Leichtigkeit, aus Schönheit und Gefahr zu eigen ist. Da wird als Grundmotiv ein zunächst leicht wirkendes Thema wiederholt und entwickelt so - auch und gerade durch das einem stetigen Wandel unterliegende KlangDesign - eine immersive Kraft. Hier vom dunklen gedämpften "Grand Piano", dort als thereminhafter SchaltkreisZauber, gern auch mit Glasharmonika oder Glockenspiel: das bekannte und doch immer neue Prinzip aus Wiederholung und (Ab)Wandlung in feiner Balance. Mal entrückt und von feenhafter Gelassenheit, dann wieder voller Dramatik und Spannung skizziert Ulrike Haage eine immer ein wenig verschwommene und dabei doch sehr luzide Landschaft aus Tönen. Unter all dem findet sich vereinzelt auch eine seltsam angespannte Rhythmik, die dann zwar nicht hektisch aber doch irgendwie bedrohlich daherkommt. Der nervöse Beat von Rebel (2) z. B. scheint mir klar zu signalisieren: EZ ist auf der Jagd. Auch Deceptive Methods prägt ein - hier eher gespannt-schleppendes - elektronisches Metrum. Kurz: uns begegnet hier impressionistische Filmmusik in Vollendung. Ja, diese (nur auf Vinyl erhältliche) Platte ist "eigentlich" Filmmusik. Filmmusik, die nicht (nur) begleitet, sondern aus sich selbst heraus Stimmungen zu erzeugen vermag. Filmmusik, die ergänzen und nicht illustrieren will. Filmmusik, die sicher primär dem Film dient, für den sie geschrieben wurde, die aber auch für sich steht, weil sie zuallererst und vor allem Musik ist, die uns, auch aus jedem Zusammenhang gelöst, im Innersten anspricht.

The undisputed kings of grind, PIG DESTROYER return with their long awaited fourth proper full length ‘Book Burner’. ‘Book Burner’ is a resounding statement of championship, as every element of PIG DESTROYER towers above their closest peers—a 32 minute, 19 song knockout punch of cerebral viciousness. Scott Hull’s guitar heroics sound like a mutant double speed hybrid of Slayer and the Melvins jacked up on amphetamines, new skinsman Adam Jarvis is the pinnacle of inhuman drumming, Blake Harrison delivers layer upon layer of suffocating atmosphere and JR Hayes remains the poet laureate of extreme metal. ‘Book Burner’ is the finest work of extreme music’s best band. Limited edition deluxe CDs and LPs available with bonus ‘Blind, Deaf and Bleeding’ EP, expanded packaging and the much talked about short story penned by JR Hayes. RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKE: Napalm Death, Converge, Melvins, Discordance Axis, Wormrot

■ Die Nits sind eine niederländische Art-Pop-Rockgruppe, die 1974 in Amsterdam
gegründet wurde. Ihr musikalischer Stil hat sich im Laufe der Jahre ebenso geändert wie
ihre Besetzung, aber die Kernmitglieder sind der Leadsänger und Texter Henk Hofstede,
Robert-Jan Stips an den Keyboards (der mit Supersister, Gruppo Sportivo, The Golden
Earring zusammengearbeitet hat) und Rob Kloet am Schlagzeug.
Im Jahr 2024 feiert die Band ihr 50-jähriges Jubiläum mit einer Europatournee und
brandneuer Musik. Sechs frisch geschriebene Tracks sind auf der Mini-Album "Tree
House Fire" enthalten, wobei das zentrale Thema der Songs das Feuer ist, das das
Amsterdamer Studio der Band im Jahr 2022 vollständig zerstört hat. Diese
10-Zoll-Schallplatte ist als limitierte Edition von 500 einzeln nummerierten Copies auf
Flamino Coloured Vinyl erhältlich und enthält ein 4-seitiges Booklet.

Known for weaving together complex rhymes with style, Elzhi has been rapping circles around the competition for more than two decades. After years as a member of iconic group Slum Village, Elzhi’s impressive solo career has included projects produced by acclaimed artists like Black Milk, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Khrysis, and Will Sessions. Now, the Detroit emcee is linking with California beat maestro Oh No for the new collaborative album Heavy Vibrato. A multitalented underground hip-hop luminary, Oh No has built a formidable resume behind the boards, crafting tracks for Mos Def, Freddie Gibbs, MF DOOM, Action Bronson, Talib Kweli, Ab-Soul, Danny Brown, and more. Heavy Vibrato is a thrilling showcase for Elzhi’s lyrical wizardry and cinematic storytelling, as Oh No breathes new life into a compelling tapestry of jazz samples, producing the entire collection. “The only thing you need to absorb this experience is an open mind,” says Elzhi. With guest appearances by Blu and Guilty Simpson, Heavy Vibrato taps into an undeniable frequency.

Repress! Soul, funk and rock recorded by US Army Servicemen during the height of the Vietnam War and released as a recruitment tool by the US Army as a recruitment tool. United States Army soldiers made the music contained on this album during the politically turbulent early 70s, towards the end of the Vietnam War. East of Underground was comprised of soldiers stationed in bases across Western Germany. While little is known about the band, the players, and the milieu they came from - other than what can be pieced together from a handful of photos and documents found in a box in the New York Public Library, and the vague recollections of some of those involved – we at Now-Again Records have worked diligently with the United States Army and researchers the country over to present this important document – and some damn good soul and funk music.

The Vampisoul chicas are back. And for the third time. And, although collectors and connoisseurs have never stopped playing the songs by these Spanish female singers, here they are again, sounding as vibrant as they did half a century ago. Because these children of their times, the musical decades of the 60s and 70s covered by this compilation, boldly ventured into the limited spaces of freedom open to female artists back then. And they did so with attitude, in search of the right repertoire, proudly presenting new, daring personal projects often breaking away from the demure tone adopted by mainstream local female singers. And they were canny about it too. Realizing that the censors working back would just listen to the song that the record company flagged up as the listening target on the A side and not bother to flip the single over, they recorded many of their racier songs on the B side. That exciting dark side of singles, which have long tempted collectors. Lacking the freedom and visibility enjoyed today, these daring records by these female singers went as far as they could and a few managed to go beyond. The songs on this compilation tell everyday stories, narrating small socio-musical conquests revolving round the enduring theme of young love. Sass, sex, boy-girl rivalry, the defense of liberating women's fashion and, saying what women think loud and clear, all characterize these grooves. Performed in a variety of musical styles ranging from ye-yé, twist, disco, beat, popcorn, flamenco pop to Northern Soul, and, even more surprisingly, sung in an everyday, natural and self-assured tone that must have ruffled some feathers. As in previous volumes of "¡Chicas!", this third compilation includes female singers from outside Spain but whose career, their decision to sing in Spanish or their long tours and local stays, and occasionally permanent residence, meant their albums were created, recorded or produced here in Spain. It's a winning proposition for everyone. Take the band Los Bravos, four of the singers that passed through the ranks of this quintessentially Spanish group were foreigners. It's part of our open-door policy. Spain is different. In every sense. But let's get down to the serious stuff and the ritual: vinyl on the turntable and needle poised ready to play. Third volume of Vampis' ¡Chicas! series, an irresistible collection of ye-yé, twist, disco, beat, popcorn, flamenco pop and even Northern Soul! From the early 60s and in the middle of a difficult political and social context, Spanish female singers - and those who moved to Spain - disregarded conventions and overcame all barriers to be part of a music movement that shook the Spanish society of the period. Many of the 24 tracks are reissued for the first time, including very hard-to-find records. It includes extensive notes by Vicente Fabuel featuring all the original record sleeves and artist photos.

Out of print for quite a few years now, this album is a stunning power-pop gem recorded at a time when this kind of girl group pairing with punk rock was unusual.b This is one of the most iconic albums released on Greg Shaw's Bomp! Records. It now includes bonus tracks on top! Definitely stood the test of time. Check out the titles, these young ladies were wearing their collective hearts on those sleeves of theirs. This kind of girl group pairing with punk rock was unusual at the time and it provided a much-needed antidote to the male dominated skinny tie brigade. Nikki looked like Pam Dawber (Mindy from Mork and Mindy) and sounded like Clare Grogan (of Altered Images) what was not to be instantly smitten by. Born and bred in Detroit, Miss Corvette reportedly ran away from home at age 16 because her mother refused to allow her to attend an MC5 show. Greg Shaw wrote the following in the liner notes to the 20th Anniversary label compilation, Destination Bomp! "Nikki was a tireless worker. Like some coalminer's daughter, she'd travel around the country with her band. Playing 200 shows a year. She knew everybody and was a lot of fun to hang out with so, I figured that if all her friends bought the record... so I signed her. The girl had style and attitude galore plus, she had master guitarist/songwriter and former Romantic Peter James. One of Detroit's most savvy cats." The lady herself kindly supplied the following summary. "We went to LA and signed with Bomp in maybe 1979 but Greg wasn't sure what to do with us. We did the Honey Bop single with Ronny Weiser at Rollin Rock and a couple songs with the Kessel Brothers. We started something with Kim Fowley that did not work out. They kept trying different producers until we finally decided to go back to Detroit and do the album on our own. We didn't have a lot of experience but we knew what we wanted and Detroit was part of that so we recorded the album and had a blast doing it. Peter wanted us to be poppier and I wanted to be more punk. We sort of met in the middle with what I've always called Bubblegum Punk. I can't believe it's been 43 years since this came out and there are still kids discovering it and people who grew up with it that still listen to it. I constantly hear from people all different ages, all over the world about how much they love it album and that really means so, so much to me!" Hear the phenomenon for yourself.

"An ACE Tone Compact Drum'n'Bass Psych Punk LSD Massacre pressed on WAX and just produced for your 24h Dance and Hangover Nights in Haarlem/Amsterdam!" Haarlem Amsterdam's Underground-Helden aus der Niederlande - eine Band, die mit einer ACE Tone Compact Orgel (aus der Mitte der 60er Jahre) arbeitet und den erstaunlichsten Sound aller Zeiten herausquetscht, in einem Song ins orbit katapultiert und im anderen eine Fuzz-Shred-Punkrock panzer Faust direkt in die Mitte _ und Ganz zu schweigen von der großartigen Drums-n-Bass-Sektion, die einem in kürzester Zeit den Kopf um 380 grad umdreht. 3 Leute machen einen Sound von 5, in diesen Aufnahmen gehen sie mehr in die Richtung Synthesizer oder Elektronik angehaucht. Aber es ist nicht nur das, es ist diese verdammte ACE Tone Compact Orgel die durch deine Ohren dröhnt!!!! Die Platte beginnt mit ,Boots` einem typischen ,E.T. Explore Me" Smasher, Ark ist eine Reise in sich selbst eine religiöse Offenbarung. Erhelle die Dunkelheit!!! ,Drug me, haben wir bereits als Vinyl 7 veröffentlicht und erzählt wie im song in ,Drip" über die Einnahme von verbotenen halluzinierenden Medikamente in einer 24 Stunden party und eine durchgeknallte Tanznacht in den Nachtclubs von Amsterdam, ,SIC" ist eine gefährliche unkontrollierte Fahrt mit dem Auto durch die Nächte in Haarlem und im song 98% mit gast Sängerin Kim-Lee Tio Bitte Nehmen Sie sich eine Minute Zeit und tauchen Sie ein in die Welt von ,E.T. Explore Me" ein und erfahren sie sich selber neu mit dieser Truppe aus Haarlem/Amsterdam. Digisleeve CD incl. 12page booklet, Vinyl-LP classic black w/ pinted inlay plus dlc.

Into the void hits from second one. Strong beats lead the way into this dreamlike soundscape, where metallic drum elements and effortless reverb tails take us on a journey. We get lost in a slow build and an unassuming bass-line drives us home, until the track collapses just to hit twice as hard coming back in. Dreamy vocals float over dirty synth lines, melodies that feel familiar guide the way to continuous build ups, where we can’t help but move our bodies to the gritty, thumping bass-line pushing us forward relentlessly.

Tempest is all about the beat. Simple, yet endearing, it reels us in and guides us on an endless rise where fragile synth swells and powerful percussion elements tease our ears. High-pitched glimmers dance across the soundscape with ease. A track that rises again and again, yet never quite implodes in-between. Instead it builds, in the most natural way, skilfully and exquisitely, whilst sirens add a well-rounded urgency, that’s hard to resist.

“Recorded over just three days, with little more than two takes making up each tune, the album is an exercise in the immediate, capturing both Kilbey and his accompanying musicians performing tracks while they’re still fresh. The result is one of the most pure records you’ll find anywhere. From the opening notes of “Poppy Byron”, it’s apparent that Kilbey has delivered something transcendental; something that only someone with a musical dexterity and vision like he can provide. Serving as a musical kaleidoscope of sorts, the album switches genres frequently, shifting between the mandolin-driven sweetness of “Josephine”, the ’60s-inspired psychedelia of “Woman Number Nine”, and the hazy, dream-like nature of “Lillian in Cerulean Blue”. Meanwhile, the lyrics stay true to the concept of the title, with each track focusing on a feminine subject, whether it be via lyrics about Mary Shelley watching SBS in Mandarin on “Poppy Byron”, the story of evil witch “Doris McAllister”, or “Birdeen”, which, a press release notes, focuses on a greedy lorikeet with a sweet tooth. As Kilbey himself notes, Eleven Women is far from perfect record by any means, but in much the same way that even iconic renaissance painting have notable flaws, therein lies the beauty of this.” Tyler Jenke, Rolling Stone Australia A 01 Poppy Byron 02 Woman Number 9 03 Josephine 04 Sheba Chiba 05 Birdeen 06 Lillian In Cerulean Blue B 07 Queen Of Spades 08 Baby Poe 09 Doris McAllister 10 Where Gloria Meets Rachel 11 Think Of You (for Jessie Bellette)

Soliton maximizes the compact format by further illuminating lesser-traveled paths. Contemplation and exploration weave harmoniously through five mysterious tracks. Influenced by a wide range of styles and sounds, such as Japanese ambient, the muted dissonance of Pharoah Sanders, and the chilly dub of the Scape catalog, Soliton evokes visions of lonely night drives punctuated by bright moments of bliss. The Calque EP from January 2023 saw them pursuing the minimal electronic side of their work even further. The opening track, "Kottbusser Tor,” showcases a conspicuous absence of the processed guitars that characterize most of their work, and instead explores sequenced filters, tape delays and analog synth patterns for eight minutes. On "Ammosel", they dive directly into dubby soundscapes, with crackling electronics and deep basslines, while "Kiyosumi" and "Fade Into Air" pay a visit to more familiar ambient territory. A darker undercurrent pervades on this EP, but one that goes particularly well with the coldest of seasons and its frosty air. The duo, consisting of Jason Kolb (Michigan, US) and Jonas Munk (Denmark) started working together in 2006, sending each other tracks across the Atlantic, eventually resulting in a full-length release on Felte in 2012. What started out as a side project to their respective main projects (Auburn Lull and Manual) have slowly become the main activity for both artists, now with a total of four full-lengths under their belt. Their music has also evolved and matured over the years, reaching a level of perfection that’s only granted producers who've been in the game for decades. Billow Observatory have by now established themselves as purveyors of highly refined ambient music and the Soliton EP sees them elegantly blend new and old, electronic and organic, into a gently drifting, enveloping whole. “.. mind drenching sunrises, glittering constellations, and sailing clouds, richly furnishing the familiar sense of hovering over vast natural orders that you're also inside. – Pitchfork // “So the world it inhabits is essentially that one between states, simulating a quietly vibrant ecology of sub-aquatic bass rumbles, washed out expanses of mid-range swirl and keening top end whose elusive colours seem to fade and coruscate in the low light. Lovely

Recorded in an abandoned water tank in rural northwest Colorado and inspired by Muriel Rukeyser’s circa-1935 poem of the same name, violinist Leslee Smucker explores the range and saturation of intense natural reverb on Breathing Landscape. The artist pushes her instrument to the limit –by turns percussive, sweeping, and scraping– and, on several tracks, utilizes her own voice as well, resulting in an album that combines breathtaking beauty and visceral texture. Leaning into the meditative quality being present in one moment can provide, this is music you can feel on your skin, calling out from our decomposing modernity into the indifferent sky above. Conjuring deep time but captured in one day, the album is simultaneously immediate and vaporous, primeval-sounding yet unapologetically modern. When you travel out of the mountains down into the rangelands of what we know today as western Colorado, the horizon opens up to reveal an ancient and scarred land. Cell phone coverage is spotty at best and towns are sparse. Time escapes our efforts to contain it and is instead etched into the hot, dry canyons. Approaching The Tank, outside the settlement of Rangely, oil pumps work ceaselessly on the other side of the gravel road, extracting a grim future. Inside The Tank it is 20 degrees warmer than outside, a zone of strange harmonics, exchanges of sound and stillness, and explorations of landscapes both exterior and interior. In what she describes as a "sauna of sound", Smucker "was transported by the reverberation to another realm. Birds and trucks passed outside, while the wind was an integral part to the sound making

finally available again on vinyl, note the new price. The most critically revered and commercially successful Eluvium album finally released on stand-alone vinyl for the first time ever. Originally released on CD and Digital formats only, Copia was eventually available on vinyl exclusively as part of the Life Through Bombardment Vol. 1 box set. With thatset long out of print – and Copia celebrating its 10-year anniversary – we are finally giving this landmark album the vinyl reissue that it unquestionably deserves. Remastered for vinyl by Francesco Donadello at Calyx Mastering in Berlin, this deluxe 2xLP set is packaged in a full-color wide-spine jacket with dual heavyweight full-color inner sleeves. // “The grandest, most sweeping Eluvium record to date.” Pitchfork // “A magnificent set, awash in textures, atmospheres, moods, and emotion.” AllMusic // “Copia is the sound of Cooper surpassing himself, combining his patented minimalist drones with beautifully rendered piano.” – Drowned In Sound // Following a string of increasingly remarkable albums, Eluvium's Matthew Cooper set out to broaden his instrumental palette, while maintaining the uncanny emotional resonance that has become his trademark. The result is Copia, an hour-long epic that applies Eluvium's heartache-inducing ether to a symphony of strings, brass, keyboards and piano. Noticeably absent but hardly missed are the washes of guitars that color most of Eluvium's previous material. The deliberate exclusion of traditional rock instrumentation serves as sufficient proof that the instrument is not Eluvium's driving force. At best it is a catalyst, a vehicle to that netherworld in the back of your head, where your life starts to uncontrollably reevaluate itself. Also Available From Eluvium: False Readings On CD, 2LP, Life Through Bombardment Vol. 2 7LP, Nightmare Ending 2CD, The Motion Makes Me Last CDEP, Leaves Eclipse The Light CDEP, Similes CD, Talk Amongst the Trees CD / 2LP, An Accidental Memory In the Case of Death CD, Lambent Material CD

2023 repress of the OTOROKU re-issue of the legendary English free improvisation LP 'The Topography of The Lungs' by Evan Parker, Derek Bailey and Han Bennink. This was Evan Parker’s first recording as a "leader" and was the first release on Incus, the label Parker founded with guitarist Derek Bailey and drummer Tony Oxley. This re-issue has been produced from an original vinyl pressing from Evan's archives - carefully transcribed and restored by Andreas LUPO Lubich at Calyx in Berlin and features the original liner notes from Parker along with updated notes penned in 2014. "To talk further of the music we play is difficult. It’s criteria for success exist, but are elusive and indefinable beyond the intuitive level. We operate without rules (pre-composed material) or well-defined code of behaviour (fixed tempi, tonalities, serial structures etc.), and yet are able to distinguish success from failure." - From Evan Parker’s original liner notes (1970). This pressing of The Topography of The Lungs comes in a limited edition of 500 copies.

LP - 180 Gram Vinyl Jasper Blom, a revered figure in the Netherlands' jazz scene, presents `Polyphony 3,' the latest installment in his acclaimed Polyphony cycle. With a versatile quartet featuring guitarist Jesse van Ruller, bassist Frans van der Hoeven, and drummer Martijn Vink, Blom welcomes guest pianist Pablo Held and collaborators Ben van Gelder and Joris Roelofs on select tracks. Drawing inspiration from post-tonal tone-clock theory, Blom's intelligent compositions create an absorbing and free-flowing musical journey. `Polyphony 3' showcases the tight-knit quartet's remarkable interplay and highlights Blom's distinctive voice, documenting the ongoing evolution of his esteemed career.

LP - 180 Gram Vinyl / Handnumbered, marbled Edition limited to 200 Units Jasper Blom, a revered figure in the Netherlands' jazz scene, presents `Polyphony 3,' the latest installment in his acclaimed Polyphony cycle. With a versatile quartet featuring guitarist Jesse van Ruller, bassist Frans van der Hoeven, and drummer Martijn Vink, Blom welcomes guest pianist Pablo Held and collaborators Ben van Gelder and Joris Roelofs on select tracks. Drawing inspiration from post-tonal tone-clock theory, Blom's intelligent compositions create an absorbing and free-flowing musical journey. `Polyphony 3' showcases the tight-knit quartet's remarkable interplay and highlights Blom's distinctive voice, documenting the ongoing evolution of his esteemed career.

Overview:
Nuggets vol. 2 as originally thought of by Lenny Kaye and released to celebrate the 50 years of the legendary compilation.

Der senegalesische Sänger Faada Freddy veröffentlicht nach siebenjähriger Pause sein neues Album. Mit einem sehr organischen Ansatz nutzt er hauptsächlich seine Stimme / Acapella, Handclaps und Bodypercussion. Das Album spiegelt sein kritisches, aber wohlwollendes Denken wieder und thematisiert die Standardisierung des Denkens, mangelnde Reflexion und Entmenschlichung in der heutigen Gesellschaft.

Faada Freddy verteidigt die Idee der Freiheit, indem sie Gewissen und Emotion, Reflexion und Staunen verbindet. Das Album zelebriert außerdem die afrikanischen Wurzeln des Sängers und bringt seine Verbundenheit zu seinem Land und Kontinent zum Ausdruck.

Reissue of the original ethiopian vinyl compilation. 180g vinyl + heavy cardboard cover.
"Ethiopians' deep-seated ethiocentrism, the legacy of a thousand years of history, has contributed in no small way to their music's strong national identity, particularly impervious to any African influences. Latin influences, so pervasive in the great musical centers of West Africa and the Congo, have been similarly rebuffed, despite the brilliant attempts of a musician like Mulatu Astatke. He was the first and for a long time the only Ethiopian to have studied music abroad (England and USA). In the late '60s, he brought back 'ethio-jazz', as well as a passion for Latin rhythms that was not readily shared by the Ethiopian audience. As early as 1966, he released a single and two LPs in the US entitled Afro-Latin Soul (and a third LP, Mulatu of Ethiopia in 1972), with his Ethiopian Quintet composed of American and Latin-American musicians (Worthy Records). That was three years before Fela's first American tour and six years prior to Manu Dibango's key breakthrough with the release of Soul Makossa in the Western 'pre-World music' market. All this goes to show how much the history of the African continent's musical modernity should be reconsidered in light of the Ethiopian adventure, even though this lone spark bore little relation, musically or ideologically to the musical revolutions initiated most notably by Ghanian highlife, South African jazz, Congolese rumba or, much later on, by Fela."

The stars and their reflection on the sea still inspire Pellegrino and his live band Zodyaco. Their second LP 'Morphè' released on Early Sounds Recordings, is an ode to Naples as seen from Vesuvius. The ensemble that follows him through this musical journey has been enriched with new members for the continuous development of the label's distinctive Mediterranean sound; this marks a further step into the evolution of their Neapolitan melodic disco from the slopes of Vesuvius.
The sound and aesthetic metamorphosis of this second release, which gives the title to the LP the greek word "Morphé" is inspired by the conflicting scenarios of the Neapolitan metropolis; always caught up between the never ending and frenetic flow of its narrow alleys and the soothing relief of the sea, with the night as the backdrop that is not able to light it up its inner depths.