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Snips is the founder of Barbershop Records and co founder of Livin Proof, with over 15 years experience as one of Londons most prolific DJs and over 10 years worth of production credits across Hip Hops underground. 2018 has seen Snips emerge as a budding solo artist, fusing the production styles of Hip Hop, House, Soul and Funk in the same fashion as he is known to do behind the turntables.

With his debut album "The Barbershop" making waves on both sides of the Atlantic and his Single "The Product" On Classic Records garnering support from a cross genre selection of heavyweights such as Karizma, Benji B, Eli Escobar, House Shoes, J Rocc, DJ Spinna and Henry Wu, Snips returns on his own label Barbershop Records and delves into Edit territory once again with a second limited 45'. This release delves into some modern soul and jazz, flipping some new age cult classics to club friendly future anthem

The collaborative debut of American minimal techno pioneer Troy Pierce and Colombian audiovisual artist Natalia Escobar aka Poison Arrow was conceived in reverse: first they created a collection of shadowy surrealist videos, then wrote music inspired by them. This inverted process proved remarkably fruitful. Shatter is a simmering, slow-burn noir odyssey inspired by the Greek myth of Echo and Narcissus, traversing subtle shades of sleepwalker dub, metallic lament, broken beats, and erotic negative space. It's an effectively unsettling evocation of the legend's core theme: "There is nothing more complex than a shattered heart, or a heart that can't love." Considering their shared background trafficking in darkened dance floor modes, what's most striking about Pierce with Arrow's partnership is its rhythmic restraint. The album's 10 tracks seethe and shudder between glamor and gloom, with only occasional dread-steeped metronomes mapping the malaise to a grid. They speak of pursuing a "spatial approach" with this project, which manifests in the music's immersive design and patient execution, each mangled clang and rippling pool of bass allowed to reverberate its full flickering waveform. Guest appearances by austere techno producer Konrad Black ("Obsidian Glass") and drum n bass institution dBridge ("It's A Love Story, After All") flow seamlessly into the whole, subtle sculptural accents on a dimly lit descent through purgatories of longing and lust. But the shadows recede for the record's closing cut, "Narcissus," which swells elegiacally in a mass of devotional drones over a muted heartbeat, like Narcissus gazing upon his reflection in holy awe: elusive true beauty, finally beheld, by itself.

One of the most enjoyable parts of Dirtybird is to watch a talented artist grow. Nala started out in Miami cutting her teeth on the local DJ circuit and then moved to LA where she eventually signed with VonStroke and Aundy's Motherbird Management.

Her weekly Dirtybird "TV Party" on Twitch is one of the most popular shows on the network. Each week she features her unmistakeable punk & new wave-influenced DJ style while also hosting a special underground guest, as well as her long time friend and local LA rave legend, Richie Panic.

Nala’s debut on Dirtybird, “Psychic Attack”, is a gritty A-side with her own vocals shouting about the nervous the angst of 2020. The B-side, “Sun Is Hot” showcases her gentler side with a deep groove, a smooth vocal tone, and melodic vintage synth riffs throughout.

Lydmor's new album 'Capacity' is a musical maze full of alluring mysteries. At the same time, it is part of a process of liberation, which is about opening oneself up and discovering one's capacity. For her previous album, Lydmor travelled to Shanghai. But on her new album, Lydmor has mostly travelled deep into herself. 'Capacity' is a contrasting musical work where fiction and reality merge into a multifaceted sound universe. It is the electronic pop artist's most personal, complex and conceptual album to date. There is almost a David Lynch'ish cut about 'Capacity'. The album is like a winding maze where it is difficult to decipher what is real and what is an illusion. Like a book with countless narratives. Without conclusions. Ambiguous. Full of alluring mysteries, dreams, reflections and messages about gender, identity, love, guilt and liberation. Rich in contrasts: Black/white. Silence/noise. Weakness/strength. Fiction/reality. Labyrinth/compass.
Multiple media has compared the quirky voice to the likes of Grimes, Kate Bush or Björk but inevitably the comparisons fall short. (Kaltblut Magazine) - With brutal honesty, unbelievable vulnerability and yet dreamy, she sings the soul out in her pulsating electronic pop songs. The soft, bright voice is deceptive. Denmark's "hidden gem" is a must-listen. (Flux FM) - She is every bit as innovative as Madonna ever was when she started out. Lydmor ticks all the boxes; the girl has everything. For my money she’s the most ground-breaking, inventive artist in Europe right now, possibly in the world. (God Is In The TV, UK) - A unique artist who somehow manages to combine sophisticated and subtle balladry with strident electronic pop, I’ve declared previously that I believe she is only one step away from becoming a big name. Perhaps the feelings are supposed to be mutually inclusive, as the song swings musically from simply cold to complexly hot. It is one that does try to combine both sides of her song writing persona, the introverted balladry and the more elaborate, extrovert electro-pop. (Nordic Music Review) - Revolting pop pathos, primed with pumped up beats. (Negative White, Switzerland)

Multidimensional duo Divide and Dissolve release their third full length studio album ‘Gas Lit’ on Invada Records, produced by Ruban Neilson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
Divide and Dissolve members Takiaya Reed (saxophone, guitar, live effects) and Sylvie Nehill (drums, live effects) create instrumental music that is both heavy and beautiful, classically influenced yet thrillingly contemporary and powerfully expressive and communicative. Their music has the ability to speak without words and utilises frequencies to interact with the naturally occurring resonance.
The CD is presented as a digipack.
The vinyl is pressed on 180g Transparent Red vinyl and comes housed in a heavyweight spined sleeve with printed insert and digital download card.
‘We Are Really Worried About You’ presents a formidable saxophone sound giving way to a surge of crushing percussion and heavy guitar riffs. ‘Denial’ is a potent blend of Takiaya’s ominous and unsettling sax that blows wide open into riff city for almost eight glorious minutes. Both tracks encapsulate the message behind the music: to undermine and destroy the white supremacist colonial frameworks and to fight for indigenous sovereignty, black and indigenous liberation, water, earth and indigenous land given back.
For fans of James Baldwin, Osa Atoe, Adrienne Davies, the ocean and freshwater, breath/breathing, Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, Afro futurism, indigenous futurism, indigenous sovereignty, slavery abolition, resistance, the forest, bodies of water, being submerged, the railroad and Ai Ogawa.

"Fantastically dark as it fuses slo-mo hip-hop and distorted trance its scare comes in how seductive if it is." Loud & Quiet 9/10

WHITE RING release their sophomore full-length SHOW ME HEAVEN, due out on Rocket Girl on 22 Jan 2021. This album arrives two years after their debut album 'Gate of Grief' which came after their benchmark EP, 'Black Earth That Made Me'. Swerving from aggressively abrasive to beautifully ethereal; musically they draw from a varied and challenging palette.

From 'Black Earth That Made Me' to 'Gate of Grief', 'Show Me Heaven' completes the story of loss and acceptance." Asking Bryan about the new album, he explains; "This album is about the consequences of darkness.

WHITE RING were originally formed by Bryan Kurkimilis and Kendra Malia, before they were joined by Adina Viarengo in 2017.
In October 2019 while writing this album, Kendra passed away after an on-off struggle with drugs and schitzophrenia. She was slated to be involved but didn’t get the opportunity to contribute before her death. Thematically, Show Me Heaven focuses on the aftermath of grief and is dedicated to Kendra Malia.
 
With their DIY ethos while dwelling on the outskirts of pop music, WHITE RING have developed a unique style while pushing the boundaries of accessibility and musical genre. They have created a piece of art that is brimming with symbolism and underlying tensions, that seduces, scares and comforts in equal measure.

LP COMES WITH A DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CARD

"With their distorted synths, gunshot claps and ghoulish diva... evoking a horribly claustrophobic atmosphere." Uncut
 
"Less shoegazers-on-codeine, more Fuck-Buttons-go-mad-in-a-crypt." Time Out

Lingering at the remains of a campfire before dawn, with the politics of the personal burnt into ash, running his stick through what’s left, Wand singer/guitarist Cory Hanson is reflecting on a series of moments in which he steps farther into himself, finding the ultimate big sky country on the inside of his skull. It’s a combination of songs and sounds that journey
through bleak and broken territory and places of sweet, lush remove and it adds up to the best record he’s been involved in yet: his second solo album, ‘Pale Horse Rider’.

 Cory’s first solo, ‘The Unborn Capitalist From Limbo’, was an intense affair, a grand experiment that produced inspiring,
nconventional music - but this time around, he wanted to breathe a bit easier, to feel that breath in the music as well. So he and his band drove out to the desert to record in a lowstress environment: Brian Harris’ Cactopia, a house surrounded by 6ft tall sculptural psychotropic cacti. They built a studio inside and then they made music and lived off pots of coffee and chili and cases of Miller High Life as they played guitars, bass, keyboards and drums in what seemed increasingly like a living biomech, their tech made out of fungal networks and cacti needles.

 It was loose and flowed onto tape well. Recorded by Robbie Cody and Zac Hernandez (who assisted on Wand’s ‘Laughing Matter’), the sounds were great from the get-go. First takes were mostly best takes. Fuelled with DNA lifted from country-rock cut with native psych and prog strands, Cory guided his craft toward the cosmic side of the highway, a benevolent alien in ambient fields hazy with heat and synths, early morning fog and space echo spreading the harmonies wide.

 ‘Pale Horse Rider’’s got a lot to get out of its mind, looking around and seeing that, on the surface, things don’t always look like much. A lifelong Californian, Cory’s naturally found himself standing to the left of most of the
country. The west may be only what you make it; these days, the roadside view looks exceptionally sunbleached and left behind. ‘Pale Horse Rider’ eyes the city, the country and the fragile environment that holds them both in its hands - a record as much about Los Angeles as it can be with its back to the town and the sun in its eyes; as much about
ostalgia as new music can be with the apocalypse over the next rise.

 On ‘Pale Horse Rider’, Cory Hanson moves ceaselessly forward. The old myths weave and waft, the shadows of tombstones flickering in the mirages and the light that lies dead ahead.

Lingering at the remains of a campfire before dawn, with the politics of the personal burnt into ash, running his stick through what’s left, Wand singer/guitarist Cory Hanson is reflecting on a series of moments in which he steps farther into himself, finding the ultimate big sky country on the inside of his skull. It’s a combination of songs and sounds that journey
through bleak and broken territory and places of sweet, lush remove and it adds up to the best record he’s been involved in yet: his second solo album, ‘Pale Horse Rider’.

 Cory’s first solo, ‘The Unborn Capitalist From Limbo’, was an intense affair, a grand experiment that produced inspiring,
nconventional music - but this time around, he wanted to breathe a bit easier, to feel that breath in the music as well. So he and his band drove out to the desert to record in a lowstress environment: Brian Harris’ Cactopia, a house surrounded by 6ft tall sculptural psychotropic cacti. They built a studio inside and then they made music and lived off pots of coffee and chili and cases of Miller High Life as they played guitars, bass, keyboards and drums in what seemed increasingly like a living biomech, their tech made out of fungal networks and cacti needles.

 It was loose and flowed onto tape well. Recorded by Robbie Cody and Zac Hernandez (who assisted on Wand’s ‘Laughing Matter’), the sounds were great from the get-go. First takes were mostly best takes. Fuelled with DNA lifted from country-rock cut with native psych and prog strands, Cory guided his craft toward the cosmic side of the highway, a benevolent alien in ambient fields hazy with heat and synths, early morning fog and space echo spreading the harmonies wide.

 ‘Pale Horse Rider’’s got a lot to get out of its mind, looking around and seeing that, on the surface, things don’t always look like much. A lifelong Californian, Cory’s naturally found himself standing to the left of most of the
country. The west may be only what you make it; these days, the roadside view looks exceptionally sunbleached and left behind. ‘Pale Horse Rider’ eyes the city, the country and the fragile environment that holds them both in its hands - a record as much about Los Angeles as it can be with its back to the town and the sun in its eyes; as much about
ostalgia as new music can be with the apocalypse over the next rise.

 On ‘Pale Horse Rider’, Cory Hanson moves ceaselessly forward. The old myths weave and waft, the shadows of tombstones flickering in the mirages and the light that lies dead ahead.

When Molly Nilsson began recording her second album Europa in 2009 the world seemed to be at a turning point and
she along with it. In the aftermath of a global financial crash, at the dawn of a new decade, the Stockholm-born, Berlinbased
singer was busy moulding her songwriting into an idiocyncratic, personal mythology that would take her to every
continent, speaking directly to hearts in every corner of the globe. The first album on her own Dark Skies Association
imprint, the first recorded in her home studio The Lighthouse, Europa broke new ground for Molly Nilsson at the time. But
also it spoke earnestly to the world about an idealism, an openness and hope that has not dimmed in the 11 years since
its release. Europa contains the songs of a young, idealistic songwriter coming to terms with her genius for cutting to the
chase, saying it as it is and, most importantly, as it should be. Over 10 years on the artists’ vim and urge for... more
credits

Daniel Szlajnda (aka Daniel Drumz) and Piotr Kalinski (aka Hatti Vatti) are one of the most famouse and experienced Polish producers and this album is another step forward for them.

It started with the EP "Krzyżacy", which was released exactly two years ago. Two well-known producers - Daniel Drumz & Hatti Vatti - joined their forces to release an EP, which later on was appreciated by the worldwide listeners, journalists and festival audience. JANKA, which I am talking about, hit the stages of the best Polish festivals such as Opener, Spring Break, Tauron, Slovenian MENT and Moscow Music Week. But that happened in 2019.

On March 8th 2021 the duo's debut album, "MIDI Life Crisis" will be released. Daniel Szlajnda and Piotr Kaliński once again prove that there is much more than just musical chemistry between them. What we can hear there are fascinations from dubby minimalism and IDM to jungle and rave - it's hard to label this unique mature album which should be a pleasant surprise for people open to electronic music. "Modern vintage" might be a good description of what we experience there, music is pressed on modular and analog synths and unusual sampling is drowned in delays and reverbs. However it's not from the late '90s, nothing is typical or obvious, the sound and the style of JANKA are unique.

On the album, you hear two guest voices - Sujka (i.e. Iwona Król - known from the projects Kobieta z Wydm, Lauda, and Król) and Kacha Kowalczyk (i.e. the voice of Coals), the album was mastered by Kwazar. The unique graphic was designed and created by Zosia Paśnik on the analogue gear (as a diploma at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice). The album is released in analog form in two color versions, the 180-gram vinyl edition also includes three inserts with Zosia's graphics.

Daniel Szlajnda (aka Daniel Drumz) and Piotr Kalinski (aka Hatti Vatti) are one of the most famouse and experienced Polish producers and this album is another step forward for them.

It started with the EP "Krzyżacy", which was released exactly two years ago. Two well-known producers - Daniel Drumz & Hatti Vatti - joined their forces to release an EP, which later on was appreciated by the worldwide listeners, journalists and festival audience. JANKA, which I am talking about, hit the stages of the best Polish festivals such as Opener, Spring Break, Tauron, Slovenian MENT and Moscow Music Week. But that happened in 2019.

On March 8th 2021 the duo's debut album, "MIDI Life Crisis" will be released. Daniel Szlajnda and Piotr Kaliński once again prove that there is much more than just musical chemistry between them. What we can hear there are fascinations from dubby minimalism and IDM to jungle and rave - it's hard to label this unique mature album which should be a pleasant surprise for people open to electronic music. "Modern vintage" might be a good description of what we experience there, music is pressed on modular and analog synths and unusual sampling is drowned in delays and reverbs. However it's not from the late '90s, nothing is typical or obvious, the sound and the style of JANKA are unique.

On the album, you hear two guest voices - Sujka (i.e. Iwona Król - known from the projects Kobieta z Wydm, Lauda, and Król) and Kacha Kowalczyk (i.e. the voice of Coals), the album was mastered by Kwazar. The unique graphic was designed and created by Zosia Paśnik on the analogue gear (as a diploma at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice). The album is released in analog form in two color versions, the 180-gram vinyl edition also includes three inserts with Zosia's graphics.

Obviously is the new album from beloved band Lake Street Dive. It includes the new single ‘Nobody’s Stopping You Now’, a letter of encouragement from lead vocalist Rachael Price to her teenaged self, co-written with bassist Bridget Kearney. Lake Street Dive has figured out how to write tunes that reflect this particularly turbulent chapter in our shared history. The album track ‘Making Do’, which was released at the end of last year, speaks to the world that future generations are inheriting while exploring the lasting impacts of climate change and our responsibility to address it (featuring a cameo from Senator Ed Markey who co-sponsored the Green New Deal).

As Price puts it, “You’re trying to express your anxieties, your feelings, your sadness, your happiness, all of these things – your authentic state of being in a song. But you’re also trying to create something people will listen to over and over again. That’s the unique fun thing about music, putting these messages into three and a half minute snippets, dropping whatever truth we can and hoping it’s the type of thing that people want to ruminate on.”

Obviously was produced by Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Mike Elizondo who is best known as a songwriting collaborator for Dr. Dre, Eminem, and 50 Cent and has also served as a record producer for Fiona Apple, Mary J. Blige, Carrie Underwood, and 21 Pilots, among many others. Utilizing Elizondo’s hip-hop record-making expertise coupled with the permanent addition of keyboardist Akie Bermiss, Lake Street Dive’s wide-ranging taste in pop, rock, R&B, and jazz have blended together to make an impressively cohesive sound, combining retro influences with a contemporary attitude. “We’ve been a band for so long that we didn’t want to just become a feedback loop of our own ideas,” recounts Kearney. “It felt like a really good time to bring another person like Mike Elizondo, and he really opened us up. He encouraged us to make bolder arrangement choices, take those chances and try those things. The record really is a success in what we set out to do: continue to challenge ourselves, continue to grow, and do things we’ve never done before.”

The members of Lake Street Dive founded the group in 2004 while attending the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. The band features Rachael Price (lead vocals), Mike “McDuck” Olson (trumpet, guitar), Bridget Kearney (bass) and Mike Calabrese (drums) as well as their newest member Akie Bermiss (keyboards), who has been a touring member of the group since 2017. Since the band’s inception, they have released six studio albums. Their 2018 self-produced record, Free Yourself Up, debuted at #4 on the US’s Top Album Chart and charted #8 on the Billboard 200. In addition, the album’s hit single ‘Good Kisser’ peaked at #5 at Americana radio and appeared in the Top 20 at AAA radio, both career peaks for the band. The group has toured worldwide performing at major music festivals including Bonnaroo, New Orleans Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival while preforming alongside artists such as T Bone Burnett, The Avett Brothers, Robert Finley, Jack Johnson and Trombone Shorty.

Overview:
British hard-rock heroes, Thunder, release their 13th studio album ‘All The Right Noises’ on 12th March 2020. The album is a return to the full-throttle sound of Thunder that has seen them create a hugely successful 30+ year career at the forefront of British rock, all built around the lifelong friendship of vocalist extraordinaire Danny Bowes and songwriting genius and guitarist Luke Morley. ‘All The Right Noises’ is an intense confection of illicit charms that reasserts their authority as the number one band in the land. Recorded in the months leading up to the first Covid-19 lockdown, it was originally due for release in September 2020. Strange to reflect then on how much of the new material appears to address the challenging new world we now inhabit. On the album, Luke says “ All the songs were written and recorded pre-Covid. But it is interesting how if you look at some of the tracks through the prism of Covid they still make a
lot of sense.” The volcanic lead single from the album, ‘Last One Out Turn Off The Lights’ could easily be mistaken for world-ending lockdown rage. But, says Luke, “That was directly about Brexit, but you could apply it to everything else.” The track is indicative of both the ferocity and message of the album as a whole, with subjects tackled including depression, mental health, and diversity

‘All The Right Noises’ follows on from 2019’s stripped back and reimagined album, ‘Please Remain Seated’ which continued their consecutive Top 10 UK Album Chart run since their ecstatically received comeback six years ago. It is another chapter in the band’s incredibly successful history that has seen them create a succession of some of the most highly-regarded rock albums of the past 30 years. The key to their renown: brilliantly conceived top-drawer material. Thunder is the last of the true British rock giants.

Overview:
British hard-rock heroes, Thunder, release their 13th studio album ‘All The Right Noises’ on 12th March 2020. The album is a return to the full-throttle sound of Thunder that has seen them create a hugely successful 30+ year career at the forefront of British rock, all built around the lifelong friendship of vocalist extraordinaire Danny Bowes and songwriting genius and guitarist Luke Morley. ‘All The Right Noises’ is an intense confection of illicit charms that reasserts their authority as the number one band in the land. Recorded in the months leading up to the first Covid-19 lockdown, it was originally due for release in September 2020. Strange to reflect then on how much of the new material appears to address the challenging new world we now inhabit. On the album, Luke says “ All the songs were written and recorded pre-Covid. But it is interesting how if you look at some of the tracks through the prism of Covid they still make a
lot of sense.” The volcanic lead single from the album, ‘Last One Out Turn Off The Lights’ could easily be mistaken for world-ending lockdown rage. But, says Luke, “That was directly about Brexit, but you could apply it to everything else.” The track is indicative of both the ferocity and message of the album as a whole, with subjects tackled including depression, mental health, and diversity

‘All The Right Noises’ follows on from 2019’s stripped back and reimagined album, ‘Please Remain Seated’ which continued their consecutive Top 10 UK Album Chart run since their ecstatically received comeback six years ago. It is another chapter in the band’s incredibly successful history that has seen them create a succession of some of the most highly-regarded rock albums of the past 30 years. The key to their renown: brilliantly conceived top-drawer material. Thunder is the last of the true British rock giants.

When the pandemic hit the US, Chastity Belt’s Annie Truscott descended into a state of mourning. Her plan had been to join her partner, Jay Som’s Melina Duterte, as violinist on tour, a privilege rarely afforded since both maintain busy road schedules and for Truscott the prospect of spending most of the year in a van wasn’t met with exhaustion so much as exhilaration. At long last, she’d be making a living playing music, no side hustle needed. The cancellation of the tour represented a sidelined dream.

 Routine was born of this disappointment. Like the phoenix rising from the ashes, Truscott and Duterte’s collaborative project offers a glimpse of the creative possibilities that can emerge from a state of defeat.  Written and recorded over the course of a month in Joshua Tree, Routine’s lush debut EP ‘And Other Things’ finds the couple trying on new roles. Truscott, who plays bass in Chastity Belt, wrote the bulk of the material and sings on the EP, while Duterte, normally a band leader, used the project as an pportunity to, in her words, “Take the backseat,” as accompanist, producer, and engineer.

 Duterte describes the making of the EP as “seamless.” In the mornings, Truscott sat outside of the cabin in the not-yet-blazing sun and worked out chord progressions on guitar while Duterte slept in. Staring out at the horizon, Truscott could see a smattering of houses and the sharp outline of a mountain range but overall the property felt remote, far removed from home in Los Angeles. On long walks Truscott admired the recently bloomed spring flowers and pondered the legacy of friendships and experiences that made her. “I spend a lot of my time thinking about the people who’ve impacted my life,” she says. “‘Routine’ gave me an opportunity to explore those relationships through music.”

The debut mixtape from Bad Boy Chiller Crew, includes the hits ‘450’, ‘Guns Up’ and ‘German Engineering’.
The debut mixtape from Bradford’s Bad Boy Chiller Crew (BBCC). With over 150 million+ organic streams on their own channels, a feature-length fly-onthe-wall VICE documentary and broadsheet tips for 2020 stardom, the group already have a formidable fanbase and infamy to be reckoned with. In fact, they’re already a fully-fledged organic phenomenon.
MCs Kane, GK, Clive are deeply influenced by the ‘bassline house’ clubbing heritage they grew up around in the North of England as well as emergent UK and US rap. The boys’ have created something of their own new sound, lacing pacey 4x4 bass-quakes with a frantic lyrical fire that veers from infectious
ear-worm hooks to wry observational punchlines. Think The Streets meet T2’s ‘Heartbroken’.
Embracing the term ‘charva’ as a way-of-life, together they channel the nuances and absurdities of northern street life into hugely addictive tunes. These lifelong friends are already celebrities around their Yorkshire locale, with a rabid social media following that devours both their singular brand of bassline-rap bangers.
12-inch gatefold LP on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl. Includes BBCC kingsize rolling papers. A2 fold out poster. Full lyrics and unseen images

Be assured that even dawning on sixty and with a career spanning more than 30 years, Popa Chubby continues to fight against the injustices of this world !
And the least we can say about 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic is that it offered him the “magnificent” inspiration that fed into the creation of his new album “Tinfoil Hat”! As he writes himself, this record’s creation was self-evident from the beginning of the first lockdown in March.
Back at his base in the Hudson Valley and following his last show played in Florida, our man immediately wanted to send a message of empathy and support to his fans, and that’s how the song “Can I Call You My Friends?” was conceived. The reaction was so sudden, warm, and intense that he found there was enough material for continuing this “dialogue” by composing other songs that today form the framework for “Tinfoil Hat.”
The whole thing was entirely “homemade,” recorded and played by Popa Chubby with the extra Guts and Soul that great causes often bring to life. “Tinfoil Hat” and the 11 songs that make it up were born from a mixture of love, despair, fear, frustration, pain, joy, sorrow, resolution and the leap into the great unknown imposed by the coronavirus that has been with all of us all since last
March. The Trump administration’s chaotic and reckless management of the crisis provided Popa Chubby with the inspiration for uncompromising lyrics. Like those of the title song (supported by, to say the least, an explicit clip) or themes such as “You Ain’t Said Shit,” “No Justice, No Peace,” or “Another Day In Hell.”
Without forgetting to pass on messages of hope (“Someday Soon, Change Is Gonna Come”) or even for good behavior in the face of the virus with “Baby Put On Your Mask.” In the album notes, he writes, “Like all of you, this pandemic has pushed me to the very edge of my humanity. But the music, the sweet music, has put me back on the right path once again. So I offer this work with humility and the deep devotion I have for you!”. That says it all!

An unlikely meeting of two like-minded spirits, »First Man in the Moon« sees the former Swans guitarist and Hallow Ground regular Norman Westberg and the prolific double bass player Jacek Mazurkiewicz collaborate for five evocative tracks. The pair finds common ground beyond the boundaries of atmospheric drone, abstract jazz and experimental music and blurs the lines between the acoustic and the electronic.The two first met when the composer Mazurkiewicz supported Swans with his solo project 3FoNIA on their 2014 European tour. »I really enjoyed his approach,« says Westberg about the Polish musician’s blending of the acoustic qualities of his instrument with electronically generated sounds. A decision to collaborate was made and when the US-American musician returned to Eastern Europe to support Michael Gira on his solo tour in late 2019, Mazurkiewicz reached out to him with the idea of booking some studio time before Gira’s two concerts in Warsaw. »Recording was very fun and easy,« remembers Westberg. »It was just two people enjoying hearing and reacting to what the other is doing.« »First Man in the Moon« is not however a plain document of these improvised sessions, but also shaped by Mazurkiewicz’s approach as a composer. Once the recordings were finished, he selected and edited the recorded material, refining the peculiar dialogue between the guitarist’s meditative drones and bright chords and his own rhythmic yet subtle approach to playing the double bass, sometimes plucking the strings and occasionally using his bow to underscore
Westberg’s fleeting melodies, but also using the instrument in unconventional ways to generate sound. A feeling of weightlessness prevails throughout the aptly-titled »First Man in the Moon.« Even at their most abstract however, these five improvisations-turned-compositions remain tangible, lively, and joyfully explorative. It is a record that you wouldn’t expect from either of these musicians, but
the logical result of two idiosyncratic minds sharing not only space and time, but also their respective visions with each other. Credits:
Recorded at Studio Diamentowy Pies/ Damian Pielka, engineering/Piotr Mazurek, engineering assistance/Jacek Mazurkiewicz, mix/
Lawrence English, mastering/John Fell, photographs.

Recorded in late 1996 and released in early 1997, this first album from the power Brussels based trio Rawfrücht, defies and questions the definition of genres, eras and musical movements. Ranging from minimal meditative dronish soundscapes, perfect for introspective journeys, to more 'groovy' moments, from noise rock to free rock-but-not-postrock unstable patterns - sometimes even within a single track - this album is a ride on undefined roads, no maps allowed, just instinct and the energy to always go further and deeper into charting new sonic territoriesŠ

After the release of this first untitled album, names like those of Marc Ribot, Sonic Youth or King Crimson were frequently associated to it.

But this doesn't really define what this album, released for the first time on LP, really is about. Two guitars and drums. Swell Maps meet Parliament, shades of Hendrix. Can-erisms catching up with the ramblings of Gastr Del Sol. Secret & reserved side in the best tradition of the Chicago School: Tortoise, Rome etc.

Rawfrücht was: Hugues Warin and Teuk Henri (Sharko, Juniper Boots) on guitars and Thomas Van Cottom (Cabane, Venus) on drums. First time released on vinyl!

The Crown is a drama television series, created and written by Peter Morgan and produced by Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix Original. The show tells the biographical story about the early reign of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The fourth season features Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth, as the story traces her life from her wedding 1947 to the present day. The main cast is further completed by Emma Corin as Lady Diana Spencer, Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher, Helena Bonham Carter and Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, and many more. Martin Phipps once again composed the haunting minimalistic soundtrack for this Golden Globe Award winning drama series. It is pressed on ‘royal’ purple marbled vinyl as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies and the package includes a 4-page booklet.

In the cinema, the composer must go to meet the filmmakers, enter their world, but without giving up his own. This is the difficulty or the paradox of music for the image. By collaborating with directors from a wide variety of backgrounds, I think I have indirectly discovered a lot about myself. It helped me to progress, to explore territories that were not naturally mine. Cinema is a laboratory where I have sought to construct original orchestral formulas combining Corsican polyphonies, musicians from jazz, variety, classical, or even rappers. Like the world today, a fragmented world where all cultures mingle. So said Bruno Coulais, one of the most innovative composers of contemporary cinema, during the tribute paid to him in 2011 at the Cinémathèque de Paris

In 1978, Bruno Coulais, a young composer of concert works, discovered in film music a new means of expression, a way of bringing the demands of his writing to the masses. François Reichenbach, then Josée Dayan, Jacques Davila, Souleymane Cissé or Laurent Heynemann, first on television and then in the cinema, lead him of his own accord in the discovery of this new world.

In 1995, he composed the music for Microcosmos. This centimeter-scale initiatory journey offers him the opportunity to reveal the full dimension of his writing. He injects into his score a strange lyricism, between wonder and fantasy, confirming the lesson learned from François Reichenbach: "to any documentary image, music brings a part of fiction".

The success of Microcosmos established the musician and made him the indispensable composer of other natural tales, notably alongside Jacques Perrin (Le Peuple migrateur, Oceans, Les Saisons, etc.). Other long-term relationships will be forged, in particular with Benoît Jacquot, with whom he has worked for more than a decade, not to mention Frédéric Schoendoerffer, James Huth or Jean-Paul Salomé.

In addition to great popular successes such as Les Choristes, Brice de Nice or Sur La Piste Du Marsipulami, it is hardly surprising that this insatiable curiosity has found in the animated cinema the most inspiring playgrounds, in particular through his collaboration with two exceptional designers, Henry Selick and Tomm Moore.

The first, American director of The Nightmare Before Christmas produced by Tim Burton, invites Bruno Coulais to sign in 2009 the magnificent score of Coraline (film nominated for the Oscars). 10 years later, he is about to find him for a new and beautiful Wendell & Wild adventure. For Irishman Tomm Moore, Bruno Coulais has already composed the music for two Oscar-nominated films, The Secret of Kells (2009) and Song Of the Sea (2014), and in 2020 he will sign the score for Wolfwalkers.

Whether it is about author's films or more mainstream films, Bruno Coulais maintains the same standards, always considering his art as a window open to the world. Much less wise than it seems, he reveals in it a gift of a modern alchemist and a very personal way of mixing the most diverse cultures in universal harmony at work.

Dies Occidendum is a mythical voyage across fog-laden, scorched earth terrain from the original friar of dark hip hop, Dj Muggs the Black Goat. Known and revered as the sonic mastermind behind both Cypress Hill and his own Soul Assassins imprint, here Muggs sheds the MCs and presents his latest dark-soaked productions as an illuminated manuscript of sorts; a fully immersive, instrumental soundtrack to the mysterious Dies Occidendum. No one wields the Excalibur of sonic darkness quite like Muggs. Combining ingredients of psych rock, gypsy folk with modern elements of trap, forged together under layers of his signature sonic grime, Muggs has created yet another blueprint for the utmost sonic menace and macabre. The Renaissance is upon us. Long live King Muggs. ABOUT DJ MUGGS: One of the original architects of dark hip hop in the early '90s, DJ Muggs helped craft a singular sound that blended darker sensibilities of psychedelic rock and hip hop in a unique way that influenced many in its wake. As the primary producer of legendary rap group Cypress Hill, Muggs' productions and sonic sensibilities are unmistakable and deeply revered by the truest of hejkvgads. Muggs' own MC round-robin imprint, Soul Assassins has been home to countless productions, laying sonic drop cloths for everyone from Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Chuck D, GZA, Mobb Deep to MF Doom, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano and Mach-Hommy.

LTD. RED VINYL

Dies Occidendum is a mythical voyage across fog-laden, scorched earth terrain from the original friar of dark hip hop, Dj Muggs the Black Goat. Known and revered as the sonic mastermind behind both Cypress Hill and his own Soul Assassins imprint, here Muggs sheds the MCs and presents his latest dark-soaked productions as an illuminated manuscript of sorts; a fully immersive, instrumental soundtrack to the mysterious Dies Occidendum. No one wields the Excalibur of sonic darkness quite like Muggs. Combining ingredients of psych rock, gypsy folk with modern elements of trap, forged together under layers of his signature sonic grime, Muggs has created yet another blueprint for the utmost sonic menace and macabre. The Renaissance is upon us. Long live King Muggs. ABOUT DJ MUGGS: One of the original architects of dark hip hop in the early '90s, DJ Muggs helped craft a singular sound that blended darker sensibilities of psychedelic rock and hip hop in a unique way that influenced many in its wake. As the primary producer of legendary rap group Cypress Hill, Muggs' productions and sonic sensibilities are unmistakable and deeply revered by the truest of hejkvgads. Muggs' own MC round-robin imprint, Soul Assassins has been home to countless productions, laying sonic drop cloths for everyone from Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Chuck D, GZA, Mobb Deep to MF Doom, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano and Mach-Hommy.

Next up on MOM is another exploration of the link between art and music. This time it is dance performance. The musical artist is Okkre (Uge Pañeda) producer of the Spanish duo LCC, who have released two albums on the celebrated Austrian imprint, Editions Mego. Okkre is a composer of soundtracks, DJ and she is currently immersed in researching her "landscapes series" project, connecting countries and cultures that are seemingly unconnected to each other through field recordings... MOM 012 is the soundtrack to a very special performance named ÉPICA. Directed by Barcelona based choreographer Aimar Pérez Galí, it was premiered at Sonar 2017. EPICA brings clubbing culture inside the theatre, to deliver a highly energetic performance, joining bodies, sound and voices of historic and political dissidence. It is about communication between bodies (without language) and the liberty of being on the dancefloor. Freedom of movement, expression and happiness through music! Okkre has provided a startling soundtrack. This soundtrack complements the performance of the dancers beautifully but also deserves to be listened on its own. It is both powerful and dramatic, fitting the title. The music of the soundtrack has been adapted for its imminent release on vinyl. The piece begins with the rhythmic movement of beats, which provides a structured backdrop. They are complemented by a swirling bassline. Overlayed percussion of differing styles comes in and out. Harsh almost metallic synths enter after a few minutes, which also have the sensation of breathing. Later on, powerful synths battle sturdy cymbal assisted percussion. In the latter stages, everything gets even more intense techno feel and the A Side ends with dense dark synths. The music is alive! While the other side gently mixes a melodic bassline that moves like the wind with intertwined chorus and voices, which appeal to the spirit of the artistic work, evoking space for feeling and touching. At the same time, insistent beats offer a club feeling. Scary yet empowering strings create a hypnotic atmosphere alongside falling keys and vocal impressions. The final few minutes provides a strong climax to the record. This features hammering beats, a circling bass and powerful keys. A mighty performance! ÉPICA is indeed epic.

Despite having been one of the most devastating years in the history of electronic music culture, 2020 has also brought about some creative momentum for music producers worldwide. In the case of Space Echo, it presented an opportunity to complete their third EP for Luv Shack Records.

The energy fuelled “Cha-Cha” is a title track that boasts with all the elements we’ve come to expect from a Space Echo joint; uplifting live drums blended with a classic 4-to-the-floor beat, a funky syncopated bassline, motivational vocal chops and lots of grainy delay. This time however, the main theme is played by a live saxophone that seamlessly fits the formula by switching between rhythmic and melodic phrases throughout the track.

The B-Side takes us to the laid back funk that is “Another Dream”. This sombre slice of sunrise music is jam packed with lush rhodes, live bass and sax and quirky mellotron melodies to boot.

Polish sound wizard Das Komplex gives “Another Dream” the remix treatment, churning out an uptempo disco rendition that is meant to be played on balearic beaches and sweaty afterhours alike.

Frontman of Nottingham punk band Kagoule, Cai Burns, returns as Blood Wizard. Arriving with no fixed direction, Blood Wizard is a project that sees Burns explore himself as a brand new entity, an artist beyond boundaries and preconceptions.

First single ‘Breaking Even’, showcases Burns’ impeccable songwriting skills and acts as the perfect introduction to this exciting project. With jangled, stop-and-go instrumentation, it is sheer artistic satire with an added charm.

Burns says about ‘Breaking Even’: “Breaking Even is a song about doing a lot for someone, changing yourself to fit their ideas of you but not getting the same in return. It's a satirical commentary on the effect that can have on a friendship or relationship”

Western Spaghetti, out 5th March 2021 via Moshi Moshi Records. Filled with crisp hooks, it is an album that has a predominant folk undertone that also expertedly navigates through various textures and dark melodies. There was not an album in


mind when Burns first started recording with Tom Towle at Random Recording Studio - just fragments of songs that all came together when the world paused in the spring and Burns realised that what he had been working on over the last few months could become a full record. The structure of the album follows suit, chopping and changing between harder-edged sounds and acoustic meanderings.

There is a forward honesty and a witty wryness to Blood Wizard. “Hooray to the big news, got my mouth around the spoiled fruit” he sighs on Fruit, a song about keeping happy for your friends’ achievements while your life feels static. Meanwhile, Total Depravity’s stand-out, bittersweet lyric “I’m never going to get that jacket back” pinpoints a singular moment amongst an anxious blur and a time he cannot return to. The infectious and fuzzy Carcrash draws on the weird ways love can be displayed, whilst in stark contrast, the subdued Somehow I Knew tells of the people you’ve never got to know.

Following the release of the single of the same name, Dutch duo Tunnelvisions return to Disco Halal with new EP ‘Gold Teeth’, out on Friday 27th November.

A three-track release, ‘Gold Teeth’ opens with an extended version of the title track, an infectiously feelgood house number, characterised by driving synths, busy percussion and catchy vocals. Next up, ‘Hyperfocus’ is a slow-burning progressive house cut that unfurls steadily across its six minutes. Closing things out, ‘Heat Wave’ harnesses an old school house vibe, characterised by deep bass and fluttering percussive elements.

Speaking about the EP, Tunnelvisions says: “We’re proud to present you our next EP called ‘Gold Teeth’. Three tracks combining our percussional and synthpop influences into something we’re very excited about.”

With an unmistakable ear for imaginative, melodic themes and entrancing rhythms, Tunnelvisions hit the sweet spot by seamlessly fusing worldly influences with analog synthesisers.

A diverse collection of tracks, ‘Gold Teeth’ sees Tunnelvisions skilfully explore various shades and tones on the house music spectrum.

*** UNRELEASED AOR / YACHT ROCK FROM 1979 AS FEATURED ON PRAISE POEMS 7***

It is a rare occurrence, especially when you consider that we are writing this in the year 2020, that an unreleased AOR/Yacht Rock album surfaces after 40 years. The Tramp crew first heard about it while discussing Penn Central's inclusion of their song "Sometimes" on "Praise Poems Vol.7".

The band Penn Central was formed about 1978 by Gary Phelps and his younger brother Shawn Phelps. They had been playing together in a few different groups in the Erie, Pennsylvania area since Gary returned there from Penn State in 1974. In 1978 Shawn was going to college at Edinboro State University, just south of Erie, where he met Curt Salvador, a student from the Pittsburgh area. They began playing together in a local Edinboro group when Shawn introduced Curt to Gary. Gary, Shawn, and Curt began to collaborate and soon Gary brought in friend and former high school bandmate Allen Bennett who was an accomplished musician on trumpet and percussion. Shawn then found Dave Lindgren who was playing drums in various bands locally and Penn Central was formed.

The group began rehearsing and playing small venues together. Soon, they began to work on original songs that Gary and the band were writing. They decided in 1979 to record some of the original music at a small independent studio in Erie that was owned and operated in by Keith Veshecco and John Mazza. Soon after recording 7 songs there, a large FM radio station, WDVE, in Pittsburgh sponsored a contest for local bands for a compilation album of local groups. Because of Curt's roots in Pittsburgh, he entered the Penn Central song "Sometimes" in the contest and it earned a spot on the 10 track album that was released in 1980. The band subsequently played in the area for the next few years before drifting apart as the members left college, began new careers, and started raising families. Gary, his brother Shawn, and Curt continued playing together and with other group configurations and as solo artists off and on since that time. They remain friends and share musical ideas to this day.

Key selling points:

- previously unreleased album from 1979
- all songs taken from the original reel-to-reel master tapes
- including full album download code

Known for a series of beautiful records released on some of the best labels of the past years (Comeme, Dark Entries, Cititrax, Pinkman), Romanian producer and DJ Miruna Boruzescu aka Borusiade knows how to create ethereal tracks, somewhere between post-wave, techno and industrial vibes.

"Purge", the new EP for Tripalium Corp, is about heart-break in forced isolation, when the only way to stay sane is purging through music and lyrics. From the 80s synth of "Let Go" to the experimental ten-minutes-trip "Haunted Evolution", these five tracks are talking about of one's coping systems in extreme emotional situations, hope and power to move on and last but not least, learned lessons and empowerment.

“It’s about hopelessness and darkness,” says Aidan Moffat. “But in a fun way.” The Arab Strap frontman is speaking about the band’s 7th studio album and their first since 2005’s ‘The Last Romance’.
The band’s exciting return saw the much lauded
‘The Turning of Our Bones’ single achieve Record Of The Week on Jo Whiley’s BBC Radio 2 show and hit the B-list at BB6Music.
The new album will appeal to longtime fans and pick up new ones who weren’t ready for Arab Strap first time ‘round.
LP contains postcard with digital download code.

I’ve known Alex Bleeker my entire life. Well, okay, maybe not since I was born, but there’s no doubt that I’ve shared a fair bit of memories with him over the years. We’ve acted in high school productions of Shakespeare together, gone on late-night diner runs, argued about which Weezer album is the band’s best, and swapped mutual appreciation for the music of Yo La Tengo on car rides careening around the snaky suburbia of our hometown. Just like his Real Estate bandmates Martin Courtney and Julian Lynch, we attended high school in the New Jersey enclave of Ridgewood, a place where sticky summer days yielded cool nights with a glow so nocturnal that you can practically hear the fireflies buzzing off of this sentence alone.

Indie rock—a type of music that can easily be made or listened to in someone’s garage—often dominates teenage suburban preoccupations, and both Alex and I were no exception. You can hear this legacy of listening on his new album Heaven on the Faultline, which departs from his last full-band outing as Alex Bleeker and the Freaks, 2015’s Country Agenda. Whereas that album had a more full-bodied explicitly folk-y feel, Heaven on the Faultline finds Bleeker getting back to his homespun roots over the course of its 13 songs, from the jangly guitar pop of New Jersey heroes the Feelies and YLT’s hushed, acoustic reveries to the open-hearted folk rock that marks so much of the Grateful Dead’s early catalog.

Written and recorded over the last several years, Heaven on the Faultline’s songs were initially recorded straight to GarageBand in Bleeker’s bedroom before receiving further studio refinement in co-producer Phil Hartunian’s Tropico Beauty space in Los Angeles. With contributions from Confusing Mix of Nations’ Josh Da Costa, Cameron Stallones of Sun Araw, singer-songwriter Kacey Johansing, and Parting Lines’ Tim Ramsey, Heaven on the Faultline achieves a warm and intimate feel that defines Bleeker’s mission for the album: “I wanted to capture the moment in which I fell in love with making music to begin with. This is music for myself—me getting back to music for music’s sake.”

The unsteady times we live in certainly creep into view on Heaven on the Faultline. The deceptively easygoing “D Plus” was written on the day of President Donald Trump’s inauguration with the cursed event in mind, while the anxiety of climate change hovers just above the lovely guitar loops of “Felty Feel.” “The album is very much about dealing with the anxiety of a sense of impending doom,” Bleeker states while discussing the album’s portentous vibes. “When is the hammer going to fall? How do we go forward in the face of such anxiety and experience the complexity of life?”

Tough questions with few answers, but try not to stress too much. It’s possible to experience such existential doubt while also enjoying the simple pleasures that life has to offer, and that ethos is square at the heart of Heaven on the Faultline. It defines who Alex Bleeker is, too, and is one of many reasons why I’m proud to have known this special person and artist for so long.

Larry Fitzmaurice

Originally recorded and released in 1980, "Six of One" beautifully captures the detail in Evan Parker's high frequency split tones for which he is now perhaps better known. Five years on from "Saxophone Solos" and with circular breathing and polyphonics well worn into his live performances, Parker's experimentations here produce sustained passages of brilliant flight. Set into the echoes and resonances of St Judes On The Hill church, the results are stunning. "The recital commences with a split tone line of twining sine waves that expand and contract in telepathic collusion. Pitch dynamics narrow and redefine themselves more emphatically on the second piece where sliding legato rivulets born of Parker's compartmentalized tonguing create the sonic semblance of up to three separate voices emanating from the single reed speech center. It's a feat he's accomplished innumerable times since, but every fresh hearing never fails to open an aperture into a style of improvisatory expression that is at once wholly alien and intensely mesmerizing. There's also something strangely subterranean about the flood of sounds, like the rush percolating water through an underground aquifer system enroute to unknown tributaries. The third piece trades tightly braided tones for leaner and more linear phrases, but a vaporous trail of phantom notes still clings to the central line. And so it goes, with the illusion of repetition guiding the momentum, though Parker never explicitly repeats himself." - Derek Taylor, All About Jazz Transferred from the original master tapes at Abbey Road Studios and released in an edition of 500.

Clock, featuring two extraordinary songs written and performed by Arden herself. A vinyl-only edition of 250 copies, with fold-out poster and insert containing sleevenotes by Jack Bond, Sam Dunn, Charlotte Procter and Sebastian Saville. Arden and Bond’s collaborative career gave Britain some of the most extraordinary films it ever produced. Their filmography is woefully short - but it’s full to the brim of incredible, daring ideas and completely unfettered imagination. It’s packed, too, with pain and a disconcerting honesty about the human condition; challenging commonly-held ideas about madness and positing ideas which are far less easy to categorise or control. Anti-Clock, their final work together - Arden took her own life three years after its release - is a complex, contemplative piece, and Arden’s apparently comforting delivery of her self-penned songs and the see-saw flow of Mihai Dragutescu’s delicate instrumentation act only as a means to lure us in; to begin the de-programming. In Arden's book You Don’t Know What You Want, Do You?, the basis for the network of ideas at play in Anti-Clock – the motif of the rat is used as a metaphor for the rational mind. The lyrics to ‘Sleepwalking’ (living in a daze, wandering in a maze) also conjure up images of lab rats, of unthinking beings adhering to rules and systems, never questioning what is beyond what they think they know to be true. At the close of Anti-Clock, the central character, Sapha, simply says, ‘It has been my whole life's will to decode this puzzle, as though inside the answer to this equation was the insurance of that peace of mind that had eluded me. But there is no puzzle. And the mind is never peaceful. And dawn’s already here as the stars appear.’

One of the guardians of the modern classical genre. Australian pianist/composer. Bright, bubbly, colourful & energetic personality. A piano-led album with strings & other elements. About surrendering to the unknown, trusting that any path will lead one to one’s rightful place.

* repress on sandstone colour vinyl

For 'Music For Dreams’ collector’s series, we aim to bring you something a little different, something a little out there. After eclectic contributions from Jan Schulte, Moonboots and most recently Basso, we’ve lent the slot to Belgian sonic globetrotter DJ soFa. As always, he’s been granted supreme curatorial sovereignty, and trust us, he held us to our word on that one. For elsewhere Jr I, soFa takes us on a trip to the alluring and magical reality of childhood - and a trip, it is.

This double LP features both new and old compositions from a wide range of countries, all centered around the youngest citizens of planet earth. The compilation has been 2.5 years in the making, with soFa collecting obscure pieces from all over the world and inspiring young collaborators to produce new tracks mostly by means of analogue synthesizers and vintage drum machines. The result is a thematically and sonically homogenous collage of cosmic children’s music.

'soFa' starts us off with Milo Kolarov’s exercise in sonic imagery ‘Analogue Beam’, a story about animal characters, presented to us as distinct motifs of bleeps and blitzes. Next up is the surreal jigsaw puzzle dub ‘Totti und Pippo’ by Jah Limonardi and 'Die Kleine Gräfin Dubski'.

Here, we come bouncing on giant, iridescent mushrooms, lulled deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole by incantations of a child’s voice. Throughout, the record is full of these synaesthetic properties, immersing the listener in creative ways, nudging you down hidden experiential pathways.
All of the tracks, more precisely ... they were pleasantly engaging, often blooming with charming grooves and provided with a whimsical melody.

Jesse James rides again! Rejoining the Soul Junction label to bring you his previously unreleased original version of the song “(The Girl In) Clinton Park”

The song is more widely known through the version recorded by the group Masterplan in 1974 as part of their trilogy of 45 releases on the West Coast Fos-Glo label, with this particular release being later picked up and released on The East Coast Delite label.

The story behind Jess’s solo version began 3 years earlier when following his first spell with the 20th Century label Jesse found himself without a label feeling a little disillusioned with major labels but undeterred in his own ability he decided to finance and record his own masters. Hence on 29th of April 1971, Jesse entered the Searra Sound Studio in Berkley C.A under the direction of producer and friend Willie Hoskins (Wilhos Productions, and the man who gave the world the Natural Four on Boola, Boola and ABC, prior to them joining Curtis Mayfield at Curtom). Jesse recorded a five song session, with one particular song being the Stanley Lippett composition “(The Girl In) Clinton Park”. Lippett who prior to becoming part of the Wilhos Productions team sang with the early 60’s group The Five Brooks before recording two very sought after Northern Soul 45’s “The Stran” and “Outta Sight Loving” for Dick Vance’s Out Of Site Label. Stanley later joined Marvin Holmes & The Uptights Band. It had been Marvin Holmes (he of Brown Door Records fame) who introduced Stanley to Willie Hoskins with Stanley subsequently joining Boola Boola Records and Wilhos Productions. Stanley repaid Marvin for this introduction by composing a song based on Marvin’s 3 year daughter, she being the actual girl from Clinton Park!

Returning to Jesse James, two other songs from this session, a cover version of Etta James “At Last” and “I Know I’ll Never Find Another” did gain a release at the time on the Zay label.

We’ve known about Jesse’s version of this song for many years now but the tape was nowhere to be found and even without hearing it, just knowing the song and that Jesse was a great singer I always promised him that one day I’d put it out. But if there is some good to come out of this pandemic then it was during Jesse’s lock down in Richmond and while browsing through his possessions he luckily found the missing tape, bingo we’re in business!

For this release we have coupled “(The Girl In) Clinton Park” with Jesse’s oh so soulful cover version of the Terry Callier/Larry Wade composition “ Just As Long As We’re In Love” (also recorded by Callier himself and The Mighty Dells), previously issued by Soul Junction on Jesse’s 2012 album “Let Me Show You” (SJLP 5005), enjoy.

‘Island’, the latest album from Oscar-nominated composer and
songwriter Owen Pallett, released on Domino / Secret City
Records (Canada).
Almost entirely acoustic, ‘Island’ begins with 13 darkened
chords and was recorded live at Abbey Road Studios with the
London Contemporary Orchestra. The introduction is the sound
of waking up alone and on the shore of a strange land. What
follows is a shimmering and luscious orchestral album that
draws across the full breadth of Pallett’s discography, from
‘Heartland’’s Technicolor to the glittering, fingerpicked guitar
that marked Pallett’s first records with their trio, Les Mouches.
In addition to Pallett’s Grammy Award-winning work with
Arcade Fire, Pallett’s commissions have included string, brass
and orchestral work for Last Shadow Puppets, The National,
The Mountain Goats, Christine and arrangements for Frank
Ocean, Caribou, R.E.M., Linkin Park, Sigur Rós, Taylor Swift and
the Pet Shop Boys.
Since the release of ‘In Conflict’ (2014), Pallett has earned an
Oscar nomination for their film scoring work on Spike Jonze’s
‘Her’ and an Emmy for Sølve Sundsbø’s ‘Fourteen Actors Acting’.
Their score for Matt Wolf’s ‘Spaceship Earth’, a documentary
about a crew who spent two years quarantined inside a replica
of Earth’s ecosystem called BIOSPHERE 2, is out now.

‘PEACEMEAL’ is yet another reinvention for Ron
Gallo - a human being on a lifelong chase of
himself and using music as the main vehicle.
On his third LP, he exits the noisy confines of the
garage and goes outside where there’s no limit to
embracing all aspects of himself.
The result is a colourful hodgepodge of 90’s hiphop, r&b, weirdo pop, jazz and punk. The sounds
change but the sense of humanity, humour and a
truly eccentric worldview is the common thread in
all of Gallo’s music.
Mostly written and recorded during a period of
self-isolation in summer 2019, it’s an uncanny
foreshadowing of the global situation that was to
come and give all the songs a new meaning. This
is feel-good music that attempts to confront and
understand human existence.
Ron Gallo just wants to be himself, destroy
expectations and encourage you to do the same in
a world that does just about everything to try and
box us in - not to mention, this is his best most
fun one yet.

Off the back of her critically acclaimed self-titled
debut album released last year on Invada Records,
Billy Nomates returns with her new EP, ‘Emergency
Telephone’.
The EP is pressed on ‘Ocean Blues Blue’ vinyl and
housed in a deluxe spined sleeve with digital
download card included.
With huge support from BBC 6Music, the year
came to a climax when she was asked by Iggy Pop
to step into his shoes to cover his Christmas show
and, together with featuring on the new Sleaford
Mods single ‘Mork n Mindy’, Billy Nomates has
proved herself to be one of the most original and
respected new artists coming through this year.
‘Emergency Telephone’ sees Billy Nomates develop
her unique sound and unflinching lyrics. Of the
new EP she says, “‘Emergency Telephone’ is
predominantly about communication breakdowns;
personally, mentally, physically. A strange thing to
happen while communication has never had so
many channels. Perhaps we need a direct line.”

Blackpool based noise rock and punk trio ‘Those Fucking Snowflakes’ are a vibrant clash of political punk, hardcore rock and math rock that has been getting 6music play from the likes of Tom Robinson and Gideon Coe and has a two page feature in the next issue of Vive le Rock magazine as well as props from Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods.

The band formed as a means to scream the dread and horror faced in these confusing times of our modern society. From the current mess of the UK political system to the intolerance of, well, everything. From race and gender to such simple items as Greggs releasing a Vegan Sausage Roll, the band are shouting about it backed with a tight unique sound and occasional off kilter humour.

‘deploying 1000 volts through the civility of discourse’


The band have self released two EP’s - ‘U Ok Hun?’ and ‘Straight Wealthy White Male Suffrage’ on their own label ‘The Recording Industry Is Dead, Records’.