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Maceo Plex's Lone Romantic label signs up new school techno innovators Any Act for the powerful Deti Techno EP.

Since their self-released protest EP ‘Civil Act’, Yaroslavl-based collective Any Act have put out music that is physically, socially and politically powerful. That debut from the TRAM Planet Records associates was an evocative offering that paired dynamic guitar riffs with samples of a policeman's voice and acid-laced basslines. They now continue their mission to unite and strengthen young music communities in their native Russia, as well as around the world, with this new standout release.

The bristling title track opens up with a killer electro-techno groove. Distorted synth stabs and dark vocal samples make for an intense and edgy atmosphere that will fire up any club. 'Jug A Jug' is another visceral track with razor-sharp synths ripping up the groove as busted bass blasts down low. Add in angular riffs and booming kicks and you have an explosive techno rave-up.

The excellent 'Bayla' is another no-frills, lo-fi, high-impact banger with thumping drums and brain-frying synth textures that are all coated in grit and grime. 'Till I Die' shows a different side with its sleazy feel and ghetto bass. A freaky female vocal and pixelated melodies bring late-night rave vibes before closer 'Chin Chin De' takes off on rugged electro drum programming. It's an explosive cut with raw attitude and unbound energy that places you at the heart of a strobe-lit warehouse.

This is a direct and potent EP from the hotly tipped Any Act.

Snarky Puppy founder, multi-instrumentalist and
Grammy winner Michael League and crossover
piano icon Bill Laurance take us to an imaginary
place full of beauty, peace and energy.
‘Where You Wish You Were’ is the name of their
first duo album, released on ACT. The album’s
protagonists surprise, almost as an antithesis to
the stadium act Snarky Puppy, with an intimate,
atmospheric, melody-driven dialogue.
Spanish resident and North Africa enthusiast
Michael League draws colourful musical
landscapes on oud, bass and guitar. And Bill
Laurance, otherwise also known to us especially
for dense walls of sound on keyboards and
synthesizers, transfers their sound palette to the
acoustic world of the piano. Musical escapism,
world jazz 2.0 and an invitation to a place where
we wish to be.

 With ‘Resonanzen’ (Resonances), Johanna
Summer has extended her extraordinary art and
deepened the way she re-tells the music of
classical composers through improvisation.
 The album spans a wide range, starting with Bach,
Schubert, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Grieg and
Ravel and ending with Mompou, Ligeti and
Scriabin.
 Johanna Summer’s deep insights into the two
worlds of composition and improvisation are the
result of the particular path along which she has
developed as a musician. In her childhood and
youth, she solely studied classical music. Jazz and
improvisation came relatively late, but when they
did, it was with a powerful focus.
 Her classical grounding remained in place, and yet
there were many things that she needed to relearn for ‘Resonanzen’. As she says: “It was very
important that I should master the original pieces
first. That was particularly demanding for
‘Resonanzen’, because each of these very
contrasting compositions makes very different
demands on me as a player. At the same time,
improvisation is also an art which you have to keep
practising and developing, so that the music can
attain its own natural flow. To do justice to both of
these sides, and to find a balance between them,
these really are lifelong tasks for me.”

 ‘Silent World’ is perhaps the most personal album
of drummer, composer and bandleader Wolfgang
Haffner yet.
 A master of clarity, focus, and reduction,
accompanied by Dominic Miller, Nils Landgren, Till
Brönner, Bill Evans, Rhani Krija, and many more.
 ‘Silent World’ is about the essentials of being
human, a message which Haffner signals clearly
with concise track titles such as ‘The Peace
Inside’, ‘Hope’ or ‘Belief’. Sometimes we’re in the
world of hymns, sometimes of dreams, but there is
always a melody to be grasped and a pulse to be
felt, and those points of reference give a basis for
the listener to focus and to enjoy the music
thoroughly.

Sealed Records re-issue the 1985 Alternative’s album If They Treat You Like Shit - Act Like Manure originally released on Corpus Christi Records. Recorded at Southern Studios and Co-produced by Pete Wright from Crass and featuring Annie Anxiety and Pete Wright on backing vocals. The album is full of provocative protest songs with intelligent lyrics, effective use of samples, melodic tunes and dual female / male vocals. It’s urgent, passionate and memorable. A must own release from that classic mid 80’s UK anarcho punk era. Remastered from the original tapes. CD version includes 5 extra songs - Unreleased track What Revolution? plus four radically different versions / mixes of album tracks recorded in the same session which will be in a separate 7" later in 2023.

Composed of rhyme-vets Pawz One and Evolve are Random Act Of Violence! The duo's self-titled release is chock-full of grimy bars over bangin' beats for the head-nodders.

Lead single "Sixteen Shots" is a boom-bap bar-brawl set to a crackin' instrumental (produced by EQ) with DJ Eyeball adds cuts to and featuring additional lyrical firepower from none other than Copywrite.

Another track from the project is "Vaultures". Speaking on that track Pawz revealed "the concept of that one was inspired by seeing a lot of these types in the game. The hook was inspired by Mobb Deep, these half-way-crooks bunched up to make each other feel tough and validate themselves."

Hailing from Los Angeles Pawz One has been repping the real and releasing music for the past decade. Most recently he teamed up with 90's West Coast vet Mykill Miers for the aptly named "Double Homicide" album and has also appeared on tracks with such notables as Ruste Juxx, Sadat X, Percee P, Shabaam Sahdeeq and DJ Rhettmatic.

Based out of Donna, Texas, Evolve has released over twenty albums through his Boom Bap Masterpiece Records label. He has collaborated on tracks with such notables as Chino XL, Fatlip (of the Pharcyde), Esoteric, Mickey Factz, Blueprint and many more. Touring the country over the past decade he has also shared stages with the likes of Raekwon, Murs, R.A. The Rugged Man, Masta Ace and Immortal Technique among others.

Die Band - bestehend aus den Mitgliedern Derek Day (Gesang), Dane Pieper (Gitarre), Griffin Tucker (Gitarre), Franco Gravante (Bass) und Chuck McKissock (Schlagzeug) - wurde 2018 gegründet, nachdem sie sich durch ihre Liebe und Leidenschaft zur Musik virtuell verbunden hatten. Jetzt sind sie in Los Angeles und haben sich auf einer Mission vereint, um der nächste große generationsbestimmende Act zu sein, der sich von klassischen Rock-Acts der 70er Jahre und Alt-Rock-Gruppen der 90er Jahre inspirieren lässt. Ihre Musik erinnert an die Markenzeichen früherer Generationen - hymnische Rhythmen, schreddernde Gitarren, erhebender Gesang - aber sie bahnt sich ihren Weg in die Zukunft mit cleveren Arrangements, scharfsinniger Musikalität und gekonntem Songwriting. Die Band hat sich in der Branche bereits einen Namen gemacht und war mit Weltklasse-Produzenten wie Bob Rock, Michael Beinhorn und Joe Chiccarrelli im Studio, die bereits Hits für Bands wie The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Soundgarden und The White Stripes geschrieben haben.Le groupe - composé des membres Derek Day (Chant), Dane Pieper (Guitare), Griffin Tucker (Guitare), Franco Gravante (Basse), et Chuck McKissock (Batterie) - s'est initialement formé en 2018 après s'être connectés et liés virtuellement par leur amour et leur passion de la musique. Maintenant à Los Angeles, ils se sont unis pour une mission : être le prochain grand acte de définition de la génération, en s'inspirant des actes de rock classique des années 70 et des groupes de rock alternatif des années 90. Leur musique fait écho aux caractéristiques des générations précédentes - rythmes hymniques, guitares déchiquetées, voix envoûtantes - mais se fraye un chemin vers le futur grâce à des arrangements astucieux, une musicalité aiguisée et des compositions efficaces.

Die Band - bestehend aus den Mitgliedern Derek Day (Gesang), Dane Pieper (Gitarre), Griffin Tucker (Gitarre), Franco Gravante (Bass) und Chuck McKissock (Schlagzeug) - wurde 2018 gegründet, nachdem sie sich durch ihre Liebe und Leidenschaft zur Musik virtuell verbunden hatten. Jetzt sind sie in Los Angeles und haben sich auf einer Mission vereint, um der nächste große generationsbestimmende Act zu sein, der sich von klassischen Rock-Acts der 70er Jahre und Alt-Rock-Gruppen der 90er Jahre inspirieren lässt. Ihre Musik erinnert an die Markenzeichen früherer Generationen - hymnische Rhythmen, schreddernde Gitarren, erhebender Gesang - aber sie bahnt sich ihren Weg in die Zukunft mit cleveren Arrangements, scharfsinniger Musikalität und gekonntem Songwriting. Die Band hat sich in der Branche bereits einen Namen gemacht und war mit Weltklasse-Produzenten wie Bob Rock, Michael Beinhorn und Joe Chiccarrelli im Studio, die bereits Hits für Bands wie The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Soundgarden und The White Stripes geschrieben haben.Le groupe - composé des membres Derek Day (Chant), Dane Pieper (Guitare), Griffin Tucker (Guitare), Franco Gravante (Basse), et Chuck McKissock (Batterie) - s'est initialement formé en 2018 après s'être connectés et liés virtuellement par leur amour et leur passion de la musique. Maintenant à Los Angeles, ils se sont unis pour une mission : être le prochain grand acte de définition de la génération, en s'inspirant des actes de rock classique des années 70 et des groupes de rock alternatif des années 90. Leur musique fait écho aux caractéristiques des générations précédentes - rythmes hymniques, guitares déchiquetées, voix envoûtantes - mais se fraye un chemin vers le futur grâce à des arrangements astucieux, une musicalité aiguisée et des compositions efficaces.

Jazzrausch Bigband has more or less invented a new art form,
techno jazz, and has become well-known for performances of it. But
the band also has another, different story to tell. It has invented its
own tradition of hitting the road and touring at the end of each year
with a programme consisting of Christmas music, and has been doing
this ever since the band first emerged eight years ago. Bandleader
and founder Roman Sladek explains: “Whereas our regular projects -
the most recent album, ‘Emergenz’, is a good example - are all about
working through a specific theme and finding new ways to reinvent
ourselves, our Christmas thing is something we do for one reason
alone: to have fun. It was our very first programme, we still love it, and
we’re still nurturing, developing and growing it. Being able to devote
one month a year entirely to the big band tradition is something we’re
all really passionate about.”
Some bands might have been tempted just to throw together an
album of Christmas chestnuts any old how, but the Jazzrausch way of
doing things is not like that at all. Unlike any other album by the band,
for the first time we hear purely instrumental music. Furthermore,
Kuhn has taken ten classic Christmas songs - each one of them
rarely heard in jazz, and tunes which can often come across as a bit
staid in their original settings - from ‘Tochter Zion, freue dich# to
‘Adeste fideles’ or ‘Ihr Kinderlein, kommet’. The title track, ‘Alle Jahre
wieder!’ (based on the 1830s carol to music by Silcher which is very
familiar to children and adults in the German-speaking world) appears
here in completely new orchestral garb.
Sometimes the listener will recognise the kind of swing typical of
Glenn Miller. At other moments it is the incomparable big band
elegance of, say, Artie Shaw. ‘Es wird scho glei dumpa’ (an Austrian
carol) is given the full extra high pressure Tijuana brass treatment.
‘Maria durch ein’ Dornwald ging’ gets the touch of the Thad Jones /
Mel Lewis Orchestra after a Henry Mancini-like intro, and ‘Ich steh’ an
deiner Krippe hier’ recalls more of the great swing heritage.
Once again Jazzrausch Bigband has succeeded in a way that only
very few in the jazz field can, notwithstanding the openness of the
genre: they have brought young and old together, tradition and
revolution, the familiar and the new. Which is why it feels so
completely natural and right that they should continue to do this
‘again every year’, as the album title tells them: ‘Alle Jahre wieder’.

When they released their first single, ‘Give It To Me’, in the summer of 2021, Classless Act were immediately praised for their ability to sound both fresh and timeless. Loudwire instantly added the song to their ‘Weekly Wire’ Spotify playlist, identifying it as one of the top new releases of the summer. Other iconic outlets such as SPIN Magazine were also early to show support. It was a fitting public introduction to a band who embody what it means to be modern rock stars. The band initially formed in 2018 after connecting and bonding virtually by their love and passion of music. Now in Los Angeles, they are united on a mission to be the next great generation-defining act, drawing inspiration from classic rock acts of the ‘70s and alt-rock groups from the ‘90s. Their music echoes the hallmarks of previous generations - anthemic rhythms, shredding guitars, soaring vocals - but punches its way into the future with clever arrangements, sharp musicianship and proficient songwriting. Already making a big noise within the industry, the band have recently been in the studio with world-class producers such as Bob Rock, Michael Beinhorn and Joe Chiccarrelli, who have helped craft hits for the likes of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Soundgarden and The White Stripes. Their debut album coincides with the band hitting the road in North America alongside Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and others on their 2022 Summer Stadium Tour.

When they released their first single, ‘Give It To Me’, in the summer of 2021, Classless Act were immediately praised for their ability to sound both fresh and timeless. Loudwire instantly added the song to their ‘Weekly Wire’ Spotify playlist, identifying it as one of the top new releases of the summer. Other iconic outlets such as SPIN Magazine were also early to show support. It was a fitting public introduction to a band who embody what it means to be modern rock stars. The band initially formed in 2018 after connecting and bonding virtually by their love and passion of music. Now in Los Angeles, they are united on a mission to be the next great generation-defining act, drawing inspiration from classic rock acts of the ‘70s and alt-rock groups from the ‘90s. Their music echoes the hallmarks of previous generations - anthemic rhythms, shredding guitars, soaring vocals - but punches its way into the future with clever arrangements, sharp musicianship and proficient songwriting. Already making a big noise within the industry, the band have recently been in the studio with world-class producers such as Bob Rock, Michael Beinhorn and Joe Chiccarrelli, who have helped craft hits for the likes of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Metallica, Soundgarden and The White Stripes. Their debut album coincides with the band hitting the road in North America alongside Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard and others on their 2022 Summer Stadium Tour.

There are only a few figures in music whose work influences and
shapes a genre as a whole. This is undoubtedly true of the Swede
Esbjörn Svensson. With his trio e.s.t., the pianist and composer
wowed audiences beyond age and genre affiliations. And his
influence on jazz as a whole reverberates to this day and already
within the second and third generation of musicians worldwide.
‘HOME.S.’ is Esbjörn Svensson’s only solo album and the sheer
existence of such a recording and its completely unexpected
discovery over a decade after its creation are nothing less than a
sensation: Since the early 1990s, Svensson focused almost his entire
creative energy and recording activities on his work with e.s.t.. Thus,
these new recordings are not only the first, but practically the only
ones that show Svensson in a setting other than that of the trio:
Intimate, concentrated and completely one with himself. The
recordings for ‘HOME.S.’ were made only a few weeks before
Esbjörn Svensson’s sudden death on June 14, 2008. Svensson
recorded the music in his Swedish home.
For almost ten years afterwards, the album rested untouched in his
wife Eva Svensson’s personal archive. Here, she tells the story
behind the discovery of the album and the music: “After Esbjörn’s
passing, I made sure all the contents of his computer were saved to
backup hard drives. And then I basically left them untouched for the
next ten years. At the point where I eventually felt ready to look into
the material, I soon realised that there was something I wanted to
look into.
“I took the hard drive and went to Gothenburg to meet with Åke
Linton, the sound engineer who had worked on all e.s.t. albums as
well as on their live shows. He was also the one who had helped me
to save the material from Esbjörn’s computer in the first place. So he
probably already knew that there was something hidden in there. But
nobody had listened to it.
“We went to his studio. And we pressed the start button. Then there
was a total silence and we couldn't speak for the entire time the music
was playing. After it finished, at first we were not able to say anything,
because we were both so touched and surprised that it was all there,
and that it was so beautiful. The tracks seemed to follow one another
like pearls on a string. After we just had sat there for a while we
agreed: This is really good. Musically, but also from a sound
perspective.”