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Aparde’s new album, Alliance sees the German
musician retreat from his recent experimentations
with avant-gard pop music back into the world of
deep, and oftentimes dark, electronica. For his
previous album, Hands Rest, Aparde ventured
outside Berlin’s club scene through the use of his
voice, which gave his music a softer and more
intimate edge. Alliance is no less intimate, except
this time the musician’s vulnerability seeps through
the cracks rather than taking center stage.
As impressive sonically as it is technically, Aparde
used a mixture of electronic sounds, analogue
equipment and his own voice either as a sound
element or lyrical component to explore this duality
of sound. “This album was about focusing on
something that calmed me down and brought me
away from reality,” says Aparde. When the musician
says ‘away from reality’, he doesn’t mean into
dreamy, ethereal soundscapes, but rather a deep
dive into dystopian atmospheres of drone sounds
and chewed-up drum machines. Alliance’s second
track, Allies has a dire beginning and one might
even be tempted in skipping it if it weren’t for
Aparde’s hushed voice shining through the
shadows, melancholic yes, but also warm. Despite
the album’s focus on electronic gear the music isn’t
exactly dance-able, tracks have a ruminative pace,brooding even, “I wanted to make the tracks with
more breathing space between the atmosphere
and silence. There are fewer elements but more
impact, I think,” says Aparde.
Things change gears toward the middle of
Alliance, with both Lined and The Shift representing
the colder, club-ier tracks of the album. For
both of these tunes, any emotionality gets
converted into a dense and thumping energy that
is released in a cathartic fashion. It is, as Aparde
describes, music “for you to move to when you
have a good moment or a mental crisis”. But
Aparde doesn’t leave it at that frequency; he closes
off the album courageously by letting listeners in,
once again, to his own world and emotions. While
still a driving electronic track, Hole is framed
around melancholic piano keys that bring the
mood down, and prepare listeners for Know you,
the album’s most intimate, and vulnerable piece. “I
never felt alright,” Aparde admits open-heartedly
on the track.
With Alliance, Aparde brings listeners deep into
his soul, a soul that is at times conflicted and
agitated and at times low-key and solemn. And as
he does so, the listener’s own mood is muted and
lifted in a journey of quest, dance and healing.

Yo No Se return after a 5-year hiatus since their last album, Soma. Their
new album Terraform continues on from the dystopian world created in
Soma but this time taking the narrative to the stars. Terraform explores
the ideas of making a fresh start on another planet but the same
problems creep in…. Greed, corruption and hate. Exploring more of a
grunge feel along with some hard psych the band recorded with Dom
Mitchison (as well as Alex doing guitars and vocals at home), mixed with
Ali Chant and mastered again with grunge godfather, Jack Endino.
The band have toured across Europe in support of Soma in the last 5
years and gained a reputation for their loud and energetic shows. The
album has 3 drummers under its belt and countless breakdowns on the
road. With the pandemic kicking in just as the band started touring, they
had plenty of time to finally record (and find another drummer).
Terraform is a record 5 years in the making due to sheer bad luck.
Hopefully, their luck will change as the band are already working on their
follow up record.
The first single Black Door approaches the subject of corruption
amongst 'leaders'. The idea comes from Boris Johnson getting Brexit
'done' to forward his own career without thinking about the impact it will
have on peoples lives. We’ve had enough and we're ready to tear down
the establishment. The idea being that these problems we now face will
follow us wherever we go unless we stamp them out, here, on earth.
The artwork for the cover is by renowned sci-fi artist Bruce Pennington.

On May 28th , 2021, Surfdog Records will release Brian Setzer - Rockabilly Riot! Volume One - A Tribute To Sun Records on vinyl again! Out of print since 2005, this record sees Brian Setzer paying tribute to one of the greatest rockabilly labels ever, the one that arguably started it all: Sun Records.

"Why should I record a tribute to Sun Records? And at that, narrowing in on only their rockabilly years... a narrow time frame between roughly 1954 through early 1957. For that matter, what the heck is rockabilly anyway? Sure, all of us greaser, guitar slingin' hep-cats know, but (for the most part) the general population has never even heard the word. Rockabilly, the musical bastard of rhythm and blues, hillbilly, country, gospel, and maybe even a little jazz sung by wild-eyed southern white boys with too much time and too little money just lookin' for trouble. After doing much homework, I have selected 23 of what I consider Sun Records' best recordings. Some I’m sure you know (at least I hope so) and some are very obscure gems." - Brian Setzer

Swiss heavy metal coven BURNING WITCHES and Nuclear Blast Records proudly present “The Witch Of The North”, the group’s much anticipated, fourth studio album set for worldwide release on May 28th, 2021. Following 2020’s “Dance Of The Devil”, which charted in Germany at #22, and the quickly sold-out “Circle Of Five EP”, vocalist Laura, guitarists Romana and Larissa, bassist Jeanine and drummer Lala notably up the ante on “The Witch Of The North”, their most dynamic, intricate and powerful album thus far. Perfectly mixed and mastered by V.O. Pulver and produced by German thrash titan Schmier (Destruction), BURNING WITCHES stick to their irrefutable 80’s influences (Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio, Accept, Warlock, WASP etc.) and inject an irresistible energy and refreshing vibe, topping it off with classic art by Claudio Bergamin (who illustrated Priest’s triumphant “Firepower”). From the epic title-track to the album’s most catchy anthem ‘We Stand As One’ over to the ballad ‘Lady Of The Woods’ and speedy riff attacks like ‘Thrall’, ‘Flight Of The Valkyries’, and ‘Nine Worlds’, “The Witch Of The North” marks a new highlight in the band’s career, with vocalist Laura brilliantly shifting from aggressive to seductive with ease. No matter if you have followed the band since its humble beginnings in 2015 or just recently fell for their charms, BURNING WITCHES are doubtlessly one of the most sensational bands in heavy metal right now.

Since 1990, Esa Holopainen has been the lead guitarist of the progressively-minded heavy metal innovators AMORPHIS. Thanks to the metallic and melodic beauty of such classic albums as "Tales from the Thousand Lakes", "Elegy" and "Skyforger", Holopainen's magnificent abilities to create enchanting atmospheres and innovative riffs have become widely known within the worldwide heavy metal circuit.
But how would Esa describe SILVER LAKE's material in the bigger picture? "First of all, the record's very diverse. Silver Lake can't really be compared to Amorphis, but then again, there is my fingerprint on both AMORPHIS’ and SILVER LAKE’s material... So I wouldn't be surprised if some fans hear some distant similarities here and there", ponders Holopainen. "I want to underline the fact that when we were working on Silver Lake's material, there were no limits. Not at all. As a result, a few of the songs are really poppy and some other tracks are pretty damn heavy."

Since 1990, Esa Holopainen has been the lead guitarist of the progressively-minded heavy metal innovators AMORPHIS. Thanks to the metallic and melodic beauty of such classic albums as "Tales from the Thousand Lakes", "Elegy" and "Skyforger", Holopainen's magnificent abilities to create enchanting atmospheres and innovative riffs have become widely known within the worldwide heavy metal circuit.
But how would Esa describe SILVER LAKE's material in the bigger picture? "First of all, the record's very diverse. Silver Lake can't really be compared to Amorphis, but then again, there is my fingerprint on both AMORPHIS’ and SILVER LAKE’s material... So I wouldn't be surprised if some fans hear some distant similarities here and there", ponders Holopainen. "I want to underline the fact that when we were working on Silver Lake's material, there were no limits. Not at all. As a result, a few of the songs are really poppy and some other tracks are pretty damn heavy."

The recent ‘Rocka Rolla’ series was masterfully launched by the boss himself. But for this second volume, El Vidocq steps aside for his English pal Keb Darge – who earlier so brilliantly contributed to the Jukebox Music Factory catalogue with his explosive selection ‘The Rockabilly Crown Jewels’. Once again, our ever enthusiastic limey swaggers and sparkles. His newest excellent assortment explores the garage rock and surf songs of his beloved ‘60s. Less sombre than the first, this second volume includes seminal punk rock tunes (She Lied by The Rockin’ Ramrods, Thunder Reef by The Shindings), but also a few veritable titty shakers (Les De Merle and his Bulldozer, or El Scorpion by The Sherwoods). Add a touch of surf (The Road Runners’ Quasimoto and Neb’s Tune by Ahab and The Wailers) and bingo baby! You’ve got ‘Keb Darge's Supreme’. Lots of love, zero poor taste. Play it loud, friends!

The Deviants were an English rock group originally active in the late
1960s, and later as a project of the singer-songwriter and bandleader Mick Farren. The self-tiled third album was the beginning of the definite split between the band members. This record shows how they were still rocking in a wonderful mix between psychedelic, garage, blues, and rock. The overall vibe is amazing and it is a fascinating glimpse into the underground music of the late ‘60s. The album has aged quite well and is still a master of art.

The Deviants is available on black vinyl. The package includes a replica of the very rare & sought after booklet.

Double red vinyl in standard 5mm spine sleeve with printed inserts
for each vinyl.
“When BO NINGEN decided to re-issue their first album on vinyl for the first time ever. Originally it was only out on CD, they didn’t want to do the usual ‘remastering’ or ‘re-takes’. No. They “re-built” their our own debut album from a decade ago, using exactly the same material/sounds, “re-mixing”” with their new interpretation and perception.. Taigen says
“we simply wanna listen to our 1st album again with fresh ears and mind” and we invite you to do the same. 10 Years on, BO NINGEN’S debut is more fresh and relevant than it ever has been. “

The trio of fiddle player Erlend Apneseth with guitarist Stephan Meidell and drummer Oyvind Hegg-Lunde follows up their Nordic Prize-nominated album of 2019, ‘Salika, Molika’, with a remarkable suite of tunes inspired by the rhythms and physicality of the human body in motion.
Originally commissioned by FRIKAR Dance Company to accompany the performance of a new work, ‘Skaut’, dealing with the covering of the body in different cultures, the music of ‘Lokk’ takes the trio further than ever before into completely fresh areas of electro-acoustic improvisation.
The sounds of their original instruments are integrated with electronic beats and treated textures to form a kind of enhanced digital-folk style whose influences stretch from traditional south Asian ragas to contemporary dance culture from around the globe.
The result is intense, and intensely rhythmic, music where the normally separate realms of the cerebral and the corporeal can appear to fuse into one irresistible groove.
As the trio rocks on - in a dream of perfect interplay between instruments and players, soloists and ensemble - deep, trembling sub-bass intersects with ethereal ambient soundscapes. Elsewhere, the twittering of birdsong - from both real bird-calls and the uncanny imitation of them by Apneseth’s Hardanger fiddle - meets archival recordings of Norwegian herdswomen.
“Our musical idea for this project was to unite different extremes, connections that felt “forbidden” in one form or another”, says Stephan Meidell. “For example, by using the sampled recording of traditional herd-calling, blended together with aesthetics from more contemporary music styles. This exploration has led us further into a rhythmic and danceable landscape than in previous releases. We also wanted to use this opportunity to deliberately make more dance-related music. As regards the original commission, were pretty free to do what we wanted, but there was one specific dance in mind, ‘Valdresspringar’, for which Erlend wrote the melody. It’s a traditional, asymmetrical dance and has a very particular form. The melody is on the track called ‘Springar’, which we then messed around with.”
This “messing around with” element is key to the sound of ‘Lokk’, whose playful experimentation over the nine separate tracks creates a beguiling, constantly surprising sense of adventure and intrigue that both draws the listener in, and then keeps them on their toes as to where the next stage of the journey will take them. It also becomes inescapably obvious that this is a group of three equals.
The contributions of Stephan Meidell and Oyvind Hegg-Lunde, as musicians, co-composers and producers, appear every bit as important as that of Erlend Apneseth, who performs superbly throughout. “Even though the trio carries Erlend’s name, it’s a band in every sense of the word”, says Stephan Meidell. “We make the music together, where everyone brings their ideas and we build on each other’s input and output. This is not our “coming out” as a band, but the group is sometimes interpreted as having a hierarchical structure, as a soloist and accompaniment.”
As is evident from the trio’s live performances, where each member seamlessly integrates the acoustic and the electronic elements in their respective sounds through constant monitoring and tweaking, Apneseth, Meidell and Hegg-Lunde are also pioneers,
creating real-time effects that in the past were only available through post-production or the intervention of a sympathetic engineer and a truck-load of kit. ‘Lokk’ translates this fleet-footed improvisational approach, and the players’ lightning-speed reaction times, back into the environment of the recording studio, where the music composed for the original FRIKAR dance piece was further embellished and adapted. Played live, it will continue to change again, as improvised music always does.

After decades on the road and the never-ending hustle of life as an artist, Lou Barlow has tapped into a new confidence in the chaos. In 2021, the concept of balance feels particularly intimidating. Now more than ever, it's clear life isn't just leveling out a pair of responsibilities. Instead, we're chasing after a flock of different ideals with a butterfly net. On Barlow's new solo album, Reason to Live, he has come to an understanding of that swirl rather than trying to contain it. As a long-time indie legend, Barlow has found a life akin to a middle-class musician. In recent years, he's moved from Los Angeles back to Massachusetts, where he lives with his wife and three kids. And yet rather than settle into a comfortable malaise or yearn for the open road, Barlow's strengthened urgency finds a way to merge the two instincts. Reason to Live is shambolic and grand yet intimate and doting, warmly acoustic and crackling with grit. "I had been struggling for a way to connect both my home life and my recorded life, but this record is the first time I've integrated that," Barlow says. By folding the many facets of his life into one package, Reason to Live radiates with a renewed balance and calm. That comfort in complexity shines through even in the recording process, with select songs having origins in decades past and others written in the early stages of 2020. The multitude of whirring messages of Reason to Live are united by Barlow's roiling multilayered arrangements and the understanding that change is inevitable - and that it can bring you a new reason to live in the darkest times. "This album is me really opening up, and the album follows that through its many different themes," he says. "Some of my other work could be almost claustrophobic in its insistence on being all tied together but there's space for people to live inside these songs." After albums with Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr., Folk Implosion, and under his own name, listeners may have felt they knew the construction of a Barlow song, even that they knew Barlow himself. "People have this vision of me as this heartbroken, depressed guy, but this record feels so true to who I am, to this rich life I now have full of people I love," he says. "The songs culminated over the last five years to show that music has returned to its central comforting role in my life. Now I'm home."

repress

Compiled by cratediggers Loud E & The Wild, Discophilia Beligica' is a collection of next-door-disco and local spacemusic from Belgium 1975-1987. The tracks on this delightfully obscure collection are from ordinary folk. Most have day jobs. Yet as musicians, they go as far out as possible in to the disco universe and back again.

For Jayda G, joy is a state of mind. Whether she transmits it through her upbeat productions or magnetic energy at the decks, the Canadian-born DJ and producer, real name Jayda Guy, is a beacon of empathy on the dancefloor. It's no surprise, then, that Jayda G's DJ-Kicks mix captures the buoyant spirit of the music that has influenced her most. "DJ-Kicks has been a personal goal of mine for a really long time. I've been a fan for decades now. I remember there was one mix by Chromeo and it had some French disco on it that always stood out in my mind," she remembers. Clocking in at just over an hour, Guy's mixtakes you on a journey that moves through loved classics and new bubblers. The mix contains Jayda's Brand new single "All I Need", the follow up to Grammy Nominated breakthrough single "Both Of Us", a slinky house tune co-produced with James Ford that fizzes with shimmering energy. A rallying cry for kinship and understanding, Guy's insouciant vocals insist "all I need is you to hear me", gliding across the perfectly swung house beat. "Because the mix was made during the pandemic, I thought, 'What music makes me happy?' I want people to feel like they know me. I wanted it to be approachable, still honouring the disco and soul music that I love. I hope that translates in some shape or form."

TRANSPARENT ORANGE VINYL

For Jayda G, joy is a state of mind. Whether she transmits it through her upbeat productions or magnetic energy at the decks, the Canadian-born DJ and producer, real name Jayda Guy, is a beacon of empathy on the dancefloor. It's no surprise, then, that Jayda G's DJ-Kicks mix captures the buoyant spirit of the music that has influenced her most. "DJ-Kicks has been a personal goal of mine for a really long time. I've been a fan for decades now. I remember there was one mix by Chromeo and it had some French disco on it that always stood out in my mind," she remembers. Clocking in at just over an hour, Guy's mixtakes you on a journey that moves through loved classics and new bubblers. The mix contains Jayda's Brand new single "All I Need", the follow up to Grammy Nominated breakthrough single "Both Of Us", a slinky house tune co-produced with James Ford that fizzes with shimmering energy. A rallying cry for kinship and understanding, Guy's insouciant vocals insist "all I need is you to hear me", gliding across the perfectly swung house beat. "Because the mix was made during the pandemic, I thought, 'What music makes me happy?' I want people to feel like they know me. I wanted it to be approachable, still honouring the disco and soul music that I love. I hope that translates in some shape or form."

Having already made a big splash on labels like Rush Hour, Ghostly, Spectral Sound and Werkdiscs, the London based producer Moirétees up his third full length player for Hypercolour. ‘Good Times’ goes someway to pulling back a positive energy to recent global events and finds Moirécollaborating with fellow artist Demigosh on a good chunk of the album cuts. Hazy agit house and drowsy beats anchor an album filled with smooth ambience and soulful sampling.

Low frequencies and foggy tones make tracks like ‘Magdan’ and ‘Vertigo’ strike a chord between lo-fi electronica and abstract ambient noise, whilst the collaborations with Demigosh add an ethereal soulful touch that’s both stirring and emotive in equal measures. Exotic beat science is deployed on cuts like ‘R1’ and ‘Telefunk’, whilst the jazzy licks and lumpy rhythms of ‘Lost In Pacific’ seal off an extraordinary album that exemplifies the advancing maturity of Moiré’s sound and vision.

Als Matthew E. White an dem Nachfolger seines zweiten Studioalbums arbeitete, wollte er seine Herangehensweise an das Songwriting neu erfinden, zumindest für eine Session. White versammelte eine vertrauenswürdige Truppe von sieben Musikern in Richmond, Virginia. Er dirigierte das Septett durch eine Reihe von lockeren, größtenteils gestischen Kompositionen. Die Klänge waren gewaltig, eine Reihe von Keyboards und Gitarren untermalten den Schwung einer ineinandergreifenden vierköpfigen Rhythmusgruppe. Aber die Ergebnisse passten nicht ganz zu der in Arbeit befindlichen Platte, so dass White die Jams auf Eis legte, bis die richtige Muse kam. Das war, wie sich herausstellte, Lonnie Holley, dessen wunderschön verwelkte Stimme bald eine Art kosmische Weisheit über Whites wartende Arbeit ergoss. Das Ergebnis - Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection - ist explosiver und eindringlicher als alles, was die beiden Künstler je gemacht haben. Aggressiv, aber ekstatisch, spielerisch, aber pointiert, ist Broken Mirror eine pointierte, aber einfühlsame Sozialkritik, unterlegt mit einem mächtigen Groove. Holley nahm seine Vocals über Whites Aufnahmen in nur vier Stunden auf. Als Visionär und intuitiver Texter hörte sich Holley 20 Sekunden an und proklamierte die Bilder, die die Klänge hervorriefen. Wenn ihm etwas gefiel, zog er ein Notizbuch zu Rate, das voller lyrischer Einfälle war, und sang dann komplette erste Takes zu Musik, die er noch nie gehört hatte. Abzüglich bescheidener Bearbeitungen und leichter Overdubs wurde Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection an Ort und Stelle fertiggestellt, ein Blitz, der einen Platz zum Einschlagen suchte. Holley und White mögen als unwahrscheinliche Kollaborateure erscheinen, da sie durch Jahrzehnte und Disziplinen getrennt sind, aber die beiden teilen tiefe Alabama-Wurzeln. Und was noch wichtiger ist: Holley und White betrachten Musik als ein unheimliches Gefäß für sonst undurchdringliche Vorstellungen von Trauer, Leid und Solidarität. Broken Mirror: A Selfie Reflection ist ein zeitgemäßer Appell an die Kraft der Zusammenarbeit, an verwandte Geister, die sich auch in überfüllten Räumen zusammenfinden.

After severals EPs on labels such as Lumière Noir, Kill the DJs or Bahnsteig 23, here is the first album of french duo Il Est Vilaine, infused with a "Yellow Magic Orchestra-ish" touch, rooted in the french musical landscape.

A road trip in Brittany as a red thread, the two hooligans of Il Est Vilaine revisit Kawaii pop, crazy rock like DEVO and Detroit techno with a surprising coherence. An album long matured and awaited by the band's fans.

Il Est Vilaine aren’t Bretons, but they sure are tricksters. The Francophiles among you might have caught on to the corny pun in their name (beating a certain presidential candidate to the punch all while turning the name of the pastoral Ille-et-Vilaine region into, literally, “he’s a nasty woman,”) but the real takeaway is that these born-and-bred Parisians don’t take themselves too seriously – especially in an era in which there is much too much of that happening.
It was in 2014 (and on Dialect Recordings) that Florent and Simon tossed their debut 12” into the ring, the rightfully named Scandale – a tight little bombshell released that roused the electronic music scene out of its complacent little catnap.
So there we had it, two outcasts refusing to eat at the same table as the tech-house scene queens, serving up three whiplash-on-the-dancefloor cuts drenched in sweaty hedonistic disco and wrapped in a battered motorcycle jacket (with a gooey post-punk-pop core for good measure.) A clear mission statement right out of the gates, watermarked with mystical incantations and throbbing with rock ’n’ roll’s primitive drive. Everything and the kitchen sink, and a bag of chips – an invitation to just let lose that’s even better than the sum of its parts.

Kalita are proud to announce the first ever official re-release of Mpharanyana & The Peddler's 1979 South African disco and funk recordings 'Disco' and 'Freak Out With Botsotso', backed by a devastating extended edit of 'Disco' courtesy of Amsterdam-based DJ and producer Jamie 3:26. Cut on a loud 12" single and accompanied by an extended edit of 'Disco' courtesy of Jamie 3:26, this truly is another no-brainer from the Kalita camp.

Born on 15th November 1949 in Kattlehong, South Africa, Jacob ‘Mpharanyana’ Radebe was one of South Africa’s greatest ever musicians, releasing a canon of legendary soul, jazz and disco albums before his untimely death in August 1979 at the age of just twenty-nine.

Here, Kalita select his highly sought-after disco and funk recordings ‘Disco’ and ‘Freak Out With Botsotso’, both selected from his 1979 invisible final album, ‘Hela Ngwanana’, re-releasing them for the first time in forty years. Including Paul Simon and Herbie Hancock session musician Bakithi Kumalo on bass and Themba Mokena of Dick Khoza ‘Chapita’ fame on lead guitar, the recordings feature some of the country’s top contemporary musicians joining forces to glorious effect.

With the original album currently fetching eye-watering prices on the rare occasion that they turn up for sale, the time is now ripe to share this masterpiece with the world once more.

Five years after the release of ‘Pressure Loss’ the modern master of electronic minimalism Nicola Ratti returns to Where To Now? in collaboration with Japanese MC ‘MA’, for a suite of submerged, outsider Trip-Hop.

‘Shinkai’ meets at the crossroads of the gloomy sonic snapshot world of Tricky, the South London DIY avant pop bloom of Curl/Mica Levi, the outer fringes of Hip-Hop heralded by the Anticon crew, and the deep textured minimalism of Machinfabriek.

‘Shinkai’ heralds the first time Nicola Ratti has worked with a vocalist, and MA’s unique brand of ritualistic vocal methods and experimental approaches to intonation and inflexion only enhances Ratti’s otherworldly soundscapes. The depth of meaning behind MA’s lyrics further expands this sprawling sound world, revealing a twisted beauty, a deep insight into the melancholic world MA reflects upon within his abstract wordplay – on ‘Suiso’ MA laments above Ratti’s mourning electronics….

“A ship with the wind in the sails erased a path to the skies.

Gone forever,
In sandy finality,
A scene never to be repeated,
Never to be understood.

Never to hatch,
Dreams of never continuing beyond the crossroads
A painting dissipates as the allure runs dry
Without consulting the dusk, dawn never arrives.

Agonising over the silence brought on by a stumble,
Attacked from all angles until I find my ground once more.
What comes next does not matter - just as long as it comes.
A not-so-distant-future, born from certain uncertainty.

Let me face it with wavering reservations,
Bury me in it
My sins left unanswered
Cover the snow on which it falls.

An unthawing aquarium.
An unanswering aquarium.

Hiding, evolving, recollecting, transferring,
A precarious contradiction befalls.
Timeframes cut, edited and replaced with resentment
The ritual aesthetics of a secret ceremony.

The thoughts of once again,
Fills me with dread and rage.
Painted in blood.

Alas, it was fun...”

On the surface this is an unlikely (yet inspired) collaboration – MA has been a part of the Tokyo Hip-Hop underground for many years, over which time he has stylistically leapt into noisier, more experimental territories. We have Rabih Beaini to thank for shining a light on MA’s talents, with the 2019 LP ‘AMA’ being released on Morphine records, and Beaini opening new doors for experimentation and collaboration.

‘Shinkai’ was composed and recorded between January and April 2020. The pair had met a couple of times in Japan first and then in Europe, undertaking a live collaborative experiment combining sounds and words that had not been designed to be performed together, ‘Shinkai’ reflects the fluidity of this encounter and is in essence a consequence of it.

Ratti assigns the following poetic grounding to the intentions and thematic form of the album – “Shinkai means deep sea, a place most of us will never see except on the surface. The sea depths do not belong to us, they are not places for us, we do not know them and they disturb us, they are a material that we can look at without seeing. I have always thought that height, verticality in general, was not a familiar dimension except in relation to our physicality. The horizon reassures us, the depth disturbs us. The Italian language is written and read horizontally, from left to right, the Japanese language can be written vertically and read from right to left. Does the horizon still reassure us?”

EEE are back at it again, taking a 2000's RnB vocal you thought you knew, but you ain’t never heard in this context. Bumping synth heavy roller territory made all the more seductive with that naughty RnB flex.

RNXRX returns to VEYL for his debut album, 'Impreciso'. No stranger to the label, the artist first made an appearance on 'Previously Undisclosed Rituals' and then again with 'Sigil', a collection of B-sides which act as the perfect prelude to this offering.
Derived from an alchemy of inspiration, the album is the result of endless nights unearthing samples, vinyl oddities, effects databases from a bygone era and the artist’s own post-processed vocals - imprecise components which all combine perfectly to form this LP.
Unconstrained by genre, 'Impreciso' journeys through strains of body music, psychedelic rock, soundtrack and more, delivering electronic experimentations which expose the artist’s darkest tendencies while
revealing a long admiration of post-punk, hip hop and science fiction’s finest.
Twelve tracks falling somewhere between homage and reinvention, 'Impreciso' operates with 80’s circuitry, throws back to 90’s beat nostalgia and drills into a cyber-verse for a familiar yet unexpected trip perfect for this moment.

Classic electronic disco album from 1978 freshly repressed for 2021.
Pressed by Unidisc, Canada 2021.

Here's another unearthed gem from the late sixties American Jazzy Pop scene. Terri Rae was a quiet and yet creative girl from Ohio, and this is her first and definitive classic album. Backed from a fine orchestra arranged and directed by pianist Sammy Beskin, Rae's fresh voice interprets a superb selection of little known but excellent songs. The perfect record to bring the sunshine on a rainy day.

Debut solo album by the Red River Dialect songwriter. Recorded at the Hotel2Tango, Montreal, by Howard Bilerman. Featuring Thor Harris (Swans, Thor & Friends, Shearwater) on drums and Thierry Amar (GYBE!, ASMZ) on bass, with guest appearances from Tom Relleen (RIP) (Tomaga, Melos Kalpa), Catrin Vincent (Another Sky) and Coral Rose (The Silver Field, Red River Dialect).
David has written five critically acclaimed collections of songs under the Red River Dialect name. The last two albums (released by Paradise of Bachelors) achieved a glowing Pitchfork review and a Folk Album of the Month award from the Guardian. Selected press below.
“Folk Album of the Month. Alert, anti-colonialist folk. Songwriter David Morris brings alternate seduction and disquiet on this worldly album steeped in the British landscape... a wide-eyed, curious creature, willingly alert to the world.” – 4/5 The Guardian
“Animated with a new intensity, the Cornwall band’s fifth album may be its most ingenious and immersive mix of folk and rock yet. It’s also Morris’ most compelling set of songs. He invests small sensations with outsize power, finding joy in sensory pleasures as well as in the mystical inquests that music allows. Even as the record is steeped in the long history of British folk music, that balance of the tactile and the spiritual anchors these songs in the present moment.” – Pitchfork
“The most underrated folk-rock band in Britain. The idea of them as a Cornish-born, Buddhist-inclined Waterboys is more potent than ever. Their fifth album of elementally-battered, rueful and rousing folk-rock ... is as stirringly anthemic as they've managed thus far.” – MOJO
“A beguilingly atmospheric record… imagine Steve Gunn transplanted to Kernow.” – Clash
“Gorgeous and moving, anchored by the heft of the physical but reaching for more. The epic spareness, the way it manages to be both still and an enveloping swirl, reminds me most of Talk Talk. There’s a prayerful intensity to the quiet bits, a listening, wondering awe, that makes the rock payoffs more powerful. The album works as a restless, searching, gorgeous whole. Morris and his band have never been better.” – Dusted
“It’s not often that a band comes along and over the course of nine songs both plays to the tradition and stands it on its ear. RRD has taken the challenge of playing with reckless abandon to heart, generating an album that stands on the shoulder of giants showing no fear.” Folk Radio

Monastic Love Songs continues the tradition that David has established over the course of five albums with Red River Dialect: using a song cycle to articulate a relationship with inner and outer landscapes, inspired by the Taoist approach of observing the movement of the heavens in order to understand the cosmos within, and vice versa. The joyful closing track Inner Smile was initially written as a poem of thanks to his Tai Chi teacher Hollis and takes its name from a Taoist practice.
The songs were written during the final weeks of a nine-month retreat at Gampo Abbey, a Buddhist monastery in Nova Scotia where David took ordination as Buddhist monk. The album title is sincere, with a little tongue-in-cheek. The songs mostly explore human relationships within the community, with outliers: Gone Beyond shimmers with cosmic devotion, in Rhododendron a reverie grows from the shadow of a flower. Steadfast concerns the love to be found beyond the urge to like and be liked, when you can’t avoid that difficult person. Leonard Cohen, on his six years living in a monastery:
“You know, there’s a Zen saying: ‘Like pebbles in a bag, the monks polish one another.’
David considers this album to be a follow up to 2015’s Tender Gold and Gentle Blue. The cover of that lp featured an image of him on top of Skellig Michael, in the years before the island was made famous as the home of the Jedi. He considers the visit to that abandoned Celtic monastic site to be one of the influences that stirred up his motivation. Skeleton Key speaks of what was given up to go, and what he was giving up to leave, referencing the Tibetan concept of the ‘bardo of becoming’.
The album came about through a series of fortunate encounters. David’s friend Tom Relleen visited him at the Abbey in May 2019, mentioning a postponed plan to visit the Hotel2Tango. A spark was sown: this studio had long figured in David’s imagination. Many of the releases on Constellation Records, which he had become a die-hard fan of in his teens, were recorded there. Tom contributed some Buchla synthesizer to the opener New Safe, which concerns healing in emptiness and light.
In May David was given permission by the senior monastics to acquire a guitar, which was swiftly baptised as “Malibu Barbie”. Having let the identity of being a songwriter loosen up, not playing an instrument in six months, he was unsure what would happen. In the single hour he was permitted to practice each day, songs began to cascade. The first, Purple Gold, concerns a reacquaintance with first love. David wrote to the Hotel2Tango asking if they had any days available in mid-July?
Engineer and studio co-owner Howard Bilerman replied that they did, and a date was set. Did Howard know any local drummers or bass players who might do a session? He did, too many to choose from, what kind of style? David decided to ask for his ideal: did Thierry from Godspeed ever do sessions? Howard sent him the demos. Thierry was up for it. On the day he went deep into the cover of traditional song Rosemary Lane, his double bass singing on this and on Circus Wagon.
David asked if there were any local drummers he would recommend? Thierry said “many, what style?” David tried his luck again, “two of my favourite drummers are Thor Harris and Jim White.” Thierry said let’s invite them. Thor, having met David a decade earlier, flew from Austin to Montreal for that July day in the studio. Nine months of watching thoughts come and go in meditation helped David recognise this as an opportunity to practice enjoying the day without expectations.
He is, however, grateful that this album came out the way it did, channelling some of what it was like to live those nine months in a monastery overlooking the Gulf of St Lawrence, frozen and flowing.

Mixed by Jimmy Robertson at SNAFU, London, mastered by DenisBlackham.

A new title in the series of full-album reissues that Vampisoul (co-produced in collaboration with Little Butterfly Records) is releasing as a valuable addition to the largely acclaimed compilation “América Invertida”, focusing on the obscure leftfield pop and experimental folk scene from ‘80s Uruguay, making some of these elusive and essential albums available again.

Hugo Jasa aimed to merge the glamour of the 80s (drum machines and Yamaha DX7 and Roland D50 synthesizers command the timbre of the album) with Uruguayan Afro-candombe sound in his songs. A deep bench of national talent, as Eduardo Mateo, Hugo Fattoruso, Jorge Galemire or Mariana Ingold, took part in these sessions. The album was originally released in 1990 with a single pressing of 300 copies, and then recently rediscovered by new generation of DJs, musicians and hardcore record collectors around the world thanks to the internet, reaching a cult status and becoming a top want.

Hugo Jasa’s “Estados de ánimo” is reissued here for the first time, in its original artwork with an extra OBI and including an insert with liner notes by Uruguayan music writer Andrés Torrón.

Australian artist Indigo Sparke Brings her deeply personal lived experiences to her music, highlighting the spaces between the polarity of softness and grit. Pulling from her experiences of addiction, of healing, of queerness, of heartbreak, of joy, of connection, of the softness and of the grit alchemizing it all into tenderness through her music, she conjures up a myriad of feelings that is undeniably potent. It was in 2019 that Indigo lived and travelled across America, in places like NYC, Minneapolis, Topanga, Taos, in many hotel rooms and amidst the vast stretching landscapes on the never ending highways, channelling her creative energy into the completion of her debut album, echo. echo was recorded between LA, Italy and New York, co-produced by Sparke, Adrianne Lenker (of Big Thief), and Andrew Sarlo (producer of Big Thief, Nick Hakim, Bon Iver, Hand Habits, etc). The record was completed at Figure 8 Studio in New York City, studio of musician Shahzad Ismaily. Phil Weinrobe (producer/engineer for Leonard Cohen, Damien Rice, Adrianne Lenker, Buck Meek, etc) engineered and mixed the album. "Indigo's writing and voice are ethereal and angelic and guide me through internal canyons and plains. I'm deeply grateful to have been part of this and to have gotten to play and sing along side Indigo, and to have been able to eternalize a very special space and time with her, which I will always cherish." -Adrianne Lenker "With these songs and her filament voice, Indigo brings us in to a private place and lights a fire there." -Feist

Mdous Musik hat ihre Wurzeln zwar in traditionellen Tuareg-Melodien, gibt aber auch immer wieder Einflüsse von u.a. Eddie Van Halen preis. Neben Mdou besteht die Band aus Bassist und Producer Mikey Coltun, Drummer Souleymane Ibrahim und Gitarrist Ahmoudou Madassane. Zusammen haben sie längst auf ausgiebigen Touren bewiesen, dass sie nicht nur heimische Hochzeitsfeiern rocken können, sondern ebenso Festivalbühnen auf der anderen Seite der Erdkugel. Dabei beherrschen sie sowohl den hypnotischen Boogie von Black Sabbath der Masters of Reality-Ära, als auch den erhabenen elektrisierenden Groove von Black Uhuru. Mdou Moctar lebt in Agadez im Niger, einer eher ländlichen Gegend, die wie eine kleine Oase mitten in der Sahara wirkt. Hier entsteht auch ein Großteil seiner Musik, die ihn in West-Afrika zu einer echten Berühmtheit hat werden lassen. Verbreitet haben sich seine Sounds dort nicht durch das Internet und Social Media, sondern über die Speicherkarten aus Mobiltelefonen, die wie Tapes weitergegeben und getauscht werden und wie analog-digitales Lauffeuer durch das Land gehen. Den internationalen Durchbruch schaffte Mdou Moctar 2019 mit dem Album "Ilana: The Creator". Mit seiner vierköpfigen Band reiste Moctar anschließend durch die Welt und wurde schnell zum inoffiziellen Botschafter seines Landes. Nun liegt der langerwartete Nachfolger vor.

In the midst of a global pandemic John Hiatt
walked into Historic RCA Studio B and opened up
a lifetime full of leftover feelings. A half-century
ago, Hiatt lived in a ratty, $15-a-week room on
Nashville’s 16th Avenue, less than a mile away
from the RCA and Columbia studios that were the
heartbeat of what had come to be known as ‘Music
Row’. In the ensuing 50 years, he went from a
scuffling young buck to a celebrated grand master
of song.
With ‘Leftover Feelings, Hiatt teamed up with multiGrammy winning artist and producer Jerry Douglas
and his band, The Jerry Douglas Band. There’s no
drummer, yet these grooves are deep and true.
And while the up-tempo songs are, as ever, filled
with delightful internal rhyme and sly aggression,
the Jerry Douglas Band’s empathetic musicianship
nudges Hiatt to performances that are startlingly
vulnerable.
In life, leftover feelings can remain unresolved, no
matter how often explored. Explicated in a place of
history, a place of comfort. A sacred place, if you
believe the documentation of human expression to
be a holy thing. Here then, with this album, there is
a meeting of bruised and triumphant American
giants. Here are Hiatt and Douglas, creating the
meant-to-be: Love songs and road songs, sly
songs and hurt songs. Their songs and now our
songs. Leftover feelings that edify and sustain.

Founded in 2010, Hussle’s All Money In made an epochal debut with its very first release, “THE MARATHON,” marking Hussle’s fifth official mixtape and follow-up to his introductory “BULLETS AIN’T GOT NO NAME” trilogy. Named among XXL’s “100 Best Mixtapes of 2010,” the collection was quickly followed by 2011’s “THE MARATHON CONTINUES” and then 2013’s “CRENSHAW.” Along with his work as a lead artist, Hussle has previously collaborated with a veritable who’s who of contemporary hip hop, including Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Rick Ross, YG, Ty Dolla Sign, Meek Mill, DJ Mustard, Young Thug and many more. As if his musical career and role as label boss weren’t enough, Hussle is also successful entrepreneur. In addition to The Marathon Clothing line and store, Hussle also owns a number of successful businesses including The Marathon Agency, SC Commercial Ventures, Proud 2 Pay, and of course, All Money In No Money
Out Records.



[b] 2 Rap Niggas [Explicit]

When it comes to contemporary thrash there are few bands that can stand toe-to-toe with Germany’s Vulture. Establishing their status with 2016’s Victim To The Blade EP and 2017’s The Guillotine and cementing their reputation with 2019’s Ghastly Waves And Battered Graves, they now return with the mighty Dealin’ Death, one of the most ruthless records the genre has seen. “Take all our key elements - fierce riffing, halftone-shifts, aggressive vocals, huge toms, changing dynamics, horror-synths and classical twin guitar harmonies and cast it in a mould, then you have Dealin’ Death,” says guitarist Stefan Castevet. “The result sounds a little ‘back to the EP-ish’ to my ears, yet it contains new approaches that we’ve never included in our sound so far, like choirs with harmonies.”

Extended Revelation for the Psychic Weaklings of the Western Civilization is the second album by Swedish rock band The Soundtrack Of Our Lives. Heavily influenced bands from the sixties and seventies such as The Rolling Stones and Iggy and the Stooges, the band became popular in both Europa and the United States. Their fame was partially propelled by their songs being featured on popular video game franchises such as FIFA, NHL and Gran Turismo.

The title of this album comes from the Rolling Stones Records’ release of Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka, where the inside liner notes state that “Western Civilization has made us such Psychic Weaklings”. About 50% of the songs on the album were leftover material from the bands debut album, yet this record sounds far more dark and contains influences from psychedelic music. The album was well received and spawned one single: “Black Star”.

Wipers were a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 formed by guitarist/songwriter Greg Sage. The group’s tight song structure and use of heavy distortion were hailed as very influential by many critics and musicians alike.

Land of the Lost is the band’s fourth studio album. It was very well received, with Maximum Rocknroll praising the title track for being “heavier and riffier” than the band had ever sounded before. Spin Alternative Record Guide called the album “the most definitive Wipers record for sound and songwriting”.

Land of the Lost remains a highly sought-after album, but now there’s a chance to get a hold of it again. It’s a limited edition of 1000 numbered copies on yellow coloured vinyl.

Innerhalb der letzten Jahre hat ein ganzer Pit an schlagkräftigen Bands, wie exemplarisch Whitechapel,
die Flamme des progressiven, modernen metal neu entfacht: die Leerstelle aus roher Brutalität und einem
gewissen Maß an urbaner Attitude blieb jedoch bisher unbesetzt. Die britische Kombo VEXED aus Hertfordshire sind eine der wohl spannendsten Neuentdeckungen und präsentieren auf ihrem lang erwarteten
Debüt Culling Culture eine Mischung aus aggressivem Groove und brodelnder Atmosphäre.
VEXED Front-Dame Megan Targett verbindet stechend-scharfe, tiefe Growls, cleane Vocals und rapnuancierte Texte (siehe ”Fake” und ”Weaponize”) mit schlagfertiger Leichtigkeit und wird von den technisch versierten Bandmitgliedern Willem Mason-Geraghty (Schlagzeug), Jay Bacon (Gitarre) und Al Harper
(Bass) unterstützt.
Starke Riffs à la Genre-Größen wie Meshuggah, Periphery und Vildhjarta, kombiniert mit stratosphärischen
Soli und Leads beweisen, dass VEXED die größten Open-Air-Bühnen ebenso souverän beherrschen, wie
klassische Hardcore-Shows.
Mit sehr persönlichen Erfahrungen gespickt, ist Culling Culture eine Hommage an Hass, Verrat und Wut,
während es gleichzeitig die postmoderne Gesellschaft mit auffallend ehrlichem Songwriting und schwerem
Groove reflektiert. Hass kann entweder zerstören oder echte Stärke verleihen, und auf diesem 11-Tracks
starken Album beweisen VEXED das Letztere.

Main Phase returns for a second full-length EP on Shall Not Fade's hugely successful sublabel, the bass-oriented Time Is Now. The Copenhagen native is fresh from an appearance on Danish leftfield label Petrola 80 and can otherwise be found heading ATW records with another Time Is Now regular, Interplanetary Criminal. He serves up a tasting menu of the most quintessential sounds in UKG across Buss It EP.

The title track is understated, sparse but tense using sparing Ragga vox that build to a crescendo, wobbling over into "Our Style" - expect space age FX drawn out over mutant inflections in another textbook eyes down cut. Cheeky bassline garage energy is brought in "Creepin", while teasing breaks and dirty south hip-hop in the vocals.

Looking to the infamous early years of garage on the B-side, "Freaky" channels those classic Ghost releases in its sub-heavy intent, spicy snare and catchy vocal hooks. The EP is closed out with the expansive, gut-wrenching wobbles of "Misdemeanour", accentuated with a highly intricate two-step rhythm.

In the eyes of Nana Mouskouri, all these Bob Dylan songs are the stones that made his house and the roof that has sheltered it for sixty years; they were for her guides and landmarks. Each is sacred, each has its secret. That’s why Nana Mouskouri is so happy to present them to us today, brought together in this album. Timeless, they have crossed the ages and more than ever echo the problems of the young generation. The fights against violence, for peace and love are the same today as they were yesterday. Reviews in London Macadam, France in London, and L’Echo Ads London Macadam, France in London, and L’Echo

„Music To Be Murdered By: Side B (Deluxe)“ ist ab sofort als 4-Piece Vinyl Album erhältlich! Die Deluxe
Version seines 11. Studioalbums umfasst neben den ursprünglichen 20 Songs 16 komplett neue Tracks.
Die Liste der weiteren Features beinhaltet u.a. Dr. Dre, Ty Dolla $ign, Ed Sheeran, Juice WRLD, Don
Toliver, DJ Premier und viele mehr. Als Executive Produzent fungierte Dr. Dre, doch auch Eminem selbst
war maßgeblich an der Produktion des Albums beteiligt.

AEGEAN is the first offering by Argentine producer and Leipzig resident Accanto. His approach to mid tempo electronica is very rich in organic textures and deep atmospherics. The opening track Sentimental Sediments sounds deep, raw and dubby, a great opener for any set. Bokanovsky picks up the pace and brings in the sunshine uplifting vibes, while the title track Aegean completes the package with an exquisite progressive anthem that makes good use of a bass arpeggio to create a driving groove that will surely lift dancefloors to Cosmic dimentions. A must for Balearic lovers and adult ravers.
ACCANTO is Jorge Bonadeo Miguens, a young Argentine producer residing in Leipzig. Born in 1990 in the city of Buenos Aires, his relationship with music started at an early age while digging the cassettes of his older brothers. At the age of 13 he started playing bass guitar in a rock band with friends, with which he played
in several halls and bars, as well as recorded a studio album.
Around 2012 Jorge got into the electronic music scene of Buenos Aires. After years of traveling and getting immersed in the scenes of his city, Sydney and Europe, he settled in Barcelona and started producing, while also performing as DJ. Nowadays based in Germany, and after years of self knowledge and learning, he felt ready to share his music with the world.

MELT BANANA'S TEENY SHINY LP GETS REPRESSED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AGES ON VINYL. THIS PRESSING ONLY WIL LBE A BLUEY/GREY VINYL They are headlining the Raw Power festival in london at the end of may.

Locked in a 486 glow, lightblink machines nightlight, being enters lighttime limelight. The long nineties already distending, the Major midbloats, crowds throng superclubs- strobelit honeys on a podium in Ibiza already blasted a stratosphere away from mildewed badflats, emphysemic parlours, the fug of week old washing drying slowly on the rad. Ach we’ll hang it out in the morning fire another joint of badhash and turn that tape over. We are being Here. beings disconnected, shut ins, psychick worriers, long walks to and from clubs, mostly dark, always raining, or mizzling anyway, lug bigbrick machines into cabs and Venue, setup and playing live and right now from the lounge lobby at Sativa, down the stairs from the caustic, twitching thrashpit being sits, being works. Dole sludge, shirking class zeroes, scoff pizza rolls w salad cream, that headchef gaffer never reckoned you’d graft at the potwash, a slick fur of rotfood dish slop residue right to the elbow, absolutely bowfin. Rumours of other places, people, scenes, tapes sent and emissaries return, invites to get trains, overnightbus south to London. being brought water to the ‘wells in South London and monthly emissions snaked out into the world, into badflats elsewhere where gowched couch tatties sprawl and the being burrowed deep into memories.. Tea is toast and sandwich spread and endless crisps as the binbags pile high in the backyard, the being blinks, it’s a twilit morning and it’s time to go to bed.

Davide disanto is an amazing Italian producer born in bari, after multiple releases on excellent labels such as Let's play house, Politics of dancing or even Theory of swing, he delivers us a fabulous 12 inch which borrows as much from the heyday of the purest New-York City 90s deep house as well as the purest techno made in detroit. The 1st track from this EP seems to have come straight from an imaginary collaboration between Boo williams & Ron trent, the violence of the rhythm is counterbalanced by some airy & ultra deep pads, the aptly named Atmosfear. A banger as we rarely hear today. C'Mon, Let Me See on A2 sounds like a modern take on the awesome Jerzzey boy. On the B side, Da Love Feeling (Main Mix) & le (4am Underground Dub) revisits the 90s once again for our greatest pleasure, particularly the latter seems to have come straight out of a lost mix of the great danny tenaglia. And to end this ep in style, davide allows himself the luxury of summoning the spirit of MBG and all the best Italian deep house from the early 90s on the superb Lungomare (Ambient Reprise). ESSENTIAL ITEM !

SKYLAX RECORDS 4 EVER