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1982's 'Heart And Soul' is a masterpiece of '80s soul funk with a pop edge that will excite fans of Chaka Khan, Sade, Luther Vandross, The Temptations or Marvin Gaye with well-crafted memorable songs that show a great production and lush arrangements that reveal many quirky only with further spins on the turntable. A holy grail for collectors finally made available again.

Oliver Torr is about to release his first full length solo album. The album features many moods and colours, with Oliver exploring the use of his voice and lyrics as a new form of his expression. Successfully mixing electronic avant-garde/experimental forms with pop-like harmonic structures is the main theme of the record.

The idea of recontextualisation and themes of observation are mainly inspired by the philosophical literature and ideas of John Berger, Marshall McLuhan, and many others was a driving force during the creation of the album. The lyrical and sound design content is mainly inspired by panic attacks and depression, and serves as a therapeutic tool to aid in personal psychological healing.

Tracks make use of creative sound design by utilising field recordings and various experimental instruments and sources of sound, such as the Radical Chip, designed by John Richards (one of Oliver's mentors) and Max Wainwright. Tracks like 'Deià' which create a chaotic sonic palette are the author's representation of his mind under the siege of an intense panic attack, experienced in the seaside town of the same name that is located on the island of Mallorca.

Oliver feels like the album has been writing itself for the past 5 years, and in the past few months it has decided to finally show its form. With the help of Aid Kid, who is mixing the album and providing additional production, Oliver has put together a 14-track rollercoaster record, with the help of some special guests. Guests on vocals include Chrysalism, BCAA's Bilej Kluk, and sci fi RnB newcomer LVCIFER. Other sonic collaborators include Sunnbrella (guitars on two tracks), Bastl Instruments' David Strobach (distorted samples in intro), Peter Kutin, and Radio Laude's DeSteffan and R.A. (distorted samples/vocal on one track).

The record's sonics are a combination of Oliver's conscious influences, including experimental music, classical avant-garde, shoegaze, IDM, EBM, electronica, hints of modern club music, as well as PC music influences.

Oliver Torr is known as a composer, music producer, performer and installation artist. Outside of his solo projects, he has worked with many prominent musicians and creative companies/film makers worldwide. He is the founder of XYZ project, a music label concentrating on electronic music and audiovisual art (xyzproject.bandcamp), and a member of the noise.kitchen crew (a music and synth shop run by Bastl Instruments in Prague). Oliver is also a part of the 2020 SHAPE Platform roster (shapeplatform.eu), and the 2021 Gravity Network roster (gravitynetwork).

Oliver releases the album prior to the release of his 'Trans Europe Postal Express' project (supported and arranged in collaboration with SHAPE Platform) and gallery exhibition at MeetFactory art space Prague, that will take place in March, and will further the sonic palette of the album.

The album's artwork is directed and designed by Kristyna Kulikova and photographed by Lukas Havlena (VICE, National Gallery of Prague).

The album's pre-release sees a teaser trailer shot and directed by Tereza Halamova and Filip Kettner that will be released 1st of February. A short movie music video with the same crew is scheduled a month after the album's digital release.

A remixed version with reworks from established European electronic musicians (including Peter Kutin, Fausto Mercier, Wim Dehaen, Natalie Plevakova, Evil Medved, NobodyListen, David Herzig, Ancestral Vision and Trauma), will be coming in the next few months after the release.

Chrystabell’s smooth as silk vocals transcend the aether as she reinvents classic Cure songs in Strange As Angels.
Post-Punk, New Wave, Goth - for over four decades The Cure created alternative music so powerful that it redefined the mainstream. They didn’t just master genres, they transcended them. Throughout these varied styles the group maintained an aesthetic continuity, creating a world so vast and mysterious that there’s room for other artists to explore it.
And explore it he does on Strange as Angels, Marc Collin’s new collection of reinvented Cure songs, sung by the ethereal Chrystabell. Produced, arranged and conceived by Nouvelle Vague co-founder Marc Collin, he has again woven repertoire, performance, and his uniquely forged arranging aesthetic into something authentically new.

THE NIGHT FLIGHT ORCHESTRA is back! The band that formed as an idea of friends from several well known rock/metal bands (SOILWORK, ARCH ENEMY, MEAN STREAK) back almost a decade ago and has been dropping jaws ever since. With 5 albums already under their belt, 2 nominations for the Swedish Grammies, countless live shows and praises from fans and media alike, TNFO have steadily upped their game when it comes to paying tribute to a decade that influences all sorts of people and even industries to this day - the 80s. With hits like ‘Domino’, ‘Lovers In The Rain’, ‘West Ruth Ave’, ‘Divinyls’ or ‘This Time’, the band manages to maintain a variety of vibes and emotions within every album. From hard rockers, poppy digressions to progressive epics, disco-esque songs and almost cheesy yet loveable ballads.

Enter 2020, TNFO had just released their recent record, ‘Aeromantic’, and kicked off their European tour in support of it, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Björn Strid, the AOR dictator helming this exceptional collective called NFO, recalls “We made it one week into the tour after some absolutely amazing shows and then it all went south and we had to go home. Just about everyone on the tour got sick when they came home, with varied conditions.”
The band didn’t step back and accept the situation but decided to do what they do best instead: “It was pretty clear after some months into the Covid madness, that it was here to stay and that we weren’t gonna be able to tour for quite some time. So we made the best out of it. The remedy was simply to hit the studio again as soon as everybody was well again. It ended up being an incredibly creative 1,5 years and so many amazing songs came out of it.”

That being said, the second part of the ‘Aeromantic’ saga really captures what this band is all about: being in motion and romanticizing traveling, sometimes even with a broken heart - accompanied by the good things in life. Namely with songs like ‘White Jeans’, yet another jaw dropping classic rock gem about hot young love, cramped with nostalgia, or ‘Change’, which encompasses all the vibes you know from your favorite decade: Urgency, emotion, warmth and excitement. But also groovy danceable songs like ‘Chardonnay Nights’, a groovy, dreamy, yet uplifting homage to parties and hot love, or ‘Burn For Me’, a true feel good anthem for the summer - driving people to dance in the streets, all worries aside, to a brighter future.

On the other hand there are tracks like the almost progressive ‘Amber Through A Window’. A little throwback (at least titular) to the NFO’s epic 2017 album ‘Amber Galactic’: “Amber is with us wherever we go and I think she’ll keep coming back. She’s our mascot of escapism. The song was very interesting to compose. It takes you on quite a journey with key changes and goes from minor to major when you least expect it and throws you between different set of emotions. At the same time it feels pretty direct and operates like a mini epos. Really happy with how it turned out“, cites Strid.

Besides all this, the band has also stepped up their game when it comes to music videos for their timeless anthems. “White Jeans” for instance features Swedish TV personality Fredrik Lexfors and is a sweet little homage to the LGBTQIA+ community. “Fredrik is a good friend of mine and has loads of experience in the musical/theatre world and is super creative. He created this character called ”Kantorn” (The Cantor) some years ago and became a hit on YouTube. He has a very twisted and unique way of singing and acting, which is very funny. He was a part of Sweden’s Got Talent TV Show and went really far and became a crowd favorite. Fredrik has a lot of friends in the LGBTQIA+ community and I also have quite a few. We saw it as a joyful tribute and we’ve only gotten really good response. It’s of course also humorous but has a very nice balance and a very positive message.”

The bold and jovial video for “Burn For Me” on the other hand maybe among the biggest and best productions, the NFO ever recorded for the depths of the internet: “I’ve had this idea to film a ”Dancing in the Streets” video, where curious people come out of the woodworks and join the party in the streets. It’s a very classic 80’s scenario and very common in videos back then. Sort of the video to IRENE CARA’s ”Fame”. You don’t see it very often these days. We felt that it was needed and after “Burn For Me” was done I immediately envisoned it being the perfect ”post corona dancing celebration in the streets-song”.”

Those two videos are by far not everything the band will have to offer visually, but we won’t tell any more just for now. To be continued…

With all that new greatness up their sleeves, NFO are ready to take the world by storm – again! Even though coming up with a setlist for their scheduled tour starting in September may prove to become problematic according to the AOR Dictator: “Making a setlist might end up being a nightmare haha… I would be up for doing only songs off »Aeromantic I« and »Aeromantic II« since that’s really where we’re at right now, but I think most of our the Midnight Flyers would like to hear some old stuff, too. Maybe we could get away with it as long as we play “West Ruth Ave” as the ending song and create the good old conga train?”

The latest release in the series exploring the musical worlds of Gerry Anderson is the most extensive yet. Space: 1999 ran for two series from 1976 to 1977 and depicted the occupants of Moonbase Alpha and their struggle for survival when, after the explosion of a nuclear waste dump, the Moon is hurtled into space.
The series was the most expensive produced for British television at that time and the most musically diverse of all the shows made by Anderson for ITC. Gerry Anderson’s long-time musical partner in all the previous adventures was Barry Gray and Space: 1999 Series 1 proved to be the last of their collaborations. For Series 2, composer Derek Wadsworth took over the reins to provide a more contemporary sound.
The Year 2 album contains Wadsworth’s score, specially selected cues to provide a driving and exciting narrative to convey the new adventures. Record Collector perfectly describes it as “classic 1976 period stuff: fast, furious and occasionally over the top in a dramatic way; nicely atmospheric for Sci-Fi and a touch funky every now and again.”
Derek Wadsworth enjoyed a long and successful career as a composer, trombonist and session musician. For over half-a-century he played, arranged, and conducted for some of the biggest names in music including Dusty Springfield, George Harrison, Judy Garland, Dionne Warwick and many more.

Hammer Films has long held a special place in the hearts of horror fans, defining the British genre during the 1950’s with classics such as Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein. Composer James Bernard scored both and went on to compose the music to a host of horror films for Hammer during the Sixties and Seventies. His distinctive clashing harmonies, often doubling the musical theme a tone higher, raise the on-screen action to a frenzied pitch, terrifying 20th Century cinema goers to the degree that his scores have become synonymous with the titular monsters.

Nu-Disco hero HP Vince delivers the goods once again with his new disco house workout ‘Came Here To Party’.

The beat grooves along with its rump shaking funky bass line, soaring strings, hooky brass section and female vocal.

Trademark HP Vince quality assured. Made to play, play to dance.

Taken from the album “High Fashion Dance Music Vol. 5.

With a music career spanning more than 40 years, David Ferguson has engineered landmark albums for Johnny Cash, opened a recording studio with John Prine, and shared a Grammy win with Sturgill Simpson. Now the Nashville native has become a compelling recording artist in his own right with Nashville No More , his debut album on Fat Possum Records. The self - produced project gathers an exceptional cast of friends from the city’s Americana and bluegrass community, while the track listing is simply a reflection of songs he likes. Ferguson has won Grammy Awards for engineering the Del McCoury Band’s The Streets of Baltimore and Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’ s Guide to Earth .

Following their critically well received debut album, Seekers, in 2017 - Our Kingdom Undone sees BEYOND GRACE refining and redefining their sound into something that’s simultaneously more intricate and more intense than ever before, combining conceptually ambitious songwriting and high octane heaviness in equal measure. Our Kingdom Undone’s gestation period took place under a pall of social unrest and political uncertainty the world over, so it’s perhaps no surprise that each of these eight songs is a cathartic scream of raw emotion and primal poetry. Full to the brim with lyrics that rage with unfettered fury and unbound frustration against the rise of isolationism, exploitation, rampant militarism, and religious indoctrination. Recorded at Stuck On A Name studio by Ian Boult and Bookhouse studio by Tom Hill, before being mixed and mastered by Charles Elliott (Tastemaker Audio / Abysmal Dawn), Our Kingdom Undone (whose stunning artwork was provided by in-demand UK artist Shindy Reehal) is both a crushing statement of intent and a vital reminder that the personal is political, that the ends do not justify the means, and that we must not let our fear divide us and drive us into an age of unreason.

Robert Jon & The Wreck are back and ready to tear up the UK and Europe
all over again with their new record, Shine A Light On Me Brother.
The impressive new album, written and recorded during the COVID pandemic,
and self-produced by Robert Jon & The Wreck, is set to release 3 September,
2021. Robert Jon & The Wreck is comprised of Robert Jon Burrison (lead vocals
and guitar), Andrew Espantman (drums and background vocals), Steve Maggiora (keyboards and background vocals), Henry James (lead guitar and background vocals), and Warren Murrel(bass and background vocals). They will take
the new album on tour in September/October 2021 AND February/April/May/
June/July 2022.
Robert Jon & The Wreck has been writing songs and releasing albums since the
band’s conception in 2011. During this time, this quintet of follicular proficient
gentlemen has been busy fine-tuning their sound playing to packed houses
across Europe and the United States.
The band has been received with accolades and raving reviews for years now,
from nominations of “Best Rock” and “Best Blues” and winning the title of
“Best Live Band” at the Orange County Music Awards in 2013, to numerous top
10 chart placement on Southern Rock Brazil’s Top 20 Albums to being praised
as “Classic and fresh at the same time” by Rock The Best Music, “Raising the
bar for the Southern genre” by Blues Rock Review, and “keeping the history
of classic 60’s and 70’s rock alive for newer generations” by Blues legend Joe
Bonamassa.
“A classy re-bore of well-trodden southern rock tropes by an Orange County
quintet with impeccably realised contemporary commerciality. Born of Allmans
and Skynyrd, but box fresh for 2000.” - Classic Rock Magazine
“Full of Eagles like guitar riffs and on infectious groove.” - Blues in Britain

In 1970, Kevin and David met whilst they were working in the Labour Exchange Office on Aytoun St, Manchester. Both played guitar and had been searching for other musicians who played atmospheric music. Kevin had been playing in small clubs in Manchester and David performed in a few local bands. One evening, they jammed together at Kevin’s family home, and quickly realized that their playing blended together to form the basis of the sound they had been looking for. In the late ‘70s, the music scene in Manchester was bursting with new bands and music.

However, Kevin and David had little in common with the local acts, being disciples of a more meditative approach. They followed a path of their own, reaching for an otherworldly sound that they heard from artists like John Martyn, David Crosby, Erik Satie, Terry Riley, Eberhard Weber, Alice Coltrane, and Ralph Towner. They experimented combining their acoustic guitars and David’s bass with various effects pedals and techniques to try and achieve a warm and expansive sound that rides the line between ambient, jazz, and psychedelic folk Music.

Towards 1981, they had written eleven songs and accompanied a few with Moog synthesizer laid down by Rob Baxter. All were recorded on cassette decks in their simple home studios. They named this collection of music “Light Patterns”, after a poem Kevin had written. With Light Patterns complete, they set out to find a label to represent their music. They started playing a few gigs in Manchester; Band On The Wall, the Gallery, and other venues, such as Rotters which local promoter Alan Wise had organized. They set up with small amps along with their effects and played as though they were back at home. As Kevin remarks, “It was unusual, to say the least, to play such venues in a low volume chilled out way. However, people listened, often in shocked curiosity, and some even asked for tapes.”

Peter Jenner, of Blackhill Enterprises, eventually picked up the album for his new label, “Sheet”. Peter had managed lots of experimental bands and solo artists, including Pink Floyd in their early Syd Barrett days. He always favored outsiders! The tapes were taken to Strawberry Recording Studios in Manchester, who were surprised when Kevin and David walked in with just a couple of home-produced cassette tapes. Fortunately, they liked them and agreed to master the album. It was then sent to Portland Recording Studios in London for final mastering to vinyl. George Peckham, aka “Porky”, did the pressing with a personal message in the deadwax; “Kaftans, Candles and be Cool Man”. The artwork for the album cover was done by the late Barney Bubbles, a truly visionary artist.

After the album’s release, the pair continued to play together regularly until David moved away from the city. Kevin still resides near Manchester in the rolling hills outside of the city. He continues to experiment with dreamy music in his loft, and we are set to share a selection of his ethereal archival and current compositions in the coming months. David lives a quiet life in a small coastal town in the South, he likes to sail and is an avid cricket fan. We’re excited to make Light Patterns accessible again for the first time in nearly 40 years, remastered from the original tapes. As the original press release said, “Put the album on, lie back and enter the land of no floors”.

The core tenets of Morgan Wright's music have long tested club music's context; the rituals and customs that define it, and how each of those genres change once removed from their traditional settings.
It's a space Morgan Wright feels at home in; one where he's constantly asking questions of the structure club music resides within, and what it means to create a new space for familiar sounds. And over the course of his debut album, Class Tourist, Morgan has found new ways to elevate those same questions - whether by way of intention, or a pandemic-induced coping mechanism.
In Class Tourist, Morgan again borrows from familiar strains of the subgenres which have come to form his musical identity. This time, he fuses sounds of post-punk, IDM and breakbeat, hopeful they converge to form a bastardised rendition of the latter, with "Australiana" at its core.
It's a sound that was made possible by a change to his songwriting approach, after pivoting from a loop-based production style - one which he has applied to a slew of other projects, for the better part of five years - to one which lends itself to a more standardised, contemporary format.

Moving through the record, Morgan toys with musical tropes of contrast with a calculated refinement unheard throughout his previous work. The coalescence of melodic optimism and bleak, mournful soundscapes feature on Class Tourist again, as you would expect. But this time, contemporary structure - with the exception of a few songs - along with the features of label-mate, Purient, and frequent collaborator, ENDL355, breathe new life, and even a new genre, into Morgan's work.

In My Sleep is the debut vinyl release from French producer Margee. Having gained a loyal following last summer with a remix for Tommy Guerrero, released on Music For Dreams, this EP showcases his natural ability at creating low-slung, densely layered productions, perfectly aimed at the dancefloor.

The release also features two heavyweight remixes. The first of these comes courtesy of underground House legend DJ Nature, who takes the title track and gives it a completely new twist with his inimitable ‘ruff disco’ stylings. Hailing from Bristol (via New York), recent years have seen Nature release on Futureboogie, Golf Channel and Jazzy Sport.

The second remix on the release comes from Hardway Bros (AKA Sean Johnson). Having been an early champion of Margee’s work on his regular ALFOS streaming marathons, Sean took the second track on the release, Wrong Dream, and went into heavy-dub mode. The resulting remix clocks in at just over 11 minutes and is everything you’d expect from him, and more…

Margee said of the release ‘In My Sleep started while taking a shower. The bassline popped up in my mind and I ran out as quickly as possible to record it. From there, I got pulled into a deep emotional trip with groovy tones and dirty sounds. Wrong Dream is actually a lost project that I had to start over again. It turned out to be more fierce than the first one, experimenting with arps and fuzzy synths, while keeping a certain groove that was easier to reproduce.’

In My Sleep is the second release from London based label Other Goodness, following on from Bawrut’s ‘Divergent Emotions’ EP last year, which quickly became a mainstay of the live-streams and a DJs favourite.

Released on CD and digital on the 21st May 2021, this eagerly anticipated LP from I Grade Records immediately soared to the number one position in the iTunes reggae charts. The LP is now being released on 12" vinyl and cassette tape courtesy of Before Zero Records.

Polarities is the 13th and final full album of new material from Vaughn Benjamin and I Grade Records, the culmination of a 20 year working relationship that began with 2001's Nemozian Rasta album, which was Midnite's 4th album released to date at that time.

Polarities was produced jointly by the Zion I Kings production team, with Tippy I of I Grade at the production helm, alongside Vaughn Benjamin himself.

The album also includes two notable guest features: Tiken Jah Fakoly of Ivory Coast on "Everything Bless" and Chronixx of Jamaica on "Black Carbon", which were both released in 2020 as the first singles off of Polarities.

Dublin rising star Sputnik One lands on Facta and K-LONE’s Wisdom Teeth with his most accomplished record yet: a flawless four-tracker of mutant dancefloor gear that draws on broken UK techno, psychedelic tribal, footwork and ravey post-hardcore. Fans of his standout outing on Well Street Recordsearlier this year will have a good idea of what to expect here: uniquely voiced and refreshingly forward-thinking bass-heavy club tracks at a range of tempos, all unified by a distinct sonic palette that pits glossy digital synths against raw organic samples and found sounds. There are echoes of Shackleton and Olof Dreijer in ‘Love From Above’ and ‘Michael Cera’, whilst ‘Microbead’ and ‘Powder’ offer refreshed and refined takes on modern post-dubstep / post-hardcore club styles. Across the record the tempo creeps from 130 to 150, keeping all bases covered as late summer ravers migrate towards darker autumn dancefloors.

2021 newly re-pressed color vinyl of LIZZY BORDEN's 1987 third album, featuring the hit track "Me Against the World". "Me Against the World" was also featured in the heavy-metal horror film Black Roses, which remains a cult classic. The album was produced by Max Norman, who produced Ozzy's debut "Blizzard of Oz", Y&T's "Black Tiger" and many other famous metal albums. Lizzy Borden has spent over 30 years creating some of the most theatrical metal in existence and in the process has become nothing short of a metal icon. Releasing classics such as Love You to Pieces (1985) and Master of Disguise (1989) and obliterating audiences worldwide with a stage show that rivals that of Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper.

Audiophile 180glp pressing includes eight 12"x12" art print reproductions of analog film stills by renowned experimental filmmaker Daïchi Saïto. The first purely solo record by Jason Sharp - where every sound is created by his saxophone, breath, heartbeat & modular synthesis rig. Sharp's customized electroacoustic biofeedback system utilizes a heart monitor to turn his pulse into signal & tempo responsively synthesized in real time during peformance & recording. Produced by Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (MATANA ROBERTS, SUUNS, BIG | BRAVE, ERIC CHENAUX, JERUSALEM IN MY HEART). For Fans of Fennesz, Christina Vantzou, Tim Hecker, Klaus Schulze, Ben Frost, Gas, Windy & Carl, Colin Stetson. Montréal saxophonist and electroacoustic composer Jason Sharp presents his third album on Constellation. The Turning Centre Of A Still World is Sharp's first purely solo record and his most lucid, poignant, integral work to date. Following two acclaimed albums composed around particular collaborators and guest players, Sharp conceived his third as an interplay strictly bounded by his own body, his acoustic instrument, and his evolving bespoke electronic system. The Turning Centre... is a singular sonic exploration of human machine calibration, interaction, expression and biofeedback. Using saxophones, foot-controlled bass pedals, and his own pulse - patched through a heart monitor routed to variegated signal paths that trigger modular synthesizers and samplers - Sharp paints with organic waves of glistening synthesis, pink noise and digitalia. Melodic strokes and harmonic shapes ripple and crest across ever-shifting seas, through an inclement cycle from dawn to dusk. The album's six main movements navigate a world where placid surfaces are always roiled and disquieted by a deeper inexorable gyre: the gravitational pull and tidal perpetuity of our bodies made of water, buffeted by terrestrial atmospheric pressures, wrung out by emotions, coursing with blood, sustained by breath, inescapably yearning for and returning to ground again and again. Sharp's heartbeat literally courses through these compositions - while only occasionally surfacing as a clearly audible pulse or rhythm, it physically feeds into a spectrum of generative synthetic processes that help constitute and conduct the music.

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Mono Junk's cult label DUM Records is back with a new five track Various Artists EP that again packs a vital punch. He appears himself along with some fellow legends of the scene.
First up, Morpholgy is a consistent performer who has continued to serve up quality electro since 2009 and here serves up a hot new piece. 'Vector Plant' is busy and industrial, slick and metallic as it unfolds and burrows deep into your veins. Then comes the A2, Irwin Berg featuring Freestyle Man (aka Finnish Moodmusic boss Sasse aka Klas Lindblad) with a track made in 1995 and never released before. This pair worked together and made a cult electro record for Sähkö Recordigs in 1998 and this one is just as impactful. It is frosty and frazzled, slow motion but high impact and full of distorted lines and heavy drums.

Next is Mr Velcro Fastener who were the first kings of electro to come out of Finland and between 1999 and 2006 were famous all over the world. Their brand new cut 'Almost There' is a deep one that is riddled with bleeping melodies and has smeared chords bringing a sci-fi feel. Then it is Mono Junk's turn to dive into the vaults with an unreleased track from 2005. 'Feeling or Destroy' is a physical number with crashing hits and snaking, gurgling bass that is dark and dystopian. Last of all comes Irwin Berg with Mono Junk as New York City Survivors. Says the DUM boss, Our unreleased track here was made after the New York City Survivors - Static Light CD 2002' and it is a turbo charged track with screwed up grinding bass, icy hi hat rhythms and menace in its grooves.

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Techno is getting harder again and Maximum Minimum 061 ups the game with 2 killer trax from Christ On A Bike (D.A.V.E.The Drummer and Tiago Santos), a track from label boss Chris Liberator with Geezer, The Dice and Mickey Rat, and a track from French duo Alienduch & Gelstat - all giant dancefloor tracks that will fit both Acid Techno and Techno sets.

Runnner's Always Repeating yearns for a sense of place. The project of the now LA-based songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Noah Weinman, Runnner's poignant reflections on the isolation and anxiety caused by a sense of rootlessness radiate with wit and charm. Self-produced and recorded wherever he called home at the time, Always Repeating documents this cycle of looking back and moving forward, of alienation changing to reconciliation. For Weinman, Runnner is primarily a solo endeavor with an ever - expanding musical community of musicians collaborating on his albums and shows, which at times have been known to feature up to a 7-piece live band (he also has a burgeoning career as a producer, notably working on Skullcrusher's critically-acclaimed debut EP for Secretly Canadian). Weinman completed Always Repeating last fall in Western Massachusetts and Woodstock using a mobile studio set-up. He played the majority of the instruments himself, including guitar, bass, trumpet, banjo, piano and synth. The goal was to create the perfect balance of intimate and melancholy songwriting through the lens of hi-fi/lo-fi dynamics, inspired by his favorite artists like Bon Iver, the Microphones, and Julien Baker. The 10-track collection is composed of five re-recorded versions of songs that appeared on Runnner's 2017 debut, Awash, and 2020's One of One EP. Although the songs were written over the course of three years, all find Weinman grappling with the same thing: feelings of uncertainty about his life. Always Repeating ultimately tells the start of Weinman's journey as Runnner, and his cyclical feelings of being connected and then disconnected from the world over and over again.

Freiburg based Italian stallion Enea releases his 2nd longplayer "Overview" on his own, soulful South-German imprint, Beatalistics Records.

The 10 track album once again showcases the versatile background of the former Bass-Player, who grew up on the picturesque Lake Constance. Having been a familiar name in the international Drum'n Bass scene for more than a decade, Enea now also takes us beyond the classic 170+ bpm rhythm structures to give us a proper "Overview" of his musical philosophy.

Comprising his typical softer rolling, Liquid based tunes like "Wonders" featuring label partner MC Fava, "Earthrise" with "Freebird" or "Moon" alongside the vocal talent Vavunettha, he additionally presents various influential styles throughout the album. "Interstellar Dub" and the dub remix of "Nuh Smile" featuring Kyrad from Switzerland lead us off the beat on dubby paths, whereas the title track "Overview", "Clouds" or the remix of "Fly High" with Meks Sample & El Tronic show his affinity for smoother Trip-HipHop grooves. By the way, you might recognize an organic and pulsating bass here and there, of course played by the maestro himself! This is warm and beautiful music for sophisticated and open minded souls. Enea!

Michael Mayer’s latest EP, Brainwave Technology, comes at you purposeful, stealthy and sly. It’s a glorious left turn for the redoubtable producer, one that sees his typically lean and lithe productions buffed to a metallic, futurist sheen. There’s a gleam in the eyes of tracks like “Brainwave Technology” and “Alpha” that speaks of serious fun, of the intersection of the pleasure zone and the frontal lobe.

“Brainwave Technology” itself is informed by Mayer’s deep dive into the thorny terrain of artificial intelligence, transhumanism and posthumanism. Inspired by reading German philosopher Richard David Precht, Mayer found himself heading down the “proverbial rabbit hole,” as he describes it, “watching hours of YouTube material by self-proclaimed prophets of these ‘inevitable’ changes to come.” Never one to be taken in by the egotist’s dance, Mayer’s cynicism about the whole endeavour is tempered, a little, by the deeper questions that these figures gesture towards: “Is it really an evolutionary step that man and machine become one? Or is it rather a marketing plot by Silicon Valley billionaires?”

On “Brainwave Technology”, Mayer plays the charlatans at their own game, turning their logic against them by exposing the fruitiness of their ‘visions’. “I chose irony as my sword with which I chopped off some quotes from some of those batshit crazy prophets and self-promoters,” he explains of the drooling psychobabble he drops in the track’s lacuna. There’s a sense of humour here – how could you not laugh at these hungover egotists? – but there’s levity too, a sense that Mayer’s using sound to expose the contradictions and double-speak at the heart of these half-formed ideas. It’s a Burroughsian tactic, to slice into the heart of the voice to see what hidden truths surface.

It was Burroughs, too, who once said that “when you cut into the past, the future leaks out”; Brainwave Technology cuts into the logic of the futurologist to leak out the messiness of modern reality. On “Alpha” and “Gamma”, Mayer seems to conjure up the stark, ominous music that’d soundtrack a science fiction reinterpretation – or preinterpretation – of our modern malaise, all funereal wreaths of electronic noise and clatterboxing beats. As the EP resolves with “Device For The Young At Heart”, Mayer’s questions are piling up: “Do we want to become immortal and live on as a download? Do we really give up on Earth and put all our effort into colonising Mars?” There are no answers, of course, but plenty of imaginings-to-be. Brainwave Technology soundtracks both dystopian and utopian possibilities of what could come next.

New York City 4-piece deliver a modern blues rock masterclass on their feisty debut album.

“A timeless classic rock sound that revels in lean riffs and raw emotion.” – Afropunk

In an age where artistic merit is awarded to those who shout the loudest, Dakota Jones pride themselves on an unwavering ability to leave a lasting impression. Spearheaded by Tristan Carter-Jones fierce and unashamedly uncensored songwriting, the band’s fast-growing reputation as formidable live act has stamped Dakota Jones with the hell-hath-no-fury power of Chaka Khan, the wild spontaneity of Janis Joplin, and the honey-dripping sensuality of Marvin Gaye. Their debut album’s message of proud black heritage and triumphant queerness manifests itself in Carter-Jones’ ability to challenge norms of adulthood and femininity as she takes a deep dive into some of life’s most visceral emotions.

Tristan Carter-Jones: “I’m a black, queer woman expressing myself through love and music. Some folks still find that to be a transgressive act in and of itself. I work to fight that idea. I write a lot about my
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sexuality and the ways in which I express it. Songs about sex and love bounce back and forth between songs about heartache, hangovers and self-medication, and the pleasure and pain of truly finding yourself. I don’t think we get to hear these things from a woman’s mouth as often as we should.”

Serving as an instant tone setter, the album opens with the line "Stretch marks from growing pains" with Carter-Jones lamenting the woes of adjusting to adulthood on lead single ‘Did It To Myself’ - her husky and commanding vocal instantly asserting its place in the spotlight. The atmosphere soon turns steamy on the flirtatious title track ‘Blacklight,’ whilst fantasising over a modern-day Bonnie & Clyde love affair the funk-laden ‘We Playin Bad Games’ packs a punch with its tale of free spirits entwined in a haze of late-night revelry.

Elsewhere, stories of caustic heartache twist the knife into wounded blues guitar riffs on ‘Like That’ and ‘Black Magic (That Power)’, in which Carter-Jones’s stoical voice never once faulters as she mourns the memories of a previous flame. Personal prayer ‘Lord Please’ recites empowered words of reassurance, and solidarity in the face of injustice erupts into a rallying cry for change on the classic sounding ‘Noise’ – written as a reaction to the 2016 US election. “I woke up after the election feeling pure panic and fear in my body,” remembers Tristan. “I wanted people in a place of privilege to stand up for what I was feeling, stand up for injustice, stand up for all of the things we need to change as a country. I wanted their rage, and I wanted their noise.”

Finally, the band’s tender tropes of togetherness eventually boil into gritty, guitar-slung balladry on hidden bonus track, ‘California,’ where, knees buckling under the weight of past trials and tribulations, Carter-Jones sets out on one final journey of self-discovery, hastily pulling out from reality and leaving only a dust cloud in her wake.

Production comes courtesy of the Grammy-winning John Wooler, ex Virgin Records A+R and founder of the Blues label Pointblank who has worked with everyone from John Lee Hooker and John Hammond to Isaac Hayes and Van Morrison. The album also features a wealth of hugely talented and accomplished musicians, including backing vocalist Kudisan Kai, former backing vocalist for the likes of Elton John, Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Beck, Sting, Mary J. Blige and Jill Scott. Also present; Grammy winning keyboardist Jon Gilutin, who has spent years working with some of the industry’s most respected and iconic artists including Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Lady Gaga, Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Jackson Browne, Celine Dion, Bonnie Rait and Carole King. You’ll also hear the talents of acclaimed guitarist Michael Toles. Most well-known for being a part of the Stax Records group The Bar Kays, and for his contributions on famous records by Issac Hayes, Al Green, BB King, Johnny Taylor, Rufus Thomas, Albert King to name just a few.

Dakota Jones are a rising funk, soul and blues rock band from Brooklyn, New York City. Comprising of Tristan Carter-Jones (vocals), Scott Kramp (bass) Steve Ross (drums), and acclaimed musician Randy Jacobs (guitar) - former member of Was(Not Was) who has recorded for Seal, Bonnie Raitt, Tears for Fears, Elton John and many others. Though Carter-Jones and Ross first met in 1999 whilst at primary school, the band formed years later following a series of home jam sessions in 2016. The band’s collective alias originates from Carter-Jones’s middle name, ‘Dakota’. Dakota Jones have since released a string of acclaimed singles and EPs as well as received international attention for their track, ‘Have Mercy’ after it featured on Netflix’s 2019 film, Always Be My Maybe starring Ali Wong and Randall Park – and now after years of hard work and determination, the band are finally set to reveal their long awaited debut album. “We’d been regularly releasing EPs, waiting for our chance to come, and wondering what that would look like,” says Carter-Jones. “We didn’t realise until we started making this record that we needed to stop waiting for some break to come along, and just do it ourselves, independently.”

“Black Light really dives into a place of funk soul and everything that comes with it. There’s joy and dancing, sleek guitar licks and funky bass slaps. There’s pain and longing, and there’s the feeling of relief when you come out of that place and find your joy and purpose again. Black Light is my story.”

Things become intangible. On his 3d album "Take Care Of Me", Murena Murena does an about-turn: his new songs are silhouette vehicles in the reverse of all traffic formulas that strive for speed and progress. You can also do it with your back on the floor, you can also go backwards! In Murena Murena's Augmented Reality Roll, language, rhythm and harmony always turn and expand in the opposite direction. The direction we / they came from. If the idea of a monoposto was to replace the front passenger with a rear-view mirror, and from then on to let the driver run the distance forwards and backwards in the driver's eye, then you can also carry out a U-turn while sitting on a chair with eyes painted on the lids. A mandrill will quickly become the Sphinx. And a hawk moth sees just as much as a fire bug. Dry sump lubrication in the box: camshafts driven by a spur gear cascade ensure additional turbulence of the helium mist in the crankcase through their rotary motion. Of course, that's hard to believe. Gone, the wet sump lubrication of ,Shame Over,! You, listener, now have to grab the ropes yourself and perform wave-like movements, pull the ropes and let them pop. If your eyes go black, you have both hands free again.

Maisie Peters treated fans to their first taste of ‘You Signed Up For This’ earlier this year with ‘John Hughes Movie’. The track soared to No. 1 on iTunes the weekend of release, was playlisted across BBC Radio 1 and 2, and has been streamed over 11.5 million times globally to date.

Revered for her songwriting, Maisie has spent the past three years honing her craft in sessions across London, LA and Nashville, creating songs for ‘You Signed Up For This’ alongside the likes of Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac, Fred again.., Johnny McDaid, Miranda Cooper, and producers Joe Rubel (Tom Grennan, Benjamin Francis Leftwich), Afterhrs (Niall Horan, GRACEY), Rob Milton (Easy Life, Holly Humberstone) and Brad Ellis (Jorja Smith, Little Mix).

Impressively, ‘You Signed Up For This’ is Maisie’s second full length release in the space of three months, as she recently became one of the youngest musicians in history to write and curate a soundtrack for the second season of Apple TV+ Original Series, ‘Trying’, at only 20 years old. Written in just two months last winter, the stunning body of work includes duets with her friends and favourites, including Griff, James Bay and Bear’s Den.

With her knack for transforming everyday experiences in to vividly written diary-style songs, ‘You Signed Up For This’ is both Maisie’s coming of age story and a love letter to girlhood; penned with the wit, charm and quiet confidence that has seen her ascend from busking on the streets of Brighton, to recently making her US TV debut on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Transporting us directly in to her world as she navigates from small town teenager to adulthood, there’s a universal sense of familiarity and nostalgia as she shares memories of blossoming relationships (‘Outdoor Pool’, ‘My Elvis Song’), being played (‘Boys’, ‘Volcano’), heartbreak (‘Tough Act’, ‘Villain’), and first holidays with her twin sister (‘Brooklyn’).

After the release of ‘Kuarahy’ concurred with the blast of the worldwide pandemic and all the consequences it has generated, WHITE STONES - Martín Mendez’s project (OPETH’s bass player) - are ready to launch their second record.

When WHITE STONES released ‘Kuarahy’ they became the first Spanish band signed to Nuclear Blast Records, cementing their first album as an unprecedented milestone. Now, with ‘Dancing Into Oblivion’, the band returns with a more compact sound, having been hard at work ensuring the utmost attention to every detail for a result that is even better than the first record.

The topics covered on this second album draw on the feelings that Martín himself affirms he has lived through during the lockdown imposed by the covid-19 pandemic. “I started it very calmed in March when »Kuarahy« was released and the lockdown started. I wrote the new record and it just flowed so well. It’s my point of view, of the feelings I had during the lockdown period, in this weird year. I took advantage of the moment and I feel excited about it”, reveals the musician.

The most outstanding musical elements on this new record are the disparate genres that manage to co-exist. There is an element of aggression, that can be seen rearing its head in an instrumental frenzy, as well as soft and delicate intricacies that develop an atmosphere which surrounds the listener. There are distinct dynamics among the songs, with interludes allowing the listening to take a breath and appreciate what they’re hearing.

The writing process of ‘Dancing Into Oblivion’ has been pretty similar to the previous ‘Kuarahy’ but with some clear changes. Martín composed all of the instrumentals for the album but, as he says, “I’ve left sections open to the interpretation of each of the other musicians, both in the drums and in the vocals. Eloi wrote the lyrics this time and we then workshopped them together whilst working out the vocal parts to get the final result in the studio”.

WHITE STONES once again recorded at Farm Of Sounds Studios (Barcelona), owned by their singer Eloi. They were satisfied with the sound of ‘Kuarahy’ and the experience of the recording of that album and the comfort of making everything with their own tools made it all easier. “Everything has been ‘homemade’ because it’s a way of working and a philosophy I like. You have more control and you can better enforce your ideas”, Méndez explains -who also created the cover for ‘Dancing Into Oblivion’ together with Sandra, his partner for many years.

The final mix and mastering of this second album was done by Jaime Gómez Arellano at Orgone Studios (UK) because the band were more than satisfied with the work he did on ‘Kuarahy’ and they wanted to repeat that great experience. Eloi, as the singer and also the guy who recorded the music sent to Orgone Studios, acknowledges “the recording had more experience and a better sound quality because we made better decisions during the pre-production thanks to a higher level of self-awareness of ourselves as a band. Jaime knew us better too, so that simplified the process and in turn helped to make »Dancing Into Oblivion« as good as it can be”.

The line-up has been enhanced with the participation of the multifaceted Joan Carles Marí Tur on drums (who also plays in other bands like FACE THE MAYBE). The guitar solos were the job of Joao Sassetti (who was already a member of the touring line-up of WHITE STONES). Sassetti lives in Portugal and he couldn’t be in the studio in Barcelona, so he recorded his solos and digitally sent them over for integration into the final songs. The recording of the instruments has been more organic and as Boucherie says. “The original sound has been retained as much as posible in each and every element” and it has brought a natural/raw touch for ‘Dancing Into Oblivion’ just as the band had hoped and expected.

As GospelbeacH continues to work on the follow-up to their third and most successful studio album LET IT BURN (2019) they are back to raise the vibrations and celebrate the good times with a little
detour through the past.
With the founding of CURATION RECORDS Chief Curator and GospelbeacH leader Brent Rademaker found himself surrounded by a room of over 1,200 60s/70s Glam Rock/Bubble Gum/Sunshine and Power Pop 45s owned by his record label partners.
Back in Mono Deluxe studios with his GospelbeacH brother Jonny Niemann
at the production controls they enlisted the well-seasoned and in-demand
rhythm section of Bob Glaub and Don Heffington that had worked with their
dear departed guitarist Neal Casal on his solo albums as well as Los Angeles
heroes Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Lone Justice and even
Sprinsgteen and Dylan.
Adding the Sunshine harmonies once again Nelson Bragg from the Brian Wilson/BeacH Boys Band.

Thyrfing emerged from the ever-growing underground scene in Sweden
back in 1995.
After seven full-length albums and numerous live performances all over the
world, the band have gained a strong following over the years and an exquisite
standing within the metal scene.
They are considered one of the top bands within the so-called Viking/pagan
metal genre - but on the other hand, Thyrfing are so much more with their truly
outstanding and self-contained musical offering.
The name of the band is taken from the sword “Tyrfing” in Norse mythology - a
cursed blade that appears in several tales and myths. Ever since the start, the
mythology has played a huge part in the scenery and imagery of the band’s
music and lyrics, something which is still intact today.
‘Vanagandr’ (an alternate name for the wolf creature known by the more familiar Fenrir) is a celebration of the tales and stories of Scandinavia - the track
‘Undergangens lankar’ is a conceptual piece focusing on Vanagandr/Fenrir and
a track that carries the spirit and hallmarks that make Thyrfing so unique.
‘Dop dem i eld’ is both the opening song on the album and the first video, one
of two produced for the band by Patric Ullaeus (Dimmu Borgir, Europe, Arch
Enemy). A powerful, heavy, and aggressive track packed with groove and melody. Elsewhere ‘Tr ldomsord’ is regarded as possibly the band’s most intense
song to date, whereas ‘Jordaf rd’ closes the album in epic fashion - a mournful
and moody longing for the end to come. The perfect way to end the album!
Co-recorded and co-produced by Jakob Herrmann (In Flames, Machine Head,
Evergrey) in Top Floor Studios, Gothenburg, with the renowned Jacob Hansen
(Volbeat, U.D.O., Katatonia) looking after the mix and mastering, all of which
ensures at ‘Vanagandr’ sounds massive!
The art concept was executed perfectly by Niklas Sundin of Cabin Fever Media
(ex-Dark Tranquillity) who reconnects with the band once again (he also did
the “Vansinnesvisor” album back in 2002.)
‘Vanagandr’ is the first release via the band’s new record label, Despotz Records. Who recently also signed over the rights to the band’s first four albums
Thyrfing (1998), Valdr Galga (1999), Urkraft (2000), Vansinnesvisor (2002) and
have announced exclusive physical re-issues are in the making.
“... a successful voyage into an oaken woods where death metal, traditional
thrash, and Scandinavian folk commingle harmoniously” // John Serba, Allmusic
“This album gives you an epic feel, and that’s the big strength of Thyrfing,
their music can do something like that to you.” // folk-metal.nl

Thyrfing emerged from the ever-growing underground scene in Sweden
back in 1995.
After seven full-length albums and numerous live performances all over the
world, the band have gained a strong following over the years and an exquisite
standing within the metal scene.
They are considered one of the top bands within the so-called Viking/pagan
metal genre - but on the other hand, Thyrfing are so much more with their truly
outstanding and self-contained musical offering.
The name of the band is taken from the sword “Tyrfing” in Norse mythology - a
cursed blade that appears in several tales and myths. Ever since the start, the
mythology has played a huge part in the scenery and imagery of the band’s
music and lyrics, something which is still intact today.
‘Vanagandr’ (an alternate name for the wolf creature known by the more familiar Fenrir) is a celebration of the tales and stories of Scandinavia - the track
‘Undergangens lankar’ is a conceptual piece focusing on Vanagandr/Fenrir and
a track that carries the spirit and hallmarks that make Thyrfing so unique.
‘Dop dem i eld’ is both the opening song on the album and the first video, one
of two produced for the band by Patric Ullaeus (Dimmu Borgir, Europe, Arch
Enemy). A powerful, heavy, and aggressive track packed with groove and melody. Elsewhere ‘Tr ldomsord’ is regarded as possibly the band’s most intense
song to date, whereas ‘Jordaf rd’ closes the album in epic fashion - a mournful
and moody longing for the end to come. The perfect way to end the album!
Co-recorded and co-produced by Jakob Herrmann (In Flames, Machine Head,
Evergrey) in Top Floor Studios, Gothenburg, with the renowned Jacob Hansen
(Volbeat, U.D.O., Katatonia) looking after the mix and mastering, all of which
ensures at ‘Vanagandr’ sounds massive!
The art concept was executed perfectly by Niklas Sundin of Cabin Fever Media
(ex-Dark Tranquillity) who reconnects with the band once again (he also did
the “Vansinnesvisor” album back in 2002.)
‘Vanagandr’ is the first release via the band’s new record label, Despotz Records. Who recently also signed over the rights to the band’s first four albums
Thyrfing (1998), Valdr Galga (1999), Urkraft (2000), Vansinnesvisor (2002) and
have announced exclusive physical re-issues are in the making.
“... a successful voyage into an oaken woods where death metal, traditional
thrash, and Scandinavian folk commingle harmoniously” // John Serba, Allmusic
“This album gives you an epic feel, and that’s the big strength of Thyrfing,
their music can do something like that to you.” // folk-metal.nl

Canadian collective The Hello Darlins, dubbed “the Broken Social Scene of
Americana”, release their first full-length LP Go By Feel on June 11, 2021.
With over 500,000 combined Spotify streams for their initial three singles, it’s
safe to say there’s a lot of anticipation for their debut album. The buzz began
building almost immediately after the Calgary, Alberta-based Americana collective debuted on the scene in early 2020, with American Songwriter calling the
group “the product of a talented pool of session musicians craving more,” while
Americana UK stated, “It’s great to see a band put together by the talented
folks who would usually be ‘behind the scenes.’”
So, who exactly are The Hello Darlins? The seeds of the band took root in 2016
when vocalist/producer Candace Lacina crossed paths again with keyboardist/
producer Mike Little after first meeting at a recording studio years earlier. Once
reconnected, they soon found themselves making music together in between
their work with other artists, an impressive list that ranges from Shania Twain
to Charlie Major, The Road Hammers to George Canyon as well as the late B.B.
King.
In short order, the couple began inviting others within their circle to participate, including Murray Pulver (Crash Test Dummies), Clay- ton Bellamy (The
Road Hammers), Matt Andersen, Dave and Joey Landreth (aka The Bros. Landreth), Russell Broom (Jann Arden), and ace fiddler Shane Guse.
On Go By Feel, this incredible collection of talent has forged a hybrid of country,
gospel and blues like no other, from the heart-wrenching ballads “Aberdeen”
and “Prayer For A Sparrow” to the classic country-rocker “Mountain Time” and
the album’s soulful title track.
Making music influenced by times of joy and sorrow is natural for Candace and
Mike, as both come from families with long musical traditions within Canada.
It all adds up to The Hello Darlins preferring to add “North” to the Americana
genre, a more than symbolic gesture that’s in line with a musical vision that will
continue to evolve as soon as the band gets a chance to play live with a lineup that could potentially consist of anywhere between five to nine players on
stage.
Until then, audiences will now be able to fully savour the tunes, musicianship
and production of Go By Feel, proof positive that teamwork ultimately leads to
exceptional results.

Runnner’s Always Repeating yearns for a sense of place. The project of the now LA-based songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Noah Weinman, Runnner’s poignant reflections on the isolation and anxiety caused by a sense of rootlessness radiate with wit and charm. Self-produced and recorded wherever he called home at the time, Always Repeating documents this cycle of looking back and moving forward, of alienation changing to reconciliation.

For Weinman, Runnner is primarily a solo endeavor with an ever-expanding musical community of musicians collaborating on his albums and shows, which at times have been known to feature up to a 7-piece live band (he also has a burgeoning career as a

producer, notably working on Skullcrusher’s critically-acclaimed debut EP for Secretly Canadian). Weinman completed Always Repeating last fall in Western Massachusetts and Woodstock using a mobile studio set-up. He played the majority of the instruments himself, including guitar, bass, trumpet, banjo, piano and synth. The goal was to create the perfect balance of intimate and melancholy songwriting through the lens of hi-fi/lo-fi dynamics, inspired by his favorite artists like Bon Iver, the Microphones, and Julien Baker.

The 10-track collection is composed of five re-recorded versions of songs that appeared on Runnner’s 2017 debut, Awash, and 2020’s One of One EP. Although the songs were written over the course of three years, all find Weinman grappling with the same thing: feelings of uncertainty about his life. Always Repeating ultimately tells the start of Weinman’s journey as Runnner, and his cyclical feelings of being connected and then disconnected from the world over and over again.

Over the last 3 years, original 90’s D&B imprint Odysee has been steadily building its profile, both through its ‘Remix/Remaster’ series as well as a growing number of new releases. Label Partner Andy Odysee continues to develop his own unique sound with this third solo E.P. All three tracks work together as a triptych, whilst simultaneously maintaining their own unique identity.

Ruthless (In Purpose): Insidious (In Design) immediately establishes an ominous mood of brooding menace with its creeping bass stabs. As the drums enter, the track builds towards a drop of deep subs and driving breakbeat fury, punctuated by the ripped synth basses and curling drum edits that are fast becoming characteristic of Andy’s productions. There are subtle nods to the later Hokusai releases such as Sculptures Hide and even Black Domina; with eerie chiff-flute phrases, and those signature Mirage-style film-noire and dark avant-garde Jazz sounds nestling amongst the tapestry of beats and basslines.

As a contrast, Provocateur has a sweeter, almost sexier feel. A dreamy oscillating pad soon gives way to razor-sharp curling Jazz breaks and deep subs. The vocals border on the ‘saucy’ with their tantalising suggestions of ‘who thinks the technique is to make love to me’ and ‘the sexiest thing about me is my a**!’ There is a subtle darkness nonetheless to this track, with its plethora of dark film-noire samples. Although the framework of breaks & bass is strident enough for the dance floor, it is also the kind of track that is loaded with all those little production details that will reveal something fresh with each hearing.

The third track Status Anxiety is a frenetic, tense piece of music. Underpinned by a relentless bass synth stab that slips and slides throughout the track, the drum patterns are more elaborate, cutting between several different breaks, with abrupt stops to expose dark string sweeps, hammered Rhodes strikes and shimmering china cymbals. Again there is a subtle reference to the Hokusai releases, but with a fresh twist on that darker Jazz-infused style of Breakbeat D&B.

DJ Support
Source Direct, Law & Ben Repertoire, Mister Shifter, Basic Rhythm, Voodoo & Sensenet

Coming off a strong 2020 for the label with releases from Big Strick, Gnext, and Butterbandz, 7 Days follows up with an EP featuring all 3. This trio (or TRINITY) put on a fantastic showcasing of talent. The EP starts off with a sweeping dance tune from Big Strick titled Balance. The catchy piano keys lift your spirits as the drum programming moves your feet. The very animated baseline is a strong force in this song as well. Somebody's Watching shows us Gnext's deep side once again. Hard hitting drums, delayed hi-hats, warm synth pad, aggressive yet friendly bass line, and some acid sprinkled on top. What's not to like? Lastly we get to see more of what to expect from ButterBandz. Another classic in the making for the rising producer on the 7 Days imprint. Ultra Instinct also has a deep underground feel. He brings a thundering, in your face, base line on top of a systematic drum program and airy synth pad. The heat is turning up for 7 Days and this is just a taste of things to come.

Horse Meat Disco deliver the latest single from their acclaimed debut album ‘Love & Dancing’, this time made in collaboration with NYC group The Phenomenal Handclap Band. ‘Sanctuary’ sees the quartet at their disco dancefloor-ready best, as The Phenomenal Handclap Band provide a dose of deliciously cool nonchalance. Fuelled by hefty analogue muscle, funky guitar riffs, 70s synthesizers and glowy vocals ‘Sanctuary’ makes for an irresistible modern disco number. Ray Mang makes an appropriate remixer for the package, his amalgamative style of boogie, disco, dub and house a perfect fit for Horse Meat Disco and The Phenomenal Handclap Band’s collaboration, providing both a remix and Dubstrumental for the package. ‘Sanctuary’ is an unmissable release for any modern day, discerning disco listener that you’ll want to hear again and again.

This is incredibly Trees Speak's third album on Soul Jazz Records to be released in the space of one year - and it's amazing! Trees Speak's new album 'PostHuman' once again blends 1970s German electronic and 'motorik' Krautrock instrumentals (think Harmonia, Can, Cluster, Popul Vuh, Neu!), haunting and powerful 1960s & 1970s soundtracks (think Italian prog-rock Goblin and John Carpenter horror movies, Morricone and existential John Barry spy movies), together with a New York no wave electronic synth and guitar analogue DIY-ness (think Suicide, anything on Soul Jazz's New York Noise series or Eno's New York No Wave)! Drawing further upon German krautrock high-concept albums from the likes of Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze from the 1970s, Trees Speak create their own powerful new landscapes of sound that manage to be at once contemporary as well as both timeless and with a sense of science-fiction futurism. Trees Speak' segue together all these elements into 'PostHuman,' which follows on from their criticallyacclaimed debut LP 'Ohms', and 'Shadow Forms' released on Soul Jazz Records less than six months ago. This powerful new album is a high-concept collage of retro-futurist science-fiction music, fantastically illustrated by the artist Eric Lee, a dramatic vision of life after humanity. Trees Speak are Daniel Martin Diaz and Damian Diaz from Tucson, Arizona and their music often draws on the cosmic night-time magic of Arizona's natural desert landscapes. 'Trees Speak' relates to the idea of future technologies storing information and data in trees and plants - using them as hard drives - and the idea that Trees communicate collectively. The album includes an exclusive bonus 45 single 'Machine Vision' and 'Seventh Mirror' that will only be available with the first order of the vinyl edition of this amazing and ground-breaking new album. With 'PostHuman,' Trees Speak once again manages to take the listener deep into their unique musical world of unknown visions of the past and the future.

It may be his fifth album, but Saturday Night, Sunday Morning marks the start of chapter two for Jake Bugg. Arguably his most complete and coherent record to date, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning manages to combine a love of ABBA, the Beach Boys, Supertramp and the Bee Gees, with a contemporary pop sound: one that’s already spawned his most ubiquitous song in years via euphoric lead single, All I Need. “I knew what I was looking for this time around,” the 27-year-old says, firmly. “And I feel like I accomplished it.” It’s almost 10 years since a two-fingered Bugg burst onto the scene with his eponymous debut, one that topped the UK album charts and saw the then 18-year-old from Nottingham fêted as the next Bob Dylan. A Rick Rubin-produced follow up, Shangri La, quickly followed. But progress stalled with Bugg’s third, largely self-produced, record, On My One, in 2016. “I was having a hard time on that third record,” Bugg admits, five years removed. “The support from the industry wasn’t what it was. All those people telling you how great you are weren’t there anymore. It does feel like the rug’s been swept from under your feet.” What that record provided, however – along with its comparatively stripped-back follow up, Hearts That Strain (2017) – was a much-needed course corrector: one that set Bugg on the upward trajectory he finds himself on today. “When I came to terms with that was when I left the ego at the door,” he says. “It didn’t work out. But it led here. And this is probably my strongest record." It’s testament to Bugg’s rediscovered confidence that Saturday Night, Sunday Morning – a nod to the debut novel by Nottingham author Alan Sillitoe – sees him working with some of his highest profile collaborators to date, most notably American songwriters Andrew Watt and Ali Tamposi, best known for their work with pop heavyweights Post Malone, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, Camila Cabello. “I was looking for how I can incorporate my sound for a more modern era. And I kind of struck gold working with Andrew Watt and Ali Tamposi,” Bugg says. Convening in LA, the first track the trio wrote together is the jealousy-inflected About Last Night, a song about the “insecurities you go through as a young person in a relationship with someone.” “It’s got such dark undertones, which I love,” Bugg says, of a song that showcases a newly discovered, Beach Boys-esque falsetto. “But it’s also very, very pop. That’s what I’ve always loved. With ABBA, with Supertramp. I love pop music. But when you can get it to be dark, I love it even more.” It’s a trick the trio repeated again on Scene, Bugg’s personal favourite from the album and a song that best encapsulates the combination of old and new: Watt’s George Harrison-esquire guitar brushing up against contemporary melodic choices by Tamposi. “I love writing with her,” Bugg says of the Havana hitmaker. “She brought that women’s perspective. And I knew that I’d got that balance of what I wanted. That old school chorus with contemporary verses. That to me was my favourite song when I wrote it, and it still is.” Perhaps the biggest example of Bugg’s newfound ego-less approach to writing, however, came in the shape of Downtown, a song that grew from an idea by Jamie Hartman (Celeste, Lewis Capaldi, Rag'n'Bone Man), and sees Bugg deploy the higher range of his voice to ethereal, ’60s Bee Gees effect. “Usually, the initial spark of an idea comes from me. And when it doesn't, it sometimes loses my attention,” Bugg admits. On Downtown, however, he relished his role as arranger: “Because there were a lot of moving parts and chords, it was almost like a puzzle,” he says. “I’d never approached a song like that before. “What I’ve been enjoying on this record is the collaborative process,” he continues. Working with people, writing with people. Because I’ve realised all I really want to achieve is to be the best writer I can possibly be. And I think by working with other people, it allows you to learn a lot as well.” It’s a theory Bugg has put to the test during lockdown, when he was approached by his manager about writing the soundtrack to an upcoming documentary, The Happiest Man In The World, about Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho. “It’s kind of a completely different experimental outlet,” Bugg explains of his first ever score. “I approach my own work quite professionally. But with this I can just switch off and go into a different world. And it’s been brilliant – I’ve had to learn different styles of guitar: bossa nova, samba. It’s a bit Vangelis, who’s probably my favourite artist – which may surprise people.” Possibly. But you get the impression that surprising is what Bugg likes to do. “I don’t like to be stuck doing the same thing,” he admits. “And that’s what this record Saturday Night, Sunday Morning was. I wanted to push myself. I’m always learning new influences. I’m careful not to get stuck on the same thing. “It’s not going to be right every time. It’s not going to be good every time,” he continues. “But if that’s the process it takes to get to this record, where people are loving the songs again, then that’s the journey we have to take.” For Jake Bugg, chapter two starts now. New album ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’ is out August 20th on RCA Records

With or without a drink in hand, moderate temperature, no need to jump into the wet. One night AT the pool, not inside. Palm trees or succulents - not far from here, the vegetation has adapted to the situation. A soft rustling: Possibly crickets, probably also the wind. No traffic and certainly no civilization, which right now would probably only disturb with its long agenda of responsibilities. HYPNOSIS AND MUD - Healing hypnosis, healing mud. The half-frustrating, half-liberating feeling of saturated soil between the toes. A state of inner peace. Instead of a voice, you hear primitivist percussive explorations. A groping and grasping of the bare feet, with delicate toes. Abstraction is followed by the concrete: a walk through the ORCHIDEENGARTEN RUSE, an orchid garden close to the Bulgarian town and not far from the Romanian border. Digitally, but not unreal. Perhaps even better than reality - anyone can do that. The (unofficial) soundtrack to this would not only make the Canadian composer Mort Garson happy. A lady‘s shoe kindly looks at us. If you turn around, you arrive on the other side: A LINE HAS TWO SIDES. Conundrum-like images, dissolved one-dimensionality. Candid narrative ambiance. A clarinet calls to duty. Civilization and traffic after all? SUNBEAMS ON YOUR CAR. Urgency, a clamor of voices - both in their best form. Yet again – the clarinet, the blunt reality: ONE NIGHT AT THE POOL. We are still standing here, we probably never left. A three-part journey – with delicate transitions. Three destinations: Now forever united. Dissonant and yet pensive. In the far distance the advertisement for the collected works of Meredith Monk. Hair erect, the little skin nerves contract, goosebumps - at last!

The hit Netflix show ‘The Umbrella Academy’
returns along with another outstanding score from
Jeff Russo and Perrine Virgile.
Based on the comic book series by Gerrard Way of
My Chemical Romance.
Pressed on Black/White split coloured vinyl.

Maybe We Never Die, Anderson East's third release for Elektra/Low Country Sound takes the Alabama born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s seductively vintage voice in a decidedly fresh direction. The 12 tracks flow together with an overarching sense of ambience but maintain distinct musical boundaries. The energy toggles between a hunger for vulnerability in togetherness and a clinging to solitude as a romantic self-defense. There is consternation with the speed and volume at which the world operates and solace to be found in the simple act of getting up and going. And the beguiling title track, with its woozy strings swirling around East’s celestial falsetto as it curls towards the ceiling like smoke is, as they say, a whole mood; a sense of a single night’s dusk-to-sunrise contemplation. Collaborating once again with Dave Cobb along with longtime bandleader and now co-producer Philip Towns, East has found an enticing new avenue, one that maintains a connection to his past but keeps his eyes on the road ahead.

Maybe We Never Die is East's first new music since 2018's breakthrough album, Encore, which featured the Grammy-nominated #1 AAA radio single, "All On My Mind." Heralded by critics, The New York Times praised Encore as, “…an often lustrous revisiting of raucous Southern soul, rousingly delivered and pinpoint precise. He has a voice full of extremely careful scrape and crunch, but his howls never feel unhinged," while Rolling Stone declared, “On Encore, East’s influences meld seamlessly, stacking the album with Stax-worthy R&B grooves, gospel-blues ooohs and aaahs, surging keys and blasting brass.” Known for his magnetic live performances, East and his band have performed sold-out shows worldwide and have been featured on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and "CBS This Morning Saturday," NBC's "TODAY" and "Late Night with Seth Meyers," PBS' "Austin City Limits" and more.

Vistas announce their sophomore album ‘What Were You Hoping To Find? ‘
with their second track of the year ‘Stuck In Your Head’ - an indie ear-worm
that’s arrived just in time for the summer.
This latest offering comes not long after their hotly anticipated return ‘Start
Again’, and paves the way for a busy schedule of releases prior to their album
release, due Aug 2021.
- Debut album #21 in OCC album charts - September UK tour 90% sold out
- Bristol, Manchester (Academy), London (Heaven), Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle, Glasgow x2 (Barrowland and Ballroom), Huddersfield
- Outdoor advertising (from August 16th): Billboards in Camden London,
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth. + album flyposting in London, Glasgow,
Cardiff + Pavement Stencils (cities TBC)
- TRANSMT FESTIVAL: 60x40 drums & billboards around festival site, 10-12
September