Cerca:aim records

Classic free jazz album reissued for the first time since the 70s. Old-style gatefold sleeve LP, with liner notes by Ed Hazell.

Noah Howard, an alto saxophonist and composer, was known for weaving intricate and innovative musical patterns, often likening his work to "sound paintings." His 1971 album Patterns, the first LP he self-produced on his Altsax label, stands as a testament to his experimental and spiritual approach to music. In interviews, Howard frequently used visual terms like "patterns" and "shapes" to describe his compositions, emphasizing the importance of melody and structure even in highly improvisational settings. For Howard, patterns and melodies were essential to guiding listeners through his explorations without alienating them, maintaining a balance between innovation and accessibility. Howard's quest for an original sound was deeply influenced by jazz greats like Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, and Jackie McLean. While he admired these legends, Howard avoided imitation, striving instead to develop his own distinct voice. His sound was unmistakably his own, and he felt a deep obligation to carry the jazz tradition forward through personal expression, not by mimicking others. His music was also rooted in spirituality, a legacy he traced to his upbringing in the Black Baptist Church. He believed jazz had always contained a spiritual essence, from Louis Armstrong to John Coltrane, and his work aimed to channel this cosmic, spiritual energy.

Patterns was recorded in the Netherlands during Howard's second stint in Europe, where he found a more open, less racially charged environment compared to the U.S. For the album, Howard collaborated with Dutch musicians such as Misha Mengelberg (piano), Han Bennink (drums), and Earl Freeman (bass). Despite the challenges faced by guitarist Jaap Schoonhoven, who felt out of place in the session, the album came together as a powerful mix of blues, jazz, and classical elements.

The music on Patterns is a high-energy fusion of American free jazz and Dutch improvisation. Howard's saxophone work alternates between leading with passionate, lyrical lines and blending into the collective improvisation. The album’s dynamic interplay, particularly between Mengelberg’s dissonant piano clusters and Bennink’s thunderous drumming, creates a vivid "sound painting" full of contrasting forms and colors. Patterns remains one of Howard’s most unique and celebrated recordings, showcasing his visionary approach to jazz.

Trapped Animal records is proud to announce the release of Despite Yourself Deluxe from 90’s legends Headswim, which has never been available on vinyl before.

For the first time, Headswim’s iconic second album is available on double gatefold vinyl, featuring 7 bonus tracks, including an unreleased version of their hit 'Tourniquet'! Lovingly released on double vinyl in a gatefold sleeve, this deluxe re-issue features seven bonus tracks including previously un-released tracks, including a previously unheard version of their biggest hit, Tourniquet featuring a string orchestra recorded at Abbey Road Studios!

The bonus material was collated by scouring through Sony's DAT tape archives, in this process the band and label found some wonderful lost recordings. The record will be available on either limited edition blue or back 180 gram vinyl. Despite Yourself, featuring the singles "Tourniquet" and "Better Made”, was Headswim’s sophomore album and documents the development of the band maturing as songwriters. “We were aiming for longevity and believed we had written a collection of songs honestly expressing who we were, where we’d been and where we wanted to go. The album was a declaration of intent, an expression of our lived experience, a light in the dark.” Originally released on 2nd September 1997 Despite Yourself reached 24 in the UK charts and would see the band tour the USA and Europe, make “several TV appearances (including Top of The Pops), film a couple of glossy music videos and get some mainstream media attention. We’d been given a chance and we’d grasped it with both hands.

Declassified Records is back with its 6th release - 2 more tracks crafted by the label owner himself SP:MC. Staying true to the original ideology of his imprint, SP:MC once again aims to fuse & contort his influences from the Drum & Bass & Dubstep scenes into the 2-step / UKG framework. The A side ‘XL Bully’ is definitely the more up front & hard hitting of the two tracks - drawing inspiration from the palette of Digital & Spirit, Total Science & Rufige Kru’s previous works. The flipside ‘Core Memories’ is a deeper cut leaning towards a more Detroit feel - you can undoubtably hear a nod to the late great Marcus Intalex & ST Files here. Declassified continues the forge its own path forwards, already becoming recognised as a ‘buy on sight’ label for UK bass music fans.

Having worked silently in her sonic philosophy for almost a decade, vocalist, music producer and Dj Telva has launched her music label byt’, starting with the publication of her debut album. The album, ‘Revelation’, opens with an unusual and experimental offering, which sets the tone for the label's subsequent eclectic and unexpected releases. The compilation of 10 tracks, has been documented for 5 years through an experimental vocal, instrumental sonic journey, that is composed of Telva's life experiences during this period.

Telva is a vocalist, producer and only vinyl Dj based in Berlin. Defining her path through art in every sense of it by turning passion into a way of life, she has been playing and collecting records as main craft since 2016. Followed by uninterrupted hours in the studio, her creations and sonic philosophy, aka record label byt’, have been materialized by the wide range of influences she’s been absorbing along her way as an artist, where different cultures, scenes, and places have shaped and influenced her understanding and projection of her musical vision. Her love for the underground movement and the deep work in silence have made her music shows special and respected. For listeners and dancers, her well-chosen exposure is an unexpected experience. Her purpose is to offer quality music based on eclectic diversity, that surprises the audience with the love it spreads through sound, aiming to touch their hearts. ‘Music is a channel of transmission in where to materialize one’s lifetime vision’

Byt' (быть in Slavic meaning 'to be' / pronounced 'beat') is a music philosophy, also known as a record label, focusing on the connection between music and artist as a primary form of communication and source of expression. It represents 'the music of the being'. 
 The meaning and purpose are to comprehend the concept of musical interpretation through the artistic vision of the person behind it, by appreciating the significance of conveying a life experience through sound, making a recognition on what is behind the music we listen to. The label will be composed of solo releases, sonic cinematic experiences, collaborations and other archives, spanning an unlimited wide range of genres, yet rooted mainly in electronic music.

Amorphic & Tensal join James Ruskin's Blueprint Records family with their "Distant Landscapes EP" this November, which closes out the label's 2024 catalogue.

Amorphic is the pseudonym of Scottish artist Vince Watson, aimed at exploring more raw and hypnotic signatures. Launched in 2022, Amorphic has featured on labels like Token, Symbolism and Modularz as well as Vince's self-formed labels Amorphic and Morph. With almost 30 years in the industry, Vince has released over 1000 tracks, which has allowed him to work and gig with some of the very best. He now teams up with Spanish artist Tensal for this new EP.

Tensal is the alias of Héctor Sandoval (who is also one half of Exium, Komatssu and Selección Natural), created togive space to his more cyclical and modern vision of Techno in which he combines different rhythms and textures. After a handful of works released on his own label, he has recorded for the likes of Mord, Modularz, Arcing Seas, Warm Up, Perc Trax, Cabrera, Polegroup (of which he is a founding member) and Soma, where he released his first LP in 2018.

Together they've drawn on their individual skills to deliver 4 deep and driving Techno cuts that perfectly fit James Ruskin's influential label.

John Prine's 1984 release, is available on LP from Oh Boy Records for the first time since the original pressings.

This album is the result of a collaboration between Cartridge 1987 and YouTuber Edward, known for his excellent show "Retro Découverte." With over 200,000 subscribers, this YouTube channel aims to highlight everything related to "Retro Gaming" culture, with a presentation designed to evoke our nostalgic feelings as gamers. This album compiles theme songs featured on Edward's YouTube channel.

Led by Sommer, the release signifies the first chapter of the drummers much much-anticipated Nordic trilogy on April Records, aiming to capture and document Nordic improvisation and composition across three carefully curated ensembles. Bassist Arild Andersens storied career stretches back to the 1970"s as one of ECM s first recording artists, collaborating with household names of the genre including Jan Garbarek, Don Cherry, Bill Frisell, John Taylor, Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, and the list goes on. Welcoming the opportunity to work with and nurture younger artists, the ensemble was born when Daniel Sommer selected Andersen for a project during his studies at the Danish National Academy of Music. Later, impressed by Luft s performances in Ireland and Norway, Andersen suggested expanding the pair into a trio. A transcendent musical voyage, As Time Passes " blurs the lines of conventional trio roles, and celebrates the evolution of jazz as a fluid, versatile form of expression. By providing each musician the freedom of becoming a key contributor in the melodic discourse, the trio channels the spirit of jazz veterans such as the Bill Evans Trio and free free-jazz ensemble Air, while echoing the sounds and innovations of pan pan-European contemporary jazz. Mixing pensive rubato ambience with energetic grooves, instrumental dexterity, a modern ECM ECM-esque sound and folk undertones, the record s compositional clarity combined with the spontaneity of a live performance flows across and between genres, borders and generations alike. Luft s intricately over- dubbed layers of acoustic guitars, vast reverbs, and contrapuntal melodies expand the sound of the three piece into an immersive world of textures. Rendered in the stark beauty of Andersen"s bass lines, the nuanced strokes of Sommer"s drums, and capped with the lush, expansive timbres of Luft"s guitar, "As Time Passes" is a testament to the enduring and ever ever-evolving wonder of Jazz.

Ramkot is a wrecking ball from Ghent, Belgium, playing powerful yet danceable rock music. After two EP’s and building a reputation as one of the most exciting live bands around, the spring of 2023 sees the release of debut album In Between Borderlines, a razor-sharp 25-minute uppercut aiming for both head and hips. They tour extensively, playing a hefty 100 shows in just one year: from steamy venues and sun-drenched festival stages (Pinkpop, Down The Rabbit Hole) to even opening for Metallica in Amsterdam. For their sophomore album, instead of producing it themselves again, Ramkot enlist producer Alain Johannes (QOTSA, Eagles of Death Metal, Them Crooked Vultures), who invites them to the Joshua Tree desert. For three weeks, Ramkot reside in the legendary Rancho De La Luna studio, famous for QOTSA frontman Josh Homme’s The Desert Sessions. ‘We pulled out all the stops, not pushing our foot down on the accelerator all the time, which allows the music to breathe more. There’ll be a couple of softer songs the fans will not be expecting from us.’ But rest assured, every single note still sounds very much like Ramkot. The band will only play a handful of shows this year, including 2000 Trees (UK), Sziget (H), Pukkelpop and Lowlands.

‘Dyp Tid’, the fifth album from Norwegian psych-rock group Electric Eye, is a contemplation of the unknown and the ineffable. Crafted in a landscape where time and space collapse, the record is Electric Eye's most ambitious and experimental project to date. Originally commissioned by Sildajazz – the Haugesund International Jazz Festival – and premiering there in 2022, ‘Dyp Tid’ (Norwegian for ‘Deep Time’) is both a meditative journey and an exploration of what it means to exist in a universe where time stretches far beyond humanity’s grasp. First performed live in Skåre Kirke, an octagonal wooden church in Haugesund, Norway that was built in 1858, these six atmospheric compositions centre church organs, synths and choral vocals over any traditional ‘rock’ instrumentation. Gradually winding through ambient minimalism, kosmische improvisations and experimental psych-jazz, ‘Dyp Tid’ isn’t just an album but a space; a mental landscape where sound and time intersect. Talking about the album, Electric Eye’s Øystein Braut says: “We have always been drawn to the cinematic, to the sense that something feels larger than life, and in Dyp Tid we wove these elements together into something both deeply personal and utterly elusive.” Setting up in Bergen´s Duper Studio, the recording space became a laboratory to further develop these new ideas and transform the ‘Dyp Tid’ piece into a fully-fledged studio album: “We delved into analogue technology, explored vintage machines, and experimented with what lay at the edge of our control. We sought the sound of time’s depths, something that felt infinite and uncontrollable. In an age where everything seems algorithmic and predictable, we aimed to create something that refused to be boxed in – something that lives and breathes by its own rules. The album intricately weaves together live recordings from the wooden church and studio sessions, often oscillating between the two in the course of a single track.”

Die Schachtel Records is proud to present Ifigenia/Oreste, a new vinyl LP by celebrated Italian composer Paolo Spaccamonti. This album marks the seventh installment in the label's renowned Decay Music series, which has become synonymous with deeply emotive, abstract, and electronic/ambient music, which has so fare featured works of such names as Stefano Pilia, Giovanni di Domenico, Sandro Mussida, Vértice, Damavand and Claudio Rocchetti. Aim of the series is composing a fascinating scenario of the most interesting names of experimental musicians – mainly of Italian origins - working at the intersection of sound and music, abstract and visual, storytelling and abstract composition.

Paolo Spaccamonti has long been a significant figure in the contemporary music scene, known for his ability to bridge the worlds of instrumental, electronic, and experimental music. His most recent release, Nel Torbido (2023), is a testament to his ever-evolving artistry. With Nel Torbido, Spaccamonti delivered a haunting and immersive sonic experience that oscillates between tension and release, bringing together moody soundscapes, unsettling textures, and his signature understated guitar work. His exploration of silence, noise, and melodic tension has earned him recognition as one of the most unique voices in modern composition.

Composed by Spaccamonti, Ifigenia/Oreste is the original score for the theatrical production IFIGENIA / ORESTE, directed by Valerio Binasco and produced by Teatro Stabile di Torino. The music, both haunting and subtle, mirrors the play's minimalist and intense staging, immersing listeners in an evocative soundscape that blends ambient textures with guitar-driven melodies. The music was recorded and processed by Filippo Conti, with additional production and mixing by Stefano Pilia. The vinyl’s design has been crafted by Bruno Stucchi of Dinamomilano, making this release a fusion of sound, visual, staging and cultural reference.

In reflecting on his collaboration with director Valerio Binasco, Spaccamonti said: "From the first meeting with Valerio, it was clear that we aimed to create a production stripped of any unnecessary stylistic embellishments. Ifigenia and Oreste had to be severe, devoid of visual distractions, simple yet extreme in its own way. I sought to follow the same path with the music. The foundation is always the guitar, but I wanted to avoid overloading it, either harmonically or sonically. Sometimes, I treated it like a fragmented background noise; other times, I ventured into more aggressive, melancholic, or even melodic terrains, but always in a very human way. The text demanded an atmosphere that lived in the alternation of silence and rarefaction, like in the films of Bresson and Lanthimos. Short scenes interrupted by moments of darkness. In a marked rhythm, a suspense constantly suggesting the advance toward death, announced from the very first scene. Hence, the emphasis I wanted to place on silence through the music, even within individual tracks. Long, granular tails, like the (few) lights on stage."

Giuseppe Crisci is a musician and composer who splits his life in between London and Naples.
Known for his previous Acid House projects under the pseudonyms of DoTheDu and Crishi, he released several records on labels like Senseverse Records, Stealth Mission, and Pareidolia Recordings.

Conceived and written in his apartment in London and mostly recorded in his studio in Santa Maria Capua Vetere, this album proposes the sound of an evolving artist who drags himself into the deepest corners of heart and soul using profound synthesisers sounds which are coloured by intimate saxophone solos and rusty piano chords that enfasise strengthen the true sentiment of his lyrics narrated in English and Neapolitan dialect.

“My aim is to reach people’s soul and humbly influence them positively by trying to express what I feel deep inside myself, beyond meanings and words”— Giuseppe Crisci

Born Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, by now much has been made of Fantastic Negrito's own unique story--his early years growing up in an orthodox Muslim household, the doomed major label deal that turned him off of the music industry altogether, the near-fatal car crash that permanently damaged his guitar playing hand--as well as the remarkable redemption arc that began in 2015, when he won the first ever NPR Tiny Desk Contest. In the years that followed, Negrito would go on to take home three consecutive GRAMMY Awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album, tour with everyone from Sturgill Simpson to Chris Cornell to Bruce Springsteen, collaborate in the studio with the likes of Sting and E-40, launch his own Storefront Records label, perform at Lollapalooza, WOMAD, Glastonbury, Newport Folk, Byron Bay Blues, and nearly every other major festival on the map, and found the Revolution Plantation, an urban farm aimed at youth education and empowerment. Son of a Broken Man sees Fantastic Negrito encapsulating the inimitable elements of his celebrated body of work to date, from hard-hitting distorted guitar riffs to melodic and expressive ballads, all fueled by the unexpected twists that have become his trademark. The album stands as perhaps Fantastic Negrito's most personal thus far, exploring family, deception, and the human desire to hide the true self as he dives deep into one of the oldest conflicts in human history, the struggle between father and son. Beginning at a young age, Negrito was served untruths by his father. A made-up last name, a fabricated ancestry, and a fake Somali accent. Why lie? Why create this false narrative? Those are the questions Negrito had to ask himself and the questions that lie at the heart of Son of a Broken Man.

Fracatso was born during a spontaneous weekend break away from home of four good friends, emerging from the collective desire to record together in total freedom. This remarkable album that will delight you as it did us, is made of two distinct sessions recorded in Laura Lippie's Lyon apartment, composed on site using various acoustic and electronic instruments by Lippie, Iueke, Lowjack and Zaltan, fueled by wine, laughter and song and an honest need for aimless creation and poetical collaboration .

During an impromptu meeting in Amsterdam, Zaltan played to Gilb'R these unrevised original recordings lead by the powerful and whimsical words and voice of Lippie, and the known talent of the band creating bucolic arrangements in unformatted musical identities. Gilb'R instantly proposed to release the sessions on Versatile Records on the spot! And hear you have it , Fracatso lives.

Peni Candra Rini (she/her), the Indonesian composer and performer whose musical practice encompasses a wide range of traditional and experimental Javanese styles, announces her new album Wulansih (July 12, 2024) via New Amsterdam Records. Kronos Quartet's David Harrington, a frequent collaborator of Rini, recently called her “one of the world's greatest singers”, and on Wulansih she places her voice in conversation with a wide array of experimental and traditional musicians, including Andy McGraw, Lester St. Louis, Shahzad Ismaily, John Priestley, Curt Sydnor, and many others. Produced by Ismaily at New York's Figure 8 Recording, Wulansih creates a world all its own.

The 8 songs on Wulansih exert a deep sense of spiritual calm and act as, in Rini’s words, “a reminder that you are still human, listening to expressions of other humans.” Her music is deeply inspired by the poetry of Rumi and Hafez, Wayang Kulit (Indonesian shadow play), and Serat, the tradition of Sufi thought in Central Javanese court poetry. Rini says that Wulansih aims to “express my inner feelings, my soul, to provide inspiration to younger Indonesian composers, and to introduce Indonesian new compositions to new global audiences.”

Wulansih is a small encyclopedia of Indonesian music. Rini explains: “The album mixes a wide range of materials, including traditional Javanese gamelan singing, Balinese chant, stringband music of the 1960s, and intercultural improvisations, bringing them all together through my contemporary compositional approach. We created experimental ensembles, and even experimental instruments and tunings to create an album that, whatever you think of it, sounds like nothing else.”

Rini’s lyrics are poems, strongly inspired by Javanese Sufism, with a deep emphasis on love and the inner self. Estu explores the idea of “love as a sacrifice; it takes a commitment to put one’s heart in the right place. It requires the seriousness of an artist,” while Warahsih explores how “always through understanding and sincerity, teaching Love to those who study the ways of life, through the ages.”

The music on Wulansih transforms these poems of love and compassion into open and lush sonic spaces that are crafted using synthesizers, traditional Indonesian instruments, Rini’s wide vocal range, guitars, and Ismaily’s production.

Having spent their formative years in São Paulo Brazil, as a teenager, Lau Ro found themself uprooted from their home. Moving with their family to Europe in search of a better quality of life, their story was like that of many immigrants in the same position. Lau Ro's parents found work in factories and cleaning jobs, for the first few years in the North of Italy and then in Brighton on England's Southern coast. "We never managed to visit back home, so my connection to Brazil became largely made up of childhood memories and my fascination with all the 60s and 70s music I could find from there."

In Brighton, the young non-binary singer and composer would immerse themself amongst the city's vanguard of free-thinking artists and musicians. Lau Ro formed Wax Machine whose prefigurative, psychedelic community provided a glimmer of countercultural hope amid a backdrop of national political decline. From 2020-23, Wax Machine birthed three cult-favourite albums in as many years; indebted in part to their British psychedelic forebears from progressive folk, rock and jazz yore. But the kernel of Lau's Brazilian sound was already beginning to blossom across Wax Machine's releases. Now, taking root deeper still, Lau Ro steps forward with their debut album: Cabana.

Named after the small wood cabin at the bottom of their garden where the album was recorded, Cabana is a deeply personal record of memory, self-discovery and imagination. Melancholy and hope combine across ten tracks of dreamy bossa, ambient folk, fuzzy tropicalia and majestic MPB. The music is swathed in masterful string arrangements and trippy electronics in equal part, while Lau Ro's delicate, yet quietly confident voice takes acerbic aim (in both English and Portuguese) at polluted city life, while dreaming of a utopia, rich with nature and wildlife.

Like the musical equivalent of semantic drift, Lau Ro's displacement led to the creation of another Brazil. A mythic place in Lau's soul, as they put it, "where the sunshine and joy of my childhood remained untapped." Lau continues: "It's music that might sound as if it came out of a parallel universe Brazil, rather than its modern day landscape. I am nowadays rediscovering Brazil, going back as often as I can and trying to stay connected to these different parts of the world and myself."

HOO - master builders of woozy dynamics, songs unfurl with a mysterious, hooky logic all their own to create deeply emotive, chaotic, cinematic and - surprisingly, with this album ‘III’ - indie pop tunes! Songs clocking in just over 2 or 3 minutes, driven by heavy grunge guitars & potty Moog magic, opening out at times during the breathtaking prog Ov Violence/ Evil Weeks and the epic gothy final track Method Papers. ‘III’ has been 10 years in the making and features friends Simon Rowe (Chapterhouse, Mojave 3), Ian McCutcheon (Mojave 3, Slowdive), Paul Blewett (Moon Attendant), Lee Lavender & long-time collaborator & award-winning folk artist Jackie Oates. The themes and feel of the songs meant they had to lay in wait in HOO’s church-like studio, patiently growing & spawning like a 70's Dr WHO monster. Newer songs like the almost indie disco Snake & Myself When I Am Real finally gave the album foundation. HOO songwriter Nick Holton explains “All my music, including stuff in the past with Coley Park & Neil Halstead (Slowdive), is made at home in my own studio ‘Oaki Room’, so they blend into one another and my broader life. This is why musicians like Paul Blewett, Ian McCutcheon and Simon Rowe are always in the band or on my records - because they are part of my life. I have always made music this way and intended to. Jackie’s beautiful lead on England Theme, a high for me, was a simple idea. A mirror, as is so much of what I write about, here pride and disappointment in your world. Politics, religion, conflict, human frailty & alien tentacles, the collapsing environment all feature heavily and inspire. Despite this, we aim to make these dark songs engaging & endearing, skipping about you at volume in a psychedelic fug.” “I cannot and will not explain what is going on, but ‘III’ definitely closes a door and feels the most complete work of my life” Holton concludes. ’III’ is playful, eccentric, explosive and shamelessly takes itself seriously. Finished and mastered by Heba Kadry (Beach House, Bjork, Slowdive). We hope you now enjoy HOO’s third album. “Highly recommended to those who dig cinematic dream pop & Krautrock.” Echoes & Dust “50s sci-fi meets peak Reading shoegaze. It’s an ideal soundtrack for the new normal” Mojo “Shoegaze guitars, space-folk synths, otherworldly drones & krautrock drums into soundscapes immersive, possibly hallucinogenic.” Uncut “Textural & cinematic guitar driven epic” Shindig “A place where you see shadows of ghosts and echoes of your imagination” HiFi World Highlights “50s sci-fi meets peak Reading shoegaze. It’s an ideal soundtrack for the new normal” Mojo feat ex-Slowdive & Coley Park

HOO - master builders of woozy dynamics, songs unfurl with a mysterious, hooky logic all their own to create deeply emotive, chaotic, cinematic and - surprisingly, with this album ‘III’ - indie pop tunes! Songs clocking in just over 2 or 3 minutes, driven by heavy grunge guitars & potty Moog magic, opening out at times during the breathtaking prog Ov Violence/ Evil Weeks and the epic gothy final track Method Papers. ‘III’ has been 10 years in the making and features friends Simon Rowe (Chapterhouse, Mojave 3), Ian McCutcheon (Mojave 3, Slowdive), Paul Blewett (Moon Attendant), Lee Lavender & long-time collaborator & award-winning folk artist Jackie Oates. The themes and feel of the songs meant they had to lay in wait in HOO’s church-like studio, patiently growing & spawning like a 70's Dr WHO monster. Newer songs like the almost indie disco Snake & Myself When I Am Real finally gave the album foundation. HOO songwriter Nick Holton explains “All my music, including stuff in the past with Coley Park & Neil Halstead (Slowdive), is made at home in my own studio ‘Oaki Room’, so they blend into one another and my broader life. This is why musicians like Paul Blewett, Ian McCutcheon and Simon Rowe are always in the band or on my records - because they are part of my life. I have always made music this way and intended to. Jackie’s beautiful lead on England Theme, a high for me, was a simple idea. A mirror, as is so much of what I write about, here pride and disappointment in your world. Politics, religion, conflict, human frailty & alien tentacles, the collapsing environment all feature heavily and inspire. Despite this, we aim to make these dark songs engaging & endearing, skipping about you at volume in a psychedelic fug.” “I cannot and will not explain what is going on, but ‘III’ definitely closes a door and feels the most complete work of my life” Holton concludes. ’III’ is playful, eccentric, explosive and shamelessly takes itself seriously. Finished and mastered by Heba Kadry (Beach House, Bjork, Slowdive). We hope you now enjoy HOO’s third album. “Highly recommended to those who dig cinematic dream pop & Krautrock.” Echoes & Dust “50s sci-fi meets peak Reading shoegaze. It’s an ideal soundtrack for the new normal” Mojo “Shoegaze guitars, space-folk synths, otherworldly drones & krautrock drums into soundscapes immersive, possibly hallucinogenic.” Uncut “Textural & cinematic guitar driven epic” Shindig “A place where you see shadows of ghosts and echoes of your imagination” HiFi World Highlights “50s sci-fi meets peak Reading shoegaze. It’s an ideal soundtrack for the new normal” Mojo feat ex-Slowdive & Coley Park

Jason Kolàr (Stroom) returns to Dauw on this collaboration with Japanese musician Fumitake Tamura (Leaving Records). 'Ōki-sa' documents the duo's encounters during Kolàr's Japan tour in September 2023.

Fumitake Tamura and Jason Kolàr met in Tokyo during Kolàr’s Japanese tour in September 2023. Sharing a mutual admiration for their previous works, they decided to meet at Soundbar Patrol in Sangenjaya for a series of improvisational sessions.

The album contains a chronological sequence of ideas recorded on those summer afternoons, seamlessly connected by raw textures, lo-fi synths, and abstract beat-filled sound collages.

The title Ōki-sa was Kolàr's idea, a phonetic form of the Japanese word for 'size.' Fumitake found the Japanese phonetics of macrons and hyphens, which are not usually used in Japan, so visually interesting that they were adopted for the title.

Language communication is always subject to misreading and misunderstanding, even between speakers who share a mother tongue. Communication using sounds, which have no clear meaning, is even more prone to misreading and misunderstanding than language. Acknowledging this, they engaged in an intuitive process, with no prior discussion about references or guidelines, freely exchanging ideas and allowing the music to evolve organically.

This record aims to capture a three-day intersection of language and musical miscommunication, while also reflecting personal bonding and human connection.

Starting us off is Panda Bear, who adds his trademark falsetto vocals and shuffling percussion, sweetening Eric’s black coffee beats. DFA’s own sonic collagist Larry Gus blends Eric’s mumbled vocals with bright percussion and a vocoded male choir, among many other audio dalliances.

Meanwhile, Hyperdub’s Fhloston Paradigm (AKA King Britt) takes aim with his laser cannons, firing volleys at unrelenting waves of marching alien armies, before being swallowed up in a solar flare. Finally, Anthony Naples (Text Records, Trilogy Tapes) brings it back to the club with snaps, claps, and hi-hats, but it sounds like you left ‘em out in the rear window of your car on a sunny day. You know what we mean.