Search:ali x

LTD. BLACK CLOUD COLOUR VINYL

THE GHOST INSIDE stands as an unstoppable force in the realm of hard rock music. Fueled by unwavering determination and unyielding passion, this band has forged a path marked by resilience and redemption. Their latest endeavor, the 6th studio album titled Search for Solace, delves into the profound theme of grappling with one"s own thoughts - the internal struggle between good, bad, and evil. It explores the journey of finding comfort and making peace amidst the chaos of life"s ebb and flow. The album reflects the band"s commitment to not succumb to negativity, anger, or darkness, aligning with their identity as an uplifting and comforting musical force for fans seeking solace. Established in 2004, THE GHOST INSIDE has solidified its position as a trailblazer in melodic hard rock. Their music seamlessly combines raw aggression with profound lyricism, creating a resonant experience for their dedicated fanbase. Despite facing challenges, notably a tragic bus accident in 2015 that left some members with life-altering injuries, the band refused to be broken. Through unwavering perseverance, they made a triumphant return to the stage, defying the odds. Their music embodies a spirit of resilience, unity, and the indomitable power of the human spirit. Each thunderous breakdown and soaring melody strikes a deep chord within the hearts of their fans, serving as a testament to the band"s enduring impact. THE GHOST INSIDE"s journey is a testament to their ability to inspire and uplift through music. As they embark on a global tour starting this Spring, venturing into new territories, including South America and beyond, the band continues to share their message of strength and perseverance with audiences around the world.

THE GHOST INSIDE stands as an unstoppable force in the realm of hard rock music. Fueled by unwavering determination and unyielding passion, this band has forged a path marked by resilience and redemption. Their latest endeavor, the 6th studio album titled Search for Solace, delves into the profound theme of grappling with one"s own thoughts - the internal struggle between good, bad, and evil. It explores the journey of finding comfort and making peace amidst the chaos of life"s ebb and flow. The album reflects the band"s commitment to not succumb to negativity, anger, or darkness, aligning with their identity as an uplifting and comforting musical force for fans seeking solace. Established in 2004, THE GHOST INSIDE has solidified its position as a trailblazer in melodic hard rock. Their music seamlessly combines raw aggression with profound lyricism, creating a resonant experience for their dedicated fanbase. Despite facing challenges, notably a tragic bus accident in 2015 that left some members with life-altering injuries, the band refused to be broken. Through unwavering perseverance, they made a triumphant return to the stage, defying the odds. Their music embodies a spirit of resilience, unity, and the indomitable power of the human spirit. Each thunderous breakdown and soaring melody strikes a deep chord within the hearts of their fans, serving as a testament to the band"s enduring impact. THE GHOST INSIDE"s journey is a testament to their ability to inspire and uplift through music. As they embark on a global tour starting this Spring, venturing into new territories, including South America and beyond, the band continues to share their message of strength and perseverance with audiences around the world.

When Man Man released its last album, "Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In Between," frontman Honus Honus (née Ryan Kattner) was in a state of unrest, oscillating between hope and cynicism. Perhaps fittingly, the album dropped during the pandemic, a time at which we could all relate. But, much like that bizarre turn of events, the ennui now seems so distant to Man Man. A revived sense of purpose washes through Man Man's new album, Carrot on Strings, radiating a mix of calm and confidence. Kattner always embodied a wild-man pied-piper vibe: his melodic, unhinged art-rock was at once intriguing and angsty. He was so alluringly creative that you went along with it, even if you were never sure where Man Man would take you. Carrot on Strings is no less inventive, but its ethos is radical in context of the band's two-decade career. "When I was younger, I would feed off of chaos. I would, you know, be upset and get drunk and smash chairs," Kattner explains. "Now those chairs are in my head: It's less of an outward projection, more of an interior monologue." The name "Carrot on Strings" came to Kattner while experimenting with the sound of someone munching on the vegetable, which you can hear in the cacophonous, similarly named song. It alludes to how success always seemed to dangle uncertainly before him, often just out of reach. But listen intently and you'll hear a more content Kattner finding an uneasy peace: "Life, as far as I've known it, has always been side hustles. Would it be great if I could go into a studio and record for a year without figuring out how to finance it? Yeah, it would be," he says. "But ultimately, I need to keep making music because art is an extension of my psyche. It's how I have learned to translate the palpitations of my heart. Simply put, I'd go insane without it." Growing up as a multiracial Hapa kid (half Filipino, half white) with a father in the U.S. Air Force, Kattner lived an itinerant childhood that included a few pivotal years in Germany, where he honed in on an appreciation for out there German cinema and art. His film obsessions and screenwriting background were crucial to Carrot on Strings. The album nods to the films of Werner Herzog and Rainer Werner Fassbinder as much as Italo-disco, Randy Newman, goth rock, and avant pop. (Kattner continues to work in the film industry with an acting role in the upcoming horror-comedy movie Destroy All Neighbors, for which he also served as composer; music supervising season 1 & 2 of the Interview With The Vampire AMC TV series; and shopping around, with director Matthew Goodhue, a script he wrote that he describes as a Wim Wenders road movie on acid.) In a bid to not overthink anything - his last album took seven years to make - he recorded the bulk of Carrot On Strings in five days in Mant Sounds studio in Glassell Park, Los Angeles with "very chill" producer Matt Schuessler, who had worked on Man Man's cover of Neu!'s "Super" for the seminal Krautrock band's box set. The resulting album represents a newfound sense of self for Kattner, who finds himself inspired and at peace both personally and artistically in ways that eluded him for most of his first 15 years playing music. When, on Carrot On Strings, you hear Kattner croon humbly, or sing of the tension between his outsize stage persona and the thoughtful, soulful guy he actually is, you're hearing Kattner liberate himself. "I first got into music to escape from myself," he says. "And now, it sounds so corny, but I have zero doubt that music ended up saving my life."

SAM MORTON, das musikalische Duo, bestehend aus der Sängerin, Songwriterin und jüngst mit dem BAFTA (dem britischen Äquivalent zum Oscar) ausgezeichneten Schauspielerin und Regisseurin Samantha Morton und dem Musikproduzenten und Co-Songwriter Richard Russell, veröffentlichen ihr gemeinsames Debütalbum. Das Album trägt den Titel "Daffodils & Dirt" und wird am 14. Juni über XL Recordings veröffentlicht. In zwölf atmosphärischen Tracks bauen die beiden eine zutiefst persönliche musikalische Welt auf, die gleichzeitig intim und zart, aber auch kraftvoll und mitunter schroff wirkt. In der teilweise autobiografischen Songfolge bilden Russells spartanische Klanglandschaften das fragile Gerüst für Mortons wunderschönen wie ätherischen Gesang. Unterstützt werden sie dabei von einer Reihe musikalischer Freunde. Darunter Alabaster DePlume, Laura Groves, Jack Peñate und als zusätzliche Sängerin Ali Campbell (bei "Broxtowe Girl"). Obwohl Samantha Morton schon ihr ganzes Leben lang Musik liebt und sich mit ihr beschäftigt, ist dies ihr erstes Projekt als Musikerin überhaupt. Die Zusammenarbeit kam zustande, nachdem sie im Oktober 2020 in der BBC-Sendung "Desert Island Discs" auftrat und Russell zufällig zuhörte. Er war nicht nur von ihrer Songauswahl beeindruckt (einschließlich der gemeinsamen Vorliebe für ein bestimmtes Lied: "I Remember" von Molly Drake), sondern auch von der Art und Weise, wie die Musik ihre Lebenserfahrungen verwebt. Die beiden nahmen Kontakt auf und tauschten Ideen, Skizzen und Gedankenströme aus. Schließlich trafen sie sich Monate später im Studio und begannen eine spontane wie intensive und ergebnisoffene Zusammenarbeit, die sich für beide Künstler als kathartischer musikalischer Prozess erwies. "Daffodils & Dirt" wurde schließlich 2023 fertiggestellt und zeigt, wie es klingt, wenn Sound-Kosmen miteinander zu einer wunderschönen Fusionen verschmelzen. "Daffodils & Dirt" ist digital und als CD, LP und exklusive gelbe Indie-Vinyl erhältlich. Das Cover des Albums zeigt ein Archivfoto des renommierten britisch-amerikanischen Fotografen und bildenden Künstlers Nick Waplington, der das Leben in Nottinghams Broxtowe Estate zur gleichen Zeit dokumentierte, als Morton dort Mitte der 1980er Jahre aufwuchs. Bereits heute erscheint die neue Single "Let"s Walk In The Night" aus dem Album. "Let"s Walk In The Night" ist eine gespenstische, jenseitige Neuinterpretation des britischen Street Soul und wird von einem Video begleitet, bei dem Samantha Morton selbst Regie führte. Das Video wurde auf der jährlichen Goose Fair in Nottingham gedreht und ist das zweite Musikvideo, bei dem Morton Regie geführt hat, nach dem Video zu "Cry Without End", in dem sie auch die Hauptrolle spielte Anfang des Jahres.

SAM MORTON, das musikalische Duo, bestehend aus der Sängerin, Songwriterin und jüngst mit dem BAFTA (dem britischen Äquivalent zum Oscar) ausgezeichneten Schauspielerin und Regisseurin Samantha Morton und dem Musikproduzenten und Co-Songwriter Richard Russell, veröffentlichen ihr gemeinsames Debütalbum. Das Album trägt den Titel "Daffodils & Dirt" und wird am 14. Juni über XL Recordings veröffentlicht. In zwölf atmosphärischen Tracks bauen die beiden eine zutiefst persönliche musikalische Welt auf, die gleichzeitig intim und zart, aber auch kraftvoll und mitunter schroff wirkt. In der teilweise autobiografischen Songfolge bilden Russells spartanische Klanglandschaften das fragile Gerüst für Mortons wunderschönen wie ätherischen Gesang. Unterstützt werden sie dabei von einer Reihe musikalischer Freunde. Darunter Alabaster DePlume, Laura Groves, Jack Peñate und als zusätzliche Sängerin Ali Campbell (bei "Broxtowe Girl"). Obwohl Samantha Morton schon ihr ganzes Leben lang Musik liebt und sich mit ihr beschäftigt, ist dies ihr erstes Projekt als Musikerin überhaupt. Die Zusammenarbeit kam zustande, nachdem sie im Oktober 2020 in der BBC-Sendung "Desert Island Discs" auftrat und Russell zufällig zuhörte. Er war nicht nur von ihrer Songauswahl beeindruckt (einschließlich der gemeinsamen Vorliebe für ein bestimmtes Lied: "I Remember" von Molly Drake), sondern auch von der Art und Weise, wie die Musik ihre Lebenserfahrungen verwebt. Die beiden nahmen Kontakt auf und tauschten Ideen, Skizzen und Gedankenströme aus. Schließlich trafen sie sich Monate später im Studio und begannen eine spontane wie intensive und ergebnisoffene Zusammenarbeit, die sich für beide Künstler als kathartischer musikalischer Prozess erwies. "Daffodils & Dirt" wurde schließlich 2023 fertiggestellt und zeigt, wie es klingt, wenn Sound-Kosmen miteinander zu einer wunderschönen Fusionen verschmelzen. "Daffodils & Dirt" ist digital und als CD, LP und exklusive gelbe Indie-Vinyl erhältlich. Das Cover des Albums zeigt ein Archivfoto des renommierten britisch-amerikanischen Fotografen und bildenden Künstlers Nick Waplington, der das Leben in Nottinghams Broxtowe Estate zur gleichen Zeit dokumentierte, als Morton dort Mitte der 1980er Jahre aufwuchs. Bereits heute erscheint die neue Single "Let"s Walk In The Night" aus dem Album. "Let"s Walk In The Night" ist eine gespenstische, jenseitige Neuinterpretation des britischen Street Soul und wird von einem Video begleitet, bei dem Samantha Morton selbst Regie führte. Das Video wurde auf der jährlichen Goose Fair in Nottingham gedreht und ist das zweite Musikvideo, bei dem Morton Regie geführt hat, nach dem Video zu "Cry Without End", in dem sie auch die Hauptrolle spielte Anfang des Jahres.

Hello! Tim here. My band is called Strand of Oaks. This is my eighth record and it's called Miracle Focus. I spent over three years building Miracle Focus. In the midst of writing, I became a painter and spent two seasons acting on a television show (Mayans MC). The dichotomy of painting for days in my garage and then flying out to LA to play a villainous biker on TV was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. The idea of Miracle Focus was born out of one simple concept: to make people feel good. Throw in a healthy mix of Ram Dass, yoga, Freddie Mercury, Alice Coltrane, and Beastie Boys, plus over a year of writing and building the extremely dense architecture of the songs, and Miracle Focus was born. The result is FUN, wild, rhythmic music filled with synth layering and mantra-like lyrics intended to uplifting and hopefully bring some light to whoever listens. In many ways, this record is a love letter to bliss. Through meditation, I found a way to connect with something greater, a positive force that allowed me to write music as a manual towards a more love-focused life. And the miracles I refer to aren't asking the universe for anything; it's just acknowledging and celebrating this complex beautiful moment that we all get to share. It will be gone, it will re-emerge as something new, that will be gone, repeat....repeat... repeat - this eternal cycle. My most sincere hope is that whoever listens might through sonic osmosis experience a similar joy. Sending peace and love. Thank you for your time. - Tim

Hello! Tim here. My band is called Strand of Oaks. This is my eighth record and it's called Miracle Focus. I spent over three years building Miracle Focus. In the midst of writing, I became a painter and spent two seasons acting on a television show (Mayans MC). The dichotomy of painting for days in my garage and then flying out to LA to play a villainous biker on TV was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. The idea of Miracle Focus was born out of one simple concept: to make people feel good. Throw in a healthy mix of Ram Dass, yoga, Freddie Mercury, Alice Coltrane, and Beastie Boys, plus over a year of writing and building the extremely dense architecture of the songs, and Miracle Focus was born. The result is FUN, wild, rhythmic music filled with synth layering and mantra-like lyrics intended to uplifting and hopefully bring some light to whoever listens. In many ways, this record is a love letter to bliss. Through meditation, I found a way to connect with something greater, a positive force that allowed me to write music as a manual towards a more love-focused life. And the miracles I refer to aren't asking the universe for anything; it's just acknowledging and celebrating this complex beautiful moment that we all get to share. It will be gone, it will re-emerge as something new, that will be gone, repeat....repeat... repeat - this eternal cycle. My most sincere hope is that whoever listens might through sonic osmosis experience a similar joy. Sending peace and love. Thank you for your time. - Tim

What Is Not Strange? is the first full-length album by Los Angeles-based composer Tashi Wada in over five years, comprising his most far-reaching and impassioned music to date. Written and recorded over a period that encompassed the death of his father and the birth of his daughter, the album sees Wada reflecting inward to explore broad narratives - being alive, mortality, finding one's place in the world - through new modes of ecstatic, song-based expression. While the denser forms, stark contrasts, and overt surreality may carry a different weight than Wada's earlier work, which elicited perceptual effects with minimal means, the heart of What Is Not Strange? is still in experimentation and unforeseen outcomes.

Love Wonderland - The Best Twilights of Love Wonderland (CAM027)

Formed in 2018 by Takujuro Iwade, film director and drummer Kaya Koike and Mayumi Sakurai with the theme of " Lovers Rock from the other side," Love Wonderland performs reggae with a unique interpretation influenced by psychedelia and synth-pop.

The Best Twilights LP compiles tracks from three demos released between 2019 and 2024 and reflects their full spectrum from electronic dub to pop tinted reinterpretation of their peers.
Considered as the best kept secret of the Japanese dub scene, they continue to grow at each live performance with faith and passion.
Love Wonderland's main aspiration is to keep their motto alive.

Mastered by Krikor Kouchain and limited to 400 copies.

The Slovenian label Cogo is back for another unmissable 4-tracker vinyl compilation with the heaviest hitters in the scene who represent the most artistically driven hypnotic techno to date. Jeroen Search, Border One, ORBE, and Tonske all lend a hand to provide an understated and deep vibe to this release full of music actively attempting to remove your mind to otherworldly places hitherto unknown.

Jeroen Search kicks off the release with ''Observer'' expertly drawing you in with a very simplified but polyrhythmic staccato synth and kick combination that slowly builds with modulating and swirling pads until it reaches a climax with a tightly regulated drum track and disorienting LFO sequenced synth patch.

Border One continues the theme of the release of minimalistic aesthetics with ''Contour'' featuring polyrhythmic ideas and evolving dissociative synths. The release culminates in a very simplified and restrained drum track that opens up the doors to a massive sonic environment where you're lost completely within the music, sitting somewhat awestruck by passing elements unfolding in front of your mind's eye.

Not to be outdone, ORBE takes a different tact with ''Wolheim'' by introducing the groove elements first and bringing in his deep understanding of setting the sonic stage with his signature atmospheres and scintillating synth hits. The track also echoes the thematic choices previously laid down by Border One and invites you into this strange alien world full of sonic curiosities and audio biology.
Tonske buttons up the release with ''Droid''. A track that has an overall sense of pulling the sonic environment toward you while you travel as a listener in your mind's eye. Outward synth blips are constantly coming from the outer periphery into view as if they are passing stars while traveling forward at a deliberate and determined pace.

Bayport Bbq Blues by Left Lane Cruiser, released 7 June 2024.
.

Unavailable for over three decades, we are happy to reissue this garage rock's essential gem, originally released in the early days of Greg Shaw's Bomp! label. Bomp! Records of Burbank, California was likely the most significant American independent record label of the 1970s. It was the first in this country to recognize and actively support the punk rock and new wave revolution with its releases, at a time when both America's vast regional disparity and an extremely conservative record business had deemed this new, strange idiom anathema. In its first five years Bomp! the label wore its heart on its sleeve with a series of fascinating, unpredictable, and memorable 45 RPM releases. And the whole was brainstormed by Greg Shaw, likely the only maverick alive at that time who could have created and populated such a scenario. The winter 1976 issue of Who Put The Bomp (Greg Shaw's fanzine) had featured a detailed report on the Boston scene, with favorable mentions of two future Bomp! acts. Willie 'Loco' Alexander was a local legend, the storied former lead singer of the Lost, and his 1975 single 'Kerouac' (reissued on Bomp!) was a suitably eccentric, Dylan-ish ode to the beat maven. DMZ was a more predictable proposition, sporting obvious glam roots and an eccentric but dedicated rock & roll fan in lead singer, Jeff 'Mono Mann' Conolly. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Conolly and crew went for a chaotic and intense hybrid of Dolls, Stooges and most of the Nuggets bands, so Bomp! the label was a natural choice. With killer cuts like 'Busy Man' and 'When I Get Off,' their Craig Leon-produced 1977 EP captured the DMZ zeitgeist considerably better than the album they would later record for Sire.

Since 2014 the music of Killers Walk Among Us has slowly spread worldwide and has grown a cult following among indie music aficionados celebrating the grandiose post rock crescendos mixed with Stefan Holmbergs heartbreakingly emotional lyrics and vocals. The album was praised upon its release by critics and fans alike, and since then the vinyl release has been a well sought out gem among record collectors. Now, in 2024, the surviving members of Killers Walk Among Us have regrouped for the 10 year anniversary of their self-titled album, recording the previously unreleased track When the Caged Bird Sings to be include on the re-mastered version of their seminal debut. The music shall prevail.

About 10 years ago I tried to contact Dutch artist and scientist Felix Hess, when he was still alive, but never got a reply. Years later, in 2022, I was talking to Frans de Waard, who told me he was administering the sound archive of the late Hess together with Mark Poysden. Together we started working on an album to celebrate his life and many accomplishments. It includes selections from all the highly collectible Frogs releases from the 80's and 90's, while the artwork is sourced from his Zenga collection, unifying his two greatest passions.

While in Australia conducting research for his PhD thesis on the aerodynamics and motion of returning boomerangs in 1975, Felix Hess heard frog choruses for the first time. The hills, close to Adelaide, generating amazing natural rhythms and waves of spatial sounds. He started traveling to the outback to record similar frog choruses, camping in quit places to enjoy these wonderful nightly concerts.

Mystified by how the waves and rhythms of frog choruses could emerge without a conductor or a score and by the physics of this method of communication, he started to research the phenomenon in 1982 by designing and building small electronic sound creatures that could respond to each other in a similar way. These creatures and his various other installations earned him international acclaim.

During the 1990s, Hess was invited to Japan many times to present his work and he became interested in Zen Buddhism. One summer evening in 2001 he visited a museum in Berlin and saw actual Zen art for the first time. Overwhelmed by the extraordinary power radiating from this and similar artworks he became addicted to Zenga and gradually built up one of the world's most representative collections of hanging Zen scrolls. A collection he named Kaeru-An (Frog Hut) to honor his original teachers, the frogs

Remastered vinyl of the original album which came out on CD only in 2005. Limited to 200 copies on classic black vinyl. This is an album that’s as alive as any could be. Indeed, far from sounding like the last desperate set of half-baked ideas from a once vital band (hello Oasis?) Artists Cannibals Poets Thieves is more like a debut album from a bunch of teenage upstarts: free from cynicism, fired with worldly wonder and chock full of ideas. This is certainly a different outfit from that of 1998, when they first wowed us (via John Peel, naturally) with the utterly essential sprawling noise that was The Things We Make. Long since stripped down by a series of resignations from a five strong collective to a taut three piece featuring founding members Chris Olley, James Flower and Chris Davis, the music has simplified considerably. Gone are the soundscapes of old, and in their place we have a series of sharp basslines, swirling keyboards, cutting guitar lines and the passionate hollering of frontman Olley. Opener All I Really Want From You Is Love is a perfect introduction to proceedings – a truly wonderfully distorted slab of indie rock, recalling early Jesus And Mary Chain in both its fuzz and, crucially, its wonderfully crafted tune. Next, Nowhere To Go But Home sounds like New Order if they’d emerged from Detroit in 1966. Tonight (I Wanna Make It Out) follows likewise with the best bassline Peter Hook never plucked. Throughout, Six By Seven manage to sound so natural, so refreshing free of the flab and introspection that a band on its last legs would usually succumb to. And whilst the momentum is momentarily lost as the drum machine makes an appearance to fashion the Suicide-esque trawl of Stara Paris Rescued Me, it’s not long before Just Get It Down muscles things back on course with a whispered Olley diatribe perched on top of more raw cacophony, before we reach the bitter end via the Depeche Mode-on-smack You Know I Feel Alright Now. Tracklisting:

Repress!

Twenty years ago, London Elektricity unleashed one of the most seminal drum & bass albums into the world. 'Billion Dollar Gravy' was Tony Colman's second longplayer, following the iconic debut project 'Pull The Plug' released in 1999. Widely acclaimed and well-respected for a multitude of reasons - from the iconic album artwork of Tony holding the 'Billion Dollar Gravy' picket sign, to revolutionary anthems such as album title-track 'Billion Dollar Gravy', 'Different Drum' and 'Fast Soul Music', two decades on, the album is revisited with a fresh sonic injection.

'Billion Dollar Remixes' is a meticulously crafted project which aligns a selection of some of the finest drum & bass talent with the album originals, making way for the likes of Watch The Ride, Whiney & Unglued, Mozey, Dogger & Mindstate, Zero T, Kimyan Law, Bop x Subwave, imo-Lu, Hugh Hardie and Conrad Subs to put their spin on the 2003 classics.

Pressed onto 2 x pink transparent heavyweight 12" vinyls.

Once upon a time, DJ’s were like soaring eagles, they would spread their musical wings and fly high to wherever they wanted to go musically. It wasn’t uncommon to hear hip house and go go played alongside disco and funk, or techno being dropped on either side of something a lil’ mo’ soulful. Then the DJ’s wings were clipped and clubs became musical cages for the more adventurous DJ’s, clubs evolved into one-dimensional musical prisons and beats bubbles. Unconventionally, Marcus McGowan hails from South Carolina, and it would be fair to argue that South Carolina is a bit of a house music wasteland? Perhaps it’s this simple geographical blip that has nurtured McGowan into creating a sound that can’t be affiliated to any particular city, cities such as Detroit that is generally associated with techno, Washington is the undisputed town of go go, or Chicago, which is renowned for acid house, hip house, and jackin’ house, and of course, New Jersey is the spiritual home of soulful house. What McGowan has created is a fresh, new vibe that appears to be crossing many musical boundaries and the test pressing mailout appears to have united music lovers from numerous genres of house music AND techno alike, with its deep, techy, jazzy, soulful, sweet and melliferous flavoured vibe. Luke Una boasted that “it’s the record of the year so far”, MFSB’s Yogi Haughton called it a “classic in the making”, but all said and done, the test pressing feedback from the handful that were passed out to music lovers around the U.K. is unanimous, it’s jus’ a frikin’ solid double hitter that can’t be pigeon-holed. This is a record for majestic, soaring DJ’s and music lovers, not scabby, common or garden Columbidae garbage foragers. It’s a slice of intellectual music that will perch McGowan very high up in the producer pecking order!

More underground 90s rap bangers from Boom Bap Classics as they line up this supreme neck snapper from west coast lyricist Rasco. "Unassisted" is loved by backpackers and turntablists alike, whilst "Take It Back Home" features fellow Californian vocalist Planet Asia for more of the same.

Bonobo alias Simon Green - heute einer der größten Namen in der Dance-Musikszene - tauchte erstmals Ende der 90er Jahre als einer der hellsten Sterne des Downtempo-Genres auf. Ursprünglich um die Jahrtausendwende veröffentlicht, ist Bonobos Debütalbum "Animal Magic" ein zeitloses Album und ein Kultfavorit unter den Fans geworden.

Aufgenommen auf einem Akai 4-Spur-Tonbandgerät, nimmt "Animal Magic" einen besonderen Platz in der Geschichte des in Brighton ansässigen Independent-Labels Tru Thoughts ein, denn es war das erste Album des Künstlers, das auf der Tru Thoughts-Compilation "When Shapes Join Together" debütierte. Bonobos Anfänge als talentierter DJ und Produzent begannen unter der Anleitung von Tru Thoughts A&R Robert Luis und seinen Label-Nächten in Brighton, wie z.B. phonic:hoop, wo Simon seine ersten Erfahrungen sammelte und begann, die ganze Nacht hindurch DJ-Sets zu spielen.

"Animal Magic" ist das Ergebnis von Simon Greens Zeit in der kreativen Küstenstadt Brighton und markiert einen wichtigen Meilenstein in seiner musikalischen Reife. Die Stadt übte einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf ihn aus und ermöglichte es ihm, seine Fähigkeiten als Drum-Programmierer und Produzent weiterzuentwickeln, während er unermüdlich als DJ in diesem kreativen Zentrum auflegte.

Während er in Brighton lebte, veröffentlichte Bonobo neben seinem kultigen Debütalbum "Animal Magic" eine Handvoll EPs und Singles wie "Scuba", "Terrapin" und "One Offs, Remixes & B-Sides" und legte mit anderen Künstlern von Tru Thoughts und Ninja Tunes in ganz Europa und Nordamerika auf.

Mit der Veröffentlichung von "Animal Magic" im Jahr 2000 wurde Simon Green als ernstzunehmendes Talent in der Szene bekannt, das der elektronischen Musik eine echte musikalische Note verleiht. Seitdem wurde Bonobo bei Coldcut's Ninja Tune unter Vertrag genommen und veröffentlichte sechs weitere Alben, darunter das GRAMMY-nominierte "Fragments" im Jahr 2022, während er seine DJ-Performance zu einer voll orchestrierten Live-Band weiterentwickelte, weltweit auf Tournee ging und zu einem beliebten Mainstage-Performer auf den größten Musikfestivals der Welt wurde.

Repress!

Radio Slave drops ‘Strobe Queen’ this June, complete with Eric Kupper and Kirk Degiorgio Remixes

Following a string of massive singles over the course of 2022 and 2023, in tandem with the continued success of his acclaimed Rekids and RSPX imprints, Radio Slave prepares his latest single ‘Strobe Queen’, a 12-minute, slow-burning house epic landing this March.

Eric Kupper and Kirk Degiorgio remix Radio Slave’s ‘Strobe Queen’ this June.
Heard in clubs courtesy of Honey Dijon, Laurent Garnier, and Sean Johnston, amongst others, and on the airwaves via the likes of BBC Radio 1, Radio Slave now recruits two legendary remixers for thw remixes of ‘Strobe Queen’. Requiring little introduction, Eric Kupper and Kirk Degiorgio both turn in
exceptional versions of the original, while Radio Slave contributes a stunning reprise of his own, continuing to explore his love of slower tempos and long arrangements of golden era NYC, as seen in subsequent singles ‘Wild Life’ and ‘Wake Up’.

Radio Slave aka Matt Edwards is one of dance music’s undisputed heavyweights. Having made his name as a DJ in the 90s, he went on to become the king of edits, twisting pop, R&B and indie cuts into essential versions that consistently set clubs alight. Since the mid-2000s, Edwards’ originals have helped define modern dance music, tackling techno, house, breakbeat, minimal and disco whilst exploring dub, balearic sounds and ambient across the myriad of other aliases and projects.

Original pioneers of rare groove, PUSH, make a welcome return with an existing and exciting album. Originally released in 2004, now 20 years later it’s still alive and kicking. “Push People” is a cross pollenation of classic underground rare groove and contemporary feel good funk n' soul in the shape of heartfelt songs and incredible instrumental pieces. PUSH emerged from the underground London club scene in 1987, where they were at the heart of a community that thrived on JB inspired Funk, Blaxploitation soundtracks and raw soul-jazz. Push toured Europe and Japan and were regulars onstage at Gilles Peterson's legendary Dingwalls’ Talking Loud & Saying Something sessions. They have worked with the likes of Style Council's Paul Weller and Mick Talbot and have long provided the soulful foundation for the regular European tours of US divas like Candi Staton and Marlena Shaw. The triumvirate of key band members Crispin Taylor (drums), Ernie McKone (bass) and Mark Vandergucht (guitar) also doubled up as the rhythm section for the innovative Galliano – a conscious and wayward band that sold in excess of 800, 000 albums. PUSH are one of the mainstays of the Eighties Rare Groove and Acid Jazz scene alongside Brand New Heavies, Young Disciples and Soul II Soul. PUSH is on a mission, bringing a breath of fresh air and a wealth of musical experience into a very popular scene for people that "Feel the Funk!"

Recorded live in Birmingham, 8th of November 1997
Duration 45’30”

All Tracks written and produced by Daft Punk for Daft Life
Retouche Janvier

Published by Concorde Music Publishing for World excluding France
Delabel Editions / Daftmusic for France

Nachdem The National den Soundcheck für ihren Auftritt in Vancouver am 5. Juni 2023 beendet hatten, spielte die Band einfach weiter. Etwas braute sich zusammen: Die prägnanten Gitarrenparts von Aaron und Bryce Dessner trafen auf den Signature-Drumbeat von Bryan Devendorf. Als der Bassist Scott Devendorf loslegte, fing Matt Berninger an, einige Zeilen zu singen, die schon seit ein paar Jahren in ihm reiften. " Smoke detector, smoke detector / All you need to do is protect her", intonierte er. Ihr Tontechniker ließ die Aufnahme laufen und plötzlich war es ein 12 Minuten-Jam. Sie wussten, dass sie etwas Besonderes hatten, und nahmen die Live-Aufnahme bald darauf in Aarons Studio mit. Sie haben ein paar Minuten gekürzt, aber ansonsten das beibehalten, was auf der Bühne in Vancouver passiert ist. Dieser Song, "Smoke Detector", ist der krönende Abschluss von "Laugh Track", die überraschende zweite Hälfte eines Doppelalbums, das im April mit "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" begann. Es erwies sich als das letzte Kapitel eines Werks, das ansonsten neben dem Schwesteralbum geschrieben wurde - der Schlussakt einer Katharsis, die zeigt, was The National in den letzten drei Jahren durchgemacht haben. Vor zwei Jahren war die "Smoke Detector"-Zeile einer der wenigen Fetzen, die Matt während einer lähmenden Depression schreiben konnte und das zu einer Zeit, in der sich die Band fragte, ob sie jemals wieder ein Album machen würde. Nach der Pandemie belebte ihr neuer Glaube aneinander die kreativen Fähigkeiten wieder. "Weird Goodbyes", das bereits im August 2022 erschien, war ihr erster Durchbruch und der erste Vorgeschmack auf diese neue Ära. "Wir haben es wirklich schnell veröffentlicht, weil es wie ein Baby war, das in der Dunkelheit geboren wurde, oder so", lacht Matt. "Wir mussten es den Menschen zeigen". Aber als sie schließlich mit diesem umfangreichen Werk vorankamen, entschieden sie sich, "Weird Goodbyes" nicht auf das Frankenstein-Album zu nehmen. "Es fühlte sich an, als ob die Geschichte bereits erzählt worden wäre. Es war eine eigene Sache", sagt Aaron. "Aber es fühlte sich auch so an, als hätte es einen Bezug zu dem, was wir taten. Das war ein Teil der Logik für die Aufnahme einer weiteren Platte - wir wollten "Weird Goodbyes" ein eigenes Zuhause geben." "Laugh Track" ist das vielleicht musikalisch bedingungsloseste Album, welches die Band seit Jahren gemacht hat. Es ist aufmüpfig und dennoch leichtfüßig, doch es enthält ebenso viel seltene, ungebremste Schönheit wie Trostlosigkeit. Thematisch gibt es keine absichtliche Trennung zwischen "Frankenstein" und "Laugh Track". Während Matt auf "Frankenstein" eher auf der Suche nach einem Zufluchtsort war, hat er hier eine neue, klare Sicht auf das, was zählt. Sein dringendes Bedürfnis nach Intimität wird durch eine immer größere Angst vor der Unwirklichkeit des modernen Lebens noch verstärkt. Die Charaktere auf diesem Album (keine Vornamen, abgesehen von einer Tourmanagerin namens Alice - nur "ich" und "du") decken einander, träumen füreinander und helfen, den Schein zu wahren - und lösen damit das Versprechen von der gegenseitigen Fürsorge ein, das Matt auf dem Frankenstein-Schlusslied "Send for Me" gegeben hat. Wenn "Frankenstein" ein Zeichen für die Wiederherstellung des Vertrauens zwischen den einzelnen Bandelementen war, so ist das lebendige und neugierige "Laugh Track" das selbstbewusste Produkt dieses Prozesses und eine Absichtserklärung für jetzt und die Zukunft.

Als Nathan Salsburgs Tochter ein Baby war, sang er sie oft in einem Schaukelstuhl in den Schlaf. Irgendwann erinnerte er sich an ein Lied, das er sich als Teenager beigebracht hatte: "The Evidence" von Lungfish, der Band aus Maryland, die Post-Punk in den 90er und 00er Jahren prägte. Salsburg erkannte, dass er den Gitarrenpart mit einer Hand spielen und dabei singen konnte, während er Talya in seinem anderen Arm hielt. Obwohl die Originalversion von "The Evidence" nur fünf Minuten lang ist, ist es ein sich wiederholendes Mantra, so dass Salsburg es nach Belieben verlängern konnte - 10 Minuten, 20 Minuten, sogar eine Stunde. "Es war therapeutisch und beruhigend und einfach schön für mich", sagt er. "Und es wirkte bei ihr." Schließlich beendeten Nathan und Talya ihr Ritual, aber sein Wiegenlied-Cover blieb in seinem Kopf. Also überzeugte er seine Kollegen aus Louisville, Bonnie "Prince" Billy (alias Will Oldham) und Tyler Trotter vor, dass sie eine Version mit Salsburg an der Gitarre aufnehmen sollten, während Oldham singt und Trotter Drumcomputer und Synthesizer hinzufügt. Sie beschlossen neben"The Evidence" noch einen anderen Song von Lungfish zu covern, "Hear the Children Sing", und spielten jedes Stück so lange, dass pro Song eine Albumseite gefüllt würde. Das Ergebnis ist das betörende "Hear the Children Sing the Evidence", ein Album, das die Stärken und Visionen der drei Musiker zeigt, während es gleichzeitig vor Augen führt, wie kraftvoll die Lieder von Lungfish sind.

The new album from Hysterical Love Project is a moody collection of guitar-shimmered downtempo odes. Lashed by the blue-hot debris of missing, it reverbs with adoration for those dear and far. It says I'm sorry for taking photos of sunsets, I couldn't wait to be alive.

The first in a series of archival releases from Cranes, the band’s John Peel Sessions are collected for the first time.

John Peel Sessions (1989-1990) will be available on black vinyl with a worldwide pressing of 500 copies.

Artwork by feted 4AD/v23 sleeve designer Chris Bigg (Cocteau Twins, Pixies etc)

Formed in mid-1980’s Portsmouth by the brother & sister duo of Jim Shaw (drummer, keyboardist, guitarist, programmer) & Alison Shaw (vocalist, guitarist, bassist), Cranes first appeared in 1986 with Fuse, a self-released & now highly sought-after cassette of demos.

Their debut album Self-Non-Self followed in 1989, catching the attention of legendary DJ John Peel, who invited them to record two sessions for his show in 1989 & 1990, the second seeing Mark Francombe (guitarist, keyboardist, bassist) & Matt Cope (guitarist) join ranks to form the line-up who would go on to record multiple albums for Dedicated including the much-loved album, Forever, which enjoys it’s 30th anniversary this year.

Cranes are releasing John Peel Sessions (1989-1990) on their own Dadaphonic label. The first in a series of archival releases, this compilation features original artwork by fêted 4AD & v23 sleeve designer Chris Bigg (Pixies, Cocteau Twins, The Breeders

While she was still a member of Nasmak, one of the leading bands of the Dutch ultra-movement, Truus de Groot started Plus Instruments in 1978 with herself as the sole member. When the project evolved, she found a wide range of rotating collaborators like Michel Waisvisz, Lee Ranaldo and James Sclavunos. Plus Instruments was about freedom and the live performances were largely improvised. The sound minimal but captivating. The music always came from within, but De Groot was also triggered by bands like Red Crayola, Suicide, DAF, Wire, Per Ubu, Devo and the No Wave scene in NY. She was always experimenting with primitive multi-track recording and whatever crappy gadgets she could find. Always looking for a gritty, dirty sound and bizarre overtones.

At a young age she travelled to New York and began to immerse herself in the nightlife of the city that never sleeps. Here she found true creativity, passion and expression. The club scene was alive but highly competitive, so this fearless Dutch girl would just knock on promoter’s doors to get gigs booked at places like CBGB’s, Peppermint Lounge, Underground and the Pyramid. De Groot eventually settled in the United States and never stopped experimenting with sound. In recent years she reinvented Plus Instruments and led the group into new territory.

The recordings for this LP were made by De Groot at home and the music is experimental, minimal, industrial but also playful, sounding nothing like most of the later material. 14 tracks in total of which 7 are taken from the elusive and impossible to find self-released debut cassette as ‘Truss Plus Instruments’ which was sparingly distributed by Nigel Jacklin and his legendary Alien Brains fanzine in 1980. The remaining 7 tracks are from the same period (1979-1980) and were carefully selected from the vast archive of De Groot. We are glad to present this anthology that serves as a long overdue testimony to the formative phase of a unique female pioneer of electronic music.

“There goes my TARDIS!” Demon Records celebrates David Tennant and Catherine Tate’s partnership as the Doctor and Donna with two audio-exclusive stories, read by the actors themselves. In Pest Control, read by David Tennant, the Doctor and Donna face monstrous insects and a ruthless robot exterminator when the TARDIS is lost in battle on a distant planet. The Doctor sets off in pursuit of his craft, while Donna finds herself accepting a commission in the Pioneer Corps. Something is transforming soldiers into monstrous beetles - and she could be the next victim. In The Forever Trap, read by Catherine Tate, the duo find themselves imprisoned in a complex of luxury apartments in space, and neighbours to a terrifying assortment of aliens. Deadly mobs wage battle in the corridors and on the stairwells, and the travellers must cross their paths as they search for the ultimate authority. Who, or what, lies at the heart of the Edifice? This stunning box set, with an illustrated lift-off lid, features 6 x 140g vinyl LPs - three in Transparent Red and three in Transparent Yellow - each housed in a unique inner sleeve. A four page booklet features sleeve notes by authors Peter Anghelides and Dan Abnett, who reflect on the process of writing for the Tenth Doctor and Donna, and how they regard the stories 17 years later. Now for the first time on vinyl, accompanied by original sound design and Murray Gold’s Series 4 arrangement of the familiar theme music, these two high-octane adventures are a reminder of the excitement, humour and magical wonder of Doctor Who

'Freaking Out', das Debütalbum der gefeierten Grunge-Rock-Newcomer LOWLIVES aus Los Angeles, wird am 31. Mai via Spinefarm erscheinen und Fans der frühen Foo Fighters, Bush und Stone Temple Pilots gleichermaßen abholen.

Sänger Lee Downer, Schlagzeuger Luke Johnson, Gitarrist Jaxon Moore und Bassist Steve Lucarelli gründeten die junge Band aus der gemeinsamen Liebe zum Alternative und Grunge der 90er Jahre und dem Wunsch, Musik aus reiner Freude daran zu machen. Das LOWLIVES-Debütalbum 'Freaking Out' ist von genau diesem Geist durchdrungen.

Das Album wurde in den Londoner Chapel Studios mit Produzent Adrian Bushby aufgenommen, der bereits mit Bands wie Foo Fighters oder Muse gearbeitet. Sänger Lee Downer hegt eine Leidenschaft für Nirvana und Alice In Chains, die in Tracks wie 'Vertigo' und 'Swan Dive' durchschimmert. Drummer Luke Johnson beweist seine Besessenheit von den Smashing Pumpkins in 'You Don't Care'. Fans der frühen Foo Fighters, Bush und Stone Temple Pilots werden sich auf 'Freaking Out' wohl fühlen. Bewunderer von Billie Joe Armstrong ('Freaking Out'), Matt Skiba ('Damien') und Rivers Cuomo ('Loser') ebenso. 'Freaking Out' zelebriert schamlos seine Einflüsse und die einfache Schönheit des Zusammenspiels von Gitarre, Bass, Schlagzeug und Gesang.
Tiefgang findet man auf 'Freaking Out' trotzdem, verwurzelt in Texten, die von Ängsten, Sorgen, Verletzlichkeiten und den existenziellen Fragen handeln, die uns in den frühen Morgenstunden an die Decke starren lassen. 'Freaking Out' ist vor allem eine Destillation dessen, was LOWLIVES wirklich ausmacht. Es ist Rockmusik, die einen dazu bringt, sich wieder in die Rockmusik zu verlieben.

The phenomenal three-piece band includes members of Oranssi Pazuzu, K-X-P, Grave Pleasures and Aavikko


Svart Records is proud to release the debut album, I, from Haunted Plasma, a powerhouse of futuristic synth in symbiosis with the super violent atmospherics of kosmische Black Metal. Haunted Plasma is “man meets machine” in a cybernetic wasteland, set to a conceptual backdrop of William Gibson and Phillip K. Dick style mind-melt. The highly evolved creatives at the heart of Haunted Plasma’s sound, cite Terry Riley, Massive Attack, a contemporary take on Krautrock hypnosis, psychedelic Black Metal and 90s Techno, resulting in an orgy of mutant sound.



The phantoms at the beating nucleus of this unearthly machine are Juho Vanhanen (Oranssi Pazuzu, Grave Pleasures), Timo Kaukolampi (K-X-P, Op:l Bastards) and Tomi Leppänen (Circle, Aavikko, K-X-P), transmitting a music form evolved from a life of redefining sonic boundaries in their respective projects. Also featuring guest vocals from Mat McNerney (Hexvessel, Carpenter Brut, Grave Pleasures/Beastmilk), Pauliina Lindell (Vuono, Dust Mountain) and Ringa Manner (Ruusut, The Hearing). Haunted Plasma promises an extraterrestrial experience from some of the foremost contemporary musicians at the heart of the Finnish heavy and avant-garde musical underworld.



Haunted Plasma reveals:

“We are liberated futurists, embracing free-form and natural composition, mirroring the merciless forces of cosmic creation. We have a motto to stay true to our feelings, to spawn a sound that’s never been heard before. Servants of music. Energizing, radical and pure”


The first single from Haunted Plasma’s cascading debut, Reverse Engineer, is a creepy, slowly erupting, synthetic nightmare, of a downloaded being waking up in the wrong future. Ghostly vocals demand the listener to “give us what we want” in an Orwellian glimpse into the current dystopia we live in, where information is controlled, and thoughts are bought and sold. As McNerney intones the words “technology of power” he describes the threat of a malevolent and omnipresent artificial intelligence, as much as describing the oppressive and electromagnetic sonar pulse of Haunted Plasma’s sound itself. Psychedelic guitar hypnosis from Vanhanen snakes around Kaukolampi’s molten and morphing synths, while Leppänen’s uncanny man/machine rhythms pull our strings and animate their other-worldly mechanisms. Have a look at the official visualiser of "Reverse Engineer" on the Svart YouTube channel here


Culminating in the full-blown fast Krautrock of the final self-titled track, oozing with blistering noise elements and enigmatic vocals from Ringa Manner, the album's journey reaches its zenith, taking you to unknown territories on a Kubrikian space trip. I is a rare record of talented musicians coming together to create a completely new sound, which is entirely their own, boldly glowing, where no light has shone before. From the dreamy psychedelia of Echoes to the discombobulated Spectral Embrace, Haunted Plasma is a willful force of deliberate sound contortion.


Whether you want to give in to Haunted Plasma’s sound or not, you are being watched, you are being recorded and your every move is monitored. Haunted Plasma will enter your system on the 31st of May 2024. Turn on your phantom circuits and be prepared for an interdimensional excursion into Haunted Plasma’s alien dreams.

The debut album from Haunted Plasma will be packaged in a beautiful tip-on sleeve, swirling fog artwork, complete with 12” booklet and pressed on 3 exclusive vinyl colours: 300 copies on Standard Black Wax, 500 copies in Amber + Black Smoke and 200 copies of Svart exclusive Turquoise/Black Marble. The album will also be available on CD and digital platforms.

Von seinem ersten Album „Minima Moralia“ („Excellent“ 8.1 Pitchfork) im Jahr 2006 bis hin zu den über 70 folgenden Alben hat Chihei Hatakeyama einen gewaltigen Kanon an Werken geschaffen.
Shun Ishiwaka, der mit Künstlern wie Ai Kuwabara, Hiroki Chiba, Kei Matsumaru, Gen Hoshino, Terumasa Hino, Tony Allen und unzähligen anderen zusammengearbeitet hat, ist einer der produktivsten Modern-Jazz-Schlagzeuger Japans.
Gemeinsam haben sie in Ambient-, Experimental-, Elektronik-, Pop-, Hip-Hop-, Jazz- und Metal-Projekten gespielt, und genau das repräsentiert diese neue Veröffentlichung - ein Treffen gleichgesinnter Musiker mit unzähligen Bezugspunkten, die an einem epochalen Punkt zusammenkommen, um ein Ambient-Werk zu produzieren, das vor Kreativität und Verständnis strotzt
Sie lernten sich bei Live-Auftritten im Radio kennen. Dies führte zu einer Reihe von Auftritten. Die Chemie stimmte sofort, und im März 2023 folgten die Aufnahmesitzungen für dieses 2-bändige Epos.
Zu Chiheis spezifischen Referenzen für die Gitarrenbearbeitung auf diesem Album gehören My Bloody Valentine, Les Rallizes Dénudés und Keiji Haino.
Beide Musiker schöpften aus ihrer Vorliebe für Free Jazz und Spiritual Jazz, insbesondere für die Werke von Alice Coltrane und später Sun Ra.
Psychoakustische Überlegungen, Zufall, Spontaneität und der Schnittpunkt, an dem Musiker in der Hitze des Gefechts aufeinander reagieren (oder auch nicht), waren allesamt Inspirationen für dieses bemerkenswerte Projekt, das in zwei separaten Teilen im Jahr 2024 veröffentlicht wird.

Following the release of Eric Chenaux's last album Say Laura (2022), The Guardian wrote "the Canadian songwriter has one of the all-time great singing voices in popular music, an intensely romantic Chet Baker-ish instrument that seems to float with piercing direction, like a paper aeroplane thrown hard through mist." With Uncut describing his songcraft "as delicate and lovely as a rare orchid" and Record Collector praising the album's "sublime alien balladry" such are the accolades that have accrued throughout Chenaux's unique and consummately uncompromising solo music for well over a decade now. Delights Of My Life opens a new chapter for the singer/guitarist and formally introduces the Eric Chenaux Trio, with Toronto-based musicians Ryan Driver on Wurlitzer organ and Phillipe Melanson on electronic percussion. Driver is a longtime collaborator, appearing on several of Chenaux's solo albums (even embedded into the very title of the 2010 masterpiece Warm Weather With Ryan Driver). Melanson has a long list of involvements that include Bernice, Joseph Shabason, and U.S Girls, and a recent release with his Impossible Burger project on Chenaux's own experimental label Rat-drifting, but this marks the first fulsome involvement between the two as players on a recording. In many ways Delights Of My Life also picks up right where Chenaux's previous album left off, in its subversions of a classic, timeless jazz-inflected balladry, while the interplay of the trio formation indeed unfurls many new delights. Recording together at Chenaux's spartan home studio in rural France, Driver's harmonically warped organ and Melanson's electroacoustic sampling and percussion hold time in newfound ways. Where previously Chenaux relied on a freeze/sustain pedal and minimalist rhythmic triggers to generate both pulse and chordal foundations, Melanson now paints timekeeping with expressive and intricate colourations, through live deployments of fluid sampled percussion (including orchestral timbres like timpani, kettle drums, and woodblock) that blur the boundaries between acoustic and electronic. Driver also ramps up his role in the song arrangements (prefigured in his support playing on Say Laura), teasing out chords and melodic filigree on Wurlitzer that percolate more prominently with Chenaux's signature fried guitar solos and succulent singing. Both trio members add dulcet backing vocals, most notably on the 10-minute tour-de-force of fuzzed and ring-modulated swing "This Ain't Life" that opens the record. All seven songs on the album groove and sway, simmer and sparkle, like nothing in the inestimable Chenaux discography to date. Chenaux's tunes have the uncanny ability to sound like jazz standards; songs you feel you've heard before, though certainly never quite like this. Yet these are of course all originals, compositionally and interpretively, bent through an inimitable avant/out-music lens. Delights Of My Life conveys warm familiarity, shot through with the exuberantly experimental subversion and playful, even mischievous, iconoclasm that continues to mark Chenaux as defiantly, virtuosically, and genially one-of-kind.

Thou has always been a force of raw energy and unapologetic dissent, defying easy categorization and challenging listeners to confront the complexities of existence. Though often lumped in with New Orleans sludge bands like Eyehategod and Crowbar, Thou transcends genre boundaries, drawing inspiration from a diverse array of influences spanning from `90s proto-grunge icons like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden (all of whom they've covered extensively) to the raw intensity of obscure `90s DIY hardcore punk found on labels like Ebullition, Vermiform, and Crimethinc. Their latest record Umbilical, Thou's first full-length release of original music since their 2018 Sacred Bones debut Magus, is their firmest nod to the latter - a record filled with mosh-ready riffs, heavy breakdowns and scathing vocals. The band's aesthetic and political impulses have always been punk and like anyone embroiled in the subculture Thou have been exploring what it means to exist within and without a rigid morality. That exploration takes thematic center on Umbilical and their self-assessment is as harsh as that of the world around them.

Thou has always been a force of raw energy and unapologetic dissent, defying easy categorization and challenging listeners to confront the complexities of existence. Though often lumped in with New Orleans sludge bands like Eyehategod and Crowbar, Thou transcends genre boundaries, drawing inspiration from a diverse array of influences spanning from `90s proto-grunge icons like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden (all of whom they've covered extensively) to the raw intensity of obscure `90s DIY hardcore punk found on labels like Ebullition, Vermiform, and Crimethinc. Their latest record Umbilical, Thou's first full-length release of original music since their 2018 Sacred Bones debut Magus, is their firmest nod to the latter - a record filled with mosh-ready riffs, heavy breakdowns and scathing vocals. The band's aesthetic and political impulses have always been punk and like anyone embroiled in the subculture Thou have been exploring what it means to exist within and without a rigid morality. That exploration takes thematic center on Umbilical and their self-assessment is as harsh as that of the world around them.

This will be available on ltd edition pink vinyl, with only 250 copies pressed.

We are delighted to welcome the incredible Masal to the Up In Her Room family! Masal is a collaboration between Al Johnson and Ozlem Simsek. Ozlem is a Turkish multi instrumentalist whose middle eastern background is entwined with her western studies in classical music. Al performs psychedelic electronic music as Alien.

As Masal they weave harp, Theremin and electronics into a beautiful aural journeys. Having worked with legends such as Andy Bell & Mark Gardener of RIDE, and Sonic Cathedral, plus enjoyed radio play from the wonderful Simone Butler of Primal Scream on Soho Radio, and Mark Riley and Stuart Maconie on BBC 6 Music, we are very excited for you to see what the pair have been cooking up.

‘The Galloping Cat finds this unlikely pair of “neurodiverse nature lovers” collaborating on six meandering tracks of psychedelic grooves, electronic weirdness and motorik basslines mostly wordlessly exploring themes of self-discovery – and it’s stunning.

Sonic Cathedral – March 2023

The Galloping Cat is a work of compassion and tenderness. It’s also surprisingly funk (see ‘Dying Days’ and ‘Dokuz’) with Al revealing hitherto undiscovered Clyde Stubblefield-style chops behind the (digital) drumkit.’

Even Butterfly’s Make A Sound – March 2023

To address the weight of the world without speaking of weariness. To march the song to breathlessness but loosen your grip when the band wanders. To tell all your secrets but shield your loved ones from vulnerability. To dress up in the charm and temptation of the pop song but maintain a core of peculiarity, of a single voice trying to navigate this world. This is the project of the Spatulas. Think of the few songwriters who know they're the only ones in the world who could write their songs. The ones who sing in the confidence that the song couldn't exist without them: Peter Jefferies, Jenny Mae, Ron House, Heather Lewis. Jonathan Richman? Put Miranda Soileau-Pratt and the Spatulas on this list. All eleven songs on `Beehive Mind' share a percussive, unshadowed presence, a steady, clear-voiced clop. Every note on the record is a little bit sad on its own but then they're organized in a way that you don't actually notice. Credit this to the band's skill_Jon Grothman, Lila Jarzombek, Kyle Raquipiso and Miranda Soileau-Pratt all play with no limits and they all play with profound ease. The songs breathe in warmth and patience, they are immediate and sweet. And then they start to meander. The guitar skitters with the deliberate unpredictability of a wild animal. Parts repeat and reset with the obsessiveness of an anxious mind. The lyrics open doors to unexpected scenes of lovers, family, and violence. This is all intentional: "I need to play music and listen to music as a form of therapy," explains Soileau. This means safety, this means encouragement, this means trauma, this means hard questions. Only a band so comfortable at the margins, only a band so capable, only a band so trusting can achieve all this. Miranda Solileau-Pratt wrote the first Spatulas song in 2020, while living in Oregon. Since that time, the band has released two cassettes and toured the United States. Members of the Spatulas have also played in The Blimp, Honey Bucket, Hot Gum, and Meerkaz. The band has shared stages with Helen, Lavender Flu, Debt Rag, Pink Reason, Blues Ambush, and Kath Bloom. `Beehive Mind' is their debut LP.