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Ltd to 100 copies

Presented in a double vinyl gatefold edition with two beautiful paintings by Tenerife painter Sema Castro.

For fans of Sun Ra, Alice Coltrane and every single mystic brother and sister carrying the free spiritual jazz torch! Dive DEEP!

Spectacular mystical jazz infused psychedelics from Canary Islands’ cult band GAF.

Using a series of different add-ons to their (already obscure) band acronym GAF (Grifa Ambient Factory) such as Love Supreme Arkestra or GAF & La Estrela de la Muerte amongst a few, the Tenerife based band illustrate clearly what mutation or influence they’re feeding through (their mind) by the judicious use of these referential add-ons. Rotating around the vision of local lynchpin, Mladen Kurajica aka Bonni, Keroxen label head, festival organizer, producer and musician with numerous projects including helming the GAF outfit. The Love Supreme Arkestra variation here being the more Coltrane leaning (Alice rather than John) and Sun Ra- esque influenced thematic of the 6 piece band. Over a series of 7 huge sounding themes, we can hear twirling saxophones, trumpets, marimbas, modulars and rhythmic sections intertwining like flying spiral snakes over a burning sea of lava.

Recorded live and freely over a completely improvised jam session on a sunny afternoon in the mountainous region of La Esperanza in Tenerife, the band lets rip free of any previous albums particular sound choosing instead to purge into a world of musical liberation by embracing the aforementioned pioneers of the genre whilst unconsciously absorbing in their surroundings - as an additional inspiration for musical freedom.

The result really shines through its 74 mins of mind blowing adventurous music. A journey to the peaks of the Teide Volcano and down the green valleys, into the blue and black volcanic coasts of liberation!

We are happy to announce that after several months of delay, we have prepared our next vinyl release. It is a very special release, since we work a long time to provide the highest quality, from our hearts. We present the latest from DONOR "Apollo".

Techno with deep textures and dynamics for the original tracks. We also add the remixes of Alien Rain, acid, rave and powerful as its trademark: Pfirter gives us a more robust and forceful vision, Squaric brings the remix to 5AM, Zadig prepared a special Break for the album & Shao delivers several deep versions, with enveloping textures. An unprecedented detail for our catalog is to present a BONUS TRACK.

And for this we have prepared something very special, to have the track on vinyl: YUUKI SAKAI - DI AMO. The album "Yuuki Sakai - Hide By Launch" was presented in 2016 and now we remastered it to add it to this limited edition. Without a doubt, these voices will sound again throughout the planet. The message is here.

At the tender age of twenty-five, while he was working part-time at an Italian restaurant in Tokyo's Kamata district, Kazuki Tomokawa released his debut record, fittingly titled Finally, His First Album. While he had already penned hundreds of songs, including his first single "Try Saying You're Alive!," written on a long train ride past fields and rice paddies, it was this recording that introduced Japan to one of its most unique musicians of the postwar era. Each track, as record label exec Kiichi Takahara writes in the LP's liner notes (here translated for the first time), is not a song but a "flesh-and-blood human being," birthed by the singer-songwriter and the raw, guttural cries that would become a hallmark of his incomparable sound. 1970s Japan was a time and place marked by a profound desire for authenticity amidst the onset of television and media saturation. Tomokawa arrived on the scene as a musician with "the personality of a hydrogen bomb," to borrow a phrase from his frequent collaborator Toshi Ishizuka. In an unwieldy interview included here, members of the notorious leftist band Zun? Keisatsu (Brain Police) put it bluntly: here was a man surrounded by the "disingenuous," the "wishy-washy," and the "superficial," who was delivering "real life, unvarnished." These songs are lullabies for the lost, staring not into the void but-as the fourth track declares-from inside it. Finally, His First Album is the first of three Tomokawa records to be reissued by Blank Forms Editions in conjunction with the US release of Tomokawa's memoir, Try Saying You're Alive!, the first-ever English translation of his writing. This debut captures the self-assured trademarks that Tomokawa would hone over the course of decades. Multiple tracks are performed in his native Akita dialect, a distinct and highly regional vernacular of northern Japan seldom heard outside the prefecture-and even more rarely heard in music. Tomokawa's lyrics locate profound interiority in the rituals of everyday life, and are sung against sparse folk arrangements of tender, lilting chords-a prelude to the rock and electronic stylings to come in later years. A self-proclaimed "living corpse," Tomokawa wallows, whispers, shouts, and cries, yet still, through his existential doubt, asks to be heard.

Other Joe is the pseudonym of producer, mastering engineer, and label-head Joe Buchan, an individual with a penchant for free-wheeling experimentation and genre-crossing musical tastes. Drawing upon a wide array of sounds that pay homage to his love of both the beautiful and the abrasive, Joe devours indiscriminately whatever sounds might cross his path, the result giving birth to the unique musical journey that is listening to an Other Joe record. After a few years spent playing in bands and releasing small bodies of work under different monikers, Joe released what many listeners know as his breakout record, Alien Haze, a beautiful collection of recordings that oscillate from collages of field recording and found sound, sublime balearic-era saxophone symphonies, and introspective neo-classical psychedelia. His latest work, blessing from th eheart (typo intentional), expands on Other Joe’s love for blending field recording and acoustic instruments with electronic processing. Beginning by reviewing the catalogue of creative notes he had archived since the release of Alien Haze in March 2019, Joe picked apart voice memos, Logic projects, iPhone videos and whatever else he could lay hands on. Says Joe, “looking over it all at once, the musical ideas I had been attracted to over the past eight or nine months started to make a bit more sense - I could see that there were instruments I was liking, or chord progressions that I kept coming back to, structures and forms that I had found engrossing. Sort of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle that I had made without realising.”

Hochleistungs-Austropop im Gipfeltreffen der Meister-Mash-Upper!

Dieses Gipfeltreffen hat es in sich: Auf der einen Seite Kurt Razelli, den man für seine Mash-Ups aus Politiker-Sagern und Beats liebt, auf der anderen Austrofred, der 'Champion', berüchtigt für seine Mash-Ups aus Queen-Hits und Austropop-Texten. Im ultimativen Mash-Up dieser Meister-Mash-Upper fordern sich die beiden gegenseitig zu einem Hochleistungs-Austropop heraus, der den Kollegen von der neuen Dialektmusik nicht nur zeigt, wo der Most geholt wird, sondern vor allem, wie man ihn trinkt.

Mit erlesenem Studiogear aus sieben Jahrzehnten im Kofferraum seines VW Bullis hat René Mühlberger alias Pressyes den Motor angelassen, um das nächste Kapitel seiner akribischen Suche nach Realness im Pop zu schreiben. Süchtig machende Melodien mäandrieren um sonnige Synth-Flächen in Cinemascope. Das Wurlitzer glitzert und der Beat diktiert den Beinen die Richtung, während flirrende Arpeggios die Nebel des Stereopanoramas durchqueren, nur um sich im Space Echo in der Unendlichkeit zu verlieren. 'Breeze In Breeze Out' channelt in einer psychedelischen Séance Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft in dreizehn sonnengeküsste Songperlen, die Freiheit verheißen.

"This Is A Photograph", MORBYs siebtes Album, ist ein Loblied auf die Americana, das Leben und Tod und Blut auf der Leinwand zum Ausdruck bringt. Der kreativ gestärkte Songwriter hat es geschafft, seine besten Songs, seine besten Gesangsleistungen, seine prägnantesten Texte und seine üppigsten Arrangements auf "This Is A Photograph" zu vereinen. Dies ist zweifellos sein bisheriges Hauptwerk. Die Geschichte beginnt im Januar 2020, als MORBY im Keller seines Elternhauses in Kansas City geistesabwesend in einer Kiste mit alten Familienfotos blättert. Nur Stunden zuvor war sein Vater bei einem Familienessen vor seinen Augen zusammengebrochen und musste ins Krankenhaus gebracht werden. In dieser Nacht spürte MORBY noch immer den Schock und die Angst, die ihm in den Knochen steckten. Also sah er sich die Bilder an, bis ihm eines davon ins Auge sprang: sein Vater als junger Mann, stolz und stark und voller Selbstvertrauen, der mit freiem Oberkörper auf einer Wiese posiert. "In the photo he looks young and full of confidence, puffing his chest out at the camera as if he were looking for a fight," erklärt MORBY. "It was not lost on me that this was the same chest, just hours before, I had seen the ambulance put a stethoscope against as he lay on the kitchen floor of my sisters house." Während sein Vater wieder zu Kräften kam, grübelte er über diese Gedanken nach. Und dann machte er sich auf den Weg nach Memphis. Er zog in das Peabody Hotel und verbrachte seine Tage damit, den Träumern, die er bewunderte, Tribut zu zollen und sich vor ihnen zu verneigen; er ging hinunter zum Ufer des Mississippi, zu der Stelle, an der JEFF BUCKLEY sein Ende fand. Er schlenderte durch das Viertel, in dem JAY REATARD seinen letzten Tag verbrachte, und fuhr dann am Stax-Zelt vorbei, um seine Stimmung kurz aufzuheitern. Dann fuhr er an Graceland vorbei, bevor er den Highway 61 überquerte und die Geister zu sich rufen ließ, um seine eigenen Träume zu gestalten. Abends kehrte er in sein Zimmer zurück und hielt seine Ideen auf einem behelfsmäßigen Aufnahmegerät fest, das nur aus seiner Gitarre und einem Mikrofon bestand. Die schwermütigen Songs, die zu all dem passen, was er gesehen hatte, sprudelten nur so aus ihm heraus. Wiederum leitete Sam Cohen (der "Singing Saw" und "Oh My God" produziert hatte) das Projekt. Sie begannen in Cohens Studio im Bundesstaat New York, das sich noch im Bau befand, zusammen mit dem Schlagzeuger Nick Kinsey, und arbeiteten langsam an den Songs, da die Reise der Aufnahme der Start-Stopp-Qualität von 2021 selbst entsprach, mit magischen Momenten, die in die prekären Navigationen eingestreut waren. Mit der Zeit füllte sich die Besetzung. Der ehemalige Tournee-Pianist Oliver Hill sowie seine Mutter Meg und seine Schwester Charlotte sorgten für die Streicher. Die Tourneeleute Cochemea Gastelum (Saxophon), Jared Samuel (Orgel) und Alecia Chakour (Gesang, Tamburin) stießen zu den Sessions hinzu, ebenso wie Eric Johnson (Banjo). Und neue Mitstreiter*innen wie Schlagzeuger Josh Jaeger (Schlagzeug, Perkussion), Brandee Younger (Harfe), Makaya McCraven (Schlagzeug), Cassandra Jenkins (Gesang) und sogar Tim Heidecker und Alia Shawkat (die schrägen Lacher auf "Rock Bottom") fügten sich in das entstehende Bild ein. Und passenderweise fanden die letzten Sessions live in Memphis in Sam Philips Recording Co. statt, das von seinem Sohn Jerry Philips geleitet wird und das Erbe des ursprünglichen Sun Records Studios fortführt.

"This Is A Photograph", MORBYs siebtes Album, ist ein Loblied auf die Americana, das Leben und Tod und Blut auf der Leinwand zum Ausdruck bringt. Der kreativ gestärkte Songwriter hat es geschafft, seine besten Songs, seine besten Gesangsleistungen, seine prägnantesten Texte und seine üppigsten Arrangements auf "This Is A Photograph" zu vereinen. Dies ist zweifellos sein bisheriges Hauptwerk. Die Geschichte beginnt im Januar 2020, als MORBY im Keller seines Elternhauses in Kansas City geistesabwesend in einer Kiste mit alten Familienfotos blättert. Nur Stunden zuvor war sein Vater bei einem Familienessen vor seinen Augen zusammengebrochen und musste ins Krankenhaus gebracht werden. In dieser Nacht spürte MORBY noch immer den Schock und die Angst, die ihm in den Knochen steckten. Also sah er sich die Bilder an, bis ihm eines davon ins Auge sprang: sein Vater als junger Mann, stolz und stark und voller Selbstvertrauen, der mit freiem Oberkörper auf einer Wiese posiert. "In the photo he looks young and full of confidence, puffing his chest out at the camera as if he were looking for a fight," erklärt MORBY. "It was not lost on me that this was the same chest, just hours before, I had seen the ambulance put a stethoscope against as he lay on the kitchen floor of my sisters house." Während sein Vater wieder zu Kräften kam, grübelte er über diese Gedanken nach. Und dann machte er sich auf den Weg nach Memphis. Er zog in das Peabody Hotel und verbrachte seine Tage damit, den Träumern, die er bewunderte, Tribut zu zollen und sich vor ihnen zu verneigen; er ging hinunter zum Ufer des Mississippi, zu der Stelle, an der JEFF BUCKLEY sein Ende fand. Er schlenderte durch das Viertel, in dem JAY REATARD seinen letzten Tag verbrachte, und fuhr dann am Stax-Zelt vorbei, um seine Stimmung kurz aufzuheitern. Dann fuhr er an Graceland vorbei, bevor er den Highway 61 überquerte und die Geister zu sich rufen ließ, um seine eigenen Träume zu gestalten. Abends kehrte er in sein Zimmer zurück und hielt seine Ideen auf einem behelfsmäßigen Aufnahmegerät fest, das nur aus seiner Gitarre und einem Mikrofon bestand. Die schwermütigen Songs, die zu all dem passen, was er gesehen hatte, sprudelten nur so aus ihm heraus. Wiederum leitete Sam Cohen (der "Singing Saw" und "Oh My God" produziert hatte) das Projekt. Sie begannen in Cohens Studio im Bundesstaat New York, das sich noch im Bau befand, zusammen mit dem Schlagzeuger Nick Kinsey, und arbeiteten langsam an den Songs, da die Reise der Aufnahme der Start-Stopp-Qualität von 2021 selbst entsprach, mit magischen Momenten, die in die prekären Navigationen eingestreut waren. Mit der Zeit füllte sich die Besetzung. Der ehemalige Tournee-Pianist Oliver Hill sowie seine Mutter Meg und seine Schwester Charlotte sorgten für die Streicher. Die Tourneeleute Cochemea Gastelum (Saxophon), Jared Samuel (Orgel) und Alecia Chakour (Gesang, Tamburin) stießen zu den Sessions hinzu, ebenso wie Eric Johnson (Banjo). Und neue Mitstreiter*innen wie Schlagzeuger Josh Jaeger (Schlagzeug, Perkussion), Brandee Younger (Harfe), Makaya McCraven (Schlagzeug), Cassandra Jenkins (Gesang) und sogar Tim Heidecker und Alia Shawkat (die schrägen Lacher auf "Rock Bottom") fügten sich in das entstehende Bild ein. Und passenderweise fanden die letzten Sessions live in Memphis in Sam Philips Recording Co. statt, das von seinem Sohn Jerry Philips geleitet wird und das Erbe des ursprünglichen Sun Records Studios fortführt.

In a generation of musicians that came of age in postwar Japan, Kazuki Tomokawa stands as a pioneer of radical individualism, with a sound marked by shocking intimacy and blistering honesty. In his third album, A String of Paper Cranes Clenched between My Teeth, released by Harvest Records in 1977, Tomokawa creeps "ever more inward," as Kiichi Takahara writes in the record's original introductory text-embracing an attitude pervasive amongst musicians of the time who interrogated the prosaic and the profound alike, eschewing politics and society in favor of an "attitude of total self-containment." Tomokawa recorded the album over the course of a month-from August 24 to September 25, 1977-at Tokyo's famed Onkio Haus studio in the bustling Ginza district. The arrangements, accordingly, are amped up: paired with the Black Panther Orchestra, Tomokawa's "screaming philosopher" vocals find their match with the orchestra's electric guitar, bass, piano, tuba, and ground-thumping drums played by the Brain Police's Toshi Ishizuka-who appears on Tomokawa's first three records and remains his collaborator to this day. "This is Kazuki Tomokawa in the flesh," concludes Takahara. A String of Paper Cranes Clenched between My Teeth is, in Tomokawa's uncanny way, able to cut through facade and artifice in pursuit of truth. "You call that life?" he heckles, exhausted by the melodrama and nihilism of youth counterculture, "try saying you're alive!"

After the Bend is the second album from Louisville based Flanger Magazine, and the follow up to FM’s 2018 debut, Breslin. Whereas Breslin was the solo creation of Christopher Bush, an album noted for “an astute synthesis of ‘library music’ and solo acoustic guitar,” and “a seamless blend into the uncluttered and airier side of classic 1970’s giallo,” After the Bend is an ensemble affair. An ecosystem, a perfect mutualism bodies forth—of strings, outdoor recordings, electronics, reeds, and percussion—featuring new FM players Anna Krippenstapel (Frekons (Freakwater + Mekons), The Other Years), Jim Marlowe (Equipment Pointed Ankh, Tropical Trash, Sapat), Eric Lanham and Benjamin Zoeller (both from Caboladies). The various combos perform with both a distinguished efficacy and unhurried Sunday drift—charged and beautiful, pulsating and pleasing. The production is subtle and tasteful. Mutating past the old saws of bounded individualism, a strange form of tentacular life accrues, cyborgian-fungral-tangles of the more-than-human variety.

Robert Beatty’s cover art of otherworldly and interconnected river-scape gradients, coupled with song titles like “Reservoir,” “Falls Fountain Removed,” and “Sympathies for the River,” cue and clue the listener toward a river as a singular multitude analogue for the album. Interstitial gaps, clearings and openings give rise and merge into an accumulated flow from the tributaries of spirited improvisational performance, palimpsestic song cycles, and high fidelity studio production. The composite sound-image of After the Bend refuses to put both oars down into any one of the eddies of the folk, sound, chamber, electronic, or jazz idioms, and instead glides along the currents found within the slipstreams between.

Gathering samples, a River Doctor Limnologist inspecting the properties of After the Bend might note the specter of Leroy Jenkin’s free-violin heat-light deepin the water’s thermal stratification. Or mortgage the late-Maestro’s time with Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza to pay down the growing river heat budget. Or take one’s dirty buckets to the banks of the 19th laundromat where Walt Dickerson plays his vibraphone parts from Divine Gemini with dowsing rods. Or excavate the bedrock in the drainage basin, noting skeletal remains of a Shostakovich string quartet attempting to tune up a Kentucky Fiddle’s subsequent influence on the chemical composition of the water. Or consult the historical revisionist reenactment troupe’s episode of Fishing with John (Fahey) in which Codona, The Sea Ensemble and Nuno Canavarro guest host as their fleet of paddle boats churn river water into a regal lager, and all the fish get drunk in their quest for the leaner enamel Hosianna Mantra GPS coordinates of the Fattened Herb.

Bush and Marlowe recorded and produced the album at End of an Ear Studios, located in the Portland neighborhood, in the west end of the city of Louisville, bordering the Ohio River, between Kentucky’s Upper South and the Indiana’s Midwest, during the first year of the global pandemic, amidst the planet’s sixth great extinction event. As good a time to be alive as any other. (by Kris Abplanalp)

Mt Joy's climb into the musical stratosphere owes a great deal to their
highly energetic and passionate live performances
They've sold out room after room across the country, have toured with arena acts
like The Lumineers, among many others, and fans the world over flock to their
shows. So when the coronavirus pandemic sidelined the touring industry, Mt. Joy
felt the effects in a significant way. Fast forward to May 22, 2021: artists and fans
alike are finally emerging, and Mt. Joy steps on the stage at Red Rocks
Amphitheatre, playing the biggest show on record since live music began to open
back up. Live At Red Rocks showcases the band's spirited performance in front of
the sold- out Colorado crowd, and the energy felt from the audience's thrill of
experiencing live music again is unmistakable, even through the air waves

A defining artistic statement:Savatage's first concept album!
Every fan believes that their favourite band has a crowning achievement,
a magnum opus, a defining artistic statement
For many Savatage diehards, that landmark is Streets.Originally released in 1991,
the group's first rock opera tells of a rock star who ultimately overcomes the
demons of his drug- dealing past to achieve spiritual salvation. The album
spawned what would become the band's most beloved song, an epic tale of
redemption titled "Believe". It would also be the last Savatage record featuring
vocalist Jon Oliva performing alongside his late brother, guitarist Criss Oliva.
This Savatage classic is being reissued as a Heavyweight Double LP Gatefold
Edition on Black Vinyl, along with a Limited Collector's Edition on Ocean Blue
Vinyl. Both editions are mastered for vinyl and reissued with the original cover
design, specially enhanced artwork, including a 12pages LP booklet with
extensive liner notes by Clay Marshall.
"'Streets' was in my opinion the best work we did with the line-up of Criss, myself,
Johnny, Steve and Paul. It is definitely the most versatile of all our albums, and if
there is one album that shows all the sides of Savatage, 'Streets' is the one" (Jon
Oliva)

A defining artistic statement:Savatage's first concept album!
Every fan believes that their favourite band has a crowning achievement,
a magnum opus, a defining artistic statement
For many Savatage diehards, that landmark is Streets.Originally released in 1991,
the group's first rock opera tells of a rock star who ultimately overcomes the
demons of his drug- dealing past to achieve spiritual salvation. The album
spawned what would become the band's most beloved song, an epic tale of
redemption titled "Believe". It would also be the last Savatage record featuring
vocalist Jon Oliva performing alongside his late brother, guitarist Criss Oliva.
This Savatage classic is being reissued as a Heavyweight Double LP Gatefold
Edition on Black Vinyl, along with a Limited Collector's Edition on Ocean Blue
Vinyl. Both editions are mastered for vinyl and reissued with the original cover
design, specially enhanced artwork, including a 12pages LP booklet with
extensive liner notes by Clay Marshall.
"'Streets' was in my opinion the best work we did with the line-up of Criss, myself,
Johnny, Steve and Paul. It is definitely the most versatile of all our albums, and if
there is one album that shows all the sides of Savatage, 'Streets' is the one" (Jon
Oliva)

RIYL: David Byrne, Guy Clark, Bob Dylan, The Flatlanders, Randy Newman, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt. The first-ever vinyl reissue of Allen’s manifold, moving fourth album, remastered from the original analog tapes. Deluxe LP edition features 140g virgin vinyl; a gatefold jacket, inner sleeve with restored, new, and alternate art and photos by Terry and Jo Harvey Allen and friends, insert with lyrics and original notes & DL. Deluxe CD edition features a trifold jacket & inner sleeve. On his manifold fourth album, acclaimed songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen contemplates kinship the ways sex and violence stitch and sever the ties of family, faith, and society with skewering satire and affection alike. Bloodlines compiles thematically related but disparate recordings from miscellaneous sources both theatrical and historical: two songs written for plays; two full-band reprises of selections from Juarez; the irreverent hellfire-hitchhiker-on-highway ballad “Gimme a Ride to Heaven Boy” (featuring Joe Ely); and the poignant eponymous ode to the arteries of ancestry and landscape (the debut recording of eight year-old Natalie Maines, later covered by Lucinda Williams). Since 1970, when they met in Allen’s studio in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, one of songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen’s great foils and friends was the sometimes cantankerous but always brilliant art critic and writer Dave Hickey, with whom he sparred on topics musical, visual, and beyond (and to whom this reissue is dedicated in memoriam, in the wake of his passing in 2021.) Hickey, a fellow Texan paddling against the currents of the hermetic New York centric art world, was an accomplished songwriter in his own right, and he and Terry pushed each other to refine their respective practices. In 1983, the two were thick as thieves brothers in blood and Hickey’s wry but big-hearted presence haunts the history and periphery of Bloodlines, the album Terry released in June of that year. Hickey’s commercial doubts notwithstanding, critical recognition was not in short demand. In a 1984 review of Bloodlines, the L.A. Herald Examiner called Allen “one of the most compelling American songwriters working today … making the most unique art-pop of our time,” elsewhere comparing him not only to Moon Mullican and Jerry Lee Lewis, but also to the Velvet Underground and Philip Glass (probably the first time that unlikely quartet ever appeared together in one sentence). In 1983, against all odds, such sentiments were growing in underground prominence, as Allen’s records gained a fanatical word-of-mouth following they weren’t easy to find in those days. Recorded piecemeal at Caldwell Studios in Lubbock, in sessions spanning August 1982 through January 1983, Terry self-released it, like all his previous records, on his own Fate Records imprint. Despite his frustration with the protracted timeline and some anxiety about the correspondingly higher budget, the production on Bloodlines courtesy, once again, of master guitarist Lloyd Maines is slicker, cleaner, and more dynamic than prior efforts, and it reached a broader audience than ever before. UK label Making Waves reissued it in 1985, facilitating semi-reliable European distribution for the first time as well as a 1986 UK tour, on which the great BJ Cole filled in for Lloyd on pedal steel. No veteran country songwriter sounds more attuned to the national mood. His songs still feel like little guidebooks for staring down a harsh universe. – The Washington Post // It has always been a fool’s errand to frame Allen in terms of other artists there was nobody like him before he showed up, and the subsequent 40 years have been equally light on plausible peers. Uncut

Cruel Summer’s sound evokes the dazed, fuzzed-out, swirling noise of the late 1980s UK sound while still sticking to their pop roots--they’ve aptly been crowned San Francisco’s “jangle darlings.” Their first full-length album “Ivy” is forthcoming from Sacramento’s art/vinyl imprint Mt. St. Mtn. Following their 2013 ST/EP (Mt. St. Mtn.,) they released the sold-out lathe-cut 7” for “Leeches,” accompanied by a video. In 2016 Cruel Summer released “Around You, Around Me,” recorded for L.A.’s Part Time Punks, the 7” B-side features a moody cover of Pylon’s “Crazy.” Mastered by Kramer (Galaxie 500 and Low). “Ivy” is the long-awaited, first full-length album from this quartet, who have become a mainstay in the San Francisco and Oakland club scene. Recorded at Santo Studio in Oakland, California by Jason Kick (Sonny & the Sunsets, Once and Future Band, Mild High Club, Maus Haus), the record is a love poem to San Francisco, with all its changes and disappointments. "Bands have begun to push the boundaries of genre in a unique and satisfying way, and San Francisco’s Cruel Summer is a prime example. They are a group of voyagers into this uncharted territory, and their album Ivy is a joyful, dreamy blend of everything you might love about shoegaze and everything you thought shoegaze could never be... Cruel Summer is proof that shoegaze is alive and well, at least in San Francisco. The band is doing some creative, compelling work with a genre that is so often elusive - besides being an interesting act of musicianship, Ivy is also simply a joy to experience from beginning to end. If you need further convincing, take a listen to Ivy and let it take you somewhere warmer."

Since its original release in 1984, Piledriver's bolt-from-the-blue debut
'Metal Inquisition' has found a legion of fans worldwide, over successive generations and spanning all stripes of metal


The album was the work of one metal maniac named Gord Kirchin, who became the selfsame "Pile Driver" so eloquently depicted on the album's cover art, and a certain "Bud Slaker" - AKA Leslie Howe, whose resume did not include any heavy metal before nor after. Nevertheless, together the duo recorded a crude 'n' rude document of blitzkrieg Metal spirit, spit forth across songs that encompassed scuzzy speed metal and pounding traditional metal. The fact that the band was Canadian figured into this style of sound, as one could detect the likes of Anvil AND Exciter here.

Taut and tight, the 37 minutes of 'Metal Inquisition' ,demanded repeat plays…and now it will demand those repeat plays as Shadow Kingdom officially releases the album for the first time in over 20 years! The CD version will contain the full master of the album, including a "Crazy On You"- style intro to "Pile Driver" as it was originally intended, while the vinyl version will stay how they were in the '80s.


Absolutely mandatory metal madness!

LIMITED EDITION ON CLEAR BLUE VINYL of Radio Moscow's debut
album produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys

Verena Zeiner und Wolfgang Schlögl lassen auf ihrem Album 'Magic Wall' das akustische Instrument in einen Dialog mit elektronischer Ästhetik treten.
'Magic Wall' ist das gemeinsame Album von Wolfgang Schlögl alias I-Wolf und der Pianistin und Komponistin Verena Zeiner. Zwischen instrumentaler Virtuosität und technologischem Ansatz entwickelt das Duo Zeiner I-Wolf eine zeitlose Musik, die Jazzreferenzen mit zeitgenössischen Klangstrukturen verbindet. Die Musikstücke des Albums fügen sich wie Szenen eines Films aneinander und erzeugen eine schwebend surreale Spannung.

Stunning debut release from RAFRAM aka Irdial legend Ramjac Corporation and the Toronto legend (& honorary Glaswegian) Raf Reza.
300 copies only, full printed sleeves plus riso insert.

Orphic Apparition is a new label born out of a transatlantic meeting of minds. Facilitated by a long, hedonistic party in one of present-day London’s ‘meanwhile use’ venues Grow Tottenham, Canadian producer Raf Reza and British acid house luminary Paul Chivers spent a precious day in the studio to record a 3 hour straight to DAT session before Reza's return to Canada. The result of this spontaneous yet intuitive collaboration blurs the lines between Chiver’s long-standing Ramjac Corporation alias and Reza’s genre-spanning approach to dub, breaks and house styles. Part of the early 90s rave scene and an important member of the blueprint-setting Irdial label, Ramjac locks heads with the self-professed ‘lazy music guy from Toronto’ to adapt their studio session into five separate mixdowns.

‘In The Grow’ begins with a bouncy, cut-up sounding Errorsmith-esque rhythm, the recurring fright night melody that distinguishes the record coming in all quick and powerful. The A2 ‘Rotten Mix’ offers a more traditional house approach in its composition, with dub FX and a nice DJ friendly outro. On the final uptempo choice the pair opt for a head-scrambling electro take. Choose your fighter! The ‘Swampy Dub’ on the flip really dismantles everything we’ve heard prior, slo-mo drums allowing a much different DJ experience and altering the freaky synthetic propulsion into an almost modern classical sound. A little like Paul Dresher’s eternal ‘Channels Passing’ (tip). Combined with the other edits this version almost becomes a totally different track. The final ‘Rootless Dub’ gives its clues in the title, removing all the tough drum sounds and allowing for an ambient decompression.

Orphic Apparition will return soon.

Warm Currency is a new project by Sydney-based friends, artists and musician’s MP Hopkins and Mary MacDougall. Mary began working with MP Hopkins and Christopher Schueler in 2008 as Vincent Over the Sink morphed into The Bowles. ‘Returns’ was recorded in Mary's home during 2020-2021 and is their first release since 2012's The Bowles EP (Kye). Quietly intense folk music, song-poems, and concrète collages built from seemingly simple and delicate arrangements for guitar, keyboards, voice and tape. Recommended if you like Flaming Tunes, Nico, Alistair Galbraith, The Garbage and the Flowers.

UFC is proud to presents R.I.P. Bestiaʼs second outing on the label. Starting out with “Resurgence of Rave Echoes” R.I.P. Bestia delivers an influenced rave breakbeat track with chopped vocals, big bass, acid and piano raves that take you to a new future rave dimension. "Anarchic Alien Fuel" takes over a trance breakbeat influenced with a heavy ambient pad and cyberdelic vocals. Finally “Extraterrestrial Shamanic Ceremonial Rite” rounds up the EP with a tribal and breaks drums, epic synths, an hypnotic vocals that will keep you in the shamanic rite going from start to finish.

Heist welcomes, late 80’s DMC World DJ Championship contender, Techno veteran, and house royalty Orlando Voorn to the label
with his ‘Heist Mastercuts’ EP.

Orlando Voorn is a man who needs little introduction. He’s played a pivotal role in the development of the electronic music scene in the Netherlands, as well as in the USA where he now lives. With countless aliases, he has released everything from old school hiphop to sample heavy breaks, to banging Detroit techno to soulful house music. His recent outings as ‘Frequency’ on Clone, as well as his latest EP on our sublabel Transient Nature, are proof that even after 30+ years, the man is still very much on top of his game.

The Heist Mastercuts EP sees Orlando dig deep in his archive for some of his undercover hits from the nineties that have been remastered for
this EP. On top of that, he delivers a new track in the form of soulful house bomb “Be with you.”

“Be with you” starts off with a hazy groove and distant pads. The steady beat and funky electronic chops set a steady foundation for a rush-inducing string sample that works together with looping diva vocals for maximum dancefloor excitement. No heavy drumrolls, FX or other tools necessary here: It’s clever sampling and Orlando’s soulful touch that make this track tick.

Next up is the vinyl only track “Love Feelings” – originally released in ’96 on Urban Sounds of Amsterdam-. Think 130+ BPM vintage house grooves with hazy pads and you’ll get an idea of what’s coming. Love Feelings is an up-tempo dreamhouse track that, even though it’s almost 25 years old, still ticks all the boxes of a contemporary festival groover.

On the B-side you’ll find 2 versions of “Tenderness”: The original mix and the Late nite dub, both originally released on Clubstitute records back in ’95. The original has a 90’s garage groove with male vocal chops, old school house keys and strings. The late night dub is exactly that: a dreamy ethereal deephouse groove with warm synth hits, introverted percussion some very on point sax loops.

The Heist Mastercuts EP is the first EP of Orlando Voorn on Heist Recordings but considering the connection we’ve built with him over the last year and having heard the music he’s shared with us, we’re sure you’ll see much more of him on Heist in the future.


Yours sincerely,

Maarten & Lars

LNDFK (aka Linda Feki) presents her ground-breaking debut album, "Kuni" on Brooklyn-based Bastard Jazz Recordings. Undeniably on the rise after her 2019 breakout performance at Primavera Sound, LNDFK has already caught the attention of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Clash Magazine, Noisey, and Brooklyn Vegan (among many others) while being championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson, Tom Ravenscroft, and Jamz Supernova & landing spots on tastemaker playlists like Spotify's "Pollen" and "Fresh Finds."

"Kuni" is a spellbinding exploration of dichotomies: Love & Death (Eros & Thanatos), Flower & Fire, Delicacy & Violence, Poetry & Realism, Purification & Destruction. These opposites are reified in the 10-track LPs multifarious and multifaceted sounds, elegantly meandering through a variety of styles and genres, spearheaded by Linda and features the production wizardry of Darrio Bassolino who co-wrote the album.

"Kuni" opens with "Hana-bi," an ambient instrumental piece that sets the tone for the album. Inspired by the Takeshi Kitano 1997 film of the same name – particularly Joe Hisaishi's stunning soundtrack, as well as Kitano's paintings which appear in the film. "Hana-bi" expresses the dialoguing opposites of flowers and fire, the first of many dichotomous representations throughout the album. "Takeshi" acts as an extension and to "Hana-bi," albeit one of opposing sound, with its driving, highly syncopated drums (which reappear throughout "Kuni") – à la Karriem Riggins, Questlove, or Yussef Dayes – frenetic bass line, and jazz chords. Linda's sultry voice is interspersed, initially jumping around in scat fashion, being triggered as if a sample, before her lyrics come in; her vocals are used like an additional instrument, adding to the song's rich texture. "Kuni" truly hits its stride with the next song, "Smoke – a moon or a button" (its title lifted from the 1959 book by Ruth Krauss and Remy Charlip), which is structured like a jazz standard yet flows into neo-soul territory sonically with those prodigious drums a highlight once again.

LNDFK touches on experimental hip hop in two songs on the record (both of which were released as singles in 2021): "Don't Know I'm Dead or Not (feat. Chester Watson)" – track #4 – and "How Do We Know We're Alive (feat. Pink Siifu)" – track #9. Although they embrace a more hip hop-leaning sound, these songs by no means shy away from the exploratory theme, and feature two of the alt-rap scenes rising stars with Chester Watson and Pink Siifu who offer provocatively impressing verses, combining dense word play with unconventional flows. While these tracks may first appear to be outliers on the album, they are undeniably in tune with "Kuni's" message and sonic palette, acting as testaments to LNDFK's willingness to explore and experiment.

Meanwhile, "Ku" – the third and last single before the album release – furthers the pre-established future soul sound while meandering through nu jazz and left-field electronic. Inspired by the graphic novel and film, "Sin City," and its female assassin protagonist Miho, "Ku" is a musical interpretation of Miho's story, incorporating both her beauty – the first half of the song – and murderous tendencies – the second half – to create a stunning juxtaposition, culminating in an ambient finale that suggests the character's vulnerability and inner peace. The song gracefully bridges the gap between Hiatus Kaiyote-esque songwriting, Dilla's rhythmic syncopation, and Thundercat's instrumental prowess (LNDFK has shared a stage Brainfeeder labelmate Kamasi Washington).

Mixed in throughout "Kuni" are a series of instrumental pieces that function as something akin to an interlude. The aforementioned intro, "Hana-bi," and the album closer "se mi stacco da te, mi strappo tutto:" act as bookends, while "Om" indicates the half-way mark, and "Ktm" sees Jason Lindner add his sound the album. These tracks are the ambient foundation of "Kuni," representing the thematic duality of the work. Clocking in at only 24 minutes, "Kuni" packs an astonishingly diverse array of sounds, styles, and themes, all while showcasing virtuosic musicianship and instrumental prowess.

Appearing on "Hana-bi" and "Ktm," renowned international artists Asa-Chang and Jason Lindner add an additional perspective to "Kuni": Asa-Chang on "Hana-bi," and Jason Lindner on "Ktm." Asa-Chang - famously of the Japanese avant-garde group Asa-Chang & Junray - provides vocals and percussion to an alternate version of the instrumental opener, while the acclaimed keyboardist Jason Lindner offers his synth expertise on "Ktm." These features highlight the spirit of collaboration found in LNDFK's music, always willing to try out new ways of working.

LNDFK is a singer and songwriter, born of two cultures – an Italian mother and Arab father. She grew up in Naples, away from her father, the Sahara, her homeland and traditions, which has helped nourish the desire to rediscover – through art – an engagement to her roots. Her music melts with jazz, neo-soul and hip-hop influences, filtered through her experiences and sensibility.

Her first EP, "Lust Blue," was composed with the artistic production of Dario Bass and released by Feelin' Music; after that she released several singles that saw international radio support (BBC, NTS, Wordwide FM) and gained a massive audience on digital platforms. Together with her band, she toured around Europe, performing alongside such notable artists as Kamasi Washington and Mndsgn, among others. Most recently she toured Italy, and performed at Primavera Sound Festival 2019 in Barcelona.

"Kuni," is due out on NYC label Bastard Jazz Recordings in February, 2022, while the vinyl LP will follow shortly after.

Brazilian talent Classmatic is next up on Hot Creations with the two-track Toma Dale. Having already set dancefloors alight at the hands of label heads Jamie Jones and Lee Foss, the eagerly anticipated release drops this April.

Toma Dale achieves exactly what Classmatic set out to do. The track opens proceedings with enticing congas that instantly transport you to Latin America. Punchy drum pads pounce in and combine with the percussion to create a highly energetic base, as finely cut Spanish vocals are embedded to fuse everything together. Bape pays homage to the Hot Creations sound. Warm, soft, bouncy kick drums lead the track, joined by subtle acid sounds that tantalise the ears. The breakdown is perfectly placed with the addition of mesmerising vocals that fade in and out before the punchy, bass-heavy drums are hauled back in.

Classmatic has built up a lot of traction over recent years, catching the eyes and ears of major heavyweights in the field, releasing under such labels as Solid Grooves and Hottrax and in 2021 he remixed Cloonees’ major hit, When The Sun Goes Down. Receiving support from artists such as Seth Troxler, Michael Bibi, Pete Tong and Loco Dice to name a few, it comes as no surprise when we say there is a bright future ahead for the talented artist.

For Number 008 ORIGU releases two more bangers from the Loyalty Digital Corp. camp.

Off his album "Underground With Commercial Appeal", Fokis brings you "Audio Crack" featuring Skyzoo and Chi-Ali, plus the previously unreleased "52 Pick Up" produced by Paul Danjer.

Fokis managed to create quite a line-up for his releases on his label, and Skyzoo and Chi-Ali are just big names he put on his album.
Eversince his official debut "Cloud 9" in 2006 Skyzoo is a well-known figure in the hiphop game. Chi-Ali is making his first appearance on vinyl since 1992, when he was a teenager and released the album "The Fabolous Chi-Ali" with the help of The Beatnuts, Black Sheep, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest.

Based in Bamako for sixteen years, Philippe Sanmiguel has been the producer of albums by the famous Malian bluesman Samba Touré since his international debut. Over the years, Philippe has expanded his work with other artists such as the legendary Tuareg band Tartit, Anansy Cissé, Mariam Koné or Djimé Sissoko among others.

While working on the albums of these artists, he often had the inspiration to add influences from his original rock culture but in small measures. That's how Black Mango was born, to gather his favorite musical collaborators around his own compositions and expand the vision. It started with an EP released on Glitterbeat Records in 2014 from which the idea for a full-length album was born.

Black Mango's Quicksand album was recorded in Bamako over a period of several years, in various recording sessions, giving each musician free range to play on a rhythmic and melodic basis prepared in advance. The alchemy was immediate in all cases, often from the first takes.

Philippe originally met producer and musician Hugo Race with Chris Eckman during their stay in Bamako for the recording sessions of Dirtmusic's Troubles & Lion City albums. Hugo loved the raw feeling of the tracks and offered to remix the album in his Melbourne studio, bringing his own unique touch.

The fruit is ripe!

Recorded at Akan Studio & Funhouse Studio in Bamako, Mali by Konan Kouassi & Philippe Sanmiguel
Produced, mixed and mastered by Hugo Race at Helixed Studio

A few words about the main " stars " :

- Samba Touré is Samba Touré.
- Anansy Cissé is a young songhoy artist for whom Sanmiguel has produced two albums, including the recent and acclaimed "Anoura".
- Mariam Koné is one of the most beautiful voices of Mali, who has a self-produced album and teaches music at the conservatory of Bamako.
- Singer Bocar Sana Coulibaly & Ali Traoré are singer and guitarist from Niafunké, nephews of the great Ali Farka Touré and have a band called Espoirs de Niafunké

This release presents all master takes from the legendary 1961 Village
Vanguard sets by the Bill Evans Trio, limited edition 180g high-definition
premium vinyl for super fidelity
Two classic albums culled from those sets: 'Sunday at the Village
Vanguard' (Riverside RLP9376) and 'Waltz for Debby' (Riverside RLP9399). It
would be the last recording by this formation of the group, with Scott LaFaro on
bass, and Paul Motian on drums, as LaFaro died ten days later in a car crash.

Stars Are the Light, the luminous seventh album by the American psych explorers Moon Duo, marks a progression into significantly new territory. From a preoccupation with the transcendental and occult that informed Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada’s guitar-driven psych rock, and reached its apotheosis in the acclaimed Occult Architecture diptych, Stars Are the Light sees the band synthesize the abstract and metaphysical with the embodied and terrestrial.

Branching out from Occult Architecture Vol. 2, the album has a sonic physicality that is at once propulsive and undulating; it puts dance at the heart of an expansive nexus that connects the body to the stars. These are songs about embodied human experience — love, change, misunderstanding, internal struggle, joy, misery, alienation, discord, harmony, celebration — rendered as a kind of dance of the self, both in relation to other selves and to the eternal dance of the cosmos.

Just over a decade ago, Japanese indie-pop duo Tenniscoats recorded »Papa's Ear« (2012) and »Tan-Tan Therapy« (2007), two albums made with musical and production help from Swedish post-rock/folk trio Tape. Originally released on Häpna, they are beautiful documents of the exploratory music made by a close-knit collective of musicians, fully at ease with each other, playing songs written by Tenniscoats and arranging them in gentle and generous ways. Released during a particularly productive time for Tenniscoats – during the late ‘00s and early ‘10s, they would also collaborate with Jad Fair, The Pastels, Secai and Pastacas – they have, however, never been available on vinyl. In collaboration with Alien Transistor, Morr Music is now reissuing these albums both digitally and on double vinyl, with extra tracks.

This reissue mini-series starts with »Papa’s Ear«. The second album from this expanded line-up of Tenniscoats, you can hear the musicians are immediately comfortable in each other’s presence, and they’ve almost intuitively understood what they can offer to one another. Saya and Ueno of Tenniscoats bring their magical, gentle folk-pop sensibility, and their winning way with straightforward, yet lush melodies. Johan Berthling, along with fellow Tape member Tomas Hallonsten, plus guests Fredrik Ljungkvist, Lars Skoglund, Andreas Söderstrom and Andreas Werlin, all generous and creative presences in the Swedish jazz underground, shades in the songs with endlessly inventive arrangements, highlighting the warmth and curiosity at the core of the Tenniscoats’ aesthetic – sometimes taking the songs in unexpected directions, other times pillowing the melodies with the softest of brushstrokes and the kindest of tones.

»Papa’s Ear« includes some of Tenniscoats’ most memorable songs. »Papaya« is a lustrous dreamland of a song, with the Swedish musicians singing ‘pa-pa-ya’ as an enchanted tattoo, while Saya’s piano and melodica clank and huff out, further expanding the song’s horizon. It’s followed by the spindly and mysterious »Sappolondon«, where drums and double-bass shuffle and pulse under weeping accordion and bittersweet clarinet. Saya’s voice sighs into the frame while the musicians breathe lungfuls of sweet drones and flick glittering countermelodies across the song’s surface. It reminds a little of the wild kindness of Movietone, or the regal charm of Carla Bley’s compositions.

Elsewhere, you can hear Tape and their friends embracing the freedom offered by the songs of Tenniscoats: see, for example, the glistening electronics in »På floden«, like a keyboard conducting a music box on a distant planet; or the descending phrase for winds on »Sabaku«, dovetailing beautifully into a creek of moon-lit texturology. The double-LP ends with two extra tracks, drawn from the 2008 Tenniscoats/Tape split single, also released by Häpna., »Lutie Lutie« is a sweet delight, driven by a clacking drum machine, the Tenniscoats duo joined by Hallonsten on glockenspiel and synthesizer, and special guest, Japanese indie-pop legend Kazumi Nikaido, as choir. »Come Maddalena« rounds off the set, a brooding cover of an Ennio Morricone tune, the music by Tape, the vocals by Tenniscoats and Nikaido. Open-hearted and full of puckish spirit, »Papa’s Ear« is an album of great tenderness and warm friendship.

Remember Rainbow Bridge', the new album by Croatian Amor, is a homage to youth and the delicate metamorphosis that occurs as childhood trips into maturity. Focused on this tender flux, the songs on 'Remember Rainbow Bridge' are infused with the restless energy of adolescence and a dawning sense of mortality. From the sun-kissed title track, to the night burn and wet pavement of 'Paper Birds', monumental highs are shuffled with great lows that we perhaps feel most clearly and earnestly in those formative years. Since the earliest collages committed to tape under the name of Croatian Amor, Loke Rahbek's alias has at every step gravitated towards constant discovery and experimentation. The sound collages are still present while the unity of each song's construction now often conceals the juxtapositions and overlapping edges. Employing a medley of diffuse electronic music traditions, fantastical synthetic worlds are evoked and while 'Remember Rainbow Bridge' heavily relies on rhythmic structures to propel the compositions, Croatian Amor continues to tend a highly textured field in his own inimitable way. 'Remember Rainbow Bridge' is a celebration of the liminal space between phases of life, the chrysalis of youth. It is a record about coming to terms with our ever-changing place in the world, its title urging us to see the world with a child's eye, to never forget the miraculous at play only an arm's-length away. "This world as we see it is passing away"

The Mutual Torture pay homage to many of their music heroes from the early 80es. Consequently, their modus operandi is deeply rooted in Post Punk paranoia, alien soundtracks, improvisation, and simulation. Their outcome is coolness that's glowing cold under the red sun, structure and order, and 12 transcendental messages. In the end, there are no more heroes left but just The Mutual Torture.
This band of non-standard humans appears with a conceptual approach to transforming the energy and the boldness of a genre which is known for its pioneering spirit, overwhelming playfulness and a strong desire to experiment. The Mutual Torture are soulmates of those who formed this genre: a German-Chilean band with an attitude and a plan to tour their album live. In particular: Tobias Freund (drum computers and electronics), André Schöne (bass), and Javiera González (vibrantly morphing vocals).
All tracks have been written and produced by Tobias Freund at Non Standard Studios ©2021.

Halestorm's last album was 2018's Vicious, and since then the chart topping, hard rocking band has been working keenly on a follow up. It was proceeded by the title single with a morbid looking video fearing band member Lzzy Hale in a bodybag, and then a run of sold out gigs in club and festivals all around the UK. The full album follows up in fine style and will not disappoint fans. It was produced by Nick Raskulinecz of Foo Fighters and Alice in Chains association with co-production by Scott Stevens and showcases great songwriter laden with mental health, redemption and survival themes.

Bongo Joe presents brand new sounds from the cutting-edge of the 21st century Istanbul underground by powerhouse Turkish trio Lalalar. Riding a wave of fierce energy and acclaim generated by their show-stopping festival performances at Le Guess Who and Trans Musicales, they now unleash their hotly-anticipated debut album, "Bi Cinnete Bakar". The brainchild of three of Turkey's most active and innovative alternative artists - Ali Güçlü Simsek, Barlas Tan Özemek and Kaan Düzarat - the album is a thrilling mix of punk energy, dark electronics and Turkish instrumentation and samples.

Submit to the beauty and sorrow, the poetry and power, of the sitar — that plucked string instrument with the long neck, pear-shaped gourd and origins in the courts of the Maharajahs of medieval India. Marvel at the astonishing prowess of Jasdeep Singh Degun, a sitarist who is steeped in the North Indian classical tradition — indeed, in the musical traditions of the Indian subcontinent — and proudly born, raised and based in Leeds, north of England. In May 2022, Jasdeep Singh Degun releases his debut album Anomaly on Real World Records — a project showcasing an almost preternatural musicality, a way with technique, improvisation, composition and collaboration that will dazzle purists and newcomers alike. Its twelve tracks range from inspired sitar solos and duelling sitar and guitar to all stops out cinematic journeying. Music rooted in the ancient repertoire of raags, the frameworks used in the improvised performances of Indian classical music, and delivered with contemporary flair

T. Gowdy has kept up a productive albeit mostly virtual pace since the release of Therapy With Colour (his third full-length album and first for Constellation) which dropped just as things were locking down back in spring 2020: performances at numerous festivals including MUTEK Montréal, Node Festival and NEW NOW; audiovisual pieces exhibited at various European galleries and events; a track and video for Constellation's Corona Borealis Longplay Singles Series; sound design for the documentary Atalaya by filmmaker Emma Roufs. Gowdy now returns with Miracles, his second full-length for Constellation, which draws on source materials originally performed in 2018 for an unreleased audio/visual project based around surveillance footage_a precursor to videocapped, monitor-based horizons that soon took on new meanings. Re-immersing himself in those recordings, Gowdy disassembles and deploys them as raw source material for new experiments with vactrols, noise gates and analog-to-digital triggering and aliasing, the original recordings juxtaposed anew amidst their successive textural and rhythmic treatments. Gowdy keeps this re-composition process stripped down, elemental and purposive, guided by an ascetic Aufhebung: synthesis as sublation_subjecting a temporal material/theme to analysis and transformation, reintegrating to form a whole that overcomes what it preserves without erasure, reshaping and intrinsically carrying its origins forward. Where Therapy With Colour was strictly and rigorously a set of stereo live performances, Miracles fuses iterative_though still spartan_layers of performance. "Therapy With Colour was about healing through self-hypnosis; Miracles is about forging a future with memory through subjection to trigger mechanisms" notes Gowdy. The result is a captivating collection of minimal IDM and oscillated electronics from the Montréal/Berlin producer, working primarily in a 120-140 BPM zone of tonal percussion and corrugated pulse. Gowdy's sensibility and sound palette gets deeper and dirtier, summoning new pathways of alluvial flicker and abraded euphoria. As the album progresses, low-pass gate vactrols coalesce into a clear and vital theme, conveying immanence through woody timbres at times reminiscent of the Shinrin-yoku aesthetic (Japanese `forest bathing'), though always with a grainy transcendence rather than invoking any clean pure sheen. Gowdy consistently heats and heightens the presence of each component in the mix, balancing different elements in democratic compression/distortion, attaining an unornamental and earnest form of mantric-industrial majesty. Miracles is live, corporeal, activated electronic music of the highest caliber, deployed with monastic and meditative focus.

Martin Matiske's superb new six-track EP Circle Of Enlightenment on LDI Records is based around the concept of one-mindedness and togetherness. This German artist was fascinated with mixing records as early as his 10th birthday and had his first release on the legendary International Deejay Gigolo Records aged just 15. In the 20 years since he has released a selection of records on labels like Moustache Records and Bordello A Parigi. His timeless sound comes with a vintage touch and always fuses electro, italo and techno in fresh new ways. This new EP aims to describe the direct connection between human beings and the universe. Martin says: "Human beings are aliens always looking for answers to questions like why are we here and what life is about? We know the answer but won't accept it. We are made up of the elements of space and are directly connected to the universe. Each person contains the energy of the universe and is connected with everything that surrounds it. We are one! We are here because we are here! Our mission is to be!" The EP opens with 'Memory', and Martin explains that "Remembering is the ability to do things right but most of the time it causes pain." The track is a slick and icy electro workout with gorgeous retro-future pads bringing a cosmic sense of soul while the corrugated bass keeps busy below. 'Breakout' describes breaking out of normal thought and reaching a state of "no-mind." It is a playful and dynamic electro cut with characterful bass and synth stabs like shooting stars as shimmering arps ride up and down the scale. 'Lost In Space' deals with the idea that human beings on earth are just as lost in space as aliens. It's an interplanetary electro trip with glistening synths shining bright next to more twisted, tortured bass. 'Microbot' is about miniature robots that make our lives easier and ride on a punchy bassline, with neck-snapping snares and pads that circle around like spacecraft during battle. It is another lush electro workout that leads into 'Stars' and pays homage to the importance of these twinkling rays of light. It's a widescreen track with withering leads, cyborg vocals, and a real sense of hope as the snappy drums march into an unknown future. Last of all, 'Solaris' pays tribute to the life-giving force of the sun with another super crisp electro groove, slithering arps and conversational pads that make both a physical and emotional impact. Circle Of Enlightenment is a brilliantly adventurous and storytelling new EP from the ever-excellent Martin Matiske.

First time reissue of the holy grail of Colombian garage music, originally released in 1967. Includes two wonderful covers of the Californian band Count Five: 'Psychotic Reaction' and 'They're Gonna Get You', as well as the stellar original 'Cosmos 901'. DESCRIPTION In the mid-sixties, when the temperature of modern youth music was at its highest, Colombian label Codiscos placed its bet on some of the emerging figures of Colombian pop and two exciting wild bands: Los Flippers and Los Streaks. After the fleeting brilliance of the so-called "new wave", the 4-song EPs released by the label -mainly for promotional use- lay forgotten on the shelves of radio stations or stored in the musty trunks of the fans who managed to buy the few copies that were distributed by the record label. Today it's incredibly difficult to find any of these EPs released by Codiscos between 1965 and 1967 in mint condition, with the original sleeve. Los Streaks didn't just come out of nowhere, it was the brainchild of the radio DJ, manager and promoter Édgar Restrepo Caro. Towards the end of 1966, while working as the manager of Los Flippers, Caro became fascinated with the idea of creating a group made up of some of the most talented musicians on the Bogota rock circuit. On January 20, 1967, Los Streaks made their debut at the discotheque El Diábolo as a warm-up act. The following weeks were crazy: they appeared on national television, starred at matinee sessions at two major venues in Bogota, and headlined at the concert organized by the music magazine Juventud a Go 67. During this short period, they established a powerful stage presence, combining exquisite musicianship and a sharp sense of humor. Their repertoire was also bold, encompassing Giuseppe Verdi, The Beatles, Pérez Prado, The Ventures or Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels. The band's solid sound was perfectly aligned to Codiscos' interests. After some enthusiastic promotion by their manager, Humberto Moreno met them, and they signed a contract to release two LPs. In mid-1967 they traveled to Medellín and recorded eleven tracks that would shape the first of these albums. One of these songs was kept back for "El disco de oro a Go-Go" (LDZ-20331), while the rest were included in "OPERAción A Go-Go" (LDZ-20343), released on August 12 of the same year. It included four songs that the label had released on an EP, which decades later has become the holy grail of Colombian garage music. The stunning "Reacción sicótica" EP includes the stellar 'Cosmos 901' composed by Manuel Jiménez, the sparkling 'Escápate mi amor' (a cover of the classic 'Get Away' by Georgie Fame that they most probably heard in the version recorded by the Spanish band Los Angeles) and two wonderful covers of the Californian garage band Count Five: 'Psychotic Reaction' and 'They're Gonna Get You': 'Reacción sicótica' and 'Soy así_ y qué?'. Four hits that shook things up memorably.

The Epitaph debut from pop punk upstarts, MAGNOLIA PARK
Contrary to what some may say, pop punk is alive and well in 2021, and groups
like MAGNOLIA PARK are making sure it stays that way. Hailing from Orlando,
Florida, MAGNOLIA PARK is a five- piece consisting of lead vocalist Joshua
Roberts, guitarists Tristan Torres and Freddie Criales, bassist Jared Kay, and
drummer Joe Horsham.In recent years, experimental sounds and more personal
lyrics have dominated the pop punk scene. While staying true to the genre's roots,
the members of MAGNOLIA PARK bring their own twist to the table with louder,
angrier vocals and a fusion of genres ranging from hip-hop and emo to hardcore
and alt rock.

Another certified classic of an EP gets a much-deserved reissue. This time the fabled G.O.D alias of Grant Nelson and Simon Firmin aka 24 Hour Experience, with the first of their sough-after Limited series. Three ’94 UKG heaters - raw, raucous, soulful and bumping just how you want it. Remastered from the original DAT’s and working just as well as now as they did back in the day. Grab a slice of history right here.

Finnish acid label ProForm Series is back! New release by Finnish duo HYV contains four new absolute killer tracks to set every dancefloor on fire and leave it burning.

As a starter, title track "Kävele Ohi" serves serious acid workout with nice (Finnish) lyrics on top. Haunting, melodic, melancholic, pulsating and more, all at once!

"Halfway Acid" on A2 combines acid action to shakuhachi samples, a combination you haven't heard for a while, or never. Instant classic!

B-side opens up with track "Ketä Siellä?", making a good relationship between acid and house, but keeping that TB-303 alive and kicking.

Finally, "H-Town Pressure" shows you how to make danceble acid with interesting rhythm arrangements and other than 16 step length acid patterns.

Highly limited and numbered edition of 200pcs, no digital downloads now or never, so buy it in real world 12" vinyl format!

Through darkness diamonds spread their richest light…

Part four is here with Zakmina from Lithuania, Elfenberg from Sweden and Some Chemistry and Pete Beluga & Du Chatinier from Amsterdam, The Netherlands!

It’s been more than a year since our last release on Suction Records, and we’re excited to be back with the introduction of a new artist to the label’s roster. In fact, this split 12” serves as an introduction to both Useless Idea, and Seven Nights Alone, two aliases from the same Italian artist and producer, Cesare Bignotti. The split also serves as a taster for two forthcoming Suction Records full-length LPs, coming soon from both aliases.

Useless Idea, with previous under-the-radar cassette album releases on WéMè Records (2018’s “Acid Hologram”) and EVES Music (2020’s “Xa Peh”), has been quietly recording his own brand of inventive, playful, and melodic IDM/braindance for more than 20 years. We’ve been slowly compiling Useless Idea’s debut vinyl full-length for several years now, and the resulting “Glitch In The Colors” will be released later this year on 2LP vinyl, covering the span of his 20+ years of recording. From “Glitch…” we’ve included standout cut “Mello Tron” alongside two tracks that are exclusive to this split 12”.

Seven Nights Alone is a more recent alias, and outside of 1 track released on a compilation, this marks the new alias’ debut release. There is an undeniable Boards Of Canada influence here, but this is a unique and sophisticated take on BOC’s woozy and melancholy electronica. Both “Soft Where” (a menacing, futuristic instrumental hip hop killer) and “Walkman” (like a BoC “Campfire Headphase” outtake but on an optimistic tip) are taken from Seven Nights Alone’s debut 2LP vinyl full-length “Another Place”, to be released on Suction Records in 2023, alongside a 3rd track that’s exclusive to this split 12”.



Vinyl is limited to 200 copies, and comes with a Bandcamp download card.

After a series of self-released vinyl singles, PM Warson emerged in 2021 with the album "True Story", combing elements of vintage R'n'B and Soul with an authenticity and energy that appealed fans and critics alike. Breakout single "(Don't) Hold Me Down" had surfaced initially among soul collectors, before finding a wider audience, first on a Fred Perry editorial, and then on mainstream European radio. Having tipped the album on his Funk & Soul Show, the BBC's Craig Charles also included the single on his popular "Trunk of Funk" compilation series. Not one to wait around, despite the various challenges of the pandemic, Warson returns, just over a year on, with his second offering: "Dig Deep Repeat".

While his debut record waited in line at the pressing plant, he began trying out ideas at a makeshift studio in an industrial storage space in Stoke Newington. As lockdown was lifted enough to bring in his rhythm section, a new set of tunes started to emerge. Despite a growing thirst following his first release, there was little opportunity to play live, with social and travel restrictions remaining in place on-and-off throughout the year. It became clear that his best way through was to make another LP. He expanded the operation, bringing in players, working to an 8-track recorder to forge a new record. Subsequent sessions at Gizzard Recording also produced a direct-to-tape session for Blues Kitchen.

On "Dig Deep Repeat" he further explores his vocabulary, with elements of 60s rock and soul, shades of New Wave, and some cosmic colors beneath the moody blues. It's a direct and focused LP, presenting an artist on the move, two albums deep, with time to make up for.

Benoit B aka Terra Utopia breaks out into another auspicious alias for Step Ball Chain, Blu:sh - metamorphosed; coming in hot and heavy, sexy and sophisticated. Bass down, *ss up! The ambitious 6 tracker “Lovebite” fuses forms of dance; reworking elements from niche corners of the Step stratosphere that can result in freaky combustion. Breathing life and lust into every phrase, we are fortunate to be offered an intimate glimpse into a complex world of sound, filled with bold and brash inspired statements, rhythmically rolling the dice with snap lock precision. The cherry on top is served via a vocal collusion from fellow associate noff, the web expanding as the label delves deeper into futuristic tech territory, the prolific producer pushing their own boundaries and desires for new meticulous audio spectrum and ethereal realms.

The trio of flirtatious tracks laid bare on the A side read as a love letter to 4/4 naughty nocturnal testimonies. Opening auspiciously; Tighten Up dips into nasty grit, a sub centered excursion into the technological domain, sleazy and stripped back with modest tenacity. Candy Land sugarcoats the status quo of pumped up prog, playfully in the driver's seat and revving 100 miles per hour toward Hush highway; narrated by Greek cyber enigma noff.. An atmospheric deep trance kissed club chant. Opposites attract and find points of connection on the flip of Lovebite, the B side boasting a mutually slick sharpness permeating the record; blending sparse bass focused broken beat expeditions with liquid dnb; genially abstract mood boards of sampling mayhem; cut and spliced in addictive fashion. Flushes of gorgeous esoteric harmonic soundscapes fill out the rhythmical chaos, grounding and expanding the mind through a lush & plush tint woven in Recess and Heaven Spot alike.

A perfect prophecy destined for Step Ball Chain, Blu:sh’s first, yet expertly curated EP sets the bar high as hell. Divine dance music that can’t help but push boundaries; confronting and challenging our archival references and perceptions of genres and classifications, arguably the best kind of auditory statement.

25TH DELUXE ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF AMERICAN BABYLON FEATURING LIVE TRACKS WITH BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Grushecky and his band had been a club fixture in the Northeast for nearly 25 years when they released American Babylon in 1995. The Pittsburgh band had proven themselves to be the consummate bar band with occasional flirtations with national success. American Babylon found them teaming up with Bruce Springsteen, who handles production, plays on several tracks, and wrote two songs for the album. The title track is an uptempo rocker detailing the disintegration of societal mores. There are plenty of songs outlining love gone wrong and the struggles of common folk, all delivered in Grushecky’s warm, well-worn voice over a barroom mixture of blues-based traditional rock. However, delivered with such earnestness and spirit makes American Babylon a worthy contender and an enjoyable listen for fans of Mellencamp, Seger, and, especially, Springsteen. The 25th anniversary deluxe reissue edition will include LIVE tracks from the Houserockers’ legendary October Assault Tour recorded at an enthusiastic hometown show that same year. “American Babylon is an impassioned, sharply-etched portrait of working-stiff triumphs and travails.” -Rick Reger, Chicago Tribune “As the leader of the Pittsburgh-based Iron City Houserockers, Joe Grushecky hammered out four heartland rock albums in the late 70s and early 1980s. These won over more critics than fans, so he became a special education teacher to support his family. Still, he maintained a close relationship with Bruce Springsteen, and in 1995, they teamed up for American Babylon. The two remain tight and play together at least once a year, but this album remains their greatest joint accomplishment.” -Rolling Stone “At a time when rock had splintered into grunge, industrial, alternative, and more, Joe Grushecky planted a defiant flag in the soul of rock and roll with American Babylon--one of the very best and undeservedly overlooked albums of the 1990s, and one that sounds just as fresh, vibrant, and relevant 25 years later. Bruce Springsteen may have helped bring the album to life, but his contributions only elevate a collection of songs that in another time would have been radio classics on their own.” -Ken Rosen, E Street Shuffle

Without the West German-born Väth, techno would look, sound and feel very different. Since falling in love with electronic music and DJing in 1981, his dedication to the art has never faltered. He plays every party as if it were his last. His broad smile has connected with millions of people around the world. His colourful and curious character has imbued techno with a personality it was often lacking. His selections remain hugely unpredictable, despite the fact that he has been playing around the world for more than 40 years. To remain not only relevant but innovative after so long is a testament to Sven's ability to connect through music on a deeper level.

Technically, of course, he is a DJ who can play for thirty hours and not miss a beat. His track selections seem almost divine, and his aura is certainly otherworldly. But more than that, he is a ringleader who is able to mix the artful side of techno with the playful side of partying. Most famously he has done this for more than 20 years at his iconic Cocoon parties in Ibiza. They single-handedly introduced techno to the White Isle and have been its beating heart ever since. Under his charge, strict style guidelines and exaggerated pigeonholing no longer apply. Instead, he has perfected the art of playing far and wide while always remaining true to his own musical identity.

In the studio, Sven has always been just as unique. He has worked under several aliases but always brought a fresh perspective. Whether securing chart hits as part of OFF in the eighties, serving up brutalist techno and trance-tinged sounds in the nineties or crafting major label albums in the 2000s, his music has remained utterly forward-looking. That legacy continues with Catharsis as Sven teams up with highly respected producer Gregor Tresher for his latest long-form offering. Tresher has long been part of the Cocoon family and is a revered artist in his own right, when the two got together in the studio it was clear they had an instant connection and there would only be one person fit to co-author this LP.

It is a record inspired by Sven's interest in the physical and spiritual processes that take place when we dance. "They are realms into which we immerse ourselves to experience our own mysticism and ecstasy," he muses. "Dancing is a conversation between body and soul and it spiritually connects us with each other." Because of the pandemic, that is of course a feeling that we all missed out on for so long. "No dancing, no paradise!" says Sven. "My imagination for this record was fueled by the many cultural experiences and encounters I have had in my life. They gave me the strength to find a way, the way to myself." And that way to himself is through music, through purifying dancing rituals and the exchange of spiritual energies that are generated in the club.

The thirteen-track album explores all facets of Sven's sound. It opens with the stomping drums but sleek synths of 'What I Used To Play' and unfolds through deep and dirty rhythms like 'The Worm', subtly euphoric highs on 'The Inner Voice' and the bubbly tribalism of the title track. There is the impassioned call-to-arms that is 'Feiern', peak-time melodic workout 'Mystic Voices' and soothing electronic lullabies like 'Being In Love'. The second half of the album takes in many more twists and turns such as the exotic strings and driving drums of 'Butoh', the paranoid techno minimalism of 'NYX' and expansive synthscapes of ambient gem 'The Cranes Of Gangtey Valley' before things play out though rugged beats and emotive chords on 'We Are', which is named after the idea that we are what we think. "With our thoughts, we make the world.? says Sven.

Then comes the moody reflection of 'Silvi's Dream', which was written in French for Sven's girlfriend. Last but not least we have the immersive dream that is 'Panta Rhei', which completes a trio of electronica tunes on the album. Ambient music has been an integral part on almost every album Sven has written because it can bring a certain emotional deepness, a quality that Sven always has been looking for.

'Catharsis' is an adventurous album that captures the good times, the sad times and, most importantly, the times of hope.

World Circuit Records has made its reputation by producing some of the finest albums of the past three decades. The label is best known for the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club album (and associated solo artists Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo and Rubén González), which is the biggest selling world music album of all time and has contributed to the phenomenal rise in popularity of Cuban, as well as Latin American, music.

World Circuit is also home to a number of revered African artists including the late Tony Allen (whose Afrobeat-jazz collaboration with Hugh Masekela ‘Rejoice’ was released to great critical acclaim in March 2020), iconic blues pioneer Ali Farka Touré (whose classic Grammy-winning ‘Talking Timbuktu’ album, recorded with Ry Cooder, brought the label early international acclaim), Malian divas and social activists Oumou Sangaré and Fatoumata Diawara, master kora player Toumani Diabaté, the illustrious Orchestra Baobab and musical iconoclast Cheikh Lô.

With 25th Anniversary celebrations of Buena Vista Social Club under way throughout 2021 and 2022, World Circuit are planning further brand new releases in 2022 and beyond, continuing to bring diverse, genre-defying music to a wider audience.

Founded in 2006 by Vincent Bertholet (Hyperculte), the Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp is a large-scale project. Designed as a real orchestra, the size of the ensemble has varied over time. Now with 12 members, 14 in the past or 6 at the beginning, the ensemble has scoured the stages of Europe todemonstrate that the formula "the more the merrier" has never been more true than on stage. Whether in prestigious festivals (Paléo Festival de Nyon, Fusion Festival, Incubate, Womad, Bad Bonn Kilbi, Jazz à la Vilette) or on the four albums released since its launch, the group shows an incredible fluidity. The Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp (a mischievous title in homage to traditional African groups -Orchestre Tout Puissant Konono nd1, Orchestre Tout Puissant Polyrytmo etc... -and to one of the greatest dynamizers of 20th century art) embraces the forms of its musicians while pushing them to their limits. The result is a powerful, experimental, unstable and terribly alive, organic sound.

Modern Obscure Music turns to Japan for inspiration. Suemori debuts on the Barcelona based imprint with an album of striking textures and sounds. From the first track, you can feel the influence of the Far East in both the melodies and rhythms created by Suemori. The music is complemented by Mayte Nicole Esteban fs impressive artwork.
Suemorifs real name is Yoshinobu Hoshina. He previously recorded as Hoshina Anniversary. Under this alias, Hoshina released music on labels such as Boysnoize Records and ESP Institute. As Suemori he released the Maebashi album earlier in 2021 on Elena Colombifs Osare! Editions imprint.

Tawamure is an album of richly textured compositions. Pianos and electronics are equally important. Some tracks are beatless and others have an unorthodox approach to percussion. We begin with the playful yet sombre pianos and strings of Mou Aenaindesune ‚à‚¤‰ï‚¦‚È‚¢‚ñ‚Å‚·‚Ë. Honshin –S has a magical beauty and Konton ¬“× Chaos is as chaotic as you would expect. There is so much to explore on this wonderful album from Suemori.

For WEMA, collaboration is a state of mind. The five-piece collective - consisting of Tanzanian multi-instrumentalist Msafiri Zawose, producer Photay and Penya members Magnus P.I, Lilli Elina and Jimmy le Messurier - is an artistic pursuit founded on community; a space in which to harness the transformative power of connection. Translated from Swahili, 'wema' means kindness and benevolence - virtues that lie at the core of the project, and are reflected in the group's world-embracing approach to music. "WEMA is a state of gratitude and belief, without sorrow or grief. It's about giving your entire heart," Msafiri declares. WEMA's beginnings, however, have a more cosmic origin. As the world ground to a halt in March 2020, Photay and Magnus were both feeling the strain of creative burnout. Both artists had been keen to collaborate for a while, but the stars never quite aligned - until an off-hand conversation about the pressures of losing yourself to a project sparked an unlikely moment of inspiration. The pair began exchanging their backlog of beats, home-spun demos and unfinished ideas. Before they knew it, their songs began to take real shape - and it was some of the most invigorating music they'd ever written.

Heavy Machinery Records and Tee Pee Records are very excited to announce 'Tales of Torment', the new record from Melbourne horror rock juggernaut Rot TV, out February 18, 2022. The record is led by first single 'Ready To Die', a relentless, loud n' proud rock number with "just the right ratio of headbangery to boogie woogie".

Rot TV are lovers of all things freakish and gritty - be it a demented old Lovecraft tale, or a BÖC tune on full blast. Their debut vinyl release FDA/Transylvanian Nights was a hard n’ heavy double feature of howling, riff-crazy horror rock, and their brand new debut LP Tales of Torment delivers all this and more. Rot TV have described their forthcoming album as a delightful journey to hell and back dedicated to ALL maniacs - and that means YOU.
credits
released February 18, 2022

Harriet Hudson-Clise - lead vocals
Graham Clise - guitars, percussion & vocals
Robert Muiños - guitars, percussion & vocals
Zac Holly - bass, synthesizer & vocals
Lee Parker - drums, percussion & vocals

Recorded, mixed and produced by Robert Muiños at Sauna Studios, Collingwood in 2021
Mastered by John Davis at Metropolis Mastering
Front cover painting by Chris Grande
Logo & handwriting by Harriet Hudson-Clise
Design and collage by Luke Fraser at Grin Creative
Project coordination by Amber Arizono
Series curated and produced by Miles Brown

Hello Young Lovers is the 20th studio album by Sparks and was originally released on 6th February 2005. The album was the most commercially popular Sparks album since the 1970s.

Hello Young Lovers has been newly remastered for this LP reissue, which will be released on heavyweight vinyl.

This album will be launched alongside a comprehensive Marketing campaign, including brand new assets, as well as archival material from the time of the original launch. We have access to the Sparks socials, which we will utilise for boosted posts, ads and organic posts. The release will also be launched alongside a PR campaign, which should secure coverage across digital and print media.

After a 7 year hiatus Myor are finally back with the fourth instalment of their Tropical Heat series. The formula: 6 tracks by 6 different producers, spanning a wide array of styles and genres.

Motëm and Light Club both provide the half tempo vibes, harking back to the label's skweee and hip hop roots.

Breda native Muxi gets dusty and wobbly on a PO-33 tip with his off-kilter shuffler Strung, whereas Alex Lay-Far lays down some serious mid tempo breakbeat heat, giving praise to early 90s hardcore and golden era trip hop alike.

Finally, new school jungle wizard Sempra and label head honcho Coco Bryce come correct with some 160 cuteness on Touch and Closer respectively.

‘Call To Arms & Angels’ is the title of the twelfth studio album from South London collective Archive.

 A 17-track double CD / triple LP recorded at RAK studios in London and released on
Dangervisit/PIAS.

 Deluxe editions of the album also include a bonus ‘Super8’ album of new and
exclusive instrumentals, as featured in the band’s ‘Super8’ documentary that will
accompany the release of the album.

 Produced by Archive and long-time collaborator Jérome Devoise, ‘Call To Arms &
Angels’ is the band’s first studio set since 2016’s ‘The False Foundation’.

 Talking about the new album, Darius Keeler says, “Writing our twelfth studio album
was an extraordinary time for the band. The song writing became an unfolding
narrative as the world got stranger and more disturbing every day. With people’s
freedoms being pushed to the brink, the suffering Covid caused and the terrible
events in the US lead by Trump and the rise of the Right, anything seemed possible.

 “To reflect on these times as artists brought up a darkness and an anger, but also a
strange kind of inspiration that was at times unsettling. It really made us appreciate
the power of music and how lucky we are to be able to express our feelings in this
way.

 “It seems there is light at the end of the tunnel, but there are always shadows within
that light.”

 Deluxe 2CD album plus ‘Super8’ bonus CD in 40-page casebound Polaroid
bookpack.

 2CD album.

 Deluxe vinyl box set with white coloured vinyl 3LP (exclusive to this box set), ‘Super8’
bonus LP on white vinyl (exclusive to this box set), deluxe 3CD with Polaroid booklet
and 12” x 12” art print.

 Triple LP on gold vinyl in triple gatefold sleeve.
 Triple LP on green vinyl in triple gatefold sleeve.
 Triple LP on black vinyl in triple gatefold sleeve.

Italy’s up and coming power rock trio Cripta Blue were
formed in 2019 by members of bands like Desert
Wizard, Rising Dark and Talismanstone.

 Being no strangers to the heavy music scene, the trio
skilfully play an enthralling and vibrant blend of dark
though funky and fuzzy psych rock, jamming heavy
power blues and a remarkable primordial sound of
NWOBHM doom.

 Cripta Blues‘ debut full-album has the psychedelic
mood you can’t help but to dive into, with gloomy lyrics
and the hint of a cult horror classic. The baritone
vocals of frontman and bassist Andrea Giuliani are
shrouded by acid and fuzz rock soundscapes, full of
power blues and with the soul of doom.
 Andrea Giuliani says: “Our dark creature is finally
alive. Our personal blend of doom and psych rock
looks back on the past. On the exciting wild end 60’s
and the dark early 70’s with their proto type of heavy
rock and doom metal. We use no occult lyrics, but
instead distorted and horrible metaphors of what it
means to taste life and to live it sinking deep,
surrounded by the living dead.”

 ‘Tombstone’ features Witchwood-vocalist Ricky Dal
Pane.

 For fans of Blue Cheer, Witchfinder General, Budgie,
Cream, The Stooges, Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath,
MC5, Iron Claw, Motorhead, Vanilla Fudge, May Blitz,
Mountain, Pentagram, The Obsessed.

 LP pressed on red vinyl

Honeyglaze are the South London-based, Haiku-loving trio comprised of vocalist and guitarist Anouska Sokolow, bassist Tim Curtis and Yuri Shibuichi on drums.

 Born out of lead songwriter Sokolow’s un-desire to be a solo act, the group met officially at their first ever rehearsal - just three days ahead of what was to become a near-residency, at their favoured Windmill in Brixton. Forming a mere eighteen-months ahead of a subsequent eighteen-months of mandatory solitude, a parallel that’s both aligned and universally un-timely, Honeyglaze, at first appearance, are a group who play with chance, time, and synergetic fate, in mannerisms few others are able to do.

 Pricking the ears of seminal producer Dan Carey and his team of merry tastemakers, the Speedy Wunderground / Honeyglaze partnership would manifest into a dynamic that, despite not having met prior, quite simply just worked.

 Much like the eponymously debuted statements of contemporary folk-singer Bedouine’s ‘Bedouine’, ‘Crosby, Stills and Nash’, or, dare we suggest Madonna’s ‘Madonna’, ‘Honeyglaze’ the album presents to the world an audibly picturesque documentation of soul-searching, in all its figment’s of reality; a proclamation of cultivated intent which in turn creates a subliminal safe-space between relatability and self-projection, and creative-comradery paired with introspective artistry.

 A self-described “opposite to a concept album” that sonically encapsulates the who, what, where and how of their individual circumstances coming together as one, Honeyglaze is a meticulously transformative feat of which, in their own eyes, is a “quite accurate” sonic encapsulation of who the trio believe to be.

 This is storytelling at its most soulful, and ‘Honeyglaze’ presents human instinct in a manner that accepts all of the insecurities that come from their present adolescence, whilst acknowledging the formative maturity that’s earned when we allow ourselves to embrace the unknown, of our futures ahead.

 “If someone is going to find you special - then you want to show what’s most special about yourself,” notes Curtis. “Then you can do what you want from there.”

 Mixing the personal with romanticised ideals in ways that are simultaneously heart-wrenching, and humorous to a dead pan effect, there is no one trajectory for Honeyglaze, whose greatest ability is finding ways to present what’s written in-between the lines, in moments of beautifully well-versed clarity.

 In their own words: “Hi we are Honeyglaze, and there’s no time to explain.”

Bristol techno, noise and hardcore supremos SCALPING are
releasing their highly anticipated debut album ‘Void’.
‘Void’ comes on the heels of an extremely exciting 2021 for the
band, which saw them play to sold-out crowds at the Roundhouse
twice in two weeks - both on tour with Squarepusher and at
Pitchfork Festival London - as well as releasing two widely
acclaimed EPs titled ‘FLOOD’ and ‘FLOOD Remixed’, the latter of
which featured treatments from producers Hodge, Azu Tiwaline,
object blue, AQXDM and Laurel Halo and Scottish instrumental
rock legends Mogwai.

SCALPING are heavy metal in 4D; the sound is moody, distorted
and rhythmic, but the use of electronic techniques gives the finer
details room to breathe, making more space for experimentation.
Tracks such as ‘Tether’, featuring Oakland rapper DÆMON, puts
a modern, metal twist on Bristolian trip-hop, whereas album closer
‘Remain in Statis’ features fast-rising artist Grove, a Bristol-based
rapper and self-professed metalhead whose commanding
presence sets the track alight.

In the heat and darkness, it’s a swarm of low-end frequencies and
ripping guitars, somewhere between Black Sabbath-esque
psychedelica and The Bug’s sub-bass headfuckery. Live, the
effect is immense. SCALPING play continuously for the duration of
their sets, generating a storm of metal-and-techno through a rising
beats-per-minute count.

‘Void’ will be put to the test, as the band kicks off an eight-date UK
headline tour, culminating in a live performance at fabric on May
5th. As live shows return in 2022, SCALPING will continue to
prove themselves as one of the UK’s most impressive, ambitious,
and original new live bands.

Radio: Total Rock Radio, Primordial Radio, HRH Radio & regional Rock Shows. Press: Metal Hammer, ZT, Kerrang! on-line, Fistful Of Metal, Record Collector, Classic Rock, Power Play, HRH Mag. Online: Facebook ads, Youtube pre-roll ads, Instagram ads and banner ads on key Metal sites. 150K label database mailing. Advertising: Metal Hammer, ZT.

Don't let the postcard-generic cover art fool you, Summer Brings The Sunshine stands head and shoulders above nearly any major label country rock album crowding mid-'70s record bins. Next to the hundreds or even thousands of slick productions flowing out of Nashville and Los Angeles, Jimmy Carter scoured his rural Missouri surroundings for farmhands and semi-pros alike to lay down eight farm-isolated originals in 1977. Tasty female backing vocals, languid pedal steel, and feisty guitar licks abound on this exalted and near-peerless slice of Cosmic American Music.

Working with producer Paul Butler (The Bees, Micheal Kiwanuka, Caroline Rose, Hurray for the Riff Raff), Seratones have taken the invitation to knock at the door of the cosmos. A.J. Haynes's voice dances with soul-stirring devotion at the altar of Black Feminisms: weaving the words Toni Cade Bambara, Octavia Butler's Xenogenesis multiverse, echoes of bell hooks, and Audre Lorde's Power of the Erotic. With drummer Jesse Gabriel's machine- like precision and the
transcendental touches from guitarist Travis Stewart, the album oscillates between Alice Coltrane-inspired bliss & Giorgio Moroder's ecstatic release. Each song hovers and pulsates in the wide, dark matter'constellations guiding a journey through the subtle body, the vast fullness of the human experience and the irresistible potential of liberation.Packaging: CD Digipack

"The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine", wrote the French Surrealists almost 100 years ago, and from this missive stems the parlor game in which we partake here. Through obscuring the tower itself, they cobble together meandering staircases in which to ascend with absent-minded haste; spontaneous line-weaving amasses figures and phrases into new planes of thought, therefore holding captive the illusion of creative reciprocity. Although housed in unrecognizable quarters, dull rain now tallies itself upon your window panes just as it once kept count on theirs. Apparitions unknown sound instruments of winding origin in celebration of the ink dry in the well. A graffito of tea leaves stains the porcelain cup.

This cloven tall-tale traces an epistolary journey between id and consciousness upon a page that has been adorned and wiped clean again and again and again. The wet meadow expands and contracts within a breath, moving through the windpipe to expel upon the glistening dew. From this dew rises anthills of diminishing complexity, and busying themselves within insanity, the occupants labor to hold fast against the unseen wave of oblivion.

An exercise in aleatoric sentence-finishing between two aligned performers, The Exquisite Corpse Shall Drink the New Wine mimics the economics of unconscious beauty-making to such a degree that light will neither pass through it nor divert its path. Draw upon it what you will, and ready yourself for the unrelenting ataraxy.

Yet another all killer no filler album from Omar S!

Prolific and singular Japanese producer Hoshina Anniversary presents Hyakunin Isshu, a two tracker of extended jaunts deeper into the mystery than he’s yet dared to venture. With a growing reputation for sizzling productions combining propulsive house rhythms with gyrating arpeggios and textured sound design punctured by jazz-inflected keys, Hyakunin Isshu further expands the limits.

On Hyakunin Isshu, Hoshina Anniversary paces it out over the course of two complimentary side-long runs. The A side Karakurenaini rides on a steady 4/4 as cycling percussion loops, squelchy acid basslines and angular piano chords float in and out of the mix. Deployed and rinsed to peak effect, it's relentless repetition evolves just enough to get completely lost in.

On side B Kirigirisu slows the pace down to a crawl, a lurching rhythm and haunting riff ascending almost to the point of vertigo toppling and giving way to a sci-fi drum break, a stirring prolonged break and triumphant culmination, it’s slow-mo future strut equally indebted to melodies of the past.

Hyakunin Isshu is named for Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, an anthology of delicate, reflective Japanese poetry comprised of works from the 12th and 13th centuries. Both tracks share their titles with different entries in the series.

Hoshina Anniversary is the alias of Yoshinobu Hoshina, a reverent reinterpreter of jazz, dance music and traditional Japanese instrumentation. The last couple of years have seen the producer from the Tokyo suburbs release a torrent of inimitable missives on esteemed maisons disques like ESP Institute, Osare Editions, Alien Jams and Youth. Also forthcoming in the summer of 2022 is an LP on Impatience.

Linda Fredriksson (they/them) shares their debut solo album "Juniper" on We Jazz Records, 29 Oct 2021. Linda (of Mopo and Superposition) has been working on the compositions heard on the album for several years, composing them mostly on guitar, keys and by singing. Only later have they been arranged for the band heard on the album, including Fredriksson on saxes and various instruments, Tuomo Prättälä (of ilmiliekki Quartet) on rhodes, moog and piano, Minna Koivisto on modular synth, moog and OP, Olavi Louhivuori (of Superposition) on drums, and Mikael Saastamoinen (of OK:KO and Superposition) on bass, plus featuring the Swedish artist Matti Bye on piano.

At heart, "Juniper" is a "singer-songwriter album", performed by an instrumental jazz band. The end result is unique, personal, and as Linda themself puts it "quiet and introspective". The first single from the album is "Neon Light and the sky was trans", "a song from the shining streets – the beginning of something new", featuring field recordings of rain falling down behind the window of Linda's Helsinki working space.

It's a fitting introduction to an album full on wonders and carefully crafted secrets ready to be discovered. "Juniper" is a world unto itself, and Fredriksson describes the process as one of isolation and of learning slowly to do new things. After the demo stage, the songs were taken to the full band, but what's on the record often stays true to the minimal nature of the early demos. Linda credits their co-producer Minna Koivisto as a key ally in the process of maintaining the demo sessions' fragile beauty on the actual finished record.

With regards to instrumentation, those who have heard Linda Fredriksson in Mopo and Superposition are likely to be surprised by their credit listing including not only alto and baritone saxophones, plus bass clarinet, but also guitar, Rhythmic8 synths, ambience recordings and drum programming. Linda describes the way of finding new sounds through their beloved old guitar as follows: "It's an old acoustic guitar that has been hit by a car and is literally full of holes, but that makes the sound just perfect for this album and you can hear the instrument on 'Pinetree song' and 'Lempilauluni' (Finnish for 'My Loved Song')."

In fact, Linda began their music-making with guitar and vocals, and the debut of the hole-filled vintage acoustic guitar makes perfect sense here, while also describing the album's immediate sound perhaps better than any other individual instrument used. The influence list for the album name checks the likes of Feist, Neil Young, Susanne Sundfør, Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Eric Dolphy and Fever Ray, yet the number one inspiration for Fredriksson prior to making the album was "Carrie and Lowell", the 2017 album by Sufjan Stevens. Different as the albums are in terms of instrumentation and general scope, it's fascinating to draw parallels between them by listening to the quietness and immediacy of the music. "Nana – Tepalle" also relates to the world of "Carrie and Lowell" in being a dedication to a lost family member, Linda's grandmother (she is featured in the digital single artwork).

Throughout the album, Linda plays their saxophones in a way that is serving music first and foremost. The musician's ego, so often at the forefront in jazz, takes a backseat, and the songs themselves remain. Linda thinks as a composer, utilising their instrument where and how necessary, not presenting "chops". "It's sometimes hard to play simple," they say, "but I tried to follow my instinct about what the songs need. The mood rules here, any solos or improvisations happen around that at all times."

"Juniper" can still be heard as a jazz album, but perhaps one reminding that the word doesn't need to mean any one thing in particular. At its best, jazz music is highly personal and "of the moment", both true on "Juniper". The album has been made in two different studios, three homes, two summer cottages and four working spaces. It was recorded with professional studio equipment but also with an iPhone and on a basic built-in laptop speaker. With that, "Juniper" stands as a remarkable musical diary of a creative musician and composer during the early 2020's.

"Way back in the 1990s, Mark Hand, Neil Iceton & Jez Nicholl channelled their love of sci-fi-fired Motor City techno into a string of inspired releases under the alias Cubic Space Collective.

After reuniting for a memorable machine jam at Freerotation festival in 2016, Hand & Iceton headed back into the studio for a one-off session and recorded 'Holiday in Beta Centauri', a musical love letter to Mad Mike and the rest of Detroit's most militant futurist techno crew.

Sending us surging skywards via 'Binary System', where lilting lead lines, fizzing electronics and enveloping chords dance atop a snappy, cymbal-heavy drum machine rhythm, before 'Arps in Hyperspace' sees them step things up a notch via layered waves of synths, sparkling melodies and a driving, hyper-speed groove.

The North-East-based twosome then attempt to warm us to the core in the shape of 'Rigil': restless organ stabs, undulating Michigan bass, alien electronics, psychedelic acid lines and Galaxy 2 Galaxy style chords catching the ear. Bringing us gently back down to earth, they complete their deep space mission with 'Beyond The Nebula (Holiday in Beta Centauri)', a bustling electro number full of stabbing analogue bass, star-burst electronics, meditative ambient chords that shimmer full of night-sky melodies.

A fine return to action for this Teesside UR-loving techno twosome... 3,167 miles away in Detroit, their achievement will be noted."

* Legend of the Brazilian scene, DJ Andy, has assembled some of the brightest lights, and hottest rising stars of the Brazilian Drum & Bass family and brought them all together on one huge compilation!
* “When we talk about Brazil we don't just mean Rio de Janeiro, samba, beaches and football. This compilation has music for all tastes. We are 100% connected.” - DJ Andy
* With a history stretching back to the very beginnings of rave music in the early nineties, DJ Andy is a foundational figure in Brazilian drum & bass. He's seen the trends and fashions, the sub-genres and evolutions, the mainstream hits and the underground anthems. He knows the music inside-out. And, with this compilation, he's offered us an insight into the kaleidoscope of styles and the surge of talent that his scene has to offer.
* Of course, the Chronic and V faithful will have already been introduced to many of these artists. We're talking the likes of L-Side, Alibi, BTK, Critycal Dub and more; names we all recognise from the top end of the download charts and the set lists of the biggest deejays in the business. But then there are also those making their debut for the V family. Producers like Phizical and No Scandal, who are about to find a whole new, highly appreciative, audience.
* With this strength in depth available to him in the community, DJ Andy's managed to draw together 20 tracks that reflect the full range of what this music has to offer. You'll hear influences from multiple genres, you'll hear the darkness and the light, the vibrancy and the viciousness. If you thought “Brazilian D&B” was confined to one particular sound, you'd better brace yourself for some powerful suprises.
* As DJ Andy says himself, “I wanted to show that our songs can be heard everywhere. At festivals, nightclubs, at parties with friends, while travelling and even as a dinner soundtrack.”

Doing exactly what it says on the tin - a tough four track electro set from Mustafa Ali under the N.A.D. moniker. TIP!

Philadelphia, PA's finest rock & roll up-and-comers, Big Nothing, have announced their sophomore full-length, Dog Hours, due out February 18th from Lame-O Records. Dog Hours finds the four-piece incorporating new dynamics and textures into their timeless songwriting to make ten songs of warm and welcoming guitar pop that's as comforting as it is catchy.

To mark the album's announcement Big Nothing have shared Dog Hours' lead single "A Lot of Finding Out" a slice of up tempo, alt-country tinged power-pop that's sure to please fans of Evan Dando and Tom Petty alike.

Big Nothing (guitarist/vocalist Matt Quinn, bassist/vocalist Liz Parsons, guitarist/vocalist Pat Graham, and drummer Chris Jordan) have a sound that's rooted in big guitars and big hooks, but unexpected circumstances forced them to try a different approach making Dog Hours. “With the pandemic, we were all writing separately and stuck playing quietly in our apartments,” Quinn explains. “And so it was pretty natural that we started making more stripped-back music.” The result is a more intimate version of Big Nothing that brings the acoustic guitar and layered harmonies to the forefront without sacrificing the palpable camaraderie that makes their music so endearing. It's an album that explores all of the uncertainties and existential dread of adulthood, but counters it with a Westerberg-esque sense of humanity and warmth.

Joe Bonamassa - 'The Ballad of John Henry' 2022 Remaster erstmals als farbiges Doppel-Vinyl

Provogue / Mascot Label Group veröffentlichen am 22.04.2022 drei spezielle Vinyl-Neuauflagen des Blues-Titans Joe Bonamassa. You & Me", "The Ballad of John Henry" und "Live from the Royal Albert Hall" erscheinen erstmals remastered.
Das Bonamassa Kult-Album "The Ballad of John Henry" aus dem Jahr 2009 wird erstmals auch auf farbigem Vinyl erhältlich sein. Das Album wurde für die 2 LP-Version neu gemastert und auf 180g braunem Vinyl gepresst. Als besonderes Bonbon gibt es mit der B.B. King Coverversion von 'Chains and Things' einen Bonustrack.
Bonamassas siebtes Studioalbum brachte ihn erneut auf Platz 1 der US Billboard Blues Charts und brachte ihm den Durchbruch in Europa. Mehrere Bonamassa-Originale zieren das Album ebenso wie Coverversionen von Tom Waits, Sam Brown und Ike & Tina Turner, die die ganze Bandbreite seiner Palette aufzeigen.
Mit mittlerweile 25 Nummer 1 Alben in den Billboard Blues-Charts, ausverkauften Tourneen und seiner Keeping The Blues Alive Cruise in Amerika und Europa, ist Joe Bonamassa allgegenwärtig. Diese Re-issues sind für seine langjährigen Fans und für Musikliebhaber, die JB neu für sich entdeckt haben. Diese drei Alben sind Joe Bonamassa vom Feinsten!

‘for you who are the wronged’ is the much
anticipated follow-up to 2018’s ‘from when i wake
the want is’ and her 2014 debut, ‘bones you have
thrown me and blood i’ve spilled’, which won
2015’s Scottish Album Of The Year award.
If ‘from when i wake the want is’ was written for
love to return, this is where she fights tooth and
claw to protect it.
Written and co-produced by Kathryn Joseph, it was
recorded at The Lengths Studio in Fort William,
with producer Lomond Campbell (recording artist
for One Little Independent and has previously
produced King Creosote).
Flesh pink coloured vinyl LP (initial pressing)
includes lyric booklet and digital download code.

Climate - atmosphere is what we say. Soul with beautiful expression, is what they say in the modern jazz scene in the US. It's a necessary component for good jazz, as well as for swing. But to achieve an organic atmosphere which is therefore vital and alive, a relationship of intentions and views, and a congeniality of thoughts are needed. When Tommasi was in Rome for a few days and had Santucci and Scoppa listen to the latest pieces he had composed, the three musicians ideas, aspirations, and agreement in taste appeared to exist right off the bat, and the idea to do an album together was born almost instantly.

Now, with all things said and done, a certain climate seems to have been achieved, with no lack of a swing enriched with heat and energy. The two horn players, who up until now have played and recorded with a band from Rome, the Modern Jazz gang, have really and fully understood the spirit of the pieces written by Tommasi, and even if it's the first time they have met with the trio of the pianist from Trieste, they demonstrate that they have merged and combined into one, more than anyone had hoped for. The album was recorded by forging ahead and overcoming various obstacles like that of a geographical distance that they were not used to (the horn players reside in Rome, and the others in Turin, Bologna, and Lucca); but now that the project has been achieved rehashing the difficulties that they had to get past in order to finish the piece is no longer important (and nor is it well wished for).

The Psychedelic Freaks is a new alias of Horatio Luna's. The aptly titled debut LP 'Passing Through The Doorways Of Your Mind' is an introspective 70s fusion space odyssey.

An Afrobeat, Psychedelic jazz, funk fusion experience inspired by the Miles Davis's electric era.

Inspired by the genius of Fela Kuti, Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, Dave Holland, Paul Jackson, Carol Kaye, Jimmy Hendrix, James Brown, and Alice Coltrane.

Special thanks to Mandarin Dreams for putting a guitar in my hands and On-Ly for putting a wah pedal in front of it.

Burnski's Instinct label serves up some fresh platters from a new name, Papa Nugs. These are of course naughty as you like garage tinged late night gems for cosy dance floors. Opener 'Gemini' is a high speed affair with exotic strings and neck-snapping hits. 'Kilo of Filo' is a super heavy wobbler with a fat as fuck bottom end oscillation. 'De Nata' closes out on more super crisp breakbeats that recall the genres hey day when artists like Ali B were knocking out killer mixes for Fabric. All killer no filler, as ever with this label.

Constructed in the initial chaos of the pandemic, Baby Blue’s dystopian debut LP “End Of Sleep” finds solace in the unearthly home of Planet Euphorique. 7 offerings from the Canadian artiste dive deep into a heightened reflective state; an amalgamation of memories stitched together via looped dissonance and destruction. A contrast of lightness and dark constantly working against each other and at times in harmony; a familiar connection that can be found in complex electronic music and mental states alike. Strap in and be guided through a wormhole of cyber analog journeys, thematic explorations and catastrophic calls to celestial beings.

Ethereal echoes of LSG break in the opening of the record, fleeting cries nodding to ancestry; yet A Rainy Trip To Netherworld Sequence embraces the storm. Knee jerk kick distortions disrupt the angelic hypnosis; reality rolling through the clouds. The sequential energy continues through A2 and A3, driving and rolling viciously with heavy contorted noise infiltrating the low end whilst flickers of melodious song sail unbothered, thriving amongst the destruction. The Spring Is Coming feels like a seasonal change, a melting and defrosting; thawed harmony shining through; textural and flowing with movement, a perfect bridge.
An arguably more delicate chaos emerges on the B side, elongated pads stream endlessly whilst drums cultivate and expand into sudden frisson. Fragile voices begin to gate and sweep in Equal Parts Damaged, lingering and ringing through ear drums whilst glued in rhythmic unison to induce a state of floating, a game of elevated push and pull. Syncopated howls of distortion leads the closing track, Violet summarizing the brilliantly confronting conversations pulsating through the record.

PE016 urges you to join the otherworldly personal journey and sufferings of Baby Blue, a moment to connect with her meditative dreams and struggles; sonic synergy expanding to anyone with the invitation to surrender.

Good things come to those who wait. The album 'The Children of Scorpio' by Project Gemini aka Paul Osborne is a result of his steeped 30-year musical journey that’s seen him dig deep, study his record collection and re-emerge to fine-tune his craft.

A cinematic musical journey that plays out like a long-lost soundtrack (think cult B-movies of the 60s and 70s); 'The Children of Scorpio’ was formed from Paul's love of a myriad of genres; from European library music, acid folk, psych-funk, vintage soundtracks and the contemporary breaks scene. The album draws on iconic classics such as the masterful cinematic funk of Lalo Schifrin's 'Dirty Harry', Ennio Morricone's 'Vergogna Schifosi’ and Luis Bacalov’s 'The Summertime Killer’, to name but a few. You can also hear the folk sounds of Mark Fry's iconic 'Dreaming With Alice', the Britsh folk-jazz of The Pentangle and the David Axelrod-produced 'Release Of An Oath' by The Electric Prunes, woven into the cultural tapestry of this gem. The influence of these vintage productions of the 60s and 70s is evident; however, it could be argued that there’s also echoes of the funkier psychedelic moments of bands such as The Stones Roses and The Charlatans, alongside contemporaries such as The Heliocentrics and Little Barrie, thus giving the album a broader crossover potential beyond the world of crate digging and vintage soundtracks.

A bass player and musician since the age of 16, the arrival of his first child in 2010 saw Paul move away from live performance and retreat to his home studio, recording a wealth of music that was destined to never be heard. One of the first tunes to be made was a demo entitled ‘The Children Of Scorpio’, inspired by his long-time obsession with Lalo Schifrin’s soundtrack to violent Clint Eastwood cop classic 'Dirty Harry'. Recorded for fun, the track was fated to sit in the archives untouched. However, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, connections to a wealth of inspirational musicians and labels would re-ignite Paul's musical fire and give him the impetus to develop his slept-on ideas into something more concrete. Firstly resulting in releasing two limited 7'' records on Delights Records and now the long-player for Mr Bongo.

Assisting in the recording of the record were several close friends that have helped spark Paul's musical creativity along the way, including well-renowned guitarist and Little Barrie frontman Barrie Cadogan (who contributes killer six-string guitar to four tracks), Delights Records head-honcho Markey Funk (who adds spooked out keyboards to ‘Path Through The Forest’), Kid Victrola, the chief songwriter and guitarist with French psych girl group Gloria who added wild 12-string to ‘Scorpio’s Garden’, Haifa-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Shuzin who brings the heat behind the drum kit, and Paul Isherwood, co-founder of Nottingham’s The Soundcarriers, who mixed the album on his wealth of vintage gear.

We are delighted to be releasing this slowly-brewed timeless classic that manages to achieve that rare feat of keeping one foot firmly in the past whilst still sounding totally contemporary.

"“The New Backwards” was conceived by Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson in 2007, revisiting stray tracks which hadn’t seemed to gel with the material he had chosen for the more somber “Ape of Naples” from 2005, COIL’s initial posthumous release, a sort of requiem and a kiss-goodbye to his then recently deceased partner John Balance.

Significantly different to its sister release, this album collects the brilliantly chaotic and outrageously rhythmic material from the original sessions for the album that was begun as early as 1993 and had originally been conceptualised as the follow-up to “Love’s Secret Domain”. These songs are as diverse and wild as the places they originated from, partly infamously spawned in Sharon Tate’s former home in the Hollywood Hills, the Nine Inch Nails home base in New Orleans and London’s Swanyard, remixed and restructured with the help of long-term friend Danny Hyde in Thailand, this collection has its own unique flow and an atmosphere not found on any other COIL release.

Both “AYOR” and “Backwards” had by the time the album was first released already become favourites in COIL’s manic live performances. Some of the other tracks had only leaked in demo versions and are here presented updated and polished as Christopherson and Hyde intended them to be heard. It is interesting to consider Balance’s vocal contributions, too. Whilst on the albums COIL did release at the time this material was first put aside (“Black Light District” and “ElpH”) his voice is all but absent, his vocal performances and his lyric writing here are arguably more closely indebted to the previous “Love’s Secret Domain” era, especially the epic “Copacaballa” is noteworthy in that respect.
The New Backwards” effectively became the final official COIL studio release of all new material whilst Peter was still alive and is here presented for the first time fully supervised by Danny Hyde, its co-creator.
The stunning cover uses a detail from artist Ian Johnstone’s “Cubic Raven” painting, licensed from the estate of IJ..

It is high time to rediscover this timeless album with the Infinite Fog release boasting eight further tracks of previously unheard material from the same sessions, rough working stages and surprising remixes which will surely delight the dedicated COIL archaeologists, as they shine yet another light on the creative process and on what could have been.

Recorded at Swanyard, London and at Nothing Studios, New Orleans, 1996.
Thanks to everyone there, especially Trent Reznor who made it all possible.
Written & Produced by Coil & Danny Hyde.
Remixed by Peter Christopherson & Danny Hyde, Bangkok 2007.
For that session Coil were: Peter Christopherson, Jhonn Balance & Drew McDowall.
Mastered by Jessica Thompson.
Front artwork by Ian Johnstone.
Artwork licensed from The Estate of Ian Johnstone.
Layout Cold Graves and Oleg Galay."