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The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is among the most successful in cinematic history. Based on the popular J.R.R. Tolkien novel of the same name, these award-winning movies were directed by Peter Jackson and scored by composer Howard Shore. The epic story of Middle-earth arrived in theaters 20 years ago, in December 2001, when The Fellowship Of The Ring made its highly anticipated debut.

To celebrate that milestone, Rhino is releasing a 12” picture disc that includes “May It Be,” the critically acclaimed single Enya recorded for the film’s soundtrack. In 2002, that song was released on a CD single with two more Enya songs: “Isobella” and “The First of Autumn.” Those tracks will make their vinyl debut on MAY IT BE to be released on December 3rd.

Peter Jackson asked Enya to write a song for The Lord of the Rings. She agreed and began writing what would become ‘May it be’ with her longtime producer/arranger Nicky Ryan and her lyricist, Roma Ryan.

Embraced by fans and critics alike, “May It Be” would go on to be nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Original Song; a Golden Globe® Award for Best Original Song; and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Enya recorded the other two songs featured on MAY IT BE while making her fifth studio album, A Day Without Rain. #6 on the UK Album Chart, the album has sold more than 16 million copies and is ranked as the best-selling new-age album of all time. “The First Of Autumn” is an instrumental that appears on the original studio album. The other track, “Isobella,” is a rarity that can be found on the Japanese edition of A Day Without Rain.

MAY IT BE arrives just in time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Fellowship Of The Ring and its popular soundtrack. That collection is certified platinum in the U.S., where it won the Academy Award® for Best Original Score and the Grammy® for Best Score Soundtrack Album.

For many years now, the comparative of epic has simply been EPICA. Since their formation in 2002 and their quick ascension to stalwarts of symphonic metal noblesse with trailblazing masterpieces “The Divine Conspiracy” (2007) or “Requiem for the Indifferent” (2012), Dutch metal titans only knew one way: Up. Especially with their last three releases “The Quantum Enigma”, “The Holographic Principle” and this years’ “Ωmega”, forming a metaphysical trilogy that’s both alpha and omega of all things symphonic metal, EPICA became rightful monarchs of a genre they themselves helped made become a global phenomenon.

Yet, as every other band, EPICA couldn’t take their latest installment of breathtaking cinematic grandeur to the seven corners of the world as they would have normally done. You know why. Thus, plans have been made and visions fulfilled to produce a once-in-a-lifetime event that couldn’t be further away from yet another streaming show. What EPICA unleashed upon the world on Saturday, June 12th, 2021, was a monument to their music, their career, and their enduring legacy as forebears of a whole genre. Now finally being released on Blu-ray and DVD and various audio formats, “Ωmega Alive” is the EPICA show of your wildest dreams, brought to life by blood, sweat, tears and a healthy dose of megalomania. Think Marvel meeting Cirque de Soleil in a Tim Burton universe.

Celebrating the release of their gargantuan new opus magnum, „Ωmega“, the streaming event saw fans from over a 100 countries flock to the screens to witness a show that has proven to be the defining moment in EPICA‘s concert history. A show that’s nothing short of the band’s most explosive performance to date, brought to life with an enormous production on an ever-evolving stage setting that’s full of visual surprises. For the first time ever, EPICA performed songs like ‘The Skeleton Key’ or the insanely monumental “Kingdom of Heaven Part 3” from “Ωmega”, alongside the band’s most popular songs, rare songs, fan favorites and huge surprises. “What started as a basic idea to do an online release show for “Ωmega” quickly spiraled out of control and became our most ambitious project to date,” creative director and keyboard wizard Coen Janssen says. “As usual, we wanted to push the boundaries, explore the limits, and think outside the box. We found ourselves back in our happy place. This concert film, our ray of light for you in the dark times that we have all been living in.”

For half a year, the band worked tirelessly on a show that’s been setting a new standard for concert films and streaming events. “What we wanted to do was the ultimate EPICA show where we could fulfill every dream we ever had, where there was room for all the ideas, effects and props that are just too big to be taken on tour.” Far from your usual streaming concert, the band developed a trademark feature called a “living backdrop.” Coen explains: “We built another stage right behind our stage where lots of things were going on the whole time. And we meant that very literally,” he laughs. “Every song got something extra, something unique that was fitting its world.”

He can say that again: Elaborate visuals, tailor-made videos and graphic effects, fire, and flames on a Nibelungen level, dancers and actors, artistic performances or fire performers all add to the aura of symbolism and cinematic splendor, setting the stage for a band that can’t be happier to finally bring their new album to life, harmonizing wonderfully and giving their A game for a show to remember. “It was so great finally playing with the band again, actually standing on stage with them. Boy, did we miss this,” Coen emphasizes and adds: “We also built a pretty cool new stage with some fire-breathing snakes and lots of rotating elements. Good thing is, we might also take it on the road when we can finally tour again.”

Until then, “Ωmega Alive” will be a more than efficient remedy against no-concerteritis – for bands, fans, and crew alike who all look back on an extra-long dry spell. Divided into five acts as there are letters in EPICA and “Ωmega”, each part gets a different theme, look, and feel, complemented with references to the history of EPICA, the symbolism of the band and the videos they did. It’s, in short, the best show they ever did, a two-hour spectacle spanning their storied career up to their latest endeavors and graced by Simone Simons’ breathtaking a-cappella rendition of ‘Rivers’ from “Ωmega” complete with choir, easily the most emotional and achingly beautiful moment in their entire career. Frankly, you don’t see this on a normal tour.

What EPICA brought to life here with the help of 75 artists and crew members is a testimony to their burning will to take their band ever higher – even now, in the darkest of times we ever had to endure. Let “Ωmega Alive” be your ray of light as it was theirs, a journey into the heart, body and soul of one of the most passionate and visionary metal bands alive today.

Geese are a band that begins and ends in Brooklyn, as a
project between friends to build a home studio out of a
basement.
 Their debut album, ‘Projector’ (from which this single is
taken), is born from the same ambition: make music by
any means necessary. The songs were recorded with
sneakers as mic stands and blankets draped over the
amps, all within the afternoon following a school day, up
until they ran the risk of noise complaints.
 As a result, ‘Projector’ is as much a moment in time as it is
an album. It represents five teenagers whose love of
music touches every part of their lives: their restless
anxiety about their futures, and their pent-up frustration
with their present - a perspective all too familiar in today’s
uncertain world. Perhaps then it only makes sense that the
figure on the album cover was born from a dream:
curiously alien, yet strangely familiar.
 Creative direction by Matt De Jong and Jamie JamesMedina (Fontaines D.C., Arlo Parks, Mura Masa, FKA
Twigs).
 Two sold out London shows at The Windmill and The
Sebright Arms. First time ever playing in the UK.
 7” features ‘Low Era’ on the A side and a never before
heard bonus track called ‘Smoke In Japan’ on the B side.

Geese are a band that begins and ends in Brooklyn, as a
project between friends to build a home studio out of a
basement.
 Their debut album, ‘Projector’ is born from the same
ambition: make music by any means necessary. The
songs were recorded with sneakers as mic stands and
blankets draped over the amps, all within the afternoon
following a school day, up until they ran the risk of noise
complaints.
 As a result, ‘Projector’ is as much a moment in time as it is
an album. It represents five teenagers whose love of
music touches every part of their lives: their restless
anxiety about their futures, and their pent-up frustration
with their present - a perspective all too familiar in today’s
uncertain world. Perhaps then it only makes sense that the
figure on the album cover was born from a dream:
curiously alien, yet strangely familiar.
 Creative direction by Matt De Jong and Jamie JamesMedina (Fontaines D.C., Arlo Parks, Mura Masa, FKA
Twigs).
 Two sold out London shows at The Windmill and The
Sebright Arms. First time ever playing in the UK

Geese are a band that begins and ends in Brooklyn, as a
project between friends to build a home studio out of a
basement.
 Their debut album, ‘Projector’ is born from the same
ambition: make music by any means necessary. The
songs were recorded with sneakers as mic stands and
blankets draped over the amps, all within the afternoon
following a school day, up until they ran the risk of noise
complaints.
 As a result, ‘Projector’ is as much a moment in time as it is
an album. It represents five teenagers whose love of
music touches every part of their lives: their restless
anxiety about their futures, and their pent-up frustration
with their present - a perspective all too familiar in today’s
uncertain world. Perhaps then it only makes sense that the
figure on the album cover was born from a dream:
curiously alien, yet strangely familiar.
 Creative direction by Matt De Jong and Jamie JamesMedina (Fontaines D.C., Arlo Parks, Mura Masa, FKA
Twigs).
 Two sold out London shows at The Windmill and The
Sebright Arms. First time ever playing in the UK

Launches his own imprint with two eagerly anticipated tracks on a double A-side 12-inch, KLON001.

Following a string of EPs for Unterton under his Mark alias, KLON001 debuted during Klon’s back-to-back DJ set with Nick Höppner for the Ostgut Ton aus der Halle am Berghain stream. His previous releases on A Colourful Storm and Thomas Melchior’s label My King Is Light garnered adherents like Raresh and Ricardo Villalobos, and these new productions drop all pretence of subtlety in favour of aggressively memorable hooks.

Includes artwork insert.

Goldfrapp’s fifth studio album, Head First, was originally released on 19 March 2010. The album debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling 23,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell over 70k units in the UK alone, It featured three singles Rocket, Alive and Believer and received a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Following the reissue series of Black Cherry, Supernature & Seventh Tree by Mute/BM, this is the first time Head First has been reissued and will appear on 140g Transparent Magenta vinyl with an exclusive 12x12 art print in a gatefold sleeve.

Gábor Lázár's colourful discography extends from sound art to his more recent dancefloor detonations. From his first release on Lorenzo Senni's Presto! label to his collaborations with Russell Haswell and his popular 'seizure inducing' team-up with Mark Fell entitled 'The Neurobiology of Moral Decision Making' to his last album 'Unfold' on The Death of Rave, where he balanced relentless, snappy rhythms and wonky melodic tones against more measured chords to create a deliciously fruity futurism.Gábor has now signed to Planet Mu for his new album 'Source' which moves forward with the dance music direction he started to formulate with 'Unfold'. Gábor first fell in love with electronic music simultaneously through dance music and it's IDM offspring, and also with harsher, noisier computer music on labels such as Editions Mego. This collection, which develops slowly over 8 tracks, works its way through his own take on these influences, moving across themes and loops as if each track is a different stage in a process. All these tracks sound incredible on a club sound system. The listener can hear nods to hoover bass and 2-step in 'Phase', or trance techno in ‘Excite', the dive-bombing bass of dubstep in 'Effort ' or the frantic techno influence of 'Route', emulated in the minimal forms Gábor has created with a sound artist's precision and a strict adherence to his vacuum-like grids. Gábor bends his sounds, abstracts them and re-contextualises them; basslines fire out of the grid at strange angles and squirm as if they've come alive, shards of melody shoot off at wild angles, attacking with drama and a thrilling sense of energy

Time fortifies the bonds between us. Since emerging in 2018, Light The Torch have grown stronger in lockstep together as a band and as friends. Through this growth, the Los Angeles, CA trio—Howard Jones vocals, Francesco Artusato [guitar], and Ryan Wombacher [bass]—only enhanced every aspect of their signature sound. Upheld by head-spinning seven-string virtuosity, yet also anchored to skyscraping melodies, the group crafted twelve no-nonsense and no-holds-barred metallic anthems on their 2021 second full-length album, You Will Be The Death of Me [Nuclear Blast].
“The past few years have helped me to become much more personal in my writing,” explains Howard. “Even though I’m kind of a loner, this band became real family. My experiences with Ryan and Fran inside and outside of the band truly bonded us. I think it shows in this album, it truly represents who we are as a group.”

“Every second on this record was thought-out,” adds Fran. “Howard’s performance gives me chills, because it feels so alive. There’s so much emotion in it. I know the guy very well at this point, and our friendship is a big part of Light The Torch.”That friendship cemented over the course of the past three years. The group shot out of the gate as a contender on their full-length debut, Revival. It bowed at #4 on the Billboard US Independent Albums Chart and at #10 on the Hard Rock Albums Chart in addition to receiving acclaim from Revolver, Outburn, and many more. “Calm Before the Storm” racked up a staggering 14.5 million Spotify streams, while “The Safety of Disbelief” remains one of SiriusXM Octane’s all-time most requested songs. They also crisscrossed North America and Europe on tour with the likes of Trivium, Avatar, In Flames, Ice Nine Kills, Killswitch Engage and August Burns Red to name a few.

In late 2019, an idea for the title track “Death of Me” kickstarted the creative process. The guys returned to Sparrow Sound in Glendale, CA to once again work with the production team of Josh Gilbert and Joseph McQueen [Bullet for My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, Suicide Silence].This time around, they also welcomed Whitechapel’s Alex Rudinger on drums. “He’s incredible,” says Fran. “He was exactly what we needed.”Now, they kick down the door for You Will Be The Death of Me with the single “Wilting In The Light.” Howard’s instantly recognizable vocals soar over a sweeping riff and rolling beat before culminating on a massive luminous hook, “Over and over again we struggle. We’re wilting in the light, and we stumble in the dark.”“It has a different vibe and a very interesting riff,” observes Howard. “I love it when listeners can take what they want from a song. This was a special one for us.”

“More Than Dreaming” opens up the record with gut-punching guitar and another knockout hook. Elsewhere, airy keys wrap around chugging distortion on the title track “Death Of Me.” Regarding the latter, the frontman goes on, “Most people have some source of grief in their lives. It’s relatable, and it was appropriate for the song.”After the melodic melancholia of “Come Back To The Quicksand,” Light The Torch recharge the 1987 Terence Trent D’Arby classic “Sign Your Name” as the record’s climax. Shimmering keys bleed into an overpowering verse before it snaps into the immortal chorus beefed up with thick distortion. “Howard stayed at my house with me and my wife for the entire recording of the album,” recalls Fran. “I like to cook, and one night during the first week of pre-production I made everyone dinner. A compilation with ‘Sign Your Name’ started playing, and I thought, ‘I can do a version that would sound awesome!’ Howard knew and loved the song too. For as crazy as it sounded, it worked so well.”
In the end, the bond between Light The Torch burns brighter than ever in the music as they deliver a definitive statement with You Will Be The Death Of Me.

“We wanted to make a fully listenable and fun album that doesn’t let up,” Howard leaves off. “At the same time, we’re showing some heart, passion, and connection. It’s what we’ve always intended to do with this band.”

Released in 2009, Tear Gas is the fourth and arguably most notable studio album from The Jacka. Peaking at #93 on the Billboard Top 200, the 19-track album is packed with features from both Bay Area and national legends, such as Andre Nickatina, Matt Blaque, E-40, Mistah F.A.B., Cellski, Zion I, AP.9, Dubb 20, J. Stalin, Devin The Dude, Paul Wall, Masspike Miles, Planet Asia, Cormega, Ampichino, and Freeway. The album features the hit singles, "All Over Me feat. Matt Blaque," and "Glamorous Lifestyles feat. Andre Nickatina"

After his first LP Stranger Já Catem Traboi, Tchiss decided to further experiment with reggae and funaná, inspired by the local rhythms of the island of Santiago. Gathering some of the best Cape Verdean musicians of the time, in 1984, together with Zé António on guitar, Bebethe on bass and Alírio on drums, he recorded his second LP Já Bô Corre D’Mim. An album that sings of a young man far from home, his unrequited love and saudade, the struggles of street life in a foreign land and a world of inequality. Recorded in just 3 days at the Pomodoro Studio in Sutri, the album fully expresses the deep and layered sound of Tchiss’ music, where upbeat tempo, powerful vocals and electrifying guitar solos tangle together in a dynamic mix of traditional melodies and cosmic reggae.

For its 20th anniversary, Keplar presents an absolute milestone in the history of IDM and ambient music for the first time in its definite form: »Together Is the New Alone« by Donnacha Costello was originally released on Mille Plateaux in 2001 as the second LP under the Irish producer’s given name and firmly established him as one of the leading artists in the field of forward-thinking electronic music after he had primarily made a name for himself with house and techno releases under the Jayrod moniker. This vinyl reissue with an entirely new artwork comprises all ten tracks originally only included on the CD version in their edited and final form in which they were last presented on the digital re-release under the name »Together,« remastered by Stephan Mathieu and self-published by Costello, in 2015.

Truly prescient artists rarely opt for introspective sounds, however that was the case when Costello set out to produce »Together Is the New Alone« during nightly session in his hometown Dublin between April and July in 2001, and it also explains the album’s enduring appeal and unwavering radiance twenty years on. While many of his contemporaries dedicated themselves to explore the musical zeitgeist and notions of the future in conceptual terms, Costello made them emotionally tangible, allowing his audience to feel their underlying ambiguity rather than just reflect on it. »Together Is the New Alone« is an album that wordlessly speaks of the paradoxical sense of social alienation and isolation expressed by its title and thus seems even more topical today than it did at the time of its release.

Working with elements from techno culture, glitch aesthetics, intricate IDM rhythms and lush ambient textures, Costello never once throughout the album adheres to tried and tested formulas and conventions, but holistically moulds complex compositions out of distinct and discrete parts. The result is a record that is at once easily accessible and deeply affecting, but also infinitely rich and stunningly sophisticated in musical terms. A personal record expressing a universal sentiment—a truly timeless statement that will reverberate for decades to come.

(Kristoffer Cornils)

London alt-rock outfit Curse of Lono share brand new single ‘Let Your Love Rain Down On Me’, a hypnotic widescreen teaser for upcoming album ‘People In Cars’, set for release 19th November via Submarine Cat Records (She Drew The Gun, Alabama 3, John Murry).

Recorded during lockdown with long-term collaborator and producer Oli Bayston (Spiritualized, Teleman, Boxed In) and engineer Iain Berryman (Wolf Alice, Arcade Fire, Kings Of Leon), ‘People In Cars’ is a stunningly cinematic record that continues the band’s musical evolution and reinforces their trajectory as one of the most compelling lyrical voices of the British musical underground.

The gala evening at the Paris Opera on December 19, 1958 was announced in the press as "the greatest show in the world". Maria Callas, at the height of her glory, performed for the first time in front of a Parisian audience. The diva delivered all the facets of her art through the Italian classics that she loved, with the theatrical genius that is proper to her. Paris gave her a triumphant evening!

The original recording of this evening, broadcast in Eurovision throughout Europe, has been newly restored with the greatest care.

Presentation by Benoît Duteurtre, novelist, essayist and music critic.

Excerpts from Norma by Bellini
Excerpts from Il Trovatore by Verdi
Excerpts from Il Barbiere di Seviglia by Rossini
Complete second act of Tosca by Puccini

Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch’s dark, throbbing score to
Prano Bailey-Bond’s horror debut ‘Censor’ is out now on
vinyl, after previously being released on digital platforms.
 The vinyl is pressed on clear vinyl with black smoke effect
and comes housed in a deluxe spined sleeve with double
sided printed insert featuring beautiful imagery from the
film.
 Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch manages to inhabit a space
between Ennio Morricone, Goblin and John Carpenter in
her stunning score to ‘Censor’.
 “I wanted the original score to focus on two different
elements of the film’s storytelling which slowly intertwine
as the movie progresses,” Emilie told Booklyn Vegan.
 “One sound palette represents the trauma of our lead
character Enid, with a use of manipulated vocals and
synthesisers, slow moving, almost suspended, and at
times disorientating cues, with short melodic motives, little
lullabies Enid might softly sing to herself to sooth her
anxiety and guilt of having lost her sister. The other palette
is much more anchored in the time period (1980s) and
genre the film explores.” She calls that second sound
palette a “love letter to classic Carpenter and Goblin
soundtracks, using vintage synths, rare Japanese
instruments and choirs to bring us deep into the fun,
surreal, and meta elements of the film.”
 ‘Censor’ received critical acclaim upon its release,
including a 5-star review in The Guardian, and is available
to watch now.

You Should Be Here, the 2015 follow-up to debut mixtape Cloud 19 from Bay Area-born two-time GRAMMY Award-nominated multiplatinum songstress Kehlani, is out on vinyl on November 26th.

The 15-track mixtape, available as a physical vinyl, includes the hugely popular tracks “The Way”, “You Should Be Here” and “Jealous”, with appearances on the album from Chance the Rapper, BJ The Chicago Kid, Lexii Alijai & Coucheron. After bowing at #5 on the Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart and at #1 on the iTunes Top R&B Albums Chart, the mixtape garnered a 2016 Grammy Award nod for “Best Urban Contemporary Album”. Upon release, Pitchfork praised how, “You Should Be Here’s dynamism and generosity is something to be amazed by,” while Billboard proclaimed it, “The year’s first great R&B album.” It landed on Complex’s “Best Albums of 2015,” Noisey’s “50 Best Albums of 2015,” and Rolling Stone’s “20 Best R&B Albums of 2015.”
Critically acclaimed R&B pop songstress Kehlani is praised by Complex as “a special talent, making the kind of personal music that speaks to her fans as much as it functions as a therapeutic release for her”. It doesn’t really need an explanation – you know exactly what Kehlani means when she sings. Without sugarcoating or softening a word, she will drop a hard truth in one breath and flip a middle finger in the next. She may extend a seductive invitation or an empathetic plea before leaving you in your thoughts and feelings. Either way, she finds a way to consistently relate without filter and with each move she strengthens this connection to listeners everywhere.

From its founding in the late 14th century, the kingdom of Buganda has been celebrated through sound and nurtured a rich musical tradition in its royal court. Coming from across the kingdom, musicians would take turns in the palace to sound drums, xylophones, flutes, lyres, and more to praise and honour the existence of the kingship. In recent years however, the tradition has been more difficult to maintain, especially since 1966 where there was a violent attack on the palace that abruptly abolished the kingdom and during which royal musicians fled or were killed. And while the kingdom was re-established in 1993 as a cultural institution, many of the remaining musicians had since chosen to sideline their skills to deal with the issues of their day to day lives, the practice of the royal tradition waning in popularity, especially with younger listeners and players. But all is not lost. Scattered across the kingdom, a motivated team of older veterans and attentive young players are still keeping the tradition alive. Offering a transversal glimpse into the past and the present, "Buganda Royal Music Revival" collects recordings made in between the late 1940s and 1966 illustrating the older generation's skills, and presents them alongside recent recordings featuring old and young musicians who still carry on this musical tradition, some even performing for the current king, Muwenda Mutebi II. The later were made during the shooting of the 2019 documentary "Buganda Royal Music Revival" that presents through a film what this album conveys through sounds: a packed dive into a century-old tradition. The music displayed here is diverse and vibrant, presenting a variety of styles and highlighting instruments that illustrate the depth and sophistication that stemmed from the royal court experience of Buganda. As a starter, the album opens with 'Mujaguzo'. Often translated as 'The Drums of the Kingship', the mujaguzo is a crucial ensemble for the cultural tradition, made from drums collected by the kingdom throughout its long history and numbering around 100 drums (historical records suggest there were at some point over 300). They are the vitality of the kingship packaged into sound. From here, we're introduced deeper to an array of instruments and textures, like the buzzing Bugandan lyre (endongo) by contemporary royal player Albert Bisaso Ssempeke, the resonant akadinda xylophone with its 21 large wooden keys, Temutewo Mukasa's restless praise sung with his harp (ennanga), the hand-made gourd trumpet (amakondere), the entenga "drum-chime" and its core set of 12 drums tuned like the amadinda xylophone, or the tightly intertwined melodies of the flutes ensemble (abalere). With the music, the hissing and swishing sounds of old tapes reminds at times the listener of the long process, from the original recording to its archival digitization, that allows the talent of past musicians to still vibrate nowadays. This rousing selection of music and moods is a unique and all too rare exploration of sounds that celebrates the common history of generations of musicians, and the question remains open as to how this rich cultural tradition will shape and be shaped by the upcoming Bugandan future, and what engagement it will trigger among audiences within, but also beyond, the kingdom of Buganda.

Spoken word recordings from Gregory Corso, Tina May Hall, Sam Lipsyte, Christine Schutt, Gary Lutz, Allen Ginsberg, Dawn Raffel, Jason Schwartz, Kathryn Scanlan, Scott McClanahan, & Terry Southern. About 40 years ago, in a record shop on Long Island during a weekend visit there to see my parents, i found a double-LP that looked like something i should definitely buy. It was called "BIG EGO", by the The DIAL-a-POEM POETS. On the cover was a picture of John Giorno (a great poet Ed Sanders had turned me on to) on a NYC rooftop with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, and two kids. It cost $2. I bought it and rushed back to my parents house, where i still had my old turntable in the basement, not far from my Jimi Hendrix and Zappa Crappa posters, and my framed portrait of John Cage. My copy of Eno's "Discreet Music" was still on the turntable, having been left there years before, when i'd fled Long Island for good. I lifted it from the platter, gently slid it back into its sleeve, like a priceless religious artifact, and put Side A of the Dial-a-Poem LP on. I almost lost my mind while listening to it. The next day i went back to the same record shop looking for more DIAL-A-POEM LP's. i found two. One had a long list of names on the back, some famous, and some i'd never heard of before. I bought both LP's, and an hour later, for the first time in my life, i was exposed to the art of Laurie Anderson, whom i'd never heard of before. This was 1978. Her contribution was a piece called "Time To Go". It changed my life. Or at least, that’s how I remember it. I was just a kid, so there were a lot of moments like that, around then. Nowadays, these moments can be had in seconds, with a click of the cursor. That evening, as i sat alone by my imaginary campfire (ie; that record player in my parents basement), i promised myself that someday, somehow, i would embark upon a WORDS & MUSIC project that might move people the same way i was moved when i first heard Laurie, and Robert Wilson & Christopher Knowles, and Burroughs, and Ginsberg, and Corso, and Anne Waldman, and John Ashbery, and the great Charles Olson, and so many others. Words, for the very first time, had wielded the same power as music. And it was visceral. Just like music. It ran deep. It was a FEELING. John Giorno died in 2019, but he kept poetry alive like nobody's business. I was lucky enough to have spent some time with him in the early 1980's, when i was briefly a member of The Fugs, and often found myself surrounded by those Ginsberg called, "...the greatest minds of my generation". Ed Sanders (who'd ushered me into that scene) once told me that when he came to NYC, it was easy to go to a cafe, or to St Marks Church, and hear Burroughs, Corso, Ginsberg, and all the greats, reading their poetry. He said that even if you were just a bum on the street, you could just walk right up to them, and start a conversation. They were totally accessible, if they were in the right mood at that particular moment. So i was shocked when Sanders told me he didn't approach any of them, not even once, til he'd been going to their readings for nearly ten years. "For almost a decade, I went to every reading, every lecture, every panel discussion. But I never went near them. Never approached them. Not even once", Sanders told me. "For ten years, all I did, was listen." It took me four decades, but ... better late than never. I finally made WORDS & MUSIC, Book One.

"If you look at the band photo on Make Me Sick’s insert, you’ll see people from pretty much all the best and most popular hardcore punk bands in Pittsburgh for the past few years. These people know how to make great hardcore punk, and Make Me Sick is White Stains doing just that. While White Stains isn’t as as blistering as Loose Nukes or as brutally intense as Blood Pressure, that’s only because they’ve taken a different tack here, channeling the snotty, punky hardcore of bands like the Circle Jerks, Sick Pleasure, and Chronic Sick. Of those bands, Circle Jerks is the most apt comparison given how White Stains’ snottiness comes along with so much catchiness and rhythmic density. And like Group Sex, the drum parts are almost catchier than the riffs here… I need to be careful listening to this while driving because these songs might make steering seem less important than air drumming" (Daniel Lupton)

LIMITED ICE BLUE VINYL

On Delta, a dozen artists across four continents freely interpret Fountain across a double LP, again featuring Donna Huanca’s surreal artwork, and the unearthly graphic manipulations of Nufolklore Studios. Remaining faithful to Fountain’s presentation, Lyra’s curation reflects her commitment to stylistic diversity, with the old guard and the next wave alongside each other. Where some artists chose to rework existing works, others composed new material from fragments found across the record. The results showcase the very themes of wordless identity conflict and technological concerns that Lyra and her foremothers have projected.

the limitless highs of Sigur Ros and the steady pulse of The Knife. KMRU cloaks Lyra in a hazy film, soundtracking the depths of space embedded within the ghosts of jungle past. Gabber Modus Operandi expose the realities of artificial nature in a multicoloured rave dystopia. Eris Drew’s double opus takes the tenets of her philosophies into both ambient and peaktime expressions of the trip, the things that lead to the decision before, and the portals that can open up after.
Ben Frost dissolves Cradle’s deep and tremulous hymn in analogue warble, distressed tape spooling out of control and breaking up over the heavens, while remaining oddly serene. Heaven In Stereo conjures up post-rock with trap drums out of Gossip, buried in bass weight and dub space. Nailah Hunter and Tygapaw transform New Moon into an earthbound ode to nature and a pounding trance state induction, while Caterina Barbieri and Hudson Mohawke extract and amplify Tendril’s mind and soul. Vessel takes what feels like the entire album and builds it up to a frantic climax before subsuming into Enoesque pastoralia.
Alongside Delta, Lyra has collaborated with Spitfire Audio to develop Siren Songs, a free plug-in for their LABS series made from playable samples from Fountain, able to work across DAWs in multiple formats. By removing barriers to access, the listener can craft their own responses to the album’s themes, or use its language to express their innermost feelings in their own works.
Life and society emerge where water tessellates over land and provides fertile soil. The chances of evolution that made them interact as they did could have had meaningful environmental consequences had things developed differently. For Lyra Pramuk, that fertile geology provides the ground for her albums. Fountain was that burst of water and swell of energy that propelled her to critical acclaim. Delta is a new take on a traditional remix album, centred on transgenerational dialogue and global storytelling, and will be released again via Iceland’s Bedroom Community label. Projecting Fountain through prisms, wordless songs fractalize into lush creations that blossom with new life.
The ability to have such sheer diversity of material in one place is thanks to the global increase in accessible technologies, fueling an explosion of creativity and genre exploration that was thought of as unthinkable in our lifetimes. Like its namesake, Delta is a point where creative flows meet and triangulate, where global and personal folk histories are presented in novel ways, where transcultural collaboration is celebrated, where many worlds emerge from the depths below.
RIYL: The Knife, Spacetime Continuum, Lorenzo Senni, the soundtrack to Planete Sauvage, 3:45 AM by the front left speaker, 7:45 AM as light pours in and everything winds down.

The Groove Chronicles is the second solo album release of Bouklas and his very first on vinyl.

The album is based mainly on Soul and Funk samples, chopped, flipped and pitched up by Bouklas and filled with his characteristic Boom Bap beats, giving an extra funkiness on this particular work. Bouklas has clearly been influenced by Gramatik on this LP and he took it to the next level by having some strong international guests on board.
The album includes the rapper INTeLL, son of U-God from the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, Mic Bles, a respected underground Hip-Hop MC from California, DJ Groove Sparkz from Lyon, the 3xDMC French Champion, IDA Vice World Champion and official tour DJ of L’Entourloop and the French vocalists, Cam & Nelly. Furthermore, there are featurings from talented local Greek artists, the vocalists Martzi and Alida SoulMama and the Turntablist DJ Moya, one of the best Scratch DJs in Greece.
The Groove Chronicles will be released on vinyl by the label Mind The Wax on May 2019 and includes 12 tracks.
Bouklas has been active on the Hip-Hop scene as an MC and a producer since 2002 with more than 10 independent projects to date. As a producer, Bouklas has collaborated with some of the most important names in the Greek Hip-Hop scene as well as with the rap veteran Masta Ace, Freddie Gibbs and the Grind Mode Cypher.
Furthermore, Bouklas has shared the stage with international artists such as the R.A. The Rugged Man, Dead Prez, Afu-Ra, Freestyle (of Arsonists), Foreign Beggars, Dope D.O.D., Killa Kela and DJ Vadim & Yarah Bravo.

No other pairing in the history of Darkwave ever matched the unfettered creativity, resolve, and DIY attitude from the collaboration between the two creative minds that compromise Lebanon Hanover.

The meeting of the Swiss musician Larissa Georgiou, aka Larissa Iceglass and British artist William Maybelline a decade ago in the latter’s hometown of Sunderland in the UK, was a monumental occasion, reverberating throughout the European music scene and even across the Atlantic.

Lebanon Hanover would emerge from the peak of the world-wide minimal wave revival, with their 2011 split 7-inch record with La Fete Triste issued as the catalog debut of Europe’s most ubiquitous Techno-Industrial EBM labels, Aufnahme + Wiedergabe

With Berlin as their new physical home, William and Larissa would soon, however, join the Fabrika Records family. From here, they would go on to release two full-length albums through the Athens based label, starting in early 2012 with their winter debut LP The World Is Getting Colder, and it’s All Hallows Eve follow up Why Not Just Be Solo.

It was Lebanon Hanover’s 2013 third studio outing Tomb for Two that would go on to cement the duo’s legacy, with the album’s single “Gallow Dance” becoming a post-punk anthem for the times, with artwork became the band’s defacto logo. Not only that, the song “Sadness is Rebellion”, also featured on the album, became the band’s official Mantra.

Two years would pass before the release of 2015’s critically acclaimed fourth record, “Besides the Abyss”. In the intervening years, William and Larissa, initially a couple, would find other partners, and relocate to Athens.

Meanwhile, Lebanon Hanover as a live act would expand rapidly in popularity, exceeding capacity during their performances at Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig, and performing sold-out shows across Europe and the UK.

With the playful Babes of the 80s maxi-single released in the interim, three years would pass before the next record from Lebanon Hanover, with 2018’s Let Them Be Alien, the band’s fifth studio album.

At the dawn of the global pandemic, where dystopian nightmares that were only ever seen before within the pages of books and flashes of silver screen celluloid, has become a daily reality, a new kind of darkness envelops the world. It was at this Lebanon Hanover returned, sharing a glimmer of hope with the single “The Last Thing,” the duo’s first song from their forthcoming sixth studio album Sci-Fi Sky.

Spanning an epic journey across ten tracks that wander through industrial landscapes, and ascend beyond the atmospheric aether, Sci Fi Sky is Lebanon Hanover’s most cohesive artistic statement to date. With their icy hearts on their sleeves, this is the culmination of a decade’s worth of musical creativity radiating from the minds of both Iceglass and Maybelline, and altogether an otherworldly beacon of hope in a time of sheer darkness.

French producer and remixer Nicolas Laugier aka The Reflex is a name synonymous with supreme remixes and reimaginings of disco, soul, funk and dance classics. This brand new and essential double-pack sees Laugier take on some of the immense Salsoul catalogue, lovingly reworking classics alongside deep digs from the seminal NYC disco labels vaults. There's something for every dancefloor occasion here with Inner Life, Metropolis, Leroy Burgess and Aurra all getting The Reflex touch. These new versions are more than just re-edits, these are proper remixes utilising master stems, session tapes and the original spirit of these incredible recordings. It's no wonder The Reflex's 'revisions' have found themselves in the hands of tastemakers, DJs and hardcore record fiends alike! You need these....

These brand new mixes have been mastered with love, care and respect for Salsoul / BMG. Artwork and design courtesy of Al Kent / Million Dollar Disco. Worldwide manufacture and distribution courtesy of Above Board distribution, 2021.

Remix album for Oké's Deserto featuring nine interpretations of tracks from the original with a focus on the dancefloor alongside some abstract beats and rap.

Oasi (Deserto Remixed) features two groups of transatlantic contributors: Shigeto, DJ Dez, and Sterling Toles from Detroit; Populous, Godblesscomputers, DJ Rocca, and Silvano Del Gado from Italy, all close friends of the band. The remixes are rounded off by two versions from the man behind Oké, Andrea Visani, under his Katzuma and King Dumitru aliases.

The library music, cosmic jazz, and afro-house vibes of the original are retooled into a variety of dancefloor friendly productions: Shigeto and Silvano Del Gado invoke the tribal spirits of 'Ochosi Ayilodà'; Dez turns 'Il Venditore di Elastici' into a warm and comfortable chugging groove; Populous zeroes in on peak time ecstasy with his take on 'Queens of the Supercolony'; Rocca injects electro funk into 'Tarantula'; and Katzuma keeps it slow and funky with his refixes of 'Tamahaq' and 'Sons of Cabila.'

Balancing all these are two mellower contributions, with Godblesscomputers flipping 'The Secret Baile of the Maharajas' into a laidback roller and Sterling Toles transforming 'Serir' into a haunting song of remembrance.

Released on single 12" vinyl with seven of the nine remixes (two edited for length) and artwork from Andrea Casciu.

Dutch veteran Ekman bring his distorted signature sound to Lifeforms with two heavy, spaced out and acidic electro tracks. Digital download included.


Support from: Alienata, Filmaker, Miley Serious, Chupacabras, DVS NME, AETYECK,

Back in 2018, previously unheard artist James Infiltrate impressed via a punchy EP of club-focused electro numbers. It later emerged that the mysterious producer was none other than Constant Sound founder Burnski. Here he dons the alias once more for a full-length excursion three years in the making. It's a fine album, too, with the long-serving producer delivering a winning combination of punchy, club-ready beats, sci-fi fired synth sounds, moody Michigan bass and the kind of authentically spacey atmosphere that has long been associated with the greatest electro records. There's also enough subtle variety in terms of tempo and style to guarantee that you'll not get bored of it any time soon. Highly impressive, but did we really expect anything less?

AUF TOGO is the long-time collaboration of Sasa Crnobrnja
(from In Flagranti and Mytron & Ofofo) and Clement Cachot-Coulom
(from The Fabulous Penetrators and Big Girls).

After multiple singles and EPs on Leng Records and SaS Recordings, including two collaborative EPs with the tentacular outfit Becker & Mukai, acclaimed by fans and DJs alike, most of their time has been spent writing, recording and bringing to life the 8 amazing tracks that form their debut album “Movements”.

“Movements” follows in the steps of Auf Togo’s previous releases and won’t disappoint the early fans, but it also offers a completely new proposition. Their signature blend of slamming percussion, driving bass lines, psychedelic guitar hooks, fat analogue synths are expertly mixed with new musical ventures across the tracks: from the louche Hawaiian jazz of Along The Dotted Line to the psych-funk of Pan Con Tomate, the electronic wanderings of Mexico to the cinematic intensity of Radical Departures.

The result is a spell-binding summer album, one to listen to on a coastline somewhere under the Mediterranean sun, and one that is not afraid to wear its many influences on its sleeve, from 70s psych-rock to Balearic Beat, Space Disco and Afro Beat. The scope of “Movements” is wide and proves a captivating and gratifying listen.
Debut album from supergroup with members of In Flagranti and Mytron & Ofofo Pressed on 12” vinyl with artwork drawn and designed by Award winning animator Erica Russell UK/EU marketing campaign led by Neighborhood and specialist press/DJ by Your Army, with previous support from Mixmag, Trax, Ransom Note, NTS, Bill
Brewster, Andrew Weatherall and more.

Both regulars of the club, arts and queer scenes of New York, Berlin and London of the last three decades, it's surprising Wolfgang Tillmans and Honey Dijon only met five years ago. A walk between clubs in Brooklyn resulted in the two having a mutual interest to collaborate. Busy as both are, the wait was long, but well worth it. This week's release of Honey Dijon's Euphoria Mix of 'Can't Escape into Space' sets the tone for what is left of this summer: Our desire to be together, with friends and strangers, close up on dancefloors, festivals and open airs. Honey's and Wolfgang's shared unapologetic spirit comes alive as Dijon transforms Tillmans's original song into an electrifying dance floor banger. As we can already sense a reawakening of our freedom blowing in the air, even if many clubs remain closed, the two musicians' call to come together again is euphoric and inescapable.
The original version of the song was released last winter in the midst of lockdown, accompanied by a video showing an empty nightclub and its mirror balls performing for the camera, filmed in 2017 by Tillmans, in pre-pandemic Fire Island. A new video accompanies Honey Dijon's Euphoria mix with three vignettes of longing and passion.

The first vinyl LP release from Fluxus pioneer Alison Knowles (b. 1933). Sounds from the Book of Bean is an assemblage of noises and texts related to The Book of Bean (1982), Knowles’ 8-foot tall walk-in book constructed at Franklin Furnace in New York. This recording, the sounds of making the big book, was continually played back inside of the installation. Echoes of Yoshi Wada hammering together the circular spine of the book, other collaborators mixing ink, feeding a horse, the flowing waters of the Hudson Valley... all superimposed with texts and poems read by Knowles and her daughter Jessica Higgins.

On the second side of the album, the piece Essential Divisions features Knowles performing with red, black, and white beans. Recorded in Annea Lockwood’s underground studio, Knowles sounds the beans in glass, ceramics, wood, as well as in her mouth. Further bean histories and sound poems are recited, concluding with “Popular Bean Soup” – an ancient recipe translated by George Brecht.

Knowles’ big books are, as she describes them, transvironments: a transformationally experienced environment. The phenomenological nature of her book is distilled aurally in the case of this record. As Knowles describes the end of her book, “the reader leaves via a ladder or out the window and through a muslin panel printed with contradictory wisdom concerning beans and dreaming… one can begin again either by going on or turning back.”

Originally published as a cassette in 1982 on the New Wilderness Audiographics label, this remastered edition has been transferred from original tapes. An expansive 20-page booklet is included, holding graphics and writings from Alison Knowles, George Quasha, and Charlie Morrow.

Recorded by Alison Knowles, 1980
Produced by Alison Knowles, Sean McCann, & Charlie Morrow
Design by Alison Knowles, cover image courtesy George Quasha
Jessica Higgins adds voice to tracks 1, 3, 4, 5

Sistrum ventures ever deeper into the cold, dark nights of winter, conjuring the hidden warmth that lies within each waveform. Genesis Tracks showcases a collection of deep techno talents who aren't afraid to stand their ground for purity of sound.
Track 1 - Modular One - Quasar
Chris Mitchell teams up with label boss, Patrice Scott for a lush, hypnotic groove of classic proportions. Warm square wave tones pulsate and crisp chord stabs shimmer as they punctuate the atmosphere. Sistrum sound, through and through.

Track 2 - Johannes Volk - Steam
Johannes Volk ups the tempo a bit to create a dirty, driving dancefloor number with Steam. Maintaining the Sistrum tradition of raw, no-nonsense techno music with depth, texture and soul, Johannes Volk makes his case eloquently through the use of rolling bass and slowly modulated chords.

Track 3 - Marco Zenker - Second Sight
Deeper yet we go, as Marco Zenker proceeds into the darkness with the booming, reverbed kicks of Second Sight. Slowly evolving synth textures rise and undulate, meshing with the rugged rhythm section to form a powerful groove that can only be defined as 'techno soul.'

Track 4 - Sharif Anderson - Future Acid Test
Closing the EP, Sharif Anderson offers his forward thinking take on the traditional acid motif. As the title implies, the sound is futuristic, but still retains the simple subtleties of yore. Give this track a proper sound system and watch it come alive before your ears.

LIMITED CLEAR VINYL

LA based composer/sound designer duoHeliochrysumannounce the release of their visceral, deep and exploratory debut albumWe Become Mist.The album has beenmixed by Ben Frost and mastered by Valgeir Sigurdsson.

Heliochrysumis the world building meeting of Michael Deragon and Daniel Lea
( L A N D, Important Records), in which a collaboration becomes a sculpted journey into new aural and imaginative cosmology.We Become Mistuses analogue and digital processes to mine the depths of industrial and science fictional, psychedelic soundscapes, often cinematic in tone and texture.


Taking their cue from a shared palette of sounds, textures and rhythms,Heliochrysumcreate a unifying score that is at once improvisatory and sonically certain.We Become Mist is nothing short of the progression from a souterrain awakening to the terraformed sound of a new world coming into existence.

These tracks overlay analog sound sources, digital hard wrought processing and visual sound design, constantly morphing and turning on their own searching torque. Mixed by Ben Frost and mastered by Valgeir Sigurdsson, the accumulation of sheer vision and depth is transportative, if not outright mind wrenching. In between this melding of the analogue and digital was mixed another element: the album istinged with psilocybin technology. As a listener you can hear as you move through a psychedelic passage, like out of a state of lockdown into one of alien otherworldliness.

The piano, industrial crescendo of ˜We Remain Beneath is evidence of this, sounds modified into careful, lush arrangements. A Future Unfolds sounds like a burnished unfurling, a resplendent distortion bringing to mind some epic revelation while tracks such as ˜Infinite Dark or ˜Pre Dawn bristle with chrome pulses that burn with alarm and dulcet drama.

Just as they did with their palette of sounds,Heliochrysumtaps into a wide range of emotions from hope to devastation, growth and contagion.

The name Heliochrysum evokes the Latin for sunflower but also a healing tincture: in the overlaid orchestration and distorted lightness, the roiling, life-giving pour of the sun can be heard. Simplicity washed with emotional intensity, the remembered dreams of far-off, science-fictive discoveries.

Reunited after some fourteen years, following the historic success of their first collaboration Raising Sand (2007), which reached #2 on the UK album chart, generated multi-platinum sales, and earned six Grammy Awards including Album and Record of the Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell, and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl among others.
The album features twelve new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome,” and the Lucinda Williams classic “Can’t Let Go”.

Reunited after some fourteen years, following the historic success of their first collaboration Raising Sand (2007), which reached #2 on the UK album chart, generated multi-platinum sales, and earned six Grammy Awards including Album and Record of the Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell, and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl among others.
The album features twelve new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome,” and the Lucinda Williams classic “Can’t Let Go,”.

Reunited after some fourteen years, following the historic success of their first collaboration Raising Sand (2007), which reached #2 on the UK album chart, generated multi-platinum sales, and earned six Grammy Awards including Album and Record of the Year.
Like its predecessor, Raise The Roof was produced by T Bone Burnett, who worked with Plant and Krauss to expand their collaboration in thrilling new directions, accompanied by drummer Jay Bellerose, guitarists Marc Ribot, David Hidalgo, Bill Frisell, and Buddy Miller, bassists Dennis Crouch and Viktor Krauss, along with pedal steel guitarist Russ Pahl among others.
The album features twelve new recordings of songs by legends and unsung heroes including Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Bert Jansch and more. Other highlights include a Plant-Burnett original, “High and Lonesome,” and the Lucinda Williams classic “Can’t Let Go,”.

Grey Vinyl

Wayne Adams AKA Ladyscraper AKA Petbrick AKA Big Lad AKA amen-punk legend teams up with esteemed producer, Napalm Death engineer and musician Russ Russel for their debut outing as WARR. Four tracks of gnarly breakcore on this special hand-stamped and numbered 7", limited to 200 copies - just like the good ol days! For metal heads who like to rave and ravers who like to headbang.

For the first time a Black vinyl pressing of the sold out LP of the latest Chills album. Latest studio album from the Dunedin (NZ) songsmiths helmed by the enigmatic Martin Phillipps with artwork by Trees’ David Costa. Dunedin’s finest, The Chills release their seventh studio album ‘Scatterbrain’, a glorious self-examination of Martin Phillipps’ songwriting hot (ish) on the heels of the hugely successful ‘Snowbound’ (2018) and the critically-acclaimed movie ‘The Chills: The Triumph And Tragedy Of Martin Phillipps’ a year later. “It’s about artistic integrity, self-realisation, self-acceptance and a reflection on mortality.” The Guardian…. Now in 2021, Phillipps is now taking stock of things – everything. Yes, everything. The result is this triumphant new Chills’ album ‘Scatterbrain’, a thought-provoking and evocative take from a man who has lived through good times and bad. A mature and honest reflection on life, destiny and the fate of our times delivered in beautiful melodies with Phillipps’ trademarked incisive turn of phrase. Viewed from the perspective of a man understanding his age and indeed his own mortality, the new album takes a mature look at matters arising with a side order of perspective. ‘Scatterbrain’ is a life passing before your ears as uncertainty increases and fake news rumbles on; during which aliens invade, Phillipps scales the walls beyond abandon as he probes the minutiae of worlds within worlds and the hourglass fills. A landmark album from one of the great modern song writers, it’s pure pop music for the new normal and we can’t wait to see how it ends…“This is what a living legend looks and sounds like” Rolling Stone // “An architect of New Zealand’s fabled Dunedin sound” Pitchfork

There are records with empathy, records which are your friends and then there's the others... There might be little difference between them, a certain "je ne sais quoi", an "almost nothing but still something" which makes the difference between almost pointless and vital records. Despite, or rather thanks to his cynical despair, Matt Elliott's music never holds up a moralizing mirror to us - on the contrary, it creates a compassionate dialogue with listeners like the rhythm of two steps that synchronize to become as one. In 2016, Matt Elliot brought out his seventh solo album The Calm Before whose obscure title is neither exactly threatening nor comforting... the calm before what? Before the storm for sure but maybe also before the great record, the immediate classic we felt might be coming for a long time in the dual discography of the Bristol-born artist working under his own name and his electronic alias Third Eye Foundation. The elegant details and perspectives of Little Lost Soul (2000) already hinted at the upcoming masterpiece from the English singer-songwriter. The Mess We Made (2003) was Matt Elliott's first solo album and portrayed a universe in a kind of flight towards Balkan horizons made up of visceral despair. With the Songs trilogy, he put aside the electronic side of his work to continue working with a minimalist, stark and lucid style of writing. The Broken Man (2012) was full of tears and long laments sometimes carried by Katia Labèque's piano on a record which painted new shades of grey. On this record Matt began working with the producer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist David Chalmin (La Terre Invisible) who has kept on collaborating with the Bristol-born singer since then. Their partnership continued on Only Myocardial Infection Can Break Your Heart (2013) and The Calm Before (2016). Stéphane Grégoire is the head of the Ici D'Ailleurs label which has accompanied Matt Elliott since 2005 and perhaps he describes this album the best: "This new record by Matt is without a doubt his best album to date, a record that takes him into another dimension where he fully asserts himself as a songwriter and singer of the calibre of artists like Bill Callahan, Leonard Cohen or Johnny Cash." Matt Elliott's other records all seemed like empathic links between each other. Farewell To All We Know is an instant classic based on the sensitive piano and superb arrangements of David Chalmin, the sensitive cello of Gaspar Claus, the subtle bass of Jeff Hallam (who has also played with Dominique A and John Parish). There is a clear form of alchemy in all of this and still we find Matt Elliott's usual atmospheres and scenery, the same Eastern European folk music, long songs that take time to settle over time. Everything is the same but also is transfigured. By making his music stark and purifying and redefining the subject matter, Matt Elliott's work became so much more delicate. However this work is never frail nor really turned in on himself and thus becomes like a vital tune that vibrates and unfolds. The opening song Farewell To All We Know seems torn between the fear of what tomorrow may bring, inevitability and hope for the future in a permanent and progressive dramatic tension expressed by his Spanish guitar, the impressionist style piano and Matt's voice teetering on the edge of whispers. A funereal tribute to endless twilights and the dawns we all dream of seeing. There are touches of Leonard Cohen from Songs from a Room or Thanks For The Dance in The Day After That with Gaspar Claus's counterpoint cello. There is no spirit of resignation in Matt Elliott's work - life's path has to be followed against all odds. We have to follow the river's flow to reach the immense ocean and its infinite freedom. The haunted instrumental Guidance Is Internal harks back to the atmospheres of Howling Songs (2008) with its guitar parts full of scansions and muted threats. The music is transcendental but never seems afraid of the risk of falling. This is also what Bye Now tells us with its quasi-obsolete simplicity and sunburst melancholy reminiscent of the work of Luiz Bonfá, Bill Evans on Peace Piece or laidback crooners of the 50s. In Farewell To All We Know, Matt Elliott incessantly alternates between the dual desires to face up to the world or to protect himself from it. Hating The Player, Hating The Game is a lucid statement about the dullness of our daily lives sometimes, our right to get out of the game and no longer want to be part of it. Matt Elliott is tender but spares no one, particularly himself. Aboulia speaks of the tiredness of living and of looming death while Crisis Apparition says that there is always a time for reconstruction after chaos. This is like initially wearying wandering in the ruins of Aleppo with the slow dilution of the melody into a hallucinated drone. However the smell of great fires always fades and the earth always regenerates. Matt Elliott seems to suggest that the survival instinct is stronger than any cold winds could ever be. Matt Elliott never sings of certainties and prefers possibilities. Possibly the worst is over? Maybe... Maybe the storm has passed and devastated everything, now we just have to rebuild and live again. Farewell To All We Know shows us the distance that still needs to be walked and he walks next to you - right next to you, he is the friend who doesn't spare you the truth like all true friends really do.

Prince Madonna. Techno not Techno. Electronic experiments from a non-binary-sound-nerd-artsy-pop-sphere. A concept putting the works of art into focus: Every release is first published vinyl only under the alias "Prince Madonna". A few weeks later, only with the digital release, the artist behind "Prince Madonna" will be announced.

As Madonna herself once told Prince: "It’s about the music, not the hype.“

On PM001, "Prince Madonna I." mixes smoke, sweat and ecstatic bodies and embeds this poisonous mixture with techno and groove. 'Nuff said, just tune in and find out who is behind "Prince Madonna I." with the digital release soon.

Superb little pearl of an oldschool Italian tribe !
A big project... taking it's time to come...

Little jewel.

„Sounds like Burial who listened to Psychic TV instead of UK Garage. For me the best Pudel Produk-te so far, I'm thrilled. And you know me, I find a lot of things good, but only super cool super cool, best Pudel Produkte ever. How did you find them, do they come from Mainz or the surrounding area or what? Top record, I would also like to have it on vinyl for grandpa's cupboard“.

// Superdefekt


„The record sounds great!
This is the MFOC record, you can't get more MFOC than this.
Every track is awesome !!!!! It's on rotation here :))))"

// Rvds


„The Masterpiece, can only be topped by the Volume 2!"

// Ralf Köster
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techhouse
Techno
techno / minimal
Trip Hop/Headz
UrbanHipHopBeatesque
World Music
#1149

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Paz en La Tierra is a result of a search by the Meridian Brothers & Conjunto Media Luna of the heart of something that can be called a 'power format' of Colombian Caribbean music; Accordion , Guacharaca, Caja, Congas, Electric bass, and vocals.

Departing from this idea, and casually working with the music of a documentary on the famous singer Diomedes Diaz, Iván Medellín (accordionist of Conjunto media luna), and Eblis Álvarez from the Meridian Brothers, embarked on a new work building a sound exclusively on the traditional format, searching for several spaces between the lines in the universe of accordion in Colombian music.

The duo departed from the basic: the line of vallenato, the most famous in the country but not the only one, the line of sabanero music more of the lands of Sucre and Córdoba inclined towards cumbia, bullerengue, son vallenato among other airs fed the group's ideas. The Barranquilla center deserves a separate mention, due to its cosmopolitan approach, using all kinds of influences, from the Caribbean islands to ancient rhythms or even modern rock and funk, also used as an inspiration for this record.

In the process, new ways of melody appeared and new ways of expression emerged. Although the rhythms used in the record are rooted in the traditional, the duo glitched those rhythms turning them into new directions in the style, using exclusively the past references to transmute the sound into something that looks inside a parallel future.

Using several theatrical situations, alterations in musical structures, and slight deformations of the traditional harmony (a tonal center and its dominant) the result of "Paz en la Tierra" is enigmatic and charming, and at the same time directed towards the dance floor keeping the past alive and flourishing the essence of the tradition.

Master sampler Fed Conti has a way of making grooves sound as light as a feather, elevating kraut and jazz phrases to dreamy realms where the imagination is tickled. To kick off the forthcoming debut PROGedia album, revered producer and remixer Charles Webster adds his inimitable touch to the single ‘We Are The Night’, expanding on Conti’s heartfelt arrangements, playing with beats and textures, as he travels smooth melodic lines.

PROGedia is the newest alias of the Italian producer Fed Conti, also known as Mahjong and Nardis. After having played his Hammond organ with several jazz deities, and produced samples for Coca Cola and Universal, he is finally unleashing his kinky musical imagination in the PROGedia album; ‘We Are The Night’ kicks off a mixture of kraut, psychedelic grooves and nu jazz, tied together through clever arrangements and a refined sampling process. ‘It’s an escape from modern decadence,’ says Fed, who adores the authentic and offbeat. It only makes sense, then, that the first track of his upcoming album is called ‘We Are The Night’; during the darkest hours PROGedia’s retro extravagance can claim a foothold, offering a warm breeding ground for quirkiness, infatuation, and musical liberation.

The renowned producer Charles Webster, too, is a real music fetishist; he got his first instruments at the age of 13 and went on to collaborate with the likes of Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, founding his own Love From San Francisco project and following with two decades of classy and sophisticated music productions. For this occasion, he has added his unmistakable touch to the ‘We Are The Night’ title track, complementing PROGedia’s infectious grooves with poignant rhythms and motley textures.

Fast becoming America's most auspicious triumvirate of minimal electronic music interpreters, Imbue's sixth enactment on their self-titled imprint, provides a diverse assemblage of sonic deities, which are destined to gratify the ears of both discernible crate diggers and avid ravers alike.

Enriched with enchanting soundscapes that embody the essence of seasonal fulfillment that can only be associated with the Spring bloom, Imbue dig-deep into their musical repertoire to deliver a comprehensive septenary compilation.

The A-side immediately transcends you on an atmospheric, cosmic journey, underpinned by Imbue's signature acoustic sound - a superimposition of live electric guitar and analog synthesizers. As the journey progresses, ubiquitous rolling percussion seamlessly intertwines with discrete fragments of synthetic grooves, evoking an innate sense of serenity.

The B-side continues to enthrall the listener with yet more seismic grooves, conjuring a rhetoric of warm, alfresco beach vibes, synonymous with Imbue's native origins, in Miami, Florida.

A thoroughly consistent and uncompromising selection of entangled rhythms, scales and timbres, Bloom provides a palatable soundtrack, full of joie de vivre. And, as its wonderfully beautiful cover intimates, the record should arrive just in time for summer, and the reopening of our hallowed dance floors.

Weighty Ways strongly believe that every now and then the Universe aligns a series of elements that leads to the uprising of a unique talent. Enter the Room 'Alfredo Romero', alias of Alfie Aukett, Music Extraordinaire hailing from West London. Alfredo Romero is the byproduct of where a philosophical understanding of the sonic landscape meets all its capabilities. With little regard for the restraints of traditional music theory and drawing influences from improvisational genres such as Jazz (which Alfie studied to a molecular level at Leeds University) makes for a superior musical tapestry woven by a man far beyond his years.

Alfie's quest for musical enlightenment started at a very young age as a Chorister and experimented with a plethora of musical instruments. This profound musical understanding is evident in "Retrain Station", a four track EP born from the ashes of a desolate 2020. A collection of seamlessly flowing production with tones drawn from the musical nuances of Jazz, Blues and Classical through to the ever evolving face of the electronic music scene from both sides of the pond.

Strong on all flavours from Jungle to Jazz. A magnificent EP from a truly special individual.

Marco Shuttle's third album, Cobalt Desert Oasis, features a varied collection of music recorded across a two year period. Often traveling to remote destinations, Marco would come back to Berlin with field recordings, images, and other inspirations to process in his studio and turn into sound.

The theme of the journey turns into a something more abstract than a travel diary, where environmental sounds blend in with modular synthesis, drum machines, effects and analog oscillators resulting in a cinematic listening experience where psychedelia, ritualism, and mysticism weave together in a sort of alien soundscape - that as the title of the album suggests, is reminiscent of a parallel utopian world.

The album is rich in complex rhythmics, and more than in any of his previous work, has strong acoustic elements. Amongst other percussion instruments, Marco used the Tombak, a traditional Persian hand drum capable of reaching a very wide range of frequencies - from deep round subby toms, to high pitched sharp rimshots, throughout the record.

Marco Shuttle is certainly not new to these sort of elements, but in Cobalt Desert Oasis he brings the environmental element of his sound into the forefront in a way that takes the listener into a hazy expanse where it is sometimes difficult to distinguish the machine elements from the natural - and where the music almost becomes a visual experience, which relates to Marco's own photography used throughout the cover and insert images.

As disco legends GIORGIO MORODER and CERRONE were pumping out disco hits in 1979 a lesser known BERNARD ESTARDY was releasing leftfield disco under aliases like ESTRAK LANCIOS, L.E.B. HARMONY, and UNIVERSAL ENERGY. Limited reissue with pic sleeve. Mystery colored vinyl.

A boundless creative spirit, Australian artist Paul Schütze has worked for over forty years as a musician, photographer, visual artist and perfumer. He has exhibited at institutions such as the Hayward Gallery, the V&A and Madrid’s Arco, held residencies at the Cité des Arts in Paris and has works in collections worldwide. He has collaborated with musicians from Jah Wobble to Toshinori Kondo, from Bill Laswell to David Toop, and worked both as a filmscore composer and music critic in print.

A new, remastered compilation of key works from Schütze’s catalogue, The Second Law, collates music from various periods and albums. Represented here are tracks from 1990’s The Annihilating Angel, an album of blissed-out fourth-world mystery; from the transcendent homage to traditional Indonesian gamelan music The Rapture of Metals (1993); from the ethereal, spiritual, Nino Rota-esque melancholy of 1991’s Regard: Music by Film. It is occasionally dark, industrial and begrimed; occasionally paradisiacal and breathtakingly elegant. There are works of celestial, astronomic grandeur alongside microscopically detailed miniatures. Empty, deserted spaces of man-made abandonment contrast with studies of ornate natural beauty.

Stephan Bodzin proves once again why he is one of the most innovative techno artists in the world with new album Boavista. The expressive 17 track full length lands on Herzblut Recordings on October 8th 2021 and is proceeded by lead single 'Boavista' on the Afterlife label.

German icon Stephan Bodzin is globally recognised on a number of fronts - his live show is one of techno's most celebrated, his productions constantly push the genre forward with his own trademark sound. He has put out well-received solo long players Liebe Ist and Powers of Ten as well as worked on many other iconic projects under a range of aliases.

In the last year, Stephan had the chance to look back on the vast archives of music he has recorded but never finished. While spending time in Brazil, he picked his 25 favourites and finished them properly, with the best 17 making up Boavista. His simple aim was to tell stories with each track, to paint musical pictures that conjure up very real emotions in the listener. As always, playing the album live was in the back of Bodzin's mind throughout the creative process. This means each track is a powerful piece that is both emotional and honest, physical and straightforward, but also true to the authentic Bodzin sound. The lack of DJ gigs and club experienceshad no impact on the music: Stephan has long since done his own thing and has never tried to conform to expectations.

And so it proves. The album kicks off with the lush 'Earth' which pays homage to all the elements of life - water, fire, wind, as well as time, light and the rotation of the planet. 'LLL' is an electronic lullaby track defined by a sense of love for the people in Stephan's life and 'Astronautin' has a lead synth that came about after Stephan's daughter said she would like to be an astronaut when she grows up. It truly takes you to the stars before the simple but effective melodic patterns of the title track light up a night sky with real hope.

Elsewhere there 'Infinite Monkey' which was a freeform jam that was led by the music itself, the epic pads of 'Dune' and interstellar explorations of the more thoughtful and melancholic 'Cooper Station’. 'Nothing Like You' was written in a hotel room before Stephan's last pre-lockdown gig, then 'Isaac' is another powerful journey through space and time, different worlds and alternative realities.

Further hypnotising highlights come from the soft melodies but powerful basslines of 'Collider', the expansive synths of 'Trancoso' and the delicate beauty of 'Ataraxia', which references German composer Klaus Doldinger who was a huge influence on Stephan's understanding of melodies and harmonics. 'Breathe' is a second spindling vocal track featuring Luna Semara next to 'Nothing Like You' and closer 'Rose' isa heartbreaking piano piece.

Boavista is another exquisitely crafted album of rich, synth-heavy electronic music that takes you into new worlds of emotion and leaves you in awe

With the last two 7"s selling out in a matter of days, don't sleep on your chance to grab a copy of this limited Bombstrikes vinyl. This time out we have a double header from former Blue Note and Fabric resident: Ali B. Once again the double A side delivers two sure fire jams. First up is 'Swing It' alongside South African-American hip-hop artist Afika NX and given the remix treatment by the master of all things re-edit: Jim Sharp, who flips the track into a perfectly funked out hip hop jam. Over on the AA side, Ali teams up with legendary Jungle Brother Baby Bam for 'Music Saves Me', which is also given a remix. This time it's Bombstrikes co-founder Beatvandals who masterfully takes Bam's vocals and melds them to an up-tempo funk track with infectious sax hooks and tight disco grooves which come with dopeness baked in. This one has already gained massive support from the likes of Nightmares On Wax, The Allergies, A-Skillz, and is now available on vinyl for the first time.

a a1 Ali B, Jim Sharp, Beatvandals, Baby Bam & Afika NX Swing It (Jim Sharp Remix) feat. Afika NX
feat. Baby Bam

Leng Records has long admired Andrew Meecham’s work as the Emperor Machine. Last year, Meecham made his first appearance on the label via a fine remix of Harks & Mudd favourite ‘Susta’. 12 months on, Meecham returns to Leng with his first Emperor Machine outing of 2021, a typically eccentric, heavily electronic dancefloor outing featuring the seductive vocals of rising star Séverine Mouletin. Meecham is one of British dance music’s most experienced and lauded producers, with a packed history stretching right back to the acid house era. He first rose to fame as part of Bizarre Inc and Chicken Lips (both alongside long-term studio partner Dean Meredith), but over the last two decades has devoted far more time to solo work as The Emperor Machine. In the process, he’s developed a sparse, hypnotic, heavily electronic trademark sound that combines analogue and modular synthesizer sounds with nods to post-punk disco, new wave, trippy proto-house and the mind-altering experiments of the Radiophonic Workshop.



‘Dance Par Amour’, his first solo single on Leng, is typical of his now familiar personal sonic style, with echoing, alien-sounding synthesizer motifs (some reminiscent of those that marked out Chicken Lips’ club classic ‘He Not In’), with bubbly sequenced bass, unfussy machine drums, rubbery slap-bass riffs and flashes of post-punk disco guitars.



Sparse but weighty and pleasingly trippy, the EP-leading ‘Extended Vocal Mix’ is classic Emperor Machine: a near ten-minute workout in which Mouletin’s tender but confident vocals rise above Meecham’s stylish and note perfect backing track, which sits somewhere between early ‘80s ‘no wave’ New York disco, lo-fi European synth-pop and the trippy late night dancefloor dubs that were once a feature of American boogie and proto-house records. Meecham further explores his love of these sparse, effects-laden “synth-dubs” on the accompanying ‘Erotique Dub’, a thrillingly heavy, heads-down affair awash with echoing vocal snippets, hypnotic drums and synthesizer flourishes that attractively echo across the sound space. Like the best DJ-focused dubs of the early 1980s, the remix is propelled forwards by a strong bassline, around which other elements – guitar, bass guitar, sparkling synth sounds and mind-mangling electronics – appear, make their mark and then drift off into the ether. With key passages of Mouletin’s vocal appearing periodically to encourage people to dance, it’s the kind of delightfully wayward revision that will keep people dancing well into the early hours.

German electro producer Martin Matiske has recently breathed new life into his Blackploid alias. The project's revival continues to bear fruit with the Strange Stars EP, Matiske's third Blackploid release of 2021 and second for Central Processing Unit after issuing March's Cosmic Traveler EP through the Sheffield label.

Blackploid's two CPU drops have more in common than just stargazing titles. Those who enjoyed Cosmic Traveler will find plenty to like again in these four tracks, with Matiske serving up another quartet of snappy machine-funk joints this time around. However, while there is certainly a throughline between Cosmic Traveler and Strange Stars, this EP also finds Blackploid pushing the envelope at points by taking risks with his synth tones which thrill and enliven the record.

In keeping with the cosmic theme of Blackploid's recent output, Strange Stars kicks off with 'Star Patrol'. While this opening cut is full of the same needle-gun basslines and dinky synths that characterised Cosmic Traveler, the drum programming eschews the broken beats favoured by many in the scene for a straight house/techno snap. It makes for a very groovy jam, one with Drexciya, Computer World-era Kraftwerk and a pinch of Space Dimension Controller in its mix.

Indeed, the only track on Strange Stars which skips along on a broken beat is second entry 'The Signal'. 'The Signal' also features some of Blackploid's most impressive electronics programming to date, announcing itself with a brilliantly unusual synth that sounds like an old video game unit which has just gained sentience. When this alien tone is combined with another precision-engineered bassline the track invokes the grizzly bangers of the L.I.E.S. label, though the keyboard stabs which enter periodically also hint to the funkier electro of, say, Egyptian Lover.

'The Unseen', the first B-side of Strange Stars, finds Blackploid bringing together many of the things which made the two previous tunes such standouts. A steady four-on-the-floor and a slightly haunted feel to the synth choices casts back to 'Star Patrol', but much like 'The Signal' this joint also features some rather weird tones which are a hair's breadth away from machine malfunction. It's a feeling which runs through to closing cut 'Light Corridor', a number where melodies and anti-melodies zip around an array of gurgling electronic cells.

Martin Matiske's fine run of Blackploid EPs continues with the intergalactic electro stylings of Strange Stars.

RIYL: Drexciya, Cardopusher, Legowelt, Beau Wanzer, Jensen Interceptor

Bjarki leads a pack of international artists who in the past few years have taken a hauntological approach to re-moulding the scents of breakbeat, rave, jungle, trance and IDM into sounds that are entirely their own. Already this year he began his own label bbbbbb with artistic sparring partner Johnny Chrome Silver, released under new alias Cucumb45, performed his new live show at clubs and festivals from Mutek ES and Peacock to Printworks, and recently announced a US tour for July.

TRP015 finds Bjarki in typical, monstrous, floor slaying form with four trance leaning tracks that have proved an inspiration for Nina Kraviz's DJ sets over the past year. Bjarki takes key aspects of trance and takes it for a headspin into the unknown - mangled percussion, disorienting voices, unravelling textural layers, sub aquatic bass frequencies and intense melodies. All make for a uniquely irreverent take on a much maligned genre that most of us secretly adore..

Repress

Veteran French producer, Maelstrom made his Cultivated Electronics debut in 2018 with 'ECZO EP'. Now more than two years later and following a new album on RAAR, he returns with another EP, this time for CE's vinyl-only subsidiary, Cultivated Electronics Ltd. Joan-Mael Peneau has been making music for over fifteen years, with a history of aliases and side projects, illegal raves thrown in warehouses, fields and basements, but he soon came into his own under his Maelstrom moniker, releasing music on the likes of RAAR (the label he co-founded with Louisahhh in 2015), Cultivated Electronics, Central Processing Unit, Mechatronica, Private Persons and Discos Atonicos. Though his name suggests chaos, Maelstrom's music delivers intention, focus and precision that are evident on his 'Expression Directe' EP, which features four new tracks of deep and expressive electro-funk.

The 11th release on BLKMARKET MUSIC comes from JLM Werx with 4 hard hitting electro-bass tracks.

The Russian born producer JLM Werx (aka Kiril Junolainen) is based between Turku (Finland) and St. Petersburg (Russia) and is a
man of many production aliases. He is the founder of four record labels Datarocket, Lasergum, Dvatri and Intraflex.

JLM Werx makes his label debut with his ‘Heartbeatz’ EP.

His 4 track EP features tracks A1 Heartbeat MC, A2 Telephone, B1 Total Zero, and B2 Just a Mirage.

Prepare to get taken into outer orbit and into another galaxy.

We are excited to welcome JLM Werx to the Blkmarket Music family.

All tracks written & produced by JLM WERX

ETCHING:
“Time is a heartbeat of the universe”

* Limited edition transparent vinyl repress of the very first Formation Records release from 1991 – DJ SS – The Pyscho EP. This EP kicks off a series of retrospective releases as the label celebrates it’s 30th Anniversary this year.

* Bringing it back to where it all began in 1991, this 6 track EP is a melting pot of all the genre, styles and cultures that collided to give birth to the Rave scene.
* Newly remastered from the original DATS this seminal EP has never sounded so good!
* DJ SS is a powerhouse in British Breakbeat music, having been one of the originators of the Rave scene, and his legendary imprint Formation Records is still going strong to this day releasing cutting edge Drum & Bass and giving a platform to new and established artists alike.

The Kniteforce Complete Collection Volume 4 does exactly what it says on the box, giving you the full Kniteforce Vinyl releases of the tracks from KF61-KF80, fully remastered, in both Wav and MP3 format. These tracks have NEVER been released on the digital stores, and until now have never been avaialbel in any digital format. All the tracks here are from the beginning of the new vinyl era, and as such feature some of the names that have made themselves in recent years, such as Mannik, Nicky Allen and Shadowplay, not to mention tracks from old skool masters such as Hyper-On Experience, Billy Bunter and The Fat Controller, right beside Kniteforce’s legendary roster of Dj Ham, Dj Force & The Evolution, Luna-C, Alk-e-d and many more…

Club / DJ Support
Jay Cunning, Ray Keith, Nookie, El Hornet, Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Liquid, Hyper On Experience, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

LP with printed insert. Trance Plantations is the new brainchild of Nathan Daems (Black Flower, Echoes of Zoo) and Falk Schrauwen (Echoes of Zoo).They draw on tribal and spiritual music from all over the world and launch them into the cosmos through their electro-acoustic mix.

Rising UK pop-rock/alternative five-piece Tigress return with their debut
album Pura Vida, following a series of EP releases with UK tastemaker UK
rock label Lab Records.
Bringing to mind the punky, scuzzy, low-frequency rock n roll of Royal Blood
and Slaves, singer Katy Jackson is the UK’s next superstar alt-rock frontwoman
in waiting, following in the footsteps of both YONAKA and VUKOVI.
Tigress’ primary coloured aesthetic and uniquely British sounding rock continues to set the band apart from their contemporaries, and a relentless work
ethic has seen the band set the UK and European touring scene alight, with
plans to perform at SXSW in 2022.
Tigress have already had press and radio coverage from the likes of Kerrang!,
Rock Sound, Alternative Press, Upset Magazine, Total Guitar, The Metro, BBC
Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Introducing, Radio X, Kerrang! FM, RTE 2XM, Triple
J and Planet Rock.
KEY MARKETING POINTS:
Late Summer/Autumn UK festivals + UK/EU headline tour in October 2021
Previous single ‘Paranoid’ used in marketing promo by Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame
Previous support slots include Green Day @ British Summer Time, Bring Me
The Horizon in mainland EU, and Billy Talent
Other festivals: Download, The Great Escape, Vans Warped Tour UK

Having stepped into fourth year of existence the factory of Depth.Request manufactures an article in form of an EP titled "Night Wounds Time" produced by British-born underground scene veteran Mahk Rumbae under the guise Antechamber, which - in slight contrast to his arguably better known alias Codex Empire - he ostensibly reserves for a more dysfunctional brand of electronic music intended as much for frantic terpsichorean participation as for contemplating the inevitable under the gloom of moonless nights. In line with offbeat nature of sounds presented, the release gives a subtle nod to Tod Phillips' literary work "A Humument", borrowing its name and
track titles from the lines within the idiosyncratic book.

Storming in with his newest slice of extraterrestrial swing-ology, Liquid Earth (alias Urulu under guise) returns to dish out the playful above all “Scope Zone” - a lush and bouncy gem primed for ecstatic workouts and bold galactic excursions, complete with a reshape from Scottish born, Berlin-based vibist, Youandewan. Flush with garage va-va-voom and low-end paranormal activity, “Scope Zone” indeed lacks no wide-screen power of crowd subjugation.

Taking us back to the 90s continuum with its astute mix of chopped-up vox, pong-like bleeps and propulsive buildup, Liquid Earth’s latest is a fun-loving ode to the kaleidoscopic sound of an era and its untamed flow of energy. True to his signature refined melodic touch and airy 4x4 architectonics, Youandewan’s version has us embarking for a proper deep, exhilarating ride across bumpy time warps and oddly familiar parallel universes.

Australia's biggest selling dance act and one of the most popular drum'n'bass acts of the early 21st century, Pendulum are an Australian group based in the United Kingdom. Formed in Perth in 2002, the group was originally comprised of producers Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen, who worked in tandem with a local DJ named Paul "El Hornet" Harding. One of the team's initial releases, "Vault," became a sensation amid the drum'n'bass community in 2003, benefiting greatly from its high-profile placement at the beginning of J Majik's FabricLive mix album. In 2005, Pendulum made their full-length album debut, Hold Your Colour, featuring the singles "Tarantula" and "Slam."
Pendulum signed to Warner Music U.K. and made their major-label debut with 2007's "Granite," a Top 30 hit. Their second full-length album, In Silico (2008), spawned four singles, including U.K. Top Ten hit "Propane Nightmares". In Silico went on to reach platinum status in the U.K., as well as just missing out on the U.K. number one album chart spot. Their third album, Immersion, was released in 2010, and shot straight to the top of the U.K. albums chart. It featured collaborations with the Prodigy's Liam Howlett, Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson, and Swedish metallers In Flames. In support of the album, Pendulum embarked on a world tour, playing two sold-out shows at London's Wembley Arena and headline slots at some of the U.K.'s largest festivals.
At the end of 2011, Pendulum took a break from live performing, with Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen focusing their energy on their side project, Knife Party. In 2018, Pendulum returned from a seven-year hiatus, with Rob Swire, Gareth McGrillen and Paul Harding currently touring as Pendulum - Trinity.

This double album is a new collaboration between long-time Umor Rex artists Andreas Gerth (one half of Driftmachine) and Carl Oesterhelt (11 Pieces for Synthesizer). Both developed their shared musical cosmos during their time with the now defunct Tied +Tickled Trio. Oesterhelt is also known for his solo compositions for orchestras and for collaborations with Johannes Enders and Hans-Joachim Irmler of Faust.

As futurism seems inherent to electronic music, the backward-looking view is alien to its nature – consequently, a dialectical struggle between these principles is rarely expressed with the means of electronics. Especially today, its essence as a medium of progress stands in opposition to a sceptical position. By reconnecting us with history, The Aporias of Futurism seeks to define a critical location, that stands in opposition to the postmodern concept of interpretation, deconstruction and reformulation and the belief in progress that goes with it.

The working method for the album Andreas and Carl followed was the usual musique-concrète-technique – cut/assemble/edit/process pre-recorded sounds – but instead of deconstructing the concrete noises into an abstract sound entity, they followed a different path: the organic interweaving of orchestral structures with the electronically processed noise layers into a composition in the sense of classical modernism at the beginning of the 20th century.

Carl started with sketches recorded via a broken CD player, processed through a ring modulator, which sounded like old electronic music from the 1950s. To interact with these fragments Andreas recorded and processed a plethora of everyday noises, atmospheres, tonal fragments from the modular, industrial and shortwave radio noise, percussion in the form of door slamming, falling metal sheets, ball tracks, and so on. So, while they still played within the futuristic discipline, the reference to the past is actually unmistakable. One can hear it in the tonality of the contrasting orchestral passages, in the sound character of the processed samples and the sonic electronic layers. But it is precisely here, where a narrative tension develops. Theses and antitheses, extreme (unresolved) opposites, contrasts… essentially inner contradictions, or expressed in another word aporias… … but there is another factor at play here, something that plays a subordinate, almost ostracized role in the post-modern context: beauty (albeit the beauty of ruins) – beauty, the only refuge of the pessimist.

In the course of the process, a wide range of motifs and ideas emerged from the fog of memory. Free associations of concepts, books and authors from a wide period of time, such as Milton's Paradise Lost, William Blake, Robert Graves, ancient Rome, as well as Borges and Juan Rulfo. This flood of images is also incorporated on the album cover as a "free interpretation" of cultural objects and their relations in time.

The overarching motif of a sceptical rejection of the idea of Futurism is illustrated by a quote from Emile M. Cioran, the writer who most closely embodies the common spirit of the work presented here.

"But here comes the strangest thing: the Futurist idolizes becoming only until he has enforced that order for which he fought; then the ideal conclusion of time becomes apparent to him, the ‘always’ of utopia, which concludes and crowns the historical process. The conception of the Golden Age of Paradise par excellence, thus grips believers and unbelievers alike. But between the original paradise of the religions and the eschatological of the utopia there is the whole distance that separates a nostalgia from a hope, a repentance from a delusion, an achieved from an unrealized completion."

All music composed by Andreas Gerth and Carl Oesterhelt between Berlin and Munich, Germany in 2021. Produced and mixed by Andreas Gerth in Berlin. Mastered by John Tejada in Sherman Oaks, USA. Artwork by Daniel Castrejón in Mexico City.

“Under the Haramia Tapes veil, Laurine Frost wriggles his way through dub infected, smoke-laden horizons bending and stretching time mischievously while peering through his mask. The saga continues no differently than any of Frost's other elusive outings, genre defiant as ever, we get a glimpse of what allegedly is an unreadable and luminous future.

Following his complex concept driven offerings, on ‘Daydreaming’ we are treated to a set of groovy and hypnotic vignettes flowing ever so fluidly between beat, rhythm, and harmony. Surgically layered, yet expertly stripped back, these bedtime ragers are crafted for those waking moments where the body becomes the mind.”

Ali Safi

With the release of their new single ‘R&B’, the ever-exciting
English Teacher prove they could be your new favourite band.
 As far as Northern cities go, Leeds probably isn’t the first place
you’d think of as a burgeoning hotbed of fiercely independent
and DIY bands. Often overshadowed by its neighbours further
along the M62, it’s precisely because of this that Leeds’ music
scene is as vehemently independent and self-sufficient as it is.
 The latest band to emerge from the city are four-piece English
Teacher. Keeping Leeds’ longstanding tradition of
uncompromising post-punk alive, the quartet’s latest single
‘R&B’ is three minutes of clattering bass and crisp percussion,
sporadic guitar occasionally punctuating the tension as
frontwoman Lily Fontaine explores ideas of imposter syndrome
and lethargy throughout the creative process.
 Lethargic is one thing ‘R&B’ isn’t, however. Fraught and frantic
perhaps. Imbued with a dry wit and self-awareness certainly,
but no one’s about to level any accusations of indifference at
English Teacher. The band explain, “the song is about the
cyclical, productivity-diminishing paradox of low self-esteem and
imposter syndrome-induced writer’s block that then fuels low
self-esteem and imposter syndrome. It’s also about racial
identity and putting the love that you have to offer a potential
romantic partner back into yourself.”
 Harbouring a cloying sense of paranoia that only increases as
the track progresses, there are elements of bands such as Slint
and Sonic Youth at play. Rather than feel like a ‘90s throwback,
however, ‘R&B’ succeeds feeling not just contemporary but vital.
Providing both a short, sharp gut punch and insight into Leeds’
ever-growing indie scene.
 Recently supported Sports Team on tour.
 Dan Carey is set to produce a forthcoming album and also
plans to release a single on Speedy Wundergound.

LP in printed innersleeve. SUWI is an instrumental trio emerging from the creative scene of Ghent (Belgium).Music for lovers of instrumental soul and artists such as Tommy Guerrero, Khruangbin, Menahan Street Band, ...

This is the Second edition of Illegal Alien LTD new Various Artists Compilation Series called ‘Between Lands & Oceans’ this series will become an annual compilation and it will be presented in Vinyl, CD, Cassette and Digital format. For our first Volume, we are proud and delighted to count with all this great artists, some of them already with a very successful career and others with a very promising future. Nothing but quality Techno music inside this Various Artists and we thank everyone that is involved on the second Volume of Between Lands & Oceans’.

Legally blind from birth, Brazilian keyboard player, composer and bandleader Manfredo Fest learnt to read music in braille and began studying classical music at a young age. By 17 he had fallen in love with jazz (particularly the music of fellow blind pianist George Shearing) before becoming swept up in Rio's emergent bossa nova movement in the sixties. Moving to the States in 1967 where he would go on to work with fellow countryman Sergio Mendes, Fest recorded and self-released Brazilian Dorian Dream in 1976, enlisting Thomas Kini (bass), Alejo Poveda (drums, percussion) and Roberta Davis (vocals).

Like a turbo-powered, intergalactic elevator ride, Brazilian Dorian Dream builds on the principle of the modal diatonic scales of the Dorian mode, with influences of Brazilian rhythms, North American jazz and funk, and music of the European baroque and romantic era. The coming together of these intergenerational and intercontinental styles coupled with Fest's visionary use of the Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, Arp and Moog synthesizers (plus a whole load of effects units), makes for an album light years ahead of its time.

The miraculous wordless vocals of American jazz singer Roberta Davis are nailed so tightly alongside Manfredo's keys and mind-bending synths that it sounds almost alien. On the album's liner notes, Fest preaches Davis' ability highlighting how hard it is to sing such precise intervals so accurately. One of the tracks on which the vocals shine brightest is space funk stepper "Jungle Cat", which features hard funky drums, freaky synth lines and expert Rhodes comping. The track builds up and up before releasing into the unmistakable scat melody in the chorus.

A few years after releasing Brazilian Dorian Dream, Fest recorded and released his Manifestations album in 1979, featuring 'Jungle Kitten'': a new dancefloor focused variation on "Jungle Cat". At around 140 BPM 'Jungle Kitten' was possibly deemed too fast for statside dance floors, which explains why it never got a US 12" release. But the track became something of an underground hit at jazz dance clubs and all-dayers across the UK in the 80s and as a result it has probably become Fest's most well known track since.

Atomnation's 90th release is to be an album from long time associate David Douglas. He first appeared on the label in 2012 and now Escapism is a triumphant return across 10 tracks of deeply melodic and melancholic electronic music, with artwork by Menno Fokma.

David is a consistently high quality and prolific producer who has put out key albums like Moon Observations and Spectators Of The Universe, as well as vital EPs such as Mountain Pink and Royal Horticultural Society. He is an accomplished video editor who also edits documentaries while at the same time being an all encompassing producer. David finds inspiration in the majesty of the cosmos and the grandeur of nature and manages to capture the essence of that in his music.

This is an album that finds a perfect balance between heady underground sounds and more catchy pop tracks - an accomplished and adventurous album that takes you on an emotional ride through the ups and downs of everyday life, all with a delicate musical touch.

Trad Vibe Records proudly presents a first-time reissue of Caribou, a side-project of Cortex, originally released in 1977. A great and rare double-sider jazz-funk 7inch, now available as a reissue.

French avantgarde Jazz-Funk pioneers Cortex released three milestone albums during the seventies including the iconic Troupeau Bleu. Their music has been sampled by Hip Hop artists such as MF Doom, Wiz Khalifa, Lupe Fiasco and Rick Ross and as a consequence is still very much alive today.

Nottingham don Lukas Wigflex and "The Wizard" Tom Smith come correct with their Me & Meds project. Following on from their debut together on Wigflex, the follow up is just as inventive & playful.

2 years in the making- the studio skills of the pair shine through across the 3 tracks. The opener "Curtains Nine Tails" moves and warps over the first few minutes only to penetrate the listener with a crescendo of god-like basslines and tripped out vocals.

Faffhammer which gained big popularity when Lukas played it on that boat party at Love International is an atmospheric, wonked out euphoric number of the highest order.

The records finished off with the offside ramblings of another notorious Notts head - Des Hagenasty. This is his first outing on wax and it does not disappoint, backed by the analog wobbles and techno grit of Me & Meds, this one bites. The videos an eye opener too, just you wait!

0115 is alive.

Percussionist Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim recorded this
mix of Latin and spiritual jazz in his adopted home of
Denmark in 1988. Sought after for the African
influenced ‘Kalahari Suite’, ‘Harlem’ is actually eight
tracks of brilliance that sees the veteran performer
lead a local band through their paces. A perfect
example of America meets Europe.
As Juan Amalbert he had led the in-demand Latin Jazz
Quintet who recorded for Prestige and United Artists in
the early 60s, including Caribé, which featured Eric
Dolphy. In 1966 he was asked to appear with John
Coltrane’s group at the performances that produced
the album ‘Live At The Village Vanguard Again’. Soon
after Amalbert recorded another album, which this time
featured Pharoah Sanders in the horn line-up. All that
appeared at the time was a single on Golden Earth
Records, but the album was later released as ‘Oh!
Pharoah Speaks’ in the wake of Sanders’ solo
success.
He then made the soulful 45 ‘When You Lose You
Groove’ / ‘The Knower’ and the spiritual jazz classic
‘Total Submission’ for Cobblestone, which featured the
updated version of ‘The Knower’, called ‘Al-Alim’,
which Acid Jazz included on ‘Jazz On The Corner 2’.
After that, like so many American jazzmen, he packed
his bags and headed to Europe to carry on his career,
which is where, in 1988 he recorded ‘Harlem’.
Acid Jazz are happy to officially reissue this album on
vinyl for the first time since its initial release, with full
co-operation of Rahim’s estate.

MUSAR is honoured to revive the electronic-synth legend, MANASYt, with a new five-track EP as part of a three-EP series. 'Reality Defense Department' will be the Bulgarian's first material since 2012, set to release via MUSAR on December 8, 2017.
Petar Tassev aka MANASYt, hails from the twilight zone. Growing up with the blacks swans in the forest of communist Bulgaria, listening to metal and hardcore music then interpreting the moody, roughness together with inspirations from electronic new-wave music to a raw, pure and dark adventure bubbling with madness.
'Reality Defense Department' is a future horror movie soundtrack. The first track 'Memory Imprints' is a pure psychedelic-trip into the mental clinic for clockwork orange droogs. The second track 'Mobile Pharmacy' can be described as what the aliens would listen to while attacking Earth. The last original track 'Orthodox Spanking' is a dark, wayward electro track full of post-punk elements, perfect for a fetish party.
A pair of remixes by Brooklyn's wonder girl 'Via App' with a deep, dark and gothic techno rework for the late dazed hours of the morning and Norwich's kept secret, Wax Stag (an occasional collaborator with Bibio and Clark) that delivers a dreamy, cosmic twist that will linger in your consciousness for a long, long time to come.

Transmission incoming…
Alien sound waves have been bouncing off the side of our ship.
We’ve managed to capture some of them on plastic.
They seem to appear suddenly out of the vacuum.
Projected by planets
Beamed through stars
Reflected off debris
Hanging in space like dust motes

Witch egg is a improvised set of songs by John Dwyer, Nick Murray, Brad Caulkins, Greg Coates & Tom Dolas.
Another fired expedition out in the wilds.
Recorded and mixed at Stu-Stu-Studio by John Dwyer
This one is a burner designed optimally for your eco-pod sound system.
When you’ve left the world behind, you will need a soundtrack while you lay in dream stasis
This is it

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce ViewFinder / Hide & Seek, a new release from acclaimed American experimental composer David Behrman, presenting recordings made in collaboration with Jon Gibson and Werner Durand between 1989 and 2020. Last heard from on Black Truffle as part of the collaborative art song/live electronics madness of She’s More Wild, these recordings find Behrman continuing the pioneering work in interactive electronics that have established him as one of the major living experimental composers.

Side A presents excerpts from two live realisations of Unforeseen Events (1989), the fourth in a series of pieces focussing on the interactions between instrumental performers and responsive software. Like the classic earlier works in the series, On the Other Ocean (1977), Interspecies Smalltalk (1984) and Leapday Night (1986), Unforeseen Events is an “unfinished composition” in which a computer system listens for and responds to specific pitch cues from an instrumentalist. Performed by the composer on electronics and Werner Durand on soprano saxophone in Berlin in 1989, the first realisation immediately ushers the listener into an environment of long soprano notes, lush, sustained synth harmonies, randomised percussive interjections and distantly burbling arpeggiated patterns.

The 1999 realisation recorded in New York with Jon Gibson on soprano shows how much room for the instrumentalist to affect the course of the music exists in Behrman’s interactive pieces, in which, as he notes, ‘performers have options rather than instructions’. Beginning in a roughly similar area to the version with Durand, this later recording eventually becomes substantially more active, as polyrhythmically layered arpeggios and percussive patterns respond to fast chromatic lines and dynamic phrases from the saxophone, moving Gibson in turn to respond with cycling figures and moments of extended technique that touch on the soprano languages pioneered by players like Steve Lacy and Evan Parker. Yet even at its most active, the lack of conventional forward movement in the music allows it to retain what Behrman’s friend Jacques Bekaert called its ‘fragile tranquillity’, as episodes of activity appear only as momentary disruptions of an underlying calm.

On the B side, we are treated to a new collaborative work from Behrman and Werner Durand, building on the 2002 installation work ViewFinder, in which a camera detecting physical motion triggered changes to electronic sound. The piece presented here is a long-distance studio construction, recorded by Behrman in the Hudson Valley and Durand in Berlin, offering up an expansive duet between Behrman’s lush, gliding synth tones and the alien, untempered tones of Durand’s invented and adapted wind instruments. Presented in a stunning gatefold sleeve with art from Terri Hanlon, archival photographs and new liner notes from Behrman and Durand,ViewFinder / Hide & Seek is an essential release showcasing the continuing vitality of a legendary figure in experimental music.

LIMITED RED VINYL.

“I think my music provides space for me to say the things I can’t always say in real life.” says Virginia native songwriter and multi-media artist Corrinne James. “That’s what I love about songwriting—There’s room in music for all of the conversations that can’t exist in reality.”

While studying New Media and Cinematography at the University of Virginia, James created a secret Bandcamp under the alias Naomi Alligator, and began uploading her intimate home recordings online. Inspired by the sparse and confessional qualities of Liz Phair’s early portastudio recordings, James decided to create her own musical journal to share and process personal anecdotes.

Her modern folk production and poetic songwriting links the sounds of classic folk artists like Joan Baez and Steeleye Span to a 21st century context. James wrestles with guilt, purpose, and jealousy through vivid narratives in the songs that make up her vast self-releases. This fall, five years since her first upload and over a dozen releases later, James will share her new four-track EP, Concession Stand Girl, while making her debut on Carpark.

On the title track for Concession Stand Girl that opens the EP, James sings the inner monologue of an unappreciated ticket-taker at a high school football game. James plucks a sparkly banjo and sings details of the concession stand girl’s relationship to each of the spectators who must go through her to enter the game. “Although seemingly insignificant, the concession stand girl must interact with each spectator as they enter the football game. Despite being unable to physically see the game, inside of her head she narrates her relationship to the people at the game.” The track “Anywhere Else” sits in contrast to the rest of the EP, being the only song where James plays guitar instead of banjo.

The last song written for the EP, “Anywhere Else” describes the tense emotions that come from comparing yourself to others in the eyes of your partner. “The protagonist is convincing herself, as well as her partner, that she could leave at any moment. She doesn’t want to be taken for granted anymore.” “Big Blue World” is a touching closer to the EP, where James sings about finding her way back to the place that feels most like home. James examines the fleeting nature of ambition and asks what really creates the feeling of contentment. Describing the song’s lyrics James says, “You can achieve everything you want, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like anything compared to just feeling at home and feeling who you are deep down.”

Farewell covers a lot of ground across the span of its 26 songs and two-hour run time. Yet every moment is a reminder of why Minus the Bear were such an experiential live band. They were always pushing forward, evolving their sound, and finding new ways to balance brainy musicianship, pop worship, meditative sentimentality, and adrenalized fervor into their own signature concoction. Further bolstered by the mix of Matt Bayles and master job by Ed Brooks at Resonant Mastering, the album sounds like a fully immersive live experience. + RECORDED DURING MINUS THE BEAR'S 2018 FAREWELL TOUR + 2021 MARKS THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FORMATION OF MINUS THE BEAR + MIXED BY MATT BAYLES (SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM, MASTODON, THE SWORD) + MASTERED BY ED BROOKS AT RESONANT MASTERING (R.E.M., DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE, FLEET FOXES) + FIRST AND ONLY OFFICIAL LIVE RELEASE FROM MINUS THE BEAR + RETAIL EXCLUSIVE VARIANT ON CUSTOM OPAQUE GREY VINYL LIMITED TO 1,900 COPIES + 3xLP PACKAGE COMES IN TRIPLE GATEFOLD SLEEVE WITH SPOT INKS + 3xLP PACkAGE INCLUDES PRINTED INNER SLEEVES WITH METALLIC SPOT INKS + 3xLP INCLUDES A DOWNLOAD COUPON