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After two utterly essential releases on ae Recordings and Primary Colours in 2021, Altone once more delivers the goods for Lempuyang.

The label's eighth release brings together two of the most respected heads in the business on remix duties. Altone's deep & pulsing title track Vortex gets Yagya's glacial treatment on side A. Customization on the flip gets a Bluetrain rework; Steve's trademark Special Edition Dub giving the track a dancefloor edge.

Blue Vinyl

Das GRAMMY-nominierte Trio PVA veröffentlicht ihr mit Spannung erwartetes Debütalbum, „BLUSH“ Mitte Oktober auf Ninja Tune. Das Album der Südlondoner Band, das kurz nach ihrer 2020 beim Ninja Tune-Sublabel Big Dada (u.a. Yaya Bey, Young Fathers oder Diplo) veröffentlichten EP, „Toner“, erscheint, verbindet den Pulsschlag elektronischer Musik mit der rohen Energie eines lebensbejahenden Konzerts und offenbart mehr über das Trio, als sie bisher je preisgegeben haben. Die elf mitreißenden Tracks der Gruppe, bestehend aus Ella Harris und Josh Baxter (die sich Leadgesang sowie Synthesizer-, Gitarren- und Produktionsarbeit teilen) sowie Schlagzeuger und Perkussionist Louis Satchell, basieren auf einer Formel aus Acid, Disco, knallenden Synthesizern, der Befreiung des Dancefloors und kathartischem Spoken Word-Post-Punk.

PVA begann, als Harris und Baxter 2018 begannen, gemeinsam etwas zu machen, das sie als „Country-Friend-Techno“ bezeichneten. Ihre erste Show, eine Nacht namens „Narcissistic Exhibitionism“ im The Five Bells Pub in New Cross, fand nur zwei Wochen nach ihrem Kennenlernen statt. Der Abend wurde von Harris kuratiert und bot im Obergeschoss Malerei, Bildhauerei und Fotografie, während im Erdgeschoss Bands auftraten. Sie buchte PVA als Headliner. Einer ihrer ersten Songs, „Divine Intervention“, entstand, als Harris ihrer neuen Bandkollegin ihre Träume diktierte. Auf ihrem Debütalbum nehmen PVA die gleiche Energie aus der Live-Szene mit, während sie gleichzeitig eine ganzheitliche Welt voller Textur und Herz aufbauen. „BLUSH“ ist reich an schwergewichtigen Industrial-Beats, zerklüftetem Punk-Spirit und Momenten stiller Kontemplation durch Harris' poetische Lyrics. Das Album rennt unermüdlich vorwärts und verbindet Einflüsse wie Portishead, PC Music, Laurie Anderson und das kultige Rave-Pop-Duo The Pom-Poms mit Leichtigkeit. „BLUSH“ wurde während der verschiedenen Lockdowns geschrieben, eine Leidenszeit für eine Band, die es eigentlich gewohnt ist, die Grenzen ihres Sounds live auf der Bühne auszuloten. Diese Einschränkungen machten PVA aber nicht zu schaffen. Wenn überhaupt, fühlten sie sich durch die erzwungene Distanz in ihrem Songwriting gestärkt. Harris schrieb Gedichte und lernte, Musik zu produzieren, Baxter arbeitete mit anderen Künstler*innen als Produzent, und Satchell setzte sein Musikstudium an der City University fort und studierte unter anderem alte afrikanische Polyrhythmen.

Giacomo Smith's critically acclaimed outfit Kansas Smitty's embark on a new chapter with a twist on their sound; modern jazz, African rhythms and classic cinema sculpt We're Not In Kansas Anymore. As the title suggests, We're Not In Kansas Anymore is the beginning of a new dawn for Kansas Smitty's. Their fifth studio album marks a progression from their swing led palette, instead pulling inspiration from modern jazz, African rhythms and classic cinema. Kansas Smitty's continues to be the primary outlet for bandleader, alto-saxophonist and clarinetist Giacomo Smith, a musician and producer whose tireless creativity continues to lift his reputation, recently producing albums for both Jamie Cullum and rising star Jas Kayser.

Giacomo Smith's critically acclaimed outfit Kansas Smitty's embark on a new chapter with a twist on their sound; modern jazz, African rhythms and classic cinema sculpt We're Not In Kansas Anymore. As the title suggests, We're Not In Kansas Anymore is the beginning of a new dawn for Kansas Smitty's. Their fifth studio album marks a progression from their swing led palette, instead pulling inspiration from modern jazz, African rhythms and classic cinema. Kansas Smitty's continues to be the primary outlet for bandleader, alto-saxophonist and clarinetist Giacomo Smith, a musician and producer whose tireless creativity continues to lift his reputation, recently producing albums for both Jamie Cullum and rising star Jas Kayser.

What Are People For? make the perfect kind of dystopic dance music for our times. Born from a collaboration between artist Anna McCarthy and musician/producer Manuela Rzytki, the band could be the illicit lovechild of Tom Tom Club and Throbbing Gristle, displaying the ideal balance of hip shaking vibes and dark provocative content.

On their collaborative debut, McCarthy and Rzytki share songwriting duties. The album was produced by Rzytki herself. They are joined by Paulina Nolte on backing vocals and Tom Wu on drums, while Keith Tenniswood mastered the record.

The whole project stems from a publication and exhibition by McCarthy laying the foundations for the content and lyrics of the album, which is humorous, poetic and political. As a lyricist, McCarthy uses her storytelling ability to explore anxieties and desires, digging into free surreal word associations reminiscent of Su Tissues’ tongue in cheek experiments with Suburban Lawns, but also explosive and gripping like a Kae Tempest rap.
Rzytki’s precise sonic palette and talent at penning structured bangers perfectly complement McCarthy’s playful and subversive language manipulations. Rzytki's beats are rooted in old school Hiphop loop principles and an authentic love for the analog. Her use of an array of synthesizers and other "real" instruments adds to WAPF's depth, soul and sincerity.

The album opens with a joyful anthem, full of energy and melodic hooks. The audience is confronted with the quintessential titular question What Are People For? and told that they are just a mere disposable commodity. Throughout the album, lyrical themes revolve around underground aspects of society, violence, political ideologies, sexuality and mysticism. The content is deep but the album is as danceable as it is biting.

73, with its drum machine hysteria and hypnotic synth basses is a a text collage written on the 73 bus through London, consisting of situations and conversation snippets encountered along the way. Drones indulges in the narrator’s paranoia as they feel they are being watched by cigarette machines, whilst the haunting choir is half spoken, half sung, ending on the orgasmic chanting of the word “mummy”. Nursery Rhyme brings more soothing incantations. There is definitely an affinity for fairytales, albeit adult ones and especially the anarchistic ones such as The Moomins, who were a consistent influence on the band. The artwork for the record, created by McCarthy, is a beautiful children's book-style painting of the group in a forest, seemingly about to engage in a magical encounter to which we are invited.

WAPF? have absorbed and digested a variety of influences. Trip hop, Punk and Techno are rubbing shoulders on Party Time. 1977 was coined “Summer of Hate” in the UK and unsurprisingly in WAPF?’s Summer of War, ethereal singing alternates with a powerful marching Garage/Grime chorus reminiscent of street protests and UK culture.

Mz. Lazy starts like an invitation to meditation and references Gertrude Stein’s book Ida in which she develops the idea that publicity is a new religion and people are now famous for being famous. Repressed anger explodes into violence and freedom at the end of the song as our heroine eventually grabs an axe to destroy her oppressors.
Fantasize, on its part, is raw, sexual and liberating while the closing track Bring Back the Dirt is a welcome hymn into a world that is becoming more and more sanitised.

While exploring deep subject matters throughout their album, WAPF? manage to remain satirical, exciting and funny. Each and everyone of their songs have a cathartic quality.

The visual identity of the band is intrinsic to their appeal. Live, they are eccentric, wild and unapologetic, wearing see-through costumes, bright miniskirts and intricate headpieces while delivering their songs with sharp intensity. Their performances radiate queer sexiness and transcend B52's thrift store aesthetics, creating a space for collective dreaming.

WAPF? is a rare combination of contemporary punk energy, irresistible groove, absurdist dry humour and astounding depth of field. They have the mighty power to create a party with their music and soon you will find yourself lifting your arms as if controlled by an external force, to chant: WAPF? WAPF? WAPF?

– Marie Merlet (Malphino, Little Trouble Girls, London)

Giacomo Smith’s critically acclaimed outfit Kansas Smitty’s embark on a new chapter with a twist on their sound; modern jazz, African rhythms and classic cinema sculpt We’re Not In Kansas Anymore.

As the title suggests, We're Not In Kansas Anymore is the beginning of a new dawn for Kansas Smitty’s. Their fifth studio album marks a progression from their swing led palette, instead pulling inspiration from modern jazz, African rhythms and classic cinema. Kansas Smitty’s continues to be the primary outlet for bandleader, alto-saxophonist and clarinetist Giacomo Smith, a musician and producer whose tireless creativity continues to lift his reputation, recently producing albums for both Jamie Cullum and rising star Jas Kayser.


“I want people to feel a big range of emotion - I want people to see things”, says Smith. “There's joy and there's humour, but there's also spirituality. There's seriousness, there's loss and longing - and those are all there on purpose. We've experienced them as a collective and I’ve experienced them as an individual”.

Giacomo Smith’s critically acclaimed outfit Kansas Smitty’s embark on a new chapter with a twist on their sound; modern jazz, African rhythms and classic cinema sculpt We’re Not In Kansas Anymore.

As the title suggests, We're Not In Kansas Anymore is the beginning of a new dawn for Kansas Smitty’s. Their fifth studio album marks a progression from their swing led palette, instead pulling inspiration from modern jazz, African rhythms and classic cinema. Kansas Smitty’s continues to be the primary outlet for bandleader, alto-saxophonist and clarinetist Giacomo Smith, a musician and producer whose tireless creativity continues to lift his reputation, recently producing albums for both Jamie Cullum and rising star Jas Kayser.


“I want people to feel a big range of emotion - I want people to see things”, says Smith. “There's joy and there's humour, but there's also spirituality. There's seriousness, there's loss and longing - and those are all there on purpose. We've experienced them as a collective and I’ve experienced them as an individual”.

‘Stumpwork’ is the follow-up to 2021’s ‘New Long Leg’. The
South London-based group’s first studio album, recorded in
just two weeks with producer John Parish at the iconic
Rockfield Studios, became a huge critical and commercial
success reaching #4 in the UK Album Charts and featuring in
Best Of 2021 polls across the board. Buoyed by its success,
Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard
(bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals) returned to rural Wales in
late 2021, partnering once more with Parish and engineer
Joe Jones. Working from a position of trust in the same
studio and with the same team, imposter syndrome and
anxiety was replaced by a fresh freedom and openness to
explore beyond an already rangy sonic palette, a newfound
confidence in their creative vision. A longer period in the
studio afforded the time to experiment, improvise, play,
sharpen their table tennis skills.
‘Stumpwork’ was inspired by a plethora of events, concepts,
and political debacles, be they represented in the icy mess of
ambient elements reflecting a certain existential despair, or
the surprising warmth in celebrating the lives of loved ones
lost through the previous year. Surrealist lyrics are as ever at
the forefront - but there is a sensitivity now to the themes of
family, money, politics, self-deprecation, and sensuality.
Furious alt-rock anthems combine across the record with
jangle pop and ambient noise, demonstrating the wealth of
influences the band feed off and their deep musicality. With
the pressure of their debut album behind them, Dry Cleaning
have crafted an ambitious and deeply rewarding new work
that marks them out as one of the most intelligent and
exciting acts to come out of the UK.
LP pressed on white vinyl.

‘Stumpwork’ is the follow-up to 2021’s ‘New Long Leg’. The
South London-based group’s first studio album, recorded in
just two weeks with producer John Parish at the iconic
Rockfield Studios, became a huge critical and commercial
success reaching #4 in the UK Album Charts and featuring in
Best Of 2021 polls across the board. Buoyed by its success,
Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard
(bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals) returned to rural Wales in
late 2021, partnering once more with Parish and engineer
Joe Jones. Working from a position of trust in the same
studio and with the same team, imposter syndrome and
anxiety was replaced by a fresh freedom and openness to
explore beyond an already rangy sonic palette, a newfound
confidence in their creative vision. A longer period in the
studio afforded the time to experiment, improvise, play,
sharpen their table tennis skills.
‘Stumpwork’ was inspired by a plethora of events, concepts,
and political debacles, be they represented in the icy mess of
ambient elements reflecting a certain existential despair, or
the surprising warmth in celebrating the lives of loved ones
lost through the previous year. Surrealist lyrics are as ever at
the forefront - but there is a sensitivity now to the themes of
family, money, politics, self-deprecation, and sensuality.
Furious alt-rock anthems combine across the record with
jangle pop and ambient noise, demonstrating the wealth of
influences the band feed off and their deep musicality. With
the pressure of their debut album behind them, Dry Cleaning
have crafted an ambitious and deeply rewarding new work
that marks them out as one of the most intelligent and
exciting acts to come out of the UK.
LP pressed on white vinyl.

With selections ranging from Praetorius to Britten,
plus all-time favourites by J.S. Bach (The
Christmas Oratorio) and Handel (Messiah), this
album brings together some of the most beautiful
and justly famous musical settings of the Nativity
story.
Festive or intimate, exuberant or elegiac, these
highlights from iconic recordings in harmonia
mundi’s voluminous catalogue are an ideal
sampling of the Christmas magic across epochs
and styles.

An original and particular approach to rhythmic electronics, with an incredible sound, like in all of Potter's works. Six hypnotic tracks from Colin's archive of rarities, for the first time on vinyl, perfect to play really loud.

These six pieces were recorded between the late 80s & mid-90s at IC Studio, which was then located in Tollerton, North Yorkshire.

“I wanted to make some tracks which were much more rhythmic. By then the studio was a 16-track and I had acquired more equipment for making sounds and changing sounds. There was an Akai S950 sampler, an Emulator II, Roland TR727 and Yamaha RX11 digital drum machines, a Roland Juno 60, and some new effects processors. I even, briefly, used an Atari for MIDI sequencing, but using a computer in the studio felt a bit weird in those days. Ironic really, given the situation now. There were a lot of new methods to learn and the tracks on this album were the result of some of these experiments, during which I also found ways of integrating the old analog synths with the newer machines. Mixing was still done hands-on, in real-time, with alternative and often radically different takes being made of the same multitrack. Very different to the way things are done now. Better or worse? Who knows? But different.” - Colin Potter, IC Studio, London 2022.

Colin Potter is a sound engineer and musician currently based in London. He has worked within the fields of electronic and experimental music for over 40 years, collaborating with the likes of Current 93, The Hafler Trio, Organum, Andrew Chalk, and most notably as a key part of Nurse With Wound alongside Steven Stapleton. He started the esteemed ICR (Integrated Circuit Records – still active today) label in 1981 releasing a several wonderful home studio recordings of his own, as small run cassette releases.

“Micro tonal poetry” - Mats Gustafsson

'Its an honor for the AFJ-Series to introduce the self-titled debut album by Danish Oslo resident Signe Emmeluth. Recorded at Flerbruket, in the forest an hour outside of Oslo - Emmeluth alone in a room with her alto and tenor saxophones.

A fantastic session of sax solo ecstasies recorded by Magnus Hemnes Nergård. Much like Joe McPhee’s Tenor and Peter Brötzmann’s 14 Love Songs, this album share the same beautiful intimacy. It is close, sparse, poetic and raw at the same time. Minimalist and soulful free music.

Signe Emmeluth is a Danish saxophonist and composer educated by the Jazz Department in Trondheim and is currently based in Oslo. Emmeluth has recently become a rising star on the international scene for improvised music. She has her own quartet Emmeluth’s Amoeba and has worked with Trondheim Jazzorkester, John Edwards, Tony Buck, Paal Nilssen-Love, Mats Gustafsson and Mette Rasmussen to name a few.'

All music by Signe Emmeluth, except 'I’ll Be Seeing You' by Sammy Fain
Signe Emmeluth: alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, recorder and electronics
Recorded at Flerbruket, Hemnes (December 2020/January 2021)
Sound Engineer: Magnus Skavhaug Nergaard
Mix/Master: Lasse Marhaug
Artwork: Kim Hiorthøy

Tak til Karl, Magnus, Lasse og Joakim for hjælp og gode vibber

Doppel-LP, Coloured Vinyl in Tabaluga Grün. Gatefold."Wir schauen auf dieselbe Sonne und auf denselben Mond. Wir teilen uns dieselbe Erde, sind alle im selben Boot".So lauten die beiden ersten beiden Zeilen des Refrains von "Königreich der Liebe", der ersten Single aus dem neuen Drachenabenteueralbum "Tabaluga - Die Welt ist wunderbar". Zu mitreißend-anschwellendem, vielleicht ein bisschen an Elton Johns Hymne "Circle Of Life" erinnerndem Piano-Pop zeichnen Peter Maffay und seine Duett-Partnerin Stefanie Heinzmann (die hier ausnahmsweise auf Deutsch singt) in der kraftvollen Ballade das Bild von einer besseren Welt. "Es geht nicht um Farbe deiner Haut oder um das, woran du glaubst", heißt es in dem Lied weiter, und dann: "Komm, wir bauen ein Königreich mit Liebe auf dem Thron." Mit einer stärkeren Botschaft - und einem stärkeren Song - könnten die Feierlichkeiten zum vierzigsten Geburtstag des kleinen grünen Drachen kaum eingeläutet werden. 1983 erfand Peter Maffay die kindgerecht-kluge, wenngleich etwas stoffelige Figur zusammen mit Gregor Rottschalk, Rolf Zukowski und Helme Heine. Seither hat die liebenswerte Märchengestalt auf sechs Alben, mit zahlreichen Tourneen, einem Musical, einer Zeichentrickserie und einem Kinofilm immer wieder neue Generationen von Kindern und Eltern in Entzückung versetzt, aber auch zum Nachdenken gebracht.Denn Tabaluga steht für Unterhaltung mit einer klaren, positiven Botschaft. Auf dem neuen Album, so viel sei verraten, wird der ewige Drachenjunge zusammen mit seinen Freunden und der geballten Power der regenerativen Energien gegen die Klimakatastrophe antreten. Maßgeblich verstärkt wird Tabalugas Team erstmals von Lucy, einem schlauen, gemeinsam mit dem langjährigen Partner Volkswagen, entwickelten Glühwürmchen-Charakter. Tabaluga ist also definitiv so politisch relevant wie nie, und das, unterstreicht sein Mitschöpfer, sei auch dringend geboten. "Natürlich erzählen wir eine utopisch anmutende Geschichte", sagt Peter Maffay. "Aber zu dieser Utopie sehe ich keine Alternative. Wenn wir nicht mehr an die Zukunft glauben, dann geben wir uns selbst - und unsere Kinder - auf. Wir waren noch nie so gefordert, den Zusammenhalt zu stärken, wie jetzt".Für Peter Maffay (72) krönt das neue Tabaluga-Werk ein ereignisreiches Jahr. Am 18. August ist er erstmals im TV als neuer Juror bei "The Voice of Germany" zu sehen, und einen Tag zuvor startet - mit zwei Jahren Verspätung - endlich seine große Hallentournee.

“Final Departure” is the debut album by J-Shadow, a widescreen vision expanding out on an event horizon before us. Built using influences from London’s rich electronic, pirate radio and black music lineages (jungle, grime, hip-hop, electronica etc), the album twists and turns, lifting listeners up towards a more ethereal plane. “I see beauty in the complexity of life from the cosmic scale to the quantum,” he explains. “From all that we can observe, this world stands as a uniquely multifarious sphere in which we just happen to exist.” “I love to take ideas and attempt to conceptualise them into an audible expedition,” he explains. “I find that music serves as an extraordinary medium to project my perception of the universe.” “Sometimes I will reach for certain influences and deconstruct them into an amalgamation of conscious experiences that reflect my vision of how I see the world.”

Shinedoe readies her fifth album ‘Freedom Riders’ on her MTM Records imprint with the release of her vinyl-focused ‘Wake Up’ EP, offering a four-track preview into the project while unveiling a selection of diverse electronic productions for home listening through to the dancefloor.

Over two decades, Dutch DJ and producer Chinedum Nwosu, aka Shinedoe, has established her presence as one of house and techno’s most loved talents, while carving a true path to her own vision. Based in Amsterdam and featuring as a key part of the city’s rich and blossoming underground scene, with performances across De Martkantine, Shelter and Thuishaven to international institutions such as Berghain to fabric, her releases on the likes of Rekids, Cocoon, Bpitch Control and her 2021 release ‘The Observer’ on Jeff Mills’ iconic Axis cemented her reputation as one of the scene’s first talents. Having launched her own label MTM Records in 2018, releasing four EPs on the label to date, October signals the arrival of the label’s first album in the form of her ten-track ‘Freedom Riders’ - an expansive and diverse project created in lockdown capturing sonics from across the spectrum - with the LP preceded by Nwosu’s four-track album sampler EP titled ‘Wake Up’.

“Freedom Riders is about living in a world where there is peace, and all our basic needs are fulfilled. Each being having the right to live in peace, be happy and to be. We are all Freedom Riders, some of us get lost and need to get back to the source.” - Shinedoe.

Opening production ‘Wake Up’ is a tension-building journey through metallic textures, warped vocals and eerie interludes, while album title cut ‘Freedom Riders’ fuses hazy atmospherics, rich chords, crisp percussion and sweeping acid lines to offer a late-night ride through smoky territories. On the flip, B1 ‘Peace’ offers an exemplary balance of light and dark with delicate yet vibrant leads guiding murky undertones and sharp percussion throughout, before closing with the hypnotic, off-kilter and mind-altering sonics of ‘Safety First’, traversing soundscapes to showcase and excellently crafted early-morning cut.

Cuts across the album continue this wide-reaching and rich variation, with the likes of ‘Shine’ and ‘Lockdown’ drawing on classic and modern house influences to offer striking additions for the dancefloor, while ‘Floor Action’ and closing track ‘See The Light’ veering into more dubby, paired back territories to offer up a sense of space and tranquillity - with the ten-track project showcasing a carefully crafted album rich in sound design showcasing one of Amsterdam’s finest talents.

DJ FEEDBACK

early support from



Laurent Garnier: Really like PEACE & SAFETY FIRST niiiiiiiiice

Marcel Dettmann: thx

Luke Slater: nice release thanks!

Ame (Innervisions): thanks

Ben Sims: safety first my fave, thx!!

Slam (Soma): Thanx

Chris Liebing (CLR): great vibe

Radio Slave (Rekids): Woah ! "Freedom Riders" is great... and just in time for the weekend ! Thankyou x

Bambounou (50 Weapons / Sound Pellegrino): There's a vibe I like it thanks

Anthony Parasole (The Corner) this is so good

Truncate: Solid cuts!

'Swooping, sub-heavy sci-fi from Riz Maslen. Leda Maar is a new moniker for the established artist who’s released a crop of downtempo and electronic music as Neotropic and Small Fish With Spine, as well as collaborated with the likes of Future Sound of London, filmmaker Andrew Kötting, and featured in PSP-era Grand Theft Auto soundtracks.

Mana’s long lasting love of Riz’s 1996 Laundrophonic EP, released under her Neotropic name, spurred this new release. That 12” was a deep and dark web of rhythm and ghostly urban found sound that one Discogs reviewer aptly named “coin-slot Dubstep”. With elements mostly sourced from tape recordings made in and of her local laundromat, it still stands out as a remarkably contemporary feeling work; more like a post-Fisher, post-hauntology observation of urban life from the last decade, taking the ambient temperature and undercurrent pressures of the 90s. Asking if she had anything in continuity with this slice of her discography, and describing our interest in her take on “space and bass”, Maslen returned to us with Stairway 13.

Heavy-lidded and ethereal in long form, the album’s balance of bass weight, mechanical metre, and darkly tinted new age feels like a cinematic re-approach to some of the textures, moods, and themes of Laundrophonic. Originally designed for an installation, Stairway 13 folds in her decades’ experience in sound design and theatre, along with shards and elements abstracted from her more recent folk-like music, zoning into a deep, retreated, altogether dreamlike and expansive atmosphere. The scale and soundscape is reminiscent of Geinoh Yamashirogumi and their Ecophony album series, resonating to similar frequencies and exploring themes of chaos and re-birth in feature-length form.

Stairway 13’s four parts spread and swoop as single extended sides across this double LP. Carried by waves of sub bass and heavenly chorus, and later punctuated with autonomic clicks of machinery, whirrs, and pulses - sometimes reminiscent of FSOL’s weirder and more clipped staccato sampling in sections of their cyberpunk ISDN - the work forms a gothic, otherworldly ambience. A subtle space opera.'

Substrata was the third studio album by the Norwegian electronic artist Biosphere, released 25 years ago by All Saints Records in London. Here are ten alternative versions picked from the Substrata recordings sessions that took place between 1995 and 1996.

Following the recent flurry of newly remastered releases from Ampoule records, most notably Pubs timeless ‘Summer EP’ & classic albums ' Do You Ever Regret Pantomime?’ & ‘Single’ besides releasing ‘Cheeky Speaker’ under his alter ego ‘Lucky & Easy’ last year.

Pub ‘Autumn EP’ sees his return to Ampoule with four brand new tracks that merge his love of all things Black Dog and Chain Reaction with a healthy dose of shoegaze and freaked out folk.

Pure Wicked Tune is a mixtape-style collection of extracts & cut-ups, taken from DIY cassette recordings featuring rare groove and "soul blues" soundsystems playing at early morning house parties and blues dances - mostly in South & East London - between the mid 1980s & early 90s.

Sounds like Funkadelic, Touch of Class, Latest Edition, JB Crew, Manhattan, 5th Avenue (and the many more featured on this tape) originally began to form in the mid-1980s. With lovers rock dwindling, and the reggae scene becoming dominated by harder digital-style dancehall, these sounds provided a tight but loyal crowd with a potent alternative - playing a mixture of killer rare soul, funk and boogie records in an inimitably reggae soundsystem style, complete with toasting, sirens and effects aplenty.

They were most well-known for playing at house parties and blues dances, typically in small flats or warehouses, with timing of such events generally running from the early morning hours until late the next afternoon. Though the popularity of the sounds faded following the dance music explosion of the early 1990s, there has been continued demand for revival sessions ever since. Whilst the influence of key British reggae & dancehall soundsystems on subsequent UK sounds like hardcore & jungle is relatively well documented, a similar line can just as easily be drawn from these sounds and the aforementioned styles' tendency toward sampling popular rare groove cuts, particularly well evidenced in the work of Tom & Jerry, 4hero, Reinforced & LTJ Bukem among others.

This represents the first outing in a series of collections exploring the sounds of UK soundsystem culture, via extracts from archival DIY cassette recordings of blues parties, dances & clashes made between the late 70s and early 90s. Often duplicated and shared widely, these ruff and ready "sound tapes" provided keen ears with music that wasn't otherwise readily available on the airwaves or in the record shops, and would go on to leave a deeply-rooted but too often overlooked influence on the UK's musical landscape.

"Since 2004, ALTER BRIDGE has been one of the most consistent bands to successfully represent the rock and metal communities with their driving melodies, blazing guitar riffs and topical lyrics that resonate with fans around the globe. Their seventh album, Pawns & Kings, continues that trend with 10 unforgettable new additions to their catalog. Coming off the launch of what was shaping up to be one of the band’s pinnacle moments with Walk The Sky (#1 US Billboard Top Albums, #1 US Current Rock and Hard Music, #4 UK Official Charts, #1 UK Independent and Rock/Metal, #5 Official German Album Charts), everything came to a halt as the world would forever be changed due to the events of a global pandemic. The time the members of ALTER BRIDGE spent apart sparked a new fire and heaviness when the quartet comprised of Myles Kennedy on vocals/guitars, Mark Tremonti on guitars/vocals, Brian Marshall on bass and Scott Phillips on drums would reconvene for what would eventually become Pawns & Kings. Teaming with longtime producer and collaborator Michael “Elvis” Baskette, the album shines with massive, menacing arena-ready production while emerging as another sonic testament to the seasoned Kennedy/Tremonti songwriting dream-team. The band deliver three epic anthems, including two that clock in at over six minutes – the reflective and absolutely epic title track “Pawns & Kings”, grim-riffed, progressive influenced “Sin After Sin”, and the emotive eight-and-a-half minute journey “Fable Of The Silent Son.” “Silver Tongue” is backed by a punishing intro riff that gives way to one of the band’s most infectious choruses as Myles Kennedy sings, “Truth of a crime. You can’t outrun. Under the spell of my silver tongue,” while tracks like “Holiday” and “Season Of Promise” ebb and flow within the trademark multi-faceted metallic rock attack that has enchanted ALTER BRIDGE fans for a generation. Songs like “This Is War,” “Dead Among The Living” and “Last Man Standing” showcase the heavier side of a band firing on all cylinders, with soaring leads, hair-raising vocals and introspective lyricism abound. Mark Tremonti helms lead vocal duties on the uplifting track “Stay” – an interchanging of skills that first debuted on the band’s fourth album, Fortress, and continues to this day. Nearly 20 years into their celebrated career, one thing is for sure – Pawns & Kings offers a musical snapshot of a band that shows no signs of slowing down and continues to push itself creatively for the whole world to see. before peaking with a frenetic, metallic bridge-breakdown and piercing solo worthy of rock legend.

Italian duo Agents Of Time have been incredibly busy over the past few years, from releasing a string of classic singles – including their recent single for Afterlife, “The Mirage”, which earned more than five million views on Instagram – to remixing The Weeknd’s “Take My Breath”, which appeared on his recent Dawn FM (Alternative World). But the biggest news is here now – their second album, Universo, is ready. Elevating their trademark melodic techno with an exquisite pop-ness, Universo has found its ideal home with Kompakt, following their Music Made Paradise 2020 debut EP for the label. It’s a meeting of minds that makes perfect sense.

Andrea Di Ceglie and Luigi Tutolo, the two members of Agents Of Time, used their time during the pandemic to work on Universo, an album loosely conceptualised around their ‘personal universo’, a manifestation of the world Di Ceglie and Tutolo built both within and around their studio. This accounts for the sparkle and brightness of Universo – it’s full of personality, vim and vigour, the duo experimenting with their music, exploring its furthest corners. If you come to Universo expecting just another album of melodic techno, get ready to be pleasantly surprised – there’s a whole lot more going on here, and it’s all equally compelling.

After a typically poetic opening gesture – the swirling, synaesthetic, self-titled intro track – expectations are immediately blindsided with the two-step pop of “Fallin’”, sung with gentle clarity by guest Audrey Janssens, a dream of a song that harks back to the glory days of early ‘00s UK garage. “Interstellar Cowboy” is a confident, lithe, disco-fied strut; the gentle minor-key piano of “Liquid Fantasy” spirals into a gorgeously melancholy techno-pop epic, Vicky Who?’s voice rich with yearning. Janssens also reappears on the electro-swirl of “Poison”; “Dream Vision” revisits their single “The Mirage”, soft with sweeping strings, loaded with drama; “Part Of Life” sashays into view with a schaffel-stomp.

This rich variety throws the more dancefloor-focused tracks, like “Ciao”, into even starker relief – they’re more decisive, streamlined, yet rich with detail, chugging, Moroder-esque bass meeting strobe-lit synths that fire melodies out into the firmament. Universo feels texturally dense, but it still breathes, its sounds so tactile you want to reach out and grab them, its tunes so seductive you can’t get them out of your head. Universo is a fiercely beautiful album, brave in its spirit, a perfectly poised meeting-point of pop melody and stylish, lush techno: Agents Of Time in excelsis.

Das italienische Duo Agents Of Time war in den letzten Jahren unglaublich fleißig, von der Veröffentlichung einer Reihe klassischer Singles - darunter ihre jüngster Beitrag für Afterlife, "The Mirage", der mehr als fünf Millionen Aufrufe auf Instagram erhielt - bis hin zum Remix von The Weeknds "Take My Breath", der auf dessen aktuellen Album “Dawn FM (Alternative World)” erschien. Aber die bahnbrechendeste Neuigkeit ist erst jetzt endlich da - ihr zweites Album "Universo" ist fertig! “Universo" verbindet ihr Markenzeichen, melodischen Techno, mit einer besonderen Pop-Haltung und findet nach der EP "Music Made Paradise 2020" sein ideales Zuhause bei Kompakt. Eine Seelenverwandtschaft, die absolut Sinn macht.

Andrea Di Ceglie und Luigi Tutolo, die beiden Mitglieder von Agents Of Time, nutzten die Zeit während der Pandemie, um an "Universo" zu arbeiten, einem Album, das lose um ihr "persönliches Universum" herum konzipiert ist, eine Manifestation der Welt, die Di Ceglie und Tutolo in und um ihr Studio herum aufgebaut haben. Das macht den besonderen Glanz und die strahlende Helligkeit von "Universo" aus - es strotzt nur so von Persönlichkeit, Elan und Kraft, das Duo experimentiert mit Musik und erkundet auch noch deren entfernteste Ecken. Wer bei "Universo" nur ein weiteres Album mit melodischem Techno erwartet, wird angenehm überrascht sein - hier ist viel mehr los, und alles ist gleichermaßen spannend.

Nach einer poetischen Eröffnungsgeste - dem wirbelnden, synästhetischen, selbstbetitelten Intro-Track - werden mit dem 2-Step-Pop von “Fallin” alle Erwartungen sofort über den Haufen geworfen. Mit sanfter Klarheit von Gastsängerin Audrey Janssens gesungen, ist “Fallin” ein Traum von einem Song, der an die großen Zeiten von UK-Garage in den frühen 00er Jahre erinnert. "Interstellar Cowboy" ist ein selbstbewusstes, geschmeidig über den Laufsteg stolzierender Disco-Track; das sanfte Moll-Klavier von "Liquid Fantasy" entwickelt sich zu einem wunderbar melancholischen Techno-Pop-Epos, mit Vicky Who?’s Stimme voller Sehnsucht . Danach taucht auch Janssens Gesang auf dem Elektro-Wirbel von "Poison" wieder auf; "Dream Vision" greift die Single "The Mirage" auf, sanft und mit schwungvollen Streichern, voller Dramatik; "Part Of Life" dagegen ist ein echter Schaffel-Stomp.

All der Abwechslungsreichtum lässt eher tanzflächenorientierte Tracks wie "Ciao" noch deutlicher hervortreten - sie wirken noch entschlossener, stromlinienförmiger und dennoch reich an Details, pluckernde, Moroder-eske Bässe treffen auf stroboskopisch blitzende Synths, von denen aus die Melodien ins Firmament schießen. “Universo” fühlt sich textlich dicht an, aber es atmet trotzdem, seine Klänge sind so greifbar, dass man sie anfassen möchte, seine Melodien so verführerisch, dass man sie nicht mehr aus dem Kopf bekommt. “Universo” ist ein wunderschönes, mutiges Album, ein perfekter Treffpunkt von Pop-Melodien und stilvollem Techno: Agents Of Time in excelsis.

Newly remastered from the original vinyl at Gearbox Studio with extended
liner notes and new information, The Joe Harriott Quintet’s ‘Swings High’,
recorded in 1967, saw Joe returning to his hard bop roots on a set that
burns with a rare light
A top band of British jazz players, including the UK’s greatest drummer, Phil
Seamen, and the sensitive and less-known-than-it-should-be trumpet playing of
Stu Hamer, create a session that transcends the difficulties of its recording to
create a timeless session, and from the point of view of pure playing, one of Joe’s
very best.
Joe Harriott: alto saxophone
Coleridge Goode: bass
Phil Seaman: drums
Pat Smythe: piano
Stu Hamer: trumpet
“Joe plays so fiercely on the record that at times it seems as though he’s about to
blow his alto apart.” - Coleridge Goode
“Shepherd's Serenade always a big one! great reissue.” - Gilles Peterson
"Some might say that this music is old- fashioned. If you’d call Bird and Fats
Navarro playing “Ornithology” old-fashioned, then this is too. But it’s still strong,
warm music played with skill and feeling, and that’s enough for me." - Richard
Williams (1970)

At the time of this performance Miles Davis was on his final lap but he was still utterly unique. Stalking the stage in futuristic Issey
Miyake couture, his red lacquered trumpet poised for action. Kenny Garrett's searing alto sax and Foley's 'lead bass' share solo
duties but the rhythm section take the honours here. Miles was renowned for his determination to keep moving forwards and in this
band Ricky 'Sugarfoot' Wellman's go-go beat and Darryl 'The Munch' Jones' high energy playing drive the music forwards
relentlessly. No other band has ever sounded like this. In 1987 Miles was still playing funk and rock the be-bop way.
Performed on 25th July, 1987 at Yomiuri Land Open Theatre East, Tokyo, Japan and broadcast by NHK-FM. A 2LP set pressed on
180g Black Vinyl and presented in a gatefold sleeve sealed with Japanese obi strip. With extensive liner notes and archival photos.
Miles Davis - trumpet, keyboards; Kenny Garrett - alto saxophone, flute; Foley (Joseph McCreary, Jr.) - lead bass; Adam Holzman -
keyboards; Robert Irving III - keyboards; Darryl Jones - bass; Ricky Wellman - drums; Mino Cinelu - percussion.

2022 Repress
The Sound of Studio One can be identified by the great singers that it cultivated along the many great songs that these singers released. But as studio 1's dominance was slowly pulled away by the up and coming new breed of producers many of the artists would inevitably end up working for these new camps and so the songs and singers found a new audience. The reggae sound of the Studio 1 would make a great combination and the man to pull this was together Bunny Lee.
The 1960's in Jamaica was run by two main factions, Coxsonne's Studio 1 and Duke Reid's Treasure Isle. These two leading protagonists saw what some of the other great Sound System men like ' Tom The Great Sebastian' had not taken onboard, that when the tunes they imported began to dry up from the USA, their future lied in producing music. Tunes that suited the musical styles that the people of Jamaica still enjoyed. By the late 1960's thse supremacy was being challenged by the up and coming new producers on the scene, Lee Perry being one, and the other being 'Ghost of the Studios' himself, Bunny Lee. Bunny 'Striker' Lee may have inherited the moniker 'Striker' from his liking of a particular TV show called 'The Hitch-Hiker', but it would soon stand also for the considerable hits he would obtain as he was declared producer of the year in Jamaica in 1969, 1970,1971 and 1972.
For this release, we have compiled many of the great Studio hits that Bunny Lee recorded with the singers that had originally cut at the famed Studio 1. Bunny Lee's sprinkling of magic over some classic tunes....the sound of Studio 1 backed up this time Bunny 'Striker' Lee's set of star musicians The Aggravators. Proving you can't keep a good tune down, or a great producer pushing forward.....Bunny Lee strikes back....
Hope you enjoy the set.....

repress !

Interdimensional journeys lay ahead as Volruptus lands on with a 5-track tour of his alternate reality.

Androids navigate their way through deep space, determined to find more. One minute they're floating, the next, racing through a continuum at twice the speed of light. Sharp broken beats create a framework for immersive pads, glitchy inflections and acid bass to wander. Volruptus holds a state of the art lens to classic electro, exploring its form with the meticulous detail of a true audiophile. This one's for the psychonauts.

Hand Stamped, Hand numbered, Limited press, with insert.

An oddly familiar/familiarly odd entity floating about the relatively cohesive surface of contemporary electronic music, Belgium-via-Italy based duo Front De Cadeau has been knocking genres askew and blowing overused terminologies out of the water with unrelenting panache over the past decade. Championing a sound unmoored by vanishing trends and cross-pollinating approaches, F2C punch back in on Antinote with their anticipated debut album, “We Slowly Riot”, an 8-track mishmash of tunes previously released and not.

Bastardizing tried-and-tested rave tropes by slowing the tempo down to barely recognizable shapes and contours, Hugo Sanchez and Maurizio Ferrara dish out a new high in their ever expanding discography. Free-falling down the K-hole with no parachute on, “La Ketamine” burns slow but steady. A practically immersive dub filled with processed minutiae and vibrational drums out a mystic forest, it’s a helluva trippy post-industrial joint that unfolds, heady and empyreumatic to the bone. “We Slowly Rot” puts on offer a buggy script-like swing, adorned with F2C’s trademark blend of spoken word and jacuzzi-warm vibes, whereas “There is Something Wrong” steers us into further sizzling, syncopated groove territories through a fevered meshwork of sliced-and-diced vox samples, overheated machine talk and primitive percussions on a African Headcharge tip.

Draped in eerie, 8-bit-infused layers and Arabian Nights ambiences, “Slam is Slam” treats us to a spookily fun Oriental mix of hot-tempered darbukkahs and FX-soaked riffs. The outrageously sensual “Ouvre Ta Bouche” is a tactile invitation to get down in some dark alcove of sorts and more if you hit it off. A steely dub primed for post-party divagations, “Climate Change” slowly veers off into verbed-out industrial jazz as bars run by, while “Legal Illegal” cuts a path of acid-dipped dancehall from outer-space across the club. Last but not least, Jewish clarinets quietly move along waves of sedated bass on “Casa Gaza”, rounding it all off on a dreamy, cinematic note that serenely phases into a liquid-like roller over one solidly deeper-than-deep home stretch.

Following the compass of an entrancing debut, Flore Laurentienne's Volume II presents another palette of rich orchestral sound, where changing forces of water inspire metaphorical markers that navigate passages of life and loss. Mathieu David Gagnon resumes his voyage into environment and emotion with Volume II, drawing inspiration from the rivers and rugged wilderness of the composer's native Quebec. In his return as Flore Laurentienne - the namesake of an inventory documenting St. Lawrence Valley flora - Gagnon assembles vivid melodic motifs and delicate modulation with a vast string ensemble to emulate the tides of human experience. Listeners of Volume I will recognise Gagnon's signature approach towards reworking and reframing an emblematic melody or concept across a series of works in Volume II, a process he likens to that of a painter creating multiple sketches of the same view. Continued from the first album, the enigmatic "Fleuve" series is conjured to evoke the multiple personalities of the great St. Lawrence River, and the "Navigation" works ("III" and "IV") wade through dappled progressions and expansive streams of string, the latter of which harbors the gentle meanderings of improvised clarinet. In the world of Flore Laurentienne, complexity emerges from simplicity as the composer roams familiar environments in constant flux. Gagnon extracts beauty through repetition and constraint, utilizing the writing style of counterpoint for which one of his greatest musical inspirations, Johann Sebastian Bach, is renowned. The lilting waves of "Canon" possess the eponymous formation of melodic 'leader and follower' motif, and magnify the softness of the album's eighteen string musicians into a force of full euphoric resonance. In Volume II, Gagnon continues his expansion of classical composition archetypes to meet a new realm of sonic romanticism. Thematic conventions of wandering the pastoral sublime become altered into glimmering refractions, relaying the emotional and kinetic power of natural energies. Volume II forms an estuary where streams of auditory microcosm reach a horizon of dynamic contrast, and reflect the parallel tenors of nature and humankind.

"They push everything right to the brink and then pull back at precisely the right moment" - Pitchfork

"'Growing Up Pains (Unni's Song) gives a tantalising glimpse of where their future could lie. Matching lucid pop elements to daring innovation, ALASKALASKA allow the song to become a portal to their own potential." - Clash

"It’s impossible to walk away without the repeated promise 'I won’t let you down' in 'Growing Up Pains' stuck in your head – and it’s a mantra we should all be following as we as a species continue to fight for our future." - Beats Per Minute

ALASKALASKA announce their superb new album, Still Life, arriving October 14th on Marathon Artists (Lava La Rue, Courtney Barnett, Pond).

'Still Life' finds writers and producers Lucinda Duarte-Holman and Fraser Rieley embrace a more free-form electronica, giving a taste of what's to come with this fantastic new record produced by Jas Shaw (of Simian Mobile Disco)–full of digital sounds, drum machine and synth melodies cunningly sat beside rich, organic, acoustic instrumentation, it's a looping tug of war between existential dread and everyday simple pleasures.

Listen to / watch the video for 'Still Life' (shot by Jacek Zmarz) here: https://youtu.be/TL7s6QJ3ANc

Four seasons of dawn chorus, panoramically framed by fruit trees and more analog synths than can comfortably fit in a cow shed-come-recording studio...the scene is set for the recording of ALASKALASKA’s second album Still Life. Ordinarily located in South East London, writers and producers Fraser Rieley and Lucinda Duarte-Holman were eager to get out of the city. Taking advantage of this rustic countryside scene, they were able to capture something uniquely their own.

Following their debut album in 2019, they resurface into a new era embracing all the things that first put the band on the map, attracting the likes of Tame Impala, Hot Chip, Porches and Nilüfer Yanya for tour support slots. For Rieley and Duarte-Holman, writing began in 2019, pre-lockdown-era, although the subsequent alone together/together alone time added a new spin on ALASKALASKA's process of experimentation and fine-tuning. The band now push their foundational ideas further and explore the freedom of playing with new sounds. Duarte-Holman explains, “...with everything going on at the time, the restrictions led us to try working in a new way. The limitations were different, but meant we were able to adventure into a more electronic soundscape that we're really looking forward to expressing live."

The ‘Still Life’ LP has been pressed on recycled black vinyl to reduce the carbon intensity of the finished product.

Premium-Edition: Buch + Doppel Coloured Vinyl 180gr in Tabaluga Grün + 2CD."Wir schauen auf dieselbe Sonne und auf denselben Mond. Wir teilen uns dieselbe Erde, sind alle im selben Boot".So lauten die beiden ersten beiden Zeilen des Refrains von "Königreich der Liebe", der ersten Single aus dem neuen Drachenabenteueralbum "Tabaluga - Die Welt ist wunderbar". Zu mitreißend-anschwellendem, vielleicht ein bisschen an Elton Johns Hymne "Circle Of Life" erinnerndem Piano-Pop zeichnen Peter Maffay und seine Duett-Partnerin Stefanie Heinzmann (die hier ausnahmsweise auf Deutsch singt) in der kraftvollen Ballade das Bild von einer besseren Welt. "Es geht nicht um Farbe deiner Haut oder um das, woran du glaubst", heißt es in dem Lied weiter, und dann: "Komm, wir bauen ein Königreich mit Liebe auf dem Thron." Mit einer stärkeren Botschaft - und einem stärkeren Song - könnten die Feierlichkeiten zum vierzigsten Geburtstag des kleinen grünen Drachen kaum eingeläutet werden. 1983 erfand Peter Maffay die kindgerecht-kluge, wenngleich etwas stoffelige Figur zusammen mit Gregor Rottschalk, Rolf Zukowski und Helme Heine. Seither hat die liebenswerte Märchengestalt auf sechs Alben, mit zahlreichen Tourneen, einem Musical, einer Zeichentrickserie und einem Kinofilm immer wieder neue Generationen von Kindern und Eltern in Entzückung versetzt, aber auch zum Nachdenken gebracht.Denn Tabaluga steht für Unterhaltung mit einer klaren, positiven Botschaft. Auf dem neuen Album, so viel sei verraten, wird der ewige Drachenjunge zusammen mit seinen Freunden und der geballten Power der regenerativen Energien gegen die Klimakatastrophe antreten. Maßgeblich verstärkt wird Tabalugas Team erstmals von Lucy, einem schlauen, gemeinsam mit dem langjährigen Partner Volkswagen, entwickelten Glühwürmchen-Charakter. Tabaluga ist also definitiv so politisch relevant wie nie, und das, unterstreicht sein Mitschöpfer, sei auch dringend geboten. "Natürlich erzählen wir eine utopisch anmutende Geschichte", sagt Peter Maffay. "Aber zu dieser Utopie sehe ich keine Alternative. Wenn wir nicht mehr an die Zukunft glauben, dann geben wir uns selbst - und unsere Kinder - auf. Wir waren noch nie so gefordert, den Zusammenhalt zu stärken, wie jetzt".Für Peter Maffay (72) krönt das neue Tabaluga-Werk ein ereignisreiches Jahr. Am 18. August ist er erstmals im TV als neuer Juror bei "The Voice of Germany" zu sehen, und einen Tag zuvor startet - mit zwei Jahren Verspätung - endlich seine große Hallentournee.

Rising alt-pop star Cathy Jain announces her eagerly awaited second EP spacegirl, due for release on Friday 14th October via YALA! Records. With the news arrives the brand new single ‘gaslight’, which joins the BBC Radio 1 and 6Music favoured single ‘UFO’ amongst the EP’s four track listing.

Cathy Jain delights in subverting expectations, free to play with the parameters of pop, multi-instrumental indie and shimmering electronics however she pleases. In her lyrics, as she navigates the rocky terrain of adolescence, there will be flashes of recognition, but ultimately, her music is the getaway car you’ve been waiting for to escape the everyday rhythms of your mind.

Der Grundstein für "Quiet The Room" wurde vor zwei Jahren gelegt, als Helen Ballentine einen Song gleichen Namens komponierte und aufnahm. Im Gegensatz zu den meisten anderen Songs von SKULLCRUSHER wurde dieser auf dem Klavier geschrieben, dem erklärten Instrument ihrer Kindheit. Während Ballentine im Sommer 2021 den Rest des Albums schrieb, flogen ihr Visionen aus ihrer Jugend zu, wie die Fledermäuse vom Dachboden, während sie in der schwülen, stickigen Hitze durch ihre Wohnung in Los Angeles lief. Das Bild eines Hauses entstand in Ballentines Kopf, als sie die innere Welt ihrer Songs mit den äußeren Räumen, die sie jetzt umgab, zusammenfügte. Sie dachte dabei viel an ihre Kindheit in Mount Vernon, NY, die sie als größte Inspiration für die Platte bezeichnet. "It's like layers of tracing paper, like someone is trying to make a drawing and you're seeing the entire process", sagt Ballentine über die Entstehung des Albums. Bei der Durchsicht älterer Heimvideos fielen ihr die scheinbar harmlosen Aufnahmen auf, die durch das Fenster gemacht wurden und sie am Klavier oder beim Spaziergang im Garten zeigten. Versteckte Bedeutungen, die über die Ränder der Bilder hinausgingen, eine sich abzeichnende Dunkelheit, die außerhalb des Blickfelds schwebte (ihre Eltern stritten sich, waren auf dem Weg zur Scheidung usw.). Das Haus schaffte es nicht länger, sie alle unter einem Dach zu beherbergen. Ballentine versucht nicht auf "Quiet The Room" die oft zitierte Unschuld der Kindheit einzufangen, sondern will diese in ihrer intensiven Komplexität darstellen. Das Ergebnis ist ein atemberaubendes wie leise bewegendes Werk geworden, das die Reisen widerspiegelt, die wir durch unsere körperlichen und geistigen Sphären unternehmen, um uns der Welt zu präsentieren.

Over the past two decades, Dez Mona never ceased to surprise audiences. Less than a year after “Lucy”, a 'worldly oratorio' in collaboration with the Antwerp Baroque Orchestration X, singer Gregory Frateur and his companions now knock on the door with the cosmopolitan “Loose Ends”.

On the group's ninth studio album, rugged funk often alternates with bouncing disco pop. 'After the dark ballads from our previous projects, we consciously chose to make a cheerful, straightforward record', says Frateur. 'This time I didn't want to exhaust myself too much in metaphors: the lyrics had to be simple and 'in your face'.

On a compositional level, Gregory Frateur gave the steering wheel this time to guitarist Sjoerd Bruil and accordionist Roel Van Camp. This contributed to Dez Mona stepping out of their comfort zone on Loose Ends and experimenting with a new sound. On the new album, for example, Van Camp plays the piano more often than the accordion. Leaning towards a more electronic sound, some songs gravitate and take you on a fantastical, abstract journey. ’Indeed, sometimes Sjoerd adds strange angles in his compositions', the singer concludes. 'During performances, they force me to put myself aside as a singer and get completely absorbed in the instrumental trip'.

The emphasis is more than ever on the rhythm and groove. Drummer Karel De Backer, the newcomer in the band, gives the music extra punch, while the absence of a bassist is ingeniously compensated by Bruil and Van Camp. 'On Loose Ends we go 'back to basics', admits Gregory Frateur. “But without losing our recognisability.”

Multi-instrumentalist Tijs Delbeke, who was part of Dez Mona for many years, but has moved to Balthazar, was responsible for the production. Frateur prefers to surround himself with people with whom he feels at ease and who carry the DNA of Dez Mona.

Kehlani is set to release the vinyl product of her latest album ‘blue water road’ on 14th October, which is available to pre-order now. “blue water road is a destination in my mind,” Kehlani explains. “I’m giving everyone access. It’s an emotional journey, a sexual journey, and a spiritual journey.

To me, the album is like a glass house. It's light, transparent, and the sun is shining right through it.” The album includes features from the likes of Justin Bieber, Ambre, thundercat. Kehlani has sold over 90K albums in the UK to date.

We are proud to present "I'm Always Right" by Imagination, an unreleased jazz rock LP from 1977. Comprised of five tracks with a playtime of roughly 30 minutes, you will hear one of the finest German late-70s rock-tinged electric jazz albums of the era. The recording is a delightful stand-out with unique compositions, aspiring solo work, and a soulful spirit throughout. Additionally, the album veritably glows with exceptional sound quality, as it has been remastered from original tapes that were cut more than four decades ago at the WDR Funkhaus, Cologne.

Here is the story of how label founder John Raincoatman became aware of these lost tapes:
"I first got in touch with members of Imagination from Düsseldorf (not to be confused with the UK disco band under the same name) in 2017 for licensing the track "Strawberry Wine" from their collectible "Shake It" album from 1980. A couple of months later, when I was speaking with Willi Hövelmann, the guitarist for Imagination, he told me about some recordings the band had made a couple of years before, when they had been invited to to the studio of the WDR, a major German broadcaster. A couple of weeks later, when Hövelmann finally sent me the files that he had requested from the WDR, I could not believe what I heard - not only that the songs were totally different from what I expected, but that they were also very very good! The music wasn't comparable to any other kind of fusion release that I knew of. These five songs were straight forward, tight and soulful electric jazz rock, a combination rarely heard from Germany from that time period."

How come Imagination - at that time a young newcomer band consisting of musicians between 19 and 22 years of age - was able to record at the well-equipped Funkhaus studio of German radio and television? Hövelmann explains: "The WDR got to know us from a newcomer band competition called "Pop am Rhein" (Pop at the Rhine) which was set up to support local bands and was promoted by several bigger newspapers. Imagination was one of the 5 contestants which were picked from 59 bands by a jury of music journalists and our band was invited to play a concert at the Philipshalle in front of about 3500 guests. Although a band called "Accept" won the contest (yes, the heavy metal band that gained international success in the following years!) and Imagination only made 3rd place, we were invited by music host and journalist Wolfgang Neumann to record in a professional studio."

Neumann's broadcasting show at the WDR was called "Rock Studio", and one of his special goals was to help push newcomer bands by giving them airplay. As a side note, Neumann actually compiled a series of three LPs on the Harvest label from 1979-1982, each of them featuring four bands. However, the earlier recordings of Imagination had only been used for broadcasting reasons, they were aired a couple of times but never made it to a vinyl or CD release.
So, on October 10th, 1977, it was time for the band to show up and prove themselves in the studio. The tracks were all recorded in one afternoon, mainly as one takes. In some cases flute, saxophone were overdubbed, as well as the vocals on "Love is Genesis", as Hövelmann remembers.

The first song, "Jazzgang" can probably be seen as Imagination's most characteristic composition out of their early period: heavy bass, saxophone leads and speedy solos by the band members. A genuine, rough, yet funky uptempo jazz rock tune. But it's "I'm Always Right", the second track on the album, that raises the bar as the key track of the release with its 10-minute length. The song starts with a great piano solo by Mario F. Demonte. In fact, "Demonte" was a pseudonym of Ratko Delorko, a classically trained piano virtuoso who is still active today as conductor, composer and performer. At that time, it was simply impossible for him to officially be part in a band like Imagination and hence the alias was invented. Anyway, the speedy intro leads to a very soulful mid-tempo jazz funk groove that offers space and time for the band members to perform a solo. First off is Uwe Ziss with sax and flute combined. The second solo belongs to Willi "Sultan" Hövelmann on electric guitar. For the furious ending the pace is set back to high speed. Delorko serves us with one of the most brilliant uptempo piano solos you may have heard in a while on a jazz record.

The next song stylistically stands out from the rest. "Biting My Time" incorporates a rhythm and blues feel with a 60s soul jazz attitude. The track was composed by Uwe Ziss who leads through the track with aspiring flute solos which feel like an easy summer breeze after the first two rock tinged tunes.

"Himalaya" sees Imagination move away from jazz quite a bit, rather approaching the psychedelic rock genre with a vibe reminiscent of the sound of the early 70s. Again starting with a piano solo by Ratko Delorko the pace is quickly at 150 bpm with the full band laying down an energetic jazz rock sound. Just after a little over one-and-a-half minutes there is a breakdown to a slower tempo with overdubbed mysterious vocals and psyche-y screams which may remind more of the legendary krautrock band Can than what is typically known as "jazz". The mood continues with tense saxophone and guitar solos, just to speed up again towards the end with furious drumming by Andreas Oelschläger.

"Love Is Genesis" concludes the release. It was composed and sung by former bassist Robert Schlickmann. Though most of the band members didn't really like the song at that time it still is a one-of-a-kind soft rock pop ballad which partly reminds of some of the vocal song tracks later to be found on the "Shake It" LP from 1980. The track manifested that Imagination were never really supposed to be solely an instrumental band.

We are now happy to have cleared the exclusive rights for this recording from the WDR and are proud to re-present this amazing collection of songs. It should appeal to fusion, jazz rock and jazz funk aficionados but also to late krautrock collectors. We are also certain that it will also please fans of the "Shake It" album, simply in terms of being such a bright and soulful debut with great music overall.

With "To the Westcoast / My Fate (Revisited)" by Ara Pacis we are proud to officially release two of the most exciting AOR tracks hailing from Germany.

Ara Pacis, a group from the island Föhr in the North Sea, was originally founded in 1971. Initially influenced by blues and classic rock by The Rolling Stones, The Who, and the like, they were also inspired by bands such as Steely Dan as well as the German/British group Lake. However, Ara Pacis created a style of their own when their privately pressed and self-distributed "To the Westcoast" LP was released in 1979. The songs were mainly characterized by two-part guitar riffs by Töns Brautlecht-Deppe and Wolfgang Schiffner, who also were the core songwriters of the band.

The freshly remastered single starts with the title track "To the Westcoast". Due to its sunny and yacht-y vibe it is easily amongst the best and most authentic tunes out of the "Westcoast rock" genre recorded in Germany. With family connections in California, lead singer Töns Brautlecht-Deppe was able to create and capture the feeling of the Pacific sea shore just perfectly.

The single is backed with a revised studio version of "My Fate". Here, lead singer Töns Brautlecht tells his story about getting into playing guitar as a young boy. The track is also featured on the album but the version we present on the 7" vinyl is an unreleased, even quite funky and more powerful take. It was recorded in 1981 at the Rüssl studio in Hamburg where Brautlecht had just started to work as an engineer.

As the "To the Westcoast" LP was released during a time when styles like New Wave, Synth Pop and Punk became popular in Germany and the interest in organic and soulful rock declined, Ara Pacis' debut remained relatively unnoticed until today and even the Krautrock collector's scene does not seem to be fully aware of this hard to find gem yet of which only 1000 copies were originally pressed. The band is still kept in good memory by their fans as a quite legendary live act and although they officially split in 1982, the group still served their fan base with revival concerts in 1990 and 2002 plus a website with full band story and lots of images from the early days.

We hope this single sheds new light on this great band. It is limited to 350 copies and released in a beautiful picture sleeve which shows the original LP artwork.

Fifth Anniversary reissue of William The
Conqueror’s debut album, ‘Proud Disturber of the
Peace’, featuring all-new mixes by Joseph Lorge
(Hiss Golden Messenger, Blake Mills, Phoebe
Bridgers et al) and new artwork by Australian
design studio Headjam.
The album includes fan favourites ‘Tend to the
Thorns’, ‘Cold Ontario’ and ‘Sunny is the Style’,
delivered with bluesy, alt-rock swagger and wry,
cerebral lyrics that find the band in the same lane
as Built to Spill, Spoon and Pavement.
Tourdates - October 12 Southampton Joiners, 13
Tunbridge Wells Forum, 14 Cambridge Portland Arms, 16
Liverpool Jimmy’s, 17 Manchester Night & Day, 18
Glasgow Attic, 19 Todmorden The Golden Lion, 20 Stoke
Sugarmill, 21 Sunderland Pop Records, 22 Scunthorpe
Café Indie, 23 London The Lexington, 25 Ashford The
Glass House, 26 Bristol Thekla, 28 Falmouth The Cornish
Bank.

Meet Me at the Gloaming is the long-awaited second album from Los Angeles indie artist A.O. Gerber. Following-on from her acclaimed 2020 album Another Place To Need, which enjoyed support from the likes of Gorilla vs Bear, NPR and The Line Of Best Fit, who gave the record a glowing 9/10 review, the new LP showcases Gerber's knack for subtly infectious indie-pop, crunching, atmospheric alternative-rock and classic acoustic songwriting. Across Meet Me at the Gloaming, A.O. Gerber carefully grapples with the constraints she was taught as a child to reach for the flourishing that comes when we look past the black and white, and into the grey gauze of the in-between. “I was thinking about how damaging it can be to exist in that binary space of good and evil,” Gerber explains. “When we see everything in either/or’s, we lose the nuance and complexity that make life rich enough to be worth living.” By interlocking memory and imagination, Gerber crafts a gleaming future, where the light and the dark don’t just coexist - they create a new colour entirely.

Before 2020, Ocean Alley could have broken. The six-piece had spent two years touring relentlessly off-the-back of their breakthrough record Chiaroscuro, spending months on the road and away from their loved ones, on the brink of burnout. Then the world shut down. And although there was a universal experience of suffering and isolation during ex-tensive lockdowns, Ocean Alley found themselves gifted with a forced break - where time slowed down and they could be with their loved ones, while also finding space to recon-nect with themselves. This luxury of time allowed experimentation in new ways for the band, who since inception had always felt their way through the music with communal jam sessions. It was uncharted territory for the group who for the first time operated as a bedroom band - particularly frontman Baden Donegal who revealed that a number of tracks on their upcoming fourth album Low Altitude Living started as “shitty GarageBand demos” he recorded solo at the beginning of lockdown. When comparing the creative process of their three previous full-lengths - the ARIA-nominated Lonely Diamond (2020), their Gold-certified breakthrough Chiaroscuro (2018) and self-assured debut Lost Tropics (2016) - this in itself was the big-gest difference.y

During the 13 years of existence of our label we have managed to turn many a dream project into reality and reissued countless numbers of forgotten and overlooked gems. There has, however, been one dream we've chased for years that is now finally manifesting itself on vinyl - the albums of the most remarkable Finnish post rock band Magyar Posse and especially the second of their three records, Kings of Time. Magyar Posse's debut album We Will Carry You Over The Mountains (2001) was already an impressive, ambitious work in which the band effortlessly mixed Goblin and Ennio Morricone influences into their melodic and atmospheric blend of instrumental post-something. It was, though, the second album Kings of Time, that took the band from the darlings of the local alternative music press to such levels of artistic expression that even the mainstream media had to pay attention. The album, consisting of seven untitled songs, sounds like music to an imaginary sixties new wave film that mixes Soviet space drama with spaghetti western gunfights on a scorching hot desert, all covered with slavic melancholy. The record was released originally covered in a striking red and black 20's Soviet avantgarde style cover design. The Svart Records vinyl reissue comes in a blue cover that better reflects the changed times. The vinyl also includes a booklet full of memorabilia and text that look back to the creation of this spectacular album.

During the 13 years of existence of our label we have managed to turn many a dream project into reality and reissued countless numbers of forgotten and overlooked gems. There has, however, been one dream we've chased for years that is now finally manifesting itself on vinyl - the albums of the most remarkable Finnish post rock band Magyar Posse and especially the second of their three records, Kings of Time. Magyar Posse's debut album We Will Carry You Over The Mountains (2001) was already an impressive, ambitious work in which the band effortlessly mixed Goblin and Ennio Morricone influences into their melodic and atmospheric blend of instrumental post-something. It was, though, the second album Kings of Time, that took the band from the darlings of the local alternative music press to such levels of artistic expression that even the mainstream media had to pay attention. The album, consisting of seven untitled songs, sounds like music to an imaginary sixties new wave film that mixes Soviet space drama with spaghetti western gunfights on a scorching hot desert, all covered with slavic melancholy. The record was released originally covered in a striking red and black 20's Soviet avantgarde style cover design. The Svart Records vinyl reissue comes in a blue cover that better reflects the changed times. The vinyl also includes a booklet full of memorabilia and text that look back to the creation of this spectacular album.