Search:always hardcore

For an artist whose career is flush with enigma, myth, and disguise, Nashville Skyline still surprises more than almost any other Bob Dylan move more than four decades after its original release. Distinguished from every other Dylan album by virtue of the smooth vocal performances and simple ease, the 1969 record witnesses the icon's full-on foray into country and trailblazing of the country-rock movement that followed. Cozy, charming, and warm, the rustic set remains for many hardcore fans the Bard's most enjoyable effort. And most inimitable. The result of quitting smoking, Dylan's voice is in pristine shape, nearly unidentifiable from the nasal wheeze and folk accents displayed on prior records.

Mastered on our world-renowned mastering system and pressed at RTI, this restored 45RPM analog version zeroes in on the shocking purity and never-again-replicated croon of Dylan's vocals. Enhanced, too, are the images associated with the calmly strummed and picked acoustic guitars and decay connected to the fading notes. The dimensions and ambience of the Columbia studio translate via subtle echoes and natural blend of instruments melding with one another, akin to honey integrating with tea. Providing comparably soothing effects, relaxing vibes pour forth from this reissue, which affords this masterpiece the fidelity it's always deserved. Wider grooves mean more information reaches your ears.

"Is it rolling, Bob?," Dylan famously queries producer Bob Johnston at the beginning of "To Be Alone With You," indicating the laissez-faire feelings that surrounded the sessions and helped yield the laidback, convivial music defining the album – arguably the most unique in the artist's vast catalog. While he dipped his toes into country waters on the preceding John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline throws its collective arms around the style in bear-hug fashion and drops any obvious folk references. Everything from the songs' moods to the amicable arrangements reacts against the era's turmoil and popular sounds.

This beautiful and beautifully executed effort might stand as Dylan's most effective protest ever, even if many missed the point upon original release. Advocating peace, love, and old-world allure without calling attention to any characteristic in an overly forward manner, Dylan frames the songs as ballads, rags, lullabies, and gentle honky-tonk dances. He adheres to expeditious brevity, keeping the arrangements tight and free of any filler, thus allowing the melodies to immediately work their magic and place hummable memories inside listeners' heads.

Indeed, if any Dylan masterpiece is overlooked, it's Nashville Skyline. In addition to his superb singing and infallible songs, Dylan enjoys backing from a crackerjack assembly of Nashville session musicians including Charlie Daniels, Marshall Grant, W.S. Holland, Charlie McCoy, Ken Buttrey, and Norman Blake. Country pros, and their respective performances, don't come any better.

As much as on any of his records, Dylan resides in a good place, mentally and emotionally. The idyllic, warmhearted environs of Nashville Skyline stand apart now just as they did in the late 1960s. The sincerity conveyed on the inviting "Lay Lady Lay," relief sighed on the romantic "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You," and unlimited promise expressed on the jittery "To Be Alone With You" parallel the lessons-learned yearning and genuine desire found on "One More Night," bracing "I Threw It All Away," and eternal "Girl From the North Country," performed to perfection with Johnny Cash.

Decomposed recalls classic American hardcore like Bad Brains, Poison Idea and Jerry’s Kids or Japanese ragers like Paintbox, The Comes, Eiefits and Skizophrenia. But there’s also a healthy slug of classic UK and US punk and even a bit of Krautrock, psychedelia and Black Sabbath in there too. Nottingham has always been a melting pot for heavy music. For a small city, it has boasted more than its fair share of genre defining bands and artists, not to mention record labels. Bands cross-pollinate, form projects and offshoots and play one-off gigs that would result in lengthy careers and world tours if they had happened across the Atlantic. It has always been like that there. No big deal (but yet, a really big deal if you know). One such band/project/offshoot were Endless Grinning Skulls. Formed by guitarist Andy Morgan (also from Bloody Head, Army Of Flying Robots, Nadir and countless more), drummer Steve Charlesworth (Heresy, Wolves Of Greece, Meatfly, Geriatric Unit) and bassist Gords (Hard To Swallow, John Holmes, Geriatric Unit) in the early twenty-teens, they re-set the bar for the 3-piece hardcore band before (perhaps inevitably) burning out in 2018. Morgan and Charlesworth weren’t done though. They’d forged a bond in EGS and wanted to carry on playing together so - in a familiar Nottingham storyline - they recruited former Pitchshifter guitarist Stu Toolin on bass and Anmarie Spaziano (who you might know from running a famous burger joint) on vocals and formed Blind Eye. They knew Toolin was about to relocate to Portland, Oregon so they wrote and recorded an EP (released on Morgan’s own Viral Age Records). Quick-sharp. No messing about. And that – by rights – should have been that: over and out. New band please. However, the demo captured a rare intensity and vitality that more considered projects often fail to achieve. This was a band let loose, free from previous shackles and loving the noise they made. It seemed a shame to stop there. Recruiting Matt Grundy (a former bandmate of Morgan’s in both Nadir and Dead In The Woods) to the bass vacancy they went back to Stuck On A Name Studios in 2021 with Ian “Boulty” Boult at the helm again and delivered the album Decomposed.
Decomposed genuinely rocks out without losing one iota of the effervescent anger that made the demo such an essential listen. From the insistent, minimal opener Ready To Go Now via the unhinged thrash of Straw Man and the menace of the stomping Pero No Quieres, to the measured chugging and epic crescendo of closer Broken Star, this record is a fucking blast. Needle off, flip it back over, play it again. Your neighbours are loving it so much they’re banging on the walls to tell you. “I suppose the intention was to write high energy, catchy hardcore, with a nod to what has come before, but also to do our own thing,” explains Andy. “Lyrically, the album was written during the pandemic, and although it’s not ‘a pandemic album’, I think it deals with a lot of the feelings of loss, separation and isolation

Fuchs is a band that never was. It vanished as quickly as it appeared in the picture, much like the animal that can be seen on this album and after whom it was named. In 2005, Kante singer and guitarist Peter Thiessen travelled to Weilheim to visit Markus and Micha Acher in their studio, where they were joined, among others, by Notwist-affiliated musicians like Cico Beck, Robert Klinger, Carl Oesterhelt and Stefan Schreiber. Spirits were high, but schedules were full: after a week of improvised sessions, everyone went their own way. The recordings gathered dust until Markus Acher found them again in 2021 while cleaning out his studio. After carefully re-evaluating the rough mixes, the musicians decided to finally release them. The resulting album comprises six tracks that musically draw on jazz, aesthetically lean on dub techniques and ideologically pick up on krautrock: there’s no solos to be heard on this record, just a few equally skilled and open-minded musicians listening to each other carefully, providing each other with space in which to unfold. »Fuchs« is a document of egos dissolving in a collective spirit.

Thiessen and the Acher brothers met in the 1990s and bonded not only over their shared background in hardcore music and the DIY ethos in which it was rooted, but also over their love for jazz. »If you look at those two things combined, you will eventually become convinced that you don’t have to be formally trained to make music that at least resembles jazz«, says Thiessen today. He invited Micha Acher to join his band Kante on flügelhorn in 2004 for a tour that saw the expanded group play unusual encores after the official concert was over. »Micha had taught us some dixie pieces, so night after night we would play a freestyle dixieland ska set in front of the remaining audience!« Naturally, the Acher brothers didn’t have to ask twice when they invited him for a visit in Weilheim to further explore their mutual interests in a studio setting. »I got on my way immediately and took two or three loose ideas, a tape echo and a guitar on whose headplate you could create fantastic sounds with me«, says Thiessen.

Between immersing themselves in books by the photographer Leonore Mau, cooking together and drinking the occasional fruit schnapps, the trio went into the studio. Says Thiessen, »Micha brought his flügelhorn and some wonderful ideas with him, Markus an Indian harmonium and a plan, Carl Oesterhelt came with a glockenspiel and a Chinese zither and a bunch of amazing jazz musicians joined in, too.« He considers the resulting recording sessions to be a kind of attempt at musically translating their conversations during those days. They discussed different approaches to jazz, whether sampling and musical miscitations can unlock ecstatic potentials and the possible parallels between syncretistic religions and pop music. »There’s traces of glossolalia, it's like a blurry séance«, adds Thiessen in regard to the sessions.

It is especially this spirit that managed to live on even though the recordings themselves were abandoned. »What we all liked most when listening back to the recordings is probably their marginal and fragmentary character, the empty spaces—the moments in which the virtuoso solo never comes, in which the centre remains empty.« The six pieces on »Fuchs« are chock-full of exactly these moments. When at one instant, the players seem to disperse and improvise freely, they always meet again on common ground a short time later, continuing on their way together. There are no conventions or even previous agreements that guide them, just a shared will to explore a vast range of curious sounds and unusual rhythms together as a truly unified constellation of very different musicians. Fuchs is a band that never was. Its ideas still reverberate vividly even 17 years later.

CELESTE have been breaking the outer boundaries of heavy music for over fifteen years. When they first evolved from the Lyon hardcore punk scene, they were absolutely brutal and entirely unique, delivering extremity on their own terms that they pushed further and further with each successive album. “We just wanted to get darker and more violent,” says drummer Antoine Royer, until 2017’s Infidèle(s) saw the incorporation of a more melodic streak. Their most focussed record yet, it was tremendously received, critically adored, and backed with the band’s biggest shows to date.

Its follow-up was always going to be something radical. Even by their own inordinately high standards, however, new record Assassine(s) is one hell of a step forward. Even if this album still contains cyclonic walls of guitar, of battering rhythm, and passages of blissful, rushing release. it’s unlike anything the band have ever released; embracing a modern and forward-thinking production, they're just as complex but more direct, diverse and accessible than before. “Our leitmotif here was to open our minds,” says guitarist Sébastien Ducotté. “We made a real effort to think outside of our box.”

During lockdown CELESTE’s members were forced to each write individually. “We each went further into our personal, inner views of what the songs were,” says bassist and vocalist Johan Girardeau. When eventually they began sessions under producer Chris Edrich, it was gruelling. “We ended up exhausted, physically and mentally” says Johan. “There was no break in two weeks. We didn’t see the sun at all during that time. Every night we were so tired that we didn’t enjoy being together as much as we’re used to.” Nevertheless, in the same way the hardships of isolation led to richer and more complex songwriting, it’s that relentlessness that led to the record’s razor-sharp edges.

Above all else, CELESTE are innovators. Whether by pioneering French avant-garde metal when they formed at the turn of the millennium, by making their boldest leaps despite being seven albums deep into their career, or using two years away from live shows to tightly finetune their stagecraft, they refuse at all costs to rest on their laurels. There can be consequences to this instinct – fans of the band’s older work might be thrown off by their constant shifts of pace – but they’re throwing caution to the wind. A bit of backlash “would be a good thing, because it would mean that we’ve really changed,” says Guillaume . “It's not disrespectful, it's just that we never made music to please people, but just to enjoy what we're doing.” In the end, CELESTE are a band so forward-thinking that they can only be judged on the strength of their latest work. And when it comes to a record as bold as Assassine(s), they’ve hit a whole new peak entirely.

repressed !

Biogen's a different kind of musician, always travelling the road less trodden. All law's broken - no chords, no build-ups and no traditional drum patterns. Instead Biogen offers listener's fragmented shredding's, constant irritations, glitches, imbalance—and enough creative ideas to supply a whole battalion of electronic musicians. His works are full of contrast. Occasionally soft and mellow - like a cloud in trousers - Biogen would call that 'sofa-trance'. Other times the music's harsh and uncompromising with uncomfortable, irrational beats and glitches - 'Weird-core' - a vast uncharted territory. Some might be tempted to connect the contrast and contradictions in his music to his long battle with manic-depressive disorder. But the disparity in his music is its strength, confounding and delighting the listener.
It's five years since Biogen passed away, but his influence is keenly felt among Icelandic electronic musicians. In the early '90s, Sigurbjörn 'Bjössi' .orgrímsson was a pioneer of the modern electronic scene as a member of the old skool hardcore band Ajax, who for a short time counted Goldie as vocalist, and cemented his reputation for pushing the limits under his Biogen pseudonym. His musical creations weren't made to serve the past or the present, but the future.
Each release and concert offered something different. Concerts were supposed to be challenging and engaging. His releases were not easy to come by and often he'd sell his music on Laugavegur - to unsuspecting tourists intrigued by his Viking-like appearance or mesmerised by his big blue eyes. He was a friend and a mentor to many; in 1995 he was a founding member of Thule Records, and in 2007 one of the leading forces in the Weird-core movement, a group of artists focusing on the unconventional. He'd encourage young artists to release their music into the cosmos - to make mistakes and learn from them - and that wouldn't be done while sitting in a basement. Many have memories of their first gig, watching a tall and comforting figure hovering above everyone else in the crowd. That was him, and it happened rarely that he wasn't there.
A fair amount of tracks on 'Halogen Continues' are previously unreleased, or self-released in very small amounts. The music moves from 'Irrelevant Information' where Biogen illuminates on 'Stabastab" a mysterious international institute he dreamt up, originally on the 'Mutilyn' LP that he handmade and sold himself. It was an anti-LP, a non-linear album of drones, crackles and weirdness. 'Bliss' is from the 1996 double CD compilation entitled "Icelandic Dance Sampler' that he helped compile. '303 Ambient' one of the recent works of the "Weird-core" era - also a regular event showcasing abstract electronica. He was the front man of the movement; regularly performing in Reykjavik with shows included lots of break-beats and 303's.
His creativity and freedom from tradition have seen Biogen gathering appreciation as an artist with the passing of time, and are hand in hand with the concept of . The artwork by Tombo is inspired by the idea of eternity and reverence after death. Nina compiled the tracks much like other album journeys on - 'I was in the car driving in the middle of nowhere in Iceland when I heard Biogen's music for the first time. Dramatic weather conditions outside probably influenced that instant emotional connection that I had with his music. Later navigating through a large archive of his recordings it took me some time until the album took form. I picked the most idiosyncratic cuts that show his creative approach most brightly. Some of them are short cuts ending obnoxiously with a lot of temper and others gorgeous atmospheric narratives - so deep and haunting that it feels like they are not familiar with a notion of time and dissolve slowly into the eternity. It's been an honour and felt exciting to have complied his work, a responsibility I feel keenly, and I hope he would like his music together in this album.'
Biogen's friend the Icelandic musician Ruxpin (Jonas Gudmundsson) who has worked to collect together Biogen's musical legacy through his DAT recordings and hard drives, and kindly granted Nina access to the files, provided much of the text for the press release. Following the album release of 'Halogen Continues', a further album of Biogen's ambient and experimental works will be released on GALAXIID later this year.

1. Some records hit you with an instant impression of timeless brilliance, and Low Life’s Dogging is one of those records, what the wise call “an instant classic”. 2. From Squats to Lots: The Agony and the XTC of Low Life is more like their second album Downer Edn (read Edition), a little more withdrawn, a little more textured. Complex. Rich. Which is to say: you’re going to need some time with it. 3. Some show, some grow. Low Life have done both. This one is a grower. Spend some time with this one. It’s got that nuanced flavour. Don’t guzzle. Sip. Savour. 4. Sip it, and sense the recurring brilliance of Mitch Tolman’s lyrics, exploring the usual territory of gutter life, lad life, punk life, low life. The dirge. Disgust and shame in white Australia. Council housing, bills piled to the neck, substance abuse and rehabilitation, the fallen lads and lasses who stood too close to the flame, loss and loneliness, from squats to lots. Un-Australian gutter symphony. 5. There is a celebration of resilience and that’s a central theme of this record and a time like ours needs a record like Agony & XTC. Low times are coming through, but if you’re low they won’t get to you. 6. Iggy Pop’s Bowie produced studio rock masterpieces ‘The Idiot’ and ‘Lust For Life’ are important reference points to the 3rd album sounds of Low Life. Here comes success! 7. ‘The Agony and Ecstasy’ is a 1985 novel by Irving Stone about the life of Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo. Stone wrote another novel about the single eared painter Vincent Van Gogh called ‘Lust For Life’. This synchronicity hit me. 8. Iggy and the Stooges are a pretty safe reference for Low Life (and all good rock music). Iggy and the Stooges are a low life’s Michelangelo, but solo Iggy like Lust for Life is a better reference for this particular incarnation of Low Life, which is to say they are studio rock albums. 9. Bowie later referred to this period of his life as profoundly nihilistic. But Iggy looked at it as the period of his life that saved him from an early grave. This confrontation is Low life lore. 10. Let’s stick to this, because there’s something about this era of Bowie that makes sense with Low Life’s new album, particularly Low. One should never miss the Low in our new album from Low Life. Producer and studio boss Mickey Grossman has the ear for the Low, and he has carved out a little statue of David right here. 11. Mickey’s ears are recording, mixing and producing the best of Sydney, most notably the Oily Boys Cro Memory Grin. A great companion record to this one. Use Agony & XTC AFTER Oily Boys. Not on an empty stomach, and don’t try to operate heavy machinery (bobcat, bulldozer etc). 12. The relationship between Low Life and Sydney hardcore should not be understated, but it also shouldn’t guide how to listen to Agony & XTC. This is not austere, disciplined music. 13. Think, like, if Poison Idea were given the kind of studio time and budget as Happy Mondays. You wouldn’t play it to a teenager. It’s not for children. This is a mature flavour, one for the adults who have had to contend with failure and hardship, medical bills and disappointed family members, betrayed lovers and worrisome growths, police brutality and tooth decay, humiliating bowels and collapsed septums, detoxing and drying out, for those who have seen themselves as corrupted and putrid and unloveable, for those who endure all of this and aren’t willing to lie down and cop it sweet: Low Life are still here and they ain’t going nowhere. NOTES ON HOW NOT TO LISTEN TO AGONY AND XTC OF LOW LIFE: 1. Don’t think of shoe-gaze. It suggests a safe passage to 90’s reminiscences, a vogue style of our time, but nothing to do with Low Life style. Low Life style is always of its time. The content changes. Agony & XTC shares weight of records like My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless and Slowdive’s Kebab, records that were laboured on after the songs were recorded, songs that were written as they were recorded. 2. We can call these “studio albums” as opposed to albums built in the heat of live performance. Studio albums from the 90’s are called shoe-gaze by some journalist nerds, but we know better than to use words like this. 3. Studio albums are excessive and, at the same time, so empty. Agony & XTC, Loveless, Kebab, Rumours: excessive! And empty. This is not to suggest this is Low Lite, some throwback, soft. A band like Low Life can make an overproduced studio rock album without having to use the word shoe-gaze. So, don’t think studio albums mean anything especially 90’s. Don’t look back. 4. Let’s lose these distasteful labels, like “shoe-gaze”, “rehab rock”, “stab”, “guitar OD overdrive”, “western Sydney wonder”. They can fade out. A low life was once referred to as a vagabond. Who uses this term today? Nobody. Language can murder. Words can die. Kill ‘em all! - Daniel 'DX' Stewart, Melbourne, 2021.

Singer/songwriter and guitarist Jayan Bertrand, bassist Josh Ewers, electronic drummer Josue Vargas and guitarist Dion Kerr have coined new genre “Caribbean Jazzgaze” to describe their wholly unique combination of jazz, shoegaze, rock, hip-hop, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms that is Seafoam Walls.Seafoam Walls caught the attention of cultish music and art communities around South Florida with a soundtrack befitting of their dark tropical paradise, and have remained a Miami secret since 2016. Bandleader Jayan began his journey as a musician listening to metal and classic rock. His first formal lessons after a year of self-taught practice came from a family friend and talented jazz guitarist, Bemol Telfort. Although jazz wasn’t his first love but opened his heart to explorations of free improvisation which led to an introduction to Dion, Josh, and Josue — all active members on South Florida’s jazz scene. Seafoam Walls released their first EP, titled R-E-F-L-E-C-T in 2018 and ROOT in 2019 via Bandcamp. The band recently attracted international rock n roll consciousness following a secret all-ages matinee in the gardens of North Miami’s Centre for Subtropical Affairs with DC hardcore photographer Susie J (Teen Idles, Minor Threat, et al.) and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore front row centre. The Miami indie band completed the eight-track album entitled XVI earlier this year. Norwegian sound artist Lasse Marhaug mastered the work, and the band will stream three singles through the summer and autumn months before releasing the complete album at the end of 2021 on seafoam-green coloured vinyl via Daydream Library Series.

HARDCORE UPROAR* over 80 of the freshest Hardcore Anthems from 3 of the biggest brands in the hardcore / hard dance scene written especially for this Brand New Compilation series, going back to the original ‘Bonkers’ style mixed CD format, featuring Uproar Creator, and one of the biggest names in Hardcore History DJ Seduction alongside 24/7’s owner / creator Al Storm, Rob IYF (one of the biggest new talents to come through the Hardcore scene) showcasing the latest 24/7 Hard Dance / Hardcore project ‘Voodoo Panda’ and 2 Rave Legends DJ Stompy & Darren Tyler (Bananaman / Silk Cuts / JHAL etc / Fade & Bananaman etc) join forces with Eazyvibe for a 28 track feast of happiness

Featuring Fresh Dubs from artists such as, Scott Brown, Bang!, Al Storm, Rob IYF, DJ Seduction, Darren Tyler, Alaguan, Chris Fear, Euphony, DJ Stompy, UFO, FREQ-DLT, Eazyvibe, AK47, Fracus & Darwin, M-Project, Daniel Seven, MKN, Hartshorn, EZKill, Bananaman and more.

The beast is back in black! And it‘s ready to crush the known boundaries of melodic metal!

Beast In Black, the international battalion of ground-breaking melodic metallers, is ready to blow your mind with their third album ominously titled ‘Dark Connection‘.
If you're into melodic and atmospheric heavy metal with an insanely catchy twist, this is the album you're looking for. There's no other creature like this walking the earth. None other bears these sharp edged riffs or piercing choruses. Not with these epic sci-fi, fantasy and cyberpunk stories to tell. Beast In Black is a wholly unique form of heavy metal evolution.
Dark Connection is an album which gathers all the elements from past, present and future of Beast In Black leader, Anton Kabanen. The raw melodic energy of early Battle Beast remains, but now Beast In Black are crafting their own sound within the genre thanks to the utilisation of wildly melodic guitars and multilayered synthezisers.

Remember the glory days of 80's metal? When you could spend hours and hours staring at the cover art of a heavy metal album as you start to discover what all the lyrics are about? Beast In Black is right there with you.Dark Connection is a deeply intricate heavy metal record. As you start to invest time into the songs, you’ll realise that there's something interesting happening at every layer, from the music to the cover art and also the lyrics. It's all tied up into one, to ensure the ultimate audio-visual metal experience.
”It's not a concept album in the traditional sense, but there are a few ongoing themes on the album. One of them might be familiar for fans of Beast-albums from even earlier than Beast In Black”, Anton teases.

”What if I told you that we're back in the world of cyberpunk? Indeed, there are tracks like Highway to Mars and Moonlight Rendezvous, which will let you into the cyberpunk worlds of the Armitage III anime-series and even some Blade Runner themes. In that sense we're back into the themes of the early Battle Beast albums.”
”Cyberpunk is all over the place on Dark Connection. You will feel it in the mood of the album, it's right there in the cover art and we have even carefully prepared a huge music video for you which is visually pure cyberpunk.”
Anton also gives his praises to insanely talented Beast in Black singer Yannis Papadopoulos, who delivers the best vocal performance of his career on Dark Connection.
”It's always a privilege to work with Yannis. He‘s one of those rare singers who can do anything! If he hasn't tried out something before, he figures out the perfect technique to do it in no time.He is a very physical and dedicated singer. He is ready to try 30 different takes on a song if he feels like that's what a perfect result requires. He doesn't just do one or two takes. He does as many as it takes!”
Thirteen songs, a mountain of irresistible melodies and influences from the retro roots of music to a plethora of futuristic themes and atmospheres. Every single song from Dark Connection could be a single. Beast in Black could create a music video for every last track. That's just how much dedication and passion has been immortalised in these songs.

All these moments on Dark Connection won't be lost in time, like tears in rain. Beast is Black has created a lifetime heavy metal exprience. Are you ready to face this eternal beast?

The beast is back in black! And it‘s ready to crush the known boundaries of melodic metal!

Beast In Black, the international battalion of ground-breaking melodic metallers, is ready to blow your mind with their third album ominously titled ‘Dark Connection‘.
If you're into melodic and atmospheric heavy metal with an insanely catchy twist, this is the album you're looking for. There's no other creature like this walking the earth. None other bears these sharp edged riffs or piercing choruses. Not with these epic sci-fi, fantasy and cyberpunk stories to tell. Beast In Black is a wholly unique form of heavy metal evolution.
Dark Connection is an album which gathers all the elements from past, present and future of Beast In Black leader, Anton Kabanen. The raw melodic energy of early Battle Beast remains, but now Beast In Black are crafting their own sound within the genre thanks to the utilisation of wildly melodic guitars and multilayered synthezisers.

Remember the glory days of 80's metal? When you could spend hours and hours staring at the cover art of a heavy metal album as you start to discover what all the lyrics are about? Beast In Black is right there with you.Dark Connection is a deeply intricate heavy metal record. As you start to invest time into the songs, you’ll realise that there's something interesting happening at every layer, from the music to the cover art and also the lyrics. It's all tied up into one, to ensure the ultimate audio-visual metal experience.
”It's not a concept album in the traditional sense, but there are a few ongoing themes on the album. One of them might be familiar for fans of Beast-albums from even earlier than Beast In Black”, Anton teases.

”What if I told you that we're back in the world of cyberpunk? Indeed, there are tracks like Highway to Mars and Moonlight Rendezvous, which will let you into the cyberpunk worlds of the Armitage III anime-series and even some Blade Runner themes. In that sense we're back into the themes of the early Battle Beast albums.”
”Cyberpunk is all over the place on Dark Connection. You will feel it in the mood of the album, it's right there in the cover art and we have even carefully prepared a huge music video for you which is visually pure cyberpunk.”
Anton also gives his praises to insanely talented Beast in Black singer Yannis Papadopoulos, who delivers the best vocal performance of his career on Dark Connection.
”It's always a privilege to work with Yannis. He‘s one of those rare singers who can do anything! If he hasn't tried out something before, he figures out the perfect technique to do it in no time.He is a very physical and dedicated singer. He is ready to try 30 different takes on a song if he feels like that's what a perfect result requires. He doesn't just do one or two takes. He does as many as it takes!”
Thirteen songs, a mountain of irresistible melodies and influences from the retro roots of music to a plethora of futuristic themes and atmospheres. Every single song from Dark Connection could be a single. Beast in Black could create a music video for every last track. That's just how much dedication and passion has been immortalised in these songs.

All these moments on Dark Connection won't be lost in time, like tears in rain. Beast is Black has created a lifetime heavy metal exprience. Are you ready to face this eternal beast?

Long before John Brannon of Negative Approach cemented himself as a USHC icon, you
would hear rumblings about his pre-NA glam group, STATIC. Only a handful of people were
lucky/brave enough to see them live. Scenesters spoke of a tape but never seemed to have
one. Their most well-remembered song, Toothpaste and Pills, allegedly featured smashing
beer bottles against John’s mom’s basement wall as a percussion instrument. Could this be
real?

Fast forward to 2020 and a few months into the covid-19 lockdown, Brannon came across a
bunch of tapes he dug out of a box in his Mom’s closet - STATIC “DEMOS ‘78”, STATIC
“LIVE AT GROSSE POINTE SOUTH H.S.”, STATIC “LIVE AT PLEWA HALL”. Holy shit! The
legend is true! And best of all, STATIC rule!

John Brannon grew up in Grosse Pointe Park just a few blocks from the Detroit border. John
was always into music, but as soon as he heard T-Rex, The Stooges and Alice Cooper, he
was obsessed (and still is) and had to start a band to channel his obsessions. With the help
of neighborhood kid and collaborator Billy Daniels and a local drummer simply known as
“Red”, STATIC was born.

Before Negative Approach changed the face of punk and hardcore, before Laughing Hyenas
scared the world silly and blew everyone else off the stage and before Easy Action started
melting minds all over the world, there was STATIC. STATIC was real. STATIC was real as
shit.

Third Man Records is beyond ecstatic to be providing this long-missing piece of the
American Underground Music puzzle. We worked closely with John Brannon and Warren
Defever, one of Third Man Mastering’s resident wizards, to put together this essential
collection of demos and live recordings.

New school techno star Lee Ann Roberts continues to light up 2021 with another brand new single on her own NowNow Records. Her standout original is backed by remixes from MRD and D.A.V.E. The Drummer.

This year already belongs to South African-born, Amsterdam-based Lee Ann Roberts. Her new label has had high-profile support from tastemakers like Charlotte de Witte & Ken Ishii, and is already well known for its off-grid techno sounds. Roberts herself debuted only last year on Suara. She immediately hit the number 2 spot on the Beatport Hard Techno chart and followed up with more on Octopus Warehouse Series. She has played festivals like Caprices this year and is lined up for BPM as well as plenty more headline gigs.

The excellent 'Feel' is a nine-minute, hard-edged roller. The drums are flat-footed and unrelenting, the synths bring turbulence and dark vocals add dystopian unease. The edgy textures and caustic pads make for a visceral groove that is perfectly designed for shadowy warehouse spaces. An Acid Trip Mix sees the track erupt on wild acid lines that spray about the mix and cannot fail to blow up the dance floor.

Remixer MRD hails from Norway and has released plenty of EPs and an album in a short space of time. He has a ferocious sound that fuses new wave, hardcore and banging techno as evidenced here. His version is break-neck techno with trance pads lighting up the airwaves in euphoric fashion.

The second remixer is the legendary London techno titan and label boss D.A.V.E. The Drummer. He heads up Hydraulix Records and Apex Recordings and always brings the fire. His take on 'Feel' is a wall-rattling banger with oversized bass. Saw-tooth synths rip up the track while the stark, strobe-lit stabs and some buried vocals make the floor sweat.

REPITCH Recordings welcomes VTSS to its ranks. The Polish DJ and producer (real name Martyna Maja) being a proud alumni of Warsaw’s Brutaz club night and Jasna1 club (as well as one of Discwoman’s most recent acquisitions), it is no wonder her style overflows with dark energy and tenacious ravey vibes. Her REPITCH debut channels this same ardor into four heavy-hitting bangers that serve as sonic power conductors and ecstatic stamina enhancers. The industrialized pounding of her drum sounds is always accompanied by a taste for reimagining the classic vestiges of techno, rave, and even hardcore: from hoover sounds and sampled vocal refrains to classic Berlin style staccato synth pulses. Her approach is though far from just piling a set of tokenized references, and the raw urgency that fuels her creative energy keeps her production as fresh as her behind-the-decks manifestations.

Reissue for John Joseph’s own all-star group 2017 debut album

At its purest, there is little that can match the visceral thrill and empowering spirit of hardcore. As front-man of New York City hardcore kings Cro-Mags, this is something John Joseph knows very well, and with Up In Arms, he and his Bloodclot compatriots deliver a furious collection that hits hard on every level. "In this band we're doing what each of us have always done: give it our all," he states plainly. "We work hard, and we have a lot to say. Look around the planet - people are fed up with the corrupt ruling class. They destroy the planet and kill millions for profit, and the formula for our response is simple: Anger + applied knowledge = results. Don't just bitch. Change it."

The results reflect the roots and passions of the individual members. Danzig/Murphy's Law guitarist Todd Youth was the first piece of the puzzle. "We've always talked about doing this record together, Todd had songs written and I had notebooks full of lyrics. In late September 2015, I went out to LA to do a triathlon and injured my calf muscle, so I couldn't race, and Todd said he could get some studio time. So, we went in and cut the demo. While there are things we may perceive as a negative in our lives, in fact the universe has a bigger plan, and that experience ultimately resulted in the record." Having been friends with Queens Of The Stone Age and Danzig powerhouse drummer Joey Castillo for three decades, the two musicians had long admired each other's work, and their collaboration has been a long time coming. Following Castillo's suggestion of bringing in Nick Oliveri (Queens Of The Stone Age/The Dwarves) to handle bass duties, the lineup was complete. The songs that comprise Up In Arms manifested after the quartet plugged in and let the music speak for them. "We didn't decide to try to play anything, these are the songs that happened when we started jamming, and I love this band because there are no egos involved. Our goal is to make the best music possible, period. I love it when those guys contribute with melodies, etc., and I've even helped with some of the arrangements. Because we all think alike, our lyrics deal with the issues of the day, and that makes for better songs."

Every track on Up In Arms lives up to the rallying cry of the album's title - the bursts of high energy hardcore act as the perfect accompaniment to Joseph setting his sights on injustice and the seemingly endless flaws of the contemporary world. The breakneck thrashing of "Slow Kill Genocide" is an anthem for everyone sickened by those responsible for "killing the planet and all its inhabitants through industry and war. They're fucking maniacs and must be stopped." The suitably titled "Manic" attacks with bared fangs, Joseph making it clear that you can only push someone so far before they will react with violence - a call to arms for the disenfranchised who want tomorrow's world to be better than today's. Tracked at NRG in Los Angeles, the raw, old-school production that leaps out from the speaker comes courtesy of producer Zeuss (Hatebreed, Revocation), and the record was mixed by Kyle McAulay at NRG. From the moment the opening title track explodes to life, it's clear that everyone involved is having a blast and playing from the heart, and that this is no frills / no bullshit music at its most passionate - every song evoking mental images of utter chaos in a heaving mosh pit.

For anyone approaching the album for the first time, Joseph has only this to say: "Turn the volume way the fuck up!" And with plans to tour everywhere, Bloodclot will be getting in a lot of faces in 2017 and beyond. "We are already writing material and the next album is in the works. But, for now, all we want is to hit the stage to support 'Up in Arms', and every single night leave every ounce of ourselves up there."

RIYL MELVINS/GOATSNAKE/NEUROSIS/ASCEND

Asclepius comprises two long-form tracks, “Healing The Ouroboros” and ‘Dahlia Rides the Firebird’, the latter is based on an old traditional Greek tune. With some members majoring in classics/philosophy, music/composition and studying ethnomusicology - classic mythology has always been a key reference point for the themes of their music. That the new record is named after the god of healing and medicine and arriving at this moment in time is coincidence, as the band comments, “It felt like we needed healing even before this pandemic hit.”

The line-up on Asclepius represents the core of Iceburn through the early formative years. Iceburn, later the Iceburn Collective, initially existed from 1990 to 2001. Later reuniting in 2007 with this current lineup again at the core. The band's initial output slowly evolved from hardcore and metal to free improvisation and noise, The 10 year arc saw the band following their own path and becoming more and more obscure as they got deeper into unknown musical worlds. By 2000 the cycle seemed complete and Iceburn did their final tour in Europe 2001. In 2007 this early core crew reunited to play a local anniversary show focused on the earliest material. Every few years since they would get together for another 'reunion' until that word became more of a joke, it was clear the band was back, getting together every week, and working on new material.

ICEBURN LINE UP:

Joseph 'Chubba' Smith - drums, founding member of Iceburn from 1990-'93 then 2007-present
James Holder - guitar, was also a founding member from '90-'95 and '07 to present
Cache Tolman - bass, '91-97 off and on, and '07 to present
Gentry Densley - guitar and vocals, 1990 to present

Asclepius was recorded and engineered by Andy Patterson (SubRosa, INVDRS, Insect Ark, and The Otolith) a collaborator also for Gentry's other band's Eagle Twin and Ascend.

I tend to exist in the darker parts of the psyche, Jim Ward admits. “That’s where I’ve always been.” And yet what makes the musician so unique and downright compelling is how exactly at the moment when the world joins him in the darkness — take, for example, the ultra-challenging year that was 2020— it’s then Ward is able to claw his way back into the light. “All I was doing was basically meditating with a guitar,” Ward says of how every night during the pandemic,armed with a guitar as well as a bit of time and purpose, this prolific musician was able to churn out several riotous riffs that ultimately transformed into one of his most personal and profound albums to date. “I’ve always used music as an outlet for anxiety and frustration,” notes Ward, who has played in a slew of monumental bands, from the iconic post-hardcore band At The Drive-In to Sparta, aswell his alt-country project, Sleepercar. In fact, it’s this healing power of music, Ward offers, that led him to Daggers, the lauded musician’s new solo record set for release in 2021 via Dine Alone. “When my world has upheaval, it becomes about doing the work in front of me,” he adds. “And this record was pure joy: talking to my friends on the phone, swapping ideas with them, going into my head for a while, coming out with something.” So while Daggers is officially credited as a solo work, and Ward never entered the room with any of his collaborators due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s effusive in his praise for them: notably the twin team of Incubus bassist Ben Kenney and Thursday drummer Tucker Rule, both of whom took Ward’s guitar riffs and helped propel them into fully fleshed-out songs. For Fans of: Sparta, At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta, Thursday, Incubus, Frank Eiro, Bear vs Shark, Glassjaw, ...Trail of Dead, Deftones, Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday, Queens of the Stone Age, Thrice, The Smashing Pumpkins Key marketing highlights: - Jim Ward is the lead singer and guitarist of Sparta and co-founder of post-hardcore band At The Drive-In. - Ward has toured with the likes of My Chemical Romance, Deftones, mewithoutyou and many more - Ward has received acclaim from Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound, Brooklyn Vegan, Alternative Press, Guitar World, Billboard and more. - Ward has performed on the late night TV programs of Conan and David Letterman. - Ben Kinney From Incubus playing bass on record and Tucker Rule from Thursday playing drums on record

Brace! Brace! That record is a bouncing riddim, and we never know where it's gonna land: here noise or miami bass, there dark disco and then Balearic. What could be an easy puzzle for diggers always feels true though. Sincere, like the 14-year-old DJ F16 Falcon, going nuts on some American nu hardcore - the back of the record are actual screenshots testifying of that moment. A life ago, DJ F16 Falcon used to be a part of the noise music scene in Paris, releasing music under the Roger mpr moniker. He dropped the complicated stuff for dance music but kept the industrial touch. We all need some dance. And we all need a Sugar Dada.

 At the start of 2020, before the world turned to ash, several US publications began running glowing reviews of ‘Speed Kills’, the breakneck debut album from Chubby & The Gang, a West London punk troupe comprised of members of various bands associated with The New Wave of British Hardcore, among them Violent Reaction, Abolition, Big Cheese and more.

 At the time, the band - helmed by local electrician Charlie Manning - had developed a cult following in the UK, largely rooted in the cross-pollinating nature of the punk scene, select shows including dates with Sheer Mag and an impending, lastminute US run with Royal Hounds.

 ‘Speed Kills’, produced by Jonah Falco of Fucked Up, would go on to be called “the best punk-pop LP in recent memory” by Paste Magazine, a debut that “comes alive with liberating energy” in an 8.0 review from Pitchfork and full of “massive barroom gang choruses, power chords at breakneck tempos,
rock spelled R-A-W-K and visceral gratification” as Stereogum put it. Impressive going for a band at the time with no publicist, no big budget label backing and no industry clout, per se, beyond increasingly fervent underground support.

 Following the quietly blossoming success of ‘Speed Kills’, Chubby & The Gang now find a new home on Partisan Records (IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Laura Marling, Fela Kuti) who have reissued the album in remastered form with the unreleased cut ‘Union Dues’ included to boot and with new music on the horizon.

Legowelt teams up with medieval music expert Jimi Helinga once again for a new album in their 'para-academic' Zandvoort & Uilenbal project. Folk Triumfator is the successor to the cult 2016 GERUIS UIT SOMBERDORP in which they return to appropriate historical instruments and mix it with 'modern'synthesizers. We can hear a medieval Hurdy Gurdy, A Victorian Harmonium, a 1950's Mixtur Trautonium, an electro acoustic thumb harp and much more, all mingled and amalgated into the unique Zandvoort & Uilenbal sound. It all crackles and squeaks like an old haunted ship drifting into a foggy sinister harbour while being obsvereed by Ligottian clown puppets. We can write how conceptual and arty this all is but let's just say this is hardcore dark ambient with lots of medieval drone space jazz influences to trip your mind out into a region where time and your opinions cease to exist.

Country music has chased piety, poetry, and much else, but The Social World is unapologetic hardcore, beer-sodden country music reduced to its core values. No faking. No pretension.
Spare, unornamented, and straight from the heart, the songs on the “Social World” of Rodger Wilhoit are all that’s holy and true in beerhall country music. The instrumentation is only as full as it needs to be. The singing is careworn and deeply sincere. There’s nothing tentative or lukewarm in Wilhoit’s music. It isn’t going to meet you halfway.
It seems that there’s always more to discover. Most copies of Social World and Rodger’s singles were probably sold off the bandstand 40 or 50 years ago. They were among the thousands of records by local artists on local labels sold off local bandstands all across the country. Most ended up in garage sales, thrift shops, or landfill. But every so often, an artist will be resurrected, and find a new audience. Rodger Wilhoit is one such singer. At a time when most mainstream Nashville country music sounds so contrived and empty, it takes an artist like Rodger Wilhoit to remind us what it’s really all about.

'Legend' is lofty praise that is often used lightly, however, Mike D from the Beastie Boys certainly is one in the truest of spirits. We are delighted after over 30 years of being involved in music to finally release a project involving such a hip-hop pioneer and icon as Mike. In keeping with the maverick attitude of the Beastie Boys, you don't always get what you expect. For this release there isn't a hip-hop beat, instrumental-funk or hardcore-punk joint in sight, rather an electronic-African club banger.

Mike took it upon himself to rework Malian artists Idrissa Soumaoro and L'Eclipse De L'I.J.A. and their track ‎’Nissodia', which is taken from the 'Le Tioko-Tioko' album originally released in 1978 on the German Democratic Republic (GDR) label ETERNA. The song was also featured on 'The Original Sound Of Mali' compilation released on Mr Bongo back in 2017.

It was November 2019 and the day before a Mr Bongo 30 years celebration event in Paris at the Pedro party in the 'New Morning' club, when out of the blue the remix landed in Dave Mr Bongo's inbox. We loved it straight away and decided to road test it the next night in the club. Whether it be a remix/re-edit/rework, it doesn't matter, what does matter is that it works spectacularly in the club and had people jumping on the stage to dance at the party. A sensational track and one which leaves a beautiful memory of good-times from a night out in Paris (and one which is in retrospect is even more poignant as the late-great maestro Tony Allen was in the club that night), and we are sure it will light up many more dancefloors to come.

Coyu has a great time driving on rough roads. Techno paths where craft, not innovation, is the draw. The music on this 'Post Raw Era II' is relentless and has plenty of muscle.

This 3-tracker EP kicks off with 'Flangerism', tremendously vigorous and highly danceable. The mountainous excursion continues with hardly any time to catch your breath with 'Seeds of Hope', a composition of punchy multi-layered drum work, catchy synth lines and cutting acid.

Last but not least 'Always Wanting More' evoking long, dark tunnels as readily as mid-'90s hardcore vocal sounds.

One thing‘s for sure: There aren‘t many bands with a history as long and eventful as Kreator‘s, who fascinatingly succeed in exploring new horizons while challenging and reinventing themselves time and again.That was perfectly illustrated by their latest record ‘Gods Of Violence’ in 2017. With this 14th studio album of their impressive career, the thrashers from Essen, Germany crafted a work of art of utmost vigor, drawing its unfailing power from the pounding heart of one of the greatest, most versatile metal bands of all time.

Mainman Mille Petrozza’s influences range from Hannah Arendt, Pink Floyd and Tocotronic to Slayer, even though he was born and bred in the metal scene. Nevertheless, he is and always has been open to inspiration from various sources, which is why his lyrics are by no means merely based on corny genre templates but offer trenchant observations of our time combined with a witty aside to long-standing cliches: One of the best songs on ‘Gods Of Violence’ is really called ‘Satan Is Real’.

Formed in 1982, Petrozza and ‘Ventor’ – the only two remaining founding members – have come a long way from playing in a small-scale student band. “In my history book, Kreator didn‘t really exist until 1985“, says Petrozza, laughing. “Although we had already started jamming together in `82, we only entered the stage two or three times up until `85. Back then, our set list consisted of five original tracks and five heavy metal cover songs, we went through several line-up changes and didn‘t really find ourselves until ‘Endless Pain’.Over the years, Kreator, the leaders of the German ‘Big Four’ of thrash, have sold more than two million albums worldwide and have played countless shows all around the globe. It is one of these shows that is captured on ‘London Apocalypticon’. Recorded in December 2018 at London’s legendary Roundhouse venue, headlining a bill with US hardcore pacesetters Hatebreed and Norwegian Black Metal legends Dimmu Borgir. Kreator’s explosive set was quite rightly heralded as “a demonstration of consummate musicianship and stagecraft” by Metal Hammer magazine.

Repress

The Godfather of Hardcore, Marc Acardipane, needs no introduction. His outstanding releases over the past 30 years speak for themselves. He has been instrumental in helping to create electronic music history, with countless well-known productions which have been unsurpassed by any other artist of this calibre. His timeless masterpieces have been and always will be heard at hardcore raves spanning the circumference of the Planet. With "9 Is A Classic", "Slaves To The Rave", "Pitch-Hiker", "Stereo Murder" and "We Have Arrived", just to name a few, he clearly proves who's the boss. "The Most Famous Unknown" is a well compiled collection of Marc's music, which showcases a mere portion of what he has composed and produced since the early nineties! The vinyl and digital selection of "The Most Famous Unknown" features remixes by Body Sushi a.k.a. VTSS & Randomer, Dasha Rush, Gabber Eleganza feat. Delirio, Jasss, Kilbourne, Minimum Syndicat, Nina Kraviz, Perc, Solid Blake, Stranger, Umwelt and VTSS, which all deliver excellent interpretations of tracks they have chosen to revamp. All original tracks have been re-mastered to the highest possible standard of quality.

RAVE026 is a double hammer of blitzkrieg gabber and seething acid trance/schranz from Service
Animal (Vereker) and Crime Unit, featuring material previously issued on impossible-to-find
tapes by the cult, DIY label; Live Adult Entertainment
The punkish reputation of Live Adult Entertainment precedes them as one of the underground’s
keenest yet elusive operations to emerge in recent years. Based in Thessaloniki, a port city in
northern Greece, they’ve released some 28 tapes, CDR’s and lathe cut vinyl of musick ranging from
psy-trance to industrial noise and concrète since 2017, and always in editions ranging from zero
to 20 tops, leading to feverish and frustrated reactions from those listeners who’ve chanced upon
their YouTube videos before they get taken down. Finally, this 12” features the first readily available
and properly mastered LAE material on a physical format.
On the A-side, Endangered Species label boss Oliver Vereker adopts his gabber alias Service
Animal for his first outing proper since appearing as Renoir on his label’s 2017 CD, ‘Death Always
Follows’. Revolving material originally available on tape in edition of 20 copies, it boots off with
the 12-hp hoof and dive-bombing drones of ‘Core Of Reality’ next to the evil Arcardipane styles of
‘F.T.W’, which are both produced with the same, powerful conviction in charred black metal, noise
and hardcore techno that made his 2015 releases as Restraint and Grace so vital, only with added
acceleration and syncopation.
The B-side follows with a pair of seething workouts from the ‘Cyber Afterbirth Vol.1’ mix by
LAE co-owner, Crime Unit. Hearkening back to a sound that was ubiquitous between Hackney
Warehouses and small-town UK/European techno clubs in the late ’90s/early ‘00s, they are
ravenous examples of the LAE aesthetic, applying scuzzy DIY principles to gnashing German
schranz and adrenalising acid trance with ruthlessly direct results that pack one of the meanest
breakdowns you’ll hear this year. Trust they will mercilessly sort the dancers from the posers.

* Idealz EPs are few and far between, but when they arrive they are always unique. Once again, he brings an EP with a truly individual sound, and this time, its on clear orange vinyl! There is literally no one who shares Idealz's unique vision when it comes to making music, and this EP is no exception. All 4 tracks are is usual mix of drum'n'bass, hardcore, old skool and a kind of relentless wonder and experimentalism. You can never be 100% certain where a track is going to go, but you can be certain the bass will blow speakers and the journey will be marvelous. My personal favourite on the EP is "Gettin Warm" which I think is an exceptionally bold track that makes me want to leap about like a loony, but all 4 tunes are simply brilliant, with a level of style and class that makes Idealz....Idealz.

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Liquid, Hyper On Experience, Ant To Be, Ponder and many others

Massturbator was originally recorded 1995 in Bizz O.D.'s kitchen in Brooklyn, New York. This hardcore acid 12" went straight to number #1 of the CMJ techno charts back in the days and has not lost any of it's Acid-Punk power. The four tracks are somewhat of a blueprint for bands like Animal Collective's hyper-jazz or Sleaford Mods proto-punk. They mentioned Massturbator in interviews as an inspirational force. For most DJ's too fast, too hard, but thanks to modern technology you can always pitch down 30bpm to please some fat ass, old, Berghain crowd. Jack Off and hail mAssturbator!

* Alk-e-d is the first to get the 'Legacy' treatment on Kniteforce Records. One of the original KF crew, he has been with the label since 1991, and remains a fan favourite. The Legacy series is designed to showcase our most dedicated artists, those who have been with the label since the very early days. And if Kniteforce itself has a legacy, it is one where risks get taken and the love of good music is always at the front of our minds. This EP contains 4 remixes, and the highlight must be the first brand new remix in decades from legendary producer Sublove who went onto become huge with Way Out West. Sublove featured on the very first Kniteforce EP back in 1992, and was enticed to come back and make some old skool for the label as well as remixing Alk-e-d. And what a remix it is! Proper old skool with depth and class. Not only that, we have Darwin, one of the biggest names in the modern hardcore scene, Shadowplay, and Luna-C on remix duties too. All in all, this EP is stunning, and is nto to be missed.

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, the Fat Controller, Glowkid, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Clayfighter, Jimni Cricket, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker, Ponder and many others

Mannequin Records presents a trilogy of reissues from the avantgarde Italian-born producer Doris Norton, "Nortoncomputerforpeace" (1983), "Personal Computer" (1984, originally released by Durium Records), "Artificial Intellingence" (1985).Apple's first music "endorsement" and Roland affiliate, Doris Norton is one of the most important women pioneer in the use of synths and in the early electro / computer music. Norton is the wife of Antonio Bartoccetti, progressive rock guitarist, and mother of the musician and techno producer Rexanthony. As a teenager, she was drawn to medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music, not to mention quantum physics, differential equations, organic chemistry, the experimentalism of John Cage and animated movie soundtracks. Her love for modules and circuits found expression through the waves of an old harmonium, the frequencies of a Minimoog, a Roland System 100M, a Roland System 700 and the ARP 2500/2600.

In 1980, Norton began her solo career by recording at Fontana Studio 7, the Milan studio of the composer and musician Tito Fontana, resulting in the electronic opera "Under Ground". Norton became more prolific, continuing her adventures in experimental electronics and computer music with Parapsycho (1981), Raptus (1981), Nortoncomputerforpeace (1983), PC (1984) - whose album cover prominently features Apple's colored logo - and Artificial Intelligence (1985).

While the beat-oriented style of Norton's music aligns her with such global fellow-travelers as Yellow Magic Orchestra and Kraftwerk, her championing of the personal computer as a tool for self-sufficient musical creativity also connects her to more artsy musicians such as Pietro Grossi, Laurie Spiegel, and the League of Automatic Music Composers. Norton's predilection for the bright, glossy timbres of early digital instruments also recalls Hubert Bognermayr and Harald Zuschrader's bizarre 1982 one-off Erdenklang.

Later, her talent and expertise attracted the attention of IBM, who in 1986 named her as an official consultant. Already the reigning queen of the Italian electronic scene, she recorded two CDs for IBM: Automatic Feeling and The Double Side Of The Science. Influenced by her son, the musician and producer Rexanthony, Norton brought her fascination with the early days of techno into the 1990s, when she released three volumes of Techno Shock on Italian trance/hardcore label Sound Of The Bomb.

While her music remains largely out of print and inaccessible, Norton's early records have recently begun to receive the inevitable rediscovery treatment.

"In the late sixties I had already conceived computers as personal.' I have always trusted in the benefits of solitude, (being) alone means freedom... What's better than a personal' computer for materializing ideas, by oneself" (Doris Norton)

* The Timespan was a regular artist on the famous Kniteforce subsidiary label, Remix Records. One of Luna-C's many aliases, The Timespan has always been on a mission to make simple, effective hardcore. This EP takes that formula and applies the years of knowledge gained since 1994 to make something that sounds...almost the same as it would in 1994. Only better. Full on pianos, running break beats, happy vocals, hip hop snippets and hectic stab patterns, this EP was made almost entirely on hardware rather than software. The result is that it contains not only the ideas of the old skool, but the warm analogue soundscapes from that era. It also features a 'revisit' by label mate Cru-l-t of the Timespan's classic track 'Music' - an updated and rebuilt from the ground up version of that tune.

Club / DJ Support
Billy Bunter, Slipmatt, Dj Jedi, Dj Luna-C, Dj Brisk, Bustin, Sc@r, Doughboy, Saiyan, Dave Skywalker and many others

Tadd Mullinix first made a name for himself as Dabrye in the early 2000s with a pair of instrumental albums combining the rhythmic finesse of Detroit hip-hop with the ingenuity of electronic music. But instrumental beats were only a temporary goal, a way for Mullinix to catch the ears of MCs. On Two/Three, his second Dabrye album for Ghostly International, Mullinix brought together a formidable crew of local and national talent to make the statement he'd always intended. Released in 2006, Two/Three o-ered a fevered vision of rap's future that remains just as intoxicating a decade on. Ahead of the long-await-ed conclusion of Dabrye's hip-hop trilogy in 2018, Ghostly is reissuing Two/Three.

Dabrye's move towards rap began in 2004 with the album's first single, 'Game Over' featuring Jay Dee and Phat Kat. An early inspiration of Dabrye's, Jay Dee invited Mullinix to his crib in 2002 for a listening session during which he picked the 'Game Over' beat to rap on. Crucially everyone involved was in accord that despite perceptions of their respective work this would be a hardcore rap song. Together with Kat, Jay delivered a one-two lyrical punch on 'Game Over' that no one saw coming. Detroit made the world go round and everyone's head spun. 'Game Over' set the tone for the album and, over the next few years, became a Detroit anthem — shortly after Jay's passing in 2006 the audience at Movement Festival sung his verse.

Moody, propulsive, and above all ambitious, Two/Three emerges from a sonic stew of Detroit and UK dance music, Jamaican sound clashes, and hip-hop sampledelia. The guests, a who's who of the mid-'00s underground rap scene, engage in a raucous rhyming session that pays as much attention to the realities of the streets as it does world events. MF Doom, Wildchild, Vast Aire, Beans, and AG represent for the various coasts while local talents — Waajeed, Ta-Raach, Invincible, Finale, Kadence, Guilty Simpson, Big Tone, Phat Kat, and Jay Dee — bring Two/Three alive with an infectious energy. In between bursts of raw rap and hard beats, Dabrye showcases detailed instrumentals that evoke bleak industrial futures, underwater meditations, and smoky late night sessions. With Two/Three Dabrye placed himself at the forefront of hip-hop's new wave, throwing a Molotov cocktail into the rap world as uncompromising as the head-twisting cover art from WK Interact. The independent press praised Mullinix's audacity. Over the following years the impact of Two/Threewas felt in slow increments as Dabrye's music became central to the sonic makeup of a new generation of producers. As this beat scene grew and moved away from rap, it showed Mullinix the influence of his work and the value of his vision for Dabrye as his own brand of Detroit hip-hop.

For fiends of: Cursed, HIs Hero is Gone, Tragedy.

Formed in 2008 in South Florida, Centuries current lineup now includes members based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Nashville, Tennessee, and in the UK from Manchester.

Since their 2013 debut Taedium Vitae (Southern Lord), the group have refined their sound into something more focused, and intense, and The Lights Of This Earth Are Blinding surges with ten new tracks of the band's harrowing, metallic, punk/crust-influenced hardcore, delivered with a calculated, very deliberate approach.
 
The album was recorded in February 2017 by Kris Hilbert at Legitimate Business (Catharsis, Torch Runner, The Body), mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Integrity, Black Breath, Halshug), and completed with artwork by Phil Trona.  
 
About the new album the band remark..."The Lights Of This Earth Are Blinding is a dark album that carries a theme of constant self-doubt.  It follows how we choose to accept our loses and the reaction to life, as well as the journey we take to make peace with the demons we've made.' The new track 'Bygones' is streaming below.

Repress

After last years slick selection for the series from MCDE, Young Marco steps up with a great set of obscurities. Top Tip!
.
Born Marco Sterk, he certainly doesn't come from a standard DJ background. A former skate rat who grew up loving American post-hardcore and '90s hip-hop as much as early Warp Records, he's been affiliated over the years with Amsterdam institutions such as Rush Hour, Red Light Records (where you'll find him most weekdays!) and, of course, Dekmantel itself. Still, there's no question that he's always followed his own path, even during the years that playing his favorite records meant that he was occasionally clearing dancefloors.

Things are different these days, of course, as Sterk now regularly plays around the globe and has been widely hailed not just for his DJ talents, but also for his digging prowess and uncanny ability to pluck jams out of genres, eras and geographies that even veteran DJs will often ignore.

Still, Marco's entry in the Selectors series isn't some soulless collection of 'Holy Grail' rarities. 'Where's the fun in that' he explains. 'Anybody with an internet connection can check what flavor-of-the-month records are in demand.'

Just like the first Selectors compilation, this is not a mix CD, but a collection of hand-picked, unmixed tracks that Sterk has personally chosen from his own vinyl archives. Moreover, Marco has put together a collection of tracks that represent not only how he plays music, but also how he makes music himself. The songs here are melodic, electronic and bound together by a refreshing sense of naiveté. Nothing sounds overly calculated; the tunes here span several decades and include dollar-bin records, avant-garde records, club records and yes, a few things that collector types have likely been looking to get their hands on. It's not meant to be a grand statement, as Marco would rather provide an honest snapshot of his musical tastes and share a few of his favorite tracks and artists in the proc

A real rarity! 1977's "Stepping Out" by obscure Oliver Sain produced Funk/Soul outfit The 13th Floor has always been a tough LP to catch, the only release by this lesser known St.Louis outfit showcased a unique blend of jazz, funk and soul that has intrigued hardcore collectors of rare grooves and black music since it's release. Released on the highly collectable Blue Candle sub label of Miami's TK Disco empire, "Stepping Out" features lots of different musical flavours - from the languid, Ohio Players-esque "Hang loose" and the incessant mid-tempo burner "Leanin" to the dance-floor groove of "Sweet thang", the LP showcases across it's 9 tracks show a band at the top of it's game, completely in tune with each other and firmly in the pocket. This should be no surprise when you consider the opening track of the album is co-written by a young Chaka Khan and members of the band went on to form parts of her band Rufus and played alongside artists such as Patti Austin, Maxayn Lewis, Ronnie McNeir and High Voltage. The overall feel of the album is one of amazing musicians keeping it gritty, soulful and most of all, funky! This album has always demanded high prices on the second hand / used vinyl market and is a truly lesser spotted gem, which is surprising considering the eye catching sleeve artwork!
This is the first time that The 13th Floor's "Stepping Out" has been reissued on vinyl, fully remastered from TK's original tapes, represented the way the the LP was issued in 1977 with all original cover and label artworks intact. Now, almost 40 years after it's original release the album has now been made available again for 2016, fully licensed in conjunction and with the full permission of Henry Stone music / TK Disco, Miami, FL.

All Tracks Written and Produced by S3A
Mastered by Kuniyuki Takahashi

This house project, based on the idea that electronic music is a blend of different cultures and music, started 15 years ago when Max began jamming on analog machines and samplers with different projects from techno (FriendShip Connection) to house (S3A).
It is through this project that he expresses, among other things, his taste for soul and House music. Such as his beloved artists MCDE, Floating Points... he uses the process of sampling as a basis to color his music with sounds of all his inspirations, he always add his own touch and groove to get his own vision of electronic music: dynamic, warm, emotional and dirty.

Although he discovered electronic music in 92 through UK hardcore with DJ as Tanith or Producer, his culture is based on a solid knowledge of house music, soul, funk, hip hop, making him one of the most promising house artists of the French scene since 2009.

He first came to Paris with Zadig to realize his childhood dream: building a studio and later collaboration, Frendship Connection (All is just a matter of time has actually been playlisted by Marcel Dettmann).

His residency at Concrete helped him to confirm his DJ position since the last 4 years adding as well releases on Lazare Hoche Records, Hold Youth, Concrete Music, Local Talk, Phonogramme and Faces. With these releases, his remix for Laurent Garnier on Music Large and his booking request from the French legend to play with him for his residency at Rex club and Concrete, gave him legitimacy and visibility in all over Europe.


In 2014 he decided to make his own label Sampling As An Art Records and focus on finding new-blooded artists and release his very personal music. A perfect definition between underground quality emotional house music and dancefloor efficiency!
In 2015, he released a collaborative EP on Uncanny Valley Label with Max Graef and Cuthead (whom released S3A RECORDS 03 the same year), made his first live representations and currently continue to spread his vision of music.

One year has passed since the last release in this series and, as always, the Tramp Records crew have been working hard during the last 12 months to come up with an equally fine selection of tunes for this brand new volume. Our aim is to keep up with the quality of each release, a task which certainly does not get any easier as we step forward into the twenty first century.

There is no need to praise this selection of tracks. It is larger-than-life. And those who do not recognize the distinctiveness of it should better seek medical advice. The most astounding fact is certainly that 99% of the record buying public have never heard any of these tunes, most likely not even the artists. And we are not talking of people who solely listen to mainstream music. No. Even music lovers who believe that they have a good portion of knowledge when it comes to jazz and soul music will be left speechless.

You can skip to any song on this album and you won't be disappointed. The only premise is that you are a fan of raw, earthy soul and jazz music. If this is the case then you can't go wrong. Rene Bailey, Matilda Haywood, Lee Mitchell, Nu Art Quartet, to name a few. It is high time to introduce all these names to a broad audience and to prevent that they vanish into thin air. The Movements series was coined to introduce music lovers to so far unheard musical treasures. Tunes which only hardcore record collectors have had the privilege to enjoy it...until now.