3am Recordings brings you its debut album, from label boss Al Bradley. While it would be much easier to get some huge name in for this who is previously unrelated to 3am, it was never going to be like that here. Staying true to the ethos of the label, it was important that this milestone was a reection of the label and what it has always stood for. The move back to vinyl in 2015 has rmly planted the label back
in its place as one of the UK's most consistent for house music, retaining its value of working with artists who have been involved with the label over its 19-year history, or who have been rm supporters of 3am during its time. Over the 9 cuts there are a variety of vibes, 'Little Treasures' aims to cover a selection of sounds that represent Al's inuences & styles, having been buying records since the mid-80s &
playing vinyl as DJ since he got his decks in 1991. The past is important as it represents where we started, the future is equally important, as it's the area of the unknown & we have to embrace it...
Covering deep house, dub techno, broken beats, raw machine funk, beatless ambience & more, the album is one that is danceoor-aimed, but works beyond that area too. With support from the likes of Placid (We're Going Deep), Carlo Gambino (We_R_House), Lolu Menayed
(Rawtrax), Lars Behrenroth (Deeper Shades of House), Loz Goddard (Oath), James Reid (Sonet), Moodymanc (2020Vision) & many more, the album reaches right across the spectrum of electronic music.
quête:amb
2022 Repress
LP+MP3 - Carefully ReEdited, 100% Original
Lady of Mine is the 1989 debut LP by self-made Italian-American Joe Tossini. An astoundingly honest, passionate record of cosmopolitan lounge music, he willed this charming suburban oddity into existence without any formal musical training.
Special remarks : LP with digital download card
Lady of Mine is the 1989 debut LP by self-made Italian-American Joe Tossini. An astoundingly honest, passionate record of cosmopolitan lounge music, he willed this charming suburban oddity into existence without any formal musical training.
Sicilian by birth, Tossini drifted around the world between Italy, Germany and Canada, before finally settling in New Jersey. After the passing of his mother and the breakdown of a second marriage, an anxious and depressed Tossini took to songwriting as a form of therapy, crafting disarmingly candid lyrics from his extraordinary life and loves. Whatever industry savvy or musical virtuosity he lacked was made up for by unflinching resourcefulness and infectious charisma. Befriending bandleader Peppino Lattanzi at local club The Rickshaw Inn, he was encouraged to animate his singular songs with an ambitious cast of 9 players and 5 backing vocalists, sincerely credited as his Friends.
The Atlantic City basement sessions are a low budget, high romance testament to Tossini's character and the power of positive thinking. From the defiant, Casiotone samba of If I Should Fall In Love, to Wild Dream's dizzying escapism and the native tongue croons of Sulla Luna and Sincerita, Lady Of Mine hums with the inimitable magic of a true original. Piercing the heart with an effectively sparse combination of humming keys, CompuRhythm drums, horn flourishes and backing divas, ample room was left for Tossini to frankly deliver his much-needed life lessons.
Underperforming commercially at the hands of short lived label IEA Records, Lady Of Mine has since earned a place in the outsider music canon. Recently peaking interest as a cornerstone of the Sky Girl compilation, the private press trades for inordinate sums, typically with no financial benefit to its creator. Lady Of Mine is now finally reissued on the artist's own terms via Joe Tossini Music, in partnership with Efficient Space, restored from original master tapes with unseen photos, extensive liner notes and Tossini's trademark wisdom.
Devoutly independent, Tossini has previously self-released the 2015 instrumental album When You Love Someone as well as two books - a new fiction novel The Devil In White and his autobiography The Account of My Life.
'Following on from her critically acclaimed debut “SAWAYAMA”, Rina Sawayama’s highly anticipated new record “Hold The Girl” sees Rina once again juxtapose intimate storytelling with arena-sized songs, creating another ambitious and original album to excite fans and critics alike.
Written and recorded over the last year and a half, Rina once again teamed up with longterm collaborators Clarence Clarity and Lauren Aquilina as well as enlisting help from the likes of the legendary Paul Epworth (Adele, Florence & the Machine), Stuart Price (Dua Lipa, The Killers, Madonna) and Marcus Andersson (Demi Lovato, Ashnikko) for their magic touch.
The product of Rina and these collective minds coming together is an album which melds influences from across the pop spectrum and is a bold and honest statement of Rina’s personal evolution; coming to terms with her own past and the jubilation of turning to the future.
B. Bravo (aka Adam Mori) returns to Bastard Jazz with the long-awaited follow-up to his 2017 debut LP, "Paradise," with a fresh full-length offering: "Vizionz." Replete with his signature future funk vibes, infectiously soulful grooves, and talkbox excursions, "Vizionz" sees the multifaceted artist take the classic West Coast into outer space. If B. Bravo's last album sought to get lost in paradise - enjoying the moment here and now - "Vizionz" looks forward, feet placed firmly in an established LA vibe, while the matured eyes of a veteran producer gaze keenly to the future.
"Vizionz" arrives following a slew of diverse singles, which highlight B. Bravo's stunning versatility as a songwriter, producer, and collaborator. Last year's "Lifted (What U Waiting 4)" came first, at the end of May, 2020, pairing g-funk talk-box verses and synth lines with rich vocal harmonies and a dance-floor-ready beat. Frequent collaborator Reva DeVito (Miami Horror, Kaytranada) makes a standout vocal appearance on "Fly Bye," the second single. Here, Adam surrounds Reva's vocals with ambient pads, a Dilla-inspired beat, and an irresistible bassline, while Reva's dreamily sings about getting away from it all. The final single, "Believe," sees Chuck Inglish (of the famed duo The Cool Kids) rhyme in his distinctive baritone over a bass-heavy instrumental meant to rattle some car stereos.
The singles offer a view into the rest of the album: Solo B. Bravo joints include "Moon Bounce," a talk-box boogie jam begging for late-night drives with the top down; the largely-instrumental synth improvisation, "Midnight Rider;" the upbeat "Penelope," which showcases Adam's vocal and harmonic prowess; a bumping g-funk interlude, with "Flip Out;" as well as the laid back album opener, "Da Essence."
Further vocal assists come by way of Sally Green on the flirty "10/10," and Rojai on the slow jam ""No Regrets" . Both singers have worked on B. Bravo projects in the past, with Rojai additionally joining forces with Adam to form the duo Kool Customer, whose self-titled debut album was released on Bastard Jazz in 2018. Two more hip-hop-leaning tracks are aided by Def Sound ("Back Times Two") and Nico Fasho ("Ms. Stardust"); leaning heavy into outerspace G-Funk Hip-Hop vibes.
Taken as a whole, "Vizionz" is a much needed boost of serotonin: Uncompromisingly positive, sometimes nostalgic, sometimes aspirational, but always funky. The range of styles is a testament to Adam's indelible production chops, songwriting skill, and ability to collaborate. While it has been a long 5 years since "Paradise," "Vizionz" proves more than worth the wait.
Born and raised in California, with roots in Japan, B. Bravo's signature style of Cosmic Funk and late night synth grooves have made him a favorite among DJ's, dancers, and music lovers worldwide. A tasteful producer, sought after remixer, party rocking DJ, master of the talkbox, band leader, and alumnus of the Red Bull Music Academy, Mr. Bravo is an accomplished performer both at home and abroad.
Heavily inspired by the synthesizer-enhanced R&B grooves of the late '70s and early '80s, B. Bravo debuted in 2009 with the seven-track "Analog Starship" EP. A deeper impression was made the following year with a shorter extended play, "Computa Love," the title track of which was supported by BBC DJ Benji B months prior to release. Additional strides were made with a batch of singles and EPs that followed throughout the next few years, as Bravo toured and performed at numerous festivals around the world.
His relationship with the Brooklyn tastemaker label, Bastard Jazz Recordings, began in 2016 with the 7" single "I'm For Real / Stay The Night' (which notably featured a Mr. Carmack remix of the latter). Bravo's debut solo LP quickly followed with 2017's critically acclaimed "Paradise" - which shone a light on vocalists and frequent collaborators Reva DeVito, Trailer Limon, Kissey, and Lauren Faith - with a remix album appearing six months later.
Additional solo releases have found a home on Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Recordings and Frite Nite, while production credits have appeared on releases from the legendary Blue Note Records, HW&W, All City, Friends of Friends, and Tokyo Dawn. B. Bravo has worked on projects with the likes of Salva, Mr. Carmack, Teeko, DJ Lean Rock, Reva DeVito, Lauren Faith, and Kate Stewart.
Having toured throughout the US, Latin America, Europe and Asia, he's shared the stage with performers like Erykah Badu, Flying Lotus, DāM-FunK, Hudson Mohawke, at a world-spanning range of festivals such as Detroit Electronic Music Fest, HARD LA, Northern Nights, Laneway Singapore, Sonar in Barcelona, Snowglobe, SXSW, Basscoast, Do-Over, Low End Theory, Boiler Room, and Soulection.
B. Bravo's "Vizionz" LP is out on Brooklyn's Bastard Jazz Recordings Spring, 2022.
Ambolley is revered as the Simigwahene in Ghana – The King of Simigwa-Highlife. Because of his deep, soulful, and funky Highlife sound, he is also sometimes referred to as the “James Brown of Ghana.” And not without reason. His blend of Highlife, Funk, Jazz, Soul, and proto-Rap was and is still exhilarating. He learned music from outstanding artists like Sammy Larteh and Ebo Taylor, with whom he played In the Uhuru Dance Band. Together they founded the Apagya Show Band in 1974. Now, after more than 40 years active in music and his numerous albums, Gyedu-Blay Ambolley is a living legend, too. Gyedu-Blay Ambolley exploded on the music scene in 1973 with a jazzy, funky, and soulful Highlife sound he called SIMIGWA-DO. Building his own Simigwa style and leaving traces around the world, today the versatile, irrepressible and highly revered singer, composer, bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and “musical-life-force” has more than 30 music albums to his credit. On his new album "GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY AND HI-LIFE JAZZ" you can hear his versions of some classic Jazz tunes like "Round Midnite", "Love Supreme", Footprints" and "All Blues" as well as some new compositions by the Simigwa - Man himself.
- A1: Sugai Ken - Boundary
- A2: Andrew Pekler - Shima No Yume
- A3: The Dead Mauriacs - Differents Aspects D'un Aquapel Recompose (Edit)
- A4: Vica Pacheco - Taciturno
- B1: Mike Cooper - Lamma Island
- B2: Babau - Enshrined Underflow
- B3: Francesco Cavaliere & Tomoko Sauvage - Ficus Leaves In Apnea
- B4: Sculpture - Froth Surfer
- B5: Yannick Dauby - Navigation
Anthology introducing the first of a series of albums based on the concept of Aquapelago.
‘’ Since the earliest days of the planet there has been a rhythm of tides that creates coastal interzones where humans have foraged and pursued various livelihoods. Developing boats to fish from and technologies that enabled them to immerse themselves deep underwater, the aquatic realm has been one explored, experienced and imagined in various ways. In an effort to express the vitality and richness of this environment I coined the term aquapelago in 2012. The wordplay was deliberate. The neologism was designed to distinguish the liquid inbetweenness of this space from the dry, scattered, lands of archipelagos.
The concept of the aquapelago coalesced around themes taken from various places. Epeli Hau’ofa’s idea of an Oceanic “sea of islands’” was formative but a number of songs were also inspirational. Torres Strait islander Seaman Dan captivated me with his experiences of pearl diving in the Darnley Deeps in his song ‘Forty Fathoms’ and Norfolk Islander singer Kath King imaged how sea-turtles might have experienced ecological change in her song ‘Tech me how fer lew’. Other reflections on watery realms also appealed. Debussy’s solo piano piece ‘La cathédrale engloutie’ soundtracked me as I researched myths of lost Lyonesse while Mike Cooper’s Kiribati, an ambient exoticist album about the imperilled archipelago (recently re-released on Discrepant), caused me to reflect on the social and cultural impact of sea level rise before that topic became a high-profile concern.
This compilation album takes the concept of the aquapelago into new depths and breaches it on fresh shores. The tracks are soaked with the aquatic. Bassy sonorities boom as if heard deep underwater. Bubbly textures breach the surface, water drips and seabirds soar high above waves. Sugai Kei samples fragments of text concerning the Ningen, a fantastic humanoid/whale that reflects the ‘aquapelagic imaginary’ of modern Japan and its preoccupation with industrial whaling. Andrew Pekler continues the orientation of his Phantom Islands project - a sonic atlas of imaginary places - with a soundscape as if heard by a swimmer just offshore, mixing sounds of the island and the sea together. Mike Cooper’s sonic reflection on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island is similar, combining the island’s ubiquitous barking dogs with the slurp of waves on rocky shores, conjuring a languorous time before Chinese crackdowns on the territory.
Taking another tack, the Dead Mauriacs gleefully water-ski through collage of tropical island exoticisms, replete with glitchy orientalism, while Babau combines skittering idiophone melodies with resonant glissandi. Vica Pacheco moves between dense and airy sounds, as if crossing between surf lines and the space above. Yannkick Dauby’s track is also imbued with in-betweenness, evoking ambient sounds heard through a ship’s hull. Sculpture’s ‘Froth Surfer’ realises its title, with bubbling sounds and rhythms that evoke Hawaiian surfing filtered through layers of time and distance. Reminding us of the shore necessary for aquapelagic spaces, Franceso Cavaliere and Tomoko Sauvage’s composition anchors the album, centred around shaken rhythms and resonant ringing tones and drones.
Taken together, the album sketches the contours of the aquapelago as it might be imagined and conjured in sound – an endless oceanic realm that laps on to beaches and crashes against cliffs. The performers navigate this space under alternately starry and cloudy skies, orientating themselves with sounds, textures and sonic samples of their terrestrial homes while we float with them. ‘’
Philip Hayward December 2021
“I think it’s a mistake to equate ‘perfection’ with flawlessness. To be human is to be perfectly flawed,” Johanna Warren observes while describing the joys of analog recording. Her new LP Lessons for Mutants was tracked live with a band to two inch tape—a revelatory new way of working for Warren. “Tape forces you to commit to a performance, eccentricities and all. The little glitches and anomalies that we’re tempted to ‘correct’ are often what make a thing magical.”
Lessons for Mutants is the prolific songwriter’s sixth solo LP and her second for Wax Nine/Carpark Records. The album’s running theme of metamorphosis (the title of the closing track, “Involvulus,” is Latin for “caterpillar”) reflects major changes in Warren’s personal life: after a decade of relentless touring, as the world was closing its borders, the American multi-instrumentalist unexpectedly found herself quarantining in rural Wales, where she’s now permanently homesteading.
Though tracking for the new album began in New York in 2018 in tandem with the sessions for 2020’s Chaotic Good, the majority of Lessons for Mutants was recorded in the UK surrounded by sheep, cows and a forager’s paradise of wild edible plants—a far cry from the urban jungle of LA that Warren had most recently called home. The body of work that emerged from this dramatic about-face is Warren’s most dynamic to date, shapeshifting seamlessly from searing punk screams to sparkly psych-folk soundscapes, from the bootleg ambivalence of Dylan’s Basement Tapes to cosmic stoner grooves reminiscent of Black Sabbath’s acoustic moments.
“Sometimes I can relate to myself/ I disassociate more than I’d like to, but what can you do?” Warren croons in “Tooth for a Tooth,” a wistful piano ballad that conjures the grainy romance of some smoke-filled 1940s jazz club. This kind of to-the-bone lyrical honesty has always been one of Warren’s strong suits, but these latest reflections are especially unflinching. Being forced to stop touring brought no shortage of self-examination for Warren, who quickly came to view her history on the road as an addiction from which she’s been detoxing. This sentiment dances through opening track “I’d Be Orange,” a drum-driven indie rock number replete with Beatles-esque male backing vocals: “Thirst for power, hunger for fame/ Always was a junkie for pain,” Warren confesses. This exploration of masochistic ambition and artistic martyrdom overflows into grunge anthem “Piscean Lover”: “It’s alright, we’re not ok/ We burn out not to fade away.”
“There’s this unspoken rule in modern music—modern life, really—that everything needs to be Auto-Tuned and ‘on the grid,’” Warren concludes. “This record is an act of resistance against that. There’s beauty and power in our aberrations, if we can embrace them.”
Stólar label boss Philipp Priebe delivers his new album ‘Apparent Calm Palms’ this October, joining
the roster of Mainz/Hamburg, Germany’s Feuilleton.
Berlin-based artist Philipp Priebe has been steadily making his mark on the contemporary deep hazy
house and leftfield electronica scene over the past few years with a series of releases on his own
Stólar imprint. Here though we see him deliver his second album following his debut LP ‘The Being Of
The Beautiful’ released on Japan’s IL Y A Records back in 2014. Feuilleton is the brainchild of Chris
Gruber (Fossar) and Tim Eder and since 2018 has unveiled material from the duo themselves, RR
(René Raabe), Snad, Gari Romalis, Melina, Jakob Seidensticker and more.
Throughout the ‘Apparent Calm Palms’ LP Priebe delivers a concoction of styles and sounds cohesively fused together to form the bigger concept which is he tells us is ‘’an album about small towns and
villages and the needs and desires that brings one night out in clubs. The transport/travel, the preparty, all the things that you had to do, when you are not directly living in the big party places, but still
want to have a decent night out, away from your usual suspects.’’.
Throughout the ten-track LP Philipp delivers ethereal deep house with opening track ‘Desires’, the
succeeding ‘Interborough’ and ‘Chimera’, murky dub house leaning cuts like ‘Quiet Decay’, ‘Slalom’, ‘
Unfold’ and ‘Conclusions’ while ‘Transfiguration’ showcases a more classic Chicago House influence.
Title-track ‘Apparent Calm Palms’ and the interlude ‘Behind Their House’ then see Priebe offer a foray
into textural ambient sounds, once again showcasing his unique ability to craft raw, understated and
emotion fuelled material across a variety of genres.
Mastering by Sven Weisemann and Lacquer Cut by Stefan Betk
Tony Wright, Frontmann von Terrorvision und Laika Dog, schafft es auf seinem dritten Soloalbum, bedeutungsvolle, melancholische und zu Herzen gehende Texte mit unvergesslicher akustischer Perfektion zu verbinden. 'The Anti Album' ist sein bisher ambitioniertestes Werk, auf dem er seine Identität als Singer/Songwriter gefunden hat. Die Songs fühlen sich an wie eine tiefgründige, aufeinander aufbauende Reflexion seines bunten Lebens in als auch außerhalb der Musik.
Galaxy Heart is Moss' fourth record for Constellation and the companion album to 2021's Phosphenes. Galaxy Heart features guest appearances by Jim White (Xylouris White, Springtime, Dirty Three) and Thierry Amar (Godspeed You! Black Emperor).Jessica Moss is a violinist and composer based in Montréal. She uses amplified and processed violin and voice to create intricate works of expressive electronic, drone, experimental and post-classical Minimalism; her distinctive melodic sensibility often channels Klezmer, Balkan and Middle Eastern tropes, combined with an ear for the textural grit and timbral noise of post-punk, industrial and ambient metal. Moss played in cult agit-prop post-punk band Thee Silver Mt. Zion (2000-2015), has contributed to countless albums by the likes of Carla Bozulich, Vic Chesnutt and Matana Roberts, and most recently has guested on albums by Sarah Davachi and Big|Brave. She has released three solo albums on Constellation since 2017.
”Omnium Gatherum” bietet mit seinen 16 Tracks ausweitläufigen Prog-Jams, schwindelerregenden PopNuggets, gummibeinigen Hip-Hop-Odysseen und reinen Thrash-Metal-Passagen sowohl für Gizzard-Fans als auch für Neulinge jede Menge Stoff zum Kauen.
Typischerweise verfolgen Gizzard-Alben ein einziges Thema oder einen Stil - zum Beispiel die Öko-Metal-Barrage von ”Infest The Rat’s Nest”, der New-AgeTrance-Pop von ”Butterfly 3000” oder die endlosen Garagen-Prog-Verrenkungen von ”Nonagon Infinity” -
ein Teil des Nervenkitzels von ”Omnium Gatherum” wiederum war für die Gruppe die Möglichkeit, neue Ideen zu entwickeln, ohne sich zu verpflichten, ein ganzes Album in dieser Richtung zu liefern.
Es ist der perfekte Einstiegspunkt für Neulinge und ein solider Leckerbissen für treue Fans. ”Omnium Gatherum” war als Kompendium unveröffentlichter Songs gedacht, die auf früheren GizzardAlben keinen Platz gefunden hatten, und schon bald schrieb und nahm die Gruppe neue Songs für das schnell wachsende Album auf. Die Tracks wurden im Gizz-Hauptquartier, aber auch in ihrem legendären, inzwischen verlassenen Clubhaus in der 253 Lygon Street aufgenommen.
Textlich sind die Themen vielfältig, doch die Sorge der Gruppe um das ökologische Wohlergehen des Planeten bleibt eine Konstante. Einige
Tracks kehren zu den Synthie-Psych-Visionen von ”Butterfly 3000” zurück, andere greifen die fiebrige Thrash-Metal-Attacke auf, die Gizzard auf dem 2019er Album ”Infest The Rat’s Nest” prägte.
Tony Wright, Frontmann von Terrorvision und Laika Dog, schafft es auf seinem dritten Soloalbum, bedeutungsvolle, melancholische und zu Herzen gehende Texte mit unvergesslicher akustischer Perfektion zu verbinden. 'The Anti Album' ist sein bisher ambitioniertestes Werk, auf dem er seine Identität als Singer/Songwriter gefunden hat. Die Songs fühlen sich an wie eine tiefgründige, aufeinander aufbauende Reflexion seines bunten Lebens in als auch außerhalb der Musik.
Star Feminine Band: a 2020 debut, first journey and a 2022 return! Though not exactly a world music label, Born Bad took up the challenge and released Star Féminine Band's debut album in late 2020. Heaps of acclaims and praise and the whole shebang, then boom: the tour that was to materialize, live, all of the band and its entourage's hopes got cancelled due to Covid. After a long delay, the band finally managed to get to Europe, performing on the Transmusicales Festival, as well as for TV stations like Arte, TV5 and BBC to much acclaim. "Once they played, Born Bad and the band clearly had a "mission accomplished" feeling - that all the energy put into this was worth it, starting with the critics who abounded at the Transmusicales to weigh the phenomenon. They left convinced, just like the audience, enthralled by the direct, live formula. The sequel to the adventures of these new ambassadors for Unicef? They persist and sign with a feverish and energetic soundtrack in which nabo, peulh and waama are enlivened with drum lines and spiced up with more "modern" sounds, spreading words of tolerance and kindness. Simple and direct, they speak of their reality, of the ills of young women who don't always have a choice. Often out of school and destined to selling peanuts, bananas or gari on the roadside, most of the girls around there don't have a future. Forced marriage, precocious pregnancies_ "These kids are heroines!", continues Born Bads JB who, by welcoming them in a record studio, allowed for the formula to be sharpened into a sort of garage band with an afro twist. Thanks to the English lessons that their manager Jérémie Verdier has been providing every Sunday night for two years over videoconference, the girls even experimented with English lyrics in "We Are Star Feminine Band" and "Woman Stand Up". In Paris is the happy outcome of that challenge. Vinyl LP in printed under sleeve with French + UK linernotes + Download code * Digipak CD includes 12 pages booklet with French + UK linernotes.
For its latest album, Pirate Radio / Radio Pirata (Thirty Tigers), the band collaborated with major songwriters such as Blair Daly, Zac Maloy, and Sam Hollander for a triumphant and empowering collection of rock fused with an accessible pop structure and some of the everyday heart infused by Nashville’s country sound. “On this album, I’m free, and I can say things I was scared to say before. People deserve hope, and this record spreads a message,” Diaz says. The 11-song album will be released in English and Spanish—a unique feat for a rock release. SLP’s sophomore American release, Pirate Radio / Radio Pirata, is an artistic and personal milestone for the group. It is a concept album that loosely mirrors SLP’s journey to be artistically liberated against a stifling government regime, and the story unfolds with theatrical grandeur. The album’s unique melding of ultra-hooky choruses with ethereal ambience and passionate vocals and lyrics recalls such diverse artists as Paramore, Muse, and Olivia Rodrigo.
For its latest album, Pirate Radio / Radio Pirata (Thirty Tigers), the band collaborated with major songwriters such as Blair Daly, Zac Maloy, and Sam Hollander for a triumphant and empowering collection of rock fused with an accessible pop structure and some of the everyday heart infused by Nashville’s country sound. “On this album, I’m free, and I can say things I was scared to say before. People deserve hope, and this record spreads a message,” Diaz says. The 11-song album will be released in English and Spanish—a unique feat for a rock release. SLP’s sophomore American release, Pirate Radio / Radio Pirata, is an artistic and personal milestone for the group. It is a concept album that loosely mirrors SLP’s journey to be artistically liberated against a stifling government regime, and the story unfolds with theatrical grandeur. The album’s unique melding of ultra-hooky choruses with ethereal ambience and passionate vocals and lyrics recalls such diverse artists as Paramore, Muse, and Olivia Rodrigo.
The ‘Fantasy’ EP saw Jacques Greene push further
into his downtempo and ambient influences than ever
before. Now he returns with a special club-tested
extended edit of key EP track ‘Relay’, alongside an
incredible Skee Mask remix.
Since releasing his last studio album, ‘Dawn Chorus’,
in 2019, Jacques Greene has scored the short film
‘Exhaust’ starring Jimmie Fails (‘The Last Black Man in
San Francisco’), Glenn Kaino’s installation piece
‘Tidepools’ (alongside Nosaj Thing), and videogame
‘Homeschool’. He released remixes for artists such as
Para One, DC Salas, Amtrac, Kllo, Elohim, Kacy Hill
and Montreal disco legends Lime.
In 2020 he made headlines for creating ‘Promise’ - the
first single released with associated NFT that staked
the owner to music publishing. In 2021 Greene
released ‘ANTH01’, a reissue compiling his first few
years of releases across various labels, alongside
unheard tracks from the era.
Fresh off a US / European tour in 2022 in support of
his ‘Fantasy’ EP, as well as a high profile support slot
on the recent Bonobo tour.
“Immaculately produced and mixed, and profoundly
effective - both for the pleasure centers it fires, and
also for the associations it triggers. It feels like a
genetic memory passed down across generations of
ravers, encoded in their very DNA.” - Pitchfork
“An exercise in restless soul-searching, striking a
delicate balance between struggle and serenity as if
one necessitates the other.” - Resident Advisor
NNAMDÏ has never been able to stay in one place. The Chicago
multi-instrumentalist and songwriter set a blistering pace in 2020
with his critically acclaimed genre-fusing LP, ‘Brat’, a punk EP,
‘Black Plight’, and ‘Krazy Karl’, a full-length tribute to Looney
Tunes composer Carl Stalling. Add in his role as co-owner of label
Sooper Records, as well as recent tours with Wilco, SleaterKinney and black midi, and it’s an overwhelming schedule.
However, his latest album, ‘Please Have A Seat’, is the result of a
much needed pause. “I realized I never take time to just sit and
take in where I’m at,” says NNAMDÏ. “It’s just nice to not be on
‘Go, Go, Go!’ mode, and re-evaluate where I wanted to go
musically.” This period of reflection allowed him to take stock of his
life and his relationships. “I wanted to be present,” he says. “Each
song came from a moment of clarity.” ‘Please Have A Seat’ serves
as an invitation to listen. It’s a request to sit down, be present, and
take in a moment. With this quiet introspection, NNAMDÏ found
inspiration in silence and nuance.
While making the record, he decided to stretch the limits of his pop
songwriting: every track had to be hummable. Though he’s written
earworms throughout his career from playing in bands in
Chicago’s DIY community or releasing goofy raps as Nnamdi’s
Sooper Dooper Secret Side Project, here, his shapeshifting hooks
are undeniable. Each of the album’s fourteen songs, which
NNAMDÏ wrote, produced, and performed entirely himself, are
relentlessly re-playable, careening into unexpected and
disorienting places. With NNAMDÏ’s singular vision, ‘Please Have
A Seat’ is yet another leap from Chicago’s hardest working
musician. By taking a minute to sit down and catch his breath, he
re-emerged with the most ambitious, accessible, and nuanced
work of his career.
Coloured vinyl LP format pressed on Walnut Brown vinyl.
NNAMDÏ has never been able to stay in one place. The Chicago
multi-instrumentalist and songwriter set a blistering pace in 2020
with his critically acclaimed genre-fusing LP, ‘Brat’, a punk EP,
‘Black Plight’, and ‘Krazy Karl’, a full-length tribute to Looney
Tunes composer Carl Stalling. Add in his role as co-owner of label
Sooper Records, as well as recent tours with Wilco, SleaterKinney and black midi, and it’s an overwhelming schedule.
However, his latest album, ‘Please Have A Seat’, is the result of a
much needed pause. “I realized I never take time to just sit and
take in where I’m at,” says NNAMDÏ. “It’s just nice to not be on
‘Go, Go, Go!’ mode, and re-evaluate where I wanted to go
musically.” This period of reflection allowed him to take stock of his
life and his relationships. “I wanted to be present,” he says. “Each
song came from a moment of clarity.” ‘Please Have A Seat’ serves
as an invitation to listen. It’s a request to sit down, be present, and
take in a moment. With this quiet introspection, NNAMDÏ found
inspiration in silence and nuance.
While making the record, he decided to stretch the limits of his pop
songwriting: every track had to be hummable. Though he’s written
earworms throughout his career from playing in bands in
Chicago’s DIY community or releasing goofy raps as Nnamdi’s
Sooper Dooper Secret Side Project, here, his shapeshifting hooks
are undeniable. Each of the album’s fourteen songs, which
NNAMDÏ wrote, produced, and performed entirely himself, are
relentlessly re-playable, careening into unexpected and
disorienting places. With NNAMDÏ’s singular vision, ‘Please Have
A Seat’ is yet another leap from Chicago’s hardest working
musician. By taking a minute to sit down and catch his breath, he
re-emerged with the most ambitious, accessible, and nuanced
work of his career.
Coloured vinyl LP format pressed on Walnut Brown vinyl.
Mit seinem dritten Album als Peel Dream Magazine lockt Joseph Stevens in eine fabelhafte, zickzackförmige Welt, die er selbst entworfen hat. Auf Pad verzichtet er auf die unscharfe vorherige Glorie seiner Indie-Pop-Vergangenheit - hier zittert erst ein Vibraphon, stehen Streicher ebenfalls im Mittelpunkt. Der Vorhang hebt sich für einen opulentem Kammerpop und gibt den Blick frei auf Banjo. Glockenspiel. Farfisa. Und als er im Titeltrack des Albums ein Stöhnen ausstößt, wird klar, dass dies kein gewöhnlicher Auftritt ist. Pad ist ein konzeptionelles Werk über das Sich-Verlieren, wenn man nur noch sich selbst hat, und deutet auf eine aufregende neue Zukunft für Stevens' Pop-Song hin, indem es seine eigene Existenz neu interpretiert. Als Nachfolger des erfolgreichen Agitprop Alterna aus dem Jahr 2020 stellt Pad eine bedeutende soundtechnische Entwicklung für den 34-jährigen Songwriter dar, der im selben Jahr mitten in der Pandemie nach Los Angeles zog. Drumcomputer und Synthesizer aus den siebziger Jahren sind geblieben, aber er hat seine schnarrende Offset-Gitarre gegen eine Nylonsaite ausgetauscht und sich für einen sanften Barock-Pop-Sound entschieden, der von Bossa, Folk und seiner eigenen unheimlichen Mystik durchdrungen ist. Neben Vorbildern aus der Mitte des Jahrhunderts wie Burt Bacharach greift Stevens auf die kultisch geliebten Basteleien der Beach Boys aus den späten 1960er Jahren zurück und bietet eine surreale Melange aus alten Orgeln und gefundener Percussion sowie Harry Nilssons Songteppich The Point!von 1970. Pad klingt zwar wunderschön, hat aber auch eine gewisse Dunkelheit. Stevens spricht unsere generelle Ambivalenz gegenüber der Zukunft von allem, was wir kennen, an, teilweise beeinflusst durch seine Zeit in New York zu Beginn der Pandemie. In "Hiding Out" klagt er: Ich wandere an der Vernon Mall vorbei und hinauf zur Queensboro Bridge. Man gibt mir das Gefühl, zwei Fuß klein zu sein, aber das ist keine Art zu leben. Letzten Endes verfolgt Stevens einen Ansatz, bei dem der erste Gedanke der beste Gedanke ist, und lehnt sich an die fantastischen Elemente seiner eigenen Lebensgeschichte an. Pad ist ebenso archetypisch wie seltsam und verwischt genau die Grenzen, die es zu definieren versucht. Die Kunst ahmt das Leben nach, aber das Leben ahmt auch die Kunst nach - und die Ergebnisse können manchmal unvorhersehbar sein. Für Freunde von Sterolab, Beach Boys ca. Smile, High Llamas, Broadcast, The Lilys
This autumn Ludwig A.F. aveils his first full-length album project.
It is a very personal collection of ten pieces inspired by a special location near his home in the Taunus region of Germany. He recorded the songs as soon as he returned to his studio, inspired by the atmosphere of the place. He has been collating the pieces over the course of almost a decade.
“Air“ is an atmospheric and ambiguous collection of music that at times is rhythm and sound design driven but mainly focuses on the home listener with its picturesque melodies and ambiances.
“Air” will be in stores digitally and physically on October 7th 2022.




















