Suche:ant mill

Waxwork Records is proud to present the Us Original Motion Picture Soundtrack featuring a score by composer Michael Abels. Us, released in March 2019, is an original nightmare written, directed and produced by Academy Awardr-winning visionary Jordan Peele (Get Out). Set in present day Santa Cruz on the iconic Northern California coastline, the film, starring Oscarr winner Lupita Nyong'o and Black Panther's Winston Duke, pits an ordinary American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves. A blockbuster that earned raves from critics and audiences alike, Us earned more than $250 million at the worldwide box office to become one the highest grossing R-rated horror films of all time, buoyed by an unexpected and innovative soundtrack and by a groundbreaking, terrifying original score by Abels. Us marks the second collaboration between composer Abels and Peele, who first worked together on Peele's 2017 Oscar-winning horror film, Get Out. For the Us score, Abels explored themes of duality and discord. "Sonically, what defines 'scary' is the unfamiliar," Abels says. "It is the things that we can't place, and that we don't expect, that take us to that place of fear. We wanted to really strike terror into the audience." Central to the score was the opening track, an anthem for the doppelgängers, known in the film as The Tethered. Abels hit on the idea of using choral elements. "Jordan really loves the sounds of voices, and the human voice is an incredibly expressive instrument that anyone can relate to," Abels says. "The anthem sounds a little like a march of people preparing for battle, like an uprising maybe, but the sounds are not in a recognizable language. In other parts of the film there are vocal effects, just these strange sounds. They're designed to really freak people out." Abels featured a 30 person choir, a third of them children, in the "Anthem," and implemented Eastern European instruments, violins, percussion and a virtual instrument called a Propanium drum. "It makes this trashy metal sound, but you can also play melodies on it," Abels said. "The Propanium drum has a sound that's both otherworldly but not electronic or like science fiction. It's a sound you can't quite put your finger on, which is why it works well in this film." Also included on the soundtrack is the 1995 hip-hop hit "I Got 5 On It" by Luniz and the stand-out track "I Like That" by Janelle Monáe. Abels also helped with a new arrangement of the Luniz hit, which is featured on the soundtrack as the 'Tethered Mix from Us'.



































[xi] 35 I GOT 5 ON IT (FEAT. MICHAEL MARSHALL) [TETHERED MIX FROM US] - LUNIZ

On June 30, 1986, the same day that Diamanda Galás"s The Divine Punishment was released, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Georgia"s so-called sodomy law in Bowers v. Hardwick, criminalizing consensual sex between men. At the time, about 15,000 people were known to have died of AIDS in the U.S. alone, with little government acknowledgement besides suggestions to quarantine homosexuals on island colonies. By the end of 2021, the number of AIDS deaths globally would exceed 36 million. The first album in her Masque of the Red Death trilogy, The Divine Punishment is one of the most jarring works of art produced in response to the AIDS epidemic, and a milestone in Diamanda Galás"s artistry and activism. Galás uses her famous voice both as an orational instrument and as well as a physical representation of AIDS and those it afflicts.

‘SOMEONE TO BELIEVE IN’: A COLLECTIVE ANTHEM OF SOLIDARITY.

‘RIDING HIGH (ON YOUR LOVE)’: AN ECSTATIC EULOGY TO SUMMER DANCE FLOORS.

CRISP SUN SHIMMERS THROUGH BRITTLE BLUE SKY.

THE WORLD AWAKENS FROM ANOTHER BLEAK COLD WINTER.

YET MILLIONS STILL SUFFER WHILE OUR LEADERS LAUGH AT US.

AMF - HERE TO BRING JOY AND HOPE.

DJ Support -
Patrick Topping ‘You have nailed that vibe’
Sasha ‘Big Stuff’
Totally enormous Extinct Dinosaurs ‘Great Sample!’, Mr V Cool vibes on this pack’
Auntie Flo ‘Nice One’
Mousse T ‘Useful goodies’

Radio Support -
Danny Howard, Sarah Story

Korea Town Acid (Jessica Cho) is wildly creative. She is an electronic artist at her core, but that barely scratches the surface of what her sound encompasses. Citing influences as UK future bass, glitch, jungle, and alternative hip hop, KTA fuses these sounds with concepts of movement and texture, to create multi-faceted works that go beyond the club. Born in Seoul, Korea, Toronto based DJ/Producer Korea Town Acid maintained a fierce but mindful schedule amidst pandemic induced lockdowns. With the ease of restrictions and the gradual return to a version of normalcy, KTA continues to thrive, without hitting pause. In 2021 she released her full length LP Metamorphosis, a self produced ten-track record, featuring collaborations from Toronto based artist DESIIRE, U.K based Korean pianist and rapper Pianwooo, Seoul rapper PNSB, L.A beatmaker Dreamdave, and New Jersey MC, L.J The Alien. She swiftly followed that up six months later with the release of Cosmos, another self produced full length LP that boasts the 2022 Juno Award nominated track, ‘Sobriety’. She also contributed to Cadence Weapon’s 2021 Polaris Prize winning record Parallel World, producing the track ‘Play No Games’. Despite touring restrictions in 2021, KTA delivered a notable hardware set as part of Hinter Live, showcased at POP Montreal, and continued her monthly online residency at The Lot Radio in New York. Korea Town Acid released her latest LP, Elephant in The Room, via URBNET. The twelve track self produced and mixed album, was mastered by East End Mastering in Toronto, ON, and features a lineup of Canadian guest collaborators, including Zander Miller, Khrono K, and Hood Joplin. In anticipation of the release, KTA has been actively securing live performance sets to showcase new tracks, with recent appearances at Vancouver’s Wonderment Festival, Montreal’s MUTEK Festival Toronto’s Summer of Seoul festival at the TIFF Atrium, Peprally, and Promise Cherry Beach series

Following up on its first edition, a sold-out record that gained more than half a million streams, Sina XX strikes back with the second chapter of Body to Body, his collaborative platform dedicated to the harder edges of club music. This new edition named "ParisBerlin" connects the two techno cities with four original productions.

In Berlin, the artist teams up with the glamorous cyberpunk Dance Divine, whose tantric voice shines through Sina XX's industrially rooted techno beats. The second collaboration involves multi-faceted artist Metaraph. > proves to be the EPS most cinematic track, taking us on an emotional and narrative journey. In Paris, the label is hosting its first ever trio. Lessss and Enham are two of the most promising producers of the new wave of hard techno. Together, the trio deliver a rough, punk-gabba banger of a track which acts as a perfect boomer antidote. To close things off, Lacchesi joins in for a trippy, futuristic club track where mutant sound designs blurs the lines between techno and psy-tech.

1000 black vinyl LPs. London-based ‘indie-supergroup’ SUEP announce their long-awaited debut mini-album Shop, a collection of 6 oddball, car-boot-sale pop songs with a sprinkling of theatrical storytelling. Led by Georgie Stott (of Porridge Radio, Garden Centre) and Josh Harvey, SUEP was born out of a near-decade of playing in sheds and barns with like minded personnel, holding a mutual love for Paul McCartney, Jona Lewie, the B-52s, Devo and other performative freaks enjoying themselves. Following a move to London from Brighton, the pair added George Nicholls (The GN Band, Joanna Gruesome, The Tubs), Will William Deacon (PC World, Garden Centre), and Ollie Chapman (Boil King) to the line-up. The 5 piece take turns writing songs and taking the lead vocal duties in a wonderfully playful but coherent collaboration, with their debut being a kaleidoscopic off kilter pop ride, taking the listener through haunted castles, deprived encounters, days lost to the imagination in bed, and through the integral friendships that give SUEP the energy to keep dancing to their own beat. The album was arranged and recorded in the Red Lion Boys Club, an ex-youth centre in which Georgie and Josh both lived. Using equipment collected by Josh in his travels as a bootsale and market trader, the sports hall was transformed into a makeshift studio for a few days, with sessions conducted by producer Matthew Green (Sniffany & The Nits, The Tubs, etc.) Mark Riley (BBC 6 Music) described SUEP’s debut single and album opener, ‘Domesticated Dream’ (2021) as “perfect pop music.” The joyfully kitsch track brims with a 70s Yamaha disco beat, deep bass, nostalgic drum machines, and hooky melodies. Possibly the most psychedelic and infectious track born out of lockdown, it tackles homelife, drinking too much, and making big plans that never come to fruition, but with a big technicoloured positivity for the future of the human-race, with the chorus’ refrain, “the psychedelic 4000s,” predicting the return of the psychedelic Age of Aquarius in a couple of millennia time. The following single ‘Misery’ (2021) is pure cosmic swing-pop wizardry in part inspired by spy music and The Supremes. Ollie, The track’s baritone vocalist, describes it as “A love song disguised as a song about loss. It's about cherishing the things that matter but it’s also about having the courage to say goodbye,” with each line of the song a small story about a different character. Whilst latest Shop taster ‘In Good Health’ is darkly euphoric like a pleasantly strange meeting of Siouxsie Sioux and Jona Lewie. It’s a playfully discombobulating mix of 80s jangly guitar, chirpy keyboard and moody post-punk tackling mental health, drug addiction, and the power of friendship, written after the song’s vocalist Georgie came out of hospital following a mental health crisis. “I wanted to write a song that encapsulated how important my relationships with my friends and boyfriend were at that time” she explains “…and one that also felt dark like I did at the time. I couldn’t go outside due to anxiety surrounding my health so I stayed inside for weeks. People would visit and watch films with me or let me tattoo them or make music with me. My community helped me recover.” Elsewhere on Shop is ‘Just The Job’ fronted by Harvey and described by him as “About the relief of accepting a menial existence, and allowing life to be boring - but (within that) how the small things are the important ones, how pulling a sicky or extra long lunch break are important things to do for yourself. It’s an anthem for working people who’ve had enough - and a crowd favourite at SUEP gigs. The darker undertones and post-punk angles of the Georgie-fronted ‘Onions’ is inspired by the crapness of cliques, with the band calling the song “A cry of welcome to all;” and finally the hooky ‘Friend of Mine,’ described as “A love letter to all the people that come and go throughout your life no matter how long you know them”. SUEP have received coverage in Independent & Clash, (among many others), with big support from Mark Riley and Steve Lamacq (BBC 6 Music) for early singles.

Australian 9-piece Spiritual Jazz group Menagerie announce their highly anticipated third album 'Many Worlds', released 15th January 2021 on esteemed U.K label Freestyle Records.

Menagerie is the Melbourne-based Jazz ensemble founded by producer, songwriter, guitarist, DJ and recording artist Lance Ferguson, also the driving force behind The Bamboos, Lanu, Rare Groove Spectrum and Machines Always Win.

Recorded at Union Street Studio by award-winning engineer John Castle, 'Many Worlds' features some of Australia's finest musicians, including pianist Mark Fitzgibbon (a regular performer at Gilles Peterson and Patrick Forge's original Dingwalls sessions), drummer Daniel Farrugia and renowned saxophonist Phil Noy (The Bamboos).

Inspired by both the post-Coltrane generation of the 70's, labels like Strata-East, Impulse! and Tribe, along with the current 'New Wave Of Jazz', Menagerie aligns with the world of Kamasi Washington, Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia, whilst also bringing their own unique twist.

Lead single 'Free Thing' leans heavily into the spiritual side of the band's sound. The hypnotic spoken word-poem is evocative of The Last Poets, an earthy yet futuristic meditation on the universal theme of freedom itself, set to a backdrop of insistent percussion, double bass and brooding piano voicings.

'Hope' carries forward the sound of spiritual jazz into the 21st century, with its epic vocal harmonies and melodic fanfare, it is an uplifting anthem for this period of global worldwide upheaval and uncertainty.

The title track 'Many Worlds' is a perfect example of how Menagerie incorporates their myriad influences, but manage to create a sound that feels uncannily fresh and contemporary. Book-ended by ambient, ethereal sections, the slow-burning groove builds over its 11-minute duration to create a standout crossover track.

Menagerie have received airplay and radio support from Gilles Peterson (BBC6/Worldwide FM), Don Letts (BBC6), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Simon Harrison, Paul Miller and Ennio Styles (3RRR).

'Many Worlds' will be released on legendary U.K imprint Freestyle Records - home to jazz contemporaries Courtney Pine, Jessica Lauren, and keyboard legend Brian Auger.

The timeless music and expert arrangements are about the only things smoother than the powder-blue suits sported by the Spinners on the cover of their resplendent self-titled 1972 record. The band's first album for Atlantic after departing Motown, Spinners ranks as an all-time soul classic – a filler-free set boasting immaculate harmonies, sweet melodies, and impeccably matched vocals. Thom Bell's flawless production puts it all over the top. Yielding an ideal balance of lushness and grit, the collaboration between the Detroit-based group and studio veteran yielded a record that birthed the celebrated Philadelphia Sound. Now, you can finally experience it in audiophile-grade sonics.

While the career-defining performances within the grooves cannot be overlooked, Spinners remains equally notable for its historical importance. At the dawn of the 70s, Motown still held sway as the dominant soul style. Yet the Spinners' decision to move to Atlantic – prompted by a suggestion by Aretha Franklin – and refashion their approach with Bell signalled a sea change that ushered in a smoother, sweeter variety of R&B punctuated with sweeping strings, jazzy flourishes, brassy replies, and funk rhythms. Few, if any, vocal groups mesh these traits more convincingly, pleasingly, and naturally than the Spinners on this watershed effort.

Anchored by Top 5 smashes like "Could It Be I'm Falling In Love," Spinners signalled the beginning of a partnership with Bell that lasted seven years and elevated the band to stardom. Indeed, even in spite of the four hit singles, the record remains defined by an artistic consistency, watertight focus, and collective unity that make everything here deserving of close attention. Flush with catchy hooks and pop accents, each song is treated as a potential anthem. Laden with depth and richness, Bell's savvy, wide-open arrangements frame the Spinners' satiny singing with sensual class and refined delicacy.

Heaven-sent voices do the rest. Making his first appearance on record as a member, Philippe Wynne treats the carefully honed material as a breakout session for his dulcet tenor on tracks such as "One of a Kind (Love Affair)." Not to be outdone, the equally measured Bobbie Smith mesmerizes with his deft phrasing, reedy timbre, and sparkling clarity, never finer than on the million-selling "I'll Be Around." Solo or paired together, Wynne and Smith's glorious leads run the gamut from upbeat and optimistic to sad and forlorn, forming the backbone of a masterwork that addresses romance ("Just You and Me Baby"), regret ("How Could I Let You Get Away"), and social ills ("Ghetto Child") with consummate passion.

Best known for being Anderson .Paak’s live band The Free Nationals have toured the world meeting countless artists who inspire them. While the amount of all the contemporary musicians who inspire them would take an anthology of box sets, they boiled it down to a handful to include on the album, all of whom lend their talents in spreading the funk. Free Nationals means The first people of America, Indigenous to the land before Columbus came. Staying Indigenous to the funk, The Free Nationals wanted to tribute their inspirations such as Stevie Wonder, B.B. King, Herbie Hancock, and Al Green by incorporating musicianship while pioneering musical euphoria for a new generation.

The album features friends they’ve met along their musical journey including the late Mac Miller, Syd, Anderson .Paak, Kali Uchis, T.I., JID, Westside Gunn, Conway, Chronixx, Daniel Caesar, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Kadhja Bonet, MIKNNA, Benny Sings, Callum Connor, T. Nava and Joyce Wrice. This pressing sees the album pressed on 180g Black Vinyl for the first time.

ENZYME RECORDS drops the start of a new line of vinyl. The Enzyme Records Anthology series!



A fresh blend of classics and never before on vinyl released tracks. All tracks are remastered exclusively for vinyl from their original source, sounding bigger, wider and more detailed. This is a limited run and will not be repressed.



! These remasters will only be available on vinyl !

Originally released 2020 on cassette and digitally.

Forged alone in a cave on the island of Java, and recorded in a fortress in Poland, Antonina Nowacka’s “Lamunan” is an intimate exploration of a mysterious darkness and the earliest of musical forms. Nowacka has co-created raw electronics and audiovisuals as half of WIDT and the enigmatic Mentos Gulgendo, but her solo practice focuses solely on the voice’s inherent connection to mental states, its ability to speak wordlessly, and the apparatus of speech itself – leading her to a six-month trip to study traditional music in Indonesia.

A day trip to visit a Javanese volcano turned into days of exploring, Nowacka eventually stumbling across a cave. “Rarely does anyone come there because Indonesians are afraid of the dark and the cave is poorly lit,” explains Nowacka. “I could sit there and sing for hours without feeling the passage of time.”

Hours spent in the dizzying darkness and echoes of Seplawan Cave produced a series of unaccompanied vocal motifs. Moans, chants, hums, and wordless cries met with the multi-million year-old facades of the stone walls. The freely flowing compositions seem forged from the same natural material as that stone, carved into shape by nothing but water, time, and solitude.

Upon returning to Poland, Nowacka recorded with Rafal Smoliński in the cave-like sonic conditions of the Modlin Fortress some 50km north of Warsaw. The intimate and surreal sound of the cave is recreated, Nowacka overlapping multiple vocal lines to create delicately interwoven chamber choral pieces, musically minimalist and emotionally maximalist. The album’s title – "Lamunan" – comes from the Indonesian word for ‘dreaming’ or ‘fantasy’.

Das unveröffentlichte Dub-Album aus den 80ern von Lloyd James, 1947 in Montego Bay Jamaika geboren und besser bekannt als Prince Jammy und späterem King Jammy! Hier finden sich unter anderem sehr gesuchte Dub-Versionen zu Black Crucials "Mr Vincent", Junior Reids "Higgler Move" oder Anthony Johnson "Yah Wi Deh". Eine tolle Vinyl Ergänzung zum 4CD Box-Set Vol.6 in der "Evolution Of Dub"-Serie.

Yellow Vinyl, Gatefold
Wäre Johannes Oerding nicht großzügig Gold- und Platin dekoriert, hätte er nicht über eine Million Platten und ebenso viele Konzerttickets verkauft und gehörte er nicht zweifellos zur Liga der erfolgreichsten Musiker des Landes - was wäre sein Plan B? Eine Frage, auf die der Hamburger nie eine Antwort hatte, weil er sich keine Alternative zurechtgelegt hat. Es mag starkes Songwriting sein, außergewöhnlicher Fleiß, seine Stimme, die unstillbare Liebe zur Livebühne, Charme oder einfach Glück - Oerdings PLAN A ist aufgegangen. Eine Tatsache, die ihm erst kürzlich richtig bewusst geworden ist. "Ich war ehrlich überrascht, als ich den Award für diese unglaublichen Verkaufszahlen bekommen habe. Ich hatte das nicht auf dem Zettel und hab erst mal geheult wie ein Schlosshund. In dem Moment hat etwas Klick gemacht." Dabei ist der Weg, den der 40-jährige Künstler zurückgelegt hat kein kurzer. Seit 2009 erarbeitet er sich jeden seiner Erfolge hart und erntete 2019 mit dem Platinalbum "Konturen" seine erste Nr. 1 in den Charts. Seine Fans gehen seit Jahren jeden seiner Schritte mit und feiern ihn nicht nur wegen der Radiohits, sondern wegen eines Lebensgefühls, einer Haltung. Es ist das Glas, das immer halbvoll ist, die unbändige Freude am Moment und das Wissen, dass der Johnny auf der Bühne auch der ist, den man in der Kneipe trifft. Umso interessanter ist es, sein kommendes Album PLAN A zu hören, denn er lässt hier, wie er selbst sagt: "noch mehr die Hosen runter". Die Brennweite hat sich geändert. Der Meister des Weitwinkels mit Goldsingles wie "Alles brennt", "Kreise" oder "An guten Tagen", die den Nerv ganzer Pop-Jahre getroffen haben, hat sich auf diesem Album mit Freunden, Familie, Beziehung und sich selbst auseinandergesetzt. "Meine Songs waren immer persönlich, aber diesmal habe ich mich gefragt, was uns menschlich und emotional macht. Es hat vielleicht mit der Zeit zu tun, in der wir seit zweieinhalb Jahren leben oder vielleicht liegt es am Älterwerden - jedenfalls habe ich mich mehr als sonst mit dem befasst, was direkt um mich herum passiert." Belegen lässt sich das mit Texten, die intensiver und zugleich lässiger sind und einer Experimentierfreude, die die Messlatte des letzten Albums locker ein Stockwerk höher legt. PLAN A enttäuscht niemanden, der die ersten Singles des Albums schon in der Playlist hat, aber spielt an anderer Stelle genüsslich mit Gospel, Blues, Country, Disco und 80er-Rock, macht High Fives mit Prince, Springsteen und Swift und zitiert tiefenentspannt Lindenberg, Lennon und Michael Jackson. Die einen wird das an Oerdings Anfänge erinnern, die anderen werden eventuell überrascht sein - aber alle werden ihn hinterher noch ein bisschen besser kennen: "Ich habe alles aufs Album genommen, was aus mir rauskam. Den Kopf auszuschalten und noch mehr nach innen zu gehen, hat einfach Spaß gemacht."Die bereits veröffentlichten Albumtracks haben das Licht am Ende des Tunnels schon mal angemacht: Beide Songs sind Johannes Oerding pur. "Plan A ist aufgrund der politischen Entwicklungen vielleicht ein bisschen untergegangen, aber live geht er umso mehr ab und Kaleidoskop mag ich bis heute sehr, weil er etwas ganz Starkes in mir auslöst. Und die Reaktionen auf den Song zeigen, dass er zur richtigen Zeit kam - ich höre oft, dass die Leute genau so einen Song gebraucht haben. Einen mit Happy End."

Eddie Piller & Dean Rudland present Acid Jazz (Not Jazz)

Back in the early 1990s as Acid Jazz began a period of extraordinary commercial success where acts like the Brand New Heavies and Jamiroquai sold millions of records, and US groups such as A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots and Digable Planets were actively influenced by what was being played in London, the whole scene was being fuelled by a small number of clubs, led by Gilles Peterson’s Sunday afternoons at Dingwalls but taking in nights in Leeds, Bari, Munich, Tokyo, Stockholm and New York. In those clubs funky jazz, latin boogaloo and 70s soul soundracks competed for time on the dance floor with import records from New York, and the latest sounds coming out of bedrooms and makeshift basement studios that created contemporary sounds out of the past.

Acid Jazz’s Eddie Piller and Dean Rudland have put together this compilation of the sort of sounds that we were playing at the time. They are releases on Acid Jazz and other label’s that surrounded the scene and they were mainly made by people we knew from either around the club scene, behind the counters of our favourite record shops, or from trips to New York or Europe. They range from The Ballistic Brother anthem ‘Blacker’ to the jazz house of A-Zel - a Roger Sanchez mix that still sounds fresh today. We have the Humble Soul’s instrumental version of ‘Beads Things And Flowers’ which at the time was only available as a DJ special on Acetate. There is the presence of A Man Called Adam before they went to Ibiza, and the early Mo’ Wax (before they went Trip Hop) single by Marden Hill ‘Come On’.

These records could fill a dance floor in seconds and we feel that they are today largely forgotten, as they were non-album, underground club records. It’s time to celebrate them!

Emanating from a ‘prehistoric’ existence near the end of the last millennium, Andy Votel and his slightly older college mates were once best recognised in Mancunian clubs and bars as teenage vinyl nerds and bum-fluffed battle rappers under the collective name Violators Of The English Language (which in acronymic form explains Andy’s own exotic pen-name).

As steadfast supporters of the 1980s / 90s Brit-core rap scene coming out of London, the multicultural Violators’ Mancunian accents were perhaps a bridge-too-far to secure dream job contracts for humble labels like Kold Sweat and Music Of Life. An unlikely constructive meeting with Gang Starr’s DJ Premier (while Andy helped out at a radio station), plus playing warm up DJ sets for countless US rap heroes might have temporarily added inspirational fuel to the fire, but after an active period combining graffiti, rapping, scratching, obsessive record digging and beat making into their daily operations, adulthood eventually began to rear its unwelcome head.

A decade later, Andy Votel and his digging skills would begin to provide direct sample material for the likes of Madlib, Mos Def, Jay Z, Nas, Dr Dre, Ghostface Killa and Action Bronson, amongst others, and the Violators’ black book of breakbeats and catalogue numbers soon began to feed a same-butdifferent rap beast.

For a project that has taken thirty years, it would be totally inadequate to call the formation of Hypocritical Beatdown Records a lockdown-project. There’s a deep history and psychology in these records by Violators Of The English Language and their spin-off groups Magnets (Rap Group) and ProVerbs, that combines stage-fright, loss, pride, creative-schizophrenia, racial inequality, surrealism, personal politics, brotherhood, artistic-constipation, better judgment, love, anti-love, soul searching and much more.

As well as Andy Votel taking care of both production and part of the microphone duties, some might recognise fellow MC and solo recording artist Figure Of Speech as a prominent voice here. The trio of Magnets (Rap Group) sees Andy also joined by local B-Girl legend Jeni Chan aka Penny Chew, and rapper and DJ Benjamin Hatton who has previously recorded with Kid Acne, The Mongrels and Sheffield’s Invisible Spies’ long-running squadron. Widely respected visual artist Rick Myers (now living in Massachusetts) also contributed scratches for many of these recordings via file sharing and custom dub-plates to keep the Violators’ authentic line-up intact, as well as galvanising the crew’s semi-reluctant art-school roots.

Extra production credits for the label also go to Sean Canty from Demdike Stare, and the late great Dan Dwayre aka Black Lodge (Mo Wax) who sadly passed away during the completion of these recordings. The members of Violators Of The English Language who you’ve not yet heard of will quickly make themselves known as the needle drops on this long-mooted debut vinyl release.

The Person is back on the dancefloor and she brought the delicious Australian version of a good old Italian recipe - ITALOZ DISCO. Mouthwatering rhythms spiced with everyday hustle, cosmic boogie and the extra dose of synthesizer! Changing the Meatballs for Oddballs to worship the Magic $ properly. Sull' alto lato (aka on the B-Side) we're changing the Oddballs for the Mothballs as the one and only Hysteric warms up the magic ragout in his unique steam-powered kitchen. Now go to work!

You still need to be convinced? Take these great lines by Patrick:
"Magic $" beams into the discotheque direct from deep space; a shimmering body of squelching bass, nebulous pads and snapping percussion which hosts Minna's bewitching vocals. The arch delivery and vintage sequences flirt with kitsch, but that playful genius particular to The Person pushes this into wonderfully wonkier territories. Basslines climb, keys collapse and the whole thing chugs and bubbles through a flawless arrangement. We thought they didn't make them like this anymore, but we were wrong. Stepping in on remix duty, renowned (Moth)baller Hysteric turns out a treatment that's worth a million bucks, boosting the bottom end with an acidic sequence, supercharging the percussion and punching in some strange sampler fun to guarantee utter club chaos.
Every superhero needs a theme song, and "The Person" sees Minna step away from the dancefloor to deliver a synthetic ballad for lucid dreamers everywhere. Jamming on top of a malfunctioning Jomox, Minna channels chimes, piano and a gentle chug into the classiest chord progression this side of Mike Francis. Closing cut "Go To Work" gives us neon lights and nighthawks as The Person indulges in a little Antipodean electro, proving once and for all that Australians Do It Better.

Die 1984 gegründete Band Sepultura ist der wohl größte
brasilianische Musikexport und feierte im Laufe ihrer
Karriere weltweit große Erfolge. In dieser Zeit haben sie
fünfzehn Studioalben veröffentlicht und weltweit über 20
Millionen Einheiten verkauft. "A-Lex", ursprünglich 2006
veröffentlicht, ist das 11. Studioalbum der Band und
basiert auf dem 1982 erschienenen Roman "A Clockwork
Orange" von Anthony Burgess.

In 2016 lutenist Sofie Vanden Eynde put her instrument aside for nine
months in order to recover from a severe burnout
Five years later, she felt the need to look back. Would it be possible, she
wondered, to use the intense, shared concentration between musician and
listener to convey sensations of over- stimulation, contrast, excess, stagnation,
emptiness, beauty and movement? Would it be possible to articulate the inner
reality of a burnout musically: to make a burnout audible, tangible,
understandable and, who knows, avoidable? The result is Vanishing Point /
Verdwijntijd, an autobiographical recital, a musical narrative, a journey:
somewhere between fragile comfort and cautious happiness. Writer Annemarie
Peeters drew on her interviews with Sofie to write a text that reflects the three
phases of a burnout. The run- up, the phase of total stagnation during, and the
cautious way out. Three colours, three seasons, three ways of being. Lurking
beneath Sofie's personal story are experiences that many will recognize: the
craving for efficiency, the sudden faltering, the unfamiliar and at the same time
disconcerting sense of emptiness, and the tentative search for a new balance.
But also the questions Sofie asked herself – about the connection between her
own little story and the big world that surrounds her – evoke wide recognition. Is
burnout a personal failure or a social symptom?
Sofie went in search of pieces from the solo lute repertoire that she intuitively
associated with the various phases of the text. This resulted in a recital with a
surprising palette of colours, styles and atmospheres. At times she chose the
rich, powerful sound of the theorbo. At others she chose the fragile, hushed
sound of the Renaissance lute. The Prelude by the French baroque composer
Robert de Visee combines phrases full of grandeur with breathing pauses filled
with intimate doubt. The music of John Dowland draws on the typically English
penchant for melancholy. In the fantasias and ricercars of Francesco da Milano, it
is not only the bright colours of the Italian Renaissance that resound, but also the
constant search for a new beginning. Luis de Narvaez's Cancion del emperador is
an arrangement for lute of the famous chanson Mille Regretz by Josquin Desprez,
a song that emanates serene regret for everything that is not. And in Robert de
Visee's Chaconne the same chord sequence revolves around its own axis. Hope,
tenderness, revolt and acceptance each step to the fore in turn.
At Sofie's request, Vladimir Gorlinsky created a new composition, one which
reflects the state of mind in the middle of a burnout. Vanishing Point balances on
the edge of total emptiness, a stagnation that at times is hard to bear. Vanishing
Point starts out from this stagnation to explore the different facets of burnout:
resistance and acceptance, fear and hope, stagnation and movement, absolute
solitude and the desire to interact again with the surrounding world. Vanishing
Point / Verdwijntijd can be listened to in different ways: not only as a lute recital,
but also as a radio play with voice, lute and soundscapes. Annemarie Peeters'
text was recorded by actress Katelijne Damen (NL) and voice artist Caroline
Daish (EN). Vladimir Gorlinsky created soundscapes based on the sounds of the
lute, which were magnified as if under a microscope. The soundscapes weave
themselves between the text and the lute music. Jo Thielemans created the
sound design and provided the live electronics.

Rare Italo disco pop project Galvanica gets a beautiful re-issue! This is what the label writes about the release; "Galvanica, a voice with unusual qualities, refined, balanced, also high-pitched, sensual, embellished by an orgasmic inspiration with fluid and spaced solo's in hypnotic rhythms that often change scenery. 'Nightlights in Japan': an extraordinary piece of pure and profound creativity where each version seems to have been built apart and where the West meets the East. A splendid interpreter for a truly stunning piece, as fresh and far-sighted as the day it was recorded in Calenzano at Studio Emme by Marzio Benelli with the Yamaha DX7 synth and Linn 9000 drum sequencer that are at the base of the piece, made and re-interpreted in the four original versions, all sung in the Eastern Asian pentatonic scale. 'Nightlights in Japan' was also written by Massimiliano Orfei, at the time collaborator in the advertising projects from label Smash One Music of Pino Toma, the producer who drew new inspiration to venture into the record market which in 1987 became every day more difficult and this song was considered out of fashion, even if each version of this song was expertly arranged by the talented Giorgio Costantini. We've clarified as to whom Galvanica's velopendulus belongs, in order to be able to rightly consider this artist as a contributive voice of disco music, despite being part of the "second wave" of the Italo-Disco scene, has strongly contributed to it as Otero, Belen Thomas, Angelby and previously with the disco-project Plustwo creating 'Melody' (which after 40 years gets a new extraordinary success with over 134 million plays on TikTok and around 18 million streaming). However, it's clear as day that the gorgeous artist behind Galvanica was Antonella Bianchi and that Giorgio Costantini was not only her producer and composer - as in 1985 for 'I Know', a sweet synth-pop ballad sung with her stage name 'Angel', but above all her ... 'guardian angel'. For many artists using a stage name is a custom. The absolute record of pseudonyms as a true equalizer of identity is held by Stendhal having used 350 throughout his career. This multifaceted artist who, until now has never used so many 'a.k.a.', in a wonderful game of musical mirrors, has represented an opportunity to challenge the market, a trait of non-acceptance of the role that the discography attributes to certain artists. So also Galvanica was an invitation to reflect, with a pinch of provocation, a behavior that Antonella Bianchi has in the DNA of her family. Ultimately, Best Record is not at all worried about the modernization that surrounds it, sure that 'Nightlights in Japan' will be one of the most coveted vinyl reissues in the second half of 2022.

Deron Miller gives his life to the riff. Unrestrained by industry expectations and genre limitations, the boundlessly prolific guitarist and voice behind multiple beloved projects is best known as the founder, frontman, and songwriter in CKY. His authentic and effortlessly hooky heavy rock obsession returns with 96 BITTER BEINGS. Reinvigorated and ready to rumble all over again, Miller roars back with the same reverence for riffage that made underground hits out of CKY anthems like “Flesh Into Gear,” “Escape from Hellview,” and “Disengage the Simulator” from 1998 till 2011.

The familiar warmth, feel, groove, and unapologetic honesty which drove the song “96 Quite Bitter Beings” to 54 million streams (on Spotify alone) permeates the pair of albums unleashed by 96BB.

A successful crowdfunding campaign saw Miller, guitarist Kenneth Hunter, bassist Shaun Luera and Shaun’s brother, drummer Tim, conjure up 2018’s Camp Pain in limited release. North American and European touring followed, wrapping up shortly before the COVID-19 shutdowns.

“After CKY and a short break, I decided to continue, without changing the sound,” Miller explains. “Because that’s what I do. It’s what I love to do and what people say I do well. All of the guys who got in the band with me are great musicians. And each of them is hungry. They have priorities and ambitions about being in a rock band, no matter the grim state of pop music out there. If we can bring rock and metal back to the mainstream, in some way, that’s the dream.”

In 2022, 96 BITTER BEINGS unleash the long-awaited Synergy Restored, 11 songs of relentless power and vibe. Four-on-the-floor, fuzzy and visceral, proper rock n’ roll made by an actual band, rather than a bunch of overprocessed samples and otherwise stale shenanigans. Songs like “Vaudeville’s Revenge,” “90 Car Pile-Up,” and “Wish Me Dead” offer vivid reminders of the truth-telling prowess of guitars, bass, and drums. Miller is on fire, weaponizing the same knack for memorable musical epiphanies behind projects like Foreign Objects, World Under Blood, and CKY.
Miller co-founded Foreign Objects and later Camp Kill Yourself (a name born of his love of VHS slasher classics) in West Chester, Pennsylvania, in the ‘90s. Written by Miller, 1999’s Volume 1 appealed to metalheads, skaters, stoners, and punks. The album led to a stint on Warped Tour and a deal with Island Def Jam Music Group, which issued Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild• in 2002. Axl Rose chose CKY to support the ill-fated Chinese Democracy tour, and they also played with Metallica.
An Answer Can Be Found followed in 2005, producing the Billboard Mainstream Rock Top 40 single “Familiar Realm.” Extensive touring with Avenged Sevenfold and the like-minded Clutch followed. Carver City, in 2009, would prove to be Miller’s last album with the group he created and led. Across the four albums, Miller indulged his love of everything from ‘80s thrash metal to doom, as CKY blended high-octane ruckus with occasional bursts of Moog synths and cinematic storytelling.
Miller never stopped creating, with a handful of full albums written and released, a foray into horror movies, and parenting three children with his wife, scream queen actress Felissa Rose. Like Galactic Prey, the most recent Foreign Objects album, the 96BB records were recorded and produced by Miller and Hunter at Manifest Productions. Camp Pain was explicitly made for diehard fans who supported the creation of both albums through 96BB’s Indiegogo campaign. Synergy Restored was always intended for wider release, which it sees now via Nuclear Blast.
“I want my work taken seriously. I thank God every day that I was never overexposed, or even exposed enough commercially, to where I’m resigned to a specific moment,” Miller says. “I would rather have my self-respect, the respect of the audience, and a dedicated cult following.”

“Every time I go out, I see Nirvana, Metallica, and Misfits t-shirts. These kids may not know the music, but at least they are displaying a visual interest,” he adds. “Corporations spend millions of dollars promoting certain styles of music, but history proves that true rock will always sneak in.”

Scottish fire-brands Bleed From Within have reached a career tipping point. Rising above the multitude of challenges the pandemic spewed up, the metal 5-piece have transformed themselves over the past two years, in a story of sheer resilience. Reaching their strongest career position yet, momentum has been snowballing since the release of 2020’s critically acclaimed record Fracture, bolstered by recent significant successes in both touring and digital streaming.

2021 saw the band dominate the UK live scene, selling out their largest ever headline tour in November, capturing hearts as support on Bullet For My Valentine’s arena tour (several critics stating they shone brightest on the line-up), slaying a Lamb Of God livestream support slot, alongside blazing performances at Download Festival + Bloodstock Festival.

Last year also delivered Bleed From Within’s most successful single release yet, track ‘I Am Damnation’, which has since racked up more than 2.8 million combined streams. It landed impressive playlisting such as Spotify ‘New Metal Tracks’ (#1), ‘Kickass Metal’, ‘Adrenaline Workout’, Apple Music ‘Breaking Metal’, YouTube Music ‘New Metal’, ‘Metal Hotlist’, ‘Today’s Metal’. Their monthly Spotify listeners have almost doubled in that time, now reaching more than half a million.

What makes Bleed From Within unique is their immense inter-personal bond, characterised by resilience and self-reliance - firm friends and colleagues, they are a close-knit unit, bound by common goals. Having existed as a band for 17 years, more than half of most of their lifetimes, they are an authentic home-grown success story, having achieved everything to-date off their own backs as a self-managed unit. Their swelling success is a testament to their talent, focus and sheer resolution, backed up by a positive mentality and drive to construct the most killer metal anthems in existence. Not forgetting their devoted global fanbase, who track their progress eagerly.

With new record ‘Shrine’ on the horizon, a key turning point moment, Bleed From Within are set to become a future kingpin of our scene and make history.

Sieben Jahre nach ihrem sehr erfolgreichen dritten Album HURRICANE kehren sie mit ihrem neuen Meisterwerk ROCK AND ROLL BONES
zurück!
Die Pause war das Ergebnis intensiver Tourneen, des Schreibens des neuen Albums und der Pandemie! ROCK AND ROLL BONES wurde von Gitarrist Paul Hurst und seinem Partner Anthony Brady produziert, der auch das Album gemischt hat! Es ist ein Album voller herrlicher, flüssiger
Lead-Gitarren-Licks, lebendiger, ausdrucksstarker Vocals, grooviger Basslinien und knackiger, krachender Drums sowie einer Menge eingängiger
Hooklines. Sie klingen wie eine gesunde Mischung aus CHICKENFOOT, AC/DC und THE BLACK CROWES. THE JOKERS, die aus dem Nordwesten
Englands stammen, wurden 2006 mit dem Ziel gegründet, die größte Rock'n'Roll-Band der Welt zu gründen. Ihr 2009er Debütalbum THE BIG
ROCK & ROLL SHOW wurde von Mike Fraser in Vancouver gemischt, direkt nachdem er das über 10 Millionen Mal verkaufte BLACK ICE-Album von
AC/DC gemischt hatte. Nach der Veröffentlichung verbrachte die Band zwei Jahre auf der Straße und baute eine beachtliche Fanbase auf, als man
mit Größen wie HAWKWIND, Y&T, JOE ELLIOT, ARGENT, ANVIL und FOZZY unterwegs war. Danach taten sie sich mit Produzent Andy Macpherson
(ERIC CLAPTON, THE WHO, BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST, THE BUZZCOCKS, etc.) zusammen und begannen ihr zweites Album ROCK 'N' ROLL IS ALIVE
zu schreiben, welches im September 2013 veröffentlicht wurde.
Exzessives Touren war damals schon ihr Ziel. Sie spielten jede Show, die sie bekommen konnten und machten ihre erste Headliner-Tour in Spanien
mit 17 Shows, bevor sie auf mehreren Festivals in Großbritannien spielten.
Ihr drittes Album HURRICANE erblickte 2015 das Licht der Welt. Gefolgt von Tourneen, Tourneen, Tourneen. 2018 begannen sie ROCK AND ROLL
BONES zu schreiben und aufzunehmen. Aber der Beginn der Pandemie machte alle Pläne der Veröffentlichung zunichte. Deshalb beschlossen
sie mit der Veröffentlichung zu warten bis dies vorbei war und sie nach der Veröffentlichung das tun können, was sie am besten können, nämlich
touren!

For over two decades Bjørke has cut his own path, as a solo artist and enthusiastic collaborator. Bjørke’s Copenhagen home may be one of Europe’s great cultural hubs, and he’s certainly added a paragraph or two to that story, but his music is distinctly international. Even a cursory listen exposes an impressive, ever-evolving career. However, few expected him to initiate the collaborative ambient / neo-classical project Kasper Bjørke Quartet. In 2018 The Fifty Eleven Project was released on Kompakt Records, a deeply personal record that musically documents Bjørkes encounter with, and triumph over, cancer. The album topped many critics' lists, and was included among The Guardian’s Best Contemporary Albums of the year.

Mother, which will be released on October 28th, represents a quantum leap forward. Literally, when you consider the terrestrial shifts that informed it. Six compositions explore what the evolution of our planet sounds like. While Holst may have gotten there first, Mother singularly focuses on the orb where we reside, from its formation, to its likely conclusion. Other artists have tackled song cycles that parallel a day, a year, or even a lifetime. Mother spans a timeframe from 4.5 billion years ago up to humankind’s impending demise. It hints at how that may be sooner than we think, as well as the earth’s resilience, and the promise of another chapter.

Additional gravity comes courtesy of evocative choir arrangements - - and marimba recorded at the Copenhagen Opera House. “Formation” condenses 20 million years of runaway accretion into 20 minutes. It is sublimely padded by feature artist Sofie Birch’s gentle synths. “Abiogenesis” intimates a different type of emergence: the first life to inhabit our nascent planet. The entire cosmos is condensed into the layered vocals of Philip|Schneider. Birch returns on “Miocene,” which signals the divergence of proto-humans from primates not with foreboding, but rather cascaded notes and swells adumbrating a pure and curious being, revealing nothing of what the Catch-22 of knowledge will bring. That’s addressed in the diptych of “Anthropocene” and “Tipping Points,” respectively marking the dawn and foreshadowing the probable downfall of homosapians, through wondrous advancements and their climate damaging byproducts. It’s tempting to think the album’s finale, “Requiem,” implies only a dark conclusion, owing to its sparkling verrillon’s coronach, and the return of Philip|Schneider’s empyrean vocals, but its juxtaposition with revolving, enigmatic piano chords infers the earth will enter its next act.

Mother is a staggering achievement, encouraging contemplative thought. The album is released October 28th on Kompakt Records, both digitally and on limited edition double vinyl. The atwork is designed by multidisciplinary artist Trevor Jackson.

Seit mehr als zwei Jahrzehnten folgt Kasper Bjørke seinem ganz eigenen Weg, sowohl als Solokünstler als auch als umtriebiger Kollaborateur, während er gleichzeitig das Beste aus Techno, Pop, Elektro, New Wave, House, Ambient, Italo und klassischer Disco aufgreift und in seinen Produktionen zusammenfügt. Bjørke’s Heimat Kopenhagen gilt als eines der großen kulturellen Zentren Europas, und die Stadt hat dieser Geschichte sicherlich den einen oder anderen Absatz hinzugefügt, aber Kasper’s Musik ist eindeutig international. Schon ein flüchtiges Hineinhören gibt den Blick frei auf eine beeindruckende, sich ständig weiterentwickelnde Karriere. Nur wenige hätten jedoch erwartet, dass dieser Werdegang 2018 in der Gründung eines neoklassischen Quartetts gipfeln würde. In diesem Jahr wurde “The Fifty Eleven Project” auf KOMPAKT veröffentlicht. Ein sehr persönliches Album, das musikalisch dokumentierte, wie Bjørke seinen Kampf gegen den Krebs gewonnen hatte. Es wurde unter anderem in die Liste der besten zeitgenössischen Klassik-Alben des Jahres von The Guardian aufgenommen.

“Mother”, das am 28. Oktober erscheint, ist ein Quantensprung für das Kasper Bjørke Quartett. Im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes, wenn man die tektonischen Bewegungen bedenkt, die dem Album zugrunde liegen. Sechs Kompositionen erforschen, wie sich die Evolution unseres Planeten anhört. Gustav Holst (englischer Komponist, dessen bekanntestes Werk die Orchestersuite “Die Planeten” darstellt; Anm. des Übersetzers) war vielleicht zuerst da, aber “Mother” konzentriert sich ausschließlich auf die Erdkugel, auf der wir uns befinden, von ihrer Entstehung bis zu ihrem wahrscheinlichen Ende. Andere Künstler haben sich mit Songzyklen beschäftigt, die einen Tag, ein Jahr oder sogar ein ganzes Leben abdecken. “Mother” umfasst etwa 4,5 Milliarden Jahre, vom Anfang aller Zeit bis zum bevorstehenden Untergang der Menschheit. Das Werk deutet an, dass dies schneller geschehen könnte, als wir alle denken, aber auch die Widerstandsfähigkeit der Erde und das Versprechen auf ein neues Kapitel.

Für zusätzliche Erdanziehung sorgen stimmungsvolle Chor Arrangements und eine Marimba-Sektion, die im Kopenhagener Opernhaus aufgenommen wurde. "Formation" verdichtet 20 Millionen Jahre unkontrollierter Akkumulation in 20 Minuten, subtil untermalt von den sanften Klängen der Ambient-Künstlerin Sofie Birch. "Abiogenesis" beschreibt das erste Leben, das entsteht und unseren Planeten besiedelt. Der gesamte Kosmos verdichtet sich hier in den vielschichtigen Vocals von Philip|Schneider. Birch taucht erneut im Track "Miocene" auf, in dem das evolutionäre Streben des Proto-Menschen weg vom Primaten noch keine böse Vorahnung enthält, sondern mit kaskadenartigen Sounds und langsam anschwellenden Klängen musikalisch vom reinen und neugierigen Wesen des Menschen erzählt, in dem noch nichts von der Zwickmühle zum Vorschein kommt, in die ihn sein Wissen bringen wird.

Das wird im Diptychon "Anthropocene" und "Tipping Points" thematisiert, die den Anfang vom Ende, den Beginn des wahrscheinlichen Untergangs des Homo sapiens durch die Folgen des Fortschritts und seiner klimaschädlichen Nebenprodukte vorhersagen. Es ist naheliegend zu denken, dass das Finale des Albums, "Requiem", nur das düstere Ende von allem darstellt. Doch as funkelnde Glockenspiel und Philip|Schneiders eindringlicher Gesang in Gegenüberstellung mit sich windenden und erratischen Klavierakkorden deuten an, dass die Geschichte der Erde ein neues Kapitel aufschlagen wird.

Mother ist eine beeindruckende Performance, die zum Nachdenken anregt.

Ringleaders in new Rock N Roll Massive Wagons have announced their
new album 'Triggered' out on Earache Records
Having grown from beloved local heroes (becoming the first ever Lancashire
band to achieve a UK Top 40 album with their UK #16 album 'Full Nelson' in 2018)
to national treasures within the New Wave of Rock'n'Roll, Massive Wagons have
crafted an all new album of heavy duty rock'n'roll that stays true to the band's
influences whilst also pushing past the boundaries of what fans have
experienced on previous albums. Adding twists of tough punk and twinkles of
yacht rock, whilst keeping frontman Barry "Baz" Mills' iconic lyricism and the
band's electrifying no-nonsense rock recipe, the album proffers tracks which will
prove to be huge anthems in the live arena.
Baz explains how 'Triggered' stands out compared to the band's previous albums:
"I think this album is a lot more British sounding. I think we've managed to bring
our sound more up-to-date, it sounds fresh and exciting. It has much more of a
punk vibe about it, that being said, it’s still full of everything we love about guitar
music."
He continues:"There are some very angry, passionate songs in there. We all dug
really deep writing this one, some of them were a real labour of love. I think we
truly have made our best album yet. I know that's a cliché, but our other albums
felt like they had a foot in the previous one somehow, be it leftover songs, a
certain sound or style... But I think this one stands alone as a unique sounding
Wagons album."

From their new millennium rise to MTV superstardom through pop-punk’s modern resurgence that has introduced their iconic, multi-platinum sound to new audiences around the world, SIMPLE PLAN have been an indelible part of pop culture for more than two decades because they’ve never lost sight of what got them there in the first place: their fans.It’s this same sense of mutual respect that’s fully on display on “The Antidote,” the first single from their sixth studio album, HARDER THAN IT LOOKS., their first new music since 2016’s Taking One For The Team, and the most authentically Simple Plan album since 2004’s Still Not Getting Any. Free agents for the first time in their storied career, the band kept their circle tight during the recording process, enlisting longtime songwriting partners like We The Kings’ Travis Clark and producers Brian Howes and Jason Van Poederooyen (who worked on the band’s 2011’s album Get Your Heart On!) and Zakk Cervini (blink-182, Good Charlotte). From the skyscraping choruses of “Congratulations” and “Ruin My Life” (ft. Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley) to the unflinching poignancy of the album-closing “Two,” which instantly ranks alongside “Perfect” and “Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me?)” as one of the band’s best closers ever, HARDER THAN IT LOOKS certainly respects Simple Plan’s storied career – and the same spirit that helped the band sell 10 million albums worldwide – without being overtly reverent. The album-opening “Wake Me Up (When This Nightmare’s Over)” is a cathartic rush of familiarity and freshness – not to mention a bit lyrically prescient, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit shortly after the band wrapped the album. (“We certainly didn’t set out to write a pandemic album,” Bouvier says with a laugh. “It’s funny how some of the songs might seem like that, though.”) There are even spiritual successors to early material, like the glass-half-full skate-punk-leaning “Best Day Of My Life,” quite a 180 for a band who put a song called “The Worst Day Ever” on their genre-defining, Platinum-selling 2002 debut No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls. But you won’t find an ounce of fat on the 10-song album, no obvious plays to recapture the radio waves they claimed in the early aughts with smash hits like “I’d Do Anything,” “I’m Just A Kid” and “Addicted.”

2021 has been an incredible year so far for Jessie Ware. ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ re-entered the Top 10 following a brilliant Graham Norton performance of ‘Remember Where You Are’ which has proved itself to be one of Jessie’s most connective singles to date. In addition, Jessie has two BRITs nominations, one for Female Solo artist and one for Album Of The Year – the category with a historic four women up for the award. On 28th April Jessie returns with a brand new single ‘Please’ taken from the upcoming deluxe release of ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ officially titled as ‘What’s Your Pleasure? The Platinum Pleasure Edition’. Released on 11th June, the album features 6 brand new songs and more.


Her newest track, ‘Please’ sees Jessie continue the energy of ‘What’s Your Pleasure’ in the form of a throwback to 70s and 80s dance music, and pulls it together in a wonderfully anachronistic style, all packaged with Ware’s outstanding vocals. The track fits perfectly into ‘What’s Your Pleasure - The Platinum Pleasure Edition’, Ware’s deluxe offering of her sensational 2020 record. This edition still bears the cohesive, complementary songwriting, the killer grooves and flawless production of the original version. The Platinum Pleasure Edition only serves to heighten the rich and powerful soul of last year’s release with tracks like Please, 0208 featuring synthpop visionary Kindness, the Endless Remix of ‘Adore You’ and a whole host more.

Talking about the upcoming deluxe and new single Jessie said: ”I had such an amazing response to the ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ record that I didn’t want the lights to go up and the party to be over just yet! ‘Please’ is full of optimism and ready to be played in a place where we can all be together and flirt, dance, touch and kiss. A wonderful excuse not to stop the party from ending.”

It’s safe to say that the last twelve months have been pretty stellar for Jessie Ware. June 2020 saw Jessie release ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ and gain not only her fourth UK Top 10 album of her career, but also her highest charting record when it entered straight into the UK Official Album Charts at No.3. As if this wasn’t amazing enough, she went on to release her first cookbook and continued her immensely popular podcast Table Manners and recently hit a massive milestone of 21 million individual listens, oftentimes featuring household names such as Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue, Yungblud, Robbie Williams, Alanis Morissette., Dawn French and Dolly Parton to name a few.

Last year saw the album continue to receive widespread critical acclaim, with ‘What’s Your Pleasure?’ featuring heavily amongst ‘album of the year’ lists including for music critic Anthony Fantano, also known as The Needle Drop, who gave What’s Your Pleasure?’ the coveted no. 1 spot on his ‘Best Albums of 2020’ list, declaring it to be “a religious experience”. The record garnered praise from The Guardian who say it’s“Ware’s finest record yet"; Rolling Stone laude it as a “fantastic dance-pop record”; Pitchfork say “Jessie reminds us why we listen to dance music in the first place.”, GQ proclaim it as “the perfect album” and NME stated it was“pure escapism.”

Akae Beka's inimitable style of rich, deep, multi-layered songwriting, uncompromising devotion to RasTafari and soulful healing melodies developed over decades performing with St. Croix based band Midnite and countless recordings. At the point of his untimely passing in 2019, he had released over 70LP's. He is without a doubt one of the most prolific reggae artists ever known.

The stellar production trinity that is Zion I Kings have been involved collectively and individually in creating some of the most highly regarded contributions to the vast Akae Beka catalogue. Beauty For Ashes was named as the best reggae album of 2014 according to iTunes. A monumental achievement for undiluted, uncompromising RasTafari roots reggae music this side of the millennium. Two of the LP's tracks, Weather the Storm and Same I Ah One, have been catapulted into global notoriety in part due to the viral success of the YouTube video of the 'Dub in the Rainforest' session organised in St. Croix by Tippy I in 2014. The video offered an unparalleled audio visual insight of the powerful, captivating, energy of Vaughn Benjamin, Pressure Buss Pipe, Ras Batch, and many of the bredrin and sisterin of St. Croix rallying around the I Grade Dub living dub experience.

Following 8 years of anxious anticipation, for the countless Akae Beka fans that are also vinyl connoisseurs, this LP is now being released on as a 12" vinyl LP courtesy of Before Zero Records. This offers the listener not only the chance to enjoy this LP in an analogue form, but also the chance to hold the artwork as a 12" square masterpiece, created by the hands of Ras Marcus, the artist who gave the powerful visual presence that became synonymous to much of the I Grade / Akae Beka works over the years.

Back in 2002, Lacuna Coil released an album which is now undeniably an anthem laden millennial classic that established them as a band with the stamina to go the distance and much of the climbing that still lay ahead back then. Now, 20 years later, Lacunca Coil decided to revisit the songs, but not to just re-record the songs as they were, but deconstruct and transport them into 2022. ‘This is not a reboot or a spin-off or anything like that,’ says vocalist Cristina Scabbia. ‘We just wanted to give these songs a 2022 dress and see how this guy or girl who was born 20 years ago would still look fucking slick in 2022.’

Back in 2002, Lacuna Coil released an album which is now undeniably an anthem laden millennial classic that established them as a band with the stamina to go the distance and much of the climbing that still lay ahead back then. Now, 20 years later, Lacunca Coil decided to revisit the songs, but not to just re-record the songs as they were, but deconstruct and transport them into 2022. ‘This is not a reboot or a spin-off or anything like that,’ says vocalist Cristina Scabbia. ‘We just wanted to give these songs a 2022 dress and see how this guy or girl who was born 20 years ago would still look fucking slick in 2022.’

For nearly twenty years, Dirty Heads have been mixing hip-hop, reggae and rock to create a unique sound that both fully embodies their Huntington Beach, California roots and resonates with audiences around the globe. Having gone viral on TikTok with their hit song, 'Vacation', which has over 6 billion streams and views on the platform, Dirty Heads has amassed over 3.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Their highly anticipated new album 'Midnight Control' features 11 new songs that include their take on Joe Walsh’s 1978 hit 'Life’s Been Good', 'Rescue Me' and 'Island Glow'. The band’s 8th studio album, it is sure to reaffirm their outstanding track record with all seven of their albums having appeared in the Top 10 of Billboard’s Top Independent Albums Charts & Billboard’s Top Alternative Albums Charts.

LP comes with a Side D etching in triple gatefold jacket + full album download. The Will to Live was produced by Titus Andronicus singer-songwriter Patrick Stickles and Canadian icon Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen, The Whole Nine Yards) at the latter’s Hotel 2 Tango recording studio in Montreal. Drawing on maximalist rock epics from Who’s Next to Hysteria, Bilerman and Stickles have crafted the richest, densest, and hardest hitting sound for Titus Andronicus yet. All at once, the record matches the sprawl and scope of the band’s most celebrated work, while also honing their ambitious attack to greater effect than ever before. “It may strike some as ironic we had to go to Canada to record our equivalent to Born in the USA,” quips Stickles, “but the pursuit of Ultimate Rock knows no borders. ”For his recent stretch of personal stability, he credits a newfound domestic bliss and steadfast mental health regimen (“Lamictal is a hell of a drug”) as well as the endurance of what has become the longest-running consistent lineup of Titus Andronicus—Liam Betson on guitar, R.J. Gordon on bass, and Chris Wilson on drums. On the crueler side of the coin, however, The Will to Live was created in large part as an attempt to process the untimely 2021 death of Matt “Money” Miller, the founding keyboardist of the band and Stickles’ closest cousin. Stickles explains: “The passing of my dearest friend forced me to recognize not only the precious and fragile nature of life, but also the interconnectivity of all life. Loved ones we have lost are really not lost at all, as they, and we still living, are all component pieces of a far larger continuous organism, which both precedes and succeeds our illusory individual selves, united through time by (you guessed it) the will to live.” “Naturally, though, our long-suffering narrator can only arrive at this conclusion through a painful and arduous odyssey through Hell itself,” he qualifies. “This is a Titus Andronicus record, after all.” When Titus Andronicus made their long-awaited return to the stage in 2021, it was to celebrate the anniversary of their landmark breakthrough The Monitor, and the act of playing that material before an ecstatic audience left the band determined to deliver an album that would reach for those same lofty heights, relying this time less on the reckless fire of youth and more on the experience and perspective at which a band only arrives with a thousand shows under their belt. Through this golden ratio, Titus Andronicus have arrived at the peak of their creative powers. From its adrenalizing opening instrumental “My Mother Is Going to Kill Me” to its wistful closing benediction “69 Stones,” The Will to Live conjures a vast landscape and sends the listener on a rocket ride from peak to vertiginous peak. Rock fans will find themselves a feast, whether they crave barn-burning rock anthems such as “(I’m) Screwed” and “All Through the Night,” rapid-fire lyrical gymnastics (“Baby Crazy”), symphonic punk throwdowns (“Dead Meat”), or an adventurous excursion into the darkness that delivers thrills as it breezes boldly past the 7 minute mark, “An Anomaly.” As if that wasn’t enough gas for the tank, The Will to Live features sterling contributions from members of the Hold Steady, Arcade Fire, and the E Street Band, as well as duets with the aforementioned Betson, former Titus Andronicus drummer Eric Harm, and Josée Caron of the Canadian rock band Partner. The album comes packaged with gorgeous triple-gatefold artwork by illustrious illustrator Nicole Rifkin, a Hieronymus Bosch–inspired triptych which mirrors the three-part structure of the narrator’s perilous voyage across the corresponding three sides of vinyl. All together, this esteemed ensemble, with Stickles and Bilerman determined and defiant at the helm, have found The Will to Live—now, the question is… will you?

SIDE A 1. My Mother is Going to Kill Me 2. (I’m) Screwed 3. I Can Not Be Satisfied 4. Bridge and Tunnel SIDE B 5. Grey Goo 6. Dead Meat 7. An Anomaly SIDE C 8. Give Me Grief 9. Baby Crazy 10. All Through the Night 11. We’re Coming Back 12. 69 Stones SIDE D Etching

For Fans Of: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin. First reissue since it's original pressing in 2018! The iconic debut LP from the Scone Cash Players. Hammond Organ Stylings By Organ Master Adam Scone. The Hammond Organ is lead singer on this soulful and orchestral journey about industrial decay and the death of the steel town. Deep from the rusted steel mills of Youngstown Ohio, we bring you the much-anticipated reissue of the melting debut from the Scone Cash Players. It's the same organist that brought you the screaming organ on all those Daptone favorites from The Sugarman Three. Scone was behind that organ bench on the modern classics as follows. "Sugar's Boogaloo”, “Soul Donkey”, “Pure Cane Sugar", and "What the World Needs Now." Adam Scone entered the studio on Dunham Street in Brooklyn. He was wearing a blue Adidas jump suit. The studio had just opened. At the helm were his old compadres from The Dap-Kings. Namely Thomas Brenneck, Eric Kalb, Homer Steinweiss and lan Hendrickson-Smith. They make up the "Bliss Machine" behind Scones's groove. It was a truly rare moment to catch these masters of music and taste in between tours of Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. Tommy put the mics around. Scone powered up the organ. The analog tape machine turned and turned until they couldn't turn any more. These songs were recorded. We worked all day and all night. Tears were shed. Espresso was made. There was beer on tap. 3 days of life were taken to make this album. We will never get them back. They were distilled to 40 minutes of pure emotion. It's a tale of woe. It's a tale of leaving art for responsibility. It's a farewell to an era. It's a journey that the Hammond B3 organ wasn't accustomed to. You can't compare this album to any other organ record. Don't expect to hear what you want. Free your mind. Be open. Your world is going to feel the heat of the BLAST FURNACE! It never quite feels how you want it to. Don't get burned... Tracks: 1. 1% Crown 2. Bliss Machine 3. The Slitter 4. Heavy Gauge 5. Necking 6. Blast Furnace 7. Jet Cool 8 Call & Receive No Call Back 9. Grinding Wheel 10. Structural Failure

Raised somewhere between Ministry Of Sound’s ‘The Annual’ and early music message boards, Kolya’s taste still extends from obscure tape-only releases to turn-of-the-millennium trance anthems.

As a DJ, it’s taken the South Londoner from Bugged Out! to Berlin – at home supporting Demdike Stare with coldwave, spinning runway house alongside MikeQ while a House Of Trax resident, or unleashing noughties fidget at the closing of Camden’s infamous Lock Tavern. All of which is to say, his debut EP for Ecstasy Garage Disco arrives steeped in musical history.

Recorded during lockdown, it draws on perhaps his greatest love, deep (deep, deep) house. A soaring synth work out, opener ‘Stick Together’ is a case in point, standing on the shoulders of giants like Peter Daou, but with a life-affirming exuberance all of its own. ‘Miss Honey Prancin’ In The Twilite’, meanwhile, is a tribute to Moi Rene, as well as a love letter to Project X Records in general, her vocal recast over a groove that alternates between outer space iciness and snare-rolling high drama.

On the flip, ‘Crying Over Spilt Poppers’ blends the flavour of amyl-soaked Gherkin with the emotional nuance of Nu Groove, joyous and reflective in equal measure. And ‘Jamais Vu’ signs off, its bumping kick pattern and intertwining melodic layers connecting glimmering 90s electronica and contemporary, future-facing house.

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: Found In The Flood was the second studio album from Arizona hardcore / punk band The Bled, originally release in August 2005.

Found In The Flood was produced by Mike Trombino (Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, The Starting Line), and was the band's first release after signing with Vagrant Records. The band’s guitarist Jeremy Ray Talley recently commented on their time with the label, speaking with Kerrang Magazine: “We signed to Vagrant because it was a label with a great reputation of taking care of their bands and helping them get to the next level, without having to compromise artistic vision,”

This new pressing is the first since 2014, with two new colourways available and packaged in a hand-numbered outer sleeve. The re-issue is released via Hassle Records for the UK/EU in conjunction with Vagrant Records to celebrate their 25th Anniversary.

: Found In The Flood was the second studio album from Arizona hardcore / punk band The Bled, originally release in August 2005.

Found In The Flood was produced by Mike Trombino (Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, The Starting Line), and was the band's first release after signing with Vagrant Records. The band’s guitarist Jeremy Ray Talley recently commented on their time with the label, speaking with Kerrang Magazine: “We signed to Vagrant because it was a label with a great reputation of taking care of their bands and helping them get to the next level, without having to compromise artistic vision,”

This new pressing is the first since 2014, with two new colourways available and packaged in a hand-numbered outer sleeve. The re-issue is released via Hassle Records for the UK/EU in conjunction with Vagrant Records to celebrate their 25th Anniversary.

Charley Crockett will release his latest album The Man From Waco on September 9th via Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers. Crockett wrote or co-wrote all 14 songs on the album, and in many ways The Man From Waco is the purest distillation of his artistry to date. What started as a demo session with producer Bruce Robison at Robison’s studio The Bunker outside Austin, TX turned into the first album Crockett has ever made with his band The Blue Drifters backing him from start to finish. Mostly first takes with only a handful of overdubs, The Man From Waco finds Crockett refining his singular “Gulf & Western” sound which continues to captivate an ever-growing legion of fans. “I just wanted an honest partnership: do it at your place, live to tape, everybody in the room,” Crockett says of the recording experience, and Robison was happy to accommodate. “The magic is in the performances on that tape. That’s what Bruce wanted to do, that’s what I wanted to do. When we were done, I said ‘these are masters, not demos.’” Crockett won “Emerging Act of the Year” at the 2021 Americana Honors & Awards and made his Austin City Limits TV debut a month later. He received billboards in Times Square from Spotify and CMT, performed at several top tier festivals including Austin City Limits and Merlefest, and was featured in an exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. 'Music City USA' released in Sept 2021, stayed at #1 on the Americana radio charts for six straight weeks and the album debuted on 14 different Billboard charts. Globally, Crockett’s music has been streamed over 190 million times, with 93 million streams coming in the past year. 'Lil' G.L. Presents Jukebox Charley', released in April 2022, was celebrated by press outlets such as Holler, Billboard, The Tennessean, Saving Country Music, Rolling Stone and more. Charley's success has caught the attention of CBS' Anthony Mason, who produced a CBS Mornings segment that was televised April '22.

Knucks takes the Hip Hop world by storm as he gears for the release of his highly anticipated new project "Alpha Place"'.Following the release of his unorthodox visuals, Knucks delivers heartfelt messages through addictive rap compositions

A dynamic new face to the genre, "Alpha Place" focuses on the feelings and thoughts that the artist and producer has been experiencing growing up in London, channeled through the stirring essence of music. Highlighting important narratives and revitalising the Hip Hop genre, with a composition which is both soulful, moving, and memorable, the rising new artist is changing the rules of the
game.Knucks is taking his artistry to new heights in Alpha Place, with soulful samples and distinctive production styles paired with some of the UK's biggest names in the rap game. The project is more than just an ode to the neighbourhood Knucks grew up in Alpha House but a representation of life and culture on all sides of the capital. Giving a voice to many experiences shared by young people growing up. Knucks makes his mark on the industry with this new body of work pushing boundaries and channelling his authentic flow and flair.

From selling out headline shows and opening for the likes of Wretch 32, Knuck's approach and unorthodox style has garnered over 150 million streams across all platforms independently as well as earning critical acclaim from outlets such as GQ Style, Wonderland, Notion and many more. Boasting a range of noteworthy features including contributing show-stealing verses on collaborations like "Beg To Differ" with Emil, "Ting Tun Up, Pt. II '' with Montreal's Skiifall.

Blue - also Antony Costa , Duncan James , Lee Ryan
und Simon Webbe -, das ist so ein Name, der einen
automatisch in die Boygroup-Ära transportiert: Sie waren
nicht nur einer der größten und erfolgreichsten Acts jener
Hochphase, sondern vor allem auch einer der besten. Auf
den drei Alben, die ihnen in den Nullerjahren
Spitzenplätze in den Charts (u.a. 3x #1 UK, 1x Top-10
DE) und reichlich Platin bescheren sollten, verschränkten
sie lässigen R&B mit hochauflösender Pop-Perfektion und
emotionalen Balladen, was der im Jahr 2000 gegründeten
Boygroup nicht nur 16 Millionen verkaufte Albumeinheiten
bescherte. Auch zwei BRITs räumten sie ab im
Königreich, wo sie gleich 11 Mal die Topregion der
UK-Singlecharts aufmischen konnten und davon gleich
noch drei Mal die #1 belegten.

Parallel zur Stadiontournee werden Blue im Herbst ihr
sechstes Album Heart & Soul veröffentlichen - ihr erstes
fürs neue Label Tag8 Music/BMG. Der neue Longplayer
unterstreicht und zelebriert all das, was die Band während
ihrer ersten Blütezeit ausmachte, denn er spielt immer
wieder auf die Vergangenheit an, bringt aber auch
kontinuierlich Neues ins Spiel. Ihr Trademark-Sound
schwingt im sorglos-ausgelassenen Titelsong, der von
MNEK (Beyoncé, Little Mix) mitkomponiert wurde,
genauso mit wie in der gefühlvollen Ballade "Magnetic",
bei der die Jungs mal wieder ihr ganzes umwerfendes
Stimmvolumen auspacken dürfen. Mit der Leadsingle
"Haven't Found You Yet" legen Blue einen Instant-Classic
vor, der klanglich eher in Richtung Justin Bieber oder
auch jüngere Coldplay-Hits geht. Man hört, dass sie
unbedingt alles geben wollten für Heart & Soul

For Fans Of: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin. First reissue since it's original pressing in 2018! The iconic debut LP from the Scone Cash Players. Hammond Organ Stylings By Organ Master Adam Scone. The Hammond Organ is lead singer on this soulful and orchestral journey about industrial decay and the death of the steel town. Deep from the rusted steel mills of Youngstown Ohio, we bring you the much-anticipated reissue of the melting debut from the Scone Cash Players. It's the same organist that brought you the screaming organ on all those Daptone favorites from The Sugarman Three. Scone was behind that organ bench on the modern classics as follows. "Sugar's Boogaloo”, “Soul Donkey”, “Pure Cane Sugar", and "What the World Needs Now." Adam Scone entered the studio on Dunham Street in Brooklyn. He was wearing a blue Adidas jump suit. The studio had just opened. At the helm were his old compadres from The Dap-Kings. Namely Thomas Brenneck, Eric Kalb, Homer Steinweiss and lan Hendrickson-Smith. They make up the "Bliss Machine" behind Scones's groove. It was a truly rare moment to catch these masters of music and taste in between tours of Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. Tommy put the mics around. Scone powered up the organ. The analog tape machine turned and turned until they couldn't turn any more. These songs were recorded. We worked all day and all night. Tears were shed. Espresso was made. There was beer on tap. 3 days of life were taken to make this album. We will never get them back. They were distilled to 40 minutes of pure emotion. It's a tale of woe. It's a tale of leaving art for responsibility. It's a farewell to an era. It's a journey that the Hammond B3 organ wasn't accustomed to. You can't compare this album to any other organ record. Don't expect to hear what you want. Free your mind. Be open. Your world is going to feel the heat of the BLAST FURNACE! It never quite feels how you want it to. Don't get burned... Tracks: 1. 1% Crown 2. Bliss Machine 3. The Slitter 4. Heavy Gauge 5. Necking 6. Blast Furnace 7. Jet Cool 8 Call & Receive No Call Back 9. Grinding Wheel 10. Structural Failure

The Hammond Organ is lead singer on this soulful and orchestral journey about industrial decay and the death of the steel town. Deep from the rusted steel mills of Youngstown Ohio, we bring you the much-anticipated reissue of the melting debut from the Scone Cash Players. It's the same organist that brought you the screaming organ on all those Daptone favorites from The Sugarman Three. Scone was behind that organ bench on the modern classics as follows. "Sugar's Boogaloo", "Soul Donkey", "Pure Cane Sugar", and "What the World Needs Now." Adam Scone entered the studio on Dunham Street in Brooklyn. He was wearing a blue Adidas jump suit. The studio had just opened. At the helm were his old compadres from The Dap-Kings. Namely Thomas Brenneck, Eric Kalb, Homer Steinweiss and lan Hendrickson-Smith. They make up the "Bliss Machine" behind Scones's groove. It was a truly rare moment to catch these masters of music and taste in between tours of Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley. Tommy put the mics around. Scone powered up the organ. The analog tape machine turned and turned until they couldn't turn any more. These songs were recorded. We worked all day and all night. Tears were shed. Espresso was made. There was beer on tap. 3 days of life were taken to make this album. We will never get them back. They were distilled to 40 minutes of pure emotion. It's a tale of woe. It's a tale of leaving art for responsibility. It's a farewell to an era. It's a journey that the Hammond B3 organ wasn't accustomed to. You can't compare this album to any other organ record. Don't expect to hear what you want. Free your mind. Be open. Your world is going to feel the heat of the BLAST FURNACE! It never quite feels how you want it to. Don't get burned... FOR FANS OF: Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, The Sure Fire Soul Ensemble, New Mastersounds, Soulive, Jimmy Smith, Khruangbin