quête:ant to be

Banoffee Pies Records 17th Original Series release comes via a 4 track Solo EP from Gallegos, making a return after his debut EP "Mad As Hell" in 2018. Along with multiple appearances on compilations and other series on the label, this record is a nostalgic reflection of UK club culture. A "Sentiment Of Love" - the EP title and opening track is a tribute to a different time.

A positive selection of tracks, starting on the A1 with a Winehouse sample, immediately carves the path for what is always a collection of expert sampling from our longest standing label member. The A2 offering, "Put Me In", is a beating club anthem full of heavy distortion and all the acid lines you'd hope for in a moment at the back of a club. A feeling evoked. One Mitsy down.

The B1 "Together Flyin' High" continues this moment with an elevating vocal and ringing synths layered with Broken Beats and the heavily percussive drum patterns Gallegos' sound is so closely developed around. The last track on the release "Before Or Since", immediately teleporting you to the end of a night. Something inward, for a time and place, future or past. BPR x

Pink Sweat$ has finally arrived with the unveiling of his highly anticipated debut album, PINK PLANET via Atlantic Records. PINK PLANET is a 16-track testament (plus 2 bonus tracks) to the Philadelphia rising superstar’s sonic abilities, luring in fans with ballads about his highs and lows, many successes and a heart-warming number from Pink along with family members. For his heartwarming debut, production credits include D Mile (Lucky Daye, H.E.R.), John Hill (Khalid), Rogét Chahayed (Drake, Miguel) and Michael Keenan.




PINK PLANET CD and vinyl will be available on 9th July. “Pink Planet is about love, it’s about inclusivity, and it’s about creative freedom. “As an artist you should have the ability to make whatever music feels good to you, and that’s what I tried to do with this album. Top to bottom, I’m giving a glimpse into my creative world; and I hope there’s a little something for everybody in it.” – Pink Sweat$




The new album includes eight brand new songs alongside six stellar tracks released in 2020 as THE PRELUDE EP, a token to fans adjusting to a new landscape surrounding the pandemic. His debut embodies a world that we aren’t living right now, with a purpose to heal and gift fans with a stellar project that speaks to listeners’ daily experiences. PINK PLANET further includes such captivating tracks as “Icy,” “17,” and the powerful “Not Alright,” all joined by official music videos streaming now at YouTube.




In 2021, Pink Sweat$ welcomes the year with a brand new remix to “At My Worst” featuring Kehlani, along with today’s release of his debut album, Pink Planet. Ultimately, Pink Sweat$ makes a statement by unapologetically bringing love to the forefront.

Binding a deep social and political conscious with rigorous musical experimentation, the Brussels based, Italian pianist, performer, composer, Giovanni Di Domenico, delivers Downtown Ethnic Music, the 4th instalment of Die Schachtel’s Decay Music series, focused on inspired contemporary experimental efforts in the ambient, ethereal, and emotively abstract music.

Over the last decade or so, Giovanni Di Domenico has carved a deep path through a diverse number of discrete fields within experimental music, working in various ensembles - Abschattungen, AufHeben, Bonjintan, Cement Shoes, Delivery Health, Going, etc. - as well as producing a discography of critically heralded solo efforts, and intimate collaborations with Jim O'Rourke, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Akira Sakata, Arve Henriksen, Tatsuhisa Yamamoto, Alexandra Grimal, Nate Wooley, Chris Corsano, and others.

Downtown Ethnic Music encounters Di Domenico reimagining the future of urban music, pluming the mysterious and emotive depths of self, to arrive at vision of sonorous utopia, radically divergent from those of the past. Hybridizing numerous forms of musical practice, while making a conceptual nod to Jon Hassell’s notion of the "fourth world”, as well as the cross-temporal transnationalism of Roberto Musci, Aktuala, Futuro Antico, and the Third Ear Band, Di Domenico’s vision of democracy - rendered through the creative metaphors of sound - is a true to life, bristling conflict, as open-ended as it is ordered, and as dramatic and tense as it is beautiful, playful, and refined.

A colorful tapestry of ideas, experiences, histories, and reference points, woven from a pallet of electronics, synthesis, and various acoustic sources - the intervening rhythms of drummer João Lobo, vocals by Pak Yan Lau and Patshiva CIE women choir, the horns of Ananta Roosens and Jordi Grognard etc. - across the length of Downtown Ethnic Music, the boundaries between idiom, expressive concept, collective, and individual blur, giving way to a visionary, forward-thinking rendering of electroacoustic music, that subtly reminds us of the social and political potential of art.

Seamlessly incorporating bubbling electronic abstraction, sprawling ambience and long tones, throbbing kosmische, acoustic free improvisation, and the human voice, Giovanni Di Domenico’s Downtown Ethnic Music represents a high-water mark in an already astounding career. Issued by Die Schachtel in a one-time edition of 250 copies, pressed to 180g marble vinyl and housed in a pro-printed inner sleeve and jacket, contained in a silk-screen PVC sleeve.

Repress

Calibre's mighty wind has blown through the drum 'n' bass scene ever since his first tentative forays into production in 1998. As a trained musician and student of the genre, he quickly developed a unique sound that was warm, orchestral and hypnotic. Attracting the attention of tastemakers like Fabio, the Belfast-born producer and DJ was encouraged to work harder and faster on this liquid funk, resulting in what would become his signature sound. By the time his sophomore album, "Second Sun", came into orbit, Calibre was recognised as a shining star of the scene.

One of the few who had realised the potential of the album format, he crafted dubbed out house grooves, jazzier downtempo numbers, and introspective vocal-led tracks amongst the more trad tempos the largely dancefloor single-based genre was known for.

The album is awash with high points, from the anthemic "Drop It Down", to the more reflective MC tracks like "Timeout" and "Blink Of An Eye". Most producers would labour over such delicately balanced arrangements for weeks, but the fact that Calibre can knock such masterworks out in a matter of hours tells you how effortlessly and naturally his music comes to him.

"Working quickly gives me a unique and personal sound," says Calibre. "It also helps that I like to sample my own playing. Any type of instrument I could get my hands on, I'd record it live. Maybe quite badly, but I still did it. It helped create my own sound. If you can play an instrument, and you can play it with a little bit of passion and a little bit of love, it'll give you something back."

In the fourteen years that have passed (Second Sun dropped in October, 2005) Calibre has written more material than quite possibly anyone else in the scene, and this year shows no sign of him slowing up. Besides the usual wealth of remixes in the pipeline, and a forthcoming techno album on Craig Richards' label, a sixth Shelflife compilation of unreleased Calibre material will be dropping on his own Signature Records label. But for now, let's rewind the story, as the man himself takes us, track by track, through Second Sun.

* Following on from the success of our 'Liftin Spirit Reloaded' vinyl series, we are pleased to announce our next project in collaboration with Ram Records. 'Ram Reloaded' will be a series of limited 12" vinyl from Ram's early years, re-mastered from the original DATs and presented onto our usual, high quality, heavy weight vinyl.

* We proudly present our next venture in remastering, preserving and capturing the very beginnings of a label that has achieved levels way beyond all expectations, the multi award winning Ram Records. Established in 1992 by Andy C and Ant Miles as a home for the pair’s consistent and revolutionary productions at the height of the Hardcore scene. The first release by a 16 year old Andy C, came in the form of the Sour Mash E.P. Four distinctive, rare and highly sought after tracks that were the precursor to the developing Jungle/Drum & Bass vibes they became so renowned for. Remastered from the original DAT and presented on 180g heavyweight vinyl, the Sour Mash E.P kicks off this exciting new ‘Ram Reloaded’ series.

Promotion across chosen internet websites and Hardcore 12” vinyl communities.

‘Teenage Gizzard’ is a newly unearthed collection
of some of the very first material ever recorded by
King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard between 2010
and 2011.
It includes three early singles, two B-sides, four
tracks from the band’s first non-official EP
‘Angelsea’ and one track considered to be long lost
- until now.
‘Teenage Gizzard’ is a glimpse into the past of one
of the most prolific bands in rock history.
LP pressed on magenta and yellow vinyl with
yellow splatter in a die-cut jacket with front window,
rainbow foil inner sleeve and exclusive back cover
t by Ahmad Ok

Red VINYL

This was Belgium. 1989. First wave EBM duo, but also so much more.

Optimo Music Archiv is a new offshoot label for revisiting music JD Twitch has been a big fan of for a very long time. This first release takes 5 Force Dimension favourites and reconfigures them as an extended EP / mini album.

The songs are untouched but have been remastered for 21st Century ears.

“Tension” comes in two versions, one from each version of their debut album. Oddly they put out an original version (Blue), they decided they didn’t like it and re-recorded it. Both versions of Tension rule.

200 FA is an end of the night anthem. A perfect piece of E Music that crossed over into the early 90s Rave era and still much sough after to this day.

Aqua 2000 and All Systems Out are too Belgian bombs that still slay dancefloors today.

Released in full picture sleeve on marbled vinyl.

FEEL THE TENSION!

Originally conceived as a medium for Chicago-based multi-media artist/activist Damon Locks's sample-based sound collage work, Black Monument Ensemble (BME) has evolved from a solo mission into a vibrant collective of artists, musicians, singers, and dancers making work with common goals of joy, compassion, and intention. A genuinely multi-generational collective, ages of BME members range from 9 to 52 years old; members include instrumentalists and fellow IARC recording artists Angel Bat Dawid and Ben LaMar Gay. Their debut album Where Future Unfolds was released in 2019 by International Anthem glowing praise; landing at #3 on Bandcamp's "Best Albums of the Year," #25 on WIRE Magazine's "Best Albums of 2019," and being repeatedly dubbed "The Best Album of 2019" by BBC/Worldwide radio titan Gilles Peterson. Locks & BME's new album NOW was created in the final throes of Summer 2020, following months of pandemic-induced fear & isolation, the explosion of social unrest, struggle & violence in the streets, and as the certain presence of a new reality had fully settled in. Set up safely in the garden behind Chicago's Experimental Sound Studio, the music was recorded in only a few takes, capturing the first times members of BME had ever played or sang the tunes. For Locks, the impetus was more about getting together to commune and make art than it was about producing an album. In his words: "It was about offering a new thought. It was about resisting the darkness. It was about expressing possibility. It was about asking the question, 'Since the future has unfolded and taken a new and dangerous shape... what happens NOW?'"

CRIMSON/BLACK COLORED

Indie Retail Exclusive Crimson & Black color vinyl Originally conceived as a medium for Chicago-based multi-media artist/activist Damon Locks's sample-based sound collage work, Black Monument Ensemble (BME) has evolved from a solo mission into a vibrant collective of artists, musicians, singers, and dancers making work with common goals of joy, compassion, and intention. A genuinely multi-generational collective, ages of BME members range from 9 to 52 years old; members include instrumentalists and fellow IARC recording artists Angel Bat Dawid and Ben LaMar Gay. Their debut album Where Future Unfolds was released in 2019 by International Anthem glowing praise; landing at #3 on Bandcamp's "Best Albums of the Year," #25 on WIRE Magazine's "Best Albums of 2019," and being repeatedly dubbed "The Best Album of 2019" by BBC/Worldwide radio titan Gilles Peterson. Locks & BME's new album NOW was created in the final throes of Summer 2020, following months of pandemic-induced fear & isolation, the explosion of social unrest, struggle & violence in the streets, and as the certain presence of a new reality had fully settled in. Set up safely in the garden behind Chicago's Experimental Sound Studio, the music was recorded in only a few takes, capturing the first times members of BME had ever played or sang the tunes. For Locks, the impetus was more about getting together to commune and make art than it was about producing an album. In his words: "It was about offering a new thought. It was about resisting the darkness. It was about expressing possibility. It was about asking the question, 'Since the future has unfolded and taken a new and dangerous shape... what happens NOW?'"

Repress in Oaks repress sleeve

Originally released between 2002 and 2006 by Antidandruff. Remastered by Joel Krozer at 6BitDeep Studio Copenhagen. Respect to Rumenige and Loktibrada for making this reissue transcend to the next generation and probably to eternity.

Fantas is the epic opening track on Caterina Barbieri’s acclaimed 2019 release Ecstatic Computation. The original Fantas laid out a magical path of patterns leading the listener on a journey into the sound itself. Fantas Variations maps out eight new potentials sprung from this initial path as constructed by a diverse mix of artists lending to a wide spectrum of new works extrapolated from the original work. For this project Barbieri invited friends and long time collaborators from a variety of musical backgrounds to create a more sustainable and inclusive landscape in terms of stylistic, geographical, gender and generational balance. The results are a diverse array of approaches and instrumentation which blur the boundaries between the acoustic and electronic.

Fantas Variations embraces a platform for mutual exchange and support between like-minded artists, where active and collective re-imagination is prioritised over the traditional model of remixes, which is often strategic, functional and more passive.

Longtime friend and collaborator Kali Malone rearranged Fantas to a slowed-down, austere and eerie version for two Organs. Evelyn Saylor created a piece for a vocal ensemble consisting of her, Lyra Pramuk, Stine Janvin and Annie Garlid, joining forces to express the choral, psychedelic and vitalistic nature of the piece. Barbieri’s former guitar professor at the Conservatory in Bologna, Walter Zanetti, composes Fantas for electric guitar, by translating every single gesture of the original electronic piece into a personal, nuanced and detailed interpretation. Bendik Giske’s reinterpretation for Saxophone and Voice captures the atmospheric essence of Fantas and its psychic meteorology. Longtime collaborator and along with Barbieri the other half of the outfit Punctum, Carlo Maria, resynthesizes Fantas for TR808 and MC202, bringing a more club-oriented dimension of the piece to life whilst unveiling the sonic continuum between rhythm and pitch through a sensitive timbral approach. Jay Mitta’s Singeli reinterpretation of Fantas transpires with pitched-up percussion and turbo-fast polyrhythmic patterns unleashing the frenetic, shifting, transformative matter within the piece to a higher plain of euphoric dance. Baseck’s variation is a rave fantasia, where the prismatic trance of the original is channeled into fierce, uncompromising hardcore, whilst Kara-Lis Coverdale’s take is a phantasmagoria for piano that gently, yet inexorably, captures the relentlessness chimerical qualities of the original, unveiling its spectral backbone.

Evelyn Saylor (feat. Lyra Pramuk, Annie Garlid & Stine Janvin) - Fantas Variation for Voices (7’38’’)
Composed by Evelyn Saylor. Performed by Evelyn Saylor, Lyra Pramuk, Stine Janvin and Annie Garlid. Recording, mix and additional production by Bridget Ferrill at Real Surreal Studio, Berlin 2021.

Bendik Giske - Fantas for Saxophone and Voice (7'31'')
Adapted and performed by Bendik Giske. Recorded, mixed, and produced by Bendik Giske in Funkhaus, Berlin 2020.

Kali Malone - Fantas for two Organs (10'21'')
Arranged for The Utopa Baroque Organ, The Sauer Organ and tuned sine waves. Recorded by Benny Nilsen at Orgelpark, Amsterdam 2020.

Walter Zanetti - Fantas for Electric Guitar (7'27'')
Recorded by Walter Zanetti, Bologna 2020.

Jay Mitta - Singeli Fantas (12'03'')
Recorded by Jay Mitta in Sisso Studios, Dar Es Salaam 2020.

Baseck - Fantas Hardcore (4'44'')
Mixed by Anthony Baldino, Los Angeles 2020.

Carlo Maria - Fantas resynthesized for 808 and 202 (4'29'')
Recorded by Carlo Maria, Milano 2020.

Kara-Lis Coverdale - Fantas Morbida (3'04'')
Performed, recorded and mixed at The Shop in Valens, Ontario by Kara-Lis Coverdale, January 2021. Engineering assistance from Robert Coverdale and Adam Feingold.

2021 Repress

Rone is a stalwart of the French electronic scene and returns with his fourth album, 'Mirapolis', a synesthetic journey with features from Bryce Dessner (The National), Baxter Dury, John Stanier (Battles) and Saul Williams. The artwork was created by the critically acclaimed director Michel Gondry.
Stepping into Rone's music is like sleepwalking through a vividly colourful dream, eventually stumbling across a strange, scintillating Megapolis of saturated light and colours: 'Mirapolis'. Its twelve tracks / districts, each with their own specific planning, pulsate as though animated by their musical mastermind.
The project was an opportunity to get reacquainted with long- time stage and studio partners John Stanier, Gaspar Claus and the Vacarme band and Bryce Dessner (guitarist for The National,) while bringing in new collaborators (and thus, new interpretation of Rone's dreams). We find American slam-poet Saul Williams, who happened to be in Paris for a moment and contributes a searing anti-Trump screed, Baxter Dury, who brings an irresistible East London touch to 'Switches', a kind of fan fic that reimagines the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper lounging pensive in a club chair, Israeli electronic music muse Noga Erez, who inspired 'Waves' which, despite being recorded remotely, betrays a euphoric partnership, and finally, Kazu Makino, Blonde Redhead's bewitching singer and multi- instrumentalist, who contributes to the album's closer, the gauzy 'Down For The Cause'.
Rone remains a producer of grand instrumental pieces, which cannot be easily categorized in the architectural canon of our electronic music galaxy. Hypnotic, cinematic opening track 'I Philip' is an offshoot from the score for the first French virtual reality fiction, built around Philip K Dick - the perfect gate into a city that then opens up myriad temporal perspectives.

Back in print ! Inascoltable is the first album from Bolognese group Skiantos, the band that added a completely different flavor to the italian underground with their delirious performances and over the top lyrics. Released through Oderso Rubini's Harpo's Bazaar label (later Italian Records) in 1977 on cassette format, the album was recorded in one night in November 1977 in a session that was almost improvised. It was later printed on LP in 1979. This reissue from the original master does full justice to the insanely creative playing of the band fronted by Freak Antoni, who were true forerunners of demented rock and virtuous artists capable of colorfully interpreting all the non-standard rock movements from the British and American underground. This record wouldn't be out of place in the Zappa discography, although the whole turned out a little bit more punk...

Roma Zuckerman is in fact the trippiest artist on the label and he is back with a new solo release 'stage of loyalty'. Nobody ever knows what is on his mind when recording his next 13 minute long composition at home in Krasnoyarsk but his signature slow mo murkiness and Roma-like mental groove are unmistakable. 'Stage of loyalty' does just that but also contains minimalist techno tracks and a wonderful italo-esque sounding anthem ,,I like you" that could easily soundtrack a movie where everything is going to be just alright! Artwork by Daria Galeeva.

In view of the immense Black Lives Matter mobilisation in reaction to the murder of George Floyd and the comparatively meagre societal reaction to the attack in Hanau, the question arises: How come our society does not show the same empathy and solidarity towards its own fellow citizens with Kurdish, Turkish, Bulgarian, Bosnian, Afghan migrant backgrounds or members of the Roma and Sinti?

How limited is our postcolonial discourse if we are unable to address the racist exploitation of those who repair our cars, deliver our parcels or harvest our asparagus?

It’s all a sham. Shake it off like a biometric photograph. Shake off that false consciousness. The Black Diaspora is a transatlantic lie invented by music curators and journalists. Embrace this nuanced return to structures and superstructures, to articulations and historical constellations as analytical tools.

Allow me to dampen your expectations. This is not the sound of decolonisation. This is no compilation of BLM protest songs. This is no celebration of Black emancipatory struggles. You will not be able to play this at your hip post-pandemic house party. This will not go down well with your woke friends. This is music for the square in the room. For that reluctant BAME/Person of Color repelled by your fetishisation of the African-American experience.

This is music for gated communities. This is Fehler Kuti singing of class relations, not of identities and positionalities. This is Fehler Kuti resisting.

Listen to these songs of infrastructure and appraisal of the welfare state. Join me in mourning the broken promises of prosperity for all. Send that “Ausländer“ of your mind to heaven. Colonialism fucked you up. Platform Capitalism is keeping you in chains. Are we to unionise all human and non-human workers at Amazon? Will modernity always have that "forever nigger“? What about those dispossessed field hands harvesting your asparagus?

All is lost. The system is rigged. Because all histories, gestures and identities have been absorbed into this late capitalist apparatus we call diversity. It can integrate anything and anyone. It made me. It is the price of the ticket. And it is unable to challenge its own premise of an atomised society. As if you and I had so little in common.

They will try and help you. They will build a museum for your history and a scholarship program for your future. I warn you. Don‘t let them give you a name. Resist appellation. Don’t get that German passport. Don‘t eat asparagus.

Fehler Kuti, Spring 2021

All songs by Julian Warner. Produced by Markus Acher and Tobias Siegert.

Markus Acher – drums, percussion, backing vocals Micha Acher – sousaphone, trumpet Cico Beck – synthesizer Jenny Bohn – backing vocals Pacifico Boy – vocals Katja Kobolt – spoken word Theresa Loibl – bass clarinet, backing vocals Sascha Schwegeler – steeldrum, kalimba, percussion, backing vocals Tobias Siegert – bass, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals Julian Warner – piano, memotron, vocals

recorded and mixed by Tobias Siegert at Minga Records, july – december 2020 mastered by Moritz Illner at Duophonic

Cover art and photography by Andreas Neumeister. Layout by Sascha Schwegeler.

Fehler Kuti “Professional People” is part of the same multiverse as “The History of the Federal Republic of Germany as told by Fehler Kuti und die Polizei”. A production by Julian Warner. In cooperation with Münchner Kammerspiele. Funded by the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich. Released by Alien Transistor.

Blue Vinyl
Lynch protégé and Twin Peaks sound designer Dean Hurley coaxes an incredible puzzlebox of atmospheres and mood pieces on this killer contribution to our Documenting Sound series, now remastered and pressed on vinyl for what is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the most cinematic and neon-lit instalment in the series. Like a
smudged and overdubbed copy of the BoC Maxima tape, with added iridescence.
Across almost 40 minutes we transition from aerosolised synths to romantic chromatics, thru to Nurse WIth Wound-style severed rhythms and fading glimmers of hope, ‘Concrete Feather’ epitomises Dean Hurley’s prized knack for nuanced instrumental story-telling in the finest and most engrossing style we could imagine. Against the backdrop of the Hollywood film industry that has primed us for as long as we can all remember, the music spans a panorama of lush, mirage-like choral pads and starry flickers thru to gloaming
nightmare sequences and screwed drums, while touching on some of the dankest synth tones this side of his ‘Anthology Resource’ volumes or indeed his soundtrack work for Twin Peaks: The Return. It’s full of dread and a slowly unfolding sense of tragedy.
“Having a regular practice of recording is probably the single most important element to my craft. It’s a way of dropping indiscriminate mile markers while constantly moving forward in time without ability to pause.
Over the years, working for David Lynch taught me a great deal about this and the concept and importance of experimentation. I’ve found myself clinging to those lessons during this time and using them as tools for both productivity and balance. His notion of experimentation is a simple one, yet incredibly profound. It was one of the very first words I heard him say during our initial meeting, and I never stopped hearing the term daily over the subsequent 13 years working together. An ‘experiment’ can provide a legitimate mental back-entrance into the act of creation. It can position an approach toward discovery as opposed to effort, and eliminate the thought that one needs to ‘will’ something into existence. It also aids in calming the judgmental
side of a brain from stepping on/interfering with expression…after all, experiments are not about success or failure, they’re simply about learning. In the Lynch school of thought, multiple experiments then become firewood…and with firewood, one can not only build but actually sustain a fire…even turn it into a multipleacre blaze or more.
Dean Hurley

Aquaregia mainstays, Troma & PERS1, return for their fourth release on the label. Their Kaede EP exhibits the duo's signature exquisite acid lines though a tracklisting of five dripping dreamscapes.

"Kaede" introduces the release with a bubbling acid line and up-tempo groove. A euphoric journey through a new destination; a mental escapade moving from excitement and anticipation to pure bliss.

"Samara" takes over with a haunting acid line and eerie pads, venturing deeper into the unknown. Atmospheric fog intertwines between the rosy foliage of the Japanese maples; a cool breeze propels the ripened samara, helicoptering from their stems.

"Crimson Breath" relieves the tension with a chilled out and dubby trip. We're taken bankside of a babbling brook, sheltered by an enclosing leafy canopy; comforted in a safe haven.

Next, "Autumn Moon" gently guides us on a psychedelic excursion laced with intricate dribbling acid lines and breaky percussion. A walk through a shadowy limestone cave, water trickling down and plinking from the luminous stalactites.

Big Country’s sixth studio album, ‘The Buffalo Skinners’ was originally released in 1993. The self-produced, impassioned explosion of rock roundly delivers on pulling this band's working-class masculinity, love of full-throated guitar and sense of political and social outrage together in one rousing, melodic, lyrical onslaught.
Featuring the singles ‘Alone’ and ‘Ships’, along with fan favorites ‘What Are You Working For’ and “We’re Not In Kansas”, these relying on a heavier guitar sound than their previous album, the pace rarely lets up throughout, taking in the anthemic `The One I Love' and the outraged “The Selling of America” before it all ends on the angry, science-gone-wrong, cloak and dagger horror tale of “Chester's Farm”.
The original vinyl version of the album only had a limited pressing and was only one 1 vinyl. This new deluxe version has been split across 2 vinyl for optimum sound quality and also features some b-sides and rare tracks on side 4.
The package is a 6mm spine gatefold sleeve and 2x 180gm Heavyweight Black Vinyl with sleeve notes written by guitarist Bruce Watson.

Milan Records release - much anticipated new film from Leos Carax set to open the 74th Cannes Film Festival on July 6th 2021 (general release in France on the same date). Based on an original story and music by Ron and Russell Mael, Annette began life as an (unreleased) album but was transformed into a musical after they met Carax. Having successfully maintained a five decade long career as one of the world’s most innovative and creative bands, it comes as no surprise that their collaboration with the visionary French director has resulted in a unique piece of film-making. Music is composed and performed by Sparks and also features vocal performances from the stars of the film: Adam Driver (Henry), Marion Cotillard (Ann) and Simon Helberg (The Conductor). Produced by Sparks and Marius de Vries (musical director of 'La La Land' and 'Moulin Rouge'). Formats include a 15 track CD presented in a digi sleeve with a 12 page booklet featuring the lyrics and stills from the film and a standard black 180gm vinyl LP with gatefold sleeve and poster. Specialist promo/marketing activity across all media outlets.

Polo & Pan's debut album Caravelle reached the heights of professional recognition by being certified platinum in the international market, gold in France, with three singles exceeding the threshold of gold certification outside of France, consecrating Polo & Pan as the new French Touch ambassadors. Now, our two explorers invite us with Cyclorama to a journey through time, along the steps of human existence. After a year of lockdown introspection, the duo decided to create music that weaves themselves into the backgrounds of our lives. From birth to death and transcendence, Cyclorama offers a colorful score to the "comedy of life" as Celentano sang, this existential theatre that is played-out by every human being.’’ Out everywhere on 6/25.

I attended a trade fair in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In this show, we met producers, label and festival managers. It is a privileged moment when it is possible to learn about new trends, new musical forms, emerging groups. The timing of the meal is undoubtedly the most important. We take the time to introduce ourselves and discover each other. When my turn arrived, I took out my little map to locate the town of Sète on the map of France. There, an American promoter exclaimed "Yeah! You live in this beautiful city. Where there is this incredible music. ” I admit that at the time I didn’t quite understand what he meant but flattered by his remark I told him yes. Later, I realized that he was talking about gypsy music that made the whole world dream.



When my friend shared this anecdote to me, it resonated deeply with me. Indeed, for us, people of the south of France, this was nothing exceptional. Indeed, every day you could meet in the street a gypsy musician performing a rumba, another declaiming a fandango or another who liked to paraphrase the maestro Django. It is part of our daily environment, but it is indeed a peculiarity of this region. The territory of the Mediterranean arc, from Arles to Perpignan, is indeed the cradle of gypsy music in France. In addition, we must underline the major influence of the Gypsy artists of Catalonia in the development of these different artistic forms. Through weddings and family reunions, the repertoires have shifted to be reinterpreted according to the identities specific to each and the territories of residence.



With this new collection, we wanted to show, to hear all the musical richness of Gypsy and Manouche artists populating the territory. From appropriation to recreation, they never stop bringing this music to life, re-enchanting it and offering it a resolutely modern reading, open to the world. In this first opus, devoted to the guitar, we will take the routes of latin music, flamenco or jazz alongside renowned artists and young talents. With "The sound of guitars", it is a first door open to the gypsy music of the Mediterranean Arc, that we will discover gradually through the "Mediteranean Gypsies roads" collection.

Repress! Seventh album by Minneapolis hip hop heroes Atmosphere. Producer Ant and lyricist / rapper Slug have been making music together as Atmosphere for over 20 years and have managed to continually tweak and strive to perfect their formula, while neither straying too far off their path, nor resorting to playing it safe and that holds true on the new set. Fishing Blues is a collection of songs that both define and redefine the Atmosphere sound and features 18 new tracks written and produced by Atmosphere with appearances from DOOM, Aesop Rock, Kool Keith, The Grouch, deM atlaS, and more.

Omar Khorshid (9-Oct-1945 – 29-May-1981) is an Egyptian musician, composer, accompanist, and actor.

Born in Cairo, Omar Khorshid was a well-known guitarist who accompanied many Arabic singers, including Farid Al Atrach, Oum Koulsoum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, and Abdel Halim Hafez.

From 1973 to 1977, Khorshid moved to Lebanon and began recording albums under his own name, working with sound engineer Nabil Moumtaz at Polysound Studios in Beirut.

Khorshid's musicality in orchestra performances, original songs, and film scores was considered revolutionary at the time in the Middle East. His extensive theoretical knowledge, fusion of Western sounds with Eastern sounds, and incorporation of different, more modern instruments (e.g. the electric guitar, electric keyboard, and synthesizer) in Arabic music was previously unheard of.

Khorshid's unique style sparked inspiration from many aspiring musicians not only in the Middle East, but in Europe and the Americas as well. His mixing of "modern" instruments with older Arabic tunes spawned a new, more modern sound of Arabic music that many use for belly-dancing today.

Tony Scott (born Anthony Joseph Sciacca June 17, 1921 – March 28, 2007) was an American jazz clarinetist and arranger with an interest in folk music around the world. For most of his career he was held in high esteem in new-age music circles because of his involvement in music linked to Asian cultures and to meditation. Tony performed with many star as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Harry Belafonte and before moving to Italy in the early ‘70’s he just cut two sought after masterpiece moving forward from his early idea of bop and cool jazz. In particular ‘Djanger Bali’ (1967 Saba) - recorded with The Indonesian All Stars - and the self titled Tony Scott (1968 Verve) - featuring Richard Davis on bass, John Berberian on oud and Attila Zoller on guitar – set the pace for a revolution in terms. This set recorded in Africa around the mid 90’s is a pure rhythm festival pushing the boundaries of his afro fusion agenda

Seit langem fragen Leute, ob sie diese Alben erstehen könnten und bisher lautete die Antwort: Nein. Bisher! Wir sind begeistert, die Re-Issues dieser vier unglaublichen Alben mit verbessertem Artwork bekannt zu geben. Alle Alben wurden remastered und ist zum ersten Mal überhaupt auf Englisch erhältlich (eine englische CD-Version wird später auch noch erscheinen). Als die ursprünglichen Versionen veröffentlicht wurden, wurden die meisten Exemplare in Frankreich verkauft. Aber Yann wurde, nicht zuletzt durch den Soundtrack von ,Die fabelhafte Welt der Amelie auf der ganzen Welt bekannt. Für sein internationales Publikum hat er nun höchstpersönlich seine Titel mit größter Sorgfalt ins Englische übersetzt, um sicher zu stellen, dass die Originalinhalte beibehalten bleiben. Im Januar folgen die nächsten beiden Alben. "Dies ist die Synthese aus klassischem Können, postmoderner Kreativität und zugkräftiger Vorstellungskraft. YANN TIERSEN hat ein Album geschaffen, das zwei Bewegungen vereint, denn die beiden Kompositionen wurden ursprünglich für zwei Theaterstücke - "Freaks" (nach dem Film von Tod Browning) und "Le Tambourin de Soie" (nach einem Stück von Yukio Mishima - komponiert. Das Werk ist voller neuer Gedanken; ein zukünftiger Klassiker den man unter gar keinen Umständen verpassen sollte." - La Griffe, 1995

Shifted offers the latest distillation of his trademark sound.

Following on from the recent release of “The Dirt On Our Hands” – Guy Brewer’s fourth studio album and the first to arrive on his own Avian imprint, “Constant Blue Light” – another full length, explores new avenues in caustic minimalism.

Eschewing the booming effervescence of his own more plosive dance floor material – Shifted takes a no less nuanced, but decidedly more introspective angle on this new LP. At the centre of Brewer’s practice as an artist, there has always been a sense of dedication to the refinement of a singular idea. In some ways “Constant Blue Light” represents a move closer to the apex of this approach.

Opener “Slowly Counting Backwards” creates the framework for the record – reduced and meditative, owing somewhat to previous work, but still crisper and more precise. “Natural Elevation” riffs on airy patches that hiss and bend while “The Weight of It” transmits an unsettling hysteria with flanging leads and untethered rhythmic components. On the B side, the ominous dirge of “Soft Palate” brings a kind of uncanny energy to proceedings before “Into Your Ocean” utilises exquisite FM tones to create a captivating sonic montage. “Several Instances” hinges on dense low end and scattering white noise, before giving way to the machinations of “Clotting Time”. Closing piece “This I Know” offers a stunning, crystalline finish to the LP – upping the ante in its final minutes before giving way to a hiss of delay trails.

A continued exploration from a focused and diligent artist that provides yet another fully formed and beautifully articulated component to his own discography and that of the Avian label.

Limited edition gold vinyl edition.
Hamburg's funk adventurers at the top of their game with special guests Ice-T, Charlie Funk, Peter Thomas, Gizelle Smith, Lee Fields, JSwiss & the Mocambo Kidz.

Original press release note (2019):
Carrying blistering funk lines in their fingers and worldly influences in their hearts, the unique and distinctive Mocambo sound is not one to be confused with retro bands trying to recapture an era. Eschewing traditional recording methods, this DIY crew are committed to driving forwards, and 2066 sees them at the height of their powers, broadcasting a call for unity.
After reaching new audiences worldwide and earning critical praise for their two long players on Brooklyn's Big Crown Records in their tropical guise as Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the band have reassembled and refocused in their original form, the workhorses behind dozens of 45s on the Mocambo label and beyond. Crossing generations, this album introduces some of the world's youngest funk talent to step up and rub shoulders with soul and rap legends, soul sisters, an elder statesman composer/arranger and a brand new emerging artist out of New York.
As with all Mocambo releases, the two sides of the record have been meticulously sequenced by the
band. Side A welcomes us aboard with joyous instrumental stomper Preaching To The Choir, and a call to build bridges from Mocambo chanteuse and percussionist Nichola Richards, duetting with emerging rap talent, New York MC JSwiss. B-girls and b-boys are called to the dancefloor as Superstrada and Concrete Stardust commence, all buzzing synth lines and relentless drums. New Jersey legend and Big Crown associate Mr Lee Fields is guest of honour for Where Do We Go From Here before a horn workout brings us to a close with Macumba. It's time for a breather.
The B side kicks off with the grand return of the Golden Girl of Funk, Gizelle Smith, a sister who's been busy taking on the world. Composer and presenter Peter Thomas narrates a Return To Space to mark the centenary of the debut of his score to sci-fi show Space Patrol, which first broadcast in 1966. We're back down to Earth and the mean streets for the furious drums and car chase workout of Golden Shadow. Today slows down the pace for a reflective ballad with Nichola front and centre - and here's the next generation: the Mocambo Kidz sing along to their parents' instrumentation for Here We Go, a new kids' block party anthem... with no sleep 'til bedtime. The album closer makes it clear that the Mocambos are nowhere near powering down as Ice T and Charlie F unk bring their A-game for an old school attack which, since you're up bouncing anyway, gives you no excuse not to flip the LP and drop the needle right back on to Side A. Onwards!
A summation of their journey so far and a celebration in anticipation of what's to come, the album is set
to take its place in a legacy of open minded, organically recorded music, showering listeners with the crew's maze of tantalising sounds pulled from funk, afro, hip hop with cinematic composition and storytelling.

Parisian label Chuwanaga proudly presents Latitude, Saint-James label co-founder new studio project. Keeping it close to the deep jazz-funk ethos of the label, Latitude brings to the light two luminous songs of joy and hope for a better day, highly danceable yet rich and complex grooves with a human feel to feed your soul and make you move. Their new EP Leo / Attitude presents these first effort with a Dub Remix by Mato: plenty of diverse tastes for every music enthusiasts. Available as Vinyl 12" and Digital.

Latitude is french. Not a random collection of chansons sung in french. Latitude is so french in its sheer elegance, in its simple yet so sophisticated seemingly effortless attempt to groove in a pop context, trying to create moments of grace in the process. Latitude is here with the right vibe as the chorus of "Attitude" says it in french: "It’s the bad attitude, always the good latitude". Latitude is sprung out of the wicked musicianship of Parisian jazz-funk and fusion mavericks and Saint-James tight and adventurous compositions and production. All that jazz combined with David Cukier (Greita) retro-futurist engineering skills in these intense sessions captured in his cutting edge vintage Delta studio.

On A Side, "Leo (Extended Mix)" is an uptempo disco track for the dancers but also a beautiful song for the summer. A seductive number with a pregnant classic French jazz-funk feeling with the help of Parisian singer Club Celest’s energy and beautiful voice. It comes on digital as a short edit for radio but as a serious extended 12inch mix on the vinyl with 8 minutes and 10 seconds of pure pleasure, ending in a real climax after an irresistible percussion break.

On B1, "Attitude" enchanting quality shines with a banging rhythm section and goes for the win as an anthem chorus while sweeping synths keep on growing till the very last drop. On B2, Reggae/Dub don Mato (Stix Records) delivers a sweet dub wise riddim for the Lovers Rock massive.

In 2018, way before we established our quirky little label & our ears were still young and unspent, in the deep sound forrest that is soundcloud we discovered an unpolished gem of a track, courtesy of Rebecca B, upcoming scottish born and berlin based banger producer.

Some years and life changing times later we are holding in our hand Rebecca’s first vinyl, dubbed „Murphy’s Law“, in accordance with the previously mentioned times.

Step right in with the A1 „Militant Margaret“ which rolls you off straight into Rebecca’s world, followed by A2 „Bionic Butterfly“, that certain gem we talked about earlier. On the B side you can follow Rebecca on a journey back to her roots. B1 „Odd World“ is a downtempo anthem with an infamous influence and B2 „Old Rapper“ its upbeat twin sibling. Welcome, Rebecca

Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and producer Tilian releases his brand-new full-length album, Factory Reset, via Rise Records:
Earlier this week, he shared his latest single “Caught in the Carousel” along with a new visualizer. They psychedelic visual emulates the introspective and thought-provoking lyrics of the song, “Am I good enough?”

Factory Reset is both highly personal and wholly universal. Tilian began writing the album just a few weeks after the pandemic forced California into lockdown. “I was searching for meaning in isolation and found it in creating this album,” Tilian shares about the process. He decided to write, record, and produce the album himself, eventually remotely bringing in drummer/frequent collaborator Kris Crummett to help button it up.

Having full creative control allowed Tilian to experiment more than ever, and truly be himself in the process. “I wanted to make the album that I want to hear. ‘What would be my favorite band?’ as opposed to, ‘What is everyone’s favorite band?’” This resulted in his most thrillingly eclectic work to date: a falsetto-laced brand of alt-pop that spans everything from trippy psychedelia and heavy prog riffs to warped hip-hop beats and dembow grooves.

Recently, Tilian released two other singles from the album – “Anthem” and “Dose.” These were first offerings since the release of his 2018 album The Skeptic, which debuted on the Billboard charts at #1 Alternative New Artist, #2 Top New Artists, and #5 Alternative. To date, the project has garnered over 40M global streams and two music videos with over 1M views each, proving the excitement and potential for the burgeoning alt-pop artist. More recently, he collaborated with Marigolds+Monsters and Travis Barker on the exciting single “Falling out of Rhythm.”

• The tracks from the group’s two 1984 EPs together on a swanky 10-inch vinyl LP. Inner bag features liner notes by Kris Needs incorporating new interviews with all three Delmonas and a series of great photos by Eugene Doyen.

• Sarah Crouch, Hilary Wilkins and Louise Baker started singing together as a unique spark of spontaneous magic inextricably linked to their boyfriends in the Milkshakes, then rocking a garage-punk antidote to shiny synth-pop and brash chart stars with a direct lifeline back to rock’n’roll’s original simplicity and wildness. After Billy Childish and Bruce Brand formed the Pop Rivets in 1978, the guys hooked up with Micky Hampshire and Russell Wilkins to found the Milkshakes. Sarah shared a student house with boyfriend Micky plus Billy. After she and Hilary, then dating Russell, sang backing vocals on the Milkshakes’ rollicking Beatles-translated take on the Shirelles’ ‘Boys’, Louise’s arrival turned them into a girl group pretty much by accident.

• “I loved the music the Milkshakes were playing,” Louise recalls. “Loved the small, intimate venues and most of the bands that played with them, especially the Prisoners. I’d gone with the Milkshakes to Belgium and was somehow persuaded to get up on stage and sing something. Next thing I knew, there was some kind of plan to get the three of us in the studio.” At first the three girls were called the Milk-boilers, renaming themselves the Delmonas by the time Ace Records’ Roger Armstrong and Ted Carroll suggested recording the EPs that furnish this collection. “I think we were asked to each think of three songs and turn up,” says Louise. “I mostly listened to music from the 60s: lots of girl groups, Irma Thomas, Dusty Springfield, Bo Diddley, Velvet Underground, Kinks. Bruce had the best record collection; Mel Tormé was in there somewhere and one of my faves. Sarah came up with doing the Doors cover.”

• ‘Comin’ Home Baby’ was written as an instrumental before Bob Dorough added lyrics and Mel Tormé recorded it in 1962. The Delmonas’ finger-clicking, noir-dynamic version kicked off their first EP with authentic-sounding 60s production resonance, iced with mysterioso organ. The Cookies scored a hit with Goffin & King’s ‘Chains’ in 1962, the Beatles’ version providing the Hamburg Star-Club template for the Delmonas’ energised rendition. The first EP, “The Delmonas Volume 1”, rounded off with two songs from the Childish-Hampshire songwriting partnership: ‘Woa’ Now’ and ‘He Tells Me He Loves Me’, the latter recalling the New York Dolls covering the Shangri-Las’ ‘Give Him A Great Big Kiss’, mainly because it has similar chords.

• “The Delmonas Volume 2” opened with Sarah’s idea of covering the Doors’ hit. “We thought, ‘How would the Kinks have played it?’” she affirms. ‘Hello, I Love You’ had got the Doors into hot water with the Kinks’ publishers for its resemblance to ‘All Day And All Of The Night’. The Delmonas home in and highlight that similarity, adding bonkers psychedelic drop and evocative new coda. Their surf-tinged version of the Milkshakes’ ‘I’m The One For You’ is followed by the swampy screaming of ‘Peter Gunn Locomotion’, a cover of a 1963 single by Freddie Starr in his pre-stand-up comedian days as singer with the Midnighters. The set closed with the sultry organ-led vamp of the Milkshakes’ ‘I Want You’, the nearest the Delmonas get to the slowies Sarah helpfully points out they referred to as “shag songs”.

• All these tracks would re-appear on their “Dangerous Charms” album, along with out-takes and recordings from a BBC session, before the original trio splintered, leaving Sarah and Hilary to return for further adventures as Ludella Black and Ida Red. The eight tracks here capture a moment when three fun-loving friends got to live out some musical fantasies and had a blast doing it. 37 years later, it sounds just as contagious.

Tape

It might be easy to assume that the distinctly focused compositional voice unveiled on Rose Bolton's The Lost Clock is the product of its creator's rigorous, almost hermetic dedication to her own particular aesthetic universe. A quick survey of Bolton's artistic career, however, reveals that her carefully sculpted approach to abstract electronica has been forged through a longstanding engagement with a wide range of intertwining creative activities.

This album—coming out on Important Records' cassette imprint, Cassauna—demonstrates both the Toronto-based composer's unique mastery of colour and her gift for breathing a tactile, organic quality into synthetic landscapes. Bolton's distinctive sensibility is akin to that of a painter—every hue has been carefully mixed so as to imbue its accompanying gesture with its own life and personality. This tangible dimensionality her electronic work assumes, however, can be traced back to the work Bolton has been doing since the 1990's. She has produced a large and varied catalogue of work that includes pieces for solo performers, chamber ensembles, orchestra, electronics, voice, and to accompany installations and films. A number of her works reside in several of these zones simultaneously, such as Song of Extinction, an ambitious collaboration between herself, filmmaker Marc de Guerre, poet Don McKay, and multiple live ensembles, that was mounted in an abandoned power station for Toronto's Luminato Festival.

This quasi-instrumental vitality isn't the only feature of The Lost Clock that reflects Bolton's diverse artistic practice. It can also be heard within the structural realm. Each of the collection's four tracks trace a patient unfolding and favour a certain roundness of timbre, even as finer details begin to fidget along the perimeter of the music. As with her writing for the concert hall, Bolton doesn't shy away from the evocative here, yet she doesn't pursue this poignancy through conventional, direct or quasi-narrative means. Her compositions lead the listener gradually through their impressionistic sonic scenery, but neither the path they take nor their ultimate destination are at all predictable. The ostensible gentleness each piece exudes dissolves as dissonances slowly insinuate themselves, obscure textures writhe just out of earshot, percussive lattice work materializes, or as the overall blend begins to exert a heavier weight. Her lucid-dream vision of form functions in tandem with her acute micro-level attentiveness to engender a vivid and elusive soundworld that resists classification.

Over more than two decades Rose Bolton has been garnering acclaim and enthusiasm from audiences and major collaborators alike. Last year, her brooding string quartet The Coming Of Sobs was nominated for Classical Composition of the Year at the JUNO Awards, following earlier accolades such as SOCAN Awards for Young Composers, and the Canadian Music Centre's Norman Burgess Fund. Her music has been commissioned by the likes of the CBC, stalwart experimental music festival the Sound Symposium, as well as key interpreters and ensembles such as percussionist David Schotzko, accordionist Joseph Petric the Esprit Orchestra, Continuum, Arraymusic, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, and guitar quartet Instruments of Happiness (led by Tim Brady). Together with Marc de Guerre, she produced an 8-speaker sound and video installation for Toronto's Nuit Blanche Festival. She's also been featured by the likes of revered pianist Eve Egoyan, The Vancouver Symphony, L'ensemble contemporain de Montréal, The Music Gallery, and AKOUSMA, while appearing in concert alongside the likes of Jerusalem in My Heart (Constellation Records), Tanya Tagaq, and Francis Dhomont. Bolton is also a respected film composer, notably contributing music to the highly regarded documentary Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (co-directed by Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky).

As a performer, she variously employs electronics, violin, and viola. Parallel to her engagement with exploratory approaches, she's invested in the fiddle traditions of the British Isles, and various Canadian regions. She teaches this repertoire at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Bolton has also performed with Rhys Chatham, Owen Pallett, opened for Charlemagne Palestine, and appears on recordings by the likes of Chatham and Aidan Baker. In 1999 she joined the Canadian Electronic Ensemble, whose fifty-years together make them the world's longest-running live-electronic music group. In February 2020, the CEE held a residency and provided guest lectures at Carnegie Mellon University's music department. Bolton has also led workshops at the Banff Centre, also founded the SOCAN/ Moog Audio-sponsored program EQ: Women in Electronic Music, which worked to foster community and mentorship among (trans/cis) women and non-binary individuals.

The four Scottish-Irish musicians Conor Dalton, David Donaldson, Greame Reedie and Ian Maclennan are Island People. After their highly acclaimed debut from 2017, they have now finished their second album with the simple and consistent title »II«. Compared to their debut, »II« sounds more mature and complex. The arrangements unfold like the long tracking shots of an early Antonioni film - time seems to stand still, circling the moment. Impressionistically, one feels transported into the Scottish island landscape with its contrasting lights and harsh elements. Gloomy, darker, richer textures have conquered their space on »II« as much as the more present acoustic components. As much as its predecessor, also this record was skilfully produced, the musicians’ entire experience is audible (Conor Dalton is a sought-after mastering engineer; David Donaldson a Grammy Award-winning producer) – but anything fashionable or sensationalist has been intentionally waived. The musical serenity, holding up a craft that neither has to show itself off every minute nor wants to respond to the latest trends impressed us the most. The cover photo was contributed by the Scottish artist Helena Ohman. She also provided the video for the track »Crash«. Furthermore, singer Alice Hill-Woods was invited to contribute the lyrics and vocals to »Stalling«. Island People »II« will be released as gatefold double LP as well as on CD and digitally. In advance we asked Island People about the creative process behind the album and quote as follows: This album reflects on the destination we have in common before us, and celebrates the longer road while also considering paths not taken and journeys that ended too soon. It has been said that »art is how we decorate space; music is how we decorate time.« For us the writing of this album has been a great journey through both, shared with friends. While our first album acknowledged our own spaces and borders as individuals, the new album seemed to grow very quickly from our travels together as a band. Periods spent on the road playing live afforded extra time together and while we didn’t feel constrained to a concept at the start, more and more of the tracks evolved to reflect these journeys and experiences together.

Beautiful orange & yellow sunburst vinyl - Solstice '21 sees twelve bright lights of independent electronic music mark the coming Summer Solstice. In such dark days, the age-old practice of celebrating the move from shadow to light, feels steeped in a renewed symbolic power. Solstice '21 marks this significant moment with a rich array of musical offerings. Reflective, lively, and always powerful, this collection is spun with modern twists of an ancient thread. Rotator - This is the first outing under this moniker from Justin Owen, also known under the alias Licit, as well as being a protagonist in the world of modular synthesis as the man behind the Abstract Data modules; Letters from Mouse - "Bubbling analogue synthesis from Scotland." This analogue synth maestro and inimitable broadcaster (aka The Magic Window), boasts a string of quality releases, including the recent highly acclaimed album An gàrradh, also on Subexotic; Cub/cub - "Cub/cub explores the world in-between nostalgia and nihilism, analogue and digital, real and false; creating evocative and mournful musical collages." First discovered on Boards of Canada forum Twoism, Cub/cub's two debut releases with Subexotic demonstrated his considerable talent to mix fascinating texture with beguiling melody. With an astonishing follow-up album coming soon, his rising star feels unstoppable; Orbury Common - "aural ephemera from the home of the orbs." This mysterious duo from the West of England are blessed with delightful musical cunning; their brilliant debut on Subexotic lifted the lid, and this offering reaffirms exciting times lie ahead; Onepointwo - "Minimal electronics, abstract radio signals and dystopian soundscapes are proceeded from both digital and analogue sources." A creator of intricate yet powerful collage, with finely wrought motifs that repeat and build to create a shimmering psychedelic impact. This is Onepointwo's glorious trademark. Spell-binding releases already exist on Woodford Halse, Poeta Negra, Lotus, as well as an imminent powerhouse album forthcoming on Subexotic; Giants of Discovery - "Experimental electronica with the occasional noisy guitar thrown in." Giants of Discovery's ability to get to grips with the musicality of his subject, has lead to previous exquisite sojourns into realms such as Victorian cosmic horror and Greek mythology, as well as an equally fantastical, towering follow up album on Woodford Halse; Wonderful Beasts - "A Wonderful collaboration between boycalledcrow and Xqui." Their playful interaction finds ways of crafting acoustic fragments into unexpected kaleidoscopes of sound. With beguiling debuts on cult label Wormhole World (soon to be followed up by an extraordinary new album on Subexotic), there is a kind of breathless magic about everything they do; Dogs versus Shadows - Electronic Sound Magazine says "A rare example of gamekeeper turned poacher...a welter of impressive electronica." Lee Pylon's ability to straddle a wealth of uncompromisingly inventive creations, and his broadcasting prowess as the much loved Kites & Pylons, is already the stuff of legend. A multitude of releases across many labels including Subexotic, Woodford Halse, Miracle Pond, Third Kind, Submarine Broadcasting, Sensory Leakage, provide a glittering treasure trove of work; Counter Silence - A stalwart of Subexotic, Counter Silence's sparkling and wistful musical work very much stands alone in temperament and style. 2020's Pathways EP on Subexotic remains a precious oasis, imbued with a haunting solitude that lives on in the memory; Transient Visitor - "All music unlocked by Alex Cargill (C.O.I. Central Office of Information) and Martin Jensen (The Home Current)." These two intercontinental maestros (well Sidcup & Luxembourg) boast impressive solo back catalogues across many labels (including Castles in Space, Polytechnic Youth, Woodford Halse). Their newly conceived collaborative Transient Visitor project, brought about the superb TV1 album in 2020 - we can see the sparks fly again in this welcome 2021 return; Simon Klee - "Natural, Electric, Organic Psychedelic - Sounds, noise and psychedelic beats." Klee's playful alchemy engages the mind and spirit, as witnessed in a flurry of top quality releases in recent times (e.g. Subexotic, ANR, Woodford Halse), and there is a visceral joy in his work that is perfectly placed for a midsummer celebration. Klee also produces a truly excellent mixcast and increasingly essential tape label, both under the guise of Anticipating Nowhere; Rupert Lally - "Hailing originally from England but now based in Switzerland, Guitarist, Percussionist and Electronic Musician Rupert Lally began his career as a Sound Designer and Composer for Theatre and TV, before launching his solo career in 2005. Since then his releases have blurred the boundaries between electronic and acoustic music." Lally's consistently brilliant work is always a highlight of the electronic music calendar, including recent stellar works across many labels such as Spun Out Of Control, Third Kind, Woodford Halse, and Modern Aviation.

Death Drives A Cadillac was Spike In Vain’s second
album, never officially released and unheard in its final
form until now. Like many hardcore bands circa ’84 and
’85, the group was ready to further expand its palette and
ease off the thrash tempos. Recorded roughly a year after
Disease Is Relative with a bigger budget, the album is even
more wide-ranging, and the songs are more fleshed out.
“Despair grew inside her, I grew inside her. She named
me Spirit Death, and this is my song” sings Chris Marec,
the vocalist on half of this LP. Though less “young” than
their debut, that album’s darkness lingers, but here has a
more removed, observational quality, with many songs
sung in character or in the third person, along with a
tendency for anthropomorphic allegory. It has a bit less to
do with screaming for death to come than with a growing
resignation to being the other, a recognition of inescapable
alienation and its relation to childhood trauma. —all with
a heaping side of absurdity and a sense of wonder at the
gradually unfolding endtimes.
That said, many of the tracks wouldn’t be out of place
on the debut, and some feature exotic tunings. Bits of roots
music come into play as well—gospel, blues, and country
figure to some extent in a third of the songs, sometimes
in convoluted, Beefheart-esque ways, and at other times
toying with genre archetypes as a cat does a mouse.

Yves Jarvis and Romy Lightman are a pair of idiosyncratic and restlessly creative artists. In the past decade, Jarvis's ever-expanding swatch have earned international acclaim, while Lightman's twin-sister-led band Tasseomancy has transfixed listeners since the late 2000s. The Lightman Jarvis Ecstatic Band marks the duo's first collaboration, slingshotting both musicians out of their comfort zones into spellbinding territories of lysergic folk and impressionistic rock. Banned was recorded in the tranquil environment of the Tree Museum, an outdoor art gallery in rural Ontario, Canada, hosting residencies for contemporary sculptors over the past 20 years. The pair credit its 200 acres of natural spaces intermingling with human-made creations as the fuel for their unfettered process. Recorded over two weeks in a free-flowing stream of improvisation, the album finds Lightman on synthesizer with Jarvis on drums and guitar, as their voices weave together into an electrified pastoral tapestry. For both musicians, the creation offered a chance to challenge themselves: Jarvis defying his solitary practice to record with another person, while open jams provided Lightman an alternative to her preference for thoroughly composed songwriting. "This album is a loose manifesto in our shared vision for a way of being," says Lightman. "It's about our relationship and the dynamics in that. There's an epicness to it and tension at times. It's like the ways particles collide. There's an alchemical aspect to it with these base components slamming together."

Bring me a record, and I’ll show you a record! Laced Records and Gearbox Software have peeped in the oven and the extended Borderlands 2 soundtrack on piping hot wax is nearly ready to serve.

The seminal first-person looter-shooter returned in 2012, expanding upon the first game. Players were pitted against the quippiest antagonist of them all, corporate dictator Handsome Jack, as they battled across Pandora to just find that one killer Maliwan Shock Sniper Rifle...

The game’s music team comprised Jesper Kyd (Assassin’s Creed, Hitman), Sascha Dikiciyan & Cris Velasco (dual and individual credits include Quake 2 & 3, Unreal Tournament, Mass Effect 3, God of War 3, and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided) and Raison Varner (Borderlands series), all of whom collaborated on the 2009 original. Together they honed the series’ Western-tinged, electronic and guitar-driven sound to create a fan-favourite soundtrack.

46 tracks (23 from the OST, 23 from the extended soundtrack and DLC) have been specially mastered for vinyl and will be pressed to audiophile-quality, heavyweight 180g black discs.

"Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cinderella” album features the original cast recording of the highly anticipated new theatre production, plus special guests. First original material to be released by Andrew Lloyd Webber in five years
The new musical “Cinderella”, a reinvention of classic fairytale created with “Killing Eve” writer and star of “The Crown” Emerald Fennell, and double Oscar nominee, David Zippel. Cinderella is to be played by Carrie Hope Fletcher, who starred in Heathers, The Addams Family, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, and most recently Les Miserables. She is also a bestselling author and social media personality. The full album of Cinderella, recorded earlier this year during lockdown, features a unique combination of cast members and guest artists"

Jack Savoretti will mark the launch of his new album campaign next Thursday, May 6th, 8.30am, when first single ‘Who’s Hurting Who’ featuring Nile Rodgers is released. The single is the first taste of the highly anticipated upcoming new album ‘Europiana’, which is released on June 25th. The new album was recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London with producers including Cam Blackwood (George Ezra, Florence & The Machine) and Mark Ralph (Jess Glynne, Years & Years) Jack has sold over 550,000 albums in the UK alone and amassed over 65 million streams. He has enjoyed 3 consecutive Top 10 Gold albums in the UK, including No.1 ‘Singing To Strangers’. The album launch will coincide with the announcement of a full UK and Europe tour in Spring 2022. The summer of Europiana is on its way… Jack has been teasing the release of new music on his socials, with clips from studio sessions at Abbey Road Studios.