Indie shops only. Limited red vinyl rerelease. 500 for the World (just 80 copies for the UK) After falling out with Sir Coxsone, the legendary head of the Kingston label Studio One, Lee Perry first founded his own band and then, in 1973, set up his own studio in his backyard. What was born out of necessity developed into a unique success story. With both the Upsetters and the Black Ark, Perry made music history - most notably with the 1976 release of the album Super Ape, on which he made the genre of dub bubble and boil from the mixing desk in previously unheard ways. For Perry, the studio is like a living organism. Whether he truly experiences it that way or simply lets too much ganja go up in smoke, for Perry the equipment is organic, empathetic, and intelligent. The catch is that the results sound exactly like that as well. Long before sampling was invented, he layered tracks of deep basslines, echoes, and reverb with various self-recorded sound sequences – often played in reverse - on top of, into, and beneath each other. In other words, Perry was the first producer who made the music instead of the band. Among other things, this earned him the title ‘Salvador Dali of Dub.’
High Focus Records are proud to present the latest collaboration from Verb T & Illinformed. ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ both continues and completes the trilogy that began back in 2015, with ‘The Man with the Foggy Eyes’, before broadening the horizons with last year’s release ‘The Land of the Foggy Skies’. This final chapter returns to the same conceptual landscape as its predecessors, but also sees Verb T & Illinformed returning to a more classic approach to album making. In spite of its concept, the Foggy Trilogy is something of a personal outpouring for Verb T, with the original aim being to vicariously discuss the trials and tribulations that play a part in his life, including his struggles with chronic illness and the feeling of alienation from leaving his hometown, while also reflecting on the state of the world as a whole. Their approach to making the album meant taking it back to the most natural form, where the idea for the track would be outlined, Illinformed would make the beat, Verb T would write to it and then they would tweak and adjust accordingly. The result is 19 of the most finely crafted tracks to emerge from the UK shores this year. As with the previous albums, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ finds Illinformed moving away from the more rugged sound that has shrouded the British scene over the last few months, thanks to his collaborations with the likes of Datkid and Wish Master, instead providing Verb T with an arguably more mellow backdrop. From the string and piano driven introduction on ‘Legacy’, to the blissful head-nod vibes of the closing track, ‘Blind Faith’, the union between beats and rhymes sits at the perfect level. The album also boasts one of the most impressive guestlists of the year, one that is very much a product of both players’ worlds. Thanks to Illinformed’s Bristol connection, there are features from the likes of Res One, Datkid, Leaf Dog, Smellington Piff and Chillman, as well as some locally sourced cuts from DJ Rogue. While on Verb T’s side of the fence, we have features from Rye Shabby and Moreone, along with a collaboration that reignites the same creative spark he found in his early days, as King Kashmere steps into the booth on Feeling Strange. All in all, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ does exactly what it sets out to do, by drawing the trilogy to a close while also providing insights into Verb T’s personal world and the world at large. The fact that it also happens to be one of the strongest rap albums of the year is the icing on the cake
The process of making this mini-album “anaiis & Grupo Cosmo” was truly life-altering for me. It changed my approach to making music and really brought me back to the roots of what creation is about. I went to Salvador for a month-long artist residency in February 2020 and during that time, I not only fell in love with Brasil’s culture and music, but I also wrote “Toda Cor” with the wonderful Luedji Luna. A few years later, I reached out Biel who’d co-produced “Estrela Acesa” with Sessa to see if they’d be interested in re-developing “Toda Cor” with me. They were enthusiastic and we fully reproduced the record in December, remotely. The connection between us all was electric and it felt like there was a collective enthusiasm for creating more together so I flew out to Brasil in April 2023 to continue this exploration. The beauty behind this record really lies in the experience of making it. We all stayed together in Biel’s house in Ilhabela for a week with Cabral, who co-produced the record with us and plays bass. We would go to the beach, eat communally, share stories, be around the kids, but then spend most of the days creating and jamming together. Each day we would record our songs live to tape, not a computer in the room. By the end of the week we had this album. It was refreshing to make music in this way. The music and approach really held us in that moment and gave us a chance to create freely, in a big moment of transition in our lives in a way that truly embraces imperfection, spontaneity, just very human.
'Double Seven, released by Trojan in late 1973, was the last album Lee 'Scratch' Perry would release on the label for some considerable time, and it was essentially the final album project he put together before establishing his own Black Ark studio. Opening track 'Kentucky Skank' sets the tone with a slow creeper whose frying sounds underscore its role as a praise song to the Colonel's KFC recipes; the cosmic Moog blips come courtesy of Ken Elliott at Camden's Chalk Farm studio, also prominently featured on U-Roy's double-tracked, stereo-panned gambling ode 'Double Six.' David Isaacs' 'Just Enough' was cut a few years prior, which makes it slightly out of phase with the rest of the set, though the enigmatic 'In The Iaah' sounds mightily fresh, with its uncredited chorus said to come courtesy of the Wailers. Perry's own 'Jungle Lion' has hilarious roars from the maestro at the start, strangely grafted atop a reggae re-make of Al Green's 'Love and Happiness.'
'Overall, Double Seven melds the soul, funk, reggae and dub elements that were constant in Perry's work during this phase. His enhanced audio spectrum and endless reference points would keep his music continually apart from that made by his peers.'
—David Katz (excerpt from the liner notes)
180g Heavy double vinyl LP with liner notes by Tyran Grillo. Limited Japanese Obi for the first pressing. Original artwork by Russell Mills and photography by Jean-Baptiste Mondino.
The third Time Capsule is a body of dub reinterpretations by celebrated producer Bill Laswell of Ethiopian singer Gigi. Curated by Tokyo record collector, music researcher and seasoned reissue supervisor Ken Hidaka, it is the first time Illuminated Audio is pressed to vinyl after its CD release in 2003.
Ejigayehu Shibabaw was born in 1974 in Chagni, northwestern Ethiopia and by pursuing a career as a singer, went against her father’s strict, traditional gender roles. As Gigi, she embraced the same musical freedom she had strived for in her personal life, incorporating the Ethiopian church, funk, hip-hop, West and South African music into her work. She first settled in Nairobi, then Addis Ababa, where she quickly established herself as one of the city’s leading singers. A move to San Francisco in 1998 led to a long and fruitful creative partnership with bassist and producer Bill Laswell.
Around the same time, Chris Blackwell had stepped away from Island Records to start the art house film company and label Palm Pictures. He took an interest in Gigi and together with Laswell, pulled together an all-star cast of musicians for her self-titled US debut album, including Herbie Hancock, Pharoah Sanders and Wayne Shorter. It won international critical acclaim, not just for its musicianship but for making Gigi a “defining voice for the Ethiopian expatriate community”, as journalist Tyran Grillo praises in his Time Capsule liner notes. From the nation-defining 1896 victory over Italian invaders to the quiet revolutionaries who wear simple shemma garments, Grillo believes the themes in Gigi make it “a shower of sunlight on her homeland for those ignorant of its struggles.”
After its success, Blackwell encouraged them to go back into the studio to rethink the album and Illuminated Audio was born. “Anyone can make a voice sound worldly”, Grillo remarks, “but rare are those who can make one sound inner-worldly.” Gigi was clear with Laswell to give her vocals a minor role “because it’s already been done.” Instead her Amharic verse is fleeting, exhaling through the textures like ghostly fragments; soaring yet muted. Yet the album is still titled under her name, an assertion by Laswell of her central role in the album’s creation. Not only was it a fully endorsed project by Gigi, but she would be present throughout its development, giving feedback on half-finished ideas as Laswell played them back in the studio. “It works perfectly”, she reflected after the album’s release. “We wanted to capture the whole spirit of each track, and Bill’s remixes create a different music language that really puts you in a pleasant place”.
This new vocabulary takes its lead from a technical approach that Laswell had been perfecting during a furtive creative period at the turn of the millennium. Much like his ambient interpretations of Miles Davis (Panthalassa, 1998), Bob Marley (Dreams of Freedom, 1997), and Carlos Santana (Divine Light, 2001), Laswell approached Illuminated Audio by returning to the original multitrack masters. Gigi wasn’t just reworked, but recomposed into an expansive lattice of instruments, submerged in a watery ambience of dub and trance undercurrents.
Sonically, this new language that Gigi refers to, is manifested by the original album’s more understated parts being pushed to the fore. Explaining his contrasting methods, Laswell saw Gigi as being “put together in a way that fits”. Contrastingly, in Illuminated Audio, “a lot of things that I featured in the remix weren’t as audible in the original.” Instrumentation laying near-dormant, deep in the mix, are brought to the fore: the acid rock guitar and Wayne Shorter’s saxophone on ‘Tew Ante Sew’, Graham Haynes’ flugelhorn on ‘Nafekeñ’, Laswell’s bass on ‘Kahn’, the melodica in Mengedegna or the floating synths and talking drums in ‘Gud Fella’.
Brought to his attention by mentor DJ Nori, Hidaka describes Illuminated Audio as a “masterful sonic exploration into ethereal ambience and dub” and made sure this reissue also contained a full remaster to give its “deep musicality” much better dynamics and density in the overall sound. Hidaka admits that Laswell's music “is sometimes so out-there, it is often misunderstood” and, indeed, to dub album non-believers this might seem like a prolific producer imposing himself on another artist’s work; eternally developing rearrangements that never quite get to its destination. But that’s missing its true power and triumph. This is more than the reissue of a remix, but “a wholly unique musical entity”, as Hidaka describes. Illuminated Audio refers to the illuminated manuscripts that comprise the major part of Ethiopian art and its new compositions stand in proud solitude as a rare body of reworks that both informs and enhances their originals.
"Tre" is the new long-awaited 12-track album by The Dining Rooms out for Schema after two lps on the research label Milano2000, "Subterranean Modern" and "NumeroDeux" and a lot of appearances on the most important atmospheric-downtempo compilations. 12 tracks and 2 videos to be precise (Maria Arena is the brillant filmaker working with TDR). 12 elements redefining the borders of TDR music, drawing inspiration from Jazz, Africanism, Hip-Hop, House, Soul with true eclectism. "Tre" is a turning point in the history of TDR and represent a sort of change of perspectives.
Two years in the making, “Talk About It” delivers on all the hype and promise of Blimes and Gab's 20-million-view YouTube sensation “Come Correct,” which blew up the Internet. (It’s included here as a vinyl-only bonus song on side D!) Hip-hop heavyweights Method Man, Jay Park, Bahamadia, and Iamsu! each drop by for features. The song “Feelin It” appeared on HBO’s Insecure. Single "Hot Damn" was featured in the soundtrack for the movie Cut Throat City. Uproxx Music named "Talk About It" one of their top albums of the year. Billboard says “Blimes and Gab drip with pure swagger: Seducing the listener with entrancing melodies and hot-and-heavy lyrics,” while Variety describes “Feelin It" as "the perfect summer song.” This deluxe double LP is pressed on yellow and black vinyl and includes liner notes by Miss Casey Carter. Only 500 individually numbered copies have been made.
Vinyl Packaging: Gatefold LP + download card. Indie Exclusive Transparent Orange vinyl in gatefold jacket Limited to 1000. CD 6 panel Digipak. Gnosis is the highly anticipated 8th full length from Russian Circles. Across the span of their previous seven studio albums, Chicago-based instrumental trio Russian Circles traversed a diverse topography of sounds, moods, and approaches with their limited armory of drums, bass, and guitar. It’s difficult to chart an evolution in their sound when their records have always felt like well-curated playlists. It wasn’t uncommon to hear drone-heavy meditations, dazzling prog exercises, knuckle-dragging riff-fests, haunting folk ballads, and tension-baiting noise rock all within the span of one album. Still, it’s difficult to ignore the progression from the pensive and intricate melodies of Enter (2006) to the layered distorted dirges of Blood Year (2019). It’s been a gradual sonic shift owing to the band’s rigorous tour schedule and a predilection towards playing their more authoritative material on stage. But with their latest album, Gnosis, Russian Circles eschew the varied terrain of their past work and bulldoze a path through the most tumultuous and harrowing territory of their sound. As was the case for so many artists in the age of COVID, the obstacles of geography and isolation forced Russian Circles to reevaluate their writing process. Rather than crafting songs out of fragmented ideas in the practice room, full songs were written and recorded independently before being shared with other members, so that their initial vision was retained. While these demos spanned the full breadth of the band’s varied styles, the more cinematic compositions were ultimately excised in favor of the physically cathartic pieces. Gnosis was engineered and mixed by Kurt Ballou. Drums and bass were tracked at Electrical Audio in Chicago to maximize the natural room sounds of the rhythm section. Guitar and synth overdubs were conducted at God City in Salem, MA to take advantage of Ballou’s vast inventory of amps and effects pedals. Despite the entirety of the album being written remotely, the songs were recorded with the full band playing together to retain the live feel of the material. Owing to the climate of the times and a new writing method, Russian Circles created their most fuming and focused work to date—an album that favors the exorcism of two years’ worth of tension over the melancholy and restraint that often colored their past endeavors. European Co-Headline tour with Cult of Luna slated for Marc 2023 (Dates TBA). Russian Circles have received coverage from most notable press including Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, FADER, AV Club, Consequence, Decibel, Revolver and much more.
An absolute, hard-charging funk hammer from the Dap-Kings - an incredible instrumental co-written and co-produced by Dapper Bosco Mann and Kenny Dope! If "Nervous Like Me" has a title that reflects some kind of apprehension, the track is anything but! It's simply pummeling - with a rhythm that kicks out from some stealth bongo and rolling trap that build into some playful guitar and bass response until the horns crash and boom! The beats on the flip isolate the funky drums, providing a sizzling beat track.
The first Jet Set series is back in print and now repressed on colored vinyl. St. Louis producer Bonus Points scores high with Off Topic, an outstanding four-song EP for the Cold Busted label. With previous appearances on Chillhop Records, Sundae Sauuce, Horizon, and others, Bonus Points delivers a dazzling take on boom-bap beats and future funk. Bonus Points is a graphic designer by day and, in turn, his musical compositions reflect attention to color, form, and detail. These beats are visual. The release’s title cut opens things with a spacey intro before delving into some serious sunshine lounge vibes. A cool breeze wafts through these melodies. “Zoned Out” follows with a distant, romantic guitar and a lonesome, pensive feeling that’s perfect for seaside pondering. Next up is the old-timey jazz bop of “Coffee Lounge,” recalling the St. Louis swing of yesteryear over some phat beats. Off Topic closes with “Back And Forth
The Nu’rons were a family group consisting of two sets of brothers and cousins, the four young men in question being brothers Daryl Howard and Raymond Gibson (Daryl’s mother registered him under his father’s surname of Howard and Raymond under her maiden name of Gibson) together with Otho Bateman and Charles Bateman. They were all born and raised in Salem, New Jersey and from the age of ten and eleven began singing with a fifth member and Gibson brother Rudolph as a group called The Gospel 5. They eventually decided to crossover to secular music and as a group known for their energetic dance routines they came up with the new performing name of ‘The Nu’rons’ (taken from the word ‘Neuron’ which is a cell that transmits nerve impulses). However Rudolph was soon to leave the group due to physical illness. Also Daryl Howard and Charles Bateman had also been part of a working group known as The Devotions prior to becoming The Nu-Ron’s.Following hours of practice The Nu’rons eventually felt confident enough to put their own shows together and began to perform at local dances and parties around New Jersey and Philadelphia, often being used as a non-paid warm up act for bigger named artists. They moved between several different managers including Jimmy Bishop (Duo Dynamic Productions) until they came under the tutelage of WDAS radio DJ Georgie Woods (his wife Gilda, being the owner of the Philadelphia Gil, Dion and Top & Bottom record Labels). It was Georgie who introduced them to Manny Campbell who in turn invited them to an audition at his and partner Charles Bowen’s Emandolynn Music studio in Chester P.A. The song The Nu’rons chose to audition with was the self penned “I’m A Loner”, the audition went well, as during late January/early February of 1970 Manny and Charles took The Nu’rons into the Sigma Sound Studio’s with Tom Bell and the TSOP musicians to record “I’m A Loner” and “All My Life” which was released on the Nu-Ron label in April of the same year. The two studio takes presente don this release came short after the band moved on from the collaboration with producer Emanuel Campbell to take music matters in their own hands. Beside recording "Disco Hustle" to be part of the disco boom in Philly of the times, they recorded also “You Came Thru”, a rough yet beautiful heavy bassline driven soul funk recording, and the just amazing “Hurry Up Tomorrow”, here presented in one of the original Studio takes.
Premier release of the Never before released iconic, cult & paramount original holy grail soundtrack recording for the action packed partisansploitation movies and TV series - Otpisani and Povratak otpisanih (The written offs & The return of the written offs). This music composed by Milivoje Markovic and recorded in 1972 & 1976 represents the epitome for original Jazz Funk music recorded in ex-Yugoslavia. The series had people glued to their television screens awaiting for their own ‘Inglorious basterds’, the Belgrade guerilla group, to appear gunning down nazis by the hundreds - backed by an original deep funk soundtrack.
Genesis' Foxtrot is the band's fourth studio album, released in 1972. Regarded as one of the seminal albums of the progressive rock genre, it marked a significant milestone in Genesis' discography.
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine says Foxtrot is where where Genesis began to pull all of its varied inspirations into a cohesive sound. The startling thing about the opening "Watcher of the Skies" is that it's the first time that Genesis attacked like a rock band, playing with a visceral power, he writes, giving the album a 5-star review.
"There's might and majesty here, and it, along with 'Get 'Em Out by Friday,' is the truest sign that Genesis has grown muscle without abandoning the whimsy. Certainly, they've rarely sounded as fantastical or odd as they do on the epic 22-minute closer "Supper's Ready," a nearly side-long suite that remains one of the group's signature moments. It ebbs, flows, teases, and taunts, see-sawing between coiled instrumental attacks and delicate pastoral fairy tales. If Peter Gabriel remained a rather inscrutable lyricist, his gift for imagery is abundant, as there are passages throughout the album that are hauntingly evocative in their precious prose." — AllMusic
This is the rare art-rock album that excels at both the art and the rock, and it's rightly celebrated for its enduring impact on the progressive rock genre, making it an essential listen for Genesis fans.
Analogue Productions has given Foxtrot the deserving full reissue treatment: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering and cut at 45 RPM. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.
Djrum's first release since 2019, the Meaning’s Edge EP is an introduction to a whole new world. For the artist also known as Felix Manuel, it was created in the final stretches of six rather traumatic years work. Having carefully honed his techniques and aesthetics, and learned some hard-won emotional lessons over this time, finally he began to work in a quicker, lighter fashion – and to cleanse his palate a little by bringing in a fresh ingredient: his own flute playing. For listeners, though, it will serve as an appetiser, a way into the delights and complexities of this new phase of his creativity.
It’s a serious work in its own right, mind. The use of flutes – including Bansuri, Shakuhatchi, Western Classical, and synthesised all blending and blurring into one another – gives it a coherence and a sense of airiness that unites the five tracks over half an hour, however divergent their beats get. And as in all his music, Felix’s whole life is in here. Ethnomusicology studies, untold hours of DJing everywhere from the gnarliest squat raves to the most rarefied deep house clubs, explorations of his own neurological and emotional makeup, and the technical finesse of someone who is never not creating music or art, all roll into an experience that’s dazzling, delightful and keeps on giving.
Just the opening track ‘Codex’ alone touches on OG dubstep, Aphex Twin-like braindance, post-classical exploration, movie themes and more. The gentle tones and melodies that rise up out of it perfectly conjure Felix’s running theme of a protective bubble that provides a sense of safety and tranquillity even as the beats and acid gurgles and spurts all around it conjure up the slings and arrows of life’s difficulties.
The tone set, the EP moves through ultra-rarefied glass-like percussion in an almost ambient setting, hints of grime’s counterintuitive patterns, and even more hectic patterns influenced by Tanzania’s hyperspeed singeli style of dance music – but always with that perfect balance of chaos and control, unpredictability and protection. It rewards playing and replaying endlessly, it’s a profound and often joyous experience… and it’s only just the beginning. This is the return of a master craftsperson more focused than ever on his vision and vocation and ready to blow your mind all over again.
Mastered and cut on 140g black vinyl by legendary mastering engineer Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, London. Pressed at optimal media, Germany.
Manchester-based producer Lily Mumby, the creative force behind Lapalace, has chosen Lavender as her botanical muse for this sixth instalment. Like the aromatic herb that grows from tiny seeds to fragrant purple stalks, her compositions unfold with a similar patience and elegance. Her synthesisers breathe with a natural rhythm, creating textures that emerge and recede like morning dew on lavender buds waiting to bloom.
The standout track ‘new age night’ – a stunning love child of William Basinski's decaying tape loops and Aphex Twin's intricate programming—carries subtle lavender-inspired tones, balancing the plant's calming essence with hypnotic rhythms. Just as lavender requires thoughtful tending before rewarding the gardener with its distinctive aroma, Lapalace's landscapes reveal deeper complexities with each listen.
Much like gardening itself, Mumby demonstrates an innate understanding of when to intervene and when to allow natural development. This approach echoes throughout her career, from her debut EP "Ephemera" which caught the attention of Insult to Injury Records' Timothy Clerkin, through to her contributions to Chez De Milo's "So It Goes" Remix EP and Manchester label Skiptrace's various artists compilation.
Her work across BBC Introducing and fossil.radio reflects this same philosophy – creating environments where sound, space, and organic movement find their natural harmony. But this composition really feels that Mumby has come of age. "Music To Watch Seeds Grow By Vol. 6" represents the continued cultivation of Lapalace's distinctive sound and demonstrates the maturity of an artist way beyond her years. This music stands as a lighthouse through a thick fog of nostalgia, much like lavender standing tall amidst an English cottage garden.
Early DJ support including - Auntie Flo, Ruf Dug, Courtesy, Vladimir Ivkovic.
Known for his deep, melodic sound and genre- blending approach, Bop enlists the vocal talents of DRIIA and Doktor, alongside a collaboration with bass music specialist Chime. 'Cravings' sets the tone with lush melodies and deep atmospherics and a hypnotic vocal. Minimal yet powerful, this is some of Bop's drum & bass work at its finest. The second track on the EP, 'Siren Eyes', sees DRIIA's ethereal toplines intertwine with Doktor's signature dancehall energy. DRIIA, a rising star in the electronic scene, has been named one of BBC Radio 1's Future Stars for 2024, while Doktor's powerhouse vocals have graced multiple collaborations with the likes of Chase & Status, Sigma, and Friction.
'Dormant' brings a fresh twist with Leeds- based producer Chime who's influence injects a unique blend of melody and weight, crafting an immersive soundscape through mind- boggling sound design. Closing the EP, 'Fungification' dives into Bop's garage influences. Weighty and stepping, expect intricate rhythms, evolving textures and an absolute bouncer of a bassline.
