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On Air is the second solo release by Alan Parsons following the split of The Alan Parsons Project. One of the creative forces was APP long-time guitarist Ian Bairnson. The concept of the album revolves around the history of airborne exploration.

The theme of “Too Close to the Sun” is escaping the labyrinth of the Minotaur. “Brother Up In Heaven” is an emotionally driven song, about the unfortunate death of Ian Bairnson’s cousin. “One Day To Fly” is a song about Leonardo da Vinci’s search to design a flying machine.

A who’s-who of lead vocalists are featured on this album; Christopher Cross, Eric Stewart, Neil Lockwood, Steve Overland and Graham Dye. The amazing looking artwork was recreated for this vinyl edition by none other than Peter Curzon of Storm Studios.

Although On Air might be the most underrated Alan Parsons albums, many consider this as one of his best albums. On Air turns 25 in 2021. This is a limited 25th anniversary edition on transparent vinyl. The package includes an insert with lyrics and pictures.

The rare French metal cult album finally reissued and bundled together with ten tracks taken from demo tapes. With extensive liner notes by Olivier ‘Zoltar’ Badin. One of mid-80’s heavy-metal characteristics was how it didn’t bother mincing with words. KREATOR had an album called Pleasure To Kill, IRON MAIDEN were celebrating killers and a certain number of the beast, METALLICA introduction letter to the world was bluntly titled Kill’em All, DESTRUCTION was called, well, DESTRUCTION and were promising us an ‘infernal overkill’ or, worst, a ‘bestial invasion from hell’ etc. Plain, simple, direct, in one word: METAL. And in a way, you could use that one single word to describe ADX debut. From its title Exécution (that doesn’t require much translation does it?) to its striking artwork or, of course, its galloping music, it turned overnight the rest of the other wise vibrant French heavy metal scene into old farts stuck in the past.

With a 20-year-experience each in the music production, Digital Cut & Dance Soldiah are joining forces for an ambitious project entitled “Kensei/Sensei Riddim”, supported by Canna France, to be released on June 18, 2021. This double “One Riddim” album brings together 21 international artists of 6 different nationalities on 20 titles. The project is built on an innovative concept as 10 tracks are from female artists and the other 10 from male artists. Equality and parity is the essential value placed at the center of this new project.

Women are represented by the artists Khalia, Denyque, LMK, Sophia Squire, Thaïs Lona & Myriam Sow, Queen Omega, Ikaya, SumeRR, Bad Gyal Jade, Nattali Rize & Minori and men by Pressure, Jah Vinci, Blacko, Million Stylez, Skarra Mucci, Turbulence, Stranjah Miller, Riflah and Charly B.

The complementary sounds of the 2 instrumentals (or "riddims") will delight all Reggae/Dancehall fans and purists. The artwork is signed by the artist KAMO, one the French leader in manga culture, who created 2 original illustrations for the occasion.

The first music video taken from the project was released in February 2021 with the track “No Better Day” by Jamaican rising star Khalia. The track is already airplayed on radios in more than 40 countries around the world and is set to become a real hit in Jamaica. The second single highlights the French female artist LMK with a beautiful video shot in Colombia. The entire album will then be released on June 18, 2021 and more music videos will follow !

Roy Montgomery, a pioneer of the NZ underground, believes there is
always new sonic terrain to investigate. His latest series of albums for
Grapefruit marks forty years of rigorous exploration in which he’s
managed to navigate disparate genres, scenes, and atmospheres, always
at the forefront of experimental independent music. To commemorate,
Grapefruit will be releasing four new Montgomery albums in 2021.
The first installment, Island Of Lost Souls, arrived to great acclaim
in January. The second and latest album, His Best Forgotten Work,
features Montgomery’s rare, brooding vocals across nine gorgeous
tracks recorded from his home in Christchurch, New Zealand.
His Best Forgotten Work follows the intense, all-instrumental Island
Of Lost Souls. It departs in spirit with darkly buoyant variations on
popular songs, including two highly anticipated covers of legendary
songs by The Carpenters (“Superstar”) and Tim Buckley (“Song To
The Siren”). Montgomery shows the listener that these influences
aren’t such strange bedfellows after all; one need only listen closely.
Where some might be inclined to relax and lean into their legacy
at this stage in a sprawling career, Montgomery’s new music
continues to seek and challenge. His compositions are beautiful as
well as disconcerting, and often speak to precarity and dread. His Best
Forgotten Work is a title with tongue planted firmly in cheek, alluding
to the artist’s position of enjoying a peculiar bit of fame in relative
obscurity. But listening to his dry wit and rich voice, one will find it
isn’t easily forgotten.

One of the most significant collections in Trojan’s immense catalogue, the ‘The Trojan Story’ album dramatically changed the perception of Jamaican music among the general British public outside of the country’s Afro-Caribbean population.

Prior to its release in 1971 there had never been an attempt to present a comprehensive anthology of the island’s musical development, with vintage ska, rock steady and reggae widely regarded as obsolete and of precious little merit.

The treble disc set, which became an instant best-seller, had been the brainchild of Trojan’s label manager and Black Music fan, Rob Bell, who, assisted by Trojan stalwarts, Dandy, Webster Shrowder and Joe Sinclair, produced arguably the most significant Jamaican music retrospectives of all time.

Now, 50 years following its original release, this hugely influential album has been revisited by Bell, along with reggae musician, Rusty Zinn, who have succeeded in improving what was already an almost perfect collection.

Presented in the original eye-catching artwork, the set is further enhanced by a highly illustrated 50-page booklet in which Bell relates the stories behind the release and the 50 tracks featured on the compilation.

Reissued for the first time.
Double vinyl that includes their critically acclaimed and highly sought after debut album ‘Glasshouse’ from 1985 and the 1986 follow up ‘Simplicity’. Presented in a gatefold sleeve adorned with the artwork from the Glasshouse EP, which features in the Prints & Drawings collection at the Victoria & Albert Museum.
With printed inner sleeves and a download code for all 31 tracks on the double CD. Including all tracks from the singles and EP’s plus unreleased recordings
Pressed on colour vinyl. Disc 1 is Purple. Disc 2 is Gold.

Formed in Barnsley in 1981. Party Day, with their bass led rhythms and sharp powerful drums gigged extensively and released their debut single ‘Row The Boat Ashore’ in 1983.
Their brand of Post-Punk Indie Rock with Gothic overtones soon got the attention of DJ John Peel and sold out almost immediately.
The follow up single ‘Spider’ from 1984 again received extensive airplay from John Peel and received rave reviews from the national music press. “Mouthy pellets of malevolence” NME “Excellent punk junk howl” Sounds.
Their self released debut album ‘Glasshouse’ was released in 1985 to glowing reviews and has gained popularity over the years. Now very collectable, it exchanges hands for big money on the second hand market.
The Glasshouse EP followed later in 85 heralding a more commercial approach and widening appeal.
Their second album ‘Simplicity’ was released in 1986
“Proving that they’ve grasped more than an inspirational nettle, the recurrent throb finds their trousers igniting during the quite punctilious rawk of the title track, the urgent prodding of ‘Career’, which reminded me uncomfortably of early Killing Joke and the attractive, though slightly over-wrought black sheep, ‘Glorious Days’, which could have brought a lump to Mario Lanza’s trousers.”
Party Day Split in 1987.

80’s Thrash Metal in the vein of early Slayer, Sepultura and Sodom. Completely dedicated to old school horror movies! Video Nasty is a Thrash/Death/Speed Metal project from Calgary/Vancouver, Canada started by Jordan Schritt. Jordan wanted to start a project which lyrically dealt with all of the 70’s/80’s/90’s slasher/horror movies he adored. This together with furious Metal was the perfect combination. He started to compose a bunch of songs and wrote lyrics to these songs that were all tied to one specific movie per song. Once he gathered enough material to record an EP Jordan asked a few friends to participate in this project. He also made sure that the artwork for this EP was perfect for the content. All in all this EP rages and rips as gruesomely as all the movies the lyrics were based on. Furious 80’s Thrash Metal with lyrics comprised of all the filth that deranged moviemakers came up with.

For SIS005 we are honoured to reissue 2 slammers from one of our favourite ever artists, Thomas P. Heckmann along with remixes from the Uk’s finest Clouds and October.

There’s acid, driving drums, dark entities and broken beat madness on this one.

Support from: Helena Hauff & More

Salford-based choreographer, MC, poet and performer Blackhaine, and Hull-born contemporary artist Richie Culver join forces on DID U CUM YET / I'M NOT GONNA CUM, a two-track 20 minute audiovisual project released by UK record label and creative studio Participant. The release is an extension of Richie Culver's now infamous canvas work ‘DID U CUM YET?’, itself a wry reference to the inherently masturbatory act of posting art on social media.

Having destroyed the original painting and released a 300 page book featuring the vitriolic Instagram comments received in response to the original piece, DID U CUM YET / I'M NOT GONNA CUM is a sonic extension of the Instagram project gone rogue, the coming together of two artists that share working-class roots and a commitment to low culture, as well as a belief in thev transcendent potential in creative expression. Each artist has one leg planted firmly in Northern soil and both are united in their unflinching focus on England’s liminal spaces.

Accompanying the EP is a film, assembled by British/Belgian filmmaker William Markarian-Martin. Recently nominated for Best International Music Video at the 67th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, the film weaves together footage gathered in the UK towns of Preston and Salford, shot in an underground carpark ‘to represent a kind of purgatory’, as if the artist has fallen through the pavement into a hellish place.

Blue Vinyl

We continue our sonic adventure with Blovk, producer and sound designer from Madrid, he has refined his musical idea with his peculiar way of understanding techno and electronic music in general.
Releasing on labels such as Awry, Subosc, Postdynamic, Subsist, Doppt Zykkler, MainConcept… and his own imprint, Outside Noises.
In our XL series we want to showcase every corner of our artists’ sound spectrum. We are not just commited to raw and direct dancefloor weapons, we are also aiming the mind of the listener.
To make attemporal electronic music is one of our objectives and this record in particular deserves a place in the list of music to be played loud when all this nightmare finishes.
First cut on wax is Of sleep and tears, an emotional title that describes a dronney atmospheric introduction. Beatless, textured, full of resonant details and space wind.
Pouring Flesh brings the beat to the scene with a clear bass drum and a shuffled bassline setting the patch to martian synth noises and stereo details, all enclosed in an intelligent structure full of subtle twists and hypnosis. The thinking hand combines synthetic details with precise beats on a progressive arrangement.Elements come into action wisely, pulsating electronic grooves fighting with floaty elements make the recipe. Fluids above the skin open the B side in a darker mood. Heavy sub bass action and profound synthesizer lines setting the mood for what comes next.
Shedding machines acts as an ambient interlude in similar coordinates as the first cut in this mini LP.
Closing the release Fluent Gods, an electrified mental dance workout using a similar sound palette as the previous ones. Detailed and precise sound design ranging from sharp asymmetrical sequences, ethereal textures and profuse bass frequencies.
Music by Blovk, text by Hd Substance

Since first emerging in the latter half of the noughties, Guillaume Metenier’s Soul Sugar project has evolved considerably. Initially a trio built around the virtuoso organist’s love of ‘60s and ‘70s soul-jazz and Hammond funk – Metenier studied under jazz organ legend Dr Lonnie Smith – Soul Sugar is now a collaborative collective that draws just as much influence from classic Jamaican dub and reggae as the works of Jimmy Smith and Jimmy McGriff.

The outfit’s musical evolution comes into sharp focus on Excursions in Soul, Reggae, Funk & Dub, a collection of hard-to-find tracks that have been released at different points, and on different vinyl formats, over the last three years. Taken as a whole, the set offers a stunning snapshot of Soul Sugar’s rapidly expanding catalogue of classics. Metenier is once again at the controls but this time round Soul Sugar’s cast list of contributing musicians includes Sly & Robbie, Blundetto, Lone Ark, Slikk Tim, Thomas Naim and honey-voiced soul singer Leo Carmichael. Metenier also stars as a musician, providing lively and ear-catching organ solos under his now familiar Booker Gee alias.

What’s most noticeable from the off is the richness of the reggae riddims, the warmness of the instrumentation and the effortlessly soulful nature of the music. This is particularly evident on the collective’s stunning covers of Luther Vandross’s "Never Too Much" and Marvin Gaye’s "I Want You": effortlessly sunny and life-affirming interpretations that re-imagine the tracks as sumptuous slabs of reggae-soul and provide a platform for Leo Carmichael’s inspiring and comforting voice. Metenier and friends’ take on dub reggae – toasty, authentically bass-heavy and seeped in analogue effects – can also be admired on "Matumbee" and "Cool Down", the latter a digi-dub influenced affair rich in colourful synths sounds, echoing delay trails and sub-bass so deep it will rattle your teeth. Both also contain lusciously jazzy guitar licks and some incredible keys-work from Metenier.The guiding hand of Spanish multi-instrumentalist and producer Lone Ark can be heard on album opener "Aximites" – think Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry producing Jimmy Smith – and "Faith", an expertly breezy concoction that sports Jackie Mittoo-esque Hammond B3 solos from Metenier over a luscious backing track that sounds like something that may have emerged from Studio One in the mid 1970s. The collective’s love of Studio One is explored further on a sweaty, reggae-funk cover of "Greedy" that features fabulous drums, bass and guitar from Slikk Tim, while "Out In The Rain" is an authentically sparse, spaced-out dub number laden with fluid instrument solos and devilishly heavy riddim.
Part compilation, part artist album, part collaborative celebration of dub-soul fusion, Excursions in Soul, Reggae, Funk & Dub is the strongest statement yet of who Soul Sugar are, and where they’re going.

Clear Vinyl

WRWTFWW Records is happy to announce the release of Para One’s new album SPECTRE: Machines of Loving Grace, available in half speed mastered 180g double lp housed in a heavy sleeve with UV spot varnish. Machines of Loving Grace, the new album by Para One, whose real name is Jean-Baptiste de Laubier could be called fiction. It is an object freed from constraints, formats, genres, territories: the gospel of a new world. Six years after Club, eight years after Passion, his previous LP, this lover of electronic music, who has also been putting his sensitivity to the service of movies (soundtracks for Céline Sciamma in particular) opens with this record a new dimension in his artistic career. “I needed to break away from patterns and systematisms of formats, and take unexpected turns. To do so, I had first to allow myself to do so”. Allow oneself and maybe above all confront oneself – with one’s childhood, with one’s childhood’s ghosts, and what fantasies, ideals, memories, and grey areas they harbor. He had to go back – without giving up on his position as an adult, as a full-fledged artist – to the sources of his imagination, to the moment when music was holding almost mystical power. And then revisit it to make something new out of it. Just like Sanity, Madness & the Family (the feature film directed by Para One that he just finished and of which it is a consubstantial part), Machines of Loving Grace has an investigation around a family secret and the father figure as its starting point. “When you go down the path – of a work, of a person, of the past – you never really find out what was. You find yourself

As a New Era beckons globally, Manchester’s primo Manctalo merchants – Red Laser Records – quietly unveil their latest clutch of specialist space-age kinetics. A fifth-kind encounter enabling users to bridge the continuum of dance & interaction between our Earth-dwelling selves and the inter-dimensional overlords.

Containing three brand new movements in machine music from our treasured production stable of Kid Machine, Bob SwanS and Il Bosco; it also houses an honorary appearance from revered Danish spearhead Flemming Dalum, who serves up a particle-splitting redux of a lesser-known proto-techno nugget from Belgium. Dalum’s been traversing the star-clusters on his own intrepid missions for a while, so we’re mega buzzed to have him back on the RL mothership.

Stretford based synthesizer technician, Bob SwanS has been drafted in specifically by RL head Il Bosco for his advanced skills on the patch bays. “Aphelion Run Theme”, the point of which an object’s orbit is furthest from the Sun, vividly detailing in sound the journey our collective consciousness must undergo in order to reach the Highest Elders. We highly recommend utilising this track alongside Dr. Greer’s outstanding work with extra terrestrials.

KID Machine’s celebratory, vocoder-led Manctalo message: “It’s The K.I.D” is a sonic motif to our interplanetary relatives; this cybernetic b-boy’s way of spray painting the Red Laser logo over Proxima Centauri B’s subway network in neon-blue, pyroxene paint.

Bosco lets loose with one of his most impassioned creations to date too. “We Almost Lost Oddbins” previously titled: “Save Our Scene”, a universe-wide cry for help recorded when worldwide limitations on dancing and human co-exchange were at their most aggressive; its nonetheless positive outlook inviting us all to look both inward and outward for solutions in the New Normal.

Encased within a striking monolith art print, depicting the mystic energies of ancient galaxies it heralds the now widely-accepted belief that we are in no way alone in this universe and that channels of communication between more advanced civilisations than ours have already begun…

Live album by the Swedish supergroup STORMWIND!
This epic and melodic `raw´ live album was recorded at Sweden Rock Festival and has been remastered at redmount studios in Stockholm
Features Sabaton member Joakim Brodén on keyboard!
This is one of the most classic artists in its genre
Crystal clear limited vinyl edition for RSD 2021 (x500 copies)
Featuring members that are/have been active in bands such as; Sabaton, Therion, Hammerfall,
Yngwie Malmsteen, Candlemass, Royal Hunt, Dionysos and more
Re-Mastered by Magnus Lindberg at Redmount Studios (Hellacopters, Alcest, Culf of Luna,
Imperial State Electric, Misery loves Co, Lucifer, Dool, Refused and more…)

ith canceled shows, closed venues and lost incomes, the pandemic was bad news for many music artists. But it wasn't only bad news in 2020, as many artists used their struggle to do what they do best during difficult times: create great music. This is why N.E.W.S. Records, a record company based in Ghent releases 'Bad News. Good News.'. A limited edition vinyl record with great songs that couldn't be played live because of the pandemic. The record itself is made from the ashes of newspapers and magazines containing the bad news that hit the music industry in 2020 (and prevented artists from performing live). As proof that great music always survives bad news, no matter how desperate things can get. To create the records, N.E.W.S. Records worked with And Vinyly, a UK-based company specialized in pressing vinyl records with ashes.

Many artists collaborated on the project and shared their insight on how the bad news happening in the music world influenced their music, like Johannes Genard, lead singer of School is Cool: "The one good thing about bad times is that they open new perspectives on things you've grown accustomed to, and that is exactly our core business as artists: comforting during challenging times; challenging during comfortable times and finding new ways to look at old things."

The compilation contains some exclusives like the Brihang & Compact Disk Dummies 'Steentje / I Remember' mash up, recorded live for 'Week van de Belgische Muziek' and Sam De Nef's cover of the belpop classic 'Satelliet Suzy' recorded for StuBru.

Repress

Punctual like a Swiss watch, Driftmachine presents a new album that once again astounds and delights. We know their trademark: solid mechanical percussions, forceful bass and melodies systematically built around circular patterns. "Spume & Recollection" is the sixth Umor Rex album by the Berlin duo, and what better way to celebrate the label's 15th anniversary than with a new record from the masters of labyrinthine cables and patches. Regarding "Nocturnes" (UR 2014), their debut album, we described their sound as precise and symmetrical, identical concrete blocks mounted and articulated in a random order. Their already obsessive style continued to evolve with their third record, "Colliding Contours" (UR 2016), now pushing further into abstract dub, ultra-tense grooves, and even more kinetic loops, moving further away from conventional musical structures. Between these two albums they released the remarkable "Eis Heauton" (UR 2015), a kind of hypnotic experiment informed by shadowy atmospheres, chance, and an intuitive dialogue with their musical machines, a unique situation in which they acted as bemused observers in hunt for epiphanies, resulting in an exquisite amalgamation of lucid dream-logic and mechanical precision. A one-of-a-kind soundtrack for minute and wordless scenes unfolding in pitch-black back alleys and hidden, alchemical basements. A similar map was explored with "Shunter" (UR 2018), a superb secret meeting between avant-garde phantasmagoria and concrete experimentation. "Radiations" (UR 2017) offered B-sides and bonus tracks, in addition to collaborations with Shackleton and The Sight Below, a kind of preamble that united Driftmachine’s different expressions and leanings.

When Andreas Gerth and Florian Zimmer come up with new material, one listens with high expectation. Looking back on their discography, one could safely anticipate a high quality album densely layered with their familiar leitmotifs. And yet, "Spume & Recollection" takes us by surprise and finds a new way to transfix. Fresh methods and ideas are introduced to their dynamics and formula. Yes, of course, you can still expect a healthy dose of kosmische, which is one of the dominant features in Driftmachine’s DNA; but this is now entwined with novel materials, semi-material patterns of alien code stretching over exhilaratingly tense and detailed grooves, clouds of gas shifting on top of deep dub architecture and blocking out the sun for prismatic effect. Even more of a surprise is the immediate, streamlined nature of these tracks, making "Spume & Recollection" their most accessible record and, perhaps, the most addictive (and this without sacrificing the essential mystery and strangeness at the core of Driftmachine’s sound).

We have previously described their work as post-industrial-dub; right now, we might just call it hypno-music for man and machine to dance and dream together. "Spume & Recollection" takes this concept as far as it can go without breaking, and finds some strange new feelings, and weirdly danceable grooves, to shed some light on this dark and dazzling ride.

All songs written & produced by Andreas Gerth & Florian Zimmer in Berlin Mastered by John Tejada Artwork & Photos by Daniel Castrejón

Rubyworks are pleased to present a vinyl release of 'Marcata', the much-loved 2011 debut album by Dublin rock-trio The Minutes. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of its release. 'Marcata' will be released on a limited edition fluorescent pink vinyl pressing. 'Black Keys' from the album is currently soundtracking a Jameson Whiskey TV advert. 8/10 - The Goes The Fear An underground classic debut from one of Ireland’s loudest - live4ever One of the Top 30 album releases of 2011 - Hot Press. It is as fine a rock record as you'd expect from Ireland, or any other country for that matter - entertainment.ie Artrocker - The greatest rock 'n' roll band in Dublin. **** A cacophonous, confident and crushing slab of authenticity, steeped in the anarchic history of rock 'n' roll – Hot Press “A thundering combination of old school rock 'n roll with modern guitar music. The Minutes have taken their time in getting here and it was worth every second” 8/10 - State.ie **** “You want to bang your head until it and your neck ache” - Irish Daily Mail **** “Loud, energetic and worth the wait” - News Of The World ***1/2 “A melodic and irresistible strut that makes for compelling listening” - Heineken Music *** “This debut booms, bangs and pulsates from the first note. Boiling over with a sense of urgency” - The Sunday Times *** “Fans of straight up, 'classic' rock will find lots to enjoy here” - The Irish Independent “Marcata certainly cements their status as one of the most exciting sounding bands on the scene at the moment” – Goldenplec “Full of raucous thrills and high-voltage riffage” – The Guardian “Authentically gritty, pulse-quickening rock 'n' roll in the grand style” 7/10 – AU magazine “The Minutes’ debut is a classic rock n’ roll album” – We Are Noise “Heavy riffs, urgent vocals, and pounding beats, the way rock'n'roll should be” – The Herald

Marillion’s Trailblazing 1999 ‘Marillion.’ Now Available On
Kscope On Vinyl Marillion formed in 1979 and have since sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Rightly regarded as legends of progressive rock, the band have continued to evolve and have been keen to embrace the possibilities of the internet, using innovative ways to interact with listeners resulting in an incredibly loyal legion of fans around the world.
One early example of this type of forward-thinking online fan-engagement was seen in 1999’s Marillion, which was one of these first internet-based promotions whereby the band asked for fans to send them passport pictures of themselves, resulting in 732 pictures being used to make up the artwork for the slipcase for the record.
With most of the album featuring mixing from Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and the band taking care of the remaining songs, this was the bands last album of the ‘90’s, but just the beginning of a more direct relationship with fans which has since developed and grown.

Spoken word version of Steve Von Till's first poetry book. Limited, one-sided + etched.
Intimate voice recordings with hallucinatory textures and treatments.
Harvestman: 23 Poems Poems & Collected lyrics received wide acclaim establishing Von Till as a poet in his own right.
Side B LP etching artwork by Matzatl
Features stunning linocut artwork by Matzatl on the cover.
In 2020 Steve Von Till published his first book of poetry, Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics. Published by the University of South Dakota’s Astrophil Press, the book established Von Till as a formidable and thoughtful author of verse—a fact that Neurosis fans knew all along, but the wider world was only just becoming aware of.
“There is a depth of hope, acceptance and loss that permeates these poems,” Joseph Haeger said in his review for The Inlander. “Like any great piece of art, Harvestman contains multitudes, and that’s exactly what I was hoping for when I cracked it open. Von Till has already established himself as a great musician, and he’s about to put his stake into the ground proving himself to be a damn good writer.”
For 2021, Von Till has reimagined Harvestman in a new format, delivering an intimate and captivating reading of the collection with sound enhancements. “Being a constant sound-seeker, I thought it would be more interesting to have some textures and treatments to break up the intimate voice recordings,” Von Till says of his decision to add some atmosphere to the spoken-word version of Harvestman. “The background sounds used on some of the tracks were pieces related to No Wilderness Deep Enough that were either not used or repurposed to interweave further connections between my artistic output at this time of my life.”

Melbourne-via-Tasmanian four-piece Quivers first released
their 2018 debut We’ll Go Riding On The Hearses as hand-made
cassettes. The album dealt with singer Sam Nicholson’s loss
of his brother in a freediving accident, and “trying to not think
about that, and often coming back to ghosts, benders, water,
and pissing in the snow.” When demand for the album grew,
it received a vinyl release and led Quivers to tour the US, film
a KEXP session, and be selected by NPR Music for both the
Austin 100 SXSW preview and as a “Slingshot” artist to watch.
Their life-damaged but hopeful jangle pop has only sharpened
since then, and while 2021 follow-up Golden Doubt conjures
up REM or The Clean, there is a lyrical directness that sets this
record apart as always its own.
Golden Doubt is carried by shimmering guitars and the
harmonizing vocals of members Holly Thomas and Bella
Quinlan. Elevated by the production of Matthew Redlich
(Holy Holy, Husky, Ainslie Wills), the record explores what
comes after grief, and how one throws oneself back into love. As
Nicholson explains, the album tries to bottle “the rush of feelings
and fears when you give in to falling for someone. It’s also an
album in love with other albums, and the other bands around
us.” Before each take at Woodstock and The Aviary studios in
Melbourne, Australia, the band would imagine a scene together
(a waterhole for “Laughing Waters”, an overgrown carpark for
“Videostores”) and then dive in to capture live group takes.
Quivers need to get words on the page and sounds out to keep
moving on. Both Nicholson and Thomas lost their brothers in the
same year, and through that shared vulnerability they all have
together that runs deep. Golden Doubt is also a love letter to
playing music as a band and processing it all together rather than
just carrying it as a weight. The cancellation of a 21-date US
tour they had slated for 2020 has left them undeterred; Quivers
plans to continue being a band and get back out into the world
as soon as it’s possible.

A musical omnibus, ‘The Best of Lily Konigsberg Right Now’ is the
first widely distributed Lily Konigsberg physical release, as well as
the first vinyl treatment for EPs ‘Good Time Now’ and ‘4 Picture
Tear’.
The collection loosely parallels the melancholic narrative behind
the latter, where a mental break triggered Konigsberg’s
depersonalized sense of her past self. Of the ‘4 Picture Tear’ EP
Konigsberg says, “I would look at this photo booth picture I took
with Matt Norman and cry because I thought I was looking at the
person I used to be in that picture and that that person was gone.”
In retrospect, these EPs feel like distinctive vignettes of
Konigsberg’s progression as a songwriter, each version of her
past self-tethered by an invisible thread to the present through
musical alliances and fervent introspection.
‘Owe Me’, a song Konigsberg never felt fit on any of her previous
releases, now serves as an opening curtain call. “Thank you all for
coming to my show,” Konigsberg says to an invisible audience’s
applause, “If you didn’t know, now you certainly know.” It’s a
transportive moment that combines Konigsberg’s patient steps into
the underground pop limelight with her exceptional ability to
connect with a diverse and talented cohort of creatives.
One third of egalitarian art-punk outfit Palberta, the Brooklyn-born
and-based Lily Konigsberg has occupied her time with music since
her early childhood. “Basically I was born and immediately started
wanting to be a rock star,” she says.
“Even before she became a fixture of the New York underground,
Lily Konigsberg was staking out her place in local music.” -
Pitchfork (Rising Artist, 2020)
“A crisp, catchy, and concise bit of 90s-indebted indie rock” -
Stereogum
“The freewheeling, flitting melodies underline the precision of
Konigsberg’s songwriting: She knows what she wants to say and
she is methodical about how much to reveal.” - Pitchfork
“Warm and direct but tough to grasp, untraceable” - Tiny Mix
Tapes

Hailed as one of the most prodigious guitarists of his generation, Julian Lage has spent more than a decade searching through the myriad strains of American musical history via impeccable technique and a spirit of infinite possibility. After notable Blue Note appearances on The Nels Cline 4’s Currents, Constellations (2018) and Charles Lloyd’s 8: Kindred Spirits (2020), the acclaimed GRAMMY-nominated artist is poised to make his own Blue Note debut with the June 11 release of Squint. Produced by Margaret Glaspy and Armand Hirsch, the dynamic 11-song set ,featuring 9 originals, showcases both Lage’s remarkable songcraft and adventurous sense of improvisation which takes flight in the company of his trusted trio with bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Dave King (The Bad Plus).

First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome back Children of Zeus with their sophomore album, 'Balance'.

Following the release of their debut album 'Travel Light' in 2018 (which featured in numerous 'Album of the Year' lists), Tyler Daley and Konny Kon spent the next two years extensively touring the UK, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

With shows on ice over the last 12 months, Children of Zeus took the time to mature their sound; 'Balance' is 50 minutes of future-classic British soul music encompassing hip hop, neo-soul, gospel and r&b. Konny's laidback flow once again merges with Tyler's unmistakable buttery vocals across a set of bass-heavy backdrops and smoothed-out keys, taking the blueprint from their debut and evolving it into a deeper, more-refined sound.

As with previous material, the album is largely produced by the duo themselves, though we also see the return of Grammy-winner Beat Butcha, whose previous production credits include Jay Z, Beyonce, Nipsey Hussle, & Griselda (one of Butcha's productions graces first single 'No Love Song'). Title track 'Balance' comes from upcoming producer & Soulection regular, cay caleb and also features the only vocal feature on the album, from rising UK soul talents Akemi Fox and Georgie Sweet.

The Children of Zeus journey began with a mutual love of 90s Manchester pirate radio; consuming hip hop and beats, r&b and street soul, lovers rock and dancehall, garage and bass music. Then followed decades of performing, creating and collaborating in different guises. Over the past few years, the hip hop soul duo have garnered props far and wide; from Jazzie B to Jazzy Jeff. They've done performances for the likes of Soulection and BBC, in addition to hosting their monthly NTS Radio show and collaborating with artists like Black Milk and Goldie.

From travelling light, to travelling nowhere, it's been a time where we've all had to reflect on the lives we lead. This album is about equilibrium; walking the thin line of life and striving to keep your footing firm at all times, ever pushing forward. Balancing the rough with the smooth and the work with the play.

The Children of Zeus sound is now fully grown. It's time to bring 'Balance' into the universe. This is unashamedly big people music to be played out of big speakers. The definitive sound of UK street soul in 2021. The story continues..

Incredible Bongo Band was formed by MGM A&R Michael Viner in 1972 to record the soundtrack to a now virtually anonymous B-Movie entitled 'The Thing With Two Heads'. "The IBB" transformed from a loose studio collective to an instrumental pop covers consortium, interpreting classics of the day in their inimitable percussive fashion. Viner recorded them at MGM studios during downtime, assembling line-ups from whichever musicians were available at the time, leading to a unique blend of multi-talented musicians that included Jim Gordon, King Errisson, Jerry Scheff, and Perry Botkin Jr. The full bands' line-up is shrouded in mystery, but their legacy is undeniable. They spawned cult-classic records that would become a goldmine for hip hop breaks and attain sampling immortality.

'Apache', which was written and made famous by the British band The Shadows, is legendary in the worlds of dance music and hip hop. It was a staple for DJs such as Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash as they invented their world-shaking take on the art of DJing at the Bronx block parties of the ‘70s. Over the years it has become a hip hop and breakers anthem and is revered as 'the break' of all time (at least in the top three) with the rhythms of this LP even helping to coin the term 'breakbeat'.

“Bongo Rock” is significant, for being one of the musical cornerstones of rap ... it is certainly one of the most sampled LP’s in history, if not the most sampled. Almost every history-minded hip-hop DJ has a copy, and the first few bars of “Apache,” can send crowds into overdrive.” According to Kool Herc, the stylistic pioneer many people consider to be the father of hip-hop music, the Bongo’s “Apache” is “the national anthem of hip-hop.” NY Times.

Sampled over 600 times, including... Nas, Beastie Boys, Moby, Mick Jagger, Kanye West, Sugarhill Gang, Jay-Z, Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow, Massive Attack, Ultramagnetic MC’s, Unkle, LL Cool J, 2 Live Crew, 4 Hero, Fatboy Slim, to name a few…

The real story of “The IBB” is far greater than the recordings themselves and ultimately shows how a distinctly powerful musical performance can get the recognition it deserves, no matter how anonymous its origins.

May 28 will see prolific Japanese vibraphonist, multi-percussionist and composer Masayoshi Fujita mark a new sonic direction with his forthcoming album Bird Ambience on Erased Tapes.

Bird Ambience brings several fresh changes for the artist. Until now, Fujita would separate his acoustic solo recordings from the electronic dub under his El Fog alias and experimental improvisations with contemporaries such as Jan Jelinek, Bird Ambience sees him unite all of these different sides to his work for the first time, into one singular vision. He also makes a lateral leap from his signature instrument the vibraphone, on which he created his acclaimed triptych Stories (2012), Apologues (2015) and Book of Life (2018), to the marimba, which takes centre stage on his new album alongside drums, percussion, synths, effectors and tape recorder.

“The way of playing the marimba is similar to the vibraphone, so it was kind of a natural development for me and easier to start with, yet it sounds very different”, explains Masayoshi. “The marimba bars are made with wood and it has a wider range than the vibraphone, which gives me a bigger sound palette with more possibilities. I play the instrument with bows and mallets, and sometimes manipulate it with effects.”

Bird Ambience also marks his liberation from fastidious preparation for past solo releases to new endeavours in improvisation. “I prioritised trying to capture the wonder which happens during those occasional magic improv moments. Sometimes the mic-ing and placement of instruments was pretty rough; things weren’t perfect and everything was done quickly, but it turned out as the final recording. Overall when I
couldn’t decide between two takes, I told myself to go with the first”, Masayoshi recalls.

Arranged with a perfect Kanso-like balance, the unhurried pace of Bird Ambience allows each sound and phrase enough time to be mindfully absorbed and savoured. This subtle but affective work carries ethereal remnants of Midori Takada’s minimalism, the static atmospheres of Mika Vainio, To Rococo Rot’s organics and the bucolic electronics of Minotaur Shock. Fujita vaporises contemporary and classical, ambient and dismantled dub, controlled noise and fragments of jazz into an atmospheric, static mist, which he skilfully coerces into new forms.

After 13 years in Berlin, Masayoshi recently relocated to a new home and studio in the rural Japanese mountain village of Kami-cho, Hyogo, following his life-long dream of creating music in nature. Even though the album was entirely recorded in Germany before he left, it has this palpable sense of reverie found in the natural world. From there we can only imagine the kind of impact his new life in rural West Japan will have on future works.

Arkada records is excited to announce our 3rd release - forthcoming split EP featuring the sounds of Phausis and JFrank.

We are very happy to present the first part of the EP and the sounds of one of a kind underground producer and the man behind Arkada label artowrks Phausis also known under his Dj alias Agent2.

Born in London and raised on a mix of electronica and Detroit techno, Phausis doesn't put his head above ground to release music very often. With the occasional release on Earthlings compilation, acre recordings, Subgrade and the Anti- The Social Network here he presents two rare tracks of electro/acid especially brewed for Arkada records.

Second part of our EP presents the music of the Rome based most talanted electronic music producer JFrank.

Co-founder and Generalissimo at brainstormlab, and master General at Distant Future with well over 10 years of live gigs under his belt, JFrank is well known for his late night dancefloor breaks and has played everywhere from the arthouse to the doghouse – London warehouses and Berlin basements to Spanish squats and Roman ruins – with his special brand of space-age electronics. Along with a broad portfolio of releases, he currently has vinyl out on Pyramid Transmissions, Kaer'Uiks and The Irrational Media Society

On the second chapter of Arkada003 - 2 outstanding Electro/Glitch tracks of Julien which were also produced especially for the release.

What began as a challenge to fight creative stagnation, soon grew into a fully-fledged audio-visual project for Belgian DJ, producer and live artist, Biesmans. Setting himself the goal of making three tracks per week for a month, he re-scored ‘80s pop culture moments – including films, TV shows and games, resulting in a brilliant 12-track work encompassing new wave, indie, dark wave, electro and
disco.
Moving his modular-heavy studio to Berlin in 2014, the ensuring years saw Joris Biesmans drop heat on Correspondent, Disco Halal, AEON, 17 Steps and Future Disco. He’s been a core member of Watergate
family since his arrival in the capital, working as the club’s sound technician. He made his debut on Watergate Records in 2020 with the well-received ‘Electric Love’ EP.
The ‘Planes, Trains & Automobiles’ album took shape in April last year as the lockdown was starting to take grip and Biesmans needed a positive distraction. Ensconced in the music of his childhood and ‘80s
pop cultural fodder, he locked himself in his studio and set about creating, later digging through archival footage to match the music. Biesmans, who previously undertook work scoring films, was so absorbed by the process, he’d sometimes do it in reverse; allowing the vintage media be the guide. Throughout the period, the clips were shared each Monday, Wednesday and Friday on his Instagram, building up a firm following from fans, friends and colleagues. And thus, the project found its wings, developing into an album.
Throughout the dozen tracks, highlights are plentiful; from the neon ambience of the Kraftwerk-inspired ‘ ‘Cosmic Cruise’, which later accompanied a smoky scene between Tom Cruise and Rebecca de Mornay in ‘Risky Business’; the sun-soaked, retro-pop title track, which became the album’s first single, and was paired with a jubilant dance scene from the Breakfast Club; ‘Cold Void’, the album’s second single, which saw Biesmans link up with fellow Belgians Boi Wonder and Tom the Bomb for a dark wave creation built around a heavy guitar solo and set against a backdrop of Blade Runner clips; and the silky electro funk of ‘Another World’ that soundtracks scenes from Miami Vice.
Biesmans explains about ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’: “I started this as a lockdown challenge, in which I would make three tracks per week for a month, alongside providing videos where I re-scored
footage of 80s pop culture moments. Inspired by the movie of the same name, I picked the title because it ties to the theme of ‘mobility’. Our society is based upon being mobile and when Corona hit us, we
could taste a bit of being immobile. As an artist that meant, I could focus on making music 100%. No distractions, no weekend gigs, no parties just making music. This new lifestyle resulted in my first album.
A journey into the past but looking forward to the future, experimenting with other genres and techniques to make a real album that goes beyond club music.”

Athlete Whippet join the Toy Tonics family! The London/Berlin-based duo make a sound that is based on futuristic breakbeats combined with deep, jazz chord progressions and a kind of funk that sounds more like it was made in 2100 then in a year behind us. Definitely not a retro record the Vesta EP is further proof that the connection between London and Berlin that has been build by several Toy Tonics artists (Cody Currie the latest in the gang) is becoming a strong one. The combination of the Berlin dancefloor sound and the UK jazz fusion soul is changing the scene and creating new moods. Neo soul and house, broken beats and disco.. there are lot of things happening in that new world and Athlete Whippet could be a strong player in that new sound.

The 2 guys already achieved great support by UK radio DJs such as Annie Mac and Jamz Supernova for their their first collaborative EP Touch (with Metronomy’s Olugbenga), followed by their 2020 solo EP 'Your Love Is Lifting Me', an ode to compassion and solidarity, and remixes for labels including Rhythm Section.

‘Vesta’ is not just the title track of the EP but also the name of the South London Road where they shared an apartment, built a studio in their living room, and put together the first ideas for this EP.

Both Robin and Avi come from a live performance background, played in bands since their early teenage years before they met studying music at Goldsmiths in London. You can hear a playful live quality throughout the EP. It’s not your average house productions with the usual formalistic patterns, but a very original, very fresh style - hard to copy (but easy to dance to).

Now based between Berlin and London, they collaborate with their friend, Athens-born, Berlin-based artist Aphty Khéa on Yesterday and Can’t Make My Mind Up.

Avi and Robin their label squareglass and a London-residency inviting guests such as Seb Wildblood, Will Saul, Asquith, Anu and also have a monthly show on Rinse FM.

A unique new album of poetry and music featuring Marianne Faithfull set to the music of Warren Ellis, and featuring Nick Cave, Brian Eno and Vincent Ségal
With She Walks in Beauty, Marianne Faithfull with composer and multi-instrumentalist Warren Ellis releases one of the most distinctive and singular albums of her long, extraordinary life and career. It was recorded just before and during the first Covid-19 lockdown – during which the singer herself became infected and almost died of the disease – with musical friends and family including not only composer Warren Ellis but Nick Cave, Brian Eno, cellist Vincent Ségal and producer-engineer Head. She Walks in Beauty fulfils Faithfull’s long-held ambition to record an album of poetry with music.
It’s a record that draws on her passion for the English Romantic poets, a passion she fostered in her A Level studies with one Mrs Simpson at St Joseph's Convent School in Reading. From there she entered the world of As Tears Go By, of Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, Top of the Pops and the left-hand path of pop and stage stardom. Sixties iconography and outrage followed, as did her subsequent battles with addiction before her 1979 return to powerful female and artistic autonomy with Broken English, an album which featured her setting to music Heathcote Williams’ poem of eviscerating rage, Why D’Ya Do It?
Drawing deep on the poetry of Shelley, Keats, Byron, Wordsworth, Tennyson and Thomas Hood, Faithfull’s vocal performances set to Ellis’s subtle collages of sound draw out the heart, the quick, the vibrant living matter in all these great poems, making them fresh, renewing them with the complex, lived-in timbres of her voice, and set to a subtle palette of ambient musical settings. It’s both a radical departure and a return to her original inspirations as an artist and performer.
The greatest poetry is best heard, and Faithfull’s accounts of some of the greatest lyric poetry in our language – Keats’ Ode To A Nightingale and Ode To Autumn – are spine-tingling in their deep understanding of the poetry’s powerful currents of meaning and identification. On Nightingale, her voice opens up like an epic landscape, while in Shelley’s miniature masterpiece, To The Moon, she sounds otherworldly, as if calling down from another medium, and the atonal, otherworldly sound textures provided by Eno on Bridge of Sighs and La Belle Dame Sans Merci become a compelling foil for Faithfull’s haunting interpretations of these rich, dark poems.
“They’ve have been with her her whole life,” says Ellis. “She believes in these texts. That world, she inhabits it, embodies it, and that really comes through. There’s just something about the way she can deliver that is incredibly affecting.”
“Eventually I always end up where I was meant to be,” says Faithfull. “I’ve noticed that. It may take a long time, but I get there. I never forget these things. After all these years, I’ve drawn the strands back and they still mean something and they resonate more, actually, because I now have life experience. Life and near-death experience. Many times! Not just once.” She Walks in Beauty is scheduled for release April 30th, with artwork created for the album by British artist and lifelong friend, Colin Self, and with the full texts of the poems, and commentary, included in the liner notes. While Faithfull continues to recover from the after-effects of Covid-19, and the world around us continues to struggle with the impact of the worldwide pandemic, these are poems and performances to steady and lift the spirit.

Grammy nominated guitarist, composer, and producer, Chuck Loeb has had a musical career that spans over four decades. He was one of the most sought-after jazz recording artists and composer of over
250 published songs.
In 1984 Chuck Loeb joined the all-star group Steps Ahead. In 2010 he replaced Larry Carlton at Fourplay. In 1988 Chuck Loeb started his solo career and was initially under contract with the innovative label DMP. During this time the album Life Colors was recorded. Life Colors is certainly one of Chuck Loeb’s best albums. It is very reminiscent of his days with Steps Ahead. It’s packed with fusion-driven songs with incredible dynamics. The melodic riffs make this album a very special one.
Chuck Loeb passed away in 2017 at the age of 61. The album by Chuck Loeb, which is still legendary today, was no longer available in mint condition for over a decade. Now Life Colors is emerging again - as a Double-LP.

Electroacoustic music composed in 1991 by Michèle Bokanowski for Patrick Bokanowski short film "La Plage" (4parts)

Limited edition of 300 copies. Unconventional 4 different cover artwork (75 copies each) on embossed cardboard (2 colours version : Lavanda and Tabacco), one credit sheet inside. All on high quality recycled paper.

Invisibilia - the new Canti Magnetici serie curated by Andrea Penso - is proud to introduce for the first time on vinyl a composition of Michèle Bokanowski, one of the most poetic composers in the avantgarde european music scene.

Remained unpublished until today, this composition is made as soundtrack for the short film "La Plage" (1992) created by the experimental filmmaker Patrick Bokanowski (husband of Michèle Bokanowski).

"La Plage" is probably the less "concrete" composition made by Michèle Bokanowski. It is pure liquid abstraction in sounds. It is one of those rare compositions really out of time and space. As expressed by Pip Chodorov, editor of 4 DVDs that contain all the films directed by Patrick Bokanowski, we can feel the works created by Michèle Bokanowski and Patrick Bokanowski are a sort of "spiritual search for the overrunning of perception, and thereby oneself. Searches into abstraction in the real, mysterious blanks that recover the daily".

Over the last three decades, singer, songwriter guitarist and composer Gary Louris has built a deeply compelling body of music whose artists and integrity has won the loyalty of an international audience and the respect of both critics and his peers. Best known for his seminal work with The Jayhawks, he is one of the most acclaimed musicians to come out of Minnesota's teeming rock scene. Along the way, Louris has produced records by various artists, contributed songs to Grammy Award-winning albums by Tedeschi/Trucks Band and The Dixie Chicks; and recored with acts as diverse as the Black Crowes, Uncle Tupelo, Lucinda Williams, Nickel Creek, Tift Merritt and more. Jump For Joy is Gary's long awaited 2nd solo album and follow up to the 2008 release of Vagabonds. Along

Recorded in 1961, but not released until 1967, The Witch Doctor features one of Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers’ all-time great line-ups: Wayne Shorter on tenor saxophone, Lee Morgan on trumpet, Bobby Timmons on piano, and Jymie Merritt on bass. Shorter and Morgan each contribute two tunes, with Timmons penning one. Highlights include Morgan’s spectacular 6/8 modal piece “Afrique” and Shorter’s minor masterpiece “Those Who Sit And Wait.” Bobby Timmons brings the deep soul goods on his composition “A Little Busy,” and the album closes with a fleet-footed romp through Clifford Jordan’s tune “Lost and Found.” Blue Note Records’ Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series is produced by Joe Harley and features all-analog, mastered-from-the-original-master-tapes, 180g audiophile vinyl reissues in deluxe gatefold packaging. Mastering is by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) and vinyl is manufactured at Record Technology Incorporated (RTI).

James are proud to announce the release of their new album All The Colours Of You. Their 16th studio album will be released on 4th June with the title track available today (1st March) across all DSPs. All The Colours Of You follows the release of LIVE In Extraordinary Times, a live recorded version of their last studio album Living In Extraordinary Times, which peaked at #1 in the midweeks.

The album will be their first on a new record label, Virgin Music Label & Artists Services (formerly known as Caroline International), and at their new publishing home Kobalt Music, both of which they recently signed to, reinforcing the endless and restless ambition they have as they approach their fourth decade as a band.

Recorded in part before the Covid pandemic struck, the album was produced by the Grammy award-winning Jacknife Lee (Taylor Swift, U2, REM’s, Snow Patrol, The Killers). On production duties with James for the first time, he bought a fresh approach to their sound, working remotely from his studio, reimagining their early demos, and capturing the band in all their virtual glory.

The result is a record with the most arena ready tracks of their 38-year career, the sound of one of Britain’s best bands, deconstructed and reassembled by one of the world’s most renowned producers.

Newly awarded Dub Artist of the Year 2020 by the specialized website Reggae.fr, Manudigital presents the second volume of his famous "Digital Kingston Session" on vinyl, three years after the release of volume 1 in 2018! These videos filmed in the streets of Kingston, in which the producer invites Jamaican singers from the golden age of digital Reggae to perform their classics in one take on riddims that he plays with the legendary Casio MT40 or "Sleng Teng Keyboard ”, have become a real institution! With more than 100,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, Manudigital continues to bring together an ever larger and more international audience.

In this volume 2 of the “Digital Kingston Session”, Manudigital gather a five-star cast with the legendary Capleton, the essential Junior Cat and more underground but no less talented artists such as Devon Morgan, Peter Metro, Jigsy King or Bunny General. As on the first volume, two bonus sessions recorded outside Jamaica complete the tracklisting: one in Brooklyn with Red Fox, the most New Yorker of Jamaican deejays, and the other in Paris with the spectacular English MC Deemas J, who has been accompanying Manudigital on stage since 2018.

A second volume of the "Digital Kingston Session" on vinyl which should delight the public, while waiting to get back to live music and sound systems!

Returning with their first new music in 8 years, Stubborn Heart have announced their anticipated new album 'Made Of Static'. Luca Santucci and Ben Fitzgerald, who have spent the last few years developing the ten brooding electro-soul tracks that make up the successor to their lauded 2012 self-titled debut, have once again struck a fine balance between ominous synth-soundscapes and introspective songwriting. Balance is the key theme here. With Fitzgerald leading the production and manning the machines, the sound is rawer than on their previous album. Left-field pop with dark, icy edges, it finds a home somewhere in between r&b and cold wave. Santucci brings the heart and with it his aching, obsessive lyrics and a desire for something grittier in its presentation. The duo's talents complement each other perfectly throughout. Santucci has amassed an impressive list of writing and vocal credits in his time, with the likes of XL and Warp signee Leila Arab, Plaid, Riton and Soulwax amongst them. Fitzgerald has also been hard at work at his home studio programming various styles of music for artists and producers from around the world. As Stubborn Heart, they come armed with some serious experience and a wealth of influences. There's an honest simplicity in the way they create, with lyrics written in an immediate, direct fashion with the aim to catch a feeling rather than emulate one. On their first album Stubborn Heart garnered praise from the likes of Pitchfork, NME and the UK broadsheets. It was named album of 2012 at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards and Rough Trade placed it in their top 20 best albums the same year. However, it's now that we're presented with an album they feel better represents their dynamic - an album born from the duos combined creative static - as such, 'Made Of Static' is the first fruit of their reunion, aiming to step on from where they left off, and with the promise of much more to follow.

“In some respects, Trust is a simultaneous documentation of progression and regression. A homecoming of sorts, influenced by the interim where we developed our skills as producers and our skills as artists. Armlock, as a vehicle, seems like returning full circle to where we started.”

Trust, out June 2, 2021, is the debut release of Australian duo, Armlock. It’s a nuanced record that explores trials felt in personal growth, from resentment to submission to complacency. A quiet, thrashing gem of songcraft, the record makes as much use of the intimate, empty space as it does of its layered, heavy instrumentals. Each one of these songs conjures a summer storm of internal conflict, with the angst and uncertainty that comes with realizing that you’re finished growing, and rather than feeling a sense of ease you’re left restless and discontented.

Multi-instrumentalists Simon Lam and Hamish Mitchell met studying jazz together at Monash University in Melbourne. While rehearsing standards for a small ensemble in 2010, the two discovered their mutual hatred of the genre, opting to explore experimental, song-based electronic music. Alongside Solitaire Recordings owner, Dan Rutman, they went on to form the group I’lls, releasing four records in five years, and, later, the two went on to form Couture. Simultaneously, Lam (along with his cousin Chloe Kaul) found success with the synthpop group Kllo, amassing over 100 million streams on Spotify and critical acclaim from Pitchfork, The Guardian, GQ, NME, NYLON, and Stereogum. Lam’s solo project Nearly Oratorio (also on Solitaire Recordings) has achieved acclaim in its own right, as has Mitchell’s work as a producer and designer for artists like Jack Grace.

With their first release as Armlock, the duo maintains the depths of I’lls’ electronic soundscapes but brings the warmth of analogue instruments with Lam’s clear, disillusioned singing up front. He sounds both heartfelt and dejected in equal measure, with a dispassionate coolness that synergizes with the vulnerability of his lyrics. Live, the duo are backed by a reel-to-reel tape, with Mitchell on guitar and Lam singing, bridging their electronic past and indie present.

Liz Phair announces ‘Soberish’, her highly-anticipated new album and first collection of original
material in eleven years. Produced by Phair’s longtime collaborator Brad Wood - known for helming
Phair’s seminal albums ‘Exile In Guyville’, ‘Whip-Smart’ and ‘whitechocolatespaceegg’ - ‘Soberish’ is
released via Chrysalis Records.
Almost thirty years since her peerless debut album ‘Exile In Guyville’ was released (voted #56 in
Rolling Stone’s 2020 list of the 500 Greatest albums Of All Time), Phair returns with a new record that
will both intrigue and satisfy her long-standing fans and introduce her to a smart young audience
whose contemporary heroes have been reading from Phair’s playbook since they first picked up a
guitar.
Liz Phair has achieved the kind of status in her industry rarely bestowed on recording artists. Her
albums in the 1990s were central to the indie rock canon of the day. Her image was featured in
countless magazines, early Apple commercials and Gap ads. Her eponymous album for Capitol
Records in 2003 took Phair in a pop direction that ruffled some critics’ feathers but nonetheless went
gold, galvanizing a host of new fans, particularly among young women who fell in love with hits like
‘Why Can’t I’ and ‘Extraordinary’, tracks that were featured in several major films and TV shows,
including 13 Going On 30, Raising Helen and How To Deal. Liz has picked up two Grammy
nominations and a spot in Pitchfork’s Greatest Albums Of The 90s, with over five million record sales
to date (including three US gold albums). She sang ‘God Bless America’ at the opening game of the
Chicago White Sox World Series victory in her hometown in 2005.
‘Soberish’ is a portrait of Phair in the present tense, taking all of the facets of her melodic output over
the years and synthesizing them into a beautiful, perfect whole. She’s at the top of her game in the
recording studio, drawing upon years of experience in television composition to weave through the
songs daring and unexpected sound design. With Brad Wood’s exquisite engineering and masterful
production, the result is a wholly fresh yet satisfyingly familiar sound that challenges on the first listen
and seduces with each subsequent play through. The earworms are strong with this one.
Phair says, “I found my inspiration for ‘Soberish’ by delving into an early era of my music development,
my art school years spent listening to Art Rock and New Wave music non-stop on my Walkman. The
English Beat, The Specials, Madness, R.E.M.s Automatic for the People, Yazoo, The Psychedelic
Furs, Talking Heads, Velvet Underground, Laurie Anderson, and the Cars. The city came alive for me
as a young person, the bands in my headphones lending me the courage to explore.”
None of the arrangements on Soberish are traditional songwriting standards but the hooks are so
catchy, the imagery so compelling, that the listener is drawn effortlessly along with the music. There
are the off-kilter, unexpected guitar chords listeners will recognize as her signature style, a mainstay
from her earliest work; the instantly knowable choruses of her most pop-friendly songs of the early
2000s; the frank lyricism and storytelling that has opened doors for countless women picking up
guitars and attempting to speak about their experiences.
Phair shares insight into the meaning of her title: “‘Soberish’ can be about partying. It can be about
self-delusion. It can be a about chasing that first flush of love or, in fact, any state of mind that allows
you to escape reality for a while and exist on a happier plane. It’s not self-destructive or out of control;
it’s as simple as the cycle of dreaming and waking up. That’s why I chose to symbolize ‘Soberish’ with
a crossroads, with a street sign. It’s best described as a simple pivot of perspective. When you meet
your ‘ish’ self again after a period of sobriety, there’s a deep recognition and emotional relief that
floods you, reminding you that there is more to life, more to reality and to your own soul than you are
consciously aware of. But if you reach for too much of a good thing, or starve yourself with too little,
you’ll lose that critical balance.”

Outside Ludlow / Desert Disco is the first major solo release from Australian performer-composer Sam Dunscombe, now based in Berlin after residing for the past decade in San Diego and Tokyo. A virtuoso clarinettist who has performed in composed and improvised settings with artists such as Klaus Lang and Taku Sugimoto, their practice also embraces computer music, lo-fi electronics and field recordings, in addition to their long-term commitment to archiving, studying and performing the work of Romanian spectralist composer Horatiu Radulescu.
The two side-long pieces presented on this LP began from a chance encounter in a specific geographic location (documented in the photographs that grace the record’s sleeve). Exploring California’s Mojave desert with a friend, Dunscombe made the unlikely discovery of a tangle of quarter-inch tape snared on a cactus. The digitised version of this tape, variously edited and processed, as well as Dunscombe’s own transcription and embellished performance of some of its material on Hammond organ, makes up one of the main ingredients of the LP’s first side. The other is a field recording of the area outside the ghost town of Ludlow, where the tape was found, where haunted silence is punctuated by freight trains and clusters of explosions from gold mines and the local marine corps. Far from any kind of documentary approach, the resulting composition reaches back to the smeared atmospherics and overdriven tape crunch of Hands To, Small Cruel Party or Joe Colley, before the Hammond organ rises up to cast a spectral shimmer reminiscent of 1960s tape music classics like Arne Nordheim’s ‘Warszawa’.

On ‘Desert Disco’ (its title perhaps a clue to the content of the mysterious tape), Dunscombe zeroes in on a single fragment of the tape, accompanying it with analogue synthesis to craft an immersive work based on a single chord. Throughout the course of this work, the monolithic opening sonority gradually splits apart, revealing an infinity of rhythmically phasing lines that swarm like a cloud of insects and patter like falling rain, placing Dunscombe’s piece in a lineage of patient electronic exploration that includes landmarks like Costin Miereanu’s Derives and the contemporary work of Jim O’Rourke.

Limited edition vinyl with images by Sam Dunscombe and design by Lasse Marhaug. Mastered by Joe Talia at Good Mixture, Berlin.