quête:as i may

The Shadows is the new album from Leeds-based six-piece Tomorrow We Sail. Building on their debut release For Those Who Caught the Sun in Flight (Gizeh, 2014) over the course of three years, this new work combines perfectly the soaring atmospherics, gorgeously intertwined vocal harmonies and dramatic shifts in tone and dynamics that have come to characterise Tomorrow We Sail's sound. Yet, there is a new sense of urgency here. Very much an album of its time, The Shadows draws upon the same sense of connection to both past and present that defined its precursor but features storytelling that's even more defiant and deeply personal.
Like its predecessor, the record features seven songs but from the chiming guitars of opening track Side By Side it is clear that the stately pace of For Those Who Caught the Sun in Flight has made way for a far more dynamic and driving energy; perhaps best captured in the righteous anger of The Ghost of John Maynard Keynes. Tomorrow We Sail still invoke a keen sense of measured grace in their songwriting - from the sweeping, elegiac title track, through to the sparse, restrained, yet haunting beauty of Winifred and To Sleep. Urgent, yet assured, The Shadows demands your attention.

As featured on Feeling Nice Vol.4, we thought it is well worth to re-release Frederick Knight's "Steppin Down" on 45 too. Even better, the B-side "Heart Complication" is a monster deep-soul track which many of you may have not heard yet. We here at Tramp re-release good music, whether it is rare or not. This one is indeed rare so get your hands on it before all copies are gone.

Rebolledo's YOU AND YOUR HIPPIE FRIENDS imprint grows its groove footprint on international dance floors with the full-length debut of GÜERO, the latest vinyl outing from the Hippie Dance sister label and also its first fully fledged album project. To attentive hippie friends, the artist name should ring a big, funky bell - one that sounds exactly like the cut 'Convertible Ride' from the notorious 'A Very Nice Combinado Volume Uno' 12' release (YAYHF 01).
Back then, our hero was travelling under the somewhat more convoluted 'El Güero Fresa' monicker, but has since dropped some of those conceptual pounds in an effort to reach maximum sleekness. In the same vein, his debut album is a testament to ultimate funk-a-ficiency, digging deep into fizzy arpeggios and chunky basslines - and the occasional guitar cameo, giving tracks such as bubbling synth opener ELEKTRONIQUE, the neon-lit NIGHT CRUISING, bouncing electro disco roller ALTO FINAL or the programmatic SPACE DRIFTER just that little extra riff.
GUITAR MAYHEM, however, is anything but - you'll discover a pretty dank bouncer and certainly not the squealing meltdown one would expect. TECHNO MINIMAL doesn't do what it says on the tin, either, opting for an energetic bass 'n' organ workout instead. By now, you'll begin to understand why the album's called MY WAY MY RULES: GÜERO takes whatever sonic path he desires, no matter what - which is precisely why he chimes so well with YOU AND YOUR HIPPIE FRIENDS's steadily expanding motley crew of rave misfits and studio drop-outs. The way of the hippie is indeed a mysterious one.

Nottingham's Origin One returns with another bass heavy anthem. Traversing roots reggae, hip hop, dub and steppers this is a perfect example of Origin One's style of production, eclectic in influence and heavy on the bottom end. As the title may suggest the track is a tribute to the herb, delivered by Ghanaian born MC/rapper Kweku (K.O.G) who absolutely destroys the track. Already getting spins on some of the UK's biggest soundsystems, this should see some heavy rotation!

We know you've been waiting for this one since last summer! Caspa's debut on Youngsta's ridiculously on-point Sentry has been one of the most requested releases in a very long time. Hot on the heels of releases by dBridge, Nomine and Akcept, the Sub Soldier comes in hard with two absolute burn-ups...

'Gutter Riddim' is a stately spacious construction where every weighty element is carefully considered and plays a key role in the momentum. Tightly sprung tension buzzes through it with high voltage as Caspa lays down some of his darkest designs to date. 'Hot Head' hurls us even deeper into the shadows. A true teaser piece, the first bass line is a staccato stab that gives you just enough time to settle into the groove before the real big-balls bass line comes hurtling out of nowhere.

Rewind every single time, this has been causing uncut mayhem for the few DJs lucky to have it early enough. Timelessly gully and a perfect way to kick the doors of 2018 in. As those who were at Sentry's first anniversary at Fire earlier this month will corroborate: London's heart rate is pounding away at 140 again, some of the most crucial bass music is coming out of the city and Sentry, Youngsta and Caspa are slap bang in the heart of it. The wait is over... Enjoy.

Sparrow's visit of Jamaica, The Isle Of Springs', during the month of June 1963, has left him with very pleasant and joyful reminiscences of the love, warmth and hospitality of its people. From the moment his plane tipped down at the Palisadoes Airport', at a lounge in the ultra-modern terminal building he was entertained with a Rum Punch', Significant of Jamaican's ability to produce rums that absolutely no connoisseur can despise. Well! And it's from there it all started, for like Oliver Twist, Sparrow continued, where ever he went to ask for more, and, obviously when the drinks are in, the wits are out. You are therefore left to deduce whatever you may during his presentation of this contribution.

I'll Be Around (Bossa-Nova)" is a warning to one of his lovers of her promiscuous traits towards him and the retribution she would eventually suffer for so doing.

Theses two calypso songs were recorded with the famous Bert Inniss National Recording Orchestra. This single 7' is absolutely impossible to find and will warm any dances in the world.

It was 1970 when Curtis Mayfield left R&B group The Impressions, to set off on his own solo path. What followed was a rich and highly celebrated career, during which Mayfield produced some of the most influential R&B, soul, funk, and gospel recordings of all time. Along with Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, Mayfield is credited with helping to ring in a new era of socially-aware funk and soul music, all while raking in numerous Billboard-charting hits both as a performer and a songwriter. Though he died in 1999, he left behind a vast legacy of innovation and long-lasting music, and has been ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Artists of all-time. Coming hot on the heels of his powerhouse hit soundtrack for the film Superfly was 1973's Back To The World. Mayfield's music always had a socially-conscious and political bent to it, but the tracks on Back To The World cranked this conceit up to an even higher degree, largely inspired the increasingly industrial world around him, and the social and environmental concerns that followed it. (The album's lead single "Future Shock" was named for an Alvin Toffler book on the subject.) Though not the smash commercial success of his previous efforts, Back To The World still landed in the Billboard Top 20, and is considered an underrated, and overlooked entry in the soul innovator's catalog.

The second album by Istanbul's clarinet virtuoso Cüneyt Sepetçi is an intense trip into modern Turkish wedding and party music. The foundations go deep into Turkey and the surrounding regions' history, which each generation innovates and develops. These days, no wedding or circumcision party is complete without the sound of the micro-tonal keyboard. A new addition, these Turkish keyboardists can play between notes, and supply banging club rhythms in wide variety of time signatures.Sepetçi uses the bedrock of Volkan Sever's synth insanity as a jumping off point for some truly crazy solos. His fluttering sheets of notes tie knots around the pulsating, fried synthesizer. For this recording session, Sepetçi brought in two drummers, Fatih Özden (tapan) and Samet Sertol (darabouka), to play along with the Turkish drum machine. A dense nest of rhythmic complexity is the result. And to further connect to this music's rich past, the ancient double reed zurna of Ahmet Özden and Yasar Uçar's European violin weave ancient melodies and incredible solos throughout.
These musicians are some of the best in Istanbul, and all of these songs are first takes, recorded live with very little planning. Sepetçi essentially leads the band through these complex arrangements as they play them.In Istanbul, one may see Sepetçi playing for change on Istiklal Caddesi, the famous Turkish walking street at the center of the city. Or one may see him on one of the TV stations, playing Anatolian songs in his inimitable style. He's even begun touring outside of Turkey—at Denmark's Roskilde Festival, and at concerts in Italy, Beirut, and Israel. I want to go to America. He says. Do they have mosques there

Don't wanna move to Southern California / I wasn't really meant for LA...' So sang Dent May once upon a time, now he's eating those words with a side of avocado toast in his new Los Angeles bungalow. What made the lifelong Mississippi boy pull up stakes and head west No one looks at you funny if you wear a tuxedo to the supermarket.' What he means is he moved there to shake up his surroundings, clear his head, and write the most accomplished record of his young career, the magical mystery tour de force Across the Multiverse.

Following the lead of musical-polymaths-with-LA-ties before him like Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, and Harry Nilsson, Dent's style on Across the Multiverse will be familiar to fans of his previous work. Yet there's something more refined about this collection... Stately strings mingle with boogie piano like old friends. Synths weave a celestial backdrop throughout. Every verse, bridge and chorus in its right place, giving it the unmistakable feel of a true songwriting craftsman at work. Lyrically Dent has never been sharper, musing on themes like modern romance ( Picture on a Screen', Face Down in the Gutter of Your Love'), existential dread ( Dream 4 Me', I'm Gonna Live Forever Until I'm Dead'), and the distance to the moon ( Distance to the Moon') as he searches for meaning among the infinite scrolling feeds of our 21st century augmented reality. The title track, a duet with Frankie Cosmos, is a deep space love song about finding love beyond impossible boundaries.

Across the Multiverse was written and recorded in a sunny bedroom in LA's Highland Park neighborhood, with Dent producing and playing nearly every instrument himself. The tracks were selected from dozens of songs written after the LA move, a gold rush of productivity inspired by late nights DJing rare disco funk cuts at local watering holes. It's his first record for new label Carpark and will be released August 18th.

Dent May is a self-described hotel bar lounge singer and aspiring daytime TV talk show host - has been charming his way into the hearts of music fans since the release of his debut album The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele on Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label in 2009. The Mississippi-born, Los Angeles-based songwriter, performer, and Dolly Parton enthusiast has since released two more acclaimed records, Do Things (2012) and Warm Blanket (2013), dropped the holiday smash I'll Be Stoned For Christmas', and played hundreds of shows from Shanghai to Chicago. His latest album, Across the Multiverse, is an interstellar voyage of mythic proportions.

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Following on from the critically acclaimed Penya Investigations cassettes and the 12' Acelere EP, Afro-Latin-electronic collective Penya conclude an intensely creative period with a Long Player collection of tracks Super Liminal. 'Liminal' - an in-between state -references the transitional process the four - piece band entered during a series of self-produced recording sessions held at Penya's multi-instrumentalist Magnus P.I's home studio between March 2016 and May 2017. Penya's percussive and futuristic Afro-Latin sound also owes its genesis to the concept of 'liminality': the threshold of disorientation occurring during ritual practices. Penya's hypnotic groovescapes, led by Jim LeM's bata drumming,ancient chants, sung by Lilli Elina, dubbed-out improvisations on trombone by Viva Msimangand lo-fi electronic production by Magnus P.I create a sound that has garnered significant support on BBC 6 Music via Tom Ravenscroft, Worldwide FM via Gilles Peterson, on BBC Radio 3's Late Junction, as well as being praised by a host of producers including DJ Khalab, Will LV, DJ Jose Marquez and Dengue Dengue Dengue. Penya's energised and engaging live show has also toured across UK festivals this summer, including Brainchild, Wilderness, Farmfest and Big Love.

For fiends of: Cursed, HIs Hero is Gone, Tragedy.

Formed in 2008 in South Florida, Centuries current lineup now includes members based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Nashville, Tennessee, and in the UK from Manchester.

Since their 2013 debut Taedium Vitae (Southern Lord), the group have refined their sound into something more focused, and intense, and The Lights Of This Earth Are Blinding surges with ten new tracks of the band's harrowing, metallic, punk/crust-influenced hardcore, delivered with a calculated, very deliberate approach.
 
The album was recorded in February 2017 by Kris Hilbert at Legitimate Business (Catharsis, Torch Runner, The Body), mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Integrity, Black Breath, Halshug), and completed with artwork by Phil Trona.  
 
About the new album the band remark..."The Lights Of This Earth Are Blinding is a dark album that carries a theme of constant self-doubt.  It follows how we choose to accept our loses and the reaction to life, as well as the journey we take to make peace with the demons we've made.' The new track 'Bygones' is streaming below.

Villa Åbo in the alternative solo project of Swedish musician and Villa Åbo in the alternative solo project of Swedish musician and producer Jan Svensson, who has been making electronic music for the better part of 30 years as the artist behind such aliases as Frak, Studio SS and Alvars Orkestra. Svensson also runs legendary Swedish dance and experimental music label Börft, the product of a mutual appreciation for Severed Heads and Terse Tapes. As Villa Åbo he released two records in 1997 on Börft and remained inactive for 17 years until the Dutch label Bio Rhythm coaxed him into revisiting the project and released a double 12 in 2014. Jan has since followed with a steady stream of 12' singles for Kontra-Musik, Noise In My Head and Radio Lundberg. 'Magnetic Moves' is Villa Åbo's debut album, originally released inan limited edition of 65 hand-numbered cassettes by Funeral Fog in 2016. Clocking in at over 46 minutes, this first-ever vinyl edition spreads the 8 ragged techno tracks across four sides for maximum loudness. Some songs are aggressively potent, with cyclical synth riffs and razor-sharp acid lines riding a heavy, funk-fuelled techno groove. Others tracks are more fluid, vintage Underground Resistance or Derrick May with killer drum machine workouts that come in handy as DJ tools. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is housed in a custom made jacket designed by Eloise Leigh, featuring a photograph of Jan's mother's house, the meaning behind 'Villa Åbo'. Each copy includes a double-sided postcard with notes.producer Jan Svensson, who has been making electronic music for the better part of 30 years as the artist behind such aliases as Frak, Studio SS and Alvars Orkestra. Svensson also runs legendary Swedish dance and experimental music label Börft, the product of a mutual appreciation for Severed Heads and Terse Tapes. As Villa Åbo he released two records in 1997 on Börft and remained inactive for 17 years until the Dutch label Bio Rhythm coaxed him into revisiting the project and released a double 12 in 2014. Jan has since followed with a steady stream of 12' singles for Kontra-Musik, Noise In My Head and Radio Lundberg.'Magnetic Moves' is Villa Åbo's debut album, originally released in an limited edition of 65 hand-numbered cassettes by Funeral Fog in 2016. Clocking in atover 46 minutes, this first-ever vinyl edition spreads the 8 rgged techno tracks across four sides for maximum loudness. Soe songs are aggressively potent, with cyclical synth riffs and razor-harp acid lines riding a heavy, funk-fuelled techno groove. Others tracks are more fluid, vintage Underground Resistance or Derrick May with killer drum machine workouts that come in handy as DJ tools. All songs have been remastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The record is housed in a custom made jacket designed by Eloise Leigh, featuring a photograph of Jan's mother's house, the meaning behind 'Villa Åbo'. Each copy includes a double-sided postcard with notes.

There were several groups within the Detroit music scene that shared the name of 'The Holidays'. From the 1950's through to the late 1960's our version of The Holidays who took their name from a group members car, a 1954 Oldsmobile 'Holiday', would record for the Star-x, Markie, Master and Holiday record Labels. Founding member James Holiday would also briefly pursue a solo career with releases on the Markie, Syco and Blue Rock labels respectively.
In 1969 James joined by his brother Jack, a baritone saxophonist and the former leader of the band within influential Detroit DJ 'Frantic' Ernie Durham's legendary Gold Room at the 20 Grand Theatre. The brothers together, with Maurice White and former Contours member Joe Billingslea formed 'The New Holidays' who recorded the 'Popcorn' Wylie produced song Maybe So, Maybe No' (Soul Hawk 1008). This current in demand 45 featured If I Only Knew' on the flipside, an excellent cover version of a previous Jimmy (Soul) Clark recording If I Only Knew Then (What I Know Now)' This was recorded at a later session to Maybe So, Maybe No' and featured a slightly different line up with Joe Billingslea making way for a youthful Elliot Smith.
By 1972 The Holidays found themselves without a label, so they formed their own, Marathon Records. Their initial release was the excellent double sider I'm So Glad (That I Met You)/Too Many Times' (Marathon 257). Both songs were written by James Holland and Sylvester Potts another former member of the Motown group 'The Contours' and were recorded under the artist name of 'The Fabulous Holidays.
Into 1973 and their next release was the soulful ballad Getting Kind Of Serious' (Marathon 18475) a Fritz Hale and Fredrick Charles Hawkins composition backed with an instrumental version. Followed by Ego Tripping' (Marathon 18475) an upbeat funky little mover backed with the ballad Lazy Day' written by James Holland, Anthony Hawkins and Fritz Hale.'
During 1975 The Holidays resumed their acquaintance with former record store owner Ronald Holmes a collaboration which led to the release of another excellent double sider This Is Love b/w The Love We Share' on the Rob-Ron (RR-75) label. The Love We Share' was recorded twice. Firstly as the issued 45 version under the shortened title of The Love We Share' and as an unissued longer version under the title of (Been Together Too Long) The Love We Share' with slightly different lyrics. During 1976 a further Holland/Holmes collaboration saw the release of the message song Procrastinate (Why Do We)' (Ron-Hol 76). After this release Ronald Holmes and the Holidays parted company.
During late 1976 into 1977 the Holland brothers wrote and produced two further songs which they recorded with Charles Hawkins (a founding member of the Psychedelic Rock and Funk Band, 'Black Merda') The up tempo dance track You Make Me Weak' and the less frenetic Lost Love' although never issued at the time both songs can be found on the recently released Soul Junction cd album Getting Kind Of Soulful' (SJCD5012). A later discovery of a alternative take of You Make Me Weak' (Take 2) is now available on vinyl for the first time backed with their uptempo dancer I'm So Glad (That I Met You)' The Motorcity continues to yield its long lost legacy.

Killekill House Trax is going strong - this time with a 4-tracker by the incredible Andreas Gehm alias PUKEMASTER GEHM.
He sent us the music shortly before his death and said we could pick any of his artist names and his only condition was that the music was released on vinyl. Only after his death we realized that he had obviously already taken a decision then...
So we are releasing this record now as an homage to one of the most creative and funniest persons in the electronic universe of the last decade. We picked the artist name Pukemaster Gehm as it reflects his humor the best and also because it's the most suitable for the tracks we picked: The EP ranges from hard jacking Acid House over weirdo Electro House to old school Chicago-leaning Piano House. A timeless record for all situations.
May you rest in peace, Andreas, and thanks for still rocking our floors, even when you are long gone!

It's impossible to talk about this album without acknowledging the spectre of death that hangs over it - not only is it the third entry in Strata-East Records' Dolphy Series, a collection of archival recordings from some of the label's close associates honoring the recently deceased multi-instrumentalist, but it is actually dedicated to two members of the band, Wynton Kelly and Kenny Dorham, who died in between the recording sessions and its release. The point is driven home even further by the fact that the album begins with a tribute from Payne to the fallen Martin Luther King, Jr., a piece that acts as a de facto solo for Dorham - his playing all rosy elegance and regal warmth - before shifting into the lighter (though equally coolly-paced) "I Know Love," a showcase for Payne's sax. While not the most somber jazz track ever recorded, this opening suite is a low-key and mournful way to open the affair, but thankfully the album really picks off and shows these musicians more in their element the rest of the way.

"Girl, You Got a Home" is a funky piece, beginning very soulfully with some tight interplay among the rhythm section of Kelly, bassist Wilbur Ware and drummer Albert Heath. Ware is in especially fine form on this track, tying together the disparate passages of the piece by grounding the more ponderous moments in a deep funk, while Kelly's playing is especially ear catching in the way he stabs at his piano like it's an organ. After the first two tracks take up nearly twenty minutes, the four-minute "Slide Hampton" feels almost impossibly brief, a feeling that's enhanced by its quick, jittery, and infectious rhythm, driven by some really dexterous work from Kelly. The final track, "Flying Fish," may be the album's highlight, a Caribbean-inspired composition that casts the rhythm section as flighty ground for both Payne and Dorham to vamp on. The track is oddly danceable for something released on Strata-East, maybe the most fun moment ever for the label, and relentlessly uptempo. Though this release may be in part defined by the deaths that preceded it, it's clear that the recording process was actually a lot of fun for everybody, as their enthusiasm and energy jumps right out of the speakers. This is one of the first Strata East records I really got into and is still one of my favorites, a must-hear for any fans of the flightier moments of Dorham or Kelly's career, and a fitting tribute for both master musicians.

Muscle and Mind is the return of Oscar Mulero to long plays, after Grey fades to Green and Black Propaganda. 'Muscle' and 'mind' may seem antagonistic terms in real life, but in terms of music they make sense together, especially when talking about techno.

The coalition of introspection and abstraction is not incompatible with the rough and the percussive, and this
album is a good example of this. The underlying message behind the title refers to the reflection of mental states in the body, the genesis of emotions where body and mind are managed by the sense of hearing.

Throughout these twelve tracks, one can dive into the musical world of this producer whose discourse mutates in every album, always intricate, always meticulous. Darkness acts as a thread and repetition as hypnotic therapy. But now, he sets his usual hard sound aside and looks for a much more cared for and precise sound , where there is room even for a harmony and musicality that go hand in hand with danceability.

The combination of atmospheres and rhythms is constant throughout the album. Each of the cuts has been prepared with few sonic elements. He takes elements away one by one, and keeps exclusively the necessary.

A record that has been developed during endless hours in airports and travelling, absorbing influences from all over the planet. Made in solitude but surrounded by people who don't know what you are really doing on that computer. To close the circle, the album was mixed in professional studio using solid state technology, which gives this work a unique warmth that cannot be achieved in a domestic environment.

Muscle and Mind will be released on vinyl and CD. The digital version will include extra tracks which will also be published in an EP. This will precede the album with edited tracks from the album and remixes by Stanislav Tolkachev and SHXCXCHCXSH.

Muscle and Mind is the return of Oscar Mulero to long plays, after Grey fades to Green and Black Propaganda. 'Muscle' and 'mind' may seem antagonistic terms in real life, but in terms of music they make sense together, especially when talking about techno.

The coalition of introspection and abstraction is not incompatible with the rough and the percussive, and this
album is a good example of this. The underlying message behind the title refers to the reflection of mental states in the body, the genesis of emotions where body and mind are managed by the sense of hearing.

Throughout these twelve tracks, one can dive into the musical world of this producer whose discourse mutates in every album, always intricate, always meticulous. Darkness acts as a thread and repetition as hypnotic therapy. But now, he sets his usual hard sound aside and looks for a much more cared for and precise sound , where there is room even for a harmony and musicality that go hand in hand with danceability.

The combination of atmospheres and rhythms is constant throughout the album. Each of the cuts has been prepared with few sonic elements. He takes elements away one by one, and keeps exclusively the necessary.

A record that has been developed during endless hours in airports and travelling, absorbing influences from all over the planet. Made in solitude but surrounded by people who don't know what you are really doing on that computer. To close the circle, the album was mixed in professional studio using solid state technology, which gives this work a unique warmth that cannot be achieved in a domestic environment.

Muscle and Mind will be released on vinyl and CD. The digital version will include extra tracks which will also be published in an EP. This will precede the album with edited tracks from the album and remixes by Stanislav Tolkachev and SHXCXCHCXSH.

This time Y-Bayani has support from the great voice of Baby Naa. Baby Naa was just hanging out at the studio in Accra/Ghana when the recordings of Rehwe Mie Enyim took place. The crew was waiting desperately for a singer to back up Y-Bayani. After an hour of waiting the producer, knowing that she sings at church every Sunday, asked Baby Naa to do the missing part. Then something occurred that nobody was expecting and finally everybody was happy that the original singer hadn't made it.

Rehwe Mie Enyim is a unique example of how roots-reggae can sound today. Maybe it will be the very last recorded real roots-reggae song in human history

On Mi Sumolo the Band of Enlightment, Reason and Love gives us a light and cheerful instrumental every DJ must have for his late night wedding set or any other high-class party.

This Franco-Swiss trio is a three-headed beast, discharging a singular energy in which one may detect echoes of traditional music, saturated repetition, ethereal harmonics or imaginary choreographies.There are no starting points, no ending points, no standard form structures - these all disappear as the senses encounter the first shock waves. The music employs a rich timbral palette, combining long heavy descending harmonium sweeps, relentless percussion, and the ever more precise patterns and drones of the hurdy-gurdy.