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Mesmeric and kaleidoscopic, shimmering with electrified unease, Show Me How You Disappear is both an exercise in self-forgiveness and an eventual understanding of unresolved trauma. Jilian Medford’s third record as IAN SWEET unfolds at an acute juncture in her life, charting from a mental health crisis to an intensive healing process and what comes after. How do you control the thoughts that control you? What does it mean to get better? What does it mean to have a relationship with yourself?

Recorded with Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Empress Of) and Andy Seltzer (Maggie Rogers), among others, Medford approached this album as a curator. She handpicked the producers that fit each song, which explains the range and experimentation showcased. Medford then recruited Chris Coady to mix and tie everything together into one cohesive piece.

Dizzying and enthralling, Show Me How You Disappear is the sound of someone coming apart and putting themselves back together — the moment an old mantra, repeated into the mirror time and time again, finally clicks. To look at your reflection, and finally feel seen.

In between acting as Producer on all of the Black Jazz label releases, keyboardist Gene Russell also cut two fine albums for the imprint, of which this is the second, released in 1973. Judging by the quality of their respective solo outings for the label, the fact that Russell’s band includes bassist Henry Franklin and guitarist Calvin Keys bodes very, very well for the quality of this record. And indeed, Talk to My Lady represents a sterling stylistic leap for Russell from his New Direction album, which was the first release issued on Black Jazz; here, he’s leading an electric band instead of the basic piano trio format found on the former record, and playing a number of original, soul jazz compositions like “Get Down” and the title tune. As for the covers, both “Me and Mrs. Jones” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” are heartfelt renditions given a little extra bounce by Russell’s ivory tickling and Franklin’s expressive bass playing in particular, while the version of “My Favorite Things” goes way out beyond what John Coltrane played on his original Atlantic studio version. It’s hard to go wrong with a Black Jazz album and you won’t on this one from the label’s creative helm. First-ever LP reissue!

LP Ltd edition GOLD vinyl, DL card (First pressing 500 copies only). New album from brothers John and Michael Gibbons, the guitarists from psychedelic drone legends, Bardo Pond. A "heavy ambient" instrumental masterpiece that explores the symbiotic relationship of the duo as they build and dismantle sounds on a unique ethereal trip. A full-length follow up to 'Joint Chiefs' from 2006, 'Celestial Scuzz' is a monumental sound piece created from hours of jam sessions and crafted into a cohesive mind-blowing trip. The result has a heavy ambience, like Eno locked in a dark room with Sunn-O))))) rehearsing next door. While Bardo Pond's trajectory takes them deep into rock music's ever-imploding sound, the brothers Gibbons surf a more ethereal and eclectic plain; from a heady and consuming space, a "sanctuary; balm for the soul." Describing the writing process, Michael Gibbons explains it as "a kind of spiritual experience. Most of the time it leaves us stunned; the more stunned we are the better the jam." // Bardo Pond: "One of underground rock's most extraordinary enigmas." The Quietus // "An exquisite and enjoyable side trip into harmonious interstellar regions with stripped down instrumentation, they drift into shimmering passages of temporal displacement." Brainwashed

Corvair is what happens when you trap two Scorpio songwriters in a house together. Comprised of a Portland-based husband / wife duo of two seasoned musicians (Brian Naubert and Heather Larimer), Corvair’s debut album charts a starcrossed love story over three decades, five cities, and six continents. Spanning from atmospheric pop to jangly confessional, 70s AM to 90s FM, this work is laden with stunning turns of phrase and prodigious melodies, two voices leaping to meet in the ether. Corvair’s debut album was largely created during the COVID pandemic shut-down of Spring 2020. It includes work with drummer Eric Eagle (Jesse Sykes, Wayne Horvitz) and Engineer Martin Feveyear (Brandi Carlile, Mark Lanegan, Mudhoney), who also mixed the record. Larimer explains, “Being stuck in a house together with very little outside influence made us more emotionally raw, definitely weirder, and also more patient and intricate in developing the songs. And because we were in a bubble, cooking dinners from paranoidly-disinfected groceries and listening to old records, really disparate references from some of our favorite music ended up colliding in odd ways--an emotional Judas Priest bridge, an anthemic Pixies outro, a spacey keyboard sound from Steve Miller, Jeff Lynne's acoustic guitar tone, a Carpenters-style lush harmony. I think it's a wonderfully weird record, but also very in-your-face pop because what else are you going to do when the world feels like it's ending?" Separately, Naubert and Larimer have created or appeared on more than 20 records. Heather’s musical mainstay was the garage pop band Eux Autres, broadly hailed as a “veritable cult classic” band, radio-debuted by the legendary John Peel, and featured in many shows, movies and commercials. Brian is a longtime fixture of the Northwest rock community, having played in vital bands such as Tube Top, Pop Sickle, and the critically-lauded Ruston Mire, since 1993. More recently, Brian released his first solo record, Hoffabus and a record with the NW Supergroup, The Service Providers. Naubert and Larimer’s decades of separate music making have finally combined, culminating in this tour de force from two formidable songwriters. Corvair sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard and everything you’ve always loved.
Press quotes: “Smart, infectious, jangly pop.” Everett True // “An irresistible set of bouncy indie-pop tinged with surf music and ‘60s girl groups, contrasted with the band’s often-biting lyrics.” KEXP.org // “One of the more exciting independent releases of the year...a veritable cult classic.” Under The Radar // “Three chord garage pop that hangs on a raunchy guitar line and crisp production from Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi).” MAGNET Magazine // Brian Naubert - vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion. Heather Larimer - vocals, keyboards, percussion.

Thumbing Thru Foliage is a blunted journey through YUNGMORPHEUS’ mind where personal lyrics intertwine with socio-political themes and tongue in cheek humour. Produced entirely by ewonee. Lead single ‘Fistfulofgreens’ grooves on a g-funk-esque plain and is an assured mission statement - “original man who got the game plan, I aint switching my hands inside these strange lands” whilst also sharing some intimate insight “I don’t ever answer questions that the feds askin, they were cuffin’ my mama, you know I had to blast them”. Second single ‘Sovereignty’ takes a more soulful turn with ceremonial strings and r&b samples ringing under braggadocious bars. Third single ‘Middle Passage’ is a more introspective cut - sombre vocal and piano loops are juxtaposed with neck snappin’ energetic drums. Describing the project in his own words, YUNGMORPHEUS says, “Peace peace, I consider this album a call to action of sorts. The world is rife with distractions and oppressive tactics but niggas move through it nonetheless ! Respect to ewonee for providing a beautiful backdrop for me to get some much needed shit off my chest. Maneuver through the foliage yall... Power to all black people ! Salute to those who listen”. ewonee adds, “Growing up like we did in this corporation Neegas deal with a lot. Usually gotta go through the mud to get to the greens. Good comes with the bad and vice versa, learning how to adjust is a must. Hope y’all get that from this. Roll up count up and mount up. PEACE”. YUNGMORPHEUS is an American rapper and record producer, originally from Miami but now based in LA. He has released music on Leaving Records and Rap Vacation as well as collaborating with Pink Siifu, Fly Anakin, Koncept Jack$on and Ohbliv. Previously supported by Okayplayer, XLR8R, Bandcamp, DJ Booth, Tiny Mix Tapes, Earmilk, BBC6 Music, Dublab, NTS and Worldwide FM. ewonee is an American Multi-instrumentalist, Producer, Beat-maker & Audio engineer from New York. Part of the Mutant Academy crew and also involved with the Beat Haus Show, ewonee has previously produced & collaborated with the likes of Your Old Droog, Fly Anakin, Reginald Chapman and Koncept Jack$on.

In 2015, London fusionistas Lokkhi Terra put on a show at Womad and Songlines Encounters festival, where they collaborated withe folk legends from Bangladesh - The Shikor Bangladesh All Stars". The music was based on countless rooftop jams helb back in Dhaka, where Lokkhi Terra had been touring regularly from 2009.

The second in the series of collaborations, this EP takes the iistener back to the beginning, capturing the first musical meetings between both bands. The period when long term Lokkhi Terra collaborator and Dhol Maestro Nazrul Islam (based in Dhaka), introduced his musical inner circle to the visiting Lokkhi Terra musicians. Friendships were forged, and musical conversations were explored. One singer stood out in particular - Dewan Baby Akthar.

Featuring songs by the great Bangladeshi mystics Baul Lalon Shai and Baul Abdul Karim.

"from London's global melting pot Lokkhi Terra joined Bangladeshi musicinas of Shikor for an unlikely but successful fusion that matched Asian influences with Cuban Jazz" The Guardian

180g Vinyl

“It’s about hopelessness and darkness,” says Aidan Moffat. “But in a fun way.” The Arab Strap frontman is speaking about the band’s 7th studio album and their first since 2005’s ‘The Last Romance’.
The band’s exciting return saw the much lauded
‘The Turning of Our Bones’ single achieve Record Of The Week on Jo Whiley’s BBC Radio 2 show and hit the B-list at BB6Music.
The new album will appeal to longtime fans and pick up new ones who weren’t ready for Arab Strap first time ‘round.
LP contains postcard with digital download code.

‘PEACEMEAL’ is yet another reinvention for Ron
Gallo - a human being on a lifelong chase of
himself and using music as the main vehicle.
On his third LP, he exits the noisy confines of the
garage and goes outside where there’s no limit to
embracing all aspects of himself.
The result is a colourful hodgepodge of 90’s hiphop, r&b, weirdo pop, jazz and punk. The sounds
change but the sense of humanity, humour and a
truly eccentric worldview is the common thread in
all of Gallo’s music.
Mostly written and recorded during a period of
self-isolation in summer 2019, it’s an uncanny
foreshadowing of the global situation that was to
come and give all the songs a new meaning. This
is feel-good music that attempts to confront and
understand human existence.
Ron Gallo just wants to be himself, destroy
expectations and encourage you to do the same in
a world that does just about everything to try and
box us in - not to mention, this is his best most
fun one yet.

I’ve known Alex Bleeker my entire life. Well, okay, maybe not since I was born, but there’s no doubt that I’ve shared a fair bit of memories with him over the years. We’ve acted in high school productions of Shakespeare together, gone on late-night diner runs, argued about which Weezer album is the band’s best, and swapped mutual appreciation for the music of Yo La Tengo on car rides careening around the snaky suburbia of our hometown. Just like his Real Estate bandmates Martin Courtney and Julian Lynch, we attended high school in the New Jersey enclave of Ridgewood, a place where sticky summer days yielded cool nights with a glow so nocturnal that you can practically hear the fireflies buzzing off of this sentence alone.

Indie rock—a type of music that can easily be made or listened to in someone’s garage—often dominates teenage suburban preoccupations, and both Alex and I were no exception. You can hear this legacy of listening on his new album Heaven on the Faultline, which departs from his last full-band outing as Alex Bleeker and the Freaks, 2015’s Country Agenda. Whereas that album had a more full-bodied explicitly folk-y feel, Heaven on the Faultline finds Bleeker getting back to his homespun roots over the course of its 13 songs, from the jangly guitar pop of New Jersey heroes the Feelies and YLT’s hushed, acoustic reveries to the open-hearted folk rock that marks so much of the Grateful Dead’s early catalog.

Written and recorded over the last several years, Heaven on the Faultline’s songs were initially recorded straight to GarageBand in Bleeker’s bedroom before receiving further studio refinement in co-producer Phil Hartunian’s Tropico Beauty space in Los Angeles. With contributions from Confusing Mix of Nations’ Josh Da Costa, Cameron Stallones of Sun Araw, singer-songwriter Kacey Johansing, and Parting Lines’ Tim Ramsey, Heaven on the Faultline achieves a warm and intimate feel that defines Bleeker’s mission for the album: “I wanted to capture the moment in which I fell in love with making music to begin with. This is music for myself—me getting back to music for music’s sake.”

The unsteady times we live in certainly creep into view on Heaven on the Faultline. The deceptively easygoing “D Plus” was written on the day of President Donald Trump’s inauguration with the cursed event in mind, while the anxiety of climate change hovers just above the lovely guitar loops of “Felty Feel.” “The album is very much about dealing with the anxiety of a sense of impending doom,” Bleeker states while discussing the album’s portentous vibes. “When is the hammer going to fall? How do we go forward in the face of such anxiety and experience the complexity of life?”

Tough questions with few answers, but try not to stress too much. It’s possible to experience such existential doubt while also enjoying the simple pleasures that life has to offer, and that ethos is square at the heart of Heaven on the Faultline. It defines who Alex Bleeker is, too, and is one of many reasons why I’m proud to have known this special person and artist for so long.

Larry Fitzmaurice

Off the back of her critically acclaimed self-titled
debut album released last year on Invada Records,
Billy Nomates returns with her new EP, ‘Emergency
Telephone’.
The EP is pressed on ‘Ocean Blues Blue’ vinyl and
housed in a deluxe spined sleeve with digital
download card included.
With huge support from BBC 6Music, the year
came to a climax when she was asked by Iggy Pop
to step into his shoes to cover his Christmas show
and, together with featuring on the new Sleaford
Mods single ‘Mork n Mindy’, Billy Nomates has
proved herself to be one of the most original and
respected new artists coming through this year.
‘Emergency Telephone’ sees Billy Nomates develop
her unique sound and unflinching lyrics. Of the
new EP she says, “‘Emergency Telephone’ is
predominantly about communication breakdowns;
personally, mentally, physically. A strange thing to
happen while communication has never had so
many channels. Perhaps we need a direct line.”

Johnny Cash had a birth certificate marked J. R. Cash because his parents couldn’t decide what to call him. Their environment was the recurrent poverty that reigned in Thirties America, a background of depression where J. R. went to work in flooded fields, learned music and sang along with other cotton pickers, picking up jobs here and there, and finally signing up for three years in the Army.

In 1954 he went back to civilian life, married Vivian Liberto, and went through the studio doors at Sun Records, where Sam Phillips recorded his first hits. In ’57 he joined Columbia Records and a decade later married June Carter (of The Carter Family) in 1968. The following years were complicated by drugs, alcohol and constant tours, yet the pair remained together until June passed away in 2003. Johnny Cash only survived another four months.

His original country music showed empathy for those who had been rejected, and his vision of the misery around him. But he also had an especially warm baritone, and it gave Johnny Cash an immense and faithful audience. He sold 90 million albums, confirming him as one of the greatest artists in music, all genres included.

Since 2005, Swedish sound artist Dag Rosenqvist has released 30 albums, EP’s and cassette tapes in different constellations, the main one being Jasper TX that was put to rest 2012. Other constellations include From The Mouth of The Sun, de la Mancha and The Silence Set. He has also collaborated with Machinefabriek, Mike Weis, Aaron Martin and Simon Scott and released albums on Miasmah, Fang Bomb, Experimedia and Kning Disk.

To start a second year, Laaps is glad to have his new album on board, a new turn on the Dag Rosenqvist's works, it could be a soundtrack and it should be. Between "Blade Runner", "Stranger Things", and "Dark", Dag Rosenqvist has made his own chapter.

Until Now, Jilala has been a much sought-after phantom in relation to their better-known musical and spiritual contemporaries, The Master Musicians of Jajouka. Culled from three and a half hours of 1965 recordings by writers/artists/poets Brion Gysin and Paul Bowles, the first batch of Jilala recordings were released on a 1965 LP that was scarce even upon its initial release. The second batch of Recordings, which this LP has drawn from, came in the form of a CD by Baraka Foundation in 1998, which is also now long out of print. The Jilala brotherhood -- like the better-known Jajouka culture -- has pre-Islamic roots in Sufi mysticism that span across northern Africa from Morocco to India. Jilala shares the kinds of small, portable instruments historically favored by nomadic cultures. Even among the more ardent aficianados of "world music" these recordings have seldom been heard. In the original liner notes Ira Cohen provides a breakdown of the Jilala ensemble: "The instruments used are the shebaba, a long transversal cane flute, which leads the way; the bendir, a handheld drum resembling a tambourine without cymbals; and the karkabat which is a double castanet made of metal. On this record there are usually three flutes, six drums and one pair of castanets." In conjunction with the qraqaba -- an iron analog to the wooden castanets featured heavily in the Flamenco music of the Roma people that also flourished over the centuries mere miles to the north in southern Spain. These bendir drums provide a range very similar to that covered in contemporary popular music by the bass drum, snare, and cymbals that make up standard drum kit. The Trance-inducing grooves were major influences on such bands as Led Zeppelin, Agitation Free, Can and the Rolling Stones. The collective rhythms are often reminiscent early hip hop. oFirst time these tracks appear on vinyl - Pressed on 180 Gram Black Vinyl o Recorded by Brion Gysin & Paul Bowles in Morocco 1965 o Limited Edition of 300 Copies - DMM: Direct Metal Mastering o New Liner Notes by Peter Wetherbee o Contains insert of original liner notes from 1965 Jilala LP o Long out of print in any format for over 20 years.

Comes with printed innersleeve and download code. Limited 300. "Musician, composer and one of the most revered figures for today's younger generation of experimental and alternative Arabic music scenes, Kamilya Jubran (text, oud & vocals), collaborates with long standing musical partner, composer, accomplished trumpet player and seasoned electronic musician Werner Hasler (trumpet & electronics). In Wa (Arabic for and), their third album together as a duo, Kamilya Jubran and Werner Hasler continue to interrogate their listening and their expression, their research and their desires, to unravel a musical universe of possibilities; "a unison of timbres, cultures complementing, the complicity of verses, and modes and languages confronting each other" in the duo's own way of communicating respective origins and contemporaneity. Lyrical, within a sound full of contrast and ornamentation, they pursue an expansion of their repertoire with imaginative interpretation and improvisation." Originally released in CD and digital by Everest Records (Switzerland). Vinyl issued in collaboration with Akuphone. Vinyl mastering by Mark Gergis.

Legendary Welsh anarchist punk band Icons of Filth was formed in Cardiff at the end of the 70s, having been known as Mock Death and Atomic Filth in earlier line-ups. This blistering debut, culled from demos laid in September 1982, was a cassette-only release—the first issue on the Mortorhate label, run by fellow political punks, Conflict. Over clamorous drumrolls, jagged guitar and super-charged bass, frontman Stiggy Smeg spits lyrics fighting against the system, championing animal welfare and a vegetarian lifestyle. This is the band at their rawest and most unfiltered—required listening for punk diehards. Limited vinyl reissue, comes with folded poster with exclusive unpublished photo by Robert Revill.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, De Nor had no choice but to free all its prisoners - even the jazz ones - and shut its gates. But the red beacon shall shine again! Until such a time, we asked some of the artists who were booked to play there this summer to submit a piece for this new publication in lieu of their cancelled performance. This compilation lp contains tracks by Lori Goldston, Hiele, Agnes Hvizdalek, Nubots, Justine Grillet, Thurston Moore, Sami Bergold, Possessed Factory, Stacks, David Edren, Aaron Dilloway & Lucrecia Dalt, Ka Baird, Ben Bertrand, Miaux, Lorie Bevins, and C.O.P. and is housed in a deluxe dye cut linnen sleeve and comes with an insert and a mini Nor cut out made by Gerard Herman. De Nor is a sculpture-pavillion in the grounds of the Middelheim Museum conceived and designed by Dennis Tyfus and FVWW Architecten. In peace time it hosts concerts, lectures, and various presentations throughoutthe summer.

* The original sister label to Ram Records from the old Ram HQ studio in Essex, Liftin Spirit Records now celebrates it’s 25th year with a special ‘RELOADED’ limited vinyl series of remastered classics, alongside rare and previously unreleased tracks since the beginning in1992.

* DATs from artists such as Andy C, Ant Miles, Shimon, Joint Venture, Interrogator and Red One have been located in the archives. Also from the Ram & Liftin HQ came tracks for the Deep Seven label in 1993 and all these rare DAT masters have been located and now re-cut by Simon, the original Ram & Liftin vinyl masterer at ‘The Exchange’. Initially, Deep Seven remasters will present on a printed white label and unreleased tracks will have a black label.

* Deep Seven No.10, the infamous final 12” from Deep Seven that never reached a full release. Only a short promo run hit the shops in 1993 before the label closed for good. ‘Release’ brought to the series a continuation of the huge tracks that graced local label ‘Contagious’ in the early 90’s. As time passed, ‘The Jungle’ / ‘Musical Movements’ reached cult status, exchanging hands for hundreds of pounds when a copy surfaced on the market. The rarest of all the Deep Seven releases, with an additional version of ‘The Jungle’ that was not included on the original press. Remastered from the original DAT and presented on our 180g vinyl, this final 12” completes the entire Deep Seven back catalogue.

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

Rebuke returns to Drumcode with a trio of timeless dancefloor weapons.
The Irishman’s ‘Rattle’ was a standout of 2019, judged by DJ Mag as their no.22 top track of the year and is etched in the Drumcode discography as one of the most original releases to date. A valued part of Adam Beyer’s extended collective; he would have made his Drumcode event debut at WMC in Miami this March. Without a doubt, a sophomore EP was always on the cards.

‘Instatik’ kicks the work into gear, a rugged, reverb-heavy cut with industrial drums that pump like pistons and an undulating synth effect that makes you feel like you’re on a turbo-charged rollercoaster. ‘Livewire’ has the trademark Rebuke brain-scrambling stamp on it, a flurry of steelyard percussion bring the track to life, before a low-end melody swells to attention, rubbing shoulders deliciously with driving drumlines, for an uplifting second half. The title track ‘Obscurity’ is a dark slice of techno funk, filled with synapse-tickling arpeggios, before a rollicking groove takes hold and launches the track home at full-flight. Another thrilling and innovative release to add to the Rebuke canon.

“I think 2020 will go down in history as the craziest year of our lifetime. The future is still pretty unknown right now and things are drastically changing week to week. With that in mind, I felt ‘Obscurity’ would be a fitting title for my second Drumcode EP. It represents the state of being unknown, unclear or difficult to understand – feelings I’m sure most of us are going through right now. Most the tracks aside from ‘Livewire’ were written in quarantine; ‘Livewire’ was written right before the virus shut the world down, in a hotel room in Lima, Peru in January. This EP is my favourite to date as I think it shows a different side to my musical palette, whilst still developing the signature sound heard in all my music.” – Rebuke

Clarinetist, composer, singer & spiritual jazz soothsayer Angel Bat Dawid presents this powerful live document alongside her band, Tha Brothahood. LIVE was mostly recorded on November 1st, 2019, at Haus der Berliner Festspiele in Berlin, Germany, during the 2019 edition of JazzFest Berlin. For Angel and Tha Brothahood - which includes Deacon Otis Cooke (vocals, synth), Viktor Le Givens (vocals, auxiliary instruments), Xristian Espinoza (tenor sax, percussion), Norman W. Long (electronics, synths), Dr. Adam Zanolini (double bass, bass guitar, soprano sax, flute, percussion), Isaiah Collier (drums), and Asher Gamedze (drums) - it was the first stop of their first European tour. Angel and her band experienced a number of difficult, racially charged interactions during their two days in Berlin. But despite, or perhaps in light of the difficulties they faced, they performed a set at Berliner Festspiele that Angel considers to be one of their best ever. "The show was very deep, and really helped me to process all the rage, and uncomfortable things I was feeling... It made me think of all the artists of the past who endured way more than I ever will with this music industry. It was a very freeing and beautiful show... we played our ass off!!"

"Dreamwalks" as well as the other songs on "A Dive Into the Subconscious" musically reflect the emotional level of memories and experiences of the producer. Drips Zacheer deals with central issues of his life, such as family, friends, travel and also fears and tries to reach the subconscious of his listeners through this sound game. The appropriately playful cover designs come from the Berlin artist and illustrator Rahel Süßkind.
Drips Zacheer is a real beatgeek on the midi controller. The 25-year-old musician has been producing hip-hop instrumentals for almost ten years, which are based on LoFi, Chill-Hop, BoomBap, jazz and also progressive rock and Bossanova. Until he was 19 he grew up in Chalkida, the capital of the Greek island of Evia, until he moved to Rhethymno on Crete to study audio engineering. He started out in 2011 as a producer for a befriended hip-hop crew, and in 2016 he began producing beats for himself. Since then he has established himself as one of the most relevant producers in the Greek beat scene and with his choice of sounds shows that he has a knack for vinyl samples and harmonic arrangements. His upcoming album "A Dive Into the Subconscious" makes it clear that instrumentals are not only used as a background for rappers, but have earned their own standing in the scene. Drips Zacheer produces beats to listen and linger - a little journey into your own subconscious.

Main Source’s paean to the simple pleasures of relaxing with friends is built over two tried-and-tested samples. The dreamy, swoony sounds of Vanessa Kendrick’s timeless ‘90% of Me is You’ is ever-present during this stone-cold classic, while Sister Nancy’s unmistakeable ‘Bam Bam’ lends several elements to the mix. Throw in some Skull Snaps and Sweet Charles and you’ve got the perfect soundtrack for a roll call of Large Professor’s nearest and dearest.

There are plenty of reasons why so many regard ‘Breaking Atoms’ as an all-time classic album, and the sheer variety of singles lifted from it is chief among them. Large Professor was happy to roam over varied topics at a time when many rappers had a manic focus on one thing.

And where better to hang out with friends than at a barbecue? ‘Live at the Barbecue’ is rightly regarded as one of the best posse cuts of all time, and famous for showcasing the debut of one Nasty Nas. While he delivers a dope verse full of quotables over drums from Bob James’ oft-plundered ‘Nautilus’, credit is also due to the other guests. Fatal and Akinyele aren’t disgraced in this company, and Large Professor tops it off with a rare verse of pure brag-rap.

An undisputed entry in the pantheon of head-nod hip-hop, this is its first official UK release, and another debut on 7”.

• Samples Sister Nancy’s unmistakeable ‘Bam Bam’

• Taken from the all-time classic album ‘Breaking Atoms’

• Features the debut of Nas

Martin Georgi is not a newcomer. He is more like one of those who like to stay under the radar. The sample-based music producer made his debut in the deephouse sector on his own more than 10 years ago, completely without a label or distribution. In 2016, the Berlin record label OYE Records became aware of the hitherto unknown artist and finally re-released the tracks from his debut. Since then, his early tracks have been compared around the world with the early works of Moodyman or Theo Parrish.
After more than 10 years and the maxi “9 to 5 is killing me” (2018), a second album is finally released on the underground label quietelegance records. Stylistically it ties in with the first work. “Money from the trunk” is the title of the new album and it includes socially critical issues such as class differences that are created by capital. Georgi plays with a large portion of irony and of course plenty of samples, which the passionate record digger skillfully processed into eight new songs.
Georgi not only stands out from the conforming deep-house crowd with his raw, unconventional production style, but also ensures that old-school sampling continues to have its place in current club music. In doing so, he reacts to global music trends, which he incorporates into his tracks through the finest sample operations. So it is not surprising that his new album “Money from the trunk” has a rap song as title song, for which the renown artistic-activist rap duo Fokn Bois from Ghana is jointly responsible. Also on the list of prominent guests are Felipe Gordon from Colombia and Delfonic from Berlin as well as Cornelia Lund from fluctuating images. Roskow Kretschmann appears as co-producer, whose name is associated with many other well established musicians.

It's 2020, it's virus season. For our first release on Kommerz Records we asked seven techno and house producers, we admire, to contribute six songs to listen to at home, rather than on the dance floor (as those are closed down up to this day). The result are six jazzy downtempo songs by DJ Piper of techno's most hyped live act Fjaak, Glenn Astro & Hodini, Cuthead, O-Wells aka Orson Wells, Manuel Fischer and Qnete. Holla @ our first compilation "Kommerz Season 1: Anti-Virus". "Kommerz Season" will be an ongoing compilation series, which we consider as one core of the label. We will use each season to showcase a new and unexpected take on beat making and instrumental music. "Kommerz Season" pays respect to the producers behind the music.

"Kommerz Season 1: Anti-Virus" was a spontaneous idea (as we didn't expect any of this Corona madness). Since we knew many techno and house producers share our love for instrumental hip-hop and downtempo music (while being stuck at home, too) we started to ask around friends and friends of friends. The tracks contributed by this deluxe cast speak for themselves. on our label's very first release.

Being aware this record features an all male and all white line-up we acknowledge our responsibility as a record label to work towards diversity in music. Our future discography can be held proof for that. Right now we're working on "Kommerz Season 2" featuring a diverse, 100% womxn line-up. Additionally, we're donating 10% of our benefits from "Season 1" to "No Shade", a Berlin-based collective running club nights and DJ training programs for female, non-binary and trans DJs with a strong focus on racial diversity.

Funkiwala Records presents the third in the series of "Lokkhi Terra meets"albums, with the London fusionistas creating another unique sound-clash, this time with ex-Fela Kuti keyboardist and legendary UK Afro-beat ambassador Dele Sosimi, and members of his critically acclaimed Afro-beat Orchestra.

This particular collaboration has been bubbling away for a few years now, teasing audience expectations with a handful of sold out shows each year in between both bands busy schedules.
Featuring the two pianos of Kishon Khan and Dele Sosimi – Cuban percussionists/vocalists Geraldo De Armas (Yoruba Andabo), Oreste Noda (Ariwo), Javier Camilo (Ibrahim Ferrer) - a horn section led by Justin Thurgur (Bellowhead) featuring Yelfris Valdes (Sierra Maestra) and Graeme Flowers (Kyle Eastwood) to name a few – this is an All-star cast.

Kishon Khan's Lokkhi Terra have over a number of years now been quietly establishing themselves as one of London's more unusual heavyweight outfits, described as "Stunning Headliners… A majestic multi-cultural blend of sounds… effortlessly builds bridges between rolling Indian raga rhythms, Afro-Cuban grooves, Acid Jazz/funk and free flowing improvisation" (Timeout London). Included amongst the band members are London's top Cuban musicians, adding their infectious rich musical history to the city's melting pot.
When the band wanted to explore Cuban links with another of their favourite traditions, Afrobeat, who better to bring in then one of the Afrobeat originators – maestro Dele Sosimi – "Sosimi creates some of the most bewitching grooves in modern African music" E Jazz News.
Bringing together two Yoruba speaking musics - with different accents, from different sides of the Atlantic - Havana meets Lagos in London – A Cuban-Afrobeat-Experience. CUBAFROBEAT.

• When David Bowie and Iggy Pop relocated from LA to continental Europe, taking trains to Berlin, Paris and Warsaw, they would have come across new music that was very different to the burgeoning disco scene they left behind. “Cafe Exil” – named after one of Bowie’s favourite Berlin haunts – imagines the soundtrack that would have informed “Low”, “Heroes” and “Lodger”. It’s an awesome mix of electronica, Krautrock and experimental treats.

• There are key tracks from members of Can and Tangerine Dream, fascinating obscurities by German act Streetmark and Italian library maestro Piero Umiliani, the Herzog-soundtracking Popul Vuh, and highly collectible avant-strangeness by Annette Peacock. Czech-born Jan Hammer’s beautiful, light, atmospheric groove is among myriad surprises.

• “Cafe Exil” has been put together by Saint Etienne’s Bob Stanley and Jason Wood, author of multiple books on cinema and programmer at Home in Manchester. It fits in with other recent Ace compilations such as “English Weather” and “76 In The Shade” – it creates a mood, a time and a place. You’re right there, sat next to Bowie, drinking his Pernod and black, in a darkly lit Berlin bar.

• This 2LP set features a bonus track from Edgar Froese.

This first ever re-release of William Stuckey's extremely rare southern soul LP. When Brian Sears told me William was still with us and living locally I was shocked that nobody had spoken to him up till now. Not only that but he still had the multitrack tapes at his house.

Unfortunately the tapes were in a bad way and needed some serious work. Our good friend Dan at Audio Archiving Services in Holywood went above and beyond to restore the tape in small sections (despite baking it was still oozing gunk onto the tape transport and heads) then joining the audio back together perfectly. I know not many people would have gone to this trouble and I'm grateful as this music had one last chance.

The mix down at AOTN studio is brighter and clearer than the o.g whilst being true to the original mix, William was over the moon with the result when he heard it and we are excited to bring it to Vinyl, CD and Digital

Special thanks to Brian, Dan and Linkwood for the work on this project. Securing special music for the future is what we do and we just caught this one in time.

When the film ‘White Men Can’t Jump’ was released in 1992, an EP of music from the film was dropped almost simultaneously. That EP, cheekily titled ‘White Men Can’t Rap’, featured a couple of exclusive gems, notably Gang Starr’s ‘Now You’re Mine’ and a cut from Main Source called ‘Fakin’ the Funk’.

The only single borne of that six-track EP was the Main Source track, released in remixed form on Wild Pitch records the same year. No surprise, it was head and shoulders above the rest.

Opening with those unmistakable harmonies from Main Ingredient’s ‘Magic Shoes’, the intro segues into a crisp beat borrowed from Grady Tate’s frequently sampled ‘Be Black Baby’ from 1969. Throw in a sprinkle of Kool & The Gang and you’ve got a track that would fit seamlessly onto Main Source’s masterpiece of an album, ‘Breaking Atoms’.

Instead, it’s the group’s last hurrah, the final collaboration between K-Cut, Sir Scratch and Large Professor before the latter departed the trio. It’s fitting that he saves one of his best vocal performances for last, railing at sell-outs with the assistance of his long-term collaborator Neek the Exotic.

Never released before on an official 7”, it’s a track that has lost none of its appeal, and the remix is the definitive version of this classic.

• Samples Main Ingredient’s ‘Magic Shoes’ and Grady Tate’s frequently sampled ‘Be Black Baby’

• First ever 7” release of the Remix

• Also available on Limited Edition Neon Green vinyl

Definite reissue of this No Wave classic, originally issued in 1979. Previous reissues of the Contortions and James White albums on Infinite Zero have been deleted for the better part of a decade. These are all officially sanctioned by the originating label, Ze Records; packaged in fold out digipaks, with deluxe 20 page booklets. The 21st century has produced a new generation of young contenders of all kinds, who have, within months, spread a new string of names across the planet such as The Rapture, Playgroup, LCD Sound system, Liars, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Radio 4 and the likes, just to name a few. Once again the heat was initiated in NYC, even though its Lower East Side epicenter 'cleaned up' by Giuliani and Bloomberg, has moved a few blocks east and across the river to Brooklyn and Williamsburg. It might be wise to remind the younger ones among us that the origins of this new musical cycle is for the most part rooted in the No Wave movement of which James Siegfried aka James White, aka James Chance is undoubtedly one of its most prominent figures. New York City was hands down the artistic telluric center of the second half of the 20th century, especially from the 70's, on. Rising from the ashes of the Velvet Underground, a slew of local bands redefined the aesthetics of rock'n'roll which the merchants of the temple hastened to rename under various designations, such as punk, new wave, no wave, jazz-funk or even disco and disco-punk without forgetting to mention the original Electro designation pioneered by the band Suicide. One of the indispensable and emblematic figures of the mid-'70s is of course James Chance.

When it came to playing soul jazz with organ combos, jamming bebop with a quartet, caressing ballads or coming up with fresh approaches to Latin jazz and spirituals, the versatile Grant Green was at the top of his field. Among his many recordings, his most vital and adventurous remains Idle Moments. With such inspiring sidemen as Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson and Duke Pearson, Green is heard at the absolute apex of his creativity throughout this stunning set.

He builds up statements like a masterful speaker, sounds both passionate and thoughtful at every tempo, and never runs out of brilliant and personal ideas to express. Every phrase leads to the next one yet all of his solos are spontaneous. While the other musicians are inspired and in top form, Idle Moments is particularly notable as the height of Grant Green’s musical genius!

Credited as one of the best late '60s German psych-rock albums, Bokaj Retsiem's ('meister Jakob' in reverse) Psychedelic Underground is an eccentric, soulful, acidn and fuzzy rockin' essay that clearly prefigures a part of the krautrock movement. Featuring Rainer Deigner, former guitar for the '60s beat German group Former Bonds, as the only credited musician and composer on this album (although other musicians assisted him on bass, keyboards, and that B3 Hammond and Leslie sound), this is basically Rainer's freaked-out tribute to his favorite children's song, 'Meister Jakob,' consisting in trippy instrumental sections, furiously savage E-guitar crescendos, amazing psych-rock improvisation, with just a hint of '60s US psych-garage. A real enthusiastic psych-kraut trip for fans of Vanilla Fudge, Hendrix,and Iron Butterfly.

We did already reissue Between's "And The Waters Opened" ten years ago and it sold out very fast. Since then, many of you have kept asking for copies of it, so we've just done a new deal to produce a new run of 500 copies only. This is one of the most interesting kraut LPs, be sure to grab a copy for your collection!

First released in Vertigo in 1972 and often regarded as Between's most exotic and beautiful opus, it is a huge droning masterpiece with oriental nuances that might recall Popol Vuh, Fripp and Eno or Taj Mahal Travellers. A classic album from the early German 1970s scene!

The ultimate pressings of the Beach Boys discography from Analogue Productions!
Original mono mix produced by Brian Wilson
One of 10 titles featuring 33 1/3 mono and stereo remastered editions: Surfin' USA, Surfer Girl, Little Deuce Coupe, Shut Down Vol. 2, All Summer Long, Today!, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), Beach Boys Party!, Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile
Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, most from the original master tapes or best sources available
Lacquer plating by Gary Salstrom and 180-gram vinyl pressing by Quality Record Pressings!

"It was Pet Sounds that blew me out of the water…I love the album so much. I've just bought my kids each a copy of it for their education in life. I figure no one is educated musically 'til they've heard that album." – Paul McCartney

"All of us, Ginger (Baker), Jack (Bruce), and I consider Pet Sounds to be one of the greatest pop LPs to ever be released. It encompasses everything that's ever knocked me out and rolled it all into one." – Eric Clapton

"For those in search of an original mono in pursuit of sonic quality, search no more. This Analogue Productions pressing is now the definitive pressing and the one we chose to feature at our Classic Album Sundays events to honour the 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds, an album that helped change the course of pop music." — Colleen ‘Cosmo' Murphy, Classic Album Sundays

"Overall though, this new reissue is the best sounding of all. The bottom end has more weight and solidity and the instrumental separation and front to back layering is nothing short of astonishing compared to the pleasing mush offered up by other editions. ... Pet Sounds belongs in every serious rock record collection and if you're going to have but one version this one from Analogue Productions is the one to have." — Music = 11/11; Sound = 11/11 - Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet Read the whole review here.

"What I can say is that Kevin Gray has been able to extract every last bit of information from whatever tape is in the box, and present it in a way that is pleasing and natural to the ear. ... in my opinion, the Analogue Productions pressings are now THE definitive issue of each Beach Boys album, and will be my reference copies until if and when something better comes along — which may be never." — Lee Dempsey, Endless Summer Quarterly, Summer 2015 Edition

To meet the standards of Analogue Productions, our Beach Boys album reissues had a mission to achieve: Present the band's music the way that Brian Wilson — famed co-founder, songwriter and arranger — intended. Mono mixes created under Wilson’s supervision were how the surf rockin’ California crew rose to fame! And we’ve got ‘em!

For the early part of the Beach Boys' career, all of their singles were mixed and mastered and released only in the mono format — they didn't release a single in stereo until 1968. In those days, hits were made on AM radio in mono. And the mono of those times worked well for Wilson, who suffers from partial deafness. In fact, for their first 13 albums, Wilson originally turned in all the final mixed Beach Boy albums to Capitol Records only in mono. The mono mixes were where Wilson paid intense attention, and the dedication paid off!

We’ve taken 10 of the most classic, best-sounding Beach Boy titles ever and restored them to their mono glory!

But there’s no disputing that the close harmonies and one-of-a-kind rhythms of hits like “Surfer Girl,” “In My Room,” “Little Deuce Coupe” and more lend themselves naturally to stereo. So we’ve got your 2-channel needs covered with prime stereo mix versions as well.

Mastered by Kevin Gray, most from the original master tapes, and plated and pressed by Quality Record Pressings, the finest LP pressing facility in the world, these are awesome recordings to experience. And the look of each album befits its sonic superiority! Presented in "old school" Stoughton tip-on jackets, these time honoured favourites shine brighter than the originals!

Pet Sounds is famous for its use of multiple layers of unorthodox instrumentation as well as other cutting edge audio techniques for its time. It's considered the best Beach Boys album, and one of the best of the 1960s. The group here reached a whole new level in terms of both composition and production, layering tracks upon tracks of vocals and instruments to create a richly symphonic sound.

Conventional keyboards and guitars were combined with exotic touches of orchestrated strings, bicycle bells, buzzing organs, harpsichords, flutes, Theremin, Hawaiian-sounding string instruments, Coca-Cola cans, barking dogs, and more. It wouldn't have been a classic without great songs, and this has some of the group's most stunning melodies, as well as lyrical themes which evoke both the intensity of newly born love affairs and the disappointment of failed romance (add in some general statements about loss of innocence and modern-day confusion as well). The spiritual quality of the material is enhanced by some of the most gorgeous upper-register male vocals (especially by Brian and Carl Wilson) ever heard on a rock record. "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "God Only Knows," "Caroline No," and "Sloop John B" (the last of which wasn't originally intended to go on the album) are the well-known hits, but equally worthy are such cuts as "You Still Believe in Me," "Don't Talk," "I Know There's an Answer," and "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times." It's often said that this is more of a Brian Wilson album than a Beach Boys recording (session musicians played most of the parts), but it should be noted that the harmonies are pure Beach Boys (and some of their best).

VH-1 named Pet Sounds as the No. 3 album in the Top 100 Albums in Rock 'n' Roll History, as judged in a poll of musicians, executives and journalists. It's been ranked No. 1 in several music magazines' lists of the greatest albums of all time, including NME, The Times and Mojo Magazine. It was ranked No. 2 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

A fixture on Copenhagen's music scene for nearly two decades, Nikolaj Jakobsen, aka Sugar, has to date thrived on concentrating - usually to the point of obsession - on one type of music at a time. Early on, it was punk: from his mid-teens he lived in the legendary squat and artistic community Ungdomshuset, toured worldwide with punk and metal bands, and was completely immersed in and dedicated to the city's DIY punk and metal scene.

Then in 2012 he set foot in a techno club for the first time, and his laser-like focus turned in that direction. Jakobsen began producing fast techno under the Sugar alias, and co-founded Fast Forward Productions, an agency and party that has gathered together the city's previously disparate band of fast techno and trance producers, DJs and collectives. Fast Forward has been instrumental in launching the careers of the likes of Schacke, Repro, Funeral Future and Rune Bagge, as well as Jakobsen himself.

Now Jakobsen is launching a new label that, even down to its name, is an open challenge to himself to focus on multiple musical styles at once. Perfumery, of which the Eyes Cream EP is the inaugural release, will be a home for his productions under the Sugar name and other aliases, as well as collaborative efforts with others. The label's open remit defies definitive categorisation of is to come, but its second release will be an abstract, atmospheric album by the cimbalom and tuba player and composer Anders Bo Eriksen, aka OPICA. On that record's heels will be collaborative projects with D.Dan and HVAD, as well as an experimental-minded debut LP by Jakobsen as Sugar.

Though Perfumery will be a platform for the exploration of new musical territories, Eyes Cream comprises four fast-techno hardware jams in Jakobsen's signature style. As well as showing off his knack for punning in a second language, opener Bright Side Of The Spoon is a classic Copenhagen splicing of darkness and light, with insistent, ominous bass waves leavened by twinkling synth textures. On the surface the middle two tracks, Eyes Cream and Try Me, are harder, flintier, Detroit-referencing tools. Just beneath, however, lurks the texture and warmth that is one of Copenhagen techno's prime calling cards. Perhaps the greatest treat of the EP is saved for last: Once And For No One is a gorgeous, gauzy, end-of-the-night banger that packs a hefty emotional punch.

All proceeds from physical and digital sales of the first EP on Perfumery will go to Sea-Watch.Org, a German NGO dedicated to saving migrants trying to reach Europe on stricken vessels in the Mediterranean.

Enter, ANGST a series of musical ‘essays on the ephemeral being’ by Portuguese pianist and composer Tiago Sousa.

After 2015’s Um Piano nas Barricadas (Discrepant, CREP23) Sousa expands his compositional chops by writing and performing along with a trio made of clarinet, percussion and vibraphone adding a magical realism aura to the music.

It was fate that the releasing of these compositions would arrive in one of the most troubled passages of recent memory, just as a new decade begins. If it was already established that anguish is one of the hallmarks haunting our modern era, these last few years expose this existential feeling with even greater urgency.

The album that Tiago now presents, part angst part nostalgic escapism addresses this very modern concern as well as other themes dear to the so-called existentialist thinkers such as Heidegger, Camus or Kierkegaard, who among others, seek to directly challenge the Being with various concepts such as Repetition, Temporality, Interiority, Despair…

Throughout the 8 themes here presented, a delicate attempt is made to sketch a phenomenological cartography through its content and form, loosely describing the feeling of being launched into the wide world and the discovery of one self. In other words, the artist’s aim here is to convey the growing pains that the whole question about the meaning of life throws at us.

In an approach that is difficult to catalogue, the album tries to avoid genres and crystallizations in which music presents itself as a vehicle to express the ineffable and the incommunicable, expressing instead a magical world of wonder and enchantment.

Remastered Limited Blue Vinyl with Gatefold Sleeve.
Includes A2 poster and 3 art prints of each individual band member.

Way back in 1982, Battersea based mod heroes The Direct Hits had released one single on Dan Treacy’s Whamm! record label, ‘Modesty Blaise’ earlier in the year. This was singled out in the music press as not just one of your average Jam crash / bang /wallop mod revivalist tunes.
Live gigs showed they had a mighty powerful set of catchy mod / pop tunes in the back pocket. Whamm! were struggling to provide the funds to record an album, the songs were too good not to commit to a full 12’ set, so the Direct Hits pooled their limited resources and self financed a very cheap one day recording session in a tiny studio in Tooting, South London called Broadway Sound.
Early on the morning of August 12th 1982 the band, comprising of Colin Swan, Geno Buckmaster, Brian Grover and their trusty roadie ‘Robbo’ assembled at the tiny studio to begin recording as many of their songs as they could get down on tape for the tiny budget they had scraped together. As most of the songs were already well rehearsed thanks to the band’s busy live schedule, the recording of the first nine songs on this disc were finished by mid afternoon without any problems. Throughout the late afternoon and early evening the band toiled over scant overdubs with limited keyboard facilities and a distinct lack of musical ability. The recordings immediately came to life however, when Colin Swan and Geno Buckmaster’s stage-honed tight harmonies were added, there was no time for vocal overdubs, and the mixing was completed by midnight. Tired and worn out, the band ventured out into the cold night air happy with the days work, clutching the precious reel to reel tape.
Two weeks later the band came back with a friend producing, and recorded the three final tracks featured on this album which have a more rounded slightly less raw sound. All three were completed in an afternoon. Almost two years later they re-recorded some of these songs, and along with a handful of new songs from the pen of Buckmaster and Swan, recorded their ‘Blow Up’ debut album at Rendezvous Studios in Sydenham, South East London, released on Whaam! Records in August 1984.
So what you have here are the roots of some of these great songs. A few didn’t make it to the first album those that did, as you will hear, stayed reasonably faithful to the original arrangements.
The Broadway Recording Sessions take you right back to where it all started!

Horace Andy's voice is an instrument that once heard is never forgotten, regardless of whether you first hear it on one of the numerous Jamaican reggae singles that he recorded during the 70s or - like most people - on one of the Massive Attack albums he collaborated on as a vocalist. His falsetto and his characteristic slow-motion vibrato breathed life into tracks like "Spying Glass", "Cuss Cuss", "In The Light", "Skylarking" or "(You are My) Angel", ensuring that they still continue to resonate deeply with listeners. His vocal style influenced countless root singers and the combination of his timbre with Massive Attack's spartan hip hop beats still inspires legions of fans and copyists all over the world. Echo Beach has now picked up on this tradition - and the much older tradition of versioning - by asking friends of the label to rework Horace Andy's classic tracks in their own sound outfit. But this time the label hasn't trawled old Studio One tapes for historic vocal snippets - that would sooo nineties; no, Horace Andy personally put in an appearance to sing new versions of his classic tracks on top of timeless and contemporary riddims. Age may have deepened his voice, but it is by no means weaker, as can be heard on this album, on which Echo Beach welcomes old friends and new faces: there's Rob Smith, who as part of More Rockers and Smith & Mighty was just as crucial for Bristol's musical reputation as Massive Attack or DJ Krust & Roni Size. Today, he ensures continuity by working under the label and producer name.

It was the end of a century, and as the 1990s inevitably applied its brakes, Dubstar were sent flailing through the windscreen of popular music. Their third album, the unfortunately-titled Make It Better, lay bleeding at the side of the road, itself a casualty of one-too-many personal and professional traumas.


In the following years there were some half-hearted attempts to record more music- even the occasional, low-key live appearance here and there- but it wasn’t until 2015 that Sarah Blackwood and Chris Wilkie found themselves formally reconstituted and writing new material in dedicated earnest. Not because it was expected, but because they couldn't help it.

With the support and encouragement of legendary producer Youth, they began sessions for One, which represented the beginning of a new chapter in the Dubstar story, and one which has audibly benefitted from the passing of time. The album is generally considered to be the first worthy successor to their platinum-selling debut Disgraceful, and serves as generous compensation for the wilderness years, while promising even better things on the horizon.

Lost Horizons release their new album ‘In Quiet Moments’ via Bella Union. The album features a stellar array of musical guests including John Grant, C Duncan, Marissa Nadler, Porridge Radio, Penelope Isles, Karen Peris (the innocence mission), Tim Smith (Midlake), Ren Harvieu and many more.
In 2017, Simon Raymonde and Richie Thomas had both abstained from making music for 20 years until they united as Lost Horizons and released a stunning debut album, ‘Ojalá’ - the Spanish word for ‘hopefully’ or ‘God willing.’
“These days, we need hope more than ever, for a better world.” Thomas said at the time. “And this album has given me a lot of hope. To reconnect with music.... And the hope for another Lost Horizons record!” Thomas’ hopes had a mixed response.
On the plus side, the new Lost Horizons album ‘In Quiet Moments’ is an even stronger successor to ‘Ojalá’ with another distinguished cast of guest singers and a handful of supporting instrumentalists embellishing the core duo’s gorgeously freeflowing and loose-limbed blueprint that one writer astutely labelled, “melancholydelia.”
On the minus side, any hope for a better world, as Earth continues to freefall toward political and social meltdown. Then, to make matters worse, as Raymonde and Thomas buckled down to create the improvised bedrock that Lost Horizons is built on, the former’s mother died. At least Raymonde had a way to channel his grief.
“The way improvisation works,” he says, “it’s just what’s going on with your body at the time, to let it out.”
Raymonde (bass, guitar, keyboards, production) and Thomas (drums, occasional keys and guitar) forged ahead, creating 16 instrumental tracks to send to prospective guests. When he did, Raymonde suggested a guiding theme for their lyrics: “death and rebirth. Of loved ones, of ideals, at an age when many artists that have inspired us are also dead, and the planet isn’t far behind. But I also said, ‘The most important part is to just do your own thing, and have fun.’”
Lost Horizons’ melancholy-delia also feels buoyed aloft by airy currents, informed in part by Raymonde and Thomas’ former respective bands: the legendary Cocteau Twins and Dif Juz. Their former bands were labelmates on 4AD in the mid-80s, which is how they first met.
“I think ‘In Quiet Moments’ is more in the direction of where we’re going,” Thomas concludes. “People have retreated into their lives and, in those quiet moments, reflected on the world, how we fit in and who we and trust. Maybe the next album will be about rebellion! But the road is long and winding. We just need to express ourselves in how we feel at the time.”
Coloured vinyl 2LP (disc one green, disc two blue) in PVC outer sleeve with printed text, 350gsm wide spined sleeve on uncoated/reverse board, 16pg booklet on standard paper with contributions from all featured artists and digital download code.

Today, The Wytches announce their third album Three Mile Ditch. The album features the recently released single “Cowboy” which marked their return after four years away and to celebrate the announcement they share new single “A Love You’ll Never Know”. The track is accompanied by a music video by Mark Breed and he explains,

“The music video format was a long process. Making the set was incredibly fun with Kristian crafting most of the miniatures.I then had to film the green screen band performance within the set before recording the edited version onto my VHS camera. Finally I shot the finished edit inside the view finder.”

The album recorded with Luke Oldfield at Tile House Studios will be released on their own label Cable Code Records on Friday 2nd October.

“This is the first thing that I've ever been proud of for longer than a week,” says The Wytches frontman Kristian Bell of the band’s latest album Three Mile Ditch. This sense of vigour and enthusiasm coming from Bell about the band’s third album is matched by its contents. The album is an explosive collection of 10 tracks that weaves seamlessly between gut-wobbling monster riffs, swampy rock, slick surf, and finely tuned songcraft. It’s also the result of a band coming back from the brink of collapse.

The band’s early trajectory was a steep and speedy one as they quickly established themselves as one of the country’s most exciting and pulverising new bands. Major festival slots stacked up at places such as Glastonbury, SXSW, Reading and Leeds, and British Summertime with the Strokes. As did the tours across the US with METZ, traversing Europe with Fat White Family and Death Grips. They garnered support from BBC 6 Music, DIY, MOJO, NME and more. However, when the ascent to the stratosphere is moving at such a speed, there’s a risk of burning out and imploding, and the band came close to this.

They were on the rocks for a while, unsure of themselves and if the band should - or even could - go on. “I had it in my head that this kind of thing only really happens once and to try it again might be a big waste of time,” Bell reflects. However, despite the difficulties, the powerful pull of the band was too great to ignore.

“We had an album’s worth of songs that was some of our best material. The mission became to complete a Wytches album rather than get The Wytches back on the touring circuit. This album helped us make the decision to try it again.”

Driving anywhere in Texas can cost you half a day, easy. For example, it’ll take you over four hours just to get from R&B singer Leon Bridges’ hometown of Fort Worth down to Houston, where the psychedelic wanderers in Khruangbin hail from. The state is vast, crisscrossed with rugged expanses of road flanked by limestone cliffs and granite mountains, forests of pine and mesquite, miles of desert or acres of sprawling grassland, all depending on what part you’re in. And it’s all baking under the Texas Sun that lends its name to Bridges and Khruangbin’s new collaborative release. “Big sky country, that’s what they call Texas,” Khruangbin bassist Laura Lee says. “The horizon line goes all the way from one side to another without interruption. There’s something really comforting about that.” On ‘Texas Sun’, these two members of the state’s musical vanguard meet up somewhere in the middle of that scene, in the mythical nexus of Texas’ past, present, and future - a dreamy badlands where genres blur as seamlessly as the terrain. It calls equally to the cowboys bootscooting at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, the chopped-andscrewed hip hop fans rattling slabs on the southside of Houston, the art-school kids dropping acid in Austin, the cross-cultural progeny who grew up on listening to both mariachi and post-hardcore out on the Mexican borders of El Paso. All of these things, overlapping in a multi-coloured melange, purple hues as vivid and unpredictable as one of the state’s rightfully celebrated sunsets. A journey through homesick reminiscences, backseat romances and late night contemplations, the kind of record made for listening with the windows down and the road humming softly beneath you. Like the highways that inspired it, ‘Texas Sun’ is guaranteed to get you where you’re going - especially if you’re in no particular hurry to get there. Khruangbin and Leon Bridges are critically acclaimed artists with extensive coverage in print and online, including the New York Times, NPR, FADER, four Grammy nominations (Leon Bridges), The New Yorker, Washington Post and Pitchfork, among many others.