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Skudge appears courtesy of Lazy Reflex Complex for the label's third instalment. Skudge delivers two signature style cuts along with an ominous rework of 'Departure' by 543ff. The flip side is delivered by label head 543ff; three techno tools to make crowds move. Mastered by Audiosculpture.

Heavee is a Queer Chicagoan DJ & producer with a long history in footwork. His 2022 'Audio Assault' EP on Hyperdub showcased synth-driven, melodic footwork, but ‘Unleash’ goes much further into audio world-building, with a fresh, spongy and citrus-y sound palette and rich, bright chord sequences.

It's minimal, airy, balancing light and dark, sometimes breezy and sometimes clinical. Heavee works simultaneously outside and inside the box, rebuilding footwork's framework and vibe to his own unique specification. Rhythmically, it's dance floor ready, using footwork's 160 template as a springboard for building new drum sounds to express these rhythms, and draws from R&B, rap, jazz and grime, with a sprinkling of bitter-sweet vintage Detroit techno.

‘Unleash’ takes footwork’s “eats all” approach to music and leads it in a fresh direction with a freedom of spirit. It's a strong addition to the footwork cannon and shows that experiments in dance music can be fun.

Bass player Ron Carter’s debut album Where? features Eric Dolphy (clarinet, sax, flute) and Mal Waldron (piano). The album was originally released in 1961 having been recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studios in New Jersey. This new edition of the album is released as part of the Original Jazz Classics Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analogue mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and presented in a Tip-On Jacket. US import.

Nur wenige Wochen nach seinem Kollaborationsalbum mit der langjährigen Thievery Corporation-Sängerin Natalia Clavier liefert Thievery-Mitbegründer Eric Hilton mit dem neuen Solowerk 'Sound Vagabond' eine atemberaubende 14-Track-Klangreisereportage ab. Für Hilton, der Jahrzehnte damit verbracht hat, verschiedene globale Genres zu einer einzigartigen Musikvision zu verschmelzen, ist 'Sound Vagabond' die ultimative Umsetzung dieses Ethos, bei der jeder Titel eine Audio-Fotopostkarte eines realen oder imaginären Ortes ist.

Prolific musician and visual artist NAH (US / BE) presents ‘Totally Recalled’, a new album set for release on March 15. The record will be available on Vinyl LP via VIERNULVIER Records and digital via NAH’s own Difficult Sounds.

Across 10 tracks of relentlessly pulsing yet highly reflective works, ‘Totally Recalled’ continues NAH’s never-ending exploration of the balance between acoustic and synthetic percussion and the noisy overlapping genre intersections they pass through.

It pulls upon years of NAH’s experiences in dark clubs and grimy basements across the globe to present the listener with an audio snapshot of the genre-less alternate reality that NAH continues to traverse.

‘Totally Recalled’ is a listening experience that serves well at home, submerged in headphones, but ultimately meant to be witnessed live in all its decibel meter breaking glory.

To enhance ‘Totally Recalled’ on a visual level, NAH has developed a new live AV show of the same title with dates at CTM Festival (Berlin), Melkweg (Amsterdam), Out The Frame (Ghent), We Are Open (Antwerp) and many more.

‘Totally Recalled is set for release on March 15 on vinyl LP via VIERNULVIER Records & digital via NAH’s own Difficult Sounds

Rock & Roll, indeed. Ruth Brown’s sizzling full-length debut — also known by its eponymous title — symbolizes what was exciting, fresh, invigorating, and raw about the burgeoning style in its halcyon days. Originally released in 1957, and reissued here in audiophile quality for the first time in partnership with Atlantic Records’ 75th anniversary, the set remains a testament to one of the most pioneering and talented vocalists to ever command a stage.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's renowned mastering system in California, pressed at RTI, housed in a Stoughton jacket, and strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g mono LP of Rock & Roll plays with an immediacy, vibrancy, and fullness that showcase the reach, power, and emotionalism of Brown’s voice. The sound of her support musicians — brassy horns, swinging rhythm combos, echoing backing vocalists, rollicking pianists, jaunty guitarists — is made clear and vivid, helping the upbeat fare to jump, juke, and jive with newfound energy and exuberance. In a related manner, Brown’s slower, more understated material crackles with an intimacy and passion that let you know you're in the presence of a woman who has lived what she sings. The longtime Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member deserves nothing less.

In an era dominated by big-throated vocalists, few — if any — came grander than Brown. The singer, whose repeat million-selling ‘50s success with Atlantic Records led many to call the then-indie label “The House That Ruth Built,” charted two dozen R&B hits in the span of a decade for the fledgling imprint. Rightly coined “Miss Rhythm,” the extroverted Brown put Atlantic on the national map, became the best-selling female musician of the ‘50s, and established a precedent that would ultimately lead to Grammy and Tony Awards. Her early works have lost none of their fire or flair.

Akin to many full-length LPs of its era, Rock & Roll doubles as a collection. Its 14 tracks comprise some of the more famous sides Brown recorded for Atlantic, beginning in 1949 with the all-time-great rendition of the ballad “So Long,” and continuing through 1956. After the song caught the public’s ear, the Virginia native briefly became known for her smoldering style with lovelorn material and torch songs, approaching them (see “Oh What a Dream,” “Old Man River”) with a combination of pained sadness and hardened resilience that had no contemporary equal. Encouraged to pursue the style by Atlantic Records co-founder Ahmt Ertegun, her R&B-driven material soon made her a constant chart presence.

Demonstrating what fellow legend Bonnie Raitt deemed “sex with class and dignity,” Brown merges blues and jazz, swing and gospel in electrifying fashion. She dares you not to move, dance, and get on your feet. A majority of Rock & Roll explodes with uptempo runs and jaunty readings of hot-blooded R&B numbers. Sweaty and sultry, bawdy and bold, Brown eclipses the anthemic blare of the saxophones and joyful clatter of the 88s, singing with a slight catch in her voice and hurricane-gale force that threatens to blow the roof off whatever room her voice occupies.

Evidence abounds. Listen to her prod the band and encourage the band members to blow a fuse on a sizzling “Hello Little Boy,” complete with cries and wails; stretch her phrasing to the heavens on the swaying “Wild Wild Young Men,” laden with romp-and-stomp beats; plead and persuade on the snaking “5-10-15 Hours,” which flips the script on the age’s notions of dominance; use her raspy tones, high notes, and breath control to mesmerizing effect on the smash “Mama He Treats Your Daughter Mean,” recorded with a group led by Ray Charles; survey the scene and take charge on the steaming “As Long as I’m Moving”; and tap a classy albeit flirtatious vein on “Lucky Lips,” which dented the pop charts as her first crossover hit.

Throughout Rock & Roll, Brown knows the lyrical connotations and spirited architecture of the songs inside-out. Her assertive voice — never harsh, strident, or false — is the epitome of the passionate desires and sonic strains that turned into nascent rock ’n’ roll. Brown played a pivotal role in helping the style develop, the record a timeless reminder of a lasting legacy that will never be forgotten.

Of the countless accolades and analyses that surround Blue, no point is more significant than the fact that the 1971 Joni Mitchell album continues to become more popular, revered, referenced, and relevant with each passing day. Such vitality is not only extremely singular; it is the ultimate measure of great art and, in the context of Blue, indisputable proof of the record's accessibility, integrity, and timelessness. If the most brilliant and everlasting music seeks to find truths shared by all of humanity, Blue can be said to be universal doctrine.

Sourced from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, and strictly limited to 12,000 numbered copies, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP box set presents the landmark album with reference-grade detail, tonality, and directness. Marking the first time the beloved LP has received audiophile-quality treatment, it's one of six iconic 1970s Mitchell records Mobile Fidelity is reissuing on definitive-sounding vinyl and SACD sets.

Everything about Blue sounds more intimate, involving, and inescapable on this transparent pressing, which benefits from a virtually non-existent noise floor and superior groove definition. Mitchell's voice, positioned front and center, and primarily accompanied by minimalist acoustic guitar, piano, and dulcimer playing, comes across clearly and prominently. Suspended notes and radiant chords double as question marks, commas, and phrases. The in-the-room presence and spatial dimensionality make absolute the full-range spectrum of introspective emotions — hurt and distress, self-awareness and joy, difficulty and uncertainty, warmth and desire — Mitchell navigates, queries, and contemplates throughout the record. The defencelessness the singer once spoke about is laid bare here like never before.

The packaging of the Blue UD1S set complements its distinguished status. Housed in a deluxe box, both LPs come in special foil-stamped jackets with faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. This UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artifact for listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to engage themselves in everything involved with the album, including the unforgettable cover photograph of a ruminative Mitchell shot by Tim Considine.

Deemed the third Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone; universally celebrated by critics, fans, artists, and educators; and defined by a spell of disarmingly vulnerable songs that are at once confessional, intense, spare, honest, painful, hopeful, and exquisite, Blue charts love, spiritualism, independence, and loss like no record before or since. Widely considered the album that established the singer-songwriter template, the largely autobiographical LP changed everything shortly after its original release in June 1971. Amazingly, it continues to do so more than five decades later.

An incalculable influence on generations of artists, it stands as the through-line from Carole King, Elton John, James Taylor, Joan Armatrading, and Leonard Cohen to Patti Smith, Carly Simon, Emmylou Harris, and Rosanne Cash to 21st century contemporaries like Brandi Carlile, Taylor Swift, Sharon Van Etten, and Courtney Barnett. Teetering between agony and optimism, it is — to borrow a phrase from Mitchell's eternal "A Case of You" — a bottomless "box of paints."

The beauty of the stripped-down arrangements, intoxicating melodies, and Mitchell's wisdom on Blue didn't go unnoticed. Critical acclaim, coupled with the depth of the material and Mitchell's reputation, propelled the album into the Top 20 in the U.S. and Top 10 in the U.K. Yet while so much pop music diminishes with age, Blue has defied norms and headed in the opposite direction. Its 50th anniversary year witnessed an outpouring of tributes, reflections, and testimonials that helped frame the record's escalating importance and symbolism — apt in an age in which women have become the prominent trailblazers in rock, R&B, and hip-hop.

Perhaps most succinctly, in a 2021 article celebrating the LP, the Los Angeles Times declared: "In 1971, nothing sounded like Joni Mitchell's Blue. 50 years later, it's still a miracle." Nothing, indeed. Yet "miracle" suggests Blue partially owes to a divine agent or inexplicable circumstance. And though Mitchell's bracing conviction and forthright sincerity can appear otherworldly, her musical approach and lyrical storytelling is nothing if not personal and human. What we hear is pure truth — no matter how aching, complicated, or stark.

Much has been written about the circumstances that inspired the songs on Blue: Mitchell's romances; her time overseas; her disdain for celebrity; her lingering sense of loss at having given up her daughter for adoption; her treatment by the very same industry that her music made uncomfortable; her prolonged search for resolution. These situations and experiences pushed Mitchell to question everything — especially big-picture concepts that have always obsessed mankind: fulfilment, autonomy, love, honesty, being.

"I wanna make you feel free," Mitchell sings on the record-opening "All I Want." Mission accomplished. Blue is liberation — and the start of a freedom that continues to impact music, culture, and identity today.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called "converts") are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.

Dire Straits never made a big to-do about its final run. In classic understated British fashion, the band simply let its music speak for itself. And how. Originally released in September 1991, On Every Street became the group's swan song – a lasting testament to the influence, musicianship, and integrity of an ensemble whose merit has never been tainted by cash-grab reunions or farewell treks. It remains an essential part of the Dire Straits catalog and a blueprint of the distinctive U.K. roots rock the collective played for its 15-year career.

Sourced from the original master tapes, housed in gatefold packaging, and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity's 180g 45RPM 2LP set of On Every Street presents the album like it has always been meant to be experienced: in reference-grade audiophile sound. Recorded at AIR Studios in London and produced by Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler, it features all of the band's sonic hallmarks – wide instrumental separation, visceral textures, seemingly limitless air, broad soundstages, atmospherics that you can almost reach out and feel. Each element is made more vibrant, physical, and lifelike on this collectible reissue, which marks the first time this 60-minute work has been available at 45RPM speed.

Afforded generous groove space and black backgrounds, the songs from On Every Street burst with nuanced details and vibrant colors. Dire Straits' playing appears to float, their intricate performances organized amid hypnotic, fluid, three-dimensional arrangements. Mobile Fidelity's definitive-sounding set also brings into transparent view Knopfler's finely sculpted guitar lines, expressive tones, and laid-back vocals – as well as the balanced accompaniment from his band mates. Here's a record on which you can hear the full blossom and decay of individual notes, and imagine the size and shape of the studio. It is in every regard a demonstration disc. And it happens to be filled with timeless fare.

Remarkably, On Every Street almost never came to light. Dire Straits initially dissolved in September 1988 after touring behind its blockbuster Brothers in Arms and suffering the departure of two members. At the time, Knopfler professed his desire to work on solo material; bassist John Illsley also explored side projects. But Knopfler's decision in 1989 to form the country-leaning Notting Hillbillies reignited a spark to reconvene his primary band and craft a fresh batch of songs. Six years removed from Brothers in Arms, Knopfler, Illsley, keyboardist Alan Clark, and keyboardist Guy Fletcher teamed with A-list session pros – steel guitarist Paul Franklin, percussionist Danny Cummings, saxophonist Chris White, guitarist Phil Palmer included – to create what still stands as an unforgettable farewell.

The platinum record brings the band full circle in that it returns Dire Straits to a quartet formation; finds the group refreshingly out of step with the era's prevailing trends; and sees Knopfler and Co. knocking out song after song with the deceptive ease of a punter tossing back a pint at a pub. That subtle cool, clever poise, and innate control – signature traits that no other band ever matched – dominate On Every Street. Knopfler's clean, virtuosic six-string escapades unfurl with dizzying melodicism and economical efficiency. Led by his winding fills and focused solos, Dire Straits traverse a hybrid landscape of rock, jazz, country, boogie, blues, and pop strains with near-faultless prowess.

More than any other entry in the group's oeuvre, On Every Street welcomes quick detours down back alleys and into the depths of human souls. What makes it more brilliant is its staunch refusal to cater to commercial expectations or take advantage of prior successes; every passage feels true, every measure echoed in the service of song. It's evident in the humorous satire of "Heavy Fuel," closeted desperation of the witty "Calling Elvis," and shake-and-bake bounce of "The Bug." It pours from the album's darker corners, as on the high-and-lonesome melancholy of the title track and bruised emotionalism of "When It Comes to You."

Hinting at the open-minded approaches and boundless curiosity he'd embrace as a solo artist, Knopfler doesn't limit himself when it comes to style or subject matter. Look no further than "You and Your Friend," a shuffle whose all-inclusive lyrics encourage an array of interpretative meanings. Another of the album's deep cuts, "Iron Hand," comes on as one of the band's most memorable moments – the narrative addressing the abuses of power at the 1984 Battle of Orgreave during the U.K. miners' strike. Given cinematic heft by the expert production, the true-fiction account puts into perspective the richness, poetry, and depth of On Every Street.

"Every victory has a taste that's bittersweet," sings Knopfler on the title track. At least that bittersweetness seldom sounded so damn good on record.

The music Charles Mingus and his group recorded during his landmark 1960 sessions for Candid Records produced three of the most revered jazz albums of the era. INCARNATIONS is a new masterpiece thoughtfully assembled from rare and unreleased material from those sessions that stands proudly in the Mingus canon of masterworks. All but one of the tracks here are from the November 11th, 1960 sessions Mingus and producer Nate Hentoff put together. The date was split into two halves: one a pure Mingus-led date, featuring a six-piece band that expanded into an octet for two additional tunes, and another, a partial reunion of a collective that had assembled in opposition against George Wein’s Newport Jazz Festival that past July. (That collective, calling themselves The Jazz Artist Guild, would release the album Newport Rebels, on Candid in 1961.) Of special note here is the one track recorded during the Mingus October 20th 1960 sessions. It is a previously unreleased track titled “All The Things You Are (All.)” Found on a tape that contained material from both of these fall 1960 dates, the piece has its roots in an Art Tatum rendition of “All the Things You Are,” which Mingus had recorded before in various settings. Featuring Booker Ervin, Eric Dolphy, Charles McPherson, Ted Curson Lonnie Hillyer, Roy Eldridge, Jimmy Knepper, Britt Woodman, Tommy Flanagan, Paul Bley, Dannie Richmond and Jo Jones. With audio restored and remastered by Bernie Grundman, and liner notes by Pitchfork and New York Times contributor Hank Shteamer, this album is a must have for any Mingus fan.

"For a long time, I'd come across these discs without really understanding what connected them, apart from a button and that famous logo designed by René Dessirier. Then, with a little more digging, I discovered the "self-production" link. For choirs, schools, folk singers, young pop groups, popular homes and even great composers who engraved unique copies of certain recording sessions...

The French equivalent of the English "Derby Service", the Kiosque d'Orphée, formerly at 7 Rue Grégoire de Tours in the 6th arrondissement, was taken over by Georges Batard in 1967 and moved to 20 Rue des Tournelles in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The adventure lasted until 1991. Georges Batard was a sound engineer who used a Neumann tube engraver to engrave acetates from the tapes he received, before printing the precious vinyls in the press factories of the day, where he was able to produce very small runs of between 50 and 500 copies.

Of course, there were other structures for releasing his records, such as Voxigrave or, later, FLVM, but none of them had so many records in their catalog. Le Kiosque d'Orphée was neither a label nor a publisher, but a structure that allowed you to press your own vinyl, at a time when it was quite an adventure to get your first 45 rpm or 33 rpm album released!

Georges Batard was described as passionate and conscientious. His son, bassist Didier Batard, wrote of him:
"Georges was passionate about recording and reproducing the stereo sound of his great passion, music. He paid close attention to distortion rates, signal-to-noise ratios, response curves, rise times and other damping factors in audio equipment. He was looking for the exact reproduction of concert hall sound in his living room (with the same sound level, if possible...). In the late '50s/early '60s, he found other sound enthusiasts in AFDERS (Association Française pour le Développement de l'Enregistrement et de la Reproduction Sonores). He became its honorary president. Every Saturday afternoon, its members met to test au- dio equipment. Their opinions were published in the monthly Revue du Son.

All you had to do was send in your tapes and choose the number of record copies you'd like to take home with you, so you could finally share your creations and, in a way, exist. You could opt for a generic sleeve, available in several colors, directly customizable with your name and credits, or you could design your dream sleeve yourself in your living room or at a printer's.

This "Do It Yourself" temple gave birth to some superb pouches. Stencilled, hand-written, illustrated with paintings, drawings, illustrations by friends or girlfriends of the time, photo prints hastily stuck in the middle of a blank, white sleeve, on which the traces of time would leave their imprints, so that collectors and the curious would come and buy them decades later, with the promise of a musical discovery, unfortunately not always fulfilled...

What most of these records have in common is the youth of their songwriters, whether or not they've had a career. Stories of buddies, of getting by and dreams of glory made up this catalog. Most of them were amateur productions, both in terms of the level of the musicians and the quality of the recordings, made on a two-track or, the ultimate luxury, a 4-track in a teenager's bedroom or parents' living room.

It was the beginning of the home studio, thanks to the advent of the Revox portable tape recorder. A bit of a shaky DIY system, but, in return, the luxury of setting no limits: one-sided tracks, no outside censorship, no artistic director, no manager, no Barclay or EMI/Pathé Marconi logos...

When you finally had your own record, you could give it away or sell it to friends, family or after concerts. You could also drop it off at the nearest record shop, with undisguised pride.

It was also a calling card that could be sent to radio stations or music labels, in the hope of launching a career...

Many of the protagonists in this story tried to sign with labels, but in those days, bridges were not so easy to build between one's hometown, or even one's village, and the major or more specialized label that might have released these records. At the time, the advertisements published in the press by the Kiosque d'Orphée opened up the field of possibilities for provincial composers. It was now possible to make their own record, without having to go through the process of signing with a label.

Some of the composers who have gone on to make a career have used this channel to release their first record or parallel projects (Claude Engel, Dominique A, Andy Emler, Michel Deneuve, Claude Mairet, Mick Piellard, Tristan Mu- rail...) and sometimes even single or very limited pressings of work or promotional copies (Bernard Parmegiani, Jef Gilson...).

This album is the conclusion of a long investigation, begun six years ago. It took a long time to find the records, scattered all over the place, in the homes of collectors and sometimes the musicians themselves, and then to listen to them, sometimes painstakingly, to unearth these moments of grace.

From this work, 23 tracks remain, but there are dozens of others that could have been included, so we had to choose, and the choice had to be as universal as possible. This selection is obviously not objective, but I hope you'll like it.

Today's music is raw, touching and powerful. "

Jean-Baptiste Guillot - Born Bad Records

"My favorite singer in the place was Karen Dalton. She had a voice like Billie Holiday's and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed." - Bob Dylan // Karen Daltons Capitol-Debüt aus dem Jahr 1969 ist endlich wieder erhältlich! Light in the Attic freut sich, eine brandneue Ausgabe dieser herzzerreißenden und bluesigen Einführung in die berauschende Welt von Dalton und ihrem tiefen Brunnen voller musikalischer Geheimnisse zu präsentieren. Weltmüde und vom Blues erfüllt, war Daltons unübertroffene interpretatorische Tiefe und emotionale Bandbreite wie keine andere. "It's So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best" wurde 1969 für Capitol aufgenommen und reihte sich ein bei klassischen amerikanischen Songwritern wie Lead Belly, Fred Neil und Tim Hardin. Diese Neuveröffentlichung ist die endgültige, rein analoge Version von Daltons umwerfendem Debüt, mit neu gemastertem Audiomaterial von den Original-Capitol-Mastern, dem Original-Artwork von 1969 in einem erweiterten Klappcover, ungesehenen Fotos des Albumfotografen Joel Brodsky und einem Essay, in dem Karens Freunde und musikalische Mitstreiter zu Wort kommen, vom Albumproduzenten und Bassisten Harvey Brooks bis zum Musiker Peter Stampfel von den Holy Modal Rounders. - Features new all-analog mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, direct from the original analog tapes - Pressed at RTI - Includes liner notes by Brian Barr - Featuring unseen photos by legendary photographer Joel Brodsky - LP housed in an expanded gatefold jacket

Most audiophiles know Alan Parsons Project's I Robot by heart. Engineered by Parsons after he performed the same duties on Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, the 1977 record reigns as a disc whose taut bass, crisp highs, clean production, and seemingly limitless dynamic range are matched only by the sensational prog-rock fare helmed by the keyboardist and his creative partner, Eric Woolfson. Not surprisingly, it's been issued myriad times. Can it be improved? Relish Mobile Fidelity's stupendous UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM box set and the question becomes moot.


Mastered from the original master tapes and pressed at RTI on MoFi SuperVinyl, I Robot comes to life with reference-setting realism on this numbered, limited-edition reissue. Boasting immaculate highs and lows, generous spaciousness, and see-through transparency that takes you into the studio with Parsons and Woolfson at Abbey Road, this definitive edition is designed to demonstrate the full-range capabilities of the world's best stereo systems while offering listeners the convenience of having all the music on one LP.

Featuring a nearly inaudible noise floor, this transcendent UD1S edition functions as a repeat invitation to savor reference-grade soundstages, immersive smoothness, sought-after instrumental separation, three-dimensional imaging, and consummate tonal balances. Able to be played back at high volumes without compromise or fatigue, it is a demonstration record for the ages – the likes of which are no longer being made. This is the very reason you own and invest in high-end audio gear.

The special characteristics of this UD1S version extend to the premium packaging. Housed in an elegant slipcase, the reissue features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics. Aurally and visually, it is made for discerning listeners who prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in everything about this conceptual landmark. The Alan Parsons Project's most famous record deserves nothing less.

Inspired by and loosely based around the Isaac Asimov stories of the same name, I Robot delves into themes of artificial intelligence and technological dominance that make the record extremely relevant in the 21st century. Indeed, Parsons and Woolfson's pinnacle creation dovetailed with the ascendency of Star Wars, which itself is experiencing a rebirth in an age of self-driving cars, smart devices, and mindless automation. Lyrically, songs such as "The Voice" call into question human behavior – and their relationship to increasing robotic supremacy – in everyday life. Parsons and Woolfson reflect the associated paranoia, dichotomy, and transformation via shifting sci-fi arrangements steeped in drama and moodiness.

The absorbing tunes on I Robot also continue to fascinate due to their perfectionism and innovation. Borrowing from Pink Floyd's strategies, Parsons and Woolfson utilize a looped sequence on the title track to create new downbeats. "Some Other Time" employs two different lead vocalists and yet gives the illusion that only one is involved. Captivating strings, a piccolo trumpet, and bona fide pipe organ grace "Don't Let It Show." The origins of "Nucleus" stem from a unique analog keyboard concoction dubbed "the Projectron," devised by Parsons and electronic engineer Keith Johnson. Andrew Powell's orchestral and choral arrangements top it all off, with "Total Eclipse" arriving as a frightening track that presages the climactic "Genesis Ch. 1 V. 32."

Does man or machine win in the end? Decide as you get lost in Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc 180g 33RPM LP pressing. Secure your numbered copy today!

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called "converts") are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.

MoFi SuperVinyl

Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analogue lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

HJirok is a mythical figure, conceived as a fictional character by Iranian-born Kurdish singer and artist Hani Mojahedy. Together with versatile music producer And Toma of Mouse On Mars, she combined a variety of sounds collected during their joint travels to Iraqi Kurdistan and elsewhere with heavily processed recordings of Sufi drum rhythms and setar melodies. The result is a driving, dubbed-out, and deeply intricate soundscape that perfectly sets the stage for Mojahedy's extended, unconventional vocal techniques and polyglot lyrics. Both informed by tradition and rigorously forward-looking, »Hjirok« (with a lowercase J) is at once a profoundly personal album and a universal utopian promise. As a ghost from the past, HJirok draws on Mojtahedy's memories to mould a new future out of them.

The foundation for »Hjirok« was laid in the city of Erbil in the Kurdish part of Iraq. During one of their stays in the region, Mojahedy and Toma recorded the three percussionists Hadi Alizadeh, Jawad Salkhordeh and Serdar Saydan as well as setar player Ali Choolaei from Motahedy's backing band while they were playingthe rhythms and notes that she had grown up with in the house of her grandfather in the Iranian city of Sanandaj. Her memories of that place revolve around hypnotic Sufi music, dervishes in deep trance, and ecstatic singing. Much like this music seemed to open a portal to other dimensions, the inhabitants of the house lived in a sort of alternative reality: It provided them with a hideaway from political circumstances. Following the Iranian revolution in 1979, a Kurdish rebellion ensued but was met with the utmost brutality by the new regime, which resulted in the death of thousands.

It is no coincidence that the music on »Hirok« would draw on rhythmic patterns that were passed on from one generation to the next for hundreds of years. »The project is rooted in the figures of the Sufi dervishes and thus a culture that precedes today's political, social, cultural, and religious systems,« explains Mohtahedy. »The Sufi sound travelled around the entire world. I like to think of it as a dialogue between peoples-one based on the rhythms of the drums and the sound of their voices.« Toma adds that by electronically transforming the recordings and enriching them with field recordings from both rural and urban spaces, they were able to use the stories told by the drums and the setar to create an entirely new narrative.

The story told by these eight pieces is hence a deeply personal, but also inherently political one. Moitahedy herself left Iran in 2004 and relocated to Berlin in 2010. Having continued to use her art as a platform to tirelessly advocate for the rights of the Kurdish people and women under oppressive regimes, she has not been allowed to return to her country of origin ever since. »Hani is singing for equality and there are people who are afraid of that-her femininity, her strength.« Toma says. Much like earlier Hirok sound installations addressed human-made climate change and other systemic ills, also »Hjirok« can hardly be disconnected from far-reaching struggles for liberation and equality.

This is also true on a thematic and even linguistic level. »The lyrics are about a promise,« Mojahedy says, citing Kurdish writer Ebdulla Pesêw as an inspiration. »At their core, these are about that day on which violence and fear become a thing of the past; what they tell you is ot not give up, to keep hoping,« she adds. The promise embedded in them is an emancipatory one. These contents are mirrored on a linguistic level: The lyrics were written in both Kurdish and Farsi, blurring the lines between the two languages and thus, Kurdish and Persian cultures.

Mojahedy, or rather HJirok, conveys these philosophical themes with elegance. Herversatile vocal performance is only loosely basedo n established styles. »Of course everything started with traditional rhythms, but we kept pushing things further and further, so Idid the same with my voice,« Mojahedy explains. »There were no boundaries.« The same can be said of the field recordings that she and Toma used. Whether it's conversations between members of the Pesmerge, the Kurdish armed forces, having a chat in meadow full of bunnies or the humming and buzzing of metropolises like Tehran: »Hirok« paints a sonic picture that is quite literally autopian one; that of a non-place in which different soundscapes, cultures and ways of life coexist peacefully.

What the album conjures up from Mojahedy's memory is not only a very specific place during a unique time in history as experienced by a single person. It is also ametaphorical home open to anyone who wishes to enter - promise of a better, more egalitarian future for everyone. Hence, HJirok will bring it on tour, presenting the material as an audio-visual live show that makes use of the photo and video material that Mojahedy and Toma have collected during their travels through Kurdistan.ja

Chicago? Absolutely! Detroit? Definitely! For many, however, a significant chapter in the coming-of-age story of House music was also written in The Netherlands.

This 8-track compilation is the result of a nationwide search for lost Digital Audio Tapes (DAT’s), dusty home-studio recordings, and other relics from those early days. The distinctive "House" sound eventually evolved into a rainbow of local styles and grooves. Back then, DJ’s played their heart out and didn’t limit themselves to any particular musical genre. Following that spirit, this compilation contains everything that makes the Dutch sound so special, from energetic Breaks to atmospheric Deep House.

These are not your usual suspects, not even the most revered diggers have this collection at their fingertips. It's raw, pure material from the time when house parties were fresh and dirty at the same time. Back when the only dress code was a wide smile from ear to ear. Four sides with two tracks each, ensuring maximum DJ enjoyment. Now get out there and spread the Dutch 90's House vibes!

Wewantsounds continue its extensive Meiko Kaji reissue program in partnership with Teichiku Records and Meiko Kaji herself, with the release of "Gincho Wataridori," her debut album from 1972. This is the first time the album is reissued since release and it comes with its original Japanese artwork and newly remastered audio. Famous for her 70s exploitation movies ("Lady Snowblood", the "Female Prisoner Scorpion" and "Stray Cat Rock" series) and revered by Quentin Tarantino, Meiko Kaji also released a string of great albums on Teichiku mixing Japanese Pop and cinematic grooves. This reissue comes with deluxe Gatefold sleeve LP, OBI strip and a 2-p insert featuring new liner notes by Hashim Kotaro Bharoocha.

For the 15th anniversary of this timeless classic, !K7 Records are re-issuing Tosca’s seminal album ‘No Hassle’ in an audiophile 3LP format.

Multi-instrumentalists Richard Dorfmeister and Rupert Huber have been friends since their Vienna schooldays. Richard later became half of the globally acclaimed DJ-producer duo Kruder and Dorfmeister, while Rupert worked in piano composition and sound-art installation. ‘No Hassle’ is Tosca’s fifth studio album.

A luxurious tapestry of analogue and digital sounds, submerged samples and live instruments, it evolves and expands into an hour-long ambient symphony. The title reflects not only the duo’s laidback approach to making music but their whole philosophy of life.

‘No Hassle’ is all about contemplation and concentration. While recent Tosca releases like J.A.C. (2005) and the remix collection Souvenirs (2006) were a move towards classic song structures and club-friendly grooves, their latest is a much more introspective journey into inner space.

6-track EP compilation with Terada's work for the Ape Escape games, tip!

Outside of the international house underground, where his early ‘90s works for the Far East Recording label he co-founded with Shinichiro Yokota are rightly celebrated as bona-fide classics, Soichi Terada is best-known for his work composing music for video games. Yet until now, few of his productions for video games have been released outside of Japan, especially on vinyl.

Apes In The Net, a six-track EP featuring music composed for the popular PlayStation 1 series Ape Escape, sets the record straight. It not only showcases Terada’s quality as a composer and producer, but also his versatility. Like much of Terada’s work on the Ape Escape series, the tracks featured don’t explore deep, New York and New Jersey influenced house sounds, but rather his lesser-celebrated love of jungle and drum & bass – a sound he fully explored on 1996 album Sumo Jungle.

“The producer of the Ape Escape games heard that and got in touch,” Soichi remembers. “They asked me to make the soundtrack, and then work on the music for the sequels after that. I used to love making music with AKAI hardware samplers, synthesisers, and computers, so I played and recorded the tracks using almost the same methods as I did when I made house music. Using breakbeats and audio samples with a sampler was the most useful way to make the soundtracks.”

The six tracks on show, which were originally recorded in the ‘90s but reconstructed and remastered for Japan-only CD and digital releases over a decade ago, mix elements of Terada’s familiar deep house style – think warming chords and pads, memorable melodies, and emotive musical motifs – with blistering D&B breakbeats, 16-bit synth sounds, electronic bleeps and undeniably weighty basslines. They’ve stood the test of time and arguably sound just as fresh now as they did at the turn of the millennium.

For proof, check the soaring, spellbinding ‘Spectors Castle’, where uplifting lead lines and sumptuous chords dance atop punchy beats and growling bass, the jazzy and saucer-eyed rush of ‘Mount Amazing’ (all twinkling piano motifs, alien synth sounds, squelchy bass and skittish drums) and the intergalactic, liquid D&B excellence of ‘Time Station’, whose whistling melodies and stargazing chords are undeniably alluring.

There are plenty of other delights to be found across the EP, too, from the bustling, race-to-the-finish breathlessness of D&B/bleep techno fusion workout ‘Spectors Factory In’, and the rumbling sub-bass, creepy pads and suspenseful melodies of ‘Haunted House’, to the bombastic, all-out-assault on the senses that is ‘Coaster’, the set’s most “purist” jungle workout – albeit one that also doffs a cap to the pulsating world of big room techno.

Apes In The Net, then, celebrates Soichi Terada’s mastery as a video games composer and early Japanese junglist. Props are well and truly overdue.

Contra008. Contrafact are proud to present the new EP 'Chicago Knights' from veteren producer Andrew Haines. Andrew Haines aka Merix is primarily an outlet for deeper House and Techno sounds with an experimental twist. A love for cutting edge 80s and 90s moody, soulful and raw electronic club music sounds produced from the hardware of those years lies at the heart of these productions.

However a forward thinking and modern experimentation with these boundaries is also intended to be loosely employed with these production parameters.

All audio production by Merix runs alongside the Ae2 Multimedia project. Ae2 Multimedia was created by Andrew Haines in 2010 as a fusion of various artistic endeavours. Andrew Haines has been creating works of fine art, DJing and producing electronic music since the mid 1990's. Over the past 20 years Andrew Haines has also been engaged in creating works of analogue film photography, researching folklore, practising spirituality, exploring herbalism and world travel.

As an artist Merix is currently based between Galway in western Ireland, the hills of northern Cymru and Long Island, New York State in USA.

- 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
- INCLUDES INSERT
- GUEST PERFORMANCES FROM JON BON JOVI,
STIV BATORS AND STEVEN TYLER
- INCLUDING THE HIT-SINGLES POISON', BED
OF NAILS' AND HOUSE OF FIRE'


Trash is the 18th studio album by rock singer Alice
Cooper, released in 1989. The album features the single Poison', Cooper's first top ten hit since 1977. It marked
a great success in Cooper's music career, reaching the
Top 20 of various album charts and selling millions of copies of Trash.

The album features many guest performances including
Jon Bon Jovi, Stiv Bators, Steven Tyler, as well as singer/
guitarist Kane Roberts. Songwriting contributions were also
made by Joan Jett, Diane Warren, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie
Sambora, and John McCurry.

Love Is Yes is the first album by Sander van der Toorn and Dax Niesten, an audio-visual duo de force of the same name.

This heady debut is rooted equally in the worlds of fine art and experimental music. Sound and image meld wonderfully across 10 tracks, with shifting movements of music accompanied by a wealth of paintings and animations.

Niesten's work summons the likes of Philip Guston and Maurice Sendak - with its crestfallen, cartoonish voids and cockle-warming grotesquery. Serenely contorted creatures are rendered on large canvases, and brought to fuzzy, maudlin life through a full-length animation that can be viewed alongside the record.

Musically, the pair cite influences ranging from Vashti Bunyan to Morton Feldman. There is an ornate fragility, smeared by zero gravity focus shifts. Some glimpses suggest a corroded grail of Boards of Canada samples; motorik guitar, whispered messages, euphoric vistas and tangled memories all bathing in atomic glow.

"A New Form of Beauty (1981) was recorded and produced by the band itself. It includes the tracks of the first four parts of what was a five-part, mixed-format project with Rough Trade Records. Part 1 was a 7” record, Part 2 was a 10”, Part 3 was a 12”: these were recorded between July and October 1981. Part 4 was ‘Din Glorious’, released as an audio cassette, was a recording of extracts of a live event on 8th November 1981 at the Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin. Part 5 was to be a film of ‘Performance, Exhibition, Event staged at the Douglas Hyde Gallery on 7th and 8th November 1981.
This deluxe edition features all four parts remastered from original tape in a 3LP Tri-fold reverse board sleeve deluxe package with a 16 page 11 inch deluxe artbook containing brand new sleevenotes by Jon Wood and original Guggi drawings. "

Crypt of the Wizard is proud to present Dipygus - Dipygus on vinyl and digital formats. Breaking bones, sucking the marrow dry and concocting its own mind-bending blend of cryptid death metal mutilations for over a decade now, Dipygus are a North American quartet powerhouse of crushing caveman gore grooves and monstrous neanderthal percussive slaughter. With already a blood hungry host of extended plays, splits and full-lengths under their gut string loincloths, Dipygus burst forth into 2024 with their self-titled third album—pushing the primitive psychosis of their sonic assault into new arenas of hallucinogenic cannibal combat. Rife with the foetid stench of mouldering mammoth corpses, Dipygus have spared no prisoners for their latest album; amping up their jungle fever dead dreams with skull smashing drumwork, monolithic bass brutality, captivating death hooks, venomous hypnotic leads, guttural flesh growls, ancient cryptid thematics and a truly diseased atmosphere, one that is as equally oppressive, as it is ferociously ominous. Freak induced fatalism from the backward fringes of time, Dipygus have once again laid morbid massacre to the audio waves and created their most potent slab of infectious caveman styled death metal to date, one that any cannibalistic monster marauder would be thrilled to sharpen their gnarled bone axes upon.

The founders of Cukor Bila Smert’ (Ukrainian: Цукор– Біла Смерть, English: Sugar – White Death) band were Svitlana Okhrimenko (a.k.a. Svitlana Nianio), Oleksandr Kohanovs’kyi, and Tamila Mazur, who studied at the Reinhold Glier Kyiv Academy of Music in 1984-1988. In the summer of 1988, they got acquainted with Eugene Taran, a young guitarist and artist. He joined the band and also became the ideologist of Sugar – White Death. Moreover, Eugene coined the name for the band: the irony towards the Yellow Press. The musicians gathered at Kohanovs’kyi’s house, where they spent their free time not only playing music but also listening to and discussing new records and thinking about the conception of their new project.



For two years, the band recorded a few home-made albums, such as “Rhododendrons Coral Aspides” in 1988 (which is considered lost), where Kostyantyn Dovzhenko took part as a guitarist and sound engineer. He also replaced Taran during the recording session because Eugene was passing an exam at that time. The band also recorded another album – “Lilies and Amaralises,” in 1989, which is also considered lost. Eugene remembers that the band made a lot of recordings but did not pay so much attention to them. Sugar – White Death played live occasionally but spent more time creating their own sound, which was named by Oleksii Dekhtyar (a founder of “Ivanov Down”) as a “sugar calypso sound.” At that time, the music was mostly created by Oleksandr Kohanovs’kyi, and the lyrics were written by Svitlana Okhrimenko and Eugene Taran.



In February 1990, a quartet came to the Scientists House Studio in Kyiv, where they had one studio session only, recorded by Valerii Papchenko. Musicians played live for about one take. This session was represented on the “Mannered Music” compilation by several blocks – “Venus with Long Neck,” “The New Sissies,” and “Rhododendrons Coral Aspides,” which was shortened to “Rhododendrons” on the cassette (two songs from which – “Summer Will Not Come” and “The Great Hen-Yuan’ River,” dedicated to Grigorii Khoroshylov, the sinologist from Kyiv). The compilation cover design was created by Eugene Taran. Later, this tape got to Vlodek Nakonechnyj, the founder of Koka Records, a young Polish label, who released “Mannered Music” on cassettes and made efforts to invite Sugar – White Death to play several gigs in Poland.



In November 1990, Sugar – White Death played their last gig as a quartet in Kharkiv. They were invited by Sergii Myasoyedov, who curated the art association “Nova Scena” (The New Scene). The band played selected tracks from the albums “The New Sissies” and “The Shellfishes in Gold Wrappers” (the last one is also considered lost). Due to Sergii Myasoyedov's efforts, the performance was documented: he saved a lot of photos and fragments of soundboard recordings on reel-to-reel tape.



Later, Oleksandr Kohanovs’kyi and Tamila Mazur left Sugar – White Death: Oleksandr founded his own project Pan Kifared, and Tamila became a bass player of Shake Hi-Fi (whose co-founder was Eugene Taran). Sugar became a duo of Svitlana and Eugene. They started to focus on their next work: “Antinoy Is Leaving” in late 1990.



In 1992, they were also invited by Sergii Myasoyedov for a studio session in Kharkiv, where due to the efforts of Oleksandr Vakulenko, Sugar recorded the new album called “All Secrets Of A Poem”. Some tracks from the work (“Dead Ceremony,” “Vienna Is Sleeping,” and “Untitled”) were released on their next and last album, “Selo” (“The Village”). The rest compositions were published as a part of the compilation for the first time.



In the autumn of 1992, the musicians went to Poland, where Vlodek Nakonechnyj, who wanted Sugar to come to a “real” studio, organized their last recording session. Although the journey’s beginning was unsuccessful (Eugene’s guitar was taken away by a customs officer when crossing the border), the musicians worked fast during the session at the Arek Was studio at Marki on an 8-track reel-to-reel machine. Boleslav Blazhchyk took part as a cellist, playing the parts created by Svitlana. The album was completed in three days – the musicians spent two days recording and one-day mixing, mostly done by Eugene Taran. In 1993, this work was released as “Selo” (“The Village”) album on cassette tapes by Koka Records (remastered by Tadeusz Sudnik). Later, Sugar – White Death was disbanded.



Credits:



Cukor Bila Smert’: Svitlana Okhrimenko (lyrics, keyboards, piano, vocals), Eugene Taran (lyrics, keyboards, guitar), Oleksandr Kohanovs’kyi (piano, A1-B2), Tamila Mazur (cello, A1-B2), Boleslaw Blaszczyk (cello, C5-D6)

Cover photo by Vlad Urazovs’kiy

Photo archive courtesy: Vlad Urazovs’kiy, Vlodek Nakonechnyj (Koka Records),

Oleh Yuhrinov, Sergii Myasoyedov

Audio archive courtesy: Vlodek Nakonechnyj (Koka Records), Guido Erfen,

Sergii Myasoyedov

Liner notes: Vlad Yakovlev

Compiled by Dmytro Nikolaienko, Dmytro Prutkin and Sasha Tsapenko

© ? Shukai / Cukor Bila Smert’

2024

Italian hard techno DJ-producer MAIKE DEPAS announces EP "Rave the Planet" (out 29 February) ahead of MAIKE DEPAS 2.0 audio-visual makeover

"Depas strikes a fine balance between raw energy and subtle melodic hooks." (DMY)

"Throughout the pounding track Midnight Ride, the Italian beatsmith expertly blends lush synths with intricate rhythmic components and gritty bass." (EDM com)

"Depas' approach to techno is a veritable melting pot of influences, blending sounds from the 80s and 90s with contemporary symphonic and cinematic elements." (Magnetic Mag)

Upon the return from the dark and dreamy regions of his previous EP "Euphoria", Milanese hard techno DJ-producer MAIKE DEPAS (Michelangelo De Pasquale) announces new EP "Rave the Planet", out 29 February via The Innovation Studio, ahead of MAIKE DEPAS 2.0 audio-visual makeover. Sending tremors through the electronic underground scene, Depas joins Kobosil and In Verruf in carrying the torch of uncompromising Berlin techno while keeping his feet firmly planted in the melodic 1990s trance of Push, Jam & Spoon, and Cygnus X.

Introducing his new heavy-duty fusion of face-melting techno and trance carrying "Go Hard or Go Home" warning sign, Depas makes the crowd grind their teeth with a behemoth of an opener "Heartbreaker" only to fill the dancefloor with dread on the shiver-inducing "Vortex", a power move designed to set the scene for the title track"s fervent rave sermon delivered in a cyborg voice by Depas, followed by the erotic undertones of throbbing closer "Float Together" including the blistering remix by the Italian DJ Amstra.

"Rave the planet / Stay together / In techno we trust / Rave the planet" - MAIKE DEPAS, Rave the Planet

At its core, "Rave the Planet" is Depas" personal paean to the true spirit of the original rave culture as represented by Lukas Havlik"s (Ludenworks) Luis Royo-esque artwork of a pulsating cybernetic planet of complex, interconnected nerve fibres wrapped around the Depas globe logo. “As a raver, you feel this sense of unity with community and it"s similar to a religion we"ve had for thousands and thousands of years,” Depas compares. “We are the planet, we are the culture, so both are the reflection of ourselves in the wider world.” For Depas, the concept of solidarity runs deep within techno culture. Coming right from the heart, Depas is driven by the opportunity to bring people together for one thing and one thing only: “Just for the love of techno and to celebrate the music in a club.”

"As a raver, you feel this sense of unity with a community similar to a religion we"ve had for thousands and thousands of years." - MAIKE DEPAS

"Rave the Planet" is released in conjunction with MAIKE DEPAS 2.0, a tectonic audio-visual shift that entails a wide array of digital content as varied as DJ sets live streamed from Berlin"s Teufelsberg and other dystopian locations around Europe as well as enhanced PR-photos featuring cyberpunk-inspired outfits designed by Demobaza, a cyberpunk-inspired casual couture brand best known for their sustainable Dune X Demobaza collection. Over the course of upcoming metamorphosis from a flesh-and-blood individual into a mysterious CGI character, Depas is another step closer to revolutionising the dance music scene through the metaverse.

For the five members of Punchlove - multi-instrumentalists Jillian Olesen, Ethan Williams, Joey Machina, Ian Lange-McPherson, and visual artist Viz Wel - moving into a maze of a house in Brooklyn together was the transition that created the album they had been writing their whole lives. Quietly evolving from a bedroom project to a headlining live phenom, Punchlove has geared up a densely layered bed of emotionally serrated pain-pop songs that coalesce around a digitally-stimulated, emotional brand of modern neoshoegaze. Channels, out March 1st on Kanine Records, is an album of deeply prepared sounds, sharply honed instrumentals, and a band performing them that knows each other all the way through. Having met studying music technology in college, multiple members of Punchlove work mixing live bands at prominent NYC venues and in the studio. Using that expertise, the inhouse production, mixing, and recording is a palpable highlight; mastered by 2000s shoegaze stalwart Kurt Feldman (The Depreciation Guild), the record melds DIY recording and experimental sonic visions with studio quality. Punchlove is dedicated to pushing the envelope of experimental sonic practices in live performances, where they can be seen performing with real-time audio reactive analog visuals, executing real-time sampling and looping, self-mixing onstage, running radios and tape loops through effects, improvising, and playing guitar with everything from double bass bows to vibrators. In their home recording environment, experimentation is at the core of their creative process, where they integrate self-programmed digital signal processing systems, psychoacoustic phenomena, tailored feedback, elements of 3D audio, immersive field recording soundscapes, early electronic instruments, and experimental recording and mixing techniques into the greater backdrop of pop songwriting. FOR FANS OF: Radiohead, Wednesday, Hum, DIIV, my bloody valentine, The Smashing Pumpkins, bdrmm, A Place to Bury Strangers

Fire! have always been about finding the essence by getting to the core of the music. Their 8th album sees the trio - for the first time on record - stripped down to the bare-bones essentials; with no flutes, no electronics, no guests and no extras, recorded live in the studio to analogue tape - the Steve Albini way - with the master himself at the controls in Electrical Audio in Chicago. Thus, this album stands as a true testament to the group's expressive power and glowing intimacy. Musically, Testament can be seen as an extension of their previous full length album Defeat, released two years ago, to the month. A solitary bass figure from Johan Berthling, quickly joined by a stout drum groove, gets it all going in a familiar fashion before Gustafsson adds desolate cries and whispers from his baritone sax. This approach is even more honed on the second track, with the most simplistic groove you're likely to hear in jazz and Gustafsson shifting between extended, lonely, tortured lines, only once abrupted by a series of short bursts. The third track starts with loose and relatively lively drums that continue throughout, but the mournful saxophone maintains a subdued atmosphere. Track four is a real beauty with the trio slipping into a trance-like dream state before shifting gear halfway into its nine minutes. The final track is the most dynamic of the lot, shifting between bursts of energy and lyrical beauty. Fire's debut album, You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago, was released in 2009 to wide international acclaim. "The basic strategy of pairing the expressive energy of free jazz with a sturdy sense of groove has yielded something potent and self-contained" (New York Times). Between this and Testament there's been six albums, including collaborations with Jim O'Rourke (Unreleased?) and Oren Ambarchi (In The Mouth A Hand), as well as the Requies EP with Stephen O'Malley and David Sandström in 2022. Testament was recorded and mixed during a three-day stint at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago in December 2022. Mats Gustafsson - baritone sax Johan Berthling - bass Andreas Werliin - drums.

Fire! have always been about finding the essence by getting to the core of the music. Their 8th album sees the trio - for the first time on record - stripped down to the bare-bones essentials; with no flutes, no electronics, no guests and no extras, recorded live in the studio to analogue tape - the Steve Albini way - with the master himself at the controls in Electrical Audio in Chicago. Thus, this album stands as a true testament to the group's expressive power and glowing intimacy. Musically, Testament can be seen as an extension of their previous full length album Defeat, released two years ago, to the month. A solitary bass figure from Johan Berthling, quickly joined by a stout drum groove, gets it all going in a familiar fashion before Gustafsson adds desolate cries and whispers from his baritone sax. This approach is even more honed on the second track, with the most simplistic groove you're likely to hear in jazz and Gustafsson shifting between extended, lonely, tortured lines, only once abrupted by a series of short bursts. The third track starts with loose and relatively lively drums that continue throughout, but the mournful saxophone maintains a subdued atmosphere. Track four is a real beauty with the trio slipping into a trance-like dream state before shifting gear halfway into its nine minutes. The final track is the most dynamic of the lot, shifting between bursts of energy and lyrical beauty. Fire's debut album, You Liked Me Five Minutes Ago, was released in 2009 to wide international acclaim. "The basic strategy of pairing the expressive energy of free jazz with a sturdy sense of groove has yielded something potent and self-contained" (New York Times). Between this and Testament there's been six albums, including collaborations with Jim O'Rourke (Unreleased?) and Oren Ambarchi (In The Mouth A Hand), as well as the Requies EP with Stephen O'Malley and David Sandström in 2022. Testament was recorded and mixed during a three-day stint at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago in December 2022. Mats Gustafsson - baritone sax Johan Berthling - bass Andreas Werliin - drums.

. The Classic Example were a Los Angeles singing duet consisting of Curtis Colbert and Harriet Hurst. Their eponymous LP was released in 1972 on GSF Records alongside infamous acts such as Skull Snaps and The Whatnauts. Very little is known about the duo, only one LP was recorded and the group disbanded shortly after release. The backing band for the entire album is none other than Hodges, James, Smith, and Crawford. Newly remasted and pressed on audiophile virgin vinyl.

Reissued for the first time on vinyl is ‘Taking All The Love I Can’ by Newark, New Jersey outfit The Chosen Few.

Initially released on Maple Records in 1971, their debut album boasts incredibly moody ‘Northern Soul’ and perfectly represents the golden age of New Jersey R&B.

The Chosen Few are swaggering with confidence throughout the LP and draw comparisons to fellow Maple artists Lee Moses and Gloria Barnes.

‘Taking All The Love I Can’ is a highly sought after record with original issues fetching upwards of $500 when found in the wild. On High Records is

thrilled to present this modern reissue which is remastered and pressed on audiophile virgin vinyl for music lovers worldwide.

Donovan’s Original
A Gift From a Flower to a Garden made for a few firsts: the first double LP of Donovan’s
career, one of the first box sets in pop and, most importantly for Donovan himself; the first
pop album for the children of tomorrow.

He resolved to make A Gift From a Flower to a Garden an album of two halves. The first,
Wear Your Love Like Heaven, was intended for his own generation as they started to think
about the kind of world they wanted to leave behind. The second, For Little Ones, was for
the children they had or would have in the years to come. The result was a kaleidoscopic
folk-jazz suite on the power of love, imbued with all the romance and mystery of an Arthur
Rackham illustration for an ancient English fairy tale. The songs, remarkably adventurous
given Donovan was a globally famous singer at his commercial height, combined the
influences he had amassed so far.

There is something about A Gift From a Flower to a Garden that could never be repeated,
though. It is such an innocent evocation of the childlike imagination, so redolent of its time,
yet set apart from it too. All these years later, the peaceful qualities of this pioneering,
enchanting, deeply unusual album feel more valuable than ever.

The state51 Box Set
With authenticity core to the project, The state51 Conspiracy engaged one of the UK’s
leading experts in box set design, Daniel Mason at Something Else, to painstakingly recreate
the box, records and accompanying ephemera. The first challenge was to find the deep blue
leatherette paper the original box set was covered in; a problem since it was no longer in
production. “I knew people who had stacks of it, gathering dust on top shelves, so I bought it
up wherever I could find it,” says Mason. Then came the reproduction of 12 loose leaf lyric
sheets on fine art watercolour paper, each of them featuring a watermark and a fairytale-like
illustration by Donovan’s artist friends Sheena McCall and Mick Taylor. Where, though, to
find the same paper stock? “I found out that it was made at a paper mill in North Wales
called Abbey Mills. Unfortunately the mill dissolved in the early 70s and very little of the
paper remained. However enough paper remained to allow us to produce the numbered
certificate also signed by Donovan that sits within the box.”

Then to the iconic cover image. Donovan and Jimi Hendrix’s personal photographer Karl
Ferris, used infra-red film to achieve the psychedelic effect on the cover, but the original
negatives couldn’t be found. Mason then used digital technology to ramp up the colour levels
on a reproduction from an original copy of the album while allowing it to remain a little bit
faded, as it would be after half a century. The same labour of love and care has gone into
producing all elements of the box; from the rebuilding of the famous front cover font to the
hand-numbered and signed certificate; letterpress printed on the original paper stock of the
1968 UK release lyric sheets.

To cap it all off the original mono master tapes were waiting safely in the EMI Donovan
Archive and transferred from tape to digital by Abbey Road Studios where new lacquers
were cut, ensuring Donovan's favoured mono version of the album would be presented both
physically (and digitally for the very first time) in striking audiophile quality. The final touch to

"Originally released in 1963, “Caravan” was Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers' first album for Riverside Records. Featured in addition to Blakey are Freddie Hubbard (trumpet), Curtis Fuller (trombone), Wayne Shorter (sax), Cedar Walton (piano) and Reggie Workman (bass). This new edition is released as part of the Original Jazz Classics Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with all-analogue mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio and presented in a Tip-On Jacket. "

Know What I Mean?” was originally released in 1960 as a collaboration between jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and legendary pianist Bill Evans, along with the rhythm section of the Modern Jazz Quartet, Percy Heath (bass) and Connie Kay (drums). This new edition of the album is released as part of the OJC Series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at RTI with (AAA) lacquers cut from the original master tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio. It is presented in a Tip-On Jacket. "

Audiophile reviews rave about saxophone master John Coltrane's immortal Impulse! records, A Love Supreme (1964) and Ballads (1963). Ballads is an album that will never go out of style and never be unwelcome on any jazz lover's turntable.

You're about to experience Ballads at its peak of vinyl perfection — in UHQR format on Clarity Vinyl, with the added bonus of a double 45 RPM cut by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound. Ryan's cut has his characteristic clarity and transparency all set against Quality Record Pressing's usual noiseless backgrounds on 200-gram flawless records. Each UHQR will be packaged in a deluxe box and will include a booklet detailing the entire process of making a UHQR along with a hand-signed certificate of inspection. This will be a truly deluxe, collectible product.

For this 45 RPM 2LP edition you'll also receive a !2" x 12" 12-page booklet featuring liner notes by Ashley Kahn and recording session images by Jim Marshall.

The intense passionate Coltrane interpretation of standards such as "All Or Nothing At All," "What's New," "It's Easy To Remember" and the Sinatra classic "Nancy (With The Laughing Face)" are the essence of Ballads. When asked why attempt such an undertaking, Coltrane replied "Variety."

While it may have been a short detour by Trane before he exploded off into the nether regions of jazz music a few years later, it is still a fantastic document of one of the premier jazz groups of the 1960s.

Recorded December 21, 1961 and September 18 & November 13, 1962 at Rudy Van Gelder Studios.

"It's impossible to sleepwalk through tracks like "You Don't Know What Love Is" and "I Wish I Knew" and impart them with even a fraction of the emotional heft that the Quartet achieves. This is the type of jazz album in which the music just washes over the listener with it's restrained grace and beauty, and while it may not have the adventurousness that some listeners think Trane should have had each and every time he recorded, I'd say it shows off a side of him that only makes us appreciate his more bold and daring albums even more." — The Jazz Record

Soul Jazz Records’ feature-length documentary/CD/Book ‘Studio One Story’ is being re-released on 1 August 2011, and is also available for the first time as a stand alone DVD. The DVD is being issued as a prelude to the forthcoming deluxe-hardback book ‘Original Cover Art of Studio One Records’ released this autumn by Soul Jazz Records as well as a new Studio One album compilation on Soul Jazz to coincide with the new book.

Studio One Story is a documentary this is both a staggering slice of musical history and a definitive guide to Studio One, Jamaica’s greatest ever record company, and its legendary founder, Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd. ‘Studio One Story’ was filmed in 2002, two years before the death of the legendary Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd, a man famously reticent of being interviewed - until the making of this film. Described by Chris Blackwell as the Motown of Jamaica, or ‘The University of Reggae’, Studio One is where the careers of literally hundreds of reggae artists began: Bob Marley and the Wailers, Alton Ellis, The Heptones, Ken Boothe, The Skatalites, Burning Spear and Sugar Minott, to name but a few! Studio One is the ‘foundation’ label of Jamaican Reggae and Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd is seen by many as its father.

One and a half years in the making, Studio One Story is a truly unique documentary in which the late Clement Dodd gave unprecedented personal access to tell the previously untold story of how he and the many artists and musicians at Studio One literally shaped the rise of Reggae music from the 1950s onwards through to the late 1970s. This is the true story of reggae music and its Jamaican roots told from the inside: From the rise of Kington’s sound systems in the 1940s and 1950s, through to the evolution of a Jamaican music industry (and Studio One’s dominance) in the 1960s and the worldwide success of reggae in the 1970s.

The 4 hour documentary (including over an hour of extras) was filmed on location in Kingston, Jamaica and features interviews with Horace Andy, Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, Sugar Minott, Denis Alcapone, The Ethiopians, Sylvan Morris, Johnny Moore, Lone Ranger, King Stitt and many others. The DVD also includes rare footage of The Skatalites, Jackie Mittoo, Count Ossie, Marcia Griffiths and others. As well as the stand-alone DVD, Soul Jazz Records are reissuing the original (DVD +CD+Book) original box set.

IF YOU ARE ORDERING THIS PLEASE CHECK IF YOU NEED NTSC (AMERICA, JAPAN, ETC) OR PAL (EUROPE, AUSTRALIA, ETC).
THE DVD HAS FRENCH AND ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

NB.MP3 Release is for the audio CD only.

REVIEWS ‘Studio One was Jamaica’s Motown. This documentary brings it brilliantly to life.’ The Telegraph ‘The history of Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s legendary Jamaica studio is fantastically told through interviews, copious amounts of music and historical footage and more.’ Uncut ‘Studio One Story is no mere historical document; it is a map that will lead you directly to a massive seam, endlessly mineable, of musical gold’ The Observer ‘A fascinating documentary’ The Telegraph ‘Compulsive viewing for anyone with an interest in Reggae’ The Wire

- Betty's classic third album, originally released by Island Records in 1975 - New vinly pressing on Metallic Gold colored wax - Featuring Betty's band Funk House - Booklet includes liner notes by John Ballon interviewing Betty plus full lyrics - Newly remastered from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio // In the 1970s, Betty Davis defied genre and gender by pushing her voice to extremes and embracing the erotic. She articulated a kind of pre-punk, funk-blues fusion that had yet to be normalized in mainstream music - a style that few musicians have come close to replicating. As one of the first Black women to write, arrange, and produce her own albums, Betty was a visionary who disregarded industry boundaries and constraints. Raw, unapologetic, and in full control, Betty paved the way for generations of future artists who said 'funk you' to the music industry and social norms. In 1975, Betty Davis's star was on the rise. With the backing of Island Records and a new band, Funk House, Betty's third album, Nasty Gal, leans into the hyper-sexualized persona with which her critics were so obsessed. She raps, purrs, shrieks, and moans on top of Funk House's manic funk-rock and lays claim to the "bad girl" anthems that now saturate the music industry. Mastered from the original tapes, Nasty Gal showcases Betty's groundbreaking work as a performer, writer, and producer.

Escape Music is pleased to announce the release date for the much-anticipated album D’Luna title “Monster” Featuring on lead vocals Jeff Scott Soto (W.E.T/Yngwie Malmsteen/Journey/Axel Rudi Pell/Talisman/Sons Of Apollo), and with special guest dUg Pinnick (King’s X/The Mob). The Vinyl will be limited edition of 300 copies only! “Cool Blue” colour, all will be numbered 1-300, 180g Audiophile Vinyl. The band is: Jeff Scott Soto - Vocals (W.E.T/Yngwie Malmsteen/Axel Rudi Pell/Talisman/Sons Of Apollo) / special guest dUg Pinnick (King’s X/The Mob) on “Monster” / Philip Bynoe - Bass (Steve Vai/Ring Of Fire/Warlord) / Dan Meyers – Keyboards / Oren Halmut – Drums / Dave De Luna – Guitars / Produced by Dave De Luna / Mixed and Mastered by Rich Mouser (Dream Theatre/Spock’s Beard/Roxanne). D’luna is an entity instituting the music and songwriting of its founder, namely guitarist David De luna. David and his songs are a very personal individual journey that represents incredible strong guitar riffs, a true Texas groove and a high level of energy. The opening track ‘Monster’ lives up to its name and has a very strong King’s X influence which is hardly a surprise as it features dUg Pinnick of that very band. An explosive start to the album. ’Monster’ as an album is a superb slice of rock / metal and with David’s guidance and themes the whole thing has developed into a great working relationship between himself and vocalist Jeff Scott Soto. Jeff, of course, has worked with so many big names in the past, such as Malmsteen, Journey, Talisman and Sons of Apollo, he is a much-loved vocalist in the world of rock music. Philip Bynoe (Steve Vai) is on bass along with Dan Meyers on keyboards and Oren Halmut on drums. The line-up is now complete and with engineer Rich Mouser (Spock’s Beard / Roxanne) at the helm the mixes are brought to perfection and “Monster” is complete. D’Luna’s Monster greets the listener with a gravity strong enough that even light cannot escape it. The audience will be drawn into the unique sound, heaviness and level of virtuosity with undeniable hooks and melodies

CHRISTL ist eine junge transmediale Künstler:in aus Wien, die sich nicht einrahmen lässt. Seien es audiovisuelle, bildnerische Werke oder Lyrik - CHRISTL verbindet all dies zu einem vollkommenen Ganzen. CHRISTL ist darin kompromisslos, kritisch & konfrontativ, im Fokus ihrer Kunst stehen Geschichten, Emotionen oder Ungerechtigkeit. Mit ihrem schriftstellerischen Debüt 'Ich glaub ich hasse mich' (19.09.23 via Haymon Verlag) stellte CHRISTL einmal mehr ihre künstlerische Vielseitigkeit unter Beweis. Ihr erstes Album 'Green Blue Violet / Grün Blau Violett' ist vor allem thematisch als musikalisches Pendant zu ihrem literarischen Debüt zu verstehen: CHRISTL widmet sich darin auf eindringliche Weise der Geschichte eines Aufwachsens, die einzigartig und gleichzeitig die von vielen ist. Musikalisch bewegt sich CHRISTL zwischen verschiedenen Genre-Welten und spielt mit Einflüssen aus Soul, Rock und Jazz, holt sich Inspiration von Artists wie Florence & the Machine, Fiona Apple, Brittany Howard, James Blake und Perfume Genius, während mancherorts auch Pop-"Klischees" in positivstem Sinne spielerisch ihren Platz finden.

After Mischpoke #1 with BKGD Audio, Gras, Sonae and Lucrecia Dalt, this time Clark, Oval, Electric Indigo and Gudrun Gut are at the controls for #2. The Düsseldorf/Brisbane underdogs Tidy Kid, Pondskater, Ai and The Visitor provide the source material for their remixes. The music ranges from the living room to the club.

A very "MGMT MGMT album" which the band describes as "a group of songs about love and change, first and foremost." Descriptors from the band include: bold, flavorful, playful, sincere, optimistic, perceptive. Loss Of Life was produced by MGMT and Patrick Wimberly (Solange, Lil Yachty, MGMT), with mixing and additional production by Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Interpol, Spoon). The album includes the first ever MGMT song with a feature, courtesy Christine and the Queens. The album artwork has been licensed from John Baldessari's estate and is an artwork titled Noses & Ears, Etc. (Part Two). Formed in 2002, MGMT released their era-defining debut album Oracular Spectacular in 2007. One of the most influential albums of the '00’s - it went on to sell over 2 million copies worldwide and was certified Gold or Platinum in over 10 major territories, including double platinum in UK, Platinum in Australia, Gold in France and Platinum in the USA. It gave the world evergreen hits such as “Kids”, “Electric Feel” and “Time to Pretend” which have inspired, and continue to inspire new generations of artists and music fans alike to this day - those three songs combined have been streamed over 2 billion times on audio streaming platforms since released. Always taking an unexpected creative turn at every new record, but always maintaining their cultural and commercial relevance over the subsequent 15 years, MGMT later released three further studio albums: “Congratulations” (2010), “MGMT” (2013) and “Little Dark Age” (2018).

Building friendship through joint sonic exploration, Khang & Elias basically started having long Sunday jams right from the start when they first met in Oakland. Recorded in two live sessions, one in May 2023 in Oakland and the other in July in San Francisco using a scattered array of little boxes of synthesis and audio manipulation. "Reflecting on the recording process it felt like we had a completely nonjudgemental mindset to the sound created and discovered sonics through kind of a lens of a child entering a playground."

With this legendary LP, "Jazz Evening with Aura," whose first edition was released in February 1974, Electrecord inaugurates the series of reissues of essential albums in romanian music on vinyl, audio cassette, and CD formats. In the exact 50 years since its release, this album by Aura Urziceanu – accompanied, during the two afternoons of the recordings, by the Bucharest Septet, a group of formidable instrumentalists – has become an object of veneration for many generations of music enthusiasts in both Romania and abroad. "Jazz Evening with Aura" defines the local jazz sound of the mid '70s – intense, playful, tender, versatile, and accomplished – placed within a framework that the late Aurel Gherghel inspired called, in the text on the back cover of the 1974 LP, "a jazz of romanian inspiration and atmosphere."

- Betty's classic third album, originally released by Island Records in 1975 - New vinly pressing on Metallic Gold colored wax - Featuring Betty's band Funk House - Booklet includes liner notes by John Ballon interviewing Betty plus full lyrics - Newly remastered from the original analog tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio // In the 1970s, Betty Davis defied genre and gender by pushing her voice to extremes and embracing the erotic. She articulated a kind of pre-punk, funk-blues fusion that had yet to be normalized in mainstream music - a style that few musicians have come close to replicating. As one of the first Black women to write, arrange, and produce her own albums, Betty was a visionary who disregarded industry boundaries and constraints. Raw, unapologetic, and in full control, Betty paved the way for generations of future artists who said 'funk you' to the music industry and social norms. In 1975, Betty Davis's star was on the rise. With the backing of Island Records and a new band, Funk House, Betty's third album, Nasty Gal, leans into the hyper-sexualized persona with which her critics were so obsessed. She raps, purrs, shrieks, and moans on top of Funk House's manic funk-rock and lays claim to the "bad girl" anthems that now saturate the music industry. Mastered from the original tapes, Nasty Gal showcases Betty's groundbreaking work as a performer, writer, and producer.

splattered yelow & red vinyl

A1 - Phases Of Reality
Easing into the proceedings in subtle yet impactful style, Phases of Reality offers an eerie, soothing aura of sound with bells and horns and a progressive, powerful bassline hook. The melancholic atmosphere grips the listener throughout, intensely wrapping itself around the classic old school breakbeats to create a collage of audio fit for both the dancefloor and that late night contemplative drive home in the rain.
A2 - Impressions
Instant double snare breaks with a hint of apache set the tone for an energetic, thrusting track as ASC flexes his creative spark with Impressions. Rhythmically dashing through a dreamily complex assortment of wispy, thoughtful synths and stretched vocal samples, in lieu of a breakdown the drums suddenly switch pattern for the second half, dialing up the considered intensity which is carried through to a suitably abrupt filtered conclusion.
AA1 - Solyaris
An enchanted female vocal sample opens and punctuates Solyaris, a deep, absorbing track which fuses the heft of ASC's classic analogue amen breaks with inquisitive melodies and suspenseful synth work to construct a breathtaking cosmic amen mover for the dancefloor. Sci-fi FX add to the interstellar vives in the respite of the breakdown, before the headline breaks resume their aural assault on the senses.
AA2 - Oblivion
Mixing up the vibe for an eclectic conclusion, Oblivion utilises a uniquely scattershot hot pants break pattern, with stark clusters of hi hats and sharp snares playfully juddering around a patchwork of echoed mini melodies and a soothing overarching tune. Deep sub bass accentuates the track, occasionally flecked
with delicate samples resulting in a great DJ tool and a quirky
energy to savour.

On 180 grm audiophile black vinyl and is stickered to say this. This six-song, half-hour LP the band's affecting a more rural, lonesome-sounding tone and a moodier, more deliberate pace; the more traditional feel meshes well with Anton Newcombe's twisting of country-gospel lyrical clichés into rock & roll attitude. Originally released in 1999, reissued now.

Perifaerye is a multi-part work of art comprising of 18 soundscapes, 36 digital drawings and 24 writings. Perifaerye is at once a record release, a book, a website; in the autumn of 2023 a series of playlists were published on billboards, linking the online soundscapes to the real-life physical realm. This publication is an artistic hybrid: a vinyl record / book combining sound, image and text.

The 18 audio works condense the sounds of the urban periphery into a sonic cartography. In Hamburg-Eidelstedt, people live in smaller detached houses and in larger apartment blocks. New housing estates have been developed recently in direct neighbourhood to the motorway, and currently in the district centre; a district where post-war housing estates and architectural remnants from a village past co-exist. Even meadows and fields, surrounded by the noise of motorways and other traffic, aeroplanes (the airport is close by) and railways (passenger and und freight trains, long distance, regional and local services). This collection of soundscapes – each a short composition on its own – presents a sonic portrait of a contemporary urban area.

In spring 2023, Jorn Ebner recorded the urban spaces of the Hamburg district of Eidelstedt. For each audio piece there is an image. The artist’s writings reflect and accompany the creative process.

For this book and record, Sebastian Kokus and Thomas Korf created a very haptic design. Each part of the whole can be experienced as a single piece: the A2-sized poster is part of the outer sleeve; the booklet presents image and text (German only); the record is visible through the holes in the inner and outer sleeves and forms part of the cover.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Zero Grace, Liam Bailey's sophomore album on the label. Following the success of 2020's Ekundayo album, the tried and true chemistry of Bailey and producer Leon Michels (El Michels Affair) is on full display again as they take the sound they established and push it further. On Zero Grace they lean more into the bleeding heart singer-songwriter side of Liam. The result, much like Bailey himself, is impulsively honest without reserve. Born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and 2nd generation Jamaican English father, Liam will admit his early childhood was fairly chaotic and filled with "all the cliche racism that happens when people started mixing up in the '80s in England." Liam got his early influences from his mom's record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today. Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London performing at every open mic and acoustic night he could, hustling with hopes of landing a record deal. It was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Michels, musician/producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes "When Will They Learn" and "I'm Gonna Miss You" which still gets spins at Reggae spots around the globe and were co-signed by heavy hitters like David Rodigan & Don Letts. That first trip to NYC brought a lot of industry attention to Liam, including being noticed by a just-famous Amy Winehouse who heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo- recordings, and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through - all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. Eventually Liam signed to Polydor and wound up bumping against the typical major label industry obstacles. They already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push With the typical large advance enticement, Liam did his best to trust that path. "Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't." Zero Grace is full of freedom and love, in fact, working with Leon Michels and Big Crown Records has encouraged Liam to be himself. On album opener "Holding On '' Bailey speaks to his observations & fears when looking out at the world in front of him and also to the dedication it has taken to get on the other side of his personal trials & tribulations. "Dance With Me" is an instantly infectious two-stepper that nods to those incredible soul records that were coming out of Jamaica during the early Reggae days. Bailey steps into the dance with hopes of finding a new love and pulls us all out on the dance oor with him. "Disorder Starts At Home" is another close to the chest tune that addresses the difficulties he struggles with from his early chaotic childhood and his progress in getting past them. "Mercy Tree" is a powerhouse of Reggae Rebel Music. Bailey addresses the racial tensions that plague humanity and encourages everyone to step up and do their part to help foster equality. What starts out as a declaration of injustice turns into a call for action and an inspiration for hope.

Big Crown Records is proud to present Zero Grace, Liam Bailey's sophomore album on the label. Following the success of 2020's Ekundayo album, the tried and true chemistry of Bailey and producer Leon Michels (El Michels Affair) is on full display again as they take the sound they established and push it further. On Zero Grace they lean more into the bleeding heart singer-songwriter side of Liam. The result, much like Bailey himself, is impulsively honest without reserve. Born and raised in Nottingham, England, the son of an English mother and 2nd generation Jamaican English father, Liam will admit his early childhood was fairly chaotic and filled with "all the cliche racism that happens when people started mixing up in the '80s in England." Liam got his early influences from his mom's record collection. Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix would eventually shape the singer/songwriter we know today. Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London performing at every open mic and acoustic night he could, hustling with hopes of landing a record deal. It was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Michels, musician/producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records. Liam flew out to New York and those first sessions together produced the now classic tunes "When Will They Learn" and "I'm Gonna Miss You" which still gets spins at Reggae spots around the globe and were co-signed by heavy hitters like David Rodigan & Don Letts. That first trip to NYC brought a lot of industry attention to Liam, including being noticed by a just-famous Amy Winehouse who heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo- recordings, and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through - all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. Eventually Liam signed to Polydor and wound up bumping against the typical major label industry obstacles. They already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push With the typical large advance enticement, Liam did his best to trust that path. "Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers, "but, you quickly find out that you can't." Zero Grace is full of freedom and love, in fact, working with Leon Michels and Big Crown Records has encouraged Liam to be himself. On album opener "Holding On '' Bailey speaks to his observations & fears when looking out at the world in front of him and also to the dedication it has taken to get on the other side of his personal trials & tribulations. "Dance With Me" is an instantly infectious two-stepper that nods to those incredible soul records that were coming out of Jamaica during the early Reggae days. Bailey steps into the dance with hopes of finding a new love and pulls us all out on the dance oor with him. "Disorder Starts At Home" is another close to the chest tune that addresses the difficulties he struggles with from his early chaotic childhood and his progress in getting past them. "Mercy Tree" is a powerhouse of Reggae Rebel Music. Bailey addresses the racial tensions that plague humanity and encourages everyone to step up and do their part to help foster equality. What starts out as a declaration of injustice turns into a call for action and an inspiration for hope.

Re-issue as double vinyl in slip sleeve! Frank Bornemann has transformed the story of the French national heroine Jeanne d’Arc to an impressive musical journey into the 15th century. Next to spoken word passages the music primarily captivates with its atmospheric
arrangements that open up a new chapter in the Eloy cosmos. The press puts the work under the same category as Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” and the Who’s “Tommy”, confirming the powerful intensity of the songs and praising the audiophile quality.

Minas 'Num Dia Azul' is a sublime slice of private press bossa nova meets jazzy MPB perfection. Warm and bubbling with youthful spirit, the music is simultaneously loose in swagger, yet slick and tight. The album was originally released in 1983 and reflects the great music coming out of Rio at the time, yet 'Num Dia Azul' wasn't recorded in Rio, but actually in the USA.

Recorded in North Carolina just after Patricia and Orlando Haddad had graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts, the record was only released for the Brazilian market on their own Blueazul Records imprint. As with most private press labels, they could only afford to have it pressed in small quantities. To add to its later obscurity, hundreds of copies were also destroyed in a house fire. They say cream always rises to the top, and fast forward to the 2010s, the word amongst collectors and DJs was spreading about this mythical under-the-radar recording. People from across the globe were contacting Patricia and Orlando for more information, hoping to secure themselves a copy. Luckily the original tapes had remained with the artists and were in great condition, so in 2016 the pair ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to have it remastered and repressed.

For this Mr Bongo 2023 re-issue, we have tried to keep it as close to the original 1983 version as possible, both in the packaging and audio presentation. The CD version comes with bonus tracks. We are super proud to keep Patricia and Orlando's serene recordings in the circulation that they deserve to be. One for fans of Brazilian artists such as Burnier & Cartier, Edu Lobo and Joyce. We are sure those fans will lose themselves in the alluring textures of 'Num Dia Azul'

Der großartigen Sängerin Billie Holiday nähert man sich immer sehr respektvoll, behutsam ihrem tragischen Leben gegenüber, aber auch voller Bewunderung der fantastischen Musik, die sie erschaffen hat. Die aktuelle Analogue Productions/Verve Edition in 45rpm, verteilt auf zwei super sauber gepressten Vinyl-Scheiben, unterstreicht dies akustisch mehr als deutlich. Dabei ist die Tatsache, dass die Aufnahmen in Mono sind, ein soundtechnischer Haupt-Gewinn. Der Klang gewinnt dadurch definitiv an Intensität, Tiefe und Druck. Die Scheibe erschien erstmals 1955. Eine geniale Band bannte damals 12 wunderbare Lieder auf die analogen Studiobänder. Neben Sängerin Billie Holiday agieren noch die Schlagzeuger Larry Bunker und Alvin Stoller, Harry „Sweets“ Edison an der Trompete, Barney Kessel an der Gitarre, Jimmy Rowles am Piano und Ben Webster am Saxophon. Den Bass teilen sich Red Mitchell und Joe Mondragon. Der Opener „Do NothingTill You Hear From Me“ ist maximal fesselnd. Holidays Stimme erfüllt den ganzen Hörraum. Kessel spielt dazu wunderschön bluesig-trockene und wohlklingende blue notes. Websters Saxophon ist so unendlich präsent, dass man unschwer meinen könnte, man säße inmitten des Ensembles. Mit Swing und Maxi-Groove kommt „But Not For Me“. Jazz as Jazz can! Herrlich perlen die Klavierfiguren von Rowles. Der Kontrabass kommt dabei so unendlich druckvoll und dynamisch. Das muss man hören, fühlen und spüren. Holidays Stimme hat dabei soviel Klangfarbe, dass man nur noch Schwärmen kann. Die zwei 180 Gramm schweren LPs kommen im ästhetisch gestalteten Klappcover. Dieser audiophile Edelstein gehört in jede gut sortierte Schallplattensammlung, und zwar definitiv schrankenlos Genre-übergreifend. wb

The music of Atlanta trio Omni has always swung fast and hit hard. And Souvenir, their fourth album and second for Sub Pop, packs their biggest punch yet. Inactive during the majority of the pandemic-the longest downtime in their history-they approached this recording with lots of pent-up energy. Guitarist Frankie Broyles, singer/bassist Philip Frobos, and drummer Chris Yonker converted their creative fuel into sharp, driving songs that land immediately, sporting chopping riffs, staccato beats, and wiry melodies. Why does Souvenir sound so sharp? Because each track is a compact unit that stands on its own, reflecting the time and place in which it was created. That's why Omni called the album Souvenir: it's a collection of audio objects, a stash of musical miniatures. Think of it as a family photo album, a binder of rare playing cards, a shoebox holding precious gems. Take "Plastic Pyramid," the first song Omni wrote after coming out of lockdown. Filled with twists and turns, it's a journey unto itself, charged by clanging chords, spinning rhythm, and Frobos trading lines with Izzy Glaudini of Automatic, with whom Omni toured with last fall. (Glaudini sings on two other Souvenir tracks, the first guest vocalist the band has collaborated with). Or take opener "Exacto," a slicing web of intertwined guitar and bass. Its razor-fine notes and syncopated beats perfectly match pointillist Frobos lyrics such as "Exacto, de facto, concise, quite right"-a line that could well be an Omni mantra. The precision and clarity of Souvenir comes from some new Omni developments. For one, this is their first album with Yonker as their full-time drummer, and his forceful playing adds exclamation points to every pointed moment on Souvenir. In addition, the trio worked with Atlanta-based engineer Kristofer Sampson for the first time. Sampson pushed the band to a higher degree of power, with Frobos's vocals more upfront in his pulsing mix and the rest of the music leaping out of the speakers. You might notice that Frobos' singing is a bit more emotional and even nostalgic this time around. In crafting his vocals, he was inspired by the early college radio rock of formative favorites like REM, the Cure, and Big Audio Dynamite-the kind of bands whose melodies could have been top 40 hits in an alternative universe. The lyrics on Souvenir are also by turns funny, absurd, and even cryptic. A wry humor has always coursed through Omni's songs, and this time, it comes in shades of both dark and light. In "Granite Kiss," an "astronomical" love story concludes with the hope that "we can decay together," while in "PG," a romantic walk in the park includes a rose-colored mugging. Immediacy rushes throughout every moment of Souvenir, making it the band's most powerful album to date. Omni has truly crafted a musical keepsake-a set of songs that you'll want to keep close, an aural memento you'll cherish for the rest of time.

High Roller Records, black vinyl, ltd 300, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover w/ 5mm spine, booklet, double-sided poster, A5 card, Original transfers by Patrick W. Engel and Thorsten Thormann in February 2023. Audio restoration and mastering by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in March 2023.

High Roller Records, black vinyl, ltd 300, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover w/ 5mm spine, booklet, double-sided poster, A5 card, Original transfers by Patrick W. Engel and Thorsten Thormann in February 2023. Audio restoration and mastering by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in March 2023.

FOR FANS OF: NIGHTWISH, AMARANTHE, HALESTORM, WITHIN TEMPTATION
TEMPERANCE BESTSELLER! Zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl Limitiert auf 500, in ‘MARBLED ORANGE’ Vinyl. Temperance ist eine der meist gepriesenen
neuen ‘Melodic Metal’ Bands, die in den letzten Jahren in Europa aufgetaucht ist. Mit gleich 3 Sängern in ihrem Line-up, besticht die Musik von
Temperance durch ihre ausgefeilten Harmonien, sowohl auf ihren Studioalben als auch bei ihren starken Konzerten, welche auch durch eine Fülle von
schneidenden Gitarren-Riffs, Electronica und sogar Einflüsse des Rock glänzen. Melodien, geballte Energie und überragende gesangliche Harmonien:
Drei Worte, um die Seele und den Erfolg von Temperance’s Sound treffend und prägnant zu umschreiben.
‘Of Jupiter and Moons’, das 4. Opus der Band aus dem Jahr 2018, stellt einen weiteren kräftigen Schritt vorwärts in der Karriere der umtriebigen Band
dar. Gemischt und gemastert von Jacob Hansen (Volbeat, Epica, Amaranthe), mit einem hervorragenden Cover Artwork von Yann Souetre (Ayreon)
und Band Photos von Tim Tronckoe (Nightwish, Ghost), kehren Temperance zurück ins Zentrum der Szene, stärker als je zuvor!
Die Veröffentlichung des Albums 2018 fiel zusammen mit der Vorstellung des neuen Vocal Teams: Das Talent von Marco Pastorino wird nun verstärkt
durch die neuen Sänger Michele Guaitoli (bereits bekannt als Leadsinger von Kaledon und Overtures) und Alessia Scolletti, einer begnadeten Sängerin
und ‘Rising Star’ der italienischen Szene!










[j] Daruma's Eyes [Part I]

Toronto Producer Elaquent is back with an all-star lineup of underground bubblers inlcuding Ivan Ave, Chester Watson and Skyzoo. The new album is cosmopolitan jazz rap - smooth production with velvet lyricists from around the globe. Pressed on 180g black vinyl, this is for the audiophiles.

"Rediscovery" by Elaquent includes the following tracks: "Hoes Mad (feat. Brittney Carter & JazStarr)", "Lobster Spaghetti (feat. Brainorchestra)", "Tuscany", "Carnival (feat. Mathematik, Solar-C, Es)" and more.

For the last seven years, sound artist, technologist, and electronic musician Moisés Horta Valenzuela (aka Hexorcismos) has been studying artificial intelligence and generative art, wondering how these new technologies might be augmented into his musical process. Born in Tijuana and currently based in Berlin, Hexorcismos has long attempted to break down the permeable borders between musical styles and expressions, using the spaces in between to reinforce his politics and worldview. And on 'MUTALISMX - becoming sonic network', he expands his vision, inviting artists from across the globe to collaborate on work that questions the biases inherent in AI models, offering a collective alternative that could serve as a blueprint for further research.

The majority of AI art at this stage works with "big data", taking ideas from the cultural canon and muddying them with our contemporary reality. But if we accept that mass culture is always politically biased, always swaying towards historical prejudices, then there must be a counter-narrative. Hexorcismos began to develop a bottom-up approach, using "small data" to interrogate his idiosyncratic approach to art; he built a tool called SEMILLA.AI based on neural audio synthesis that could not only mimic his sonic fingerprint but transform it into another. So when he offered the synth to his network of collaborators, he gave them the option of either using only their data or sharing the signatures of each other artist involved in the project, blurring their identities into a mutual voice.

The result is a compilation that unspools with the coherence and fluidity of a single-artist album or adventurous DJ mix, genreless and boundless but unified by a singular message. Hunanese-American artist Kloxii Li for example takes rugged percussion and tense, industrial ambience, smudging her soundscape into a swirling gust of ghostly dissonance. Hexorcismos himself contributes two compositions: the lengthy, hypnotic 'Acaso de veras se vive con raíz en la Tierra', an AI-powered scramble of his pointed tribal guarachero experiments; and 'Interferencias', a collaboration with Mexican club veteran Bryan Dálvez, aka El Irreal Veintiuno that drives intense dancefloor rhythms into a dense haze of frozen drones and radio static. Elsewhere, Berlin-based Lebanese artist and writer Jessika Khazrik dissolves her voice into a mesh of obscured rhythms and dissociated whirrs, blending the organic with the artificial but retaining an overpowering sense of humanity.

Some artists were drawn to the nebulous aspects of the technology, searching for truth in a soup of different sounds, while others, such as KMRU, used Hexorcismos's synthesizer the examine their output. On 'hidden options', the Kenyan sound artist fed his immense catalog into the neural net, bringing out his mannerisms and tendencies in the process. Each track is singular but myriad, prompting both mutual respect and a sonic becoming, a feedback process between the artist and the tool, the individual and the collective. Data sets are made by people, and by engaging directly with musicians, Hexorcismos suggests a new way of utilizing a technology demonized and glorified without careful examination. Each artist owns their AI model, and alongside the album Hexorcismos will release SEMILLA.AI to the public (with custom-made models to start the process), allowing anyone to access this revolutionary technology.

Even the album's artwork reflects the political message, conceptualized by Chilean duo hypereikon, who used AI processes to develop a visual reflection of the technology and its possibilities. Operating outside of academia and capitalist enterprises, MUTUALISMX proposes an alternative future - one without borders that's not beholden to the Western canon, where independent labor can be prioritized and celebrated, and where creativity can truly flourish.

"Due to the huge success of the Original Source Series and due to frequent wishes by both fans and critics alike, DG have decided to launch a reprint of all four titles of Batch 1 – marked as “SECOND EDITION”. Same Quality, just without numbering. THE ORIGINAL SOURCE is a new series of celebrated albums reissued on vinyl. These new releases include Claudio Abbado’s fascinating interpretation of works by Debussy and Ravel with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1 LP), the legendary recording of Brahms’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with Emil Gilels, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Eugen Jochum (2 LPs), and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in the iconic version of Herbert von Karajan and Berliner Philharmoniker (2 LPs). The renowned Berlin-based Emil Berliner Studios are remastering 4-track recordings from the 1970s, using their own cutting-edge and 100% pure analogue techniques (AAA) to create versions of the highest possible audio quality. Compared to the original releases, the advantages in sound are outstanding: More clarity, more details and a better frequency response, less noise, less distortion, less compression – the highest possible audiophile quality which gives listeners the chance to enjoy this repertoire like never before.
Produced on 180g virgin vinyl by Optimal, these limited and numbered releases will be issued in deluxe gatefold editions featuring the original artwork and liner notes, with additional photos and facsimiles of the recording documentation on the inner sleeve. Furthermore, each release includes a note by Rainer Maillard/EBS detailing the technical background and procedure of the Original Source Series, and an additional insert with a photo of the original tape box. Each LP comes in a protective cellophane jacket with a sticker highlighting the

"Due to the huge success of the Original Source Series and due to frequent wishes by both fans and critics alike, DG have decided to launch a reprint of all four titles of Batch 1 – marked as “SECOND EDITION”. Same Quality, just without numbering. THE ORIGINAL SOURCE is a new series of celebrated albums reissued on vinyl. These new releases include Claudio Abbado’s fascinating interpretation of works by Debussy and Ravel with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1 LP), the legendary recording of Brahms’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with Emil Gilels, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Eugen Jochum (2 LPs), and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in the iconic version of Herbert von Karajan and Berliner Philharmoniker (2 LPs). The renowned Berlin-based Emil Berliner Studios are remastering 4-track recordings from the 1970s, using their own cutting-edge and 100% pure analogue techniques (AAA) to create versions of the highest possible audio quality. Compared to the original releases, the advantages in sound are outstanding: More clarity, more details and a better frequency response, less noise, less distortion, less compression – the highest possible audiophile quality which gives listeners the chance to enjoy this repertoire like never before.
Produced on 180g virgin vinyl by Optimal, these limited and numbered releases will be issued in deluxe gatefold editions featuring the original artwork and liner notes, with additional photos and facsimiles of the recording documentation on the inner sleeve. Furthermore, each release includes a note by Rainer Maillard/EBS detailing the technical background and procedure of the Original Source Series, and an additional insert with a photo of the original tape box. Each LP comes in a protective cellophane jacket with a sticker highlighting the
"

"Due to the huge success of the Original Source Series and due to frequent wishes by both fans and critics alike, DG have decided to launch a reprint of all four titles of Batch 1 – marked as “SECOND EDITION”. Same Quality, just without numbering. THE ORIGINAL SOURCE is a new series of celebrated albums reissued on vinyl. These new releases include Claudio Abbado’s fascinating interpretation of works by Debussy and Ravel with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1 LP), the legendary recording of Brahms’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 with Emil Gilels, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Eugen Jochum (2 LPs), and Verdi’s Messa da Requiem in the iconic version of Herbert von Karajan and Berliner Philharmoniker (2 LPs). The renowned Berlin-based Emil Berliner Studios are remastering 4-track recordings from the 1970s, using their own cutting-edge and 100% pure analogue techniques (AAA) to create versions of the highest possible audio quality. Compared to the original releases, the advantages in sound are outstanding: More clarity, more details and a better frequency response, less noise, less distortion, less compression – the highest possible audiophile quality which gives listeners the chance to enjoy this repertoire like never before.
Produced on 180g virgin vinyl by Optimal, these limited and numbered releases will be issued in deluxe gatefold editions featuring the original artwork and liner notes, with additional photos and facsimiles of the recording documentation on the inner sleeve. Furthermore, each release includes a note by Rainer Maillard/EBS detailing the technical background and procedure of the Original Source Series, and an additional insert with a photo of the original tape box. Each LP comes in a protective cellophane jacket with a sticker highlighting the
"

Tone Def are the original Bournemouth ravers with some absolute classics released in the early 90’s on Moving Shadow. Rog from the band is also the founder of Void Acoustics, the ultimate in club and festival audio equipment, a hobby that became a huge business empire for him.

This EP was written during 1990 to 1991 and had been lost for 30 years until recently, when Rog was checking some of his old ¼” tapes that he took out of storage. These are 4 original UK acid breakbeat rave tracks, encapsulating the raw DIY ethos of the era, of kids messing about in their bedrooms, writing music with no boundaries or templates. Never heard before, never released before… until now.

Acid Boom is a sister label to the Vinyl Fanatiks family. A vehicle to release that early 90’s acid sound that would later morph into rave. High energy 303’s, 808 and 909 drum machines, synced up to rolling breakbeats. Whether music from back in the day or new music that’s been created to emulate that early warehouse sound, Acid Boom is here to take you on a rush.

High Roller Records, 2nd pressing, blue jay/ white bi-color vinyl, ltd 400, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert printed on uncoated paper, poster, Mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in November 2020. Cutting by SST Germany on Neumann machines for optimal quality on all levels. the ultimate audiophile reissues.

10 Year Anniversary Vinyl Release (first time vinyl pressing of Blake Mills’ debut album). Includes Hi Res Audio Download Card & Poster Foldout. BLAKE MILLS is a Grammy-nominated songwriter, guitarist, producer, and composer based in Los Angeles. In 2010, Blake’s solo career began with this self titled critically acclaimed album released only on a limited run of CDs and digitally. It became a cult favorite over the years, with 2019 marking the first time it will be pressed on vinyl. In 2015 he produced the highly acclaimed sophomore album SOUND & COLOR for ALABAMA SHAKES. The album reached #1 on Billboard charts and was nominated for six Grammys, winning Best Alternative Album, Best Engineered Album, Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song. Blake went on to produce the albums NO SHAPE for PERFUME GENIUS, DARKNESS AND LIGHT for JOHN LEGEND, WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE for DAWES, and SEMPER FEMINA foR LAURA MARLING - earning him his second Producer of the Year Grammy nomination. Blake also composed original music for DAVID O’RUSSELL’S Academy Award nominated film JOY. As a session player and sideman he has worked with BECK, CASS MCCOMBS, JACKSON BROWN, LUCINDA WILLIAMS, BAND OF HORSES, FRANK OCEAN, RANDY NEWMAN and NEIL DIAMOND, among others. RICK RUBIN and T BONE BURNETT frequently call upon his services as a guitarist, and equally enamored is ERIC CLAPTON who told Rolling Stone magazine “Blake Mills is the last guitarist I heard that I thought was phenomenal

Red Vinyl

EVOLV is a visionary window into the mind of Dubfire, the journey of the ‘hybrid’ being and its evolution. Last year in October, an 11-track debut album was released on his long-standing SCI+TEC imprint. And now, just over a year later, Grammy award winning producer Dubfire returns to that sonic discourse, drafting in an impressive array of names to re-interpret the material, and accompanied by Dubfire's new audio-visual EVOLV show which picked up where the critically acclaimed electronic performance experience HYBRID had left off.

Fresh from delivering a stellar remix on Subtle Audio, Earl Grey drops a stellar four tracker of dark and smoke-filled vibes on Rua Sound. Its a moody, doped-up trip worth taking as a scary soundtrack into the darkness with plenty of frantic, detailed precussion to lead you off the beaten track.

Von der Zusammenarbeit mit The Clash und Bob Marley über die Verschmelzung von Genres mit Big Audio Dynamite bis hin zur Moderation seiner eigenen Radioshow auf BBC 6Music, dem Gewinn eines Grammys scheint Don Letts alles erlebt zu haben. Mit der Veröffentlichung seiner Bestseller-Autobiografie "There and Black Again" im letzten Jahr und "Rebel Dread", einem Film, der sein Leben dokumentiert, in diesem Jahr könnte man meinen, er hätte es geschafft. Aber es gibt eine Sache, die der 66-jährige Universalgelehrte nicht getan hat... bis jetzt. Mit der Single "Outta Sync" gibt Letts sein Debüt als Solokünstler und einen Vorgeschmack auf sein Debütalbum, ein berauschender Cocktail aus dubbigen, basslastigen Rhythmen, Island vibes und Spoken Words, die mit melodischen Hooks und Harmonien kombiniert werden. Das Album ist genau das, was man von einem Don Letts-Projekt erwartet. Gäste u.a.: der legendäre Terry Hall (The Specials), Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips) und die Lover-Rock-Queen Hollie Cook.

Ltd Green Colored

Von der Zusammenarbeit mit The Clash und Bob Marley über die Verschmelzung von Genres mit Big Audio Dynamite bis hin zur Moderation seiner eigenen Radioshow auf BBC 6Music, dem Gewinn eines Grammys scheint Don Letts alles erlebt zu haben. Mit der Veröffentlichung seiner Bestseller-Autobiografie "There and Black Again" im letzten Jahr und "Rebel Dread", einem Film, der sein Leben dokumentiert, in diesem Jahr könnte man meinen, er hätte es geschafft. Aber es gibt eine Sache, die der 66-jährige Universalgelehrte nicht getan hat... bis jetzt. Mit der Single "Outta Sync" gibt Letts sein Debüt als Solokünstler und einen Vorgeschmack auf sein Debütalbum, ein berauschender Cocktail aus dubbigen, basslastigen Rhythmen, Island vibes und Spoken Words, die mit melodischen Hooks und Harmonien kombiniert werden. Das Album ist genau das, was man von einem Don Letts-Projekt erwartet. Gäste u.a.: der legendäre Terry Hall (The Specials), Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips) und die Lover-Rock-Queen Hollie Cook.

Culled from three 1985 gigs in the UK during a transitional and transcendent time in the band’s story, Sonic Youth’s The Walls Have Ears appeared / disappeared as a 2LP set in 1986, not just a live album but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verité. It’s now issued for the first time officially under the band’s auspices.

The ’85 shows were the second time the band appeared on UK soil, Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground; an art / punk band from NYC sporting casual attitudes and tees sporting Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince made some good press copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. Paul Smith of the newly-founded Blast First label acted as an overseas diplomatic envoy for Sonic Youth through their SST years as well as issuing their classic 1988 Daydream Nation outside the USA. However the Smith-produced ‘bootleg’ of their ’85 UK gigs surfaced much to everyone’s surprise, just before EVOL was to be released. It turned out to be a marker of the group’s dissatisfaction that ultimately led to the release’s deletion, and the band and Smith parting ways after Daydream.

In this 2LP set brimming with primitive classics like ‘The Burning Spear,’ ‘Death Valley 69,’ and ‘I’m Insane’ (uncredited on sleeve), segues and live guitar changes ooze together threaded by Madonna tapes and vocal loops off the board (somewhat a necessity for distraction until the band had a full fledged stage crew to prepare guitars). The first two sides of Walls are massive, cavernous, with newly-drafted drummer Steve Shelley. SY tear it up especially on one trash-fi excerpt of ‘Blood On Brighton Beach’ (actually ‘Making The Nature Scene’) from a legendary outdoor gig November 8th where Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo’s guitars treble-blast dissonant shockwaves over the black-stoned beach of Quadrophenia fame.

The record’s second slab spotlights an April 1985 at London’s Hammersmith Palais and was one of the final appearances live of Bob Bert on drums, again featuring some molten takes on ‘Brother James,’ ‘Flower’ (listed as ‘The Word (E.V.O.L.)’), and others. This document remains an essential representation of some lean and mean years of the quartet’s throttling march out into the world. (by Brian Turner)

Culled from three 1985 gigs in the UK during a transitional and transcendent time in the band’s story, Sonic Youth’s The Walls Have Ears appeared / disappeared as a 2LP set in 1986, not just a live album but an artful tapestry full of live experimentation with songs, between-song tape segues, darkness, humor and audio verité. It’s now issued for the first time officially under the band’s auspices.

The ’85 shows were the second time the band appeared on UK soil, Brits now getting juiced to the mythos of the emerging guitar-slinging American independent underground; an art / punk band from NYC sporting casual attitudes and tees sporting Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, and Prince made some good press copy on top of their bludgeoning stage appearance. Paul Smith of the newly-founded Blast First label acted as an overseas diplomatic envoy for Sonic Youth through their SST years as well as issuing their classic 1988 Daydream Nation outside the USA. However the Smith-produced ‘bootleg’ of their ’85 UK gigs surfaced much to everyone’s surprise, just before EVOL was to be released. It turned out to be a marker of the group’s dissatisfaction that ultimately led to the release’s deletion, and the band and Smith parting ways after Daydream.

In this 2LP set brimming with primitive classics like ‘The Burning Spear,’ ‘Death Valley 69,’ and ‘I’m Insane’ (uncredited on sleeve), segues and live guitar changes ooze together threaded by Madonna tapes and vocal loops off the board (somewhat a necessity for distraction until the band had a full fledged stage crew to prepare guitars). The first two sides of Walls are massive, cavernous, with newly-drafted drummer Steve Shelley. SY tear it up especially on one trash-fi excerpt of ‘Blood On Brighton Beach’ (actually ‘Making The Nature Scene’) from a legendary outdoor gig November 8th where Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo’s guitars treble-blast dissonant shockwaves over the black-stoned beach of Quadrophenia fame.

The record’s second slab spotlights an April 1985 at London’s Hammersmith Palais and was one of the final appearances live of Bob Bert on drums, again featuring some molten takes on ‘Brother James,’ ‘Flower’ (listed as ‘The Word (E.V.O.L.)’), and others. This document remains an essential representation of some lean and mean years of the quartet’s throttling march out into the world. (by Brian Turner)

There is a parallel, submerged dimension in which musicians meet when they improvise. Sound microcosms emerge in those moments, and this is precisely the magic that BOTTAZZ! wanted to photograph in their first album: BOTTAZZ! VOL.1.

A "live" album, capable of transmitting spontaneity, sonic truths, empathy, feelings; ingredients that are difficult to transmit by recording the instruments individually or with other techniques.
Recorded in the historic "Auditorium 900" studios, a true time achine, as well as an institution for music in Naples.

Auditorium 900 took up the challenge in the figure of sound engineer Fabrizio Piccolo and from here the sound of BOTTAZZ was born!

A sound made up of lysergic Funk trips, 70's influences in all possible nuances: from progressive funk to Santana's Hispanic rock, up to touching its darkest and most hidden latitudes; audio waves
nfluenced by the soundtracks of the cinematography linked to those times, organs, synths, percussion and wah wah guitars, which generate a melting pot in which nothing is taken for granted.

BOTTAZZ! VOL.1 is a ship's diary, a journey into which each sailor has inserted its own emotions accumulated over the years, thus giving us a sincere and genuine record. Happy navigation.

"The Riot City Years" reissued on STUNNING YELLOW VINYL! Bristol's own Vice Squad were one of the earliest UK punk groups with a female lead vocalist. Beki Bondage was a heartthrob to any British lad of a certain age and her dynamic stage presence and vocal prowess made Vice Squad one of the most popular acts of the second wave of British punk. This killer collection features tracks from the Riot City singles plus demos. Another essential UK punk compilation from one of the greatest singles bands of the early 80's scene.

This is the story of the one the great disco labels, a legendary label who were at the forefront of a genre during it fruition and creative peak. Sam Weiss started SAM Records in Long Island City, New York in 1976. Sam, and his brother Hy, were born in Romania before moving to the Bronx in New York City when they were young. Sam and his brother were no strangers to the music business having been in the industry since the mid-50s running labels Old Town and Parody Records. • During the mid-1970s Disco took New York by storm and emerged into a revolutionary musical force that re-shaped the face of the City. It was however a genre major labels largely ignored initially. It was the smaller, independent labels that led the way in disco’s early years. Founded in 1974, Salsoul was the first. Sam’s new label SAM Records arrived a year later, followed by West End and Prelude in 1976: four labels from which umpteen disco classics emerged. • This compilation compiles all of the classic material that SAM release during the years 1975 and 1983. Offering up a treasure trove of disco essential this compilation features tracks from Gary’s Gang, John Davis & The Monster Orchestra, Komiko, Rhyze, Convertion, Vicky “D”, Greg Henderson alongside deeper cuts by Lucy Hawkins, K.I.D and more. • The audio used here has been sourced from the SAM archives and in many cases the mixes are appearing in their truest 12-inch form. The set is complete with extensive liner notes by The Guardian’s chief music critic and disco authority Alexis Petridis. • SAM Records has forever left its footprint on the Disco and music history, and this compilation is an essential addition to anyone’s collection.

Sharpshooters is the long-awaited collaborative album from Destruct & DJ Zole. The two Natives from Southern California who have been true contributors to the Los Angeles Hip-Hop scene for over a decade now. Sharpshooters showcases a vast arrangement of styles blended into one solid LP with a hint of nostalgia hence the title of the project.

Sharpshooters while paying homage to the golden era of Hip-Hop also has a fresh perspective on how the culture sounds today and at the same time inspired one of the greatest wrestlers, Bret Hart.

In a refreshing way it all culminates into a unique experience for the listener with amazing guest features to back it, at the end of the day Sharpshooters represents two genuine and diverse artists entering their prime and creating a timeless piece of art appropriately named after a legend’s finishing move.

Sharpshooters is released on vinyl by the label Mind The Wax as of March 8th, 2024 and includes 11 tracks.
Destruct has been in the music scene and has released over 30 studio albums including two with his live band "Inner City Soul". He has been blessed as well to run his own studio "Area 52" where he provides recording and executive producer services. He also has a film production company now called “The Resident People” where he has directed and filmed several music videos and short films with much more to come.

By today, Destruct has rocked hundreds of shows with legends like KRS-One, Slum Village, Dilated Peoples, Rakim, Psycho Realm, Method Man from Wu-Tang & more. He has also collaborated with artists such as Grammy award-winning Sirah, Sean Price, Kev Brown, Blu and Exile to just name a few.

All and all Destruct is here to be much more than your everyday Hip Hop artist, but a true contributor to the culture and lifestyle, progressing the movement forward. Destruct is here for a legacy, not a trend.

DJ Zole is a DJ/Producer from Southern California. He gained his experience coming up as a touring HipHop DJ and Producer/ Turntablist who has been a DJ for major acts ranging from Sage Francis (Strange Famous Records), Atmosphere, Abstract Rude, Project Blowed, 2Mex, and many others.

Since 2004, DJ Zole has travelled the globe performing and creating. He's a highly decorated engineer and producer with his degree in Audio Engineering Mixing and Mastering Certified through Musicians Institute Hollywood.

Widely and rightly regarded as one of the best ever soul and funk bands, the now legendary Average White Band tore-up
the rule book and conquered the US, UK & International charts with a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980.
AWB’s repertoire has been a source of inspiration and influence for many R&B acts and they are one of the most sampled
bands in history, remaining relevant today, continuing to reach new generations of younger audiences.
•Snoop Dogg, Fatboy Slim, Ice Cube, Puff Daddy, TLC, Rick Ross, will.i.am and Mark Ronson amongst countless others, have
all borrowed sections of their grooves.
AWB’ (aka ‘The White Album’) is the 2nd album by AWB and their first for Atlantic Records produced by the legendary Arif
Mardin, originally released in 1974. The album reached #6 in the UK Albums Chart and #1 in the USA.
‘AWB’ includes the ground-breaking classic ‘Pick Up The Pieces’, also reaching #6 in the UK, as well as the coveted #1 spot
in the USA.
AWB are touring the UK in April and May 2024, “taking the album on the road”
This 50th Anniversary celebratory half-speed master version has been newly mastered by Phil Kinrade, and expertly cut
using transfers of the original audio tapes using precision half-speed mastering by Barry Grint at AIR Mastering, London
and is pressed on heavyweight 180g vinyl, with a 4-page insert.

The acclaimed Cleveland-born saxophonist Joe Lovano came to Blue Note Records in 1990 and over the next 25 years became one of the most recorded artists in the label’s history, building a formidable and far-ranging catalog that explored the full breadth of his artistry. Recorded in September 1997, Trio Fascination: Edition One stands out as one of the more remarkable sessions in Lovano’s discography with the saxophonist joining forces with two all-time legends—bassist Dave Holland and drummer Elvin Jones—in a spare trio setting that finds these three masters conversing freely. Throughout Lovano can be heard on tenor, soprano, alto, and straight alto saxophones, as well as alto clarinet, and the set consists of nine creative Lovano originals including the pulsing opener “New York Fascination,” the spacious “Sanctuary Park,” the Sam Rivers tribute “Studio Rivbea,” and a stunning rendition of the lone standard “Ghost of a Chance.” This Tone Poet Vinyl Edition marks the album’s first-ever release on vinyl.

The Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Reissue Series was born out of Blue Note President Don Was’ admiration for the exceptional audiophile Blue Note LP reissues presented by Music Matters. Was brought Joe Harley, a.k.a. the “Tone Poet,” on board to curate and supervise a series of reissues from the Blue Note family of labels.

Extreme attention to detail has been paid to getting these right in every conceivable way, from the jacket graphics and printing quality to superior LP mastering (direct from the master tapes) by Kevin Gray to superb 180g audiophile LP pressings by Record Technology Inc. Every aspect of these Tone Poet releases is done to the highest possible standard. It means that you will never find a superior version. This is IT.

This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

For its ninth release, Dusk Notes invites 3 guest artists, each gifted and stylistically distinctive in their own right, to reinterpret tracks from Imagery's self-titled album. Wide-ranging and divergent in genre, the compilation closes out with a remix from the label founders.

Homemade Weapons' striking take on ''Asymmetric Information'' features his signature audio sculptures of precise and militant choppage. Viels' intricate rework of ''Don't Crush the Acid'' is marked by commanding breakbeats and ominous ambience. Fred P's version of ''Don't Crush the Acid'' embarks on a jazzy groove with musing and yearning melodies. Soramimi and Rondec take us inward at eventide with a hushed andintoxicating montage of ''Inner Sunset.''

180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL

HEAVYWEIGHT SLEEVE FINISHED WITH LEATHER LAMINATE
INCLUDES INSERT WITH LYRICS AND PICTURES

THE LEGENDARY 1985 DEBUT ALBUM FEATURING THE HIT SINGLES
“YOUR LOVE”, “ALL THE LOVE” & “SAY IT ISN’T SO”

LIMITED EDITION OF 3000 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON
PURPLE MARBLED VINYL

ISLAND APES is a British band, formed in the East Midlands around 2018. The current line-up consists of ex members of Bivouac, Force Fed and Fudge Tunnel; guitarist/producer Dean Selby, drummer Antronhy, vocalist MKJ and bassist David Ryley. Their roots lie in anxiety, ritual and underlying melody. Call it what you like. Answers on a postcard to God Unknown. So the Germans call English football fans Island Apes? I guess they don’t know about the punk band of the same name. ISLAND APES features a lineup of UK underground punk legends. Antronhy, the drummer, was Nirvana’s infamous dancer at their Live at Reading performance. David Riley was the bass player in the legendary UK noise rock band Fudge Tunnel and current bass player in doom masters Conan. MKJ was in Forcefed and Meatfly; two early 90's influential UK hardcore bands. They have paid their dues and have produced a wild, lo-fi trip into an alternate punk universe where they tame audio chaos and explore the psychedelic side of consciousness. It’s grungy and grimy, guttural and grating, and even dubby, all in the most beautiful way. Their debut self-titled record is available on limited vinyl copies via God Unknown Records. To keep it punk the album will be released on vinyl only. Limited to 300 copies.