Cerca:aw records

Orange, yellow, cyan blue, aqua blue, baby blue vinyl. Limited to 400 copies
After being out of print for decades, End Hits Records has partnered with the Swedish hardcore punk legends ABHINANDA to re-release their complete discography on vinyl. Founded in 1992 in Umea, now recognized as a European punk hub, ABHINANDA played a significant role in shaping the history and development of the 90's hardcore scene. Alongside their contemporaries REFUSED (with whom they frequently shared and swapped members), they were instrumental in the international breakthrough and popularization of Scandinavian hardcore. Much credit for this goes to singer Jose Saxlund, who, along with Dennis Lyxzen (Refused, Int. Noise Conspiracy), operated the Straight Edge label "Desperate Fight" and played a vital role in consistently releasing recordings from the thriving Swedish scene. Finally, the entire ABHINANDA discography will be available once again, this time on strictly limited vinyl: The five-vinyl box set comes in an elegant cardboard slipcase, with each individual record housed in a gatefold cover and accompanied by a large-format poster. Additionally, there are numerous never-before-seen pictures, along with detailed liner notes/interviews featuring band members and contemporaries such as Dennis Lyxzen (Refused), Vique Simba (Revelation Records, Simba Zine+Records), Sara Almgren (Doughnuts, Int. Noise Conspiracy), and Kate Tucker-Reddy (108). The box set includes the three full-length albums "Senseless," "Self Titled," and "The Rumble," as well as a double LP featuring all demo recordings, EPs, and 7" tracks. The music has been completely remastered, and the artwork has been entirely updated.

As part of Demon Music’s Suede30 campaign, the label are issuing Suede’s first four singles as seven-inch picture discs, reproducing the original arresting cover images on the discs.

The fourth, and final, release in this series is ‘So Young’, originally issued on Nude Records on 17 May 1993. It reached No 22 in the UK singles chart.

The B-side to ‘So Young’ was ‘High Rising’ which didn’t appear on the Suede album. The new picture disc is strictly limited to 1000 units worldwide and is only available via the SDE shop and the official Suede store.

The ‘So Young’ seven-inch picture disc is released on 5 January 2024 via Demon Records. The far away release date is probably in part because ‘Metal Mickey’ (sold out) and ‘Animal Nitrate’ (still available) have both been delayed slightly. Pre-order ‘So Young’ via the shop using this link or the buttons (‘pre-order’) below.

Der vollständige Soundtrack von Paul Ruskay zur Homeworld 2 Remastered Edition (2015), der HD-Version des Echtzeit-Strategiespiels Homeworld 2 aus dem Jahr 2003. Während des HD-Restaurierungsprozesses holte Ruskay die Original-DAT-Tapes aus einem Schuhkarton, entstaubte jahrzehntealte Pro Tool Studio-Sessions und ließ von allen Titeln unkomprimierte Versionen erstellen, auch von bislang unveröffentlichten. Die Tracks wurden dann sorgfältig neu gemischt und sequenziert. Schwarzes 180g Triple-Vinyl mit 58 Tracks.

Double LP on Hibiscus & Butterfly Pea Tea Vinyl Dust off your coffee machine and prepare your warmest smile to meet your customers again in the second episode of the much-loved coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator - "Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly". You are a barista and your customers aren't always humans. Listen to their stories and influence their hearts with a warm cup of coffee or two. Introducing "Coffee Talk Episode 2" on vinyl. Dive into the soothing rhythms of this atmospheric lo-fi soundtrack, which captures the very essence of the Coffee Talk universe. Each groove transports you to that familiar coffee shop corner, where the patter of rain, heart-warming chatter and captivating melodies intertwine flawlessly. Presented in a stunning analogue format, the cover is drawn by Junkipatchi, Episode 2's lead writer and narrative designer. The tracks themselves have been handpicked by Andrew Jeremy, game producer and music composer, who has this to say: "The world is so chaotic that it can break you down. Just take your time to rest and re-energize with relaxing and chill music, before you start each day conquering the world once again." So, settle down with your favourite brew and let Coffee Talk Ep. 2 on vinyl guide you on a melancholic yet tranquil journey, evoking the Seattle from a parallel universe that you've come to know and love. Secure your auditory escape today and immerse yourself in an unmatched coffee shop ambiance.

Dust off your coffee machine and prepare your warmest smile to meet your customers again in the second episode of the much-loved coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator - "Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly". You are a barista and your customers aren't always humans. Listen to their stories and influence their hearts with a warm cup of coffee or two. Introducing "Coffee Talk Episode 2" on tape. Dive into the soothing rhythms of this atmospheric lo-fi soundtrack, which captures the very essence of the Coffee Talk universe. Each groove transports you to that familiar coffee shop corner, where the patter of rain, heart-warming chatter and captivating melodies intertwine flawlessly. Presented in a stunning analogue format, the cover is drawn by Junkipatchi, Episode 2's lead writer and narrative designer. The tracks themselves have been handpicked by Andrew Jeremy, game producer and music composer, who has this to say: "The world is so chaotic that it can break you down. Just take your time to rest and re-energize with relaxing and chill music, before you start each day conquering the world once again." So, settle down with your favourite brew and let Coffee Talk Ep. 2 on tape guide you on a melancholic yet tranquil journey, evoking the Seattle from a parallel universe that you've come to know and love. Secure your auditory escape today and immerse yourself in an unmatched coffee shop ambiance.

Dust off your coffee machine and prepare your warmest smile to meet your customers again in the second episode of the much-loved coffee brewing and heart-to-heart talking simulator - "Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly". You are a barista and your customers aren't always humans. Listen to their stories and influence their hearts with a warm cup of coffee or two. Introducing "Coffee Talk Episode 2" on tape. Dive into the soothing rhythms of this atmospheric lo-fi soundtrack, which captures the very essence of the Coffee Talk universe. Each groove transports you to that familiar coffee shop corner, where the patter of rain, heart-warming chatter and captivating melodies intertwine flawlessly. Presented in a stunning analogue format, the cover is drawn by Junkipatchi, Episode 2's lead writer and narrative designer. The tracks themselves have been handpicked by Andrew Jeremy, game producer and music composer, who has this to say: "The world is so chaotic that it can break you down. Just take your time to rest and re-energize with relaxing and chill music, before you start each day conquering the world once again." So, settle down with your favourite brew and let Coffee Talk Ep. 2 on tape guide you on a melancholic yet tranquil journey, evoking the Seattle from a parallel universe that you've come to know and love. Secure your auditory escape today and immerse yourself in an unmatched coffee shop ambiance.

One half experimenting with new styles not tried before, and the other half proving that when it came to progressive rock, they had few equals. It perfectly represents the versatility, sense of humour and compositional genius of this most singular of bands. Including the same personnel that had recorded the previous years In'terview - Derek Shulman, Ray Shulman, Kerry Minnear, Gary Green and John 'Pugwash' Weathers, and yet it felt different. Marking a change in direction following their successful In'terview tour, the album received mixed reviews upon its initial release, but has since grown in stature, praised for its forward-thinking sound and experimental nature. We are now pleased to present this record in its full glory and the best it's ever sounded.

Continuing his association with Gentle Giant, award winning producer and musician Steven Wilson has remixed The Missing Piece.His tonal range and painstaking attention to sound quality gives the album a fresh and exhilarating sonic lift.

The Missing Piece by Gentle Giant, released 23 February 2024, includes the following tracks: "Betcha Thought We Couldn't Do It", "Mountain Time", "Memories Of Old Days", "For Nobody" and more.

This version of The Missing Piece comes as a 1xLP.

“I’ve been wanting to make a record like this for a long time. The band, Franny and I produced it ourselves in my living room with no adults present. It’s all acoustic, not an electric lick on the album…banjos and mandos and string basses and stripped-down drums. I put a ton of work into the tunes and I’m pretty proud of this batch. Had a little help from my old co-writing pal Jaida Dreyer on a couple, also wrote a good one with my screenwriter buddy, Brian Koppelman. Lots of gambling songs and lots of minor keys. And my band guys absolutely killed it too, they’re all badasses. I’m dedicating the record to my old compadre, Ian Tyson, who passed away a few months back. I’ve named the album for him as well. ‘El Viejo’, or ‘the old one’ is what our mutual friend Tom Russell took to calling him in later years. The title track is a pretty special one for us. We had a blast making this thing, and we hope you enjoy it too.” - Corb Lund

The debut release of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD Original Motion Picture Soundtrack By Harry Manfredini and Fred Mollin! Available for the very first time in any format, Waxwork worked closely with Paramount Pictures to locate the original 1988 master tapes in the Paramount vault. Archived away for many years, and thought to have been lost, multiple master tapes containing the the complete score by composer Fred Mollin have been located, transferred, and re-mastered for this deluxe double vinyl release. Also included in this double album are the complete original soundtrack cues featured in the movie and composed by Friday the 13th veteran, Harry Manfredini.

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD is a 1988 American Slasher-Horror movie that follows a psychokinetic teenage girl who inadvertently unleashes Jason Voorhees from his grave in Crystal Lake. The film features, for the first time, actor / stuntman Kane Hodder, as Jason Voorhees. Hodder would go on to portray Jason in numerous Friday The 13th films.

Waxwork Records is excited to present the definitive FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD soundtrack by including, for the first time, the complete film music by both composers Harry Manfredini and Fred Mollin. Features include 2xLP 180 gram “Psychokinetic Splatter” colored vinyl, deluxe packaging, new artwork by Sarah Deck, the complete soundtrack sourced from the original 1988 master tapes, and heavyweight gatefold jackets with satin coating.

Oceanic White & Blue Vinyl, limited to 300 copies. The band's name is borrowed from the legend of the Cailleach, the ancient witch god of winter from Scottish Celtic mythology. The story goes that she lives at the bottom of an enormous whirlpool, Corryvreckan, which lies between some of the western isles of Scotland and lends its name to this album. As the herald of winter, she rises from the depths to wash her plaid (cloak) in the waters of the Corryvreckan. Once washed and restored to a bright white, she casts it across the earth where it lands as snow. This is done at the start of Samhainn (beginning on 31st October, which was the Celtic precursor to Halloween and the name of the band's debut album). Her reign ends as spring arrives with the festival of Bealltainn in May, and she turns to stone to await the next winter. The Cailleach is depicted in various, contradictory ways - both as a symbol of death, loss and despair, as well as a source of nurturing and protection. Taking inspiration from all this, the music that HAND OF KALLIACH creates is centred around these dual concepts of benevolence and malevolence, all against the backdrop of the history, mythology and land/seascapes of the Scottish islands. The threads of Celtic and Gaelic folk music and folklore weave throughout the album, against a backdrop of spectral, melodic death metal. Blending the robust brutality of death metal with the ethereal wisps of folk is an intoxicating brew. Corryvreckan was recorded with Wynter Prior at Sphynx Studios, Brighton, UK. The resulting album is a phantasmagorical journey through ancient tales and truly progressive modern metal, with an unmatched eye for detail that brings every single element of Corryvreckan to life.

Alanna Royale, for fans of Amy Winehouse, Lady Wray, and The Monophonics. Introducing "Trouble Is," an album that is years in the making. Produced by Kelly Finnigan of The Monophonics, this LP showcases Alanna's powerhouse voice and emotional lyrics. This is an album that you need to deep listen to. Get swept away from the lush string arrangements and feel the beat from an A-list rhythm section. This album is steeped in the sounds of the incredible R&B artists that have came before her. Come experience Alanna's vision through the incredible sounds on "Trouble Is." You might discover something new about yourself.

Boys Like Girls have enjoyed a meteoric rise after forming as teenagers in 2004. The b& was forged from the very beginning in the damp basements, garages, & VFW halls of the Massachusetts coastline over tattered lyric books, guitars, drums, & a collective dream. A half-billion Spotify streams later it‘s clear this was a fairy tale in its first act. Their self-titled debut album 2006 is nearing Multi-Platinum RIAA certification, while its chart-topping successor Love Drunk 2009 bowed at #1 on the Top Rock Albums Chart & Top 10 on the Billboard 200. A slew of successful singles abounded, including Platinum-certified hits “The Great Escape” & “Love Drunk,” as well as Gold-certified hits “Hero/Heroine” & “Thunder.” There was the Platinum-certified, BMI award-winning Hot 100 duet with Taylor Swift: “Two Is Better Than One.""""
By 2012 lead singer & songwriter Martin Johnson was beginning to feel the universe pulling him into a new arena, where he crafted hits for Swift, Ariana Grande, Pentatonix, & more. That led to a years-long hiatus for Boys Like Girls. But in 2016, the b& would return to the road for the 10th Anniversary tour of their debut record. While fans across America were ecstatic for the reunion they’d been waiting for, internally it felt more like a farewell. But it wasn't. In 2019, Boys Like Girls plotted another return to the road Down Under. Those plans were delayed due to the global events of 2020. After making good on their promise to return in 2022 & punctuating the tour by playing both weekends at the lauded Las Vegas When We Were Young Festival, Boys Like Girls meant more than ever not only to the band’s members, but to the fans as well.
Rock Sound Cover band / confirmed for Slam Dunk UK Festival 2024 / support from Kerrang! and NME "

Boys Like Girls have enjoyed a meteoric rise after forming as teenagers in 2004. The b& was forged from the very beginning in the damp basements, garages, & VFW halls of the Massachusetts coastline over tattered lyric books, guitars, drums, & a collective dream. A half-billion Spotify streams later it‘s clear this was a fairy tale in its first act. Their self-titled debut album 2006 is nearing Multi-Platinum RIAA certification, while its chart-topping successor Love Drunk 2009 bowed at #1 on the Top Rock Albums Chart & Top 10 on the Billboard 200. A slew of successful singles abounded, including Platinum-certified hits “The Great Escape” & “Love Drunk,” as well as Gold-certified hits “Hero/Heroine” & “Thunder.” There was the Platinum-certified, BMI award-winning Hot 100 duet with Taylor Swift: “Two Is Better Than One.""""
By 2012 lead singer & songwriter Martin Johnson was beginning to feel the universe pulling him into a new arena, where he crafted hits for Swift, Ariana Grande, Pentatonix, & more. That led to a years-long hiatus for Boys Like Girls. But in 2016, the b& would return to the road for the 10th Anniversary tour of their debut record. While fans across America were ecstatic for the reunion they’d been waiting for, internally it felt more like a farewell. But it wasn't. In 2019, Boys Like Girls plotted another return to the road Down Under. Those plans were delayed due to the global events of 2020. After making good on their promise to return in 2022 & punctuating the tour by playing both weekends at the lauded Las Vegas When We Were Young Festival, Boys Like Girls meant more than ever not only to the band’s members, but to the fans as well.
Rock Sound Cover band / confirmed for Slam Dunk UK Festival 2024 / support from Kerrang! and NME "

The Cherry Boppers are back with six fiery artifacts of promiscuous funk recorded in collaboration with the vocalist, also from Bilbao, Patricia Reckless, in this mini-album in 10-inch vinyl format. Pure rhythm from head to toes. As is well known, funk fuses what has historically been labelled soul, rhythm and blues, jazz and rock, and The Cherry Boppers (TCB) have undoubtedly created their own promiscuous formula based on a fine selection of styles that predate hip-hop. Active since 2004 and convinced advocates of jazz-funk and instrumental funk, there are very few examples of vocal tracks in their discography. However, in 2014 they released the EP "TCB meet Dr. Baltz" (Brixton Records-Soul Series) in which they successfully covered three classic rhythm and blues standards with lyrics in Spanish. Now, after five years of publishing drought, they repeat the experience with the stellar collaboration of the vocalist, also from Bilbao, Patricia Reckless, musically formed in the band "Bohemian Soul". The powerful and educated voice of Patricia Reckless blends perfectly, as one more instrument, into the compact rhythmic machinery of TCB, giving the 6 tracks of this mini-album (the 6-track EP thing doesn't quite fit) a structure, perhaps, more familiar to a non-specialized audience. But let's not get carried away, the textures, the silences, the "on the one!" beat, the breaks, the stately Hammond organ, the brilliant brass, the forceful bass lines, the precise percussion, the wah wah... are all 100% Cherry Boppers. "The Cherry Boppers meet Patricia Reckless" remains faithful to that analogue funk sound that makes the band proud of a long and vocational career in the genre. And it is also an album full of details, of paths and instrumental lines to be discovered on multiple listens.

Infinity Machine is a duo comprised of Juan MacLean - as in the Juan MacLean, longtime DFA traveler - and Gee Dee, also known as Greg Droggitis, a producer and DJ based in Brooklyn and 1/3 of the Earth Beat DJ troupe. The project name stems from a series of gatherings the two began hosting in various private spaces around New York City shortly after lockdown, though that description is a bit innocuous for the journeys traveled by its attendees. These events, billed as "psychedelic dance ceremonies" lasting 8 or 9 hours, began with a sound meditation to vibrational and acoustic instruments before eventually segueing into a "dance" soundtracked by a DJ set from Juan and Greg. Something clicked - that ceremonial tea! - and so Juan and Greg began playing and recording in their studio using the same approach: improvisation with equal attention placed on traditional acoustic (flute, guitar, gong) and more contemporary electronic (Yamaha DX-7) sounds. After awhile, there was literally three albums worth of material, each of them a voyage into the warm, liminal space between new age, ambient, drone and psychedelia. None of those genres quite fully describe what's across 001, 002, and 003 - available from DFA digitally and on a very limited run of cassettes (150 each!) - but if you've read this far then you're either the right kind of curious or just forgot what you were doing.

Infinity Machine is a duo comprised of Juan MacLean - as in the Juan MacLean, longtime DFA traveler - and Gee Dee, also known as Greg Droggitis, a producer and DJ based in Brooklyn and 1/3 of the Earth Beat DJ troupe. The project name stems from a series of gatherings the two began hosting in various private spaces around New York City shortly after lockdown, though that description is a bit innocuous for the journeys traveled by its attendees. These events, billed as "psychedelic dance ceremonies" lasting 8 or 9 hours, began with a sound meditation to vibrational and acoustic instruments before eventually segueing into a "dance" soundtracked by a DJ set from Juan and Greg. Something clicked - that ceremonial tea! - and so Juan and Greg began playing and recording in their studio using the same approach: improvisation with equal attention placed on traditional acoustic (flute, guitar, gong) and more contemporary electronic (Yamaha DX-7) sounds. After awhile, there was literally three albums worth of material, each of them a voyage into the warm, liminal space between new age, ambient, drone and psychedelia. None of those genres quite fully describe what's across 001, 002, and 003 - available from DFA digitally and on a very limited run of cassettes (150 each!) - but if you've read this far then you're either the right kind of curious or just forgot what you were doing.

Infinity Machine is a duo comprised of Juan MacLean - as in the Juan MacLean, longtime DFA traveler - and Gee Dee, also known as Greg Droggitis, a producer and DJ based in Brooklyn and 1/3 of the Earth Beat DJ troupe. The project name stems from a series of gatherings the two began hosting in various private spaces around New York City shortly after lockdown, though that description is a bit innocuous for the journeys traveled by its attendees. These events, billed as "psychedelic dance ceremonies" lasting 8 or 9 hours, began with a sound meditation to vibrational and acoustic instruments before eventually segueing into a "dance" soundtracked by a DJ set from Juan and Greg. Something clicked - that ceremonial tea! - and so Juan and Greg began playing and recording in their studio using the same approach: improvisation with equal attention placed on traditional acoustic (flute, guitar, gong) and more contemporary electronic (Yamaha DX-7) sounds. After awhile, there was literally three albums worth of material, each of them a voyage into the warm, liminal space between new age, ambient, drone and psychedelia. None of those genres quite fully describe what's across 001, 002, and 003 - available from DFA digitally and on a very limited run of cassettes (150 each!) - but if you've read this far then you're either the right kind of curious or just forgot what you were doing.

World Of Echo are proud to announce the long-awaited reissue, on 17th February, of the self-titled debut album by Bristol’s Movietone. Originally released in 1995 by Planet Records and reissued on CD in 2003 by The Pastels’ Geographic Music imprint, this is the first time Movietone has been reissued on vinyl. An expanded double-LP edition, it includes the extra tracks from the 2003 CD (their first two singles, and an unreleased demo of “Chance Is Her Opera”), and adds three more unearthed gems: demos of “Alkaline Eye” and “She Smiled Mandarine Like”, and an early take of “Late July”, recorded in a garden by Dave Pearce (Flying Saucer Attack) in 1993. Taken together, this is the definitive collection of music from the first phase of one of Bristol’s most remarkable groups.

Movietone was the cumulation of a series of events, explorations, and discoveries, starting at secondary school – the group’s core membership of Kate Wright, Rachel Brook, Matt Elliott and Matt Jones met at Cotham School in Bristol. As for many other groups, their early years were all about experimenting, and finding ways to ‘make do’, a DIY sensibility that would inform Movietone through their decade-long lifespan. From formative rehearsals in a shed in the garden of Brook’s family home, to recording early material to four-track in Redland Library, and on into the Whitehouse and Mr Grin’s studio sessions for their debut album, Movietone’s music fell together in a creatively unpredictable, yet conceptually rigorous manner.

By the time they released Movietone, they’d found a home with Bristol’s Planet, run by author Richard King and James Webster, who had both released their first two singles, “She Smiled Mandarine Like” and “Mono Valley”. There was other music happening around them in Bristol, too, from the Jones brothers’ avant-rock outfit Crescent (who were Movietone’s closest conspirators), through Elliott’s jungle/electronica project Third Eye Foundation, and Brook and Elliott’s membership of Flying Saucer Attack. A closely knit community, Movietone are the centre of this nestling architecture of groups.

The vision in the music, mostly, belongs to Wright, but Movietone ran in democratic creative consort. Listening back to Movietone, you can hear this democracy in action through the wildness of the music, which is balanced by the poetics of Wright’s lyrics and melodies. Full of half-captured memories and entangled abstractions, there’s an elliptical, ruminative quality to much of the writing here that shows the deep influence of the Beat Generation writers, along with a twilight environment captured in the songs that’s pure third-album Velvets, Galaxie 500, early Tindersticks, Codeine. Unpredictable interventions – the crashing glass in “Mono Valley”, the sudden explosions of “Orange Zero” – point towards the noise blowouts of My Bloody Valentine, the unpredictability of Sonic Youth; Wright’s understated vocal cadence suggest a deep, embodied understanding of John Cage’s Indeterminacy.

Movietone would go on to make three fantastic albums for Domino – Night & Day (1997), The Blossom Filled Streets (2000) and The Sand & The Stars (2003) – and their Peel Sessions were released early in 2022 by Textile. Still held in high regard by artists like Steven R. Smith, and The Pastels, whose Stephen McRobbie once described them as “one of the great unknown English groups,” it’s an absolute thrill to listen to Movietone anew – still inspired, still seductive, still magic, still mysterious.

With his seemingly endless capacity for creating compositions which have an alluring quality, and which are often wrapped in a mesmerising arrangement that pays homage to those towering sound constructions made by Phil Spector, Shadow Morton, Brian Wilson and the likes, veteran New York polymath Marc Jonson is also deserving of household name status. Involved in making records since the mid-sixties, Jonson's latest long-play collection is a particularly special glimpse into a secret stash of recordings made between 1979 and 2012 in his tiny flat on Cornelia St., New York's Greenwich Village, during the years we spend living (and surviving) there. These tracks are only now seeing the light of day, with many featuring Jonson at his melodic, awe-inspiring best; soul-baring, honest and vulnerable. Spanning these grooves are such delightfully told stories as 'The Man Who Walks On Air', 'November Paint Brush', the atypical jazz stylings of the instrumental title cut, plus the revealing light that is 'The Moon' and the magical, wide eyed beauty as conjured by 'Ages Of Wonder'. These tracks are only now seeing the light of day, with many featuring Jonson at his melodic, awe-inspiring best; soul-baring, honest and vulnerable. "Those who have taken the leap into Jonson's hitherto unknown musical world will be able to tell you that this is not only an experience which is immensely rewarding, but it's also one which needs to be heard to be believed. The captivating layers and mesmerising quality heard throughout lies in the way Jonson's startling array of songs seem to breathe in and exhale from many different, often eclectic elements." Lenny Helsing (Shindig!, Ugly Things Magazine).

2023 Repress

Frank Maston’s Tulips is a sample-ready film score to the best 70s movie never made. Originally a super-limited self-release on his Phonoscope label in late 2017, Tulips has already become incredibly sought-after. Be With were introduced to Maston by mutual friends Aquarium Drunkard and it didn’t take long before we decided this modern classic deserved a reissue.

Inspired by the deep-grooving soundtracks of Italian cinema - think Morricone, Umiliani and Alessandroni - Maston conceived the entire Tulips project as a continuation of these revered works. Frank designed the artwork and made two 16mm films to accompany the music: “It wasn’t just the LP… it was kind of a whole vibe I was trying to create. Not really trying to emulate the things that influenced me but more trying to make something that could sit alongside those records on a shelf. I’m still very proud of the project.”

There’s a distinct library music feel too, with wiry organ, spacey keyboards and loping 60s guitar hinting at KPM and DeWolfe. Like the best library music, Tulips creates a cinematic universe through sound alone, evoking moving images in the listener’s technicolour imagination. It turns out that was accidentally on purpose: “I was discovering a lot of library music for the first time… listening to a composer’s entire catalog or finding all this obscure stuff. I wasn’t entirely conscious of the influence until I started making this music and realized I was channeling the vibe. That’s when I began focusing more on weaving melodic themes throughout the record to make it function more like a soundtrack”.

Tulips was recorded between 2015 and 2017 in a small studio in a village called Zwaag in Holland, during downtime from Frank’s touring duties with Jacco Gardner’s band. “Tulips” comes from the title of the very first demo he made in Holland, it was the first thing that came to mind. Makes sense.

Recording in Europe with some very European influences in mind, Frank wanted to eschew any American influences. But we can still feel the studio wizardry of the likes of Brian Wilson and Harry Nilsson in there somewhere. A psychedelic bedroom-pop song-cycle, full of hypnotic hooks and dusty drums, Tulips manages to sound charmingly homemade yet wholly widescreen.

Dreamy opener “Swans” is an exquisite soul instrumental and recalls the soft-psych of Koushik, which Be With loves of course. Tropicalia influences abound in the cool and breezy “New Danger” and the KPM-references are loud and proud on the lush organ pop of “Old Habits”. Fast-paced “Chase Theme No. 1” manages to be both tense and laid back, decorated by acid-drenched spaghetti Western guitars. The glorious Gainsbourg-esque melancholia of “Infinite Bliss” is all gauzy flutes and happy-sad vocalizing and the title is almost perfect: it’s bliss, no question; *if only* it went on forever. Side A closes with “Evening”, a subtle bossa nova beat thing. Gorgeous.

Side B opens with the heat-shimmer guitars of “Rain Dance”, evoking an unreleased Byrds or Buffalo Springfield backing track. Yes, it’s that good. “Sure Thing” is music to accompany an elevator ride you never want to end, but in a good way! The ornate “Garçon Manqué” is as beautiful as the instrumentals on Pet Sounds (think “Let’s Go Away For A While”) and the wistful “Turning In” starts like a stroll in the park before Maston introduces a scorched-Earth guitar solo that would startle if it wasn’t so pitch-perfect. “Chase Theme No. 2” is a briefer, more keening counterpart to what we hear on side A. The head-nod bass-drums-keys funk of “Hues” rounds out this staggeringly assured set; still opening each phrase with a plaintive strum, but using vibrato and heavy reverb to accent the electric organ melody. Sublime.

All these top drawer musical references might sound like just more of the usual release notes hyperbole, but there’s a reason that this still-young LP already changes hands for big money. It really is that good. Of course that first pressing didn’t hang around for long and Frank’s regularly been asked about a re-press pretty much ever since.

Re-issuing Tulips on Be With made sense to Frank “because the record would fit in so well with the catalogue”. Having already delved into the archives of KPM and Themes, and beginning to do the same with Coloursound and Selected Sounds, the collaboration “just makes sense and seems inevitable”. We agree.

Frank wasn’t sure a record of instrumentals with obscure soundtrack references would be an easy sell when it was originally released, and was surprised when Tulips turned out to be exactly what some people wanted to hear. We reckon its timeless beauty ensures that it’ll *always* have an audience.

The record was originally cut to be played at 45rpm, a technical quirk that grants the home listener the opportunity to go deeper, for longer. Played at 33rpm, the more languid unfurling of the tracks proves just as wonderful a trip. As a psilocybin-soaked case study from Aquarium Drunkard back in January of 2019 describes, some of the songs sound as if they were intended to be heard that way. The slower speed allowing the listener to step inside and perhaps even “crack the code” of the music’s meaning.

Mastered for this vinyl reissue by Simon Francis and featuring alternative burnt orange artwork from Maston himself, this Be With pressing is limited to just 500 copies. Hypnagogic it may be, but please don’t sleep.