Buscar:aw records

Fleet Foxes' Robin Pecknold shares, "SHORE feels like a relief, like you'd feel when your feet finally hit sand after getting caught in a riptide. It's a celebration of life in the face of death, honoring our lost musical heroes, from David Berman to John Prine to Judee Sill to Bill Withers, embracing the joy and solace they brought to our lives and honoring their memory. SHORE is an object levitating between the magnetic fields of the past and the future." SHORE was released digitally in its entirety on the fall equinox (22/9) alongside an album length Super-16mm landscape film captured and edited in Washington State by the filmmaker Kersti Jan Werdal. The album was recorded in upstate New York at Aaron Dessner's Long Pond Studio, in Paris at Studios St. Germain, in Los Angeles at the legendary Vox, in Long Island City at Diamond Mine, and New York City's Electric Lady. Fleet Foxes' self-titled debut made a profound impact on the international musical landscape, earning them Uncut's first ever Music Award Prize and a spot in Rolling Stone's 100 Best Albums of the 2000's. The follow-up album Helplessness Blues was met with the same critical praise as its predecessor (MOJO âÿ_ âÿ_ âÿ_ âÿ_ âÿ_, Pitchfork's Best New Music) and earned them a GRAMMY nomination. Both Fleet Foxes and Helplessness Blues are certified Gold in the US. The band's third studio album Crack-Up, released in 2017, had the highest European chart entry at #5. Fleet Foxes has sold over 1 million records in Europe

Conjuring up lush minimal soundscapes intertwined with noise elements and hard as nails riff rock, reminiscent of some kind of weird mixture between a Mondriaan and Pollock painting, H A S T is mind-blowing, ear-blowing and heart-blowing, exploring extreme dynamics, pure simplicity and everything in between.

H A S T, founded by alto saxophone player Rob Banken, is an instrumental band rooted in jazz, heavy rock and improvisation. Their signature sound can best be described as not shying away from exploratory intellect while still maintaining passages of stunning simplicity, rock riffs and free improvisation.

Ubi Sunt (Where are... they?), is part of the Latin question "Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt?". (Where are those who were before us?'). This kind of questioning evolved into a stylistic figure in medieval poetry, which was mainly used in the then popular elegies (a reference to 'Elegy', the debut album of H A S T).

Originally an expression of a sense of nostalgia, it became more and more a reflection on transience and mortality. The music on 'Ubi Sunt' was written and recorded in the middle of a the coronacrisis. Ubi Sunt: "Que sont mes amis devenus. Que j'avais de si pres tenus. Et tant ames? ..." (Rutebeuf).

Recorded, produced & mixed by Koen Gisen (Nordmann, De Beren Gieren, Flying Horseman, Dans Dans, SCHNTZL, ...) at Studio La Patrie, Ghent, BE.
Mastered by Karel De Backer.

2020 Repress!

Allen Saei, also known as Aubrey, has the experience of a record shop owner mixed to the one of a warned label manager. His music tastes are very varied. With his first love of Hip Hop as a teenager moving quickly onto the emerging Acid House scene from Chicago, then to Detroit Techno and New York House, his music productions testify the perfect knowledge of all three genres.
First taste of this record is Pleased to meet you, an original track from the Texture 005 released in 1997. As his fellows, all songs on this wax, except the most recent one but non-the less, Air Strike, were recorded on Digital Audio Tape format and come out of analog machines.
A2 - Taken Away is a dance floor killer. Recorded in 1996 this theme follows a straight but efficient techno rhythm that reminds the French Touch at the same period of time in Paris, kind of a darker British Knight Club' song.
The vernal Equinox is the last piece of this EP, recorded in 1998 but never released, it is more techno and rave oriented than the others.
Discret for a long time and with recent releases on Syncrophone, Komplex de Deep, and Ferox Records, Allen delivers a wide retrospective of his work and surely gives some perspective for the future.

'Rodriguez', the enigmatic subject of the 2012 Academy Award®-winning documentary, Searching for Sugar Man, released two albums with Sussex Records, 1970’s Cold Fact and 1971’s Coming from Reality. Out of print on vinyl for several years, both albums are newly remastered by Alex Abrash at 'AA Mastering set for release on August 30 release by Sussex/UMC on CD and 180-gram black vinyl.
'Cold Fact' is the debut album from singer-songwriter Rodriguez.

It was released in the United States on the Sussex label in March 1970. In 1971 the album was released in South Africa by A&M Records.
In 1976, several thousand copies of Cold Fact were found in a New York warehouse and sold out in Australia in a few weeks. It went to Nr. 23 on the Australian album charts in 1978, staying on the charts for 55 weeks. Coming from Reality is the second and (to date) final studio album from singer and songwriter Rodriguez, originally released by Sussex Records in 1971.

The CD for Coming from Reality features three additional bonus tracks, originally recorded in 1972-’73 for a third album that was never completed. The tracks were co-produced by Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore, who also co-produced Cold Fact.
The tracks were first issued in 2009 on the Light in the Attic CD release, and they were also featured on the Searching for Sugar Man soundtrack.

Repress of the self-titled debut album. Their self-titled debut album is an instrumental bluesy heavy rock with no DOOM taste. A lot of improvised double guitar solo and a very special groovy rhythm section.
The release got a real unexpected awesome response all over the world. All the tracks are 100% original, except the cover of the blues classic "Going Down".

BIOGRAPHY:

"Sonic Flower" were formed as a side project of "Church of Misery" in 2001. Tatsu Mikami (bass) and at that time Church's guitarist Takenori Hoshi (guitar on Church of Misery's 2nd album "The Second Coming"), teamed up to play more bluesy & non Doomy taste instrumental Heavy Rock. They were influenced by famous 70's heavy rock bands like CACTUS, GRAND FUNK RAILROAD, GROUNDHOGS,SAVOY BROWN etc.

Soon female guitarist "Arisa" and drummer Keisuke Fukawa joined the band. In 2003, they released the self titled debut album "SONIC FLOWER" on Japanese Heavy rock label "Leafhound Records". All instrumental bluesy heavy rock and improvised doubleguitar, they got a tons of good response from all over the world. They also played some shows as support for some foreign band's Japan appearance like Electric Wizard, Bluebird (Amen's side project), Acid King etc.

In 2005 they went to studio for new recordings. At that time the band has some problems and after the recording quit. So this recordings were long years sleeping in the vault. Totally unreleased studio materials. In 2018 Tatsu decided to re-form the band. He has already tons of new songs. This time he teamed up with old Church singer and his old friend. A new album is in progress and will be released in 2021.

An 11 track Netflix soundtrack released on Milan Records. Hans Zimmer has scored more than 200 projects across all mediums and has been honored with an Academy Award®, two Golden Globes®, three Grammys®, an American Music Award and a Tony® Award. Zimmer’s work highlights over the past few years include 'Widows','12 Years A Slave', 'Blade Runner 2049' and 'Dunkirk'. Netflix rotation. Specialist promo/marketing activity. This is the vinyl format (CD was released December 4th 2020).

10th Anniversary reissue of Cloud Nothings acclaimed and beloved debut album.
Clear w/ Opaque Light Blue Marble LP - Uncoated Jacket with Spot UV Gloss on Cover Photo, w/ download card.

It’s been 10 years since the release of Turning On, Cloud Nothings’ debut album. Singer-songwriter Dylan Baldi was just 18 years old when he began recording the album, creating each track in his parents’ basement in Cleveland, Ohio. Over one winter, Baldi produced an album of taut, lo-fi guitar-pop songs, playing each instrument himself. His music gained traction in the increasingly popular music blog circuit, allowing Baldi to book his first shows in new places, like New York City. He gathered a band together to play live, and Cloud Nothings were on their way.

The band has accomplished a great deal since Turning On, signing to Carpark Records, releasing seven albums, and headlining numerous international tours. Yet, their debut isn’t dusted over in the band’s history. Turning On still remains the stripped-back core of Cloud Nothings style: raw and grungy, filled with catchy earworms that are surprisingly pop. The album carries all the stored potential of someone ready to venture off into the world, a feeling that bursts with energy even 10 years later.

All the tracks on Turning On are eruptive and restless, its lo-fi quality embodying the desperate need to record an idea by any means necessary. Songs like “Hey Cool Kid” encapsulate Baldi’s talent for churning, hook-filled guitar. The vocals on songs like “Can’t Stay Awake” are distorted, with scattered lyrics that echo the angst of a teenage diary. As a whole, the album delivers dissonance and edge, without sacrificing the authentic romanticism of someone who is on the verge of something big and doesn’t know it yet.

Originally conceived as a quarantine EP collecting material recorded in Memphis during sessions for ‘The Unraveling’, the project quickly grew to include provocative new songs written and recorded over what Drive-By Truckers co-founder Patterson Hood calls “this endless summer of protests, riots, political shenanigans and pandemic horrors.”
Tracks such as Hood’s ‘Watching The Orange Clouds’ - inspired by the protests which followed George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police - and a fiery cover of The Ramones’ classic ‘The KKK Took My Baby Away’ (vocals by bassist Matt Patton) were exchanged between Hood, cofounding singer / songwriter / guitarist Mike Cooley, bassist Patton, keyboardist / multiinstrumentalist Jay Gonzalez and drummer Brad Morgan and then mixed by long-time Drive-By Truckers producer David Barbe.

incl. 12 pages booklet

Along with the publishing of the complete soundtrack of Grandia, Wayô Records is trilled to announced this official tribute album celebrating 30 years of music by Japanese video game composer legend Noriyuki Iwadare. From Grandia, Lunar to Langrisser and beyond, get ready to embark on a journey of sounds, filled with nostalgia and discovery!

Wayô Records presents you a brand new album featuring some of his most memorable and iconic melodies, beautifully arranged for violin and piano. Performed by multi-award-winning superstar pianist Benyamin Nuss, international concert violinist Shauno Isomura, and arranged by renowned composers including Michiru Oshima (ICO, Fullmetal Alchemist), Eric Roth (A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY, Distant World: music from FINAL FANTASY) and many more. Also included in the album, a world premiere track Overcome composed especially for this album by Noriyuki Iwadare himself.

Goat Girl’s new album ‘On All Fours’ was produced by Dan Carey (Kae Tempest, Black Midi, Franz Ferdinand) in South London in early 2020. This new record sees the band veer away from the confrontational lyricism of their debut and indicates Goat Girl’s maturing perspectives in discussing the world’s injustices and social prejudices, using the music to explore global, humanitarian, environmental and mindful wellbeing.
Throughout ‘On All Fours’, Goat Girl’s frequent use of sci-fi synthesisers, off-beat chord progressions, analogue drum machines, diverse vocal styles and distinct, gritty guitars fuses a musical language that expresses both former characteristics and newer developments of the band’s sound and vision.

The now legendary show that started the teuchter rock trio’s sold out UK tour at the beginning of 2020 at Glasgow’s favourite venue, The Barrowland Ballroom. Features live versions of all their favourites from their first two albums “Uptown Fank” and “Light my Byre”. Having recently won album of the year and live at of the year at the Na Trads awards and recently showcased their music on BBC2’s show “the misadventures of romesh ranganathan”.

From the band:

Peat and Diesel – Live at the Barrowlands
The year 2020 started out fine but as the year went on it has changed the way we live dramatically.

Remember when thousands of strangers would all pile into a gig, jammed in like sheep at the fank, not a care in the world, just there to feel the buzz and magic of live music. It was crazy. Are these days gone forever??

Let’s go back to January 2020, the first time Peat & Diesel arrived in Glasgow, to play the famous Barrowlands Ballroom (aka The Barras). There were an army of 2000 true P&D fans waiting to have the craziest night both the band and the crowd had ever seen and if you don’t believe it… this album will prove it!!!

“Peat & Diesel - Live at the Barrowlands 2020” is an album which was recorded to capture the
incredible sound of the crowd (not the band!) and the atmosphere they brought with them that special night. It is not in any way recorded with any fancy tools to sort any mistakes or nonsense, its 100% raw, just the way Peat & Diesel wanted it.

OOOOOHHHHH yeah!!! Nearly 2 years without new and fresh stuff on S3A Records???? We had to come back to the kitchen right ??!! So, let’s do it!!! Here we have a new cook in the family : OUVRIJSTER!! He is a great artist from Amsterdam, with a brilliant taste!! Mix a little bit of Moodyman with a large dose of Alfabet (Tom Trago + Awanto 3), add a little Max Graef spiced hihats, and you have the recipe for this “Staying Sane EP” !A 6 tracks EP from samplebased house to hiphop.

This limited edition vinyl release is a double disc pressing on 180g
heavyweight, translucent ORANGE vinyl. The beautiful record sleeve is a gatefold design to fit both LPs.
This vinyl is a limited release to 1000 pressings; each vinyl is hand numbered.
Kate Rusby’s album, Hand Me Down, started life a few years ago whilst she was rehearsing for the Jo Whiley Show on BBC Radio 2. Jo asks her live music guests to perform songs of their own plus any cover version of their choice, Kate’s choice at that time was Oasis’ “Don’t Go Away”; on her second visit to the show she chose by ‘Friday I’m in Love’ by The Cure.
“As a folk singer, it’s what I do, re-interpret existing songs, but usually the songs are much, much older. After playing a version of Oasis’ ‘Don’t Go Away’ on the BBC Radio 2 Jo Whiley show, about 5 years ago, it dawned on me that not just the very old songs are handed down through the generations, but also favourite songs of any age, of any generation.
Songs are precious for many different reasons. With ‘Don’t Go Away’ proving so popular on the last album and hearing the reaction when we performed it on tour, I decided, “Right, that’s it! I am doing a whole album of covers.”
It was always the plan to make this album this year, lock-down just made it more intimate. We have laughed and we have cried, we have danced and we have sung. All of that is here, engrained in every track.”

These newly remastered editions of Bill Fox’s second album are the first since its 1998 release, including the first-ever vinyl pressing. Listeners will hear a wider soundstage, more detail, and improved listenability. Recorded on 4-track cassette, the fidelity belies the sophistication and nuance of the songwriting, This adept remaster by John Golden Sr helps bring definition to the intimate, at-home feel of the album. It sparkles.Very similar in feel and quality to Fox’s debut album, much of Transit Byzantium draws from the same group of recordings. It has the same feel of musical inevitability, that the songs exist beyond time itself, their eventual manifestation guaranteed by Apollo. He could’ve given them to the Everly Brothers, or the Byrds, or the Who, but instead they were channeled through an everyman from Cleveland with an aversion to the limelight. And while a traditional folk influence colors several songs, even those possess the indelible stamp of Fox’s charismatic voice and personality. Although nearly entirely acoustic and with minimal percussion, these eighteen songs cycle through a remarkable variety of textures and moods.While much has quite rightly been written about the god-tier songwriting here (“Song of a Drunken Nightingale,” “My Baby Crying,” “I’ll Give It Away” for starters), it should also be noted that this is a guitar player’s record, though more in terms of conception than flash. Lines of harmony and counterpoint wander between parts, sublime in their invention though sometimes crudely documented.

The Master Scratch Band was first break-dance / hip-hop / electro funk band in Yugoslavia in 1984. The band members were Zoran Vracevic, Zoran Jevtic and Milutin Stoisiljevic, previously known as Data and Sizike. Jugoton, the biggest label in Yugoslavia, published Data 7'' and MSB's 'Degout' 12'' with limited edition cassette containing two bonus tracks. Impossible to find on the collectors market, Fox & His Friends team in collaboration with Jugoton / Croatia Records is releasing a full, complete version of the rare "The Breakwar" tape, with tracks "Tonight" and "Pocket" never pressed on vinyl. All tracks are sourced from original studio tapes. With the kind help of Zoran Vracevic on credit list and liner notes, this is now the ultimate Master Scratch Band album, released originally in a year 1984 when break-dance was in the peak of its popularity in Yugoslavia. While Data was synthpop, Sizike mellow synth-disco recorded in private studio, this release is pure breaks and hip-hop electro, done old-school way in one of the best studios in Yugoslavia, Enco Lesic's 'Druga maca' in Belgrade. MSB used impressive electronic gear and were helped by huge list of famous musicians and guests: Duca Markovic from hit-show 'Hit meseca' (Yugoslavian Top Of The Pops); Japanac on bass, Max Vincent of Max & Intro on synths, Dudu Vudu from Du-Du-A, Goranka Matic as photographer and many more. MSB sampling technique and choices are unique: from obscure industrial records to freestyle; from found-sounds to cut-up breaks and even real prank-calls. This is document of time that still sounds fresh and needs to find it's new, young audience of hip-hop history researchers, break-dancers, b-boys, b-girls and DJ's. When you know that it's produced in 1984 Yugoslavia, far away, but actually, so close to its USA & EU brothers and sisters, it's even more mind-boggling. Thanks to Fox & His Friends and Jugoton CR collaboration, this gem is waiting for your freezes, footwork and electric boogie moves. ----- Equipment used: Commodore 64 Computer, Roland MC-4B Microcomposer, Prophet Pro-One, RSF Cobol II Expander, Korg Mono-Poly Synthesizer, PPG Wave 2.3 Synthesizer, PPG Waveterm Computer, Boss DE-200 Digital Delay, Drumtraks Digital Drum Machine, Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, Electro Harmonix Vocoder, Linn Drum MKII, Juno 60, SH-101, SVC-350, VP-330 Vocoders, Polysix & MS10, Simmons drum module.

In a time where everyone from Whitney Houston to Frank Zappa have been re-created in hologram form, where Grimes recently suggested in an interview that “we were at the end of human art”; there could scarcely be a better time for genre-shifting Leeds-based six-piece Team Picture to bring forth the thrillingly expansive synth-pop opus of their debut album The Menace of Mechanical Music.

Inspired by an early 20th century essay under the same name by American marching band leader John Philip Sousa, Team Picture take a look at the automation of creativity on this, their first record with a fully settled line up. Themes centre around the value of creative identity in an automated age, the increasingly disposable nature of art and where that leaves its creators. At twelve songs split into a three-part suite; The Menace of Mechanical Music is emphatically maximalist.

Tracks like the breathy, twinkling Flowerpots, Electric Beds and Handsome Machines’ Icarus-like striving for the sun are an antidote to a music world awash with digital production manipulation and songs written to algorithm. In debating the loosening of the human grip on creativity, Team Picture have poured every last drop of emotion into the recording process.

The group’s now trademark three-way vocal delivery and blurring of textures takes on new structure and purpose. They’ve always had a self-awareness to themselves, too. Initially grouped in with the guitar psych crowd, thanks to their fledgling repeato-rock, they were quick to disassociate themselves from that on 2018's mini-album Recital. With The Menace of Mechanical Music, they expand their sound further still, pirouetting from the likes of Sleeptype Auction – which glimmers like a late 80’s 4AD artefact – through various FX-laden dreamscapes, to the squelchy post-punk of closer Quit Reading. Yet the group were as much influenced by the work of the Early Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch, and his triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights, as they were music touchstones ranging from Kate Bush, Cass McCombs and The Cure.

It’s Sousa words that resonate most deeply within the record however: “The fears of Sousa echo the fears of today's musician,” says Lewis of the late band leader’s 1907 text. “The re-appropriation of funds and support that the artist needs to survive, the gradual erosion of musicianship and self-improvement, that art will become disposable, and that our cultural identity will disappear.”

Recorded with producer Matt Peel (W.H Lung, Eagulls), half the group were unemployed during the session and a daily routine would see them undertake universal credit meetings and job interviews in the morning, before heading to the studio to work into the night. “It was an anxious process but an enjoyable one” says the band’s guitarist Josh Lewis. Indeed, beyond the increasingly golden gated idea of ‘making it’ as an artist, this new album is simply about surviving as one.
Sousa’s vision of a society that had deferred to automation, where babies were rocked to sleep by wheels and pulleys, and people no longer played piano with their own hands. Well over 100 years later and on the precipice of a technological shift never seen before, The Menace of Mechanical Music is the most human response that Team Picture could have given.

'the commentary of the worst reality show you can imagine...Britain'

Following the recent self-titled mini album, Dead Sheeran returns with his full debut album 'A National Disgace'. Once again Dead looks at the way the country continues to spiral downwards into oblivion in his usual satirical and tourette-like way. Pianos and strings play over harsh basslines and hip hop beats, and punk rock fuses with video game soundtracks, while the lyrics paint a dark picture of the situation we find ourselves in. The album was started in the last throes of Lockdown 1, with songs such 'Can Things Get Any Worse?' 'The Problem With This Country' and the government's failed attempts at getting UK furloughed workers to get out and harvest fruit in 'Pick For Britain' narrating the crazy days of Summer 2020. As lockdown eased, and society started to erupt, tunes such as 'Kicking Off In The Streets, and 'Keep Your Distance' started to come into play. Self awareness, social media abuse, litter louts and right wing mates all come under fire over the duration of this 11 track album, with the moods changing as regular as the F-bomb gets dropped. Essential listening for these strange times.

Dead Sheeran aka Paul Catten writes, produces, mixes and plays all instruments on this. From programming beats, fiddling with synths to recording himself playing Pac-man, Dead pushes further musically than the previous release. The influences of the Sleafords, The Fall, The Streets and the many punk outfits that influence him still rumble in the distance, but make no mistake, this is a Dead Sheeran record. He has carved out his own sound and vibe on 'A National Disgrace', and as Dead will tell you, this is only the beginning…

68 SOFT ROCK MASTERPIECE - UBER RARE MONO MIX!
Take A Picture blends Margo’s infectious and highly intelligent songcraft with her absolutely unique voice - equal parts girl group innocence and seductive torch. One of the most endearing and delicious soft rock records from its era, this unique mono mix was previously only available as a radio station promo!

Houston’s reputation for developing first-class jazz acts is well-established, as a stream of young players have been distinguishing themselves for decades…among those musicians and mentors who stood tallest, Bubbha Thomas was no exception (and a major key-player) in this long tradition of talent.

Before becoming an artist and educator, Bubbha Thomas (born 1937) was a Fourth Ward kid who grew up in a music-filled household. In High School he divided his time between music & basketball (he excelled at both) and studied with jazz legend Conrad “Prof” Johnson. “Prof” would later bring jazz glory to Texas with the Kashmere Stage Band, the group of teenagers who would win the “Best High School Stage Band In The Nation” prize in Mobile, Alabama in 1972 and who were anthologized in 2006 on Now-Again’s ‘Thunder Soul’ (which led to the 2010 Jamie Foxx documentary of the same name).

After finishing college, Bubbha got drafted in the service (he was a Korean War veteran) and would return to Houston in the early 1960s where he found work as a session drummer for the Duke and Peacock labels. Thomas drummed on recordings by O.V. Wright, Buddy Ace and the Mighty Clouds of Joy. He was playing his own stuff and backing luminaries such as R&B singer Chuck Jackson and homegrown legends like Lightnin’ Hopkins. Bubbha Thomas also teamed up with some of his equally legendary peers (like guitarist Melvin Sparks & organist Leon Spencer) and eventually established his own group, the Jazz Merchants.
Bubbha learned every style that was thrown at him and he played straight-ahead jazz with renowned artists before the political and social upheaval of the late 1960s led him to a path first charted by Coltrane and Sun Ra…the result of these new found influences was the incredible spiritual jazz ensemble ‘The Lightmen’, who released four incredible recordings in the 1970s. Their first album ‘Free As You wanna be’ predates the deep-set, maverick jazz issued by the likes of Tribe and Strata East and is a harbinger of some of the best in the 1970s jazz underground. The Lightmen albums eventually fell out of print until 2017 when the Now-Again record label brought them back into circulation and generated new interest in Bubbha Thomas’ work.
Thomas had a storied career as a drummer and bandleader, but perhaps his most enduring work is that as founder of Houston’s Summer Jazz Workshop, a remarkable program that nurtured upcoming talent for generations...we can’t begin to count the number of young people who benefitted from the exposure to music-arts because of Bubbha Thomas and what he meant to the Houston music community. In his career he earned five Grammy nominations and authored a pair of books. Next to this he was also a writer/editor for several local newspapers, ran one of the first Houston African American Television shows and he hosted a radio program on KYOK. Impressive to say the least!

Bubbha Thomas passed away in March 2020 at the age of 82. It was obvious he was a principled, fiery & wise person…and any anger he felt at America’s (and the world’s) injustices he met with music, intellect, activism and unity!

Next to his work with ‘’The Lightmen’’, Bubbha also released the fantastic (solo) album ‘Life & Times’ in 1985. ‘Life & Times’ (which we are proudly presenting you today) is particularly interesting to boogie-enthusiasts because of its high doses of funky twerks, solid grooves, crazy synth work, soulful vocals and excellent drum-beats courtesy of Mr. Thomas himself. You’ll quickly find yourself shaking hips the moment the needle hits the first track! The whole album is backed by a fantastic cast of all-star players and includes Howard Harris (Ruth Copeland), Dwight Sills (Bobby Lyle - TLC), Jerry McPherson (Donna Summer), Leo Polk (Kashmere Stage Band), John Gordon (Strata East) and Jackie Simley (Queen Latifah - Lionel Richie). All of the above makes this LP an essential purchase for any self-respecting fan and collector.

Tidal Waves Music now proudly presents the FIRST ever vinyl reissue of this fantastic album (originally released in 1985 on Lightin’ Records). This rare record (original copies tend to go for large amounts on the secondary market) is now finally back available as a limited 180g vinyl edition (500 copies) complete with the original artwork.

"When Candy Opera first appeared on the kaleidoscopic early 1980s Liverpool music scene, by rights they should have changed the world" ~ Louder Than War
"Very welcome news as a highly underrated band who is now back with a force. While their previous output is stellar, this new single is even more commanding of attention. This is absolutely stunning, the band reaching higher than ever before" ~ Big Takeover Magazine
Sometimes it takes a while to realise what you’ve got. So it goes with pop craftsmen Candy Opera, who emerged during Liverpool’s 1980s golden age and whose new LP 'The Patron Saint of Heartache' is their first collection of new material in nearly three decades.
Ahead of that, they present 'These Days Are Ours', a rally cry of hope for the current times and the first single from this long-play, which is due for release in mid-November via European / UK label A Turntable Friend Records. The video was created / produced by James
Davies and Paul Malone.
Mixed by Grammy award-winning producer Guy Massey and featuring back vocals by Paul Simpson of The Wild Swans, the track was recorded at Elevator Studios in Liverpool.
With all the hallmarks of an enduring pop anthem, this impeccably produced, adrenalin-fuelled song captures the essence of Candy Opera’s infectious energy and celebrates life with a genuine wonder-lust, whilst delivering the excitement of their live performances.
Following the overdue release of two archival sets - '45 Revolutions Per
Minute' and 'Rarities' (released in 2018 by Firestation Records., quickly selling out of their first runs) - their new album 'The Patron Saint of Heartache' picks up where the band left off, with 14 fresh songs ready for discovery of a sound as timeless as any Candy Opera output.
Candy Opera were formed in Liverpool in 1982 and went through various incarnations before calling it a day in 1992. By 1985, the band had played alongside the likes of The Pogues, The Go-Betweens and The Redskins, as well as appearing on Granada TV.
The band's current line-up is drawn from all eras of the band’s existence and features Brian Chin Smithers (guitar, vocals), Alan Currie (drums), Frank Mahon (bass), Paul Malone (vocals, guitar), Ken Moss (guitar) and Gary O'Donnell (keyboards, vocals, percussion).
This new LP also features a swathe of friends and contemporaries, including Paul Simpson (The Wild Swans) and Phil Jones (Afraid of Mice). The result is an exquisite piece of pop craftsmanship that brings their songs into the light. This is a labour of love born of experience, but retaining the sense of wonder that brought the band together in the first place.