This is her first album in five years, she returns with a renewed sense of clarity and control, asserting herself as a generational songwriter with a sharpened perspective. While her early work chronicled the emotional turbulence of young love, Ricochet reveals a deeper fixation: time, mortality, and the quiet terror of watching the things you love slip away. The album"s 11 songs are steeped in introspection, anxiety, and acceptance - an acknowledgment that the world keeps turning regardless of what"s unfolding in your own small orbit.
This is her first album in five years, she returns with a renewed sense of clarity and control, asserting herself as a generational songwriter with a sharpened perspective. While her early work chronicled the emotional turbulence of young love, Ricochet reveals a deeper fixation: time, mortality, and the quiet terror of watching the things you love slip away. The album"s 11 songs are steeped in introspection, anxiety, and acceptance - an acknowledgment that the world keeps turning regardless of what"s unfolding in your own small orbit.
Released on Limited Edition Black Vinyl with a replica of the original sleeve and insert (300 Copies only). The beginning of the 1980s wasn't a great time to be young. Between 1979 and 1981 youth unemployment more than doubled to over 900,000. Many approaches were tried to tackle the problem and one of the more innovative was the Arts Opportunity Theatre a charity founded in Bristol by Reynold Duncan and Yvonne Deutschman. Financed by assorted public bodies, it aimed to train young people in a range of performing arts as well as the multiple skills needed to produce, organise and put on shows. Over a seven year period the Arts Opportunity Theatre put on a succession of shows not only locally, but travelling as far as the Continent and trained hundreds of young people in everything from music to book keeping. People who passed through the collective would go on to form the core of many local bands and be involved in a large proportion of Bristol music releases, especially reggae. The first show put on in 1981 and 1982 was "Freedom City" which prominently featured Zion Band. In May 1982 the Zion Band musicians from the show went into Right Track Studio in Bristol and recorded four vocals and two dubs that would be released the following January on a 12" single. Back in 2011 Bristol Archive Records included "Twelve Tribes" on a compilation and would later also compile "Babylon Fire/Babylon Dub", but the other three tracks could only be found on the scarce original 12" which in recent years has rocketed in price fetching in excess of £150. We believe music should be affordable and available so 2026 will see Bristol Archive Records reissue the Zion Band "Freedom City" 12" in it's entirety, complete with its original picture sleeve and insert with a limited pressing of 300 copies on black vinyl. This release is dedicated to the late Reynold Duncan RIP.
The duo’s debut album sets off on an airy, groovy odyssey.
Recorded at the legendary La Frette studio (Parcels, Fontaines D.C.), the album follows an extensive period of demo development.
Immersed alongside outstanding musicians, the team worked in a relaxed, old-school spirit: a handful of takes, tape recording, and analog gear. Plenty of space was left for ideas to emerge organically in the studio. The arrangements—synthesizers, flute, backing vocals, percussion—were then carefully refined over many months.
"Idésia" stands out for its delicate production, brought to life by Maxime Kosinetz on recording (Oracle Sisters, Bon Voyage Organisation), Stan Neff on mixing (Andrea Laszlo de Simone, Polo & Pan), and Chab on mastering (Daft Punk, La Femme).
The record unfolds across changing sonic landscapes, with Will’s voice gliding over melodies rooted in a bright, warm groove. A subtle blend of pop and Californian warmth runs throughout the album.
The album explores themes of childhood (Sur le Chemin de l’École, L’Île Perdue), ecstatic escapes (Holiday(s), Pas de Côté, Escalier), and simple pleasures (Le Bal, Cavalière de l’Aube). It also casts a poetic eye on the evolution of the world (Dernier Vol, Robot Rêveur, Balayeur de l’Espace). Will & Paul play with contrasts, shifting perspectives along the way.
"Idésia" is the imaginary world in which Will & Paul gracefully lose themselves - a suspended place between nostalgia and science fiction, as if their silhouettes were drifting from a bright, carefree past toward a place suspended in time.
Nuevos Ríos ist das neue Projekt, das aus der Zusammenarbeit zwischen der legendären kolumbianischen Band Canalón de Timbiquí, angeführt von der unverwechselbaren Stimme von Nidia Góngora (Quantic, Ondatrópica, The Bongo Hop), und dem in Toulouse ansässigen Trio Reco Reco entstanden ist, das für seine Erkundungen tranceartigen Rhythmen aus Südamerika und darüber hinaus bekannt ist. Als neueste Kreation der pulsierenden kolumbianischen Szene, die sich durch vielfältige Hybridisierungen auszeichnet, bietet Nuevos Ríos einen atemberaubenden Einblick in die afro-kolumbianischen Traditionen der kolumbianischen Pazifikküste, ergänzt durch elektronische und verstärkte Elemente. Das Ergebnis ist beeindruckend: eine Odyssee, die nie von ihrem Kurs abweicht, Grenzen überschreitet und die Zuhörer auf die Entdeckung eines neuen Flusses voller gewundener Pfade mitnimmt. In dieser Musik spüren wir tropische Hitze, die verkörperte Kraft musikalischer Traditionen und den Schweiß europäischer Tanzflächen in einem einzigartigen Cocktail - sofort süchtig machend, manchmal introspektiv und immer unwiderstehlich tanzbar. Das Projekt entstand an den Ufern des Flusses Timbiquí und nahm durch die Begegnung zwischen Canalón de Timbiquí - der Gruppe, die von Maestra Nidia Góngora gegründet wurde, deren faszinierende und sofort erkennbare Stimme Projekte wie Quantic, Ondatrópica und The Bongo Hop geprägt hat - und Reco Reco, leidenschaftlichen Entdeckern tranceartiger Musik, insbesondere aus Südamerika, Gestalt an. Weit abseits der ausgetretenen Pfade, im Herzen der kolumbianischen Pazifikregion, fanden die beiden Gruppen auf natürliche Weise im Dorf Timbiquí zusammen, dem Ursprung der Musik von Canalón und von Nidia Góngora selbst. Durch eine Reihe von improvisierten Jam-Sessions im Erdgeschoss von Nidias Haus wurde die Verschmelzung ihrer Musik zu einem offensichtlichen Weg - geboren aus dem gemeinsamen Wunsch, aufmerksamen Zuhörern die Kraft dieser menschlichen und musikalischen Begegnung zu offenbaren. Dieses erste Kapitel, veröffentlicht bei ZZK Records - einem Label, das dafür bekannt ist, südamerikanische Juwelen zu entdecken (Son Rompe Pera, Nicola Cruz, La Yegros_) - wird von der einzigartigen Komposition und Klangfarbe von Nidia Góngora getragen. In den Tracks findet jedes Element des Ensembles seinen richtigen Platz: Die Kraft der kolumbianischen Pazifik-Percussion und die Poesie der Marimba de Chonta fesseln uns mit einem würzigen Gitarrenriff, das nie weit von Westafrika entfernt ist; die Stärke der Stimmen wird durch elektronische Texturen noch verstärkt, während sich Schlagzeug und Bass zu einem doppelten Motor für das gleichnamige Schiff Nuevos Ríos verbinden. Die Texte erzählen vom Alltag in enger Verbindung mit der Natur, rund um einen Fluss, der sowohl eine zentrale Verkehrsader als auch ein Kanal des Austauschs ist - ohne die harten Realitäten einer Region zu verschleiern, die von den internen Konflikten Kolumbiens gezeichnet ist. Und vielleicht ist diese Musik bereits eine erste Antwort auf einige dieser Wunden, in Form eines Rituals der kollektiven Feier. Das selbstbetitelte Debütalbum bietet eine einzigartige Perspektive auf das afro-stämmige Erbe der kolumbianischen Pazifikküste - ergänzt durch die Kraft verstärkter und elektronischer Musik. Man spürt die Wärme der Tropen, die Kraft der perkussiven und vokalen Traditionen und den Schweiß europäischer Tanzflächen, was zu einem unwiderstehlich hypnotischen und zum Tanzen animierenden Ergebnis führt.
When you notice the cheerful mystery playing with the synths, the edges of this small world start to look slightly distorted. In any era, someone is always creating mysterious music on their own. (7FO)
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Music in DNA is an album recorded in the early 1980s in New York City by Yasuhito Ohno, a young Japanese man breaking free from the constraints of his homeland. The album is a naive burst of outsider DIY enthusiasm, inspired by the multiple avant-garde movements of the era, in music, painting and performance, as well as the native energy of 80s NYC. Ohno channeled his youthful "edge" and zeal into open-minded lo-fi musical explorations using a mere two machines: the then-new technological glories of a four-track cassette recorder and that polyphonic synthesizer masterpiece, the Roland Juno-60; on several pieces he vocalizes. These seven tracks have a zestful, innocent, anything-goes charm, free from preciousness and self-consciousness: a raw and youthful human spirit at play in a new world. Ohno was also inspired by the humanistic promise of the general technological developments of the day, including DNA research, personal computing, and early computer graphics, an example of which can be found on the cover. Ohno later returned to Japan, becoming a renowned composer/producer. In an era of jaded cynicism, Music in DNA is a welcome taste of big-hearted innocence, a revival of a raw self. Available on CD/LP/Digital, with E/J liner notes.
''Stealth' is certainly an apt title for this disarming collection of crypto-New Age. From its opening, one might be forgiven for assuming that what follows is a tableau of digital disruption, and noise in one of its less offensive iterations.
However, Takao instead presents a rich and detailed tapestry of compositions that take New Age affectations, fashioning them into something far grander. There's a penchant for the nai¨ve, the more garish of digital instruments in the vein of James Ferraro - but importantly, Takao steers away from submitting to gestures themselves nai¨ve or garish, opting instead to focus attention to a more nuanced, delicate style.
Indeed, a more intrinsic tradition to posit 'Stealth' as an inheritor of would be the Impressionism of Debussy, or even Satie, with Takao's approach drawing light and composure from his instruments at their most bare and unadorned. Ever so pleasing and atmospheric, 'Stealth' is remarkably affecting in its subtlety.' (Nico Niquo)
You probably have at least one friend who is completely obsessed with Marnie Weber. Her dark, punk-infused humour and fearless embrace of eccentric feminine power archetypes combine with gut-punch viscerality and a strange beauty that is anything but pretty.” Village Voice “This neo-gothic fairytale wavers between happiness and sadness, amusement and tragedy, attraction and repulsion.” The White Review “Weber reaches a new scale for her work…The sentimentality and romance at its root fearlessly sets it apart.” BOMB “Wild multimedia works that often dwell on the ghostly and the monstrous. Think: Fairy tales gone seriously awry.” LA Times Acclaimed LA multidisciplinary artist and musician Marnie Weber collects highlights from a long and storied career on Returning Home: The Music of Marnie Weber, a collection of neo-goth art-pop that steers between kankyō ongaku pop songs, noise-rock, and haunted fairytale darkness. The career of Marnie Weber (b. 1959) began with gigs paid in beer at an LA trucker bar in 1977. Her band, Party Boys, formed when Weber was then 19 and had just left home. By the early 80’s, the band began regularly performing at LA’s fabled Al’s Bar, sharing the stage with generational talents that passed over its beer-drenched floors. L7, Beck, Arto Lindsay, Ry Cooder, The Fall, Fear, Hole, Hüsker Dü, Social Distortion, Nirvana, The Residents, Sonic Youth, Urge Overkill, Jesus Lizard, the Misfits, among plenty more, played to audiences that included Bret Easton Ellis, Steve Buscemi, Tommy Lee, Bill Murray, Al Pacino, Sean Penn, and Chloe Sevigny.
Grand Theft war eine einmalige Explosion von Heavy-Rock-Wahnsinn aus Seattle im Jahr 1972. Was als augenzwinkernder Seitenhieb auf die Bombastik von Bands wie Grand Funk Railroad begann, entwickelte sich schnell zu etwas Rohes, Echtem und ganz Eigenem. Dave Barohs knurrende Gitarrenriffs, Kevin Marins donnernder Bass und Phil Klitgaards ursprüngliches, aber präzises Schlagzeugspiel schnitten wie eine knallende Peitsche in einer stürmischen Nacht durch die Luft. Ihre einzige LP, die in einer einzigen chaotischen Session aufgenommen wurde, fängt einen Moment ungefilterter Energie ein. Tracks wie ,Scream (It's Eating Me Alive)" und ,Closer to Herfy's" entstanden aus koffeinreichen langen Nächten, Insiderwitzen, scharfem Verstand und einer neuen Hingabe an die Aggressivität. Mit Radio-DJ/Manager Burl Barer, der das Chaos lenkte, erlangte das Album regionale Bekanntheit, einen ,Dream Date"-Promo-Wettbewerb und sogar Lob von Lester Bangs. Live-Auftritte waren selten - spontane, ohrenbetäubende Blitzauftritte -, aber die Legende von Grand Theft wuchs noch lange nach der Auflösung der Band weiter. Was als flüchtiger Scherz begann, wurde zu einer Proto-Metal-Kuriosität, einer Wildcard im Deck des frühen 70er-Jahre-Rock. Grand Theft bleibt ein Zeugnis des ungezähmten Geistes des Rock und ein Urschrei angesichts der Konvention.
Es ist schon drei Jahre her, seit CTMF ihr letztes Studioalbum ,Failure Not Success" rausgebracht haben, und jetzt sind sie mit einem brandneuen Album zurück! Auf ,House On Fire" geben sie richtig Gas und man kann echt sagen, dass sie noch nie so gut geklungen haben! Das Album enthält Remix-Versionen ihrer Coverversionen von ,Untitled" von The Saints und ,Shapes Of Things" von The Yarbirds (beide bisher nur auf limitierten 7"-Singles erhältlich) sowie zwölf neue Aufnahmen, die von Billy Childish geschrieben wurden. Aufgenommen in den Ranscombe Studios, Rochester, Kent mit Toningenieur Jim Riley. CTMF: Billy - Gitarre/Gesang + Julie - Bass/Gesang + Wolf - Schlagzeug/Percussion.
Der nächste Geniestreich des Hit-Garanten
Mit seinem neuen Studioalbum "Whoever’s Clever!" beweist der vierfach GRAMMY-nominierte Multiplatin-Künstler Charlie Puth erneut, warum er als einer der versiertesten Songwriter und Produzenten der modernen Popmusik gilt.
Nach dem Erfolg seines persönlichsten Albums CHARLIE kehrt er nun mit einem Sound zurück, der technische Brillanz mit unwiderstehlichen Feel-Good-Hooks vereint.
Am 8. Februar 2026 wird er vor einem weltweiten Millionenpublikum die Nationalhymne beim US Super Bowl Finale performen. Dieses mediale Großereignis markiert den offiziellen Startschuss für die Kampagne zu seinem vierten Studioalbum "Whatever’s Clever!", das am 27. März erscheint.
Das Album, produziert von Puth selbst und BloodPop, wird bereits jetzt als eines der Pop-Highlights des Jahres gehandelt.
Zudem wird er für 2 exklusive Konzerte nach Deutschland kommen
05. Juli 2026 – Hamburg, Stadtpark Open Air
06. Juli 2026 – Frankfurt am Main, Jahrhunderthalle
Limited Edition 180gm heavyweight Clear Vinyl LP, Half-speed remaster by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, Insert contains a sleevenote featuring quotes from Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. The Alan Parsons Project"s multi-million selling album The Turn of a Friendly Card (1980), their celebrated prog pop tour de force, is reissued in a variety of formatsincluding a Limited Edition Clear Vinyl LP, half-speed remastered by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios. Like other Alan Parsons Project albums, there were a variety of different lead vocalists employed including Chris Rainbow, Lenny Zakatek, Elmer Gantry as well as Eric Woolfson himself. Plus, a selection of session musicians such as guitarists Ian Bairnson and David Paton and drummer Stuart Elliott with arrangements by Andrew Powell.
TOO BAD JIMS - Over The Hill ist eine leidenschaftliche Hommage an den legendären North-Mississippi-Bluesman R.L. Burnside. Das britische Trio aus Brighton - bestehend aus Little Victor, Son Jack Jr. und Nick Simonon (Bruder von Paul Simonon, The Clash) - verbindet rohe Energie, hypnotische Grooves und den unverkennbaren Hill-Country-Sound zu einem zwingenden, rauen und erdigen Blues-Erlebnis. Was einst als spontane Zusammenarbeit zweier vielfach ausgezeichneter US-Musiker begann, entwickelte sich zu einer Band, die den Spirit der Juke Joints aus Nord-Mississippi in die Gegenwart transportiert. Minimalistische E-Gitarren, treibende Bottleneck-Soli und ungeschliffener Gesang formen einen Sound, der "absolutely scorching" (Living Blues Magazine) und "relentlessly upbeat" (Blues Blast Magazine) genannt wurde. Over The Hill erscheint streng limitiert und liefert einen kompromisslosen, unmittelbaren Blues, der gleichermaßen Tradition ehrt und vor roher Spielfreude strotzt. Für alle, die echten, unverfälschten Hill-Country-Blues lieben.
Mark IJzerman’s debut album Flounder Maps sounds like wandering through a world that's both familiar and strange. Forests humming with electricity, machines that breathe. Warm synths drift into chaos, calm moments crack open into something urgent. It's about things growing, falling apart, becoming something else. Inspired by eco-fiction and near-future imaginings, it pulls you through landscapes that feel alive and uncertain. The album takes its name from navigating uncertain ground. Music for a world in flux.
On Blinking as the Starlight Burns Out Paula Kelley explores her reverence for the dark edges of pop music, crafting a deeply personal song cycle informed by her career as a musician, song-writer and arranger. Channelling some of her most treasured pop-noir classics by Judee Sill, Colin Blunstone and Big Star, the songs on her first album in almost 20 years are filled with heart-wrenching melodies and layer-upon-layer of lush, kinetic instrumentation.
Black 180g vinyl, limited to 200 copies. A decade has passed since the debut album Finnmark left a solid northern Norwegian mark on the rock and hardcore scene, and eight years since Natur pushed both genre boundaries and the listener's limits. Now, the Kirkenes-based band Ondt Blod returns with their third full-length album, Bauta. Here, the band distills the blend of hard-hitting hardcore and strong melodies they've become known for. The opening track "AUX" kicks the door in with a desire to tear down the established order, while songs like "Kembo" and "Flamma" (featuring guest vocals from Ida Maria) reveal a more nostalgic and melodic side of the band. Throughout their career, Ondt Blod has held firmly onto their northern Norwegian identity and Sámi roots. This has taken them from Kirkenes to stages across Europe and Japan, earning them both Norwegian Grammy (Spellemann) nominations and a loyal fanbase. Bauta confirms that the band still has plenty to say.
Bruno Silva, operating here under his restless Serpente alias, returns with Visita do Fogo — a sharp, stripped-back and incendiary counterpoint to the drifting, dream-jazz abstractions of Dias da Aranha. If that record floated like smoke, this one crackles and snaps like dry wood.
Visita do Fogo finds Silva stepping back into the heat of his beat-driven origins, embracing a raw, forward-leaning approach that feels closer to his live detonation than a studio construction. The record is built on stark materials — drum fragments, percussive jolts, scorched-earth loops — all manipulated with his unmistakable “screw” instincts: micro-cuts, sudden pivots, rhythmic false floors and the sense that the track might turn itself inside-out at any moment.
Rather than smoothing edges or leaning into atmospherics, Serpente doubles down on urgency. Each piece moves through the record with a chop-and-go physicality, a kind of ritual propulsion that never settles into comfort. Silva’s rhythmic language remains entirely his own: crooked but precise, feral yet meticulous, rooted in dance structures but constantly mutating away from them.
Visita do Fogo is less a sequel to Dias da Aranha than a flare shot into the same night sky — brighter, hotter, and designed to leave afterimages. It captures an artist burning forward, shedding everything unnecessary, trusting the flame.
Um Jesus geht es auf KOMPASS, dem neuen Album von Prinzen-Frontmann Sebastian Krumbiegel, mal wieder nicht. Dafür etwa um Elon Musks Steuererklärung, den kleinen Prinzen, dass 2+2= 5 ist, warum man trotz allem keine Angst haben und lieber von einer besseren Welt träumen sollte, und es geht um Musik. Um mehr Musik. Knapp 70 Auftritte spielte Sebastian Krumbiegel in den letzten 12 Monaten, knapp 70 Songs schrieb er in der gleichen Zeit. Er testete die Lieder auf Herz und Nieren, arrangierte um, verwarf, erschuf. Das Ergebnis: Sein neues Album KOMPASS. Wie man sieht, liebt es Sebastian Krumbiegel, Songs zu schreiben und live zu spielen. Und er liebt es, vor, während und nach den Auftritten sein Publikum nicht nur zu unterhalten, sondern sich auch mit seinem Publikum zu unterhalten. Und nach und nach kristallisierte sich in seinen Gesprächen heraus, dass eben jenes Publikum in unseren schweren Zeiten nach positiven Liedern verlangte. KOMPASS enthält 14 Songs, in denen das Glas grundsätzlich halbvoll, das Gras grundsätzlich grün und das Licht am Ende des Tunnels grundsätzlich nicht von einer entgegenkommenden Lokomotive ist. Krumbiegel selber hatte, wie er sagt, keinen Bock auf traurige Lieder. Wer jetzt allerdings denkt, der Künstler würde in seichte Gefilde abdriften, irrt: Krumbiegel gelingt, wie wenigen sonst, der Spagat zwischen Unterhaltung und Reflexion, zwischen Kritik und Optimismus. Sebastian Krumbiegel ist einer, der glaubt. Er glaubt an die Kraft der Kunst, an die Möglichkeit der Veränderung zum Besseren, und seine Songs handeln genau von diesem Glauben. Er erinnert daran, den Traum von einer anderen, harmonischeren Welt nicht zu vergessen. Und das gelingt ihm ohne Kitsch. Dafür mit Humor, viel Humor. Auch musikalisch ist KOMPASS ein optimistisches Album, ein optimistisches Album, aber ohne Augenwischerei.
Death Is Not The End present a further volume of Arja Kastinen's eerie amalgamations of 110 year old wax cylinders with her own meticulously transcribed takes, this time focussing in on Armas Otto Väisänen's field recordings of kantele player Iivana Mišukka (b. 1861 d.1919).
"Ivana Mišukka (1861–1919) was one of the Karelian kantele players recorded by the folk music researcher Armas Otto Väisänen on wax cylinders in 1916 and 1917. In the early 20th century, the remote areas of Border Karelia were undergoing the final phase of a transformation in musical culture, with the ancient runo song tradition giving way to newer forms of music. This transition is reflected in Mišukka's repertoire and choice of instrument. The ancient small kantele, hollowed out of a single piece of wood, was already rare at the turn of the century. Mišukka's kantele was a new type of instrument with 26 strings, constructed of several parts, but he played it using the traditional plucking technique. Like other Border Karelian kantele players, his repertoire consisted of music rooted in runosong culture, as well as newer dances and songs from the east and west. Most of the recorded material falls into the latter category.
Ivan Bogdanov Mišukka was born out of wedlock in Suursara village, Suistamo, on 1 May 1861. He began playing the kantele at the age of five or six, quickly mastering the instrument. In adulthood, he was considered one of the area's best master players. Mišukka was landless for most of his life and lived in different parts of the Suistamo parish. His first wife, Tekla Markintytär, died in 1897 at the age of 40, and his second wife, Jevdokia Filipintytär Jeminen, died in 1907 at the age of 50. Seven children were born from the first marriage, two of whom died young. The third wife, Maria Ignatintytär Gurnan (Kuurnanen), was a well-known master of lamentations. Together with Maria, Iivana Mišukka worked as a tenant farmer in the village of Suursara. Mišukka suffered from rheumatism, which prevented him from participating in physical work like Maria. This was apparently partly the reason why Iivana Mišukka went to earn extra money by playing the kantele on gig trips. He often had other traditional artists from Suistamo as his travelling companions, such as the runosingers Konstantin Kuokka and Iivana Onoila. Iivana Mišukka died in Leppäsyrjä village, Suistamo, on 18 May 1919 at the age of 58, and his kantele was donated to Teppana Jänis.
Mišukka only used 14 of the 26 strings on his kantele, playing the same tunes either a fourth higher or lower. He tuned his kantele to the major scale using fifths, except for a low seventh scale degree on the upper strings, but not below the fundamental. Since he did not use the seventh note of the scale on the upper strings at all, he could use the major scale both lower and a fourth higher with this tuning. According to Mišukka, the sound of higher, or 'finer', strings is 'more beautiful', while that of lower ones is 'greater'. Among runosingers, the size of the thirds varied, ranging from major to minor to neutral. A similar phenomenon can be observed in kantele tunings, where the third, sixth and seventh scale degrees vary in a comparable way.
During a meeting, Väisänen suggested that Mišukka play the smaller kantele belonging to Konstantin Kuokka. The idea was to bring it closer to the horn to improve the recording quality. However, the kantele was completely out of tune, and now Mišukka tuned it to the Lydian scale (track 18).
Using the old plucking technique, Mišukka placed his right middle finger on the fundamental tone, his right index finger on the second scale degree, his left middle finger on the third scale degree and his left index finger on the fourth scale degree, and his right thumb on the fifth. The thumb also played the notes above the fifth note of the scale. As Mišukka remarked to Väisänen: 'Peigaloll' tuloo enemb ruadoa' (the thumb has to do more work). However, he did not use the seventh note of the scale on the upper strings at all. Below the fundamental note, he played the seventh and sixth notes of the scale with his right middle finger of and the fifth note of the scale with his right ring finger. This fifth scale degree below the fundamental is almost always used as a drone. Sometimes, when the melody required it, Mišukka, like other players, also varied the fingering. He would also occasionally strike the same string with the side of his fingernail after plucking it.
The wax cylinder recordings of Karelian kantele players are kept in the archives of the Finnish Literature Society in Helsinki, Finland. Copies were made of them onto reel-to-reel tapes in both the 1960s and 1980s. The 1960s copies are mono and the 1980s copies are stereo. However, not all kantele recordings from these decades have survived.
The sound of the kantele is difficult to hear in wax cylinder recordings due to its low volume, and it occasionally becomes completely obscured by noise. During the copying process, the cylinder sometimes rotates unevenly, resulting in breaks or jumps in the music. Additionally, the rotation speed of the cylinder in the copies does not correspond to the performance speed of the original music, which alters the pitch. However, since Väisänen's precise notes are available in the archive, it is possible to deduce the melodies, their speed, and the tuning level of the kantele in the recordings. Of the copies of the original recordings from the 1960s and 1980s, I have selected the one that best met the requirements of this publication and adjusted the speed of the recording to align with Väisänen's notes. To enhance the listening experience, I have replayed the songs, which now partly overlap the old recordings on this release."
Death Is Not The End present a further volume of Arja Kastinen's eerie amalgamations of 110 year old wax cylinders with her own meticulously transcribed takes, this time focussing in on Armas Otto Väisänen's field recordings of kantele player Iivana Mišukka (b. 1861 d.1919).
"Ivana Mišukka (1861–1919) was one of the Karelian kantele players recorded by the folk music researcher Armas Otto Väisänen on wax cylinders in 1916 and 1917. In the early 20th century, the remote areas of Border Karelia were undergoing the final phase of a transformation in musical culture, with the ancient runo song tradition giving way to newer forms of music. This transition is reflected in Mišukka's repertoire and choice of instrument. The ancient small kantele, hollowed out of a single piece of wood, was already rare at the turn of the century. Mišukka's kantele was a new type of instrument with 26 strings, constructed of several parts, but he played it using the traditional plucking technique. Like other Border Karelian kantele players, his repertoire consisted of music rooted in runosong culture, as well as newer dances and songs from the east and west. Most of the recorded material falls into the latter category.
Ivan Bogdanov Mišukka was born out of wedlock in Suursara village, Suistamo, on 1 May 1861. He began playing the kantele at the age of five or six, quickly mastering the instrument. In adulthood, he was considered one of the area's best master players. Mišukka was landless for most of his life and lived in different parts of the Suistamo parish. His first wife, Tekla Markintytär, died in 1897 at the age of 40, and his second wife, Jevdokia Filipintytär Jeminen, died in 1907 at the age of 50. Seven children were born from the first marriage, two of whom died young. The third wife, Maria Ignatintytär Gurnan (Kuurnanen), was a well-known master of lamentations. Together with Maria, Iivana Mišukka worked as a tenant farmer in the village of Suursara. Mišukka suffered from rheumatism, which prevented him from participating in physical work like Maria. This was apparently partly the reason why Iivana Mišukka went to earn extra money by playing the kantele on gig trips. He often had other traditional artists from Suistamo as his travelling companions, such as the runosingers Konstantin Kuokka and Iivana Onoila. Iivana Mišukka died in Leppäsyrjä village, Suistamo, on 18 May 1919 at the age of 58, and his kantele was donated to Teppana Jänis.
Mišukka only used 14 of the 26 strings on his kantele, playing the same tunes either a fourth higher or lower. He tuned his kantele to the major scale using fifths, except for a low seventh scale degree on the upper strings, but not below the fundamental. Since he did not use the seventh note of the scale on the upper strings at all, he could use the major scale both lower and a fourth higher with this tuning. According to Mišukka, the sound of higher, or 'finer', strings is 'more beautiful', while that of lower ones is 'greater'. Among runosingers, the size of the thirds varied, ranging from major to minor to neutral. A similar phenomenon can be observed in kantele tunings, where the third, sixth and seventh scale degrees vary in a comparable way.
During a meeting, Väisänen suggested that Mišukka play the smaller kantele belonging to Konstantin Kuokka. The idea was to bring it closer to the horn to improve the recording quality. However, the kantele was completely out of tune, and now Mišukka tuned it to the Lydian scale (track 18).
Using the old plucking technique, Mišukka placed his right middle finger on the fundamental tone, his right index finger on the second scale degree, his left middle finger on the third scale degree and his left index finger on the fourth scale degree, and his right thumb on the fifth. The thumb also played the notes above the fifth note of the scale. As Mišukka remarked to Väisänen: 'Peigaloll' tuloo enemb ruadoa' (the thumb has to do more work). However, he did not use the seventh note of the scale on the upper strings at all. Below the fundamental note, he played the seventh and sixth notes of the scale with his right middle finger of and the fifth note of the scale with his right ring finger. This fifth scale degree below the fundamental is almost always used as a drone. Sometimes, when the melody required it, Mišukka, like other players, also varied the fingering. He would also occasionally strike the same string with the side of his fingernail after plucking it.
The wax cylinder recordings of Karelian kantele players are kept in the archives of the Finnish Literature Society in Helsinki, Finland. Copies were made of them onto reel-to-reel tapes in both the 1960s and 1980s. The 1960s copies are mono and the 1980s copies are stereo. However, not all kantele recordings from these decades have survived.
The sound of the kantele is difficult to hear in wax cylinder recordings due to its low volume, and it occasionally becomes completely obscured by noise. During the copying process, the cylinder sometimes rotates unevenly, resulting in breaks or jumps in the music. Additionally, the rotation speed of the cylinder in the copies does not correspond to the performance speed of the original music, which alters the pitch. However, since Väisänen's precise notes are available in the archive, it is possible to deduce the melodies, their speed, and the tuning level of the kantele in the recordings. Of the copies of the original recordings from the 1960s and 1980s, I have selected the one that best met the requirements of this publication and adjusted the speed of the recording to align with Väisänen's notes. To enhance the listening experience, I have replayed the songs, which now partly overlap the old recordings on this release."
Following on from Butler, Blake & Grant's eponymous 2025 debut for Bernard Butlers' 355 Recordings, the trio reassembled at Norman Blake's home studio. 'Murmurs' is in some ways going back to where it all began for Butler, Blake & Grant, with the trio reimagining songs from their individual back catalogues which was in fact the premise for the very early shows that they played together. It all begins with 3 guitars, 3 voices and blooms from there.
Limited edition initial pressing of 1000 copies on silver vinyl in individually numbered sleeve.
"Scottish fireside Supergroup' - Uncut
"A uniquely pastoral musical summit...the tone feels perfectly integrated and cohesive. Imagine a mostly-Caledonian CSN&Y and you get the idea" - Record Collector
Backyard Babies was formed in 1987 in Nässjö and can by rights be called Sweden’s most influential glam punk act. Between 1994 and 2019 they released eight studio albums of which Stockholm Syndrome is their fifth. Here we have another collection of bangers brought to you by the babies with reckless abandon. This time they invited a whole slew of guest musicians such as the Ramones, Danko Jones, The Cardigans, Turbonegro, and The Hellacopters, elevating the whole affair to another level with no signs of stopping. This is the first time the album is available again on vinyl since ten years and features the songs "Minus Celsius", "A Song for the Outcast", and "Everybody Ready?!". Stockholm Syndrome is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on crystal clear & black marbled vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet with lyrics.
In 2026, Vreid will release The Skies Turn Black, their first studio album in five years and a powerful statement from one of Norway's most enduring metal bands. The album marks a renewed creative chapter, shaped through a challenging but ultimately transformative process in which the band reconnected with the essence of their Sognametal roots while exploring new dimensions of their sound. Throughout the album's eleven tracks, Vreid merges fragments of their past with a revitalized artistic drive. The early breakthrough came with From These Woods, written during a late-night session in a remote mountain cabin. The song captured the emotional core of the album and helped steer the band back toward the heart of their identity. The title track The Skies Turn Black also holds a central place on the album. Written by bassist and songwriter Jarle Kvåle as a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne and the music that has shaped his life, the song carries a deeply personal foundation. Kvåle's experience attending Black Sabbath's farewell concert in Birmingham, after previously helping to organize the band's final Norwegian shows along with Ozzy's, left a profound mark and sparked the creative energy that shaped the song's weight and atmosphere.
Youth (original Italian title La Giovinezza) is a 2015 comedy-drama film written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino, starring Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel. Set in a luxurious Swiss Alps hotel, the story follows two lifelong friends: Fred Ballinger, a retired composer who has turned his back on performance, and Mick Boyle, an aging film director determined to finish what he hopes will be his final screenplay. While navigating the quirks of hotel life and revisiting the milestones of their own pasts, the film explores themes of nostalgia, personal legacy, affection, and mortality.
The soundtrack of Youth is a blend of original score by David Lang, and a selection of other carefully chosen pieces, ranging from classical works to contemporary songs. The centerpiece, “Simple Song #3,” performed by soprano Sumi Jo, captures the film’s themes of beauty, loss, and reflection. Alongside Lang’s compositions, the music features “Can’t Rely on You” by Paloma Faith, the classical piece Debussy’s “Préludes: Des pas sur la neige”, and “Third and Seneca” by Sun Kil Moon, amongst others, creating a rich, genre-spanning soundtrack that blends contemporary, classical, and indie influences.
The soundtrack of Youth is available as a limited edition on transparent vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet with liner notes.
From dreamy indie pop to melancholic ambient fragments to crazy distortion pedals, The Me In You has never sounded more adventurous without losing sight of cohesion.
Press:
Humo: “The Me in You simply offers more colour and dimension than most other Belgian pop groups”
OOR: ‘A wonderfully addictive album for connoisseurs.’
Het Nieuwsblad: ‘Duyster music that gets under your skin.’
Le Soir: ‘Every song, every melody manages to surprise us.’
Stu Bru: Catch of The Day – De Afrekening list
Radio 1: Top 10 Vox list – A Rotation
Yeun Elez opens a breach: that of a forgotten threshold, a gateway to Hell concealed beneath the peat and legends of the Breton marshes, from which Hoel Moce borrows the name for this project.
Born from Celtic tales passed down in hushed tones, it summons wandering souls, suspended spirits, and those who have already reached the end of their journey. Having escaped from Techno Thriller, Hoel founded Yeun Elez in 2022, as an autonomous and haunting sonic territory.
Surrounded by talented collaborators (Maria: NaturaMorta, Lou Savary de Reymour), he weaves a ritualistic and visceral music, traversed by dreamlike landscapes, misty battlefields, and a fantastical medieval Brittany.
Between pagan symbolism and spectral visions, the project explores the murky depths of the human condition. Thus, birth, love, decline, death: the themes emerge as archaic truths. Betrayal and revenge exist alongside devotion and the quest for an ideal that transcends us.
Mixed by Luc Bersier (Reymour) and then mastered by Tioma Tchoulanov (UVB76, Nze Nze), this album by Yeun Elez doesn't reconstruct the past: it invents it to better haunt it.
Music like a rite of passage, both rooted and timeless, like an inner journey, dark and necessary, to a place where myths refuse to die.
long content, you may need to expand row to see all... Mutant freut sich, in Zusammenarbeit mit Milan Records das offizielle Soundtrack-Album zu Edgar Wrights Sci-Fi-Action-Thriller The Running Man zu veröffentlichen.Das Album enthält die Original-Filmmusik des Oscar-Preisträgers Steven Price (Gravity, Last Night in Soho, Baby Driver). The Running Man, bei dem Wright als Co-Autor und Regisseur fungierte, handelt von einem Vater aus der Arbeiterklasse, der alles daran setzt, seine kranke Tochter zu retten. Er nimmt an einer tödlichen TV-Gameshow teil, in der die Kandidaten 30 Tage lang überleben müssen, während sie von Profikillern gejagt werden. Durch seinen Instinkt, seinen Widerstand und seine Entschlossenheit wird er zum unerwarteten Publikumsliebling – und zu einer Bedrohung für das gesamte System.Wir sind große Fans von Edgar und Steven und freuen uns sehr, dass sie uns erneut ein fantastisches Kinoerlebnis bescheren. Steven Prices Score für The Running Man ist eine schillernde Mischung aus treibenden Beats, brodelnden Synthesizern und traditionellen orchestralen Elementen, die vor Einfallsreichtum und Stil nur so sprühen. Das Hauptthema besitzt eine elegante, zeitlose Qualität mit üppigen, beruhigenden Streichern, die eine hypnotische Melodie weben. Im Gegensatz dazu stehen die Titel der Gameshow-Sequenzen, die wirklich unterhaltsam, bombastisch und im Retro-Stil gehalten sind – was wiederum einen Kontrast zu den düstereren, dystopischen Stücken bildet, die im gesamten Werk verteilt sind. Im Film wirkt die Musik wie ein weiterer Charakter, der die Geschichte vorantreibt. Als eigenständiges Hörerlebnis ist sie fesselnd, dynamisch, macht großen Spaß und fängt die vielen Facetten und Stimmungen des Films perfekt ein.Die Vinyl-Edition mit dem Artwork von Luke Preece ist auf zwei farbige 140g-LPs gepresst. Sie enthält ein „The Truth“-Zine als Replika aus dem Film mit exklusiven Liner Notes von Edgar Wright und Komponist Steven Price.Ebenfalls auf CD erhältlich.
Paper Crown release their third album Letters - an ambitious and playful record that marks a clear new chapter for the duo, brimming with confidence, nostalgia and new horizons. Letters is the result of a long and meticulous creative process, with guitarist, producer and songwriter Ornulv Snortheim and vocalist and lyricist Johanne Kippersund (MEER) working closely, patiently and with great attention to detail. The album was recorded and produced at Snortheim's own Dakkota Studio in Hamar, Norway. Drummer Borre Flyen contributes throughout the record, and violinist Aud Ingebjorg Barstad adds beautiful string textures on selected tracks. Musically, Letters draws inspiration from the organic warmth of 1970s recordings - featuring spacious arrangements and live, breathing instrumentation - while also clearly nodding to alternative 1990s pop- rock, with strong melodies, distinctive guitar lines, raw energy and a spirit of exploration. The result is a sound that feels both nostalgic and contemporary, making Letters the duo's most complete release to date.
Nach dem "makellosen und zeitlosen Soul" (The Guardian) des 2019er-Vorgängers "American Love Call" öffnet "Private Space" von Durand Jones & The Indications die Tür zu einer breiteren Palette von Klängen und führt die Band kühn in eine synthielastigere Soul-Welt aus mit Streichern durchsetzten Disco-Beats. Das harmonische Zusammenspiel zwischen Aaron Frazers sanftem Falsett am Schlagzeug und Durand Jones' kräftigem Gesang sitzt noch immer tadellos und wird von Blake Rhein (Gitarre), Steve Okonski (Tasten) und Mike Montgomery (Bass) perfekt abgerundet. The Indications bleiben auch auf ihrem dritten Album wahre Meister darin, Revival-Sounds mit einer modernen Haltung zu verschmelzen. "Private Space" atmet den Geist der vergangenen Disco-Ära und die zehn Tracks liefern so eine dringend benötigte Dosis Eskapismus nach diesem turbulenten Jahr 2020. Das Album entstand nachdem die Band einen Großteil des Jahres getrennt voneinander verbracht hatte. Die Freude des Wiedersehens und am kreativen Miteinander ist auf "Private Space" jederzeit spürbar. Der hoffnungsvolle Sound setzt auf die Idee, dass Freude uns befreien kann. Die Kraft eines guten Songs, ein Licht in der Dunkelheit zu sein. Bandleader DURAND JONES fasst es treffend zusammen: "At the end of the day, I just want people to close their eyes and forget where they are. Just the way a Stevie Wonder album does for me."
Debut solo album from leader of legendary psych band Föllakzoid, Available on white color vinyl! RIYL: Föllakzoid, Beatrice Dillon, Huerco S., Arca, Amnesia Scanner, SOPHIE, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Musician and filmmaker Domingæ is probably best known as the founder of experimental psych band Föllakzoid. Written whilst stranded in Mexico and Tokyo on her way to a world tour with Föllakzoid, her new debut solo album Æ has taken the decompositional system she devised for the band and added the depth of inner exploration and a symbiotic relationship with musical craft. The resulting sound is as groovy and hypnotic as the best Föllakzoid tracks but with a seductive and darkening electronic texture. She has become a channel in which the shadows inhabit. Domingæ's sounds and formats are articulated via depuration, expanding in time and space via the subtraction of shifting elements. The process of unlearning and uninstalling previously established creative softwares in order to achieve dissolution has always been a central focus in her creative pursuit. Æ is a result of said experimentation, the dissolution of preconceived notions to create a minimal sound yet rich in textures.
Afrikanische Meisterwerke der Akustikgitarre, die auf Mississippis beliebter ,African Guitar Box" aufbauen. 1979 und 1980 machte sich ein junger britisch-kenianischer Musiker namens John Low auf den Weg, um von seinen Helden das Fingerstyle-Gitarrenspiel zu lernen. Er reiste durch Kenia, Tansania, Kongo und Sambia, besuchte Stars wie Jean-Bosco Mwenda, Losta Abelo und Emmanuel Mulemena und wohnte manchmal sogar bei ihnen. Außerdem nahm er brillante, aber bisher wenig bekannte Künstler wie Francis Kitime aus Tansania und Mtonga Wanganangu aus Kenia auf. Unabhängig von ihrem Status ging John jedem Künstler demütig wie ein Schüler entgegen. Er nahm in Häusern, auf Dorfplätzen und an Wasserstellen auf. Die Sessions sind intim und ungezwungen, die Künstler fühlen sich wohl. Johns Kassettendeck nahm einige der größten Künstler des Kontinents auf, zusammen mit dem Klang von Gelächter, spielenden Kindern und klirrenden Gläsern. Fünf Jahrzehnte später bieten diese Bänder einen seltenen Einblick, wie Fingerstyle-Gitarre außerhalb der angespannten Atmosphäre kommerzieller Studios tatsächlich klang. Einige dieser Songs erschienen auf John Storm Roberts' vergriffenen Original Music-Compilations (die Mississippi stark inspirierten). Andere wurden nie öffentlich zugänglich gemacht. Alle wurden von Andrew Walter (Honest Jon's, Abbey Road) fachmännisch restauriert und von den Originalbändern remastert. John Low liefert Notizen und Songtexte, und der tansanische Musikwissenschaftler John Kitime gibt die Perspektive der Musiker wieder. Lizenziert von John Low und den Künstlern, gepresst auf hochwertigem Vinyl bei Smashed Plastic in Chicago.
Just east of Hollywood, Tommy Peltier"s made sweet music in the Echo Park hills for over sixty years. A jazzman first, he recast himself in 1970 as an LA troubadour, crafting a set of glitter-light pop tunes that somehow missed release "til now. Recorded "70-"76 all over town & mixed and mastered by Jim O"Rourke, Echo Park is an encompassing trip through a whole other time and place. Echo Park captures the smooth sounds, glamour "n free spirits to be found just down the street from Tinseltown in its golden day. Tommy has continued to play music, releasing new stuff with Plastic Theatre Art Band in 1996, and a number of releases under his own name, most recently in 2011. And at the ripe young age of 90(!), he"s still playing today!
Ange (lit. 'Angel') is a French progressive rock band formed in September 1969 by the Décamps brothers, Francis (keyboards) and Christian (vocals, accordion, acoustic guitar and keyboards).
Since its inception the band's music has been inspired by medieval texts, fantasy and the music of Procol Harum and King Crimson. Their music was quite theatrical and poetic.
Mit "Aura Nera" kehrt Christian Fuchs zu seinen düsteren musikalischen Wurzeln zurück. Inspiriert von Dantes Inferno und dem kosmischen Pessimismus des Philosophen Eugene Thacker steht die "schwarze Luft" als Metapher für eine spürbare gesellschaftliche, politische und persönliche Verdunkelung.
Nach Jahren mit Projekten wie Fetish 69, Bunny Lake, Die Buben im Pelz und dem Black Palms Orchestra reaktiviert Fuchs sein Alter Ego CHRISTIAN FETISH. Aus einer Phase persönlicher Krisen heraus entsteht ein Album, das harte Gitarren wieder mit Elektronik verbindet - jedoch ohne Nostalgie, sondern mit neuen Perspektiven, dekonstruierten Haltungen und existenzieller Dringlichkeit.
Gemeinsam mit langjährigen Weggefährt:innen und markanten Stimmen der österreichischen Musikszene entsteht ein intensives Werk zwischen Industrial, Postpunk und düsterem Pop. "Aura Nera" thematisiert Nihilismus, Schlaflosigkeit, Untergangsängste und fiebrige Leidenschaften - ein kompromissloses Statement in dunklen Zeiten.
feat. Members of Fetish 69, Bunny Lake, Sofa Surfers, Baits, While Miles, BZFOS, Der kleine Tod
The Astonishing is the thirteenth studio album by Dream Theater. The Astonishing is set in a dystopian future United States and follows the Ravenskill Rebel Militia in their efforts to defy the Great Northern Empire
of the Americas using the magical power of music. It was inspired by contemporary fantasy and science fiction franchises such as Game of Thrones and Star Wars, as well as John Petrucci’s observations on the
ubiquity of technological automation in modern-day society. Limited edition 4LP release on clear vinyl.
For A Dramatic Turn of Events, Dream Theater underwent a self-proclaimed musical change, reevaluating and restructuring themselves. The album has drawn stylistic comparisons to two of the band’s past albums, Images and Words and Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory. Limited edition 2LP release on clear vinyl
