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Dark Entries Editions is proud to reissue Ghost Town' the 1984 debut 12' single by Mono Band from Italy. The project was conceived by producer Rene 'D'Herin and Massimo Fantinatiti aka Fantenax. They teamed up with songwriter and guitarist Luigi Venegoni aka Svengile who had previously worked with progressive and jazz-rock bands Arti & Mestieri and Venegoni & Co. as well as cosmic disco group Stratosferic Band. Treading the lines between Italo Disco and the darker side of New Wave, the trio crafted a mysterious sound. Melancholic arpeggiators, a throbbing baseline, stuttering samples, and the classic Linn drum machine run throughout the track. Vocals were handled by an uncredited Carlo Rossi who raps about a ghost town filled with fear. When female vocalist Elena Sansonetti begins to softly whisper the chorus one might get goose bumps. The trio were joined in the studio by DJ Mike aka Michele Paolino of Make Up/Mike Up, DJ Moody, Fabrice Bellini of Art Fine and producer Miceli. The song was recorded in a few days at Dynamo Sound Studio in Turin and originally released on the popular Discomagic Records. This reissue includes the original vocal version, backed with a longer dubbed out instrumental Ghost Version' on the B-side. All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. The 12' is housed in an exact replica of the original sleeve with an astrological photo the planets orbiting the sun. Each copy also includes a 2-sided postcard.

* THE No.1 Wigan Casino and Northern Soul anthem
* THE most valuable record in the world
* THE first ever legal reissue, outside of Motown
* THE last record ever played at Wigan Casino

EXACTLY 40 years ago the original copy of Do I Love You' arrived on these shores and, for the first time the true identity of its author and performer was revealed.
The story of the world's most valuable record has been told many times and perhaps most authoritatively by Tim Brown in his book 'Wigan Casino Years'. In brief, here are the salient facts...
The tale begins in 1976 when Northern Soul pioneer Simon Soussan gained access to the Motown archive in Los Angeles where he discovered, and purloined, the original, promotional 45. At the time Soussan was the main source for rare Northern Soul that debuted at the famed Wigan Casino, and in due course he sent an acetate of the track to the club covered up as by Eddie Foster. It was an instant hit with the Casino dancers and soon attained exalted status.
By 1978 Soussan had turned his back on Northern Soul and sent his entire collection to the UK to be sold piecemeal. The original label of the disc was now revealed as the Motown subsidiary 'Soul' and the artist was the Motown writer Frank Wilson. The 45 was sold to record collector Jonathon Woodliffe for the handsome sum of £250. After the near collapse of Northern Soul in 1981 Woodliffe's attentions turned to Jazz/Funk and he traded the disc to former Wigan DJ Kev Roberts for £500's worth of disco twelves!
For 9 long years the legendary record languished in a frame on the wall of Roberts' Staffordshire home until a pending divorce prompted the sale to collector Tim Brown for, at the time, the unheard of sum of £5,000. It remains the property of Tim Brown to this day, the pinnacle of a lifetime of record collecting.
In 1997 Detroit producer, Frank Murphy, sold his entire record collection to Anglo-American, a company owned by Martin Koppel and the aforementioned Tim Brown. Lo and behold, a second copy of Do I Love You' was found and subsequently sold to Scottish DJ Kenny Burrell for an inflated sum of £15,000. In 2008, Burrell's copy was auctioned for a staggering figure in excess of £25,000 making history and further cementing the iconic status of the world's most collectable 45.
Today Do I Love You' has transceneded the strange world of Northen Soul and has become enshrined in the wider public's concsiousness due to mainstream radio play, TV advertising (most recently the 'Happy Egg Co.') and in 2017 an appearance on the country's most popular TV show Strictly Come Dancing.
Now you too can own a copy of Do I Love You'...

More stunning live material to come out of the Factory Records vaults...Ian Curtis & company recorded this live at the legendary Les Bains Douches in Paris on December 18th, 1979. This is the 2nd proper live album released by Joy Division & it contains great versions of "Love Will Tear Us Apart," "Shadowplay," "Atmosphere," "Transmission" & others, with liner notes by Anthony Wilson.

Phantasm is a new vinyl label and collaboration between Amsterdam's Sinchi Collective and the much-admired Night Noise outlet, based in Geneva. It kicks off with a strong EP from The Soviet Union aka Richard Baldwin, including classy remixes from Sinchi themselves and In Flagranti.Baldwin has a signature style that is cinematic and synth heavy and has been formed over the last decade plus. A fine DJ, experienced promoter and self-confessed addict of vintage analogue synthesizers and drum machines, Richard pulls his influences from early electronica, 80s film-scores, and shades of techno right up to the present day. This track was first written on a cold evening in December 2010 using a Roland TR707 and JX8P Synth. After collaborating with his songwriting partner the track was given a haunting vocal and released as 'The Disappearance of Becky Sharp', while the original remained on Baldwin's Soundcloud and got ID requests from all over the world. 7 years later it comes back to life in the form of its original instrumental, with a 2017 rework, plus remixes by Sinchi and In Flagranti.The superb original is a perfectly spaced out and a retro-future bit of synth heavy electronic music. Arpeggiated bass props up rueful chords and icy percussion brings that essential cosmic vibe. It's a timeless track that overflows with emotions and is sure to really make a mark in any DJ set thanks to its rich musicality. The 2017 Rebuild is even more lush and zoned out with sombre chords forcing you to reflect on the deeper meanings of life. In Flagranti—the Codek Records duo based in Switzerland—then lace in some hip swinging claps and make this one a deep disco track that is riddled with little synths, chords and melodies that exude warmth and sci-fi soul. Last of all, Amsterdam's Sinchi cook up a storm with corrugated basslines, long tailed pads and turbulent solar winds that make it that bit darker and moodier. This is a brilliant package of emotive music that is a real statement of intent.

Well before Shuggie Otis (Born Johnny Alexander Veliotes, Jr.) cut his debut album, musicianship and performance had long been a part of his life. The son of rhythm and blues legend Johnny Otis, Shuggie learned to play guitar as early as the age of two, and performed professionally with his father's band at eleven. Throughout his long and illustrious career he'd performed on records for the

likes of Frank Zappa, Al Kooper, Etta James, and George Duke, to name a few. In spite of all this, widespread mainstream success eluded Shuggie for much of his career. His most famous release to date is his 1974 album Inspiration/Information, which would experience new resurgent life in 2001. Those willing to dig a little deeper however, would discover hidden gold in his earlier releases, especially in the album directly before Inspiration/Information, his sophomore 1971 release Freedom Flight. As with his debut, Freedom Flight was produced by Shuggie's father Johnny Otis, and built upon the distinct sounds of his debut album: lush, baroque, string section arrangements, paired with hard funk rhythms, and funky blues melodies, with the majority of the instruments once again performed by Shuggie himself. The album also featured backing from premium session greats like George Duke and Aynsley Dunbar, and the track "Strawberry Letter 23". which became a Billboard hit for The Brothers Johnson 3 years later. An unearthed treasure of deft, technical skill, and virtuosic composition.

Jerome Derradji + Still Music are proud to present Let's Dance Records - Mike Macharello & Duane Thamm Jr. Chicago 1983-85. The origin of house music, at least in a commercial sense, is generally associated with young African American producers from Chicago's South Side, but one of the first Chicago house music labels was started by a young, white, gay DJ from the far west suburbs.
The Let's Dance story will take you back to the beginnings of Mike Macherello and Duane Thamm Jr. when Chicago's house music was in its infancy.
Back then, after starting as young roller disco Dj in the late seventies, Mike Macherello gradually made its way to the best radio station in 1981 - WBMX - and started a movement that still ripples through the city today. Let's Dance's founder, Mike Macharello, was a DJ who bridged diverse music scenes, from rock clubs to discos. The Let's Dance record label helped establish Chicago's dance music industry between 1983 and 1985, before becoming Play House Records (which will be reissued by Still Music in an upcoming set). Macharello's pal, DJ Duane Thamm Jr., also from the 'burbs, became the label's main producer and one of house music's most important studio engineers and producers. Mike and Duane went on to release a few legendary singles for Let's Dance that are still to this day considered to be the earliest House music records coming from Chicago.The 12' pack includes faithful reissues of Selenia's 'Single Girl', Duane Thamm Jr. 'Jump Trax', the insane Knight Action 'R-Trax/D-Rail' 12's along with a 5 tracks 12' compilation and an accompanying poster insert including rare pictures and artifacts with the story of the label.

The current resurgence of jazz in all its' forms has certainly been impossible to ignore in recent times - from the chart-bound, mainstream crooning of Gregory Porter, to the left field 'jazz not jazz' soundscapes of Kamasi Washington, Moses Boyd, Nubya Garcia and Snarky Puppy proves this is a worldwide phenomenon. One artist who has been been ploughing this furrow in the southern hemisphere for longer than most is Lance Ferguson. As the driving force behind The Bamboos, Cookin' On 3 Burners, Lanu, and the Black Feeling series, these are the varied and versatile projects on which he has built an enviable reputation.

Menagerie 'They Shall Inherit' saw the light of day in 2012 (Tru Thoughts Records) and established the fact that jazz of the contemporary type could reach back to it's essential roots and present itself, refreshed and vital for a contemporary audience.

Lance himself explains: "The Arrow Of Time' draws its inspiration conceptually from the themes of space exploration, human evolution and the future of humankind. It's pretty big stuff to be underpinning an album of modal Jazz tunes - but the main message is one of hope, and I hope that comes across in the music"

Late 2017 saw the 2 track album sampler 'Evolution/Arrow Of Time' create a genuine buzz of anticipation, being playlisted on Jazz FM, and also supported by Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2) and both Don Letts & Gilles Peterson on their BBC 6 Music shows - having as it does the spirit of deep jazz, but combining an accessible sound that reached way beyond the usual jazz hungry audience - due in one part to Evolution's immensely catchy hooks, with the voice of Fallon Williams focusing the listeners attention on the philosophical themes Lance highlighted above. Now the album, laid out in its' entirety can be experienced, attempting to encapsulate the music with the written word feels like a somewhat futile exercise, so it is best to consider Lance Fergusons' final thoughts about its inspiration, influences and ongoing appeal.

"The sound of record labels like Strata East, Tribe and Black Jazz has been a massive influence on Menagerie. To me that sound is timeless, exciting and just as vibrant as a musical format in 2018 - and the proof is that we're hearing more and more young musicians embracing it"

Don't wanna move to Southern California / I wasn't really meant for LA...' So sang Dent May once upon a time, now he's eating those words with a side of avocado toast in his new Los Angeles bungalow. What made the lifelong Mississippi boy pull up stakes and head west No one looks at you funny if you wear a tuxedo to the supermarket.' What he means is he moved there to shake up his surroundings, clear his head, and write the most accomplished record of his young career, the magical mystery tour de force Across the Multiverse.

Following the lead of musical-polymaths-with-LA-ties before him like Brian Wilson, Van Dyke Parks, and Harry Nilsson, Dent's style on Across the Multiverse will be familiar to fans of his previous work. Yet there's something more refined about this collection... Stately strings mingle with boogie piano like old friends. Synths weave a celestial backdrop throughout. Every verse, bridge and chorus in its right place, giving it the unmistakable feel of a true songwriting craftsman at work. Lyrically Dent has never been sharper, musing on themes like modern romance ( Picture on a Screen', Face Down in the Gutter of Your Love'), existential dread ( Dream 4 Me', I'm Gonna Live Forever Until I'm Dead'), and the distance to the moon ( Distance to the Moon') as he searches for meaning among the infinite scrolling feeds of our 21st century augmented reality. The title track, a duet with Frankie Cosmos, is a deep space love song about finding love beyond impossible boundaries.

Across the Multiverse was written and recorded in a sunny bedroom in LA's Highland Park neighborhood, with Dent producing and playing nearly every instrument himself. The tracks were selected from dozens of songs written after the LA move, a gold rush of productivity inspired by late nights DJing rare disco funk cuts at local watering holes. It's his first record for new label Carpark and will be released August 18th.

Dent May is a self-described hotel bar lounge singer and aspiring daytime TV talk show host - has been charming his way into the hearts of music fans since the release of his debut album The Good Feeling Music of Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele on Animal Collective's Paw Tracks label in 2009. The Mississippi-born, Los Angeles-based songwriter, performer, and Dolly Parton enthusiast has since released two more acclaimed records, Do Things (2012) and Warm Blanket (2013), dropped the holiday smash I'll Be Stoned For Christmas', and played hundreds of shows from Shanghai to Chicago. His latest album, Across the Multiverse, is an interstellar voyage of mythic proportions.

Dr. Dundiff releases Muneybeats' as part of the Beats from Jakarta' series & continues what Ta-ku and Shuko started years ago.

Dr. Dundiff (done different) is a Hip-Hop/Neo-Soul producer based out of Louisville, KY. Dundiff has gotten into producing around 2010 and has been a busy bee ever since with a huge number of projects under his belt, from producing as well as him rapping.
Those who follow Jakarta Records might know the name from his ongoing collaboration with Otis Junior. They released their debut EP 1moment2another' on Jakarta Records receiving wide daytime airplay and recognition from French tastemaker Radio NOVA, as well as 1.500.000 Mio. Streams for their debut EP 1Moment to Antother' through Spotify & a placement on Radio Nova's le grand Mix 2016' compilation.

Muneybeats is Dr. Dundiff revisiting his roots in an all instrumental experience. Put the most attractive beats on top. The ones that make you pull the car over and go, 'Wow, I need this be a right now.' Those are the Muneybeats. Compact little tasty treats spanning a wide range of sounds while always sounding like Dundiff made them. He is currently also working on a new project with Otis Junior which will drop sometime in 2018 as well as their first Europe tour in summer 2018.

- Beats from Jakarta is a series Jakarta Records kicked off some years ago with contributions from Shuko and Ta-ku, heavyweights in their own right, and we felt it would be nice to bring that series back when Dundiff sent us his new album. So here we go. - Beats from Jakarta part 3....

(Disclaimer: release notes refer to the combined CD double-album release "Hot Flash: Best of The Voltags" on which all tracks appear together. "Electric Nightmare" and "Danger High Voltag" are released separately on vinyl format)

It does not happen that often any more that unreleased music from 40 years ago surfaces. Even more unlikely it is that the songs put on tape are such treasures. The Voltags were right at the forefront of the local Washington DC New Wave/Punk scene of the late 1970s. Influenced by Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, The Clash, and The B-52's, they have released only one 45rpm single during their existence. But during the time span of not even 18 months, they had recorded enough material for an entire album - but the songs remained in the can.

This is the story of The Voltags, a short-lived band which could have become famous and mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned music legends of that era - if their songs had been released back in the day. Dive in and enjoy the sound of The Voltags, it is truly special. We here at Perfect Toy are thrilled to be label to finally release their work and we sincerely hope that they are finally getting the appreciation they so richly deserve.

Detailed information:
Dave Bennett and Hangnail Phillips grew up in Brookside Park, Newark, Delaware, USA, a small suburban college town nestled midway between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Their first band project evolved into Pump Productions (Pump) under which they released their only 45rpm single in 1970 (one of the two songs, "Pappy's Rug", can be heard on "Down & Wired 3", Perfect Toy Rec.). Soon after the recording of the single the two graduated from High School and disbanded Pump. Both moved on to form two new Newark bands. Dave was a founding member of "Snake Grinder & The Shredded Fieldmice" and Hangnail co-founded "Rudy Baker & The Vegetables".

In early 1979, two friends of Dave's, Nick Norris and Mike Fisher, became partners in a music production company, White Clay Productions. One of White Clay's first artists was Dave Bennett who had just written two excellent songs: "Electric Jungle" and "Son Of Sam". White Clay set up a recording session and Dave assembled a group of friends to record the songs. Before the recordings were even mixed, Dave asked Hangnail if he would join in a band to support the single and other songs he had written. When James Keesey (drums) and Rick Reid (bass) were added the line-up was complete. For a while they didn't have a name and then one day Nick Norris was looking at a photo of Dave standing next to a "Danger High Voltage" sign. Dave's head was in front of the E in Voltage and Nick laughed "Danger High Voltag" and so it was soon suggested that the band should be called "The Voltags" (pronounced Vol'-togs). After months of preparing a repertoire they were ready to play out. Their first gig was (October 20, 1979) at a gay disco in nearby Wilmington called The Backstage. On December 30, 1979, White Clay decided to put on a big show at the State Theater to celebrate the end of the Seventies ("The End Of The Decade Bash").

For the next year, with the help of White Clay, they recorded 19 songs, both studio and live recordings with White Clay's mobile unit. If not for these "off the board" recordings, many of their songs would have never been recorded. There was always talk of a second Voltags single but the strains of working so closely together were taking their toll on them and Dave decided to leave the group in December of 1980. The Voltags couldn't be The Voltags without Dave, and by the end of 1981, Hangnail, James and Rick, too, were ready to disband.


- all songs previously unreleased
- mastered from the original reel-to-reel tapes
- limited vinyl release

Mellow Waves, Cornelius' first album in over 11 years will be available in a limited deluxe edition pop-up gatefold vinyl (including phenakistoscope animation insert), standard package on 180g, CD and cassette format on January 26, 2018. The album, released July 21, 2017, was previously a digital only release. Pre-orders for these formats are available now.

Cornelius announced eight North American tour dates for March 2018, including shows in Mexico City for the NRMAL Festival, New York's Irving Plaza, the Carnegie Music Hall at Pittsburgh's Andy Warhol Museum, and LA's Fonda Theater.

Filmed live at his record release shows at Tokyo's Liquid Room, Helix / Spiral' captures the Cornelius live experience, with its Kraftwerk-esque roboticism and immersive visuals meticulously synchronized with the performance from The Cornelius Group.

For the uninitiated, Cornelius is the brainchild of Japanese multi-instrumentalist Keigo Oyamada. A performing musician since his teens, Oyamada created his creative alter-ego (the name is an homage to the Planet of the Apes), in the early 1990s from the ashes of his previous project, Flipper's Guitar.

With the 1997 release of Fantasma, Cornelius gained international recognition for his cut and paste style reminiscent of American counterparts Beck and The Beastie Boys and was released internationally by Matador Records. Being called a "modern day Brian Wilson" for his orchestral-style arrangements and production techniques, Cornelius subsequently became one of the most sought after producer/remixers in the world, working with a wide range of artists including Blur, Beck, Bloc Party, MGMT, and James Brown.

With 2002's Point, Cornelius' music took a quantum shift, going from sampling found sounds' to looping organic elements and creating lush soundscapes. Using water drops as the rhythmic backbone of Drop' on his vocoder-infused cover of Brazil', the album dazed and amazed fans and set the path for the next phase of his career.

2007 brought this philosophy to an even higher level with the release of Sensuous. Cornelius' live shows are known around the world for spectacular visuals (all perfectly synchronized to the performance), custom lighting that doesn't simply augment the performance, but becomes another instrument within it, and a full band of equally talented and diverse players.

The companion piece to the album Sensurround + B Sides, earned the nomination for Best Surround Sound Album' at the 2009 GRAMMY Awards.

The summer of 2016 saw the release of Fantasma Remastered, on Lefse Records. The package, a 2LP reissue of his classic album, also included 4 additional outtakes and earned Pitchfork's Best New Reissue'.

Cornelius has recorded music for Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, scored the anime mega-film Ghost in the Shell Arise, performed as the backbone of Yoko Ono's reformed Plastic Ono Band, played the Hollywood Bowl with Yellow Magic Orchestra, and co-wrote and produced the Japanese artist salyu x salyu.

There were several groups within the Detroit music scene that shared the name of 'The Holidays'. From the 1950's through to the late 1960's our version of The Holidays who took their name from a group members car, a 1954 Oldsmobile 'Holiday', would record for the Star-x, Markie, Master and Holiday record Labels. Founding member James Holiday would also briefly pursue a solo career with releases on the Markie, Syco and Blue Rock labels respectively.
In 1969 James joined by his brother Jack, a baritone saxophonist and the former leader of the band within influential Detroit DJ 'Frantic' Ernie Durham's legendary Gold Room at the 20 Grand Theatre. The brothers together, with Maurice White and former Contours member Joe Billingslea formed 'The New Holidays' who recorded the 'Popcorn' Wylie produced song Maybe So, Maybe No' (Soul Hawk 1008). This current in demand 45 featured If I Only Knew' on the flipside, an excellent cover version of a previous Jimmy (Soul) Clark recording If I Only Knew Then (What I Know Now)' This was recorded at a later session to Maybe So, Maybe No' and featured a slightly different line up with Joe Billingslea making way for a youthful Elliot Smith.
By 1972 The Holidays found themselves without a label, so they formed their own, Marathon Records. Their initial release was the excellent double sider I'm So Glad (That I Met You)/Too Many Times' (Marathon 257). Both songs were written by James Holland and Sylvester Potts another former member of the Motown group 'The Contours' and were recorded under the artist name of 'The Fabulous Holidays.
Into 1973 and their next release was the soulful ballad Getting Kind Of Serious' (Marathon 18475) a Fritz Hale and Fredrick Charles Hawkins composition backed with an instrumental version. Followed by Ego Tripping' (Marathon 18475) an upbeat funky little mover backed with the ballad Lazy Day' written by James Holland, Anthony Hawkins and Fritz Hale.'
During 1975 The Holidays resumed their acquaintance with former record store owner Ronald Holmes a collaboration which led to the release of another excellent double sider This Is Love b/w The Love We Share' on the Rob-Ron (RR-75) label. The Love We Share' was recorded twice. Firstly as the issued 45 version under the shortened title of The Love We Share' and as an unissued longer version under the title of (Been Together Too Long) The Love We Share' with slightly different lyrics. During 1976 a further Holland/Holmes collaboration saw the release of the message song Procrastinate (Why Do We)' (Ron-Hol 76). After this release Ronald Holmes and the Holidays parted company.
During late 1976 into 1977 the Holland brothers wrote and produced two further songs which they recorded with Charles Hawkins (a founding member of the Psychedelic Rock and Funk Band, 'Black Merda') The up tempo dance track You Make Me Weak' and the less frenetic Lost Love' although never issued at the time both songs can be found on the recently released Soul Junction cd album Getting Kind Of Soulful' (SJCD5012). A later discovery of a alternative take of You Make Me Weak' (Take 2) is now available on vinyl for the first time backed with their uptempo dancer I'm So Glad (That I Met You)' The Motorcity continues to yield its long lost legacy.

Mark's back with three seething cuts at the state of Berlin affairs. A restless message to the hands of capital. Killer steppers coming off last year's cult classic Here Comes A Fucking Startup Campus and outings on Bristol's NoCorner. Post-modern d'n'b with shades of latter-day Source Direct and the rattle of golden-era Skull Disco. - Supported by the likes of Ben UFO, Lee Gamble, Ramzi and Trevor Jackson - Premiered by Phile, Nerve and Mos Howieson

For house heads of a certain persuasion, DJ Duke is a name that resonates for all the right reasons. The U.S. veteran has been responsible for some of the 90's most seminal moments, chiefly through tracks such as '12 Minutes to Do It' (under his Pleasure Dome alias), 'Party Time' and the Prosumer-endorsed deep house classic, 'Heard'. He returns here courtesy of emerging imprint Solo Werks, who host his latest EP, 'Green Pastures'. A momentous house-led workout, it compounds Duke's reputation as a producer of considerable panache while also acting as an auspicious start to life for the Dublin based label.

The title track is a grainy, old-school cut that bears all the hallmarks of a dusty analogue-jam and harks back to the days of vintage Chicago with the sort of zest you'd expect from a man of Duke's credentials. The other original, 'Skyscapes', is packed to the brim with industrial motifs and is characterised by the sort of effortlessly catchy baseline with which Duke has made his name. Mysterious and ethereal, it takes the listener on an uncompromising and throughly captivating house journey from the off.

On the flip side, we have two stunning remixes, the first of which arrives from New Jersey don, Ruben Candelario AKA Nicuri. A long-time favourite of NYC-based producers a la Joey Anderson, Nicuri turns 'Green Pastures' into a dreamy, acid-led space, adding layers of suspense and a glittering vocal intto the mix as he goes. Last but not least are Dublin-based producers Slowburn, who serve up a stunning version of "Skyscapes". A carefully construed voyage into the deep, it caps off a fine EP with some aplomb.

'Y.O.U' is an emotive album of tripped out ambient hip hop instrumentals by FROM, written and recorded in the mid 90s under Trevor Jackson's infamous production persona The Underdog. Originally planned as a vocally-led, song-based project that should've surfaced between his production for The Brotherhood's legendary British hip hop album 'Elementalz' in 1996 and his acclaimed debut PLAYGROUP release in 2001, for multiple reasons it hasn't seen the light of day, until now.
Only Available as a ultra limited edition Vinyl and CD release, the LP consists of 11 tracks. Dream-like synth lines, ambient melodies, blissful guitars, raw beats and soft, fractured vocals draw you into a hallucinatory 12bit world. Drawing on Jackson's progressive and jazz rock influences as well as psychedelia and early electronics, the album closes with 'Belladonna'- a piano-sampled homage to the east coast golden age hip hop pioneers. NB: The CD features a longer version of 'Veratrum' not available on the vinyl version. All created on an Akai S950 mono sampler (limited to only 20 seconds sampling time), an Akai MG1212 12 channel mixer (which recorded on Betamax style tapes) and primitive outboard gear, Jackson honed his skills from his bedroom, where he produced the majority of his output at the time. With a huge collection of obscure vinyl, he dug deep into uncharted territories for samples and sound clips
- using material no one knew about (or would think about touching) in the mid 90s. The Underdog's initial releases were on Jackson's own Bite It! recordings label, which was started in 1991. A unique platform for UK hip hop with a visual aesthetic and ethos more akin to ECM and Factory
than other rap labels, its mission was to push artists beyond musical and cultural limitations prevalent at the time.
Home to artists like The Brotherhood, Scientists of Sound, Little Pauly Ryan and Lewis Parker (who later signed to Massive Attack's Melancholic label), Bite It! became a great success;
finally British rap had artists and releases that looked and sounded as good as their revered American counterparts. In 1993 Richard Russell (who had just started running XL recordings) asked Trevor to remix House of Pain, resulting in a top ten record, which helped launch Jackson's musical career via further remixes Massive Attack, Run DMC, U2, The Cure and countless others. Off the back of his remix success, The Brotherhood signed a deal in 1994 with Virgin Records. Their 'ELEMENTALZ' album was produced by Jackson and is still lauded by many as one of the finest British hip hop albums of all time.
Jackson continued to remix and produce as The Underdog until managerial issues forced him out of the project he'd been instrumental in instigating.
Soon after his close friend and manager tragically passed away - which when combined with the UK hip hop scene becoming increasingly volatile and the moral demise of rap culture in general - convinced Trevor to hang up his hip hop hat for good.
After leaving The Brotherhood he started Output Recordings. Internationally and sonically diverse, it gave Jackson a free reign to do as he pleased, with genre twisting releases from the likes of Fridge, Four Tet, Sonovac, Colder, his own PLAYGROUP project, The Rapture and LCD Soundsystem. With a non-compromising attitude, strong DIY aesthetic and consistently groundbreaking releases across its ten year life between 1996 and 2006, it became one of the most important and respected independent labels in the world.

At a point in time when Johnny Winter had only recently recovered from past addictions and blues giant Muddy Waters had faced a decline in his career with illness and the collapse of Chess records in 1975, it was Steve Paul of Blue Sky records who would appear as saviour to both musicians. The results of his investment soon paid off and Winter's childhood dream to play alongside his hero Muddy waters was soon realised. Waters' comeback album was a return to his original Chicago sound. Its raw, expressive feel harked back to his Chess Records days, and the outstanding musicianship and intimate exuberance exceeded all expectations, earning Waters a Grammy in the process.
The Hard Again tour combined the respected powerhouse of Waters, Winter and Cotton with musicians from the Hard Again sessions. Hard Again cast a further four albums with Blue Sky before Waters would leave in 1983. Although this particular collaboration was short-lived, it has provided blues fans a rare opportunity to indulge in the work of two hugely important musical figures whose respect for each other is evidently unflinching.

The chorus: that moment where everyone connects and participates in unity. A moment anyone who's shared a dancefloor can recognise whether it's a festival arena, subterranean dark room or an illegal rave in a field, warehouse or any abandoned canvas between... Like the ones Cologne's Julian Stetter has come from. Inspired by subversive communities, all pulling together for a greater cause, his background in underground parties can be felt in everything he's done so far: his work with the Ancient Future Now label, his vast imaginative techno constructions and now his work with Jennifer Cardini's long-standing community Correspondant with the widescreen odyssey that is 'Chorus' Six slices of evocative narrative-rich electronic soul inspired by his on-going international experiences on the road; loaded with poignant introspection, thunderous rumbles and playful theatrics, the EP is bookended by two versions of 'Chorus', a vision of scorching hope and lift that can seize a full floor's attention in seconds and full live up to the track's title, message and meaning. By far Julian's most significant solo EP to date, this is a moment for us all to connect and participate. Join in if you know the chorus...

Superstar & Star are back on Porridge bullet with there first vinyl E.P Proper!: Mastermind E.P!
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A collection of seven classic songs from Superstar's vaults available for the first time on an Estonian Vinyl Record!

Neville Lawrence Immigrated from his home country of Trinidad to New York in the mid 80's where, a few years later, following his fleeting east coast success, he re-settled with Wife Anne (Star) in Omaha, Nebraska where they continued to perform, produce and record music until the present day.

After releasing a cassette, 7' and 12' single with us in the last year we are happy to present yet another wonderful release from superstar and star! Big Big Hugs!

Lottus got this deep and old school flavour touch, driving and sweat at the same time, this one is for Franck the highlight of his new Ep,so no big words on this one.. It's a Lottus love affair here :-)

Air is a cosmic journey into Franck's synthetic drum sounds, passing thru his famous Space Echo 201 made back in the days by Roland..the machine got some natural errors and goes with the tape delay feelings.. it's all about movements and space rythms here.Christal is using the famous 909 drum machine and 808 toms.. this one goes very deep into our mind with strange vocals wich Franck got the secret to play with, it's a sentimental and emotionnal song, cute for some people but very relaxing after all to complete this Ep.My name is was originaly out on Franck's RealTone Records imprint. It came out with two different versions.The track received some good feedbacks and plays so far and our dear friend Berlin based Alexkid came back to us with his own edit and we definitly loved it but we were very busy with the releases.. This edit has been lost in our hard drives and now Franck is more than happy to give it a new life.

The latest release from Bjarki Runar's bbbbbb label sees Bjarki delving back into his vast archives and shines a light on a bizarre detour during the early days of the label that involved
a peculiar commission from the Icelandic state. Bjarki introduces the story; 'It was back in 2015 and we were only just putting together the original plans towards making bbbbbb a label. While this was happening, I got a call from a friend who was
working for a local tech start-up and marketing company. They'd been contacted by the Icelandic Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture who came to them with a weird proposition.
They were looking at the idea of marketing Icelandic lamb as this user-exclusive commodity for high end restaurants, the same way they do with Kobe beef in Japan. His marketing company was going all in with this idea of creating an elite herd of sheep that would get the 5-star treatment - fresh food and beer, shampoo and geothermal baths for their fleece, and entertainment such as TV and music for when they were in the hills. That's where I came in'. The initial meeting between Bjarki and the marketeers however didn't go as smoothly as they hoped; 'When I met my friend and his team, they were going to have music pumped through a series of remote speakers across the hillside' Bjarki explains. 'But when they showed me what they were going to play to them, I almost fell of my chair laughing! It was all this
cheesy, easy listening, orchestral Icelandic bullshit. I said to them 'This is nonsense! Why are you bringing me into this project if that's all you're going to be playing' In the end, I told
them I would completely redo all the sounds and music they were going to be using. I was going to drag the Icelandic sheep into the 21st Century'. Bjarki was as good as his word. Over the summer of 2015, he spent several weeks at farm
locations near Kirkjubæjarklaustur and Reykholtsdalur, walking the hills and playing a variety of sounds and beats to various flocks of sheep to see what the best approach was. It
was tough going at first; 'At the beginning, I was working totally blind', Bjarki explains. 'Imean how can you possibly know what sort of modern music and sounds Icelandic sheep
would go for' But Bjarki persevered and he found certain sounds and tones made the sheep more active and engaged.
From this point, he began to make tracks that would encapsulate what the lambs were drawn to the most. 'A track like Soda 'Sugarlicious' for example, came about when I started
playing Candy Crush on the hillside. As I kept playing, the sheep began to gather around me showing interest in the bright chintzy sounds coming from my laptop and that deep voice that
would keep speaking to you. I simply put together a track that was all shiny colours and heavy on the chimes. The sheep fucking loved it!' A track like 'Drab' meanwhile was suited
for less sunny moments. 'I got caught in a nasty rainstorm, so I started playing these synth lines I had made, along with an improvised kick drum. The mix of the softness of the tones
along with the hit of the bass cased the sheep to follow me all the way back to the farm I was staying at. The farmer wasn't too impressed with that, but the flock was completely
hypnotized'. In the end Bjarki, amassed several tracks ranging from soft ambient to gnarly hardcore bangers to present to the Ministry. But in the end, they decided not to go with the whole
proposal. 'These people were fools', Bjarki says. 'They just couldn't get their heads around doing something completely different, that was a bit of fun yes, but was completely done in a
serious manner. We all spent weeks doing this stuff so yeah, it was a bit gutting'. In the end though, there is a silver lining to this story as these efforts were not wasted for we can now hear the best of Bjarki's efforts from this admittedly weird project on a limited 12'release that marks a storming 2017 for the bbbbbb label.

Recorded in 1953 and 1954 with a veritable who's who of West Coast cool jazz including backing from Zoot Sims, Bud Shank, Shelly Manne, as well as arrangements from Jack Montrose, and Shorty Rogers, Chet Baker & Strings is a beautiful and airy collection of some of Baker's most sultry trumpet work. The string section perfectly complements the cool jazz quintet backing and makes this one of the Baker's finest and most unique sets. Essential.

Southern Italian sociologist, DJ and electronic music producer Simone Gatto is about to release his second album, 'Heaven Inside Your Frequencies', in December 2017. Recorded and produced between his motherland and other significant spaces and cities the Ionian coast and natural parks of Lecce, his second home Berlin, the Whitney Museum in New York City and other significant places 'Heaven Inside Your Frequencies' represents a complete excursus of his personal and professional paths combining Gatto's theoretical background with personal and artistic maturity, achieved in the last decade.

Melodies International proudly moves forward with an elusive piece of mid-tempo Chicago soul originally performed by Gloria J. Jennings in 1977.

Gloria was signed to Stage Productions as a gospel singer with pure and raw talent she had developed in the choir of her father's Southern Baptist Church. She was 16 years old at the time. To tutor her for R&B vocals, Willie C. Nance of Stage Productions spent 3 months taking the artist back and forth for vocal training 25 miles each way, 3 days per week.

At the time, Mr. Nance had made plans to work with singer and songwriter Theresa Eagins to record Know What You Want'. However, two days before the recording was set to begin, Ms. Eagins refused to move forward with the recording as she chose to take her religious faith more seriously and forgo the singing of secular music. Hence, Stage Productions turned to Gloria Jay to perform a song that would go on to move people thousands of miles away, many years later.

One of them was Patrick Forge: Back around 1990 I had a residency upstairs at the Wag Club on a Friday night alongside Paul Martin (he was Gilles P's A&R right hand man at Talkin Loud), the night was called Respect and we played mainly Soul, Boogie and Jazz-Funk. Many years later I bumped into Paul at a record shop and he quizzed me about a tune I used to play at the end of the night at Respect. Hhe described it as being an independent Soul seven inch on a red label, slow to mid tempo... and more to the point a bullet of a record. It piqued my curiosity so much I burrowed through my seven inches and even made Paul a compilation of likely contenders, his response was lovely selection, but it's not on there!'. Damn, a mystery! Many moons later whilst I was living in Japan, my tenant in my London flat said she'd found an old mixtape I'd done for her way back when and was desperate to know the identity of something she was calling the choo choo song'. Eventually when I was back in London she played the mixtape and I quickly identified her tune as Fabrica' by Cesar Mariano, however letting the tape play some time later a familiar descending chord sequence catapulted me back to those Friday nights at The Wag, and Gloria Jay's plaintive vocals reminded me of a record that had been absent from my life for far too long. I've no idea what happened to my original copy, I hunted another one down straight away, and I've kept it close ever since. Know What You Want' is a song that goes deep in such a simple, unaffected, almost naive way, Gloria's voice is both sweet and raw, it's built on simple chords and obvious instrumentation, but it's so much greater than the sum of its parts.

Know What You Want' is soul music, pure and unadulterated, there's nothing getting in the way of the feeling, it's straight from the heart.' Carefully re-mastered from the tapes, MEL008 comes forth in its original 7' format with a 14'x14' poster.

Tact Recordings launch their new vinyl only sub-label 'Tactics' this November, with the first EP coming courtesy of Yard One, who deliver three excellently programmed cuts in the shape of 'Tactics Vol.2'.

Launched by Yard One, aka Jordan Bruce and Larry Jones, and Richard Fletcher (who produces under numerous guises including Adventures In Daydreams and Fletcher), Tactics is set to become the labels latest project with a focus on solely vinyl releases. Inspired by the 2012 Various Artists release 'Tactics Volume 1' on Tact Recordings, which featured productions from Isherwood (Sharingtones/Imprints/Lize Records), journalist Per Boisen-Moller, and label regular Luke Black, the sub-label is set to showcase a more stripped back and minimal side to the Tact Recordings family with releases coming courtesy of Yard One, Fletcher, Luke Black and their close friends only.

The EP opens up with 'Avenoir', a raw and hypnotic production that utilises a multitude of lasers, glitches and pops at the forefront to keep listeners firmly on their toes, whilst a delicate and captivating melody floats fluently amongst ever-evolving percussion shots and twisting bass licks below.

On the flip, 'Granular Movements' snakes its way through swinging drums and hazy, jazzy melodies to reveal an effortless rolling groove, before 'Hexad' keeps the focus on percussive elements strong, whilst a moody bassline goes to work under layers of meditative pads and subtle background nuances to punctuate an excellent debut offering from the label. (Vinyl Only).

Arvid Wretman once again dresses up as everyone's favourite rave crooner Your Planet Is Next, delivering a stripped down, club-optimized follow-up to last year's Studio Barnhus debut. Focusing on minimal elements with maximal impact, the Laid Back EP ranges from rainy-day acid blues to Bill Hicks-channeling breakbeat choons, all perfected for modern soundsystems by inhouse mixmaster Pedrodollar and presented in a gorgeous full colour sleeve designed YPIN himself.

Third Man Records is proud to announce the release of "The Blackout," a limited edition U2 12" in conjunction with Island Records. The limited edition U2 12" will be available for Record Store Day Black Friday, November 24th."The Blackout" marks the first physical release from U2's eagerly awaited new album, SONGS OF EXPERIENCE, due later this year. The 12" includes both the original album version backed by an exclusive remix by the band's longtime collaborator, Jacknife Lee. Hailed by Rolling Stone as "a dynamic new track," "The Blackout" was revealed this summer via a surprise live video, filmed during U2's blockbuster Joshua Tree Tour 2017.Third Man co-founder Ben Blackwell said, "The sound quality of this incredibly special record is a perfect example of the caliber of product Third Man Pressing is capable of producing. We couldn't be more proud." TMR's "The Blackout" 12" will be extremely limited, with just one single pressing at Third Man Pressing, the label's state-of-the-art vinyl production facility in Detroit. Black vinyl editions will be available at all participating Record Store Day shops.

First Word Records are very proud to present an EP by Manchester's finest Hip Hop and Soul exports, Children of Zeus. This is 'The Story So Far...'

Konny Kon & Tyler Daley met back in 2005, after both performing a show near Paris in their respective crews, Broke'N'£nglish and Body Roq. The duo met up back home in Manchester, spurred on initially by a mutual admiration of each others music, and produced their first track together, aptly entitled 'Coming Home To You'.

A few years later, Tyler approached Konny about producing a full EP together. These sessions included the creation of a track called 'Still Standing', which ultimately saw the light of day last Summer on First Word. Still a highlight in their live sets, the Lenzman rub won "Best Remix" at the 2016 Drum & Bass Awards. The original has become somewhat of a British Soul anthem since its release, with people that missed it first time round still clamouring for it on wax. So we've included it on this EP.

As they've grown within the family of Manchester's music scene, they've provided a tonic to the city's bass-orientated club scene, breathing Soul back into the city, whilst maintaining their heritage of Hip Hop swagger. As an MC, Konny takes no prisoners, whilst Tyler (a prolific MC in his own right) has gained a rep as one of the UK's strongest Soul voices. Both artists have been blessed with the talent of beat-making. A combined craftsmanship upon the boards and in the booth.

From building a grassroots following of fans, they've since travelled the globe, sharing stages with giants and catching the ear of peers far and wide, from Pete Rock to Zed Bias. As well as hosting their own monthly radio show on NTS, they've collaborated with numerous Hip Hop acts, both sides of the Atlantic, as well as Soul royalty in the form of Caron Wheeler and Drum'n'Bass legends, such as Goldie (Tyler featuring heavily across his latest album).

Children of Zeus have finally begun the process of crafting together their debut album. This EP is a compilation of the creations the duo have produced themselves over the past decade, put together to appease their loyal followers thus far, and as an introduction to those yet to discover their talents. A snapshot of what has been, and a mere taster of what's to come. It features brand new tracks such as 'Smoke With Me' and (vinyl-only cut) 'Tonight', the anthemic 'Crown' (featured on First Word's 'Two Syllables' compilation previously) and fan favourites such as 'No Sunshine Tomorrow' and 'Push On'. A collection of raw, gritty, Hip Hop Soul music.

The debut album will drop in 2018.
This collection signals the end of the first chapter. A prologue even.
Get on board now. The time is right. This is the story so far...

Tom Ware is a Grammy nominated engineer, producer and musician from Omaha Nebraska. Throughout the 70s and 80s Tom was the drummer for many bands, including Norman & The Rockwells, Toy boat Toy boat Toy boat, and Hit N Run. Because of his love for electronics, mechanics, and machines of any kind, he was always the only one who truly knew how pa systems worked. Tom got an entry level job at a Rainbow Studios and would work at the recording studio during the day, play evening gigs till 2 in the morning, then go back to the studio and work on new ideas all night. During these teeth cutting sessions, Tom worked by himself, following his instincts and creating sounds he loved to listen to.

His reckless abandon approach and thrill to learn was a high octane fuel that resulted in his first solo self-titled album. The album's 10 songs were recorded and mixed between August & December of 1983 and self-released in early 1984. The album would be re-released in 1985 by independent Krautrock/Kosmische Musik label Sky Records in Germany and re-titled 'The Fourth Circle'. Some of the instruments used on the LP were a Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, & Pro One, Simmons SDSV electronic drums, Roland TR-606 drum machine, & Hammond B3 organ. While recording this album Tom was influenced by new wave sounds of Yellow Magic Orchestra, the Berlin and Düsseldorf schools of pulsing synth music and the celestial realms of Jean Michel Jarre. All songs have been mastered and lacquer cut by George Horn at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. Each LP is housed in a replica cover with computer graphics by Lars Erickson and photos by Ken Mayer and includes a postcard with liner notes by Tom Ware.

Tenderlonious led jazz outfit Ruby Rushton drop their second album of 2017. Following on from the success of 'Trudi's Songbook: Volume One' the band are back with their highly anticipated 'Volume Two'. Comprised of a further six cuts the listener is treated to another journey through modern day jazz!

Stand out tracks include "Tisbury Truckin", which is a stunning opener! Starting with an atmospheric soundscape it unexpectedly drops into a neck-snapping hip-hop groove with a punchy melodic line before effortlessly sliding into an up-tempo, afro-beat inspired rhythm with strong solos from trumpet and keys in tow. "Song For Christopher" is a heartfelt ballad, which begins with a touching flute solo and continues to take the listener on a journey through the emotions, ending in a crescendo of optimism - a fitting tribute to the late Christopher Rushton.

"Charlotte Emma Victoria" is another strong track and includes some tasteful sousaphone and trombone parts to add extra oomph to its bounce, accompanied by a soaring saxophone solo by band leader Edward Cawthorne (aka Tenderlonious). The album ends with a classic Herbie Hancock jazz-fusion standard, "Butterfly", which the band handle with finesse. A fitting cover that I have no doubt would impress its original writers.

'Trudi's Songbook: Volume Two' is a fantastic album, which further solidifies Ruby Rushton's place on the modern jazz scene. This is a must have album that would hold its own in any jazz enthusiasts record collection - make sure you check it out!

A new label from Hugo Mendez, co-founder of Sofrito ! A series dedicated to cross-cultural experimentation, kicking off with this exhilarating dive into the African underground of 1980s Paris: a four-track EP from Congolese singer Albert Siassia, backed by a group of young French dreads, rechristened Tokobina — 'let's dance,' in Lingala — for the occasion. A mixture of post-punk, rumba, afro-disco and reggae, in two dancefloor sureshots reviving their sole 12' from back in the day, plus previously unreleased fire from the same session.

There is no end to composer Peter Broderick's creative output, and so we present to you his new album titled All Together Again — available worldwide on November 17th 2017 via Erased Tapes.They say music takes you on a journey, and this collection of commissioned work by Peter quite literally does that. From a ferry boat ride in Istanbul, to walking down the aisle at a wedding, these songs were created for particular situations, yet Peter found a way to work without any sort of limitations and on his own erms. The result is an assortment of works from the past ten years, coming together as one: Peter's new album. Words from Peter, October 2017: Ever since I started releasing records in 2007 (10 years ago now!), people have contacted me periodically to ask if I'd be interested in making music to accompany their projects. Most of these projects have been things like films, dance pieces and theatre plays . . . but every so often I get the odd request for something a little different. Peter, would you write a song for my wedding My one year anniversary A ferry boat ride
In early 2015 I was asked to perform 12 minutes of music during a runway show as part of New York Fashion Week. I agreed and began composing a 12-minute piece which I could perform on my own with a few different instruments and some looping pedals. I made a recording of the piece and sent it over to my contacts at the fashion show . . . but a few days before I was to fly out to New York, they wrote back and told me they actually just wanted me to play a few older songs that they were already familiar with. Feeling slightly disappointed, I shelved the other piece, giving it the title If I Were A Runway Model.It is with great pleasure that I now present this piece in a collection of commissioned works spanning the last decade . . . it's All Together Again. This group of oddball works does indeed include a couple pieces written for weddings (Our Future In Wedlock and The Walk), and a song someone asked me to write as a gift for his wife on their first year wedding anniversary (Emily). And indeed, there's a 17-minute piece written to accompany a ferry boat ride in Istanbul (A Ride On The Bosphorus). A few of the pieces were written for films (Robbie's Song, Atlantic and Seeing Things), and one for a kind of interactive installation (Unsung Heroes).In my early days of recording, I took pride in playing all the different instruments myself and doing the recording myself as well. And then at some point I started branching out, working with other musicians and recording engineers. But this record is very dear to me in that it's a return to that original approach . . . playing all the different instruments myself, working with my limits on each one, and my own limits in recording and mixing. I've always held a broad curiosity for all different instruments and all different styles of music, and if nothing else I hope this record will portray that curiosity, and my pure love for this thing we call music. Can you dig it The cover art was made by Peter himself in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, by cutting and sticking different coloured paper fragments to depict the individuality of each track.

Moullinex is back with his finest album up to date, HYPERSEX, a collective love letter to club culture and its celebration of difference, freedom and love. In his third length, Moullinex reached out to several guest singers: Fritz Helder (Azari & III), Georgia Anne Muldrow (Flying Lotus, Mos Def), Iwona Skwarek (Rebeka), Best Youth, Marta Ren, Da Chick, UhAhUh and Tee Flowers, crafting a uniquely fresh piece that combines many of his musical influences, from the funk, groove and sunshine of his debut "Flora" to the psychedelia and tropicalia of 'Elsewhere'. Moullinex is the alter ego of the Portuguese producer and multiinstrumentalist Luis Clara Gomes. He's established himself as one of the leading artists in the modern disco scene, with several singles such as 'Take My Pain Away' and 'Maniac' ft. Peaches, and remixes of acts like Røyksopp, Cut Copy, Two Door Cinema Club and Grammyawarded artist RAC. The road to HYPERSEX has been paved by various singles and videos in 2017, expanding the spirit of collaboration to directors and visual artists, and gathered wide support from international tastemakers across the globe, including Vice, NPR, KCRW, Triple J, Majestic Casual, Les Inrockuptibles and Tsugi Mag. HYPERSEX is like Hypertext between humans, a system designed to multiply ideas and connections between people. The dance floor is the perfect medium.

Grammy® Award-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Green Day will release Greatest Hits: God's Favorite Band on 17th November. The playlist includes 20 hits spanning the band's prolific 21 years as a band, plus a brand new song called Back In The USA' and a new duet with award-winning Country Music superstar Miranda Lambert on Ordinary World.' Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong previously collaborated with Lambert at the 56th annual Grammy® Awards in 2014 for a live duet in tribute of the late Phil Everly of The Everly Brothers.

On 22nd March, God miraculously came down to the Ed Sullivan Theatre to introduce Green Day as God's Favorite Band' on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. When God speaks people listen, and he granted Green Day the title: Greatest Hits: God's Favorite Band. The collection chronicles the sonic journey of one of the most essential and dynamic rock bands in recent history. Formed in 1986 in Berkeley, CA, Green Day achieved breakout success with 1994's Dookie which has sold over 10 million copies to date in the U.S. alone. Widely credited with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock, Green Day would go on to release Insomniac (1995), Nimrod (1997), and Warning (2000). In 2004, Green Day released the rock opera American Idiot which captured the nation's attention and sold more than six million copies in the U.S. Mojo declared It's exhilarating stuff, the kind of record that sets new parameters as to what is possible from a punk rock'n'roll band in the 21st century.' In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The band went on to release the critically acclaimed 21st Century Breakdown (2009) and the album trilogy Green Day ¡Uno!, Green Day ¡Dos!, and Green Day ¡Tré (2012).

Green Day is one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. The group has won five Grammy Awards. On April 18, 2015, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of the 2015 class in what was their first year of eligibility for induction. Green Day's 12th studio album Revolution Radio was released on 7th October, 2016 and debuted at No. 1 on the UK Official Album Chart. Upon its release, People proclaimed: The punk vets still have a tattooed finger on the national pulse.'

The Doors had one of the most extraordinary debut years in music history in 1967, releasing a string of hit singles and two platinum albums, beginning in January with the band's self-titled debut, followed by Strange Days in September. The latter peaked at #3 on the Billboard album chart and featured classics like Love Me Two Times,' When The Music's Over,' and the title track Strange Days.'

STRANGE DAYS (50TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION) was produced by the album's original engineer Bruce Botnick. It includes the original stereo mix of the album on CD for the first time in a decade, with sound that's been remastered for the first time in 30 years. The second disc features the album's original mono mix, which has been remastered for this set and is making its CD debut. Accompanying the set are liner notes by music journalist David Fricke, as well as a selection of rare and previously unseen photographs.

Having a larger budget for Strange Days allowed the band to spend more time experimenting in the studio. They used an eight-track recorder for the first time, which resulted in some memorable overdubs like Krieger's double-tracked guitar on When The Music's Over.' Surprisingly, the trippy keyboard sound heard on the album's title track is actually one of the earliest appearances of a Moog synthesizer in a rock song.

Strange Days mixed new songs written on the road with some written before the band's 1967 debut. In fact, the band performed Strange Days' during its 1966 residency at the London Fog in L.A., while My Eyes Have Seen You' dates back to 1965. Another early track is Moonlight Drive,' which was one of the very first songs that the band practiced together, and where the band heard Krieger's haunting bottleneck guitar playing for the first time. It's also the song Morrison sang to Manzarek at Venice Beach in 1965 when the two former UCLA film students reconnected and decided to start the Doors.

Distant Images is D.K.'s fourth release on Antinote and we can say quite safely that Dang Khoa Chau fueled a few identifiable obsessions over the years - for those familiar with his work, it probably won't feel like uncharted territory when they'll hear a somehow well-known guitar in the background of the title-track.
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What time spent collaborating with D.K. also showed us is how much his sound magnified itself and its textures sharpened for the past three years. We now know for sure that his music only seems versatile on the surface as Distant Images confirms that the Paris-based musician has been, in fact, digging deeper in the same direction, each new record working like a diaphragm, always more precisely adjusted to capture his inner vision. It feels, for instance, like D.K.'s music is constantly trying to reach a higher level of evanescence from one record to an other, a process which possibly accelerated after a visit from Suzanne Kraft - who he recorded an album with, earlier this year (coming out on Melody As Truth).

With Distant Images, D.K.'s sound also took a step further into reality - the most attentive ears will hear seagulls on Distant Images while rain is softly falling on Leaving - and slightly departed from the digital universes that his previous records seemed to set in motion. From the most abstract songs - like the Steve Reich-ian Shaker Loops

- to the most evocative ones, the five compositions on Distant Images are like stained glass, gently filtering natural light. It is therefore no coincidence if, of all the senses, the titles of the songs mostly refer to Sight: close your eyes while listening to the cinematographic Days Of Steam and visions of an industrious city might appearbefore you.

The beauty that emanates from Distant Images is of a diaphanous kind and the record a collection of kaleidoscopic moments.

In 2017, the musical term electronic' is nearly obsolete given the ubiquity of computerized processes in producing music. Even so, the prevailing assumption is that musicians working under this broad umbrella must be inspired by concepts equally as electrified as their equipment. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has demonstrated in her still-blooming discography that this notion couldn't be further from the truth, and that more often than not, rich worlds of synthesized
sound are born from deep reverence of the natural world. Smith (who by no coincidence, cites naturalist David Attenborough as a contemporary muse) has embodied such an appreciation on
The Kid in as direct and sincere a way as possible by sonically charting the phases of life itself.
The album, which punctually follows up her 2016 breakthrough EARS, chronicles four defining cognitive and emotional stages of the human lifespan across four sides of a double LP.
The first side takes us through the confused astonishment of a newborn, unaware of itself, existing in an unwitting nirvana. Smith's music has always woven a youthful thread befitting of the
aforementioned subject. Here she articulates it in signature fashion on the track An Intention,' which serves not only as a soaring spire on The Kid, but on her entire output. There is playfulness here, but it's elevated by an undertone of gravity into something compelling and majestic that is fast becoming Smith's watermark. The emotional focus of side two is the vital but underreported moment in early youth when we cross the threshold into self awareness. The subject is profound enough to fill an entire album, but rarely makes its way into a single track, indicating Smith's ambition to broach subtler and deeper subjects than the average composer. This side offers up another highlight in the form of In The World But Not Of The World' which serves its subject well with epiphanic, climbing strings and decidedly noisy textures over a near-Bollywood low end pulse.

Side three emphasizes a feeling of being confirmed enough in one's own identity to begin giving back to the formative forces of one's upbringing, which is arguably the duty that all great artists
aim to fulfill. This side ends with the exploratory album cut Who I Am & Why I Am Where I Am' recorded in a single take without overdubs on the rare EMS Synthi 100 synthesizer. This humble
piece of sound design serves as a contrast to side four's verdant orchestral moments, all written and arranged for the EU-based Stargaze quartet by Smith herself. This final side represents a
return to pure being, the kind of wisdom and peace that eludes most of us until the autumn of life. On To Feel Your Best' this concept is voiced in the bittersweet refrain one day I'll wake up
and you won't be there' which Smith intended to be a grateful acknowledgement of life rather than a melancholy resentment of loss. The song has both effects depending on the mood of the
listener, and both interpretations are equally moving.
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith belongs to an ilk of modern musicians who are defined by their commitment to creating experiential albums despite the singles-oriented habits of modern listeners,
and here she represents her kind proudly. The subjects on The Kid are not simple to convey, and yet through both emotional tone and lyrical content, Smith does just that. There is a similar
gravity to both birth and death, and rarely is that correlation as accurately and enthusiastically mapped as it is here.

Alan Watts, another logical inspiration of Smith's, once expounded that people record themselves to confirm their own existence, and as such, echoes and resonance are reminders that we are alive. You're not there unless you're recorded,' Watts muses, if you shout, and it doesn't come back and echo, it didn't happen.' The Kid speaks to this idea directly. As Kaitlyn Aurelia
Smith explores her existence through music, she guides us in gleefully contemplating our own.

'Shays Vacation House' is a work that feels suspended in time - both ancient and modern -- a microcosm that ceases to exist in any particular time or space...exceptional acousmatic sound design animates amorphous creatures and entities, whose movements echo on dripping walls, yet the eerie, mysterious environment remains entirely ambiguous. hovering above the post-apocalyptic landscape of a scorched planet regenerating. Emra Grid's second Opal Tape is a profoundly beautiful work, loaded with emotional weight

Expansion's most successful and longest running compilation series returns with a 2017 edition. The concept remains the same, fifteen must-have modern soul room gems taken from the year's biggest dance floor spins on the soul scene. While tracks here have topped UK soul charts, many have not been available in all formats. Once again, attention is paid to the 'flow' of the 15 gems chosen here from shuffling beats to boogie to more soulful house as played at modern soul events. Participants this year include Omar with Los Charly's Orchestra, Tawatha Agree (voice of Mtume's Juicy Fruit') with Aeroplane, Kenny Thomas with Thames River Soul produced by and featuring Incognito, and both Wez and The Groove Association formerly members of Brit Funk group Second Image. Leela James is here after her stint in a US realty TV show R&B Divas: Los Angeles', other guests including Amp Fiddler, Faith Evans, Trina Broussard and Lifford.

Some songs comes along that you seem to know the moment you hear it, even though it's for the first time. In the case of Spark The Universe it had exactly that impact. A mixture of late-60s psychedelic homage, early 80s new wave, white boy soul, plus a good dose of dub, all wrapped around a killer hook and super tight production and a hit was surely made.
The fact there are many deserving records that don't become a hit doesn't mean some are better than others and in fact, the joy in collecting and reissuing is finding amazing songs and bringing them back.
Increasingly heard in the sets of the more discerning DJs, Spark The Universe has become a cult play and with second hand prices now in three figures, a reissue is timely. As the label oft says, no one owns this music other than the writers, musicians and producers and their craft deserves to be appreciated.
Before going on to carve a successful career in 'electronica' project, Euphoria, Toronto's Ken Ramm had shown his considerable writing and playing ability with the 1981 debut LP Dragon and this 1983 follow up, known simply as Ramm.

Coming together through a meeting with a then relatively unknown producer, Daniel Lanois, via a mutual interest in tape loops and dubbing, it was the suggestion to bring in local vocalist Lorraine Segato that Ramm formed.
Recording at Lanois' Grant Avenue Studios, his interest in mixing past and present technology, with multiple digital delay units, harmonizers and other effect processors allowed Ramm and Lanois to explore using the studio as an instrument alongside real musicianship.

Backwards guitars, tremolo bar dives and guitar harmonics are incorporated with the vocals and percussion to perfection. With a 'Dance' and alternative 'Dub', the song's hypnotic and dreamy feel superimposed over beats pin-pointed to the later Euphoria project and with the addition of a latter day 'Discomix', from the labels' own Chuggy, Spark The Universe deserves it's place on contemporary dancefloors.