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‘An Awesome Wave’ is finally back in stock on vinyl as the band celebrate the 10th anniversary of this classic debut record. Described by The Guardian in their Albums Of The Year coverage as “Remarkable and Rewarding:, ‘An Awesome Wave’ won the band the Mercury Music Prize and an Ivor Novello award, the album has since gone platinum in the UK and continues to receive critical acclaim. This album saw the start of a remarkable trajectory for the band who became one of the most successful British bands of the millennium. alt-J have now sold in excess of two million albums and their songs have been streamed over two and a half billion times. Their follow up album This Is All Yours was a UK number 1, GRAMMY and BRIT Award-nominated album. Released in 2017, album number 3 RELAXER flew straight into the top 10 of the UK album chart ahead of a summer of major international shows-including a headline show at London’s O2 Arena; and headline performances at numerous festivals and became their second album to be nominated for the Mercury Prize. 2022 saw the release of their 4th album The Dream which reached top 3 in the Uk and was one of the best reviewed records of 2022.

»Sull’Accordo Mimetico (On the Mimetic Chord)« dates back to the end of the 80’s. It was commissioned by the artistic director of the ParcoScenico Festival, held in Treviso, Italy. Since the area where artists and the public gathered after the Festival was located to a very busy street, Marco asked me for a sound installation that could work as some sort of a defensive barrier for the street noise. I suggested that my work, rather than hiding the noise, should aim to harmonize the disturbances coming from the street within musical structures and forms, without burdening or saturating too much the acoustic spectrum of the place. In this way, I thought about sonic veils, consisting of repetitive – but also light and discreet – harmonic-rhythmic structures. Since the Festival took place in a beautiful centenary park, I also integrated the music with natural sounds and animal calls, always as an attempt to bridge these sound events and the other materials that made up the composition. The human voice constitutes a central element in this musique d'ameublement project, as a constant source of memory of places and times – here with many references to traditional music for children.

A pearl of ambient electro-acoustic mimimalism with field recordings components in which the nostalgia of Maestro Tiziano Popoli shines through in painting landscapes that slowly change to be seen with the ears. Nocturnal, emblematic, Lynchian.

"The letter X marks the spot, crosses over, literally with a cross. It’s the former, the ex-. The ex-lover known simply as “an ex”. Ex- is the latin prefix meaning “out”. Exterior, an exit. Extraordinary. Excellent. It’s exciting. Generation X. X-files. X is the unknown. X is Extreme“

Extreme is Molly Nilsson’s tenth studio album. Recorded in 2019 and throughout the 2020 global pandemic at home in Berlin, Extreme is a departure for Nilsson, an explosion of angry love. It’s an album of anthems for the jilted generation, soaked with joy and offering solace, bristling with distorted, Metal guitars and planet-sized choruses that bring light to the dark centre of the galaxy. It’s an album of the times, by the times and for the people. It’s a record about power. About how to fight it, how to take it and how to share it.

Absolute Power explodes with massive guitars, double kick beats and the instantly iconic line “It’s me versus the black hole at the centre of the galaxy.” Nilsson’s performance itself portrays absolute power in its confidence but the song is a call-to-arms, an entreaty to grasp the here and now, to take the power back. It’s Nilsson pacing the ring and we’re instantly in her corner. Earth Girls takes familiar Molly Nilsson themes - female empowerment and subverting the patriarchy - but casually throws in one of the choruses of her career. “Women have no place in this world” she sings, but it’s the world that isn’t good enough. Stadium-sized but still warmly hazy, Earth Girls has its fists in the air, glorifying in harmony, almost ecstatic in its feeling good. Nilsson’s Springsteen-level conviction and righteousness bleeds through the speaker cones, the cognitive dissonance between the song’s cadences and angry lyrics redolent of Bruce in his prime. Female empowerment isn’t always an angry energy on Extreme, however. On Fearless Like A Child, Nilsson’s anthem to the female body and women’s sovereignty of it, she croons over a mid-80s blue-eyed Soul groove. It sets a nocturnal scene as the narrator surveys her past and her surroundings. Before we’re fully submerged in a dreamlike, Steve McQueen-era Prefab Sprout poem to learning from your mistakes the song erupts into one of those lines only Molly Nilsson can get away with: “I love my womb, come inside I feel so alive” she fervently sings. Against the backdrop of ever-encroaching, conservative rulings on women’s reproductive rights in places like Texas, it’s simultaneously angry and full of love.

Every song on Extreme is a gleaming gem in a pouch of jewels. On Kids Today, Nilsson is the voice of wisdom, archly commenting on the eternal struggle between youth and authority. Wisdom infuses Sweet Smell Of Success with a transcendent love that forgives the narrator’s shortcomings and celebrates the moment, it’s a letter to the author from the author that asks “what is success” and concludes that this is it, this song, this moment. It’s a rare moment of simple reflection that is generous in its insight to Nilsson’s inner life. “Success” is a tool of power and we don’t need it… We need power tools and there are moments on Extreme where it feels like Nilsson is showing us how to find them. It's an open conversation through out Extreme. She’s a warm, comforting presence through out the album and specially on these songs of encouragement, songs perhaps sang to a younger Molly Nilsson or, really, to whomever needs to hear them. “They’ll praise your efforts, they’ll call you slurs a rebel, a master, an amateur / Merely with your own existence, you already offer your resistance.” On Avoid Heaven she’s even more direct, pleading with us to avoid concepts of purity and to embrace the glorious, ebullient, emotional mess we’re often in as a method of upending the power structures who need things to be perfect.

They Will Pay brings back the big, distorted power chords in the form of a agit-punk, pop slammer. Of course, when Molly Nilsson does punk pop we get the catchiest chorus this side of The Bangles or The Nerves. It’s rendered in an off the cuff, throwaway manner that is just perfect in its roughness. However, it’s on Pompeii that Nilsson delivers the album’s epic, emotional heartbreaker. Like 1995 on Nilsson’s album Zenith, or Days Of Dust on Twenty Twenty, the lyrics of Pompeii are heavy with a transcendent sadness, an aching poetry that cuts to the truth of the heart like the best Leonard Cohen lines, though here delivered with an uplifting, life-affirming love. It contains the most personal moments of Extreme, a song lit by the dying embers of romance. Yet it’s here where the alchemy at the base of all Nilsson’s best work is found. Turning small nuggets of personal truth into big, generous universal moments that invite everyone to cry, to love and to fight the power. In an album of jewels, it might be the shining star.

Molly Nilsson’s biggest, boldest and most vital album to date, Extreme is about power. Against the love of power and for the power of love.

Long-time audiophile favorite returns as a 45 RPM on four 200-gram LPs! Plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings! Every cricket chirp and dog bark in stellar detail! An essential upgrade to the listening experience; improved sonic intensity Roger Waters' take on America's entertainment-obsessed society

This audiophile favourite — and a brisk seller since its Analogue Productions 33 1/3 reissue in 2015 — is back with an upgrade. Now a 45 RPM 4LP 200-gram set, the remastered audio completed by long-time Roger Waters / Pink Floyd collaborator and co-producer James Guthrie is chillingly detailed — every cricket chirp and dog bark on this distinctive album has even more sonic intensity and dimension.

An unblinking look at an entertainment-obsessed society, Amused to Death addresses issues that have only grown in complexity and urgency over the past two decades. With Amused to Death, Roger Waters sounded the alarm about a society increasingly - and unthinkingly — in thrall to its television screens. Twenty-three years later, Amused to Death speaks to our present moment in ways that could scarcely have been anticipated two decades ago. In 2022, television is just one option in an endless array of distractions available to us anytime, anywhere, courtesy of our laptops, tablets and smartphones. With eyes glued to our screens, the dilemmas and injustices of the real world can easily recede from view.

The 2022 4LP 45 RPM 200-gram vinyl edition of Amused to Death features remastered audio completed by long-time Roger Waters / Pink Floyd collaborator and co-producer, James Guthrie, and has been pressed at Quality Record Pressings. The updated cover and gatefold art is by Sean Evans, the creative director of Waters' 2010-2013 "The Wall Live" tour and movie.

Rome’s own disco wizard L.U.C.A. aka Francesco De Bellis is back for his second LP Terra, hot on the heels of his Venus 12” EP earlier this year. In this far-reaching album, the Edizioni Mondo founder explores the deteriorating relationship between Man and Nature, and the dire consequences. The album is split into two themes - part one is Consacrazione (Consecration) and side two is Coscienza (Conscience) - as L.U.C.A. charts a trip through mankind’s psychic universe, and imagines worlds beyond our physical dimension.

The opening composition Cities is an uptempo number that slowly comes into focus, as dreamy drum machines emerge from the urban bustle, before settling into a soulful groove as keyboard, upright bass and guitar figures dance across bright percussion. As it builds up a head of steam, the piece gives way to an ambient, tribal breakdown, which is also echoed in the following song, Drum Talk. This second tune sets up in a fourth world dreamscape of drums, synths, and abstracted echo effects, and is peppered with word fragments from the bush of ghosts. By the time we’ve reached the third track, Congiunzione sounds like travelling at singularity speed, beaming in from a future where human consciousness and gaia can finally dance on a cosmic plain.

Part two of Terra details how revelation of the spirit can guide the mind, as Time Spirals rises out of a drum motif with a nod to classic ragas, as a disembodied voice asks questions on the nature of corporeality. The sound design is just as front and centre as the sitar and fretless bass, and the song gives way to a richly-layered soup that sounds like the vast space between atoms. It’s this shift from composition to ambience that is the dynamic core of Terra, giving L.U.C.A. plenty of space to showcase his next-level audio and arranging skills. Midway through part two, Giallo Assoluto begins with reverb tails and choral voices before expanding in brightness and texture until the audio field is practically levitating your hi-fi speakers, vibrating them with drones, twinkling keys and shards of digital noise. The closing composition Ritorno al Domani is a perfect balance of optimism and mystery. Tension and release collapse in on themselves as waves of ambient pads crescendo and then break over stretched-out sonic turbulence, before reversed synths bring the listener to a closing door, and the end of the journey.

It’s a mind-expanding musical exploration of other worlds and parallel universes which are surely all around us, and in many ways serve to remind us of the marvel that is our own planet.

Samantha Togni makes her TITDM debut with five uncompromising cuts, exploring the darkest corners of techno and channeling her artistic expression in a flurry of controlled yet innovative directions. This compulsion to work without boundaries isn't new to Samantha, having always leaned toward a 'do it your own way' attitude, leading to Samantha founding Boudica in 2017; a collective aiming to give visibility to women and non binary artists through their events, conference, radio show and podcast.

'Trust The Heat' rattles through the speakers with its bone twitching bass, spilling out from its kickdrums and marching forward at an unnerving pace. The accompanying grooves give way to primal movements and an added layer of welcomed spice. There's no sing-songy samples here, just a vocal phrase with the energy of a megaphone edging through a busy club; guiding dancers to keep moving. 'No Pressure to Fit In' follows up with its spiraling basslines opening and closing, providing the movement against a backdrop of percussive power. Togni brings back the vocal snippets. this time to greater hypnotic effect.

'Sensible Social Lies' sounds like the type of techno you'd expect to hear on a planet from Dune; shapeshifting its way through sand with a heavy onslaught of newly discovered sounds. 'Cockroaches' scales back, remaining functional and still packing a serious punch, before the record comes to a pupil dilating close with 'In Vivo' a melodic, left-leaning piece honoring what makes techno so great, while remaining fiercely contemporary and unique to the artist who created it.

Tiptoe between the toadstools of Liverpool’s city parks, and amongst the foliage you might find a Strawberry Guy, contemplating his next chord-progression. Composing hi-fi symphonies from within his humble abode, the Welsh-born songwriter is ready to share the fruits of his labour with debut album Sun Outside My Window. A timeless vista of ethereal balladry looking towards 19th Century musical maestros and works of art, it brings new meaning to the term ‘Modern Classic’ and is the most optimistic of lockdown records yet.
“It’s about seeing the simple things in life and them making you happy,” tells Alex Stephens, the Guy behind the Strawberry. “I remember this day when I was really down… looking out the window, the sun beaming in was beautiful, it made me want to go outside – it was simple but made me so happy in that instance.”
A one-man impressionist, painting majestic soundscapes, Strawberry Guy blends truthful lyrics with lush arrangements to conjure new emotive worlds. Inspired by composers of the Romantic period, or Debussy, Ravel, and other classical artists of the 1800s, his wonderland moves like a Monet painting where arpeggios dance between meadows of dazzling dynamics and dramatic key changes. As former keyboard player of The Orielles and Trudy and The Romance, the light through his floor to ceiling windows has caused a dramatic Greenhouse Effect and now ripening on solo terms, his innocent uploads of ‘Without You’ and ‘F-Song’ comfort 2 million Spotify listeners a month. ‘Mrs Magic’ has received 40 million streams, landing at #13 in its chart and countless fan-created videos have appeared on YouTube. “Throughout history composers have tried to capture emotion, painting their own impressionist pictures with musical brush strokes… I guess I’m just trying to do the same and people enjoy that,” he suggests modestly.
Named by musical friends Her’s after his impeccable taste in milkshakes, Strawberry Guy upturns ‘bedroom artist’ perception, as each idea is crafted into a widescreen wonder where vocals tag-team instrumentals and countermelodies flourish within the Georgian walls of his Liverpool flat’s small space. “I want it to sound like I’ve squeezed an 80-piece orchestra into my room, and for listeners to wonder how all those strings got there,” he says. “Working on the 4-part harmonies, the orchestra became real; I began believing in myself.”
Imitating nature’s effect on emotion, like 70s songwriters, or the fantastical soundtracks accompanying vibrant scenes in the Japanese animated Studio Ghibli films and video games, landscape is brought to the fore. Monet’s picturesque Meadow at Giverny features as the album’s accompanying artwork – perhaps a reminder of the rural Welsh countryside views through his childhood home’s window; “I was inspired by how calm and peaceful the image felt. Its painted lines show real-life scenes in a magical way, which to me reflects my music.”
Just as the first Strawberry Guy EP Taking My Time To Be offered a slowing down for the soul, Sun Outside My Window is musically unhurried, written and recorded over 2 years. “Recording as a lone berry meant I could run with my emotions in the moment and deliver something true; it would have been an entirely different album had it been recorded in a studio,” he says.
Modern Classic? Only time will tell. For now this Guy’s happy-sad world is here to get the juices flowing and with, pandemic permitting, a US tour in 2022, life looks a whole lot sweeter. Until then, take it slow, be at one with the wilderness and remember, when life gives you lemons, swap them for Strawberries.

Valentina Goncharova's fundamental conceptual musical work released in full uncut form as part of Hidden Harmony Lost Tapes series (HHLTS01). Restored and mastered from the original 6.3 mm analog tapes. A large-scale work comprising eleven parts of varied, brooding, mystical reflection in which the author alters the instrumentation to fit both programmatic and musical character of each section.
Includes a 12-page booklet, which detailly explains the album's conceptual basis, background and creation context, and provides insights into unique sound recording and technical solutions adapted during the album recording in 1988. Created and written with direct involvement of V. Goncharova and I. Zubkov.

From the Liner notes:

"My task is to allow the listener to penetrate deeper into the music. The music is wholly improvisational. It has no concept in the rational sense of the word. It’s concept is purely intuitive. It presumes The Law of Analogies: “As above so below. Man is the same as the Universe. The Universe is the same as Man.” ("Emerald Tablet” by Hermes Trismegistus"). This intuition is a kind of rephrased logic which uses many more symbols which contain not only philosophical but also imaginative meanings/ visionary interpretations.

This music is a stream of consciousness in its purest form: not an imitation of a stream, as in the ‘suggestive poetry’ of the 20th century, but a stream where one flow is superimposed on another (a multilateral passage of recording). And, if we think this flow of music will be better understood under the influence of a verbal flow, then the verbal flow should also be more intuitive and associative, as objective for this short write-up you are currently reading.

Ocean did not appear within the coordinate system of logical scientific thinking of the last four centuries. It can be said that it is based on an intuitive concept of representations of the world which are captured in music figuratively. Similar to how myths were created in time immemorial with only partial support from verbal associations. Ocean is an experience of passing the Human Soul and Mind through the different states of the material world: birth, development, and achievement of perfection, transformation at the points of The Way and Silence, the manifestation of the harmony of the world (Om), which until then had remained in a latent state. It is averse to both mainstream contemporary physics and fringe scientific research. It exists outside their explanatory power.

Ocean is the source of all forms that can receive their life within time and space. Here it is. It has everything: beautiful and terrible, good and evil, self-sacrifice and betrayal. Boundless love and inspired creativity. But contact does not happen immediately. The memory of a bygone civilization is still fresh, and of the dearest things left with it."

Written, performed and produced by Valentina Goncharova
Composition A1 to C4 recorded in Kose subdistrict, Tallinn, Estonia (Recording period August-October 1988)
Composition D1 recorded in artist´s home studio in Lasnamäe subdistrict, Tallinn, Estonia (Recording period May 2021)

'Accosting Form, Pure Intent" - Nathaniel Young's new album for Mysteries of the Deep - is a contradiction that makes sense. At once raw and elegant, it emerges from a place of constraint and desire. Its individual tracks reflect this paradox as the album unlocks itself like a koan: a riddle that, once solved, dawns on the listener like an epiphany.

Metallic emanations in "Communal Dysphoria" and "Comfort in Form," interpolated with echo and reverb, arise from the void and disappear back into it, moving like scattered precipitation over rugged, rhythmic terrain. Certain tracks speak to certain influences: in "Extrasolar" and "May I Speak Candidly," drone is tempered by synth pads and wistful ambience. "Zion Waits for No One" brings to mind a sense of the Chthonic: a dark, primitive creature submerged. A monster from the loch that at times breaks through the still, watery surface.

Despite the assorted elements at work, a visceral quality binds everything together. Even the record's more subdued works are textured and tangible, at times balancing or playing against the serrated edges of its more structured pieces. Like all compelling works, the sounds here exist in a liminal space that is not entirely classifiable. Still, it is wholly cohesive in both its moodiness and its adeptness.


Releases on Umor Rex, Blankstairs, Phinery Tapes, Hospital Productions

While awaiting the release of Dignity Of Labour, The Ex headed back into the studio in early 1983; this time with a new friend – The Mekons' Jon Langford – helping produce.

Originally released in April 1983 (only a month after Dignity Of Labour), Tumult marks a major evolution in Ex-sound. Opener "Bouquet Of Barbed Wire" emerges snarling out of post-punk atmospherics with Terrie Ex's glacial guitar, Bas Masbeck's loping bass and cascading tom-toms from new recruit Sabien Witteman, while "Fear" and "Survival Of The Fattest" bring to bear the rhythmic core of the band, their signature angular style.

Lyrically, the songs on Tumult cycle through a series of familiar concerns: animal rights, squatters, the working class, punk's penchant for radical chic and the creeping fascism of nationalist sentiments. G.W. Sok's voice is squalling and perfectly wry throughout.

Tumult remains a high-water point of early Ex, serving as both developmental guide and way-station. The next 18 months would see the departure of Bas and Witteman and the arrival of long-serving bassist Luc Klaasen and drummer Kat Bornefeld (whose supple rhythms propel the group to this day). The album stands as one of the most compelling and unique documents of early '80s DIY exploration. If Mark E. Smith had only one favorite Dutch punk band, then it would undoubtedly be The Ex.

This first-time vinyl reissue comes with 28" x 39" full-color poster

Yellow Vinyl

Parisian producer DJ Atlance follows up an appearance on Happiness Energy’s various artist compilation late last year with five sun-soaked house cuts on Running Out Of Steam, just in time for January coming to an end.

‘Le Club, La Nuit’ gets things underway with a sample-heavy slice of early evening house music; funk-driven basslines, radiant atmospherics and a distinctive Atlance, hip-house bounce hold the door for the listener as they venture further into the dimly lit room. ‘When I Hear Your Voice’ throws it back to the 00’s with its MTV-pop-dance blend of catchy vocals and murder-on-the-dancefloor energy.

‘Eternal Sunshine’ is as radiant as the title would suggest; a bright sequence ofsaxophones, jazz-keys and feel-good warmth that we wish would never come to an end, before Atlance shows what he would ‘Do For Love’ on a synth-bending, playful cut of coastal house music.

‘After The Storm’ maintains its housey aesthetic, but this time on an electro-tipped 2-step; instantly recognisable vocal samples, dreamscape aesthetics and meditative breaks uniting on a blissed-out trip.

Repress incoming...

Far Out Recordings proudly presents Milton Nascimento's Maria Maria. Recorded in 1974 and unreleased until almost thirty years later, the album was written as the soundtrack to a ballet which dealt with the legacy of slavery in Brazil. Raw, atmospheric and emotionally charged, Maria Maria reveals one of Brazil's greatest ever songwriters at his creative peak. Featuring an all-star cast of fellow Brazilian legends including Nana Vasconcelos, Joao Donato, Paulinho Jobim, and members of Som Imaginario, Maria Maria holds what Milton considers to be the definitive versions of some of his classic songs, including 'Os Escravos De Jó' and 'Maria Maria'.

Originally released in 2003 as a double CD package, with Milton Nascimento's 1984 follow up ballet soundtrack Ultimo Trem, Maria Maria will be available on vinyl for the very first time from December 2019, with Ultimo Trem set for vinyl release early 2020.

Milton Nascimento possesses one of the most immediately recognizable voices in Brazilian music: high and sweet and as breathtakingly sublime as that of any soul singer. It was this voice that the legendary Brazilian singer Elis Regina fell in love with back in 1964, having heard Milton perform his song 'Canção do Sal (Sultry Song)' at a private party in Sao Paulo. Ellis went on to record the song in 1967 -giving Milton his first hit in Brazil and beginning a career that has spanned over 50 years.

Born in Rio on the 26th October 1942, Milton moved with his adoptive parents at the age of 18 months to Tres Pontas, a rural town in the state of Minas Gerais, 500 miles north of Rio. He began his musical career as a young teenager, singing in a crooner style he learnt from listening to Brazilian singers and US groups such as The Platters on the radio. Hungry for more opportunities to perform, Milton moved to Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, at the age of twenty. By the beginning of the 60s Milton had made a name for himself both as an accomplished singer and guitarist.

Milton became part of a local network of musicians, film makers, dancers, theatre directors and writers that included the journalist and song writer Fernando Brant as well as lyricist Marcio Borges and his younger brother Lo Borges. Together these four wrote and produced what would become Milton's milestone album, 'Clube da Esquina (Club on the Corner)'. The originality of 'Club da Esquina' shaped the local scene, and it reflects the essence of 'the Nascimento Sound'. Milton's religious upbringing as an Afro-Brazilian Catholic saw him exposed to church choral music from an early age. His love of this genre of music is apparent in both his celestial falsetto and vocal choral arrangements. This collection also displays his early fascination with evocative, non-verbal, scat-style singing, spare, harmonic guitar work and local folk music, jazz and rock.

In 1976, Milton and Fernando Brant teamed up with a new contemporary dance company called Grupo Corpo, whose Argentinian choreographer Oscar Araiz, would become a collaborator with the two musicians. Together, they conceived a show based on the composite life story of the daughter of a black slave called Maria. Nascimento wrote music to Brant's lyrics and "Maria Maria" was premiered in the main theatre of the Belo Horizonte Palacio das Artes that year. "Fernando wrote the lyrics for the ballet, but there were originally no lyrics for the theme song, "Maria Maria'". Milton and Fernando worked on the lyrics together, basing them on folk stories about black women of the countryside. Adds Milton "These memories are mostly things that we witnessed – Fernando and I – rather than what we experienced ourselves.

Milton's music is impressionistic, emotional and romantic. Relying on songs without lyrics as well as evocative vocalizing and choruses, Milton experimented heavily with Afro-Brazilian percussion and taped jungle sounds. His composing method for these recordings was highly unconventional: "I wrote the music for 'Maria Maria' in a tiny Rio apartment with friends and their kids running around and having fun! I love to be in noisy places, surrounded by people", he says.
The music on 'Maria Maria' was performed by an impressive group of young musicians who are today household names in Brazilian music, including Naná Vasconcelos (percussion and effects), Toninho Horta (guitars) and Paulo Moura (sax). Several vocalist including Naná Caymmi, Fafá de Belém, Beto Guedes, and Milton himself, had hits in years to come with reworkings of these songs.

Milton says his compositions follow his visions "like a movie", and he believes that reflects his long love affair with cinema. "I only began composing because of enjoying the movies so much," he says. "I wrote my first song "Peace for the Coming Love" after seeing 'Jules et Jim' (the cult 60s French film directed by François Truffaut), with my friend Marcio Borges. We went early in the morning and watched it four or five times in a row, then went to Márcio's home and wrote the song."

The songs also include solo spoken passages set to music, clearly influenced by this style of French art cinema. On the title track, Maria's story is narrated and translated to music through the use of African Percussion, drums and metal signifying the field slave tools of the day. 'Trabalhos (Works)' runs to work rhythms and whipcracks: no words, just pain. 'Lília' documents the beating of the slave woman. After 'A Chamada (The call)' and the triumphant 'Era Rei e Sou Escravo (I was a king now I am a slave' things begin to turn and Milton employs tropical jungle cries to symbolize freedom. 'Santos Catholicos x Candomble (Catholic Saints vs Candomble)' represents the battle between African and European religions through the music of both sides. Milton's heavenly falsetto pours into 'Francisco' and 'Pai Grande (Great Father)' and the outstanding 'Eu Sou Uma Preta Velha Aqui Sentada no Sol (I'm an old black lady, sitting under the sun)' conjures images of an old woman sitting deep in the forest, her memories painted in drums, piano and voices.

In Love With a Ghost is back with a new Vinyl, Gay Story. Maybe it's time to get cute, to feel childish. In that moment, when you can drink iced tea for breakfast. The iconic sounds of In Love with a Ghost lay smoothly over layers of synthesizers throughout the album, making for an easy and endless listen.

Midwest techno titan DJ Speedsick debuts on TITDM with five monstrous cuts, permeating with grunge flavored grooves and hypnotic rhythms - including a bonus digi track on 'Midwest Death Trance EP'.

Opener 'Spun 21' sets the tone for the record, wasting no time in getting started. The track's rolling basslines stretch out underneath deep, weighty percussion, in a pumping club track with both warm and driving qualities. The US based artist continues his quest of making the most relentless and uncompromising techno in 'Low Places' before 'Tital Therapy' enters the frame with its louring kick drums, interwoven amongst a backdrop of industrial, dystopian unrest.

B side opener 'Exact Change' is minimal in its approach, but no less effective; proving that sometimes all we need is a hammering kick drum, killer rides and understated bass notes to make people lose their minds. The record comes to a close with the heads down grooves of 'Your Turn To Fall' a seductive piece, teasing and taunting; before the digi only 'Glad To Get Away' keeps bodies moving as the club shuts and the after party begins.

Fabric resident Anna Wall and production partner Corbi link up again for the first time since their debut EP 'DATs In The Attic' dropped on Ritual Poison in 2019. Between then, Anna has gone on to release music on her own label Dream Theory and turned in a gorgeous deep cut for music platform 22 tracks' final send off before closing. Corbi has been no stranger to production either, heading up important label Fina records and releasing stand-out EPs on Rough Recordings & Kouncil Cuts.

The pairing bring their newfound knowledge to LTWHT, shape shifting between colorful displays of breakbeat and melodic perfume. Ahead of the release, Anna & Corbi spoke of their love of digging into the past, delving into old techno and rave records and inspired by artists like LFO. While the influences are apparent their sound remains unique, contemporary and flourishing with personality.

Title track 'Persistence' opens with choppy breakbeats and deep subs, adding extra depth and weight; providing the perfect base for the record's shimmering synth lines. 'Consciousness' then conjures wide-eyed atmospherics, joining hands with a soothing, deep bassline and diamond shaped arpeggio. 'I'm just changing consciousness' is gently spoken as the track ebbs and flows across the oceans moon-lit surface.

Subtly euphoric and inherently introspective, B side opener 'Take A Moment' shows a developing side to the pair's growing sonic palette. Early trance meets breakbeat, in an emotive display of otherworldly electronics and primordial whispers. The tracks bassline and lead add an extra layer of playfulness, turning the track from a cerebral workout to a blissful dance around an open flame. The record comes to a close with 'Regardless' an acid inspired dream that unfolds amongst a backdrop of clouded pads and intoxicating patterns.

Kaiju is the floor-shaking, speaker-knocking new album from Canibus, one of hip-hop’s greatest lyricists who continues to push himself as an artist. It also serves as his first solo release since 2015’s excellent Time Flys, Life Dies... Phoenix Rise, which was produced entirely by Bronze Nazareth. It’s only fitting, then, that ‘Bus would once again work with only one producer for this project, which finds him spitting mind-melting bars over beats from Oxnard, CA beatsmith/rapper Body Bag Ben.

The 11 tracks on Kaiju strike a balance between personal experiences and striking grandiosity that ‘Bus expertly crafts with his pen. They also all boast the rewind-worthy lyrics you’d want from one of the genre’s most creative and truly timeless talents. You can hear this immediately on the opening track, “Curmudgeon,” where he spits raw bars with his signature growl over BBB’s monstrous production. That vibe carries on throughout the record, from the snarling, DMX-assisted “Entameta (Remix)” through to the hip-hop epic of “Verzuz.”

This is truly Canibus at his best, blending surrealist wordplay and turns-of-phrase with sharp, witty commentary about the state of the world today. Even better, he’s backed by some of BBB’s best production to date, which rumbles and stomps as much as it sounds like it’s covered in a thick layer of grime. It’s much like the inspiration for the album’s title—a giant monster (kaiju, in Japanese) like Godzilla rising from a slumber, ready to wreak havoc on his opponents.

Vintage Sounnds Collection is back with a new volume. This time, let's get some Mambo in your ears! Remastered titles of the finest classics of the genre including Perez Prado, Tito Rivera and Tito Puente.

The multi-instrumentalist duo that comprises Hermitude - Luke Dubber
(aka Luke Dubs) and Angus Stuart (aka El Gusto) - were in Japan when
Covid became a stark reality
Just making it back to Australia before the borders closed, they quietly slipped up
to Angus' place just outside of the Blue Mountain town of Blackheath as the rest
of the world went into meltdown.
The two holed up together in Angus' childhood home with a pared- back music
setup and began a process that was all about taking back control over how and
why they make music as Hermitude. As Luke says, "they say the artist is your
inner child, so it was like the children were out at play. There were no rules or
expectations; we just threw stuff at the wall. It was really fun, which is why we
started making music in the first place." A year and a half later, Mirror Mountain
was finished.
The album acts as a reawakening, a place to draw strength as time goes by..

Cardiff alternative rock duo James and the Cold Gun are pleased to announce the details of their debut EP False Start, set for release on April 29th 2022 through Gallows' label Venn Records and Seattle-based label Loosegroove Records, owned by Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) & Regan Hagar (Malfunkshun, Brad, Satchel). False Start is available to digitally pre-order now, with a vinyl release scheduled for the summer: https://orcd.co/falsestartep Speaking of the new partnership between the band and Loosegroove Records, the influential indie label that was founded back in 1994, which has issued records from acts such as Critters Buggin, Malfunkshun, Weapon of Choice and Devilhead, and was the launching point for Queens of the Stone Age’s debut album in 1998, Stone Gossard said: “I heard James and The Cold Gun’s ‘Long Way Home’ on KEXP last year and thought this band fricken rocks! Who are these upstarts?! "This new track, ‘It's Mutual’ takes it to another level. Totally unhinged and letting it all hang out. Loosegroove Records is thrilled to be working with James and the Cold Gun on this new EP with a future full-length coming soon.” On 'It's Mutual', James Joseph said: "It's a song that embodies the feeling that you get when you hit a stalemate in a relationship, that feeling when you're both sat together but neither person is able to speak. We've all had those awkward silent car journeys where there has been an argument or something isn't right but we can't even chat about it. Next time you have an awkward car journey, grab the aux and chuck some Cold Gun on." James Biss adds, "We wrote these songs for False Start in our flat in 2020 during the pandemic and our first time playing them live as a band was to record them. It was pretty mad recording live around our drummer, hearing the songs played loud with real drums for the first time after months of being stuck inside writing them on the computer. Recording with Adrian Bushby was a dream though, he was bopping around the control room and egging us on to play louder and harder, he's technically the first person we ever played in front of." Taken from the EP, lead single 'It's Mutual' is out now: https://orcd.co/itsmutual The band have rapidly been building support from some of rock’s most respected taste-makers, including Kerrang! Magazine, Rock Sound, Punktastic, Dead Press, Running Punks, BBC Introducing Wales, Deezer’s Hot New Rock playlist, Triple J’s Short Fast Loud, Apple Music’s New In Rock, Beez at Mosh Talks on Twitch, Alex Baker at Kerrang! Radio, John Kennedy at Radio X, and Daniel P Carter on the BBC Radio One Rock Show.

Soul icon Otis Redding made immeasurable contributions to the form. As a singer-

songwriter, producer, arranger and talent scout, Redding was responsible for some of the

music’s biggest and most lasting hits during the 1960s, though his death in an airplane crash

in 1967 brought his life and career to a tragically premature end. He was born Otis Redding

Junior in 1941 in the small town of Dawson, Georgia, the son of a sharecropper and preacher,

and moved to the city of Macon at the age of two, where he learned to sing at the Vineville

Baptist Church. After singing in the high school band, he performed weekly gospel songs on

radio station WIBB, winning local talent contests after being inspired by Little Richard and

Sam Cooke. Since his father became ill with tuberculosis, Redding began supporting the

family at the age of 15, working as a gas station attendant, a digger of water wells, and

occasionally by playing piano with pianist Gladys Williams at the Hillview Springs Social

Club. Then, in 1958, Redding had a repeat prize run at a talent contest held by broadcaster

Hamp Swain, bringing him first into a group called Pat T Cake and the Mighty Panthers, and

later into Little Richard’s band (during a time when Richard switched rock and roll for

gospel). Moving to Los Angeles in late 1960, debut single “She’s All Right” was issued on

the Trans World label (a subsidiary of Al Kavelin’s Lute Records), credited to The Shooters

featuring Otis; following the birth of their first child and his subsequent marriage to Zelma

Atwood, Redding recorded the popular “Shout Bamalam” for Macon’s Confederate Records

(who swiftly reissued it on the Orbit label since some radio stations objected to the original

label’s confederate flag logo, during a time of terrible racial segregation in the South).

Redding cut the movingly emotive “These Arms Of Mine” at Stax studios in Memphis in

1962, backed by Booker T and the MGs, which surfaced on the subsidiary Volt label in

October, reaching the charts some six months later (and eventually selling a reported 800,000

copies). Subsequent singles “What My Heart Needs” and “Pain In My Heart”/“Something Is

Worrying Me,” recorded in September 1963, formed the bulk of debut album, Pain In My

Heart, which was padded out by standard cover tunes of songs such as “I Need Your Lovin’,”

Ben E King’s “Stand By Me” and Little Richard’s “Lucille.” The album, which surfaced at

the start of 1964, reached the top 20 of the US R&B chart and also hit the Billboard Hot 100;

this edition has an alternate track listing that includes the Trans World debut single tracks

“She’s All Right” and “Getting’ Hip,” as well as “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” the B-side to

“That’s What My Heart Needs.” Carefully remastered, spinning at 45 rpm for enhanced qudio quality.

Oslo-based American-Norwegian trio Buster Sledge releases their first
studio album Call Home in May 2022, following up on their self-recorded
and self-released debut Spirit (2020)
Fiddle, banjo, guitar and three voices are the vehicle for lyrical storytelling against
an orchestral background anchored in the acoustic music traditions of the United
States. Hailing from northern California, lead vocalist and songwriter Michael
Barrett Donovan mixes themes from personal experience with folk and country
music archetypes to breathe new life into time-tested song structures. Banjoist
Mikael Jonassen and guitarist Jakob Folke Ossum both share a thorough
appreciation for the fundamentals of bluegrass music, clear melodies and
harmony- singing through the lens of being trained jazz musicians. In eleven
tracks, Call Home tips its hat to artists such as Norman Blake, The Punch
Brothers, Tim O'Brien and John Hartford. Buster Sledge was the first group to
record in the recently relocated Globus Studio of Sjur Lyseid (Little Hands of
Asphalt) and his influence from behind the mixing board pushed the band into a
slightly-augmented acoustic sound with more streamlined arrangements which is
a suiting duet with the album art by William Hay that realizes a scene of a rider
overlooking a large river-valley in impressionistic swaths of color.
Banjoist Mikael Jonassen, from Bodo in the far north, is Norway's first and only
higher-education certified banjo player. Despite beginning with an electric banjo
and playing exclusively fusion jazz, Jonassen currently focuses his efforts on
Scrugg's style acoustic banjo and the playing of Bela Fleck and has taken several
trips to the US to learn from the masters. Jakob Folke Ossum, jazz- guitarist
turned flat- picking aficionado, discovered the sound of acoustic flat- picking
through Tony Rice and Bryan Sutton and meticulously taught himself from
records and videos. Fiddler Michael Barrett Donovan made a living as a musician
in New York City doing a master's in classical composition while touring with a
Grateful Dead tribute band. The three met in a comment section on a bluegrass
forum after Donovan moved to Norway in 2019. The rest of the story you'll have
to ask them at a show sometime. Buster Sledge has been on stage in many small
venues in southern Norway, don't miss them the next time they come to town!

MY DYING BRIDE'S CLASSIC 1996 SHOW FROM KRAKOW, POLAND, FOR
A NIGHT OF DOOM METAL MAGIC
PRESENTED ON DOUBLE GATEFOLD VINYL, & ON THE VINYL FORMAT FOR THE
FIRST TIME.My Dying Bride has been the leading light of doom metal since the
debut album 'As The Flower Withers' was released on Peaceville Records back in
1992. Influenced by acts such as Celtic Frost & Candlemass, the British band's
heavy atmospherics have carved a huge worldwide following over the years to
stand as one of the true enduring & distinguishable pillars of the genre. 'For
Darkest Eyes' contains the band's iconic 1996 performance from Krakow, Poland,
featuring numerous classic doom anthems from the early career of the UK Metal
Gods. The show was recorded as the band was riding a wave of popularity due to
their recent breakthrough third album, 'The Angel & the Dark River' (plus their tour
with British metal legends Iron Maiden in the winter of 1995), showcasing several
tracks from that release such as 'The Cry of Mankind' & 'Your Shameful Heaven',
as well as renditions of other established numbers such as 'The Crown of
Sympathy' & 'The Forever People'.
This edition of 'For Darkest Eyes' is presented on double gatefold vinyl & first time
on the vinyl format & contains cover artwork adapted from the original video tape
release.

This limited reissue of Arjen Lucassen’s (of Ayreon fame) second solo album from 2012 comes in a gatefold jacket and features the original booklet. The story of “Lost in the New Real” follows Mr. L, a twenty-first century man who was cryopreserved at the moment of clinical death from a terminal disease. The album begins as Mr. L is being revived at a point in the distant future, when technology has advanced enough to cure his disease. Mr L finds himself in a world that has drastically changed — to the point that the line between what’s real and what’s not is no longer clear. Arjen Lucassen as “Mr. L” Vocals, instruments, music, lyrics Rutger Hauer as “Dr. Voight-Kampff” Instrumentalists Arjen lucassen: all instruments, with the exception of those listed below Wilmer Waarbroek: backing vocals Ed Warby: drums Rob Snijders: drums Ben Mathot:violin Maaike Peterse: cello Jeroen Goossens: flute Elvya Dulcimer: Hammered dulcimer on “Battle of Evermore”

The notorious Glasgow producer, Fear-E is back on Hilltown Disco, after originally appearing on the Dundee imprint in 2019, this time with 4 tracks of techno-infused electro, plus a dance-floor geared remix on the A-side from one of the original Hilltown Disco collectives, J Wax. Fear-E runs wild, broadcasting apocalyptical electro sounds, creating a seriously heavy-duty record to soundtrack the end of society in worlds not too dissimilar to earth. Punchy kicks, disturbing vocals from the mystical Mike James, and venomous sirens create a fresh take on the sound. No nonsense electro. It's all in the game yo!

亂 (luan) is the latest release from LA based producer/DJ Mix Match Emperor who weaves powerful soundscapes with an amalgamation of field recordings, obscure samples and original music compositions that combine to form a cohesive work of sound art that stays true to its name, translated to “Chaos”.
The combination of jazz samples and lo-fi mixing techniques create a cocktail that in parts resembles vaporwave whilst regularly pulling away from any genre formulation with sharp cuts into noise and then back through electronic rhythms reminiscent of Autechre.

Although listeners can often be tempted to pick out their favourite tracks, this record is definitely designed to be listened to in its entirety, as it takes you on a journey through varying phases that nod to both Steve Reich & the late Sam Mehran simultaneously.

The album is the leadoff release under the Strictly Frisky label with a limited cassette run available here for the first time.

Green Vinyl Edition - PNFG is frustrated but delighted to bring you a half
of a double treat from The Bathers!In 2022 we aimed bring you the debut
album "Unusual Places To Die" on vinyl and cd - some 35 years after it's
initial release on Go Discs
Accompanying this remastered album we also intended to produce "More
Unusual Places To Die" an 8 track EP featuring early recordings, providing an
incredible insight into the mind and music of Chris Thomson.Both records and
CDs were to be remastered by fellow "Friend Again" Paul McGeechan.
Sadly due to insane problems obtaining licensing contracts from Island Records
via Universal Music, we have taken the decision to make some changes to the
project.The 8 track Mini LP is now a fully-fledged album featuring 12 tracks (14
on CD) Some new never before released tracks, fully remastered and some
alternative versions of previously available tracks. This album is now entitled -
Summer Lightning.

Winston 'Niney' Holmes AKA The Observer, must be one of Reggaes finest Roots Rebel producers. Capable of making some of the heaviest, innovative music, not only in sound but also in the Cultural/Political sense.
Born George Boswell, Montego Bay, Jamaica 1951, and name checked 'Niney' due to losing a thumb in a workshop accident. He began his career in music by organising bands to play at school dances. But his first steps learning the musical ropes came working under the tutelage of producer Bunny Lee around 1967, organising sessions for Bunny's stable of artists. He moved on to work alongside Lee Perry at Joe Gibb's 'Amalgamated' label setup, where on Lee Perry's leaving in 1969 to start his own 'Upsetter' label, Niney became chief engineer.
Inspired by Perry's success it wasn't long before his own 'Destroyer' label was under way. It was 1970, and his first production entitled 'Mr Brown' by DJ's Dennis Alcapone and Lizzy, proved to be a minor hit, but his own 'Blood and Fire' track released in December of that year would become a major hit. After initial problems with it's likeness to Bob Marley's track ' Duppy Conqueror' being ironed out, it's reissue on his now named 'Observer' label, saw it go on to become, Jamaican Record of the Year 1971. Far out selling Bob Marley's track to the tune of 30,000 copies in Jamaica alone. A roots classic...
Niney's reputation for building great roots tracks, was furthered with more success working with singer Max Romeo. Issuing cuts such as 'Beard Man Feast', the great 'Reggae Matic' and 'Aily Ailaloo' and renewing his friendship with Lee Perry on the track 'Rasta Band Wagon', who's production credit read Perry, Niney, Maxie. In 1973, Niney began working with Dennis Brown, who was already an established star from an early age, they found a chemistry that went on to produce some of Dennis' finest work. The 1973 hit 'Westbound Train' was followed in 1974 by 'Cassandra', 'I am the Conqueror' and the timeless 'No More Shall I rOam'. Another important connection around this time was the great King Tubby who Niney would take his tapes along to and even record some of his tracks at Tubby's house, 18 Drummlie Avenue, Kingston, which doubles as his Studio of Dub.
It's these tracks that we are concentrating on here. Tubby would strip the tracks back to the bone and rebuild then sometimes leaving off the hook line. Whether that be the horn line or keyboard line and adding effects over the top that could disguise the cut even more. Even Niney stating that when Tubby had finished with a cut, he found it hard to recognise the track himself. Its these tracks as dub plate specials that Tubby would play on his Hometown HI-FI Sound System and it's these such tracks that we have compiled for this release. Dub Plated that have not seen the light of day since tragically the great Osborne Ruddock AKA King Tubby was gunned won and murdered on the 06th December 1989. For a few dollars and a gold chain, reggae music has lost one of it's most creative, inventive forces.

Niney also cut tracks with many other Reggae giants such as Gregory Issacs, Michael Rose, Junior Delgado, Horace Andy and Delroy Wilson to name but a few. As in house producer at the legendry Channel Studios and supervising sessions at Dynamic and Randy's Studio 17, his magic touched many. DJ, Arranger, Producer, his Roots Rebel music still stands the test of time.
Hope you enjoy the set.....

Perhaps the best Soul / Funk LP Athens of the North has ever released and you know we have high standards, not one filler and mostly unreleased tracks – Essential LP

The Up Tights were formed by Henry Bradley in Forrest City, Arkansas in March of 1967 while most of the band members were attending Lincoln High School.They took their name from the Stevie Wonder song "Uptight - Everything's Alright." Playing at school functions, they quickly branched out to playing bigger shows and headlined the 1968 St. Francis County Fair in Forrest City.

The Up Tights first recorded for Action Records in Memphis as Noble and the Up Tights. The 45 featured an original song by singer, Izear "Ike" Noble Jr. titled "Don't Worry About It."

Henry Bradley was drafted into Vietnam in 1968. He served in the 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. While he was away, the Up Tights continued with Henry's brother, Arthur, taking over all the guitar duties. The band also hired a manager named John Mitchell. In 1968, the band met Joe Lee, who owned Variety recording studio in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

For the band's first recordings at Variety, Lee chose two originals by Noble titled "Look a Little Higher" and an updated version of "Just a Dream" which Lee released on his Alley Records label in 1968. Lee continued to record the band over the next several months. He liked to experiment in the studio and produced many versions of the group's original songs, adjusting the mix and adding elements to each unique take.

For the group's second Alley release, they appeared simply as Ike Noble on the record label. Lee brought in a local songwriter named Charles "Jamie" Holmes, who had previously written for Alley records and Joe Keene's studio in Kennett, Missouri

The resulting 45 from this collaboration was "It's Bad" backed with "That's What I Get," two Holmes originals. Another Holmes original was unreleased at the time, but available here titled "There's Gonna Be a Better Day Coming." Stax Records was interested in signing the group and wanted to re-cut "It's Bad" at their studio, but ultimately the label passed since they generally had a policy of working with Memphis based groups.

As the band grew in popularity, they began appearing with and competing with Memphis legends, the Bar-Kays. The group's biggest show in Arkansas was an opening slot at Barton Coliseum, one of the largest venues in the state, in Little Rock in mid-1969. As a result, the band was offered a spot on George Klein's "Talent Party" television show on WHBQ in Memphis in July of 1969..... Further Sleeve notes on back of the LP

CLEAR VINYL 2XLP SET IN GATEFOLD SLEEVE

First time on vinyl. Originally released as a CD only album on Riot Season back in 2008 and out of print ever since. Fourteen years later it's finally getting the double vinyl release it fully deserves.
Now expanded, and with new artwork 'Pink Lady Lemonade - You're From Outer Space' really could be Acid Mothers Temple’s first 'summer album'.
Here, Acid Mothers Temple's most representative song 'Pink Lady Lemonade' is dismantled and reconstructed as a blissful ecstatic psychedelic trip where chaos and silence intersect.
These were the first Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno studio recordings since the addition of Pikachu, drummer and vocalist with Osaka grenade-girl duo Afrirampo. The popular AMT standard "Pink Lady Lemonade" showcases a 21st century acid rock update on the 60s San Francisco psychedelic sound.
This one doesn't reach in the red status often - it’s a more out-there trippy ride. But when it does finally soar, Kawabata's guitar has never sounded more alive.
"Pink Lady Lemonade, You're soooooooooo sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!"
Acid Mothers Temple & The Cosmic Inferno :Pikacyu : drums, voice, cosmic shaman Tabata Mitsuru : bass, voice, malatab Higashi Hiroshi : synthesizer, dancin'king Shimura Koji : drums, latino cool Kawabata Makoto : guitar, voice, electronics, speed guru Audrey Ginestet : voice, cosmos

In a genre belonging to crooners like Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, James Brown and Otis Redding, authenticity is a requirement.
Enter Anduze, a unique vocalis whose riffs evoke the retro sounds of the aforementioned artists, but reverently done his way
– a fresh brand, re-imagines and crefted into a modern depiction of the era.

Anduze was raised on his father’s native land of St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. His distinctive upbringing still lines the
threading of his creative fabric, which continues to expand into all corners of taday’s musical landscape.

It’s been over a decade since Anduze last released a full album. A lot has changed and progressed since then. He left behind the LA/Hollywood nights in exchange for a better quality of life in Athens, Greece. Also, during this span, he’s been a multi-featured artist on collaborations with producers such as Satin Jackets, Art of Tones, LTJ Xperience, Gramatik, and more…

However, his most noteworthy ascent is as lead singer (and songwriter) of Austrian act, Parov Stelar, with whom he tours
worldwide. Still, with all his accomplishments within the electronic world, it was time for Anduze to get back to his own sound – SOUL.

Using the pandemic as an opportunity, instead of a crutch, Anduze recorded “Aura,” a nine-song album that blurs the lines of
soul, funk, pop, folk, and R&B, with 20 contributing musicians.
If you like Prince, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Lenny Kravitz, Terence Trent D’arby etc…this album takes influences from
all their best moments and combines them into one mighty explosion that is simply, ANDUZE.
These days he is also living the new life of his song in collaboration with LTJ Xperience entitled Bad Side which has been
included in the new game update for Play Station GTA 'Los Santos' starring the DJ producer Moodyman and in the soundtrack of the new series And Just Like That, a popular follow-up to Sex And The City, which aired worldwide.

Höga Nord Rekords kindly welcomes Teecwa back to the label, following up his last full length-album “Beyond the Altai” with “Elysian on Moon Lake”. He is still exploring the intersections between house, electro, techno and dub and once again he manages to harness the analogue electronics in his machines to produce modern psychedelia.

“Elysian On Moon Lake” is rawer, less airy and not as sparkling as his last album. This is a tighter, and slightly darker experience than Teecwa’s previous work, maybe caused by being in quarantine for extensive time during production, letting some of the dreaminess aside for the harsher reality in a pandemic world. Still, you get a mind-altering experience in a lot of tracks since the album starts off in a lighter tone than how it later develops. Switching from the A- to the B-side works as a rite of passage going from dusk to night; the sun rays through the blinders are replaced by neon light dancing on the walls and ceiling.

Regarding the dramaturgy of “Elysian On Moon Lake”, this album has movielike qualities; a well-directed piece from the opening impact and setup through the confrontational part where intensity builds up to the climax in “Hythmdoser” to the cooling down effect of the peaceful closer “Celestial Trails”. The trip eventually ends up in a safe and happy place after the cathartic finale.

This is not a just collection of songs, this is an album made to experience in full length without interruptions.

LGR015 sees Locked Groove teaming up with Gacha Bakradze for “3 Variations Sur Un Thème”.

After linking up online in 2020, Gacha and Tim decided to join forces and make something they believe is truly special.

Gacha Bakradze hails from Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi. He has deservedly earned plaudits after releases on Apollo, Cin Cin, Die Orakel, Fever AM and Lapsus. Gacha regularly redefines his musical ideology; always bestowing it with mood based authenticity and excitement through rhythms and harmonies.

Just like Locked Groove, his musical output is diverse and always evolving, which makes them great collaborators.

Like the EP title suggests, the 3 tracks are loosely based on the same theme but explore different sonic landscapes.

Variation 1 opens the EP with skittish percussion and melodies weaving in and out. Variation 2 pushes the tempo to 150+ BPM with synth sounds reminiscing of rave years gone by. Variation 3 dials things back and provides a more subdued yet euphoric addition to the EP.

For the remix they’ve enlisted Deniro. The Dutch producer, known for his precise use of melody and rhythm delivers a soulful and timeless rendition of Variation 1.

The EP is due 10 June on all digital platforms and will also be available on vinyl from 20th May.

Artwork by Ollie George with photos by Locked Groove.

Dove Award-nominated band We Are Messengers, who has amassed over
187 million on-demand streams and played to over 2 million people
worldwide, is back with the brand-new album, 'Wholehearted', which
features current radio single "Come What May
" Lead singer Darren Mulligan shares, "Like most artists, our world kinda fell apart
when touring got shut down. So we did what every good songwriter should do, we
catalogued every feeing imaginable and tried to make sense of a strange new
world. We danced in the darkness, wrestled with doubt, reconnected with God in a
really authentic way, and found the beauty in the forced simplicity of our lives. We
gave ourselves fully to the process of telling the truth again and not caring about
what the world thought of us. This album captures the heart of a follower of
Jesus in one of the most wonderful and horrific times we have faced in modern
history. We went all in, held nothing back. This one is 'Wholehearted'."

On Origin , celebrated pianist, bandleader, and three-time Grammy
nominee Joey Alexander has written the next chapter of his career:
composer
His longstanding trio featuring Larry Grenadier and Kendrick Scott is the
backbone of his creative freedom, with Chris Potter (a previous collaborator) and
Gilad Hekselman joining the fray to bring to life the spectacular vision of
Alexander's first full length release of all original music and debut with Mack
Avenue Records.Over the course of his astonishing career, Steinway Artist
Alexander has performed with Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding at the
Obama White House, for President Bill Clinton at the Arthur Ashe Learning Center
Gala, at the Grand Ole Opry, the Apollo Theater, Carnegie Hall and at major jazz
festivals and night clubs around the world. He has also been the subject of
profiles on 60 Minutes and The New York Times.
Joey Alexander, now 18, is stepping out as a composer and bandleader as well as
a virtuoso pianist. "These past years have been especially trying for everyone,
including those of us who didn't know when we would ever perform for live
audiences again," Alexander said. "Origin represents a turning point for me — the
time when I decided to turn frustration into an opportunity to truly express myself
and to rise above the circumstances."

Katy J Pearson shares details of her stunning new album,
‘Sound of the Morning’, released on Heavenly Recordings.

 Written and recorded in late 2021, Katy’s latest effort is coproduced by Ali Chant (Yard Act and the helm of Katy’s debut,
‘Return’) and Speedy Wunderground head-honcho Dan Carey
(Fontaines D.C.).

 Katy’s recent extracurricular activities have shown that she can
dip a toe into a multitude of genres - providing guest vocals on
Orlando Weeks’ recent album ‘Hop Up’; popping up with Yard
Act for a collaboration at End of the Road festival; singing on
trad-folk collective Broadside Hacks’ 2021 project ‘Songs
Without Authors’. ‘Sound of the Morning’ takes that spirit and
runs with it.

 ‘Sound of the Morning’ is an album that’s as comfortable
revelling in the more laid-back, Real Estate-esque melodies of
lead single ‘Talk Over Town’ - a track that attempts to make
sense of her recent experiences, of “being Katy from
Gloucester, but then being Katy J Pearson who’s this buzzy
new artist” - as it is basking in the American indie pop of ‘Float’,
penned with long-time pal Oliver Wilde of Pet Shimmers, or
experimenting with the buoyant brass of ‘Howl’, in which
Orlando repays the favour with a vocal guest spot.

 ‘Sound of the Morning’ is available on CD and on clear vinyl in
‘Tip on’ sleeve with folded poster insert and digital download
code. (Once the above vinyl format has sold out, a standard
black vinyl version - HVNLP204 - will be made available.)

 Katy heads out in September for a headline UK tour, before
which she plays a number of summer festivals across the
country.

 Tourdates - August 19 Green Man, 21 Beautiful Days Devon,
September 8 Trinity Bristol, 9 Cornish Bank Falmouth, 10 Cavern
Exeter, 11 Joiners Southampton, 13 Chalk Brighton, 14 Olby’s
Margate, 15 Electric Ballroom London, 17 Brudenell Social Club
Leeds, 18 The Cluny Newcastle, 20 Voodoo Rooms Edinburgh, 21
Mono Glasgow, 22 Gorilla Manchester, 24 Float Along Sheffield, 25
Rescue Rooms Nottingham, 27 Clwb Ifor Bach Cardiff, 28 Hare &
Hounds Birmingham, 30 The Bullingdon Oxford.

'Mellow Moon' is the debut album from Alfie Templeman - an album that
"feels like something of a miracle, landing somewhere between an
otherworldly trip and a joy-filled ode to life back on earth"
Like all journeys, the change in mood is palpable throughout Mellow Moon, with
songs like the nostalgic '3D Feelings' or 'Broken', which is about "all the little
wobbles of being a teen and figuring yourself out," that bristle with the energy of a
life being lived again.
There's nuance in there, too. Candyfloss suggests that life can sometimes appear
too good to be true, something Alfie has felt since was a kid. "There's always a
downside to the cool shit," he says. "Candyfloss is what it all appears to be until
you get deeper into it."
The result is an easily accessible comfort place. Across 14 tracks Alfie closes his
eyes and imagines another world, one where he's at ease and not distracted by
life's many challenges.
Inspired by modern influences like Steve Lacy, Khruangbin and Leon Bridges, as
well as Alfie's constant cosmic guide Todd Rundgren, Mellow Moon flows with an
ease that belies its difficult creation. "It's a moment in my life that I want to
remember forever. I've put so much effort into this and it's a real experience to
listen to."
Acting as both an intimate diary entry and a communal call to arms, Mellow
Moon is Alfie's most complete work to date and a platform from which he will
surely use to propel himself further into the stratosphere. If ever proof were
needed that music is a salvation or a transportative force, this is it.
Live sessions with Radio 1, Radio 2 and Virgin have now aired.
TV performances confirmed with Sunday Brunch (22 May) and Blue Peter (20
May), the week prior to album release (EMBARGOED!!!!!).
135M total global career streams

Available on vinyl for the first time since it's original CD-only release in 2007. Tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake had the closest of relationships, as close as a father and son might have. Their communication was at a higher level musically and emotionally. The music on this album reflects not only their masterful musical skills, but a conversation in music that is exceptionally powerful and unique. For From the River to the Ocean, they assembled a band consisting of fellow Chicagoans to record the most relaxed, perfectly balanced album they made together. It may seem hyperbolic to call From the River to the Ocean Fred Anderson's greatest album, but the empathy and cohesiveness of the ensemble, coupled with the saxophonist's brilliant, searching improvisations, makes it a powerful contender. From the River to the Ocean is an especially varied outing, ranging from Anderson's classic set-closing blues "Strut Time" to the meditative, spiritual, modal track "For Brother Thompson," dedicated to the late trumpeter Malachi Thompson and featuring bassist Harrison Bankhead on brooding piano and Drake chanting in Arabic. The record's title track and the closer, "Sakti/Shiva," find bassist Josh Abrams laying down an astounding bed on guimbri, the threestringed Moroccan acoustic bass familiar to fans of Gnawa music. Another of the album's delights is guitarist Jeff Parker, well known Jazz guitarist as well as member of Tortoise. Here, Parker displays an immense sensitivity and melodic genius, sharing solo spotlight with Bankhead's cello on "From the River to the Ocean" and sculpting a stunning array of shapes on the group's swinging take on Anderson's "Planet E." Underneath it all is Hamid Drake, an intensely creative soul continuing to challenge himself. Drake's growth is not measured in how many different instruments he plays - indeed, he's scaled back his arsenal over the years - but in the depth and musicality of his feeling. On this record he is remarkably light and airy, playing with tremendous delicacy and clarity. Propulsion can be introduced without a pneumatic drill, and Drake instigates an avalanche of rolling forward momentum on the opening moments, inspiring the two basses and guitarist to move, to make something moving, and in turn to further inspire Fred Anderson to some of his most forceful and imaginative playing ever documented. If the individual is a small receptacle of expressivity, a mountain spring if you will, then it is in ideal settings like this one that the springs join forces, turning into streams, then bigger and bigger tributaries, finally swelling into rivers that open into the oceanic creative waterways. Thank goodness Anderson and Drake tapped into that wellspring, drawing directly from the source

Available on vinyl for the first time since it's original CD-only release in 2007. Tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson and drummer Hamid Drake had the closest of relationships, as close as a father and son might have. Their communication was at a higher level musically and emotionally. The music on this album reflects not only their masterful musical skills, but a conversation in music that is exceptionally powerful and unique. For From the River to the Ocean, they assembled a band consisting of fellow Chicagoans to record the most relaxed, perfectly balanced album they made together. It may seem hyperbolic to call From the River to the Ocean Fred Anderson's greatest album, but the empathy and cohesiveness of the ensemble, coupled with the saxophonist's brilliant, searching improvisations, makes it a powerful contender. From the River to the Ocean is an especially varied outing, ranging from Anderson's classic set-closing blues "Strut Time" to the meditative, spiritual, modal track "For Brother Thompson," dedicated to the late trumpeter Malachi Thompson and featuring bassist Harrison Bankhead on brooding piano and Drake chanting in Arabic. The record's title track and the closer, "Sakti/Shiva," find bassist Josh Abrams laying down an astounding bed on guimbri, the threestringed Moroccan acoustic bass familiar to fans of Gnawa music. Another of the album's delights is guitarist Jeff Parker, well known Jazz guitarist as well as member of Tortoise. Here, Parker displays an immense sensitivity and melodic genius, sharing solo spotlight with Bankhead's cello on "From the River to the Ocean" and sculpting a stunning array of shapes on the group's swinging take on Anderson's "Planet E." Underneath it all is Hamid Drake, an intensely creative soul continuing to challenge himself. Drake's growth is not measured in how many different instruments he plays - indeed, he's scaled back his arsenal over the years - but in the depth and musicality of his feeling. On this record he is remarkably light and airy, playing with tremendous delicacy and clarity. Propulsion can be introduced without a pneumatic drill, and Drake instigates an avalanche of rolling forward momentum on the opening moments, inspiring the two basses and guitarist to move, to make something moving, and in turn to further inspire Fred Anderson to some of his most forceful and imaginative playing ever documented. If the individual is a small receptacle of expressivity, a mountain spring if you will, then it is in ideal settings like this one that the springs join forces, turning into streams, then bigger and bigger tributaries, finally swelling into rivers that open into the oceanic creative waterways. Thank goodness Anderson and Drake tapped into that wellspring, drawing directly from the source