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The French electro genius returns to New Flesh Records. Author of a remarkable "Moving Corridors" contribution on the mighty "Elektro Diktators Vol.1 - The French Dissidents" compilation (New Flesh 15) back in 2015, dynArec delivers today on Umwelt's imprint four raw and dystopian slaughters calibrated for maximum impact on the dancefloor.

The title track signs a no nonsense aquatic electro/techno tune a la Drexciya, tinted with melancholic strings and heading Speak n' Spell samples. Pure madness! Cyberpunk "Correlation" goes harder, offering a pounding 4/4 song enhanced by appealing vocoder lyrics and deep synth flights while syncopated "Influoncers" coming next focuses on a more robotic, experimental yet unhealthy approach. Final cut "Clean It Up" concludes the EP on a machine funk note characterised by insane female vocals, distorted chords, relentless bassline and futuristic touch throughout.

Magnetic and emotional, forward thinking "Disenchanted EP" alternates in a minute between very melodic moments and epic hard techno sequences. With roots from both Germany and Detroit, this electro masterpiece sees dynArec in full effect, showing his unique sense of the dancefloor thanks to an incredible use of bass, rhythm and pads that makes the tracks effective and advanced at the same!

Truly, the luscious, soulful new album from Manchester singer-songwriter Caoilfhionn Rose (pronounced Keelin) moves through a tapestry of curious musical inflections; nods towards folk, jazz, ambient, electronica and even a subtle influence of psychedelia, it never stands still to take a breath, despite its ethereal and delicate core. Out April 9th on Gondwana Records (Mammal Hands, Portico Quartet, Matthew Halsall, Hania Rani), in Truly, the young singer-songwriter has accomplished a body of work that is both sonically and lyrically wise beyond her years.

Co-produced by Kier Stewart of The Durutti Column following Rose's collaborative endeavours with them on their album Chronicle LX:XL, the musician's song writing draws from a diverse palette of influences, including Building Instrument, Rachel Sermanni, Alabaster dePlume and Broadcast. Rose also professes to a love for beautiful, stripped back, piano based music, such as Dustin O'Halloran and label mate Hania Rani.

Truly came to exist due to a deep-routed need to create – even though its conception was interrupted as Caoilfhionn Rose recovered in hospital from an illness, she found strength within writing music. "In Spring 2019 I took part in a gig swap with my good friend and fellow musician Kristian Harting who is from Denmark. We played several gigs in the UK but unfortunately the Denmark part of the tour was cut short as I was taken ill. I was hospitalised for several weeks and have taken the last year out to recover" says Rose. "I gradually returned to finishing my second album" she continues. "Coming back to creating after being unwell was challenging but also therapeutic. This record marks a difficult time of my life and writing it helped get me through that. I am really grateful to have music as an outlet." It may be this tremendously challenging period that has abetted its characterising qualities.

Rose's beautifully restrained vocal is all at once soothing yet mesmerising. She demands and holds attention through her evident talent yet hypnotises the listener into a trance with her experimental tendencies. "After being unwell, getting back to recording helped me recover my voice after not singing for so long. Finishing bits of songs, writing lyrics and recording vocals helped me get back on my feet and get better."

Lead single from the album – 'Flourish' – is an intoxicating song that meditates on being present in the moment, allowing peace to come to you. "The song 'Flourish' is about looking forwards with hope and possibility, 'let it flow away, let it turn around and flourish'. It's about finding peace and feeling wonder again" says Rose about the track. "'Flourish' hints at the ideas of what could be, how things can unfold if you let go 'and just be here'."

A message of hope is instilled throughout the record, echoed again in 'Fireflies', a song inspired by a campsite in France, which became filled with fireflies at night. "To me 'Fireflies' has a nostalgic and comforting feel. It's about feeling hopeful about the future 'though there may be dark clouds the sun will always come'. There are references to older lyrics I have written. The line 'free from all the chaos' is a nod to a song I collaborated on with The Durutti Column. The song is about acknowledging the past and moving on as 'time is always healing'."

A recurring theme of reflection and being grounded in the present, acknowledging the past and looking forwards with courage is one that envelopes 'Truly', and is something that is echoed in its beautiful swelling flourishes and its tranquillity – resonating with atmosphere, the album all at once sounds so large and yet so subdued. "The line on Every Waking Minute; 'we forget what lies behind the eyes' is about remembering that everyone has their own things going on and challenges to face but we should 'feel every waking minute', become aware of what's unfolding around us outside of our own stories. It's a self-reflective song really, reminding myself that 'life can take you bysurprise', there are going to be ups and downs along the way"

Elsewhere on the album, Rose explores the connection between nature and life on single To Me. "I love going on long walks and the healing power of nature is a recurring theme in a lot of my lyrics. I have a very optimistic outlook and I find solace in the small things like being outdoors."

Caoilfhionn's debut Awaken, co-produced with label mate Matthew Halsall, saw the singer, songwriter and producer tie together remnants of Manchester's musical past with its evolving present. Prior to this, the artist collaborated with one of her biggest musical influences, Vini Reilly of The Durutti Column. The musician worked with the Manchester band on four songs on their album Chronicle LX:XL. "I've learnt a lot from collaborating with musicians like Vini Reilly, Matthew Halsall and my bandmates" says Rose. "This is reflected in my current style and approach to making music. I no longer just write as a therapeutic or reflective process; I can write more abstractly and outwardly."

Kier Stewart of The Durutti Column co-produced her latest offering, Truly, following his band's collaborations with Rose. "I befriended Kier after we worked together. Collaborating with The Durutti Column was my first experience of recording music with other people in a studio." Together, the pair have created something expansive yet fragile – and altogether unique. "He's brought so much to this project" she says. "I feel Keir has brought out the best in the songs, adding really intricate and subtle details and effects. It was inspiring getting to work with Keir and I've learnt a lot from his approach of just experimenting and seeing what works."

Strut return to the rich archives of Black Fire Records for the Drum Message album by Ghanaian master percussionist Okyerema Asante from1977. After playing a short spell early in his career with Ebo Taylor's Blue Monksband at Tip Toe's in Accra, Asante joined the fledgling Hedzoleh Soundz during the early '70s at their Napoleon Club residency in the city. After playing Fela's Shrine, Fela recommended them to Hugh Masekela as an ideal backing band and Hedzoleh joined Masekela on a US tour in December 1973. Sharing the same management company, Charisma, Asante first met Plunky and Oneness Of Juju during an East coast tou rwith Masekela, starting a relationship with the band that has endured until today. Recorded at Arrest Studios in Washington D.C. in October 1977 and featuring musicians from Oneness alongside Gil Scott Heron cohort Brian Jackson on piano, Drum Message represents an important milestone fo rAsante: "This album really came from my heart. I wanted to project the African spirit in the music and come out with some unique African jazz. To be able to record it on Black Fire was extra special." The album also involved some serious physical graft: "The studio was up on the 14th Floor and the elevator was often broken down. I showed up with a van full of African drums and Jimmy Gray from Black Fire and myself had to carry them all the way up there, each day!" The resultant album was well worth the sweat. 'Adowa' adds jazz arrangements to a traditional Asante rhythm and Oneness classic 'FollowMe' is skilfully re-worked ("I used the bass drum in place of the bass guitar so it was all based on rhythms."). New versions of Asante dancefloor favourite 'Sabi' sit alongside the mellow groove of 'Asante Sana' ("I wantedsomething cool like reggae or highlife on that track, a similar vibe. So, Iwent inbetween.").

* In 1980 Gerald Moore - of G.T. Moore and the Reggae Guitars and Heron fame - was in Kingston, Jamaica working with Lee Perry on the `Return of Pipecock Jackxon’ LP. Gerald went into Harry J’s studio with James Lascelles (Global Village Trucking Company, The Breakfast Band) and Bud Beadle (Ginger Baker & Salt) alongside members of Zap Pow: Don Grant, Cornell Marshall and Dwight Pinkney.
* `Jerusalem’, a meditative and reflective track was one of four tunes recorded.
* Previously released on the `Harry J Sessions’ on Partial Records (PRTLLP001/CD001), this is the first time this cut of `Jerusalem’ appears on 45. Backed with a previously unreleased dub version, mixed by Dougie Wardrop direct from the master tapes.

No less than 12 months later arrives ‘Deep Blue View’ – not so much of a follow-up, as a mini-flipside moving the Jazz from AM to PM, between city and sea.
“I originally had AM Jazz down as walking around some New York backstreet at 4am, smoking in a fedora, looking for crimes to solve but it now ends as night begins,” reveals Al, of his latest tale’s gradual evolution. “Deep Blue View is the night-time album now… like losing yourself deeper in the fog, or disappearing in the sea… would someone, or some 'thing' come to save you or would they , or it , come along for the ride?”
Usually by now, Daveyhulme’s own could-be John Barry would have left distractions of success for suburban side-projects and writing with his fellow Mancunian musicians, but AM Jazz left unfinished business - and, with 50 or so session recordings leaving a litter of sonic debris strewn about the cutting room floor, one major clean-up. Deep Blue View is 6 brand new tracks crafted from its reconstructed and revived remnants, unfurling like Sinatra’s Wee Small Hours to reinforce the strangely beautiful atmosphere of Al’s now revered repertoire. “I had the urge to create something new and started playing around with different EPs and pseudonyms but when I sequenced these tracks, I was really happy how smoothly they flowed; it just needed an opener. I quickly wrote ‘Deep Blue View’ and it fell into place. It’s great, so I carried on, knowing it was time to save the best stuff for myself,” Al grins.
Just as AM Jazz was created in the spirit of his earlier working style on debut album Tower of Love, Deep Blue View fuses Al’s love of finding the ‘right’ in the odd, weird, back-to-front and everything in between, with the hi-fi meets lo-fi sounds of his crate-digging curiosity and empathy for TV themes and movie soundtracks. Guided by melody, his home-based sorcery of working with analog, tape and field recordings opposed to the lure of studio mechanics allowed his inner subconscious to tap at the door and reveal itself in new musical forms. “In the studio it’s tempting to turn everything up loud but I’ve got bad tinnitus and don’t want to write anything else in a Beatles style. I have done all that now… at home I have a computer, a microphone and just go crazy and lose myself staring at the screen. Then suddenly loads of music is written.”
Setting his inner autopilot to flight mode, ‘Peppergone’ adds to the tracks’ nocturnal narrative and appears reborn after a last-minute culling from AM Jazz’s initial tracklist. Like a beautifully romantic ode to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, it is a fitting tribute to dearly departed best friend 'Batfinks', written in the middle of a tough night. “I have no idea why or how the song came about because I was so upset to do anything, let alone record any music. But there you go. Somehow I did and it’s a really special thing. I know he would have dug me using his chords; growing up we’d both try to create the perfect chord sequence. This is his idea of that. I hope he doesn’t think it’s shit,” Al jests.
Also revived from AM Jazz’s archive is the simmering groove of ‘Night Talk Late Street’ and instrumental ‘Star Six Seven’, whilst ‘Have Another Cigar’ weaves its own semi-autobiographical fairy-tale with lyrics written and sung by long-time pal and former housemate Aidan Smith. Transformed from backing track into a cool morsel of story pop, it recalls the drunken joy of when the pair would make recordings together between singing the Everly Brothers at full volume. “I’m sure it’s about not wanting the musical party to stop and having to get on with real life,” Al says.
‘String Beat’ meanwhile, soars like a beautiful Bond theme with the shimmer of Lee Hazlewood holidaying in Palm Springs, alongside perhaps, the waltzing string-like synthonies of some long-lost rhythm and blues orchestra of Davyhulme (whose real-life origins reside with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra), introduced to him by Super Furry Animals’ Cian Ciaran. “I’ve never created anything this moody before and have always threatened to do something John Barry-esque with some slightly dark and spooky musical changes.”

SUB PLATES Vol 5!! - SUB PLATES is back and in the original format that made it such collectable item when it launched back in the day! 2 x 10 inch vinyl replicating the dubplate style acetates. And picking up from where it left off with Vol 5 like it's never been away!

First up is the return of Suburban Base recording artist Cool Hand Flex, who had music featured on the first generation SUBPLATES! The track here 'Get Down' is a piece of uncovered treasure that has been rediscovered having sat on DAT master in storage since around 1994 and never been released. Exclusively held on dubplate by Randell, Hype, and Flex himself, it is finally getting a release as part of this special package.

Next up we introduce brand new music from brand new Suburban Base recording artist Sound Shifter collaborating with the legend Marvellous Cain on the beautiful 'Light Source One', a rolling piece of DnB which manages to keep classic elements of production whilst at the same time delivering stunningly fresh Drum & Bass.

Subbase veterans Sophisticated Bad Boyz open record 2 with the DJ Phantasy VIP '94 Dubplate version of 'Feel The Magic', only held on Dub Plate by a very select few, and appeared only once on the D&B selection album 3 (The Dub Plate Selection) with very limited vinyl of that cut as 5 tracks per side, now for the first time ever you can get this stunningly remastered dubplate cut on a side all by itself sounding truly amazing.

Flipped with another much sought after classic dubplate special 'Intelone' by Asend was a Kool FM only VIP Dubplate around the time Asend aka Dead Dred hosted his show on the Midlands version of the infamous pirate radio station, it made only one appearance on a 1996 Kool FM dubplate special project and has been hard to find ever since. Remastered and sounding incredible!

4 amazing tracks on one highly collectible EP including unreleased tracks and limited dubplates, stunning value from SUBURBAN BASE RECORDS once again, in stock and ready to ship!

EXPANSION introduce a brand new series of 10” CLASSICS back to back with the
coolest CONTEMPORARY takes of the same track. First off is the 70s masterpiece by
the MIZELL BROTHERS, as originally recorded by the master of the Hammond organ,
JOHNNY HAMMOND in 1975 on FANTASY REORDS – a jazz funk, timeless ‘rare
groove’ previously only a single as a 7” edit but glorified here in it’s full 6 minutes. The
new version is by QUASIMODE, the hippest new jazz quartet from Japan, signed to
BLUE NOTE RECORDS. They have taken the jazz world by storm and have recorded a
version of “Los Conquistadores Chocolates” worthy of comparison to the original and
on vinyl here for the first time.

Releasing in September 2021, PNFG & LNFG are proud to bring you the
remastered “I’ve Seen Everything” from Scotland’s legendary band -
Trashcan Sinatras.
The album will be released in a number of vinyl formats, a deluxe CD (with 6
bonus B side tracks) will also be available.
On its release, Tim Harrison of the Ealing Leader described I’ve Seen Everything
as a “melodic, velvety concoction” with “a lot of subject matter” and “strong
echoes of The Housemartins”.
He concluded: “I’ve Seen Everything is an economic, restrained and sensitive
collection well worth listening to.”
The Irish Independent wrote: “Their debut was a fine beginning, but on its
successor they’ve hardened their approach and broadened the scope of their
songwriting. Whereas before they tended to sit back and admire their pretty
chord structures, they’re now audibly relishing the opportunity to get stuck in
to the material.
Brent Ainsworth of the Santa Cruz Sentinel felt the album was “abundant [with]
luscious, flowing pop”, with the “softer songs” being best.
David Mark of the Asbury Park Press commented: “Following up Cake would
be difficult, but I’ve Seen Everything is an equally interesting effort from a very
good group.
While Cake was a bouncy album, I’ve Seen Everything is a notch more somber.
The work, always interesting musically and lyrically, is something of a cross between The Beatles’ Rubber Soul and XTC’s Skylarking.

Dedicated to the sounds of Black & Brown musicians. Reviving and releasing unissued cuts from back in the day. Each release in direct collaboration with the creators & producers to retain a legacy for these almost forgotten tracks

LP
- Gold vinyl
- Gatefold with gold foil
- Download card with 34 tracks: remastered album, rarities and new remixes

- To celebrate twenty years since the release of Sugababes' iconic debut album 'One Touch', the band have a special anniversary edition of the album on the 1st October including rarities, demos and new remixes.
- In 2020 One Touch remains a blueprint for genre-hopping mainstream music and a byword for effortlessly stylish British pop. Original band line up (Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena and Siobhán Donaghy) back together to support this release
- New remixes by MNEK, Metronomy, Blood Orange and Majestic
- Featuring the hit singles 'Overload', 'Run For Cover' and 'Same Old Story'
- Remastered and expanded editions including unheard demos, rarities and classic/new remixes

“Is the juice worth the squeeze? Is the honey worth the bees? Is the trip
worth the risk? Is the rub worth the fleas?”
These are some of the big questions CHILDCARE find themselves pondering
at the top of their second album ‘Busy Busy People’. It’s a mantra that returns
later in the record but remains in the back of your brain throughout, a playful
enquiry into the purpose of our everyday activities that highlights the South
London-based group’s knack of marrying the surreal with the ordinary; soberly
tripping out during the big shop.
It’s something the group have been refining as part of their identity since their
genesis, when singer Ian Cares spent the time between school runs at his nannying job writing songs. He started adding other musicians to the project gradually until two EPs (2017’s ‘Made Simple’ and 2018’s ‘Luckyucker’) and one
album (2019’s ‘Wabi-Sabi’) later, Ian, male guitarist Rich Le Gate, bassist Emma
Topolski, and male drummer David Dyson have shaped CHILDCARE into one of
the most unique emerging groups in the UK.
They’ve earned themselves a loyal following of fans, sold out their biggest
show (so far) at London’s Scala and gained support from BBC Radio 1 (Annie
Mac, Jack Saunders), Spotify (several New Music Friday slots) and five SXSW
2020 showcases, which of course, never happened.
Busy Busy People was recorded at Somerset’s Distiller Studios with producer
Dom Monks (Laura Marling, Big Thief, White Denim)
Former BBC Radio 1 Track of the Week with key supporters incl. Jack Saunders,
Annie Mac plus BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq & Radio X’s John Kennedy
Performed on the BBC Radio 1 stage at Reading/Leeds 2019 and were slated
for SXSW ‘20 before the pandemic hit.
They also sold out London’s Scala in Christmas ‘19.
UK tour kicks off September ‘21 Bassist Emma Topolski also performs as touring
member with Bombay Bicycle Club, Dua Lipa & Laura Marling

Technical Ecstasy by Black Sabbath, limited edition, remastered, new mix, 90 mins of unreleased outtakes, alt mixes, live tracks from Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill plus extensive book, tour program and poster. LP set on 180g vinyl.



In the summer of 1976, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward headed to Miami to record Technical Ecstasy at the famed Criteria Studios. The band was coming off a world tour for their previous album, Sabotage, that had found their live performances evolving to include keyboards and synthesizers. These newly incorporated instruments and sounds were then introduced into the recording process on Technical Ecstasy. The new songs encompassed a wide range of styles from the hard charging “Back Street Kids” and single ballad “It’s Alright,” to the funky “All Moving Parts (Stand Still)” and progressive rock “Gypsy.” The Deluxe Edition presents a newly remastered version of the eight-track album, along with an entirely new mix of the album created by Steven Wilson using the original analogue tapes.



With eight previously unreleased outtakes and alternative mixes. Among those are different mixes of “You Won’t Change Me” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Doctor,” as well as both outtake and instrumental versions for “She’s Gone.” The collection concludes with 10 previously unreleased live tracks recorded during the 1976-77 World Tour. The songs touch on different eras of the band’s history with early tracks like “Black Sabbath”, “War Pigs” (from Paranoid), “Symptom Of The Universe”, “Snowblind” and “Children Of The Grave” alongside new songs “Gypsy” and “Dirty Women.”



The collection comes with an extensive hardback book featuring artwork, liner notes, rare memorabilia and photos from the era, plus a replica of the 1976-77 world tour concert book and a large colour poster of the iconic Hipgnosis (Storm Thorgerson/Aubrey Powell/Peter Christopherson) futuristic robots image which is perfect for framing.



Black Sabbath embraced change in 1976 when the heavy metal innovators started managing themselves and began exploring different sounds on the band’s seventh studio album, Technical Ecstasy.



BMG honours this daring album with a collection that includes a newly remastered version of the original, a brand-new mix by Steven Wilson, plus more than 90 minutes of previously unreleased outtakes, alternative mixes and live tracks. TECHNICAL ECSTASY: SUPER DELUXE EDITION will be available as a 4CD box set and 5LP box set on 180g black vinyl.



Contents:



Vinyl box set includes:

Original album newly remastered
New Mix LP
Outtakes and Alternative Mixes LP
2LP live concert from the World Tour 1976 - 77
40-page book with photos, artwork and liner notes
Technical Ecstasy colour poster

Repress!

Portico Quartet / Hania Rani brings the singular Polish pianist and composer, Hania Rani, and East-London based widescreen minimalists, Portico Quartet, together for a unique collaboration.

Label mates, they met when Hania Rani performed at the Gondwana 10 event at the Roundhouse in October 2018, an event that Portico Quartet headlined and which marked Rani's UK debut ahead of the release of her breakthrough album, Esja.

The idea was simple, each artist would select and then rework one of each other's tunes. The result is a beautiful collaborative work that feel less like a pair of straight forward remixes and more like a new recording that brings the two acts distinctive sound worlds to a new place.

The first track is Hania Rani - Nest (Portico Quartet remix), which finds Portico Quartet reworking a track from Rani's most recent album Home. Portico Quartet saxophonist and keyboardist Jack Wyllie says:

'We've been fans of Hania since her first album album Esja, so it was a pleasure to get to work with her. Our remix took fragments of her voice and piano, and from that we extrapolated and composed an almost entirely new piece of music. The result was (hopefully) that her sound world became another instrument in the band…'

On the flip is Portico Quartet – With, Besides, Against (Hania Rani remix), which Rani recrafts with the addition of piano and her own unique vocals.

"Imagine being asked to make a remix for one of your favourite bands? I felt excitement and… mild panic. The idea for this one little rework took me a couple of months! I chose the track With, Beside, Against, which is a beautiful peaceful and broad piece of music with an energetic movement in the middle part. I tried to add a vocal line to it, reminding me of one of Portico's tracks called "Steepless" from their album released back in 2011. The result turned out to be satisfying. I felt it worked really nicely, matching the music in a natural way"

The vinyl version was pressed in two vinyl options - transparent white (100 copies) and black. Both on 180g.

Moo Latte:

"Snax", my 5th longplay album, is a collection of 16 compositions, contrasting flavours and textures. Each of them is served as a small appetizer. Some are easily digestible, even dietary, some are greasy and full of calories. Each individual song is rather brief and can be a perfect little snack in the middle of a day. However! They will taste the best if you take your time, have a bite of one after another and enjoy the feast. From starters to desserts.

Warning! This album may contain peanut products!

Cooking those instrumental tracks, I yet again explored my jazz background and combined instrumental improvisations with hip-hop, ethno and soul inspirations. Whole album is kept in a non-binding lo-fi vibe but maintaining the hi-fi level of attention to details. With "Snax" I decided to go for a much wider palette of sounds unlike my previous, more conceptual albums. The last track "Worth it" features a charizmatic Philadelphia based artist - Ler Stevens which has shed a new light on my instrumental joint "Coins". The artwork has been created in a collaboration with a talented Polish illustrator - GBUR.

YWF is one of those producers who is capable of bringing a twist to his dedicated genre with every release. His cooperation with the TDS crew truly undermarked the concept of technodub.

The second release of TDS Records is dedicated to a forgotten TV show character, this sets the dynamic and emotional focus. The original track was written and named by the Danish producer, and it starts the vinyl with a twisty opus, followed by some jolly dub vibes from Garpo and beko. On side B Krisz Deak brings his stirring, metallic sounds back to the table, and the season ends with the ambient style closure that we all deserve.

With TDS02 the label continues to pay its respect to the timeless sounds of dub & techno, by keeping this kind of raw minimalist aura alive.

Asleep At The Wheel is celebrating their 50th Anniversary with the release of Half A Hundred Years. The nineteen tracks feature original band members, current band members and guest artists. The special guest artists are Lyle Lovett, George Strait, Lee Ann Womack, Willie Nelson, and Emmylou Harris.
Tracks 1 - 11 are new songs featuring the original band members. Tracks 12 -16 are old songs featuring the current band members and Asleep At The Wheel alumni. Tracks 17 - 19 are songs from the vaults that have never been released and track 14 features the current and the two previous female band members.

Ryan James Ford is back on Clone Dub Recordings with his promising first full length album! After relocating to Berlin Ryan realized how much influence the soil of his home town have on him. Exshaw, Canada, where the home of Heart Mountains begin. Ryan has tried to capture his youth and musical influences over the years. Growing up in an area were the interaction of man and technology was more than palpable. Stories of haunted areas... swimming in the cold, strong current river with people disappearing... going to raves in the nineties. Exploration, optimism, youth and and living there forever... His memories of Exshaw are all translated in the sound design and programming on this 14 track album ranging from almost cinematic pieces to full on dancefloor belters. Artwork by Delphine Lejeune & Jonathan Castro.

A Wide ranging, eclectic and progressive musical outlook has always been the Lack of Afro approach. His latest material follows suit as he harnesses disparate musical styles ranging from funk, soul and hip-hop to create a contemporary yet vintage musical escapade of superb songs.


On his 4th studio album for Freestyle Records, the influences, sounds and musical textures are more eclectic than ever. Below, Adam talks us through some of the his favourite moments on 'Music For Adverts'.


First out of the box is the steaming funk killer Freedom: This time around I knew I didn't want an intro or a skit to start the album - I needed a strong, heavy opener - I had the melody for the chorus floating around in my head. It was then just a case of working with Jack Tyson - Charles on the rest of it and getting the vibe that the song required.


Long time Lack Of Afro collaborator Herbal T features on Brown Sugar: I had an idea of doing a disco track with an emcee on it, which you don't really hear often. This is actually the first time I've sung on a Lack of Afro track, adding my backing vocal warblings on the choruses! Special shout to George Cooper for the howlin' Hammond solo at the end too.


Of the gritty instrumental No Guts, No Glory Adam explains: I wanted to include 3 instrumentals as I always have a soft spot for them & it's what people know me for. The 'choir' was recorded by layering up my own voice in different octaves, nothing is auto-tuned, its all real. The studio allows me to do stuff like that but I could never sing live - I'll leave that to the proper vocalists.


'Proper vocalist' Jack Tyson - Charles again features on The Gypsy, which as Adam explains uses the classic song format to great effect: One of my favourite LOA tunes to date, Its in keeping with the album mission statement of wanting to write 'proper songs' instead of just grooves.

The Allergies are back with a new album – Rejoice! And the feel-good funk, hip-hop swagger, and dusty vintage loops, is everything you need right now.

Across the 13 tracks, producers Rackabeat and DJ Moneyshot dig deep into their souls, as well as their record collections, serving up a day-glo blast of super positive sampledelia that'll have you smiling from ear to ear.

Built from scratch during lockdown, each song offers up a world to lose yourself in, free from any and all dark clouds. It's their Promised Land, and everyone is welcome to bask in the sunshine.

Along for the ride is LA rap legend, Andy Cooper Ugly Duckling, soul sensation Marietta Smith, dance music heavyweight, Dynamite MC, and the unmistakable voice of hip-hop royalty, Lyrics Born.

Everyone got the memo, as career-best performances roll one after the other. And each singer, rapper, scratcher, and sampler, unites through the power of good good music.

Highlights on the LP include the swamp blues meets half-time hip-hop monster, 'Lean On You'. The Latin funk bomb, 'Move On Baby'. Soul rollers 'New Thing' and 'Are You Ready', and the show-stopping and stirring Moby-ish beat banger, 'Promised Land'.

Almost a concept album, the idea of fresh starts, strange new worlds, loss, solidarity, freedom, and the communities we find in clubs, festivals, and making and sharing music, began to come out, organically, through the song-writing process.

"In a weird way the album wrote itself," says DJ Moneyshot. "We'd be lost in our own little world of hypnotic loops as days passed, and samples jumped out of the shelves, and just started to make sense as they got chopped and layered into these tracks."

Early support for the singles, and response from fans across the globe, suggests that this, their fifth album, really could be something special. Come on in…

The popular #Ibiza compilation series returns on July 2nd with its fifth installment, #Ibiza 2021. The album brings together tracks and remixes from some of the world’s biggest names in dance music, including Claptone, Chicane, Sammy Porter, David Morales, Secondcity and Mark Knight. The collection also presents the hottest breakout tracks set to grace the island this year, including Gettoblaster’s recent Beatport number 1 ‘H O U S E’, and Jodie Harsh’s current UK radio hit ‘My House’. Radio promo: Jodie Harsh - My House: Playlisted on BBC Radio 1 (B-List) / No.1 in UK Upfront Club Chart. Other promo: Claptone - Zero: One of the biggest DJ names in Ibiza with his Masquerade parties at Pacha, Claptone moves up to No.41 in this year’s Top 100 DJ’s global rank. Zero is the first single from his upcoming third album.

Rakoon, a free spirit from the French electro-dub scene, known for his heavy weighted basslines in concert, comes back this year with his new album "Something Precious".

Since his first hit "Healing Dub" viewed more than 10 million times on YouTube, the producer has pursued his quest for an ever more hybrid and unique sound, combining synths and samples from travels, within pop structures with electronic features. "Something Precious" is a true synthesis of the eagerness of his first works and the power of his previous album, and confirms an even more electronic turn in the artist's career. It’s a bundle of energy carried by bewitching melodies; the travel journal of an enthusiastic musician, strewn with samples collected on the road.

“The musical guideline of this album first came one day when I got out of my studio after working on a track, feeling some kind of ecstasy that I hadn’t felt for years. Something that I used to feel almost every time I made music back when it wasn’t my job, but that had changed afterwards. It was like finding something really precious you thought you had lost forever…” says Rakoon about the genesis of this new album.

Whether it be with the intoxicating sample of "Hoi An" brought back from a trip to Vietnam or the galvanizing synths of "Chapters", a hit cut for the dancefloor, Rakoon treats his early fans to new gems true to his carefully refined recipe. But he also doesn't hesitate to venture into more electronic territories, like on the devastating "The Great Big Elephant", with its catchy sample and its synth’s nods to trance. Or even to surprise, with the use of vocoder on "Rituals" for instance.

"Something Precious" is the result of a significant sound research and an in-depth work on emotions. Its magnificent cover is signed by the English illustrator Miles Tewson, and it can be listened to like a diary that Rakoon shares with generosity and dedication with those who follow him, on and off the stage.

The Altered Hours have just announced details of their second full length album ‘Convertible’. The Irish group have just signed with Pizza Pizza Records and the 8 track album is set for release in May 2021. Following on from some successful headline tours across Europe supporting their debut album & some blistering EP’s along the way, the group found themselves looking for the next step in their ever- evolving journey. Having previously recorded in Anton Newcombe’s Berlin studio for their debut singles & ending up in the infamous Funkhaus studios to lay down what would become their debut album ‘In Heat Not Sorry ’, the band decided once again to



change the approach & take their new songs back to the privacy of their own studio space on the outskirts of Cork City. The new LP ‘Convertible’ is the result of countless late night/early morning sessions that took place over the past 2 years. Choosing to self produce and engineer this record was a conscious choice as the band felt an urge to take what they had learned on the road & in various studios previously, and condense all of this energy back into the boiling pot of their own rehearsal space.

The group have been a part of some exciting movements since the beginning and their path has been an organic one. They quickly became known in their hometown for taking over an ex-government building in the heart of Cork city, turning into a studio and creating a hub for the scene that surrounded them. The years that follow shine a light on the relentless energy of this group and unwavering love for playing shows anywhere & everywhere. Having been invited to perform at Liverpool Psych Fest numerous times, supporting the Brian Jonestown Massacre, selling out venues, churches & clubs, playing rip-roaring DIY shows in friends’ basements, getting joined by members of Spacemen 3 on stage and more recently, being invited by fellow Irish rockers Fontaines D.C to join them on their 2019 European tour playing sold out shows in venues like The Bataclan, Paris & Paradiso, Amsterdam. It’s been a wild ride for The Altered Hours so far & their music keeps evolving & growing as the experiences build. This is a group with the spirit of music deeply ingrained in them and a passion for making rock music something that you can believe in.

Their second full length album ‘Convertible’ is a window into the band’s idiosyncratic tendencies, a closer look into how their writing & sound continuously moves forwards while somehow remaining rooted in their own unique world all at once. The Altered Hours seem born to be an underground affair, something that they wear with pride and this album is a wonderful culmination of their DIY upbringing, their unfiltered rock ‘n’ roll spirit along with a confident stride into personal songwriting.

TLM025 kicks off with Erik Escobar and his cover version of Memories by Caruso. Erik is from Campinas in Brazil and a very well respected and talented musician. Taking the track into a completely different direction to the original this cover version is written for the dancefloor. Onto the AA side and Cormac Fulton (one half of Caruso) gives us a very deep track called Perplexed, a very moody affair with Matt Cox and Steve Conry on production duties. Next up is Time Machine from Detroit's Lorenzo Dewberry, another deep journey taking influences from the cities sound for another dancefloor piece. Lastly Gee W finishes off the EP with his track MarshMellow, a very nice laid back deep house track from the UK based multi-instrumentalist.
4 artists to watch over the coming years.

one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden is the name of the second album by Canadian songwriter Alexandra Levy, publicly known by the moniker Ada Lea. On one hand, it’s a collection of walking-paced, cathartic pop/folk songs, on the other it’s a

book of heart-twisting, rear-view stories of city life. Ada Lea has followed up the creative, indie-rock songcraft of her debut what we say in private with surprising arrangements and new perspectives. The album is set in Montreal and each song exists as a dot on a personal history map of the city where Levy grew up. Due on September 24th from Saddle Creek and Next Door Records in Canada, the physical record will be released alongside a map of song locations and a songbook with chords and lyrics, inspired by Levy’s love of real book standards.

Levy penned and demoed this batch of songs in an artist residency in Banff, Alberta. After sorting and editing she made her way to Los Angeles to record with producer/engineer Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers) who had previously worked on 2020’s woman, here E.P. After a long walk to the studio each morning, Levy spent her session days diving into the arrangements, playfully letting everything fall in place with complete trust for her collaborators. She notes “Marshall’s expertise and experience with drumming and songwriting was the perfect blend for what the songs needed. He was able to support me in a harmonic, lyrical, and rhythmic sense.” Other contributors that left a notable fingerprint on the soundscape include drummer Tasy Hudson, guitarist Harrison Whitford (of Phoebe Bridgers band), and mixing engineer Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett). Many songs came together with a blend of studio tracks and elements from the pre-recorded demos.

The resulting sounds range from classic, soft-rock beauty to intimate finger-picked folk passages and night-drive art-pop. And the textures are frequently surprising due to the collage of lo-fi and hi-fi sounds that tastefully decorate the album without ever clouding the heart-center of the song. Tracks like “damn” and “oranges” feel timeless with their AM gold groove and 70’s studio sheen, while songs like “my love 4 u is real '', “salt spring” and “can’t stop me from dying” sound completely modern in their use of electronics, sound effects, and pitched vocals. In their subtle, sonic variety, all of the album’s songs flow together with ease into one big, romantic dream for Levy’s silken vocals to float above.

Inspired by personal experience, daydreams, and Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, the lyrics of one hand... center storytelling on a bigger scale. The experience and emotions of a year are communicated through Levy’s vignettes of city life. Her prose is centered in its setting of the St Denis area of Montreal as it draws up memories from local haunts like Fameux, La Rockette, and Quai des Brumes in rearview reverie. Levy creates a balance through the album’s year by splitting her songs evenly into four seasons. Opening track “damn”, as a song of winter, kicks off the narrative with the events of a cursed New Year’s Eve party. Immediately this timeline becomes jumbled into a Proustian haziness. The listener is then led through the heat-stricken, brain fog of Summer song, “can’t stop me from dying” and then into the autumnal romanticism of “oranges” before returning back to New Year’s on “partner,” which Levy describes as “a woozy late-night taxi blues reflection on moments when timing can be so right, yet so wrong…”. These collected stories as a whole chart the unavoidable growth that comes with experience. “All is forgiven in time. All is forgotten in time. And when the music stopped, I heard an answer” (from “my love 4 u is real”).

Whether to consider these songs fiction or memoir remains unknown. On one hand, Levy says “Why would I try to write a story that’s not my own? What good would that do?” but on the other hand, she is quick to note the ways that language fails to describe reality, and how difficult this makes it to tell an actually true story. The poetic misuse of the word “sewing” in the album’s title serves as a nod to the limitations words provide. What does it mean to sew the garden? And how can we appreciate its carefully knit blooms when the rearview mirror is so full of car exhaust?

one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden is the name of the second album by Canadian songwriter Alexandra Levy, publicly known by the moniker Ada Lea. On one hand, it’s a collection of walking-paced, cathartic pop/folk songs, on the other it’s a

book of heart-twisting, rear-view stories of city life. Ada Lea has followed up the creative, indie-rock songcraft of her debut what we say in private with surprising arrangements and new perspectives. The album is set in Montreal and each song exists as a dot on a personal history map of the city where Levy grew up. Due on September 24th from Saddle Creek and Next Door Records in Canada, the physical record will be released alongside a map of song locations and a songbook with chords and lyrics, inspired by Levy’s love of real book standards.

Levy penned and demoed this batch of songs in an artist residency in Banff, Alberta. After sorting and editing she made her way to Los Angeles to record with producer/engineer Marshall Vore (Phoebe Bridgers) who had previously worked on 2020’s woman, here E.P. After a long walk to the studio each morning, Levy spent her session days diving into the arrangements, playfully letting everything fall in place with complete trust for her collaborators. She notes “Marshall’s expertise and experience with drumming and songwriting was the perfect blend for what the songs needed. He was able to support me in a harmonic, lyrical, and rhythmic sense.” Other contributors that left a notable fingerprint on the soundscape include drummer Tasy Hudson, guitarist Harrison Whitford (of Phoebe Bridgers band), and mixing engineer Burke Reid (Courtney Barnett). Many songs came together with a blend of studio tracks and elements from the pre-recorded demos.

The resulting sounds range from classic, soft-rock beauty to intimate finger-picked folk passages and night-drive art-pop. And the textures are frequently surprising due to the collage of lo-fi and hi-fi sounds that tastefully decorate the album without ever clouding the heart-center of the song. Tracks like “damn” and “oranges” feel timeless with their AM gold groove and 70’s studio sheen, while songs like “my love 4 u is real '', “salt spring” and “can’t stop me from dying” sound completely modern in their use of electronics, sound effects, and pitched vocals. In their subtle, sonic variety, all of the album’s songs flow together with ease into one big, romantic dream for Levy’s silken vocals to float above.

Inspired by personal experience, daydreams, and Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, the lyrics of one hand... center storytelling on a bigger scale. The experience and emotions of a year are communicated through Levy’s vignettes of city life. Her prose is centered in its setting of the St Denis area of Montreal as it draws up memories from local haunts like Fameux, La Rockette, and Quai des Brumes in rearview reverie. Levy creates a balance through the album’s year by splitting her songs evenly into four seasons. Opening track “damn”, as a song of winter, kicks off the narrative with the events of a cursed New Year’s Eve party. Immediately this timeline becomes jumbled into a Proustian haziness. The listener is then led through the heat-stricken, brain fog of Summer song, “can’t stop me from dying” and then into the autumnal romanticism of “oranges” before returning back to New Year’s on “partner,” which Levy describes as “a woozy late-night taxi blues reflection on moments when timing can be so right, yet so wrong…”. These collected stories as a whole chart the unavoidable growth that comes with experience. “All is forgiven in time. All is forgotten in time. And when the music stopped, I heard an answer” (from “my love 4 u is real”).

Whether to consider these songs fiction or memoir remains unknown. On one hand, Levy says “Why would I try to write a story that’s not my own? What good would that do?” but on the other hand, she is quick to note the ways that language fails to describe reality, and how difficult this makes it to tell an actually true story. The poetic misuse of the word “sewing” in the album’s title serves as a nod to the limitations words provide. What does it mean to sew the garden? And how can we appreciate its carefully knit blooms when the rearview mirror is so full of car exhaust?

UK multi-instrumentalist and story-teller Mara Simpson's new album In This Place will be released on September 24th, 2021. A heady blend of alt-folk, analogue synth and classical composition, In This Place is a tale of quiet rebellion, and taking back control. Fittingly, the new album marks the start of another new journey for Mara. In This Place will be the first record to be released on Downfield Records, a non-profit imprint set up by Simpson, placing artists at it’s centre. “I want to try and promote transparency and equality, assist other artists to get public funding and to ‘pay’ forward the time and resources I’ve benefited from,” she says. The label’s mission is to see musicians paid fairly and release records through a creative and joyous process.

Whilst the struggles of 2020 will go down in history, for Mara it was 2019 that was the tough one. A year spent consumed by worry, whilst in and out of hospital with her one year old daughter, had left Mara feeling like she was playing a constant game of catch up with a world that wouldn’t slow down. With songs ready to be recorded for her new album, she headed into the studio. “I stepped into the studio not needing my hand held, just my voice heard” explains Mara, who quickly came to the realisation that she was working in a toxic environment. Enough was enough

It was whilst waiting for a train that she had the sudden realisation that the album she was recording would never see the light of day. Struck by an overwhelming feeling of failure, Mara began to ruminate on the time and money she had wasted but then something clicked. “Perhaps it’s something about train stations, the coming and the goings, that allows a stagnating frame of mind the grace and space to clear” she says. “The funny thing is, upon realising failure, the despair I’d been feeling was now replaced with something else...Relief”.

Feeling re-energised, Mara called her dream producer Ellie Mason, of Voka Gentle, and together the pair began working on a new record. “I’ve been more hands-on with this album than I’ve ever been, taking a much more active role in production. Throughout the whole process Ellie has heard my voice, and been open to any possibility” explains Mara. “We’ve stumbled across golden moments, recording four part harmonies in Brighton’s oldest church, using every drum there is in Brighton Electric, layering New Zealand bird song with tape delayed piano, all thanks to her nurture, playfulness and kindness” she continues.

Album opener ‘Serena’, named after the apartment building in Brighton where Mara’s daughter was born, is based on the experience of becoming a mother and the responsibility of making important healthcare decisions. “How will I know how to love you” she sings over undulating synths and sparse piano chords. Title-track ‘In This Place’ is about the confrontation between mother and new-born child. The ‘sizing-up’ of one another as they embark on a new journey together. “When I left home to travel around the world and was so worried about breaking my Mum’s heart,” says Mara. “I just remember her saying that your children are never yours to keep. This is a song about the rawest of loves, and the fact that however much we love someone, they are never ours, and the beauty in that.”

In addition to the experience of motherhood, the songs on In This Place take inspiration from a wide range of places, including Mara’s ‘second home’ New Zealand. ‘Christchurch’, written in response to the Christchurch Mosque shootings in 2019, layers New Zealand birdsong on top of swirling piano and moving choral vocals. ‘Fault Lines’ was inspired by The Waitangi treaty. Signed in 1840 in New Zealand by the British Crown and Maori chiefs. The British understood that the Maori were signing over land that the British could now govern and effectively ‘own’, however to the Maori people it is impossible to own land, in the same way that you can’t ‘own’ air. “We live and die, the land remains and we are just it’s keepers for the very short time we are here. This song is about us not owning this earth - how can we? We are only the guardians of it while we are here” says Mara.

Backed by a band of accomplished musicians (Jools Owen (Bears Den) on drums, James Smith (Anaïs Mitchell) on banjo, Alexandra Hamilton-Ayres on clarinet and strings by Poppy Ackroyd) on In This Place, Mara sounds the most confident she’s ever sounded. With her new material, Mara Simpson hopes to promote a gentle, yet radical shift toward kindness and it’s this warmth that can be both heard and felt across her new record.

Blind, Chicago soul singer Willie Williams was first discovered performing in clubs in and around the Windy City. He was signed to ABC records by their A&R Director for the Midwest Johnny Pate a former Jazz bassist, independent producer, arranger and songwriter in his own right. Pate was a friend and colleague of fellow musician, songwriter and founding member of one of ABC’s prolific vocal groups The Trends, Tom Dorsey. Pate and Dorsey would contribute heavily as writers and producer throughout Willie’s recording career, beginning with his first ABC 45 release in 1966 “Have You Ever Been Played For A Fool/With All My Soul”. The release’s b-side became a popular radio play at the time with Willie becoming known as Willie “Soul” Williams for a while. Two further ABC releases were to follow “It Doesn’t Pay/Just Because” (1967) and “I’m Through With You/Strung Out” (1968).

Willie’s next 45 release although recorded in Chicago under Johnny Pate’s supervision found it’s way to another major label, RCA, although credited as a GWP Production (Gerrard W. Purcell). The 45 in question being the excellent Tom Dorsey penned songs “Just To Be Loved By You/Name It” released during 1969.

Two Willie Williams 45 releases did appear on the Gamma label but I’m unsure if one or both of these are by the same Willie Williams in question.

Throughout his recording career Willie continued to work the clubs with his own band which was led by his bass guitarist and confidant Bradley (Brad) Bobo a man who featured as a session musician on many recording sessions including the creation of The Notation’s album of the same name for Curtis Mayfield’s Curtom subsidiary label Gemigo.

On the 22nd of December 1970 a recording session was held in RCA’s Studio B, on North Wacker Drive, Chicago with sound engineer Russ Vestuto. The session was financed by Tom Dorsey who amongst other song writing gratuities had been paid handsomely for the 3 songs “Love Machine”, “My Baby’s Love” and “How Are You Fixed For Love” which he had wrote and contributed to the blue-eyed hit group, The O’Kaysion’s “Girl Watcher” ABC album. The result of this session yielded four Willie Williams tracks. Brad Bobo played bass guitar on the session, the composer of the four songs Tom Dorsey supplied the arrangements and Tom’s wife Carolyn (also a former group members of The Trends) joined both he and Brad on backing vocals.

The four songs were then offered to Eddie Thomas who chose two of them to release on a 45 single. The two songs being “Must Mean Love” which was later renamed “The Baa Baa Song “and “Psyched Out” which Eddie then released on his own Lakeside label, thus leaving the two other songs to remain unissued in the can.

Willie has now sadly passed away but in his later life once the opportunity’s for performing artists began to dwindle he chose a different path in his life, gaining a Doctors degree, he went on to become a College Lecturer. Tom Dorsey too turned his back on the music industry apart from his publishing company to concentrate on his family life as well as founding a very successful business involving one of his other great life passions, photography. Luckily for us he never lost the master tape of Willie’s sessions and after several years of tentative enquiries he graciously relented to my request to put them out. So now before you we have the two excellent previously unissued Willie Williams songs that Eddie Thomas passed on, the delightfully soulful “Give It All I Got” backed with the funky, social conscience themed “Do You Understand”, lost early 1970’s Chicago Soul at its finest.

TOTAL turns 21 this year, and Kompakt’s venerable compilation series couldn’t have asked for a more auspicious coming-of-age collection. If TOTAL 20 was consolidation against the odds, the Kompakt crew producing for a dreamt-of dancefloor in an uncertain future, then TOTAL 21 feels abuzz and alive with possibilities. Significantly, it’s the first TOTAL in some time that’s streamlined down to a single disc; this makes TOTAL 21 even punchier than usual, a joyous, reflective, and always thrilling 75-minute audio scan of the world according to Kompakt.

As with every instalment of TOTAL, there’s a deft balancing here of Kompakt regulars and new blood. Of the latter, there’s a first appearance by KOLLMORGEN, remixed by PATRICE BÄUMEL into an astral torch song; Amsterdam’s NICKY ELISABETH, offering up ROMAN FLÜGEL’s pulsating, arpeggiated remix of “Celeste”; and CAPTAIN MUSTACHE swoops down into view, PLAY PAUL in tow, with the dream-like electro lift-off that is “Everything”. JONATHAN KASPAR also drops by with a new track, “Von Draussen”, a stealthy and lethal floor-hugger with prowling bass.

Elsewhere, there’s the lead track to MICHAEL MAYER’s astonishing recent EP, “Brainwave Technology”, which not-so-gently spears the tech-futurist babble of AI, transhumanism and posthumanism, soundtracked by one of Mayer’s typically lush, glimmering soundscapes. JOHN TEJADA reaches back to the heyday of glitch and dub techno with the gorgeous “Spectral Progressions”, while the brothers VOIGT & VOIGT, on “Nicht Mein Job”, seem reinvigorated by the interwoven patterns and funky minimalism of the Profan days. Not to be outdone, JÜRGEN PAAPE kicks TOTAL 21 with “La Guittara Romantica”, a chiming and lilting lullaby for woozy late-night reflection.

Throughout, it feels as though Kompakt are taking a moment to both breathe in the dust of the past and look forward to a bright future. Perhaps that’s why, on “Fasson”, SASCHA FUNKE seems so confident, with pinprick melodies bouncing around a hall of audio mirrors, or why THE BIONAUT returns with “Blue Sky Motor Lodge”, a song so moistly melancholy, so enduringly lovely, it’ll make you weep tears of joy. ROBAG WRUHME gets a little delirious on the ticking, twisting “No”, and then GUI BORATTO mops everything up with the bubbling, bumping glam-stomp “Wake Up”.

That’s not all – spring for the digital and/or vinyl edition and you’ll get a new cut, “Happy”, from MICHAEL MAYER, and MARC ROMBOY & C.A.R.’s “I Am A Dancer”. But however you choose to play it, now TOTAL’s turned 21, it’s your duty to throw it the celebration to end all celebrations. Let the party begin, and don’t forget to bring a party favor…

This summer, Saft welcomes Dubbyman after a three-year hiatus from releasing music. He serves up a gorgeous new EP in the SAFTX series that features a remix from Detroit mainstay FIT Siegel.

Dubbyman is a master of the deep. As a DJ and producer, he explores warm and heady soundscapes that are rooted in house and techno but decorated with much more. His musical synths and compelling rhythms have resulted in countless vital EPs on labels like Ferrispark, Soul People Music and the Deep Explorer label he co-runs. Now, after a break, he is back and in brilliant form.

Opener 'En La Ciudad' is an effortlessly loose and languid house track. The hip-swinging claps and funk bass riffs bring a sunset vibe, with wordless vocals from Carlito Brigante Rojo and dreamy pads really soothing the soul. Remixing is legendary FIT Sound label head, FXHE associate and pillar of the Motor City scene FIT Siegel. His famously no-nonsense approach results in a track here that is laced up with smoky soul. The dusty beats roll deep, the twisted synth work brings light and lush pads soften the whole groove with a real sense of heart.

"Up Again" strikes another perfectly seductive pose with its jazzy keys, soulful vocals, and rough-edged beats that make you want to dance. It's a tune packed with feelings and irresistible funk, and is sure to be the soundtrack to many outdoor parties this summer. The Deep Explorer Mix is a little more direct, with dynamic house drums, sunkissed motifs and warm pads taking you straight to the Mediterranean. Last of all, "Tropic" featuring Arturo Sanchidrian on bass is a downtempo classic, with beachy vibes, gently breaking synth waves and soft-focus melodies sinking you deep into a
reverie.

This is an EP of life-affirming, heart-warming house sounds that take you to a better place.

After Dinner from Japan, embraced new wave, traditional Japanese music, free contemporary and avant-garde rock. Founded under hand of delicious female vocalist, musician and composer Haco in 1981, broaching a very interesting collective cohesion; their background, though however various, brought them together during times of recording and live performance.

1982-85 includes all their first production; the complete 1st album “Glass Tube", 2 tracks from the 1st 7” single and a bonus track track from a 1985’s compilation on Celluloid.

“A founding member of the legendary band After Dinner, Haco is one of the most versatile vocalists in the Japanese indies scene.” (John Zorn)

"Haco is capable of gallons of tenderness and melancholy." (Kurt Gottschalk)

The Men’s hugely influential album Leave Home came out during an exciting time in New York City. DIY lofts and shitty bars littered downtown Manhattan and North Brooklyn. The Acheron had just opened its doors. Kill Your Idols had broken up. Toxic State Records was just getting started with Crazy Spirit, Dawn of Humans, Hank Wood and Perdition EP’s. The city was alive with punk and noise and filth. And right at that time, The Men were the show to be at.

Every gig was dripping with sweat. Hallways and sidewalks were packed between sets. Chaos reigned in the pit. The Men hit like a bag of hard cement, a hardcore band with a familiar sound but with an aura of absolute chaos and intensity, like everything was on the brink of going off the rails at every moment of their set, a downhill freight train with no brakes. During these shows one’s focus could shoot back and forth between the intimidatingly angry-eyed, bald-headed Chris Hansell (who went on to front Warthog) and the long haired hippie punks Mark Perro, Nick Chiericozzi and Rich Samis, that made up the surrounding band.

Just one of the many juxtapositions the band embraced. If The Men were a chapter in Michael Azzerad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life, the early EP’s and cassettes would obviously be Minor Threat and Black Flag, while Leave Home would likely be… Sonic Youth. It was just before they made the full jump into each record being a smorgasbord of underground genres, from dream pop to folk;

before they had tracks called “Country Song,” for example. But it was a preview of what was to come. Leave Home was a pivot from pure hardcore punk (some might even call it mysterious guy hardcore), as the band got lost in the groove in a way one couldn’t on a straight up punk record. That groove was so strong on “If You Leave…,” “(),” and “Bataille,” while they spaced out on “Shitting With The Shaw,” and stayed as aggro as ever on “LADOCH.” But of course, Leave Home had a re-recording of their hardest track to date, “Think,” making it clear that they were still the moshers we all had come to know and love. If The Men raised their flag as an important New York punk band with Immaculada, they started waving it in the freakiest way with Leave Home.There is no doubt that Leave Home was one of the most influential records of the last decade.

You can hear their mark everywhere from Ty Segal and The Oh Sees to Milk Music and Hank Wood. Few bands have traversed as many genres as The Men and even fewer have done it so well. It is a testament to the band’s undying authenticity and adventurism that the record sounds as timeless and urgent now as it did when it blew the doors of New York punk off its hinges ten years ago, leaving a giant hole for bands of all kinds to come racing through.

10 tracks of beautiful Hip Hop music produced by Vienna Producer Mez & French producer 20Syl.

"We made this album after running into each other on tour in Brazil then again in France. We kept talking about needing to do a project together then eventually met up on my homies farm in Southern Oregon in the U.S. and made this record. Being in the same space and recording in the age of sending verses back and forth seemed a bit crazy in a sense but we really wanted to catch a real vibe of 2 mc’s in sync and where a real moment and connection was captured. We spent 7 days eating bomb food, living, laughing, writing, recording, and just vibing.

We asked for beats from a bunch of folks but ended up feeling the overall vibes of Mez, a Vienna based producer who I previously worked with on my solo material and whose beats just hit us and Rita as the perfect instrumentation to the album we wanted to create. The incredibly talented homie 20Syl (Hocus Pocus, C2C, AllttA) who I also had worked with before and who Rita collaborated with on his group's (C2C) album came in with 2 joints to round it out. We also got some amazing features from our folks Destani Wolf, Wes Restless, and the ever dope Georgia Anne Muldrow."

LP Vinyl include two exclusive remixes by Moar & Mossy P

Along with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, Sly & the Family Stone virtually invented 1970’s funk. Their fusion of R&B rhythms, infectious melodies, and psychedelia created a new pop/soul/rock hybrid. The impact of Sly’s music has proven widespread and long-lasting. For instance, Motown producer Norman Whitfield patterned the label’s forays into harder- driving, socially relevant material (such as The Temptations’ “Runaway Child” and “Ball of Confusion”) based on their sound.

The pioneering Stone had a major influence in the 1980’s on artists such as Prince and Rick James. Legions of artists from the 1990’s forward - including Public Enemy, Fatboy Slim, Arrested Devellopment, Beck and many others - mined Stone’s back catalog for samples.

For those not familiar with Sly this 2LP set is a great introduction and an invitation to dig deeper into Sly & The Family Stone’s catalogue. This 20 track compilation covers all the hits & fan favourites from the 1968-1974 period.

The Best Of Sly and The Family Stone is now available as a limited edition of 2000 numbered copies on transparent pink vinyl.

Robbie Williams will be reissuing his first two multi-million selling solo albums ‘Life Thru A Lens’ and ‘I’ve Been Expecting You’ on vinyl for the very first time. To be released on 24 September, both titles have been newly mastered at Abbey Road Studios, are pressed on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl and housed in gatefold sleeves, reproducing the original distinctive artwork. Both titles come with Download codes. Originally released in October 1997, ‘Life Thru A Lens’ was Robbie’s debut solo album. It entered the chart at number 11 but had to wait almost six months before it reached number one. It eventually spent 147 weeks on the Top 100 and has been certified 8x Platinum by the BPI for UK sales in excess of 2 million copies. It includes the hit singles ‘Old Before I Die’ (No. 2), ‘Lazy Days’ (No. 8), ‘South Of The Border’ (No. 14), ‘Let Me Entertain You’ (No. 3) and ‘Angels’ (No. 4), the latter his biggest selling single to date, and voted the best song of the last twenty-five years at the 2005 BRIT Awards. Now certified 10 x Platinum by the BPI, with UK sales in excess of 2.5 million, ‘I’ve Been Expecting You’ was originally released in October 1998 when it entered the chart at number one. It returned to the summit the following January and once again a month later. It includes the hit singles ‘Millennium’ (No. 1), ‘No Regrets’ (No. 4), ‘Strong’ (No. 4) and ‘She’s The One’ (No. 1). ‘No Regrets’ features backing vocals from Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon, while album track ‘Win Some Lose Some’ includes the ‘Telephone Voice’ of All Saints’ Nicole Appleton.

Robbie Williams will be reissuing his first two multi-million selling solo albums ‘Life Thru A Lens’ and ‘I’ve Been Expecting You’ on vinyl for the very first time. To be released on 24 September, both titles have been newly mastered at Abbey Road Studios, are pressed on 180 gram heavyweight vinyl and housed in gatefold sleeves, reproducing the original distinctive artwork. Both titles come with Download codes. Originally released in October 1997, ‘Life Thru A Lens’ was Robbie’s debut solo album. It entered the chart at number 11 but had to wait almost six months before it reached number one. It eventually spent 147 weeks on the Top 100 and has been certified 8x Platinum by the BPI for UK sales in excess of 2 million copies. It includes the hit singles ‘Old Before I Die’ (No. 2), ‘Lazy Days’ (No. 8), ‘South Of The Border’ (No. 14), ‘Let Me Entertain You’ (No. 3) and ‘Angels’ (No. 4), the latter his biggest selling single to date, and voted the best song of the last twenty-five years at the 2005 BRIT Awards. Now certified 10 x Platinum by the BPI, with UK sales in excess of 2.5 million, ‘I’ve Been Expecting You’ was originally released in October 1998 when it entered the chart at number one. It returned to the summit the following January and once again a month later. It includes the hit singles ‘Millennium’ (No. 1), ‘No Regrets’ (No. 4), ‘Strong’ (No. 4) and ‘She’s The One’ (No. 1). ‘No Regrets’ features backing vocals from Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant and The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon, while album track ‘Win Some Lose Some’ includes the ‘Telephone Voice’ of All Saints’ Nicole Appleton.

Two years ago the Swedish band Mammoth Storm
debuted on Argonauta Records with the
impressive ‘Alruna’ album.
 Now the label reissue the band’s cast-in-stone
doomy and very sought after debut mini album
‘Rite Of Ascension’, originally released on Napalm
Records back in 2014.
 This 2021 edition is pressed on oxblood vinyl.
 “The oppressive and filthy atmosphere provided by
these two tracks are in the vein of Electric Wizard
and Sleep. A psychedelic mix of stoner, sludge and
doom, with very heavy, slow, continuous and
down-tuned mantra-alike riffs.” - Metal Archives

Keeping the faith and facing the future, Times Are Changing puts a full stop on pandemic talk for unstoppable indie-pop four-piece Lottery Winners, as the four-piece release the fizzing anthem into a newly optimistic world. The first single from their newly


announced, upcoming, second studio album, Something To Leave The House For, the band has penned the soundtrack to hugging old friends, the rebirth of live music and those summer festivals just around the around the corner.

For front man and songwriter, Thom Rylance, working through the darkness of Covid meant surviving Covid, tying the threads of an unravelling mental state into a new body of work now emerging as bright, arms-aloft bursts of positivity. His famed ‘note to self’, the emotive An Open Letter To Creatives and the band’s sensational, viral collaboration with Nickelback with the Rock Star Sea Shanty were just two moments of levity in a time dominated by the dark clouds forming overhead. Now he and the band are moving on and moving up.

“If something so bleak and harrowing can hit us all, totally out of the blue, and change our lives, then by definition that must mean that something beautiful can too.” says bassist and vocalist, Katie Lloyd (bass and vocals) as Lottery Winners start the next leg of their adventure with Times Are Changing, reflective, ready to party and no less ambitious than before.

Their mammoth, 14-track new album, Something To Leave The House For, follows their 2020, self-titled UK Album Chart Top 30 debut with a Fri 24 September 2021 release via Modern Sky UK, promises to document the tumultuous times and the path back from despair. In true Lottery Winners style, every truth and life lesson is dressed in glass-half-full, wildly optimistic, radio-friendly pop, hip-swinging beats and bittersweet tenderness.

Ancient Africa represents Nat Birchall’s official follow-up to last year’s universally acclaimed Mysticism of Sound.

Nat once again plays all the instruments here, tenor and soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, bass, drums and percussion. But this time around the Korg synth is replaced by piano as

Nat wanted to utilise a more “classic” Jazz sound to express his musical visions. He has also arranged the songs for multiple horns, with melodies and harmonies played by up to five different instruments to achieve a fuller and often glorious sound.

An exception to this is Mirror Mind, a ‘duet’ featuring tenor saxophone and piano, hence the title.

With most of his compositions Nat tends to come up with titles depending on the thoughts or images the music manifests within him as he listens back to the recording.

The title track conjures up images of an African sunrise, the horns perhaps invoking the sun as it begins to illuminate the land which was the origin of the human story on Earth.

“Africa is the root of everything, and is the source of civilization, art, music, you name it.”

Paladins is so titled for the African heroes of the past and the present, in all walks of life, social, political, the arts etc.

“Anyone who fights against oppression, whether it be through activism or art, not only in Africa but throughout the whole diaspora, is a Paladin in my book.”



Song for John Blanke is named for the African trumpeter who played in the court of Henry VIII. The horn line sounding

a little like a fanfare, but in a lower register than the Tudor trumpets might have played for the court of the king!

Malidoma is named in honour of the African writer Malidoma Patrice Some. His excellent book ‘Of Water and The Spirit’ is a deeply

moving and illuminating narrative of his life’s journey. From his abduction by Jesuit priests at an early age from his village in Burkina Faso to

his being reunited with his people and subsequent assignment to spread his people’s ancient knowledge to the Western world.

The final song, Ancestral Dance, is a musical reminder to both celebrate life as and when the occasion demands, but also to not forget where we came from, as individuals and as a species.

Light Blue Vinyl

**Tracks 'Sixth Sequence' and 'Tenth Sequence' are bonus tracks & exclusive to the vinyl release only.** limited transparent green vinyl LP

Past Inside The Present is pleased to announce 'Wave Variations' which is a new mini-album by veteran ambient producer Dennis Huddleston AKA 36.

36 has often enjoyed exploring self-imposed restrictions, as it forces him to be creative, while allowing an inherently coherent sound between the different compositions. All the arrangements on Wave Variations use a limited pallete of mostly synth-based sounds, with particular focus on keys and melodies. Each track directly influenced the next one.

Dennis has kept almost every track around three minutes in length. He states, 'I feel like a lot of ambient music (including my own) is often unnecessarily long and these small vignettes work as a nice counter to that. Don't expect long build-ups or over-extended crescendos; These are short tracks that take you straight to Elysium and then dissolve into the ether.'

He further explains the output of Wave Variations, 'Ocean tides inspired the album. I think we've all felt that sense of longing and wonder while standing at the beach, staring at the waves and gazing into the endless horizon. I think it's something that transcends all generations of people. Like the waves, these tracks leave as quickly as they arrive. I feel it's one of the most minimal records I have made, with far fewer individual sound sources at my disposal. It keeps me on my toes and forces me to deeply explore the instruments I have available to me.'

This stripped-back sound gives the album a hypnotic quality to it. Like much of Dennis' work, there is a delicate balance between melancholic melodies and rich textures, resulting in an understated yet deeply exhilarating sound. Fans of emotional, melodic ambient music should find plenty to enjoy.