Search:bat

End of Everything is the intrepid seventh album from Mega Bog, a nightmarish experimental pop ensemble led by Erin Elizabeth Birgy. In 2020, Birgy was surrounded by seemingly endless turmoil: mass death, a burning planet, and a personal reckoning when past traumas met fresh ones. Living in Los Angeles, against the backdrop of brilliantly horrifying forest fires, she questioned what perspective to use moving forward in such dumbfounded awe. Deciding to seize something tangible, she produced a record that spoke of surrender, of mourning, and support in the face of tumultuous self-reflection. Writing on piano and synthesizer, instead of the familiar guitar, Birgy explored a spectrum of new sounds to illuminate a state of volatility and flux that was both universal and personal. Speaking of this transition, she describes the need “to feel… instantly. I didn’t want to dig into secret codes. I no longer wanted to hide behind difficult music. I was curious to give others the same with the music I create; to make music someone could use to explore drama, playfulness, and dancing, to shake the trauma loose.” Heavy grooves, metal guitar squeals, Italo disco bass lines, rhapsodic synth layers, and huge choruses stomp around the delightfully sanguine pop drama. Where previous records stretched out into the abstract and ethereal, End of Everything delivers a hit straight to collective awareness and healing. A seemingly disparate jukebox of sounds – ranging from Thin Lizzy, Bronski Beat, Franco Battiato and Ozzy Osbourne to 90’s house classics like Haddaway’s ‘What is Love’ and Corona's ‘Rhythm of the Night’ - foregrounded a new punchy theatricality in Birgy’s music. The songs she was creating at home followed suit with bolder hooks and more dancefloor energy than she’d ever dared before.

It’s always a joy to release music from friends, and ZamZam 91 is our first collab with a dear one, Jim Coles AKA Om Unit. It’s impossible to frame the breadth and depth of such a storied career in bass music in just a couple lines- so suffice to say that releases over decades on a who’s-who of seminal labels including Exit, Fabric, Planet Mu and of course his own Cosmic Bridge have cemented his rep as an absolute force in production and DJing across any number of genres and sub genres.

Coles’ roots in Bristol and deep love of dub and reggae - made beautifully explicit on his recent Acid Dub Studies LPs - come through strong on both sides. “The Canopy (Armageddon Style)” opens with ravey, arpeggiated synths worthy of Vangelis, punctuated by a brooding piano chord, building steadily into a dark and utterly apocalyptic steppers guaranteed to storm & batter down Babylon walls inside and out.

“Mystic 808” is a deep meditation, a slow stepper that ices down the furious energy of the A side and drops the tempo to suit. Recalling the heady days of original late 90s/early 2000s UK Dub - as well as early dub techno - stabs and melody caress, restrained percussion swims and multiplies in reverb and echo, orbits locked to the gravitational force of the massive and truly timeless bassline. Proper sound system material that will satisfy the heart and soul long after the dance is done.

History has proven that when the world is in flames, it ignites the empathetic artists to siren their words, music, and rhythm, to blanket our society"s fury and nurse scorched souls. The seemingly endless years of pandemic lockdown and social distancing, coupled with the turbulent plague of civil unrest and racial injustice, called on Vintage Trouble to step into their battle wear. Like so often before, they have spun records to drop onto the fighting grounds, with the intent to freeze the frame long enough to momentarily halt the warring world. And while at ease, we can freely choose to think before we strike or decide to retreat, rather than thoughtlessly charge into repeating history. This collection of heavy hymns is from the heart, and it provides a necessary rise to our ever reckoning.

1st Science (Henrik Helenius) Has Been An Online Man Of Mystery For Some Time, And You'd Better Believe He Supplies The Goods Whenever He Resurfaces!

In The Early 1990s, Out Of The Uk's Rave Scene, 2 Genres Known As Breakbeat Hardcore And Jungle Were Spawned. A Decade Later, And A Modest Online Community Began To Try And Revive The Genres In The 2000s Within A Scene Dubbed "Hardcore Breaks". Henrik Became One Of Its Most Influential And Creative Contributors, Bagging Himself Appearances On The Likes Of Right Touch Records, Bat Beat Recordings (The Precursor To Renegadegenius's Paranoid Recordings) And Hardcore Lives, As Well As Becoming One Of The First Serious Juggernauts Of Sharing Music Online.

Based In Stockholm, In The Words Of Strictly Nuskool Blog, Henrik Swiftly Earned Himself The Title Of "The Swedish King Of Hardcore" Amongst Junglists... And That's A Tough Title To Pinch!

Skip Ahead To The Year 2023, And 1st Science Is Far From Done. Hell, Didn't You Know He's Only Just Started Tuning Up The Bunsen Burner? From The Ones Who Brought You "You Time" And "First Sign Of Trouble", Yes Yes, Erupt Proudly Presents A Shiny New Ep From The Man, Featuring 5 Of His Finest Tracks On Wax For The First Time. If You're Familiar With The Earlier Digital Release Of This Ep, Don't You Worry, For Being Patient You Get The Exclusive Bonus Track "Everlasting Night" Here.

So What Are You Waiting For? 1st Science Invites You To Participate In An Experiment Which Requires Your Subwoofers. An Absolute Treasure Trove For Any Techno, Breaks, Or Uk Retro Rave Lover.

After a bit of down-time, Spacetalk Records returns with something special: a stunning compilation of obscurities, rare cuts and secret weapons compiled by label co-founder Danny McLewin under his Skyrager alias.

Although most widely known as one half of Psychemagik, McLewin has long been regarded as one of the UK’s most decorated crate-diggers – a DJ and record dealer recognised for his ability to unearth slept-on gems, private press obscurities and campfire-friendly curios. He’s already showcased his curatorial skills on a string of acclaimed and now sought-after comps – see Psychemagik’s Magik Cyrkles, Magik Sunrise and Magik Sunset Pt 1 & 2 – but Traces of Illusion marks the first time McLewin has put together a collection as Skyrager.

There’s no grand concept behind Traces of Illusion, though McLewin’s selections are universally tactile, sun-baked and effortlessly summery, evoking images of nights spent camped out in the Californian desert or beneath the vibrant canopy of an English forest at dusk. As you’d expect, there are no well-known anthems or ‘big tunes’ here, just an inspired selection of largely unknown musical nuggets oozing in quality.

For now, the track list is under wraps but you can be sure there are plenty of highlights to savour amongst the 15 tracks which all add up to an eye-opening, head-soothing journey through the dustiest corners of McLewin’s record collection.

An impossibly rare double sider from the JB's Records vaults gets a much called for official reissue. Cynthia Sheeler - I'll Cry Over is one of the rarest and greatest Southern Soul classics out there, always held back due to the scarcity of its original 1975 release. The last copy sold on Discogs five years ago for £400 and it’s easy to tell why. A luscious slice of Baton Rouge crossover soul that will sweep you up and whisk you away in it’s blissful grasp. An absolutely essential 7 inch for any collection. Black label version original black sleeve.

Die Neuauflage des Debütalbums von Animal Collective mit neu gemasterten Audioaufnahmen und einem neuen Artwork von Abby und Dave Portner. 'Spirit They're Gone, Spirit They've Vanished' wurde ursprünglich im Jahr 2000 unter dem Namen Avey Tare & Panda Bear veröffentlicht, bevor der vollständige Bandname auf den Veröffentlichungen verwendet wurde.

From the viscerally punishing and nerve wrecking, to the wistfully sublime, Kevin Drumm ‘s work often yield a ferocious intensity through the timbres of minute details. Now, throughout this series of archival works dating from 2000 to 2022, his mastery is once again on full display.

On »Battering Rams«, sinister forces interlope with sanguine glimmers of respite and contemplation, while recurring drones ceaselessly crescendo to near paralysing effect, only for the albums final moments to offer a lofty reprise of boundless oscillation, dispelling all the pent up tension into a sanguine state of bliss. Once again underpinning Drums’ genius of turning apparently trivial hums into elongated microtonal worlds that stay etched deeply in your conscious, often long after the works final resonances have already subsided.

The new album from hip-hop duo Atmosphere, So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously, opens with veteran rapper Slug and seasoned producer Ant taking a gentler approach. A departure from the brute intros of earlier works, the lead-off track “Okay” sounds focused on comforting and reassuring the listener, as if informed by fatherhood and implicit duty. With Slug rapping over one of the most twinkling productions Ant has released, the song lays the groundwork for an album-length exercise in fumbling consciousness without setting a precedent for how they intend to navigate it. Yet, as gently as the album begins, there’s an unmistakable sense of unease from the onset that continues to evolve throughout the project, as Slug and Ant weave the listener through indistinct themes of insomnia and woe.

From the subtle panic at the heart of songs like “Dotted Lines,” to the overt anxiety of songs like “In My Head,” the tension seems to cede and swell, but just as the tears begin to well, they seem to find resolve again through songs like “Still Life,” whose hopeful outlook undercuts the tensity of the album. Meanwhile, the rhythms on So Many Other Realities are some of the most inventive of Ant’s career. The playful percussion on “In My Head” acts as a nice counterweight to the roiling writing, while the drum patterns on “Holding My Breath” and “Bigger Pictures” allow Slug to play with his
flow to emphasize the anxiety driving the record.

Where previous records in this most recent act of Atmosphere’s career have been focused on emphasizing the parts of life that carry the most meaning—family, brotherhood, purpose—So Many Other Realities is an almost unnerving excavation of paranoia that can be grafted onto the general malaise of a pandemic weary society full of civil unrest. The tension of these songs is palpable, but the album’s mere presence is a testament to the hope that has to underpin even the most stressed out songs. Regardless of when the curtains might close, the music goes on.

Das Solo Debütalbum einer der wohl einflussreichsten, innovativsten und produktivsten Schlagzeuger zeitgenössischer Musik.

Die 13 Stücke umfassende Sammlung ist das Ergebnis einer 40-jährigen Karriere, in der Lombardo als Mitbegründer von Slayer bekannt wurde, zwei GRAMMY-Awards erhielt und sein Repertoire über alle Genres hinweg erweiterte. Der in Havanna geborene Lombardo arbeitete unter anderem mit Mike Patton und Fantômas zusammen, dem von der Kritik verehrten John Zorn, dem experimentellen Hip-Hop-Künstler DJ Spooky und den wiederauferstandenen Punk-Ikonen The Misfits.

Der Aufnahmeprozess für das filmmusikähnliche 'drum album' hatte ein einfaches Mantra: Schlagzeug musste Schlagzeug sein. Das Anfang 2022 von Lombardos Sohn David A. Lombardo abgemischte, selbst produzierte Album enthält eine große Konzert-Bass Drum, eine Pauke, einen Flügel und eine Schar von Shakern, Maracas, chinesischen und symphonischen Gongs, indianischen Trommeln, Congas, Timbales, Bongos, Batás, Holzblöcken, Djembes, Ibos, Darbukas, Octobans, Cajóns und Becken.

Das Solo Debütalbum einer der wohl einflussreichsten, innovativsten und produktivsten Schlagzeuger zeitgenössischer Musik.

Die 13 Stücke umfassende Sammlung ist das Ergebnis einer 40-jährigen Karriere, in der Lombardo als Mitbegründer von Slayer bekannt wurde, zwei GRAMMY-Awards erhielt und sein Repertoire über alle Genres hinweg erweiterte. Der in Havanna geborene Lombardo arbeitete unter anderem mit Mike Patton und Fantômas zusammen, dem von der Kritik verehrten John Zorn, dem experimentellen Hip-Hop-Künstler DJ Spooky und den wiederauferstandenen Punk-Ikonen The Misfits.

Der Aufnahmeprozess für das filmmusikähnliche 'drum album' hatte ein einfaches Mantra: Schlagzeug musste Schlagzeug sein. Das Anfang 2022 von Lombardos Sohn David A. Lombardo abgemischte, selbst produzierte Album enthält eine große Konzert-Bass Drum, eine Pauke, einen Flügel und eine Schar von Shakern, Maracas, chinesischen und symphonischen Gongs, indianischen Trommeln, Congas, Timbales, Bongos, Batás, Holzblöcken, Djembes, Ibos, Darbukas, Octobans, Cajóns und Becken.

The American new wave band Oingo Boingo was formed by Danny Elfman in 1979 and were known for their experimental music, which can be described as a mix of rock, ska, pop and world music. The band's body of work spanned 17 years, with various genre- and line-up changes. In 1994, after shortening their name into just Boingo, they released their final studio album Boingo. At that time, the line-up consisted of Elfman, Steve Bartek, and John Avila. The album features a cover version of The Beatles “I Am The Walrus”. Elfman would later become the legendary film composer he now is. Spiderman, Batman, Alice in Wonderland, the Simpsons tune- too name but a few- are all by his hand.

A precedent of sorts to, erm, Armand van Helden vs Fatboy Slim’s 1999 bout, ‘The Heavyweight Sound Fight’ takes pride of place among iDEAL’s hall of oddities with one of the zaniest recordings by three international leaders of the avant-garde. Double LP with an LP-sized 12-page booklet designed by Sean McCann of Recital.

Adapting all the pomp and ceremony of a boxing match to ludicrous ends - including a flier depicting each artist with their dukes up - they produced what sounds like a great night out for NYC’s experimental cognoscenti with Charlie Morrow (USA) vs Carles santos (Spain) each backed by a band - Soho Baroque Opera Company with the assistance of the New Wilderness Foundation - while Sweden’s Sten Hanson acts as referee, and Armand Schwerner takes the role of announcer in thick, nasal New York brogue. It’s brilliantly daft and subversive but accomplished in a witty way that maybe escapes too many solemnly po-faced avant-garde conceptualists nowadays, and remains a strange outlier in the history of NYC avant garde and beyond.

“Operating as an aural window into an happening that occurred more than 40 years ago, “The Heavyweight Sound Fight” unveils a different context of experimental music than is not often encountered today. Running across the album’s four sides, within all the seriousness of art and technique, is the unmistakable presence of humor, play, and the absurd. The audience can’t help but laugh and cheer as the announcer - effecting a deep New York accent and nodding toward notable attendees like Allison Knowles, Dick Higgins, and Jackson Mac Low - takes an active role in the fight, each artist delivering an array of vocalizations - from extended technique utterances to rants - against the next, with the bands weighing in and engaging in their own battles, ranging from big band dirges and marches, to outright experimental electronic madness. It’s a trully raucous affair that brings that radicalism carried by its sounds into entirely new zones.

According to Marrow, he was deemed “winner” in an “off-script” move by the judges, and Santos never spoke to him again, continuing the wild and wonderful mystery and humor of the performance into the present day. Who knows what Santos, who sadly passed away in 2017, would say.”