This Project is really a two in one offering. Combining the three tracks from Ringer’s 2021 release, the “Meta Music EP” and his darker more aggressive moniker, Black Sued’s offering the “Rogue EP”. The EP is sort of a yin and yang. Monotone is a deep chordal track with uplifting vocals and a pulsing almost distorted bassline. This track is complimented with minimal drums and a simple yet beautiful synth riffs that bring it all together. New Plan is a fast paced cut that insights the listener to move. The drums and chords wrestle in a rhythmic dance while Ringer’s voice projects the essence of this side of the 12”. Positivity and persistence, the energy is alive in this track. YIA, an acronym that stands for Yes I Am, is meditative and filled with affirmations for the listener. Deep solemn chords, and the sounds of a thunder storm take the listener into a inner place of self reflection. The affirmations are for the listener to embody, a solid thought provoking end to this side of the 12”.
Rogue, the title track of this side of the record, is an intelligent, dark and jazz filled groove, that takes the listener on a journey. The groove is easy to catch, and wraps the listener into an almost mysterious landscape of rhythm and melody. Keeping the tone of this side of the 12” is Maze. The chords and rhythm walk in tandem to a beat that almost favors a marching band. A higher energy feel arrives as the 16th high hats meet a long defining chord that take this track to the next level. Deep Dirt reminds me of a drum machine tweaking or malfunctioning. The ominous chords paired with the distorted synth and bass lines that carry the listener through the filth that is this track.
Buscar:beat c
After decades of DJ-ing and recording for acts in the Dutch underground hip-hop scene (like Osdorp Posse, Def P & Beatbusters, Onderhonden) and being a mainstay of events like Rauwe School and In Full Effect, DJ Daan releases his first solo record. Six atmospheric instrumental tracks sprinkled with some mild turntable action, meant to sit back and chill out to.
- El Entierro De Un Hombre Rico Que Murio De Hambre
- Hello, I Love You (The Doors Cover)
This is one of the most obscure singles ever released in Venezuela in the 60s. It followed the global triumph of The Beatles that made the wave of beat groups get bigger and bigger and lots of new bands emerged, some of which would last while others would definitively go into oblivion, and a small number of them would leave at least one recording that today is considered a highly valuable collector's item. This is the case of The Pets. The band's only album, released in 1967, shows perfectly what the influences of the Venezuelan nueva ola (new wave) scene were at the time, including versions of The Doors, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Paul Revere & The Riders_ as well as the outstanding original 'El entierro de un hombre rico que murió de hambre', one of the finest garage tunes to emerge from Latin America that was also released as a 7" single. Their stunning take on The Doors' 'Hello, I Love You' takes the B side of this mega scarce 45. A garage DJs favorite! First time 45 reissue, audios remastered from the original master tapes.
Civilistjävel! x Mayssa Jallad’s ‘Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels (Versions)’ is a radical response to Mayssa Jallad’s 2023 original LP, a lyrical account of epochal events in Beirut at the dawn of Lebanon's civil war. ‘…(Versions)’ sees Civilistjävel! (aka Swedish producer Tomas Bodén) apply a stripped, dub methodology to Mayssa's rich stems, refracting the Arabic source through the hazy prism of Northern European electronica. Retaining ‘Marjaa…’s deep spatial framing and vaporous, shifting nature, traces are lifted and set down in a new landscape: a ghost of a ghost. Informed by Tomas' singular strand of ambient, minimalist, dub techno, ‘… (Versions)’ recalls the reductive, shimmering pulse of pioneering Berlin-based practitioners Basic Channel/Chain Reaction, but with the parameters stretched into the ether. Where versions typically focus on a rhythm, here the anchor is the tone and texture of Mayssa’s voice, around which a new world has been constructed. Disembodied and liminal, it conjures an eerie panorama that feels like a postscript to the original, further emphasizing the geopolitical events that have had such devastating effect in Mayssa’s homeland of Lebanon since that record’s release. ‘Marjaa…’ (tr. ‘reference’) combined Mayssa Jallad’s two main vocations: music and urban research/architectural history. The album was co-written with Fadi Tabbal and based on Mayssa's Historic Preservation master's thesis (‘Beirut’s Civil War Hotel District: Preserving the World’s First High-Rise Urban Battlefield’). The thesis examined a 5-month conflict that took place within Beirut's skyscraper-laden luxury hotel district of Minet El Husn near the start of the Lebanese Civil War. Addressing a post-war generation who have never been taught this difficult history, ‘Marjaa…’ was an attempt to process trauma, and “a call to protest for the renewal, rather than the recycling of the political class that once destroyed the country and holds us, to this day, hostage of its violence.” Often perceived as a mysterious, shadowy presence, Civilistjävel! has come increasingly to the fore in recent years through a consistently dazzling stream of records, released both anonymously and via Fergus Jones’ FELT imprint, often appearing with scant information and tracks for the most part untitled. Having featured tracks from ‘Marjaa…’ on mixes, and included the album in his picks of 2023, in early 2024 Tomas asked Mayssa to provide vocals for a track on his album ‘Brödföda’. Mayssa remembers, “Tomas asked me to choose one of the tracks he was working on. I was in Boston at the time, so I took a walk and chose a track. I wrote the lyrics at the public park, wondering if I was the only one around that was losing sleep over the genocide in Palestine and the war in South Lebanon. I went back to the apartment and recorded the vocals on my phone, while listening to the track on headphones. Tomas reworked it with the voice and sent it back. I liked it immediately.” Despite the geographical distance from Beirut to Uppsala, Sweden, where Tomas resides, Mayssa’s contribution sounds very much at home in Civilistjävel!’s atmospheric, contemplative sound-world. Tomas’ request was reciprocated by Mayssa soon after, resulting in the spectral, glassy ambience of ‘Etel, Kharita (Version)’. This was followed by an invitation to work on more tracks, which Tomas immediately embraced, intensively jamming out versions live to two-track tape in downtime between travelling. If not entirely dissimilar to his regular working practice, the immediacy of it was unusual. Much was improvised live with just a keyboard (not tethered to a grid), and a restricted set-up that largely forbade later edits - only the rhythm tracks are programmed. A sharp conceptual thinker and composer, Tomas takes creative liberties with Mayssa’s songs in a way that is deeply felt and sympathetically aligned, whilst unashamedly outside of the original context of the record. The voice is leaned into as an instrument, without the clear, specific details of language, and this axis provides an uncertain, amorphous footing - structure is often suggested or hinted at, before disappearing or collapsing into fog, and folding back into the message within the song. A somewhat unprecedented source for an album of versions, even those familiar with ‘Marjaa: The Battle of the Hotels’ may at points struggle to hear the songs these versions are rebuilt from, despite the vocal narratives remaining virtually intact. The light has shifted; eroded buildings are foregrounded; fragments of memories appear in chiaroscuro. Signs and signifiers have been replaced. Shorn of the original's warm guitar, ‘Baynana (Version)’ feels like an ominous visitation, the sun no longer visible. ‘Holiday Inn (March 21 to 29) (Version)’ is a molten, clattering invocation. The beat-less tracks nod towards the cold, otherworldly sound-scaping of late '90s isolationism. More propulsive and embodied, ‘Holiday Inn (January to March) (Version)’ and ‘Kharita (Dub)’ are strobing, iridescent techno - lithe, shifting and mutating with almost implausible finesse. A stunning addition to Civilistjävel!’s growing catalogue, ‘…(Versions)’ is a luminous counterpoint to ‘Marjaa…’, and a welcome reminder of how incredible that record remains.
"High urgency music with a very personal expression of the artist: in one way or another", this has always been the important or maybe even the core factor of every Cortizona release so far.
So it was just a matter of time until DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess, longtime fan of The Fall and Jiskefet, topnotch producer, dj wizard with three turntables (and a lovely person in general) - and myself - would collaborate towards a Cortizona release.
I guess the initial idea of working together with DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess dates back to 2019. One day she called me four times in five minutes just to hear Mark E. Smith's voice message on my phone. Since then there has been no going back. I mean: what's not to love about her?
Some time ago, she sent me the digital files of her new LP 'Sorry, No Service'. One of the tracks, 'Sorry, No Silence', features the Nan Goldin sample: 'this is clearly ethnic cleansing', taken from Goldin's impressive speech to which the audience cheered in support at the opening of her exhibition at the Neue Nationalgallerie in Berlin end of 2024.
Two weeks later Marcelle contacted me again: her German label refused to release the track. This was the moment we had both been waiting for: at last Cortizona and Marcelle would work together!
The album is due to be released later this year, but, with things as they are in Gaza, it is important to issue 'Sorry, No Silence' as a stand-alone track as soon as possible.
Talking about urgency!
'Sorry, No Silence' resonates feelings of global despair over the genocide in Gaza and the moraland political bankruptcy of 'western values'. It does so over a repetitive, militant tribal beat, complete with heavy basslines. The spirits of Mark Stewart, On-U Sound and Muslimgauze loom over the track, but as is always the case with Marcelle, both on stage and in the studio: she has an authentic style of her own, where playfulness meets courage and - also in this case - anger meets rhythm.
'Sorry, No Silence' is a track I didn't know I was waiting for. A track reflecting the sign of the times. The 12'' also features an even more heavy (and faster) dub version and the avant garde track 'Never Again Means', featuring more Nan Goldin samples: 'never again means never again for everyone'.
For obvious reasons the proceeds of this 12 inch and the digital Bandcamp release will be donated to PCRF, Palestine Children's Relief Fund.
Support more than welcome.
(written by Philippe Cortens)
Music is a language. This new label is a hypothetical sound trip between skyscrapers, wild places, deep imaginary oceans in our mistreated, but fascinating globe. No specific musical genre, but a sort of global beat, winking especially at the Balearic sounds. You can call them edits or re-publications, but our belief is that you can make tracks that are extremely expensive, in their original version or that have never been printed on vinyl. Imaginária wants to respect the publishers, authors, producers and musicians of the published songs, but fundamentally you who promote our idea.
- A1: As The Sun Beats Down
- A2: Atlanta's Own
- A3: Who The Hell Are You?
- A4: Goddamn These Hands
- A5: Drinking With Mickey Mantle
- A6: Raised In The Shadows
- A7: Weapon Of God
- A8: Jimmy Barlett's Teeth
- B1: Hungry Dog In The Street
- B2: The Business Man
- B3: The Carriage Town Clinic
- B4: I Love You Like An Alcoholic
- B5: Some Rotten Man
- B6: Let The Seconds Do Their Worst
- C1: Introduction
- C2: Go Fetch A Priest
- C3: Atlanta's Own Practice Demo
- C4: As The Sun Beat Down Practice Demo
- C5: I Love You Like An Alcoholic Practice Demo
- D1: Drinking With Mickey Mantle New Version
- D2: Who The Hell Are You? / When The Night Train Runs Low Florida Sessions
- D3: Get Your Cigarettes Florida Sessions
- D4: Hungry Dog In The Street Florida Sessions
- D5: He Was Born Outdoors Florida Sessions
- D6: Let The Seconds Do Their Worst Florida Sessions
- D7: Outro
The Richard Sen remixes of John Grant were commissioned in 2016 but were never released. Since then, enquiries about release have continued to this day. Sen's remix of 'Disappointing' featured on Andrew Weatherall's Beats In Space mix in 2016 and was a staple in his DJ sets, especially at ALFOS. Charlie Bones, Ivan Smagghe and Optimo also supported it at the time. This release on Sen's DIYC label follows his much hyped album, India Man. In addition, Richard's compilation, Dream The Dream on Ransom Note (2023) was voted Best British Compilation by DJ Mag. These remixes have also been gaining much interest from the listeners of Sen's weekly show on Do!! You!!! Radio.
Following Stab Breaks and Crystal Blue Cuts, a chilling new theme emerges this time inspired by the legendary horror icon Chucky, the killer doll with razor-sharp punchlines. This record is a full on tribute to the story and voices of the film’s unforgettable characters. Side A delivers a loaded sound bank packed with eerie samples, while Side B features six skip-proof scratch tracks designed for seamless performance. Also included is a download card giving you digital access to the full record, plus four exclusive bonus beats available for free download.
Matching vivid world-building with a full house of kinetic rhythms, Polygonia delivers her latest album to Dekmantel as an invitation to experience 12 different dream scenarios.
As Polygonia, Munich-based Lindsey Wang has established herself as a constantly inventive, omnipresent operator within the modern electronic landscape, exploring varying shades of ambient and deep techno while increasingly spreading into downtempo and leftfield electronica with a playful yet mysterious spirit.
Dream Horizons is an instructive title — Wang approached her new album as a collection of different dream scenarios, with all the creative freedom the concept implies. From oceanic calm to artful propulsion, she was free to shift gears from track to track while relishing the strange and beautiful atmospheres her inspiration pointed towards. A multi-instrumentalist as well as a producer, Wang recorded her own voice, saxophone, flute, violin and percussion to inject organic, human vibrancy into the surreal spaces she was shaping out, capturing the uncanny sensation of alien and familiar that hangs over the places we visit when we sleep.
There are pointedly direct techno workouts on the album, from deft beatdown 'Soul Reflections' to shimmering ear worm 'Set Me Free', and 'Twisted Colours' relishes shifting blocks of flute around a sprightly, footwork-tickled framework. Elsewhere, there's space for softer expressions on pearlescent opus 'Crystal Valley' while elastic rhythms and tactile textures slither around at a lower tempo on 'Flakes Flying Upwards'. In between, Wang plays with fractured beat patterns and sharply sculpted sonic matter with a staggering level of detail and intention. 'Gate To Amygdala' is the perfect example of the bold scope of her expression — the midpoint track thrives on nervous tension and a dislocated sense of momentum without anything like a conventional techno trope. 'Mindfunk' equally pushes and pulls at sensory perception with an off-kilter, awkwardly looped synth phrase that relishes the opportunity to skew dance music conventions within the flexible rules of the dream world.
For all the smart production and knowingly experimental approaches that form the basis of the album's sound, it's also a record charged with the full range of emotions you might expect to experience on a break away from consciousness. Whether it's the melancholic impressions that smudge into incidental pauses on 'Metaphysical Scribbles' or the mantra-like breath and sax combination of 'Essential Breath' that closes the record, Polygonia's heart bursts out of the album's vibrant form as brilliantly as her exacting, studio-synced mind.
2025 Repress
Tobias Bernstrup is a contemporary musician and video artist born 1970 in Gothenburg, Sweden. He received an MFA from Royal College University of Fine Arts Stockholm in 1998. Using the visual language of pop culture, video games, sci-fi, classicism and gothic noir, he has created a stage persona with notorious live performances. Dressed in elaborate costumes of skin-tight rubber suits and fetish gear, Tobias' external appearance is androgynous. He raises questions about representation of identity, the body and physical space in both virtual and non-virtual realities. Between 1997 and 1998 he self-released two limited CD-R EPs. In 2002 his debut album 'Re-Animate Me' was released by Tonight Records followed by two limited 12' singles for the song 27' and the Italian version Ventisette'.
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27' is a 5-song EP collecting 4 different mixes of the title track plus one unreleased song from the 'Re-Animate Me' recording sessions. The material on this EP is closely connected with the world of computer games which Bernstrup also inhabits. Bernstrup's music is influenced by 1980s Italo disco and synth pop, reminiscent of Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and Ken Lazlo. On the A-side is the original mix at 115 bpm followed by the Lazer Mix set to an faster beat and additional arpeggiations and heavier bass drum beats. Lyrically the song tells the story of a good looking 27-year old boy from a small town searching for love with any man who can spoil him. On the B-side are both the vocal and instrumental of Ventisette', the Italian translation of the song 27.' Both versions of Ventisette' are stripped back compared to the A-side but keep the melodies in tact. Also released for the first time ever is the demo Dirty Money' a Pet Shop Boys influenced song about male prostitutes ready for a night out working the streets.
All songs have been remastered for vinyl by George Horn at Fantasy Studios. For the jacket Eloise Leigh transformed the original portrait of Tobias into a Warhol-like painted polaroid with a striking likeness to Liza Minelli with blue eye shadow and red lipstick. Each copy includes a photo postcard with lyrics and notes. I would rather create alternative routes to experiencing and understanding the world, understanding what it means to be human today,' says Bernstrup. We are more artificial than we want to admit.'
YES! Originally released in 2000, Mark de Clive-Lowe's Six Degrees captures the early essence of what would later be known as broken beat, club-jazz and future soul; bridging the sounds of 70s jazz-fusion, jungle, hip-hop, house and Afro-Cuban rhythms. With fender rhodes, synths and an MPC2000 at the core of his production, de Clive-Lowe blended live musicianship with beat-driven sensibilities in a way that was ahead of its time.
Originally released in New Zealand via Kog Transmissions, the album found its way onto the global stage when Universal Jazz UK picked it up. Now, 25 years later, Be With is proud to present a special anniversary vinyl reissue, celebrating a landmark album that laid the foundation for an international career spanning continents, collaborations, and countless musical evolutions. Limited to just 400 copies for the world, these are gonna fly.
In 1998, a 23-year-old Mark de Clive-Lowe set off on a year-long journey that would shape his career and musical identity. Fuelled by an insatiable curiosity and a grant from New Zealand supporting emerging artists, he traveled across the globe — digging through record stores in San Francisco, immersing himself in the rhythms of Havana, collaborating in London’s underground studios and experiencing the jazz legacy of New York. Along the way, he crossed paths with pioneers, mentors and kindred spirits who would deeply influence his sound.
Six Degrees is the sonic diary of that transformative year — a musical world tour distilled into one groundbreaking album. It's both a snapshot of a pivotal moment in de Clive-Lowe’s life and a timeless statement of creative exploration.
The jazzy jungle vibes of "Roundtrip" opens proceedings, inspired by de Clive-Lowe's deep love of drum & bass. It kicks off with a rhythm pattern picked up in Havana, combined with Lonnie Liston Smith-style Rhodes textures and a rolling jungle breakbeat. Sublime. Up next, "La Zorra" is a moving tribute to the folkloric 6/8 rhythms he was surrounded by in Cuba. Afro-Cuban music had a huge impact on his sound and this track reflects those deep grooves brilliantly. Hip-hop has also been a major influence since de Clive-Lowe's teenage years and Manuel Bundy’s scratches bring an essential turntable element to "Melodious Funk", giving it that raw boom-bap edge.
Underground favourite "El Día Perfecto" came about by de Clive-Lowe wanting to write something as catchy as Incognito’s "Colibri", combined with his deep love for Lonnie Liston Smith. Effortless as it sounds, it pretty much wrote itself, seemingly. "Cosmic Echoes" is a nod to house music, but on the chiller side. Named after Lonnie Liston Smith’s band, with bouncy bass, a steady 4/4 groove and chopped tabla percussion, the mood this track conjures up is special. The deeply soulful "Day By Day" became the biggest track from the album, partly thanks to DJ Spinna’s remix and Café del Mar featuring it on their compilation. Cherie Mathieson’s vocals shine here. The lyric came to de Clive-Lowe while hanging out at Cause Célèbre in Auckland: “Day by day, side by side, hand in hand, no turning back.”
"Restless" is a jazz-funk jam built on a classic drum break, heavily influenced by Roy Ayers and the Mizell Brothers. Named in homage to Phil Asher’s Restless Soul moniker, his impact on de Clive-Lowe's journey can’t be overstated. Following on, "Mindscape" is a darker, rawer drum & bass track. The chopped-up drum break and moody synths channel everything he loved about the deeper, more atmospheric side of the genre. "Control" continues the jungle influence — this one’s all about the heavy grooves and deep bass, inspired by nights out listening to Jumping Jack Frost and Grooverider in packed basement clubs.
"Por La Mañana" is a musical snapshot of walking the Malecón in Havana in the morning sun. The city had such a profound impact on de Clive-Lowe and this track captures some of that energy and movement. Penultimate gem "Motherland" is a nod to his Japanese heritage. The melody draws from Japanese scales, shifting between moody introspection and uplifting harmony. Built on a chopped live drum break he recorded in Tokyo years earlier. We end with "El Día Perfecto (Reprise)", a stripped-down reprise featuring percussion, vocoder, Rhodes and synths — leaving the listener with a warm, uplifting final moment.
Speaking to Be With, de Clive Lowe explained just how much celebrating the 25-year anniversary of this album means to him: "Since then, I’ve released so much more music, but Six Degrees still resonates — it captures a really special moment in my life. A turning point, a fork in the road that ultimately changed everything. It’s amazing to reflect on where this journey has taken me, and I’m incredibly grateful for it. I still remember the night I finished "El Día Perfecto". I took a minidisc of it to my friend Cian’s DJ set at Galatos in Auckland. He plugged it in, and I watched the dancefloor move to something I’d just created hours earlier — it was a magical moment.
When Six Degrees was first released, the internet was still in its early days. There was no YouTube, no streaming, no instant global access to new sounds. The album was my way of bringing together all the music and places I had experienced over that year, blending them into something uniquely mine. It introduced me to listeners around the world and opened the doors to a career that would take me to more countries, collaborations and experiences than I ever imagined.
25 years later, I’m so grateful for everything this record set in motion. It’s a document of a moment in time, but it still feels alive — and I’m thrilled to share it again in this special anniversary edition."
Mastering for this 25 year vinyl edition was overseen by Be With regular Simon Francis and it was cut by the esteemed Cicely Balston at Abbey Road Studios to be pressed in the Netherlands by Record Industry. The original artwork has been lovingly brought back to life by de Clive-Lowe himself, with updated liner notes written specially for this landmark reissue.
Makin’ Moves bring this archived studio gem to the fore as it was just too damn good to be left sitting on the drive! Rewind back to 2005 and a chance studio meeting in London between Bugz in the Attic producer Afronaught aka Orin Walters and Justin Chapman aka Kemeticjust who decided to work on some tracks. It was a time in London where there was a huge melting pot of new sounds in the broken beat era / scene and that sound was at the forefront of London’s club scene including night’s like Co-op at Plastic People in Shoreditch. However, these sounds still have stayed the test of time and very prominent still in clubland today.
Justin’s classy vocal tells a political story about our modern times in American and feeling of oppression with in the Black race.
Phil Asher (RIP) at the time loved the track and decided to do his own “Restless Soul Dub” remix version, adding his characteristic drums and stripping the vocal back while also keeping the soulfulness of Kemetic’s original.
Also featured on the package are two other mixes the excellent Blaktones Mix is must have for all the co-op broken beat heads, seeing Afronaught using those classic sounds to full effect to set the party off!
- 1: Don‘t Stop (Original Version)
- 2: Go Go Yellow Screen (1“ Version)
- 3: Get Up (Remake 1986) (12“ Version)
- 4: Jungle Beat (Don‘t Stop The Jungle Beat) (7“ Version)
- 5: Time (Back In Time) (12“ Version)
- 6: Humanity (12“ Version)
- 7: Dance To The Music (Original Version)
- 8: Don‘t Stop (Part 2) (7“ Version)
Die niederländische Band “Digital Emotion“ wurde 1983 gegründet und konnte in den folgenden Jahren mit Titeln wie “Don’t Stop“ , “Get Up Action“ oder “Go Go Yellow Screen“ weltweit Erfolge feiern.
Neben der perfekt produzierten Musik , waren Digital Emotion auch für ihre Bühnenshows bekannt. Die Compilation “Greatest Hits & Remixes“ liefert alle Hits der Band.
Jetzt auch als Vinyl erhältlich Ein Muß für alle Fans von Italo Disco, Eurodisco, Spacesynth!
South African producer Cool Affair returns to Cataleya with an innovative track that blends genres effortlessly. Motoric Patterns is a real hypnotic groover, with sweet keys and vocal harmonies. The sound is somewhere between Broken Beat, Downtempo and even Deep House. Keyboard wizard and Broken Beat pioneer Kaidi Tatham provides a fantastic remix. His version features classic fractured beats and soul kissed touches. Tatham even adds an extra vocal hook. Motoric Patterns is a singular winner!
- 1: Madara
- 2: Tydow
- 3: Niramu
- 4: Gyafooon
- 5: Onshinfutsuu
- 6: Uyamuya
- 7: Moshi-Moshi
- 8: Ideyo
- 9: Miz-Kicaz-Iwaz
- 10: Izanai
- 11: Hijousen
DIEMAJIN is the duo of Berlin-based producer DJ DIE SOON (Daisuke Imamura) and Tokyo-based vocalist MA. Their self-titled debut is equal parts scrambled hip-hop, simmering noise and spectral Tokusatsu soundtrack. A set of cursed beats and possessed raps inspired by Japanese sci-fi and supernatural-horror films from the 1960s.
The pair, both originally from Japan, first collaborated live at an event in Berlin organised by Morphine Records in 2019. But the eleven tracks on their self-titled debut were made by swapping beats, sounds and acapellas across the internet. Editing, arranging and degrading them into the collection presented here.
- A1: Charity Case
- A2: Who’s Gonna Save My Soul
- A3: Going On
- A4: Run (I’m A Natural Disaster)
- A5: Would Be Killer
- A6: Open Book
- A7: Whatever
- B1: Surprise
- B2: No Time Soon
- B3: She Knows
- B4: Blind Mary
- B5: Neighbors
- B6: A Little Better
With its cinematic origins The Odd Couple is the natural title for the second album by a pair who seem to spend as much time in wardrobe as the studio and whose recordings are often compared to film scores. Their greatest hit, 2006's "Crazy" was even built around a chunk of a spaghetti western soundtrack. Yet after the success of 2006's excellent St Elsewhere, the collaboration of singer Thomas "Cee-Lo Green" Callaway and producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton has become a permanent institution.
Two years on, The Odd Couple stands up proudly alongside its predecessor. The basic recipe hasn't been drastically altered--Danger Mouse's skittering beats and snap-crackle-pop production still provide the perfect platform for Cee-Lo's mighty, soulful wail. If anything, the pair have refined and sharpened their approach to a razor's edge. The key is the way the musical flavors intersect: the Arthur Lee-meets-N.E.R.D. stroll of "Surprise," the jubilant jumble of gospel/soul/synthpop on "Going On," the Otis Redding-shares-a-treadmill-with-Outkast feel of the single "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)." The cumulative effect is one of a group whose trick-bag has a never-ending supply of happy surprises.




















