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Born in a Gambian griot family, kora virtuoso and afro-fusion pioneer Jally Kebba Susso has been active in the UK music
scene for twenty years. While based in London, he has tirelessly, through both personal and collective endeavours, built a
singular musical identity by working hard on making the timeless Mandinka kora, an instrument he's been playing since
his youth, sound like never before, combining the ancient West African strings with forward-thinking aesthetics and myriad
of musicians and producers from the thriving London music scene such as Onipa, Dark Sky and Kay Suzuki.
Jally Kebba Susso has already released two albums as a solo musician ("Malaye Warr", 2012 and "Banjul - London",
2017), as well as a member of the successful afro-fusion band Afriquoi, whose latest EP has garnered a very wide
support, culminating in several million streams and performances on some of UK's biggest festival stages (Boomtown,
Glastonbury).
Freedom! A heartfelt shout expressing the newfound joy of an African musician whose working conditions, despite his
long-standing roots in the London music scene, have sometimes been precarious.
A newfound freedom to be able to look ahead and fully persue one's need of self-actualisation. Hence this new EP, written
with the help of Jally's accomplished band members (Yuval Juba Wetzler, Nim Sadot and Oli Arlotto) and produced
by Tom Excell (Onipa, Nubiyan Twist), whose 4 tracks all deal with topics (identity, homesickness, family, social justice)
which are dear to Jally's heart as a Gambian native and West African musician settled in Europe.
A pleasant atmospheric opener, "Wulu Doula" rides on a classic Afrobeat groove, while Jally reminds us how we are only
what we become, no matter where we come from and who we inherit from.
"Justice" is a stomping mandinka funk hit, in which "freedom, equal rights and justice" are claimed by Jally for all fellow
artists and musicians from the West African diaspora working in Europe.
Clearly anchored in Gambian music tropes and reminiscent of the pioneering mandinka fusion of Ifang Bondi, "Fakoly"
tells the story of Jally's family lineage, as a member of the 74th Susso generation. As Jally puts it, "being a griot is a way
of life".
Homesickness can be a bitter feeling. But you can turn it around. That is exactly what Jally achieves with "Banjul", a
cheerful, funky tribute to the Gambian capital, in which Jally grew up, learning words of wisdom from his elders.

MASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL ANALOGUE MASTER TAPES AND PRESSED ON MOFI SUPERVINYL

· A Bold Celebration of Romantics, Escapists, and Dreamers: Electric Light Orchestra’s Eldorado Marries

Rock and Symphonic Elements, Includes the Aptly Titled Hit “Can’t Get It Out of My Head”

· Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes for Audiophile Quality: Mobile Fidelity 180g Vinyl LP and

· Melodic, Beatles-Inspired Tour de Force Features Full Orchestra and Choral Section: Arrangements and Lyrics

Transport the Listener to Faraway Horizons



Electric Light Orchestra leader Jeff Lynne did more than figuratively reach for the sky on Eldorado. Daring to be bold, and creating imaginative worlds that invite the listener to escape the mundane, the visionary composer-musician achieved a multidisciplinary fantasia and, in the process, a prog-rock landmark. Nearly 50 years later, the concept album's brilliance can be experienced like never before in cinematic fashion.



Mastered from the original analogue master tapes, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl vinyl at RTI, and housed in a tip-on jacket, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g LP of Eldorado allows the long-time audiophile staple to resonate with previously unheard dynamics, tones, and colours. Conjuring the feeling of journeying to different horizons, the record's songs teem with layer upon layer of details, which can now be heard as the producers intended.



Presenting the album with breath-taking clarity yet retaining the warmth, texture, and emotion that differentiate live music from reproduced sounds, this collectible reissue features reference-quality levels of in-the-moment presence, grand-scale sound-staging, and instrumental balance. Bursting with a veritable cornucopia of stimuli, MoFi's Eldorado LP also benefits from superb separation and immersive atmospherics that stem from the meticulous remastering process – as well as an ultra-low noise floor, industry-leading groove definition, and dead-quiet surfaces courtesy of the MoFi SuperVinyl properties.

An artistic breakthrough that established Electric Light Orchestra as a pioneering band (and confirmed Lynne as the leading practicing Beatles disciple), the 1974 effort remains notable for its involvement of a full orchestra and choral section, the range of which are captured with exquisite results on this LP. Eldorado distinguished itself from the band's first two works not only via Lynne's sharpened songwriting but due to the hiring of an orchestra that augmented the group's three string players. Co-arranged by Lynne and conductor Louis Clark, the symphonic movements bolster the contagious fare without ever drowning it. The accents also act as transports into the varied narrative universes.



Finished as a story before Lynne put notes down on paper, Eldorado ironically owes its inspiration to Lynne's father. In response to his dad's criticisms about the band, Lynne conceived a melodic tour de force that, like The Wizard of Oz, which informs the cover art, emphasizes the power of everyday dreams and everyman heroism. It's no coincidence that the sonic journey begins with an overture punctuated by the words of a cynic who condemns "the dreamer, the unwoken fool."



Beautiful yet fun, ambitious yet consistent, Eldorado proceeds to celebrate such romantics and escapists. A Technicolor escapade marked by lush melodies, fluid crescendos, and an intoxicating blend of energetic rock and sweeping orchestral elements, the album weds rich imagery and sweeping sounds in manners that make the two inseparable. In Lynne and company's hands, reality and fantasy collide, and dissolve any dividing lines. The proof is not just in the epic production, but in the timeless (and catchy) nature of songs such as the balladic "Boy Blue," power-pop packed "Illusions in G Major," and, of course, the aptly titled hit, "Can't Get It Out of My Head."



Decades later, Eldorado doubles as the equivalent of an out of body experience, an invitation to break away from monotony whether you're listening to your Mobile Fidelity reissue on a large system or an excellent pair of headphones.



MoFi SuperVinyl

Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analog lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

This three album Limited Edition Numbered set of Fleetwood Mac live
and studio tracks on Blue Vinyl recorded after the departure of Peter
Green and before the arrival of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham
Fleetwood Mac made it big twice over: first as young kings of the late 1960's
British blues boom – blues fanatics who nonetheless made the pop charts with a
batch of memorable songs penned by founder Peter Green.
Then secondly, as the band that with its Rumours album Californian line- up,
tapped into a whole new market in the mid-1970's which became known as AOR -
adult oriented rock.
The music here is from a pivotal eighteen months in Mac's history as it lost its
original if- it- ain't- blues- we- don't- wanna- know attitude and looked to its own
songwriters - and America's West Coast sound - for inspiration.
After Peter Green's exit in May 1970 the rest of the band bravely decided to carry
on as a 4-piece, and so rented an oast house called Kiln House to try and 'get it
together in the country. Christine McVie joined, and one of the stand-out songs,
'Station Man', would endure for Mac in the bleak years before they moved to
California in 1974 where they struck gold with their eponymous white album and
then Rumours. 'Station Man' eventually found its way into the live set-list of the
Buckingham/ Nicks line- up and listening to it again here you can hear why: in
there, as far back as 1970, are some trademarks of the Rumours sound: threevoice harmonies, in- song tempo changes and ringing guitar sounds. Similarly,
'The Purple Dancer' and 'Jewel Eyed Judy' showcase a vocal harmonies and
melodic sense of things to come for Fleetwood Mac many miles down the line.

On 'Hurricane Clarice' stringband revolutionaries Allison de Groot &
Tatiana Hargreaves infuse centuries of matrilineal folk wisdom into a
soundtrack to environmental disaster
Produced by indie folk visionary Phil Cook, the duo's energetic sophomore album
features nine pieces, including two epic medleys (carefully selected from their
archival deep dives) as well as a few transcendent instrumental originals.
Recorded during an apocalyptic heat wave in Portland, OR, the album is a
testimony to the relation of community and climate in a dying world. The
Hargreaves- penned title track delves into the surreal world of Brazilian author
Clarice Lespector while the Canadian ballad "The Banks of the Miramichi"
references the "before times" of a polluted river used as a case study in the
environmentalist classic 'Silent Spring'. We turn inward in times of global or
personal crisis, seeking the wisdom of those before us — a human instinct
manifested literally on this record through the recorded voices of the duo's
grandmothers. Any artist unearthing old sounds takes traditional elements and
exaggerates here or there to fit a personal aesthetic or style–there is no authentic
rendition. With 'Hurricane Clarice', Allison and Tatiana propose a third way beyond
tradition and progress. Community might just save us all.

Dallas-born Roger Kynard Erickson, better known as Roky Erickson, is a legend of psychedelic music and culture. Playing piano at five years old and guitar at ten, he dropped out of high school in Austin shortly before graduating, since the school dress code demanded short hair. In 1965, his group, The Spades, made an impact with “We Sell Soul” and the following year, The 13 th Floor Elevators burst onto the scene with debut album The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13 th Floor Elevators, but the band’s non-conformist attitude and open endorsement of drugs such as marijuana and LSD put them in repeated conflict with the authorities. Then, in 1968, during a performance at the San Antonio edition of the World’s Fair, known as HemisFare, Erickson began speaking incomprehensible nonsense on stage, leading to a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and confinement in a Houston psychiatric hospital, where he was forcibly given electroshock therapy. The following year, after being busted with a single joint, Erickson pleaded not guilty by means of insanity, leading to a 3-year stay in Rusk State Hospital, with further electroshock and Thorazine treatments. Following his release Erickson formed a group initially called Bleib Alien, which evidenced a more hard-rock orientation, later renamed The Aliens, though Erickson was also working with Austin’s The Explosives in the same era. Aliens material produced by Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Rival was issued by CBS and an independent, 415 Records. Then, in the early 1980s, Erickson became fixated with junk mail and unsolicited letters, writing to lawyers and celebrity figures on a regular basis; in 1985, solo mini-LP Clear Night For Love was produced at Music Tracks in Austin by bassist/guitarist Speedy Sparks, with former Joe “King” Carrasco and Delbert McClinton drummer, Ernie Durawa, plus Supernatural Family Band alumnus John Reed on guitar. Released by France’s New Rose label in small numbers, the release found Erickson back in semi-psychedelic/country rock mode on opening track “You Don’t Love Me Yet,” the plaintive “Starry Eyes” and the anthem-like title track, while “The Haunt” is more in swamp/horror rock vein and “Don’t Slander Me” has heavy blues leanings.

Playing in Dixieland jazz bands during his teens and then passing through some Kansas City jazz acts, New York-born alto saxophonist Steve Lacy became associated with the avant-garde jazz movement from the mid-1950s, playing on free jazz pianist Cecil Taylor’s influential debut LP and early work by the Canadian pianist Gil Evans, before serving a long tenure with the idiosyncratic improv pianist Theolonius Monk, whose work he would continue to reference throughout his career. Visiting Europe from the md-1960s, starting with a trip to Copenhagen with pianist Kenny Drew (who made the Danish city his home thereafter), Lacy later travelled to Italy to form a quartet with Italian trumpeter Enrico Rava (who had earlier played in Argentinian sax player, Gato Barbieri’s group), plus South African exiles and former Blue Notes members Johnny Dyani on double bass and Louis Moholo on drums. Lacy subsequently moved to Paris, which became his permanent base from 1970, leading a sextet there whilst also exploring the limits of the alto saxophone as a solo instrument. The disparate and often discordant album Threads was recorded in Rome at Mama Dog studio in 1977 for filmmaker-turned-record producer Aldo Sinesio’s Horo Records label; comprised of six of Lacy’s own compositions, the album saw Lacy supported by Alvin Curran on piano and Frederic Rzewski on flugelhorn, synthesizer and percussion, the pair both longstanding members of the experimental group, Musica Elettronica Viva.GO

'Symmetry Systems' is the new LP by Dennis Huddleston AKA 36. Inspired by Warp's 'Artificial Intelligence' releases from the early 90's, it's a melodic, synthesiser-driven record, with a wink to the past and a nod towards the future.

"I have a deep love for those early Warp albums, particularly the Artificial Intelligence compilations. It was a wonderful time for UK electronic music. That beautiful, warm machine sound, with an optimistic (if somewhat naive) vision for the future. I found the whole thing incredibly inspiring and wanted to revisit those memories, albeit with a 36 twist"

Like 'Wave Variations' before it, this record explores various approaches to the theme, with each track directly inspiring the next one. All tracks are sequenced in the order they were made. 'Symmetry Systems' is a collection of hypnotic machine music, made with a delicate human touch.

Historical power metal force CIVIL WAR enter their fourth battle with Invaders! Swedish historical modern power metal outfit CIVIL WAR fly the flags of international strife once again with their brand new, fourth album, Invaders, set for release on June 17, 2022 via Napalm Records. The band founded by former members of Sabaton returns with 10 new wartime anthems detailing harrowing stories of sorrow and tales of turbulent triumph from around the globe, as well as human nature itself. Invaders marks the band’s first album with masterful frontman Kelly Sundown Carpenter and formidable shredder Thobbe Englund (ex-Sabaton), and grips with riveting accounts ranging from Viking invasions and the greed of powerful nations to legendary Native American battles and magical Arthurian fantasy – all amid a profusion of enthrallingly dynamic vocals, epic soundscapes and impressive, technical instrumentals. The album starts off with the captivating “Oblivion”, inviting the listener into an apocalyptic world with its exotic, menacing sound, strong vocals and heavy guitar riffs. Packed with epic symphonic power, Invaders continues with the war anthem “Dead Man’s Glory”, telling a story of Irish resistance – fighting to preserve their way of life against a Viking invasion. The album rages on with the retelling of a legendary Native American victory at the Battle of the Wabash on the fast-paced “Invaders” and then settles into the pulsating, atmospheric “Heart of Darkness” before arriving at “Andersonville” – recounting the horrors of Confederate prisoner-of-war camp Andersonville Prison through the letters of a Union soldier to his wife. This song soars as a massive power ballad with heart-rending symphonics, choirs and emotive vocals. “Battle of Life” delivers the grand finale of Invaders as a pummeling, fiery power metal pinnacle, summoning listeners of all walks of life to persevere and call on inner strength in times of trouble. In keeping with the album’s Native American theme, the Western-inspired heavy metal battle cry “Custer’s Last Stand” sees its 10th anniversary re-recording and re-release as a bonus track, entrancing the listener with Carpenter’s passionate vocal delivery, searing guitar harmonics, keyboard fanfares and tribal drums. With Invaders, CIVIL WAR prove they’ve once again etched a position all their own in the annals of modern power and heavy metal while proving their deft storytelling skill and knack for engaging lyricism. Invaders is a must-listen! .

Another collaborative effort from the consistently fascinating US ambient kings Past Inside The President, this time with Hendrix - not that one - and Wayne Robert Thomas, whose atmospheric guitar-led work has featured several times on the label before. If the average ambient album has its head in the clouds, this is more grounding, more gamboling in the fields perhaps than floating in the ether, with gentle flute and guitar giving the walls of synth sounds some perspective. That said, the closing track of the four, 'Retract R (Type K)', sizzles away like something by Growing or even Spaceman 3 left to fry in the sun. Magnificent stuff..

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

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

Caamp formed when Taylor Meier and Evan Westfall met and bonded
over a shared love of music and a shared love of home, specifically the
inspiration they culled from the Midwest lives they grew up in
The two began writing and performing and quickly grew a rabid fan base. A selftitled 2016 debut album took flight, Evan and Taylor brought a third member and
longtime friend, Matt Vinson, to join on bass just before recording By and By. In
week one of the release of their full- length, By and By on Mom + Pop, Caamp
made multiple chart debuts. By and By entered the Billboard Top 200, was the #1
Heatseeker, #1 on the New Artist Alternative Albums, top 5 vinyl album sales for
the week and entered the Alternative and Emerging Artist charts. Caamp then
scored their first #1 at radio with their single 'Peach Fuzz,' made their late-night
television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and followed that up with a killer
performance on CBS This Morning Saturday. After a victorious 2019 festival
season playing Firefly, Shaky Knees, Forecastle, Outside Lands, Austin City Limits,
Great Escape and many more, Caamp kicked off a major US headlining tour in
September of 2019 and sold out show after show. In early 2020, Caamp
performed on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. The performance was filmed
in Caamp's hometown of Columbus, OH during quarantine. The trio later released
their first live EP Live From Newport Music Hall. The five- track recording was
taken from one of their seminal hometown shows in Columbus, OH. The
recording contains live versions of songs off their most recent album, By and By.
Not long after the release of Live From Newport Music Hall, Caamp kept
themselves busy by releasing the singles and companion videos for 'Officer Of
Love' and 'Fall Fall Fall' via their label home, Mom + Pop. The band then
celebrated another victory in 2020 with their single 'By and By' resting snugly in
the Top 5 Most Spun on Sirius XM's Alt Nation. They kicked off 2021 with 'Officer
of Love' hitting #1 at AAA radio for 2 consecutive weeks. In 2022, the band will
release their highly-anticipated album 'Lavender Days' featuring 'Believe

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

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

White Vinyl

Part of The Optic Sevens 4.0 Reissue Series.
Limited to 800 copies worldwide. Please check your allocation with your sales rep.
Pressed on White Vinyl.
Includes postcard and poster. Non-Returnable.
The Wake formed in Glasgow (Scotland) in April 1981, after singer/ guitarist Caesar teamed up with drummer Steven Allen and a bassist, Joe Donnelly. Previously Caesar had played guitar in Altered Images, writing first single Dead Pop Stars and appearing on the first two John Peel sessions, but left the group shortly before they crashed into the mainstream pop charts with Happy Birthday.
With few opportunities to play large live shows the new group financed a single on their own Scan 45 label, coupling upbeat indiepop number On Our Honeymoon with Give Up, a darker song featuring a keyboard line picked out by band friend Robert ‘Bobby’ Gillespie.

The insanely-prolific (as well as simply, insane) DANGER BOYS are most likely no stranger to your ears. In the past few years, the Neapolitan duo of (Raffaele Arcella) WHODAMANNY and (Enrico Fierro) MILORD has churned out innumerable releases (both as solo artists and with their projects THE NORMALMEN and MYSTIC JUNGLE TRIBE, of which the duo comprises 2/3) that have infected dance floors the world over.

Here, the duo inhabits their latest incarnation/incantation: DANGER BOYS. The result: a postapocalyptic, post-punk, disco-not-disco masterpiece that sounds like a record you dug out of a dusty flea market bin in Mexico City in 1982 - or maybe 2082 - hard to truly say.

The EP starts off with the spaced-out chugger, Monsters From the Future - which drags you into their bizarre universe, before ratcheting up the tempo for the rest of the EP.

Next up is Mind Control Musique, which delivers an insanely catchy chorus sung in a non-existent language.

THEN - the B-side - where Danger Boys opt to sing in Spanish for two versions of Gringo Tropicana, a track which is already becoming a staple of numerous prominent DJ’s summer festival sets (including Bradley Zero, Yu SU, and Artwork, to name a few).

As always, Vinyl only. Picture sleeve with OBI strip.

Having kicked off in Galway and then quickly on to Brisbane, we travel across the pond to Durham, to pick the brains of one dance music’s freshest minds and most exciting talents, Tommy 2000, for the all-encompassing GTOWN 003 - ‘2K Musik’.

5 tracks that will travel the length and breadth of your brain; from the epic opener and lead single, ‘Whales’, to the algebraic break sequences of ‘T-2000’, Tommy’s follow up to his debut EP on DJ Haus’ Dance Trax is about as mature a sound you could expect from any artist, let alone an 18 year old just dipping his toes in the water.

‘Whales’ leads the way as an almost orchestral breakbeat builder-style track that reaches its peak gradually and really takes us for a ride as we step into the world of 2K Musik. Following on from that, is the most classically-conventional track of the lot, ‘Baff’. The four to the floor backbone lulls the listener to be sucked into what is an entirely unique club track they’ve never even come close to hearing before. That is then spun on its head entirely when Tommy’s almost bookmark sound comes into play on the title track, ‘2K Musik’. Hammering us with breaks and unapologetic bass, this marriage of old school sounds with entirely dynamic arrangement and all around ingenuity tells us exactly what 2K Musik is all about.

We swap over to the B side then, without much of a break for air, and kick off with the ever-nautically themed ‘Tuna’. At this point, it’s more than evident that Tommy 2000 is entirely worthy of his placement as an artist that’s here to stay, as if he’s pulled us underwater to listen to what the sea creatures have to say to us. Totally transforming even more modern sounding breakbeat drum patterns and bending them to his will, GTOWN003 is almost like a portal into the mind of a music genius, not just an EP you sit down and listen to; this is an immersive exhibition into the world of Tommy 2000. The final stop on the line is ‘T-2000’. You want to stop and get off, but you can’t. Everytime you think you’ve got this track figured out, you haven’t. Snares coming crashing down and attacking the breaks just as you’ve began to comprehend the synthlines and pads that eb and flow off of each other as this crescendo takes us home and back to reality, as the needle lifts on what is only the beginning for one of dance music’s brightest stars on one of its realest labels.

GTOWN003 - 2K MusiK by Tommy 2000 lands on G TOWN RECORDS on June 24th. Are you Ready?

Electronic jazz pioneer, pianist, producer, re-mixer Mark de Clive-Lowe has an envious reputation as a cross genre creative artist who blends acoustic, electronic and world music exploring themes of belonging and identity. Equal parts jazz, house, hip hop and broken beat artist, Jazziz summed him upperfectly - "way before jazz hybridity became a worldwide phenomenon, de Clive-Lowe was busy designing its blueprint." Freedom is a live concert recording made at the Blue Whale, Los Angeles -where Mark put together a Los Angeles based collective made up by very accomplished and suitably talented Teodross Avery - saxophone, Corbin Jones - bass, souzaphone drummer Tommaso Cappellato Carlos Nino -percussion and the highly renowned spiritual jazz vocalist Dwight Trible.

Drummer "Drummie" Joe Isaacs had already created history as the house drummer at Studio 1 in Jamaica on countless pre-reggae classics before moving to Canada in 1968 and is credited with slowing down the fast pace of ska during the rocksteady era. With Risco Connection, Isaacs released a series of choice reggae / disco covers, from 'Ain't No Stopping Us Now' and 'Good Times' to 'I'm Caught Up (In A One Night Love Affair)' and 'It's My House' as limited 12" singles on his own Black Rose imprint. "Arriving in Canada, we were one of the first set of musicians out of Jamaica coming here," explains Isaacs. "With Risco Connection, we wanted to try something new, songs that would have a crossover between disco and the rocksteady feeling and the right lyrics. We had trouble getting them well distributed widely at the time but people still picked up on the sound." 'Risco Version' brings together all of the vocal versions, dubs and extra tracks from the singles. Both formats feature an interview with Joe Isaacs and liner notes by journalist Angus Taylor. Audio is restored by Sean P and fully remastered and cut loud and proud by The Carvery.

Freestyle continues with their drive to unearth rare and classic UK funk, soul & boogie records with a reissue of a formerly white label-only, rare-as-hens-teeth debut 12" by UK soul icon Rick Clarke from way back in 1981.

Sharing the same line-up of performers as the eponymous group Potion (Rick Clarke, Carlton White on bass & Everton McCalla, formerly of Light of the World and later Freeez, on drums) though credited on the OG press as Rick Clarke alone, this 12" came out originally in the same year as the also sought after Potion 12" "Catch The Feelin' (Showstopper)" - a year before we would see Rick & Everton release the classic british electro funk of "Magic" as Side On (with Peter Mass) on Beggars Banquet.

This is a classic slice of British disco funk, showcasing an early vocal talent that would go on to become a key feature of the late 80s UK soul scene, alongside a tight-as rhythm section. The subtly dubbed-out instrumental mix is a real treat too, bringing those synth flourishes and soaring horns to the fore and letting us hear Carlton's bass work wonders unencumbered.

Numbers will release ‘Clear’, the debut album by FFT, on 24th June 2022.The result of three years of focused writing and programming by the London-based producer, ‘Clear’ is deeply psychedelic, defined by a mature sense of melody and structures crafted at a monumental scale.

Though FFT has previously released a handful of tracks under various names, it wasn’t until 2017’s ‘FFT1’ EP on theUncertainty Principle label that his production talents began to fuse into a distinct and personal style, especially evident in FFT’s‘Regional/Loss’ EP on The Trilogy Tapes in 2019, multiple releases on Bruk Records and2021’s ‘Disturb Roqe,’also released on Numbers.Through it all, FFT has mastered a complex sense of mood catalyzed by sound itself: He builds patches and presets from scratch, and feels these synths and software have their own objectives and reactions, creating a kind of compositional feedback loop.The result is an album that brings to mind a collision of electronic pioneers like Delia Derbyshire and Bernard Parmegiani, 2000’s braindance, the Max-imized wares of an OPN or Objekt and the rough rhythmatics of SND or Mika Vainio

The layering of sonic elements and intentions is starkly audible across these nine tracks.They can be seismically concussive and grandiose, but granular and fluid - echoing the Icelandic volcanic eruption that features in the artwork photography byGeorge Cowan. ‘Clear (Eight-Circuit Mix)’sets a euphoric tone immediately accelerated by the jagged sounds and vocal textures of ‘Redeemer’. ‘3 Sided’ channels hyper-urbanity from its almost entirely analogue palette, and by contrast ‘Disturb Roqe 2’is bracingly digital, gyrating in random cycles between clustered percussion, metallic splinters of audio and artificial vocal tics.

Opening side two, ‘You’ve Changed’ adheres to a more abrasive core, while ‘Heal’ and ‘Heal (Alt Mix)’evolved out of linked pieces in FFT’s live sets that grew into complete tracks in the months before Covid-19.The significant intensity of ‘Heal’ in particular was refined during strobe-heavy live performances and is the album at its most turbulent, the claustrophobia interrupted by dazzling arpeggios.The overall impact of 'Clear' is cinematic and precise, marking the arrival of an impressive electronic musician who is not new but has come into his own as a fully developed artist

Sean Thompson's Weird Ears self-titled full-length debut centers the
seasoned singer-songwriter/guitarist in the immediacy of he present
moment - Born and raised in Nashville, Thompson cut his teeth playing in
a slew of projects around the city's rock, folk, and experimental scenes
both as creative collaborator and session player, spanning from the
experimental math-rock of Gnarwhal to the psychedelic country rock of
Teddy & the Rough Riders, Promised Land Sound, or Skyway Man, to
more Recently joining singer-songwriter Erin Rae as a one-man-righthand band
When asked about the connective throughline in his projects, Thompson doesn't
hesitate: "From Gnarwhal to now, I've always wanted to make something that
feels alive." Taking equal inspiration from the improvisational grooves of the
Grateful Dead as well as the craft of songwriters like JJ Cale & Joni Mitchell,
Thompson's songwriting debut marks the arrival of a unique voice grounded by
wide-reaching, generous ears.

Jose Medeles feat. M Ward, Marisa Anderson & Chris Funk
Railroad Cadences & Melancholic Anthems Led by drummer Jose Medeles (Breeders, 1939 Ensemble, Revival Drum Shop), Railroad Cadences & Melancholic Anthems is a drummer's tribute to guitarist and DIY iconoclast John Fahey Joined for a series of guitar and drum duets with M. Ward, experimental guitarist Marisa Anderson, and Chris Funk (Decemberists, Stephen Malkmus), it's a genuinely honorific project, featuring not Fahey compositions, but rather a series of improvised rendezvous inspired and informed by his looseness and rhythmic idiosyncrasies. Recording in the comfortable setting of Bocce Recording in Vancouver, WA, in 2020, these duets are playful and spiritually deep, presented with snapshot clarity Medeles likens to the recordings of Alan Lomax or Chris Strachwitz, 'who boldly captured field recording of Southern chain gangs and juke joint raconteurs decades ago. The result here is similar: pure and honest recordings.'

He may not have known it before, but Toronto-born, New York-based
guitarist Matthew Stevens, prized for his forceful, distinctive electric
sound was an ideal candidate to make an album fully devoted to solo
acoustic guitar: the intimate, unadorned, straightforwardly titled
'Pittsburgh'
September 2020, Stevens was hunkering down in his wife's family's hometown of
Pittsburgh, while navigating his way through the crisis. He had with him a vintage
Martin 00-17, a small- body mahogany guitar. Practicing daily on the Martin, he
began generating a series of short song "starts" - ideas and sketches he thought
might lead somewhere. Then one rainy Pittsburgh day, Stevens' bike slid out from
under him and he broke his right elbow. Rather than getting derailed musically, he
became immersed in a creative process that led straight to 'Pittsburgh': a
document of those short song "starts" from the notebook, now hatched as
completed compositions. "Playing this music became a big part of my rehab,"
Stevens recalls.
As the album took shape, it became clear to Stevens that he was headed in the
direction of a wholly unaccompanied recital, with no overdubs or sound layering
of any kind. Just him and this special Martin, two Neumann U89 mics and enough
peace of mind across two separate sessions to make 'Pittsburgh' the triumph that
it is.
In addition to his extensive high-profile work with Esperanza Spalding (serving as
co- producer on 'Exposure' and '12 Little Spells'), Stevens is also a member,
songwriter and co-producer of Terri Lyne Carrington's GRAMMY-nominated Social
Science band. He has made vital contributions to groups led by Dave Douglas,
Linda May Han Oh, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Ben Williams and more. With
tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III he co-leads the In Common collective. Stevens
has also amassed many credits beyond the jazz world, collaborating on
forthcoming releases by Anna B Savage, Jamila Woods, Tyler Armes
(Murdagang) and Berlin-based electronic artist Robag Wruhme.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Emotional Rescue continues its 10th anniversary by again presenting Jorge Reyes’ collaborative album with Antonio Zepeda – a masterpiece and therefore, worthy of the time and effort to share.

From cult artist to becoming an essential musical discovery, Jorge Reyes is an example that no one discovered or owns the music beyond the writer and creator.

Growing up in Mexico’s 2nd City, he spent much of his life dedicated to travelling and learning music traditions and instruments. While at University to study Flute, he was involved in several influential bands of the era before going on to travel the world to further his learning, before returning to found the seminal Chac Mool group.

By the early 80s he went solo, exploring an increasing interest in the use of Prehispanic instruments mixed with electronics. In the opening songs, I-Cana and A La Izquiedra Del Colibri, the interplay between flute, guitar and vocals with TR-700, Poly 800 and DX7, all fuse his vision perfectly.

The additional contribution of Antonio Zepeda’s percussion creates a timeless mystique to the album, taking you on a journey deep in the mind of one of Mexico’s most important experimental artists.

Passing away at just 56, Jorge Reyes work was cut short, however he has left over a dozen albums to be explored. While critics increasingly question the valedictory of reissues, the premise on whether something should be heard is if it’s good. Therefore, let A La Izquierda Del Colibri be heard."

"The past 5 years we have taken our music all over the world: Europe, Asia, Africa besides our homeland Denmark, and even though we cannot speak with many of the people we meet, our music is a universal language that transcends borders. The meetings we have had (and continue to have) all over inspire us to create new music. But of course we are the composers of the music, so this is our representation of those meetings.

Our 3rd album is called AFROTROPISM. Tropism is a biological phenomenon that indicates growth of a plant in response to the environment; so when you see a plant turning for the sunlight, this is tropism. In other words, this is not so much about the plant's roots but more about how it reacts when it touches the air, feels sunlight or rain - in other words the outside world. So AFROTROPISM refers to the fact that we are drawn towards the African traditions, but we are "growing" our own music.

On our first two albums we have recorded extensively with African musicians, and AFROTROPISM is centered around The KutiMangoes (TKM) as a band. We are developing our artistic direction by going more in depth with how we can mix our inspirations with our own musical heritage. Our musical mission is (and has always been) to mix cultures and create our own sound.

With our background in jazz music, TKM counts virtuoso instrumentalists with a heartfelt intent and sound innovators with our horns, effect pedals, synthesizers, drums and percussion from all over the world. AFROTROPISM is a further and deeper development of our trademark bold sound that experiments with synthesizers, soundscapes and a bit of electronic effects without losing it's focus on groove, melody, atmosphere and musicianship."

The KutiMangoes, July 2019


About each track:

STRETCH TOWARDS THE SUN
This track opens up with a synthesizer groove that is inspired by the polyrhythmic grooves played by the balafon (a predecessor of the piano) from West Africa. Our rolling sequence could not be played on the balafon because of the key changes, but the basic idea comes from that instrument. Quick and light, we wanted to write a song where you can feel the sun coming out and feel the energy it's rays give. The combination of the programmed groove, the horn-arrangement, the huge percussion section and the live instruments makes for a sound that we have not heard before, and it illustrates what this album is all about (and what the track's title refers to): that we stretch towards the things that give us energy – and that although our roots are in Denmark, when we encounter a musical tradition as rich as in West Africa, it changes us and our music.

A SNAKE IS JUST A STRING
The first time we saw Mali-bluesman extraordinaire Vieux Farka Touré on stage was just after we had played at a huge festival in Burkina Faso, and we almost literally caught on fire. Their groove was so strong and insistent that we were mesmerized, and it inspired us to come up with the opening guitar part of this song. Basically a bluesy tune with some unusual chord changes and a crazy synthesizer solo by Johannes Buhl Andresen reminiscent of that fuzzy guitar-sound we love so much in the Mali blues. The title is an homage to the Nigerian writer Chinua Acheba, who in his masterpiece novel "Things Fall Apart" tells that in the village during the night, to ward off the fear of darkness, people would call dangerous animals by a different name: don't be afraid, a snake is just a string.

KEEP YOU SAFE
It is a basic human necessity to have a place where you can feel safe. But there are far too many people in our world that fear for their safety, their livelihood, their children, their relatives – and this is surely not a feeling that helps us to flourish as humans. With this song we are saying that we all need to make it a priority to help our fellow humans to feel safe. And of course, if our song can offer a feeling of safety and comfort for a short time to those who listen, we are truly thankful.

MONEY IS THE CURSE
This track is directly inspired by Fela Kuti's ability to create music that is both physical and political. Dance music with a serious message about our times. For the solo part we wanted a more melancholy, pensive feel (than the full-on baritone-trombone melody) and also wanted to experiment with some choppy, stuttering effects to make the horns sound desperate. Money is the curse because it can become the objective of our life; money is the curse because it changes the relationships we have with our fellow humans. Money is the curse.

THORNS TO FRUIT
This melody is inspired by the scales and developments of a traditional Bambara folk-song. We love the way these melodies constantly evolve with small developments and changes. We felt like an accompaniment that is really dry, sparse and earthy would fit well and then made a contrasting solo part. As a group we are interested in how to develop our improvisations together and create sonic landscapes that evoke a distinctive atmosphere – so here, we have no soloist, but a collection of synthesizer parts, saxophone lines and guitar-sounds that together create a dreamy and lush ambience.

SAND TO SOIL
We started out with a short ngoni riff played by our good friend and master musician Aboubacar Konaté. We then sampled it, built soundscapes and our own both meditative and pumping groove around it. We created a melody with both melancholy and joy, with afterthought and impulse and then the brilliant Aske Drasbæk added an emotive and blistering saxophone solo. The title refers to the contrasts in our humanism. As part of our human nature, we have a dark side that drives us (and each other) towards destruction – making the fertile soil into barren sand. The title is an encouragement to emphasize the opposite movement in our nature: to create life and help it flourish. We keep ourselves human by insisting that we must never forget this side of our nature no matter how tough, tiresome or trying it might be. Let's keep our focus on the light, the warmth, the positive energy – that can turn the cold stone into fertile ground.

As the z-axis of our planet tilts away, and a gulf of dusty earth, air and searing fire is revealed before us, Minimal Violence holds a unflinching stare, unveiling upon us Phase Three in an act of pure psychic release. Consecutive of the destruction of Phase One and the restructuring of Phase Two it only seems appropriate that the third phase of the series finds the project reaching a state of transcendence and transition as it also aligns with the shift from a duo to the solo venture of Ash Luk following the departure of co-founder Lida P.

This third EP of the DESTROY ---> physical REALITY psychic <--- TRUST series launches straight into the 145 bpm stomper Flatline. It is a track founded by a family spirit, with lyrics co-written with Luk’s mother and their step-father Mad Johnny on vocals and guitar. It draws a hoarse chant of passion, ".. nothing matters .. I still love you .. resuscitation .. resurrection .." in answer to arching melodic euphoria. Cold (sex) follows down a scorched earth driveway into distorted whistles, detuned melodies and some of the best sequencer abuse out there.
We Suocate on the Violence of Light reveals perhaps the finest expedition so far in Minimal Violence’s particular vein of acid-singed euphoric trance. Its synths smeared and merged unholy, where the drums meddle with the tensions between drum and bass and nail to the ground four to the floor rhythm. Focus On That Form pummels hard within a deep noise volley, scratching hard to rid its environments of any longer lasting lustre.

As ever, the transformative sound of Minimal Violence emerges deep from fire. Denying any uncertain embers an escape route, Luk casts anew from a seemingly unending source of unique energy.

Recorded November 15, 1960 at the Nola Penthouse Sound Studios in New York, Lightnin' In New York captures the legendary bluesman in classic form, including some rare solos on the piano. Produced by Candid Records label co- founder, famed music critic and social activist, Nat Hentoff, and recorded at a time when Hopkins was being "rediscovered" by white audiences, the bluesman was reluctant in accepting his new role as an "artist" before predominantly white audiences.

Diabolical Death Metal titans BELPHEGOR unleash their twelfth studio album!

With “The Devils”, long-running Diabolical Death Metal titans BELPHEGOR unleash their twelfth studio album upon the masses, which proves to be one of the strongest and most elaborate records in the group’s career. Produced at renowned Fascination Studios with Jens Bogren (Kreator, Rotting Christ, At The Gates), “The Devils” sounds absolutely crushing and dynamic, sonically pushing the immense variety of the eight tracks to new heights. Blending German and English lyrics, lead single ‘Totentanz – Dance Macabre’ is as ferocious as it gets with its insane barrage of blast beats, spiteful lyrics, and sinister guitar melodies. ‘Glorifizierung des Teufels’ (= ‘Glorification of the Devil’) and ‘Virtus Asinaria – Prayer’ offer epic, mid-paced grandeur and chanted vocals and choirs adding new shades of black to their stylistic palette. The title-track or ‘Damnation – Höllensturz’ prove to be more complex pieces, shifting moods and tempos with ease and expanding BELPHEGOR’s blasphemous onslaught with fascinating twists and turns. Rounded off by impressive artwork created by Seth Siro Anton (Septicflesh, Nile, Paradise Lost), “The Devils” marks the band’s third collaboration with one of metal’s most prolific designers. Ultimately, “The Devils” is an album that musically builds upon BELPHEGOR’s trademark sound, in essence a combination of traditional death and black metal, deeply rooted in the 90’s, yet boasts with intricate compositions and detailed arrangements underlining their outstanding position within the international extreme metal circuit. Known as tirelessly touring band, BELPHEGOR currently presents a few of the new songs during an European tour with I Am Morbid and Hate before hitting South America in May/June 2022, and an intense festival season including Wacken Open Air, Bloodstock, Sweden Rock and many more.
Mix and mastering by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios Örebro, Sweden. Drum engineering by David Castillo at Fascination Street Studios in Stockholm.
Guitars, Bass and Vocals recorded by Jakob Klingsbigl at Studio Mischmaschine Oberalm, Austria.
Artwork by Seth Siro Anton

Veyl is pleased to welcome Marco Freivogel’s Prequel Tapes for an immense 8 song release, 'The Golden Cage'. Completing an album cycle of themes and exploration which began with 2015’s 'Inner Systems', 'The Golden Cage' is perhaps Prequel Tapes’ most diverse and expansive work - utilising the artist’s own vocals for the first time and evolving his production and sound to new, uncharted dimensions.

Working off the trauma of his father’s suicide, 'The Golden Cage' was spawned from a hyper-realistic dream experience which revealed the artist’s path, catalysing new productions and techniques. The result is a striking work of unconventional electronics that journeys through rhythms, atmospheres and experimentations. A true narrative of a continuously challenging personal journey Beginning with the tension-building, free flow of 'My Turn', we then delve into grief and anger with 'I Hate You', which transforms into the pulsating tempos of 'Stranger or Lover'. The glistening nostalgia of 'Last Things' marks the halfway point before grappling with the heavy introversion of 'Alone' and devious energy of 'Mind Corner'. Nearing the end of our trip, 'Without Remission' uncovers the most dance floor tuned
piece while finally the title track closes things out with an energy that will linger long after you’ve listened.

James 'Perturbator' Kent and Cult of Luna are the masters of their respective worlds. Over the last decade, the French maestro has become the most expectation-breaking name in synthwave, transcending its '80s video game aesthetic with metal and post-punk.

Meanwhile, the Swedish sextet have affirmed themselves as post-metal's biggest stars. Seismic riffs, earth-quaking growls and brave collaborations with everyone from Julie Christmas to Colin Stetson have ensured they're as blistering as they are forward-thinking.
Eclecticism and violence are married in Final Light: Perturbator's team-up with Cult of Luna singer/guitarist Johannes Persson. The pair's self-titled debut album is the perfect conglomerate between seemingly incompatible sounds.

On its opening track, the insidious "Nothing Will Bear Your Name", synths bubble to construct an arresting opening half. Then, release. Johannes' roar strikes and guitar chords boom as computerised beats anchor the chaos.

"It Came with the Water" echoes Cult of Luna's 2013 titan Vertikal, invoking images of an urban dystopia as its deep guitar melody grinds beneath sci-fi electronica. The title track's distorted EDM beats, on the other hand, are all James 'Perturbator' Kent, capable of invigorating the seediest of underground nightclubs. Both parties are clearly playing to their strengths - but for them to do so in such perfect harmony is, in itself, a genre-demolishing feat.

Lyrically, Final Light seethes with anger. "There was so much that I was so fucking pissed about," Johannes explains. "Some of my friends were dealing with a poisonous person: a narcissistic, crazy person. I was walking around full of anger and hate, so I think that came out in those lyrics."

The tandem's story began in 2019. Walter Hoeijmakers, the artistic director of the Netherlands' lauded Roadburn festival, approached James 'Perturbator' Kent with the opportunity of doing a commissioned piece with any musician of his choosing. As soon as the pair began work on their boundary-decimating songs, they knew that they had to be immortalised as an album.

"It was immediate," states Perturbator. "It's a project that I really want to share; it's not only the fruit of a collaboration between me and one of my favourite musicians, but also very unique and once-in-a-lifetime."
They wrote and recorded together in Paris before the start of the pandemic. Covid, which postponed the Roadburn festival at which the band would have debuted, gave them time to perfect what they'd crafted.
Johannes recorded additional vocals at Cult of Luna's resident studio in Umeå, Sweden, fully capturing the rage of his apocalyptically harsh voice.

Borders were built to be shattered. This is the sound of their destruction. Single-handedly, Final Light have birthed a new, bleak breed of experimental metal.

James 'Perturbator' Kent and Cult of Luna are the masters of their respective worlds. Over the last decade, the French maestro has become the most expectation-breaking name in synthwave, transcending its '80s video game aesthetic with metal and post-punk.

Meanwhile, the Swedish sextet have affirmed themselves as post-metal's biggest stars. Seismic riffs, earth-quaking growls and brave collaborations with everyone from Julie Christmas to Colin Stetson have ensured they're as blistering as they are forward-thinking.
Eclecticism and violence are married in Final Light: Perturbator's team-up with Cult of Luna singer/guitarist Johannes Persson. The pair's self-titled debut album is the perfect conglomerate between seemingly incompatible sounds.

On its opening track, the insidious "Nothing Will Bear Your Name", synths bubble to construct an arresting opening half. Then, release. Johannes' roar strikes and guitar chords boom as computerised beats anchor the chaos.

"It Came with the Water" echoes Cult of Luna's 2013 titan Vertikal, invoking images of an urban dystopia as its deep guitar melody grinds beneath sci-fi electronica. The title track's distorted EDM beats, on the other hand, are all James 'Perturbator' Kent, capable of invigorating the seediest of underground nightclubs. Both parties are clearly playing to their strengths - but for them to do so in such perfect harmony is, in itself, a genre-demolishing feat.

Lyrically, Final Light seethes with anger. "There was so much that I was so fucking pissed about," Johannes explains. "Some of my friends were dealing with a poisonous person: a narcissistic, crazy person. I was walking around full of anger and hate, so I think that came out in those lyrics."

The tandem's story began in 2019. Walter Hoeijmakers, the artistic director of the Netherlands' lauded Roadburn festival, approached James 'Perturbator' Kent with the opportunity of doing a commissioned piece with any musician of his choosing. As soon as the pair began work on their boundary-decimating songs, they knew that they had to be immortalised as an album.

"It was immediate," states Perturbator. "It's a project that I really want to share; it's not only the fruit of a collaboration between me and one of my favourite musicians, but also very unique and once-in-a-lifetime."
They wrote and recorded together in Paris before the start of the pandemic. Covid, which postponed the Roadburn festival at which the band would have debuted, gave them time to perfect what they'd crafted.
Johannes recorded additional vocals at Cult of Luna's resident studio in Umeå, Sweden, fully capturing the rage of his apocalyptically harsh voice.

Borders were built to be shattered. This is the sound of their destruction. Single-handedly, Final Light have birthed a new, bleak breed of experimental metal.

After her stunning collaboration with Jim O’Rourke (Le Piano Englouti, BT055), Brunhild Ferrari returns to Black Truffle with Stürmische Ruhe, her first duo with Christoph Heemann. A legendary figure in underground music, Heemann has quietly produced a unique body of work since his beginnings with the absurdist cutups of H.N.A.S. in the mid-1980, including collaborations with Merzbow, Organum and Nurse With Wound, the eerie psychedelia of Mirror (with Andrew Chalk), In Camera (with Timo van Lujik) and Plastic Palace People (with Jim O’Rourke), and the precise cinema pour l’oreille constructions of his solo works. Created together in Ferrari’s Parisian studio (once shared with Luc) between 2011 and 2014, Stürmische Ruhe is a single half-hour piece that folds rain and storm recordings into a intricately woven fabric of haunted electronics, unexpected edits and disorienting processing. Banging with the jarring thump of a slamming door (an element that will reappear periodically throughout the piece as a kind of punctuation mark), it is immediately obvious that concrete sound is used here in a free, poetic way outside of the strict confines of documentary field recording. The wind captured by Ferrari’s microphone roars and whistles, accompanied by thick clusters of wavering tones whose unpredictable rises and falls in volumes are synchronised with the bumping and thudding of windows and doors. At some points the microphone sound melts into a wavering low-bit digital smear before fanning out into broad, atmospheric depths. The cinema for the ear constructed here suggests not linear narrative or documentary, but an organic flow of cross-fades, double-exposures and abrupt cuts, a free-associative dream in which wind and water take on mythical characteristics. Throughout the piece's second half, layers of synthetic floating tones and pinging upward glissandi negotiate a constantly shifting balance with wind-borne whispers and rustles, at times dropping to silence, at others rising up with elemental force. As Ferrari explains in her liner notes, Stürmische Ruhe is a meeting of ‘completely opposite sound worlds’ in which ‘almost-violence’ is joined with a ‘reconciling harmony’. Reaffirming the infinite possibilities of the musique concrète tradition while avoiding its academic tropes, Stürmische Ruhe is accompanied by tri-lingual liner notes from Brunhild Ferrari and arrives in a sleeve graced with the beautiful art informel paintings of her father, Wolfgang Meyer Tomin. Cut at 45rpm for maximum fidelity.

The “Tumult Hands” duet is made by Jacek Sienkiewicz and Jerzy Przezdziecki - the producers
whose composition has - to a large extent- defined the Polish techno music. Sienkiewicz - as
early as Recognition - started his adventure with music in the late 1990s. Subsequent records,
already under his own name, were released, among others, at Cocoon Records, Trapez, Klang
Elektronik and WMFRec. Przezdziecki started publishing a little later. Over the last two
decades, he has been presenting various types of electronic music, among others, as Praecox,
Epi Centrum and Jurek Przezdziecki.
“Tumult Hands” has two EPs on its account – “Tumult Hands EP” (2014) and “Tropic
Factory” (2016). Both were published by Recognition. So a full record was a matter of time.
The album titled: “TH” (Recognition, 2022) has been prepared for many years. The repertoire
was created mainly out of improvisation. As artists themselves say, “it is the result of
discovering and accepting a chance event.” For both producers, close contact with
instruments was important during their composition; the type of interaction between the maker
and an electronic device. Individual works have been maturing for a long time. Paradoxically -
the lapse of time did not cause them to be ageing but vice versa - allowed them to mature and
gain natural weight.
“TH” brings very diverse music. In part, it is the repayment of the debt that Sienkiewicz and
Przezdziecki incurred towards the most creative techno period, that is, the 90s of the 20th
century. The lovers of experimental dance music from before the quarter of the century will
easily capture in the duet’s themes the art of Cristian Vogel, producers known from the tin
series of Chain Reaction record company or early recordings of Richie Hawtin (Plastikman,
F.U.S.E.). This is a very similar, non-standard approach to sound structure and an original
approach to rhythmic structures. Minimalist melodies, accompanying e.g. the opening of the
“enter TH” or “pow” set, contribute to the composition an element of some sublimity and
metaphysical anxiety. Obviously, it is still the dance music but the duet - to some extent by
abandoning the club functionality (understood in the techno convention) - has given its music
a definitely sophisticated, artistic elegance.
Publishing cooperation between such important makers, as well as high quality of recordings,
leads us to see “TH” as something more than just another techno record. It is an event and an
electronic adventure that all lovers looking for dance music will appreciate.

Tom Frankel returns to Shall Not Fade with four weighty house cuts. The London DJ, producer, label manager and one half of TIN family duo Frankel and Harper released "Milestone" EP back in April last year: a skippy house cut with a strong nostalgia for early '90s raves. One year on, "Pingers in a field" sees Frankel focus on bubbly melodies and rich textures.

"Pursuit" is a polyphonic Italo-leaning house banger driven by sumptuous claps, whilst "Virtual Reality's" anthemic melody and acid textures steer more towards progressive trance. "Commodore" follows suit, adding in layers of cosmic ambience that floats blissfully above an assertive tech house beat before the dynamic acidic synths on "Blind Date" bounce beneath high-pitched arpeggios.

Clear Vinyl

Tacit Group is an audio-visual group founded in 2008 with a vision of creating new art for the 21st century. Based in Seoul but working globally, the group comprises composer Jaeho Chang and electronic musician Gazaebal(Lee Jinwon).

With audio-visual art as its core content, Tacit Group has expanded in a contemporary and experimental way in multimedia performances, interactive installations, and music installations. Representative works such as ‘Hun-Min-Jeong-Ak,’ ‘Game Over,’ ‘Morse ㅋung ㅋung,’ combine a systematic worldview weaved through intuitive materials and technology inspired by normal everyday activities such as games and text chatting. In particular, works that utilize the beauty and communica- tion power of characters are among their most striking.

“It’s like wind chimes,” says Tacit Group’s Jeaho Chang. “The creator makes the pipes, but the wind makes the music.” He’s talking about the algorithmic music that Tacit Group creates. Jaeho and Gazaebal create audio/visual systems using code that the pair work within to unleash their utterly compelling AV performances, each show, each track, as unique as a snowflake. The pair met at Korea National University of Arts in 2006. Jaeho Chang was a media installation artist and composer who’d studied classical composition in Korea and electronic music at Den Haag’s Conservatoire. Gazaebal, who’d moved to the US as a teen, had worked at the renowned Quad group studios as a sound engineer, recording acts including Rage Against The Machine, Wu Tang and Janet Jackson. Returning to Korea, he had found success as a K-Pop producer, (founding the act Banana Girl, and writing their No.1 Korean hit ‘Shake Your Ass’) and DJing under the moniker Gazaebal, before deciding to go ‘back to school’ to learn to create more challenging music.
The quiet and reserved Jae and the more outgoing Gazaebal bonded over a shared vision, forming Tacit Group in 2008. And until recently, everything they have done has been through the medium of their globally acclaimed live shows, playing all over the world from Lincoln Center in NY, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, MMCA (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art) and Nam June Paik Art Center in Korea, Aarhus Festival in Denmark, Stereolux in France and NYU Abu Dhabi.

Each show an utterly unique and compelling event, a synthesis of music and visual art that has echoes of the concept of synesthesia: “we love the idea that the audience can ‘see’ the music.” says Gazaebal, “the way that you can hear a painting like Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’.” The frameworks and systems are created in advance using code such as C++ and max/M- SP(sometimes combined with analog and modular synthesizers), often growing out a of a simple idea (one of their first composi- tions, ‘Game Over’ explored the idea of a Tetris gameplay as a musical score) while on stage the pair react to the audience, creating new inputs and variables that can lead the performance in ways that are unexpected and even self sustaining - some of their installations could in theory continue to evolve and run on into infinity.

For Tacit Group, the process is as important as the outcome, and every bit as fascinating for the audience, who’ve been known to react like the crowd at a rock band gig to tracks / installations like ‘Hun-Min-Jeong-Ak’ which sees abstract geometric shapes based on the Korean alphabet evolve (through the process of live text interchanges between the pair) to become almost an immersive call and response.With that in mind, the duo have long been reluctant to commit to the idea of releasing via a ‘fixed medium’ it was actually the release of an acclaimed (and beautifully designed) book Tacit.print0_Anthology that convinced them to share their work more widely through an album.