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LIMITED REPRINT .Introductions by David Fricke and Adrian Shaughnessy. 224 pages, comes in a tactile Geltex hardcover and is beautifully designed by Hiorthøy. Includes a 7" single with exclusive tracks from Fire! Orchestra, The Last Hurrah!! and Maja S. K. Ratkje. It´s no secret that Rune Grammofon founder Rune Kristoffersen is a big admirer of labels like Blue Note, Impulse, ECM, 4AD and Factory, to mention some labels with strong visual identities. But we can´t recall another label that has worked with one designer exclusively for 25 years and some 250 releases. A singular visual language that's as distinctive as Hipgnosis' 1970s surreal juxtapositions, or the brooding portraiture gracing ECM Records' output. Prog (UK) As well as being a piece of guaranteed coffee table eye-candy for music lovers, the book promises an insight into the fascinating process of bringing a record and its cover to life. Creative Review (UK) RG feels like a dream vision of a record label - fuelled by passion, irreverent in tone yet serious in execution, somehow miraculously buffered from corporate industry expectations. The sound and visuals here cover two decades of inspiration and unpredictability, but they also bristle with creative possibilities for a long time to come.Elephant (UK)

WAAN represents the musical marriage of seasoned saxophonist Bart Wirtz and keyboard wiz Emiel van Rijthoven. "Echo Echo", the album"s title reflects the relationship between WAAN"s two members. They are the echo of each other"s echo - a symbiotic and never ending musical relationship and far more complex than just being a dance music influenced jazz album.

As Klasse Wrecks enters the second chapter of our century of releases, we're happy to welcome the sounds and skills of Nicola Cruz to the roster. The Ecuadorian producer masterfully turns in a perfectly tuned handful of tracks for his 'Data Passenger' EP, the overiding soundscape being one of Electro, Breaks and infiniteless cosmic exploration.

Sonically the tracks are as much for the soles as they are the souls, a heady mix of intricate rhythms and vibrations await the listener and dancefloor. Plug in to the console let the soundwaves carry you across the spectrum.

One year after being introduced to Brazil with his “Samba Esquema Novo,” Jorge Ben released his second album, “Sacundin Ben Samba.” Continuing the style of its predecessor and also produced by Armando Pittigliani, this album returns to shelves as part of the “Classics on Vinyl” collection from Polysom.

Composed of 12 tracks, “Sacundin Ben Samba” features arrangements by saxophonist J.T. Meirelles. All the songs are written by Jorge Ben, except for “Carnaval Triste” (Paulo Bruce / Sérgio Carvalho) and “Espero por Você” (João Mello), and they address themes characteristic of the singer and songwriter, such as innocent love and chronicles of daily life. The album includes tracks like “Anjo Azul,” “Nena Nanã,” “A Princesa e o Plebeu,” “Pula Baú,” and “Jeitão de Preto Velho,” among others.

All Black Everything, the debut EP by UK-based, Parisian bassist, vocalist and composer Amy Gadiaga, is an expansive, boundary-pushing 5-track collection showcasing prodigious bass playing and a voice brimming with power and emotion. It's a profound exploration of self-acceptance that presents both a celebration and acknowledgement of Gadiaga's deep-seated darkness.

Inspired by the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement All Black Everything confronts racial identity complexities and the challenges of being a societal 'black sheep' and sees Gadiaga courageously transform her insecurities into a narrative of self-empowerment.

Born to parents of Senegalese, Gambian, and Malian descent, and hailing from the outskirts of Paris, the multitalented Gadiaga has been making waves in the UK music industry since she moved to London aged 18. With a fresh and unique style that bridges the old school jazz tradition of musicians such as Betty Carter and Wayne Shorter with the raw, rootsy modern sound of artists such as D'Angelo, Stevie Wonder and Twinkie Clark, Gadiaga's breadth of ambition and revitalising approach have brought early critical acclaim and ardent fans.

Signalling the arrival of a significant new voice on the London music scene, All Black Everything communicates the liberating essence of embracing individuality and presents a journey through Gadiaga's personal struggles, standing as a testament to art's transformative power and encouraging listeners to find strength in their uniqueness. "All Black Everything is very much an exploration and embracing of one of my archetypes in life which is the black bird/black sheep" she explains. "That feeling of not thinking you belong anywhere, of being misunderstood and really tending to your own. No helping hand. But it's ok sometimes because you also feel like nobody can compete with you, you're one of a kind."

alphacut sets off into brushy tribal jungle

the early 2010s have been a prosperous era for a lotta fast dance and bass music. dubstep's magic was fading due to brosounds taking over but the idea of some fresh air inbetween drums and basslines was thankfully carried on into the jungles too. not only halftime but also tribal beats grew strong, whether it being in warm dubby or cold darker reincarnations.
speaking of living on, this plate is not only a sequel to that era but also a tribute to the one like morphy, who brought dubby tribal brushy jungle onto alphacut around that time. it light up a spark to head for new territories, its soul is vibing on in 45seven and especially in this new alphacut - post morphem!

rude operator are opening with a minimal dancehall feel, wriggling from 8bar to 8bar, switching tensions with patterns with a slice of footwork dna inside - zero chances to freeze!
rainforest is stepping on with enlightening skanks and mystic basses under a riddim one simply can't escape as well.
paradox effects is not only flipping sides but vibes pretty much too. keeping it tribal and one-seventy but much darker with an amen from the vaults in a bunker-conrete jungle - the raw and free sound of leipzig.
dreadmaul is closing with a masterpiece which could have been executed by the homaged dubbing don himself. moody pads meet distant dub sirens and robotic amen leftovers step up into a hypnotising groove, taking you back down in the woods.

we are happy to be back with a solid round-up package which should never leave your tribal crates again, zooom!

2025 Repress

Operation Sole like the summer, hopefully, imminent; “Operazione Sole” like the 1967 song by Peppino Di Capri, considered, perhaps wrongly, the first ska in Italy, but certainly the first to talk about Jamaica and upbeat rhythms.
The record you have in your hand is intended to be a testimony to how much the sounds born in Kingston between the '60s and '70s had a significant influence on local pop.
With the first explosion of reggae in England between 1968 and 1970, as well as with the rise of Bob Marley to a worldwide cult phenomenon, parallel to the all-English phenomenon of Two Tone and the ska revival, Italy, always attracted by the new trends not only English, he certainly couldn't stay on the sidelines.
Therefore these innovative and unknown upbeat sounds, derived from the blues of the 1950s and mixed with a Caribbean sauce, have also taken hold in the Bel Paese.
It began as early as 1959 with the song “Nessuno” by Mina, considered to all intents and purposes a Jamaican shuffle, to arrive in a few years at blue-beat (I4 di Lucca, Claudio Casavecchi) and ska (Margherita, Peppino Di Capri , Silvano Silvi, Renzo and Virginia) and be exposed to the first reggae (for example Jo Fedeli and his Italian version of “Israelites” by Desmond Dekker). Thus, we quickly reach the end of the decade of the economic boom and the culture, styles, references change: everything becomes more busy (on a cultural, artistic and political level).
After a stalemate phase that lasted more than five years, Bob Marley's reggae (considered a sort of new Messiah) conquers the planet, including Italy: the producers and artists, even at a high level, for a few years do not remain at all indifferent to this novelty and decide to introduce the "upbeat", primarily reggae, into the various pop repertoires: well-known names such as
Loredana Bertè, Mario Lavezzi, Rino Gaetano, Ivano Fossati, Ilona Staller, Adriano Celentano, Edoardo Bennato throw themselves headlong into new sonic adventures, in a pioneering way, but often with excellent results.
The "Operazione Sole" collection wants to take the credit, instead, of proposing and discovering lesser-known artists (with the exception of Gino Santercole, former associate and relative of Il Molleggiato), often real meteors in the Italian musical panorama, who have tried to achieve (or achieve again) success by adapting the pop that was so popular in those years to the new black sounds prevailing in the West.
We are in the early 80s and we range from the most classic reggae, to Italo-disco contaminated by dub up to the true Neapolitan style which, on more than one occasion, in its being endemically "black" and full of groove, has wrung out the watch out for agreements made in Kingston and London.
“Operation Sun”: a pleasant philological work, but surrounded by an equally pleasant aura of disengagement.

The adventurous singer, guitarist and music journalist Mick Farren launched his solo career after being sacked by his fellow Deviants, the protopunk band he fronted from 1967-69. Suffering from depression and other mental health issues, Farren teamed up with an all-star cast, including members of Quartermass and ex-Tyrannosauros Rex honcho Steve Peregrin Took for debut opus Mona The Carnivorous Circus, mixing hard rock, spoken word, spaced-out interludes, radio cut-ups and garage rock, rendering a work as compelling as it is hard to classify. Strange, delightful and a favourite of Julian Cope, this is an aural journey to savour.

The American psych pop quintet Paper Garden had established a solid reputation performing to university students in their native New York and in surrounding states in 1967-68 before being commissioned to cut a debut LP with British producer Geoff Turner for Musicor, the resultant sessions yielding a self-contained concept album of totally new work. With sitars and tabla on some songs trading places with baroque elements and orchestrated interludes, the breezy psych pop gets pulled in all manner of directions and often sounds closer to the British psychedelic sound than anything Stateside. A rare and rich listening experience!

Beginning in the mid-1960s as a covers band, the group that came to be Unicorn soon determined that original material was the way to go, and after being inspired by a Crosby, Stills and Nash album, their particular brand of enlightened folk rock tinged with country shades yielded a contract with Transatlantic for their 1971 debut. Fast forward to 1974 and Blue Pine Trees finds the band at their finest with sweeping harmonies and bluegrass tinges, and with Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour in the producer’s chair, all of their glorious potential is realised on this lost gem of an album that is fully ripe for rediscovery. A truly great work!

Team Sleep features Chino Moreno from Deftones, plus Todd Wilkinson and CrookOne. This self-titled release is their only album, originally released in 2005 and includes the single "Ever (Foreign Flag)." This expanded version of the album is now being released on black vinyl. Previously released on gold vinyl for RSD 2024.

Jaqee – is rhythm and life ”Places becoming journeys in themselves… Different places where I have lived and learned, places that have made my heart beat, the emotional realms that I have experienced. This is where it all starts, every time. Where I am is where it happens, because I am, there. Here.” She sings. She laughs! And she cries, too. Jaqee cannot tell when music and singing became her life, it has ”just always been there, in my head” she says. Now with the fourth album she has taken a closer look at herself, from every possible angle. No hiding. Different phases, different sides of her personality and musical creativity are all there. All as one. ”I am a diaspora kid, I fell in love with all kinds of music, I let myself embrace it all, because good music, is good music. All the way from Uganda at age 13 to the new home and culture in Sweden, then leaving Sweden as an adult for Berlin – has made me the Jaqee that I am”, says the Ugandan /Swedish artist who also received a Swedish Grammy nomination for her past work. Being on the move is without a doubt an important part of her life. “For me travelling is about being exposed to different perceptions, situations, cultures and extreme emotions, it has always made me grow. How many times have I not thought that: I wouldn’t have experienced this or that, if hadn’t been here. I love that feeling!” Jaqee’s music reflects this constant movement and progress. The album is inspired by places like Berlin, South Africa and Jamaica. The trip to Jamaica resulted in the only collaboration track on “Yes I am” recorded in Kingston with reggae artist Anthony B. Teka, the “Kokoo Girl” and “Yes I am” Producer says: ”This time around, like on the last album, we have worked with our colleagues in different countries. Musicians we love and musicians that are inspiring like Martin Hederos (The Soundtrack of our lives) who arranged the strings on the album. We also had New York drummer Daru Jones of Rusic Records play on some tracks. All these talents enhance the idea and expression that we wanted for “Yes I am”. With the album done, it is again time to hit the road and tour for Jaqee. “Getting out there and meeting the crowd is a high. We laugh, we dance and we get loud together. This is the best part of working with music – having a good time together. Music is a universal language.” On composing music, she admits that this time, more than ever, the words matter. Newly found motherhood has made this album in particular a significant legacy. Every song has a life punctuation of its own she has not limited herself by thinking in genres. Making the tone very straightforward. “The melodies and lyrics are closely intertwined, how I sing a word makes all the difference. Even though I love word play, it has to be very clear. Since I am not educated in reading music, I instead visualize and hear it, it seems to be the way my system works. It is all about rhythm and life, it is “YES I AM“.

Mike Mooney presents his debut solo album The Cthulu Mythos via Nine X Nine Records. Mike Mooney has had a storied career in the music business, over the years he has had stints in Echo & The Bunnymen, The Psychedellic Furs, Spiritualized and The Wild Swans to name a few. Reknowned for his incendiary guitar work and distinctive style it seems incredible that only now are we seeing a solo debut proper. This record is inspired by the work of American authour and the godfather of the cosmic-horror genre H.P. Lovecraft. Mooney had long been a fan of Lovecraft’s work but through rereading much of his work during the coronavirus lockdown an idea for an album was planted. Using the titles of Lovecraft’s work as a springboard, Mike started recording. The songs came easily, almost as if being channeled via a conduit from some unknowable dimension of Old Gods and unspeakable horrors. The Cthulu Mythos is a larger-than-life, rock n’ roll affair. Purposefully distorted guitars are layered to a create a caucophonous effect that immerses you in Mike Mooney’s world populated by the creatures, characters and cosmic forces of H.P. Lovecraft’s mind.

For fans of Pan Amsterdam, Edan, Homeboy Sandman, Sleaford Mods etc. Features the singles ‘Baby Don’t’ ft. Sonnyjim & Quelle Chris and ‘Space-Bar’ ft Pan Amsterdam. Blessing/curse. Division/unity. Love/hate. It’s in the context of a polarising 24-hour, digitised, globally connected world that NightjaR finds its wings. NightjaR being the nom-de-plume and smudged rainbow constellation of collaborative copy-and-paste sound-wrangling and hip-hop from Doves’ Jimi Goodwin. But it’s here and it’s Mala Leche. Mala Leche (Spanish: Bad Milk) is 16 tracks of beats and bars, vocals provided by some of the hip-hop artists at the very top of Jimi’s own, personal home listening lists and interludes that throw back and forth through eras and genres in sometimes playful, occasionally awakeningly abrasive styles.

Pressed on chocolate covered strawberry splash colored vinyl. Limited to 300 hand-numbered copies. includes the bonus cut "Stars" and all instrumentals. Che Noir brings you The Color Chocolate Vol. 1, on her own imprint Poetic Records. The Queen MC of Buffalo NY has been steadily dropping gems and gaining momentum the last few years, with countless guest appearances and solo projects (After 12, Food for Thought, The Last Remnants, Noir or Never) and has much more in store for 2024. Whether on an introspective and autobiographical angle, or just spitting straight rawness, Che shows why she has been standing out from an overcrowded field of female MCs over the last 5+ years, and making a claim as the best rapper in NY, male or female. With contributions from Evidence, Your Old Droog, Ransom, and more, this EP is the perfect way for existing fans to witness her rise to excellence, and for new fans to get familiar with her greatness. Production by Playa Haze, welcome2dlolife, and Graymatter round out what is already being called the Best EP of the Year. This exclusive limited-colored vinyl pressing features a bonus song, “Stars” featuring Jynx716 and produced by frequent collaborator JR Swiftz and Motif Alumni, and also includes complete Instrumentals on the flip side.

A full LP of the legendary Palm wine guitarist SE Rogie's early work. Truly beautiful songs from the 1960's ranging from sweet acoustic solo numbers to blazing full band electric music. SE Rogie had a very long & pioneering career in Sierra Leone. His songs are some of the most beautiful ever - gentle & lilting timeless melodies. One of the greats. A co-release with our friends at the Domino Sound label.

The new album from Lebanese-American musician Solpara, Melancholy Sabotage, marks his full length debut and return to Nicolas Jaar's Other People label. While it was recorded over Covid lockdowns, Jaar had been talking about wanting to back a Solpara full-length since he put out Swing. The album came to life while Solpara was living alone in a Brooklyn loft, collecting unemployment checks and viewing ample free time as the artist residency he'd dreamed of; he'd previously been forced to make music in odd windows between numerous jobs and the unmerciful pace of city life. Free from obligations, he would wake up early to take Arabic lessons online, read Tracey Thorn's autobiography, and skateboard the deserted streets, then come home and design sounds until he had a track that felt like it needed to be released. While this easy going lifestyle was peaceful in many ways, Solpara found more complex inspiration in the emotion that stemmed from participation in Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, which rocked all of his extended family members in Lebanon.

Melancholy Sabotage explores the theme of sabotaging melancholy. Echoing sounds from the post-punk, trip-hop, and ambient genres, it is about sabotaging the cycle of melancholy and looking at this process without ignoring the sources that put it into motion. It may be compared to a rattling breaking free from retention, reaching states of dreamy euphoria while simultaneously acknowledging the sources of retention, viewed from above. The sources can be personal, political, or socio-economic. They are to be apprehended post-melancholy, after the sabotaging of the initial cycle of melancholy. In other words, it is about transcending melancholy and understanding where it came from with some distance. It may be beautiful and healthy to feel for a while, but how may one sabotage this cycle when it becomes paralyzing? Ultimately, this album is about feeling melancholy but also resisting it and naming the sources that initiated it.

"Time To Hold Better" points to neglect on both personal and group levels. "This Time Last Year" is a personal time capsule. "We Keep Us Safe" is about solidarity, autonomy, and care witnessed within protest groups. "Melancholy Sabotage" is a sonic exploration of the album concept illustrating anger and sadness, but finally, resistance and liberation from these feelings. "Measures" is a more fluid exploration of the latter after the initial storm has passed. "We Don't Owe" points to bigger bodies inflicting harm on populations that we owe nothing to. "Breaking Points" harkens the times that we may lose focus while pushing to transcend melancholy. "Eviction" is about being pushed out of a space unwillingly while simultaneously being forced to move forward.

Melancholy Sabotage pulls from a range of genres, uniting electronic sounds under the same post-punky glow. It pulls from complex, heavy themes including damage and injustice, presenting Solpara's most moving body of work to date. It highlights the poignance that has always been at the heart of his fluid sound, which caters to dancefloors and avant-garde spaces in equal measure. Working with a mix of dissonant guitars, distorted drum machines, and distant, reverb-washed vocals, Melancholy Sabotage is Solpara's uneasiest outing to date. The record pinpoints the duality at the heart of Solpara's sound, which is as plaintive as it is searing.

On February 28th 2020 NEAERA released their 7th album – it was their self-titled comeback record after a 7-year-hiatus - which caught everyone by surprise. Despite having been very well perceived the pandemic impeded the band’s long awaited and already scheduled return to the live stages. On February 29th 2020, NEAERA played a successful and sold out release show in the band’s hometown, but it remained the only show for the record in years since Wacken, the Impericon festivals and other shows had to be postponed until further notice which was a huge setback for the ambitious quintet. Sebastian Heldt (drums), Tobias Buck (guitar) and Stefan Keller (guitar) used the unfortunate state of the pandemic and the impossibility to play live shows to create something new. Together with Marcus Bischoff of German metalcore institution Heaven Shall Burn and old friend Tristan Hachmeister they unearthed a black metal project by the name of OUR LOSS IS TOTAL and released the bleak full-length record “I” end of 2022 through the project’s own label. After that release, the NEAERA band members decided it was time write new material. The band wanted to go back to an old school approach, like in the old days, when they wrote the songs together in their little rehearsal room in their hometown of Münster, North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. The band started the writing process in September 2021, skipped the first material and then started with a new approach to a more free and less comfortable style, trying to leave old boundaries behind. By 2022, NEAERA played the postponed Wacken Open Air show – which was an overwhelming experience – and asked Janosch Rathmer (drummer of long-time friends and post rock institution Long Distance Calling) to record the band’s new album ALL IS DUST. The mixing and mastering was skilfully handled by Kristian Kohle at Kohlekeller Studios (Powerwolf, Aborted, Electric Callboy) who adorned the songs with the exact right powerful yet organic sound. In terms of lyrics, NEAERA shifted their approach a little bit and put the individual and its survival and well-being center stage – beside lyrics that deal with global or social clamour; a shift that can be called pandemic infused. 2024 marks the 20th band anniversary and is the perfect timing to release the eighth studio album, ALL IS DUST. Nothing can stop the band this year with two video clips at hand and prestigious summer festivals confirmed such as Summer Breeze, Reload and Vainstream Rockfest, the latter being the album release show in front of 20,000 people!

Lenticular Sleeve / White Vinyl. When Jack Tatum began work on Life of Pause, his third full-length to date, he had lofty ambitions: Don't just write another album; create another world. One with enough detail and texture and dimension that a listener could step inside, explore, and inhabit it as they see fit. "I desperately wanted for this to be the kind of record that would displace me," he says. "I'm terrified by the idea of being any one thing, or being of any one genre. And whether or not I accomplish that, I know that my only hope of getting there is to constantly reinvent. That reinvention doesn't need to be drastic, but every new record has to have its own identity, and it has to have a separate set of goals from what came before." What came before: a rightfully acclaimed, much beloved display of singular pop craftsmanship. Tatum's dreamy, unexpected 2010 debut, Gemini, was written while he was still a student at Virginia Tech University. Its equally disarming follow-up, 2012's Nocturne, marked the first time he'd been able to bring his bedroom recordings into a studio, to be performed and fully realized with the help of other musicians. There has been a set of wonderfully expansive EPs in between_each hinting at new directions and punctuating previous ideas_but with Life of Pause, Tatum delivers what he describes as his most "honest" and "mature" work yet, an exquisitely arranged and beautifully recorded collection of songs that marry the immediate with the indefinable. "I allowed myself to go down every route I could imagine even if it ended up not working for me," he says. "I owe it to myself to take as many risks as possible. Songs are songs and you have to allow yourself to be open to everything." After a prolonged period of writing and experimentation, recording took place over several weeks in both Los Angeles and Stockholm, with producer Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Beachwood Sparks) helping Tatum in his search for a more natural and organically textured sound. In Sweden, in a studio once owned by ABBA, they enlisted Peter, Bjorn and John drummer John Ericsson and fellow Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra veteran Pelle Jacobsson, to contribute drums and marimba. In California, at Monahan's home, Tatum collaborated with Medicine guitarist Brad Laner and a crew of saxophonists. From the hypnotic polyrhythms of "Reichpop" to the sugary howl of "Japanese Alice" to the hallucinogenic R&B of "A Woman's Wisdom," the result is a complete, fully immersive listening environment. "I just kept things really simple, writing as ideas came to me," he says. "There's definitely a different kind of `self' in the picture this time around. There's no real love lost, it's much more a record of coming to terms and defining what it is that you have_your place, your relationships. I view every record as an opportunity to write better songs. At the end of the day it still sounds like me, just new."

January 2023, Dorset. Snow is piled at the door, icy roads are closed, and Emily Cross is in a coffin. Not a setting typical for a rebirth. But for Loma, this is where they bring their band back from the brink. "It's like a demon enters the room, whenever we get together", writer, singer and instrumentalist Cross says of the struggle to bring new Loma music into the world. Following the release of their 2020 second album Don't Shy Away, Loma's three members were cast around the globe and the band-not for the first time-entered a deep sleep. Multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer Dan Duszynski remained in his studio in Don't Shy Away's central Texas heart, but Cross, a UK citizen, moved to Dorset, and writer and instrumentalist Jonathan Meiburg left the US for Germany to research a book. In the pandemic years, even being in the same room was impossible, and attempts to start a new record faltered. The following winter, in an attempt to salvage the record and the band, Cross suggested they regroup in the UK, in the tiny stone house-once a coffin-maker's workshop-where she works as an end-of-life doula. With minimal recording gear and few instruments, Loma turned two whitewashed rooms into a makeshift studio, using a padded coffin as a vocal booth. It was a turning point. They scrapped much of what they'd made, letting a new place set a new course. The one-lane roads, hedgerows and dark skies of Dorset gave the new songs an ineffable but unmistakable Englishness. The band used the ruin of a 12th-century chapel as a reverb chamber-surprising hillwalkers who peeked in to find them singing to no one-and the sounds of Cross's chilly workshop wormed their way into the recording: a leaky pipe, a drummer's brushes on a metal lampshade, the voices left on an ancient answering machine. What emerged was How Will I Live Without A Body?: a gorgeous, unique, and oddly comforting album about partnership, loss, regeneration, and fighting the feeling that we're all in this alone. Many of its songs have a feeling of restless motion; faceless characters drift through meetings and partings, tangling together and slipping away. "I Swallowed A Stone" is like a nightmare with a happy ending; "How It Starts" and "Broken Doorbell" reflect on the challenge (and necessity) of wrestling with agoraphobia. Though the record nods to the trio's separate lives- a German percussion ensemble, a pair of Texan owls, and the surf at Chesil Beach make guest appearances-the core of Loma's sound remains intact: earthy, organic and deeply human, anchored by Cross's cool, clear voice. Loma's previous album, Don't Shy Away, was galvanized by the unexpected encouragement and contributions of Brian Eno. This time, they found inspiration in another hero, Laurie Anderson, who offered a chance to work with an AI trained on her entire body of work. Meiburg sent her a photo from his book-in-progress about the once and future life of Antarctica; Anderson's AI responded with two haunting poems. "We used parts of them in a few songs," he says. "And then Dan noticed that one of its lines, 'How will I live without a body?' would be a perfect name for the album, since we nearly lost sight of each other in the recording process." In the end, Loma's efforts to reconnect with one another are the album's central focus: what do you owe a shared past, when everyone and everything has changed? "Making this record tested us all," says Duszynski. "I think that feeling was alchemized through the music." Alchemized, because How Will I Live Without A Body? is by no means a stressed-out record: an undercurrent of deep calm runs through it. But maybe 'relaxed' isn't the right word. It's more like a feeling of relief, of making it through a tough journey together.

“There are lots of outstanding Joe McPhee LPs. Nation Time being chief among them, but there’s also Pieces Of Light, Oleo and Topology. The Poughkeepsie, New York-based multi-instrumentalist, by now an international star of free music, has amassed a daunting discography, no doubt. If you want to peer deeply into the soul of Joe McPhee, however, there’s no way around it, you need to spend some quality time with Tenor. “Tenor is McPhee’s first solo record. He did not set out to make it. It was an afterthought, quite literally, born of a gathering of friends at the Swiss farmhouse of cellist Michael Overhage. A beautiful meal, some drinks, warm conversation, and ... why not, an impromptu recital. Hat Hut producer Werner X. Uehlinger was there and a year later issued it as McPhee’s third LP for the label (Hat Hut C in their famed letter series). “The existential blues ‘Knox’ sets the stage, indicating that this will not just be a toss-off postprandial singalong. ‘Good-Bye Tom B.’ carries on with aching melancholy, through burred notes and hushed harmonics. The relatively jaunty ‘Sweet Dragon’ is also emotionally loaded with Ayler-esque vibrato, slurs, wipes, and blasts of tone. The side-long title track comes without a theme, as a kind of pure investigation of the horn, its potential, its limits, its expressive capacity. There have been few solo sessions as comprehensive and devastating as this spontaneous after-dinner diversion in rural Switzerland in 1976. We’re very lucky someone pressed record.” —John Corbett (excerpt from the liner notes)

Joanna Gemma Auguri releases her new album "Hiraeth" on 28th June via Duchess Box Records Joanna Gemma Auguri is a Berlin musician, songwriter and actress. In the various stages ofher musical solo and band projects, she incorporates influences from folk, ambient andavant-garde music.Being five years old she escaped with her parents from Poland, which was under martial law,and had to learn at an early age what uprooting means. This experience is reflected in her music as an expression of personal sadness, compassion, but also despair about the state of the world.2021 she released her solo debut "11" on her own label Lavender Music. It was mainly characterized by accordion, zitherand her vocals. Her new album "Hiraeth" was recorded at Candy Bomber Studios in Berlin by Ingo Krauss, with a large number of musicians. Besides choir, double bass, lap steel guitar, drums, cello, horns , different organs and keyboards her original instruments accordion and zither still shine through from time to time. Joanna's voice sits unmistakable on top of the majestic,nearly monumental compositions which despite their richness always stay basic and delicate. "Hiraeth" is an untranslatable Welsh word that describes the longing for a home, a place or a feeling that no longer exists or never existed.The album will be released June 2024 on Duchess Box from Berlin.

Deb Demure's powerful presence and hypnotic sound has firmly defined the identity of Drab Majesty. After releasing the debut album, Careless, Drab Majesty split time between touring and studios, piecing together the ideas for the follow-up album, "The Demonstration", an album depicting Deb Demure as only one part of Drab Majesty's overall being and storytelling saga.With "Induction", Drab Majesty sets up an ethereal backdrop for which the rest of the album follows. Tracks such as "Dot In The Sky" and "39 By Design" (a song pointing to the doomsday Heaven's Gate cult) use lush, shoegaze approach to portray the fragility of humanity's loss of self, looking only to the heavens for answers. "Cold Souls" flawlessly executes Drab Majesty's arpeggiated finger picking signature, complete with washes of hazy noise and atmospheric reverb. With the addition of Mona D. to Drab Majesty's mysterious portfolio, songs from The Demonstration perpetually create new meanings and depth with every listen. After Drab Majesty wraps up The Demonstration with "Behind The Wall", one is left wondering what kind of identity is truly their own Compact disc features two bonus tracks plus four exclusive remixes by Cold Cave, Drew McDowall, Silent Servant and Martial Canterel.

Blue Smoke Vinyl. To celebrate Minus the Bear's 10th anniversary, Suicide Squeeze will issue the band's earliest recordings on vinyl. "Highly Rened Pirates," is Minus the Bear's rst proper album. Originally released in 2002, this edition is being remastered from the original tapes, for vinyl, by the legendary Bernie Grundman, the Hollywood-based legend behind many of the industry's landmark recordings. The initial pressing will be limited to 2000 copies: 1000 black (180gram), and 1000 `translucent' blue vinyl; each copy comes with a download coupon. A real chance to hear where this sound started...

The Flenser is pleased to announce the release of Living Is Easy, the latest EP from ecstatic black metal band Agriculture. Ecstatic black metal from Los Angeles. Follows up 2023's critically acclaimed debut. A new EP plus first vinyl release of their first EP. Appearing prominently at the 2024 edition of Roadburn. US and European tour dates in the works through 2024. Video for title track featuring Flenser goons, Chat Pile. This new EP will be paired with the band's debut EP, The Circle Chant. For the first time, both EPs will be pressed together on a single 12-inch vinyl record as well as a cassette format Living Is Easy represents a significant new statement from the band. With their debut self-titled, Agriculture embarked on a journey to explore how heavy music can provide insights into the joys of life, both everyday and divine. Their extensive touring with this material led to a profound experience of ecstasy, surpassing expectations as they shared the intensity and joy of these songs with audiences worldwide. This experience was a catalyst for the band, inspiring them to delve even deeper into the realm of "ecstatic black metal" music. They believes that with this release they have pushed this concept to its limit, resulting in a transformative explosion of sound and meaning. The record delves into themes of community connection, holiness, violence, and the cycles of life. The title track is especially notable, featuring a retelling of a story from one of the Buddha's past lives. In this narrative, the Buddha encounters a starving family of tigers and sacrifices himself to save them, a tale of serenity and selflessness. This story resonates deeply with the band, reflecting the humility and inspiration they find in their collaboration and echoing the generosity and interconnection they strive to explore through their music. Touring holds a special place in the heart of Agriculture. It brings them immense joy to share their music, visit new places, and meet new people in cities around the world. This constant interaction with diverse audiences serves as a continuous source of inspiration for this work. Agriculture is eager and excited to share Living Is Easy as well as give new life to the first vinyl pressing of The Circle Chant. Black Vinyl!

The Flenser is pleased to announce the release of Living Is Easy, the latest EP from ecstatic black metal band Agriculture. Ecstatic black metal from Los Angeles. Follows up 2023's critically acclaimed debut. A new EP plus first vinyl release of their first EP. Appearing prominently at the 2024 edition of Roadburn. US and European tour dates in the works through 2024. Video for title track featuring Flenser goons, Chat Pile. This new EP will be paired with the band's debut EP, The Circle Chant. For the first time, both EPs will be pressed together on a single 12-inch vinyl record as well as a cassette format Living Is Easy represents a significant new statement from the band. With their debut self-titled, Agriculture embarked on a journey to explore how heavy music can provide insights into the joys of life, both everyday and divine. Their extensive touring with this material led to a profound experience of ecstasy, surpassing expectations as they shared the intensity and joy of these songs with audiences worldwide. This experience was a catalyst for the band, inspiring them to delve even deeper into the realm of "ecstatic black metal" music. They believes that with this release they have pushed this concept to its limit, resulting in a transformative explosion of sound and meaning. The record delves into themes of community connection, holiness, violence, and the cycles of life. The title track is especially notable, featuring a retelling of a story from one of the Buddha's past lives. In this narrative, the Buddha encounters a starving family of tigers and sacrifices himself to save them, a tale of serenity and selflessness. This story resonates deeply with the band, reflecting the humility and inspiration they find in their collaboration and echoing the generosity and interconnection they strive to explore through their music. Touring holds a special place in the heart of Agriculture. It brings them immense joy to share their music, visit new places, and meet new people in cities around the world. This constant interaction with diverse audiences serves as a continuous source of inspiration for this work. Agriculture is eager and excited to share Living Is Easy as well as give new life to the first vinyl pressing of The Circle Chant. Black Vinyl!

Music From Memory is pleased to announce the upcoming release of ‘Salt And Sugar Look The Same’, a collaborative album from Tim Koh and Sun An.

Tim Koh is an American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist born and raised in Los Angeles. He has been touring, releasing music and showing art works internationally for nearly two decades. Sun An is a Southern California-based graphic designer, art director, and sound designer who has self-released music since 2012.

‘Salt And Sugar Look The Same’ plays somewhat like a dreamlike collage; across 18 short compositions, finger-picked guitars melt with electronics and warped samples to create a form of American Primitivism bent and refracted through Tim and Sun’s unique lens.

Their collaborative journey unfolded gradually, exchanging snippets via email over the span of a year or so, Sun in LA and Tim in Berlin. Amidst personal struggles and uncertainties, the act of recording and composing became a refuge, a safe space where they could navigate life's complexities together. Though they didn't converse much, mostly just sending music, their musical dialogue spoke volumes, shaping a narrative that evolved naturally over time. As they shared their musical ideas, they discovered a profound sense of connection and understanding with one another. The music became a conduit for healing, bridging the gaps between them and offering comfort in times of need.

Their musical influences and backgrounds anchored them. From reminiscing about past scenes to exploring cultural intricacies of being Korean American in Los Angeles, infused with a natural sense of shared identity, their collaboration reflected a mergence of old and new memories into a hallucinatory, dream-like experience. Across the 18 compositions that make up the album, incense emerges as a poignant motif, symbolizing the passage of time. Each incense stick becomes a vessel carrying the essence of moments gone by, while the holder becomes the custodian of these ephemeral memories.

‘Salt And Sugar Look The Same’ invites the listener on a boundary-transcending journey of introspection, joy, and pain, creating an experience that lingers long after the last note fades.

Sleeve art by Brian DeGraw, design by David McFarline.

"Although life is hyper-individualised, you rarely go about it alone. This rings especially for RADIOHOP, the 4-man band drawing in everything that derives from Jazz. Aptly titled, ‘All We Do’ sees the band culminating each member’s journey through life as a performer and music head, into one entity. It is a collection of various musical feelings; drawn from all of the widely diverse musical environments they are surrounded by. Their early explorations in Hip-Hop laid the foundation RADIOHOP jetted from. All We Do ventures into Soul, Funk, Jazz, Broken Beat, Brazilian harmony, Fusion and other genres that they see connections with. It engenders a journey through the peaks and troughs of a modern musical spectrum and is an undeniable act of successfully approaching a contemporary Jazz album.

Together, they drew on Jazz as a concept existing outside the walls of formality. In addition to sessions and gigs with like-minded musicians, they explored the Amsterdam nightlife and genre-bending concerts for inspiration. This 3.5-year exploration brought them unconventional writing, producing and performing experiences resulting in All We Do being as much a presentation of the people accompanying them on this exploration, as it is about the journey itself.

RADIOHOP are constantly surrounded by other musicians and creatives from all different genres, disciplines, and spaces. The album is a celebration of the creative, and the ecosystem they operate in. The band likes to root that in the philosophy of Hip-Hop: spoken word, rap, vocals, lyrics, flute solos, photography, digital art, graphic design, tagging and poetry all congregate on the limited vinyl, as they truly believe art should not see any material boundaries. All We Do appreciates the art and the artist's creative endeavour. RADIOHOP gladly shares that with others in a holistic creation that is this album."

Ltd. Purple & Black Splatter Vinyl. It's been four years since Zach Saginaw, aka Shigeto, returned home to Michigan from a stint in Brooklyn, NY, and since then, the multi-faceted musician has become a part of the fabric of Detroit's music scene. While always having a personal approach to his projects, Saginaw's influences for his third album, The New Monday are more about the community of Detroit than anything else. Named after a weekly DJ event called Monday is the New Monday that Saginaw does at the unassuming Motor City Wine with a group of friends, The New Monday is the result of Saginaw diving into the city's deep record culture, where there legacy of artist's of the past help Saginaw embrace his own contributions. "It's focused on a couple things and they all kind of come together to represent dierent things," explains Saginaw. "My time back in Detroit, back living in Michigan and spending time with a lot of kind of original people who have always been here, learning from them, hearing stories from them, being influenced by them, and inspired by them." While, in the past, projects like Lineage or No Better Time Than Now were rooted in strong personal messages, family and relationships respectively, The New Monday represents a communal eort where solidarity is the key. Going for a simplified approach of just trying to make good tracks, The New Monday is diverse in its styles leaning more into a dance music direction - new ground for a Shigeto project. A new air of confidence in Saginaw has expanded his horizons since his return to Detroit, but traces of his past work will continue to be present. "I don't want people to think I'm leaving anything," says Saginaw. "I'm still me. It's a result of me being immersed in the culture, and inevitably making music that is influenced by that culture whether it be house, techno, jazz, rap. It doesn't matter. It's all coming from what I love about Michigan." While The New Monday still features the jazz textures long associated with Shigeto projects, the varied elements that make up the album cohesively come together to show the distinct inspiration that Saginaw has drew from since his return home to Detroit. Like on "Barry White", which features Detroit hip-hop artist ZelooperZ (a member of Danny Brown's Bruiser Brigade crew who Saginaw also has a side project with called ZGTO), Saginaw captures everything he's been doing all on one track. As much as it's hip-hop influenced, it's a mutant that encompasses elements of dance music, jazz, and ambient sounds. Throughout The New Monday, Saginaw poignantly references the musical influences that have either always been with him or newly discovered. It is Saginaw's interpretation of Detroit's rich culture of innovative artistry, but done so with respect for the history and to contribute, not disrupt. "I think over the past four years, I can confidently say that I found my place here," describes Saginaw. "I'm happy here and I feel that I have the respect from the people I need respect from, that I want respect from. It's all of the result of embracing it and embracing, not Detroit, but embracing community, embracing family,








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f A2D (FT. ZEELOOPERZ & SILAS GREEN) [AAPV]

fabric, the iconic hub of electronic music culture, proudly announces its latest addition to the fabric mix series: "fabric Presents The Streets". This eagerly anticipated compilation marks a milestone in the illustrious history of the UK institution, as they join forces to commemorate 25 years of groundbreaking club nights and genre-defining mixes. The release is accompanied by original material from The Streets in the form of two singles, the first to be shared is “No Better Than Chance”.

fabric Presents The Streets" is more than just a mix; it's a sonic journey through the pulsating veins of UK nightlife. Skinner's deft curation transcends mere selection; from the gritty beats of underground garage and bass music to the icy melodies of UK rap and grime, Skinner weaves together a tapestry of sounds that encapsulates the essence of fabric's legendary atmosphere. The compilation album will also be available in the iconic fabric CD tins.

fabric itself stands as a bastion of innovation and inclusion within the electronic music community. For 25 years, it has been a sanctuary for music lovers, a breeding ground for artistic evolution, and a beacon of diversity in an ever-changing landscape. Its impact on UK nightlife cannot be overstated; fabric is not just a club, but a cultural institution that has shaped the tastes and trends of generations. To commemorate the 25-year journey, fabric's labels will release a collection of exclusives. These will include five special ‘fabric presents’ compilation releases, ‘fabric Presents Shygirl’ was the first to be shared in March.

In addition to the mix album, fabric and The Streets unveil the brand new original single "No Better Than Chance," an electrifying track that encapsulates the spirit of both fabric and The Streets.

“I’ve spent many nights wasted but not wasted any nights in fabric over the years. The dedication to underground music and innovation, the way the bodysonic bass transducers sent the sounds through your body via your feet, the queues, the camaraderie and a real sense of being part of something that people will remember through the haze as the home of some of the greatest moments of their lives. When I was asked to do a mix for the anniversary series I couldn’t wait to get on with it. fabric has become one of the homes of bass music and that’s some of the music I’ve been playing out the most. It’s a pleasure to follow in the footsteps of so many incredible DJ’s in the fabric, FABRICLIVE and fabric presents series and be part of their celebration. Here’s to many more decades of hedonism.” - Mike Skinner

As fabric celebrates its silver jubilee, "fabric Presents The Streets" stands as a testament to the club's enduring legacy and commitment to pushing boundaries. This co

Baby Blue & Halloween Orange Vinyl. In their decade-plus together, the four-piece_Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Lydia Lund (guitar, vocals), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals), and Annie Truscott (bass, vocals)_have created a resonant body of work. Live Laugh Love is a natural continuation. Against the bizarre backdrop of the past few years, Chastity Belt remained a supportive space for the members to grow and experiment, drawing on the ingredients most essential to their process since the beginning: authenticity and levity. Recorded over three sessions in as many years (January 2020, November 2021 and 2022), the focus became more about enjoying their time together in the studio than making it feel like work. Their ease and familiarity with engineer Samur Khouja in LA, who also recorded their last album, made for a particularly enjoyable process. Once completed, they returned to renowned engineer Heba Kadry who mastered the album.Album opener "Hollow" sets the tone with a gently driving rhythm while guitar layers stream like sun rays through an open car window. A warmth radiates through Shapiro's voice, even while grappling with feeling lost and stuck. "The older I get," Shapiro says of the lyrics, "the more I realize that I might just always feel this way, and it's more about sitting with the feeling and accepting it, rather than trying to fight it." That wisdom seems to anchor Live Laugh Love. Chastity Belt has never shied from navigating the spectrum of difficult emotions, and an existential thread weaves throughout the subject matter. And yet the songs feel more grounded than ever; there's a sense of quiet confidence and self-assurance that comes with being less numb and more present. Facing discomfort takes more fortitude, after all.Live Laugh Love finds the members in their prime as musicians. Their parts trace intricate patterns over one another, but there's room to breathe between the layers. Everyone contributes to the writing, sometimes switching instruments, and for the first time, all four members sing a song. It's never been more apparent that they are creative siblings, cut from the same belt. "We've been playing music with each other for over a decade," says Shapiro, "so it really does feel like we're all fluent in the same language, and a lot of it just happens naturally.""Laugh" seeks in the balm of friendship, aware of the anticipatory nostalgia that hits during a good time that you're already missing before it's gone; the heavier guitar tones on "Chemtrails" streak ominous chord progressions over Grimm's precision timekeeping, lamenting memories that won't fade easily. During a transitional time, Truscott came across a note in their phone that read, "it's not hard all day, just sometimes," which inspired a poignant line in the chorus of "Kool-Aid," their first song as lead vocalist on a Chastity Belt recording. Another standout, "I-90 Bridge" shines with a silvery melody that soars as Lund belts one of the most resounding moments on the album: "Tell your girlfriend she's got nothing to fear/I'm set in my head/My body's a different story." The track "Blue" saunters nonchalantly with a wink; you can almost hear Shapiro's smile as she sings "Faking it big time/So I can hit my stride/Man, it feels good to be alive," channeling early Chastity Belt channeling early '90s before channeling the late Elliott Smith in a spiral of distortion and insight: "Don't get upset about it/It's gonna pass/Tell all your friends about it/They're gonna laugh.""We have such a strong sense of each other's musical inclinations" says Lund. "I think this allows for a lot of playfulness_we can kinda surprise each other, like a good punchline would."

Released in 1999 on Taylor Deupree’s 12k label, »optimal.lp« was the debut album by Dan Abrams under his Shuttle358 moniker. For its 25th anniversary, Keplar presents it on vinyl for the first time with three previously unreleased tracks—the digital version also includes a alternative version of »Tank«—as well as a new artwork recreated by Daniel Castrejón and a remaster by Andreas LUPO Lubich based on the original pre-masters that were been restored and cleaned up for the reissue project by Abrams. »optimal.lp« was inspired by the rich tradition of ambient music and the rhythmic complexity of 1990s electronica while also sharing many traits with the then-emerging clicks’n’cuts movement, making it a true sui generis piece of work—both informed by tradition and visionary, idiosyncratic and seminal for many artists after him.

Abrams developed an interest in ambient music when he was still a child, scouring through cassette tapes of environmental sounds, new age music, and world percussion. Discovering Brian Eno’s »Thursday Afternoon« as a young teenager marked a turning point for him. »It gave me the idea that ambient music could be an intentional creative act, that tone itself is a legitimate form of expression,« he says today. During the 1990s, he increasingly immersed himself in the electronica scene and the output of labels such as Instinct, where Deupree worked as an Art Director and released his first records as Human Mesh Dance. Abrams found a home on 12k after sending Deupree a demo tape that would later evolve into »optimal.lp,« released as the label’s fifth catalogue number.

Abrams was still in college when he started experimenting with a sound module, his laptop and a mixer as well as a MIDI card and a small controller. »Each note was composed in MIDI and played back when I was ready to record,« he explains his working process at the time. »The tracks could be replayed, but the sound interactions with glitches and noise would be a little different each time. I decided to base the concept of the album on these interactions.« Each piece started with a single sound or tone that, as Abrams puts it, already contained the entire composition: »I let these interactions guide me, and tried to complement them as I added sounds. It’s a conversation of sorts with the medium.«

While refining this technique that he would go on to use on every album until 2004’s »Chessa,« reissued by Keplar in 2021, he also used the first-ever Native Instrument product, the Generator soft synth, to write the record’s title track—possibly making it the first album on which it was being used. »optimal.lp« is marked by this curious interplay of cutting-edge technology, the limitations with which every college student with a small budget is faced, and boundless creativity. »I’ve talked with other artists about how we feel about our early work,« Abrams says today. »We all agreed that there were elements that remain a part of us in a timeless way, despite our techniques—or lack thereof—at the time. ›optimal.lp‹ has a lot of things that will always be with me, that are me. I think I left some clues in there for my future self.«

This sense of timelessness remains tangible after a quarter of a century after the album’s original CD release and is even being expanded upon by the vinyl reissue, which is complemented by three pieces that were made while Abrams was working on the album. The digital release even features an entirely new take on the original album’s final piece, »Tank.« While Abrams let one of the masters go through his customised reverb unit when preparing the reissue, he started recording the results of this accidental dialogue between past and present. It’s a fitting tribute to an album whose delicate circular rhythms, rich textures, and ethereal melodies are precisely so exhilarating because their interplay seems to suspend the passing of time altogether.

Thanks to the success of his productions and his remixes, all the works printed on vinyl made by Luca LTJ Xperience Trevisi have been snapped up among his fans and DJs from all over the world.

From his past catalog there was still a complete album released only in Compact Disc and in digital format in 2013: Ain't Nothing But A Groove, left behind not because it had anything less than the others but simply to alternate new releases with catalog ones.

Now it is finally being printed.

The album, strictly in the DJ Friendly version, double vinyl with only two tracks on each side, contains some of his Nu Disco Funk pearls such as: What I Feel, Linear Funk and Get Down. Luca LTJ Trevisi (LTJ Xperience) began his career as a DJ and producer in the 80s.

As resident DJ of two of the most famous Italian clubs, the Kinky in Bologna and the Cap Creus in Imola, he was one of the first Italian DJs to play House Music and to revive that particular selection of Black Music called Rare Groove mixed with Jazz and Latin-Bossa who gave birth to the Acid Jazz movement at the end of the 80s.

His first official release was in 1988 and was titled First Job, paired with Kekkotronics, and was also the first album from Irma Records. The song was included in many compilations and many DJ playlists around the world. In the following years, among his singles we find some song forms that anticipated the Breakbeat genre such as Do n't Stop The Sax and Funky Superfly. He produced Tameka Starr's single Going In Circles, also for Irma Records, which has become a classic of the Downtempo/R&B genre.

In the mid-90s he produced some Italian Acid Jazz groups such as Bossa Nostra and Live Tropical Fish and began to select Rare Grooves compilations that have become classics such as Groovy and Suono Libero. At the same time he also started playing outside Italy, in particular at the Blue Note and the Jazz Café in London, at the
Giant Step in New York and at the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. In 1999 he released his first album under the pseudonym LTJ Xperience entitled Moon Beat which featured Ohm Guru in
the production and Taka Boom and Jackson Sloan as vocal guests. Two tracks from the album have become club classics:
the Brazilian House version of Sombre Guitar and the chill out Moon Beat. His second album in 2003 entitled When The Rain Begin To Fall features Joe Bataan in the reinterpretation of his most famous song Ordinary Guy which has become a Gilles Peterson classic.

After some singles including Organ Mind / I Love you (Larry Heard's favorite track) he dedicated himself to the world of the Nu Disco genre, releasing 5 albums in the genre to date. The latest Deepening of A Groove contains Bad Side with the American singer Anduze on vocals, which is one of his most popular hits, adored by Moodyman so much that he included it in the music of Playstation's Gran Theft Auto which sees him as the protagonist with his avatar.

“The place where I’m taking my inspiration from is a place of pure harmony and light. I’m just like everyone else – I’m very anxious, I have my issues and demons, but there is a place inside me which is much more in peace and harmony, so I took inspiration from this part of myself, rather than the dark part.”

As the world we live in grows darker and more bewildering with every passing day, the transformative power of music has never been more vital. Formed in the small French town of Bagnols-sur-Cèze at the dawn of the century, underground icons Alcest have always been clear about their desire to transport listeners to somewhere different, somewhere better. Led by founder and multi-instrumentalist Neige, the French artists have been one of the most consistently radical voices in all of heavy music, with a sound that eschews metal’s often myopic devotion to casting shadows, in favour of a sublime blend of darkness and blinding bright light.

The release of Alcest’s debut album Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde in 2007 blazed a unique trail through the underground metal world, eliciting high praise and feverish condemnation in equal amounts. Ostensibly a black metal project, Neige’s crew gifted an entirely new perspective to the black metal scene: wherein beauty, fragility, melody and positive vibrations co-exist with the fast, furious aesthetic of true extreme metal. Almost instantaneously influential, Alcest were able to steadily establish themselves as a unique force, both with a series of acclaimed albums and a sturdy reputation as a transcendent live act.

From the enlightened primitivism of 2010’s Écailles de Lune, and the definitive, holistic squall of Les Voyages De L’Âme (2012), to the magical, post-rock splendour of Shelter (2014) and the dark, dynamic Kodama (2016), Neige’s vision has been presented in the most vibrant and revelatory colours. Meanwhile, the legions of like-minded “blackgaze” bands that have followed in Alcest’s wake speak volumes about the Frenchmen’s profound and enduring influence.

Released in October 2019, Alcest’s sixth studio album marked another grand milestone in their story. Their first record for Nuclear Blast Records, Spiritual Instinct deftly sustained the conceptual and musical preoccupations of past achievements, while taking Neige and long-time drummer Winterhalter into new sonic realms, both grittier and more nuanced than ever before. Inevitably, plans to tour their new music were eventually scuppered by the global pandemic that broke out early in 2020. But Alcest’s creative journey continued regardless, and the results can be heard on the band’s latest album, Les Chants de L’Aurore.


Having redirected his artistic energies, Neige began work on the follow-up to Spiritual Instinct, newly inspired by the experiential essence that first led him to his band’s ground-breaking musical life. As with Souvenirs d’un Autre Mode, Les Chants de L’Aurore draws inspiration from the spiritual childhood experiences that have shaped Neige, both as a musician and a human being. A liberated nosedive into the very notion of consciousness and the layered mists of reality, the seventh Alcest album amounts to a euphoric homecoming.

“The place where I’m taking my inspiration from is a place of pure harmony and light. I’m just like everyone else – I’m very anxious, I have my issues and demons, but there is a place inside me which is much more in peace and harmony, so I took inspiration from this part of myself, rather than the dark part.”

As the world we live in grows darker and more bewildering with every passing day, the transformative power of music has never been more vital. Formed in the small French town of Bagnols-sur-Cèze at the dawn of the century, underground icons Alcest have always been clear about their desire to transport listeners to somewhere different, somewhere better. Led by founder and multi-instrumentalist Neige, the French artists have been one of the most consistently radical voices in all of heavy music, with a sound that eschews metal’s often myopic devotion to casting shadows, in favour of a sublime blend of darkness and blinding bright light.

The release of Alcest’s debut album Souvenirs d’un Autre Monde in 2007 blazed a unique trail through the underground metal world, eliciting high praise and feverish condemnation in equal amounts. Ostensibly a black metal project, Neige’s crew gifted an entirely new perspective to the black metal scene: wherein beauty, fragility, melody and positive vibrations co-exist with the fast, furious aesthetic of true extreme metal. Almost instantaneously influential, Alcest were able to steadily establish themselves as a unique force, both with a series of acclaimed albums and a sturdy reputation as a transcendent live act.

From the enlightened primitivism of 2010’s Écailles de Lune, and the definitive, holistic squall of Les Voyages De L’Âme (2012), to the magical, post-rock splendour of Shelter (2014) and the dark, dynamic Kodama (2016), Neige’s vision has been presented in the most vibrant and revelatory colours. Meanwhile, the legions of like-minded “blackgaze” bands that have followed in Alcest’s wake speak volumes about the Frenchmen’s profound and enduring influence.

Released in October 2019, Alcest’s sixth studio album marked another grand milestone in their story. Their first record for Nuclear Blast Records, Spiritual Instinct deftly sustained the conceptual and musical preoccupations of past achievements, while taking Neige and long-time drummer Winterhalter into new sonic realms, both grittier and more nuanced than ever before. Inevitably, plans to tour their new music were eventually scuppered by the global pandemic that broke out early in 2020. But Alcest’s creative journey continued regardless, and the results can be heard on the band’s latest album, Les Chants de L’Aurore.


Having redirected his artistic energies, Neige began work on the follow-up to Spiritual Instinct, newly inspired by the experiential essence that first led him to his band’s ground-breaking musical life. As with Souvenirs d’un Autre Mode, Les Chants de L’Aurore draws inspiration from the spiritual childhood experiences that have shaped Neige, both as a musician and a human being. A liberated nosedive into the very notion of consciousness and the layered mists of reality, the seventh Alcest album amounts to a euphoric homecoming.

On her sophomore album "Germ in a Population of Buildings", upsammy moves through her surroundings with the curiosity of a place-bending landscape architect. The album is rooted in her interest for ambiguous environments in constant shift, and the feeling of discovering strange patterns in different ecosystems. Often, the Amsterdam-based artist finds herself zooming in and out beyond a place's most recognizable surface features to inhabit the microscopic and gigantic. Gathering field recordings and evocative environmental sounds, she shapes this source material into vibrating electro-acoustic rhythms and unstable, psychedelic textures. upsammy's debut album, 2020's critically-acclaimed "Zoom", was praised for its careful reimagining of IDM, evolving vignettes that nodded towards the dancefloor without being shackled to its rigid set of rules. On "Germ in a Population of Buildings" her process has evolved considerably; the skeletal trace of IDM is still present but it's been trapped in amber, allowing her unique sonic landscape to develop organically. 'Being is a Stone' is a proof of concept in many ways, layering upsammy's contorted voice in rickety patterns beneath a lattice of fragile rhythms and faintly melancholy synths. It's never immediately obvious where the sounds are coming from - a hiccuping beat might be glass cracking underfoot, and larger pulses could be wet concrete, rusted iron or bent plastic. As the sounds develop they morph into each other, demolishing what came before and building on top of the ornamental wreckage. On the dynamic 'Constructing', upsammy's sound design fluxes through hyperactive bass music structures, abstracting expectations at every turn. Often her sounds are whisper quiet, rattling and vibrating until heavier masonry drops and disrupts the structure. And when discernible rhythms subside into the background, like on the album's eerie title track, they become almost illusory, morphing between the real world and the electronic. upsammy's processed voice works like a bridge between these realms, snaking between stark, whimsical melodies on 'Patterning', arching from AutoTuned detachment into cooing, dreamy intimacy. By considering the harmonies between each location she's visited, upsammy has been able to build a unique topology that's an uncanny digital amalgam of her lived experience. It's a thoughtful alternative in an era more concerned with flatting the landscape than crumpling it and examining its peaks and troughs.

*REMASTERED ROUGH TRADE 4 TRACK E.P LIMITED TO JUST 500 COPIES*

Everything on “Up Home!” is bigger, richer; the guitars are huge, as though they’re being played through the clouds, massive gusts of blue-green noise that move across the stereo spectrum like weather systems. “Baby Milk Snatcher” is built around face-flattening dub bass, with glinting piano and shards of guitar ricocheting through the song. “W.O.G.S.” is delirious to the point of expiration; “One Way Mirror” is their attempt at weird, lopsided ‘anti-funk’, the song’s melody crushed by avalanches of six-string interference. And the closing “Up” is AR Kane’s masterpiece, a disembodied thud pulsing at its heart as a six-note guitar melody spirals ever onward, Ayuli’s voice lost in its own reverie, hymning escapism via references to Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey’s ‘black star line’.
• Jon Dale, lead review in Uncut Magazine
who grew up together in Stratford, East London. From the off the pair were outsiders in the culturally mixed (cockney/Irish/West Indian/Asian) milieu of the East End, with Alex and Rudy’s folks first generation immigrants from Nigeria and Malawi, respectively. The two of them quickly developed and fostered an innate and near-telepathic mutual understanding forged in musical, literary and
artistic exploration. Like a lot of second-generation immigrants, they were ferocious autodidacts in all kinds of areas, especially around music and literature. Diving deep into the music of afro-futurist luminaries such as Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Lee Perry and Hendrix, as well as devouring the explorations of lysergic noise and feedback from contemporaries like Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers, they also thoroughly immersed themselves in the alternate literary realities of sci-fi and ancient history (the fascination with the arcane that gave the band their name), all to feed their voracious cultural thirsts and intellectual curiosity.

It was seeing the Cocteau Twins performing on Channel 4 show the Tube that spurred A.R. Kane into being - “They had no drummer. They used tapes and technology and Liz Fraser looked completely otherworldly with those big eyes. And the noise coming out of Robin’s guitar! That was the ‘Fuck! We could do that!
The duo debuted with the astonishing ‘When You’re Sad’ single for One Little Indian in
1986. Immediately dubbed a ‘black Jesus & Mary Chain’ by a press unsure of WHERE to put a black band clearly immersed in feedback and noise, what was immediately apparent for listeners was just how much more was going on here – a tapping of dub’s stealth and guile, a resonant umbilicus back to fusion and jazz, the music less a conjuration of past highs than a re-summoning of lost spirits.

The run of singles and EPs that followed picked up increasingly rapt reviews in the press, but it was the ‘Up Home EP’ released in 1988 on their new home, Rough Trade that really suggested something immense was about to break. SimonReynolds noted the EP was: Their most concentrated slab of iridescent awesomeness and a true pinnacle of an era that abounded with astounding
landmarks of guitar-reinvention, A.R. Kane at their most elixir-like.

If anything, the remastered ‘Up Home’ is even more dazzling, even more startling than it was when it first emerged, and listening now you again wonder not just about how many bands christened ‘shoegaze’ tried to emulate it, but how all of them fell so far short of its lambent, pellucid wonder. This
remains intrinsically experimental music but with none of the frowning orthodoxy those words imply. A.R. Kane, thanks to that second generation auto-didacticism were always supremely aware about the interstices of music and magic, but at the same time gloriously free in the way they explored that connection within their own sound, fascinated always with the creation of ‘perfect mistakes’ and the possibilities inherent in informed play.

A Gilles Peterson-approved deep jazz-rap classic.

2024 first time vinyl release, 140g double vinyl, remastered audio with restored artwork.

Limited and Non-Returnable.

Holy grail hip-hop alert! Superstar Quamallah's Invisible Man was never released on wax so, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of this astounding record, we present the first ever vinyl edition. A stunning record which gained accolades upon its initial release, such as a prominent feature on Gilles Peterson's renowned Best Of 2009 show, it's one of the most essential jazz rap albums of all time.

Deep jazz rap on that mellow-melodic tip, Invisible Man is an unforgettable album with nothing but dope beats and dope bars. There's a strong chance this album has passed you by but we truly believe it to be a lost hip-hop masterpiece. It supremely captures the essence of a golden age classic without being slavish to the past. No, this ain't some facile throwback rap. It's a fresh and deeply soulful, original album shot through straight from the heart. Perfect to chill to, Invisible Man is profoundly jazz-oriented and captures with simplicity and sincerity the essence of hip-hop circa 1983-1994. It sounds like vibing with your nearest, dearest and oldest friends on a long hot summer night as the tantalising thought that anything is possible fills the air. You know what, we can just call this "magic hour rap" and we think you'll know what we mean. It's just beautiful. Just Listen.

Brooklyn-born, California-based emcee, DJ, and producer Superstar Quamallah was active in the West Coast underground scene throughout the 90s and recorded extensively with such revered names as Defari and Tajai. His parents were some serious artistic heavyweights, too; his father was soul organist Big John Patton, a giant in the jazz world known for his releases on Blue Note whilst his mother was an active designer. However, he remains relatively unknown. Invisible Man, named ostensibly after the classic Ralph Ellison novel, could also refer to how he is viewed by the public at large. With close affiliations to the Hieroglyphics, Dilated Peoples and Likwit crew, his debut EP "Don't Call Me John" arrived in 1999 on ABB Records, after which he took a sabbatical from recording which included graduate school, travelling, teaching at Inglewood High and eventually a professorship of African Studies at Berkeley.

With a laidback flow and deep, relaxing presence on the mic, Superstar Quamallah is equal parts Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and Guru. Invisible Man is refined, soulful, feel-good hip-hop of the old school. Its wise, spiritual and literate sound, combined with the summertime vibes projected by the smooth beats and the nostalgia-inducing samples and vocal scratches, created jazzy boom-bap rap reminiscent of prime De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr.

Irresistibly bouncing opener "You Need Knowledge" loops sparkling pianos, horns and a nagging whistle refrain with scratched vocal refrains from Slick Rick, Mobb Deep and Guru. The super-smooth head-nod classic "88 Soul" also utilises a beautifully swelling piano line and dusty breaks whilst Quamé reminisces about his childhood in NYC. Deeply moving, the silky, sultry "Black Shakespeare" is built around an elegant piano loop and goes hard on the superman lover tip whilst "For My People...It's Spiritual" is transcendental rap in conversation with Rakim and older gods. The "Moment Of Truth"-sampling "Lonely At The Top" is striking for its undiluted boom-bap stylings and the staccato flute-hop of "Just Listen" is riddled with soulful refinement. The deeply-affecting, wistful-yet-triumphant bells and horn-drenched single "California Dreamin'" is top-tier rap of unimpeachable quality. What a flow!

Another highlight is the rich melodic piano-rap of "Purity", a beautiful ode to the foundations of rap and those keeping the culture authentically alive. Beautifully played instruments and spiritual jazz samples elevate the deep thinking present on "Kunta Kente" whilst the darker jazz-tinged battle-rap of "93 Shit" goes super hard both in a lyrical sense and with its no-holds drum punches. The breezy Rhodes and string loops that serve as the sonic backdrop to the slinky jazz rap of "We Got Plots" are just gorgeous as our hero evokes Common's "I Used To Love H.E.R." with a head-spinning tale of crime, deception and double crossing. And some twist! "Do Win-Dis" has a tense crime-funk backing and rolling beats which complement Quamé's flow perfectly before the record is rounded out by the tough yet jazzy brilliance of rap confessional "Hope She Remembers Me". Just sensational.

Upon its original release, Quamallah himself declared: "My favorite time period for Hip Hop music was definitely between 1983 and 1994 with 1988 and 1993 being two years that standout as extremely impressive years musically and culturally. The fashion, slang, movies, TV shows and vibe during those years was incredible. While totally submerged in the feelings and music of that entire time period, I went to work on Invisible Man and I am excited for people to hear the result! It is an album that I would want to hear from some of my favorite artists of the past and present today. This is not a RETRO trip for me; this is me at my best lyrically and spiritually using the accessories of the 80s and 90s to fuel me. I am a 88 soul as the song states!"

This album goes deep. It goes all in. When Invisible Man first came out it had a real hold on us here at Be With HQ. We couldn't stop listening to it. We'd venture to say it's one of the top 25 rap records of the 2000s. In the years since its release, it has remained a criminally underrated record, an increasingly hidden gem. We sincerely hope this first time double LP release will go some way to correct this.

It's been mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis, cut by Cicely Balston and pressed at Record Industry. Finally available on the format it should always have been on, it must never be rendered invisible again.

For fans of: Spectrum / Recurring Era Spacemen 3, Loop, AR Kane, MBV, bdrmm, Cocteau Twins, Telescopes and early 90s Creation records.

Following a series of meditative explorations in the form of the Singularity Zone series of releases, The Oscillation have returned with a new sense of vigour and purpose. Refreshed and re-energized, the result is The Start Of The End, an album that casts more light and shade than ever before to create a mood of hope and re-birth.

At once warm and welcoming, The Start Of The End is an album quite unlike anything that The Oscillation have ever released before. Fuelled by optimism and taking stock of what’s good about life and what needs to be jettisoned, the record is a result of spiritual and physical re-charging and cleansing.

Leaving the claustrophobic environs of the big city for a more bucolic backdrop, the change in location has left a profound mark on Demian Castellanos, the creative force behind The Oscillation. Where the exorcism of dark emotions of previous album Untold Futures left Castellanos wondering if he’d ever make music again, his new surroundings stirred something within him.

“When I made my new home, I allowed myself time to do nothing for a while,” says Castellanos, “and I then started some new songs without worrying about them being on an album. I just wrote with the mindset to put out something positive.”

He continues: “I did a lot of reflecting on the past and really wanted to change something in myself, but not knowing how and thinking that a lot of people must be feeling the same way.”

Recalling the creation of The Start Of The End, Castellanos says, “Writing and recording in an environment where I had little contact with people, no hanging out or partying or even having conversations was very interesting.”

The result is an album that’s recognisably the work of The Oscillation while pointing to a variety of new directions. Be it the celestial majesty of the title track, the melodic infusions that drive opening track ‘War On The Mind’ or the pulsing grooves underpinning ‘Faraway’ and ‘Body Electric’ or even hypnotic repetition at the heart of ‘Mantra’ and ‘The Eternal’, this music brimming with zeal and confidence. And to crown it all, closer ‘Sovereign’ is akin to communing with angels.

The Start Of The End is a line in the sand and one that points to a better tomorrow.

Seven Spires, die amerikanische Symphonic-Metal-Band aus Boston, werden ihr viertes Studioalbum mit dem Titel "A Fortress Called Home
veröffentlichen.
Der mit Spannung erwartete Nachfolger von "Gods of Debauchery" (2021) hebt ihre charakteristische Mischung aus Symphonic, Power und Extreme
Metal auf neue Höhen und zieht den Hörer dabei in die tiefsten Abgründe. Ihre Einflüsse stammen aus dem gesamten Spektrum des Metals und
darüber hinaus und reichen bis hin zu Jazz, spätromantischer Orchestermusik, cineastischen Klanglandschaften und mehr.
"A Fortress Called Home" wurde von Gitarrist Jack Kosto produziert, gemischt und gemastert. Der Tourneeplan von Seven Spires für 2024 beinhaltet
eine Europatournee mit Skálmöld und Atavistia im März.