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‘Archive Series Volume no. 5: Tallahassee Recordings’ is the lost-in-time debut
album from Iron & Wine. A collection of songs recorded three years prior to his
official Sub Pop debut, ‘The Creek Drank the Cradle’ (2002). A period before the
concept of Iron & Wine existed and principal songwriter Sam Beam was studying
at Florida State University with the intent of pursuing a career in film.
‘Archive Series Volume no. 5’ documents the very first steps on a journey that
would lead to a career as one of America’s most original and distinctive singersongwriters. ‘The Creek Drank the Cradle’ arrived like a thief in the night with its
lo-fi, hushed vocals and intimate nature, while almost inversely Tallahassee
comes with a strange sense of confidence. Perhaps an almost youthful discretion
that likely comes from being too young to know better and too naïve to give a
shit.
The recordings themselves are more polished than ‘The Creek Drank the Cradle’
and give a peak into what a studio version of that record might have offered up.
‘Archive Series Volume no. 5’ was recorded over the course of 1998-1999 when
Beam and future bandmate EJ Holowicki moved into a house together. Beam
had not been performing publicly however, he was known for playing an original
song or two in the early morning glow of a long night. Holowicki - also in the film
program and who would go onto a career as a sound designer at Skywalker
Sound - had a mobile recording device and after some prodding convinced his
friend to record these late-night meditations.
Together they would record close to twenty-four songs, ideas and sketches, with
EJ on bass and Sam on vocals, guitar, harmonica and drums. The recordings -
all captured in the house where they lived - have a ‘live in the room’ feel akin to
say Neil Young’s ‘Harvest’ or Nick Drake’s ‘Five Leaves Left’, rather than the
homespun lo-fi 4-track home recording experiment taking place at the time.
These recordings, minus one track, have never been made available and were
instead left preserved on a hard drive for the last twenty years. The one track
that floated out there, called ‘In Your Own Time’ was shared without a title to
childhood friend Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses) at some point. The song became
known as the ‘Fuck Like A Dog’ song and Ben shared it with more than a few
folks during the golden era of mix CDs. Two of those folks were Jonathan
Poneman from Sub Pop and journalist Mike McGonigal, who included it on his
best songs of 2001 mix CD, passed out to friends and acquaintances. And for
many that is where the Iron & Wine story begins, until now.
‘Archive Series Volume no. 5’ is the foreword to your favourite book that you’ve
somehow skipped over time and time again. It’s an alternative history mixed with
some revisionist history told over the course of eleven songs. It’s also the debut
record by Iron & Wine some twenty years after the fact.

"Matasuna" brings together two important pioneers of funk on its latest release: "The Meters" from "New Orleans"and "The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band" from "Los Angeles". The song "Giggin' Down 103rd" by "The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band" was first released as a single in 1968 (as Misspress) and is now available again for the first time. The song "Sing A Simple Song" by "The Meters" even premieres as a 45! Both tracks have been remastered to offer the best possible sound.

The A-side opens with "Sing A Simple Song" by "The Meters", a cover version of a song by "Sly & Family Stone" written by "Sly Stone". In direct comparison, "The Meters" cover sounds much more energetic and powerful. The ingredients are simple but effective: heavy drum breaks, funky guitar riffs, deepe bassline and a lively organ. A killer instrumental joint that exudes roughness & funkyness from the first second to the last!

On the flipside "The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band" follows up in similar fashion with the song "Giggin' Down 103rd". Instead of an organ like "The Meters", the band offers a super thight horn section backed by killer drums, guitars & bass. A special spicy recipe that thematically fits perfectly for this Funk45!

"The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band" was formed by "Charles Wright". Charles, a musician & composer born in 1940 in "Clarksdale, Mississippi", moved to "Los Angeles" in the 1950s. There he played as a singer & guitarist in various doo-wop groups. Beginning in 1962, he formed his own band, "Charles Wright & The Wright Sounds", which was joined in the following years by other musicians who would become known in the future band. The name "The Watts 103rd Street Band" was established in 1967. That same year they signed a record deal with "Warner Bros. Records" and released their first album. More LPs were released in the following years.

The band played mainly cover versions of popular R&B hits in the early years, but began to create their own songs and form their own sound in the late 1960s, which would have a strong influence on other musicians at the time.

Starting in 1969, the first members left the band to work on other projects. Charles also left the band in 1972 to further his solo career and release various albums.

In 1965, the group "The Meters"was founded by "Art Neville"with three other musicians in the musical epicenter of "New Orleans". They quickly made a name for themselves in the local scene. The musician "Allen Toussaint", who was to become one of the most influential record producers of the 1960s, discovered the band and signed them to his label "Sansu Enterprises". They first played as a backing band at live and studio performances of artists of the New Orleans scene, before getting their own record deal with "Josie Records". On this label they released three albums, before releasing more in the following years on "Reprise Records" and "Warner Bros. Records". The band officially disbanded in 1977 and reunited a few years later in 1989.

Since then they have been on stage in different formations as "The Meters", "The Funky Meters" or "The Meter Man".

Their innovative musical style, which was influenced by traditional New Orleans second line music, West African rhythms, Soul and rReggae, set a standard that would influence many musicians. Also, their music had a significant impact on the Hip Hop community, which sampled their songs hundreds of times.

Womack updates his material for the 80s, creating grown-up sensual soul.

The passion for earthy R&B seemed to have dimmed as the 80s began.

Synthesised confections abounded and veteran Bobby Womack, the Midnight Mover, was at a crossroads. His peers were either in the wilderness (Marvin Gaye, James Brown and Isaac Hayes) or otherwise indisposed (Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Sly Stone), so it was left to Womack to fly the flag for down-to-earth, quality soul.

Womack had been a recording artist for best part of two decades when he made The Poet. After making his name with The Valentinos in the 60s, he cut a string of heartfelt, emotional albums for Minit, United Artists and Columbia throughout the 70s. The Poet was written with great optimism; Womack was out of contract and was approached by agent Otis Smith to set up on his new label, Beverly Glen.

Working with Patrick Moten, Womack crafted eight songs that sounded breathlessly contemporary. If this material had been put in the hands of a soul crooner, it could have sounded perfunctory. The Poet works because of the juxtaposition of Womack’s feral growl with the album’s sweet, smooth, urbane soundtrack. This is grown-up, sensual music; from So Many Sides of You to its epic closer Where Do We Go From Here, this is a luscious collision of Womack’s soul mastery and slick musicianship. It rises and falls, with Womack sidestepping cliché thanks to his preaching, heartfelt delivery. For example, when he cries “I wanna dedicate this song to all the lovers tonight / And I expect that might be the whole world,” on If You Think You’re Lonely, it sounds honest, simple and sincere.

The Poet put Womack back on the map, and gave him his first US R&B chart-topper and first mainstream top 30 album. It was adored in the UK, and sent many back to investigate his grittier 70s heyday as an albums artist. The album became the best-selling record of Womack’s career

Womack cut the equally sublime follow-up The Poet II, released in 1984.

Daryl Easlea – BBC

Womack updates his material for the 80s, creating grown-up sensual soul.

The passion for earthy R&B seemed to have dimmed as the 80s began.

Synthesised confections abounded and veteran Bobby Womack, the Midnight Mover, was at a crossroads. His peers were either in the wilderness (Marvin Gaye, James Brown and Isaac Hayes) or otherwise indisposed (Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Sly Stone), so it was left to Womack to fly the flag for down-to-earth, quality soul.

Womack had been a recording artist for best part of two decades when he made The Poet. After making his name with The Valentinos in the 60s, he cut a string of heartfelt, emotional albums for Minit, United Artists and Columbia throughout the 70s. The Poet was written with great optimism; Womack was out of contract and was approached by agent Otis Smith to set up on his new label, Beverly Glen.

Working with Patrick Moten, Womack crafted eight songs that sounded breathlessly contemporary. If this material had been put in the hands of a soul crooner, it could have sounded perfunctory. The Poet works because of the juxtaposition of Womack’s feral growl with the album’s sweet, smooth, urbane soundtrack. This is grown-up, sensual music; from So Many Sides of You to its epic closer Where Do We Go From Here, this is a luscious collision of Womack’s soul mastery and slick musicianship. It rises and falls, with Womack sidestepping cliché thanks to his preaching, heartfelt delivery. For example, when he cries “I wanna dedicate this song to all the lovers tonight / And I expect that might be the whole world,” on If You Think You’re Lonely, it sounds honest, simple and sincere.

The Poet put Womack back on the map, and gave him his first US R&B chart-topper and first mainstream top 30 album. It was adored in the UK, and sent many back to investigate his grittier 70s heyday as an albums artist. The album became the best-selling record of Womack’s career

Womack cut the equally sublime follow-up The Poet II, released in 1984.

Daryl Easlea – BBC

‘The Watchful Eye Of The Stars’ is Adrian’s ninth studio album.
Produced by luminary John Parish (Aldous Harding, PJ
Harvey), this sublime collection of ten songs invites us to join
Adrian at his storytelling best, regaling us with tales of travel
and wonder, by sea, by road, all quietly transfixing,
transformative and wholly captivating.
Suffused with a hazy and surreal quality, Crowley describes
‘Watchful Eye’’s poignant narratives as those which insisted
themselves upon him. After the fact, it seemed these songs
came to him more or less fully formed. “It’s a beautiful and
mysterious thing,” he says. Perhaps it is a tendency to hold onto
memories (“It’s taken me so long to write to you / Well I just
couldn’t find a pen,” he laments in ‘Bread And Wine’), that
allows him to unleash them lyrically in completion. For Crowley,
the creative process is an organic event rather than a practice
he feels compelled to regulate or control. He approaches lyrics
much like he does short story writing. “The songs straddle the
conscious and subconscious world and some are even
psychedelic in my mind, but to me they are all at once true
stories and born of another place,” he shares.
In making the album, Crowley moved between studio and at
home recording, while John Parish produced. The pair worked
from tracks made initially by Crowley on a charity shop ¾ size
nylon string guitar or Mellotron: “In this way, John wanted to
keep some of the magic of that first take,” says Crowley.
Contradictions and complexities are left intact, initial recordings
were limited to one or two takes and the songs feel more like a
dream recounted upon waking.
Jim Barr of Portishead contributed double bass and was
brought in to engineer parts of ‘Watchful Eye’ in Bristol. Nadine
Khouri and Katell Keineg were invited in as guest backing
singers.
The heavyweight vinyl includes a digital download card.

Über zwei Jahre nach der Veröffentlichung von "Who Else" meldet sich das Berliner Duo Modeselektor mit einem ausschließlich aus eigenen Stücken bestehenden Mixtape "Extended" aus 27 neuen Tracks mit einer Gesamtlauflänge von rund 66 Minuten zurück. Angesiedelt im Spannungsfeld von Future Bass, Electro, Techno und Hip-Hop, widmen sich Gernot Bronsert und Sebastian Szary der Dekonstruktion von Musik-Genres, zerlegen diese in ihre atomaren Einzelteile und fügen sie nach Lust und Laune wieder neu zusammen. Als Gäste wirken Jackson & His Computerband sowie der legendäre Dub-Sänger Paul St Hilaire auf zwei Stücken mit. "Extended“ erscheint als CD und Tape. Darüber hinaus werden drei EPs ab Ende April im monatlichen Rhythmus veröffentlicht, die sich jeweils einem Track des Mixtapes mit Gesangsbeiträgen, Neuinterpretationen und Remixen widmen. Zudem hat der Tänzer Corey Scott-Gilbert eine choreografierte Interpretation von "Extended" kreiert, die in Zusammenarbeit mit Krsn Brasko und Tobias Staab in dem 60-minütigen Tanz-Video "Work" mündete, das begleitend zum Release des Mixtapes veröffentlicht wird.

Tom Smith (Editors) and Andy Burrows (We Are Scientists,
Razorlight) return with their second album and follow up
to their 2011 debut ‘Funny Looking Angels’ (which every
year grows in stature as the alternative go-to soundtrack
for the Winter / festive season).
Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Jacquire
King (Kings Of Leon, James Bay) and packed with classic
songwriting, the new album ups the pop ante with a
cannon of heart lifting songs including three singles
already lighting up both radio and streaming playlists
across the world.
The video for ‘Parliament Hill’, directed by Mat Whitecross
(Coldplay, Liam Gallagher), was shared by Coldplay to their
12.2 million Instagram followers.
Just before Christmas they also turned in an amazing
filmed performance of ‘When The Thames Froze’ (from the
first album) for The Late Late show with James Corden in
the US, with James declaring it “the perfect song for
Christmas 2020” and the album being “the greatest
Christmas album ever.”
‘All The Best Moves’ also elicited an apt response from Ben
Stiller, who tweeted “if this was a 45 I would have bought
it.”
TV - The Late Late Show with James Corden, Channel 4
Sunday Brunch.
Press - Reviews & features in Sunday Times.
Radio - Radio 2 playlist, New To 2, Jo Whiley, Ken Bruce Tracks
Of My Years feature, 5Live Nihal chat & session, Virgin Chris
Evans session.
Online - Tim’s Twitter Listening Party feature.

Although considered a singles-band, Shocking Blue released a couple of high quality albums. One of the best is Scorpio’s Dance, and not just in a musical way: its cover has been chosen as one of the most legendary LP covers in Dutch pop history. The album continues the band’s exploration into country music and Americana with tracks like “Alaska Country” and “Sally Was a Good Old Girl”. However, the band still stays true to its rock roots as well.

Scorpio’s Dance is rereleased as a limited edition on pink coloured vinyl. This edition contains four bonus tracks that were not available on the original LP.

Favorite Recordings and Charles Maurice proudly present the 5th edition of the AOR Global Sounds compilations series: 8 rare and hidden tracks, produced between 1977 and 1984 in various parts of the world. Started in 2015, the AOR Global Sounds series was born from the will of Charles Maurice (aka Pascal Rioux) to share his longtime love for the AOR and WestCoast movement and highlight its influence for many artists in the late 70s and early 80s. In this 5th volume, he selected again highly forgotten productions, deeply infused with Disco and Soul flavors.

Half of the compilation’s tracklist is naturally coming from the US, homeland of this music style, while the other half is made of productions from all over the globe, from France or United Kingdom to Venezuela. And for most of these beautiful songs, it came from artists and bands rather unknown and often released as private press.

Often, these records will have a special story, sometimes they’re just part of the universal quest of finding true love. Nonetheless, they all carry a wide range of emotions magnified by the music.

For example, “Don’t Take It Away” by Westside is as a love song about a new relationship, recorded in Minnesota and mastered on Sunset Bld. (Hollywood) by Bernie Grundman, who worked on Thriller – funny thing, the original LP is a picture-disc, which was still quite rare back in the days because the singer saw one from Mickael Jackson when visiting the studio. “Til’ Mornin’ Comes”, the only release by The Ferry Brothers, is also a love song, recorded in NYC with notably Gwen Guthrie, Vivian Cherry & Patti Austin singing as backup vocalists. On “What Its Meant To Me”, Jonathon Hansen remembers with emotion the good times spent with the members of his band including the vocalist he was in love with. On “J’Irai Squatter Ton Cœur”, Didier Makaga better-known as a French Boogie & Pop singer, arranger & composer, sings a charming declaration of love on a heavy and groovy eighties production. “You Never Know” by Rhapsody, recorded in Connecticut, sounds more like an East coast fusion of Soul and Jazz-Funk à la James Mason. “What You Do To Me” by Sugar Cane was highlighted on a Pittsburgh Rock Radio compilation: listening to this smooth ballad with its amazing Moog synth break will lift your soul. “Kailua” by Venezuelan Jazz-Funk band Esperanto, is a song about Hawaii which evocates bucolic dreamy nights facing the ocean, a typical AOR vibe. Finally, “I Need You” from Mark Williamson is a blue-eyed soul UK groover ending on a four-on-the-floor climax!

And we could detail stories but our guessing is the best way to learn more about all these gems is to listen to the compilation, fully remastered from originals, and whether your preference is for vinyl or CD formats.

Far Out Recordings is delighted to present Mora!, and for the first time ever on vinyl Mora! II. Mexican-American percussionist and former member of the Sun Ra Arkestra, Francisco Mora Catlett originally recorded and released his debut solo LP as a private press in 1987, but the sequel he recorded over the course of the next few years with an expanded Detroit jazz brass section was shelved for decades to follow. A pan-American melting pot of hypnotic afro-cuban rhythms, frenetic batucadas and fiery sambas, Mora I & II are holy grails of latin jazz, masterminded by an unsung hero of the genre.

Born in Washington DC, 1947, Francisco Mora Jr is the eldest child of two highly prominent Mexican artists, Francisco Mora Sr and Elizabeth Catlett, to whom this project was dedicated. Being born into a mixed heritage bohemian family provided Mora Jr with what he called a “creative, progressive, and healthy arts environment”, building the foundations for a fascinating career journey ahead. Mora grew up in Mexico City where he began working as a session musician for Capitol Records in 1968, before moving to study at Berklee Music College in Boston, MA in 1970. Once he’d completed his studies in 1973, he very briefly returned to Mexico City with the best intentions of cultivating an avant-garde movement in the city, but when the Sun Ra Arkestra came to perform, Mora ended up leaving with the band to tour the world for the next seven years, a decent innings within a group famous for its constantly evolving line up.

Settling in Detroit after his years with the Arkestra, Francisco set to work on his self-titled debut, gathering an ensemble of musicians that included keyboardist Kenny Cox, founder of the legendary Strata Records, esteemed bassist Rodney Whitaker of the Roy Hargrove Quintet and percussionists Jerome Le Duff, Alberto Nacif, and Emile Borde. The album openly embraces and unites the broad spectrum of improvisation, rhythm, and jazz that has thrived throughout the American continents for centuries. In Mora’s own words the album intended to “manifest the African heritage presence in the American continent.” Epitomising this outlook, album opener ‘Afra Jum’ deploys a melody based on Haitian, African and Native American motifs, which is expanded upon by the soulful excellence of the Detroit veterans Cox and Whitaker, amidst a backdrop of afro-cuban inspired percussion.

The sequel Mora II was recorded shortly after with an expanded line up that included trumpet legend Marcus Belgrave, famed for his work with Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, Hank Crawford, Eddie Russ and Wendell Harrison. Continuing the concept of the first album, the follow up moves deeper into South America with the samba jazz dance belter ‘Amazona’, led by the rich vocals of Francisco’s wife Teresa Mora. The ‘Afra Jum’ concept is further explored, with the original motifs beefed up by the additional horns, and interspersions of Sun Ra inspired rumbling free improvisations. This follow up album remained shelved until 2005, when Mora put it out as a now obscure CD titled River Drum, but only now has it been given the high quality vinyl treatment it so deserves, presented as the sequel to Mora! as originally intended.

Through the 90s and into the the 21st century Mora would continue his Pan-American explorations, moving toward a more electronic afro-futurist direction as part of Detroit techno pioneer Carl Craig’s Innerzone Orchestra. Mora also worked with Carl Craig, moog synth wizard Craig Taborn, and his former Arkestra colleague, the legendary Marshall Allen, to form the Innerzone Orchestra spin-off Outerzone, released in 2007 on Premier Cru Records. Mora I & II will be out as two vinyl LPs, CD and digitally 16th April 2021.

Following the hard-hitting return single ‘Anxious’ and a slew of mysterious ‘West Gazette’ posters appearing around the UK hinting at the announcement (including Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Bristol and London), West London’s AJ Tracey assumes the character of a rising young basketball player appearing in a livestreamed press conference to reveal his next move: a lucrative deal with major
franchise Revenge Athletic ahead of a crucial playoff game. The broadcast ends with the true reveal: AJ’s highly anticipated sophomore album ‘FLU GAME’ will finally arrive.
Always pushing boundaries with his creative output, AJ’s campaign draws influence from the story of Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls team in the late 90s, with ‘FLU GAME’ referencing one of MJ’s most memorable championship games where he overcame a nasty bout of food poisoning (brought on by a dodgy takeaway pizza) and took the Bulls to the championship. Revenge Athletic are a franchise on the brink of a massive championship win and AJ is their new star. All we know for now is that AJ is about to take us into this new world, as he dons the number 10 jersey and states he’s “ready to get going and do what I’ve always done.”
‘FLU GAME’ sees AJ showcasing twelve brand new tracks, with tantalising features including Kehlani, T-Pain, SahBabii, NAV and Millie Go Lightly. On the production
front, AJ calls on regular collaborators Nyge, The Elements, Kazza, AoD and Remedee.
The project also features the UK Top Five singles ‘Bringing It Back’ with Digga D, ‘West Ten’' with Mabel and the Platinum smash ‘Dinner Guest’ featuring MoStack. AJ Tracey is a man on an unstoppable, independently built trajectory. 2020 was his
biggest year to date, with (certified Gold) single ‘West Ten’ alongside Mabel landing in the wake of chart-scaling ‘Dinner Guest’ featuring MoStack (Platinum), Number 1 charity single ‘Times Like These’ (alongside Dua Lipa, Rag & Bone Man and The Foo Fighters) and the Platinum-certified TikTok sensation ‘Rain’ with Aitch, which went on
to become the most watched UK YouTube video of 2020. AJ finished the year with a stand-out feature on Headie One’s enormous anthem ‘Ain’t It Different’ alongside Stormzy, a Platinum certified track that peaked at Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart.
In 2019, AJ released his debut self-titled album which, after landing at Number 3 in the UK Official Charts, has gone on to clock over 350 million streams globally and is certified Gold. His Conducta-produced breakout hit ‘Ladbroke Grove’ was officially the
top selling independent single of 2019, spending an astounding 14 weeks in the UK Top 10, and is now certified Double Platinum (over 1.2 million sales). It was nominated for a BRIT, was named Best British Song at the NME Awards and is now the biggest-selling UK Garage record of all time - an incredible feat. AJ rounded off a
huge 2019 with two sold-out headline shows at London’s 10,000 capacity Alexandra Palace.
A music and cultural icon, and boasting over 1 billion global streams independently, AJ’s formidable talent and unmatched creative vision is set to see him scale even higher heights in the coming months.

a Anxious [prod Remedee]
[b] Kukoč (ft. NAV) [prod Pxcoyo + Yung Swisher]
[c] Bringing It Back (with Digga D) [prod. The Elements + AoD)
[d] Cheerleaders [prod Kazza & Swidom]
[e] Draft Pick [prod 5ive Beatz] Eurostep [prod AJ Tracey]
[f] Cherry Blossom [prod Nyge & AoD]
[g] Glockie [prod The Elements & AoD]
[h] Little More Love [prod YOZ BEATZ, RyFy & Mark Raggio]
[i] Top Dog [prod Nyge & AoD]
[j] Summertime Shootout (ft. T-Pain) [prod Nyge & AoD]
[k] Perfect Storm [prod YOZ BEATZ & JBJ]
[l] Coupé (ft. Kehlani) [prod The Elements]
[m] Numba 9 (ft. SahBabii & Millie Go Lightly) [prod The Elements]
[n] Dinner Guest (ft. MoStack) [prod The Elements & AJ Tracey]
[o] West Ten (with Mabel) [prod FRED & Take a Daytrip]

[a] Anxious [prod Remedee]
[b] Kukoč (ft. NAV) [prod Pxcoyo + Yung Swisher]
[c] Bringing It Back (with Digga D) [prod. The Elements + AoD)
[d] Cheerleaders [prod Kazza & Swidom]
[e] Draft Pick [prod 5ive Beatz] Eurostep [prod AJ Tracey]
[f] Cherry Blossom [prod Nyge & AoD]
[g] Glockie [prod The Elements & AoD]
[h] Little More Love [prod YOZ BEATZ, RyFy & Mark Raggio]
[i] Top Dog [prod Nyge & AoD]
[j] Summertime Shootout (ft. T-Pain) [prod Nyge & AoD]
[k] Perfect Storm [prod YOZ BEATZ & JBJ]
[l] Coupé (ft. Kehlani) [prod The Elements]
[m] Numba 9 (ft. SahBabii & Millie Go Lightly) [prod The Elements]
[n] Dinner Guest (ft. MoStack) [prod The Elements & AJ Tracey]
[o] West Ten (with Mabel) [prod FRED & Take a Daytrip]

London-based record label Wisdom Teeth kicks off 2021 with something close to home: Blush - the playful, dynamic debut LP by label co-founder, Facta. Recorded unusually quickly over a short stint in early 2020, the record is the product of a period of refreshed and unfussy creativity. It’s an innovative and distinctly contemporary album that moves a good few steps beyond the artist’s work to date - loosely rooted in UK dance music but taking added influence from ambient, modern classical, dreampop, Balearic, folk music and beyond. The result is a lush, ornate record populated by aqueous pads, bleeping arps, wandering melodies and sparse broken rhythms; acoustic instruments that play out alongside FM synths, all processed with a pristine UV sheen inherited from modern pop music. The record opens with ‘Sistine (Plucks)’ - a crystalline synth piece with a stumbling, shifting metre revolving around an odd-ended MIDI harp loop, coloured through with washed-out pads and snatches of found sound. This breezy mood follows through to ‘On Deck’, where an FM vibraphone rings out on top of woozy, warping chords and a subby soca groove. Moving forward the record moves cohesively through a range of shifting moods and hues. The machine jazz of ‘Brushes’ is tense and coiled, with nods towards Burnt Friedman, Photek and Eli Keszler. ‘Iso Stream’ sees a rich, colourful sprawl of arpeggiated synths and dissociated vocal chops unspool slowly to form pooling, lowlit melodies. Title track ‘Blush’ is a forlorn Autonomic love song built from clicks-n-cuts - like dBridge & Instra:mental reduced and reinterpreted by SND. Throughout, bold, broad melodies take centre stage, and the tracks build like compositions rather than loops or club tools. There are echoes of the dancefloor - particularly in the slo-mo bruk of ‘Verge’ and the glacial subs underpinning ‘Diving Birds’ (a collaboration with friend and Trilogy Tapes regular Parris) - however the end results find us somewhere far off. ‘Blush’ is the second long-form release to come from Wisdom Teeth following K-LONE’s 2020 debut album, ‘Cape Cira’, which was widely ranked as one the best LPs of 2020.

“I wanted to try and showcase as many people as I knew on this mix. My idea of Late Night Tales was to distil a series of relaxing moments; the whole conceptual sonic of relax- ation. So, I was trying to think of all the collaborators and friends that I knew, who’d recorded stuff with this horizontal vibe. Plus, I was also trying to help my friends' stuff get into the world. I know the story of Khruangbin blowing up after appearing on the series (in fact, I think that's how I discovered them). So, the main idea was to create a certain atmosphere, but also to help some of my favourite collaborators and bud- dies to give their songs a little push out into the world. Hope you like it” Jordan Rakei
Due for release on 9th April, Late Night Tales celebrate their 20th anniversary with the release of multi-instru- mentalist, vocalist and producer Jordan Rakei’s majestic compilation. The 28-year-old modern soul icon effortlessly stamps his own jazz and hip-hop driven sound all over this gorgeous array of handpicked tracks. A beautifully layered blend that is mirrored in the music he’s made, itcomes as no surprise that such a supremely gifted songwriter should deliver a mix that is all about the song.
Rakei, born in New Zealand, but raised in Australia, moved to the UK in 2015; he released his debut album, Cloak, with Oz label Soul Has No Tempo, but his two subsequentLPs, Wallflower and Origin, came out on Ninja Tune, the former#2 in Album Of The Year for Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide poll, while Origin was nominated for Best Album at the AIM Awards. Jordan had this to say on his upcoming mix:
As Jordan says,there’s so much more to the song selection on Late Night Tales’latest outing than a random collection of artists. Many have some sort of personal connection, so just as Bonobo provided a platform for the breakout of Khruangbin on a previous LNT, this may have the same ef- fect for Rakei’s friends. After a soothing opener from Fink, good friend and big influence Alfa Mist (part of the Are We Live collective) delivers ‘Mulago.’ “I want to champion their sound and show the world how good he is, and I thought it’d be fitting to start the mix with family,” says Jordan.
Next up is Charlotte Day Wilson with ‘Mountains,’ followed by ‘Count A Heart’ from Moreton, an exclusive collab- oration with Jordan, who grew up on the same street in Brisbane, Australia. “She was the first artist I ever collabo- rated with, and one of the first artists to be involved in mycareer,” he explains. Elsewhere we hear Scottish producer and multi-instrumentalist C Duncan’s haunting ‘He Came from the Sun,’ Barcelona collective Oso Leone deliver a dreamy ‘Virtual U’ and Bill Lauren’s ‘Singularity,’ which evokes a striking sense of time and place.
Snowpoet’s ethereal ‘Evitenity’ is a “long mediative nar- rative over a beautiful soundscape,” which at times seems chaotic, nicely juxtaposed with undeniable beauty, and Maro’s kooky songwriting shines on ‘Always And Forever.’ Long-time buddy Armon-Jones contributes ‘Idiom,’ and Jordan’s exclusive cover version is a two-for-one, Radio- head’s ‘Codex’ merging with ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Home’ by Jeff Buckley and another exclusive,original com- position by Jordan, ‘Imagination.’ The latter works as a piece with the spoken (Spanish) word voiced by movie director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Birdman, and The Reve- nant,) who is a big fan of Jordan’s. “He messaged me when I went to L.A and asked to come to my show. I was in such shock and we hung out after. I thought it would be nice to get him to do this in his native tongue, because I don’t think that’s been done yet on the series.” It certainly is a familyaffair. Not theblood is thicker than water kind, but certainly musical kindred spirits.

Dream Violence, Michael Beach’s fourth full-length, is an epic album that explores the duality of the human condition. Or, as Beach himself puts it, the album is about “human futility, passion, desire, anger, frustration, and the struggle to maintain hope in a somewhat hopeless time.” Dream Violence, then, addresses the existential crisis of being an artist in 2020.

Known for his work touring with the Australian guitar pop band Thigh Master and the late, brilliantly eccentric Israeli guitarist Charlie Megira, currently the focus of a number of reissues by the Numero Group, Beach is the architect of a sound that is both well-built and ramshackle, straightforward and indeterminably complex, out of the norm yet familiar in all the best ways.

Dream Violence unfolds like a revelation, filled with sonic tumbleweeds that reference Neil Young’s On the Beach, Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, the Velvet Underground’s Loaded, and the Go Betweens’ Before Hollywood. Influences ranging from the enigmatic outlier Megira to Glenn Branca to the Oblivians are combined to create a new, exhilarating sound, part of the path that Beach has been on since 2008’s Blood Courses. A veteran of year-end indie rock round ups beginning with Golden Theft in 2013 and continuing with Gravity/Repulsion, released in 2017, Beach distills the best of those early albums and adds sharpened intent.

Dream Violence works beautifully as a start-to-finish album. There are magnificent stand-alone moments: “Spring,” a raggedly building ballad that perfectly captures the ennui attached to new beginnings; “De Facto Blues,” a born-to-lose anthem that, says Beach, “is the sound of people totally at their wits end;” “Curtain of Night,” a simultaneously derelict and bright tribute to the late Megira, which sounds like it could’ve been cut at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio after the Rolling Stones wrapped up sessions for Sticky Fingers; and the delicately vulnerable “You Found Me Out,” which evokes equal parts Lou Reed and Joni Mitchell. On the latter, the lyrics “You found me out, on a ship at sea, you pulled me in, made a wreck of me,” encapsulate “the aimless of a modern world view in a future without hope and the draw/dependence of love in those times,” Beach explains.

Through music, Beach strives to convey both passion and compassion, energy and action. “My hope is that something gets communicated that makes people think outside of themselves or their surroundings,” he says. “To ask questions, and consider the effects of their decisions. To communicate some essential part of the human spirit that understands intuitively how to feel connected to each other rather than divide, exploit, separate, ignore, and all the other heinous shit we have the ability to do with each other.”

Recorded on two continents, Dream Violence documents Beach’s move from Oakland, California to Melbourne, Australia as he navigated a new music scene, plenty of bureaucratic red tape, and, ultimately, citizenship. Parts of the album were recorded and mixed at Tiny Telephone Recording in Oakland, at the end of a 2019 tour with Kelley Stoltz producing. Other tracks were recorded at Beach’s new home in Melbourne, where he could be “relaxed and sloppy in all the right ways,” and partially remixed at Phaedra Studios.

At the Memphis-based Goner label, Beach joins an increasingly unique roster of international musicians that reaches far beyond garage or indie rock to encompass artists like gospel singer Rev. John Wilkins, Kentucky rockers Archaeas, New Orleans iconoclasts Quintron and Miss Pussycat, and no-wavers Optic Sink.

New Pagans create music that's not only vivid and engaging but also home to massive riffs and rare dynamics. The bands audible influences range from PJ Harvey to Sonic Youth while lyrically the band deliver protest songs, songs about women, songs about mothers and songs about conversations overheard on Belfast's public transport systems. Their live shows are also something to behold and have just been the recipients of the best live act at The Northern Island Music Prize 2020. Music is the focus and an important vehicle for the healthy message the band promotes. New Pagans is a proud advocate for women’s rights, visibility and inclusion in the global music industry – an industry dogged with a history of stark gender inequality. The arts community and media have responded to the bands refreshing social and historical lyrical stance which includes protest songs, songs of suffrage and an ode to Lily Yeats, the often overlooked sister of Jack and William B and a key mover in the world of Irish arts and crafts back in the day along with her younger sister, Elizabeth. New Pagans have headlined events as part of Women’s Work and Lyndsey McDougall has proudly embraced the demands of live performance and recording whilst pregnant twice!. The band are committed to promoting honest inclusion, demonstrating the female force and showing that you can be born as or identify as female, raise a family and have your place as a career musician. Young women, young mothers see Lyndsey as a symbol of strength and hope in her fearless and forthright attitude to motherhood whilst fronting a band. A lot of young mothers feel the need to hide that aspect of their personal life for fear of how people may perceive it as a limit in achieving creative breakthroughs. New Pagans are that breakthrough, a visible work in motion

PHILLIP BALLOU Pittsburgh-born Phillip Ballou’s earliest years were spent in the gospel field; after he moved to New York City in the ‘70s, he teamed up with Bennie Diggs and Arthur Freeman, founding members of The New York Community Choir and singer Arnold McCuller to form the group Revelation. The quartet recorded for RSO Records, scoring some R&B success in the US with tracks like “Get Ready For This” and “You To Me Are Everything,” touring the Bee Gees among others. Phillip also sang on albums by NYCC recorded for RCA Records and continued with Revelation until 1982. Frequently hired for sessions in and around New York, Phillip teamed up with UK soul music journalist David Nathan (who he’d met in 1974 during Nathan’s first US visit) and John Simmons, formerly a member of The Reflections, another New York vocal group to write a series of songs for his own proposed solo record deal. Although a contract did not materialize, one of the songs – “Ain’t Nothing Like The Love” – got some interest from famed Philadelphia producer Thom Bell who presented it to The O’Jays. Ultimately, the tune was turned down by Kenny Gamble and John Simmons, by then musical director for Stephanie Mills, recorded his own version for a small independent label in 1981. Phillip continued his own musical journey, touring and recording with James Taylor and Todd Rundgren. In addition, Phillip’s name graced recordings by George Benson, Billy Ocean, Kashif, Nona Hendryx, Jonathan Butler, Teddy Pendergrass and Melba Moore; in 1981, he began recording with Luther Vandross and became a part of Luther’s touring band for many years, as well as singing on productions by Luther on Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick and others, continuing his association with him until Luther’s 2003 stroke. Phillip returned to his gospel roots in 2004 as Minister of Music at a Brooklyn church and passed away in March 2005, aged 55 .We are proud to bring you Phillips second single on Super Disco Edits, and perhaps his best! "We'll be together" is an uplifting song with an almost gospel tinged melody. But the songs lyrics portray a love thats just about to blossom.

Peter Hook and The Light are an English rock band, formed in May 2010 by bass guitarist/vocalist Peter Hook, formerly of the influential post-punk bands Joy Division and New Order.
The band is noted for performing the Joy Division and New Order albums live.Their setlists primarily feature the two Joy Division albums, Unknown Pleasures and Closer or the first two New Order albums, Movement and Power, Corruption & Lies, depending on the respective tour.
The very concept is bound to stir up conflicted feelings -- bafflement, interest, cynicism, anger -- in any Joy Division fan. Here’s that band’s Peter Hook, singing lead and playing bass, supported by a guitarist, drummer, keyboard player, and additional bassist. In front of a Melbourne crowd, the band roars through the entirety of Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, book-ending the album with six additional reinterpretations. The musicians play their hearts out, and Hook is absolutely locked into the material. One can’t deny the man’s conviction. The moments of aggression are far more suited for his gruff, seething vocals than the likes of “Candidate” and “I Remember Nothing,” where he has some trouble dialing it down. As an in-the-flesh experience, this was probably quite thrilling. As a home listening experience, it seems unnecessary -- at best, a curiosity -- especially when the source material is a couple clicks away.

Tape

Dylan Henner is back on Dauw with his new album "Great Prairie Plains: studies of American Minimalism". The album is a celebration of two pieces of music that he loves and have been hugely important to his musical life and education.

The album starts with an arrangement of Terry Riley's In C. During his school-time, Henner was allowed by his music teacher - with plenty of persuasion, in an environment of mostly much straighter classical music - to study this piece. He not only had a deep familiarity with it, but also the pdf scores that he transcribed for his homework. The arrangement was created mostly with the marimba, as an instrument that can layer very deeply without muddying the frequency range and also includes some synths, piano and a VST choir.

“I tried to balance my boundless admiration for the piece with a personalised arrangement. It would be pointless to copy Riley's original - it's too good - but I can at least try to do well by it.”

Alongside In C is an arrangement of Su Tissue's 2nd Movement, from her near-mythical "lost" album Salon de Musique. After trying to buy a copy of this record for years - they are so scarcely found he suspects he never will – Henner wondered if the next best thing would be - instead of owning a copy - to create his own copy. He started this arrangement with as much faith as he could. According to Henner, Su’s work is too rare to warrant changing, but instead should be honoured with autencitiy.

“It's not until the end of the piece that my arrangement begins to take a different shape to Su's. Once I started playing along on the piano, the rest fell into place.”

Dylan lives in Brighton, works as a photographer's assistant for his day-job and plays analogue synths, tuned percussion and cello. Last year Dylan released well-received albums on Dauw and AD 93 (fka Whities) among others. Even though he is a relatively new name, with these albums he already came to the fore as a promising artist within the electro-acoustic field.


a 01. In C [Terry Riley]
[b] 02. 2nd Movement [Su Tissue]

[a] 01. In C [Terry Riley]
[b] 02. 2nd Movement [Su Tissue]

Lingering at the remains of a campfire before dawn, with the politics of the personal burnt into ash, running his stick through what’s left, Wand singer/guitarist Cory Hanson is reflecting on a series of moments in which he steps farther into himself, finding the ultimate big sky country on the inside of his skull. It’s a combination of songs and sounds that journey
through bleak and broken territory and places of sweet, lush remove and it adds up to the best record he’s been involved in yet: his second solo album, ‘Pale Horse Rider’.

 Cory’s first solo, ‘The Unborn Capitalist From Limbo’, was an intense affair, a grand experiment that produced inspiring,
nconventional music - but this time around, he wanted to breathe a bit easier, to feel that breath in the music as well. So he and his band drove out to the desert to record in a lowstress environment: Brian Harris’ Cactopia, a house surrounded by 6ft tall sculptural psychotropic cacti. They built a studio inside and then they made music and lived off pots of coffee and chili and cases of Miller High Life as they played guitars, bass, keyboards and drums in what seemed increasingly like a living biomech, their tech made out of fungal networks and cacti needles.

 It was loose and flowed onto tape well. Recorded by Robbie Cody and Zac Hernandez (who assisted on Wand’s ‘Laughing Matter’), the sounds were great from the get-go. First takes were mostly best takes. Fuelled with DNA lifted from country-rock cut with native psych and prog strands, Cory guided his craft toward the cosmic side of the highway, a benevolent alien in ambient fields hazy with heat and synths, early morning fog and space echo spreading the harmonies wide.

 ‘Pale Horse Rider’’s got a lot to get out of its mind, looking around and seeing that, on the surface, things don’t always look like much. A lifelong Californian, Cory’s naturally found himself standing to the left of most of the
country. The west may be only what you make it; these days, the roadside view looks exceptionally sunbleached and left behind. ‘Pale Horse Rider’ eyes the city, the country and the fragile environment that holds them both in its hands - a record as much about Los Angeles as it can be with its back to the town and the sun in its eyes; as much about
ostalgia as new music can be with the apocalypse over the next rise.

 On ‘Pale Horse Rider’, Cory Hanson moves ceaselessly forward. The old myths weave and waft, the shadows of tombstones flickering in the mirages and the light that lies dead ahead.

Lingering at the remains of a campfire before dawn, with the politics of the personal burnt into ash, running his stick through what’s left, Wand singer/guitarist Cory Hanson is reflecting on a series of moments in which he steps farther into himself, finding the ultimate big sky country on the inside of his skull. It’s a combination of songs and sounds that journey
through bleak and broken territory and places of sweet, lush remove and it adds up to the best record he’s been involved in yet: his second solo album, ‘Pale Horse Rider’.

 Cory’s first solo, ‘The Unborn Capitalist From Limbo’, was an intense affair, a grand experiment that produced inspiring,
nconventional music - but this time around, he wanted to breathe a bit easier, to feel that breath in the music as well. So he and his band drove out to the desert to record in a lowstress environment: Brian Harris’ Cactopia, a house surrounded by 6ft tall sculptural psychotropic cacti. They built a studio inside and then they made music and lived off pots of coffee and chili and cases of Miller High Life as they played guitars, bass, keyboards and drums in what seemed increasingly like a living biomech, their tech made out of fungal networks and cacti needles.

 It was loose and flowed onto tape well. Recorded by Robbie Cody and Zac Hernandez (who assisted on Wand’s ‘Laughing Matter’), the sounds were great from the get-go. First takes were mostly best takes. Fuelled with DNA lifted from country-rock cut with native psych and prog strands, Cory guided his craft toward the cosmic side of the highway, a benevolent alien in ambient fields hazy with heat and synths, early morning fog and space echo spreading the harmonies wide.

 ‘Pale Horse Rider’’s got a lot to get out of its mind, looking around and seeing that, on the surface, things don’t always look like much. A lifelong Californian, Cory’s naturally found himself standing to the left of most of the
country. The west may be only what you make it; these days, the roadside view looks exceptionally sunbleached and left behind. ‘Pale Horse Rider’ eyes the city, the country and the fragile environment that holds them both in its hands - a record as much about Los Angeles as it can be with its back to the town and the sun in its eyes; as much about
ostalgia as new music can be with the apocalypse over the next rise.

 On ‘Pale Horse Rider’, Cory Hanson moves ceaselessly forward. The old myths weave and waft, the shadows of tombstones flickering in the mirages and the light that lies dead ahead.