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First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome the legendary New Sector Movements to the label, and the first new release from this moniker in 15 years! A 5-track EP for 'These Times', comprised of street soul, hip hop, jazz and bruk-tinged vibes.

Founded, headed and produced by DJ & musician IG Culture (CoOp Presents / LCSM), this all-new quasi-group project also features the vocal talents of Allysha Joy, Mike City and Natalie May with additional accompaniment from Wonky Logic, Wayne Francis, Alex Phountzi and the NSM Fusion Starship!

New Sector Movements (aka NSM) were the first out the gate at the dawn of the original broken beat movement, releasing their first single 'Groove Now / New Goya' on the People label in 1997, then releasing several singles and EPs through to the late noughties, and dropping a classic album on Virgin entitled 'Download This'. The previous incarnation featured several other artists from the bruk foundation era, including Kaidi Tatham, Izzy Dunn, Julie Dexter and Eska Mtungwazi amongst others.

Awarded a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 2019 Worldwide Awards, NSM's IG Culture is a hugely pioneering prolific artist in the UK music scene. His catalogue of releases over the years has seen numerous aliases, collaborations, remixes and productions. Appearing on the scene in 1990 as part of Dodge City Productions, to producing several solo albums throughout the noughties, to recent years with his hugely-acclaimed cosmic jazz outfit LCSM (Likwid Continual Space Motion), additionally to co-running the CoOp Presents label, continuing the legacy of the award-winning club night whilst showcasing new artists, IG Culture has been omnipresent at every corner of British black music for three decades deep, influencing many a sound.

This is all additionally to projects like NameBrandSound, Likwid Biskit, Da One Away and Son of Scientist to name just a few. His work has appeared on releases by Roots Manuva, Young Disciples, Les Nubians and Monday Michiru, while remix work over the years has included Gang Starr, Femi Kuti, José James, Miraa May, Slum Village, Digital Underground, Luniz, Naughty By Nature, Airto Moreira & Flora Purim.

As a DJ, he's shut down dances all over the world, recently at places like Fabric, We Out Here festival and Summer Dance Forever in Amsterdam, as well as regularly rocking the airwaves on Worldwide FM and combining the two at BBC 6 Music's All Points East stage in the Summer. IG Culture also founded Selectors Assemble; a collective of forward thinking DJs and producers.

So, as we head towards Winter 2022, New Sector Movements has returned (but don't call it a comeback!). After a turbulent few years in the world, it seemed a poignant moment to reinvigorate the soul, and reflect upon 'These Times'. Here we have five brand new tracks, each illustrating a pertinent mood and attitude representing the current climate. Allysha Joy leads the vocal on EP opener 'These Times', a sumptuous slice of street soul with a deeply infectious horn hook. 'Stand' is next - uptempo boom bap for the dancers, this one featuring the soulful pipes of Mike City. 'Hope' is a midtempo jazz-funk dub again feature vocal licks from Allysha, and introducing the mysterious NSM Fusion Starship into the fold. 'H.E.A.T.' picks up the pace with some infectious jazz-bruk business, this one lead by Natalie May on the vocals, who explains "heat = movement, motion". And finally 'Bless' with closes the set on a four-four riddim with bruk sensibilites, inviting Mike City back with an uplifting vocal requesting we "bless the people just trying to make it".

An essential EP of cross-genre vibes to resonate cross-generations, New Sector Movements do not ramp. IG Culture and crew proceed to give you what you need for 'These Times'.

'These Times' is released on vinyl and digital worldwide via First Word Records late February 2023.

HAVEN are back and charging in to the beginning of the year with a new catalogue number and compilation series. 'Vague Weight Vol. 1' launches the black label series that will be focused on the intersection of grime, dubstep, break-beat and other UK bass flavours with the hard and gritty techno sounds the label has become renowned for.

The A1 thrusts us straight in to this sonic world with an icy 4-4 slammer from Otautahi local legend and 1985 signee Ebb. Grimy cold square waves, gun reloads and some of the chunkiest drum programming in the South Pacific come together in this perfect representation of what the black label series is about. The A2 follows on with this theme with a huge bassy dance-floor anthem from London-based Irish artist Witch Trials featuring ghostly melodic hooks, creeping atmospheres and stepping rhythms to close out the A-side.

The B1 begins the flip with UK hardcore stylings from Voitax regular and bass experimentalist Cressida. Broken beats, monstrous bass pulses, faded rave synths and diva vocals combine in this huge slab of break-beat weight from the Berlin-based producer. Finally the compilation closes with an odd-ball chunk of 4-4 dub experimentation from Swedish HAVEN legend Peder Mannerfelt, following on from 2020's 'Ensnared' EP. Four-to-the-floor kicks flow alongside half-time rhythms and grungy synth work to close out this new chapter in the HAVEN discography.

Diese luxuriöse 3-LP erweitert das bahnbrechende Werk des Vince Guaraldi Trios, zu dem auch der Grammy®-gekrönte Hit ”Cast Your Fate to the Wind” gehört, erweitert um 16 Bonustracks, darunter
alternative Takes und bisher unveröffentlichte Musik und neue Linernotes.
Die Aufnahmen wurden von Plangent Processes übertragen und von Paul Blakemore neu gemastert. Die Sammlung enthält außerdem
neue, ausführliche Liner Notes des Jazz-Autors Andrew Gilbert (San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, KQED Arts).

Auch ohne sein Lied ”Cast Your Fate to the Wind”, ein echter und allzu seltener Instrumentalhit, war Guaraldis Album ”Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus” von 1962 ein Meilenstein, der ein Trio mit einem
einzigartig verführerischen Sound vorstellte. Die Kombination aus geschliffener Lyrik, rhythmischer Subtilität und exquisiter dynamischer Kalibrierung zeichnete es aus, aber die Wirkung der Gruppe ergab sich auch aus ihrem Repertoire.

Guaraldi war nicht der erste amerikanische Jazzkünstler, der sich mit dem brasilianischen Liedgut auseinandersetzte.
Aber Jazz Impressions war ein früher Vorbote der allgegenwärtigen, beispiellosen und dauerhaften Übernahme des Bossa Nova (was auf Portugiesisch ”neue Sache” oder ”neue Welle” bedeutet) durch die Jazzszene.

Mit dem 2008 erschienenen Album „Gumbo“ fiel der Startschuss für Brenk Sinatras interna-tionale Producerlaufbahn. Vom JUICE Magazin zu einem der Top 20 besten Instrumentalalbenaller Zeiten gewählt, schaffte „Gumbo“ mit seinen brachialen und zugleich sehr souligen,sample-basierten Instrumentals den Sprung raus aus Österreich und rückte Brenk als Aus-nahmeproducer erstmals in den Fokus.Der Nachfolger„Gumbo II“erschien 2011 über das Kölner Label MPM, das mit Brenk Sinatra so-wie weiteren Ausnahmeproducern an Bord den wachsenden Hype um instrumentalen Hip-Hopmitzündete. Brenks kompromissloser, zweiter Part der Gumbo-Reihe katapultierte ihn kurzer-hand in die Riege der gefragtesten Beat-Produzenten Europas. Seither war auch der dritte undfinale Teil der Gumbo-Reihe in Planung, jedoch hinderten die immer mehr werdenden musi-kalischen Projekte und nicht zuletzt auch der Druck, die ersten beiden Albumteile zu toppen,Brenk an der Fertigstellung seiner Instrumental-Trilogie. Der Folder mit den dafür selektiertenInstrumentals wuchs auf weit über 100 Beats, wurde teilweise gelöscht und ständig in seinerZusammenstellung verändert, bis Brenk das gezielte Sammeln von Gumbo-Material 2017 vor-erst einstellte. Damals vollzog Brenk einen stilistischen Wechsel, der ihn weg von klassischen,Samplebasierten Beats hin zu jenen entspannten Trap-Hybriden führte, die heute als seinTrademark-Sound bekannt sind. Auch wollte sich das Mindset für die Fertigstellung von „Gum-bo III“ nicht einstellen und andere Projekte wurden vorgezogen, bis das Album komplett in denHintergrund rückte. Über die Jahre wurden Fans und Journalist*innen auf die Frage nach einemRelease Date immer wieder von Brenk vertröstet, „Gumbo III“ wurde zu einem sehnsüchtigerwarteten Phantomprojekt.

Fast Forward in das Jahr 2021: erstmals seit vier Jahren klickt sich Brenk wieder durch den Folder mit den einst für die „Gumbo III“ produzierten Interludes, musikalischen Skizzen undbereits fertiggestellten Beats. Mit einer neuen Label- und Verlagssituation im Hintergrund(2021 gründete Brenk das MusiklabelWave Planet Recordssowie den dazugehörigen VerlagWave Planet Publishing) fällt er den Entschluss, dass die Zeit für den Abschluss der Gumbo-Trilogie nun reif ist und Wave Planet Records zur neuen Heimat dieses Projekts werden muss.Danach folgt eine wochenlange und mühselige Wiederherstellung der in den Jahren 2012 bis2016 produzierten Instrumentals. Brenks Hauptaugenmerk war es, den musikalischen Spiritder Instrumentals unverändert zu lassen und den Sound nicht zu modernisieren. Aus heutigerSicht klingt das mit unzähligen Vinyl-Samples gespickte Chop-Gewitter auf der „Gumbo III“wie man es von Brenks früheren Beats kennt, anachronistisch und gerade dadurch erfrischendanders. Als einziges Update für die „Gumbo III“ Instrumentals wurden lediglich ein neuesMixing von Brenk sowie das Mastering seines hochkarätigen Producer-Kollegen Dexter zu-gelassen.Für die perfekte visuelle Ergänzung des Gumbo-Sounduniversums sorgt das verspielte, vorDetails strotzende Cover-Artwork von Cone The Weird, der bereits das markante Artwork zum„Gumbo II“ Album lieferte.Die Vollendung der Trilogie wird unter anderem mit einer ganz besonderen „Gumbo TrilogyBox“ zelebriert, die im Oktober 2022 erscheinen und das Herz jedes passionierten Sammlershöherschlagen lässt

Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana have dazzled since day one. From the muted strains of their 2016 EP "Songs From The Cave", to the assured 2018 TiM debut "Lost & Found", to the sparkling refrains of "Juillet"; released just before the world collapsed around us, and which stood as the band's rebirth and purest statement of their music ambitions - until now. "Principia" is the band's third album and is without a doubt their best yet. Bandleader & principal songwriter Margaux Bouchaudon's voice anchors many of the songs on "Principia", her crystalline delivery ringing out like a bell as the band swoons & sways beneath her. The songs on "Principia" were composed from a place of confusion about the state of the world and her place in it, looking outward and inward for answers. They question our perception of others, the one they have of us and finally the one we have of ourselves in a society where the individual is king and the group is forgotten. Guitarist Max Tomasso - newly joined just before the recording of "Juillet"- feels more "moved-in" on these tunes, his sly guitar-work gliding effortlessly through. No showboating - only prickling at the precise moment necessary in suit of the song itself. New member Vincent Hivert (their touring sound man, Hivert joined the group just as touring was underway for "Juillet", replacing founding member Antoine Vaugelade)'s bass-work is rubbery & flexible, bouncing around and thru the melodies on a rhythmic sugar-high, practically urging on drummer Adrien Pollin's metronomic swing. The band's secret weapon, multi-instrumentalist Camille Frechou's trumpet & saxophone are more present & considered in the arrangements, adding a new layer of sophistication to the group's already debonair indie pop. Her beatific harmonies add a yearning to Bouchaudon's lilting phrases; sometimes uplifting, other times melancholic. Bouchaudon says "One of the most important points we tried to focus on was the place given to each instrument. For the first time, we withdrew parts, we were careful not to play everyone at once and I think that the result is a much lighter album in which every musician has a specific place and moment". But this album is also the first one to have been shaped entirely by the band, from the conception to the production. The meeting of Vincent Hivert and Margaux Bouchaudon gave birth to a duet in which the technical and artistic aspects were intertwined from the very beginning of the conception of "Principia". Apart from reshaping En Attendant Ana's dynamic, Vincent Hivert was able to think as a musician and producer as soon as they started working on Margaux Bouchaudon's demos which brought a new dimension to their music. The two of them recorded and mixed the album together reuniting their references and artistic goals. "Principia" is a great step forward without sacrificing the things that make the band unique. The nods to French pop (both current & classic) still permeate the proceedings, and the group's penchant for Anglo-Saxon indie pop from The Nineties (think Electrelane, Stereolab, American Analog Set) still rings out, but there's an air of - dare we say - maturity in "Principia"s twelve songs. The group always felt a little 'out-of' and 'ahead-of' its time, but tunes like "Wonder" "The Cutoff" and "Same Old Story" are cinematic and romantic, and absolutely feel like the next great phase of an already great band.

Peach Vinyl

Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana have dazzled since day one. From the muted strains of their 2016 EP "Songs From The Cave", to the assured 2018 TiM debut "Lost & Found", to the sparkling refrains of "Juillet"; released just before the world collapsed around us, and which stood as the band's rebirth and purest statement of their music ambitions - until now. "Principia" is the band's third album and is without a doubt their best yet. Bandleader & principal songwriter Margaux Bouchaudon's voice anchors many of the songs on "Principia", her crystalline delivery ringing out like a bell as the band swoons & sways beneath her. The songs on "Principia" were composed from a place of confusion about the state of the world and her place in it, looking outward and inward for answers. They question our perception of others, the one they have of us and finally the one we have of ourselves in a society where the individual is king and the group is forgotten. Guitarist Max Tomasso - newly joined just before the recording of "Juillet"- feels more "moved-in" on these tunes, his sly guitar-work gliding effortlessly through. No showboating - only prickling at the precise moment necessary in suit of the song itself. New member Vincent Hivert (their touring sound man, Hivert joined the group just as touring was underway for "Juillet", replacing founding member Antoine Vaugelade)'s bass-work is rubbery & flexible, bouncing around and thru the melodies on a rhythmic sugar-high, practically urging on drummer Adrien Pollin's metronomic swing. The band's secret weapon, multi-instrumentalist Camille Frechou's trumpet & saxophone are more present & considered in the arrangements, adding a new layer of sophistication to the group's already debonair indie pop. Her beatific harmonies add a yearning to Bouchaudon's lilting phrases; sometimes uplifting, other times melancholic. Bouchaudon says "One of the most important points we tried to focus on was the place given to each instrument. For the first time, we withdrew parts, we were careful not to play everyone at once and I think that the result is a much lighter album in which every musician has a specific place and moment". But this album is also the first one to have been shaped entirely by the band, from the conception to the production. The meeting of Vincent Hivert and Margaux Bouchaudon gave birth to a duet in which the technical and artistic aspects were intertwined from the very beginning of the conception of "Principia". Apart from reshaping En Attendant Ana's dynamic, Vincent Hivert was able to think as a musician and producer as soon as they started working on Margaux Bouchaudon's demos which brought a new dimension to their music. The two of them recorded and mixed the album together reuniting their references and artistic goals. "Principia" is a great step forward without sacrificing the things that make the band unique. The nods to French pop (both current & classic) still permeate the proceedings, and the group's penchant for Anglo-Saxon indie pop from The Nineties (think Electrelane, Stereolab, American Analog Set) still rings out, but there's an air of - dare we say - maturity in "Principia"s twelve songs. The group always felt a little 'out-of' and 'ahead-of' its time, but tunes like "Wonder" "The Cutoff" and "Same Old Story" are cinematic and romantic, and absolutely feel like the next great phase of an already great band.

Tape
Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana have dazzled since day one. From the muted strains of their 2016 EP "Songs From The Cave", to the assured 2018 TiM debut "Lost & Found", to the sparkling refrains of "Juillet"; released just before the world collapsed around us, and which stood as the band's rebirth and purest statement of their music ambitions - until now. "Principia" is the band's third album and is without a doubt their best yet. Bandleader & principal songwriter Margaux Bouchaudon's voice anchors many of the songs on "Principia", her crystalline delivery ringing out like a bell as the band swoons & sways beneath her. The songs on "Principia" were composed from a place of confusion about the state of the world and her place in it, looking outward and inward for answers. They question our perception of others, the one they have of us and finally the one we have of ourselves in a society where the individual is king and the group is forgotten. Guitarist Max Tomasso - newly joined just before the recording of "Juillet"- feels more "moved-in" on these tunes, his sly guitar-work gliding effortlessly through. No showboating - only prickling at the precise moment necessary in suit of the song itself. New member Vincent Hivert (their touring sound man, Hivert joined the group just as touring was underway for "Juillet", replacing founding member Antoine Vaugelade)'s bass-work is rubbery & flexible, bouncing around and thru the melodies on a rhythmic sugar-high, practically urging on drummer Adrien Pollin's metronomic swing. The band's secret weapon, multi-instrumentalist Camille Frechou's trumpet & saxophone are more present & considered in the arrangements, adding a new layer of sophistication to the group's already debonair indie pop. Her beatific harmonies add a yearning to Bouchaudon's lilting phrases; sometimes uplifting, other times melancholic. Bouchaudon says "One of the most important points we tried to focus on was the place given to each instrument. For the first time, we withdrew parts, we were careful not to play everyone at once and I think that the result is a much lighter album in which every musician has a specific place and moment". But this album is also the first one to have been shaped entirely by the band, from the conception to the production. The meeting of Vincent Hivert and Margaux Bouchaudon gave birth to a duet in which the technical and artistic aspects were intertwined from the very beginning of the conception of "Principia". Apart from reshaping En Attendant Ana's dynamic, Vincent Hivert was able to think as a musician and producer as soon as they started working on Margaux Bouchaudon's demos which brought a new dimension to their music. The two of them recorded and mixed the album together reuniting their references and artistic goals. "Principia" is a great step forward without sacrificing the things that make the band unique. The nods to French pop (both current & classic) still permeate the proceedings, and the group's penchant for Anglo-Saxon indie pop from The Nineties (think Electrelane, Stereolab, American Analog Set) still rings out, but there's an air of - dare we say - maturity in "Principia"s twelve songs. The group always felt a little 'out-of' and 'ahead-of' its time, but tunes like "Wonder" "The Cutoff" and "Same Old Story" are cinematic and romantic, and absolutely feel like the next great phase of an already great band.

A completely re-recorded and remastered version of KAUAN's black metal masterpiece, Aava Tuulen Maa. Released with brand new cover art, different arrangements, and updated recording, ATM Revised is the definitive edition of the band's third album. Released in a beautiful vinyl sleeve with a bonus vinyl-sized booklet. ATM Revised (Aava tuulen maa) was recorded in the early days of Kauan. It was the first album recorded outside of the group's home studio with strict budget limitations. Finally in 2021, everything came together. Kauan blew off the dust from the original recordings and carefully removed all the compromises. This is not just a "remastered" version of the original, it's complete recordings of real drums and bass, restored and refined original tracks, carefully mixed & mastered with analogue gear with all respect to the source. Original art pieces by Sergey Jung were also rescanned, together with all the sketches and imperfections, so now you can experience a beautiful new-looking layout.

Keyboardist and composer Weldon Irvine is among the most celebrated Jazz-Funk artists of all time. He was Nina Simone's bandleader for years, and wrote the lyrics for her iconic civil rights anthem To Be Young, Gifted and Black'. Throughout the 1970s, Irvine released a series of seminal albums full of deep, soulful, funky grooves. The Sisters is a collection of lost tracks and demos from his late-1970s studio sessions with fellow Jazz-Funk luminary Don Blackman. Featuring the hit single Morning Sunrise' (later famously sampled on Jay-Z's Dear Summer'), the album contains a mix of instrumental and vocal tracks that stand up with the best work in Irvine's impressive catalog. Courtesy of Nature Sounds, this rare collection is finally back in stock on limited-edition vinyl. Order this official reissue of The Sisters now while supplies last.

Brazil’s Bruno Furlan returns to Hot Creations with his fresh two-track EP, ‘Bongoloco’.

A DJ and producer whose recent studio endeavours have seen him release material on Black Book Records, Fool’s Gold and Material, Bruno Furlan is an artist at the centre of Brazil’s recent explosion of names within the house and tech house landscape. Based in São Paulo, the bubbling talent has built on his early experiences within the Brazilian electronic music scene to make appearances at global events such as Dirtybird Campout and AMF Festival. Following
an impressive debut on the label with his two-track ‘The Speakers Pump Like This’, late January brings a return to Jamie Jones’ Hot Creations imprint as he serves up two fresh dancefloor-leaning cuts across his ‘Bongoloco’ EP.

Title track ‘Bongoloco’ takes cues from its name and showcases a skittering percussion-driven production built for peak-time hours as warped drum fills and vibrant vocal calls inject an abundance of energy. Keeping things moving, the rolling ‘Vai’ delivers a slick accompaniment to the package, serving up an anthem built for bustling terraces worldwide.

Red Vinyl

Nachdem Meg Remy, alias U.S. Girls, zuletzt schon in Form der Singles "So Typically Now" und "Bless This Mess" nach zweijähriger Abwesenheit neue Lebenszeichen aussendete, kündigt die kanadische multi-disziplinäre und experimentelle Pop-Künstlerin nun auch ihr neues Album an! "Bless This Mess" erscheint am 24. Februar 2023 bei 4AD und zeugt von der langen künstlerischen Evolution, die Remy unter ihrem musikalischen Alter Ego vollzogen hat: Eigentlich geboren in Illinois, hat sich Remy in den letzten Jahren zu einer der Stimmen und Performer*innen der Torontoer Szene entwickelt. Von den ersten Anfängen in Kellern in Philadelphia und Chicago, als sie durch Delay-Pedals über rohe Loops summte, hin zur selbstbewussten Frontfrau eines achtköpfigen Art-Soul-Orchesters, das die Welt bereist, hat die Vision, sowie das Talent Remys das Projekt über die letzten 15 Jahre zusammengehalten und geprägt. Mit "Half Free" (2015), "In A Poem Unlimited" (2018) und "Heavy Light" (2020) veröffentlichte sie drei Juno Award nominierte Alben (in der Kategorie "Best Alternative Album"), die auch jeweils auf der Shortlist für den Polaris Prize standen. Und das neuste U.S. Girls Album fügt der eh schon ausufernden Palette an Einflüssen, Themen und Sounds noch Bausteine wie Funk, ihre Mutterschaft, griechische Mythologie, langsame Jams, Erwachen und Schmerzen in das lebhafte Hymnen-Treiben hinzu! "Bless This Mess" entstand dabei, während in Remy ihre beiden Zwillings-Jungs heranwuchsen, in Kooperation mit einer ganzen Reihe an Musikern (Alex Frankel von Holy Ghost!, Marker Starling, Ryland Blackinton von Cobra Starship, Basia Bulat, Roger Manning Jr. von Jellyfish und Beck), sowie mithilfe einiger Tontechniker (Neal H Pogue, Ken Sluiter, Steve Chahley, Maximilian Turnbull). Da es weder eine feste Band noch immer gleiches Aufnahme-Personal während der Produktion gab, fühlt sich das neue Album vielmehr wie ein Mixtape an, gleichzeitig befindet sich Remy darauf selbst im stetigen Wandel. Denn während sich ihr Körper der Schwangerschaft anpasst, verändert sich auch ihre Stimme, verlor etwas Raum zum Atmen, bei einigen Gesangsaufnahmen waren ihre Neugeborenen sogar auf ihrem Arm. Keine Überraschung, dass Remy sogar ihre Milchpumpe auf "Pump" sampelte. Und doch beinhaltet das neue Album so viel mehr - mehr Blut, mehr Gefühle, die miteinander verflochtenen Wunder und Wunden des Lebens. Dementsprechend variieren auch die Songs in Tempo, Instrumentierung und geben sich zwischen experimenteller Hingabe, Entdeckungen und Delirium der aktuellen Gefühlslage der Künstlerin hin.

Nachdem Meg Remy, alias U.S. Girls, zuletzt schon in Form der Singles "So Typically Now" und "Bless This Mess" nach zweijähriger Abwesenheit neue Lebenszeichen aussendete, kündigt die kanadische multi-disziplinäre und experimentelle Pop-Künstlerin nun auch ihr neues Album an! "Bless This Mess" erscheint am 24. Februar 2023 bei 4AD und zeugt von der langen künstlerischen Evolution, die Remy unter ihrem musikalischen Alter Ego vollzogen hat: Eigentlich geboren in Illinois, hat sich Remy in den letzten Jahren zu einer der Stimmen und Performer*innen der Torontoer Szene entwickelt. Von den ersten Anfängen in Kellern in Philadelphia und Chicago, als sie durch Delay-Pedals über rohe Loops summte, hin zur selbstbewussten Frontfrau eines achtköpfigen Art-Soul-Orchesters, das die Welt bereist, hat die Vision, sowie das Talent Remys das Projekt über die letzten 15 Jahre zusammengehalten und geprägt. Mit "Half Free" (2015), "In A Poem Unlimited" (2018) und "Heavy Light" (2020) veröffentlichte sie drei Juno Award nominierte Alben (in der Kategorie "Best Alternative Album"), die auch jeweils auf der Shortlist für den Polaris Prize standen. Und das neuste U.S. Girls Album fügt der eh schon ausufernden Palette an Einflüssen, Themen und Sounds noch Bausteine wie Funk, ihre Mutterschaft, griechische Mythologie, langsame Jams, Erwachen und Schmerzen in das lebhafte Hymnen-Treiben hinzu! "Bless This Mess" entstand dabei, während in Remy ihre beiden Zwillings-Jungs heranwuchsen, in Kooperation mit einer ganzen Reihe an Musikern (Alex Frankel von Holy Ghost!, Marker Starling, Ryland Blackinton von Cobra Starship, Basia Bulat, Roger Manning Jr. von Jellyfish und Beck), sowie mithilfe einiger Tontechniker (Neal H Pogue, Ken Sluiter, Steve Chahley, Maximilian Turnbull). Da es weder eine feste Band noch immer gleiches Aufnahme-Personal während der Produktion gab, fühlt sich das neue Album vielmehr wie ein Mixtape an, gleichzeitig befindet sich Remy darauf selbst im stetigen Wandel. Denn während sich ihr Körper der Schwangerschaft anpasst, verändert sich auch ihre Stimme, verlor etwas Raum zum Atmen, bei einigen Gesangsaufnahmen waren ihre Neugeborenen sogar auf ihrem Arm. Keine Überraschung, dass Remy sogar ihre Milchpumpe auf "Pump" sampelte. Und doch beinhaltet das neue Album so viel mehr - mehr Blut, mehr Gefühle, die miteinander verflochtenen Wunder und Wunden des Lebens. Dementsprechend variieren auch die Songs in Tempo, Instrumentierung und geben sich zwischen experimenteller Hingabe, Entdeckungen und Delirium der aktuellen Gefühlslage der Künstlerin hin.

Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns in February 2023 with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen's inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music, wild to the bone even when sounding completely in control.

Circus/Citadel is essentially a coherent album, rather than a series of loosely connected compositions. There's plenty of diversity within Lötjönen's compositions and the band's dynamics, yet it all flows into one effortlessly, creating a suite of sorts, even outside of the title composition which consists of three parts. During the course of the album, the quintet often gets together in smaller formations: in trios and duos of different combinations of the players. The music breathes and maintains its energy at all times, leaving plenty of headroom for the all-out quintet "attacks" when needed. It all comes together in a shape that feels unified and cyclical, leaving the listener hungry for repeated listens in order to get deeper into the many layers found within.

Antti Lötjönen says:

"These compositions vary in terms of form and density, with each player having enough room to re-invent and expand on the music within the pieces. I wrote this music over a relatively brief time span. This, I think, is something you can also hear on the album, as the temporal closeness of the ideas brings with it a certain kind of unity. The world we live in sometimes feels like and absurd circus, from which you need to get away from to get new ideas and energy. Everyone needs their citadel, whatever it may be. This pairing of the two words Circus/Citadel is inspired by a poem by the Romanian-born German-language poet Paul Celan (1920–1970)."

Circus/Citadel is released by We Jazz Records on 24 February, 2023, as white and black vinyl editions, on CD and digitally. The artwork displays a freeform graphic score of the music by We Jazz artistic director and designer Matti Nives. The vinyl versions are housed in heavy duty tip-on sleeve with silver-embossed lettering, and the CD comes in a matte digisleeve with silver-embossed lettering. Antti Lötjönen Quintet East performs live in Finland in January and February.

Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns in February 2023 with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen's inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music, wild to the bone even when sounding completely in control.

Circus/Citadel is essentially a coherent album, rather than a series of loosely connected compositions. There's plenty of diversity within Lötjönen's compositions and the band's dynamics, yet it all flows into one effortlessly, creating a suite of sorts, even outside of the title composition which consists of three parts. During the course of the album, the quintet often gets together in smaller formations: in trios and duos of different combinations of the players. The music breathes and maintains its energy at all times, leaving plenty of headroom for the all-out quintet "attacks" when needed. It all comes together in a shape that feels unified and cyclical, leaving the listener hungry for repeated listens in order to get deeper into the many layers found within.

Antti Lötjönen says:

"These compositions vary in terms of form and density, with each player having enough room to re-invent and expand on the music within the pieces. I wrote this music over a relatively brief time span. This, I think, is something you can also hear on the album, as the temporal closeness of the ideas brings with it a certain kind of unity. The world we live in sometimes feels like and absurd circus, from which you need to get away from to get new ideas and energy. Everyone needs their citadel, whatever it may be. This pairing of the two words Circus/Citadel is inspired by a poem by the Romanian-born German-language poet Paul Celan (1920–1970)."

Circus/Citadel is released by We Jazz Records on 24 February, 2023, as white and black vinyl editions, on CD and digitally. The artwork displays a freeform graphic score of the music by We Jazz artistic director and designer Matti Nives. The vinyl versions are housed in heavy duty tip-on sleeve with silver-embossed lettering, and the CD comes in a matte digisleeve with silver-embossed lettering. Antti Lötjönen Quintet East performs live in Finland in January and February.

Endlevel sind mit ihrem zweiten Album "Weekend War" zurück und starten ihre zweite Offensive. Die 11 neu komponierten Tracks beinhalten alles was Endlevel ausmacht. Thrashige Riffs mit einem Death Metal Einschlag, gutturaler Gesang und hohe Thrash Vocals, treffen auf rhythmische Finesse und unterhaltsame Texte - Metallerherz was willst du mehr? Das entsprechende Artwork von Martin Chmelícek (u.A. Spasm, Gutalax, Insistent, Obscene Extreme Festival) fängt visuell perfekt die Marschrichtung ein: Jeder Track, voll gegen die Kauleiste, dazu viel Bier und das Wochenende steckt einem Montags noch in den Knochen! Die 11 Tracks fräsen sich mit einer Unbekümmertheit und gleichzeitig brillanten Produktion in den Gehörgang, dass es einfach nur Spaß macht. Für den tollen Sound war Christian Schäfer verantwortlich, der unter Anderem auch schon für Fateful Finality oder Doom Division an den Reglern saß. Wer also seinen Death Metal auch gerne mit etwas Thrash Metal vermischt und auf Bands wie "Inhuman Condition", "Bolt Thrower", aber auch "Malevolent Creation" und einer Prise "Anthrax" steht, der sollte sich aber ganz schnell "Endlevel - Weekend War" auf den Plattenteller legen und sich bei einem bis 12 Bier ordentlich die Kauleiste massieren lassen. Das Album erscheint auf CD, Vinyl und ist auf allen gängigen Streaming-Plattformen verfügbar.

Inspired by the likes of old-school legends including Venom, Kreator, Sabbat JPN & Metallica, James McBain formed Hellripper in 2014, showcasing an electrifying brand of blackened thrash. Building on the already impressive foundations laid by their early EP & split releases, the first full-length album, Coagulating Darkness',
was released in 2017 to media acclaim, with the UK's Metal Hammer hailing Hellripper as Scotland's King of the arcane mosh & the band receiving notable attention throughout Europe & the US. This was followed by the Black Arts & Alchemy' EP, before an eventual deal was inked with Peaceville Records, resulting in the masterful The Affair Of The Poisons', further propelling the band to the forefront of the UK metal scene. Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags' - Hellripper's third studio album - establishes a new threshold of excellence & raises the bar further over The Affair Of The Poisons', with an opus standing at the crossroads between the sound that Hellripper has become known for & a whirlwind of different influences up until now yet to be explored, resulting in James McBain's most personal & diverse
work to date. With a greatly expanded scope to the tracks, incorporating more epic & melodic blackened anthems alongside the high- speed metal attack & blistering solos, Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags' marks a new highpoint for the band. Inspired by the landscapes & legends of the Scottish highlands, McBain explores the darker side of Scottish history & folklore - the title itself taken from a
line in the Robert Burns poem,Address to the Deil' - as well as including references to clan culture (including his own) throughout the album. For example, one of the tracks ( The Cursed Carrion Crown') is based on the legend of Sawney
Bean' & the Bean Clan (a spelling variation of McBain'') & tells the story of a family of cannibals that lived in a cave & committed various gruesome acts. As always, the writing & recording process was carried out by James McBain himself, with a few guests offering contributions in the form of additional vocals & instrumental
parts. With recording taking place between March 2021 & June 2022, the album was also mixed by McBain & mastered by Damian Herring at Subterranean Watchtower Studios. The suitably sinister & ominous artwork appears courtesy of Adam Burke. Hellripper will be embarking upon a series of shows in support of the album throughout 2023.

Blackploid has become one of Central Processing Unit's stalwarts in the past couple of years. Martin Matiske's project contributed a trio of EPs to the Sheffield label across 2021 and 2022, with each of them showing off the kind of electro chops and production sensibilities that made Blackploid an ideal fit for an imprint which also boasts the likes of Cygnus, Silicon Scally and Bochum Welt among its catalogue.

Now, for CPU's first release of 2023, Matiske levels things up with the debut Blackploid LPEnter Universe. Across these twelve tracks, Matiske leaves us in no doubt that he's a prime mover in the world of modern electronic music.Enter Universedoes not let up from start to finish, delivering a dozen pieces of leftfield electro that draws from the sound's greats while also showcasing an unpredictability and flair that is all of Blackploid's own.

The tone is set from the first frosty chords of opening cut 'Pulsation'. The track traverses the starscape on pitter-patter drums and chirruping synths, a lively and slightly dystopian roller with an adventurous undercurrent reminiscent of classic Rephlex drops. It's a style which Blackploid often draws for throughout the rest ofEnter Universe, albeit with elements added or subtracted at each stage.

Indeed, this album features some of the most unusual production you will hear on any record this year. While the grooves pulse away in a manner reminiscent of Drexciya or Legowelt, Blackploid layers the mixes with a whole cornucopia of synth tones. 'The Mission' boasts a bleep-bloop breakdown that sounds like malfunctioning rotary telephones; 'Silent Room' is a ghoulish jam which harks back to Warp's legendary Artificial Intelligence compilations; 'Automatik' and 'Wormhole' are defined by some brilliantly strange low-ends - you'll be thinking of Mr. Oizo's 'Flat Beat' with the wiggly former, while the gurgling, writhing anti-lead that dictates 'Wormhole' is oddly thrilling and more than befits the track's title.

This inventive approach is also apparent in some of the structural choices onEnter Universe. While the tracks here all keep a steady, dancefloor friendly pulse, several of them surprise you by switching up the approach after a minute or two. 'Pulsation', 'Automatik' and 'The Mission' all feature moments where a new element - extra hi-hats, a synth line entering from leftfield - inject fresh impetus into the tune to keep the listener on their toes.

Blackploid may push the sonic envelope onEnter Universe, but this does not mean there is no room for melody. In particular, the cuts here which most strongly channel 'Computer World'-era Kraftwerk do so by fronting some slyly tuneful work, particularly in the low end of the mix. 'Unidentified' serves up delightfully springy chords, 'Cell Mutation' leads from the bassline, and 'Space Curve' features little cells of melody and counter-melody working together to closeEnter Universeout on a high.

Blackploid's debut LP Enter Universe marries Drexciyan electro and Warp-school electronica with some brilliantly inventive production choices.

Welcome to the third part of the TELE MUSIC saga, the label founded by Roger Tokarz. He deeply marked the era with his audacity and his vision of music on film. This irresistible new selection tells the story from 1968 to 1985 of a prolific label that sometimes produced ten albums a year, and which delighted many French and foreign film directors who, to 'flavour' their films, drew on this sumptuous catalogue.
In this volume 3 TELE MUSIC, we have highlighted legendary artists who have left an indelible mark on the history of the music bookshop and on the history of music in general:

• Janko Nilovic (also known as Yanko Nilovic, Anady Loore, E. Orti or Alan Blackwell),
• Jean-Jacques Debout with his irresistible “Mitsuko” released in 1967 and re-released in 1969 on “Music Bazaar”, • Bernard Lubat, the impressive percussionist, vibraphonist, multi-instrumentalist and very good “scator” (Bernard played in the Doubles Six with Quincy Jones and Eddy Louiss),
• Gabriel Yared, the man with a hundred film scores. Arranger and composer for Johnny Hallyday and Charles Aznavour, among others!
• Hervé Roy conductor and writer for Nancy Holloway,
• George Chatelain, pianist, guitarist, clarinettist, founder of the famous studio “CBE” created in 1966 with his sister Janine Bisson and his high school friend Bernard Estardy.

All these composers were renowned for their acute sense of composition, arrangement, conducting and inter- pretation, and in their own way left their mark on many sound recordings of musical illustration "made in France!
CBE, the Chatelain, Bisson and Estardy studio is located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Still in operation and run by Julie Estardy, it has been receiving major artists for over half a century. It is a place of reference. At the time: Johnny Hallyday, Claude François, Sheila, Carlos, Françoise Hardy, Nino Ferrer recorded their hits there.
Now it's the turn of Sebastien Tellier, Bertrand Burgalat, Keziah Jones, Tony Allen, Jeff Miles to name but a few. CBE and its giant Bernard Estardy put TELE MUSIC in the best conditions to produce an atypical and powerful sound.
Bernard Estardy had a custom- built mixing console built by his German friend Gunther Loof, offering the perfect tool for recording 4 and then 32-track Arp 2000, Moog, Korg, Prophet synthesizers and all acoustic instruments. The field of experi- mentation was limitless.
Until now, the titles of this collection were only available in vinyl format, via rare and expensive prints that collectors sell for a high price on dedicated websites. This volume 3 gives you access to the "crème de la crème" of the legendary repertoire made in France!

„One day I was on a visit sitting in his kitchen and when we decided to change to the sofa in the music room, his girlfriend proposed to listen to these old recordings, as maybe I would be weird enough to like them. „Recorded in my homestudio, low budget style with a cheap microphone, a sampler, drum machines, vinyl and a few borrowed synths. … A commitment to the funk, a raw analogue sound and also a dedication to black music and its architects.“ the artist comments on it.
I immediately dug the rather short demos a lot. As I had to swallow the information that there never were real plans to release them, I later decided on the bus home, I just had to puke out a „label“. Soon I asked him to extend some of the songs and let me do some mixing and here is the album.“ Cid Hohner

An entire long-player on hair, representing the complete Illwig catalogue. Beautifully raw electronic funk. Obscure, bouncy and atmospheric. Right. This is F.B.Illwig with the first official release on Moonwalk X Records after a singlesided promo 12“ sporting the extended version of „Why Do My Hair“.

DOUBLE BLACK LP : 2 x 140 G Black Vinyl , Sleeve & 2 x Heavy Weight Printed Inner with UV Gloss Finish

Legendary electronic music duo Orbital return Early 2023 with new album “Optical Delusion”, the Hartnoll brothers first studio album since 2018’s Monster’s Exist. Recorded in Orbital’s Brighton studio, “Optical Delusion” includes contributions from Sleaford Mods, Penelope Isles, Anna B Savage, The Little Pest, Dina Ipavic, Coppe, and perhaps most surprisingly, The Medieval Baebes.
Earlier this year, Orbital celebrated their storied history with “30 Something” which, unlike other Best Of’s, contains reworks, remakes, remixes and re-imaginings of landmark Orbital tracks including “Chime”, “Belfast”, “Halcyon”, “Satan”, and “The Box”

SHORT BIOG:

“A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest of humanity – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison…”

You many have seen this quote attributed to Albert Einstein on social media, the archetypal Smartest Guy Ever apparently having an out-of-character religious epiphany. It certainly leapt out at Paul Hartnoll of Orbital who spotted it in Michael Pollan’s 2018 book How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.

“As soon as I saw ‘optical delusion’ I thought Oh hey, that’s the album title,” says Paul. “It just seemed to say so much about how people construct their own realities, how we see patterns that aren’t there, how we see what we want to see.

“But it’s actually a misquote. He never quite said that. In the German original what he’s really saying is that human experience is as relative as physics. Wouldn’t it be good if we could accept that, and find a kind of universal theory of everything for the human race? Then you look at everything from history to art to your Twitter feed and you think yeah, that’s what we’re all trying to do all of the time…”

Hence ‘Optical Delusion’, the tenth original Orbital album and the latest in a burst of renewed post-pandemic creativity for two brothers who’ve stayed at the top of their game longer than anyone from the post-1988 Class of Acid House.

Now with ‘Optical Delusion’ the Hartnolls dig deeper into the unquiet psyche of our increasingly surreal and disordered world. Sketched out partly during lockdown but fully recorded in the uncertain After Times, the album summons up conflicting emotions and sometimes beguiling images from years when the science fiction doomsdays that the Hartnolls watched on TV as kids finally came true. There are mesmeric tracks with names like ‘The New Abnormal’ and ‘Requiem For The Pre-Apocalypse’ and ‘Day One’. But there are also straight-up bangers and ethereal cosmic dreams, abstract sound wars and deeply human songs of separation and loss.

And it all starts with a bang. Lead single ‘Dirty Rat’, an outright Fall-meets-Front-242 class rant with vocals by Sleaford Mods mob orator Jason Williamson, harks right back to the Hartnolls’ days of politicised anarcho-squatpunk. It began as a remix swap (Orbital did the Sleafords’ ‘I Don’t Rate You’) and morphed into a comic, brutal, bass-driven harangue not so much against our rulers but at the petty, mean-spirited, frightened, Mail-reading voters who put them there: the people who are “blaming everyone in hospital/blaming everyone at the bottom of the English Channel/blaming everyone who doesn’t look like a fried animal.”

Also key to the album is opening track ‘Ringa Ringa (The Old Pandemic Folk Song)’ which returns to an Orbital truism, that time always becomes a loop. This chugging, cyclical Orbital groove gives way to an unnerving past-meets-present timeslip fit for ‘Sapphire And Steel’ as goth maenads The Mediaeval Baebes materialise to sing ‘Ring O’Roses’ – the innocent nursery rhyme whose roots are in the Black Death.

“I’ve always liked folk music and mediaeval sounds,” says Paul, himself an occasional Morris dancer. “I had the basis of that track and I wanted to spin it off somehow.” Trawling his archives he stumbled on The Mediaeval Baebes’ version of ‘Ring O’Roses’ “and my hackles just went up. I was like, my God, this is the original pandemic folk song.”

?his being Orbital, there are collaborations galore on the album, the roles once played by Alison Goldfrapp, Lady Leshurr or David Gray now filled by new talents. London singer-songwriter Anna B Savage contributes a compellingly fragile, Anohni-like vocal to ‘Home’, in which nature reclaims the scorched and vacant mega-cities. ‘Day One’ is a pulsing techno track featuring the singer Dina Ipavic. Paul got in touch with her after working on a score for a sculpture show of giant robotic installations by his friend Giles Walker during the pandemic. First Paul cut up his own score and Ipavic’s vocals on the track The Crane, which appears on the deluxe version of the album. Then he thought, Why not work with her for real? The result is school of ‘Belfast’, a bassy dreamscape with vocalised clouds billowing above.

The pensive ‘Are You ?live?’ adds to the Orbital product range of existential questions (‘Are We Here?’, ‘Where Is It Going?’) in collaboration Bella Union signings Penelope Isles, AKA brother and sister act Lily and Jack Wolter. “They’re our studio mates, they work upstairs!” says Paul happily. “And they’ve both got amazing voices.”


But Orbital are Orbital and never far from the dancefloor. “Eventually the more abrasive bits came back into the fold…” ‘You Are The Frequency’, first of two tracks to feature mysterious vocalist The Little Pest, surrounds the listener with warped voices ordering you to the dancefloor (Phil: “we wanted the idea that the music is kind of absorbing you”). And the second, the sinister ‘What A Surprise’, traps you in a paranoid electronic hall of mirrors.

In another nod to Orbital’s resurgent past the cover artwork once again comes from fine art painter John Greenwood, creator of fantastical grotesques for the covers of ‘Snivilisation’, ‘In Sides’ and Orbital’s most recent album, 2018’s ‘Monsters Exist’. Orbital had just had a slick Mark Farrow cover for ‘30 Something’ – this is a return to the overripe and bulbous techno-organic constructions that somehow express Orbital’s own uncontrollably fertile sound.

There are gaps in the future that Orbital are desperate to fill too; there will be tours and festivals and rooms and fields full of people. Those long paralysed months when we had little to look forward to but a Zoom DJ set made Paul and Phil appreciate the things that make life worth living.