Four years since the release of their last full-length All Pigs Must Die have returned with Hostage Animal, a 10-song album that distills aggressive music to its purest tenets.
The band, now a 5-piece with the addition of Brian Izzi (Trap Them) on guitar, is comprised of some of the most well-seasoned musicians on the eastern seaboard —Kevin Baker (The Hope Conspiracy), Ben Koller (Converge), Matt Woods, and Adam Wentworth (both of Bloodhorse).
Hostage Animal is their most dynamic collection of work thus far and the album's first single, 'A Caustic Vision,' is an aural representation of the record as a whole; concise, intense, aggressive and carrying a bleak world view.
APMD unleashed their first full length in 2011 with God Is War, and the 30-minute rip was a nod to primeval disdain and anger. Exploring facets of human conflict one track at a time, God Is War introduced the world to a whole new spectrum of rage.
In 2013, APMD upped the ante with Nothing Violates This Nature. Honing their craft with more speed and filth, APMD pushed their sound closer to the edge of the cliff. Now, in 2017, the band is gearing up for the release of Hostage Animal which, like its predecessors, was recorded at Kurt Ballou's GodCity Studio. But that is where the similarities end; Hostage Animal ushers in 10 new songs that pulverize, gnash, and whirl with the band's most punishing delivery yet.
Hostage Animal showcases that All Pigs Must Die are far more than the sum of their parts, and their fusion of crust punk, hard core and metal is more ferocious than ever before.
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2022 Repress
HQ Gatefold, 3x12 140g Vinyl, black innersleeve, download code
EXTRAWELT are back! Although in fairness, they were never gone. On the contrary, since their first release on James Holden's Border Community Label dropped in 2005, Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Raabe have been responsible for a plethora of classics including "Schöne Neue Extrawelt" and "In Aufruhr", their two seminal albums on Cocoon Recordings. The duo are one of the most booked live acts worldwide, commanding a huge fan base. Their performances are the stuff of legend, making them the absolute highlight at every club and festival they play. So it's with great pride and respect, that we can announce the release of Extrawelt's third album for Cocoon Recordings. "Fear Of An Extra Planet" completes the Cocoon trilogy and the excitement growing among their fans represents a new high in the history of EXTRAWELT!
Musically, of course, there's enormous pressure on EXTRAWELT to deliver, but this is dismissed with a playful disregard and they are clearly focused on the job in hand. The album title "Fear Of An Extra Planet" sounds cinematic, like some art-house science fiction film, without giving too much away.
However, from the first seconds of the opening track "Superposition", the album title makes 100% sense and sets the scene for the rest of the trip. We are immersed in wide open spaces and invited to explore dark and dusky worlds that transport us back to their Border Community years. Timeless and elegant, "Superposition" perfectly captures the epic, dream like quality that made James Holden's label so influential.
New Release Information Second up, "Gott ist Schrott" takes a much more minimalist approach with its retro 80s drum programming, monster bass lurking in the breaks and playful Rhodes/synth riffs that span the divide between early German techno and deep Detroit electro with a distinctive film soundtrack aesthetic. "Oddification" continues this theme, adding extra spice reminiscent of the techno-synth vibe of Detroit with a punchy, almost Prodigy-style breakbeat complete with shredded vocal samples that gives us a taste of what's in store. "Gentle Venom" then takes the breakbeat motif to the next stage. The main focus here is the classy sprinter of a bassline, peppered with a flurry of intricate and subtle effects and modulations, that immediately trigger an intense, movie-like 'in pursuit' feeling.
With - Das Grosse Flimmern" we cautiously approach the album's high point. It's still in keeping with the soundtrack aesthetics, but faster and with more urgency. Almost hypnotically, Extrawelt invade us with an energy and impetus that always radiates from their music. Next in line is "Silly Idol" and here Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Raabe opt again for a more minimal tack, focusing even more intensely on the dance floor to reveal a pulsing, twisted heart to the album.
"Punch The Dragon" is the hidden gem of the collection, utilising and melting together the most bombastic and playful elements. This one is totally off the hook, a sensory overload in an acoustic widescreen format! Then we have the title track "Fear Of An Extra Planet" which perfectly sums up the album concept. It opens up like a film score, with minimal passages following dark sequences that morph into dreamy melodies, all grounded by cool, constantly alternating analogue drum patterns. If you're not listening closely, you might get the impression that three or four different titles are mixed together; such is the effortless flow of the album.
As we near our destination, "The Friendly Coroner" really does honour its name. The morbid charm of the title is captured by a fluid bassline and melodic arrangements that border on the absurd, until the funky drum beat finally drops. In our mind's eye we see a cheerful medical doctor removing his bloody gloves, hanging his smock in the closet and vibing out in his neon drenched workspace. And there we sit, glued to our cinema seat, submerged in the different textures EXTRAWELT have conjured up on "Fear Of An Extra Planet". Over the course of the last title, the strings usher in the final acknowledgments as the credits roll. The dramatic end of "2084" leaves us transfixed in front of a black screen in a large, dark room safe in the knowledge that we've just witnessed a science fiction epic.
Music has always coursed through Roman Lindau's blood. Even if he weren't the accomplished producer and respected DJ he is today, the German audiophile would still be spending all his money on the stuff; giving over all his time to the art form. ''I'm a music junkie. I need music to live'' he states matter-of-factly. ''For me it's the elixir of life.''
Good job, then, that he gets to spend his ..
Roman Lindau is a German techno DJ, artists and producer, as well as being a core member of the infamous Fachwerk Records from Berlin.
Music has always coursed through Roman's veins ever since he was a young boy so it is no suprise that he became the accomplished producer and highly respected DJ that he is today.
In the late 2000´s Lindau became active in the Berlin electronic music scene, beginning to play music in clubs as well as producing his own music. The first track he released in 2008 on his home label Fachwerk Records appeared in one the world famous Berghain Mix Compilations, mixed by Len Faki. Following from this Berghain invited Roman to contribute an exclusive Track for Ben Klock´s Berghain Mix in 2009. After this success the gates opened for him to play regularly as a DJ at Berghain.
At the same time he continued to work on music for Fachwerk Records. He produced dance floor smashers like ´Crasse´ in 2011 and ´Rave on´ in 2014, which were charted by the likes of Ben Klock, Sven Väth & Chris Liebing, afirming his deserved place amongst the techno elite.
More recently in 2015 the well known Victor Calderone from NYC invited Roman to release on his label Matter+.
The reason why Roman is such a great DJ is because of the fact he knows what the people want! ''I love to dance and that's very important: as DJ you need to feel what the crowd want so you can help them to party and have fun.'' Combining a varied selection of raw house and techno in his sets, recent bookings have taken Roman across the world; from the hallowed techno Mecca that is Berghain to dark underground clubs as part of the recent Fachwerk label tour. He has performed at every legendary Berlin venue, past and present from Tresor to Berghain, and it is this that gives Roman the edge above the rest. If you can do it there, you can do it anywhere! From 2014 Till the closing he was a resident DJ at Stattbad, one of Berlins findest adress for Electronic Music.
Cardiff's Chain of Flowers return to Alter with their first new material since 2015's self-titled debut album. A double A sided single, 'Let Your Light In' and 'Flesh, Blood and Bone' are two tracks which see the band moving beyond the dense shoegaze sonics of their debut, bringing forward a more spacious and streamlined sound that emphasises the powerful urgency of their live performances.
Despite 'Let Your Light In' offering a more optimistic tone to what fans of their debut may be used to, the charismatic guitar hooks, hazy vocals and fist-to-the-horizon anthemic qualities of the group are no less present. On this new found optimism, vocalist Josh explains: "Relationships of all kinds keep this world moving. We live in times of profound darkness, though I somehow find myself lucky enough to be surrounded by people that pour some light and inspiration back in to my life and this is not to be taken for granted. This song is an ode to love and companionship around the world, a gratuitous nod to the better aspects of the human race. A thank you for being you."
'Flesh, Blood and Bone' on the other side appears to follow a darker and more pensive path at first with Josh singing at his most baritone and ominous. However when the chorus hits with its searing synthesiser melody, a switch is flipped. Musically it channels perfectly the bombastic new wave ambition of early Simple Minds, alongside the dramatic post-punk melancholy of the Chameleons. With this, Chain of Flowers are evidently making an effort to find a light within the darkness of the world and their own collective souls.
Restive Plaggona is the music project of the Corfu-based artist Dimitris Doukas -also producing under Matriarchy Roots, Leftina Osha and Plaggona-. After releasing a series of cassettes in different labels along 2016 and 2017 -including his own Several Minor Promises- 'Leaving The Body' arrives as an electronic composition of beats and synthesizer bodies disguised as a sense of provocation and mystery. Each of the seven pieces offers more than a smattering of interesting textures separated by spans of great decline, but a master class of permutations in-between accompanying sounds, stretching rhythms and viscera-and- violence noises. Driven by a deeply expressive narrative, Restive Plaggona makes a strong statement about
his post-industrial vision adding technoid inclinations in a delightful dystopian world.
With this album Cypress Hill turned towards a more tranquil, sedate, slower, spooky sound with beats. The dark mood of this album reflects the strife within the band during this era, when member Sen Dog temporarily left the band to pursue other projects.
On this album both Wu-Tang Clan members RZA and U-God make appearances on "Killa Hill Niggas". Also notable was track "No Rest For The Wicked" which ignited the feud between Cypress Hill and rapper Ice Cube, who they claimed, stole material from the band.
At the time this album was well received by critics worldwide.
Q - 4 Stars - Excellent - "The production is sophisticated, incorporating Indian sitar and sloping, almost psychedelic bass grooves to create a vaguely threatening ambient hardcore."
Melody Maker - Bloody Essential - "...resonates with freakish cheese-wire paranoia...a gobsmacking paradox of expansive claustrophobia.... The funk patters like an erratic heartbeat, the voices are stretched to bursting with menace and loathing and mockery..."
Wild Open Range frequencies... The precision of the digital and the warm bassy Vinyl sound...
A side runs 145 BPM I call that the magic speed, where you escape techno and hardcore... the heart of the party.... Because this is a party tune! Acid Horns are mediums and some swords of charley cut you in two pieces... To bring you back to the massive Kick gambling with stridents ambiances of saturations, without killing your ears though...
B side goes about 155 BPM... and brings a pure chaos of dancefloor structures, breakin' all the time push again... Rare Techno style !
Exciting Adult Core Music !!!
- A1: Enei - The Process
- B1: Break - In The Clouds
- B2: Sam Binga Feat. Eva Lazurus - Show U Something
- C1: Mefjus - Mirage
- D1: Kasra - Phases
- D2: Hyroglifics - Swish
- E1: Ivy Lab - Amber
- F1: Upbeats - Grasshopper
- F2: Foreign Concept - Breaking Again
- G1: Emperor - Bad Blood
- H1: Klax - The Mute
- H2: Halogenix Feat. Solh - Flames
- I1: Current Value - Leave Behind
- J1: Signal - Periphery
- J2: Shyun - Unfold
Critical Music reaches its 100th release in its 15th year, celebrating with the landmark album Fifteen Years Of Underground Sonics. Spanning the broad spectrum of drum & bass that the Critical sound represents, the exceptional 15 album is as bold as it is beautiful and looks to serve the test of time in the D&B history books.
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Kasra Critical
Tropical Odds is the second album by White Sea, the solo alias adopted by gifted American singer, songwriter and producer Morgan Kibby of M83
Born in Alaska, and now a resident of Los Angeles, Morgan fronted The Romanovs before joining acclaimed electronic music group M83 in 2007, co-writing, arranging and playing keyboards on the albums Saturdays = Youth and Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, as well as completing several world tours.
As White Sea, her first solo album In Cold Blood arrived in 2014, a dramatic debut praised by Billboard for its 'canyon-sized hooks, knowingly grandiose melodies and succulent vocals' and judged 'pop's newest break-up classic' by Flavourwire.
Outside of M83 Morgan has also collaborated with artists such as Greg Kurstin, Panic! at the Disco, Mark Ronson and School of Seven Bells, remixed Ellie Goulding and Britney Spears, and composed the award winning soundtrack to Eva Husson's provocative 2016 movie Bang Gang (une histoire d'amour moderne).
New album Tropical Odds stems from an interactive project launched via White Sea's website featuring digital singles and videos released at regular intervals throughout 2015 and 2016. Explains Morgan: 'Generally being able to create and mix and master my solo material within days has given me the direct freedom to share songs I want people to hear. In short, if I write something that I like, I put it out!'
Now gathered together in album form, the musical moods on Tropical Odds range from the sombre reflections of Gangster No. 1 and Yesterday to the hedonistic rush of Stay Young, Get Stoned and Never a Woman, high drama on Bloodline and Arcadia, and heartbreaking balladry on Secret, One Bad Eye and Lessons.
Blondie return with 11th studio album Pollinator lighting up 2017 with an incredible new record befitting one of the world's greatest bands. Produced live in the studio by John Congleton (St. Vincent, John Grant, War On Drugs, David Byrne). The last album recorded at New York's legendary Magic Shop studios before their closure. Blondie's classic writing duo of Chris Stein and Debbie Harry are at the heart of the creation with an impressive list of song writers on the project including Johnny Marr, TV On the Radio's Dave Sitek, Dev Hynes (Blood Orange, Lightspeed Champion) Adam Johnson aka An Unkindess, Sia and Charli XCX. Studio appearances from Joan Jett, Laurie Anderson and The Gregory Brothers.
Musically and emotionally, Superpitcher's third full-length studio album, The Golden Ravedays is a one sound autobiography that exhibits the skill, feeling and style that the artist has honed over a period of twenty years, musically, and forty-plus-years, emotionally.
And full-length it is:
The Golden Ravedays is an epic album of 24 tracks that was released in January 2017 and is stretching over 12 respective chapter albums during a one-year period.
The fourth chapter of The Golden Ravedays saga will be released on Hippie Dance in April 2017.
Number 4 of the series introduces two further tracks of the sound adventure that Superpitcher is taking us on this year.
Side A features Blood and Berry.
It is a captivating track that reminds one of the very first years when Superpitcher made music under the alias Sir Positive.
The beat is broken and the going is slow and rolling and the listening is a warm bath. There are flutes there that one never wants to stop and they almost don't. However essentially sweet this track is, like a berry on the tongue, it might lead to some blood on the dance floor!
Listening to Side B of this Golden Ravedays edition is entering a ghost town, alone, under a full moon.
Howl is a confluence of melodies and rhythms from Africa to Arabia where the snakes are being charmed out of their baskets and it is downright creepy.
A spooky voice is saying something but we don't know what exactly and it is bothersome because deep down we know that tonight when we are alone in the dark, we should be ready with the answer - or else.
All we can do is wonder:
Did Superpitcher sell his soul to the vampires for the vocals he let lose in this track
He answers by howling at the full moon behind thorn trees, in the shadows.
Entertaining, thoughtful and brave!
We salute the wolves and their master.
Hooo-oooowl!
- 1: Nomad Pack
- 2: Warsaw Speedwolf
- 3: Lucid Monomania
- 4: No Reward
- 5: Kallocain
- 6: Return To None
- 7: War On Rules
- 8: Feral Blood
- 9: Under The Bell
- 10: Dead Cold
Stockholm-based Wolfbrigade announce the news of their ninth full-length album, titled Run With The Hunted, set for release on April 28th through Southern Lord.
Formed in 1995, initially as Wolfpack, after five years they ventured into the new millennium as Wolfbrigade. The band have released an impressive volume of LPs and smaller releases, and have toured widely over the years, becoming one of the premier acts of their genre. Their damning music surges with outcries against human socio-political injustices, yearning for transformation and freedom.
Wolfbrigade's Run With The Hunted strikes with ten brutal new tracks of their trademark d-beat, hardcore-crust-punk fury, elevating both the harsh intensity and the melodic attributes of their music to new extremes of savageness. There's a concentrated sense of urgency across the record, and a sense of dystopia fuelling the scathing vocal wrath. Run With The Hunted was recorded in both Studio Fredman in Gothenburg (At the Gates, In Flames, Martyrdöd), by Fredrik Nordström and Henrik Udd, and in Sunlight Studio (Dismember, Entombed, Grave) in Stockholm, by Tomas Skogsberg.
About the new album, Wolfbrigade declares, We looked to explore our rawness, writing straight-up, in-your-face, primitive songs. On this record, we decided to push the melodic strains even further, but without losing either intensity or brutality. Lyrically we have been inspired by both classic and obscure dystopian literature, finding suitably horrible metaphors for the decline of western society. The search for freedom continues, but this time the path is pointed inwards, into ourselves.'
Run With The Hunted
Stockholm-based Wolfbrigade announce the news of their ninth full-length album, titled Run With The Hunted, set for release on April 28th through Southern Lord.
Formed in 1995, initially as Wolfpack, after five years they ventured into the new millennium as Wolfbrigade. The band have released an impressive volume of LPs and smaller releases, and have toured widely over the years, becoming one of the premier acts of their genre. Their damning music surges with outcries against human socio-political injustices, yearning for transformation and freedom.
Wolfbrigade's Run With The Hunted strikes with ten brutal new tracks of their trademark d-beat, hardcore-crust-punk fury, elevating both the harsh intensity and the melodic attributes of their music to new extremes of savageness. There's a concentrated sense of urgency across the record, and a sense of dystopia fuelling the scathing vocal wrath. Run With The Hunted was recorded in both Studio Fredman in Gothenburg (At the Gates, In Flames, Martyrdöd), by Fredrik Nordström and Henrik Udd, and in Sunlight Studio (Dismember, Entombed, Grave) in Stockholm, by Tomas Skogsberg.
About the new album, Wolfbrigade declares, We looked to explore our rawness, writing straight-up, in-your-face, primitive songs. On this record, we decided to push the melodic strains even further, but without losing either intensity or brutality. Lyrically we have been inspired by both classic and obscure dystopian literature, finding suitably horrible metaphors for the decline of western society. The search for freedom continues, but this time the path is pointed inwards, into ourselves.'
Run With The Hunted
Newly launced Samo Records is setting out to explore the depths of the dancefloor by celebrating the darker, moodier facets of electronic music.The NYC label's first release comes from Pixelife (Sean Dack), a highly accomplished visual artist and veteran of NYC's underground. In addition to releasing on such respected labels as Throne of Blood, Horn Wax, and Let's Play House, he also makes up half of GHOST COP, a band known for its textured synths, iconic vocals, dissonant beats, and captivating live sets. Incorporating the same expert sonic-layering techniques he employs in his live analog sets, he's created a dynamic EP that's both intimate in feel and broad in scope.'Omega Block' stomps out of the gate, all driving rhythms and throbbing basslines with an underlying element of frenetic foreboding — aptly reflecting these geopolitically tense times, while still remaining suitable for losing yourself on the dancefloor. The track gets the remix treatment by Bristol, U.K.-born, Berlin-based Antoni Maiovvi, a self-described 'electrodisco horror mindmelt DJ/live performer/film composer' who heads up Giallo Disco Records with Vercetti Technicolor. Here, he trades his trademark horror elements for successions of staccato beats and a stripped-down sensibility that successfully translates to perfect late-night-at-a-warehouse vibes.Chimeras in the Matrix' soars with gorgeous dystopian melodies overlaying squelchy undertones, revealing labyrinthine layers and anxious crescendos before building to a full-on acid frenzy. Producer/remixer/DJ Tronik Youth (who, like Maiovvi, also hails from the U.K. and currently lives in Berlin) is co-head of the prolific (averaging nearly a release a week in 2016) NEIN Records, which he founded five years ago with Ian Considine; the label has released music from the likes of Rodion, Curses, In Flagranti, Heretic, Man Power, Daniele Baldelli, The Emperor Machine, and Moscoman, to name but a few. He is also a member of Permanent Wave, a spooky, pitched-down, dark-wave-inspired disco project with French singer Justine. He brings a chuggy, bleepy edge to his take on 'Chimeras in the Matrix' with bouncy rhythms, multiple breakdowns, and echoing robo-vocals, taking the original's intensity down while upping the dancefloor quotient.
High Plains is the duo of Scott Morgan and Mark Bridges.
Morgan, based in the Canadian Pacific Northwest, is predominantly known for his drifting, textured soundscapes released under the pseudonym LOSCIL.
Bridges is an accomplished, classically-trained cellist residing in Madison, Wisconsin.
The two met in Banff, Alberta while they were simultaneously there on residencies at the Banff Centre for the Arts in 2014. They first collaborated when Bridges contributed cello parts to Morgan's generative music app ADRIFT, recorded in Seattle in 2015.
In early 2016, the duo embarked on a collaborative set of compositions in the oxygen thin air of Wyoming, spending two weeks holed up in a refurbished school house in the town of Saratoga, where this album was recorded.
Inspired by Schubert's Die Winterreiseand the rolling landscapes of
their surroundings, the collaboration culminated in a collection of recordings that evoke a shadowy, introspective and dizzying winter journey.
Cinderland takes cues from classical, electronic and cinematic
musical traditions but is mostly a product of the rugged, mythic landscape; vast and sprawling with a wild, uncertain edge.
The recording was made with a portable studio and all sounds were sourced on site, most notably from Bridges' cello, the resident Steinway D piano, and field recordings collected from the local soundscape.
The results are a site specific, wide scope view of thehigh valley terrain the duo worked in, a mix of analog and digital, neoclassical and modern electronic sounds, a complemental series of tracks to become absorbed in, a truly deep listening experience.
The cover art forCinderland was created by London-based artist, Peter Liversidge.
Visible Cloaks' Reassemblage is a collection of delicately rendered passages of silence and sound that invokes - and invites - consciousness. The foundation of the duo's second album is gently poured upon the ground their musical predecessors explored, using the materials of chance operations, MIDI translation,' and other generative principles that favor inclusive musical environments over the narrowly constrained.
In 2010, Spencer Doran, one part of Visible Cloaks alongside Ryan Carlile, prepared the first volume of Fairlights, Mallets, and Bamboo, a mixtape indicated by Doran as an investigation into fourth-world undercurrents in Japanese ambient and pop music, years 1980 - 1986.' These mixes contextualized the outré orbit of Yellow Magic Orchestra-related solo projects and their abstract, radiant forays as forever futuristic modes of music.
Reassemblage evokes similar musical futures celebrated on the Fairlights mixes, but does so observantly rather than reverently. The title Reassemblage, for example, is taken from a film essay by Trinh T. Minh-ha, which explores the impossibility of ascribing meaning to ethnographic images. The author aims to speak nearby' rather than speak about.' In other words, to embrace lapses of understanding, and realize that the impulse to map direct meaning across a cultural gap often results in further disconnect.
In an effort to speak nearby' rather than speak about,' Visible Cloaks filters and forms source material to become young again. Often the duo strip tonal elements of their specificity or randomize melodies so they become stirring and lucid. Essential patterns emerge, conscious experience heightens. In these moments, the musical language of Reassemblage finds unlimited resonance and presents a path to uninhabited realities.
The origin of this language could be described as translingual or polyglottal, working within the eastern / western feedback loop of influence, Fourth World ambiguity, and the universality of human emotion. Incorporating an international array of virtual instruments to advance the idea of panglobalism through digital simulation, tones and colors cohere into a living, breathing pool of sensorial experience in Visible Cloaks' environs.
Beyond embracing the fluidity of worldly musical influences, Visible Cloaks works fluently between mediums. The contribution of stalwart digital and installation artist Brenna Murphy's dream dimensions to Reassemblage's cover artwork and surrounding videos extends the album's exploration of global headspace into a visual, visceral reality.
Making his first appearance on Ferox Records back in 1993 - Affie Yusuf has been producing techno, acid, and house music for over two decades, gracing heavyweight labels such as Force Inc. Music Works, Superstition Records, 909 Perversions and Chemical.
Affie is regarded as one of the most influential UK acid pioneers throughout the 1990's, releasing under his own name, and as part of House of 909 and Traffik with Trevor Loveys.
In the 2000's Affie & Trevor launched their label Tragic Magic, and founded the Machines Don't Care collective, alongside Sinden, Toddla T, Fake Blood, Detboi, Hervé, and Drop The Lime
Affie is also produces with collaborator Mr. C of the Shamen, and is resident DJ at London's long running 'I Love Acid' clubnight.
Born in Southampton on the south coast of England in the early 1970's, Affie Yusuf has established himself as one of the most important and influential pioneers of UK acid, techno and house, with a career that spans three decades.




















