quête:blue man group

A.R. Kive collates the three most astonishing works from that most miraculous of duos - A.R. Kane - comprising the ‘Up Home’ EP from 1988 that signified the band’s dawning realisation of their own powers and possibilities, their legendary debut LP ‘sixty nine’ (1988) and its kaleidoscopic, prophetic double-LP follow up ‘i’ (1989).

In founder-member Rudy Tambala’s new remastering, the music on these pivotal transmissions from the birth of dream pop, have been reinvigorated and re-infused with a new power, a new depth and intimacy, a new height and immensity. Vivid, timeless and yet always timely whenever they’re recalled, these records still force any listener to realise that despite the habits of retrospective myth-making and the
safe neutering effects of ‘genre’, thirty years have in no way dimmed how resistant and dissident to critical habits of categorisation A.R. Kane always were. Never quite ‘avant-pop’ or ‘shoegaze’ or ‘post-rock’ or any of those sobriquets designed to file and categorise, A.R. Kive is a reminder that those genres had to be coined, had to be invented precisely to contain the astonishing sound of A.R. Kane, because
previous formulations couldn’t come close to their sui generis sound and suggestiveness. This is music that pointed towards futures which a whole generation of artists and sonic explorers would map out. Now beautifully repackaged, remastered and fleshed out with extensive sleeve notes and accompanying materials, ‘A.R. Kive’ reveals that 35 years on it’s still a struggle to defuse the revolutionary and inspirational possibility of A.R. Kane’s music.

A.R. Kane were formed in 1986 by Rudy Tambala and Alex Ayuli, two second-generation immigrants who grew up together in Stratford, East London. From the off the pair were outsiders in the culturally mixed (cockney/Irish/West Indian/Asian) milieu of the East End, with Alex and Rudy’s folks first generation immigrants from Nigeria and Malawi, respectively. The two of them quickly developed and fostered an innate and near-telepathic mutual understanding forged in musical, literary and artistic exploration. Like a lot of second-generation immigrants, they were ferocious autodidacts in all kinds of areas, especially around music and literature. Diving deep into the music of afro-futurist luminaries such as Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Lee Perry and
Hendrix, as well as devouring the explorations of lysergic noise and feedback from contemporaries like Sonic Youth and Butthole Surfers, they also thoroughly immersed themselves in the alternate literary realities of sci-fi and ancient history (the fascination with the arcane that gave the band their name), all to feed their voracious cultural thirsts and intellectual curiosity.

It was seeing the Cocteau Twins performing on Channel 4 show the Tube that spurred A.R. Kane into being - “They had no drummer. They used tapes and technology and Liz Fraser looked completely otherworldly with those big eyes. And the noise coming out of Robin’s guitar! That was the ‘Fuck! We could do that! We could express ourselves like that!’ moment”, recalls Tambala - and through a mix of
confidence, chutzpah, ad hoc almost-mythical live shows and sheer innocent will the duo debuted with the astonishing ‘When You’re Sad’ single for One Little Indian in 1986. Immediately dubbed a ‘black Jesus & Mary Chain’ by a press unsure of WHERE to put a black band clearly immersed in feedback and noise, what was immediately apparent for listeners was just how much more was going on here - a
tapping of dub’s stealth and guile, a resonant umbilicus back to fusion and jazz, the music less a conjuration of past highs than a re-summoning of lost spirits.
The run of singles and EPs that followed picked up increasingly rapt reviews in the press, but it was the ‘Up Home EP’ released in 1988 on their new home, Rough Trade that really suggested something immense was about to break. Simon Reynolds noted the EP was: Their most concentrated slab of iridescent awesomeness and a true pinnacle of an era that abounded with astounding landmarks of guitar-reinvention, A.R. Kane at their most elixir-like.

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

‘sixty nine’ the group’s debut LP that emerged in 1988 had
critics and listeners struggling to fit language around A.R. Kane’s sound. As a title it was telling - the year of ‘Bitches Brew’, the year of ‘In A Silent Way’, the erotic möbius between two lovers - and as originally coined by the band themselves, ‘dream pop’ (before it became a free-floating signifier of vague import) was entirely apposite for the music A.R. Kane were making. Crafted in a dark small basement studio in which Tambala recalls the duo had “complete freedom - We wanted to go as far out as we could, and in doing so we discovered the point where it stops being music”. There was an irresistibly dreamy, somnambulant, sensual and almost surreal flow to ‘sixty nine’s sound, but also real darkness/dankness, the ruptures of the primordial and the reverberations of the subconscious, within the grooves of remarkable songs like ‘Dizzy’ and ‘Crazy Blue’. Alex’s plangent vocals floated and surged amidst exquisite peals of refracted feedback but crucially there was BASS here, lugubrious and funky and full of dread, sonic pleasure and sonic disturbance crushed together to make music with a center so deep it felt subcutaneous, music constructed from both the accidental and the deliberate, generous enough to dance with both serendipity and chaos. ‘sixty nine’ remains - especially in this remastered iteration - ravishing, revolutionary.

The final part of this ‘A.R. Kive’ contains 1989’s astonishing double-LP ‘i’ which followed up on ‘sixty nine’s promise and saw the duo fully unleash their experimental pop sensibilities over 26 tracks, plunging the A.R. Kane sound into a dazzlingly kaleidoscopic vision of pop experiment and play. Suffused with new digital technologies and combining searingly sweet and danceable pop with perhaps the duo’s strangest and boundary-pushing compositions, the album did exactly what a great double-set should do - indulge the artists sprawling pursuit of their own imaginations but always with a concision and an ear for those moments where pop both transcends and toys with the listeners expectations. Jason Ankeny has noted that “In retrospect, ‘i’ now seems like a crystal ball prophesying virtually every major musical development of the 1990s; from the shimmering techno of ‘A Love from Outer Space’ to the liquid dub of ‘What’s All This Then?’, from the alien drone-pop of ‘Conundrum’ to the sinister shoegazer miasma of ‘Supervixens’ — it’s all here, an underground road map for countless bands to follow.” Perhaps the most overwhelmingly all-encompassing transmission from A.R. Kane, ‘i’ bookended a three year period in which the duo had made some of the most prophetic and revelatory music of the entire decade.

After ‘i’ the duo’s output became more sporadic with Tambala and Ayuli moving in different directions both geographically and musically, with only 1994’s ‘New Clear Child’ a crystalline re-fraction of future and past echoes of jazz, folk and soul, before the duo went their separate ways. Since then, A.R. Kane’s music has endured, not thanks to the usual sepia’d false memories that seem to maintain interest in so much of the musical past, but because those who hear A.R. Kane music and are changed irrevocably, have to share that universe which A.R. Kane opened up, with anyone else who will listen. Far more than other lauded documents of the late 80s it still sounds astonishingly fresh, astonishingly livid and vivid and necessary and NOW.

i am fortunate to play with amazing musicians - always have had my ear to the 6 winds to assess players and their strengths and the music we would make...
electric or acoustic, 2 or 5 people, country, folk, blues, string players, grass,
rocking, quiet or loud - WHATEVER the category does not matter (as it is just a category) - there has always been a group of great musicians near to help me get there - and yes, i am lucky

on this recording MATT FLINNER (mando and banjo), SHAD COBB (fiddle)
and BRYN DAVIES (double bass) & ALL folks on vocals and me on dobro/piano/banjo and guitar -mostly ben bullington's 1933 D18- we had been playing anytime a festival wanted a fiddle/banjo/mando/double bass/acoustic guitar instrumentation sound from me- in one way, it can easily be called "bluegrass" -( not a big stretch )- i kinda think "string band " is as good or a better name (certainly less used)... so enter this DARRELL SCOTT STRING BAND
(a rose by any other name)

HERE'S HOW THIS RECORD CAME ABOUT- we had 2 consecutive weekend gigs (arkansas and colorado) and rather than sending us... more

In 1972, a foursome of design students set out to make a record. This was, in many ways, a strictly creative endeavor. The quartet — composed of Dave Pescod, Alan Lewis, Phil Rawle, and Ted Rockley — were all trained, not as musicians, but as creatives. Art school heavyweights, the four were well-versed in the methodology of intentional experimentation, in the delicate balance of pushing the limits without completely unmooring oneself from a guiding creative intention. Emboldened by a high-brow familiarity with thoughtful experimentation and all the non-conviction of non-musicians, Bowes Road Band’s stint in the world of popular music yielded a record that is as much mind-melting as it is a direct product of its time. Their sprawling LP “Back in the HCA” embodies the exigence “art for art’s sake,” but it is for art’s sake that this record, however off the deep end it seems to travel (hear: “Doctor, Doctor”), remains a unified, and stunning, body of work. The LP’s do-ityourself garage rock noisemaking meets highfalutin creative processes. “Back in the HCA” is warbling psychedelic freakout (“Two Fingers,” “Doctor, Doctor”), Donovan-esque English countryside folk stylings (“Inside My Head,” “Goodbye to Rosie”), and avant-garde jazz improvisions (“Grass is Grass,” “Tomorrow’s Truth”) in one luminous release.

Originally an 9-track LP, Jakarta, Uno Loop, and Bowes Road Band decided to mine the six most cohesive tracks for the reissue, though the extras may be released somewhere down the line. Cohesion efforts aside, “Back in the HCA” stands alone in its singular conception of a genre-bending continuum — it evades definition. That said, the LP can easily be situated in the sonic environment in which it was conceived. By the end of the 60s, England was crawling with blues-based rock outfits that were starting to venture into prog rock territory. You can hear this popular dint cast over the folkier side of the LP. But Bowes Road Band was armed with their non-musicianship: they existed completely liberated from the motivating yet ultimately paralyzing lust for stardom. Enjoying this liberation, Bowes Road Band was utterly free to make noise. This freedom meant drawn out sax interludes amidst sweetly folk stylings (“Grass is Grass”) and Shaggs-like fuzzed-out freakouts that spiral into a void (Doctor, Doctor). This freedom also meant straight-forward tuneful cuts like “Goodbye Rosie” that conspicuously introduce heavily distorted auto-organ accompaniment mid-track amidst poignant lyricism. Bowes Road Band crafts a unified sound and then cracks it open.

With a completely off-the-radar status, Bowes Road Band could only press 50 copies of the record — 10 for each of them and 10 for the school. The band’s lifespan was to end there, or so they thought. “Back in the HCA” was the accidental fruit of a Berlin flea market treasure hunt by Jannis Stürtz, DJ and co-founder of Habibi Funk and Jakarta Records. After finding and sharing the LP with a few colleagues, Stürtz managed to get in touch with the band, get ahold of the master tapes collecting dust in Ted Rockley’s attic, and start the reissuing process. The record is still adorned with its original cover art designed by Alan Pescod, both reminiscent of bygone school days and the Zoom calls of yesterday — in short, reunion. Its re-discovery was happenstance and ought to be listened to as such. That is, “Back in the HCA” was not made to be listened to on a broad scale, or, at least, was not made with this goal in mind; it is neither in its time nor of its time. Of course, the group explicitly cites the folk tunes of the English countryside, the distorted rock groups that reigned during the record’s conception, and the fringes of psychedelic music that only the uber-underground might recognize (e.g., “Dreaming of Alice”). Yet still with these obvious influences, “Back in the HCA” always existed beyond the domain of both traditional musicianship and conventional commodification. Bowes Road Band’s DIY musicality beams through in technicolor across “Back in the HCA.” The vinyl includes an 8-page booklet detailing the albums creation and interviews with the band.

Lead single “Grass is Grass,” out July 14 along with album pre-order, encapsulates the record’s range: the track unfurls into a sprawling sax-driven trip following a sundrenched, Donovan-esque intro w/ lyrics “naively about parks and gardens, not marijuana!” The keyed-down folk cut “Goodbye to Rosie” is single 2 and elevates stripped-down acoustics with golden tinges, out August 4th. Focus track “Tomorrow’s Truth” constructs the fuzzed-out underbelly of acid folk. Listen for echoes of late Beatles, Mark Fry, and Donovan (if they were armed by an unshakabele willful naiveté). Like Sgt. Pepper’s on a shoestring budget—take a trip to the underground with LP “Back in the HCA,” available everywhere physically and digitally on September 1st via Jakarta Records and Uno Loop.

Besides online promotion from label profiles, the album will be further promoted by external agencies within the UK and US.

Recorded October 1959, Paris.

Original LP issue: Decca 153.924

Critics often complain that small-group sessions comprised of members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra are somewhat disappointing; this is definitely not the case with this session led by Clark Terry, recorded during a 1959 tour of Europe in the final month of the trumpeter’s almost eight-year tenure with the band. Fellow Ellington sidemen Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Woode, and Sam Woodyard are present, along with Raymond Fol at the piano. Terry was one of the most gifted trumpeters to grace the Ellington band and he blossoms when he has more opportunities to solo in a small group setting like this one. Gonsalves proves to be the perfect foil for Terry as they trade lines on several of the numbers. Unlike many dates led by Ellington veterans, this one doesn’t rely heavily on songs from the vast Ellington songbook; instead, Terry includes only ‘Satin Doll’, a Monk’s tune, one by Babs Gonzales and three of his own compositions, with ‘Serenade to a Bus Seat’ (a remake of his upbeat instrumental interpretation of the hectic life of a touring musician) proving to be the most memorable.

This studio date was recorded for French Decca label and was almost impossible to find until now.

Clark Terry (Trumpet)
Paul Gonsalves (Tenor saxophone)
Raymond Fol (Piano)
Jimmy Woode (Bass)
G. T. Hogan (Drums)

Mysteries Of The World is the stunning final studio album from legendary Philly supergroup MFSB. Expertly co-written and produced with the mighty Dexter Wansel, it features the untouchable, sparkling masterpiece "Mysteries Of The World". The whole album is truly exquisite; a stylish, classy collection of pure Philly soul and orchestral jazz-funk.

MFSB, an acronym for Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, was formed by producers Gamble & Huff of Philadelphia International Records. The band's roots can be traced back to the house band at the legendary Sigma Sound Studios, where they played on numerous hit records by artists like The O'Jays, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and The Stylistics. Mysteries Of The World comprises slick jazz-funk grooves, mostly penned by Wansel, who produced a fair chunk of the album in a similar style to his space-funk records. MFSB's smooth sound is retained but it receives a fresh, elegant and jazzy upgrade. While this album is as mellow as the rest of the latter-period MFSB recordings, it never forgets the group's soul music underpinnings.

Swaggering, well-timed horn blasts, sweeping strings and a percolating, hard thumping slap-bassline combine to devastating effect on amazing opener "Manhattan Skyline". It's a sexy mid-tempo instrumental which sets us up nicely for what follows. Essays could be written analysing the perfection of title track. Arguably the finest jazz-funk instrumental ever made, it's absolutely magnificent. Featuring musicianship of the highest calibre, the band play with their trademark tight discipline, cooking up a syncopating rhythm with an array of exploratory keyboard riffs wrapped around a punchy bassline sent from heaven. It sounds like house music, it's that ahead of its time. The string intro is sumptuous, hypnotic and divine and that's all before the beat hits. The track fuses classical, jazz and funk into a musical journey that you never want to end. Absolutely flawless, it's a dramatic disco dancefloor killer.

Says Dexter Wansel himself: "You know, of all the songs I wrote/produced/arranged for MFSB, this is for me the most different. I think it's an experiment in rhythmic, soft sonic synth and live string and harp combinations. I composed it in an effort to blend a funky groove, along with synthesis, and orchestral sounds. There are 3 synthesizers: Oberheim 4 voice, Polymoog, and of course Arp 2600v. And, as I remember, I recorded the track with the rhythm section, string, harp and flute players first. Then I added synthesis."

The profound elegance remains in abundance on the slinky, harp-laced "Tell Me Why"; Carla Benson's beautiful voice truly shines on this sophisticated cut. The side closes out in dramatic style with the string-drenched "Metamorphosis". It's a staccato, Blaxploitation groove workout featuring wah-wah guitar, creeping basslines, rich horn solos and soulful vocals drifting in and out of the mix. The bouncy, irrepressible "Fortune Teller" opens the B side in the bass-heavy orchestral funk style before the beautiful "Old San Juan" glides in, a Balearic-adjacent track with intricate arrangements, building its mellow soul groove around an atypical flamenco guitar hook. Melancholy, guitar-led instrumental "Thank You Miss Scott" is a real highlight, with gorgeous flute, string and percussive elements whilst closer "In the Shadow" works an otherworldly synth line into its bossa nova groove.

An essential record for fans of Philly soul and groovy jazz-funk, Mysteries Of The World was mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis and cut by Cicely Ralston for Alchemy at AIR Studios. The stunning artwork, the work of renowned illustrator Robert Giusti, was restored at Be With HQ to round out this beautiful reissue.

In 2023, Kurt Vile is making numbers count. Just last month, Matador Records presented the iconic Philadelphia songwriter with a (vegan) cheesesteak trophy to commemorate the 100-millionth stream of "Pretty Pimpin" on Spotify. Today, though, we"d like to draw your attention to another significant KV digit: The 10th anniversary of his fifth full-length and first 2xLP, "Wakin on a Pretty Daze" (2013). To celebrate this milestone, we"ve brought the record back as a blue + yellow vinyl split available via KV and Matador webstores. This limited pressing will also include a reproduction of the "make your own cover" ESPO sticker sheet that accompanied the original 2013 special-edition. A yellow vinyl version of the record will be made available everywhere. Where previous albums alternated between gorgeous fingerpicking and heavy guitar workouts, "Wakin" blended the two into dreamy and expansive songs that frequently stretched well out beyond the five-minute mark. Back then we said: "It"s a record that would have sounded great 30 years ago, sounds great today, and will still sound great 30 years from now." Ten years down the line, we"re still confident that "Wakin" will deliver the goods - yesterday, today, and in 2043. The reissue serves as the latest entry in Matador Records" Revisionist History series, our ongoing campaign to jog the record-buying (and streaming!) public"s memory about our many catalog items now poised to celebrate a significant anniversary. Matador will mark these anniversaries with new reissues and re-pressings. So far, the Revisionist History class of 2023 has highlighted Bettie Serveert"s Palomine and Lucy Dacus"s Historian.

Stage Fright is the third studio album by Canadian American group the Band, released on August 17, 1970. Engineered by Todd Rundgren and Glyn Johns, it features two of the group's best-known songs, "The Shape I'm In" and "Stage Fright", both of which showcased inspired lead vocal performances (by Richard Manuel and Rick Danko, respectively) and became staples in the group's live shows.

* 5.1 surround and hi-res stereo mix of album (by Bob Clearmountain) + new bonus tracks + previously unreleased Royal Albert Hall (1970) performance on Blu-ray
* CD of new stereo mix album + new bonus tracks and unreleased Calgary hotel demo tracks
* CD of the Royal Albert Hall performance (stereo)
* LP of main album new stereo mix (180gram, 33rpm)
* 7" reproduction of original "Time To Kill" b/w "The Shape I'm In" Capitol single (Spanish pressing)
* Photo booklet with new notes by Robbie Robertson and a reprinting of the original 1970 Robert Hilburn Los Angeles Times album review
* Limited

One of the inventors of the modern bebop style of drumming, Blakey is known as a powerful musician and a vital groover; his brand of bluesy, funky hard bop was and continues to be profoundly influential on mainstream jazz.

For more than 30 years his band, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers included many young musicians who went on to become prominent names in jazz. Recorded in 1956, Art Blakey's Drum Suite is a wonderful hybrid of African, Latin, and hard bop rhythms that prefigures the concept of Afro-beat by at least a decade. The sheer energy, not to mention its very special and fresh-sounding intimacy, make it especially astounding.

Even more amazing is that the three parts of the suite -- Blakey's "The Sacrifice," Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant," and Oscar Pettiford's "Oscalypso" -- were recorded straight through live, and were only intended to be a pre-take run-through. As is obvious here, Blakey and company nailed the whole thing right out of the box.

Groundbreaking for its time, and still sounding vital, powerful, and visionary, the Drum Suite album is somewhat of a lost masterpiece that deserves a fresh audience.

"Art Blakey's first release for Columbia Records is essentially two records. Side one is a percussion ensemble playing what would, ten years later, be called Afro-Cuban drumming. Side two is the mid-fifties version of the Jazz Messengers featuring Jackie McLean on saxophone. Side one features Blakey, Jo Jones and Charles Wright on drums, Candido and Sabu on bongos, and Oscar Pettiford and bass and cello. The group plays three compositions, one by Blakey, one by Pettiford and one by Ray Bryant, fusing African, Cuban, and calypso percussion into a well-integrated suite.

"The group recorded a run through and it was so perfectly executed that they used the practice run for the release, unedited except to add some Swahili chants by the percussionists during a few passages. One cannot help but think of Olantunji's Drums of Passion, another Afro drumming landmark, here. Blakey's drum suite was recorded at Columbia's 30th Street studios in New York in 1957 and is in mono. The almost stereoscopic image is truly remarkable. Mastered by Kevin Gray and pressed at RTI, Drum Suite is a valuable record of one of the most important figures in jazz history. Recording: 9/10. Music 9/10." - Dennis Davis, Hifi+

"...The three-part suite was laid down in one take with no arrangements, and begins with a few tympani thwacks followed by an African chant. Soon the ensemble kicks in and the group takes off an a sweaty Afro-Cuban-bop journey that will leave you breathless, as the thing crackles with terrific energy. Side Two is more conventional hard bop, but given this group's mastery of if not invention of the style, these tracks are extremely satisfying. Kevin Gray's remastering is detailed and immediate, with plenty of bit and air, if not the widest dynamic range. For anyone interested in percussion of this genre, this is not to be missed." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound

How sad, if timely: this stunning reissue of the 1994 live album arrived in the very week that trumpeter Masekela passed away. One of the most successful ambassadors ever for African music, his fusing of the continent's rhythms and instruments with contemporary jazz and rock proved irresistible. Nearly every one of you has heard him, thanks to guess spots with The Byrds and Paul Simon. His breakthough hit from 1968 — the infectious "Grazing In The Grass" — is here, along with another 11 tracks recorded at Blues Alley, the U.S. club that gave us Eva Cassidy. Notably, despite its early-1990s origins, this is all-analogue." — Sound Quality = 90% - Ken Kessler, HiFi News, May 2018

"...Hope is one of those intensely visceral, large as life, and immediately present recordings that will make pretty much any system sound at least very good, and will cause better ones to raise goose bumps." - Wayne Garcia, The Absolute Sound, August 2008

"...The high quality original mix plus Analogue Productions' superb mastering has resulted in a terrific, very transparent sonic with great impact." - John Henry, Audiophile Audition

What more can be captured from the masterpiece that the late trumpet great Hugh Masekela left devoted fans, the effervescent Hope. Now cut at 45 RPM and spread over four 200-gram premium LPs, you're about to discover the answer to that question. The eight sides of vinyl reduce distortion and high frequency loss as the wider-spaced grooves let your stereo cartridge track more accurately. And this set is plated and pressed at Quality Record Pressings, Acoustic Sounds' own industry-lauded LP manufacturer. Virtually silent surfaces coupled with sharp delineation of musical detail are QRP pressing hallmarks.

Two Stoughton Printing old-style tip-on gatefold jackets house the four LPs, which are contained in a custom-designed slipcase reproducing the original artwork.

A longtime audiophile demonstration disc. Hope will show off your system's dynamic range as well as any record ever released. Hugh Masekela, the outstanding South African trumpeter, assembled a seven-piece group and recorded this great set live at Washington, D.C.'s Blues Alley. The songs stretch over a period of nearly five decades and serve as an informal guided tour of Masekela's life. The songs are honest and bare, and as for the sound — WOW!

Unlike a prior 45 RPM version that included seven songs, this 45 RPM reissue contains the full program as originally recorded with all 12 tracks included! Plus, as an added bonus, we've included a special insert — featuring an exclusive interview with Grammy/Emmy Award-winning engineer David Hewitt, who recorded Hope originally.

"Hugh's record is right up near the top for a lot of reasons," Hewitt says.

Hewitt and his team were afforded the time they needed, and they pulled out all the stops to pull off what's now recognized as an all-time great recording. They used better-quality microphones, they were mic-ing the room for ambient sound, and Masekela was performing for a sophisticated and appreciative audience.

"We used stuff from our stash of mics as opposed to what you'd find typically at a jazz club. We actually had control via the record label and producers, so we could take our time. We had the ability to mic the room for abient sound. ... you've got people that actually know and appreciate the music and respond accordingly. What you've got there is all the right stuff at the right time and the right people, and then something magical happens."

Listen to that magic unfold — put on this Analogue Productions 45 RPM 4LP reissue of Hope, and be transported.

Miles Davis created just one studio album with his original sextet: Milestones. And he made every moment count. Pairing with Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones, Davis not only laid the groundwork for the modalism that immediately followed but tailored a genuine modern-jazz masterwork laden with performances among the most explosive of his distinguished career. Sandwiched between the more famous 'Round About Midnight and the epochal Kind of Blue, Milestones remains a seminal work of art.

Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on dead-quiet SuperVinyl, Mobile Fidelity's numbered-edition 180g LP grants each musician their own space amid broad soundstages. Afforded the benefits of a nearly non-existent noise floor and supreme groove definition, this vinyl reissue doubles as a time machine back to the February-March 1958 recording sessions.

Colors, shapes, and dimensions appear in the manner that resembles what you'd glean from behind a studio control room's window. Davis' burnished trumpet is rendered in three-dimensional perspective and seemingly coaxes the band to play with unburdened zest. Coltrane's trademark saxophone teems with lifelike tonality and images with specificity; his solos work in tandem with and against the driving rhythms. Garland's swaggering piano lines? Visualize the keys as he hits full stride, the chords and fills slithering around skeletal frameworks.

Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and selected as a "Core Collection" record by the Penguin Guide to Jazz, Milestones is as famous for its title track – widely considered ground zero for modalism and bolstered by Jones' hallmark "Philly Lick" rim shot – as the players that produced it. The launching pad for many of Davis' improvisational flights, the album teases the explorations Coltrane would soon chase. Davis' own solo work broaches territories that far exceed what he had done in his bop-rooted past. Every song is a highlight.

Take the bravado "Dr. Jackle," featuring a hot-foot pace and bebop strains, or "Sid's Ahead," which continues the album's blues theme while juggling edgy harmonics and inside-out structures. On "Billy Boy," distinguished with an arco bass solo from Chambers, Garland gets a turn in the spotlight and channels the openness practised by one of his heroes, Ahmad Jamal. Even more instructive is the band's reading of Dizzy Gillespie's "Two Bass Hit." Three years removed from the version Davis and company recorded for the trumpeter's Columbia debut, this interpretation demonstrates the extent to which the group had jelled in a relatively short amount of time.



Then there's "Straight, No Chaser," the definitive rendition of Thelonious Monk's signature piece. Coltrane's marbled playing pulls at the tune's borders, Adderley takes liberty with solos, and Davis dances around his mates, at one point quoting "When the Saints Go Marching In" while demonstrating his knowledge of tradition and casting an eye towards the future.

About that future. Garland already had one foot out the door during the Milestones sessions to the extent Davis spells him on "Sid's Ahead." Jones would stick around for a bit longer but soon plot his exit. History proves Davis navigated the changes with visionary aplomb. Yet the chemistry, excitement, and beauty the sextet achieves on Milestones cannot be overstated. This reissue helps put the album in proper perspective – and presents the music the fidelity it deserves.

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the Jones brothers Thad, Hank and Elvin on the world of jazz. Between the three of them, their performances can be heard on literally thousands of recordings, including some of the most legendary sessions ever recorded with some of the greatest artists. Post-War Detroit was really taking notes on the new sounds of jazz coming into favor and the group of former Detroiters included on this album include some of its most virtuosic students. Thad Jones, (although he was technically from nearby Pontiac, MI) on trumpet, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Tommy Flanagan on piano and Billy Mitchell on saxophone. Jones’ first for Blue Note from 1956 stands as a fantastic sounding announcement that the Detroiters had landed in New York and were about to take off. Including legendary players Shadow Wilson on Drums and Oscar Pettiford on Bass; Detroit - New York Junction, a long sought after rarity and a true testament to the importance of Detroit on the evolution of jazz music through Blue Note Records. Recorded at Audio Video Studios - New York, NY 1956 by Alfred Lion and Rudy Van Gelder

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of the Jones brothers Thad, Hank and Elvin on the world of jazz. Between the three of them, their performances can be heard on literally thousands of recordings, including some of the most legendary sessions ever recorded with some of the greatest artists. Post-War Detroit was really taking notes on the new sounds of jazz coming into favor and the group of former Detroiters included on this album include some of its most virtuosic students. Thad Jones, (although he was technically from nearby Pontiac, MI) on trumpet, Kenny Burrell on guitar, Tommy Flanagan on piano and Billy Mitchell on saxophone. Jones’ first for Blue Note from 1956 stands as a fantastic sounding announcement that the Detroiters had landed in New York and were about to take off. Including legendary players Shadow Wilson on Drums and Oscar Pettiford on Bass; Detroit - New York Junction, a long sought after rarity and a true testament to the importance of Detroit on the evolution of jazz music through Blue Note Records. Recorded at Audio Video Studios - New York, NY 1956 by Alfred Lion and Rudy Van Gelder

The electric eels were the first punk band, full stop. They may not have “started” the genre, but they were the first to tick all the boxes. The eels rejected every 1970s rock convention—professionalism, virtuosity, subject matter, image. Dave E.’s caustic vocals, complete with an aggressive lisp and a head full of snot, would become de rigeur a few years after the group disbanded. Meanwhile, the songs’ focus on car crashes, suicide, neuroses, and generally hating people were as far out of the mainstream as possible. The two eels tracks that do approach the subject of romance couch it in terms of not really caring that much about it (“Jaguar Ride”) or placing it in the context of a grisly murder (“Silver Daggers”). Also consider John Morton’s signature guitar sound, a nails-on-chalkboard tone with brutally free soloing inspired more by Albert Ayler than the blues or aspirations to technical facility. Ditto Dave E.’s clarinet playing and affection for lawnmowers and vacuums during live performance. They were notoriously violent not only among themselves, but towards audiences, police, and anyone unfortunate enough to be around them when things went south. Then of course there are the leather jackets, the clothing festooned with rat traps or safety pins. And no bass player, why bother. There is simply no other “proto” band to have had all these pieces in place circa 1973- 1975. Yet it is a mistake to consider the eels exclusively in such a context. Yes, the eels could and did shock anyone who encountered them, but they also had great songs. While both Dave and John were visionary writers, they also had rhythm guitarist Brian McMahon, a melody and riff machine who wrote many of the band’s signature songs. And they were no one-trick pony. Although much of the band’s material is appropriately high-energy, there is also the downer eels—morbid, harmonically risky, and in full existential crisis. Although it’s not a focus of this compilation, the eels also had a penchant for completely free improvisation. Over the last forty plus years, there have been several electric eels compilations. Spin Age Blasters is quite simply the best one ever assembled, every single key track is here in its best version, properly mastered by John Golden, and sequenced with an eye towards both flow between tracks as well as individation between sides. A true monster of an album.

‘Mellifluous’... is a word you won’t hear much when conversation turns to early Pooh Sticks records. But ‘noise pollution’, sure: that comes up. I’ve even used it myself. So look away now if you must: ‘Straight Up: Noise Pollution C88-90’ is a selection of some of the most loved/despised/ignored tracks released by The Pooh Sticks on however many records it was before it all went wilfully ‘American’ sometime around dotted-lining for BMG mega-corp in 1991.
The record has highlights and lowlights. You and me, we’d probably agree on most of them. We chose a reasonable cross-section, I think (although there could’ve been more tambourine), including:
- “On Tape” - zeitgeist-nailin’ strum and strangle.
- “I Know Someone Who Knows Someone Who Knows Alan McGee Quite Well” - long title
- “Teenage High” - breathy sweetness sneaked onto the depraved Sympathy For The Record Industry label.
- “Dying For It” - the Vaselines cover which beat Nirvana by a full two years (though theirs sold better).
... and more! It’s like Christmas (no, blocking up the chimney won’t help: we’ve cut spare keys). And all of this in a nice gatefold sleeve, and on Steve McQueen’s- eyes blue vinyl. And there’s even a repro poster for the March ’89 Pastels/Pooh Sticks/Vaselines gig up London way (“I swear I was there”, people say).
On behalf of the group, I hope you enjoy it. No, really. It was all a long time ago but I remember we had fun. Maybe you were even there having fun with us.

Soul music originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 50s and 60s. Having its roots in African American gospel music and rhythm & blues, it became popular for dancing and listening with prominent record labels as Motown, Atlantic and Stax.

On this 2LP compilation classic soul songs by Curtis Mayfield, Marlene Shaw, Bill Withers, and Aretha Franklin are paired with funky soul stompers by James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone, The Isley Brothers, and poetic soul by Gil Scott-Heron, Marvin Gaye, The Impressions and many more influential artists and groups.

Soul Collected is available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on yellow (LP2) and orange (LP2) coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

The 1974 debut album Ojinga’s Own and single Basa Bongo/Black Pepper by Guyanese Afro-Folk band The Yoruba Singers has been remastered for vinyl and digital.
The Yoruba Singers formed in Georgetown, Guyana in 1971. Despite their name they were not from Nigeria, but identified strongly with the area from which so many of the African diaspora in Guyana and neighbouring regions were originally descended.

The group started adapting Guyanese traditional folk music as well as writing their own - blending a mixture of protest, social commentary, blues, and genres inspired by the times. Beginning with about 12 people sharing vocal duties, most of the early repertoire was inspired
by folk songs that started life on plantations or in religious settings accompanied by a few sparse musical instruments.


Integral to the Yoruba Singers’ sound are echoes of Obeah traditions which are very closely related to the Santería religion of Cuba and the Orisha and Shango traditions of Trinidad and Tobago. Calypso and steel band culture from nearby Trinidad and Tobago was to some extent part of the musical DNA of the group, but they were naturally also influenced by the massive volume of rocksteady and roots-reggae coming from Jamaica.

These records contain some of the most storied names not just in British, but world music. From a bunch of school friends setting out to be 'the British Jefferson Airplane', over the course of their first quartet of releases, the group metamorphosed into the leading exponents of British folk rock. In the way American folk and blues had looked back to gospel songs and spirituals, Fairport mined a seam a traditional English folk song, and then combined them with rock rhythms to create something ground- breaking and quickly emulated.

For many, this is the first time the considerable talents of Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny, Ashley Hutchings, Ian Matthews, Dave Swarbrick and Dave Mattacks would have been heard on record.

From a bunch of school friends setting out to be 'the British Jefferson Airplane', over the course of their first quartet of releases, the group metamorphosed into the leading exponents of British folk rock. In the way American folk and blues had looked back to gospel songs and spirituals, Fairport mined a seam a traditional English folk song, and then combined them with rock rhythms to create something ground-breaking and quickly emulated.

Die Kopplung „Flower Power – Best Of Love, Peace and Happiness” erinnert an die Zeit von Woodstock, Hippiebewegung und nicht zuletzt an ziemlich gute Musik.
Das Lebensgefühl der damaligen Zeit spiegelt sich in diesen Songs wieder: Freiheit, Liebe, Verbundenheit.
Auf 2LPs bzw. 1CD befinden 24 Songs aus den 60er und frühen 70er-Jahren. Von Künstlern, wie Joe Cocker, Cat Stevens, The Mamas & The Papas, Joan Baez, The Beach Boys, Melanie, The Who und
vielen anderen.
Die 2LP kommt im Gatefold-Cover und in farbigem Vinyl.

Worldwide pressing of 300 copies.

Ursa Major Moving Group, the solo alias of singer and composer Ursula Russell, announces her self-titled debut album, due out June 9th via Faith & Industry Records.

Known for her mesmeric drumming for Snapped Ankles, Alabaster DePlume, Drop Out Venus and Blue House, the album showcases the London-based artist’s stylistic and instrumental virtuosity - she played all instruments herself - on an intense, dynamic and intimate musical journal that shifts between delicate folk, stirring indie rock, flamboyant chamber pop and angular post-punk styles.

Its complex themes reflect a multihued blend of musical styles that recall artists as diverse as The Pixies, Talking Heads, Joni Mitchell, Arthur Russell and Julia Holter. Having built a reputation for her brilliance of musicianship as a band member, Ursa Major Moving Group sees Ursula establishing herself as a solo artist of brilliant, open-hearted originality.

Amongst the album’s many highlights is the driving, emotive opening track, Reverse Invisible, which dives into memories of childhood alienation .The winsome Goodbye George, which finds Ursula’s delicate vocals and acoustic guitars melding with Alabaster DePlume’s Ethio-jazz saxophones, delves back into her childhood.

Ursa Major Moving Group play End of the Road Festival 2023.