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While the ongoing global pandemic means our chances to gather and dance beneath deep blue skies are likely to be limited, there’s never been a greater need for warm, positive and life-affirming music. NuNorthern Soul has decided to do its bit by offering up a brand new 'Summer Selections' sampler that’s packed to the rafters with magical musical treats lifted from some of the label’s most potent forthcoming releases.

The EP begins with something rather special from Canadian producer Igor B: a gentle, sunrise-ready soundscape rich in languid hand percussion, bubbly synthesizer lines and glistening guitars. Entitled 'Deep Breath', the track is just one of the many highlights you’ll find on his forthcoming debut album, “Stranded Seaside”.

There’s a similarly tactile and immersive feel to 'Early Morning Ferry' by George Koutalieris, a Greek producer whose debut album 'Stop, Look, Listen' will be released by NuNorthern Soul later in the year. On his contribution to 'Summer Selections Two', Koutalieris wraps lilting, sun-soaked guitar solos and soft-touch electronics around a chunky groove that doffs a cap to the more laidback end of the 1970s West Coast rock spectrum.

Next up, long-time friend of the family Chris Coco delivers a stunning interpretation of 'Dinum', an overlooked neo-classical/ambient fusion track by Faroe Islands-based producer Kristian Blak’s Yggdrasil project. Coco’s simmering, string-drenched re-imagining is featured here as a teaser of NuNorthern Soul’s reissue of the 2014 track in the autumn, which will also feature a mind-blowing 10-minute rework by Mike Salta – an artist who is also featured on 'Summer Selections Two'.

This time round you’ll find Salta collaborating with Mortale on the starry, EP-ending ambient bliss of 'Bells of Burgibba', a deliciously drowsy mixture of twinkling electric piano motifs, chiming lead lines and woozy pads taken from the forthcoming “Celestial Hike EP”. It paddles in similar sonic waters to label boss Phil Cooper’s stretched-out, slo-mo Balearic dub of new signing Faint Waves’ 'Aphrodesia', a teaser of the artist’s “Islands In Time EP” which can be found elsewhere on 'Summer Selections Two'.

No NuNorthern Soul label sampler would be complete without a contribution from BJ Smith, an artist who has been with the imprint from its earliest days. Smith returns to the imprint with another reminder of his uncanny ability to deliver ear-catching cover versions that re-cast classic cuts as loved-up rays of Balearic sunshine. This time round Smith takes us on a huggable shuffle through Prefab Sprout’s 'All the World Loves Lovers', re-imagining it as a future Balearic anthem and a summer 2020 sing-along. It’s not only a sneak peak of what we can expect from 'Dedication to the Greats Volume 3', his first covers collection for nigh on six years, but also a life-affirming highlight of an EP that oozes musical positivity from start to finish.

Mirae Arts is an independent vinyl label based in northern California with focus on experimental ambient and techno music. Inspired by travel and natural landscapes, Mirae Arts boasts a diverse catalogue of projects from artists such as Seraphim Rytm, Michiru Aoyama, and Katsunori Sawa.

Katsunori Sawa & Anthone (aka Martsman) are Bokeh, the dynamic duo behind some of the most notable releases on Berlin’s Weevil Neighbourhood. Bokeh blends together the distinctive styles of Katsunori Sawa & Anthone, who have releases on labels such as Opal Tapes, SNTS, Hidden Hawaii, and many more under their belts. This year, Bokeh has already released a 12” EP for UVB-76 and Mirae Arts is proud to announce the follow up debut LP release called Lenses Dances.

Lenses Dances comprises 8 tracks that reflect on the photograph effect called bokeh, where aperture settings of the respective camera lens create vivid patterns, almost like dancing dots. It is a dedication to the artists’ love for photography. The music is complemented by Paul Nicholson’s signature graphic designs.

Artwork design by Paul Nicholson, UK graphic designer who created the famous Aphex Twin logo and The Laughing Man logo for the cult-classic anime, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Paul has since designed logos and artworks for numerous artists and organizations.

Mastering and lacquer completed by Kassian Troyer at the legendary Dubplates & Mastering.

White Blue Splatter Vinyl

Two choice club ready extended versions taken from Life and Death label boss DJ Tennis and Red Axes new collaborative debut album project Redrago.

Presenting Shirley Scott’s deeply personal album, ‘One for Me’ - a defiant tribute to the music she always desired to create but was shrouded by the demands of her vibrant career. Thoughtful curation of the band, tracks, and completely self-funded, this project set off on an innovative trajectory supported by Harold Vick on tenor saxophone and Billy Higgins on drums. Originally released on the revolutionary artist-owned label, Strata-East Records, in January 1975, this unique project will be available to enjoy again on Arc Records from 15th May 2020.

The impetus for this record was a real desire for Shirley to express herself more freely and create something for herself, taking back the power she’d seemingly relinquished throughout her career. Maxine Gordon, Scott’s close friend, and executive producer on the original record, expresses thatthey often had intimate discussions about how Scott was being told what to play, what to wear, how to look and how to speak in public for many years. Having had enough of these restrictions, she created this record to please no one but herself.

As Scott expresses on the back of the original LP sleeve:

“All of the music recorded in this album is both personal and very purposeful to me, because it is the first step toward honesty about what and how I want to play. I’ve done a lot of other albums, a lot of different ways for a lot ofdifferent people and now, with the help of the Creator, in whom all things are possible, I have done one for me too.”

Having self-raised funds to make the record, with complete control over the masters, and with her dream band together, Scott recorded at Blue Rock Studio in November 1974. Harold Vick, often referred to as one of the “unsung tenor saxophonists” of his time, was cherry picked to bring Scott’s vision to life. Throughout his career, he released records on Blue Note, RCA as well as performing and recording with a string of legendary artists such as Ray Charles, and Aretha Franklin. Completing the dream trio was highly sought out drummer Billy Higgins, who is the most recorded drummer in the history of Blue Note Records, having played on 45 Blue Note albums. The key to their success was that Higgins tuned his drums to fit with the organ’s bass sound which, of course, Scott played with her feet.

Scott was also known as “Little Miss Half-Steps,” a name given to her by tenor saxophonist George Coleman, (who wrote a composition by that name in her honor) - she regularly played with both George & Harold. Coleman is known to have admired Scott’s half-steps (when you play two adjacent keys on the organ or piano) and their close bond and mutual respect is solidified on this record through a track titled ‘Big George’ - specifically written for Coleman.

“Queen of the Organ”, Shirley Scott was born in Philadelphia in 1934 and lived there most of her life until her early death in March 2002 at the age of 67. Having mastered the piano at an early age, Scott switched from piano to organ at the tender age of 21. Scott had a legendary recording career as a leaderwith 45 albums mainly released on Impulse and Prestige and is often remembered for her work with Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis and Stanley Turrentine.Boasting a thriving career as a musician and composer, Scott progressed to a professor at Cheyney University in her later years. She was a treasured mother and grandmother, and a cherished friend of music scholar, Maxine Gordon, who’s honour it is to collaborate with Arc Records on shining a new bright light on this monumental body of work.

blue & purple mixed vinyl

Mike Redman's Deformer project has achieved cult status throughout the years. Known for its extreme, horror infused electronic music and surprising collaborations with groundbreaking musicians, visual artists and film studios, Deformer keeps reinventing its sound while keeping its signature aesthetics. Consistent in being outrageous... with the new record "Inner-Outcast" musical boundaries are being crushed, again with a little help from some heavyweight invitees. On four of six tracks Deformer's fierce breakbeats enter into a deadly duel with the live drums of legendary ex-Suffocation drummer and blastbeat pioneer Mike Smith. Vernon Reid of Living Colour lays down some menacing guitar solos, Body Count's Ice-T provides some threatening words and many more legends are making "Inner-Outcast" an original, intense and above all, an unpolished release. A special appearance is made by iconic Hollywood actor Tony Todd, providing a haunting vocal performance as horror villain Candyman. Oh, and the cherry on top is definitely the amazing cover art by visual artist Ed Repka, known for his classic artwork for legendary bands like Death and Megadeth. With "Inner-Outcast", music journalists may have to come up with a new term for yet another genre, because Deformer's ever evolving sound is more unorthodox than ever...

LP SKY BLUE VINYL/LOSER-EDITION

Vinyl includes mp3 coupon. Shabazz Palaces' Black Up, the group's Sub Pop debut, was recently hailed as one of the best albums of the decade by outlets like Pitchfork, Gorilla Vs Bear, and Variety. Pitchfork summed it up thusly: "Black Up is drowned in murky instrumentals and bombastic, introspective rhymes. The sounds flirt with jazz but also root themselves in a firm understanding of silence, or the sparse magic of simplicity. The songs teem with unexpected climaxes...From great mystery exploded an album of impossible vision." That "impossible vision" has continued to confound and engage Shabazz Palaces fans over the course of four acclaimed albums and two EPs. Each release feels like an evolution, letting the music speak for itself, while slowly revealing more about its creator. With The Don of Diamond Dreams, the group's fifth album, that spirit remains, this time embracing modernism in hip-hop and rap. Featuring 10 tracks in 43 minutes, the album features the highlights "Fast Learner (ft. Purple Tape Nate)," "Chocolate Souffle," "Bad Bitch Walking (ft. Stas THEE Boss), and "Thanking The Girls." It also features contributions from singer/keyboardist Darrius Willrich, Seattle's OCnotes (who collaborated with Shabazz leader Ishmael Butler on the Knife Knights project), Los Angeles musician Carlos Overall, and bassist Evan Flory-Barnes. The Don of Diamond Dreams was recorded throughout 2019 and produced by Shabazz Palaces at Protect and Exalt: A Black Space in Seattle, mixed and engineered by Erik Blood at Studio 4 Labs in Venice, California, and mastered by Scott Sedillo at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Los Angeles.

Bastard Jazz is proud to present the sophmore solo album by one of the gems of the New Zealand underground soul scene, Isaac Aesili. Woven through electronic soul, with threads of jazz, funk, R&B and house music, Isaac's 'Hidden Truths' is the stylistic unification of all his previous projects (Karl Marx, Funkommunity, Sorceress) into a dazzling and diverse body of work. Three years in the making, its depth is clear from the first listen, and is peppered with some of New Zealand's finest soul and jazz musical talent, including two stunning female feature vocalists from New Zealand; Ladi6 and Rachel Fraser.

The album opens with an ominous instrumental 'Mirror' setting a dark a tone for the album the start, shimmering with shades of Dilla swing snapping over metallic chords and a graceful trumpet solo that enters midway through. Wild feat. Ladi6' is a heavy downbeat future soul joint with stratospheric synths layered over driving beats that build alongside the elegant vocal weavings of New Zealand's first lady of soul, Ladi6, while 'Player' sees Isaac's unique vocals tell a tale of dangerous seduction within a synth funk-driven dancehall cum house music that feels like the Gap Band on a tropical vacation. 'Jungles' is a deep, native and ocean-like soundscape that begins with syncopated synths and beats that collide dramatically into a frantic, sweeping synth outro, followed up by'Realms' , an intricately crafted song that has sonic elements from techno-house that are other-worldly accompanied by live drums that flip after the breakdown into a swinging conclusion of the album's first half.

'Run Every Way' is an epic percussion-driven electronic blues that begins with a vocal chorus from Isaac that could just as easily be interpreted lyrically as a warning about climate change as it could an expression of the inner-self, while "Refugee" is also a heavily percussion orientated joint that fuses romantic classical strings with otherworldly synth stabs and Isaac's haunting vocals moving climactically into a tender coda conclusion. "Rain Gods" feat. Rachel Fraser is a heavenly pathway into Rachel's luxurious vocals with clever lyrics merging the soaring synths and looped bassline into a short yet memorable chorus'and 'Steps' is classic Isaac Aesili production including deep Rhodes chord changes, a knocking beat with layers of percussion, synths and horns providing a warm emotive accompaniment to Isaac's vocals. 'Last Minute' is a simple yet sophisticated jewel of space and time that concludes the vocal tracks of the album in a proper soulful style, and 'Maureen' rounds out the album as an expressive instrumental outrolude that features Isaac's trumpet.

Isaac Aesili is an Internationally acclaimed solo artist and the producer and creative force behind Funkommunity, Sorceress and Karlmarx. Isaac's original productions have been supported internationally by DJs such as Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio 6 Music), Benji B (BBC 1), and Lefto (Belgium, Worldwide FM). His trumpet playing features on many collaborations including 'Layer' by Julien Dyne (Wonderful Noise/BBE) and 'Midnight in Peckham' by Chaos in the CBD (Rhythm Section). A world-renowned musician on both trumpet and percussion, Isaac is a member of the Lord Echo band. His music fuses Soul, Funk, Jazz, Afro and Latin styles with R&B, Hip Hop and Electronic music. Isaac's much anticipated sophomore solo album "Hidden Truths" is out on Bastard Jazz (NYC) in 2020.

With the original UK 7” of this release now as rare as hen’s teeth, and with the group having recently ‘reformed’ for one last album together, the Mr Bongo replica re-release of this 1990 masterpiece by Gang Starr couldn’t be more timely.

The now-legendary duo of DJ Premier and Guru dropped this at the height of hip-hop’s sampling of jazz, which had led to a creative leap forward for the genre. Yet while others plundered in the dark, this instant classic wore its influences on its sleeve and paid verbal homage to the musicians they were sampling. The “melodious funk” of “Thelonious Monk” gets namechecked, while the track samples two of his records, including 1958’s Bop gem ‘Light Blue’.

While both versions presented here have common elements, the ‘Movie Mix’ – so-named for the song’s appearance on the soundtrack to Spike Lee’s mythic jazz biopic ‘Mo’ Better Blues’ – goes in a few different directions to the ‘Video Mix’. Rather than just drop in an instrumental for the B-side, DJ Premier instead shows his versatility by switching up the base track (Kool & The Gang’s 1971 ‘Dujii’) and layering in other samples. In more ways than one, his virtuosity here echoes the improvisation of a jazz musician, akin to Denzel Washington’s Bleak in the movie.

Of course, he’s not the only show in town. The late Guru’s voice is as mellifluous as an instrument itself here, his potted history of the genre and the artists of jazz delivered with his own unmistakable cadence. Without this record, would he have gone on to make his ‘Jazzmatazz’ projects.

Following a successful EP in 2019, featuring remixes from Osunla
& Pocz, Olindo Records are proud to present “Wono”, the debut collaborative album from Koichi Sak& Afla Sackey.

The album is a deep exploration of Koichi's love of both electronic and West African music, in close collaboration with Ghana-born master percussionist, singer, band leader, teacher and songwriter, Afla Sackey.

Featuring 7 tracks ranging from the meditative “Yamb”, which features master kora player Kadialy Kouyate, to the acid infused, slow house workout of “Niege”. Passing through a contemporary highlife take on advance single “Suolo” and an album version of the previously released “Jingo”.

Koichi Sakai is a London-based producer and DJ, a well-known head in London music circles thanks to his role in co-founding the legendary Afrobeat Vibration nights alongside Dele Sosimi. He has previously recorded and released music with Kay Suzuki as Afrobuddha, and they recorded a set together for Boiler Room.

Afla Sackey is leader of 10-piece afro funk and highlife orchestra, Afrik Bawantu, and the man who the likes of Kokoroko call when they need some extra power on the percussion or a singer to lead their Church of Sound tribute to Ebo Taylor.

Koichi Sakai & Afla Sackey’s first collaborative project on Olindo Records, the “Wono” EP released late last year, received widespread support, particular from Gilles Peterson on BBC Radio 6 Music, Defected Radio, Mafalda, Hector Plimmer & Zakia (NTS), Tony Minvielle (Jazz FM), Tim Garcia (Música Macondo/Jazz FM), Music is my Sanctuary, TwistedSoul, Mari* & Papaoul (Worldwide FM), Alan McKinnon and DJ Harv.

We still have copies of Koichi Sakai’s Wono ep OR004 and Betsayda Machado LP ORLP003 should you like more.

'A product of living in an age where texture can make you dance, and popular music innovates for an audience with ears wide open' NPR
Nearly two years have passed since Niklas Paschburg presented his critically acclaimed debut album 'Oceanic' in February 2018. Niklas' musical ideas have crystalized and become cogent through a combination of extensive live performance - playing over 100 shows in the last two years - and experimentation in his Berlin Studio.
Written between 2018 - 19, his second album 'Svalbard' will be released in February 2020 via 7K!.
Niklas' use of the piano; electronics (synth and computer) and his Grandfather's piano accordion allow him to communicate via a number of musical traditions and languages. This versatility has allowed him to work on a variety of projects ranging from an inspired reinterpretation of Bach's Preludes in C Minor ("Blooming"), to well received remixes for pop artists such as RY X and Asgeir.

Riding high on the success of his recent Soul Flip project, Del Gazeebo busts loose here with a pair of Rootsy, rigorously road-tested, certified party starters on his own brand new Art Surgery imprint.

First for a 2020 freshen-up is Barbara & The Browns' sassy, soulful rendition of the Rhythm & Blues and Reggae classic, "You Don't Love Me" - taking the already energetic 1971 recording, stretching it out, and giving it a little something extra in all the right places. Already touted as "one to watch in 2020" on the BBC's Craig Charles Funk & Soul Show & getting support from The Allergies, Smoove & Jalapeno Sound System.

On the flip, Pluto Shervington's 1976 uplifting Reggae smash "Dat" gets a subtle yet crucial lift to make it even more infectious. This sunny, irresistible ear-worm has long been a staple of Del's DJ sets, yet somehow as yet unreleased. Until now; re-refreshed for 2020.

First Word Records is incredibly proud to present 'Starts Again', the debut album from Tawiah.

The latest signing to the Worldwide Award-winning indie label, Tawiah is somewhat of a trailblazer in the world of alt-soul. Despite this being her debut album, she's long-established in the UK music scene, having previously self-released two EPs and a mixtape, as well as high-profile collaborations with Cinematic Orchestra, Blood Orange, Mark Ronson, Kindness, Cee-Lo, Wiley, Zed Bias and Eric Lau. Additionally being championed by the likes of Zane Lowe, Gilles Peterson and The Guardian, and supporting Moses Sumney on his recent EU tour, it's finally time to unleash a full solo project into the world.

'Starts Again' is an exploration of her identity as a queer woman of colour, raised in a pentecostal family, and a determination to express her musicianship in all its raw glory, free of the constraints of major label wrangles from before.

Co-produced with Sam Beste (Hejira), the album also features vocals from Sharlene Hector, Vula Malinga, Ladonna Young, Ade Omotayo and Rahel Debebe-Dessalegne, as well as glorious string arrangements composed by Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, with a series of field recordings from Ghana, amongst the varied components.

In Tawiah's words; "the process of creating this record independently has taken years!! From self-produced demos to live recording sessions with my good friends; Blue May, Sam Beste, Alex Reeve, Alex Bonfanti, Nathan Allen and Lewis Wright. Sam and I then had two years of long joyful studio sessions working on the post production. With no external deadlines or briefs we had the freedom to create whatever came. It was a privilege to collaborate in this way".

A triumphant 10-piece opus, the music seamlessly blends avant-garde sensibilities with low-slung beats and layered harmonies. The vestiges of Tawiah's early church vocal training contrast subtly against a distinctive South London accent, which has helped place her firmly at the vanguard of the British alternative soul movement, and establish a rep as one of the country's most exciting live performers. Time Out even saying "she slays so hard, you better hope there's a doctor in the house".

With a series of immersive live shows being planned in collaboration with spatial artist, Studio Myrrh, the latter half of 2019 headed into 2020 is looking to be a busy time for Tawiah. A decade on from her debut EP, 'Starts Again' is a creative reset of-sorts, though she is already highly revered within the music industry. A unique talent, this debut album should rightly cement her status as one of the UK's finest recording artists and songwriters.

Molecular Meditation is a bespoke light and sound environment featuring the voice of the Fall's Mark E Smith. Smith is heard making observations on mundane objects, events and a range of meditation techniques basically associating his discontent with an apolitical british upper class. His voice forms the narrative component of an electroacoustic composition by Jan St. Werner placed in a hyper-real scenario evoking a state of transformation and deceleration.

Molecular Meditation premiered at Cornerhouse, Manchester in 2014. This album presents a re-edited and remastered stereo version of the original multi-channel piece. Voice and guitar feedback were recorded at Blueprint Studios Manchester, electronics in Werner's St.udio in Berlin. The B-side consists of unreleased new work partly written around the same time as Molocular Meditation in context of Werner's Fiepblatter Catalogue on Thrill Jockey. Back to Animals is a non-metric rhythmic exercise frantically hybridizing percussive accents with synthesized pulse.

On the Infinite of Universe and Worlds is an electronic opera based on Giordano Bruno's Renaissance writings which Werner was asked to conceptionalize for new music festival Music Nova in Finland. VS Canceled finds Mark E. Smith reading an email from Domino Records explaining their discontinuation of the Von Sudenfed project a band Mark E. Smith had founded with Mouse on Mars' Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma in 2006. Their debut album Tromatic Reflexxions came on Domino out in 2007. The vinyl record, cut with a diamond needle, provides as much acoustic depth as the digital version.

- non-gatefold sleeve without 7"

Rush Hour announces their second artist compilation Patchwork, curated by one of the label’s most loved family members, Sassy J. The Swiss DJ is the very embodiment of passion and long-standing dedication to the craft of the DJing, but also to the community surrounding the music that she lives and breathes. For the past fourteen years Sassy J has run the Patchwork night in her native Bern and in London, with guests ranging from Theo Parrish and Little Dragon to Floating Points and MF Doom invited to share their respective musical visions. Her collaborative approach stands out in a DJ world that is too often weighted in favour of promoting the individual. This compilation grows out that unique sensitivity, foregrounding a theory of curation that centres on long-term bonds, articulated through Sassy J’s personal relationships with the contributing artists.

Patchwork speaks to the grass roots values that Sassy J espouses, showcasing music by many of the artists that have joined her throughout the years in clubs, on the radio, and at home. It is an expression of Sassy J’s individual musical path that casts its gaze firmly in the future: Patchwork is made up almost entirely of new and unreleased songs that are exclusive to this collection. Patchwork captures a sound that has continued to evolve in its restless search for new musical directions. Across thirteen tracks we find forward thinking electronic music rubbing elbows with cosmic jazz and deep percussion workouts from Brazil and beyond.

There are irresistible calls to the dancefloor: 2000 Black’s UK boogie and the syncopated rhythms of WaH-chU-kU nod to the West London sound, whilst the early rave of Nu Era and Aardvarck’s sub-rattling techno channel the grittier edges of the club experience. We find machine music imbued with humanity in Larry Heard’s deep house classic “Survivor” and in Ron Trent’s WARM project, whose gentle breeze points to a different side of the legendary producer. Patchwork also opens a more immersive listening space in which the radical indie soul of Georgia Anne Muldrow, the ambient spiritual jazz of bandleader Carlos Niño & Friends, and the lament for the Amazon rainforest by Azymuth’s drummer Ivan Conti can channel the overall spirit of group interplay and solidarity. Patchwork also includes Sassy J’s collaboration with veteran producer Alex Attias, marking her own place in a universe that is held together by her singular thread.

"This is the compilation of the year!" - DJ Spinna

Since nearly a decade now, Italian born artist Antonio Marini is going through a sonic adventure known as Healing Force Project. Discreetly building up his musical blueprint, he slowly reached a cult status
as a visionary who is blending electronic music with free-jazz in an atypical, anarchic, spontaneous and original way. On „Sideral Escape“ the artist shows himself in his different facets ranging from ambient to jazz to techno.

A chance meeting in a New York club led to the conception of Mowgan’s debut album, in collaboration with renowned African Benin-born Nigeria raised singer and multi-instrumentalist, Kaleta (Leon Ligan-Majek) an ex Fela Kuti, Sunny Ade, Lauryn Hill cohort who also fronted Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble and presently heads up a 70s style afro funk band called Super Yamba based in NYC.

The Frenchman was working at Lina Frey when he overheard a Beninese salsa singer called Laurent Hounsavi channeling Afro-centric vibes through his performance. He approached the singer and was put in touch with Kaleta, who lives in the Big Apple, too. What happened next was pure magic, as the two men got to work in the studio to bring their two worlds together.

It’s the kind of mystical alchemy that only happens once in a blue moon; Kaleta was given carte blanche over Mowgan’s extensive collection of Africa-inspired electronic instrumentals.

He selected his favourites and performed on each one, delivering an original vocal, and his own guitar licks, over the top. To stir up even more electrifying vibes, Kaleta also invited several of his talented friends to join the recordings sessions - they included vocalists Shade Myers Emmanuel, Justin Masters and Gbenga Wise, Freddie Deboe on sax, Mic Dada assisting Mowgan on synth pads and Takuya Kuroda, the infamous Japanese trumpet player from Kobe who specialises in neo-soul, hip hop and electronica.

The result is ‘Karoussel’, a vibrant, dynamic, soul-enriching hybrid between electronica and deep African musicality that sets the standard for contemporary collaborations between western and African artists, and the first in a series of album projects from Mowgan on his fledgling label Mow Records...

Sound is a potent force that can awaken your purpose and re-balance your spirit. It has the power to relax, as well as inspire you, through the positive therapy of sound vibrations. Elemental Resonance is a trailblazing meditation album where vibrational sound practitioner, Tracie Storey, combines the energy waves made by music, with positive words of love and harmony to produce inner peace, deep relaxation and a higher spiritual connection.

Storey explains “The idea for this album came to me 2 years ago when I was living in Montreal, Canada. I’d been learning to form shapes, textures and colour with sound and going deep within the architecture of my own inner space. These powerful compositions have really helped me on my journey. Creating transformative tools are now part of my life’s work, using the medium of vibrational sound which transcends all boundaries”.

Storey guides you through a series of mindful meditations - each connected to the seven energy chakras - and each supported by sound vibrations, colours to visualise, and positive affirmations to re-balance your entire being and bring you waves of calmness, strength, warmth and joy.

Released on Celestial Being, label boss Felix Buxton (Basement Jaxx), says “I’m thrilled to support this project, everywhere I look people are discovering more about Vibration and how it affects them.
Tracie is leading the way forward for new generations, uncovering more of our potential as humans. This is a great way to switch off the world and switch on to your deeper self.”

Storey has been active as a vibrational sound practitioner, for the past 5 years. Previous to six years training under Master Fabien Maman, who’s one of the world's leading experts on vibrational sound therapy, founder of the Tama-Do Academy.
She also travelled the globe as a DJ on the international dance scene (releasing on Ministry of Sound and producing mixes for the likes of Kiss FM).

Bluematter is an atmospheric, darkside jungle project. The duo, a.k.a. long time electronic producers Jozef K & Thomas Ragsdale, also experiment with incorporating sci-fi and futurist elements into their soundscape.

Skyf Connection (pronounced skAyf) was a short lived project by long time friends Anthony Mthembu and Enoch Nondala. At the time they were working for Annic Music, an independent label run by married couple Anne and Nic Blignaut. Although the label was known mostly for Zulu, Sotho, Tsonga and other traditional styles, they had a few Disco releases on the label including groups like Keith Hutchinson’s Focus and Enoch’s discovery Lena, who went on to have huge success under the name Ebony a few years later.

In 1984, when an artist didn’t show up for a booked session they decided to make use of the studio time and began working on a demo. At the time Anthony and Enoch had been playing for a year at a new club called Gamsho, located on a farm on the outskirts of Kliptown Soweto. Along with Blackie Sibisi, Sepate Mokoena and Elijah “chippa” Khumalo they made up the resident house band. Due to cultural boycotts and American artists refusing to perform in the country, locals took it upon themselves to fill the market with the American sound the crowds demanded. The demo they recorded at Blue Tree Studios was going to be their product they could use to promote their brand of the American sound. They then took the demo to Universal Studios where their friend and trusted engineer Jan “fast fingers” Smit was working. It would be here that they would polish their demo into something they could take to their bosses and have pressed. Equipped with a DX 7, Linn Drum and some Juno synthesizers they were on their way. Jan lived up to his name and programmed the drums, it is rumoured he could program in almost real time, a skill that translated to the local arcade where he held high scores on many machines. Enoch would be singing and playing guitar while Anthony would do all the Bass and Keyboards. The result was 4 funky party anthems with synth work like no other recording at the time. Their take on what they believed the crowd would want to hear at the beloved club they called home.

From start to finish the 4 tracks portray what would have been a standard night at the Gamshu. Although the club would open earlier and the standard hours of most clubs was 6 to 6 , the band would start playing at 10pm. With their standard set time and Anthony and Enoch unique view on what a Disco should be, they chose the motto Ten to Ten as the album title because those were the hours when they were the stars and Disco ruled the dance floor. To get to the club was a bit difficult, you needed to drive along an empty road where thieves waited for any patrons trying their luck walking after dark. Since there was no transport during the night, the safest way to get home was to wait till the next morning to walk home. Even though in the summer months of Johannesburg light begins to peek in just after 4am, crowds refused to leave and stayed enjoying good music and company until 10am. The lead off track “Let’s Freak Together” has powerful lyrics encouraging people to let go of their worries, put aside any differences and let the music bring everyone to freak and dance together. The whole album is about the joy we can all feel when we share the same moments and how music can bring people together in a unique way, a philosophy shared with the original nightclubs of 70s New York. This approach to music is where the name Skyf Connection comes from, translating from slang to mean the connection we create through sharing, in this case Music and good times.

Skyf Connection would go on to play at Gamsho till the club’s closure in 1986. In those years their popularity lead to being booked for private events like weddings and birthday parties, as well as gigs in some other venues like Mofolo Hall. They would share the stage with many artists through the years learning artist’s songs and providing support as a backing band. After the club closed Anthony would go on to join the house band at The Pelican, another famous club located in Orlando East, as well as dabbling with songwriting for artists like Phumi Maduna and helping Enoch on many projects through the years. Enoch would ditch live music altogether and immerse himself in studio work, starting full time as a house producer and A&R for the recently formed Ream Music. He would go on to produce hit albums for pop artists like Percy Kay and Makwerhu but made his mark discovering countless artists that would become stars in the traditional market. They would remain friends until Anthony’s passing in 2016 and although Anthony is no longer with us his spirit lives in the grooves he left on this one of a kind record. His wife Vinolia will be accepting his portion of the profits on his behalf.

Contagious is a solid blending of avant-garde experimentation and electronic music. Formed by two innovative voices from the Improvisation scene of Berlin (Andrea Neumann and Sabine Ercklentz) and Mieko Suzuki, a well-crafted and creative DJ and musician who’s operating in Berlin venues and festivals since a long time.

Contagious is one of the most forward thinking, mind-melting projects to hit the electronic music scene. Intense and powerful, yet rooted in a tradition of crafting and sculpturing of in the most creative ways, all this building up within a solid structure of instant composition and improvisation. The trio plunder each other’s musical spheres, appropriate them and switch roles. Andrea Neumann on her infamous Inside Piano, an instrument she pioneered and crafted, is applying the most creative feedback processing to simple piano strings and sending them occasionally to Mieko Suzuki’s processing rig, who also uses her own pre-recorded sounds and her skills on turntables, while Sabine Ercklentz’s trumpet sounds blast through her processing system and altogether the three musicians communicate into logics of composition and futuristic structures, where fragile sound textures and pulses become monumental.

Contagious is also the debut album recorded and produced by Rabih Beaini. The Trio wanders in new aesthetic areas, sound is a texture where the processing rigs are constantly developing new forms and evolutions. Structures and grooves implode in noisy fragments, growing into a deep trance state.

All Music Written & Recorded by David Drucker at The Skinny Apartment in Ridgewood, Queens, 2017
Featuring Mike Green (Mezzanine Swimmers) on guitars on "I Took Too Much Acid in 7th Grade," Cop Funeral on
electronics on "Seafood Special," Chris “Mr Transylvania” Shields on background vocals on "Massachusetts Is a Magical
Place," Eva “Nighttime” Goodman on violin & backing vocals on "The Ridgewood Ripper"
Painted Faces is the long (strange/trip) running voyage of weirdo David Drucker, began in Florida in 2009 and decamped
to NYC in 2011. It has sometimes been a loose band in the past with a revolving lineup of outsiders and interlopers
(known as The Freak Band), but is usually a solo endeavor, and the bulk of the recordings have been done as such. PF
has always been a home recording solo project, one-man-band style heavy on psychOdelic/outsider
folk/noise/experimental vibes. He started self releasing CD-Rs in the early days and quickly jumped to tapes on a variety
of labels including Already Dead, Lava Church, J&C, Null Zone, Tall Tapes. A "legendary" CD compilation on Gulcher
Records and an LP from Already Dead and Almost Halloween Time in Italy brings us to the here and now. Tales from the
Skinny Apartment is somewhere around the 20th or so Painted Faces release...he has long lost count.
Drucker runs/curates gigs (and records at) the Skinny Apartment, his dwelling place in Ridgewood Queens,
which some folks have called the "realest DIY zone in NYC." He also rips in Dead River Company, Big Hiatus, Shecky,
Canyon River Blues and countless other unknown subterranean improv zoner outfits. "Ripping" involves keeping it
freaky and weird and ripping sets wherever/whenever, i.e. always being down to perform whether in a kitchen or a
packed ballroom....no diva bullshit, just plugging in (or going sans electricity) and playing...always giving it your
all...Ridgewood Rippers are the crew of artists that populate Ridgewood and the loose "scene" around the Skinny
Apartment...much of it is in jest, a self-inflated mythology of nonsense which is pervasive in all rock and roll "scene"
histories. As a student of rock/pop history, Drucker is fascinated by the loose associations that connect folks from
various zones together...i.e. Miles Davis and The Grateful Dead...it's all the same though, the labels and genre
distinctions are completely arbitrary. We're all in this together, now more than ever...to be a "ripper" is simply to
"rip"...no nonsense!
Painted Faces has toured all over the USA and Canada numerous times, spreading the ripper gospels, and is
gearing up for their second European tour. He is known for falling apart on "stage," with performances heavy on humor,
horror, stoned digressions, and cathartic bouts of therapy, part performance art/part standup comedy, eradicating the
lines between performer, performance, and audience one show at a time

Industrial techno doom jazz meets Touareg percussion and mantric chanting

Soundway presents the unique results of a one-off 2018 meeting in Marrakech between Belgrade-based tribal/ techno/industrial outfit Tapan and the nomadic Touareg electrified desert-blues group Generation Taragalte.

Tapan is not an ordinary “techno” project, rather it escapes easy categorization. It is the Belgradebased production duo of 20/44 club resident Nebojša Bogdanović (Schwabe), and Goran Simonoski, a producer behind music projects such as Belgradeyard Sound System, Piece of Shh and more. Both have been active in the Belgrade music and nightlife scenes since the 1990s, and since 2015 have brought together their diverse musical experience under the collaborative moniker of Tapan.

While performing at the Atlas Electronic festival in Morocco in 2018, they encountered Generation Taragalte of southern Morocco, and recorded the initial music for the Atlas EP in an improvised studio on the festival grounds, followed by final production on returning to Belgrade. The result was the 4-track EP “Atlas”, a dark, desolate and potent collision of the electronic drone-jazz of Belgrade and the windswept, desiccated psych-guitar riffs of the Moroccan Sahara.

2024 Repress
ODD OKODDO is a Kenyan/German duo consisting of Olith Ratego and Sven Kacirek.

The two artists met in Kenya, about a decade ago, when Sven Kacirek was recording his "Kenya Sessions", an album that put Kacirek on the map of outernational producers. It was reviewed as a "World Music 2.0" (de:bug magazine), whose "fascination endures" (The Wire). Olith Ratego also made an appearance on the "Kenya Sessions”, on the track "Too Good To Be True".

The duo formed the project ODD OKODDO in 2018, with the two musicians joining their various talents which dovetail in perfection. Ratego writes the lyrics and vocal melodies while Kacirek composes, records and produces the arrangements of all nine songs on AUMA. They create a colourful, dynamic sound which is defined by both Ratego’s enormous vocal compass and range of timbres as well as Kacirek’s outstanding skills as a sensitive percussionist.

Olith Ratego sings in a musical style called "dodo", which originates from the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, high in pitch and soulfully expressive. He refers to his music as "dodo blues". His lyrics touch upon the topics of politics, family and of course: love. As a skilled luthier, Ratego builds his instruments himself, like the five-stringed Okodo which lends its name to the project.

Sven Kacirek is a multi-instrumentalist who has been commuting between Germany and Kenya for many years now. In the past he has closely collaborated with various international musicians, among them Nils Frahm and Shabaka Hutchings. Kacirek’s sound builds upon a powerful bass marimba which is present throughout the album. It sometimes invokes the sound of a tuned 808 kick-drum. He works with Kenyan an arsenal of percussion instruments as well as household objects and found materials. Kacirek has now settled into a signature sound which has been described as "thrilling and dizzyingly inventive" by the Australian Cyclic Defrost magazine.

The LP comes with a printed inner sleeve with liner notes by Tabu Osusa from the Nairobi based label Ketebul as well as explanations about the song lyrics.

Over the years Kid Loco has become a reference in the French electronic music landscape. Firstly, known for being an activist in the French underground music scene, he cofounded Bondage Records in 1982. With Bondage Records, he introduced several bands to the French alternative music scene like Bérurier Noir, Ludwig Von 88 or Washington Dead Cats. Alongside his activity of label manager, he composed and released under the name of Kid Bravo, an experimental music at the crossroads of rock and electronic. Astonished by the beginnings of the instrumental hip-hop of DJ Shadows, Jean-Yves Prieur aka Kid Loco experimented new ways of composing music with the sample technic in his own studio near Orly. This new musical adventure led to the birth of a mini album Blues Project released in 1996 on Yellow Productions.

Exploring further his own psychedelic universe, he released his first album A Grand Love Story in 1997 under the name of Kid Loco. Acclaimed both by the French and international music review, “A Grand Love Story” established itself as an iconic album of the trip-hop and electronic music scene. During the two years following its release, Kid Loco continued to invent his own musical universe nurtured by multiples influences. In 1999, he released Jesus Life For Children Under 12 Inches, an album featuring thirty remixes he composed for French and international artists (Pulp, Talvin Singh etc.) as well as his mixed compilation for the famous DJ KICKS collection released on the German electronic music label, !K7.

After a first European tour, Kid Loco returned to his studio, nicknamed “The Lafayette Velvet Basement” and composed his second album Kill Your Darlings released in 2001. Compared to his previous compositions, Kill Your Darlings features more tracks without sampled vocals. Eager to explore new musical horizons, Kid Loco produced in 2004 the original soundtrack of the American movie The Graffiti Artist directed by James Bolton (Narrative Feature Sound Award – Austin Film Festival 2003). Cruising to new musical galaxies, Kid Loco continued to compose and released the album Party Animals & Disco Biscuits in 2009 followed in 2011 by the album Confessions Of A Belladonna Eater. In addition of his albums, Kid Loco continued to experiment with the production of compilations celebrating the trip-hop music with “Trip-Hop Classics” released in 2010 followed by a second opus released in 2013 on Wagram Music.

2019 marks the return of Kid Loco with his track Here Comes The Munchies selected in the original soundtrack of the show Vernon Subutex (Canal +), the vinyl reedition of his cult album A Grand Love Story and for the first time the digital release of the album Confessions Of A Belladonna Eater with exclusive remixes.

If Not Now When is the first release by Tizzy on Slivers. Created over 12 months in the Deep Blue Studios of Vancouver, Canada, the backbone of the 808 takes the listener on a journey through past and present. The purposefully short tracks on ‚If Not Now When' invoke the history of artists such as J Dilla, Madlib, and Prefuse 73 in its journey.

Tizzy has quietly been behind the scenes of releases and performances for a number of artists on Hybridity Records, the New Forms Festival, and a number of other projects over the past 20 years. Tizzy has performed and presented in festivals such as MUTEK, Transmediale, ISEA, the FCMM, the New Museum and Next Wave under a number of different monikers.

Official remastered limited edition of Cellophane project from 1984 produced by Alessandro Novaga, one of THE major influences on Chicago House Music with his trio of releases -Drums-, -Electronic Drums- and -Faces Drums-, all essentially EPs of tough electronic bonus beats, creating the blueprint for many early Windy City productions. He was also behind other such hugely influential cuts as Stopps -Im Hungry- and -Ali Shuffle- by Camaros Gang. Here on his Cellophane album, which came after the huge -Gimme Love- single, we get what I guess you could describe as his magnum opus. The album consists of just two long tracks (or suites perhaps?) that take the listener of on an epic psychedelic italo /space disco trip like no other. Heavy use of synths and drum machines expecially on the part 3 !

FILE UNDER: jazz, modal jazz, spiritual jazz
- 2xLP gatefold- 180g pressing- free download card

With 20 years passing since his first foray into recorded jazz, Nat Birchall now ranks as one of the premier saxophonists of his generation. With several highly acclaimed albums in the locker, he now returns with his most ambitious project yet – a tribute to the legend that is Yusef Lateef.

"The Storyteller - A Musical Tribute to Yusef Lateef"

"When Jazzman Gerald first mentioned to me the idea of doing an album as a tribute to the jazz giant Dr Yusef A. Lateef, my first thought was "Where on earth do I start?" Lateef was such a colossus of music, and his scope so broad, that I couldn't hope to begin to cover his musical universe. He was a master of the tenor saxophone, a master of the flute, a master ballad player, a master blues player. Not to mention his skills as a composer and arranger and of course his exploration and use of musical methodology and instruments from all over the world."

"I've always been a great admirer of Lateef, and the challenge was intriguing, so I decided to give it go. We interpreted some of his own compositions (Brother John, Morning & Ching Miau) as well as some compositions by others that he made his own by careful arrangement and interpretation (Love Theme from Spartacus, Ringo Oiwake). I also wrote some original songs that, while certainly not written in his style, might be said to fall into his very broad approach to music making."

"I also wanted to utilise as many different instruments as possible, something I hadn't explored too much until this album. So it was a nice opportunity to finally get around to playing some of the many small instruments I've collected over the years; the Turkish zurna, the mbira from Zimbabwe, the balaphon from Mali and the arghul from Egypt. We have also tried to use varied time signatures in the music, so we have songs in 3/4, 5/4 and 7/4 time, as well as the standard 4/4."

"Ultimately the best music tells a story to the listener and takes them to places they might not have imagined themselves. Yusef Lateef certainly did that, and as such was a master storyteller."

Nat Birchall

The Artist
When P.P. Arnold arrived in London on September 23, 1966 to support The Rolling Stones as one of Ike & Tina Turner's backing singers,
The Ikettes, little did she know that her world was about to be turned upside down. The shy but vivacious 19-year-old caught the eye
of Mick Jagger, who would persuade her to stay in London and record as a solo artist – ultimately leading to a five-decade career
working with everyone from Jagger, the Small Faces, Rod Stewart, Barry Gibb and Eric Clapton, to Nick Drake, Peter Gabriel, Roger
Waters, the KLF, Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene and Primal Scream, to name a few.
Five decades after she became a '60s icon with the timeless pop hits 'The First Cut Is The Deepest' and 'Angel Of The Morning' on
Rolling Stones manager Andrew Oldham's ultra-hip Immediate label, soul singer P.P. Arnold is set to release a double-album of stunning
new material featuring contributions from, among others, Paul Weller, Ocean Colour Scene's Steve Cradock, The Specials and P.P's
songwriter son, Kodzo.
“I've been a fan of P.P. ever since hearing 'The First Cut', and then 'Tin Soldier'. Her voice is still as great as it was when she was 18/19
years old! Steve Cradock has tried to keep something of the early Immediate Records sound on this new record, whilst still sounding
fresh, and it is for me one of the finest in her collection” – Paul Weller
The Product
“It's great that I'm coming back with this record,” says P.P. “Even now, I'm still finding my way, because the industry changes every
decade, and you're sometimes out of the loop. For me it's all about faith, meditating, love, praying… try to be ready and don't give up
the fight. That's the message.”
'The New Adventures Of P.P. Arnold' was recorded and produced by life-long P.P. enthusiast, Ocean Colour Scene star and Paul Weller
band guitarist Steve Cradock at his Kundalini Studio in Devon – after a 51-year gap in P.P. Arnold's recording career.
The beginnings of the album - spanning classic orchestral soul ('Baby Blue', 'Finally Found My Way Back Home'), sunshine pop ('The
Magic Hour'), house music ('Hold On To Your Dreams'), a spinechilling gospel elegy inspired by her daughter's death ('I'll Always
Remember You'), two Paul Weller originals ('When I Was Part Of Your Picture', 'Shoot The Dove') and an epic, edgy 10-minute reading
of Bob Dylan's poem 'The Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie' – can be traced back 25 years to 1994. Worldwide tours with Roger Waters
put the project on the backburner, but when Cradock rediscovered the tapes during a house move four years ago, both parties were
excited about the prospect of finally completing an album. And so they did.

Originally released in 1983 on independent label For Sale (sub-label of the highly influential Baby Records, home of some of the most striking italo-disco ever), this album is quite a different monster. Produced, composed and arranged by Maestro Gian Piero Reverberi (once part of the progressive cult heroes Le Orme and then the man behind the ‘classical gone disco’ project Rondò Veneziano) Presage lives in a ‘twilight-zone’ where new-wave, post-prog and disco weirdness collides. Some of these numbers could have been easily played at the Hacienda in Manchester or even used as a soundtrack for some mid-eighties Argento movie. Part of the musicians used to be involved in the prog band from Genova Struttura & Forma, while others spent time behind the desk with some minor disco stars. All in all quite an unusual heavy rare-groove collection.

ODD OKODDO is a Kenyan/German duo formed by Olith Ratego and Sven Kacirek. This vinyl single marks their first outing, announcing the album "Auma" which will be ripe and ready in autumn 2019. Olith Ratego performs his immaculate vocals in the musical style called "dodo", which originates from the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya, high in pitch and soulfully expressive. He himself refers to his music as "dodo blues". As a skilled luthier, Olith Ratego designs and builds his string instruments himself, first of all the five-stringed Okoddo which lends its name to the project. Sven Kacirek is a multi-instrumentalist commuting between Germany and Kenya for many years now. He plays the marimba, percussions and piano, next to producing this project. He has closely collaborated with various international musicians, among them Nils Frahm, Shabaka Hutchings, F.S. Blumm and Marc Ribot. "Okitwoye" is one song of the first ODD OKODDO album "Auma“, it comes in a multi-layered, ambiguous rhythm between three and four. The remix on the B side amplifies the essence of the song. Peter Power is a part of the Voodoohop collective from Brazil and his releases on Multi Culti or Polychrome Sounds fuel the rather slow, organically hypnotic dancefloors. He premiered this remix at the Heliodora festival in Brazil, at sunrise next to a giant waterfall, and it was just perfect.

Where Future Unfolds is a new work spirited by Chicago-based sound & visual artist Damon Locks. Starting as a solo sound collage piece (where Locks pulled samples from Civil Rights era speeches and recordings to create an improvisational pallet for performance on his drum machine), over 4 years the project has blossomed into his 15-piece Black Monument Ensemble - featuring musicians (including Angel Bat Dawid on clarinets and Dana Hall on drums), singers (alumni of the Chicago Children"s Choir), and dancers (members of Chicago youth dance company Move Me Soul). Where Future Unfolds is a live capture of the ensemble"s epic debut at the Garfield Park Botanical Conservatory on the West Side of Chicago. Recalling the spirits of Phil Cohran"s Artistic Heritage Ensemble, Eddie Gale"s Black Rhythm Happening, Archie Shepp"s Attica Blues, and Public Enemy"s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, the album presents an inspired, innovative & immediate intersection of gospel, jazz, activism & 808 breaks.

History of Heat is an eroto-intellectual retelling of a love story. It is the scholarship of heat, and the sources of its production in the body: desire, exaltation, anticipation, fear, rage and mourning . It is a fable circulating through the nerves, pumped and distributed by its own mythologies. Through different chapters, we follow the heroine of our story from the initial desire to love, the sensual pull which oscillates between the grotesque and sacred longing of the flesh (‘L’Enfer en pleine lumière’ translates to ‘Hell in plain sight’)...to the sudden ghostlike appearance of the Other (Apparition) as a projection of the dream. We enter into the spiritual, the seeing visions and the blindness of love. ‘Animal’ speaks of instinct, the smell of the beloved, already the deconstruction of the divine back into the realm of the physical. The title track ‘History of heat’ sings the hesitation of love, the precipice of openness and the invitation of the contract: Dance with me... (This is where the metaphoric marriage is forged). In ‘Perfection’, the pressure which keeps the relationship on the pedestal of the absolute stunts and paralyses love. Unrealistic expectations of the self and the other person creates the push and pull of the not wanting what one wants and the fear to get what one has been asking for. ‘Tiny engine’ speaks of mechanical attachment, attachment to the lover as habit, as a second nature, and the call to the other person as a magnet. In ‘Ditectrice’, the madness and the folly of separation spawns war and confusion. It is the violent refusal to live without the other... the pleading with god. ‘Feed him’ follows with resignation and exhaustion. Love has become the beast of burden who eats away at itself insatiably. ‘War text’ brings forth the devastation, the peace treaty and finally the metaphysical Divorce. In ‘Guttermoon’, the vita contemplativa begins, the blood starts to cool, the scene is a ghost town. ‘Wrong god’ similarly winds down as an ode to remorse and mourning. Finally, ‘Cinema Verité’ closes out the album with a mistrust of ‘reality’: the heroine becomes a philosopher, she becomes an artist... did the relationship ever exist or was it a projection “In front of a movie screen” ?

History of Heat is an experimental narrative and cinematic pastiche of all original and self recorded material. A chaotic mix of sounds both analog and digitally produced recalls a warlike interpersonal breakdown. The mood established by the lyrical content of the piece is meant to be demanding, enclosing the listener within a unique and compelling cocoon of otherworldly sound. the Album is framed within a discursive love story which reflects larger relational problematics and interpersonal traumas. looped vocals act as incantations woven in and out of lyrical singing and spoken word. The instrumentals embrace chaos and intensity. Improvised violin and broken down beats compliment and balance the melancholic overtones which flutter above off the grid rhythms in this charged ficto-personal account.

Coming to the table with a fresh mutant sound, Darker Than Wax is proud to welcome Leeds-based artist Captain Over to our sonic universe with his Deep Blue EP. A solo project from one of the minds behind the band Paper Tiger, Captain Over represents a firm focus on dancefloor experimentation, blending the sounds of grime, broken beat, house, and LA beat music to create an entirely new beast. Much like the chess-playing supercomputer of the same name, ‘Deep Blue’ occupies a space between electronic weight and the human touch, fusing together icy digital synths borrowed from grime with off- kilter grooves and jazzy motifs.

Following a string of releases led by vocal tracks with grime MCs, ‘Deep Blue’ is the first fully instrumental offering from Captain Over, lending the artist a platform to make a strong statement about his creative vision and technical prowess. From the expansive arrangement of ‘4D’ to the duelling sci-fi synths on ‘Mind’s Eye’, the Deep Blue EP is a deeply creative yet functional record, signalling a bright future for the Captain Over project.

Dutch producers Mindmapper & Fre4knc team up to deliver the 'Martial Manners' EP in celebration of Translation Recordings' tenth vinyl release, which comes on a visually stunning piece of crystal & transparent white vinyl! Up first is 'Collessius,' whose heavy-rolling bassline rushes in with the
force of a tsunami, leaving a wake of dancefloor destruction in its path. 'Shutter Angel' is a futuristic track where tight, snappy breakbeats slingshot back and forth between an electrifying bassline that surges across the airwaves like a beam of focused energy. Mindmapper & Fre4knc
delve into darker territories on 'Fenryr,' whose gritty atmospherics and subterranean low
frequencies deliver a unique and immersive listening experience. They close the EP on a deep, meditative note with 'Mind of Steel' (digital only) where drum edits slice through growling bass riffs with blade-like precision. The 'Martial Manners' EP strikes the perfect balance between dancefloor and experimental to carry on Translation Recordings' ongoing mission to bridge audiences with quality music that can be enjoyed in all listening environments.
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Translation Recordings is proud to unveil its summer 2012 project capturing all moods sublime with the 'Universal Grooves LP'. A limited press on transparent blue vinyl, this special edition 12inch showcases a diverse sampling of Translation's full album that will not disappoint. The A-side brings the thunder showcasing the heavy hitting, rolling and dubby sounds of Loxy and Resound's 'Civil War' and Theory's calculated genius behind the ragga and amen tear-out, 'Final Confrontation.' Flip to a switch in vibe as DBR

Over the years, Claremont 56 has played host to some memorable collaborative
projects, most notably Bison, an unlikely super-group whose members included
Holgar Czukay, Ursula Kloss, Liquid Liquid’s Sal Principato, Ben Smith and label
boss Paul ‘Mudd’ Murphy. Now Murphy is at the helm of another collaborative
outft, Hillside, whose seductive debut single contains two deliciously pie eyed
instrumental workouts.
Hillside is very much a family affair, with Murphy joining forces with two old
friends: bassist/guitarist Alex Searle and percussionist Patrick Dawes. The trio
has a collaborative history that stretches right back to Murphy’s time in Akwaaba
in the mid nineties. For their debut outing, Hillside has also welcomed a very
special guest musician: award-winning jazz violinist and long-time Bert Jasch
collaborator Mike Piggott.
As opening gambits go, “Hidden Port” is an emphatic statement of intent. The
audio equivalent of sailing slowly around a cluster of sun-baked islands in
search of shelter from an approaching storm, the track sees Searle wrap bluesy,
Peter Green style guitar passages around a shuffing, Latin-tinged groove rich
in Dawes’ distinctive percussion patterns and Murphy’s languid electric piano
and synthesizer lines. As the track progresses, Piggott steps up to make his
mark, with his undulating electric violin lines complimenting Hillside’s impeccable
instrumentation while adding extra emotional weight to proceedings. It’s a
stunning beginning to the Hillside story.
Piggott also makes a big impression on accompanying cut “The King’s Tun”,
delivering fuid and energy-packed solos that weave in and out of a bright
and breezy instrumental track rich in jangling acoustic guitars, subtly spacey
electronics, freside-warm bass and more sparse-but-intricate percussion
courtesy of the effervescent Dawes. Searle’s eyes-closed, rock style guitar solos
cap another memorable excursion from Claremont 56’s latest in-house band.

“Introducing COSMIC RESIDENTS v. 1, the first in an ongoing compilation series from Cosmic Resonance Records. This series will showcase emerging talent from Toronto’s underground creative electronic music scene.

This first edition features local favourites and Cosmic Resonance residents Radiant Aura Faculty (aka Raf Reza), KOREA TOWN ACID and Hemingway along with (and making their vinyl and Cosmic Resonance debut) Body Butter, WeTurnToRed and Smoke & Shadows.

On the A-side, Hemingway kicks things off with Astralnauts, a deep, dubbed out boogie breakbeat burner dedicated to explorers of the astral plane featuring fellow label don Chris Evans on rhythm guitar. Radiant Aura Faculty (aka Raf Reza) takes us even deeper with the mystical 'Cid Pit Riddim', a slamming 707 acid bender sure to melt any dance floor. Things get slippery with Body Butter’s debut single ‘Lights In The Hallway’, a timeless operatic pop opus featuring Neil Rankin (aka Burt Sugar), Chris Evans (aka Mr. Bliss) and Hemingway behind the board.

On the flip side, things heat up with Shamanta Chandran’s project WeTurnToRed (recently releasing their debut EP on ORO Records), featuring the progressive modular techno odyssey 'Warm Winter', an escape from Toronto’s long and tumultuous blizzards. Emerging from the Mahogani Forest, Korea Town Acid reinterprets Hemingway’s emotional ode to the jazz aesthetic 'Blue Notes' with her trademark cerebral rhythms and a masterful bassline that elevates the original to new heights. Closing it off, we have an amazing collaboration between Curtis Clark (aka Smoke of Lab.our Music) & Em Zy (member of Nikki Fierce) called Smoke & Shadows with their stellar debut single Convincing Thoughts that features Em Zy’s hazy vocal emanations amidst a backdrop of mystical reverberations and a dark, powerful groove.”

The Naturals' debut album is more than just an rediscovery of one of the great lost albums of the last decade, but of how things were always intended. When Eddie Ruscha (Secret Circuit) and Thomas Bullock (Rub'n'Tug/STD) appeared as The Laughing Light of Plenty, their journey offered untold troves. Now at last the pulse is set for outer orbit and all are welcome to join.

After a mind-melting debut EP sold again and again, an album expanding their unique psychebalearicfolk imaginings was prepared and even pressed before being lost somewhere between a lock up in New York and limited quantities reaching Asian shores and dealers
trading at dizzying Yen.

Lost, but never forgotten, years passed until a nagging memory that an earlier, rawer mix had always been superior. A return to the original band name seemed The Natural(s) choice and so a project idea started to be (re)born.

A sunny Spring afternoon in a grand English garden, pots of tea, talk of life's travails, deep yogani, love affairs, kids growing up, the power of now and music, always music led to two labels coming together to dust down the desk and not just resurrect, but seek and offer the original intentions.
Here at last is the double album as intended. Of two great friends jamming their deepest vibes and flowing with love to offer tales of higher consciousness. Travel inward, beyond meer chakras. Aim for the stars. The devil is in the details so see the trails and follow to some avail.

Begin your own journey.

London's elusive Lukid has never been one for convention. In the few short years between 2007-2012, he struck out on a seemingly effortlessly impeccable run of releases on fellow iconoclast Darren 'Actress' Cunningham's mighty Werkdiscs imprint, as well as his own label Glum. Those albums and EPs flaunted genre distinctions and embraced a freewheeling approach to melody, rhythm and atmosphere that felt at once exotically psychotropic and yet grounded in a resolutely english eccentricity. Thus, they feel like especially-prescient recent classics that continue to find new fans.

In the intervening years, Lukid's energy has been poured into his stunning monthly transmissions on NTS while his output has been sparse aside from a pair of mindbending EPs via Liberation Technologies and Glum, respectively. Those radio sets serve as a telling blueprint for his contribution to the ongoing Arcola project. From low slung Memphis rap mixtape cuts to clattering industrial cassette rarities, turbulent grime and outsider synth hallucinations there is a warped palette that comes vibrantly alive across the four included tracks here. The stormy bump and spectral melancholy of 'The Drip' and 'Clappers' seems to wed them together as thematic bedfellows across both sides of the EP while 'Head Shrinker' tries to squeeze an overcast psych-pop opus out of a rack of malfunctioning hardware. Spit out the other side of this ride you exit to the chopped-and-screwed goth grime of 'Conked Out', having had your brain smeared with the uniquely viscous ectoplasm that only Lukid can excrete. Perfectly slimy.

Considering He Was A Self Taught Pianist, Brian Auger's Progress Into The Heart Of The British Modern Jazz Scene Of The Late 1950's And Early 60's Was Particularly Impressive. He Gained Invaluable Experience The Hard Way, Paying His Dues At The Cottage Club, And The Original Ronnie Scotts On Gerrard Street, Working With Renowned Saxophonists Tommy Whittle, Dick Morrisey And Jimmy Skidmore - And Sessions In Smoky East End Pubs With His Friend, Arguably Britain's Greatest Jazz Saxophonist Tubby Hayes.

The Inclusion Of Several Of His Rare, Early 60's Piano Trio Tracks On Both Volumes Of 'back To The Beginning - The Brian Auger Anthology' Brought Long Overdue Attention To Brian's Early Jazz Career, Which Many Were Simply Unaware Of Prior To Their Release. The Enthusiastic Reaction To Those Tracks That Stuck In Brian's Mind, And Later, Fate Intervened, As He Himself Explains, "a Couple Of Years Later, Ken Greene, The Music Director Of Bogie's, Called And Told Me That He Was Starting A Project, To Whit, A Week At Bogie's With A Different Jazz Piano Trio Each Night".

The Material Brian Decided To Play Features Tracks From A Selection Of His Musical Influences, Heroes And Friends Including 'chelsea Bridge' By One Of His Favourite Composers, The Great Billy Strayhorn, Freddie Hubbard's Ever Green 'little Sunflower', The Much Loved Standard 'there Is No Greater Love' Which Brian Used To Play In His Original Early 60's Piano Trio, And His Own Composition Victor's Delight He Wrote A Tribute To The Great English Jazz Musician Victor Feldman Who He First Discovered Via His Tenure With The Cannonball Adderley Quintet.

Surprisingly, This Is Brian's Very First Jazz Piano Album Of His Illustrious And Award Winning Career, And Marks A Return To The Instrument And The Music That First Entranced And Enthralled Him As A Young Boy. His Musical Journey, Which Began In Austere Post War London, And On Which He Absorbed So Many Varied Styles Of Music, And Literally Took Him Around The World, Enrapturing Audiences Worldwide, Has Indeed Come Full Circle.

The sensitive mountain » (la montagne sensible) is the nickname Alain Bashung came up with for Arnaud Rebotini. At the height of his fame, after the success of Fantaisie Militaire in 1998, Bashung readily agreed to create an album with Rebotini. The two men didn’t know each other; their record label had introduced them. Bashung brought in “Mortel Battement” and “Nocturne,” two poems by Jean Tardieu, which he recited in a voice simultaneously warm and flat, and Arnaud produced an impressionist soundscape that ended with an apocalypse of metal. Bashung was so proud of their collaboration that he offered to give several interviews to promote the record. Today, listening back to this moving Léo Ferré influenced "talking singing" exercise, it’s hard not to hear the template for L'Imprudence, the album that Bashung went on to record with Rebotini two years later. In a similar way, the album Organique sparked a productive partnership between Rebotini and filmmaker Robin Campillo, which resulted in their being awarded a César for Best Original Music in 2018. The director, who trusted Rebotini to create the soundtracks for his films Eastern Boys and 120 Beats per Minute, never kept his love for the 2000 record a secret.

Yet it’s an understatement to say that when it was released, Organique was not in the spirit of times. That year was all about the French touch. The funky samples of Modjo’s “Lady” and Superfunk’s “Lucky Star” ruled the sweaty dancefloors. Although Rebotini was familiar with the electronic scene, he had something else in mind when he set about creating Organique. Under his own name or under the pseudonyms Aleph, Avalanche, Black Strobe, Maison Laffitte, and of course Zend Avesta, he had already released several quite bizarre and experimental techno, house, or jungle maxi singles on pioneering labels like P.O.F., Source, and Artefact, run by his friend Jérôme Mestre’s, whom he had met back when both were working as record salesmen at Rough Trade’s ephemeral Parisian store. It was at Artefact, still financed at the time by Barclay and Universal, that he naturally proposed this record project, which was a bit "different." It was his first real album.

Arnaud Rebotini has never hidden his love-hate relationship with the electronic scene. He’s a fan of rave music, Rex, and later Pulp, but he listens mostly to metal and contemporary music, mainly American minimalists such as Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Steve Reich. He wanted to mix this genre with a more French aesthetic inspired by Debussy, whose unconventionality fascinates him. From the first suspended guitar note of Organique, you can pick up another influence, possibly poppier. In the style of Mark Hollis, the erratic leader of Talk Talk, whose only solo album’s silences and dissonances left their mark two years earlier, we hear the fingers touching the keys of the clarinet on “Ondine.” The instruments have presence, character. Nothing is smooth. Everything is organic.

Although it’s sometimes labeled as electronica because of Rebotini’s career, there’s nothing digital about Organique. No "pro tools" editing or samples, only programmed drums and some synth layering. And his guest vocalists. Playing the role of electro producer, he invited Bashung, of course, to join him on the album, but also Roya Arab, who Rebotini first spotted while she was playing in Archive, and her sister Leila, Gus Gus alum Hafdis Huld, Kat Onoma’s Philippe Poirier on the “Samuel Hall” inspired track “Qu’est ce qui m’a pris,” and former KaS Product member Mona Soyoc.

The frustration of a tour where he had "little to do on stage," the desire to sing himself, and the creation of the Black Strobe project, a haunting mix of blues and rock, stopped Zend Avesta from putting out another album. Eighteen years later, the Organique we rediscover today has lost nothing of its strangeness, nor beauty. When it came out, Bashung said, "What is interesting for a musician is to feel that you have a piece of wasteland in front of you, something to clear.” That remains true today.