quête:bur

Originally released in 2010, Mirage is the fourth studio album by renowned Dutch trance DJ and producer Armin van Buuren. Widely regarded as a astaple in Van Buurens impressive career, Mirage peaked at number 3 in the Dutch Album Top 100, as well as reaching the top 5 of the US Top Dance/Electronic Albums. It contains the popular single ‘Not Giving Up On Love’, featuring British singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor. As the record lasts nearly 80 minutes total, it is released as a double LP. It is pressed on red coloured 180 gram audiophile vinyl. The package includes a gatefold with spot varnish and lyrics, as well as an insert with pictures and credits.

Ol’ Burger Beats & Vuyo – Norway’s latest dream team in terms of soulful and jazz-vibed HipHop music with thoughtful lyrics and attitude – present their full-length debut album “Dialogue.” via Jakarta Records.

Emmylou Harris made her Nonesuch Records debut with the release of her album Red Dirt Girl 20 years ago, in September 2000. To mark its twentieth anniversary, Nonesuch releases the album – which won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album – on limited-edition, translucent red vinyl.

Harris – whom the Los Angeles Times dubbed ‘the most captivating female artist ever in country music’ – wrote all but one of the twelve tracks on Red Dirt Girl, marking only the second time in her career that she had been so involved in the composition of an album. ‘In songs about lonely journeys and lost companions,’ said the New York Times, ‘Ms. Harris has found herself.’

Red Dirt Girl was produced by Malcolm Burn, who had worked with Harris engineering and mixing her previous solo studio recording, 1995's Wrecking Ball, and features Burn on piano, guitar, and bass; Buddy Miller on lead guitar; Daryl Johnson on bass and drums; and Ethan Johns on drums, guitar, and other miscellaneous instruments. Dave Matthews sings a duet with Harris on the album, and Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, and Patty Griffin also contribute vocals.

Commenting on her new label and record back in 2000, Harris said: "I take pride in my new association with Nonesuch, a label for whom I have great admiration. Red Dirt Girl is a very meaningful record for me. I’ve only written this much for an album once before – The Ballad of Sally Rose – and I’m very pleased as well with what we have accomplished in the studio."

Nonesuch Records President David Bither said at the time: "We have had the privilege over many years to work with some of the most creative and influential artists and producers in music. This launches a new area of musical exploration for Nonesuch, and we are thrilled that Emmylou is the artist to open this door for us. It is an honor to work with an artist who has such a formidable body of work behind her, but who is now creating possibly the best music of her career."

Harris has since released three additional solo studio albums on Nonesuch, Stumble into Grace (2003), All I Intended to Be (2008), Hard Bargain (2011); reissues of Wrecking Ball (2014) and her 1992 album with the Nash Ramblers, At the Ryman (2017); two duo albums with Rodney Crowell, the Grammy-winning Old Yellow Moon (2013) and The Traveling Kind (2015); two releases in 2006 with Marc Knopfler, All the Roadrunning and Real Live Roadrunning; and vinyl box sets of her early albums, in 2017 and 2019.

‘Stay Sane’ is the hotly-anticipated new album from London based artist Ocean Wisdom out now on his own label Beyond Measure Records.

Widely considered to be one the most technical rappers alive, his first release from the album campaign ‘Drilly Rucksack’ is a stellar offering, showcasing Ocean’s rapid-fire flow as he takes on political themes relevant in Britain today. Speaking on the track Ocean said “‘Drilly Rucksack’ is a fictional tale of a magical rucksack that protects its owner from evil Tories whilst also offering consolation and reassurance to the daughters whose lives they have presumably made miserable.”

Given the name Ocean Wisdom at birth, Ocean grew up immersed in hop-hop and reggae and began beatboxing aged seven. His homelife was what he describes as ‘hectic’, as his mum worked as an emergency foster carer. Years of writing lyrics and practicing followed and his uncompromising work ethic drove him to leave home at 17 and start working on his craft daily, never missing a single day. He used his passion for music as a way of channeling his anger and controlling his mental health, in addition to avoiding the fate of some of his friends. His meticulous attention to detail and hardwork paid off and over the past 5 years has seen Ocean’s meteoric rise lead to a quarter billion streams across all platforms and collaborations with legendary artists including Method Man, Dizzee Rascal, Fatboy Slim, Akala, Roots Manuva, Ghetts and Foreign Beggars.

Famed for his technical abilities, Ocean broke numerous records at a young age, including beating the standing Guinness World Record for most words per minute in a hit song, dethroning Eminem’s "Rap God". He remains one of the few UK rappers that can tour worldwide, headlining arenas across Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Russia and the Middle East. Since then he has gone on to set up his own label to release his music as well as building his own studio and creating a platform for future artist to thrive.

US based label, Lurid welcomes Spanish producer Señora for a stunning new double gatefold album entitled ‘Fósil’ that showcases his unique take on hypnotic rhythm, found sounds and sampling.

Señora became a firm favourite with the likes of Andrew Weatherall (R.I.P.) and Sean Johnston for his rugged grooves and innovative approach to production, melding the sounds of machines, animals, electricity and other weird noises in a flurry of FX and sonic experimentation. He debuted on this label in 2017 and has also landed on Shango Records, Night Noise and LNDKHN since then. Now based in Berlin and a regular at clubs and festivals round Europe he offers up a debut album that features nine stunning pieces that ”aim to reflect on the next evolutionary steps of the human race".

The otherworldly ‘Preludio: Ocaso Hominido’ kicks off with a swampy bass sound overlaid with cosmic details and downtempo drums. It’s a brilliantly mysterious opener than leads on to ‘Antropoceno’, a spacious soundtrack with bubbling synths, undulating drums and plenty of sonic details that paint a picture of a starry night sky up above. The tumbling drums of ‘Segundo Sexo’ sink you into a dubby reverie with bird calls and wordless vocal sounds mixing with percolating percussion.

The excellent ‘El Elefante Que Siempre Andaba Solo’ is a perfectly flabby and chugging dark disco cut with bright chords and scintillating drum work while ‘Código y Marfil’ is a futurist landscape in outer space with modulated synths and deft astral details making it colourful and cinematic. This most escapist of listens then plays out through the supple bass warbles and spacecraft sound effects of the entrancing ‘Papaver Somniferum’ and churning drums and twisted bass funk of the brilliantly slow burning ‘El Último Discurso’ before closing on ‘Fuga: La Gran Desconexión’ a downbeat offering with myriad pads circling the skies above a deeply rooted rhythm.

This is a hugely atmospheric album of perfectly realised inter planetary sounds, the whole thing taking you on a cerebral and evocative journey far away from here.

Supported by: Tim Sweeney (Beats In Space), Dr. Rob (Ban Ban Ton Ton), Balearic Mike, Elena Colombi (NTS), Andrew Wowk (Decoded Magazine), Faze Magazine Germany, DJ Mag Espana, Future Music UK, ClubbingSpain, and others.

Superb deluxe packaging heavy board 180g clear vinyl and printed plastic sleeve. Brian Jonestown Massacre burst into 2019 with the release of their 18th full-length album, just 7 months after their last one. It was recorded and produced at Anton's Cobra Studio in Berlin.The album was originally going to be released in September, but due to a hugely successful global tour - taking in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe the release was delayed. Recorded this time last year, the album features Sara Neidorf on drums, Heike Marie Radeker (LeVent) on bass, Hakon Adalsteinsson (BJM / Third Sound & Gunman & Holy Ghost) on guitar and Anton Newcombe on multiple instruments. Also making a guest vocal appearance on 'Tombes Oubliées' is Rike Bienert who has sung on previous BJM albums.

Red Marbled Viny

Multi-genre industrial bass that's equally at home in the underground of Berlin and the low-end-leaning dancefloors of the US and UK. With 'Warp Crawler' on the exciting YUKU imprint, Chrizpy Chriz finds a mature groove in the bass spectrum that deviates between restrained and tearing at its own seams. A must for open-minded purveyors of exploratory electronica with teeth.

"I’ve had the pleasure of being a Fall fan since I was a teen.
I was lucky enough to have some guidance from my local record shop stoner-lords.
They turned me on to many of my heroes, but once I heard my first slanted and barky Fall song, I was part of the army for life.
The word prolific gets tossed around a lot.
It almost seems like a slag-off in the press, as if they wish the artist would produce less so they wouldn’t have to do their self imposed job of judging releases for the rabble.
The Fall is subjected to this lazy word often.
Yet I can honestly say that I am SO thankful for any nugget of Fall that lands at my feet and in my brain.
Live Fall performances are always a pleasure because they seem to take what already made the Fall great and push it even a bit more into the rough and bloody uncharted wasteland that is drug scorched proto-punk and heady political poetry.

So, it is with great pleasure that we introduce this Fall bootleg soundboard recording to you.
Recorded during one of the many strong points in the bands vast and mighty history.
They really burn bright here and bring every ounce of what you expect from this formidable force.

We have reached out to every surviving member of the band, the sound person, the bootlegger who recorded it and the photographer and received their blessings & help piecing it all together.
Castle Face will be donating 50% of our profits to Centrepoint which helps the homeless in the Manchester area get back on their feet, so the local and deserving Fall fans get a little, and give a little back, too.

Nothing but the hits here folks and as raw as you dig it.
This one really is exceptional in terms of live sound for The Fall.
All the stars were aligned over St. Helens that eve.
And it wouldn’t be complete with a bit of Fall fan saltiness so, fuck you too, Jason.” - John Dwyer

It’s out on Castle Face Records exclusively on vinyl (12” and a 7” in a gatefold jacket, including a digital download) on February 19th

Eternal Tears of Sorrow's long career kicked off with the more thrash metalish debut album in 1997, but it was on the 1998 follow-up Vilda Mánnu ("Wild Moon" in the Sami language of indigenous Lapplandish people) that the band really carved their own niche amid the crowded metal scene. Hailing from Finnish Lappland, ETOS are best known for well-crafted, fierce but melancholic melodic death metal with symphonic overtones, of which this album, their Spinefarm Records debut, is a prime example. This pressing comes in a gatefold sleeve and has been carefully remastered for vinyl.

Hunter And The Dog Star is the band’s fifth studio album and their first since 2018’s Rocket—a record that marked a major return for the group following a twelve-year hiatus and was released to widespread critical acclaim. Of the album, Associated Press declared, “a triumphant return…their joy in recording together again is clear on Rocket, a record that touches on a variety of musical styles with ease,” while NPR’s World Café proclaimed, “explosively joyful” and the Austin American Statesman praised, “a beautiful, inspiring, sensational album.” Since forming in Dallas in the mid-1980s, the band has toured extensively across the country and had their music featured in several hit shows including Miami Vice, Girls, Cold Case, Ugly Betty, Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, American Dad! and more. Since the release of their 1988 debut, the 2x platinum-certified, Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars, the band has continued to earn their reputation as an unclassifiable, genre-blending force. Returning to Arlyn Studios in Austin, TX to record with producer Kyle Crusham, Brickell and the New Bohemians—Brandon Aly (drums), John Bush (drums, percussion), Brad Houser (bass, synthesizer) and Kenny Withrow (bass, guitars, synthesizer)—once again put forth a collection of diverse musical ideas and styles on Hunter And The Dog Star, as they have continuously done for the past three decades. Reflecting on the album, Brickell shares, “Hunter And The Dog Star is a collection of songs reflecting the mystery of self-expression, loyalty, companionship and love in the darkest sky just before dawn.” In addition to Brickell (vocals, guitars), Crusham (background vocals, mellotron, piano, Rhodes, synthesizer) and the New Bohemians, the album also features Matt Hubbard (background vocals, organ, piano, synthesizer, wurlitzer), Burton Lee (pedal steel) and background vocals from Kelly Micwee and Alice Spencer.

Distressed of sound and disturbed of subject matter, “Down-Faced Doll” sees the classic indie outfit connect with their dark-sides to deliver a cacophonous alt/folk stomp unlike anything they’ve released before. Based on a chilling true story told through the eyes of a discarded toy, its lyrics like clues, begin to lay evidence to a scene enough to turn anyone’s blood blue.

As vocalist Ian H. says:

“By far the most disturbing song I’ve ever written. Some songs seem to have a strange compelling energy which no one can rightly claim authorship to. They ‘write themselves’ but of course a great deal of working and shaping occurs too… A true story - well the first two verses are. The last two verses are my attempt to imagine “how did it ever get to this”…”
Customised with discomposing Eastern-inspired guitar riffs and clamouring percussive rhythms, “Down-Faced Doll” instils an unshakable feeling of paranoia, pursuit and unsease to match its haunting storyline. “Ewan and Stephen immediately tuned into its unsettling vibrations to create sounds and dark corners as you are unwillingly dragged through the scenario.” Ian adds.

Created & produced by Bradford (Ian Hodgson, Ewan Butler & Stephen Street), “Down-Faced Doll” was mixed by Stephen Street (Blur/New Order/ Kaiser Chiefs) and mastered by John Davies. It is taken from what will be Bradford’s first new studio album in over three decades: ‘Bright Hours’ - set for release early-on in 2021.

Bradford are a revered indie band formed in Blackburn in 1988. Championed by Morrissey, the band earned a cult status with their acclaimed debut album 'Shouting Quietly' in 1990, a record as-produced at the time by Stephen Street. Touring with the likes of Joe Strummer, The Sugarcubes, Morrissey and more, the band burned brightly and brilliantly. Fading away against the neon glow of the Madchester era, the band split in 1991.

Fast forward to 2018 and a re-mastered 30 song collection entitled ‘Thirty Years Of Shouting Quietly’ was released on Turntable Friend Records. The album was re-appraised as a 'lost English classic'. This rekindling of belief slowly re-ignited the magic and chemistry that always existed between the band now Ian H and Ewan Butler and Stephen Street. So much so, that Stephen decided to join forces with them and become a fully fledged member of the band.

With a new look line-up on illuminating form, as a trio Bradford have lovingly crafted a jewel of a new album: ‘Bright Hours’ to be released early in 2021.

Directly following “Like Water”, their latest single “Down-Faced Doll” is a definitive signal that ‘Bright Hours’ will be every bit worth the long wait...

The collaborative debut of American minimal techno pioneer Troy Pierce and Colombian audiovisual artist Natalia Escobar aka Poison Arrow was conceived in reverse: first they created a collection of shadowy surrealist videos, then wrote music inspired by them. This inverted process proved remarkably fruitful. Shatter is a simmering, slow-burn noir odyssey inspired by the Greek myth of Echo and Narcissus, traversing subtle shades of sleepwalker dub, metallic lament, broken beats, and erotic negative space. It's an effectively unsettling evocation of the legend's core theme: “There is nothing more complex than a shattered heart, or a heart that can't love.”

Considering their shared background trafficking in darkened dance floor modes, what's most striking about Pierce with Arrow's partnership is its rhythmic restraint. The album's 10 tracks seethe and shudder between glamor and gloom, with only occasional dread-steeped metronomes mapping the malaise to a grid. They speak of pursuing a “spatial approach” with this project, which manifests in the music's immersive design and patient execution, each mangled clang and rippling pool of bass allowed to reverberate

its full flickering waveform.

Rolling through life, an open mind like an ocean, an infinite ride that comes furiously crashing to a halt. This is Whitney K’s ‘Two Years’, a deep dive into the Canadian songwriter’s journey through vulnerability, change and ultimately letting his guard down. Whitney K is the wandering stalwart Konner Whitney, a White- horse Yukon resident who has spent time in Vancouver, Montreal, Burnaby and Los Angeles. We met the character in 2016 through his intoxicating 4-track recorded manifesto ‘Goodnight’, a head on collision into 24 hours of illusioned romance and modern day escapism.

Fast forward to 2021, lift those curtains, aptly titled ‘Good Morning’ is the opening track on ‘Two Years’, a different cracker, a deliberate record about transformation, where to put it simply, Whitney K has arrived. Enlisting the aid of main collaborator and bandmate Josh Boguski, the focus has been shifted, folklore and realism becoming reckoning and truthfulness, what was outsider folk is now political poetry, life in motion delivered through a freeway ridden baritone voice that transforms the mundane into extraordinary.

For Blood and Empire is the fifth studio album by American punk band Anti-Flag, released in 2006. In the same year, the song “The Press Corpse” entered the Hot Modern Rock Tracks Chart. Anti- Flag are known for their politically charged songs, often criticising right wing policies and conservative ideologies. For Blood and Empire was released during the reign of George W. Bush, so naturally the album boils over with vehement anti-Bush attacks and confrontational lyrics that overwhelmingly target the war in Iraq. Featuring classic Anti-Flag songs “The Press Corpse”, “This is the End (For You My Friend)” & “Depleted Uranium Is A War Crime (feat. Tom Morello)” and “1 Trillion Dollar$”. The LP set includes an 8-page booklet, which contains short essays for all but two songs, providing more in-depth perspective on the inspirations for the song subjects.

We’ll forever remember the summer of 2020. In March the world was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. All over the world cities and countries went in lockdown, bars and venues were closed and live music stopped altogether. After three months of total isolation and not being able to jam or play at Missy Sippy Blues & Roots Club in Ghent —or any other place for that matter— Tiny Legs Tim and his friends decided to book a weekend at The Yellow Tape studio. They wanted to capture the emotional high of finally playing together again. A simple live setup, a 60’s Faylon mixing desk and an old 24-track tape machine were used to record this outburst of musical joy. During that weekend Tim and his musicians reached that point of ‘locking together’ they experienced so often playing late nights at a packed and steamy Missy Sippy. Imagine when four musicians act as one in an energetic dance with the audience, led by the sultry beats of the drums (Bernd Coene), the dirty grooves of the bass (Mattias Geernaert) and the inciting dialogue of the guitars (Toon Vlerick & Tiny Legs Tim).
At the moment these kind of scenes and carefree celebrations of life and music seem like a thing of a long gone past, but as Tim puts it: “We’re always ready to roll, call us when it’s over.” In the meantime, the listener gets a first-hand experience of the positive energy and joy of making music on the spot with a selection of spontaneously arranged songs: some new, some old and one cover by the late RL Burnside.

Hoshina Anniversary returns from forever for a majestic dance. This is his second offering for the ESP Institute. Side A’s Karakuri contains all the elements of Hoshina’s signature sound; bouncy staccato bassline, minor chords and organ stabs, a Chick Corea-inspired Rhodes that walks all over the place, all tracked along sparse bits of Japanese percussion and cymbal that juxtapose organic texture with precision-machined timing. The lead keys feel at first as if they’re freeform, however, Hoshina’s obsession with order becomes apparent as the bars develop and his systematic control and repetition is revealed. On side B’s Michinoku, we’re treated to a deep and slow burner. A roller of a beat based on 808 toms and a pishy snare sets the somewhat bumpy base for this groove, and again the meat of the rhythm is built with dirty chords, this time on the upstroke, in an almost Reggae style. What the flipside taught us about Hoshina’s controlled chaos, is here again the lesson and perhaps even moreso. The voice of the track remains the Fender Rhodes, played in brief but wild phrases and arranged into patterns upon which Hoshina builds layers over some 8+ minutes. There is a deep and dark mood throughout both sides of the record, but perhaps more sultry than devilish, and one that listeners educated in the stoned arts will appreciate. These two songs have built the end into the beginning.

The label’s first release seeks to offer an initiatory experience to Forbidden Teaching’s mission, namely to express the inexpressible.

The A side of the record is body oriented and is introduced with NN’s “The Blood Of A White Monark”, a track characterised by its forceful rhythm, cinematic breakdown and strong synths. Mind I Matter dives deeper in the EBM spectrum with “Thelema”, a track featuring a bassline that goes straight to the body and supported by an expertly crafted atmosphere, reminiscent of the notorious esoteric doctrine.

The B side of the record is soul oriented and begins with Antechamber’s “The Ephemeral Hallucinations”, an atmospheric track that elevates the listener to a place where earthly senses become blurry. Nigh/T\mare concludes the compilation with his track “Unconscious Traction”. It features a robust and hypnotic rhythm coupled with an intense atmosphere that leads the listener to a state where deeply buried emotions and desires could resurface.

Hunt & Gather’s debut vinyl release comes by way of Pezzner’s cryptic moniker “The Native Language”. Written as a quasi-homeless man living off the rich in the San Juan Islands who writes music once per year to suffice his own delusions.

Walking the streets in these damp, anxious days that all run together lately, I was approached by a man who would blend right into the neighborhood, layered in flannel and sweatshirts for sleeping.

Rough, but for his shoes. (Never cheap out on anything that separates you from the ground.) “Pezzner,” he called out, from a safe distance. “What did the mangrove say to the marauding hordes.” My soul left my body for a moment and my voice responded on its own. “Petrichor.”

He caught my eye, nodded, left a padded envelope on the ground and vanished. The envelope had passed through many hands, slipped into the bed of a ferry-bound truck, passed from one fellow traveler to another, stashed under the counters of anarchist bookstores, left tucked between books at Little Free Libraries. The greenish stains suggested that at one point it had been swum across a lake. Another DAT, contents encoded here unabridged, and a letter from someone who called himself The Sentinel.

The Vessel lived out his days on Shaw Island, under a canopy of trees that gets smaller and smaller every season. His condition the same, any electricity lit his brain on fire, could only bring himself to compose one day a year, only at night, out of sight. Until he met The Angel, an eccentric with means, who built for him a device.

A Faraday Cage to block all electromagnetic emissions. Burlap walls, for atmosphere. A system of pulleys and levers, wood and rope, all running into a box that sat outside. An entirely mechanical control surface. No electrons in here. The Vessel lit fires, watched the shadows dance, closed his eyes and disappeared into the motion for hours at a time. The Sentinel came every morning to change the tapes. The Angel watched and pondered, his plans unknown.

The box sat sealed, bare except for another set of ideograms, scratched in day by day over time. Inside, the usual bedroom-producer shit. Outside, the ideograms told a story, passed from the Vessel to the Sentinel and drawn by the Angel, of a man who became another creature. Alert to the lowest frequencies, feeling music deep in the soil below their feet. Music that brings messages, from distant friends, warning of new creatures and the danger they brought. Skin alive to the world, so sensitive it can detect the landing of a single fly. A mind capable of keeping a map of the world inside. A mind that can look in a mirror and see a soul it knows well. A mind that can grieve.

After processing its contents, I filled the envelope with granola bars and walked it down to the market. The clerk gave me a knowing look as I placed it on the counter behind a stack of pork rinds from the previous century. As I walked out, a young man carrying a plastic bag and wearing impeccable shoes walked in.

This is the latest album by UK hip hop artist, Uncle Mic Nitro. Following releases as a member of Dark Craftsmen, Ill Psychosis, The Bomb Factory & The Pick Pockets, he released his first solo album, Mind State Krakatoa, for B-Line Recordings in 2016.

B-Line are a highly respectable UK hip hop label run by DJ Specifik and have released a number of 7” singles, 12” singles, EP’s and albums from the likes of Whirlwind D, Sir Beans OBR, Chrome & Illinspired, Def Defiance, Heavy Links, Carpetface, etc.

Hip Hop Be Bop Records started with a release by US hip hop veteran and member of Fantasy 3, Silver Fox. This was followed with singles by Sugar Bear, best known for his 89 hit “Don’t Scandalize Mine”, Unique (“Axe Maniac”), newcomers 05:21 and Bla.Ze plus a previously unreleased album by UK hip hop veterans, Outlaw Posse (“My Afro’s On Fire Vol. 2”).

B-Line and Hip Hop Be Bop have now teamed up to release “Vincent On Horseback” by Uncle Mic Nitro. The album is pressed on neon yellow vinyl and comes with a cut-out face mask. Production is by Ollie Knight, Ryan Mac, Featurecast, Djar One, Speaks, Djar One, etc and featured artists include DJ Krash Slaughta, DJ Jabbathakut, DJ Tones, Micall Parknsun, Joe Burn, Specifik, Juga-naut, Klashnekoff, Greg Blackman and Ced Gee from Ultramagnetic MC’s.

Highlights include ‘Lemonade’ (Video link below), ‘Where The Monster Is’ and ‘Write’ which samples Stevie Wonder’s ‘Do I Do’ (Shhhh!) and features the vocal talents of Greg Blackman. This is definitely one for the summer.