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A new EP by UK DJ / producer, Controlled Weirdness lands on Cultivated Electronics Ltd (CE's vinyl only sister label) in July. Heads will know Controlled Weirdness (real name Neil Keating) from his monthly radio show on Threads, his Presence Unknown label and Electric Sweat events. But he's actually been rocking the decks since the mid-'80s when as a youngster, Electro and early '80s pirate radio started his obsession with electronic music and he played his first gig at "The House of Dolls" in Farringdon where he soon became resident. After a stint in New York from 1989 he met Joel Bevacqua aka DJ Deadly Buda, who after returning to his hometown of Pittsburgh invited Neil to play at the first ever rave there in 1991, leading to a 6-month stint of events. Neil eventually returned to London in 1992 and started a radio show on pirate station Chillin FM alongside his sister, Stacey (later known as NoYeahNo). Many more events followed until in 1996 he formed Unearthly Records. Since then, he has played worldwide from plush clubs to dirty warehouses and has appeared on a variety of labels including Audio Illusion, Control Tower, Praxis, Zhark, Dirty Needles, Fdb and Still Raven. On 'In The Shadows' he delivers 4 earthy and raw Electro cuts with exciting electronics, tough beats and wonky acid.

Concept Of Man is Martin Knorz - Berlin based keyboarder, producer and DJ.

A studied jazz pianist, Knorz is known for playing keys in the highly acclaimed, german experimental pop band Hope, with whom he’s been touring around Europe and UK over the past couple of years, as well as forming the sound of Austrian pop icon Teresa Rotschopf‘s solo debut „Messiah“.

In 2019 he started devoting himself to modular sound-synthesis, playing live shows and remixing acts as Hellotrip (Mutant Rebuilds) and Hara Crash (Bali).

His debut “Regularities” will be released on Patrick Pulsinger’s Big Beak Recordings in 2022. It’s a modular infused tape majestically crafted by a sound surgeon. Drawing inspiration from Robag Wruhme, James Holden and Patrick Pulsinger (with whom he has collaborated on his album Impassive Skies and the EP Nocturnal Cat), „Regularities“ consists of four minimal tracks and a durational modularsynth-only-performance, both of which feed the realm of sound caviar. Tribal rhythms join the darkness of modular sounds, regular beats oscillate on irregular impulses, while intriguing basslines and uplifting chords remind us that Knorz is first and foremost a pianist, a master of melody.

Wooden but soft percussive chords create a tribal rhythm that carries through the song, interrupted by a contrapuntal rhythm. Another drum group provocatively steps in the arena, together they build a rolling total. Then a „squelching“, juicy, nearly acid melody grounds the track, to be drummed out by the two groups when approaching the end.

NEW 45 BY DEEP-FUNK PIONEER LUCKY BROWN RECORDED DURING THE MYSTERY ROAD SESSIONS!

"Funk is a living, breathing, creative and generative entity and The New Lucky Seven celebrate its life with a mysterious and authentic sonic snapshot from the iconic Mystery Road sessions: WOODHEAD!"

Woodhead is a steady medium groover built around an acute chanky guitar part that Joel Ricci aka Lucky Brown composed while living in the "Woodhood" district of Bellingham Washington, USA in the fallout shadow of an industrial area on the outskirts of town. The Woodhood was so named because the streets were all named after different kinds of trees; Cottonwood, Alderwood, Birchwood, etc. Though members of the band had been performing Woodhead since as early as 2004, it had never been officially committed to tape. So during the 2013-2014 span of living room "Magik Carpet" sessions at drummer, Oliver Klomp's house in West Seattle, the combo dubbed by Lucky as "The New Lucky Seven" casually hit the head a couple times before calling it a night as Lucky rolled tape.

Opening with the now world-famous guitar player, Jabrille "Jimmy James" Williams dropping deftly into his rhythmic part, Lucky chants in the background the words "don't stop" as the tension builds up into the moment the whole band comes in. With Bob Heinemann on bass, Marc Hager on Rhodes and Oliver Klomp on drums, the thick but honest groove is instantly palpable. Trombone player Mars Lindgren and Sax player Thomas Deakin, along with Lucky on Trumpet lay down the 'head' to the tune right off the bat with everyone in the band giving that hard hit on the 4 count of the last bar of the repeated figure. This 'hit' returns again to form the breakpoint between soloists Jimmy James, Marc Hager, and on side B, Thomas Deakin, and Lucky Brown on the flute. The horn section microphone was situated on the dining room table and Lucky just had to lean over to reach it with his instrument! Michael Iris of Bell Creek Studio transferred and mixed these two tunes from Lucky Brown's cassette machine.

This tune was left off of the Mystery Road compilation album but comprises one of the last tracks created during those sessions therefore the concept, vibe, style, and intention should resonate and be interchangeable with the rest of the 45s from that epic Box Set TR-9043 released by Tramp Records on May 4, 2015.

As you spin and interact with the Mystery Road recordings, you are invited to allow Woodhead to take its rightful place specifically alongside the other "The New Lucky Seven" recordings and generally as a part of the suite of crude and naive living-room "Magik Carpet" funk of the rest of the Mystery Road.

As illuminated before in Lucky's artist statement regarding the Mystery Road sessions, the music contained therein was always intended to put emotion, vibe, feeling, and spirit before technical, spatial, or even performance constraints and to serve as a gift of discovery to lovers and aficionados of the deep funk idiom and the rare 45rpm format. Funk is a living, breathing, creative and generative entity and The New Lucky Seven celebrate its life with a mysterious and authentic sonic snapshot from the iconic Mystery Road sessions: WOODHEAD!

Introducing Bristol-based label Dummy Hand; the latest transmission fromNoods Radio. Standing as a separate entity but driven by the same subversive, independent ethos of the station, Dummy Hand is an outlet for music from theouter fringes of the dance oor.

Dummy Hand's inaugural release, 'Transient Communications' comes fromVancouver-baseddj_2button, and will be available on vinyl and as a digital download.

Once a resident of Bristol and Noods Radio, 'Transient Communications' is Vancouver-based dj_2button's vinyl debut. The record features spaced outgrooves designed to move your astral body as well as for moments deep in the dance. dj_2button uses a hardware setup to create a lean percussive backdrop,held together by rumbling sub bass and synthetic bird squalls that it across the stereo eld.

A 4 track 12 inch EP, 4 completely different sounds, each one written with a different process. These tracks do not converge towards a single musical style, but each one has its own taste and goes through its own sonic evolution. A tangle of sounds that looks at itself, without time, without space, without wanting to be or look like something that already exists.

Wah Wah 45s are proud to present the return of a unique collaboration between the U.K. 's very own Afrobeat Ambassador, Dele Sosimi, and a producer who's been at the forefront of the South London electronic music scene for over a decade now, Medlar.

The pair first joined forces seven years ago, when Medlar was asked by Dele's label to remix the title track from his last album, You No Fit Touch Am. The result was possibly one of the most popular and cherished remixes to appear on the imprint. The producer's respect for the history of Afrobeat shined through in the mix of course, but it was his ability to finely balance that with his house music instincts whilst adding an infectious groove and classic 80s analogue synths that really stood out.

The track was an instant classic, and it soon became clear that the Afrobeat Ambassador and Peckham producer needed to make some music together. Having never actually met during the remix process, the dating began, and luckily the two were a perfect match.

Two years on from their first recorded output, the Full Moon EP - a record that received radio support from Gilles Peterson on BBC 6Music, as well as tastemakers and DJs across the globe, and was even featured on the latest edition of Grand Theft Auto -the duo return with the State Of Play EP. The heavy hitting four tracker features special guests Tamar Osborn of Collocutor fame, and South African rising star Zito Mowa, as well as a pair of Dele and Medlar's most popular jams from their live sets, perfectly baked for the dance floor.

Early support has come from Huey Morgan, Tom Ravenscroft and Deb Grant on BBC 6Music; Sarah Ward on Jazz FM; DJs on Resonance FM, Worldwide FM and many more besides.

The EP will be available on vinyl this summer with incredible artwork from our in-house art director Animisiewasz and eye-catching packaging.

Emerging Netherlands-based pairing Parallells will land on Damian Lazarus’ Crosstown Rebels imprint for the first time next month. Gifting us an emotive offering in Ashes of Snow (The Rebirth Of The Phoenix), it acts as a tribute to their favourite Portuguese beach club, Yamba, which was tragically destroyed by a fire last year.

The title track hits a wonderful sweet spot between electronic elements and organic instrumentals. It feels raw and authentic, blending saxophone segments, electric guitar tones and a jazzy-like backbone to form a cut that feels ripe for both sunrise or sunset. On The Banks of The River comes next, manifesting as a more toughened dance music number thanks to deep bass components whilst still retaining the boys’ natural sound. Rounding off proceedings is Clive Henry, who’s remix of Ashes of Snow flies the flag for contemporary minimal. Weighty kicks reside next to delicate hats before ethereal synths are brought in, creating a romanian-inspired piece that you can’t help but dance to.

Parallells are two Amsterdam-based brothers hailing from the south of France. Multi-instrumentalists, composers, producers and label owners (Klassified), their music cuts across electronica, electro-jazz and underground dance music. Their live, hybrid and DJ sets have graced some of the world’s most esteemed stages, including DGTL, Robot Heart, Mayan Warrior, The Gardens of Babylon, Wonderfruit and many more besides. Their music is also heavily influenced by world culture, a feat that led them to launch their video series concept A Day In. Through this, they immerse in diverse cultures around the world, capturing sounds from their day-to-day life and unfold the story through the medium of music. Clive Henry is a linchpin of house music as we know it today. Cutting his teeth as one half of the tribal house duo Peace Division, he has held a long-term residency at Circoloco, Ibiza and has racked up bookings at standout venues and festivals including Printworks and Houghton to name a few.

'For the born Londoner the country ever remains an incredible mystery. He knows that it is there – somewhere – but he has no true vision of it. In spite of himself he Londonises it, suburbanises it; he sticks a gas lamp or two in the lanes, dots some largish villas of red brick beside them, and extends the District or the Metropolitan to within easy distance of the dark wood.' – Arthur Machen, Far Off Things

John Moreland doesn’t have the answers, and he’s not sure anyone does. But he’s still curious, basking in the comfort of a question, and along the way, those of us listening feel moved to ask our own. “I don’t ever want to sound like I have answers, because I don’t,” he says. “These songs are all questions. Everything I write is just trying to figure stuff out.” Moreland is discussing his new album Birds in the Ceiling, a nine-song collection that offers the most comprehensive insight into the thoughts and sounds swimming around in his head to date. A compelling blend of acoustic folk and avant-garde pop playfulness, Birds in the Ceiling lives confidently in a space of its own, enriched by tradition but never encumbered by it. The songwriting that has stunned fans and critics alike since 2015’s High on Tulsa Heat remains potent, while the sonic evolution that unfolds on the record feels like a natural expansion of 2020’s acclaimed LP5. The New Yorker, Pitchfork, Fresh Air, Paste, GQ, and others have embraced Moreland’s meditative songs, while performances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, CBS This Morning, NPR Tiny Desk Concert, and more have introduced Moreland to millions. And yet, while the Tulsa-based Moreland is grateful for the respect and musical conversation he’s now having with people around the world, he is also more focused on the idea of just talking to one person––or even himself. “Through the years, I’ve felt like I’m increasingly talking to myself in my songs, more and more,” he says. “Maybe in the past, I wasn’t aware of it, but now, I am. I think doing that has helped me be less hard on myself, which makes you more generous and compassionate in general.” That helps explain why even if Moreland is reaching out to someone else, there is no judgment. “I’m in the same boat with whoever I’m talking to,” Moreland says. Moreland’s songs do feel intimate––like overheard conversations or solitary meditations. “I want to talk one-on-one to someone in a song,” he says. “I don’t want to address a group, really, because I think that’s when it’s easy to start pontificating––and it gets less honest.” Letting things just be what they are is a powerful guiding force for Moreland, determining not just how he interacts with others, but how he treats himself. “When you remove boundaries and instead of holding back parts of yourself––when you say, ‘Okay, I’m going to put all of me into this,’” Moreland says, "You end up making music that nobody else could make.”

A Ride is the new dark alt-country concept album on the road by Phill Reynolds, to be released on June 17th, 2022 by Bronson Recordings; Like all the best concept albums, A Ride takes you on a journey. This one concerns the last three days of an American runaway’s life. Part road-trip, part engrossing mystery, part search for redemption, it’s the fictional tale of a troubled man whose past comes back to haunt him. Via eleven intimate, chronologically-sequenced songs, we travel with him. There are epiphanies and dream sequences, drunken dive-bar nights and chats with Jesus and Lucifer. As the narrator battles with his dark side, it is ultimately we, the listeners, who must weigh-up and flesh-out his story. According to its creator Phill Reynolds, AKA Italian alt-country singer-songwriter Silva Martino Cantele, the key to The Ride’s mystery might lie within its fifth song, A Clockwork Dream. “That’s where we discover that, because of some kind of courtroom trial, the narrator has lost someone who was very important to him”, Reynolds explains. “But we never find out her name or her relationship to the main character. Is she a blood relative? Is she his wife or someone else?”. The origins of A Ride go back to 2015. On tour in the US, Reynolds took in the shifting landscapes, the people he met and their stories. All of this fed into the album he recorded at the all-analogue TUP Studio in Brescia, near Milan. Reynolds played almost all of the instruments himself and co-produced A Ride with long-term collaborator Bruno Barcella. If A Clockwork Dream features a full band arrangement – “I think of it as the kind of thing Neil Young & Crazy Horse might do on a Sunday morning”, says Reynolds – other songs are sparer, more intimate. Banjo, Fender Rhodes, harmonica and glistening slide guitar all feature as Reynolds delivers haunting confessionals such as Run, Run Away and The Fault Is Mine, songs likely to appeal to fans of artists such as Damien Jurado, Strand Of Oaks or For Emma, Forever Ago-era Bon Iver. Intricate, rapid-fire fingerpicking on the first single This Isn’t Me and The Call of The Dark demonstrates Reynolds’ dexterity, while his voice is a rich, fully-lived in instrument seasoned with the salt of experience,and strengthened by the 120 or so gigs a year he used to do before COVID took his one-man show off the road. Long an inhabitant of picturesque Italian towns in the Vicenza province, Phill Reynolds was born in Marostica and currently lives in Zugliano. He was only five when The Beach Boys’ Barbara Ann worked its magic upon him via the radio. Later a fan of ‘90s Californian punk bands, Reynolds was writing and performing in his own post-hardcore bands by 13, but didn’t make it to the nearest big city, Milan, until he was 19. Bands still matter deeply to him. But his love for folk music has deepened over the last decade or so, hence his solo act alter-ego. Where did the name Phill Reynolds come from? “Everybody asks me this,” he smiles. “Especially in the UK. The truth is I needed an alternative name for a gig I was doing, and at the time I was in love with the music of Phil Ochs and Malvina Reynolds. Malvina Ochs didn’t sound too good to me, so I became Phill Reynolds, and I like that, because it sounds like a normal person”. The esteemed Italian label Bronson Recordings will release his fourth solo album A Ride on June 17th, 2022, on CD, vinyl and digital. A Ride is the most ambitious and fully-realised Phill Reynolds album to date. He was assisted by Stefano Pilia (lead guitar on Dive Bar Oblivion), IOSONOUNCANE (backing vocals, synth, bass and field recordings on World On Fire), and C+C=Maxigross (bass, drums and backing vocals on In The Dark). The record’s story is a dark one, but not one without hope. “Every end is a new beginning”, says Reynolds. “One of the main themes here is that life can be a sort of trap unless you recognise your own demons and try to deal with him. So we must be prepared and try to live well”.

*Gatefold sleeve - black vinyl**

In many ways Kumoyo Island represents the culmination of a journey for Kikagaku Moyo. While their decade-long career can be summarized as a series of kaleidoscopic explorations through lands and dimensions far and near, there’s a strong intention in each of their works to take the listener to a particular place, however real or abstract they may be. In that sense, the title and cover art for the band’s fifth and final album draws you into a magical mass of land surrounded by water—but the couch suggests that Kumoyo Island may not be a fleeting stop, but rather a place of respite, where one could pause and take it all in.

Reconvening at Tsubame Studios in Asakusabashi, Tokyo, where their earliest material had been recorded, the five members of Kikagaku Moyo found new inspiration in a familiar and comfortable environment. With their adopted homebase of Amsterdam under lockdown and their touring activities halted due to the pandemic, the band felt a renewed sense of freedom being back in shitamachi, or the old downtown area of their hometown. With unrestricted time in the studio, they began to build upon the demos and song fragments they’d amassed since their last tour. In the 1.5 months spent in Tokyo, everything started to come together.

“Monaka”, its name taken from a type of Japanese wafer sweets, takes melodic inspiration from traditional minyo folk styles, while “Yayoi Iyayoi” is a rare instance of the band singing in their native tongue, its evocative lyrics utilizing archaic words taken from old poetry and nature books found in one of the many secondhand bookstores of Tokyo. For “Meu Mar”, an Erasmos Carlos cover, the original Portuguese lyrics were translated into English, then to Japanese. Strangely enough, the words seem to conjure an image of the protagonist floating among the clouds, looking down upon Tokyo Bay.

In fact, it may be possible to draw a parallel between the topography of the band’s home country—an island nation, surrounded by bodies of water—and the mysterious isle of Kumoyo. Are they one and the same? Has the band finally made it back home? It’s up to the listener to decide.

Alien Transistor present Alien Parade Japan, a joyous double-album compilation of groups from Japan’s indie-pop and avant-garde undergrounds, all of which feature brass or woodwind instruments as part of their line-up. Compiled by Markus Acher (Alien Transistor, The Notwist, Hochzeitskapelle) with plenty of support and help from his Spirit Fest bandmate, Saya (also of Tenniscoats), it features some familiar names – Tenniscoats, naturally, but also Zayaendo, Tori Kudo’s Maher Shalal Hash Baz – alongside lesser-known groups like Biobiopatata, Mitamurakandadan?, Kourakuen, sekifu, and Noah Lewis Mahlon’ Taits, amongst many others.

The collection of songs here rests upon a simple question, and an interesting parallel: Why do so many groups from Japan include brass and woodwind, and how closely does this echo the scene that Acher is involved with in Munich? The idea was formulated in Acher’s mind after one of his groups, Hochzeitskapelle, had been invited by Saya to Japan in 2019, to take part in the Alien Parade Japan tour. “Saya and her friends recommended a lot of music to me that I didn’t know of,” Acher recalls, “and I was surprised and excited to find so many Japanese bands who use brass and woodwind instruments.”

This approach was something Acher had been familiar with for a while, thanks to his experiences in Munich: “Until then I thought of the Munich scene, where Hochzeitskapelle come from, as being quite unique in having ex-punk and still-indie musicians form loud acoustic bands with many brass instruments and play a wild mixture of styles.” And indeed, that variety is reflected in the twenty-two songs on Alien Parade Japan, which flits from the pastoral melody of Maher Shalal Hash Baz’s “Crossin The Tama River”, through the tenderness of various sighhorns’s “people have called them flowers”, to the folksy lament of Gratin Carnival’s “Just Watching”.

Alien Parade Japan reaches further afield, too, drawing in some groups, like HOSE, Fuigo, and popo, that feature musicians like Toshihiro Koike, Masafumi Ezaki and Taku Unami, who may be better known for their experimental and improvised releases on labels like ftarri and Erstwhile. It also looks back to material recorded in the 1990s - the swinging slide guitars and sax/tuba duet of Strada’s “Swamp”, from 1998, and Compostela’s energetic, rousing “ghhgh”, from 1990. Both pieces were written by, and feature, saxophonist Kanji Nakao; Compostela’s membership also included late saxophonist Masami Shinoda, who was also part of such storied Japanese groups as Pungo, A-Musik, Orquestra Del Viento, Ché-SHIZU, and the fiery free jazz outfit, Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai.

Groups like Compostela help to draw some through-lines to the aesthetics of chindon’ya, a type of Japanese marching band made up of costumed street performers who advertise businesses; the music made by these bands is brash, spirited, and full of energy. Alien Parade Japan weaves all of this together – chindon’ya; jazz; indie-pop; psych-folk; big band – into one beautiful, big tapestry of gorgeous melody, sweetness, and melancholy, with plenty of creative fraying at its edges. “The collection is a very personal view of Japanese bands using brass and woodwind instruments,” Acher concludes: “it’s not a representative anthology, it’s mainly held together by my personal taste, experiences, and friendships.” But it’s also a wonderfully coherent collection of some of the most playful and elated music you’re likely to hear this year. As musician and writer David Grubbs says:

„Now it is confirmed: my favorite genre of music is Alien Parade Japan. Hopefully now people will know what I’m talking about when I gush about the unassailable brilliance of longtime favorites like Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Popo, Mitamurakandadan?, Hose, and Tenniscoats, presented here alongside others whose music I have only begun to search out. Please share in my gratitude and enjoyment of this lovingly assembled collection, one that I welcome into my home as I would a long-anticipated guest.“

When Isa Gordon sent the demo of this album to me I knew I wanted to release it before I had got half way through it. I had previously released her super good Resili collaborative project but I wasn’t quite prepared for how good this was going to be. Isa is patently a once in a blue moon talent and I feel honoured to help get her unique, visionary sounds out into the world. This is next level programming & sound design but always with soul, and musicality. Sui generis.

Isa says

“For you only came about in the lockdown winter in 2020. I started seeing a lot of beats and motifs that I’d been working on working together as a collection and spent a few months compiling, completing, mixing and weaving together the tracks into a coherent album.

It was many nights tucked away entering the wormholes of making music and trying to honour the emotion contained in each song by expanding the sentiments within them into complete pieces, chasing down the journey in each one.

It was a very personal, solitary exploration of how I interpret and compose instrumentals, with the rare global situation inhibiting outsider contact and influence. I include a mix of tempos, styles and freely combine digital and live instruments in order to serve whatever intention or feeling needs to be heard”.

Isa is an Ayrshire bred, Glasgow based producer and singer. Impressed upon by myriad styles; Singing folk music since a youngster, Playing guitar since a teen, Producing electronic music thereafter. Now freely cherry-picking whatever sounds, instruments, words and methods serve the feeling. Exploring solitary beat making as Isa Gordon and Singing and writing heartfelt lyrical ditties with her band Fantasy Land.

Dewa Alit, Bali’s master of contemporary Gamelan composition, returns to Black Truffle with Chasing the Phantom, presenting two recent works played by the composer’s Gamelan Salukat, a large ensemble that performs on instruments specially built to his designs, using a unique tuning system that combines notes from two traditional Balinese Gamelan scales. Alit explains that the ensemble’s name suggests “a place to fuse creative ideas to generate new, innovative works” and both compositions demonstrate the composer’s ability to wring stunning new possibilities from variations on the traditional Gamelan ensemble. While using familiar elements of Balinese Gamelan music, such as unison scalar melodies and stop-start dynamics, Alit’s music is overflowing with harmonic, rhythmic, and timbral inventions, the latter often facilitated by unorthodox playing techniques.

“Ngejuk Memedi”, an English translation of which gives the LP its title, results from Alit’s reflection on the complex relationship between tradition and modernity in Balinese culture, particularly in the way that belief in the phantoms or spirits known as ‘memedi’ are shared through social media using digital technologies. Embodying this uncanny co-existence, the opening passages of the piece are at once immediately recognisable in their use of the metallophones of the Gamelan ensemble and strikingly reminiscent of electronics in their timbre and movement. At points, what we hear seems to have been fragmented with digital tools, or even to originate in some incessantly glitching DX7. Short melodic figures loop irregularly, with the ensemble splintering into polyrhythmic shards before unexpectedly recombining for intricate unison passages. After several minutes of this manically tinkling metallic sound world, the metallophones are joined by drums for a meditative passage of lower dynamics, as the uniformly high pitch range explored in the opening sections gradually opens up to include resonant low gong hits. Recovering some of the manic energy of the opening, but now enhanced with the full range of percussion, the piece weaves through a series of tempo changes to a stunning passage of rapid-fire melodies and ringing chords that sweep across the metallophones, their unorthodox tuning creating complex clouds of wavering harmonies.

“Likad”, written during Covid-19 lockdowns, channels anxiety and uncertainty into musical form, resulting in a piece that, even by Alit’s standards, is stunning in its complexity and the virtuosity it demands of Gamelan Salukat. Its opening section is perhaps most remarkable for its mastery of texture, with rapid transitions between dry, muted strikes and metallic shimmers calling to mind the use of filters in electronic music. At points, the complex irregular repetitions of short melodic patterns, where the music seems to get stuck or be suddenly interrupted by a skip, recall the mad sampler works of Alvin Curran or the skittering surface of prime period Oval more than anything familiar from acoustic percussion music. Moving through a dizzying series of twists and turns, the piece ends with a majestic sequence of chords possessing an almost hieratic power. A major statement from a radical contemporary composer, one cannot help but agree with Alit when he sees Chasing the Phantom as an answer to the “question of the future of Gamelan music”.

PBS Nights (Star Hustler) b/w Turn. It. Up. by Strictly Butters | GSC45-34 Galaxy Sound Co. | Even better, I love it when the always on-point @galaxy_sound_company takes a surprising turn from the edit game to drop another sure shot by Michigan beat maestro @strictlybutters. It’s the second release on GSC by the Owosso, MI skateboarder, cyclist & sneaker-head. He is a deep digging vinyl head, dad, & brilliant bedroom beat maker & now gifts us with another super sweet pair of hip-hop instrumentals. Side A’s “P.B.S.” recalls a 70s Public Broadcast Service afternoon with my babysitter aka the TV. Rolling piano & warpy keyboards over a tight drum break was a perfect soundtrack for me while walking my Detroit streets on a sunny afternoon. The vibe comes correct. Side B “Turn It Up“ bounces effortlessly and simply to do what Strictly Butters says, the sweet soul guitar riff will force you to turn the knob up to 11. So whatcha waitin’ for son?

Mr. K transports us to the golden era of the Loft with two disparate, but equally heavyweight classics from the Mancuso oeuvre mastered and cut loud, deep, and clear for club play.

First up is an edit of a track that embodies the spirit of early ’80s downtown New York City. Released in 1982, “Konk Party” was the band’s calling card and first hit, and represented their multicultural, no wave, hip-hop/disco hybrid perfectly, the opening sax riff itself a sly nod to Wild Sugar’s breakbeat classic “Bring It Here” that the Beastie Boys would later sample. A Loft staple — the video was even filmed there — “Konk Party” was also played widely across the influential clubs of the day, becoming an instant staple at Danceteria, Mudd Club, and other hot spots. The easy-going groove, heavy on the percussion and low-slung bass, complimented by bilingual lyrics from Angel Quiñones, has dated well, and sounds especially ready for action in this new edit from Mr. K, largely inspired by the original 12-inch’s choice Uptown Breakdown Mix. This is the first time “Konk Party” has been available on 7-inch.

The heavy percussion backing is perhaps the only similar element that links our A-side to its flip, but that only goes to show the breadth of styles that coexisted in the audio landscape of the Loft. “Hold On To Your Mind,” first released in 1970 by Northern Irish rock group Andwella, is a heavy, psychedelic tour de force that more than lives up to its cautionary, heady title. Mr. K has outdone himself with his new mix, a supercharged blend of extended percussion breaks — absent on previous 7-inch mixes — driving vocals, and fuzz guitar. For those who have never been able to track down the original single, an expensive proposition, and even for those who have, this new edit is certainly the definitive version.

It is to the detriment of our understanding of musicality that we mostly measure it by the capacity to produce, and much less by the capacity to receive some sort of acoustic information or event. The virtuosity of listening, of understanding the sonic situation and its potential, is, however, that which defines one's capacity to interact – with other musicians, with the audience, and with the environment. This could also be taken to mean that an ethical act is implied in the situation of listening – the decision to relate, to be attentive to, to actively position oneself in relation to what is heard.

Rarely is this capacity so thoroughly pronounced and ethically conscious as in the case of Manja Ristić, the Belgrade-born and Royal Academy of Music-schooled musician, composer, sound and multimedia artist (the list could go on), who currently lives on the island of Korčula in the Croatian part of the Adriatic. Ristić’s recent, field recording-based work, is indeed all about attentiveness, most of all towards the environment and the acoustic traces of the endangered ecological layers of her old-new Mediterranean surroundings. With that in mind, it is indeed no wonder that her newest album draws from Milton’s Paradise Lost, which could easily be the anti-slogan of the endangered Croatian coast, eaten up by the pressures of touristification and the usurpation and privatization of once common space. More precisely, the album is inspired by one of the fifty Gustave Doré illustrations of Milton’s epic, Him, fast sleeping, soon he found, In labyrinth of many a round, self-rolled, from which it draws its title. The verses and the scene are from Book IX, and depict the moment Satan inhabits the Serpent, the beginning of his subversion of God’s autocratic rule, as some interpretations would have it.

For Ristić, the actual Paradise she introduces us to is in a state of imbalance – the idyllic soundscapes of her island surroundings overlain with sonic anxiety, such as on the album’s first track, The Flies, with its unrelenting, nervous buzzing evoking the ominous Biblical entity of Beelzebub, or The Lord of the Flies. The next track, Whales, which beautifully utilizes archival whale recordings, could also be taken to establish an intertextual relation to Milton through Melville, whose Moby Dick was strongly influenced by Paradise Lost. The middle track of the album, dedicated to the Croatian-American painter and muralist Maksimilijan Vanka, uses to great, unsettling effect what to my ears sounds like a buried hydrophone, a technique often employed by Ristić in her work, giving us a rough, grinding impression of water beating the pebbles over a high-pitched drone. But perhaps the most ominous, pessimistic image is painted in The Flag Pole, in which the symbol of revolutionary victory (I’m thinking of the Yugoslav modernist Tin Ujević and his proto-avant-garde sonnet Farewell from 1914) becomes a source of terrifying sonic unease, as we are listening to the incessant sound of its rope hitting the metal pole. However, with Dlana Night comes relief – the drones become airier, calmer; there is a distant notion of people, dogs, everyday life, all shrouded in the calming sound of the crickets on the island of Silba. Ristić, ultimately, serves us some hope on this wonderful new album, showing us that something has been lost, but that something can also be gained through the thoughtful attention with which she listens to the world around her.

„My recording techniques all boil down to one thing – intuition. I do not use expensive or highly sensitive equipment nor do I employ special techniques. On the contrary, I believe that the information regarding a space or an object can be recorded well enough on an average device. My personal guideline when recording sound is the positioning of myself as the listening medium, active and with the intention of establishing a connection that is sometimes intellectual, sometimes conceptual, and sometimes phenomenological.” - Manja Ristić, in an interview for Kulturpunkt.hr

Demented Soul returns to AKO150 arcade and it’s been a while but we’re glad to finally put out this track. full of energy, breaks into a rare groove classic halfway through, and then returned with a high-energy amen. real jungle and one for the gunfinger crew. this is one of the few lined up from this talented producer and we hope you enjoy it.

Next, we welcome Hoodz from LA we’ve been friends for a while and we’re glad to have this little red groove roller on the label. expect more from Hoodz on the AKO imprint in the future but right now slap this on the vinyl turn up the bass and enjoy this riddim!

Ben Harper’s new album, ‘Bloodline Maintenance’,
is a fearless and immensely soulful work, largely
inspired by the loss of a long time friend and the
lingering influence of a mercurial and charismatic
father.
 Never content to rest on his creative laurels,
Harper has continued to explore new sonic
territory. He has retained his signature lap steel
guitar but supercharged it through a coveted and
powerful Dumble amplifier, creating a far more
unruly tone.
 The album is both a political and personally
revealing work. It is soul music, but never a stylistic
tribute to some bygone era. The sound and words
are essential and undeniably timely. It is a powerful
musical reckoning.
 Ben plays guitar on Harry Styles’ new track,
‘Boyfriends’, and LeAnn Rimes’ ‘the only’. He is
opening for Harry Styles’ residency at The Forum
in LA throughout October and November.

After almost a decade-long hiatus, cult 6-piece MFMB announced their
return with the long-awaited album "Sugar"
The followup to 2012's critically- acclaimed "Colossus", "Sugar" revives the dark
and driven alt- rock the Swedes made their name with - equal parts rigor and
finesse, wracked with nervous tension. This time around, however, a democratic
approach to the writing process was decided on, with each member contributing
equally to the sound and feel of the record. The result is unmistakably the sound
of MFMB, but reinvented for these tempestuous times. The making of the album
is a story in itself. "Sugar" is seven years in the making. It has been a bumpy ride.
They were not always the best of friends. Priorities changed. Members quit, then
joined again. It was never easy. We believe you can hear it on the album, how
every song is a result of differing opinions fighting it out until they landed. In the
end, it's MFMB, but ringing purer than ever before. MFMB have remained prolific
throughout their hiatus, which includes Joakim Lindberg becoming one of the
underground scene's most in- demand producers, working with the likes of Hey
Elbow, Spunsugar, This Is Head, and many more.

The Konduko 7" series ends with the 4th and possibly best single with Noel Williams aka King Sporty's cover version of Bob Marley's Them Belly Full, here released as Dance To The Music.

First released on the Natty Dread album of 1974, it was Marley's first album working away from Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer and was a spiritually charged political and social statement, also featuring classics No Women, No Cry, Lively Up Yourself and Rebel Music.

As an associate and friend from their Studio One days, William's version makes sense, in the tradition of covers throughout reggae's history. Appearing a year late, the 1975 single came in Jamaican and US pressings, a nod to Konduko's roots, having started in Kingston before the move to Miami in the earlier part of the decade.

A warning against allowing the poor to go hungry, with the prophetic "a hungry mob is an angry mob", the cover includes a lot of the Miami feel Sporty was incorporating. With instrumentation again from the Ocean Liners KC And Sunshine backing band), the horns and guitar raise the soul, with counter keys, Part 1 is a straight vocal, while Part 2 is close to a Version but more than an instrumental and in its title, shows its funk and soul background too. A perfect end to the series, the uplifting tracking belies the powerful message, bringing the Miami swing to the JA groove once more.

Before 2 drew the world’s eyes to Canadian crooner Mac DeMarco, the spark was heard sooner on the debut EP Rock and Roll Night Club.



Demarco has been the antithesis to the stereotypical singer-songwriter for the past decade. Disregarding the seriously sombre moments on Rock and Roll Night Club, he refuels throughout with whimsical moments and youthful spontaneity whilst retaining the endearing and subtle commentaries that exude his familiarity.



His most impressive trait is his undeniable and instinctual ability to compose magical pop jangles. His dusted jams have garnished him accolades that are ever increasing alongside his discography; his sound rendering wide comparisons, but in a nomadic fashion, alluding no distinct origin except for Mac himself.



The 10th anniversary pressing of Rock and Roll Night Club compiles all 12 original recordings - including bonus tracks “Only You” and “Me and Mine” - pressed on limited edition Night Club vinyl, with brand new liners written by DeMarco reflecting on his time writing and recording what would become the world’s introduction to one of indie’s most influential songwriters.

From Pacific City Discs, to you the listener, this summer, a DJ mix of fantasy and splash-energy is coming to you in a small edition of vinyl.  Fantasy writer/recording artist, Francesco Cavaliere, while visiting his seaside childhood vacation location, was extended an impromptu invitation, to DJ an 80s swimming club. He had this to say about his experience:

“I was at Shangri-La and a boy and girl from the bathhouse in silver swimsuits and sand-colored streaks waved me over with a drink and asked me if I would like to DJ the next day during my lesson on the beach at Tana del Pirata! I then and there I laughed but then I accepted (I had nothing at home just my mp3 player and a Nokia with music inside) The next day there was a little wind on the beach and the umbrellas swayed to the left. From the heat they could catch fire, white flames, instead the sea was rough and that wind with very long wrists cheered us up, blowing gaseous clouds in our faces. Perfect for the day ahead. After the first few pieces, I began to see that a group of kids jumped into the adjacent pool trying flips bombs and candle dives. Someone at the bar was playing Altered Beast .. so sipping a drink with ice I imagined DJ werewolf repeating catchy pieces while a kite half cobra half skyscraper inflated above us.”

This Impromptu Disc is fresh now, for you to frolic with this summer, while entertaining a daydream in the midst of entering a body of water while witnessing an apparition in the sky.

Selected and compiled by Francisco Cavaliere
Artwork by Spencer Clark

Please welcome Barış Karademir, Istanbul's edit master, DJ, and musician with Insanlar on Live At Robert Johnson!

If you're a person that likes to get up late, Barış's first track »Noon« is the one for you. It sort of sets the mood for the whole EP with a groove that is deep and hypnotic and above all psychedelic. There's tremolo en masse plus these in and out fading voices that suck you into Mr. K's world - all kept together by this steady forward marching Barış beat. Pleasure, joy, and happiness - all in on groove - and not only effective at noon.

»La Dame Noir«'s most prominent feature is a mean bass line - plus more of those otherworldly sounds that Barış manages to pull out of his magician's hat while creating a superb shuffling riddim for all you dancers to shuffle along to, throwing in that oh so subtle triangle now and then.

With the last track »Valhalla«, Barış enters the mythological place of Asgard, where Valhalla, Odin's hall of the slain can be found in his Glaðsheimr castle. That kinda sounds a bit archaic and dark but don't be afraid: where there is shadow there is also light - light which can be heard in the first opening lines, lines that do sound a bit like played by our favorite shoegazer band "My Bloody Valentine". To get to Valhalla, Barış accelerates the tempo by a couple of beats, yet throws in all trademark ingredients to cook up a tune for peak time dancing in Valhalla … erm … I mean in the club.

So yes, please let us invite you to Barış K's wonderful world of sound - you won't regret it.

Once again Studio Mule dives deep into the music history of Japan, unearthing the multi-colored album “A-Key” by Eiki Nonaka, released as CD only on the short living japanese label Sun & Moon Records in 1995. An album, that uniquely unifies global ethnic music styles, the playfulness of Jazz, innovative electronic soundscapes, and the winding per-sonality of spiritual music.

It’s the only solo album of a musician, that is triggering the advanced electrified japanese music culture since the early 1980ees. Eiki Nonaka was part of electronic New Age quartet interiors, releasing the two minimalistic, synth-pop leaning albums “Interior” and “design” in 1982 and 1987. likewise, he was a member of Haruomi Hosono’s band friends of earth, playing, voicing, and tuning the drum machine, guitar, synthesizers, and mi-crophone on their second landmark experimental Pop Electronic album “Sex, Energy and Star”, released Hosono’s outstanding non-standard label in 1986.

His one and only solo album “A-Key” features the essence of all his musical journeys until 1995, bringing, as he puts it on his blog: viewz.jp, “all my musical career up to that point designed in sounds that were ringing in my head at that time. It's extremely introspective, but the various mental landscapes of that time are still vibrating fresh and acoustically new.”

KiNK's first release on Sofia Records this year lives up to its title and its creator's reputation. The relentless energy, love of musical adventure and undamped enthusiasm of a KiNK live set can be found here in all its glory.

Wake Up is not only an instruction and a hidden compliment to Laurent Garnier, it's also evidence of the Bulgarians uncanny ability to deliver steamrollers with various twists and turns, while hitting the peak effortlessly.
Beep Beep adds a certain element of mania to the menu. For the lack of a better description, please imagine Mr. Oizo and Steve Poindexter making a record together. Not for the faint at heart.
That can be said for the rest of the EP as well. Featuring Redeye, Room To Jack is on the same level of Beep Beep. Traditional topics of Chicago House get a bench test on a speed farm.
Dancing to Scrambler one would probably need the same room to jack. Swapping the Windy City with British raving fields, KiNK and Raredub deliver a take on the early sound of UK that might miss breakbeats, but manage to re-use all the other ingredients to a hair: fine-tuned and updated. Quotation without modern misinterpretation. Hyper and epic at the same time. And always remember the future!

Tossing down straight acoustic shots with electric guitar back, Hello, Hi rides through the valley of yer ol' Canyon legends, finding an isolated place to unspool Ty's copious reserves of nervous energy beneath an open sky. Swarms of harmony vocals caper among the clouds, but there's a rider on the horizon behind, with crossbow trained on his very own heart - the engine driving all the relationships of life, whether down Broadway or over the cliffs at night! Whatever doesn't get killed is getting stronger all the time. A lean, mean deal, baked in saltwater and sunlight, compassion pouring out it's beautiful blue eyes.

Musically, Hackney-based female trio deep tan draw on the brooding, melodic indie of early FOALS and Warpaint, their sound is always seductive, but also underpinned with an edge of darkness. An undercurrent of post-punk in the vein of contemporaries Dry Cleaning, Drahla and black midi – in addition to multiple comparisons with post-punk pioneers Television – mean their sets never stray far from the shadows. In the past year and a half deep tan have been the darlings of indie tastemaker press such as So Young, DIY, NOTION, Dork, CLASH, had a 3 page spread in Loud & Quiet December 2019 issue and have been selected as NME 100 and for the Green Man Rising competition. Their tracks have had plays on BBC Radio 6, BBC Whales, Apples Beats 1 and Radio X, as well as Apple Music’s ‘Breaking alternative' in the US.

I can remember sitting in the booth after a botched take, so many years ago during the original Nation of Heat sessions, and being astounded at how much I had to learn. I could barely make it through a full song without fumbling the fingerpicking pattern, or breaking a string, or cracking my voice. In that moment, it felt like I was standing on the shore of a vast ocean over which I had every need but no ability to cross. Thankfully the songs themselves struck a chord with many listeners which gave me the chance to embark on that long journey. There followed a serious education on the stages of the Tractor Tavern in Seattle and the Turf Club in Minneapolis and the Hideout in Chicago and the Mercury Lounge in New York City and the Tricky Falls Theater in El Paso and the Bottleneck in Lawrence KS. I spent over a decade in tiny clubs across the United States putting one foot in front of the other, musically speaking. And so here I am again with this original set of songs, recorded now as I had always wished they could have been. -Joe Pug Greenbelt, MD 12/21

Born in march 2000, ANGELUS APATRIDA became in few years one of the most important Spanish thrash metal bands. Many demos and band members passed through the history of ANGELUS APATRIDA but it was in January 2003 that the band decided to write pounding thrash metal , mostly influenced by like Pantera, Megadeth, Overkill, Anthrax or Annihilator. ANGELUS APATRIDA released their 7th, self-titled album in 2021 and conquered the top of the official album charts in Spain (#1) and it also marked the band’s first ever chart entries in Germany (#49) and Switzerland (#41) . The band ’s classic album’ Clockwork’ , ’The Call’ and ‘ Hidden Revolution’ have been much sought after in vinyl format and reached ridiculously high prices online. Listenable is now happy to reissue those albums in limited edition coloured vinyls with brand new vinyl mastering and meet the huge demand ! . First come First served !

Born in march 2000, ANGELUS APATRIDA became in few years one of the most important Spanish thrash metal bands. Many demos and band members passed through the history of ANGELUS APATRIDA but it was in January 2003 that the band decided to write pounding thrash metal , mostly influenced by like Pantera, Megadeth, Overkill, Anthrax or Annihilator. ANGELUS APATRIDA released their 7th, self-titled album in 2021 and conquered the top of the official album charts in Spain (#1) and it also marked the band’s first ever chart entries in Germany (#49) and Switzerland (#41) . The band ’s classic album’ Clockwork’ , ’The Call’ and ‘ Hidden Revolution’ have been much sought after in vinyl format and reached ridiculously high prices online. Listenable is now happy to reissue those albums in limited edition coloured vinyls with brand new vinyl mastering and meet the huge demand ! . First come First served !

Bringing together some of the most incredibly spellbinding songs from a masterclass in song writing and one of R&B's biggest forces in the development of
black music. More than any other artist on the planet, Stevie Wonder's music has crossed the divides and cemented different races and generations with
million-selling records that offer both depth and jubilation. Greatest Hits Live celebrates the journey to worldwide success with a sublime collection of live
performances that not only capture his most iconic hits, but also the soul of the man who made them.
Get Yer Vinyl Out invites you to experience the legendary Stevie Wonder, performing hit after hit, live on stage, in a sensational and exclusive collection.
Superb, professionally remastered original broadcasts, presented with background liners and timeline photos.
Tracks recorded at ‘Wonderlove’, Soul! TV, New York City, NY, 19th November 1972 (WNET 13); Masonic Temple Theatre, Detroit, MI 14th April 1984 (WRIFFM); ‘NYC Song Competition Awards’, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 27th September 1986 (WNEW-FM) and Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA, 28th
November 1988 (WREK-FM).
A 180g Eco mixed vinyl release, pressed on randomly mixed colour compound and presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve.

‘They Threw Us All In A Trench And Stuck A
Monument On Top’ is the first instalment of the
new Liars reissue series, where an album from the
back catalogue will be released on recycled
coloured vinyl every two months.
 The campaign kicks off with Liars’ debut album,
originally released in 2001 and recorded over two
days in Brooklyn, New York with producer Steve
Revitte (The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion,
Beastie Boys). At the time of release, Liars were
Melbourne born Angus Andrew (vocals & pedals),
Aaron Hemphill from LA (guitar & drum machine)
and Nebraskians Pat Nature (bass & synthbox)
and drummer Ron Albertson.
 “There’s an angular funk core to the tunes, built
around insanely brilliant drumming… and they
have the most poetic psychopunk song titles out
there - the LP’s called ‘They Threw Us All In A
Trench And Stuck A Monument On Top’.” - NME
 “It's vicious, but you can dance to it!” - Pitchfork
 LP pressed on coloured recycled vinyl.

The Catatonics were Syracuse and Central New York’s first hardcore punk band. (Non-Returnable.)

Besides pioneering the original 1981/1982 Syracuse Hardcore scene, their classic Hunted Down EP/7" is considered one of the first hardcore thrash/metal crossover releases, right up there with COC or DRI and remains a sought after (and pricey) collectors item 30+ years after it's release.

Often compared to Jerry's Kids, SSD, Negative Approach and even Slayer, The Catatonics weren't followers or imitators, more like period contemporaries. Although the wait has been decades in the making, Southern Lord will be reissuing Hunted Down as a 12” vinyl release with bonus tracks.

Grammy-nominated album features some of Albert's most popular tracks
like "I Ain't Drunk," "Lights Are On But Nobody's Home" and "Too Many
Dirty Dishes
" The Master of the Telecaster's last Alligator release, and his favorite, finds him
backed by a hand- picked all- star band featuring organist Jimmy McGriff and
guitarist Mel Brown, plus the Uptown Horns. All tracks remastered.

Bangers from the King of Baltimore.

Repress

‘Bad Neighbor’ is a collaborative studio album by rappers MED and Blu and producer Madlib. Originally released on October 30, 2015, the 13 track LP features guest appearances from the likes of the late MF DOOM, Aloe Blacc, Mayer Hawthorne, Jimetta Rose, Dâm-Funk, and Oh No. The album is undoubtedly an extension of all three artists’ signature sounds, but it simultaneously defies all precedents to reaffirm each individual’s position at the forefront of LA’s legendary hip-hop landscape.

For the first since it’s original release date, the album is set to be rereleased on vinyl in a special edition red and black color-in-color configuration equipped with two new mixes of the focus tracks, “The Strip (feat. Anderson .Paak)” and “Knock Knock (feat. MF DOOM).”

"Bad Neighbor is as if the Ruff Ryders albums were reimagined by this trio and all the avant heads get to party, but it is also worth mentioning that the often slept-on MED and Blu seem to steer this beast as much as the beloved Madlib." -AllMusic

Sol Set is a Detroit-based collective, an amalgamation of composers, musicians, artists and vocalists brought together by producer John Beltran, whose new label All Good Music chooses its debut album for its inaugural release. John Beltran and Shane Donnelly preside over seven sumptuous and confident slices of modern, sub-kissed soul and Latin sure to put a smile on anyone's face, even those of us faced with an altogether more British summer. Influences range from the Steve Wonder-style double vocals of 'Bliss Mode' to the South American 'Rhythm of the Sun', which echoes the beach bum haziness of Jorge Ben, but the vibe remains joyful and skillfully yet effortlessly executed throughout. Gorgeous.