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HOROJO Trio is the soul-rocking rhythm and blues trio that won Best
Band at the 2020 International Blues Challenge in Memphis Drummer Jamie Holmes, singer/keyboardist Jeff Rogers and guitarist/singer JWJones (who also won Best Guitarist at International Blues Challenge 2020) have individually helped to create music that reached the Top 10 Billboard Blues Charts, was nominated for JUNO Awards, and have performed in live music venues internationally. Set The Record is their debut album.

The trio came together in a chance jam session that was so inspired, it left both the audience and the trio wanting more. Even before their first gig, the blues music media called them a "blues super- group". The band have performed at several top blues festivals and venues including a high profile spot on the stage of the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise in January 2022.

In September 2021, VOLA performed an intimate show in a stunning live setting

'Live From The Pool' took place at the swimming pool of the abandoned Auderød military camp in North Zealand near Copenhagen, Denmark. Designed by the world-famous architect Henning Larsen this defunct building has become part of the Auderød nature park. A place where nature encounters the mysteries of a
once existing military base, ready to be explored.

Creating a unique experience, the bands' genre-melding music collaborates with visionary Danish audio-visual artist collective Vertigo, where light, nature, music, and concrete meet.

Birthed in the bohemian enclave and epicentre of strange vibrations that is Calderdale in West Yorkshire, Hexen Valley’s story began in summer 2021 when a new formation of Gnod came together in a co-op house at the 200-year-old Nutclough Tavern. As always, the line-up of the collective shifted and morphed to fit circumstances, and soon they embarked on intensive jamming that was eventually captured by Sam Greenwood in Hebden Bridge Underground studios. Inspiration struck not only from the chemistry of the four musicians in this confined room but all around - the band’s Paddy Shine cites the likes of shop noticeboard messages and pub conversations in Hebden as lyrical sparks; channeling by his reckoning the ‘valley fever’ that exists somewhere in the chasms and contrasts between the amazing light and vivacity of the valley summit and the comparative darkness of the towns below. Meanwhile, musical shapes were making themselves known seemingly of their own volition, from ‘Still Running’, which takes shape across a sonic hinterland between Daydream Nation-style kineticism and sludged-out aggression to ‘Bad Apple’ - an entirely spontaneous piece of potent and angular post-punk intensity. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, Lou Reed’s tour-bus favourite ‘Waves Of Fear’ is hammered out with fearsome gusto into a salvo of first-take catharsis and alchemy, fit to transcend all or any oppressive atmospheres that surround.Hexen Valley is the sound of a band whose fearsome intensity is only matched by their evolutionary drive. It’s Gnod at full power, and it’s a haunted place you might struggle to leave

Birthed in the bohemian enclave and epicentre of strange vibrations that is Calderdale in West Yorkshire, Hexen Valley’s story began in summer 2021 when a new formation of Gnod came together in a co-op house at the 200-year-old Nutclough Tavern. As always, the line-up of the collective shifted and morphed to fit circumstances, and soon they embarked on intensive jamming that was eventually captured by Sam Greenwood in Hebden Bridge Underground studios. Inspiration struck not only from the chemistry of the four musicians in this confined room but all around - the band’s Paddy Shine cites the likes of shop noticeboard messages and pub conversations in Hebden as lyrical sparks; channeling by his reckoning the ‘valley fever’ that exists somewhere in the chasms and contrasts between the amazing light and vivacity of the valley summit and the comparative darkness of the towns below. Meanwhile, musical shapes were making themselves known seemingly of their own volition, from ‘Still Running’, which takes shape across a sonic hinterland between Daydream Nation-style kineticism and sludged-out aggression to ‘Bad Apple’ - an entirely spontaneous piece of potent and angular post-punk intensity. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, Lou Reed’s tour-bus favourite ‘Waves Of Fear’ is hammered out with fearsome gusto into a salvo of first-take catharsis and alchemy, fit to transcend all or any oppressive atmospheres that surround.Hexen Valley is the sound of a band whose fearsome intensity is only matched by their evolutionary drive. It’s Gnod at full power, and it’s a haunted place you might struggle to leave

Very limited new repress coming, note new price. An air of the unsettled is a staple of Robert Lloyd’s career, from The Prefects’s dank dexterity and jittery paranoia of the first Nightingales’ release, Idiot Strength, onward through four decades of top-notch recordings. If the unique persona of Lloyd and crew always came across on their ten albums and countless line-ups, it was largely as an acquired taste of the musical cognoscenti. Labels good and bad seemed to feel, at one point or another, a public duty and a point of pride to release a Nightingales album before returning to the business of business. Four Against Fate is remarkable. It’s the work of what’s now the band’s longest-serving line-up. The instrumental precision of any version of Nightingales has been one of the band’s defining hallmarks, but the psychic interplay of a group can take a few albums to kick in with full majesty - here’s proof of that. The rhythm section of Fliss and Andi functions now on a purely intuitive level. Jim’s work now ranks with that of any guitarist in modern ‘rock’ music, not just in originality, but also across an egalitarian mass of inspiration. Each member sings. Although Robert’s voice functions as the band’s superego, Fliss takes lead in several songs. Few bands today sound as much like a single unit as do Nightingales, but this group has the bonus of a distinct and credible musical language, exemplified by The Desperate Quartet, which comes across as both a medieval war march and the anthem of looming apocalypse. When at the song’s halfway point, American classical musician Clara Kebabian’s violin and Mark Bedford’s (of Madness) double bass overtake the Robert, Fliss, Jim and Andi, it’s a jawdropper of such intense perversity that it alone defies the listener to not play the album again from the start. Not that this album lacks ‘hits’ - The Top Shelf, Everything Everywhere All Of The Time, Devil’s Due and The Other Side are stunners. Robert claims Four Against Fate is the first of his album on which he skips no tracks on playback! Finally, the world has awakened to one of British music’s last treasures. After forty years of new labels, this is the first time Nightingales have released an album on the same label as their last full-length.

Surface Air is the lovechild of a long relationship between Malka Tuti & Black Merlin. After remixing Tapan and Shari Vari for the label, as well as being part of Spectral Empire who released Iron Muscle with us on 2018, George has always been an inspiration for us, both sonically and spiritually.

His new record, Surface Air, in which the A-side is accompanied with vocals from Dallas artist Aura Nox, is a slow burning deep record for the late emo hours of the night, for you trippy after hour or your late night drive. On the B-side you can also find a Remix from an artist we’ve been following for years here in MT, and that when his name came up in a conversation with George (BM) as a possible remixer, excitement levels went through the roof.

The Remix Wata Igarashi delivered is a stripped down epic ambient track, ala late 90’s Pete Namlook endeavours with some 2022’s Wata Igarashi unique sonic aesthetics.

‘Aloha Got Soul’ encompasses a vibrant era of contemporary music made in Hawai’i during the 1970s to the mid-1980s as jazz, rock, funk, disco and R&B co-existed alongside Hawaiian folk music. Hawai’i’s identity had undergone huge change: statehood into America in ‘59 and the Vietnam War were the backdrop as Hawai’i’s youth found inspiration in a new wave of international music led initially by The Beatles and Stones and, later, by US R&B bands like Earth Wind & Fire and Tower Of Power. Garage bands flourished during the ‘60s and, by the ‘70s, live music was at its peak. Waikiki was filled with clubs: The Point After, Infinity’s, Hawaiian Hut, Spats and more.
For the ‘70s generation of artists, some came through the talent contest ‘Home Grown’ and its accompanying compilation LP. In 1978, Hawaiian was made the official state language and a huge movement arose to revive hula and traditional music. Steve & Teresa’s ‘Kaho’olawe Song’ longs for an island long gone: the US military had used Kaho’olawe as a bombing range since Pearl Harbor. Nohelani Cypriano sang about the once sleepy town of Kailua, now a popular tourist destination: “Kailua needs no high-rise with her blue skies, not for our eyes. Can you realize?” Leading Hawaiian artists like Aura, Mike Lundy and keyboardist Kirk Thompson’s Lemuria took time in high quality facilities like Broad Recording Studio to make albums. Others grabbed studio time when they could: Tender Leaf’s Murray Compoc worked for the city bus by day and recorded an album during night sessions. Other albums were spontaneous. In 1983, Steve Maii & Teresa Bright recorded an acoustic set in just 3 hours after being invited to a studio following a gig.

For the artists of the ‘70s, the climate for music changed rapidly during the mid-‘80s as DJ culture grew and live venues shut down. Hawai’i’s R&B era shone brightly and relatively briefly but, despite brilliant musicians, regular gigs and LP releases, most of the music barely made it to the mainland. Thanks largely to Aloha Got Soul’s Roger Bong, a new interest in this fertile era of Hawaiian music has grown, culminating in this compilation of overlooked gems. ‘Aloha Got Soul’ is compiled and annotated by Bong and features rare photos and original artwork.

Lost somewhere between the mysterious alleys of 70s Istanbul and the scorching sun and crystal blue sea of Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Şatellites self-titled debut album is set to be released on Batov Records on April 1st.

The Şatellites’ sound shimmers between traditional Turkish folk and instrumentation, ethereal psychedelic guitar leads and groovy dance floor baselines. The resulting concoction of songs draws on cross continental influence yet at its core is a desire to illuminate the vivid qualities of classic Turkish music, honouring the Anatolian folk and psych artists from this golden era of music. From the funky disco beat of Disko Arabesque to the celestial lead guitar in Yağmur Yağar Taş Üstüne, the band add fire and flair to time-honoured pieces of Turkish music giving them new meanings. Covering important tracks such as female singer Kamuran Akkor’s track Olurmu Dersin, and musician and guitarist Zafer Dilek’s Yekte, the album covers an array of original pieces of different musical styles and sounds, that once have and continue to flow out of Turkey. The band boasts six members; Ariel Harrosh (Bass) Lotan Yaish (Drums), Yuli Shafriri (Vocals), Tsuf Mishali (Keys and Synths), Tal Eyal (Percussion) and Itamar Kluger (Diwan saz, both electric and acoustic, electric baglama, Greek 4 double string bouzouki). They came together some years after band leader Itamar Kluger discovered the saz whilst travelling the Kaçkar mountains in Turkey’s eastern region. The saz being a long necked, plucked stringed instrument native to the rural areas of the country, which remains an integral part of Şatellites’ union, and plays predominance throughout the bands’ album and music.

In the same way the guitar was electrified in the 1930s, the electrification of the saz in the 1960s led to an explosion of rock music dredged in middle eastern influence, a musical genre fittingly called “Anatolian Rock” and based on the principles of Anglo-American and psychedelic rock music, yet incorporating the style, rhythm, and scales of traditional Anatolian folk music.

As such, throughout the creation of the album, the band conceived the idea of intertwining differing elements such as the groove of funk, the rhythm of disco, and reverb of psychedelic, with traditional middle-eastern rhythm and structure, opening up the wealth of Turkish music to the western world, so that anyone and everyone can relate to something from the album. With that said, Şatellites emphasise that their music is not fundamentally Turkish music, on the contrary, they merely try to sound as close to the genre as possible. Their sole aim is to honour this amazing culture and to present it to the world in a more accessible and attainable form.

WELCOME to the third volume in our Wigan Casino mini-series exploring the diverse playlist of the world's No.1 Northern Soul venue. The 23rd September 2018 marks the 45th Anniversary of the super club and we have selected 18 tracks that we hope capture the unique atmosphere of the huge ballroom and the mesmerizing dance moves that held us spellbound all those years ago.
WIGAN CASINO finally closed its doors in December 1981 after eight long years of weekly All-Nighters, during which time it came to define Northern Soul. The term had, of course, been coined years earlier, but it was the Casino Soul Club that established the style of music and the scene to the wider public.
The Casino transformed the Northern Soul scene into a mass youth movement with its own sound track, uniform, cultural icons and a 100,000 strong membership. In reality, the stereotype of moustachioed young men in baggy trousers and vest tops, festooned with sew-on patches, was actually quite short lived. Northern Soul was ever evolving and as the Seventies progressed so did the music and the fashion, embracing soulful-disco and jazz-funk. Today, 45 years on, it is still evolving and attracts followers from all over the globe to its international Weekenders and Festivals. Right On!

Recorded in 1991 by the quintet of vocalist Billie Ray Martin and Birmingham-based electronic musicians Brian Nordhoff, Joe Stevens, Les Fleming and Roberto Cimarosti, Electribal Soul was conceived as the sequel to the band’s 1990 debut album, Electribal Memories.
Electribal Memories had yielded the hits ‘Talking With Myself’ and ‘Tell Me When The Fever Ended’ and pushed Electribe 101 to the forefront of a crossover electronic scene that fused dance music with pop savvy. They were snapped up by Phonogram, managed by Tom Watkins and hailed as “the next band to meet the Queen” by i-D. The band took the coveted support slot for Depeche Mode on their epochal World Violation tour and supported Erasure at Milton Keynes Bowl. Seen as the next big thing, everything pointed toward enduring critical success for Electribe 101, and the band settled into putting their second album together.
“There was a degree of confidence among us when we came to write the second album,” recalls Billie Ray Martin. “To me, the songs we put down sound like some of our finest moments.” More immediately lush and warm than the dancefloor-friendly structures of Electribal Memories, the clue to the sound of Electribal Soul lies in the second word in its title: soul. Songs like the aching sensuality of opening track ‘Insatiable Love’ or the emboldened defiance of ‘Moving Downtown’ showcase Billie Ray Martin’s distinctive vocal range as it moves from haunting quiet to dramatic, euphoric rapture. Lyrics from ‘Moving Downtown’ had found their way into ‘Pimps, Pushers, Prostitutes’ by S’Express, and the song would appear as ‘Running Around Town’ on Martin’s 1996 solo album. The strikingproduction on the version of the song presented on Electribal Soul suggests classic late sixties soul influences, such as those of legendary Motown producer Norman Whitfield, with the long shadow cast by Kraftwerk never being far away.
‘Deadline For My Memories’, the song that provided the title for Martin’s first solo album, was originally intended for the second Electribe 101 album. Its lyrics document a sense of freedom and liberation from the darkness of a bad relationship, accompanied by jazzy piano and organ sounds over a quiet rhythm and discrete electronics. In contrast, ‘A Sigh Won’t Do’ finds Martin in soothing vocal mode, despite its devastating message about the final ending of a strained relationship, her lyrics framed by restrained and subtle beats and sounds.
To spend time with Martin’s voice on Electribal Soul is to find yourself moved deep into the ordinarily impenetrable emotional corners of your own psyche. “I was into big ballads at the time and listening to all kinds of US and UK singers, and I was also young enough to want to prove myself as a belter of ballads,” explains Martin of the classic soul edge the album showcased.
Electribal Soul heads into darker territory with ‘Hands Up And Amen’. Originally written by Martin in Berlin in the period before moving to London and forming Electribe 101, the song was then perfected and enhanced by the band’s production nous. ‘Hands Up And Amen’ savagely documents the mugging of a woman in Queens, NY at gunpoint, only to resolve itself with a middle section that nods reverently toward gospel tradition. The song coalesces around a regimented break and burbling synths, finally ending with layers of urgent synth sounds.
Meanwhile, a cover of Throbbing Gristle’s ‘Persuasion’ takes us into a seedy world of sexual coercion and creepy infatuation, predating Martin’s chilling version of the track with progressive house unit Spooky two years later. Supported by a minimal, nagging rhythm and barely-fluctuating sounds, Electribe 101’s take on ‘Persuasion’ makes for uneasy listening, even though Martin manages to inject a sort of twisted sympathy for the protagonist as the song progresses.
That Electribe 101 were as comfortable offering complicated, nuanced tracks like ‘Persuasion’ alongside pop house bangers like ‘Space Oasis’ – written by Billie Ray Martin with Martin King before Electribe 101 was formed – is testament to the way the band wove their way effortlessly through electronic music reference points. Framed by light, jazzy piano melodies and string sounds, the energy of ‘Space Oasis’ soars so high that it could easily reach the moon, while highlighting how well-suited Martin’s voice has always been to club music. We hear the same reminder of her dance music credentials on ‘True Memories Of My World’, finding her describing a Hollywood actress who reflects on being used by directors to sell her ‘tears’.
Hooking up with the Birmingham-based Nordhoff, Stevens, Fleming and Cimarosti after placing a Melody Maker ad in 1988 (“Soul rebel seeks musicians – genius only”), it was clear that Martin had found a group that recognised the unique power and importance of her voice. Having worked with genres as diverse as reggae, rock and R&B, the four producers proved to be perfect collaborators, presenting carefully-sculpted backdrops that emphasised the towering emotional dexterity of her voice.
“Listening back to these tracks now, I was reminded of what a bunch of great musicians they were,” says Martin. “They had a rule that if a part still sounded good after a day or two then it could stay. If it bothered the vocals, it would go.” Even more so than on Electribal Memories, Electribal Soul places Martin at the captivating centre of these pieces, surrounding her voice with everything from dubby rhythms to chunky R&B beats to nascent trip hop breaks; wiry, acid-hued synths uncoil gently without ever dominating, while horn samples and lush, disco-inflected strings provide a rich, naturalistic accompaniment for Martin’s emotional outpourings.
The band finished mixing the album at London’s Olympic Studios in 1991. They were assisted by Apollo 440’s Howard Gray on production duties for ‘Deadline For My Memories’, ‘Insatiable Love’ and ‘Space Oasis’, with Gray supported by talented engineer Al Stone. Pre-release promo tapes were issued and an enthusiastic energy started to build around the band’s anticipated second album.
It was not meant to be. Against a backdrop of a worsening relationship with Tom Watkins, and a disinterested Phonogram, instead of receiving a positive reaction to the new tracks, Electribe 101 were swiftly dropped by their label. Electribal Soul languished, unreleased, and the band yielded to pressures that had been building and split up. After collaborating with Spooky and The Grid, Billie Ray Martin went on to release her seminal debut solo album in 1996, with it securing the era-defining hit ‘Your Loving Arms’, while the other group members continued to work together as The Groove Corporation.
Thirty years after the songs were recorded, we’re now finally able to hear what the second and final chapter of Electribe 101’s story sounded like. Electribal Soul shows that the band had really only just got started when they dropped their first album in 1990. Heard only by a select and privileged few, what followed elevated the band’s music to a completely new level, making Electribal Soul musical buried treasure of the most precious and rare variety.
Electribal Soul will be released on LP, CD and digital formats on 18th February 2022 through Electribal Records. The physical formats include extensive liner notes from Billie Ray Martin, and the album sleeve features unseen archive photographs by Lewis Mulatero from the original 1990 sessions with the band that were never used in the sleeve designs for Electribal Memories.

Rock Steady Cool is another fine collection of Rocksteady hits. The ‘Cool’ subtitle could not be more relevant to an album, as around 1966, an extreme heatwave hit the Jamaican island. This would not stop the all night dances from going ahead but the jerky Ska Rhythms proved too strenuous of an activity to partake in, so a new slower beat to suit this extreme weather had to be found and the ever resourceful music entrepreneurs came up with the slower paced beat and Rocksteady was born.

This two-year Rocksteady period ran until 1968 and would see some of the power escape from the big three producers, Clement ‘Coxone’ Dodd, Prince Buster and Duke Reid. It was time to make room for a new wave of up-and-coming producers that also had something to offer the people. Such names as Joel Gibson (Joe Gibbs), Sonia Pottinger, Derrick Harriott and most prolific of them all, Mr Bunny Lee would step forward and add some new musical touches to the island.

Rocksteady was an inspirational and somewhat overlooked sound that provided us with some outstanding music. So, sit back and enjoy some Rocksteady straight from the dances of Jamaica.

Hope You enjoy the set….

First Word Records is very proud to welcome back Don Leisure, with a brand new 25-track album 'Shaboo Strikes Back'.

Five years have passed since the first 'Shaboo' album was released. A collection of beats and pieces that documented the road trip of Don's youth - hip hop music interspersed with Asian radio station jingles of old, dedicated to Bollywood actor, Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwani - Don Leisure's late uncle.

This album was heralded as "the best album of its kind since J Dilla's 'Donuts'" and deemed "unmissable" by the folks at Piccadilly Records. It also had strong support from BBC 6 Music's Tom Ravenscroft ("very, very good this indeed"), Huey Morgan ("my beat of the week"), Worldwide FM's Lefto ("defo down with this"), Rob Da Bank ("this is wicked") and the likes of Mathieu Schreyer (KCRW, LA), Alex Ruder (KEXP, Seattle), Kid Fonque (5FM, South Africa), Om Unit, Jon1st, Mr Thing, Rob Luis (Tru Thoughts), Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s), Tim Parker (NTS) and tons more from across the globe.

Don Leisure is a DJ and producer based in Cardiff, Wales, sometimes known as one half of Darkhouse Family, along with Earl Jeffers. He's been a prolific beat-maker for many years, releasing under a variety of monikers for labels such as Metalheadz, International Anthem, Fat City, Izwid, Earnest Endeavours and Group BraCil. His most recent release was a remix for Gruff Rhys, which was released on Rough Trade.

In 2020 he was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize for his 'Steel Zakusi' project, and has dropped several releases for First Word, including the acclaimed 2019 'Halal Cool J' album and various Darkhouse Family projects, including collabs with artists as diverse as Charlotte Church, Om'Mas Keith and Children of Zeus's Tyler Daley, additionally to remixes from DJ Spinna and label-mate, Kaidi Tatham. As a DJ he has provided mixes for BBC 6 Music, NTS, Rinse FM, Solid Steel and Boxout FM in India, as well as performing at The Jazz Cafe, Fabric and on Boiler Room.

'Shaboo Strikes Back' is a much-awaited sequel to the 2017 smash, and again features a modest 25 tracks. Psychedelic fuzzy samples and phat beats aplenty, Don Leisure once again takes us on a far-out trip across soundscapes. A real tapestry of flavours, from jazz to reggae, and from the soulful to the spiritual, this time round he's invited a few special guests to join him on his travels - most notably Welsh legend Gruff Rhys provides the vocals on 'Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo)', whilst acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid and Jazzman-signed harpist Amanda Whiting lend their talents to 'All Praises Due'. There is even a special cameo appearance from his young daughter, (aka Shaboo's great-niece!), Naima, on 'Naima's Dream'.

Once again, this is a journey into sound.

'Shaboo Strikes Back' is released on vinyl & digital by First Word Records, March 2022.

Dedicated to Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwan
























x 24: Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo) feat. Gruff Rhys

Dutch producer returns to Boogie Angst for instrumental sophomore LP

Rotterdam, The Netherlands - Boogie Angst proudly presents Music Ruined My Life, the brand new instrumental LP from Rotterdam-based artist and producer Moods.

Dropping in the wake of front runner singles 'Talk About It,' and 'Music Saved My Life',' the Dutchman's notorious fusion of soul, R&B, and alternative influences takes a whole new dynamic courtesy of his first fully live recorded offering.

Recorded live in the city of Leiden during the peak of the pandemic alongside a full band, the LP taps effortlessly into the balance of soulful and jazz-inspired undertones that have hallmarked the project since breakthrough single 'Love Is Real.' A tastemaker favorite and label staple, the LP shows a more intricate and uncaged spin on the Moods sound, which has been consistently hailed by tastemakers globally and sampled by the likes of Logic.

The supple guitar plucks and resonating brass of 'Deeper Water' sets the LP in motion, building towards the funkier and perkier swells of album cuts such as 'Ecstacy' and 'Push Pull.' Capped by 'Return To 4ever,' a sultry and deeply atmospheric fusion of jazz and contemporary soul sounds, the eight-track endeavour shows that for all his streaming and collaborative success, the rich musicianship of the Moods project has not waivered.

"There really wasn't a huge concept or target for this record, it was more about tapping into the pure joy of making and creating music," he explains. "The pandemic was such a weird time, there was a lot of uncertainty in all aspects of life. So it almost felt like the perfect time to try something new. Having the band together in one room was a real rush, I liked how the record came together and how each artist brought their own energy to the project.

"I enjoy working with vocals, and I think the vocalists I have worked with on projects so far have been amazing. But when you take that element out and focus more on the instrumentation and arrangement, it's a really different experience, and that's something I really enjoyed for Music Ruined My Life.

Moods garnered more than 30m+ streams globally for debut LP Zoom Out, and has continued to leap from strength-to-strength courtesy of his soulful take on the boundaries between electronic and contemporary R&B.

Gondwana Records sign LA bassist and composer Seth Ford-Young's Phi-Psonics project and announce a remastered deluxe-edition of The Cradle featuring bonus material

Phi-Psonics is a meditative, immersive instrumental group from Los Angeles, led by bassist Seth Ford-Young and featuring Sylvain Carton on woodwinds, Mitchell Yoshida on electric piano, and Josh Collazo on drums. Their deeply soulfulmusic draws on jazz and classical influences together with Ford-Young's own musical experiences, relationships, and his introduction to spirituality, yoga and philosophy at a young age, to create something uniquely its own. Phi-Psonics' name and ultimate aim is to find 'Phi' – the golden mean – in art, nature and self. Ford-Young explains:

"It's a bit of a cliché, but music saved my life many times and instilled in me a belief in the great power of healing through art. It is my hope and intention that this music provides healing to someone somewhere."

Originally from Washington DC area, Ford-Young moved to California in the early 90s and fell in love with the deep sounds of the upright bass and the music of Charles Mingus, John and Alice Coltrane, and Duke Ellington along with Bach, Chopin, Pärt, and Satie. He immersed himself deeply in music and keen to learn combinedintense personal study with collaborations, tours, and recordings with artists such as Tom Waits, Beats Antique, and John Vanderslice. In 2010 he moved from the San-Francisco Bay area to the Los Angeles hills and continued his explorations. But great music is rarely just about music and Ford-Young's meditative, soulful music draws on more than just the twin wellsprings of jazz and classical music:

"My mother was a yoga teacher from the early 70's until recently and taught me yoga and meditation at an early age, my stepfather is an Aikido instructor and student of the teachings of Gurdjieff. Those were all early areas of study that I came back to many times throughout my life. Phi-Psonics has been a project that unapologetically synthesizes some of these ideas into our music".

It's this mixture of influences, musical and extramusical, that gives the music of Phi-Psonics it's immersive quality and quiet power. Revealingly the music that would becomeThe Cradle, wasn't written specifically for an album, originally Ford-Young was just writing down what was coming through. As time went by and the album began to take shape, the world situation seemed to be getting darker and his compositions aim to offer hope as a response to the negative influences that abound today. Remarkably for such a beautiful sounding record, it was recorded at the composer's home, rather than in a studio, but the relaxed nature of this process gives the music an airy lightness that propels the music to some magical spaces.

Originally self-released on vinyl in a limited run just as the world went into lockdown, The Cradle reached Matthew Halsall (founder of Gondwana Records) when he aws looking for music for his Worldwide FM show and he was blown away, hearing a kindred spirit at work. Halsall explains:

"Phi-Psonics make beautiful, humble and honest music, it's not showy, but it has a deep vibe that will elevate your mind and soul if you let it. When we heard The Cradle we reached out and are really super delighted to welcome Seth and his band to our label". Whereas for Ford Young: "Connecting with Matthew and the Gondwana records family has been a light in the darkness of the last years - to have my music make connections even as we are more isolated."

Ford-Young is currently putting the finishing touches to the second Phi-Psonics record, but aware that only a select few had heard The Cradle, let alone had the chance to buy a copy, and entranced by its deceptive simplicity and elevating energy, Halsall suggested that Gondwana present the album as a remastered 'deluxe edition' with an extended running time featuring extra tracks and new artwork from Daniel Halsall.

The Cradle starts with First Step, perfectly setting the tone for the whole album, it is a beautiful, soulful slice of musical calm gently propelled by Ford-Young's resonant bass and elevated by sublime flute and Wurlitzer electric piano solos. The seductive title track The Cradle was written way back in 2011 during a time of great personal change that led the composer to a feeling of newness and nurture. The magical, winsome Desert Ride is inspired by many rides through the grandly cinematic Mojave Desert. You can experience how incredibly full of life it's harsh landscape is if you slow down to its tempo. The gentle, sublime Mama is a tribute to mothers of all kinds, beautiful and heroic. Drum Talk was largely improvised, Ford-Young and the band agreed on a topic and recorded their conversation. Choosing their notes based on how Josh's drums were tuned. Like Glass is named for the special properties of Glass. Like some music, glass is delicate, yet has structure. The first of the two bonus tracks Still Dancing was written during the early days of 2020 in response to the challenges we all were facing then. It's a reminder that the figurative dance continues and that real dancing is essential. And the second, The Searcher, also written as a response to 2020, is a gently hypnotic song about the introspection and growth that can spring from a difficult situation.

This then is The Cradle, a quiet self-contained masterpiece, life-affirming and elevating in equal measure and the first offering from a wonderful new voice in spiritual jazz and the latest members of the global Gondwana Records family.

A masterful mix of timeless American soul with vintage 1970s African samples in a most rewarding way – musical traveler Eamon teams with production duo Likeminds for No Matter The Season, his second album for Now-Again. “I’ve been singing since I was a tike, promoters used to call me ‘the boy wonder’, but with this record it felt new, almost like I was singing every note as if my life depended on it,” says Eamon from his home in Southern California, a far cry from his native Staten Island, New York City. But you wouldn’t know his birthplace from the way he sings, especially on No Matter The Season, where Eamon put a new spin on vintage samples from the Now-Again catalog, crafting beats from various African rhythms such as Amanaz’s Zamrock, the Hygrades Nigerian funk, and Ayalew Mesfin’s Ethiopian tezetas. Shortly after the release of his last Now-Again project, Captive Thoughts, he began working with the production duo on two original compositions that appear on No Matter The Season. But as time went on, he came upon the idea of completing the album by sending the duo samples from the Now-Again catalog to work with. Which were expanded upon with a multitude of live instruments. “There was something special about combing through the African records at Now-Again,” Eamon reflects. “I had never heard the variety of funk and soul that existed in places like Lagos and Addis Ababa, it was like a history lesson in Rhythm & Blues. I was hearing the godfathers of the movement here in the US. I wanted to pay my respect to that lineage. Since singing in my father’s doo-wop group as a kid, I’ve always used music from the past to create and express something new in the present. But to be able to do that across continents and get back to the roots…that was really impactful for me.” Likeminds, helmed by Chris Soper and Jesse Singer, two East Coast transplants to LA who are as comfortable chopping up samples on an MPC as they are playing classic instruments, using vintage microphones, or recording to tape, offer up what could be described as a West Coast spin on the revivalist soul sound championed by Daptone Records. “For sure, the album is soaked in an old school feel, but to still tap into the depths of my soul today is always the end goal,” Eamon states. All but two tracks are based on Now-Again samples, using the classic rhythms as accompaniment to showcase Eamon’s emotional singing style that is still as honest and raw as when he was a 16, singing about heartbreak. The end result, No Matter the Season, is a celebration of the musical relationship between Africa and America and the thrilling soul music that relationship has spawned since the 60s and 70s. “My hope is people know that I’m not leaving anything on the table in this chapter of my career,” Eamon reflects. “Only thing I can do is pour my heart out on every single line. Even though I’m writing and screaming to the heavens about my joy, my pain, my love…these are songs for everyone, everywhere, anytime. You’re gonna walk away feeling something. This is why I titled the album No Matter The Season.”

Tape

Quiet Rituals draws inspiration from the seemingly mundane tasks and habits in our daily lives which serve to keep us grounded in uncertain times.

Synthesizers, samplers, tape loops, and field recordings by Scott Campbell.
Recorded and mixed 2021 in New Orleans, LA.
Polaroid SX-70 photo by Scott Campbell.

First vinyl pressing is Limited to 1500 copies in 2 Colour variants. Transparent Aquamarine and green twisted stripe and transparent blue and cherry twisted stripe vinyl (Indies Only). Gatefold sleeve. Full download included as well. CD package is a 4 panel digipack, with a 4 page booklet. New Heavy Sounds is proud to present the new album by Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. now known simply as MWWB. There has been some speculation amongst fan circles that the final part of the trilogy of albums that preceded this, marked the end of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s five-year mission. Not so. We can categorically confirm that having officially slimmed their name down to the acronym, MWWB are continuing their voyage through the far reaches of the galaxy. The first phase of that journey is their new album ‘The Harvest’. ‘The Harvest’ is the band’s fourth album, and of course it is a record shot through with the trademark heavy MWWB sound, and their unique blend of metal and shoegaze. However it also sees the band adding more experimentation, a progressive approach, and going a bit more left field conceptually. To some extent, it shares similarities with Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Not only by having the mix of experimentation and melodicism as that seminal record, but also in the way that it has been engineered and constructed as a seamless piece. Nine tracks flowing into one another. Space age riff monsters segueing into shorter musical interludes, where John Carpenter, rubs shoulders with Pink Floyd and a maelstrom of moog and mellotron. There are surprises, and of course a bucketload of heavy shit. With ‘The Harvest’ MWWB have refined and honed their sound, it’s a carefully crafted distillation of ideas, written, conceived and sequenced to be listened to in its entirety (preferably in one sitting). MWWB have always loved film scores and this new album is in many ways, the soundtrack to a film. MWWB provides the musical narrative (the song titles also provide a pointer) and the listener's imagination does the rest. ‘Oblok Magellana’ and its spooky atmospherics set the scene. before things really kick in with the riffs of title track ‘The Harvest’. A grooving Sabbathian chug intro’s Jessica Ball, who at the top of her game throughout. Her voice simultaneously sweet yet dark; almost neofolk; which when put against those riffs, is always a startling juxtaposition, nevertheless it perfectly crystallises MWWB’s distinctive dynamic. ‘Interstellar Wrecking’ is a succinctly crafted nugget of John Carpenter-esque drama, you can imagine the thundering mothership forging its way through the universe on some nameless quest before encountering ‘Logic Bomb’ and its fat fuzzed-up ride through light and shade guitar/vocal interplay. Ball’s voice soaring and shimmering throughout. ‘Betrayal’ gives a nod to Pink Floyd’s ‘On The Run’ but with its freaky spoken word and four on the floor kick it’s almost a dance track, yet there’s no incongruity here. ‘Altamira’ is epic MWWB, adding large doses of psych into a melodic concoction of dreampop and metal. Ball’s vocals here are many layered and textured effortlessly gliding through the weight of the backing. ‘Let’s Send The Bastards Whence They Came’ is another little gem. A plaintive repeating synth figure that builds with bass, drums, mellotrons and synths into ‘Strontium’ which rounds off the album’s ‘heavy’ numbers, a blend of monster grooves, and Ball’s swooning vocals. Finally, and outstandingly, Jessica strips things back to a distorted guitar and voice on ‘Moonrise’. Shorn of the layers of fuzz, it is a simple, beautiful and fitting catharsis to an epic voyage. MWWB are a thrilling proposition. They demonstrate that you can seamlessly mix crushing power, experimentation and delicate vulnerability into something that transcends any genre. MWWB are Jessica Ball, vocals and synths. Paul Michael Davies, guitar and synths. Stuart Sinclair, bass and Dom McCready, drums.

First vinyl pressing is Limited to 1500 copies in 2 Colour variants. Transparent Aquamarine and green twisted stripe and transparent blue and cherry twisted stripe vinyl (Indies Only). Gatefold sleeve. Full download included as well. CD package is a 4 panel digipack, with a 4 page booklet. New Heavy Sounds is proud to present the new album by Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. now known simply as MWWB. There has been some speculation amongst fan circles that the final part of the trilogy of albums that preceded this, marked the end of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s five-year mission. Not so. We can categorically confirm that having officially slimmed their name down to the acronym, MWWB are continuing their voyage through the far reaches of the galaxy. The first phase of that journey is their new album ‘The Harvest’. ‘The Harvest’ is the band’s fourth album, and of course it is a record shot through with the trademark heavy MWWB sound, and their unique blend of metal and shoegaze. However it also sees the band adding more experimentation, a progressive approach, and going a bit more left field conceptually. To some extent, it shares similarities with Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Not only by having the mix of experimentation and melodicism as that seminal record, but also in the way that it has been engineered and constructed as a seamless piece. Nine tracks flowing into one another. Space age riff monsters segueing into shorter musical interludes, where John Carpenter, rubs shoulders with Pink Floyd and a maelstrom of moog and mellotron. There are surprises, and of course a bucketload of heavy shit. With ‘The Harvest’ MWWB have refined and honed their sound, it’s a carefully crafted distillation of ideas, written, conceived and sequenced to be listened to in its entirety (preferably in one sitting). MWWB have always loved film scores and this new album is in many ways, the soundtrack to a film. MWWB provides the musical narrative (the song titles also provide a pointer) and the listener's imagination does the rest. ‘Oblok Magellana’ and its spooky atmospherics set the scene. before things really kick in with the riffs of title track ‘The Harvest’. A grooving Sabbathian chug intro’s Jessica Ball, who at the top of her game throughout. Her voice simultaneously sweet yet dark; almost neofolk; which when put against those riffs, is always a startling juxtaposition, nevertheless it perfectly crystallises MWWB’s distinctive dynamic. ‘Interstellar Wrecking’ is a succinctly crafted nugget of John Carpenter-esque drama, you can imagine the thundering mothership forging its way through the universe on some nameless quest before encountering ‘Logic Bomb’ and its fat fuzzed-up ride through light and shade guitar/vocal interplay. Ball’s voice soaring and shimmering throughout. ‘Betrayal’ gives a nod to Pink Floyd’s ‘On The Run’ but with its freaky spoken word and four on the floor kick it’s almost a dance track, yet there’s no incongruity here. ‘Altamira’ is epic MWWB, adding large doses of psych into a melodic concoction of dreampop and metal. Ball’s vocals here are many layered and textured effortlessly gliding through the weight of the backing. ‘Let’s Send The Bastards Whence They Came’ is another little gem. A plaintive repeating synth figure that builds with bass, drums, mellotrons and synths into ‘Strontium’ which rounds off the album’s ‘heavy’ numbers, a blend of monster grooves, and Ball’s swooning vocals. Finally, and outstandingly, Jessica strips things back to a distorted guitar and voice on ‘Moonrise’. Shorn of the layers of fuzz, it is a simple, beautiful and fitting catharsis to an epic voyage. MWWB are a thrilling proposition. They demonstrate that you can seamlessly mix crushing power, experimentation and delicate vulnerability into something that transcends any genre. MWWB are Jessica Ball, vocals and synths. Paul Michael Davies, guitar and synths. Stuart Sinclair, bass and Dom McCready, drums.

TV on the Radio's "Province" and Beverly Glenn-Copeland's "Ever New" were released more than 20 years apart, with little in common sonically, but here, they’re intrinsically linked as studies in formative musical heroes for artists with dazzling voices. For Bartees Strange, TV on the Radio is an inspiration for where he could take his own genre-bending brand of guitar-driven rock. For Anjimile Chithambo, Glenn-Copeland is a reflection of themself in every way - a Black trans musician writing profoundly resonant songs focused on identity and rebirth, and the expansiveness you can find within. "Province" began with Eric Slick, who was the producer behind the track. The multi-instrumentalist, solo musician, and Dr. Dog drummer had been obsessed with Return to Cookie Mountain, TVOTR's third record, as a kid, and found himself revisiting it again and again. This past year, he made his own rough acoustic cover of "Province," before deciding to reach out to Bartees Strange and having him contribute vocals. TV on the Radio was pivotal for Bartees -- the moment he saw the band perform is seared into his memory. He came across their performance on The Late Show with David Letterman while channel surfing one night when he was a kid, and was immediately enraptured by their performance. He hadn't known what he wanted to do musically until he saw them perform, and it changed the possibilities of his life. Here, in his interpretation of the song, his voice is cavernous here, fleshed out atop a bed of Mellotron, Moog, and MPC instrumentations from Slick and celestial swells added by Ohmme's Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart. Anjimile's interpretation of Glenn-Copeland's "Ever New" came together in a more solitary way, recorded alone in their Boston apartment. In his cover, the original seven-minute new age ballad from Glenn-Copeland's revolutionary 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies is trimmed down, sonically simplified to its core. Anjimile moves it more into a folk territory, building out the sonic world with the delicate, tender acoustic guitar lines and finger picking that's been an identifier across their own catalog. It's a more muted, subtle palette translating Glenn-Copeland's epic of springtime bloom and rebirth, but emanates that same tenderness. Anjimile's stunning vocal performance ushering the hymn into new direct clarity.

After turning heads with the densely orchestrated Riddles, produced by Dan Deacon, the Baltimore-based duo Ed Schrader’s Music Beat have given us another giant leap forward with their fourth record Nightclub Daydreaming. The whiplash-inducing stylistic shifts between aggressive noise rock and operatic gloom pop that have become the band’s trademark have given way to a single aesthetic that fuses both impulses. On Nightclub Daydreaming, menace teems just below the surface as propulsive, stark arrangements leave space that Schrader fills with strident, reverb-soaked narration.

LIMITED GOLD VINYL w/ Download Card

When Ed Schrader and Devlin Rice began writing the record in 2019, the idea was to make a fun, danceable album, but an underlying moodiness proved unshakeable. As Schrader puts it, “The cave followed us into the discotheque.”

The duo road-tested the songs “This Thirst,” “Echo Base” and “Black Pearl” with drummer Kevin O’Meara on tour with Dan Deacon in February 2020. COVID restrictions cut the tour short, squashed plans to go immediately into the studio and sent the touring party on a sprint from LA to Baltimore. “We broke down outside Roswell,” Schrader recalls. “And these cops laughed at our dumb asses as we used all our pent-up stress and fear to propel our half-submerged bus out of the muck, yelling epithets to the sky.”

It was one of the last experiences they had with O’Meara, whose death in October 2020 weighed heavily on Rice and Schrader’s minds as they worked on the record. It was also a cathartic moment that presaged the aesthetic that would permeate the songs on Nightclub Daydreaming: “mad euphoria in the face of doom,” as Schrader puts it.

“This Thirst” is an alienation-fueled barn burner barely restraining itself through musically sparse, lyrically dense verses to culminate in a howling, synth-saturated chorus that beats horror punk at its own game. “Came from the north with a twisted planetarium, rock salt, nervous tic and novocaine,” Schrader sings, assuming the guise of a vagrant whose irresistible urges lead him through a fever dream of chemicals, back-alley bartering and existential threats.

The hyperactive “Echo Base” exudes agitated-cool, with breakneck drum fills and a relentless bass line. The narrator is stranded in a frozen landscape and running out of options. “She is just a night train away,” we are assured, and yet we sense that may not be an altogether good thing.

The band recorded and mixed Nightclub Daydreaming over a two-week period with Craig Bowen at Tempo House in Baltimore with David Jacober on drums, turning demos with artificial sounds and placeholder melodies into fully realized songs playable by a live band. The end result is not the album of “sunny disco bangers” that Rice says the band set out for, but something deeper, darker and more rewarding.

Originally released on CD in 2006 - Has it really been 15 years - The
Poems were Robert Hodgens, Bobby Paterson, Adrian Barry, Kerry
Polwart, Ross McFarlane and Andy May
The album also features guest contributions from the likes of Isabel Campbell,
Norman Blake and Justin Currie.Norman will also contribute the sleeve notes to
this vinyl reissue

Recorded in Brooklyn, NY and in Accra, Ghana.

Osei Korankye is a master musician and singer from Accra, Ghana. Known as one of the very last remaining seperewa musicians in Ghana.

These tracks are a throw back to the classic styles of Afro-Funk in 1970s Ghana.

Recorded to tape and produced by Super Yamba bandleader and drummer Daniel Yount and engineer/bassist Vince Chiarito (Ikebe Shakedown/Charles Bradley/Black Pumas).

Upon a trip to the United States in 2017 Korankye linked up with Yount for a few gigs in New York City. Yount learned Korankye’s music and played drums on the gigs. “After that I knew I wanted to collaborate with Osei on some of the songs Super Yamba had written in the style of Ghanaian funk.” The collaboration came together effortlessly and the result is two beautifully psychedelic funk tunes made for dancing time!

A beautifully haunting and plaintive collection of songs, the album stands as a refracted echo of an imagined life as it may have been in an old country of long ago. With songs reaching out through time and space, it captures a fascinating musical and personal journey of a man displaced from his native Dalmatia (now Croatia) during WWII who eventually ended up in Los Angeles in the mid 60s via time in a German labour camp, West Yorkshire and Canada.

Born in 1923 in the coastal town of Bekar, Branko and his family arrived on North Hollywood in 1964. Abandoning his previous profession as a barber, he began to focus on guitar repair and taught himself to fix various related instruments and studio gear.

Notching up their tenth studio album release with Outside Looking In through 100 Percent Records, the 8-piece Midlands-based Soul band Stone Foundation continue their rich vein of form. Their last three albums all charted within the Top 40 and Outside Looking In seems certain to repeat the trick.

Throughout their nearly 25 years together, the band have always been known for their collaborative spirit and inclusive approach. Outside Looking In is true to that. Recorded (as always) at Paul Weller’s Black Barn Studio, and featuring the man himself with a few Backing Vocals and instrumental contributions, the album also features a knockout guest lead vocal from legendary disco diva Melba Moore on ‘Now That You Want Me Back’. The album also boasts slots from Sulene Fleming, Laville, Sheree Dubois and Graziella Affinita; whilst Stone Foundation always bring a fresh new approach to each record, and a point of contrast to what came before, some things just do not need to be altered.

Notching up their tenth studio album release with Outside Looking In through 100 Percent Records, the 8-piece Midlands-based Soul band Stone Foundation continue their rich vein of form. Their last three albums all charted within the Top 40 and Outside Looking In seems certain to repeat the trick.

Throughout their nearly 25 years together, the band have always been known for their collaborative spirit and inclusive approach. Outside Looking In is true to that. Recorded (as always) at Paul Weller’s Black Barn Studio, and featuring the man himself with a few Backing Vocals and instrumental contributions, the album also features a knockout guest lead vocal from legendary disco diva Melba Moore on ‘Now That You Want Me Back’. The album also boasts slots from Sulene Fleming, Laville, Sheree Dubois and Graziella Affinita; whilst Stone Foundation always bring a fresh new approach to each record, and a point of contrast to what came before, some things just do not need to be altered.

Notching up their tenth studio album release with Outside Looking In through 100 Percent Records, the 8-piece Midlands-based Soul band Stone Foundation continue their rich vein of form. Their last three albums all charted within the Top 40 and Outside Looking In seems certain to repeat the trick.

Throughout their nearly 25 years together, the band have always been known for their collaborative spirit and inclusive approach. Outside Looking In is true to that. Recorded (as always) at Paul Weller’s Black Barn Studio, and featuring the man himself with a few Backing Vocals and instrumental contributions, the album also features a knockout guest lead vocal from legendary disco diva Melba Moore on ‘Now That You Want Me Back’. The album also boasts slots from Sulene Fleming, Laville, Sheree Dubois and Graziella Affinita; whilst Stone Foundation always bring a fresh new approach to each record, and a point of contrast to what came before, some things just do not need to be altered.

Cicero ‘Corey’ Blake came from Jackson, Mississippi and was active on the Chicago soul scene in the 60s, but by far is most acclaimed release is the monumental “How Can I Go On Without You” for Capitol Records in 1975. The song is written by Phillip Mitchell and over the years has become both a modern soul room anthem and Holy Grail on the collectors scene with original copies exchanging hands for £500.

The released is coupled with the original Sam Dees penned B-Side “Your Love Is Like A Boomerang”. No soul fan’s collection is complete without this record.

Freda Payne’s two-step classic rare groove “Tell Me Please” gets it’s long overdue first release on 7” single. Since first recorded and released in 1978 it has remained only as an album track from Freda’s “Supernatural High” LP that year. This Skip Scarborough composed song also featured on Expansion’s ‘Skip Scarborough Songbook’ but a 7” edition has never appeared before. It is accompanied by a Pam Sawyer/Marilyn McLeod song

“I Get High (On Your Memory)” produced by Tony Camillo. Originals of this on Capitol Records from 1977 exchange hands for small fortunes making both these songs on one 7” single an essential purchase. Both high quality definitive luxury soul.

For Susanna, nothing happens in a vacuum. Every creative act responds to what's come before. And by exploring this dialogue, we can learn new things about ourselves and the world. This idea has inspired the Norwegian artist throughout her near two1decade career. It's behind her unforgettable covers of classic songs and her interpretations of the paintings of Hieronymous Bosch. And it found its purest expression on 2020's Baudelaire & Piano, a stripped back song cycle setting texts from the 19th century French poet's The Flowers of Evil. In Elevation, its followup, Susanna's engagement with Baudelaire's work blossoms into a collaborative enterprise, combining tape, spoken word and song. The result is a unique musical conversation spanning centuries and disciplines; a "time travelling" project, as Susanna puts it, that moves between creative dimensions. She brings collaborators back into the process, nurturing connections made over a series of Baudelaire & Piano live shows presented in 2020 and 2021. Composer1improviser Delphine Dora offers teasing renditions of the original French texts, layering spoken recitation and otherworldly singing in a set of atmospheric vignettes. And tape recorder soundscapes from Stina Stjern-familiar from Susanna's Hieronymous Bosch project Garden of Earthly Delights (2019)-frame the album with hiss, hum and soft fingers of melody, like mist settling on a landscape. These contributions deepen the album's mystery and its evocative power. The result is an engrossing interleaving of sounds and registers; and, as Susanna describes it, "an intuitive and collective ceremony of the ethereal and mystical in life." Elevation features work by American occultist artist Cameron (1922-1995), an adherent of Aleister Crowley's Thelema movement. Her illustrations "Witch Woman", "Pan" and "Danse" adorn the release, which will be available on cassette as well as in the usual digital, CD and vinyl formats.Oslo-based artist Susanna has released music as Susanna and the Magical Orchestra and 'just' Susanna since 2004, through labels like Rune Grammofon, ECM Records and her own outlet SusannaSonata. She has collaborated with artists like Jenny Hval, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and John Paul Jones, highly active with different projects, songwriting/composing, and making personal interpretations of other people's songs.

Signed to Columbia Records, Maren Morris is one of the leading country music voices of her generation. The 4 x platinum selling 'The Bones' topped the US Billboard country songs chart for an incredible 19 weeks in 2020. She has since won multiple awards. This album is the follow up to 2019's critically acclaimed 'Girl'. This is an 11 song album available on standard LP and CD. Strong support at radio, with plays across R2, Absolute, Virgin and ILR specialist shows. Ads, features, interviews and reviews across all press. Online/social media activity. Poster campaign and database mailout.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the iconic HELP album a new generation of artists came together to create, at the time, the fastest recorded album ever. They recorded Help! A Day In The Life on Thursday 8th September 2005 which the record available for download just 32 hours later.Help! A Day In The Life is part of a series of four re-releases by War Child Records making the amazing music artists have donated to the charity available on DSPs and vinyl for the first time. All proceeds from these releases will directly fund War Child’s life saving work with children affected by conflict.

Was unsure if to do this Modern rarity on 45 due to there being no master tapes and the original pressing is really rough with loads of sibilance, but having had so many requests to put this out I thought fuck it, the end result came out better than the OG but nonetheless ill get crucified by the discogs police but ill take it :) and the rest of us can have this Modern banger in our box without having to sell your car.

What it lacks in audio quality, it makes up for in musicality ten times over, a genuine two-sided 7" of modern soul royalty, rare and good.

Originally released on CD in 2006 - Has it really been 15 years - The
Poems were Robert Hodgens, Bobby Paterson, Adrian Barry, Kerry
Polwart, Ross McFarlane and Andy May.

The album also features guest contributions from the likes of Isabel Campbell, Norman Blake and Justin Currie.Norman will also contribute the sleeve notes to this vinyl reissue.

Upon completion of the Stu Cook produced Roky Erickson & The Aliens LP in the summer of 1979, Roky decided to return home to Austin from San Francisco

He needed a band and The Explosives came highly recommended to Roky's manager, Craig Luckin - Introductions were made and rehearsals began. Roky & The Explosives immediately hit it off, musically and personally. They played together in Texas and California from 1979-1981 logging in around 50 shows.
13th Floor Elevators drummer John Ike Walton remarked to Explosives drummer Freddie Steady Krc "You guys played more shows with Roky than the Elevators did!" The guys got in the van and barnstormed all over the Lone Star State.
Bootleg recordings began to emerge that were sub- quality live performance recordings that everyone was making money off except Roky and The Explosives.
Craig and Freddie agreed Freddie would review all the recordings they could find from 1979-81. Almost all were in Craig's possession. Upon final review, Freddie would select the best performance of each song they were playing live from that time period. Some like 'Heroin' and 'I've Just Seen a Face' were called on the spot by Roky at a show, performed once and never played again. After the music was selected, Craig and Freddie went through their personal collection of photos,
poster images and added a complete show itinerary from 1979-81.
'Halloween' is a loving collection of performances documenting a time of Roky's re- emergence into the rock music world. It was something most thought they would never see after his final days with 13th Floor Elevators, following drug busts and his plunge into mental illness eventually ending in his stay at Rusk State Mental Hospital. This record is a testimony of Roky's personal strength and will to return to performing and songwriting. Long live his music!

'Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie West' will be released on CD, Silver vinyl and digitally.When Leslie West passed away in December of 2020, he left behind a towering legacy of epic recordings that few rock guitarists can match

But there was more to West than great songs (although, to be sure, he created a ton of them); there was his brilliant, idiosyncratic sound, a gargantuan earthmover that razed arenas and stadiums across the globe. More than just paralyzing tone, though, he also had a touch nobody could beat. Stinging, swooning and sensual melodies leapt from his fingertips – with a deft flick of his wrist, he sounded like a Delta bluesman had picked up a violin. These elements and more helped to make West one of the most significant, influential and
irreplaceable guitarists of the rock era.Originally, the album was intended to be a retrospective celebration of West's music on which the guitarist himself would perform some of his best-loved cuts with notable guests, along with a collection of new tracks. Two weeks before recording was set to commence, however, the guitarist passed away. While grieving the loss of her husband, Jenni was comforted by the constant stream of phone calls from famous musicians who
expressed their condolences, and without fail, each one said the same thing: "If you do any kind of tribute to Leslie, please let me know."An astonishing array of West's admirers – who also happened to be friends and peers – came together to celebrate the trailblazing musician on the aptly titled 'Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie
West'. Executive produced by Jenni West, Bob Ringe and John Lappen, the album features dizzying, heartfelt performances by Slash, Zakk Wylde, Dee Snider, Bachman & Bachman, Martin Barre, Joe Lynn Turner, Charlie Starr, Elliot Easton, Robbie Krieger, Mike Portnoy, Eddie Ojeda, George Lynch, Marty Friedman, Steve Morse and Yngwie Malmsteen, among others. Each track on its own is a corker,
but taken together the 12 cuts on 'Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie West' are a stunning and heartfelt testament to the true impact the guitarist had on musicians of all stripes, and as such, it's essential listening for both longtime fans and newbies.
Print coverage in Guitar Techniques, Rock Candy, Record Collector

Brand new studio album by The William Loveday Intention! As part of an incredibly productive year by one of the world's most productive and cherished artists, Billy Childish releases a new LP by The William Loveday Intention as part of his attempt at “a career in a year”. “The Baptiser is titled after John The Baptiser, Christ's teacher who proclaimed that you don't need to make blood sacrifices in the temple of Jerusalem to have communion with God – it's direct one to one in the desert, wearing a camel hair shirt and eating the fruits of the honey locust tree. The LP has many spiritual highs and blaming lows. It should move and sound like the contents of a thinking mind.” WILLIAM LOVEDAY 2022 TRACKLISTING 1/The Baptiser 2/A Library To You and the Self 3/A Painted Pantomime Dame 4/Mister Smith 5/Poems of Anxiety and Uncertainty 6/I'm Good Enough 7/Knockin' of Heaven's Door 8/A Framed T-Shirt Remnant 9/Poems of Anxiety and Uncertainty (Blues) 10/The Baptiser (Reprise)

Previous album released on Dead Oceans. Previous album was a collaboration with Brian Eno. Past press coverage from Pitchfork, SPIN, The Guardian, Drowned in Sound, Dusted, The Quietus, and many more. Since the release of his last album 2017’s Finding Shore, a collaboration with Brian Eno pianist and singer-songwriter Tom Rogerson’s life has undergone a number of dramatic transformations. While writing his new album Retreat to Bliss, Rogerson had a child, lost a parent, and received his own diagnosis of a rare form of blood cancer. The new decade brought him from Berlin to the Suffolk of his childhood, composing profound pieces of minimal songwriting in the church next to his parents’ home. Rogerson studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music under mentors like Harrison Birtwistle, and he made his live debut as an improvising pianist in 2002, before releasing an improvised record with Reid Anderson (Bad Plus) and Mike Lewis (Happy Apple, Bon Iver) in 2004. He formed the band Three Trapped Tigers in 2007, expertly blending elements of electronic, jazz and noise rock into a cohesive whole. The band earned a reputation for innovative live shows and went on to perform and collaborate with artists like Brian Eno, Deftones, and the Dillinger Escape Plan. It was working with Eno, another Suffolk native, that eventually led Rogerson back to his roots and back to a place where he could write Retreat to Bliss, his solo debut album. “All my life, the piano has been my constant companion, my confessor, my best friend, and my worst enemy,” Rogerson explains. “I’ve always written music on and for the piano, but it felt too personal, too private to release.” Indeed, listening to Retreat to Bliss feels almost like eavesdropping, as though you’re crouched in the belfry of a Suffolk church, bearing witness to a form of musical bloodletting. For the first time in his noteworthy career, Rogerson has combined masterful piano playing and subtle electronics with the texture of his own voice, an attempt to express deeply private emotions that were difficult to articulate using instrumental music alone. “The last few years have brought some struggle, some joy, and a lot of change. My response has been to retreat to what I trust the most: the piano, my voice, and the landscape I grew up in. That’s how the album got its title, and how I came to be ready finally to release a solo record.” The eleven tracks that make up Retreat to Bliss were recorded by Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, David Byrne, Grace Jones) over the course of just a few days, a process that emphasized spontaneity and the artist’s own commitment to improvisation. Secular yet devotional, intensely personal yet profound, the experience of listening to Retreat to Bliss seems to evade characterization. It’s physical and emotional, a glimpse into the mind of an artist who has chosen exposure over withdrawal, who uses his command of the piano to chart an unflinching path forward, never looking back. UK press campaign by Someone Great. Press Quotes "A meeting of minds that is full of rewarding surprises, challenging and surprising one another, and their listeners, with music that feels alive and wondrous…” Pitchfork // "Both mournful and dazzlingly optimistic, a taste of the conflict found so ofen in nature and reflected so elegantly across the course of the record.” The Line of Best Fit // "Many avant-garde instrumental albums exist to craf a mood; Rogerson and Eno merge these moods, sounds and themes together efortlessly and radiantly on Finding Shore” Exclaim // Track List 01 Descent 02 Oath 03 Buried Deep 04 Toumani 05 Drone Finder part 2 06 Chant 07 Rapture 1 08 Open Out Span Wide View 09 A Clearing 10 Retreat To 11 Coda

Reissue of 2018 debut on 2 colour vinyl, black & milky clear. Note includes members of Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. More than anything else, Oh Boy is a celebration of teenage fandom and friendship. Each song is “about” something else, of course: a betrayal, a breakup, new love, parenthood. The usual stuff. And we’re hardly teenagers. Yet somehow Massage feels like the kind of band you were in back in high school. We were friends first. We all had other lives. We started playing music almost by accident. (Michael wanted to learn drums; Alex wanted to relearn guitar after playing bass in the Pains of Being Pure at Heart; Andrew and David invited themselves to their second practice.) We made a playlist of songs we loved hundreds of them long before we recorded anything: the Feelies, the Go-Betweens, East River Pipe, the Lemonheads, the Breeders, Flying Nun, Sarah Records. Alex and Andrew started writing songs the way kids do to sound like their heroes. No matter how we tried, though, the songs half Alex’s, half Andrew’s came out sounding like “Massage”: scrappy, catchy, minimalist, and sincere, with Gabi’s harmonies elevating each track. Every Monday after practice, we went to Jay’s Bar for beers and poutine. There was no point to any of this. We were just having fun. Then one day we realized we were a band. Oh Boy is our attempt to capture this easy alchemy on tape the strange magic of a bunch of amateurs coming together, finding their own wavelength, and making something out of nothing. We couldn’t have asked for a better partner in crime than our pal Jason Quever of Papercuts, who recorded us on random weekends over the course of two years. We hope the result sounds as loose, low-key, idiosyncratic, and ultimately indelible as the bands that inspired us — the ones you already know, and the ones that are still just teenagers goofing off in some suburban garage.

EVEN THE CHIMERA is the debut album by Wild Terrier Orchestra, a new project by Dimitris Papadatos, aka Jay Glass Dubs, based on interchangeability and open improvisation. A newer, freer incarnation of Papadatos’ creative intent, the project acts more like an open container of disparate and idiosyncratic contributions from a mutable cast of musicians and artists. Often times not provided according to a pre-planned structure, these contributions are actually more likely to arrive in the form of free improvisations, unconnected musical segments and fragmented splinters of sound. This allows Papadatos to aggregate all the constituent parts according to an intuitive process that bridges between the detailed craft of electronic music production and surrealist techniques such as the Cadavre Exquis and the Cut-Up. It’s both a harmonization of contrasting tones and a research for commonality within difference, although none of the wild terriers are ever nearly tamed. Unsurprisingly, the main inspiration for this new chapter came from a a pinnacle of avantgarde literature: poet Andreas Embirikos’, considered Greece’s first surrealist and all-out paradoxical figure. Specifically, this release is guided and instigated by his poem OKTANA, in which Embirikos inscribes a manifesto for a hedonistic utopia years ahead of any accelerationist theories, bursting with contradicting presences and mutating identities. Written in the aftermath of the Greek civil war, the poem calls for a time of eternal poetry and spiritual intoxication that can only be reached through a painful process of violent deconstruction. Thus, EVEN THE CHIMERA was born: a culmination of Papadatos’ decades long research on traditional Greek and Byzantine music, free jazz and free improvisation. Firmly spread between two side-long tracks, the contributions of American singer and musician Cruel Diagonals on vocal duties as well as Greek artist and musician Fotini Korre on ney suggest the existence of a filament that connects the west and the east through the creation of ‘’possible musics’’. This happens in accordance to Papadatos’ practice of a counterfactual approach to the process of what music history dictates. It is also directly shaped by the musician’s frequent dwellings in the isle of Cyprus, a land in which the clash of worlds and culture has often taken both violent and beautiful shapes. The long drones, acoustic ghosts and unbalanced choirs that form the album seem to call from the Mediterranean itself, not only from its history but also from its possible futures and unreal narrations, invoking it as a nexus of diversity and possibility.