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Versatility does not even come close to describing how the humble Japanese ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U is considered to be one of the best DJs in the world by many of his peers. From his debut at DJ Nobu’s FUTURE TERROR event to performing 3 years consecutively at Berlin Atonal Festival, Yukimatsu’s sets have to be heard for you to understand.

In this special mix album, Yukimatsu gathers round his producer friends to build vessels of the story structure. Threading the pages together, interweaved by friendship and sine waves, he has crafted a masterful presentation from their individual messages. Pulling and stretching all sonic shapes and shades while exploring the farthest reaches of sound, the result is a frequency soup of twelve outstanding tracks that when sequenced together, become part of a greater, grander story: Midnight is Comin’.

From the sound art experimentations of orhythmo – Nagel and wide yawning strings in Ryo Murakami – Reminiscence to the rhythmic slo-mo haze of Sapphire Slows – Hinotori and the exponentially pulsing colours from DJ Nobu - Yakou Gai. The DMT-like spacious virtual meditation hall of KEIHIN – Exhale follows the uneasy footsteps of YPY – MS to the intermissioning chapter of City – 9K. Fall into the wormhole of COMPUMA –Flowmotion (IN DUB) and be transported to the reverb-drenched, intimate experience of Coni – Ängelsbäcksstrand, the primal invocations of Gabber Modus Operandi – Kisah (which also means story in Bahasa Indonesian) to the transcendent notes of SPINNUTS - Zweimal schlafen atmosphäre. The soaring universe of Albino Sound – Celestial Sphere wraps up the album with crystalline notes.

“Versatile is not even close to describing his music selection and mixing skills as he plays anything without prejudice and is purely music loving. He is extremely humble, can mix anything and make it sound interesting.” – nolens.volens (Bangkok, Thailand)

Mit ,Happy Hour" reift HOLLIE COOK endgültig zur Königin des modernen ,Lovers Rock", dem opulenten wie harmoniebetonten Reggae-Stil, der in Großbritannien seit den 1970er Jahren beliebt ist. Als Teenagerin tourte sie mit den Punk-Legenden THE SLITS (auf deren EP ,Revenge Of The Killer Slits" sie 2006 mitsang) und entfachte so die wilde Seite ihrer liebenswürdigen Persönlichkeit. HOLLIEs Mentorin war Ari Up, die inzwischen verstorbene Leadsängerin der legendären Punk-Formation und eine lebenslange Freundin von COOKs prominenten Eltern. Sie ist die Tochter des Sex Pistols-Schlagzeugers Paul Cook und der Culture Club-Sängerin Jeni Cook (ihr Patenonkel ist Boy George!). ,My father always said I would be a singer. But I discovered lovers rock on my own. I heard it on pirate radio and with friends, and I was bewildered, enchanted," erinnert sich COOK. "The Slits are the reason I have pursued this career. I was surrounded by powerful women at a young age, and when my time came, I was never fazed by male dominance. They were my wall of courage." Auf diesen kämpferischen Fundament ist HOLLIEs Liebe zur Musik entstanden. Ihre gefühlvolle Direktheit auf ,Happy Hour" ist so nachvollziehbar wie authentisch. ,I can't get away from it" sagt sie. ,Making this music that I love, I do turn deep inside myself. It makes me explore a lot of human truths and feelings that we should not shy away from, and it feels like a release to turn them into songs."

An absolutely legendary album from Lebanon by Issam Hajali’s group Ferkat Al Ard, “Oghneya” stands out as one of the great musical gems of the Arab world. A groundbreaking release from 1978 that represents the meeting point of Arab, jazz, folk and Brazilian styles with the talent of Ziad Rahbani, who did the albums arrangements. Filled with a variety of sounds and genres, from Baroque Pop to Psych-Folk to flashes of Bossa Nova, Tropicalia and MPB, “Oghneya” is like if Arthur Verocai took a trip to Beirut in the 70’s to record an album.

In 2015 we heard Ferkat Al Ard’s music for the first time, a Lebanese trio compromised of Issam Hajali, Toufic Farroukh and Elia Saba. It was a stunningly unique release that blends traditional Arabic elements, jazz and Brazilian rhythms hand in hand with poetic-yet-politically engaged lyrics. The band was active in the left-wing movement of Lebanon of the time and they communicated their political ideas candidly through their songwriting.

In our mind the idea was to see whether Issam was interested in re-releasing “Oghneya.” He was not opposed to it, but also made it clear that it was not his priority for a first project. He suggested we start with his first album, before Ferkat Al Ard was formed, “Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard,” which was recorded in 1977 in Paris together with his friend Roger Fakhr (whose work we have been privileged to re-release in the meantime as well.) “Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard” is melancholic, stripped-down, guitar-based folk intertwined with jazz-fused breaks, and the unique sound of the santour glistens through. While the music is very accessible, some song structures are rather atypical, neglecting common patterns of verse, hook, verse, hook. The lyrics mostly trace back to the poetic work of Palestinian author Samih El Kasem, with one song also written by Issam, who composed the music for the whole album.

We re-released Issam’s “Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard” in 2019 to a great reception, with positive reviews all over the place and an ongoing appreciation for the album. This meant it was time for us to undertake an “Oghneya” re-release again!

If you compare “Mouasalat Ila Jacad El Ard” and “Oghneya,” one apparent distinction is the strong Brazilian influence in the music. Issam Hajali explained that you can already hear traces of this influence on his debut, but it’s “Oghneya” where this musical relationship really peaks. Lebanon and Brazil have had a strong connection for nearly a century due to the continuous flow of immigrants from one country to the other. Today, Brazil has the largest Lebanese diaspora in the world, the “Brasilibanês”. The migratory route was not a one-way street, however, and some Lebanese returned to their home country, taking recordings of the music they learned to love in Brazil with them. They were followed by Brazilian musicians who visited primarily Beirut during the 1960’s and the first half of the 1970’s, just like many other musicians from around the world. In these years between the independence and the beginning of the civil war, Beirut became even more of a cultural center and regional hub than it already was.

Bossa Nova, at that time, was one of the defining sounds of Brazilian popular music. Issam Hajali remembers hearing it at a bar in Beirut’s Hamra district in 1974, which hosted musicians from Brazil playing the occasional gig. When Issam had returned from Paris in 1976 he got to know Ziad Rahbani, son of Fairouz, who had a shared passion with Issam for a lot of things, among them Brazilian music. Issam showed him some of the tracks he was working on, and Ziad agreed to help with arranging. The music that evolved from this cooperation between Ferkat Al Ard and Ziad Rahbani’s arrangement is, to put it lightly, outstanding. Issam’s singing is embedded into the uniquely beautiful string arrangements backed by the band’s poignant, swinging groove. The lyrics of the songs on “Oghneya” are based on poems by Mahmoud Darwish, Samih Al Qasem and Tawfiq Ziad, three pillars of Palestinian poetry within the last century, and their influence on “Oghneya” was itself a strong political statement during the Lebanese war.

“Oghneya” was eventually released in 1978 by the band themselves on cassette tapes. Finding a blank tape that fit the playing time proved to be impossible during the war so they needed to open up the case of each cassette to physically cut down the tape and customize it to the playing time. The album was well received, though some cultural critics deemed it too “occidental” in its sound. While the cassette was circulating, Ziad Rahbani started a label called Zida, together with Khatchik Mardirian. They decided to help the band with a re-release on vinyl in 1979, a year after “Oghneya” was originally released on cassette.

Sadly, there are two tracks from the original release of “Oghneya” that did not make it onto the reissue. “Ghfyara Ghaza” was replaced by the song “Juma’a 6 Hziran.” while “Huloul” was taken off without a replacement. This happened as a precondition from the band for this reissue to happen. We would have loved to include all tracks, but the decision ranged between having either a reissue like the one we put out or no reissue at all. Thus, an easy choice for us.

As always both vinyl and CD come with an extensive booklet with an interview with Issam as well as unseen photos from the recording sessions.

Between the late 70s and the early 80s, pop music was in a transitional phase. After a return to the roots of punk, rock was morphing into new wave, while disco was rapidly declining and the electronic revolution, already on the rise, was ushering in the transition from analog to digital. This period also saw the emergence and relatively brief flowering of a commercially dominant style that mixed soul influences (especially Stevie Wonder and Ear th Wind & Fi re) , folk/pop songwriting and jazz sensibilities in equal measure, creating a hybrid easy on the ears but also emotionally and musically rich. It was the style represented by artists like Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Gino Vannelli and Kenny Loggins, who were all influenced by black music. They belonged to a larger trend that took place in all major music producing countries, including Italy where, like so many other things, the style was not merely imported or copied, but reshaped into a specifically local version based on the nation's tastes and cultural traditions. In Italy, a soulful and sophisticated approach to pop music was embraced not only by established names like Mina, Alan Sorrenti and Loredana Berté, but also, and perhaps most importantly, by an entire generation of writers, arrangers and musicians who had grown up listening to early fusion, to Steely Dan's refined recordings, and to Quincy Jones's productions. So, with this compilation we hope to give new exposure to artists and songs that, despite having moderate or little success when first released, must be regarded as among the creative peaks of Italian pop music. "Paisà Got Soul" features pop veterans Peppino Di Capri, Mario Lavezzi and Alberto Radius alongside atypical singer-songwriters (Enzo Carella, Enzo Cervo, Gino D'Eliso), Italo-disco heroes (Stefano Pulga), international hit composers (Beppe Cantarelli, who has co-written for Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey), Brazilian-born naturalized Italians (Jim Porto) and complete unknowns (Franco Camassa, I Ricci, Massimo Stella).It brings together little gems that in most cases are no longer available on the market, or only available in their original and now very rare vinyl format. We believe they all deserve to be rediscovered today, partly because of the recently renewed interest in "yacht rock", as this music style has been retrospectively named, and partly because they provide further evidence that Italian artists rework international music styles in creative and original ways.

Compiled and conceived by David Nerattini partnered by Pierpaolo De Sanctis

Amy Winehouse’s Live at Glastonbury 2007 will be available on vinyl for the first time from June 3. It captures her performance on the Pyramid Stage at that year’s festival, 15 years ago this summer.

Winehouse’s show, her second at Glastonbury, will be released in a 2LP black vinyl set. They bring back to the fore one of the most memorable highlights of her all-too-short career, capturing not only her unique artistry and song craft, but the singer and writer’s trademark, between-songs banter and the sheer love for her emanating from the festival crowd. Highlights include “Rehab,” “You Know I’m No Good,” “Love Is A Losing Game,” “Valerie,” and “Tears Dry On Their Own,” as well as her cover of Toots and the Maytals’ “Monkey Man.”

Amy played a second set later the same day on the Jazz World Stage, and returned to the Pyramid Stage the following year, firmly establishing herself as part of the world-famous festival’s remarkable history. The artwork for the forthcoming release includes recollection of the performance by Glastonbury Festival’s co-organizer Emily Eavis. “Amy Winehouse was a Glastonbury-goer through and through,” she says. “She either came and played or, when she wasn’t working, came and camped. She played in the blistering heat and the heavy rain, and there were so many magical moments to her performances.”

Camisole is proud to unveil another part of the french cold wave history with the reissue of "Paroles Absurdes" LP by White Pain.

Hailing from Lyon the band began as a duo with Patrick Saveau and Patrick Gravier in 1984.Active figures in the underground scene of their city, they played some gigs and even had their own show on the local radio station.They developed a small following around them and recruited other members to record this album in 1986.

"Paroles Absurdes" is driven by the feeling that you can't escape your fate. Saying Words that you sometimes regret but you feel to be true.This testimony infuses this whole album.However, positive assumptions flow from time to time and left their more pop appeal roll into some songs.

This reissue also includes the first two tracks of the group only released on tape in 1985.As a duo, White Pain was a synth and drum machine band inspired by early 80's german pioneers like DAF or Din a Testbild.They used to have a raw, powerful, and dark sound quite unique in France at this time."Vienna" is probably the best way to resume their first intention.

Kicking off proceedings on new label, Scene Unseen is Yorkshire’s finest, Jinjé a.k.a. Lee J Malcolm.

Scene Unseen will focus on exploring and showcasing scenes from around the world (some seen or some maybe unseen), as well as releasing music from artists who incorporate sounds from across the globe within a music style that's closer to home. This is where Jinjé steps in, delivering an EP of Afro-funk and Afro-tech. He draws upon his usual duties as a fine Techno, House and Electronica producer and combines them with rhythms inspired by African and Indian music, using instruments (played and recorded live by Jinjé) and field recordings from both regions.

Jinjé (Lee J Malcolm) has released on labels such as Messrs. Kicks & Drums, EPM Music, Mesh and Ostgut Ton. He was also a founding member and mainstay in the Leeds band, Vessels (Different Recordings), until leaving a couple of years ago to concentrate on solo projects.

The track names tell all, as Jinjé gives a clear nod to the Africanism is his music. First track, 'Ngoma' is a name used across Africa to describe certain drums and percussive instruments, which can be heard here, like Djembes from the Conga region, as well as live and acoustic components, blended with modular and other electronic sounds.

'Burkina Faso' takes us west and hits the ground running with a vocal sample of Tribal women from the area, singing praise and joy to engineers who have come to provide fresh water to the village: "Praise God for they have come to build us a well." The progression of the track is based around this joy and develops nicely alongside some intense bass and drums.

'Dusk' is inspired by thoughts of the Serengeti planes at night fall, all built around Jinjé's live M'bira plugged into a modular synth, grouped with live flute and field recordings from India which provide additional percussion.

'Ya Maji' is a collection of high energy rhythms from a Moroccan frame drum, congas, clapping, live bass, distorted marimba and the mighty Korg Ms20 playing the lead synth lines.

Last up is 'Jara', a nod to Steve Reich and his six marimbas, as well as drawing inspiration from Fela Kuti. Vocal samples bring in more of the field recordings Jinjé made in India, as well as the clapping elements. Acoustic and electronic sounds intertwine to great effect and sum up the EP as a whole.

Look out for more from Jinjé in this musical direction as he seeks to bring these tracks and future ones to a live band setup.

The unique sounds of Ray Phiri's Stimela are showcased on this gem of a 12” EP from 1986. It was originally released only in South Africa on Gallo / CBS Records, although a 12" featuring the track 'I Hate Telling A Lie' was previously released on Plum Records in 1983. It has now become a sought-after item due to its addictive and original-sounding Balearic disco / cosmic boogie-esque nature.

Stimela were a popular and successful Mbaquanga / fusion outfit led by the guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer and arranger Ray Phiri; who was previously a member of the legendary band The Cannibals. The musicians would go on to gain global fame after featuring on Paul Simon's iconic 'Graceland' album and the mega tour that followed.

Kicking off the EP is a magical track that floored us from the first moment we heard it and one that has since become a Mr Bongo firm favourite. ‘I Hate Telling A Lie’ is a slow, infectious building groove that sits somewhere between lowdown jazz-funk, soul, reggae and gospel with shades of new wave pop and Balearic. It’s a truly stunning track that is hard to pigeonhole and all the better for it.

Another highlight from the EP is the monster instrumental, synth-boogie sound of 'I Love You'; championed by DJs such as Jeremy Spellacey (Crown Ruler). This hypnotic groove bubbles to perfection and is a slo-mo chugger extraordinaire.

We hope you dig it as much as we do.

2001: Guillaume Atlan is nominated with 'Starlight' at the MTV Awards in the best French artists category. 20 years later, the first generation French Touch (Modjo, Demon, Cassius, Stardust, Etienne de Crécy etc.) is almost gone. Among the few still active, The Supermen Lovers, who will release his fourth studio album, 'Body Double', end of May.

A reference to Brian de Palma's film and its perfect plastic, the disc bears witness to the many artistic encounters and tumults of love that feed Guillaume during his trip to Kyiv from 2018 to 2020. Love can move mountains but can also destroy a man. Demons and emotions will make him go back to the studios, firstly in Kyiv, which reminds him of Paris in the 90s : strong energy, a thirst for discovery, creation and pure spontaneity. Straddling 2 musical bodies, the heart of Body Double balances between vocal electro-disco and clubbing, without forgetting this analog/digital jumble dear to Guillaume. He is an electro producer, a DJ, but above all a multi-instrumentalist. Machines in contact with “real” instruments…

One of the most legendary LPs from Uruguay remains a hidden treasure in the rest of the world. It is the first LP by singer Diane Denoir. Diane was a regular in the “Conciertos Beat” (“Beat Concerts”) of Montevideo's 1960s scene where she performed with Eduardo Mateo on guitar (leader of El Kinto, one of the most influential bands in "candombe beat", and the ones who coined the term), Roberto Galletti on drums and Antonio Lagarde on double bass. Diane was also Mateo's muse throughout the early years of his career, he wrote several songs for her, among them “Esa tirsteza,” “Y hoy te vi,” and the classic “Mejor me voy.” Eduardo Mateo would become one of the biggest names of all times in Uruguay's musical scene. Diane, instead, found herself outside the country when the military coup installed a non constitutional government in Urugay in 1973 and was wisely advised by friends not to go back home to avoid trouble with the new dictatorial regime. A brave defendant of Human Rights, she had been very active against torture, thus becoming a target for the dictatorial regime military intelligence. She exiled in Argentina and Venezuela, and she later settled in Europe and didn't perform in public or record again until recent years when she returned to her home country.



On her eponymous 1972 debut album, Diane fused all her influences in one solid sound through songs created by Uruguayan songwriters (Eduardo Mateo, Urbano Moraes –bassplayer for El Kinto,– Daniel Amaro, Giuso Bellanca), plus Argentinian lyricist Edgardo Lisi. She had released a couple of 7" between 1966 and 1970, but it is her debut album –which would be her only one until her 2008 comeback– that made her legend grow among future generations of music lovers.



It's hard to name artists in the same dimension as Diane Denoir for reference, but be sure that you will love this LP if you like the candombe beat scene of El Kinto, Tótem or the Fattorusso brothers (Hugo and Osvaldo) in their post Los Shakers works, but also the bossa nova sound and even artists of their own like Vainica Doble.



Very limited edition, only 500 copies made. Remastered sound. Comes in upgraded artwork, gimmick cover with printed inner sleeve.

Israeli producer Nenor delivers a 4-tracker of impeccably produced dancefloor weapons for his second outing on Razor-N-Tape.

Since releasing on Moodyman’s legendary Mahogani label a few years back and as part of duo Rabo & Snob, Nenor has been honing his craft in the studio, and now puts his skills on full display on an EP that ranges from the poppy disco house of 'How Can I Be Free' to the deep Larry Heard-esque textures of 'Do You Remember,' and the gritty underground bangers of the title track and 'Work That.' He did indeed take his time on this beautifully crafted record, and the result is something quite special.

Helsinki quartet OK:KO releases their third album "Liesu" with We Jazz Records on 15 April. The band, led by drummer/composer Okko Saastamoinen and including saxophonist Jarno Tikka, pianist Toomas Keski-Säntti and bassist Mikael Saastamoinen (of Superpostion & Linda Fredriksson "Juniper") is a scene favourite in Finland and has recently garnered some international attention with their melodic, dynamic and original approach. The OK:KO sound is adventurous yet accessible, and contemporary yet rooted in the lineage of acoustic small group jazz.

When listening to OK:KO, you can feel that their influences also come from out of the musical realm. After all, isn't this just how it should be? Making music from your own life. Here, you can tell that the landscape of rural Finland, its poetic, at times even melancholy beauty, is ever present. It's folk song country. But don't be fooled, these guys form a real flesh and blood jazz band. That means that the music just starts when the first note hits, and onwards from there, we're in for a wild ride.

Whether punchy like on "Anima", solemn like on "Arvo", or just trekking out there a skiing lane of their own like on "Vanhatie", what you'll get is pure OK:KO. Melodic, interactive, honest and forward-reaching contemporary jazz music. That is something we appreciate – a lot!

Vinyl editions available on opaque white / black vinyl, with inside-out 3mm spine sleeve and a polylined black inner sleeve.

The Boogie Times label is back with 4 cuts from a very elusive artist.

There has been much speculation over the years as to the identity behind the Disciples Of The Watch moniker. Sharp eared listeners have attributed the sound of the breakbeats to one artist, while others are as convinced their deductions from the sound of a bassline can attribute the production to someone else.

Perhaps it’s who they think? Maybe it’s not? Possibly it’s a collective of artists?

All we can say is that Disciples Of The Watch make great music!

Back in 1992 the Dance In Peace EP received an incredibly limited white label run and was only available from a handful of specialist record shops. The scarcity of this release means that it has now reached near mythical status and has seen it selling for as much as £200 on the second-hand vinyl market.

This EP is now getting the very long overdue full release that it deserves, with all tracks expertly remastered & cut to heavyweight black vinyl.

With very limited stock being pressed we’d urge anyone wanting to own the amazing musical journey by the elusive Disciples Of The Watch to get orders in as soon as it goes on sale!!

The (seventh) new Half-handed Cloud album, ‘Flutterama’, is
a record of 18 jubilant indie-pop songs by John Ringhofer
that investigate spiritual incompetence with lively
arrangements and radiant melodies that skilfully dissolve into
deterioration using herky-jerky tape manipulation, analogue
wow-and-flutter, and an animated orchestra of homerecorded sound effects.
 Ringhofer’s work on ‘Flutterama’ was inspired by Frances
Mary Hunter Gordon’s adolescent liturgies (recorded at
Abbey Road during The Beatles era), turbid sights and
sounds in Guy Maddin films, audaciously bold forms in Sister
Corita Kent’s devotional printmaking, the exquisite brittleness
of Elizabeth Cotten’s voice, Alberto Burri’s stitched wound
burlap assemblages, Alvar Aalto church design, Andrea
Büttner’s poverty-informed artwork, Lou Barlow/Dinosaur Jr’s
lo-fi ‘Poledo’ sound collage (which namechecks Jesus), Julie
Canlis book ‘A Theology of the Ordinary’, Wallace Berman’s
visual collage, and The Raincoats’ magnificently shaky DIY
aesthetic.
 The album’s tape-fiddled tunes - recorded on the very same
16-track recorder last serviced by a sound technician who
also worked with The Beach Boys in their home studio -
employ surprisingly little synthesizer (“it felt like cheating,”
says Ringhofer) - he preferred to craft most of the album’s
effects the long way, frequently going behind the back of rock
instrumentation by hand-feeding ½” magnetic reel recordings
of chord organs, deflating balloons, some guitars, piano
(occasionally tracked with a baby on his lap), brass,
tablecloth swipes, and a quickly-cranked half-speed music
box. He was assisted by long-time Half-handed Cloud
contributor Brandon Buckner on drums, and single song
backing vocals from Anacortes, WA songsmith John Van
Deusen.
 LP pressed on Opaque Brown vinyl

If you check the credits of The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup LP from 1973 you'll find a certain "Pascal" listed on the percussion section. That is none other than Los Angeles based artist Nicolas Pascal Raicevik (1933-1994), aka 107-34-8933, aka Head, aka Nik Pascal, aka Nik Raicevic. Besides his hitting the bongoes on the Stones album, Nik was a great artist on his own, both as a painter and as a musician. As a musician, he was a pioneer in the use of synthesizers, preceeding the Berlin school by some years when his Head LP was released on on Buddah in 1970. Buddah probably saw in Head the opportunity to cash in some money from the remains of the psychedelic scene - the three tracks on the LP are named after drugs used in the late sixties. The sounds, however, are accomplished works that show Raicevic as one of the most interesting pioneers in the use of synths. The album probably didn't do too well, since Buddah didn't renew the contract with Raicevic, who instead took his own way releasing his works on his very own Narco Records and Tapes label. Between 1968 and 1975 Narco would issue 4 LPs credited either to Nik Raicevic (Beyond The End... Eternity) or Nik Pascal (The Sixth Ear, Magnetic Web and Zero Gravity) plus one credited to 107-34-8933 (Numbers, which is in fact the same LP as Buddah's Head, albeit with different cover art). Copies of these LPs came with an ironic sticker over the shrinkwrap that read "Do not listen to this LP if you are stoned".

Numbers was the first reference in the Narco catalogue (NR101), each of the three tracks it contains is named after a drug: Cannabis Sativa, Methedrine and Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. The album was credited to 107-34-8933, there is no date of release on the disc, some sources take it as back as 1968 - in any case, this is the same record that was issued on Buddah in 1970 credited to Head and eponymously-titled. The Wah Wah reissue features the original cover artwork from the Narco edition.

Besides his musical explorations, Nik was also an interesting painter. His paintings are auctioned from time to time, and are consciousness expanding works influenced by abstract cubism and surrealism, some kind of Salvador Dalí on drugs exploring the outter and inner space. All the artwork on the sleeves of his LPs is done by himself. Spacey landscapes and psychedelic colours that fit perfectly to the music they contain.

"Nik Raicevic's music is at the intersection of radical psycho-electronic weirdness and kraut kosmische music (in particular the scifi-hypno-minimal modules of Conrad Schnitzler in Grun, Rot and Blau). It presents mega epic & tripped out electronic improvisations.


"This is an absolute must for collectors and fans of visceral, neurotic soundscapes."

"As far as late-60s / early-70s American Bedroom' Electronic Music goes, these LPS have to be among the first transmissions from this sector, made all the more attractive when coupled with Raicevic's alien topographIes - the covers are high-color portrayals of Venusian lanes, knotted growths, & future-past architecture in a style you might equate with Vintage' sci-fi pulp-novel covers - & copious Downer' sentiment. This music is imbued with a sort of lonely, anti-social sensibility that's about as far as you can get from the Academic' Early Electronic vector. I will say that if the Steve Birchall, Cellutron & the Invisible, and/or Pythagoron™ seed your garden, this will likely do the same."

Never reissued before on vinyl format, the Wah Wah reissue features original sleeve artwork made of paintings and drawings by Nik himself and reproduction of the famous ironic "Do not listen if you are stoned".
Limited edition, 500 copies only.

If you check the credits of The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup LP from 1973 you'll find a certain "Pascal" listed on the percussion section. That is none other than Los Angeles based artist Nicolas Pascal Raicevik (1933-1994), aka 107-34-8933, aka Head, aka Nik Pascal, aka Nik Raicevic. Besides his hitting the bongoes on the Stones album, Nik was a great artist on his own, both as a painter and as a musician. As a musician, he was a pioneer in the use of synthesizers, preceeding the Berlin school by some years when his Head LP was released on on Buddah in 1970. Buddah probably saw in Head the opportunity to cash in some money from the remains of the psychedelic scene - the three tracks on the LP are named after drugs used in the late sixties. The sounds, however, are accomplished works that show Raicevic as one of the most interesting pioneers in the use of synths. The album probably didn't do too well, since Buddah didn't renew the contract with Raicevic, who instead took his own way releasing his works on his very own Narco Records and Tapes label. Between 1968 and 1975 Narco would issue 4 LPs credited either to Nik Raicevic (Beyond The End... Eternity) or Nik Pascal (The Sixth Ear, Magnetic Web and Zero Gravity) plus one credited to 107-34-8933 (Numbers, which is in fact the same LP as Buddah's Head, albeit with different cover art). Copies of these LPs came with an ironic sticker over the shrinkwrap that read "Do not listen to this LP if you are stoned".

"Raicevic is clearly still in the early learning-curve stages," which it a key LP to understand Nik's evolution and setting the path for more evolved works to follow.

Besides his musical explorations, Nik was also an interesting painter. His paintings are auctioned from time to time, and are consciousness expanding works influenced by abstract cubism and surrealism, some kind of Salvador Dalí on drugs exploring the outter and inner space. All the artwork on the sleeves of his LPs is done by himself. Spacey landscapes and psychedelic colours that fit perfectly to the music they contain.

"Nik Raicevic's music is at the intersection of radical psycho-electronic weirdness and kraut kosmische music (in particular the scifi-hypno-minimal modules of Conrad Schnitzler in Grun, Rot and Blau). It presents mega epic & tripped out electronic improvisations.

"This is an absolute must for collectors and fans of visceral, neurotic soundscapes."

"As far as late-60s / early-70s American Bedroom' Electronic Music goes, these LPS have to be among the first transmissions from this sector, made all the more attractive when coupled with Raicevic's alien topographIes - the covers are high-color portrayals of Venusian lanes, knotted growths, & future-past architecture in a style you might equate with Vintage' sci-fi pulp-novel covers - & copious Downer' sentiment. This music is imbued with a sort of lonely, anti-social sensibility that's about as far as you can get from the Academic' Early Electronic vector. I will say that if the Steve Birchall, Cellutron & the Invisible, and/or Pythagoron™ seed your garden, this will likely do the same."


Never reissued before on vinyl format, the Wah Wah reissue features original sleeve artwork made of paintings and drawings by Nik himself and reproduction of the famous ironic "Do not listen if you are stoned" sticker. Limited edition, 500 copies only.

Limited edition of a great pre-80s Italian disco production with massive funky basslines and great vocals produced by Marty Celay and Robert Drake (they previously collaborated and wrote some succesfully songs in USA for Roundtree and Chic projects) finally get an official remastered reissue from Best Record Italy. This time we can find here the full extended 11 minute disco version on the side A and the previously unavailable U.S.A. Version on the flip.

A spellbinding tribute from one multi-faceted artist to another. New York-based artist Aki Onda (b. 1967) conjured a transduction to the Korean multi-media pioneer Nam June Paik (1932-2006). Aki himself describes the project:

“Nam June’s Spirit Was Speaking to Me occurred purely by chance. In 2010, I was spending four days at Nam June Paik Art Center in South Korea for a series of performances and had plenty of free time to wander. The building was packed with Paik’s artwork and related material. I have always felt a close kinship with him as an artist, and so it was a great opportunity to immerse myself in his works and ephemera.

It was that night I made the first contact, via a hand-held radio in a hotel room in Seoul. It was literally out of the blue. Scanning through the stations, I stumbled upon what sounded like a submerged voice and I began to record it in fascination. I concluded this was Paik’s spirit reaching out to me.

The project continued to grow organically as I kept channeling Paik’s spirit over long distance and receiving cryptic broadcasts/messages. The series of séances, conducted in different cities across the globe, began in Seoul in 2010, and continued in Köln, Germany in 2012, Wrocław, Poland in 2013, and Lewisburg, USA in 2014. The original recordings were captured by the same radio which has a tape recorder, with almost no editing, save for some minimal slicing and mastering.

Paik is known for his association with shamanism, a practice that constantly surfaces in his works all through his career. In an interview, he stated “In Korea, diverse forms of shamanism are strongly remained. Even though I have created my work unconsciously, the most inspiring thing in my work came from Korean female shaman Mudang.” Paik himself was a master shaman and vividly used shaman rituals and symbols for staging his performances and installations.

These recordings also became a way for me to explore the mythic form of radio—a medium which is full of mysteries. The transmissions captured may be “secret broadcasts” on anonymous radio stations. There are in fact hundreds of those stations around the world, although the numbers dwindle as clandestine messages can now be sent via encrypted digital channels. Some of these stations were likely for military use or espionage or relics of the Cold War. But many others continue without apparent explanation. These are just some of the questions that remain unanswered.”

Commissioned in 2017 by documenta 14's radio program “Every Time A Ear di Soun,” these recordings were continually broadcast on eight radios stations around the world that year. Nam June’s Spirit is a beautifully formed homage, I cannot think of any other like it. An intimate, flickering language discovered through the air. The LP comes replete with a booklet of photographs of Paik on the set of Michael Snow’s unreleased film Rameau’s Nephew (1974).

Sean McCann, 2020
Aki Onda, 2017

20-page art booklet including rare photographs of Nam June Paik from the set of Michael Snow’s film Rameau’s Nephew (1974), two essays on radio-wave phenomenon (by Onda and Marcus Gammel), and a remembrance of Paik by Yuji Agematsu

From the radioactive remains of a forgotten planet, a teknelektro trancemission from earth's crazy boy shawn cartier is recovered on an alien form of communication: "floppy disk".

Play with caution... in space no one can hear the rave.

O’o share many of the musical characteristics of their ornithological namesake. The Kaua’i O’O produced the most exquisite birdsong before its extinction in Hawaii in the late 1980s. The beauty and character of its voice was delicate and mysterious, tuneful and surprising. You can experience it with just a cursory websearch, a haunting cri de coeur from the last century. If the poor O’O is consigned to history, then life is just beginning for this French duo, based in Spain, who’ve won plaudits and awards already in their short musical lifespan.

O’o are about to release their sublime debut album Touche. This is not an endling, it’s just the beginning: “I found the name on a website of weird English language words, and I loved the way the letters were arranged like a pair of glasses,” says O’o singer Victoria Suter. “Afterwards, I went onto YouTube and started listening to the last bird of its species, calling for a mate that would never come. I thought: ‘Oh my God, that’s so sad’. Then we talked about the name and we thought it could be a nice thing to honour it and keep it alive in some way.”

Suter met her musical partner Mathieu Daubigné at college in Agen, South West France, when the pair were studying music theory in their teens. Victoria moved to Barcelona in 2010; Mathieu followed six years later. Their debut EP, Spells, appeared in 2018 a beautifully crafted patchwork of vocals and samples that is redolent of the uncanny vocalese of Laurie Anderson. The bird makes an appearance at the beginning of the EP: “Sweet tooth beak. Soft melody peak / Oh O’o, go round and round in circles / Looking for a honeydrop, til you vanish, til you drop”.

That sense of profound longing for something lost is carried over to Touche, as well as the same heightened sensory awareness of the world around them. What has developed in spades is the creative process. O’o have blossomed organically, augmenting their pop sensibilities. Avant-garde techniques have been brought to heel as the pair create off-kilter pop music that warms the heart and nourishes the brain. The catalyst that enabled this bold pop transformation came with the song ‘Touche’ itself, a saucy chanson at the heart of the album. Suter’s wry narrative about a botanical femme fatale is inserted into a lithe and skittish song with reggaeton beats and an inviting, balmy atmosphere.

“The song is about a flower which attracts male insects, producing the very same smell as the female of the species,” explains Victoria. “The poor male is fooled by the sex-appeal of this botanical trap, and gets so excited that he exhausts himself and wastes all his other chances of ulterior mating and having any offspring. The flower entices the insect in in mermaid-like fashion, to come nearer and touch her. It’s the hot track!”

‘Touche’ reaches into hitherto unexplored areas of pop, while the rest of the album is accessible in the way that James Blake, Radiohead or Kate Bush are accessible, and it always challenges, in a way that pop isn’t supposed to. Suter writes playful, poignant, observational songs that tell stories as well as tell us something about ourselves. Songs like ‘Dorica Castra’ are built upon the voice as an instrument, centrifugal and layered from its core.

Complimentary to this method is Daubigné, who brings startling innovation with found sounds, samples and clever vocal manipulations—creating unique, otherworldly sonic flourishes. A guitar whirs like a musical spinning top on ‘Spin’, created in Ableton; an Ondes Martenot appears to make a guest appearance on the title track, though it’s the ingenuity of the Prophet 8 synthesiser. “I’ll often say to Mathieu, ‘what’s that?’” says Suter, He’ll reply, ‘that’s your voice’.”

O’o found their own voice when they won a competition held by the legendary festival organisers Primavera Sound. Victoria entered the band into a competition she saw on Instagram, sending off rough demos on the final day of entry, thinking little more about it other than the fact Mathieu might be annoyed. Soon they would have to build a live set from scratch and figure out how to present their music for the first time. At stake was seventy hours of recording time at Aclam studios, used by Rosalía and Kendrick Lamar, and for the winner a coveted spot at the festival. A pool of 350 acts were whittled down, and then O’o triumphed at a Battle of the Band style face off.

The O’O might be extinct, but O’o the band have learned how to fly. Just watch them go.

Side A / Double A / You Feel Alright?

Double A returns for a sample heavy b-boy breaks workout with “You Feel Alright?”. This one’s a nod to his roots in late 80’s hip-hop; an à la Prince Paul cut and paste homage to a time when hip-hop was still for the dancers. There’s also a sneaky “whaddup?” to his fellow oldschool D&B heads in the breakdown. The main sample is 1970s
Afro-funk gold; horns, horns, and more horns. Bangin’ drums and a rolling baseline tie it all together for the dance floor.

Side AA / The Gaff / High Life

Party rocker, turntablist, edit maestro, all-round good dude, and Canadian National Treasure, The Gaff smashes a heavy afro-funk edit with a b-boy feel on this one. Knockin’ drums, syncopated percussion, and a house(ish) tempo make this one a guaranteed floor filler. A smattering of male vocals is the icing on the cake here too. Dj-friendly intro and outro for your mixing pleasure. A must for your crates.

Yellow Vinyl

A collective of musicians led by Barcelona-based producer Miguel Ferre Falcon, Kokoro Disco San first appeared on the RNT radar with their 2019 Isla Fantasia release on Rocafort Records.

KDS now brings their uncanny ability to capture the mood and instrumentation of classic disco and soul with the uplifting summer anthem 'Sunshine' and the Candido-esque sonic journey 'Jungle Deep.' Rounding out the EP are two remixes of the title track by label co-head JKriv, who delivers an extended acidic exploration with his Beach Burn Mix, and a bumped up yet loving treatment of the original song with his SPF76 Mix.

For fans of Turkish Psychedelic Funk and Anatolian Rock. Alexander Korostinsky (Whatitdo Archive Group and The Sextones) marks his solo debut with two heavy psychedelic tracks. 7" vinyl is limited to 300 copies.

Record Kicks busts down the doors with yet another 7" heater– this time by Alexander Korostinsky (The Sextones, Whatitdo Archive Group), an accomplished songwriter/producer making his debut as a solo artist with a heavy psychedelic 7" available at selected stores next June 17th and limited to 300 copies worldwide. Korostinsky gives a loving nod to the sound of 60s and 70s Anatolian Psych Rock all while staying true to his unique songwriting style and recording approach. On the A side is "Bones of God", a psychedelic Turkish-infused cut featuring an electric saz and sitar dancing across tape-y drums and his distinctive bass playing. On the flip side, "Altin Maske'', a hypnotic exploration into Korostinsky's mind as a solo artist– think a Turkish David Axelrod and you'll be set. "Altin Maske's" twists and turns guide the phased out drums and electric saz into a beautifully psychotic meltdown.

Meticulously recorded and produced entirely on a Tascam 388 by Korostinsky at his own Archive Group Studios,this 45 is imbued with Korostinsky's love of analog recording production and vintage records. One listen and you'll notice thatthese songs are begging to be sampled and are a must have for any serious crate-digger. If this first release is any indication of what we can expect from Korostinsky in the future, then we are excited to see where he takes us next.

The 7" vinyl is limited to 300 copies worldwide which makes it an instant collector's item.

Hazeen is an anti-racist Muslim death metal band formed by Sydney-based artists, musicians and academics Safdar Ahmed on vocals and guitar, and Can Yalcinkaya on the drums and darbouka. Safdar Ahmed, has been invited to take part in dokumentafifteen with a video installation and a collateral album, to be released on Piranha Records.

Without a brutal evaluation of their own becoming, TV Priest might have never made their second album. Heralded as the next big thing in post-punk, they were established as a bolshy, sharp-witted outfit, the kind that starts movements with their political ire. There was of course truth in that, but it was a suit that quickly felt heavy on its wearer's shoulders, leaving little room for true vulnerability. "A lot of it did feel like I was being really careful and a bit at arm's length," says vocalist Charlie Drinkwater. "I think maybe I was not fully aware of the role I was taking. I had to take a step back and realize that what we were presenting was quite far away from the opinion of myself that I had. Now, I just want to be honest." Having made music together since their teenage years, the London four-piece piqued press attention in late 2019 with their first gig as a newly solidified group, a raucous outing in the warehouse district of Hackney Wick. Debut single "House of York" followed with a blistering critique of monarchist patriotism, and they were signed to Sub Pop for their debut album. When Uppers arrived in the height of a global pandemic, it reaped praise from critics and fans alike for its "dystopian doublespeak," but the band - Drinkwater, guitarist Alex Sprogis, producer, bass and keys player Nic Bueth and drummer Ed Kelland - were at home like the rest of us, drinking cups of tea and marking time via government-sanctioned daily exercise. As such, the personal and professional landmark of its release felt "both colossal and minuscule" dampened by the inability to share it live. "It was a real gratification and really cathartic, but on the other hand, it was really strange, and not great for my mental health" admits Drinkwater. "I wasn't prepared, and I hadn't necessarily expected it to reach as many people as it did." As such, My Other People maintains a strong sense of earth-rooted emotion, taking advantage of the opportunity to physically connect. Using "Saintless" (the closing song from Uppers) as something of a starting point, Drinkwater set about crafting lyrics that allowed him to articulate a deeper sense of personal truth, using music as a vessel to communicate with his bandmates about his depleting mental health. "Speaking very candidly, it was written at a time and a place where I was not, I would say, particularly well," he says. "There was a lot of things that had happened to myself and my family that were quite troubling moments.Despite that I do think the record has our most hopeful moments too; a lot of me trying to set myself reminders for living, just everyday sentiments to try and get myself out of the space I was in." "It was a bit of a moment for all of us where we realised that we can make something that, to us at least, feels truly beautiful," agrees Bueth. "Brutality and frustration are only a part of that puzzle, and despite a lot of us feeling quite disconnected at the time, overwhelmingly beautiful things were also still happening." This tension between existential fear born from the constant uncertainties of life, and an affirmative, cathartic urge to seize the moment, is central to My Other People, a record that heals by providing space for recognition, a ground zero in which you're welcome to stay awhile but which ultimately only leads up and out. For TV Priest, it is a follow-up that feels truly, properly them; free of bravado, unnecessary bluster or any audience pressure to commit solely to their original sound.

Without a brutal evaluation of their own becoming, TV Priest might have never made their second album. Heralded as the next big thing in post-punk, they were established as a bolshy, sharp-witted outfit, the kind that starts movements with their political ire. There was of course truth in that, but it was a suit that quickly felt heavy on its wearer's shoulders, leaving little room for true vulnerability. "A lot of it did feel like I was being really careful and a bit at arm's length," says vocalist Charlie Drinkwater. "I think maybe I was not fully aware of the role I was taking. I had to take a step back and realize that what we were presenting was quite far away from the opinion of myself that I had. Now, I just want to be honest." Having made music together since their teenage years, the London four-piece piqued press attention in late 2019 with their first gig as a newly solidified group, a raucous outing in the warehouse district of Hackney Wick. Debut single "House of York" followed with a blistering critique of monarchist patriotism, and they were signed to Sub Pop for their debut album. When Uppers arrived in the height of a global pandemic, it reaped praise from critics and fans alike for its "dystopian doublespeak," but the band - Drinkwater, guitarist Alex Sprogis, producer, bass and keys player Nic Bueth and drummer Ed Kelland - were at home like the rest of us, drinking cups of tea and marking time via government-sanctioned daily exercise. As such, the personal and professional landmark of its release felt "both colossal and minuscule" dampened by the inability to share it live. "It was a real gratification and really cathartic, but on the other hand, it was really strange, and not great for my mental health" admits Drinkwater. "I wasn't prepared, and I hadn't necessarily expected it to reach as many people as it did." As such, My Other People maintains a strong sense of earth-rooted emotion, taking advantage of the opportunity to physically connect. Using "Saintless" (the closing song from Uppers) as something of a starting point, Drinkwater set about crafting lyrics that allowed him to articulate a deeper sense of personal truth, using music as a vessel to communicate with his bandmates about his depleting mental health. "Speaking very candidly, it was written at a time and a place where I was not, I would say, particularly well," he says. "There was a lot of things that had happened to myself and my family that were quite troubling moments.Despite that I do think the record has our most hopeful moments too; a lot of me trying to set myself reminders for living, just everyday sentiments to try and get myself out of the space I was in." "It was a bit of a moment for all of us where we realised that we can make something that, to us at least, feels truly beautiful," agrees Bueth. "Brutality and frustration are only a part of that puzzle, and despite a lot of us feeling quite disconnected at the time, overwhelmingly beautiful things were also still happening." This tension between existential fear born from the constant uncertainties of life, and an affirmative, cathartic urge to seize the moment, is central to My Other People, a record that heals by providing space for recognition, a ground zero in which you're welcome to stay awhile but which ultimately only leads up and out. For TV Priest, it is a follow-up that feels truly, properly them; free of bravado, unnecessary bluster or any audience pressure to commit solely to their original sound.

Post-Soviet punkrock/hardcore hailing from Riga, Latvia, with melodies and socio-political subtext leaving no one uninspired. HAVE NO HEROES started in 2016 and are now about to release their 2nd full-length album, titled "Letters to Nowhere" on Swedish record label Black Star Foundation, home of bands like: Atlas Losing Grip, Enemy Alliance, the Idoru, This Calling, Idle Class, Fights & Fires, Meleeh, etc.
Have No Heroes first album "Plastic World" was released by the band themselves. With no promotion and mostly by word of mouth the band's music got spread like wildfire and gained listeners all over the world (statistics says that most listeners are situated in Canada, but then… that's no lie to state that the Canadians know about the best political skatepunk available, huh).
By coincidence Swedish record label Black Star Foundation got to hear the band's music. With a fierce rhythm section, aggressive and melodic guitars, and "in your face" lyrics with actual meaning, it was impossible for BSF to not ask the band for future collaborations.

Have No Heroes is a four-piece band in the category of bands like Propaghandi, Rise Against, and already mentioned Atlas Losing Grip.

Sound Like: Pennywise, Rise Against, Propagandhi, Atlas Losing Grip

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of “Unorthodox Jukebox”, a limited Dark Red Vinyl edition will be released on the 17th June, with the pre-order going live on the 19th May. “Unorthodox Jukebox” is the second studio album by American singer and songwriter Bruno Mars. It debuted at #2 on the US Billboard 200, The record also reached #1 in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and the U.K.. It became Mars's fastest-selling album in the latter country in 2012, the third best-selling album in Australia in 2013, and the fifth best-selling in the United States in 2013. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported that Unorthodox Jukebox was globally the fourth best-selling album in 2013. “Unorthodox Jukebox” also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 56th Grammy Awards.
Bruno Mars is a 21-time GRAMMY Award nominee and multi-GRAMMY winner. The celebrated singer, songwriter, producer, musician has sold over 171 million singles worldwide, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. His most recent critically acclaimed and RIAA certified platinum album, “24K Magic,” made an impressive debut atop the Top Digital Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Additionally, the album and its lead single, “24K Magic,” simultaneously hit No. 1 on the iTunes Overall Albums and Overall Songs charts week of release. The single has since climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has also officially been certified Platinum by the RIAA.

What do you get when you combine "Canada's Dopest Female MC" (Exclaim Magazine) with Canada's Best Kept Secret? You get FREE: the debut collaborative MC/Producer project between Juno-nominated Hip Hop Artist Eternia and the criminally slept on Juno-Award Winning Hip Hop Producer Rel McCoy.

The first full-length release for Eternia since the critically acclaimed "At Last" with producer MoSS (Fat Beats Records), Eternia returns with all the slice & dice super-lyricism audiences have grown to expect from her, as well as a depth and simplicity that can only be attributed to the maturation of her certified veteran MC status. Rel McCoy expertly provides some of the most sophisticated, moving, soulful & dynamic production we've heard Eternia rhyme on, in the same vein as a Pete Rock or a Hi-Tek but with a sonic stamp all his own.

FREE is the sonic equivalent of a baptism: a first step towards wholeness and liberation. The album holds the tension between rebirth, faith and peace of mind juxtaposed with the day-to-day realities of anxiety, fear, uncertainty and failed relationships.

One of Europe's key figures in the drum and bass music scene of the 2000s - Sunchase - returns with his long-awaited album on Kashtan, a newly launched label from Ukraine, on 1st of December 2020.

Sunchase had numerous singles on such cult labels like Moving Shadow, Metalheadz and Hospital Records and after 10 years he finally returns to the LP format. His second album 'Timeline', just like the concept of the label, blurs the boundaries between genres of electronic music, and cannot be assigned to any particular style. The melancholic and abstract sounds give off a sense of reclusiveness, with dubstep and drum and bass rhythms peeking and sometimes breaking through to the surface, yet more often they go deeper, creating room for bass music, dub and even a slight touch of IDM, thus creating a very special state. The album as a whole appears as a voluminous, complete, and aesthetically established piece of work.

The releases of Kashtan will be executed in a rather unusual format: it will be a limited series of collectible packs, including a USB stick with music and additional multimedia content, as well as other materials. These packs can later be collected into a catalog. Also, the LP will be released digitally on Kashtan's Bandcamp page and all other known online stores.

A repress offer using exactly the same stampers as our first run!

The masters were sourced from original reel to reel tape, we carefully remastered this classic release while retaining all the character of the original. Mastering is by Bob Macc @ Subvert Central Mastering. You can be assured the tracks sound fantastic but do not suffer from the Loudness Wars while still holding their own when mixed with modern productions.

"To kick off the yearlong celebration and provide the perfect summer soundtrack, Capitol Records and UMe will release a newly remastered and expanded edition of The Beach Boys career-spanning greatest hits collection, Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys, on June 17. Originally released in 2003, the album soared to no. 16 in the US and stayed on the chart for 104 weeks. Now certified 4x platinum for sales of nearly four and a half million albums, the collection has been updated in both number of songs and audio quality, expanding the original 30-track best of with 50 more of the band’s most beloved songs for a total of 80 tracks that span their earliest hits to deeper fan-favorite cuts and from their 1962 debut album, Surfin’ Safari through to 1989’s Still Cruisin’.
Assembled by Mark Linett and Alan Boyd, the team behind 2013's GRAMMY® Award-winning SMiLE Sessions and last year’s acclaimed boxed set, Feel Flows – The Sunflower and Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971, Sounds Of Summer features nearly every US Top 40 hit of The Beach Boys’ incredible career, including “California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Surfer Girl,” “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “God Only Knows,” “Good Vibrations,” “Be True To Your School,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “Kokomo,” “Barbara Ann,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “In My Room,” and many others. Fifty additional tracks showcase a broad mix of songs from across their wide-ranging catalog with some of the many highlights including “All Summer Long,” “Disney Girls,” “Forever,” “Feel Flows,” “Friends,” “Roll Plymouth Rock,” “Sail on Sailor,” “Surf’s Up,” and “Wind Chimes.”
The collection boasts 24 new mixes including two first-time stereo mixes, plus 22 new-and-improved stereo mixes, which in some cases feature the latest in digital stereo extraction technology, allowing for the team to separate the original mono backing tracks for the first time.
The expanded edition of Sounds Of Summer will be available in a variety of formats, including a 3CD softpack, and as a Super Deluxe Edition 6LP vinyl boxed set on 180-gram black vinyl in two options – a standard set or a numbered, limited edition version featuring a rainbow foil slipcase and four collectible lithographs. Both versions will feature color printed sleeves that replicate the original “Capitol Catalog” sleeves that highlight the entire Beach Boys discography, and all formats will include a booklet with new liner notes and updated photos. The original 30-track version will also be available in its newly remastered and upgraded form on single CD or double gatefold LP on standard weight vinyl or as a higher-end limited edition numbered version pressed on 180-gram vinyl with a tip-on jacket and a lithograph. "

"There's scarcely a more towering figure in modern jazz — save Miles and Coltrane — than Bill Evans. His relaxed and emotional style at the piano would prove influential to not only his peers but to generations of pianists who would follow him. It also doesn't hurt that he appeared on (and had great influence over the direction of) Kind Of Blue and that two of his trio’s LPs from the Village Vanguard in 1961 are both stone-cold classics.
Evans is joined here by bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Larry Bunker for this 1965 recording. The album includes the heart-wrenching ""Who Can I Turn To?"" alongside ""If You Could See Me Now"" and Johnny Carisi's ""Israel.""
Verve’s Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging."

Steve Cradock reveals a different side to his music talents with a new instrumental LP drawing on jazz, folk, classical and film soundtrack influences. Conceived during the “most extraordinary” months of lockdown, ‘A Sound track to An Imaginary Movie’ began life one afternoon in summer 2020 when Cradock felt struck by inspiration. The music that poured out in subsequent sessions suggested to Steve an imaginary film soundtrack – hence the album title – with many of the songs exuding a quiet, hymnal grace and a profound sensation of stillness and inner peace. Hints of Eric Satie, Burt Bacharach, Ennio Morricone and Philip Glass can be detected – together with a piquant flavour of the jazz and classical greats. Steve is joined by guests including, his wife Sally, Jess Cox (cello), the Stone Foundation’s Rob Newton (congas), son Cassius Cradock (piano), plus fellow members of The Specials’ touring band Nikolaj Larson (Hammond B-3) and Tim Smart (trombone). Cradock is keen to impress that the record is in his mind, essentially a folk record, despite being amazingly mixed “ultimately, I could play most of these tunes on an acoustic guitar.”

‘Mehldau can truly translate his thoughts and feelings into complex and lasting music. He is one of those people whose brain and fingers and musical ability is all one beautiful entity.’ – Jamie Cullum

Nonesuch Records releases Brad Mehldau’s Jacob’s Ladder on 2 x 140g black vinyl on June 17th . The album features new music that reflects on scripture and the search for God through music inspired by the prog rock Mehldau loved as a young adolescent, which was his gateway to the fusion that eventually led to his discovery of jazz. Featured musicians on the album include Mehldau’s label mates Chris Thile and Cécile McLorin Salvant, as well as Mark Guiliana, Becca Stevens, Joel Frahm, and others. The album’s first single, ‘maybe as his skies are wide’, builds off an interpolation of one portion of Rush’s classic ‘Tom Sawyer’.

Mehldau explains, “We are born close to God, and as we mature, we invariably move further and further away from Him on account of our ego. Jacob’s Ladder begins at that place closer to God with the voice of child, and then moves into the world of action. God is always there, but in our discovery and conquest, and all the joys and sorrows they bring, we may lose sight of him. He sets a ladder before us though, like in Jacob’s dream, and we climb towards him, to find reconciliation with ourselves, to stitch up all those worldly wounds and finally heal. The record ends with my vision of heaven – once again as a child, His child, in eternal grace, in ecstasy.

“The musical conduit on the record is prog,” Mehldau continues. “Prog – progressive rock – was the music of my childhood, before I discovered jazz. It matched the fantasy and science fiction books I read from C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle and others at that time, aged ten through twelve. It was my gateway to the fusion of Miles Davis, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra and other groups, which in turn was the gateway to more jazz. Jazz shared with prog a broader expressive scope and larger-scale ambitions than the rock music I had known already.

“The prog from Rush, Gentle Giant, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer here only hints at the genre’s conceptual, compositional and emotional range. These bands and others have continued to influence newer groups that bring prog impulses into the arena of hard rock and screaming math metal, like Periphery, whose music is included here, and also inspired the screaming vocals on ‘Herr und Knecht.’ I tried to avoid a direct tribute approach to all the songs, and opted in some cases for excerpts, or reworking of themes.”

Although Brad Mehldau is best known as a jazz composer and improviser, he has made several albums that fall outside of the mainstream jazz genre, including his 2001 Largo, produced by Jon Brion. Wide-ranging in texture and big in scale, it features woodwind or brass ensembles are on several tracks, as well as a heavy emphasis on powerful drums. In 2010, Nonesuch released his second collaboration with Brion, Highway Rider, which includes performances by Mehldau’s trio – drummer Jeff Ballard and bassist Larry Grenadier – as well as drummer Matt Chamberlain, saxophonist Joshua Redman, and a chamber orchestra led by Dan Coleman. Mehldau also orchestrated and arranged the album’s fifteen pieces for the ensemble.

Mehldau’s 2014 collaboration with Mark Guiliana, Mehliana: Taming the Dragon featured Mehldau on Fender Rhodes and synthesizers and Guiliana on drums and effects, playing twelve original tunes – six by the duo and six by Mehldau. His 2019 album Finding Gabriel featured performances by him on piano, synthesizers, percussion, and Fender Rhodes, as well as vocals. Guest musicians included Ambrose Akinmusire, Sara Caswell, Kurt Elling, Joel Frahm, Mark Guiliana, Gabriel Kahane, and Becca Stevens, among others.

Driven by Max Cavalera's unrelenting energy, unmistakable growl, and instantly recognizable riffage, the earthy tones and motivational rhythmic bounce of Soulfly maintain a gritty spiritual heart while pushing the boundaries of what's possible in metal. Nowhere is that more apparent than on the four triumphant, redemptive, and crucial eclectic offerings presented in this brand new box set, celebrating the first six years of the band career.

Soulfly (1998) was a riotously heavy escalation of the innovation established on Max's final album with Sepultura, launching a brand-new era. Primitive (2000) and 3 (2002) stomp with tribal groove; Prophecy (2004) is as unsettling but evocative as the tombs of the martyrs across Europe. Max introduced metalheads to the berimbau. His music is brutal yet unapologetically transcendent punk-infused extremity. To commune with the burning muse of metal's shamanistic tribal leader is to envelop oneself inside a post-modern sonic sweat lodge. Brutal riffs, trippy esoteric ritual, unrelenting percussion, primal screams; no matter what Cavalera hammers out on his four-string guitar, it always sets souls free.

Second Sub Pop album by acclaimed UK act TV Priest finds them building on the
post-punk of their early material and maturing into a powerhouse of tense, politically
caustic, and thoughtful rock music.
Without a brutal evaluation of their own becoming, TV Priest might have never made
their second album. Heralded as the next big thing in post-punk, they were
established as a bolshy, sharp-witted outfit, the kind that starts movements with their
political ire. There was of course truth in that, but it was a suit that quickly felt heavy
on its wearer’s shoulders, leaving little room for true vulnerability. “A lot of it did feel
like I was being really careful and a bit at arm's length,” says vocalist Charlie
Drinkwater. “I think maybe I was not fully aware of the role I was taking. I had to take
a step back and realize that what we were presenting was quite far away from the
opinion of myself that I had. Now, I just want to be honest.”
Having made music together since their teenage years, the London four-piece piqued
press attention in late 2019 with their first gig as a newly solidified group, a raucous
outing in the warehouse district of Hackney Wick. Debut single ‘House of York’
followed with a blistering critique of monarchist patriotism, and they were signed to
Sub Pop for their debut album. When ‘Uppers’ arrived in the height of a global
pandemic, it reaped praise from critics and fans alike for its “dystopian doublespeak,”
but the band - Drinkwater, guitarist Alex Sprogis, producer, bass and keys player Nic
Bueth and drummer Ed Kelland - were at home like the rest of us, drinking cups of
tea and marking time via government-sanctioned daily exercise. As such, the
personal and professional landmark of its release felt “both colossal and minuscule”
dampened by the inability to share it live. “It was a real gratification and really
cathartic, but on the other hand, it was really strange, and not great for my mental
health,” admits Drinkwater. “I wasn’t prepared, and I hadn’t necessarily expected it to
reach as many people as it did.”
As such, ‘My Other People’ maintains a strong sense of earth-rooted emotion, taking
advantage of the opportunity to physically connect. Using ‘Saintless’ (the closing
song from ‘Uppers’) as something of a starting point, Drinkwater set about crafting
lyrics that allowed him to articulate a deeper sense of personal truth, using music as
a vessel to communicate with his bandmates about his depleting mental health.
“Speaking very candidly, it was written at a time and a place where I was not, I would
say, particularly well,” he says. “There was a lot of things that had happened to
myself and my family that were quite troubling moments. Despite that I do think the
record has our most hopeful moments too; a lot of me trying to set myself reminders
for living, just everyday sentiments to try and get myself out of the space I was in.”
“It was a bit of a moment for all of us where we realised that we can make something
that, to us at least, feels truly beautiful,” agrees Bueth. “Brutality and frustration are
only a part of that puzzle, and despite a lot of us feeling quite disconnected at the
time, overwhelmingly beautiful things were also still happening.”
This tension between existential fear born from the constant uncertainties of life, and
an affirmative, cathartic urge to seize the moment, is central to ‘My Other People’, a
record that heals by providing space for recognition, a ground zero in which you’re
welcome to stay awhile but which ultimately only leads up and out. For TV Priest, it is
a follow-up that feels truly, properly them; free of bravado, unnecessary bluster or
any audience pressure to commit solely to their original sound.

Soul Jazz Records follows up one its most popular Studio One releases with a brand new selection of rare and classic releases by women in reggae. Featuring legendary artists such as Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley and Hortense Ellis (with a guest appearance by her brother Alton), alongside a host of rarities from lesser known names such as Nina Soul, Nana Mclean, Denise Darlington, Myrna Hague and also Doreen Schaeffer, a vocalist who was a founding member of The Skatalites.

There are notable covers (from Tyrone Davis’ soul classic Can I Change My Mind to the Band’s 60s psychedelic classic Turn Turn Turn in a rub-a-dub style!). Doreen Schaeffer reversions Alton Ellis’s seminal I’m Still in Love with You, Nina Soul reversions the slack rocksteady anthem Barb Wire. A number of these tracks are almost impossible to find and many have never been issued ever since their initial release.

The music on the album is of course 100% killer and features backing from all of the seminal groups at 13 Brentford Road including The Skatalites, Sound Dimension, Soul Brothers and the Brentford All Stars, and ranges from ska, rocksteady, roots, lovers and more from the 60s, 70s and 80s. All produced by Clement ‘Sir Coxsone’ Dodd at Studio One Records, the number one sound in reggae music.
The album is released on Soul Jazz Records as a double-vinyl with gatefold sleeve, download code, the CD comes in slipcase and both come with extensive sleevenotes.

Propulsive tabla percussion and meditative drones collide in deep instrumental conversation on Shruti Dances, the debut collaborative album between UK heavyweights Auntie Flo and Sarathy Korwar, forthcoming on the newly relaunched, Make Music imprint.

Across six exchanges of dynamic electronic production and richly layered Indian classical percussion, Shruti Dances discovers two architects of rhythm and movement on an explorative journey through South Asian tonality and diasporic identity.

One an elemental force on drums, the other on the decks, London-based, Indian-raised drummer/composer, Sarathy Korwar and Scottish-Goan producer/DJ, Auntie Flo first connected back in 2019, unaware both were navigating opposite ends of the beat equilibrium. Where Auntie Flo (aka Brian D’Souza) was new to Korwar’s reimagining of jazz, Indian classical music, electronics and spoken word, Korwar was already a big admirer of Auntie Flo’s intl-facing club output, having first discovered D’Souza’s Rainfall On Red Earth off his Soniferous Garden 12” and 2019 SAY award-winning (Scottish Album of The Year), Radio Highlife. Once properly acquainted, Korwar invited Auntie Flo to remix a track off his landmark 2019 album, More Arriving, described by The Guardian as “a stylistic leap from jazz to hip-hop to spoken word…a protest record encompassing the breadth of immigrant experiences”.

The seeds of an unlikely yet powerful musical bond had been sown and when mutual friend, co-founder of Mixcloud, and Make Music label organiser, Nikhil Shah, asked the duo to inaugurate the label’s new live/electronic direction (previously home to Leon Vynehall, U and George Fitzgerald), Korwar and D’Souza hit the studio. Expanding on early conversations around traditional Indian instrumentation, practicing meditation and improvisation, Shruti Dances (a riff on free dance movement, Ecstatic Dance) was born. Meaning 'that which is heard' in Sanskrit, shruti refers to a note in musical terms, but in this case also references the album’s most prominent influence and instrument, the shruti box.

“The shruti box formed the basis of the sound of the project. It’s a drone instrument, similar to a harmonium, and it makes an amazing sound. I’ve spent the last two years studying sound therapy, and immersing myself in ambient and drone through the Ambient Flo project, and am particularly interested in how they can induce meditative states of consciousness. I was really excited to hear what the Shruti box could do with this EP.” Auntie Flo

Across six tracks, (each named after 6 of the 7 main musical notes in the Indian solfege system), Shruti Dances draws on a celestial mix of traditional percussion and processed digital effects. On opening track Dha, Korwar’s sparse tabla rhythms hop across D’Souza’s scattered, arpeggiated synths, where as on Pa, a Balearic shuffle channels Moroccan Gnawa music and Senegalese sabar meets Mark Ernestus’s Ndagga Rhythm Force. Harmonic speed tabla and roaming drones provide a sense of the ethereal and fourth-worldly on Ma, a track that’s resplendent, curious atmosphere would fit snug into the deep listening-focused programming of Auntie Flo’s Ambient Flo online radio station, a curatorial platform and avenue exploring his interest/promotion of mental health, launched over the UK’s first lockdown. Ni sees Korwar pick up the sticks, thrashing toms in a spirited frenzy, whilst downtempo album closer Sa offers some room for reflection, its slow, swirling chords cloud our focus, leaving us with all but the distant sound of birdsong.