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JJ Tartaglia and Jonny Nesta (also band members of world-renowned
Skull Fist) have joined forces once again to form Thunderor, the latest
80s-infused heavy metal /hard rock sensation
The debut album 'Fire It Up' delivers hook-driven stadium caliber songs with an
untamed spirit. Thunderous drums, lightning hot guitar licks, dreamy synths, and
piercing vocals form the musical storm that is Thunderor. Complete with singalong choruses, drum solo breaks, ripping guitar leads, keytars, motorcycles, and
gongs, the Canadian trio will have you fueling up for adventure as you sail through
the 9- track album. For those who've ever felt a longing for escape, a thirst for
adventure, wrapped in romance and danger, Thunderor is your soundtrack!

But like a sunbeam peering through a haze of wildfire smoke, Early Eyes have
somehow persevered through dashed dreams, fractured relationships, historic
social justice uprisings in their own hometown, and a society tearing apart at the
seams to make an album that is both responsive to the chaos and wearily
optimistic."It almost feels like Look Alive! is a direct response to the pandemic,"
bandleader Jake Berglove reflects. "It was like, oh, my goodness, all of our
capitalist anxieties just came true! We took all of that anxiety and angry energy
and put it into making a really f***ed up album." Look Alive! vibrates with angst,
punctuated by computerized glitches and disintegrating threads of abandoned
melodies that echo in the distance before roaring back to life. With the assistance
of producers Caleb Hinz and Jake Luppen (of the band Hippo Campus), Early
Eyes felt more liberated stylistically, and Look Alive! looks ahead to a post-genre
future where emo, post- hardcore, Japanese city pop, and musical theater can
coexist peacefully on one album. "We ran with so many different influences," John
says. "I mean, like, half the songs on the album just sound like a completely
different band. We were just more unafraid to commit — like, alright, we're just
going to make a punk song right now."

Reissue of The Rolf Kühn Orchestra's gently-grooving 1979 album
'Symphonic Swampfire', featuring Joachim Kühn, Philip Catherine, NielsHenning Ørsted Pedersen, Charlie Mariano, Herb Geller and others
For a German jazz musician to find international recognition as a major player
has been and remains a rarity. Clarinetist Rolf Kühn belongs to this elite class. No
one sounds like him on the clarinet; warm, round and masterful, his tone remains
unmistakable no matter what style he may be playing at any given moment. His
play resonates with a maturity and wisdom gathered from a long and rich life of
musical experiences.
Inspired by the captivating and breathtaking landscape of Ibiza, which Rolf Kühn
discovered for the first time in 1970, the album 'Symphonic Swampfire' was
created in 1978. Rolf Kühn had spent many summers in Ibiza, his brother
Joachim is now living there since several years. After Kühn had written orchestral
compositions for commissioned works for film, TV and radio productions, he was
able to fulfill his long- standing wish to record one of his jazz albums with an
orchestra. 'Symphonic Swampfire' is the first collaboration with sound engineer
Walter Quintus, with whom Rolf and Joachim Kühn should collaborate many more
times.

In many ways, this trio recording is a milestone in the career of this young
Californian
Duke unveils more of his early experiments with the ARP synthesizer, as well as a
new creativity on such more conventional keyboards, as the Wurlitzer, Fender
Rhodes, and the clavinet. As a result, Faces in Reflection is characterized by a
wide variety of tonal hues. The journey moves from the explosive The Opening on
to the tender- tinged Capricorn, which Duke had snatched from the Cannonball
Adderley repertoire. Adderley had been the second major player he had worked
with during that early period; Frank Zappa was the first. Two impressionistic solo
intermezzi segue into the funky fusion escapade Psychosomatic Dung, with
superb interplay between drummer Ndugu and bassist John Heard. The title
piece's secretive synth lines are the moments of calm before Duke's passionate
love affair with Brazil on the B side. The most surprising excursion on this side is
the vibrant and rhythmically intricate adaptation of Milton Nascimentos' Maria
Três Filhos, counterbalanced by the synth laboratory of North Beach. Duke
himself cherished the recordings; he stated that, "This was the first LP that really
said what I wanted to say."

Reissue of George Duke's classic 1975 jazz-funk-fusion album 'Feel'
This album with the strange psychedelic sci-fi cover draws a tighter circle around
Duke's fusion language. The keyboard master ventures deep into his synthesizer
laboratory. Their textures become a more essential component of his pieces,
attaining orchestral dimensions, as evidenced in the opener, Funny Funk, with its
smacking, squishing tongue- in- cheek dialogue between the synths. A virtuoso
layering of the keyboards is also central to Cora Joberge, and on Rashid, Duke's
electronic orchestra explodes over the stormy drums of Leon "Ndugu" Chancler.
Duke shows himself to be a singer with a soulful sound. Shortly before this
recording he had shelved his trombone so that he could communicate more
directly with the audience, as can be heard in the hymnal, dreamlike title piece.
The guest list of players make for an especially exciting concoction. No less than
Duke's playing companion Frank Zappa, under the cryptic pseudonym Obdewl'l X,
performs some adventuresome guitar passages on Love and Old Slippers. On the
California- sunshine pop samba, Yana Aminah, we have a surprise visit by
Brazilian Flora Purim, wife of percussionist Airto Moreira, who opens up his bag
of tricks on The Once Over, and plays on three more tracks.

Reissue of George Duke's classic 1973 jazz-funk-fusion album 'The Inner
Source'
In 1971 George Duke, having just recently done his time with the Mothers of
Invention, was engaged by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Beginning in April of
that year, Duke made two recordings over a short timespan that on their release
in 1973 as a double LP (against the desire of the artists, by the way), would be a
major statement.
On Chapter One of his fusion autobiography, "Solus", Duke, along with the
skeleton crew of bassist John Heard and drummer Dick Berk, tries out the new
compositional philosophy he had absorbed from his work with Adderley. On
Chapter two, "The Inner Source" " Duke lives it up as he shows off his exuberant
experimental synth side and also begins to vary the line-up here as some tracjs
are reinforced with Latin percussion, incisive horn and reed instruments or with
Duke on his first instrument, the trombone. As a curiosity, two basses compete
with each other on "Twenty Five".

Reissue of Ella Fitzgerald's 1969 album of funky big-band cover versions,
conducted by and featuring Tommy Flanagan on piano
Ella Fitzgerald singing Eric Clapton's "Sunshine of Your Love", or the Beatles' "Hey
Jude"? Something of a revelation for those who know Fitzgerald as purely a jazz
singer. Ella's pristine clarity of earlier years, now tinged with a throaty worldliness,
is a perfect foil to her choices from the world of rock and pop. It also adds new
depth to such standards as "Give Me the Simple Life", "Old Devil Moon", and Burt
Bachrach's "A House is Not a Home".
Recorded "live", the album is divided into a big band set and Ella with her longtime accompaniment, the Tommy Flanagan trio. Pianist Flanagan is simply one of
the all-time greats. After listening to this, how can you not be a fan of Ella's?
Includes the original liner notes from Norman Granz, who produced this record.

"Europe's greatest clarinetist and free spirit" (Jazzthetik) plays ballads and
legendary love songs on his new MPS album. In so doing, he delivers new
meaning and a fresh sound to the pieces. A sentimental look back is simply not
his thing. Together with his new quartet of pianist Frank Chastenier, bassist Lisa
Wulff, and percussionist Tupac Mantilla, Kühn contrasts his sensitive side with
his unbridled desire to experiment. "I've chosen some of my favourite ballads for
this album. These pieces have nothing to do with any sort of trend. For me, they
are poignant and beautiful; they are simply timeless," says Kühn. "I found it
especially appealing to combine these particular choices with my latest
compositions. The album opens with "Both Sides Now", a classic by Joni
Mitchell. Kühn liked the poetic text, and says that, "Somehow, in life there are
always two sides, but it's best when they enrich each other and can smoothly
merge in order to create something new."
One of five new compositions, the title song "Yellow + Blue" encapsulates the two
perspectives: the flamboyant, the impulsively vibrant yellow next to the soft,
sensitive, warm bluesy-blue tonal colour. In turn, a new musical color is created
out of the contrast.

Wounded Bird by Flying Norwegians is the best Norwegian country rock
album to ever have been made - An album that is so convincingly good, in
every conceivable way, that it was almost released by A&M Records
But it's also an album that serves as a classic example in which everything that
can go wrong, does go wrong. And at the worst possible time..

Ghédalia Tazartès left us in February 2021 when we had just finalized the editing and the cover art of his new album with him. Unfortunately he will never see the finished object. This record is therefore particularly important for us. He opened his archives to us so that we could select unpublished pieces with him and organize them in two long suites (indexes have been made on the CD for a more convenient listening) . This work took almost two years (finding the pieces among dozens of sometimes very old CD-Rs, checking that these pieces had not already been published, processing the sound to obtain an aesthetic unity and a coherent order, etc). This record is therefore a melting pot of unreleased tracks which cover a large part of his career. You can hear a few guests perform on some of the tracks (mostly vocals parts). As for the lyrics, apart from Ghédalia's own personal poetry, he wrote music for two texts by different poets, that he performs himself in a more or less comical way or on the contrary very intense (the final on a text by Antonin Artaud)!

During an art exhibition in 2018, Ghédalia really loved a series of photographs by Isabelle Magnon and immediately asked to use them for the cover of a future album. It is therefore these three photos (two for the LP version) which illustrate Ghédalia Tazartès' final album.

Napalm's 2000 album now re-released on Red Vinyl

Der Klassiker "The Savage Poetry" bekommt zum 20 jährigen Jubiläum noch einmal eine Neuauflage mit komplettem Remastering und ist erstmals als Vinyl erhältlich.

Gut 20 Jahre nach Veröffentlichung des viel beachteten vierten Edguy-Albums "Savage Poetry" (ursprünglich 2000 erschienen) kommt nun eine neue Version - als Digipak und erstmals als Vinyl (in verschiedenen Farben).

Das Warten hat ein Ende! 30 Jahre nach Bandgründung melden sich die Diamond Dogs, Schwedens Boogie-Rock-Legende, mit einem neuen Studioalbum zurück. 'Slap Bang Blue Rendezvous' ist eine Doppel-Album mit insgesamt 24 Songs, das von Tomas Skogsberg produziert und gemischt wurde. Skogsberg beschreibt es wie folgt: 'This is my masterpiece, my White Album'! Musikalisch bieten die schwedischen Rock 'n' Roller ihre spezielle Mischung aus UK-Glam und Blue-Eyed-Soul der frühen 70er Jahre. Klingt wie The Faces, Slade, Mott The Hoople, Kinks oder Rolling Stones!

Das Warten hat ein Ende! 30 Jahre nach Bandgründung melden sich die Diamond Dogs, Schwedens Boogie-Rock-Legende, mit einem neuen Studioalbum zurück. 'Slap Bang Blue Rendezvous' ist eine Doppel-Album mit insgesamt 24 Songs, das von Tomas Skogsberg produziert und gemischt wurde. Skogsberg beschreibt es wie folgt: 'This is my masterpiece, my White Album'! Musikalisch bieten die schwedischen Rock 'n' Roller ihre spezielle Mischung aus UK-Glam und Blue-Eyed-Soul der frühen 70er Jahre. Klingt wie The Faces, Slade, Mott The Hoople, Kinks oder Rolling Stones!

Exploring hybrid music styles and outernational, borderless musical influences, DJ soFa’s Elsewhere compilation series continues with a sixth instalment, and the second to appear on Kalahari Oyster Cult.

Always ahead of the tide, the Kalahari Oyster is a fine specimen when it comes to the discipline of next-level sound-snooping. Meticulously curated by Belgian sonic globetrotter soFa, Elsewhere XX showcases a dozen outstanding tunes, each dwelling in their own personal space between the imaginary worlds of post-kraut, DIY synth-punk and odd-pop ballads.

Melting these genres with contemporary club music is the mission here. Doused in a thick fog of arcane machine talk, tribal rhythms and cosmic synths, Elsewhere XX is an invitation to escape the hall of LED-backlit mirrors that we’ve so mistakenly come to call our “reality”.

Gathering artists from all corners of the globe – including Radio Hito, Anatolian Weapons, Eylul Deniz, Dame Area and Electronic Body Girl – soFa’s curation lays the groundwork for a unique and thoroughly immersive listening and dancing experience. Through a carefully selected suite of like-minded, yet diverse joints, we run the gamut from distorted funk (“Anita”, “Confiture") and cross-pollinated electroid blueprints (“Walk Away”, “An Abhainn Mhor") to oddball synthpop (“Credo” & Twin Peaks cover "She Can't Die"), reverb-soaked audio safaris (“Fifty Fifty (Anatolian Weapons Dub)") and static-filled postpunk (“Umani”).

soFa's Elsewhere series started in 2017 and this is the sixth compilation to date. Shifting focus with every new instalment, the compilations have previously appeared on labels likes Music For Dreams, Emotional Response and Crevette Records.

Serendipities surround the collaboration between Berlin's Stroboscopic Artefacts label founder Lucy and their most recent record with Malaysian Bangkok based emerging artist Wanton Witch. The release culminates in the reimagining of WW debut LP as seen and felt through the lens of Lucy. This is a follow up full-length album by Lucy not approached as a usual remixes record, but instead a fully fleshed out new body of work with the WW material being an integral part of Lucy's sonic palette.

Despite the label hiatus during the first year of lockdowns, the isolation of the pandemic helped create a fertile ground for a back and forth between Wanton Witch and Lucy's own distinct sound palettes to collide. With the normal every day pressures of touring lifted and enlightened by WW's sonic world, Lucy has seen this as a positive opportunity to manifest new pathways of connectivity and process a phase of personal growth. Not simply about the breaking of gender lines, but also about the blurring of creative boundaries, especially when making music.

Lucy's original patronage of Wanton Witch and her relatively fresh and new voice in the electronic music scene can be seen as a contribution to this idea of dismantling industry norms. In more than a decade of SA operations this is a reset moment for the label's mission focusing on empowering new talent, refreshing and growing with them, presenting a dynamic two-way process bewtween the label as a whole and the individual artists output.

Lucy's personal revolution has coincided with Wanton Witch's own discovery of her musical voice and their paths have created a synchronicity. This osmosis of thought and feeling, even through massive distances, can be so real and tangible. Lucy's new album is a testament to the power of connective tissue in collaboration. It is this catalyst of realisation that has allowed the creative work to flourish under the toughest of pandemic conditions.

The second Be With foray into the archives of revered German library institution Selected Sound is one of our favourites, Sound Inventions from Klaus Weiss Rhythm And Sounds, originally released in 1979.

From the notoriously strong mind of Niagara drummer / library-funk overlord Klaus Weiss, Sound Inventions is loaded with tripped out studio funk-freakery, mad samples and swaggering abstract funk grooves. From dramatic deep disco with dark Italo/Moroder leanings to heavy German funk breaks, this is absolutely sensational. Absolute synth-and-string-drenched magic.

Born in 1942 in Gevelsberg, Germany, Klaus Weiss began his career as a jazz drummer at sixteen (with a group called the Jazzopators) before working with the internationally successful 60s groups the Klaus Doldinger Quartet and the Erwin Lehn Big Band. In 1965 he formed his own trio, the first of many groups to bear his name, and as his renown as a bandleader grew over the next decade it naturally lead to working in production music.

About as cult as it gets when it comes to library music legends (German or otherwise), he produced essential records on German library labels Coloursound, Selected Sound and Sonoton, as well as making two essential entries in the Conroy catalogue. Collections of music in the trademark Klaus Weiss sound of electronics unsurprisingly built on top of sometimes funky, sometimes frenetic, but always hard-hitting drums.

Sound Inventions is one of those library records with a hefty track list, 22 in total, but they’re all pretty stunning. That’s not something you can often say and picking out the highlights is almost impossible. If pushed, we’d steer you towards the tough teutonic funk of “Drumcrazy”, the by turns juddering and sweeping majesty of the title track “Sound Inventions”, the aquatic serenity of “Glide”, the elegant strut of “Greenwich Street”, the muted, eerie cosmic-funk of “Air Space”, the squelchy acid-clavs of “Rhythm Function”, the calming, melodic “Waves”, the stuttering proto-Timbaland sensation that is “Rainbows” and the percussive funk-fuelled workout of “A Few Cuts”. Phew. Heavy indeed!

Founded in the late 60s by German composer and musician Klaus Netzle, Selected Sound began as a production music company specialising in jazz, orchestral and electronic recordings. You can’t miss those early LPs in their iconic glossy metallic copper sleeves with minimal German typography. Serious, classy stuff.

This re-issue of Sound Inventions has been mastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis from audio from the original tapes. Richard Robinson has handled reproducing the glossy metallic (iconic) original Selected Sound sleeve. Essential.

"Lloyd Stellar X The Droid - Rise of theAMachines is an exciting debut collaboration between Erik Griffioen & Ben Evans.AAn impressive maxi EP, loaded with cutting edge electro brimmingAwith musicality, sound design and expert production.A

Kicking off the release comes theAtitle track 'Rise Of The Machines', this quirky yet nuanced excursion sets the pace, allowing it's nifty ricocheting sequences, slick 808s, and tripped out ear candy to hit the clubs. 'Prisoners features a wiggly bass led jam, plastered with synths and finished with a dash of vocoded vocals. TheAduos ability to illustrate a dense sonic picture is evident once again on 'Cell Block' as intricate razor sharp drum programming holds the ship steady while ominous synths let the head wander before rich melancholic pads blast a sense of perspective and emotive depth.A
A
Onto the flip side - 'Room And Pillar'Agrabs the bull by the horns with a tough and aggressive bass line driven banger. Shrieking, twisted synth lines and FX are shattered across the track, keeping tension levels peaking, while TR808 rhythms cut through with military precision. Contrasting A'The Neutral Zone' sucks us into a deep atmospheric orbit of blissful yet inquisitive FM synthesis, distant emotive pads, fortified by warm stately bass tones. ARounding off the EP 'Coming Home' exhibits electro minimalism at its finest. An entangled, ever evolving musical conversation between bass and upper register synths leads, filled with a sense of hope and optimism, assisted by meticulous programmed electro drums, reminiscent of the best of Schatraxx.A

C-L-A-S-S-I-C library breaks and beats set of heavy drums and louche funk.

One of two Be With forays into the archives of revered British library institution Conroy, we present one of our favourites on the label - the super in-demand Dramatic Tempi / Larry Robbins Background Rhythms, originally released in 1975. Rare and sought-after for many years now, this is one of those cult library LPs that rarely turns up on even the deepest dig.

As a single LP, Dramatic Tempi / Larry Robbins Background Rhythms is two distinctly different collections of music. The first side, Dramatic Tempi, is made up of four tracks each from Sammy Burdson and Klaus Weiss.

Sammy Burdson was one of the many, many aliases of the mighty Austrian composer, arranger and conductor, Gerhard Narholz. Founder of adored library label Sonoton in 1965, and a classically trained composer, his work runs from easy listening through pop, jazz and electronic, to avant-garde.

About as cult as it gets when it comes to library music legends (German or otherwise) Klaus Weiss produced essential records on German library labels Coloursound, Selected Sound and Sonoton, as well as making two essential entries in the Conroy catalogue. Having started his career at the age of 16 as a jazz drummer, the Klaus Weiss trademark electronic sound is unsurprisingly built on top of sometimes funky, sometimes frenetic, but always hard-hitting drums.

The second side is both titled and also credited to Larry Robbins Background Rhythms. We have to admit to being stumped as to who Larry was, but we don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to assume it might well be yet another incarnation of Gerhard Narholz’s.

First up from Dramatic Tempi are the phased, gargantuan hip-hop beats of Sammy Burdson’s impeccable “Pop Waves”. This is otherworldly funk on a whole new level. Hearing is believing. The magnificently titled “Cyclodrom” is up next, a beast of booming bass and wah wah guitars over frenetic funk drums. “Devils Drive” is dramatic, blaxploitation street funk with rolling, pounding drums. “Crime Ways” is an acid-squelch, slow-pace neck-snapper.

Klaus Weiss starts by askings us “Is It Hip” and we can only answer “yes it is!” to the clean, skipping drums, booming bass and proto-hip-hop bells, layered beneath laconic and melodic guitar shredding. This is just horizontal soul perfection. “The Camp”, propelled by jazzy guitar à la Joe Pass over fast drum and conga breaks, gives way to the dark guitars and cymbal crashes of “Tomorrow”. It sounds like an early New Order jam session. Closing out a pretty startling side of library greatness, “Rhythm Trip” presents early stuttering funk before easin' on in to a jazzy, soulful groove; all breezy guitar and warm keys. Lush.

Larry Robbins Background Rhythms is a lighter, poppier affair, but it’s not without its drum-heavy bangers. “Vox Pop” and “Pop Phase” each have clean, open-ish drum breaks, ripe for sampling or more daring DJ sets. “Pop Twang” is a short and sweet beat-heavy number that gives way to the fantastically out-there “Canned Pop”. We‘d love to know if this was ever actually licensed for something! The final seven tracks are a set of 1-to-2 minute “Percussion Takes”. All compelling, and all equally useful for any number of production needs. Get sampling.

The British library label with those instantly recognisable “orangey-red” sleeves, Conroy began releasing production music in 1965. A sub-label of Berry Music Co, its catalogue typified the library industry’s strange mixture of tradition and experimentation from the start. Conroy’s early releases included work by big band stalwarts like Eddie Warner as well as early electronic recordings by the likes of Belgian experimental pioneer Arséne Souffriau. With Berry Music Co working as a distribution partner to the German library label Sonoton, it was through the Conroy that a great deal of German library music found its way into the UK market.

Conroy stopped putting out new music in the 1980s, but its history and its catalogue offer an excellent window into the trends and eccentricities of a highly unique industry at the height of its international appeal.

This re-issue of Dramatic Tempi / Larry Robbins Background Rhythms has been mastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis from audio from the original tapes. Richard Robinson has handled reproducing the iconic, hypnotic original Conroy sleeve. Essential.

Chilean producer Massiande returns with another record on Phonica's family of labels, with his new 'Through The Walls' EP landing on the deep house focused Karakul imprint this time round.

Since his well received 'Freedom EP' on Phonica White, Massiande has had a string of strong releases on Freerange, No Fuss and Midnight Riot, adding to an already formidable back-catalogue including 12's for Housewax and M>O>S.
'Through The Walls' may be his most accomplished project to date, with the level of production at a particular high, ranging from the crisp, punchy title track to the submerged Dub Techno of 'Dub At The Beach' and on to the melodic beauty of 'I Remember When I First Met You'.
He rounds the 12" off with 'New Life', another new classic sounding like a rediscovered anthem from yesteryear...

We can see this 12" lingering in record bags for quite some time!

First Word Records is very pleased to welcome back Quiet Dawn with a brand new EP entitled 'Movements'.

Parisian multi-instrumentalist Will Galland has been with First Word since late 2014, providing several releases for us over the years, from his acclaimed debut album 'The First Day' to his last EP release, the organic opus 'Human Being - The Short Story Of The Reed'. Collaborations have included Makaya McCraven, Oddisee, Miles Bonny and First Word crew such as Eric Lau, Bastien Keb and Sarah Williams White, who he teamed up with on his classic remix of the track 'Hum' and most recently on the track 'One By One' which appeared on the compilation EP 'A Family Affair' at the start of 2021.

For his latest project, 'Movements' sits firmly in the realms of broken beat, after being heavily inspired at First Word's infamous 14th birthday party at Total Refreshment Centre, where he played alongside label-mates such as Kaidi Tatham and Children of Zeus. This delectable six-track EP encompasses a series of deeply percussive grooves and squelchy synths. This is a predominantly instrumental affair, though does feature the supremely soulful vocals of Oliver Night on the track 'Change Must Come', following on from Oliver's work with the CoOp Presents crew amongst others.

Quiet Dawn says "after the birth of my son, I took the time to get back to making new music.

And when I started to work on new tracks, I wanted to compose something without concept, unlike my previous records, just because time is precious and I wanted to find pleasure again when I composeand not be fixed to a concept, or a story.



These new tracks are instinctive; made with my main instruments, rhodes & piano, synths, percussions, vocals, bass and guitars. They are naturally oriented towards my big musical crush, BRUK, along with different rhythms, vibes and grooves. For me, it's definitely a record for the dancers. For this reason, the new EP is called 'Movements'. Aside from the dancer's element, the title relates to everything that is happening in the world at the moment, working on this record over the pandemic. Affecting people in all countries, friendship, mutual aid, solidarity and movements in many instances are very important to me, my family and my musical family, First Word.'



The influences on this particular EP come largely from the West London music scene; DKD, Bugz, Neon Phusion, 2000Black, Domu, IG Culture, Jazztronik, MdCL, the First Word fam and many many more artists. There are also heavy vibes inspired by 70's jazz, funk, disco, latin & african music."

'Movements' by Quiet Dawn is released on First Word Records on vinyl & digital in late 2021.

"The core of confusion and upheaval that drove some of the band's most fiery earlier work, however, is replaced by a more stabilized undercurrent, a mentality that's reflected in songs not afraid to try new things and honestly explore uncomfortable feelings. When combined with exciting production and songwriting choices, that mindset helps make Feels So Good // Feels So Bad one of the Shivas' best albums.” - AllMusic "Portland, Oregon-hailing psych-surf band The Shivas accomplish another time-traveling, reverb-ridden sound that refuses to get boring. Jared Molyneux’s guitar work knows when to be bright or bashful at the right times, breaking into guitar solos that possess a late-’60s groove… The Shivas seem to blissfully flourish” - Paste "a consistent treat for the ears” - The Vinyl District "Though the psych-tinged guitar riff that drives 'Feels So Bad' was written while The Shivas were still on the road, its lyrics didn’t fall into place until the band was well into lockdown, unsure of when they’d be able to return to their most imperative true love: Live shows... Accordingly, 'Feels So Bad' permeates with a sense of urgent desperation, building off a chugging prog-rock instrumental.” - Consequence (on “Feels So Bad”) "They hooked the audience with their throwback rock sounds. The guitar strums and rhythmic drum beats were layered atop smooth and hallucinogenic vocals. The eyes can tell the take at times and there was a sparkle there that said that the band members just love doing live performances." - California Rocker "This single layers on the fuzz but keeps it dreamy, with an especially sticky guitar riff sure to lodge itself in your brain with minimal effort." - Portland Monthly (on “If I Could Choose”) “'My Baby Don’t' translates the genuine vibrant joy


of the live experience into the studio, bringing the band’s ‘60s garage rock roots, sharp pop vocal harmonies, and fervent performances along for the ride." - Under The Radar "Perfectly straddling the line between a solid-head bopping track and an introspective deep cut, The Shivas’ 'Undone' is a rock & roll gem. The track sounds straight out of the late 60s and fits seamlessly in the Portland band’s electrifying catalog." - The Luna Collective "The first time I clicked play on this track, I knew it was a yes for me." - Ear To The Ground Music (on “If I Could Choose”) "The harmonies would make the “Happy Together” Turtles blush, but the unsettling guitar doesn’t shy away from the woollier implications of the ’60s." - Willamette Week (on “If I Could Choose”) "'Undone' is just the perfect song for the good days and the bad ones." - GlamGlare "another hit" - Austin Town Hall (on “Undone”) "one of the best forthcoming albums of the year" - Austin Town Hall RADIO: #3 Most Added @ NACC - 50 official adds BIO Every working musician has had their life turned upside down by Covid-19. For The Shivas, who had recently released a new LP and normally keep a rigorous touring schedule, it was a particularly screeching halt. “We were about to go to SXSW, the following weekend was Treefort in Boise, and then we were going to open for our friends’ band on tour in the US before going to Europe,” Jared Molyneux remembers. Then everything just stopped. They were faced with a dilemma. “It forced us to adapt or just quit,” Molyneux says. “The reality is that shows are our job.” In truth, live shows aren’t just The Shivas job: they are the band’s greatest love. Shivas shows are bombastic, explosive and thoroughly communal live rock and roll experiences where barriers between the performers and their audience seem to dissolve into the sweat and sound. The stage—or the basement, or the living room—that’s The Shivas’ true element. It’s their raison d’etre. It’s their religion. The band’s live urgency may have been born in 2006, when the band’s young members—who began booking West Coast tours while still in high school—waited without fanfare on sidewalks or in parking lots, before being rushed onstage for their sets at 21-and-up clubs. Maybe it developed a little later, as The Shivas blasted their way through Portland’s storied and unsanctioned mid-aughts house show scene. Whatever the origin of their famously kinetic live experience, it’s the show that keeps them coming back after over 1,000 performances spread over 25 countries in 15 years. In those 15 years, The Shivas have grown tight-knit as a group. Guitarist/singer Jared Molyneux, bassist Eric Shanafelt and drummer/singer Kristin Leonard have all been with the band since its earliest days; guitarist Jeff City, another high school friend, joined in 2017. Together they’ve learned to thread a seemingly impossible needle: They’ve honed and tightened their performances without sacrificing the element of surprise that makes each show special. And despite touring and recording for most of their lives, they speak about their project with humility, in the DIY vernacular of their Pacific Northwest upbringing. They talk up their own favorite bands, play all-ages shows as much as possible, and bring a sort of blue-collar humanism to the live performances they relish so much. “We just want to make people feel good,” Molyneux says. “We want them to forget they have to work tomorrow.” Kristin Leonard elaborates, “The live show is all about that feeling of catharsis—in ourselves and in everyone who comes out. We’re creating this safe space where we can all let go. Where we can exhale. And it feels really good when we are able to facilitate that.” So when Covid hit, the band knew it was time for transformation. After a settling realization that live music would be grounded for the foreseeable future, The Shivas booked significant studio time with Cameron Spies, who also produced the 2019 Dark Thoughts LP. They also transformed their lives: three of the band’s four members found work with a local nonprofit serving unhoused Portland residents. They became engaged in protests and fundraisers for social justice. They spent a whole summer actually living in Portland, settling into the city they had always called home, but that sometimes felt like a temporary stop between tours. “We got into a more community-minded headspace,” Leonard says. “And that did give us some purpose. It felt cool to see everybody come together to stick up for what they believe in. It feels like an incredibly formative last twelve months.” The album that emerged from this new moment finds The Shivas reborn as a band that seems seasoned and perfectly at home with itself. There is a calm, even a hopefulness, to Feels So Good // Feels So Bad that sounds new. The Shivas didn’t write or record the album with a particular theme in mind, but one seems to have emerged: where Dark Thoughts was about confronting your demons with fearless self-examination, much of Feels So Good // Feels So Bad is about what happens once you find that peace: how being honest with yourself changes your relationships and your priorities. “I do think it’s about acceptance,” Leonard says. “There’s a weird relaxation that comes with being at peace with things you can’t control or have regrets about.” Maybe that’s why the squealing, riff-laden break-up song opener, “Feels So Bad,” is such a shock to the system. But it’s more of an exorcism than a melodrama: more a song about not being able to do the thing you love (in


this case, playing live shows) than splitting with a partner. “It’s like part of you goes to sleep,” Leonard says. As bandmates who are also in a long-term relationship, Molyneux and Leonard know that their songs might be seen as glimpses into their personal lives, but their songwriting is rarely autobiography. Leonard compares their process to something more akin to screenwriting. “There’s bound to be some autobiographical material in there,” she says. “But the common denominator is the exploration of universal feelings: ones that everyone experiences or can relate to.” The goal is to use the music to drill down into something genuine and sincere, beyond genre or stylistic affectation. That’s where The Shivas have arrived. Whatever growth led the band to Feels So Good // Feels So Bad, plenty of their fascinations remain. They’re still turning love songs into psychedelic, transcendent epics. “Tell Me That You Love Me” subverts doo-wop extravagance and dabbles in Flamenco rhythms. “Rock Me Baby” is a bubblegum anthem soaked in so much reverb that we might just be hearing it from the stadium nosebleeds. “Sometimes” is almost impossibly huge, like a witchy outtake from the Brill Building era. Those songs feel like logical expansions from a band that has always excelled at a timeless sort of rock and roll that tinkers with and explodes elements from every era. But on the towering and mournful “You Wanna Be My Man,” a slow-burning six-minute shoegaze prayer for a higher sort of love, there is a level of emotional nuance that feels like something altogether revolutionary. It’s there again in the stripped-down vulnerability of the album-closing elegy “Please Don’t Go.” Yes, Feels So Good // Feels So Bad is an album about acceptance. Sometimes that acceptance feels enlightened and sometimes it feels like the end result of a lot of kicking and screaming. The Shivas have adapted in both of those ways. With new tours scheduled and a new album on the way, they’re still hoping--like all of us--for a new era of vibrant, cathartic live music. The lessons they learned from having their normal upended, though, have only helped them grow

Ninja Gaiden, of the most iconic and beloved 2D action game series ever created, was first released in the arcades in 1988, while making its console debut on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) later in the same year. At the time of the console release, Ninja Gaiden was renowned not only for its deep storytelling beautifully visualized by TECMO’s unique “cinema scenes,” but also through its legendary chiptune soundtrack, whose unique rock-’n’-roll sound and drum beat instantly became a formative musical experience for players who were only just getting into video games.

Ninja Gaiden: The Definitive Soundtrack is divided into volumes. The first, Ninja Gaiden Vol. 1, features the music of both the NES title and the Arcade game, both titled Ninja Gaiden. These legendary soundtracks have been digitally restored under the supervision of Keiji Yamagishi, one of the original series composers. The booklet includes a comprehensive roundtable discussion among several members of the original development team, including the director, producers, artist and composers; an essay by game historian Ray Barnholt; and original archival artworks.

Limited Edition Turquoise/ Yellow &White Splatter Colour Vinyl 2LP Set. 1500 Units for UK.

Nina Simone’s story from the late sixties to the nineties can be told through her legendary performances in Montreux. Taking to the Montreux stage for the first time on 16 June 1968 for the festival’s second edition, Simone built a lasting relationship with Montreux Jazz Festival and its Creator and Founder Claude Nobs, which uniqueness, trust and electricity can be clearly felt on the recordings. Simone’s multi-faceted and radical story is laid bare on ‘Nina Simone: The Montreux Years’. From Nina’s glorious and emotional 1968 performance to her fiery and unpredictable concert in 1976, one of the festival’s most remarkable performances ever witnessed, the collection includes recordings from all of her five legendary Montreux concerts – 1968, 1976, 1981, 1987 and 1990.

Featuring rare and previously unreleased material from Claude Nobs’ private collection, Nina Simone devotees worldwide will be thrilled by the inclusion of the powerful I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, poignant and fearless Four Women and Simone’s hauntingly beautiful performance of Ne Me Quitte Pas. A spine-tingling version of Janis Ian’s searing and potent Stars, which Simone covered for the very first time during her 1976 Montreux performance, sits alongside her bold and electrifying re-imagine of Bob Marley’s ballad No Women No Cry in 1990. The collection closes with the encore of Nina Simone’s final Montreux Jazz Festival concert and one of Simone’s most-loved and best-known recordings, the exuberant My Baby Just Cares For Me, showcasing the deep and multidimensional facets of Simone’s life and music.

Khruangbin and Leon Bridges announce their latest collaborative EP, ‘Texas Moon’, out on Dead Oceans.

 An extension of the two’s chart-topping four-song ‘Texas Sun’ journey, ‘Texas Moon’ is an introspective stroll through the dark. “Without joy, there can be no real perspective on sorrow,” say Khruangbin. “Without sunlight, all this rain keeps things from growing. How can you have the sun without the moon?”

 Crediting their mutual home state for inspiration, ‘Texas Moon’ pensively examines Texas’ musical perception, while paying homage to the marriage of country and R&B that’s become synonymous with the lone star state. Propelled by rolling guitar licks, conga and bongo, lead single ‘B-Side’ meditates on meeting in a dream and frolics across the nearing contemplative night-time state with its longing joy.

 Elsewhere on ‘Texas Moon’, the artists channel a newly intimate musical scope that’s illustrated most dramatically when the spacy sensuality of the minimalistic ‘Chocolate Hills’ leads into the stark spirituality addressed on ‘Father Father’, a reminder of both acts’ gospel roots. Over a simple rolling guitar figure, Bridges pleads with the heavens - “Look at the mess that I made / Just a man with unclean hands” - only to be reminded of God’s eternal love.

 For Khruangbin, one song in particular was indicative of the trust that Bridges put in them. “The song ‘Doris’ is about his grandmother making the transition from this world to the next realm,” says Khruangbin’s Donald Ray ‘DJ’ Johnson Jr. “It’s a very somber, very deep record. And when someone places that kind of work into your
hands, the last thing you want to do is junk it up, overproduce it, or do too much. We treated it with the respect it deserved, and treated Doris with the respect she deserves.”

 “It’s like a short story...,” says the band’s Laura Lee of the music. “And it leaves room to continue having these stories together. It’s not Khruangbin, it’s not Leon, it’s this world we created together.”

 Upon its release, ‘Texas Sun’ soared to the No. 1 slot on Billboard’s Emerging Artists Chart along with landing the No.1 on spot on Americana/Folk Albums, among many others. Significantly, both parties’ musical directions were deeply affected by their time working together on ‘Texas Sun’.

 Khruangbin’s most recent studio album, ‘Mordechai’, moved their own vocals to the forefront, a change they readily admit was a direct result of working with Bridges.
Their sound was also tapped for remix / reinterpretation of a Paul McCartney song for the ‘McCartney III Imagined’ project. Meanwhile, in addition to his genre-defying Grammy-nominated album ‘Gold-Digger’s Sound’, Bridges has put out several other challenging, shared collaborative tracks, including work with John Mayer, Lucky Daye and, most recently, Jazmine Sullivan. Each of the artists appeared recently on Austin City Limits and will tour throughout the new year.

Repress

Originally released in 2006, Eingya by Helios aka Keith Kenniff returns in a new 2021 edition vinyl re-release, remastered by Taylor Deupree.

Beginning the album on a high with the pastoral beauty of "Bless This Morning Year," Kenniff showcases of what he does best: heartbreaking guitar and piano melodies punctuated by crumbling beats and backed by the most atmospheric synthesizer sounds this side of Eno's Apollo. The appetizing "Halving the Compass" blends subtle field recording with the kind of piano melodies so beautiful they could be compared to Virginia Astley or Harold Budd. This is followed by the album's clear highlight, "Dragonfly Across an Ancient Sky." It's an unsurpassable folk guitar piece with a decomposing percussive background and the sort of melodies that would turn evil tyrants into weeping babies. An album that could appeal as easily to fans of Nick Drake as to fans of Boards of Canada or even early AIR, this truly has something for everyone.

Raised in rural Pennsylvania, Kenniff put out Helios's 2004 debut album, Unomia, while studying percussion at Boston's Berklee College of Music. Since then, he's released six more albums as Helios, in addition to collaborating with his wife Hollie Kenniff in the shoegaze-inspired pop duo Mint Julep and composing music for films and archival use.

"A protracted sunset of an album guaranteed to see you through the longest days of summer and into the twilight of the autumn." - The Wire
"A soundtrack of molasses-sweet, midsummer sunset melancholy and pastoral mellifluence." - Tinymixtapes

Limited coloured marbled vinyl edition of this album Booker T. & the M.G.s formed as the house band for Stax Records and provided playbacks for numerous singers, including Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. During a - recording break for Billy Lee Riley, 17-yearold keyboardist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, Lewie Steinberg on bass and Al Jackson Jr. on drums began messing around with a bluesy organ riff. The president of Stax Records, Jim Stewart, was at
the mixing board. He liked what he heard and recorded it. The result: „Green Onions,“ with „Behave Yourself“ as the B-side.
The record became a hit when radio DJ Reuben Washington played it four times in a row, even before the band had a name. The single went to #1 on the US R&B chart, #3 on the pop chart, reached #7 in the UK
and sold over a million copies. The song was listed as one of the 500 greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone magazine and received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. It was followed by the allinstrumental album „Green Onions“, which is now a classic of the era.

The album was included in Robert Dimery‘s 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Booker T. & the M.G.s have been called the most influential stylists in modern American music. Until the 2000s, they
played as the house band for countless world stars such as Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Neil Young and many others.

Mourn The Light were formed in early 2018 by
Dwayne Eldredge, also co-founder of The New
England Stoner And Doom Festival.

Driven by his passion for thunderous, traditional
doom metal mixed with lofty progressive and
power metal leanings, Dwayne was hell-bent on
creating a band that could sonically push a
message of hope in spite of despair.

Following their highly acclaimed 2019-debut EP,
‘Weight Of The World’, and touring the US and
Canada on the back of this, Mourn The Light
returned to the studio to record their first album.

Entitled ‘Suffer, Then We’re Gone’, the band’s
debut album showcases a plethora of influences.
At one moment, Mourn The Light deliver crushingly
massive riffs, only to jump at the next turn,
galloping along with shades of classic heavy,
progressive and power metal taking hold and
leading the way, all the while focusing on incredibly
memorable songs with catchy hooks and anthemic
choruses.

For fans of Solitude Aeturnus, Savatage, Psychotic
Waltz, Trouble, Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus,
Candlemass.

LP pressed on green and orange splatter vinyl.

Since their debut in 2017 and the highly acclaimed
latest album ‘No God? No Problem’ (released in
2019,’ Detroit freak rockers The Lucid Furs have
performed over 100 out of state shows, invading
music venues to wash minds with their heavy
blues rock concoctions.
 The band‘s live performances build up with a big,
head bang energy, winding down to sultry blues,
then blasting back into hard rock with a dash of
funk you can’t help but dance to.
 Their new album won’t make any exception. The
band’s heavily grooving talent and soul of the
blues is immediately evident, driven by a vibrant
70’s vintage vibe.
 Their songs embody a culmination of each
member’s early influences, ranging from rock
classics like Alice Cooper and Heart, to Chicago
blues like Howlin’ Wolf and Buddy Guy, to the era
of alternative rock groups like Soundgarden and
Queens Of The Stone Age.
 For fans of All Them Witches, Janis Joplin, Led
Zeppelin, Rival Sons, Cream, Queens Of The
Stone Age, Jefferson Airplane, Blues Pills.
 Red coloured vinyl LP.

Re-mastering by: Cicely Baston at Alchemy/Air Mastering

Recorded in 1986 in Paris and originally released only in France, Great Friends mines the John Coltrane spiritual legacy with fervent incantatory playing and an ecstatic charge. Not that alto saxophonist Fortune and tenor man Harper necessarily speak with Trane’s voice, but the intensity of their playing and their use of certain scales and modes produce a Tranelike atmosphere. Drummer Hart (who organized this band at the request of a Japanese promoter), bassist Workman and pianist Cowell form a hard-hitting team alongside the horns.

Things begin with “Cal Massey,” a tribute penned by Cowell. Harper sets the spiritual vibe in motion with a big-toned, take-no-prisoners solo. The Texas tenor man has the heaviest low-register sound in the business. On Workman’s “East Harlem Nostalgia,” he chomps into the low notes as a prelude to wailing runs into the upper register. Harper’s up tempo “Insight” is the album’s tour de force, with rippling solos and torrid exchanges between the saxophonists. Fortune’s searing tone is well suited to the exuberant joyride of this performance.

The rhythm section can be compared to the McCoy Tyner, Jimmy Garrison and Elvin Jones triumvirate that backed Trane. Equally heavyweight and agile, it is relentless in its conviction and spiritual attitude.

Re-mastering by: Cicely Baston at Alchemy/Air Mastering, London



Wendell Harrison was born in Detroit in 1942 where he began formal jazz studies for piano, clarinet and tenor saxophone. At 14, while still in high school, Harrison started performing & recording professionally with artists such as Marvin Gaye, Grant Green, Sun Ra, Hank Crawford … and many others.

In 1971, Harrison began teaching music at Metro Arts (a multi-arts complex for youth) where he also connected with Marcus Belgrave, Harold McKinney and Phil Ranelin…soon after they formed the (now legendary) Afro-centric TRIBE record label and artist collective. TRIBE used the Metro Arts complex as a vehicle to convey a growing black political consciousness. Wendell Harrison also published the very popular TRIBE magazine, a publication dedicated to local and national social and political issues, as well as featuring artistic contributions such as poetry and visual pieces.

In 1978 Harrison and McKinney co-founded REBIRTH, a non-profit jazz performance and education organization, in which many notable jazz artists have participated. Around the same time Wendell Harrison also created the WENHA record label and publishing company, which released many of his (now classic) recordings as well as those of other artists, such as Phil Ranelin, Doug Hammond and Reggie Fields (The Real ShooBeeDoo).

In the early 1990s, Wendell Harrison was awarded the title of “Jazz Master” by Arts Midwest. This distinction led Harrison to collaborate with fellow honorees and gave him the chance to tour throughout the United States, Middle East and Africa. Even to this day Wendell Harrison’s recordings for the TRIBE, WENHA and REBIRTH labels have a large worldwide fanbase.

DREAMS OF A LOVE SUPREME is a monster album that features an all-star line-up that includes Phil Ranelin on trombone, Harold McKinney on Keyboards and Roy Brooks on percussion. Although you can hear the 80ies creeping in with a smoother sound, more synths, and disco/R&B vocals… this remains a very spiritual (and soulful) jazz record. The record’s an irresistible blend of soul jazz combined with funky electric instrumentation…a groovy sound which is very much of its time, yet overtly timeless and as relevant today as it was back when it was initially released. Notes courtesy of Tidal Waves