Suche:chris rea

Album features and was co-produced by Joseph Shabason. String arrangements by Owen Pallett. Thom Gill has written songs for Chaka Khan, in addition to contributing to albums by The Mountain Goats, Owen Pallett, Joseph Shabason, Bernice, and many others. Way Through is a collaborative album by Toronto musicians Chris Cummings, Joseph Shabason, and Thom Gill (as Cici Arthur). Inspired by moments of discovery in familiar places, the album's title reflects the feeling of uncovering hidden paths in life. Musically, it blends mid-century influences like Jobim and Sinatra, with producer-instrumentalists Shabason and Gill crafting lush, expansive soundscapes. Featuring a 30-piece orchestra led by Owen Pallett, the album brings a grand scale to Cummings' intimate, reflective lyrics. The project began in 2020 when Cummings lost his job and turned to full-time music for the first time in his life. His collaborators tailored the arrangements to showcase his understated vocal delivery against sweeping orchestral backdrops. Songs like 'Cartwheels for Coins' and 'Prior Times' explore themes of regret and emotional complexity, contrasting the grandeur of the music with Cummings' quiet introspection. Tracks like 'Damaged Goods' provide upbeat moments with doo-wop harmonies, while the cinematic closer 'No Fight Or Flight' emphasizes the filmic quality of the album. Through its orchestral richness and deeply personal lyrics, Way Through captures the tension between ambition and realism, offering a poignant reflection on life's unpredictable journey

Whereas Lewis used his transformative talents to newly illuminate renaissance man George Washington Carver onJesup Wagon, the saxophonist does the same here for gospel- music force of nature Mahalia Jackson. And this time it's personal, because Lewis lived her music growing up, nurtured by a grandmother who had received Mahalia's singing like a bolt from above. Much more than a tribute, this work is"really a three- way conversation between Mahalia, my grandmother and me."

The challenge was to turn these songs into jazz, the 21st century variety. What James and the band (William Parker- bass, Chad Taylor- drums, Kirk Knuffkecornet, Chris Hoffman-cello) conjure with this music is miraculous.

The CD & LP editions also exclusively include the contemporaneous suite, "These Are Soulful Days", JBL's first composition for strings; performed with the Lutoslawski Quartet. It is included as a 2nd disc on CD version & via an exclusive download card with the LP

John Patitucci stands as a towering figure in the global jazz scene, renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to modern jazzfusion and beyond. His bold new album, Spirit Fall, marks an exciting new phase in his career as a leader, featuring his trio withthe extraordinary Brian Blade and Chris Potter, and stands as one of the most significant new signings to Edition Records.Patitucci’s exceptional versatility across acoustic and electric bass has set a new standard in contemporary music, influencinggenerations of bassists worldwide. Collaborating with icons like Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Hancock, his work hasdefined the sound of jazz for decades, particularly his role in Corea’s Elektric Band, which helped shape jazz fusion’s evolution. Amultiple Grammy Award-winner, his virtuosity and ability to span genres have made him a vital force in jazz.His past solo works, including Line by Line and Songs, Stories and Spirituals, have already showcased his profound ability toblend jazz, classical, funk, and world music. Spirit Fall continues this tradition, bringing a fresh perspective to his ever-evolvingartistry while reaffirming his position as one of the most creative forces in contemporary jazz.

Major-label debut by You Me At Six, Hold Me Down, was released on Virgin Records in January 2010, after the success of their debut album Take Off Your Colours - Released on vinyl for the first time, hear the album that cemented their reputation pressed on high-quality 180g vinyl. Taking their name from an abbreviation of the time they would meet, You Me At Six were formed in Weybridge, Surrey in 2004 by vocalist Josh Franceschi, guitarists Max Helyer and Chris Miller, and bassist Matt Barnes. Drummer Dan Flint joined in 2007. They first broke through at 2007's Slam Dunk Festival with their brew of heavy, melodic, emo-tinged rock, and after two self-released singles, the band signed to Slam Dunk Records. By 2010, they had signed to Virgin. Working with producers John Mitchell and Matt O'Grady, the band crafted 12 new tunes for Hold Me Down, including the singles Kiss And Tell, Underdog and Liquid Confidence which won Best Single at the 2010 Kerrang! Awards. The album reached No 5 in the UK chart, and fully established them on the vibrant UK rock scene. With a stable line up since 2007, You Me At Six have become one of Britain's most-loved bands, and announced recently that they will be splitting up after playing the Slam Dunk Festival in 2025, with Franceschi stating "Let's have the opportunity to say goodbye properly, versus slipping out the back door."

The hornsman instrumental has a long legacy in the realms of reggae music. Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Vin Gordon, Rico Rodriguez, Eddie Tan Tan. The list players behind this tradition could go on and on. The notes they played across eras from ska to rock steady to the deepest dubwise steppers bellow through the wind and the wire like a Warrior Charge ….

…It is within this tradition that Ital Counselor’s next weighty contribution to the musical world of QUALITY reggae fits…

…From the very first sonorous note emanating from the mighty Soothsayer’s Horn Section the listener can tell the Dub Organiser means business. That’s right. Once again, the Ital Counselor teams up with Chris Lane of Fashion Records for a cantankerous churning steppers meant to burn out all weak heart sound who try come test.

As evidenced from this 12”s namesake, the humble Soul Dragon Temple of Tone Sound System and IC partners in crime out of Philadelphia, USA, the Soul Dragon Anthem breaths some serious fire. The hard hard rhythm churns relentlessly while the bassline rolls like Dragon’s breath calling all in the dance to spring heel skank straight through all four cuts.

The Dub Organiser stirs a cauldron of dense dub at points conjuring aspects of Lee Perry’s classic Black Ark sound while maintaining his own distinctive spin on the mystical mixing arts. Shards of sound echo and delay. Mr. Lane takes the bassline to aquatic depths as the DRAGON DIVES DEEP……Cut 1…Cut 2…Cut 3…Cut 4…

This one is dedicated to all home town hi-fi’s forwarding reggae and sound system culture outernationally. So without further ado, all soundman and woman worth your salt it is time to DROP the needle on this track. Watch the Dragon FLY and let the Dub Organiser and the Soothsayer Horn’s “Soul Dragon Anthem” BREATH FIRE through your SPEAKER BOX!!!!!!

As soon as Martin Circus was born in 1969, the band laid foundations for the French "Pop Musique" genre, deliberately turning its back on both French yéyés and rock'n'roll to better embrace psychedelia and the French language. In 1971, they were a pioneering, innovative group moving as fast as a speeding train, building upon everything they found on the way. However, faced with band members changing often, management issues and music evolution, Martin Circus ended up trying to fit in every style: soul, R&B, glam rock, disco, new wave, 80s mainstream music. To follow their journey is to listen to the world shifting along music charts. Behind the scenes, since the very first days of the band, one man had been pulling all the strings. Manager and artistic director Gérard Hugé used to work for both the band and the label - this has never been good news. What he cared about the most was getting records out, no matter who played on them. In the mid-70s, he registered the Martin Circus name, granting himself full power over the band. Deciding that it no longer had either a lyricist or a composer, he made the remaining musicians embark on a series of American 60s hits adaptations. As a result, they made tons of money : "Marylène" was a huge hit and gave them a new impulse. The Martins adopted a new look by wearing shiny Courrèges-style suits and platform boots, and on stage they performed dance moves choreographed by the eccentric Amadeo. They completely fit into the disco craze which was about to take over. Still, their music blended doo-wop and rockabilly with glam rock and funk music. They eventually hit disco with a soundtrack in the mannerof French disco groups such as Space and Voyage. Effortlessly, they released the epic 14- minute "Disco Circus", a track which was to become a real underground gem. DJ and remixer François Kevorkian then released it on the American Prelude label in a self-edited version, shortened to 7 minutes while retaining all the dazzling passages of the original track. It came to be a hit in the clubs of New York and Chicago, making a lasting impression on everyone who heard it. It got sampled on at least 40 tracks over the following decades and featured in dozens of bootlegs and prestigious compilations - by Laurent Garnier, Carl Craig, Juan Atkins, Joey Negro, The Beatnuts, The Rapture, and by Danny Krivit in the DJ culture film Maestro. As the 80s arrived, Martin Circus once again changed the way they looked and their style. Inspired by Devo and their cold dance music, by Buggles' synthpop and Plastic Bertand's postpunk. Throughout their career full of ups and downs, Martin Circus nonetheless managed to keep up with one stable element: contrary to what they seemed, the musicians never took the easy way out. Their playing and arrangements were consistently flawless and polished, they relentlessly dedicated themselves to playing quality music and this can only compel admiration. As Coco Chanel once said, "Fashion goes out of fashion, style never does."

As Jess Sylvester finished his Hardly Art debut as Marinero in the fall of 2020, he realized it was time for a change. Sylvester grew up in Marin County, on the doorstep of San Francisco. It was a nurturing community for a high-school punk with a pompadour and, later, for a sober songwriter with a proclivity for moody psychedelia. But he wanted to be challenged and inspired by a new setting and scenario around strangers who prompted him to approach his music in unexpected ways. So in September 2020, as the world continued to reel in lockdown, Sylvester headed several hours south to Los Angeles, a city that, despite the relative proximity, the film buff knew largely from classic and cult films situated there. When he arrived, he kept digging into that cinematic past-Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye, with John Williams' classic theme, or classic 90s movies about East LA, many featuring Edward James Olmos. They shaped his understanding of his new town just as it began to open. This is one pillar of the multivalent and endlessly lush La La La, Marinero's new album about sobriety, identity, and fantasy that is playfully named both for the city that helped shape it and the sophisticated pop it contains. Sylvester wrote about characters outside of himself, whether considering the heroine reckoning with her own version of keeping clean or the screenwriters whose work was deemed communist simply as a political convenience. He linked those songs with motivational anthems about self-acceptance and playful numbers about flirting through food, shaping a 12-song set rich with humor, empathy, and encouragement. Sure, La La La is a continuation of the slippery genre play Sylvester started with 2021's Hella Love, 2019's Trópico de Cáncer, or even before that. But it also feels like a fresh beginning for Marinero, as Sylvester realizes how boundless this project can be. He began to think about the music of his childhood, how his mother is from San Francisco with Mexican roots, and how he'd heard so much salsa growing up as an impetuous teenager. So he wrote "Taquero," a red-hot salsa tune that uses tacos and their trappings as a source of endless metaphors for come-ons. And then there was the Ray Barreto or Santana-inspired "Pocha Pachanga," with organ gliding and percussion pulsing beneath his yearning vocals, warped as if by desert winds. In Los Angeles, he found a wealth of players who spoke this music like language itself (including Chicano Batman's Eduardo Arenas), all ready to play with and push these familiar forms. Sylvester has also been sober for 21 years, since a cross-country sojourn to attend college in Boston ended in a chemical haze. Today, he sees friends facing the same decisions he made two decades ago, and he brings bits of that experience to bear in songs that feel like self-help anthems. Recorded with a musical hero (and labelmate) of his, Chris Cohen, "Sea Changes" feels like sunshine breaking through dark clouds, as Sylvester acknowledges the newfound confidence and clarity in a friend who has stepped away from destructive habits. In the past, Sylvester has been intractably linked to his identity as a Mexican-American, born to parents from Mexico and Irish- American descent who settled in San Francisco. That can be limiting, of course, tying him to notions of sound and style that aren't always correct. On La La La, he simultaneously steps into and out of those preconceptions, singing tracks above salsa in joyous Spanish or pondering the dynamics of the Hollywood Ten and blacklists above mysterious lap steel and teasing trumpet. His identity, then, should now be clear: He is a Californian, making music shaped by the diversity of encounters and experiences that are a central part of that state's fabric. Never before has he presented himself so fully and unabashedly on tape as with La La La, an album Sylvester built with new inspirations to deliver new charms.

"Bad Bad Hats are an indie rock trio from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Known for bringing a joyful, exuberant presence to their live shows, touring with The Beths, Margaret Glaspy, The Front Bottoms, Hippo Campus, and Third Eye Blind, the group took specific care to bring their fun-loving spirit to their third LP, Walkman.

Kerry (guitar/vocals), Chris (bass), and Con (drums) let their collective hair down on Walkman, bringing raucous and explosive riffs alongside witty lyrics. Though you might not notice from their indie rock exterior, Bad Bad Hats draws a heavy influence from classic pop songwriting that shines through in their hooky choruses and strong melodic sensibilities.

For this release the band set out to push their capabilities as a trio. Subtle changes in process helped the band achieve this goal, such as shifting Chris from a wider multi-instrumental role to allow him to prioritize his bass playing, having Kerry record the bulk of the guitars instead. “You can hear all of our musical voices a lot better on this record.â€

A carefully crafted studio sound brings the record to life, injecting it with an energetic voice that is unique to Bad Bad Hats. Walkman is the group’s fourth time working with producer Brett Bullion, including their previous two LPs, Psychic Reader and Lightning Round, and the Wide Right EP. Bullion and the band use the studio as an instrument, resulting in their most polished work to date."

Impex has always had a special place in their hearts for Shoji Yokouchi’s Greensleeves. Standards, original tunes, and traditional pieces (like the title track), are interpreted in unexpectedly funky, soulful ways. The master guitarist is given immeasurable support by organist Yuri Tashiro. Her playing is alternately moody and spry, fiery and funky. Impex’s vinyl reissue preserves the original’s clear, exacting sound (check out the bass on Tashiro’s organ!) while improving surface noise and presentation. This rare gem of Tee Fujii’s repertoire is yet another entertaining listen for Three Blind Mice fans from their friends at Impex Records!



"I cannot understand how Chris Bellman got 100% of the dynamics, power, subterranean deep powerful bass, delicate guitar, bass riffs, and drums all on a 33 RPM release without the instruments colliding into one another. I am shocked by the RTI pressing of such utter quiet and explosive punch... harmonics and layered realistic textures lived in the room as the needle found its groove. Imaging is pin-point stable and precise, and dynamics never overload."

"If this is not the ultimate audiophile demonstration LP released this year, then none will be released. I dare you to stop listening to this LP once the first cut has commenced! With mostly standards jazzed up for the brilliant musicians to love to play, I was constantly tapping my toes and reminiscing on when I first heard a certain melody. What great fun!"

" ...Packaged by Impex in slick classy gloss and full color, Greensleeves is a high-quality production for a top jazz collection. Prediction: this release will triple in price! For those smart enough to buy multiple copies and put extras away, a bonus awaits them! This is the best audiophile system demonstration LP I have heard in ages, and a must-own. Thank you Impex! Greensleeves receives my highest BUY recommendation!" - Robert H. Levi

Black Eyed Sons - A New Rock 'n' Roll Collective - Members of The Quireboys and Down n' Outz are joined by an amazing collection of fellow musicians for a joyous collaboration of mutual admiration and musical celebration. Enjoy the debut album 'Cowboys In Pinstriped Suits" released via Off Yer Rocka recordings 31st January 2025. Since the band announced they were working on their highly anticipated new album, "The Band Rolls On", what was already becoming a chance for a musical rebirth metamorphosized into something far bigger and more ambitious. The final cuts feature distinguished collaborations from a multitude of Rock Royalty.

The band, their management and close friends within the industry all agreed that this should be treated as a stand-alone new project, a Rock 'n' Roll Collective going under the name "Black Eyed Sons", a nod to a previous album from their extensive back catalogue. The revised album title, "Cowboys in Pinstriped Suits” is named after one of the eleven tracks and features none other than Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott alongside Alice Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie and bass grooves from Chip Z’Nuff. Guy Griffin commented "It's been nice to take a break and focus on the writing. Working with our own band as well as so many friends within the industry has done nothing but inspire us to write and create this exciting new project. We've done the hard work getting the tracks laid down, we're now looking forward to going back out on the road as Black Eyed Sons and delivering something entirely new from five musicians who've been playing together for over twenty years. Relationships break down sometimes, that’s Rock 'n' Roll, everyone does their thing, but we want to make sure there's no confusion as to what this is. Whilst we're proud of our musical history, that was then, this is now. It's onwards and upwards, so let the music do the talking. Joe Elliott added, "Having worked with these guys since 2009 in the greatest “other” band I could ever hope to work with, The Down ’n’ Outz, it just felt totally natural for me to reciprocate the love these guys have shown me by contributing to what is essentially a new beginning for them. So welcome to the mad world of Rock ’n’ Roll, you Black Eyed Sons." - Joe Elliott (Cowboys in Pinstriped Suits). Other collaborators had this to say: “This song feels so real and natural. Like a hug from an old friend. I’m proud to be a part of it.” - Charlie Starr (Autumn Reigns) - ‘’My friendship with the Quireboys started a long time ago and each time our paths have crossed, the bond has grown stronger. Therefore, I would lie if I didn’t say that in the back of my mind there always was a wish to do something together. So, I am more than thrilled when I was invited to sing on the Black Eyed Sons new album and that they also gave me a song where I could be who I am’’ ⁃ Mike Tramp (Your True Colours) - “I go back 30 years with these guys. A band that I’ve always loved and respected. To be asked to be part of this project was a great thrill, and proud moment as a guitarist.” - Scotti Hill (Dig Me out of this Hole) - “I’ve known Griff since the beginning of our respective careers…we are both from the old school baby, and Griff has always been the embodiment of rock n’ roll - genuine, classy, trashy, and an attitude that exemplifies what it is to be a rock n’ roll troubadour“ ⁃ Ryan Roxie (Cowboys in Pinstriped Suits/Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory) - “Since you graced us with your presence on the Wolves’ debut album, it’s only fair we should be a part of your debut as Black Eyed Sons. All the best!” - Kyf Brewer / Company Of Wolves (Foolin’ Yourself) - “Not only was it a pleasure to play guitar & sing on this record but it was also an honour to have Griff & the band record one of our songs! - Steve Conte / Company Of Wolves/Michael Monroe/NY Dolls (Foolin’ Yourself) - Band: Guy Griffin (lead vocals/guitar); Paul Guerin (guitar); Keith Weir (keyboards); Nick Mailing (bass); Pip Mailing (drums)

Club Dream is an exclusive Daydream sideproject dedicated to pumpy uplifting house. The first volume has been crafted by a long time friend and member of the crew, Mbius. The Leipzig based producer delivers three timeless cuts full of energy in a progressive synth laden vibe. The whole is completed by a solid rolling remix from the great Christopher Ledger.

Christened ‘High Tide’ after the sudden rising of the LA River basin during a particularly epic and rare rainfall, this cosmic slop funk jam was born from the minds of Devin Flynn (Pixeltan) and Eddie Ruscha (Secret Circuit), two individuals with a deep connection to Los Angeles’ tap water sources. While traipsing through the aisles of an Atwater Village bodega, the two mustered up a plan to create a rhythmic piece so delectable as to turn peoples’ heads inside out and pummel the senses with a wobbly Jah Wobble bass sound and a toy drum machine ‘no toy’ style back beat. They figured if they laced it up with enough electronic scuzz, the masses would be sure to want to sip from its nectar.

When DFA got wind it was all systems go and, from then on, all relevant parties knew that they should sit on the track for at least five years before it was released, otherwise the world at large would not be ready for it. The remixes are by Eddie himself - as Secret Circuit - and Dr. Dunks, aka Eric Duncan, a fellow Angeleno (at least at heart). Eric and Devin rolled through the streets as small children, shredding curbs and tagging local ice cream trucks, so it was inevitable they would reconnect and jam on ‘High Tide’.

Devin Flynn is an animator, musician and teacher who has worked on projects like Gary Panter’s web series Pink Donkey & The Fly and MTV2’s Wonder Showzen. He has previously released on DFA with Pixeltan, a trio - Flynn, Hisham Bharoocha of Black Dice and singer Mika Yoneta - that recorded with The DFA at the label’s inception, creating two seminal singles.

Eddie Ruscha is another DFA veteran, having remixed artists including Wolfram and Museum of Love. He has been making music for decades, as Secret Circuit and with myriad other aliases and collaborators, in addition to recording under his own name. He has released on labels like Beats in Space and Emotional Response, among others.

For fans of Young Marco, Suzanne Kraft, Prins Thomas, Khotin, Gaussian Curve.

LP limited to 500 LP copies. Nina Garcia ’s first solo record widely available via international distribution. Nina has collaborated with artists like Stephen O’Malley, Sophie Agnel, Fred Frith, Antoine Chessex, Louis Schild, Leila Bordreuil, and supported for bands like Sonic Youth, SUNN O))). After a decade of performing concerts under the Mariachi guise, Nina Garcia has finally unveiled her unique approach in Bye Bye Bird, her first album under her name. Bye Bye Bird is her second solo album. With no pretence or demonstration, the album is a captivating blend of chiaroscuro, melodies, and raw emotion. Nina Garcia’s album takes on an almost documentary-like quality by adopting a simple approach to gesture and sound recording. It offers a candid portrayal of a moment, a lack, a state, and a breathtaking energy. With ostinato as her only credo, Nina Garcia’s music is an experiment in freedom, where the peaks answer the abysses, and the power of movement and the emotion of sound serves as her compass. From very short (01:28) to never very long (07:34), the eight tracks that make up this set explore a moment, a space, a mechanism, an intention or a way of doing things. As a common feature of almost all these pieces (all but one, the last), Nina Garcia explores a new technique. She adds to her instrumentation, reduced to the essentials (a guitar, a pedal and an amp), an electromagnetic microphone which, when held in hand, makes it possible to listen in on the exact zones where the vibration of the string creates a sound amid vast spaces of silence. The guitar is unplugged, and the body/instrument relationship changes in dimension. In this series of variations, you can get caught up in masses of noise seen from very, very close up, evocations of melodies in the making, feedback on ridgelines, pulsations that hold their own, modulations weakened by exhaustion and harmonic bursts that hint at better days to come. Neither hopelessly chthonic nor beatifically ethereal, Bye Bye Bird is a sum of musical pieces that make a whole and give voice to echoes of what has been, the presence of what is and the hope of what will be, a record movement in the form of flight and salvation. Since 2015, Nina Garcia has been researching and creating around the electric guitar, halfway between improvised music and noise. On numerous stages in Europe and North America, she has played occasionally with Stephen O’Malley, Sophie Agnel, Fred Frith, Antoine Chessex, Louis Schild or with Luke Stewart and Leila Bordreuil’s Feedback Ensemble, in addition to more regular formations in which she participates, such as the ensemble Le Un, mamiedaragon, Autoreverse (with Arnaud Rivière), duets with trombonist Maria Bertel and percussionist Camille Émaille, and the installation piece De Haut En Bas, De Bas En Haut Et Latéralement (with Christophe Cardoen, Jennifer Caubet, Etienne Foyer, Anna Gaïotti and Romain Simon). “Nina Garcia has been actively moving the art of noise guitar into surprising and intriguing new spaces. She has been at it for some time now, a bit of a secret weapon all the while hiding in plain sight. As I listen to her music and ruminate upon seeing her perform it brings me to a realization which I have with very few musicians: the ego inherent in making art can be transcended through a purity of direct action. At least that’s the feeling I have when experiencing Nina’s music which comes across as serious and radical and wholly engaged in the moment of its creative impulse.

2nd pressing on 2xLP Black Vinyl with Starlight Sparkle Vinyl 2nd pressing comes with a 2x7" EP on Transparent Yellow & Magenta Vinyl Please Note: "quality of sparkle vinyl comparable to vinyl with metallic effects" Sparkle / Starlight: Large silver particles Carefully designed, beautifully remastered and loaded with new ways to play - "Risk of Rain" is back and better than ever! Dive into the iconic roguelike full of unique loot combinations, enhanced with new Survivors, overhauled multiplayer, fan favourite content from Risk of Rain 2 and more! Ten years after "Risk of Rain" was released into the world to become a true classic, the game was revived in November 2023 as "Risk of Rain Returns" to reconnect with its fans and be discovered by those who didn't realise what they were missing. Time to give the iconic game soundtrack an update as well, isn't it? Creator Chris Christodoulou gives an insight on his work as well as the extensive and luxurious new vinyl release that comes with some remarkable extras: "Can you believe it's been ten years already? It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in my small bedroom/studio in front of an aching computer writing the music for `Risk of Rain'. And here we are, ten years later, returning to it to, adding to its musical compendium. What an unexcepted, magnificent journey! With this very special release we're celebrating both, the 10-year anniversary of `Risk of Rain' and the release of `Risk of Rain Returns'! This modular album contains the entire Risk of Rain soundtrack remastered and the four new tracks written for `Risk of Rain Returns' (with contributions from special guest musicians Damjan Mravunac & Maria Papageorgiou). Daniele (art), Kevin (Black Screen Records) and I worked very hard to make this complex release a reality and we are extremely proud of it! We hope you enjoy every aspect of it as it is a labour of pure love! Finally, a very special thanks to all of you who have carried this music across the past decade! You have my love, Chris

Infinite Fog are delighted to present another piece of the intriguing COIL puzzle. In the mid 1990s the core team of John Balance and Peter Christopherson were continuing their exploration of the outer reaches of electronic sound production as exemplified by the "Born Again Pagans" release, originally an EP only, featuring both the hugely danceable "Protection" smash which had Danny Hyde's influence writ in large letters all over it, as well as the first outings of their intriguing more ambient/glitch-based ElpH material, probably their most haunting and haunted works. This new 3LP anthology re-edition collects all of the ElpH material which didn't appear on their later "Worship the Glitch" album, namely the pHILM #1 10", a host of very rare compilation tracks as well as a number of at the time unreleased pieces in the same vein. The stunningly presented release also features the ElpH entity's last ever appearance originally available as part of raster noton's award winning 20' to 2000 series of releases, the "Zwölf" EP.

All the material has been lovingly remastered by Jessica Thompson with re-imagined design-work by Oleg Galay and including a replica of the original St. Sebastian on acid poster.

With his Electric Blues All-Stars, Kai Strauss has made a name for himself all over Europe with dynamic, driving live shows and award-winning CDs, featuring an individual style that’s based on the urban blues tradition, but taking in big chunks of soulful and funky grooves. And this band knows how to rock the house!
For “Wailin’ In Vienna”, Kai has realized his long-standing plan to record an old-school blues album, going back to his roots and beyond. And the results are nothing short of spectacular, with 15 self-composed songs that cover lot of traditional ground: swinging R&B, 50’s Chicago blues, instrumental shuffles, even some bluesy jazz, a minor-key cha-cha and a tribute to Bill Doggett and his guitarist Billy Butler.
Although the shadows of T-Bone, the three Kings and others loom large over the proceedings, Kai Strauss never fails being his own man. Of course it helps when you can realize such a project with a team comprising some of the best players in this style: Dani Gugolz and Peter Müller have been a steadily swinging rhythm team for 35 years. Pianists Dave Ruosch and Andreas Sobczyk combine tasteful chordal work with cascading treble runs. Sax Gordon has been a first-call R&B horn man for decades. Gerry Lülik’s is one of Austria’s foremost bluesharp players. Pianist Christian Dozzler, who came up in Vienna but has long made his home in Texas, can be heard with the likes of Anson Funderburgh when not doing his own thing. Finally, the two guitar greats heard alongside Kai hardly need much introduction: Rusty Zinn and Alex Schultz have been among the top tier of traditional blues string-benders since the 1990’s. Here, they are mostly heard in a supporting role for their friend and colleague, but ready to step out in style when called upon.

Stick To Your Guns hold a mirror up to society’s ills without blurring its ugliness. In an attempt to unapologetically trumpet real change, the Southern California quintet—Jesse Barnett vocals,Andrew Rose [bass],Adam Galindo[drums], Chris Rawson [guitar], and Josh James [guitar]—never shy away from speaking or screaming unpopular truths from the purest place. Founded in2003, Stick To Your Guns have always written and performed with a sense of urgency, their socially conscious message hitting as hard as their signature hybrid of hardcore, punk, and metal. Over the course of their career, they’ve amassed over 50 million total streams, performed on four continents, and shared stages with the likes of Parkway Drive, Architects, and Every Time I Die. Most recently, Alternative Press praised 2017’s True View as “the result of a long time spent on self-reflection and realization.” The band’s latest release ‘Invisible Rain’ incorporates two new songs that remain quintessentially Stick To Your Guns while incorporating fresh elements. The band’s relentless pursuit of a better world and their critique of societal injustices continues to drive their music and message. In 2024, Stick To Your Guns signed with SharpTone Records, marking a new chapter in their storied career. This partnership promises to bring their potent blend of activism and music to an even broader audience, amplifying their call for change and social justice.

KNTXT, Charlotte de Witte’s label imprint, has the pleasure to introduce Alignment’s upcoming Time EP that will be released in April. After Monoloc’s “Left The Planet EP”, Alignment is the third artist to appear on the label aside Charlotte de Witte, that debuted with the Chris Liebing collaboration EP “Liquid Slow”.

“Alignment is easily one of the most promising artists that I’ve encountered in a long time, so it feels incredibly good to welcome him to the KNTXT family!” de Witte says. KNTXT has always aimed to be a breeding ground and safe haven for the unique talent’s that it loves and respects. With this upcoming Alignment release, we hope to further introduce the world to this unique talent and create a platform for his boundless creativity.

“Charlotte started supporting my music from very early on, so it feels great to be making my debut on KNTXT so early on.” Fancesco Pierfelici a.k.a Alignment says. “It took me some time to find the right spin on these tracks, but now I feel really confident about the result.”

“With the this EP I wanted to make recordings on the subject of time and space” Alignment explains. “I’m a firm supporter of Alignment’s unique ravey sound, flanked by deep bass lines and pumping kicks. We’re very eager to share this upcoming release with you all, feel like this is going to be a big one!” - Charlotte concludes

Humanöids on a rave rock be taking treepz and forging some thunderous exitations with a lazer cut kickblatzs. In strong comboh Mathjis Wiedestroom & Christelijk Vollemaan are bringing along one supermassive bazzhookah vinyl 12’’ to push the expansion of ur perception of the Gabber Dub Project.
Side A brings you the Besaet Tune from the Gabber Dub Project, featuring vocals by NIV, followed by the Dubsaet version and a version called Dubbersaet refixed for maximum amenworkout by LXC.

Side B takes the journey even deeper into the realms of Gabber Dub with three more tunes that will bury you 12 feet deep into the ground with their kick drums.

The Holiday Album That Turned Mariah Carey into the Queen of Christmas: Featuring the Standard “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” the Singer’s Blockbuster Merry Christmas Exudes Joy, Spirituality, and Conviction
Sourced from the Original Master Tapes, Presented in Audiophile Sound for the First Time, and Strictly Limited to 3,000 Numbered Copies:

Mobile Fidelity’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP Set Plays with Superb Detail, Openness, and Definition
1/2" / 30 IPS / Dolby SR analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe

Mariah Carey didn’t become the Queen of Christmas just because of her fervent love of the holiday. Or as the result of a brilliant marketing plan. The iconic singer earned her title by way of her blockbuster Merry Christmas, a 1994 album that quickly joined the likes of Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song as an all-time holiday vocal classic. Featuring a balanced mix of inspired originals and well-chosen covers, Carey’s fourth studio record has only grown in stature as new generations discover its magic. Mobile Fidelity’s 30th anniversary edition reissue of Merry Christmas makes her spellbinding performances and upper-tier register come alive like never before.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at Fidelity Record Pressing, and strictly limited to 3,000 numbered copies, the pioneering label’s UltraDisc One-Step 180g 33RPM LP set of Merry Christmas plays with superb detail, depth, and dimensionality. Available in audiophile quality for the first time since its original release three decades ago, and featuring the bonus track “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” the nine-times-platinum set breathes with a newfound openness and transparency that enhance the spirituality, passion, and festive tenor of Carey’s singing.

Benefitting from superb groove definition, a nearly inaudible noise floor, and dead-quiet vinyl surfaces, the music takes on a heightened energy and anticipatory emotion synonymous with the holiday season. Carey’s signature vocals explode with liveliness and dynamics, the full scope of her acrobatic range presented in clear, transparent sound that practically places her on a small stage in your listening room. This collectible version also breathes with the kind of warmth, intimacy, and coziness you want from a landmark vocal album.

Recorded when Carey helped put “diva” back into everyone’s vocabulary, Merry Christmas gave the New York native another smash right out of the box. What nobody knew at the time was the degree of the album’s staying power — and how, many years removed from its initial promotion cycle, its legend would still grow and even spark a 2010 sequel. Having re-entered the Top 200 charts every year since 2019, Merry Christmas ranks as one of the three most commercially successful holiday LPs ever made and, in due time, will likely earn the top distinction in that class. A global blockbuster, it seamlessly ties together Christian, gospel, and secular threads and speaks to a boundless audience, independent of denomination.

Most obviously, the record remains inescapably connected to “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” an uptempo anthem that towers as a holiday standard and one of the biggest-selling singles in history. Punctuated with celesta chimes, sleigh bells, springy keyboards, and joyous beats, the song echoes the simple albeit engaging melodies and doo-wop style of beloved holiday classics of yore — and blends such elements with contagious dance-pop rhythms to create an atmosphere rich in joy, wonder, and excitement. Radiant with golden soulfulness and sincere conviction, Carey’s exuberant singing and on-point phrasing put it all over the top. And how.

The song stands as the only effort in Billboard history to top the Hot 100 chart during at least three separate runs. Carey’s blockbuster has already hit No. 1 during five runs, spanning every year between 2019 and 2024. That’s just one of the many records the singer holds — and only one of the multiple highlights from Merry Christmas, which includes two other Carey-penned originals, “Miss You Most (At Christmas Time)” and “Jesus Born on This Day.”

Though slightly lesser known, Carey’s remarkable rendition of Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” further links her album with the big, lush, Wall of Sound heritage that helped inspire its production. Carey’s heartfelt take and transformation of the traditional “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” into an animated tune that even adults can believe, as well as her clairon reading of “Joy to the World” — cleverly augmented with bits of Three Dog Night’s 1971 hit of the same name — further reinforce her status as Queen of Christmas.

At the peak of her powers, Carey finds equivalent success when tapping more spiritual veins. Witness the reverence she brings to the timeless carol “Silent Night,” the piousness she invests in “Jesus Oh What a Wonderful Child,” and the sacred feeling she conveys throughout “O Holy Night.” You’ll also never think of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)” the same way again after hearing Mimi pour her heart and soul into them, and pair the songs together.

Indeed, it’s Carey’s pliable voice, melismatic technique, and five-octave range — on display here in definitive fashion — coupled with her undeniable love for Christmas and understanding of the religious significance of the season that make Merry Christmas a must-have holiday staple. And on Mobile Fidelity’s LP, something you better add to your wish list.

Rafael Cohen’s Spanish-language solo project Las Palabras gives the D.C. punk scene veteran and member of dance-rock group !!! (Chk Chk Chk), the words to reveal himself as a Latin alternative artist and what he calls “a cautious believer”. Fe, Faith his second Las Palabras album, and first on the Barcelona label La Castanya, “deals with what it means to have faith, what it means to have doubts, and what it means to stay open to the idea that something untouchable and unknowable may exist”.
Written and produced by Cohen in his home studio in Brooklyn and mixed by Black Pumas guitarist Adrian Quesada, Fe builds on nylon-string guitar and electric bass with live drums and synthesizers in songs that embrace elements of 70s Brazilian funk and an amalgam of beats from hip hop to bachata, interspersed with contemplative ballads on which Cohen’s voice and guitar can be quiet enough to hear the rumble of a bus going by in the background.
“Fe” is colored by musical influences that include those Brazilian grooves, but also shades of Sade, Sounds of Blackness and eighties electro funk group Zapp. The arrangements spotlight the rhythm section, with drums played by Chris Egan (!!!, Solange, Blood Orange) and featuring Alberto Lopez (LCD Soundsystem, Stanley Clarke) on percussion. Cohen credits Adrian Quesada for the album’s warm, worn-in tone: “He made the beats sound a lot bigger and gave it an ’80s hip hop feel. He really understood the references and brought his background in Latin music to it”

Rafael Cohen’s Spanish-language solo project Las Palabras gives the D.C. punk scene veteran and member of dance-rock group !!! (Chk Chk Chk), the words to reveal himself as a Latin alternative artist and what he calls “a cautious believer”. Fe, Faith his second Las Palabras album, and first on the Barcelona label La Castanya, “deals with what it means to have faith, what it means to have doubts, and what it means to stay open to the idea that something untouchable and unknowable may exist”.
Written and produced by Cohen in his home studio in Brooklyn and mixed by Black Pumas guitarist Adrian Quesada, Fe builds on nylon-string guitar and electric bass with live drums and synthesizers in songs that embrace elements of 70s Brazilian funk and an amalgam of beats from hip hop to bachata, interspersed with contemplative ballads on which Cohen’s voice and guitar can be quiet enough to hear the rumble of a bus going by in the background.
“Fe” is colored by musical influences that include those Brazilian grooves, but also shades of Sade, Sounds of Blackness and eighties electro funk group Zapp. The arrangements spotlight the rhythm section, with drums played by Chris Egan (!!!, Solange, Blood Orange) and featuring Alberto Lopez (LCD Soundsystem, Stanley Clarke) on percussion. Cohen credits Adrian Quesada for the album’s warm, worn-in tone: “He made the beats sound a lot bigger and gave it an ’80s hip hop feel. He really understood the references and brought his background in Latin music to it”

“Writing this album, I opened up my closet, and a skeleton came out.” In a café just around the corner from his Edinburgh flat, Hamish Hawk is contemplating his extraordinary new record, A Firmer Hand. “The thing that links all of the songs is a sense of the unsaid, whether out of guilt, shame, repression, embarrassment, coyness, whatever it might have been. I realised: I am going to say these things, and not all of them are going to make me look good. The album made so many demands, and I just gave myself over to it.”

At this stage, where only a handful of close associates have heard the finished album, Hawk is still unsure of what the reaction might be from fans, critics, even family. He jokes that A Firmer Hand is the first of his records that his parents might not enjoy. “But the fact that it makes me nervous tells me it was the right thing to do.”

Triumph And Power« will turn out to be another victory in GRAND MAGUS’ history! GRAND MAGUS was founded by JB Christofferson (vocals/guitars) and Mats “Fox” Skinner (bass) in 1996. Two years later, Fredrik “Trisse” Liefvendahl joined in on the drums and the first two demos were released. In November of 2001 the self-titled debut album – obviously inspired by the late creative period of bands such as BLACK SABBATH or DEEP PURPLE - was published on the European and US market. »Monument« (2003) and »Wolf’s Return« (2005) followed, receiving but praiseful press reactions. On their fourth studio outcome, »Iron Will« (2008) GRAND MAGUS present a redefined style and grand expertise, still acknowledging their own roots, gaining perfect scores with the music press again and being entitled the soundcheck winner with German Metal Hammer. Album number seven got the meaningful name »Triumph And Power« and was released in 2014. 2024 the 10th Anniversary edition will be available on vinyl.

"This record explores the relationships between mid century architecture, consumerism and community. The gradual or sometimes brutal removal and change of places in the name of progress. These changes leave traces that people have to deal with on a psychological level but probably never really acknowledge. This record explores loss of community and loss or unsympathetic altering of shopping spaces. When something is unceremoniously knocked down or altered and something else replaces it then the thing before it becomes ghost like and is at risk of being forgotten. Not dissimilar to when the Christian faith built their buildings upon Pagan sites. It has a similar purpose (to pray or to shop in this case) but the older thing becomes dreamlike and is confined to folklore. The community is always fed the propaganda of progress but looking back, I certainly cannot deny the beauty of what has now gone. Maybe there is a sense of dissolution and denial about such matters. The record is also interested in the sense of community of these past spaces and how shopping centres have generally declined mainly due to the rise of neo liberalism and tech giants. When you see old footage of these spaces in their prime, you get a sense of a space age future, everything looks new but paradoxically the people look to be from an older time. Today I can see real poverty and complete disenfranchisement from being in these new spaces. It's not all doom and gloom though as spaces, especially the ones in Plymouth are not that much altered and could be brought back to the architects original dreams."

David A.

The Norwegian indie-pop super-group with members from Making Marks, The Little Hands of Asphalt, Mildfire, Flight Mode and Elva return with a third album of original Christmas songs.

Get into that alternative, Nordic Christmas spirit! Christmas III at its heart is an alt-Christmas album: the songs are firmly rooted in December’s festivities, albeit not usually relying on the season’s traditional reference points. The songs hone in on the more ambivalent sides of Christmas - family, customs and the passing of time - with a keen eye towards the holidays’ most obvious function in countries close to the Artic circle: getting through the cold and dark times to celebrate the winter solstice and the turning of the sun. Drawing from Sufjan Stevens’ epic indie Christmas compendium and Phil Spector’s wall of sound classic A Christmas Gift From You, Christmas III is built on shimmering guitars, snow filled piano lines, gentle strings, springy vocals and dynamic drums - all steadily conducted by Sunturns’ own Sjur Lyseid (Flight Mode, The Little Hands of Asphalt) in the producer’s seat at his Globus studio in Oslo. With 3 songwriters (Ola Innset, Einar Stray & Sjur Lyseid) contributing to Christmas III, there’s an ever shifting sense of reflections. Parenthood and the struggles of the dark Norwegian winter is behind Ola’s track First Winter. “Sometimes I feel bad about bringing children into such a difficult world. Not so much with respect to daylight and the seasons, they’re just going to have to learn how to live with it, but with many other things – like war, poverty, climate change and even just death.” Back In Town might have been inspired by a discussion over whether Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” is a Christmas song or not, but it’s written about his youngest daughter Klara, to his elder daughter, about taking holidays with your family in a town you once lived. Einar pulls in Phoenix and Mew by the way of Jesus and Mary Chain on Crash Course Christmas, resulting in a seasick wave of a pop tune. “It’s a song about the guilt of not prioritizing your relationships. It’s been year of rainchecks and Christmas finally gives you some time to reflect. You’ve experienced so much and changed so much as a person that you almost forget your origins. Coming home for Christmas can then be a ritual of finding your way back to what you left behind." Drawing on the knitwear from the film Love, Actually, Turtle Neck, taps into the Backstreet Boys by way of Mac Demarco, with a sneaky reference to the legendary Norwegian Christmas hit En Stjerne Skinner I Natt. Album closer This Christmas / Next Christmas leans in on the hook for the Norwegian Christmas TV show Jul i Blåfjell, a multi-generational seasonal staple (essentially a daily children’s advent calendar kids show). “The song is about your parents ageing and needing your help – possibly really far away - while at the same time having your own children to take care of”. The cover artwork is a homage to Christmas dress codes for Norwegian men. Suits and shirts are a rarity in day to day life, but there are a handful of occasions that require some form of formal attempt at a suit: New Year’s Eve, National Day, weddings & funerals, and Christmas Eve: resulting in various degrees of sartorial elegance on the day (and on this instance, a hot summer’s day stifling the Christmas vibes, with ambiguous apparel instructions ahead of the photoshoot!).

Merry Christmas! Sunturns are Ola Innset – vocals, guitars, banjo. Sjur Lyseid – vocals, guitars. Einar Stray – vocals, keyboards, guitars. Eivind Almhjell – guitars, bass. Simen Herning – guitar. Jørgen Nordby – drums.

I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair is the third solo album by Christopher Owens, ex-frontman of seminal indie rock band Girls (Father, Son, Holy Ghost peaked at #37 on Billboard). After losing his bandmate, getting into a motorcycle accident, and bouts of homelessness, he left San Francisco for NYC and returned to Girls’ home label True Panther. Inspired by life (and love) to write music again, Owens is finally ready to share IWRBTYH, a record about his journey back to the center of himself.

Acclaimed pianist Renee Rosnes fell in love with the music of Brazil as a teenager, from the moment that she first heard the iconic Bossa Nova singer Elis Regina. With "Crossing Paths," her brilliant new album for Smoke Sessions Records, Rosnes brings to stunning reality a dream held for decades: to explore the intersection between Brazil's scintillating sounds with her own visionary approach to modern jazz. Due out on December 6, 2024, "Crossing Paths" reimagines compositions from master composers like Antonio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento, Caetano Veloso, and others. The album brings together a remarkable band - saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist Steve Davis, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Adam Cruz - with contemporary Brazilian voices (percussionist Rogério Boccato and vocalist Maucha Adnet) and special guest appearances by legendary vocalist/composers Edu Lobo and Joyce Moreno.

Lamina is the moniker of multi-disciplinary French artist Clarice Calvo-Pinsolle. 'Olas Curativas' is Calvo-Pinsolle's first vinyl release. Taking influence from the natural world, works of hydrofeminism, and experiences with hypnotism, Calvo-Pinsolle prolifically performs and records her own refreshing take on ambient music alongside working as an established installation artist. She has previously released two full-length albums on Orila Records & Complex Holidays, as well as a joint LP with Kitchen Cynics, and a collaboration project with Bear Bones Lay Low under the moniker XAXI. Her discography is fleshed out by various contributions to compilations, including the opening track 'Soupire' on Twin System's 'Tendrils Lurched Purple In The Slush' tape series. Radio play of Laminas music includes Graham Dunning / NTS, Emil Mirzoev/ Kiosk Radio, Laura de Diaz / CAMPO BASE, xYsse / Radio Vacarme, Melina Despretz / Kiosk Radio, Chris Penty Alvarez / Noods Radio, Leoni Leoni / Radio Alhara, Laura Connant / Ola Radio, Bravo Tounky / Rootradio. Performances of material from 'Olas Curativas' include shows at Cafe Oto / London, Cosmos / Lisboa, TV Control Center / Athens, Iklektic / London, Braille Satellite / Lithuania, Slug Gallery / Leipzig, Spazio X / Treviso, Krut Festival / Ghent, Schiev Festival / Brussels, Woodblocks Festival / Brussels.


'Olas Curativas' was developed and written in 2022, with these pieces first heard as live jams at shows mainly around Brussels and Portugal, before being honed into this mesmeric full-length LP. Calvo-Pinsolle's effective use of manipulated field recordings and tape loops provide a backdrop for harmony that leans towards the mystical, brimming with melodies equal parts haunting and enchanting. Alongside harvesting a sound library over the past several years, Calvo-Pinsolle has developed an approach to composition using field recordings that informs both her musical and sculptural work. These recordings are transformed much like the ceramics seen in the record artwork; shaped, chiseled, and transformed. These ceramics were crafted and painted by Calvo-Pinsolle herself, and hints at this bridge between her two disciplines of music and sculpture. Although an expansive realm, throughout Calvo-Pinsolle's output there are consistent moods and qualities that are absolutely distinctive to this artist's creative worldview, and of which 'Olas Curativas' is a perfect encapsulation.

Limited Edition Pressing of 200 Copies on Neon Yellow Vinyl. 2022's "Land of Kali" album was the first under the Essential Logic moniker for over 40 years and was released alongside a career-spanning boxset "Logically Yours".

Now Essential Logic head honcho and former X-Ray Spex member Lora Logic has compiled an eclectic and ambitious remixed version of "Land of Kali" entitled "Rekalibrated" featuring reinterpretations from noted artists across a multitude of genres and styles including Grammy award winners, living legends and UK Singles Chart toppers. Lora's work with Essential Logic and X-Ray Spex while Punk in DNA and spirit has always pushed at boundaries. Rule-breaking from the start by bringing the sax into Punk while the jerky, irresistible post-Punk Funk of Essential Logic's "Beat Rhythm News" and Lora's solo album "Pedigree Charm" sit comfortably alongside more contemporary records with one ear on the cerebral and the other on the dancefloor. "Rekalibrated" highlights the many strands that intertwine to make Essential Logic and how they may be unfurled. The lead single will be "Alien Boys" remixed by Dave Audé. Dave is a Grammy Award winning remixer and producer, famed for having more number ones than any other producer on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. He is responsible for a staggering 132 No.1 remixes on this chart and has worked with artists as varied as U2, Beyonce, Yoko Ono, Faith No More and Madonna among many others. He won his Grammy for his remix of "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars. Youth, legendary bassist of Killing Joke and producer of The Verve, Pink Floyd and The Orb lends his vastly experienced ears to "Mother Earth" while there are further interpretations from Rave-pop legend Adamski, Scottish Kandy-poppers bis and New Order/Duran Duran collaborators Daybreakers who put their own stamp on the Poly Styrene-penned "Prayer For Peace". Lora has recently been in the spotlight thanks to the recent re-release of X-Ray Spex's lost second album "Conscious Consumer" which features her trademark saxophone lines alongside typically acerbic lyricism from the dear departed Poly Styrene.

The first pressing reaches the Official Record Store Chart No.1 position over Christmas 2023 and quickly sold out. Favourable reviews in Uncut, Mojo and Record Collector alongside a Vive le Rock cover feature helped raise public awareness as well as radio features on Woman's Hour and Craig Charles' 6 Music show. Fans who missed out on the first pressing patiently wait the arrival of a repress.

Critically-acclaimed German pianist Pablo Held announces TRIO PLAYS STANDARDS, the seminal new trio album which captures Held and his comrades Robert Landfermann & Jonas Burgwinkel paying tribute to the rich legacy of Jazz.

Reflecting on the album’s theme, Held shares:
"On our previous 14 recordings, Robert, Jonas, and I have explored a wide range of musical realms: my original compositions, classical pieces, works by my father Peter Held, and occasional tunes by some of my favorite artists. Delving deeply into each of these musical environments has played a pivotal role in shaping the trio's sound over these years. Now, we've finally fulfilled a dream: recording an album of standards."

The album showcases Pablo Held’s unique arrangements of broadway classics as I’LL NEVER BE THE SAME, YOU WON’T FORGET ME and LAST NIGHT WHEN WE WERE YOUNG, reworkings of Charlie Parker’s BARBADOS and Bill Evans’ VERY EARLY, alongside Held’s own JUST IN CRAME - a contrafact on the old standard JUST IN TIME - each imbued with the trio's signature improvisational spirit and collective synergy.

Pablo Held, who’s not only known as a revered pianist and composer, but also a musical researcher, knows the value of deep study and cherishes its effect on his work: "The more I study this music, the more it propels me forward," says Held, echoing the sentiment of his personal hero Wayne Shorter about the past being “the flashlight that guides the way into the future”.

The trio recorded the album at Jazz Campus Basel’s pristine studio facilities on October 29th 2023 in front of a live audience of attentive students who witnessed the trio’s explorations first handedly in this intimate setting.

TRIO PLAYS STANDARDS was recorded and mixed by recording engineer Daniel Dettwiler and mastered by Christoph Stickel, who mastered the majority of Pablo Held’s expansive discography as a leader.
Legendary vocalist Norma Winstone penned the liner notes, and its timeless cover design is by Christian Schäfer, featuring captivating photos by Linghuan Zhang.

TRIO PLAYS STANDARDS marks the 6th release on Held’s own label HOPALIT RECORDS.
After the success of the previous trio album WHO WE ARE, Held favors a double-release method for his records going forwards: a 6 month pre-release period, where the album is exclusively available via Bandcamp and on live shows, leading into the official release in stores and streaming platforms.

As an additional incentive every (physical & digital) copy includes the bonus album TRIO PLAYS STANDARDS - LIVE, recorded during Held’s own curated festival STANDARDS WEEK at the LOFT Köln in 2022.

Repress of this Christmas classic, 300 copies on snowy WHITE vinyl! "At long last! Finally on vinyl! Can Fifteen Great Christmas Songs be collected together on one lovely 12-inch vinyl disc featuring bands and artists from the Damaged Goods archives? ...you betcha bottom dollar they can! Each song has been recorded with the Christmas spirit in full flow and we'd guess the odd mince pie was consumed along the way as well. The full-on Christmas feeling that is flowing through these wonderful tracks is a joy to behold and we implore you to not just read these sleeve notes but to go crimble-crumble-crazy and actually buy this record and treasure it, not only this year but for many years to come. We are very proud to have put this album together as Christmas is our favourite time of the year. We love the feeling at special Christmas gigs - the overinflated people and prices of things and the way everyone just has to go out and drink as much as they possibly can in the name of the good old lord Jesus. We did this for you, and only for you because we really, really care and want to share the joy that only Damaged Goods Records can bring you at this special time of the year. So enjoy some great music from the likes of Will Billy Childish, Miss Holly Golightly, Helen Love, Goldblade & Poly Styrene, The Courettes and so many more and remember, this LP is not just for Christmas it's for LIFE!" - Ian Damaged, National Elf

8/10 FULL-PAGE LEAD REVIEW IN UNCUT: “TALENTED ARTISTS SUCH AS ALDOUS HARDING , DELANEY DAVIDSON, IVY ROSSITER AND MARLON WILLIAMS REPRESENT A FRESH COUNTRY-FOLK/AMERICANA MOVEMENT IN AND AROUND CHRISTCHURCH AND DUNEDIN. NADIA REID'S IMPECCABLE DEBUT WILL MAYBE SET A WIDER ORBIT IN MOTION.”
4/5 LEAD REVIEW IN MOJO: “INSPIRED DEBUT BY A YOUNG NEW ZEALAND SINGER-SONGWRITER YOU'LL FEEL YOU'VE KNOWN FOREVER. A WONDERFUL ALBUM"

SUNDAY TIMES DEBUT OF THE WEEK: "SHE RANKS ALONGSIDE LOW AND THE COWBOY JUNKIES FOR DELIVERING SLOW-BURN EMOTION"
"It has all that well-smoked wisdom, that mingling of strength and yearning that seems to charge the work of all my favourite female artists – Laura Marling, The Weather Station, Sharon Van Etten and Tift Merritt, to name but four. Reid is just 23, and since I am loathe to run that “old beyond her years” line, let us simply say that when I hear a young artist making an album as soulful and rich and self-possessed as Listen to Formation, Look for the Signs, I feel so thrilled not only for the existence of that record but for all the music they will make over all the years to come.” THE GUARDIAN PLAYLIST
6MUSIC ALBUM OF THE WEEK
A richness of voice; a depth of emotion; and wise beyond her years; with Listen To Formation, Look For the Signs, 23-year-old New Zealand native Nadia Reid has claimed her place as one of the country’s most evocative and profound young songwriters. Her music traces the sharp mountain peaks, azure coastline, and mirrored images of the land and sky that pinpoint her home country’s vast open landscapes.
Whether nerding about with friends, stunning audiences into silence with her spellbinding live shows or unwinding in the tranquillity of her favourite hometown spot overlooking Port Chalmers’ harbour through her large-rimmed spectacles, Nadia Reid has achieved a gloriously fresh and eloquent new folk sound. “I’ve been in New Zealand my whole life and guess at times I take for granted the serene beauty that I live so closely with,” she says of her music’s majestic affiliation with nature. Mapping out tales of change and loss, whilst drawing inspiration from reading, writing, the human condition, falling in and out of love, death, and birth - it all lends to a superbly balanced album that moves surreptitiously between sparse and fragile melancholia to beautifully brutal lyricism with a philosophical maturity that bellies her years.
Born in Auckland, Nadia’s acoustic roots stem from an upbringing in a musical household where attending folk clubs and festivals were regular occurrences on the family calendar. “I was lucky to witness a lot of live music and theatre performances because my mum was an actress. I was encouraged to learn piano and guitar, and attended a Steiner school where we spent a lot of time in nature, singing songs.” Before long Nadia was listening to The Be Good Tanyas with friend and fellow recording artist Aldous Harding, which spurred her chosen career path. “There was something spiritual about the Tanyas’ records - I vividly remember the goose-bump feelings up my arms, a true connection to the lyrics and vocals,” she recalls. “Aldous was the first person who told me I had a good voice and I thank her for that. I admire her as an artist and writer, and we like to keep up with what each other is up to.”
Creating her own enchanting wonderworld, each of Nadia’s songs explores the elements; truly organic, her vocals ebb, flow and soar but are always ignited with fire from the gut. Her lyrics clearly reference lush landscapes but equally reflect alienation provided by the surrounding Pacific Ocean and mortality of living in such close proximity to Mother Nature’s wrath, as experienced whilst living in Christchurch at the time of 2011’s devastating earthquake. “It shook the city to its core,” Nadia recalls. “I’m sure living through it has shaped my personality and writing. My first EP was recorded just months afterwards, it was a strange time. We were all quite fragile, but I was braver somehow.”
Boldly infusing folk with full flavour, Listen To Formation, Look For The Signs was produced by Ben Edwards, owner of Lyttelton Records in his Sitting Room studios with Nadia’s band consisting bassist Richie Pickard, guitarist Sam Taylor and percussionist Joe McCallum. Whilst 'Reaching Through’s rich but unhurried nature evokes She Hangs Brightly -era Mazzy Star and intricate nuances of Beth Orton are recalled on lead single ‘Call The Days’ which talks of moving to a new town and was the first song penned after Nadia moved from Christchurch to Wellington; spurred on by a “panic attack” and being “worried about making the right choices in life”. Elsewhere ‘Runway’ and ‘Some Are Lucky’ immediately channel Nadia’s love of TBGT’s Jolie Holland and appreciation for New Zealand’s Maori music by Maisey Rika and Anika Moa, plus the inspirational narratives of Kenyan-born Somali poet Warsan Shire.

Fresh Selects presents the 5 year anniversary re-issue of the underground classic debut LP from one of R&B's most promising stars, SiR. Now a member of Top Dawg Entertainment (alongside Kendrick Lamar, SZA, and more) and signed to RCA, SiR's independent debut features early appearances from both Anderson. Paak and SiR's brother D Smoke (now the winner of Netflix's hit show Rhythm & Flow), as well as production from Knxwledge, Iman Omari, Chris "Daddy" Dave, Tiffany Gouché and more. Long since out-of-print, this 2020 edition of the LP includes new artwork and a fold-out poster, including the original photo that was used for the album cover.

cLOUDDEAD's debut album, compiling six 10" EPs that appeared between 2000-2001, is aurally dense and obscured. A sprawling mass of miniature beat-suites and Dadaist lyrics, this strange and beautiful 3xLP would influence a myriad of sub-genres (cloud rap, hauntology, lo-fi hip-hop, etc.) in the two decades since its initial release.

Only the three members of cLOUDDEAD – Why?, Doseone and Odd Nosdam – can speak to the group's origins, but in the context of underground hip-hop towards the end of the 20th century, their arrival makes perfect sense. Cincinnati had a vital scene; home to Scribble Jam, an annual confluence of MCs, DJs, B-boys and graffiti artists. While the trio soon relocated to the Bay Area where they co-founded the Anticon collective, their Midwestern roots – in ramshackle basements of off-campus hovels, as the "cerberus of Southern Ohio" – would remain the atomic heart of their early recordings.

As Chris Martins writes in the liner notes, "The only reason we know their names today is because of how loudly and curiously they aired their insularity. They rewrote the entire world as they knew it through their own fucked perspective, and when those mysterious 10-inches started popping up in record shops, it wasn't just a puzzle to investigate: there seemed to be a whole cosmology hidden in those grooves."

Each side of the album represents one of those elusive 10-inches, each embodying a universe unto itself. Opening salvo "Apt. A" and "And All You Can Do Is Laugh" are perhaps most emblematic of the cLOUDDEAD experience. Why? and Dose create a new language through boundless non-sequiturs, sing-song non-choruses and call-and-response hooks, while Nosdam's dexterous production shifts from crackling ambience of Flying Saucer Attack to tight Ohio Players drum breaks and oblique film samples.

Taken all together, cLOUDDEAD is an original interpretation of hip-hop in the surreal Y2K glow – a bizarre meeting point between William Basinski's Disintegration Loops and MF DOOM's Operation: Doomsday. All it took was a Dr. Sample SP-202, Tascam cassette eight-track and cheap RadioShack mic. There's truly nothing like it.

This edition has been faithfully restored by Nosdam. European exclusive version comes on clear vinyl, incl. fold-out poster and liner notes insert.

DERO GOI kehrt mit einem Paukenschlag zurück! Der ehemalige OOMPH!-Frontmann liefert mit "1984" ein bis zum Rand mit Synthie-Hits vollgepacktes Doppelalbum ab. Das Debüt seiner Solo-Karriere ist zugleich sowohl in musikalischer als auch lyrischer Hinsicht ein starkes Statement zu seiner künftigen Ausrichtung als Künstler. "1984" bietet eine faszinierende Verschmelzung von feinen Retro-Synth-Sounds, EBM und Synth-Wave mit zeitgenössischen elektronischen Elementen, die sogar mit einer Prise seines früheren Lebens als Rock- und Metal-Musiker gewürzt ist. DERO GOI, der schon immer als herausragender Songwriter gefeiert wurde, hat sein musikalisches Handwerk noch weiter verfeinert. Die Songs dieses umfangreichen Werks werden ihre Hörer zum Tanzen und Mitsingen bringen und sich als Ohrwürmer in den Köpfen festsetzen, wo sie noch jahrelang feiern. DERO GOI bleibt dabei seinem unbeugsamen Willen treu, als nonkonformistischer Künstler zu arbeiten. Sein Coming-out als wiedergeborener Christ, der jeder organisierten Religion nach wie vor kritisch gegenübersteht, und seine libertäre politische Einstellung haben ein breites Spektrum von Reaktionen hervorgerufen. Dazu gehören leider auch massive Hindernisse bei der Suche nach einem Label und einem Booking-Agenten. Zudem musste der Künstler erleben, dass bereits bestätigte Konzerte nur aufgrund seiner Meinung wieder abgesagt wurden. Das wirft die unbequeme Frage auf: Wie tolerant ist eigentlich eine Szene, die sich rühmt, für jede Gesellschaftsschicht und jeden Lebensstil offen zu sein, wenn diese Werte einer kritischen Probe unterzogen werden? Natürlich haben auch Worte Konsequenzen und jede Freiheit hat ihre Grenzen, aber was ist mit einem Künstler, der fest auf dem Boden der Verfassung seines Landes steht und keine Gesetze bricht? Beinhaltet Freiheit nicht auch das Recht auf Widerspruch gegen den Zeitgeist? Dass DERO GOI bei Themen eine andere Meinung vertritt, ist kein Verbrechen. Bevor der Musiker, der am 16. April 1970 als Stephan Musiol in Wolfsburg geboren wurde, im Jahr 1989 OOMPH! gründete, spielte er bereits im Alter von 15 Jahren in einer Band mit seinem Freund Thomas Döppner (alias OOMH!-Gitarrist und Mitbegründer Crap), als beide noch Gymnasiasten waren. Seine musikalischen Einflüsse zeigen einen offenen Geist für stilistische Vielfalt. DERO GOI zählt unter anderem D.A.F., NITZER EBB, FRONT 242, THE CURE, FAITH NO MORE, KILLING JOKE, EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, AC/DC, DEPECHE MODE, EXTRABREIT, KRAFTWERK, THE BEATLES, ELVIS PRESLEY und ABBA zu seinen musikalischen Vorbildern. DERO GOI hat mit seinem neuen Werk einen Weg eingeschlagen, der elektronischer ist als die meisten seiner bisherigen Songs. "1984" ist das Zeugnis eines Künstlers, der sich einer breiten Palette diverser Einflüsse bedient, der aber zugleich auch seine weithin respektierte Fähigkeit, äußerst eingängige Melodien zu schreiben, noch weiterentwickelt hat. Was auch immer die Hörer von diesem massiven Beitrag zur elektronischen Szene halten werden, DERO GOI wird sich als Sänger und Künstler nie den Mund verbieten lassen. Liebt oder hasst "1984" - aber was auf diesem Album zu hören ist, wird immer zu 100% DERO GOI bleiben!

Hello Everybody,

In recent years, the introductory texts for the Pop Ambient compilation series, which is released every year on Kompakt as the last release before the Christmas break, often began with the sentence "Every year again...".

“Every year again”, a quiet, almost unnoticed maxim of self-evidentness. Because this is already the 25th issue to be published this year.

25 years in increasingly fast-moving times in the even faster-moving music business is an eternity that doesn't just feel like it. It is all the more remarkable how I, as someone who is always restless and often driven by this fast pace himself, pleasantly almost haven’t realised how - in pop-ambient contexts - time does not pass (or passes differently) in the best sense.

When compiling the 25th edition I was asked, among other things, what it was like that I was still doing this and whether I had a favorite track. In the spirit of bringing all the tracks together I don't have a favorite track, or all of them. But I have a favorite part (moment) that I played. In this case it was a broad chord in a change of key at minute 2:55 in the piece Circles by Max Würden. A moment of majesty and familiarity that, at that moment, contains the entire Pop Ambient cosmos, that just works and doesn't explain anything - and I said: “...that's the reason why I'm still doing this.. .”

Pop Ambient is a statement without demands. Is promise without expectation. Is a path without a destination. Every year again.

Wolfgang Voigt, October 2024

And so to the facts:

01. Leandro Fresco / Thore Pfeiffer – Goldwasserfluss

The intercontinental collaboration between the two long-standing Pop Ambient artists Leandro Fresco from Argentina and Thore Pfeiffer from Mainz is a regular part of the series. They open this year's anniversary edition with the usual filigree.

02. Pass Into Silence – Mirage

The Japanese artist Tetsuo Sakae aka Pass into Silence returns to Kompakt 20 years after his legendary album “Calm Like A Millpond”. A master of tones that are as fine as they are stoic and crystal clear.

03. Tamarma & Sebastian Mullaert – Follow Me

For the first time, the well-known Swedish producer and DJ Sebastian Mullaert will be performing on Pop Ambient in cooperation with the Georgian sound artist Tamara Davitashvili. Their piece “Follow Me” fits confidently into the intimate, familiar sound cosmos.

04. Sono Kollektiv feat. Nathalie Brum – Periadriatische Naht

Sono Kollektiv is now a fixture on Pop Ambient, this time with Nathalie Brum. In particular, Luis Reich's characteristic flugelhorn always gives their sound that special jazzy touch.

05. Thore Pfeiffer – Phase Locked Loop 1

Thore Pfeiffer is a master of shimmering surfaces and hypnotically meandering loops.

06. Andrew Thomas feat. Julia Parr – Sunshine Night

An old friend from New Zealand is back with spherical sounds. Andrew Thomas, in collaboration with Julia Parr, sprinkles finely placed piano tones into distant soundscapes and even more distant voices.

07. Segensklang – Artifacts of Synthesis

We are pleased that Segensklang will be there again this year after his brilliant Pop Ambient debut last year. Deep and beautiful.

08. Ümit Han – Im Delirium

The Cologne producer Ümit Han is back for the third time. While he has so far explored the more emotional, soundscape aspects of the Pop Ambient universe, this year's piece "Im Delirium" rises to a pulsating mountain of sound with pearly, clear, effervescent sound crystals.

09. Würden & Schäfer – Analysis Of Variance II

In their track Analysis Of Variance II, Max Würden and Lukas Schäfer embed a finely placed beat impulse in a soft bed of modulating soundscapes and pleasant psychedelic spaceyness.

10. Max Würden– Circles

Max Würden once again shows his special feeling for one of the core statements of the Pop Ambient style spectrum. The abstract chord and soundscape movement between formal construction and emotional touchability, which seems like “pop music” under the microscope.

11. Blank Gloss – Jennifer’s Convertible

The Californian guitar-ambient duo takes us into their sublimely beautiful sound cosmos with their usual aplomb. Maximum condensed transparency. Lightness - heavy as gold.

12. Hendrik Meyer – Grün War Die Klamm

Another new addition is Hendrik Meyer. The versatile musician, also known for his MYR project distributed by Kompakt, leads us with a glistening, beautiful “wall of sound” determination into the eternity of a sunset that is only ended by the following track. Filmy Music.

13. Triola – Zum Renngraben

Jörg Burger aka Triola combines his typical “handmade” impulses and accents with a multi-dimensional, digital sound scenario in a pleasantly smoky, blurred stonewashed aesthetic.

As always, the indispensable final mastering by Jörg Burger ensures that everything is brought together and the sound is fine-tuned.

And like every year, the 25th edition is of course wrapped in an abstract, floral magic creation by Veronika Unland. Over the years, the grace of her imagery has increasingly merged with the musical aura to form an unmistakable magical symbiosis.

Hallo Leute,

In den vergangenen Jahren begannen die Anmoderationstexte zur Pop Ambient Kompilation-Reihe, die jedes Jahr als letzte Veröffentlichung vor der Weihnachtspause auf Kompakt erscheint, sinnigerweise immer mal wieder mit dem Satz “Alle Jahre wieder...".

„Alle Jahre wieder”, eine leise, fast unbemerkt zur Formel gewordene Maxime der Selbstverständlichkeit. Denn in diesem Jahr erscheint bereits die 25ste Ausgabe.

25 Jahre in zunehmend schnelllebigen Zeiten im noch schnelllebigeren Musikgeschäft, sind gerne mal eine nicht nur gefühlte Ewigkeit. Umso bemerkenswerter wie mir, als ewig Rastlosem und oft selbst von dieser Schnelllebigkeit Getriebenem, auf angenehme Weise fast entgangen ist wie sehr, in pop ambienten Zusammenhängen (gedacht), die Zeit im besten Sinne nicht (oder anders) vergeht.

Beim Kompilieren der 25sten Ausgabe wurde ich u.a. gefragt, wie es ist, dass ich das immer noch mache und ob ich ein Lieblingsstück hätte. Im Sinne des Zusammenbringens von allen Stücken habe ich kein Lieblingsstück, oder alle. Aber ich habe eine Lieblingsstelle, die ich dann gespielt habe. In dem Fall war es ein breit gesetzter Akkord in einen Tonartwechsel bei Minute 2:55 im Stück Circles von Max Würden. Ein Moment der Erhabenheit und Vertrautheit, der in diesem Moment den gesamten Pop Ambient Kosmos in sich trägt, der einfach nur wirkt und nichts erklärt - und ich habe gesagt: „...das ist der Grund, warum ich das immer noch mache...“

Pop Ambient ist Statement ohne Forderung. Ist Verheißung ohne Erwartung. Ist Weg ohne Ziel. Alle Jahre wieder.

Wolfgang Voigt, Oktober 2024

Und damit zu den Fakten:

01. Leandro Fresco / Thore Pfeiffer – Goldwasserfluss

Die interkontinentale Kollaboration der beiden langjährigen Pop Ambient Stamm-Künstler Leandro Fresco aus Argentinien und Thore Pfeiffer aus Mainz, ist regelmäßiger Bestandteil der Serie. Gewohnt filigran eröffnen sie die diesjährige Jubiläumsausgabe.

02. Pass Into Silence – Mirage

Der japanische Künstler Tetsuo Sakae aka Pass into Silence meldet sich 20 Jahre nach seinem sagenhaften Album „Calm Like A Millpond“ auf Kompakt zurück. Ein Meister der ebenso feinen wie stoisch-glasklaren Töne.

03. Tamarma & Sebastian Mullaert – Follow Me

Zum ersten Mal gibt sich der bekannte, schwedische Produzent und DJ Sebastian Mullaert in Kooperation mit der georgischen Klangkünstlerin Tamara Davitashvili auf Pop Ambient die Ehre. Ihr Stück „Follow Me“ fügt sich souverän in den intim-vertrauten Klangkosmos ein.

04. Sono Kollektiv feat. Nathalie Brum – Periadriatische Naht

Mittlerweile eine feste Größe auf Pop Ambient ist das Sono Kollektiv, diesmal mit Nathalie Brum. Insbesondere das charakteristische Flügelhorn von Luis Reich gibt ihrem Sound immer wieder diesen besonderen jazzigen Touch.

05. Thore Pfeiffer – Phase Locked Loop 1 Thore Pfeiffer ist ein Meister der flirrenden Flächen und hypnotisch mäandernden Loops.

06. Andrew Thomas feat. Julia Parr – Sunshine Night

Ein alter Bekannter aus Neuseeland meldet sich mit sphärischen Klängen zurück. Andrew Thomas, in Kooperation mit Julia Parr, sprenkelt fein gesetzte Klaviertöne in weit entfernte Flächen und noch entferntere Stimmen.

07. Segensklang – Artifacts of Synthese

Wir freuen uns, dass auch Segensklang nach seinem fulminanten Pop Ambient Debut im letzten Jahr auch dieses Jahr wieder mit dabei ist. Deep and beautiful.

08. Ümit Han – Im Delirium

Zum dritten Mal dabei ist der Kölner Produzent Ümit Han. Hat er bisher eher die emotional-flächigen Aspekte des Pop Ambienten Universums ausgelotet, schwingt sich sein diesjähriges Stück „Im Delirium“ mit perlend-klaren, sprudelnden Soundkristallen zu einem pulsierenden Klanggebirge auf.

09. Würden & Schäfer – Analysis Of Variance II

Max Würden und Lukas Schäfer betten in ihrem Stück Analysis Of Variance II einen fein gesetzten Beat-Impuls in ein weiches Bett aus modulierenden Flächen und angenehmer psychedelischer Spaceyness.

10. Max Würden – Circles

Max Würden zeigt einmal mehr sein besonderes Gefühl für eine der Kernaussagen des Pop Ambient Stilspektrums. Die wie „Popmusik“ unter dem Mikroskop anmutende, abstrakte Akkord- und Flächenbewegung zwischen formaler Konstruktion und emotionaler Berührbarkeit.

11. Blank Gloss – Jennifer’s Convertible

Das kalifornische Gitarren-Ambient Duo entführt uns mit gewohnter Souveränität in ihren erhaben-schönen Soundkosmos. Maximal verdichtete Transparenz. Leichtigkeit - schwer wie Gold.

12. Hendrik Meyer – Grün War Die Klamm

Ein weiterer Neuzugang ist Hendrik Meyer. Der vielseitige Musiker, u.a. auch bekannt durch sein über Kompakt vertriebenes MYR Projekt, führt uns mit gleißend-schöner „wall of sound“ Entschlossenheit in die Ewigkeit eines nur vom nachfolgenden Stück beendeten Sonnenuntergang. Film(Musik)reif.

13. Triola – Zum Renngraben

Jörg Burger aka Triola kombiniert die für ihn typischen „handmade“ Impulse und Akzente mit mehrdimensionalem, digitalen Soundszenario in angenehm rauchig-verwischter Stonewashed Ästhetik.

Für den alles zusammenführenden, klanglichen Feinschliff sorgt, wie immer, das unverzichtbare, finale Mastering von Jörg Burger.

Und wie in jedem Jahr ist auch die 25ste Ausgabe natürlich in ein abstrakt-florales Zaubergebilde von Veronika Unland gehüllt. Die Anmut ihrer Bildsprache ist über die Jahre immer mehr mit der musikalischen Aura zu einer unverkennbaren magischen Symbiose verschmolzen.

At long last! Finally on vinyl! Can Fifteen Great Christmas Songs be collected together on one lovely 12-inch vinyl disc featuring bands and artists from the Damaged Goods archives? …you betcha bottom dollar they can! Each song has been recorded with the Christmas spirit in full flow and we’d guess the odd mince pie was consumed along the way as well. The full-on Christmas feeling that is flowing through these wonderful tracks is a joy to behold and we implore you to not just read these sleeve notes but to go crimble-crumble-crazy and actually buy this record and treasure it, not only this year but for many years to come. We are very proud to have put this album together as Christmas is our favourite time of the year. We love the feeling at special Christmas gigs - the over-inflated people and prices of things and the way everyone just has to go out and drink as much as they possibly can in the name of the good old lord Jesus. We did this for you, and only for you because we really, really care and want to share the joy that only Damaged Goods Records can bring you at this special time of the year. So enjoy some great music from the likes of Will Billy Childish, Miss Holly Golightly, Helen Love, Goldblade & Poly Styrene, The Courettes and so many more and remember, this LP is not just for Christmas it’s for LIFE! Ian Damaged, National Elf