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Ches Was born in Barbados, and from that faraway small group of islands comes this outstanding piece of Caribbean Soul. Like many of the artists we love, Ches had his fair share of travels and troubles. He dedicated his whole life to music pursuing that ideal of living by the dream we all keep sticking to when it comes to soul music. After the teenage years spent listenting to the sound of the American Black Music legends of the times, whose frequencies made it to the radio stations in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, he decided to pack up and go big studying music in New York City thus finding he was gifted with songwriting, where he always puts soul, jazz and a touch of reggae music. Wirl label (West Indies Record Ltd.) was his recording home with which he released a number of tunes both solo and with his band The Outfits. He then traveled far and wide, spending a couple of years in Canada (another proof of Canada’s music industry solid ties with the sound from the islands), eventually ending up where Funk Investigators’ patrol member Yann Vatiste has found him and secured the license for this release. Stay tuned for more tales about this man, he might be closer to you than you think.

Our label is thrilled to share yet another mind-blowing electro/proto-techno track by Art Programming (Art P), following the release of "Genscher Pull N Push". This track was originally the final piece on their self-titled album, released on cassette in 1983 under the P.A.P. label from Bremen.

To this day, the track remains almost completely unknown within collector's circles. However, let's take a moment to imagine what might have happened had the recording been released as a vinyl 12" back in 1983. Could it have been a game changer? We will never know for sure. Nevertheless, one thing is certain: with its punchy Roland 808 rhythms, and catchy synth lines and vocoder, it undoubtedly qualifies as a classic German electro track, and one of the earliest techno/proto-techno recordings.

At almost 8 minutes in length, this track includes one of the most exhilarating breaks in electro music of that era, showcasing extensive drum editing and effects. It strongly resembles the sound that Detroit would become famous for in the years to come, but make no mistake - this record was produced straight out of Bremen, a relatively small city in Northern Germany.

For the flip side of the single, we enlisted Alexander Arpeggio, the owner of Mond Musik und Eine Welt label, to edit the track while preserving its original spirit. As a member of the acid techno project Aufgang B and the synth-pop minimal duo OTTO, he not only has a deep understanding for this kind of music but also possesses the ability to give the song a different feel with greater dancefloor appeal. He has slightly reduced the tempo of the track and emphasized the instrumental and break parts, resulting in an exciting remix that is DJ-friendly and has everything you could ask for.

The 12" release comes with the original Art Programming logo in a vintage style, packaged in a generic black sleeve with hype sticker. It is limited to only 200 copies. This is a serious gem that you won't want to miss out on, so act fast!

World renowned producer Dez Andres, one of Detroit’s underground heroes returns with a fresh slice of latin hip hop. Since the late 90's, Dez has built a respectable catalog that blurs the boundaries between genres. One of motor city’s most prolific artists, his music can be summed up in one word: Quality. This is best exemplified in this release.

»Don’t Ever Let Me Know« is Sheffield’s first solo release since 2018’s »Repair Me Now« (Glistening Examples) and is a work in a similar mode to that album in that it comprises two lengthy pieces of multiple movements and moods. For this new work, and as a kind of ode to his late father, Sheffield has employed samples entirely taken from (or inspired by) the city in which both men were born. In this way, the sounds have been utilized as a kind of shorthand for the specific subjects at hand. The two audio assembla ges, meanwhile, mirror the ways in which loss and memory are processed – with both melancholy and wonder in equal measure: at once beautiful and confounding.

Colin Andrew Sheffield (b. 1976, El Paso TX) is a composer whose work is focused on the recontextualization of samples derived from various commercially available recordings – generally those taken from his own expansive collection of records, tapes, and compact discs. Conceptually his output is akin to plunderphonics-style sound collage, though aesthetically it is seemingly closer to soundscapes of ambient drone. Since his earliest recordings from the 1990s, his work has developed into a kind of hybrid of the aforementioned approaches.

Fünf Grammys gab's für diese ScheibeLauryn Hill kommt (ebenso wie ihre beiden Fugees-Kollegen Wyclef Jean und Pras) auch als Solistin prächtig zurecht. Ihr 1999 veröffentlichtes Longplay „The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill“ wurde innerhalb kurzer Zeit mit Edelmetall ausgezeichnet und kassierte im Februar 1999 von den insgesamt elf Grammy-Nominierungen gleich fünf der begehrten Trophäen, u.a. für das „Album des Jahres“. Als Singles enterten die Songs „Ex-Factor“, „Doo-Wop /That Thang)“ und „Everything Is Everything“ die Charts.

Martinou lands on Nous'klaer Audio with his debut album RIFT. Emerging from a waking forest entranced by sun-rays reflected in the morning dew and the sound of rustling leaves in the rising wind. RIFT is a captivating road through the riddles of an imaginary landscape, full of noisy and organic textures bound by hypnotic and soothing melodies. From the calm opener of Absorption (Citywide) to the breathtaking Cirrus Apparition, and from the piercing tones of Velvet back to the closing act ...in all it's splendor. An album consisting of twelve tracks for every moment, a triple vinyl suited for warming up and tearing down a dancefloor, but best listened to from start to finish. Artwork by Romee van Oers. Including download code.

The seventh release of Sasaki Hiroaki's Yotsume-Music sees Hisashi Ito aka Hulot (Raum...musik, BELOW, FROGMAN/U.S.B.) welcomed to the fray, quite possible, given the EP's title, taking influences from Mr Hulot, the hero of Jacques Tati classic film 1953 'Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot'.

Like said hero, there's a kooky, loveable eccentricity to his two productions - he counts Herbert and Moritz von Oswald among his main influences - with Tom Ellis Remix and Sasaki Hiroaki Remix adding a remix, one on either each side.

The state51 Conspiracy is proud to announce Wacław Zimpel’s long-awaited fourth solo album, ‘Train Spotter’, due for release on 31 March 2023 on state51 Records.

In the seven years since the release of his debut solo album, ‘Lines’, Wacław Zimpel has developed from his idiosyncratic approach to jazz to growing into a potent and inventive force in the field of electronic music.

‘Train Spotter’ was created for a specific brief from The City of Warsaw: to capture the Sound of the City of Warsaw. But, as Zimpel soon found out, the sounds of a city don’t exist in isolation; they’re part of a wider environment that is itself undergoing upheaval against a background of internal and external forces.

“Train Spotter is about my experience of a city that recently went through a pandemic, endless anti-government demonstrations against human rights violations against women’s right to choose and the LGBTQ community, as well as waves of war refugees from Ukraine and the extraordinary solidarity of people willing to help and unite across political divides to help others in need.”

Spread over six tracks, the manipulated samples are blended with Zimpel’s own electronic production flourishes and playing to create a seamless blend that’s uniquely his. Recording a variety of mechanised and repetitive sounds including tramlines, baggage carousels and bouncing basketballs in municipal parks among many other found sources, Zimpel fed the results through a host electronic equipment including synthesisers, keyboards and plug-ins.

For all its production methods, ‘Train Spotter’ bears an organic warmth that reflects the city that inspired it. But what also adds to the sonic intrigue is a rise in intensity within each of the individual tracks that themselves become ever more forceful as the album continues.

Alex "Omar" Smith has never been one for modesty, so we shouldn't be too surprised that he's called his latest full-length - his fifth in total - The Best. To be fair, he is rather good at producing high-grade deep house, and here unveils another eleven gems. Interestingly, he's recruited an impressive cast-list of collaborators and guests, including Norman Talley, Kyle Hall, OB Ignitt and, most surprisingly of all, Bristol-based Tom Bug. Highlights are plentiful, from the dusty afro and blues influences of the tribal "Chama Piru's", and hazy, Rhodes-heavy vocal cut "AhRevolution", to the hip-wigglin' disco-house influences of "Seen Was Set", and retro-futurist, Inner City style Divinity hook-up "On Your Way".

Jamie Jones and Lee Foss’ Hot Creations imprint welcomes another essential house offering as Jay Farina & Quinzi connect on ‘Pumpin The Junk’.

Collaborating to great effect on labels like Hooj Choons and Cleveland City Digital, Jay Farina and regular studio partner Quinzi have been playing across Europe while cooking up a take on house music that is fresh and full of irresistible grooves. Joining forces for their biggest release to date, the pair head to Hot Creations to open the summer with their two-track ‘Pumpin The Junk’ EP.
‘Pumpin The Junk’ is a sleazy, low-slung and driving house cut with raw and edgy percussion, while the vibrant vocals and old-school rave stabs all light up the track with the sort of character that gets a floor going wild. Next comes ‘The Buzz’, which is exactly that, the type of steamy house groove to get people moving. Rolling drums are overlaid with jumbled toms and fluttering snares before a monstrous bassline brings the warmth, while fiery vocals, drum fills and filtered FX all add more texture and tension to this red-hot offering.

Coming straight outta Salerno's vibrant music scene, "Amo' / Voce 'e Notte" is the first 7" single from female rap duo Zetas. Released by DJ's Choice, a partner label of Four Flies Records, it contains two songs produced bybeatmaker, rapper and producer Tonico 70, a true veteran of Southern Italian hip hop.

Both young millennials, rappers Annarella and Miriade were exposed to the world of underground hip-hop from an early age, jamming, freestyling and listening to different music than their peers. Active as a duo since 2019, they're now making their official debut with this 7", which will be followed byan album at the end of September.

The A-side track "Amo'", which is about the overuse and loss of meaning of the word 'love' (amo' translates as 'luv'), makes their intentions clear. Zetas rap in the exuberant dialect and slang of their native city of Salerno, while their sound looks back to the '90s through a contemporary lens. Raw rhymes are delivered with an urgent flow over a beat that, rather than boom-bap nostalgia, is a modern take on classic production styles. The result is a happy medium between old school and fresh – one where the melody of dialect rap and rhymes blends wonderfully with the rhythms of funk, soul and reggae.

"Voce 'e notte", on side B, has a different mood, but the same approach. Here, Zetas weave wistful verses tinged with disillusionment and toughness on top of Tonico 70's 808-led beat, paying tribute to a classic Neapolitan song also titled "Voce 'e Notte". The result is a rap serenade that transforms and reimagines the Neapolitan song tradition through today's sensibility and, of course, through hip hop.

What’s happening in the streets? This right here, a celebrated engineer Yas Inoue and Dj Takaya Nagase come together in the studio and rework the Voltage Brothers rare groove jam “Happening In the Streets” with a cleverly put together edit with filters, effects and sonically tweaking it to perfection. They've created a perfect dance floor masterpiece already championed by Louie Vega, Joe Claussell, Spinna, Mike Dunn, and Rich Medina. This choon has everyone in anticipation for it’s release.

Japanese sound engineer Yas Inoue, based in New York began his career in the world renowned Maw Studios in the late 90s and has engineered for producers such as Masters At Work, Patrick Adams, Leroy Burgess, and Randy Muller contributing to the creation of various New York house and disco hits.

Takaya Nagase, a New York based Japanese Dj started as an A&R for Japanese record label Soundmen On Wax. He learned and studied under the great David Mancuso of the Loft Party NYC and later held his own Joy parties along with other Loft members. Having had regular gigs at Club Shelter from 2006 to 2007 and at Club Output from 2017 until the closing in 2019, he built his dj chops and now currently djs at New York City's top venues such as Le Bain, Good Room and Nowadays along with monthly shows on the famed Lot Radio in Brooklyn.

Together they are Domo Domo and with their first project on Vega Records they are on their way to becoming New York household names in the dance music industry. Look out for “Happening In The Streets” coming soon at all digital and streaming outlets with vinyl releases on 12” and 7”. Lookout everyone, this one’s a sure HIT!!!

Cable Ties are a fierce, tense rock’n’roll trio. They take the three-minute punk burner and stretch it past breaking point to deliver smouldering feminist anthems. Post-punk and garage rock hammered together by a relentless rhythmic pulse. Jenny McKechnie channels her struggles into songs that resonate deeply, giving voice to feelings often buried in modern life. Shauna Boyle and Nick Brown are a rhythm section anchored in Stooges primitivism, relentlessly hammering out a bedrock for McKechnie’s guitar pyrotechnics and vocal wallop. Three friends summoning a rhythmic tide to deliver anthems that turn latent anxieties into a rallying cry.

The band has been committed to an inclusive feminist and political outlook since its inception in 2015, exploring issues of gendered violence, colonialism, and sexual assault. The band members have been involved in benefit shows, organized DIY festivals, and volunteer with Girls Rock!, a not-for-profit organization that aims to empower female, trans, and gender non-binary youth in music.
Cable Ties are dedicated to their local community and independent networks, and to playing diverse and inclusive shows. They have toured Australia a number of times and have developed into a lean and efficient touring band who deliver powerful and meaningful shows. Their debut self-titled album, released in 2017 on Poison City Records, was a Triple J feature album and album of the week on 3RRR, with strong support nationally from community radio. They have also self released three 7” singles which have all sold out. The debut album is on its third vinyl pressing.

The band toured UK/Europe in 2017 supporting Jen Cloher, and played Punk’d Festival in Berlin. They returned to the UK in May 2019 to play The Great Escape and shows with Tropical Fuck Storm and Amyl & the Sniffers. In Australia they played Bigsound 2018 and festivals such as the national Laneway Festival tour in 2018, Boogie Festival 2018, The Plot 2017, and Meredith Music Festival in 2016. Cable Ties have supported artists such as Joan Jett, The Kills, Camp Cope, and Cash Savage. They won Best Hard Rock Act at the 2017 National Live Music Awards and were nominated in five categories. They won the Corner Music Award in 2017, have been nominated for eight Age Music Victoria awards, and were longlisted for The Australian Music Prize 2017.

Created In the heart of Athens, GA with their trusty- producer, Henry Barbe (Deerhunter, Drive By Truckers) You Know Who is an 11-song record that pushes the boundaries of modern country and rock n' roll music. The Pink Stones sound takes influence from recordings of George and Tammy, as well as J.J. Cale's self produced Tulsa sound. The record is also just as inspired by the windy city cuts of Curtis Mayfield, all styles that covers the band's sound in cigarette smoke and whiskey spills. The six piece band has utilized their performing chops to make a tight but soulful album with featured guests such as Nikki Lane, Jack Quiggins and Ryan Jennings (Teddy & the Rough Riders), John James Tourville (Deslondes), and Annie Leeth (Faye Webster). No strangers to friends and guests, this ramshackle unit formed together flawlessly to take the next leap into The Pink Stones deep sphere.

Kultrocker orchestrieren Anti-Nazi Kampf auf der dunklen Seite des Mondes.

Nach der Veröffentlichung der 'Love Is Still Alive' EP präsentiert die slowenische Kultband Laibach ihr brandneues Album und den Soundtrack zu 'IRON SKY : THE COMING RACE.'

'The Coming Race' (Regie: Timo Vuorensola, 2019) ist die Fortsetzung des Films 'Iron Sky' (2012), in dem Nazis planen, die Welt zu übernehmen, nachdem sie in einer geheimen Militärbasis auf der dunklen Seite des Mondes geschlummert haben. Laibach wurden beauftragt, die Musik für die finnische düstere Komödie zu komponieren, die Kultstatus erlangte und über Crowdfunding mehr als 1 Million Dollar einbrachte, wobei ihr Original-Soundtrack weithin gelobt wurde.

Dieser Soundtrack ist genauso episch und cineastisch wie der erste und bietet eine musikalische Reise mit orchestralen Scores und Bonussongs auf der CD und dem Download, darunter der Track 'The Coming Race', der die kraftvollen Vocals der slowenischen Grammy-Gewinnerin Amaya in den Laibach-Mix einbringt.

Schwarze LP mit ausführlichen Linernotes und Download Codes für Bonus-Songs

Psych-rap enigma Onoe Caponoe returns with his fifth studio album ‘Concrete Fantasia’ on High Focus Records. In crystal clear communication with the mothership; littered with striking references to fantastical realms and uncommon lore, but very much anchored in the inner city blocks and smoggy roadsides that inform his everyday, ‘Concrete Fantasia’ is a dark fantasy tape that expertly blurs the lines between genres, tones, moods and character profiles.

Of this world and out-of-this-world perfectly poised; Onoe offering up escape portals, before quickly pulling the listener back in with wave-upon-wave of catdelix riptides. ‘Concrete Fantasia’ is something of a tug-of-war; peppering movie samples, vignettes and complex go-betweens tickling the senses, combining with a cacophony of mind-bending lyricism resulting in a singular journey, with Onoe confidently filling the shoes of both author and narrator.

Pinocchio ducking feds in the hood, an Ice King ruling over a frostbitten kingdom, The Cheshire Cat trying to clean up Alice’s act, sweet serenades to off-shore mermaids, the trials and tribulations of life in a haunted trap house, big booty witches, flying carpets and beyond, ‘Concrete Fantasia’ is a real trip through the imaginative mind of Onoe Caponoe. With an eclectic line-up of featured artists and productional talent propping up the fictional cast, ‘Concrete Fantasia’ has all the makings of an alt-rap odyssey for the ages.

Psych-rap enigma Onoe Caponoe returns with his fifth studio album ‘Concrete Fantasia’ on High Focus Records. In crystal clear communication with the mothership; littered with striking references to fantastical realms and uncommon lore, but very much anchored in the inner city blocks and smoggy roadsides that inform his everyday, ‘Concrete Fantasia’ is a dark fantasy tape that expertly blurs the lines between genres, tones, moods and character profiles.

Of this world and out-of-this-world perfectly poised; Onoe offering up escape portals, before quickly pulling the listener back in with wave-upon-wave of catdelix riptides. ‘Concrete Fantasia’ is something of a tug-of-war; peppering movie samples, vignettes and complex go-betweens tickling the senses, combining with a cacophony of mind-bending lyricism resulting in a singular journey, with Onoe confidently filling the shoes of both author and narrator.

Pinocchio ducking feds in the hood, an Ice King ruling over a frostbitten kingdom, The Cheshire Cat trying to clean up Alice’s act, sweet serenades to off-shore mermaids, the trials and tribulations of life in a haunted trap house, big booty witches, flying carpets and beyond, ‘Concrete Fantasia’ is a real trip through the imaginative mind of Onoe Caponoe. With an eclectic line-up of featured artists and productional talent propping up the fictional cast, ‘Concrete Fantasia’ has all the makings of an alt-rap odyssey for the ages.

Psych-rap enigma Onoe Caponoe returns with his fifth studio album ‘Concrete Fantasia’ on High Focus Records. In crystal clear communication with the mothership; littered with striking references to fantastical realms and uncommon lore, but very much anchored in the inner city blocks and smoggy roadsides that inform his everyday, ‘Concrete Fantasia’ is a dark fantasy tape that expertly blurs the lines between genres, tones, moods and character profiles.

Of this world and out-of-this-world perfectly poised; Onoe offering up escape portals, before quickly pulling the listener back in with wave-upon-wave of catdelix riptides. ‘Concrete Fantasia’ is something of a tug-of-war; peppering movie samples, vignettes and complex go-betweens tickling the senses, combining with a cacophony of mind-bending lyricism resulting in a singular journey, with Onoe confidently filling the shoes of both author and narrator.

Pinocchio ducking feds in the hood, an Ice King ruling over a frostbitten kingdom, The Cheshire Cat trying to clean up Alice’s act, sweet serenades to off-shore mermaids, the trials and tribulations of life in a haunted trap house, big booty witches, flying carpets and beyond, ‘Concrete Fantasia’ is a real trip through the imaginative mind of Onoe Caponoe. With an eclectic line-up of featured artists and productional talent propping up the fictional cast, ‘Concrete Fantasia’ has all the makings of an alt-rap odyssey for the ages.

“I’ve always loved mistakes; it’s the hidden beauty in all art” - Andrew Weatherall


Transparent Sound are the original dons of UK electro, not exactly household names yet an act with so many under-repped classics that once you dive into their catalogue you might end up emptying your bank account on Discogs.


To save you going down this calamitous path as well as to finally, raise TS to the level of notoriety they deserve, Tresor Records is very proud to announce the release of Accidents 1994-2023. Formed by Orson Bramley and Martin Brown in Bognor Regis in 1994, Transparent Sound have managed to create 30 years’ worth of some of the best electro from the British Isles, despite claiming to not know what they were doing nor how their instruments work.


It’s likely that it’s this lack of knowledge that led to the quality and longevity of their output - the pair experiment and tinker with the machines until something pleasing appears then follow that sound
down whatever path seems fruitful: “the confidence of ignorance” as a slightly more-famous Orson, Orson Welles, once put it.

This tactic has paid o well and found them stumbling into many notable adventures, from remixing The Cure to performing during an intermission between two halves of a lecture - none of which they understood as it was in Spanish.


The compilation collects a lucky-for-you 13 of their most glorious electrical accidents on a three-disc set including the dancefloor hits Punk Mother Fucker (a mainstay of Villalobos sets at the time of release), and No Call From New York (as heard on Helena Hau’s perfect 2017 Essential Mix). The package also comes with ‘Windows To Your Sole’ from the unreleased white label Transparent Sound 007, other unreleased tracks, and special 2023 edits as well as six digital bonus tracks.

Phi-Psonics is a meditative, deeply soulful immersive jazz group from
Los Angeles, led by bassist Seth Ford-Young and featuring Sylvain
Carton on woodwinds, Mitchell Yoshida on electric piano, and Josh
Collazo on drums. Their deeply soulful music draws on jazz and
classical influences together with Ford-Young’s own musical
experiences, relationships, and his introduction to spirituality, yoga and philosophy at a young age, along the way they create something
uniquely their own, beautiful landscapes for your thoughts to roam
within.

Octava is their second album and like the Cradle before it’s emotional,
introspective, and unusual approach to spiritual jazz offers us a
beautiful space for uplifting contemplation and wields a quiet power to create a spiritually inspiring world of timeless, warm melodies and
instrumental exploration for the deep listener. Originally from
Washington DC area, Ford-Young moved to California in the early 90s
and fell in love with the deep sounds of the upright bass and the music of Charles Mingus, John and Alice Coltrane, and Duke Ellington along with Bach, Chopin, Pärt, and Satie. He immersed himself deeply in music and keen to learn combined intense personal study with
collaborations, tours, and recordings with artists such as Tom Waits,
Beats Antique, and John Vanderslice. In 2010 he moved from the SanFrancisco Bay area to the Los Angeles hills and continued his
explorations and although Phi-Psonics music has been described as
spiritual jazz, or deep immersive listening music but this is music for
fans of Radiohead and The Invisible as well as fans of Alice Coltrane
and Pharaoh Sanders.

The album opens with Invocation as we embark on our journey. The
repeated melody at the end feels ancient but also contains an energy
that is driving forward. An Offering is a humble but beautiful tune full of texture and colour. We Walk in the Gardens of Our Ancestors shows clear eyed reverence for those who came before us as we walk through their gardens. Green Dreams is a tender, gentle love song to Seth’s wife.Where We've Been Is a group improvisation centered around the drums. Lunar Reflections is a romantic ode to nature that draws inspiration from where Seth lives a green oasis within the sprawling cityscapes of LA. Becoming draws on memories of the dark days of 2020 but this was a period that was also full of beauty and light and this song elevates and uplifts us. Finally New You offers hope of change

Byard Lancaster was a composer/multi-instrumentalist born in Philadelphia in 1942. He started playing alto saxophone at an early age and later took up flute and bass clarinet. While attending Berklee College of Music, Lancaster and pianist Dave Burrell organized late-night jam sessions with fellow students and touring musicians. In 1965, he moved to New York and quickly became part of the city's burgeoning scene – playing with jazz luminaries such as Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray, Bill Dixon and Marzette Watts.

It's Not Up To Us, Lancaster's 1968 debut as a leader, was originally released on Vortex, a subsidiary of Atlantic responsible for first albums by Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett and Sonny Sharrock. Featuring guitarist Sharrock (another Berklee alum), It's Not Up To Us is true fire music – fusing elements of free jazz, soul/R&B and traditional folk song.

On the opening title track, Lancaster's luminous flute draws the listener in, while bassist Jerome Hunter grounds the tune with a simple descending theme over Keno Speller and Eric Gravatt's syncopated rhythms. "John's Children," a reference to the group's status as post-Coltrane players, showcases the modal strumming of Sharrock's steady drones as Lancaster cries into the void. After repeated listens, Lancaster's original compositions become visceral aural memories ingrained in the ear, while the standards ("Misty" and "Over The Rainbow") sound the most avant-garde pieces on the album.

This first-time vinyl reissue is recommended for fans of Albert Ayler, Don Cherry and Pharoah Sanders.

Bobby's 2019 tour ended in New York City and he had two days off before flying home to Finland. Leon invited him to the Diamond Mine to record some music. Bobby had been talking about wanting to stretch out lyrically and write about more esoteric subject matter, Leon was game. They recorded "Reasons" in one session which put the chemistry between the two on the world stage and sparked the idea of doing a full length album together. More than halfway through the recording process, they have decided to treat us to another two-sider of the new material. On the A side, "Whatcha Know" Bobby explores death and the human experience, putting his philosophical ponderings into his music. Michels' production and overall ethos is the perfect complement to Bobby's desire to stretch out his sound. EMA provides a gorgeous backing track that compliments Bobby's style and simultaneously broadens its scope. The B side "Losing It" is a dramatic and moving number that Bobby sings in Spanish and English. A gorgeous guitar riff is countered with eerie sound effects that crescendo when the drums come in. Bobby professes he's "Losing It" over a love too strong and El Michels Affair's production turns the whole affair into a saga that thunders through speakers.

From Alehouse to Playhouse Bjarte Eike and his barnstorming Barokksolistene capture the vital spark of Restoration London’s entertainment scene with a captivating new recording for Rubicon Classics! The Playhouse Sessions will be released on 23 September 2022 to coincide with Barokksolistene’s concert double-bill at London’s Southbank Centre.

‘A smattering of Purcell, dances from Playford’s Dancing Master, shanties, reels and ballads succumb to a nine-piece ensemble drawing on Baroque, jazz and folk styles for a no holds barred hooley of riotous improvisatory give and take,’ (BBC Music Magazine review of The Alehouse Sessions, August 2019)

London’s musicians, pushed in the 1650s, to the margins of society by order of Oliver Cromwell, found room for new forms of entertainment in city-centre taverns and alehouses. They remained there long after the restoration of the monarchy, performing sets of dances, theatre songs and bawdy ballads to audiences glad to be free from Puritan constraints on pleasure.

Norwegian violinist Bjarte Eike and his Barokksolistene have restored the spirit and substance of those long-forgotten performances with their Alehouse Sessions, hailed by The Times as ‘irresistible’ and ‘fabulously unrestrained’ by The Guardian. Five years ago the Norwegian violinist and his band scored a best-selling album with The Alehouse Sessions on Rubicon Classics. They return to the label with another compelling collection of music and words of the kind on offer more than three centuries ago at Henry Purcell’s favourite Westminster watering holes. The Playhouse Sessions, set for release on Rubicon Classics on 23 September 2022, reflects the uplifting energy and engaging emotional contrasts of Barokksolistene’s Alehouse performances.

“The album contains a sort of inner narrative that runs through the recording,” says Bjarte Eike. “It has become like a play in its own right, with each track being a small tale within a larger story.” The recording’s tracklist includes Eike’s beguiling arrangements of music from Purcell’s semi-opera The Fairy Queen and his own original compositions on words from the play on which it is based, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; popular songs and ballads such as ‘The Irish Washerwoman’, ‘I often for my Jenny strove’ and ‘The Three Ravens’; tunes from Purcell’s welcome odes and stage shows, Come ye sons of art and Dido and Aeneas among them; the ‘Willow Song’ from Shakespeare’s Othello; Eike’s own voice in Puck’s monologue from Act 5 of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and John Dowland’s sublime air ‘Can she excuse my wrongs’.

London’s theatres were closed at the start of the English Civil War in 1642 and remained shut until the Restoration. Alehouses offered redundant musicians, actors and dancers a place to scrape a precarious living and soon became their creative refuge. “Although a few surviving theatres reopened in 1660 with the return of Charles II, there was little money around to rebuild those that had been demolished,” observes Bjarte Eike. “And a generation of musicians had already found an audience in places like the Black Horse in Aldersgate Street. So popular were their alehouse sessions that Cromwell tried to abolish them! But they outlived him and became part of Restoration musical life.” The form of a Barokksolistene Alehouse, he adds, is like a creative room. “Within its framework I can frequently refurbish the show with new contents. The Playhouse project is likewise an extension of the ever-evolving Alehouse Sessions. Together they tell the story of music and theatre in London during Cromwell’s time and after the Restoration. Of course there’s an historical context to what we do. But there’s also the practical context – which is even more important to me – of connecting with a contemporary twenty-first century audience. An Alehouse / Playhouse performance is not something for the museum; it's about music made in the present moment, just as it was in the London alehouses of Purcell’s day -- with their playhouses annexed to the rear of the beer-drinking saloons. The encounter of musicians onstage and the audience in the hall is the real magic of it. We have to fuse the audience into the action of our performance!”

The Playhouse Sessions will be launched on Friday 23 September with a late-night concert at the Purcell Room and a post-concert Alehouse Session in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Soprano Mary Bevan is set to join Eike and his Alehouse Boys for the first half of their Southbank Centre double-bill, offering unique interpretations of songs from Purcell shows and other hits from the late seventeenth-century London stage. “The Southbank Centre is a direct descendant of concerts given in the 1650s in the alehouses of London,” notes Eike. “These alehouses after all staged some of the world’s first public concerts. Later, after the Restoration, it became common for promoters to advertise alehouse concerts in the press and offer subscription tickets. Purcell and his fellow musicians were thus just as at home performing there as they were in the chambers of the royal court or in London’s new theatres.”

Bjarte Eike launched his Alehouse Sessions in company with like-minded musicians 15 years ago. The ensemble comprises a core of regular performers, all of whom have committed to memory a huge setlist of up to four hours of music. Typically they meet a day or so before a concert tour to share a meal and make music together; then next day, re-grouping thirty minutes before the show, they discover Eike’s select-menu for the evening. “That ensures that every show is fresh,” he notes. “I make sure we never repeat the same programme twice. It’s therefore essential to work with people who share my outlook and dare to adventure. We’re into a high-risk sport, with lots of traps and places where the unexpected appears - for good or for ill. And so the audience knows we’re vulnerable. But our skill is seen in how we re-act on the hoof to the unpredictable. That’s authenticity and honesty - and above all it’s a performance that’s genuine.”

Armed with a classical training and a background in folk music and improvisation, Bjarte Eike was drawn naturally to Early Music in all its stylistic variety. “I never really felt at home with only one genre,” he recalls. “Early Music allowed me to study profound, complicated compositions, but performing it has also opened up the chance of rebellion and uproar! Early music offers wide, multi-faceted areas of musical exploration for me. You find, for instance, links to different types of music wherever you look in seventeenth-century English repertoire. And I am fascinated by all these connections. They offer a foundation for the Alehouse Sessions and for all Barokksolistene performance more generally. Every member of the group plays, sings, dances and improvises without limitation. We’re all interested in the many different fields of being a stage performer and pushing hard at the ‘normal’ boundaries of what it means to be a classical musician.”

Two of the Bronx’s most skillful emcees have paired up for one of the most promising collaborative albums of 2023. Appropriately titled, Gunz X Bars, the boogie down’s own Cory Gunz and David Bars have joined forces with Respect the Vision (RTV) under the watch of DITC Studios, the label and recording studio akin to one of hip-hop’s most revered crews, comprised of Lord Finesse, Diamond D, Big L, O.C. Fat Joe, Buckwild, Showbiz and A.G. And as you’d expect, the result is top tier lyricism over a soundscape that epitomizes the essence of New York hip-hop. For the past two plus decades, Cory Gunz has made his bones by proving his lyrical prowess time and time again. Son of rapper Peter Gunz (of the famed duo, Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz), it didn’t take long for his talents to be recognized by Lil Wayne, where he appears on his single, “6 Foot 7 Foot” off Tha Carter IV. Gunz also starred in his own befittingly-titled reality show, Son of a Gun (MTV) which documented his journey to fulfill his career in music. David Bars’ trajectory also started at a young age, where he made his name at high school talent shows and industry showcases throughout the city. Releasing his debut project Barcode in 2019, the quick-witted spitter found himself rapping alongside the legendary Fat Joe who appears on the single, “A Star is Born.” However the co-signs weren’t limited by Joey Crack, as the inimitable DJ Premier lent his boom-bap magic to the album cuts, “Beat the Odds” and “Just Like That.” Throughout the project’s eight tracks, Gunz and Bars prove themselves to be both lyrically and sonically compatible. Gunz’ staccato-type flow melds seamlessly with Bars’ smooth delivery. To boot, the production value throughout plays to the strengths of both emcees, with beats provided by So Special, Track Pros, Kofi Cooks and more. It’s no surprise that two of the BX’s most raw and uncut talents would eventually unite, and what better way to join forces than under the auspice of DITC Studios.

Debut Album Nottingham post-punks Do Nothing blend jerky, spidery rhythms with surreal, half-spoken vocals that recall the Fall 's Mark E. Smith . Do Nothing was formed in 2017 by four long-time school friends: frontman Chris Bailey, guitarist Kasper Sandstrøm, drummer Andy Harrison, and bassist Charlie Howarth. All had played in various acts around the city; the band got their start at the popular Maze Club. Bailey, whose father was a singer in an a cappella folk group, grew up listening to the sounds of Simon & Garfunkel , and his own biggest influence was Tom Waits . Initially attempting to copy big names like LCD Soundsystem (as heard on their first 7" single, "Gangs," released in 2019), they eventually became more confident about doing their own thing, and Bailey gave his stream-of-consciousness lyrics and outsider stage persona free rein. Associated with, but wary of, the then-popular post-punk revival, they made clear it was their intention to follow their own path. Their debut EP, Zero Dollar Bill, was released in 2020; another, Glueland, arrived the following year, with an album in the works.

New York City's loudest band A Place to Bury Strangers have had their intense live performance captured and immortalized directly to 12” wax. The post-punk legends are the 9th & latest entry in the Live at Levitation archival vinyl series. “Levitation 2021 was our second show as a new band and I felt so psyched to bring the new band members to such an epic festival. It was like a homecoming for me. Bob Mustachio was doing lights and playing with Ringo Deathstarr, Kikagaku Moyo & the Black Angels all on the same bill had me so rev’d up and excited. I knew it had to be an epic show. I remember right when we started I was flailing around so much like a freak on speed that I almost flung my guitar off the stage. By the time we got out into the crowd I thought I was gonna pass out. I remember we rented this PA speaker from Rock N Roll Rentals and for some reason they trusted us with this top of the line like $5000 12” monitor that we rolled around in the crowd while I was screaming at the top of my lungs. I love Levitation and Austin Psych Fest. They are always a UFO of a good time.” - Oliver Ackermann (APTBS)

Director's note : "My encounter with Wild Dee, the main actor in DOUBLEPLUSUNGOOD, was a determining factor in the making of this film. Not only are we strongly influenced by the same literary atmospheres - Among them American authors like Harry Crews, Iceberg Slim, N.Tosches and Belgian horror author Jean Ray - we also share the same cinematic tastes - low budget cinema be it French, Japanese or Spanish. Our main aim was to recreate the spirit, and play with and even subvert, the codes of Exploitation cinema. We also share the same taste for Rock & Roll, as our parallel musical backgrounds show. We were both singers in emblematic Belgian rock bands of the 80's and 90's - Wild Dee in The Wild Ones and me with Marine (79/81 - 3 singles with Les Disques du Crepuscule) and La Muerte (84/94 - 6 albums with Pias). The film's soundtrack, inspired by Francois de Roubaix, John Carpenter, Lalo Shiffrin, is like its second layer of dialogue: the original compositions of Renaud Mayeur (winner of the Magritte 2013 Belgian cinema awards for best soundtrack) and of J-M Lederman (Fat Gadget, TheThe, ... ), Moaning Cities, Ashtoreth, The Nick Leonardo Orchestra, The Manarays, Jack'O'Roonie. " A further thing that brings us together is something that has been with us since childhood and that we Belgians call: Belgitude...

Richie Culver had been waiting his whole life to record I was born by the sea. His debut album immediately and messily inscribed the artist into the canon of outsider music and experimental electronics, serving both as an arresting statement of intent and a painful reckoning with the difficult path that lead up to it, stealing one last glance back at a place he always knew he had to escape. Between grim lamentations, faded memories and anxiety attacks, all told with searing honesty and disarming openness, I was born by the sea excavates a space for hope, finding Culver digging through Humberside silt to find a world weary optimism, the raw material from which his visual and sound art is shaped. For this collection of expansions and inversions, Culver invites a collection of kindred spirits, contemporary inspirations and old heroes to wade into the salt water of his formative years spent living for impromptu raves and afterparties, connecting vivid memories of his birth place of Withernsea to artists hailing from as nearby as Preston and Bridlington, further afield, from Manchester and London, Berlin and Paris, before returning back to Hull, to where it all began.

For some, responding to I was born by the sea means diving even deeper into the record’s furthest reaches. Space Afrika clear away the pummelling loops of noise from ‘It’s hard to get to know you,’ revealing a cool and cavernous expanse in its wake. Distant chatter, previously heard as though through thin, plasterboard walls, now echoes from outside the maddening claustrophobia of the original’s Sisyphean sonics, illuminated as a dense storm cloud suspended amidst a more open scene, washed clean by a lighter rain, allowing the tender heart of the track to beat clear. London producer MOBBS stretches out ‘Pigeon Flesh’ into an epic, 10-minute, cold-sweat spiral, strung-out tension wrung from disconnected phone tones twisted in unexpected directions, snatches of Culver’s voice turned inside-out and deep fried bass threatening to tip the track over into oblivion, the build-and-release of a nervous breakdown experienced in real time. In an act of subversive self-reflection, Morgane Polanski switches one kind of ennui for another in her adaption of ‘I was born by the sea,’ swapping the sea for the city, English seaside towns in January for summer evenings in Paris and flashing lighthouses and sparkling oil rigs for the Eiffel Tower and the traffic around L’Arc de Triomphe. Even Culver finds time to revisit ‘Dream About Yourself,’ a track taken from his EP Post Traumatic Fantasy, breathing new words into its glacial drift, the half-remembered testimony of a shut-in: Woke up in the evening / Pray for me / Don’t trust anyone / Pray for algorithm. Reframed in a more melancholy light, the track’s reverberant keys even more clearly evoke a mournful nostalgia, fresh pain felt in old wounds.

Others find a parallel universe in Culver’s visceral world building. Rainy Miller flips the script with a scorched, avant-drill rework of ‘Daytime TV’, threading puncturing hi-hats and queasy low-end surge through the track’s steady ambient cascade, invoking the irresistible Preston beat magic of Miller’s own essential debut album, Desquamation. Aho Ssan melts away the crystalline textures of ‘Love Like an Abscess’ with the ominous crackle of a nascent fire, building through swathes of organic Max/MSP squelch and brittle, nails-down-chalkboard scrape, swelling and metastasising the original to spill over Culver’s desperate hymn to corporeal desire, at once flesh and not. Teresa Winter transports us an hour up the coast from Withernsea to her native Bridlington, replacing the sea wall of synthesis on ‘Nervous Energy’ with muffled ASMR murk and fever dream whispers, transforming Culver’s unflinching observations into a haunting call-and-response, filling in the blanks with her own eerie utterances, a fleeting conversation with a ghost. In a touching victory lap, Fila Brazillia, eccentric stalwarts of beloved ‘90s trip hop imprint Pork Recordings, whose performances at Hull institution The Lamp convinced a young Culver of the necessity to make his mark on club culture, resurface for their first remix in 20 years. Steve Cobby and David McSherry lead a low-slung, heartfelt stroll back through a suite of tracks from I was born by the sea, tracing a full circle saunter from Culver’s origins to his current musical practice, the sounds of his present repurposed by the sound of his youth. In a gesture that reflects the emotional complexity of the project, Fila Brazillia find joy at the end of Culver’s troubled reflection, picking out an undeniable groove in the stasis of feeling trapped in your hometown. Underlining Hull’s vital musical legacy, from Baby Mammoth to Throbbing Gristle, Cobby and McSherry demonstrate that, though there are certainly storms, by the sea there is also sun and through the fog, if you listen, you can hear a singular sound, a sound now carried by Richie Culver.

Participant is a record label and creative studio run by William Markarian-Martin and Richie Culver

Repress!

Montreal’s eclectic producer CFCF (aka Mike Silver) follows 2019’s effusive corporate jungle opus Liquid Colours with a kaleidoscopic capital-E Electronica album that takes a range of styles from his earliest formative listening years (1997-2000) and throws them in a blender. Elements of jungle, house, UK garage, trance, pop and post-grunge are blended to form a glossy picture of restless youth in an
identity crisis: memoryland.

Inspired as much by Sonic Youth and Smashing Pumpkins as the Chemical Brothers and Basement Jaxx; as much by films like Millennium Mambo, Demonlover, Morvern Callar, Safe and Perfect Blue as late 90’s Prada — CFCF jumps across genres as a means of portraying a breadth of overlapping milieus and identities in this hyperactive Y2K period-piece that both explores and criticizes our own nostalgic impulses. From the opening intro’s announcement of arrival to the final credits, it’s an album as film as RPG, with the listener as its protagonist.

Opener “welcome.WAV” functions as a start-up sound file for the journey ahead: from “Life is Perfecto”, a propulsive breakbeat-dreampop hybrid, to a grotesquely-remixed ultra-French-house version of previously released single “Self Service”, and the recursive, metaphysical garage of “After the After”. Two guest vocalists lend their talents: Montreal neo-shoegaze icons No Joy, fresh off their own genre-defying Y2K exploration Motherhood, laconically lists off advice for aspiring fashion ingenues with bite in the alt-rock-IDM “Model Castings”, while Kero Kero Bonito’s Sarah Bonito sweetly delivers the penultimate “Heaven”, grunge-pop paean to the myth of Icarus.

In CFCF’s words:
“I was feeling fatigued by an overabundance of ‘calming’, productivity-oriented music, and wanted to explore something angsty, messy, and dark, while also applying a pop sheen. I see a loose narrative across the album: your early 20’s, a new city, new people, new temptations and new traps. Losing your sense of self to the whims of your surroundings and trends in music and fashion; the wrong people, and trying to dig yourself out of that hole. There’s a hope of moving forward that glimmers in the last quarter of the album, but it’s out of reach and seems to come at a price. And then the looking back on it later with perspective; or the looking forward to it before with anticipation. As a kid I couldn’t wait to be in my 20’s; in my 30’s it’s bittersweet to look back. That’s the core of memoryland: the gulf between the fantasy, the reality, and the memory, and how we live inside each of those at different points.”

Japanese folk-rock legend Morio Agata stunned fans with this way-outta-left-field dispatch - a synthesizer-laden, new-wave/post-punk classic. Originally released by Osaka’s Vanity Records in 1980 and back on vinyl for the first time in nearly 40 years, this fully authorized reissue has been remastered from the original analog tapes. In tip-on sleeve, with double-sided insert.

50 years ago, Hokkaido-born singer-songwriter Morio Agata released his debut single, Sekishoku Ereji (Red Elegy), an emotive, shuffling piano ballad that (shockingly) sold half a million copies in Japan. While he would never have another Top-40 hit, Agata would spend the next half century issuing a series of idiosyncratic, experimental pop albums. Today, he’s a beloved cult figure, still actively touring and recording in his seventies.

In his first decade as a recording artist, Agata released a stream of classics right out of the gate — Otome No Roman (1972) melded American-styled folk rock with traditional Japanese melodies, Zipangu Boy (1976) was a sprawling, Haruomi Hosono-produced psychedelic opus, and Kimi No Koto Suki Nan Da (1977) saw Agata tackle slick, lightly funky AOR. While this sort of stylistic schizophrenia might sink your average artist, Agata’s singular voice and magnetic charisma elevates everything he touches, and subsumes it all into Morio Agata World — a joyous, playful and frequently unhinged world.

Arguably the biggest left-turn of Agata’s early career, however, came in 1979, when legendary experimental label Vanity Records’ Yuzuru Agi paired Agata with major players from his label’s roster and the Osaka punk scene for an impromptu recording session. An impressive list of musicians took part (SAB, Yukio Fujimoto (Normal Brain), Masahiro Kitada (INU), Taiqui (Ultra Bide), Jun Shinoda (SS), Chie Mukai (Che-Shizu), and others) and even though they all came from different wings of the underground music scene, together they built an arresting, minimalistic bedrock of synthesized and acoustic sounds for Agata to work his magic over. The recording sesssions were tense and it took a while for the collective to find their footing. But the hard work paid off — Norimono Zukan is a masterpiece of ramshackle new wave and droning dirges, topped off with Agata’s unmistakeable croon, at times delicate, other times twisted. It’s a relatively short album, but a deep one, and Mesh-Key is honored to introduce it to a new generation of music fans.

What’s happening in the streets? This right here, a celebrated engineer Yas Inoue and Dj Takaya Nagase come together in the studio and rework the Voltage Brothers rare groove jam “Happening In the Streets” with a cleverly put together edit with filters, effects and sonically tweaking it to perfection. They've created a perfect dance floor masterpiece already championed by Louie Vega, Joe Claussell, Spinna, Mike Dunn, and Rich Medina. This choon has everyone in anticipation for it’s release.

Japanese sound engineer Yas Inoue, based in New York began his career in the world renowned Maw Studios in the late 90s and has engineered for producers such as Masters At Work, Patrick Adams, Leroy Burgess, and Randy Muller contributing to the creation of various New York house and disco hits.

Takaya Nagase, a New York based Japanese Dj started as an A&R for Japanese record label Soundmen On Wax. He learned and studied under the great David Mancuso of the Loft Party NYC and later held his own Joy parties along with other Loft members. Having had regular gigs at Club Shelter from 2006 to 2007 and at Club Output from 2017 until the closing in 2019, he built his dj chops and now currently djs at New York City's top venues such as Le Bain, Good Room and Nowadays along with monthly shows on the famed Lot Radio in Brooklyn.

Together they are Domo Domo and with their first project on Vega Records they are on their way to becoming New York household names in the dance music industry. Look out for “Happening In The Streets” coming soon at all digital and streaming outlets with vinyl releases on 12” and 7”. Lookout everyone, this one’s a sure HIT!!!

180g double LPs, 45 RPM. Hot off the back of this year's critically-acclaimed new album 'New York City', Brooklyn punk institution The Men are back already with a Fuzz Club Session album due out digitally and on limited double LP vinyl June 23rd. Recorded live to tape at Brooklyn's Serious Business Studio by Travis Harrison, the live session sees the Men storm through three tracks from 'New York City', one from 'Devil Music', a cover of English punk band Blitz and nine-brand new tracks that have never seen the light of the day until now, ranging from blistering noise-rock and cathartic rock'n'roll to lo-fi country-rock and hypnotising drones. This is the 20th release in the Fuzz Club Session series from London-based label Fuzz Club, which has previously hosted the likes of A Place To Bury Strangers, Night Beats, Holy Wave, The Entrance Band and more.

2023 Repress

One of the most promising techno producers around right now - Vil presents his '50 Shades Of Grain EP' for the Self Reflektion imprint. The 'Groove Dealer' from Portugal, member of the HAYES collective and known for his recent work on Klockworks (together with Cravo) and Be As One delivers a selection of sexy, groovy yet pounding tracks for our label. Highly essential!

BABY BLUE VINYL

"Workin' all day, trying to forget about the old me." Like most of us, Martin Frawley is busy trying to work himself out. He lives alongside the long shadow of his late dad, musician and songwriter Maurice Frawley, a cultural icon of the Australian underground and collaborator of Paul Kelly, Tex Perkins and Mick Thomas. Most of Martin's 20s were spent writing and playing songs in locally beloved Melbourne band Twerps - a collection of pals who were on the forefront of the city's jangle pop renaissance. A few albums, US tours and band rotations under its belt, Twerps split up in 2018 and Martin turned his compass towards a solo project. His first album, Undone at 31 (2019), was a bit of a reckoning; a wild ride through the wreckage of both a band and longterm romantic break up. His new album The Wannabe is a personal, cheeky and, at times, self-depreiciating collection of songs unpacking the reality of finding his way as an adult without his dad around, and ultimately falling back in love with life, music and someone new. Martin and his band - friends Dan Luscombe (The Drones), Steph Hughes (Boomgates, Dick Diver), Nik Imfeld (Tyrannaman) and Dan Kelly - had heaps of fun recording The Wannabe in Melbourne. The title track is a particularly spicy take on an entertainment industry that seems to give more shits about marketing than music. The album is a bit of an emotional tour, from anger and derision, through to comedy, through to deep and honest love. It's positive with a lot of sadness. Not unlike Martin himself. As well as the guitar, Martin had some fun playing the piano on this record. The technical term is `multiinstrumentalist' but Martin's more of a musical explorer of sorts. No one is exactly sure how these things work - if Martin was born into music or if it was born into him, but it doesn't really matter. Music is what he loves. It's what he does. It's not about the industry or about success - not anymore. It's about the freedom of creating songs on his own terms, and trying to let go of the feeling he has something to prove: to his dad, to his critics, and to himself. And while he's not sure he'll ever fully shake that feeling, he's at least relaxing and having a bit of fun doing it. Like his dad, Martin has a reputation as a `musician's musician'. He hosts a pretty sporadic podcast Dive For Your Memory, where he has fast and loose chats with musicians while doing a deep dive into their musical inspirations and canon. He and his fiancé Lauren also make wine under the label El'More Wines, named after the farm and small town where his dad grew up. It's all come a bit full circle, really.

Das sechzehnte Album der New Yorker Noise-Rock-Urgesteine Swans um deren Kopf und Sänger Michael Gira, inklusive einer Schar an namhaften Gästen wie Ben Frost.

"Nach zahlreichen pandemiebedingten Tourabsagen für das vorherige Swans-Album 'leaving meaning' und einer scheinbar bodenlosen Grube des Wartens, Wartens, Wartens und der seltsamen Orientierungslosigkeit, die mit dieser plötzlichen, aber nicht enden wollenden erzwungenen Isolation einherging, beschloss ich, dass es Zeit war, Songs für ein neues Swans-Album zu schreiben und alles andere zu vergessen. Es fiel mir relativ leicht, sie zu schreiben, immer in dem Bewusstsein, dass es meine letzten sein könnten. Als ich endlich in der Lage war, mit den Songs in der Hand nach Berlin zu reisen, um mit meinen Freunden an diesem Album zu arbeiten, war das Gefühl ähnlich wie der Moment in 'Der Zauberer von Oz', wenn der Film von Schwarz-Weiß auf Farbe wechselt. Jetzt fühle ich mich ziemlich optimistisch. Meine Lieblingsfarbe ist rosa. Ich hoffe, dass euch das Album gefällt."

'The Beggar' erscheint auf Doppel-Vinyl in einer braunen Spanplattenhülle, als Doppel-CD in einem braunen Spanplatten-Digi-Pack sowie digital. Der knapp 44minütige CD-Track 'The Beggar Lover (Three)' liegt der LP als Download-Karte bei.

- Ltd. 2LP: (Doppel-Vinyl in einer braunen Spanplattenhülle mit einer Download-Karte für zusätzliche 44 Minuten Musik)

Lilieskalla proudly presents its second instalment by VURM, an artist from Gothenburg that has been doing live techno performances for the past couple of years and now sees a debut on the Lilies side label, where the live takes finally reach vinyl. The tracks are exclusively crafted with hardware, in a modular eurorack setup, resulting in pleasant impurities throughout the EP that holds four adventurous Motor City interpretations.