Search:clark clark

"Everything Will Change" ist eine Dokumentation und Konzertfilm über den Auftritt von THE POSTAL SERVICE im Greek Theater in Berkeley auf ihrer 2013er Reunion Tour. Als Kollaboration zwischen Benjamin Gibbard von DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE und Jimmy Tamborello von DNTEL zusammen mit Jenny Lewis von RILO KILEY veröffentlichten THE POSTAL SERVICE ,Give Up", ihre erstes und einziges Album, 2003. Das Album sollte sich über eine Million Mal verkaufen. Die meisten Fans allerdings hatten niemals die Chance, die Band live zu sehen. Zur Feier des zehnjährigen Jubiläums von ,Give Up" kam die Band wieder zusammen, um durch die ganze Welt zu touren. ,Everything Will Change" fängt eine dieser Nächte ein, in der sich alles änderte. Das Konzert ist nun erstmals als LP Tonträger erhältlich. Die limitierte Erstauflage der 2xLP kommt gepresst auf hellblauem (Disk 1) und pinkem (Disk 2) Vinyl.

Producer Scrappy Jud Newcomb and Cleaves teamed up for the third time in early 2022 between Covid surges to record a new batch of songs, Slaid's first in five years.

Familiar themes of struggle and resilience will be a surprise to no one. As Scrappy puts it, "This album speaks to the hopeful, the hard working, the battered, confused, and the sad. But above all to the believers in the city of freedom that we heard in the stories of our youth and all those FM radio hits."

The first single, "Through the Dark," was co- written with Slaid's long- time collaborator and life- long friend, Rod Picott ("Broke Down," "Take Home Pay").

Slaid describes it simply as "a song about offering comfort in hard times."
Joseph Hudak of Rolling Stone calls Cleaves "a master storyteller, one influenced not by the shine of pop-culture but by the dirt of real life."

"More than 20 years into his career, Slaid Cleaves just keeps getting better . . .

There are few contemporaries that compare. He's become a master craftsman on the order of Guy Clark and John Prine." - Austin Chronicle

London based label Natural Selection present their forthcoming release in the form of a 4-track 12" EP, courtesy of Versalife (aka Conforce), entitled "Genetic Cluster EP". Mastered by Dadub Studios, Berlin and cut by Simon at The Exchange Vinyl.

Based in Rotterdam, Versalife has seen his music released by the most highly esteemed of Electro labels such as Frustrated Funk, Clone, Delsin & TRUST. Versalife returns to Natural Selection after releasing with the label via their inaugral VA compilation release "NS001" in 2021, with his track "Nostalgia", which has gained support by some of the most respected DJ's worldwide, inc. Dave Clarke, Plant43 & more.

Genetic Cluster is an impeccably crafted Electro release that maintains bite and aggression, whilst its textures and atmospheres spiral into the ether, taking the listener on an unpredictable emotional journey.

After forming a close connection to Natural Selection in recent years, Versalife has now cemented himself as one of the main front-line artists within the London based imprint.

NOTE. WITH THE PURCHASE OF THE VINYL YOU WILL ALSO RECEIVE THE TRACKS OF THE TOTAL 23 DIGITAL VERSION AS A DIGITAL DOWNLOAD. THE DOWNLOAD CODE CARD CONTAINS ALSO ALL TRACKS OF THE CD.

Okay, you’re listening to the 23rd edition of Kompakt’s annual compilation series TOTAL… hold on… 23??? It’s impossible to look at this number without thinking of William S. Burrough’s Captain Clark anecdote, the Illuminatus trilogy and the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu. But don’t you worry, we’re not giving in to eikositriophobia. We’re enlighted folks, after all.

Total 23 kicks off in a disco mood with a well tempered double punch from label co-founders Michael Mayer and Jürgen Paape. Jörg Burger calls out a trippy new genre named Cinematic Dance before C.A.R. and Patrice Bäumel resurface with a club mix of their early 2023 single ‘Four Down’. Sofia Kourtesis’ sultry remix of Perel ‘Matrix’ finally gets a well deserved vinyl release. ‘Ice Cream Cake’ by Cologne’s newcomer M.A.P.E. helps cooling things down a bit before another debutante, Argia from Madrid makes her first entry to the Kompakt catalogue. Gui Boratto’s recent single ‘Drink In Paris’ raises the energy levels just in time for Reinhard Voigt’s ruthless closing track ‘Endlich XXL’, an ode to some of the best things in this world: Beer and techno.

Okay, du hörst die 23. Ausgabe der jährlichen Kompilationsreihe TOTAL von Kompakt. Moment mal… 23??? Man kann diese Zahl unmöglich betrachten, ohne an William S. Burroughs’ Anekdote über Captain Clark, die Illuminatus-Trilogie und die Justified Ancients of Mu Mu zu denken. Aber keine Sorge, wir erliegen nicht der Eikositriophobie. Immerhin sind wir aufgeklärte Leute.

Total 23 beginnt in Discostimmung und einem wohltemperierten Doppelschlag von den Mitbegründern des Labels, Michael Mayer und Jürgen Paape. Jörg Burger ruft ein psychedelisches neues Genre namens Cinematic Dance aus, bevor C.A.R. und Patrice Bäumel mit einem Club-Mix ihrer Single ‘Four Down’ aus dem Frühjahr 2023 wieder auftauchen. Der tropisch-schwüle Sofia Kourtesis Remix von Perels ‘Matrix’ erhält endlich eine verdiente Vinyl-Veröffentlichung. ‘Ice Cream Cake’ von M.A.P.E., einem Newcomer aus Köln, sorgt für etwas Abkühlung, bevor mit Argia aus Madrid eine weitere Debütantin ihre ersten Spuren im Kompakt Katalog hinterlässt. Gui Borattos aktuelle Single ‘Drink In Paris’ steigert rechtzeitig das Energielevel für Reinhard Voigts gnadenlosen Schlusstrack ‘Endlich XXL’, eine feierliche Ode an einige der besten Dinge dieser Welt: Bier und Techno.

Whispers is the first proper P.G. Six album since 2011"s Starry Mind. Time passes slowly, as they"ve been known to say out in the country, and before you know it, there"s a bunch of it behind you. After five releases in the first decade of P.G. Six, it may seem a bit of a surprise to have not heard something new in the past twelve years - but a cursory listen to Murmurs & Whispers will answer why, as the deep acoustic focus of the tracks imply an investment of the type of compassion and understanding that takes time and concentrated effort to conjure. Additionally, Pat Gubler"s always got a few pots going at once in his ever-expanding musical universe. He"s been active since the mid-90s, first with Memphis Luxure and Tower Recordings, then as P.G. Six, and as a member of Metal Mountains, Wet Tuna, Garcia Peoples and Weeping Bong Band. Additionally, some time was spent making collaborative records with Dan Melchior (in 2019) and Louise Bock (in 2021). Pat"s been playing the harp for more years than he"s been in bands, but when he realized that he was writing a set of songs centered around harp compositions, he spent some time in the woodshed with his instrument, a late 80s model Triplett Celtic 34 String Harp (which replaced a lovely Paraguayan harp he"d played for years previously). After the previous P.G. albums of electric band arrangements, he was in a place of writing songs with more silence in them. He ended up playing a lot of the parts himself on Murmurs & Whispers, adding guitar, bass, keyboards, recorder and hurdy gurdy, in addition to his harp and vocals. Clark Griffin and Wednesday Knudson, who Pat plays with in Weeping Bong Band, played and sang a bit themselves, and the record was recorded piece by piece in houses around upstate New York by Mike Fellows. Returning to the quiet acoustic sound of the first couple of P.G. Six albums, Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites (which has seen a much-needed reissue in the past year after too many years OOP) and The Well of Memory, Murmurs & Whispers is more straightforward in expressing its vision of rural celestial wonder. Bucolic and comfortably lived in, Murmurs & Whispers nonetheless projects the transcendent heart of P.G. Six once again, and as ever, it is magnificent to hear it passing through us.

Whispers is the first proper P.G. Six album since 2011"s Starry Mind. Time passes slowly, as they"ve been known to say out in the country, and before you know it, there"s a bunch of it behind you. After five releases in the first decade of P.G. Six, it may seem a bit of a surprise to have not heard something new in the past twelve years - but a cursory listen to Murmurs & Whispers will answer why, as the deep acoustic focus of the tracks imply an investment of the type of compassion and understanding that takes time and concentrated effort to conjure. Additionally, Pat Gubler"s always got a few pots going at once in his ever-expanding musical universe. He"s been active since the mid-90s, first with Memphis Luxure and Tower Recordings, then as P.G. Six, and as a member of Metal Mountains, Wet Tuna, Garcia Peoples and Weeping Bong Band. Additionally, some time was spent making collaborative records with Dan Melchior (in 2019) and Louise Bock (in 2021). Pat"s been playing the harp for more years than he"s been in bands, but when he realized that he was writing a set of songs centered around harp compositions, he spent some time in the woodshed with his instrument, a late 80s model Triplett Celtic 34 String Harp (which replaced a lovely Paraguayan harp he"d played for years previously). After the previous P.G. albums of electric band arrangements, he was in a place of writing songs with more silence in them. He ended up playing a lot of the parts himself on Murmurs & Whispers, adding guitar, bass, keyboards, recorder and hurdy gurdy, in addition to his harp and vocals. Clark Griffin and Wednesday Knudson, who Pat plays with in Weeping Bong Band, played and sang a bit themselves, and the record was recorded piece by piece in houses around upstate New York by Mike Fellows. Returning to the quiet acoustic sound of the first couple of P.G. Six albums, Parlor Tricks and Porch Favorites (which has seen a much-needed reissue in the past year after too many years OOP) and The Well of Memory, Murmurs & Whispers is more straightforward in expressing its vision of rural celestial wonder. Bucolic and comfortably lived in, Murmurs & Whispers nonetheless projects the transcendent heart of P.G. Six once again, and as ever, it is magnificent to hear it passing through us.

Mit wenig mehr als einer unerbittlichen Reihe von Live-Auftritten und einem zweimal gepressten (und anschließend ausverkauften) selbstbetitelten Demo hat sich die in New York ansässige Band Lathe of Heaven als ein starkes und zusammenhängendes Element inmitten der Flut von Punk und synthiegetriebenem Pop-Revival erwiesen, das derzeit im US-Underground wuchert. Die 2021 gegründete Band setzt sich aus Mitgliedern bemerkenswerter Brooklyner Projekte wie Pawns, People's Temple, Porvenir Oscuro, Android, Hustler und anderen zusammen. Obwohl diese Liste vergangener und alternativer musikalischer Bestrebungen ein breites Spektrum an Genres und Fähigkeiten aufzeigt, kann Lathe of Heaven nur als eine Abkehr von solchen Einflüssen verstanden werden und erforscht einen völlig eigenen Sound. Nun, fast zwei Jahre später, sind Lathe of Heaven endlich bereit, ihr Debütalbum "Bound by Naked Skies" zu veröffentlichen. Die elf Tracks umfassende LP verbindet Elemente von düsterem britischem New-Wave und finnischem Post-Punk zu einer nuancierten Gegenüberstellung von 80er-Jahre-Soundwahn. "Bound by Naked Skies" greift Themen der klassischen und zeitgenössischen Science-Fiction auf, die den einzigartigen und bewussten Sound prägt, und verdankt seinen literarischen Einflüssen ebenso viel wie der Musik. Als kraftvolle Hommage an die unheimlichen Welten der Autoren Arthur C. Clarke, Octavia Butler, Ken Liu und natürlich Ursula Le Guin (nach deren Roman die Band benannt ist), verweben sich Themen der Kosmologie ("Ekpyrosis"), Simulation ("Heralds of the Circuit-Born"), Geisteskrankheit ("Moon-Driven Sea") und Ontologie ("Entropy", "The Spider" etc.), und ziehen sich wie ein roter Faden durch das Album. Ein Einblick in die Gedankenwelt derer, die von der Ungewissheit der erschreckenden und gar nicht so fernen Zukunft der Menschheit geplagt werden.

It contains the product of two different sessions. The first date, which is actually the second chronologically, yielded just two tracks. Although, something new for the time, they were long enough to fill up one side of an LP. 5 Stars AllMusic: "The undeniable strength and conviction present in Miles Davis' performance on Walkin', underscores the urgency and passion with which he would rightfully reclaim his status as a primary architect of bop. Davis is supported by his all-stars, consisting of his primary rhythm section: Horace Silver
(piano), Percy Heath (bass), and Kenny Clarke (drums). Walkin! is a thoroughly solid effort." 'I'll Remember April' from the same session, but not included on the original LP, has been added as a bonus.

Legendary drummer Kenny Clarke compared Jean-Luc Ponty to Dizzy Gillespie Fellow violinist Stuff Smith marveled, "He plays violin like Coltrane plays saxophone." Born in 1942, the French violinist Jean- Luc Ponty transported jazz violin playing into the world of modern jazz. On Frank Zappa's urging, Ponty moved to the States in 1970. Over the next years he toured with Zappa, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Chick Corea's "Return to Forever".In the early 1970s Ponty bought himself a sequencer and synthesizer and carried them around while traveling so he could record new ideas. By 1982 Ponty had a well- deserved reputation as a forerunner in jazz-rock and jazz fusion.
In a retrospective interview for this re- release of the 1983 album Individual Choice, JLP said:
"What I was recording in that new sequencer gave me the idea to go for a totally different concept, to use these recordings as rhythmic backgrounds, sometimes without drums or percussion. I planned to record a new album in which I would play all the background parts with my synthesizers and add my violin later on in the studio."
Ponty also invited a couple guests to contribute to the recording.

They were no less than George Duke (keys), Allan Holdsworth (guitar), Rayford Griffin (drums) and Randy Jackson (bass).
Individual Choice has been re- mastered by 2023 Grammy Nominee Christoph Stickeland includes new liner notes.

Mit wenig mehr als einer unerbittlichen Reihe von Live-Auftritten und einem zweimal gepressten (und anschließend ausverkauften) selbstbetitelten Demo hat sich die in New York ansässige Band Lathe of Heaven als ein starkes und zusammenhängendes Element inmitten der Flut von Punk und synthiegetriebenem Pop-Revival erwiesen, das derzeit im US-Underground wuchert. Die 2021 gegründete Band setzt sich aus Mitgliedern bemerkenswerter Brooklyner Projekte wie Pawns, People's Temple, Porvenir Oscuro, Android, Hustler und anderen zusammen. Obwohl diese Liste vergangener und alternativer musikalischer Bestrebungen ein breites Spektrum an Genres und Fähigkeiten aufzeigt, kann Lathe of Heaven nur als eine Abkehr von solchen Einflüssen verstanden werden und erforscht einen völlig eigenen Sound. Nun, fast zwei Jahre später, sind Lathe of Heaven endlich bereit, ihr Debütalbum "Bound by Naked Skies" zu veröffentlichen. Die elf Tracks umfassende LP verbindet Elemente von düsterem britischem New-Wave und finnischem Post-Punk zu einer nuancierten Gegenüberstellung von 80er-Jahre-Soundwahn. "Bound by Naked Skies" greift Themen der klassischen und zeitgenössischen Science-Fiction auf, die den einzigartigen und bewussten Sound prägt, und verdankt seinen literarischen Einflüssen ebenso viel wie der Musik. Als kraftvolle Hommage an die unheimlichen Welten der Autoren Arthur C. Clarke, Octavia Butler, Ken Liu und natürlich Ursula Le Guin (nach deren Roman die Band benannt ist), verweben sich Themen der Kosmologie ("Ekpyrosis"), Simulation ("Heralds of the Circuit-Born"), Geisteskrankheit ("Moon-Driven Sea") und Ontologie ("Entropy", "The Spider" etc.), und ziehen sich wie ein roter Faden durch das Album. Ein Einblick in die Gedankenwelt derer, die von der Ungewissheit der erschreckenden und gar nicht so fernen Zukunft der Menschheit geplagt werden.

10 years on from it's original release, we're very excited to make Reuben's third and final album available on vinyl for the first time ever.

The album was the first to be released on Reuben's self-run label, Hideous Records. On 29 March 2007.

Jamie Lenman noted that fans can expect "Long songs. Nice artwork and More funny long titles". In comparing INWT to its predecessor Very Fast Very Dangerous, the band expressed a clear preference for the new album, suggesting that it "feels more natural and raw sounding", with "more depth" compared to the "straightforward" sound of the 2005 album.

The album also features special guest vocals from Frank Turner, Hannah Clark and Paul Townsend (Hundred Reasons).

Trombone Shorty is back with his first album in 5 years and the eagerly awaited follow-up to his 2017 Blue Note debut Parking Lot Symphony, which the esteemed New Orleans music magazine OffBeat said continued his tradition of “stunningly good musicianship, crowd-pleasing good material, and just plain good fun.” The new album captures the explosive energy of his legendary live shows, and combines classic New Orleans sounds (funk, gospel, street rhythms, Mardi Gras Indian chants, and second lines) with modern lyrics, melody, and beats to create something fresh and unique. The album features special guests including vocalist Lauren Daigle & guitarist Gary Clark Jr.

Als einer seiner besten Alben angesehen, besticht Nathan Davis "The Hip Walk" durch einen unverwechselbaren Sound und einer unfassbaren Besetzung: Mit Kenny Clarke, Jimmy Woode und Francy Boland ist das "Who is Who" der damaligen Szene auf einer Platte vereint. 1965 aufgenommen, schaffte Davis ein Sammlerstück der Extraklasse.

Dieser Re-Release wurde von den analogen Bändern von dem renommierten Mastering Engineer Christoph Stickel neu aufgearbeitet. Ein Album, das durch seine Kreativität und enormer musikalischer Qualität besticht.

Following up the 2020 Sub Pop Singles-Club with a new single on 7" Vinyl
& Digital once again produced by Don Bolles for maximum
Punk Rock /Junk Shop effect.
C&TH is heart-warming rock and roll originally from Boise, Idaho
Oneself, psych rock band, Clarke performing live with a drumstick in hand, guitar
strings under her thumb, vocals that cut right to the point with a Moe Tucker
rhythm laid underneath, with C&TH, she takes basement rock fuzz, pop precision,
molten neo-psych, weirdo gutter punk while singing exception art/psych damage
pop songs.
Since 2013 she has released five albums. Clarke and the Himselfs (Curly
Cassettes, 2013), Clarke and the Himselfs II (HIB, 2014), The Well-Rounded Clarke
and the Himselfs (Scavenger Cult, 2015), Clarke and the Himselfs and Friends
(SC, 2016), In Your Heart you Know She's Clarke and the Himselfs (CC, 2017)
Throughout this time she's been touring nationally and internationally. Daytrotter
and Paste Magazine listed C&TH as #1 for Rock and Roll and #4 for in general for
their best of 2017 list. Pot Sounds LP in 2019 and The One and Only Clarke and
the Himselfs LP in 2022.

Put Webbed Wing’s Taylor Madison up against some of rock’s most celebrated songwriters––he’s ready. On their new EP, Right After I Smoke This..., the Philly-based guitarist and singer puts on the kind of unforgettable performance that can take everyday people and turn them into musical heroes for the masses.

For those in the know, Webbed Wing––incomplete without Jake Clarke (drums) and Mike Paulshock (bass)––have long-since reached cult status; the project follows Madison and Clarke’s already-decorated career in their band, Su- perheaven. Here, each member freely flexes their innate genre-bending musicality, taking notes from the likes of The Lemonheads, Teenage Fanclub, and Weezer.

In just three songs, Right After I Smoke This... channels everything lyrically-gripping about rock music and everything vibrant about pop. There’s as much earnest twang in their toolkit as there is snotty skate-park punk and intense metal; it’s a celebration of the genre as they’ve come to love it, resulting in something highly palatable and new.

Imagine a world in which you are permitted, by a warlock, to go back in time to use an advanced yet primitive submarine to investigate the deepest waters in and around Japan, for the first time in human history. You are not permitted, but two Japanese scientists were allowed on such an aquatic adventure!

Here we have an underwater in-submarine field recording of their adventures, intermixed with a slippery-watery score, that surely represents the lurking fresh surroundings of the deep as they retreat further and further to the bottom of the ocean. The cameras, the retracting mechanical sea tentacle, their communication devices, are all audible now for you, as Deep Sea Animals is played out as a fresh digital radio play. All the audio has been preserved at Studio Isabellalei, by Milan W. from the original laserdisc, which was a part of the cinematic curatorial program at the opening for Spencer Clark’s album Avatar Blue, in Antwerp, Belgium.

With a purchase of the vinyl album of Deep Sea Animals on Pacific City Discs, you not only return to the prehistoric times of 1986, when two brave Japanese submarine pilots were to record deep underwater creatures, but you are also thus thrust back in time to Antwerp 2018, to a romantically titled, Event Horizon Cactus Cooler Laserdisc Theater. Just as well, the proceeds of this disk, tirelessly edited by Spencer Clark, will be donated to the preservation of the ocean, via the inspiring Sylvia A. Earle’s foundation, Mission Blue. Its not that you may or may not believe what I am now discussing with you, its that you can believe, because this disk is real, and thanks to Pacific City and Discrepant we will ride further into the super-natural realms of real life.

Swami John Reis celebrates his 100th year in rock ’n’ roll with a brand new band and record! “Ride The Wild Night” is neither completely similar nor dissimilar to his previous bands (Hot Snakes, Night Marchers, The Sultans, Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, etc).

Yet the sound is immediately familiar and assuring (like an old friend you lost touch with that comes back into your life only to ask to borrow money).

The music is an amalgam of ’60s folk-punk, ’70s punk-punk and pre-Vietnam War rock ’n’ roll, filtered through the Reis’ unregistered, trademark sensibilities. “I wanted to celebrate some of my favorite rock n roll in its transitional periods. Flaming Groovies, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Kinks, The Saints and others created some of the most exciting recordings while also connecting the musical past to its future. That really appeals to me”.

Although titled a “solo” record it is predominantly in name only. The record is built on stentorian bedrock of savage drumming by J. Sinclair K. of Hot Snakes and the pounding acoustic piano of Joe Guevara. Also adding their expertise to the mix is Chris Prescott (Pinback) Gar Wood (Hot Snakes), Glen Galloway (Truman’s Water), Jacob Turnbloom (Mrs. Magician) and Jordan Clark (PLOSIVS). With this backing, Swami John Reis finalizes it with his throaty basso and weaponizes the files with roaring electric guitars, rapid acoustic guitar strum and bass.

Hear his defiant, croak-howl in what might be his most autobiographical work yet. “All of these stories are real. They just might not be completely true.” Reis adds, ”The words come from what I overhear through my fence, what I see across the street, pictures I see in my head, experiences that I can’t forget or am grateful to remember.” If there is a loose theme throughout the record he offers, “Musically and lyrically there is a motivation to surrender to a restless and impulsive spirit that can only be satisfied by breaking things. Creating rubble for better or worse. “

Music critics and fans alike have long referred to Reis’s signature voice as “The Velvet Yawn” and never has that description been more apt. “Ride The Wild Night” was recorded by Reis at City Of Refuge (Night Marchers, Black Lips, The Spits) and mixed by Ben Moore (Hot Snakes, Diamanda Galas) at Singing Serpent.

Mike Cooper wrote his final songwriter record, a suite of gloaming glam-rock anthems performed with a spiritual jazz trio, while living on the Costa Tropical of Granada, Spain, an era when he was considering retiring from music altogether. A chance encounter and a last-ditch record deal convinced him to make one last album, which he recorded in 1974 at Pathway Studios in London, with “The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World,” featuring the inventive South African jazz rhythm section of Louis Moholo and Harry Miller with UK saxophonist Mike Osborne. This first-ever reissue includes a bonus CD of Milan Live Acoustic 2018, a previously unreleased solo set that represents Cooper’s return, after forty-four years pursuing free improvisation and electronics, to a new, deconstructed approach to singing, steel guitar, and songcraft. The deluxe LP+CD edition also features a six-panel insert with additional artwork and an essay by the artist about both records. The deluxe 2xCD gatefold edition features an eight-panel version of the same insert. In the wake of his magisterial triptych of early 1970s avant-folk-rock records Trout Steel (1970), Places I Know (1971), and The Machine Gun Co. (1972) the British songwriter, guitarist, and fledgling improviser Mike Cooper retreated to the Costa Tropical of Granada, Spain. With no prospects for touring or recording again, his fiery band the Machine Gun Co. had disintegrated. Cooper sets the scene in his liner notes of the first-ever reissue of his unjustly forgotten next album Life and Death in Paradise (1974): No one came running with offers of fame and riches, and we fell apart, and I left the country and headed for the beach, disillusioned and a bit disorientated musically. I went to Almuñécar in Andalusia, a place I had been going since 1969, because a painter friend from Reading, Rowland Fade who made the collage in the gatefold of my earlier album Trout Steel had moved there in 1968. It was in this synthetic coastal “paradise,” unmoored and adrift, considering retiring from music altogether, that he began tentatively writing new songs. A chance encounter with producer Tony Hall, who offered Cooper a last-ditch record deal on Hall’s nascent Fresh Air label, convinced him to make one last album with the stipulation that he could assemble what he called “The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World.” I told Tony that I would do it if I could hire some of my South African jazz musician friends that I had used on my Pye/Dawn albums and some friends from Reading that I still knew and admired. I called up Harry Miller, Louis Moholo, and Mike Osborne, who were in fact a trio at the time … and several local Reading heroes, including the singer-songwriter Terry Clarke. The result, recorded live with minimal overdubbing at Pathway Studios in London, was Life and Death in Paradise, an utterly singular suite of gloaming glam-rock anthems performed with a spiritual jazz trio comprising the inventive South African jazz rhythm section of Moholo and Miller with UK saxophonist Osborne. Unlike anything else in Cooper’s extensive catalog. Fresh Air fizzled, and Life and Death became Cooper’s final record as a songwriter, having pushed the form as far as he could. Drifting north from Spain back to the UK, he fell into the scene of the London Musicians Collective (LMC) including Paul Burwell, David Toop, and saxophonist Lol Coxhill, Cooper’s bandmate in the Recedents and fully embraced free improvisation. He was still, however, interested in singing and lyrics, so, influenced by Tom Phillips, William Burroughs, and Brion Gysin, he began experimenting with text collage and cut-up techniques, arriving at his own hybrid compositional strategy for improvisatory songs. The previously unreleased solo set Milan Live Acoustic 2018 represents Cooper’s return, after more than four decades pursuing free improvisation and electronics, to a new, deconstructed approach to singing, lap steel guitar, and songcraft. Presented here together with Life and Death in Paradise, the two records provide fascinating bookends to Mike Cooper’s long, mercurial, and pioneering practice as a songmaker.

Die Autofenster sind heruntergelassen, die Luft ist warm, und die Möglichkeiten sind grenzenlos. Auf Cut Worms, dem neuen, selbstbetitelten Album des aus Brooklyn stammenden Max Clarke, setzt der Singer-Songwriter und Musiker seine Erkundung dessen fort, was er "Pop-Essentialismus" nennt. Indem er die goldenen Hits vergangener Tage für einen zeitlosen Doppel-A-Seiten-Sound ausgräbt, betrachtet er uralte Fragen durch eine moderne Linse. Hier lässt er das legendäre Studio und die gefragten Produzenten hinter sich und arbeitet mit einer Reihe von begabten Freunden und Kollaborateuren zusammen, um seinen eigenen Ansatz zu finden. Das Ergebnis ist eine kompakte Sammlung von Tagtraum-Hymnen, die zwischen den hoffnungsvollen Anfängen des Sommers und dem flüchtigen Ende der Saison angesiedelt sind. Anstatt das gesamte Album in einem Stück in einem Studio aufzunehmen, variierte Clarke seine Methoden. Drei der Songs wurden von Anfang bis Ende in seinem gemeinsamen Proberaum aufgenommen. "Don't Fade Out" und Living Inside" wurden in Brooklyn von Brian und Michael D'Addario von den Lemon Twigs aufgenommen, die bei diesen beiden Stücken auch Klavier bzw. Bass spielten. Weitere grundlegende Aufnahmen wurden von Rick Spataro (von der Indie-Folk-Band Florist) in seinem Studio Onlyness Analog im Hudson Valley gemacht, mit Beiträgen der langjährigen Live-Band Cut Worms - Keyboarder John Andrews, Bassist Keven Louis Lareau und Schlagzeuger Noah Bond (der bei allen drei Sessions mitwirkte). Die neun Songs sind von einem jugendlichen Geist durchdrungen. Die mit Nelken geschmückte Schulball-Serenade "I'll Never Make It", die sternenklare Verliebtheit von "Is it Magic?", das erste Herbstlaub auf der Busfahrt zur Schule in "Living Inside" - sie alle beschwören einen Ort der Wärme und Sicherheit. Erklärungen wie "Don't Fade Out", "Let's Go Out On The Town" und "Use Your Love" stellen hohe Anforderungen an das Leben, um es zu verändern, bitten aber gleichzeitig darum, das zu bewahren, was uns als Menschen ausmacht. Clarke ringt mit einem Paradoxon: Die Freuden der Erfahrung können nicht ohne den Verlust der Unschuld gewonnen werden.

Die Autofenster sind heruntergelassen, die Luft ist warm, und die Möglichkeiten sind grenzenlos. Auf Cut Worms, dem neuen, selbstbetitelten Album des aus Brooklyn stammenden Max Clarke, setzt der Singer-Songwriter und Musiker seine Erkundung dessen fort, was er "Pop-Essentialismus" nennt. Indem er die goldenen Hits vergangener Tage für einen zeitlosen Doppel-A-Seiten-Sound ausgräbt, betrachtet er uralte Fragen durch eine moderne Linse. Hier lässt er das legendäre Studio und die gefragten Produzenten hinter sich und arbeitet mit einer Reihe von begabten Freunden und Kollaborateuren zusammen, um seinen eigenen Ansatz zu finden. Das Ergebnis ist eine kompakte Sammlung von Tagtraum-Hymnen, die zwischen den hoffnungsvollen Anfängen des Sommers und dem flüchtigen Ende der Saison angesiedelt sind. Anstatt das gesamte Album in einem Stück in einem Studio aufzunehmen, variierte Clarke seine Methoden. Drei der Songs wurden von Anfang bis Ende in seinem gemeinsamen Proberaum aufgenommen. "Don't Fade Out" und Living Inside" wurden in Brooklyn von Brian und Michael D'Addario von den Lemon Twigs aufgenommen, die bei diesen beiden Stücken auch Klavier bzw. Bass spielten. Weitere grundlegende Aufnahmen wurden von Rick Spataro (von der Indie-Folk-Band Florist) in seinem Studio Onlyness Analog im Hudson Valley gemacht, mit Beiträgen der langjährigen Live-Band Cut Worms - Keyboarder John Andrews, Bassist Keven Louis Lareau und Schlagzeuger Noah Bond (der bei allen drei Sessions mitwirkte). Die neun Songs sind von einem jugendlichen Geist durchdrungen. Die mit Nelken geschmückte Schulball-Serenade "I'll Never Make It", die sternenklare Verliebtheit von "Is it Magic?", das erste Herbstlaub auf der Busfahrt zur Schule in "Living Inside" - sie alle beschwören einen Ort der Wärme und Sicherheit. Erklärungen wie "Don't Fade Out", "Let's Go Out On The Town" und "Use Your Love" stellen hohe Anforderungen an das Leben, um es zu verändern, bitten aber gleichzeitig darum, das zu bewahren, was uns als Menschen ausmacht. Clarke ringt mit einem Paradoxon: Die Freuden der Erfahrung können nicht ohne den Verlust der Unschuld gewonnen werden.