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International musicgroup SexJudas feat.Ricky returns to Optimo Music this Winter with a new album: Night Songs. The eight track LP draws inspiration from the night and features Malian percussionist Sidiki Camara,jazz clarinetist Andreas Røysum and noise rocker Linn Nystadnes. Making their own blend of disco, post punk and African music.

“It’s the return of Sex Judas feat.Ricky, this time as a six piece in fully fledged band mode. We’re here to take you on a journey through suburban psychedelia, forming our own brew of postpunk, disco and electronic, as well as traditional music from Mali. Night Songs is a meditation on the night time. The excess, the dreams, the highs and lows of night time activity.”-Sex Judas feat. Ricky.

“Black Cat In A Black Room” begins proceedings, taking the form of a psychedelic six-minute offering packed full of tribal drums and desert-like percussion. “A Man Without Purpose” comes next with its African-inspired vocal, before “Hab Mich Lieb” soon arrives. The six-minute cut is hypnotic, trippy and relaxing all in one, as is “Slow Down” feat. Linn Nystadnes. Taking on more of a funk-rock feel, there’s plenty of groove in the guitar-laced bassline, whilst in “Cold Clementine”, Sex Judas tells the sad tale of rave casualty over a dark and funky groove.

We’re taken down a spiritual path on The Light You Saw Was Not For Real, as Andreas Røysum’s clarinet solos sit underneath shamanic vocal offerings that open neatly into The Night Within The Night. Aslow-burning cut, riffs and hats serenade us before When You Wake Up Everything Will Be Fine brings proceedings to a close. Dream-like chords wrap us in a warm and glowing hue, with the harp-like sounds from Sidiki’s Ngoni, leaving us in a starry-eyed state to finish.

The calming nature of the album is a nod to the band’s influences: they were inspired by the great meditative records of the past, setting off on a musical trip that saw them record the whole release at legendary Norwegian studio Athletic Sound. This happened during lockdown and whilst the LP was never meant to be comment on the pandemic, there remains a brooding intensity to each track because of it. Sex Judas feat. Ricky originally began life as the solo project of Tore Gjedrem (from electronic duo Ost & Kjex), but has since grown into a steady six piece involving the talents of Sidiki Camara (djembe/ngoni/balafon), Ivar Winther (guitar/keys), Tracee Meyn (vocals), Tore Brevik (drums/percussion) and Kristian Edvardsen (bass). Centre stage is also illustrator and comic artist Sindre Goksøyr, this time portraying each character as they paddle their way into the sunset and uncharted territories.

Malian-born, Norwegian-based percussionist Sidiki Camara has played a pivotal role in promoting “Night Songs” to world music circles. Having lived in Norway since 2006, he has helped bring WestAfrican rhythms into the country’s wider jazz scene.

Fiat Lux is the debut album by Tarta Relena, a Barcelona-based project featuring Marta Torrella and Helena Ros. The group approaches the oral traditions of the Mediterranean from a contemporary perspective using a unique combination of ancient vocal melodies and subtle electronic textures.

Tarta Relena’s inspiration for Fiat Lux comes from historical characters, such as the Virgin Mary and Hildegard of Bingen, and timeless verses that deal with the cyclic nature of the human experience: “E suïcidi i el cant” (1) is an adaptation of a traditional poem by Pashtun women in Afghanistan; “Esta montanya d’enfrente” (3) is a traditional Sephardic song; “Safo” (9) is based on the love poems by Sappho of Lesbos.
Singing in Catalan, Spanish, Greek, Latin, English, and even Sephardi, the language of Hispanic jews, Tarta Relena explore a complex array of Latin cultures through the simplicity of voice. They draw from vocal techniques that range from flamenco to jazz, introducing elements of electronic music to redefine the melodies.
In January 2019, Tarta Relena released their first EP, Ora Pro Nobis: eight a cappella songs with minimal electronics. In April 2020, they released their second EP, Intercede Pro Nobis: a five-song dialogue between voice and electronics.
Fiat Lux expands on past experimentations, moving away from organic harmonies to embrace digital textures and distortions. The musical production of Juan Luis Batalla and Òscar Garrobé is remnant of Holly Herndon or Eartheater.
Tarta Relena have perhaps been best described by Pitchfork in their review of Pack Pro Nobis: “Tarta Relena is a celebration of musical exchange. At a time of rising nationalisms across Europe, Tarta Relena’s songs are a testament both to the porousness of borders and the ideas that unite disparate cultures, running beneath the centuries like a pedal tone”.

When we first heard from recent Kompakt signing Emma Kollmorgen, with 2021’s “You Are The”, she was hymning the complexity of romance: “Love is scary as fuck!”, she said. On her debut EP, “1243”, she’s built on that intensity and offered up a five-track suite of night-vision electronic pop, bristling with a stealthy sensuality. It’s a cinematic collection, building from the brooding “Escape”, through the drifting, tactile pulses of “Taciturn”, the gritty, bustling noises that run underneath the smoke-signal torch-song of “All The Wild Animals”, and the closing, tear-stained melancholy of “Home”. “You Are The” reappears here as well, settling in perfectly amongst new friends.

It’s a completely assured first EP from an artist who’s been slowly and steadily building her own sonic world. From her early days, when she busied herself by learning guitar and joining bands, Kollmorgen always had a vision of doing something “more independent”, to allow her to find her own sound and write her own songs. A brief creative alliance with the Berlin DJ duo Dole & Kom led to some recordings and live performances. All the while, Kollmorgen was carefully shaping her production and sound designing skills with Ableton Live, and exploring distinctive musical terrain in collaboration with co-producer and multi-instrumentalist Paul Seidel (The Ocean Collective, Fern, Nightmarer). She joined the Kompakt family after a recommendation by Patrice Baumel, who also remixed her debut single with typical flair.

On “1243”, though, Kollmorgen fully inhabits her songs, gifting each of them with a sweet, subtle sway, her vocal and lyrical openheartedness balancing the bluer hues of her production. Each song is confident and poised, Kollmorgen relying on cross-thatched patterns of texture as a web to support her melodies: “I like patterns,” she says, “they give me something to hold onto, something stable in an unstable world.” The songs feel as though they’re grappling with moments of revelation and experience in Kollmorgen’s world, which makes sense, given her approach to music: “I never had a diary,” she reflects, “so writing songs is my way of expressing and dealing with life.” On 1243, you’ll catch some glimpses of life lived, made sonorous through songs beautifully sung.

Als wir das erste Mal von Emma Kollmorgen hörten, nachdem sie sich KOMPAKT angeschlossen hatte, besang sie mit "You Are The" (2021) die Komplexität von Romantik: "Liebe ist verdammt beängstigend!". Auf ihrer Debüt-EP "1243" baut sie auf dieser Intensität auf und präsentiert uns eine fünf Tracks umfassende Suite von elektronischem Pop mit ausgeprägtem Nachtsicht-Faktor, die vor verborgener Sinnlichkeit nur so strotzt. Ein geradezu cineastischer Spannungsbogen, der sich vom grüblerischen "Escape" über die treibenden, taktilen Impulse von "Taciturn", die düsteren, umtriebigen Geräusche, die den Rauchzeichen sendenden torch song "All The Wild Animals" untermalen, und die abschließende, tränenreiche Melancholie von "Home" aufbaut. Auch "You Are The" taucht hier wieder auf und fügt sich perfekt in die neue Gesellschaft ein.

Eine überzeugende erste EP von einer Künstlerin, die sich langsam und stetig ihre eigene Klangwelt aufgebaut hat. Seit ihren Anfängen, als sie Gitarre lernte und in Bands spielte, hatte Kollmorgen immer die Vision, etwas "Unabhängiges" zu machen, um ihren eigenen Sound zu finden und ihre eigenen Songs zu schreiben. Eine kurze kreative Allianz mit dem Berliner DJ-Duo Dole & Kom führte zu einigen Aufnahmen und Live-Auftritten. Währenddessen feilte Kollmorgen an ihren Produktions- und Sounddesign-Skills und erkundete gemeinsam mit dem Co-Produzenten und Multi-Instrumentalisten Paul Seidel (The Ocean Collective, Fern, Nightmarer) ihr eigenes musikalisches Terrain. Zur KOMPAKT Label-Familie kam sie auf Empfehlung von Patrice Baumel, der auch ihre Debütsingle remixte.

Auf "1243" lebt Kollmorgen ihre Songs voll und ganz aus und verleiht jedem von ihnen einen süßen, subtilen Twist, der ihre stimmliche und textliche Offenheit mit den melancholischen Tönen der Musik in Balance hält. Voller Selbstbewusstsein und Ausgeglichenheit verlässt sie sich auf durcheinander laufende Texturen und Pattern, die ihre Melodik unterstützen: "Ich mag Pattern", sagt sie, "sie geben mir etwas, woran ich mich festhalten kann, etwas Stabiles in einer instabilen Welt."

Die Songs fühlen sich an, als würden sie sich mit realen Momenten der Offenbarung und mit Erfahrungen aus Kollmorgens Lebenswelt auseinandersetzen, was angesichts ihrer Herangehensweise an Musik durchaus Sinn ergibt: "Ich hatte nie ein Tagebuch", erzählt sie, "also ist das Schreiben von Songs meine Art, mich auszudrücken und mit dem Leben umzugehen." Auf "1243" gibt sie uns einige Einblicke in dieses gelebte Leben, das durch wunderschön gesungene Lieder zum Klingen gebracht wird.

Soft piano notes kiss trippy electronic tones: “Kossaiko”, the only collaborative record that japanese piano player Saiko Tsukamoto and globally known electronic producer Kuniyuki Takahashi ever produced, is an unmissable profound soft classic music burner.

Together they composed and produced an eight-chapter strong deeply absorbing narrative, whose enthralling story arc dives profound into authentic drama zones, that sound like they jumped right out of a Claude Sautet movie.

Originally released in 2007 as cd only, the perfectly put together longplayer now enters the world for the first time in a vinyl edition that is tragically hip. deeply starry-eyed composi-tions full of minimalistic piano melodies that creep, twist, and dance around unobtrusive electronic notes who never call the tune, but always elevate the spectacle into higher elec-tronic spheres.

In the center of each between five- and nine-minutes long composition is the piano play of Saiko, gently hitting the keys, giving space to each note to vibrate in an endless “Pauline Oli-Veros” way, drifting until the very last sound vanish. around them, Kuniyuki plays his charming electronic tricks, opening the space for tones that sometimes pulsate, sometimes flow the ambient way.

Furthermore, occasionally a guitar notes pop up or accordion melodies cover the sorcery with a severely romantic veil.

Modern classical music, that has no fear of electronic meltdowns, that embraces digital tones while staying organic in its very inner circle.

A wise man once said: when words leave off, music begins. Those who fall for the eight poems of Saikoss will lose their speech and in return get pleased all agitations of their soul.

40th anniversary edition of the debut album by the multi-talented musician Carlos Perón. “Impersonator” was originally released in 1981 when he was still a member of Yello. This first solo work represents a desire to conduct daring electronic experiments, to achieve stylistic variety and musical intensity while at the same time it is an example of Mr. Perón’s bizarre sense of humour.
Since the beginning of his career he pushed experimentation beyond limits with noise atmospheres, loops and complex textures which he has long used since before the introduction of sampling technology. With the arrival of sound sampling, he was among the first to experiment with equipment such as the Fairlight, Emulator and Mirage. During his time with Yello, Carlos may well have been one of the world’s first sampling masters.

This new re-issue of “Impersonator” includes all original tracks with some bonus including the whole Frigorex EP from 1984 and six previously unreleased cuts recorded between 1982 and 1983. Limited edition of 500 copies with gatefold sleeve and an exclusive postcard.

2001’s »Anima« was the third album released by Sasu Ripatti under his Vladislav Delay moniker and marked a turning point in the stylistic development of the prolific producer. Clocking in at roughly 62 minutes, the single piece draws on dub aesthetics while working with Musique concrète-like methods through the liberal use of samples to create a dreamlike logic. Muffled voices, lush chords, subtle rhythms and indefinable sound events are not so much integrated into a composition with a predetermined outcome but rather engage with each other freely in a constant sonic flow, forming constellations in one moment before moving on to connect with other elements in the next one. »Anima« marked the first time Ripatti was using a DAW in his working process, creating a piece constantly in motion that subtly evolves over time. This vinyl reissue on the German Keplar label follows up on the 20th anniversary edition of 2000’s »Multila« and will be complemented by a ten-minute long version of the original piece, previously only available on the CD version released by the artist on his own Huume label in 2008.

After the release of his »Ele« and »Entain« albums in 1999 and 2000, respectively, Ripatti took the 1998 independent movie »Hurlyburly« as a conceptual starting point to experiment with different gear and production methods. »Until then I had worked with an old MSQ-700 MIDI sequencer and an Ensonic EPS16 sampler/sequencer that had one or two MB of sampling memory and mixed the music live on a Mackie, which was very limiting arrangement-wise,« says Ripatti. Loading a slightly shortened version of the film into his DAW however allowed him to play along to it with the DrumKAT MIDI controller, triggering and playing all the sounds that can be heard on »Anima« while also contributing synths, bass and other sounds during repeated playthroughs before mixing a total of six stereo tracks together. »This way, after I had edited out most of the few parts that had music in them, I was in the movie; almost like an extra character playing music,« explains Ripatti. »This was certainly the most organic way in which I have ever made music, and I have never again approached another record like this.«

While »Anima« sounded like an unusual Vladislav Delay record at the time of its release, it also prefigured many of the developments Ripatti would go through in the course of his long career. Combining visceral immediacy with a sense of abstraction, it is far more than a mere missing link in his discography but rather a conceptually and musically outstanding piece of work that remains as engaging as it was 21 years ago.

All tracks composed and recorded by Vladislav Delay.
Originally released on Mille Plateaux in 2001.
Remaster and cut by Kassian Troyer @ D&M.
Art direction and design by Marc Hohmann.
Text by Kristoffer Cornils.

Since 2014, Public Release has been enlisting the raw, trademark groove of Richard Sen on a variety of now- renowned remixes. Label boss Eug has cited him in numerous interviews as being one of his all-time favourite producers, so it was inevitable that a solo EP would eventually materialize. That time has finally come, and in the Spring of 2022, the UK legend drops his solo EP “My Definition of Funk” on Public Release.

These three raw, gritty, hard-hitting, peak-time tracks are quintessential Richard Sen, combining the energy and influences of post-punk, breaks, and house in one sturdy sonic package.

Minimal Wave presents The Complete Collection 1980-1988, a five LP box set by the highly lauded French group Martin Dupont. The band formed in Marseille in 1980 and consisted of Alain Seghir, Brigitte Balian, Beverley Jane Crew, and Catherine Loy. They were immensely talented with a rare dynamic between them that was likely inspired by a combination of their magnetic personalities, creative vision and and the home studio where they recorded. The music they made was colorful, enthusiastic and delicate, but also melancholy and mysterious. A mixture of hot and cold, light and dark. They made electronic music that incorporated guitars and clarinets and are described by many as a New Wave band yet they truly transcended genres. They had some mainstream success finding themselves opening for bands like The Lotus Eaters, The Lounge Lizards and Siouxsie and the Banshees, without any intention of ever being a commercial enterprise. In Beverley Jane Crew’s words, “the songs just tumbled out in a completely organic and spontaneous way and as soon as they were recorded on the four track, they were shared with friends on tapes, openly and excitedly.”

They released three studio albums: Just Because, Sleep Is A Luxury and Hot Paradox, one cassette entitled Inédits 1981-1983 and one 7” single entitled Your Passion. In 2008, Minimal Wave released a compilation of selected tracks entitled Lost And Late. Now one decade later, MW releases its first box set for this phenomenal band.

The Complete Collection 1980-1988 consists of all of Martin Dupont’s recorded material to date in the form of five 180 gram vinyl LPs and spans 60 songs recorded between 1980 and 1988. Along with the five LPs, the box contains a 12 page LP-sized full color booklet featuring previously unpublished photographs of the band, their history, and select song lyrics. The box itself is bound in platinum grey linen, with black foil type and both booklet and box are designed by NYC based artist Peter Miles. All five LPs are pressed on black 180 gram vinyl and feature the original artwork of the French artist Yves Cheynet.

Blue States, aka Andy Dragazis, returns with his sixth album, titled
‘World Contact Day’, released via Memphis Industries and named
after the day each year on which UFO society International Flying
Saucer Bureau tries to contact alien lifeforms.
 ‘World Contact Day’ arrives six years after the previous Blue States
album, written and recorded partly at Dragazis’ Lightwell Recordings
studio in Hackney and featuring a combination of instrumental
soundscapes and vocal songs that draw from influences as diverse
as world as Morricone, Vangelis, Beak, Broadcast and the
Carpenters.
 Songs on the new record feature guest vocals from the likes of
Giampaolo Speziale and Federica Caiozzo of the Italian band
Malihini, English folk-musician Rachael Dadd and Miami-based
Allison May-Brice (The 18th Day Of May, Lake Ruth).
 Written under the backdrop of claustrophobic uncertainty and grief,
Dragazis wanted to make an album of expansive escapism whilst
also grounding musically in a more live approach than previous
albums.
 ‘World Contact Day’ opens with ‘Plain Sight’, the first of the Rachael
Dadd-featuring songs, thematically about escape and setting
Rachael’s Sandy Denny-a-like vocals to a baroque pop backing. It’s
followed by an instrumental ode to the humble wire in a world of
wireless connectivity (“I trust wires and I understand them,” says
Dragazis). The second Rachael Dadd track is ‘Tides Confusion’, a
song about how waves of grief can come like tides, grounded on a
pulsating electronic loop that evolves into live drums, horns and
backing vocals representing the rising water. Next up is ‘Warning
Signs’, featuring Giampaolo and Federica of Malihini, a track about
looking after yourself because if you don’t, how can you look after
anyone else?
 Two brilliant songs with Allison-May Brice light up side two of ‘World
Contact Day’, the urgent, sparkling electronic pop of ‘Alarms’ and the
epic, velvety torch song album closer ‘Science or Fiction?’, about the
paleoanthropological fraudster Charles Dawson and the Piltdown
Man hoax.
 LP pressed on cream vinyl.

Forming at a Bristol club night in 2019 with a collective
appreciation for all things shoegaze, DAMEFRISØR bring bags
of driving rhythms and swirling guitars. They are Kazhi Jahfar
(vocals), Nyle Dowd (drums), Garin Curtis (guitar), Jamie Brown
(guitar) and Sam Nobbs (synth).
 Taking the typical band route, they spent their time in garages
finding a sound, until they outgrew that space and headed to
the studio. With only a handful of shows under their belts the
band enlisted Bristol producer Dom Mitchsion (Spectres, LICE,
Heavy Lungs) to record their first singles ‘Huile’ plus ‘And You
Know’.
 Taking influence from their admiration for Kevin Shield’s wall-ofsound and the dark undertones of post-punk, ‘Huile’ gave an
indication of what was to come from the band. Following a few
months later with ‘And You Know’, which gained plaudits from
So Young Magazine, DIY, Hard of Hearing and more. The track
became a key part of the energetic, captivating live set; one that
would see them invited to perform with the likes of Talk Show,
ALASKALASKA and Bull.
 Just as the band were gaining the momentum, fans and praise,
the world came to a grinding halt. Cancelled shows and
postponed studio time allowed the band to take a step back and
look for a fresh direction. With the addition of a synth in the mix
the band took on a more progressive sound, experimenting
more with their tones and techniques.
 In February the band finally got back to the basement studio of
The Louisiana with producer Will Carkeet (Robbie & Mona, Pet
Shimmers) to record their new singles. They are now proud to
present their debut 7” single, ‘Do You Think I’m Special?’,
released via Permanent Creeps Records.
 “The track is beautifully textured, drenched in trembling reverb
but basking in a bright, almost optimistic tone - as if finding a
sense of finality in the cacophonous noise washing over them.”
- So Young Magazine

Mattiel, the Atlanta based group made up of Mattiel Brown and Jonah Swilley, announce
the release of their third album, ‘Georgia Gothic’, on Heavenly Recordings. ‘Georgia
Gothic’, a magic third in Mattiel’s run of full-length albums, was shaped in the quiet
seclusion of a woodland cabin in the north of the Atlanta duo’s mother-state; “Some
faraway place that just Jonah and I could go where there would be no distractions,
nothing else going on, and we could turn everything off and only focus on writing songs,”
reflects Brown.
 Where 2017’s self-titled debut and its 2019 follow-up Satis Factory were written with what
Swilley refers to as a “hands-off” approach - he arranging the music and Brown the lyrics
and vocals, the two working largely separately - the making of ‘Georgia Gothic’ was, for
the first time, a truly collaborative undertaking. “This was the first time we made a point to
just be together and work out ideas in the same room. That was the initial intention... it
was about learning what each other wanted to accomplish on a sonic level, and then just
trying different things out,” Swilley continues. “Everything happened backwards. Normally,
you’d have friends that make a band... with us, we started making music from the jump,
and then became homies.”
 Cultivated by time spent together on the road touring the first two albums, it is this
newfound sense of intimacy between Mattiel’s members that enabled the writing of
‘Georgia Gothic’ not as two separate musicians, but rather as one creative entity. The
album remained within the four walls of Brown and Swilley’s private world for much of its
evolution - with recording taking place in a simple studio set up by the pair in the
borrowed room of a dialysis centre, Swilley in the producer’s seat - until, nearing
completion, it was transferred into the trusted hands of the Grammy award-winning John
Congleton (whose extensive list of credits includes artists as diverse as Angel Olsen, Earl
Sweatshirt, Erykah Badu and Sleater Kinney) for mixing.
 Not only does the affinity between its creators translate into an electric synergy between
‘Georgia Gothic’s words and music - the brine-shock of Brown’s taut lyricism cut against
the bourbon-smoothness of Swilley’s instrumentation - but here too are the palpable
spoils of experimentation, each party trustful enough of the other to trial and error their
practices into new geometries. Swilley puts this wide palate, in part, down to the place
they call home. “I definitely feel like being from Georgia allows us to have a certain way of
approaching music.” Brown chimes in: “We haven’t really highlighted where we’re from in
the past two records, even though those were also written in Georgia. There’s so much
great art and great music that’s come from Georgia, from all different types of genres and
all over the state - but take R.E.M. and OutKast: there’s this weirdness that I can’t really
put my finger on.” Swilley concurs: “It’s the same with the B-52s, the Black Lips... it
doesn’t feel like L.A., it doesn’t feel like New York, it feels like another planet. We’re not
really in a ‘scene’ here in the same way. You have to make your own sound, create your
own identity.”
 And it is precisely the forging of Mattiel’s distinct musical identity that ‘Georgia Gothic’
signals; its members guiding each other ever-homewards not just in a geographical or
sonic sense, but spiritually, too.
 Initial LP pressing on Red Hot coloured 140g vinyl with digital download code. (Once this
format has sold out, a black 140g vinyl edition with digital download - HVNLP202 - will be
made available.)

Green coloured vinyl edition of William The Conqueror’s
‘Maverick Thinker’ album from last year, released to
coincide with the band’s upcoming tour and book
publication.
 William The Conqueror have paid their damn dues. Like
the sportsman cutting chipped teeth in the lower leagues
before shooting to the very top, this band have lugged all
the amps, placated the in-house sound guy for an easier
life, their nails dirty, their hair unkempt. Enough.
 Except it’s never enough, because despite their slinky,
swampy, razor-sharp, blues-drenched, guitar thrashed
alt. rock songs that form new album ‘Maverick Thinker’
and suggest that the door is opening for bigger rooms
and broader audiences, it’s those sticky basement bar
stages where the songs have always shed a skin and
come alive. The record put the three piece behind the
glass at Sound City Studios in LA, treading the same
carpet as the likes of Nirvana, Johnny Cash, Neil Young,
and Fleetwood Mac and they might well have inhaled
the spirit of them all.
 William The Conqueror’s protagonist is Ruarri Joseph,
who knows his way around a melody and a verse.
Joseph’s wryness suggests life just ain’t plain sailin’ and
he fizzes that sigh and lament into something that
breathes heavy with heart and with soul.
 LP in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeve and
digital download card.

On the tribute album Songs for Tres, Psychic Ills band members come together to commemorate the late Tres Warren who passed away just as the world turned upside down in March of 2020. Isolated, feeling helpless and lost by the death of her musical soul mate and collaborator of 18 years, bassist Elizabeth Hart found making music to be her only outlet in a time where people were unable to be physically together to mourn. So, she reached out to Adam Amram, Jon Catfish DeLorme and Brent Cordero, the main players in the Ills line up since the release of their last full length album Inner Journey Out (2016), to ask if they would embark on this cathartic journey with her. This was a different kind of production endeavor for Hart driven solely by “the aching need and urgency” to do something to honor her friend.

Hart, Amram, DeLorme and Cordero reunited for the first time five months after losing Warren at Amram’s loft – the same spot where they’d rehearsed countless times before – although this time with a different objective. In an effort to share, support and create, the old friends joined in the painful and healing experience of making this tribute album to cope with their loss. The band members wrote, arranged, and rehearsed for months and the result of their work culminated in a weekend of recording in the southern Catskill mountains at the end of 2020. This isolated and intimate environment was a perfectly serene and fitting location to finalize their story.

Throughout the album, Hart, Amram and DeLorme take turns as the vocal lead on each of the songs while Cordero showcases his finger-picking guitar skills in addition to his piano and organ playing, which he is known for. Along with the core band members, a number of other musicians played on the album, many of whom had collaborated on prior Psychic Ills releases and wanted to be a part of this last collaboration in memory of Warren. Keeping the project in the Ills family, Hart produced the album alongside Iván Diaz Mathé, the long-time Psychic Ills sound engineer.

The album consists of five original tracks and four cover songs. Initially, learning the covers was just a method for the musicians to “break the ice” and play together again for the first time without their band leader. However, those tracks became just as important to include as the originals because of their essential role in the process of coming together to make the album. The cover songs were chosen because of their unique connections to the band’s memories of Warren. Dennis Wilson’s "Rainbows" and Fleetwood Mac’s "Station Man" come from two of Warren’s favorite albums, Pacific Ocean Blue and Kiln House. The band also recorded Blaze Foley’s "Clay Pigeons" and Powell St. John’s "Right Track Now." The idea for the latter was suggested by Amram. Warren once sent him a clip of Roky Erikson singing a moving rendition of that song in the film Demon Angel and it had stuck with him ever since.

Hart wrote "I’ll Walk With You" on the day of Warrens’ passing, at the time not knowing what it meant. When she got the call with the heartbreaking news, it became clear to her what the song was about. Relying on a gently lilting string arrangement to set the tone, this duet features Mazzy Star vocalist Hope Sandoval alongside Hart. Sandoval previously collaborated with Psychic Ills accompanying Warren on "I Don’t Mind" (2016). The ideas for "Home" and "Walk Around," two other songs on the album by Hart, started simply with an acoustic guitar and lyrics, a hopeful exercise to connect with her lost friend. Brent Cordero’s instrumental "Whole Lotta Piece of Mind" is nothing short of a transcendental experience. By running his pedal steel through a Leslie speaker, Jon Catfish DeLorme crafts the unique tone showcased on Wonderful Feeling, a moving example of studio experimentation combined with old school techniques. DeLorme describes it as “an attempt to highlight the musical experience I shared with Tres both sonically and thematically. What resulted is the unguarded exaltation I feel lucky to have shared with my fellow bandmates.” Adam Amram’s “Into the Sea” was composed spontaneously the week Warren passed. The melodic tune has a hopeful lightness and Amram describes it simply as “a song to my brother”. Their connection shines through.

In fact, the entire album is one that radiates the layers of friendship, love and music that will forever exist between this family of musicians. As the band themselves state: “This album was made out of love and a commitment to honor our dear friend and bandmate.” A portion of the proceeds from the album will be donated to RAICES, a charity who aids children who have been displaced at the Texas/Mexico border.

Octahedron Each of the Mars Volta albums that preceded Octahedron had pushed the envelope further, their music growing larger, more intense, more complex.

Each had delivered an implied, unspoken challenge to its makers within milliseconds of its final notes: “top this”. And with each subsequent album, Omar and Cedric had turned their creative dials up one more notch, a further step past “eleven”.

With the addition of new drummer Thomas Pridgen, and their ranks swollen by extra guitarists, more percussion and a sax-player, the intensity of The Mars Volta’s sound had increased. Octahedron, however, would follow The Bedlam In Goliath’s brilliant excesses with a sideways step few were expecting, even though the group had telegraphed their intentions to take this new direction for years.

“This one didn’t have multi-layered sub-texts or any sinister spirits,” says Omar, referencing predecessor Goliath’s traumatic birth. “Octahedron was like an expression of will into reality. Like, ‘This one will be easy, this one will be fun’. Everything had a different process.” “Octahedron was a rebellion,” adds Cedric. “Us saying, ‘This isn’t like anything we’ve done before. This is our “pop” album.’ We’d always promised we’d do a ‘pop’ album.’ This was it.”

'Memory Box' - the new album by Rodney Cromwell - fuses a European synthpop sensibility with a world of magical realism. It was inspired as much by the literature of Alice in Wonderland, Franz Kafka and Anna Kavan, as by its musical influences of artists such as Kraftwerk, Neu!, The Cure, Silver Apples, Oppenheimer Analysis and Polyrock. The sonic pallet of 'Memory Box' is rich, colourful, often surprising and utterly unique. Since the release of his debut 'Age of Anxiety' album in 2015, Rodney Cromwell has been featured by the likes of NME, Electronic Sound Magazine, Huffington Post, Paste, BBC6 Music and national RNE3 in Spain for whom he recorded a live session. 'Age of Anxiety' was included in a wealth of Best of Lists, not least that of Electronic Sound. He has appeared on compilations alongside Cavern of Anti-Matter, John Foxx, Devo, OMD, Katy Perry and many more. Rodney Cromwell is the project of Adam Cresswell. The first band he founded was SALOON, who were John Peel darlings, who recorded three Peel Sessions and the Festive 50 number 1 of 2002. They released three acclaimed albums on Track & Field (UK) and Darla Records (US) and played with a host of alternative acts including Stereolab, Electrelane, Quickspace, Laika, Of Montreal & Movietone. He followed Saloon with ARTHUR & MARTHA the acclaimed tweetronica duo that released the sole album 'Navigation' before vanishing. In addition to performing as Rodney Cromwell, he runs the Happy Robots record label. The Rodney Cromwell live set is a joyful mixed-media extravaganza, incorporating analogue synths, video visuals and live instrumentation, interjected by Rodney's 'offbeat wit'. His debut festival appearance at Indietracks in 2015 was described as 'like a spiritual experience". He has shared stages with acts including Pram, Marsheaux, Death & Vanilla, Rowetta and Steve Davis. His sole performance in 2020 was as part of Damo Suzuki's backing band. He will be promoting the album with a series of live-dates in 2022. Cromwell's recent singles 'Memory Box' and 'Get Me To Prague' received play on BBC 6 Music as well as national play in Spain, Finland and Japan. 'Memory Box' featured in the Official Festive 50 on Dandelion Radio. To coincide with the album we have early confirmed reviews with Electronic Sound Magazine and interviews with ElectricityClub, Pennyback Music and You haven't heard this music vodcast.

"Two Duos" is pressed from cellist Okkyung Lee's most recent OTO Residency; the first side a duo with Jérôme Noetinger on Revox B77 and the second with Nadia Ratsimandresy on Ondes Martenot. Cut together, the two meetings seem to raise three cellos in the search for expressive voice: the cello, its magnetic reproduction, and the dual controls of the machine invented to expand on its musical qualities. On the A side Noetinger's opening tape hiss establishes a current; an electrical partner who gives Lee room to slide across and stretch out. Progressively the cello is returned, duplicated and manipulated with increased velocity and distortion. Noetinger draws out the full extent of Lee's extended technique; rewinding strands of Lee's horse hair and transmuting her percussive attacks into shuddering echos, before letting his own concrete interjections spin the duo's sonic tussle into an almost romantic daydream. On side B the ondes (invented by French cellist and wartime radio operator Maurice Eugene Louis Martenot and so loved by Bernard Parmegiani, Varese and Messiaen) seems shaken from classical tradition and those long, drawn out horrorscapes it has come to be associated with. In a duel with Lee, Ratsimandresy grasps the ondes' extraordinary capacity for dexterity, nuance and speed, hounding Lee's cello in a bid to drive her instrument out of the past and into the future. Two fantastic pairings and a testament to the freshness with which Lee and her collaborators continue to work with their instruments. Okkyung Lee / cello. Jérôme Noetinger / Revox B77. Nadia Ratsimandresy / ondes Martenot. Recorded live at Cafe OTO on. Mixed and mastered by Lasse Marhaug. Design by Maja Larrson.

The instrumental Bruges based trio VENTILATEUR released a promising self-titled EP in 2019. Slowly, plans were forged to record a first full album. The corona pandemic caused those plans to be pushed back, but it provided more time and focus for the music to grow. In April 2021, they finally "went into the studio" to record their debut album. The choice was made not to crawl into a classical studio, but to loft for a week in a country house in a small town in Zeeuws Vlaanderen: Hoofdplaat. It became the title of their first full album.
For this record the band went in search of the most unadulterated and pure form of themselves. The result is minimalistic and stylized compositions that radiate inner peace. Simple but catchy guitar lines, refined bass parts and purified drum grooves are the main ingredients of this cinematic and melancholic album.
Their infectious blend of jazz, post-rock and instrumental soul produces a unique and compelling sound reminiscent of groups like Khruangbin and closer to home Dans Dans.
The album is recorded and produced by Jeff Claeys, who has produced albums by Millionaire, The Van Jets, Isolde Lasoen and others, and who will also produce the new record by Zwangere Guy.

SPOOK - Dutch for GHOST - is a brand new trio by Simon Segers (De Beren Gieren, Black Flower) on drums, Nicolas Rombouts (Ottla, Dez Mona) on double bass and Filip Wauters (Het Zesde Metaal, BackBack) on pedal steel and guitar.

What started in the summer of 2019 as a one-off meeting has now grown into a fully-fledged collective that breaks the boundaries between improv and composition with intense interplay and sparse themes. The prominent presence of the pedal steel gives SPOOK an allure of "free country" or "post western". Add some pulsating progrock rhythms and the free spirit and virtuosity of jazz and you capture the unique sound of SPOOK.

Spaceship is Mark S. Williamson, a musician, sound artist and educator based in Todmorden, West Yorkshire. His work is often made in response to his environment, working on location, combining field recordings with electronic and acoustic instrumentation, usually recorded outside, amid the landscape and weather. Mark has recorded for wiaiwya, Apollolaan, the Dark Outside and his own Forged River Recordings. His work has been reviewed by The Wire, Electronic Sound, Shindig and The Quietus and he was recently one of the fourteen artists featured in Electronic Sound Magazine’s ‘field recording special’. His collaboration with Luke Turner on series of readings from Luke’s book ‘Out of the Woods’ has seen performances at Cecil Sharp House, Port Eliot Festival, The Trades Club in Hebden Bridge, Krankenhaus Festival and the Horse Hospital and he recently collaborated with the artist Michael Powell on his Calderfolk project. A direct sequel to 2019’s Outcrops (also on wiaiwya), Ravines moves its focus from the uplands above Todmorden to the narrow, steep sided ravines, known as cloughs, that contain the streams that flow down the valley sides to feed the River Calder. These valleys, formed over hundreds, if not thousands of years can be peaceful sanctuaries, their stepped pools and waterfalls a shelter from the windswept moors. In time of heavy rainfall though, they become the conduits for the rapidly descending overland flows which reach the Calder and, in extreme circumstances, cause the floods which remain a part of valley life. These cloughs also saw the beginnings of industry in the area. Colden Clough and Jumble Hole Clough contain the ruin of small water fed mills which would evolve into the much larger steam powered facilities in Todmorden and Hebden Bridge. Mostly recorded in the field using portable equipment, these pieces are intended to reflect all three of these aspects; the peace, the violence and the beginnings of humankind’s ultimate separation from the landscape brought on by the industrial revolution. The sleeve is by Maxim Peter Griffin, an artist, illustrator and writer based in Lincolnshire. A fine art graduate and former stonemason, over the past few years he has been building a body of work that echo his experiences on foot between the North Sea and the hills. "...a luminous soundtrack to the passage of geological time." Shindig // "Williamson is building desire tunnels, churning through the layers of rock and soil to find his conclusions." The Wire // "These rumbling synth drifts and ominous drones transport you to entirely different places-like being cast adrift in a cosmic void" Electronic Sound // "...the droning synthesizer waves conjure up something spectral and eerie, stretching out like the wide horizon..." The Quietus // "Beautiful." Hannah Peel

Nearly 24 years ago, on 7th July 1998, the first Hefner LP was released, it garnered some great reviews, ensured the band were to become one of Peel’s favourites (they had 5 entries in 1999’s festive 50!), and cemented their reputation as Britain's largest small band. NME - “truly independent, unassuming and painfully honest: the sound of thin, white indie dukes in spectacles.” Melody Maker - “heart-skeweringly astute” combination of “grimly sweet lyrics and delicate, tentative tunes.” Time Out - “awe-inspiring in their naked honesty” More recently, the album was number 25 in Pitchfork’s 50 greatest Britpop albums, above A Northern Soul (Verve), Fuzzy Logic (Super Furry Animals), Vauxhall and I (Morrissey) and Tellin’ Stories (the Charlatans) Breaking God’s Heart now gets the essential 20th anniversary vinyl re-issue, accompanied by some shows where Hefner frontman, Darren Hayman, will play the album in full Here’s what Darren has to say about the record now: Breaking God's Heart is an awkward, over confident start to my career. I have yet to get to grips with it again properly in preparation for these anniversary shows. It's so far away in my past that I have some difficulty in relating to the person who made it. Mostly when I hear it I'm just amazed at the confidence, and possibly arrogance, I had then. I insisted on mostly first takes being used, vocals being recorded live in the room with the instruments, a ban on any reverbs or ambience being used. It was like I was trying to sabotage my career at the first hurdle. Many of those decisions were based on half understood, interviews with my idols from the American Lo-Fi scene but I really didn't know what I was doing. It does make a bizarre and caustic record though, and I know there are plenty of people who think this is my best work and I never got back to the blunt energy of these recordings. I do see their point. Quotes - Hefner's is a bedsit world of spindly guitar and towering passions; of skewwhiff ideals and surprisingly smooth melodic surges; of awkward outbursts and slow-burning lo-fi for lovers… 'Breaking God's Heart' is all about sparkling melodies, twinkly-eyed poetry, intimate confessions, a thrillion knowing references to sex, soul and sadness and the sort of chipper attitude that says: 'This is a record you will relish for years to come'. So save yourself time, start treasuring it now. 8/10 NME // Hefner are running on the same rock-not-rock fuel as early Violent Femmes or The Modern Lovers, and like those groups are expert at building emotionally charged arrangements by adding or subtracting at precisely the right time. 8/10 Drowned In Sound

Hefner's second album 'The Fidelity Wars' was the album that won them their critical acclaim and their cult audience. 'Hymn for the Alcohol' and 'Hymn for the Cigarettes' made it to numbers 2 and 3 in John Peel's Festive 50 in 1999, and the album itself was number 1 in the indie charts on it first release. it has not been available on vinyl for close to two decades. "It's always about the sex isn't it with Hefner? You never hear them doing songs about drag racing or putting up shelves or anything like that " John Peel // "The Fidelity Wars’ is a treasure and comfort for anyone who’s set out on the bumpy road to love, and gotten distracted by the scenery along the way." NME // "On Hefner's second album, the aptly- titled Fidelity Wars, Hayman and Co. run down the list of romantic entanglements. From the sad- sack self- pitying of "A Hymn to the Alcohol" to the brazen lust of "May God Protect Your Home;" from the sincere "why'd she leave me" lament of "We Were Meant to Be" to the unrepentant tale of cheating detailed in "Fat Kelly's Teeth," pretty much every angle on relationships is explored, sometimes in excruciating detail" Pitchfork …

Another new colour pressing we have 200 only white vinyl coming in Mrch. Single LPs w/ printed inner sleeve + lyric insert and Download card. The Armed return with their first new album in over three years and Sargent House debut, ULTRAPOP. The album reaches the same extremities of sonic expression as the furthest depths of metal, noise, and otherwise "heavy" counterculture music subgenres but finds its foundation firmly in pop music and pop culture. As is always The Armed's mission, it seeks only to create the most intense experience possible, a magnification of all culture, beauty, and things. The band goes on to explain, "crafting vital art means presenting the audience with new and intriguing tensions sonically, visually, conceptually. Over time and through use, those tensions become less novel and effective and they become expectations. The concept of "subgenre" becomes almost the antithesis of vitality in art itself a fetishization of expectation. ULTRAPOP seeks, in earnest, to create a truly new listener experience. It is an open rebellion against the culture of expectation in "heavy" music. It is a joyous, genderless, post-nihilist, anti-punk, razor-focused take on creating the most intense listener experience possible. It's the harshest, most beautiful, most hideous thing we could make." ULTRAPOP follows their recent contribution to the Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack “Night City Aliens” and 2018’s critically acclaimed album Only Love, which landed on ‘Album of the Year’ lists from The Atlantic, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Vice, Stereogum, and many more. The album was co-produced by the band's own Dan Greene in collaboration with Ben Chisholm (Chelsea Wolfe) and features contributions from Mark Lanegan, Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle), Ben Koller (Converge, Killer Be Killed, Mutoid Man) and many more. Kurt Ballou (Converge, High on Fire, Russian Circles) remains at the helm as executive producer. An interactive ARG campaign with numerous stages of engagement is underway and will continue through release. A website, media mailings and various social media interactions are leading fans to find easter eggs including songs, album info, videos and much more. A livestream performance confirmed for same day. Videos for all three focus tracks (“All Futures”, “Average Death” + “An Iteration” are completed and will be released along with each song.

Transparent frosted clear vinyl, no downlode code. Their third album 'WILDLIFE. The Eggs returned with an album that encapsulates the isolation of extensive touring and brief time back in their home town Lancaster. The two piece raucous noise pop duo combine their gritty British northern surreal lyrics with thunderous guitars and crashing drums on this their third self-recorded gem. Working alongside Gruff Rhys who produced Allergies and Cornershop's Tjinder Singh who has remixed Food for a special digital download, Wildlife is yet another wonderful and unique album from a band who continue to cement their reputation as one of the most genuinely exciting and essential bands around today. Already lead track Allergies, the first single taken from Wildlife, released on the Too Pure Singles Club, has won the BBC 6 Music Rebel Playlist - with 82% of the public vote and declared winner of Steve Lamacq's 6 Music Round Table as well as Artrocker's single of the month. For The Lovely Eggs being in a band is a way of life. True to this, they live the way they play. Fiercely, constantly in search of the good times. With this their third album in three years The Lovely Eggs explore further into their own world and the bizarreness of reality and invite you to come inside to join the party, strange as it is!

Halloween has been and gone for another year, but darkwave-inflected hardcore punk never goes out of fashion, right? And frankly, who gives a solitary fuck if it does? Nag’s sinister second album is too busy being an ear-bleeding good time to care about shit like that. It’s too wrapped up asking questions like ‘is this real reality?’ - too caught up in pushing Bernard Sumner minimalism into furiously energetic bruisers and ever-darker corners. It’s the record you’ve been waiting for throughout 2021, whether you knew it or not. This RIPS. Formed in Atlanta, GA, Nag have already dropped an LP (last year’s ‘Dead Deer’, on Die Slaughterhaus) and a handful of 7”s - all must-haves - but they’ve never quite cut loose like this. Vocalist Brannon Greene pitches his delivery somewhere between a caustic holler and a dead-eyed sneer, taking the blank generation for a midnight drive and hurtling straight into a brick wall. Meanwhile, the band nab ideas from no-wave, the wilder ends of Goner Records’ almighty roster, and the best (and sometimes synthiest) aspects of gothed-out post-punk - the resulting concoction may be composed of familiar elements, but it feels like no one else other than Nag. A more hyperbolic and verbose hack than me might say this is the moment that signals the band have ‘arrived’, but not me. I’d just say this is a damn fine record - one of the very best things to have emerged from the wider punk rock mess in the last 12 months. Oh, and I’d add that if you don’t buy it, you may as well sever those things called ears, toss ‘em into the woods and let any of their redeeming qualities seep out into the soil, ‘cause that’s the only way you could continue to argue that they’re serving any useful purpose. But you know, that’s just me. You do you, friend. Actually, scratch that. Buy this record, you idiot.

Calling all old souls, wild childs & real gone gals, here comes the brand spankin’ new solo debut from Kevin Preston (PrimaDonna/Green Day, etc.)! It’s a hot shot of new-old-stock rock n roll that rolls as much as it rocks; strolls as much as it struts; and shuffles as much as it stomps. Close My Eyes slow-burns like a long drag on a Lucky Strike. I Know Where I Stand channels the spirit of fellow Valley boy, the late Ritchie Valens. Caprice is a slapback-drenched rockabilly rave up that sounds like a rumble between the ghosts of Alan Vega, Vince Taylor & Gene Vincent. Kevin cut his teeth in the early 2000’s as a teenager playing guitar in a revamped lineup of original 70’s-era Los Angeles punks The Skulls. Then he started up the rock group Prima Donna, moving to center stage as lead singer. Prima Donna toured relentlessly, slowing down only to knock out a few records along the way & strike up a band-romance with Green Day who took them on tour a few times. That connection led to Kevin joining forces on guitar with Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong on two side-hustle bands over the years; Foxboro Hot Tubs (in 2008) and The Longshot (in 2018). In 2019, Kevin joined the Green Day band as touring guitarist/backing vocalist. I was at Dodger Stadium the last time I saw Kevin Preston. There he was, that sweet kid from the Valley who I met at the turn of the century when we were on the Warped Tour together, now plying the boards at Chavez Ravine with Green Day. Man, the fuckin’ Beatles played their 2nd to last show ever there back in 1966! But along with all that stadium rock, our boy is now moonlighting as a solo artist & going back to the basics.... So, dig these new numbers & enjoy the ride, baby!

Repress

Dancefloor Damage all the way. The new Soul Notes VA 12'' has been building anticipation all around.

Since it includes 4 of the most in demand names from the rough house scenes at the moment, this one is not to be missed. Labelowner Kastil pulled out the big guns and got soul notes usual Fulbert on one record with himself and the ever so amazing Malin Genie who has been making waves through the whole of europe with his thumping sound. Fulbert, Kastil and Malin delivered 3 excellent productions that will perfectly fit into one peaktime set.

This is music for the dancefloor and nothing else. Bass bin wrecking club slicers for true house heads.

Last but not least, the excentric Jefferson Belmondo makes an appearance With a disco'ish anthem called Booty Groove. The title kind off reveals where he's coming from as Jefferson might be unknown for most, on the streets of Miami he is a bonafide legend. After spending most of his life in shady motels and as a DJ in extravagantnightclubs, Jefferson finally took out his old DAT tapes and got this track to Kastil through a mutual friend.

All and all, Many Shades of Soul Notes Vol.1 is a peaktime record that is above all meant for clubplay.

This fine package includes a 180GR 12'' and a designed sleeve. This 6th installment in the Soul Notes series will be available from
March 4th through all respected retailers.

On June 17, 2020, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and the City of Los Angeles, announced that the iconic multi-million selling
soul/R&B band, THE CHI-LITES, would be honoured in their Class of 2021, by receiving a star on Hollywood Boulevard on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• On 30th September 2021, with family friends and other soul legends in attendance, including their legendary label mate, Gene
Chandler, Marshall Thompson, co-Founder and last surviving member of THE CHI-LITES, accepted the honour on behalf of the Band.
• Although they had formed nine years earlier, it was when the Band met record producer Carl Davis in 1968 that they signed a
contract with Brunswick Records. They began to achieve commercial recognition and success, with songs predominantly written and
composed by band member Eugene Record, who was also their lead singer, although their first charting song, ‘Give It Away’ (US
R&B Chart #10) was co-written by Record, with producer Carl Davis.
• THE CHI-LITES released more than 15 studio albums and registered on the UK chart on nine occasions, with five Top 10 entries, one
of them being the Double-A sided reissue ‘Have You Seen Her’/’Oh Girl’.
• In 1976, THE CHI-LITES switched labels from Brunswick to Mercury and recorded two albums ‘Happy Being Lonely’ (1976) and ‘The
Fantastic Chi-Lites’ (1977), before teaming-up again with Carl Davis on his own Chi-Sound records label, to record 1980’s ‘Heavenly
Body’ and 1981’s ‘Me And You’.
• This 12-track vinyl LP set focuses on their Brunswick Records period and includes all of their UK hits, opening with their barnstorming ‘Are You My Woman (Tell Me So)’, the intro from which, being famously and expertly sampled by Beyoncé (and featuring
Jay-Z), for her worldwide 2003 hit and Transatlantic #1,‘Crazy In Love’.

Christian Lee Hutson starts his new album Quitters with a laugh. In this follow up to his ANTI Records debut, Beginners, Hutson moves away from a focus on growing up to the dread and complications of growing older. Written under lock down, the laugh that announces Quitters is the kind you'll find at the end of John Huston films, one of resignation and release, and somehow a cosmic laugh that says "California," a place where lonely people gather together like birds. The song "Rubberneckers" follows the story a romance from beginning to break?up, with backing vocals by Phoebe Bridges, who returns as producer along with Conor Oberst. Quitters is a departure from the digital recording of his debut. Hutson shares, "With this record, Phoebe and Conor had an idea that it would be fun to make it to tape. Phoebe is my best friend and making Beginners with her was so comfortable and easy. So I wanted to work with her again and Conor is someone who I really respect as a lyricist." If every great record is a world, then this is Christian Lee Hutson's world. It's one filled with the fuzzy haze of a dream, and the half-remembered moments of a for?gotten life. It's a record brave enough to say, In the good old days, when times were bad. But beyond the songs, it is this voice. The voice of someone who was alive in 2021 and recorded a group of songs with his friends for us to hear.

'Universal Deluge' marks a significant shift for Ethan P. Flynn and is the by-product of an intensely fruitful creative few years. His unique songwriting craft, ear for production, and versatility have already seen him work with a diverse host of familiar names, including David Byrne, Celeste, and Black Country, New Road. He also co-wrote several songs and performed on FKA twigs' hugely acclaimed album 'Magdalene' and most recently collaborated with esteemed experimental producer Vegyn on the single 'Superstition'. Created over a three-year period, 'Universal Deluge' showcases the depth and breadth of Ethan P. Flynn's distinctive, multi-faceted production methods. Building on the success of his debut album B. Sides & Rarities Vol. 1, the Universal Deluge EP plunges into the darker side of experimental pop. Combining electronic experimentation with stripped-back acoustics, it is a further example of the swirling, psychedelic lo-fi masterpieces Flynn conjures. A sound which has seen him described "as great as Bowie, I'm just waiting for the world to see it... he's a legend in the making" by UK rapper Slowthai. Speaking on the newly released single 'Father of Nine', Ethan P. Flynn says "This song is about complex family relationships between people who haven't met each other. It isn't necessarily a love song at all. There's an urge to feel a kind of affinity with your ancestors but a lot of them were probably really terrible people. I was also thinking about how many weddings had to happen in the past for a person to exist- like an incomprehensible amount of weddings led to your birth."

Detroit/Chicago and odd techno/house sounds influenced French producers Marius Cyrilou and Popodi Venturi to come back with a new banging crossover project called MOTORBREMSEN. Marius and Popodi already had many digital and vinyl releases on various labels like People Potential Unlimited records, Omega Supreme Records, Outrun records and on their own labels, La Maison Venturi, Bazaar Records under the names of Spaced Out Krew, The Ceeofunk Band or
Westbrook (and many others more).
This 5 tracks EP gathers many influences such as Theo Parrish, Moodymann ("So Confused") or Drexciya-n sounds ("Sanctuary"). Some deep and dark bassy house mood concludes this ep ("Human Freaks" , "Riding Over The Darkness"). Besides this, the marvellous voice of Mae Rojas (The Ceeofunk Band) comes with a sensual touch on the track "Tiger Prey (Radio Edit)". This EP gives an instant deep feeling of a happy-to-sad mood, with mysterious and sexy moments.
On A1 "So Confused", Don’t be confused, this is music to drive by in the hood with your low-rider. Gangsta boogie house at his climax for fans of Moodymann, Theo Parrish and all the raw house music mood.
On A2 "Tiger Prey (Radio Edit)", with the help of Mae Rojas (Cee-O-Funk Band) on the mic, Motorbremsen keep pushing their unique vision of house music : soulful but raw, relaxed but not so slow, catchy but weird at the same time.
On A3 "Sanctuary", let’s get on an electro-funk territory here. The guys explore a sound that can be rooted in seminal Arthur Baker’s productions and Drexciya’s mood but this a strong psychedelic feeling that is truly unique. All this comes with the special Motorbremsen’s touch of course. One for the B-Boys on acid...
On B1 "Riding Over The Darkness", get in the D’s train for a cruise. Laidback house with a monstrous bass and this almost G-Funk feeling. Hmmmm… delicious ! One for the lovers.
On B2 "Humanfreaks", let's get a bit darker. What begins like a bumpy beat get you little by little in real moody trip in a hot warehouse. Detroit techno muscular funk-infused inna 2021 style (by two guys who never listen to a Transmat record of their lives).

A guitarist, a composer, a sought-after musical enabler and sideman? Of course, he's all of those things and more, but none of those descriptions really do the seven-time Juno Award-winning musician justice.

Like all of Steve's albums, 'Gone, Long Gone' features brilliant instrumental performances from some of the finest players in roots music. Jeremy Holmes holds everything together on bass with drumming split between Gary Craig and Jay Bellerose (both drummers play together on 'Six Skeletons'), while Kevin McKendree and Chris Gestrin laid down the piano, organ and other keyboards.
Keri Latimer joins in on vocals on two songs, and Steve's old 'Birds of Chicago' band- mate, Allison Russell joined in to sing on a few as did Steve's daughter Casey Dawson. John Prine alumnus Fats Kaplin also dropped in to add some sweet fiddle and mandolin.
'Gone, Long Gone' is just the first of three new albums that Steve created during the lockdown. The next two will come to light over three month intervals throughout 2022. Be on the lookout for a moody, psychedelic pedal steel excursion coming up next!

Jerry Leger follows up his critically acclaimed 'Time Out For Tomorrow' with 'Nothing Pressing'; produced by Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies).Jerry's last self released album 'Songs from the Apartment' was a stripped-down lo-fi affair recorded in Leger's home using a cheap tape recorder with an internal microphone
This lead to two songs from Nothing Pressing, "Underground Blues" and "Sinking In," to be also recorded in Leger's home.The remaining nine tracks included on 'Nothing Pressing' present Leger's work in two starkly contrasting soundscapes.

"Nothing Pressing," "Protector," and "Still Patience," are soloacoustic recordings cut live in the studio with little embellishment. The other six tracks are prime roots rock and roll featuring his long-time band The Situation. Among the latter songs, "Kill It With Kindness" and "Have You Ever Been Happy?" have the kind of drive, energy and spirit that are sure to make them highlights of his future live shows.

Leger often times finds himself at a loss as to explain the source of his songs. He feels his songwriting, while clearly drawing on experiences filtered through a panoply of influences,often verges on being a supernatural experience. Over the course of the eleven songs on Nothing Pressing, the songwriter's songwriter engages with questions of existence, mortality,hope, trust and heartbreak while
simultaneously conjuring feelings of isolation, reflection, longing and gratitude.

Paired with such evocative lyrics are wonderfully crafted melodies, soulful vocals and the spirit and energy of a mature songwriter, comfortable in his skin and growing as an artist withevery release. Nothing Pressing serves a wonderfully refreshing tonic in troubling times

Bishop and Musselwhite join forces for a fun and historic collaboration of front porch blues. Among the most famous bluesmen in the world, with over five decades each of recording and performing, Elvin and Charlie have scanned over 600,000 units combined, despite over two dozen of their releases coming before the advent of Soundscan.
Nominated for 2022 Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album.Winner of Blues Music Awards for Album Of The Year and Traditional Blues Album Of The Year

With the world in chaos, exhilarating new music has become more
important than ever before.

As a re-sult, the emergence of French tech-metal mavericks Stengah could hardly be better timed. One of the most exciting new bands on the planet, the French quintet have spent the last few years in a state of per-petual evolution, armed with some of the most visceral and forward- thinking riffs and refrains in recent memory. Now, the band are ready to introduce themselves to the world. Founded by drummer Eliott Williame in 2013, Stengah have the sound, the smarts and the
ambition to push heavy music ever further into the future. After years of steady evolution and meticulous attention to detail, the band – completed by bassist Benoit Creteur, lead guitarist Maxime Delassus, rhythm guitarist Alex Orta and powerhouse frontman Nicolas Queste - have honed their sound to a state of cutting- edge perfection, as showcased on their formidable, forthcoming debut album SOMA SEMA."The music is about (re)connecting with yourself," says Eliott.
"It's about people, their fears, their faiths and their philosophies. How sometimes those things can guide them, and how sometimes they can blind them. It asks, with no judgement, about how odd and how strange the social and emotional behaviors of human beings are. It's all about the power to believe, in creativity, and in consciousness. Our music is technical but fun to play," adds Eliott. "People often become surprisingly transfixed by our energy, espe-cially when they haven't
seen us before. We love being on stage, we are truly passionate and that is what you see and feel during our live performances, from the first to the last song."

The history of metal is littered with the burnt-out shells of bands that lacked the vision and the vivacity to make things happen. For Stengah, the sheer power and fury of their music drives them forward. Mean- while, the sheer quality and ingenuity of Soma/ Sema looks certain to propel the band swiftly up the heavy music ladder and into the spotlight. Newly signed to Mascot Label Group, they're just getting start-ed and the sky's the limit!

'The Fantasy Life of Poetry & Crime' is another beguiling left turn by one of our most prolific artists, Peter Doherty and is some of his finest work to date Peter's deft lyricism combined with Frederick's delicious francophone musical arrangements is a marriage made in heaven.
Written during lockdown and produced by Frédéric Lo 'The Fantasy Life of Poetry & Crime' was recorded at Cateuil in Étretat (Normandy) and Studio Water Music in Paris and mixed by François Delabrière at Studio Moderne, Paris. All words are by Peter Doherty and music by Frédéric Lo.

'The Fantasy Life of Poetry & Crime' is another beguiling left turn by one of our most prolific artists, Peter Doherty and is some of his finest work to date Peter's deft lyricism combined with Frederick's delicious francophone musical arrangements is a marriage made in heaven.
Written during lockdown and produced by Frédéric Lo 'The Fantasy Life of Poetry & Crime' was recorded at Cateuil in Étretat (Normandy) and Studio Water Music in Paris and mixed by François Delabrière at Studio Moderne, Paris. All words are by Peter Doherty and music by Frédéric Lo.

Desmond Dekker recorded some of his best known songs together with his backing group the Aces. Their track “Israelites” from 1968 became one of the earliest international reggae hits. Dekker's other hits include “007 (Shanty Town)”, “It Mek” and “You Can Get It”, which are all featured on the 1973 compilation album Double Dekker. The album was produced by Leslie Kong and serves an interesting period document of the years 1969-1971, following ska as it evolved into rocksteady.

Legendary American musician Ry Cooder played together with the world's greatest artists, such as John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Neil Young, and Eric Clapton. Cooder is known for his slide guitar work, and was ranked eighth on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”.

Chicken Skin Music was his fifth studio album. The title serves as a direct, simple description of the album's emotional appeal. For this record, Cooder decided to ignore traditional boundaries and instigated lasting cross-cultural communication through music, which was unusual for 1976. Chicken Skin Music blends gospel, folk, blues and Hawaiian with the help of his backing band (Jim Keltner, Milt Holland, Chris Ethridge, and George Bohannon) and two eminent Hawaiian musicians, Gabby Pahinui and Atta Isaacs. In addition, to throw in some Mexican styles, Ry Cooder is assisted by Norteño musician Flaco Jimenez.

Chicken Skin Music is available on black vinyl and includes an insert.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a 2010 fantasy-adventure film based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), the third novel in C. S. Lewis’ fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. It is also the third and final installment in the original Chronicles of Narnia film series. Set three years after the events of Prince Caspian, the film follows the two youngest Pevensie children, Edmund and Lucy, as they return to Narnia to join the new king Caspian in his quest to rescue seven lost lords and to save Narnia from a corrupting evil that resides on a dark island.

Composer David Arnold scored the film, with themes composed by Harry Gregson-Williams (who scored the first two films). It was Arnold’s fourth collaboration with director Michael Apted. He created specific themes for the characters The Dawn Treader and Reepicheep, and used themes from the previous films for the opening and closing scenes as well as recurring characters, to ensure that the film is consistent with the franchise. The score was performed by an 87-piece orchestra and a 40-piece choir, resulting in an epic soundtrack with just the right magical touch to compliment this film.

The Original Soundtrack to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader is available on black vinyl and includes an insert.

In the late ‘70s Greg Sage formed his punk rock band Wipers. Even though most of his devoted fans consider it a trajesty that his name isn’t as known as the bands that were inspired by him (Nirvana a.o), the misunderstood and underrated musician was happy to remain in the underground. Throughout his lengthy and prolific career with a cult following, he has always been known to downplay any attention or recognition given to him, preferring to let the music speak for itself. His original idea of the band was to never go on tour or do interviews, to be mysterious and let listeners have their own ideas. However, he found out early that being involved in the music industry demanded many compromises.

In 1987 their fifth studio album came out, Follow Blind. It was released on Restless Records and went on to become a cult classic. The album is available on black vinyl.

Don’t Go Throwing Roses In My Grave is the first solo record by beloved frontman of The Menzingers, Gregor Barnett Devoted Menzingers fans will love its electrified Americana riffs, yearning
melodies, driving beats and indelible lyrical imagery. The Philadelphia based singer/ songwriter is telling his stories with a folkier style then he does in The Menzingers, but his stories are just as moving and compelling.

Love Tractor's forward-sounding 1988"s "Themes From Venus" will be
treated to a remastered edition on March 18, 2022, by Propeller Sound
Recordings.

Housed in fully redesigned gatefold artwork, the band's fourth release is given a chance to spread the Art Rock pioneers' music out of this world. Considered a founder of the Athens, Georgia alternative music scene'along with The B-52"s, Pylon, and REM. After its original release, Love Tractor embarked on a healthy touring regime to promote the record, including a 60-date stint with The B-52s on
their Cosmic Thing tour. Though the band went on hiatus in the early 1990s, they would return again in 2001 and are currently working on new music.Packaging: CD Remastered & Expanded with 6 Bonus Tracks and Full-Color insert.

Back in print, now on clear vinyl! Tingling tartness of jingle perfection! In addition to being a pioneer of early electronic music, Raymond Scott generated hymns to hunger, odes to pudding and pilsner, and crafted carols for countless other products, elevating the form of advertisement to an art

If Zappa had written music for commercials, it's not hard to think his approach would have been similar! Pressed on clear vinyl at Third Man Pressing and containing varied styles in both instrumentation and vocalization plus previously unavailable electronic works! Products may contain soy, wheat, dairy, or Mel Tormé.

After 3 sold out albums, French Shoegaze heroes Dead Horse One comes back with a new EP, louder than ever, the band tends towards heavier territories such as post-grunge and alternative rock, heavier sound, massive production but still timeless catchy melody lines
Limited to 300 copies on transparent pink vinyl. "When Love Runs Dry is like a time machine. Time froze in 1991. Boris Yeltsin is still in the game, Bill Clinton laughs.. Ride and My Bloody Valentine are the best bands of this damn whole world. Liam Gallagher is fighting in the schoolyard and young Westerners think only of Nirvana. What happened between now and that era? Nothing. We are playing louder than ever."

Jesper Lindell’s second album is a creative tour de force! During two
years of setbacks – weathering label issues, a pandemic, cancelled tours, and a kidney disease to boot – Jesper and his band had little else to do but write and record music.

The result is a remarkable new album; “Twilights”, recorded in their own studio in Brunnsvik, outside of Ludvika, Sweden. The record is produced by Jesper Lindell and Björn Pettersson, but is at its core a collaborative effort from the heart and soul of the whole band. This was fundamental to the recording sessions from the get-go – to encourage ideas and influences from all six members of the band. As
the cherry on top, the album has three luminous guest singers; Swedish Klara Söderberg, one half of sister- duo First Aid Kit; French rockstar Theo Lawrence; and American singer Amy Helm, daughter of The Band’s Levon Helm.

The release of the 1959 Ray Charles album What’d I Say popularized Charles’ first top 10 hit, “What I’d Say” and became his first Gold record. The tune was written on the fly by the American singer, songwriter, pianist and composer during a 1958 live show. Ray Charles was performing one night in December 1958 and when they still had 15 minutes left on the clock to perform, their entire catalogue had been covered and he had to come up with a quick solution in order to save the show and get paid. That’s when Charles started to improvise and played the very first taste of the now-legendary “What’d I Say”.

The album What’d I Say also features “Rockhouse”, “Roll
With My Baby” and “Tell All The World About You”.

Tape

If Texturalis was a real word it might have something to do with the density or porosity of organic compounds.

In the case of Machinefabriek's Texturalis, the word fits the sounds on this album. Sounds indeed, not songs. Anyone familiar with Machinefabriek knows his interest in anything crackling, fizzling and buzzing. For Texturalis, Machinefabriek choose to work on just that; not to be bothered with creating elaborate compositions, but to focus on creating intriguing textures. This resulted in 18 two-minute vignettes. Each of these could be a glimpse of a continuous sound environment.

Tape

Alexandre Bazin's second album for Cassauna is a compelling minimal/experimental/electronic album consisting of one piece separated into several movements for the purpose of stronger narrative and aesthetic coherence. The album explores the concept of percussion and resonance through the spectrum of electronic frequencies and densities with a plunge into the sound.

Percussion-Resonance makes use of a new alphabet, a simple vocabulary in order to create innovative and personal music, with a clear and emotional subject. Structured architectural sequences give way to the experimental. Different climaxes punctuate the work in order to keep grabbing the listener’s attention.The record title tackles the theme of musique concrète developed by French composer Pierre Schaeffer as well a nod to Bernard Parmegiani’s De Natura Sonorum

Alexandre Bazin is a member of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales better known as the GRM, for which he writes documentaries about music for Radio France.

He is passionate about experimental music and more specifically the electronic music created by Bernard Parmegiani, Iannis Xenakis, Pan Sonic, Fennesz, Alva Noto and Ryoji Ikeda. His music is distributed by Important Records / Cassauna, Umor Rex Records and played at the Moogfest festival in the USA.

“Out of Our Hands” brings together Alvin Lucier and Jordan Dykstra who, through the hands of Ordinary Affects, have created debut recordings of two new compositions.

These companion pieces have similar orbits as they were not only both composed in Middletown, CT (where Alvin and Jordan lived for a number of years), but are about Middletown, at least from a starting point. Alvin’s piece — a homage to the location of the house in which he recorded “I am sitting in a room” back in 1969 — continues his study into slow-moving glissandi and carefully crafted beating patters by interweaving three string players within a minor third (voiced by two vibraphonists). The result is entrancing, almost psychedelic, and opens space where one didn’t expect. Like much of his previous work, it is conceptual and process-based; once the wheels get turning they go on and on, giving the listener time to approach the piece, sit with it, and then move back inward.

On the other hand, Dykstra’s piece “32 Middle Tones” (a pun on his Middletown street address and the harmonic microtonality utilized in the composition) is a very textural work. His piece asks the cellist to sustain pitches for extended durations — at times quietly singing in close proximity to the stopped pitch coming from the cello — while the rest of the ensemble (violin, viola, and 2 percussion) voice a sequence of chords separated by notated silences. The cello voice is sometimes alone, but never for too long as it finds itself supported from both the top and bottom in a harmonic embrace. This supportive structure involves a percussion section which colors the seemingly simple chords (major 6th, inverted minor 7th, inverted minor 2nd, etc.) with a non-traditional toolkit of bowed singing bowls, stone sheets, harmonicas, and even leaves.

This is music that gently gives the listener a sense of predictability but always in an unexpected (and subtly indeterminate) shade. Speaking of shade, the album’s cover photo was taken in 2019 in Alvin’s backyard in Middletown. Alvin and Jordan sit with similar demeanors in front of his favorite tree — a crooked aspen which early on looked to be doomed — but which he would often saunter over to spend time with, giving it whispers of blessings and encouraging words.The world was blessed with Alvin’s presence and hopefully this album will whisper to you and yours.

Artist statement:
“With Alvin’s recent passing I was overwhelmed with messages and calls from friends, collaborators, and his former students. Everyone had a heavy heart, no doubt, but were grateful for the memories and their gift to be around Alvin during his lifetime of prolific dedication to the arts, his fascination with poetic storytelling through scientifically-inspired minimalism, and his calm and warmhearted spirit. In his last few years on earth, Alvin was busier than ever — brainstorming new ideas, creating new pieces, and planning big things. While he was here, he was alive, and may his music — and spirit — live on forever, spreading from his corner of Church and High (where he recorded his seminal piece I am sitting in a room) to every corner, concert hall, and loudspeaker in the world.”

Over twelve tracks performed across three sessions from 2012, 2013 & 2014 the undeniable song writing brilliance of David Gedge is clearly evident. From the bounding, propulsive recklessness of ‘Back A Bit... Stop’ (Valentina) to the harsh edges and sudden tempo changes of ‘Heather’ (Seamonsters), The Wedding Present’s bass-driven, muscular riffs are a constant theme throughout. Gedge’s bittersweet lyrics and honest take on love are highlighted in such tracks as ‘The Girl From The DDR’ (Valentina) and ‘Little Silver’ (Going, Going...). Other memorable moments include a frenzied cover of The Monkees' ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ and a rapturous performance of ‘Flying Saucer’ [both taken from the Hit Parade series of singles] along with a rousing ‘It’s A Gas’ and a heartfelt ‘Spangle’ - complete with an apologetic Gedge clearing his throat mid-verse - from the Watusi album. Tracklisting: Tracks 1-4 Recorded 19/11/12 Back A Bit… Stop (Valentina 2012) Heather (Seamonsters 1991) You Should Always Keep In Touch With Your Friends (Tommy 1987) The Girl From The DDR (Valentina 2012) Tracks 5-8 Recorded 21/10/13 Flying Saucer (Hit Parade 2 1993)

Two Bridges (Going, Going… 2016) Pleasant Valley Sunday (Hit Parade 1 1991) Montreal (Saturnalia 1996) Tracks 9-12 Recorded 3/11/14 It’s A Gas (Watusi 1994) Spangle (Watusi 1994) Birdsnest (Going, Going… 2016) Little Silver (Going, Going… 2016)

Having received critical acclaim for releases 1 and 2, ‘Marc Riley Sessions Volume 3’, features 9 tracks recorded for the award winning BBC Radio 6 Music show in 2015 and 2016. “The two sessions on this compilation feature many songs that appear on

‘Going, Going...’ the studio album that The Wedding Present released in 2016. ‘Going, Going...’ itself was an extensive audio-visual

project recorded over the space of eighteen months in Provence, Liverpool and Seattle. Track listing: A. Tracks 1-4 Recorded 04/11/15 1. Ten Sleep (Going, Going… 2016) 2. Broken Bow (Going, Going… 2016) 3. You Only Live Twice 4. 1000 Fahrenheit (Valentina 2012) B. Tracks 1-5 Recorded 08/09/16 1. Rachel (Going, Going… 2016) 2. Bear (Going, Going… 2016) 3. Jumper Clown 4. Kill Devil Hills (Going, Going… 2016) 5. Santa Monica (Going, Going… 2016)

Having received critical acclaim for releases 1 and 2, ‘Marc Riley Sessions Volume 3’, features 9 tracks recorded for the award winning BBC Radio 6 Music show in 2015 and 2016. “The two sessions on this compilation feature many songs that appear on

‘Going, Going...’ the studio album that The Wedding Present released in 2016. ‘Going, Going...’ itself was an extensive audio-visual

project recorded over the space of eighteen months in Provence, Liverpool and Seattle. Track listing: A. Tracks 1-4 Recorded 04/11/15 1. Ten Sleep (Going, Going… 2016) 2. Broken Bow (Going, Going… 2016) 3. You Only Live Twice 4. 1000 Fahrenheit (Valentina 2012) B. Tracks 1-5 Recorded 08/09/16 1. Rachel (Going, Going… 2016) 2. Bear (Going, Going… 2016) 3. Jumper Clown 4. Kill Devil Hills (Going, Going… 2016) 5. Santa Monica (Going, Going… 2016)

Vier Broadcast BBC-Radiosessions, die zwischen 1996 und 2003 meist für John Peel aufgenommen wurden, werden zum ersten Mal kommerziell verfügbar gemacht, mastered von den Originalbändern, mit Artwork von Julian House. Neben alternativen Versionen vieler beliebter Broadcast-Songs enthält das Album auch Raritäten wie 'Forget Every Time' (das nur in der hier enthaltenen Session von 1996 für die Nachwelt festgehalten wurde) und das Nico-Cover 'Sixty Forty'.

A holy grail of French classic new wave! Thierry Müller, who initiated the French RUTH project, is not at his first try when the album POLAROID/ROMAN/PHOTO including the eponymous title track is released in 1985, but already a known name in underground experimental/electronic music with ARCANE, ILITCH (albums "Periodmindtrouble", "10 Suicides") as well as the more punky RUTH M.ELLIYERI (cult track "Mescalito"). Together with Philippe Doray, quite a big name of French experimental music at the times, Müller started RUTH. As early as 1982, a first instrumental version of the track Polaroïd/Roman/Photo is out under the name of the project RUTH. "I wanted to write a piece to make the girls dance and make fun of the boys. I plugged a small handmade clock on my Farfisa organ as a sequencer. I had a small Roland synth-guitar, I put the organ in it and that's how it started." Next came Frédérique Lapierre, who contributed original vocals on the track in 1984 as well as wrote lyrics and sung two more album tracks. Thierry asks some friends to write texts for the album and then recording tracks with Phillipe as well as Frédérique. But when the sessions are over, both musicians are not too happy with the results of the Polaroïd/Roman/Photo version: according to them, it lacks "flamboyance". They decide then to record a new female voice with a professional singer (Frédérique Cambon), sound engineer Patrick Chevalot offers to mix the track "so that it blows out". The whole album was finally released in 1985 with Paris Album, a small independant label, barely selling 50 copies in 1985, despite its eponymous title as a potential success. A first limited CD version was issued in 2001 via Fractal, but In 2004, DJs Marc Colin and Ivan Smagghe discover the track Polaroïd/Roman/Photo and decide to exhume it from oblvion. They released it on a compilation called So Young but so cold (Tigersushi) and then with Born Bad records on the BIPPP compilation in 2008. Thanks to them, the track (remixed and released via Aufnahme & Wiedergabe) and the album (reissued in 2008 (CD) via Infrastition and 2010 (LP) via Angular) started a new life, now back in print via BORN BAD RECORDS! + 12 pages booklet (Iiner notes UK + french) + Download code RIYL: Cold, Minimal & New Wave, Dark Dance, Elektro

Repress

Humans controlling machines or machines controlling humans. KAOS has born as a form order approaching the machine music to human emotions, from the dance floor for the dance floor. Distinctive techno tools on high energy mode for Disc-jockeys and collectors.

KAOS is a subdivision from OAKS

Compiled and selected by Hector Oaks.

A key proponent of the Korean music scene, Marcus L runs the infamous club Faust in Seoul, pushing forward the local sound and embodying the culture that comes along with it. Evidence of this can be found on the tongue-in-cheek title track Kimchi Slap where Marcus works with Korean rapper Kill.gone for a verse about the local food staple. The EP encapsulates Marcus’ love for techno, industrial & hardcore with a playful attitude sure to make you dance, rounded off nicely with an epically beautiful remix from Hadone.

As a lifelong soul boy - poet, actor, presenter Craig Charles has been adding to his trunk of funk music since his youth, and now after almost 20 years hosting his world renowned BBC6 Music and Radio 2 shows, DJing at clubs and festivals around the globe his reputation as an ambassador for all things soulful & funky is indisputable. Craig was overwhelmed with the success of Volume 1 which hit the Official UK Album charts; "It's been a whole year (and what a weird year) since I unleashed Volume 1 on a music starved world. It clearly hit home with a funk hungry public as it got into the UK charts, nestled between film soundtracks and pop compilations, so I'd like to thank everyone for supporting - especially those who grabbed the double vinyl album - that was an instant sell out!" Volume 2 contains all the trademark features his fans have come to love -kicking off with The Allergies - and their 100% exclusive Trunk Of Funk remix of their bombastic Move On Baby.

Following the release of his exhilarating recent album Bring Backs, London based producer, pianist, bandleader and MC Alfa Mist today announces news of an upcoming EP, Two For Mistake alongside the track 'Bumper Cars'. The EP, out via ANTI-, will be available digitally on 17th November before getting a physical 10" vinyl release on 18th March 2022. Alfa's upcoming tour will be starting in November in the UK and starting Janaury for mainland Europe. The run will be the first time fans will be able to hear tracks from Bring Backs, and Two For Mistake, in a live setting. Bring Backs marked Alfa's first release for the label ANTI- and is also the most detailed exploration of his upbringing in musical form, one which has resonated with audiences to the tune of 7.5 million culuated streams to date. The album's nine tracks of groove-based intricacies, lyrical solipsism and meandering fragmentations are tied together by a remarkable poem written by Hilary Thomas expressing the sensuous realities of building community in a new country. Entirely written and produced by Alfa, the album was recorded in London with a core band of longtime collaborators including Jamie Leeming (guitar), Kaya Thomas-Dyke (bass and vocals) and Johnny Woodham (trumpet).

It's pressed on red transparent recycled vinyl.

The feel good song "Everytime" from the album "Serendipity" by Lisa Decker & Japanese Jazz trio Nautilus gets the Pat Van Dyke treatment plus a special appearance by South Bronx born emcee John Robinson aka Lil Sci of the legendary east coast group ScienZ of Life who performed with the likes of The Roots, Common, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Run DMC and MF DOOM to name a few.

Multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Pat Van Dyke from New Jersey is giving the song a totally new direction with playful horns and heavy bassline to get the soundsystems bumping.

Nate Scheible's "work of gentle genius" – Fairfax – is arriving on vinyl & all digital services in February 2022. Remastered by Lawrence English and featuring brand new artwork, this edition uncovers a completely new side of the "dreamy and dramatic, meditative and somber" album by the American artist. ~~~

"Few albums have stuck with me like Nate Scheible's Fairfax. In fact, I feel lucky to have had my copy of the original tape to drop into over several years, some heartbreaks, a few streaks of loneliness; when I've not felt terribly well, or couldn't face reflecting for fear of noticing personal decay.

With fresh treatment from mastering maestro, Lawrence English, this new version has brought out fresh new colours in Scheible's elegant composition. The moments of icy isolation are sharper, while the embrace of the album's finale is warmer and heartier than ever. Scheible's found polaroids on the front of the package also fit so aptly that they barely even feel new. The album's allure and message of craving is more powerful than ever.

To anybody who hears this album, she's a great heroine of literature, the voice of Fairfax. Her frank admissions of longing and weakness are infectious cries of hope. She's a powerful woman, unashamed, the innermost voice of reason, grasping the world together selflessly. I wanted to tell her about the times when things weren't so good. I want to tell her now too, just how well things can turn out.

Scheible's beds of oozing and luscious melodies, decaying on reels or tape, flinging out from plucked bass strings, or rising from a struck vibraphone, are a truly loving soundtrack to this mysterious voice found on a tape that came into the artist's possession. The audio letters reveal the woman's story of painful hope and self-gifted redemption, while the click of the saxophone and moan of Scheible's wobbly piano snippets, they sing her – no ~our~ – mood right back to us. Fairfax reminds us that, like the protagonist, we're all gonna do something, ~someday~."
– Tristan Bath

Featuring: Deena Abdelwahed, Rabih Beaini, Fari Bradley, Dieb 13, DJ Sniff, Gavsborg (Equiknoxx), Electric Indigo, Donzilla Lion (Nyege Nyege), Marina Rosenfeld, Microhm, Muqata’a, Bob Ostertag, Rrose

Project presentation:

Sampler / Sampled is an album made of two interdependent parts rather than a double-album.

The first part of the project, Sampler, is a trumpet solo album that catalogues the unique sounds and extended techniques that Mazen Kerbaj developed for the instrument in the past 25 years; it consists of 318 pieces ranging from less than a second to forty seconds each, and presenting different sonic materials. This catalogue of sounds works on various levels: first and foremost, it is a trumpet solo that could be played in its original order, or in random mode to create different pieces of music. But it is also a collection of samples that could be used for various applications (ringtones, phone sound effects, cinema…) and, of course, to create new pieces of music based on sampling.

The second part of the project is the composition Sampled for a musician working with loops and/or samples. The composition has one instruction: create a piece of music using solely tracks from Sampler as your sound source (with the possibility to use all kind of effects or treatment). Each interpreter/musician becomes thus a co-composer who appropriates the piece and makes it their own. In this regard, the musicians that were commissioned to play Sampled were chosen from different geographical origins and musical genres to create highly different and personal pieces of music.

One important output of this project is putting in practice the overused idea of music as a universal language. This idea is very present in “free improvised music” where musicians from different origins can meet for the first time and make music together without the need to adapt to different musical traditions. But here, the collective part of creating music in real time is not involved. It is rather the contrary: it starts with one middle-eastern musician creating a new language/vocabulary for his western instrument, to be later used by other musicians from around the globe who will appropriate this vocabulary and use it with their own language/grammar.
The final output of this double faceted album that was recorded during the Covid lockdown proved to be a very efficient new way to collaborate from a distance in times of world isolation, and ultimately put in practice the universality of music by breaking the boundaries of genres that are the most difficult to break.

Fresh in from the powerhouse that is Bokeh Versions, we have a first time vinyl issue of two (future)classic Dancehall EPs from Kingston - RDL Shellah's 'Showcase' on one side, and G Sudden's 'Bunout Boss' on the other, with the elusive / productive SEEKERSINTERNATIONAL on production on both sides.

Inner Vision also features four cuts, these courtesy of DJ Compufunk, aka Nao from Osaka. He's the founder of Compufunk Records (the longest-running record shop for House and Techno in Japan) and, as the four solidly crafted tracks show, an experienced producer in his own right. The vertigo-inducing title track struts aggressively with a high-velocity swing peppered by tinkling synth accents and acidy squelches, after which “Abyss” cools the pace for a sexier House style (a swishing drum machine detail even gives the cut a rather Kraftwerk-like tinge). On the flip, “Midnight Sky” grooves as boldly, this time with a smattering of Garage worked into its swing and chiming synths brightening the mix, while “Mind Power” changes things up with a swirling bottom end that's so dizzying it's positively gyroscopic. Dj Compufunk sn't averse to packing his productions with layers of dizzying detail, and as a result the stimulation level remains high throughout. Strictly limited 250 copies.

blue Marbled Vinyl Repress

Med School Music veteran Bop launches his own label "Microfunk Music". The first release contains 4 minimalistic tunes, starting from the chill autonomic moods and the lovely nostalgic arpeggio of "Telescope" written by Bop and Synkro, moving to Nuage's fragile synths and luscious summer vocals, followed by a warm analogue bass in "Endless Green". In addition to these beautiful sounds, Microfunk Crew includes the more energetic, fit for the dance floor drum&bass with strong juke and ambient influences of "Crab Nebula". The EP is perfectly completed by Dissident with his kind and even slightly infantile soundscapes in "Design Yourself". This vinyl record is a great introduction to the label's unique sound. Each song has its own character and tells a specific story; however the wholepiece sounds very organic and will definitely appeal to the intelligent electronic music fans.

Laid back roots, led and arranged by the great Tommy McCook. Never before pressed on 45 and this mix has never been released before. A thing of great beauty! Comes in a hand stamped bag. Produced by Bunny Lee. If you were looking to explain to someone what was great about both Tommy McCook and the Aggrovators and Bunny Lee’s production prowess. Play them this.

New imprint and musical project from Benjamin Diamond (french iconic member of Stardust and voice of the hit "Music Sounds Better With You") & Ulysse Genet!

Two numbers referring to the year 1972.

And in two numbers, everything is said.

The project is simple and ambitious, it is the soundtrack of life passing by, of our lives, of theirs: those of two boys who became two men, both born the same year. 1972. And contrary to its commercial destination, the «TM» sometimes af fixed to these two letters appears here rather like a real mental tattoo, if not a purely aes thetic gesture, as if to tell us: these sounds, these feelings, these immaterial emotions, were deposited in the dark recesses of these two brains, these two minds, before passing through their bodies, passing through their fingers, then through the keyboards, the ins truments, to transform themselves, to turn into sounds, which, themselves, through the alchemy of creation, become music.

And this music is the soundtrack to these two lives: Benjamin Cohen. Ulysse Genet. And these two lives which at one point crossed, met. And from this crossing was born 72. From these two experiences, from these memories, from the memories of the two artists, music is revealed. Four tracks for the moment, instrumental, mixing the reminiscences of hip hop, the echoes of the ‘ambient’ created by Brian Eno, the techno vo lutes of Detroit, and more particularly those of Carl Craig. Without forgetting the roots of what has been called the French Touch... this unique musical adventure revealing France abroad in a singular way, in which Benjamin Cohen has actively participated.

Lempuyang's third offering is an outstanding split release between Steve O'Sullivan & Hydergine, label bosses for Mosaic/Bluetrain & Ranges. In 'Binary Riddim' Steve delivers a two-part dub track spanning >13 minutes, seriously heavy in the low end; melancholy strings in the first half, progressing to outright menacing chord stabs in the latter. A versatile track offering something for both warm-up and the dancefloor. Complimenting on the flip are 'Mystic Light' and 'Lunar Eclipse' from Hydergine. Deep, dubby atmospherics meander over a weighty 909 kick on B1. Subtle minimalism a la Terrence Dixon, pitched down on B2. Essential release!

Quindi Records returns once more to the swooning romanticism of Cabaret du Ciel, the long-running project from Andrea Desidera and Gian Luigi Morosin. After the contemporary material which made up long-player The Breath Of Infinity, Raintears heads back into the group's archives and focuses on a limited cassette release from 1991.

Originally released on Morosin's own Ionisation Tapes, Raintears is described as heralding a new phase for Cabaret du Ciel following their earlier Solarisation and Weather Colours cassettes. This revised, expanded version of the release opens with 'Raintears (Piano Version)', which originally came out on an Ionisation compilation entitled Imago Sonora 1. Truly evoking the spirit of the track and its meaning, it was recorded on a rainy Sunday afternoon when Desidera's friend and trained pianist Francesco Martignon heard the original melody for 'Raintears' and proceeded to improvise on the theme, with Desidera and Morosin embellishinbg Martignon's exquisite playing with subtle touches of synth and sampling. In its fragile, tape-worn repose, the piece is loaded with the delicate ambience a rainy Sunday afternoon implies - calm, melancholic and wistful.

'A New Day' is a piece cast in light and shade, contrasting two core melodic phrases expressed through synth and guitar, with a light touch of speech sampling adding to the cinematic poise of the track. 'Time Of The Twins' originally appeared as a single track on the cassette release, but here it's framed as two distinct parts which meet in the middle. The first half is patient, gliding ambience rich in the harmonic interplay and winding narratives which typifies Cabaret du Ciel overall. The second half opens up like a flower looking for the sun, all pronounced keys pirouetting across the fundamental chord progression established in the first chapter.

'A Delvaux Postcard', previously titled 'East Roads', takes on a spectral, spacious form as it passes by slow, rhythmic pulses and freewheeling synths, momentarily joined by scattered shards of sampled voice layered and filtered in a manner which reminded Morosin of Belgian surrealist painter Paul Delvaux. The EP closes with the original version of 'Raintears' (billed here as 'Raintears II'), a plaintive and disarmingly beautiful ambient piece centered on Desidera's light and poignant playing. As Morosin himself describes, "Andrea is in a full state of grace, touching the listener through his fingers with the notes into their deepest emotions. The first time I listened to the basic version, I was just speechless."

Released in conjunction with the reissue of the Raintears EP, Quindi is proud to present further archival finds from Italian experimental project Cabaret du Ciel. Like a Fool / Inside Loneliness is a single shining a light on the brief collaboration between Andrea Desidera, Gian Luigi Morosin and singer Barbara Volpato.

After years working as an instrumental outfit, the sessions with Volpato from 1991 were the first time Desidera and Morosin's project had welcomed in a vocalist. Of the many tracks written and recorded at that time, the best two were selected and carefully restored from the original tapes, now immortalised on vinyl and expanding the public impression of Cabaret du Ciel.

'Like A Fool' re-imagines the hazy serenity of Cabaret du Ciel in a dream pop context, injecting the soft-focus synth work with the energy of bold drums to provide a suitable framework for Volpato's voice. The crisp twang of new wave guitar completes the picture, while the trademark progression intrinsic to Cabaret du Ciel lends itself to the traditional song structures of pop.

'Inside Loneliness' is a natural companion to the A side, redolent with the heavy-hearted synth-pop romanticism of the late 80s and early 90s. The DIY sound on the track conveys an intimacy that can only come from artists recording in their own private environment, pouring their hearts and souls into a four-track recorder without a conceit other than pure, honest expression.

Athlete Whippet return to Toy Tonics with an EP showcasing emotionally layered dance tracks and their refusal to stick to genre conventions. The duo are synonymous with sublime cuts that are just as suited to late nights and early mornings on the dancefloor, as they are to home-listening, this perfectly exhibited on the "Noguiera" EP.

The four-tracker is named after a remote place in the mountains around Rio de Janeiro where it was made on a creatively fruitful getaway in 2021. It's sentimental, joyful, bouncy, and futuristic, and showcases the duo’s musicality combining bass guitar and piano, with hardware synths, loops and fragmented vocal samples.

Robin explains - "Spending time in Brazil in recent years was a blessing. The nature, culture and musical heritage over there is beautiful. Mostly in solitude, as I ended up spending most of my time in a remote place in the mountains around Rio, music became the only real emotional outlet for a while. So in a way this is a record of dance music created as far away as we’ve ever been from the dance floor!"

Both from a live performance background, Robin and Avi met studying at Goldsmiths London and found their way to the dance floor via playing in bands, Robin a guitarist, Avi classically trained in trumpet and later on picking up the keys. Absorbing the community of South London, they eventually set up artist collective and record label Squareglass - a proudly established home for new artists coming out of the area. They’ve remixed for the likes of Rhythm Section, collaborated with Olugbenga, and their releases have come with reworks from Ross from Friends, Cameo Blush, Baltra and Seb Wildblood. In 2021, their hybrid sound found a new home with tastemaker German label Toy Tonics who released their "Vesta" EP in May, followed by a run of European tour dates including Funkhaus Berlin, Phonox London and Amsterdam Dance Event.

Gábor Lázár’s “Boundary Object” is a collection of eight real-time recorded, unedited tracks made in Budapest and Prague between 2020 and 2022 using a self-designed compositional interface. It's Gábor Lázár’s second album for Planet Mu following “Source” in 2020. The title comes from the idea of a Boundary object as a flexible concept of sociology and computation of how collaborations could happen between groups of people who have different kinds of backgrounds and different levels of knowledge. A Boundary object could be anything which translates between these groups to make a collaboration happen. Boundary objects are plastic, interpreted differently across communities but with enough common identity across social words and contexts to maintain integrity. This is a neat summary of how Gábor’s approach and working process led to his music on this album. Prismatic, flexible, and functioning on different levels of interpretation. On “Boundary Object”, the shiny surfaces and uniformity of “Source” have collapsed inward, leaving intact the recognisable pulse and frames of his music. While each individual track has a non-linear structure, the album as a whole has a strong narrative. Passages that start out Trance-like and familiar warp and weft into different shapes as if Gábor is examining the music like a 3d object, pulling at the edges, breaking and rebuilding what he examines, turning expectations inside-out. “Boundary Object” is intense, full-spectrum and a lot of fun.

Max Dean and Prunk come together in superb fashion for a new EP on South. It features three new cuts from Max, with a Prunk remix making it another explosive package.

Up first is Loving Saturday, a driving house track with a nagging, soulful vocal that really tugs at the heart strings. The bass is warm and the drums kick hard, but this one really has some standout emotion to it. This Party is a more loose, fluid, ducking and diving groove, with rich percussion making it a perfect late night groove. More deft vocals add some human emotion as this one drives on.

This Party (Prunk Remix) is then a nice spaced out deep house cut that has real bite. The kicks and hi hats fuse together perfectly, while balmy pads encircle the groove to bring the vibes. Last of all, Sunshine Upon the 33 is another big hearted out track with an irresistible groove. The dynamic drums never let up, while the spaced out pads work and great vocal samples all elevate the track.

This is a fantastic four track package from this new one to watch label.

First release on Sydney based label Natural-High comes from Neotex with four cuts ranging from club focused music to ambient home listening. Music for your body and mind.