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Freestyle Records drop a killer UK soul/early street soul reissue LP from 1988, in the form of Rick Clarke's hard to come by 'Time Keeps Moving On' album.

Originally appearing on the Raven label in 1988, Time Keeps Moving On constituted Rick Clarke's first LP following his work in the earlier eighties as part of brit-funk groups Potion and Side On, and solo output including Love with a Stranger (released on The Specials' Ghost Town's producer John Collins' Local Records imprint) and a few singles for RCA. Largely co-written and co-produced with Peter Hinds (Take Three, Atmosfear, Light of the World) and a guest turn from Master T aka Toyin Agbetu - this is foundational street soul that appeared at a time when the likes of Loose Ends were starting to break through to the US, and Soul II Soul just emerging.

“A huge thing for this record was to make it feel as close to our live show as possible,” says Tom Sharkett of W.H. Lung’s latest album. “We didn’t want it to sound live but we wanted to capture the excitement of the live performances.”

This is something that has become paramount to the group in recent years as they have undeniably blossomed into one of the most joyous and arresting live bands in the country. “The reason I’m in a band is to play live music,” says singer Joe Evans. “For me, music is live music. That’s what it’s for, to be played with people.”

The five-piece band, also featuring Chris Mulligan, Hannah Peace, and Alex Mercer-Main, decided to try something new on their third album after two incredibly successful collaborations with previous producer Matt Peel. In order to capture the energy, spirit and dynamism of their live shows, they relocated to Sheffield to work with Ross Orton (MIA, Arctic Monkeys, Working Men’s Club) who was able to harness this side of the band to remarkable effect. “Ross is the Sheffield Steve Albini,” says Evans. “He’s the king of not overthinking it and trusting the process of the art of recording songs. He was always there to stop us fucking around with cerebral stuff and get it down.” Sharkett echoes this too: “He was the exact producer we needed without us even realising. His productions and mixes are bombastic, lively and in your face and that’s exactly what we wanted.”

However, while this album is rooted in a sense of capturing a moment and a sparky liveness, that’s not to say it’s a raw or ragged record. It is still a meticulously composed, delicately layered and pristinely produced piece of work that, in true W.H. Lung style, runs the gauntlet from dance to pop to indie while still capturing that distinctly unique quality that is unquestionably their own. “It was a really big thing for me to realise what made us sound like us on this record,” says Sharkett. “I think the album sounds a lot more confident and self assured because of it. Some songs sound just so much like Lung and I’m really proud of that. I’m not sure we’ve done that as consistently across the other records.”

While the band have drilled deeper into finding their own singular identity, it’s not a record resting on its laurels. It’s a significant leap forward, expanding on their solid foundations while also breaking new ground. “The big difference with this record is its directness in every sense,” says Sharkett. “The songwriting is more upfront. Previously we’d focused a lot on vibe and production as opposed to just writing songs. The overall mission here was to revert to a classic songwriting structure and for the production to come afterwards.” And so what you have on this record are deeply considered and well-crafted songs, then recorded with blistering intensity in the moment, and then given a touch of experimentation afterwards. Then throw in Orton’s contributions to the band and it’s proven to be a real winning formula. “He brought a real dose of magic to the songs we’d written,” says Sharkett. “And brought an extra bit of wonk and quirkiness each time.”

The band’s ability to write more traditional and conventional songs is clearly a skill they’ve taken to with ease, at times there’s an almost Springsteen-like quality – but if he'd ever had an ecstasy period – to tracks such as ‘Thinner Wine’ and ‘Bloom and Fade’. While ‘How to Walk’ was constructed with one thing only in mind: that it would absolutely slay on stage. “I can’t wait to play this live,” says Evans. “We wanted a song to represent our live set, a new big one, and this is it.” Once again it leans towards the anthemic, with its driving, propulsive charge complete with incandescent synths and vocal melodies so irresistible you can already hear them being sung in unison by a crowd.

It’s an incredibly difficult feat to pull off a record that is more rooted in traditional songcraft while also capturing the power of a live performance, as well as pushing sonics into experimental new directions while working with a brand new collaborator. But here the band has managed to do just that. And the album’s closing song ‘I Will Set Fire To The House’ is a perfect example of such a thing. It’s a song that feels immaculately constructed but also very much alive and of the moment as its radiating synths engulf from the off, and Evans’ vocal is silky but powerful and in perfect symbiosis with Peace’s. It’s a song that captures the endless joys of music playing long into the night. “It may be a bit of a bloody bombastic way to end an album saying ‘and we’ll dance into the sunrise’,” says Evans. “But fuck it.”

MORE PRESS ON ‘VANITIES’ (MELO131)

"Vanities artily refines an exhilarating brand of up-front electro-dance" MOJO ⅘

'Idiosyncratic yet euphoric electronic pop on triumphant second LP' 9/10 Uncut

''One of the most effective alternative pop albums of the year'' 4/5 Record Collector
'Dance music for the modern age' - The Times (4*)

"Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me", das vierte Album von Porridge Radio, wurde Anfang 2024 in Somerset vom langjährigen Big Thief- und Laura Marling-Tontechniker Dom Monks aufgenommen und ist ein Moment des Erwachsenwerdens, inspiriert von Burnout, der Musikindustrie, Herzschmerz und der zunehmenden Vertiefung der Bandleaderin Dana Margolin in ihr eigenes Handwerk als Künstlerin. Margolins rücksichtsloser, sich selbst hinterfragender Schreibstil wird auf dem gesamten Album durch die bisher ergreifendste Musik der Band ergänzt, die sich geduldig aufbaut und tragisch intensiv ist. "Alle Songs begannen als Gedichte, ich wollte mich selbst herausfordern", sagt Dana Margolin über das Werk, aus dem "Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me" wurde. "In einem Song kann sich der Autor immer hinter den Tricks der Musik und altbekannten Techniken wie Wiederholungen verstecken. In einem Gedicht hingegen sind es nur Worte und das war's." "Vieles auf diesem Album handelt von einer frenetischen und verzweifelten Art von Liebe, es geht um den völligen Verlust meines Selbstbewusstseins in einer Beziehung und um den tiefen Rest von Unsicherheit und Schmerz, der eine neue Beziehung trübte." Lieder, die als Liebeslieder geschrieben wurden - wie "In A Dream I'm A Painting" - bekamen neue Bedeutungen, als Margolin die Lieder mit einer neuen Distanz betrachtete. "Es gab eine Menge Liebe und Verwirrung, alles durchsetzt mit Erschöpfung und Schmerz." Die Clouds-Sessions fanden in Frome statt, als der Winter zu Beginn des Jahres 2024 in den Frühling überging. "Es gab ein paar Zusammenbrüche", grinst Dana, eine faire Einschätzung der Aufnahme solch intimer und persönlicher Songs, "nach einigen Takes brach ich einfach auf dem Boden zusammen, so aufgebracht war ich." Es wurde ein Umfeld geschaffen, in dem Dana sich ausdrücken konnte und in dem sie gefördert wurde. "Wir hatten jeden Abend diese großen gemeinsamen Mahlzeiten", sagt sie, "es fühlte sich sehr eng und fürsorglich und warm und besonders an. Unser kleines Haus lag auf einem großen Hügel, ein Fluss floss hindurch, es war groß und hell und schön", erinnert sich Dana. Das Studio selbst war hell - voller strahlendem natürlichem Licht aus den großen Fenstern, ein Segen für Musiker, die an die abgeschottete Welt der meisten Aufnahmestudios gewöhnt sind, und zum ersten Mal konnten alle im selben Raum wie der Produzent aufnehmen. "Es fühlt sich an, als hätten wir zum ersten Mal etwas gemacht", erklärt sie und freut sich hörbar über das Album, "es hat etwas von unserer Freundschaft eingefangen und von der Art und Weise, wie wir gelernt haben, zusammen zu spielen. Ich liebe die Songs, ich liebe es, sie zu spielen, sie sind nicht alt geworden und es fühlt sich an, als wäre es etwas Besonderes." Eine Pause. "Es hat mich so viel gelehrt. Deinem Bauchgefühl zu folgen, auf deine Freunde und ihre Loyalität zu vertrauen, darauf zu vertrauen, dass du mit Leuten richtig kämpfen kannst. So will ich leben, so will ich Platten machen, denn Platten machen ist mein Leben, denn meine Arbeit ist mein Spiel, mein Job ist mein Leben. Alles ist in dieser Sache miteinander verbunden, und es gibt Wege darin, die mich nicht umbringen."

"Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me", das vierte Album von Porridge Radio, wurde Anfang 2024 in Somerset vom langjährigen Big Thief- und Laura Marling-Tontechniker Dom Monks aufgenommen und ist ein Moment des Erwachsenwerdens, inspiriert von Burnout, der Musikindustrie, Herzschmerz und der zunehmenden Vertiefung der Bandleaderin Dana Margolin in ihr eigenes Handwerk als Künstlerin. Margolins rücksichtsloser, sich selbst hinterfragender Schreibstil wird auf dem gesamten Album durch die bisher ergreifendste Musik der Band ergänzt, die sich geduldig aufbaut und tragisch intensiv ist. "Alle Songs begannen als Gedichte, ich wollte mich selbst herausfordern", sagt Dana Margolin über das Werk, aus dem "Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me" wurde. "In einem Song kann sich der Autor immer hinter den Tricks der Musik und altbekannten Techniken wie Wiederholungen verstecken. In einem Gedicht hingegen sind es nur Worte und das war's." "Vieles auf diesem Album handelt von einer frenetischen und verzweifelten Art von Liebe, es geht um den völligen Verlust meines Selbstbewusstseins in einer Beziehung und um den tiefen Rest von Unsicherheit und Schmerz, der eine neue Beziehung trübte." Lieder, die als Liebeslieder geschrieben wurden - wie "In A Dream I'm A Painting" - bekamen neue Bedeutungen, als Margolin die Lieder mit einer neuen Distanz betrachtete. "Es gab eine Menge Liebe und Verwirrung, alles durchsetzt mit Erschöpfung und Schmerz." Die Clouds-Sessions fanden in Frome statt, als der Winter zu Beginn des Jahres 2024 in den Frühling überging. "Es gab ein paar Zusammenbrüche", grinst Dana, eine faire Einschätzung der Aufnahme solch intimer und persönlicher Songs, "nach einigen Takes brach ich einfach auf dem Boden zusammen, so aufgebracht war ich." Es wurde ein Umfeld geschaffen, in dem Dana sich ausdrücken konnte und in dem sie gefördert wurde. "Wir hatten jeden Abend diese großen gemeinsamen Mahlzeiten", sagt sie, "es fühlte sich sehr eng und fürsorglich und warm und besonders an. Unser kleines Haus lag auf einem großen Hügel, ein Fluss floss hindurch, es war groß und hell und schön", erinnert sich Dana. Das Studio selbst war hell - voller strahlendem natürlichem Licht aus den großen Fenstern, ein Segen für Musiker, die an die abgeschottete Welt der meisten Aufnahmestudios gewöhnt sind, und zum ersten Mal konnten alle im selben Raum wie der Produzent aufnehmen. "Es fühlt sich an, als hätten wir zum ersten Mal etwas gemacht", erklärt sie und freut sich hörbar über das Album, "es hat etwas von unserer Freundschaft eingefangen und von der Art und Weise, wie wir gelernt haben, zusammen zu spielen. Ich liebe die Songs, ich liebe es, sie zu spielen, sie sind nicht alt geworden und es fühlt sich an, als wäre es etwas Besonderes." Eine Pause. "Es hat mich so viel gelehrt. Deinem Bauchgefühl zu folgen, auf deine Freunde und ihre Loyalität zu vertrauen, darauf zu vertrauen, dass du mit Leuten richtig kämpfen kannst. So will ich leben, so will ich Platten machen, denn Platten machen ist mein Leben, denn meine Arbeit ist mein Spiel, mein Job ist mein Leben. Alles ist in dieser Sache miteinander verbunden, und es gibt Wege darin, die mich nicht umbringen."

. By his early 20s, Kurious was already an in-demand voice on the mic. His 1994 major label debut album, A Constipated Monkey, is a classic of its style, marked by heavy beats and nimble rhymes that are razor-sharp yet frequently hilarious. Despite being hailed as one of hip-hop's most compelling lyricists, he didn't release another solo IP for the rest of that decade, but he continued to be sought after. Rap fans the world over know him for his verse on "?," one of the standout songs from his longtime friend and collaborator MF DOOM's heralded Operation: Doomsday. As he prepares for the release of his new album, Majician-the nickname his peers blessed him with a generation ago-Kurious is well on his way to establishing the legacy he's long deserved. The LP, which was executive produced by MF DOOM before his passing, is a mesmerizing blend of technical wizardry and personal introspection. Take "Eye of Horus," where the pulsing drums convey an urgency that borders on panic; Kurious weaves a complex tapestry of history and insight, but does so while ducking through and under each pocket in the beat. Produced in its entirety by Mono En Stereo, Majician is filled with songs like "Eye of Horus," which dance on the line between confession and confrontation. "Separation Anxiety" is a personal bloodletting in the form of lyrical exercise; "Par For the Course," which features the elusive Mr. Fantastik, makes drum breaks from the early Reagan era sound totally revitalized. Through the radical amount of work Kurious put into the writing and recording of this material, he's removed all ambiguity from the question of whether he can stand as one of the premier MCs of his time.

Fohn brings connection, displacement and new identities into the moment, on pastoral debut album Seanteach - informed by island life, marine folklore and musical tradition.

Connection to the land, the severing of earthly ties, explorations of environment, mythos and generational memory: under the moniker of Fohn, English violinist and producer Tom Connolly (Quade, AD93) takes to the fiddle on which he learned his craft as a child. Forging new bonds with his family’s island home off the coastal west of Ireland, their story is retold in Seanteach (Irish for ‘old house’), released on Odda Recordings.

“Seanteach explores the nature of my relationship with Ireland, and Connemara in particular, where my dad’s family is from,” explains Connolly, speaking on a long-form work that blends new compositions on traditional Irish fiddle with ambient electronics and evocative field recordings.

“It explores how the island of Maighinis became an almost mythological space for me, growing up in England - we would spend every summer there, but it felt equally present for me when we were back in the UK, a sort of mental solace that I found through music especially.”

Each track on the album is a reflection of aspects of that relationship to island life - where physical features intersect with mythology. Such as, ‘Boreen’, named after a colloquial term for rural byroads sometimes shared with otherworldly neighbours. ‘Aisling at Sea’ draws on the primal, unstoppable momentum of the water, while the folklore of ‘Immram’ reflects on generationally-kept tales of marine bravery and supernatural accomplishment.

“The compositions often sit at the fraying edges of memories I’ve inherited from my own experiences, that of family lore, or from stories that I have come across. I wanted the compositions to tread the space between documentation and fantasy that feels so reflective of my relationship with this place.”

Tying these worlds together is the presence and memory of Connolly’s ‘Mamó’ (Irish for grandmother), Bríd. Despite passing during Connolly’s childhood, this “larger-than-life character” shaped his imagination with anecdotes and stories, representing both a familiar figure, and the poignancies of potential and regret.

“Even at a young age I sensed a sadness emanating from her. Through a series of unfortunate and fortunate circumstances, she found herself leaving Ireland and settling in Boston like so many others. Under the impression she was an illegal immigrant in the US she didn’t return to Ireland for decades.”

‘Between the Shoreline and the Gorse’ channels her early childhood, born to a large Catholic family in the island’s ‘Seanteach’, and cast adrift from her old life - a severance of ties that Connolly attempts to make ethereal amends for, with the album named for her family home.

“It’s something that feels so visibly prominent in Connemara with its landscapes charcoaled with deserted ruins. It’s a feeling I also experience, despite never having lived in Ireland, which prompted me to want to explore the idea of longing for something/somewhere ‘un-experienced’, and to a certain extent, fictionalised.”

Brothers Dana and Alden McWayne, along with a troupe of multi-instrumental artists, come together to create jazzy melodies with indie sounds inspired by their unconventional upbringing in Eugene, Oregon. Following the success of their debut full-length album and it's lead track "Dragonfly" (which tracked 300,000 TikTok creations, and over 10 million streams) the brothers recruited Jared Solomon (Sza, Remi Wolf, Teezo Touchdown) to produce their sophomore LP, Coyote, You're My Star. Melding vintage sounds with the aesthetic and experience of existing in Gen Z and the digital age, the new LP has already been met with rousing approval, with airtime on the Zane Lowe show on Apple as well as playlist covers like Spotify's State of Jazz. The band is also set to tour North America and Europe across festivals and headline shows.

Ekoplekz is Nick Edwards from Bristol, UK. He made waves in the 2010s with his distinctive brand of lo-fi analogue electronica for labels such as Planet Mu, Mordant Music, Punch Drunk, WNCL and Perc Trax, while also playing live around Europe. In recent times, Nick has preferred to remain a low-key presence, but Selvamancer are excited to have coaxed him back with his first vinyl release in 5 years! Dirtbokz is an 8 track mini-album that showcases the Ekoplekz sound of now. Recorded as always on four track cassette using hardware analogue synths and drum machines with minimal post-production, the tracks retain a raw immediacy and the dirty, dub-infused sound that he was always known for. For the Dirtbokz LP, Ekoplekz reaches back to the early acid, electro and primitive rave of his youth, all mixed in a hazy reverb-soaked echo chamber inspired by his love of '70s Jamaican dub reggae. 'Frampton Kotteral' takes a gentle detour into more melodic, sentimental territory and the set closes with the forlorn acid comedown of 'Phader'.

It's been nearly a decade since Montreal's PYPY (pronounced like 'π π'...with a long 'i' rather than long 'e', thank you very much) landed with their debut Pagan Day (Slovenly), but the same lunatics behind CPC Gangbangs, Red Mass and Duchess Says are back with Sacred Times on Goner Records. One might recall the thunderous pop of their banger "She's Gone" carving out a place for itself in the high-end fashion world, becoming the soundtrack to Yves Saint Laurent's 2016 show. If that album bounced, punched and clawed like Delta 5 covered in dirt and trying to get somewhere in a booted vehicle while dodging lightning rod guitar licks the whole way, Sacred Times takes things to somewhere far beyond the proverbial "next level."

Co-vocalist/founder/multi-instrumentalist Annie-Claude Deschênes' (Duchess Says) signature howl and vocal acrobatics are present but so is a tendency towards beautiful melodies. Bassist Philippe Clement's (Duchess Says) brings a nastier bottom end that locks onto Simon Besré's drumming with a death grip for the entire affair. And guitarist/co-vocalist Roy Vucino (Red Mass, CPC Gangbangs, Black Leather Rose, Les Sexareenos, a gazillion others) goes bonkers with wildass blown-out guitar that's like hornets caught in yr hair.

"Lonely Striped Sock" grooves along like "Earthbeat"-era Slits/ESG until the chorus transforms PYPY into something else entirely. Something huge. Something with monster riffs and wah wah that pins you to the back wall. So there is clearly a brilliance with dynamics here, and it proves to be a not-so-secret-weapon that repays the "ear-vestment" in dividends throughout. "Ear-vestment"? Yikes. Then it's time for "She's Back," a sort of part 2/continuation (maybe a trilogy is in the works?) of Pagan Day's best-known gem (the aforementioned "She's Gone"). This one packs a hook that'll make your brain take out a restraining order. Looking for lost keys? Jury duty? Underwater welding? Negotiating a hostage situation? It doesn't matter...nothing will stop it from invading your thoughts. They say the only way to get a song unstuck from the noodle is to listen to it from start to finish, but you'll be doing that anyway. A lot. "Erase" is a (synth) noise-punk nugget; revealing a need for Brainiac-meets-Blondie we didn't know we had...deceptively kicking off with a no-fi drum machine that is immediately lost in the massive pop din that seemingly includes everything within reach. "Poodle Escape" is two minutes of perfect (and perfectly distorted) synth-punk and "I Am A Simulation" – with lead vox from Vucino – is yet another hit that deviates from the noise a bit and pays homage to both Devo and classic late-70's (big) power-pop (ex: the first Cars LP), but with a manic nature that is 150% circa right now. "15 Sec" (actually 3:38 in duration, thankfully) serves up a stanky-brown bass line, Deschênes' gorgeous vocals, wonderfully combative white hot, pin-the-meters Oh Sees/early Comets on Fire guitar rips, and a stunning coda that seems to utilize everything great about this band over its final minute. The album's title track is a love letter to Hawkwind in the musical language already established here. "Vanishing Blinds" is like being chased through the rain-soaked streets in an unknown dystopian nightmare from 40+ years ago. The album closes with the brooding if not playful menace of "Poodle Escape,” which, like its predecessors, is completely unlike every track before it.

Black Truffle is pleased to announce a tenth anniversary reissue of Oren Ambarchi’s Quixotism, originally released on Editions Mego in 2014. Recorded with a multitude of collaborators in Europe, Japan, Australia and the USA, Quixotism presents the fruit of two years of work in the form of a single, LP-length piece in five parts. Quixotism takes the driving rhythmic aspect of works such as Sagittarian Domain to new levels, with the entirety of this long-form work built on a foundation of pulsing double-time electronic percussion provided by Thomas Brinkmann. Beginning as almost subliminal propulsion behind cavernous orchestral textures and John Tilbury’s delicate piano interjections, the percussive elements (elaborated on by Ambarchi and Matt Chamberlain) slowly inch into the foreground of the piece before suddenly breaking out into a polyrhythmic shuffle around the halfway mark, and joined by master Japanese tabla player U-zhaan for the piece’s final, beautiful passages.

The pulse acts as thread leading the listener through a heterogeneous variety of acoustic spaces, from the concert hall in which the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra were recorded to the intimacy of crys cole’s contact-mic textures. Ambarchi’s guitar itself ranges over this wide variety of acoustic spaces, from airless, clipped tones to swirling, reverberated fog. Within the complex web Ambarchi spins over the piece’s steadily pulsing foundation, elements approach and recede in a non-linear fashion, even as the piece plots an overall course from the grey, almost Nono-esque reverberated space of its opening section to the crisp foreground presence of Jim O’Rourke’s synth and Evyind Kang’s strings in its final moments. Formally indebted to the side-long workouts of classic Cologne techno, the long-form works of composers such as Éliane Radigue and the organic push and pull of improvised performance,
Quixotism is constantly in motion, yet its transitions happen slowly and steadily, often nearly imperceptible, the diverse elements which make up the piece succeeding one another with the logic of a dream.

At the time of its first release, Quixotism was clearly a summation of Ambarchi’s work in the years leading up to it. Now, listening back a decade later, it also seems like an arrow pointing to the future, suggesting paths that would be explored further in works to come: the pulsating guitar layers of Hubris, the album-length collaboration with Jim O’Rourke and U-zhaan on Hence, Shebang’s joyous layering and percussive drive. Now sounding better than ever in a new remaster by Joe Talia, the time is ripe to rediscover its quixotic charms.

LA SACREE GROLE is a tale by the TAMERANTONG company, set to music by LUDWIG VON 88.

TAMERANTONG! is a theatre company based in Mantes-la-Jolie, Paris-Belleville and Saint-Denis that puts on shows with children and young people from these neighbourhoods.

LUDWIG VON 88, road companions of the great hours of alternative rock (Bérurier Noir, Parabellum...) is also the only rock band capable of rhyming in ‘ong’.

TAMERANTONG! had long been plundering their repertoire for their shows. In retaliation, the Ludwigs decided to compose the soundtrack to ‘La Sacrée Grôle’: a Gallic legend told and sung by twenty kids from Paris-Belleville.

In the heart of the land of the Arvernes, reigns a valiant free people. Their village lies on the edge of a dreadful forest where no one ever ventures. But the time has come for all the peoples of Gaul to enter the fearsome forest and set off in search of the Sacred Pole!

La Sacrée Grôle premiered at Paris-Belleville and was performed from 1996 to 1998 in Paris (Café de la Danse, Palace, Trianon, Café Éphémère / Les Halles), Mantes-la-Jolie, Briançon, Rouen (Festival Débarquement Jeunes) and Montreal/Quebec.

This record, released for the first time on vinyl by the Archives de la Zone Mondiale label, includes 7 previously unreleased songs by LUDWIG VON 88.

Ricky Razu is one of Belgium's new breeds of rising house producers who come from a vast background of jazz, boogie, hip-hop and disco and through the amalgamation of these various styles, he is quickly making a name for himself.

Ricky's swing is quite unique, he has been putting his own twist and interpretation on the regular house track by joining the dots between yesterday’s golden era classics and today’s club bangers. As one of Houseum's mainstays, he has also built up a solid presence behind the decks, becoming a regular player in the Belgian and international house scene. During the past years, Ricky’s prolific output has also allowed his sounds to propagate all over the globe, which culminated in a worldwide repertoire of gigs from Europe to the US, South America and Asia. The man has also garnered support from the likes of Jeremy Underground, Bellaire and Subjoi, to name a few, and with his new projects in the pipeline, the future is looking bright for him.

Get transported to a parallel dimension with the title track of Ricky Razu’s new EP ‘Cosmic Waves’. This spacey yet club-oriented track blends floaty arpeggios with a dark rumbling bass. But what truly sets "Cosmic Waves" apart is its sharp and distinct lead melody, guaranteed to linger in your head long after the first listen. In Ricky’s known style, the arrangement sounds complete yet never over-loaded, resulting in a track that is effective and easy to love.

The Intima led a chameleon-like existence from 1999 to 2004, confounding critics who struggled to describe their distinctive sound while sharing stages with everyone from The Rapture to The Mekons. Hailing from Olympia and Portland, the postpunk quartet utilized sharp rhythms, prescient lyrics, and a collaborative compositional approach to conjure forth a sound that manages to be explosive yet detailed, experimental yet propulsive and melodic. Featuring a classically-trained violinist, custom-tuned guitars that careen at odd angles, and an imaginative and powerful rhythm section, the band explored the intersection of art-punk and agitpop with a spirit and tenor uniquely their own. In 2017, the Polish website More Noise summed up their sound by saying that "the first association that comes to mind is The Ex and the Dutch avant punk scene of the 1980s, but fans of the bands Dirty Three, Godspeed You Black Emperor and Unwound may also be intrigued."The group toured the States extensively during the 4+ years that they were active, including one grueling six-week tour undertaken just after 9/11 and another one in 2003 during which the US began bombing Iraq. The group's live sets are remembered for their combination of unbridled intensity and tightly-coiled musicianship, as well as their chaos potential, whether that chaos was performing in the middle of an illegal street party or causing a PA to burst into flames immediately preceding a headlining set by Deerhoof. A memorable show in DC with Q And Not U was mentioned by Dischord group Black Eyes in their Speaking In Tongues booklet last year, with Hugh McElroy describing the Intima as "a really aggressively-beautiful and poetic punk band with a violin where a guitar normally would be...pushing genre barriers in a way that helped me see a vision of how we might want to do that ourselves."Peril and Panic was recorded in Olympia over eight months in 2002 and was released in 2003 on LP (Zum/Collective Jyrk) and CD (Slowdance). In 2022, in the midst of the pandemic, the group commissioned Jason Powers to remix the original tracks from the ground up, which turned into an 18-month endeavor that included some compositional edits, significant work to improve the sound of the drums, and the uncovering of unreleased songs. Today, a fully remixed and remastered Peril and Panic is finally being released into the wild sounding much closer to how it was originally meant to be heard. Sounding more relevant than ever, it seems increasingly clear that the ideas and feelings that informed both band and album are no longer so "radical" - if anything, they've become the zeitgeist of today, as a confluence of global crises points to a fraught future long predicted.

Synthesizer is the title of A Place to Bury Strangers' seventh album. It is also a physical entity, a synthesizer made specifically for A Place to Bury Strangers’ seventh album. Synthesizer is a record that celebrates sounds that are spontaneous and natural, the kind of music that can only come from collaboration and community. It now features a fully collaborative new lineup, with John and Sandra Fedowitz. That spirit of reinvention is all over the record. Synthesizer is out October 4, 2024 -- only on Dedstrange. With Functional Circuit Board

Synthesizer is the title of A Place to Bury Strangers' seventh album. It is also a physical entity, a synthesizer made specifically for A Place to Bury Strangers’ seventh album. Synthesizer is a record that celebrates sounds that are spontaneous and natural, the kind of music that can only come from collaboration and community. It now features a fully collaborative new lineup, with John and Sandra Fedowitz. That spirit of reinvention is all over the record. Synthesizer is out October 4, 2024 -- only on Dedstrange. With Functional Circuit Board

On October 18th, Minnesota born singer-songwriter Breymer, aka Sarah Walk (she/they), will release ‘When I Get Through’ with One Little Independent Records. The album is a strikingly honest exploration of their relationship with gender and identity, and specifically it tracks Walk’s experience undergoing top surgery, from making the decision to the process itself.

Breymer utilizes a rich array of instrumentation elevated by a standout vocal performance, raw lyricism, and textured production by Grammy winning Tyler Chester. Exquisite, layered vocal harmonies across the record enforce its reflective themes, and at times the conversation seems to be internal, with much of the record posing questions such as “Am I better now?”, “Am I on the wrong path?”, “Who am I?”. ‘When I Get Through’ examines a journey of self-discovery, it’s introspective and transformative, and it’s a testament to the strength of its lead; someone willing not just to make the choice, but to document the emotional experience in its entirety.

On their decision to change their artist name, Walk explains that “this album feels really transformative to me. I was compelled to have some kind of separation between my artist existence and personal existence. Bremer is my middle name and has always been intriguing to me; I like that it’s androgynous and uncommon. I changed the spelling, and it feels like it suits my music, particularly parallel to this album, and I was ready for a fresh start. Choosing a name requires a certain amount of agency and intentionality. This album feels bold and gender non-conforming, and Breymer felt like it encapsulated all of that”.

Revelatory and radically insightful, ‘When I Get Through’ bares all as Breymer takes listeners through every stage of their pursuit for self-acceptance. Unlike anything that has come before it, Walk’s ideas surrounding their own physical and mental progress are candid, authentic and ultimately breathtaking. Amidst a body of deftly constructed songcraft and extraordinary poeticism, Breymer has penned a companion piece for anyone in search for their true selves.

On October 18th, Minnesota born singer-songwriter Breymer, aka Sarah Walk (she/they), will release ‘When I Get Through’ with One Little Independent Records. The album is a strikingly honest exploration of their relationship with gender and identity, and specifically it tracks Walk’s experience undergoing top surgery, from making the decision to the process itself.

Breymer utilizes a rich array of instrumentation elevated by a standout vocal performance, raw lyricism, and textured production by Grammy winning Tyler Chester. Exquisite, layered vocal harmonies across the record enforce its reflective themes, and at times the conversation seems to be internal, with much of the record posing questions such as “Am I better now?”, “Am I on the wrong path?”, “Who am I?”. ‘When I Get Through’ examines a journey of self-discovery, it’s introspective and transformative, and it’s a testament to the strength of its lead; someone willing not just to make the choice, but to document the emotional experience in its entirety.

On their decision to change their artist name, Walk explains that “this album feels really transformative to me. I was compelled to have some kind of separation between my artist existence and personal existence. Bremer is my middle name and has always been intriguing to me; I like that it’s androgynous and uncommon. I changed the spelling, and it feels like it suits my music, particularly parallel to this album, and I was ready for a fresh start. Choosing a name requires a certain amount of agency and intentionality. This album feels bold and gender non-conforming, and Breymer felt like it encapsulated all of that”.

Revelatory and radically insightful, ‘When I Get Through’ bares all as Breymer takes listeners through every stage of their pursuit for self-acceptance. Unlike anything that has come before it, Walk’s ideas surrounding their own physical and mental progress are candid, authentic and ultimately breathtaking. Amidst a body of deftly constructed songcraft and extraordinary poeticism, Breymer has penned a companion piece for anyone in search for their true selves.

"Waxwork Records is thrilled to present CARRIE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Pino Donaggio! Expanded and re-mastered for its 45th anniversary, this deluxe double LP album marks the very first time that the complete film music has been released on vinyl. Carrie is a 1976 Horror film adapted from author Stephen King's very first published novel of the same name. The movie stars Sissy Spacek and is directed by Brian De Palma (Scarface, Phantom Of The Paradise).

The score by legendary composer Pino Donaggio (The Howling, Tourist Trap) skillfully captures the pressure of forced innocence, the humor of teen drama, and the trauma of coming of age as a girl in 1970’s America. The album also features the tracks “Born To Have It All” and “I Never Thought Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me” by Katie Irving. CARRIE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack features the expanded film music re-mastered and pressed to orange smoke colored vinyl, with new artwork by Phantom City Creative, and old-style tip-on gatefold jackets with matte satin coating."

After the breakthroughs of 2020’s wistfully lush Fear of Death, and 2022’s High School, whose tales of nostalgia were never quite as distant as they seemed, the multi-hyphenate comedian and songwriter Heidecker has reached a new peak with Slipping Away, his warmest and fullest record to date. While all of his albums are concept records to some degree, this one tells a story on a larger scale, offering an imagistic framework that allows for some of his brightest melodies, heaviest themes (the feeling of before the fall and after), and most direct and vulnerable lyrics.

Spaceheads sind das fehlende Glied zwischen Post-Punk und Dance. Zwei Jungs aus Post-Punk-Bands der 1980er Jahre machen experimentelle, tanzbare Live-Musik, die sich an den euphorischen Bläsern und Rhythmen des Afrofunks, den motorischen Grooves von Krautrock wie Neu und Can und dem spirituellen, kosmischen Jazz der späten 1960er und 1970er Jahre orientiert, mit Elementen des Dub, des aufkeimenden elektronischen Tanzes (der zu dieser Zeit rapide auf dem
Vormarsch war) und sogar des amerikanischen R&B und Funk der 1970er Jahre.

Time and Spaceheads versammelt Material aus den frühen Veröffentlichungen des britischen Duos (1990-2003) auf wegweisenden Labels wie Dark Beloved Cloud, These, Merge & anderen,
bemerkenswerterweise zum ersten Mal auf Vinyl. Die Musik der Spaceheads ist sowohl für sich selbst als auch für unser historisches Verständnis von Innovation und Experimentierfreudigkeit in der
Post-Punk- und UK-Dance-Kultur von großer Bedeutung. Jeder, der sie jemals spielen gesehen hat, wird bei der bloßen Erwähnung ihres Namens aufleuchten. Es ist an der Zeit, dass diese Musik, die
seit 20 oder 30 Jahren durch die Sterne und digitale Umgebungen schwebt, ihren eigenen Moment in der Sonne hat, hier in all ihrer Pracht sequenziert, um die vielen Möglichkeiten dieser beiden Männer
einzufangen, die bemerkenswert sind, und verpackt, um die Ehrfurcht zu reflektieren, die wir hören, wenn wir sie anhören.

The 1980 space disco hit you probably never heard of. Now officially remastered including new stunning edits by Peaking Lights and Korkut Elbay. Picture sleeve with an outstanding painting by Antonia Freisburger.

'Inside' with loads of synths and some vocoder on top is a wild jam that is propelling more and more into a frenzy during its course.

Following the orginal is a dancefloor-edit by Korkut Elbay which puts the vocal part into focus. Korkut Elbay, part of the Cómeme camp and an integral part of Cologne's electronic music scene for over 20 years, crafted an edit in its purest form.

On the flipside Aaron Coyes of the California-based duo Peaking Lights stretches out the original and reaches higher grounds with his stomping rework. He gently adds some more keys and puts you into a trance with his soothing melodies. Now dance!

But what's the story behind this unearthed gem stone? In the late 1970s a marketing company owner faced an increasing competitve market and wanted to work indepently from the professional studios which were charging high rates for commercials back then. The solution was to build his own sound studio. So he set one up in the basement of his company in Saarbrücken, Germany. He hired a studio operator and a composer that got quite a reputation in the local scence back then and besides daily job routines 'Inside' was created.

Long time PPU contributor, video producer, and designer, SOFTgrid steps into the fold with their EP “Knock”. Includes “FEELU” as featured in the 2024 summer blockbuster Bad Boys IV : Ride Or Die starring Martin Lawrence & Will Smith.

Demoscene and Cracktro enthusiast, SOFTgrid started life navigating the dark waters of text user interfaces, with early memories of Bulletin Board Systems, and as time and technology progressed, they eventually obtained the various bits of software needed for their creation, this was by means of WAREZ servers in private chat rooms far from town hall.

SOFTgrid is most at home organizing their existence to a grid, be it pixels or the linear movement of sound on a timeline. ASCII and ANSI are their preferred means of expression, SID and PAULA chips their preferred means of communication.

Yellow vinyl. Ten years ago, the album, Jealous Gods, made a lasting impact on the international music scene. Now, in celebration of its anniversary, this classic is being reissued on vinyl! This special edition is not only a tribute to the band's incredible fans, or the album itself, but also includes an exclusive bonus track: a studio-live version of one of the Poets' most beloved songs, Daze. Get your copy and join us in celebrating a decade of this soulful, unforgettable music.

Philadelphian Jazz legend Benny Golson, an American bebop/ hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger, has had a long and storied career.

He has played with luminaries such as John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie and Art Blakey, to name just a few.

With his 1978 album “I’m Always Dancin’ To The Music,” Golson took a unique turn. Known primarily for his hard bop roots and classic compositions like “Whisper Not”

and “Killer Joe,” Golson steps into the realms of jazz-funk and disco with this release.

The title song is a stellar dance groove, holding heavyweight status among underground soul, funk, and jazz aficionados—a true ‘rare groove’ indeed.

Produced by George Butler, the instrumental hook of this title song has been sampled many times by artists such as Naughty by Nature, Logistics, Leona Lewis, and many others.

This is a real hidden gem and well worth seeking out!

This release comes as a limited edition of 750 copies on light green coloured vinyl.

Tonic is an American rock band, formed by Jeff Russo and Emerson Hart in 1993. Sugar is their second studio album, includes the charting singles "Knock Down Walls" and "You Wanted More".

It was released in 1999. The track "You Wanted More" was also included in the coming-of-age teen comedy American Pie.

Sugar is available on vinyl for the first time and includes an insert with song lyrics.

Thomas Dolby highlights his melodic tendencies on Astronauts & Heretics his 4th studio album.

Eddie Van Halen’s guitar skills can be heard on 2 tracks: “Eastern Bloc” & “Close But No Cigar.” Astronauts & Heretics is a Dolby at his finest and the

album is one of the more hidden gems of his catalogue. Astronauts & Heretics is available as a

limited numbered edition of 750 copies on gold coloured vinyl and comes with an insert.

To celebrate the 15-year anniversary of Dizzee’s Rascal’s most iconic and commercial album ‘Tongue N' Cheek’ comes a brand-new Zoetrope! The album that brought Bonkers, Dance Wiv Me and Holiday now has two incredible designs across side A and B plus a remix with rising star Buckley for the first time on vinyl.

In partnership with Hollywood Records and Regency Enterprises, Waxwork Records is thrilled to present BARBARIAN Original Motion Picture Music by Anna Drubich. Barbarian is a 2022 American Horror film written and directed by Zach Cregger in his solo screen writing and directorial debut. The film stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long. The plot follows a woman finding out that the rental home she has reserved has been accidentally double-booked by a man, not knowing of a dark secret within the dwelling. Anna Drubich is an award-winning film composer from Moscow. Her diverse body of work includes live action features, animated features, television series, documentaries, and plays and concert halls across the world. Anna has score over 35 major film and TV projects including a co-score with Oscar-nominated composer Marco Beltrami on the Guillermo Del Toro adaptation of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, Netflix's hit feature Fear Street: 1994, the horror-comedy Werewolves Within, and more. Waxwork Records is proud to present BARBARIAN Original Motion Picture Music as a deluxe vinyl album featuring 180 gram "Mother's Milk & Blood" splatter colored vinyl, heavyweight gatefold jackets with matte satin coating and UV spot-gloss varnish, new artwork by Steven Reeves, and an 11"x11" art print insert!

Toy Tonics sublabel Kryptox comes with a new album by Greekharpist SISSI RADA. "Demeter in Aexone" is a 45" pure soloimprovisation on harp. Using no post production techniques and nooverdubs, the album was recorded one afternoon in her studio inVoula, Athens, overlooking the ancient demos of "Aexone". It is atribute to the ancient myth of Persephone, the daughter of thegoddess Demeter, to whom the Eleusinian Mysteries were dedicated.

The Elton Dean Sessions by Supersister, released 18 October 2024, includes the following tracks: "Drum Intro", "Soft Sister Part 2 (Improvisation #3 )", "Soft Sister Part 3 ( Improvisation #5)", "Babylon" and more.

This version of The Elton Dean Sessions comes as a 1xLP in a(n) Gatefold Sleeve packaging.

“Oh My God! I’m So Alone.” is the third full length album from Liverpool’s premium Indie-Pop group, SPINN. A noted step away from their earlier sound “OMGISA'' feels like a major step forward for the trio. Reflecting upon the alienation and uncertainty they have felt in their early twenties, SPINN have taken inspiration from the people, places, films and books that they have come to know and love, and built an album with the aim of helping to navigate the daunting landscape of adulthood in mind. Built on the band’s underdog spirit, refusal to buck to trends, and their ability to articulate complex emotion through well written pop music, “Oh My God! I’m So Alone” is an album which perfectly exemplifies why SPINN are a band with such staying power, worthy of maintaining their place on the wider Indie scene whilst so many of their peers have fallen by the wayside.

"For the first time since 2021, Pipe-eye, the moniker for Australian musician, singer and songwriter Cook Craig, is set to release a brand new LP. Titled Pipe-defy, the album is slated for release on October 18th, with the lead single, ""Lords Of Lithium,"" giving a first taste of what's to come.
With nods to the venerable influences of funk and 70s/80s synth dance classics, Pipe-defy is a stylistic departure from his previous albums. For this project, Craig explains wearing his influences on his sleeve; “At around the time that I was starting to write songs for the album, my mum gave me a bunch of old CDs from my early teens that I hadn’t listened to in ages. "

Garder la Flamme by Daytona, released 18 October 2024, includes the following tracks: "Through the storm 4:10", "Time won’t wait 4:50", "Town of many faces 4:19", "Garder la Flamme 6:38" and more.

This version of Garder la Flamme comes as a 1xLP.

The vinyl is pressed as a blue disc.

For the first time this century, two missed masterpieces are coming available on vinyl. The band Souled American formed in Chicago in 1986 and recorded a total of sixty-six songs between 1988 and 1996. Though not ever popular themselves, their evolving hybrid of roots / rock music heavily influenced many more popular bands to come, among them Wilco, The Jayhawks, The Feelies, Califone, Counting Crows, The Mountain Goats, and Cracker. Their records became legendary, unavailable for decades. Some got to the Internet in 2023. Their last two albums Frozen and Notes Campfire will now be re-issued in limited, hand-crafted, 30th Anniversary Editions with a fresh abundance of stories, technical information, musician credits, and cartoons that detail the unexpected origins surrounding these two early classics of “ambient Americana.” These records sound at once both old and new with brilliant melodies and profound performances stacked in unusual patterns like soft-hued bricks.

Regrooved Records proudly present the ultimate reissue of Axiom Funk's legendary album, Funkcronomicon! This psychedelic and funkalicious masterpiece continues to amaze listeners with its eclectic variety, thanks to the impressive roster of artists under the name Axiom Funk.

At the heart of this project is legendary producer and bassist Bill Laswell, whose artistic vision and skills seamlessly unite the album. Funkcronomicon features appearances by many (former) members of Parliament-Funkadelic, making Funkcronomicon a de facto release of this legendary band. Among the featured musicians are the p-funk legends George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell and Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey, and it features the last studio recordings from guitarist extraordinaire Eddie Hazel. Nex to that it also features contributions from icons such as Sly Stone, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Bobby Byrd, the dynamic duo Sly & Robbie and Herbie Hancock and many, many others.

Funkcronomicon masterfully combines funk with the mythical Necronomicon by H.P. Lovecraft Lovecraft's cosmic horror stories, which radiate liveliness despite the ominous title. The cover art by the legendary Pedro Bell, this was one of his last projects before his vision was tragically lost, adds to the album's enigmatic allure and is reminiscent of Lovecraftian rituals.

Now it's time for a high-quality vinyl reissue of this cultural phenomenon. Remastered and pressed onto three discs, this new batch of Funkcronomicon now comes with extensive artwork and now offers you the ultimate listening experience for this classic album. Don't miss your chance to own a piece of funk history. Get your funk on with this must-have reissue!

Exploring late-night, after-hours meditations on sound; ‘Everything Above The Sky (Astral Travelling with Luke Una)’ is a new compilation by the titular DJ, promoter and enigmatic cultural curator. Off the back of the E Soul Cultura phenomena, this compilation comes at a timely point in Luke’s rich career as he soars the heights of playing all over the world. Avoiding any chance of his sound being pigeonholed, Luke has put together a tracklist of songs and music that have a transcendental feel, after coming off the grid, going back to source, outside the city walls .

Music has long been believed to aid out of body experiences and many of us have searched long and hard for a combination of those elusive ingredients that might alleviate some of the monotony of everyday life, our daily routines and obligations, and those things that seem to block us from the spirit of the universe. In this collection, Luke selects music with all the right ingredients in just the right quantities, allowing the listener to engage in an esoteric journey of enlightenment through sound. Being a prolific collector of music, Luke initially delivered enough tracks to compile several compilations, making the licensing process the biggest effort to date for the label. The music moves softly and slowly, never becoming too intrusive, exemplifying the wonderful elevating properties of simple songs played from the heart.

Luke’s Everything Above The Sky manifesto reads, “Astral Travelling in the meadowlands with acid folk, spiritual jazz, around midnight hocus pocus, cosmic psychedelic soul, magical spellbound whirling swirling love songs, Brazilian ballads of light into machine soul gospel utopia dreaming, Balearic bossa, Outer Space ancient African drum, the breath of trees, escaping the big bad modern world, gathering round winter fires, walking amongst the bracken in Padley Gorge in late summer twilight, overlooking the Hope Valley, escaping ego, detaching and finally letting go amongst the stars with the slowly floating people. It’s beautiful beyond. Everything above the Sky”.

Beginning his career as an original Sheffield house young blood in the mid 1980s, Luke’s move to Manchester and partnership with Justin Crawford saw the birth of Electric Chair, a cornerstone cult night in the UK underground club scene. Then came Electric Elephant, a Croatian festival paying homage to their wild eclecticism from Balearic to Brazilian to É Soul, house, disco and techno. Luke’s much loved, long-running Homoelectric night and more recently Homobloc sell out festival for 10,000 souls has been at the forefront of Manchester’s LGBTQ+ cultural landscape. Luke’s Friday evening show on Worldwide FM captured imaginations and became a cult four-hour must-listen monthly journey for fans all over the world. Today, Luke remains, as ever, at the forefront of a changing milieu, pairing the momentous legacy of Manchester’s 80s and 90s scene with the delivery of what today’s club communities need to get down.

New twelve inch of vintage Wackie's on City Line. The A-side features two of the best Wackie's deep roots tunes previously only released on compilation, which have long needed single release. Stranger Cole's somber "Capture Land" about the reality of squatting in the ghetto, followed by Wanachi's instrumental cut of the brilliant rhythm you might know from Azul's 'Black Rose.' The B-side features a really unique previously unreleased tune from one Moon Dread. Operatic, semi-acoustic and haunting, if you like early Ras Michael & The Sons of Negus, this tune offers a maybe less spiritual and more theatrical but still compelling take in that vein from about a decade later in the late 1970s. Comes in new Wackie's company sleeve.

*Full colour artwork coming soon, this is a digitally generated mock-up. Comes in a risograph sleeve featuring liner notes and original Saturn artwork. *

Recorded at the Choreographers’ Workshop in New York, 1963, Waaghals Records presents two songs from Sun Ra’s Continuation sessions on vinyl for the first time. Known for its lo-fi recording quality coupled with heavy use of echo and reverberation, the material recorded at the Choreographers’ Workshop holds a special place within the Sun Ra catalogue. This unique blend of avant-garde jazz and bold production methods is described as “low-budget musique concrete” by Sun Ra biographer John F. Szwed.

Taken from the 1970 Saturn album Continuation, side a features the complete unedited version of New Planet. A bouncy Ra track that somehow ends up in a sound-bath of low, throbbing frequencies and echoes. The b side, Meteor Shower, remained unreleased until 2014, making its first official appearance on vinyl here. The opening trumpet salvo warms us up for a micro trip through the vast cosmos, with more echoed percussion and a beautifully bowed bass solo. It is no surprise that in recent years this particular piece has been sampled, most recently by RP BOO and Armand Hammer.

Tape transfers and audio restoration by Michael D. Anderson and Irwin Chusid of the Sun Ra Archive.

In Cornish slang it is said that things get done ‘dreckly’; that is, not now, not necessarily tomorrow, but, at some indefinite point...in the future...soon...

Fitting then that when Bristol’s Langkamer decamped to their de facto home-from-home in the picturesque south-west seaside town of Falmouth to record their third album in as many years (with an EP thrown in there too) - there was no particular need to rush things: “The process was much slower and more considered for Langzamer.”, drummer/vocalist Josh Jarman explains: “The first two albums felt pretty urgent, and each was finished in about 6 months, but this one feels a lot more deliberate. It’s taken us two years to get this done.”

Equally fitting too that Langzamer kicks off proceedings with ‘Heart of Tin’: the first bars are languidly lugubrious, so deliciously plucked-out and scuzzed-up that they linger in the air like passing smoke, magically, slowing time down to their own assured and steady will. And in so much time, that also feels like no time at all, comes an opening line of such stark, disarming confessionalism as might be found in the David Berman/Silver Jews songbook: “Do you want the good news or the bad news first? // They’re both bad news, but the bad is worse” It’s Langkamer in a nutshell: embattled, heart-on-sleeve Slacker Rock slaked with twinges of fret-sliding Americana, yet deeply embedded in the folk mythologies, colloquialisms and experiences of the band’s West Country roots.

Throughout Langzamer, confronting the listener again and again is this conflict between the band’s breezy, melodic charm, and the threat of something more sinister lurking in the undergrowth. While those more familiar with Langkamer’s oeuvre to date will have already come to know and love their often self-deprecating yet witty lyricism, the songs on Langzamer take this trademark ebullient gloominess to more challenging plains: “Principally this is an album about grief, and everything that entails...” explains Jarman. “in a sense death brought these songs to life.”

This thread is felt no more so than on ‘Salvation XL’. Inspired by a “particularly bad batch of food poisoning I had in Morocco”, Jarman explains, and beginning with the memorable opening line, “Jesus came to me a Burger King in Marrakech”, the band wind their way through the ‘big topics’: death and God.

“This trip was shortly after a few of my friends had passed away, and I think a lot of my thoughts and actions at that time were being influenced by my grief without me realising it.”, he explains, “Whenever I dwell on grief, and how death has given my life a new context, I come back to that. The ongoing battle between agnosticism and atheism. I wasn’t raised in a very strict religious home, but I come from a long line of methodists, and it’s interesting to think about the way theism and religion have shaped my life without me knowing it. I think that’s being channelled on this album a lot. The uncertainty that comes with disbelief.”

Our collective mortal frailties are also felt on lead single ‘Richard E Grant’. With a trademark bittersweetness, a track that begins as an appreciation of the actor’s humorous social media presence unfolds as a study on “finding healthy coping strategies to deal with loss.”. Elsewhere, ‘At The Lake’ - to the tune of mournful, folk-like balladry - explores binge-drinking culture and the troubled association between unhealthy behaviour and creativity. The listener is left in no mind as to the meaning behind the references to James Joyce and Janis Jopin as “souvenirs stolen from the dark”.

With themes as weighty as these strewn across the album’s 10 tracks, It seemed like a particularly astute move then for the band to personally approach Ben Woods, founder of the Golden Dregs, to assist on production duties. Not only would the delicate intimacies of Woods’ main project - see 2023’s On Grace & Dignity for reference - add an appropriate moodiness, but Woods was also born and raised in Cornwall, where the album was recorded; amidst “eating pasties” and breaks by the sea, Woods and the band transformed the vaults underneath iconic Falmouth venue The Cornish Bank into a makeshift studio for a weeks’ worth of recording. Occasionally friends would drop by to lighten the load; Zander Sharp tracking violin on ’Double Island’ and ‘Flight’; Josh Law and Ben Sadler of Breakfast Records labelmates Getdown Services, both of whom contribute to the soul-stirring ‘mountain’ chorus on ‘Aberfan’.

When compared to the brightness of 2023’s The Noon and Midnight Manual, Woods’ influence on the record seems indisputable. On the aforementioned ‘At The Lake’, for instance, which features backing vocals from Woods. Or, most acutely, on the piano strains of harrowing closer ‘Bluff’, a track with such chilling, spectral severity as to effect the band’s most heartbreaking effort to date. While it’s particularly sombre note on which end proceedings, it's also an appropriate one: Langzamer bravely stands tall as their most restrained, matured, and sincere collection to date. And almost by virtue of its impeccable honesty, those moments of sunshine-joy that creep through the cracks feel that much more golden.

After four tape editions on Seil Records, Sofie Birch's 2019 debut record "Planetes" is finally available on vinyl featuring new artwork and a beautiful analog remastering.

Sofie creates dream-like, elegant ambient music with an emphasis on exploration and wonder. Her distinctive organic and melodic sound is shaped by improvising with analog synthesizers, acoustic instruments, and field recordings. Repetitiveness is clinically avoided with harmonic progressions that resolve all tension brilliantly. Planetes was described as a beautiful sound universe where the atmospheric sound surfaces and textures gently and elegantly take the listener to new places all the time by Danish experimental music media Passive Aggressive.

For this record's 5th anniversary, apart from the regular vinyl edition, there are two special editions. The first one comes in translucent blue vinyl and includes a limited edition K7 inspired by 70’s yoga tapes. It contains a 20-minute guided meditation on one side and two beautiful unreleased tracks on the other. The second special edition comes in yellow vinyl and includes an inner sleeve with stickers so that you can create your own cover/ constellation for the record.

Sofie's own words about the release:

“It's a dream coming true to see my debut release Planetes coming out on vinyl for its 5th anniversary! Planetes means “a wanderer” in Greek, and I love how this word describes the wandering of celestial bodies, and how we humans wander through life both on a physical and spiritual plane. Wandering is being alive. Wandering is moving, and everything is always moving and changing. Shifting and transforming. The music was created with recordings from a pilgrim trip in Italy with my mom on a little cassette recorder and the music evolved from synth improvisations and the discovery of trusting sound as it is and creating music from immediacy rather than concept.”