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»Arches« is the first collaborative album by brothers Simon and Tobias Lanz. It was written for and performed on self-built prototypes of wind instruments that were inspired by the classic pipe organ, but allowed the two composer-performers to go beyond its limitations in several ways. The music on this 40-minute long album for the Swiss Hallow Ground label was conceived and recorded by the two co-founders of the CRTTR collective and label during an artist residency in May 2022 in their home town of Bern. More than a mere document of a performance however, »Arches« combines the artists’ interest in exploring uncharted new creative and tonal ground inside of and beyond the realm of drone music with their background in visual art and design as a conceptually concise whole.

Simon and Tobias have a combined background in electronic music as well as a shared penchant for drone music. They hence designed these novel instruments in a way that allows for microtonal tuning to be able to overcome the restrictions inherent to the dominance of a twelve tone-based scale in Western music and work with a sonic palette that is much wider and nuanced than that of the conventional pipe organ. Furthermore, the physical design of these instruments widely differs from that of those which inspired them. This allows—or more precisely, forces—the musicians to freely invent and explore entirely novel playing techniques.

These factors, of course, also have an impact on the compositional process, which by design needs to be unconventional. The Lanz brothers worked with a graphic score for the four movements of the piece that forms »Arches« so as to adequately visualise the manifold tonal nuances of their instruments. This graphic score in turn was reinterpreted for the album release by Ramon Keiming, adding another dimension to it. Read from left to right, this remix of the score allows the listeners to follow an interpretation of the evolution of these dronescapes while the record plays, urging them to add their own interpretation.

This retroactive visualisation and thus spatialisation of the music is perfectly in line with its performance, which at all times factored in the acoustic affordances of the Prozess Bar in Bern. In many different ways, the Lanz brothers now invite their audience to join them there and explore the near-infinite possibilities of their curious instruments together with them. Much like Hallow Ground label mates such as Kali Malone or FUJI||||||||||TA, they are dedicated to enriching and expanding upon the musical and sonic qualities of pipe organs, but with widely different aesthetical results. To call »Arches« a unique record with an unheard-of sound is not hyperbole, but only factually correct.

Written, Produced, and Mixed by Jai Paul.
RECORDED AT HOME IN RAYNERS LANE, LONDON, ENGLAND.

Published by BMG Music Publishing Ltd. Except:

Str8 Outta Mumbai contains a sample of Bala Main Bairagan - Vani Jairam. Banner: Suchitra International Productions “Meera”. Music: Ravi Shankar. Lyrics: Meerabi. Licensing courtesy of UNIVERSAL MUSIC INDIA PVT. LTD.

Crush Written by Berny Cosgrove, Kevin Clark, Clifford Mueller and Andy Goldmark. P ublished by Warner/Chappell North America Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Ltd. and Shapiro Bertstein & Co. Ltd.

Baby Beat contains a sample of “All My Life” performed by K-Ci & JoJo. Courtesy of Geffen Records, A Division of UMG Recordings Inc., under license from Universal Music Enterprises.


Chix contains a sample from “Adagio For Strings, Op11.” as recorded by Leonard Bernstein and The New York Philharmonic, used courtesy of Sony Masterworks, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.

Lacquers cut by Scott Stratton at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood CA.

Cologne-based afro-fusion collective Muito Kaballa announces their signing to Batov Records with the new single "Live A River Part I": Acting as the introduction to the musical world and lyrical narratives of the upcoming record "Like A River, the track leans into the river theme, providing an all-encompassing, flowing journey. Tim von Malotki"s percussive bass clarinet lines cut through the meandering wash of Benjamin Schneider"s rootsy, highlife-inspired guitars and atmospheric piano flourishes, courtesy of Jan Janzen. Vocalist Nora Beisel floats across the arrangement, backed by emotive horn harmonies whilst reflecting on the change of path at the end of a relationship; a new orientation and course set.

On their long-awaited debut album Morning Ritual, Chartreuse have found the light in the darkness, sifting through the ruins of an anxious age in order to find the hope in it "There's a strange optimism in pulling all of your negative traits out, revising and reviewing them, and then putting them back, in order," says Mike Wagstaff, of the band's intricate, gorgeous songwriting. Chartreuse resist easy definition. The Black Country four-piece have been close friends since they were at college. In 2013, Mike and Harriet Wilson started playing folk music together ("We were not good at all," laughs Harriet), and a year later, they added a rhythm section, with the addition of Mike's brother Rory on drums and Perry Lovering on bass. Mike and Rory live together in Kidderminster in the West Midlands, while Harriet and Perry live just ten minutes away. They are very close friends and the songwriting is an extension of this intimacy. Their songs might find Harriet singing Mike's lyrics, or vice versa. "It takes a lot of trust, because the songs are not short of emotion," says Harriet. Morning Ritual has been a long time coming, with Chartreuse honing their craft over the course of four well- received EPs and the standalone 2022 single 'Satellites', a collaboration with Orlando Weeks. Having experimented with partly producing their previous EPs, Mike stepped up as sole producer on 2021's 'Is It Autumn Already?'. But they had big decisions to make. Should they build on the tracks from the last EP, and turn it into a full-length album? Would they work with a producer, or would Mike do it himself? They had more than enough new material to start an album from scratch, and Mike was ready to produce it. The framework for Morning Ritual was starting to take shape. "It was a natural progression," says Perry

Singer, songwriter and author Ali Sethi had been entranced by Jaar's music long before they began collaborating. He'd absorbed the sounds over a number of years, listening casually and taking in their subtleties in bars and rooftop parties across Lahore and London. "It felt familiar to me, that sense of adventure you have when you hear his music, like a tale that teases you and plays with your expectations as it unfolds," says Sethi. "In that sense it resembled the leisurely improvised ghazals and qawwalis I grew up hearing in Pakistan." So when the two were finally introduced by Indian visual artist Somnath Bhatt, a regular Jaar collaborator who also handled the album's artwork, Sethi was well prepared. He began to sketch out voice notes using loops snipped from Jaar's acclaimed 2020 album 'Telas', improvising vocalizations and seductive Urdu poems over Jaar's weightless, time-bending productions. Jaar was astonished by the result; "It was what 'Telas' had been missing," he explains.

Improvisation has been important to the Chilean artist for many years. Before he had even started making electronic music, Jaar jammed on accordion with friends on the street in New York City. It's at the core of his practice, "a moment in time," in his own words. 'Intiha', the opening track on the album, is the first they finished together, and positions Sethi's evocative phrases over Jaar's faded, metallic percussion. It's a perfect proof of concept, re- imagining the world of 'Telas' and augmenting it with a sense of ancestral melancholy and giddy euphoria that's truly transformational.
Sethi is best known globally for his attempts to revive the ghazal, an ancient poetic form that was taken by Sufi mystics from the Arab world to Persia and throughout the Indian subcontinent, where it captivated the royal court. It's been unfashionable in the last few decades, a mannered style associated with decadence, and Sethi offers it a new lease of life through his playfully revisionist covers and renditions. (His most popular single 'Pasoori' is a global phenomenon, one of the most Googled songs of 2022, with hundreds of millions of listeners tuning into its timeless message of forbidden love.) Sethi updates the ghazal form by using his years of training in raga music, lifting metaphors that reflect his journey as an out-of- place queer kid in Pakistan who became a US citizen and now lives in New York City.

Modern Hypnosis mainstay Alex Dickson, aka Pugilist, drops dubstep while upholding that unique Pugilist sound detailed throughout every track.

Designed to wobble your knees, the title track ‘Vintage’ is a satisfying growler that allows subs and wubs, dubbed-out echos and snare rolls to perfectly guide its course. The next track opens with a much-loved vocal sample of Dr Alimantado from the tune ‘Poison Flour’ which gives you a sense of familiarity; however, "Wistful’ is anything but and will have walls shaking in places you didn’t even know shook, with its shattering low-mid bass line and punchy kicks. Wistful is tested, tagged, certified, for sound system use.

On the flip, restraint and subtleness are brought to the plate with the track ‘Be Humble’. While we are reminded by the Upsetters to just be humble, Pugilist couldn’t resist sliding in his signature breaks cheekily in the second half to polish the composition.

Closing off this 4-tracker is a favourite of ours here at Modern Hypnosis. ‘Amethyst’ invites us on a broken-beat / dubstep hybrid trip with that perfect balance of minimalism and dub sound system prowess.

All in all, this is good gear.

As always, large up Pugilist!

Repress!

Redolent with the spirit of such high priests of effects and delay as Loop, Spaceman 3, and My Bloody Valentine, not to mention a fair dollop of the Jesus and Mary Chain . Methodrone clearly is the sum of its influences. Thankfully BJM does a very solid job with them throughout the album's course of over 70 minutes.

2023 Repress
Moon in Earthlight describes the phenomenon one can see in the first few days after a New Moon, when the slim crescent of the moon is completed into a full circle by a faint light that is not lit by sunlight but by the light reflected from Earth. It is also the apt title for the first album from an artist whose first love was astronomy. After 6 EPs over the course of 5 years, Wolfgang Tillmans now releases his first album, Moon in Earthlight, a singularly plural 53-minute piece comprised of 19 tracks.
Opening with more that connects us than divides us, 'Celloloop / More That Connects Us', a looped cello sets out a discursive path for a bright keyed melody to flirt with while the sounds of the organ and synthesizer build their supporting roles, all along a bouncing four-to-the-floor beat punctuated with bright electronic chimes and the rhythmic tempo of a shaker. The invitation is hard to resist as a yearning voice opens up to let us know he's left his "place in security." And, "you're shining … All the way down to this glittering place … you're shining." Where voices and laughter are then overheard in the background of another field recording sounding water dripping from a 'Rain Gutter' later caught by the soft, warm rhythmic bounce between two synth notes on 'Fourth Floor' where chime-like and percussive timbres resonate from the metal tine keys of the kalimba creating a meditative acuity, which Tillmans peppers with arpeggiated synth riffs.
A composition of multiplicities, Tillmans' album debut is a collage of sounds, field recordings, words, studio jam sessions and live recordings, voice, soundscapes, and instrumentation scored with audible space to breathe along the way. Keeping pace, the first 'Kardio Loop' is a vocal callisthenics contemplating 'the possibility of a happy life' and/or the propositional properties of its semantic constructions backed by the recording of a heartbeat from a cardiogram. This movement is gradually accompanied by a set of orchestral synth pads that build to a crescendo before the soft, twirling melody of 'Stonerella' carries us along a carousel-like melodic, pop, instrumental timed in the percussive clapping of pebbles.
Not knowing where one leaves off and the other begins is part of this album's enigma, as we move in and out of these aural spaces choreographed with the slightest, open hand, where we can float through 'Don't Kill It by Naming It' before dancing along 'Insanely Alive' all the while contemplating the inherent, fragile complexities of language and being.
This enigma also stems from the raw vulnerability of Tillmans' voice. Whether lyrically playful or introspective, it is always giving: intimately unfolding as in the surprising take on Simon & Garfunkel's 'El Condor Pasa' or shapeshifting in 'Can't Escape into Space' or fully naked as raw material expression in 'Kantine' and 'Ocean Walk'.
Whether it's Tillmans voice or voices overheard, a field recording or a pop synth melody, these sounds defy track listings, audibly held together as one of many in an aural space that becomes a reflective cycle that develops over the course of the album. The accumulative effect of which (reminiscent of the artist's installations), drives the singularity of each of the album's elements into a complete, unconsolidated whole. Like a phenomenon that marks time, Moon in Earthlight is the shadow and the reflection, fifty-three minutes in time.

Repress!

Veteran Drum & Bass producer Zero T returns to The North Quarter as he teams up with blind jazz pianist Andre Louis (PKA Onj) on their conceptual album Kilburn.

Having fortuitously discovered that they are neighbours in autumn 2021, Zero T & Onj began writing music together almost immediately. The duo's chemistry was undeniable as Kilburn was written over the course of just three months. With Kilburn being historically known for its large Caribbean and Irish communities, and Zero T being Irish and Onj of Caribbean heritage, it felt undeniable to dedicate the album after the London area it was written in.

The result is a rich, versatile collection of tracks, showing off intricate rhythms along with smooth chord progressions, perfectly marrying the worlds of both artists and their Jazz, R&B and Jungle influences. The darker, heavy side of Zero T’s sound is present on 'Some Type of Way' and 'We Juggle Different', both featuring Neo Soul singer Terrell King. More delicate, soulful tracks include “Everyday Struggles” featuring Jordan Max, “Rodeo Drive” featuring Mercy's Cartel and “Darkness” featuring Steo. Other featured vocalists are the iconic Ursula Rucker, Manchester's T-Man and Ms Nayé. The album also includes a collaboration with Nu Jazz duo Unitsouled, who previously appeared on Zero T’s debut release on The North Quarter Baby Grand.

Zaratustra Is a Young French Producer Strongly Inspired by Indie Dance, Italo Disco, Ebm, New Beat, Acid and Ethnic Music. His Style Matured Over the Course of This Year & We Actually Received This Extraordinary "Uprising" Demo. This Track Symbolizes the Perfect Mix of Rock, Italo and Ebm, for the Older Ones We Will Notice the Incredible Similarity in the Voice With Ian Astbury Singer of the Cult. a Bit as if This Fabulous Group Would Have Teleported to 2022 Accompanied by a Very Modern Production. It Is Once Again Stolt Who Strikes the Blow With One of His Finest Vocal Performances. We Called Again on the Brilliant Lauer for a Rereading Halfway Between Suicide, Alan Vega & the Cramps. This Record Is More Than a Statement, It's a Miracle. ...

GER "Wir suchen nach Glitzer, nach dem hellsten Geröll und Blitzen. Wer sich heute Nacht verliert, wird sich nicht finden. Ihr sucht in uns die Perfektion der Generation Maximum.." An was noch glauben. Mit ihrem dritten Album Generation Maximum nehmen CULK den Druck von einer Generation, die den Horror der Gegenwart wie durch Magie doch noch zu etwas Positivem wandeln - und richten ihn bewusst auf diejenigen, die ihre Zukunft zerstört haben. "... Ihr sucht in uns die Revolution, bürgt uns auf, was ihr nicht leisten wollt. Wer sich heute nicht mehr wehrt, wird übrigbleiben." Generation Maximum ist sicherlich kein Album, bei dem im SUV laut mitgegrölt wird, weil der Refrain so schön in die Sonnenuntergangsstimmung passt. Niemand klatscht vor Freude über den nächsten Waldbrand die Hände zusammen. Stattdessen beobachtet Sängerin Sophie Löw ihre Umwelt durch ein Brennglas und nimmt die Zuhörer:innen mit auf eine lyrische Rückblende der letzten zwanzig Jahre, in denen sie selbst vom Kind zur Zeugin wurde. Das selbstbetitelte CULK Debut (2019) erschien beim Wiener Label Siluh Records, einer der verlässlichsten Quellen für spannende Indie-Musik in all seinen Facetten. Vom Spiegel-Magazin gab es dazu das Attribut "Suchtsound". Mit ihrem zweiten Album "Zerstreuen über Euch" (2020) schuf die Gruppe ein famoses Konzept-Album. Es wurde von vielen Seiten als eine Kampfansage an tiefverwurzelte patriarchale Strukturen gedeutet und schaffte es u.a. in die TOP 5 der Jahresbestenliste des Spiegel-Magazins. Mit "Generation Maximum" übernimmt Jakob Herber die Rolle des Bassisten von Gründungsmitglied Benjamin Steiger. Herber ist von Anfang an ein wichtiger Wegbegleiter im engen Zirkelder Band, Sängerin/Gitarristin Sophie Löw hat im August 2022 als SOPHIA BLENDA ihr Solo-Debüt-Album "Die neue Heiterkeit" veröffentlicht. "Die neue Heiterkeit" ist eines der stärksten deutschsprachigen Pop-Statements der jüngeren Zeit" - Spiegel. Für ihr neues und nun drittes Album "Generation Maximum" hat sich die Band mit dem Produzenten Wolfgang Lehmann, vormals Wolfgang Möstl, zusammengetan, der unter anderem für seine Arbeit mit Voodoo Jürgens, Clara Luzia, Jungstötter, Dives uvm. bekannt ist. Und bringen es musikalisch nach draußen zu den Menschen, die vor lauter Existenzkämpfen fast vergessen hätten, die Revolution zu starten ("Generation Maximum"). Kein Ausbaden. Generation Maximum ist ein progressiv lauter werdendes "Nein" zur auferlegten Bürde, ein Appell an mehr Verletzlichkeit ("Eisenkleid") "Jede Rüstung erzählt von Verletzlichkeit. Stärke zeigt, wer Narben teilt." und weniger Elend im Privaten wie im Öffentlichen. Letztlich aber auch eine Suche nach einer neuen "Ode an die Freude" und Mut um uns. "Wir erheben Stimmen, auf dass sie für immer klingen. Wo sollen wir heute Zukunft finden?" Wer genau hinhört, findet sie: Lieder über unausgesprochene Träume, die durch epische Gitarrenklänge und Löws entrückten Gesang näher wirken, als sie eigentlich sind. LP klassisch schwarzes Vinyl.


With their third album Generation Maximum, CULK take the pressure off a generation that magically transforms the horror of the present into something positive after all - and deliberately direct it at those who have destroyed their future."... Ihr sucht in uns die Revolution, bürgt uns auf, was ihr nicht leisten wollt. Wer sich heute nicht mehr wehrt, wird übrig bleiben." Generation Maximum is certainly not an album to be bawled along to loudly in the SUV because the chorus fits so nicely into the sunset mood. No one claps their hands together in joy over the next forest fire. Instead, singer Sophie Löw observes her environment through a burning glass and takes the listeners on a lyrical flashback of the last twenty years, during which she herself went from child to witness. The self-titled CULK debut album (2019) was released on the Viennese label Siluh Records, one of the most reliable sources for exciting indie music in all its facets. Spiegel magazine gave it the attribute "addictive sound". With their second album "Zerstreuen über Euch" (2020), the group created a fabulous concept album. It was often viewed as a declaration of war against deeply rooted patriarchal structures and made it to the TOP 5 of the Spiegel magazine's best of the year list and gained the band a following in various scenes and audiences. With "Generation Maximum", Jakob Herber takes over the role of bass player from founding member Benjamin Steiger. Herber has been an important companion from the beginning. Singer/guitarist Sophie Löw released her solo debut album "Die neue Heiterkeit" as SOPHIA BLENDA in August 2022. "Die neue Heiterkeit" is one of the strongest German-language pop statements of recent times" - Spiegel. For their new and now third album "Generation Maximum", the band teamed up with producer Wolfgang Lehmann, formerly Wolfgang Möstl, who is known for his work with Voodoo Jürgens, Clara Luzia, Jungstötter, Dives and many more. And they take it musically outside to the people who almost forgot to start the revolution because of all the struggles for existence ("Generation Maximum"). No payback Generation Maximum is a progressively louder "no" to the burden imposed, an appeal for more vulnerability ("Eisenkleid") "Every armour tells of vulnerability. Strength shows who shares scars" and less misery in private as well as in public. But ultimately also a search for a new "Ode an die Freude" and courage around us. "Wir erheben Stimmen, auf dass sie für immer klingen. Wo sollen wir heute Zukunft finden?" Wer genau hinhört, findet sie: Lieder über unausgesprochene Träume, die durch epische Gitarrenklänge und Löws entrückten Gesang näher wirken, als sie eigentlich sind. RIYL Nu Wave, Independent, Shoegaze

GER "Wir suchen nach Glitzer, nach dem hellsten Geröll und Blitzen. Wer sich heute Nacht verliert, wird sich nicht finden. Ihr sucht in uns die Perfektion der Generation Maximum.." An was noch glauben. Mit ihrem dritten Album Generation Maximum nehmen CULK den Druck von einer Generation, die den Horror der Gegenwart wie durch Magie doch noch zu etwas Positivem wandeln - und richten ihn bewusst auf diejenigen, die ihre Zukunft zerstört haben. "... Ihr sucht in uns die Revolution, bürgt uns auf, was ihr nicht leisten wollt. Wer sich heute nicht mehr wehrt, wird übrigbleiben." Generation Maximum ist sicherlich kein Album, bei dem im SUV laut mitgegrölt wird, weil der Refrain so schön in die Sonnenuntergangsstimmung passt. Niemand klatscht vor Freude über den nächsten Waldbrand die Hände zusammen. Stattdessen beobachtet Sängerin Sophie Löw ihre Umwelt durch ein Brennglas und nimmt die Zuhörer:innen mit auf eine lyrische Rückblende der letzten zwanzig Jahre, in denen sie selbst vom Kind zur Zeugin wurde. Das selbstbetitelte CULK Debut (2019) erschien beim Wiener Label Siluh Records, einer der verlässlichsten Quellen für spannende Indie-Musik in all seinen Facetten. Vom Spiegel-Magazin gab es dazu das Attribut "Suchtsound". Mit ihrem zweiten Album "Zerstreuen über Euch" (2020) schuf die Gruppe ein famoses Konzept-Album. Es wurde von vielen Seiten als eine Kampfansage an tiefverwurzelte patriarchale Strukturen gedeutet und schaffte es u.a. in die TOP 5 der Jahresbestenliste des Spiegel-Magazins. Mit "Generation Maximum" übernimmt Jakob Herber die Rolle des Bassisten von Gründungsmitglied Benjamin Steiger. Herber ist von Anfang an ein wichtiger Wegbegleiter im engen Zirkelder Band, Sängerin/Gitarristin Sophie Löw hat im August 2022 als SOPHIA BLENDA ihr Solo-Debüt-Album "Die neue Heiterkeit" veröffentlicht. "Die neue Heiterkeit" ist eines der stärksten deutschsprachigen Pop-Statements der jüngeren Zeit" - Spiegel. Für ihr neues und nun drittes Album "Generation Maximum" hat sich die Band mit dem Produzenten Wolfgang Lehmann, vormals Wolfgang Möstl, zusammengetan, der unter anderem für seine Arbeit mit Voodoo Jürgens, Clara Luzia, Jungstötter, Dives uvm. bekannt ist. Und bringen es musikalisch nach draußen zu den Menschen, die vor lauter Existenzkämpfen fast vergessen hätten, die Revolution zu starten ("Generation Maximum"). Kein Ausbaden. Generation Maximum ist ein progressiv lauter werdendes "Nein" zur auferlegten Bürde, ein Appell an mehr Verletzlichkeit ("Eisenkleid") "Jede Rüstung erzählt von Verletzlichkeit. Stärke zeigt, wer Narben teilt." und weniger Elend im Privaten wie im Öffentlichen. Letztlich aber auch eine Suche nach einer neuen "Ode an die Freude" und Mut um uns. "Wir erheben Stimmen, auf dass sie für immer klingen. Wo sollen wir heute Zukunft finden?" Wer genau hinhört, findet sie: Lieder über unausgesprochene Träume, die durch epische Gitarrenklänge und Löws entrückten Gesang näher wirken, als sie eigentlich sind. LP klassisch schwarzes Vinyl.


With their third album Generation Maximum, CULK take the pressure off a generation that magically transforms the horror of the present into something positive after all - and deliberately direct it at those who have destroyed their future."... Ihr sucht in uns die Revolution, bürgt uns auf, was ihr nicht leisten wollt. Wer sich heute nicht mehr wehrt, wird übrig bleiben." Generation Maximum is certainly not an album to be bawled along to loudly in the SUV because the chorus fits so nicely into the sunset mood. No one claps their hands together in joy over the next forest fire. Instead, singer Sophie Löw observes her environment through a burning glass and takes the listeners on a lyrical flashback of the last twenty years, during which she herself went from child to witness. The self-titled CULK debut album (2019) was released on the Viennese label Siluh Records, one of the most reliable sources for exciting indie music in all its facets. Spiegel magazine gave it the attribute "addictive sound". With their second album "Zerstreuen über Euch" (2020), the group created a fabulous concept album. It was often viewed as a declaration of war against deeply rooted patriarchal structures and made it to the TOP 5 of the Spiegel magazine's best of the year list and gained the band a following in various scenes and audiences. With "Generation Maximum", Jakob Herber takes over the role of bass player from founding member Benjamin Steiger. Herber has been an important companion from the beginning. Singer/guitarist Sophie Löw released her solo debut album "Die neue Heiterkeit" as SOPHIA BLENDA in August 2022. "Die neue Heiterkeit" is one of the strongest German-language pop statements of recent times" - Spiegel. For their new and now third album "Generation Maximum", the band teamed up with producer Wolfgang Lehmann, formerly Wolfgang Möstl, who is known for his work with Voodoo Jürgens, Clara Luzia, Jungstötter, Dives and many more. And they take it musically outside to the people who almost forgot to start the revolution because of all the struggles for existence ("Generation Maximum"). No payback Generation Maximum is a progressively louder "no" to the burden imposed, an appeal for more vulnerability ("Eisenkleid") "Every armour tells of vulnerability. Strength shows who shares scars" and less misery in private as well as in public. But ultimately also a search for a new "Ode an die Freude" and courage around us. "Wir erheben Stimmen, auf dass sie für immer klingen. Wo sollen wir heute Zukunft finden?" Wer genau hinhört, findet sie: Lieder über unausgesprochene Träume, die durch epische Gitarrenklänge und Löws entrückten Gesang näher wirken, als sie eigentlich sind. RIYL Nu Wave, Independent, Shoegaze

Most of Gen X-ers who grew up in the mid-1980s Indonesia must have seen Soedjarwoto Soemarsono, known with his nom de guerre “Gombloh” performing on a state-run television station, playing some of his biggest hits from that era, pop gems like “Kugadaikan Cintaku (I Pawn Off My Love)”, “Setengah Gila (Half-Crazy).”

But of course, it is not fair to judge Gombloh only from these hits. Dig deeper and you will find buried treasure in his early stuff from Indra Records, and there are many of them.

His album with the band Lemon Tree’s Anno ‘69 (yes, that’s the name of the band) is all remarkable, but what he did for Chandra Records was no less spectacular. How can you go wrong with songs like “Kebyar-Kebyar”, the unofficial national anthem for Indonesia, dan “Berita Cuaca” one of the better epic songs in a catalogue full of epochal songs? These were all long out of print and in our journey to source the original master for these albums we met Bob Djumara of Nirwana Records, the Surabaya, East Java-based label which broke Gombloh into the mainstream in the mid-1980s. Almost all albums Gombloh recorded for his early labels, Indra Records and Chandra Records were critically acclaimed, but commercially they bombed, big time. Nirwana Records came up with an ingenious plan. What if they recorded Gombloh performing live and release it as is. After all, the first song in Gombloh debut record Nadia & Atmospheer is him strumming on his guitar backed by the cheering of a crowd, who could be heard going wild when he hurled that epithet “bastard” at the end of the song

The end result is a brilliant recording which despite being recorded live the sound quality so pristine leading many to doubt the claim of being live. Regardless, Nirwana shipped a decent number of units and Gombloh could buy his first car, a Katana Jeep, with money from the royalty.

One of the best things about Live Gila is its perfect sequencing, beginning with Gombloh’s social commentary on the rich’s debauched lifestyle of preying on young boys and girls, one of the most popular subjects allowed by the censoring machine of the New Order authoritarian government. The second song “Untuk Persada” is a soaring ode to the nation. For this song, Gombloh could be heard drawing his inspiration from The Police, which was undoubtedly popular in the early 1980s, even in a faraway port city like Surabaya.

Listening to this record as a whole (we omitted the last song from the original master tape “Bagimu Negeri” which sounds too jingoistic), we could not help but point to some of similarities it has with Bob Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks. Not a single composition in this record sound indigenous (the Malay-influenced rock of Panbers or Koes Plus come to mind); they all sound modern and effortlessly catchy, and had it not been for the language, this album could be mistaken for a musical output from someone growing up in Laurel Canyon or Southern France.

There are only limited copies of vinyl records in the second-hand market today available for Gombloh music, if at all. For his ardent fans, they have to scavenge for old cassettes to continue to be able to enjoy his music and have to pay top dollar for that. In Indonesia, where he was a superstar in the early 1980s, Gombloh was largely forgotten. With this project, we can only hope that the time is ripe for Gombloh to reemerge and now, more than ever, his music could speak to a bigger audience.

Eight decades in and Charles Hayward (This Heat, Camberwell Now) isn’t slowing down, he’s picking up the pace. Following on from a sensational string of gigs and festival performances, his latest endeavour - Abstract Concrete - is now primed to release this astounding self-titled debut via state51 Conspiracy.

The band features the luminous cast of Agathe Max (Mésange, UKAEA) on viola, Otto Willberg (Yes Indeed, Historically Fucked) on bass, Roberto Sassi (Snorkel, Glenn Branca) on guitar, Yoni Silver (Hyperion Ensemble, Steve Noble) on keyboards and, of course, Charles himself on drums and vocals. With this undeniable experimental pedigree, it’ll likely come as one hell of a surprise that this group are now responsible for one of the most persuasive and hook-laden avant pop albums of the year.

God knows enough has been written about Workshop. Surely you haven't read it, but this group has been around since 1985, and what they did was this: musically quite limited, they made the music they wanted to hear, but in an ingenious way. Some played the instruments skillfully and others not so much. Something came out of it! One says: that's just the way I like it. The other one boasts: yes, I understood everything how you play here, sometimes you hit it, or sometimes you play so that the parents cry with joy. In fact, seven records were recorded, which, with the exception of the second LP, are still more than worth listening to today. Are they in danger of being forgotten?

Yes and no. What is worth listening to here has often been banned. One must bring it out again. Make attentive. Against the forgetting. These impetuous songs - just let them get close to you again and listen to them in a new context and forget all the smart-ass talk that was said about them. That means to put the self with all its reality entanglements in the pillory. This is of course not only pleasant. Bravo!

As the title suggests, the recording Tenorlee finds Lee Konitz, the great American saxophonist,
playing exclusively on tenor. It was a spontaneous decision, and a tribute to his dear friend,
Lighthouse All-Star saxophonist Richie Kamuca, who had passed away just days before Konitz
entered the studio for these sessions. Konitz classically trained on the clarinet, but switched to jazz
saxophone after being enamored by Lester Young. By 1945 the 18 year old Konitz was performing
professionally. He made a staggering 150 albums as a band leader over the course of his long and
storied career. He played and recorded with everyone from Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, Ornette
Colman, Elvin Jones, and Gerry Mulligan, to Elvis Costello, Brad Mehldau and Charlie Haden.
Between 1948 and 1950, he was a member of Miles Davis’ group, and participated in the recordings
that would eventually be collected and released as Birth of The Cool. With a trio featuring Lighthouse
All-Star alum Jimmy Rowles on piano and Michael Moore on bass, Kontiz called out old and familiar
songs. The intention was to “let the tunes happen” as only finely tuned jazz musicians of certain
experience can. Of note is “Lady Be Good” which finds Konitz and Rowles quoting Lester Young’s
solo from the 1936 recording with Count Basie. From 1978, originally on the Choice label, this album
has been remastered and is presented here as the artist intended, with its original title, track order and
album artwork, for the first time since its original release. Remastered by Alex McCollough at True
East Mastering. Vinyl cut by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl.

25th anniversary release of the album from 1998 as expanded special limited edition. It is the eighth Dub Syndicate studio album mixed by Adrian Sherwood. Originally released as catalogue number Lion & Roots 002 in 1998 on Style Scott"s own label here"s the expanded and remastered collector"s limited edition as 2LP-set including six additional tracks not available on the original vinyl release and also as 18-track CD release, with the booklet including excerpts from an unpublished interview. Main vocal contributor is the legendary artist Big Youth plus Little David courtesy J.R. Productions (Junior Reid"s camp), backing vocals by Skip McDonald and Style Scott"s inimitable laughter. The basic tracks were recorded in Jamaica, with some of the pals from the Roots Radics days (i.e. Flabba Holt, Steely Johnson) at Studio 2000 (Steely & Clevie"s studio) and the legendary Tuff Gong Recording Studio, followed by overdubbing in the USA at Greenpoint Studios (Bill Laswell"s studio) and Playroom Studios in New York, with additional overdub and final mix at On-U Sound (London) by Adrian Sherwood.

David Byrne is a modern renaissance man - and that’s not just a cliché. From the heady days as co-founder of the celebrated art new-wave group Talking Heads (1976-88) through his own constantly evolving and innovative solo music career, he has pursued his muse on many different artistic fronts. He’s been the driving force behind a body of work that has been both intellectually daring and commercially successful...and he shows no signs of slowing down decades later. This show, captured on November 28, 2001, came on the heels of his hit single, “Like Humans Do” and the release of the album Look Into The Eyeball, which was another typically eclectic musical stew reflecting a variety of styles and influences, from Philly soul to a D.C. Go-Go inspired groove and his first-ever Spanish composition, “Desconocido Soy.” Critics at the time called it his best work in years, and his performance on the Austin City Limits stage shows why. Joined by Austin’s own eclectic tango ensemble Tosca, Byrne takes us down many different musical roads in his ACL debut. Of course, besides the brilliant songwriter and performer that he is, he’s also an accomplished performance artist, photographer, web journalist, film writer / director, composer of motion picture soundtracks, and founder of his own world music label, Luaka Bop Records. He also has a collection of Grammys, Oscars and Golden Globes on his mantel. His music may be complex and poetic, but he makes no bones about his ultimate intent: “I want to move people to dance and cry at the same time. - Terry Lickona (Producer Austin City Limits)

For much of this album, his 16th in 26 years, Hiatt reunites with his best band, the Goners, and takes a giant leap back to his still-hungry days as a jag-edged, Costello-esque rocker while hewing to the soulful, blues-based songwriting he perfected on 1987's Bring the Family. The withering pub rock of 1979's Slug Line--as well as a nod to fallen hero Dale Earnhardt--seeps into the title track, while the roaring guitar, courtesy of the brilliant Sonny Landreth, and tight rhymes of "All the Lilacs in Ohio" suggest the streetwise edge of 1983's Riding with the King. But it's with ballads such as "Something Broken" and "Come Home to You" that Hiatt's musicianship, songwriting, and deeply soulful vocals truly convince and offer the most moving moments on this, his most memorable album in many years.

Kacy & Clayton first met Jeff Tweedy in the backroom of the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco in September 2016. The band had been invited to open for Wilco on night 4 of their annual 5-night run. While waiting for their soundcheck, Jeff appeared through a curtain backstage and introduced himself. In the conversations that followed, Kacy Anderson, Clayton Linthicum and Jeff Tweedy discussed their mutual appreciation of Davy Graham and Jeff’s understanding of Saskatchewan’s geography. Those conversations would eventually blossom into an invite to stop by Wilco’s studio, the Loft, a visit they made only weeks later. In January 2017, Kacy & Clayton returned to the Loft with a rhythm section and a batch of new songs. Over the course of 8 days, the band recorded 9 songs with Jeff Tweedy producing and Loft house engineer Tom Schick at the helm. These 9 songs are what would become the band’s fourth album, The Siren’s Song. While writing and recording The Siren's Song, Kacy & Clayton found inspiration in the music of Sammi Smith, The Everly Brothers, Link Wray's chicken shack LPs, country records with harpsichords, The Sir Douglas Quintet, Gene Clark, Jeannie C. Riley, as well as British traditional singers like Peter Bellamy and the Watersons. The Siren's Song is a product of these influences and an extraordinary progression in the band's own sound.