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Sven Torstenson's notorious Drugs is a loopdigga's fever dream, bursting with breaks for days and featuring possibly the most iconic cover of all library music's cult classics. First released in 1980, it's now a hyper-rare and seriously sought-after electronic album full of experimental soundscapes and samples just waiting to be flipped. It's both terrifying and terrifyingly good. So much so, it's been brilliantly sampled by Kendrick Lamar and Chance The Rapper.

The sleeve describes Drugs as containing "the newest dimensions of electronic sounds. Dramatic underscores for all problems of today's life and society, at the border between reality and delusion." That's pretty spot-on. The fast moving "Euphoria" is an incredible, unignorable opener. It's loaded with disorientating effects and really needs to be heard to be believed. It's followed by the gorgeous "Soft Hallucinations", containing quiet, meditative and beautiful sounds - as the title suggests. One listen and you'll want to live in the warm embrace of this beatless, harmonic gem. Sinister squelchy synth stabs don't distract from the sheer beauty of the track's main (gentle) thrust. They only serve to elevate its trippy magic.

Next up, "Sky Move"'s agitated and repetitive rhythm makes it an intense listen but with a broad melody that will appeal to many. "Destroyed Dreams" utilises a muffled church organ and it sounds heavenly to begin with but it gradually invites increasingly distorted elements. Yes, you've had trips like this, we're pretty certain. Mental! Talking of bad trips, never have they sounded so good as "Horror Trip"; this fractured drama-synth just needs some some dusty beats to hold it up - get involved.

"Floating Illusions" almost sounds like a beatless Spiritualized bomb from the early-mid 90s; melodic, synthy, church organ-drenched. The mournful, dramatic "Lost Chance" pulses along on a bed of acidy synths whilst "The Morning After" is the sonic equivalent of the extreme fear and doom experienced in the aftermath of the previous night's carnage. Whilst somewhat uncomfortable listening, again, it's pretty compelling thanks to the myriad effects being expertly utilised. Fascinating. The sprawling, fragmented "Random Thoughts" is described as containing "confused melody phrases" - yeah, pretty much sums this one up.

The B-Side is ushered in by "Heroin" and it's as sketchy as you might think, all mysterious minor chords with a dominating - but not overbearing - bass refrain. Next up, the dream-like synthy fanfare of "Night Trip" climaxes after a few minutes of dramatic, ecclesiastical sounds whilst "Day Trip" layers its melody over a repetitive rhythmic base.

Next up, one of the *REAL* highlights makes itself known. Absolutely not to be missed, "Dealer's Corner" is all shifting tenors from quiet to hectic and back around again. The hectic parts are like a totally synthed-out-the-eyeballs jazz-funk collective wigging out with the latest electronic toys from 1980. This one totally SMOKES.

The dramatic "Sad And Hopeless" is appositely replete with dissonant, minor church-organ chords whilst "Riding Pegasus" uses a creepy ostinato bass melody to create irrational bleepy menace that's ripe for sampling. The penultimate track, "Hopeless Chaos" is another disorientating trip, a bleepy confection of sounds and phrases whilst closer "Goin' Mad" is all electronic percussion with an unpleasant rhthymic feel and irritating melody. Music to annoy your partner with!

Established in Munich in 1965 by Gerard and Rotheide Narholz, Sonoton introduced library music to Germany. Initially intended to cater to the country's new TV market, the library also provided an avenue for Gerhard Narholz's astonishing musical prolificacy, and soon became a haven for a wide range of European composers and musicians. In 1969, Sonoton struck a deal with the British label Berry Music for international publishing rights, exposing its catalog to a worldwide audience; when Berry was bought out by EMI in 1973, Sonoton transitioned into a full-fledged international label, with successes in the library and commercial fields and many innovations to its credit. Now a worldwide operation with hundreds of producers and composers under its employ, Sonoton nonetheless remains an independently run business still helmed by its founders - a remarkable achievement in an era when nearly every other major library has been absorbed by a multinational conglomerate.

The audio for Drugs has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.

Lassen Sie sich von den fesselnden Melodien und der rauen Kraft des finnischen Powerhouse KAUNIS KUOLEMATON verzaubern - Mit einem unerschrockenen Ansatz, der Genregrenzen trotzt, hat diese Band die Essenz des Melodic Doom Metal neu definiert, indem sie ätherische Schönheit nahtlos mit unerbittlicher Kraft verbindet. Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 2012 haben sich KAUNIS KUOLEMATON auf die unerbittliche Suche begeben, die Grenzen ihres Handwerks zu überschreiten und eine einzigartige und faszinierende Marke melancholischen Metal zu kreieren, die Fans aus allen Ecken des Metal-Spektrums begeistert.
Ihr überwältigender und wiedererkennbarer Sound hat ihnen Plätze eingebracht, auf denen sie sich mit bekannten Acts wie Omnium Gatherum, Wolfheart, Cult of Luna, Vorna und October Tide teilen. KAUNIS KUOLEMATON hat das Publikum mit seinen magnetischen Auftritten von Festivals bis hin zu Headlinern in ganz Finnland begeistert. Mit drei Alben, einer EP und mehreren Singles unter ihrem Gürtel haben sich die finnischen Metaller fest als eine Kraft etabliert, die in der Metal-Szene zu rechnen ist.
Bereiten Sie sich nun auf das kommende Magnum-Werk "Mielenvalta" vor, das am 13. Oktober via Noble Demon veröffentlicht wird. Die mit Spannung erwartete Veröffentlichung verspricht ein weiteres intensives Kapitel in der Geschichte von KAUNIS KUOLEMATON zu werden. Mach dich bereit für eine klangliche Reise, die dich in ein Reich entführt, in dem Schönheit und Brutalität koexistieren, in dem sich eindringliche Melodien mit wilden Schreien verflochten und in dem die Grenzen des Metal durchbrochen werden.
Mit ihrem neuesten Album "Syttyköön Toinen Aurinko" mit komplett finnischen Texten haben KAUNIS KUOLEMATON bereits unauslöschliche Spuren in der Szene hinterlassen und Fans und Kritiker gleichermaßen gelobt. Nun, während sie sich auf die Veröffentlichung von "Mielenvalta" vorbereiten, erreicht die Entwicklung der Band neue Höhen und verspricht ein immersives Erlebnis, das euch den Atem rauben wird.

It's been a little over ten years since Hailu Mergia reemerged on the international music scene. Following the first in a series of his classic recordings reissued in collaboration with Awesome Tapes From Africa, Mergia assembled a band and began performing live again after many years driving a cab in Washington, DC. His first show back appeared on the front page of the New York Times along with a stellar review and he took off from there performing his flavor of Ethiopian jazz all over the world in the years since, including Radio City Music Hall and Montreal Jazz Festival. Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player's powerful DC-based trio _ which practices each weekend in his basement _ featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA's expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson. The performance clarifies what many people across the globe already know: in his fifth decade of music-making Hailu Mergia continues to push the boundaries of his remarkable abilities. Mergia and his veteran band energetically and playfully unpeel layer after layer of harmonic and rhythmic interest out of a spectrum of Ethiopian repertoire. Modern jazz demands constant reinvention and improvisation, night after night creating new works out of known modes and classic standards. This band is unstoppable when it comes to turning age-old melodies (like "Tizita" or "Anchihoye Lene") upside down and inside out until they emerge as molten new works, often spontaneously. Mergia's original compositions (like "Yegle Nesh") shine brighter than ever here as well. Moving from keyboard to organ to accordion to melodica, he deftly switches instruments _ often during the same song. Mergia at 77 years old seems to be working harder than musicians half his age. "Pioneer Works Swing (Live)" brings into focus the kind of onstage group improvisation and deadly solo passages that reach for places Mergia and the band have never gone, on festival and club stages across four continents. Now that Mergia has released two new recordings along with four classic reissues, he is eager to let everyone hear what he's been doing on the road since he re-took the global stage for his victory laps. So much more than an old act from yesteryear, Mergia balances his legendary Ethiopian recordings with good old fashioned sweat-soaked live concert triumphs such as the one we have here.

It's been a little over ten years since Hailu Mergia reemerged on the international music scene. Following the first in a series of his classic recordings reissued in collaboration with Awesome Tapes From Africa, Mergia assembled a band and began performing live again after many years driving a cab in Washington, DC. His first show back appeared on the front page of the New York Times along with a stellar review and he took off from there performing his flavor of Ethiopian jazz all over the world in the years since, including Radio City Music Hall and Montreal Jazz Festival. Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player's powerful DC-based trio _ which practices each weekend in his basement _ featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA's expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson. The performance clarifies what many people across the globe already know: in his fifth decade of music-making Hailu Mergia continues to push the boundaries of his remarkable abilities. Mergia and his veteran band energetically and playfully unpeel layer after layer of harmonic and rhythmic interest out of a spectrum of Ethiopian repertoire. Modern jazz demands constant reinvention and improvisation, night after night creating new works out of known modes and classic standards. This band is unstoppable when it comes to turning age-old melodies (like "Tizita" or "Anchihoye Lene") upside down and inside out until they emerge as molten new works, often spontaneously. Mergia's original compositions (like "Yegle Nesh") shine brighter than ever here as well. Moving from keyboard to organ to accordion to melodica, he deftly switches instruments _ often during the same song. Mergia at 77 years old seems to be working harder than musicians half his age. "Pioneer Works Swing (Live)" brings into focus the kind of onstage group improvisation and deadly solo passages that reach for places Mergia and the band have never gone, on festival and club stages across four continents. Now that Mergia has released two new recordings along with four classic reissues, he is eager to let everyone hear what he's been doing on the road since he re-took the global stage for his victory laps. So much more than an old act from yesteryear, Mergia balances his legendary Ethiopian recordings with good old fashioned sweat-soaked live concert triumphs such as the one we have here.

New York-based label Kindergarten Records is thrilled to unveil Ayesha’s debut album, ‘Rhythm is Memory’ – 10 boundary-pushing tracks, a shape-shifting percussive journey with electric moments.
While intended for maximum dancefloor impact, Ayesha’s first LP is also conceptually thought-provoking and playful, exploring how bodies store and channel creative knowledge.

A self-taught producer, Ayesha relies on her instincts to make music: sensing what her body wants to feel and hear. To her, essential to building a groove is channeling what is already inside us –
memories – whether they are based on lived experience or coded in the body: culturally, ancestrally, or intergenerationally. The result is this Indian-American producer’s distinct rhythmic voice, with its
many configurations boldly expressed across her debut album.

Kindergarten first released Ayesha’s material in 2020 with her ‘Natural Phenomena’ EP, a four-track journey which she described as “an undulating love letter to nature and the dancefloor, a space
where her biophilia collides with her yearning for the dancefloor.” Subsequently, she continued to build upon her luminous, scintillating sound with a contribution to ‘Fluo II’ titled “Aspara Dub”, followed
by “Varanasi” and “Downpour” on ‘Ether’, a split release with Sha Ru in 2021. With each release, Ayesha's sound evolved, adding shades, layers, and perpetual rhythmic nuance to a mind palace of
dancefloor possibilities.

That is why her and Kindergarten are a perfect match -- driven by their mutual fascination with exploratory sonics and a shared commitment to the community that inspires them. Kindergarten
Records has shaped itself into a trailblazing label, uniting a diverse and innovative collective of local and international producers, while embodying a strong familial atmosphere.This debut LP represents
a significant step-up for both the artist and the imprint, as they strive harmoniously towards a shared goal: delivering a sonic experience full of colorful, otherworldly bass-fueled expansion.

‘Rhythm is Memory’ captures Ayesha’s signature love for driving techno and organic percussion, while at moments veering into newer electro territory while keeping it psychedelic, spacious, dubby, and
always playful. This feels intuitively right for a producer at a crossroads in her career. All tracks intricately weave together pulsing drum grooves, slinky synths, nuanced melodies, and delightfully
unexpected twists. No single genre can do justice to describing this project as Ayesha delicately nods to many, reveling in the spaces between.

Undoubtedly, across A and B sides, 'Rhythm is Memory' imparts the joy of sonic experimentation to listeners and dancers. Ayesha invites us into her creative process and its steady evolution – rooted in
many days and nights of exploration, reflection, and repetition. "The ritual practice of cultivating and tending a garden is what comes to mind if I were to visualize this record. Beautiful things can emerge
from care and consistent attention," says Ayesha. While she refers to her specific experience making 'Rhythm is Memory,' this powerful album culminates a decade of working in nightlife for Ayesha – a
project slated to leave an indelible mark on the underground. To mark this impressive milestone in their catalog, Kindergarten Records is proud to return to pressing vinyl after a hiatus since 2020,
recognizing the significance of putting out a physical release to behold such a moment in both the label's and the artist's trajectory.

Recorded between 2010-2012, Closed Sessions Vol. 2 is a snapshot of a begotten time in Hip-Hop music and blog culture. The album features an eclectic class of artists such as Action Bronson, DJ Babu, Vic Mensa, The Cool Kids, Rockie Fresh, Freddie Gibbs, and others coming to the legendary SoundScape Studios and participating in the Closed Sessions program. Every song was followed by a documentary on MTV2 Sucker Free.

CS Vol. 2 was originally released August 23, 2012 and has been offline since 2015, the album has been re-mastered and is being released on vinyl for the 1st time ever. Limited to 500 copies.

Miyuki Omura's "Thats Me" EP is one serious piece of work!

A heavy dose of Industrial Hardcore Techno that sucks you in, chews you to bits, spits you out and leaves you craving for even more sonic abuse.
"That's me" is a 3 track EP filled to the rim with emotional distorted sound design heavily influenced by Miyuki's deep love for traditional Dutch industrial hardcore,
while also heavily flirting with schranz techno and UK infused breakbeat culture.
She perfectly blends the power of industrial hardcore with the grooves, textures, and functionality of "Techno" to her tracks.

"That's Me EP" by Tokyo based artist Miyuki Omura is sophisticated, diverse, creative.. But most importantly.. Hard As Nails!
An impressive PRSPCT debut by an impressive lady!

The long out of print album “Junkyard Speedball” by LEFT LANE CRUISER is back on SMASH (RED / BLACK) VINYL! This SUPER LIMITED PRESSING of 350 also includes a new INSERT with lyrics
and photos. Joining Freddy J IV (guitar/vocals) and Brenn “Sausage Paw” Beck (drums/washboard/trash kit) on four tracks, is the soulful keyboard of JAMES LEG (aka J.W. Meyers of the BLACK DIAMOND HEAVIES). Produced in Detroit by JIM DIAMOND, the album brings
together elements of the heavy, heart thumping, trash blues stomp the Indiana duo is known for, but it also showcases a wider range, with slower numbers that will make you groove, baby! “Assimilates the
Mississippi Delta blues laid down by guys like Big Joe Williams and Son House and cultivates it into a country punk ‘n’ blues speedball.” – POPMATTERS

Isabel del Bosco is part of a spiritual community based in Cordoba, Argentina. The music on this album is inspired by the hikes in the woods, the late-night conversations, the current readings and the seeking of quietude. We believe that music can be a medium for inner cultivation.

Written, performed, produced and mixed by Isabel del Bosco. Recorded in Buenos Aires, Argentina between Oct 2021 and Sep 2022. Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri (Black Knoll Studio, NY, US).

The Debut album from Finnish band Graven Sin is a modern classic of godly, Doom-laden Heavy Metal. Veil of The Gods is etched in granite via Svart Records on November 2023 Pristine new Finnish band Graven Sin stomp proudly on the shoulders of giants with their ravishing debut album, Veil of The Gods. Immaculate Heavy Metal, expertly delivered with stunning finesse and elegant Doom perfection, Veil of The Gods is a classic in the making. Rarely has a new band sounded so timeless, serving up a godly platter of first-class Heavy Metal, that Graven Sin seem chiselled in granite to sit side by side at a table with the greats from the very get go. From the galloping charge of opening barn-stormer Morrigan, with jaw dropping solo guitars courtesy of riff master Ville Pystynen, the epic and anthemic She Who Rules Niflheim with soaring vocals from Greek vocalist Nicholas Leptos to the formidable double bass canter of Ville Markkanen’s drums on songs like Beyond Mesopotamia, Graven Sin knows the true riddle of steel. Throughout Veil of The Gods’ eleven cast-iron tracks, we can trace veins of recent Finnish greats such as Sentenced, Amorphis, Reverend Bizarre or their nordic counterparts Grand Magus from Sweden, but there is much more at play here. Graven Sin offers up heavy, doom laden orthodox Heavy Metal in the true, chugging, monumental sense of the term. The knowledge and prowess of Heavy Metal craft on display in Veil of The Gods is second to none, from the Maidenesque command of melody to the swarthy Manowar rhythms, herculean Deep Purple keys and Messiah like Candlemass-rich voice of astonishing vocalist Leptos, these are songs to be inscribed into stone tablets. Where pitch dark mythical themes and occult leanings of the lyrics bring to mind the Heavy Metal running through Black Metal bands like Dissection, the song arrangements swing from gallop to thundering, head-banging mid-sections with such magnificence, you would think you were in the hands of a band with decades of heritage behind their backs. A “where have you been all my life moment” awaits Heavy Metal fans of all shades when Graven Sin hits the speakers, delivering a sound that cuts glass and steel. A refreshing tour–de-force through everything Heavy Metal is loved for, not shrinking from the dark but embracing it with gusto and fierce bravado. Veil of The Gods shows us that real metal lives forever, if crafted with true spirit and belief. Hear the cry of the seer of doom, by heeding Morrigan’s call now: Ville Pystynen - guitar, bass Nicholas Leptos - vocals Ville Markkanen - drums

The Debut album from Finnish band Graven Sin is a modern classic of godly, Doom-laden Heavy Metal. Veil of The Gods is etched in granite via Svart Records on November 2023 Pristine new Finnish band Graven Sin stomp proudly on the shoulders of giants with their ravishing debut album, Veil of The Gods. Immaculate Heavy Metal, expertly delivered with stunning finesse and elegant Doom perfection, Veil of The Gods is a classic in the making. Rarely has a new band sounded so timeless, serving up a godly platter of first-class Heavy Metal, that Graven Sin seem chiselled in granite to sit side by side at a table with the greats from the very get go. From the galloping charge of opening barn-stormer Morrigan, with jaw dropping solo guitars courtesy of riff master Ville Pystynen, the epic and anthemic She Who Rules Niflheim with soaring vocals from Greek vocalist Nicholas Leptos to the formidable double bass canter of Ville Markkanen’s drums on songs like Beyond Mesopotamia, Graven Sin knows the true riddle of steel. Throughout Veil of The Gods’ eleven cast-iron tracks, we can trace veins of recent Finnish greats such as Sentenced, Amorphis, Reverend Bizarre or their nordic counterparts Grand Magus from Sweden, but there is much more at play here. Graven Sin offers up heavy, doom laden orthodox Heavy Metal in the true, chugging, monumental sense of the term. The knowledge and prowess of Heavy Metal craft on display in Veil of The Gods is second to none, from the Maidenesque command of melody to the swarthy Manowar rhythms, herculean Deep Purple keys and Messiah like Candlemass-rich voice of astonishing vocalist Leptos, these are songs to be inscribed into stone tablets. Where pitch dark mythical themes and occult leanings of the lyrics bring to mind the Heavy Metal running through Black Metal bands like Dissection, the song arrangements swing from gallop to thundering, head-banging mid-sections with such magnificence, you would think you were in the hands of a band with decades of heritage behind their backs. A “where have you been all my life moment” awaits Heavy Metal fans of all shades when Graven Sin hits the speakers, delivering a sound that cuts glass and steel. A refreshing tour–de-force through everything Heavy Metal is loved for, not shrinking from the dark but embracing it with gusto and fierce bravado. Veil of The Gods shows us that real metal lives forever, if crafted with true spirit and belief. Hear the cry of the seer of doom, by heeding Morrigan’s call now: Ville Pystynen - guitar, bass Nicholas Leptos - vocals Ville Markkanen - drums

OLAYA SOUND SYSTEM, Peruvian band founded 15 years ago and with a discography of 6 CDs, present their first vinyl release, comprising some of their most outstanding productions recorded between 2015 and 2022. Their songs explore the sounds of Andean cumbia and chicha, with elements of psychedelia, reggae and Afro-Latin rhythms of global relevance, projecting with its music an innovative new chapter in the development of Peruvian tropical music of the 21st century.
Just like Chico Trujillo, Frente Cumbiero or Son Rompe Pera are also doing, OLAYA SOUND SYSTEM are reaching a global impact modernizing tropical music.
This album is released on the recently revamped Peruvian label Rey Record, one of the essential and most iconic record labels during the golden days of cumbia and chicha, decades ago. Olaya Sound System was founded in Chorrillos, Lima (Peru), in 2009 and since then they have developed a very particular exploration of the sounds of Andean cumbia and chicha, with elements of psychedelia, reggae and Afro-Latin rhythms of global relevance, projecting with its music an innovative new chapter in the development of Peruvian tropical music of the 21st century. Both on the dance floor and in meditative listening, Olaya Sound System take us with this LP on a journey through bucolic landscapes of the Andes, the Amazon and the infinite Pacific Ocean, essential locations that constitute their native Peru and that have inspired very perceptibly their sound. This album, the band's first release on vinyl, comprising some of their most outstanding productions recorded between 2015 and 2022. Cultivators of a very particular tropical musical style, they collect and adapt the Peruvian traditions of the cumbia, chicha and huayno genres, and then blend them with a melting pot of contemporary Latin and global influences such as reggae, salsa, rock, among others.
Emerging from the Peruvian independent scene, Olaya Sound System reflect relevant social topics in its lyrics, such as the search for individual and collective consciousness, with a strong content of social issues. The band has become, from their native Peru, in one of the most interesting projects that modernize tropical music today, just like groups like Chico Trujillo, Frente Cumbiero or Son Rompe Pera, are also doing from different Latinamerican territories, reaching a global impact

Off World presents the final album in its trilogy of surreal and spacious leftfield electronics. "A stellar project headed by Sandro Perri, one of the most singular producers in contemporary music" (Boomkat), this third volume is another distinctive collection of tracks constructed from semi-improvised ensemble recordings made over the past decade with a varied cast of coconspirators. Drew Brown, Matthew Cooper, Susumu Mukai and Andrew Zukerman join Perri again on a variety of synths and machines, along with violinist Jesse Zubot (Tanya Tagaq, Fond Of Tigers). Perri also continues to add organ and piano to the mix, while Volume 3 notably features first-time Off World contributors Nicole Rampersaud on trumpet and Martin Arnold on guitar, both mainstays of Toronto's vibrant improv and out-music scenes. The Quietus calls Off World "genuinely explorative_the musical equivalent of a Dali-esque landscape" which through all sorts of genre-defying twists and turns, at times evokes "offkilter, late Miles Davis ambience". Off World 3 doubles down on that jazz-adjacent trope in certain respects, while holding fast to Pitchfork's dictum that Perri "cultivates his own genreless brand of futurism." Marked by longer tracks than previous collections, three of the album's five songs clock in around the 10-minute mark, where overtly improvised instrumental playing wends its way across alternately bubbling and woozy electronic beds. "Impulse Controller" is a languidly skewed rhumba where ambling melodic undercurrents and dubby electronic pointillism provide a dulcet promenade for Rampersaud's Miles-esque trumpet excursions. "Ludic Loop" see-saws along in a slow synthy two-step, punctuated by Perri's restrained piano chords and Arnold's fried electric guitar. "Empasse" is perhaps most reminiscent of earlier Off World collections, though again slowed and stretched, with oozing synth bass ostinatos counterposed by ambient layers of viola and violin filigree from Zubot. These three centerpiece longform tracks each highlight one of the album's instrumental improvisers, and taken together, make for the most scintillating sedate and ruminant album in the trilogy. Off World 3 sounds as sui generis as ever, but in wrapping up the series, Perri sprinkles the project's emblematic alien surrealism with decidedly anthropic elements and temporalities. This final volume in the trilogy could also be seen as a re-statement of Perri's politico-aesthetic mission, as aptly celebrated by Pitchfork and its glowing 8.0+ reviews of Perri's 2018/2019 solo albums In Another Life and Soft Landing (released between Off World 2 and the present volume): a uniquely purposeful, subtly detailed cannon of songs "busy, vibrant, and bursting with life, but that aren't ever in a rush to get anywhere."

Limited 200 Copy

Cherry Bandora is an oriental jewish princess singing in poetic Greek, rhythmical Turkish and Hebrew slang. The fresh combination of the greek blues guitar, the bouzouki, with the psychedelic hammond organ, accompanied by lively middle eastern grooves on drums creates an exciting clash of tradition and rebellious attitude.
Supported by Initiative Musik GmbH with project funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media

All the great Reggae Classics by the Reggae Masters in a nice 3LP vinylbox With Bob Marley, Yellowman, Max Romeo, Greogry Isaacs, Horace AndyâÇÝ

It’s been a little over ten years since Hailu Mergia re- emerged on the international music scene. Following the first in a series of his classic recordings reissued in collaboration with Awesome Tapes From Africa, Mergia assembled a band and began performing live again after many years driving a cab in Washington, DC. His first show back appeared on the front page of the

New York Times along with a stellar review and he took off from there performing his flavor of Ethiopian jazz all over the world in the years since, including Radio City Music Hall and Montreal Jazz Festival.

Finally, we have a recorded document of the keyboard player’s powerful DC-based trio—which practices each weekend in his basement—featuring Kenneth Joseph on drums and Alemseged Kebede on bass. Beautifully captured at one of their fiery live shows at the venerable Brooklyn non-profit cultural center Pioneer Works on July 1, 2016, the concert was recorded by PW staff and mixed by Ted Young with mastering by ATFA’s expert audio extraction collaborator Jessica Thompson. The performance clarifies what many people across the globe already know: in his fifth decade of music-making Hailu Mergia continues to push the boundaries of his remarkable abilities.

Mergia and his veteran band energetically and playfully unpeel layer after layer of harmonic and rhythmic interest out of a spectrum of Ethiopian repertoire. Modern jazz demands constant reinvention and improvisation, night after night creating new works out of known modes and classic standards. This band is unstoppable when it comes to turning age-old melodies (like “Tizita” or “Anchihoye Lene”) upside down and inside out until they emerge as molten new works, often spontaneously. Mergia’s original compositions (like “Yegle Nesh”) shine brighter than ever here as well. Moving from keyboard to organ to accordion to melodica, he deftly switches instruments—often during the same song. Mergia at 77 years old seems to be working harder than musicians half his age.

Pioneer Works Swing (Live) brings into focus the kind of onstage group improvisation and deadly solo passages that reach for places Mergia and the band have never gone, on festival and club stages across four continents.

Now that Mergia has released two new recordings along with four classic reissues, he is eager to let everyone hear what he’s been doing on the road since he re-took the global stage for his victory laps. So much more than an old act from yesteryear, Mergia balances his legendary Ethiopian recordings with good old fashioned sweat-soaked live concert triumphs such as the one we have here.

Women In Revolt! is an exhibition of work by over 100 women artists working in the UK during the 1970s and 80s. It explores how women used radical ideas and rebellious methods to change the face of British culture. With music, painting, sculpture, photography, film, and performance, they forged a path for women’s liberation in the UK. To underline this trailblazing exhibition, a compilation has been dutifully curated to further reveal the music, sound art, and prominent musicians creating during this artistic and societal paradigm shift. The music that defines and defied this era, not only soundtracked but spurred on increasingly impassioned creative output and representation for women. Bands included on the compilation like X-Ray Spex and The Slits remain front of mind for band’s espousing this robust stance both sonically and politically, with equally impactful artists included like Ludus, whose lead singer Linder Sterling also impacted the genre.

Breezy headwinds, orange-tinged skies, hazy, serene bliss – just some of the profound feelings to be had on the latest release from Oath, a masterclass in melody and mood from one of the finest ever to do…..

Italian producer and DJ Jacy remains one of the stand-out musical characters from a dazzling ensemble of atmosphere builders who were so prevalent during the late 80s and early 90s. His craftsmanship is simply legendary, his music quite simply some of the finest to exude from this period of time, and of which is still making waves in the collective sands now. His dedication to the creation of emotive sweeps, gorgeous rippling tones and easy going, freeing atmospheres has remained a cornerstone of his sound, from the early days through to his excellent work on his imprint Home of House, along with sublime releases on Kalahari Oyster Cult and Hot Haus Recs. Jacy’s sound was broadcast to the world once again via Safe Trip’s ‘Welcome To Paradise’ compilations, where his inclusions were something that lingered long in the memory – an essential component of what is known as the ‘Dream House’ sound. It’s difficult to convey into words exactly how a Jacy record can take the listener, but perhaps it’s different for everyone – one thing can be agreed on though, it’s an experience like no other.

‘Night Fantasy’ is Jacy’s first EP in 4 years, and much like his other records, this one blesses us with warmth, delight and joy, in the softest and most subtle of manners. The title track, which opens up the record, greets the listener with a familiar drum pattern, one which then gives way to the rock-hard bass line, and then the pads arrive. Heavenly angelic in form, their presence is complimented by the arrival of the breathy vocal sample, which evolves to provide a wondrous narrative with the cascading synth line that comes soon after. As a combination its intoxicating, with the breakdown giving us time to get to know this mixture very well, indeed, before powering home with excellence. ‘Just Change’ comes on next, and this one opens up with that classic and explicitly dreamy chord sequence we all know and cherish, with Jacy allowing us to soak up this goodness before shifting the perspective to the rhythm. The interplay that occurs here between keys and drums is something different, before everything transitions into a sequence to close your eyes too. ‘Dat Tape’ shifts perspective to more of a swing in terms of the groove, with sweeping background pads doing much to tug at the heartstrings. The vocal sample is so very effective at crafting an audial narrative, inviting the listener to swim deeper into the goodness, with the subtle transitions doing much to keep things ticking over. Finally, we have ‘Come On’, and this one keeps a spacious feel between the keys and the drums, and it works ever so well. The bass line occupies the bottom ends superbly, with interchanges in chords and some ever-so-familiar vocal samples thrown into the mix – and its simply wonderful.

To convey deep set feelings is to have faith in musical dexterity, to understand the grooves in the record, to follow instinct and trust in the process and precedent. Jacy has always found the sweet spot in his music by following this approach, it seems, and this new record of his is an accumulation of a lifetime of dedication and passion to music and all of its many flavors. Soaring, effective melodic undulations and rapturous, fluctuating rhythms, coupled with atmospheres to drift into – what more could you wish for? Lets get lost within it once again….

Repress!

In the mid-1970s, a force of nature swept across the continental United States, cutting across all strata of race and class, rooting in our minds, our homes, our culture. It wasn’t The Exorcist, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, or even bell-bottoms, but instead a book called The Secret Life of Plants. The work of occultist/former OSS agent Peter Tompkins and former CIA agent/dowsing enthusiast Christopher Bird, the books shot up the bestseller charts and spread like kudzu across the landscape, becoming a phenomenon. Seemingly overnight, the indoor plant business was in full bloom and photosynthetic eukaryotes of every genus were hanging off walls, lording over bookshelves, and basking on sunny window ledges. The science behind Secret Life was specious: plants can hear our prayers, they’re lie detectors, they’re telepathic, able to predict natural disasters and receive signals from distant galaxies. But that didn’t stop millions from buying and nurturing their new plants.

Perhaps the craziest claim of the book was that plants also dug music. And whether you purchased a snake plant, asparagus fern, peace lily, or what have you from Mother Earth on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles (or bought a Simmons mattress from Sears), you also took home Plantasia, an album recorded especially for them. Subtitled “warm earth music for plants…and the people that love them,” it was full of bucolic, charming, stoner-friendly, decidedly unscientific tunes enacted on the new-fangled device called the Moog. Plants date back from the dawn of time, but apparently they loved the Moog, never mind that the synthesizer had been on the market for just a few years. Most of all, the plants loved the ditties made by composer Mort Garson.

Few characters in early electronic music can be both fearless pioneers and cheesy trend-chasers, but Garson embraced both extremes, and has been unheralded as a result. When one writer rhetorically asked: “How was Garson’s music so ubiquitous while the man remained so under the radar?” the answer was simple. Well before Brian Eno did it, Garson was making discreet music, both the man and his music as inconspicuous as a Chlorophytumcomosum. Julliard-educated and active as a session player in the post-war era, Garson wrote lounge hits, scored plush arrangements for Doris Day, and garlanded weeping countrypolitan strings around Glen Campbell’s “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” He could render the Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel alike into easy listening and also dreamed up his own ditties. “An idear” as Garson himself would drawl it out. “I live with it, I walk it, I sing it.”

But as his daughter Day Darmet recalls: “When my dad found the synthesizer, he realized he didn’t want to do pop music anymore.” Garson encountered Robert Moog and his new device at the Audio Engineering Society’s West Coast convention in 1967 and immediately began tinkering with the device. With the Moog, those idears could be transformed. “He constantly had a song he was humming,” Darmet says. “At the table he was constantly tapping.” Which is to say that Mort pulled his melodies out of thin air, just like any household plant would.

The Plantae kingdom grew to its height by 1976, from DC Comics’ mossy superhero Swamp Thing to Stevie Wonder’s own herbal meditation, Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants. Nefarious manifestations of human-plant interaction also abounded, be it the grotesque pods in Invasion of the Body Snatchers or the pothead paranoia of the US Government spraying Mexican marijuana fields with the herbicide paraquat (which led to the rise in homegrown pot by the 1980s). And then there’s the warm, leafy embrace of Plantasia itself.

“My mom had a lot of plants,” Darmet says. “She didn’t believe in organized religion, she believed the earth was the best thing in the whole world. Whatever created us was incredible.” And she also knew when her husband had a good song, shouting from another room when she heard him humming a good idear. Novel as it might seem, Plantasia is simply full of good tunes.

Garson may have given the album away to new plant and bed owners, but a decade later a new generation could hear his music in another surreptitious way. Millions of kids bought The Legend of Zelda for their Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1986 and one distinct 8-bit tune bears more than a passing resemblance to album highlight “Concerto for Philodendron and Pothos.” Garson was never properly credited for it, but he nevertheless subliminally slipped into a new generations’ head, helping kids and plants alike grow.

Hearing Plantasia in the 21st century, it seems less an ode to our photosynthesizing friends by Garson and more an homage to his wife, the one with the green thumb that made everything flower around him. “My dad would be totally pleased to know that people are really interested in this music that had no popularity at the time,” Darmet says of Plantasia’snew renaissance. “He would be fascinated by the fact that people are finally understanding and appreciating this part of his musical career that he got no admiration for back then.” Garson seems to be everywhere again, even if he’s not really noticed, just like a houseplant.

LTD Repress!

1982 Album from Japan's visionary saxophonist Yasuaki Shimizu, the man behind Mariah "Utakata Ho Hibi".
Through it's 8 suite like tracks, Kakashi transports the listener into Yasuaki's colourful sound-world, a fusion of outre jazz, new wave, ambient, and dub practices. Another high water mark in the 80's Japanese underground which has gathered cult status in recent years, and considered to be a highlight of Yasuaki's solo career.

Run-D.M.C.'s Raising Hell remains the turning point at which hip-hop crashed through mainstream barriers and never left. Anchored by the crossover smash "Walk This Way," the 1986 blockbuster still sounds like a revolution unfolding in real time. It has everything – hard-rock riffs, turntable scratching, itchy rhythms, hit singles – not the least of which are the trio's invigorating raps and inseparable chemistry. And now it's the first rap record afforded audiophile treatment, courtesy of Mobile Fidelity.

Sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl, the reissue label's numbered-edition 180g 33RPM SuperVinyl LP elevates Raising Hell to sonic heights on par with its musical and cultural significance. Ranked the 123rd Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone, 43rd on Pitchfork's Greatest Albums of the 1980s, one of the Top 100 Albums of All Time by TIME – and included on "Best of" lists by Spin, Paste, XXL, Entertainment Weekly, and basically every other significant media outlet – the triple-platinum effort rocks the house.

Benefitting from the ultra-low noise floor and groove definition of SuperVinyl, Raising Hell unleashes a torrent of massive dynamics and tsunami of frequency-plumbing details underlined by Rick Rubin's taut, crisp, albeit raw and streetwise production. Just as the Queens-based group both defined what hip-hop could represent – and displayed just how big it could get – Rubin's work melded ear-worm hooks, savvy drum loops, metal-leaning guitars, and, of course, Run and D.M.C.'s cross-fire lyrical interplay into watertight frameworks bursting with ideas, tones, samples, and beats. Heard anew on Mobile Fidelity vinyl, Raising Hell is in every regard the aural equivalent of a direct-to-console 1970s classic. And it sounds as fresh as hell.

As for the music, it ranks among the most influential, inventive, and invigorating ever released – rap or otherwise. Vanguard artists such as Ice-T, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Public Enemy's Chuck D – who declared it his all-time favorite and "the first record that made me realize this was an album-oriented genre" – have testified on behalf of its brilliance. And never mind the presence of the Top 5 single "Walk This Way," whose power helped make Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry relevant for the first time in nearly a decade – and literally put Run-D.M.C. in bedrooms ranging from the Bronx to Bartlett to Bad Axe.

Look instead to the rest of the entirely filler-free set, be it the corkscrew turns, slippery wordplay, and "My Sharona"-meets-"Mickey" mixology of the boisterous "It's Tricky," the fat-but-minimized bass grooves and warped turntable wobble of the hysterical "You Be Illin'," chimes-accented inertia and boombox-on- shoulder thunder of the now-iconic "Peter Piper," or voice-as-percussion attack of the funky "Is It Live." With Raising Hell, the answer to the question is always affirmative – a sensation bolstered by the fact the group always had something to say.

The definition of Golden Age Hip-Hop in every way, Run-D.M.C. avoids the negativity and misogyny that later plagued the style, spinning assertive tales about identity (the biographical and culture-changing "My Adidas"), work ethics ("Perfection"), and, most notably, pride (the Harriet Tubman- and Malcom X.-referencing "Proud to Be Black"). Pavement-packed inner cities, tree-lined suburbs, and cornfield-rimmed rural areas would never again be the same. And rocking a rhyme that's right on time would become trickier than ever.

Chyskyyrai, whose real name is Valentina Romanova, comes from Yakutia (Republic of Sakha), the northernmost republic of Siberia.

She sings in a variety of traditional vocal techniques, drawing on folk songs, animal imitation but most of all on the ancient mythological epic Olonkho, which has a multitude of archaic delivery styles. Olonkho performance is a traveling one-man theatre and a solo improvisation. Traditionally, the Olonkho storytellers, olonkhosuts, travelled from community to community, tribe to tribe, and performed the same function as a shaman. Mostly they were regarded as spiritual guides, teachers and keepers of cultural values. Their performances could last for several days, and were not just entertainment but also the way of teaching that people are not separate from nature and attuned them to it.

The songs presented on this LP capture a period of her life when she met with Tim Hodgkinson (Henry Cow) and Ken Hyder (Talisker) who had been performing together since 1978, and are well-known for their explorations in the field of shamanic cultures and free jazz. Their collaboration with the “Soviet Jazz Federation” goes back many years until finally in 1990, the duo went on an extensive tour in Siberia as “The Shams” during which they also visited Yakutia. Since then they have made numerous trips to Tuva, Altai and Buryatia playing with the local musicians and studying shamanism.

Recorded in Ken Hyder’s basement, early May 2005. Sleeve artwork by Sophie Lécuyer.

An archival release of this head-scratching 2010 recording made by
members of the freshly disintegrated Stars Like Fleas (called "NY's most
sublime and continuously undiscovered band" by PAPER Magazine): an
amalgam of private press new age, electro-acoustic improvisation, gothadjacent 80s DIY cassette culture, Italian prog rock, and community
choirs
From 2009-2011, Family Dynamics said what they had to say and then vanished,
their members separately going on to celebrated musical careers of their own.
The project emerged from the still smoldering ashes of volatile art- music
collective Stars Like Fleas, one of the earliest and most polarizing bands to define
the early aughts North Brooklyn music scene that produced Grizzly Bear, Dirty
Projectors, Animal Collective, TV On The Radio, Liars and others who went on to
enjoy broader appeal and success. Family Dynamics performed for barely two
years before unceremoniously vanishing, without any widely available record or
document. Whatever's Clever is thrilled to (re)issue this buried treasure, selfrecorded in a cabin in Woodstock, NY, at their creative peak, and never before
issued in physical format

In the 1950s and 60s, the blues was the dominant form of Black vernacular music throughout Texas and the surrounding areas In segregated neighborhoods, community members gathered in saloons, dancehalls, and each other's homes to hear their neighbors sing their stories of sorrow, heartbreak, jubilation, and triumph. Robert "Mack" McCormick, an academically untrained but fanatical devotee of the blues, stepped into this world and became one of its most devout advocates and documentarians. By photographing Black and Latino Texans and their neighborhoods, as well as recording and interviewing musicians, many of whom never stepped foot into a proper recording studio, McCormick endeared and eventually embedded himself into these communities. By the time he died in 2015, McCormick had amassed a collection of 590 reels of sound recordings and 165 boxes of manuscripts, original interviews and research notes, thousands of photographs and negatives, playbills, and posters. Because McCormick never published or released most of these materials, his collection became a thing of legend and intense speculation among scholars, blues aficionados, and musicians alike. 'Playing for the Man at the Door..' is the first compilation of music drawn from this fabled collection, which indelibly documents a pivotal moment in African American history. It features never- before- heard performances not only from musicians who became icons in their own right, including Lightnin' Hopkins and Mance Lipscomb, but also, crucially, performers whose names may be unfamiliar to even the most devoted blues fans and scholars. Newly mastered recordings and accompanying photographs bring to life many of these forgotten figures: offering insight into their lives and illuminating in new, enlightening ways their joys and anguish, deep social connections, distinctive voices, and cultural networks. The collection spans gospel, ragtime, country blues dirges, the unclassifiable music of George "Bongo Joe" Coleman, and more, showing that no community, no matter how tight knit, is monolithic. Accompanying the music is a 128- page book, which contains breathtaking photographs by McCormick and his associates, as well as contextual essays by producers Jeff Place and John Troutman on McCormick's life, and by musicians Mark Puryear and Dom Flemons on some of the marginalized communities throughout "Greater Texas" to which McCormick devoted his life's work.

History has shown that the greatest bands–bands with that certain, ever elusive quality called lasting power–neither conform to nor buck the trends of their time, but rather force the times to catch up to them. Sheer Mag has such lasting power in droves. After almost a decade spent carving out a career that has already become the stuff of modern underground legend, the band’s new stand-alone single, “All Lined Up,” comes alongside the announcement of their signing to Third Man Records–their first partnership with a larger independent label–who will also be physically and digitally re-releasing the entirety of Sheer Mag’s back-catalogue, including their cult-beloved early EPs I (2014), II (2015), and III (2016), as well as their first two breakthrough LPs, Need To Feel Your Love (2017) and A Distant Call (2019). Sheer Mag’s sensibility, as fervently beloved by baseball-tee clad garage rockers and tattoo-less indie kids as it is by leather-and-stud-loyal punks, finds its strength in an unconventional mixture of refined complexity and straight-forward pop prowess. Seamlessly trading between head-turning guitar heroics and a charmingly timeless blend of disco, hard rock, and garage inflected hooks, Sheer Mag’s oft-referenced, never-replicated sound has played an undeniably large role in stoking the current resurgence of interest power-pop forward rock music. While quickly adopted as a fan-favorite amongst the sweat-caked crowds of the early 2010’s underground, time has attested to Sheer Mag’s singular cultural mutability: though never straying too far from their home-town Philadelphian origins

Sometimes, space is the perfect catalyst for intense creativity. Following the release of their fourth LP, 2019's Your Church On My Bonfire, PAWS - the Scottish DIY indie rock songwriting partnership of Phillip Jon Taylor and Joshua Swinney, toured briefly, and as the world began to shut down, they slipped out of sight. Phillip retreated north to the Highlands where he focused on his painting, solo work and the rewarding demands of fatherhood. Josh headed south to London, pursuing his other passion as a chef at the highly acclaimed Plimsoll. It would have been easy for both to settle into their new lives, but PAWS never died…and neither did the tie connecting the two friends. Having missed playing together for too long, a plan was set and in October 2022 Josh travelled to Phillip's home studio in his crofters cottage where work began on the band's fifth self-titled LP. Relying on a set of phone demos and chemistry honed after years on the road the songs came together surprisingly fast. Having recorded previously with both Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus and Frightened Rabbit’s Andy Monaghan, the band once again seized control of production duties as they had on their sophomore release Youth Culture Forever. Utilizing all they had learned and adding their own DIY ethos into the mix, the music was done in a week. Josh headed home and Phillip set to work on lyrics. The resulting record finds the band as grounded and assured as they ever have been. Marrying the deafening assault of youthful abandon with the whispered reasoning that comes with getting older; swaying from anger and exasperation to wide eyed optimism. PAWS is a succinct, razor wire encased documentary chronicling the pains of modern living. Delving into the dark underbelly of 90s alternative rock, painting with evocative instrumentals and reveling in celebratory indie punk, the band also embrace sordid pop and ambient electronics. And while it pays homage to where they have come from, it also signals a clean slate for the pair. Two friends united over distance. After some time apart, all they needed was a spark.

In 2005, Chiodos came onto the scene with their odd, theatrical and weirdly catchy debut, All’s Well That Ends Well. Now a cult-classic of 2000s post-hardcore, Craig Owens and Co. expressed a unique blend of zany metalcore and heart-on-sleeve emo that drew from Thursday, Glassjaw, At the Drive-In and AFI without sounding like any one of those bands in particular. With unreadably long song titles and scrappy production, this LP is both a product of its time and a lasting vessel of post-hardcore vision. This exclsuive Ultra Clear vinyl variant is printed with Greenyl, eco-friendly, PVC-free, 100% recyclable record. Limited to 300 copies worldwide. This exclsuive Ultra Clear vinyl variant is printed with Greenyl, eco-friendly, PVC-free, 100% recyclable record. Limited to 300 copies worldwide.

Midwestern psychiatrist Suzanne Mathis' world is turned upside down when she decides to protect Mae, a fragile teenager on the run from a cult. As Suzanne’s daughter Jules begins to suspect there’s more to Mae’s story, a series of incidents – seemingly brought on by Mae’s presence - leave the family in chaos. Soon the Mathis family is fighting for survival against a strange cult while Suzanne and a local police detective try to unravel the clues of Mae’s past and sinister happenings in the town she escaped. Adapted from Daria Polatin’s best-selling book inspired by true events, DEVIL IN OHIO is a thrilling, shocking tale of demonic mayhem and mystery in the heart of small-town America.

British composer Will Bates incredible work on DEVIL IN OHIO began with a hymn for the cult, written before shooting. It expanded with songs for Bishop Briggs and Maiah Manser, with melodies for hurdy-gurdy and synth, until it became a haunting world of its own, blending score, soundtrack and diegesis. Now, together with Netflix Music, we’re excited to release DIO’s first-ever full-length soundtrack on vinyl.

Wewantsounds is delighted to announce the release of "TOUCH," a selection of sought-after tracks produced by Yuji Ohno, one of the most revered producers and arrangers on the Nippon music scene. His blend of Jazz, Space Funk and Disco have long been highly sought-after by DJs around the world and we've been given unique access to the Nippon Columbia vaults and to Mr. Ohno himself to come with a versatile selection from his 70s body of work, all bearing his uniquely recognisable sound. The set includes works with singers Nanako Sato, Hatsumi Shibata and Ken Tanaka alongside tracks from his cult anime soundtracks for "Lupin III" and "Captain Future." Approved by Yuji Ohno himself, "Touch" was remastered in Tokyo by Nippon Columbia and features liner notes by Nick Luscombe in conversation with the maestro and artwork by Optigram's Manuel Sepulveda.

Born in Atami in 1941, Yuji Ohno started learning the piano at a young age and formed his own band during his teenage years, getting into Jazz in the process. After high school, he entered the prestigious Keio University in Tokyo and played in the revered university big band alongside two other pianists, Masahiko Sato and Hirosama Suzuki, who would have an illustrious career in their own right. After University, Ohno became a professional musician and started playing with the new wave of Japanese Jazz musicians forming his own trio and recording with the likes of Hideo Shiraki, Terumasa Hino and Masahiko Togashi from 1967 onwards.

At the turn of the 60s, Ohno started to veer away from the Jazz scene as he realised, as told to Nick Luscombe that "the jazz music being played by the Japanese at the time was only chasing the cutting edge, and was ignoring the roots and origins of jazz." Ohno therefore shifted his efforts to film and TV and also to producing artists for various Japanese labels, becoming one of the most in-demand composers, arrangers and producers in Japan. This is when Ohno developed his unique sound across a wide variety of styles. More than anything else, he got renowned for his anime soundtracks, particularly with the Lupin III series - represented here by the superbly funky "Silhouette" - which made his fame in Japan

Whether it's jazz, funk, disco or Pop, the "Ohno Sound" is unmissable both in terms of melodies and arrangements, on a par with those of such legends as Quincy Jones and Michel Legrand. Ohno's melodies are sophisticated yet accessible and there's a great sense of space in his productions especially when it comes to slow-burning grooves as heard on "Kirameku Inner Space" from the cult anime soundtrack "Captain Future" or "The Soaring Seagull" from the sought-after 1975 album "Electro Keyboard Orchestra." This album was recorded with seven fellow musicians including Kentaro Haneda and Ohno's old friend, Masahiko Sato and using twenty Korg synths to create a unique blend of futuristic jazz funk. "The Soaring Seagull" could be the perfect embodiment of Ohno's signature sound when it comes to instrumentals. The producer was however equally at ease with producing lush disco extravaganzas such as "Subterranean Futari Botchi" by Nanako Sato or "I Wish You Love" by Hatsumi Shibata, a revamp of Charles Trenet classic, both colourful and glitzy.

Ohno's versatility is on display here with a couple of jazz vocal tracks, "Speak Low" by Ann Young accompanied by the Yuji Ohno Trio and Mieko Hirota's fast and furious "I Want to Be Happy" while he also excelled at crafting gorgeous mellow songs such as Ken Tanaka's "Lilac-gai No Aki" and Hatsumi Shibata's "Mouichido Kikasete" closing the selection on a perfect note. "Touch" is just a tiny selection from Yuji Ohno's immense body of work and it will hopefully open the ears of Japanese music lovers to one of the most important musician, producer and arrangers of his generation.

Through 35 hedonistic highlights stretched across three volumes, Music For The Radical Xenomaniac delivers the first ever deep dive into The Netherlands’ colourful house sound of the 90s and the under-celebrated producers and record labels whose music soundtracked a countrywide cultural movement.

Plenty of books and documentaries have celebrated the riotous raves, legendary clubs, high profile DJs and promoters who shaped The Netherlands’ hedonistic house scene throughout the 90s. Music For The Radical Xenomaniac dares to challenge these narratives by shining a light, for the first time, on those who created the scene’s kaleidoscopic, game-changing and globally influential soundtrack.

Leading the charge were a disparate group of key creators who not only forged links with their counterparts in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, but also became celebrated figures on the worldwide electronic underground (Eric Nouhan, Aad De Mooy, Orlando Voorn, Stefan Robbers and Steve Rachmad). Alongside key underground imprints (Stealth Records, Basic Energy, ESP, Prime and Outland Records included) and lesser-known producers, these pioneers gave flavour to a radical musical movement via open-mindedness, unheard-of creativity and a genuinely futuristic ethos. All of these artists and labels are represented throughout the series.

So, what defined this hedonistic house sound from The Netherlands? Stylistically, it was varied – as the series so emphatically proves – but was defined by a set of distinctive sonic characteristics: emotive musical motifs, high-frequency synth sounds, mellow basslines, pulsating rhythms and more than a touch of hallucinatory intent.

Volume 2 contains a wealth of notable tracks and slept-on gems. These include Q’s ‘From Within (Body Mix)’, a lesser-known cut from the trio better-known as Quazar (Gert van Veen, R.o.X.Y co-founder Eddy De Clercq and Eric Cycle), Eric Nouhan’s melodic masterpiece ‘Technobility’, which is appearing on vinyl for the first time since 1994, and a rare collaboration between regular production partners Maarten van der Vleuten and Mike Kivits (better known as Aardvarck), which was initially released on a special R&S Records’ offshoot set up by the label’s co-founder, Renaat Renaat Vandepapeliere (Integrity II’s ‘Living In Fantasy’).

Other highlights include Exposure’s ‘Love Quest’, a highly sought-after 1991 track by The Hague-based DJ/producer Maurits Paardekooper, and an ambient-infused Andrew Weatherall favourite originally released by Stealth Records in 1993, Hole In One’s ‘Spiritual Ideas For Virtual Reality’.

Packed full of forward-thinking 90s gems remastered for today’s dance floors by Alden Tyrell, Music For The Radical Xenomaniac Volume 1 is a life-affirming celebration of a distinctly Dutch musical movement, whose rich textures and melodies are still inspiring new generations of DJs and dancers today.

Through 35 hedonistic highlights stretched across three volumes, Music For The Radical Xenomaniac delivers the first ever deep dive into The Netherlands’ colourful house sound of the 90s and the under-celebrated producers and record labels whose music soundtracked a countrywide cultural movement.

Plenty of books and documentaries have celebrated the riotous raves, legendary clubs, high profile DJs and promoters who shaped The Netherlands’ hedonistic house scene throughout the 90s. Music For The Radical Xenomaniac dares to challenge these narratives by shining a light, for the first time, on those who created the scene’s kaleidoscopic, game-changing and globally influential soundtrack.

Leading the charge were a disparate group of key creators who not only forged links with their counterparts in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom, but also became celebrated figures on the worldwide electronic underground (Eric Nouhan, Aad De Mooy, Orlando Voorn, Stefan Robbers and Steve Rachmad). Alongside key underground imprints (Stealth Records, Basic Energy, ESP, Prime and Outland Records included) and lesser-known producers, these pioneers gave flavour to a radical musical movement via open-mindedness, unheard-of creativity and a genuinely futuristic ethos. All of these artists and labels are represented throughout the series.

So, what defined this hedonistic house sound from The Netherlands? Stylistically, it was varied – as the series so emphatically proves – but was defined by a set of distinctive sonic characteristics: emotive musical motifs, high-frequency synth sounds, mellow basslines, pulsating rhythms and more than a touch of hallucinatory intent.

Volume 3 is packed with in-demand tracks and hard-to-find gems, including a previously CD-only cut from Dutch techno originator Orlando Voorn (1999’s ‘Still’), a genuine rave classic from The Hague by hardcore DJ Charly Lownoise as Fluxland, and a killer cut from prolific producer – and genuinely influential pioneer – Aad De Mooy AKA D-Shake. He’s represented on this volume by Paradise 3001 cut ‘Surfin The Cuban Waves’, which first appeared on ESP Records in 1993.

Other highlights include Direct Movement’s ‘Natural Chemistry’, a sought-after slow house cut produced by Dennis Buné, who had an enormous impact on the Dutch house scene as Jaimy, and ‘Delphi (Rewaxed)’ by NYX, a highly regarded and hard to find single from former new wave and synth-pop producer Bart Barten, and occasional studio partner Hanz Meyer.

Packed full of forward-thinking 90s gems remastered for today’s dance floors by Alden Tyrell, Music For The Radical Xenomaniac Volume 3 is a life-affirming celebration of a distinctly Dutch musical movement, whose rich textures and melodies are still inspiring new generations of DJs and dancers today.

The original single from Escape From New York finally gets an official reissue. Originally released in 1983 ‘Save Our Love’ was released a year before ‘Fire in My Heart’ and sets out their highly effective fusion of New Wave, Disco, Italo and Post Punk. Featuring Jaki Graham and D.C Lee on backing vocals, the 12” also includes an instrumental mix and cult classic ‘Slow Beat’ (Dance Mix).

Escape From New York were short lived and disbanded in 1984 following the release of ‘Fire in My Heart’, ultimately buckling under the pressure of commercial expectations for their innovative brand of pop music. Fast forward to 2023 and history has been kind and these singles are now regarded as being pioneering classics.

Fulco Ottervanger and Lander Gyselinck, you remember them from their debut album Duizeldorp which included cult classic Isabellade.

On October 27 they add the second album Altijd Bewust Bewegen to their discography.

On this album the duo goes in search of reasons for movement. Head and body harmoniously translated into Beraad-language. The two 2 improvisational athletes once again gracefully stretch themselves between the limits of gravity.

Admiration for movement culture takes them from gym to racetrack, from apps to abs. A breaststroke here, a backhand there. An aimless goalkeeper musing on a distant acquaintance. From village to town and back, the tandem rustles at to tennis lessons.

Talk about it with your coach.

After 14 years and nearly 150 CD releases, Cherry Red's psychedelic imprint Grapefruit finally produces its first-ever vinyl issue.

A 90-minute, 30-track anthology, ‘When The Alarm Clock Rings’ is an all-encompassing overview of the late 60s British psychedelic scene.

The set features major underground names (Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Blossom Toes, Dantalian's Chariot, John's Children), cult 45s (The Voice, Paper Blitz Tissue, The Syn), future legends (Alex Harvey, Genesis, Greg Lake's early venture The Shame) and pop groups who occasionally turned dayglo (The Merseys, Plastic Penny, Picadilly Line).

Limited to 1000 copies and containing Grapefruit's trademark combination of photos and annotation on stylish 12” x 12” inserts, ‘When The Alarm Clock Rings’ is an essential purchase for vinyl aficionados and a tantalising taster of further plastic platters!

Two visionary maestros, Pierre Bastien and Michel Banabila, unite in their first collaborative album, Baba Soirée. The veterans of electronic music bring their unique expertise to the table, resulting in a captivating fusion of experimental styles. Bastien’s mechanical loops and experimental instrumental setups merge seamlessly with Banabila's sound design and impeccable skills of sampling collages. It's not a dance party, nor is it an avant-garde intervention. It's a soirée: a cultivated evening of sonic alchemy hosted by these two charismatic gentlemen.

Pierre Bastien is a composer and multi-instrumentalist with a background in French literature. He has spent decades crafting an idiosyncratic world of experimental sound with his self-built mechanical orchestra Mecanium. It was most notably showcased in audiovisual releases on Aphex Twin's Rephlex label. Bastien's creations are a mesmerizing combination of traditional instruments (he has a vast collection) and mechanical automatons. The violin in the track Rotomotor, for example, is physically played by one of his machines. In Baba Soirée, Bastien also plays a prepared cornet (Slow Dance, Banbas Aura), infusing the recordings with a breathy, dreamy dimension.

Michel Banabila, a sound artist, composer and producer, possesses an eclectic musical repertoire that defies genres. His seamless blend of minimal electronica, tribal ambient, and neo- classical influences has earned him a prominent place in the world of experimental music, and an impressive discography (Knekelhuis, Bureau B, Séance Center, a.o.). Banabila serves as the creative sampling editor for Baba Soirée, expertly weaving together the recordings to craft an evocative sonic tapestry.

The two share a curiosity for traditional instruments from various cultures. The instruments used in the recordings are shown in the cover artwork. A mutual admiration for each other's work paved the way for this fruitful artistic partnership of the Rotterdam-based artists: Collaborating on a single as a fundraiser for Yemen in 2022 set the stage for the creation of Baba Soirée.

For Pierre Bastien, Dada, Fluxus and International Situationism have played a significant role in shaping his artistic vision. The title Baba Soirée is an homage to Kurt Schwitters and Theo van Doesburg's "Kleine Dada Soirée" collaboration which took place exactly a century ago. There's an unmistakable stoicism and an anarchic not-giving-a-f*** attitude in these recordings by Bastien & Banabila, which resonates in the light of this Dada reference.

Combo Aspik is a session band project founded and led by musician, producer and DJ Magic Manfred. The bass player teamed up with some of Berlin’s finest session musicians to produce a self-titled debut album fusing live music and club culture. The tunes are heavily influenced by Boogie and Jazzfunk of the late 70s and early 80s such as the music of Bernard Wright, Don Blackman or any underground Disco gems.

"Volume 1" ist ein ikonisches Album des Saxophonisten Sonny Rollins. Veröffentlicht im Jahr 1957 markiert diese Aufnahme einen bedeutenden Meilenstein in der Entwicklung des Jazz. Mit seinem kraftvollen Ton und seinem ausdrucksstarken Spiel fesselt Rollins
die Zuhörer mit Originalkompositionen und neu interpretierten Standards. "Volume 1" ist ein Meisterwerk des Hard Bop und zeigt Sonny Rollins' Talent und Innovation als Bandleader.

Limited 180g Vinyl - Limitierte Edition von 1000 Copies - One Time Pressing

"""Volume 1"" is an album by the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis. Recorded in 1952, this recording
marks a significant milestone in the evolution of modern jazz. With an exceptional lineup featuring
musicians such as Jackie McLean and Horace Silver, the album presents original compositions and
boldly rearranged standards. ""Volume 1"" is a true jazz gem, showcasing the innovative genius of
Miles Davis in his early years. 180GRAM VINYL - LIMITED EDITION 1,000 UNITS - ONE TIME
PRESSING."

"""Volume 2"" is an album by the renowned trumpeter Miles Davis, recorded for the Blue Note label.
Released in 1953, this recording is a bold continuation of Davis's exploration of modern jazz.
Accompanied by talented musicians such as Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey, the album showcases
energetic improvisations and original compositions. ""Volume 2"" is a captivating testament to Miles
Davis's musical innovation and enduring influence on jazz. 180GRAM VINYL - LIMITED EDITION
1,000 UNITS - ONE TIME PRESSING."