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ACID KLAUS, the new collaborative solo project from songwriter-producer and Northern England cult leg-end, Adrian Flanagan (The Moonlandingz, International Teachers of Pop, Eccentronic Research Council & lots more) announces his debut concept album co-produced with his music partner in the ERC, Dean Honer titled Step On My Travelator: The Imagined Career Trajectory of Superstar DJ & Dance-Pop Producer, Melvin Harris which will be released on Yard Act"s ZEN F.C. label. The album features contributions from Adrian"s long-time collaborators and friends including actress, Maxine Peake, US musician and video director, Charlotte Kemp Muhl (Ghost of a Sabertooth Tiger), Maria Uzor from Sink Ya Teeth and the Bradford-born pop-noir singer (currently singing in The Specials), Hannah Hu who is joined on lap steel guitar on a track by Richard Hawley. The album is completed by a whole host of fresh and exciting artists (as well as the aforementioned Lieselot Elzinga) - there"s the enigmatic Queen Bee of the Calder Valley, solo artist, Bianca Eddleston who goes under the name Soft Focus and finally from South Wales (and the current talk of the South London scene), the incredible welsh language singer-songwriter, Cat Rin.

White Vinyl

Technological agitation. Narcissism fatigue. A galaxy of isolation. These are the new norms keeping Weyes Blood (aka Natalie Mering) up at night and the themes at the heart of her latest release, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow. The celestial-influenced folk album is her follow-up to the acclaimed Titanic Rising. (Pitchfork, NPR, and The Guardian admiringly named it one of 2019's best.) While Titanic Rising was an observation of doom to come, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow is about being in the thick of it: a search for an escape hatch to liberate us from algorithms and ideological chaos. "We're in a fully functional shit show," Mering says. "My heart is a glow stick that's been cracked, lighting up my chest in an explosion of earnestness." And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow opens with the wistful, winsome "It's Not Just Me, It's Everybody," a song about the interconnectivity of all beings, despite the fraying of society around us. "I was asking a lot of questions while writing these songs. Hyper-isolation kept coming up," Mering says. "Our culture relies less and less on people. Something is off, and even though the feeling appears differently for each individual, it is universal." Other tracks follow in kind. The lullaby-like "Grapevine" chronicles the splintering of a human connection. The otherworldly dirge "God Turn Me into a Flower" serves as allegory about our collective hubris. "The Worst Is Done" is an ominous warning, set against a deceivingly breezy pop melody. "Chaos is natural. But so is negentropy, or the tendency for things to fall into order," she says. "These songs may not be manifestos or solutions, but I know they shed light on the meaning of our contemporary disillusionment."

Technological agitation. Narcissism fatigue. A galaxy of isolation. These are the new norms keeping Weyes Blood (aka Natalie Mering) up at night and the themes at the heart of her latest release, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow. The celestial-influenced folk album is her follow-up to the acclaimed Titanic Rising. (Pitchfork, NPR, and The Guardian admiringly named it one of 2019's best.) While Titanic Rising was an observation of doom to come, And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow is about being in the thick of it: a search for an escape hatch to liberate us from algorithms and ideological chaos. "We're in a fully functional shit show," Mering says. "My heart is a glow stick that's been cracked, lighting up my chest in an explosion of earnestness." And in the Darkness, Hearts Aglow opens with the wistful, winsome "It's Not Just Me, It's Everybody," a song about the interconnectivity of all beings, despite the fraying of society around us. "I was asking a lot of questions while writing these songs. Hyper-isolation kept coming up," Mering says. "Our culture relies less and less on people. Something is off, and even though the feeling appears differently for each individual, it is universal." Other tracks follow in kind. The lullaby-like "Grapevine" chronicles the splintering of a human connection. The otherworldly dirge "God Turn Me into a Flower" serves as allegory about our collective hubris. "The Worst Is Done" is an ominous warning, set against a deceivingly breezy pop melody. "Chaos is natural. But so is negentropy, or the tendency for things to fall into order," she says. "These songs may not be manifestos or solutions, but I know they shed light on the meaning of our contemporary disillusionment."

Felix Laband’s The Soft White Hand is the masterwork of an artist who expresses himself through musical and artistic collage acting together to reinterpret his sources and to express significant elements of his own personal story.

Released by Munich-based Compost Records, the 14-track album is Laband’s first full-length offering since the critically acclaimed Deaf Safari in 2015. It is heralded by the single “Derek and Me”, and is being pressed on vinyl for distribution globally.

In The Soft White Hand Laband works with source materials that will be familiar to those who know his previous four records – Thin Shoes in June (2001), 4/4 Down the Stairs (2002), Dark Days Exit (2005) and especially Deaf Safari which reached deep into the South Africa scene and its political culture to inspire its vocal and music sampling. However, the disengagement he felt from his homeland during his latest album’s creation – an abiding sense of untethered-ness to place and space, exquisitely rendered in tracks like “Death of a Migrant” – is perceptible in Laband’s desire to illuminate instead aspects of his own life.

“For this album, my source material became almost autobiographical as opposed to African statements I’ve worked with previously,” says the artist. “I have sampled a lot from documentaries from the 80s crack epidemic in impoverished African American communities and believe my work speaks unapologetically for the lost and marginalised, for those who are the forgotten casualties of the war on drugs. In the past, I have had my issues with substance abuse, and I know first-hand about the nightmares and fears, what it feels like to be isolated and abandoned.”

Few artists have managed to air these intimate aspects of their life so luminously as Laband does in tracks like “5 Seconds Ago”, “They Call Me Shorty” and in the strange and meditative “Dreams of Loneliness”. “I’ve been building this weird, autobiographical story using other people talking. It’s kind of humorous but it is also sad and beautiful,” says Laband.

Yet, as in all of Laband’s recorded output, the delineations between emotions are never starkly drawn and The Soft White Hand is also shot through with beauty. Nature appears in recordings made in his garden in the intimate early morning hours, whether as in the calls of the Hadada Ibis and other birdsong in “Prelude” or of the vertical-tail-cocking bird in “Derek and Me”. The last is a wonderful track with Derek Gripper, the South African experimental classical guitarist of international renown, whose 2020 song “Fanta and Felix” imagines a meeting between Fanta Sacko and Laband.

Laband’s eloquence in reinterpreting classical composers such as Beethoven in “We Know Major Tom’s a Junkie” is another thrilling aspect of the new record. “I’ve been properly exploring classical music on this album,” explains Laband, “taking melodies from classical compositions and reinterpreting them”. A fresh quality comes to his work through this sonic adventuring: the tender manipulation of the mundaneness of the computer’s AI voice to reimagine and reinvent iconic lyrics and melodies in strange and unexpected configurations.

The Soft White Hand is Laband’s most cohesive body of work to date. Yet it remains, in its sheer artistic scope, impossible to describe fully. Darkness abuts the gossamer light. A song that summons the sunrise and all the hope of a new day could also be about the final dipping down of the sun that portends a troubled night ahead. Interludes are invitations to expand outwards or shift inwards. Mistakes and “weird fuckups” in the sound are cherished as convincing statements against what Laband calls the “grossness” of perfect sound in modern music.

For this world-leading electronic artist, the boundaries are unfixed. He is inspired by the German Dada artist, Hannah Höch, who memorably declared: “I wish to blur the firm boundaries which we self-certain people tend to delineate around all we can achieve.” His music consequently reflects a primal artistic impulse that is also visible in Laband’s considerable visual art output as seen recently in several solo exhibitions such as that held in the No End Gallery in Johannesburg in 2019 and in the works he produced during his 2018 Nirox Foundation Artists Residency. “My music is always about collage, as is my art,’’ he affirms. “Everything I do is collage. It is a medium I find very interesting because you are taking history and distorting it and changing its meaning and turning it upside down and back to front.” In her book Recollections of My Non-Existence, Rebecca Solnit calls collage “literally a border art”; it is “an art of what happens when two things confront each other or spill onto each other”.

With The Soft White Hand, Laband is confirming his singular ability to achieve this in both art and music, melting the divisions between the two creative disciplines until they become one. He is also affirming his belief that an album of music should be more than a collection of unrelated tracks, but should unfold a fully integrated, cohesive story as in the song cycles of the great classical composers. In doing so, he claims his position as one of the most significant artists working today.

Artist Statement – Felix Laband – August 2022

When the Khmer Rouge took their captives for processing, they identified their class enemies by looking at their hands. If they were sunburned, rough and calloused, they were those of a peasant, a proletarian to be spared. But if they were soft and white, then they were those of a city-dweller, an intellectual or bourgeois, an adversary to be liquidated.

In calling this album The Soft White Hand, I was reflecting on the Cambodian genocide and how it resonates in contemporary South Africa. The apartheid era is over, and gone with it is white political domination. Yet economic and social privilege is still held in soft white hands. But those who grasp it know just how tenuous is their hold, how it singles them out, and my music reflects their subconscious fears, the stress and guilt of clinging on to what others envy and desire.

The soft white hand of the title suggests to me a further image, one that relates to all of postcolonial Africa. In my mind’s eye, I see the soft, duplicitous handshake of the smooth representatives of the superpowers making deals and promising gifts that benefit only them, and not their African dupes.
Yet, soaring above the wailing of sirens sampled from the first day of the invasion of Ukraine, my music is also about love gained and passion lost. It is about the tender caress of a soft white hand that conducts you into a place of dreams to be enfolded by nocturnal melodies.

RIGHTFUL RULER returns the legendary Jamaican vocalist Earl 16 to the center stage of international roots reggae music. This four song showcase style ep demonstrates that matching an A-class veteran singer/ songwriter with the sounds of the Zion I Kings (ZIK) production team serves to revitalize the musical forces long associated with the classic reggae tradition- roots, reality, and culture!

Earl 16's career now spans five decades and is marked by hits and highlights throughout. HIs Jamaican recordings from the cornerstone studios (Studio One, Black Ark, Channel One) are still sought after gems from the golden age. But, unlike many of his peers, Earl 16 successfully adopted the changing sounds and styles of reggae in the U.K.(where he resides) and collaborated with top producers like Mad Professor and Nick Mannaseh. He has remained current into the new millennium with "Release The Pressure", a notable vocal to LeftField's breakthrough drum & bass hit.

The all star lineup of musicians on RIGHTFUL RULER is anchored by drums provided by ace producer and multi-instrumentalist Roberto Sanchez (A-Lone Productions). Keyboards by Pau "Nattykeyz" Dangla Valls and trumpet by Patrick "Aba Ariginal" Tenyue complement the rhythmic foundations set by ZIK core players David "JAH David" Goldfine (bass) and Laurent "Tippy I" Alfred (rhythm guitar, piano, organ). Sheldon Bernard's flute and Errol "Blacksteel" Nicholson's background vocals are heard on the title track and lead guitars by David Prout and Andrew "Moon" Bain appear on "Find A Way", a feature with the dynamic toasting of Mr. Williamz. All dub mixes are done by JAH David with cover art by Ato K.D. Roberts .

A private press rarity that few know of, ‘Song of Island’ was the third album from pianist Yasuhiro Kohno’s trio, recorded live at the jazz club and live house (gig venue) ‘Again’ in August 1985. Pressed up in small numbers, ‘Song for Island’ was issued on the private ASCAP Records, set up by pianist and band leader Yasuhiro Kohno. The album is a follow up to Kohno-san’s previous two albums, ‘Peace’ and ‘Roma in the Rain’, released on the cult Aketa’s Disk label. However, unlike the ‘Peace’ and ‘Roma in the Rain’ albums, ‘Song of Island’ has never been reissued before – until now. The title track was included on J Jazz volume 3. This is a very special album that captures a special time in Japanese jazz, when exemplary acoustic jazz was still being performed and recorded by dedicated and talented artists at the height of mid-80s synth pop. ‘Song of Island’ features four original compositions by Yasuhiro Kohno plus a distinctive take on a jazz standard. Yasuhiro Kohno was born in Nara, southern Japan, in 1953 and made his professional debut as a member of Japanese rocker Eikichi Yazawa's band before going on to accompany actor/singer Masatoshi Nakamura. As well as recording and performing under his own name, Kohno has also played with American musicians such as Richard Davis and Mal Waldron and continues to perform regularly in Japan. ‘Song of Island’ will be issued as a full reproduction of the original work, with inserts, translated original sleeve notes, plus new sleeve notes, photos, and interview with Yasuhiro Kohno by Tony Higgins.

Charly Records presents THE BEST OF THE YARDBIRDS The Yardbirds blend of blues, rock and pyschedelia paved the way for heavy rock… The definitive introduction to one of the UK's most successful and influential groups of the Sixties. This comprehensive band overview draws on the hugley important Giorgio Gomelsky recordings that defined the sound of The Yardbirds during their pivotal period 1963 through 1966. The distinctive and groundbreaking blues style of Eric Clapton features on half these tracks, whilst Jeff Beck and his pioneering brand of swaggering, ear-bending, psychedelic rock takes lead guitar duties on the rest. The compilation features the group's hits from the era, including the top 10 singles “Shapes Of Things”, “For Your Love”, “Still I'm Sad” and “Heart Full Of Soul”, as well as “Stroll On” from the soundtrack to the cult 1960’s film ‘Blow-Up’ scored by Herbie Hancock. Part of a new and lavish “Best of” series highlighting the key artists in the Charly Records catalogue.

In four short years of existence, Green Lung have risen from the murk of the UK heavy underground to become a true cult band with a devoted following. Debut album Woodland Rites, released independently in early 2019, quickly garnered attention, resulting in a single being named ‘Track of the Week’ in the Guardian, plays on Daniel P. Carter’s Radio One Rock Show, a tour with fellow UK heavies Puppy and festival appearances across Europe. This brought the band to the attention of the wider music industry, and after multiple offers (including one from a major label) the band decided to stay true to their roots and sign with the Finnish audio wizards at Svart Records, home to several of their doomy inspirations including Reverend Bizarre and Warning. Svart’s deluxe reissue of the album, and the preceding EP Free the Witch,sold out several runs. Two years later, the folk horror-obsessed fivesome have re-emerged from their mulchy catacombs armed with dozens of freshly-whittled riffs. Black Harvest, the sequel to Woodland Rites, is a more colourful, widescreen reimagining of the band’s sound - Dawn of the Dead to its predecessor’s Night of the Living. Recorded at Giant Wafer Studios in rural mid-Wales over the course of two weeks with longtime producer Wayne Adams (Petbrick, Big Lad), it’s a more expansive and textured record than anything the band have done before, boasting a cinematic quality and more attention to detail.

Originally released in 1994 on Calypso Records / Irma Records in a triple vinyl promo white label version, Don Carlos's album Aqua is the
second album by the Varese-based DJ producer, already then known for his first two singles Alone and Mediterraneo, then both included in
his first album entitled Mediterraneo and released only in Compact Disc format in 1992 for the American market printed and distributed by
IRMA U.S.A., the American subsidiary of IRMA Records Italy.
The same fate will also have the Compact Disc format of the Aqua album, again printed only on the American market.
But the triple vinyl, printed in a limited edition of 500 copies in a white generic envelope, was never reissued and has become a rare record
over the years.
After almost thirty years, after countless requests for reissues, especially in the last few years in which the name and music of Don Carlos
has made a comeback, Irma Records has decided to reissue the vinyl in exactly the same original triple version.
DJ Don Carlos (born Carlo Troja) with his productions in the 90s has become one of the cult producers for DJs around the world.
His track Alone released in 1991 for Calypso was and still is one of the classics of House Music, played by all the major American and British
DJs.
At the time of its publication it was considered an underground song and therefore did not sell very much, but over the years its myth has grown
thanks to its subsequent productions as for example his second single, the EP entitled Mediterraneo, title which it will then inspired his first CD
album printed in the USA with the same title.
Several other singles followed, another album, always printed only in the USA, entitled Aqua, from which a triple promo vinyl was extracted which
today is one of the artist's most requested rarities.
In Italy his third album was released in 2002 entitled The Music In My Mind where Kim Mazelle, Michelle Weeks, Taka Boom and Kevin Bryant
were present as vocal guests. In 2009 a collection of the first two albums released in the USA titled Mediterraneo-Club Favourite Collection '90-
98 and in 2010 his fourth album entitled The Cool Deep which reproduced the sounds closest to his first productions.
Also active as a remixer for Italian and international labels, one of his most important works is the remix of Byron Stingily of the song You Make
Me Feel of which he made a worldwide hit. As a producer he also used other pseudonyms such as Montego Bay, Aquanuts, Sotterranea and
Love 2 Love Orchestra. He has played and plays in different countries such as London, New York, Miami and at various festivals, such as the
Robot and the Stickermule Festival in an evening with Apparat, Derrick May, DJ Koze, Lil 'Louis, Young Marco and Ellen Allien, LTJ Xperience

Signed by the creator of Nicky Larson, the cartoon Signed Cat’s Eyes marked more than one teenager in front of his television set.
Find on this maxi 45T, the cult credits of this must-have Japanese animated series broadcast in France for the first time in 1986...
«Cat’s» with her heroines with a double life: Tam, Alex and Sylia. Three creatures metamorphosing into the air at night and signing each of their misdeeds with a card that simply says, "Cat’s Eyes!"

John Scofield's first guitar-solo-recording ever gives a résumé of all the
influences and idioms he has cultivated over his career in performances
on guitar, accompanied by his own rhythmic pulse and chordal backing
using a loop machine
Besides jazz, John is known to have always also had a soft spot for the rock and
roll and country music he grew up with, revealed here in unencumbered renditions
of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" and Hank Williams' "You Win Again". Between
elegant and personal readings of standards, like "It Could Happen To You", the
traditional "Danny Boy" and Keith Jarret's "Coral", Scofield presents his own
timeless compositions - some new, others known.
For the guitarist, it's all about "the way you get the sound out of the string and
what you do with it after you attack it."
John Scofield: electric guitar and looper
Press:
"Scofield is as fiery as ever, plugged in and using loops to give himself a
background groove on some of his gritty originals or putting a punkish spin on
romantic ballads." - **** The Times
"This isn't an album to listen to in a hurry; but if you were pressed for time, the last
two tracks alone would give you a sense of Scofield's extraordinary range. The
bebop- heavy Trance De Jour is antic, angular, questing. But then we close with
You Win Again, a Hank Williams cover, serene as a sunset over the prairie." - ****
The Daily Telegraph
"Here he has distilled his decades in this crazy business into a baker's dozen of
songs that may appear modest in ambition - only one track runs to more than five
minutes, several run to barely three - yet is mighty in impact...This album needed
no other title. This is John Scofield." - **** Jazzwise
"(8/10) The result offers an intimate insight to Sco's skills as both guitarist and
arranger. It's a late-night album - quiet, introspective and really quite beautiful, too,
with Sco's musical soul laid bare before us." - Guitarist

In 2021 Songwriter/guitarist Dante Schwebel (Spanish Gold, Hacienda,
Dan Auerbach) returned to San Antonio from Nashville and met Austin
guitarist David Jimenez - The two began sharing stories about their
similar upbringings in the Rio Grande Valley, and co-writing songs that
reflect the diverse culture of that region: Norteo Texas roots music, Pop,
and so much more
Christening this new project Nuevo, they recruited Andrew Trube and Anthony
Farrell of the band Greyhounds, and drummer Nico Leophonte (Fabulous
Thunderbirds, Gary Clark , Jr.) to write and record this blistering debut.

Not every two-year period measures out the same, noted Brendan Benson, the 51-year old Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and co-founder of The Raconteurs. Benson had just finished his well-received seventh album, "Dear Life" in 2019 when his world came to a stop. "I was rehearsing for South-By-Southwest and gearing up for a tour and had a band ready and then, of course, the world shut down," he said in a recent interview. The lockdown then began to reroute lives, societies and ambitions worldwide. "Everything changed," Benson said. "I went to work on some songs so I"d have new material when things opened up." Over months with minimal interactions, those songs coalesced and took on lives of their own, he said. Two years of semi-isolation, of fading relationships, of the natural inward turn that comes with less human contact unexpectedly pushed Benson"s song-writing into new places. Instead of being an afterthought, Benson"s solitude evolved into, "Low Key" the eighth album by the idiosyncratic songwriter who has enjoyed both world-wide popularity with the Raconteurs and a devoted cult following for his numerous solo projects. Low Key, the Nashville-based artist said, was his chance to explore how lives and relationships changed during the lengthy isolation from the normal interactions of everyday life.

Duper, the new release from Morgan Geist, is a not-so-subtle callback to his 2001 EP, Super. "I was working most days with Kelley Polar on our new vocal project, Au Suisse, which isn't really dance music at all," he explains. "I started fooling around with these instrumental tracks at night for fun. Each track was in a different style, but they seemed to work nicely as a group. By the time I asked Kelley to contribute strings to the A-side, the record really started feeling like the sequel to Super."

Super Duper ­- get it?

Indeed, the playful synth riffs and sweeping disco strings of "Twilight Express" echo the palette of Geist's cult classic "24K" and early Metro Area. "Black Test Car" is a unique collision of minimal, almost Krautrock-style drums, sound library textures and spacy electro percussion. Meanwhile, "Feeling Is Mutual" is a rare acid outing that pushes beyond the usual comfort zone, the 303 acting more as feather than hammer on top of major-key modulations. "I love a lot of Aphex Twin and I love sweet, "quiet storm"-style R&B," says Geist. "I figured, why not?"

Zopelar arrives on Tartelet with Charme - an album of effervescent machine funk harking back to a golden era of Brazilian party music, releasing October 21st.

The era of interest for Sao Paulo’s Pedro Zopelar begins in the 1980s in Rio de Janeiro, when a particular phenomenon caught on at suburban parties which became known as Charme. “Charme was like a mix of slow boogie, RnB and new jack swing,” explains Zopelar. “DJ Corello started calling ‘charme’ the moment of the party when he played slow grooves and felt that the people started dancing differently, with sexier synchronized moves. Some years later, charme evolved from an awaited moment of a night to a whole movement of parties just playing that kind of music. On this record I tried to make something that brings this emotional feeling to my music in a modern way.”

Much like the original genre-not-genre he drew inspiration from, Zopelar’s approach across his latest LP spans different moods and tempos. There’s blissful, sultry mystery lingering around ‘Clara’ and ‘Do You Feel?’ while OSAGIE lends some chops to the exquisite, Rompler-powered synth funk of ‘Chain Net’. The lead singles ‘Shibuya’, ‘Charme’ and ‘Passado’ all tap into varying shades of deep house, from slinky City Pop-tinted loungers to peak-time dance pop and Larry Heard-influenced flavours, with the constant being Zopelar’s immaculate production and the unbridled warmth of his compositions.

Continuing the Latin-rooted theme of the album, the artworkconception of Charme was realized by multidisciplinary artist and curator Ode, showcasing a popular style of street paintings made by anonymous artists throughout Latin America. It’s not about graffiti-culture but a popular solution utilized by small restaurants, bars and other establishments to use their own walls for commercial purposes, hiring artists to paint food and drink menus or other information about their products.

With an emotional sincerity stemming from his move to reconnect with the Brazilian dimension of his creative background, Charme arrives as Zopelar’s heartfelt celebration of life and music, of sentimental moments shared and good times enjoyed.

Einige Größen der florierenden Post-Punk- und Hardcore-Szene, Gitarrist Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), Gitarrist Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria), Sänger Anthony Green (Circa Survive), Bassist
Tim Payne (Thursday) und Schlagzeuger Tucker Rule (Thursday/Yellowcard) haben sich zusammengetan
und L.S. DUNES gegründet
Die neue Band wird ihr Debütalbum Past Lives am 11.11.22 über Fantasy Records veröffentlichen.
Losgelöst von den Erwartungen und der Ästhetik ihrer bereits erfolgreichen Karrieren, kombinieren L.S.
DUNES ihre hymnischen Songs mit einer Menge Punk-Energie zu einem Sound, der mit nichts vergleichbar ist, was es bisher gab. Vom fesselnden, dramatischen Opener ”2022” über den knackigen, treibenden
Ohrwurm ”Like Forever” bis hin zum stampfenden, ausladenden ”Permanent Rebellion” und dem abschließenden, ”Sleep Cult” ist ”Past Lives” ein emotionaler und mitreißender Ritt.

Laila Sakini's new album 'Paloma' arrives via Modern Love and is her most striking and ambiguous to date - a pointed and timely meditation on hope and hierarchies that riffs on Zbigniew Preisner's magical "The Double Life of Veronique" score and enduring outsider music tome "The Langley Schools Music Project". Subtly transcendent, fathoms-deep music.

When Laila Sakini's debut album ‘Vivienne’ arrived in 2020, it felt like the record we were waiting for to map out our tangled reactions to an uninvited reality. Never self-consciously strange, it revealed itself slowly and cautiously, like a shadow in the corner of the eye, or an alchemical symbol in a bowl of alphabet spaghetti. This time around Sakini has worked her unique world-building to an even finer point, forming six tracks around a theme that's so close to our heart it's almost beating in time. Initially inspired by Krzysztof Kieślowski's 1991 arthouse classic "The Double Life of Veronique", the cult Polish director's enduring modern fairytale that serves as a cosmic rumination on identity and choice. Detailing two identical women - both singers, both in love - the film lets one live as the other dies, forcing us to consider the implications of art and endurance in the face of life's myriad challenges.

Sakini takes Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner's influential score for the film and uses it as a jumping-off point for ‘Paloma’, bending the more grandiose moments into baroque awkwardness on opening track 'Fluer D'Oranger' and evoking the mood of scene-setting cues 'Weronika' and 'Véronique' on the recorder-led 'The Light That Flickers In The Mirror'. And while Preisner's score zeroed in on the musical virtuosity of the film's lead characters, Sakini reinterprets that as a metaphor for self-discovery. Playing piano, violin, glockenspiel, timbale, recorder, and occasionally singing, Sakini captures a mood of innocence that immediately transports the listener back to simpler times. Her music isn't self-consciously simplistic, but forcing herself to interface with instruments impulsively rather than studiously, her sounds are all heart, no filigree.

In spirit, it reminds us of cult Canadian album "The Langley Schools Music Project", a collection of 1970s recordings of school kids singing rudimentary renditions of pop songs in a school gymnasium. That album's genius was in the bottling of hope and innocence: the feeling of joy from hearing and wholesomely interacting with music that's known and loved without a sense of hierarchy or desire for cultural clout. Sakini subtly subverts this by evoking the amateur spirit in the most bewitching way; instead of sourcing her ideas from Bowie, Fleetwood Mac and the Beach Boys, her stock is the established art canon, and by reforming those sounds she makes an insightful comment on intellectualism and access. European classical music is all too often trapped behind the frosted glass of respectability and assumed skill - craft replaces spirit, and technique replaces soul. By approaching these gestures from a different angle, Sakini softens the edges sonically and intellectually, finding music that bubbles with emotion, and most strikingly - hope.

Her choice of instruments and the way she interacts with them allows us to feel as if we're not only listening but contributing. It's a bottom-up way of absorbing art that's traditionally been top-down, and a reminder that we're all part of the experience, whether we're humming along to the remnants of a theme as it dribbles out of an ear in the shower, or dreaming of spotlights in a parallel life that may or may not be real. Sakini's music is nostalgic in a sense, but nowhere near the buttered popcorn and high-fructose candy migraine of the Netflix/Spotify algorithm generation of regurgitated churn. She makes sounds that remind us of what time and experience may have stolen from us, and how we might recover it.

Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh & Irish Chamber Orchestra have breathed new life into the noble, classical songs of our ancestors with this new album, R is n Reimagined.The sean n s tradition is undergoing a revival During lockdown, award- winning singer Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh's renditions of classic sean n s songs such as An Ch ilfhionn or R is n Dubh introduced a new generation of listeners to these melodically complex and richly ornamented songs. Now Nic Amhlaoibh joins the Irish Chamber Orchestra for R is n
ReImagined, an exciting new project that pairs her peerless vocals with fresh
orchestral arrangements of sean n s songs. Kilkenny Arts Festival and the Irish
Chamber Orchestra have co- commissioned special arrangements from six
leading Irish composers: Cormac McCarthy, Paul Campbell, Linda Buckley, Sam
Perkin, Niamh Varian- Barry and Michael Keeney. Produced by D nal O'Connor,
Roisin ReImagined explores the connections between classical and traditional
music, and reimagines these timeless songs for a new era. These works typically
date from the 16th-19th century, and bear the hallmarks of high art and learning.
In many instances, they bear witness to the artistic culture of Gaelic Ireland,
which was under siege and endangered; the high art of their era. Amongst them
are classics such as R is n Dubh, An Ch ilfhionn, Sl n le M igh & An tSeanbhean
Bhocht. Nic Amhlaoibh's distinct voice and outward- looking approach has
elevated these songs to yet another level through this project, and along with the
Irish Chamber Orchestra and producer D nal O'Connor, she has given a platform
to a tradition that gives a deep insight into the Irish psyche. These sean-n s songs
emerged from a practice that was part of a wider European and international
culture, and this project will resonate with people from every corner of the world.
The new incarnation of these old songs is a beautiful, uplifting sonic journey,
especially for those fortunate enough to experience it live, and is sure to leave an
imprint on the consciousness of the Irish song tradition.

2022 Repress

Parisian underground cult-figurehead VOIRON is next up on Glasgow's Craigie Knowes. The 4 track VOIRONZINOR EP strikes with a ferocious blend of Acid, Rave and Hardcore sounds with that signature VOIRON dusting of Gabber-esque roughness. Those with knowledge of 1980's French rave culture will catch the nod in the EP title too. A record of true heavy hitters.

DJ Different dons his Terraform alias as he begins his journey in ‘Entering The Void’ on CYBERDOME; exploring phat electro bass-lines and party-starting ghettotech energy with its crosshairs fixated firmly on the club environment.

Born and raised in the culturally rich city of Malmo, the Swedish producer has previously released on London based label Deeply Cultured, Distant Hawaii, Mood Of Era, 1Ø PILLS MATE and Traxx Underground, spanning atmospheric techno, ethereal breakbeat and chunky electro.

‘Ultrasonic’ is an ear-wriggling cut of stripped-back psychedelia. As David Holmes would say, all the best electronic music tracks are made up of only a few components. Here, typical electro synth stabs, robotic vocal sampling and sparse precision allows the track room to breathe, whilst maintaining a deep and funk-driven groove.

‘Ghettotech’ sounds how you would expect it to; pounding kicks, frantic atmospherics and lairy screw-face hype combine on a certified fire-starter, before ‘Exiting The Void’ introduces itself on a footwork vibe that evolves into a sequence of interstellar-dungeon dub-electro.

‘The Rise of the Slavs’ takes its inspiration from the diverse group of tribes who lived in Central and Eastern Europe in the 6th to 10th centuries, establishing the foundations for the Slavic nations; it’s marching rhythm beaming historical context into 21st Century dance music.

MONO’s first-ever feature-length motion picture soundtrack. My Story, The Buraku Story is a new feature-length documentary film that explores the discrimination against a group of people – commonly called “the burakumin” who were classed into lowly groups and segregated from the rest of Japanese society. This discrimination is not by race or ethnicity, but rather by place of residence and bloodline, and has existed for centuries – albeit very rarely acknowledged or discussed in Japan. When director Yusaku Mitsuwaka imagined the exemplary score for such a culturally sensitive and significant subject, he idealized MONO to help tell this story through their legendarily cinematic music. Following their recent experiments with electronic textures infused into their trademark dynamic rock compositions, My Story, The Buraku Story finds MONO at their most understated and elegiac. The songs that make up My Story, The Buraku Story are largely built around piano, strings, synths, and choral vocal loops. As one might expect from MONO, the arrangements are masterworks of understated execution with oversized emotional resonance. By far MONO’s most delicate album, it is a fitting document of the band’s first-ever full-length film soundtrack.

While frontman Tom Greenhouse’s off-kilter observations and bizarro anecdotes remain front and centre, this time round the band up their game with a more vigorous sound that keeps pace with Greenhouse’s wholly distinctive lyrical style. Greenhouse continues to revel in telling increasingly surreal short stories, rejoicing in the power of the deadpan one-liner and bedecking his songs with far-flung cultural references. But now the band employ a variety of techniques with improved pro- duction, from the impulsively bashed keyboards and jubilantly repetitive guitar stabs that have be- come their trademark, to flirtations with–heaven forbid!–melody, chord progressions and arrangements which elevate their tried-and-tested blueprint into a more exciting and cohesive whole.

Opener Musicians is the perfect embodiment of this conscious development. Here, Greenhouse re- counts a sarcastic tale of half-truths that see him galavanting around town trying to put a band to- gether. Sonically, it begins with a caustic callback to the group’s first EP Crap Cardboard Pet and its über-minimalist aesthetic. But by the end of the song a joyous festival of afrobeat-inspired in- struments including samba whistles, bongos and saxophones are added to the mix as the front- man, ironically, fails in his mission to recruit more players.

With Get Unjaded, the band have somehow conjured something close to pop, without abandoning the repetition and wit that’s relished by their early fans. I Lost My Head also adopts a jangle-pop sheen with a luscious synth melody, as the frontman ditches the spoken-word for a surly croon (his first known attempt at actual singing!) that provides a welcome breather from the onslaught of dense recantations that are the band’s bread-and-butter.

While the lyrics here are still often humorous and political, Greenhouse has also notably expanded his interests on this album to include a new host of topics. The influence of extraterrestrials, for ex- ample, infiltrates the subject matter frequently. On The UFOs, the mysterious protagonist Blinkus Booth’s isolationist lifestyle is apparently interrupted by the spectres of otherworldly visitors, while closer The Neoprene Ravine feels like an extract from a deep space rock opera. Here, jaunty and angular instruments pile-on as we are fed images of an interstellar Spinal Tap, the titular fictional band “The Neoprene Ravine” who are “the alien equivalent of the Velvet Underground” and include an alien Lou Reed yelping “too busy sucking on my little green ding dong!”.

Meanwhile, Hard Rock Potato is propelled by a vortex of keys and synths, a real noise-pop gem comprised of real guitar chords (!) and rock-orientated riffs. Here the stream-of-consciousness lyrics take shots at the sinister financial industry, and include one of the many top-tier one-liners on the album: “It’s not gambling if you’re wearing a tie (even if you’ve got no trousers on)”.

On Sod’s Toastie, The Cool Greenhouse have pushed their distinctive flavour of post-punk to the point of perfection – their incongruous riffs, alchemical instrumental chemistry, and irreverent spo- ken-word vocals are a delight throughout. Sod’s Toastie is hilarious at times, and at others just hilariously good – a not-so-difficult second album.

Written and recorded between 1972 and 1982 in Western Oregon, Back to the Woodlands is a previously unreleased, and nearly lost, album made by Ernest Hood during the same era as his near mythical album Neighborhoods . A visionary combination of field recordings, zithers, and synthesizers, Back to the Woodlands offers an unprecedented depth of access to this singular artistic mind. Born into a musical family, Ernest Hood began a promising career as a jazz guitarist during the 1940s, touring internationally with his brother Bill Hood and the saxophonist Charlie Barnet , before contracting polio in his late twenties. The disease left Ernest unable to play the guitar and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It also forced him to adapt and innovate around his musical practices in the face of adversity; Hood's value of sound matured with a remarkably democratic and nonhierarchical approach and application. Taking up the zither, a less physically-demanding stringed instrument to the guitar, embarking upon the unprecedented process of incorporating field recordings into his work as early as 1956, and eventually discovering the synthesizer, Hood's music became imbued with optimism and subtle cultural critique. This ethos and technique - refined over the coming decades - would lay the groundwork for a sprawling body of radio work, mail order recordings for homebound listeners, and Neighborhoods , self- issued as a small vinyl edition in 1975. Where Neighborhoods , a nostalgic opus, drawing from a well of collective memory of the 1950s, is defined by traces of human activity, Back to the Woodlands leaves the modern world behind, delving into Hood's love for nature. Only recently discovered in his archives, the album dramatically expands his concept of "musical cinematography," imagistically triggering states of sensory memory from within its zither and synthesizer melodies, intertwined with field recordings made during Hood's extensive travels throughout Oregon. If Neighborhoods is a retreat into the gauzy joys of a romanticized past, Back to the Woodlands is an immersion in the timeless sanctuary of the natural world. A fascinating counterpoint to its predecessor, Back to the Woodlands brings us even closer to Hood's belief in the transportive qualities of sound; that field recordings could serve as a vehicle for the imagination and liberation, particularly for those with similar mobile disabilities as his own. Across the album's twelve compositions, the rippling instrumental harmonics - shifting between abstraction and playful melody - fold so seamlessly into the birdsong, bubbling brooks, and other environmental ambiences, that they often give the impression of having been recording within the landscapes toward which they whisper. Falling somewhere between the immersive calm of healing music and New Age, the creative field recording practices of sound ecologists world building for Folkways, and the jazz infected ambiences during Obscure / Editions EG's highest heights, Back to the Woodlands sculpts an singular proximity of music for its moment; a form of ambient sonic realism that draws the consciousness toward its surroundings as much as within. Working closely with his estate to maintain his original vision, Freedom to Spend has restored and remastered this never before released, lost masterpiece by Ernest Hood from the original tapes. Ernest Hood's Back to the Woodlands will be issued on vinyl, as well as on CD in combination with its contemporary Where the Woods Begin , with new liner notes by Michael Klausman . On behalf of Ernest Hood and Freedom To Spend, a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Oregon Wild, an organization dedicated to protecting and restoring Oregon's wildlands, wildlife, and waters as an enduring legacy for future generations.

STEPPENDOOM ist das spannende neue Projekt des in New York City und London lebenden italienisch-schweizerischen Toningenieurs, Sounddesigners, Komponisten und Multiinstrumentalisten Marc Urselli. Der Produzent hat herausragende Musiker aus dem Genre des Doom Metal und legendäre indigene Sänger aus aller Welt, die sich der uralten Tradition des Kehlgesangs widmen, eingeladen und zusammengebracht.
Zu den renommierten Künstlern, die dem Ruf des dreifachen Grammy-Preisträgers Marc Urselli gefolgt sind, zählen unter anderem aus dem Metal-Bereich Matt Pike (SLEEP, HIGH ON FIRE), Aaron Aedy (PARADISE LOST), Steve Von Till (NEUROSIS), Christopher Juul (HEILUNG), Dave Chandler (SAINT VITUS) und Scott "Wino" Weinrich (THE OBSESSED) und solche berühmten Meister des Kehlkopfgesangs wie das Alash Ensemble, Batzorig Vaanchig "Zorigoo", HUUN-HUUR-TU, Tanya Tagaq, Albert Kuvezin (YAT-KHA) und Alexey Tegin.
Die uralte Kunst des Gutturalen Gesangs lebt in den Grasländern, Tundren und in den Herzen der Menschen weiter, die in ihrer lokalen Umwelt in und mit der Natur leben. Der Heavy Metal entstand dagegen in Englands industriellem Herzen unter dem Schlagen von Stahlhämmern und dem Lärm des mechanisierten Abbaus von Kohle. Beide Musikstile haben jedoch eine tiefe Sehnsucht nach Freiheit und Menschenwürde gemeinsam.
Gängige literarische Floskeln, mit denen eine Fusion von Musik aus scheinbar gegensätzlichen Genres und Gruppen mit Schlagzeilen wie "Clash of Cultures" oder "Kollision der Welten " beschrieben werden, treffen auf Marc Ursellis STEPPENDOOM offensichtlich nicht zu. Dieses Fest der künstlerischen Einheit lässt sich vielmehr mit der Phrase "Wenn sich Welten vereinen" zusammenfassen.
Marc Urselli's STEPPENDOOM braucht am Anfang unvoreingenommene Ohren und einen offenen Geist, um Gehör zu finden. Obwohl das Album und seine Lieder eine gewisse Aufmerksamkeit und Zeit benötigen, um sich an die ungewohnten Klangwelten zu gewöhnen, offenbaren sie letztendlich eine atemberaubende Schönheit. Vor dem geistigen Auge schweben Adler über Städte, Steppenwinde erwecken Herzen und Geis, während sich Eis in arktische Tiere verwandelt und viele andere Wunder geschehen. Uralte Magie verbindet sich in diesen Songs mit moderner Energie und schafft etwas revolutionäres Neues, in dem eine der ältesten Ausdrucksformen der Menschheit enthalten ist: der Schrei nach Freiheit!

STEPPENDOOM ist das spannende neue Projekt des in New York City und London lebenden italienisch-schweizerischen Toningenieurs, Sounddesigners, Komponisten und Multiinstrumentalisten Marc Urselli. Der Produzent hat herausragende Musiker aus dem Genre des Doom Metal und legendäre indigene Sänger aus aller Welt, die sich der uralten Tradition des Kehlgesangs widmen, eingeladen und zusammengebracht.
Zu den renommierten Künstlern, die dem Ruf des dreifachen Grammy-Preisträgers Marc Urselli gefolgt sind, zählen unter anderem aus dem Metal-Bereich Matt Pike (SLEEP, HIGH ON FIRE), Aaron Aedy (PARADISE LOST), Steve Von Till (NEUROSIS), Christopher Juul (HEILUNG), Dave Chandler (SAINT VITUS) und Scott "Wino" Weinrich (THE OBSESSED) und solche berühmten Meister des Kehlkopfgesangs wie das Alash Ensemble, Batzorig Vaanchig "Zorigoo", HUUN-HUUR-TU, Tanya Tagaq, Albert Kuvezin (YAT-KHA) und Alexey Tegin.
Die uralte Kunst des Gutturalen Gesangs lebt in den Grasländern, Tundren und in den Herzen der Menschen weiter, die in ihrer lokalen Umwelt in und mit der Natur leben. Der Heavy Metal entstand dagegen in Englands industriellem Herzen unter dem Schlagen von Stahlhämmern und dem Lärm des mechanisierten Abbaus von Kohle. Beide Musikstile haben jedoch eine tiefe Sehnsucht nach Freiheit und Menschenwürde gemeinsam.
Gängige literarische Floskeln, mit denen eine Fusion von Musik aus scheinbar gegensätzlichen Genres und Gruppen mit Schlagzeilen wie "Clash of Cultures" oder "Kollision der Welten " beschrieben werden, treffen auf Marc Ursellis STEPPENDOOM offensichtlich nicht zu. Dieses Fest der künstlerischen Einheit lässt sich vielmehr mit der Phrase "Wenn sich Welten vereinen" zusammenfassen.
Marc Urselli's STEPPENDOOM braucht am Anfang unvoreingenommene Ohren und einen offenen Geist, um Gehör zu finden. Obwohl das Album und seine Lieder eine gewisse Aufmerksamkeit und Zeit benötigen, um sich an die ungewohnten Klangwelten zu gewöhnen, offenbaren sie letztendlich eine atemberaubende Schönheit. Vor dem geistigen Auge schweben Adler über Städte, Steppenwinde erwecken Herzen und Geis, während sich Eis in arktische Tiere verwandelt und viele andere Wunder geschehen. Uralte Magie verbindet sich in diesen Songs mit moderner Energie und schafft etwas revolutionäres Neues, in dem eine der ältesten Ausdrucksformen der Menschheit enthalten ist: der Schrei nach Freiheit!

STEPPENDOOM ist das spannende neue Projekt des in New York City und London lebenden italienisch-schweizerischen Toningenieurs, Sounddesigners, Komponisten und Multiinstrumentalisten Marc Urselli. Der Produzent hat herausragende Musiker aus dem Genre des Doom Metal und legendäre indigene Sänger aus aller Welt, die sich der uralten Tradition des Kehlgesangs widmen, eingeladen und zusammengebracht.
Zu den renommierten Künstlern, die dem Ruf des dreifachen Grammy-Preisträgers Marc Urselli gefolgt sind, zählen unter anderem aus dem Metal-Bereich Matt Pike (SLEEP, HIGH ON FIRE), Aaron Aedy (PARADISE LOST), Steve Von Till (NEUROSIS), Christopher Juul (HEILUNG), Dave Chandler (SAINT VITUS) und Scott "Wino" Weinrich (THE OBSESSED) und solche berühmten Meister des Kehlkopfgesangs wie das Alash Ensemble, Batzorig Vaanchig "Zorigoo", HUUN-HUUR-TU, Tanya Tagaq, Albert Kuvezin (YAT-KHA) und Alexey Tegin.
Die uralte Kunst des Gutturalen Gesangs lebt in den Grasländern, Tundren und in den Herzen der Menschen weiter, die in ihrer lokalen Umwelt in und mit der Natur leben. Der Heavy Metal entstand dagegen in Englands industriellem Herzen unter dem Schlagen von Stahlhämmern und dem Lärm des mechanisierten Abbaus von Kohle. Beide Musikstile haben jedoch eine tiefe Sehnsucht nach Freiheit und Menschenwürde gemeinsam.
Gängige literarische Floskeln, mit denen eine Fusion von Musik aus scheinbar gegensätzlichen Genres und Gruppen mit Schlagzeilen wie "Clash of Cultures" oder "Kollision der Welten " beschrieben werden, treffen auf Marc Ursellis STEPPENDOOM offensichtlich nicht zu. Dieses Fest der künstlerischen Einheit lässt sich vielmehr mit der Phrase "Wenn sich Welten vereinen" zusammenfassen.
Marc Urselli's STEPPENDOOM braucht am Anfang unvoreingenommene Ohren und einen offenen Geist, um Gehör zu finden. Obwohl das Album und seine Lieder eine gewisse Aufmerksamkeit und Zeit benötigen, um sich an die ungewohnten Klangwelten zu gewöhnen, offenbaren sie letztendlich eine atemberaubende Schönheit. Vor dem geistigen Auge schweben Adler über Städte, Steppenwinde erwecken Herzen und Geis, während sich Eis in arktische Tiere verwandelt und viele andere Wunder geschehen. Uralte Magie verbindet sich in diesen Songs mit moderner Energie und schafft etwas revolutionäres Neues, in dem eine der ältesten Ausdrucksformen der Menschheit enthalten ist: der Schrei nach Freiheit!

Saft's X series signs up accomplished French house artist Pablo Valentino for a new EP that features Patchworks and includes a remix from Seb Wildblood. Valentino hails from East France but his work has made a global impact. He runs FACES Records and is A&R for the cult MCDE Recordings. Next to that he DJs around Europe and has produced both solo and as part of collectives such as Creative Swing Alliance and Hipster Wonkaz for labels like MCDE, Eureka and Room With A View.

Atmospheric opener "Look Deeper" is a rough and steamy deep house cut for cosy basements. The drums are raw and alive, the lead synth is haunting, and the keys bring a jazz feel while vocal coos add some serious soul. French jazz, soul and deep house artist Patchworks guests on "X Rousse", a freewheeling jam with loose-limbed drums and funky chords. It channels the spirit of Moodymann and is sure to bring heat to any party. The final original is "Bagaco"; a bubbly and percussive number underpinned by warm bass stabs. The dynamic groove never rests and raw claps amp up the energy throughout.

Seb Wildblood is a driving force in the South London scene thanks to running Church, All My Thoughts and Coastal Haze. From house to downtempo, leftfield to techno, he has a broad stylistic range that always looks forwards. His remix is a celebratory broken beat workout. It's all about big stabs, soulful smeared chords and cutting loose on the dance floor without a care in the world. Once again, The Saft X

dreamcastmoe is the recording project of singer, songwriter, producer, and DJ Davon Bryant, a lifelong resident of Washington, DC. His music moves freely between moods and modes, hypnotic, romantic, traversing electronic, R&B, funk, soul, and hip-hop... Resident Advisor dubs it "soulful, cross-genre dance music." This ability to adapt and finesse, to twist in different directions while staying true and coherent in vision, can be traced to his home city and its complex cultural history. "Most Black kids in DC don't ever get to this point," he says. "This is what I am making this music for, in the DC tradition of soul and empathy and love that is rooted in this city. My music is for real people dealing with shit every day." A versatile, modern artist and collaborator, dreamcastmoe has thrived in the underground since his first uploads to Soundcloud and Bandcamp in 2017 and subsequent releases with labels like People's Potential Unlimited, Trading Places, and In Real Life Music. Bryant's laid-back personality, emotional honesty, and infectious energy shine through his work and how he talks about it, as Crack Magazine notes in their 2021 Rising feature: "a steady combination of confidence, creativity, and calmness." He grew up playing drums in church; he's worked dead-end jobs, had ups and downs, even sold off all his gear one time, but never stopped reinvesting in himself. He is quick to praise his co-producers, rattle off influences _ the visual feel of NBA 2K, the comedic timing of Bernie Mac, the savvy legacy of Duke Ellington, for starters _ and credit resourceful DC breakouts like Ankhlejohn that showed him the roadmap. His voice, a steady instrument, seemingly connects it all, capable of slow falsetto flow, swaggering talk-rap, and outright croon. His storytelling style is choppy yet fluid, like a mixtape, which is how Bryant sees Sound Is Like Water, his debut on Ghostly's International's freeform label, Spectral Sound. The two-part project culminates as a full-length LP release in November 2022. The first side, released as Part I, opens on the blurred beats of "El Dorado," which dreamcastmoe dedicates to his journey. It's a head-nodder, an off-kilter earworm co-produced by Max D (Future Times, RVNG Intl, etc.), with Bryant harmonizing hooks with synth jabs and a pitched-down presence. "Complicated" is the slow jam, delivered smoothly from a Saturday night crossroads. dreamcastmoe is contemplative and committed... gliding and locking ad-libs into skittering rhythms courtesy of co-producer Zackary Dawson _ but also willing to let something go, "acknowledging that everything in life IS NOT easy." "RU Ready" takes off from the jump as a tribute, challenge, and promise to his partner and his city ("The times you sat with me when I needed you the most / Told me the things that I needed to see / Young black man, really trying to be what I can be / And I'm really from DC). In its potent two-plus minutes, the sonics (co-produced by ZDBT) press the message, all cymbal crashes, breakbeats, and serrated synth lines. "Cloudy Weather, Wear Boots" is a blitzing dance-punk track made in collaboration with Jordan GCZ on Bryant's first trip to Amsterdam. The album's flipside opens on "Much More," the first of two synth-and-beat ballads co-produced by ZDBT. Later on "Long Songz," he claims, "I'm not writing love songs no more," prioritizing the vibe with "all my day ones." He calls it "a cry for more normal moments. Everything doesn't have to be a fantasy love story, more time spent getting to the money, growing, and making a way." He saves two of his most propulsive cuts for the finale, co-produced by Sami, co-founder of DC dance label 1432 R. As their titles suggest, "Take A Moment" and "Make Ya Mind" operate as anthems for movement, with Bryant free-flowing commands above wildly-styled percussion. Per Bryant, the latter is both "wake & bake jam" and a "dance floor bomb." His parting line: "Action / You got to show me action / Reaction." The world of dreamcastmoe straddles virtual reality and the realness of DC, images both imagined and lived-in. Bryant has a knack for unexpected melodies but what makes his music so exciting is his capacity to defy the expectations of genre and image. A fluid ingenuity and vulnerability bottled by Sound Is Like Water, and this is just the beginning.

Cult French duo Principles of Geometry is back after an 8 years hiatus with a 26 tracks love letter to IDM & electronica, ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ.

A construct on the language which composes their musical lexicon, a sonic grammar which has been their common thread through 5 albums now.

This album is inspired by classic albums such as Artificial Intelligence on Warp Records, Braindance on Rephlex and was teased online this summer with singles "Cmd Ctrl" and “Hummerican”.

Black Truffle is pleased to announce Uri Katzenstein’s Audio Works, produced in collaboration with Holon’s Centre for Digital Art. Spanning sculptural installation, performance, video art, and many other media, Katzenstein’s absurdist, poetic, and often hilarious work made extensive use of sound and music. This, however, is the first release dedicated to the artist’s audio work, collecting 28 tracks produced between the early 1980s and 2017. Compiled from dozens of hours of recordings left uncatalogued (and in some instances unheard) at the artist’s death in 2018, these four sides are a treasure trove, offering a captivating glimpse into a uniquely uninhibited creative practice. Predominantly recorded alone, with some contributions from regular collaborators such as Ohad Fishof on the later pieces, many of these tracks stem from Katzenstein’s time living in New York in the 1980s. Feeding on the cross-pollination of post-punk energy, radical art practice, and new media possibilities that characterised the New York scene at this time, many of Katzenstein’s recordings squeeze multilayered vocal experimentation into synth-based miniatures with a distinctively pop twist, their forms ruptured with anarchic bursts of free-form electronics, sounds from self-built instruments, and field-recorded snatches of the outside world. Katzenstein’s electronic production calls up touchstones of skewed 80s art pop like Laurie Anderson, Ambitious Lovers, and Scritti Politti, but imbued with DIY directness and economy of means. The arrangements of synths, percussion, and noise elements are invigoratingly raw and, at times, almost austerely minimal. On ‘Intermission’, thick distorted chords accompany a wandering portamento melody, inhabiting the wayward carnival space of Roedelius’ most unhinged efforts. Many of the tracks centre on Katzenstein’s multi-tracked vocal performances, often moving between multiple languages, (most commonly English, German, French, and Hebrew). A bewildering range of vocal approaches are present on these pieces, from sweet wordless harmonies to hammed-up growls and monastic recitations. On ‘Skin O. Daayba – Complex Habits no. 3’, improvised resonance singing against a backdrop of echoing electronics and radio snatches. ‘Half Monk Half Herring’ layers multi-lingual syllabic fragments, crossing sound poetry techniques with melodic invention in a way rarely heard outside of Caetano Veloso’s Araçá Azul. On ‘Attempt to Raise Hell’, Katzenstein’s distorted voice spits out streams of alliterative nonsense (‘the hemlock of Henry, he was a hermit…purple pumpkin pulsates to pops’), while on the hilarious ‘Eric’, Katzenstein appears to instruct a small boy simultaneously in basic French and German conversation. On ‘Chicken’, vocal harmonies accompany the pecking and clucking of the titular fowl. Moving from bent, outsider synth pop to snatches of Jo Jones-esque automated instrumental clang and absurdist linguistic experiments, these are far more than footnotes to an artist’s gallery works. Accompanied by extensive, beautifully written liner notes by Roee Rosen and the little information that exists on the individual tracks, Katzenstein’s Audio Works inhabits an outer fringe of DIY pop and sonic experiment reminiscent of Pascal Comelade or Die Welttraumforscher, where accessible forms convey radical interrogations of song, word, and sound.

Black Vinyl

Endlich können die Millionen Fans von "Stranger Things" ihre Leidenschaft für ihre Lieblingsserie durch den Kauf von physischen Produkten (vor allem LPs, aber auch CDs und sogar Kassetten, eine Anspielung auf die 80er Jahre als zentrales Thema der Serie) zum Ausdruck bringen! Noch mehr als in den vorherigen Staffeln spielt die Musik eine wichtige Rolle in der Erzählung, insbesondere das Kate-Bush-Phänomen "Running up that hill", das natürlich im Soundtrack enthalten ist, sowie "Pass The Dutchie" von Musical Youth und "You Spin Me Round" von Dead or Alive, die in den ersten Episoden sehr auffällig waren. Supererwartetes Kultprodukt: Vorbestellungsstart am 1. Juli, wenn die zweite Hälfte von Staffel 4 startet. Enfin les millions de fans de "Stranger Things" vont pouvoir matérialiser leur passion pour leur série préférée en achetant en physique (surtout le LP, mais aussi le CD et même la cassette, clin d'oeil aux 80's thème central de la série) ! Plus encore que pour les saisons précédentes la musique joue un role prépondérant dans la narration avec en particulier le phénomène Kate Bush « Running up that hill » évidemment présent sur la BOF ainsi que Pass The Dutchie de Musical Youth, You Spin Me Round de Dead or Alive très remarqués dans les premiers épisodes. Produit culte super attendu : lancement de précommande à ne pas manquer pour le 1er juillet, date de lancement de la 2e partie de la saison 4.

What does it mean to be a traveler in a fixed place? An adventurer in
domestic space? A troubadour in a confined microcosm, or a
constellation of microcosms—that is, a microcosmos? These are the
questions Nashville musician, songwriter, and published poet Lou Turner
(aka Lauren Turner, Styrofoam Winos) was reflecting on as she wrote her
luminous third solo album, Microcosmos
She says of the cosmic country record, "Musically, these songs are mostly in the
country/folk vein of the 70s songwriter but lyrically they're challenging some of
those tropes or totally subverting them altogether, talking about commitment and
love—the small microcosmic things that make up the fabric of everything."
With her warm and welcoming voice and nylon- stringed acoustic guitar
foregrounded over sparse yet playful arrangements, Microcosmos is a meditation
on what it means to privilege cultivation over consumption and to ponder larger
realities from within the shell of the fixed reality of a home. The reward is the
adventure to be found in stillness and observation, the discovery of the
otherworldly in earthly matter, the revelations of groundedness. Turner generously
offers up these wonders to the listener, sharing hers, and inviting us to find our
own.

Sarathy Korwar returns with new album KALAK. The follow up to the politically charged, award-winning More Arriving is an Indo-futurist manifesto - in rhythmic step with the past and the present, it sets out to describe a route forward. It celebrates a rich South Asian culture of music and literature, which resonates with spirituality and community, while envisaging a better future from those building blocks. Recorded at Real World studios with meticulous production by New York electronic musician, DJ and producer Photay, who translates these communal rhythms and practices into a timeless and groundbreaking electronic record. There"s a spirituality and warmth at play in the polyrhythms, group vocals and melodic flourishes. The KALAK rhythm is the fulcrum upon which the 11-track project balances. After an intense lockdown induced period of reflection and meticulous note-making, Korwar boiled this down to the circular KALAK symbol which he then presented to his band before recording began. With the symbol projected on the walls in order to de-code and improvise around, Korwar had utter faith in the musicians he"d assembled and conviction in the concept.

Strut present the first ever compilation of Balka Sound, bringing together their influential 1980s recordings, Hailing from Congo-Brazzaville and led by revered vocalist and ngonfi player, Nkibi “Lusialala” Albert, Balka Sound created their own unique musical world, re-imagining traditional Congolese Balka rhythms with electric guitars, electric bass and drums, alongside the traditional 5-string ngonfi.

Nkibi Albert had risen to fame in 1972 with his solo hit ‘Ah Lusialala’ and Balka Sound was created to bring the sound of Balka, a folk style from the Beembe people, to modern life and an international audience. With its roots in slavery and colonialism rumba was dominating the music scene in Congo while the philosophy of Balka Sound was to find its inspiration directly in local country life, to associate the modern and the traditional and to revive folk traditions that were dying. Founder member Henri Nsika Nkaya explains, “it was intended to be an update, a unification and an internationalisation of Congolese cultures.”

In 1979, during a festival organised by the Centre Culturel Français, the band won a recording deal to release their first album: Le 1er son du Balka, Lusialala et ses amis, recorded in just one take. Their success led to a second LP, Tu Kine Balka, recorded in Kinshasa in 1982. A third album in 1984, Afro Musik Creation, featured a more modern studio production sound. Their songs drew from traditional folk tales and parables, life lessons and the damage caused by rural exodus to the cities. By 1985, Balka Sound were working full-time with residencies at Chez Tantine Clara in Brazzaville, a well-known tourist venue, and the Frantel Cosmos Hotel.

In 1991, political tensions were rising in the country; civil disobedience and threats of a military coup were followed by a civil war from 1993 to 1994. The band eventually regrouped and were invited to perform in 1996 at the Palais des Congrès for the Fête National. Unfortunately, on the first day of new fighting in 1997, Balka Sound’s studio was looted and the band were forced to finally disperse.

This first compilation of the band’s music is curated and annotated by Makila Nsika Nkaya in conjunction with Balka Sound and has been fully remastered by The Carvery.

Written and recorded between 1972 and 1982 in Western Oregon, Back to the Woodlands is a previously unreleased, and nearly lost, album made by Ernest Hood during the same era as his near mythical album Neighborhoods. A visionary combination of field recordings, zithers, and synthesizers, Back to the Woodlands offers an unprecedented depth of access to this singular artistic mind.

Born into a musical family, Ernest Hood began a promising career as a jazz guitarist during the 1940s, touring internationally with his brother Bill Hood and the saxophonist Charlie Barnet, before contracting polio in his late twenties. The disease left Ernest unable to play the guitar and confined him to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. It also forced him to adapt and innovate around his musical practices in the face of adversity; Hood’s value of sound matured with a remarkably democratic and nonhierarchical approach and application.

Taking up the zither, a less physically-demanding stringed instrument to the guitar, embarking upon the unprecedented process of incorporating field recordings into his work as early as 1956, and eventually discovering the synthesizer, Hood’s music became imbued with optimism and subtle cultural critique. This ethos and technique - refined over the coming decades - would lay the groundwork for a sprawling body of radio work, mail order recordings for homebound listeners, and Neighborhoods, self-issued as a small vinyl edition in 1975.

Where Neighborhoods, a nostalgic opus, drawing from a well of collective memory of the 1950s, is defined by traces of human activity, Back to the Woodlands leaves the modern world behind, delving into Hood’s love for nature. Only recently discovered in his archives, the album dramatically expands his concept of “musical cinematography,” imagistically triggering states of sensory memory from within its zither and synthesizer melodies, intertwined with field recordings made during Hood’s extensive travels throughout Oregon. If Neighborhoods is a retreat into the gauzy joys of a romanticized past, Back to the Woodlands is an immersion in the timeless sanctuary of the natural world.

In 1968, the future composer of "The Things of Life" (Les Choses de la Vie) seriously considered becoming a director. He wrote and shot "Florence", a short film influenced by the New Wave and composed its soundtrack, under the benevolent eye of Vladimir Cosma. The first spectators of the film are unanimous: failing to have seen a visionary cinematographic opus, they have discovered a real movie musician. From this first attempt, Philippe Sarde imposes his melodic talent on the picture and initiates his sense of counterpoint. This founding soundtrack, however, remained in the boxes for more than 50 years, before finding a place of choice on the B side of our album.

To open the ball, we offer you another forgotten score: the almost unused score of Loulou, Maurice Pialat’s cult classic. In 1980, the naturalist director planned to use original music to accompany the wanderings of his sublime love duo, played by Gérard Depardieu and Isabelle Huppert. He commissioned a bare, impressionistic score from Philippe Sarde, then changed his mind and kept only a


timid end credits. The meeting between the two giants of French cinema did however take place, as evidenced by the first side of this beautiful lp.

Her Shadow offers dreamy pop music with moonlight melodies, heavenly hooks and Lynchian twists. The ethereal soundscapes come to life in a dream noir universe oozing with catchy choruses, Morricone motifs and vintage sounds interweave with state of the art production. The birth of Her Shadow was inevitable. Old friends, guitarist-songwriter Tomi Henttunen (Royal Lips) and keyboardist-lyricist (Kuolemanlaakso) had a versatile but very different background in making music but a shared obsession with Twin Peaks and Lana Del Rey. The original idea in 2016 was to combine the best of both worlds, and spice up the mix with film noir and dream-like elements – to make music that they love, but had never done before. They recruited the enigmatic singer Anna Carolina (Royal Lips), drummer extraordinaire Toni Ronkainen (Kuolemanlaakso) and producer-engineer Jaani Peuhu (Swallow the Sun, Lord of the Lost etc.), and recorded a four-song demo. They instantly got signed to Svart Records, and started working on their debut album. After five long years of hard work, it is finally ready to be released upon the world. As they say, good things come to those who wait: The Ghost Love Chronicles will be released on November 11, 2022. The album was produced by musical and visual mastermind Henttunen, mixed by Sampsa Väätäinen (Ismo Alanko, Neøv etc.) and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Paradise Lost, Opeth etc.). The songs range from the mellow Motown mood of Fifth Season to the modern pop banger Kinda Love You, from the Morricone-inspired Vigilante to the nightmarish haunted house thriller What Hides in the Dark and from eerie playfulness of White Lane to ghoulishly beautiful Devil Inside. It remains to see, if The Ghost Love Chronicles will grow into a hit album or a cult classic, but it sure has the potential for both. Slip into something comfortable, open the doors of your perception and enter realm of Her Shadow. HER SHADOW Anna Carolina – lead vocals Tomi Henttunen – guitar, bass, keyboards Markus Laakso – keyboards, backing vocals Toni Ronkainen – drums and percussion Harri Hyvönen – live bass Otto Daavitsainen – live guitar

Her Shadow offers dreamy pop music with moonlight melodies, heavenly hooks and Lynchian twists. The ethereal soundscapes come to life in a dream noir universe oozing with catchy choruses, Morricone motifs and vintage sounds interweave with state of the art production. The birth of Her Shadow was inevitable. Old friends, guitarist-songwriter Tomi Henttunen (Royal Lips) and keyboardist-lyricist (Kuolemanlaakso) had a versatile but very different background in making music but a shared obsession with Twin Peaks and Lana Del Rey. The original idea in 2016 was to combine the best of both worlds, and spice up the mix with film noir and dream-like elements – to make music that they love, but had never done before. They recruited the enigmatic singer Anna Carolina (Royal Lips), drummer extraordinaire Toni Ronkainen (Kuolemanlaakso) and producer-engineer Jaani Peuhu (Swallow the Sun, Lord of the Lost etc.), and recorded a four-song demo. They instantly got signed to Svart Records, and started working on their debut album. After five long years of hard work, it is finally ready to be released upon the world. As they say, good things come to those who wait: The Ghost Love Chronicles will be released on November 11, 2022. The album was produced by musical and visual mastermind Henttunen, mixed by Sampsa Väätäinen (Ismo Alanko, Neøv etc.) and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Paradise Lost, Opeth etc.). The songs range from the mellow Motown mood of Fifth Season to the modern pop banger Kinda Love You, from the Morricone-inspired Vigilante to the nightmarish haunted house thriller What Hides in the Dark and from eerie playfulness of White Lane to ghoulishly beautiful Devil Inside. It remains to see, if The Ghost Love Chronicles will grow into a hit album or a cult classic, but it sure has the potential for both. Slip into something comfortable, open the doors of your perception and enter realm of Her Shadow. HER SHADOW Anna Carolina – lead vocals Tomi Henttunen – guitar, bass, keyboards Markus Laakso – keyboards, backing vocals Toni Ronkainen – drums and percussion Harri Hyvönen – live bass Otto Daavitsainen – live guitar

Johannes Auvinen (Tin Man) and Max Ravitz (Patricia), two devotees in the cult of the TB-303, return to Acid Test with the Celestial Body Music series, a follow up to their 2020 LP Powers Of Ten.

Recorded in Ravitz’s studio in Asheville, NC, Celestial Body Music once again showcases the pair’s penchant for raw yet emotive dance music. With Auvinen’s signature TB-303 programming and Ravitz’s typical melancholic flair, the duo’s styles merge seamlessly over the course of 8 tracks that harken back to the heyday of American techno and house. Following on from Powers of Ten, the pair continue to fix their eyes firmly on the stars, as Celestial Body Music’s song titles conjure visions of listening to Dance Mania 12”s on the ISS. With a tonal palette that features the well-trodden sounds of classic analog hardware like the TR-808, TR-909, TB-303, and SH-101, Ociya demonstrate their ability to breathe new life into these old instruments through thoughtful programming, arrangement, and mixing. This is made all the more significant when considering every song was recorded live to 2-track with no editing over the course of a few days. Sweet and savory both, the new material strikes a perfect balance between emotive sensibility and dance floor appeal.