Suche:d part

1988 in Hamburg gegründet (und 1991 wieder aufgelöst), war die Kolossale Jugend neben OZSWMK und Cpt. Kirk eine der ersten maßgeblichen Bands, die der so genannten "Hamburger Schule" zugeordnet wurden. 1989 erschien beim Label L'age d'or die erste LP "Heile Heile Boches" und 1990 folgte das zweite Album "Leopard II". Die dritte LP des Boxsets enthält Raritäten (Sampler-Beiträge, Single-Versionen) und Aufnahmen eines bislang unveröffentlichten Live-Konzerts aus dem Forum Enger (22.9.1989). "Heile Heile Boches" erschien 1989, im Jahr des Mauerfalls. International gab es zwar Hip Hop, Crossover, Hardcore und Alternative-Punk; in Deutschland lediglich deren Simulation oder Imitation, und außer einem inzwischen längst redundanten, wenn auch unverwüstlichen Deutsch-Punk nur wenig, das in der Musik als Bollwerk gegen den neu aufkeimenden Nationalstolz hätte dienen können. Aber es gab die Kolossale Jugend. Seit jeher am reingrätschen, nerven, ständig sich austauschend, vorantreibend und völlig immun gegen Versuche der Politik, Wirtschaft und Volksgemeinschaft sie für die heraufbeschworene Pop Nation Deutschland zu vereinnahmen. Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin: die Wendezeit. Das zweite Album, 1990, wurde folgerichtig "Leopard II" betitelt. Mithin sind Musik und Text auch denkbar schlecht für eine groß angelegte Verwertung geeignet; sie passieren in einem irrwitzigen Tempo. Die Texte sind maßlos, schwer zu fassen und immer einen Schritt voraus. Scheinbar ohne Anfang und Ende prasseln und hämmern sie so gewaltig drauflos, wie die Band auf ihre Instrumente drischt. Wir hören, wie jemand denkt und seine Kollegen verschaffen ihm den musikalischen Nach- und Ausdruck, den das Denken in so intellektfeindlichen Zeiten damals wie heute verdient. Aber das hat mehr mit Rockmusik zu tun, als das eingangs erwähnte, auch wenn man damit glaubte, nah am Original zu sein, denn die Reduktion und die Leerstellen sind kolossal. Und doch stand die Kolossale Jugend - die Band, die vom Himmel fiel, weil sie aus keiner klar definierbaren Tradition kam - am Anfang von etwas Neuem. Als sie sich 1992 auflöste, konnten sich weitere Akteure in und außerhalb Hamburgs an neuen Referenzrahmen mit Überschriften wie "Halt's Maul Deutschland"* oder "What's so funny about L'Age Poly d'Or" ** orientieren. Pascal Fuhlbrügge gründete und verließ L'Age d'Or, machte danach Musik mit Erneuerbare Energien, Sand 11 oder 8, sowie für Theaterproduktionen. Heute entwickelt er neben der Musik eigene Theaterstücke und spielt sie auch. Christoph Leich war dann lange Schlagzeuger bei Die Sterne und ist heute in der Musikbranche im Bereich Logistik tätig. Klaus Meinhardt zeichnete das L'Age d'Or Logo, gestaltete die Jugend-Cover, war Gitarrist beim Heinz Krämer-Werner Hornig Sextett und arbeitet als Illustrator. Kristof Schreuf starb völlig überraschend am 9. November 2022, er war Bourgeois with Guitar, Autor, Sänger und Texter der Band Brüllen. Seine Texte u.a. für taz, Jungle World und die Süddeutsche Zeitung waren Ereignisse. Die vorliegende Wieder- und teilweise Neuveröffentlichung ist ihm gewidmet.

There's no denying Marcel Fengler's profound impact on the ever-changing techno landscape. A pioneer in his own right, Fengler's works have flooded dancefloors and set lists worldwide for decades, and that shows no sign of changing anytime soon. His latest work is an all-encompassing four-track EP titled "Unleashed", including a remix from sought-after Stuttgart duo SHDW & Obscure Shape.

Kicking off with the title track, "Unleashed" introduces the EP with high-octane rhythms, pulsating low frequency sonics and rave like harmonic layers. An unrelenting onslaught of fast paced thumping techno, built around long, sweeping notes, vocal injections and a piston-like bassline, this one was made for the height of the party. "Caution" is next to feature, presenting itself as a robust industrial number with harsh percussive drive and endless layers of cadence throughout the mix. Weighty yet groovy in a unique up-tempo way, its robotic vocal splashes make the perfect accomplice for its potent warehouse vibes.

"Cypher" pulls you into the second half of the EP with rattling rhythms and more gritty sweeping musicality. Exhibiting the depth in his production skills, Fengler loads up the mix with a kaleidoscope of percussive elements alongside thumping kicks, surging synths, and another haunting robotic vox before SHDW & Obscure Shape get their teeth into a signature remix. Taking it deeper and darker, the duo's emphasis on subtle progressions and increasing intensity throughout the mix with offbeat trickery and creative unpredictability make their remix of "Cypher" a certified peak-time bomb.

"It has been quite a journey with this EP, as I've been exceptionally discerning about the sound and the entire production process. My goal was to create a release tailored for the dance floor, with the right amount of energy for peak-time moments, while also ensuring a profound and well-structured sonic experience. After testing potential tracks in my DJ sets, I distilled what I believe captures the essence I want to share with the audience. Furthermore, I'm thrilled to have SHDW & Obscure Shape on board for a formidable remix. Their work carries echoes of the raw and forceful sonic textures from earlier times, which I hold in high regard. I'm genuinely delighted with how everything has come together, and I hope you enjoy it!" - Marcel Fengler
Order IMF012 now

Der finnische Jazztrompeter Verneri Pohjola bereitet sich darauf vor, im November 2023
sein mit Spannung erwartetes Album "Monkey Mind" zu veröffentlichen. Für dieses Projekt
hat er mit den renommierten Musikern Jasper Hoiby, Kit Downes und Olavi Louhivuori
zusammengearbeitet. Pohjola ist bekannt für seinen innovativen Stil und sein
dynamisches Spiel, bei dem er mühelos traditionelle und moderne Elemente zu einem
fesselnden und einzigartigen Sound verschmilzt.
Es wird erwartet, dass das kommende Album Verneri Pohjolas Position als führender
Künstler in der europäischen Jazzszene weiter festigen wird. Seine früheren Alben und
seine elektrisierenden Live-Auftritte haben breite Anerkennung gefunden und ihn als einen
der talentiertesten Jazzmusiker seiner Generation etabliert. Monkey Mind" wird mit
Spannung erwartet und verspricht eine wichtige Ergänzung des Katalogs dieses
europäischen Jazzvirtuosen zu werden.

“I’m still learning how to experience joy, how to be free, how to be comfortable in my own
skin,” says Jaime Wyatt. “A lot of us grow up feeling like we have to hide who we are just
to be accepted, but that comes from a place of fear and judgment. I wrote these songs as
a way of letting go of all that, as permission to feel good.” Feel Good, Wyatt’s extraordinary
new album, is more than just a permission slip, though: it’s an invitation. Recorded with
Black Pumas’ Adrian Quesada, the record is bold and ecstatic, built on tight, intoxicating
grooves that belie the songs’ substantial emotional stakes. Wyatt’s writing is raw and
intuitive here, tapping into the deep recesses of her subconscious as she reckons with
grief and growth, and her delivery is visceral to match, cutting straight to the bone with
equal parts sensitivity and swagger. Taken as a whole, the collection stands as a radical
act of creative liberation from an artist already known for pushing limits, a genre-defying
work of healing and self-love that tips its cap to everything from Al Green and Otis
Redding to Waylon Jennings and Bobbie Gentry in its relentless pursuit of peace and
pleasure.

The evolution of Swampmeat Family Band continues apace. When the Birmingham outfit released
their incendiary third album, Muck, three years ago, it marked the culmination of the kind of vision that
frontman Dan Finnemore had always had for them; having returned from the U.S. after a spell as a key
member of Philadelphia rockers Low Cut Connie, he was burning with ideas and inspiration,
channeling a renewed creative energy into a new-look version of the garage band he’d formed, as
simply Swampmeat, with drummer T-Bird Jones in 2006. Muck certainly felt like a family affair, one
that saw the group expand to a five-piece and broaden their musical palette, boldening their bolshier
side with brass, lending their forays into country some authenticity with the addition of pedal steel and,
by welcoming vocalist Joni Coyne into the fold, providing Finnemore with a new foil. The new
accoutrements came together to form the basis of Swampmeat 2.0, a slicker, sharper band anchored
by Finnemore’s handsome arrangements and melodic sensibilities. Polish Your Old Halo continues
Finnemore’s hot vein of songwriting form with Muck and capitalises upon that album’s creative
momentum, without being afraid to try new things and remove old ones; the brass and strings that
made it on to Muck have been left to one side, propelling Finnemore’s writing to the fore. The
freewheeling blues rock that came to define their last album is still alive and well. But there’s also
progression, something particularly evident in the album’s bookends; ‘Do It All’ brings the curtain up
with juddering, synth-led punk energy, while closer ‘Plant Your Feet Correctly’ is a swooning acoustic
cut, initially envisioned as having a string section but now presented in vulnerable, bare-bones fashion.

In a harmonious tale titled "The Dancer And The Bear," Joe McLeod bares his soul, embracing vulnerability and unearthing a profound honesty within himself. This, his second full-length album, unfolds like a duet of emotions, its first half dancing to upbeat pop rhythms while the latter sways to the introspective melodies of folk. Divided into two halves, The Dancer and The Bear embarks on a heartfelt journey, where Joe's breakup with a long-term partner ignites introspection on life's pursuits and the smallest details that weave the tapestry of happiness. Through melodies and lyrics, Joe paints
a canvas of raw emotions, inviting listeners to join him in a cathartic dance with the bear of truth.

Collignon is a three-piece band with Yves Lennertz on guitar (and bass), Gino Bombrini on drums (and percussion) and Jori Collignon on the keyboards (and taking care of the production). The three friends have been making music together for some time, collaborating in different groups and settings, Jori and Gino as part of the band SKIP&DIE, Gino as a producer for Yves’ former group, YĪN YĪN.

After a decade of touring the world, Jori settled in the quiet and dusty village of Lagoinha, Portugal, where he built a studio complete with a guesthouse, a small piece of land, and a few chickens. From here, Jori worked with a global range of artists from La Reunion, Colombia, Argentina, Mozambique, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guiné-Bissau, and beyond. All these experiences led to the creation of his first album, suitably named ‘Lagoinha’.

Shortly after its release, Gino and Jori jumped on the tourbus again, and later, Yves joined them to complete the band. They initially started developing new material live on stage, allowing for improvisation and exploration. After finalizing these new songs in the studio, the result is an explosive and high-energy mix of sounds that has surprised audiences all over Europe during the past summer.

Repress of the sold out Record Store Day release, this time on a different colour. Black Spiders – Those trusted and true sons of the north are back. “We knew the new album had to be special. We’ve been away for a while. The first album was a straight shot, the second on the rocks, with this new one we had to kick down the brewery doors!” Pete Spiby. Back in June of 2017, Sheffield rock beasts Black Spiders waved goodbye to an army of loyal fans with some sonically charged shows before retreating into the shadows. And then, in November of last year, with the world in the grips of the Coronavirus pandemic and after a long year of very little fun from out of the silhouettes they returned with ‘Fly In The Soup’, the first new Black Spiders music in 6 years. Exactly the feel-good shot in the arm the world needed, while we await that other vaccine. The seeds of the Black Spider return were actually planted last summer, when singer and guitarist Pete Spiby began taking to guitarist Ozzy Lister to start writing new material and before they knew it, they had amassed the best part of 40 songs in a very short period of time which they whittled down. And then the pandemic hit. “It’s certainly been a strange process, in unfamiliar territory,” explains Pete. “We started to look at how we could do it given the restrictions and not only that, but we had to replace our original drummer too. For us and probably most other bands, we would usually take a riff or song idea to a rehearsal and thrash it out ‘till we either had something or it ended up in the song graveyard! This time around we couldn’t do that, so myself, Ozzy and on occasion Adam Irwin (bass player) started to send ideas back and forth until we had something to work with in GarageBand. We got to a point where we had enough song ideas with basic structure to go into a studio. It was at this point when we had to look for a new drummer.” With former drummer ‘Tiger’ Si Atkinson unavailable to play, with a week or two of grooming, the band took a chance on Planet Rock DJ Wyatt Wendel to occupy the drum stool. “I've never joined or worked with a band in this way EVER,” laughs Wyatt. “2020 certainly made it surreal. “A Pete/Ozzy writing session at the beginning of the year had produced some promising results, but it felt like barriers were popping up everywhere,” explains bassist Adam Irwin. “We started talking about how we could use technology such as GarageBand to help, and slowly but surely the song writing gathered pace. It was time to hook up with our old producer Matt Elliss and try these new songs out in the studio. “Heading into the studio to record songs we’d written but never played together, with a drummer that we’d never met, is one of the stranger experiences I’ve had while being in a band. Thankfully, Wyatt has turned out to be an excellent addition, who despite his faults (loud, southern) has fit right into the band dynamic. Covid has made life really tough for so many of us in our industry. And yet, this new way of song writing has been liberating, this is the most consistent and prolific we’ve ever been, and I am immensely proud of this album.” Against all of the odds, Black Spiders have crafted an album that features 13 tracks of high-energy, feel-good rock n’roll contrasted by demonic doom that despite the disjointed, isolated way it was recorded. It sounds like a band, firing on all cylinders. “We had to dig down deep to pull out some gems and what would we want from Black Spiders,” questions Pete. War, vengeance, mental health, death, conservation & climate change, where are we from? Relationships, friendships, our flaws. Where are we going? Alien life and Mother Earth - some of which made the record.” Kicking off with the aforementioned ‘Fly In The Soup’ single, this 3rd ST long-player wastes no time in grabbing you by the scruff of the neck and dragging you through an album where good times, hooks and riffs are not in short supply, but the doom-drenched likes of ‘Wizard Shall Not Kill Wizard’ and the psychedelic groove of album closer ‘Crooked Black Wings’ give us an album of many moods and dynamics and a reason to be cheerful in 2021. And why does the album have no title? “It wasn’t hard picking a title for the album, as we decided that the focus should be on the band, not the album title, so we decided not to have one. Let the music do the talking....

Action Pact were a punk rock band from Stanwell, an isolated village right under the flight-path of London Heathrow Airport, inspiring this album title-song.àFormed in 1981 by guitarist Wild Planet, bassist & lyricist Dr. Phibes, and the then 15-year-olds drummer Joe Fungus and singer George Cheex, still school-kids when their Heathrow Touchdown EP was released in October 1981. BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel played the single many times and booked them for their first session, recorded February 1982.àSigned to Jungle's Fall Out Records imprint, Action Pact"s label debut Suicide Bag EP went to the top of the British punk chart in July 1982.àFive more singles entered the indie charts including Yet Another Dole Queue Song, and a reworked London Bouncers, along with two albums, 'Mercury Theatre - On The Air' and 'Survival of the Fattest'.àA second John Peel session in '82 and a David Jensen BBC session in '83 were also recorded and broadcast - all collected together here for the first time.

Cold War Kids have announced their 10th studio album, Cold War Kids, that will arrive on November 3 via AWAL. The band’s singer and songwriter Nathan Willett describes: " This is our self titled record . Everybody gets one . This felt like the right time because the sound of this record is the sound that makes Cold War kids unlike any other . I’m so proud of these songs. They took a long time to come together . The longing and struggle and joy I wanted to express are personal to me and i am so excited to share it with our fans who have come with us on the journey.”
The epic tale of Cold War Kids has long been informed by deeply personal songcraft, enthusiastic experimentation, and an avowed commitment towards forward motion. The band continues their ascent, becoming one of the biggest rock bands of their generation amassing more than half a billion streams, consistently churning out alternative radio hits, selling out tours and headlining festivals worldwide.
Over the course of nine studio albums and numerous EPs, Cold War Kids have become a major part of the modern musical landscape, with “First,” their Platinum-scanned 2015 single, named as the Most Played track at Alternative radio outlets nationwide over the last decade. As well as 600+ million career streams, 2.2 million singles sold, and over 600,000 albums sold. The band’s current lineup – Nathan Willett (vocals, piano, guitar), Matt Maust (bass guitar), David Quon (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Schwartz (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar, percussion), and Joe Plummer (drums, percussion) – coalesced in 2016 and have since maintained a dynamic presence in both the studio and on stages around the world.

Citing sources from early Dub influenced Clash, Blitz and The Modern Lovers - Spiritual Cramp exist in a strange vacuum somewhere between David Byrne's oversized suit and a bar fight between a bunch of drunk goons on Polk Street in SF. Hate for the police, the government and the status quo are reoccurring themes in Bingham's lyrics. The sounds borrow from the past, echoes of late 70's / early 80's working class rock and punk, which function on the upbeat, showcasing very bright guitars yet generating darker vocal rhythms and darker patterning.

If there’s anything that defines SUDS, it’s friendship. Meeting through their love of the DIY scene currently emerging in Norwich, the band quickly found themselves gravitating towards writing songs together, and by Autumn 2021, Jack Ames (drums/vocals) joined Maisie Cater (vocals/guitar) and Dan Godfrey (guitar/vocals) to form a line-up that felt inherently natural. Stepping in on bass duties came Harry Mitchell, and things seemed to click instantaneously. Driven to keep the spark going they all upped sticks from their far flung edges of the county, pooled together to get a touring van and set to work. Just like their 2022 debut EP, In The Undergrowth, SUDS ventured down to Kent to record with producer Ian Sadler (Roam, Anavae), ready to explore the next chapter of their story. Step forth debut album The Great Overgrowth, a record brimming with addictive melodies and gorgeous moments of optimism. Their evocative and sometimes literary approach to lyrics takes inspiration from midwest emo and the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene - Cater and Ames would regularly distract themselves while writing, gazing between the pages of books by Woody Guthrie, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan and Brontez Purnell - which appears across their songwriting and would quickly become the foundation for their sound. Finding a delicate balance of sensitive lyricism dripping in warmth and killer guitar hooks, The Great Overgrowth follows on from the EP, telling the next part of the tale, as a tight knit group of twenty-something year old friends struggling and floating through life, to becoming more confident in their everyday lives and friendships while embracing change. The band are already off to a flying start, conquering sets at 2000 Trees Festival, The Great Escape and Truck Festival, as well as sold out shows with Spanish Love Songs, Pool Kids and Martha. Their talent for achingly intelligent, relatable lyricism and a heft for devil-may-care creative output already puts them heads above the rest. SUDS might be fresh faced but have the maturity and drive to become one of the most exciting emerging artists of 2023.

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).

»What is Dance?« contains two pieces originally conceived in 2017 for a performance/sound installation of the same name at Meinblau Projektraum (Berlin), as part of the series singuhr_projekte. Drawing inspiration from the works of American sound artist Joe Jones and his »Music Machines«, Robert Lippok (Ornament und Verbrechen, To Rococo Rot) arranged various sound objects (pieces of wood, cymbals, rotating plastic film), that were played mechanically. The sound piece—designed for a 4-channel system and condensed into a loop, that clocked in at around 20 minute—is his interpretation of three dances from the opera »The Fairy Queen« by Baroque composer Henry Purcell.

From this source material, Robert Lippok has now extracted and rearranged two pieces for »What is Dance?.« The result is music of its own right: Dense, but permeable drones are central, but complemented by harmoniously matching and gently pulsating sounds.

With a familiar 1, 2, 3…Elliott BROOD count in a new album cycle, Town & Country, that explores the people and places that shape our lives, wherever we call home. On part one, Town, Elliott BROOD rumble and rock over a map of the towns and cities that populate their experiences and imaginations. With their brand of nitty gritty city folk mixed with retro nods, be it classic country or 60s surf, Elliott BROOD take us on a highly entertaining trip. Who better to write an ode to Windsor, ON (“Rose City”) than the band that has become the city’s unofficial ambassadors. Over bridges and into barrooms, lose your way to find yourself in Elliott BROOD’s "Town".

First release via Agricultural Audio, label of acclaimed producer Ben Hillier. Agricultural Audio is the name of the South Downs studio, and now also a record label, of the producer Ben Hillier (Blur, Elbow, Depeche Mode, Nadine Shah). The debut release from Hillier’s new label, launched this month in partnership with The Orchard, will, fittingly, be a project of Hillier’s own. The first time he has stepped out from behind the producer’s desk for an artist project in his own right, Storm Franklin sees Hillier join up with the Howling Bells front woman and solo artist, Juanita Stein. Hush Now is a tantalising introduction to Hillier and Stein’s work together, the first single from a Storm Franklin album that will be released later this year.

Swiss vocal acrobat Andreas Schaerer and Finnish
guitarist Kalle Kalima have some things in common. As
artists, each is essentially in a category completely of his
own. Both are musicians who can always conjure
something special from their chosen instruments. Both are
known on the international jazz scene for the completely
distinctive and original ways their music constantly crosses
genres.
 Both have played together for several years in the quartet,
A Novel Of Anomaly. And now they have recorded a first
album together in which the focus is on the two of them.
However, for this ‘evolution’ (as the album title has it), they
have also involved - and drawn inspiration from - a
musician whom they both admire, Tim Lefebvre. The
American bassist has worked with many pop and jazz
stars, notably Sting, Elvis Costello, David Bowie, Mark
Guiliana, Wayne Krantz... Lefebvre’s involvement in the
Michael Wollny Trio’s breakthrough was, incidentally,
anything but tangential. In other words, his playing is at
home in practically every context.
 Listeners familiar with Schaerer’s and Kalima’s previous
work may find ‘Evolution’ somewhat surprising. “An album
is such a different platform from playing live on stage,”
explains Schaerer. “Over the course of our many
recordings, we have become increasingly aware quite how
differently one has to play.” That awareness has also
resulted in a particularly careful focus on the postproduction phase of ‘Evolution’.
 With ‘Evolution’, Schaerer, Kalima and Lefebvre have redrawn the roadmap for the production of a jazz album.
New avenues are constantly opening up in these complex
but also catchy songs which are just made for repeated
listening... and, of course, listening to the album is also a
reminder that it will all sound completely different again
when heard live.

180gram vinyl album in cork covered deluxe box with hand-signed art print by Manfred Bockelmann, LP size booklet and digital download code. The album ‘Duo’ by Joachim Kühn and Michael Wollny marks the start of a collaboration between two extraordinary partners: the label ACT and Château Palmer, one of the most important Grand Cru wineries in Bordeaux. And it unites the worlds of music, wine and modern art in a unique way.  This first, exclusive release brings together two icons of European jazz piano who are also close friends and mutual sources of inspiration. Two ever-alert and enormously creative minds, which possess the virtue of being able to listen, and also the confidence to do the right thing at the right moment. A magical encounter of two jazz piano greats

"Rural" is the first long-play work of Carlos Asimbaya aka Kaifo, which sees a fully matured vision of Ecuadorian keyboard tradition catapulted into the future and rhythmically sustained by the "bomba" percussion; an Afroandean element that bears witness to the unique history of this country.

Trained in classical music composition and inspired by jazz, Kaifo's repertoire features haunting, extensive melodies and scales that inform listeners on the landscapes of Andean styles while delivering a postmodern dancefloor experience. " Carlos Asimbaya is a keyboardist, composer and producer hailing from the small town of Machachi, Cantón Mejía, Province of Pichincha Ecuador. In 2016 he began a process of personal research and exploration of various musical expressions of traditional music, collecting sonic resources from remote localities such as Aloag, Machachi, Chalguayacu, Cotacachi, Alausi, Borbon, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas and more - customs that identify the history of Ecuador.

In June 2019, he finally published his first single "Desvío" - a warm fusion of bomba, albazo, dembow, global bass, etc. followed by other digital releases culminating in the EP "Curtido" as part of the 'Kipus' series of Eck Echo Records. With "Rural" Kaifo uplifts the Ecuadorian organ tradition inaugurated in the mid-1960s by the likes of Polibio Mayorga into futuristic clubbing arenas. "Tres Caminos" is a magnificent opener where psychedelia meets the soft snare elegance of the "albazo", the indigenous genre that defines the soul of this country. "Monte Espeso" introduces clubbers worldwide to the contagious grooves of "bomba", the trademark rhythm of Afroecuadorian communities. The raw keyboard melody strikes fast like a proverbial lightning. "Hecho Leña" sounds like the one-man orchestra that is Kaifo. Relentless timbales fills and an alcohol-fueled family vibe characterize this unique "chicha" track.

Roe Kapara"s debut vinyl release on Epitaph Record brings the songs from his wildly successful 2023 digital release, i hope hell isn"t real ep, together with his catalog of singles from 2021- 2022. "Nobody was born cool" proclaims . "Where"s the fun in that?" After relocating from Nashville to Los Angeles just before the pandemic, the St. Louis-born singer/songwriter did what any reasonable 20-something would: find solace online and build a community. Soon, his burgeoning digital fanbase hit six digits, enthralled by his endearingly unpretentious personality but also by his irresistible music, a modern swirl of indie, psych, dream pop, and alternative. Dwelling on the death of his own past is a common theme through "s music, throughout a catalog of DIY singles like "Everyone"s Dying" and "Past Grow" that helped boost his streaming listeners into the 2 Millions and TikTok audience over 350,000 (with 5.8 Million likes.) But just as he"s willing to expose vulnerable parts of himself in his songs, he"s quick to shine the mirror outward to address the creeping dread of modern life: consumerism, corporate greed, climate change, the general feelings of the younger generation in 21st-century America. Combining these two sides of his musical personality - deeply relatable yet unafraid to stand up and ask life"s big questions - into pop songs makes for a musical journey that"s a little off-kilter, sure, but all the better and more interesting in the end.