the debut release of italian producer now berlin based luca trentini aka trent.
he is a resident dj of cocktail d’amore and have released some unique records from sound metaphors label “bless you”, cocktail d’amore.
on a side,”on fire” is just fire! it’s a mad dark disco house bunger.
on b side,
”drums charmer” is dark,psychedelic slow mo house. if you like slow stuff of andrew weatherall,you will love it.
“edenico blues” is a modern interpretation of afro cosmic sound. it’s for the fan of beppe lota or daniele baldelli.
Cerca:dani g
Nach der limitierten 10" EP von 2013, die dicht gefolgt von einer mindestens genauso zauberhaften 7" ("Traumhaft") erschien, enthüllt das Schweizer Duo KLAUS JOHANN GROBE endlich das komplette Album "Im Sinne der Zeit". In der kurzen Zeit ihrer Existenz haben die beiden Mitglieder Sevi Landolt (Orgel, Synthies, Gesang) und Daniel Bachmann (Schlagzeug, Gesang) einen einzigartigen Sound gebraut, der sich zu gleichen Teilen auf Krautrock, Post-Punk, brasilianische Grooves und einem Dancefloor-Selbstbewusstsein stützt, dass den Hörer quasi anfleht, sich zu bewegen. Die beiden haben das fast schon unheimliche Talent, in ein und dem gleichen Songs die Geister von NEU!, BOB JAMES, MARCOS VALLE, SHUGGIE OTIS und STEREOLAB heraufzubeschwören. Es ist ein Album, das danach verlangt, immer und immer wieder umgedreht und gespielt zu werden. "Im Sinne der Zeit" ist ein herrliches Werk, die Art von Album, die so klingt und sich so anfühlt, als würde es auf den Grooves schweben und dabei zwischen jazzigen, funkigen Rhythmen und absichtlich mechanischen Grooves pendeln, die mit dem Puls eines elektronischen Herzens zucken. Besonders seltsam ist es, dass die Melodien niemals anders als warm und umarmend klingen, obwohl das Duo nur auf Deutsch singt. Die Tanzfläche ruft! Vom pulsierenden Opener "Between The Buttons" bis zum roboterartigen Two Step von "Koffer" nimmt das Duo niemals den Fuß vom Gas. Während sich das Ganze ein wenig abkühlt, fühlen sich die Grooves noch warm an und finden ihren Höhepunkt in den beiden letzten Tracks des Albums: dem ungeheuerlich eingängigen Rausschmeißer "Regen raus" und dem allerletzten Track "Vergangenes", der den Hörer an der Hand ins Taxi nach Hause führt.
Produced by Henry Jenkins (Surprised Chef), cinematic funk combo The Diasonics are back with a limited edition 45 feat. an explosive version of soul stormer "Beggin'. Limited to 500 copies worldwide.
Produced and mixed by Henry Jenkins (Surprised Chef), Russian cinematic funk combo The Diasonics unleash a limited edition 45 featuring an explosive version of soul classic "Beggin'. Composed by Bob Gaudio and Peggy Farina and initially brought to success by the Four Seasons of Frankie Valli in 1967, "Beggin" became a classic of the Northern soul scene in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. With a tight rhythm section, a super funky bassline and heavy wah-wah guitars The Diasonics version is an instant floorfiller. On the flip side the brand new track "Take One", an irresistible hammond-funk mover, full of heavy breaks and eastern spices.
Active since 2019 The Diasonics are five young and seriously talented Muscovite musicians: Anton Moskvin (drums), Maxim Brusov (bass guitar), Anton Katyrin (percussions), Daniil Lutsenko (electric guitar) and Kamil Gzizov (keyboards). In just a few years the band has amassed a cult following, releasing collectable and in-demand 45s on labels such as Funk Night Records and Mocambo Records. In 2021 they released their debut album "Origin of Forms" on Record Kicks produced by Henry Jenkins, producer amongst the others of the Australian cult instrumental band Surprise Chef. Thanks to the Diasonics's unique style that blends infectious Funk Instrumentals, East European flavours, abstract hip-hop and psychedelia, the album rapidly went sold out on vinyl and it's heavily praised on the international cinematic-funk scene.
- 1: Big Hitters Feat: Armand Schaubroeck (Rock Version)
- 2: Roma
- 3: Everybody's Ill (At The Moment) Part 1
- 4: Everybody's Ill (At The Moment) Part 2
- 5: Moving On
- 6: Nobody Likes Me Feat: Jessica Winter
- 7: Make Luv (I Like To Party)
- 8: Alpha Business
- 9: These Hands Aka Danny Knife Feat: Peter Doherty
- 10: Sort It Out Down There
- 11: Wimpy (Album Version)
- 12: Two Kinds Of Music
- 13: Big Hitters (Reprise)
Arctic Moss Vinyl[25,17 €]
PREGOBLIN II is a strange name for a debut album. For the artist who created it, Alex Sebley aka PREGOBLIN, its astonishingly heartfelt and brilliantly catchy assemblage of songs is the culmination of a tortuous genesis period. Its release finally, he hopes, will usher in a fresh, more positive chapter for him, a sequel to all the misery and bullshit up to this point – hence the title. The creative journey to this point has been labyrinthine and frequently painful. As far back as the early ’10s, Sebley was registering his embryonic talent alongside Lias and Nathan Saoudi in The Saudis, the chaotic pre-Fat White Family ensemble where he played guitar and co-authored raw, post-punk material including FWF’s breakthrough tune ‘Touch The Leather’. PREGOBLIN receive a healthy 50,000 plays a month on Spotify. Previous singles include: Combustion which to date has amassed 2.2M streams and was dubbed ‘Single of the year’ last year in The Quietus. Other PREGOBLIN songs include Anna (flowers Won’t Grow), Love Letters, Snakes & Oranges and Wimpy & Wimpy Love with the Pop Group. “PREGOBLIN II’s genre-straddling dexterity and melodic riches mark it out as a loser classic fit to rank alongside Beck and Daniel Johnston. The tunes are memorable and the execution’s forward-facing and inspired” ★★★★ MOJO MAGAZINE // Live Shows February: 2nd Friday London - Amp Studios (with Harry Merry) 17th Saturday Leicester - Academy 2 (with Pip Blom) 19th Monday Cambridge - Junction 2 (with Pip Blom) 20th Tuesday Brighton - Chalk (with Pip Blom) 21st Wednesday London - Heaven (with Pip Blom) 24th Saturday Bristol - Simple Things Festival 25th Sunday Milton Keynes - MK11 (with the Libertines)
- 1: Big Hitters Feat: Armand Schaubroeck (Rock Version)
- 2: Roma
- 3: Everybody's Ill (At The Moment) Part 1
- 4: Everybody's Ill (At The Moment) Part 2
- 5: Moving On
- 6: Nobody Likes Me Feat: Jessica Winter
- 7: Make Luv (I Like To Party)
- 8: Alpha Business
- 9: These Hands Aka Danny Knife Feat: Peter Doherty
- 10: Sort It Out Down There
- 11: Wimpy (Album Version)
- 12: Two Kinds Of Music
- 13: Big Hitters (Reprise)
Linen White Vinyl[25,17 €]
PREGOBLIN II is a strange name for a debut album. For the artist who created it, Alex Sebley aka PREGOBLIN, its astonishingly heartfelt and brilliantly catchy assemblage of songs is the culmination of a tortuous genesis period. Its release finally, he hopes, will usher in a fresh, more positive chapter for him, a sequel to all the misery and bullshit up to this point – hence the title. The creative journey to this point has been labyrinthine and frequently painful. As far back as the early ’10s, Sebley was registering his embryonic talent alongside Lias and Nathan Saoudi in The Saudis, the chaotic pre-Fat White Family ensemble where he played guitar and co-authored raw, post-punk material including FWF’s breakthrough tune ‘Touch The Leather’. PREGOBLIN receive a healthy 50,000 plays a month on Spotify. Previous singles include: Combustion which to date has amassed 2.2M streams and was dubbed ‘Single of the year’ last year in The Quietus. Other PREGOBLIN songs include Anna (flowers Won’t Grow), Love Letters, Snakes & Oranges and Wimpy & Wimpy Love with the Pop Group. “PREGOBLIN II’s genre-straddling dexterity and melodic riches mark it out as a loser classic fit to rank alongside Beck and Daniel Johnston. The tunes are memorable and the execution’s forward-facing and inspired” ★★★★ MOJO MAGAZINE // Live Shows February: 2nd Friday London - Amp Studios (with Harry Merry) 17th Saturday Leicester - Academy 2 (with Pip Blom) 19th Monday Cambridge - Junction 2 (with Pip Blom) 20th Tuesday Brighton - Chalk (with Pip Blom) 21st Wednesday London - Heaven (with Pip Blom) 24th Saturday Bristol - Simple Things Festival 25th Sunday Milton Keynes - MK11 (with the Libertines)
- A1: Soul Force With Susan Tedeschi
- A2: I Aim To Please With Danielle Nicole
- A3: Stop Drop And Roll With Valerie Tyson
- B1: Do Ladies Get The Blues With Christine Ohlman & Debbie Davies
- B2: An American Hero With Carlene Carter
- B3: Don't You Want A Man Like Me With Rory Block
- C1: Sugar Daddy With Christine Ohlman
- C2: Endless Highway With Randi Fishenfeld
- C3: I Got Wise With Maggie Rose
- D1: Hey Suzy With Sue Foley
- D2: Mama Said With Shemekia Copeland
- D3: Just Like That With Joanne Shaw Taylor
Der legendäre Rock & Roll-Hall-of-Famer Dion liefert ein neues Album ab, das Generationen überschreitet: Girl Friends. Auf seinem neuesten KTBA Records-Release arbeitet er mit einer herausragenden Besetzung weiblicher Künstlerinnen zusammen, darunter die Soul-Lady Susan Tedeschi, Kraftpaket Shemekia Copeland, Ikone Carlene Carter, Virtuosin Joanne Shaw Taylor und die vielseitige Maggie Rose. Dions zeitlose Stimme und die unterschiedlichen Stile dieser gefeierten Künstlerinnen bilden eine Fusion, die das reiche Spektrum amerikanischer Musik feiert.
Die in Montréal lebende schwedische Sängerin und Komponistin hat in den letzten 20 Jahren sechzehn unabhängig produzierte Alben vorzuweisen und ist zahllose Kollaborationen eingegangen. Sie ist eine poetische und kühne Kraft in der Musik, die sich dem Genre entzieht. Ihre Stimme wurde als "eine führende Präsenz" (Exclaim) beschrieben, die "den Unterschied zwischen dem Göttlichen und dem Dämonischen aufspaltet, gekonnt aus den Angeln hebt" (Under The Radar) und "neben den größten Indie-Künstlerinnen steht, die vor nichts Angst haben" (Le Devoir). Aufgewachsen auf einer Insel an der schwedischen Westküste, begann ihre musikalische Laufbahn, als sie 2004 nach Stockholm zog und Mitglied des renommierten Kollektiv-Labels und Veranstaltungsortes Fylkingen wurde (die älteste Organisation in Europa für experimentelle Musik und Kunst, gegründet 1933). Seit ihrem Umzug nach Montréal im Jahr 2012 erstreckt sich ihre Karriere über zwei Jahrzehnte und ist geprägt von einem unerschrockenen Streben nach Originalität, einem unerschöpflichen Wunsch, Genres zu überschreiten, und einem Engagement für künstlerische Zusammenarbeit. Angell verschmilzt musikalische Bereiche von Klassik, Folk, Rock und Pop bis hin zu Jazz, Elektronik, freier Improvisation und Avantgarde. Bekannt ist sie vor allem für ihr unkonventionelles künstlerisches Schaffen mit der gefeierten und für den Polaris nominierten Avant-Rock-Band Thus Owls, die sie seit 2007 gemeinsam mit ihrem Mann Simon Angell leitet. Zu ihren früheren Ensembles gehören das schwedische Vokal-Bass-Duo Josef & Erika und die elektronische Noise-Gruppe The Moth. Zur Unterstützung dieser und anderer Projekte unternahm sie ausgedehnte Welttourneen, bei denen Daníel Bjarnason (Ben Frost, Sigur Rós), Liam O'Neill (SUUNS), Karl Lemieux (Godspeed You! Black Emperor), Lisen Rylander Löve (Midaircondo) und Anders Jormin (ECM) zu ihren zahlreichen Partnern zählten. Ihre unverwechselbare und virtuose Stimme hat Aufnahmen und Live-Auftritte mit einem breiten Spektrum von Künstlern geziert, darunter Loney Dear, Patrick Watson, Leonard Cohen, Kim Myhr, Arve Henriksen, Land Of Kush, Wildbirds and Peacedrums, La Force und The Besnard Lakes, um nur einige zu nennen. Kürzlich gründete Angell zusammen mit Róisín Adams und Peggy Lee das Neue-Musik-Trio Beatings Are In The Body und vollendete ein Solo-Debütalbum mit uneingeschränkter stimmlicher Erkundung und expressionistischen avant-elektronischen Kompositionen, das Anfang 2024 auf Constellation erscheinen soll.
On “The Adventures of Jefferson Keyes” , Cool Million member Frank Ryle goes solo, delivering a sumptuous debut album chock full of slick, Disco and Boogie influenced Soul and Jazz-Funk. He’s drawn on his bulging contacts book, roping in singers and musicians from Germany, Denmark, the UK and U.S.A. These include Soul man Kenny Thomas, Danish singer Gregers (who guests on the impeccable boogie jam “Busy Dreamin”) and Incognito member Sulene Fleming, whose confident vocals seemingly soar over the rich, organic Disco-Funk grooves of one of many album highlights “Lift Your Head Up” . These headline contributions are backed up by sensational playing and deft production of the one and only Boogie-Funk mastermind Rob Hardt, making “The Adventures of Jefferson Keyes” a revivalist Disco-Boogie treat.
Tauchen Sie ein in eine harmonische Mischung aus rauen Emotionen und musikalischer Brillanz. 'The Color Purple (Music From and Inspired By)' verspricht ein Hörerlebnis, das zutiefst nostalgisch und erfrischend neu zugleich ist. So trumpft das Album mit einem Ensemble auf, das seinesgleichen sucht - der für den Golden Globe nominierten Fantasia mit ihren gefühlvollen Melodien, Taraji B. Henson mit ihrer emotionalen Tiefe, Colman Domingo mit seiner fesselnden Energie, der für den Golden Globe nominierten Danielle Brooks mit ihrer kraftvollen Resonanz, H.E.R. mit ihrer zeitgenössischen Kunst und Hallie Bailey mit ihrem strahlenden Gesang. Und Musik von den Grammy-prämierten Songwritern des Musicals - Brenda Russell, Allee Willis und Stephen Bray. Doch hört die Magie nicht bei den zeitlosen Klassikern auf. Tauchen Sie noch tiefer ein und lassen Sie sich verzaubern von einem neuen Kapitel und neuer Musik von Alicia Keys, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Keyshia Cole, Coco Jones, Jorja Smith, Celeste, Mary Mary und October London sowie einer atemberaubenden Kollaboration von Usher & H.E.R. Von Liebe und Schmerz bis hin zu Widerstandskraft und Erlösung - diese Songs fangen die Essenz von 'The Color Purple' ein und ebnen gleichzeitig den Weg für eine neue musikalische Ära. Und für diejenigen, die einen modernen Twist suchen, gibt es Remixe von Missy Elliot featuring Megan Thee Stallion und Timbaland featuring Black Thought. So schlägt 'The Color Purple' auch eine Brücke zwischen Generationen von Musikliebhabern.
Noch vor Klez.e und And The Golden Choir gab es bereits Delbo mit Tobias Siebert. Das dritte Album aus dem Jahr 2006 des damaligen Trios jetzt wieder erhältlich. Havarien sind Unfälle mit großen Folgeschäden. Bei Delbo davon betroffen: das Leben, die Liebe, das Finden der eigenen Identität. Mit dem dritten Album hat das Trio neue Wege gefunden, um dem Daseinsschmerz zu begegnen. Jetzt gibt es kein Verstecken mehr hinter Lärm und Wut, "Havarien" destilliert, was vom Noiserock bleibt, wenn dem Zusammenspiel von Gitarre-Bass-Schlagzeug der Krach genommen wird. Unglaublich, wieviel Schönheit sie freiräumen, ohne die Strukturen zu verändern. Deutscher Gitarrenpop funktioniert also auch ohne große Gesten und egomane Nabelschau. Ihre poetisch-abstrakten Texte haben Delbo dabei aus der Vergangenheit herübergerettet. Wann immer Bassist Daniel Spindler mit Sprechgesang seine Alltagsdämonen bannt, betreibt er auch bei uns Schadensbegrenzung.
The newly reborn Danish label, tech-nology, is reintroducing itsfirst two releases.
Tech-nology is thrilled to reintroduce the world to the groundbreaking debut releases from 2003.
This was the first release on the label bearing the title "RedSector" and catapulted tech-nology into the music scene with adistinctive blend of warm, raw, and captivating machine funk, fusing elements of techno and electroclash. The title track"Valyom" reach third place on Ricardo Villalobos' chart, while"Echo Dreams" became an enduring electro classic.
Hailing from Belgium, Valyom, also known as Filip Vandendriessche, had already left a strong mark on the music landscape under the moniker DJ Valium. He had previously released with the German label International DJ Gigolo Records and emerged as one of the first Belgian artists to contribute tothe Detroit sound with releases on Teknotika Records.
Filip Vandendriessche has been a fixture on record labels and event flyers since the early '90s when, fueled by his passion for dance music, he co-founded the UFO parties in the western provinces of Belgium. These early gatherings laid the foundation for a global journey that took him to some of the most iconic underground parties labels worldwide.
Tech-nology is proud that Valyom was the first artist to be released on the label.
Red is also the colour of love!
The newly reborn Danish label, tech-nology, is reintroducing its first two releases.
The second release on tech-nology back in 2003 by El Far, alsoknown as Bjorn Svin, stands as a true techno masterpiece andis now rereleased as the label has been relaunched in 2023. Bjorn Svin has taken the lead again, contributing a remix that kick-starts the label in 2023 with TN EDITS 02 Lotte kaersa:"Prov og gor li'som jeg" - played by Luca Bacchetti at Burning Man 2023.
Additionally, the track gained attention on the latest Michael Meyer podcast,
But this is all about the beginning of the label and the beginningon the dancefloor Bjorn Svin was one of the first electronic musician in Denmark spearheaded an uprising Scandinavian rave scene, developinga unique, recognizable sound inspired by Detroit techno and British early IDM pioneers: playful and melodic but simultaneously groovy and entrancing.
In 1997, April Records released Bjorn Svin's debut full-lengthalbum Mer Strom; the opening single became an unofficialanthem for the entire generation of Scandinavian ravers.
Tech-nology captured a mature Bjorn Svin in 2003 and releasedwhat is arguably his best techno track ever produced, featured on this EP that highlights his techno skills under the moniker El Far. This authentic techno experience transports you back to theorigins of electronic dance music, going back to the old abandoned warehouses where social and casual dancing defined the essence of the scene.
Yet, the record captures what it is still all about, the love to themusic, the love on the dancefloor, this is him, her and wet area.
Alternative pop duo, YOVA release their brand new album ‘Dreamcatchers’ on 1st March 2024. Featuring nine tracks the album was written over a nine year period stretching from the duo’s inception in 2014 through to 2022. The album was recorded and mixed 2021-23 between home studios in Dorset and London. Discussing the themes behind the record YOVA explain: “The lyrics of the songs delve deeply into our lost and unrealised dreams and ideals, whether from a personal perspective or within a more global context. The tracks relate to how our dreams are caught then nurtured, realised, abandoned or destroyed. This can apply to our personal lives, but it equally informs our helplessness and on-going quest for self-identity at a time of deep geopolitical and ecological uncertainty.” Produced by YOVA in collaboration with Rob Ellis, Alex Thomas and Martin McDougall, the record features the duo’s earlier singles “Dreamcatchers”, “Hurt Like No Hurt” and “Feel Your Fear” alongside six brand-new tracks. YOVA assembled a collective of like-minded musicians to create the sonic tapestry of Dreamcatchers including Terry Edwards (NIck Cave, Gallon Drunk, The Jesus & Mary Chain), James Sedwards (The Thurston Moore Group/ And This Is Not This Heat), Rob Ellis ( PJ Harvey, Marianne Faithfull), Daniel O’Sullivan ( Grumbling Fur, Tim Burgess), and Alex Thomas (John Cale, Anna Calvi). YOVA are Jova Radevska and Mark Vernon. With Vernon a seasoned veteran of the alternative music scene who has managed and recorded with John Cale and co-produced tracks on PJ Harvey’s debut album ‘Dry’, a chance encounter with Macedonian vocalist and songwriter Jova paved the way for their bewitching collaborative project. Their debut album ‘Nine Lives’ was released in late 2021 to praise from the likes of Louder Than War, Electronic Sound and MOJO, with the latter hailing the album as “a beguiling debut from a duo of sonic adventurers” in their four star review
If there ever was a monicker apt for describing an artist’s behavior, that is Ghost Lemurs. Manifesting spottily in compilations and limited edition tapes, then returning to the shadows without much fanfare, the project has indeed demonstrated a ghostly behavior and a nature as puzzling as the animal it takes its name from. Wombs And Alien Spirits represents now their most public outing, one in which the duo of visual artist / producer Kareem Lofty and Daniele Guerrini (better known as Heith and as Haunter’s co-founder) are happy to showcase all the discoveries in a process of musical and spiritual research begun in 2019. Described by the artists themselves as an experiment in mediterranean psi-trance, the album makes use of an incredibly diverse number of traditions, sonic sources and techniques of musical experimentation, keeping its psychedelic intentions central to the whole creative endeavor. Moments of meditative relaxation are brought to unsettling new levels by cavernous basses and spaced out drones, while tight polyrhythms bring beautiful granular melodies to a sidereal ceremonial dance. As beautiful and captivating as it is, Wombs And Alien Spirits remains as chimeric and unrestrained as any previous effort by the two artists. It’s a type of folk music devoid of a specific homeland, but resulting from the authors’ heritages, simultaneously divided and united by the mediterranean sea, injected with all the trajectories of their personal journeys. It ends up sounding profoundly human and uncannily inhuman, tapping into the undiscovered alien element at the beginning of the experience of life. Genre: Electronic / Experimental Listen:
■ "A Ghost Story" ist ein übernatürliches Drama aus dem Jahr 2017, verfasst und inszeniert von David Lowery, mit Casey Affleck und Rooney Mara in den Hauptrollen. Der Film erzählt die Geschichte eines Mannes, der nach seinem Tod zu einem Geist wird und im Haus verweilt, das er einst mit seiner Frau geteilt hat. Der Film erhielt lobende Kritiken und wurde mit mehreren Auszeichnungen geehrt, darunter von der Boston Society of Film Critics, dem Deauville Film Festival, den Houston Film Critics und dem Sitges Film Festival. Die Musik für "A Ghost Story" wurde von Daniel Hart (bekannt für "The Green Knight" und "Pete's Dragon") komponiert, wie bereits bei allen
vorherigen Filmen von Lowery.
Eine Limited Edition von 500 Exemplaren des Soundtracks ist auf Smoke Coloured Vinyl erhältlich und wird mit einem Druckbeileger geliefert.
The Pheromoans are tenants of an unruly domain. Over the last 18 years the group have evolved from garage rock primitivists to auteurs of their own curious sound; a frothy brew of loose electronics, refractory rock and humdrum musing. Their songs are mutable, capricious, unreliable narrations, often withholding as much as they reveal. Russell Walker’s understated vocal has always been the band’s unifying focus, it is wry, unsparing and wilfully honest. Walker’s lyrics are an observational tour de force, sometimes droll, yet often tipping over into unlikely pathos. With previous releases on Upset The Rhythm, Convulsive and Alter, 2024 will witness The Pheromoans return with lucky album number 13, entitled ‘Wyrd Psearch’ (out March 1st on Upset The Rhythm).
‘Wyrd Psearch’ was recorded in Lewes throughout 2023. This was undertaken by founding member James Tranmer, his keen instinct for how the band should sound shaping many of the creative decisions. Joined by new guitarist Henry Holmes, the five piece doubled down on a decidedly breezy, melodic approach. Scott Reeve’s drumming is ever brisk, whilst Daniel Bolger explores AOR peripheries on keyboard and bass. “Wyrd Psearch finds us on relatively zestful form” affirms Walker “whether it be merrily recalling the Jason Williamson / Tim Lovejoy Covid summit, or mentally bathing in the pleasures of lunch hours spent strapped to a listening post in Borders.” With The Pheromoans there is always a familiarity at play, only broken and reassembled, like a bygone sitcom gone rogue in your memory. This contributes to the group’s peculiarly British outsider perspective, one that shouts from the sidelines, but never goes unnoticed.
Subjects covered lyrically on ‘Wyrd Psearch’ include “mid-life crises, male pattern baldness, and thwarted artistic and personal ambitions” according to Walker himself. “Nothing is off limits for scrutiny, even rural arts communities” he concludes. Lead single ‘Downtown’ swings with chiming guitars and finds Walker mid-breakdown trying to persuade a loved one to accompany him into the town centre to collect controlled medication and wind back the clock to happier times. “I want to keep you in cotton wool until pay day” he confides. ‘Cropped to Death’ and ‘Father Austin’ are ruminative and more relaxed in nature, whilst ‘Twibbon Wife’ is a more energetic effort, all jabbed synth chords, circuitous basslines and rampant drum fills. ‘Faith in the Future’ similarly bounds along with reverie.
Walker claims that the album’s title is an expression of his frustration at the ubiquity of people claiming things are eerie or weird / wyrd in the present cultural milieu. The artwork for the record is designed as an actual word search too, a knowing nod to how we all grapple for meaning amongst the absurdity of each day. Leaning into ‘weird’ as a coping mechanism is not on The Pheromoans’ agenda however. This album holds little sway with the supernatural, it’s not enough. The overriding impression given by ‘Wyrd Psearch’ is of a band renewed with ideas. There’s no trouble finding the right words, they’re hitting their mark, keeping up with the commentary. ‘Wyrd Psearch’ is a document of The Pheromoans mastering their unquiet moment.
What the listener might encounter on this album goes all the way down to the sound of a neuron transmitting pain, beatitude or any one of the countless senses and impressions we feel on any one day of life. N E U R O is the debut album by CURA MACHINES, a new project by Daniel Lea whose tracks are at once scientific in their capturing of the morphing of body cells as well as the larger expanses of a poetic filmscape of the contemporary metropolis.
The name CURA MACHINES comes from a sign Lea saw on a trip to Ancona, Italy at an abandoned hospital: Prima E Dopo La Cura (Before and after the cure). The sound in between, of what was lost or found, transmuted in the heavily manipulated and pulsating synthesisers, is the restoration here. With a physically visceral mix by Ben Frost and soaring re-amped bass textures from Yair Elazar Glotman, the album is lush with trans-morphing apeggia that shudder, quack and soar into ashen sparks.
Back in the turn of the 20th century the poet Rilke posited that the suture patterns of fused skull plates could potentially be played by the then-new technology of the gramophone, with each of us having our own personal tonal source code or anthem etched onto our skulls. And with a track like 'Suture' we have such an embodied sound: the close-up exhumation of the neural brain casing, stitched and sewn together in fleeting pulses of whisper and alarm.
The individual is exposed and isolated, but not without the promise of succour.
Or one also has the soundtrack to the loneliness of a morose private eye – a pulp novel set in a future time of neurosis or washed out euphoric beauty. It is here in tracks such as 'Terminal Zone' or 'Inversion Layers', music that is blinking in celluloid frames. The plot could easily be a sci-fi, paranoid tale of brain emulation, transhumanist crimes against humanity itself. After all this is Lea's soundtrack to Los Angeles, the city of angels that has been captured in countless movies: the racing tracking shot of the 2nd Street Tunnel at night, the freeways spreading out in a glorious sprawl of lit up veins and arteries. The last track 'Zosa' marks out the boundary line that delineates between day and night, when the lunar strains wane, the tides subside and the city comes to life.
- A1: Wear Your Love Like Heaven
- A2: Mad John's Escape
- A3: Skip-A-Long Sam
- A4: Sun
- A5: There Was A Time
- B1: Oh Gosh
- B2: Little Boy In Corduroy
- B3: Under The Greenwood Tree" (Words By William Shakespeare, Music By Leitch)
- B4: The Land Of Doesn't Have To Be
- B5: Someone Singing
- C1: The Enchanted Gypsy
- C2: Voyage Into The Golden Screen
- C3: Isle Of Islay
- C4: The Mandolin Man And His Secret
- C5: Lay Of The Last Tinker
- D1: The Tinker And The Crab
- D2: Widow With A Shawl (A Portrait)
- D3: The Lullaby Of Spring
- D4: The Magpie
- D5: Starfish-On-The-Toast
- D6: Epistle To Derrol
Donovan’s Original
A Gift From a Flower to a Garden made for a few firsts: the first double LP of Donovan’s
career, one of the first box sets in pop and, most importantly for Donovan himself; the first
pop album for the children of tomorrow.
He resolved to make A Gift From a Flower to a Garden an album of two halves. The first,
Wear Your Love Like Heaven, was intended for his own generation as they started to think
about the kind of world they wanted to leave behind. The second, For Little Ones, was for
the children they had or would have in the years to come. The result was a kaleidoscopic
folk-jazz suite on the power of love, imbued with all the romance and mystery of an Arthur
Rackham illustration for an ancient English fairy tale. The songs, remarkably adventurous
given Donovan was a globally famous singer at his commercial height, combined the
influences he had amassed so far.
There is something about A Gift From a Flower to a Garden that could never be repeated,
though. It is such an innocent evocation of the childlike imagination, so redolent of its time,
yet set apart from it too. All these years later, the peaceful qualities of this pioneering,
enchanting, deeply unusual album feel more valuable than ever.
The state51 Box Set
With authenticity core to the project, The state51 Conspiracy engaged one of the UK’s
leading experts in box set design, Daniel Mason at Something Else, to painstakingly recreate
the box, records and accompanying ephemera. The first challenge was to find the deep blue
leatherette paper the original box set was covered in; a problem since it was no longer in
production. “I knew people who had stacks of it, gathering dust on top shelves, so I bought it
up wherever I could find it,” says Mason. Then came the reproduction of 12 loose leaf lyric
sheets on fine art watercolour paper, each of them featuring a watermark and a fairytale-like
illustration by Donovan’s artist friends Sheena McCall and Mick Taylor. Where, though, to
find the same paper stock? “I found out that it was made at a paper mill in North Wales
called Abbey Mills. Unfortunately the mill dissolved in the early 70s and very little of the
paper remained. However enough paper remained to allow us to produce the numbered
certificate also signed by Donovan that sits within the box.”
Then to the iconic cover image. Donovan and Jimi Hendrix’s personal photographer Karl
Ferris, used infra-red film to achieve the psychedelic effect on the cover, but the original
negatives couldn’t be found. Mason then used digital technology to ramp up the colour levels
on a reproduction from an original copy of the album while allowing it to remain a little bit
faded, as it would be after half a century. The same labour of love and care has gone into
producing all elements of the box; from the rebuilding of the famous front cover font to the
hand-numbered and signed certificate; letterpress printed on the original paper stock of the
1968 UK release lyric sheets.
To cap it all off the original mono master tapes were waiting safely in the EMI Donovan
Archive and transferred from tape to digital by Abbey Road Studios where new lacquers
were cut, ensuring Donovan's favoured mono version of the album would be presented both
physically (and digitally for the very first time) in striking audiophile quality. The final touch to
Recorded live at the Black Hawk, San Francisco in September 1959, At The Blackhawk 1 is the first of 4 volumes released in 1960. Featuring six cuts, Manne (drums), is joined by Joe Gordon (trumpet), Richie Kamuca (tenor sax), Victor Feldman (piano) and Monty Budwig (bass). This new edition of the album is released as part of the Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series and is pressed on 180-gram vinyl pressed at QRP with (AAA) lacquers cut from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman and is presented in a tip-on jacket.
Viktoria Tolstoys ACT-Debütalbum »Shining On You« aus dem Jahr 2004 markiert aus heutiger Sicht einen wichtigen Moment in der Erfolgsgeschichte populärer Jazzstimmen aus Skandinavien. Die Musik für die Aufnahme schrieb Esbjörn Svensson, der zusammen mit Dan Berglund und Magnus Öström die Kern-Band bindet, welche wenig später als e.s.t. weltberühmt wurde. Das von Nils Landgren produzierte Album ist auch ein Treffen vieler Mitglieder der damals noch jungen ACT Family of Artists, die als Gäste an der Session teilnahmen.
Genau 20 Jahre später hat Viktoria Tolstoy für »Stealing Moments« die Idee des »familiären« Musikzierens wieder aufgegriffen. Die Kompositionen des Albums stammen von einer ganzen Reihe aktueller ACT Künstler, von denen viele auch schon an »Shining on You« beteiligt waren. Und auch Esbjörn Svensson ist auf besondere Art am Album beteiligt: Von ihm stammt die Instrumentalkomposition »Hands Off«, für welche seine Frau Eva nun einen Text verfasst hat. Dazu kommen Kompositionen, die langjährige Freunde und Weggefährten wie Nils Landgren, Ida Sand, Wolfgang Haffner, Cæcilie Norby, Lars Danielsson, Iiro Rantala und Jan Lundgren eigens für Viktoria Tolstoy und ihre Stimme geschrieben haben.
»Wenn du singst, geht die Sonne auf«, sagte Pat Metheny einst zu Viktoria Tolstoy. Ihre klare, kraftvoll strahlende Stimme ist der rote Faden, der alle Stücke auf »Stealing Moments« verbindet. Dazu kommt eine Mischung aus Energie und Leichtigkeit, die Viktoria Tolstoy als Person ausmacht und die sich durch die Musik auf die Zuhörer überträgt. Ihre Botschaft ans Publikum, in Anlehnung an den Albumtitel: »Lasst mich Euch ein bisschen Zeit stehlen, um dieser Musik zuzuhören.«




















