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Two and a half decades into a career that's never delivered the stardom forecast by legions of champions, John Hiatt has settled into a niche that's about as comfortable as a maturing singer-songwriter could ask for. No longer a major-label priority, Hiatt has hooked up with the stalwart folk label Vanguard for his 15th release. Crossing Muddy Waters adroitly captures Hiatt's comfort and confidence. Not so much blues as blusey, Crossing Muddy Waters features 11 new Hiatt compositions, half of which feel instantly familiar. The rambunctious "Lift Up Every Stone" sounds a little like some of Tom Waits's more accessible recent efforts, while "Take It Down" is a love-lost lament that's as heavy as a foggy evening. Crossing Muddy Waters was cut in three days and features only two accompanists--the uncommonly sympathetic Davey Faragher and David Immerglück. Just goes to show that Hiatt moves just fine when he's not dragging a lot of added weight and heavy expectations behind him.

This performance by Waylon Jennings was no April Fool's joke. This was the "new" Waylon, both personally and professionally. He had kicked a 20-year drug habit, split with RCA and signed a new deal with MCA Records. He discovered a passion for songwriting, teamed with legendary producer Jimmy Bowen, and produced some of the best work of his 30-year-plus career. He credited his wife and soul mate, Jessie Colter, for much of his inspiration. This was Waylon's second trip to the ACL stage, but the one that best captures the raw edge and driving urgency that pushed country music way past its Nashville boundaries starting in the mid-1970's. He was described as the leader of the country "Outlaw" movement, which he often dismissed as just another marketing scam, but there's no denying that he turned the music on its head and took it way beyond its rural southern roots. This West Texas boy who worked as a DJ and started his own band at 14, then later played with Buddy Holly, left an indelible mark on the music he loved. He was a class act, this man called Hoss. -Terry Lickona (Producer Austin City Limits®)

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

Get On Down is proud to announce a vinyl reissue of one of the West Coast's most revered, yet underrated, hip-hop classics and quite possibly one of the best hip-hop albums of all time: The D.O.C.'s No One Can Do It Better. Produced entirely by Dr. Dre and out of print on vinyl in the U.S. for several years, this limited edition colored LP features original album artwork and thirteen tracks of rap heaven. When his debut album hit in mid-1989, The D.O.C. was in the vortex of the biggest hip-hop happening on the planet: the rise and rule of N.W.A. The group’s breakout album Straight Outta Compton had hit one year prior and had created both controversy and worldwide critical acclaim. As rap history buffs and industry insiders know, The D.O.C. was a crucial behind-the-scenes member of the N.W.A. inner circle - his most important role in the early days of the group was writing many of Eazy-E's rhymes, including his hit 1988 single “We Want Eazy.” He would go on to write for Efli4zaggin, The Chronic and Doggystyle. But The D.O.C. wasn’t in N.W.A. and never wanted to be - he was his own man, with his own vision. And after Compton proceeded to blow up the next crew album was No One Can Do It Better. Significantly, it was the first album where Dr. Dre showed his greatness as a solo producer for one MC. Boasting four singles - “The D.O.C. & The Doctor,” “Mind Blowin’,” the smash “It's Funky Enough” and “The Formula” - the album is flawless from beginning to end. Of particular note beyond the singles is “The Grand Finale,” which was the last time that Ice Cube, M.C. Ren and Eazy-E would rhyme on a track together. The D.O.C. showed on this amazing record that he was one of hip-hops most talented MCs. He nearly died in a horrific car crash as the album was catching fire in the late summer of 1989 which damaged his vocal cords, but he survived and continues to make new music and act as a sounding board for Dr. Dre to this day. More recently a documentary covering D.O.C.'s life titled The DOC debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival with fans eagerly awaiting a wider release. This album is a must have for any Hip-Hop fan

Grafh is one of only a handful of rappers from the early 2000s NYC scene to successfully transition into the new underground movement. After releasing two solo LPs and collab albums with Flee Lord and DJ Shay (RIP) in the last four years, he recently dropped his highest profile project to date, Art of Words, entirely produced by the top emcee/producer in the game, 38 Spesh. The 10-track offering reaffirms Grafh is a force to be reckoned with on the mic. To add gas to the already blazing fire recruited an all-star guest line-up for the album that includes Conway The Machine, Rome Streetz, Bun B, Dave East, and Giggs.

Mustard coloured double vinyl housed in deluxe
gatefold sleeve. Includes double-sided printed art
poster and digital download card.
 Following his breakthrough electroacoustic soundtrack
for ‘Candyman’ and his score for the moody feature
‘Master’ comes a new soundtrack from the everunpredictable composer Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe.
 Filmed over the course of three seasons,
‘Grasshopper Republic’ follows a local grasshopper
trapping team in verité style, as these modern-day
prospectors who harvest and sell the insects push into
remote forests seeking their fortune by capturing this
elusive prey.
 Lowe’s electronic music soundtracks both the seen
and unseen moments that produced the film’s holistic
abstraction of the intersecting worlds of insects,
humans, and economy. “I wanted to be able to create
a world which was a justifiable language within that
space, and to be able to enhance that experience
because the film is experiential and immersive.” -
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe

The earth rotates, seasons change_there is but one long day_ Time is a beguiling, indistinct entity_sometimes standing still, sometimes bending back upon itself with premonitions or memories of the future. Growing out of a pen pal style correspondence that took place over the course of a year, separated by the Atlantic Ocean, Gloria de Oliveira and Dean Hurley passed thoughts and music back and forth that would eventually form their collaborative album, Oceans of Time. The result is an aural tapestry of that exchange: woven from conceptual threads of the celestial within, mortality and the realm beyond stars. The duo's partnership is an effortless merge, yet it's the steady presence of de Oliveira's vocals that endows the record with its sense of potency. Throughout the album, there is an innate understanding of how a lyric across a chordal color can sharpen an emotional truth. Much like a sunbeam that pierces a spiderweb to reveal its intricacy, her lyric and melody are purposely aimed in order to illuminate the truths deep within oneself_a process that ties us all to the universal. The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, a professed influence, wrote about the truth as something that was inherently subjective, less about the concrete reality of what is believed and more about how it is experienced by the believer. Frequent David Lynch collaborator Dean Hurley sets the tonal and sonic landscape of each track on the album, lending a layered ether that envelops, frames and holds de Oliveira's vocals. With its impressionistic synths, shimmering guitars, and ethereal sonics, Oceans of Time at moments recalls the foundational dreampop of 4AD acts like Cocteau Twins and Lush. The album feels especially attuned to the connections between the physical and transcendental realms, and the best dreampop has a way of making the veil between two worlds feel just a little bit thinner. Oceans of Time is a key that has the power to release its listener from the handcuffs of reality, however briefly_

The earth rotates, seasons change_there is but one long day_ Time is a beguiling, indistinct entity_sometimes standing still, sometimes bending back upon itself with premonitions or memories of the future. Growing out of a pen pal style correspondence that took place over the course of a year, separated by the Atlantic Ocean, Gloria de Oliveira and Dean Hurley passed thoughts and music back and forth that would eventually form their collaborative album, Oceans of Time. The result is an aural tapestry of that exchange: woven from conceptual threads of the celestial within, mortality and the realm beyond stars. The duo's partnership is an effortless merge, yet it's the steady presence of de Oliveira's vocals that endows the record with its sense of potency. Throughout the album, there is an innate understanding of how a lyric across a chordal color can sharpen an emotional truth. Much like a sunbeam that pierces a spiderweb to reveal its intricacy, her lyric and melody are purposely aimed in order to illuminate the truths deep within oneself_a process that ties us all to the universal. The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, a professed influence, wrote about the truth as something that was inherently subjective, less about the concrete reality of what is believed and more about how it is experienced by the believer. Frequent David Lynch collaborator Dean Hurley sets the tonal and sonic landscape of each track on the album, lending a layered ether that envelops, frames and holds de Oliveira's vocals. With its impressionistic synths, shimmering guitars, and ethereal sonics, Oceans of Time at moments recalls the foundational dreampop of 4AD acts like Cocteau Twins and Lush. The album feels especially attuned to the connections between the physical and transcendental realms, and the best dreampop has a way of making the veil between two worlds feel just a little bit thinner. Oceans of Time is a key that has the power to release its listener from the handcuffs of reality, however briefly_

Kaisei’s music is played by many of the scene’s tastemakers so it was about time he got his first EP released. Beyond the Bridge is releasing a 4 tracker of experimental and genre bending sonic bombs as a nod to the free tekno days.

New one-off press limited edition transparent green double vinyl edition of Soul
Jazz Records long unavailable Studio One Roots 2, featuring classic tracks recorded
at Studio One.
Studio Roots Vol. 2 delves deep into the vaults of the legendary Jamaican Reggae
label and features rare and classic roots as well as an unprecedented seven
unreleased tracks that up till now had never seen the light of day.
Roots and rastafarian music was being recorded at Studio One by Clement "Sir
Coxsone" Dodd from the early 1960s onwards to the 1990s and this album reflects
the depth and diversity of roots music at the label.
From the slow-ska of Dudley Sibbley, to the deep instrumental jazz cuts of Cedric Im
Brooks over classic roots rhythms such as "Satta Massagana" to Winston Mathews
stunning eerie version of Bob Marley and the Wailers "Sun Is Shining". The Zion All
Stars features the Burro rastafarian drumming of Count Ossie and the Mystic
Revelation of Rastafari.
This album features many of the classic Studio One artists – Willie Williams, Tommy
McCook, Cedric Brooks, The Gladiators, Vin Gordon – as well as many less wellknown artists – all who produced classic roots music under the guidance of producer
Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd and recorded at the legendary Studio One Records.

New one-off press limited edition silver coloured double vinyl edition of Soul Jazz Records long unavailable 'Jamaica Soul Shake' collection of tracks from The Sound Dimension, probably the funkiest reggae groups to ever to exist on the planet! Features classic tracks recorded at Studio One.

This is the first ever collection of the music of The Sound Dimension - a mixture of classic tracks alongside super-rare singles only ever released in Jamaica. Alongside The Skatalites, The Sound Dimension were perhaps the most important group in the history of reggae music. That they remain relatively unknown is explained by the fact that they mostly functioned as the in-house studio group at Studio One Records performing anonymously behind the stars of the day - the reggae equivalent of Motown’s Funk Brothers.

New Robohands LP 'Palms' is the fifth album from the London based instrumentalist and producer Andy Baxter. Moving towards different genres and arrangements from his previous albums, 'Palms' features duelling harp parts, tape echo, double bass and draws inspiration from artists such as Dorothy Ashby, Azimuth, Alice Coltrane and Toquinho.

In parts tropical and synth drenched, and in others stripped back and acoustic, 'Palms' is a journey back to saturated analog recordings of the late 60s and 70s, with a subtle modern layer of glitch FX and pitch control experimentation in places. The album makes also reference to classic releases from jazz fusion that feature the legendary Arp Odyssey synthesiser, used by artists such as Herbie Hancock and George Duke.

The seventeen track album features performances from multiple session musicians including Jim Piela on saxophone and Marco Cremaschini on Rhodes, with Baxter taking on drums, guitar, bass, keys and also mixing duties. 'Palms' is a new direction for his project and a record that thematically journeys into modern reinterpretations of jazz, downtempo, acoustic and ambient music.

An EP based on nostalgic feelings of bygone days. Deep electronic grooves and melodies are mixed with intense emotional musicality that transports you to the past… Resulting in a 'hands up in the air' feeling, where the rush of music bathes you in warmth and remembrance, showcasing Wink’s diverse range of production and artistry on each cut.

"12 months of Longing" begins with a pounding 909 kick that soon gets flooded with funky percussion building up to the 1st break of lush keys and swirling beats. The production continues leading into bouncing bass and a serious groove, that evolves into a rhythmic pause where soaring strings, and melodies build and build leading to an intense crescendo that will blow the roof off.

"Sexy Bot” is a title which suits this sexy tune. It’s journey begins with latin rhythms and is quickly joined with repetitive stabs and ascending pads, that spirals around you, directing the path of music that unfolds into a Detroit inspired musical progression. Symphonic string plucks leads you into a break of serious sexy melodies that explodes into a rolling bassline that will elevate any listener into another sexy feel good echelon.

“Used to Be” quickly guides you to a signature wink acid bassline, that writhes its way to an infectious groove that is soon complimented by a hauntingly smooth analog synth, advancing into a sensual musical progression. Wink then adds his voice to the song, with simple and effective contemplative words “The way I used to be”, endorsing the overall nostalgic feeling of this unique and diverse EP.

New Robohands LP 'Palms' is the fifth album from the London based instrumentalist and producer Andy Baxter. Moving towards different genres and arrangements from his previous albums, 'Palms' features duelling harp parts, tape echo, double bass and draws inspiration from artists such as Dorothy Ashby, Azimuth, Alice Coltrane and Toquinho.

In parts tropical and synth drenched, and in others stripped back and acoustic, 'Palms' is a journey back to saturated analog recordings of the late 60s and 70s, with a subtle modern layer of glitch FX and pitch control experimentation in places. The album makes also reference to classic releases from jazz fusion that feature the legendary Arp Odyssey synthesiser, used by artists such as Herbie Hancock and George Duke.

The seventeen track album features performances from multiple session musicians including Jim Piela on saxophone and Marco Cremaschini on Rhodes, with Baxter taking on drums, guitar, bass, keys and also mixing duties. 'Palms' is a new direction for his project and a record that thematically journeys into modern reinterpretations of jazz, downtempo, acoustic and ambient music.

Repress!

Following his versatile Alone With Everybody EP, FD returns to The North Quarter with a stunning 16 track debut album: Better Days.

Largely written in a three month window, FDs (real name Freddie Dixon) new long player on The NQ undoubtedly brings the best of the Zurich-based/London-born producer. Better Days is an album that delivers a rare synergy of drive, harmony between subtle & raw and just sheer fun. A versatile yet coherent project drawn from a large pool of sketches, finalised in intricate detail with focused studio dedication.

Drawing influences from Dub, Jazz, Hip Hop, Soul and the Mid 90's Drum & Bass “GoldenAge”, Better Days bridges the gap between genres, as FD enlists carefully considered vocal collaborations. Manchester donny Fox shines on the dubbed out Better Man and Washington DC soul diva Cecily shows shades of Minnie Riperton on Sycamore. Meanwhile Ribs is lifted to one of the album's stand out tracks with Maverick Soul on the keys and the enigmatic Issac Rosie on the boards.

For some the better days in life are in their childhood memories: nostalgia-infused wonderings of the mind to a care-free time without today's online distractions. Although FD’s debut album 'Better Days' is inspired and informed by a period earlier in life, his best days musically are definitely in the present. To put it into the man's own words:

"I’ve been wanting to do an album for quite a while now, but the circumstance never felt right. Once I started working with The North Quarter that all changed – it feels like being part of a team all pushing in the same direction, all supporting one another, all wanting to do the best for each other. Once we’d done the first EP together, for me, it was only a question of when."

Renowned for his raw, blistering vocals and high-voltage guitar playing, the great Buddy Guy has remained a vital and current musician, moving blues forward without losing sight of its roots. He was a primary influence on blues-rock titans like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, as well as a pioneer of Chicago's fabled West Side sound, and a living link to that city's halcyon days of electric blues. This album presents him singing and playing some of his greatest hits backed by such outstanding figures as Junior Wells, Otis Rush, and Willie Dixon. "Buddy Guy was for me what Elvis was probably like for other people... My course was set, and he was my pilot." - Eric Clapton

Five groups, one mythical studio - documenting the emergence of a generation!

The initial postulate was simple: five groups, one emblematic studio and 24 hours for each to imagine and record two unreleased tracks with one objective - the will to document a French jazz scene in the midst of renewal.

In these last few years, several innovative currents have shaken up the world of jazz and attracted new fans. They have bubbled up from Los Angeles, impregnated with hip-hop culture (Kamasi Washington, Terrace Martin, Thundercat), or from London, tinged with African rhythms (Nubya Garcia, Kokoroko, Ezra Collective). Meanwhile, in France, a new scene is emerging, carrying with it more of a dancefloor-oriented sound influenced by electronic music - an obvious kinship with the French Touch explosion of the late 90s.

Historically, every movement has been assimilated to a certain neighbourhood, to specific clubs where late at night, young guns stayed up to imagine the jazz of tomorrow - the Cotton Club for the jazz of the 20s, Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem for Be-Bop, the Black Hawk in San Francisco for West Coast jazz, Birdland in New York for Hard-Bop or a lot more recently, the Total Refreshment Centre which has been the playing field for the new London scene.

In Paris too, this new sound is associated with actual venues, places which have allowed these groups to form, create a repertoire and forge an aesthetic - Le Baiser Salé for Monsieur Mâlâ, La Gare/Le Gore for Photon, La Pêche in Montreuil for Ishkero, La Petite Halle for Underground Canopy and also le Duc des Lombards and le 38 Riv’ for Alex Monfort; it’s in a live context that this music will always continue to evolve.

Keeping this “live” spirit, with all its spontaneity, was actually the guiding line for the elaboration of this Studio Pigalle compilation. Each take was recorded in the most organic way possible, bringing all the musicians together in the same room to limit post-production alterations before the final cut was assembled, in just one day, by studio in-house sound engineer, Felix Rémy.

A feeling of urgency permeates a record guided by an artistic production taking care to crystalise the essence of this artistically free-range generation whose childhoods were rocked just as much by Bill Evans and Roy Hargrove as by J Dilla and Jeff Mills. One of the two tracks recorded is geared towards the dancefloor, and the other, more cosmic/ambient gives freer rein to individual interpretation.

There were therefore many possible ways of interpreting these guidelines for the five formations which number among the most distinctive on the current French musical landscape, and the occasion, for some, to rummage through their archives! With Transe (Mbappé) and Da Verdere (Vella), Monsieur

Mâlâ present us with two unreleased tracks issued from the very first rehearsals of the quintet reworked especially for this compilation. “Seen the aesthetic range of this group, it all worked out very naturally in the studio”, recounts keyboardist Nicholas Vella “Recording like they did in the sixties with all the channels live and working with small imperfections was a very interesting task, even when it came to the mix, we had to make do with the takes we had... “

“Our group is very recent, and with this session, in just two tracks, we had the opportunity to present the entirety of our musical universe,” says Photons pianist Gauthier Toux. “All too often, we assimilate this fusion between jazz and dance music to computers and post-production modifications. For “Dessine”, we kept the first take, and we must have recorded just three or four for the other track with more of a techno bent. In one day, we understood that we could play our entire repertoire live, from A to Z”.

“When the Komos label offered me this project, it immediately spoke to me”, remembers Alex Monfort “Straight away, I thought of “Since I Met You”, a track with a nine/four time signature which really is reminiscent of a new- soul groove, but with this extra cosmic vibe! I wrote the words to the chorus and Nina Tonji placed her voice on the track, adding her own verses. For “Tonight”, the up-tempo track, I wanted to head off in more of a hybrid direction inspired by Kaytranada or the Black Radio series by Robert Glasper. A cross-over between jazz and hip-hop which really does represent my world, and I also tried to place vocals centre stage (Emcee Agora)”.

“We truly resonated with the way Antoine Rajon imagined this compilation and the recording session”, confide Warren Dongué and Jérémy Tallon from Underground Canopy. “When arriving in this studio we felt as if we had gone backtothe70s! Inkeepingwiththespiritofthisera,heknewhowtoletus keep our spontaneity, without recording in too many takes, and that’s how we like to work”.

“We managed to adhere to the themes of the compilation without changing our instrumentation, we wanted to remain faithful to the sound of Ishkero on these new compositions and take them somewhere else” – says drummer TaoEhrlich -“Withoutaddinganyelectronics.Thesessionwassupervisedin a truly subtle and benevolent manner. From a human perspective, it was also a wonderful experience”.

Whether turned towards hip-hop, ethnic or electronic music, the artists featured on this Studio Pigalle compilation represent the eclecticism of a new generation in the process of writing the first chapters of its history. Open to experimentation, these artists continue to hold high an immutable love for improvisation and creation in the moment... another definition of the word Jazz!

“A piece of music never truly comes to An end. Revisiting a theme illustrates this idea that life goes on.” These are the words of Wayne Shorter, uttered in 2018 upon the release of Emanon, his final opus. On this record, the octogenarian uses dusky hues to shade in the passions of his youth - drawing and science-fiction, as well as the causes he has defended all his life - the fight against ecological upheaval and structural racism. This sentiment did not fail to resonate with Julien Lourau, who has reached a stage in life where he has begun to look back over certain pages written by the man he has always considered one of the masters of his trade. Five years later, this Parisian native has also chosen to revisit his glory days, offering reworked versions of specific tracks composed by his titular elder throughout the 80s. “When I play this music, I find myself back in my teenage bedroom. These are my standards, and they remind me of autumn in Rambouillet.” At that time, after practising his scales, Julien would also play Dungeons & dragons, and immerse himself in SF as well as heroic fantasy - epic influences which are not without a certain connection to the dreamworlds Shorter conjured up, as another fan of landscapes beyond the grasp of reality.

This album features four themes taken from Atlantis, which came out in 1985, and two from Joy Ryder, released three years later. To these, he has added a composition penned at around the same time for Sportin’ Life, the penultimate LP by Weather Report. This is rounded off by a tune taken

from Native Dancer, the record which, ten years earlier, in 1975, brought together this saxophonist who learnt his trade alongside Art Blakey, before joining Miles’ second quintet, and Brazilian Milton Nascimento.

“Between Native Dancer and Atlantis, Shorter did not release anything under his own name, but he took the time and care to really perfect his writing. Upon his return, he injected a very Brazilian form of subtlety into his compositions, especially rhythmically. And from a harmonic point of view, these themes are extremely sophisticated, and reveal truly singular colours. In fact, he decided to display the score as if it constituted the liner notes of Atlantis.”

Julien Lourau is a fan of every Wayne Shorter era, from his Blue Note days, where Mr Gone defined the bases of a truly unique repertoire, all the way to his final quartet - a reference like no other. He decided to focus on this “highly electric” period, which is not necessarily Shorter’s best known, nor his most widely appreciated - despite being a unanimous reference, Shorter has nonetheless never had a direct descendent. In Lourau’s line of sight there lies a desire to focus on typically South American tonic accents which characterise this repertoire, twinned with the ambition to switch up their actual sound “by attempting to open up onto a production highly influenced by eighties fusion". However, he admits that modifying the structures of these most unique of worlds constituted a fresh challenge. “There’s this labyrinthine harmonic system where you’ve no idea how it holds together, but where it’s actually impossible to touch the slightest element without the whole edifice wavering. It is in fact a very difficult thing to achieve!”

In order to successfully transcribe all this creativity free of obstacles, Julien Lourau once again called upon the help of Mathieu Debordes. From January 2023 onwards, Mathieu endeavoured to break down all the musical elements, on paper, before creating any actual music. The record was therefore constructed on the faith of these scores, without necessarily transiting through a creative residency - just two live gigs, to make sure the setup worked. Besides Mathieu Debordes and his synthesisers, Julien Lourau has assembled an ad hoc team by his side. On the bass, according to the track, we can hear erstwhile companion Sylvain Daniel or a new acolyte on the fretless bass, Joan Eche Puig.

Stéphane Edouard, on percussion, even dives headfirst into an unlikely proto-rap of sorts, on Pearl On The Half Shell (where, on the original version, Bobby McFerrin adjusted his interventions in a rather madcap style). Aesthete and drummer Jim Hart as well as pianist Leo Jassef also figure on this release - both were present on previous project devoted to label

CTI. “At sixteen, I wanted to sound like Michael Brecker rather than Ben Webster - that was equated with modernity in those days”, adds Julien with a smile, as for him, all this rings out a little like a logical next step, a joyful immersion into the fountain of youth. And if, for this record, he plays the soprano more than ever, the saxophone Shorter set in his sights on, he never tries to replicate an unattainable ideal note by note. What would be the point?

“Wayne Shorter is not just a saxophonist’s saxophonist. In fact, I don’t know a single person who has risen to challenge of his solos. I have not done it myself either, but on the other hand, I have retained a lot of his phraseology. His way of approaching the instrument reveals a more evanescent language, a work on colour and shape. Keeping this in mind has allowed me to gravitate towards certain elements, that in hindsight, I find echoes of in my work, even in Groove Gang.” Shorter etches out these phrases, creating a groove within which Lourau had traced subtle punctuation, managing, from a highly written base, to create fresh apertures, promises of a great escape. Emblematic of this standpoint, his regal version of Ponte de Areia, originally a wonderful dialogue between Milton Nascimento and Wayne Shorter. Here, the Frenchman takes liberties with the original melodies, without ever growing distant from the original spirit, extending one section with delicacy, offering a rubato development and then a groove “like a little suite”. Julien Lourau also renews with an accomplice from last century, Magic Malik, who lends his high-pitched vocals to the track. Though they had not recorded together for more than twenty years, the two of them got on as if they had only ceased collaborating yesterday, everything flowed naturally. The track was wrapped up in just one take, much like other themes, such as opener Who Goes There where the flautist deploys smooth, enchanted and smoky wisps.

Fundamentally, reflecting of the sleeve which features a child playing with a ball, image that could symbolise the sun just as much as the moon, Julien Lourau manages to translate the ambiguous candour which characterizes Shorter’s work - solar and crepuscular at the same time, that of a visionary and poet definitively situated outside of all chronology, but with whom Julien shares surprising and ‘timely’ coincidences. Shorter was born August 25, 1933, the same day as Julien’s father, “if we take time zones into account”, and who died on Lourau’s birthday, March 2, 2023. Should we take this as a random fact? Or could we not see here the sign of a destiny connecting the agnostic Frenchman to the man who, as a fervent Buddhist, believed in the transmission of his spiritual flow ?

Live in Brooklyn was recorded at the iconic Brooklyn Bowl in New York on December 22nd 2022 at Matisyahu’s annual Festival of Light. The release features live versions of his hits such as “One Day” and “King Without A Crown”. As well as cover tracks, written by his son Laivy, that they perform together. The first single, “One Day” will be released on June 2nd. The album will be released on June 30th, which is Matisyahu’s birthday. This show was also recorded visually. We will have individual clips of each track to post to socials ahead of the release. This release also takes place at the end of a 15 stop tour, and one week prior to his opening slot for 311 at Red Rocks.

Xavier Boyer, the lead singer of Tahiti 80 and one of the most distinctive voices in French indie pop, returns solo with a melodic and timeless new EP entitled "Soda Coda".

After "Tutu To Tango" (2007, under the name Axe Riverboy), "Some/Any/New" (2017), and not forgetting Tahiti 80's nine studio albums, Xavier Boyer has composed five songs navigating between soft rock, folk sounds and pop experimentation. "On previous albums, I'd done everything on my own, but this time I was looking for something more lively, more organic, more collective. I also wanted to exchange ideas with other musicians.

This mini-album (the vinyl version will include five alternative versions recorded on a 4-track cassette) was created with the help of three emblematic figures from the French music scene, Mehdi Zannad (Fugu, April March, A Girl Called Eddy) on keyboards, Laurent Blot (Le Superhomard) on drums and Stéphane Laporte (Domotic, Egyptology) on mix.

Recorded between tours and studio sessions with his main band, "Soda Coda" once again confirms his talent as a melodist and his appetite for sonic adventures. The power pop of "D Day" or the lyricism of "Children Of The Sun" would not be out of place on albums by Emitt Rhodes or Richard Swift (producer of Tahiti 80's "Ballroom" in 2014). "Oh Liza" is as smooth as an Elliott Smith novelty.

The singer assumes his influences: "My aim has always been to write timeless songs without pretending it's 1975, or 1998. I want my music to remain rooted in its time." "Read The Room" blends Jamaican music and avant-garde pop with its crystalline guitars and soaring synths, while "Soda Coda" brings a touch of Soul to the EP with its distorted piano and slap-back vocals.

More than a journey or a nostalgic trip, Soda Coda is a succession of luminous songs, and as Xavier Boyer sings on the eponymous track: "I'm singing something good, I can hear this tune lighting up my path".

180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL
INCLUDES 4-PAGE BOOKLET WITH LINER NOTES
SONG FAVOURITES FROM HER LEGENDARY FILM & RECORDING CAREERS, PERSONALLY SELECTED
BY MS. DORIS DAY

2-LP SET FEATURING 30 CLASSICS INCLUDING “PILLOW TALK”, “WHATEVER WILL BE,
WILL BE (QUE SERA, SERA)”, “SECRET LOVE”, “FOOLS RUSH IN” AND MANY MORE

AVAILABLE ON VINYL FOR THE FIRST TIME
LIMITED EDITION OF 500 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES ON ORANGE COLOURED VINYL

When Kronos plays a piece, they become fellow composers, true collaborators. Without them, we wouldn’t have the kind of string quartet playing that we find around us today. There are two kinds of string quartet playing: the ‘Before Kronos’ and the ‘After Kronos’.” – Philip Glass

‘Kronos Quartet has broken the boundaries of what string quartets can do.’ – New York Times

Nonesuch releases Kronos Quartet’s acclaimed album Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass on vinyl for the first time to coincide with Kronos Quartet: Five Decades, a year-long celebration marking the quartet’s 50th anniversary. Originally released in 1995, the album features David Harrington (violin), John Sherba, (violin), Hank Dutt (viola) and Joan Jeanrenaud (cello) performing Quartet No. 2 (Company) (1983), No. 3 (Mishima) (1985), No. 4 (Buczak) (1990), and No. 5 (1991), the first piece Glass wrote especially for Kronos. Recorded at Skywalker Sound in California, the album was produced by Judith Sherman, Kurt Munkacsi and Philip Glass. The cover art features Francesco Clemente’s painting The Four Corners (1985). At the time of the album’s release, the New York Times said, ‘It contains some of Glass's best music since Koyaanisqatsi. His ear for sumptuous string sonorities is undeniable,’ while the Washington Post called it ‘An ideal combination of composer and performers.’ It was a top 10 hit on Billboard’s Top Classical Albums, and spent 12 weeks on Billboard’s Classical chart.



In his original liner note, critic Mark Swed wrote, ‘Glass’ string quartets may contain his most intimate music. They are works through which a very public composer, perhaps the most important opera reformer of our age and a longstanding collaborator in large-scale music theater, holds up a mirror to himself and his way of composing. “In an odd way,” Glass explains, “string quartets have always functioned like that for composers. I don’t really know why, but it’s almost impossible to get away from it. It’s the way composers of the past have thought and that’s no less true for me. It’s almost as if we say we’re going to write a string quartet, we take a deep breath, and we wade in to try to write the most serious, significant piece that we can.” Glass says that as he sat down to write String Quartet No. 5, he had discovered that perhaps not taking a serious tone might be the most serious way to deal with it. “I was thinking that I had really gone beyond the need to write a serious string quartet and that I could write a quartet that is about musicality, which in a certain way is the most serious subject.”’



Glass’ first numbered quartet was written in 1966; however, he did not return to the string quartet medium until 1983, when he provided incidental music for a dramatization of Samuel Beckett’s prose poem, Company. During those 17 years, Glass had formed an ensemble and developed his style in a series of increasingly elaborate pieces for it. String Quartet No. 3 is also adapted to dramatic music, this time from his score to the 1985 Paul Schrader film, Mishima. It was with the music of Mishima that Kronos became associated with Glass, recording the string quartet sections of the soundtrack and subsequently working extensively with the composer on all five of his numbered quartets. Kronos also gave the first concert performances of Company and Mishima. String Quartet No. 4 was composed in remembrance of the artist Brian Buczak, who died of AIDS in 1988.



As Kronos’ anniversary season continues with further concerts around the world, Nonesuch will reissue Black Angels on vinyl on February 16. First released in 1990, the award-winning album includes George Crumb’s title piece, which inspired David Harrington to found the quartet. Called ‘an unusually elevated and searing Vietnam War protest’ by the New York Times, it sets a dark, powerful tone for this collection, which addresses the political/physical/spiritual consequences of war. Also featured are works by Charles Ives, István Márta, Thomas Tallis, and Dmitri Shostakovich. ‘Stylishly packaged, intelligently programmed, superbly recorded and brilliantly performed,’ proclaimed Gramophone. ‘In short, very much the sort of disc we’ve come to expect from the talented and imaginative Kronos Quartet.’ The Evening Standard included it among its ‘100 Definitive Classical Albums of the 20th Century’.



Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1937, Philip Glass is a graduate of the University of Chicago and the Juilliard School. By 1974, he had created a large collection of music for The Philip Glass Ensemble. The period culminated in the landmark opera, Einstein on the Beach. Since Einstein, Glass’s repertoire has grown to include music for opera, dance, theatre, orchestra, and film. His scores have received Academy Award nominations (including Kundun and The Hours, as well as Notes on a Scandal) and a Golden Globe (The Truman Show). Recent works include his memoir, Words Without Music, his first Piano Sonata, opera Circus Days and Nights, and Symphony No. 14. Glass received the Praemium Imperiale in 2012, the US National Medal of the Arts from President Barack Obama in 2016, and 41st Kennedy Center Honors in 2018.



Nonesuch’s relationship with Glass began in 1985, with the release of the score for Paul Schrader’s Mishima featuring Kronos Quartet. Over the years other Glass works on Nonesuch have included Einstein on the Beach (1993), Kronos Quartet Performs Philip Glass (1995), Music in Twelve Parts (1996), Glass Box (2008), as well as the soundtracks for Powaqqatsi (1988), Kundun (1997), Koyaanisqatsi (1998), and The Hours (2002), amongst others.



For 50 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet – David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Paul Wiancko (cello) – has challenged and reimagined what a string quartet can be. Founded at a time when the form was largely centred on long-established, Western European traditions, Kronos has been at the forefront of revolutionizing the string quartet into a living art form that responds to the people and issues of our time. In the process, Kronos has become one of the most celebrated and influential groups of our era, performing thousands of concerts worldwide, releasing more than 70 recordings of extraordinary breadth and creativity, and collaborating with many of the world’s most accomplished composers and performers. Through its nonprofit organization, Kronos Performing Arts Association, Kronos has commissioned more than 1,000 works and arrangements for string quartet – including the Kronos Fifty for the Future library of free, educational repertoire. Kronos has received more than 40 awards, including three Grammy Awards and the Polar Music, Avery Fisher, and Edison Klassiek Oeuvre Prizes.



Kronos is prolific and wide-ranging on recordings. The ensemble’s expansive discography on Nonesuch includes three Grammy-winning albums: Terry Riley’s Sun Rings (2019), Landfall with Laurie Anderson (2018), and Alban Berg’s Lyric Suite featuring soprano Dawn Upshaw (2003); the 40th-anniversary boxed set Kronos Explorer Series; Nuevo (2002), a Grammy- and Latin Grammy–nominated celebration of Mexican culture; Pieces of Africa (1992), a showcase of African-born composers that simultaneously topped Billboard’s Classical and World Music charts; and Folk Songs (2017), Nonesuch’s 50th album with Kronos, which featured Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney, Rhiannon Giddens, and Natalie Merchant singing traditional folk songs.

Started in the Winter of 2021 and completed in early 2023, “Lights Out On The Shore” is a 12 song cycle written and performed by Scott Reeder, drummer of the band FU MANCHU. Having treaded many stages and studios over the past 22 years laying the foundation for the titans of “fuzz-wah” rock over 5 studio releases and playing live with artists as varied as Orianthi and Social Distortion, Scott has stretched into a melodic heavy and lyrically dense area of songwriting, rich in harmony and memorable riffs. Collaborating with Grammy winning producer/engineer Ryan Mall (Dropkick Murphys, Old Crow Medicine Show/Gaslight Anthem), Reeder played all the instruments on the album and sings all vocals. Fu Manchu bandmate, Bob Balch, contributes lead guitars on all tracks except “Everything But Right” and the album closer, “As She Drifts,” which feature contributions from Mitchell Townsend (Matt Costa/Jack Johnson).

This limited edition 500 unit LP run is pressed on blue/black splatter and includes a full color insert featuring photos taken by Reeder himself. All tracks were mastered specifically for this vinyl release

Reggie Soul real name Reginald Stone is just one of many illusive recording artists who had a very limited recording career for a handful of small independent Chicago labels then disappeared into obscurity, Reggie reputedly left Chicago in the mid 1970’s for the lone star state of Texas never to be seen or heard from again!

Reggie’s recording legacy is the sum total of 3, 45 singles two of which he recorded under the supervision of respected Chicago songwriter and producer Clarence Johnson., firstly the funk outing “I Got Jody” backed with the soulful “I Feel So Bad” for Red Balloon Records, “I Feel So Bad” was composed by Lee Sain who recorded his own version under the title of “Baby Don’t Leave Me” for the Broach label. Reggie Soul’s “I Got Jody” also came out as a B-side on Nation Time Records, the A-side was a version of the James Brown song “Soul Walkin’ but this side was credited under the mis-credited artist name of Reggie Smith?

Finally, Reggie’s third release “My World Of Ecstasy/Mighty Good Loving” was released on the Scott Brothers own Capri Records label in 1968. Both sides of the 45 were written by Reggie with Charles and Walter Scott, arrangements were provided by John Jackson and Bill McFarland who provided the horn section to many of the Scott’s future productions. The Scott Brothers of which there were several (all musicians) had begun their own careers during the late 1950’s recording under the group name of The Masquerades on the Formal label. Often referred to as The Scott Brothers Orchestra with Howard Sephus Scott at the head of their growing musical dynasty they formed their own company Capri Productions circa 1968, their initial recording productions were Fred Johnson (Shi-Lush Records) and the aforementioned Reggie Soul & The Soul Swingers. The Scott’s were also the house band in one of Chicago’s Southside’s most popular night clubs ‘The Bonanza Lounge on 7641, South Halsted. The Scott’s often used the Bonanza as a source of finding future artists for their labels, such as The Soul Majestics, Judson Moore, Bobby Jones & Duke Turner amongst others, they even recorded a live performance on The Bonanza Lounges’ resident comedian Randolph Browner which gained a release on the Shi-Lush label.

“My World Of Ecstasy” like several Capri 45 releases were heavily imported into the UK, often sold in soul packs before finding favour with aficionados of the Crossover Scene in the late 1980’s with it’s popularity still remaining high to the present day.

Soul Junction through their licensing deal with Scot-Tees Publishing would like to present the first release of their Capri Records series.

First music in 10 years from cult favourites Dark Dark Dark.
B Side is a solo cut from the bands lead vocalist Nona Maie Invie.
10” EP limited to 500 in UK/EU.

Fans of contemporaries Weyes Blood (of which DDD multi-instrumentalist Walt McClements is now a full-time member) and Angel Olsen (in whose live and studio band Invie is now a staple) will find much to love in these songs, as well as the b-side, Invie’s solo piece, “For Now” which, not unlike Invie’s 2017 solo release under the moniker IN / VIA, makes use of seamlessly interwoven piano and swelling, liquid synthesizer.

Invie sounds a bit like an alternate dimension Sharon Van Etten here and elsewhere. The three song set has the understated intensity of Nick Cave’s The Boatman’s Call and the promise of emotional liftoff that characterizes Kate Bush’s The Sensual World. 

Dark Dark Dark’s rich history is punctuated by house shows and train hopping; touring as support for The National in Portugal;
playing both the National and TV on the Radio’s ATP Festivals, and years of indefatigable coast-to-coast U.S. touring. It’s a
history rich with recordings, including a pair of celebrated full-lengths produced by Tom Herbers (Low, The Cactus Blossoms),
three EPs, and a feature film score. Now, ten years later, –– surprise –– a new 10” single.

In 2013, when Dark Dark Dark released the What I Needed EP, anyone might have guessed it was a bridge between the previous year’s lauded LP Who Needs Who and the next big venture. The band had closed out 2012 as part of Australia's touring Harvest Festival, during which they stepped up to fill an unexpectedly vacant slot much later in the day, enchanting thousands of unsuspecting festival goers. Alas, after that, the band went silent.

The release of these new songs is certainly delightful and perhaps startling, as is the promise of more solo work from singer Nona Marie Invie. On the gorgeous and stately “Didn’t I Try,” Invie’s voice is elegant as ever, couched in the familiar sounds of Marshall LaCount’s distorted banjo and Mark Trecka’s rolling drums. The loping and haunted “Something Was There” follows –– a staple of Dark Dark Dark’s live sets in the last year of their touring.

Considering this band's history, their distinctive and dramatic sense of identity, this music is really and truly for fans of Dark Dark Dark.

The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series . Entry #5: Dan Hastie and Terin Ector (Orgone) pick up where Piero Umiliani left off with Exotic Grooves and Lush Funk. This is the next up in a series of music library releases, with future volumes produced by DJ Muggs, Karriem Riggins and more. The Madlib Invazion Music Library Series was created by Madlib and Egon to give their creative friends a chance to stretch out and indulge in whatever type of music they wanted. This music was created for easy, one-stop clearance in film and television synchronization usage and for sampling. You can also enjoy these albums in the way that many do with the best of the best vintage library catalogs – listen, ponder, repeat.

A collection of structured piano improvisations and their surrounding sonic environments, an album in four parts: Songs From a Distant Summer | From November For Snow | Together Recorded between 2011-2013, the album was never intended to be a direct response to the seasons. The coincidence of the recordings having been made at points within the seasons was only pointed out at a later date by a friend. Alongside wishing to avoid any parallels or associations being drawn with Vivaldi’s masterpiece, the title - “The Seasons Are Not Four” - a line from a poem by Syrian poet Adonis , appeared to fit perfectly - recognising our relationship to time but also alluding to the impossibility of truly categorising it. Due to label arrangements and complications the majority of these recordings have remained unreleased for a decade. One notable exception being the piece “I Promise”, that went on to amass in excess of 24 million streams - an unfathomable prospect for a piano-less pianist recording a reunion between himself and a piano at a point of not having played one for several months. The Seasons Are Not Four serves as a sonic record of real-time responses to the character of a piano, to transient states of being and to disparate, fleeting moments in time - some will hear Summer in Winter, others- Autumn in Spring; distant conversation beyond the sounds of a hesitant human shuffling fingers against wooden keys, the ticking of a grandfather clock or the song of birds outside masking passing traffic. - ‘The Seasons Are Not Four, a week is not seven days, a year is more than it is, and less’ Adonis

Jord (Swedish for “Earth”) performs Swedish Atmospheric Black Metal with ear-catching melodies. For fans of Enslaved, Vintersorg and Borknagar! Jord is an atmospheric Black Metal band with Blackgaze and post rock influences founded in 2020 as a one-man project by Jurg. Based in Sweden the inspiration came from northern nature, folk lore, mysticism, a man’s relation to this part of the earth and bands like Alcest, Enslaved, Anathema and Russian Circles. Two albums were released by Northern Silence Productions, “Sol” in 2021 and “Måne” 2022. Jord transformed into a trio in late 2022 and the new demo songs got attention from Hammerheart Records. A few months later a full studio recording of the third album ”Tundra”, in this new band setting, was done. “Tundra” tells the stories about ancient gods, dark and terrifying beings from Swedish folk lore mixed with modern day power struggles. There is a sand grain of truth to every story however old it may be. Jord uses these old mythologies to give a hint about today’s problems with authorities, mind control and delusions. But most importantly on how the elite will break and fall when they have pushed us too far.

Bas Jan return with a polished and poignant collection of perfectly-crafted pop songs that retains their authentic indie edginess. 'Back To The Swamp' is a heady tussle between their incorrigible DIY ethics and new responsibilities. Serafina Steer, Charlotte Stock, Emma Smith and Rachel Horwood cast an examining eye over modern times, lost love, Tarot intuition and long days in an everyday swamp. Awash with lush chorale effects, orchestral hewn loops, pin sharp electronic beats and sublime harmonies. Back To The Swamp is filled with thought-provoking stories, it's a reflective worldview. It's a polished and poignant collection of perfectly-crafted pop songs that retains their authentic indie edginess. These new studio recordings feature more accomplished pop production; filled with cerebral one-liners that pluck at the senses. And, there's a nod to an eclectic mix of influences; The Pet Shop Boys, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Kate Bush, Heaven 17 and Jon Hassell by way of Brian Eno. Witches, Tarot readings, road signs, Salt-N-Pepa namechecks and a river all cried out, welcome to the swamp_ "Beautifully fractured art-pop" MOJO

London based multidisciplinary artist and DAYTIMERS internal team member Zar (Arun) is returning once again in 2023, this time on The Tabula Rasa Record Company, to release his second EP: “Unfurl”.

It is the next expression of progression in sound for Zar, a movement further into, above and beyond the foundations laid down from his debut EP “Practice Makes Miracles” - which was listed on Bandcamps’ “Best Electronic Music of March 2023” and described by DJ Mag as “a striking solo debut that sets Zar out as an exciting prospect in the sphere of electronic composition.”

Sitting at that murky midpoint between UK Garage, Tech-House & Bass, the songs literally bloom outwardly, wrapping around the listener leaving trails of familiarity, and feature the tendrils of earworm worthy melodies that strike a balance between serene, uplifting, dense and thoughtful, all whilst resting upon deep thumping drums, clever vocal sampling and unconventional song structures. As a follow up to an already ambitious debut EP, Unfurl is an incredibly full-filling listen.

This is the fifth of Nat’s “one-semble” recordings where he plays all the instruments himself.
This album celebrates our collective ancestors, in particular the ones who carried the Music
in their bones and blood and spread it around the Earth, from the earliest times until now.
Music crosses continents and cultures and time itself, and when it speaks of the truth it
transcends musical genealogy, and continues a timeline from the earliest sources up to the
present day. The music in the album is inspired by many things but particularly the master
musicians - John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Cedric Brooks and Count Ossie.

Discover the second album of the emblematic crew Africanism All Stars led by Bob Sinclar and featuring, among others, Bibi, S.U.M.O, Liquid People and Martin Solveig. Including the hits "Heartbeat", "Wintersong" and "Slave Nation".

Take the 101 north out of Los Angeles, and you'll pass by Agoura Hills, where the core duo of the band Dub Thompson grew up. Whatever you see in that town won't readily prepare you for the music they wrote while there, but you're free to look."Most everyone who's in a group who's our age lives on the Internet," says guitarist Matt Pulos. "The kinds of things that have shaped our band aren't anchored to any one time or place."Pulos and his bandmate, drummer Evan Laffer, are currently both 19 years old, and are putting that line of thought to the test; their musical influences travel from the Midwestern malaise of Big Black and Pere Ubu, to Kraut pioneers Can and Kraftwerk, while bowing to the British belligerence of The Fall and This Heat.Recording the album while living with Foxygen's Jonathan Rado at his rented house in Bloomington, the band had its first taste of a heavy Indiana summer, and all the humidity and insect life that buzzes along with it. "We woke up every day, ate hard-boiled eggs and stood on a porch," says Pulos of the experience.Their first collection of songs slyly unties the shoes of genre and convention, shapeshifts mischievously, and tramples on the promises delivered on the name itself.There are only eight songs on this rangy debut.Intense blasts of hook-filled noise rock ("Hayward!"), rocksteady marionette stomp ("No Time"), hypnotic bouts of doomy poetics ("Epicondyles"), outlandishly sexy groove rock ("Dograces"), and a number of other bite-sized forays into parts unknown are made manifest across 9 Songs. The vibes are strong here. Pulos sings and plays like he's working out long-standing grudges, pulling the most sinewy tones from an acoustic guitar and ripping huge chunks of demon flesh out of his electric. Laffer matches him step for step on the drums, an exacting presence behind the kit who pushes even the band's more placid moments into bouts of tension. Together they succeed in animating their musical ideas to startling, almost unnatural life. Reverb units, keyboards, samples and processing gluing everything together, saturated in the August heat and worn in until they sound second nature, it's like somehow you've been listening to these songs forever.

Singer-songwriter Thom Morecroft releases his sophomore album, “Waiting For Leo.” Drawing inspiration from the rich songwriting style of 1970s folk-rock and infusing it with the distinctive aesthetic lens of Glasgow’s C86 scene, Morecroft delivers a captivating lo-fi experience that pays homage to the past while carving its own unique path. Think Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young meets the infectious energy of Teenage Fanclub’s “Bandwagonesque.” During the pandemic-induced lockdowns of 2020 and beyond, Thom embarked on a remarkable creative journey, offering his Patreon subscribers a new digital album every month. It is within these prolific collections that the songs for “Waiting For Leo” were born. With an abundance of time and the freedom to explore his creative impulses, Morecroft crafted a collection of songs that are reflective, philosophical, and deeply personal. Some look towards the future with hope, others reminisce about the past, while some capture the essence of the present moment, and a few wander into realms of pure fantasy. As Thom navigated the challenge of selecting the final tracklist, he honed and refined each composition, adding production elements and creating a cohesive sonic tapestry. “Waiting For Leo” is an album that manages to strike a delicate balance, emanating a sense of contentment and carefree spirit while simultaneously delving into themes of family, alcoholism, grief, and loss. The introspective nature of these songs, born out of a period devoid of external stimulation, allows listeners to embark on a thought-provoking journey alongside Morecroft. Reflecting on the album’s title, Thom shares, “The album is called ‘Waiting for Leo’ because the songs were written and recorded during the period before my partner and I discovered we were expecting our son. There is also the famous Samuel Beckett play called ‘Waiting for Godot,’ which I must confess I have never seen. Is it good?” “Waiting For Leo” stands as a testament to Thom Morecroft’s artistic growth and showcases his ability to merge captivating songwriting with a distinct sonic aesthetic. As listeners immerse themselves in the intimate world he has created, they will discover a tapestry of emotions that resonate deeply.

The band is John Dwyer (synths, vocals), Heather Lockie (viola), Thomas Dolas (synths), Andres Renteria (hand percussion), Brad Caulkins (tenor saxophone), Kyp Malone (synths) and Archie Carey (bassoon). The singers are YoshimiO (Boredoms, OOIOO), Albert Wolski (EXEK), Gracie Jackson (GracieHorse), Ciriza (Artist Extraordinaire), Kyp Malone (Bent Arcana, TV On The Radio, Rain Machine etc.), Brigid Dawson (Thee Oh Sees, The Mothers Network), AZITA (Scissor Girls, Bride of NONO, AZITA). For fans of Steve Roach, Eno, Syrinx, Howard Shore, Current 93, Terry Riley, Tangerine Dream and a proper sage scrub. “An experiment in symphonic improvisation paired with synthesizerscapes. Strings, reeds, synths and hand percussion all blend sweetly into an odd landscape indeed. The final touch was to bring aboard some singers I have loved over the years. I’m so pleased they were all willing to participate and I’m very tickled by the plane we navigate. Once YoshimiO agreed to be on board I knew we were going to be OK. Recorded and mixed at my home studio (Stu-Stu-Studio in Los Angeles) and remotely, this one was a slow burn to see the light of day. And here it is in its final crystal form. Celebrating the spaces between ritual, habit and ceremony. And all the parallels between. The line is blurred. This is occult adjacent strain of sound. At home in daily ritual, contemplation and meditation.” - John Dwyer

Guitar legend John Scofield fuses with trip-hop jazz trio Medeski, Martin & Wood on this influential and much-loved album, originally released on New Year’s Day in 1998. The quartet gets funky on “Chank” and the organ-drenched “Hottentot” and nods to Scofield’s fusion roots on album highlight “Jeep on 35”. This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.

The Beatles 1962 – 1966 & The Beatles 1967 – 1970 (2023 Edition) 6LP BLACK

These landmark compilations have introduced generations of fans to the incredible history of the most storied band in music. For its 50th anniversary, the collections have been expanded: ‘Red’ has 12 additional tracks, including for the first time some of George Harrison’s earliest songs and some classic Beatles versions of R&B and rock ‘n’ roll hits that were so influential on the band. ‘Blue’ has 9 additional tracks including “Blackbird” and “Glass Onion” including the last new Beatles song, “Now And Then” for a total of 21 new additions which are all compiled onto the 3rd disc, effectively creating a ‘new’ LP for each set.

Together the 6LP’s contain 75 tracks, 36 of which have new mixes for 2023. The inserts contains new sleeve notes by journalist and author John Harris. For current fans and future generations alike, the new 1962 – 1966 & 1967 - 1970 collections are a joyous celebration of The Beatles’ timeless musical legacy.

Following on from the warm reception to Hell Yeah and Music Conception reissuing Calm's cult Before album, the labels have come together once more to offer up a reissue of the Japanese master's highly sought-after long player Moonage Electric Ensemble. The hard-to-find original has been given an all-new mixdown from original stem files and then re-mastered by Calm himself, and the double LP will also come with a bonus 12" featuring his very own Daydream Dubs plus an obi-strip and original artwork by FJD.

The blissful yet soul-stirring Moonage Electric Ensemble, which landed first in 1999, was Kiyotaka Fukagawa's stunning sophomore album and the one that kept the bar high following his debut Shadow of the Earth. It investigated all new worlds of future jazz, ambient and downtempo and has since become a cult classic that often fetches three figures on secondhand markets. He has released over 18 albums since including Before which was reissued in 2022, though Moonage Electric Ensemble remains a favourite with those who enjoy the most accomplished and innovative sounds from the first wave of chillout.

This escapist charmer opens with the suspensory synths and piano keys of 'Unseen Small Steps' featuring spoken words from Dan Gamble, then 'Light Year' has gently tumbling rhythms and shimming synth moving about the soothing mix. 'Noon At The Moon' brings gorgeously fizzing future jazz drums and mellifluous piano playing full of subtle joy, and 'The Other Side Of The Moon' then layers up melancholic chords and chunkier rhythms that are detailed with gorgeous persuasive details and mystic flutes. 'Tsukiyo' is a new age charmer with paddy hand drums and romantic interplay between sax and trumpet, 'Between Worlds' is an ambient interlude with distant winds blowing and intimate whispers from Gamble before closer 'Authentic Love Song' rides on dusty trip hop breaks as lazy piano chords melt the heart and Gamble serves up another aloof monologue.

This is another welcome reissue of a sublime album that is not only one of Calm's finest but also a true gem in the wider world of downtempo music.

“I hope you die by my side, the two of us at the exact same time, I hope we die not long from now, the two of us at the exact same time”
By the time Molly Nilsson released History, she had already established a fledgling cult status built on homemade YouTube videos and home-burnt Cdrs. Writing from a distance, it’s clear that History is the first classic album in her canon and arguably a classic of the 21st Century underground music panorama.While the methodology on History hadn’t changed from Nilsson’s previous 3 albums – it was recorded solo at The Lighthouse, Nilsson’s home studio based on a Berlin crossroads – on this record the songwriting reached a new peak and the emotional scythe cut deeper. Here, Nilsson managed to combine a cosmic, outward looking perspective with an intimate knowledge of the human condition and its place in these turbulent times. In truth, no other songwriter has excavated the modern psyche so clearly and perfectly.
The tracklist to Nilsson’s fourth album reads as an early greatest hits for Molly Nilsson followers and also serves as the perfect entry point to a whole world the artist has been building for the last 10 years. In Real Life crystalises the millenial obsession with relationships built online, with a generation paying for the baby boomer’s excesses with their anxiety towards the harshness of every day life. It’s a call to arms for a generation who fell in love on Skype. On I Hope You Die, one of Molly Nilsson’s most iconic songs, the songwriter flips the song title into a tale of doomed romance, a relationship based on discommunications and the thrill of the other. It’s also one of the most heartfelt songs full of pathos written by anyone, an ode to obsession. Doomed romance, life lived on the flipside of day and the role of the outsider in society are themes that crop up through-out History. On
Bottles Of Tomorrow, the narrator is sweeping up, in love with the night and examining the remains a society leaves behind.
On City Of Atlantis, Nilsson veers from the plaintive balladry she had begun to make her name with, embracing trance-like synth and dance music details to create an unlikely anthem using the mythological city as a means to comment on the patriarchal rendering of history by power. With by now trademark panache, she turns complicated subject matter into a glorious song that transforms into an ecstatic pop moment.
Hotel Home, another Nilsson classic, paints loneliness not as a debilitating anxiety, but as a powerful to that propels the artist forward through her travels. It’s a song that hints at an endearing self-awareness also; the writer is never at home, living life on the road, content that “the world will find me when the time is ripe.”
There’s never been a greater time.

repress!

Back by popular demand, the same unique spirits that brought forth the sound of Detroit streets and turned it into the futuristic soundscape known as "Techno-Bass", The Original members have collaborated to re-issue their catalog 25+ years later. Starting with their 1st double pack LP, "Bass Magnetic" (considered to be a mesh of influences between Miami bass and Detroit techno), AUX88 established themselves in an effort to stay true to their roots in the streets and the clubs creating their own genre into a global dance culture. After the release and production of their own documentary ("AUX88-Portrait of an Electronic Band"), the group celebrates its now classic recordings. Harkening back to its first days on cassette tape to revive a future generation of vinyl aficionados.