Search:day dream

Speckled Dragon Egg Color Vinyl. Being Dead knows how to make an entrance - within the first several seconds of EELS, the duo's new record, the bright, hard-strummed guitar line on "Godzilla Rises" conjures cinematic immediacy, a creature emerging from the depths of the ocean in campy, freaky stop motion, fittingly so. Being Dead's records are mosaics, technicolor incantations, each song its own self-contained little universe. And while the dreamlike EELS probes further into the depths of the duo Being Dead's psyche, it is, most importantly, in the year of our lord 2024, a 16-track record that is genuinely unpredictable from one track to the next: a joyous and unexpected trip helmed by two true-blue freak bitch besties holed up in a lil' house in the heart of Austin, Texas. They decamped to Los Angeles for two weeks to record with GRAMMY-winning producer John Congleton, writing songs for the record until days before they left. The radical shift in process was welcome - a good balance and a challenge, Congleton helping them find new ways to work and helping peel back the layers on the core of their songwriting. Being Dead has grown from a duo to a trio live, including bassist Ricky Motto (who is immortalized finally on record here, particularly in the giggles on "Rock n' Roll Hurts") The resulting EELS is a darker record, tapped more into the devilishness within, but it's also a more raucous, rougher ride sonically. There's heartbreak, excitement, enchantment, dancing - we move through it all at a high-octane pace. Falcon Bitch and Smoofy never want to do the same thing twice on any song, and they don't. From the pummeling garage rock distortion of "Firefighters" to "Dragons II," which appears in its demo form taped on a hand recorder, it's unexpected but intuitive, and, most importantly, singularly Being Dead. Like its animal namesake suggests, the songs on EELS are malleable, the record like slithering through murky waters or strange half dreams, mysterious and beautiful in how it moves, reflective in a wavering sheen. Dipping into each song feels like uncovering a new cavern, plunging into depths unknown but fully open to what will be revealed. On the album artwork, an illustration by the artist Julia Soboleva, there are some weird disparate spectral creatures, a stark glimmer against a cloudy darkness. It's a fitting encapsulation of Being Dead, exuding a welcoming, playful energy even if something foreboding lurks just beyond the pale - more out of frame that's left to uncover, no path unexplored, strange and beautiful in the light.

Uyama Hiroto, one of the most important artists behind Nujabes works, released his debut album 'a son of the sun' on 2LP after 12 years.

Uyama Hiroto provided "Letter From Yokosuka" for Nujabes "metaphorical music" released in 2003 and was featured on the title track of "modal soul" released in 2005.

A son of the sun" was released in 2008 and continues to fascinate many listeners to this day.

The highly anticipated album from LAWRENCE is finally here and 15 years after the CD release for the first time available on vinyl!!!

Hamburg based DIAL and SMALLVILLE owner Peter Kersten aka LAWRENCE is one of the most valued and highly regarded artist's in the modern dance music community with a long history of releases on Nova Mute, Kompakt, Ladomat, Spectral, Ghostly, Mule and of course his own imprint DIAL. UNTIL THEN, GOODBYE kicks off with a special 'intro' version of a fan favourite FRIDAY'S CHILD followed by the introspective ambient piece SUNRISE. GREY LIGHT remarks the electronic style of DRUTTI COLUMN while JILL is purely sweet slow house music. The album shifts towards more acoustic driven material with songs such as FATHER UMBRILLO and TODERHAUSEN BLUES…don't fret purists as LAWRENCE hits back with his classic signature sounds with the likes of IN YOUR EYES, SLEEP and SUFFER. LAWRENCE leaves us with a whisper in the most beautiful of ways. The atmospheric ambient tune DON'T FOLLOW ME, the ebb and flow of the piano driven A NEW DAY and the title track leave the listener in a state of bliss. Dare we say, this is one of LAWRENCE's most daring and diverse albums to date…not necessarily a 'concept' album per say but definitely showcases his gift for provoking a remarkably diverse range of musical influences and styles.

Amputechture Beneath the technical flash, the fury, the fearless creative brinkmanship of the first two Mars Volta albums lay a potent seam of the blues, an existential vexation that powered every twist and turn of Omar and Cedric’s imaginations. That mournful vibe would come to the surface of the group’s third full-length Amputechture, a simmering/blistering set that was unquestionably the group’s darkest yet. There was no overarching theme here, no interlinking concept binding the songs together, though Cedric concedes that, lyrically, the album was influenced “by a lot of stuff I was going through, a really bad break-up and a lot of other crazy stuff, and trying to put that feeling into the record.” But Amputechture – its name another of the late Jeremy Michael Ward’s invented words – was no downbeat bummer. Opener Vicarious Atonement might’ve been a deliciously gloomy, slow-burning thing, capturing Cedric in delirious duet with Omar’s swooning guitar lines, accompanied by squalling saxophone by Adrian Terrazas-Gonzales and dream-frequency fuckery by the group’s new sonic manipulator, former At The Drive- In member Paul Hinojos. But second track Tetragrammaton swiftly set pulses racing, an epic-in-miniature and containing more ideas within its 16 minutes than most bands manage over an entire career, its proggy, complex guitar figures tessellating in infinite configurations and converging as if conforming to mathematical formulae from another reality. The raw material Amputechture was hewn from started life on the road. Omar now travelled with his own mobile recording studio – a little Neve ten-channel tape recorder and an array of microphones – and was able to work on new ideas on tourbuses, in hotel rooms and during soundcheck (and, occasionally, after the show was done). After touring for Frances The Mute was complete, Omar relocated to Amsterdam, staying with his photographer friend Danielle Van Ark and her partner, Nils Post. It’s here that he demoed Amputechture, flying in engineer Jon DeBaun, drummer Jon Theodore and his brother, Chino, to work on these raw sketches. He later returned to Los Angeles, where the album was finally recorded. Omar ceded guitar duties to his dear friend and kindred spirit John Frusciante, instead assuming the role of musical director. “I wanted to hear the sound of the band,” he says. “I thought, I’ll be able to sit at the console, feel the air of the speakers moving, the unified sound of everything, and not feel distant from it. It was fun, but it was also challenging.” Part of Omar’s new method was to teach the musicians their parts only moments before the tapes rolled. “To keep things fresh, and to keep everyone on edge,” he says, before chuckling. “No, not on edge – on their toes. Amputechture would prove The Mars Volta’s most diverse set yet, drawing into the group’s tornado of influences moments of fiery jazz spirituality and esoteric folk introspection, finding space for passages of devastating subtlety and also their most fierce and full-on moments to date. The aforementioned Vicarious Atonement found its meditative mood echoed by Asilos Magdalena, an intimate, acoustic piece that invoked traditional Latin folk music, as Cedric sang in Spanish a sorrowful tale of a lost soul’s quest for sanctuary within a Magdalen Asylum, a refuge set up by the Catholic church for “fallen women”. The shadowy, sinister closer El Ciervo Vulnerado, meanwhile, tapped into the darker side of spiritual jazz to further explore the album’s themes of redemption and religious myth and magick. Elsewhere, the interplay between guitar and clarinet on Viscera Eyes created complex, unsettling counter-melodies, while the coiling, ornate Meccamputechture – Cedric’s wild fusion of sacred texts, occultism and dystopian science fiction – proved a great showcase for Ikey Owens’ swarming, infernal organ runs, in concert with Frusciante’s arcane guitar-play. But it was Day Of The Baphomets that would prove Amputechture’s most ambitious and most defining epic. Cedric’s lyrics tore into the hypocrisy of religious cant and myths of sin and punishment. “I wanted to make a song that was like the movie The Believers, where this cabal stole kids and did some occult shit with them,” he explains. “But I wanted it to be like, ‘What if the people you hire to do jobs you don’t wanna do rise up one day and then pull some shit like that?’ Like it was the guerrilla warfare, them taking over – wouldn’t that be some fucked up shit? And the music just lent itself to that – the big intro, the bass solo, and all of the ruckus that occurs.” That ruckus was some of the most thrilling Mars Volta music yet, as Omar directed his musicians to rumble through fiery modes of wild tribal groove, ransack-the-palaces riot- rock and supreme progressive experimentalism. Amputechture, then, is the sound of The Mars Volta in imperial mode: fearless, insatiable, unstoppable.

With their third album on Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Alunah have wasted no time in a post-pandemic haze since their last release, balancing being on the European festival circuit alongside touring the UK. However, in a Birmingham rehearsal room away from the outside world, everyday life and online noise, their latest full length "Fever Dream" has been quietly brewing waiting to see the light of day. Forged from a period of extensive jamming and soul searching "Fever Dream" digs into the core of what makes Alunah tick, being in a room together making the music they want to hear. Recorded during the winter of 2024, the atmosphere of the historic Foel Studio allows groove to flow alongside riff, heft and melody in equal measure. The brooding progressive majesty of the title track, the eastern soundscape of "Sacred Grooves" and the doom and roll of "Far From Reality" each highlight the album's ability to surprise and deliver in equal measure throughout the emotive journey of its nine tracks. Let yourself fall deep into the "Fever Dream".

With their third album on Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Alunah have wasted no time in a post-pandemic haze since their last release, balancing being on the European festival circuit alongside touring the UK. However, in a Birmingham rehearsal room away from the outside world, everyday life and online noise, their latest full length "Fever Dream" has been quietly brewing waiting to see the light of day. Forged from a period of extensive jamming and soul searching "Fever Dream" digs into the core of what makes Alunah tick, being in a room together making the music they want to hear. Recorded during the winter of 2024, the atmosphere of the historic Foel Studio allows groove to flow alongside riff, heft and melody in equal measure. The brooding progressive majesty of the title track, the eastern soundscape of "Sacred Grooves" and the doom and roll of "Far From Reality" each highlight the album's ability to surprise and deliver in equal measure throughout the emotive journey of its nine tracks. Let yourself fall deep into the "Fever Dream".

From Cape Town to Cairo, and now to fans, stages and screens around the world, PJ Morton shares his newest album, fully made in the motherland. Cape Town to Cairo is a collection of songs that he created in 30 days throughout 4 countries in Africa — South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt. Described as the best trip of his life, this transformative journey began as just the seed of an idea last fall, but instantly grew into his most sonically-sprawling and immediately-inspired record to date. With no music, lyrics or preconceptions, he stepped foot onto the continent with two thoughts: a wild dream to write and record his next LP in less than a month, and a mission to immerse himself in as many different cultures, stories and communities as he could.

Surrounded by featured collaborators like Fireboy DML, Mádé Kuti, Asa, Ndabo Zulu, and Soweto Spiritual Singers, as well as additional producers including P.Priime and The Cavemen., his own live band and local musicians, PJ Morton used music as his common language. Always his greatest way of communicating, he expressed his feelings and experiences of Africa through songs he and others were forming together on the spot, side-by-side in different studios, cities and towns for the very first time. None of the tracks were written before he arrived or after he left, and the arrangements showcase both the countries’ native genres as well as the innate, stylistic instincts that have made Morton a 5x GRAMMY-winner and 20x GRAMMY-nominee, whether it be his soul, R&B and gospel roots, or the pop prowess he has further honed as a member of Maroon 5.

“When you’ve been in music as long as I have, you’re constantly looking for inspiration,” says PJ Morton. “And you’re looking for the things that made you want to do it in the first place. I’ve made albums every type of way you can think, so I wanted to try something I hadn’t done before. As a Black American who had never been to South or West Africa, I knew there was something there waiting for me. So I put a little pressure on myself to make a full record in a month, but I also said, ‘If I’m gonna go to Africa, I want to see Africa.’ We made music, but we also formed connections. We made new friends, and this is just the start.”

ESSENCE adds, "This trip is not just a physical move, it's a spiritual return…The soul of Africa pulses through every note he plays and every word he sings,” and VIBE adds that “the multi-faceted artist is fully embracing a new phase in his life.” Cape Town to Cairo marks PJ Morton’s first album since 2022’s Watch The Sun, which featured collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Nas, JoJo, Wale, Jill Scott, Alex Isley and more. Since then, Morton has become the first Black composer to write an original song for a Disney attraction, having just finished making the music for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, opening on June 28th, 2024 at Disney World and Fall 2024 at Disneyland. He also won his latest GRAMMY earlier this year, worked with Samara Joy on “Why I’m Here” for Regina King’s Netflix film Shirley, and landed a cover of his song “Don’t Let Go” as the soundtrack to Apple’s iPhone 15 commercial.

PJ Morton recently returned from headlining his debut shows in Asia, New Zealand and Australia, and announced an extensive Cape Town to Cairo Tour for North America summer and fall 2024. Following iconic performances at New Orleans Jazz Fest, The Kennedy Center, Roots Picnic and Newport Jazz Fest, Morton will embark on a run of more than 25 dates across the country, including New York City’s Beacon Theatre, Chicago’s Chicago Theatre, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Los Angeles’ The Wiltern, and dozens of others.

On the heels of his headline tour and Maroon 5’s Las Vegas residency, PJ Morton will publish a life-spanning new book titled Saturday Night, Sunday Morning. The memoir sees him recounting and reflecting upon a trailblazing path that continues to defy expectations and straddle the tensions of music and faith, race and culture, expression and identity. As the son of two pastors and gospel artists, Morton grew up grounded by the sound of the Church, but soon found himself drawn to R&B, pop and soul, writing songs that the industry, his family and community struggled to understand. In the face of mounting pressure, rejection and constant miscategorization, he committed himself to a steadfast path of independence: making music on his own terms, launching his own record label, joining one of the biggest bands in the world while staying true to his New Orleans roots. The risks he took paid off, and through his transformation from preacher's kid to the busiest man in showbiz – performing everywhere from his local congregation to the Super Bowl, collaborating with everyone from his father to Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Jon Batiste and Lil Wayne – he hopes to encourage readers and listeners to overcome obstacles as they seek their dreams.

Speckled Dragon Egg Color Vinyl. Being Dead knows how to make an entrance - within the first several seconds of EELS, the duo's new record, the bright, hard-strummed guitar line on "Godzilla Rises" conjures cinematic immediacy, a creature emerging from the depths of the ocean in campy, freaky stop motion, fittingly so. Being Dead's records are mosaics, technicolor incantations, each song its own self-contained little universe. And while the dreamlike EELS probes further into the depths of the duo Being Dead's psyche, it is, most importantly, in the year of our lord 2024, a 16-track record that is genuinely unpredictable from one track to the next: a joyous and unexpected trip helmed by two true-blue freak bitch besties holed up in a lil' house in the heart of Austin, Texas. They decamped to Los Angeles for two weeks to record with GRAMMY-winning producer John Congleton, writing songs for the record until days before they left. The radical shift in process was welcome - a good balance and a challenge, Congleton helping them find new ways to work and helping peel back the layers on the core of their songwriting. Being Dead has grown from a duo to a trio live, including bassist Ricky Motto (who is immortalized finally on record here, particularly in the giggles on "Rock n' Roll Hurts") The resulting EELS is a darker record, tapped more into the devilishness within, but it's also a more raucous, rougher ride sonically. There's heartbreak, excitement, enchantment, dancing - we move through it all at a high-octane pace. Falcon Bitch and Smoofy never want to do the same thing twice on any song, and they don't. From the pummeling garage rock distortion of "Firefighters" to "Dragons II," which appears in its demo form taped on a hand recorder, it's unexpected but intuitive, and, most importantly, singularly Being Dead. Like its animal namesake suggests, the songs on EELS are malleable, the record like slithering through murky waters or strange half dreams, mysterious and beautiful in how it moves, reflective in a wavering sheen. Dipping into each song feels like uncovering a new cavern, plunging into depths unknown but fully open to what will be revealed. On the album artwork, an illustration by the artist Julia Soboleva, there are some weird disparate spectral creatures, a stark glimmer against a cloudy darkness. It's a fitting encapsulation of Being Dead, exuding a welcoming, playful energy even if something foreboding lurks just beyond the pale - more out of frame that's left to uncover, no path unexplored, strange and beautiful in the light.

Sacred Skin is back! Their sophomore album Born in Fire hits turntables everywhere September 2024. Pre-order now to reserve your copy! This latest effort builds off the band’s full-length debut (2022’s The Decline of Pleasure) and takes their sound to a completely new level. Painting a blackened, dystopian vision of life in modern-day Los Angeles, Born in Fire is a movie soundtrack inspired by a forgotten era. Anthemic pop music steeped in romanticism and melancholy and drenched in layers upon layers of new wave nostalgia. For fans of ’80s soundtracks, Tangerine Dream, INXS, Depeche Mode, and New Order.

Midnight Mannequin Records is proud to present this deluxe pressing of Born in Fire on 2xLP colored vinyl and housed in a gatefold jacket, complete with OBI strip.

Skinshape (aka Will Dorey) releases his ninth studio album titled Another Side Of Skinshape on 27th September via Lewis Recordings. As the album title suggests, Dorey’s latest body of work is somewhat unlike anything in his prior discography. However, there is always a consistent Skinshape thread which pulsates throughout all of his music - a kind of sonic dreamscape which echoes a mystical nostalgia for a sun dappled afternoon.

Taking inspiration from childhood memories, Ethiopian rhythms, and even calls to prayer, Another Side Of Skinshape gained access to the most esoteric corners of Dorey’s mind. Whilst ‘It’s About Time’ and ‘Ananda’ display a slightly more synthesised palette than we typically hear of a Skinshape tune, singles ‘Stornoway’ and ‘Lady Sun’ (which features the hazy soul vocals of West London’s Hollie Cook) replicate the same lifeblood heard on albums Nostalgia, or Craterellus Tubaeformis.

Speaking on the album, Dorey says “Some songs pay homage to the 90s whilst others the 60s and 70s. Yet you may not perceive all of these in the form that they are presented. In any case I hope that the album is enjoyable and will fit casually into the flow of your day.”

Whilst making this album, Dorey experimented with various keyboards and drum machines, which are at times layered over the excellent drumming of Thomas Blunt, who played live onto tape. Blunt is well versed in the Skinshape vernacular, also being part of Dorey’s live band. Indeed, Another Side Of Skinshape is due for release just before a run of UK and US live dates, which will be the first time the band has ever hit the open road.

Dorey is a former member of the band Palace, has played Glastonbury, BBC Maida Vale and Shepherd’s Bush Empire to name a few. Skinshape’s ‘I Didn’t Know’ has streamed over 50 million times. He is proudly from Swanage, Dorest.

2 x LP on 180 g gold nugget vinyl with insert

"Justin Townes Earle released Kids In The Street, his first record on New West Records, in May of 2017. The album received critical acclaim and further cemented Justin’s legacy as one of the best active songwriters in music. Songs like, “Champagne Corolla” showcased his wry sense of humor as well as his deft ability to build upon the music that came before him while at the same time creating something unique and new. Familiar, inventive, creative, and clever.

Justin would release his second album with New West Records in May of 2019. The Saint of Lost Causes was hailed as one of the best albums of 2019 by Rolling Stone Magazine with “half a dozen or so career classics.” “I was trying to look through the eyes of America,” Earle says. “Because I believe in the idea of America - that everybody’s welcome here and has a right to be here.” Earle tells these American stories in detail and without judgement. While some songs cite historic events like “Flint City Shake It,” and “Don’t Drink The Water,"" other tracks present fictionalized narratives that are no less harrowing, or true-to-life , as heard in ""Appalachian Nightmare,” “The Saint Of Lost Causes,” and “Over Alameda.""

Justin Townes Earle was always a champion of the underdog and All In features in depth looks at the hopeful, and the hopeless. Fueled by empathy, baked in the blues, Justin was never without something poignant or humorous to say. Sadly, Justin passed away in 2020 at the age of 38. ALL IN: Unreleased & Rarities (The New West Years) is a fitting tribute to Justin’s legacy. The collection features many never heard before songs, demos, and cover tunes, spanning his time as a New West Records recording artist."

CAR CRASH SET were one of the very few electropop acts coming out of New Zealand and have released several vinyls nationally between 1983 and 1986. Basically, the CAR CRASH SET consisted of synthesists/composers David Bulog and Nigel Russell and guitarist/producer Trevor Reekie, and was formed in late 1981, then still with Nick Jenkins on synths. They created such outstanding electropop songs with a Roland TR-606/808 and such lovely sequencing, – e.g. “Fall from Grace” is definitely a song that Anna will take with her into her grave – that it is indeed a shame that they didn’t receive more attention. Anyway, their 1983 12” ‘Two Songs’ (including “Outsider” and “Fall from Grace”) and the V/A ‘We’ll do our best’ LP (including CAR CRASH SET’s “Toys”) are at least highly collectible items amongst electropop connoisseurs and many people will be happy to see these tracks being available again as well as four previously unavailable demos from both their earliest and later days and seven more songs added to this CD version. CAR CRASH SET are currently recording again together though not only with the original Roland gear (“nothing else will do” as Dave once said): TR-606, Jupiter-4, MC-4, System 100m modular and System 104 sequencer as well as Nigel’s Korg MS20, Poly-61, Polysix and way more!

LP (3rd edition) features: limited edition of 317 copies, 180 grams yellow flame vinyl, A3 poster/revised lyrics sheet, sticker, revised hand-numbered double-sided postcard.

For the past two decades, Dr Roman Belavkin (Solar X) has been deeply involved in AI research and mathematics at British universities. His albums from the 1990s are a testament to an era defined by the early internet-bulletin boards, FTP sites and mailing lists. In keeping with this, Solar X's music sounds surprisingly futuristic, a romantic artifact of a time eagerly anticipating tomorrow.

Following the re-issue of Solar-X's "Xrated" in 2019, GALAXIID is releasing his debut "Outre X Mer". All tracks are from the original DAT tapes and have been remastered for this release. "Pozdno Utrom", "Dileg" and "Solar X" were originally released on the "Outre X Mer EP" on Defective Records in 1995. Other tracks are out on vinyl and digital platforms for the first time.

"I was homebound for two years between 1992 and 1994, and the only way I could escape was through computer networks and writing," Belavkin recalls. Before the nasty car accident he was a member of the USSR/Russia national wushu team. Confined to his home, Belavkin started creating tracks based on ideas from his school days in the late 1980s, when he first recorded melodies on cassette tapes. This time, however, he fused those sounds with Soviet analogue synthesizers and PC sound cards. He shared these tracks via email with friends in different countries, becoming part of the "Analogue Heaven" mailing list, a community of enthusiasts united by their passion for analogue synthesis dating back to the 1960s.

During his initial pursuit of a PhD in Computer Science, Roman wanted to explore the intersection of what electronic music could offer humanity, the potential for AI to experience emotions, and whether emotions enhance or hinder intellect. These themes resonate in the music of Solar X. The album embodies ambient techno with intricate rhythms and ear caressing melodies, choppy percussion and blissful synths, making it both tranquil and danceable. Like a shimmering spaceship navigating between anxious dreams and visions, it transports the listener to a naively hopeful era yet to come.

Acid jazz pioneer Chris Bangs returns with a brand
new album for 2024, following his early-2023
release ‘Firebird’, and 2022’s collaboration with
Mick Talbot ‘Back To Business’. His latest longplayer ‘Dream World’ is set for release on the Acid
Jazz label on 20 September – a characteristic font
of latin jazz from the maestro producer.
Bangs is known for originally coining the term
‘acid jazz’ – a movement which subsequently
morphed into the label – as he and likeminded DJs
(including Gilles Peterson and Eddie Piller) began
to combine jazz, soul and rock-fusion with the
prominent sounds of acid house in the late ‘80s.
He has since worked extensively as a producer
and DJ – including credits with his own The Quiet
Boys and Yada Yada, along with Paul Weller,
Galliano and of course most recently Mick Talbot.
The new album see some new collaborators in the
Bangs ranks – including Argentine keyboardist
Luciano De La Rosa, Italian Massimo Morganti on
trombone, Chile’s Juan Pi Salvo on trumpet, and
Fabio Tiralongo on sax – making it a truly global
production. Described as ‘pure labour of love’ by
Bangs himself, the album is a further expansion of
his remarkable sound and vision, and his own
ever-expanding dream world of (acid) jazz that
moves far beyond genre-casting

Blue Foundation's album "Sweep Of Days" is celebrated at its 20th year anniversary with this special limited re-master vinyl print. The album remains a timeless classic, a testament to artistic innovation and creativity's enduring power. Blue Foundation, the groundbreaking Danish electronic duo, has etched its name in the annals of music history seamlessly blending elements of electronic, trip-hop, ambient, and dream pop. Their music is characterised by ethereal melodies, haunting vocals, and intricately crafted soundscapes. The fusion of electronic beats and organic instrumentation creates a captivating juxtaposition that has spellbound their audiences since 2000. Their seminal album, "Sweep Of Days" from 2004 solidified their status as pioneers in electronic music, a timeless classic that united electronic music with dream pop and trip-hop. The album swiftly earned critical acclaim for its evocative soundscapes and emotionally charged compositions, going gold in Denmark and achieving international recognition when the single “Sweep” featured in the hit movie "Miami Vice".

"Natural Palace is real wave, where the city lights have dimmers and adjust to the vision of the night. They get bright before an afterparty, can ease some shade for a cooldown celebration or spark the shine upon your day. It all started as a distant dream between four friends with a love for '90s dance, '80s AOR and '70s downtown. The dream started to become a fever during a self-imposed recording lock-in. Now, the doors of the Natural Palace are ready to be opened as a post-pan band with songs that could be welcomed on the mid-level of a three-story German dance emporium and in the back rooms of laundromats on future retro nights.

RIYL: Throwing on ""Dewdrops in the Garden"" at the first signs of spring, smoke machines with extra fog juice, hanging out with Howard Jones in a HoJo lobby, Black Box dance parties with Neneh Cherry on top."

The concept for and palette of Crystal Dorval aka White Poppy’s ‘Paradise Gardens’ trilogy first germinated in 2016 as a notion of “paradise music” combining new age, bedroom shoegaze, and bossa nova into “transcendental Tropicalia.” As she filled tapes of recordings exploring the idea, many of the songs gradually gravitated towards the hermetic dream pop her project is best known for, becoming the albums Paradise Gardens (2020) and Sound Of Blue (2023). Dorval describes these collections as a sort of “emotional purging or shadow work,” before arriving at “the state of inner paradise:” Ataraxia.

As the third, final, and most purist realisation of the original ‘Paradise Gardens’ vision, Ataraxia delivers. Nine instrumentals of nimble guitar, elevated bass, clean rhythm, and clear light, gliding like swans on a shimmering pond. There’s a sense throughout of playful tranquillity, of serenades at sunset, of kisses of blissful Muzak wafting along a boardwalk.

But behind the music is a patience, grace, and levity born of Dorval’s personal journey with spiritual healing that paralleled the trilogy. A process of transmuting pain into beauty, day by day, melody by melody, cleaving the darkness from the soul and re-entering one’s rightful home in the Garden.

"They are the Finnish / Dutch / British troupe NIGHTWISH – one of the most fascinating rock bands of the last decades, whose enigmatic paths have proceeded from acoustic passages to symphonic heavy metal and from catchy folk to progressive majesty. If there is one trait the band has year after year, it might be this: expect something familiar but also expect the unexpected. NIGHTWISH has indeed broken all kinds of boundaries – never deliberately, but perfectly naturally.
Now guess what? NIGHTWISH's new studio album ""Yesterwynde"" – the band's tenth overall – is no exception to the rule. But it is more...

“""Yesterwynde"" took more time to make than any previous NIGHTWISH album”, nods keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, who once again envisioned most of the material. ""The new album was intensively worked on for 3,5 years. My ambition and piety really skyrocketed, and I just couldn't let go of the creative process – and didn't want to. Along the way, ""Yesterwynde"" became both an exhilarating obsession and a comforting haven for me. All aspects of the making – compositions, lyrics, arrangements, cover art, videos, mixing and so on – were given more attention than ever before.""
The result? There's a fascinating, but inexplicable feeling that NIGHTWISH has once again been able to find unprecedented nuances, spices and perspectives in their new works – exactly: after a career of nine classic albums. """"Yesterwynde"" is an experience that takes time to digest. The gravid ingredients of the songs are easily recognizable, but beneath the surface lies a large number of intriguing details and features"", Holopainen describes.

""It's interesting – but not surprising – that ""Yesterwynde"" has attracted quite a variety of opinions. Some have stated that it is the most 'band' record to date. For some it appears to be the heaviest and most ominous NIGHTWISH release. It has also been called our most progressive album. And the list goes on.""
And what does Tuomas think of it himself?
""To me, ""Yesterwynde"" sounds, tastes and feels strongly like the true essence of NIGHTWISH – enriched with new moods and flavors.""

The lyrics of ""Yesterwynde"" deal with large-sized universal themes: memories, mortality, humanism, time and much more. ""The new album is the conclusion of the trilogy – textually it follows in the footsteps of its predecessors ""Endless Forms Most Beautiful"" and ""Human. :II: Nature."""", Holopainen says. ""At the same time, ""Yesterwynde"" is the band's most lyrically driven album: our music has never been so 'married' to the lyrics. So here's a tip: if something in the composition puzzles you, the words might clear it up.""
""For me, one of the key lines is 'we are because of a million loves' – taken from the song ""Perfume of the Timeless"". Each of us is part of an unbroken chain that stretches back billions of years. If even one of your ancestors had died too young – mauled by a cave bear, for example – during this incredibly long period of time, you would never have been born. In other words: our existence is such an unfathomable privilege!”

What does the term 'yesterwynde' mean?
""It describes a feeling that cannot be found in any human language. That's why we had to invent a whole new word. The album is supposed to open that feeling to the listener.""
Without taking anything away from the solid delivery of guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, drummer Kai Hahto, bassist Jukka Koskinen and multi-instrumentalist/singer Troy Donockley, it might be worth highlighting one fact: the performance of the eloquent storyteller Floor Jansen is once again unparalleled. It is simply breathtaking how the singer is able to make songs fly with her performance. ""Floor's second child was born just over a month ago, and we hadn't rehearsed together at all... So it was a little nerve-wracking to go to Floor's home studio for vocal recordings. Well, what happened? We had booked twelve working days and after six days everything was completed in style. Floor's preparedness for the sessions was something extreme!""

After the recordings and mixing process, there was one more working phase. Mastering. Could you possibly guess that no shortcuts were taken at this point either?
""The album was mastered seven times until we reached the finish line – one hundred percent satisfied!"", states Tuomas. ""When the record was eventually finished, a three-year, extremely inspiring adventure had come to an end. I felt very, very happy.""
NIGHTWISH's next steps are clear. And they are not the most common ones.
""NIGHTWISH will not go on a world tour this time. This was a decision made for personal reasons. But don't worry... Our contract with Nuclear Blast Records includes several albums, and there's plenty of motivation to create new music!""
May the dream continue...
"

"They are the Finnish / Dutch / British troupe NIGHTWISH – one of the most fascinating rock bands of the last decades, whose enigmatic paths have proceeded from acoustic passages to symphonic heavy metal and from catchy folk to progressive majesty. If there is one trait the band has year after year, it might be this: expect something familiar but also expect the unexpected. NIGHTWISH has indeed broken all kinds of boundaries – never deliberately, but perfectly naturally.
Now guess what? NIGHTWISH's new studio album ""Yesterwynde"" – the band's tenth overall – is no exception to the rule. But it is more...

“""Yesterwynde"" took more time to make than any previous NIGHTWISH album”, nods keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen, who once again envisioned most of the material. ""The new album was intensively worked on for 3,5 years. My ambition and piety really skyrocketed, and I just couldn't let go of the creative process – and didn't want to. Along the way, ""Yesterwynde"" became both an exhilarating obsession and a comforting haven for me. All aspects of the making – compositions, lyrics, arrangements, cover art, videos, mixing and so on – were given more attention than ever before.""
The result? There's a fascinating, but inexplicable feeling that NIGHTWISH has once again been able to find unprecedented nuances, spices and perspectives in their new works – exactly: after a career of nine classic albums. """"Yesterwynde"" is an experience that takes time to digest. The gravid ingredients of the songs are easily recognizable, but beneath the surface lies a large number of intriguing details and features"", Holopainen describes.

""It's interesting – but not surprising – that ""Yesterwynde"" has attracted quite a variety of opinions. Some have stated that it is the most 'band' record to date. For some it appears to be the heaviest and most ominous NIGHTWISH release. It has also been called our most progressive album. And the list goes on.""
And what does Tuomas think of it himself?
""To me, ""Yesterwynde"" sounds, tastes and feels strongly like the true essence of NIGHTWISH – enriched with new moods and flavors.""

The lyrics of ""Yesterwynde"" deal with large-sized universal themes: memories, mortality, humanism, time and much more. ""The new album is the conclusion of the trilogy – textually it follows in the footsteps of its predecessors ""Endless Forms Most Beautiful"" and ""Human. :II: Nature."""", Holopainen says. ""At the same time, ""Yesterwynde"" is the band's most lyrically driven album: our music has never been so 'married' to the lyrics. So here's a tip: if something in the composition puzzles you, the words might clear it up.""
""For me, one of the key lines is 'we are because of a million loves' – taken from the song ""Perfume of the Timeless"". Each of us is part of an unbroken chain that stretches back billions of years. If even one of your ancestors had died too young – mauled by a cave bear, for example – during this incredibly long period of time, you would never have been born. In other words: our existence is such an unfathomable privilege!”

What does the term 'yesterwynde' mean?
""It describes a feeling that cannot be found in any human language. That's why we had to invent a whole new word. The album is supposed to open that feeling to the listener.""
Without taking anything away from the solid delivery of guitarist Emppu Vuorinen, drummer Kai Hahto, bassist Jukka Koskinen and multi-instrumentalist/singer Troy Donockley, it might be worth highlighting one fact: the performance of the eloquent storyteller Floor Jansen is once again unparalleled. It is simply breathtaking how the singer is able to make songs fly with her performance. ""Floor's second child was born just over a month ago, and we hadn't rehearsed together at all... So it was a little nerve-wracking to go to Floor's home studio for vocal recordings. Well, what happened? We had booked twelve working days and after six days everything was completed in style. Floor's preparedness for the sessions was something extreme!""

After the recordings and mixing process, there was one more working phase. Mastering. Could you possibly guess that no shortcuts were taken at this point either?
""The album was mastered seven times until we reached the finish line – one hundred percent satisfied!"", states Tuomas. ""When the record was eventually finished, a three-year, extremely inspiring adventure had come to an end. I felt very, very happy.""
NIGHTWISH's next steps are clear. And they are not the most common ones.
""NIGHTWISH will not go on a world tour this time. This was a decision made for personal reasons. But don't worry... Our contract with Nuclear Blast Records includes several albums, and there's plenty of motivation to create new music!""
May the dream continue...
"