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Oliver Leiths von der Kritik gefeierte Kammeroper "Last Days", basierend auf dem Gus Van Sants Kultfilm "Last Days", feierte im Oktober 2022 in einer ausverkauften Aufführungsreihe im Londoner Royal Opera House Premiere. Mit der bewährten Starbesetzung in ihren ursprünglichen Rollen entstand nun diese 90-minütige Studioaufnahme, auf der das 12-köpfige Ensemble unter der Leitung von Jack Sheen den Anker von Leiths straff ausgearbeiteter und zutiefst fantasievoller Partitur darstellt.

- "Oliver Leith's score is a sonic tapestry interweaving delicate instrumental effects, 'found' sounds, and a cappella vocal timbres." - The Independent
- "Leith's score, brilliantly rendered by 12 Ensemble under Jack Sheen, is starkly original." - Bachtrack
- "Jack Sheen conducted the slick 12 Ensemble… balancing the push-pull sternness and rapture of a score that surely has a real future ahead." - Opera

"PNKSLM Recordings proudly present ""Normal Song / Daybreak” from rising stars of the Swedish indie scene 7ebra. The twin sisters' first new material since releasing their critically acclaimed debut album ""Bird Hour"" in 2023. In a natural continuation thematically from ""Bird Hour"", the new release sees the duo not only embracing their melancholy, but celebrating it.

7ebra are 27-year-old twin sisters from Malmö Sweden, who grew up playing music together. Inez plays electric guitar and sings, Ella plays a keyboard, organ and Mellotron - whilst manually playing drum samples with her feet - as they both sing haunting harmonies in a way that only twins can. Beautiful but punk, minimalist but epic."

2024 Repress

More great new music from Soul:r's home city of Manchester. Chimpo is a local legend. He's been on the underground scene for years, dj'ing and producing his homemade blend of multi genre bass infused electronic music. Known also for his unique microphone skills, Chimpo's delivery style and wit is something to behold. This Ep showcases all of what chimpo has to offer. A release that will stand out for being different and yet totally devastating on the dane floor. The vinyl release contains a huge remix of the title track, "Frontline", by Calibre that utilises Fox's vocal and flips the sound back to the days of jungle techno. Add also the deadly production unit of Dub Phizix and Skeptical on lead track "Buzzin" and you have a package that we at Soul:r are very proud of indeed.

"Catch me in the corner not speakin'/Crushed out heavenly/ U.G. rock the sweet daddy long fox minks/Chicken and broccoli, Wally's look stink"

Ghostface Killah released his debut solo album 25 years ago on October 29, 1996. Produced by fellow Wu-Tang Clan member RZA, Ironman found inspiration in sources ranging from blaxploitation films to classic soul and charted a whole new direction for hip-hop in the process. The album features classic bangers like Daytona 500 featuring Raekwon and Cappadonna to soulful emotionally moving cuts like All That I Got Is You with Mary J Blige. To commemorate the 25 year anniversary Get On Down is proud to present Ironman in a 2xLP set available on both ‘Blue & Cream’ and ‘Chicken & Broccoli’ half-n-half colored vinyl, each version housed in a deluxe gatefold jacket, packed inside a ‘shoebox’-style 2nd outer jacket embossed with the year 1996.

Der in Island geborene und in Berlin lebende Singer/Songwriter Máni Orrason setzt auf seinem neuen Album "Blue Skies Motel" fast ausschliesslich auf seine akustische Gitarre, seine Stimme und seine Geschichten - und punktet mit allen. "Viele Songs kreisen um das, was ich jetzt manchmal meine 'dark Berlin years' nenne." Dass er diese nun jedoch hinter sich lassen konnte, lag vielleicht auch ein Stück weit an all diesen wunderschönen, traurigen Songs, die er für "Blue Skies Motel" daraus destillierte und die bei den Hörer:innen Begriffe wie Aura, Atmosphäre und Authentizität auslösen.

Máni Orrason ist einer der Künstler, die seit Jahren einen Proberaum im alten Funkhaus in der Nalepastraße in Berlin haben. Die ursprünglichen Radiostudios der DDR sind seit Mitte der 2000er eine beliebte Adresse für zahlreiche Musiker:innen. "Blue Skies Motel" ist nach dem gleichnamigen Gedicht von Robert Creeley benannt, dass Máni Orrason in einer Anthologie amerikanischer Dichter:innen fand – ein Buch, das in seinem Proberaum einen festen Platz hat und ihm immer wieder Inspiration liefert.

- "Man fühlt sich schnell, als lausche man hier einer intimen Beichte – vorgetragen im Schummerlicht, mit Akustikgitarre und einer angebrochenen Flasche Wein an der Seite." - mister-mixmania

Der Soundtrack zur Apple TV+ Originalserie "Masters Of The Air" ist ein epischer und innovativer Score des EMMY®-preisgekrönten Komponisten Blake Neely. Die ausführenden Produzenten der Serie sind Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks und Gary Goetzman (siehe auch "Band Of Brothers" und "The Pacific"), zur herausragenden Besetzung gehören unter anderem die Oscar-Nominierten Austin Butler und Barry Keoghan. Im Mittelpunkt von "Masters Of The Air" steht die Darstellung des psychologischen und emotionalen Preises, den junge Männer zahlten, die dabei halfen, den Schrecken des Dritten Reiches zu zerstören.

Clutchs "Slow Hole to China", ursprünglich veröffentlicht im Jahr 2003, ist ein Kompilationsalbum, das seltene Tracks und B-Seiten enthält. Das Album präsentiert die charakteristische Fusion der Band aus Rock, Funk und Metal mit einer rohen, undergroundigen Atmosphäre, die ihren eklektischen Stil und ihre lyrische Kreativität betont. Diese groove-lastigen Songs sind remastert und das Albumcover wurde aktualisiert. "Slow Hole to China" zeigt den robusten, energiegeladenen Flair, der typisch für den unverwechselbaren Klang von Clutch ist.

'Four', das vierte Bloc Party Album, das von 2008-2011 aufgenommen wurde und ursprünglich 2012 erschien, wird jetzt auf gelbem Vinyl neu aufgelegt.

Textlich erkundet 'Four' lebhafte Themen, die von der New Yorker Drogenszene bis zum Reality-Fernsehen reichen und die für die Band typische Introspektion und den sozialen Kommentar widerspiegeln. In Abkehr von elektronischen Experimenten kehren Bloc Party zu einem gitarrenbetonten Sound zurück, der 'Four' mit Zuversicht und Energie erfüllt. Mit seinen pulsierenden Rhythmen und ansteckenden Melodien ist 'Four' ein Beweis für die Entwicklung und den anhaltenden Einfluss von Bloc Party in der Indie-Rock-Szene.

Das zweite Album der Brightoner 'Supergroup' Pascagoula mit Mitgliedern von Charlottefield, Trencher und Mullholand reflektiert das zunehmende Chaos und die Härte der Welt. Die Songs sind schärfer und bissiger, gehässiger und grausamer als zuvor und handeln von Traumata, Bedauern, Ängsten, toxischen Beziehungen, psychischen Erkrankungen, schlechten Entscheidungen und ihren Folgen. Hier drinnen ist es nicht einfacher als da draußen. Die LP erscheint auf Deluxe Graphite Grey Eco Mix-Vinyl, wobei 10% aller Einnahmen an den Gaza-Hilfsaufruf von War Child UK gespendet werden.

Suburban Architecture are pleased to announce the fourth in their 'Architecture Dubs' series of limited edition 10" vinyl releases, which sees some of the most revered names active during the mid 90s golden era of Drum & Bass deliver remixes of Suburban Architecture material in homage to that most innovative of periods.

Following on from the now sold out release of Architecture Dub #001 (featuring remixes from Peshay and DJ Trax), #002 (featuring Blame and DJ Trace), and #003 (featuring Nookie and DJ Crystl), edition #004 enlists two further legendary names to put their stamp on the duo's material.

Ray Keith is a DJ and producer who requires little introduction. From his beginnings in the Acid House scene of the late 80s through to the present day via Hardcore and, of course, Jungle, Ray's output has been a steady presence in UK dance music for over 3 decades. From manning the counters of legendary record stores including London's infamous Black Market Records to masterminding bonafide dancefloor hits such as 'Terrorist' and 'Dark Soldier', Ray has touched every corner of the scene. For this remix, Ray brings some of his trademark Dread flavour to 'The Drifter' injecting some tough Amen and Bassline energy to the track.

DJ Harmony is another DJ who cut his teeth behind the counters of some of the scene's pivotal record stores, having worked in Lucky Spin and Section 5, while releasing music on some of the most important imprints in the genre, notably including Moving Shadow. Today Harmony is best known as the driving force behind the brilliant Deep Jungle imprint which delivers classic, new and unreleased music from Jungle's heaviest hitters. Recent releases have come from names including Adam F, Dilinja, DJ Trace and, naturally, Harmony himself. Harmony's remix of 'The Believer' takes cues from classic Jungle with a half time break down, giving way to a smashing Amen workout accompanied by the rousing vocal refrain of the original.

Pressed on 10" vinyl and housed in brown Kraft paper sleeves, the series makes visual reference to the exclusive dubplate pressings which introduced so many classic cuts to the UK's dancefloors in the 90s.

"For A Fleeting Moment" is the result of the dialogue between the Swiss photographer Simone Kappeler and the Japanese musician Tomotsugu Nakamura initiated by IIKKI, between March 2023 and May 2024.

Tomotsugu Nakamura is a musician and graphic designer residing in Tokyo, Japan. His primary artistic practice is to compose music with some fragments of minimal acoustic and electronic tones and some field recordings. In Concert, he he has played with various genre of musicians and his works have been released by Kaico, Audiobulb Records, and more recently by the French label LAAPS.

Born in 1952 in Frauenfeld (Switzerland) where she lives and works, Simone Kappeler started taking pictures at the age of 11. After studying German literature and art history, she studied photography at the Zurich University of the Arts. During a three-month trip to the United States in 1981, she took her first pictures using cheap cameras, especially the Diana camera.
Hasselblad, Leica, Diana, Brownie, Polaroid, disposable camera, expired or infrared films, since 1970, Simone Kappeler has explored all types of photographic techniques. Her work, experimental and poetic, reveals to us the curiously foreign world that surrounds us.
Since 1982, ongoing projects in southern France and the Grisons.1982/83, studio in New York, conceptual photography and Super 8 films. 1983/84, theater photographer, Schauspielhaus Zürich. 2009, six-week photographic study of Japan, 2015 studio in New York. Her work was the subject of a first monograph: "Seile. Fluss. Nacht. Fotografien 1964–2011", edited by Hatje Cantz and is regularly exhibited in Galleries and Museum in Europe and United States.
For A Fleeting Moment is her first book gathered exclusively a part of her wide polaroid works from 2011 to 2023.

Fine Art Book, Ltd. to 700 copies:
Hardcover book printed on Glossy Modern Paper 170g/m2 // 104 pages, 19cm x 22.5cm, 66 photos // Front cover points and back cover logo embossed // Selective UV varnish // Hand-numbered.

Two years after Strange Effect, the Parisian band are back with Half Asleep Half Awake, a second album that will restore your faith in rock. And how do they do that? With a compendium of overpowering hits, luminous melodies and finger-burning demonic jams. The trio of Djivan Abkarian (vocals, bass), Lucas Humbert (guitar) and Baptiste Leon (drums) went back to London to Liam Watson's studio (White Stripes, Madness, Tame Impala, Supergrass) for this new opus. Half Asleep Half Awake is a string of XXL hits. There are Proust ballads, hysteria, a remarkable home run and 18-carat diamonds. To reinforce this kaleidoscopic feel, Howlin' Jaws haveincorporatednewinstruments (a djura, a kind of mini Greek bouzouki; sagattes, smallcymbals used in Egypt and Turkey) to add depth and diversity. VocalsweredubbedandthenpassedthroughLeslieboothsforvibratoeffect, and solos were infused with phaser. This is an album wherealchemyandexperimentationgivebirthtofrenzy,savageryandemotion

"To celebrate the Grateful Dead's 15th anniversary in 1980, they did something extraordinary: they played a fifteen-show run in San Francisco, and an eight-show run in New York City, with the most exciting of these being an additional, acoustic 45 minute set to open every show, their first acoustic sets since 1970. These sets saw the reinterpretation of some classic Dead and solo songs, older traditional songs from the jugband days and the 1970 acoustic sets, and some new additions to the Dead's repertoire. Recorded to 32-track tape (two 16-track tape machines synced up), Reckoning is one of the greatest, most clear sounding live records the Dead ever produced. Featuring countless classics including “Cassidy”, “Bird Song”, “Monkey and the Engineer”, and “Ripple”. • Will be newly mastered by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer David Glasser, Produced for release by the Dead’s Audio Archivist and Legacy Manager, David Lemieux"

First career spanning compilation on vinyl, covering studio albums, singles and unreleased tracks (2009-2023) by the acclaimed Peruvian instro band, Los Protones. A collection of intense recordings - mostly originals - which combine surf music, psych, garage, and tropical & Andean flavors. DESCRIPTION The Protones began their strange journey in Lima, Peru, in early 2007. The band's roots were as a side project for several members of Manganzoides, a well-remembered Peruvian garage rock band, but they quickly consolidated their own instrumental style that, to this day, combines musical genres from the 60s such as psychedelia, surf music and garage rock, sometimes paying tribute to Peruvian rhythms such as chicha and Amazonian cumbia. They are surely the only band in the world that has shared stages with Los Shapis and the New York Dolls, although not on the same night... Over the course of two decades they have played countless concerts, including visits to Europe and other Latin American countries. The music on this compilation comes from their four, full-length studio albums: "Los Protones", "Hijas del Diablo", "Maravilla!" and "Misión: OA4", in addition to the previous CD compilation "20 Monstruos! 2007-2015" and "Double Feature", a split CD with the Brazilian band Os Brutus. The group's current lineup includes Gonzaleo (guitar), Tito (drums), Jimi (keyboards), Andrés (bass) and Lucía (violin). Dance floor oriented tropical music at its best!

Following their ground breaking "Wet Dirt" album from 2019, CRIMEAPPLE and DJ Skizz are back to take you on a worldwide flight starting off in Hradec, Czech Republic. The New Jersey rapper and Brooklyn producer step up their game once again on this new offering, with CRIMEAPPLE solidifying yet one more time his position as one of the best lyricist out there, painting perfect pictures all by himself over Skizz's top-tier productions, with an extra soulful and vintage touch added to it. Fasten your seat belts as this one is yet another classic to listen up above the clouds!

"Microcastles" ist der Nachfolger des hoch gelobten Deerhunter-Albums "Cryptograms" (2006). Und wie es scheint, macht Bradford Cox (Atlas Sound) sein Versprechen wahr: "My punk days are over!", tönt der Leadsänger und kreative Kopf der Band auf MySpace. Tatsächlich überrascht "Microcastle" mit lockerem Charme und lässt nur noch stellenweise den wilden Garage-Sound der frühen Deerhunter aufleben. Das beinahe schon sakrale "Activa" unterstreicht das vielseitige und klare Songwriting der Band, während "Saved By Old Times" mit einer so kickenden Gitarre daherkommt, dass es auch auf ein Album von Dave Mathews passen würde.

A limited pressing in transparent yellow of Eyedress's album, Let's Skip To The Wedding - a loved up remedy for uncertain times. Limited to 1000 copies worldwide

"Black Ice" ist das mittlerweile 15. Studioalbum der Band und der erste Longplayer mit neuen Songs seit "Stiff Upper Lip", das Anfang 2000 Platz eins der deutschen Album Charts belegte. Gleichzeitig feiern die australischen Rock-Legenden damit ihr Debüt beim SONY-BMG-Label Columbia. "Black Ice" entstand unter der Regie von Star-Produzent Brendan O'Brien (Rage Against The Machine, Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Incubus, u.v.a.) in den Warehouse Studios in Vancouver. Abgemischt wurden die Songs vom kanadischen Juno-Award-Preisträger Mike Fraser, der neben zahllosen AC/DC-Meisterwerken auch entscheidend an Alben von Aerosmith, Dio, Biffy Clyro, Motley Crue, Van Halen und Slipknot mitgewirkt hatte. Ende Oktober startet die Band zu ihrer ersten Welt-Tournee seit 2001.

Mit "Rock 'N Roll Train" brachten Angus Young, Brian Johnson, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams und Phil Rudd bereits den ersten Vorab-Song des Albums aufs (Hit-)Gleis: Kurz nach dem offiziellen Radio-Date schoß das AC/DC-Brett in den Top 100 der deutschen Airplay-Charts. Und auch die weiteren vierzehn Stücke auf "Black Ice" haben es in sich. "Es sind viele starke Songs auf dem Album - denn darum geht es ja letzten Endes bei einer Band. Man ist immer nur so gut wie seine Songs", erklärt Gitarrist Angus Young, "manche Stücke muss man ein zweites und drittes Mal hören, aber das finde ich sehr positiv - wenn die Songs mit jedem Hören wachsen." "Es ist das beste Album, das wir je gemacht haben. Schlicht und einfach", ergänzt Sänger Brian Johnson, "'Back in Black' war großartig für seine Zeit, bzw. es ist ein zeitloses Werk. Aber das neue Album zeigt, wie vielseitig die Band ist."

DJ Support: Gilles Peterson (BBC Radio 6 Music), Tom Ravenscroft/Deb Grant – New Music Fix (BBC Radio 6 Music), Huey Morgan (BBC Radio 6 Music)

Cut from material recorded in April 2021 at Fish Factory studios in London, the album’s title Abbreviations nods to the editing and post-production processes that trimmed the original recordings into seven succinct and intricate tracks. Making space for collaborators Ernesto Marichales (percussion), Miryam Solomon (vocals) and Valeria Pozzo (Violin, viola), it builds on the critically-acclaimed success of Sound & Reason (supported by Gilles Peterson and Mary Anne Hobbs) to bring out different shades of the group’s shape-shifting sound.

‘Elevator Company’ condenses twenty-minutes of jamming around Tal Janes’ hypnotic guitar line into a low-lit lounge groove that subverts the tropes of elevator music associated with some forms of easy listening jazz. Featuring Solomon’s wordless vocals, the piece blurs the lines between ambient and improvised music, creating a warm and intimate atmosphere reminiscent of classic RnB recordings.

On a different tip, ‘The Spin’ is a trance-like freak-out drawing on the final reserves of energy at the tail end of two days of solid recording. Reflecting guitarist Janes’ idea that "music really starts happening after a while, once you feel like you have nothing left to offer," the hypnotic rhythm section sets the tone for an fraught and frazzled guitar solo that seems to dissolve the very edges of time and space in the process.

An album that speaks to Qwalia’s endless capacity for self-renewal and uninhibited expression, Abbreviations takes its cue from the group’s name to communicate something ineffable about the nature of music, rhythm and sound that must be experienced to be truly understood.

Formed by Kenny Clarke and Francy Boland, the Clarke-Boland Sextett, with the participation of numerous musicians from both Europe and the United States, made significant contributions to the development of jazz in Europe. At the core of this ensemble, the powerhouse sextet consisting of Kenny Clarke, Francy Boland, Sahib Shihab, Jimmy Woode, Joe Harris, and Sadi came together to record the album "Music For The Small Hours" in 1967, and it is now set to be reissued with an obi.

This album spans a wide range of styles, from standards like Burt Bacharach's "Wives & Lovers" to Brazilian and Afro-Cuban influences such as Luiz Bonfá's "Ebony Samba" and Dizzy Gillespie's "Tin Tin Deo." Additionally, it features original compositions like Shihab's "Please, Don't Leave," where he takes on vocal duties. The entire recording exudes a sophisticated and relaxed mood, showcasing the utmost skill of this formidable sextet. "Music For The Small Hours" is a masterpiece that deserves a place in the history of European jazz, boasting the ultimate level of refinement.

"Trauma and the shock effect of it - the leftover residue of harsh reality so impactful that it shapes the way you imagine, envision and calculate your position in regard to everything and everyone around you.
A new type of psychological radius evolves. Boundaries are reinforced. Relationships are recessed. A damaged brief system float aimlessly. Vulnerable to and for anything reminiscent of a worthy cause. The truth about facts became satirical monologue, dead end expressions that have no critical arrangement. We all know someone that either has been or will be"

- Jeff Mills


The Eyewitness reveals a habitual pattern in the way it symbolizes a mirror reflection of mankind in our most vulnerable moments. It is the forthcoming album of Jeff Mills and it is composed from the perspective of an unknowingly complicit bystander and it is at the very least, psychologically pathological in nature. What this release is essentially proposing is an admission to the diagnosis that no one is immune to shock and trauma. Not the accuser or the accused. And this abnormality s culturally and generally transmittable - handed down and passed over to one another disguised as righteous theatre.

As an artist, what Mills is notoriously known for is the perspectives and paths he chooses to approach hefty, complex, and sometimes, awkward subjects. The best way to recognize the narratives of his mostrecent album works such as "The Clairvoyant", an eerie transcending album that plays through like a Seance for creating a bridge to reach another dimension or "Mind Power Mind Control", a cautionary warning about the consequences of supporting deceit, mind control and mass mental persuasion is to start by first taking a moment to look at yourself in a mirror. He's suggesting sound as a reflection and what we might be able to see in ourselves. Proposing that we might be the problem and a solution. In the same vicinity of his recent solo albums, the direction, scope or target of The Eyewitness is first about us, then about it.

More than the few previous albums he's released lately, this one has a unique relationship in terms of imagery and visual treatments that represent the concept. The front cover shows Mills, neatly dressed in a black suit that appears to be caught in the act of doing something methodically as he cohorts to supportwith a bright white type of surgical light towards the viewer. Stark and in the act of.......something offensive - it could be some type of hypnotic machine at work. Other photos show him in darkened spaces. Remote and deep in thought.

Other clues are the titles of the tracks such as "Sacred Iridescent Mirror (The Pledge)": this refers to the act of installing value and credit to something ambiguous and "Menticide" which means the systematic effort to undermine and destroy a person's values and beliefs. In the opening track, "in A Traumatized World" we hear the narration spoken by Mills. In a language he specifically created for this album. It's a dialect that is designed to be undistinguishable, but spoken with a compassion that it could be sympathized with. In the latter part of the track, it reaches a climatic point. Meaning, "it" has happened. And the album is the evidence.

On extra note:

In this day and age,it's comforting to see a musician like Jeff Mills administer music conceptually without any conditions attached. The artistry and craft of using sound and rhythm to bring forth a concern, a warning or the result of a diagnosis to the listener.

After two fantastic releases on HOUSEWAX it's was now the right music and time to bring this great artist to CHIWAX!
Juno Dreams EP is a trip back to the best days of this genre.

After backing future Mike Oldfield producer Tom Newman and playing in psychedelic outfit July, percussionist/flutist Jon Field and guitarist Tony Duhig joined forces with bassist Glyn Havard to form experimental prog act Jade Warrior, their non-standard 1971 self-titled debut a work of excellence unjustly overlooked. Veering between acou-stic introspection, searing acid rock and world music interludes, with melody and percussion from Africa and India and nary a drumkit in sight, this pure musical gemstone of uncommon beauty is ripe for rediscovery, and this edition comes with a rare alternate of ‘Telephone Girl’ to boot. Mega!

From the deep confines of the universe, we receive emissions of HC Records’ 21st release - Those Dark Whims by UHF, the production duo and Gladio Operations label heads José Castillo and David Aragón. An exciting digital LP from which a selection of tracks have been extracted for vinyl along with remixes by two label regulars, Estrato Aurora and The Lost Boys.

Skynet Was Shy opens both the LP and the vinyl, a hypnotic starting point in which the most vibrant and crystalline electro fuses with acid sequences to generate a state of pure trance, complimented and driven by spiralling sequences and mantra-like vocals. The second track on the LP and A2 on the vinyl is The Lost Boys' remix of Skynet Was Shy. A rough and sharp reinterpretation where the use of 303 sequences continues but focuses on more of a physical than a mental dance.

Hanging Baskets reactivates the state of infinite mental suspension that underlies this powerful and bold composition with deft and minimalistic use of elements: sharp broken rhythms, a dense melodic environment but with occasional moments of pure light and a new vocal message that ignites in our minds.

The B-side kicks off with Estrato Aurora's remix of Day Dream, which as usual in the work of the acclaimed Valencian producer, extends the original version to 8 minutes, giving it an unusual emotionality created by an amalgam of sound textures that interweave multiple pads, mutant melodies and pulsating percussion. Closing the vinyl, UHF's machines join forces with the lyrics of another electro heavyweight in Protestas En Las Redes Feat. Dark Vektor, a combative discourse in which the powerful and robotic vocal message of the Terrassan producer ascend alongside the futuristic melodies, extra-dimensional violins, spatial arpeggios, and metallic rhythms of the Madrid duo.

"Androids may not yet dream of electric sheep, but maybe computers do sing sad songs."

In 2013, Tzoukmanis released ‘Hope Is The Sister Of Despair’, issued here for the first time on vinyl with 4 previously unreleased tracks.
The album was made following the end of a relationship and the happy/sad feeling is everywhere in this music. Sequences twinkle and nag, soft pads pour balm on tired ears and when drums do appear they provide an intimate framework rather than a call to the dance floor. The album taps into a rich vein of sequencer romanticism, from Tangerine Dream-obsessed-‘Berlin School’ daydreamers to the whole nebula of music inspired by Warp’s Artificial Intelligence series. It also looks forward, prefiguring the return today, in troubled times, to the comforting inner space of ‘90s-worshipping ambient techno.

The German word ‘weltschmerz’, roughly translating as ‘world sadness’, fits this music well. The melancholy it inspires feels collective, almost heartening. Sorrow might be said to infuse the technology’s basic building blocks – Leibniz’s binary ‘one’ bereft of its ‘zero’, its presence twinned with absence. But there is hope, too, in the network of actions and decisions that have been fashioned here into melody and rhythm.

Mixing the theatrical, the operatic and the ghoulish, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins was a one-off whose shocking stage tactics helped him find initially fame in the mid-1950s. Recorded in Nashville in 1973 and his sole offering for local label Hot Line, A Portrait Of A Man And His Woman is Hawkins at his most accessible; the title track’s haunting delivery and a remake of calling card ‘I’ve Put A Spell On You’ balanced by bright takes of ‘Itty Bitty Pretty One’ and Conway Twitty’s ‘It’s Only Make Believe,’ with plenty of grunts, shouts and animalistic interjections beneath Hawkins’ operatic and gospel-tinged vibrato. Hawkins fans, take note!

After playing with Mingus, Coltrane, Lady Day and Abbey Lincoln, inventive jazz pianist Mal Waldron moved to Europe and first reached Japan in 1970, where he met Idahoborn double-bassist Gary Peacock, who had played with Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Bill Evans and free-jazz giant, Albert Ayler before moving to Japan to study zen buddhism. First Encounter, recorded in Tokyo in 1971 for French producer Herve Bergerat, shows that the intense pairing was quite natural, the harmonic dissonance of Waldron’s “She Walks In Beauty” contrasted by the up-tempo groove of Peacock’s “What’s That”; future Native Son founder Hiroshi Murakami makes important contribution on drums.

** TRILOGY ***
post-punk experiments

VOLUME 1 of a series of 3 re-releases of the 80s underground solo cassette tapes by Menko Konings (aka EM / Menko / eM.)
This first re-release/remaster is the cassette tape “dedicated to Charles Bronson” (1986) by Menko, with almost one hour music

TAPE RESTAURATION / REMASTER (2024) by the grand master RUDE 66

Vocals on Debra by Tonny Timmermans (aka Antonia)

Limited edition of 50 (hand numbered) golden cassette tapes with original J-card

“When I went solo in 1983 I only had a guitar, a bass and a four track cassette tape recorder. Sometimes I borrowed a rithmebox or a synth for a couple of days. These solo cassette tapes were created in that period.” (MK)

Music journalist Oscar Smit described these tapes in the 80s - in his column Dolby of the legendary Dutch magazine Vinyl - s.a.: “Big city music, metropolis beat, drum composers, funking basses, nervous rhythm guitars, radio and TV sounds in the background and intonationless vocals.”

Exact Repro OF THE Original With 4 Bonus Tracks. Japanese country rock act Gypsy Blood must be heard to be believed. Released on Vertigo in 1971, their sole LP showed the group simply bursting with talent, Kiyoshi Hayami’s mandolin exceptional and the masterful soft-rock production courtesy of Miki Curtis; drummer Eiichi Tsukasa had earlier been in the Helpful Soul, organist Katsuo Ohno had been in the Spiders, and guitarist/vocalist Hiroaki Nakamura later played in Buzz with future YMO member Yukihiro Takahashi, while none other than Alan Merrill of ‘I Love R‘n’R’ fame completes the picture on piano. A beautiful album, and a very rare beast!

Formed in 1971 by guitarist John Evan-Jones and his bassist brother Trevor, obscure British prog-rock act Jonesy had a shifting line-up and unusual elements, Chicago-born Jimmy Kaleth’s battery of keyboards including a Mellotron. Sophomore set Keeping Up saw Trevor return to the fold, along with drummer Plug Thomas, fresh from sessions with Supertramp; guitarist Ray Russell’s lush string arrangements and Alan Bown’s plaintive trumpet and flugelhorn add extra musical dimensions. Capturing the group at their most eclectic, Keeping Up is a must for Mellotron fans and all lovers of pop, jazz, and blues-tinged prog.

The American psych pop quintet Paper Garden had established a solid reputation performing to university students in their native New York and in surrounding states in 1967-68 before being commissioned to cut a debut LP with British producer Geoff Turner for Musicor, the resultant sessions yielding a self-contained concept album of totally new work. With sitars and tabla on some songs trading places with baroque elements and orchestrated interludes, the breezy psych pop gets pulled in all manner of directions and often sounds closer to the British psychedelic sound than anything Stateside. A rare and rich listening experience!

English blues outfit Tramp was a fleeting affair, active in the late 1960s and early 1970s on an on again, off again basis. Centred on former John Dummer Blues Band guitarist/vocalist Dave Kelly and his singing sister Jo Ann, the group benefitted from Fleetwood Mac mainstays Mick Fleetwood, Danny Kirwan, Bob Brunning and former Savoy Blues Band keyboardist, Bob Hall. Produced for Spark in 1969 by Donovan’s manager, Peter Eden, their sole LP featured tough blues originals, written by members of the group. This is a must-have for all Fleetwood Mac devotees, andfor lovers of British blues albums.

Eight months after the release of Wake Of The Flood, the GRATEFUL DEAD followed up that masterpiece with the second album on their Grateful Dead Records label, From The Mars Hotel. To this day, most of the songs on From The Mars Hotel are played frequently by the band members as they continue to bring the music to the people, and during the GRATEFUL DEAD’S touring career, more than half of the songs were important parts of their live repertoire. “Scarlet Begonias,” “Ship Of Fools,” and “U.S Blues” arrived on the scene in 1974, with “China Doll” and “Loose Lucy” coming a year earlier, and they all quickly became staples of GRATEFUL DEAD live sets for decades, although “Loose Lucy” had a 15 year hiatus 1975-1989. Phil's two songs on the album are often played live these days when Phil performs with his rotating cast of Friends, and these songs, “Pride Of Cucamonga” and “Unbroken Chain” are elicit ecstatic responses. These would be the final two Phil-sung songs on a GRATEFUL DEAD studio album. Peaking at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in 1974, the album's terrific batch of new songs and exceptional production had Dead Heads scooping up the album 50 years ago upon its release.