Cerca:deeper

U.S. Cinematic outfit Whatitdo Archive Group returns to explore the worlds of Mid-Century Exotica and Library Music with "Palace Of A Thousand Sounds," out on May 5th.

From the instrumental cinematic-soul outfit behind 2021's critically acclaimed The Black Stone Affair comes Whatitdo Archive Group's most recent foray into the realms of the esoteric and arcane, and their most adventurous album to date: Palace Of A Thousand Sounds, available May 5th, 2023 on Record Kicks on limited edition LP, CD and digital platforms.

After The Black Stone Affair enthralled record collectors by traversing the cinematic landscape of an imagined 1970s Spaghetti Western, Palace Of A Thousand Sounds finds Whatitdo Archive Group entrenched deeper in the worlds of mid-century exotica and library music—from the Tropicalia-steeped Amazon to the minor key tonalities of the far-out Near East.

When the dust finally settled from their debut album, composer and tireless sound scientist Alexander Korostinsky set out to discover the band's new direction, with the ultimate goal to breathe new life into the mid-century era sound with the compass of modernity as his guide.

From its conception in 2021, Palace has sought to carry on a legacy set in motion by the likes of Martin Denny, Les Baxter and Juan García Esquivel. Korostinsky, guitarist Mark Sexton, and drummer Aaron Chiazza recorded the album in marathon sessions from Korostinsky's Studio "A," in Reno, Nevada—a mysterious sonic laboratory where the year 1970 has yet to happen, and vintage analog equipment interfaces with modern musical perspectives and experimental recording techniques to produce era-defining sounds.

Not content to appeal to the sensibilities of armchair anthropologists, Palace Of A Thousand Sounds finds the band interrogating the genre itself while making studious tributes to the real places and times it draws from. It's in this tension between here and there, fantasy and reality, that Whatitdo Archive Group find their groove.

Drawing from a century of pop and folk sounds from around the world the way only 21st-century crate-diggers can, Palace is rooted in an undercurrent of heavy funk that is decidedly here and now. Whatitdo Archive Group showcase the breadth of their influences with disarming confidence, equally at home behind sweeping harp, loungey vibraphone or Turkish bağlama saz. A lush seventeen-piece orchestra commanded by award-winning composer Louis King (Janelle Monáe, Monophonics) completes the instrumental mélange, enticing listeners to imagine a borderless planet unified by melody and rhythm.

The album is unafraid to explore the strange and uncomfortable in pursuit of an authentic musical identity, subverting expectations in pursuit of forwarding the genre while paying homage to its past. Fans will appreciate the architectural complexity of the record accessible only through multiple listens—each visit to the palace yielding new details to marvel at, curiosities to ponder, grand mysteries to explore.

Once the needle drops, W.A.G carefully guides you from room to room, sound to sound within the walls of the album's sonic palace. Listening becomes an aural journey providing glimpses into different worlds both real and imagined; you are everywhere and nowhere all at once—a guest in the grand halls and hanging gardens of time and sound.

Steeped in obscurity, a cult following of crate-diggers and musical oddity collectors has been brewing over the mysterious releases of the Whatitdo Archive Group. Surfacing in 2009 from the high deserts of Reno, NV USA, this three-piece recording collective(Alexander Korostinsky, Mark Sexton and Aaron Chiazza) focuses solely on curating, performing and preserving esoteric soundtrack, library and deep-groove collections. As an onlooker, it's hard to tell whether the music they are procuring is actually archival, music of their own creation, or both. Their debut LP The Black Stone Affair, the formerly lost soundtrack music of a once-shelved Italian cinematic masterpiece, was released in 2021 and received praise from the likes of Wall Street Journal, Mojo Magazine, Uncut, Shindig, Blues & Soul Magazine, BBC 6, FIP Radio (FR), KCRW (US), JazzFM (UK) and more. Two years later, the Whatitdo Archive Group is back. Get ready for an exotic adventure with their sophomore full-length effort: Palace of a Thousand Sounds.

"Remembering is not the opposite of forgetting," Casey MQ sings at the start of Later that day, the day before, or the day before that, his new LP and Ghostly International debut. It's a phrase fittingly misremembered from something the LA-based, Canadian-born composer came upon as he spiraled into unconscious and subconscious-led writing sessions at the piano. Casey's known for his 2020 breakthrough release babycasey, which gave voice to songs seen through the lens of childhood, various film score work and collaborations with artists such as Oklou (who returns here), Eartheater, and Vagabon. His gifts as a producer and songwriter are rooted in textural world-building and the excavation of personal truth. With Later that day... he questions what is true entirely, understanding our mind's tendency to bend and project onto pictures of the past. Across vivid, baroque pop balladry, Casey MQ reorients his recording project and point of view under the notion that memories are malleable. All the joy, pain, love, and loss housed within remembrance is open to interpretation and deconstruction, which he does deftly, with curiosity and complete artistic freedom. "It's a memory album," Casey puts it simply, winding up for the deeper unpacking, "and it might be a breakup album, too_there are more questions than answers." Engaging his dreams and sitting with sheet music at his newly acquired piano, he looked to new and old inspirations including the works of Claude Debussy, Joni Mitchell, and Joe Hisaishi's beloved Studio Ghibli film scores. "Since I was young, I always wanted to write a piano album." babycasey's studied electronic sound isn't wholly abandoned on Later that day... instead, it comes through like an atmosphere, giving Casey's more spacious, minimal arrangements a distinct luster and sheen. The textures and tones shift from song to song as if mirroring the way our minds constantly recontextualize, remember, and forget. Cathartic opener "Grey Gardens" _ its title derived from a dream abstractly related to the Toronto restaurant, but not the 1975 film, which he cites as another coincidental false memory _ presents the record's plaintive, haunted feeling. "Even if not reading into lyrics, sonically I wanted it to feel like you're being pulled into a universe. Not fantasy or otherworldly per se, something more tangible, of the body and mind," Casey says. "Hearing it back, I realized this track was the key to unlocking it." His tender falsetto hovers above ambient washes and echoed keys, each word falling carefully in the crevices. "Asleep At The Wheel" unfolds on arpeggiated synth before a burst of symphonic color; the synth returns inverted to harmonize with the outro, "I love a car crash, I love a story, I love a memory, I swear it's real..." Casey leans into digital imagination on the warm, introspective "Me I Think I Found It." Subdued, stuttered percussion underscores the singer as he cycles through pixelated imagery _ screenshots, smiles, streetlights _ searching for higher meaning through love. Built on ascendent chord distortions, "Dying Til I'm Born" gives the record one of its boldest pulses of emotion. The back half stretches out; "Is This Only Water" is sparse and foggy, "Baby Voice" is intimate and desperate for something to remain. "Words For Love" grooves on guitar, and "Tennisman9" aches in heartbreak. French musician Marylou Mayniel, aka Oklou, appears as the collection's only guest for the closing duet, "The Make Believe," a bright and buoyant send-off that gives Later that day... both a sense of resolve and cyclical-motion. "We are young, under the sun," they sing together, a parting image brimming with lightness.

"Remembering is not the opposite of forgetting," Casey MQ sings at the start of Later that day, the day before, or the day before that, his new LP and Ghostly International debut. It's a phrase fittingly misremembered from something the LA-based, Canadian-born composer came upon as he spiraled into unconscious and subconscious-led writing sessions at the piano. Casey's known for his 2020 breakthrough release babycasey, which gave voice to songs seen through the lens of childhood, various film score work and collaborations with artists such as Oklou (who returns here), Eartheater, and Vagabon. His gifts as a producer and songwriter are rooted in textural world-building and the excavation of personal truth. With Later that day... he questions what is true entirely, understanding our mind's tendency to bend and project onto pictures of the past. Across vivid, baroque pop balladry, Casey MQ reorients his recording project and point of view under the notion that memories are malleable. All the joy, pain, love, and loss housed within remembrance is open to interpretation and deconstruction, which he does deftly, with curiosity and complete artistic freedom. "It's a memory album," Casey puts it simply, winding up for the deeper unpacking, "and it might be a breakup album, too_there are more questions than answers." Engaging his dreams and sitting with sheet music at his newly acquired piano, he looked to new and old inspirations including the works of Claude Debussy, Joni Mitchell, and Joe Hisaishi's beloved Studio Ghibli film scores. "Since I was young, I always wanted to write a piano album." babycasey's studied electronic sound isn't wholly abandoned on Later that day... instead, it comes through like an atmosphere, giving Casey's more spacious, minimal arrangements a distinct luster and sheen. The textures and tones shift from song to song as if mirroring the way our minds constantly recontextualize, remember, and forget. Cathartic opener "Grey Gardens" _ its title derived from a dream abstractly related to the Toronto restaurant, but not the 1975 film, which he cites as another coincidental false memory _ presents the record's plaintive, haunted feeling. "Even if not reading into lyrics, sonically I wanted it to feel like you're being pulled into a universe. Not fantasy or otherworldly per se, something more tangible, of the body and mind," Casey says. "Hearing it back, I realized this track was the key to unlocking it." His tender falsetto hovers above ambient washes and echoed keys, each word falling carefully in the crevices. "Asleep At The Wheel" unfolds on arpeggiated synth before a burst of symphonic color; the synth returns inverted to harmonize with the outro, "I love a car crash, I love a story, I love a memory, I swear it's real..." Casey leans into digital imagination on the warm, introspective "Me I Think I Found It." Subdued, stuttered percussion underscores the singer as he cycles through pixelated imagery _ screenshots, smiles, streetlights _ searching for higher meaning through love. Built on ascendent chord distortions, "Dying Til I'm Born" gives the record one of its boldest pulses of emotion. The back half stretches out; "Is This Only Water" is sparse and foggy, "Baby Voice" is intimate and desperate for something to remain. "Words For Love" grooves on guitar, and "Tennisman9" aches in heartbreak. French musician Marylou Mayniel, aka Oklou, appears as the collection's only guest for the closing duet, "The Make Believe," a bright and buoyant send-off that gives Later that day... both a sense of resolve and cyclical-motion. "We are young, under the sun," they sing together, a parting image brimming with lightness.

Keith Hudson was a one-of-a-kind musical innovator with an impeccable track record from the start: his first studio recording involved former Skatalites, and his earliest releases provided solid-gold hits for Ken Boothe (“Old Fashioned Way”, 1967), John Holt, Delroy Wilson, U-Roy and the others.

With Pick A Dub Hudson produced one of the best dub albums ever, and with The Black Breast Has Produced Her Best, Flesh Of My Skin, Blood Of My Blood he released the first concept album in reggae history, bringing his all-around talents to full fruition as early as 1974. Thematically dedicated entirely to Black history, the latter of these two albums is a masterpiece that captivates with an atmosphere that is as dark as it is deeply spiritual, charged by Hudson's eccentric vocals. Like Lloyd Bullwackie Barnes, his splitting from tradition was dynamic and all his own.

As his career moved on, Hudson found himself working outside of Jamaica, more frequently in London and New York studios and for transatlantic audiences, his dark experimentalism becoming increasingly better suited to the LP than the cardinal 7” reggae format.

Playing It Cool & Playing It Right was released in 1981 on the Joint International label, in NYC, with Lloyd Bullwackie Barnes as the executive producer. The Love Joys and Wayne Jarrett, stalwarts of Barnes' record label, Wackies, would also inimitably feature Hudson at the microphone. Like Bullwackie, Hudson was a devotee of Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One and Playing It Cool & Playing It Right follows Dodd’s then strategy of overdubbing his signature rhythms. The Studio One sides were aimed at the dancefloor and Hudson’s reworkings of tracks like “Melody Maker” are more psychological. Here, deep Barrett Brothers rhythms are made deeper with reverb, filters and distortion; everything pitched down and overlaid with new recordings of guitar, percussion, keyboard, and voice, often heavily treated.

Playing It Cool & Playing It Right continues Hudson’s psycho-acoustic journey into the abysses of existence, and overwhelms with the beauty of artistic self-empowerment. "Too much formula," sings Hudson, whose voice is occasionally reminiscent of Sly Stone or even Tom Waits. "Darkest night," answers an echoing background choir elsewhere. Even more fascinating is Hudson's production, which reflects Black history in even the smallest sound detail, the flashing whip of the slave driver still echoes in the sound of the snare drum. Rarely has a roots sound been made so electrifying, so expansive in all directions, so crystal clear, so bass-warm and echophonic as on these 30 minutes of music.

Playing It Cool & Playing It Right is legendary, strange, utterly compelling music that has possibly never been more topical than it is today.

Multi-platinum country artist Sara Evans known for chart-topping hits like "Sud in the Bucket " and "A Little Bit Stronger," is poised for a new chapter. This March marked her debut on Melody Place Records with the release of the single "Pride" and her long awaited album, Unbroke. Simultaneously, she's preparing to unveil an updated version of her memoir, "Born To Fly," through Howard Books, a Simon & Schuster imprint. Expect this insightful memoir to hit shelves this Summer, offering readers a deeper understanding of Sara Evans beyond her musical achievements. Add in the recent launch of her lifestyle podcast and "Diving in Deep" and a plethora of TV appearances expect to see (and hear) Sara Evans everywhere.

2024 Repress

Repetitive Rhythm Research mainstay Frequency returns to the series with "Turn The Light". Taking cues from classic Detroit influences but taking it even deeper with trippy vocal edits and tight production. Alden Tyrell & Serge turn the lights up with a bottom heavy remix. "Space Dub Work" closes in style with it's deep dubby breakbeat.

Renowned US producer Maceo Plex releases his highly anticipated third album, ‘’93', a homage to his three-decade journey through the realms of electronic music. Marking both a passion and a prolific career, the maestro presents a tantalising body of work that masterfully blends House, Hip Hop, Global Bass, Techno, Breaks, and Electronica. This audacious fusion delves into historic and modern influences, crafting an audio journey that transcends time, rich in history yet boldly future-facing.

‘’93' is a cross-genre exploration, seamlessly balancing emotion with hard-hitting beats. Maceo Plex collaborates with a stellar lineup of artists, including Diplo for his contribution on ‘You Don’t Have To Wait’ with Cubicolor, Oscar and the Wolf, Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction), Johnny Jewel and Desire, Kirsty Hawkshaw, Mystic Bill, AVNU, Giovanni, Ishi, and Tyler Hill, resulting in a diverse and dynamic musical affair.
This album narrates the story of a highly esteemed artist at a pivotal juncture in his career, consistently evolving towards new directions. Departing from the early deeper house sound that initially defined him, Maceo Plex intentionally ventures into new territory, steering away from his famed melodic and techno direction in recent years. Nevertheless, '93' retains the essence of Maceo Plex's signature style, transcending various sounds and genres in a manner reminiscent of his electrifying DJ sets, meticulously curated for the dancefloor and the crowds.

‘93’ vinyl LP by Maceo Plex is available on Lone Romantic from 17th May 2024.

Key Feedback Quotes:

Pete Tong - Maceo is such a talented producer. A sonic juganaut. An inspiration to so many aspiring music makers. He's a master of analogue and digital in the studio. He's a total 'one of'.
Kolsch - Incredible album!!!!
Artbat - “Very cooooool album!
Gregor Tresher - Wow, now this is what I call an album! Extraordinary stuff, I love it! Big up, Eric!
Hot Since 82 - Nothing short of sensational. My fav producer and DJ who consistantly sets the bar far too high and we all play catch up. Love it.
Rodriguez Jr - Awesome album. LOVE IT. Such a wide spectrum of influences here. Respect!
Laurent Garnier - Very cool. Will play these
Hernan Cattaneo - This is a really good album!
Wehbba - happy to finally see the album coming out, lots of gems, Nasty, Just You and I, Get out Of Here and You're My Desire are my main picks.
Eelke Kleijn - Already listened to the whole album on Spotify. Fantastic. Miles ahead of everyone else. Thanks for sending this, will play many of these for sure.
AFFKT - all tracks are amazing
Ida Engberg - Loooove this release! Stop that and Serpent jazz for me, can't wait to play them. Lone Romantic killing it!
Victor Ruiz - Honestly, you’re a genius! 10/10 productions always.
Pig&Dan - Great to hear new tunes from one of my favorite producers out there
Oliver Huntemann - some real gems on here
Fideles - wow, love it all
Peter Kruder - Love 'em all! Thanks for sending my way!
Yotto - Sick Sick Sick work!
Jody Wisternoff - Insane tracks from Maceo!!!
Terr - Amazing music as always, thx!
Nicolas Masseyeff - Solid release! Full Support!
Paige - Nasty is an absolutely mind-blowing track!!
Braxton - Incredible Album. .
Dense & Pika - Wicked stuff from Maceo.
Eli Brown - Always great music from Maceo Plex.
Anden - Congrats on the album! Love it!
Sergio Muñoz / Fur Coat - Great work from Eric! Congratulations.
La Fleur - So many gems in there, looking forward to having a proper listen from start to end! Thx
Captain Mustache - Big work here from Maceo, congratz!
Alex Kennon - This is a masterpiece!
Timo Maas - Clickbait is a cool track, I like the deep funk.
Martin Eyerer - This is a great album!! I love nasty most, but all great.
Nick Warren - This is such a great album.
Laurent Garnier - Very cool EP. Will play these.
Jonas Rathsman - Stop That sounds interesting

THE 1968 ALBUM ON WHICH JOHNNY CASH BECAME A LEGEND: AT FOLSOM PRISON AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT AND POTENT STATEMENTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY


Johnny Cash already knew his way around Folsom Prison when he and his band stepped inside the institution’s forbidding walls on the morning of January 13, 1968 to record At Folsom Prison. He’d played there two years prior. But this time was different.

Cash took the stage that day for two shows amid a darkening sociopolitical atmosphere and a raging war in Vietnam, as well as the knowledge his career and health hung on by a thread. The Arkansas native shared many of the long odds and abject failures of the inmates for which he performed. The songs he chose, and the conviction with which he delivered them, say as much. The point at which Cash transformed from a country star into a legendary artist, and a bold statement about the American prison state and its commitment to rehabilitation, the triple-platinum At Folsom Prison remains one the most important, potent, and fabled records of the 20th century.

You can hear it echo off the walls of the room; pulse through the itchiness of the Tennessee Three’s acoustic-based boom-chick rhythms; crackle in the announcements conveyed over the intercom; ring in the comedy of the off-cuff remarks and pair of novelty tunes; sense it in palpable energy that wells up within Cash and his audience. And you can experience it like never before via Cash’s knockout singing. The bedrock foundation of all his music, the singer’s baritone resonates with profound degrees of depth, pliability, and passion that underscore how much this appearance meant to him — and the extent he was living the narratives.

Indeed, every song on At Folsom Prison serves a purpose and speaks to the conditions — mental, emotional, physical, geographical, legal, social — the inmates confronted on a daily basis. Beginning with the explicit messages of the opening “Folsom Prison Blues,” Cash makes it clear he understands and shares many of their plights. Not for nothing did the myth of Cash having done hard time persist for decades once this record hit the streets. That’s how real it is, and how dedicated Cash remains to conveying every note with the same truth he invests in the impromptu comments he makes between and amid songs.

Listen to the sorrow, regret, pity, and loneliness of Merle Travis’ “Dark as the Dungeon,” Cash pulling syllables til they threaten to break and inhabiting the mood of bleak phrases such as “pleasures are few” and “the sun never shines.” Witness the isolation, dejection, and sadness punctuating the walking-blues “I Still Miss Someone,” matched in gravity by a solemn reading of “The Long Black Veil” — a traditional dirge that involves murder, cheating, and deception. Cash cuts even deeper on a heartbreaking solo rendition of “Send a Picture of Mother” and plainspoken version of Harlan Howard’s “The Wall,” detailing a suicide disguised as jailbreak through cliched-jaw deliveries that softly curse the impossible situation.

In chronicling temptations, mistakes, mortality, punishment, and life “inside” — for better or worse, the stories of the disenfranchised, forgotten, written-off, and unrepentant — At Folsom Prison also has a blast playing the outlaw role. Cash captures wild-eyed craziness and out-of-control mayhem on a revved-up take of “Cocaine Blues,” taking extra satisfaction in its dastardly tales by way of voice that shifts into character for the sheriff and judge. The gallows humor and racing drama of “25 Minutes to Go”; quicksilver accents and resigned acceptance of “I Got Stripes”; train-whistle blare and twangy locomotion of “Folsom Prison Blues” — all fight the law only to see the law win.

Cash remains deeply committed at every moment, and inseparably connected with the tortured souls removed from the goings-on of the outside world. No wonder all but two songs here stem from the day’s first performance that saw Cash, Luther Perkins, Marshall Grant, and company give everything. As does the Man in Black’s soon-to-be-wife, June Carter. The couple’s fiery duet on “Jackson” scorches; their combination of surrender and fortitude “Give My Love to Rose” puts us in the dying protagonist’s shoes.

And with the closing “Greystone Chapel,” famously penned by convict Glen Sherley, who watched it all happen under the watchful eye of guards, Cash separates the corporeal from the spiritual, relaying lessons about salvation and survival. Heady themes to which he’d return for the remainder of his illustrious career.

A deeper dive into the mind of the mysterious man who gave us Niggajazz at the top of the pandemic. Although only a six song ep, the title song gained traction for its jazz bop, house appeal. The follow up, New World Order is the first full length from the artist and displays a wider scope of that exact sound. Written and produced in 2021 NWO comprises tunes for the floor as well as the ride. With lush ballad Black Apple, The Common Suicides latin flare, The Torus’ obscurity and Ota Benga with its tribute to the worlds most renown human zoo attraction, this release is complete and advanced from the introduction received prior. We are pleased to present New World Order in a time when most needed to reflect and absorb carefully. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Bill MacKay and Drag City are delirious with pride to announce the discovery of a new territory: Locust Land, a record which seeks to reflect the nerve-shredding consciousness run amok in our world today - and somehow allay it with sound. Bill"s music is a visceral crackling where it meets the air, and Locust Land can"t help but reflect its era more than any other in his discography. It"s been five years since the release of Fountain Fire - but in the interim, Bill has barely stopped moving, collaborating with artists across the spectrum, including cellist Katinka Kleijn, banjo player Nathan Bowles and keyboardist Cooper Crain. He"s also contributed to recordings by Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker, Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy (Blind Date Party), and Black Duck (on their self-titled record featuring Douglas McCombs and Charles Rumback). Forget five years - how"d he even get Locust Land squeezed out of his temporal lobes? Bill"s sense of music as art is constantly modulating - lifting off from where it is found and naturally migrating to some other place. Sometimes, that"s elsewhere - others, it"s simply to be found deeper inside the starting point. And so, the action of moving on informs the landscape of Locust Land. This manifests in several different ways. A restless energy and urgency is repeatedly felt - in the driving momentum of "Keeping in Time," "Glow Drift," and "When I Was Here" - while a dogged persistence radiates from the tone colors and percussion of "Oh, Pearl." Mating a dirge-like desolation with sparkling guitars, "Radiator" adds darkness and depth. The sense of searching, displacement and longing in vocal tracks "Keeping in Time," "Half of You," and "When I Was Here" speak literally to the tumult of current vibrations. Within the arrangements, there"s also departure from previous norms - in addition to the brilliant guitar work for which he is known, Bill plays a variety of keyboards, from piano to organ to synth, extending his music with the available voicings, while enriching the sound field without abandoning his signature brevity. For fans of his singing, and following in the recent tradition of Fountain Fire as well as his collaboration with Nathan Bowles, Keys, Locust Land expresses with an increased vocal presence - and heightened engagement, with Bill"s words and melodies drawing us closer. Also different: on his previous solo recordings, Bill played every sound. Here, he has invited other illustrious Chicagoans to join him: Sam Wagster (The Father Costume, Mute Duo) plays bass on three songs, two of which feature the percussion playing of Mikel Patrick Avery (Natural Information Society, Jeff Parker, etc.). Additionally, Janet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater) adds otherworldly vocal textures to the elegiac "Neil"s Field." Whether played alone or with companions, this music projects the strength of a universal collective. Even with a piece that might earlier have passed for blissful pastorale, Bill displays some declamatory motives. The reverie which opens the album, "Phantasmic Fairy," embodies both transcendent and desperate moods, with Bill"s ineffable slide guitar playing afloat, with organs and synths, in a dream state suffused with a sense of foreboding - a requiem, perhaps for the days of unencumbered bandwidth? On the other side of the album, the strength to continue to hope appears in the lifting melodicism/exoticism of the album-closing title track, leaving the listener with the sense of having achieved a hard-won space - a place of personal contemplation and dissent, one that everyone on the planet deserves to visit every single day on earth. With cover art also by Bill MacKay (the third of his albums on Drag City to feature his work), Locust Land stands as a thoroughly personal statement from Bill to everyone everywhere.

Bill MacKay and Drag City are delirious with pride to announce the discovery of a new territory: Locust Land, a record which seeks to reflect the nerve-shredding consciousness run amok in our world today - and somehow allay it with sound. Bill"s music is a visceral crackling where it meets the air, and Locust Land can"t help but reflect its era more than any other in his discography. It"s been five years since the release of Fountain Fire - but in the interim, Bill has barely stopped moving, collaborating with artists across the spectrum, including cellist Katinka Kleijn, banjo player Nathan Bowles and keyboardist Cooper Crain. He"s also contributed to recordings by Steve Gunn, Ryley Walker, Bill Callahan & Bonnie Prince Billy (Blind Date Party), and Black Duck (on their self-titled record featuring Douglas McCombs and Charles Rumback). Forget five years - how"d he even get Locust Land squeezed out of his temporal lobes? Bill"s sense of music as art is constantly modulating - lifting off from where it is found and naturally migrating to some other place. Sometimes, that"s elsewhere - others, it"s simply to be found deeper inside the starting point. And so, the action of moving on informs the landscape of Locust Land. This manifests in several different ways. A restless energy and urgency is repeatedly felt - in the driving momentum of "Keeping in Time," "Glow Drift," and "When I Was Here" - while a dogged persistence radiates from the tone colors and percussion of "Oh, Pearl." Mating a dirge-like desolation with sparkling guitars, "Radiator" adds darkness and depth. The sense of searching, displacement and longing in vocal tracks "Keeping in Time," "Half of You," and "When I Was Here" speak literally to the tumult of current vibrations. Within the arrangements, there"s also departure from previous norms - in addition to the brilliant guitar work for which he is known, Bill plays a variety of keyboards, from piano to organ to synth, extending his music with the available voicings, while enriching the sound field without abandoning his signature brevity. For fans of his singing, and following in the recent tradition of Fountain Fire as well as his collaboration with Nathan Bowles, Keys, Locust Land expresses with an increased vocal presence - and heightened engagement, with Bill"s words and melodies drawing us closer. Also different: on his previous solo recordings, Bill played every sound. Here, he has invited other illustrious Chicagoans to join him: Sam Wagster (The Father Costume, Mute Duo) plays bass on three songs, two of which feature the percussion playing of Mikel Patrick Avery (Natural Information Society, Jeff Parker, etc.). Additionally, Janet Beveridge Bean (Eleventh Dream Day, Freakwater) adds otherworldly vocal textures to the elegiac "Neil"s Field." Whether played alone or with companions, this music projects the strength of a universal collective. Even with a piece that might earlier have passed for blissful pastorale, Bill displays some declamatory motives. The reverie which opens the album, "Phantasmic Fairy," embodies both transcendent and desperate moods, with Bill"s ineffable slide guitar playing afloat, with organs and synths, in a dream state suffused with a sense of foreboding - a requiem, perhaps for the days of unencumbered bandwidth? On the other side of the album, the strength to continue to hope appears in the lifting melodicism/exoticism of the album-closing title track, leaving the listener with the sense of having achieved a hard-won space - a place of personal contemplation and dissent, one that everyone on the planet deserves to visit every single day on earth. With cover art also by Bill MacKay (the third of his albums on Drag City to feature his work), Locust Land stands as a thoroughly personal statement from Bill to everyone everywhere.

repare to embark on a transcendent auditory journey with "The Sevens” a series of four 7-inch vinyl records that unveil a treasure trove of previously unreleased tracks from A Place To Bury Strangers' critically acclaimed 6th album, "See Through You." Renowned for their visceral sonic assault and immersive live performances, A Place To Bury Strangers has cemented the end-all-be-all space for over-the-top post-punk / shoegaze destruction. With this special vinyl collection, the band invites listeners to delve deeper into their sonic universe, exploring uncharted territories and hidden gems. “You'll Be There For Me” / “When You're Gone” is the fourth release. “When looking back at the recordings that were done around the time of See Through You there were a bunch of great tracks that just captured life back then and really had something incredible going on. Even though they are a bit raw and a bit personal, I thought it would be a mistake if they didn't come out. I thought it would be best to go back to my roots and put out a series of 7"s the way A Place To Bury Strangers started. That strange weird format where the tracks each speak for themselves, no album context to muddy the water. These tracks are such a contrast to the way I am feeling now and the current songs we've been working on so slip back into this moment in time.” says APTBS’ Oliver Ackermann

Following the resounding success of Rythm by Nature's first release by Nail, the imprint's second outing, "Deep Cuts", builds upon the previous momentum and introduces label owner SaPu for his first solo EP. "Deep Cuts" features three groove-drenched original works and a foot-stomping remix from Berlin-based groove master and sound wizard Tripmastaz.

Drawing from his 15+ years of experience in the scene, "Deep Cuts" displays SaPu's impeccable production skills and evident passion for deeper house grooves and hypnotic rhythms — the ideal music for extended dancing marathons. The EP's first track, 'Roll Out' (A1), is a classic, tech-house-infused banger: funky bass, filtered samples, and snappy percussion elements. Tripmastaz's version, 'Don't Let Joe Change the Name Dub' (A2), adds new layers of depth to the original, infusing it with dubby, sample-based elements and warm chords. SaPu's inclination for old-school grooves shines through on 'Clappin Iron' (B1), delivering Detroit tribal vibes punctuated by stabby synths and rolling basslines. Closing off the EP, 'Keep it Trill' (B2) provides a relatively stripped-down approach, allowing SaPu to demonstrate his innate skill in dubby sample manipulation.

BANGER MAKE MY BODY SHAKE MAKE THE SPEAKERS SHAKE

It was two and a half years ago when a conversation took place between Sal Carmona and Dj Producer Jovonn Armstrong; talks of which planted a seed in Sal Carmona's ear, which years later would manifest what was once a dream into a reality. No stranger, nor a newcomer in the world of dance music, Sal's experience in the club scene goes way back to the days when his sisters, to whom he credits for helping shape the person he is today, took him to Dave Mancuso's The Loft. An experience that he recalls being nothing short of magical. It was a spiritual encounter that immediately took over thus steering him towards the direction of clubs such as The Paradise Garage, Bentley's, Underground, Red Parrot, Latin Quarters, Roseland, Studio 54, just to name a few. Years later, Sal decided to take on the role, of which he became quite successful at, of promoting his own events in New York City; throwing regular parties at venues such as Park Circle & USA roller skating rinks, Red Parrot, The Palladium, The Copacabana and many others, soon becoming one of the premier go to promoters in NYC. Taking a long and well-deserved hiatus from the club scene, in 2012 Sal decided to make his return back to what he loves. It was around this time that he began thinking what it would be like to venture into creating his very own record label. Envisioning his first release being a bona fide House Music Album, one that would include some of his favorite producers. Not one to let dreams drift into the ether, while recollecting on that conversation with Jovan way back, Sal set out to make that vision manifest into a reality and thus emerged this dope compilation titled Banger "Make My Body Shake" "Make the Speakers Shake"

A great idea which brings together an interesting mix that includes highly sought out and respected veteran producers in the scene, such as Timmy Regisford, Ron Trent, Dj Jovonn, and Joe Claussell. Alongside with up and coming DJ producers who are garnering their own adulation of fans, in the likes of Vick Lavender, Mark Francis, Conway Kasey, and DJ Punch. With valuable directional contributions from friend Joe Claussell, this, to say the least, has become far more than just a seriously dope compilation that consists of a unique coming together of serious dance music. More than the aforementioned, Sal Carmona has manifested a dream into a game changing music scripture that is one of a kind, especially in this day and age where it seems where things are thrown together hoping for something to stick. On the contrary, this is well planned and thought out dopeness at A higher level consisting of all new house music that hasn't been brought together like this in a very long time and probably not for a while afterwards.

Newcastle-born artist Edmondson has solidified his position as a fan favourite within the DJ community, earning praise from influential names like Ben UFO, Bicep and Moxie over the past decade. With an impressive back catalog featuring releases on Hypercolour, Me Me Me, and his own imprint Lissoms, Edmondson now steps into the spotlight once again with a 4-track EP slated for release on Seb Wildblood’s label, all my thoughts.

The sound of the Vanarama Bar EP is rooted in the post-industrial North, but more so an escapism from it. The name is a tongue-in-cheek pun juxtaposing the dizzy heights of Panorama Bar with the official sponsor of England's fifth tier of football, a fittingly greyscale representation of the kind of 'old man & dog' culture which some people associate with the area. On a slightly deeper level the name speaks to a feeling of distance & disenfranchisement up North, and the disconnect between it and the more celebrated cultural hubs.

Following a short hiatus, Superlux Records returns for their 9th exploration into the expanses of house, techno, and electro by welcoming the exciting, emerging Dutch producer and DJ Mathijs Smit to their roster.

As soon as Smit grabbed the attention of the Superlux crew with his hybrid production style and trademark vocoder work, they knew these were earworms destined for their catalog. Marking his first solo EP since 2021, Smit showcases his development In the studio on the 'Twisted Minds' EP with four modern, stylish house cuts loaded with versatility for use from peak time to warm up.

The release starts as it means to go on with 'Changed My Mind (But Not Myself).' A sleek, forward-thinking house jam that salutes to the past with a fast-paced, organ bass melody and intricate drum-machine programming, setting the tone nicely for what's to follow. The A-side wraps up with 'My Mind Is Yours'. Shades of golden-era Italian progressive to this one, a straight no-nonsense feel-good party starter; mark your cards for summer.

On the flip, we get deeper into the groove starting with 'Plugger'. A shuffling beat underscores a moodier bassline with acid flourishes to give this one a bit more of a basement feel, although the bright synths do leave enough versatility in this one to work in multiple settings; a testament to Smit's dexterity on the buttons! Closing out proceedings is the interminably funky 'Quiero, ' the last track submitted by Smit, which is suitably the one to close out a seriously impressive debut on the imprint.

The release continues Superlux's proud lineage of discerning dance music, with Smit being a welcome addition to a roster already sporting the quality of N-GYNN, Paul Blackford, LVCA & Thoma Bulwer. Expect more as the label continues its development in 2024 and beyond.

2024 repress.

Nearly 10 years out of print, recut and remastered from the analogue tape masters from Alchemy's pristine mastering work; focusing and enriching every finite detail into pure analogue bliss! This remastered edition features epic reworks of cv313's now classic, "Seconds To Forever" released back in 2010.

The first track is a reshape by intrusion, dubbed out live in the mix from the original 8 channel analogue tapes as to summon the spirit of King Tubby. There's also two beautiful remixes from the brilliant Rod Modell (DeepChord). Those touched by his recent output will have a lot to love here. Gorgeous plumes of sound envelope the listener into near hypnosis, subdiving deeper than even the original work could. Sublime and beyond gravity, another exquisite excursion transmitting from the other side of the galaxy. Pressed onto 150 gram crystal virgin blue wax. Tip!

Repress!

One of the keys to Nervous’ longevity has been our willingness to take chances on new producers and new sounds. As long as a track contains the essence of House, we encourage producers to experiment with combining House with other musical genres. And if the results are creative and fruitful enough we are always ready, willing and able to create a new sub label and logo to go along with a fresh sound.

In the 90’s we felt a movement toward House being juiced with Jazz elements and we created the Nervous Chill Sub-label. Now all these years later we are once again seeing a new appreciation for the sounds, flow and energy of Jazz on the part of some of the world’s premier House Music Producers, and so we are embarking on a re-launch of the Nervous Chill imprint.

Onboard for the re-launch is the very talented and dynamic producer Felipe Gordon with the two tracks “Elisa” and “Resonant.” Both songs feature the legendary musician Paul Shapiro, who has played a key musical role in many of House Music’s most celebrated tunes including “The Whistle Song” for which he supplied the eponymous “whistle.” “Elisa” features an uplifting and bouncy rhythmic vibe that’s topped and energized with Paul’s jazzy flute, while “Resonant” has a deeper and slightly more aggressive tone that’s propelled with Paul hypnotic and free wheeling sax instrumentation.

A collection of mind blowing songs from Hindi films 1958-1984. 12 musical gems from the Bollywood vaults with a wide variety of styles thrown in the mix, from the classic to the rare, a must! An astonishing overview of the magnificent musical talents populating Bollywood films. With a predilection for movies with a strong musical backbone where songs and musical numbers play a pivotal role, the Hindi cinema boom gave birth to a strong and creative music industry where composers, musicians, musical directors, conductors, producers, singing actors, and playback singers (singers who provide vocals for the musical parts of roles played by actors or actresses) found a perfect place to develop their careers. A sample of those incredible talents is included in this compilation, the ideal point to start digging deeper into the lush garden of musical delights that is Bollywood

The title of the Lau Nau's 10th album, Aphrilis, derives from the Latin word aperire, meaning "to open." A fitting verb for the month of the year it is closely associated with — April. And while the images of plants and blossoms coming back to colorful life after a long, cold winter feels appropriate when listening to the rich and lustrous bloom of music on Aphrilis, another definition of open feels even more apt. For under the abundance lies the memory of times of austerity, the friction of hard choices, the acceptance that nothing is fixed and the future is unknown. This literal and metaphorical exploration of complexity and contradiction makes Aphrilis a multi-dimensional antidote for our troubled times, one that emphasizes the quiet and communal over noise and spectacle. Laura Naukkarinen, the Finnish artist behind this project, has long kept her mind and spirit open to whatever sounds and creative ideas felt appropriate for the moment. For the past six years that has meant primarily working with modular synthesis — learning how to build modules and releasing acclaimed work centered on its sounds like 5x4 (2023) or Puutarhassa (2022). Running parallel to this work, however, has been a continued exploration of acoustic instruments and group performances with her trio Lau Nau ja Seitsemäs Taivas. Aphrilis arrives then like fresh growth in a creative season cycle. A companion to her brilliant 2017 release Poseidon, the album, says Naukkarinen, "felt like a needed moment to embrace songs with lyrics again." And through the creation of this work, she remained open not only to her own creative muse, but also the input of her chosen collaborators. Each player on Aphrilis — Matti Bye on celesta and synths, Pekko Käppi on jouhikko, Hermanni Yli-Tepsa on violin and contrabass, Topias Tiheäsalo on electric guitar, Samuli Kosminen (Múm) on various instruments — was given free reign to arrange their own parts to accompany Naukkarinen's compositions. Kosminen’s lush fingerprint can also be heard in the mixing and production of the album, as with Poseidon six years ago. The moniker of this project may be taken from Naukkarinen’s own name, but Lau Nau feels more like a band than ever before. The delicacy and softness of the music is reflected in Naukkarinen’s lyrics. Each song is rife with imagery and creatures from the natural world. The spiders in the forest. The animals that keep a young woman company in her refuge in the woods. Wet grass. The feeling of the music is almost tactile, as if listening to the album will leave a bit of dew or sap on your fingers. The theme of this material, says Naukkarinen, runs even deeper. “The songs tell about cracks and changes of direction in different histories: personal, societal, planetary,” she says. “About moments when a yes can become a no and vice versa. The album wants to propose that at the moment of a crisis there is a possibility to influence the histories by our choices.” That may feel like a lot for such a fragile sounding collection of songs to bear. But Aphrilis is an album of surprising strength and resilience

The third major release from deadbeat Records – East London’s newest home for delinquent house, techno and breaks – sees I Love Acid heads Posthuman swagger out of the shadows with a wry smile, packing a full clip and one in the chamber.

DBR003 offers 4 peak cuts of early-hours madness. Pure and simple. And we are not talking fucking beautiful sunrises here. This is 4am, sanity wearing off, blurred vision, locked jaw, pumped fist, heart in your mouth kind of music. Where Extender drops in hard upfront with its jacked, high energy rave stabs,

Head Wrench’s relentless acid worm burrows a little deeper into your amygdala before splitting it wide open. On the flipside, Wobble Tool’s suitably drippy hook oozes over a brooding, proggy baseline, but only after Builder growls out the gate, an irresistible dancefloor-melting monster with an appetite for destruction

Dib’s first appearance on dailysession.

Side A1 starts with a nice deep house influenced by 90’s Chicago house, inherited from Mr. fingers. Silky synth pad melodies with simple but effective drum machine programing are powerful enough to lose your mind on the dancefloor.

The second track on side A is the funky synth bass-driven house, punctuated by melancholy analog synth sounds.

You are dancing with your eyes closed in the club at 3AM. Side B track 1 is the acid house with ambient synth pads swelling over a minimal hypnotic 303 bassline.

The last track is the minimal deep house with a deeper soul quality. This one will melt the dance floor.

This EP is faithful to the original house music sound yet still sounds ruthlessly modern.

Introducing the much anticipated 7"" vinyl featuring two standout tracks from Sami Galbi. Face A is "Dakchi Hani," a poignant post-breakup anthem blending raï influences with contemporary rhythms, offering a humorous take on navigating emotions. Face B showcases "Rruina," a powerful follow-up track that delves deeper into darker, club-oriented sounds, pushing the boundaries of Swiss-Moroccan raï-chaabi fusion. Seamlessly transitioning from the raw synths and bouncing rhythms of "Dakchi Hani" to the tension-filled atmosphere of "Rruina," this vinyl promises a captivating journey through Sami Galbi"s musical evolution. With each track tailored for the dancefloors, this vinyl release is poised to explode with energy wherever it goes.

They’re back! This time the Finnish seers Mahti venture even deeper into the unknown on their third release Musiikki 3, assisted by the creativity of English musicians Richard Dawson and Sally Pilkington.

LIMITED MIRAGE BLUE/GREEN MARBLE COLOURED VINYL LP WITH DOWNLOAD CODE. NON-RETURNABLE.

The music reaches for space and roots at the same time bringing forth Mr. Dawson's earthy guitars and angelic voice while Ms. Pilkington weaves ethereal layerings with her synths and joins occasionally the choir.

Hannu Saha conjures ancient Karelian spirits with his kantele while Muumu, Lehtibabba and Mätky mesmerize the listener with their unique mix of electro, rock and noise.

The end result is an album full of Musiikki unlike you've never heard before!

“These ancient musicians played their ‘mahti’… and the sound they produced was called ‘musiikki’”

Hannu Saha - string kanteles ,Tomi Leppänen - sequencer/drum brain/synthesizers , Jussi Lehtisalo - noise/vocals, Teemu Elo - guitar/synthesizers, Richard Dawson - guitar/vocals , Sally Pilkington - keyboards/vocals

The female-led discodelic soul band Say She She, named as a silent nod to NileRodgers (C'est chi-chi!: It's Chic!"), release their sophomore album `Silver' on theheels of an epic break-out year that grows brighter by the day. The three strong voices of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair staple feature, and formerbacking singer for Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya GazelleBrown front the band. This harmonizing trio was formed in a classic New York taleof friends that met by following the music: the downtown dancefloors, through theLower East Side floorboards and up to the rooftops of Harlem. `Silver' was entirely written and recorded live to tape at Killion Sound studio inNorth Hollywood earlier this year and produced by Sergio Rios (of Orgone). Whilethese analog recording techniques help root Say She She's sound in a bedrock oftonal warmth that only tape can achieve, it is also their process of cutting the trackin the moment and capturing the magic of communal creativity that has seen theirsound described as "a glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritualelevation" (MOJO) and "infused with the wonky post-disco spirit of early'80s NYC" (The Guardian). Silver, the element, is known as the metal of self-confidence and the mirror of thesoul. With that, the 16-song double-LP projects not only their growth in writingwith confidence, but also reflects a deeper exploration into their punk-chic, femme-forward sensibility. Ultimately, `Silver' oozes with quirk and adventure and embraces themultifaceted nature of what it means to be a modern femme. The She She'sfully embrace their role as beauticians, actively reminding people of the inherentbeauty in the world. They skillfully employ double entendres and humor toencourage open dialogue and fearlessly address important matters that demandattention.

"Named for the band’s third lease on life, Third Wind finds Gulfer at a unique moment in their ten-plus year career. When they started in 2011, Gulfer played scrappy, complex math rock influenced by the emo revival. But in 2024 they’ve emerged almost unrecognizable, while still retaining the spirit of what made them all fall in love with Gulfer in the first place.

Third Wind’s stylistic turns are emphasized by deeper texture and simpler songwriting, influenced by the reemergence of 90s alternative and shoegaze. With a new emphasis on atmosphere and more straightforward composition, Gulfer give themselves space to explore audaciously.

Album opener “Clean” gets as close to pop as the band has ever been, where “No Brainer” dabbles deftly in downer rock that asks “what even is my fucking place in the world? "Bold juxtapositions feature elsewhere on Third Wind: pop-punk bruiser “Too Slow” stops on a dime before evolving into a slow burning drum n bass passage, all within two minutes. And then there’s “Heartshape”, a downright love song shrouded in virtuosic performance and electric-acoustic counterpoint. Although these contrasts could be construed as aimless fiddling, their seamlessness is the true essence of Third Wind, indicative of a sage band with a renewed love for what they do."

Recorded in both Memphis and Texas and prominently featuring the amazing Bill Willis on Hammond B-3 (who doubles on bass pedals -- leaving this as one of the few blues albums without an official bassist), Jimmie's more subtle approach leaves lots of spaces to nail a groove that gets deeper as the album progresses.

Guests like James Cotton on harp and longtime associate singer Lou Ann Barton (who just about steals the show on the songs where she duets with Vaughan) inject extra spice, but the singer/ guitarist has crafted a compelling slice of contemporary blues that blends traditional elements in a distinctive way....Rootsy yet polished tracks like the R&B swamp of "Without You" and the Texas soul of Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "In the Middle of the Night" (featuring Stevie Ray's Double Trouble rhythm section) crackle with taut energy and low-down soul. By forging an individual musical style, Jimmie Vaughan not only avoids all Stevie Ray comparisons, but has produced a remarkable album that truly sounds like no one else."

Originally released on tape by SicSic in 2014, Aprilnacht commemorates a decade of music from Brannten Schnüre and marked the spring in a tetralogy of albums about the four seasons when it came out. Back then the Würzburg-based project consisted solely of Christian Schoppik, who later welcomed Katie Rich to take over the vocals. He used to perform as Agnes Beil, but dropped the name when, while making this album realized his music was becoming "much gentler and more fragile". Aprilnacht already captured the particular musical ideas that Schoppik would thoroughly keep exploring, delving deeper and deeper into the use and manipulation of samplers from sources so diverging as to wander between the five continents to post-war German family television and cult cinema. Heir of the ritualistic intensity of Coil, of the intricate sampler assemblies of Ghédalia Tazartès', and of the dusty, dismal old ballads from around the world, Brannten Schnüre manages to make these paths cross in a territory that is as inherent as it is uncanny; sieged by the past and intimate as a hearth. An organic approach to folk, ambient, and sound collage, where ethereal yet thoroughly textured pieces coalesce in enthralling, delicate, and innermost musical rituals.

The album cover paintings reveal the temper: dreary old towns where shadows come to dim the slow passage of crepuscular colors, a soft area of reanimation where wind and light come close and foresee the night of spring. Aprilnacht was inspired by the stories of German philosopher and writer Friedrich Alfred Schmid Noerr, whose work exhaustively examines the conflict between paganism and Christianity, safeguarding myth in a way that Schoppik describes as boldly modern, humorous and unpredictable in its variations of the Germanic folklore motifs. "I wanted to do the same with the music," he states, and the music here could as well be suitable for a night when household deities welcome wandering will-o'-the-wisps, water nymphs, and gyrovagues to discuss Perchta's leadership of The Wild Hunt, but this album is not a folk tale, it's not an elegy to worlds already gone, hidden in years; it's an intersection of routes that open mysteriously before our ears like a congregation of vapors. Aprilnacht is a gathering of voices; "There are too many children, and none of them keeps quiet," reads the last verse of «Requiem für eine Ringelnatter.»

Sensuality drips over the music to celebrate both the voluptuousness and tragic quality of nature; "It's raining on me, urine from your flowers," Schoppik sings in «Urin deiner Blüten» and later on, faced with a snake's erotic features, as if he wanted to be embraced by it: "Your quick, sharp tongue and your warm venom; that's what the pond is missing." Orality is where this profusion of contents thrives. When the voices get closer and condense, the words reveal the saliva employed to pronounce them; we feel the mouth and the tongue, but when breath envelops them in sorrow and softens their edges, they sound distant, diffused in the atmosphere, letting go of the body that held them. These two vocal facets oscillate permanently and interact naturally with the fertile assembly of samplers and instruments that develop throughout the album, which condense and disperse impersonating each other, interweaving to search for a specific syntax. Tangled whisperings of enigmatic phrases, timid voices that stick out to check the scene but hide away quickly, shivering trance chants and monastic ambiances, distant screams and clamors in between chaos and warfare swirl until bursting into subtle songs where even Mother Mary comes forth softly. Soothed by foggy atmospheres and crackling punctuations, these voices shape a vulnerable crowd, an occasion of fragility. Along this swarm of songs thrown into thin air, accordions sound like heavy-breathing lungs; clarinets sigh like curtains shaking; violin solos wander around like bees; Gjallarhorns cries distend like fleeing cattle; glockenspiels evoke remote music boxes and inherited toys; backward emanations emerge like slender waves retreating. On the banks of stretching loops and ember textures is where the songs slowly nest, collecting the words to find their tone.

A poem by Jorge Teillier says, "To talk with the dead you have to choose words that they recognize as easily as their hands recognized the fur of their dogs in the dark. To talk with the dead you have to know how to wait: they are fearful like the first steps of a child. But if we are patient one day they will answer us with a flame that suddenly revives in the fireplace." This may be Brannten Schnüre's main purpose: To find the voice to speak to those of whom we were a vision. Not in mourning, but acknowledging the obscure and volatile nature of spring's regenerative force, searching for the treasure of balance, as evidenced in the lyrics of «Requiem für ein Schwalbennest,» "Its nest was destroyed so many times before it was finished, and despite that, the shallow builds as if it is infatuated." The same idea is here in the words of Schmid Noerr, who made poetry an act of resistance to the horror of Nazism; "Since having seen the ability of a brilliant spirit to die, with a calm mouth that everyone saw, health is true again and we affirm it, even if rivers of blood flow." And as we call for the dusk's kindness, waiting to return home and eat with our kin by the stove, our ears become used to the games of the night. We feel like we're rowing on wetlands, while the "moon musick" keeps us vigilant against the slightest movement of water or sweet moan because eeriness here is imperative for survival. Do not succumb to the insipid howl of death, for nothing may last but mutability. You see, the rock has moved a little during the night; the rest is just wind fleeing from the void.

Garth Erasmus is an artist and musician based in Cape Town, South Africa. 'Threnody for the KhoiSan' is his first album under his own name. Since 1985 his artistic interests have broadened to include music-making, designing and making his own instruments based on indigenous KhoiSan knowledge. From 1999 to 2012 he was a member of the South African First Nation activist group Khoi Khonnexion. In the past couple of years Garth Erasmus has also been a pivotal part of various international performance pieces and exhibition projects which brought him regularly to Europe. Most of these activities were developed and performed in collaboration with the Hamburg based band Kante and his band Khoi Khonnexion. In April 2024 Garth Erasmus will be part of the group exhibtion 'Oscillations' at Akademie der Künste, Berlin.

His works in music are predominantly characterized by a restless quest for alternative forms of expression and materials including self build instruments, field recordings or various electronic music devices.

In this context the music on 'Threnody for the KhoiSan' takes on a primal and metaphorical meaning. Rather than a formal, physical initiation, this process is more spiritually inclined, yet it is a spirituality which is consistently put into action.. “Ever since I was an art student I have experimented with alternative materials to release me from the Western education values I received. When I started to make these instruments in the 1980s, my intention was to create art objects but when I discovered the sound they made, it unlocked a door that transported me deeper in my quest in the realization that I was on the right path.

In fact all instruments which appear on 'Threnody for the KhoiSan' are products of a process of discovery starting from square one. All this is based and founded on the beauty of simplicity and minimalism as symbolized by the single string Khoisan musical bow and arrow as trance musical instrument. In this sense it soon became manisfest for Garth Erasmus to combine the bow instruments with various electronic instruments. Besides developing his own unique language in music he also shared an expressed interested in experimental sound aesthecis, Avantgarde composition and Free Jazz. However, his non - academic approach towards sound and music was always fueled by the desire for a reconnection to the land and to the idegenious knowledge of the KhoiSan, whose struggle for First Nation status continues.

Song for Morenga
This song is dedicated to a guerilla leader, named Jacob Morenga, who was the leader of the nama/herero anti-german uprisings that occured between 1904 and 1907.

Amaseh Amen
This is a classic mouthbow piece that conjures the spiritual nature of Khoisan cultural praxis.

Gwaing Reverie
It was composed as a personal gift to the other members of newly formed electro-acoustic trio „Gwaing". „Gwaing" is an ancient Khoisan place name, meaning the mouth of the river.

Mcinci Song
A typical meditation on the traditional Mcinci flute. This flute was originally played by shepherds and was made of reed.

The Ascension of Milford Graves
This piece attends to capture the risen spirit of the legendary African American drummer Milford Graves. It was composed soon after his death in 2021.

Song for The Sisters of the Soil
A live improvisation dedicated to Lucelle and Melissa (The Sisters of the Soil) on the occasion of visiting them at their residence, known as „Oppieyaart" on the Cape Flats. On 10 September 2022 there is an online event with them at Kunsthaus Hamburg.

Elevating, uplifting and beautifully arranged. Jasmine Myra's sophomore album Rising builds on the success of her

breakthrough album Horizons to deliver a major statement from one of UK Jazz's rising stars. Produced by Matthew Halsall and mixed by Greg Freeman (Hania Rani, Matthew Halsall, Portico Quartet), Rising delivers a confident and vibrant follow up that joins the musical dots between Myra’s influences Kenny Wheeler, Bonobo and Shabaka Hutchings while delivering something unique, beautiful and profound.

Rising is also the sound of a composer and performer growing in stature and adding extra layers of confidence and poise to both her playing and composing. Aided and abetted by Matthew Halsall who once again lends his production skills, Rising is fuller, richer and deeper as Myra develops her uniquely uplifting sound.



Much like my first album, Rising is a reflection of a period of my life. It is a continuation from Horizons, which was all about my experience during lockdown, and entailed overcoming my struggles with mental health. Following on from that experience, I set out to continue building my self-confidence. This album has an uplifting and spiritual sound, drawing influence from artists such as Makaya McCraven, Bonobo and Shabaka Hutchings.



Rising features the same core of musicians as Myra’s debut album Horizons (Gondwana records GOND052): guitarist Ben Haskins, drummer George Hall pianist Jasper Green, harpist Alice Roberts (who both also perform with Matthew Halsall) and bassist Sam Quintana who collectively bring a deft understating of the subtle textures of Myra’s music and perform with a collective empathy and drive that really pushes the music on a radiant journey. And a string quartet add gently elevating textures to Still Waters, Knowingness, From Embers and How Tall The Mountains.

HARMONY014 is a four-track VA compilation that blends warm rhythm into dreamy groove.

Club-oriented A-side opens with “It’s me bb” tailored by Alfred Czital, setting an intimate, yet vibrant tone of the compilation, followed by Jamida's melodic “Lots Of Love” infused in harmonic vocals.

Side B navigates through deeper-end density fields, suitable on or off the dance floor. Poygonia's “Akkala” encompasses tribal traditions and pulsing beats, while Andy Garvey's Euphorique is finding balance between divine pads and collapsing percussion, wrapping up the compilation.

Warehouse Find! - Test Pressing!

It seems like ages since we last had Roberto Rodriguez on the label with his excellent Be Somebody back in 2008, so we're plenty happy to welcome him back for a long overdue follow up. Roberto clearly hasn't just been sitting on his arse the last 4 years however, having established the Serenades label which released his own LP Dawn last year, as well as putting out the killer Thinking Of You release on Fina plus numerous remixes for rock solid labels such as Let's Play House, On The Prowl, Moodmusic and 2020 Vision. Those familiar with Roberto's productions and credentials will know he has a fine ear for disco and 90's house born out of years collecting records and DJing in the best clubs in his native Helsinki.
Kicking off with Dance Like Nobody's Watching, we see Roberto tread confidently into pure, unadulterated retro house territory with NJ organ stabs, swinging 909 drum groove and choice vocal hits.
Oxymoron keeps things a little deeper with tracky filtering chords and driving drums resulting in a garage-influenced feel with bucket loads of raw attitude.
Finally we have The Black Madonna on board for a remix of the title track. The Chicago producer impressed us recently with her brilliant disco-infused tracks on Stripped & Chewed and Home Taping labels and thought her the perfect choice to contribute to the release. Here she delivers a lesson in stripped back Chicago warehouse vibes keeping everything to a bare minimum for maximum club bump. Kick, claps and piano stabs form the basic groove as she confidently develops the arrangement slowly and surely.

Warehouse Find!

Red D is back for a follow up to his brilliant Chez EP which dropped last year and this time he's going for the jugular! The man responsible for
some of the finest house music of the last decade as FCL (with San Soda) and FCL vs VFB (with Motor City Drum Ensemble) knows a thing or two about
what makes the dancefloor lose its s**t, with tracks such as Let's Go Seven, It's You and Can We Try all testament to this.
When he's not DJing at the likes of Panorama Bar or hosting his own stage at Tomorrowland, Red D can be found running his own mighty fine We Play House label from his Ghent HQ.
Moan The Mania opens this release in suitably back to the raw fashion! A minimal drum machine groove and clipped bassline lay the foundations of this tribute to all things jacking with a sprinkling of porno groans to help you on your way. This is sleazy machine funk at it's very best. Next up we have a remix from Eli Escobar, the native New Yorker who has recently been making major waves following the release of his LP Happiness on Classic.
As someone who has remixed the likes of Lana Del Rey, Kim Ann Foxman, Honey Dijon and Holy Ghost we knew he'd be the man to take Red D's baton and run with it.
Keeping the overall vibe of the original intact
Eli cranks the energy further with additional in your face percussion parts and a couple of perfectly placed build ups. Flipping over we have Chase The Cat which takes a similarly stripped-back and minimal approach as Moan The Mania but goes heavier on the 707 beats. Finally we have Dusk Or Dawn closing the release with a deeper mood.
Simple FM synth stabs and glassy chimes provide a tender and naive-sounding counterpoint to the basic beats.
Red D proving once again that limiting your tools and not over-complicating things can often have so much more impact when it comes to house music.

The Flenser is pleased to announce the release of Living Is Easy, the latest EP from ecstatic black metal band Agriculture. Ecstatic black metal from Los Angeles. Follows up 2023’s critically acclaimed debut. A new EP plus first vinyl release of their first EP. Appearing prominently at the 2024 edition of Roadburn. US and European tour dates in the works through 2024. Video for title track featuring Flenser goons, Chat Pile. This new EP will be paired with the band’s debut EP, The Circle Chant. For the first time, both EPs will be pressed together on a single 12-inch vinyl record as well as a cassette format Living Is Easy represents a significant new statement from the band. With their debut self-titled, Agriculture embarked on a journey to explore how heavy music can provide insights into the joys of life, both everyday and divine. Their extensive touring with this material led to a profound experience of ecstasy, surpassing expectations as they shared the intensity and joy of these songs with audiences worldwide. This experience was a catalyst for the band, inspiring them to delve even deeper into the realm of “ecstatic black metal” music. They believes that with this release they have pushed this concept to its limit, resulting in a transformative explosion of sound and meaning. The record delves into themes of community connection, holiness, violence, and the cycles of life. The title track is especially notable, featuring a retelling of a story from one of the Buddha’s past lives. In this narrative, the Buddha encounters a starving family of tigers and sacrifices himself to save them, a tale of serenity and selflessness. This story resonates deeply with the band, reflecting the humility and inspiration they find in their collaboration and echoing the generosity and interconnection they strive to explore through their music. Touring holds a special place in the heart of Agriculture. It brings them immense joy to share their music, visit new places, and meet new people in cities around the world. This constant interaction with diverse audiences serves as a continuous source of inspiration for this work. Agriculture is eager and excited to share Living Is Easy as well as give new life to the first vinyl pressing of The Circle Chant

Holland, Dozier and Holland are arguably the greatest songwriters ever. More prolific than Lennon and McCartney, they shaped “the Sound of Young America” and propelled the Motown sound in the mid-1960s into a creative stratosphere unmatched by any other independent music label. Their trademark catchy teenage love songs were delivered energetically by previously unknown Detroit groups like The Supremes, the Four Tops, Martha & the Vandellas & Marvin Gaye. Although synonymous with Berry Gordy’s Motown, it was their departure from Motown after a stand-off strike in 1967 and a brutal legal battle that led them to run their own group of labels, Invictus, Hot Wax and Music Merchant. This compilation is a definitive look at this period in history, exploring how H-D-H, under a new guise ‘The Creative Corporation’, drove the next generation of soul music in a myriad of different ways, towards funk, underground disco and jazz. Featuring 55 tracks, this collection documents HDH’s creativity and growth over this seminal 8 year period. During this time the trio developed new artists to rival Motown’s success such as Chairman Of The Board, Freda Payne, Honey Cone, Glass House, Flaming Ember, 8th Day, Laura Lee & Eloise Laws. The collection is complete with a detailed depiction of this period in history by award winning author Stuart Cosgrove who wrote the Soul Trilogy, a series of books on soul music and social change - Detroit 67: the Year That Changed Soul, Memphis 68: The Tragedy of Southern Soul which won the Penderyn Prize, as Music Book of the Year in 2018, and Harlem 69: the Future of Soul. Stuart’s notes detail the relationship with Motown in the final days, the immediate fall out after the trio left Motown and the creation of the new labels Hot Wax, Invictus & Music Merchant

Soul Ex Machina is proud to announce its first vinyl release, featuring a hot three-tracker from Prague based producer with Slovak origins - EchoBoy. His background in digital reggae, as a former half of the Riddim Tuffa duo has clearly left its mark on the foundation of his current production. Delving in contemporary sounds from the deeper side of dubstep, infused with strong roots and dub influences, while keeping a steadfast focus on the current production standards. The EP is a testament to EchoBoy's skill as a producer, demonstrating his ability to weave together diverse elements into a cohesive result that is both innovative and deeply satisfying. The three tracks on "Roots of Dub EP" showcase his unique approach to his influences.

Elevating, uplifting and beautifully arranged. Jasmine Myra's sophomore album Rising builds on the success of her

breakthrough album Horizons to deliver a major statement from one of UK Jazz's rising stars. Produced by Matthew Halsall and mixed by Greg Freeman (Hania Rani, Matthew Halsall, Portico Quartet), Rising delivers a confident and vibrant follow up that joins the musical dots between Myra’s influences Kenny Wheeler, Bonobo and Shabaka Hutchings while delivering something unique, beautiful and profound.

Rising is also the sound of a composer and performer growing in stature and adding extra layers of confidence and poise to both her playing and composing. Aided and abetted by Matthew Halsall who once again lends his production skills, Rising is fuller, richer and deeper as Myra develops her uniquely uplifting sound.



Much like my first album, Rising is a reflection of a period of my life. It is a continuation from Horizons, which was all about my experience during lockdown, and entailed overcoming my struggles with mental health. Following on from that experience, I set out to continue building my self-confidence. This album has an uplifting and spiritual sound, drawing influence from artists such as Makaya McCraven, Bonobo and Shabaka Hutchings.



Rising features the same core of musicians as Myra’s debut album Horizons (Gondwana records GOND052): guitarist Ben Haskins, drummer George Hall pianist Jasper Green, harpist Alice Roberts (who both also perform with Matthew Halsall) and bassist Sam Quintana who collectively bring a deft understating of the subtle textures of Myra’s music and perform with a collective empathy and drive that really pushes the music on a radiant journey. And a string quartet add gently elevating textures to Still Waters, Knowingness, From Embers and How Tall The Mountains.

Deep Inspiration Show Records presents to you the Global Essence Sampler Part 2; created and curated with purpose, these 6 ¦ne delicacies nourish the mind and soul- on the A side we have Barce (Spain) featuring Roger Versey, Dan Piu (Zurich) and Zarenzeit (Valencia), providing a tour de force of style from blissfully jazzy & vocal Detroit House guides to paradise class deep vibes where late Nite Mediterranean meets Chicago auras arise. Melchior Sultana (Malta) introduces the Bside of the ride with instant club magic, remixing A1 in his own elegant & Profound way, followed by Dan Piu traversing the mind and ears through introspective Detroit Techno with soul permeating atmosphere, leading to the conclusion of this tour de force as He and Roger Versey (Ozarks,Arkansas) arrive as Passport bringing an eclectic collage of arcade funk sensibilities and warm analogue House to the occasion for the deeper persuasion. They say there is no genre, just the essence…Welcome and enjoy, the Global Essence Sampler Part 2. Mastered with passion by maestro Sven Weisemann.

The opening line of Emily Dickinson’s short poem ‘‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers’ inspired the central image of Emily Barker’s new single ‘Feathered Thing’, written while she navigated cumulative grief.

When Barker was first introduced to producer Luke Potashnick (Gabrielle Aplin, Jack Savoretti, Katie Melua) in May 2022, she brought with her a full album’s worth of songs. But after visiting Potashnick’s storied studio, The Wool Hall and hearing his ambitious production ideas, she was inspired to write one more song.

“I also needed to process some heavy news” she comments. Barker and her husband Lukas Drinkwater had been trying to start a family. Following a couple of failed IVF cycles (and other “starts that we’d lost”), they investigated adoption and had decided to relocate to Australia to be closer to Barker’s family.

“It felt like we couldn’t work out what we wanted, but we finally reached a point where we both felt at peace with not having kids,” Barker recalls. “It had been an incredibly intense time, coinciding with a house move and the pandemic.”

And then Barker found she was pregnant. “We’d done all these things to try to make it happen, and then it happened naturally (and against all biological odds). Having previously navigated losses throughout our pregnancy journey, we now had to get our heads around what having this new person in our lives might look like - emotionally and practically.”

Soon after work began on the album, Barker had a miscarriage.

“Songwriting has always been a way of processing throughout my life.” Barker reveals how the new song came quickly as she sat at her piano at home. She shared an early version with Potashnick and remembers him politely asking, “Do you mind telling me what this is about?”

“I think I’d left it too abstract, initially,” she reflects. “It was difficult to open up about the miscarriage, but Luke was very supportive and encouraged me to dig a little deeper without necessarily being specific. I revisited the lyrics, and the result is much stronger.”

“I went to the burnt-out woods/ A tourist with some damaged goods/ Remembered how the trees withstood fires before…”

“The opening line is a metaphor for knowing that I’ll get through this,” Barker clarifies. “It’s about recovery and hope, allowing yourself both the space to grieve and permission to move on”. But Barker’s optimism is never misplaced – she knows the imprint of imagined futures and lost children are carried in hearts and minds forever:

“It’s so hard to let go, wanted to know wanted to know you …”

“I think that it's important to share and normalise these stories, which are all too common, yet not openly spoken about. People hide their pain and don’t want to burden friends and family. I think behind all this anguish, there’s a deep, often untold story.”

Now that Barker is settled back in Western Australia, she’s embracing being an auntie. “I’ve got three younger siblings over here who I’m close to, and they all have kids,” she enthuses. “I look after my brother's kids, aged two and five, one morning a week.”

Recorded - along with the entirety of the new album - at The Wool Hall, ‘Feathered Thing’ begins gently, with oscillating piano and distant drums, until the arrangement gradually transforms into an instrumental dervish of vibrant strings, bass drones and cymbal crashes. Throughout, Barker’s vocals float tantalisingly like a slipstreaming feather.

Watch the video, filmed at The Wool Hall here. The Wool Hall is a studio in Beckington, Somerset, set up by Tears for Fears in the 1980s and used by artists including The Smiths, Pretenders, Joni Mitchell and many more.

Emily Barker is an award-winning singer-songwriter, best known as the writer and performer of the theme to the hugely successful BBC crime drama ‘Wallander’ starring Kenneth Branagh.

Her last album, 2020's ‘A Dark Murmuration of Words’, was produced by Greg Freeman and recorded at StudiOwz, a converted chapel in the Welsh countryside. Lyrically probing, by turns both dark and optimistic, Barker searches for meaning through the deafening clamour of fake news and algorithmically filtered conversation, delivering a timely exploration of the grand themes of our age. It garnered widespread acclaim, with Uncut calling it “…a kind of Australian equivalent of PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake”.

Barker has released music and toured as a solo artist as well as with various bands and collaborations, most notably her long association with Frank Turner, and has written for TV and film, including composing the soundtrack for Jake Gavin’s lauded debut feature ‘Hector’ starring Peter Mullan and Keith Allen.

‘Fragile as Humans’ is scheduled for release on May 3rd 2024 through Everyone Sang/Kartel Music Group. The album will also feature earlier singles: the vast, cinematic ‘Wild to be Sharing This Moment’ and the meditative, crestfallen ‘Loneliness’.

A resident of Berlin's long-running Gegen, a multifaceted queer techno and performance art event, Samantha Togni has seen her profile rising with appearances on Mixmag's Lab series in London and a heavy release schedule on established and upcoming labels: Stay Up Forever, Noise Manifesto, her own Boudica, and others, quickly accumulating a significant discography since her 2019 debut. Her latest is the Lunaversal EP on Rant & Rave, representing another edgy release from upcoming female techno talent. It leads off with the title track, not exactly as cosmic as implied with buried, indecipherable vocals and buzzsaw synth riffs seesawing between intermittent breakdowns which only serve to increase tension 'Minor Goddess' takes an old school rave approach with abrasive, rising stabs and dissected vocals against a hammering framework of kicks and crushing bass pressure. With its lilting ambient chopped vocal samples slightly counterbalancing the surging forward motion of the rhythm, 'Pit of Truth' hits deeper, but the pit in the title obviously leans more towards dungeon or grave. 'Jesters Have a Heart Too' rubs unstable synth sweeps against blasts of industrial noise and jackhammer percussion, reaching peak intensity in its brutally chopped final run.

'It's an absolute honour to be releasing on DEEP MEDi - they'rea label I've looked up to and wanted to release on for a number of years so I'm really gassed to be putting out this EP with them.
It was a lot of fun to get to explore the deeper side of my production and I can't wait for everyone to hear it!'
(Hamdi 2024)

Warehouse Find! Test Pressing!

It's Toby Tobias time folks! Ahead of his brilliant LP which will be dropping here on DOG in September we give you a little reminder of why he's one of the heroes of the underground UK house scene. Toby has been honing his skills as a producer, DJ, promoter and all round nice guy for years now and we're very happy to be offering up fresh new club business from the man himself in the form of The Rising EP. Never one to go for the obvious, he always puts his neck on the line and pushes his productions in an interesting and often unexpected direction, making full use of his fully analogue studio to get those 'happy accidents' into his tracks which gives him the edge over so many others on the scene today.

Even with a straight up club banger like The Rising, Toby makes sure things stay edgy, raw and just a little bit mental. At the end of the day this is a Chi-town influenced filter disco banger but with fresh spin that'll make sure it creates the perfect vibe when you drop it in the clubs.

Taking things in a deeper direction we have Jitterbug on the remix, keeping the pace and drive but dipping the original in a vat of thick, syrupy treacle which gives us an altogether more heady, spaced out vibe for those moments when only the trippiest shit will suffice.

Flip over for Toby's own dub version of The Rising which strips it all back and warps it out for a loopey, Soundstream influenced take on the original. Full of attitude but keeping the bags of fun times feel with more punch than Frank Bruno (in his heyday!)

Some of us love PIC vinyl but some don't. NWW do loves PIC vinyl, but please take note - that picture “vinyl” is no audiophile format, it’s a collectible format. Especially for music like NWW with its wide stereo spread, swirling high frequencies, and deep droning basses. The more stereo and bass, the wider and deeper the grooves have to be, to provide all information to the needle. But picture discs have only a very thin plastic foil over the pictures, it’s no vinyl, just plastic, similar to pet bottles. On picture “vinyl” can not be pressed so deep and wide grooves, that it would sound as well as a real vinyl. That’s the same for ALL picture LPs, not only NWW.

General conclusion:
Of course, our picture LP editions are enjoyable to listen to! But to get the best sound quality, you should choose the 2CD version, those sound best. For your collection just buy whatever you think looks best.

Includes digital pre-order of Thunder Perfect Mind. You get 6 tracks now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.

Dive into the soulful sounds of house with "Inhale Exhale," a label that takes you on a journey through deep, funky, disco, and soulful beats. Introducing "inextape003," our latest compilation that delves into the depths of rhythm and groove. Immerse yourself in tracks curated to elevate your senses, where every beat is an invitation to let go and feel the pulse of the underground. Inhale the vibes, exhale the ordinary, and let "Inhale Exhale" redefine your house music experience. Welcome to a world where the beats are deeper, the vibes are smoother, and the dance floor is your sanctuary.

Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few return with a new musical journey, "The Almighty". The first quartet offering since 2021's Cosmic Transition.
Collier's compositions and lyrics focus on using music to communicate deeper principles that are part of everyday. Isaiah showcases these principles through sounds that evolve within the titles: Love, Compassion, & Perspective. These principles once taken fully in are arranged to deliver the message that there is a Divine energy connecting through us all and is seen within all things. The album opens up with LOVE, featuring the legendary Chicago vocalist Dee Alexander channeling her energy to deliver the message of love to the human family. With lyrics written by Collier specific to Alexander's qualities as a maternal figure to him and other musicians, the message remains strong within the music throughout the album. Searching deeper to share more sincerely through our interactions with others, is the albums objective. Collier & The Chosen Few showcase those Principle with Musicianship and an unyielding commitment to put their all into each breath of this episodic journey. The album features the legendary Saxophonist Ari Brown, who has mentored Isaiah for over a decade in their native Chicago. The conversation between student and master evolves on the song "Compassion". Collier's steps into the vocalist roll on the infectious, Perspective (Peace & Love) which serves as Collier's acknowledgement of Pharoah Sanders for his musical contributions, that features percussive sounds that connect the ancestors of the diaspora. Throughout "The Almighty" the group explores elements heard on 2021’s Cosmic Transitions and 2022’s Beyond by I AM (Isaiah Collier and Michael Shekwoaga Ode), and streamline the sound with laser focus in this incarnation.

Spanning more than two decades, Mike Kinsella's widely influential songwriting has steadily sharpened and evolved with each new chapter. In his solo vehicle as Owen (in addition to his roles along the way with American Football, Cap'n Jazz, the more recent LIES, and other collaborative ventures), Kinsella’s ability to seamlessly stitch jagged emotional currents into crushingly beautiful songs has remained at the forefront of his art. The Falls of Sioux, Mike Kinsella’s newest Owen full-length, represent a type of reinvention; feeling like the natural next step in Kinsella’s growth, both artistic and personal. The album perforates an established sound to explore unlikely musical ideas, while the songs document a time of moving through life-altering turmoil into brighter days. Heavy themes are turned over with a gentle hand, and Kinsella inhabits the deeper perspectives that come with hard-earned life experience. This contrast has become more distinct as Owen expanded from unassuming acoustic beginnings into more ornate production, reaching new levels of complexity and clarity by the release of 2020’s The Avalanche.

A testament to the power of loss, every moment of Dream Squasher casts the Southern California sludge l band into new, deeper depths. Custom Merge with Splatter Edition Vinyl

Melbourne/Naarm-based musician and curator Rama Parwata, known for being the backbone drummer in bands such as Kilat, Whitehorse and Rinuwat, releases his second major solo album titled ‘Ceases’ on Cassauna/Important Records.

Parwata's gripping new electro-acoustic work is a sonic exploration within the realms of post-free-jazz and experimental electronics. At its core, ‘Ceases’ navigates the liminal spaces between rhythm and noise, structure and chaos. The album traverses a vast emotional and conceptual landscape, touching upon themes of impermanence, transformation, and the cyclical nature of existence.

At the forefront of the album is Parwata's emotive compositional and performative approach, which serves as both anchor and catalyst for the album's journey. The percussion performance is cymbal heavy accompanied by deeply meditative drones and slow moving melodies. The wash of sound touches on a spiritualism akin to Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme Part 4: Psalm”, albeit with a modern electronic vision á la Tim Hecker. With a keen sense of textural intricacy Parwata favours the emotional expression of electro-acoustic composition, weaving complex poly-textures that ebb and flow with hypnotic, prayer-like intensity. Each performative gesture creates a visceral immediacy that draws the listener deeper into the celestial, otherworldly sonic framework.

The diverse array of electronic elements, meticulously crafted and seamlessly integrated into the fabric of the album are a testament of Parwata’s capacity for acousmatic composition. From pulsating synthesizers to glitched-out samples, the electronic timbres in "Ceases" serve as both sonic embellishments and structural foundations, blurring the boundaries between organic and synthetic, acoustic and digital. Honing in on the electronics, a listener could be convinced they were hearing anything from spiritual-jazz, 90s rave, dungeon synth or doom. Through judicious composition, Parwata imbues each sound with a sense of transcendental allure and paints a soundworld that has a distinct ‘outerness’. At times the narrative is pointedly bleak but over a few passages the sonic language often bends toward rejuvenation; finding respite in cadence. The title itself suggests a sense of cessation, of endings and beginnings intertwined—a motif that reverberates throughout the album.

The collaborative project from Vincent Lemieux and Guillaume Coutu-Dumont, Flabbergast, returns this March with a new EP, entitled ‘Default Mode Network’ and coming via Swiss imprint Adam’s Bite.

Vincent Lemieux is a staple of the Montreal, Canada underground and a widely beloved DJ for his impeccable technique and selections, he’s also offered up productions on the Studio Club and DISDAT labels and a collaborative EP alongside Ohm Hourani for Jigit and co-founding the Musique Risquée alongside Akufen, Deadbeat and Stephen Beaupré.

Guillaume Coutu-Dumont, a fellow Montrealer has long been a prized producer for his unique spin on micro house and
deep house music with his music finding a home on the likes of Mule Musiq, Meander and Dokutoku among others. In 2015 the two joined forces for their Flabbergast debut on Circus Company, have gone on to release with Yoyaku and Copier/Coller, and here makes a triumphant return for Switzerland’s Adam’s Bite with four fresh original cuts.

Opening the EP is the playful ‘Peppermint Poddle’, fuelled by oscillating synth tones, twitchy percussion and saturated bass alongside a spoken word vocal. ‘Manger Du Bon Manger’ then
shifts focus to cinematic organ lines, jazzy drums and a snaking bass groove throughout.

‘Mou D’état’ kicks off the B-side and sees the duo dive deeper via ethereal atmospherics, their signature wonky, mind bending synths and an amalgamation of processed vocal murmurs. Lastly
‘Dans L’oeil’ sees César Merveille join the party, the trio working collectively to create a unique slice of percussion fueled microhouse with intricately intertwined organic percussion, dubby
synth flutters, cinematic pads and pulsating subs.

This batch of releases is what Deeper Knowledge Records is really all about - showcasing and making available fantastic music that has been rarefied, but with no correlation to its quality. That is to say, music that we feel is every bit as great as well known, much-loved and canonized classics, but just never reached the ears of as many folks, only due to its unavailability. And the music made by the close-knit foursome of Trevor Byfield and Clive Matthews as artists, and Norman "Fox Fire" Vassell and the late Clinton "Percival" Williams as producers, is just that. Starting in the late '70s and into the early '80s, this foursome cut some of the best and heaviest roots reggae tunes of the era. We will be issuing eight great singles from these folks. Trevor Byfield's "Burning Bush", a classic ode to herb smoking. Originally issued on the Fox Fire imprint, re-presented using the same Fox Fire design as used on the original, which is one of our favorite label designs of all time!

Warehouse Find!

With Toby Tobias' debut LP for Delusions Of Grandeur dropping on the 16th October we wanted to give you a little taste of what to expect with a couple of tracks plus a brilliant remix from DOG regular Franc Spangler.

Kicking things off we have the twisted machine funk of The Wonder featuring vocals from Atwell. 808 beats bringing the vintage electro vibes whilst Atwell's vocal hints at the golden era of Chicago house, adding a soulful touch to the rigid groove. Next up is Only Getting Better, diving into deeper waters with bubbling pads and pulsing bass line. Finally, we have Franc Spangler getting busy on the remix, turning in a floor focused jam which brings the vocal to the fore and a big beefy bassline to bounce to.

The last 3 critically acclaimed PiL albums on cassette for the first time.

Reissue of early Japanese house outing by Junichi Soma, Shuji Wada and Katsuya Sayo. Comes with insert with liner notes.

All musical movements require a spark to set them alight; in the case of Japanese house music, that spark was provided by the forward-thinking resident DJs of The Bank in Roppongi, Tokyo. In 1989, to celebrate the ground-breaking club’s first birthday, the venue released a 12” EP featuring first-time productions from three of its DJs, Junichi Soma, Shuji Wada and Strong Katsuya AKS Katsuya Sayo.

Widely considered to be one of the first ever EP of house music produced in Japan, 1st Unit was never officially released. Instead, 500 of the 1000 copies pressed were given away at The Bank’s first birthday party, with the rest initially being sold not in local record stores, but rather the venue’s own in-house shop. Three decades on, the 12” is finally set to get its first worldwide release via Rush Hour’s Store JPN Series.

The record has its roots in The Bank’s willingness to give its ever-changing roster of DJs a free hand to play what they liked – at the time a rarity in Tokyo nightclubs, whose musical offerings usually revolved around strictly defined playlists. At The Bank in 1989, it was not only common to hear European body music and the kind of post-disco New York productions associated with Larry Levan’s sets at the Paradise Garage, but also acid house – something not offered at the time by other clubs in the city.

This cutting-edge blend of sounds, combined with the venue’s unique decor (it was modeled on the inside of a London bank, complete with a cashier’s window to take entrance fees), made The Bank a go-to spot for young party-goers, celebrities and forward-thinking Japanese musicians (Ryuichi Sakamoto was reportedly a weekly visitor).

When it came to celebrating the club’s birthday by cutting a unique record, it made sense for The Bank’s owners to turn to three of their most exciting resident DJs, who were assisted by Heigo Tani and Jun Ebi. The collective name, 1st Unit, was chosen to reflect the fact that all three resident DJs were debutants with no previous studio experience.

As this reissue proves, the music remains timeless, magical, and authentic to the sound of American house productions of the period – albeit with occasional twists,. Katsuya Sano’s EP opener, ‘I Need Love’, sounds like a twist on Larry Heard productions of the period – all jacking TR-909 drums, undulating analogue bass, dreamy JUNO synthesizer chords and evocative vocal samples.

The influence of Chicago acid house is also evident on Junichi Souma’s ‘Ubnormal Life’, whose unusual title contains what he says was an intentional misspelling. Driven forwards by restless drum machine handclaps, sweet chords and rising and falling melodic motifs, the track is an energetic and uplifting treat.

Perhaps the most influential of the three tracks at the time – within Japan at least – was Shuji Wada’s similarly misspelled ‘Endless Load’. Deeper and more melodic with a more expansive arrangement, the track’s combination of marimba-style lead lines, tribal drum patterns, dreamy chords and jazz-funk influenced bass offered a loose blueprint for the more successful and better-known Japanese deep house tracks that followed.

5 years after his last and 3rd album, Lucas Arruda finally presents his long awaited new LP, Ominira.
Since the release of his first album on Favorite Recordings (Sambadi / 2013), Lucas Arruda has clearly established himself as one of the most talented contemporary artist and composer from Brazil. His music is filled with fusion style, mixing influences and elements from his Latin musical background, with his genuine admiration for Jazz, Soul, Pop and Funk music.
During these 10 years of collaboration with label honcho Pascal Rioux, Lucas Arruda’ music has always received great supports and feedbacks from international media and tastemakers, each album perfecting the level of composition and production. With Onda Nova (2019), Lucas dived willingly into Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti influences, aiming to capture the true essence of Brazilian Funk and AOR tradition. Now a father and family man, he turned more deeply into his native influences when composing this new beautiful album. Fully composed and produced by Lucas, Ominira also features appearances from friends local musicians and artists such as Italo Vinicius (Drums), Thiago Arruda (guitars), Roger Rocha (sax), or Flavia K and Andre Motta on vocals.
"Ominira is about freedom, art and music. It's also about honoring my ancestors and my musical influences. I delved a little deeper into my African roots, in addition to Brazilian music and rhythms, and my longtime passion for Soul/Funk. After a long production process I feel like I made my best album. So, I present to you OMINIRA, a new chapter in my career. Have a nice trip!"

Introducing "The Sevens” - A Sonic Revelation from A Place To Bury Strangers Prepare to embark on a transcendent auditory journey with "The Sevens” a series of four 7-inch vinyl records that unveil a treasure trove of previously unreleased tracks from A Place To Bury Strangers' critically acclaimed 6th album, "See Through You."

Renowned for their visceral sonic assault and immersive live performances, A Place To Bury Strangers has cemented the end-all-be-all space for over-the-top post-punk / shoegaze destruction. With this special vinyl collection, the band invites listeners to delve deeper into their sonic universe, exploring uncharted territories and hidden gems. Don't Turn The Radio/This Is All For You is the third release coming April 19.

"When looking back at the recordings that were done around the time of See Through You there were a bunch of great tracks that just captured life back then and really had something incredible going on. Even though they are a bit raw and a bit personal, I thought it would be a mistake if they didn't come out. I thought it would be best to go back to my roots and put out a series of 7"s the way A Place To Bury Strangers started. That strange weird format where the tracks each speak for themselves, no album context to muddy the water. These tracks are such a contrast to the way I am feeling now and the current songs we've been working on so slip back into this moment in time.” says APTBS’ Oliver Ackermann.

Did you know that for decades, record collectors across the Dutch-speaking region have overlooked a significant portion of their own musical heritage while avidly searching for rare grooves and breaks in bins filled with more exotic music? It's a fact! And that's where Harde Smart comes in. After delving deep into dusty crates of Belgian and Dutch music, Harde Smart's inaugural compilation in 2019, dedicated to music from the 1970s, brought to light a selection of smooth, jazzy, funky, and soulful gems from Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) and Holland. In addition to exquisite grooves and hard-pounding drums, these songs shared Dutch lyrics, offering a unique compilation of lyric-driven Flemish and Dutch music from back in the days.

Yet, nothing is as certain as the unexpected. This compilation marked the first time a Dutch album uncovered the authentic Afro-American funk and soul vibe, which, albeit sporadically, influenced the work of both popular and lesser-known singers and musicians in this corner of the world during the 1970s. Undoubtedly, influences also stemmed from French chanson and rock music of the era. This 21-trackalbum shattered all musical predictability, taking listeners on a strange and nostalgic journey, offering a revised collection of "essential homegrown classics" for local listeners while also captivating non-Dutch-speaking audiences.

With the second compilation, Harde Smart shifts its focus from the 1970s sound to explore the next decade, the 1980s. Vinyl aficionados No Sleep Richy and Micha Marva joined forces with Sjefke De Kok, one of Holland's premier crate diggers, to continue their musical odyssey. Digging even deeper into dusty bins filled with Dutch and Flemish records once again unearthed an exquisite selection of tracks-too weird to play, too rare to ignore. From butt-shaking boogie to weird disco adventures on wax, this album encapsulates all the good stuff of the 1980s: smooth and seductive alongside dark and wavy. Get ready for an atypical introduction into the Dutch lyric-driven music from the 1980's.

Welcome back to Demon’s ‘Disco Discharge’ series, originally issued in a series of 2CD collections between 2009 and 2012. The themed compilations of full-length, extended Disco originals, lovingly curated by the mysterious “MrPinks” and with detailed sleeve notes by author and Disco aficionado Alan Jones, have remained in-demand among collectors and the club cognoscenti. This time around, the series kicks off with ‘Classic Disco’ and ‘Disco Fever USA’. Doing exactly what it says on the tin, ‘Classic Disco’ mixes 12 undeniable dancefloor landmarks on 140g orange vinyl, from recognizable names like Change, Manhattan Transfer and Cheryl Lynn, with deeper cuts from exotic names like Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band (an early incarnation of Kid Creole!), The Peter Jacques Band and Double Discovery. And as if to prove a cool Disco track could come from anywhere or anybody, ‘Classic Disco’ also features an essential re-edit by The Glitter Band!

London-born-and-raised DJ and producer Parris has announced his new EP Passionfruit, which is to be released on 22nd March 2024 via his own co-founded label can you feel the sun. Following his stand-out 2021 album Soaked In Indigo Moonlight, described as a “masterful” take on the pop genre (Crack Magazine), Passionfruit continues Parris’ affinity for polyrhythms and bouncing synths, but diving deeper into his love for clubbing and UK soundsystems, the result is a heady house compilation.

Each track on the EP is in contention with the one before it, a counterpoint to a sonic argument; melodic bubbly pop against heavy drum and bass, morning rays of sunlight against dark and swampy rhythms. Where the title track “Passionfruit” was described by Parris as imagining the “early morning of a set with the sunrise coming through the shutters”, the very next track “Slipping, Falling, Crawling” is much like the title suggests: a sludgy, percussion-heavy track which has fun with creating melody from the beat itself, stripped back and raw intent.

“Why Can’t Rabbits Wear Cowboy Boots” and “Underwater Fantasy” are almost alternate universe club classics. “WCRWCB” takes a club-formed structure, and uses it to explore the limits polyrhythms, layering chaotically over eachother, and building through the first half of the track, until it peaks with the introduction of an explosive bassline. “Underwater Fantasy” on the surface is the straightest-sounding track to come from Parris, but the disco-style vocals fight with the beat, pushing and pulling at eachother.

Parris (aka Dwayne Parris-Robinson) has dedicated himself to club culture from an early age, never missing a week at FWD>> (the club night where a generation of bass and techno DJs made their names), and was constantly tuning into Rinse FM. Immersing himself into the distinct sound of London built the foundations of the productions we hear today, with grime and drum & bass bubbling alongside slick pop references.

Early Moods’ sophomore album A Sinner’s Past is the ultimate dosage of classic early 70s proto-metal, 90s grunge riffing and timeless songwriting delivered with an explosive youthful energy. The Los Angeles area quartet burst onto the scene fully formed with a sound that somehow simultaneously merged gritty underground Street Doom with slick “big box” Heavy Metal melodies on their self-titled RidingEasy debut album in 2022. And it’s the band’s highly skilled musicianship paired with exquisite aesthetic taste — in addition to their killer live show — that has made them an immediate popular favorite. A Sinner’s Past takes those elements several steps higher with a nod to Soundgarden’s huge sonic depth, the low-mid fuzz drenched tones of Sabotage and classic 70s melodies and structures of Ulli Roth-era Scorpions. The latter in particular inspiring the album’s intricate tonal shifts and shimmering twin leads. “I’m very proud of these songs,” says guitarist Eddie Andrade. “We did a lot of different things, took a lot of chances and show a lot of growth, and I think people will pick up on it. I was trying to use more open chords, not the typical styles. We came off touring with Candlemass and Pentagram, sharing those shows with our heroes really pumped us up. We went into the studio just hungry to record.” The album was recorded near the band’s home base in Pico Rivera, CA by Allen Falcon of Birdcage Studios, who also mixed their debut album. “He’s a good friend of the band and we wanted to be more comfortable, in a relaxed environment for this,” Andrade says. “He had a lot of input and his ideas made a lot of impact on this recording.” The band started recording in May 2023, then worked on the album on and off for 3 months between tours, which also lends to its very refined sound. Early Moods was founded in 2015 by Andrade and vocalist/keyboardist Alberto Alcaraz after a few years of playing in thrash and death metal projects before the two realized that the classic doom that they’d grown up with was what they really wanted to explore. Going through a few lineup changes while delving deeper into the diverging influences that were calling, Early Moods arrived at the sound and lineup that grew their fanbase locally. The band released their debut EP Spellbound in 2020 on German label Dying Victim Productions, followed by their self-titled debut full length on RidingEasy Records in 2023. Early Moods is Oscar Hernandez on lead guitar, Chris Flores on drums, Elix Felciano on bass, Alcaraz on vocals/synth and Andrade on guitar.

Fabiana Palladino announces full details of her hotly anticipated self-titled debut album. The UK vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer releases ‘Fabiana Palladino’ via Paul Institute / XL Recordings. Made in the wake of the end of a long relationship, the album is an intimate record that sees Fabiana Palladino confront complex questions about love, loneliness and normativity in relationships. The result is a 10-track full-length of shapeshifting sonics that draws inspiration from the big R&B, soul, pop and disco studio productions of the 1980s and 90s and filters them through a modern lens.

Written and self-produced by Palladino, the album features performances from renowned musicians and close friends including Paul Institute co-founder Jai Paul, her father and legendary session bassist Pino Palladino, brother and Yussef Dayes bassist Rocco Palladino, renowned drummer Steve Ferrone and strings from Rob Moose.

Speaking on the new music and forthcoming album, Fabiana Palladino says: “A central theme of the album is aloneness. Whether it’s a song where I’m searching for connection with someone else, or trying to embrace the aloneness, it tends to come back to me, who I am when I’m alone, what I feel when I really look inwards. I’d say it’s a pretty introspective record overall. The songs are often about trying to go deeper into yourself, exploring your true feelings and how they then relate to and affect your relationships with others

Alice Russell is universally acclaimed as one of the best modern soul voices of our time, while her raw talent and charisma commands attention and affection. The much-loved British soulstress returns with the most personal album of her career. 'I Am' is vulnerable and bold while addressing how we must all work on ourselves to heal – so that we can love and connect with those and the world around us more honestly and with depth.

Life, loss and grief have been a central part of this period and a new approach to creating music: “Two little ones have joined me, and one has left - my dad passed away the summer after ‘To Dust’ was released. The day after my Dad’s funeral, I found out I was pregnant with my first little one.” Alice continues: “The grief journey has cracked me open and created a more urgent need to be focused and try to go deeper with how I communicate creatively and who I AM today, and I welcome it with open arms”.

Written and produced alongside long-time collaborator TM Juke, 'I Am' is the first offering of new music from the iconic singer in over a decade and marks a new era in the remarkable career of the down-to-earth vocal powerhouse. This summer, Alice graced the main stage of Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here, supported Nile Rogers and performed as part of a tribute to Aretha Franklin across France, marking her return to the stage, where she belongs.

Alice Russell is universally acclaimed as one of the best modern soul voices of our time, while her raw talent and charisma commands attention and affection. The much-loved British soulstress returns with the most personal album of her career. 'I Am' is vulnerable and bold while addressing how we must all work on ourselves to heal – so that we can love and connect with those and the world around us more honestly and with depth.

Life, loss and grief have been a central part of this period and a new approach to creating music: “Two little ones have joined me, and one has left - my dad passed away the summer after ‘To Dust’ was released. The day after my Dad’s funeral, I found out I was pregnant with my first little one.” Alice continues: “The grief journey has cracked me open and created a more urgent need to be focused and try to go deeper with how I communicate creatively and who I AM today, and I welcome it with open arms”.

Written and produced alongside long-time collaborator TM Juke, 'I Am' is the first offering of new music from the iconic singer in over a decade and marks a new era in the remarkable career of the down-to-earth vocal powerhouse. This summer, Alice graced the main stage of Gilles Peterson’s We Out Here, supported Nile Rogers and performed as part of a tribute to Aretha Franklin across France, marking her return to the stage, where she belongs.

Nexcyia unveils his debut album “Endless Path Of Memory” out December 8th on Pensaments Sonics.

Nexcyia’s inaugural project delicately explores the realm of sound design, eschewing the over-visited constraints of a tempo grid. Upon immersing yourself, the immediate departure from conventional song structures becomes apparent. Instead, it feels as though the artist fills the silence with disruptive yet evocative sonic experimentation. The compositions appear to surrender to the ebb and flow of textures, revealing a musical journey driven by spontaneity rather than a predetermined destination. The musical endeavour of the Londonbased sound artist revolves around the essence of sound itself, transcending the pursuit of memorable melodies. It invites listeners into a realm of moods and atmospheres that both surprise and elicits a deeper connection to one’s inner realities.

Given Adam Dove's background in sound art practices, it's no surprise that his inaugural fulllength release is a rich soundscape, weaving through the realm of harsh sampling and gentle synthesis. Requiring the listener to explore with him the boundaries


between reality and illusion, he neatly manipulates granular synthesis, interweaves a library from his own archived audio, while pondering the very essence of our universal desire to belong.

2024 repress!

Approaching 20 years since its original release (2007 via Smallfish), now remastered to pure analogue bliss from the original ampex tape masters.

The sound on display here I could imagine as a soundtrack while submerging in a submersible diving deeper than the Marianas trench!

The B side now features an epic live version captured @ AIR, Tokyo, Japan.

Made in the heart of Detroit, with love!

Utter presents 'The Ritual EP' by Frank Rodas.

Frank Rodas is the elusive creator of 2019's 'The Sellout EP' (Optimo Music) and one of the brains behind the excellent 'Out The Flat' label. While his previous release deftly dipped into Electro, Industrial and EBM sonics, 'The Ritual EP' sees the versatile producer travel in another direction, taking the listener on an ethereal, acid-tinged Tribal voyage.

The visuals also complement the EP's cohesive deeper sound. Decadence comics co-founder Lando's immersive artwork draws us further into this imagined far-future world, with a vast flooded landscape dominating the front cover, any remnant of civilisation succumbing to nature. A large 50x70cm panoramic poster is included with every copy of the record.

'The Ritual EP' is available on recycled vinyl and digital formats.

Mastered & cut by Anne Taegert at D&M.

• In the 70s ‘Happiness Is Here’ was the standard, Motown-influenced, Northern Soul play by legendary Detroit artist Tobi Lark. By the 80s and 90s soul fans tastes had matured and the slower and deeper ‘Challenge My Love’ took over to such an extent that it was the go-to Lark recording. The final twist was the discovery that its flip, the moody and bluesy ‘Sweep It Out In The Shed’ was a new floor-filler to spin to the R&B-loving dancers.

• What was considered a moderately-priced collector’s item is now fetching four figure sums. Our Repro recreates that longed-for pressing, but with a colourful twist.

HoneyLuv impresses on her Crosstown Rebels debut with ‘Right Spot’, accompanied by remixes from house heavyweights Dennis Ferrer and Byron The Aquarius Unveiling her first solo production of 2024, the DJ Mag North America ‘Best Breakthrough Producer’ 2023 winner showcases a deeper side to her growing sound, backed by a pair of unorthodox remixes from two of house music’s favourite names.

One of the most hotly-tipped artists within the current house landscape, it’s safe to say Cleveland-born, London-based DJ/producer HoneyLuv arrived in 2023 and hasn’t looked back since. Riding high following a whirlwind twelve months, featuring as one of Radio 1’s Future Stars, Tomorrowland’s ‘20 of 2023’, and as a DJ Mag North America cover star, plus being selected as one of Beatport’s ‘Beatport Next: Class of 2023’ and most recently as one of Spotify’s ‘Mint Artists To Watch’, her 2024 account opens with a big label debut as she heads to Damian Lazarus’ iconic Crosstown Rebel for the first time. Paying homage to the rich house history of Chicago, she unveils her latest single, ‘Right Spot’ - joined by a double-dose all-star remix cast in the form of house icons Dennis Ferrer and Byron The Aquarius, two individuals who need little introduction.

Groove-laden and rich, harnessed by the alluring vocal at the heart of the production, ‘Right Spot’ is an excellently crafted trip through varying shades of house music as slick percussion and vibrant leads accent hazy textures to offer up a future-focused cut with nods to the past.

Dennis Ferrer’s interpretation sees the NYC icon switch things up as he veers towards the after-hours with a bubbly, stripped-back take that leans on colourful stabs, sweeping melodies and off-kilter drum shots. To close, Alabama’s finest, Byron The Aquarius’ remix ups the tempo and launches right into the action as tunnelling grooves and skippy hats take hold for an energy-charged ride.

Janis Joplin wouldn't be denied on Pearl. The powerhouse vocalist had kicked her addictions, teamed with a stupendous band, and partnered with a producer that knew how to best showcase her voice on record. She came to the sessions with an armload of astonishing songs, and a burst of creative energy that mirrored her rejuvenated emotional state and undeniable spirit. You can hear it on every note of the 1971 record. Ranked #135 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, Pearl sold more than four million copies and stands as the first female rock superstar's definitive studio work.

Mastered from the original master tapes, cut at 45RPM, and pressed on dead-quiet vinyl at RTI, the iconic audiophile label's reissue takes Joplin and Co.'s stupendous performances to newly transcendent levels. Boasting a fidelity that further magnifies the singer's passion and producer Paul A. Rothchild's clear production, this pressing benefits from increased spaciousness, dynamics, and openness afforded by the wider grooves. Joplin's husky, strong, and penetrating singing has never sounded so vibrant or made deeper connections. Warm, organic, and free of any artificial ceilings, this version lets you step into Sunset Sound Recorders with the performers, such is the degree of realism and authenticity. Indeed, few, if any words, describe Joplin better than "authentic," and her spirit comes to life on this 2LP set in positively transcendent fashion. Like its headliner, this pressing leaves it all on the floor.

While Joplin's electrifying vocal prowess is universally lauded – she's recognized as the greatest white female blues singer the world has ever seen – her mix of compassion, confidence, and charm play as large a role in attracting listeners and keeping them ensnared more than four decades after her tragic death. And on Pearl, she burrows into deeper stylistic veins, teasing out sides of her persona and craft she'd never previously displayed. Her signature desperation, sadness, and vulnerability remain – the harrowing, lonely wail that begins her soul-ravishing take on Jerry Ragovoy's "Cry Baby," underlined with a Wall of Sound-like piano accompaniment, could only come from a person severely scarred by loss and disappointment – yet Joplin also reveals a sense of humour and beatnik innocence that helped propel the album to the top of the charts for nine straight weeks.

Playfully introduced as "a song of great social and political import," the acapella "Mercedes Benz" reflects Joplin's throaty timbre as well as her enhanced, sunnier mood. Similarly, her definitive read of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee" signals a laidback demeanour and a move into country strains, with the delivery as natural, carefree, and loving as any in the rock canon. As she does throughout the record, Joplin invests her all in the narrative so that there's no line between the performer and the song. She makes everything on Pearl feel autobiographical, and by extension, gut-wrenchingly honest, and devastatingly intimate. Joplin achieved these feats often during her brief career, yet there are differences on Pearl, chiefly among them her balance of impeccable timing and raw emotion. Heart-aching anthems such as "A Woman Left Lonely" offer both grit and control, subtlety and attack, resulting in cathartic releases distinguished with originality, personality, and instinctual passion.

Pearl remains Joplin's finest hour, with credit also owed to the Full Tilt Boogie Band – the only group she ever considered to be her own – as well as the Doors alum that sat behind the boards. Joplin and Rothchild both admitted to sharing a common bond and understanding, with the latter inheriting the role of teacher and Joplin, a willing student ready to discover how she could use her voice in new, more expressive ways. The fruits of the pair's labours fill Pearl, be it the guardedly optimistic "Get It While You Can" or assertive, fleet-footed "Move Over."

Experienced in the new light brought to fore by this definitive Mobile Fidelity edition, Joplin's swan song is no longer about a masterpiece that its creator never lived to see finished. Rather, it's about a once-in-a-lifetime vocalist realizing mammoth potential and wringing passion out of every note. It's not a tragedy, but a triumph. Get it while you can.

Anna Gréta goes gentle...into her second album on ACT, “Star of Spring”. The Reykjavik-born pianist, singer and a songwriter, who has lived in Stockholm since 2014, has her own way of approaching the art of quiet, artful, deeply personal songs, often drawing inspiration from the beauty and power of Iceland’s natural landscape. Her 2021 ACT debut "Nightjar in the Northern Sky" was named after a bird, and this follow-up album lands gracefully on a flower, the “glory of the snow”, also known as the "star of spring", which symbolises the ending of winter and the arrival of spring.

But look closer, and there are always other levels of meaning. Her "Nightjar”, the rare bird she once saw in front of the northern sky, was a metaphor for the search for the things which are special and essential. In fact, almost all of Anna Gréta's lyrics have more than one significance, and her storytelling has now taken a leap forward on "Star of Spring". She says of the little flower on the title track: "I wasn't just inspired by the way it takes over the meadows in spring and turns them from green to blue, but also by the fact that it blooms because it is compelled to do so. It cannot do anything else."

Anna Gréta's starting point to creating music was and is the piano. She first studied classical music, then switched to jazz. She only started singing later, when she was writing the songs for Nightjar and wanted to express herself in words. Anna Gréta's debut as a singer, pianist and songwriter earned her international acclaim: Downbeat Magazine called it „an album with the metamophoric diversity of a year’s seasons and a voice like the everchanging colours of the Northern lights“, France Musique “a remarkably immersive experience” and Jazzwise “starkly beautiful”.

On "Star Of Spring" Anna Gréta has further developed her individual style. Her vocal lines can resemble piano motifs, often doubling them and resonating with an impressively quiet vibrato, sometimes quirkily reminiscent of Björk, at other times with the brooding ease of Norah Jones. The album also bears a very distinctive production style. For each of the songs, Anna Gréta has created her own little world of choirs, rhythmic textures and various smartly used keyboard instruments. The album ranges from the hymnal and elegiac - in "She Moves" or in the title track - to the playful and cheerful "Space Time" or the extremely pared-down melancholic ballad "Denouement". And even if the general mood of the music exudes above all warmth and comfort, Anna Gréta also deals with serious topics, such as the forced birth control of women in Greenland during the 60s and 70s in the song "The Body Remembers".

There is a directness of expression and emotionality, even sensuousness about the new album, and that is not least because Anna Gréta’s band has developed and become a properly played-in unit with the experience to take this album’s more complex arrangements in its stride. The sheen and brightness of her piano playing is contrasted with a deeper voice, that of her father Sigurður Flosason's bass clarinet, on three tracks. "This album is more playful and experimental," she says. "A lot of things were easier for me than on the first album. And while I was still completely focussed on my own world then, now I was even more conscious and aware of what was going on around me."

The result is music that is rooted in jazz, but at the same time goes far beyond it in a very subtle and deeply touching way.

Originally rumoured to be a double album the plan was shot down - Dave Thompson in conversation with Melanie managed to work out what it would look like and here we present all newly mastered the deluxe version. Woodstock and Glastonbury Fayre icon Melanie had been working with Easy Action on the deluxe vinyl and CD rerelease of one of the most legendary albums in her long catalogue prior to her very sad passing. In 1972, Melanie and her producer and husband Peter Schekeryk began work on what she intended to be her most ambitious album yet. Stoneground Words was to be a double album - the first such statement from any female rock artist. It would also be the first worldwide release on Neighborhood Records, the label she and Schekeryk established in 1971 - another first, as she entered territory into which only The Beatles, The Stones and The Moody Blues had previously stepped. Even more crucially, however, it was her personal response to the enormous success, earlier in the year, of the hit "Brand New Key" - "the bicycle song," as so many people recall it. Stoneground Words returned to the drawing board. Ten songs were selected; the remainder were placed to one side; and the album was released to generally positive reviews which included Melody Maker's assertion that it was "the most sophisticated she's made. The naiveté of the past has been replaced by deeper, more comprehensive methods of expression." She is the first to admit that the new edition of Stoneground Words is not a true facsimile of the original. The paperwork for all three projects, after all, disappeared long ago, as did the tapes ("who knows where?"). Stoneground Words will be released in March 2024 by Easy Action/Neighbourhood Records o Issued for the very first time as a double LP o Completely remastered. o Limited pressing on Pink Vinyl, CD Presented in large deluxe gatefold sleeve with full colour booklet o Brand new artwork o Originally recorded in New York in 1972 and released on Melanie's own Neighbourhood Records label.

Light Touches Records is devoted to shed new lights on hot rarities, unknown grooves as well as forgotten classics. 2024 welcomes the new 12” on the label with 4 hot and rare gospel disco/funk tunes to uplift your sets and throw people’s hands in the air!

“The Top” is an uplifting and relentless disco roller for incendiary peak times, “Hear my prey” suits the openings with its midtempo funky groove. On the flipside, “Lil Longer” gets deeper and moodier for the most demanding djs out there while “Giving It Up” rounds things up with its lovely boogie vibes.

All tracks have been carefully edited by Andrea Passenger without overdubs, in order to bring the spirit of classic disco manipulators to today’s dancefloors! 12” limited to 300 copies (no digital).

Two and a half years after their acclaimed last release 'Less Is Endless', De Beren Gieren ("The Bear Vultures") have finished their seventh full album. What Eludes Us is an ode to what escapes us and what we consciously want to look away from.

For this new full album, the band left aside the unimaginable beauty of the Norwegian fjords and crawled into a dusty recording studio in Bergen harbour. They did so with the celebrated and mysterious producer Jørgen Træen (a.o. Jaga Jazzist), who silently watched over the imperfections andinterference as a guiding force behind the adept playing of the electro-acoustic jazz trio.

The result turns out to be compelling music with deceptive rhythms, clear melodies and uninhibited electronics in a way that also managed to surprise them themselves. With De Beren Gieren, it is clear that there is still gold to be struck from the classic jazz piano format. Instead of changing direction, the band resolutely chooses to dig deeper.

Oftentimes in this busy and chaotic world it’s challenging to draw a parallel between two congruent events. In this case however, drawing its inspiration from Detroit’s recent meteoric rise from the ruins of the past, BerettaMusic a label founded in Detroit in 2002 continues to rise through a sea of noise with steady quality releases.

Widely seen as one of the premier house/techno labels from a bustling Detroit music scene, the label is continuing to make waves. This time with the re-launch of their highly respected Beretta Grey sub label. The same label that has launched the careers of artists like Seth Troxler, Ryan Crosson, Luke Hess and many others is back again.

Asher Perkins is no stranger to the dance floor. When Richie Hawtin called him in 2015 and requested his music for Minus, he stepped up and delivered a quality release. Since then he has steadily been honing his craft and cutting his teeth in Detroit with his much sought after, late night, live techno sets.

Asher’s productions can range from deep dark banging techno to heady and psychedelic vibes, both of which he showcases on this release on Beretta Grey. For his faithful fans in Detroit and beyond, they may have caught a glimpse of his new moniker, Acid Perkins, where he takes the crowd on an even deeper dive into the absolute depths of trippy, bumping and bubbling psychedelic soundscapes that will have the listener yearning for more. BerettaMusic is very proud to announce the relaunch of the highly respected Beretta Grey imprint and showcase one of Detroit’s finest in the process, Asher Perkins.

Are you ready? Written and Produced by Asher Perkins Mastered by Brian Kage at the Bear Cave in Detroit, pressed at the world famous Archer Records in Detroit. Label art by Ryan Sadorus.

2024 White Vinyl Repress

Planet Rhythm travels into deeper territory with this V/A. VII-RE and Simone Tavazzi both produced a more direct sound while the B-side by Lenny San and Planet Rhythm mainstay Steve Parker serve up even more dubby sounds.

Introducing "The Sevens” - A Sonic Revelation from A Place To Bury Strangers Prepare to embark on a transcendent auditory journey with "The Sevens” a series of four 7-inch vinyl records that unveil a treasure trove of previously unreleased tracks from A Place To Bury Strangers' critically acclaimed 6th album, "See Through You." Renowned for their visceral sonic assault and immersive live performances, A Place To Bury Strangers has cemented the end-all-be-all space for over-the-top post-punk / shoegaze destruction. With this special vinyl collection, the band invites listeners to delve deeper into their sonic universe, exploring uncharted territories and hidden gems. 'Chasing Colors/I Can Never Be As Great As You Are' is the second release coming March 22. "When looking back at the recordings that were done around the time of See Through You there were a bunch of great tracks that just captured life back then and really had something incredible going on. Even though they are a bit raw and a bit personal, I thought it would be a mistake if they didn't come out. I thought it would be best to go back to my roots and put out a series of 7"s the way A Place To Bury Strangers started. That strange weird format where the tracks each speak for themselves, no album context to muddy the water. These tracks are such a contrast to the way I am feeling now and the current songs we've been working on so slip back into this moment in time.” says APTBS’ Oliver Ackermann. The vinyl is pressed as a white disc.

'Mystery' is 16 tracks of rare early recordings from the legendary folk singer Jackson C Frank, known for his brief but influential career in the 1960s. On this release we delve deeper into singer-songwriter skills. His debut album, "Jackson C. Frank," is considered a folk classic. It featured songs like "Blues Run the Game" and "Milk and Honey," which have been covered by numerous artists over the years including Simon and Garfunkel, Wizz Jones and Bert Jansch.












[k] Night of the Blues [Version 2]
[l] (Tumble) In the Wind [Version 2]

On September 9th, 2022 at the Harrison House in Joshua Tree, Georg and Heike debuted a collection of songs that would later comprise Son of Velvet Rat’s Ghost Ranch studio album. A sacred space to present these new pieces, stripped-down to their most essential elements: two voices; one gruff and anchoring baritone, the other lifting in weathered hope, over six strings danced upon by Georg’s possessed spider-fingers, every note plucked with intention. A bare-boned outpouring, reverberating through the House like Midnight Mass in a rare church brave enough to explore the complexities of love.
That night, which ended with a refreshing baptismal monsoon as we walked out to our cars, would have to be preserved in the amber of memory until Georg and Heike would properly document the pieces at Gar Robertson’s Red Barn Studio in Morongo Valley the following spring ’23, before finishing the album in Austria.

Beltran and Harvy Valencia team up for their label debut on Hot Creations, unveiling a slick collaboration alongside solo cuts on their three-track ‘Origins’ EP.

Bursting onto the scene as standout talents, Brazilian Beltran and Colombian Harvy Valencia are quickly becoming globally recognised figures in their own right. With releases between them on esteemed labels such as Cuttin’ Headz, Solid Grooves, and Revival New York, the two now forge a new path as they unite for the first time on Hot Creations. Unleashing a trio of vibrant and impactful productions, headed up by their debut collaboration, the pair unveil a collection of cutting-edge sounds across their latest EP, 'Origins'.

Opening with playful bass grooves and crisp, organic drums, title cut ‘Origins (3AM Tusi Mix)’ welcomes a rolling masterclass from the duo. On the B-side, Beltran takes the lead with ‘Tira A Roupa (Putaria Mix)’, delivering punchy beats, funky riffs and crisp percussion, crafting a flawless laid-back groover. To close, Harvy Valencia delivers a powerful dancefloor experience with ‘Brut’, showcasing vibrant vocals, infectious beats and playful phone rings. showcases a deeper, sultry vibe with alluring male vocals at the core.

Joanna Brouk's most ambitious recording, Sounds of the Sea is a concept album full of mystery and eroticism. A conch shell bookends this journey into the deep, going down and down and down further, never reaching bottom. Drawing inspiration from various legends of mermaids and sailors, Brouk weaves circling flutes, vocals, drones and whale songs to describe a sense of unfathomable longing more clearly than words could ever express. Sounds of the Sea is a hypnotic and profound achievement by one of new age's greatest composers.

Aural architect Skygaze follows his 2022 ‘Astral Trip EP’ for Flumo Recordings, offering an advanced fusion of house, broken boogie, and future jazz, with five brand new reinterpretations from the extended Flumo family.

Skygaze’s diverse sound, breaking down barriers between house and techno, broken beat, jazz, ambient, hip hop, jungle, and even esoteric IDM, has been showcased across a growing catalogue of releases across Guayaba records, Riverette, Flumo and Thirty Three Circular, and remixes for Ed is Dead and Contours & Yadava; earning the producer support from the likes of Mr. Scruff, Simbad, k15, Bandcamp’s Andrew Jervis, and Gilles Peterson.

Feted singer, musician and producer Alysha Joy, rising producer Divorce From New York, ones-to-watch, Footnote and Karmasound, and Skygaze himself under his Jailed Jamie guise, joined by Lorenzo Soria, put a new spin on ‘Astral Trip’, whilst staying true to the originals’ spirit.

The multi-talented Allysha Joy, of 30/70 Collective & LCSM fame, remixes ‘’Night Heat’’, enhancing the groove with broken beats and her undeniable first-rate vocals.

Jailed Jamie & Lorenzo Soria, reshape ‘’Gimme Five’’ with rough synths and jacking bassline driven “Think” beats.

Divorce From New York boosts the tempo and infuses ‘’Wagwan’’ with Latin rhythms, perfectly balanced by high-energy synth lines.

Italian producers, Footnote and SofaTalk, delve deeper into ‘’Minor Mood’’, adding softer, retro-infused sound structures in a broken boogie mould.

Barcelona’s Karmasound explores the ruminating nature of ‘’City Cathedratics’’ and its counterbalance between broken beat and house.

The diverse but complementary set of remixes is sure to move bodies on sophisticated dance-floors this year and shed further light not only Skygaze’s production but also his talent for melody and song-writing. A feather in his and Flumo’s bow.

DJ Support:

Ashley Beedle (Back To The World Records)

Bolam (Lobster Theremin)

Crazy P (Hot Toddy / 2020 Vision)

Dan Curtin (Mobilee)

Fouk (Heist / Toy Tonics)

Joshua James (XOYO, Glorias, Rinse)

Laurent Garnier (F Communications)

Severino / Horse Meat Disco (Strut / !K7 Records)

Speaking Minds (Circoloco, Italy)

Berlin, 20 August 2023 – In a world where music serves as a gateway to explore the intricate dance between reality and imagination, Shkoon, the innovative germany-syrian musical group, presents their newest single, "Al-Furat." This release is a captivating addition to their upcoming album, a collection that masterfully blurs the lines between the tangible and the ethereal. Its the first single of their 10 Track Album being released on 16st of November followed by a big concert tour.
"Al-Furat" is not merely a song; it's a satirical exploration of life's complex game. With a wink to the audience, the song invites listeners to look beyond its surface and decipher the layers of meaning hidden within. At the heart of it, "Al-Furat" beckons the audience to find what resonates with them, to uncover the deeper messages that lie beneath the harmonies and rhythms.
A Harmonious Blend of Emotions
Crafted with a touch of irony, "Al-Furat" humorously contrasts the declarations of love for one's homeland with the journey of Ameen, the protagonist, as he navigates the game-like challenges to reach France. It's a juxtaposition of joy and sorrow, presented through cheerful melodies and thought-provoking lyrics. This blend of emotions adds depth to the song, making it not just a musical piece but a thought-provoking experience.

Blurring the Boundaries
Shkoon doesn't stop at melodies and lyrics; they expertly play with boundaries. The video showcases Thorben crossing borders with a French baguette, a clever visual metaphor that challenges stereotypes. The inclusion of French demonstrations further blurs the lines between art and reality. It's a deliberate move that asks the audience to question their perceptions and assumptions.

Art with a Message
As with their previous works, Shkoon's "Al-Furat" carries a hidden message—a critique and commentary on societal norms and expectations. It's a call to look beyond the surface, to recognize the dual nature of art as both entertainment and a mirror to society. Shkoon's ability to weave such messages into their work is a testament to their artistry and depth.

The Album
After Rima (2019) some singles, EP’s and their touching live album “FIRAQ” (2022) Shkoon is coming up with another concept album “Masrahiya” which is arabic and stands for theater play. Shkoon created a strong message again, with a diverse piece of art combined with an album concert tour.

This play 'Masrahiya' delves deep into the blurred boundaries between reality and fiction, where the lines of truth and imagination intertwine like a mesmerizing dance. As the three captivating chapters unfold, tragedy, politics, and irony are seamlessly woven together, creating a tapestry of emotions that leaves the audience spellbound.5

Suffolk-based singer songwriter James Varda’s fourth and final album before his death from a long battle with cancer in 2015, Chance And Time, set for a vinyl only reissue on Unspun Heroes is an astonishing aural document of a creative, forward -thinking musician coming to terms with a life slowly evaporating away. There is hubris, melancholy and an undeniable weight of sadness in these ten songs but, miraculously, there is also a stoic realisation and acceptance from Varda that is both heart-wrenching and deeply affecting. On Chance And Time Varda reconnects the human spirit to the land, a heavy, fearful heart to an optimistic soul, and in a beautiful poetic flourish gives a real tangible sense of loving and hope to his family and friends offering genuine reassurance and even, at times, a green light for celebration.

Carrying a certain air of mystique, that same sense of a ‘other worldliness’ if you will of say a Karen Dalton or a Jeff Buckley, Varda’s delivery and tone carries huge emotional weight here and an unique ability to add an honest perspective and warmth to the starkest of realities. The hard hitting impact of the opening tracks is blunt and sharply defined. There is pain, hardship, and fear wrapped in these tales - ‘The Doctor Spoke, Two Hearts Broke” - made all the more hitting as this is a real life journey in the here and now being catalogued. As we move towards the second half of the record there is something even deeper and truly incredible at play. Varda’s whole demeanor is one of understanding and acceptance - hear the celebratory shamanic vibe of the extraordinary ‘Pass It On’ and the poignantly reflective, chokingly sad finale ‘We Won’t Dream’ - bringing to an end a record that will leave a mark on everyone who hears it. Real art is both timeless and omnipresent, these songs from James Varda will hang in the air forever and be there for those who look to find understanding, joy and a sense of hope. Chance And Time is both an extraordinary record and poignant study of life and living, of death and what comes after.

James Varda released four albums between 1988 and his death in 2015. A fledgling career beginning on the singer-songwriting folk scene where his arrival was met with both curiosity and critical acclaim as was his debut, the John Leckie produced Hunger. Any momentum was lost however as it would be ten years before the next, In The Valley was met with a ruffle of applause. Cancer took hold of the troubadour and for a number of years Varda lived life and wrote songs until The River And The Stars appeared like a phoenix from the flames as he began to wrestle with the realities of his situation. It’s a record that beautifully lays the ground for this his masterpiece that was to follow.

Unspun Heroes, a new label set up by Simon White, has the sole purpose of finding and reissuing albums that he considers both undervalued and seemingly ignored.  All releases will be on vinyl only complete with Obi strip and extensive liner notes. Each will be individually numbered and limited.

Some artists embrace their success by repeating the steps that originally granted them fame. Billy Joel did the opposite, refusing to be contained by prescribed approaches or constrained by a given label. The follow-up to the breakthrough The Stranger, 52nd Street further expands on its predecessor's bold production techniques and inventive arrangements, incorporating more sophisticated textures as well as reflecting a jazz edge gleaned from New York City's thriving club scene.

A key piece of Mobile Fidelity's Billy Joel catalogue restoration series, 52nd Street is here sourced from the original master tapes and pressed on 45RPM 180g LP at RTI. The wider and deeper grooves – as well as the meticulous mastering – yield resplendent dynamics, broad soundstages, three-dimensional perspectives, and tonal balances absent from prior editions. This is how you want to experience the 1978 LP that captured the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

Teaming again with producer Phil Ramone, Joel capitalizes on his momentum, churning out another direct-sounding affair replete with captivating melodic devices, showmanship accents, and penetrating lyrics. The singer's concision and focus is evident via the tune's lengths, with only "Until the Night" breaking the six-minute mark. Hit singles "Big Shot" and "My Life" rattle forth with an urgency and intensity that Joel had not previously demonstrated, the combination of passionate deliveries, snide overtones, and insistent grooves setting the table for what follows.

Broadening his palette, and drawing from New York's thriving jazz club scene and the city's late-70s grit, Joel splashes Latin and jazz colours on several pieces, employing veterans such as Dave Grusin and Freddie Hubbard to contribute along with a cast that includes a team of background vocalists and horn players. Everything is tastefully appointed, and yet the vocalist's trademark Broadway gaze and knack for the grand gesture coincide with the straight-ahead swagger.

52nd Street is one of the main reasons why Joel has always been championed for consistency. Everything here, from the production to the stand-up songs, helped redefine mainstream pop-rock. Decades later, it's finally available in fidelity that nears that of the Columbia Records' master tapes produced right on 52nd Street.