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LA threesome ASHRR aka lead vocalist Steven Davis and producer-musician-vocalists Josh Charles and Ethan Allen are back with a brilliant new album for Ralph Lawson's superb 20/20 Vision Recordings that finds them working by the old mantra of 'art for art's sake'. This effortlessly eclectic record collides electronic soul, post-punk, space disco and indie-dance and is rich in melancholic melody, hazy, late-summer moods and late-night dancing. The vocals bring an indie edge to jangling delights like 'Please Don't Stop The Rain' while 'What's Been Turning You On' is a laidback and languid groove for lazy sessions.

Spanish new grooves for the new era! The latest sample of some of the best tracks from the effervescent and creative new scene of funk, soul and R&B produced in Spain!

For the first time on vinyl! We present the fourth volume of the SAMPLADELIA series. After the resounding success of the previous volume, Enlace Funk magazine has selected sounds from funk, soul and R&B made in Spain 2023 and which are published for the first time on vinyl format.

The fourth installment of Sampladelia opens with an infectious tribute to Prince by Calequi, El Sr. Rojo brings then a bomb of raw hip hop and funk. Astrid Jones & The Blue Flaps delights us with their luxury soul and Chacho Brodas with the production by Griffi, surrounded by an all-star of names, offers solid R&B.

Lalo López ends the side A with his Limited Orchestra with the best electro funk hit. The B side starts with Julia Martín´s modern soul anthem with a positive message for the dance floor. The second track, the debut of Donny's Black Shoes, is a shocking declaration of principles that will give a lot to talk about.

Drunk In Palace updates the sound of the 80s in a personal way and Juli Giuliani brings the groove to the dancers. The last track, “Las paro todas” by Javier Simón offers R&B loaded with a message. This volume of Sampladelia presents the effervescent and creative new scene of proposals based on funk, soul and R&B made here in Spain and never before published in physical format.

Tracklist Side A A1. Calequi Y Las Panteras: Sandía A2. El Sr. Rojo: Dos Gatos A3. Astrid Jones & The Blue Flaps: Shine A4. Chacho Brodas: Sta. Mandanga A5. Lalo López Limited Orchestra: Contradicciones (Ft. Brigitte Emaga Y Kapi One) Side B B1. Julia Martín: Low B2. Donny´S Black Shoes: Why?! B3. Drunk In Palace: Hardfunk B4. Juli Giuliani: On My Way B5. Javier Simón: Las Paro Todas

Tommy Musto digs deep to uncover his next unearthing from the DAT vaults that we all can’t wait to hear…and now, OWN! 4 mid 90’s NYC delights to bring that Red Zone, Club Zanzibar, Twilo, and Sound Factory vibe that Knuckles, Humphries, Sanchez, Simonelli, Master at Work, and Morales would have all been spinning.

Yours for a limited time. Buy or cry.

The Circus is a place of lights and colors, but also of shadows, even darkness. Admittedly, it delights children and makes adults laugh. But you only need one rainy autumn evening near a circus tent and the smell of fodder to think of the sadness of the clowns, the endless training of the animals and the freaks who are hidden in some caravan... cinema, the essence of the circus – movement, light, danger and burlesque – will have been admirably rendered in Notes on the circus by Jonas Mekas (1966), one of the inventors of the filmed diary. With Cirque, Michèle Bokanowski does similar work, entirely dedicated to spinning, in the musical field.

She distinguished herself in particular in the composition of musique concrète, among others Tabou and Trois chambres d'inquiétudes, after having studied with Pierre Schaeffer and Éliane Radigue. The latter, great lady of drone and minimalism, fell under the spell of Cirque and wrote the booklet for the piece as a poem.

The piece, divided into five movements, is based on the handling and editing of recordings captured within one or more circuses (this is not specified and is of no importance) between 1988 and 1993. The initial allegro reveals the gallop of a horse joined gradually by other images. The idea of the circular space of the circus tent is immediatly and magnificently rendered and will be constantly recalled by an insistent use of the loop technique. Children's laughter, applause and drum rolls are thus sheared, repeated before being brutally interrupted. Accordion interludes and the distortion of sounds create a dreamlike atmosphere. This beautiful nightmare reminds us, to quote Éliane Radigue, the "Magic of childhood still living in the heart of man even beyond its abrupt end."

Words by Alexandre Galand, from the book “Field Recording – L’usage sonore du monde en 100 albums” (ed. Le mot et le reste, 2012)

Major member of the french musique concrète scene, Michèle Bokanowski was born on August 9, 1943 in Cannes, FR, to a musician mother and a writer father. She now lives and works in Paris.
Music lover since adolescence, it was relatively late, at the age of 22, that Michèle Bokanowski decided to study composition. Reading In Search of a Concrete Music by Pierre Schaeffer was decisive. After classical training on harmony, she met Michel Puig, a student of René Leibowitz, who taught her writing and analysis based on the Treatise of Schönberg. In September 1970 she began a two-year internship in the ORTF Research Department under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer. She takes part in the same time in a research group on sound synthesis, studies musical computing at the Faculty of Vincennes and electronic music with Éliane Radigue.
Her main works are intended for concert: Pour un pianiste, Trois chambres d’inquiétude, Tabou, Phone Variations, Cirque, L’étoile Absinthe, Chant d’Ombre, Enfance, Rhapsodia, Cadence, Elsewhere. She has also composed for theater (with Catherine Dasté), dance (with choreographers Hideyuki Yano, Marceline Lartigue, Bernardo Montet) and cinema: music for the short films of Patrick Bokanowski and his two feature films L'Ange ( 1982) and A Solar Dream (2016).

Archeo Recordings' rewarding relationship with Tony Esposito continues on AR027, as the label provide a remastered reissue of his transcendent fusion-pop masterpiece "Pagaia" alongside a trio of brand new reworks from Perugia's mighty Feel Fly. Whether you're looking for cosmic house, mellow acid, trancey techno or dubby downbeat, these remixes have you covered, and the original remains a true work of art. Available in all good record stores on 12th July as a 50 copy super limited edition on Solid Blue Vinyl (including gadget scarf) and limited black vinyl edition.
50 copy Solid Blue Vinyl Edition (including gadget scarf), and also limited black vinyl run "Pagaia" hails from the Neapolitan percussionist's 1982 LP Tamburo, his first release for the brilliant Bubble imprint. Though the album delights and excites from start to finish, dancing through jazz-funk, Mediterranean pop, slow disco and smooth fusion, it's "Pagaia" which is first among equals. Esposito's nuanced hand drums lay the foundation for Claudio Pizzale, Sara Borsarini and Simona Pirone's wordless vocals, a life affirming chorus which carries us onto the swell of bass, piano and horns which drive the track through four and a half minutes of emotional release. Emphatic and expressive, the track transports the listener into a state of body moving rapture, all driven by Tony's rhythmic fluency. The song found its way into Italian living rooms over the credits of TV show Domenica In, and found its way into club culture thanks to fanatical support from the likes of Daniele Baldelli, who even included it on his first official Cosmic compilation.
Following a string of essential releases for the likes of Internasjonal, International Feel and New Interplanetary Melodies, Daniele Tomassini, better known as Feel Fly, now joins the Archeo family with a trio of contemporary club translations of the killer "Pagaia". The Perugian's "Cosmical Remix" extends that familiar introduction into a deep and DJ-friendly blend of drum and voice, awash with airy reverb and augmented by additional percussion, building through the original piano and bass into the churn of a dance floor wormhole. Driven by an unstoppable sequencer throb, the interpretation skirts the dark side of space before landing in the light of the miracle, those heavenly vocals and lush keys leading the way. The "Instrumental Cosmical Remix", not entirely instrumental, but utterly cosmical nonetheless, sees Daniele serve a tense and tracky arrangement of his first rework, perfect for deep space exploration. Stripped of the joyful exuberance of the original, this variation is a complex blend of shadowy trance idents and the mature techno we'd expect from the likes of François K. Not content with soundtracking either side of the peaktime, Feel Fly serves up a third version, following the Compass Point through a musical map of club-dub to turn out an immersive interpolation of deep bass, spring reverb and stabbing keys that sits perfectly beside the Rhythm & Sound catalogue. Each interpretation is an emphatic demonstration of Tomassini's musical talent, production prowess, and stylistic range, and furthermore a fitting tribute to the lasting genius of Esposito's original.

TIPP! :)

For the latest Cognitiva release the label present the 4th release of their Point of View series which focuses on dance floor-oriented sounds, this time they invite the marvellously talented Dr. Sud to deliver a wondrous, jazz laden odyssey, which entices as much as it delights - with some expert remixes to boot….
Dr Sud is the main alias of Gregorio Marigliano, an Italian music maker who was raised in Berlin. Marigliano’s music revolves around the principles of Jazz-meets-Dance music, drawing up the rich tradition that has come before in bringing a high level of musicality and ingenuity within his tunes. Moving fluidly between rhythms and feels, as Dr Sud he captures the imagination with thought provoking and captivating sequences, striking a fine balance between depth and danceability. Harmonies and groove play a key part within his music, such as was highlighted on his 2023 EP ‘Heading South’, coming courtesy of the Q1E2 imprint. This record really highlighted his profound abilities and deep set affection for instrumentation but also mood and tone, and it left many waiting for his next release with baited breath.

‘Point of View 4’ continues forth with the supreme feels that permeated through ‘Heading South’, with the key movement onwards being the inclusion of some killer remixes from Gary Superfly, Broke One, Turbojazz and Reekee. Two original cuts, ‘Breakfast Sun’ and ‘Desert Wind’, lead Sides A and B respectively, and do much to help create a distinctive balance and bookend kind of feel to the record. ‘Breakfast Sun’ begins with a wondrous polyrhythm to get things going, a lone vocal sample thrown in for good measure, and before long we are joined by some delicate but hyper precise melodic features. The slow drawn out chords contrast superbly with the short sharp stabs, acting in accordance with the drums, with the first breakdown providing space for the keys to really flourish and take over. The breakout back into the core rhythm allows for a lead synth line to emerge, and provide those bountiful feels we were all yearning for. The remixes do much to add flavour and some diverse alternative perpectives on the original, with the Turbojazz/Broke One remix taking things in a house-y leaning direction, with the hats and kicks shifting the rhythmic perspective towards sun kissed horizons. The Gary Superfly remix however takes things into a much more cosmic space, with a punchy acid line weaving within the underbelly of the track, providing that late night dance feel for club land scenarios.

On the B Side, ‘Desert Wind’ kicks things off, and once again the drums here start us off in a winning space. The groove is so delicate, poised and perfected, and when the first breakdown arrives the chords come into view, and its glorious to say the least. This track focuses on a much more smooth melodic sequence, with a greater emphasis placed on the lead line, but its just as impactful and soulful as the EPs opener. Delicate waterfall style keys shift in and out of view, providing an overall picture of sonic beauty that we can get behind time and time again. To wrap things up, the Reekee remix of ‘Desert Wind’ comes into view, with this track again moving into dance floor realms with a swinging garage beat that feels unstoppable, shifting and moving between the lines with a joyous ease.

Dr Sud may be a producer to keep a keen eye on, with this latest EP certainly doing that sentiment a great level of justice. This EP provides not only two beautiful original cuts from the man himself, but some imaginative remixes that honour the originals and provide us with an record that will linger long in the memory. For home use, down by the rivera, or in the club, this one has the lot…..

In April 2022, Aurora read a letter that changed her life. The letter was co-authored by indigenous activists entitled "WE ARE THE EARTH" and called for a revolution as a collective response to global warming - to "heal the land". They described a connection to the land "through our hearts" and the earth as "the heart that beats within us". The letter prompted Aurora to ask herself: what happened to the heart? She then began to study books on human anatomy to understand when and why Western culture lost sight of the deeper purpose of our most vital organ.

"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HEART?" is a journey from weakness to strength, from self-destruction to self-healing. It is a touching and introspective musical journey that explores the loss of spiritual connection in modern society, the healing power of vulnerability and the call for change through reuniting the heart with politics and personal growth.

Verrazzano continues with the second issue in our summer EP series! This time Type-303 is really ”Lost In Paradise” with this four-track EP to suit all sophisticated tastes.

The first track hitting your nerves is ”Acid Disco Time”. Have you ever wondered how it feels to go to a disco with a slight ”acidy” taste in your mouth and realize that something is familiar, but at the same time, somehow… out of place? You hear a Seinfeld bass slapping a classic groove, then a bubbling energy starts rising under the surface and now your armpits sweat in your blazer! Add some glitter dust shimmering in smoke, and the whole thing goes off to a spacey gallop! Is this now so-called ”Cosmic-Business” dance music?

The story continues with ”Lost In Paradise”, and takes us to the deep end of turquoise-colored waters. If you found a seashell from the beach and listened to its stories carefully, could you handle the tempting whispers of mermaids, and resist the melodies from those happy days of ancient Minoan Paradise? To get a taste of such delights, this track delivers a glimpse!

How do our ancestors teach us lessons long after their earthly existence? By roaming the Earth in cosmic fashion, of course!

”Spirit Dance”, with its ethereal flute and otherworldly harmonies puts the listener in a place where one is the question mark and the answer too… Deep? It should be.

When the spirits have done their hypnotic dance and the dizziness has vanished, it is time to wander on a field and look at some beautiful ”Wild Horses”. Basking in the evening dawn, you appreciate that some energies are not fully tamed, but are glorious as wild beings and should be kept as such. It’s the same with music, nurture the wild sides of sounds and energies!

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

A two-track 12" with fresh artwork and a nice heavyweight pressing, with one side taken by each artist. Sy Sez kicks off 'Change Da System' with dub-wise vocals which then make way for a tight, taught, bouncing house groove with fat bass. Things are utterly different on the flip with Leeds legend and sometime Nightmares on Wax collaborator offering the deep house delights of 'Knights' with its soulful vocal whispers, intimate late night chords and warm, candle-lit vibes.

Escape Music are pleased to announce the release date for long awaited Turkish Delight studio album titled “Volume 1" with 500 limited edition double Vinyl “Side A+B Snowy White colour and side C+D Skull Gold colour” all will be numbered 1-500! ‘Turkish Delights Volume One’ celebrates the absolute joy that Escape Music co-owner Khalil Turk has for the kind of music he loves so much and has spent the last thirty and then some years championing. Indeed, his enthusiasm for a new band or a new song today is no different from when I first met him in the mid ‘80’s. I lost count of the number of phone calls he made to me when I was working for ‘Kerrang!’ magazine, where he would excitedly tell me ‘Dave, you just have to listen to this! It’s brilliant! You’ll love it!’ before playing me something over the phone – new and often obscure - he had picked up on his international record buying trips. Nine and a half times out of ten he’d be right!! Khalil’s quality control has been such that the record label he co-founded with fellow melodic rock enthusiast Barrie Kirtley in 1995 remains reliably and solidly in place all these years later. Escape continues to deliver monthly doses of quality hard rock, melodic rock and AOR to a very devoted following. Khalil had first entered the music business in the early ‘90’s, effectively as a talent scout for the German owned Long Island label. However, after the company folded, Turk felt that, rather than look at opportunities with other labels, he had the enthusiasm and now had rather more knowledge of the inner workings of the music business to put something together himself alongside the equally enthusiastic and astute Kirtley. We’ve seen hundreds of solid album releases from a huge variety of acts (including AXE, Steve Walsh (Kansas), John Elefante (Kansas), Lonerider, Shadowman, Alliance, Pinnacle Point, Mass, Heartland, Grand Illusion, Overland, Last Autumn’s Dream, Punky Meadows, ColdSpell, Chris Ousey, Ozone and Touch, to name just a few) as well as reissues (from Aviator, Sugarcreek, Jon Butcher Axis, Franke And The Knockouts, FM, Tantrum and Surrender, Zon, Hanover Fist etc) ever since. So here we are, over twenty-five years since that first Escape Music album appeared hot off the presses (Heartland’s ‘III’ album in November 1995, if you’re asking) and this collection of songs, personally chosen by Khalil, reiterates that pure joy he still possesses for the music he is utterly immersed by. With material from the pens of Steve Overland (FM), Chris Ousey (Heartland), Steve Morris (Export/Ian Gillan/Heartland), Mick Devine (Seven), Steve Newman (Newman/Compass) and Tommy Denander (Radioactive) there’s also a list of musicians culled from Khalil’s contact book that, quite frankly, is VERY impressive. Just a few names appearing on ‘Turkish Delights’ to throw at you include Ronnie Platt (Kansas), Billy Greer (Streets/Kansas), Billy Sheehan (Talas/David Lee Roth/Mr Big), Gary Pihl (Sammy Hagar/Boston/Alliance), Gene Black (Device), Jeff Pilson (Dokken), Jeff Scott Soto, Chris Childs (Thunder), Mike Slamer (City Boy/ Streets/Seventh Keys/ Steelhouse Lane) Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake/Joel Hoekstra’s 13), Mark Mangold (American Tears/Touch/ Drive, She Said), Mark Stanway (Magnum), Mat Sinner (Sinner), Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy/Whitesnake/Journey), Ricky Phillips (The Babys/Bad English/Styx), Robin Beck, Robin Mc Auley (Grand Prix/MSG), James Christian (House Of Lords) Steve Overland (FM), Jerome Mazza (Pinnacle Point/solo), Terry Brock (Strangeways) and Vince DiCola (‘Transformers’/Thread/Storming Heaven). This is a cast of thousands. Well, it at least appears that way! It’s a very interesting package and, as Khalil would surely say, you’ll love it! - Dave Reynolds / August 2022. Produced by Khalil Turk for Turkish Delight Productions / Mixed and Mastered by Stephen DeAcutis at Sound Spa Studio, New Jersey, USA / *Mixed by Andy Zukerman / *Mastered by Fredrik Folkare / **Mixed and Mastered by Brian J Anthony (Vinyl Only) - Artwork Design by Hugh Syme (Rush/Bad English/Elton John) - Turkish Delights: The Musicians are: Ronnie Platt: Lead vocals (Kansas) / Billy Greer: Lead vocals (Kansas/Seventh Keys/Streets) / Jeff Scott Soto: Lead and backing vocals (Talisman/Yngwie Malmsteen/Trans-Siberian Orchestra) / Robin McAuley: Lead and backing vocals (Michael Schenker Group/Grand Prix/solo artist) / Chris Ousey: Lead vocals and Backing vocals (Heartland/Ousey-Mann/Virginia Wolf/Ozone)/ Jerome Mazza: vocals (Pinnacle Point/Steve Walsh) / James Christian: Lead and backing vocals (House Of Lords)Terry Brock: Lead vocals (Strangeways/Kansas) / Lee Small: Lead and backing vocals (Phenomena/Lionheart/Shy) / Mick Devine: Lead and Backing vocals (Devine Intervention/7/solo artist) / Ronnie Romero: Lead and backing vocals (Rainbow/Michael Schenker Group) / Tony Harnell: Lead vocals and backing vocals (TNT/Westworld/Starbreaker/Morning Wood) / Steve Overland: Lead and backing vocals (Lonerider/FM/Shadowman/solo artist) / Robin Beck: Backing vocals (solo artist) / Matt Sinner: Bass (Primal Fear/Sinner) / Joel Hoekstra: Guitars (Whitesnake/Trans-Siberian Orchestra/13) / Mike Slamer: Guitars (City Boy/Streets/Seventh Key/Steelhouse Lane) / Jeff Pilson: Bass (Foreigner/Dokken) / Gary Pihl: Guitars (Sammy Hagar/Boston) / Steve Morris: Guitars and Keyboards (Heartland/Lonerider/Ian Gillan Band/Shadowman) / Gene Black: Lead Guitars (Tina Turner/Rod Stewart/Device) / Billy Sheehan: Bass (Mr Big/The Flood/Talas) / Tracy Ferrie: Bass (Stryper/Boston) / Ricky Phillips: Bass (Baby’s/Styx/Bad English) / Rocky Newton: Bass (Michael Schenker Group/Lionheart) / Josh Devine: Drums (One Direction/Levara/Devine Intervention) / Takeaki Itoh: Bass (Pinnacle Point) / Jim Kirkpatrick: Slide guitar (FM/The Flood/Bernie Marsden Band) / Chris Childs: Bass (Thunder/Lonerider) / Steve Mann: Keyboards (Michael Schenker Group/Lionheart/Ousey/Mann) / Vince DiCola: Keyboards (Rocky4/Staying Alive/Transformers/Storming Heaven/Thread) / Mark Mangold: Keyboards (Touch/American Tears/Drive She Said) / Alessandro Del Vecchio: Keyboards (Revolution Saints/Edge Of Forever/Hardline) / Stevie D: Lead guitar / Marco Mendoza: Bass (Whitesnake/Thin Lizzy/Journey) / Jimmy Nicholas: B3 (Faith Hill/Kenny Loggins/Van Zant/Jim Peterik/Juice Newton) / Tommy Denander: Guitars and keyboards (Radioactive/Steve Walsh/Robert Hart)) / Brain J Anthony: Bass (Steve Walsh/Lonerider/Robert Heart/Robbie LeBlanc) / Brian Tichy: Drums (Whitesnake/Dead Daisies/ Foreigner) / Mark Stanway: Keyboards (Magnum/Grand Slam) / Robin Beck: Backing vocals (solo artist) / Nikolo Kotzev: Lead guitars (Brazen Abbot/Robin Gibb) / Fredrik Folkare: Guitars (Unleashed/Heartwind) / Mikael Rosengren: Keyboards (Heartwind) / Steve Newman: Guitars/keys/backing vocals (Newman/Compass) / Eric Ragno: Keyboards (Baby’s/Joe LynnTurner) / Fredrik Bergh: Keyboards (Talk Of Town/BloodBound) - CD Track listing: Intro; Live Again; Crazy Days; Bad Enough; Never Will Forget; Harder They Fall; Get Out Of Here; Believe; Hangman Blues; State Of Mind; Belly Of The Beast*; Holy Water; Sweet Serenity; Take It Away; Bad To Good. Vinyl Track listing: Intro; Live Again; Crazy Days; Bad Enough; Never Will Forget; Harder They Fall; Get Out Of Here; Believe; Hangman Blues; State Of Mind; Belly Of The Beast*; Holy Water; Sweet Serenity; Take It Away; Bad To Good; The Year 2000; Frozen Rose

“An uplifting, tender, fun and imaginative music journey”
Warren Ellis, musician/composer (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Dirty Three, Blonde)

“Carly’s score brings together both humour and haunting emotion, well crafted for this unique story”.

Martin Phipps, composer (The Crown, Napoleon)

Hear the soundtrack to British filmmaker Carol Morley’s spellbinding Typist Artist Pirate King by BAFTA nominated composer Carly Paradis.

Carly scores BBC’s Line of Duty and since 2022 plays live keyboards for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

The atmospheric score beautifully balances witty percussion and angelic voice for a road journey that Audrey Amiss, the typist, artist, pirate king herself, takes in the film, elegantly reflecting her expanded sense of reality and the uncanny delights of her abstract art.

The music features the experimental vocal group SHARDS led by Kieran Brunt, percussion extraordinaire Joby Burgess and Anna Drysdale on other-worldly horn alongside prepared piano and a one-holed flute.

Paying homage to the yellow electric car at the centre of the film, it’s pressed onto transparent yellow vinyl, with art design by Jane Pollard and Iain Forsyth (20,000 Days on Earth) and examples of Audrey’s art on the label and sleeve.

6-track EP compilation with Terada's work for the Ape Escape games, tip!

Outside of the international house underground, where his early ‘90s works for the Far East Recording label he co-founded with Shinichiro Yokota are rightly celebrated as bona-fide classics, Soichi Terada is best-known for his work composing music for video games. Yet until now, few of his productions for video games have been released outside of Japan, especially on vinyl.

Apes In The Net, a six-track EP featuring music composed for the popular PlayStation 1 series Ape Escape, sets the record straight. It not only showcases Terada’s quality as a composer and producer, but also his versatility. Like much of Terada’s work on the Ape Escape series, the tracks featured don’t explore deep, New York and New Jersey influenced house sounds, but rather his lesser-celebrated love of jungle and drum & bass – a sound he fully explored on 1996 album Sumo Jungle.

“The producer of the Ape Escape games heard that and got in touch,” Soichi remembers. “They asked me to make the soundtrack, and then work on the music for the sequels after that. I used to love making music with AKAI hardware samplers, synthesisers, and computers, so I played and recorded the tracks using almost the same methods as I did when I made house music. Using breakbeats and audio samples with a sampler was the most useful way to make the soundtracks.”

The six tracks on show, which were originally recorded in the ‘90s but reconstructed and remastered for Japan-only CD and digital releases over a decade ago, mix elements of Terada’s familiar deep house style – think warming chords and pads, memorable melodies, and emotive musical motifs – with blistering D&B breakbeats, 16-bit synth sounds, electronic bleeps and undeniably weighty basslines. They’ve stood the test of time and arguably sound just as fresh now as they did at the turn of the millennium.

For proof, check the soaring, spellbinding ‘Spectors Castle’, where uplifting lead lines and sumptuous chords dance atop punchy beats and growling bass, the jazzy and saucer-eyed rush of ‘Mount Amazing’ (all twinkling piano motifs, alien synth sounds, squelchy bass and skittish drums) and the intergalactic, liquid D&B excellence of ‘Time Station’, whose whistling melodies and stargazing chords are undeniably alluring.

There are plenty of other delights to be found across the EP, too, from the bustling, race-to-the-finish breathlessness of D&B/bleep techno fusion workout ‘Spectors Factory In’, and the rumbling sub-bass, creepy pads and suspenseful melodies of ‘Haunted House’, to the bombastic, all-out-assault on the senses that is ‘Coaster’, the set’s most “purist” jungle workout – albeit one that also doffs a cap to the pulsating world of big room techno.

Apes In The Net, then, celebrates Soichi Terada’s mastery as a video games composer and early Japanese junglist. Props are well and truly overdue.

The studies with Goffredo Petrassi and the association with Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza let the Avant-garde playing an important role in the career of Ennio Morricone,

who wrote many contemporary pieces for himself, but then the author composed soundtracks where dissonance played a major role.

For the Italian edition of the film SPACE: 1999 (1975), the cult British TV series, he composed a very neurotic Jazz with muted horns.

Also for the science-fiction film THE HUMANOID (1979) Ennio Morricone created hallucinating strings scores mixed with electronic effects. For SACCO E VANZETTI (1971)

an electronic score by Walter Bianchi evokes all the drama of the undeserved death sentence of the two protagonists.

Experimental music of great impact in the film and off the screen for famous thrillers such as THE DEATH DEALER (1974), SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS (1971).

Avant-garde music has always been present in Elio Petri’s films set to music by Morricone such as PROPERTY IS NO LONGER A THEFT (1973).

Avant-garde music in the noir cinema of VIOLENT CITY (1970) and A PURE FORMAL- ITY (1994) and in auteur films such as GARDEN OF DELIGHTS (1967) and SARAH’S LAST MAN (1972).

In his long and successful career Ennio Morricone composed many dance songs as it was in fashion in the late sixties and early seventies.

Themes that were usually not directly connected with the subjects of the soundtrack, but which were played in disco clubs, on jukeboxes,

turntables and on the radio.



This collection contains a selection of very cool pieces such as the brilliant main theme from GRAND SLAM (1967), the shake rock (opening credits) from

Dario Argento’s classic FOUR FLIES ON GREY VELVET (1971), the danceable from the noir film VIOLENT CITY (1970), the beat version of the opening

credits of “Pioggia sul tuo viso” by The Sorrows, from HOW I LEARNED TO LOVE WOMEN (1966), “Per Vittorio (Bossa)” elegant bossa nova with flute and

percussions from THE SUCCESS (1963), the tribal shake from I Cantori Moderni which winks at the Dies Irae from GARDEN OF DELIGHTS (1967),

“Scuola di ballo al sole” a wild surf piece from THE HAWKS AND THE SPARROWS (1966), the supreme bossa nova from ONE NIGHT AT DINNER (1969)

with the super iconic voice of Edda Dell’Orso, the shake music of “Ostinazione al limone” from WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? (1972),

“Donnabossa” from FULL HEARTS AND EMPTY POCKETS (1964), a delicate bossa nova with a prominent harpsichord.

CLAUDIO FUIANO

marbled blue vinyl

Repress.


After the success of Bollywood infused edit of Koi Jaye and the Three Eyes remix, Tjade is back on Bordello A Parigi with a four tracker of varied delights. A clear enthusiasm for bright melodies and bending bars of trance runs through his Voyager EP. The title track judders to life on rumbling arpeggio lines, while the leads are crisp and beats racing fast as an anthem for dancing till sunrise dawns. “In Contact” offers corkscrew acid key shifts and sentimental chiptune melodies, while broken beats and the devil-may-care chords characterise “Shut Out”. Tjade provides music to help cares float away and bring people together. To top it all off, the master of all things modern rave Marlon Hoffstadt dons his DJ Daddy Trance moniker to rework the title piece. The BPMs rise, the breaks extend and drops fall from great height.

Doctor Who – Revenge Of The Cybermen was the season 12 finale first broadcast on April 19th, 1975. As with so much television music of the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, the original master tapes of Carey Blyton’s score for Revenge of the Cybermen were not retained. The only surviving copy is a set of four 7”, 7.5ips “composer’s copy” domestic 1/4-inch tape. It is from those digital transfers that this release is taken. Sadly, and to Carey’s obvious and understandable disappointment, the completed music did not meet with the complete approval of the production team, and much of it was not used. Peter Howell of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop added some electronic embellishments and arranged some additional cues for parts two and three but some of that was also left on the proverbial cutting room floor.
For this release, Carey’s original score is presented (and heard here for the first time) as written. This is followed by the additional, alternative, and “enhanced” cues, all of which were also on Carey Blyton’s tapes.
“This is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive, mysterious, misunderstood, and even controversial scores in Doctor Who history, and it delights me to finally bring it, complete, to your ears!” Mark Ayres - compiler and producer

ME LOST ME led by Newcastle-based artist Jayne Dent announces a new album RPG via Upset The Rhythm on 7th July, and is touring across the UK including support dates with Pigs x7. RPG (recorded in Blank Studios with Sam Grant of Pigs x7) is ME LOST ME’s fourth outing as a collective, having transitioned from an ambitious solo project in 2017, Jayne now regularly collaborating with acclaimed North-East jazz musicians Faye MacCalman and John Pope.
ME LOST ME delights in experimenting with songwriting and storytelling, creating a beguiling mix of soaring vocals and atmospheric electronics that playfully weave together disparate genres, drawing influence from folk, art pop, noise, ambient and improvised music. Hauntological in part, RPG is concerned with tales and with time - are we running out of it? Does insomnia cause a time loop? Do the pressures of masculinity prevent progress? Jayne Dent asks these questions and more on RPG, her homage to worldbuilding and the story as an artform, calling back to those oral traditions around a campfire, as well as modern day video games - bringing folk music into the present day as she does so.
ME LOST ME presents sound reaching in opposite directions, straddling time towards the archaic and timeless traditions of folktales, and towards the possible and potential futures of pastoral Britain and the world at large. Part speculation, part reminiscence, what results on the new album RPG is music that sounds ultimately displaced and yet omnipresent, adjacent to a hapless Vonnegut hero whose life is scattered throughout time and history, but full of wonder and curiosity rather than fear.
On track “The Oldest Trees Hold The Earth”, we see time stretched out between the branches of impossibly old beings in the woods. This track was co-written in Aarhus, Denmark with fellow Newcastle folk musician (with Danish heritage) Ditte Elly. The pair wordlessly passed a sheet of paper between each other to write the lyrics, inspired by Højbjerg and Mosegård, the woods they were sitting in. “How long should I wait/Before the moss grows?/On my skin, on my outstretched arms,” the lyrics are sung in a round, the close harmonies delicate and detailed.

A central thesis of this album is the joy of creation, something which is paid homage to in the album’s final track, “Science And Art” (Not because we need it to last/just because we needed to make it - so we invented the words/this language). It is also reflected in the definition that Jayne gives for “folk” itself. She comments, “To me, folk is quite an expansive idea. I think of it as creative work that's often made ad-hoc, with things that are at hand and more often than not it's born of a DIY ethos. It is songs and stories of the people, as in the traditional sense, but also creative coding, game design etc. Whatever outlet someone has for their creative expression could be described as folk. It's the things we make because humans need to make things, and the stories we tell about ourselves and the world around us.”
Crucially, on latest album RPG, Dent expands her songwriting and looks towards the unreal locations of worldbuilding in video games for inspiration. She comments, “I think the main similarity is the importance of a song's setting/environment to inform its narrative and textures, I'm often most inspired when out walking in the natural landscape, in cities and travelling to places I've never been before - the environment I'm in really impacts the work I make. While writing this album, however, I found myself inspired by imaginary landscapes, those in video games, paintings, etc. I was writing stories into these unreal locations instead. Even the songs inspired by real places, like The Oldest Trees Hold the Earth, have a very surreal quality to them in the songs, like they're being warped and turned into something not of this world. I think that's the main difference for me in terms of the thematic content and inspiration behind this album - I've been getting more and more interested in balancing surreal and fantastical environmental elements with ordinary and everyday settings.”
RPG upends the concept of the eternal return - we may be in the midst of inevitable repetition, but we tell stories whilst awaiting the passage of time.
"Being familiar with, and a fan of Jayne's earlier work, it was great to get the opportunity to work with her on the production of her new record. I had in mind a sense of what the record might be, but what came of the sessions, led by the vision Jayne had for the record, totally exceeded my expectations. As far as albums go, it has a breadth of writing and a sonic depth that made it a truly brilliant record. Having Jayne join us on a leg of the Pigs x7 tour in April is going to be ace. The creative nature, the sincerity and bold strokes of ME LOST ME put it in that space outside of any genre pigeonholes, and between our two sets I imagine the audience is going to have a proper sonic bath..."
Sam Grant, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, 2023
“The music of Me Lost Me is beguiling, idiosyncratic and cinematic - or should that be video-game-omatic? This suite of songscapes often hits the sweet spot between ancient and modern with its masterful blend of stark folk, neon electronic burbling and unusual arrangements. Jayne's singing is refreshingly straightforward and nuanced - it's exquisite! - and perfectly punctures the nebulae of synths and brass which billow around the old wooden frames of the songs. Whilst listening I had images in my mind of what Northumberland might look like through the eyes of Simon Stalenhag - foggy moors, a robot looking across the sea to Lindisfarne, twinkling lights on metal towers.... that sort of thing. It's a really great album.”
Richard Dawson, 2023

Chicago artist Justin Kay was hugely prolific in his day and world under several different nom de plume. Now some of his best work is being revisited for a series of posthumous releases. He traversed several different sound worlds with equal aplomb from bright pop to sludge metal via IDM. Under his Cosmic AC alias he manages to mix up equal parts ambient bliss with breakbeat action, raw techno and emotive house. The standouts of this Continuations album come thick and fast from the high speed jungle breaks of 'Blue Whirl' to the jazzy downtempo delights of 'Hedge Clipper' and plenty in between. See also the majestic pop serenity of closer 'WTWIRDYMTBOWSA.'