Buscar:dif

Reissue of Rolf Kühn's funky 1980 LP 'Cucu Ear', beside his brother
Joachim Kühn, who as always took the place at the keys, Rolf brought
together an illustrious group of musicians from a variety of backgrounds
for this record, including Alphonse Mouzon, Philip Catherine, Charlie
Mariano, Herb Geller and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
For a German jazz musician to find international recognition as a major player
has been and remains a rarity. Clarinettist Rolf Kühn belongs to this elite class.
No one sounds like him on the clarinet; warm, round and masterful, his tone
remains unmistakable no matter what style he may be playing at any given
moment. His play resonates with a maturity and wisdom gathered from a long
and rich life of musical experiences.
"I have always had the desire to find unusual set-ups for my productions – like
working with musicians who come from very different genres such as classical
music, jazz fusion, pop, etc. But these trains of thought, which of course can be
very tempting, can never be implemented without a risk. In the case of "Cucu Ear"
for example Alphonse Mouzon and Niels- Henning Ørsted Pedersen played
together for the first time ever. With Niels and Alphonse, coming from such
different stylistic directions, the plan worked out so perfectly that they are among
my favorite rhythm groups today. Not least because of my brother Joachim, who
plays fantastic additional synthesizer solos in addition to his great piano playing.
These were two wonderful days in the studio and an unusual and extraordinary
session that is still today very special for me." - Rolf Kühn, 2019

Repress! Long out of print, and even impossible to find on vinyl at the time of its release, Get on Down presents the classic Diamond D debut Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop. As the album title states, this album is one long party from beginning to end. Diamond shines both on the mic and behind the boards creating one of the greatest Hip Hop albums ever made. Coming in at over an hour long Stunts never has a dull moment, Diamond along with the Psychotic Neurotic's and his D.I.T.C brethren are able to make each song or interlude stand out and play through without any skip worthy moments. Literally each track has such uniqueness to it, each song fits like a piece to the puzzle. Stand out tracks like "Step To Me", "Pass that S#*t" or "Check One, Two" are perfect examples of Diamonds ability to create a different mood from song to song, the rhymes mirror the music almost perfectly. Singles such as "Best Kept Secret" and "Sally Got A One Track Mind" were perfect choices in showcasing the overall feel of the album. Although Diamond D handles the majority of the album's production, others such as Large Professor, Q-Tip, Jazzy Jay, Showbiz, and DJ Mark the 45 King co-produce on several tracks. The music he was making in 1992 cemented Diamond as one of the best producers in the game. This record is true to his heart, and because of the immense quality of its contents, it should be remembered fondly by all lovers of this music. As he puts it "Diamond is Dope Nuff Said"! //

SIDE A




SIDE B




SIDE C





SIDE D

Trap Techno Hybrid Dub. For your Safety, please remove all ashtrays around before listening. It's not a game ! #QUELAFIF

Written and produced by Thomas Caesar, Guillaume Lespinasse, Axel Ropert-Lemercier and Jean Redondo. Distributed by Chez Emile records. Snowballs provided by Tony Mastroianni on a Kawasaki Z750. Type by Dinamo, Illustration by Almost Free Services

Now on album number seven , Metronomy has continued where many of their 2000s ‘cool’ band peers have dropped off along the way. Small World is a return to simple pleasures, nature, an embracing in part of more pared down, songwriterly sonics (some moments wouldn’t sound amiss on a Wilco release), all while asking broader existential questions: which feels at least somewhat rooted in the period of time during which it was made – 2020. For all that Mount seems to think he has made a comparatively sombre record, much of Small World still pulses with the zesty, tongue-in-cheek joie de vivre you’d expect of a Metronomy record.
So sure, things are different now Joe Mount is getting older and what’s on his mind is changing, but that doesn’t mark a change in quality for Metronomy. An immaculate set of tracks, Joe Mount’s ability as a songwriter and arranger shines through on Small World, evergreen. Metronomy might be growing up, but they’re not afraid to still have fun with it all. Through the tumultuous ebb and flow of the years, Metronomy continues to endure and make great pop music – and, really, that’s all that we could ask for.

4 Hands, an intimate and surreal musical conversation on the piano from German sound pioneer Hans-Joachim Roedelius and American composer Tim Story, is an example of all the warm yet otherworldly beauty that can come from approaching a shared love for a singular instrument from overlapping directions.

Recorded sequentially but on one and the same grand piano, Roedelius laid down a few impromptu piano études in May 2019 whilst visiting his transatlantic friend Story. Tim then learned all their intricate phrasings to add his own parts in the following months.

"Together we shaped the basic compositions, sometimes carefully preparing the piano with various materials (including my own hands), and Achim’s performances were committed to tape. I continued to compose and refine my parts in the following months. Because it was all recorded on the same piano, the result has a very appealing consistency of sound, and hopefully blurs our individual contributions into a single integrated voice,” Story explains.

4 Hands encapsulates rippling minimalistic patterns and delicate, ghostly interactions with surprising harmonic twists. Roedelius’ intuitive and instinctive approach based in improvisation, paired hand in hand with Story’s deliberate distilling of ideas over time, creates two sides of an engaging and thought provoking conversation that seems to evolve and deepen with each successive listen.

"4 Hands is not just a new album — the logical continuation of the long-standing friendship between two composers. It’s our tribute to awareness and listening, coaxing a new sound language from the endless possibilities of a single piano played by our four hands. For me, these pieces express a different kind of beauty, they evoke more than the sum of their parts, they are a wordless dialogue, a bridge across the great water that separates our cultures from one another. Allons enfants des deux patrie, haha!” adds Roedelius.

"The Beast Within" is the new album by Brazilian artist, Diego Garcia; exploring gender identities within contemporary electronic music. The artist uses two of their distinguished artistic identities: The Princess of Death, her feminine identity - where there is an exploration of a more introspective and corrosive textures commonly associated with patriarchal values; and Projekt Gestalten, his masculine identity - where melodic and hypnotic sounds, often associated with matriarchy, are emphasized.

In this project, Diego's aim is to dichotomize their gender identities inspired by a point-and-click adventure game from the 90's called "Gabriel Knight 2 - The Beast Within". The story was written by American game designer, Jane Jensen with original music composed by her husband, Robert Holmes. The protagonist is on the trail of a strange wolf, murderer of a little girl. Gabriel was asked to take care of this evil and suspects that this case is paranormal in nature. Together with his assistant, Grace Nakimura, he discovers the dark truth behind the history of Bavaria. The gameplay alternates between Gabriel and Grace and its storyline is only explored indirectly by Diego - as it is deeply connected with their childhood and formative years and still remains as one of their all-time favorite games.

Just like in the gameplay, Diego alternates between both of their feminine and masculine identities in order to create original pieces of music. As Projekt Gestalten, an array of dance tracks are functionally presented; ranging from melodic and trippy to club-ready driving techno; dissecting a more rational aspect of the game's storyline. In contrast, The Princess of Death goes into an ambient and experimental approach; exploring liturgical themes that includes a dark and dystopian cover of the traditional gospel song "When The Saints Go Marching In", a song that is featured throughout the whole franchise of the game in many different versions. In the end, the gender polarizing concept is extrapolated and both aliases are finally merged into one another; leading to the Gestalt principle, alluded to in Diego's main alias, being fully applied as a whole.

The project's ultimate goal is to challenge preconceived notions of how a specific gender should sound/behave and to explore light/dark, sacred/secular, good/evil, male/female using, as the blueprint, a gender-neutral game where the player is forced to assume a feminine and a masculine role in order to navigate through the story. All of these ideas are perfectly aligned with Diego's own trajectory as an artist and their distinct artistic identities featuring distorted gender values - which comes full circle in this project.

Each LP sleeve is delivered as a bespoke limited edition, hand-printed and customised by the man himself. Features Jehst, Taja, Jaz Kahina, Vandal Savage, Junior Disprol and Cappo. The return of the “Zack de la Rocha of Ashby de la Zouch”, back in tandem with Chicago producer Spectacular Diagnostics World status 2020-21; a write-off, one to be struck from the record, ‘NULL AND VOID’ if you will. This hasn’t stopped Kid Acne kicking on and bringing what he calls “the difficult fifth album” to the Lewis Recordings megaplex. Full of Yorkshire say-so, his inimitable strain of hip-hop delivers the mind-bending with everyman knowhow, fearlessly “taking out pop chart sucker rappers with a blow dart”. Spectacular Diagnostics (Westside Gunn, Vic Spencer, Conway the Machine, Nolan the Ninja) is back on the boards for Kid Acne’s latest magical mystery tour, strengthening regional alliances with UK heavyweights Cappo, Jehst and Vandal Savage as well as introducing one-to-watch Taja. Driven by the wise man’s testament that thou shalt never use the internet again, Acne shakes off screen burn and heads back to the great (socially distanced) outdoors with a fresh batch of wavy, chaos theorising boom-bap.

When Welsh twins Stewart & Paul Summers (Ten Benson / The Sharp Tongues) started some experimental recordings combining psychedelia, poetry and punk rock, the resulting songs got them thinking….

Recruiting old touring comrades Sam Mansbridge (The Rumblestrips) on bass, Hanna Edgren (Tits Of Death) on keys and vocals and Gui Rujao (Los Pepes) on drums, DaemöniK Fonce were fully formed and some gigs hastily arranged.

"Shelter of Bones was recorded over a three-year period from 2019-2021. “The pandemic allowed me to take my time, and really think about how I want the songs to come across,” reflects Patlansky.
“In many ways I tried to keep the sound from past albums that I’ve become known for in my arrangements and song writing, but definitely took some different turns along the way. I’ve always seen a record as a time capsule of where an artist is in a particular time of their lives.""
For Patlansky, Shelter of Bones covers a three- year period of many ups and downs, and, as a result, the South African guitarist believes the process has been a very interesting journey. Patlansky will support the album with a nationwide UK tour from March 31– April 12 with special guest Arielle. "

Life moves in cycles. As things change and morph over time, it circles back to key points and offers second chances. Volumes find themselves at such a point in 2020. After four years apart, the group—Myke Terry vocals, Raad Soudani [bass], and Nick Usich [drums]—reconvenes with original vocalist Michael Barr. In doing so, they perfect a boundary-breaking balance of guttural grooves, magnetic melodies, proficient metal, and unbridled hardcore. In essence, the guys pick right up with they left off in 2015…In 2010, Volumes burst out of the gate with The Concept of Dreaming EP. The hypnotic and hard-hitting Via [2011] and No Sleep [2014] inspired the enthusiasm of a diehard fan base. After parting ways with Barr during 2015, the band maintained its prolific output on Different Animals [2017] and the Coming Clean EP [2019]. Their total stream tally exceeded 40 million as they incited applause from Alternative Press, New Noise Magazine, Rock Sound, Metal Injection, and more.

"My aim for my new record was to find really unusual combinations,"
explains Rolf Kühn, in cheerful mood after his last day in the studio
The special attraction of these 13 'Spotlights' emanates from the extraordinary
combination of instruments and styles, and above all from the fact that a group
of virtuoso artists from very different musical backgrounds have come together
to participate in a a project very close to their hearts. The theme running through
and joining up the album is of course the unmistakable sound of Rolf Kühn's
clarinet. Hamilton de Holanda, the distinguished Brazilian expert on the bandolim,
a kind of mandolin, immerses Kühn's clarinet in Latin- sounding melancholy.
Albrecht Mayer, international classical star and solo oboist with the Berlin
Philharmonic, provides a fascinating angle with his highly sensitive playing and
the rich facets of his art. Asja Valcic, the outstanding Croatian cellist, contributes
her impressive, classical virtuosity and daring improvisation, as she races
frantically through the notes with Kühn. Christian Lillinger, the exceptional
percussionist with the Rolf Kühn Unit, adds his wild groove to the mix and 0 like
Berlin bassist Oliver Potratz - accentuates the tense dynamic mood. Ed Motta,
heavyweight Brazilian singer and megastar in his homeland, brings out his
baritone to sound like a synthesizer suffering voltage fluctuations, breathing and
scatting resounding word scraps into Kühn's compositions.

The beauty of the sound: clear, transparent, precise, a work of art - and
that includes both the actual recording, and the subsequent production -
something that was already an essential difference in clarinettist,
composer and sound researcher, Rolf Kühn's musical concept
The pieces were recorded on separate sound tracks, in a stereo technique that
lends a visual sense to the music. In fact, there is a cinematic feel as sounds
project on the mind's eye. For this special, sensual production, Kühn has gathered
his Berlin trio around him - his "working band" with Christian Lillinger (drums),
Ronny Graupe (guitar) and Johannes Fink (bass). Their previous studio
recordings have had a sense of freedom about them that has indicated the
direction in which these musicians are heading. Theirs is a concentrated,
compact play that has moved further and further away from the delineation
between notated and improvised music. Duo and group improvisations flow
across the interstices between the sketched-out musical islands. On 'Stereo' Rolf
Kühn goes even one step further; he condenses the compositions, providing
accurate and concise sound ideas. The sound of 'Stereo' is reminiscent of the
Blue Note aesthetics of the 1960s, when the stereo sound was something
outrageously new and greatly enhanced the tonal possibilities of the recordings.

Bordello A Parigi is delighted to welcome back the triumvirate of Sergio Mesa (IAMNOTAROBOT), David Jornet (Strange2, AMPbEND) and vocalist Maia J. In 2020 the partnership, better known as Hypnotique, released the stunning 12” ‘La Pénombre’. Armed with four tracks of emotive synth-pop, the group returns with ‘Solitude’. Crisp beats and lovelorn lyrics characterise the title piece, a warbling melody weaving and winding its way through tear-streaked words. ‘Ce Monde’ takes a different direction. Keys are upbeat with just a touch of brooding while vocals are distant yet sensual. Maia J’s incredible vocal range comes to the fore on this record, nowhere more than in the deep and layered ‘Le Divan’. Drums scuttle and spike against flowing synthlines as lyrics smoulder with an inchoate intensity. The tone, and language, change for the finale. Arpeggiators rumble and the band shift to English for the elegance and energy of ‘Paralyzed’. Four beautifully crafted synth cuts from an incredibly talented trio.

Ghédalia Tazartès left us in February 2021 when we had just finalized the editing and the cover art of his new album with him. Unfortunately he will never see the finished object. This record is therefore particularly important for us. He opened his archives to us so that we could select unpublished pieces with him and organize them in two long suites (indexes have been made on the CD for a more convenient listening) . This work took almost two years (finding the pieces among dozens of sometimes very old CD-Rs, checking that these pieces had not already been published, processing the sound to obtain an aesthetic unity and a coherent order, etc). This record is therefore a melting pot of unreleased tracks which cover a large part of his career. You can hear a few guests perform on some of the tracks (mostly vocals parts). As for the lyrics, apart from Ghédalia's own personal poetry, he wrote music for two texts by different poets, that he performs himself in a more or less comical way or on the contrary very intense (the final on a text by Antonin Artaud)!

During an art exhibition in 2018, Ghédalia really loved a series of photographs by Isabelle Magnon and immediately asked to use them for the cover of a future album. It is therefore these three photos (two for the LP version) which illustrate Ghédalia Tazartès' final album.

This killer double sider is the first release of the stunning “Bookie Man - What’s Wrong With You”.
It was previously released as a blank label only in 1968 and was wrongly credited to The Bleechers.
On the B side, “Bookie Man” is a completely different track and it is a rare and brilliant song in its own right. It is also the first time the two “Bookie Man” songs are featured together on a 7inch.

Fabio & Grooverider have been at the forefront of UK dance music for over 3 decades. This is the roots of their story told through music.

The 2 London DJ's are part of the DNA of the global Jungle / D&B movement and they have remained relevant, cutting edge, authoritative and essential to this truly underground art-form since it's inception. RAGE could arguably be the ground zero of Jungle. The party was started at London's cavernous Heaven club by Fabio & Grooverider in 1988, at the height of Acid House fever that was making it's way up and down the motorways, slip-roads, fields and warehouses of the M25 and further beyond every weekend, troubling the nation, the police, your parents and the press as it went. RAGE was a different beast, it certainly channelled some of that Acid energy but pitted it against the new and exciting sounds emanating from Belgium, Amsterdam, Detroit, Sheffield, Essex and Hackney and in turn created a new style, a new sonic attitude and energy in the process. Rumbling bass-lines, narcotic synth rushes and roughly chopped and sped-up breakbeats all merged into a style that we now know as Jungle. Nothing like this had been heard before, this was a brand new style and it was coming out of London's West End and Fabio & Grooverider were the people firmly behind it.

RAGE is approaching its 30th anniversary. Its sonic and cultural legacy is still being felt today, Fabio & Groove are still shutting down raves and festivals every weekend all over the world with their superior DJ sets and musical knowledge guided by their pioneering spirit. This musical selection you hold in your hands, the first of 4 parts, sees them delve into their prodigious memories and record boxes to select a true musical representation of the very beginning of one of the UK's most unique and influential musical movements of the last 50 years. Across 4 x 2 x 12"s compilations we are taken on the journey through the sounds of RAGE, accompanied with track by track notes from Fabio & Groove themselves. This is the sound of the underground, from the inside out.

This is a masterclass in the old-school. The roots. There is no filler here, it's simply ALL killer. Lovingly selected and programmed by the masters - 'The Living Shock' & 'The Ladies Choice'. Produced in conjunction with Above Board distribution and Fabio & Grooverider. All tracks mastered from original sources and fully licensed. Mastering by Optimum, Bristol. Artwork and design by Atelier Superplus. 2019

Together, sisters Noa, Naomi and Nataja form the band Velvet Volume. Things have moved quickly for the trio since their first concert in 2013. They have already released two albums, played at a myriad of festivals such as Northside, Tinderbox, Smukfest, Reeperbahn, Eurosonic, JA JA JA, Musik i Lejet, Rolling Stone weekender and Alive Festival. They have also performed at both The Crown Prince Couple's Awards, Gaffa Award and several times at P6 Beat Rocker. Velvet Volume has always been the guarantor of a fantastic live experience, where the audience gets to feel the sibling-energy, with all its synergy, love, and temperament - they are sisters with the same origin, but they are also three women, three individuals, and three personalities, unfolding the second they enter the stage. With new music on the way, they continue the study of their own musicality, which stands as an independent and unique sound in the Danish music landscape. What started as three girls playing rock music has now evolved into three young women who are so much more than that and who challenge the genre melodically and musically. Deep engagement to their different instruments – Bas, Guitar and Drums taking their playing to new heights and also now dareing to thing and work with more melody and listener friendly productions. Their third album “nest”will be released in Feb. 2022.