Search:don ́t know

Introducing Dionne Warwick 'Now Playing' on Milky Clear Vinyl - This record showcases her iconic songs such as "Walk On By," "I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Do You Know The Way To San Jose.” These classics resonate with audiences across generations and serve as powerful reminders of her talent.

"The outsized sounds emerging from the Excelsior Mill organ captured here constitute a unique chapter in the Sun Ra story, a dizzying phantasmagoria that offers a whole new view on what Ra could do. It might thrill you; it might unnerve you; it might strum your heartstrings; it might spook the living daylights out of you. Most likely you’ll experience all of the above before the jolting musical jeremiad is done. The CD includes the full uncut show with music not featured on the LP version!

When you’re Sun Ra, you don’t need synthesizers to evoke apocalyptic visions and interstellar excursions. You don’t even need a band.

Ra is most widely known for working with various iterations of his Arkestra, but he was no stranger to unaccompanied keyboard expeditions. His discography contains solo piano albums, solo Fender Rhodes records, and solo recordings on conventional organ, the latter going as far back as his home recordings from the 1940s. But none of those instruments ever offered Sun Ra the kind of sonic artillery that waited beneath his fingers and feet when he sat before the keyboards, pedals, and multicolored constellation of tabs controlling the Wurlitzer pipe organ.

Mystic and magisterial, Ra comes off here like a cross between a demonically riffing ‘50s horror movie villain and a futuristic congregation leader delivering the interplanetary gospel. Brassy stabs provide the kind of punctuation that could be graphically rendered as an endless string of exclamation marks in 500-point font. String-like swoops and swirls dance across the top of the carnage, cooling the flames just enough to keep the whole thing from combusting (for a while at least) but never dousing the fiery fury that Ra draws forth from the instrument.

Erste Vinylreissue des Kultalbums "Progressive Youth" von Peter Broggs aus 1979, aufgenommen mit der ursprünglichen Roots Radics-Begleitband bei Channel One und gemischt in den King Tubby-Studios von Scientist. Diese Zauberformel vereint die besten Engineers und Musiker Jamaikas, trifft den Nagel auf den Kopf und liefert einen echten Rohdiamanten, 100% pure Roots, bei dem jeder Beteiligte hervorragende Leistungen erbringt. Die LP ist eine der mit Abstand besten Roots-Reggae-Neuauflagen der letzten Jahre, remastered und auf schwarzem 180g Vinyl im 350g-Cover gepresst. Ein absolutes MUSS für jeden Reggae-Fan.

Introducing “Psyche Gems”, the Jakarta Records debut LP from LA based Rapper JUICEBOX & Norwegian producer duo Myeye. Debut LP “Psyche Gems,” a collaborative musical venture sparked by an impromptu Instagram jam session in 2021, is poised to mesmerize audiences. The brainchild of JUICEBOX, a versatile artist known for his roles as a singer, songwriter, rapper, and one half of the acclaimed group Figmore (with 10.4 Rog), “Psyche Gems” emerged from JUICEBOX's admiration for Simen Hallset's psych-pop band Gold Celeste (over 20 million Streams on Spotify). After reaching out to Simen, they swiftly connected with Henrik Norbakk, the other half of Myeye, igniting the genesis of the collaborative project. An Instagram jam session in 2021 gave sonic birth to LP “Psyche Gems”. Buttery vocals meet funky, soul-driven beats, meticulously recorded live, then chopped and repurposed to create an experience that transcends sonic definition. From vibrant head-nodding energy to lush beats seamlessly melded with an inimitable vocal delivery, “Psyche Gems” captures the essence of past and present, offering a kaleidoscope snapshot of life reflected through timeless grooves. The album's distinctive sound is characterized by meticulous layering, where each element is meticulously played, chopped, looped, and jammed over until achieving sonic perfection. United by their shared passion for old soul and jazz records, ‘90’s + ‘00’s hip hop, lo-fi indie, and psychedelic music, JUICEBOX and Myeye seamlessly fuse their diverse influences to craft a musical experience that resonates with listeners on a profound level. "We wanted to create something that inspires, provokes, and sheds light on the truths we all carry inside us," explains JUICEBOX. "Psyche Gems is more than just an album; it's an infinite journal entry of reflection, a testament to the power of music to illuminate the human experience."

With Lucifer, Kompakt presents an album of rare beauty from two masters of modern music. A family affair, it’s a collaboration between the Italian father-and-son duo of Luciano Michelini and Lorenzo Dada, whose combined histories bring to Lucifer a depth of experience alongside clarity of vision and a finely tuned, neatly developed combined compositional voice. A lovely, beguiling suite of music that combines the electronic and the acoustic, the urban and the pastoral, its gorgeous night-eye vision and tender melancholy sits neatly within the Kompakt universe, while offering the curious listener some rich new perspectives.

There is already plenty to know both artists by. Lorenzo Dada creates across multiple fields – a techno producer and DJ who has already worked with the likes of Jay Haze, Fete, Leo Benassi, and Der, he’s released a small clutch of stylish, smartly designed EPs, and a solo album, Second Life (2018). His complementary background in classical music and composition informs his ensemble project, Tears Of Blue (who appear on Lucifer), where Dada paints with neo-classical tones for a quartet of violin, viola, cello and grand piano, supplemented by electronics for live performance.

Luciano Michelini’s history is yet richer. He may be best known, to many, for his piece “Frolic”, the theme to Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm series; it was also sampled by Snoop Dogg for 2022’s “Crip Ya Enthusiasm”. But there’s much more to Michelini’s story. A successful soundtrack composer, Michelini both studied and taught at the Conservatoro di Santa Cecilia, and worked for RCA from the sixties to the eighties; his soundtracks from this period are gorgeous examples of the form, particularly his work for Il Decamerone Nero (1972), L’Isola Degli Uomini Pesce (1979), and the devastatingly gorgeous Dimensione Donna (1977).

In the eighties, Michelini and his wife Anna Gutling founded the Electronic Music Division studio and academy in Rome, which is where the majority of Lucifer was recorded. Dada reflects on the experience: “We never worked together before, so it was all new for both of us,” with Michelini adding, “I truly love this experience with my son. He’s a talented pianist and composer. I am not very familiar with electronic music nowadays, but we did it fluently.” There’s certainly a familial energy at play through Lucifer, and you can hear how Dada and Michelini, through exploration and experiment, find a shared language, balancing Dada’s tendency toward minimalism, and Michelini’s composerly voice.

Lucifer flows as a suite that interweaves electronic music with acoustic instruments: the lonely sigh of saxophone; Michelini’s lush, verdant piano; the weeping strings of Tears Of Blue (recorded at the studio of Michelini’s friend, the late Maestro, Ennio Morricone). These multiple voices are located within the electronic sighs and swarms from Dada’s kit; there are moments of propulsion, and passages of lambent drift, where the album revels in its tonal sweetness. If it flows so effortlessly, that’s because Lucifer was designed that way, as a suite or a sonata of sorts.

And the title? Dada reflects, “Lucifer was an angel who decided not to be one anymore. The miracle of life is that we can decide what we want to be, even if we are born as angels or vice versa.” This feels somehow apposite: there’s certainly something of the transformative, and the transportive, in Lucifer, a unique family collaboration of rare poetry and sensitivity, where two generations meet in the modern crucible that is the electronic music studio.

Probaly no one will tag Rockets into the Italo Disco movement as this is very well know Progressive Rock band. But Tino Silvestri made two incredible remixes from the Atomic album in 1983 in a super italo disco mood. A really hard to find re-issued on yellow vinyl (like the original release, Orange and black vinyl). Don't miss it, It's a imited numered release.

The official soundtrack release to the new film of Amy Winehouse, BACK TO BLACK, releasing Spring 2024. Amy Winehouse is widely considered as one of the greatest artists in recent history, selling more than 30 million records worldwide. Her acclaimed self-produced 2006 album Back to Black, propelled her to global stardom, going on to win a (then) record breaking 5 Grammy Awards, including Record Of The Year and Song of The Year for hit single Rehab. Releasing on 140g 1LP Black vinyl, the tracklist comprises a carefully curated highlights collection of Amy's original recordings and tracks from her idols, such as The Shangri-Las, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, that are featured in the film, plus a new original track sung by Nick Cave. The vinyl product is housed in a single sleeve with printed inners featuring a personal note from director Sam Taylor-Johnson.

Longtime enthusiasts of ambient music have much to celebrate as Rafael Anton Irisarri's cherished out-of-print cassette, "Midnight Colours," returns in a meticulously remastered edition and makes its inaugural debut on vinyl. The significance of this album's announcement is accentuated by its historical resonance, coinciding with the same day in 1952 when the world bore witness to the first-ever test of the hydrogen bomb.

"Midnight Colours" is far more than a mere album; it's an exploration of the enigmatic relationship between humanity and time. Conceived as a sonic interpretation of the Doomsday Clock, which symbolizes the world's existential vulnerabilities, Irisarri's work beckons listeners to contemplate the gravity of our existence and the delicate balance that envelops it.

"I wanted to capture the essence of humanity's relationship with time, both the anxiety and the serene beauty that coexists within the shadows of the night," explains Irisarri. "The vinyl format adds a tactile dimension to the experience, inviting listeners to physically engage with the music."

Known for his contributions to the ambient and electronic music genres, Irisarri often explores themes of introspection, nostalgia, and the interplay between sound and emotion.

Recorded in 2017, when the Clock was at 2½ minutes-to-midnight (and at the time, the second-closest to midnight since the Clock's inception in 1947), "Midnight Colours" permeates with the melancholy of memories resurfacing as one approaches the end of life: the regrets, the closure, the uncertainties, the anxieties.

Originally released as a limited tape on the beloved Atlanta-based label Geographic North, "Midnight Colours" swiftly garnered praise and acclaim within the ambient music sphere. Now, with this newly remastered edition on his own Black Knoll imprint, fans, both longstanding and newfound, can rediscover the album's captivating beauty in unprecedented clarity and depth.

"I've wanted to release 'Midnight Colours' on vinyl since it first came out, and I'm thrilled to finally be able to. The remastering process, brilliantly done by Stephan Mathieu, has breathed new life into the work, and I'm eager for listeners to experience it in this format."

The reissue of "Midnight Colours" features band-new artwork and design by the renowned Mexican visual artist Daniel Castrejón. A frequent collaborator and friend of Irisarri, Castrejón's imagery impeccably complements the album's mood and themes, extending a compelling invitation for listeners to explore its aural world visually.

This landmark release serves as a testament not only to Irisarri's enduring impact on the ambient music genre but also as a long-awaited gift to those who have patiently anticipated the album's vinyl debut.

"Deep Dancefloor Jams of African Disco, Funk, Boogie, Reggae & Proto Electro Music 1977-1986reggWhen a passionate DJ and crate digger intuitively selects music for a DJ compilation, without artistic compromise and without the burden of trends, AfroMagic vol.1 emerges from the depths of his soul. Herewith we present the new favorite phonomancer’s tool for all the DJs who experience the dance floor as a sanctuary and a source of freedom and love.

The most fundamental thing that defines African music is that it was created for dancing. In African dance, there is often no clear distinction between ritual celebration and social recreational entertainment – one can seemlessly merge with the other. Because dance and rhythm have more power than gesture and more richness than words, and because they express the deepest experiences of human beings, dance is in itself a complete and self-sufficient language. It is truly an expression of life with all of its emotions – joy, love, sadness and hope – without which there is no African music and dance. For the African people, dance and music are integral parts of the body and soul, thus depicting the expression of life, current emotional states, visions or dreams. Through hypnotic repetitive music and dance, people communicate with each other and with the souls of the dead, the animals, the plants, the stars, the Gods… They free the body and the spirit through ecstatic states, reaching a healing sense of freedom, happiness, and satisfaction.

Throughout history, this transcendental perception of rhythm and dance originating from Africa, influenced popular music worldwide, thus creating new living and breathing forms of musical genres – freeing them from their industrial mold. Funk, disco, soul, boogie, reggae, dancefloor jazz etc., developed in parallel all over the world. It is foolish to perpetually discuss where they originated from and who were the creators of all these fiery dance floor genres – being obvious that they directly or indirectly originate from the African continent and its people who were as well, over the centuries, influenced by disturbing socio-cultural factors of colonialism. However, no one can enslave the soul. The seeds of free and uninhibited dance and rhythm, true to their original form, initially first sprouted onto the USA’s fertile fields of clubbing and popular music while later evolving in other parts of the world.

The disco funk club culture manifested itself as a phenomenal explosion of artists and grooves in the second half of the 70s in the USA. Shortly it spread around the world continually reigning over charts in its various forms – to this day. Clubs emerged where the DJ is an almighty shaman and the dancers are a tribe united under one roof. This urban ritual had and still has a single goal: togetherness, freedom, and love. Clubs have evolved into temples where we free ourselves from the burden of a consumerist lifestyle and suppressed emotions – a place where we receive love and give love – to be who we really are.

Disco funk clubbing was such an influential global phenomenon that its influence can be observed in various other genres from the disco funk era i.e. progressive rock, which mutated by layering complex rock arrangements with a disco funk groove resulting in hybrids, highly sought by today’s diggers, producers and collectors. The profit-hungry music industry of the 80s very quickly commercialized the original disco funk sound by amputating of its original Afro groove to be able to easily ‘sell’ it globally. So, the original disco funk groove became underground again, and it has remained so until this day. Today, for a DJ to unearth that ravishing groove that will lead the dancers to the stars, he must dig passionately like a true musical archaeologist in search of that groove that picks you up after just a few initial beats. That groove which forces the atoms in your body to vibrate, that groove which unites the body and releases the burden.

The AfroMagic compilation series is created as a tool for real DJs who stick to the aesthetics and essence of clubbing.

This continuation of the Afromagic compilation by DJ Borovich was created in a private jam session which served as an escape route from intense and complex love problems.

Unconsciously driven by intuition and emotion and following a live mix tape framework where many tunes are arranged instantaneously, Borovich narrates his story with a strong rhythm that cuts loose even the most blocked off energy nodes and restores happiness to the spirit and the body.

The musical experience of the groove is completed by the lyrics of the songs, which symbolically give DJ Borovich universal answers to his questions arising from questioning the boundaries, nuances and other forms of love.

When considering that Borovich’s selection was created to facilitate an escape from the burdens of reality through rhythm and dance, we can be sure that Afromagic Vol. 2 will have a 100% uplifting, energized and spaced-out effect on the listeners.

The intro to A1, “Feeling Happy” by the Apostles, introduces us to an experienced and slow, cool and irregularly tight groove containing a confidently sung chorus that instantly gives a sense of freedom and hints at the remainder of Afromagic Vol. 2: “I’m gonna feel happy, ´cause I know I’m gonna be myself.” After the anthemic song mantra of the Apostles, Aigbe Lebarty uncompromisingly continues with a dirty disco rhythm. Acidified by accented synths that elevate it to shamanic levels and held together by a female tribal choir, we embark on an uncompromising ritual disco journey. Without a moment to take a breather the prog funk band Mighty Flames and their Road Man launch a highly vicious and raw, thick funk groove spiced with acid synths and dirty RnR breaks, raising the bar for the A side. Jimi Hendrix himself would surely praise it given the ultimate freedom and virtuosity in the solo sections. With the last tune on A side DJ Borovich decides to burn the floor with Geraldo Pino’s psychedelic, acid furious groove and lyrics which describe this HEAVY part of love problems: “The way she walk, the way she talk, the way she does a funky dances, she is really really heavy – that woman”.

While the A side represents a compact intoxicating afro groove machine that separates us from reality and lifts us up to the stars in over 23 minutes, the B side is a treasure trove of proto sub-genres gems. This selection represents the mission of the Afromagic: to find singular events in African recorded discography of popular music from the 70s and 80s that give evidence to the birth of new modern genres on the Dark Continent even before they emerged in the U.S.A. or Europe. The beginnings of electronic music influenced genres are represented back to back with 80s synth jazzy pop, all painted in African colours.

The B side opens big with Jake Sollo and a huge reggae blues number singing about the humiliation of a man – goosebumps guaranteed! “You think I’m nobody that’s why, you don’t know the way for me, I’m somebody I know, I found myself at last”. Adolf Ahanotu then enters the scene with a hard sliding tackle at B2 and an exotic rare disco funk dancefloor napalm. A ‘Sensation’ that would ignite even the coldest of introverts. While we approach the end of the compilation the narrative revolves again and takes a different turn. No less and no more than to the proto-electro that Baad John Cross serves us in “Give Me Some Lovin´”. The fat and repetitive broken electro synth groove, championing many early 90s electro tracks, is presented here without hesitation and with constant tension accompanied by a mantric chorus “Gimme some, gimme some, gimme some looooovin’, EVERBODY!!!”. Finally, we’re guided to the end of Afromagic Vol. 2 by Eji Oyevole’s 80s synth pop style presented in an authentic afro manner, giving us a glimpse at yet another released Afromagic edition, as well as giving an answer to DJ Borovich’s love problems. A smoothly broken electronic rhythm resembling electrified highlife sounds, carried on the wings of a virtuoso dreamy saxophone on top of which Eji presents the most intimate parts of himself. Finalizing the track with a symbolic chorus, on the surface referring to the dancefloor and simply having fun, but in actuality referring to the skill and happiness of living: “I´m a dancer, I can dance”. So, get up and dance among the stars with DJ Borovich and Afromagic.

'Standard Tuning' ist der letzte Song, der in den Knave Studios in Leeds im Rahmen der Aufnahmen zu bdrmm's gefeiertem zweiten Album 'I Don't Know' aufgenommen wurde.

Die 10" kommt mit einem Remix des Albumtracks 'Alps' von Nathan Fake, einer geätzten B-Seite und exklusivem Artwork von Bandmitglied Jordan Smith und ist weltweit auf nur 700 Exemplare limitiert.

Done and dusted! That could have been the motto of the WPBH series back when it started as an offshoot for sample-based house experiments by the core We Play House Recordings crew.
However, according to Discogs WPBH is NOT a real label, so who are we to invent mottos for imaginary labels?

But as we digress the music hits us hard and straight up. Uit De Hoogte brings us rawness...and then some. A touch of Dance Mania, a hint of smoothness, a dose of drum machine magic and a whole lot of attitude. Five tracks to stir up your dancefloor, your body and your soul. On a label that does not exist... How underground can one get?!

Coming up on WPH & related further in the year will be new material by Red D on his Red Basics outlet, more WPH U.S. Series and possibly also some stuff they don’t yet know about themselves.

Im Jahr ihres dreißigsten Band-Geburtstags, schauen die DONOTS zurück auf die vergangenen drei Dekaden und können es mit Kopfschütteln überhaupt nicht fassen, dass das Durchbruchs Album "POCKETROCK" am 8. Januar schon 23 Jahre alt wurde... Vergriffen ist die im Jahr 2001 erschienene Platte mit essentiellen frühen DONOTS-Hits wie "Whatever Happened To The 80s", "Room With A View", "Superhero" oder "Today" nach so einer langen Zeit natürlich schon längst. Die STANDARD VERSION gibt es nun als Wiederauflage auf 180g Vinyl in roter Farbe, mit bedruckten Maxi-Innentaschen in einer Kastentasche und im originalen Artwork.

"Es ist kein Gospel, kein Soul, kein Blues, kein Rock'n'Roll. Es ist alles davon - und das aus gutem Grund.", sagt der Künstler selbst über sein neues Album 'Cut To Black', sein erstes Studioalbum seit 'Know Where To Run' von 2016 und sein insgesamt zehntes. Wenn man so will die musikalische Fortsetzung seiner im September 2021 erschienenen Memoiren "Up Above The City, Down Beneath The Stars".

Nach neun Studioalben, darunter das 96er Werk 'Oedipus Schmoedipus', (mit Gastperformances von Jarvis Cocker, Nick Cave und Billy McKenzie (The Associates)), das Mercury Prize nominierte 'Soul Murder' (1999), und sein jüngstes Album, 'Know Where To Run', das durch eine US-Tour mit Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - nach 23 Jahren - inspiriert wurde, bewegt sich das neue Album des Magazine, The Birthday Party und ehemaligen The Bad Seeds Bassisten, das Elemente aus Soul, R&B, Hip-Hop und Funk mit künstlicher Intelligenz kombiniert, Stilistisch von hedonistischen Limousinenfahrten durch die Disco der frühen Achtziger ('Manhattan Satin') bis zur futuristischen Klanglandschaft eines Stücks wie 'Was it a Dream?'. Im Zentrum stehen drei Tracks, die mit dem alten Aberglauben an den Blues als Musik des Teufels und der Kirche als Zentrum von Beichte und Erlösung aufräumen: 'These Would Be Blues', 'Please Don't Call On Me' und 'Amen White Jesus'. Wie immer erfreut sich Adamson an raffinierten Wortspielen und assoziativen Klang- und Bildwelten.

"Imagine: It’s sometime in the back half of the 19th century, America. You’re sitting in the parlor of your mansion, or in the only room of your shack; things are dusty and smell like sweat and hair, no matter how wealthy you may be. You don’t own a phonograph, and you don’t know who Tony Hawk is, but you have an inkling of how good the word 'shred' is going to feel when it enters the local slang. Suddenly, a tall, elegant figure with beautifully maintained fingernails emerges from some corner of the room, carrying a guitar. He says in a soft voice, 'I have a transmission for you, from the coming few centuries. Would you like to hear it? I figured you wouldn’t have a dongle, so I brought my guitar.' You may be apprehensive, but you shouldn’t be. Shane happens to be an internationally renowned virtuoso of the guitar. Specifically, he’s the kind of virtuoso who is as deep on style as he is on technique. His technical prowess is almost maddeningly complete; aiming paradoxically for the yards-long target called “breadth” he’s somehow hit all of it, 500 arrows piercing every pore of the landscape. He has that much technique not for the sake of guitar worship but to best bring the music forth clearly and in his own hand, like a pearl formed in a specific sea. I know this because I’ve sat next to him in multiple countries and American states and seen him deliver transmissions of that extreme honesty, with that extreme capability. Like Derek Bailey’s 'Ballads,' this record brings you into the room and the breath of a true musician whose mastery does not overshadow his appreciation of the music that inspired it. The title, 'Repertoire,' underscores the beautiful songs he chose to perform, all standards of 20th century musical excellence. The in-time persistence of his blues-walked 'Lonely Woman.' The grand registral descent he performs on 'Pithecanthropus Erectus,' like a rare document of the trip down from Everest. Dig how 'Better Get Hit in Your Soul,' emphasizes the folk blues water coursing through Mingus’s Ellingtonia, how Aphex Twin’s 'Avril 14' and the Minutemen’s 'Cohesion' sound so much older than Cage’s 'Totem Ancestors.' 'Repertoire' puts forth the idea that time is arrangement: time and arrangement are each only as successful as they are faithful to their origins and expansive in their style. Again, lest you fear the alien smoothness some associate with the concept 'virtuoso,' remember here we’re dealing with a time- traveler. His virtuosity is home grown, born of human work rather than some abstract or divine touch; the aim is not to go beyond the realm of human technical possibility but to expand it in the direction of human, meaning, timely. This guy can play anything, and for you, for this record, which sounds intimate and as present as a transmission from a time-traveler, he chooses to."—Wendy Eisenberg

Mit "Eggsistentialism" kehrt das Psych-Punk-Pop Duo The Lovely Eggs nach einer fast vierjährigen Pause seit ihrem Indie-Nummer-Eins-Album "I am Moron" zurück. In dieser Zeit haben sie ihre eigene Fernsehsendung Eggs TV gemacht (mit Ian McKaye, Stewart Lee, Katie Puckrik, Maxine Peake, David Shrigley und anderen), ein Duett mit Iggy Pop gegeben, eine Menge ausverkaufter Konzerte und Festivals gespielt und eine Kampagne zur Rettung der Lancaster Music Co-op (ein gemeinschaftlicher Proberaum und Aufnahmestudio, in dem sie leben) geführt.Wie der Titel schon andeutet, erforscht "Eggsistentialism" eine viel persönlichere, introspektivere und nachdenklichere Seite der Welt von The Lovely Eggs und lässt die Eggs neue Klänge erforschen und in unerforschten musikalischen Gebieten experimentieren."Wir haben seit 2020 keine neue Platte mehr veröffentlicht und in der Zwischenzeit haben wir hier versucht, das Recht auf einen Lebensstil zu verteidigen, den wir hier in dieser Stadt in den letzten 30 Jahren als arbeitende Musiker genossen haben, die sich weigern, einen "normalen" Job zu bekommen. Es geht darum, an etwas zu glauben und nicht loszulassen. Aber dieser Unwille, aufzugeben, fordert letztendlich seinen Tribut. Es fängt an, dich zu zerstören, und das Album ist eine Art Dokumentation dieser Zerstörung und des Zusammenbruchs sowie der Stärke, die wir haben, um das alles zu überstehen. Letztendlich ist dies ein hoffnungsvolles Album über das Überleben." Aufgenommen zu Hause in Lancaster, produziert zusammen mit Dave Fridmann (u.a. MGMT, Sleater Kinney, Mercury Rev sowie Grammy für Flaming Lips), wurde das Album in den Tarbox Road Studios in New York mit von ihm und der Band abgemischt. Atemberaubendes Artwork wieder von Illustrator Casey Raymond.

'Enjoy Youth', the follow up to Bright Light Bright Light's #1 UK Dance Album 'Fun City', sees him at his most confident and euphoric. Aiming to bring as much joy as possible with the album, Bright Light Bright Light has worked with some artists and producers who have brought him joy through his teenage years up to now. Guest vocalists include GRAMMY nominee Mykal Kilgore, dance icon Ultra Naté, Beth Hirsch of Air's 'Moon Safari Album', and Berri who had a monster Top 5 smash with 'Sunshine After The Rain'. Co-producing the tracks are Scissor Sisters' Babydaddy, UK pop superstar Richard X (Kylie Minogue, Alison Goldfrapp, Sugababes), Jon Shave (Charli XCX, Girls Aloud, Miley Cyrus) and Ian Masterson (Bananarama, Dannii Minogue). 'Enjoy Youth' is an uplifting, dancefloor- forward record bursting with energy and reverence for the music and artists that shaped him.

"Katie Crutchfield, under the name Waxahatchee, made her debut album during a snowstorm in the winter of 2012. She dedicated it “to anyone who had woke up and realized their identity is blurry, has had to clumsily get to know themselves, has hit a bottom, has felt self-deprecating and vagrant, and to anyone who has ridden out a shitstorm.”

She called it American Weekend. She means “American Weekend” in the same wide way that Kurt Cobain means “Teen Spirit,” less social construct than natural phenomenon. This is a lo-fi masterpiece in the league of Lou Barlow and the Softies. We should consider it a descendent of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, or else temper it no lower than Essential Listening."

Mit "Eggsistentialism" kehrt das Psych-Punk-Pop Duo The Lovely Eggs nach einer fast vierjährigen Pause seit ihrem Indie-Nummer-Eins-Album "I am Moron" zurück. In dieser Zeit haben sie ihre eigene Fernsehsendung Eggs TV gemacht (mit Ian McKaye, Stewart Lee, Katie Puckrik, Maxine Peake, David Shrigley und anderen), ein Duett mit Iggy Pop gegeben, eine Menge ausverkaufter Konzerte und Festivals gespielt und eine Kampagne zur Rettung der Lancaster Music Co-op (ein gemeinschaftlicher Proberaum und Aufnahmestudio, in dem sie leben) geführt.Wie der Titel schon andeutet, erforscht "Eggsistentialism" eine viel persönlichere, introspektivere und nachdenklichere Seite der Welt von The Lovely Eggs und lässt die Eggs neue Klänge erforschen und in unerforschten musikalischen Gebieten experimentieren."Wir haben seit 2020 keine neue Platte mehr veröffentlicht und in der Zwischenzeit haben wir hier versucht, das Recht auf einen Lebensstil zu verteidigen, den wir hier in dieser Stadt in den letzten 30 Jahren als arbeitende Musiker genossen haben, die sich weigern, einen "normalen" Job zu bekommen. Es geht darum, an etwas zu glauben und nicht loszulassen. Aber dieser Unwille, aufzugeben, fordert letztendlich seinen Tribut. Es fängt an, dich zu zerstören, und das Album ist eine Art Dokumentation dieser Zerstörung und des Zusammenbruchs sowie der Stärke, die wir haben, um das alles zu überstehen. Letztendlich ist dies ein hoffnungsvolles Album über das Überleben." Aufgenommen zu Hause in Lancaster, produziert zusammen mit Dave Fridmann (u.a. MGMT, Sleater Kinney, Mercury Rev sowie Grammy für Flaming Lips), wurde das Album in den Tarbox Road Studios in New York mit von ihm und der Band abgemischt. Atemberaubendes Artwork wieder von Illustrator Casey Raymond.

The songs on Ana Egge's 13th album, ‘Sharing in the Spirit’, while often deriving from the unconscious realm of her own dreams, deal openly with the most pressing issues of the waking world - politics, addiction, sex, and love. It was produced by Lorenzo Wolff following their previous collaboration, 2021's Between Us. The album opens with "Don't You Sleep," a civil rights celebration of hope and hard work. "Where Berries Grow" is a near-biblical bluegrass beauty about people Ana has loved and known. The album also deals with themes of alcoholism and sobriety with "Mission Bells Moan" and a cover of the Ted Hawkins classic "Sorry You're Sick." The final track, a cover of "Last Day of Our Acquaintance," pays heartfelt tribute to Sinead O'Connor. Ana's compelling signature mix of fearless strength with an almost innocent sense of fun is on full display, and not only in the music, The cover photo is an old, cherished snapshot of Ana and her sister as giddy kids, riding a minibike. Bold, brave, sweet, and honest, Egge has created another collection of intensely personal songs, where dreams are brought to the surface and the private is made public.

Repress.
The German boogie compilation 'Boogie on the Mainline' presents a selection of 10 rare disco tracks from Germany plus one more tune from Austria, all of them, originally released between 1980 and 1987. Check!
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The fully licenced album contains little known tunes by groups like Imagination (which you can also see on the cover of the LP), Squish, Upstairs, The Poptown Syndicate and more. As the Boogie-ish post-disco side of German music history still basically remains undiscovered as of yet, 'Boogie On The Mainline' hopefully will shed some light again on 11 rare gems that were mainly published on small or private labels.

The immediate successor to ska, the soulful, melodic sound of rock steady first developed during the long hot Jamaican summer of 1966 and reigned supreme thereafter for two glorious years before finally being superseded by the more energetic style of reggae.

Despite its relatively brief period as the island’s national sound, the rhythms of many of its biggest hits have continued to influence and inspire music-makers to the present day, resulting in renewed interest in the sub-genre among record buyers in recent years.

This superb 2xLP vinyl collection features 24 of the most popular recordings of the rock steady era, including the UK hits, ‘007’, ‘Train To Skaville’ and ‘It Miek’ and The Maytals’ anthemic dance-filler, ’54 46 That’s My Number’.

Pressed on high quality 140gm vinyl and presented in a stylishly designed sleeve, the album not only provides the ideal introduction to this hugely popular and influential sound, but is also a must for established fans of the Jamaican sub-genre, with many of the tracks appearing on vinyl for the first time in decades.

Following on from his previous two KPM-esque library music releases for the label (Plastic Thought & Wyped Out) Debossed sees Howe ramping up his sound into more rhythmically expansive weirdo club-music territory, taking in everything from footwork, drum & bass, electro, juke and breakcore. The Japanese jazz inspired melodic phrasing is as present as ever, which is paired with affectionate nods to Dreamcast gaming & skate video soundtracks, making for a very fun, fresh and generous listen.

“A master of tricksy computer music.” - The Wire

“The return of Glasweigian, Joe Howe: a prolific noise maker who you may have otherwise known as Ben Butler & Mousepad & Germlin. He’s been doing wonderful things for many years and there’s a whole world of Joe Howe if you want to get involved!”. - Tom Ravenscroft (BBC 6 Music)

Italian Ibiza favourite Tuccillo returns to legendary NYC label Nu Groove with another four-track EP, ‘Frames’, including a feature from Chicago native Ron Carroll. With previous Nu Groove releases like the ‘Sunshine City EP’ and ‘I Believe’ with TradeCraft earning the respect of esteemed selectors including Archie Hamilton, Chloe Caillet and Laurent Garnier, Tuccillo’s expertly crafted sound is revered for its analogue approach. Similarly, his passion and respect for vinyl has earned him respect from crate diggers and house music tastemakers globally ever since the 90s. Tuccillo’s ‘Frames EP’ opens with the eponymous lead, showcasing his malleable sound that comes alive in underground scenes for heads in the know. Chicago house authority Ron Carroll lends his vocals to ‘Don’t Walk Away’, supported by Tuccillo’s fresh club-defining production that also permeates ‘You Got Me’. ‘Everything’ closes out this collection of pure house excellence, with expressive yet softer synthwork creating a cooler feel perfect for the afterhours.

“I wanted to try and showcase as many people as I knew on this mix. My idea of Late Night Tales was to distil a series of relaxing moments; the whole conceptual sonic of relax- ation. So, I was trying to think of all the collaborators and friends that I knew, who’d recorded stuff with this horizontal vibe. Plus, I was also trying to help my friends' stuff get into the world. I know the story of Khruangbin blowing up after appearing on the series (in fact, I think that's how I discovered them). So, the main idea was to create a certain atmosphere, but also to help some of my favourite collaborators and bud- dies to give their songs a little push out into the world. Hope you like it” Jordan Rakei



Due for release on 9th April, Late Night Tales celebrate their 20th anniversary with the release of multi-instru- mentalist, vocalist and producer Jordan Rakei’s majestic compilation. The 28-year-old modern soul icon effortlessly stamps his own jazz and hip-hop driven sound all over this gorgeous array of handpicked tracks. A beautifully layered blend that is mirrored in the music he’s made, itcomes as no surprise that such a supremely gifted songwriter should deliver a mix that is all about the song.



Rakei, born in New Zealand, but raised in Australia, moved to the UK in 2015; he released his debut album, Cloak, with Oz label Soul Has No Tempo, but his two subsequentLPs, Wallflower and Origin, came out on Ninja Tune, the former#2 in Album Of The Year for Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide poll, while Origin was nominated for Best Album at the AIM Awards. Jordan had this to say on his upcoming mix:



As Jordan says,there’s so much more to the song selection on Late Night Tales’latest outing than a random collection of artists. Many have some sort of personal connection, so just as Bonobo provided a platform for the breakout of Khruangbin on a previous LNT, this may have the same ef- fect for Rakei’s friends. After a soothing opener from Fink, good friend and big influence Alfa Mist (part of the Are We Live collective) delivers ‘Mulago.’ “I want to champion their sound and show the world how good he is, and I thought it’d be fitting to start the mix with family,” says Jordan.



Next up is Charlotte Day Wilson with ‘Mountains,’ followed by ‘Count A Heart’ from Moreton, an exclusive collab- oration with Jordan, who grew up on the same street in Brisbane, Australia. “She was the first artist I ever collabo- rated with, and one of the first artists to be involved in mycareer,” he explains. Elsewhere we hear Scottish producer and multi-instrumentalist C Duncan’s haunting ‘He Came from the Sun,’ Barcelona collective Oso Leone deliver a dreamy ‘Virtual U’ and Bill Lauren’s ‘Singularity,’ which evokes a striking sense of time and place.



Snowpoet’s ethereal ‘Evitenity’ is a “long mediative nar- rative over a beautiful soundscape,” which at times seems chaotic, nicely juxtaposed with undeniable beauty, and Maro’s kooky songwriting shines on ‘Always And Forever.’ Long-time buddy Armon-Jones contributes ‘Idiom,’ and Jordan’s exclusive cover version is a two-for-one, Radio- head’s ‘Codex’ merging with ‘Lover, You Should’ve Come Home’ by Jeff Buckley and another exclusive,original com- position by Jordan, ‘Imagination.’ The latter works as a piece with the spoken (Spanish) word voiced by movie director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Birdman, and The Reve- nant,) who is a big fan of Jordan’s. “He messaged me when I went to L.A and asked to come to my show. I was in such shock and we hung out after. I thought it would be nice to get him to do this in his native tongue, because I don’t think that’s been done yet on the series.” It certainly is a familyaffair. Not theblood is thicker than water kind, but certainly musical kindred spirits.

Live albums are often a ‘hit or miss’ affair but ‘Live Oblivion’ 1 & 2 buck that trend, Recorded across 2 nights in 1974 at the Hollywood venue The Whisky A Go Go. The group were finishing off a huge US tour that had roared down the east coast then across the Midwest and by the time they hit LA, as Brian recalls “we were all absolutely performing at our height. So I decided that I really needed to record the band live at that point”. Utilising the Wally Heider Mobile Truck, the scene was set for one of the greatest jazz-fusion live recordings to be made. The show opens with a hyper fast version of Beginning Again due to drummer Steve Ferrone being almost an hour late and running high on adrenaline, Brian remembers thinking “I don’t even know if I can play it that fast!” Fortunately, he and the Oblivion Express including stellar vocalist Alex Ligertwood rise to the challenge and the result is akin to some frenetic jazzy drum & bass but also pushes the group onto another level altogether for the rest of the show. Across both volumes there are no fillers and the highlights are many - Bumpin’ On Sunset, Freedom Jazz Dance, and Inner City Blues are all stunning, but especially the epic version of Maiden Voyage which Mos Def sampled on his 1997 'If You Can Huh! You Can Hear', and both DJ Mitsu in 2004 and 2017 Crimeapple both dipped into Live Oblivion to sample that fire for their own projects.

Live albums are often a ‘hit or miss’ affair but ‘Live Oblivion’ 1 & 2 buck that trend, Recorded across 2 nights in 1974 at the Hollywood venue The Whisky A Go Go. The group were finishing off a huge US tour that had roared down the east coast then across the Midwest and by the time they hit LA, as Brian recalls “we were all absolutely performing at our height. So I decided that I really needed to record the band live at that point”. Utilising the Wally Heider Mobile Truck, the scene was set for one of the greatest jazz-fusion live recordings to be made. The show opens with a hyper fast version of Beginning Again due to drummer Steve Ferrone being almost an hour late and running high on adrenaline, Brian remembers thinking “I don’t even know if I can play it that fast!” Fortunately, he and the Oblivion Express including stellar vocalist Alex Ligertwood rise to the challenge and the result is akin to some frenetic jazzy drum & bass but also pushes the group onto another level altogether for the rest of the show. Across both volumes there are no fillers and the highlights are many - Bumpin’ On Sunset, Freedom Jazz Dance, and Inner City Blues are all stunning, but especially the epic version of Maiden Voyage which Mos Def sampled on his 1997 'If You Can Huh! You Can Hear', and both DJ Mitsu in 2004 and 2017 Crimeapple both dipped into Live Oblivion to sample that fire for their own projects.

New Zealand's Marlon Williams has quite simply got one of the most extraordinary, effortlessly distinctive voices of his generation-a fact well known to fans of his first, self-titled solo album, and his captivating live shows. An otherworldly instrument with an affecting vibrato, it's a voice that's earned repeated comparisons to the great Roy Orbison, and even briefly had Williams, in his youth, consider a career in classical singing, before realizing his temperament was more Stratocaster than Stradivarius. But it's the art of songwriting that has bedeviled the artist, and into which he has grown exponentially on his second album, Make Way For Love, out in February of 2018. It's Marlon Williams like you've never heard him before-exploring new musical terrain and revealing himself in an unprecedented way, in the wake of a fractured relationship. In early December, Williams and his longtime girlfriend, musician Aldous (Hannah) Harding, broke up. While personally wrenching, the split seemed to open the floodgates for Williams as a writer. "_I wrote about fifteen songs in a month," he recalls. Sure enough, while Make Way For Love draws on Williams' own story, in remarkably universal terms it captures the vagaries of relationships that we've all been through: he bliss (opener "Come To Me"); ache ("Love Is a Terrible Thing"); nagging questions ("Can I Call You"); and bitterness ("The Fire Of Love", whose lyrics Williams says he "agonized over" more than any). And there's "Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore", a duet with Harding, recorded after the two broke up, with Williams directing Harding's recording via a late-night long distance phone call. "We finally got to talk it out," he adds. "We still love each other very much."If "breakup record" is a trope-and certainly it is-then Marlon Williams has done it proud. Like the best of the lot, Make Way For Love doesn't shy away from heartbreak, but rather stares it in the face, and mines beauty from it.

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.

It is a monster album which unites the who's who of the modern blues and rock scene and took Krissy one year to produce! Friends on the album include rap metal giants Clawfinger, the god of hellfire Arthur Brown, the voice Chris Farlowe, Germany's soul queen Inga Rumpf, legendary singer songwriter Stoppok, the iconic Hamburg Blues Band, elite drummers Dennis Chambers & Curt Cress, Blues singing dynamite Big Daddy Wilson and many more. The album includes 24 songs and is almost 3 hours long with a mix of Krissy's original material and his favourite cover songs. "It was a long time in the making and I managed to get it done. I started the pre-production in November 2022 and went in the studio to begin the meat and potatoes process in January 2023. I wanted to get all my favourite musicians together that I have met on the road in my career. They are not all here by any means, but a good handful are! I did not want this album to have a box, so there are many different genres from metal to blues and jazz to rock'n'roll. But in the end, it is a Krissy Matthews record."

14 tracks, all great examples of real soul music, a mix of well-known classics, overlooked gems, and 4 original unreleased songs.

As mood changers go, this track is up there with the best. Last year whilst DJing with miche at Shapes festival in the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland, a breathtaking yet ominous Alpine sky suddenly became a picture postcard moment. The clouds parted and a double rainbow formed, as miche dropped Studio Rio's bossa nova remake of Bill Withers’ all-time classic 'Lovely Day'. From there, the dancefloor shifted gears and morphed into full-swing feel-good vibes, in a beautiful, spontaneous moment nobody could have planned for.

Mr Bongo now proudly presents a reissue of this brilliant, bossa-channelling Bill Withers reinterpretation from Studio Rio’s 2014 release ‘The Brazil Connection’. Masterminded by the German Grammy award-winning Berman Brothers, the project was born out of their deep love of Brazilian music. “Our goal was to bring the Brazilian joie de vivre to iconic performances by well-known artists. What would these classic songs sound like had they been recorded in the studios of Rio de Janeiro in the first place, with the best Brazilian musicians and arrangers?” the brothers reflect.

Capturing the life force of Brazil, the beating heart that is its music, they set out to find the musicians who would fit best with their concept. Landing in Rio in 2013 a series of coincidences led to them being introduced to their idols Marcos Valle and Roberto Menescal, who both agreed to come on board. The Berman Brothers also wanted to find some of the musicians who recorded with one of Brazil’s most influential composers Tom Jobim. “Fifty years after Jobim made the music that really defines bossa nova, we found that many of his sidemen were still active, including Paulo Braga of Jobim’s famed rhythm section. It was magic; everything just fell into place.”

There's no question that the original of ‘Lovely Day’ is up there as one of the most feel-good, spirit-lifting anthems of all time. Here the brothers, with the help of a whole host of Brazil’s finest musicians, rework Bill’s soul-fuelled groove into a bossa nova slice of sunshine. With the blessing of Bill and Sony, they were given access to the original multitracks so they could incorporate Bill’s vocals perfectly into the new arrangement.

Joy-injected horns and bouncing double bass blend with the smile-inducing samba flavour of Pretinho da Serrinha’s cavaquinho playing. Tying it all together Torcuato Marinao who worked with the likes of Gal Costa, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, completes the line-up as arranger of the songs.

The perfect end-of-the-night track, mood lifter or soul warmer, remakes don’t get much better than this.

PM Warson returns with a brand-new 7” single - ‘Right Here, Last Night’ / ‘Retrace The Steps’ out 17 May - and the introduction of his own label marque FYND, with Acid Jazz. Both sides have a great Rhythm & Soul club feel, straddling influences from British and original American R’n’B of the mid-‘60s, with a hint of late-night jazz, characteristic of the PM Warson sound.

PM Warson is known for his breakout single ‘(Don’t) Hold Me Down’, with the original white-label pressing fetching hundreds of pounds on collector sites and eBay. After two acclaimed albums with the Légère Recordings label out of Hamburg (’True Story’ 2021 and ‘Dig Deep Repeat’ 2022), and having established himself on the European touring and and festival circuit, he returns with new music for 2024, starting with this dynamite R’n’B 45.

Ice Cream Vinyl

Since the release of their debut studio album Do Hollywood (on 4AD) in 2016, The Lemon Twigs_the New York City rock band fronted by brothers Brian (27) and Michael D'Addario (25)_have waved the same revivalist torch as Alex Chilton and his Big Star crew, working to prove that archaic music from the `60s and `70s can still be relevant in digital world. Alongside peers like Foxygen and Drugdealer, The Lemon Twigs have explicitly documented a synchronistic blend of contemporary narrative motifs, old-school recording techniques, and flawless, consistent attitudes collaged from various crucial stages of rock 'n' roll. After a whirlwind 2023, the D'Addarios are continuing the momentum of their own evolving vision and voice, distilling a history lesson of baroque and power pop into A Dream Is All We Know (out May 3 on Captured Tracks). Garnering the top-to-bottom critical acclaim the brothers have long deserved, their 2023 LP Everything Harmony was spearheaded by an impressive string of singles, including "Corner Of My Eye" and "Any Time of Day." It was the kind of record that put all of Brian and Michael's talents on display, be it the former's multi-instrumentalist gifts or the latter's boyish, explosive pop-rock charisma and eye for engineering and vocal layering. But A Dream Is All We Know is not the acoustic, nylon string-based project that Everything Harmony was. Instead, it's a return to the form the Lemon Twigs first introduced on Do Hollywood_an electric guitar-centric, anthemic assemblage of, really, everything the band does great. These two companion records are an immediate example of a band capitalizing on their fire-in-the-belly appetite to make tunes that boast ubiquitous chemistry. A Dream Is All We Know is grandiose yet grounded; meticulous, yet wild and glowing. Made with analog precision, the album was finished in the immediate months after the band completed Everything Harmony during a vibrant, prolific period split between three studios on separate coasts. A Dream Is All We Know is a profoundly dense and charged album, rife with string arrangements and a sonic thesis statement that has quaked through phases of glam, conceptualism, baroque, and Mustang-loud, stone-cold rock `n' roll for more than half-a-century. A Dream Is All We Know sounds like it's lived a thousand lives already.

"A Dream Is All We Know" lässt die auf Nylonsaiten basierenden Arrangements von "Everything Harmony" hinter sich und kehrt zu dem Stil zurück, den die Brüder erstmals auf "Do Hollywood" vorstellten. "A Dream Is All We Know" verbindet die Theatralik und den Glam-Rock des Lennon-McCartney-Songbuchs mit zeitgenössischen Erzählungen, explosiven E-Gitarren-Riffs sowie den sonnigen Harmonien und ausgeklügelten Aufnahmetechniken der Wilson-Familie und bringt die Liebe zum Detail und die Fähigkeiten der Brüder als Multiinstrumentalisten zum Vorschein. Mit fast einem Jahrzehnt an Songwriting auf dem Buckel zeigt "A Dream Is All We Know" deutlich die Entwicklung der D'Addario-Brüder von rehäugigen Teenagern, die Musik machen wollten, die an ihre Helden erinnert, zu jungen Männern, die die Bühne mit PHOENIX, BLEACHERS, ARCTIC MONKEYS und ihrem musikalischen Helden TODD RUNDGREN teilten, von ELTON JOHN, THE ZOMBIES, GERARD WAY und IGGY POP gelobt wurden und sich zu visionären Songwritern und Arrangeuren entwickelten, deren Werk selbst eine Quelle der Inspiration für andere Künstler ist. "A Dream Is All We Know" wurde komplett mit historischem Equipment aufgenommen und von Brian und Michael selbst abgemischt und gemastert. Das Album zeigt THE LEMON TWIGS, wie sie nach Jahren der Perfektionierung ihres Handwerks mit einem neu entdeckten Sinn für Intuition spielen.

‘Står op med solen’ (Rising with the sun) is the second album by Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie. With this album, the band continues the exploration of their collective sound. We hear influences from both old school free jazz, and contemporary Scandinavian jazz like Fire! Orchestra and Christian Wallumrød Ensemble, as well as clear connection to the Trondheim milieu, where the group was founded in 2020.

The energetic and expressive band explores their more subtle side with this record. ‘Står op med solen’ is an album longing for humans to be one with nature. The music comments on the world’s ultra-capitalistic power structures of today. The band navigates like one organism through parts of organic free jazz, strict structures and composed cells.

They start out where their first record ended, in the familiar free jazz sound with riffs and melodies, and take us safely on their onward journey. Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie brings together five well-known names from the Norwegian jazz scene, also known from other projects like Kongle Trio, Bliss Quintet, I like to sleep, Veslemøy Narvesen, Galumphing Duo, Treen and Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, among others.

The band has already been touring in Scandinavia, Poland and Germany during the past 3 years, and is well known for their playful and close chemistry. Their first record ‘Dafnie’ (Sonic Transmissions Records, 2022) received excellent reviews in The Wire, The Quietus among others. To celebrate the new album Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie will do 11 concerts in Europe between April 22nd and May 5th.

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’.

The Cat's Miaow return to World Of Echo with Skipping Stones: The Cassette Years '92-'93, their second compilation for the imprint, and the fourth in a loosely defined series of reissues associated with the group (also including The Shapiros' Gone By Fall: The Collected Works of The Shapiros and Hydroplane's Selected Songs 1997-2003). It's a smart selection of songs by one of Australia's finest independent pop music groups, whose initial run, across the nineties, was as mysterious as it was bewitching. A generous double album featuring thirty-five songs drawn from The Cat's Miaow's history, Skipping Stones lets listeners in on a bunch more secrets. The four cassettes that Skipping Stones draws from - Little Baby Sour Puss, Pet Sounds (both 1992), From My Window, and How Did Everything Get So Fucked Up (both 1993) - were released or assisted by Toytown, a Melbourne cassette label of rare taste, savvy and intelligence. Diving into that two-year period, Skipping Stones is full of surprises, rich with unexpected and inspired detours, while reminding everyone just how clear and distinct The Cat's Miaow's music was from the very start. Looking in from the outside, they always felt like a group that knew just what they were doing, but intuitive as they are, they weren't forcing anything: these songs always sound exactly what they need to be, rough edges, playful moments and all. The Cat's Miaow may have been bedroom dreamers, but their songs were richly informed, with the sweetest of girl-pop moves sashaying into walls of tremolo-d and distorted guitar, jangling six strings tangling with melodic bass that's pure Peter Hook/Naomi Yang, while the gentle trickle of a drum machine or the earthy twitch of brushes on drum skins provided the spine for Kerrie's and Bart's lovely, unforced singing. This double LP on World Of Echo feels like the very core of the thing - some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful, effortlessly lush and deeply moving pop music you're likely to hear. RIYL: Hydroplane, The Cannanes, Magnetic Fields, Belle and Sebastian, Jesus and Mary Chain

Death Is Not The End präsentiert eine limitierte LP-Pressung ihrer Sammlung unheimlich-brütender Flamenco-Aufnahmen aus den frühen 1900er bis in die späten 1930er Jahre. Diese Überblick konzentriert sich auf den Cante Jondo-Stil ("tiefer Gesang"), der als ursprüngliche Manifestation des Flamenco-Gesangs gilt – aus dem andere Elemente wie Tanzen und Spielen hervorgingen – und erfasst und dokumentiert Titel der frühesten aufgenommenen Stars dieser Form.

Limted version on 2LP transparent violet vinyl in gatefold sleeve, 300 copies! ‘Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent.



'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent coming out one of the smallest countries in Europe. Never change a winning team they say, so we're happy to have Belgian DJ and eclectic connoisseur Lefto on board again.

Although you expect thecompilation to be talking jazz, volume 3 explores a broader array of styles, genres, and sounds than ever before, arriving at a point where the 'young cats' of today don't bother no more. It may focus on the Belgian scene, but let's face it, seeing the influences, this one could be compiled from all over the world. From the empowering and bittersweet voices of Oriana Ikomo and Adja, over the more acoustic-electronic productions of Moodprint, Ciao Kennedy, Kassius and echofarmer. It's even expanding the Jazz Cats universe to dub and bass-heavy tracks with Kin Gajo and Le Ministère, Ethio-jazz from Azmari, while sending you back to earth with bodies' swirling sax and drums. That saxophone still rings in your ears when you end up in the orbit of the march-like drums of Bodem, Orson Claeys' piano testing your ability to follow him, slamming the breaks to go smooth cruisin' with HONEY (Morricone meets Khruangbin, anyone?), to crashing in a raging tempo on that last track of Bruno x Soet x Moene. And there you are, back with us.



2018's 'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' included tracks from some of Belgium's biggest hitters, including Black Flower, STUFF. De Beren Gieren and Glass Museum who have all gone on to receive global acclaim. The album was given the accolade of 'Album of the Week' on Worldwide FM and also received further radio support from Jazz FM in addition to numerous glowing reviews. The 2022 follow-up 'Jazz Cats volume 2' paved the way for a new generation inspired by its peers, entering another era of very talented individuals and collectives. Maybe even more so than 4 years before. It uncovered a beautiful balance of more established but also obscure musicians and artists. Opening up to electronics and dance, enter bands like ECHT!, Stellar Legions and TUKAN. Thrilling innovative soundscape grooves and jazz fusion with Bandler Ching and L?p?GangGang, not to forget about the weaving musical odyssey that is M.CHUZI. In addition, there's the balanced unease of One Frame Movement, the laidback 'acoustic electronica' of Boombox Experiments, the classic funky jazz stylings of Cargo Mas and cinematic The Brums, all of these have set volume 2 on the map as an essential release for any jazzhead with a passion for new sounds.

Tastemaker, selector, curator, DJ and producer, these words often get mentioned when Lefto's name pops up in discussions. And rightly so. If you've ever had the pleasure to listen to one of his incredible Boiler Room sets or one of his many radio shows, you'll know why. Famed for his gloriously eclectic taste on the decks, he switches effortlessly between hip hop, funk, breaks, neck-snapping beats, future bass, South-American influences, bruk riddims, some wild African rhythms and of course, jazz.

Growing up as a child, his father would have the sounds of jazz flowing through the speakers. Which led him to bars around town to hear the latest jazz ensembles. Falling in love with the genre, he would later refine his knack for record digging and fine ear for music working at Belgium's legendary Music Mania record store in his hometown Brussels. Which makes that Lefto is consistently a couple steps ahead. He doesn't wait for the next thing to land in his lap, but actively seeking it out.

Lefto on Jazz Cats volume 3:
"Another release in less than two years! I am very impressed by the amount of creative "jazz" talent we've managed to compile over the last couple of years. Thanks to the internet, young musicians find inspiration from around the globe and incorporate diverse influences into their work. Given the history and heritage of jazz in this country, it has managed to create a healthy jazz scene supported by festivals, venues, press, and labels. Therefore, I am very proud to present to you the thirdinstallment of Jazz Cats. This compilation is dedicated to the young and hardworking musicians who are the present and the future of Belgium's jazz scene."