Buscar:down

Detroit’s own Malik Alston is a man of many talents ranging from singing and producing to djing and performing poetry and has a long list of classic realeases under his belt.
This new EP for Mother Tongue is once again another demonstration of his brilliance!
‘In A Better Way’, the downtempo collaboration with fellow detroiters Jason Hogans and John Arnold, appears here in an extended version on the B side and gets a full house treatment with the help of Dwayne Jensen on the main side to become a relentless gospel house anthem! To complete the EP an exquisite remix of Alston’s ‘Promise Me Love’ by Kemetic Just’s own Just One wich feautures the sublime vocals of Laronn Dolley.

London alt-rock outfit Curse of Lono share brand new single ‘Let Your Love Rain Down On Me’, a hypnotic widescreen teaser for upcoming album ‘People In Cars’, set for release 19th November via Submarine Cat Records (She Drew The Gun, Alabama 3, John Murry).

Recorded during lockdown with long-term collaborator and producer Oli Bayston (Spiritualized, Teleman, Boxed In) and engineer Iain Berryman (Wolf Alice, Arcade Fire, Kings Of Leon), ‘People In Cars’ is a stunningly cinematic record that continues the band’s musical evolution and reinforces their trajectory as one of the most compelling lyrical voices of the British musical underground.

GENRE: Modern Classical, Experimental, Ambient Metal. RIYL: György Ligeti, Sarah Davachi, Stars Of The Lid. 180g LP pressed at Optimal, 350gsm jacket, inner & DL card. Jessica Moss Also Known For Her Tenure In Thee Silver Mt. Zion (2002-2015), Black Ox Orkestar (2002-2007), Recordings By Vic Chesnutt, Carla Bozulich, Arcade Fire, Basia Bulat, Roy Montgomery, Sarah Davachi, Big Brave & More. A phosphene is “the phenomenon of seeing light without light entering the eye.” The title of the heart-rending and resolute new album by composer/violinist Jessica Moss could not be better chosen. Moss is by now a seasoned practitioner of immersive isolation music; across three previously acclaimed solo records of minimal and maximal post-classicism, her acoustic, amplified, and electronically-shifted violin is the raw material for deeply expressive, palpably haunted, wholly committed compositions. But Phosphenes inscribes fleeting halos of refracted ghostly light out of a prevailing darkness with especially plangent determination and intensity. This is the most overtly searching, mournful and inexorable music Moss has made to date. The pieces on Phosphenes exquisitely navigate consonance and dissonance, building patiently from single notes to multiple voicings, harmonic stacks and clusters. These compositions channel themselves like slow-moving water in a dark cave, finding small eddies and catching glints of luminescence from within. Signal processing is kept to a minimum in the three-movement “Contemplation” suite on Side One, where Moss deploys amplification chiefly in the service of activating overtones and pitch-shifts, thickening and widening the sonics, carving out her unique timbral space. Based on a four-note sequence that sets whole tones against one another, “Contemplation” is a bona fide requiem that finds Moss at her most instrumentally naturalistic, measured, and modern. Side Two unfolds in a more foreboding vein: “Let Down” is marked by cavernous octave-dropped arco and pizzicato, providing a gothically-inflected substratum upon which hauntingly wordless vocal invocations and cumulative gyres of violin melody unfurl. “Distortion Harbour” grinds with noisier grit and a more harrowing complexion, highlighting Moss’s ambient-metal sensibility and her distinctive palette of industrial-inflected power electronics a reminder of why she’s also been a go-to player on albums by the likes of Big Brave, Oiseaux-Tempête and Zu in recent years. These two songs also feature upright bass from old friend and former bandmate Thierry Amar (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt. Zion, Black Ox Orkestar). Album closer “Memorizing & Forgetting” is inarguably the most tender and beautiful song in Jessica’s oeuvre: a keening lullabye of sorts, on which she plays piano, violin and guitar, joined by her partner Julius Levy in a lustrous ambient vocal duet. Everyone has been trying to find a way through and out of pandemic, lockdown, social isolation and often darkened hope and for many musicians, the absence of touring, of live performance, live sound, live audiences, and a living. For Moss, it’s also been “like when you press your fists hard against your eyes and eventually there is fireworks.” The light gets in where it can, even or maybe especially as imaginative sensory simulacra (if/when we shut down our screens and are left to our own devices). Phosphenes is a stoic, acutely sensitive, superlative musical statement from Moss

Paul Gilbert have announced the release of a new seasonal offering titled 'TWAS. Gilbert’s 17th solo album features a dozen recordings, two of which are new, original compositions.

Gilbert shares, “Many will agree that in recent times, challenging events have been pouring down upon our heads like an Exploding Waterfall of Molasses. At least it sometimes feels like that to me. But while I was jamming Christmas songs with my friends, playing an assortment of red, green, and white Ibanez electric guitars, I felt like life was THE BEST. I hope that this music can put a smile on your face as well. Merry Christmas to all. And to all, a good night.”

The track listing features “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” “Frosty The Snowman,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “The Christmas Song,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “I Saw Three Ships,” “Every Christmas Has Love” (original), “Three Stings For Christmas” (original), “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Silver Bells,” and “Winter Wonderland.” On the Japanese release of ‘Twas The Guitar Before Christmas, there will be a bonus track titled “Down the Chimney Blues” (original).

Gilbert offers, “Ten of the songs are classics. I was inspired by the Christmas recordings of Nat King Cole, Loretta Lynn, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand, Johnny Mathis, Ella Fitzgerald, and The Ventures. And of course, inspiration came from my guitar heroes, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Lifeson, Johnny Winter, Robin Trower, Frank Marino, Pat Travers, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page, to name a few. I also wrote some of my own new Christmas songs. As I have been doing recently, I begin with lyrics and a melody. Then I let my guitar take over, as it sings better than I do.”

The long awaited follow up to Osaka's Hibushibire 'Freak Out Orgasm!' debut album from 2017 is almost upon us ...
 
Who are Hibushibire ?
 
821 (Hani) on bass
Ryu Matsumoto on drums
Changchang on guitar and vocals
 
It would be fair to say Hibushibire’s 2017 debut album ‘Freak Out Orgasm!’ went down well with fans of psych-rock (call it what you will). So far it’s had three vinyl pressings, two cassette pressings and a CD run back in Japan. It garnered quite a few influential underground (if not mainstream) reviews and seemed to sell through on word of mouth alone - which in these times seems to be the way things are going: thriving social media groups sharing their love of recent purchases and fellow vinyl lovers going out and scooping them up without the need to buy a magazine or read an online review to make their mind up. My favourite review of ‘Freak Out Orgasm!’ came from UK based music blog Dayz Of Purple And Orange as I think he nailed it perfectly...
 
“Fuck me! I think I've died and gone to psychedelic heaven! If anyone had asked me what I would really want from a freak out, heavy-as-fuck psych band I would have to say I would want the sheer guitar pyrotechnics of Acid Mothers Temple, the hard-as-nails scuzziness of The Heads, the lead heaviness of a fucked-up Blue Cheer and the instrumental dexterity of Hendrix on speed. Guess what, that band exists and they are called HIBUSHIBIRE!"
 
That, to me, said it all. Nail hit hard.
 
But let's get onto 'Turn On, Tune In, Freak Out!'
 
Once again the album is produced by Makoto Kawabata (Acid Mothers Temple, Mainliner) and for me it's the next logical step in the bands sonic development. As with its predecessor, side one consists of three tracks, "Ecstasy Highwaystar / Blow! Blow! Blow! / Overdose, Pussycat! More! More!", (they do like an exclamation mark). Some of these titles will be familiar if you've followed the band's live shows in recent times, and it's pretty much a guitar to the front, full gonzo-style hard-rocking psychedelic freak out from the first blast of Changchang's guitar panning from left to right before the main riff kicks it all off.
 
Again, as with their debut, side two comprises of just one epic length track. 'Rollercoaster Of The Universe' clocks in at seventeen minutes and is, in my humble opinion, the sound of the band moving onto the next level during its journey. It's a shudderingly beautiful piece, with many hypnotic twists and turns. I can't wait to hear how they play this live.
 
The band did initially attempt to produce this album by themselves, but got 'brain fever' in the studio and called their old friend Makoto to come down and help them finish it off. As he had no preparation in advance, he knew nothing about how the recording was going in the studio, and moreover there was little time left for adjustments to be made. But his technique of mixing was, as always, both mighty and almost destructive.

Deepfunk / soul super rarity flipped with one of the best deep soul sides ever recorded, the family had some great images so we opted for a picture sleeve on this one, 400 copies only. forget about finding an O.G. Researched by our man, Brian Sears

Papa Bear And His Cubs were the brainchild of Eddie Disnute Sr., aka Papa Bear. A native resident of Hampton, Arkansas. Eddie started his music career in gospel then transitioned into secular music after moving to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1963. While living in Milwaukee with his wife and children, Eddie played with a group called the Fenders but eventually decided to start a group of his own with his kids aptly named Papa Bear And His Cubs.

Eddie Sr., a naturally gifted musician, taught his children how to play music. Creativity is a part of the Disnute DNA and before long Eddie's cubs were perfecting chops of their own. Papa Bear And His Cubs started performing together around the late 1960s. Although a few memorable gigs came their way, Wisconsin proved to be too cold for the Disnutes so they made their way back to Hampton, Arkansas.

The family continued to perform in Arkansas then made another move to Houston, Texas where they hoped to break into the music scene down south. They lived there for nearly three years and even recorded at SugarHill Studios, yet nothing materialized and the recordings remain a mystery to this day. For their final move, the Disnutes returned home to Hampton after Eddie's wife Christine (aka Mother Goose) received word that her father was ill.

In 1975 the group recorded their only vinyl record at Sam Griffith's home recording studio in Camden, Arkansas. Disnute Sr. recalls it only taking "one night, and one take" for both "Sweetest Thing On This Side Of Heaven" and "You're So Fine" to be born. Both songs have an entrancing quality that is inescapable and will surely resonate with listeners for years to come.

The group continued to perform until the early 1980s, at which point the cubs were bears themselves, who decided to go their own separate ways. When thinking back to their prime days, one thing will always remain clear in Eddie Sr.'s memory, "we could play, all it took was a countdown of 1, 2 ,3, 4 and we're gone".

The 20th milestone release in the Generation Series lineup, this 5-LP abridged set features 82 tracks that play in the first half of Shenmue III, which takes place in Bailu Village. Comes in a top lid box (similar to recent Generation Series releases from Brave Wave) with liner notes, archival artwork and a digital download code for all 196 tracks.

he 20th milestone release in the Generation Series lineup, this 5-LP abridged set features 82 tracks that play in the first half of Shenmue III, which takes place in Bailu Village. Comes in a top lid box (similar to recent Generation Series releases from Brave Wave) with liner notes, archival artwork and a digital download code for all 196 tracks.

Time fortifies the bonds between us. Since emerging in 2018, Light The Torch have grown stronger in lockstep together as a band and as friends. Through this growth, the Los Angeles, CA trio—Howard Jones vocals, Francesco Artusato [guitar], and Ryan Wombacher [bass]—only enhanced every aspect of their signature sound. Upheld by head-spinning seven-string virtuosity, yet also anchored to skyscraping melodies, the group crafted twelve no-nonsense and no-holds-barred metallic anthems on their 2021 second full-length album, You Will Be The Death of Me [Nuclear Blast].
“The past few years have helped me to become much more personal in my writing,” explains Howard. “Even though I’m kind of a loner, this band became real family. My experiences with Ryan and Fran inside and outside of the band truly bonded us. I think it shows in this album, it truly represents who we are as a group.”

“Every second on this record was thought-out,” adds Fran. “Howard’s performance gives me chills, because it feels so alive. There’s so much emotion in it. I know the guy very well at this point, and our friendship is a big part of Light The Torch.”That friendship cemented over the course of the past three years. The group shot out of the gate as a contender on their full-length debut, Revival. It bowed at #4 on the Billboard US Independent Albums Chart and at #10 on the Hard Rock Albums Chart in addition to receiving acclaim from Revolver, Outburn, and many more. “Calm Before the Storm” racked up a staggering 14.5 million Spotify streams, while “The Safety of Disbelief” remains one of SiriusXM Octane’s all-time most requested songs. They also crisscrossed North America and Europe on tour with the likes of Trivium, Avatar, In Flames, Ice Nine Kills, Killswitch Engage and August Burns Red to name a few.

In late 2019, an idea for the title track “Death of Me” kickstarted the creative process. The guys returned to Sparrow Sound in Glendale, CA to once again work with the production team of Josh Gilbert and Joseph McQueen [Bullet for My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, Suicide Silence].This time around, they also welcomed Whitechapel’s Alex Rudinger on drums. “He’s incredible,” says Fran. “He was exactly what we needed.”Now, they kick down the door for You Will Be The Death of Me with the single “Wilting In The Light.” Howard’s instantly recognizable vocals soar over a sweeping riff and rolling beat before culminating on a massive luminous hook, “Over and over again we struggle. We’re wilting in the light, and we stumble in the dark.”“It has a different vibe and a very interesting riff,” observes Howard. “I love it when listeners can take what they want from a song. This was a special one for us.”

“More Than Dreaming” opens up the record with gut-punching guitar and another knockout hook. Elsewhere, airy keys wrap around chugging distortion on the title track “Death Of Me.” Regarding the latter, the frontman goes on, “Most people have some source of grief in their lives. It’s relatable, and it was appropriate for the song.”After the melodic melancholia of “Come Back To The Quicksand,” Light The Torch recharge the 1987 Terence Trent D’Arby classic “Sign Your Name” as the record’s climax. Shimmering keys bleed into an overpowering verse before it snaps into the immortal chorus beefed up with thick distortion. “Howard stayed at my house with me and my wife for the entire recording of the album,” recalls Fran. “I like to cook, and one night during the first week of pre-production I made everyone dinner. A compilation with ‘Sign Your Name’ started playing, and I thought, ‘I can do a version that would sound awesome!’ Howard knew and loved the song too. For as crazy as it sounded, it worked so well.”
In the end, the bond between Light The Torch burns brighter than ever in the music as they deliver a definitive statement with You Will Be The Death Of Me.

“We wanted to make a fully listenable and fun album that doesn’t let up,” Howard leaves off. “At the same time, we’re showing some heart, passion, and connection. It’s what we’ve always intended to do with this band.”

The next killer tune in the brand-new series of alltime classic Studio One party bombs available on super loud 12” - Brentford Road All Stars’ 'Greedy
G’ is the ultimate reggae record to crossover into
hip-hop. The all-time epic sample for Boogie Down
Productions’ seminal ‘Jack of Spades’ and based
on James Brown’s funk bomb ‘Get on the Good
Foot’.
The flipside is another Brentford Road All Stars
essential cut, ‘Granny Scratch Scratch’, the
heaviest, funkiest dub monster ever.
100% essential monster tunes that rock any
dancefloor.

Debut album (2014) from Metal supergroup featuring members of Soulfly (Max Cavalera), Mastodon (Troy Sanders) and Dillinger Escape Plan (Greg Puciato).

The Berliners present an unusual live album that is a testimony of strange times: their Phanerozoic concept album performed live in its entirety at a time when no shows were happening anywhere in the world. 3 LPs / 2 CDs plus DVD and access to HD video download and streaming. Phanerozoic I was streamed live from Pier 2, a big hall in the port of Bremen, on March 25, 2021. Phanerozoic II, recorded at "Die Mühle" studio, aired on April 16, 2021 as part of the digital edition of Roadburn Festival, this year abtly named Roadburn Redux. Both shows couldn't have been more different: where the first part boasts with a pompous, mesmerizing lighting production on a big stage, the 2nd part is quite the opposite: intimate, almost cosy, focused on musicianship rather than performance. A stripped down setup in a dark barn, with moody, minimal but not any less efficient lighting. "We wanted to give people 2 totally different experiences", says band leader Robin Staps. "In Bremen, we had the chance to record a proper Ocean live show, the way people know us. We played facing towards the front of the stage, to an invisible crowd, essentially to a huge empty room_ but we knew people were watching, even if we didn't see them. There was the same rush of adrenaline right before going on stage as you get before going on at any big open air festival_ maybe with a little extra anxiety added, because knowing that so many people are watching you without being able to see them yourself was super weird." This release is yet another master class of record packaging from Norwegian artist and long term friend and collaborator, Martin Kvamme: the trifold is made from thick, rough and incredibly fibrous cardboard, adorned with a filigrane copper foil embossing of a bitmapped live fotography from the Bremen event. It contains 3 vinyl records in printed inner sleeves or 2 CDs, plus a DVD and a concert ticket with a streaming and HD video download link to both concerts.

Swedish group Roxette celebrates the 30th Anniversary of their third album “Joyride”, following the band’s spectacular global breakthrough with “Look Sharp!” in 1989. The 30th Anniversary of ”Joyride” will be celebrated with the release of a 4-album vinyl and a 3-CD box, containing the original release as well as previously unreleased or hard-to-get material, that paints a fuller picture of a unique time in pop history. A richly illustrated 32 page booklet tells the story.

Joyride” was the album that was supposed to cement Roxette’s new-found status as a global hit-makers. Which indeed it did. On May 1, the title track zoomed all the way up to #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart – setting a record no Scandinavian group or artist has yet been able to break, helping to make “Joyride” a 11+ million seller.

Twelve of the songs are previously unreleased, among them the first recording of ”Hotblooded”, which originally was meant to be the album’s opening track until ”Joyride” knocked it down a notch, giving the album and the upcoming “Join the Joyride” World Tour its name. The “Joyride” box set also offers a chance to hear two previously unreleased demos of songs originally released by Per’s former group Gyllene Tider, who in 1984 tried to break the international market with the album “Heartland Café”.

By now you’re probably familiar with our wildly popular Brown Acid series of rare, lost and unreleased proto-metal and stoner rock singles from the 60s-70s. In the endless pursuit of those glorious gems, we often uncover equally brilliant rarities from the late-70s to late-80s Golden Age of Heavy Metal that also just must be heard, but they don’t fit the series’ aesthetic. Scrap Metal, Volume 1 collects some of the greatest unknown and lost Heavy Metal tracks, long buried beneath the avalanche of the era’s classic output.
We all know the old adage that history is told by the winners. But sometimes the losers tell the best stories. And while none of these bands found fame and fortune, this artifact and the volumes to come are testament to the enduring power of heavy music. You can hear the blood, sweat and beers that went into each of these singles. The recordings may be low budget, but the inspiration and talent is immutable. Not only are the amps turned up to 11, the boyish sexual innuendo is cranked to 69. You can hear the convergence of influences — NWOBHM, thrash, glam metal, doom, etc — colliding at once as the era birthed a wellspring of subgenres.
Many of these singles are self-released and were thus limited to a small run of copies. Those that remain are hoarded by collectors and sold for exorbitant amounts. We’ve collected the best of the best for you here. As with Brown Acid, all of these tracks are licensed legitimately and the artists all get paid. Because it’s the right thing to do.
LINER NOTES:
Rapid Tears launch this series with the perfect christening. The Toronto, ON quintet’s 1981 single “Headbang” is such the pinnacle of heavy metal madness that it almost sounds like a spoof. There’s also enough of the rapid-fire sputum that inspired Metallica to bang the head that doesn’t, as such, engage in said practice, to be found on the band’s sole full length Honestly. But “Headbang” is a straightforward glammy anthem for the ages.
Air Raid’s “69 In A 55” may be lyrically so sophomoric that it’s actually pretty clever, but this 1983 Bay Area power metal single is loaded with sleek Judas Priest riffs and interwoven melodies that are downright sublime. The band’s sole release, the 2-song Rock Force 7” features a curious band photo in which 3 band members — dolled up in Crüe makeup and leather — are sexually menacing the lead singer/guitarist tied to a bed. Another low budget highlight is when singer/guitarist Tommy “Thrasher” Merry imitates a delay effect on his vocals as he sings, “tonight!...tonight...night.”
Hades’ “Girls Will Be Girls” has a real demo cassette feel to its vastly uneven mix, but the energy to the performance makes this an undeniable keeper. The long running Paramus, NJ quintet’s 1982 2- song debut 7” titled Deliver Us From Evil features this blistering thrasher dominated by shimmering leads and confident vocals that show why the band went on to near-fame on Metal Blade Records.
Resless don’t need no T to prove that they’ve got “The Power” with this 1984 driving mid-tempo rocker in the vein of Mötley Crüe and Ratt. The River Vale, NJ quartet’s tight crunch wails all over Bon Jovi posers but it’s the band’s unique and subtle deployment of background vocals that gives this rager its staying power.
Pittsburgh, the Steel City, is home to Don Cappa, a band that pays tribute to the burgh, the metal, and the awesomeness of both with “Steel City Metal.” Their lone single, issued in 1987 with only 300 copies released, sounds like the work of some serious steel driving men, with a drummer who might’ve forgotten to wear a hard hat one too many times on the construction site.
The Beast has more of a punk feel to their aggressive “Enemy Ace” track from the 4-song Power Metal EP from 1983 — something like Dr. Know meets D.O.A. But their look, artwork and lyrics all prove that Heavy Metal is where their hearts lie. And this hook filled monster delivers repeated lines like, “I command them all in my lofty realm,” with commendable conviction.
Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, debuting in 1984 is not to be confused with Dead Silence from Denver, Colorado, who also debuted in 1984. The former a workman’s hard rock bar band, the latter a political peace punk band and neither knowing of the other’s existence throughout their tenure. The pre-internet days were a marvel, indeed.This Dead Silence spits out a slick, Nugent tinged rocker called “Can’t Stop” about life on the road.
The Danger Zone is, by all accounts, not the place to be. And, Hazardous Waste of Boston, MA saw fit to add their two cents on the matter with this 1986 single that combines Van Halen’s flashy musicianship with NWOBHM aggression that sounds so awesome it teeters on itself entering the “Danger Zone.”
Czar’s heavy, doomy “Iron Curtain” single from 1982 hearkens to the sleazy sounds of Saint Vitus and Pentagram with its cranked up DOD Distortion pedal in a Peavey combo amp guitar tone and meaty, barking vocals. The upstate NY quintet only issued this 2-song single, but its driving rhythm, nosedive whammy-bar guitar solos and comparatively mature Cold War subject matter show they had real potential.
Not much is known about Real Steel’s majestic “Viking Queen” from 1987, other than it rocks hard and the 7” 45 sells for upwards of a grand on the collectors market. The Flint, Michigan band recorded at the home studio of local radio personality Bill Lamb, who primarily released Christian Gospel recordings. So, perhaps the band was struck down by a bolt of lightning shortly after this rare single’s release. Whatever the case may be, it’s a must have for fans of classic metal mayhem.

clear vinyl / incl. poster

The music of Parallax is part of the foundation of Zodiak Commune Records since 1998. With ZC002 - Sinister Projects EP- and ZC005 - Occult Technology EP, Parallax created timeless underground anthems which are being reflected in the Archive EP. With previously unreleased live recordings, this EP is a well-preserved document of the past whilst being relevant in today's underground techno and acid scene. Parallax his live set was recorded at the legendary "old" Effenaar (Acid City Eindhoven, The Netherlands) while the Zodiak Commune's 10th anniversary was being celebrated. With its massive and no-nonsense acid-techno sound, Parallax transformed the dancefloor into a vortex, fueling up people with positive energy while taking them on his musical journey. A nostalgic journey that will make you crave for more timeless underground bliss! With 2002 Live Pt1 being over 12 minutes long a true story is being told. Enjoy this fine release of the purest acid-techno around!

2003 Live Pt1
A dark entrance, heavy basses that make the roof rattle, the smell of stale beer and sweaty people who all seem to speak another language but listen to the same... Those of seemingly soulless beats, but which ultimately take you closer to one self and each other than most religions have managed to realize...
Enjoy 12:30 minutes of storytelling!

1998
Clashing raw 303's, brutal beats colliding mid-air, ear piercing percussion. The soundtrack of the battle of 1998 is all but merciful, sending shivers down your spine.

2003 Live Pt2
Time seizes to exist. Beats provide the energy needed on a journey so loud there is no choice but to join. Guided by musicians, they who make you walk but not go anywhere but inside. Rebel minds choose to renounce their disobey, for their worries to be taken far, far away.

The Levellers have been a gang on the road for over thirty years and, unable to tour since early 2020 due to COVID, they were bored.

As the band started to arrive at their home for the last quarter of a century - Metway Studios - to film and record a ‘live in the studio’ set, a second nationwide lockdown was announced, making it impossible for Simon to make the trip down from Scotland…what to do?.

With everyone eager to play, there was no turning back. The band sent Simon their final takes, while he recorded his parts at home.

What you can see and hear on The Lockdown Sessions is the Levellers few people get to witness.

Old friends doing what they do best - having a riot. Of their own. The excitement of being back together is palpable.

The Lockdown Sessions is available on three limited edition coloured vinyl LPs or CD, with each format including a DVD of the full film of the Levellers, live in the studio running through songs from the last album, Peace and some of their greatest hits.

Composer, electronic music innovator, and Pere Ubu's original synthesist Allen Ravenstine returns to Waveshaper Media with the diptych LP (comprised of 1 EP per side) Nautilus / Rue De Poisson Noir, the final two parts in Raventine’s Tyranny of Fiction series. Waveshaper Media first came into contact with Ravenstine when we interviewed him in 2012 for our modular synthesizer documentary I Dream Of Wires.

Nautilus / Rue De Poisson Noir brings together 21 of the prodigious composer’s recent lyrical and abstract compositions collectively comprised of the sounds of analogue and digital synthesizers, alongside traditional acoustic instruments. The first 10 recordings, subtitled Nautilus, are found on Side A of this LP while the second 11, Rue Du Poisson Noir, comprise Side B.

Using a singular blend of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, each track on Nautilus, weaves its own wayward travelogue amidst stray bits of audio verité and wafting musical fragrances—by turns tropical and foreboding. Rue De Poisson Noir takes cues from its fragmentary companion both in palette and approach, slithering between cinematic intrigue, off-brand jazz, avant-garde mischief, and fried electro without ever batting an eye. Together they form a beguiling collection of hyperrealist miniatures that remains strange, restless, inquisitive and — most of all — evocative throughout.

For those in the know, Allen Ravenstine has been one of the most creative synthesizer players of the past forty-plus years. Ravenstine started out in the mid-1970s experimenting in his Cleveland apartment with an analogue EML 200 synthesizer, eventually creating a piece in 1975 that became known as Terminal Drive. While he had no intention of releasing his compositions, word got out about the kind of sounds he was experimenting with, which led to an invitation to join pioneering “avant garage” group Pere Ubu for the recording of the group’s first 45, “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” He soon joined Pere Ubu full-time, bringing to the band’s sound unpredictable textures, effects, bleeps, squalls, pulsating washes of sound—whatever he felt could enhance the soundscape of the band’s performances and recordings.

By the early 1990s, Ravenstine had grown sick of the road, band infighting and the music industry in general. Deciding a change was needed, he opted to forego music altogether, making his living as an airplane pilot. His music career remained in limbo until 2012, when an interview for the I Dream Of Wires documentary, alongside Robert Wheeler who had succeeded him as Pere Ubu’s synthesist, turned into a recording session for the duo, leading to a series of collaborative releases. As well as having his 1975 Terminal Drive recordings released to great acclaim in 2017, Ravenstine has been prolific in recent years, with Nautilus / Rue De Poisson Noir now marking his 4th solo full-length.

Underground coldwave duo The KVB are back
with their most potent and immediate record yet.
Produced and mixed by Andy Savours (Black
Country New Road, My Bloody Valentine, The
Horrors), ‘Unity’ represents an exciting
development in the band’s sonic journey.
 Across the album’s ten songs, The KVB
masterfully pull together their trademark
components; radiant guitars, textural synths and
an ear for a moody, brooding melody all presented
here with a renewed dynamism.
 Throughout the album, lyrical themes combine
double meanings and a sleight of hand is present;
Le Corbousier’s brutalist ‘Unité d’habitation’
informs the title track and via the French-to-English
translation ‘Unité’ becomes ‘Unity’ - a rallying cry to
totality on the dancefloor. ‘Unbound’ is informed by
the classic shoegaze stylings of Slowdive and Ride
but also late-modern poet Keston Sutherland and
the idea of recreating a special moment lost to the
past.
 Black vinyl, housed in a deluxe spined sleeve with
the vinyl itself housed in a double sided printed
inner sleeve. Comes with digital download card
included

‘Gather Up’ is the culmination of ten years on Acid Jazz for Matt Berry.
 ‘Gather Up’ comes as a beautifully packaged 4CD hardback book set with 28 pages of
illustrations and notes or a 5LP box set with a 64-page booklet and certificate of
authenticity signed by Matt.
 ‘Gather Up’ is also available as a standalone 21-track ‘Best Of’ on gatefold CD and red
coloured vinyl double LP.
 The 55 tracks on the 4CD / 5LP sets are split between an anthology compilation that
tracks the very best tracks from his eight albums and associated singles for the label over
the last decade, an album of unreleased tracks and rarities, a demo version of his 2020
album ‘Phantom Birds’ (titled ‘Phantom First’) and the previously unreleased ‘Live At A
Festival’ album, which showcases Matt and his band The Maypoles in full flight.
 The book included in both formats has an extended essay by Chris Catchpole which
reviews Matt’s musical career and an exclusive set of photo images culled from the
archive of Matt’s long time photographic collaborator Ben Meadows.
 Following the huge acclaim earlier this year for Matt Berry’s eighth studio album, ‘The
Blue Elephant’, Acid Jazz release ‘Gather Up’, a compilation album encompassing the
singular musical adventures this extraordinary musician has taken over the past decade,
offering a revelatory and fascinating insight into the working process of a genuine musical
maverick and sonic explorer.
 Over 10 years with Acid Jazz, Berry has released nine incredibly diverse albums
(including one live album). From the tangled-folk rock thickets of ‘Witchazel’ and ‘Kill The
Wolf’ (which features the song from which this release gets its name), to the out-there
explorations of ‘Music For Insomniacs’ or ‘TV Themes’’ retro-kitsch delights, through the
soul power in ‘Matt Berry & The Maypoles Live’ or the twilight grooves of ‘The Small
Hours’ to the classic pedal-steel songwriting of ‘Phantom Birds’ and the smorgasbord of
psychedelic sounds on ‘The Blue Elephant’, Berry’s journey has produced a feast for the
ears that twists and turns down more unexpected avenues than most artists could
manage over several careers.
 ‘Gather Up’ pulls together an excellent career spanning collection expertly compiled by
Berry, including non-album tracks such as ‘Snuff Box Theme’. No easy achievement
considering the sheer breadth, diversity and volume of his exceptional musical output.
















[p] 16 Music for insomniacs [Part 4]

‘Gather Up’ is the culmination of ten years on Acid Jazz for Matt Berry.
 ‘Gather Up’ comes as a beautifully packaged 4CD hardback book set with 28 pages of
illustrations and notes or a 5LP box set with a 64-page booklet and certificate of
authenticity signed by Matt.
 ‘Gather Up’ is also available as a standalone 21-track ‘Best Of’ on gatefold CD and red
coloured vinyl double LP.
 The 55 tracks on the 4CD / 5LP sets are split between an anthology compilation that
tracks the very best tracks from his eight albums and associated singles for the label over
the last decade, an album of unreleased tracks and rarities, a demo version of his 2020
album ‘Phantom Birds’ (titled ‘Phantom First’) and the previously unreleased ‘Live At A
Festival’ album, which showcases Matt and his band The Maypoles in full flight.
 The book included in both formats has an extended essay by Chris Catchpole which
reviews Matt’s musical career and an exclusive set of photo images culled from the
archive of Matt’s long time photographic collaborator Ben Meadows.
 Following the huge acclaim earlier this year for Matt Berry’s eighth studio album, ‘The
Blue Elephant’, Acid Jazz release ‘Gather Up’, a compilation album encompassing the
singular musical adventures this extraordinary musician has taken over the past decade,
offering a revelatory and fascinating insight into the working process of a genuine musical
maverick and sonic explorer.
 Over 10 years with Acid Jazz, Berry has released nine incredibly diverse albums
(including one live album). From the tangled-folk rock thickets of ‘Witchazel’ and ‘Kill The
Wolf’ (which features the song from which this release gets its name), to the out-there
explorations of ‘Music For Insomniacs’ or ‘TV Themes’’ retro-kitsch delights, through the
soul power in ‘Matt Berry & The Maypoles Live’ or the twilight grooves of ‘The Small
Hours’ to the classic pedal-steel songwriting of ‘Phantom Birds’ and the smorgasbord of
psychedelic sounds on ‘The Blue Elephant’, Berry’s journey has produced a feast for the
ears that twists and turns down more unexpected avenues than most artists could
manage over several careers.
 ‘Gather Up’ pulls together an excellent career spanning collection expertly compiled by
Berry, including non-album tracks such as ‘Snuff Box Theme’. No easy achievement
considering the sheer breadth, diversity and volume of his exceptional musical output.
















p 16 Music for insomniacs [Part 4]

Following this year’s hugely successful UK No. 1 album
‘As The Love Continues’ entering the US Billboard Chart
at No. 9, Mogwai went on to be nominated for this year’s
Mercury Music Prize. Now they reissue their 90’s EPs on
vinyl for the first time in over 20 years through Chemikal
Underground.
 Each EP was originally released in limited numbers
between 1997 and 1999 and quickly sold out. Although
packaged as the CD and download compilation album
‘EP+6’, this is the first time ‘4 Satin’, ‘No Education = No
Future (Fuck the Curfew)’ and ‘E.P.’ have been available
on vinyl since the initial pressings.
 A beautiful triple vinyl reissue of the three EPs originally
released in the 1990s, presented in their original artwork
inside a 7mm wide spine outer sleeve.
 ‘4 Satin’: Curacao vinyl, originally released in 1997.
 ‘No Education = No Future (Fuck the Curfew)’: Clear
vinyl, originally released in 1998.
 ‘E.P.’: Sun yellow vinyl, originally released in 1999.
 “I’m incredibly proud of these EPs,” says guitarist and
singer Stuart Braithwaite. “I think they’re interesting as
we were experimenting with so many things back then.
A lot of what we tried out on those records are things
that went on to define us.”
 A long time in the pipeline, Mogwai’s ‘e.p. x 3’ is both an
illuminating document for fans who came to the group in
more recent years and an essential purchase for
collectors of the group’s music on vinyl.

Richard Dawson is the diminutive Geordie troubadour
whose moving songs have been described as state-ofthe-nation addresses, even - or perhaps especially -
when he’s singing about pre-medieval peasants. Circle
are the genre-straddling pioneers of The New Wave Of
Finnish Heavy Metal, known for wearing spandex or
dead fish onstage and singing in a made-up language.
 Together they are… Richard Dawson & Circle! ‘Henki’
is their epic joint record. It might seem a departure to
those who are most familiar with Dawson from recent
solo albums like 2017’s ‘Peasant’ and ‘2020’ (released
in 2019). In fact, ‘Henki’ fits comfortably into the bigger
picture of two acts who have always strived for
uninhibited originality.
 Easily the greatest flora-themed hypno-folk-metal
record you’ll hear this year, ‘Henki’ adds an electrifying
new chapter to the remarkable story of each act,
marking the beginning of a beautiful partnership.
 CD in printed inner wallet with 12-page booklet.
 Double LP in printed inner sleeves plus digital
download card.

With governments finally admitting that UFOs do in fact exist, and humanity attempting to heal from a state of recent crisis, the timing couldn’t be more appropriate for the newest addition to the HYPOCRISY catalog: WORSHIP, due to be released Fall 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. Aptly titled, the album cover shows a mass of humans reaching up mindlessly to the sky as glowing spaceships shaped like the HYPOCRISY crosses sigil beam down to descend upon earthen civilizations and Mayan temples. Designed by artist Blake Armstrong (Kataklysm, In Flames, Carnifex, etc.), WORSHIP’s artwork speaks to the history of the relationship between humanity and extraterrestrials. “They’re coming back to collect,” explains founder and HYPOCRISY mastermind Peter Tägtgren.
A track entitled CHEMICAL WHORE breaches the subject of pharmaceutical addiction, and those who engineer it. “We are all chemical whores. We regularly consume prescriptions and drugs because we think we need it; we use one pill to heal the damage done by another medicine... it’s a vicious cycle.” Musically, it’s the only song that was written by all 3 core members of the band and translates into a recognizable, mid-tempo HYPOCRISY sound much like ERASER or FRACTURED MILLENIUM. Traveling from Sweden to Russia, the band also shot an official music video for CHEMICAL WHORE.
The DEAD WORLD music was written by Peter Tägtgren’s son, Sebastian. “We actually started to write an album together, something like 11 or 12 songs, but we never put any vocals in there and we just sort of set it aside. Then when I started writing HYPOCRISY I realized I really liked the song… it feels fresh. I think my kid got some new blood in there.” While the song comes equipped with a modern feel, the writing is still old fashioned at its core. Going into detail about the illuminati and black ops government, the lyrics examine how miserable these figureheads and theories can make us. “Call it fantasy, call it sci-fi, there are plenty of conspiracies in the world but I find these ones interesting,” explains Tägtgren.
GREEDY BASTARDS is another track outlined by simplicity and catchiness. Chugging riffs encapsulate a sound that almost verges on the realms of thrash while still keeping its feet firmly planted in the world of death metal. The lyrics touch on the greed and methods of control that we see various governments around the world today; how they manipulate people against one another and abuse the masses.
For Tägtgren, the inspiration to write new HYPOCRISY comes in waves. “I believe we were out on tour for another project and I began to get hungry again. I started spitting out some new riffs and when I had 7-8 songs done, I invited the rest of the guys to join me and contribute, and from there we started putting everything together. We had a break for a few months, continued recording, went back on tour… it never stops. There was a lot of jumping back and forth, and then COVID came and things got really weird.”
Tägtgren was one of the many musically inclined who was forced into sudden isolation upon the onset of COVID 19, only for Tägtgren, this is common practice when creating new songs. “A lot of things in the world stopped, and it was time to finish everything I hadn’t finished.” As usual, all recording and mixing took place at Tägtgren’s home studio in Sweden.
It has been 8 long years since the last record, and HYPOCRISY fans can feel the itch. WORSHIP is 11 tracks of precise, ferocious musicianship. Commonly inspired by the fusion of the modern and the ancient, HYPOCRISY has once more found a way to combine innovative ideas with classic sound in order to deliver something metalheads can enjoyably consume with awe and brutal vigor. HYPOCRISY is Peter Tägtgren (Lead Guitar & Vocals), Mikael Hedlund (Bass Guitar), and Reidar “Horgh” Horghagen (Drums).

You Should Be Here, the 2015 follow-up to debut mixtape Cloud 19 from Bay Area-born two-time GRAMMY Award-nominated multiplatinum songstress Kehlani, is out on vinyl on November 26th.

The 15-track mixtape, available as a physical vinyl, includes the hugely popular tracks “The Way”, “You Should Be Here” and “Jealous”, with appearances on the album from Chance the Rapper, BJ The Chicago Kid, Lexii Alijai & Coucheron. After bowing at #5 on the Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart and at #1 on the iTunes Top R&B Albums Chart, the mixtape garnered a 2016 Grammy Award nod for “Best Urban Contemporary Album”. Upon release, Pitchfork praised how, “You Should Be Here’s dynamism and generosity is something to be amazed by,” while Billboard proclaimed it, “The year’s first great R&B album.” It landed on Complex’s “Best Albums of 2015,” Noisey’s “50 Best Albums of 2015,” and Rolling Stone’s “20 Best R&B Albums of 2015.”
Critically acclaimed R&B pop songstress Kehlani is praised by Complex as “a special talent, making the kind of personal music that speaks to her fans as much as it functions as a therapeutic release for her”. It doesn’t really need an explanation – you know exactly what Kehlani means when she sings. Without sugarcoating or softening a word, she will drop a hard truth in one breath and flip a middle finger in the next. She may extend a seductive invitation or an empathetic plea before leaving you in your thoughts and feelings. Either way, she finds a way to consistently relate without filter and with each move she strengthens this connection to listeners everywhere.

This is a Limited Edition Yellow & Red Splatter Vinyl version of Slade’s first soundtrack album and fifth studio album Slade In Flame.
Originally released on 29th November 1974, it entered the UK album chart at #6 and it was certified gold by the BPI in February 1975.

Slade were unstoppable throughout the seventies becoming one of Europe's biggest bands, releasing 6 smash hit albums, including three UK No-1’s, a run of 17 consecutive Top 20 singles and their hits are synonymous with the glam era.

Whether it be on the banks of the Mississippi River or deep in the heart of the English countryside, rock 'n' roll lives, breathes, and burns on the outskirts. Hailing from Rome, GA, at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, The Georgia Thunderbolts rise up with a scorching signature style steeped in soulful southern swagger. On, Can We Get A Witness, their full-length debut for Mascot Records, the quintet—TJ Lyle vocals, harp, piano, Riley Couzzourt [guitar], Logan Tolbert [guitar], Zach Everett [bass, keys], and Bristol Perry [drums]—conjure a tried-and-true spirit through a fresh fire.
“We all grew up on rock music,” Riley says. “Rock ‘n’ roll comes back around, but longevity depends on grinding it out. That’s what we want to do. We try to put in the work our favorite bands did. If I could think of three words to describe us, they would be ‘Hardworking, Determined, and Humble’.”




Gigging tirelessly, they cut their teeth by playing with Black Stone Cherry, The Kentucky Headhunters, Blackberry Smoke, Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Molly Hatchet and The Cadillac Three. The band began when Bristol and Riley initially bonded over rock ‘n’ roll in high school. By sophomore year, they had a regular jam schedule, and eventually joined up Zack, TJ, and Logan to round out the group. They share a wide swath of inspirations, ranging from southern gospel to Hank Williams, Jr., Neil Young, Little Feet, Waylon Jennings, Ray Charles, Merle Haggard to the hard rock of Ozzy Osbourne, Audioslave, Bad Company and of course, The Allman Brothers & Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The band recorded at the iconic Barrick Recording Studio in Glasgow, KY, with producer Richard Young. The album comprises of thirteen undeniable anthems, beginning with opener “Take It Slow.” Distilling whisky-soaked riffs, wild harmonica, and pulse-pounding drums into a simmering groove, it struts out of the gate with confidence and charisma. “There’s a message to what we’re doing,” Bristol leaves off. “It’s okay to be yourself. If you’re going through hard times, the music will always be there. We’d love to remind everyone of that.” The Georgia Thunderbolts embody the blue-collar working man who has put their foot down on the accelerator towards the rock ‘n roll American dream.

"‘Arise, Dan Sartain, Arise’, the latest studio album by America’s infamous rock ‘n’ roll troubadour Dan Sartain, will be released by One Little Independent Records. Made up of thirteen wickedly wisecracking, vintage surf-rock bangers, this concise and classic record incorporates everything that’s made Dan Sartain the genres favourite underdog over the last two decades.
Seeped in obsidian black humour with tracks like ‘Glasses Houses’, ‘Rooster In The Henhouse’ and ‘I Heard Laughing’ ruthlessly calling out those who would slight him while also riding the hard line of self-awareness, the biting witticism of these tracks pair wonderfully with the playful tone of Sartain’s slick-back dark doo-wop. Elsewhere on the likes of ‘True Love’ and ‘Fires and Floods’ the crooner gets a chance to flex his punk muscles, pushing the guitars further into distorted territory taking the late 50s garage-rock influence via the late 70s in much the same way The Ramones and The Damned did. But we’re transported right back again when Sartain slows down for ballad standouts such as ‘Kisses In The Morning’ and ‘Personal Injury Law’. Throughout ‘Arise, Dan Sartain, Arise’ searing surf guitars intertwine with beautifully haunted organ jabs, with rhythms pulled straight from saloon bars way out west, and cheeky wink-to-the-camera lyrical whimsy."

Recommended if you like: Chet Baker, Norah Jones, Kamasi Washington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Wild Nothing, DIIV, Kevin Krauter. "improvisational jazz, classical music, and Stereolab... his songwriting owes more to loop-based composition than garage-bound woodshedding." – Pitchfork // Inspired by a love of artists such as Bill Evans, Lester Young, Chet Baker and Vince Guaraldi, Dustin Payseur reimagines some of his greatest hits from the Beach Fossils catalog alongside a group of formally trained jazz musicians. A rich and mellow mix of piano, saxophone, upright bass and brushed drums explore the contours of familiar songs, soaring Payseur’s melancholic harmonies to new heights.

Recommended if you like: Chet Baker, Norah Jones, Kamasi Washington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Wild Nothing, DIIV, Kevin Krauter. "improvisational jazz, classical music, and Stereolab... his songwriting owes more to loop-based composition than garage-bound woodshedding." – Pitchfork // Inspired by a love of artists such as Bill Evans, Lester Young, Chet Baker and Vince Guaraldi, Dustin Payseur reimagines some of his greatest hits from the Beach Fossils catalog alongside a group of formally trained jazz musicians. A rich and mellow mix of piano, saxophone, upright bass and brushed drums explore the contours of familiar songs, soaring Payseur’s melancholic harmonies to new heights.

LP is limited to 1000 copies, black vinyl. Swansea Sound started in the middle of lockdown. They realised that fast, loud, joyous, angry indie-pop punk was the answer to being stuck indoors. Who needs introspection? Hue Williams is reunited with Pooh Sticks partner Amelia Fletcher (ex- Talulah Gosh, Heavenly). Rob Pursey (also ex-Heavenly) and Ian Button (Wreckless Eric’s live collaborator) provide the noise. Swansea Sound are the fast, acerbic and joyous past, present and future of indie. Four of the tracks were released as singles, all of them now impossible to obtain. ‘Corporate Indie Band’ was a limited edition cassette, ‘I Sold My Soul on eBay’ was a one-off lathe cut that got auctioned on eBay (with a £400 winning bid), ‘Indies of the World’ was a 7” inch single that briefly hit the UK physical charts, but immediately sold out and plummeted back out again. And then there was ‘Swansea Sound’: a requiem for a lost radio station; an anti-corporate lament - another limited edition cassette single. First track Rock N Roll Void gives a three minute revision session, just in case you’ve forgotten about The Ramones, The Kinks, The Buzzcocks and the brief explosion of indie noise pollution of 1986. Some of the songs are reflexive – ‘Swansea Sound’ and ‘The Pooh Sticks’. (Who else was going to write a tribute to The Pooh Sticks?) Others are searching for hope in the digital desert – ‘Let It Happen’, ‘I’m OK When You’re Around’, ‘Pasadena’, ‘Angry Girl’. ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ is pure pop throwaway fun. The others songs are dead catchy too, they just happen to express a sickness and a contempt for the state of things. ‘Corporate Indie Band’ is about a group who have mortgaged their creativity to a major label and sold their identities to an online marketing team of public schoolboys. Freedom of Speech takes a look at three contemporary ‘alternative’ music stars and considers how they’ve responded to BLM, the pandemic and the rise of right-wing populism. ‘Like self-serving arseholes’, is the unfortunate answer. (You won’t struggle to work out who the three ‘alternative’ stars are.) Swansea Sound took their name from a well-loved local radio station when it was given a corporate makeover in 2020. They even used the radio station’s abandoned logo. Like the indiepunk pop songs, something modern acidic and angry has taken up residence in a familiar, borrowed frame. You can throw yourself around to Swansea Sound like it’s 1986, but if you catch the lyrics you’ll remember you’re in 2021. (Sorry about that.) The Rum Puncheon, a notorious pub in Swansea, closed down decades ago.

Hedvig Mollestad must surely be one of the hardest working musicians on the Norwegian music scene at the moment, with “Tempest Revisited” being her third album in a mere 18 months, all at a consistently high artistic level. Her first solo album, “Ekhidna” (2020), received a Spellemannpris (Norwegian Grammy), appeared on several jazz and rock best of the year lists and got her into Downbeat´s “25 for the future” selection. “Tempest Revisited” draws lines back to 1998 and the very beginning of Rune Grammofon. This was the year we released “Electric”, the collected electronic works of Arne Nordheim, one of Norway´s greatest composers. It was also the year when parts of “The Tempest”, possibly his most cherished and well-known work, was chosen to be performed at the opening of Parken, the new cultural house in Ålesund, birthplace of Hedvig Mollestad. To celebrate 20 years, the culture house was ready for a new storm, and the first name that came to them was Hedvig, a local artist that was already making waves on the international scene with her power-trio. Hedvig took inspiration from the front of the house, adorned with Nordheim´s score for “The Tempest”, at the same time making a direct connection to the sometime heavy weather conditions of this coastal area in the northwest part of Norway. One could say it´s a big paradox that over all this might be Hedvig´s most lyrical and less aggressive collection of music. On the other hand it´s quite a dynamic record, lots of light and shade and enough sonic parts at work to evoke the elements, the mighty Gran Cassa drum only one of them. The music included here was adapted from the initial performance in 2018 and produced by Hedvig in the studio the following year for this album release. The musicians included are old friends Marte Eberson from the Ekhidna band, Ivar Loe Bjørnstad from her trio and Trond Frønes (Red Kite) on bass as well as three sax players. Yet another triumph in a more than impressive discography.

Lady Wray releases an instant classic two-sider with two certified bangers from her forthcoming album 'Piece Of Me'. Side A is the in your face, head nodding, "Through It All". A tune that rips out of the speaker from the first snare crack with Nicole's pitched up and infectious chorus. The tried and true chemistry of Lady Wray and producer Leon Michels is on full display here as they push the envelope of current R&B and Soul making a stark declaration of why they are out in front of the pack of any of their peers. Nicole sings a song about dedication through the ups and downs on a track that has so much energy it is sure to move crowds around the globe. Side B, "Under The Sun" is a feel good homage to the sun and summertime. Lady Wray encapsulates all things good and lovely about warm weather and where it puts our minds. The infectious good vibes of the tune will change your attitude and have you turning the volume knob up while the earworm choruses will stay on the tip of your tongue long after the song ends. Also Available From Lady Wray: Piece Of Me 7”, Guilty 7”, Queen Alone (Instrumentals)

This is a new project out of the Harmonious Thelonious camp. It´s stripped down, dub infused, harmony driven danceable music with deep basslines, chords and dub effects. Should be checked out live on a heavy sound system!! The sequencer is the weapon of choice!!!

Tape

SectorSept’s ‘954’ is a boldly original record, one which announces the arrival of a singular musical mind. Its creator states that he crafted this EP by trying to make tracks that were ‘a representation of how I believe music would sound in some distant land in the future’. On ‘954’ this vision takes flight in the form of eight multifaceted, genre-defying electronic productions.

To unpack this record one must first understand the myriad influences which feed into SectorSept’s style. The producer grew up between the UK and Florida - indeed, the record’s title references the area code he had while in the USA. His formative years were spent soaking in the dancehall sounds he heard around him in his Jamaican household as well as techno, jazz, Miami bass and the city’s ‘Love 94 Smooth Jazz’ radio station.

All of this and more can be heard in the fabric of ‘954’. The drum programming alone reveals SectorSept to be someone with extremely wide-ranging musical tastes. Cuts such as ‘Get Ready For The Programme’ and ‘Be There’ are powered by deft beats that have Miami bass, Jersey Club, juke and more in their make-up. Drexciya-adjacent machine-funk creeps into the mix in ‘954’s mid-section, ‘Golden Third Eye’ touches on trap, and closing duo ‘Tropic Universe’ and ‘Prize’ bring dancehall dembows to the fore.

The productions of ‘954’ are simultaneously driving and chilled, coasting nicely yet still plumbed with enough bite to do damage on the dancefloor. It’s a feeling which is heightened by SectorSept’s gorgeous textural work. Several of the tracks here soften up collages of vocal clips with wistful, dreamy synths - see the way that club-caller snippets orbit Boards Of Canada-esque keys on ‘Get Ready For The Programme’ or how closing cut ‘Prize’ works both the classic Warp/Planet Mu sound and the pitched-down stylings of DJ Screw. It’s a rich and fully-formed artistic aesthetic, something which is all the more impressive when you consider that ‘954’ is SectorSept’s first official release.

That said, while the overall flavour of ‘954’ is SectorSept’s and SectorSept’s alone, one also finds links to Gobstopper’s previous output here. Those dancehall influences on ‘Tropic Universe’ and ‘Prize’ line the record up with Gobstopper drops like Otik’s ‘Thousand Year Stare’ while the emotive, soulful synth work that has long been a Gobstopper calling card is also in evidence here. Perhaps the thing about ‘954’ which makes it feel most at home on Mr. Mitch’s label is SectorSept’s imaginative futurism. SectorSept is a keen scholar of anime composers Kenji Kawai and Joe Hisaishi, and as such it is no surprise that there is a slightly fantastical quality to ‘954’. This is most boldly expressed on ‘Intuition Segment’, a magic-realist vignette which looks to Oneohtrix Point Never.

Blending ethereal textures with hybrid electronic grooves, SectorSept’s ‘954’ EP uses the sounds, influences and cultural experiences that have shaped its creator in order to build a vibrant vision of the future.

To write these few lines, we spoke to saxophonist François Jeanneau, an old friend of Jacques Thollot who also played on several of his albums, including the “Watch Devil Go” which interests us here. He told us a story which, according to him, sums up the personality of Thollot. A noted studio had reserved three days for a Thollot recording session. The first morning was devoted to sound checks and putting some order in the score sheets which Jacques would hand out in a somewhat anarchic manner. Then everyone went for lunch. When the musicians returned to the studio, Thollot had disappeared. He wasn’t seen again for the three days. When he reappeared, he had already forgotten why he had left, The music of Jacques Thollot is in the image of its’ author: it takes you somewhere, suddenly escapes and disappears, returning in an unexpected place as if nothing had happened.

Four years after a first album on the Futura label in 1971, Jacques Thollot returned, this time on the Palm label of Jef Gilson, still with just as much surrealist poetry in his jazz. In thirty-five minutes and a few seconds, the French composer and drummer, who had been on the scene since he was thirteen, established himself as a link between Arnold Schoenberg and Don Cherry. Resistant to any imposed framework and always excessive, Thollot allows himself to do anything and everything: suspended time of an extraordinary delicacy, a stealthy explosion of the brass section, hallucinatory improvisation of the synthesisers, tight writing, teetering on the classical, and in the middle of all that, a hit; the title-track - that Madlib would one day end up hearing and sampling.

“Watch Devil Go” was in the right place in the Palm catalogue, which welcomed the cream of the French avant-garde in the 70s. But it is also the story of a long friendship between two men. Jacques Thollot and Jef Gilson had known and respected one another for a long time. Though barely sixteen years old, Thollot was already on drums on the first albums by Gilson starting in 1963 and would play in his big band (alongside François Jeanneau once again), ‘Europamerica’, until the end of the 70s.

In a career lasting half a century and centred on freedom Jacques Thollot played with the most important experimental musicians (Don Cherry, Sonny Sharrock, Michel Roques, Barney Wilen, Steve Lacy, François Tusques, Michel Portal, Jac Berrocal, Noël Akchoté...) and they all heard in him a pulsation coming from another world. (Jérôme "Kalcha" Simonneau)

Permanent pressing of 20th anniversary of U2’s 10th studio album All That You Can’t Leave Behind. Remastered studio album, pressed on 180g black vinyl and cut across four sides. Comes with 20 page 12” x 12” booklet and download card.

LIMITED ICE BLUE VINYL

On Delta, a dozen artists across four continents freely interpret Fountain across a double LP, again featuring Donna Huanca’s surreal artwork, and the unearthly graphic manipulations of Nufolklore Studios. Remaining faithful to Fountain’s presentation, Lyra’s curation reflects her commitment to stylistic diversity, with the old guard and the next wave alongside each other. Where some artists chose to rework existing works, others composed new material from fragments found across the record. The results showcase the very themes of wordless identity conflict and technological concerns that Lyra and her foremothers have projected.

the limitless highs of Sigur Ros and the steady pulse of The Knife. KMRU cloaks Lyra in a hazy film, soundtracking the depths of space embedded within the ghosts of jungle past. Gabber Modus Operandi expose the realities of artificial nature in a multicoloured rave dystopia. Eris Drew’s double opus takes the tenets of her philosophies into both ambient and peaktime expressions of the trip, the things that lead to the decision before, and the portals that can open up after.
Ben Frost dissolves Cradle’s deep and tremulous hymn in analogue warble, distressed tape spooling out of control and breaking up over the heavens, while remaining oddly serene. Heaven In Stereo conjures up post-rock with trap drums out of Gossip, buried in bass weight and dub space. Nailah Hunter and Tygapaw transform New Moon into an earthbound ode to nature and a pounding trance state induction, while Caterina Barbieri and Hudson Mohawke extract and amplify Tendril’s mind and soul. Vessel takes what feels like the entire album and builds it up to a frantic climax before subsuming into Enoesque pastoralia.
Alongside Delta, Lyra has collaborated with Spitfire Audio to develop Siren Songs, a free plug-in for their LABS series made from playable samples from Fountain, able to work across DAWs in multiple formats. By removing barriers to access, the listener can craft their own responses to the album’s themes, or use its language to express their innermost feelings in their own works.
Life and society emerge where water tessellates over land and provides fertile soil. The chances of evolution that made them interact as they did could have had meaningful environmental consequences had things developed differently. For Lyra Pramuk, that fertile geology provides the ground for her albums. Fountain was that burst of water and swell of energy that propelled her to critical acclaim. Delta is a new take on a traditional remix album, centred on transgenerational dialogue and global storytelling, and will be released again via Iceland’s Bedroom Community label. Projecting Fountain through prisms, wordless songs fractalize into lush creations that blossom with new life.
The ability to have such sheer diversity of material in one place is thanks to the global increase in accessible technologies, fueling an explosion of creativity and genre exploration that was thought of as unthinkable in our lifetimes. Like its namesake, Delta is a point where creative flows meet and triangulate, where global and personal folk histories are presented in novel ways, where transcultural collaboration is celebrated, where many worlds emerge from the depths below.
RIYL: The Knife, Spacetime Continuum, Lorenzo Senni, the soundtrack to Planete Sauvage, 3:45 AM by the front left speaker, 7:45 AM as light pours in and everything winds down.

Having further honed his craft, Reuben Vaun Smith returns to
Soundway Records with a sonic odyssey through lo-fi Balearic
and Afro-Caribbean influenced synth.
Heralded as one of the best summer releases of 2020 (Beat
Caffeine), ‘Warm Nights’ introduced his unique blend
of synth-based balearic grooves, mid-tempo lo-fi beats,
and sun-drenched sonic landscapes. A lush debut and an
inspiring story of resilience from the former football promise
that turned to music production serendipitously after an injury
halted his career.
Smith’s second album continues his exploration into
improvised live instruments and programming, while
venturing into new territories of music-making and genres
including soca, benga and trip hop. Also sliding into the mix
are organic sounds and riffs reminiscent of 2000s Villalobos
sunrise scorchers such as ‘Waiworinao’, keeping the Balearic
thread firmly present throughout the album.
Having learned to sail along the southern coast of Spain in
the last year, Smith spent a winter locked down in Yorkshire,
channeling summer memories into his music and drawing
influences from his own record collection which he would
play everyday in the studio. With a few local friends and his
brother to jam with, the result is dreamy and lo-fi, with more
guitar-led melodies, distant vocals and lush pads.
Smith’s debut album from 2020, ‘Warm Nights’, received an
array of rave reviews and support from DJs including Tom
Ravenscroft, Antal and Bill Brewster. One year later, with
‘Sounds From The Workshop’ Reuben Vaun Smith delivers
a matured, varied sound and a glimpse into his incredible
future potential.

Dutch veteran Ekman bring his distorted signature sound to Lifeforms with two heavy, spaced out and acidic electro tracks. Digital download included.


Support from: Alienata, Filmaker, Miley Serious, Chupacabras, DVS NME, AETYECK,

Bill Withers created mellow, downhome-style soul for barely more than a decade before electively retreating from the industry to pursue craftsman interests. Yet over the course of the handful of albums he made for Sussex and CBS, the Appalachian native struck lasting emotional chords in legends ranging from Booker T. Jones to Stephen Stills—not to mention the millions of listeners that fell under the spell of now-standard tracks such as “Lean on Me,” “Use Me,” and “Ain’t No Sunshine.” The antithesis of the sweaty R&B shouter that prowled the edge of stages, Withers dealt in calm and vulnerability. Serving as a template for modern British soul contemporaries like Sam Smith and an extension of the timeless fare explored by Van Morrison, Curtis Mayfield, and Al Green, Bill Withers’ Greatest Hits belongs in every music lover’s library.



Mobile Fidelity’s reissues of the 1981 compilation provide a transparent view of Withers’ relaxing timbre and the subtle grooves underlining his arrangements. Characteristics ranging from the tension of the guitars, funky bends of the bass, whisper-soft coo of the formal strings, airiness of the backing harmonies, and sharpness of the snare drum emerge with utmost clarity and lifelike presence. Always prized for its naked honesty and pure conviction, Withers’ music positively caresses the senses on this LP and SACD, the unadulterated production and beautiful soundscapes revealed anew with each listen. You won’t find a better-sounding roots R&B collection.

For a year, in 2015, Matthew Sage (aka M. Sage) cataloged near-daily recordings made with a very narrow creative constraint; electric guitar and a few pedals, all recorded and mixed directly to cassette 4-track. Eschewing the often complex studio gadgetry and computer editing that he relies on for his primary project, Free Dust became a respite that offered room for technique to fall away and for pure expression to surface. He collected and released more than two-and-a-half hours of this material throughout the year as quarterly digital downloads; this body of work was then re-released as a double-CD in 2019 on his now-defunct label Patient Sounds. Now, Past Inside the Present presents a new collection of Free Dust material, the first proper LP for this project.

Swallow this: Part 4 of the Running Back various artists series here and as always, there is no long reading needed: 5 tracks by 5 different producers with different backgrounds and experiences. All somehow fit together and paint a bigger picture between remodeled deep house techniques and floor mechanics.
Yungruzt feat Eluize opens the dance with the emo-house poem Starlight. The young man managed to deliver a transcendental masterpiece that is best used for coming up - or down, if you will. A Human Connection is being made next by Baldo. Imagined and made for high times, the Barcelona mainstay applies a tried and tested formula isn’t failing here either: 303 morse codes, break beats and an on going automated voice message do the trick. The man like 9th House goes back to the deep with the yearning and beautifully composed piece Ara, while Tiger & Woods co-author Delphi trades the boogie and disco tropes for heartfelt piano house. Last but not least, new talent Signal Mute pushes it over the finishing line with another tearjerker. Shared joy is double joy!

It’s all in a haze…

Time and life has happened and memories fade. These recordings were made in 1991 and 1992 when we were proudly surfing our mid teens and spending enormous amounts of time in the studio. Every weekend was spent upstairs at Zwarre’s house with analogue synths, VHS sessions watching splatter movies and Psychic TV’s ”8Transmissions8”, going through the Paul Kelday and Sound of Pig cassettes, reading zines to find out more about bands and labels operating the experimental music world, and dreaming about a life away.

Alvars Orkester had been going since ’87 and we had lost a few members so we were down to a duo. We had gone from being kind of all over the place, to investigating how sound affect your mind, and narrow it down. Recording together were magic moments, and it did change me to whoever I am today. These vague memories are dear to me.

Joachim Nordwall, Brännö, August 9th 2021

With a string of releases as Garage Shelter and as of last year, alongside Hardrock Striker as Bleu Blanc House, Signal St. returns to line up his first LP with SKYLAX.Laden with indecipherable disco and funk samples, emotive chord changes and clocking in at one hour, it’s fully fledged dance album with no filler, showing what contemporary house music should sound like in 2018 on a label that has always pushed the genre. The album wanders through a range of functions and energies, from One For You on which Signal St. channels Moodymann, Life Aquatic, where the looping styles of Moomin play centre to a dance of whispy 808 symbols and the percussive workout of Right Next To Me which gives way to the album’s final act. Though club-ready and touching on a range of moods, it evolves from its from its disco/funk beginnings and descending into a 10-minute downtempo finale, swallowed by an abyss of reverb. Like an explosive separation of two people, thrown from the plains of heaven to the depths of hell, “Zapoï and other dysfunctional love stories, closing the loops” pulls together the many faces of Signal St. in a dance album that reflects a young producer entering his prime.that will delight both fans of the purest house but also those whose scrolls of Romanian raresh bewitch. It's clearly another piece of art to add to your skylax records collection. Future classic. !

SIM CARD HØLDER is not a band. It is the hybrid child of Ian Bruner, Drone Operatør and Gajek. It's procreation date is hard to pin down, but it started 2020 with an Insta chat and one of Ian's piano improvisations recorded in his Colorado living room. From there the album grew in separated covid lockdown wombs at three different locations in Germany. Ian's shadowy instrumentation of light piano and heavily layered and long believed to be dead soundscapes were digested, replanted and grown-over by Drone Operatør's and Gajek's uncompromising and individual sense for song structures and sounds. When finally all body parts were assembled in early 2021 the baby was already fluent in different languages.

Sim Card Hølder grows slowly while meandering through dense and open fields. It switches from calm and dreamy moods to wild fractured outbursts without fragmenting into the arbitrary. A raw spiritual power keeps every part connected and in perfect motion. Each song is a portal into multiple universes that suck you in on thick piano carpets, sharp saxophone spikes and buzzing quadcopter wings, warming insect intestines, blasting raw drums and slow healing winds, screeching synth rhymes, dissonant orchestral tales and floating blue melodies. It's a demanding ride but thoroughly deeply relaxing. The perfect soundtrack to rewind your mind.











k 11: Alone_ (rendered altitude) [feat. Drone Operatør & Ian Bruner]

This is a special one. Very much indeed. I was on a train on my way to Galicia earlier this year when my phone started off. It was Mike. Me and him exchange a call every now and then, so I thought it was the classic how-you-doing thing, which of course was. Only that this time the call ended with him saying “I’ve emailed you something, a couple of vocal takes plus the only music line that survived that session which is some great drumming by Gad”. Nothing more. Gad (scratches head)? Who the hell is Gad? When I arrived at destination and found some steady wifi connection I downloaded the stuff and found out “who the hell” Gad was. Nothing less than the “most recorded drummer in the history of soul music” aka James “Big Foot” Gadson who, beside the Kirklands, in his career has been drumming for the likes of Marvin Gaye, Charles Wright, Bill Withers, The Temptations, Martha Reeves, Quincy Jones, you name a Soul Star or a famous album, or a legendary recording session, he was there beating snares and kicks. Having been much satisfied by our work on the “Love Scenario” release Mike wanted us, and I quote him literally, “to do our magic”. We did our best of course, but you just can imagine the pressure. This time we went the extra mile though because at some point, listening again and again to the verses and choruses I figured out it would have been a great experiment to give an ultra retro feel to an original recording of 1980. So, while we were doing our thing I’ve asked my mate Paul from Blue Lotus Recordings in Saint Louis, if they could “do their magic” themselves. They gladly accepted the challenge, I handed them over the vocal takes and Gad’s drumming and the result is this 4 tracks 7”/33 rpm biscuit which we hope you will enjoy as much as we all have enjoyed producing it.

Proximity is a 12-track album of richly textured and 100% analog electronic music that will appeal to fans of Daniel Avery, Andy Stott, Jon Hopkins and Max Cooper. Whilst the debut release from DEFSET - the producer has spent many years experimenting with electronic music & equipment and the album demonstrates a mastery in using modular synthesizers and outboard gear to create a pallet of evolving melodies over syncopated, glitched out rhythms - resulting in a deeply accomplished sonic blend of immersive techno and atmospheric electronic music.

The album features singles including 'Deadlines' - a dark & brooding pitched down slice of menacing techno; the airy and light 'Shira2', a piece of dreamy electronica that dances over a shuffling backbeat; 'Bathtime' - a unique piece of slo-mo dub-techno featuring live bass and instrumentation inter-woven with trance-like vocals and the tough & atmospheric 'HoneySwede'.

By way of some cosmic miracle, only one Total Hell pops up
when the band moniker is searched on Discogs. And that would
be the band responsible for the five-song blast of heavy metal
sounds at hand. Now active for about two years plus change
and exported from the very metal and punk fertile New Orleans,
Total Hell is DD Deth (aka Drew Owen—Sick Thoughts
wheelman, Trampoline Team etc) on drums / vocals, Henry
Hell (John Henry of Static Static, Heavy Lids) on bass / vocals,
and guitarists Jason “Panzer” Craft (Persuaders, Tirefire) and
Michael Maniac (Michael He-man of Trampoline Team).
If self-deprecation is beyond the listener’s processing skills,
then please know that as self-described purveyors of the “New
Wave of Shitty Heavy Metal”, Total Hell’s big-boy debut is
not “shitty” in any manner whatsoever. These four recordings
(“Desecrate”, “Clones From Hell”, “Violator”, and “Disfigured”)
are melodic monstrosities that hit with a wall-to-wall, floorto-
ceiling hugeness, while doing so in an economical manner.
There will be no mistaking this for Broken Bones screeching out
of an iPhone inside the vegan squat. On the flip, this is no Bob
Rock joint. DD Deth elaborates: “Recorded on a Tascam 8-track
cassette live at home (aka “The Parkway”) by Michael He-Man
and the process was a nightmare. Original tape crapped out on us
back in early 2020 so we had to redo the whole thing. Intros and
interludes were done last minute by me with the cheapest midi
keyboard on the net.” Well, color Goner Records impressed.
One might get momentarily lost in the cavernous drums that
introduce opener “Desecrate”, but soon the buzzsaw-riff-wall
will crush one into a smudge on the bathroom floor. Without
rocking some safety goggles and diving headfirst down a
terminology rabbithole, this is punk jumping into the sack
with metal and leaving black boots on the bedroom floor rather
than white hightops. Xmas came early for fans of Anti-Cimex,
Celtic Frost, pre-shit Discharge, Motörhead, Blitz, Midnight,
Venom, Broken Bones and...one gets the picture.

On his new album, ‘APART’, Washington-based
singer/songwriter Allen Stone reimagines some of
his most beloved songs to date, stripping each
lavishly arranged track back to the very essence of
its creation.
 Featuring 11 songs culled from across Stone’s
catalogue (and one exquisite Bob Marley cover),
‘APART’ kicks off with the dreamy rumination of his
first break-out hit ‘Unaware’.
 One of the most breath-taking moments on
‘APART’ is ‘Bed I Made’, as R&B star Alesia Cara
joins him for a duet.

Born in 1999, Charlie Hickey grew up in South Pasadena,
just minutes from Downtown Los Angeles. Raised by two
singer-songwriter parents, Charlie’s second language was
music since day one. As early as grade school, he was
making sense of the world through songwriting, and by
middle school he was writing, recording and performing
songs that attracted a community of collaborators and could
silence a room.
 A turning point for Charlie came at around the age of
thirteen, when he covered a song by then up-and-coming
artist Phoebe Bridgers, who was still in high school herself.
The two quickly became friends and collaborators, setting
Charlie on an exciting new musical path. Years later,
Bridgers introduced Charlie to songwriter, drummer, producer
and her bandmate Marshall Vore, who noticed something
special about Charlie. The two began writing and recording
songs together, and soon Charlie dropped out of school to
work on his music full-time.
 Charlie Hickey’s first proper single was ‘No Good at Lying’
and it’s the first track on ‘Count The Stairs’. The Marshall
Vore-produced track introduces us to Charlie’s evocative
storytelling and features Phoebe Bridgers on backing vocals.
“I’m no good at lying / on my back or through my teeth / but
I’m good at dreaming / I can do it in my sleep,” he sings over
hushed guitars and a whimsical banjo, searching for truth as
his unconscious mind runs wild and bleeds into reality. It’s a
slow, quiet, and understated peek to the world of Charlie
Hickey, who is barely of legal drinking age, but taps into such
universal themes that showcase a wisdom beyond his years
and exudes promise for what’s to come.

Born in 1999, Charlie Hickey grew up in South Pasadena,
just minutes from Downtown Los Angeles. Raised by two
singer-songwriter parents, Charlie’s second language was
music since day one. As early as grade school, he was
making sense of the world through songwriting, and by
middle school he was writing, recording and performing
songs that attracted a community of collaborators and could
silence a room.
 A turning point for Charlie came at around the age of
thirteen, when he covered a song by then up-and-coming
artist Phoebe Bridgers, who was still in high school herself.
The two quickly became friends and collaborators, setting
Charlie on an exciting new musical path. Years later,
Bridgers introduced Charlie to songwriter, drummer, producer
and her bandmate Marshall Vore, who noticed something
special about Charlie. The two began writing and recording
songs together, and soon Charlie dropped out of school to
work on his music full-time.
 Charlie Hickey’s first proper single was ‘No Good at Lying’
and it’s the first track on ‘Count The Stairs’. The Marshall
Vore-produced track introduces us to Charlie’s evocative
storytelling and features Phoebe Bridgers on backing vocals.
“I’m no good at lying / on my back or through my teeth / but
I’m good at dreaming / I can do it in my sleep,” he sings over
hushed guitars and a whimsical banjo, searching for truth as
his unconscious mind runs wild and bleeds into reality. It’s a
slow, quiet, and understated peek to the world of Charlie
Hickey, who is barely of legal drinking age, but taps into such
universal themes that showcase a wisdom beyond his years
and exudes promise for what’s to come.

‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’, the new studio
album from Damon Albarn, is released by new label home Transgressive
Records.
 ‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’ was originally
intended as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland.
This last year has seen Albarn return to the music in lockdown and
develop the work to 11 tracks which further explore themes of fragility,
loss, emergence and rebirth. The result is a panoramic collection of
songs with Albarn as storyteller. The album title is taken from a John
Clare poem Love and Memory.
 The CD edition includes a 20-minute ‘hidden’ track of a new and original
recording that inspired some of the record’s themes.
 The deluxe version of the album takes the form of a casebound book
with additional photography, original scanned lyrics and artwork from
Damon, alongside a clear vinyl version of the album and a bonus 7”
featuring an exclusive song from the recording sessions, plus a high
quality digital download. Also available on black vinyl and cassette.
 A recent special Globe Theatre performance in London sold out
immediately and was streamed globally to 72 countries around the world
and received rave reviews across the board.

The Berlin-based duo hackedepicciotto have
returned with ‘The Silver Threshold’, their fourth full
length album. This cinematic and hypnotic release
combines swirling electronics, shimmering
autoharp and the beautiful vocal harmonies of
Danielle de Picciotto (co-founder of Berlin’s
legendary Love Parade, prolific solo artist and
illustrator) and Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende
Neubauten), blended with a plethora of
instruments from around the world.
 Danielle and Alex have contributed to a vast and
varied legacy of electronic music. Although ‘The
Silver Threshold’ is their first album in partnership
with Mute, they are not new to the label, with both
Danielle and Alex members of the last incarnation
of Crime and the City Solution and Alex a member
of Einstürzende Neubauten whilst also contributing
to releases by Phew and Miranda Sex Garden.
 CD in gatefold card pack with silver finish and
artwork by Danielle de Picciotto and photo by Sven
Marquardt. Includes booklet.
 LP in gatefold sleeve with silver finish and artwork
by Danielle de Picciotto and photo by Sven
Marquardt. Includes digital download code

“The Death Of Meaning” is the translated rendering of the new Gnod album’s title, and this also reflects its creation. As Paddy Shine of Gnod notes: “I think the title sums it up well because this album was coming together at a time when confusion was king for us all - still is. I think we can all relate to that. This record is a really strange beast because of the big change that happened between mixing and recording. I think the title really does sum up the vibe of ‘What the Fuck’? Maybe we should have called it that! ”Wielding the taut, stripped-down and bludgeoning sound that had evolved on 2017’s ‘Just Say No The Psycho Right-Wing Capitalist Fascist Industrial Death Machine’ and 2018’s ‘Chapel Perilous’, Gnod initially recorded the tracks for ‘La Mort Du Sens’ around the Christmas period of 2019. Nonetheless, the arrival of the pandemic took the record on another course, adding to a turbulent and cathartic vitality that electrifies the likes of the caustic Melvins-in-hell assault of ‘Pink Champagne Blues’ and the post-punk angularity of ‘The Whip And The Tongue’ with a fearsome elemental charge Masters of an approach which manages to be both unmistakeable and unpredictable. Gnod are now well established as prophets of the dispossessed. ‘La Mort Du Sens’ is no less than another relentlessly invigorating stop off on their wild ride to who knows where. “Got No Obvious Destination, innit”

1. Some records hit you with an instant impression of timeless brilliance, and Low Life’s Dogging is one of those records, what the wise call “an instant classic”. 2. From Squats to Lots: The Agony and the XTC of Low Life is more like their second album Downer Edn (read Edition), a little more withdrawn, a little more textured. Complex. Rich. Which is to say: you’re going to need some time with it. 3. Some show, some grow. Low Life have done both. This one is a grower. Spend some time with this one. It’s got that nuanced flavour. Don’t guzzle. Sip. Savour. 4. Sip it, and sense the recurring brilliance of Mitch Tolman’s lyrics, exploring the usual territory of gutter life, lad life, punk life, low life. The dirge. Disgust and shame in white Australia. Council housing, bills piled to the neck, substance abuse and rehabilitation, the fallen lads and lasses who stood too close to the flame, loss and loneliness, from squats to lots. Un-Australian gutter symphony. 5. There is a celebration of resilience and that’s a central theme of this record and a time like ours needs a record like Agony & XTC. Low times are coming through, but if you’re low they won’t get to you. 6. Iggy Pop’s Bowie produced studio rock masterpieces ‘The Idiot’ and ‘Lust For Life’ are important reference points to the 3rd album sounds of Low Life. Here comes success! 7. ‘The Agony and Ecstasy’ is a 1985 novel by Irving Stone about the life of Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo. Stone wrote another novel about the single eared painter Vincent Van Gogh called ‘Lust For Life’. This synchronicity hit me. 8. Iggy and the Stooges are a pretty safe reference for Low Life (and all good rock music). Iggy and the Stooges are a low life’s Michelangelo, but solo Iggy like Lust for Life is a better reference for this particular incarnation of Low Life, which is to say they are studio rock albums. 9. Bowie later referred to this period of his life as profoundly nihilistic. But Iggy looked at it as the period of his life that saved him from an early grave. This confrontation is Low life lore. 10. Let’s stick to this, because there’s something about this era of Bowie that makes sense with Low Life’s new album, particularly Low. One should never miss the Low in our new album from Low Life. Producer and studio boss Mickey Grossman has the ear for the Low, and he has carved out a little statue of David right here. 11. Mickey’s ears are recording, mixing and producing the best of Sydney, most notably the Oily Boys Cro Memory Grin. A great companion record to this one. Use Agony & XTC AFTER Oily Boys. Not on an empty stomach, and don’t try to operate heavy machinery (bobcat, bulldozer etc). 12. The relationship between Low Life and Sydney hardcore should not be understated, but it also shouldn’t guide how to listen to Agony & XTC. This is not austere, disciplined music. 13. Think, like, if Poison Idea were given the kind of studio time and budget as Happy Mondays. You wouldn’t play it to a teenager. It’s not for children. This is a mature flavour, one for the adults who have had to contend with failure and hardship, medical bills and disappointed family members, betrayed lovers and worrisome growths, police brutality and tooth decay, humiliating bowels and collapsed septums, detoxing and drying out, for those who have seen themselves as corrupted and putrid and unloveable, for those who endure all of this and aren’t willing to lie down and cop it sweet: Low Life are still here and they ain’t going nowhere. NOTES ON HOW NOT TO LISTEN TO AGONY AND XTC OF LOW LIFE: 1. Don’t think of shoe-gaze. It suggests a safe passage to 90’s reminiscences, a vogue style of our time, but nothing to do with Low Life style. Low Life style is always of its time. The content changes. Agony & XTC shares weight of records like My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless and Slowdive’s Kebab, records that were laboured on after the songs were recorded, songs that were written as they were recorded. 2. We can call these “studio albums” as opposed to albums built in the heat of live performance. Studio albums from the 90’s are called shoe-gaze by some journalist nerds, but we know better than to use words like this. 3. Studio albums are excessive and, at the same time, so empty. Agony & XTC, Loveless, Kebab, Rumours: excessive! And empty. This is not to suggest this is Low Lite, some throwback, soft. A band like Low Life can make an overproduced studio rock album without having to use the word shoe-gaze. So, don’t think studio albums mean anything especially 90’s. Don’t look back. 4. Let’s lose these distasteful labels, like “shoe-gaze”, “rehab rock”, “stab”, “guitar OD overdrive”, “western Sydney wonder”. They can fade out. A low life was once referred to as a vagabond. Who uses this term today? Nobody. Language can murder. Words can die. Kill ‘em all! - Daniel 'DX' Stewart, Melbourne, 2021.

Blue Vinyl

After learning her craft at an after-hours club in her hometown of Santiago de Chile, a pivotal move to Milan at the end of 2015 proved to be the ticket that would propel Paula Tape into the European club circuit. Six years later Paula has made a name for herself as a purveyor of eclectic selections, stomping Italo beats, percussive balearic excursions and synth-heavy rarities, both through her international DJ sets and shows on Worldwide FM and Milan’s Radio Raheem.

With two EPs under her belt via Alzaya & SOBO, collaborations with Project Pablo, Tornado Wallace & Elias Mazian to boot, and standout singles on Permanent Vacation, Ransom Note Records and Rhythm Section International’s highly regarded 2020 ‘SHOUTS’ compilation, we welcome the announcement of a knockout four-tracker from the Chilean producer on the same Peckham-based label. In the last 12 months she’s taken the Mixmag Lab & Boiler Room by storm, and with a slew of international tour dates and forthcoming releases lined up, 2021 looks set to be Paula’s year.

“When I started working on the Astroturismo EP I didn't know the music I was writing was going to shape into an EP. Finalizing the first track "Body Nature" helped me a lot to orientate the correct use of all the music I have been producing during the lockdown months and Rhythm Section team was constantly supporting me to make me feel free to explore musically without needing to stick to club music. "Body Nature embodies strong energies, in a very personal way: I noted down those silly lyrics and kept singing the melody in my head for days, in the end, that drove me to create a groove that would work and transfer the mood I was feeling. This track is about feeling relief with dancing, whether in a private moment like I did in those days or in a public space, few easy moves to trigger positive energy and improve your emotional state.” ~ Paula

After learning her craft at an after-hours club in her hometown of Santiago de Chile, a pivotal move to Milan at the end of 2015 proved to be the ticket that would propel Paula Tape into the European club circuit. Six years later Paula has made a name for herself as a purveyor of eclectic selections, stomping Italo beats, percussive balearic excursions and synth-heavy rarities, both through her international DJ sets and shows on Worldwide FM and Milan’s Radio Raheem.

With two EPs under her belt via Alzaya & SOBO, collaborations with Project Pablo, Tornado Wallace & Elias Mazian to boot, and standout singles on Permanent Vacation, Ransom Note Records and Rhythm Section International’s highly regarded 2020 ‘SHOUTS’ compilation, we welcome the announcement of a knockout four-tracker from the Chilean producer on the same Peckham-based label. In the last 12 months she’s taken the Mixmag Lab & Boiler Room by storm, and with a slew of international tour dates and forthcoming releases lined up, 2021 looks set to be Paula’s year.

“When I started working on the Astroturismo EP I didn't know the music I was writing was going to shape into an EP. Finalizing the first track "Body Nature" helped me a lot to orientate the correct use of all the music I have been producing during the lockdown months and Rhythm Section team was constantly supporting me to make me feel free to explore musically without needing to stick to club music. "Body Nature embodies strong energies, in a very personal way: I noted down those silly lyrics and kept singing the melody in my head for days, in the end, that drove me to create a groove that would work and transfer the mood I was feeling. This track is about feeling relief with dancing, whether in a private moment like I did in those days or in a public space, few easy moves to trigger positive energy and improve your emotional state.” ~ Paula

WAR’s head-nodding mix of music and message started a revolution 50 years ago that continues to win over the hearts and hips of fans around the world. “Greatest Hits 2.0” will be available 29th October and is a new, career-spanning collection that expands on WAR’s platinum-certified 1976 greatest hits album, featuring the legendary songs “Spill The Wine,” “Low Rider,” “Galaxy,” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”

WAR’s “Greatest Hits 2.0” 2LP contains 20 tracks, 2CD contains 24 tracks recorded between 1970 and 1994, including the gold-certified singles “Slipping Into Darkness,” “The World Is A Ghetto,” “The Cisco Kid,” and “Summer.” Another gold single, “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” stayed on the charts for 31 weeks and became the soundtrack to the US-Soviet space mission where astronauts and cosmonauts linked up in the spirit of friendship. In the modern era, it has been streamed more than 100 million times. Also included is the #1 R&B smash “Low Rider,” which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.

In the collection’s liner notes, Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano says GREATEST HITS 2.0 does more than capture WAR at its creative and commercial peaks. He writes: “All the big hits are here, of course, in chronological order from the Eric Burdon days up through cuts from 1982’s underrated Outlaw…But what I love about this collection is that it’s a symphonic suite for a perfect Southern California Sunday afternoon, the kind the rest of the world wants to experience but can only dream about. You can envision it by playing these albums from start to finish.”

One of Detroit’s finest exports is legendary house and techno pioneer, Gari Romalis, and as we enter what could potentially be a summer of love he creates an outstanding four track EP, “Black Traxx Matter”, spreading a message which scratches way below the surface, using music as a tool to share. The body of work spans across distinctive and slinky deep house energy, oozing class and emotion, notably what we have all come to love and adore in Romalis’ back catalogue. Music from the soul, for the soul, coming soon on Italian label, Nicepeople.

Opener “Black 2 Da Future” rides an effortlessly cool groove, brushing by in the summer breeze, paying homage to brighter days. Next up is “Black Diamondz (Africa Mix) consisting of a tight and punchy drum arrangement, and warm and infectious sub bass. Welcoming you with open arms.

“Black Luv” is lighter on its feet than the previous tracks, a definite housey spring in its step, all of the elements conversing in sweet harmony. A cruise down nostalgia lane. “Purpose Reprise (Motivate Mix)” closes this wonderful EP, six and a half minutes of pure bliss which shifts into a pure and powerful moment when a spoken word sample enters the room, as the soft keys work their way around the message.

A masterpiece body of work from one of the most esteemed artists in the game. The Nicepeople label keep continuing to propel high quality sounds from new and established artists, with a healthy schedule already pencilled in for 2021.

Ben LaMar Gay's critically-lauded 2018 break out Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun was more like a greatest hits than a debut album, as it compiled the best of the prolific but obscurity-prone Chicago native artist’s previously unreleased music. Open Arms to Open Us will be our first release of brand new, freshly baked tunes by Gay, a collection recorded entirely at International Anthem studios in Chicago between March-June 2021.

Ben LaMar Gay's critically-lauded 2018 break out Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun was more like a greatest hits than a debut album, as it compiled the best of the prolific but obscurity-prone Chicago native artist’s previously unreleased music. Open Arms to Open Us will be our first release of brand new, freshly baked tunes by Gay, a collection recorded entirely at International Anthem studios in Chicago between March-June 2021.

After Tigerhead’s highly anticipated appearance on HET006 with “Sleeping Paralysis”, she now comes up with her very own release named “Silk Road EP”. The A-Side of the vinyl: “Rave 4 Dave” is just made for the peaktime dancefloor – pure banging power. “Lethal Combination” is breaking things down hard, while citing and quoting the drum’n’bass-genre. On the B-Side Matrixxman deliveres two remixes of Tigerhead’s tracks. His “Darkside Remix” of “Lethal Combination” can be heard as a Techno-Electro-fusion – this one is definitely putting the cowbell back on the map! Finally Matrixxman’s remix of “Rave 4 Dave” is a trippy dancefloor track, that is rounding up the EP nicely.

Briti$h is a UK-based artist carving out his own niche using a unique blend of original sounds. Growing up in Ipswich, Briti$h’s relationship with hip hop was strengthened when he moved to Florida, where he lived for 10 years. He became immersed in the music of famed Southern ambassadors such as UGK, Outkast, Scarface and Rick Ross, which went on to subliminally inform his music.

Back in Ipswich, a town that has long been a hotbed of Hip-Hop talent, Briti$h stepped right into the scene and never looked back. His style is impossible to pin down in any one area of Hip-Hop, instead offering a smorgasbord of styles with its roots laid down across the spectrum, from boom bap to trap, but always with a heavy focus on lyrics.

Briti$h’s debut EP, ‘Stuck in a Bunker’, was released in 2018. It delivered a solid introduction to his music, and enjoyed a warm reception from both his fans and peers. The EP was produced by label mate Bunker Beats, on Briti$h’s fledgling label DJGT Entertainment, and was all recorded at his Purple Loft Studios.

Briti$h was involved in a few notable collaborations with the likes of Emjam, Skribblez, El-Emcee, and Rye Shabby. He has also enjoyed airplay from BBC Introducing, the FATP Hip-Hop Show and Graffiti Kings Radio.

For more than a decade, Jamaica's Micah Shemaiah has been crafting his musical message with a keen and steady focus on Rastafari redemption and African unification. His writing style embraces and combines several genres of music delivering unique sounds that will appeal to any ear. Coming from the original home of the sound, Kingston City, and growing up in the Rastafarian house of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, this Singer/Songwriter has certainly put down a solid foundation in the Reggae Industry and has carved a place in the hearts of reggae lovers all over the world.

This new 12' vinyl LP offers 8 vocals and 2 dubs. Produced by Zion I Kings and underpinned with their trademark style of hardcore roots reggae, showcasing a broad spectrum of Micahs vocal talents. Releasing courtesy of Before Zero Records.

On our 39th chapter we welcome Madrid's _asstnt & Roll Dann on their first collaborative EP on MindTrip. Throughout four tracks, the Spanish duo joins efforts and shows off their talent in producing high octane yet beautifully melancholic music designed to tear down structures. Sharp percussive elements, hypnotic grooves and evolving, emotive tones inside. This is 'Emergency Break'.

This is MindTrip!

Massive no frills, all thrills 2 tracker from James A. Donadio. A side is upbeat and crisp and B side is downbeat and dirty.

The infinitive is the basic dictionary form of a verb when used
non-finitely. It is also the form chosen by Danieli and Purl
for the tracks of WHS 03: return to the basics, simplicity, pure nature distilled into music.
Pulsate starts with an ethereal soundscape, created to then open to a deeper underwater exploration. There´s a universe down there and the listener will be guided to appreciate its beauty: lanternfish giving the tempo of this journey, marine life to marvel at. We take a step back to observe and fill our eyes and ears. We come back to the surface, finding peace and calm.
Opening in a slow, thoughtful and majestic way, Compensate is a
hymn to balance. Since the very beginning, the listener will notice a contrast between gloomy atmospheres and lighter sounds, resulting in a chasing sensation that´s uncomfortable, yet fascinating. Desire to explore, together with acceptance, surrender to the things we simply can´t understand as humans.
The listener is then invited to explore darker, faster, more pounding atmospheres. Intimidate anticipate it all in its title : sounds, tempos, images, they all chase each other to create an atmosphere that's daunting and fascinating at the same time.
A track to accompany one's journey, be it real or spiritual, a trip where we let things happen as they come, accepting the flow of life.
Resonate closes the B side drawing with sounds the depth of our
natural state. Close your eyes and transport yourself in lost woods, alone in a tent at sunset, when the day is almost over and ready to make room for the night. The wood is speaking, the animals are awake, it's frightening but incredibly beautiful.
Crickets are singing their songs, frogs are bouncing from one pond to another, water connects with air, resonate with earth and with the smallnes of man in the face of nature.

Newmont’s first release explores a broad-based sound, ranging from breaks to downtempo. The record puts forward a more hybrid-driven score, which is the Paris-based idea for this project. Get your copy from your local record dealer!