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Ben Lukas Boysen’s new album, Alta Ripa, signifies a seismic shift in his artistic journey. It revisits the foundational impulses of his youth, shaped amidst the serene beauty of rural Germany—a bucolic backdrop where his creative palette flourished. However, it was his move to Berlin in the early 2000s that electrified his sound, infusing it with the city’s pulsating energy and diverse cultural influences. Alta Ripa captures this transformative experience, blending the introspective melodies of his rural beginnings with the bold, experimental tones born from Berlin’s vibrant electronic music scene. This album is a testament to Boysen’s evolution, showcasing how geographical shifts can profoundly shape artistic expression.

Boysen’s fourth studio album under his own name, Alta Ripa is a nod to his beginnings as much as a hint to his future, and as a work, it’s almost contradictory in its boldness and humility. He invites the listener on a journey of self-discovery; both for himself and for them, describing the music as “something the 15-year-old in me would have liked to hear but only the grown-up version of myself can write.”

His last two albums involved working closely with other musicians, including cellist Anne Müller, flugelhorn player Steffen Zimmer, and drummer Achim Färber. However, inspired in part by a recent return to live performance, Alta Ripa sees Boysen circling back to his passion for pure computer music.

For Boysen, the return to his youthful musical language marks a major turning point in his career. It represents a departure from his roots in classical music – his mother was an opera singer and his father an actor with an appreciation for Wagner, Arvo Pärt, Keith Jarrett, and Stockhausen. Although these are still important influences, Alta Ripa encapsulates a new, exploratory interplay between Boysen’s careful craft and his ability to let go of some of the process.

The album’s title comes from the original Roman name of the town that Boysen grew up in, Altrip, where he lived until his early twenties. This formative period is central to the ideas behind this album, from Boysen’s parental ‘schooling’ in classical music through to his sonic journeys through drum and bass, Aphex Twin, and Autechre — all of which changed his idea of what music could be. The extreme energy of tracks like ‘Acperience 1’ by Hardfloor, ‘Tracks & Fragment’ by Cari Lekebusch, ‘Focus2 Implan’ by Jiri.Ceiver, and ‘Low On Ice’ by Alec Empire are also pivotal influences.

For Boysen, this time of his musical development also involved knocking down the pillars that he previously thought had carried his world. A key moment for Boysen was being given a precious (pre-internet) club cassette at school that featured artists like Source Direct, Photek and Goldie. Excited by this new discovery, he introduced his father to the song ‘Dred Bass’ by Dead Dred. After the song finished, Boysen Sr. turned off the tape and proclaimed it was “the end of all music”. This heated exchange sparked a new, and more mature dialogue between the two that involved them sharing and discussing music on a regular basis.

Boysen’s classical and jazz music upbringing might not be easily noticeable from the electronic palette that he uses. But it can be found in its bones; the structure of the tracks and their dynamic shifts. On Alta Ripa, he intentionally embraces a spirit of controlled chaos, churning out sonic ideas to see what sticks.

One of Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategy cards contains the phrase “gardening, not architecture”, and the trajectory of Boysen’s creative path reflects this metaphor. In much of his previous work he followed a sort of Brutalist architect’s approach; here, he was fully responsible for the tracks’ austere structures and planned them with deliberate care. But by sacrificing some of that control on Alta Ripa, he sets the right conditions for a dark and unpredictable, organic growth. It’s a push forward into a new world.

The First Album By Gospel Funk Texan Pioneer – GYPSY MITCHELL - A Refined Record Both Vintage And Modern With Soul, Psychedelic, Blues, Breakbeat & Funk Sounds - Feat. Paul Wall★Archie Turner (Hi Rhythm)★Pete Lanctot (Durand Jones)

Welcome to the second in the Knite Force Crew series. This is a series of limited edition triple albums from the very best and dedicated of the Kniteforce artists.

This triple pack vinyl album contains 10 superb tracks from Sunny & Deck Hussy, plus two remixes from rave legends Luna-C, and from Jimmy J. The beautiful old skool rave styled artwork was hand drawn by the original Kniteforce Records artist, Rebecca Try.

It will never be repressed and is limited in number!

Lara Sarkissian’s long-awaited debut full-length, ‘Remnants’ is an ornate patchwork of ancient and modern sonic shapes that uses the vernacular of electronic music to reformulate Armenian traditions and memories. Taking digitally modeled instruments (such as the kanun, a large zither, and the duduk, an ancient double reed woodwind instrument), vocals, davul and dhol drums, tenor saxophone (from acclaimed Paris-based player Adrien Soleiman) and myriad electronic elements and techniques, Sarkissian tangles the old and the new, creating an immersive, narrative-driven experience that’s powered by history, mythology and her own familial connection to the West Asian landscape. It’s an album that’s best absorbed like a film; only multiple encounters can reveal its layered themes and references to industrial music, noise, various club styles, ambient and traditional folk.

Born and raised in San Francisco and currently based in Los Angeles, Sarkissian has developed her unique approach to composition over years of relentless experimentation across various disciplines. Her interest in music production initially stemmed from her filmmaking and video editing work, when she began to sculpt her own sound collages and scores to accompany the visuals. Since then, she’s constantly blurred the boundary between dance and experimental music, DJing around the world, producing AV installations and scoring film and video projects that have been exhibited in Berlin’s Gropius Bau, Montréal’s Musée d’art contemporain, the Music Center Los Angeles and other prestigious institutions, and releasing music with labels such as Tresor, Knekelhuis, All Centre, Silva Electronics and CLUB CHAI, the label and event series she co-founded. In recent years, she’s also been able to advance the theory behind her art, publishing a conversation with ethnomusicologist Sylvia Alajaji in the Journal of the Society of Armenian Studies in 2021, and unveiling her methodology in Norient’s ‘This Track Contains Politics – The Culture of Sampling in Experimental Electronica’ a year later.

‘Remnants’ is a new stage in Sarkissian’s evolution as an artist; not only is it her first proper album, but it’s the inaugural release on her new platform btwn Earth+Sky. She sees the label as a place to encourage collaborations between musicians and producers and prioritize sound in visual arts realms, and ‘Remnants’ is the ideal proof of concept. It opens with ‘Heaven, or Paradise; and Hell’, a track that’s inspired by the layout of the Armenian sharakan (or hymn) ‘Aravot Luso’. Sarkissian imagines the original piece’s harmonies and melodies as parts of a dreamy electronic opera, using digital kanun sounds to punctuate her woozy, evocative synths. Soleimen joins on tenor sax in the third act, while Sarkissian repeats the chant and Jace Akira adds ghostly traces of electric guitar and bass. And on the rousing ‘Our Dead Can’t Rest (Old Jugha Flute Dance)’, Sarkissian chops urgent davul and dhol drum rhythms with spine-chilling shvi woodwind sounds lifted from a documentary about Old Jugha. The title is a reference to the moving of graves by Armenian families; the area initially housed over 10,000 elaborately carved khachkars (cross stones), one of which is pictured on the album’s cover, provided by historian Argam Aivazian’s archive.

On ‘Miracle’, Sarkissian samples atmospheres from the post-Soviet Armenian comedy film ‘Կիսանդրի’ (Kisandri). She takes this opportunity to lighten the mood a little, powdering her smudged samples with tightly edited breaks and bass thumps. It’s not until the album’s middle section that the duduk, perhaps Armenia’s best-known instrument, makes its appearance. Its familiar reedy tones, popularized by Djivan Gasparyan on his many Hollywood soundtrack appearances, emerge on ‘Unraveling (Interlude)’, weaving through the acidic ‘Zephyr’ and ‘Far from the eye far from the Heart’, a post-punk inspired stomper. Sarkissian mutates the instrument almost beyond recognition, pitching and layering it into a voice-like wail that creeps between her woody, dancefloor-primed percussion on the former, and turning it into a gentle, ghostly moan on the latter. And she brings ‘Remnants’ to a close with two of her most cryptic tracks, marrying digital kanun strings with Soleiman’s resonant tenor hums on ‘What Solace Can I Give’, and looping the same saxophone sounds until they dissolve into the air on the beatless closer ‘…nothing matters more than touching you although i haven’t touched you yet’.

It’s an album that ties up Sarkissian’s various interests and experiences, finding a romantic, poetic glimmer of light in history’s darkness. But most of all, ‘Remnants’ is about the optimism of starting anew, and rebuilding a life from the pieces of everything that’s been left behind.

DJ Support: Pete Tong, Majestic, Leftwing:Kody, Sam Divine, DrPacker and Michael Gray.

Chart surfing release of some of Husky’s best selling records on Bobbin Head Music. Huge remixes from Michael Gray, Johan S & Dr Packer. ‘We Rave Tonight’ has seen Radio 1 radio support from Pete Tong, as well as Kiss FM via Majestic,Leftwing:Kody & Sam Divine. Dr Packer remix of ‘Heaven’ reached the Traxsource top 10 for Soul/Funk/Disco, along with the Michael Gray remix of ‘Only One Way’.

Sole Aspect takes us around the world and to the studios of artists based across Madrid, Switzerland, Los Angeles and Detroit on The Mystic Embrace EP. Opening it up is Ernes Joey & Robbin Hauz with 'U Should Know' (feat Shea Doll - Age Of Rage remix) which is a version by Dubbyman with some delightfully jazzy keeps, seductive deep house drums and aching vocals full of heart. The original is a stripped-back sound with less melodic luxuriousness but the still superb vocal front and centre. Dubbyman then mixes Klima Project's 'Sweetback' into a mid-tempo, cuddly back room deep house sound and Patrice Scott Reshapes it with some crystal-cut synth lines that bring cosmic charm.

Who is Isabelle Lewis, anyway?

What kind of music does she make? Is she an opera singer? Does she write pop songs? Does she compose ethereal ambient soundscapes? Does she play chamber music on the violin? Is she producing dark, electronic beats?

Well… yes. But Isabelle Lewis is not so much a person as a project. Isabelle’s debut album, Greetings, credits a trio of composer–performers at its heart: producer Valgeir Sigurðsson, vocalist Benjamin Abel Meirhaeghe, and violinist Elisabeth Klinck. The sound of the elusive Isabelle Lewis is heard most clearly in the push and pull between them, the three-way tension that gives the album its musical and emotional drive.

Each of the three brings more to the collaboration than those epithets might imply. Elisabeth’s solo performance practice incorporates composition, improvisation, live electronics, and a close command of bowing and fingering techniques that make her fiddle sing, whisper or whistle as required. Benjamin is a self-taught countertenor - keening, crooning, and swelling to a voluptuous sensuality—but also an interdisciplinary stage director and performer. Well known for his work as a producer and studio collaborator, and as a composer of scores for film and stage, Valgeir’s solo discography interweaves meticulously crafted electronics, drones, noise, and other digital elements with acoustic instruments and vocals recorded with naked, unflinching clarity.

But the extravagant theatricality Benjamin brings to the aptly titled “Drama”—also featuring a heroic violin solo from Elisabeth—grapples against the thudding bass of the implacable digital backdrop. On “Mother, Shelter Me” Valgeir’s austere and detailed production throws the hushed violin and vocals into stark relief. The result is an exquisitely uncanny juxtaposition of past and present, human and mechanical, like a Rococo treasure viewed under cold fluorescent lights, or an 18th-century automaton slowly opening its clockwork eyes.

Even the lyrics seem somehow out of time. On “O Solitude,” Benjamin goes so far as to quote an entire song by the first great English opera composer, Henry Purcell, verbatim. No stranger to Purcell’s music, which has made its way into Benjamin’s theatrical productions as well, here Isabelle Lewis removes Purcell’s melodies and harmonies and sets the text, Katherine Phillips’s 17th century translation of a poem by Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant, to new music whose heightened, archaic character nevertheless seems haunted by Baroque ghosts.

Throughout the album, the outsized emotions and timeless archetypes of Benjamin’s lyrics feel like relics from some half-forgotten past—from the neatly rhymed couplets of “Fisherman,” a seemingly straightforward (but still somewhat askew) character study, to the abstraction of “Moonshell,” whose words seem like the fragments of some ancient, lost lament. It is just another of many ways in which Isabelle Lewis carefully distorts the listener’s notions of time. On a more micro level, time can stop for a moment of weightless, drifting ambience, and then plunge forward as the cloud of harmonies suddenly lock into tempo with the drop of the bass or the change of a chord. Or else that weightless moment is allowed to be, as in the aptly named prologue and epilogue to these Greetings (“Voicemail”/“…and farewell”), or in the interstitial tracks that bind the album together, connecting its dramatic peaks with expanses of meditative stasis.

The album as a whole is elegantly shaped, swelling from an intimate, interpersonal statement into something deeper and more spacious. The first half of the album leans slightly towards self-contained pop songcraft and ticking beats, while side B jumps off from “O Solitude” into the almost symphonic grandeur of songs like “Moonshell” or the instrumental “Not the water, air, or the dirt.”

But as it progresses, the contrasts only grow more sublime: antique and postmodern, human and machinelike. The ominous weight of the droning sub-bass and trombone (guest player Helgi Hrafn Jónsson) only makes the interplay between vocals and violins (guest player Daniel Pioro joining Elisabeth) seem more delicate and vulnerable. The ethereal string tremolos of “Moonshell” seem to pull against the heavy, shuddering electronics and layers of crooning vocals.

And that, in short, is where you will find Isabelle Lewis. Like an ancient stone archway, or a delicate house of cards, the architecture of Greetings is held together by the tension between opposing forces. Not just in Elisabeth’s playing, Benjamin’s singing, or Valgeir’s arrangements and production but in the conflict and contrast that generates the synergy between them.

Oh—Isabelle says hi, by the way. She’s looking forward to meeting you.

Tape

On Repetitions, New York-based Swiss artist and composer Samuel Reinhard brings us close enough to a piece of music that its systematic nature begins to buckle and fade. Across four movements, three pianos pursue their own respective threadbare motifs, which overlap at the hands of a predetermined ratio of duration. What unfolds—at first glance slow, melancholic, deliberate, even plain—is a study of repetition’s in-betweens, populated by unexpected resonances and delicate traces of notes in the process of being played by human hands. The three pianos are not in sync, but are nevertheless in relation, the nature of which shifts with the listener’s orientation and attention. Each piece within Repetitions arrives as a constant whole, containing harmonies and silences that are in a never-ending process of unfurling.

Repetitions is a joint release from Hallow Ground and Präsens Editionen and follows offerings by Kali Malone, Lawrence English, and FUJI | | | | | | | | | | TA on Hallow Ground, and Robert Turman, Magda Drozd, and Anna Homler on Präsens Editionen.

* Edition of 100 professionally dubbed cassette tapes
* special artwork by artist Jeff Rossi, graphic desing by Coline Houot

This one is highly recommended for fans of Khruangbin, Lord Echo, Leon Bridges or Fat Freddy's Drop.

Open is the sixth studio album from acclaimed composer, producer, filmmaker and multi-instrumentalist, Kutiman. It is an addictive & irresistible twelve-track trip taking in elements of classic soul, Middle Eastern psychedelia, Afrobeat, Thai funk, jazz fusion, cosmic library soundscapes and more.

The uptempo “Vanishing Point” opens proceedings, recalling both Abstract Orchestra’s 2017 Dilla tribute and the lounge OST/library music flips of Tosca and DJ Vadim fame.

My Everything introduces prominent guest & frequent Kutiman collaborator, Dekel, whose soul-pop vocals coupled with jangly acoustic guitar riffs tip to contemporary indie artists such as Michael Kiwanuka and SAULT. “A Day Off passes through” Anatolian psych and Khruangbin-esque Thai funk whilst the afrobeat/jazz fusion “Confetti” pays tribute to Kutiman’s other namesake, Fela Kuti.

Dekel rejoins for the beatdown, lilting dub-soul “Believe In You” with hints of Lord Echo and the sun-inflected New Zealand dub-soul sound. The Tuareg-leaning guitar lines on “Canoe” travel across the Saharan desert easterly towards Sudan and Ethiopia by the end, whilst meditative and Coltrane-adjacent album closer “Ripples” provides a final moment of reflection from a truly global excursion of soundscapes.

The last couple of years have seen a renaissance for West Coast singer-songwriters. LA-based youngsters such as Drugdealer and Sylvie have attracted considerable attention releasing warm and mellow records tonally reminiscent of the early 70s. Most fans of this new/old sound are unaware of Bart Davenport's early explorations in the same sonic territory. His now 20-year-old "Game Preserve"album should gain an appreciative new audience with its first ever vinyl release.

In the year 2000, Bay Area troubadour Bart Davenport and several other musicians were recruited by a major tech corporation in Seattle to work on an algorithm-based music matching/search engine. It was what looked like the beginning of a promising career. After a year, however, the project was shelved. Bart and his colleagues were laid off with a healthy severance package... on the 12th of September, 2001. Not only had the musician's life changed, so had the world. Rather than blow the money on a holiday or new car, Bart knew he had to make a record. A proper album that meant something.

Back in Oakland, he entered Wally Sound Studios with former Kinetics bandmate Jon Erickson at the controls, and a swathe of talented local musicians. "With Game Preserve," Bart explains, "Jon and I really wanted to knock it out of the park. I wanted to utilize people from my old bands like Loved Ones drummer John Kent. I also invited my newer indie-pop friends from Call & Response, and a young Nedelle Torrisi. Harmony singing by The Moore Brothers was an essential ingredient on Game Preserve as well."

Both Erickson and Davenport fondly recall growing up in households where the music of The Carpenters, Joni Mitchell and The Eagles soundtracked their young lives. By the early 00s they were ready to reconnect with what is often referred to as the "Laurel Canyon" sound. "I'd buy used tapes at garage sales and play them in the car. "Ladies Of The Canyon" by Joni and Jackson Browne's first album were both in heavy rotation. Jon Erickson was getting deeper into the Steely-Mac-Doobie yacht-rock sound in earnest. A certain amount of childhood nostalgia led a lot of us back to that part of the 70s. I'd flirted with classic soft-rock on my first album, but that record was pretty scattered esthetically. I wanted my next one to be more focused. Jon and I made some ground rules: no electric guitars (except on 'Bar-Code Trees'). No synths. Most importantly, all the songs have an air-tight, super dead, close mic'd drum sound. Putting these sorts of limitations on the sessions will give your record a specific quality. In the case of "Game Preserve"it's mostly about tight drums, acoustic instruments and analog production. We used a 24-track, two-inch tape machine for tracking, then ran the mixes through an analog board straight to a 1/4 inch master tape."

While the album's sonic palette may be firmly planted in 1970, Davenport's songwriting covers a sizable landscape of moods and reflections. From the quasi-flamenco intro of 'Sweetest Game' to the somber Wurlitzer of 'Nowhere Left To Go', to the 12-string shimmer of 'Intertwine', "Game Preserve" tells a story of young love, lost innocence and redemption, crossing borders and oceans along the way.

Released in 2003 on family-run Oakland label Antenna Farm, the ultra-analog sounding "Game Preserve" was only made available on digital formats, including CD. Copies were later pressed by labels in Germany and Spain; the latter being one country the album actually did well in, establishing Bart Davenport with a small but loyal fanbase he still enjoys today. Two European tours as support for Kings of Convenience also helped gain a foothold on the continent. Back in the US, however, Davenport and his sophomore album remained quite obscure.

Limited promotion meant it did little, but for the music lovers that heard it, the album undoubtedly remains a classic of the era, deserving far more. Twenty years on, it now finally receives its vinyl debut. "I personally think it holds up well," says Bart of the album two decades later. "The idea was to make something that could be an homage to late 60s/early 70s West Coast pop but hopefully timeless as well. Years on, I hear it as just that. It was a colorful and brief period of my life that felt at times like it could last forever. I discovered the joy of working in a proper studio with a perfect cast of characters. I'm still very close with all these people and still play music with many of them."

As we all know, reggae music was created in the Ghettos and has helped many people in their struggle & creating many opportunities for those who worked hard for it. In Brasil, with the rise of sound systems inspired by the UK and JA scene, Monkey Jhayam was one of the first artists to express his art and also build a solid and prominent career alongside many sound systems in his country. Out of São Mateus, Monkey broke barriers and has been collaborating with producers from all over the world.

Monkey Jhayam features on an interpretation of the Johnny Osbourne Roots Reggae Classic, “Truths & Rights” / Inst Vs on the A side and a re-mix Vs of “Great Old Men”/Vs (AA side). All tracks also feature Alvin Davis (Horns), Asha B (Congos & Percussion) with Rhythm/Lead Guitar from Steven ‘Marley’ Wright.

The first Burning Witch album. Circa 1996. Recorded by Steve Albini.

Limited Black Vinyl.

Blurred edges of consciousness voids: time manipulation, experiments in black down -tuned drone and harrowing vocals.

Members went on to: sunn O))), Khanate, Goatsnake, ASVA.

An important artifact of the cryptic domain.

The second Burning Witch album. Circa 1997.

Black Vinyl. Limited and Non-Returnable.

Blurred edges of consciousness voids: time manipulation, experiments in black down -tuned drone and harrowing vocals.

Members went on to: sunn O))), Khanate, Goatsnake, ASVA.

An important artifact of the cryptic domain.

Waxwork Records is proud to present BARBIE Score From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack composed by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt! The score is featured in the juggernaut film Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as Barbie and Ken.

On composing the score, Ronson says, “Greta’s Barbie overflows with emotion in a way that inspires us to no end, not just with harmony and melody but also textures, sonics and rhythms. Sometimes Greta wanted us to elicit tears, sometimes she wanted it to feel like a disco. Sometimes she loved the warmth of vintage analogue synthesizers, sometimes she wanted the richness of the orchestra. Often, she wanted both.

“The late nights and crazy hours we put into Barbie were all worth it to us, because we were so in love with this film. And we truly hope listening to our score from beginning to end will give others the same emotional, whimsical experience they had watching this magical film.”

The highly anticipated film score vividly brings Gerwig’s vision to life and adds the perfect layer to the film that immerses fans into the Barbie Universe.

Tracklist:Creation of Barbie , Pink ("Barbie" Opening Theme) *Lizzo Cover , Beach Off , Ken Thinks , Stairway to Weird Barbie , Thoughts of Death , Send Me Through the Portal , Ken Makes a Discovery , Bus Stop Billie *Billie Eilish Cover , Mattel , Meeting Ruth *Billie Eilish Cover , You Failed Me! , Alan vs Kens , Deprogramming , Warmth of Your Gaze , An Ending , I Don't Have an Ending , What Was I Made For? (Epilogue) *Billie Eilish Cover

The first in a four-volume retrospective of Kuduro and tarraxinha pioneer DJ ZNOBIA. Incoming unto the world for a very long time from the musseke of Rangel, home of Casa da Mé&e Ju, in the Angolan capital o Ldanda, one if not the pivotal visionary of his country’s music electronic and digital modernism DJ Znobia, o/fum/an inventor. Usually considered the first purveyor of the fluency regarding tarraxinha (drinking in its foundational slow shuffle from the city of Benguela), as well as a main player in free thinking, spontaneous, funny, depressive, silly, melancholic, hilarious all encompassing beats within kuduro, batida, techno and beyond, his influence as a producer, DJ, MC and public fiuce has had a great imprint in Angolan culture for the better part of the last three ecades. This venture went through over 700 tracks of his archive (more than double are lost in the meantime between his and the NNT library) in order to collaboratively select a fiercely representative albeit balanced affair from his production, between instrumentals for sung kuduro, instrumental kuduro/batida, sung and instrumental tarraxinha, and other creative styling from the late 90’s to the mid 2000’s. Forms now heard around the world which started here, with Znobia a decisively influential contributor, along with several of his peers and collaborators, which will be also in evidence in this four volume retrospective. His story is way too far flung for this endeavor to try and make a simple narrative out of it. You have to be him, you have to be within this territory, and we ask of the people who will approach to ask him what has happened with the history of this music and what is the current reality at ground zero Luanda, as he is a mirror and visionary of its streets, in a country with such complicated dynamics and brutal treatment of its citizens. To try to put in a clean slate for this conversation, let’s talk to a genius of street music. Your question. First, here's the opening collection of what we have to share with you.

For the first time in their diverse second act, they allow themselves to be a rock band, freed of adornment and embellishment. As much as Carlson’s guitar has always been the focal point of EARTH’s music, it’s been surrounded by consistently diverse instrumentation. Here the dialog between Carlson and Davies drumming remains pivotal, underpinned by the sympathetic bass of Bill Herzog (Sunn O))), Joel RL Phelps, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter) and thickened by additional layers of guitar from Brett Netson (Built To Spill, Caustic Resin) and Jodie Cox (Narrows). Perhaps the largest left turn on Primitive And Deadly, though, is the prominence of guest vocalists Mark Lanegan and Rabia Shaheen Qazi (Rose Windows) who transform the traditionally free ranging meditations of EARTH into something approaching traditional pop structures.
On “Rooks Across the Gates,” a song stylistically the closest to the folk inspired modality of Angels Of Darkness, Carlson stretches out into some of his most lyrical playing to date, creating an almost symbiotic relationship between his performance and the vocals of old friend Mark Lanegan. “From the Zodiacal Light,” meanwhile, takes the late 60s San Franciscan/freaked-out jazz-rock transcendence of The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull and quickly re-appropriates that sound into a musky torch song for the witching hour.
This contradictive tension between a band pushing itself ever-forward whilst surveying their history is reflected in the albums twin recording locales. The foundation of the record was laid in the mystic desert highlands of Joshua Tree, California where EARTH recorded hour after hour of meditations on each track's central theme at Rancho de la Luna. Upon returning to Seattle these were edited, arranged and expanded upon at Avast with the help of long-term collaborator Randall Dunn (who was previously at the helm for the Hex, The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull and Hibernaculum sessions).

Roddyrod is a key player in contemporary hip-hop who gained recognition alongside East Coast pioneers like Kev Brown and Oddisee as part of The Low Budget Crew. His new release on Dirty Tech is a fine testament to his genre-blending skills as he combines hip-hop, broken beat, deep house and soul with real studio finesse. The standout track for us is 'Servant Royal' with unquantized drums and a jazz-inspired piano riff that will capture the attention of house heads everywhere. 'Fendi Foot' expands on his earlier work, while 'Skin Pride Deep' features Grammy-nominated Wayna and offers a powerful exploration of self-love and empowerment to add depth to the EP's overall sound.

HOTMIX presents Legowelt - The Dutch Master delivered here a fantastic 2 tracker on a white ten inch record!

A hugely in demand repress (the original vinyl pressing on North Country changes hands for hundreds of pounds..) now released on Shack’s newly created own label Shack Songs.

The Shack story is one of music’s greatest legends. It incorporates hardship, bereavement and chaotic misadventure, but above all it tells the tale of beautiful music triumphing over trouble and tragedy.

‘Here’s Tom with The Weather’ boasts a majestic and fresh form. These are magical songs, psychedelic folk songs of the finest Head vintage. Sleepy-eyed, wistful and mystical, yet crafted with a cunning and acute dexterity beyond just about anybody you can think of.

The two profoundly Liverpudlian brothers Mick and John Head have made several brilliant albums together , but none as quickly as ‘Here’s Tom…’ which was completed in seven weeks at Brynderwen Studios in North Wales along with drummer Iain Templeton (RIP) , bassist Guy Rigby and producer Jay Reynolds in 2003.

In the 80’s , the two brothers from the notorious Kensington estate in north Liverpool were singer and guitarist with The Pale Fountains , an effervescent pop group which imploded under the weight of two albums in 1986. The Heads returned in ‘88 as Shack and a debut album Zilch. In 1991 , Shack made ‘Waterpistol’ , an inspirational guitar jewel that would have proved just as influential as any British album in that era had the studio not burned down, taking the master tapes with it. Four more years passed , but by the time it was finally released on Marina it had developed ‘lost classic’ status.

The Heads battled on. They toured as their hero Arthur Lee (RIP) of Love’s backing band. In ‘97 , they created a new group called The Strands and recorded the delicate, dreamy masterpiece ‘The Magical World Of The Strands’ . They spent a long time making another classic ‘HMS Fable’ , and then decided that next time they wouldn’t take quite as long recording. Enter ‘Here’s Tom With The Weather’.

Showcasing John’s slow , shy emergence as a songwriter to challenge his brother (on the sparkling, heartbreaking ‘Miles Apart’ and ‘Carousel’ , and the spun-out ‘Kilburn High Road’ ) , toasting Mick’s newest confirmation as the most unrecognised genius of his or any other generation (the ode to his bro, ‘Byrds Turn To Stone’ , the mariachi horns that break open the slow folk fog of ‘Meant To Be’ , the two lullaby bookends ..and on , and on) .

“The journey we’ve had together has been beautifully turbulent”, laughs John. “But there’s times when we glide and we’re gliding forward now”

Mick agrees. “Making this album has been frantic, chaos, carnage, intense : the normal way with us. But it doesn’t sound like that. That’s all that matters. The story is what it is. But so are the songs and so are the records. Because we’re good.”

Nobody could disagree with that.

A hugely in demand repress (the original vinyl pressing on North Country changes hands for hundreds of pounds..) now released on Shack’s newly created own label Shack Songs.

The Shack story is one of music’s greatest legends. It incorporates hardship, bereavement and chaotic misadventure, but above all it tells the tale of beautiful music triumphing over trouble and tragedy.

‘Here’s Tom with The Weather’ boasts a majestic and fresh form. These are magical songs, psychedelic folk songs of the finest Head vintage. Sleepy-eyed, wistful and mystical, yet crafted with a cunning and acute dexterity beyond just about anybody you can think of.

The two profoundly Liverpudlian brothers Mick and John Head have made several brilliant albums together , but none as quickly as ‘Here’s Tom…’ which was completed in seven weeks at Brynderwen Studios in North Wales along with drummer Iain Templeton (RIP) , bassist Guy Rigby and producer Jay Reynolds in 2003.

In the 80’s , the two brothers from the notorious Kensington estate in north Liverpool were singer and guitarist with The Pale Fountains , an effervescent pop group which imploded under the weight of two albums in 1986. The Heads returned in ‘88 as Shack and a debut album Zilch. In 1991 , Shack made ‘Waterpistol’ , an inspirational guitar jewel that would have proved just as influential as any British album in that era had the studio not burned down, taking the master tapes with it. Four more years passed , but by the time it was finally released on Marina it had developed ‘lost classic’ status.

The Heads battled on. They toured as their hero Arthur Lee (RIP) of Love’s backing band. In ‘97 , they created a new group called The Strands and recorded the delicate, dreamy masterpiece ‘The Magical World Of The Strands’ . They spent a long time making another classic ‘HMS Fable’ , and then decided that next time they wouldn’t take quite as long recording. Enter ‘Here’s Tom With The Weather’.

Showcasing John’s slow , shy emergence as a songwriter to challenge his brother (on the sparkling, heartbreaking ‘Miles Apart’ and ‘Carousel’ , and the spun-out ‘Kilburn High Road’ ) , toasting Mick’s newest confirmation as the most unrecognised genius of his or any other generation (the ode to his bro, ‘Byrds Turn To Stone’ , the mariachi horns that break open the slow folk fog of ‘Meant To Be’ , the two lullaby bookends ..and on , and on) .

“The journey we’ve had together has been beautifully turbulent”, laughs John. “But there’s times when we glide and we’re gliding forward now”

Mick agrees. “Making this album has been frantic, chaos, carnage, intense : the normal way with us. But it doesn’t sound like that. That’s all that matters. The story is what it is. But so are the songs and so are the records. Because we’re good.”

Nobody could disagree with that.

Cascading through kaleidoscopic stardust and forming in the outer reaches of the music universe, transcending time and distance, cosmonaut musicians Mo Morris & Zeben Jameson reconnect to write & record songs from opposite sides of their planet (Bali and London) written over the internet during the pandemic. Landing the much anticipated and eagerly awaited new A Mountain of One album "Stars planets dust me".

Welcome to the formative British psych electronic heroes A Mountain Of Ones 3rd studio album.

Mastered and reimagined and a full forthcoming album rework by electronic wizard, master selector & global superstar Ricardo Villalobos, featuring additional collaborations from 80s/90s Balearic legends "The Woodentops`s" front man "Rolo McGinty,”, Japan’s cult heroes ``Dip in the Pool" and "Unkle" and "Toy Drum`s" Pablo Clements.

UK Dub master "Dennis Bovell MBE" also makes an incredible appearance on the "Custards Last Stands" dub versions. Now available on a ltd Japanese 10". A beautiful artwork series generously loaded in by photography legend Dick Sweeney, and co-mixed by Dea Barandana in Indonesia. With its cosmic pop sound, soulful soaring, balearic sensibilities and feel good choruses it carries all the weight of a much needed revo- lution in psychedelic, conceptual ever popular music and sounds & feels like the infamous crossover album that promised to come from the heady days of the bands ascend last time round.

So here’s some back story, garnered from the hearsay, folk law, the myths and the legends, of 10 years ago, in case, like Mo & Zeb, if they'd remembered any of it, they probably weren’t there, after 2 much acclaimed albums and sellout shows vanishing in a cosmic cloud of dust the yin and yang brothers Mo Morris (ZSOU/Electric Stew) & Zeb Jameson (Oasis/Tricky/Pretenders) uncoupled and each em- barked on a pathfinder mission to equip themselves for their inevitable return... they just didn’t know it at the time... and as the global community ground to a halt 2 years ago they sought refuge from opposite sides of the planet in each other's company again.

The solace and rejuvenation it gave had them re-emerging as invigorated, inspired and wiser music creators, this has given rise to the evolution of their 3rd all important album‘s sound.

Zeb "our capacity as human beings is more phenomenal and limitless and way beyond the conventional thinking of society constructs but also in complete harmony with the intelligence and brilliance of advancing technologies".
Experiencing this energy together, as dedicated and devoted music pioneers, these great collaborative universal truths were revealed, imbed and steeped in their writing and recording experience as the music touched and resonated with all involved to create the fresh and fully formed A Mountain Of One 2.0.

Crab Cake Records bring you Space Mutant Cutz!

CYAN & BLACK COSMOS 12 inch vinyl

Classic scratch sentences with drum loops, pads, basslines & locked grooves produced by Substrate. Perfect for practicing your cuts and juggling!

Limited edition (250 copies/colour)
Cut @ 33rpm
Side A contains 12 skip proof scratch sentences at 83bpm
Side B contains the following content* at 133bpm

cLOUDDEAD's debut album, compiling six 10" EPs that appeared between 2000-2001, is aurally dense and obscured. A sprawling mass of miniature beat-suites and Dadaist lyrics, this strange and beautiful 3xLP would influence a myriad of sub-genres (cloud rap, hauntology, lo-fi hip-hop, etc.) in the two decades since its initial release.

Only the three members of cLOUDDEAD – Why?, Doseone and Odd Nosdam – can speak to the group's origins, but in the context of underground hip-hop towards the end of the 20th century, their arrival makes perfect sense. Cincinnati had a vital scene; home to Scribble Jam, an annual confluence of MCs, DJs, B-boys and graffiti artists. While the trio soon relocated to the Bay Area where they co-founded the Anticon collective, their Midwestern roots – in ramshackle basements of off-campus hovels, as the "cerberus of Southern Ohio" – would remain the atomic heart of their early recordings.

As Chris Martins writes in the liner notes, "The only reason we know their names today is because of how loudly and curiously they aired their insularity. They rewrote the entire world as they knew it through their own fucked perspective, and when those mysterious 10-inches started popping up in record shops, it wasn't just a puzzle to investigate: there seemed to be a whole cosmology hidden in those grooves."

Each side of the album represents one of those elusive 10-inches, each embodying a universe unto itself. Opening salvo "Apt. A" and "And All You Can Do Is Laugh" are perhaps most emblematic of the cLOUDDEAD experience. Why? and Dose create a new language through boundless non-sequiturs, sing-song non-choruses and call-and-response hooks, while Nosdam's dexterous production shifts from crackling ambience of Flying Saucer Attack to tight Ohio Players drum breaks and oblique film samples.

Taken all together, cLOUDDEAD is an original interpretation of hip-hop in the surreal Y2K glow – a bizarre meeting point between William Basinski's Disintegration Loops and MF DOOM's Operation: Doomsday. All it took was a Dr. Sample SP-202, Tascam cassette eight-track and cheap RadioShack mic. There's truly nothing like it.

This edition has been faithfully restored by Nosdam. European exclusive version comes on clear vinyl, incl. fold-out poster and liner notes insert.

"Long sought-after by those in know, this essential Irish jazz album finally gets a vinyl reissue on Outernational Sounds! Fully licensed from producer John D’Ardis, remastered at Abbey Road from the original tapes, and with lacquers cut at Dubplates and Mastering, the Noel Kelehan Quintet’s stunning 1979 Ozone is presented with unseen photographs of the band and commentary from original band members.

Featuring moody, modal jazz of the first order, subtle and original composing and world- class playing, Ozone was the creation of Ireland’s most respected jazz composer and musician, pianist Noel Kelehan (1935-2012). The only small-group album under his name, and arguably the first ever Irish jazz LP, Ozone was a landmark recording, but it was far from Kelehan’s only achievement. Born in Dublin, Kelehan had studied music from an early age. From the mid-1950s he worked at state-broadcaster Radio Éireann (RÉ, later RTÉ – Radio Telefis Éireann), and from the early 1960s he fronted Dublin’s first be-bop unit, the Jazz Heralds. A busy professional career saw him compose for numerous Irish pop stars, arrange and conduct many of Ireland’s Eurovision entries, and even contribute string arrangements to U2’s Unforgettable Fire LP.

But jazz was Kelehan’s first passion, and he never stopped playing in both small modernist units and composing for his own big band. The late 1970s saw him fronting the Noel Kelehan Quintet, alongside drummer John Wadham, saxophonist Keith Donald, bassist Frank Hess and trumpeter Mick Nolan. Playing weekly in Dublin for several years, they opened for visiting stars including Dollar Brand and the Ronnie Scott Orchestra, and eventually played a two-week residency at Ronnie Scotts in London. Though Kelehan had recorded a big-band LP of traditional Irish songs arranged as easy jazz in 1970, Ozone was his first album of modern jazz. Released on John D’Ardis’s independent Cargo imprint and press on blue vinyl, it featured original compositions such as the deep collectors cut ‘Spon Song’, subtle Latin flavours on ‘Spacer’s Delight’ and a beautiful modal arrangement of the traditional Irish air ‘Castle of Dromore’. A legendary recording in Ireland, Ozone reflected Kelehan’s keen appreciation of classic quintet-era Miles, with touches of the cerebral fusion of Ian Carr and the arranging genius of Neil Ardley. Not just a landmark Irish jazz set, Ozone is a lost classic of European jazz more widely."

FERMA third vinyl release lands just before the close of the year and it is a special one. Petros Spatharos leads with a set of bangers distilling perfectly the sound of the label. Athens-based artist is widely known for his dark, immersive industrial sound, so yeah expect nothing less.

Side A starts with ”Datura”, layering heavy drums with dark reeses and syncopations – solid stuff. ”Xorkia” is an eyes-down track which will keep you in the zone with stellar percussion and atmosphere. ”Vultures” closes the first side with higher energy levels and more distinct breakbeat elements.

On Side B, Randstad remixes ”Datura” and pumps up the tempo to create a mind-bending industrial electro track with aggressive synths. Boris Barksdale wrap-ups the physical release by remixing ”Xorkia” and changing the core to techno and reworking percussion to create an industrial heavy-hitter track.

'We are thrilled to be able to bring you Yara Asmar's first two cassette releases in a deluxe remastered double vinyl gatefold package featuring all new art and design from Yara herself.

Both albums were originally released on Hive Mind Records in 2022 and 2023 and received critical acclaim around the world':

“Melancholic drifts sound through the overcast skies of synth waltzes and accordion laments, infusing ageless melodies with a sense of falling backward through time. History is stitched through gilded aural silhouettes and elegiac drones. Asmar’s music is visceral. While electronics beckon beyond the sunrise stretched through a metallic shimmer, synth waltzes and accordion laments sticks with us while we remain lost in the hazy doldrums, always crawling forward tethered to our past lives. Highest recommendation.”
Brad Rose, Foxy Digitalis

"...these tracks are a cushion against reality. Asmar creates music that unfurls in evanescent bliss, an invitation to a safe space both isolated and welcoming."
Daryl Worthington, The Quietus

"...a set that transmutes the instrument’s droning tones into a sweep of introspective, breath-catching moments of beauty"
Eric Torres, Pitchfork Best Jazz & Experimental Albums of 2023

"The combination and contrast of highly familiar and highly alien elements give Asmar's music a quality not quite like anything else I can name. The way she channels found voices into her surreal mix of sounds is particularly striking."
Byron Coley, The Wire

Hello Everybody,

In recent years, the introductory texts for the Pop Ambient compilation series, which is released every year on Kompakt as the last release before the Christmas break, often began with the sentence "Every year again...".

“Every year again”, a quiet, almost unnoticed maxim of self-evidentness. Because this is already the 25th issue to be published this year.

25 years in increasingly fast-moving times in the even faster-moving music business is an eternity that doesn't just feel like it. It is all the more remarkable how I, as someone who is always restless and often driven by this fast pace himself, pleasantly almost haven’t realised how - in pop-ambient contexts - time does not pass (or passes differently) in the best sense.

When compiling the 25th edition I was asked, among other things, what it was like that I was still doing this and whether I had a favorite track. In the spirit of bringing all the tracks together I don't have a favorite track, or all of them. But I have a favorite part (moment) that I played. In this case it was a broad chord in a change of key at minute 2:55 in the piece Circles by Max Würden. A moment of majesty and familiarity that, at that moment, contains the entire Pop Ambient cosmos, that just works and doesn't explain anything - and I said: “...that's the reason why I'm still doing this.. .”

Pop Ambient is a statement without demands. Is promise without expectation. Is a path without a destination. Every year again.

Wolfgang Voigt, October 2024

And so to the facts:

01. Leandro Fresco / Thore Pfeiffer – Goldwasserfluss

The intercontinental collaboration between the two long-standing Pop Ambient artists Leandro Fresco from Argentina and Thore Pfeiffer from Mainz is a regular part of the series. They open this year's anniversary edition with the usual filigree.

02. Pass Into Silence – Mirage

The Japanese artist Tetsuo Sakae aka Pass into Silence returns to Kompakt 20 years after his legendary album “Calm Like A Millpond”. A master of tones that are as fine as they are stoic and crystal clear.

03. Tamarma & Sebastian Mullaert – Follow Me

For the first time, the well-known Swedish producer and DJ Sebastian Mullaert will be performing on Pop Ambient in cooperation with the Georgian sound artist Tamara Davitashvili. Their piece “Follow Me” fits confidently into the intimate, familiar sound cosmos.

04. Sono Kollektiv feat. Nathalie Brum – Periadriatische Naht

Sono Kollektiv is now a fixture on Pop Ambient, this time with Nathalie Brum. In particular, Luis Reich's characteristic flugelhorn always gives their sound that special jazzy touch.

05. Thore Pfeiffer – Phase Locked Loop 1

Thore Pfeiffer is a master of shimmering surfaces and hypnotically meandering loops.

06. Andrew Thomas feat. Julia Parr – Sunshine Night

An old friend from New Zealand is back with spherical sounds. Andrew Thomas, in collaboration with Julia Parr, sprinkles finely placed piano tones into distant soundscapes and even more distant voices.

07. Segensklang – Artifacts of Synthesis

We are pleased that Segensklang will be there again this year after his brilliant Pop Ambient debut last year. Deep and beautiful.

08. Ümit Han – Im Delirium

The Cologne producer Ümit Han is back for the third time. While he has so far explored the more emotional, soundscape aspects of the Pop Ambient universe, this year's piece "Im Delirium" rises to a pulsating mountain of sound with pearly, clear, effervescent sound crystals.

09. Würden & Schäfer – Analysis Of Variance II

In their track Analysis Of Variance II, Max Würden and Lukas Schäfer embed a finely placed beat impulse in a soft bed of modulating soundscapes and pleasant psychedelic spaceyness.

10. Max Würden– Circles

Max Würden once again shows his special feeling for one of the core statements of the Pop Ambient style spectrum. The abstract chord and soundscape movement between formal construction and emotional touchability, which seems like “pop music” under the microscope.

11. Blank Gloss – Jennifer’s Convertible

The Californian guitar-ambient duo takes us into their sublimely beautiful sound cosmos with their usual aplomb. Maximum condensed transparency. Lightness - heavy as gold.

12. Hendrik Meyer – Grün War Die Klamm

Another new addition is Hendrik Meyer. The versatile musician, also known for his MYR project distributed by Kompakt, leads us with a glistening, beautiful “wall of sound” determination into the eternity of a sunset that is only ended by the following track. Filmy Music.

13. Triola – Zum Renngraben

Jörg Burger aka Triola combines his typical “handmade” impulses and accents with a multi-dimensional, digital sound scenario in a pleasantly smoky, blurred stonewashed aesthetic.

As always, the indispensable final mastering by Jörg Burger ensures that everything is brought together and the sound is fine-tuned.

And like every year, the 25th edition is of course wrapped in an abstract, floral magic creation by Veronika Unland. Over the years, the grace of her imagery has increasingly merged with the musical aura to form an unmistakable magical symbiosis.

Hallo Leute,

In den vergangenen Jahren begannen die Anmoderationstexte zur Pop Ambient Kompilation-Reihe, die jedes Jahr als letzte Veröffentlichung vor der Weihnachtspause auf Kompakt erscheint, sinnigerweise immer mal wieder mit dem Satz “Alle Jahre wieder...".

„Alle Jahre wieder”, eine leise, fast unbemerkt zur Formel gewordene Maxime der Selbstverständlichkeit. Denn in diesem Jahr erscheint bereits die 25ste Ausgabe.

25 Jahre in zunehmend schnelllebigen Zeiten im noch schnelllebigeren Musikgeschäft, sind gerne mal eine nicht nur gefühlte Ewigkeit. Umso bemerkenswerter wie mir, als ewig Rastlosem und oft selbst von dieser Schnelllebigkeit Getriebenem, auf angenehme Weise fast entgangen ist wie sehr, in pop ambienten Zusammenhängen (gedacht), die Zeit im besten Sinne nicht (oder anders) vergeht.

Beim Kompilieren der 25sten Ausgabe wurde ich u.a. gefragt, wie es ist, dass ich das immer noch mache und ob ich ein Lieblingsstück hätte. Im Sinne des Zusammenbringens von allen Stücken habe ich kein Lieblingsstück, oder alle. Aber ich habe eine Lieblingsstelle, die ich dann gespielt habe. In dem Fall war es ein breit gesetzter Akkord in einen Tonartwechsel bei Minute 2:55 im Stück Circles von Max Würden. Ein Moment der Erhabenheit und Vertrautheit, der in diesem Moment den gesamten Pop Ambient Kosmos in sich trägt, der einfach nur wirkt und nichts erklärt - und ich habe gesagt: „...das ist der Grund, warum ich das immer noch mache...“

Pop Ambient ist Statement ohne Forderung. Ist Verheißung ohne Erwartung. Ist Weg ohne Ziel. Alle Jahre wieder.

Wolfgang Voigt, Oktober 2024

Und damit zu den Fakten:

01. Leandro Fresco / Thore Pfeiffer – Goldwasserfluss

Die interkontinentale Kollaboration der beiden langjährigen Pop Ambient Stamm-Künstler Leandro Fresco aus Argentinien und Thore Pfeiffer aus Mainz, ist regelmäßiger Bestandteil der Serie. Gewohnt filigran eröffnen sie die diesjährige Jubiläumsausgabe.

02. Pass Into Silence – Mirage

Der japanische Künstler Tetsuo Sakae aka Pass into Silence meldet sich 20 Jahre nach seinem sagenhaften Album „Calm Like A Millpond“ auf Kompakt zurück. Ein Meister der ebenso feinen wie stoisch-glasklaren Töne.

03. Tamarma & Sebastian Mullaert – Follow Me

Zum ersten Mal gibt sich der bekannte, schwedische Produzent und DJ Sebastian Mullaert in Kooperation mit der georgischen Klangkünstlerin Tamara Davitashvili auf Pop Ambient die Ehre. Ihr Stück „Follow Me“ fügt sich souverän in den intim-vertrauten Klangkosmos ein.

04. Sono Kollektiv feat. Nathalie Brum – Periadriatische Naht

Mittlerweile eine feste Größe auf Pop Ambient ist das Sono Kollektiv, diesmal mit Nathalie Brum. Insbesondere das charakteristische Flügelhorn von Luis Reich gibt ihrem Sound immer wieder diesen besonderen jazzigen Touch.

05. Thore Pfeiffer – Phase Locked Loop 1 Thore Pfeiffer ist ein Meister der flirrenden Flächen und hypnotisch mäandernden Loops.

06. Andrew Thomas feat. Julia Parr – Sunshine Night

Ein alter Bekannter aus Neuseeland meldet sich mit sphärischen Klängen zurück. Andrew Thomas, in Kooperation mit Julia Parr, sprenkelt fein gesetzte Klaviertöne in weit entfernte Flächen und noch entferntere Stimmen.

07. Segensklang – Artifacts of Synthese

Wir freuen uns, dass auch Segensklang nach seinem fulminanten Pop Ambient Debut im letzten Jahr auch dieses Jahr wieder mit dabei ist. Deep and beautiful.

08. Ümit Han – Im Delirium

Zum dritten Mal dabei ist der Kölner Produzent Ümit Han. Hat er bisher eher die emotional-flächigen Aspekte des Pop Ambienten Universums ausgelotet, schwingt sich sein diesjähriges Stück „Im Delirium“ mit perlend-klaren, sprudelnden Soundkristallen zu einem pulsierenden Klanggebirge auf.

09. Würden & Schäfer – Analysis Of Variance II

Max Würden und Lukas Schäfer betten in ihrem Stück Analysis Of Variance II einen fein gesetzten Beat-Impuls in ein weiches Bett aus modulierenden Flächen und angenehmer psychedelischer Spaceyness.

10. Max Würden – Circles

Max Würden zeigt einmal mehr sein besonderes Gefühl für eine der Kernaussagen des Pop Ambient Stilspektrums. Die wie „Popmusik“ unter dem Mikroskop anmutende, abstrakte Akkord- und Flächenbewegung zwischen formaler Konstruktion und emotionaler Berührbarkeit.

11. Blank Gloss – Jennifer’s Convertible

Das kalifornische Gitarren-Ambient Duo entführt uns mit gewohnter Souveränität in ihren erhaben-schönen Soundkosmos. Maximal verdichtete Transparenz. Leichtigkeit - schwer wie Gold.

12. Hendrik Meyer – Grün War Die Klamm

Ein weiterer Neuzugang ist Hendrik Meyer. Der vielseitige Musiker, u.a. auch bekannt durch sein über Kompakt vertriebenes MYR Projekt, führt uns mit gleißend-schöner „wall of sound“ Entschlossenheit in die Ewigkeit eines nur vom nachfolgenden Stück beendeten Sonnenuntergang. Film(Musik)reif.

13. Triola – Zum Renngraben

Jörg Burger aka Triola kombiniert die für ihn typischen „handmade“ Impulse und Akzente mit mehrdimensionalem, digitalen Soundszenario in angenehm rauchig-verwischter Stonewashed Ästhetik.

Für den alles zusammenführenden, klanglichen Feinschliff sorgt, wie immer, das unverzichtbare, finale Mastering von Jörg Burger.

Und wie in jedem Jahr ist auch die 25ste Ausgabe natürlich in ein abstrakt-florales Zaubergebilde von Veronika Unland gehüllt. Die Anmut ihrer Bildsprache ist über die Jahre immer mehr mit der musikalischen Aura zu einer unverkennbaren magischen Symbiose verschmolzen.

Over three years in the making, Needle Mythology Records is delighted to announce a super deluxe, expanded remastered reissue of The Lilac Time’s 1991 masterpiece, Astronauts. Released as a triple vinyl, triple CD or single vinyl, only 1000 copies of each format will be produced, there will be no further pressings. Both the 3LP and 3CD editions will come with an extensive 11,000 word oral history of Astronauts and liner notes by Needle Mythology co-founder and longtime Stephen Duffy fan, Pete Paphides.

All three albums including a 2024 remaster, a collection of works in progress entitled‘Softened By Rain The Making Of Astronauts’ and a live compilation ‘Any Road Up The Lilac Time Live 1990/91’ have been mastered for vinyl by Miles Showell at Abbey Roadand will be housed in a triple gatefold sleeve with a colour inner sleeve and new artwork for each disc, which has been especially created by designer Mike Storey. The main sleeve for Astronauts itself will replicate the original artwork but with the four distinctive “blobs” rendered in a red “foil” texture. In addition to these three disc sets, 1000 single vinyl remastered copies of Astronauts will also be made available, in a cherry red vinyl edition to match the outer sleeve.

With the shoegaze and baggy movements at their zenith, The Lilac Time’s fourth album was released at a moment when the left-field music zeitgeist was shaped by the nascent shoegaze, baggy and grunge movements. Whilst Astronauts conformed to none of those trends, neither was it the record Stephen had in his head when he finally finished working on it. We’ll never know how that record would have sounded, but it’s hard to imagine a better version of the album he did end up making. The songwriter who brought ‘A Taste of Honey’ and ‘Hats Off, Here Comes The Girl’ into the world envisaged the sort of choruses that would jump from the single speaker of your favourite transistor and lodge themselves into the collective memory bank.

But while he really was writing some of his most beautiful melodies, Astronauts is a family of songs that demands to be kept together in the sundazed cloud of inspiration that created it. It constitutes a partial retreat from the outwardfacing utopianism of its predecessors, choosing instead to dwell on the journey taken to get to this point. That this is an audibly different band to the pastoral expeditionaries of the group’s previous releases is almost entirely down to the departure of Nick Duffy and the arrival of Sagat Guirey. Suddenly, accordions, banjos and mandolins are out; jazz guitar is in. Sagat’s filigree work on the outro of ‘A Taste for Honey’ acts as a sublime parting shot to a lyric which acts as a wiser, wistful companion piece to Stephen’s 1985 solo hit ‘Kiss Me’, something tantamount to the camera retreating to reveal the years elapsed between the time depicted and the present day. The distance between the carefree youth of pop stardom and the first intimations of mortality can be measured between the first and second verses of the quietly devastating ‘Madresfield’; from the depiction of the deserted cricket pavilion obscured by fresh snowfall to the sudden shift in perspective from subject to protagonist: ‘No one ever told me/That killing time is harmful/For time cannot recover/What soon the ground will offer.’ For all of that, however, the resulting album didn’t correspond to the vision its creator had for it. At a loss as to what to do with it, Stephen surrendered Astronauts to Creation with no plans to promote or draw attention to it. The consciousness shift of which Stephen had hoped The Lilac Time might be a precursor hadn’t happened. Or, rather, it had – but it had happened elsewhere, in the Haçienda and Shoom and in Ibiza. Not on the hills of Herefordshire. In a nod to that sea change, Stephen handed over one song, ‘Dreaming’ to Hypnotone, who

Marina and the Diamonds is an award winning platinum selling artist. She has three top 10 albums including Gold certified The Family Jewels and her second studio album Electra Heart which debuted at No.1 on the UK’s official charts. In celebration of 10 years since the original release of Electra Heart, Electra Heart (Platinum Blonde Edition) will be released on magenta vinyl on the 23rd September 2022. This special edition features additional tracks as previously heard on alternate releases of the album.

Featuring the hit single ‘Primadonna,’ as well as TikTok sensation ‘Bubblegum Bitch’ which had a massive revival with TikTok in 2021. The album will also include two tracks, ‘Electra Heart’ and ‘E.V.O.L’ that have never previously been released physically.

Mit ihren bisherigen drei Alben ‚Rock Brigade‘ (2016), ‚Fahrenhater‘ (2018) und ‚9112‘ (2020) im Gepäck sind Fire Action alles andere als reine
Newcomer, sondern bereits fester Bestandteile der finnischen Metal-Szene. Dennoch wird ihre internationale Karriere mit der neuen Scheibe ‚Until
The Heat Dies‘ und der Vertragsunterzeichnung beim renommierten deutschen Metal-Label Steamhammer/SPV zweifelsfrei an Fahrt aufnehmen.
Dafür sprechen gleich mehrere Argumente, das wichtigste davon: Musikalisch hat das Quartett um Gitarrist Juri Vuortama und Sänger Pete Ahonen
einen wahren Quantensprung vollzogen. Elf traditionelle, zugleich abwechslungsreiche Metal-Songs, vom groovenden Opener ‚Storm Of Memories‘
bis zum hymnischen Finale ‚Midnight Avenue‘, unterstreichen die große Weiterentwicklung der Gruppe auf ‚Until The Heat Dies‘, das Vuortama kaum
zutreffender hätte beschreiben können: „It´s riffs, riffs and riffs, and great melodies on top of it!“, erklärt er das knappe Dutzend neuer Songs.
Veröffentlicht wird die Scheibe am 29. November 2024 auf CD und LP sowie als digitaler Download. Bereits vorher werden Fire Action drei Singles
auskoppeln: Am 20. September 2024 erscheint der Song ‚Hard Days, Long Nights‘ inklusive Lyric-Video, gefolgt von ‚No Drone Zone’ plus Video am 25.
Oktober 2024 und ‚Survive‘ (ebenfalls inklusive Video) am 22. November 2024.

NOTON is pleased to announce the release of Xerrox Vol. 5, the final installment of Alva Noto’s Xerrox series.

For anyone who has been following the series since its inception in 2007, the concept of Xerrox no longer requires introduction. Originally, it aimed to create copies of images—both visual and acoustic—that are more memorable than the originals. The exploration of the relationship between the original and the copy, along with the invention of the copier, not only inspired the series name but also informed its underlying concept. In 2024, this series comes to an end, marking the culmination of a journey that began with the first recording in 2005/2006. Over nearly two decades, the five albums in this series have accompanied the artist's evolving perspective and conceptual approach.

Initially characterized by rawness and a conceptual focus on seeking resolution in white noise, the later works engage with themes of dissolution while shifting their emphasis toward acoustic particles. The copying process is now less visible through software manipulation; rather, it unfolds as the artist describes melodic and acoustic images that are then manipulated, copied, and transformed into new patterns during composition.

Nicolai describes this evolution as a journey encompassing buildup, exploration, and resolution, drawing parallels to the Odyssey and the stories of Jules Verne, particularly those featuring Captain Nemo.

The conclusion of this album holds a sense of finality for the artist. “I aimed to create a whole cycle of tracks that frame both the beginning and the end,” Nicolai explains. “The motif of the journey continues, but this time, the story reaches a dissolution through a conceptual object that embarks on its own journey into infinity. The word “dissolution” (“Auflösung” in German) is a wonderful concept. On one hand, you can solve a riddle, on the other hand, a pill can completely dissolve in water. Here, I am deliberately describing the process of dissolution.”
In crafting Volume 5, Nicolai has evolved his compositional process, eschewing samples in favor of original melodies. “This album probably took the longest to complete,” he reveals. “I first created melodic sketches, which became the foundation for the pieces. These recordings are created entirely from scratch. Based on these sketches, I constructed the process of copying, manipulating, and reshaping.”

Drawing from his recent experiences working with film and larger ensembles, Nicolai's approach to composition reflects a growing influence of classical instrumentation. “This experience of working with acoustic classical instruments has flowed into the compositional process for Xerrox Vol. 5. Certain instruments are designed with potential orchestral translation in mind.”

The sonic atmosphere of Xerrox Vol. 5 is one of profound dissolution. “I wasn’t initially interested in strong, emotional melodic aspects,” Nicolai shares, “but I realized that the fragment plays a central role.” This shift leads to an emotionally charged experience, imbued with melancholy and the bittersweet essence of farewell. The passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto, an admirer of the series, has further deepened the album’s emotional resonance.

“Xerrox Vol. 5 has a lot to do with farewell,” the artist explains. "Not only the farewell to the series itself, which I’ve nurtured for almost two decades, but also there have been many farewells to people who were close to me. I believe these people are recognizable in the music. It’s a very emotional, personal album.”

Listeners can expect a visual dimension to the music, though Nicolai intentionally leaves this open to interpretation. “I prefer to allow the music to evoke personal experiences and images rather than dictate a specific narrative,” he states. The result is a layered listening experience that invites tenderness and introspection.

Airelle Besson, the French multi-award-wining jazz trumpeter, has been lighting up the European jazz scene for several years at the head of her quartet, duo with virtuoso accordionist Lionel Suarez, and the Besson/Sternal/Burgwinkle trio, featured here on 'Surprise!'.

A production without the inclusion of a bass player, the combination of trumpet, piano, and drums is both unusual and intriguing. The result is totally refreshing and provides a new dynamic to the jazz trio format. Featuring ten original compositions, five apiece from Besson and pianist Sternal.

As a much sought-after side-musician, and composer/arranger for the band Metronomy and the Orchestre National de Lyon, Airelle Besson has performed with Charlie Haden and Carla Bley, Michel Portal, Manu Katche, Philip Catherine, Billy Hart, Rhoda Scott, Daniel Humair, Henri Texier, Tom Harrell, Avishai Cohen, Greg Hutchinson, Jose James, and may others.

Airelle Besson: trumpet
Sebastian Sternal: piano, Fender Rhodes, FX pedals
Jonas Burgwinkel: drums

Recorded & mixed by Christian Heck at Loft Studios, Cologne, Germany.

Repress! It's safe to say that hip-hop has never seen an album like Ol’ Dirty Bastard's 1995 solo debut Return to the 36 Chambers. The brief glimpses of ODB's unhinged genius provided by Wu-Tang Clan's landmark Enter the Wu-Tang album two years earlier were begging to be expanded on to a larger canvas, and, with RZA guiding production, the album promised to give Dirty the creative license to make one of the most bizarre, entertaining and original LPs in hip-hop history. With his raspy, drunken flow and dark sense of humor, Dirty fearlessly attacks from all angles, throwing himself fearlessly into punchy rhyme attacks (“Damage,” with GZA), drugged-out party jams (the monster singles “Brooklyn Zoo” and “Shimmy Shimmy Ya”) and bizarre, grimly hilarious fantasies of sex and violence (“Don't U Know” and the R&B-tinged “Sweet Sugar Pie”). Backed by RZA's appropriately gritty, dissonant beats and appearances from the Clan, Return became an instant hit, selling over 1 million copies and earning a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Album in 1996. The album stands as a high water mark in the Wu-Tang Clan's collective creative output and was selected as one of the Best 100 Rap Albums by The Source magazine in 1998. In honoring the legacy of one of hip-hop's most innovative releases, Get On Down is proud to present this incredible and unique special edition of Ol’ Dirty Bastard's Return to the 36 Chambers as a double LP which contains the complete original album, remastered for optimal sound quality.

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Posthumes Album des 2023 verstorbenen Poeten und Sängers, der u.a. Co-Autor war von Cream's größten Hits 'Sunshine Of Your Love', 'Politican' und 'White Room'.

Feat. Eric Clapton, Joe Bonamassa, Clem Clemson von Humble Pie, Arthur Brown und viele mehr.

Ikonisch und brillant, heißt es in der Musikbranche, wenn der Name Pete Brown fällt. Er gilt als wahrer Lyriker unserer Zeit.

- Ltd. Col. LP: (Red Brown Marbled Vinyl)

Wo endet The Skull und wo beginnt Legions of Doom? Die Antwort könnte "genau hier" sein. Willkommen bei 'The Skull 3'. Der Tod des Sängers Eric Wagner (The Skull, Ex-Trouble, Blackfinger usw.) im Jahr 2021 überschattete das Debüt von Legions Of Doom, da The Skull-Gitarrist Lothar Keller und Bassist Ron Holzner (ebenfalls Ex-Trouble) Song-Material bearbeiteten, das auf dem dritten Album dieser Band zu finden gewesen wäre. Mit Wagners Beteiligung an der Komposition und dem Segen der Familie des Sängers bewegen sich Legions Of Doom weiter in Richtung Supergroup-Territorium, indem sie Drummer Henry Vasquez (Saint Vitus, Blood Of The Sun) und Sänger Karl Agell (u.a. Corrosion Of Conformity aus der 'Blind'-Ära) sowie Scott Reagers (ursprünglicher Frontmann von Saint Vitus) in die Gruppe aufnahmen. Wagners Geist ist Teil dieser Platte, ganz zu schweigen von seinem Gesang auf 'Heaven' - aber Legions of Doom sind mehr als eine Hommage. Am Ende wird die Platte ebenso sehr zu einem Debüt, wie sie es je als drittes Album für The Skull hätte sein können, und die Persönlichkeit von Legions Of Doom wird sofort durch die Gesangseinlagen von Reagers und Agell unterstrichen. Ja, es ist klassischer Doom von Veteranen, die diese Musikform mitgeprägt haben. Translucent Green Haze Vinyl-LP mit Foldout-Cover und bedrucktem Inner Sleeve; Jewel-Case-CD mit 12-seitigem Booklet.

2024 Repress

“Live at Sound City” is an instrumental collaboration between bassist Pino Palladino, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/producer Blake Mills, and LA-based saxophonist Sam Gendel. Recorded in one day at the legendary Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, the EP presents new versions of compositions from Palladino & Mills’ Grammy-nominated 2021 album “Notes with Attachments” in an intimate chamber trio setting. Across four tracks, the accomplished trio explores common musical vocabularies, then goes about the work of defamiliarizing them in search of something new, blending the sounds of West African and Cuban music, jazz, R&B, English folk, pop, and beyond.

Pino Palladino is a Grammy Award winning songwriter, producer and bassist who helped create the rhythm-section sound of D’Angelo’s Voodoo and Black Messiah, and over a four-decade career has worked with artists including Keith Richards, Erykah Badu, Eric Clapton, Nine Inch Nails, Questlove, John Mayer, Paul Simon, Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock and Adele.

Blake Mills is a two-time Grammy Awards Producer of the Year nominee. He has released four solo albums and produced and recorded with artists such as Alabama Shakes, Fiona Apple, Bob Dylan, John Legend, Perfume Genius, Jim James, Moses Sumney, Laura Marling, Phoebe Bridgers, Cass McCombs, The Killers, Sara Bareilles, Weyes Blood and Randy Newman. His most recent album Mutable Set, released last year, was praised by Pitchfork as “a hushed collection that floats through the subconscious like a tender dream,” and earned their Best New Music title.

Sam Gendel is a musician living in Los Angeles, CA. He is most known for his work with the saxophone, though he is proficient on multiple instruments. His work is diverse and includes collaborations with a wide range of artists including Ry Cooder, Laurie Anderson, Mach-Hommy, Sam Amidon, Perfume Genius, Moses Sumney, Knower, Vampire Weekend, and inc. no world.