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* New 2023 Vinyl pressings * Original Release Date: 10/25/1994 * Album Notes: Single LP + poster Mercyful Fate "Time" packs a nasty horror-metal punch. As always, metal icon and frontman King Diamond leads the way on Time with epic lyrics and instantly recognizable vocal range that defined the group's sound. Bandmembers, guitarist Hank Sherman, bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, and Snowy Shaw on drums do their usual fine job cranking out retro and near thrash metal riffs with biting precision. The sprawling "Lady in Black" is a clear standout, with its superior guitar grooves and relatively melodic and intelligible vocals. Other choice cuts include the crushing opener, "Nightmare Be Thy Name," and the title track,

Danny Davis knows the galvanizing power of an anthemic, hair-raising song. As the co-founding songwriter behind the long-running Oklahoma City indie rock outfit Husbands, he’s been meticulously crafting breezy and emotionally potent tunes about finding your place in the world. His writing always strives to break free from monotony and routine, aiming for meaning and clarity through massive choruses and colorful arrangements. Cuatro, Husbands’ adventurous and triumphant fourth album out Oct. 13 via Thirty Tigers, marks a turning point for Davis. It’s the first LP he’s released without his longtime bandmate, collaborator, and close friend Wil Norton. It’s also an album that Davis made during a time of relative personal stability after quitting his nine-to-five and moving with his wife to Costa Rica. Across 11 arena-filling and richly-produced tracks, the full-length is a document of his growth as a human being and a testament to finding peace in relationships evolving.

Even as a little boy, Johnny Cash has a feeling he was going to be famous one day. It wasn’t the kind of premonition he could go about telling people. They’d have thought dreams of fame and riches pretty far removed from the Cash’s barely-productive 40-acre cotton farm in Arkansas. Especially since Johnny had no idea how he was going to make his mark.

Johnny left the farm to go into the Air Force — and in his travels he acquired first, a wife — and secondly, a guitar. Assigned to Germany and forced to leave his wife behind, Johnny found a faithful companion in his guitar. The boys in his barracks seem to like his “pickin’ and singin'” and gradually the plan for a career began to take shape. He would be a singer — a country singer.

When he got back from service, Johnny was not so modest about his plans for the future. He let his Memphis friends know he was going to be a singer — a good singer, a famous singer — a singer who would revolutionize country music. No matter how long it took — he was determined!

As it happened, Lady Luck inclined her face toward Johnny almost immediately. His releases on the Sun label were instantly acclaimed, and in 1956, one year after Johnny Cash launched his recording career, he was named the most promising country and western artist of the year in four separate polls.

After the success of “I Walk the Line” as a simultaneous C & W and popular hit, it was indicated the course Johnny’s career should take. Though always identifying himself as a singer for the country fans — a favorite entertainer on the Grand Ole Opry — Johnny Cash with “Ballad of a Teen-Age Queen” came to be a top selling artist in the pop recording field.

Almost reluctantly, Johnny evolved a pop-county style in arrangement and instrumentation, evident in such hits as “Guess Things Happen That Way” and “The Ways of a Woman in Love” to supply the demand for Cash records by fans of both types of music. It is ironic that Johnny Cash caused more of a revolution in pop music than in country music, as was his aim, by being one of the first C & W artists exposed on national “general entertainment” TV shows; and the first C & W artist to capture the LP market with one great release (Sun 1220).

Johnny Cash — in his voice, looks and demeanor — carries a certain aura of “specialness.” He is a very dramatic figure — tall, muscular, with blue-black hair. He looks the part of a folk singer — a 20th century wandering minstrel. And his fatalistic style, both in composing and singing, has a quality of monotone, but of “emotional monotone” that defies analysis, but which is genuinely powerful.

Johnny Cash is one of those persons endowed with an exceptional talent which has to express itself. And being expressed, his talent has been uniquely recognized and applauded by many loyal fans, who will enjoy this reminiscent album of the songs which to date are landmarks in the career of the one and only Johnny Cash.

The six members of The Howdies each bring a unique musical background that combines to create a singular sound. Their Athens, Ga home has long been an artistic haven for all genres of music and an open forum for shared expression.

The result is a place where outsiders flourish and the rules of musical tradition are often bent or even broken with a wink and a smile. Produced by David Barbe and T. Hardy Morris and recorded at Chase Park Transduction, only Athens could create a group like The Howdies and a record like Howdies All Around. A little bit loose, a little bit home made but over flowing with the love of friendship and the sheer joy of creating something new.

“Utilising phat grooves and electronic scrapings to bring noise rock kicking and screaming into the volatile 2020s, Thoughtless Cruelty is snotty and abrasive, fuelled by impotent rage.” JR Moores, The Quietus “A kind of mad melding of Pissed Jeans and Lady Gaga.”

Jan Erik Vold and Jan Garbarek, two of Norway's most prominent figures in jazz teamed up with
bassist Arild Andersen, drummer Jon Christensen, guitarist Terje Rypdal and Bobo Stenson on
keyboards and these two September days in 1970 and made a formidable jazz album. Two poems
from Violence ("Det alle vet" from the collection of poems Mor Godhjertas glade version. Ja (1968) and
"Dikt" from Kykelipi (1969)) and long tenacious instrumental parts.

* New 2023 Vinyl pressings * Original Release Date: 10/25/1994 * Album Notes: Single LP + poster Mercyful Fate "Time" packs a nasty horror-metal punch. As always, metal icon and frontman King Diamond leads the way on Time with epic lyrics and instantly recognizable vocal range that defined the group's sound. Bandmembers, guitarist Hank Sherman, bassist Sharlee D'Angelo, and Snowy Shaw on drums do their usual fine job cranking out retro and near thrash metal riffs with biting precision. The sprawling "Lady in Black" is a clear standout, with its superior guitar grooves and relatively melodic and intelligible vocals. Other choice cuts include the crushing opener, "Nightmare Be Thy Name," and the title track,

2023 Repress

Best Record lights up a surefire classic from the annals of Italian dance music, made courtesy of Italo-Disco heavyweights Klein & MBO, who were not a company looking to get rich, but just 2 individuals: Tony Carrasco (USA), Mario Boncaldo (Italy), in one word... LEGENDARIES! with something burning inside to share. Italy certainly had a huge influence on the nascent Chicago house scene which embraced the best jams of Italo-Disco and created a movement of those simple yet complex sounds like those of "The MBO Theme", beautiful song, smooth and sweet, to give you time to think about some amazing dance moves and bring back very beautiful memories. The song was originally a hit created by the likes of Ron Hardy thanks to his punchy synth bass and captivating European vocals. So this was the first house song ever made and it's from the '80s, loved from the beginning by Derrick L. Carter, one of the pioneers of House Electronica in Chicago and Farley "Jackmaster" Funk, who broadcast on WBMX-FM of Chicago as a member of the DJ team Hot Mix 5. Pure Italo-Disco! Simple analog drum machine (sounds like a TR-606) and analog synthesizer, which in the case of Klein & MBO, is most likely a Sequential Circuits Pro-one. Italo's first purely minimal songs from the early 80s. This sought-after dancefloor gem has been given a faithful remastering touch, as is the Best Record method, which also brought out a previously unreleased edit of the track called "Italian Version", which extends the club qualities of the jam to the maximum impact of the party.

Espen Eriksen – piano Lars Tormod Jenset – bass Andreas Bye – drums Andy Sheppard – saxophone. The combination of Espen Eriksen Trio and UK saxophone giant Andy Sheppard is truly a match made in jazz heaven, and in the words of Andy: “I knew from the first time I heard the trio play that I would fit right in. I loved the melodic sense and vibe and was thrilled when I was invited to guest with the trio in London in 2016”. The common conclusion drawn in reviews of their first album Perfectly Unhappy five years ago was simply “more, please”, and now we are delighted to introduce As Good As It Gets, the quite brilliant follow-up. The two album titles aptly indicate a subtle change in mood, and it´s fair to say that the new album finds the trio slightly more lively and sunny in parts, still highly melodic and lyrical, often with a typically Nordic melancholic signature (check the Grieg nod in album closer Drifting Clouds). Eriksen is a master of catchy tunes and when Sheppard adds his inimitable playing to the trio´s minimalistic approach, magic is created. Espen Eriksen Trio was formed in 2007 and released their debut album in 2010. As Good As It Gets is their seventh album, all on Rune Grammofon. They have toured on four continents, becoming an increasingly popular concert attraction in several countries. Eriksen´s background is ranging from jazz to pop music and the church organ, while Jenset lived and worked as a musician in Copenhagen for seven years before relocating to Norway. Andreas Bye is one of Norway´s most requested drummers in jazz and pop and has played with Bugge Wesseltoft, John Scofield, Joshua Redman, Dhafer Yousef, Nils Petter Molvær and many others. With a career spanning over four decades, working together with the likes of George Russell, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow and numerous others, Andy Sheppard is truly one of Europe’s leading saxophonists. As a leader he has recorded for labels like Antilles, Verve, Blue Note and lately four albums for ECM.

Tube Alloys have made a type of record that is in short supply these days. A record that is untethered to prevailing musical trends, punk or otherwise, in either their native Los Angeles or further afield. It's in keeping with a tradition, sure, one pioneered by bands like Wire, Swell Maps and This Heat, who sought to combine the vitality of punk music with an omnivorous ear for the avant-garde. But Tube Alloys honour this tradition with their disinterest in nostalgia and their ability to cast an irreverent eye towards our present and - crucially - our future, rather than endlessly rehashing our past. In short, Tube Alloys are adventurous where many of their contemporaries are content to play it safe. In doing so they tick a lot of boxes for those with open minds and open ears, while simultaneously making sense of the innate contradictions found in any great work of art. Their songs are muscular without being boneheaded, clever without being nerdy. A dry Australian humour is barked with an American sense of self-assuredness. Songs end before you've had a chance to digest their brilliance, or they explode right when you think they've already peaked. And just when you think you're comfortably along for the ride, the songs disappear altogether, and the record's centrepiece abruptly takes shape as an oblique spoken riff on Time. And Time it is, for something a little different. Finally! If you are in need of refreshment, then look no further, you have found your Oasis!

Shortly after the great Envision EP (Xistence 001) Dublin based Phil Robertson DJ/Producer alias Arbilla back with it’s second release on his own imprint Xistence Records. This 4 tracker EP brings some dark Detroit Techno where classic meets the modern sound. The title track “Moving Forward” is from the deeper side of techno, futuristic synth melodies with heavy claps and bleeps.

Detroit’s techno legend, lifetime member of Underground Resistance, master of the darkness James Pennington aka Suburban Knight on remix duty... pure Detroit machine funk, more groove oriented version with filthy bass. Flip side track called Windjana is solid but with a classic claps/hihats which driving by a massive bassline.

Life Scenario with dark melodies,heavy percussions, and killer bassline inspired by James’ sound and shows mad respect & much love for Motor City underground.

For this new project, Rakoon is moving towards a warm, fully-fledged electro sound. "The Ones We Love" is an ode to those we love, to those we have loved, to the way encounters, sublime moments but also wounds, shape us.

The EP opens with the electronic ballad 'Carry Me', whose intoxicating synths remind us of those who have accompanied us, with whom we have moved forward and overcome trials. It's a nostalgic escape, with a vocal sample adding a touch of melancholy. As usual with Rakoon, hope is never far away on the danceable 'Moving Strangers', an energetic, enigmatic track where glitchy vocals intertwine with unstructured synths to give us that feeling of osmosis that arises in a crowd, when you share powerful moments with strangers. We continue the artist's electronic journey with "Always", whose analogue synths contrast with the depth of the vocals, revealing something unchanging in this journey. The radiant 'Memories' brings 'The Ones We Love' to a fitting close, in a hit built like a guitar-driven song, but made for the dancefloor. It's a track as unforgettable as the memories of the shared moments that make us who we are today.

On this universally intimate EP, the French producer conveys his feelings, but also his optimism. It's all about Rakoon and the emotions you feel when you listen to him: the desire to move forward together, to dance together bound by a transcendent force. An introspective journey full of honesty that we want to share, carried by its inspiring and intoxicating melodies. A journey of hopes and encounters that we want to continue to travel with him.

In our little history, the number 7, besides a kind of esoteric fascination, has marked important milestones in our evolutionary journey. This is why Raw Culture has decided to pay homage in grand style to its seventh year as an independent sound guarantor. To do so, it weaves a co-production with Oderso Rubini, historical memory of the Italian New Wave and head of Italian Records in the 80s. Out of this synergy comes our 24th release, Ping Pong, a dancefloor of dissonant bounces, where free-form suggestions, electronics and rhythmic improvisation find synthesis in a high-intensity competitive match. Starting from the sampling of Korean ping pong matches and the voices of the speakers, Renzini and Passini build a framework where the sound or voice of the electronically harmonised hoover amalgamates with powerful and syncopated drumming, a sound experiment poised between improvisational heavy jazz and Korean-style electronics.

The record is ideally divided into two converging visions highlighting the duplicity of the game, side A or Master Ping collects the first improvisations made by the duo in 2018 leaving almost unchanged the improvisational spirit close to a kind of degenerate free jazz. Side B or Master Pong made later explores more musical forms, with influences of the krautrock and electronic disco matrix, and sees the collaboration with other musicians from Bologna’s historic rock scene such as Gianluca Patini (Surprize, Slava Trudu, Volkwerk Folletto) on guitars, Giorgio Lavagna on vocals (Gaznevada, Stupid Set) and Enrico Serotti on electronic samples (Confusional Quartet, Stupid Set).

Keita Sano is a prolific Japanese producer who has released on revered labels such as Mister Saturday Night, Lets Play House, Morris Audio and 1080P. His fusion of dark, distorted, acidic textures and crunchy disco beats gives his produc tions a unique sound which works perfectly for Delusions Of Grandeur and the label is proud to welcome him for his debut DOG EP entitled Love Is Emotion.

The title track comes on like a proverbial runaway train with heavy, pounding beats and bassline forging things ahead while the most twisted, tripped out FX rise and fall creating an absolute juggernaut of a track which takes no prisoners. A decept ively simple DJ tool which is loaded with drama for maximum impact on the more left of centre dance floors.

Up next we have Violet which takes a low-slung deep house approach but with the grit and dirt that Keita always brings to the party. The first half of the track teases with tension-building chords and syncopated bassline which bounces around a massive four on the floor kick drum. Things fall away in the middle of the track to reveal a beautiful, heartwarming piano part, setting the scene before things get truly epic with orchestral strings bringing a touch of the film noir to proceedings.

I’m A Man picks up the pace again for an intense acid work out which pushes the sonic boundaries to the limits with seriously warped FX creating mayhem around a simple, percussive disco groove. As secret weapon DJ tools go, this is right up there.

Closing out this mind-bending release Keita remains in experimental mode on Love Is Emotion offsetting melodic arpeggios and sweet chords with off-kilter sonic madness ensuring things remain dark, dirty and deep.

Chicago"s Axis: Sova hit the beaches of southern California with Ty Segall to make a total hi-fi classic. Often feral and consistently catchy, Blinded By Oblivion is lit up with interlocking drum kit + drum machine, adventuresome guitar, bass, and harmonic vocals on every song. Icy lyrical perspectives, rendered in a sunshiny natural paradise, transmit the fun and fraud of human polarities with urgency and an occasional eye roll. Making for an undeniably good/bad time, streamlined and more reflexibly physical than previously known, Blinded By Oblivion begs the universe to bring back rock and roll radio. All the elements are there: compassion for our collective fallibility, rebuke on the tip of the tongue, all rolled tight with hook-laden, high-energy construction. "Bout halfway through Blinded By Oblivion, we hear Sova say, "I think my heart is made of metal." Yuuuup. But we"d argue there"s at least a ventricle or two made of post punk! And with vena cavae split between psych and southern boogie. And cardiac veins of glam, power pop, and punk Sometimes the heart is simply filled with sweet melody - so man, the beats of this metallic muscle are insane!

Chicago"s Axis: Sova hit the beaches of southern California with Ty Segall to make a total hi-fi classic. Often feral and consistently catchy, Blinded By Oblivion is lit up with interlocking drum kit + drum machine, adventuresome guitar, bass, and harmonic vocals on every song. Icy lyrical perspectives, rendered in a sunshiny natural paradise, transmit the fun and fraud of human polarities with urgency and an occasional eye roll. Making for an undeniably good/bad time, streamlined and more reflexibly physical than previously known, Blinded By Oblivion begs the universe to bring back rock and roll radio. All the elements are there: compassion for our collective fallibility, rebuke on the tip of the tongue, all rolled tight with hook-laden, high-energy construction. "Bout halfway through Blinded By Oblivion, we hear Sova say, "I think my heart is made of metal." Yuuuup. But we"d argue there"s at least a ventricle or two made of post punk! And with vena cavae split between psych and southern boogie. And cardiac veins of glam, power pop, and punk Sometimes the heart is simply filled with sweet melody - so man, the beats of this metallic muscle are insane!

On October 15th & 16th 2020, drummed Daniel Villarreal was joined by guitarist Jeff Parker and bassist Anna Butterss for two afternoons of recording in the backyard of Chicali Outpost in Los Angeles. For all three musicians, it was the first ensemble recording session they"d done in-person since the pandemic locked the world down just seven months prior. Some choice moments from the sessions made it onto Villarreal"s critically-acclaimed 2022 album Panamá 77, bust most of the music remained unreleased. Lados B is a deep dive into the high-level spontaneous music made by Villarreal, Parker and Butterss across those two days in 2020. Villarreal is heard leading the group through various rhythmic modes and structures for improvisation - flow as informed by the Latin soul of Fania Records as it is by the otherworldly trance of Brain Records - while Parker and Butterss draw on their extensive experience playing free together (as heard on Parker"s recently-released Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy, and the LA side of Makaya McCraven"s 2018 LP Universal Beings) to build harmonic buoys for their spontaneous melodicism. The result is a beautifully vivid illustration of context, creativity, and collective composition from a particularly rich moment in history.

Alien Transistor is proud to announce a reissue of Such December, the fourth album by Japanese indie folk-pop artist, Gratin Carnival. Listeners might already know Gratin Carnival from their appearance on the Alien Parade Japan compilation of indie pop groups working with brass and woodwind; compiled by Markus Acher of The Notwist and Saya of Tenniscoats, it introduced this beautiful genre to the wider world. Gratin Carnival’s “Just Watching” was one of the many highlights of that compilation, and its gentle bossa-folk glide reappears on Such December.

Originally released in 2020, Such December captures beautifully the happy-sad charm of Gratin Carnival. The project of Koreyuki Mitsunaga, Gratin Carnival started in 2011; Mitsunaga had been home recording for some time and decided on the name as an umbrella for his music-making. Mitsunaga’s main instruments are guitar, which he uses to great effect throughout, his gorgeous acoustic playing reminiscent of players like Ueno Takashi of Tenniscoats or João Gilberto, and alto saxophone and clarinet. Those three instruments make up the core of Gratin Carnival’s sound, along with Mitsunaga’s charmingly doleful singing.

Recording at his parents’ home, with a four-track cassette recorder and a MacBook, Mitsunaga created Such December during 2020, though the songs on it stretch back to 2016. The closing “On The Train” was the first song written for the album – “a song about a small trip,” Mitsunaga recalls – and from there, he built a beautiful collection of songs that sit together perfectly. There’s great clarity in Mitsunaga’s writing, with nothing extraneous getting in the way of the lucid arrangements and gorgeous melodies; there’s something of chamber jazz about it at times, so it’s no surprise that Mitsunaga shares his love of Benny Goodman’s small group playing.

He's also a fan of Japanese folk artists like Kenji Endo and Kyouzou Nishioka, and grew up listening to Japanese popular music, The Beatles, and The Carpenters. You can hear trace elements of all this in Such December, in the clear-headedness of the melodic decisions made by Mitsunaga, and the quiet charm of the song’s gentle arrangements. They take on different shapes live, too, where Mitsunaga often invites other musicians to join in – his live band currently includes Masafumi Ezaki (trumpet), Nahoko Kamei (bass clarinet, piano, keyboards) and Tadashi Yonago (trombone, self-made instruments).

As with plenty of musicians from the Japanese underground, Mitsunaga is involved in other music, too – he’s been working with The Otoasobi Project, which performs music in collaboration with individuals with learning disabilities, and their families; and he’s also involved in improvised music. With Such December, though, you get to hear Mitsunaga’s music at its most personal and individual, ten songs of still, gorgeously poised indie folk-pop, where the swooning clang of six strings meets the breathy bliss of woodwind and brass.

Skultura is Nick Dunston’s follow-up to the critically acclaimed Spider Season, which was released in July 2022. On Spider Season, Martin Johnson of Jazz Times said “Dunston is a sonic revolutionary in many ways, not the least of which is the instrumentation of his bands.”Spider Season also received glowing reviews from Pitchfork Magazine, TheWire, and New York City Jazz Record. While Skultura is an entirely new band,(featuring Cansu Tanrıkulu on voice/effects/electronics, Mariá Portugal on drums, Liz Kosack on synthesizer, and Eldar Tsalikov on alto saxophone/clarinet), fans of Dunston will find much to admire, and hear a compositional, improvisational, and notably, production style that is becoming uniquely his own. The repertoire of original music on Skultura ranges from spontaneous electro-acoustic ensemble exchanges, to carefully sculpted tone poems that meditate on the manipulated sample-based sides of the quintet. Composition, improvisation, and performance are no longer the only elements at playin Dunston’s recorded work. On Skultura, he continuously shapes the music with various sound-manipulation techniques to create an album that is meticulous as it is visceral. To quote Jacob Garchik’s liner notes, the ‘work is made of continuous waves of inspiration and creation, strata of improvisations made permanent, each layer related to the one below, or not’. Skultura is revered in Europe and the U.S., and will be co-released on the Berlin-based record label Fun In The Church, and the American tape cassette label Tripticks Tapes. Upcoming European performances in the Fall 2023 include Wels Unlimited Festival in Austria, and the Jazz Exzess concert series in Berlin.

20 albums and 25 years into her recording career and only now does Thea Gilmore feel enough of herself to make the self-titled album that renews her vows to music - her first love. The album is released on 6th October. The album was entirely written, played and produced by Thea. Thea Gilmore is absolutely the record she wanted to make. In many ways the record she had to make. Sustained by the very public dissection of her personal life laid bare on her last full-length release, the stunningly intimate Afterlight, Thea's hard-earned reputation as one of the most distinctive, strident and bold singer songwriters of her generation propels her to reach for new ground and this new release feels like a great leap forward into tomorrow. "That's why this is my first self-titled album," she explains. "On my last album I changed by name to Afterlight and drew a line under everything I'd done up to that point. Not to invalidate it, but to put an end to the 'before'. It was a very inward-looking record that was rooted in the darkness of everything that happened to me up to 2019, whereas this album has its head up and is eyeing the world as a challenge. It's a logical forward motion - the emergence from the shadows of Afterlight into the relative lightness of Thea Gilmore - in a renewal of my vows to music; my first love. In a weird way it feels like a debut of sorts so it made sense to make it eponymous." Across 12 tracks Thea delves into the cracks between the paving slabs of life's big themes. She's exploring the understanding that comes with experience, choosing her battles and finding out who she is now. The stunning 'She Speak In Colours' is a song for love and loss written as part of BBC Radio 2's critically lauded 21st Century Folk project; while 'The Next Time You Win' with its simple piano figures and its collage of spoken and sung lines seems to both accept the way the world works while reaffirming the pledge to stand on the frontline of change. Thea is also excited to bring the album to the stage. She will play London’s Union Chapel on 12th October and then an 11-date tour around the UK in early 2024. Full dates below. Thea Gilmore has made 20 albums since the release of her first, Burning Dorothy, in 1998. The veteran of hundreds of festivals, she has sold out shows across the globe.

Prog Rock band from Bergen, Norway, formed in late 1969 , and disbanded in the spring of 1974.
They had several reunions since then. Saft was among the first rock bands to sing in Nynorsk
("Fjovisere" in 1971), also made history when they won the European summit with "People In Motion"
in November 1971. The members of the first Saft incarnation came from other established Bergen
bands: Ove Thue (vocals, guitar), Tom Harry Halvorsen (keyboards, vocals) and Trygve Thue (guitar,
vocals) from Neither Nor, Magne Lunde (drums) from Human Beings, and Rolf Skogstrand (bass)
from various - including Human Beings. The band had ample opportunity to play in the hippie musical
Hair on the National Stage in Bergen in the autumn of 1970. A recording from the performance was
released on LP by Polydor just before Christmas 1970. Saft made a demo recording of their
self-composed material at about the same time, and a contract deal with Polydor. In summer of 1971
they released "People In Motion" / "Albertine Hall", which was a big success and critical aclaimed. The
record was chosen as Norway's contribution to the European Summit on November 20, 1971. “Horn”
was their second album released in 1971 an experimental record with diverse styles, and
improvisations with all members contribute in songwriting. Available on vinyl again for the first time
since 1971

Remastered Re-Release des 1981er Albums des belgischen Synth-Pop-Trios, auf dem sich Telex mit Sparks zusammen tun, ein Match made in Heaven!

• Latin Freestyle was a dizzying, passionate, ultra-modern music. It was the aural equivalent of a can of thirst-quenching Quatro or a Spanish Harlem dance-off, and it became the electronically constructed bridge between disco and house.

• Freestyle grew out of the electro sound of the early 80s, combined clean staccato rhythms with morse code synth hooks, and topped them off with emotive, usually female, frequently Latina vocals. There was plenty more going on besides: proto-house piano lines, Cuban percussion, high emotion and synth hooks to die for.

• Put together and annotated by Bob Stanley (who also compiled the acclaimed “The Daisy Age” and “Fell From The Sun”), “Latin Freestyle” is the first compilation to cover the whole gamut of Freestyle from its early 80s breakthrough to its early 90s revival. So many classics… Lisa Lisa made the UK top ten with the 808 joy of ‘I Wonder If I Take You Home’. Stacey Q’s cosmically great ‘Two Of Hearts’ came out in 1986, while 1987 saw the likes of Company B’s ‘Fascinated’ and Exposé’s ‘Point Of No Return’ become huge UK club hits.

• Today, Freestyle is a scene with a solid collector’s market, and rarities like Janelle’s ‘Don’t Be Shy’ sell for hundreds of dollars. It’s a classic summer soundtrack, finally condensed in one Ace Records compilation – “Latin Freestyle”.

The group"s second LP for Epitaph finds HUNNY playing in a brand-new musical sandbox, balancing the haze of hindsight with a sun-soaked SoCal summer. From the meditative track "my own age" and breakbeat-backed, late "90s-leaning "all my luck" to the lo-fi punk standout "ring in your ear" (featuring Motion City Soundtrack"s Justin Courtney Pierre) and made-for-dashboard-drumming "89cc" (complete with a searing sax solo) the album is a testament to the band"s musical fluency and dedication to their craft. HUNNY was born out of the tight-knit North LA indie-rock scene of the mid-2010s, sharing stages and even band members with acts like The Neighbourhood and Bad Suns from an early age. The band is well established in the digital space, having racked up over 300+ Million streams to date on their catalog. By the time the band had secured a record deal with legendary Epitaph Records and released their 2019 debut full-length, Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes., outlets like Alternative Press were hailing HUNNY - vocalist/guitarist Jason Yarger, guitarist Jake Goldstein, bassist Kevin Grimmett and drummer Joey Anderson - for their spin on "perfunctory electronic and new-wave pop, teeming with love, heartbreak, neuroses and impeccably sweet dancing shoes." Now, on the verge of entering their second decade together, it"s clear HUNNY"s greatest asset is their disinterest in doing anything besides what moves them. It"s afforded them great range as a band, the ability to naturally shapeshift on their own albums as well as win over audiences across the entire rock spectrum. Most importantly, it"s propelled them to be unapologetically themselves and trust what"s gotten them this far.

SG is none other than Andrew Pekler returning to faitiche with an album of sentimental guitar escapism. For Lovers Only / Rain Suite features ten tracks made using only an electric guitar and a handful of effects pedals (plus some additional recordings of rain) and finds Pekler once again attempting to reconicile his tendencies towards kitsch, experimentation and minimalism.

What does Pekler's pseudonym SG stand for? Sentimental Guitar? Sound Gallery? Shy Guy? Sad Gnosis? Saudade Glamour? Soft Goth? We don't know, but we asked notorious Chicago romantic Sam Prekop for his take on the album – his reply:

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It’s a wonder where the rivers go and far, how fast or slow.

Just seconds to remember, who can forget, when you are lost.

I think to recount every step, in both hands, eyes open, the clouds unfold, one two three. Every other step, just as well.

Where the moss is soft, you know strong. How many hours, days? I could have been careful, did I forget?

Never mind. Waking up, in these arms, where the rivers go, slow. One two three, one two three.

With the album "Souvent Fauché Toujours Marteau", Bérurier Noir completed seven years of permanent agitation. More than a title, it's a demand that puts a masterly end to the epic of the herd of rock. The themes dear to Les Bérus blend together in the ultimate uproar: anti-militarism, resistance to drugs, nostalgia for the squats that nurtured a rebellious youth, revolt in the ghetto suburbs, international solidarity... all underlined by a zest of Bérurière madness. The band also experimented with hip hop sounds and surprising, welcome oriental resonances, echoes of folklore from the world zone. However, this album abandons the satirical aspects with which its predecessors were imbued. The tone is no longer one of facetiousness: our two clowns have written their epitaph, and it is resolutely black.

Ein Stück Bonsai Kitten Geschichte wird neu aufgelegt: Das lang ausverkaufte Debut-Album Done With Hell ist jetzt als streng limitierte und handnummerierte Collectors Vinyl-Reissue in Yellow-Red Splash endlich wieder erhältlich.Mit Songs wie "Don´t Mess With Me", "Virgin Suicide" und dem Titel-Track "Done With Hell" als Duett mit Köfte De Ville von MAD SIN, legte die Berliner Sängerin Tiger Lilly Marleen 2011 mit ihrer Band einen Senkrechtstart hin. Die musikalische Mischung aus Punkrock, ~Billy und Rock´n`Roll nannte die Kombo selbstbewusst Killbilly und sprengte seiner Zeit klassische Genre-Grenzen. Die Geschichte von Bonsai Kitten geht bis heute weiter, da Tiger Lilly Marleen ihre Band immer wieder neu erfand.Das Reissue wurde für die Wiederveröffentlichung aufwendig remastered und enthält zudem zwei exklusive Bonus-Tracks, die in aktueller Bandbesetzung mit Metal-Drummer Marc Reign (ex-Destruction), Bluesgitarrist Wally (u.a. Psychopunch), E-Bassist Spoxx (Feeling B) und Tiger Lilly Marleen neu aufgenommen wurden und so eine Brücke zwischen der früheren und heutigen musikalisch härteren Ausrichtung der Band schlagen.

Catatonic Suns is Patrick Shields (guitar, vocals) , Jakob Christman (bass) and Caleb Strobl (drums) Catatonic Suns new album sees them blend the underground psychedelia of the late 80s / early 90s Pacific Northwest with the shimmering shoegazery of Britain from the same time. Heavy and soft guitars, songs that soar, these new recordings verge on the epic. For fans of The Verve (early), Screaming Trees, Truly, Ride, Slowdive, Alice In Chains. Pennsylvanian threepiece Catatonic Suns release their brand new album via Agitated records this autumn (Fall if you reside in the US), Patrick and Jake have known each other since birth, obsessing on punk rock, but the band actually formed in 2019. Vocalist / guitarist Patrick and fellow guitarist Llambro Llaguri began creating homemade psychedelic psychedelic 4 track cassette demos during the Winter of 2015, taking heavy inspiration from an eclectic mix of acts ranging from Ween to R.E.M. As these early songs were created, the duo sought other like minded individuals in their hometown of Allentown, PA to take these primitive demos to the next level. It was then that Patrick recruited another childhood friend, Jakob Christman, to fill the role of bass along with another mutual friend Caleb Strobl completing the rhythm section of Catatonic Suns. In 2019, the group put out their first release, the Catatonic Suns demo, a collection of lo-fi recordings made by Patrick over the years. During this period, the band began to make a name for itself by playing shows across eastern Pennsylvania including the Lehigh Valley where local garage rock heroes Original Sins hailed from. During the months of August and September of the same year, Catatonic Sun's reputation for wall of sound psych-grunge was really brought to life when the group teamed up with local record producer guru Matt Molchany of Shards Recording Studio to track their debut studio venture “Aphelion” (more an extended EP). Self -Released in the December, the album found an audience beyond the local music circuit of Pennsylvania, even reaching countries such as the U.K.,Germany and Japan. The band continued to play shows growing their fanbase and honing their skills as a cohesive unit resulting in radio airplay across the country and a feature on the compilation “Pedal Worship” by Bummer Recordings. During this same period, Matt Molchany once again helped the band carve their next album (a full length) “Saudade” along with mastering engineer Matt Poirier (War On Drugs), which was also self released, in February 2022. They played plenty more gigs, and ventured to the west coast for some shows in LA with local friends Laurel Canyon, one especially wild night was with both bands supporting Strawberry Alarm Clock at the Whiskey A Go Go. Now a three piece and into 2023 the band record the 7 original songs and one Original Sins cover for this new release.. Recorded early 2023 at Shards Recording Studio, Bethelem, PA with tracking and mixing once again by Matt Molchany. Mastered by Mikey Young. Agitated/ Catatonic Suns intend to remaster/ reissue Saudade on LP / CD formats in 2024, to coincide with debut UK shows.

My ZEITGEIST. (in the words of The Legendary Tigerman)

Musically, I tried to follow the path left behind by early modular synths explorers like Suzanne Ciani or Wendy Carlos, mixing it with the raw & powerful energy of early punk explorers like The Cramps, Suicide or The Sonics (my teenage heroes!) and the orchestral universe of people like Lee Hazlewood or Scott Walker, looking back at the past while keeping an eye out for the future.
Zeitgeist is also the point where my work as a soundtrack composer meets my life as a punk Rock’n’roller.

The Legendary Tigerman is the artistic name of Portuguese musician and composer Paulo Furtado. With a solid career stemming from the DIY movement and characterized by the reinvention of genres such as blues, rock, and garage rock, while always maintaining a punk attitude, The Tigerman's recognition is founded on a galloping international career, marked by the release of the iconic album "Naked Blues" in 2001. In a few years, he goes from a cult artist to a reference name and with the acclaimed "Femina" (2009), he writes his name in the pantheon of the most creative rock made in Europe.
With "True" (2014) and "Misfit" (2018), he consolidated his position in the international rock scene with two albums that explore the dense soundscapes of a rock 'n' roll that moves away from common places. Live, the unstoppable and infernal rock machine, consisting of Paulo Furtado on vocals and guitar, Filipe Rocha on bass, Mike Ghost on drums, and Cabrita on saxophone, makes concerts unpredictable and explosive, exactly as expected from a rock 'n' roll act.
The success of The Legendary Tigerman goes beyond the borders of Portugal, thanks to tours in various countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In addition to his work on stage, Paulo Furtado has become notable for his prominent career in theater, cinema, soundtrack creation, photography, and film direction.
Focused on being a catalyst for unique and authentic music, The Legendary Tigerman is one of the main European rock names, renewing himself with creativity and innovation with each album. In 2023, there will be a new album, featuring more ethereal and intimate sounds alongside rock 'n' roll, but always keeping it punk.

Too Pure are excited to get Moonshake’s debut album, ‘Eva Luna’, back in
print, releasing a deluxe edition, re-mastered from analogue 1Ú2” tape, on
blue double vinyl.
 The reissue contains 19 tracks - the album’s original 10, the non-LP threesong single ‘Secondhand Clothes’, the two B-sides from the ‘Beautiful
Pigeon’ single and four tracks from a November 1992 John Peel session.
The release also includes an 8-page full-colour booklet.
 Moonshake were formed in 1991 by David Callahan (vocals, guitars,
samplers), formerly of The Wolfhounds, and New York musician Margaret
Fiedler (vocals, guitars, samplers). Callahan and Fiedler recorded a demo for
Creation Records, and were joined by John Frenett (bass) and Miguel
Morland (‘Mig’, drums) to record and release the ‘First EP’ for Creation in
1991.
 They took their name from a 1973 single by Can. Both Fiedler and Callahan
wrote songs, and they would (generally) sing on the songs that they wrote.
Their output of shared inspiration produced wildly different results - Can, PIL,
Kraftwerk, MBV and Erik B & Rakim were a melting pot that made
Moonshake somewhat uncategorizable, and as Margaret noted in an
interview, “Moonshake was a collision - it was supposed to be a collision.”
 Their debut album, ‘Eva Luna’, took its name from a novel by Chilean author
Isabel Allende, and the tracks on it are split evenly between the two
songwriters. Callahan’s songs are somewhat angry, dissonant, post-punk
affairs, while Fiedler’s are just as angular, but her quieter sometimes near
whispered vocals compliment her writing partner’s equally. Producer /
engineer Guy Fixsen, fresh from his work on My Bloody Valentine’s
‘Loveless’, was instrumental in making the album cohesive.
 This album has been critically revisited often since its original release, with
Tiny Mix Tapes describing their sound as “an updated take on Can and
Public Image Limited’s rhythmic propulsion with noisier guitar work and a
predilection for sampling influenced by The Young Gods.” Last year, in a
wonderfully long piece to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary, Louder
Than War wrote that they were blown away by the album’s “utterly
spellbinding, dizzyingly genre-defying approach at articulating explicitly the
sound of a city in the throes of urban psychosis and derangement... ‘Eva
Luna’ really is one hell of a ground-breaking record, and it stands resolutely
alone among all of the albums released in 1992 as no other band has
managed to create anything remotely similar before or since. It really is a
unique album with few equals.”
 In 1993, the original incarnation of the band split up, and Margaret Fiedler
and John Frenett went on to form Laika with Guy Fixsen. Callahan and
Morland continued on with guest musicians, with Callahan ultimately
remaining the band’s sole original member. Moonshake ended in 1997 but
their legacy is indisputable.

Acclaimed NY-based singer songwriter Jordan Lee aka Mutual
Benefit announces ‘Growing At The Edges’, on Transgressive
Records, his first record since 2019.
 ‘Growing at the Edges’ is sonically expansive, artfully blending
genres from country to classical with the help of multifaceted
co-producer Gabriel Birnbaum (Wilder Maker) and critically
acclaimed string arranger Concetta Abbate. The band,
alongside Lee and Birnbaum, was made up of Wilder Maker
members Sean Mullins (Andy Shauf) and Nick Jost (Baroness)
and features help from Jonnie Baker of Florist and Eva
Goodman of Nighttime among others.
 “I approached ‘Growing at the Edges’ as an act of worldbuilding. It was a place we visited often over the past 5 years
collaging and sonically redecorating until it reflected the joy and
the pain of being human in a universe that will always be
changing. I wanted to make music that could simultaneously
mourn versions of the past but still find hope in the seedlings
which could, perhaps, bloom into better futures” - Jordan Lee
 The album cover is a purposefully ‘unfinished’ weaving by fibre
artist Natalie Phillips.
 “I had this theme for ‘Growing at the Edges’ where I was
thinking about the first little life forms that pop up after
something natural like winter or less natural like a disaster and
kind of channeling their spirit for the art and music. That got me
imagining one of Natalie’s beautiful weavings but in-process
with stray yarn and loom still visible. Incomplete yet still
beautiful. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.”
 Mutual Benefit’s live shows are known for their rotating cast of
wide-ranging musicians leading to inspired interpretations of the
extensive catalogue on notable stages like MoMA’s sculpture
garden or UK’s Green Man Festival as well as the occasional
surprise park or basement show at home in Brooklyn.
 Throughout the years Mutual Benefit has been in Album Of The
Year lists among Pitchfork and Stereogum, as well as Folk
Musician Of The Year by New York’s Village Voice.

Horros, the third album by Finnish sonic voyagers Virta, is issued in September 2023. With Horros, Virta build on and take into new terrain the questing, jazz-tinged electroacoustic adventures of their last album, December 2016’s Hurmos, and its predecessor, their November 2012 debut Tales From Deep Waters. Still recognisable as who they were, the Virta of 2023 now delves further than ever before into their inner world to craft their most affecting, most atmospheric and most cinematic music to date. Even so, Horros does not need to be accompanied by images – it envelops so much that signposts are unnecessary. The music itself is the guide through this sound world. The creators of this environment are Antti Hevosmaa (electronics, flugelhorn, trumpet, vocals), Erik Fräki (electronics, drums, percussion, vocals) and Heikki Selamo (bass, electronics, guitar, lap steel, vocals). Together as Virta – which translates from Finnish as electricity, energy or stream – the trio were acclaimed as a “cornerstone of Finnish experimental music” by Finnish daily by newspaper Savon Sanomat in 2016. Horros will ensure this status becomes the case internationally. Beyond Finland, Virta already have dedicated listeners in Canada, France, Germany, Poland, the United States and the UK. Reflecting on Horros, Antti says “We’ve always made music we want to listen to ourselves. We’ve asked what is the sound we want to listen to? We are digging deeper now, with new elements – more vocals. Lyrics too, which we haven’t done before.” Without sacrificing who they are, Virta now have a wider scope than ever. “A key idea with Virta is to make the music you hear in your head and share it with people,” adds Heikki. “Yes, to share what is in our heads,” agrees Erik. “But also, it becomes live music, that’s the point

In 1964 Dave Davies of the Kinks singlehandedly made rock history when he sliced his little green Elpico amp speaker with a razor blade. Little did he know he was creating the 1st heavy metal guitar tone and riff in rock n roll, which he played on his band The Kinks' worldwide hit 'You Really Got Me.' Nearly fifty years after influencing generations of guitarists Dave continues to rock and tour. His 2013 return to the U.S. to support the album I Will Be Me was a triumph both creatively and spiritually as he found new inspiration for his soon to be follow up album, the highly acclaimed, Rippin Up Time. Released in 2014, Dave embarked on yet another U.S. tour to support it. He was joined by Jonathan Lea on guitar, Tom Currier on bass and keyboards and legendary drummer Dennis Diken of the Smithereens. The tour swept through venues in Milwaukee, Chicago, New Jersey, NYC and many more. Jim Sclavunos played drums for one gig in Bethlehem, PA. On every date Dave Davies and band played a highly charged set of solo album favorites, Kinks classics and new tracks. At the City Winery NYC on November 24 and 25, 2014 Dave and band put on an amazing concert to an audience of new and longtime Kinks fans, music industry stars and legends. They delivered two exhilarating nights of performances that rocked and ripped up the city's nightlife.

'New World Artifacts' is the debut album from Rouen, France-based group Unschooling, arriving following their 2021 'Random Acts of Total Control' EP and 2019's 'Defensive Designs' tape. Out October 6th via Bad Vibrations, it's a collection of lo-fi post-punk clocking in at 30 minutes, underscored with subtle pop melodies and structures but never far away from bouts of chaotic no-wave dissonance. Here, Unschooling claim loud and clear their desire to return to a sound which is less calibrated, less obvious. As they themselves write, "New World Artifacts is an ode to the unexpected, a tribute to many art rock bands who are always where you least expect them." Already heralded as one of the most exciting up-and-comers in the new school of post-punk revivalists, having spent the last couple of years playing to busy crowds and festival fields across the continent, 'New World Artifacts' might just mark them out as the best in class. The Unschooling quintet, as referred to on the album's collage artwork, is made up of Vincent Fevrier (Vocals/Guitar), Damien Tebbal (Bass), Paul Morvant (Guitar), Marc Lebreuilly (Guitar/Synth) and Thomas Fromager (Drums). Although their music might revel in discord, it is a calculated one. The musicianship is complex and meticulous, hardened by their time spent together playing on the road. For 'New World Artifacts', additional musicians were also brought in to expand the sound in new ways, including saxophonists Levi Gillis (The Dip, Beat Connection) and Emeline Morisset (Les Agamemnonz), and Kyleen King (Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, My Morning Jacket) on strings. Pressing Info: 180g blue vinyl, limited to 300 hand-numbered copies ww, download card included.

Hans Hulbækmo, a driving force in the groups Moskus, Skadedyr, Flukten and Reolo, and a prominent member of bands like Atomic, Hanna Paulsberg Concept, Broen and Hulbækmo & Jacobsen Familieorkester, is now ready with his first solo album - "Tilfeldig Næpe".Hulbækmo was born into a musical family, where both his mother Tone Hulbækmo, and father Hans Fredrik Jacobsen, were active musicians within Norwegian Folk Music. Hans and his brother Alf were taken on tours around the world from an early age. His upbringing has shaped his identity as a musician and has made music a natural part of everyday life. His versatile musicality makes it as natural for him to express himself through the drum set as through other instruments. On "Tilfeldig Næpe" he explores a variety of instruments that form an "expanded drum kit".Throughout the album, the listener is introduced to Hulbækmo's passion for Dadaism and European improvisational music, while also finding inspiration in the everyday and in Norwegian traditional and functional music. Each track is improvised and showcases his unique musicality, strongly characteristic playing style, and ability for spontaneous composition. The love for interaction, communal improvisation, and the social aspect of music has always been essential to Hulbækmo. On his first solo album, he has found ways to play with or against himself, both in the spontaneous creation and in the process of putting the album together as a whole. At times, he plays several different instruments simultaneously. This framework creates both opportunities and limitations. "Tilfeldig Næpe" draws the listener into Hans Hulbækmo's creative world, a world full of coincidences and exciting compositions

Indonesian trio Grrrl Gang builds on their considerable worldwide buzz with Spunky!, their full-length debut album. Released on 22 September 2023 by Green Island Music in partnership with exclusive licensees Kill Rock Stars (United States), Trapped Animal Records (United Kingdom) and Big Romantic Records (Japan and Taiwan), the album is preceded by its title track and first single dropped on May 30, featured from the same title of the album, 'Spunky!' Spunky! arrives following some major life changes for Angeeta Sentana (vocals, guitar), Akbar Rumandung (bass, vocals), and Edo Alventa (guitar, vocals), including a switch in locale from Yogyakarta, the city where they formed the band while still in college. “This is Grrrl Gang’s first release after we graduated and got day jobs that made us have to move to Jakarta, which is undeniably 180 degrees compared to Jogja,” says Rumandung. “But moving to Jakarta enabled us to work with Lafa on Spunky! from start to finish.” The song itself essentially describes Sentana's experience during a manic episode. “I feel like I’m on top of the world, untouchable. I do things without thinking, always chasing after that feeling of instant gratification. I feel extra confident in myself to a point of grandiose thinking and that I could do anything,” Sentana explains. That would be Lafa Pratomo, the in-demand producer brought in to help shape the ten tracks that make up Spunky! With a resume that includes the likes of the chanteuse Danilla and legendary singer-songwriter Iwan Fals, Pratomo might not seem the obvious choice to take the Grrrl Gang producer’s chair. But according to Rumandung, “In terms of production, this was something new for us by working with someone outside of Grrrl Gang’s comfort zone.” Indeed, Pratomo considerably beefs up Grrrl Gang’s sound particularly Alventa’s guitar tones, Rumandung’s rumbling bass, and touring drummer Muhammad Faiz Abdurrahman’s muscular beats while preserving the band’s signature raucous energy, catchy melodies, and Sentana’s attitude-filled, equal-parts-honey-and-vinegar vocals. The music video for Spunky! premieres on the Grrrl Gang YouTube channel on the same day as the release of the song. The video, directed by Bathroom Girls, is part of a continuous movie, with Spunky! being the second chapter. It tells the story of an introverted girl who goes to a house party to validate herself among her peers. Despite facing challenges to her self-esteem, she manages to overcome her discomfort to survive the night. During the party, she watches Grrrl Gang perform Spunky! and is mesmerized by the confident performance of Angee, the lead singer. The girl imagines herself as Angee, a confident and cool person that she will never be. Hailing from the cultural city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Grrrl Gang is a rising force in the independent music scene with their infectious melodies, anthemic songs, and electrifying live performances. The power trio, composed of Angee Sentana on guitar and vocals, Akbar Rumandung on bass, and Edo Alventa on guitar, has been making waves in the Southeast Asian music scene since their formation in 2016. Grrrl Gang's music is a celebration of their collective roots and a testament to the power of pop music to connect people across cultures and borders. Their lyrics touch on themes such as feminism, mental health, and relationships with a raw honesty that speaks to a generation of young listeners. With their infectious energy, socially conscious lyrics, and unique sound, Grrrl Gang is poised to take the global music scene by storm and become a voice for a new generation

'New World Artifacts' is the debut album from Rouen, France-based group Unschooling, arriving following their 2021 'Random Acts of Total Control' EP and 2019's 'Defensive Designs' tape. Out October 6th via Bad Vibrations, it's a collection of lo-fi post-punk clocking in at 30 minutes, underscored with subtle pop melodies and structures but never far away from bouts of chaotic no-wave dissonance. Here, Unschooling claim loud and clear their desire to return to a sound which is less calibrated, less obvious. As they themselves write, "New World Artifacts is an ode to the unexpected, a tribute to many art rock bands who are always where you least expect them." Already heralded as one of the most exciting up-and-comers in the new school of post-punk revivalists, having spent the last couple of years playing to busy crowds and festival fields across the continent, 'New World Artifacts' might just mark them out as the best in class. The Unschooling quintet, as referred to on the album's collage artwork, is made up of Vincent Fevrier (Vocals/Guitar), Damien Tebbal (Bass), Paul Morvant (Guitar), Marc Lebreuilly (Guitar/Synth) and Thomas Fromager (Drums). Although their music might revel in discord, it is a calculated one. The musicianship is complex and meticulous, hardened by their time spent together playing on the road. For 'New World Artifacts', additional musicians were also brought in to expand the sound in new ways, including saxophonists Levi Gillis (The Dip, Beat Connection) and Emeline Morisset (Les Agamemnonz), and Kyleen King (Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, My Morning Jacket) on strings. Pressing Info: 180g blue vinyl, limited to 300 hand-numbered copies ww, download card included.

It is with great fanfare that we proudly announce the return of the esteemed improvisational chainsaw blues trio Young James Long. Young James Long formed in Dallas in 2003 with a weekly residency at a local (and appropriately named) dive bar called Muddy Waters. PW Long (guitar, vocals) and Kirkland James (guitar) had known each other socially since the 90s when Long was fronting Quarterstick Records’ Mule, and James was playing with Tenderloin. Long would go onto make a series of incredible solo records under his own name and that of PW Long’s Reelfoot and James would play with Alejandro Escovedo (among many others) before their paths finally crossed again. They recruited Taylor Young (Hi-Fi Drowning, Young Heart Attack, The Polyphonic Spree) on drums and a raw, blues-punk-rock-and-roll band emerged fully formed, songs flying out of them with enthusiasm and ease. They recorded the You Ain’t Know The Man EP with their friend (and eventual Grammy winner) Stuart Sikes not long after. The EP came out via Southern Records in 2007, and thanks to the tasteful ears of the people this side of the pond, a European tour followed. If you saw that tour, you’ll agree that it felt like the band were really hitting their stride. However, here we are in 2023, so what happened? Answer: geography - the age-old enemy of creativity. One member left Texas and the others (being the extremely able and skilled musicians that they are) were perpetually wooed away to play in other bands. Everyone’s got bills to pay, right? And with that, things just kind of fizzled out. Long even insists he quit playing music around 2010. One of the most recognisable voices in underground music: out of the game. Incredible. Inconceivable.
Then, last year we at Wrong Speed got an email asking if we’d be interested in some new music Young James Long had been working on. We thought it might be a joke. They sent some mixes through, and it became very quickly apparent that it was anything but. Turns out the trio had started chatting about music again in 2020 (before the world had other plans) and had finally made their first full-length album Orogeny in the summer of 2021. Orogeny sounds live and thrillingly immediate, as though all obstacles between their delivery and your ears have been removed and discarded as irrelevant. There is no filler, no treading of water at any point. Amps buzz, songs teeter on the edge of collapse, you feel like you’re sitting in the middle of the band as they play and it’s a pretty sweet place to be. The album contains a whopping 17 songs, most under 2 minutes long. They don’t want to waste your time, or most importantly (after sixteen years away), theirs. If you’re familiar with Long’s previous bands, you’ll know he has a rare gift for pairing extreme volume with extreme tenderness and it’s thrilling to find that gift present and correct after over a decade away. And that voice – holy shit, that voice. He can go from a Beefheart howl to the sweetest country baritone in the space of a single line. In James and Young he’s found the perfect foils, a power trio of instinctive and soulful musicians able to conjure shining gems of magic out of the grit and the dirt. Young James Long is risen from the ashes – it’s a miracle!

In a realm where the threads of fate intertwined with the tapestry of existence, there existed a timeless construct we call “MENG”. This transcendental domain pushed a sanctuary where an unholy wisdom was safeguarded. Within its twenty-two walls, the experiences of countless sages and seekers resided, forming a reservoir of enlightenment, of vision and of identity.

Among the enigmatic texts that adorned the shelves of The Memory Palace, one stood out—the "Tubular Heaven," a chapter that held the essence of the universe's patterns and transformations. The book we speak of is the Book of Change - I Ching. Legend has it that the Memory Palace embodied the vibrations of those who sought its wisdom, guiding them to the Slow-Chain’s pages where hexagrams unveiled the secrets of existence.

Amidst this cosmic dance of knowledge, there lived a young wanderer whose name we do not say out loud. Driven by a deep yearning for understanding, this Warrior ventured into the city of Tanoy. With every step, he felt the resonance of centuries long gone, as if the walls whispered to him the essence of reality itself - “you may fall as long as you stand up again. Repeat this 1000 times and you will understand me. Only then can we control the sound.” As he reached for the illuminated Book of Change, a light was cast onto a newly fabricated realm of questions.

One hexagram, in particular, was essential. The cryptic symbolism was perplexing. Upon meditation, we slowly begin to realize that life is indeed a tapestry of imperfections, yet from these glitches we arise with profound growth and transformation.

As our curiosity spikes, we delve into the pages that follow, discovering an unexpected connection between I Ching and the world of Jeans, no denim. In ancient times, the craft of weaving denim mirrored the wisdom of these hexagrams. Just as threads interwove to create a durable fabric, I Ching reveals how life's experiences intertwine to form a meaningful existence. Denim, like life, is sturdy yet adaptable - a true testament to the harmonious balance between falling and standing.

As this journey comes to a gentle end, we must stress that hexagrams prove that other divination systems exist. It has become clear that the patterns hitherto observed are not confined to one culture, tradition, mind or body. Instead, they echo throughout history, manifesting in various divination systems across our globe. Hexagrams are a universal language, transcending boundaries and demonstrating the interconnectedness of humanity's pursuit of higher understanding.

We can now truly emerge from the Memory Palace, carrying the wisdom of everything above us. It’s time to Drag A Friend into this Made Up Reality. Or is it? We now understand that life's glitches are the catalysts for growth and that just as threads wove together to create denim, experiences wove together to create a meaningful existence.
As we walk beneath the open sky, we whisper into the wind, "Hexagrams are the echoes of universal truths, proving that the search for wisdom knows no bounds."

The chimes tingle in the deep subset of your imagination. As the pages of the Book of Change unfurl one last time, the shimmering tapestry of our shallow minds unravels.

We have revealed the kaleidoscopic corridors where perceptions dance in hallucinogenic symphony to the hymns of our rich minds.

All The Robert Miles Tracks whose have made the Dream History printed in a single vinyl