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1979 Linda Williams gold from the Arista archives gets a much welcomed official, remastered reissue.

With an intro that does exactly as its title suggests, 'Elevate Our Minds' became a huge rare groove record in the mid to late '80s. Produced by the late, great Richard Evans who worked with the very best in the business, from Gene Chandler and Marlena Shaw, to Ramsey Lewis and Ahmad Jamal, it's supremely arranged, blending a Bossa Nova beat and trumpet trills with Linda's distinctly New York authenticity that comes through in the vocals. Like a trip to the blissful beaches of Rio whilst bringing a touch of the New York disco glam along for the ride. Exotic yet familiar, all in the same breath.

On the flip, 'City Living', a straight up New York disco killer - oozing with funk, dripping in brass blasts, off beat hats and spruced up synths, it's a primetime ode to the hustle and bustle of the city. Williams' glorious tones, assisted by a majestic troupe of backing singers, glisten alongside the classy drumming and polished bass badness that lays behind it.

Selected Songs 1997-2003 compiles some of the finest moments in the recording history of Hydroplane, the Melbourne-based indie-pop three-piece that operated alongside The Cat’s Miaow through the second half of the nineties. It’s the third release in what feels, now, like a loosely planned series by World Of Echo, documenting the music made by this group of friends in Melbourne sharehouses (The Cat’s Miaow’s Songs ’94-’98, 2022), or in the case of The Shapiros (Gone By Fall, 2023), while traversing the International Pop Underground.

Hydroplane would be familiar to anyone already following these breadcrumb trails – Andrew Withycombe, Bart Cummings and Kerrie Bolton were the group’s core, all members of The Cat’s Miaow. With Cat’s Miaow drummer Cameron Smith itinerant, having moved to London, the trio used this opportunity to expand their music. It’s a subtle, but important shift. If The Cat’s Miaow was about the perfect, minimalist, two-minute pop song, Hydroplane’s music was far more open-ended, embracing the loops and drones, sampled house-y shuffle beats, the burbling of a Roland Jupiter-4 synth, all of which the trio joined, effortlessly, to their endless capacity for moving, elegant melodicism.

They may have only planned to release one seven-inch single, but the sound Hydroplane created was so bewitching, so compelling, that the project’s lifespan ran for around half a decade, and they ended up releasing three albums, including a self-titled debut recently reissued by Efficient Space, and seven singles. There are all kinds of compelling things happening in the music compiled here – the hazy repetition of the gentler side of Krautrock is in here, somewhere, which also suggests Stereolab at their most intimate and disarmed; the gently drifting guitars, gauzy and oneiric, set the songs adrift and floating, each one lost in its own imagined, distracted world. Songs like “The Love You Bring” set indistinct tonal floats across dance rhythms, in a way not quite heard since My Bloody Valentine’s “Instrumental” – but with the added gift of Bolton’s gorgeous voice.

This loose coalition with dance music, and the quiet experimentalism at the heart of Hydroplane, also gestures towards peers like Hood, Acetate Zero and Other People’s Children, and releases on renegade labels like Wurlitzer Jukebox and Enraptured. Like those groups and labels, The Cat’s Miaow were reconciling independent pop music’s past – sweet melody and melancholy, chiming and droning guitars – with the futures promised by DIY electronics and nascent digitalia, the interface of indie and IDM that led to some of the underground’s most blissful, texturally swoonsome music. All that is here, but also, the poise of the melodies is pure Cat’s Miaow, though, with Bolton’s voice sailing, pacifically, over some of the most pared-down, gorgeous music made during their decade.

It was a time, too, when such music could make waves – “We Crossed The Atlantic”, one of their early singles, was picked up by John Peel, who played it repeatedly on his legendary radio show, the song reaching #13 on his 1997 Festive 50. That the song itself was a cover of a tune by 1960s Australian beatnik-pop-poet Pip Proud felt even more perfect – a group of outsiders paying tribute to another outsider, played on the radio one of the few broadcasters brave and human enough to take a chance on this music. But it was a time where everything was up for grabs, and genres were flowing into each other: folk songs went drone; indie re-discovered noise; ambient pop floated, again, out onto the dancefloor. And while they may have been sequestered away in Melbourne, Australia, Hydroplane felt core to that scene, a quietly driving force.

Compiling material from across their brief but mercurial career, this double album perfectly captures the magic and mystery of Hydroplane’s dreamlike, perfect pop songs.

On its’ release in November 2022, Daniel Stenger’s debut mini-album as Flashbaxx, Take Care My Friend, won plenty of plaudits for its’ enticing blend of jazz-funk instrumentation, audible warmth, effortless musicality, and memorable, sun-soaked songs. Now the set returns in remixed and reworked form, with a sextet of artists taking it in turns to put a new spin on the German producer’s carefully crafted and immaculately executed tracks.

The six-cut vinyl version boasts two revisions that have already made waves on digital download: a genuinely life-affirming hip-hop-soul take on ‘Strangers’ courtesy of East Midlands’ maestro Atjazz, where Katherine Kempf’s smouldering lead vocals rise above head-nodding beats, woozy electric piano chords, yearning horn arrangements and smooth bass guitar, and a sublime Moods mix of ‘Love Boat’ that re-frames the track as a languid, groove-fired shuffle through Balearic jazz-funk territory.

The other four reworks, which are exclusive to this EP, are similarly inspired. Chris Pookah collaboration ‘City Lights’ is given the remix treatment not once, but twice. First NuNorthern Soul regulars Mike Salta and Mortale re-imagine the track as a gently breezy, dusk-ready blend of bouncy, samba-influenced grooves and colourful Balearic nu-disco, before BJ Smith – the first artist to release music on Phil Cooper’s imprint way back in 2012 – takes the track into semi-acoustic, blue-eyed-soul-meets-Balearic jazz-funk territory. Gentle, tactile, and vibrant, it’s a stunning, soul-stirring revision.

To round off the EP, two producers renowned for creating atmospheric, sunrise-ready soundscapes deliver their versions of Stenger’s kaleidoscopic, musically rich aural visions. Marshall Watson handles ‘Alright’, smothering a languid, slow-motion drum machine beat in jazzy double bass, delay-laden electric piano motifs, lazy jazz guitars, rising synth strings and the dreamiest of pads.

Then, to round things off in considerable style, Tambores En Benirras reworks title track ‘Take Care My Friend’, teasing out the track’s inherent musical colour and warmth whilst adding his own distinctive spin. Pleasingly hard to pigeonhole, his remix makes extensive use of deep, dubby bass, Latin-style percussion, leisurely beats, blossoming synth sounds and all manner of effects-laden instrumental flourishes – including guitar solos that recall some of Dave Gilmour’s most laidback, eyes-closed moments. It provides a genuinely brilliant conclusion to an effortlessly impressive set of remixes.

Caserta’s favourite era of house was when the line between hip hop and house was really only made visible by the tempo of the songs. An art mastered by legends like Kenny Dope, Armand Van Helden and DJ Sneak to name a few.

FF to 2023, Caserta returns to that form with Joe’s Boutique. An obvious nod to the craftwork of the seminal album Paul’s Boutique by the Beastie Boy’s. Caserta fired up the samplers and sliced and diced his way to his first EP in years. With swinging drums, heavy basslines, chopped up vocals and music you might think you stumbled across a lost Strictly Rhythm acetate but mixed and mastered to year 2728 by the man himself.

Complete with vocal interludes segueing from track to track this truly is a listening experience as well as a dance floor filler all in one.

Death Is Not The End sub-label 333 drops a huge late-70s UK roots grail in the form of Jasaro People's Suffering 45. Originally pressed up in super limited quantities and self-distributed out of North West London in 1976, this record was rare even when it was new. Now given fresh new life thanks to a license courtesy of Jasaro's Everand Thompson.

Das dritte und letzte Album von Altered Images erschien im Juni 1983 und präsentierte einen anspruchsvolleren Klang und als die beiden vorherigen Alben. In einem ungewöhnlichen Schachzug waren zwei etablierte Produzenten für jeweils vier Songs des Albums verantwortlich. Vorausgegangen waren die Hitsingles 'Don't Talk To Me About Love', ein UK-Hit produziert von Mike Chapman (Blondie), und 'Bring Me Closer', produziert von Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T-Rex). In dem brandneuen 2CD-Set zum 40-jährigen Jubiläum enthält CD1 das Originalalbum, während die Bonus-CD drei Non-Album-B-Seiten, zwei erweiterte 12inch-Versionen, einen Live-Track und drei Single-Edits enthält. Die beiden CDs werden in einer brandneuen 7inch-Deluxe-Gatefold-Verpackung präsentiert, inkl einem 8-seitigen Booklet, das alle Texte (einschließlich der drei B-Seiten) und die Credits enthält. Die Vinyl Version kommt als 180Gr. Halfspeed-Master mit OBI-Strip an der Seite und einem 4-seitigen Booklet!

The whispers of the underworld told us to give the music of Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Ryū ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue) the wax treatment, and so we’re honoured to present this Laced-exclusive Limited Edition vinyl. The complete soundtrack has been specially mastered and will be pressed to heavyweight vinyl.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s EDM and rock soundtrack threw up some mighty music moments: few boss battle themes go as hard as dubstep banger “War Maker” (aka “Cold-Blooded”) as your rag-tag team finally get to take on Mabuchi; or “Receive You The Hyperactive” kicking into gear as Majima flips down the stairs with Saejima in tow.

It took an entire family of talent to produce the OST, led by RGG Studio stalwarts Hidenori Shoji and Chihiro Aoki. Other contributors included, among others, Hyd Lunch (YasuyukiMatsuzaki& Hiroaki Watanabe), Yuri Fukuda, 83key (ShunsukeYasaki) and ZENTA; while karaoke songs were created by Shoji-san, Fukuda-san, Kiyo and ZENTA with lyrics by Ryosuke Horii and vocals by Kazuhiro Nakaya, Nobuhiko Okamoto and SumireUesaka (performing as Ichiban, Zhao and Saeko, respectively.)























u D1 Yume Mita Sugata E [ Full Spec Edition]
[v] D2 Akuma No Jigokunabe [ Full Spec Edition]
[w] D3 Harukaze [ Full Spec Edition]

The whispers of the underworld told us to give the music of Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Ryū ga Gotoku 7: Hikari to Yami no Yukue) the wax treatment, and so we’re honoured to present this Laced-exclusive Limited Edition vinyl. The complete soundtrack has been specially mastered and will be pressed to heavyweight vinyl.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s EDM and rock soundtrack threw up some mighty music moments: few boss battle themes go as hard as dubstep banger “War Maker” (aka “Cold-Blooded”) as your rag-tag team finally get to take on Mabuchi; or “Receive You The Hyperactive” kicking into gear as Majima flips down the stairs with Saejima in tow.

It took an entire family of talent to produce the OST, led by RGG Studio stalwarts Hidenori Shoji and Chihiro Aoki. Other contributors included, among others, Hyd Lunch (YasuyukiMatsuzaki& Hiroaki Watanabe), Yuri Fukuda, 83key (ShunsukeYasaki) and ZENTA; while karaoke songs were created by Shoji-san, Fukuda-san, Kiyo and ZENTA with lyrics by Ryosuke Horii and vocals by Kazuhiro Nakaya, Nobuhiko Okamoto and SumireUesaka (performing as Ichiban, Zhao and Saeko, respectively.)





















u D1 Yume Mita Sugata E Full Spec Edition
[v] D2 Akuma No Jigokunabe [ Full Spec Edition]
[w] D3 Harukaze [ Full Spec Edition]

"Die Dunkelheit wimmelte immer von unerklärlichen Geräuschen..." (HPL)

Mit "Nahab" - dem zweiten Teil des Disharmonium-Zyklus - kehren BLUT AUS NORD wie getrieben in die unheimlichen, alptraumhaften Jenseitswelten von H.P. Lovecraft zurück, um sie in einem Spiegel erschreckenden Black Metal-Wahnsinns zu reflektieren.

Ähnlich wie die beiden dunklen Kammern des 2022 erschienenen Erstlings "Disharmonium - Undreamable Abysses" und der dazugehörigen Kompilation "Lovecraftian Echoes" ist diese neueste Emanation ähnlich gebärmutterartig, detailreich, verstört und transformativ.

Musikalisch nur durch das umfangreiche Oeuvre der Band beeinflusst, hat "Nahab" im Vergleich zu BANs jüngsten Lovecraft'schen Erkundungen einen erhöhten Anteil an derangierter Vokalmanie, die unheimliche Dynamik ist besser umgesetzt, die unverwechselbare melodische Kraft der Band verstärkt, die Gitarren - tiefer gestimmt für zusätzliche Resonanz - fließen im Tandem mit taumelnden Grooves wie ein stygianischer Tsunami.

In der totäugigen Trance eines dämonisch Beschworenen haben BLUT AUS NORD einmal mehr esoterische Folklore und moderne Gewalt in ein weiteres phänomenales Stück Außenseiterkunst kanalisiert, das ihrem eigenen Mythos und ihrer Monstrosität mehr als gerecht wird. In der Tat ein krönender Abschluss des Grauens.

Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl. High Vis were formed in 2016 from the ashes of some of the UK's best hardcore bands. Gild-toothed frontman Graham Sayle's anguished lyrics about life in working class Britain were familiar to fans of Tremors' full-throttle thrash, but alongside his former bandmate Edward `Ski' Harper and veterans of Dirty Money, DiE and The Smear, High Vis sought to transform that energy and intensity into something entirely new.Like scene-mates Chubby and the Gang did by pulling in unlikely source material from classic doo-wop or Micromoon have by combining everything from psychedelia and metal into their high potency mix, High Vis' 2019 debut album, No Sense No Feeling showed the band were never going to be constrained by any sense of genre rules or regulations. Its claustrophobic rattle bore traces of Joy Division, Bauhaus, Crisis, The Cure and Gang Of Four lurking in the shadows. 2020's synth-driven EP, Society Exists, was further evidence of the band's restless creative MO.High Vis' second album Blending sees them open their viewfinder wider than ever before. Alongside longstanding favourites such as Fugazi and Echo and The Bunnymen; Ride and even Flock Of Seagulls were shared reference points as the band worked on the album together.From the anthemic sweep of opener "Talk For Hours", through the title track's psychedelic swirl and "Fever Dream"'s baggy groove, it sees High Vis' sound blossoming into something with an unlimited richness. The hazy drift of "Shame" or the melodic jangle of "Trauma Bonds" may take them until uncharted waters, but they still have all the power and bite that made No Sense No Feeling so remarkable.Lyrically, the album represents another leap forward too. Talking frankly about poverty, class politics, and the challenges of everyday life, Sayle's lyrics have always addressed the downtrodden and discarded communities across Britain slipping below the waterline. This time around, Sayle's lost not of that social consciousness, but he's looked at himself and his own emotional landscape, and in the process created something that feels more universal, that reaches a hand-out to people and ultimately gives a message of hope."To me, the lyrics are less selfish," reflects Sayle. "In the past, I couldn't see past whatever was going on with me. It's about accepting things and being open to conversations and learning to talk to people rather than just thinking that we're all doomed."The song "Talk for Hours" is a prime example of that. Born out of an afternoon meeting up with an old group of mates "repeating the same thing and not actually learning anything about each other" it offers to actually break the cycle and to listen and speak frankly about shared feelings and experiences. "Trauma Bonds", meanwhile, traces the broken lines of those living in lost communities, but ultimately realises that despite our shared scars, there's still hope to move on to a better future."The message of the album is you're not who you're told you are," Sayle summarises. "You're not your class background. Whatever it is, you're not that. Don't resign yourself to thinking you can't be this and you can't be that."It's a vitally important message right now, and one that could be the motto for not only Blending, but for High Vis themselves.

Sam Barker returns with his first solo EP since 2020's BARKER002, this time on Oslo's Smalltown Supersound. While Barker's previous releases (2018's Debiasing EP, 2019's Utility LP) explored the possibilities of kickless dancefloor tracks, Unfixed sees him inverting the musical equation and exploring both the variability and sonic possibilities of a kick-drum - though the final result is not a concept EP. The four tracks emerged from a session that started out as both a technical study in bass drum design and cognition, specifically problem of "functional fixedness", which describes a mental block that restricts the use of an object to its traditional application. Exploring the so-called "generic parts technique", whereby an object is broken down into its component parts to help reveal novel solutions, the typical bass drum elements of waveform, transient, and noise were re-combined through modular synthesis to become fluid, expressive and dynamic. However, what began as a rule-based experiment was overtaken by a more organic music making process without specific conceptual constraints, which allowed the music to live and breathe. Tracks were started and then left unfinished, only to be approached again and again over lengthy intervals. Stylistically the result a mix of raw, stuttering, psychedelic growl, kosmische techno, and infinite iterations and of a single groove. In this regard, Unfixed sees Barker not only deeply invested in musical experimentation but also exploring his own biases in both composition and sound design. The result is, once again, a sound and musical framework all of his own.

Straight outta Rockaway Beach, Queens, New York City, USA, THE WORLD, Prison is a state of mind, an experience, a loose collective, a band, a jam band and a bunch of psychedelic dudes who aren"t your average bunch of jambanders. All that, all at once, ALL THE TIME. You get what you"re dealing with here? No...you don"t. The only way to REALLY get it is to go to Prison -- and if you"re not from greater NYC and haven"t showed at any of the shows, here"s your best bet: their breakout album, Upstate. And whatta breakout! So high, you can"t get under it; so wide, you can"t get over it! How wide? Every song has two titles, that"s how wide. And almost everybody sings, like, all the time. That wide. Sure, you can break down the numbers -- five guys, five songs and four sides of vinyl in one gatefold sleeve -- but that won"t get you Upstate, either. Prison is the sound of everybody in the room figuring out where to go, individually and collectively. As they go through it, the meaning changes, the destination changes, the words mean something different. It"s meaning and no meaning, rising and falling, sinking and flying on the back of something massive cacophonized by three guitars, four vocals, a bass and drums. A lot of information bouncing around and enough time to really get you out of yourself! Take a look at the titles: each one a dichotomous inquest that the assembled Prison-ers march upon with fervor, glee, vengeance -- a whole spectrum of feels and perspectives woven into the jam for you to see. The Prison population changes with the seasons, and during the season this album was recorded, Sarim Al-Rawi, Mike Fellows, Sam Jayne, Matt Lilly and Paul Major were in Prison. Sarim you might know from Liquor Store, Mike"s made a bunch of scenes and records as Mighty Flashlight, Sam, who passed away in 2020 (R.I.P., brother) was in Love as Laughter -- and Paul Major you know from Endless Boogie, who Matt had roadied for -- and despite being "just a skateboarder who loves music" with no previous experience on the drums, he and Sarim inaugurated the Prison experience, like, seven years ago. Since then, it just fell together and it keeps doing so. A free thing called Prison.

Described as a ‘minor classic’ by Luke Haines.
Available on vinyl for the first time in 36 years. and CD for the first time in 30 years.
12-Track LP compilation pressed on Clear Vinyl with printed innersleeve.
CD in digipack with 8 page booklet. Sleeve notes by Luke Haines.
Band features Luke Haines, Martyn Casey (The Triffids/Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds ) & Alsy Macdonald (The Triffids).
Includes: DW’s ‘Westlake’ album from 1987; BBC session recorded with members of The Go-Betweens plus two studio demos of unused songs.
David Westlake’s first album finally gets a new day in the sun in the wake of his brilliant current LP ‘My Beautiful England’. 36 years after it first appeared in 1987 on Creation Records
David Westlake formed The Servants in 1985, who released 2 excellent singles and appeared on the NME compiled C86 LP.
Searching for a stable Servants line-up to release an album he recruited Luke Haines (The Auteurs/Black Box Recorder) via an NME advert , who came on board, and stayed for five years. After failing to find a committed rhythm section, he enlisted the help of Martyn Casey (The Triffids/Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds ) & Alsy Macdonald (The Triffids)and recorded the 1987 ‘Westlake’ album for Creation. Overlooked at the time, the record was later described as a minor classic by Luke Haines himself. It is included here on Side One of the album, available on vinyl for the first time in 36 years. and CD for the first time in 30 years
Side Two contains the previously unreleased Janice Long BBC session recorded in the summer of 1987 featuring Go Betweens members Robert Forster, Amanda Brown & Robert Vickers
As chronicled in an interview in US music magazine The Big Takeover (issue 53, 2004), Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch was a huge Westlake fan and tried to locate him in the early 1990s in hope of forming a band with him, before launching Belle and Sebastian in his school class instead

Pianist and composer Harold López-Nussa has been steadily building a global following in jazz and beyond over the past two decades since winning the prestigious Montreux Jazz Piano Competition in 2005. López-Nussa has released nine acclaimed albums and captivated audiences across the world with his thrilling performances at esteemed venues and jazz festivals. Born into a musical family in Havana, Cuba, his music reflects the full range and richness of the Cuban musical tradition with its distinctive combination of classical, folkloric, and popular elements, as well as its embrace of improvisation. With the forthcoming release of his Blue Note Records debut Timba a la Americana, López-Nussa reaches a career milestone with a vibrant album teeming with joy and pathos that was inspired by the pianist’s recent decision to leave his Cuban homeland and begin a new life in France. Produced by Michael League (Snarky Puppy), Timba a la Americana presents 10 dynamic new compositions and features the harmonica virtuoso Grégoire Maret, Luques Curtis on bass, Bárbaro “Machito” Crespo on congas, and Harold’s brother Ruy Adrián López-Nussa on drums.

BREFORTH – Für den Metal geboren

Jürgen Breforth ist seit mehr als 40 Jahren ein fester Bestandteil der Metal Szene. Begeistert und inspiriert von der „New Wave Of British Heavy Metal“ mit Bands wie IRON MAIDEN, SAXON und JUDAS PRIEST gründete er 1982 seine Band MAD MAX, die bis auf eine kurze Pause auch heute noch erfolgreich Platten veröffentlicht und die ganze Welt betourt. Da MAD MAX im Laufe der Jahre mehr den melodischen Weg eingeschlagen haben, Jürgens Herz aber aus purem Stahl ist, wurde es Zeit für ein zweites Standbein. 2023 präsentiert er auf „Metal In My Heart“ seinen authentischen Mix aus NWOBHM-Einflüssen und Teutonic Metal! Zusammen mit seinem kongenialen Songwriter-Partner und Sänger Peter Lenzschau hat er zehn zeitlose Heavy Metal Hymnen mit autobiografischen Texten geschrieben, welche alle Metalheads begeistern sollten.

Die drei bereits vorab veröffentlichten Singles „Reset My Sanity“, „Wheel Of Fortune“ und der hymnische Titelsong zeigen, dass hier keine Kompromisse gemacht werden. Auch heute ist bei Jürgen das Feuer noch da und gemeinsam mit BREFORTH-Leadsänger Peter Lenzschau, Arne Fleischhut am Schlagzeug, Erik Blumenthal an den Leadgitarren und Jens Lükermann am Bass brennt er darauf, das mit der ganzen Welt zu teilen. Einfach „Play“ drücken und Jürgen auf seiner persönlichen „40 Years In Metal“ Reise begleiten!

With a hit-making, chart-topping, 25 year career already behind her as a member of STEPS, following on from the 2019 Top
10 album, ‘My Wildest Dreams’, CLAIRE RICHARDS releases her second solo album, ‘EUPHORIA’.
• Produced by Steve Anderson (Kylie/Britney/Girls Aloud/Take That/Westlife), the album features classics by legendary
female singers, of which Claire writes that “This album is a thank you to all the incredible women that inspired me to sing!”
• Two special guests join Claire on ‘EUPHORIA’, with Andy Bell featured on ‘Summer Night City’ and Delta Goodrem on ‘No
More Tears (Enough Is Enough)’ .
• The album’s lead single ‘I Surrender’, originally recorded by Celine Dion, showcases Claire’s incredible vocal range by
turning the song from a power-ballad into an absolute banging floorfiller, also demonstrating why Claire is one of the best
British vocalists.
• Produced as a multiple format release, this 11 track album comes as a Marble Colour Vinyl LP.
• Ever popular with TV presenters, Claire has an incredible PR plot lined-up, as everyone wants her on their show!

With a hit-making, chart-topping, 25 year career already behind her as a member of STEPS, following on from the 2019 Top
10 album, ‘My Wildest Dreams’, CLAIRE RICHARDS releases her second solo album, ‘EUPHORIA’.
• Produced by Steve Anderson (Kylie/Britney/Girls Aloud/Take That/Westlife), the album features classics by legendary
female singers, of which Claire writes that “This album is a thank you to all the incredible women that inspired me to sing!”
• Two special guests join Claire on ‘EUPHORIA’, with Andy Bell featured on ‘Summer Night City’ and Delta Goodrem on ‘No
More Tears (Enough Is Enough)’ .
• The album’s lead single ‘I Surrender’, originally recorded by Celine Dion, showcases Claire’s incredible vocal range by
turning the song from a power-ballad into an absolute banging floorfiller, also demonstrating why Claire is one of the best
British vocalists.
• Produced as a multiple format release, this 11 track album comes as a Marble Colour Vinyl LP.
• Ever popular with TV presenters, Claire has an incredible PR plot lined-up, as everyone wants her on their show!

In 2023, Kurt Vile is making numbers count. Just last month, Matador Records presented the iconic Philadelphia songwriter with a (vegan) cheesesteak trophy to commemorate the 100-millionth stream of "Pretty Pimpin" on Spotify. Today, though, we"d like to draw your attention to another significant KV digit: The 10th anniversary of his fifth full-length and first 2xLP, "Wakin on a Pretty Daze" (2013). To celebrate this milestone, we"ve brought the record back as a blue + yellow vinyl split available via KV and Matador webstores. This limited pressing will also include a reproduction of the "make your own cover" ESPO sticker sheet that accompanied the original 2013 special-edition. A yellow vinyl version of the record will be made available everywhere. Where previous albums alternated between gorgeous fingerpicking and heavy guitar workouts, "Wakin" blended the two into dreamy and expansive songs that frequently stretched well out beyond the five-minute mark. Back then we said: "It"s a record that would have sounded great 30 years ago, sounds great today, and will still sound great 30 years from now." Ten years down the line, we"re still confident that "Wakin" will deliver the goods - yesterday, today, and in 2043. The reissue serves as the latest entry in Matador Records" Revisionist History series, our ongoing campaign to jog the record-buying (and streaming!) public"s memory about our many catalog items now poised to celebrate a significant anniversary. Matador will mark these anniversaries with new reissues and re-pressings. So far, the Revisionist History class of 2023 has highlighted Bettie Serveert"s Palomine and Lucy Dacus"s Historian.

A landmark album, "Calculating Infinity" established DEP as one of the most groundbreaking and influential bands of the last 25 years. The record was heralded as "a realm above the noise and fury of everyday hardcore" (Rolling Stone). From the opening moments of "Sugar Coated Sour", to the ferocity of "43% Burnt" and "The Running Board", every moment of "Calculating Infinity" reverberates to this day with fans of all things experimental, aggressive, forward-thinking, and wholly heavy. "Calculating Infinity" is a snapshot of a truly special moment for underground music, of a band that would ultimately transcend the confines of mathcore, into a bonafide headliner across Metal, Hardcore, Punk, Noise, and Rock music

Der in Texas aufgewachsene Singer-Songwriter und Big Thief-Gitarrist Buck Meek kündigt sein neues Album "Haunted Mountain" für den 25. August an. Seine erste Solo-Veröffentlichung bei 4AD folgt auf das 2021er Album "Two Saviors" und handelt von der Liebe...und etwas anderem. Etwas Größerem, etwas, dass Liebe nicht wirklich herausfordert, eher im direkten Kontrast dazu steht. Eine völlige Erfüllung der Seele. Meek gesteht ein, dass Liebeslieder für ihn die am schwersten zu schreibenden sind. Vielleicht holte sich Meek auch deshalb beim Schreiben Verstärkung in Form der Freundin und langjährigen Heldin Jolie Holland, die bei fünf von elf Songs des Albums Co-Autoren-Credits hat. Die ersten zwei Verse und der Chorus von "Haunted Mountain" stammen von der Texanerin, die diese als Liebeslied für Mount Shasta in Nord-Kalifornien geschrieben hat. Meek fügte den finalen Vers hinzu, in der gemeinsamen Suche nach dem Austausch mit der Natur. "It"s about being humbled by the thing you"re drawing power from only at which point an actual, fair relationship begins", erklärt er. Seit seinem selbstbetitelten Solo-Debüt sind Meeks Band-Kollegen die gleichen: Adam Brisbin (Gitarre), Austin Vaughn (Schlagzeug) und Mat Davidson (Pedel Steel, Bass). Für "Haunted Mountain" stießen noch Ken Woodward (Bass) und Meeks Bruder Dylan (Klavier, Synths) zu diesem eingeschworenen Haufen dazu. Davidson übernahm die Produktion, während Adrian Olsen, der auch die Sound Manipulation mit einem Modular Synthesizer übernahm, das Album innerhalb von zwei Wochen mixte. Der Ansatz war ein hi-fi-Album als Gegensatz zum lo-fi-Ansatz des Vorgängers zu erschaffen, während die Intimität erhalten bleiben sollte. Meek glaubt selbst daran, dass alle großen Liebeslieder noch nicht geschrieben wurden. Zwischen den Zeilen von "Haunted Mountain" hört man, dass Liebe in jeglicher Form die Erschaffung eines Zuhauses ist, von innen - für immer auf der Suche nach dem anderen.

In 2023, Kurt Vile is making numbers count. Just last month, Matador Records presented the iconic Philadelphia songwriter with a (vegan) cheesesteak trophy to commemorate the 100-millionth stream of "Pretty Pimpin" on Spotify. Today, though, we"d like to draw your attention to another significant KV digit: The 10th anniversary of his fifth full-length and first 2xLP, "Wakin on a Pretty Daze" (2013). To celebrate this milestone, we"ve brought the record back as a blue + yellow vinyl split available via KV and Matador webstores. This limited pressing will also include a reproduction of the "make your own cover" ESPO sticker sheet that accompanied the original 2013 special-edition. A yellow vinyl version of the record will be made available everywhere. Where previous albums alternated between gorgeous fingerpicking and heavy guitar workouts, "Wakin" blended the two into dreamy and expansive songs that frequently stretched well out beyond the five-minute mark. Back then we said: "It"s a record that would have sounded great 30 years ago, sounds great today, and will still sound great 30 years from now." Ten years down the line, we"re still confident that "Wakin" will deliver the goods - yesterday, today, and in 2043. The reissue serves as the latest entry in Matador Records" Revisionist History series, our ongoing campaign to jog the record-buying (and streaming!) public"s memory about our many catalog items now poised to celebrate a significant anniversary. Matador will mark these anniversaries with new reissues and re-pressings. So far, the Revisionist History class of 2023 has highlighted Bettie Serveert"s Palomine and Lucy Dacus"s Historian.

2024 BLACK VINYL REPRESS.
One can hardly imagine the genre-busting, culture-crossing musical magic of Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, or even the early Red Hot Chili Peppers without the influence of R&B pioneer Betty Davis. Her style of raw and revelatory punk-funk defies any notions that women can’t be visionaries in the worlds of rock and pop. In recent years, rappers from Ice Cube to Talib Kweli to Ludacris have rhymed over her intensely strong but sensual music.

There is one testimonial about Betty Davis that is universal: she was a woman ahead of her time. In our contemporary moment, this may not be as self-evident as it was thirty years ago – we live in an age that’s been profoundly changed by flamboyant flaunting of female sexuality: from Parlet to Madonna, Lil Kim to Kelis. Yet, back in 1973 when Betty Davis first showed up in her silver go-go boots, dazzling smile and towering Afro, who could you possibly have compared her to? Marva Whitney had the voice but not the independence. Labelle wouldn’t get sexy with their “Lady Marmalade” for another year while Millie Jackson wasn’t “Feelin’ Bitchy” until 1977. Even Tina Turner, the most obvious predecessor to Betty’s fierce style wasn’t completely out of Ike’s shadow until later in the decade.

Ms. Davis’s unique story, still sadly mostly unknown, is unlike any other in popular music. Betty wrote the song “Uptown” for the Chambers Brothers before marrying Miles Davis in the late ‘60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock, and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix — personally inspiring the classic album ’Bitches Brew.’

But her songwriting ability was way ahead of its time as well. Betty not only wrote every song she ever recorded and produced every album after her first, but the young woman penned the tunes that got The Commodores signed to Motown. The Detroit label soon came calling, pitching a Motown songwriting deal, which Betty turned down. Motown wanted to own everything. Heading to the UK, Marc Bolan of T. Rex urged the creative dynamo to start writing for herself. A common thread throughout Betty’s career would be her unbending Do-It-Yourself ethic, which made her quickly turn down anyone who didn’t fit with the vision. She would eventually say no to Eric Clapton as her album producer, seeing him as too banal.

In 1973, Davis would finally kick off her cosmic career with an amazingly progressive hard funk and sweet soul self-titled debut. Davis showcased her fiercely unique talent and features such gems as “If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up” and “Game Is My Middle Name.” The album Betty Davis was recorded with Sly & The Family Stone’s rhythm section, sharply produced by Sly Stone drummer Greg Errico, and featured backing vocals from Sylvester and the Pointer Sisters.

The UK’s cosmic, psychedelic-funk ensemble issue their first album on maverick producer Madlib’s label, Madlib Invazion. The Heliocentrics’ albums are all confounding pieces of work. Drawing equally from the funk universe of James Brown, the disorienting asymmetry of Sun Ra, the cinematic scope of Ennio Morricone, the sublime fusion of David Axelrod, Pierre Henry’s turned-on musique concrète, and Can’s beat-heavy Krautrock, they have – regardless of the label on which they’ve released their music - pointed the way towards a brand new kind of psychedelia, one that could only come from a band of accomplished musicians who were also obsessive music fans. Drummer Malcolm Catto and bassist Jake Ferguson are the Heliocentrics’ masterminds and producers, and they are obsessive weirdos in today’s musical climate, searching, progressive humans who are often out-of-time with current trends. They have been playing together for nearly two decades and their collective drive is to find an individual voice. The Heliocentrics search for it in an alternate galaxy where the orbits of funk, jazz, psychedelic, electronic, avant-garde and “ethnic” music all revolve around “The One.” With Madilb’s label Madlib Invazion for Infinity of Now, the Heliocentrics have returned to develop their epic vision of psychedelic funk, while exploring the possibilities created by their myriad influences, Latin, African, and more.

Repress.

Back in 2015, Japanese DIY house pioneer Soichi Terada stepped back into the limelight courtesy of Rush Hour's 'Sounds From The Far East', a Hunee curated retrospective of material first released on his own Far East Recording label in the 1990s and early 2000s. Buoyed by the positive response and renewed interest in his work, Terada went back into studio to record his first new album of house music for over 25 years, Asakusa Light.

Developed over 18 months, Terada tried to recreate the mental and physical processes that led to the creation of his acclaimed earlier work. Those familiar with Terada’s celebrated, dancefloor-focused sound of the 1990s – a vibrant, atmospheric, and emotive take on deep house powered by the twin attractions of groove and melody – will find much to enjoy on Asakusa Light.

“I tried to recall my feelings 30 years ago, but when I tried it, I found it super difficult,” he explains. “I didn’t even know what I thought about myself five years ago, and the mental metabolic cycle seems to be faster than I thought. I tried different methods, including digging up my old MIDI data and composing by remembering old experiences. With the help of Rush Hour, I found some of the light from my heart that I had 30 years ago. I nicknamed the light I found in my heart, ‘Asakusa Light’.”

Produced using the very same synthesizers and drum machines that powered his 1990s work, the album is a joyous, colourful and life-affirming collection of timeless house music that not only recalls Terada’s own impeccable back catalogue, but also that of similarly celebrated contemporaries such as the Burrell Brothers or Ben Cenac (Dream 2 Science, Sha-Lor).

Terada, who has spent much of the last two decades writing video game music, has always had a gift for combining warm, undulating synthesizer basslines and perfectly programmed machine drums with stirring chords, smile-inducing melodies and mellow musical flourishes. It’s this immersive, sun-kissed and tuneful trademark style that takes centre stage on Asakusa Light, an album for the ages.

The set begins with the alien-sounding chords, soft-touch percussion and dawn-friendly warmth of ‘Silent Chord’ and ends on a high via the bouncing string stabs, starlight chords and thickset grooves of ‘Blinker’; in between, you’ll find a deluge of effortlessly feelgood music that’s the aural equivalent of a dopamine rush at sunrise.

There are subtle variations aplenty throughout the album – see the 8-bit lead lines and pulsing electronic textures of ‘Takusambient’, the vintage Tony Humphries flex of ‘Diving Into Minds’ and the effortlessly funky ‘Marimbau’ – but it’s the uniquely atmospheric, vivid and tactile nature of Terada’s loved-up sound that resonates. After well over 30 years in house music, the light in his heart is shining brighter than ever.

The anticipation is there in Elizabeth Stokes’ solo guitar riff under the opening lines of “I’m Not Getting Excited”: a frenetic, driving force daring a packed Auckland Town Hall to do exactly the opposite of what the track title suggests.

As the opener of The Beths’ Auckland, New Zealand, 2020 expands to include the full band, the crowd screeches and bellows. It’s a collective exhalation, in one of the few countries where live music is still possible.

The album title, and film of the same name, deliberately include the date and location, lead guitarist Jonathan Pearce says. “That’s the sensational part of what we actually did.” In a mid-pandemic world, playing to a heaving, enraptured home crowd feels miraculous.

In March 2020, everything seemed on track for another huge year for The Beths. Home after an 18-month northern hemisphere tour, they had just finished recording sophomore album Jump Rope Gazers and were primed for more extensive touring. But within days, New Zealand’s lockdown split the band between three separate houses. All touring was cancelled.

“It was existentially bad,” Stokes says. As well as worrying about economic survival, they lost something crucial to the band’s identity: live performance. “It's a huge part of how we see ourselves... What does it mean, if we can't play live?”

The band found an outlet through live-streaming, returning to the do-it-yourself mentality of their early days to connect with a global audience. The album and film have their genesis in that urge to share the now-rare experience of a live show, as widely as possible.

The fuzzy-round-the-edges live-streams pointed the way aesthetically. Native birds, wonkily crafted by the band from tissue paper and wire, festoon the venue’s cavernous ceiling while house plants soften and disguise the imposing pipes of an organ. The presence of the film crew isn’t disguised: much of the camerawork is handheld; full of fast zooms and pans.

With much of the material still fresh, the band was less focused on re-invention than playing “a good, fast rock show”, Pearce says. The tempo is up on crowd favourites “Whatever” and “Future Me Hates Me” (released as a live single on its third anniversary) as both band and audience feed off the mutual energy in the room.

Certain songs have taken on special resonance post-Covid. Pearce has found “Out Of Sight”, a tender rumination on long-distance relationships, hits particularly hard with live audiences.

Album closer “River Run” visibly brings Stokes to tears as a mix of achievement and relief kicks in. “You can finally relax at that point … You play the last note, breathe out a sigh and look up - and you’re in a giant room full of people happy and smiling.”

Drittes Album der schwedischen Metal-Band Prime Creation. Auf Prime Creations "Tell Freedom I Said Hello" ist das Thema dystopisch. Es handelt sich jedoch nicht um ein Konzeptalbum; Jeder Song ist eigenständig und inspiriert von Büchern/Filmen und der Weltgeschichte. Die Songs haben oft einen melodischen, aber auch melancholischen Touch, der die Musik und die Texte auf faszinierende und fesselnde Weise miteinander verbindet. Gitarrist Robin Arnell schrieb die gesamte Musik für das Album, inspiriert von vielen verschiedenen Bands und Künstlern. Die Musik selbst hat einen etwas anderer Ansatz als die beiden vorherigen Alben der Band und ist noch härter geworden, ohne die Melodien und Harmonien zu vergessen. Prime Creation ist eine schwedische Metal-Band, die 2015 gegründet wurde und aus erfahrenen Musikern besteht, die modernen, treibenden, melodischen Heavy Metal spielen. Die Band erhob sich aus der Asche der Power-Metal-Band Morifade.

Featuring contributions from Brittany Howard, Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves, Demi Lovato), Julien Baker + more. Since moving to Nashville to start their music career in 2012, Becca Mancari has been lauded for their dextrous songwriting and prodigious guitar playing. Their sophomore album The Greatest Part, released in 2020, was an indie rock opus that garnered acclaim from The New York Times, NPR, and more. After its release, however, Mancari was despairing. An illness in their family, coupled with a realization that their alcohol dependency had become untenable, led Mancari to begin the hard work of taking ownership of their existence by mending broken relationships and investing in their mental health. "I didn't realize it then, but looking back, I was a passenger in my own life," Mancari says. The transformative period of self-reckoning was the catalyst that ultimately steered Mancari to write and produce their triumphant new album, Left Hand. After a disheartening studio session with an outside producer, Becca became convinced that they were capable of rendering their vision independently. Close friend and musical ally Juan Solorzano, who has played on all of Mancari's albums since the debut of Good Woman in 2017, joined them in the studio to co-produce the majority of the record. In addition, Daniel Tashian (Kacey Musgraves, Demi Lovato) co-wrote and co-produced the song "Don't Close Your Eyes," encouraging Mancari to track every instrument on the initial demos. As much as self-producing this album was an act of resilience and growth in one's own craft, Mancari brought trusted friends like Brittany Howard, who they play with in Bermuda Triangle, Julien Baker and Zac Farro into the process. Insecurities that had dogged Mancari since childhood couldn't weather the force of energy in that studio, where they executed decisions with newfound certainty. The title track, "Left Hand," is named for the Mancari family crest. After a lifetime spent feeling like they didn't belong, Mancari unlocked a perfect metaphor in the crest: "In many cultures children born with a dominant left hand were taught not to use that hand, and were told that using the right hand was `normal' and `correct.' Similarly, queer children are often times told that it's not `normal' for them to love who they love and that they need to `change.'" On Left Hand, Mancari offers the listener a collection of songs that should be played in moments when we are in need of reassurance and encouragement. No song exemplifies this better than the ebullient track "Over and Over," which is a reminder to friends that happiness doesn't need to be fleeting. "I wanted to write a queer pop song that has meat on its bones," they say. Inspired by one of many reckless and joyful hangs with dear friends in Nashville, the enlivening pop song makes a promise to them, and to the greater community Mancari embraces on this album. "There is something to the feeling/ Head hanging out of the window/ Being ok that we don't know," sung on the chorus over a beat replete with congas and shakers. What follows is a promise to anyone who ever feels like the greatest moments of their life are disappearing in the rearview: "We can have it like we used to, over and over and over and over again." For Fans of boygenius, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Julia Jacklin, Caroline Rose, Miya Folick, Molly Burch, Widowspeak.

In dem Moment, als die Nadel auf die neue A Giant Dog-Platte fällt, krümmt sich die eigene Vorstellung davon, wie eine A Giant Dog-Platte klingen soll, wie Raum und Zeit um ein Raumschiff, das mit Lichtgeschwindigkeit fliegt. Bite ist ein Konzeptalbum, in dem es um Charaktere geht, die sich in einer virtuellen Realität namens Avalonia bewegen und zugleich ist es das erste Album von A Giant Dog mit eigenen Songs seit Toy von 2017.

Sabrina Ellis, Andrew Cashen, Danny Blanchard, Graham Low und Andy Bauer - auf ihrem Höhepunkt als Musiker, fordern sie sich mit komplexeren Arrangements heraus und versetzten sich hinein in die Köpfe der Figuren, die dieses vermeintliche Paradies Avalonia bewohnen. "Wir mussten uns in den Hauptfiguren wiederfinden oder uns in die Hauptfiguren hineinversetzen. Wir entwickelten sie, lernten ihre Gedanken, Emotionen und Motivationen kennen und brachten diese dann in neun Songs zum Ausdruck", erklärt Ellis. Themen wie Sucht, Geschlechterfluidität, ethisches Leben in einer kapitalistischen Gesellschaft, körperliche Autonomie, Geiz, Trauer und Zustimmung sprudeln unter dem versprochenen Glück von Avalonia.

Dies wird in Songs wie "Different Than" deutlich, in dem Ellis singt: "My body can't explain the things my mind don't comprehend", als ob der gesellschaftliche Geschlechterdruck seine Protagonistin aus ihrer Haut herausquetscht. Die Songs auf Bite sind voller Bombast und erinnern abwechselnd an den raumfahrenden Opernrock des Electric Light Orchestra und die hohe Dramatik einer Ennio Morricone Filmmusik. Der erzählerische Bogen des Albums ist von epischer Tragweite, seine Charaktere stehen vor unmöglichen Unwahrscheinlichkeiten und sind mit dem sicheren Untergang konfrontiert, und ist so bequem vergleichbar mit der Sci-Fi-Grandezza von Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak wie auch mit der High Fantasy von Dio und Iron Maiden. Passenderweise sind A Giant Dog bis an die Zähne bewaffnet mit neuen Ideen zu dieser Erzählung gekommen, mit Synthesizern und Streichern, um das zu schaffen, was Ellis als orchestral beschreibt: symphonischen, futuristischen Punk. Um dies zu erreichen, verließen sie ihre Heimat Austin, Texas, in das La Cuve Studio in der Nähe von Angers, Frankreich.

Auf dem französischen Land legten A Giant Dog ihre Zukunftsvision vor einer ausgesprochen pastoralen Kulisse nieder. Auf den Wanderungen von Angers nach La Cuve, so Ellis, sahen sie "viele Dinge, und auch gar nichts. Schwäne auf dem Fluss. Romani, die in kleinen Anhängern leben, mit einer Hütte für ihren Hund an der Seite Ein Jongleur auf einem Einrad - ich verarsche dich nicht. Wir dachten, wir dürften nach dieser Reise nicht mehr nach Frankreich zurück, um ehrlich zu sein", fährt sie fort. "Fünf laute, stampfende, klatschende, randalierende Amerikaner, die im November 2022 drei Wochen lang durch die Straßen von Angers gelaufen sind." Diese Erfahrung war der Höhepunkt von zwei Jahren Planung und Schreiben, in denen das Universum von Avalonia Gestalt annahm. Die daraus resultierenden neun Songs besetzen nicht nur diesen Raum: Sie haben darin gelebt und sie wollen raus.

In dem Moment, als die Nadel auf die neue A Giant Dog-Platte fällt, krümmt sich die eigene Vorstellung davon, wie eine A Giant Dog-Platte klingen soll, wie Raum und Zeit um ein Raumschiff, das mit Lichtgeschwindigkeit fliegt. Bite ist ein Konzeptalbum, in dem es um Charaktere geht, die sich in einer virtuellen Realität namens Avalonia bewegen und zugleich ist es das erste Album von A Giant Dog mit eigenen Songs seit Toy von 2017.

Sabrina Ellis, Andrew Cashen, Danny Blanchard, Graham Low und Andy Bauer - auf ihrem Höhepunkt als Musiker, fordern sie sich mit komplexeren Arrangements heraus und versetzten sich hinein in die Köpfe der Figuren, die dieses vermeintliche Paradies Avalonia bewohnen. "Wir mussten uns in den Hauptfiguren wiederfinden oder uns in die Hauptfiguren hineinversetzen. Wir entwickelten sie, lernten ihre Gedanken, Emotionen und Motivationen kennen und brachten diese dann in neun Songs zum Ausdruck", erklärt Ellis. Themen wie Sucht, Geschlechterfluidität, ethisches Leben in einer kapitalistischen Gesellschaft, körperliche Autonomie, Geiz, Trauer und Zustimmung sprudeln unter dem versprochenen Glück von Avalonia.

Dies wird in Songs wie "Different Than" deutlich, in dem Ellis singt: "My body can't explain the things my mind don't comprehend", als ob der gesellschaftliche Geschlechterdruck seine Protagonistin aus ihrer Haut herausquetscht. Die Songs auf Bite sind voller Bombast und erinnern abwechselnd an den raumfahrenden Opernrock des Electric Light Orchestra und die hohe Dramatik einer Ennio Morricone Filmmusik. Der erzählerische Bogen des Albums ist von epischer Tragweite, seine Charaktere stehen vor unmöglichen Unwahrscheinlichkeiten und sind mit dem sicheren Untergang konfrontiert, und ist so bequem vergleichbar mit der Sci-Fi-Grandezza von Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak wie auch mit der High Fantasy von Dio und Iron Maiden. Passenderweise sind A Giant Dog bis an die Zähne bewaffnet mit neuen Ideen zu dieser Erzählung gekommen, mit Synthesizern und Streichern, um das zu schaffen, was Ellis als orchestral beschreibt: symphonischen, futuristischen Punk. Um dies zu erreichen, verließen sie ihre Heimat Austin, Texas, in das La Cuve Studio in der Nähe von Angers, Frankreich.

Auf dem französischen Land legten A Giant Dog ihre Zukunftsvision vor einer ausgesprochen pastoralen Kulisse nieder. Auf den Wanderungen von Angers nach La Cuve, so Ellis, sahen sie "viele Dinge, und auch gar nichts. Schwäne auf dem Fluss. Romani, die in kleinen Anhängern leben, mit einer Hütte für ihren Hund an der Seite Ein Jongleur auf einem Einrad - ich verarsche dich nicht. Wir dachten, wir dürften nach dieser Reise nicht mehr nach Frankreich zurück, um ehrlich zu sein", fährt sie fort. "Fünf laute, stampfende, klatschende, randalierende Amerikaner, die im November 2022 drei Wochen lang durch die Straßen von Angers gelaufen sind." Diese Erfahrung war der Höhepunkt von zwei Jahren Planung und Schreiben, in denen das Universum von Avalonia Gestalt annahm. Die daraus resultierenden neun Songs besetzen nicht nur diesen Raum: Sie haben darin gelebt und sie wollen raus.

Jerome Reuters Musikprojekt ROME verbindet mehr mit der Ukraine als der gelegentliche Gastauftritt. Seit 2015 bereist der Luxemburger Singer-Songwriter auf seinen Europatourneen das Land regelmäßig für Konzerte. So auch im Februar 2022, als Reuter nur wenige Tage vor der großen russischen Invasion noch Soloauftritte in Kyiv und Odessa trotz drastischer Reisewarnungen absolvierte.

Doch Reuter - ein von seiner Kreativität Getriebener, der schon immer eigenwillig seinen Weg ging - schwor sogar darüber hinaus, in absehbarer Zeit mit der kompletten Band zurückzukehren. Einige Monate später, nachdem er mehrere Online-Wohltätigkeitsshows zur Unterstützung der Ukraine gespielt hatte, kam er zunächst für einen Soloauftritt zurück und war damit der erste ausländische Künstler, der seit Beginn des Krieges ein komplettes Konzert auf ukrainischem Boden absolvierte. Dieser Auftritt im Juli 2022 wurde genutzt, um Spenden für eine Flüchtlingsunterkunft in Lwiw zu sammeln. Auf den Tag genau ein Jahr nach Reuters letztem Auftritt in Kyiv, löste er dann sein Versprechen ein und spielte zum ersten Jahrestag des Kriegsbeginns zwei mittlerweile geschichtsträchtige Full-Band-Shows mit ROME in Lwiw und Kyiw.

Reuters Unterstützung für den Freiheitskampf der Ukraine ist für jeden, der das bisherige Schaffen von ROME kennt, keine Überraschung. Seit fast zwei Jahrzehnten besingt Reuter die europäische Solidarität und Kultur, und so ist es nur eine logische Konsequenz, dass er nun mit "Gates of Europe" eine konzeptionelle Arbeit über den anhaltenden Krieg in Europa veröffentlicht.

Das Album beginnt mit einem Paukenschlag - einer unheilvollen und bedrohlichen Collage der Klänge des 24. Februar 2022, der ersten Stunde des Einmarsches - und führt mit minutiös geschliffenen Kleinoden fast chronologisch durch das erste Kriegsjahr. Auf "Gates of Europe" werden traditionelles Songwriter-Handwerk mit raffinierter Poesie und ungewöhnlichen Arrangements zu einem Gesamtkunstwerk verschmolzen. Die 14 Lieder sind packende Momentaufnahmen der inneren Befindlichkeit des Landes, das sich dem Sturm wider Erwarten entschlossen entgegenstellt. Und so ist "Gates of Europe" vor allem eines: Bekenntnis zu einem freien Europa aus der Feder eines Mannes, der mit tausend Fäden an vergangene Jahrhunderte gespannt zu sein scheint und doch in seinem Werk die zeitlose Zeit anvisiert.

Dieses Album scheint in vielerlei Hinsicht der Höhepunkt aller bisherigen Arbeiten Reuters zu sein, so als ob die letzten zwei Jahrzehnte nur der Übungsplatz für diesen Moment in der europäischen Geschichte waren. In mehr als 50 offiziellen Veröffentlichungen, darunter etwa 20 Studioalben, Live-Sessions und verschiedene andere offizielle Veröffentlichungen, hat es ROME geschafft, eine ganz eigene künstlerische Welt zu schaffen und sich eine starke und treue Anhängerschaft in Europa und der ganzen Welt aufzubauen.

Das Engagement für die Ukraine ist für den überzeugten Europäer Reuter eine Selbstverständlichkeit und doch in seiner Kompromisslosigkeit vorbildlich.

To Life!

- Schwarzes, 180 Gramm schweres 12" Vinyl
- Extra audiophiler Tonträger von hoher Qualität - deutsche Pressung!
- Opulentes Gatefold Cover
- Gatefold im Inside-Out Druckverfahren bedruckt
- 20-seitiges Vinylbooklet aus speziellem, rauem Papier
- Alle Grafiken in einem der Bildwelten würdigen Großformat (ca. 30 x 30cm)
- Mehrfarbig bedruckte Innenhülle
- Innenhülle aus speziellem, rauem Papier
- Mehrfarbig bedruckte Vinyletiketten
- Zertifikat von Jérôme Reuter handnummeriert und signiert
- Limitiert auf 500 Exemplare

Jerome Reuters Musikprojekt ROME verbindet mehr mit der Ukraine als der gelegentliche Gastauftritt. Seit 2015 bereist der Luxemburger Singer-Songwriter auf seinen Europatourneen das Land regelmäßig für Konzerte. So auch im Februar 2022, als Reuter nur wenige Tage vor der großen russischen Invasion noch Soloauftritte in Kyiv und Odessa trotz drastischer Reisewarnungen absolvierte.

Doch Reuter - ein von seiner Kreativität Getriebener, der schon immer eigenwillig seinen Weg ging - schwor sogar darüber hinaus, in absehbarer Zeit mit der kompletten Band zurückzukehren. Einige Monate später, nachdem er mehrere Online-Wohltätigkeitsshows zur Unterstützung der Ukraine gespielt hatte, kam er zunächst für einen Soloauftritt zurück und war damit der erste ausländische Künstler, der seit Beginn des Krieges ein komplettes Konzert auf ukrainischem Boden absolvierte. Dieser Auftritt im Juli 2022 wurde genutzt, um Spenden für eine Flüchtlingsunterkunft in Lwiw zu sammeln. Auf den Tag genau ein Jahr nach Reuters letztem Auftritt in Kyiv, löste er dann sein Versprechen ein und spielte zum ersten Jahrestag des Kriegsbeginns zwei mittlerweile geschichtsträchtige Full-Band-Shows mit ROME in Lwiw und Kyiw.

Reuters Unterstützung für den Freiheitskampf der Ukraine ist für jeden, der das bisherige Schaffen von ROME kennt, keine Überraschung. Seit fast zwei Jahrzehnten besingt Reuter die europäische Solidarität und Kultur, und so ist es nur eine logische Konsequenz, dass er nun mit "Gates of Europe" eine konzeptionelle Arbeit über den anhaltenden Krieg in Europa veröffentlicht.

Das Album beginnt mit einem Paukenschlag - einer unheilvollen und bedrohlichen Collage der Klänge des 24. Februar 2022, der ersten Stunde des Einmarsches - und führt mit minutiös geschliffenen Kleinoden fast chronologisch durch das erste Kriegsjahr. Auf "Gates of Europe" werden traditionelles Songwriter-Handwerk mit raffinierter Poesie und ungewöhnlichen Arrangements zu einem Gesamtkunstwerk verschmolzen. Die 14 Lieder sind packende Momentaufnahmen der inneren Befindlichkeit des Landes, das sich dem Sturm wider Erwarten entschlossen entgegenstellt. Und so ist "Gates of Europe" vor allem eines: Bekenntnis zu einem freien Europa aus der Feder eines Mannes, der mit tausend Fäden an vergangene Jahrhunderte gespannt zu sein scheint und doch in seinem Werk die zeitlose Zeit anvisiert.

Dieses Album scheint in vielerlei Hinsicht der Höhepunkt aller bisherigen Arbeiten Reuters zu sein, so als ob die letzten zwei Jahrzehnte nur der Übungsplatz für diesen Moment in der europäischen Geschichte waren. In mehr als 50 offiziellen Veröffentlichungen, darunter etwa 20 Studioalben, Live-Sessions und verschiedene andere offizielle Veröffentlichungen, hat es ROME geschafft, eine ganz eigene künstlerische Welt zu schaffen und sich eine starke und treue Anhängerschaft in Europa und der ganzen Welt aufzubauen.

Das Engagement für die Ukraine ist für den überzeugten Europäer Reuter eine Selbstverständlichkeit und doch in seiner Kompromisslosigkeit vorbildlich.

To Life!

- Schwarzes, 180 Gramm schweres 12" Vinyl
- Extra audiophiler Tonträger von hoher Qualität - deutsche Pressung!
- Opulentes Gatefold Cover
- Gatefold im Inside-Out Druckverfahren bedruckt
- 20-seitiges Vinylbooklet aus speziellem, rauem Papier
- Alle Grafiken in einem der Bildwelten würdigen Großformat (ca. 30 x 30cm)
- Mehrfarbig bedruckte Innenhülle
- Innenhülle aus speziellem, rauem Papier
- Mehrfarbig bedruckte Vinyletiketten
- Zertifikat von Jérôme Reuter handnummeriert und signiert
- Limitiert auf 500 Exemplare

With I Will Make a Baby in this Damn Economy, Fat Tony embodies the kind of quixotic figure he would rap about; a singular entity who’s motivated, confident, and hungry; a perpetual-motion-machine locked in a staring contest with his country. It’s the latest album in his catalog produced entirely by L.A-based producer Taydex since 2020’s Wake Up. Later that same year Fat Tony released Exotica, and ever since he’s demonstrated he is in his own lane as a professional rapper with the mind of a magician, as quick to conjure an image as pull it out from under you, deftly manoeuvring through so many details and references a listener feels as if they have witnessed the work of an illusionist. He paints these canvases inside of songs that rarely spill past three minutes; they’re pocket-sized diaries replete with acute observations, character studies, microdoses of storytelling, and single-minded ruminations on a topic that bud, blossom, and fade before too long. Fat Tony & Taydex’s I Will Make a Baby in this Damn Economy cements Tony’s status as someone whose albums are not so much lyrically-lyrical as they are picaresque.
As with any Fat Tony project, the bars are tight as ever, but are so fluid for the 34-year-old it’s almost easy to take for granted the details, warmth, and humanity inside his free-associative tales of day-one friends who’ve passed, edgelord grifters who want to spit game, and nights on ketamine. Taydex’s production sprints through disparate yet simpatico styles, dipping its toes into Pi’erre Bourne-esque bass (see lead single “Spectacular”), house (“Loosen Up”), and even hyperpop. Meditations on loss and grief are woven throughout, but Tony throws a few curveballs as well: Consider “Alexis,” which sweetly reflects on a long-term platonic friendship. Taydex finds a Teddy Riley-indebted New Jack Swing groove just deep enough for the feeling to land and underlines the song’s sincere candor. This is the appeal of Fat Tony writ-large: his boisterous voice and genial personality invite you to the party, then you stick around to hear what he’s saying, which is frequently more introspective and complex than one assumes.
Written and recorded in Taydex’s new studio in North Hollywood, Tony says, “We had much more freedom and flexibility in making this album and you can hear it. It felt like a family project.” If the album is comfortable and loose, it is also dense and substantial. The album’s final two tracks contextualize the immediacy of what came before it—the mezcal with ices drank, Paul Wall swangin’ through to drop knowledge, the Polaris Prize-winning rapper Cadence Weapon providing a vibe check. “Make a Baby” accounts for Tony who’s seen everything, and knows he’s met the one to be a father with, and yet chooses to take his time to get it done. Taydex’s beat recalls turn-of-the-century R&B and the millennial promise of an endless good time. Sombre closer “Jasper, TX” is Tony coming to grips with the story of James Byrd, Jr., a Black man from East Texas dragged to his death by three white supremacists in 1998. These songs are not only trademarks of Tony’s fastidious rapping—they are deeply personal examples of his approach to artistry and life itself, where every decision is made in the shadow of history.
It’s here the mission statement of I Will Make a Baby in this Damn Economy comes into focus—you get the sense he means it, he’s ready for it, he’ll fight for it. He’s waiting to take the world at its word.

Das 22-minütige Epos "Defeat", das mit dem Grammy-prämierten Produzenten Russell Elevado (D'Angelo, Kamasi Washington, The Roots) aufgenommen wurde, ist eine ungeschminkte Ode an Durchhaltevermögen und Hoffnung, an das "Auf-dem-Boden-Bleiben wie eine Fichte", wenn sich das Land unter uns zu verändern scheint. "Was ist aus uns geworden?" singt Avey Tare in einer unbändigen Hook und schreit die Frage auf eine Art und Weise, die verkündet, dass wir immer noch etwas mehr werden könnten. Das Zeitlupen-Finale des Songs wirkt wie eine Fantasie-Vision dessen, was kommen wird - ein ruhigerer Ort, an dem wir gemeinsam und nicht getrennt gedeihen können. Dies ist die wunderschöne und erlösende Saga von Animal Collective, verdichtet in einer unvergesslichen Komposition, ein Lied zum Festhalten, auch wenn die Welt sich immer schneller dreht.
An "Defeat" wirken die Gastmusiker Samara Lubelski (Violine), Leila Bordreuil (Cello) und Ben Chapoteau-Katz (Saxophon) mit.
"Defeat" wird am 25. August als limitierte 12" erscheinen und die B-Seite "The Challenge (Live Edit)" enthalten, die nur auf Vinyl erhältlich ist. "The Challenge" ist ein komplett improvisierter Track, der nur vor einem Live-Publikum gespielt wurde und als ungeprobtes Intro zum Song "Strung With Everything" entstand, während die Band letztes Jahr auf Tour war. Die Version der 12" wurde aus 11 verschiedenen Shows zwischen März und September 2022 zusammengeschnitten.

Lyon, France’s Meurtrières has not strayed far from their original goal of writing old-school, epic heavy metal with medieval overtones on their newest effort, Ronde De Nuit. If anything, the band (consisting of new vocalist Fiona, the guitar tandem of Flo Spector and Olivier, bassist Xavier and drummer Thomas) has taken what they started on their well-received 2020 self-titled EP and added new layers of complexity and depth. It is the natural transition for a band gaining more confidence in its songwriting abilities. Yet the noticeable change starts in the vocal spot. Out is the original frontwoman Fleur and in her place is Fiona. Meurtrières wasted little time introducing Fiona — the band started playing live shows and writing new material with her right after the release of the EP, thus, giving Meurtrières ample time to hone its new material. And Fiona fits the band’s hard-charging, gallant music like a glove, coming away with a stronghold of fiery, epic choruses — all sung in the Meurtrières’ native tongue. The lyrical subject matter on Ronde De Nuit still spans the medieval domain but with increased emphasis on paintings by Rembrandt (The Night Watch) and Johann Heinrich (Füssli). The band aimed to make the songs “pictorial,” reflecting imaginary portraits to draw in the listener. Except for “Aucun Homme, Aucun Dogme, Aucune Croix” (which is a known French medieval legend about a real woman), the songs on Ronde De Nuit are based on fantasy with a desired fate: All the depicted characters are doomed to tragedy, for in the world of Meurtrières, there is no such thing as crowned kings and queens and even glorious warriors. Artwork by Ivan Brun rounds out a package that perfectly ties in thematically with the desperate and dark themes of the lyrics. It is a fitting component to an album laced with stunning visuals and epic, old-school metal of the highest order!

FOR FANS OF: UNLEASHED, AMON AMARTH, GRAVE.

Vinyl - Album von PAGANIZER, eine der dienstältesten Death Metal Gruppen aus Schweden. Harte Riffs und derbe Vocals - das ist die Band um Rogga Johansson. Seit über 25 Jahren walzen die nordischen Jungs alles in Grund und Boden. Endlich gibt es neues Material in Form dieser limitierten

Schallplatte, gepresst in rotem Vinyl.

Recorded October 1959, Paris.

Original LP issue: Decca 153.924

Critics often complain that small-group sessions comprised of members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra are somewhat disappointing; this is definitely not the case with this session led by Clark Terry, recorded during a 1959 tour of Europe in the final month of the trumpeter’s almost eight-year tenure with the band. Fellow Ellington sidemen Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Woode, and Sam Woodyard are present, along with Raymond Fol at the piano. Terry was one of the most gifted trumpeters to grace the Ellington band and he blossoms when he has more opportunities to solo in a small group setting like this one. Gonsalves proves to be the perfect foil for Terry as they trade lines on several of the numbers. Unlike many dates led by Ellington veterans, this one doesn’t rely heavily on songs from the vast Ellington songbook; instead, Terry includes only ‘Satin Doll’, a Monk’s tune, one by Babs Gonzales and three of his own compositions, with ‘Serenade to a Bus Seat’ (a remake of his upbeat instrumental interpretation of the hectic life of a touring musician) proving to be the most memorable.

This studio date was recorded for French Decca label and was almost impossible to find until now.

Clark Terry (Trumpet)
Paul Gonsalves (Tenor saxophone)
Raymond Fol (Piano)
Jimmy Woode (Bass)
G. T. Hogan (Drums)

Subterranean Odyssey returns with SO004, a release from the 2nd Slovenian producer on the label – Janko. His Zhutoklunac EP takes you on a journey through his style, with the A side kicking things off with Defnas – an ambient intro with dreamy vocals and a breakbeat which is very pleasing to the ears. Cleqtru carries you through to the B side with its sweeping pads and groovy bassline. The B side lightens the tone gradually with Massi which has a vocal that very appropriately asks you to “prepare for cyborg-isation” and Yecro ends the well thought-out release on a lighter note.

Hailed as "gospel titans" by Rolling Stone, the Blind Boys of Alabama defied the considerable odds stacked against them in the segregated South, working their way up from singing for pocket change to performing for three different presidents over the course of an 80-year career that saw them break down racial barriers, soundtrack the Civil Rights movement, and help redefine modern gospel music forever.

The five-time Grammy-winners’ latest album, Echoes Of The South, draws its name from the Birmingham radio program that hosted the group’s very first professional performance back in

1944. Pairing traditional spirituals and long-lost gospel classics with vintage soul and R&B tunes, the collection is as moving as it is timeless, transcending genre and era to touch something deep and fundamental about the human condition.

These are songs of love and friendship, joy and gratitude, faith and perseverance. Uplifting as they are, the recordings can feel bittersweet at times, too: 91-year-old Jimmy Carter retired from performing following the sessions, while two longtime members, Paul Beasley and Benjamin Moore, Jr., have since passed away. Despite the losses, the Blind Boys of Alabama show no signs of slowing down.

“The spirit of the Blind Boys isn’t about what you can’t do it’s about what you can do,” says singer Ricky McKinnie. “As long as we stay true to that, as long as we sing songs that touch the heart, this group will live on forever.”


The most honored and revered group in Gospel music.
Winners of 5 GRAMMY; including Lifetime Achievement.
Echoes of the South brings the group back to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record, album produced by
Matt Ross-Spang and Ben Tanner, band features Phil Cook, Dennis Crouch and Chad Gamble.
Global touring schedule planned for 2023/2024.
Documentary film to be released in conjunction with the album, book on career to be released in early 2024.

Nach mehr als einem Jahrzehnt ist es an der Zeit, den heiß begehrten Katalog der Stockholmer Death-Metal-Legenden DISMEMBER endlich neu aufzulegen!

An erster Stelle stehen das legendäre Debüt „Like An Ever Flowing Stream“, das ein dynamischeres Master vom Juni 1991 enthält, das noch nie zuvor auf Vinyl verwendet wurde, die barbarische EP „Pieces“ und das klassische Zweitwerk „Indecent & Obscene“. Alle Alben verfügen über ein hochwertiges Artwork, das auf neuen Hüllenscans der Erstpressungen basiert, und wurden von Patrick W. Engel im Temple of Disharmony für Vinyl gemastert, um einen „originalgetreuen“ Klang zu bewahren.

Alle Neuauflagen wurden zusammen mit DISMEMBERs Mastermind und Schlagzeuger Fred Estby erstellt, um sicherzustellen, dass diese unverzichtbaren schwedischen Death-Metal-Klassiker in makellosen, zeitlosen Editionen zurückkehren.

Limited 300 only LP pressed on 'deep space black' vinyl. Housed in a gloss finished outer sleeve with black polylined inner bag and download code. Non-Returnable.

For fans of Up-Tight, Les Rallizes Denudes, Acid Mothers Temple, and deep psych rock.

Introducing TOMOYUKI TRIO, a blistering Japanese/UK psych-rock power trio featuring Tomoyuki Aoki, Mike Vest & Dave Sneddon.

Tomoyuki Aoki is the founding member and lead guitarist of the legendary Japanese psychedelic rock band UP-TIGHT, who’ve been active and since 1992 building up a cult following worldwide.

This debut collaboration between Tomoyuki Aoki & Mike Vest (of Blown Out, Bong, Modoki, Artifacts & Uranium, Drunk In Hell etc) greets two titans of guitar feedback and blissful ‘improvised every-time’ leads.

Experimental ultra-delayed vocals, shimmer over downer minor chord basslines, leaving room for Aoki’s guitar devastations.

This is introverted mournful psychedelic rock music, yet it still grooves all the way to it's inevitable oblivion.