Cerca:drea

Kneading dough is tricky – you should know how it’s supposed to feel. If you try too hard you could make it worse. It’s a beautiful practice – creation with a gentle touch, to work at something so it can be left alone. “If it’s too drawn out it’s awful. It’s easy to give too much.” Dance in the mirror. Contemplate your veiny hands. Who do they remind you of?

You begin by mixing flour and water. “What happens when your people die? Why’d they move the rock to the other side of Ulster Park?” Eliza Niemi asks two seemingly unrelated questions in a rising melody with guitar accompaniment, like fingers playing spider up to the nape of your neck. Gentle pressure. Strands of gluten form to bind the mix. A new question lingers in the binding. When she admits “but I don’t know how to tell if I’m feeling it or not,” that question surfaces through the text. It is reiterated throughout the album. When I’m working with dough I think the same thing to myself.

On Progress Bakery, her second album as a solo artist, Eliza knows to leave some questions alone – to let juxtaposition and tension be the proof. It doesn’t have to be hard. The feelings and revelations they provoke rise in the heat. The smell is sweet. Crispy on the outside and soft all the way through. She playfully slip-slides through words and sounds and images, delighting in surprise, skimming ideas like stones cast across clear water, touching down briefly with uncommon grace.

The question provoked between those opening lines resurfaces in the strands between songs – “Do U FM” is fully formed and beautifully layered, while “Novelist Sad Face” is a short, acapella rendering of gentle curiosity. What is holding these ideas together? Some songs demand more, seem to carry a whole load – eventually the skipping stone will halt to sink and resume its idle duty – while others drift in and out of focus, the way thoughts and dreams become interwoven before the mind is sunk into true sleep.

Music and words don’t always have to interact. Where she decides to keep them apart gives a new contour to where and how she puts them together. The kind of thing you’re supposed to take for granted with songs and their singers comes alive in Eliza’s hands – the little miracle of mixing, kneading, stretching, and stopping.

So often on Progress Bakery, Eliza teases out truth and meaning by asking questions. “Do I wanna be crying?” “Do you want me good or do you want me bad?” “Do I need an eye test?” “I’m writing songs in my head while you’re going over stuff with me — is that cruel??” In “Pocky” Eliza ends with a question that feels to me like the actual biography, succinct and revealing:

I don’t wanna be made to see
I just wanna ask “what’s that?”

Grace that ought to be rare, but in its care and precision is offered humbly, with great generosity, and without announcing itself. Eliza’s simple, miraculous music is given further form and shape by a group of collaborators – invaluable guest musicians Jeremy Ray, Evan Cartwright, Steven McPhail, Kenny Boothby, Ed Squires, Carolina Chauffe, Dorothea Paas, Louie Short, and Avalon Tassonyi. Together with Louie Short, who recorded, mixed, and produced the album along with Jeremy Ray and Lukas Cheung, Eliza has cultivated a richness in sound and texture that prods and provokes the ticklish ear. Barely audible guitar tinkering, a brief lo-fi field recording of trumpets, the harmonic clicking of a looped synthesizer, a flourish of reeds, a child’s conversation, each uncanny sound perfectly placed, rippling out under a soft breeze.

Lay in bed alone at night and ask aloud to the stillness,

“What were you doing at the Albuquerque Airport?
What were you doing there??”

And hear your question answered by a dream of swelling, undulating cellos. Try to grasp at the melody and structure. It’s not an answer (if there could be one), but it moves deeper, closer to the weird layer of fleeting moments and disconnected images, barely perceptible at its core. Wait for the dream reel to click into place.

Eliza took me for a ride in Nicole (her beloved Dodge Grand Caravan) and told me she’d been thinking of the album as an embodiment of transition – and I think every transition, known or unknown, carries the weight of new meaning, skittering off the surface tension of life as you know it, creating ripples, sometimes bouncing off and sometimes breaking through. There is a trick you can use to tell if a dough is glutinous enough. You’re supposed to stretch it out as thin as you can without breaking it and hold it up to the light. If you can see through, even if it renders the world murky and uncertain, you should leave it alone. I love this trick. It’s one that Eliza seems to know intuitively: work gently and ask questions and don’t always expect answers, and when you can, take a glimpse at something new, and then leave.

After humble lo-fi beginnings in the Australian Art-Pop Underground, Donny Benet has expanded his cult-like following across the Globe with a resonant Array of danceable Repertoire dealing with Love- and Affection. New album "Mr Experience" marks a new chapter, informed by a wealth of musical- and personal development.

For Mr Experience, Donny envisioned a Soundtrack to a Dinner-Party- Set in the late 1980's. While his earlier Recordings drew Inspiration from DIY Pop Conspirators such as Ariel Pink & John Maus, Donny channelled the Stylings of Bryan Ferry & Hiroshi Yoshimura as the Impetus for new Material, evident on the Intimacy found on ‘Girl Of My Dreams’ and it's lush production- with a soothing whistle-along Chorus for good Measure!

Sincerity has been a key component of Donny Benet’s output since the beginning. His songs deal with genuine Emotion served on a kitsch Platter. An alter-ego manifested in the beginning of the 2010's, Donny has blurred the Lines of Artifice to create a back- Catalogue that can embrace- and challenge, often simultaneously, - the notion of Irony in Art.

"Mr Experience" moves further away from ironic Notions as Donny explores lyrical- and musical themes which embody Observations of Maturation in his audience, his tightknit musical Community- and himself. While ‘mature’ is a term that often rings hollow as an album descriptor, the term couldn’t be more apt for Mr Experience.

Previous album The Don was created with the luxury of time. The phenomenal Response to that Album across Europe- and the United States - fuelled by accompanying Music Videos clocking in Views in the Millions- meant that there were scant Windows of Opportunity to write- and record a follow-up.

With a legacy in Sydney’s music community, working with Sarah Blasko, and tightknik collaborators Jack Ladder & Kirin J Callinan, Donny Benet is accustomed to collaboration on the Stage- and in the Studio, mostnotably on the 2014 full-length release Weekend At Donny’s.



“There is such immense talent evident in every aspect of the Donny Bene experience - the vision of the character, the steadfast adherence his narrative and the musicality of Benet himself all combine to makesomething truly genius.” - Double J, Australin.

“Donny Benet makes feminine music for everybody” - Vice, Netherlands.

“The Don does not sound like amusical copying machine”. - 3voor12 National, Netherlands.

“The set was punctuated with virtuosic solos and exquisite harmonies, and added another layer of genius to the show.
We almost couldn’t handle it... Donny for president!" - Indie Berlin.

“Everyone loves Donny Benet” - Feature in Gonzai, France.

“Phenomenal Australian Showman... Offers Top-Class Dance Music with Virtuose-Bass Guitar- and Keyboard Parts & incredible Sound-Colour feel.” - Podujatie.sk, Slovakia.

Donny has toured Europe five times since the start of 2018 and has played in the UK, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, France, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Greece and Sweden. The Don will revisit Europe twice in 2020, once for his own headline shows in May then back again in August for festivals!

BLACK/RED VINYL

A match made in heaven and hell, since forming in the cradle of Europe Athens, back in 2012, dark synth duo Selofan have paved their own perditious way, reinventing the modern Darkwave scene throughout the continent and worldwide with their prolific creativity and work ethic over the past decade. Through varied experimental synth-scapes conjured with keen ears for sound design, production, and theatrical aesthetics, Selofan rest not on the laurels of just creating highly danceable coldwave infused music, but with together with Joanna Pavlidou's haunting vocals, and Dimitris Pavlidis' throbbing bass guitar, and modular synth compositions, the pair conjure whole other worlds and narratives throughout each album and music video they create. Thus far the Selofan have released 5 studio albums, issued through their own legendary label they curate themselves: Fabrika Records. Through their Fabrika family, Selofan have championed such acts as Lebanon Hanover, and She Past Away, aiding these bands in becoming two of the most popular Darkwave acts worldwide. Drab Majesty even cameoed in a She Past Away video while being hosted by Selofan during one of the band's frequent stays in Athens, and Kaelan Mikla, a handpicked favorite of The Cure, were first championed by Selofan, through the release of the Icelandic Trio's self-titled debut in 2016. In the Spring of 2020, Selofan released the video for the hopelessly plaintive "There Must Be Somebody", the first single from their forthcoming sixth studio album Partners In Hell, the follow-up to 2018's widely popular Vitrioli LP. "There Must be Somebody" is a discordant composition, mimicking the startled song of birds after a disturbance in a wooded enclave on a mountainside, while a magick ritual unfolds. The album itself opens with "Grey Gardens", a menagerie of morose melodies setting a sombre tone for the rest of a bleak record whose sound design and dreamscapes evoke the best sounds of British and German post-punk of the 80s. "Almost Nothing" is a brooding bell-driven track with a dark and pirouetting melody that is the perfect soundtrack to a figurine twirling in a music box. The German language "Nichts" means No, and this song is both sinister and cinematic with sighing keys, shuddering drum machines, and German lyrics sung with sorrowful conviction. "Zusamen", is a word often asked if you are together, or separate, is a dark ballad whose shadowy keys weave a nightmarish delirium, evoking the soundscapes of a lullaby sung in a haunted dollhouse. "4am" is a restless rhythm, whose soft percussive melody tosses and turns alongside subtle bass and string accents overlaid with despondent vocals. "Happy Consumers" sounds like the swirling of a finger drawn upon the edge of crystalline glass, with vocals and drum machines coming emanating from an adjacent room with echoing acoustics, collectively evoking the sound like lingers when the somnambulist wakes from his dream. "Absolutely Absent" hums onward like a phantom train ride that is a one-way ticket to madness, and with the next track "Metalic Isolation" the locomotive beats gather more steam, propelled forward with anachronistic melody. The album closes with "Auf Dein Haut", which translates as on your skin, and the song is both tactile and tenebrous with sensuously dark synth textures amidst howling German vocals that take flight like witches during a sabbat. Partner's In Hell was mixed and produced by Serafim Tsotsonis, and mastered by Doruk Ozturkcan. Genre: Alternative / Post-Punk / Cold Wave

From the deepest trenches of deadstock 45s and the unsung annals of soft rock infamy, we present SR4HT02: (Till You're) Back In My Arms.

Universal Cave and the Street Road Band cover Dan Strimer with Insured Sound's cult anthem (Till You're) Back In My Arms which was originally released as a 45 in 1977 on Lost Nation Records out of Guysville, Ohio. When Universal Cave featured Back in My Arms on Soft Rock for Hard Times Vol 8 in 2023, we reached out to Dan Strimer to tell him how much we loved his record, and quickly made a friend who helped us release a cover of his song 47 years after it first came out. Dan is still making music to this day and there are even rumors of some unreleased recordings making their way out in the near future.

On vacation in Hawaii when we released Soft Rock for Hard Times Vol 8, Alex Tebbs Mitchell of Universal Cave kept coming back to Dan's catchy, rural classic rock tune. When Alex returned to Philadelphia, he assembled the Street Road Band to record a laid back, 'southwestern Balearic' cover version with André Ethier on vocals, Charles Simon on guitar, Jesse Spearhawk on Pedal Steel, Alex Tebbs Mitchell on Rhodes and bass, Ryan M. Todd on synthesizers, and Shawn Ryan and Brian Cassidy on additional programming and arrangement. The result is a blissful soft rock ballad inspired by the likes of Chris Rea and Mark Knopfler.

After recording the cover, we called in the UK's finest Balearic maestro's Coyote to take the multitracks to the White Isle and back for a remix worthy of Cafe Del Mar. Coyote send the song into a dreamy, dubby, deep house groove, confirming that the record is, in fact, Balearic.

Mixed by Alex Tebbs Mitchell
Mastered by Mat Leffler-Schulman

It's hard to imagine El León Pardo, a loyal advocate of some of the most advanced projects in which folklore is the road map and the destination itself, without his kuisi. It's hard to see him with his hands free. Always holding on to that ancestral instrument, that pre-Colombian flute that survived the conquest and has become a symbol of resistance, overcoming the ravages of time, the imposition of ideologies, dogmas and religions. Despite all that, the kuisi continues with its liberating sound, the power of its cry, its invitation to dance, its sound a cure and a blessing. That's why it leads the way in this Viaje Sideral ("Space Voyage"), an astral journey in which the kuisi is the vehicle and the life force of the rhythm. Viaje Sideral feels like floating eternally in the infinite cosmos. This second long player from El León Pardo is inspired by humanity's relationship with the stars, escaping to mythical planes and led into a trance by Caribbean percussions, analog synths, deep bass, electric guitars and the hypnotic vibrations of the kuisis and trumpets that complete the soundtrack of this voyage. Through these nine songs, El León Pardo continues to create a sound of his own, evolving in his intention to pay tribute to the psychedelia of the tropical world of the Caribbean in the 1970s and 80s, but this time also taking as reference artists like Terry Riley, Kraftwerk and Mad Professor, including the roots of ambient and electronic music with the characteristic sound of the kuisi, an encounter of dreamlike and astral sounds, with the music of the bandas pelayeras of the tropics and figures like Pedro Laza and Juan Lara. In this new universe the Cartagena trumpeter dialogs with the past, processing the ideas that have emerged over the years and morphed into his personal search that gives an identity to his ideas, nurtured by figures like producer Diego Gómez (Llorona Records, Discos Pacífico, Cerrero) who awoke his interest in electronic instruments, Edson Velandia and kuisi maestros like Juan Carlos Medrano and Fredy Arrieta. In his sound there is a particular feature, one that contains histories of personal experiences, accompanied by the kuisi, including ancient Zenú flutes dating from between 600 and 800 AD and which helped create the atmosphere of "Invocación." "Viaje Sideral," the song that gives the album its name, was born from a dream in which two stars speed towards the earth and an imminent collision. As the record continues, the stellar connection becomes clear with songs like "Urmah" with Edson Velandia, inspired by an article about extra-terrestrial races and how the Urmah were a race of hominid felines, the greatest geneticists of the universe; and "Cumbia espacial," featuring rapping from N. Hardem, seeking to create that aura of immensity and consciousness of the infinity of the universe.

We are thrilled to announce another underground gem on our label. This time, it's Collage's incredible 4-track EP "Mit den Puppen tanzen" (Dancing With The Puppets). Originally released in 1984 on the small FMusic label, the 12" EP is a true highlight in German Electro and NDW history, becoming a sought-after item among collectors. It features intense lyrics by singer Katrin A. Kunze, with music composed by Markus Kammann and Jürgen Grah.

Kammann and Grah, both originally from Solingen - a small city near Wuppertal - had previously collaborated on the new wave project Schwarze Bewegung with a different singer. Their self-titled LP was released in 1982 on Bacillus/Bellaphon. During this period, the electro sound pioneered by Kraftwerk evolved into electro-funk, sparked by the release of Afrika Bambaataa's groundbreaking track "Planet Rock", which achieved global acclaim. The iconic Roland TR-808 drum machine, masterfully employed by Arthur Baker's production team, revolutionized dance music with further hits like "Looking for the Perfect Beat" and collaborations with Planet Patrol. Markus Kammann cites these tracks, along with black music as a whole, as key influences on his work. In contrast, much of the electronic music emerging from Germany at the time rather leaned towards the styles of artists like Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. Kammann's influences are evident in Collage's EP, which incorporates elements of early electronic hip-hop, such as the scratching sounds in the title track (created with tape rather than turntables) and short rap segments in "Niemals zurück".

By this time, Kammann and Grah had acquired their own Roland 808 as well as a JUNO-60 keyboard. Grah, originally a drummer, played keyboards and vibraphone, while Kammann, primarily a guitarist, also played bass. All the lyrics on the EP were written and performed by Kathrin A. Kunze, who hailed from Cuxhaven, a northern German city. She moved to Wuppertal around 1983 to study literature, and the group Collage was born.

Through Uwe Bauer, drummer of Fehlfarben, and their manager Horst Lüdge (of Profil), Collage connected with Werner Lambertz, a legendary sound technician from Düsseldorf. Lambertz's state-of-the-art studio featured custom-built sequencers capable of triggering the JUNO-60, as well as expensive equipment like a vocoder. Over the course of a week, the group completed all four tracks.

The EP's hard yet playful electro beats were complemented by Kunze's distinctive performance and introspective lyrics, which lent the songs a uniquely German and wavy touch. Her subtle songwriting conveyed a sense of paranoia and sorrow, as seen in lines like "Ich glaub mir selber nicht. Wer hält denn schon, was er verspricht?" ("I don't believe myself. Who stays true to their word, anyway?").

Unfortunately, the EP was never properly promoted and was distributed solely through the independent market via EFA. Despite this, Collage continued working on new material and pre-recorded an album that garnered label's attention. Polydor expressed interest but proposed using the compositions for a solo project with singer Inga Humpe (of Neonbabies), who was already signed to their roster. This would have required replacing Kunze as the vocalist, an idea the group firmly rejected. As a result, the album was never released. In 1987, Kammann, Grah, and Kunze launched another project called Cold End, which released another brilliant and highly sought-after 12" single, Metropolitan Jungle, originally issued on Tam Tam and recently re-released.

The first-ever reissue of "Mit den Puppen tanzen" is limited to only 400 copies - 200 on classic black vinyl and 200 on blue transparent vinyl. The cover art remains true to the original 12" release, designed by the aforementioned Uwe Bauer (aka Bimbo Art). This reissue is a must-have for DJs and collectors alike

Kinky Friedman's final record (he passed away on June 27, 2024) Poet of Motel 6 is a moving collection of ten songs about love and loss. From his tribute to Billy Joe Shaver, The Poet of Motel 6, to his paean to the late, notorious mystery woman, Miranda Grosvenor, in “Whitney Walton Has Flown Away,” Kinky plumbs the depths of love and mortality on his final album. Joined by Texas royalty like Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Rick Trevino, Amy Nelson, Rodney Crowell, and produced by fellow Rolling Thunder Revue alumni David Mansfield, this record truly lays bare the heart of this Texas bard.

Midwest band Church Tongue have announced they have signed to Pure Noise Records and will release EP "You'll Know It Was Me" on 14th February 2025. The 6 track EP continues its complex, uncompromising and emotionally charged sound with guest features from Colin Young (Hardlore podcast), George Clarke (Deafheaven), and Crystal Pak (Initiate)​"You’ll Know It Was Me is a short record about love. Love looks like a lot of things, and each track touches on it in its own way." says Mike Sugars. "People close to me have heard about me wanting to make this kind of record for a long time. I just hadn’t grown enough to realise the dream of it, and I knew it had to be a Church Tongue record. I’ve been with this band, these guys, for the majority of my life now. I’ve made records with other bands, and so have the other guys, but this idea felt sacred to my beginnings. I knew this record was in us, was who we are, and I’m honoured to have made it with my brothers."

The Taxpayers are a long-running experimental, genre-bending DIY punk band that started in Portland, Oregon in 2007. Their critically acclaimed 2012 concept album God, Forgive These Bastards is about the rise and fall of a fictional baseball player, featuring the hit song, “I Love You Like an Alcoholic”. It was released alongside a book of the same name written by Rob Taxpayer. The story was turned into a musical stage production by the Hum’n’bards Theater Troupe in 2018. After a several year hiatus, The Taxpayers have been selling out shows across the United States, headlining festivals in Australia, and are now set to release their first full-length album in 8 years, titled “Circle Breaker”, in conjunction with the boundary-defying Ernest Jenning Record Company.

"Float like a butterfly and sting like a bee" said the famous boxer Mohammed Ali, in reference to his legendary strike. This punchline also works wonderfully in music, listening to Roseaux's third album. A French success story, created with all modesty and honesty by the Parisian trio: Emile Omar, Alex Finkin and Clément Petit.

The three musketeers of sound cultivate their know-how, now acclaimed by critics and an ever-growing audience since their first project in 2012. It took them time to take a step back and gain perspective in order to offer us a return that is both joyful and resounding.

Roseaux takes root on the banks of soul, folk, jazz, and songs from all eras, a cascade of inexhaustible sounds, where the three composers draw their inspiration and merge their experiences.

The leaves of Roseaux soar to the breath of wonderful voices, chosen with precision by the three friends, like that of the American singer Aloe Blacc, present since the beginning of the adventure, essential enchanter of the three episodes.

Conceived as a dreamlike escapade full of emotions, on the fringes of the massive, instantaneous and often disembodied production, Roseaux is a totally artisanal group, a sort of UFO in the French musical landscape, which operates on instinct and above all on desire.

Thus, Roseaux has become an expert in bringing together, for the duration of a record, the artists who specifically form the DNA of their host: captivating voices, a plot on the piano and cello, but also encounters and reunions, in a poetic and deliberately nebulous universe.

A welcoming nebula, where the listener is invited to listen and immerse themselves without hindrance, in a luxuriant, wild, exciting sound forest. This third album is the work of 3 music lovers, capable of switching roles: writing, arrangements, production, from which emerge this time, eleven tracks with chiseled melodies including three colorful and unusual instrumentals.

A journey between melancholy and euphoria, which led Roseaux to the ends of the planet, from the Caribbean to Europe via Africa to unearth other vibrations and unique performers: the captivating Grenadian-British singer Ala.ni, the little English afropop prince from Ghana, Ghetto Boy, and the disturbing Swedish Isabel Sörling, sign here a first flamboyant collaboration with the group.

While the talented Haitian-Canadian Mélissa Laveaux, the hypnotic Scandinavian singer Olle Nyman, the sparkling French-Canadian Anna Majidson and our remarkable national Ben, already present on the second part, still manage to create a surprise by revealing new aspects of their range.

Roseaux's voices are decidedly impenetrable and its magic is renewed today by making the strength of all these scintillating elements dialogue, to be discovered in a setting of softness and voluptuousness.

Nature is full of reeds, this one is unique.

Exzellenter Sampler mit einer sorgfältigen Auswahl 10 unveröffentlichter Songs der 1970er AOR-/Folk-Rock-Band Synod aus Chicago, Illinois. Die Tracks wurden zwischen 1972-1984 für Alben aufgenommen, die nie erschienen sind. Tramp Records bringt nun in Kooperation mit der Band diese Schätze erstmals heraus - digital, auf 7" Singles vorab und nun zum ersten Mal gesammelt als limitierte Deluxe-LP-Auflage, gepresst auf recycletem Biovinyl, im Gatefold, mit ausführlicher Biografie, unveröffentlichten Fotos und Downloadcode.

The Austin, TX-based singer-songwriter—whose decades-long career has seen six full-length studio albums, three EPs, countless collaborations, and an illustrious supergroup project in Glorietta—spent a season of rest away from his focus on writing songs. In the wake of the end of a long relationship, he wanted to prioritize processing his grief as a human, not as an artist bleeding on the page. “I love all the records I’ve made in the past. But in making them, there was always the thought in the back of my mind of where and what it could get me. I made both creative and business decisions with a goal in mind... a goal that often never came. This time it was all about just the joy of making it, about having fun with it.”

Kicking 2025 off with a NEW LIFE, Kito Jempere resumes operations retro-outfit shining, all machines blazing, pulling up with a boiling four-trackpackage bound to get dance floors quivering in excitement. A stick ofdynamite flung into the mouth of today's corporate dance music blandness, 'New Life' finds the Saint Petersburg producer spitting multi-strain madnesswith reckless fun and adventurous panache. Take New Order in theirTechnique days, sprinkle with early hip-hop breaks and finish it with a funk-savvy mix of acid, happy hardcore and ghetto tech jack, and you prettymuch have the opening track and lead-single 'New Life' capsulized to a tee.
A blissed-out, choppy ride spinning recklessly into dance-y abandon, 'LoveFilter' takes us on a heavy-lidded trip across dreamy electronic folds andonto vaporous apexes, where drum-heavy jolts and sliced vocals collidewith spacious pads from outer space. As hypnotic as it reveals hard-hitting, 'Killer Line De-Part' deploys a warped kaleidoscope of trancey shades,grunge-y grit and largely '80s informed analogue wizardry, convergingtowards the most hair-raising finale with your feet in the air and a dumbsmile across the face. Rounding off the record, 'Put Love Into Your Heart(Club Mix)' is a luminous slice of trippy, feelgood electronics engineered fordance floor communion and uplifting let-go. Fill your heart with love.

"When the Distance is Blue" is Macie Stewart"s International Anthem debut. The Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser describes the collection as "a love letter to the moments we spend in-between" - a letter realized via an intentional return to piano, her first instrument and the origin of her creative expression. Here Stewart creates a striking and cinematic work through collages of prepared piano, field recordings, and string quartet compositions, one that gives shape to a transient universe all its own while tracing the line of her musical past, full circle.

This album is produced by Neil Perch in the Alte Ziegelei studio and features the world reknowned Zion Train brass section along with vocals from Zion Train singer `Cara' and the award winning poet Roger Robinson. Featured on several tracks is Paolo Baldini playing guitars and bass guitar alongside veteran musicians - Trinny Fingers, Blacka Wilson, Dreada One and Professor Skank who hails from Crete. For this album Zion Train return to their roots with copious amounts of analogue Dub mixing performed by Perch on his TAC Scorpion vintage mixing desk. With mastering at the Pressure Mastering, and artwork by the highly acclaimed anarchist artist Marko Gin from Croatia, this album presents Zion Train at their creative, anarchic best. Zion train are one of the most unique and enjoyable live dub acts on the planet, their use of dynamic onstage dub mixing whilst performing alongside acoustic instruments and exceptional vocalists, make Zion Train one of a kind.

REPRESS of the Warble Womb double album. Warble Womb is the sixth studio album by American psychedelic rock band Dead Meadow. It was released in November 2013 under Xemu Records

REPRESS of the Warble Womb double album. Warble Womb is the sixth studio album by American psychedelic rock band Dead Meadow. It was released in November 2013 under Xemu Records

Here is an expanded edition of one of Nurse With Wound's most intense and unique albums, so much so that for long-time fans, it was a strange, chaotic lounge oddity upon its release. For the first time, all four audio sides are complete (originally, there were only three sides).

To top it off, there is a stunning new cover by the great and talented Babs Santini, who is none other than Steven Stapleton using his artist pseudonym, continuing in the luxurious tradition of the "silver collection" at Rotorelief Records.

The album Huffin' Rag Blues by Nurse With Wound is unique in the NWW discography. Stapleton teams up with composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Liles, his co-creator of musical terrorism, to tackle the genres of exotica and lounge, crushed into a joyful cacophonic mess. Longtime NWW friends Colin Potter and Matt Waldron also join in.

Blues, jazz, cop movies, bachelor pads, and TV show music are treated, discarded, then chopped up and recycled into a mix that contains tons of space but also overflows with dynamic tension, hilarious asides, sexually suggestive poetry, and a certain rock & roll abandon. It's a very surprising album for long-time fans, like a soundtrack that could accompany a David Lynch film.

It's brilliant, exasperating, hilarious, and dark enough to earn a spot in any collection that appreciates a bit of weirdness and eccentricity.

Huffin' Rag Blues incorporates more familiar musical elements—including live-played instruments, rhythm, and vocals—than nearly any other Nurse With Wound album to date. As always, the album's main focus is to create environments for lucid dreaming rather than music per se.

A heavyweight lineup of dub techno talent comes together for a deep and textured journey. Krystian Shek and Milly James join forces on Promise, delivering two original productions alongside with reworks from Yagya and grad_u. As a bonus, this collection expands even further with digital-exclusive remixes from Raytek and Noosa Sound System that come with the original purchase.

'Glow & Shine' locks into a hypnotic groove from the outset, its analog warmth and weighty percussion forming a solid foundation. A crisp snare and hi-hat pattern provide an irresistible swing, while chords and vocals land together in perfect sync, draped in a rich layer of delay. Spacey breakdowns allow the ride cymbal to subtly emerge, giving the track an evolving energy. The closing moments strip things back, with the chords guiding everything to a natural finish. 'Better That Way' shifts into a more melodic space, balancing intricate drum programming with an emotive vocal delivery. The initial rhythmic stutter adds a unique touch before settling into a flowing beat. As layers build, the chords and voice intertwine seamlessly, evoking a deep, contemplative feel. The breakdown smooths everything out, allowing the track to breathe before a striking bassline shift in the final section brings fresh momentum. The last ambient passage is particularly stunning, offering a moment of reflection.

The legendary Icelandic producer Yagya creates his interpretation of 'Glow & Shine' sees it drifting into dreamlike territory, wrapping the original's elements in a lush, aquatic atmosphere. More of a song than a club tool, it glides effortlessly, capturing a serene, almost weightless mood. On the flip side, grad_u reshapes 'Better That Way' into a crisp, rolling dub excursion. Airy chords swirl above a commanding groove, with well-placed melodic flourishes adding an elegant touch. The arrangement continuously morphs, deepening its hypnotic pull.

Raytek's remix of 'Glow & Shine' injects a sharper rhythmic intensity, pushing the track into darker, more driving territory. The vocal treatment becomes a focal point, cleverly reshaped to make the singing the true hook. Meanwhile, Noosa Sound System takes 'Better That Way' into stripped-down, immersive terrain. The off-kilter drum work and layered percussion create a mesmerizing flow, while the winding structure makes it a DJ-friendly tool.

This well-rounded collection that explores multiple shades of dub techno, this release has both dancefloor energy and introspective depth. With a strong roster of contributors, it delivers a blend of classic textures and fresh perspectives.