Search:drum

A1 - Healing Properties
Opening his Spatial account with Healing Properties, Eusabia immediately throws down the gauntlet showcasing an inimitable versatility with breakbeats, permeated with a jungle flex so rarely captured in the atmospheric D&B landscape. Pivoting effortlessly as the track progresses from drumloop to thunderous drumloop with a simmering haunted atmosphere and deep, weighty basslines to yearning filtered vocal samples, this track has it all.

A2 - The Space Between
Smooth jungly synthwork seizes the foreground before crisp breaks begin to reveal our direction through The Space Between, jittery key stabs and familiar old school FX create a unique sci-fi style backdrop as the breaks drive the vibe forward, switching and weaving in style, constantly mixing it up to ram the point home that you cannot fully appreciate a Eusabia track until every second has been consumed - many times over, as The Space Between demands.

AA1 - Scope of Understanding
A more contemplative piece, Scope of Understanding strips things back with a synthwave-esque vibe tinged with intrigue and allure. Soon the breakbeats leap into gear and develop with an incredible level of refined detail, expertly edited, chopped and cut to a darkly undertone of sub bass and subtle micro melodies. Scope of Understanding will leave you in awe of the quickfire ideas Eusabia can conjure in the space of 6 minutes.

AA2 - Self Reflection
A smooth atmospheric introduction ushers in a thumping drum tools workout, somehow perfectly in sync with the calm harmonies dancing around in the composition. Certainly a track to enjoy both on the discerning dancefloor and while driving home with rain lashing at the windscreen at 2am, Self Reflection's synths and breaks conclude the EP in style leaving a long lasting memory of a Spatial debut you will not forget.

Words by Chris Hayes.

A1 - Synergy
A long-awaited release for seasoned fans of the label familiar with ASC's DJ sets since creating Spatial, Synergy has been requested for release many times and is finally here - and it hasn't aged a bit. A track which lifts you gradually through a true journey of escalating, dynamic atmospheric soundscapes with crisp detailed break patterns that ebb and flow to an intricate collage of synths, keys and vocal hits to an inquisitive melody. A
stunning piece which somehow has something new to offer each time you hear it.

A2 - Suspended Animation
Conjuring an ethereal feeling with grand atmospheric backdrops reminiscent of early Intense, Suspended Animation is a calming yet suspenseful track which slowly builds with expressive break patterns and minimal kickdrums as subtle basslines rumble below. Long echoing effects and melodies gently nudge the proceedings forward, ASC once again showcasing the diversity of his production toolset.

AA1 - Repetition
It's been a while since a pure two-step drum loop has had this much impact - make no mistake - the breaks of Repetition will bore their way into your brain like Pulp Fiction did in the mid 90's with a thumping kickdrum and stabbing snare tweaked to perfection. While the beats drive the track along, a collage of audio texture surrounds them with a signature female vocal sample closing out phrases filled with finely tuned synthwork.

AA2 - Pharaoh
Landing with immediate impact and building the mood with a subdued urgency, the Hot Pants breaks of Pharaoh surf the dunes of sound to an abundance of sheer atmosphere as ASC crafts a stunningly evocative track which is aptly titled, transporting the listener to mystical Egyptian sands, the synths and horns whispering like the echoes of of a bygone era demanding their timely reprise through the medium of Spatial.
Epic.

Words by Chris Hayes

INTRODUCING OAKS23, FROM HAVEN'S LABEL BOSS KEEPSAKES. AFTER YEARS OF PLAYING HIS RECORDS, I AM PROUD TO INTRODUCE THIS SPECIAL RELEASE FROM HIM. IT DIVERGES FROM HIS USUAL INDUSTRIAL CONTEXT AND BRINGING IT MORE TO THE OAKS STYLE, SURE WEAPON FOR DISC-JOCKEYS.

EXPLORING NEW DIMENSIONS TO HIS SOUNDS WITH A FOCUS ON FUNK AND GROOVE, SPRINKLES OF EUPHORIA, ZANY ACID AND HIS USUAL DARK ATMOSPHERES.

Emerging from the heart of Brussels, Azo is poised to set the electronic music world ablaze with her latest EP, "Astroculture," scheduled for release on SNC Recs. Featuring four vibrant original tracks and a stellar remix from Offenbach Frankfurt's very own Maruwa, this EP takes listeners on an ecstatic journey through the realms of acid, trance, and high-energy drums.

Azo has consistently captivated her audience with a rich tapestry of influences. Renowned for her rock-solid radio shows and dazzling productions, she skillfully blends a myriad of musical elements to create a sound that is uniquely her own.

Inspired by the enigmatic and pulsating vibes of Electro, Trance, and the expressive melodic flavors associated with Rave culture, Azo's "Astroculture" EP promises a sonic exploration like no other. Each track invites her audience to embark on an exhilarating adventure, guiding them through a musical landscape that defies boundaries and expectations—just as the scientific endeavor of astroculture explores new possibilities for cultivating plants beyond the boundaries of Earth.

The EP wouldn't be complete without the hypnotic remix by Maruwa, a vital contributor to the scene. Maruwa's reinterpretation adds a fresh twist to Azo's sonic canvas, enhancing the EP's already electrifying atmosphere.

Azo's "Astroculture" EP is set to ignite dancefloors and inject a surge of energy into the new club season. With its intoxicating beats and boundless creativity, it's a must-listen for electronic music enthusiasts worldwide.

Don't miss out on this sonic adventure. Join Azo on her "Astroculture" journey as she delivers an EP that's as unique and mesmerizing as the artist herself. Experience the magic of Azo's musical journey and get ready to dance like never before.

Van Halen did more than announce to the world the earthshaking arrival of a revolutionary guitarist. Performed by an enterprising California quartet that took its name from two of its principal members, the 1978 debut ripped headlines away from punk, injected fresh energy into a then-moribund rock 'n' roll scene, reimagined how heavy music and throwback pop could coexist, and invited everyone to experience the top-down pleasures of a beach-front Saturday night every day of the week no matter where they lived. Painstakingly restored by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, and the first of a multi-album series in an exciting partnership between the famous reissue label and Van Halen, Van Halen delivers feel-good thrills and hormonally charged desires like never before.

Limited to 12,000 numbered copies, pressed on dead-quiet MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and mastered from the original analogue master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's ultra-hi-fi UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP collector's edition pays tribute to the record's merit and allows fans to experience Van Halen's original blend of raw power, Hollywood flair, and vaudeville fun for generations to come. Playing with reference-setting sonics that elevate a 10-times-platinum landmark whose importance cannot be quantitatively measured, this definitive version provides a clear, clean, transparent, balanced, and turn-the-volume-up-to-11 view of an album that birthed entirely new styles. Since MoFi's unique SuperVinyl compound allows you to crank the decibels to your wildest desires without risking noise-floor interference, prepare to not only hear but feel Van Halen in your chest, no fifth-row concert seat necessary.

The premium packaging and gorgeous presentation of the UD1S Van Halen pressing befit its extremely select status. Housed in a deluxe box, it features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendor of the recording. No expense has been spared. Aurally and visually, this UD1S reissue exists as a curatorial artefact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the iconic cover art to the meticulous finishes and, yes, of course, Eddie Van Halen's pioneering fretwork and his brother Alex's double-bass percussion.

Indeed, could a piece of music that transformed how countless guitarists approached their instrument be more fittingly named than "Eruption"? Likely not, and in just 102 seconds, Eddie Van Halen rewrote, reimagined, and reconfigured a vocabulary last significantly updated a decade earlier by fellow six-string wizard Jimi Hendrix. Akin to the Washington State legend, Eddie Van Halen developed his own techniques and tones all the while making his seismic accomplishments seem effortless. Devoid of the pretence, ego, and showiness that infected many of his imitators, the Dutch native sticks to a straightforward approach that underlines the authority, prowess, and visionary scope of his playing and then-unheard-of finger-tapping skills. Throughout Van Halen, he establishes himself as an instant idol – a savant whose otherworldly combination of breadth, poise, feel, speed, force, and melody seems beamed in from another galaxy.

As does nearly every song on the record, whose cohesiveness and dynamic put into perspective the advanced chemistry and one-for-all spirit the youthful band had out of the gates. Having paid its dues for years in bars and clubs – going as far as recording a 24-track demo for Kiss bassist Gene Simmons at Village Recorders only to be spurned by management companies that felt its music wouldn't go anywhere – Van Halen finally got a deserved break when Warner Bros. executives signed the group in 1977. The subsequent recording sessions further testify on behalf of the band's synergy and alignment. Completed in just a few weeks with producer Ted Templeman, Van Halen was primarily cut live in the studio with minimal overdubs and edits. The explosiveness, energy, and electricity remain definitive, and as heard on this UD1S set, put the group on a private stage – humming amplifiers, Frankenstrat guitar, bright spotlights, sweaty headbands, and then some.

Van Halen yielded just one hit in the form of a Top 40 single (a breathless cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me") but practically every song on the revered LP has become a staple. Named the 202nd Greatest Album of All Time by Rolling Stone and considered by countless experts as one of the best debuts in history, the record displays what can happen with four distinct talents gel and strive for the same purposes. In Van Halen's case, the latter almost always involved partying, freedom, sex, and, in the immortal words of singer David Lee Roth, living "life like there's no tomorrow." The celebration manifests from the opening notes of the strutting "Runnin' with the Devil" – announced with the blare of droning car horns, Michael Anthony's robust bass line, and Alex Van Halen's thumping drumming – and continues through the conclusion of the white-hot "On Fire," goosed by Eddie Van Halen's race-track-ready lines, Roth's flamboyant deliveries, and the rhythm section's cat-like pounce.

Picking out individual highlights on Van Halen is akin to trying to count all the stars in a clear nighttime desert sky: There are far too many to identify, once you see one you notice another dozen you didn't spot before, and the cluster is best enjoyed as a whole. What's evident over repeat listens is the sheer diversity, a fact that's often overlooked: The high harmonies and background funk of "Jamie's Cryin'"; the insistent cane-and-a-tophat shuffle and doo-wop shoo-bop vocal break on "I'm the One"; the throwback acoustic blues that spreads into fast-paced, single-entendre wildfire on the Roth-led standout interpretation of John Brim's "Ice Cream Man." Like the man says, on Van Halen, all the flavours are guaranteed to satisfy.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior


Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master recordings, painstakingly transfer them to DSD 256, and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.

MoFi SuperVinyl


Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analogue lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

Clear Vinyl

On Rock Island, their second LP, Palm produces evidence of a distinct musical language, developed over time, in isolation, and out of necessity. On the island, melodies are struck on what might be shells or spines. Rhythms are scratched out, swept over, scratched again. Individual instruments, and sometimes entire sections, skip and stutter. There is the sense of a music box with wonky tension or a warped transmission in which all the noise is taken for signal.

Like other groups so acclaimed for their compulsive live show, Palm has been burdened by the constant comparison between their recorded material and their touring set. On Rock Island, they render this tired discussion moot, using the album form to present that which could never be completely live, reserving for performance that which could never be completely reproduced.

Despite appearing behind the instruments typical of rock music, Palm trades in sounds of their own making. On these songs, one of the guitars and the drum kit are used as MIDI triggers, producing an index that can be combed through later and replaced with new information. The percussion is sometimes augmented so as to suggest a multiplication of limbs. The strings are manipulated to choke, crack, and hum like other instruments, or other bodies, might.

Working again with engineer Matt Labozza, the band spent the better part of a month in a rented farmhouse in Upstate New York. With the benefits of time and space, Palm recorded the various elements piecemeal, only rarely playing together in groups larger than two or three. While some members tracked, others holed up in the next room, experimenting with quantization, beat replacement, and other methods borrowed from electronic music. Even accounting for the many labors that brought them to be, these materials seem produced by an organic logic. Their complex friction forms a habit of thought, scores a network of grooves on the floor of the mind.

This is music with dimensionality. Sonic objects are deployed, developed, and dissected in various states of mutation. The listener flits about between the field and the lab. The tone is warm in a way only the sun could make, the pace as forceful and as variable as a gale. Whether one locates Rock Island in a sea or in a refinished attic (as in Greg Burak's album cover), whether one escapes to there or is banished, its psychic environs are charted clearly enough. Only at this remove from the mainland can we sense the conditions necessary for such a strange species of sound.

The long-anticipated debut album "Infernal Fractality", set for a late 2023 release, unleashes a relentless onslaught of sonic brutality that has consumed over half a decade of tireless devotion from the band's enigmatic founder, Ødemark (known for his work with 3rd Attempt, Ovate, and Necrocave). Ødemark, an artist driven by both the fiery passion of psychedelics and a relentless pursuit of extreme metal's uncharted territories, has woven these elements into an epic, violent, and boundary-defying soundscape that delves deep into the realms of the Luciferian ideals, non-duality pointers, and the mystic principles found in his own psychedelic experiences.

THE LAST EON was formed to push the boundaries of the established but dormant industrial black metal sound pioneered by bands such Thorns and Mysticum and to its maximum exponential, with the vision of "creating the most intense music in history", objective that took 6 years of obsession, a couple burnouts, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers and outers, to map the depths of the psychedelic experience that would be distilled into "Infernal Fractality". With the help of drummer Jarle Byberg, Ødemark created this whole beast by himself.

After years of pushing every conceivable boundary, and breaking every possible rule and standard in composition, production and sound design, the masterpiece was ready for the crucible of Zardonic's mastering process, who consolidated the behemoth of a more than 300 track project into a time-space shattering soundscape of cosmic proportions.

Mainman Ødemark states: “I wanted to push the limits of what extreme metal can be, and materialize a vision for the future of electronic black metal that required me to rebel against every single rule in my mind of what black metal is, to create what black metal can be. This included also the theme and lyrics, spreading awareness of the mind expanding psychedelic experiences and self exploration within the black metal culture.”

The long-anticipated debut album "Infernal Fractality", set for a late 2023 release, unleashes a relentless onslaught of sonic brutality that has consumed over half a decade of tireless devotion from the band's enigmatic founder, Ødemark (known for his work with 3rd Attempt, Ovate, and Necrocave). Ødemark, an artist driven by both the fiery passion of psychedelics and a relentless pursuit of extreme metal's uncharted territories, has woven these elements into an epic, violent, and boundary-defying soundscape that delves deep into the realms of the Luciferian ideals, non-duality pointers, and the mystic principles found in his own psychedelic experiences.

THE LAST EON was formed to push the boundaries of the established but dormant industrial black metal sound pioneered by bands such Thorns and Mysticum and to its maximum exponential, with the vision of "creating the most intense music in history", objective that took 6 years of obsession, a couple burnouts, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers and outers, to map the depths of the psychedelic experience that would be distilled into "Infernal Fractality". With the help of drummer Jarle Byberg, Ødemark created this whole beast by himself.

After years of pushing every conceivable boundary, and breaking every possible rule and standard in composition, production and sound design, the masterpiece was ready for the crucible of Zardonic's mastering process, who consolidated the behemoth of a more than 300 track project into a time-space shattering soundscape of cosmic proportions.

Mainman Ødemark states: “I wanted to push the limits of what extreme metal can be, and materialize a vision for the future of electronic black metal that required me to rebel against every single rule in my mind of what black metal is, to create what black metal can be. This included also the theme and lyrics, spreading awareness of the mind expanding psychedelic experiences and self exploration within the black metal culture.”

Soul To Burn features highly inventive and memorable avant-rock songs by trio of celebrated musicians, Reciprocate. The germ of the notion that would flower into Soul To Burn came when Reciprocate’s vocalist/guitarist Stef Kett reflected on the idea of funk rock. It ought, he thought to himself, be the best of genres but so often in practice it ends up being the poorest. True enough. Kett decided to approach the problem from a fresh angle, multiple fresh angles, grinding angles, creating an “alt-soul” in which the soul gets to stretch and burn, applied with the power of a rock’n’roll trio but dynamism and agility, rather than cumbersome bulkiness. Reciprocate is a super-group made up of highly celebrated musicians from the UK DIY music scene – their singular, searing-hot power conjured by Stef Kett (Shield Your Eyes) in tandem with drummer Henri Grimes (Shield Your Eyes, Big Lad) and Marion Andrau (The Wharves, Underground Railroad) on bass. The result is the excellent Soul To Burn, which proceeds at a cadence all of its own, halting and blasting, ducking and weaving, zooming away from its distant cousins: Taste era Rory Gallagher or Mr Zoot Horn Rollo of Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band. That’s particularly evident on “Self Regarding Floor Sweepings”, with echoes of “When Big Joan Sets Up” from Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica, especially with Kett’s added harmonica as the trio hit the winding dirt track, slaloming and swerving. Here is an album of full throttle soul, an avant-rock made up of ear worms so intoxicating they borrow from deep in the mind down deeper into the heart – it’s the cool, weighty groove of Tony Joe White leathering it at full throttle, fuelled by virtuosic back beats that remind of somewhere between the rolling rock of Mitch Mitchell and the fractured noisebeat of Lightning Bolt’s Brian Chippendale: immediate, innovative, virtuosic, exhilarating. Key to the impact of Soul To Burn is Grimes’ drumming, a force unto itself, which sometimes feels like it’s engaged in a creative and playful tussle with Kett’s virtuosic vibrato guitar. Take “Rhodia”, which sounds initially like a radical reworking, an anagram of Free’s “All Right Now”, on which Grimes doesn’t so much hit the groove as hammer it into the ground. Reciprocate tend to be averse to mere repetition, too full as they are of ideas, possibilities. But they know how to hit a riff, as on “Pissed Hymn”. Kett’s vocals are unconventionally impassioned - no vibrato or performative hollering. Rather they climb, up and and again up from the pit of the soul. There’s a sense throughout that this music is hard wrought, squeezed through small apertures, produced against the odds, born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards. There are quieter moments, however, such as the exquisitely beautiful “Ressypressocate”, which affirm the ultimately tender place from where this album proceeds, notes plucked like black flowers, twisted and cherished. Reciprocate demonstrate an astonishing virtuosity, nuance and musical sensitivity manifested through their deep mutual understanding and synergetic interactions. There are moments of sync and camaraderie that remind of the very late Beatles, those rare moments during the Let It Be Era when they loosened up, reassumed their old understanding. But then Kett’s lets fly with a long, looming note and suddenly we’re somewhere else again. With Soul To Burn, Reciprocate set out their stall of intoxicating, super catchy good-time, big heart music – a human album delivering a human message of love and love lost. By the album’s end, you’ll feel pushed and pulled through the mill, wiped out, blissfully exhausted, strangely serene

MONO werden oft als die japanische Antwort auf andere Postrockbands wie EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY oder MOGWAI dargestellt, da ihr Sound ähnlich dem ihrer Kollegen auf den Mix aus cleanen Gitarrenmelodien, ohrenbetäubenden Soundwällen, zart feinfühliges Drumming und dem ein oder anderen Streicherarrangement vertraut. Das vom Vorgänger ,Walking Cloud And Deep Red Sky" (von Steve Albini produziert) bekannte ,Kopfkino', öffnet auf ,You Are There" ein weiteres Mal seine Pforten. Die sinistre Heaviness vom viel gelobten 2002er Werk ,One Step More And You Die" kommt ebenso zum Tragen. Mit ,You Are There" widerlegen MONO eindrucksvoll den Mythos, das ein verstärktes Augenmerk auf komplexe Songstrukturen und Streicherarrangements stets mit dem Verlust aller jugendlichen Energie und inspirierten Aggression einher geht. Auch nach eingehender Absorption treten keinerlei Abnutzungserscheinungen auf! MONO gehören definitiv zu den fünf besten Postrock-Bands.

The entity known as ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES, would like to express its excitement to be working with the Seattle, WA based BAND Sandrider, and enjoyed the previous relationship of Damm and Weisnewski in their former entity known as AKIMBO. ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES is very much a fan of previous work from the BAND on Satanik Royalty Records and highly recommend new listeners investigate the discography further. The upcoming 2-song single by BAND, hereafter referred to as AVIARY/BALEEN has a limited-edition initial pressing on blue and white splatter vinyl pressing of 300 copies, and successive runs will not be as colorful. Immediate orders are encouraged. This cheeky duality of Sandrider is also captured perfectly in the subject matter of the EP’s two tracks: The explosive first track, “Aviary,” portrays the modern hellscape of social media as sinister, soulless mama bird, willfully vomiting disinformation into the eager mouths of enthusiastically consenting participants. “PLEASE MOTHER, FEED THEM YOUR BILE. DOUSE THE BABES WITH YOUR WHOLESOME RETCH,” vocalist/guitarist Jon Weisnewski wails over massive, frenetic riffs, rounded out by bassist Jesse Roberts’ warm low end and drummer Nat Damm’s ultra-hard, punch-like beats. The song concludes in a frenzy of danceable beats, with Weisnewski doing his best Painkiller-era Halford screams as he commands you to flood the whole damn thing – drown those who wish to destroy us. As pissed off as the song is, you’ll feel triumphant by the end anyway. Side B’s “Baleen” on the other hand (while ironically the angrier-sounding song of the two), is about a lighter thought that keeps Weisnewski up at night: Do you ever think about how fucking weird whales are? They’re enormous floating creatures that can't handle gravity, and they hang out in the deepest oceans. Yet they can’t breathe underwater, so they have to stay near the top and come up for air all the time. Seems inconvenient. And you’d think that the biggest mammal that ever lived would be a brutal carnivore, right? But no. They eat the tiniest creatures, through a bunch of hair in their mouths. What the fuck? Anyway, ponder on that while you bang your head along with Sandrider’s signature primal, hypnotizingly heavy riffs.

Third full-length from Kentuckiana studio chiselers EQUIPMENT POINTED ANKH. Seven tracks of Great Lake inspired genre transgressions sure to make the cover of Modern Hocketing Magazine. Mono minded drumming, superstitious Clavinet, Siege style guitar, cod-turntablism, billowing Serge and Russ' crotales collide at FAO Schwartz in a rush to return the instruments before the 30 days are up. Recorded at Electrical Audio in Chicago, IL and End of an Ear in Louisville, KY Fall of 2021. Engineered & mixed by Taylor Hales at Electrical Audio. Produced by The Barney Rubble Trio. Mastered by Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets in Providence, R

« With their vintage organs, synths and drum machines, there are touches of Stereolab but Grand Vermont’s main mode is stranger and folkier, like Piper-era Floyd and David Allen dreaming up early Beach House. » Uncut « It’s electronic-ey, it’s French, it’s brillant » Soho Radio "Sweet minimalist post-punk" Konbini "... wonderful piece of childhood. Everything seems simple at first. Everything is luminous.” Guts of darkness "[...] somewhere between the synthetic forests of Broadcast and the kraut pop trail of Stereolab." Gonzaï

Parisian quintet En Attendant Ana's third album "Principia" is without a doubt their best yet. Bandleader Margaux Bouchaudon's voice anchors many of the songs on "Principia". The songs were composed from a place of confusion about the state of the world and their place in it, looking outward and inward for answers. Guitarist Max Tomasso - newly joined just before the recording of "Juillet" - feels more "moved-in", his guitar-work gliding effortlessly through. New member Vincent Hivert's bass-work is rubbery & flexible, urging on drummer Adrien Pollin's metronomic swing. The band's secret weapon, multi-instrumentalist Camille Frechou's trumpet & saxophone add a new layer of sophistication to the group's debonair indie pop. Bouchaudon says "One of the most important points we tried to focus on was the place given to each instrument. For the first time, we withdrew parts, we were careful not to play everyone at once and I think that the result is a much lighter album in which every musician has a specific place and moment". "Principia" is a great step forward without sacrificing the things that make the band unique, and absolutely feel like the next great phase of an already great band.

Kallaikoi is the term used to refer to all the Celtic clans settled in ancient Gallaecia (northwest of the Iberian Peninsula). They were skilled in metallurgy and the production of tools and weapons, and worshiped a variety of deities, some of them related to nature
and war. Although they disappeared as an ethnic group in antiquity due to Romanization and subsequent consequences, their cultural legacy and Celtic influence in Galicia persist until today. Somehow, that ancestral legacy lingers between the grooves of this
release you have in your hands.

The double EP opens with The Transhumans: Techno, syncopated bass drums and industrial nuances appear in 'Ánima'. Ian Axide proposes robust and percussive Techno in 'Antro', while Obseth lets arpeggios fly in 'Pink Pills'. These tracks are indebted to that
Techno reminiscent of the late 90s golden years monolithic sound.
Side B opens with the local heroine and co-founder of Archaic, Proyecto Inopia, who opts for resounding rhythms and synth sequences sharp like shark teeth, seemingly paying homage to earlier decades in 'Hécate'. Mist Gasp also follows a metallic monotrax line in 'Standarte'. And the first 12” closes with Brai’s '75', where he unleashes Techno meets New and Synth Wave with a nod to the 80s.

The second EP lowers the intensity and tempo, opening with the calm and nostalgic Electro from Synth Alien in 'Pakhum'. Local artist Lefrenk raises the tempo and intensity in arpeggios in a propulsive Electro-Techno wave in 'Fenix'. And also from A Coruña, Roi controls the beats in an electro base that advances later towards obsessive and lacerating synths in 'Melusa'.

The last side of the double album is opened by David Karro with 'Ionosphere', a track with unsettling synths that doesn't need beats to shape its hypnotic and nebulous character. 27 003 delves into the sounds of classic Electro drum machines in 'Sweet', also with clear IDM and dreamy evocations. Corrosivo continues in that vein, with marked Sheffieldier echoes in 'Fast Food'. The EP is closed by Death Whistle with one of his usual opuses where darkness, beauty and epic coexist.

Limited release.

After “The Legend of Kaspar Hauser” directed by Davide Manulli, Vitalic is once again putting his music to moving images with “Disco Boy” by Giacomo Abbruzzese (awarded a Silver Bear at the 2023 Berlinale). Electronic, intense and navigating between a variety of different atmospheres, the soundtrack - much like the film it accompanies - is full of promise and mystery. “The Swamps”, “La Guerre” and “Helicopter” are reminiscent of the intense, dark and foreboding productions of Thomas Bangalter for “Irreversible” by director Gaspar Noé. In contrast, “Winter is Coming” and “Lost Time” are places of melancholy and sweetness where all bass has completely disappeared. As for the eponymous theme for the film, “Disco Boy”, it pays true electronic homage to the sound of disco. The retro-futurist soundtrack to “Disco Boy” oscillates between devastating kick drums, moist ambient and dreamlike swathes. Vitalic has created uncharted sonic landscapes that invite us on a voyage of initiation and self-discovery.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the debut full length offering from Les Imprimés, Rêverie. The stirring and ethereal sounds of Les Imprimés have been making fans of anyone who hears them since their first 7” single hit the speakers. Morten Martens is the man behind the band. Born, raised, and working in Kristiansand, Norway, he keeps a low profile while making his heartfelt, highly infectious, and unique music. This album is a long time coming for Martens and it is sure to make him a name to be reckoned with.

The first thing you notice listening to Les Imprimés is the high level of musicianship. Martens plays nearly every instrument on the recordings and handles the production and arranging. He has been making records for decades, winning a Spellemann Award (aka, the Norwegian Grammy) in 2006 for producing a Hip Hop album as well as getting nominations across three other genres. While awards and accolades speak to the level of his talent, this new album really shows who he is as an artist on his own terms.

Moving away from being a hired gun on the touring scene naturally led him to start doing more studio work. Slowly collecting gear and getting more experience behind the boards he built his own studio on the island of Odderøya and was making a living playing with and recording other people's music. As the story goes, after those sessions would end he would work on his own project into the wee hours of the night. From these late night sessions, Les Imprimés was born and Rêverie began to take shape.

However, "it wasn't until COVID, when things locked down, that I was really able to find the time to focus on Les Imprimés" Morten says about creating and leading his own solo project. "It was a scary time. But I knew I had to do something with it." He took the sum of his influences, combined them with his own vibe and got busy writing the music, playing the instruments, and singing the songs. "It's soul music, but I don't exactly have the soul voice," Morten explains humbly. "But I do it my own way, in a way that's mine."

It is his sound, his fingerprint, his sensibility, that makes his music hard to categorize. He has crafted an album of songs with different energies that all fit together to make one gorgeous record. The lead single “Falling Away” starts with a raw drum break and turns into a lushly arranged tune that paints the picture of love when it slips away. On “Still Here” he professes his resilience through life’s twists and turns over a thundering track that puts a new spin on the B side ballad genre. Songs like “You” and “Our Love” mix tones from 60s and 70s Soul with arrangement nods to Doo Wop records while Martens’ lyrics and delivery leave you singing the melodies long after they finish. “Love & Flowers” finds Martens in a moment of clarity with a song that fits the niche sub genre of happy break up tunes, the four on the floor track will move the dancefloor while the message will resonate with anyone who put too much effort into the wrong situation in their lives. However, it is songs like “Muse” and “Chess” that really encapsulate the uniqueness of Les Imprimés as they push the boundaries of genre, one a profession of love for music and the other a cover of an electronic record respectively. Martens’ lyrics, emotion, and delivery truly make the whole thing come together and stand out from any of his peers. There’s an infectiousness and a pop sensibility in the writing that is done with the utmost class and taste giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens the more you listen.

The A side of this 45, a brand new track from Aaron Frazer, is about how pressure makes diamonds. The last couple years have been really challenging, especially for those navigating relationships amidst the chaos. This song celebrates the connections of love that are strong enough to weather any storm, and the certainty that comes from making it through together. The B side features a track from Aaron's first solo LP, Introducing. Lyrically, Frazer sounds lovesick; the imagery he paints of demons "so close behind" and the repetition of these lyrics emphasize his longing. The song starts with piercing guitar, dark bass, and chime piano and Frazer himself drums throughout the song. The orchestration is swell while the strings and voices blend well with the transcendent feel of the music.

Elements of Life brings a full on boogie disco tune with some 80s synth goodness. The backgrounds are provided by an all star cast of singers including Cindy Mizelle, Audrey Wheeler, Anané, Dawn Tallman, and Ramona Dunlap. The song is penned by Nico Vega, just at 19 years old writing lyrics with the soul of a person who’s been through various experiences in life. It isa statement song coming from an adolescent stating where we are in the world today with war, and encouraging all to stop fighting, “no more war”,“Let Us Shine Bright As Day”, “Let Us Find A Peaceful Way”, “Let Me Hear You Say”, these words are crying out to the world.

Remixes by Josh Milan on the Josh Milan Honeycomb versions, feeding us an early 80s tune reminding us of the seminal label West End Records. The Louie Vega mixes stay true to the Elements Of Life sound mixed with some Detroit bass groove and synth overtones. A bonus track also added to the release featuring Axel Tosca on keyboards is entitled “Los Tonos Sagrados” which means The Sacred Tones.This instrumental has the early afrobeat rhythm with Axel Tosca ripping through with an organ solo and snare hits accenting the drums and music.Take a listen and enjoy the sounds of “Let Us Shine” and “Los Tonos Sagrados” and it’ll sure to have you with your arms up and eyes closed singing along with the choon in no time!! Available soon at all streaming and digital outlets, with vinyl coming too!!

The band Sons Of Apollo has disbanded following the recent announcement of Mike Portnoy rejoining Dream Theater after a 13-year hiatus. Sons Of Apollo, featuring Mike Portnoy, guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N' Roses), bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, The Winery Dogs), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (also of Black
Country Communion), produced two studio albums over a three-year span.

Their second album, 'MMXX,' was re-released on Construction Records a year ago, and now we're pleased to share that their debut album, 'Psychotic Symphony,' will also be re-released. Available in two captivating colors, this reissue is set for release on December 15, 2023.

‘Psychotic Symphony’ is the debut studio album by American supergroup. It was released on October 20, 2017. ‘Psychotic Symphony’ is influenced by: Deep Purple, Van Halen and U.K. The album was produced by drummer Mike Portnoy and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. All band members were involved in the creation of the songs.

The band Sons Of Apollo has disbanded following the recent announcement of Mike Portnoy rejoining Dream Theater after a 13-year hiatus. Sons Of Apollo, featuring Mike Portnoy, guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (ex-Guns N' Roses), bassist Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, The Winery Dogs), and keyboardist Derek Sherinian (also of Black
Country Communion), produced two studio albums over a three-year span.

Their second album, 'MMXX,' was re-released on Construction Records a year ago, and now we're pleased to share that their debut album, 'Psychotic Symphony,' will also be re-released. Available in two captivating colors, this reissue is set for release on December 15, 2023.

‘Psychotic Symphony’ is the debut studio album by American supergroup. It was released on October 20, 2017. ‘Psychotic Symphony’ is influenced by: Deep Purple, Van Halen and U.K. The album was produced by drummer Mike Portnoy and keyboardist Derek Sherinian. All band members were involved in the creation of the songs.

After five Truesoul EPs and an A-Sides contribution, Oscar L steps up for his debut Drumcode EP.

The artist has been one of the most consistent contributors since his debut on Truesoul in 2017, his groove-orientated productions a favourite go-to for Adam Beyer. But the Spaniards production palette has always been broad, highlighted by ‘Dark Fate’, his brooding atmosphere-rich cut that featured on A-Sides Vol.9 back in 2020.

‘Again’ further reinforces his breadth. This is a searing 4am cut led by an incandescent vocal and Oscar’s tight percussive work that beautifully sustains the energy from start to finish. Another standout addition to his discography. ‘Driving into Techno’ brings tonnes of personality to the plate, highlighted by a fun bouncy vocal and stabbing Reese. An all-round colourful jam

With its tenth record from Fortunato Durutti Marinetti, Quindi continues to celebrate songwriting and storytelling framed by curious musicality. In keeping with the label's trajectory to date, this is an album which draws on a universal human sentimentality and presents it with an uncommon flair. In the case of Toronto-based Daniel Colussi, the man behind Eight Waves In Search Of An Ocean, his melancholic poetry cuts through with a clarity which calls to mind all-time greats from Anette Peacock through to Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen.
Turin-born Colussi has drifted through various bands, guises and styles over the past 20 years, but since settling into Fortunato Durutti Marinetti as a vehicle for his songs, he's found a strong expressive impetus which transcends genre to become entirely hinged on the power of his words and melodies. The first album under this alias was a 2020 cassette album, Desire, later pressed on vinyl due to demand in tandem with the release of 2022's Memory's Fool. On each record, Colussi has found distinct arrangements of players to set the mood, ranging from gently lilting art and folk rock through to orchestrated balladry, but Eight Waves In Search Of An Ocean widens the palette of Fortunato Durutti Marinetti to create an album in which each song feels like a tale unto itself.
Colussi's renewed approach is instantly apparent as album opener 'Lightning On A Sunny Day' unfurls, informed greatly by producer Sandro Perri's input pursuing a hybrid electro-organic sound. The addition of drum machines and synths to the musical palette bring with them the strong connotations of pop while the sax and violin sounds similarly smooth and silky, and one can't help but think of John Martyn's slide into the digital sound of Sapphire or Kraftwerk's bittersweet synthetic tenderness.
Within this sound, there's still space for the energy to fluctuate according to the whims of songs. 'The Flowers' turns inward with a soft-touch composition as delicate as the petals Colussi describes falling to the floor. 'Misfit Streams' and first single 'Clerk Of Oblivion' savour the fluid, luxuriant tone of fretless bass with all the 80s connotations intact. Colussi remains the central focus whatever happens around him, in possession of the kind of unforced charisma which drives a song deep into the listener's heart. It's at once entirely his own style and yet comforting and familiar. The lyrics might sweep you into the singer's inner world, similarly to the experience listening to late 60s Tim Buckley, or you might well inhale the mellow jazziness of the harmonic movement like you would Joni Mitchell on Hejira.
The emotional direction of each track is never linear - 'Smash Your Head Against The Wall' snarls its rhythm section before the strings sow their aching beauty to cool the song's temper, winding up as a track of distinct halves jabbing at each other. "I Need You More' leaves space for spiralling flute solos and strangely stiff, militaristic drum rolls in the midst of a sweet, slightly sad synth ballad, the final wave receding back into the tidal undulations of Colussi's unique exploration of his muse.
The artist himself dubs his musical expression as "poetic jazz rock" with a sideways glance - it's not exactly poetry, far from trad jazz and it doesn't really rock, yet the tag feels uncannily like it fits, just like the curious music it's used to describe.

Repress!

On 22nd October, the Nottingham-raised and highly-praised musician/DJ/producer Matt Cutler, AKA Lone, presents his 8th album – and first in 5 years – ‘Always Inside Your Head’. It marks two major changes, with both a new label and new approach – featuring vocalists for the first time.

This deeply textural and ethereal artwork is situated high above the clouds, amidst the heavens, occupying a stratospheric state where swathes of synthesized vapour and azure rays sound like a literal breath of fresh air.

A varied selection of music influenced the record, but two main influences were Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine. “I wanted to approach a range of different styles, but attack them from their angle in a way, so for example on 'Inlove2' I tried to imagine what a Balearic / acid house tune might sound like if it were produced by Kevin Shields”, comments Lone.

Another key example of Cutler’s strange but successful combination of elements is the halcyon bliss of ‘Echo Paths’, where his trademark fat drums and love for hip hop meet double-time pan pipes, dub effects and dream pop, mixed into a wonderfully lysergic concoction.

This rarefied auditory stratus was previously evident in tracks like ‘Alpha Wheel 4 (Ambient Mix)’ from ‘DJ Kicks’, ‘Under Cherry Blossoms (Minds Eye Reprise)’ from ‘Ambivert Tools, Vol. 2’, ‘Pulsar’ (from ‘Ambivert 4’), and ‘How Can You Tell’ (from ‘Abraxas’), but is now more fully-fledged, broader in scope and even more celestial.

In addition to the above, the LP exists somewhere between trip hop on Mo' Wax, 90s Warp, intelligent drum & bass and ambient house. There are heavier forays too, like ‘Mouth Of God’, where darker clouds emerge, but are pierced like acid lightning with fierce, tearing tech-step bass.

Although still firmly rooted in club culture – here Lone shows a definite leaning towards a song-based sound, with several tracks edging towards the same crossover space as the nineties hits which also inspired him – particularly William Orbit’s production on Madonna's 'Frozen', and Olive's 'You're Not Alone'. This is especially evident on the bright, spacious brilliance of 'Hidden By Horizons', where vocals and synths swirl around one another, with crisp breakbeats and reggae rolls pushing purposefully through the ether.

Despite initially seeming almost entirely sunny of disposition, upon deeper immersion there’s lot more beneath the album’s surface, both in its deep pools of immiscible layered elements, and also thematically. When recording Cutler kept in mind a loose narrative based on birth, death, and our existence in-between.

He then extended this idea to reach what may happen after death, which is reflected in the sequencing: By penultimate track ‘Undaunted’ the life reflected in this longplayer has come to an end, which is then followed by 'Coming In To Being And Passing Away' – an afterlife epilogue, which evokes a transition from this world to the next.

Nerve Collect goes global with its new and futuristic Machine Learning EP - a thrilling blend of worldly rhythms and twisted electronics from New York based Brazilian-American producer Doctor Jeep aka Andre Lira.

Lira is a producer who is able to weave together threads from many different genres into his own new forms. His forward-thinking sounds draw on everything from drum & bass to techno, dancehall to electro, always with an unwavering focus on the dance floor. So far they have come on the eclectic likes of Medellin's TraTraTrax, Berlin’s SPE:C, and his own label DRX (amongst others).

The 6 tracks on this EP showcase Jeep's variety, from the distorted kicks and zippy synths of 'Machine Learning' and 'Mad T', to more straight forward 4x4 techno/tech-house crossovers of 'Shake The Club' and 'Largatixa, to futuristic grime mutations in 'Phase Morph' and ravey dancehall of 'Oil Drum' featuring Montreal-based SIM.

This is another fresh and unpredictable EP from Nerve Collect, although its impact on the club is very predictable: pure carnage.

2023 Reissue

Berlin based HipHop producer S. Fidelity presents his sophomore and full packaged concept album “Fidelity Radio Club” via Jakarta Records.

Four years after his Jakarta Records debut “A Safe Place to Be Naked” S. Fidelity has matured as a producer and as an artist: working and recording in London, Los Angeles, Paris and Johannesburg while building up his Manolo Purple Studios in Berlin with longtime collaborator, labelmate and soul brother Bluestaeb.

In 2021 S. Fidelity finally returns to the main program with his brand new solo album “Fidelity Radio Club” shaped in form of a genre crossing radio show exploring HipHop, R&B, Jazz, House and Funk in all their depths, creating the multi-layered album he always dreamt to do as he orchestrates a stoking line-up of equally talented friends and fellows like Bluestaeb, Melodiesinfonie, Suff Daddy, K, Le Maestro, Àbáse and many more while still delivering that very personal note every classic producer album needs and comes with. Or as the artist himself would put it: “17 different artists, producers and instrumentalists from all over the world helped me to bring this vision to life.”

According to that the albums 1st single features Singer NDO from Florida, giving life to the hard hitting R&B gem “Mixed Signals” where warm neo soul harmonies meet with classic R&B vibes of early 2000. The song made it to Spotify’s Butter Playlist right away and was picked for Deezer’s “Date Night” Playlist and Apple Music’s New Music Daily as well and received shout outs and further Playlist-placements by music blogs like Stereofox or MOW Mag.

The 2nd single comes as a double single featuring pianist, producer and main protagonist of Berlin’s prog-jazz scene Àbáse on “Me At The Zoo” (reminding its listeners of London’s new wave of jazz around Kamaal Williams or Yussef Dayes) on one side and the energetic, funk influenced disco tune “Something Good” on the other side.

The 3rd and final single “Love International Inc.” then comes with a bumpy up tempo drum beat, which develops into an energetic and jazzy lo-fi house/deep house loop, featuring none other than Zürich’s finest Melodiesinfonie as well as Paris-based Bluestaeb, marking this supergroup’s 2nd appearance and giving a glimpse of what’s yet to come.

Each of the album’s single cuts comes with a visual treatment by HipHop’s favorite photographer Robert Winter and his team (The Ottos), matching sound and artwork accordingly while the record’s amazing and unique artwork comes from the Swiss based creative studio HOMI. The record itself contains a sticker sheet with customized S. Fidelity and “Fidelity Radio Club” stickers as well.

The whole album campaign is further accompanied by the Fidelity Radio Show hosted by S. Fidelity himself, sitting down with his featured guests talking about the music they love and they draw inspiration from – broadcasted via S. Fidelity’s own youtube channel releasing its episodes in between the album’s single drops.

Trop-pop duo Summer Salt — singer/guitarist Matthew Terry and drummer Eugene Chung — spent many years building towards their latest album, Sequoia Moon (2021), ever since jettisoning their Dallas, Texas, hometown for the arts-and-culture oasis of Austin. The band quickly rose through the ranks of the local Austin scene with their 2014 debut Driving To Hawaii, teeming with both the escapism and recklessness of youth and the composure and charm of '60s-era pop, doo wop and bossa nova.
2018's Happy Camper, 2019's Honeyweed and 2020's Avenue G further cemented the band's place as one of the indie brightest stars. Summer Salt soared past 1 million monthly Spotify listeners and toured the world, all as Live Nation's Ones To Watch and American Songwriter hailed them for their breezy, synesthetic soundscapes.

King of Memphis is the debut studio album from Young Dolph. The self-proclaimed “King of Memphis” and Paper Route EMPIRE founder defined the independent hustle and set the industry and streets ablaze throughout his career. The album features the massive single, “Get Paid,” and standout hits such as “Fuck It,” & “Royalty.” Free of any features, King of Memphis puts the full spotlight on Dolph and features production from heavyweight producers such as Mike Will Made It, TM88, Zaytoven, Nard & B, and Drumma Boy, among others. While his life was ultimately cut short, the influence and impact of Dolph’s legacy will live on forever. Long Live Dolph.

Yellow/Green Marbled Vinyl

* From Karma Recordings comes their fourteenth EP. I can hardly believe it myself as I type this but yes, Karma Recordings is up to 014. On remix duties this time around is the very talented Dope Ammo. Fusing the jungle and drum n bass styles together seemlessly we feel we have another classic in the making with this release. Taking the pianos of DJ KOS’ original Horizons Lost and overlaying some haunting vocals and then slamming into the dnb, this track is not to be missed. Then rolling right on to the second remix on the A side we just had to release on to vinyl the brilliant Sync Dynamix remix. With a style all of his own Sync Dynamix has really done the track justice with rolling breakbeats and a heavy bassline. I was originally going to title this the light and dark EP and then completely forgot while doing the artwork. However, that’s where we went with the double A side. Psycho Boy by DJ Ande is a grimy menacing track sampling the laughter of Tyler Durden from Fight Club and just gets more and more troubled all the way through. Sinister, scary and chopped, the perfect track for Halloween. Then we have been delighted to bring back the hardware talents of Dertie Bassett, always a bit dark but absolutely superb. All four tracks will take you on a journey from light to dark.

Brausepöter (Martin Lück: Gesang, Gitarre, Synthi und Bernd Hanhardt: Bass, Kemper: Drums, bestehen bis heute in dieser Besetzung!) gründeten sich 1978 in Ostwestfalen und hießen ursprünglich Nordwestdeutsches Eiterlager, kurz NWE. Genialer Name, aber Brausepöter ist auch nicht schlecht! Sie sind somit eine der ersten deutschen Punkbands und zwar Punk im eigentlichen Sinne oder wie es im US-Amerikanischen Fanzine Maximum Rocknroll hieß: "It"s indie punk in the purest John Peel sense" bzw. wie es Martin Lück ausdrückte "Wir wollten immer den ganzen Rock aus unserer Musik rausnehmen". 2019 veröffentlichten Brausepöter ihr letztes reguläres Album "Nerven geschädigt". Das Punk- Zine FAZ überschrieb ihre Rezension mit "Die neue Brausepöter-Platte zeigt, was Punk heute heißt". Für sie ist Brausepöter "eine deutsche Band, die leider zu gut war, um so berühmt zu werden wie Trio oder Die Toten Hosen. Auch Spiegel Online fand "Nerven geschädigt" gut: "In ihrem radikalen Desinteresse an allem, was gerade so geht und erfolgversprechend wäre, wirkt die Musik von Brausepöter heute sogar um einiges konsequenter als damals." Nun erscheint das verlorene 1979er Album "Keiner kann uns ab" Ursprünglich sollte die Platte, "79 mit einem Kassettenrecorder aufgenommen, bei ZickZack erscheinen, aber daraus wurde nichts. Ging das Tape auf dem Postweg verloren? Waren die Aufnahmen zu gut? Oder selbst für ZickZack zu radikal? Wir wissen es nicht. Wäre "Keiner kann uns ab" damals tatsächlich erschienen, wer weiß, vielleicht würde man das Album heute in einem Atemzug mit "Monarchie und Alltag", "Amok Koma" oder dem Debüt von Slime nennen. Vielleicht aber auch nicht, denn der Brausepöter-Sound ist zu eigen, zu baufällig, zu DIY - näher an den TVPs, näher an The Fall oder näher an den frühen Mekons als an den ganzen Punk Rock-Bands. Brausepöter sind eben "indie punk in the purest John Peel sense".

Weißes Vinyl, limitiert auf 500 Exemplare. Die Folk-Punk Band The Porters meldet sich mit ihrem vierten Studioalbum zurück. "To The Good Times And The Bad" wird gleichzeitig nach 24 Jahren ihr Abschied von der Bühne sein. Fans der fünfköpfigen Düsseldorfer Combo dürfen sich dennoch freuen: Das Doppelalbum bringt einige musikalische Überraschungen mit, auch das Arrangement ist insgesamt breiter und tiefer. Umgesetzt sind die Songs in vertrauter Porters-Manier: Verzerrte Gitarren, treibender Bass und Drums, gepaart mit verspielten Melodien von Piano und Violine. Der warme, raue Gesang von Volker rundet das Werk ab

Seven Steps to Heaven arrived at a crucial junction in Miles Davis' career. Recorded at two separate locations in spring 1963, it served as Davis' first release in more than a year – a layoff that was then unprecedented for the jazz visionary who had issued at least one LP a year since debuting in the early '50s. Equally notable, Seven Steps to Heaven marks the point at which the core of Davis' Second Great Quintet started to assemble. The twice Grammy-nominated effort is also Davis' final studio record to blend standards with originals. And it happens to be one of the expressive, well-played albums in the jazz canon.

Sourced from the original master tapes, pressed at RTI, and housed in a Stoughton gatefold jacket, Mobile Fidelity's 180g SuperVinyl LP of Seven Steps to Heaven adds yet another step (or more) towards the bliss suggested by the album title. Playing with standout clarity, detail, tone, and balance, this audiophile reissue pulls back the curtain on the instrumentalists. Afforded the tremendous advantages of SuperVinyl – including a nearly inaudible noise floor, dead-quiet surfaces, and superb groove definition – this numbered-edition version presents Davis and Co. amid a wide, deep soundstage whose dimensions and solidity help bring the record's historical importance and musical merit into focus. Warm, organic, and present, the SuperVinyl LP of Seven Steps to Heaven is what great-sounding hi-fi is all about.

And there's nary a passage on this 1963 landmark that isn't great. That Davis manages to make it feel so cohesive and seamless is a testament to the inspired performances and engaging compositions. Davis didn't draw it up the way it unfolded. No matter. He held trump cards that stayed up his sleeve for the next three decades: A drive to be nothing less than superb, a refusal to settle for mediocrity, and standards to which nearly no other composer or player could match. "The toughest critic I got, and the only one I worry about, is myself," Davis wrote in the liner notes. "The music has to get past me."

Davis' demanding approach partly explains why he switched up his band between the first and second sessions – and underscores how fast his mind was racing with new ideas. Seven Steps to Heaven acts as the stable bridge between the transitional period that followed the dissolution of his First Great Quintet and formation of the Second; without it, Davis perhaps doesn't invite then-23-year-old Herbie Hancock and a still-teenage Tony Williams into the fold. The trumpeter not only got his men – he preserved in amber for the only time (well, magnetic tape anyway) the chemistry and vibe he achieved with pianist Victor Feldman, drummer Frank Butler, tenor saxophonist George Coleman, and bassist Ron Carter.

That line-up gels for half of the six songs on Seven Steps to Heaven. Captured in Los Angeles April '63, the quintet stretches out on a luxurious reading of the late '20s New Orleans staple "Basin Street Blues"; lays on the romance for a candlelit stroll through the '40s standard "I Fall in Love Too Easily"; and explores the rounded contours and melodic crevices of the early blues "Baby Won't You Please Come Home." The performances are refined, elegant, emotional; the band lets the feelings linger and gives the listener time to absorb the colours and textures.

A month later, Davis returned to New York City with Coleman and Carter, and partnered them with Hancock and Williams. Tellingly, the quintet tried its collective hand at the title track and "Joshua" – Feldman-penned songs already recorded in Los Angeles – as well as the yearning "So Near, So Far." Those are the tunes that comprise the other piece of Seven Steps to Heaven, with the revised quintet's liquid pulse, articulate dynamics, and timing shifts a harbinger of things to come.

It's also worth mentioning that the interpretations of the bounding "Seven Steps to Heaven" – a showcase for Davis' trumpet – and interlocking "Joshua" netted considerable radio airplay and attracted the attention of other contemporaries who covered the songs. Keeping Carter and Williams as the rhythmic engine, and Hancock as the anchor between solo flights and structural motifs, Davis would soon soon welcome Wayne Shorter into the family and transform jazz. Again. The aptly – and, in hindsight, perhaps prophetically titled Seven Steps to Heaven – is how he got there.

Provocative percussion from the jazz trio Zen Widow!
Recorded live to 2-track analogue tape at Capitol Studios (CAP A)
Produced by Tone Poet's Joe Harley, recorded by Mike Ross
100% analogue mastering* by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Pressed on 180-gram ultra-quiet vinyl at RTI
Deluxe Old Style Tip-On single pocket gatefold jacket by Stoughton Printing

*Track 8 finished from high-resolution digital for vocal track
Intervention Records presents a special collaborative distribution effort with Italian objet-a records, Zen Widow IV – (from one dark age to another). This AAA 180G vinyl release is the fourth recording of Zen Widow, and it places an emphasis on highly melodic, spacious, and engaging treatments of medieval compositions ranging from Gesualdo Da Venosa, the Burana and Chantilly Codex, Welsh Gower folk melodies and texts, as well as the Bach Cello suites. These rich compositions are then reimagined through the lens of a highly accomplished and adventuresome jazz-improvised music trio.

Zen Widow is an international improvisational music-jazz super group. They have recorded and performed in clubs and festivals throughout the United States and Europe for that last 20 years. The trio consists of Gianni Gebbia (Bb soprano saxophone – cornettophone ) from Sicily, Italy, Matthew Goodheart (grand piano – transducer-actuated gong) from New York, Garth Powell (drums, percussion, and gongs) from Los Angeles, and is joined by special guest Dwight Trible (vocals) for this recording. Their previous release featured trumpet and jazz master Wadada Leo Smith, and like this recording was produced by Joe Harley (Blue Note – Tone Poet Series, Charles Lloyd, and Music Matters Jazz).

Garth Powell is also an audio industry legend, and AudioQuest’s Sr. Director of Engineering. Garth is the driving force behind the company’s multi award-winning line of Niagara series power conditioners and its Mythical Creatures ultra high-performance cables.

As powerful as these performances are, the sonic results created by this production/engineering team is equally stunning – a truly reference quality analogue experience.

This recording is captured live-to-two-track analogue, 30ips tape at Capitol Studios (studio “A”) by Mike Ross and Steve Genewick. 7 of the 8 tracks are AAA, while the last track alone is finished high-res digital to accommodate the vocal track. Mastering and lacquers cut by Kevin Gray at CoHEARent Audio, with 180-gram pressings by RTI (Camarillo, California).

The single-gatefold jacket is a deluxe Old Style “tip-on” from Stoughton, designed by Intervention’s longtime Art Director Tom Vadakan.

Emerging from the depths of Cardiff’s burgeoning music scene, heirs to their country’s lineage of storytellers, are Slate. Formed by frontman Jack Shephard and drummer Raychi Bryant, the four-piece band are barely touching their twenties, but together, they have command of post-punk which rings with the gravitas of a death knell; a grasp of atmosphere and melody which touches on the ethereal.

With the addition of bassist Lauren Edwards and guitarist Elis Penri who completed the band at the end of 2021, the four bonded over the written word playing poetry games over pints. Together, they found an affinity with the surreal works of Arthur Rimbaud and the Welsh poets R. S. Thomas and Dylan Thomas, whose reverence for their country and its people bleeds into Slate’s own lyrics.

The 7" collects Slate's stunning 1-2 of debut singles 'Tabernacl' and 'St Agatha', which were both produced by Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard's Tom Rees. Both songs come loaded with frontman Jack Shephard's distinctive, poetic drawl, blistering yet gothic and ornate guitars and rollicking, road-ready drums. Together they offer a snapshot of a band born fully-formed and prove a statement of intent that's hard to ignore.

Of the track, Shephard explains: "'St Agatha' is the first song we wrote about being Welsh. Though, living in in the south, we each converge at the forefront of anglicisation. At the time of writing, we were indulging in literature, landscapes as well as each another, in an attempt to re-connect with much of our disregarded national identity. So much was left unrevealed to us in school. We read about a churchyard on the border, where some people are buried with their heads in Wales and their feet in England. It was the perfect place to tell the story of a conflicted protagonist. Severed at St Agatha’s, between there and the homeland

Contemporary techno legend Marcel Dettmann delivers four(!) remixes for Dutch avant-pop artist Mathilde Nobel's Founds on Land. Nobel's LP for Nous'klaer has been one of the label's most adventurous releases, adding a much needed breath of experimental twisted air to the Dutch pop scene. Dettmann transforms opening track "Bliss" from a guitar heavy walloper into a noise wash, floor-filled techno tool driven by a hypnotic staccato saw tooth arpeggio.

Nobel's album single "I Eat Air" which was dominated by chopped voices and a lullaby-esque bell melody becomes a mesmerizing crescendo in Dettmann's hands, retaining the haunting bells and Mathilde's signature vocal processing. Third track "Nehalennia" goes from the album's heaviest offering to a cinematic, minimal techno, bit-crushed, avant-pop song. While remix closer is a spaced out version of "I Eat Air" omitting all drums in-lieu of more bells and chimes and chops off Nobel's haunting voice.

The 4 remixes from Dutch up and comer in the hands of techno maestro Dettmann is a meaningful pairing illustrating Nobel's adept musical prowess and Dettmann's never ending pulse taking of what the new school are bringing to the table. Text by Gregory Markus.

Introducing Alberto Castellana and his electrifying nine-track debut album. Hailing from Italy, Castellana brings the classic Italian signature Nu-Jazz sound to the table.

Accompanied by a trio of exceptionally talented musicians on the piano, guitar, and Rhodes piano, Castellana's debut album promises an in-depth journey through various electronic genres, including House, Break Beat, Drum & Bass, as well as the realms of Jazz.

Tired Girls is the third full-length studio album by Bay Area singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Anna Hillburg. Co-produced and recorded with Jason Quever of the Papercuts, the pair created an album for lovers of finely crafted and supremely catchy chamber pop. As always, Hillburg’s voice takes center stage, but for Tired Girls she made a conscious choice to dig deeper into her trumpet skills and make more elaborate horn arrangements than her previous records. Lyrically, Hillburg dives into what it is to be a contemporary woman, and how one perseveres, finds inspiration, creates, loves, and lives. Recorded throughout 2022 at Quever’s studio, the two built dreamy soundscapes with long-time collaborators Logan Kroeber on drums (The Dodos), Josh Miller on bass (Chime School, Extra Classic), and Yea Ming Chen on keys. The entire record has a real “Ladies, trust your gut” feeling, unsurprisingly, as Hillburg says she tends to write songs about “the reality of womanhood and feminism but ya know, why not make that a little ‘dancey’?” As a collection, Tired Girls marks her arrival as an artist who has hit their stride. Each track shows her talent and progression as a songwriter and performer. As a multi-instrumentalist and classically trained trumpet player, Hillburg is a sought-after session and live musician in the vibrant Bay Area music scene, performing regularly with Shannon And The Clams, The Dodos, The Moore Brothers, The Once And Future Band, Will Sprott, Dream Date, Greg Ashley, Shannon Shaw and her All-Star Buddy Band, and more. After writing and recording with her first band, SF power-pop darlings Dream Date, Hillburg set off on her own to record and release her first album, the self-titled 2013 release, Anna Hillburg. Described as “a romantic mix of lounge-inspired rock and avant-folk melodies,” here were the foundations of Hillburg’s signature songwriting style, with elements of baroque pop, catchy hooks, trumpet lines, and whimsical humor that garnered the attention of critics and fans alike. Her second studio album, Really Real, came out in 2018, recorded with Greg Ashley (Gris Gris) and Alicia Vanden Heuvel (The Aislers Set), this pop gem gained even more praise, with writers saying “Hillburg’s writing brings heartfelt lyrics to elegant pop.”

For the better part of the last 15 years, the duo of Max Dameron (guit/vox) and Sam Ford (drums/vox) have been too weird and too wild for this lame-ass planet. After enjoying vagabond stints living in Portland, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn, they now call Detroit home. Here they rebuild, out of the scraps and wreckage of the 21st century, something which casts aside any rules or adherence to banal tropes. Specializing in the unexpected, Max and Sam have wrought an individual sound that’s as much post-Melvins sludge punk as it is futurist prog metal. Their forthcoming self-titled debut, recorded in 2022 at High-Bias in Detroit, puts on display the fruits of their metamorphosis. From the soaring triumphal fuzz of “Uncanny Valley” or the sweep and thrust of “House of Butterflies” their craft is precise, they’re just making up their own shapes to sculpt. Times change and artists mature: now under the name PSYCHIC TRASH, Ford and Dameron come to Riding Easy Records as veterans turning a fresh page, reinvigorated at the prospect of forging a new path and the beneficiaries of about a decade and a half’s slog through the underground. Psychic Trash’s self-titled debut is unmistakably uncompromising, a little theatrical, intermittently manic, and deceptively broad in style for just how much punk rests beneath.

Mojave Phone Booth – Hollow The Numbers. A psychedelic industrial/electronic art-rock concept album. This Deluxe 2 disc edition features extensive remixes made by the band.
Recorded in the home studio of husband and wife duo Tobey Torres-Doran and Mitchell J Doran, both formerly of cult electronic act Snake River Conspiracy. They are joined on several songs by their regular drummer Lynn Farmer of Meat Beat Manifesto. Also features guest performance from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Eclectic graffiti artist, DJ and producer Dj Marrrtin unveils his new album opus "Cyclothymix".
Following the success of his album "La Pie Bavarde", a duet with Tino, mc from Dayton, U.S.A., Marrrtin delivers a moody, intense, indeed psycho-musicographic psychomusicographic. He promises us a finely mixed set, at the heart of his inspirations: Hip Hop, Funk, Sound Illustration, Jazz...
Opening with "Awakening", straight out of a Dilla beat tape, followed by the Brazilian with the very Brazilian "Estrellas", an up-tempo theme sublimated by the gentle voice of Carla Vallet, who also infuses her suave voice on the track "Darjeeling", a bewitching call to let go. In his global wanderings, he takes us to New York with the track "L.O.V.E."an ode to love, featuring the Temple's guardian, A.G. of the mythical collective DITC and his protégée Hii Siddity, from the duo The Girll Codee. "Taraxacum" plunges us into a languorous atmosphere, sublimated by sublimated by the flute of Antoine Laloux from The Selenites Band. Then comes "Ben", a boom bap - melancholy jazz production, where the grain of vinyl mingles with the roughness of the Akai S950 sampler. Marrrtin's musical drifting and whirling is a tribute to breakdance culture to breakdance and hiphop culture with "Inspiration Medley", a nod to anthems such as SWAT, backed by the keyboards of his Funky Bijou teammate, Deheb. A duo whose famous classics are played for the biggest world Breakdance Battles. Sample culture, drum breaks, Abstract Hip Hop, for the tracks "True" and "Time for Love", in which a guru preaches pan-love in the time of the Apocalypse. "Indian Groove", an Indian echo of Marrrtin's many travels, which leaves us and saturates us with dopamine. "Cosmic Consciousness Without Transition", in the spirit of a mood-changing we plunge into the strange, scandalized prescription, guardian of the garden of love.
To close this essential album, "Headhunter", a dark Jazz Funk track with dusty soundtrack tinges, brings us to a close.
of dusty seventies soundtrack, with saturated clavinet responding to obsessive
melodies of Medline's flute.
Ultimately, "Cyclothymix" is conceived by Marrrtin as a mirror to our changing moodsand seasons.

Nothing in Narciso's (known) background indicated these 10 minutes of tension and release, a soundtrack to some nameless anticipation. Soundtrack, also, to a dance piece on video by choreographer Catarina Miranda produced in 2021.

It is certainly nothing one would expect to hear in one of his regular DJ sets. A long, moody intro appears to chart a difficult journey under heavy clouds, until the drums manifest themselves first as a sort of warning, or preparation, maybe a signal, maybe just warming up for the steady kick drum that follows, a clean 4/4 beat complemented by broken off-rhythms and sparse percussion that seem to run parallel in observation of the main event.

Clouds definitely open up towards the end. Crystalline drops brighten the sonic mood. Quite a unique experiment in Narciso's body of work, undertaken during a period when the DJ and producer, feeling unmotivated, decided to relax from detailed planning and instead allowed himself to flow along with the sounds, expanding possibilities and actually breaking free from previous notions of composition.

2 jungle tunes, 1 drum & 1 dubstep. All ragga/hip-hop styles quiet old school tune. The F_king Finger is the masterpiece here. Good tune that would have deserved a better pressing. But that's not a mystery anymore...

Balearic / Downtempo business from the Swedish coastline by Förslag På Musik.

We were very impressed by his first album Book Of Mirrors on his own label Sunken Rock, and is now serving up two mellow rollers with dreamy pads and groovy drums on our very own Terrasolare.

Music for lazy days that will put a smile on your face.

Japanese Jazz legend Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's new album, A Shade Of
Blue, undoubtedly reflects his love of the piano trio, a group configuration that in jazz history began in the 1940s with Nat King Cole and then was developed in the 50s by innovators like Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, and Bill Evans Yamamoto's highly experienced trio - which has a combined age of 215 years -
features bassist Hiroshi Kagawa and drummer Toshio Osumi.

A Shade Of Blue reveals the three musicians' incredible musical chemistry; listening to the ten tracks they've recorded together, it's as if they breathe, think, and feel as one person; such is the musical empathy between them.

A Shade Of Blue will be released by evosound on MQA-CD, SACD- Hybrid MultiChannel, 180g Double Vinyl LP (audiophile pressing), available on the 27th October 2023.

Sound Metaphors Records continues to explore the Italian early 90's techno scene with another re-issue of D.A.T.A.'s precious catalogue. Already 3 decades ago, 4 Italians got together in northern Italy to elaborate this sound, and it's only fair to say it's still timelessly effective, possibly a mixture of pure naivety and/or premeditated distilled club essence, bold and minimal in its use of rhythmic patterns generated by drum machines and samplers of the time. To imagine this music was being made in a time where only petrol company CEO's had cell phones, emails weren't even a thing, let alone social media, a time capsule into a special epoch where "progressive" or "trance" weren't quite established keywords yet. Re-issued with a new remastered face and 2 new remixes from studio guru Anatolian Weapons beautifully adding to this powerful exploration of club oriented electronics.

Repress!

Clear Vinyl

Three songs taken from Chip Wickham's spiritual jazz album Blue to Red get reshaped by Photay, Medlar, and Chip Wickham himself. The result is a lush ep, every bit as good as the combination of a wonderful original track and an uber-talented remixer could be.

Photay has deconstructed the peaceful Blue to Red to turn it into a bomb—a storming dance track that keeps the spiritual vibe intact. The extra beatless version soothes your ear while creating a certain sense of anticipation.

The original version of Interstellar blends fusion jazz with the sound of West London's seminal broken beat scene. Medlar has plucked the track apart, then rebuilt it by adding some extra perc and synth sounds to the bass-driven beats. The result is some deep and heavy and funky business.

And finally, Chip recovered a take of wonderful astral slow jam The Cosmos that didn't make it onto the album, one with no drums, and cooked up a roomy cosmic dub, full-on Space Echo.

It will be out in a limited transparent vinyl 12"

Berlin-based artist Avilynn fuses electro, breaks, rave and IDM on modular driven '6' EP for her own Taisha Records this October.

Avilynn has been slowly unveiling releases via her fledgling Taisha imprint, showcasing her unique sound which encapsulates a variety of influences, always laced with a dynamic feel, sonic hypnotism and gritty drive. Following on from 2021's acclaimed 'Five Million Sunsets', Avilynn returns to Taisha Records with her new '6' EP. Blending sonic experiences from the Berlin cityscape and coupling them with provocative and sophisticated instrumentation.

'Air and Bubbles' leads the release and lays down cinematic strings, tension building atmospherics, a vacillating rhythmic groove and murky bass grooves. '66 33'48.8' follows next, coordinates possibly, a hidden destination, a journey complete. This one sees Avilynn shift focus towards textural soundscapes layered with ethereal, billowing voices atop intricate off-kilter drums and swirling synth flutters.

Title-cut '6' then opens the flip-side, embracing a brighter aesthetic with cosseting pads and resonant bubbling synths delicately intertwined with a winding low-end groove and a combination of electronic and acoustic drums to create the composition's bumpy
breaks. 'Fobias' then rounds out the EP, edging back into darker realms bringing crunchy saturated bass stabs and shuffled percussion into the forefront while sweeping strings, intricate melodies and voice-like textures unfurl as the composition progresses.

12 original festive songs, characterised by Johnson’s characteristic songwriting excellence, ranging in tone from the sardonic to the sentimental, featuring traditional seasonal conventions (50s jazz, Father Christmas, mistletoe, sprouts etc) performed by The Xmas Irregulars: Sian Allen – vocals, trumpet, saxophone // John Forrester – vocals, double bass // Robb Johnson – vocals, guitar, tuned percussion // Fae Simon - vocals // Roger Stevens – vocal, piano with Arvin Johnson- drums, Saskia Tomkins – violin & viola // Recorded by Ali Gavan, Brighton Road Studios. Robb Johnson-Brief biography: Robb’s widely recognised as one of the UK’s finest songwriters. “An English original”, (Robin Denselow, the Guardian) “one of our best singer-songwriters ever” (Mike Harding) “one of this country’s most important songwriters (no argument!)” (fROOTS). His work includes two highly acclaimed song suites, Gentle Men, & Ordinary Giants, -a “masterpiece” (fROOTS), “monumental” (FATEA). Last year Murder at the Grange premiered to enthusiastic, sold-out audiences at The Ropetackle in Shoreham & Chats Palace in Hackney – “a cracker of a show… a delightful extravaganza and a uniquely dark and different way to celebrate the winter season” was Folk Radio’s opinion. The Xmas Irregulars: Sian Allen – actor-musician, resident singer at Walthamstow Folk Club // John Forrester – singer & songwriter, bassist in various bands // Fae Simon - studied opera, hip-hop, soul & jazz recording artiste // Roger Stevens – award-winning children's poet & novelist // Arvin Johnson & Saskia Tomkins are both ex-Irregulars – Arvin now drums with Manchester-based band Tigers & Flies, & Saskia now lives & works -to great acclaim- in Canada

Nearly 20 years since his first official release, Fanu's output keeps on reaching new heights. Hip hop releases under the FatGyver alias and recent excursions into deep house underline his versatility while last year's Legacy EP on Metalheadz was another showcase of his unique & timeless approach to drum & bass.

Leo Zero finally gets some of his much sort after edits onto the black wax, with some classic cut-ups that have all been road tested for max dance-floor detonation.

On this first EP a set of classic soul / disco groovers that have been meticulously remastered and extended for the modern floor.

One for the dancers and romancers, ‘Love Affair’ hits you square in the heart - a big spin at the Faith parties. Next up, a classic mid-tempo Soul weekender cut gets a nice chunky re-version.

The flip kicks off with some new live drums and chunkiness added to a huge underground gem, then we head off into more bulletproof dance-floor disco territory with a souped up version that’s been given maximum wallop to compete with house cuts when played out.

After a stellar release on Saoirse's label trUst—which caught the attention of DJs like Ben UFO, rRoxymore and dBridge—Ryan Aitchison aka Mella Dee is back on the dials for another outing of quality tech ‘aus fodder.

Rug Cutters Vol. 1 kicks off a slew of upcoming dancefloor weapons from the Warehouse Music boss. Visually underlined by his own original artworks, the EP shows off Mella Dee’s signature flair for whipping up raw, no-nonsense ingredients into irresistibly infectious grooves.

Vol. 1 starts strong with ‘Cutting Snakes (Keep on Moving)’, a track that screams instant classic with its shuffling beat and fat, sassy synthline. A2 track ‘Bumps (You Say)’ dives deep into those bassbin vibrations—it’s big, rude, and dead set on shaking up even the swampiest of dancefloors. Together, these cuts are not messing around.

On the flip, ‘Cutters (They Don't Get It)’ plays with the more futuristic, percussive end of the techno continuum. Drum breaks slither over each other, while a minimal vocal and bass hook locks everything down. Finally, ‘Pay No Mind (Who Am I)’ pulls the EP back to euphoria. This one will have the club cruising to its cocktail of flirty chord stabs and soulful house vocals—you’ll never want to go home.

Luckily, it won’t be long before we get one more tune from Ryan Aitchison—with plenty on the horizon, ‘Rug Cutters Vol. 1’ is also a taste of what’s to come. Stay tuned!

Fall is here after all the summer maddness with festivals, mediterranean tours and Ibiza residencies, it full on vinyl releases for Vega Records. Introducing the 5 Pack Unreleased IV edition, Vega Records takes another step into the world of unreleased music from the Vega Family. Gems from Leroy Burgess, Two Soul fusion, Tony Touch, Professor Featuring Ndu Shezi & Thebe, Johnny Dangerous, and gospel royalty Bebe Winans to Elements Of Life Demos and songs in the making all come together on this special 5 piece vinyl set. With 12 tracks in the sequence there are a select number of talented producers on the project which include Two Soul Fusion AKA Louie Vega & Josh Milan, Pablo Fierro, Johnny Dangerous, Luis Radio, Pietro Nicosia and musicians Axel Tosca and Luisito Quintero. They all contribute to these unique pieces of music mastered by the one and only who we call “The Quincy Jones Of Mastering” Mr. Herb Powers of PM Mastering and the vinyl manufactured by Optimal, Germany. With a limited number of copies made make sure you get your hands on them, they will be rare and very fast!!! Vega Records “always bringing you top quality music” !! Distributed by Above Board, UK.

A blistering advancement of the knife-sharp hooks and urgently efficient post-punk structures that they’ve spent over a decade refining since their formation in 2011, the band’s fourth album – and second on Specialist Subject - emerges from a period of flux for the band’s chief songwriting partnership of Emma Wigham (drums/vocals) and Mark Jasper (guitar/vocals). First came a move north to Yorkshire from their native London. “We had decorated a tiny, rented house in Mytholmroyd” Jasper explains. “We setup a practice room in the top of a mill nearby and tried to write music, which we did amid stress about money, and a fear of having made the wrong decision. We had left our jobs, friends and a nice but absolutely tiny flat in London behind, and moved to a small village in West Yorkshire.” Although they found the location to be beautiful, the transition from city life to rural turned out to be an odd fit – too much so, it turned out. From this relatively short stay in West Yorkshire, however, came a more permanent change as the couple welcomed their first child Ivy into the family. Although, they’re hesitant to put too much of Streams and Waterways influence on the shoulders of their young daughter – she arrived a year and a half into the album’s conception – there’s no denying that its themes of loss, birth, and being part of this eternal, momentary life were brought into sharp focus following their new arrival. “Streams and Waterways is about the struggle of looking at the clock, realising it’s actually going pretty damn fast and knowing that really you have no control over anything” Jasper confirms. Perhaps that explains the way that opener The Valley doesn’t even introduce itself before careering into a full-throttled, three-minute scuzzy rager that would approach the descriptor anthemic had it not been kicked and scuffed along the way; it’s maybe why the wiry, ferocious Choice You Make feels like a charge into a storm despite the uncertainty of what you might find. It’s perhaps why even when Witching Waves allow themselves respite on the pared down Open A Hole, there’s a churning anxiety that lies below the acoustic guitar and harmonising vocals: in many ways musically and thematically Witching Waves are relinquishing the control that’s always been a fixture of their music – with all the thrilling and nervous fallout that comes from that. Although the pair have since returned south (having relocated to Exeter), Streams and Waterways also serves as a document of their foray northwards. The surviving artefact from Jasper’s never-to-be-finished studio that he’d began to build in Yorkshire – following the ending of his London-based Sound Savers studio – the record is also the first to feature current bassist Will Fitzpatrick, who joined initially live on their support tour with Australian punks Camp Cope. Fitzpatrick – a key component of Liverpool’s DIY scene for two decades – quickly became a key part of the writing process. Recording sessions were done during periods of lockdown that allowed congregation, Jasper recalling a still unborn Ivy kicking hard during an early mix playback of It’s A Shame’s layered noise rock assault. “The song was about my past, a much harder time. But my future was egging me on” he says. It’s a neat summation of Streams and Waterways and its representation of the discomfort of life amidst the compulsion to ride on its journey regardless. It’s a record that finds Witching Waves looking into the future more than ever before, but still bristles with the rush of being in the moment – because ultimately, despite what may have happened or may yet come, the band’s strongest trait remains being able to keep you feeling in the present.

Members of Papir & Causa Sui finalise Edena Gardens trilogy. True to El Paraiso fashion, Dens concludes a trilogy of albums, aptly spelling out the last third of the group’s name. And true to form, the band turns inwards rather than outwards, drawing on deep shades of ambient, slowcore, and the ghost of Mark Hollis. While maintaining their psychedelic edge, the trio weaves the lines between genres in a way that’s becoming a signature of its own. Never in a hurry, but always moving somewhere. Causa Sui drummer Jakob Skøtt & Martin Rude’s bass and baritone guitar lay out a robust yet fleeting foundation. Papir’s Nicklas Sørensen’s glistening guitar lines never felt more free and explorative. While The Durutti Column tribute Vini’s Lament is drenched in nostalgia, a cut like Morgensol (Morning Sun in Danish) explodes in Popol Vuh-esque gloomy euphoria. Engineered by Jonas Munk & produced by Jakob Skøtt, the album culls hours of free improvisation into a coherent size. Seamless edits and studio wizardry enhance the feeling of an almost narrative nature as the album progresses. Invoking anything from a crackling campfire, rattling bones, and the singing of sand dunes. The culmination lies in the 14-minute track Sienita. A fully formed blistering improvisation, abandoning any studio trickery, besides a singly dubbed organ, rising and falling like the tide.

House of Harm are proud to announce the forthcoming release of their new album Playground, out December 1st, 2023. The new record builds and expands upon the three-piece’s enthralling shadow-pop sound, a mix of midnight atmospherics, 90s era jangle pop, and contagious synth drenched hooks that further elevate the transcendent vocals of lead singer Michael Rocheford. Rounded out by Cooper Leardi (guitar / synths) and Tyler Kershaw (guitar / synth), House of Harm have amassed an impressive following as something of a best kept secret among their growing fanbase, leading to sold out shows on both coasts by the power of word of mouth alone. The band members have been drawn to music for as long as any of them can remember, and the drive to be around like-minded artists and make their own noise drew them all to Boston after high school. There they all quickly enmeshed themselves, playing in other bands before meeting each other. Ever since, House of Harm have been quietly making a name for themselves among music fans with darker pop persuasions via a steady stream of releases in single, ep and album form. That attention to detail and workmanlike approach at the expense of chasing instant gratification seems to be paying dividends after years of steady effort. The journey of their new album Playground saw House of Harm stay true to that ethos. The band painstakingly narrowed the record down to an efficient 10 tracks that they felt made the most sense, both standing on their own as well as fitting into an LP that built a cohesive world for the listener to get lost in. The album’s name also reflects the experimentation and happy accidents that came about during the writing and recording process. On “The Face of Grace” they set out to explore different dynamics by writing a song entirely without drums, but couldn't help themselves from putting emphasis on the song’s 6/8 waltz time signature. “Two Kinds” is another first for House Of Harm in that it’s predominantly driven by acoustic guitar. That aforementioned vulnerability shows up in other areas of the songwriting process as well with “Two Kinds”, one of their most revealing songs to date from a lyrical standpoint, written from a place of reflection and weakness and tackling feelings uneasy to be put on display for public consumption. Taken as a whole, the end result is an album representing a collection of the band’s most raw and expressive songs yet.

Italian cosmic couriers San Leo return with fifth album, ’Aves Raras’: a resounding statement of intent, arguably their most accomplished and well-rounded effort so far. Clocking in at around 38 minutes, “Aves Raras” has it all: analog slag of tribal ritual music, bold guitar riffs, shimmering layers of synths. Frantic grooves, ghostly vocals, dazzling walls of noise and pastoral tonal passages – the ultimate call to enlightenment through euphoria. Over again, San Leo prove to be inclined to explore new pathways in their sonic journey, without relying on formulas of any kind. It doesn’t get any tighter, crucial, and most alive than this. Recorded by Andrea Scardovi at Duna Studio. Drums recorded by Yuri Pierini at Blue Audio Studio. Additional recording by San Leo. Mixed by Francesco Donadello at Kalimba Studio and Synecdoche Music Research, Berlin. Mastered by Giovanni Versari at La Maestà

Atomçk are back! Expanded to a quartet, here is more of their uniquely eccentric and offbeat brand of grindcore for thee end-tymes. Another head crusher of cacophonous chaos, all furiously catchy riffs and inhumanly shrill, stuck-ape vocals with pinpoint drums that border on the chaotic. "Newly expanded to a quartet, Towering Failures is undoubtedly the band’s heaviest and most sonically flattening release to date, boasting a gigantic tone that sounds downright apocalyptic on slower numbers. For the most part though, this album races past at lightspeed, but manages to convey a host of different moods and textures in amongst its frantic delivery. Atomçk have been getting better and better with each subsequent album, but this is surely their most powerful and definitive record to date, and one of the most inventive and memorable grindcore records of the year thus far." - The Quietus "Like a budgie with a whistle" – Ninehertz

LP reissue of Collective Calls, the first duo LP from Evan Parker and percussionist Paul Lytton. Mythically alluded to as ‘An Improvised Urban Psychodrama In Eight Parts”, Collective Calls utilises electronics, pre-records and homemade instruments to wryly in/act self investigation. Having just recorded the cliff jumping Music Improvisation Company with Derek Bailey, Christine Jeffrey, Hugh Davies and Jamie Muir, Parker was at the point where he was thinking, ‘what’s the next thing?’ On Collective Calls, only the 5th release to appear on the newly minted Incus label, percussionist Paul Lytton arrives with an arsenal of sound making sources to push Parker into ever new territory. Recorded in the loft of The Standard Essenco Co on Southwark Street by Bob Woolford (Topography of the Lungs, AMM The Crypt), Collective Calls has more in common with noise or music concrete than with jazz; sitting comfortably alongside Italian messrs Gruppo di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza or the husband-wife duo of Anima Sound. According to Martin Davidson, it was a Folkways record that Lytton was obsessed with around the time of this release - Sounds of the Junkyard - its track titles like “Steel Saw Cutting Channel Iron in Two Places” working to give you a good idea of the atmosphere of Collective Calls. Paul Lytton had encountered the use of electronics in music in 1968 when he was invited to play drums on the recording of An Electric Storm by White Noise (along with David Vorhaus, Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson). He had seen Hugh Davies using contact mics in the Music Improvisation Company, and soon set about assembling a Dexion frame akin to drummer John Stevens’, except that his own was armed with several single-coil electric guitar pickups, long wires and strings with connected foot-pedals to modulate pitch. Influenced as much by Stockhausen, Cage and David Tudor as he was by Max Roach and Milford Graves, Lytton’s percussion is abstract, expressionist and at times totally mutant. Sometimes rolling extremely fast, then screeching almost backwards over feedback, Lytton gives Parker room to play some of his weirdest work. Parker is listed as performing both saxophones, but also his own home made assemblages, including one dubbed the ‘Dopplerphone’ - a length of soft rubber tubing (activated by a saxophone mouthpiece and manipulated to alter the rate of airflow) attached to a longer length of clear plastic tubing (whirled around the head whilst being played) ending in a plastic funnel. Thickening the brew even more, Parker would also add a cassette recorder, on which he would play back collected sounds and previous recordings of the duo. Imagining the set up in a 70s loft, it’s an assemblage more akin to what today's free ears might see at a Sholto Dobie show, spread out on the floor of the Hundred Years Gallery, the shadow of Penultimate Press lurking in the corner. It’s a testament to Parker’s shape shifting sound - the ever present link to birdsong being at its most warped here - terrifically free and unfussy, wild and loose from any of the dogma that might come in later Brit-prov years

Detroit-based label Choose Better Friends is a new outlet that is already mighty impressive after just three releases. This one lands quickly after the second from Jaco Matthews and it offers more traditionally included Motor City house sounds. Ryan McCray opens with weighty but dusty drums and grainy sustained chords that lock you into a trance straight off the bat, especially once the low-slung bass and steamy vocals arrive. From there, the wooden knocks and muffled kicks of 'What It Is' are paired with some nice dreamy chords and the flipside offers more zoned-out basement lushness with 'The Tide' and the heavier, more raw 'Rushin.' Essential.

Big Thief's music, rooted in the songs of Adrianne Lenker, paints in vivid tones "the process of harnessing pain, loss, and love, while simultaneously letting go, looking into your own eyes through someone else's, and being okay with the inevitability of death," says Adrianne.

Masterpiece, Big Thief's debut album, is -lled with characters and visceral narratives, songs that pivot in the space of a few words. Adrianne's voice and guitar playing speak of rich emotional territory with grace and insight. In her words, the record tracks "the masterpiece of existence, which is always folding into itself, people attempting to connect, to both shake themselves awake and to shake o­ the numbness of certain points in their life. The interpretations might be impressionistic or surrealistic, but they're grounded in simple things.'

Adrianne met her longtime musical partner, guitarist and singer, Buck Meek, in Brooklyn a few years ago, and they quickly formed a creative bond tempered by the experience of traveling and performing for months on end in old dive bars, yards, barns, and basements together. They recorded a pair of duo albums (A-Sides and B-Sides), and Adrianne showcased her songs on a solo album, Hours Were The Birds.

Now, as a full rock and roll band, with Buck on guitar, Max Oleartchik on bass, and James Krivchenia on drums, they bring a steady wildness, giving the songs an even deeper layer of nostalgia. "These guys feel like a pack of wolves at my back," says Adrianne, "they make the songs howl and bark with a fierce tenderness that gives me courage."
After spending last July in an old house that they turned into a studio on Lake Champlain with producer Andrew Sarlo, the resulting collection soars on what Big Thief fan Sharon Van Etten calls "...a real journey, with intelligent stories and twist-and-turn melodies.

Special remarks: 180g, Red Vinyl, Limited to 100 copies.

After the success of 2021’s Ursgal, Mongolian jazz singer Enji returns with her third album Ulaan. The line-up has grown in size with drummer Mariá Portugal and clarinettist Joana Queiroz from Brazil joining the band to create an invigorating blend of grounded Folk and brooding Jazz.

Dez Andres must have had a busy year in the studio because he has a few new joints dropping at the moment. Beretta Music has his latest and it comes in the form of a 7"to follow up his 'Back in My Space' from back in Spring. Once again here the Motor City native, former Slum Village DJ and house maestro dips into his more soulful side with some fresh breakbeat tunes that are sure to get the floor popping. Yelping vocals and some signature Andres basslines finish it in a fiery fashion. Fellow Detroit talent Brian Kage steps up with a booty-shaking remix that gets even heavier on the drums to make for another fine 7".

Introducing Biel Solsona: A Barcelona pianist with a vibrant musical background. His debut solo album, "· i · ", showcases a fusion of jazz, electronic, and cinematic sounds. Featuring Ferran Puertas on double bass and Eudald Font on drums, they weave a mesmerizing tapestry of original compositions where piano harmonies blend seamlessly with synthesizers and rhythmic beats, revealing a unique musical landscape. Their rendition of "Sunday Disco Dawn", an original composition of spanish disco dons Fundación Tony Manero, stands out, taking things into a more spacy direction. Experience the synergy of melodies, discover new textures, and immerse yourself in Biel Solsona's musical universe.

Die schwedische Metal-Band CORRODED veröffentlicht mit PLAGUE ihr sechstes Studioalbum, aus dem bereits 3 Singles ausgekoppelt wurden: 'Monster', 'The More Things Change' und 'Rain'. Auf den 2019er Vorgänger BITTER folgte eine ausgedehnte Europatour. Wie die meisten Bands traf sie die Pandemie hart, aber CORRODED stürzten sich in ein schwarzes Loch und nahmen PLAGUE auf. Sie kommentieren: 'Wir haben 5 'Kinder' ... jedes einzelne ist genauso wichtig wie die anderen ... aber dieses hier ist unser Liebeskind, unser ganz besonderer 'Spätzünder' oder 'Nachläufer', geboren aus der Angst und Langeweile der Pest ... bis auf das Mastering alles von uns selbst erledigt ... willkommen in der dunklen Seele von CORRODED ... genießen Sie die Fahrt.'

Die 11 Tracks des fünften Albums von Michael Nau fügen sich zu einem schönen Bild zusammen. Die Texte regen den Hörer immer wieder zum Nachdenken an. Sie sind introspektiv, aber vage und ergebnisoffen. Der Indierock-Hintergrund zeigt Anzeichen von Psych-Soul-Einflüssen mit trockenen und druckvollen Drums, üppigen Synthesizer-Linien und einer geschmackvollen, verbgetränkten Vokalproduktion. Nau's Gesang bewegt sich irgendwo zwischen dem Singen vor Publikum, dem Erzählen von Geschichten für einen geliebten Menschen und dem Grübeln über sich selbst. Die entspannte Einstellung des Singer-Songwriters zum Plattenmachen ist im Sound zu hören. Aufgenommen von dem erfahrenen Produzent und Tontechniker Adrien Olsen (The Killers, Lucy Dacus, Fruit Bats) in seinem Studio Montrose Recording in Richmond, Virginia, mit Musikern, die im Laufe der Jahre schon bei Naus verschiedenen Aufnahmen und Tourneen mitgewirkt hatten.

Die 11 Tracks des fünften Albums von Michael Nau fügen sich zu einem schönen Bild zusammen. Die Texte regen den Hörer immer wieder zum Nachdenken an. Sie sind introspektiv, aber vage und ergebnisoffen. Der Indierock-Hintergrund zeigt Anzeichen von Psych-Soul-Einflüssen mit trockenen und druckvollen Drums, üppigen Synthesizer-Linien und einer geschmackvollen, verbgetränkten Vokalproduktion. Nau's Gesang bewegt sich irgendwo zwischen dem Singen vor Publikum, dem Erzählen von Geschichten für einen geliebten Menschen und dem Grübeln über sich selbst. Die entspannte Einstellung des Singer-Songwriters zum Plattenmachen ist im Sound zu hören. Aufgenommen von dem erfahrenen Produzent und Tontechniker Adrien Olsen (The Killers, Lucy Dacus, Fruit Bats) in seinem Studio Montrose Recording in Richmond, Virginia, mit Musikern, die im Laufe der Jahre schon bei Naus verschiedenen Aufnahmen und Tourneen mitgewirkt hatten.

Altered Circuits' next release comes by way of Bologna-to-Berlin transplant Jacopo Latini. On the Motherboard EP he combines stubby drums and sultry, efficient basslines with richly hued synth work. Once the cuts get going, a tapestry of melody reveals itself: gated leads are accompanied by burbling arpeggios, momentous chord progressions and bright pads that crawl in and out. The patches often incline to the bright and dreamy but are deployed with restraint; in the same vein, concealed and aloof vocal samples get sprinkled in. These techniques - staples for the artist - add an inscrutable quality to his work's mood. It is dance music that feels direct on the surface yet hides more ambiguous emotions underneath. Being a DJ was Latini's first approach to the electronic genres, and it arguably still is his main inspiration - it even occurs he writes tracks with a specific venue in mind. Since starting over a decade ago, and having meanwhile swapped the local Italian stages for the international ones, he has amassed a ton of analogue gear to help him do so. On this occasion, he plugged in his Roland D-50, Moog Sub 37 and microKorg XL, among other favorites, to take on progressive, trance and tech house. "Motherboard", "High Voltage", "It Comes In The Morning", and "Dual Effect" make for a diverse selection but have indeed the same objective: the club floor.

Robert Hood's techno and Femi Kuti's Afrobeat intertwine in a new form where jazz-grooves reign supreme. For the fourth season of La Compagnie des Indes & Sourdoreille "Variations" live series of creations for France TV, the duo were united around the singer and producer James Brown, performing a tribute to the legendary Godfather of Soul who passed away in 2006. This "Variations" album is the live recording of this unique collaboration and performance, capturing a very special moment in time.

The evening witnessed a meeting of two icons in their own genres: one with synths and drum machines, the other on saxophone: Robert Hood and Femi Kuti embody excellence in their respective fields and the pair combined to make something truly unique, soulful, funky and spontaneous. Recorded in one 30+ minute take, "Variations" is embellished by Femi's exquisitely free-flowing yet restrained saxophone, whilst Hood anchors the groove with layers of pads and kicks with the long-time mastery of a true DJ.

Alongside Jeff Mills and Mad Mike, Hood is one of the original members of Detroit techno group Underground Resistance. His style is characterised by minimalist and experimental tones with an assertive groove. Throughout the '90s, he helped pave the way for techno to flourish - giving birth to minimal techno with his seminal album "Minimal Nation". Since then, he has been consistently forwarding electronic music culture with ground-breaking productions, sensational performances and his M-Plant label.

Alongside him, Femi Kuti takes on every musical style with his saxophone, which he plays with a virtuoso touch: pop, soul, electronic music and Afrobeat, of which he is one of the leading exponents. The son of Afrobeat singer and political activist Fela Kuti, he has inherited his father's zeal for both music and activism, where he continues to highlight the plight of most Nigerians living conditions in the oil rich state.

With "Variations" the duo capture an explosive combination on a special night in Paris 4 years ago, November 2019, filmed at the ADP Group headquarters (Paris Aéroport - Charles de Gaulle (CDG) - Roissy).

"It is so amazing when a vision comes to fruition. I enjoyed collaborating with the legendary Femi Kuti for this special project." Robert Hood

Black Truffle is pleased to announce the first LP documenting master khene player Sombat Simla, the label’s first collaboration with Japanese sound artist, field recordist, and researcher Yasuhiro Morinaga. Simla is known in Thailand as one of the greatest living players of the khene, the ancient bamboo mouth organ particularly associated with Laos but found throughout East and Southeast Asia. His virtuosic and endlessly inventive renditions of traditional and popular songs have earned him the title ‘the god of khene’, and he is known for his innovative techniques and ability to mimic other instruments and non-musical sound, including, as a writer for the Bangkok Post describes, ‘the sound of a train journey, complete with traffic crossings and the call of barbecue chicken vendors’. Aided by a group of Thai friends, in 2018 Morinaga travelled to the Maha Sarakham province in the Isan region, arranging to meet Simla in a remote spot surrounded by rice fields. Then and there, Morinaga recorded the solo performances heard on the LP’s first side. At Morinaga’s request, Simla began with a rendition of the train song ‘Lot Fay Tay Lang’. Beginning with long tones that seem to mimic a train horn, the performance soon moves into a rapid chugging rhythm, interrupted at points by vocal exclamations and the remarkable timbre Simla produces by singing through the khene. To listeners unfamiliar with Thai music, the pentatonic scales and rhythmic chug of many of the pieces can have surprising echoes of the rawest American blues. The range of Simla’s performance is astonishing, moving from compulsive rhythmic workouts on single chords and rapid-fire runs of single notes to gentle sing-song melodies, and using a fascinating array of techniques, including a rapid tremolo that sometimes sounds almost electronic. Later the same day, Morinaga followed Simla to a cattle shed where he met percussionist Mali Moodsansee to play some molam (folk songs found in Isan and neighbouring Laos), with Pattardon Ekchatree joining in on cymbal. At times, these molam songs have a wistful, romantic character quite different from the solo pieces. Backed up by the propulsive hand drums, Simla again dazzles with his melodic fluidity, rhythmic drive, and wild displays of unorthodox technique. As Morinaga writes, ‘It felt like they had been playing together so long that their breathing was perfectly in sync, and it was like listening to the precision of James Brown’s funk’. Accompanied by extensive liner notes by Morinaga detailing the day of recording, this is a stunning document of a master musician, seamlessly integrating tradition and innovation.

Drawing inspiration from his homeland Germany, with a particular focus on the organic house and techno scene of Berlin, Sanoi has meticulously crafted Echoes Of Home to reflect his diverse influences.

Echoes Of Home finds Sanoi challenging conventional music production norms, steering clear of familiar tropes and techniques. The result is eight carefully curated tracks with a rich tapestry of ambient layers, recorded sounds, and melodies that range from quirky and playful to nostalgic and melancholic. The finely crafted drums take centre stage, emphasising the unique groove that defines Sanoi's distinctive sound.

The album traverses warm, bouncy & melodic house music, with touches of deep-house, techno & organica. While largely instrumental, the album’s centrepiece is a collaboration with Christchurch artist Beacon Bloom on the track ‘Silver’. Both artists previously collaborated on the popular single ‘Club Jesus’, once again featuring Ryan Ferris' delicate yet strong vocals. The final track on the album, ‘Moon Boy’ offers a few moments of quiet as the journey draws to an end with just Sanoi & his piano.

Created at his home in Auckland, and road-tested across multiple live performances across NZ & Australia over the past two years, Echoes Of Home sees Sanoi’s composition & production step up another level. Available on limited edition vinyl, the digital release also includes an eclectic collection of four remixes from acclaimed New Zealand artists micronism & Paige Julia, alongside German producers Gabriel Ananda & Fabian Krooss.

Over the past five years, Sanoi has become an integral part of the growing underground house and techno scene in New Zealand, all the while expanding his international presence with releases on labels Bar 25, Stil Vor Talent, Magician On Duty, and Zehn Records. Sanoi's music has already gained support from student radio stations in New Zealand and has caught the attention of tastemaker DJs worldwide

Im September 1968 spielte AMON DÜÜL bei den "Internationalen Essener Songtagen", dem ersten fünftägigen Rockfestival Deutschlands, das der spätere Ohr-Labelchef Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser initiiert hatte. Der Berliner Musikproduzent Peter Meisel hörte und sah die Band dort und nahm sie spontan unter Vertrag, zusammen mit Tangerine Dream und Birth Control. AMON DÜÜL stand der Berliner "Kommune 1" nahe und entstand zu einer Zeit, da jeder ein Künstler war, der einer sein wollte. Und so konnte auch jeder, der wollte, ein Musiker sein. Zusammen, im Kollektiv, war alles möglich. Angelika und Helge Filanda, Wolfgang Krischke, Ulrich Leopold, Rainer und Ella Bauer, Peter Leopold sowie Uschi Obermaier spielten in Meisels Studio zeitgemäß high in the sky eine Session ein, die alle Regeln durchbrach und alle Hörgewohnheiten auf den Kopf stellte. Die Aufnahmen wanderten zunächst in den Giftschrank, erst ein Jahr später traute sich Meisel, sie unter dem Titel Psychedelic Underground zu veröffentlichen. Hier ist die Fortsetzung: Die Doppel-LP Disaster/Lüüd Noma erschien 1972, als es die Gruppe AMON DÜÜL schon nicht mehr gab, und sie präsentiert weitere Aufnahmen aus derselben Session. Alle Titel sind surreale, unübersetzbare Wortspielereien, die Stücke sind klanglich besser organisiert, weniger fragmentarisch, klarer voneinander abgesetzt und ausgefeilter nachbearbeitet als auf der ersten LP - der ausgenzwinkernd mitgelieferte Hinweis, alle Störungen und Fehler seien beabsichtigt, hat aber gleichwohl einen wahren Kern. Nun sind diese denkwürdigen Aufnahmen wieder zugänglich, remastered von den analogen Originalbändern. Sie sind das Dokument einer Zeitstimmung, die unwiederholbar geblieben ist. Wer sich für die Anfänge des Krautrocks ernsthaft interessiert, kommt an diesem Album nicht vorbei - das Disaster wartet auf Sie!

Red Vinyl

EVOLV is a visionary window into the mind of Dubfire, the journey of the ‘hybrid’ being and its evolution. Last year in October, an 11-track debut album was released on his long-standing SCI+TEC imprint. And now, just over a year later, Grammy award winning producer Dubfire returns to that sonic discourse, drafting in an impressive array of names to re-interpret the material, and accompanied by Dubfire's new audio-visual EVOLV show which picked up where the critically acclaimed electronic performance experience HYBRID had left off.

The eclectic package will include such notables as Glaskin, Arjun Vagale, Nadia Struiwigh, Mathimidori (dub alias of Mathias Kaden), Maral, Decka, Carl Craig, Truncate, Drumcell, Chris Liebing, Radio Slave and Luke Slater who have all given the original music in their own unique style.

With a career spanning over 3 decades, Dubfire has achieved global success as an artist with relentless drive, talent, and intuition. Pioneering commercial notoriety came initially as one half of the Grammy Award-winning (2001) duo Deep Dish, before embarking on a truly groundbreaking solo career in 2007. A career filled with timeless tracks include his early works, ‘RibCage’ (2007), ‘Emissions' (2007), ‘Roadkill’ (2007) and the highly acclaimed ‘Grindhouse’ (2009) remix from Radio Slave which led to a host of other notable projects over the years.
Collaborative work highlights include projects with Miss Kitten, Luke Slater, Flug, and Oliver Huntemann, as well as co-producing two songs on Underworld’s Barking album. A true artist, he has always been heavily invested in exploring performance technology, unveiled to wide praise with his HYBRID live show. A two-year world tour commenced in 2015 and was followed by his retrospective album, A Decade Of Dubfire (2017), a celebration of his immense output during the first 10 years of solo artist stardom. EVOLV is Dubfire’s debut solo artist album.

EVOLV is a visionary window into the mind of Dubfire, the journey of the ‘hybrid’ being and its evolution. Last year in October, an 11-track debut album was released on his long-standing SCI+TEC imprint. And now, just over a year later, Grammy award winning producer Dubfire returns to that sonic discourse, drafting in an impressive array of names to re-interpret the material, and accompanied by Dubfire's new audio-visual EVOLV show which picked up where the critically acclaimed electronic performance experience HYBRID had left off.

The eclectic package will include such notables as Glaskin, Arjun Vagale, Nadia Struiwigh, Mathimidori (dub alias of Mathias Kaden), Maral, Decka, Carl Craig, Truncate, Drumcell, Chris Liebing, Radio Slave and Luke Slater who have all given the original music in their own unique style.

With a career spanning over 3 decades, Dubfire has achieved global success as an artist with relentless drive, talent, and intuition. Pioneering commercial notoriety came initially as one half of the Grammy Award-winning (2001) duo Deep Dish, before embarking on a truly groundbreaking solo career in 2007. A career filled with timeless tracks include his early works, ‘RibCage’ (2007), ‘Emissions' (2007), ‘Roadkill’ (2007) and the highly acclaimed ‘Grindhouse’ (2009) remix from Radio Slave which led to a host of other notable projects over the years.
Collaborative work highlights include projects with Miss Kitten, Luke Slater, Flug, and Oliver Huntemann, as well as co-producing two songs on Underworld’s Barking album. A true artist, he has always been heavily invested in exploring performance technology, unveiled to wide praise with his HYBRID live show. A two-year world tour commenced in 2015 and was followed by his retrospective album, A Decade Of Dubfire (2017), a celebration of his immense output during the first 10 years of solo artist stardom. EVOLV is Dubfire’s debut solo artist album.

Led by musical director Scotty Barnhart, the Count Basie Orchestra keeps Basie’s unmistakable style alive and thriving around the world. In the great traction of the Basie Swings albums comes this explosive album of collaborations with some of the greatest living blues and jazz artists, Basie Swings The Blues. In preparation for these sessions, Barnhart took a pilgrimage to the Mississippi Delta to immerse himself in the land where blues began. The resulting album is joyful mix of downhome blues with the deep swing and sophistication that only The Count Basie Orchestra can provide. As Count Basie famously once said, “our blues will make your blues go away.” Produced by Barnhart along with Grammy-winning producer John Burk (Ray Charles Genius Love Company), and Grammy-winning drummer/producer Steve Jordan (The Rolling Stones), the album brings together Buddy Guy, Bobby Rush, Keb’ Mo’, Shemekia Copeland, Robert Cray, Charlie Musselwhite, Betty LaVette, Ledisi, George Benson, and others to bring the blues and swing back together for a set that jumps and jives with an energy not heard since Louis Jordan and T-Bone Walker lit up stages in the ’40s and ’50s.

Led by the legendary pianist and composer Chick Corea - the venerated 27-time Grammy winner and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master - The Elektric Band stormed onto the jazz scene in the mid-1980s, making an immediate and lasting impact on the genre. With their electrifying performances and innovative blend of jazz fusion, the group produced a series of albums that set the bar for excellence in contemporary jazz. Featuring a core lineup of virtuosic musicians - John Patitucci on bass, Dave Weckl on drums, Eric Marienthal on saxophone and Frank Gambale on guitar - the group created a dynamic and electrifying sound that came to define the jazz fusion style. Their collective musicianship was on full display on each album, as they seamlessly blended complex compositions with captivating improvisations. With each outing, the band explored new sonic territories, incorporating elements of funk, Latin and Afro music, and pop sensibilities. Their 5-album studio discography is a masterful tapestry of multi-layered music, showcasing their creativity, innovation, and musicianship. A restlessly creative, eternally youthful and uncommonly generous spirit, Armando Anthony “Chick” Corea left behind an incredibly rich legacy of recorded music when he passed away on February 9, 2021. The music of the Elektric Band continues to inspire and influence musicians to this day, cementing their legacy as one of the most important and iconic jazz fusion bands of all time

City Talk is the new self produced album from Zac Farro’s Halfnoise. City Talk arrives via Farro's Nashville artist collective Congrats Records and follows 2019’s critically acclaimed Motif LP.

Farro, perhaps best known as the drummer of Paramore, has been honing his skills outside of his main gig for years now. He’s released a steady flow of Halfnoise music, he’s produced and played with Becca Mancari and Elke, he's directed videos for Paramore, Hayley Williams, Elke and Halfnoise and he’s a consummate photographer – releasing a photo book in 2020 In Transit and shooting his bands and others, including Local Natives who are currently using Farro’s images as their promo shots.

The LP features a gatefold jacket and exclusive neon green LP.

Having met as teenagers touring the late-‘90s North American post-punk scene, guitarist/vocalist Sean Madigan Hoen and drummer Dan Jaquint established an ongoing musical collaboration that for years remained a mostly-private endeavor relegated to cassette-only releases. After living together in Brooklyn, the duo found themselves returning to their home state of Michigan in 2018 where they reconnected with Detroit’s music scene and formed KIND BEAST. Taking its name from the writing of Carl Jung, KIND BEAST is at once a distillation of several decades of electric guitar music and a lyrical exploration of shadow themes and deep-psyche explorations. Described by NPR affiliate WDET as “perfect for late-night freedom cruising on the outskirts of town,” the music is sophisticated and nocturnal, metabolizing ‘70s arena rock and Krautrock as readily as the post-Fugazi cannon on which its members were raised. What commences is a vast blending of rock swagger infused with a distinctly-Detroit eeriness, set to Hoen’s (a widely-published author) imagistic lyrics. Joining Hoen and Jaquint are bassist Sean Bondareff (known for a fifteen-year stint with Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels) and guitarist Martin Rodgers, fifteen years younger than the other members and who has made a name for himself as one of Detroit’s most talented guitarists. KIND BEAST pays little homage to Hoen and Jaquint’s teenage bands (Thoughts of Ionesco and Small Brown Bike, respectively) and finds itself most often compared to mature constituents of the rock/pop pantheon such as Arctic Monkeys, Spoon, and Queens of the Stone Age while discerning listeners pinpoint a deeper influence of the great indie labels of yore (Touch and Go; Dischord).

The A side of this 45, a brand new track from Aaron Frazer, is about how pressure makes diamonds. The last couple years have been really challenging, especially for those navigating relationships amidst the chaos. This song celebrates the connections of love that are strong enough to weather any storm, and the certainty that comes from making it through together. The B side features a track from Aaron's first solo LP, Introducing. Lyrically, Frazer sounds lovesick; the imagery he paints of demons "so close behind" and the repetition of these lyrics emphasize his longing. The song starts with piercing guitar, dark bass, and chime piano and Frazer himself drums throughout the song. The orchestration is swell while the strings and voices blend well with the transcendent feel of the music.

Tempo Records presents another new sublabel; TempoDubs; focussing on Techno, House and Electro. First up is the legendary Techno producer: Orlando Voorn; he's is one of the first European musicians to establish an active link with Detroit, and since the end of the 80s has proven himself as one of the most original and versatile producers of electronic music.

Dutch-Detroit producer Orlando Voorn numerous pseudonyms such as Basic Bastard, Frequency, Fix, Baruka, Balance and his Detroit Ignitor Records release as Tank with the cult Electro classic "Bite Before You Bark" track, which might be his most well known production so far.

On this release you will find the Orlando Voorn's re-fix of "Bite Before You Bark", a track with a well crafted stripped down "Detroit Electro" version. Furthermore this versatile release shows Orlando Voorn's diversity in genre's such as Electro, Techno and yes even a quality Drum and Bass / Jungle track called "So Far So Good".

This beautiful crafted LIMITED EDITION crystal clear vinyl 12" comes in a new designed Tempo Records "Logo" high quality "Kraft" outer sleeve + a white innersleeve.

All tracks mastered by Stuart Hawkes of Metropolis Mastering, London.

FULL OF HELL return with their highly anticipated new album, Garden Of Burning Apparitions. The new album, a genre-bending blitzkrieg of hardcore, grind and death metal, sees the band expand upon the very elements that have propelled FULL OF HELL to the forefront of extreme music over the last decade. Produced by Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Garden of Burning Apparitions also sees FULL OF HELL adding new dimensions to their warp-speed hellscape. Guitarist Spencer Hazard and bassist Sam DiGristine's monstrous riffs now have an added noise-rock influence, while drummer Dave Bland commands the rhythm section at blazing speeds. Lyrically, Garden of Burning Apparitions sees vocalist Dylan Walker exploring (anti)religion, life's impermanence and the fear that comes with knowing death is inescapable. "Industrial Messiah Complex” grinds organized religion to a pulp in under 90 seconds, while Walker contemplates the commodification of spirituality seen in America’s vast network of garish mega-churches and how these practices are at odds with true spirituality. Meanwhile, “Reeking Tunnels” rides a strident noise rock riff down into the sewer. It’s a metaphor for the physical and mental space we become trapped in when we live in a perpetual state of fear and hate. Elsewhere, justifiable ochlophobia propels the guttural death metal blast of “Eroding Shell.” Lyrically, the song seeks to capture our fear of the violent, ignorant mob—a scene glimpsed far too often in this volatile era. In the end, FULL OF HELL’s boundary smashing has paid off again. “I think it’s good that we tried not to pigeonhole ourselves early on,” Walker reflects. “Because now, 10 years in, we have the opportunity to make whatever record we want, within reason, and people will follow along.”