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It’s time for a new Reinhard Voigt EP on Kompakt? It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago since we last heard from him but then again, time is running! His latest release on Kompakt "Was wir spüren" (KOM 402) was released in May 2019. From there we encountered Reinhard's musical work mainly in the form of various digital reissues or in union with his brother Wolfgang together as Voigt & Voigt. Then in August of 2021, a glimmer of musical life from Reinhard reached his loyal fans in the form of a continuation of his RV ultra-minimalist concept series as "RV 05 / RV 06" via our KX imprint.

So that brings us to the present. Two new tracks that preach and spin on the classic Reinhard Voigt sound. Tracks that are as relentless as they are consistent to his signature stoic, radical, minimal techno. "Cha Cha Club" creaks and stomps along so mercilessly that they leave us impatient for the reopening of a dark, foggy club room and to have the bitter taste of gin and chemicals on our palates. Bass drum in, bass drum out - sometimes that's all it takes to be happy.

With "Die Frau, die nach Deutz ging" Reinhard discloses a small tale in the title...that this is the continuation of "Der Mann, der nie nach Deutz kam", a track from “Was wir spüren”. Elements recall Reinhard Voigt's SPEICHER tracks; sovereign, modern techno, monotonous in principle, but here and there interrupted and structured by unexpected signals and sounds in such a way that the track will also work on larger dance floors.

Eine reguläre, brandneue Reinhard Voigt 12inch? Das ist nicht nur gefühlt schon eine ganze Weile her. Time ist ja bekanntlich running. Seit “Was wir spüren” (KOM 402), erschienen im Mai 2019, begegnete uns Reinhards musikalisches Schaffen vor allem in Form diverser digitaler Wiederveröffentlichungen oder im Duett mit seinem Bruder Wolfgang als Voigt & Voigt. Im August letzten Jahres erreichte die treue Fangemeinde dann wenigstens ein kleines Lebenszeichen in Form der “RV 05 / RV 06”, der Fortsetzung seiner ultra-minimalistischen Konzeptreihe auf KX.

Nun also zwei neue Tracks, die so unerbittlich wie konsequent den klassischen Reinhard Voigt-Sound predigen und weiterspinnen – stoisch, radikal, minimal. “Cha Cha Club” knarzt und stampft dabei so gnadenlos voran, dass wir die Wiedereröffnung von geschlossenen Räumen voller Nebel und Dunkelheit und mit dem bitteren Geschmack von Gin und Chemikalien an unseren Gaumen kaum erwarten können. Bassdrum rein, Bassdrum raus, mehr braucht es manchmal nicht zum glücklich sein.

Mit “Die Frau, die nach Deutz ging” erzählt uns Reinhard zumindest im Titel die Fortsetzung von “Der Mann, der nie nach Deutz kam”, einem Track von “Was wir spüren”. Hier erinnert manches an Voigts SPEICHER-Tracks, souveräner, moderner Techno, vom Grundsatz her monoton, aber hier und da von unerwarteten Signalen und Tönen so unterbrochen und strukturiert, dass er auch auf größeren Tanzflächen funktioniert.

These two songs were written, recorded and
mixed during the sessions for Arab Strap’s first
album in forever, ‘As Days Get Dark’.
 As much as they loved them, they couldn't find a
place for them on the final album. Maybe it’s
because they seem to have their own distinct
identities, but sometimes a song just sounds better
on its own, when it’s not part of a crowd and vying
for attention.
 So, to celebrate the anniversary of the album’s
release, Rock Action present ‘As Days Get Dark’s
two runaway loners; a couple of black sheep who
might not click with the rest of the family but, even
though they aren’t very happy, are still worth a
cuddle.
 Coloured vinyl 7” with digital download code.

Since the demise of his previous band, Ultimate
Painting, Jack Cooper - under his Modern Nature
guise - has never stopped looking ahead,
exploring and reaching for something further.
Since 2019, he’s released an EP, mini album
‘Annual’, one full length LP, one 7” and three live
cassettes - in the process mapping out astonishing
new terrain. ‘Island Of Noise’ presents an obvious
new peak in his discography.
 180g recycled vinyl in 3mm spined sleeve printed
on recycled board.
 “Mesmerising... A treasure trove of interesting
musical ideas, as well as a source of restorative
solace.” - The Guardian (****)
 “On ‘Island Of Noise’ Modern Nature’s Jack
Cooper folds together much of what he’s already
done - illuminated pop, exploratory improvisations,
post-Canterbury prog - and locates a common
thread, expanding outwards with the help of freemusic pioneers saxophonist Evan Parker and
bassist John Edwards.” - Uncut (9/10)
 “Jack Cooper captures a sense of mystery and
magic on his second album as Modern Nature,
using gentle folk rock as the base for a subtle
evocation of peacefulness.” - The Times (****)

Dutch symphonic metal band Delain released their third studio album We Are the Others in 2012 to positive reviews from music critics. The album title was inspired by the murder of 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster, whose murder was likely a hate crime due to her being part of the goth subculture. The album spawned two single releases: “Get The Devil Out of Me” and the title track, for which the band shot a music video that included many well-known people from the metal scene, including George Oosthoek, Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt and Rob van der Loo. The album features guest contributions by the likes of Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory) and Marko Hietala (Nightwish) and was produced by Jacob Hellner (aka Tripod), who is best known for producing most of Rammstein’s albums.

As a confluence of ideas and methods, WILD ROCKET endeavour to interpret the subtle signals of the universe - the interplanetary vibrations - and present them as brash manifestations of sound. Scientists and Shaman alike have endeavoured to interpret the universal whispers, to elucidate meaning from the measurable and the sensible. It is known that to measure and interpret is to alter and colour those signals and this is what drives the development of WILD ROCKET's sound and interpretation.
FORMLESS ABYSS showcases the band's unflinching pummelling style, drifting from repetitive blows to unhinged swirls of din yet always remaining innately infectious and perhaps surprisingly danceable. The record is presented as a continuous piece in three parts.
The title track A FORMLESS ABYSS appears here for the first time in recorded form – a behemoth of a tune which builds around a drone, joined by dual drums and minimal bass locked into a repetitive groove. A groove that is slowly expanded via multiple guitars and synthesis. Vocals eventually join at just the right moment imploring the listener to “leave your criticisms down” and realise “we're all equal now” in the formless abyss or the place between worlds where our earthly preoccupation with human differences are meaningless. We're all in it together, whether we realise it or not.
The second track INTERPLANETARY VIBRATIONS may seem familiar to some in a simpler form. The expanded line up and extended development of the core theme brings a new interpretation and experience that is more than worthwhile. The track's vocals juxtapose the hybrid Germanic language of English with the ancient native Irish language of Gaeilge. Both used to promote meaning and interpretation of the interplanetary vibrations felt by all. The track features large dynamic shifts and changes of pace as the message that “it's time to leave” propagated by the Earth itself becomes more frantic and more desperate. The track culminates in a wash of smashed gongs and distorted guitars, leaving the listener to interpret the message for themselves. Should we leave, to protect ourselves or the Earth itself?
The final track FUTURE ECHOES is a doom/kraut juggernaut coming in at just under twenty minutes. Only one question is asked and none answered, are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of previous civilisations over and over, or can we find the cracks of light that echo through and show us a new way forward? We're left in a swirling formless abyss to consider who we are and where we're headed. Will we ever reach the cosmic truth? Or will we be continuously mocked by the cosmic trout?
WILD ROCKET have proven themselves on the live circuit, playing with such visionaries as Ufomammut, Slomatics, Earth, Boris, The Cosmic Dead and old school rock legends Girlschool. One of the heaviest bands to emerge from the melting pot of talent in the Irish music scene, WILD ROCKET's reputation precedes them wherever they travel and audiences and venues alike are left to piece themselves together in the discombobulation.

Second and last pressing, pink, blue, black splattered vinyl ‘Europe ’19’ is a collection of tracks taken from King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s European bootlegs from 2019.

Diablo Swing Orchestra is an Swedish eight-piece ensemble known for pairing elements of jazz, swing, classical, progressive rock with just about everything in between. Since the start in 2003 the band has released four studio albums pushing musical boundaries with humor, creativity and a healthy dose of positive aggression. Together they have dug deep into each genre explored on the 13 tracks on the album and worked hard to find the appealing characteristics within that genre and forged it into their own sound. This approach has resulted in a impressive list of guest musicians and some very interesting clashes between sounds which, at least on paper, shouldn’t work. But listeners with an open mind will be rewarded since there are a lot of goodies to be found on the album ranging from the tribal assault that is “War Painted Valentine” to the Zeppelin gospel infused “Snake Oil Baptism”. The band presents new interesting ways of looking upon rock and metal music while managing to stay quite accessible in spite of the fact they’re often described as avant-garde metal.

Diablo Swing Orchestra is an Swedish eight-piece ensemble known for pairing elements of jazz, swing, classical, progressive rock with just about everything in between. Since the start in 2003 the band has released four studio albums pushing musical boundaries with humor, creativity and a healthy dose of positive aggression. Together they have dug deep into each genre explored on the 13 tracks on the album and worked hard to find the appealing characteristics within that genre and forged it into their own sound. This approach has resulted in a impressive list of guest musicians and some very interesting clashes between sounds which, at least on paper, shouldn’t work. But listeners with an open mind will be rewarded since there are a lot of goodies to be found on the album ranging from the tribal assault that is “War Painted Valentine” to the Zeppelin gospel infused “Snake Oil Baptism”. The band presents new interesting ways of looking upon rock and metal music while managing to stay quite accessible in spite of the fact they’re often described as avant-garde metal.

All-conquering Dutch superstars Kraak & Smaak have taken the electronic music world by storm, sealing their international pedigree with a slew of sought-after tracks, remixes, and killer collaborations (Parcels, Mayer Hawthorne and many more). Their live show has seen them play every festival and club worth a mention from Glastonbury to Coachella and beyond. Before that, the three guys from Leiden released their debut album 'Boogie Angst', which established them in the spotlight and led to the longstanding support they receive from tastemakers worldwide today. This latest 7" release showcases a couple of gems from the era that started it all.

"Cape" was recorded in five days
at a cottage in west barnstable, massachusetts,
with ciat-lonbarde instruments, norns and op-1,
the sounds of surroundings, fused with memories,
pleasant and bittersweet,
finding fragments of what once was.

The sole, full length album from Loney Hutchins's most productive era in
the 1970's- Tracked over 3 days in '79 at Lee Hazen's Studio by the Pond
by Jack 'Stack-a-Track' Grochmal - the resulting country rock album was
too folksy for LA and too electric for Nashville
Featuring a rhythm section from Dolly Parton's live band during her 'Jolene'
period, and searing hot country licks, this reissue is restored from the original 2"
multitrack tapes, including two never before heard tracks. CD comes in digipak
format.

Reissue of a 1969 trio recording by American guitarist Jim Hall, who
resides at the top of the jazz guitar pantheon
At the time of his death in 2013 at the age of 83, he had long been considered
one of the jazz greats, a major influence on generations of jazz guitarists. It
seems that virtually every major musician wanted to play with Hall. His work as a
sideman ranged from swing era giant Ben Webster to new music pioneer Ornette
Coleman. HIs recording credits include a series of classic albums with groups
headed by Jimmy Guiffre, Sonny Rollins, and Bill Evans; Hall often spoke of
Rollins and Evans as two of his major influences.
This intimate June 1969 musical get-together was due in large extent to the close
friendship between the Hall and legendary German writer/ critic and producer
Joachim-Ernst Berendt. As Hall, his wife and daughter were visiting him in Berlin,
Berendt noticed that, although he had been recording extensively with a number
of major jazz figures over the last years, including several collaborative gettogethers, Hall had not recorded an album solely under his own name in over a
decade. Berendt immediately set up a trio recording for Hall that included two
internationally renowned musicians with whom Hall had previously worked, the
American expatriate bassist Jimmy Woode and Swiss- French drummer Daniel
Humair.
In such a transparent setting, Hall unfurled his finest qualities. Humair
perceptively summed it up: Hall played with "more clarity, more purity, more
sensitivity" than any other guitarist of the period. It resulted in an album of
intensely introspective music.

TRANSMISSION 2LP EDITION OF PORCUPINE TREE'S 1991 DEBUT
ALBUM
Having recently announced that Snapper Music will be representing
Porcupine Tree's Transmission label worldwide, new CD & LP reissues of
the band's extensive catalogue continue to roll out throughout 2021
Porcupine Tree's 1991 debut album 'On The Sunday Of Life' is an album that
stands up as a modern-day pop-psych classic.
With acid warped lyrics courtesy of Alan Duffy (the brains behind the late
lamented Imaginary Records label) the album is a surreal delight containing gems
such as "Jupiter Island" & "Linton Samuel Dawson" filled with quirky melodies,
effected vocals & trippy backwards guitar work. "Nine Cats", the undoubted
masterpiece of the album, is pure Edward Lear styled psychedelia.
'On The Sunday Of Life' also hints at the direction the band would later take with
more progressive influenced material such as the epic "Radioactive Toy".
Porcupine Tree released their last album, 'The Incident', in 2009, marking another
step forward in the incredible journey of the band that began as a solo studio
project created by Steven Wilson in the late eighties to a multi grammy nominated
act & one of the world's most revered live bands, selling out arenas across the
globe & wowing fans with their incredible performances.
"Refreshingly original – a wonderful musical adventure" Record Collector "A debut
disc of unearthly delights… deadly seducing stuff" NME 2LP 140g Gatefold
Edition

All Them Witches are known for their loud and lengthy live shows - 2020
found the band releasing their critically acclaimed album, Nothing As The
Ideal - An album release from this band would traditionally be followed by
a lengthy 18-month tour across the globe
Due to an international pandemic, the band's touring plans were brought to a halt.
This did not stop All Them Witches from assembling in a studio to broadcast a
live set for their fans. The set was roundly received as an amazing performance
and fans immediately inquired as to whether or not this show would be available
outside of the broadcast. New West Records is proud to present All Them
Witches - LIVE ON THE INTERNET.

Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal is a 5LP vinyl boxset
celebrating the prolific body of work Casal left behind over the course of
14 studio albums
Recording sessions for the project began in February 2020 led by co-producers
Dave Schools of Widespread Panic and seven time Grammy- Award winning
recording engineer/ producer Jim Scott at PLYRZ Studios in Valencia, CA.Over
forty artists appear on the tribute including Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks,
Jonathan Wilson, Phil Lesh and The Terrapin Family Band, Steve Earle, Warren
Haynes, Jaime Wyatt, and Shooter Jennings among numerous others. The first
single and video from the recording was captured during the initial sessions in
February 2020. It features Billy Strings with Circles Around the Sun performing
"All The Luck In The World.

On their Dualtone Records debut 'Sticking With It', Seattle-based sevenpiece The Dip deliver the kind of unbridled soul/R&B that hits on every
emotional level, inciting everything from raw catharsis to heavy-hearted
reckoning to wildly exuberant joy
In a major breakthrough for the band, the self-produced album fully channels the
vitality of the freewheeling live show that's earned them an ardent following over
the last decade, expertly matching their sophisticated musicianship with a
fantastically loose energy. When met with The Dip's lyrical reflection on matters
both timely (the crush of late capitalism, the glaring need for true community)
and undeniably timeless (the vast complexities of love and loss), the resulting
body of work captures the mood of the current moment while offering immediate
escape into a more elevated state of mind.

coloured vinyl

Newest Ruffneck Prime (DJ Ruffneck) at his own label - a great hardtechno banger!! Available on limited coloured vinyl!!

Support from: SNTS, Richie Hawtin, Esther Duijn, Paula Temple, Dax J, Jerome Keys, Vishscale, Edo Messina, Obscur Antism, Joseph Capriati, Rats On Acid, D.A.V.E. The Drummer, DJ Scot Project, DJ Hellraiser, Jack Wax, DJ Wank and more !!

In the late '70s, three do-right women from Cleveland forged a brief partnership with Ohio's everything man, Lou Ragland. Unlike the prefabricated singing combos of the day, Lily Pearson, Annette Warren, and Avetta Henry swapped lead duties as situation demanded. When a Ragland-centric publicity stunt preempted a concert appearance, Love Apple disintegrated, abandoning this rehearsal tape within the lo-fi confines of Thomas Boddie's cherished Eastside studio. Devoid of bass, the sparse instrumentation (only Lou on guitar and piano and Hot Chocolate's Tony Roberson on drums) accentuates each vocalist's aptitude, showcasing some of Ragland's finest songwriting in the process. During any given take, Ragland can be heard calling audibles, directing his singers to repeat a passage, or lending his own sweet tenor to the vocal mix. Never intended for release, Love Apple's six-song sketch is the perfect companion to I Travel Alone, bringing Ragland's unique musical vision into sharper focus.

On a balmy Brazilian night in February, 1981, a crowd gathered in Rio de Janeiro's Gávea neighbourhood under the iconic dome of the city's Planetário (Planetarium). Alongside musicians like Helio Delmiro and Milton Nascimento (who were in the audience that night), they were there to see the great "Bruxo" (sorcerer) Hermeto Pascoal live in concert, with his new band formation which would become known simply as "O Grupo" (The Group).

Growing up on a farm in Brazil's northeastern state of Alagoas, Hermeto has always been deeply in tune with, and inspired by nature. In his youth he would make his own flutes to play call and response with the birds and frogs. He would build scrap-metal instruments in his blacksmith grandfather's forge, and sit for hours by the lake listening to the sounds of nature. On the Planetário Da Gávea recordings though, Hermeto is cast as the "sorcerer" or the "cosmic emissary" (as the great Brazilian guitarist Guinga once called him), exhibiting an intuitive sense of harmony and melody beyond that of our own world.

"Tudo e Som" (All is Sound). It's a phrase Hermeto regularly returns to, and it points to the fact that not only can music be made from anything, but also alludes to something much more profound. It's an understanding of the universe as being in a state of constant movement, forever vibrating at the quantum level, like the string of a guitar, or a saxophone's reed. "Tudo e Som" is a declaration of the mystical and spiritual power of sound, as a fundamentally vibrational force.

The series of concerts at the Planetário marked the birth of "O Grupo" which would last with the same line-up (apart from Zé Eduardo Nazário) for the next eleven years. Every member of O Grupo was a phenomenal musician in their own right. It was one of saxophonist/flautist Carlos Malta's first gigs with the group, and the concert unusually featured two drummers, Zé Eduardo Nazário and Marcio Bahia. Nazário, from São Paulo, had played with Hermeto during the mid-70s (as well as with Milton Nascimento, Egberto Gismonti and Toninho Horta, to name a few). Bahia though had just joined the group. Acclaimed keyboard player Jovino Santos Neto was on keyboards, piano and organ, and the great Itiberê Zwarg (who remains in Hermeto's band to this day), played bass. Rounding the group off was the percussionist Pernambuco. During this period (up until the early 90s) the group would rehearse for hours on end, virtually seven days a week, with a total dedication to music and Hermeto's musical vision.

Most of the compositions performed that night at the Planetário had never been recorded before, and many are unique to this album, including the wild 'Homônimo Sintróvio', the exaltant 'Samba Do Belaqua', 'Vou Pra Lá e Pra Cá' and 'Bombardino', which features Hermeto's wonderfully absurd call and response mouthpiece soliloquy. Then there's the stunning 7/4 Samba 'Jegue' which builds with inventive dissonance, before releasing yet another celestially colourful, celebratory refrain. The show also features the first recorded performances of 'Era Pra Ser e Não Foi' and 'Ilza na Feijoada' (inspired by Hermetos' wife Ilza's famed black bean and meat stew), which Hermeto later recorded on his 1984 studio album "Lagoa Da Canoa Município De Arapiraca".

Dubbed by Miles Davis as "one of the most important musicians on the planet", a Hermeto Pascoal live show was (and still is) an experience like no other. Across the recording of the Planetário concert, wild improvisation meets groovy, virtuosic vamping on progressive, extended psychedelic jams. The tracks are generally built around a beautiful, transcendent melody; instantly recognisable as being Hermeto's, and for the most part, the musicians then solo over extended two chord vamps. There's a plethora of powerfully delivered rhythms, wild solos and the performances are punctuated by Hermeto's unpredictable, at times comical sonic antics.

Over forty years since this historic happening, Far Out Recordings is overjoyed to release this magical recording of Hermeto Pascoal e Grupo Live at Planetário Da Gávea, on double vinyl LP, CD and digitally for a February 4th 2022 release.

Genetic Funk and Mr V present The Believe EP, a deep, soulful, spoken word groover that gets a sublime make-over from the mighty Atjazz. Jazz injected, ethereal business that instantly dissipates any worries as you float on the hypnotic tones of this celestial track. On the flip a stripped back, tougher beats, bass and vocal led dub for the dancers.

Fresh from turning heads on Lobster Theremin, Running Out Of Steam & Distant Horizons - Dublin based M4A4 comes correct for Hot Haus Recs with 4 UKG tinged burners.

Limited edition 2000 copies.
•Cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Mastering.
•Plated at Quality Record Pressing (QRP).
•180 gr vinyl pressed by Optimal in Germany.
•Deluxe high-gloss flipback album jacket.
•Double insert using an original photo by JP Leloir from the concert.
•Each record has been visually checked to prevent defects.
Donald Byrd’s residency in Paris in 1958 to study with composer Nadia Boulanger gave rise to one of the greatest bands of his career with Bobby Jaspar on tenor sax and flute, Walter Davis, Jr. on piano, Doug Watkins on bass and Art Taylor on drums.

Sam Records is proud to present this previously unreleased concert by the Donald Byrd/Bobby Jaspar Quintet recorded during the evening dedicated to ‘Modern Jazz’ during the 1st and only Cannes Jazz Festival on July 11th 1958. The initiative for this festival was taken by Yvonne Blanc, a lady of good society who played the piano and lived between Paris and Cannes.

This festival was organised in partnership with the festival of Knokke-le-Zoute, in Belgium.

Recorded in Cannes, France, July 11, 1958.

Donald Byrd (Trumpet)

Bobby Jaspar (Flute/Tenor saxophone)

Walter Davis Jr. (Piano)

Doug Watkins (Bass)

Art Taylor (Drums)

The US-born, Norwegian-Mexican musician and producer Carmen Villain, real name Carmen Hillestad, has spent the last nine years and four albums gently unraveling song into the sound of emotional impulse. From the tilt and croon of her first two albums to the expansive warmth that flows and pulses beyond ambient in her more recent output, Hillestad's journey is artful musical deconstruction but also somehow spiritual growth.Hence new album Only Love From Now On, her fourth full-length and the culmination of a build-up that really began with the turn in sound evident from third album Both Lines Will Be Blue (2019, Smalltown Supersound) and the subsequent releases Affection In A Time Of Crisis (2020, Longform Editions) and Sketch For Winter IX: Perlita (2021, Geographic North). While the seed of her aesthetic was planted earlier, it has blossomed into something unexpected, benevolent in its composure and altogether luxuriant in its sensuality. If her themes, especially now, are wide, philosophical, and occasionally abstract, the emotional tenor of Hillestad's music is clear and purposeful. Makes sense that her key musical touchstones are dub, ambient, and cosmic jazz - flexible vehicles for tranquil wonder. While it may not contain voice or lyrics, as her two earliest records do, she describes it as, "wishing to maintain a sense of careful optimism for the future, while on the cusp of something unknown." Listening to Only Love From Now On is simultaneously comforting and alluringly strange. Partly it's the contributions of guests Arve Henriksen (trumpet, electronics) and Johanna Scheie Orellana (flutes). Partly it's the fluidity between instruments - such as clarinets - field recordings, the studio, jam, and careful composition. She calls the process a conversation with sound that occurs in her deliberate attempts to experiment with new methods, like granular synthesis, for her music-making. But mostly that strange comfort is in the peace and grateful contentment she has found via the stark recognition of her own privilege - laid bare by the pandemic. Only Love From Now On is fueled by the sense of scale in feeling small in the face of things so large, the contemplation of how the biggest impact we can have is in the people close to us, the attempt to make sure that impact is a positive one, and the choice to try to focus on love instead of fear.

Seit jeher ist die Natur für den Künstler Dominik Eulberg eine Quelle für Inspiration, ein Ort der Kraft und des Rückzugs. Nun veröffentlicht der studierte Naturschützer sein sechstes Album: Avichrom. Dieses Kunstwort bedeutet soviel wie "Vogelfarben". Denn Eulberg widmet sich diesmal den Farben im Gefieder von Vögeln, von deren über bordenden Vielfalt es elf in die deutschen Namen heimischer Vogelarten geschafft haben, von Grünfink, Goldregenpfeifer über Blaumeise bis hin zu Purpurreiher und Schwarzhalstaucher. Sie dienen ihm als Führer auf seiner musikalischen Expedition in die Ornithologie. Eulberg zeigt sich hier als ein hart arbeitender Handwerker, als jemand, der alle Schritte der Produktion von Grund auf beherrscht und versessen an kleinsten Details feilt. Avichrom ist in dieser Hinsicht konsequent für den im Westerwald lebenden DJ und Produzenten: ein Werk, das im besten Sinne des Wortes zeitlos ist. Es läuft nicht Trends der Gegenwart hinterher, sondern schreitet auf dem eigenen Weg voran, den Eulberg seit frühester Karriere eingeschlagen hat und der ihm zahlreiche Preise und Chartplatzierungen eingebracht hat. Entstanden ist mit Avichrom ein Album, das schon beim allerersten Hören berührt, das aber dennoch bei jedem weiteren Mal neue Details offenbart. Ähnlich wie bei einem Gang durch die Natur zeigen sich immer neue Strukturen, immer andere elaborierte Verästelungen denjenigen, die genau hinhören: erst mit der Zeit zeigt sich die wahre Schönheit, die sublime Komplexität.

Our Lowriders album is an amalgam of the two “This Is Lowrider Soul” CDs. We have chosen 14 tracks that represent the sounds loved by Los Angelenos, often of Mexican descent, that emanate from their fabulously designed motors while cruising Whittier Boulevard in East LA or, say, Van Nuys Boulevard in the northwest of the city.

The classic Los Angeles vocal group the Superbs are featured here on their glorious ‘It Hurts So Much’, but it is mainly the records discovered by sweet soul collectors that dominate. The Carnival label has a great reputation on this scene; Lee Williams & the Cymbals’ ‘Please Say It Isn’t So’ and ‘Follow Your Heart’ by the Manhattans are a pair of killer ballads perfect in tempo and harmony for the cruisers. Other East Coast offerings include the Persians’ captivating ‘Here It Comes’ and two gems which were only on master tape prior to their Kent releases – Melvin Hicks & The Versatiles’ ‘I’m Just Passing Time’ and the similarly unknown outfit the Exceptions, with the wailing ‘So Much In Love’.

Chicago has always been a breeding ground for black harmony groups. The Esquires saw much success at Bunky; ‘No Doubt About It’ was their equally great first release at Wand. Little Ben & The Cheers hailed from the same city; their ‘I’m Not Ready To Settle Down’ fetches big bucks due to Lowrider demand, as does ‘What Am I Gonna Do’ by the mysterious Houston Outlaws – their origins are uncertain, but must be Midwestern. The Vanguards hailed from Indianapolis and deservedly charted with ‘Somebody Please’, licensed to LA’s Whiz label. All of their seven singles on Lamp are also fine, harmonic soul tracks. The Lovers were a Bay Area group who recorded in Los Angeles with the maestro Arthur Wright; their ‘Someone’ was tipped for the charts when licensed to Philips, but flopped, leaving it ripe for revival by the soul connoisseurs. Like the Lovers, the reputation of Reuben Bell’s ‘It’s Not That Easy’ has grown over the decades and a record once considered common can now fetch hundreds of dollars – class will out.

Jimpster’s lockdown LP was made throughout 2020 and finally sees the light of day at the end of February 2022 having been delayed around 6 months due to the ongoing vinyl pressing hold ups. Birdhouse is the revered producers seventh full length LP and can be considered a full circle as he takes a step away from the dance floor to revisit his early inspirations of jazz, 70’s fusion, library music, ambient and sample-based downtempo electronica. With its soulful touches, vocal and live musician features and trademark warm Jimpster production, we also think it could be his most accomplished and accessible yet.

The opening title track sets the tone for what’s to come with rustling percussion, widescreen choral samples, dub FX and drifting pads all coming together to create a sense of optimism. The first of six vocal features comes next. Ascension with UK vocalist Oliver Night (featured on IG Culture’s recent Earthbound LP) is a simple soul jam with live bass from Nick Cohen and Jimpster’s beloved Fender Rhodes joining the lo-fi drum groove.

Next up we’re treated to Voodoo featuring brilliant young NYC MC/poet/producer who first grabbed Jimpster’s attention with his mind-melting track Signs, released in 2020 on Youngbloods. Yoh’s sung (not sung) vocal flow adds a new dimension to the Jimpster sound and is hopefully the first of many more collaborations to come with this perfect pairing. Still Believe takes us on a tripped-out journey into slo-mo, lopsided MPC beats punctuated with otherworldly vocal samples, live bass and Rhodes making for an immersive late night mood.

The first of two tracks on the LP featuring London vocalist and songwriter Cairo drops next entitled Beautiful Day. Another incredibly talented young artist introduced to Jimpster through a mutual friend, Cairo adds a deep and uplifting vibe making for a track you’ll come back to time and time again. A slow-burning nu-soul groove which will draw you in with its warm glow. Lazarusman is a Johannesburg-native poet and vocalist known for his collaborations with Stimming, Joris Voorn and Booka Shade. Here he delivers a poem called Heavy, perfectly punctuating the haunting reverb-drenched horn, Detroit-esque chord stabs and filtered drums.

Future Paradise drops the BPM's further still for a slow-stepping synth ride mixing up rising arpeggios, dubby flugel horn FX and the lushest of strings. It’s been 15 years since Jimpster and Capitol A last joined forces on Left n Right from Jimpster’s Amour LP. Known for his work with Jazzanova, King Britt, Mark De Clive-Lowe and 2008 club anthem Serve It Up on Mantis, the San Francisco native MC delivers his inimitable flow to a blunted jazzy hip hop groove making for one of the LP highlights.

Up next, Rain is an intimate and understated slice of contemporary soul music which pushes another spellbinding Cairo vocal front and centre, underpinned by loose, crunchy beats, dusty keys and moogy flourishes. Picking up the pace, Doors Of Your Heart sees Jimpster get busy chopping up a funk groove whilst Nick Cohen lays down another killer live bass line. Lush keys, modular synths and some crazy FX processing take this into the stratosphere and call to mind some of his earliest productions in the late 90’s on his seminal LP Messages From The Hub.

Winding things down, Jimpster continues to revisit some of the sounds and flavours of his earliest work on Tell You, which goes seriously deep with touches of cinematic big band horns and a looped up vocal sample. Closing out the LP we have the aptly titled Full Circle complete with sublime Metheny/Mays-style pads, muted synth arps and subtle FX to drift away to.

It's a little known fact that in 1969, Motown Records boss Berry Gordy organised a holiday trip to Jamaica for his label's stars. It's even less well known that while they were there, a number of those same stars worked with an up-and-coming local producer to record versions of established hits over instrumental riddims from the newly emergent reggae genre. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the plentiful supply of herbal entertainment during the recording sessions, the masters were believed lost. Until now. Happily, their recent re-discovery means you finally get to hear Uptight Boss and Beg For A Dollar - the massively crowd-pleasing consequences of giving a brace of mid-sixties Motown classics the boss reggae treatment!

Alright, maybe it didn't go down like that. Maybe the sound of this release was born instead out of people occasionally mishearing the name of Mako & Mr Bristow's 'Stank Soul Edits' series as 'Skank' Soul Edits. Which got them thinking. What would 'skank soul' sound like? Hello Trojan – meet Motown. Mojan? Trotown? Either way - reggae most definitely got soul!

50th Anniversary 180g Vinyl LP Reissue All-Analog Mastered from the Original Tapes!

This reissue celebrates the 50th Anniversary of Ismael Rivera's third album, Lo Ultimo en la Avenida, recorded with the Kako y Su Orquesta. Ismael was known as one of the greatest soneros in salsa and Kako was one of the most popular timbaleros during the 60s and 70s, making the combination undeniably electric. Highlight tracks include the hit "Mi Negrita Me Espera," plus the exhilarating "El Cumbanchero." This 180-gram vinyl LP pressing boasts all-analogue mastering from the original tapes.

For more than twenty years, Duquette Johnston has been amongst the vanguard of Alabama music. From the founding of the seminal indie-rock band Verbena, his work in Cutgrass and the Gum Creek Killers, to his acclaimed solo releases "Etowah" and "Rabbit Runs a Destiny", Johnston has consistently pushed the boundaries of what Southern American music can sound and feel like. On his latest, "The Social Animals", Johnston partnered with producer John Agnello and an all-star cast of players including Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley to create his boldest and most powerful music to date. In a career that's taken him from stages with Pavement, Foo Fighters and The Strokes, to the Etowah County Correctional Facility, and then into the world of fashion with his Birmingham based company Club Duquette, Johnston has gone to the edge and survived. On "The Social Animals", he opens the door into that experience with eleven songs that present a lush, loud, and eloquent meditation on the human experience. Producd by John Agnello (Dinosaur, Jr, Waxahatchee). Features Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth) on drums. Former member of influential 90’s indie rock group Verbena. Press from Shorefire Media, AAA radio campaign planned. Partnerships planned with Levi’s and Topo Designs. Full tour planned for 2022. Last records have received accolades from Rolling Stone, Paste, The Bitter Southerner, MOJO, Uncut and NPR.

Cut For The Original Analog Tapes At Bernie Grundman’s Mastering. Includes Hi Res Audio Download Card. Black vinyl re-issue For Europe (2000 copies). CURTAINS is the eighth solo album by JOHN FRUSCIANTE. It was originally released on February 1, 2005. The album features contributions from AUTOLUX drummer CARLA AZAR, upright bassist KEN WILD, and THE MARS VOLTA guitarist OMAR RODRÍGUEZ-LÓPEZ. John Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, composer, and producer. He is best known as the former guitarist of the rock band RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS (1988 until 1992 and from 1998 until 2009). He recorded five studio albums with them and was recently inducted into the ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME. Frusciante has an active solo career, having released twelve solo albums and five EPs; his recordings include elements ranging from experimental rock and ambient music to new wave and electronica. He has also recorded with numerous other artists, including the Mars Volta, for whom he was a studio guitarist (and occasional live performer) from 2002 until 2008; JOSH KLINGHOFFER and JOE LALLY, with whom he released two albums as Ataxia; and various collaborations with both Klinghoffer and Omar Rodríguez-López. He has also produced and/or recorded with Duran Duran, Wu-Tang Clan, Swahili Blonde, Black Knights, The Bicycle Thief, Glenn Hughes, Ziggy Marley, Johnny Cash, George Clinton, Johnny Marr, Dewa Budjana and others.

Wonderwall-Groove-Experimental-Soul-Expericence - CYRIL CYRIL from Geneva does it! "Another special band name - another easy explanation: Cyril Cyril are a duo consisting of two Cyrils. Cyril Yeterian plays accordion, banjo and myriad other instruments, and Cyril Bondi is an extraordinary drummer/percussionist with an experimental bent whose other bands include the wonderful Plaistow. Describing themselves as "muezzin without frontiers", they are fuelled by an irrepressible desire to travel beyond the obvious routes and find new places only they know exist." (Swiss Music Export) "A single word, a single cry can say a lot, as long as it is soulful. The sound of a duo reduced to its simplest expression - rhythm, a riff, a voice - can bear within itself an infinitely luxuriant musical organism - the double helix of DNA. Cyril Cyril, so real, so rich."

repressed !

Free your mind and float away, you’re now entering the mode of the Growing Bin. Hamburg’s centre for audio enlightenment is back with another sublime sensory experience, this time from the land of the rising sun. Keen to get another stamp on his passport, Basso reached out to Japanese duo Singu, two open minded cats who just love to jam. Marrying Kiyo’s free drumming with Keta Ra’s melodic mastery of keyboard and guitar, the two-piece fuse free jazz, post-rock, kosmische and ambient into immersive and esoteric improvisations. Free from any compositional concerns, the Hiroshima outfit trade in energy, emotion and expression. The frenetic percussion and ephemeral melodies of opener ‘Aurora Gate’ instantly transport you to the breathless churn of a Tokyo crossroads, where thousands of people rush by but you stand still in the eye of the storm. Though they may be explosive, the drums sit back in the mix, offering a soft intensity behind the shimmering wall of melody. A nimble and nuanced affair, ‘Bop’ brings rapid fire rhythm, slick syncopation and hypnotic piano refrains. Cool bass rolls along like KDJ’s ‘Rectify’, as Singu update the acid jazz template like Toshio Matsuura covering Carl Craig. Singu journey from far out to Furthur on Aside closer ‘Nagebu’, strapping in for psychedelic synth wig out which is heavy on the resonance and free on the filter. Blooming out of the darkness on the B1, Basso favourite ‘Fazaria’ soothes and moves you with its twinkling keys, nebulous wave forms and delicate guitar, leaving you wide eyed in wonder as the drum fills burst like fireworks across a star-filled sky. ‘828’ sweeps into abstraction as Kiyo and Keta Ra combine snapping glitches and aquatic electronics with fractal guitar tones and woozy bass, pushing through a portal to see what’s beyond. An a-grade wal

Porter Ricks is a collaboration between Thomas Köner and Andy Mellwig. After the Re-release of the legendary album "Biokinetics", which is superb subaquatic dub techno, we re-release Porter Ricks first album on Mille Plateaux. The album demonstrates the move to a kind of discoid funkyness with an underlying almost organic rhythmight. But still its not music for beautiful souls. Instead, it combines funkyness with alien sonic fluxes and the rhythm of a killing mover.

Hot on the heels of his doom-electro release on CYBERDOME, Italian producer D3070 readies his Lobster Theremin debut with five lairy cuts of end-of-the-world techno and electro.

‘Orbital’ is a simple, no frills track; uncompromising in-your-face energy meets melting acidic basslines on a 4x4 rhythm, before the noise breaks on ‘Space Invader’ and a mutated electro-step emerges out from a dark alleyway covered in slime.

Dubstep/footwork blends increase the velocity on ‘You Got Me’; new territory for the emerging producer and one that we can’t wait to see him explore more - before we come crashing back into the horror with a cut of downright frightening sound design on ‘Darkness’, it’s dusty lo-fi rhythm marching on fourth and into the fiery gates.

‘Artemis’ provides room to breathe as we awaken from our nightmare, getting our head above water before floating towards a kaleidoscope of tangled emotion.

Paul Wise aka Placid is the driving force behind ‘We’re Going Deep’ – a thriving online community and record label that’s showing no signs of slowing down as we start the new year. Born out of a lifelong affair with the many shades of electronic rhythm and an obsession for collecting records that first started in 1988.

As a label owner, his mission couldn’t be clearer: releasing new music for heads - old and new. Fresh cuts aimed squarely at the dance floor, your front room or even just the headphones! Rather than staying too hung up on the past, he’s very much focused on serving up the best in new Acid, Electro, Techno, Deep House along with the odd slice of Downtempo goodness.

Sticking to the trusted format of 4 different producers, all serving up high grade electronic explorations, WGD 006 launches with another stellar line up. Headed up by the foreboding sounds of Versalife with “Omikron” on A1, spacious atmospherics and half-step beat usher in a gnarled bassline that simply won’t let go. As delicately placed melodic touches light up an otherwise pitch black soundscape and open up the spaces in between, it’s a superb reminder of the Dutchman’s majestic talent. Accompanied with an outing from Belgium’s rising talent Mariska Neerman, snappy percussion and machine pulses greet you from the off on A2 “Twin”, evolving into a fully emotive and uplifting ride. Leading with layered synths, Neerman demonstrates her sparkling knowhow for drenching you in heart warming pads and strings that harmoniously sing.

Written under his Analogue-1 alias, head to B1 for the legendary sounds of James Zeiter shimmering through on “Counterpoint”. A subtle and stripped back 4/4 trip into the lighter side of acid inspired grooves that shuffles out into the unknown: tweaking all the way as the intensity build. Powerful stuff at the right moment, do not underestimate the alchemy at work here. Last but not least, newcomer Morthen Kiang leaves us on a punchy 909 driven martian inspired work out, that fully summons the vibe of our Red Planet friends. A perfect ending note packed full of machine oscillations and cosmic waves.

While previous albums, most notably Leland and Minutes of Sleep (2014) as well as two albums released as one half of the duo Aris Kindt (most notably the stellar Swann and Odette from 2017) have relied on singular thematic and narrative drives that were often of a personal, collaborative, or hermetic in nature, Thresholds is an album that aspires to sonic universality and the presentation of a fully formed psychoacoustical world. That being said it is not an “album of ideas”. Inspired by the ecological and political upheavals of the present and the role of speculative thought as an avenue of global transformation Thresholds is the work of a mature artist fully in control of his powers. Both expansive and nuanced the album widens the aperture of the affective possibilities of the electronic assemblage; themes skip from one track to the next, elevating and informing each other in tangible fields of abstract figuration. The titles, while often heady, concisely allude to strategies implicit in the construction and arrangement of the works: Cut Up, within the context of the album, is exactly that. Luck Takes a Step juxtaposes stately synths with just the right touch of playful fluctuation and latent atonality. The title track itself is a knotted mass of uncertainty and propulsive beats the breakdown of which is a nervous series of fits and starts that resonate not just within the track but as the fulcrum of the entire album: the threshold of our Threshold: “…we are caught up in our own original transversals of time to the point of dissolution, and that which remains a part of the contrivance of ourselves is ultimately that which crosses the threshold and is somehow, miraculously, reconstituted on the other side of it. Because it is via the threshold that we can best observe the conditions of experience as lived even as we cross to the other side of understanding, rejoining the ancient equilibriums of which we, in our depths, are comprised.” (From the liner notes)
No track overstays its welcome and with the help of standout vocalist Eliana Glass, and instrumentation by Dave Harrington (Darkside with Nicolas Jaar), Mark Nelson (Pan American), Will Shore, Greg Paulus and Gareth Redmond, and mixed by Phil Weinrobe, the result is a dizzyingly pure inward gaze that is first and foremost an album about connection.

The words legendary, seminal, and classic get thrown around at will these days, but Rudimentary Peni’s debut album is all of them. Recorded over two days at Southern Studios by John Loder and originally released in 1983 by CRASS off-shoot label Corpus Christi, “Death Church” showed a band moving away from the urgency of their two early 7”s and into their own realm. Creating a template that bands have been trying to replicate ever since, while ticking all the boxes to become a genre-defining album. Iconic artwork, a unique sound and their own lyrical universe. All merging seamlessly. Sonically the album is full of Nick Blinko’s extraordinary vocals and equally remarkable guitar, Grant Matthews’ big meandering driving basslines and Jon Greville's tight and relentless drum work which together made something intricate and hard hitting, with a sequence that makes the 21 songs on the album flow perfectly. Visually, the album is every outsider art lover’s wet dream. A six-panel poster sleeve with every inch covered in Nick Blinko’s claustrophobic black and white line drawings, while lyrically the songs deal with madness, religion, death, and questioning humankind from a dark poetic place rarely found in any art form. Remastered from the original master tapes by Arthur Rizk and housed in a replica poster sleeve, including the original insert, “Death Church” is back in print in LP, CD and cassette after nearly a decade of no official reissues.

"Eternity" - Alice Coltrane (org, hp, el-p; perc, arr, cond); Terry Harrington (ts); Jerome Richardson (ss); George Bohanon (tb); Oscar Brashear (tp); Tommy Johnson (tba); Hubert Laws (fl); Charlie Haden (b); Ben Riley (b, dr); Armando Peraza (cga); a.o.

When the brilliant saxophonist John Coltrane died in 1967, the core values of jazz music had long drawn him into the spiritual world ("A Love Supreme", "Ascension", "Meditations" etc.). His widow and final pianist followed in his footsteps. Alice Coltrane (1937–2007) sought after »cosmic sounds, higher dimensions, astral levels« – she had an important influence on the spiritualised, esoteric music scene of the 1970s. Her first album was only released after John Coltrane’s death, but "Eternity" was already her tenth. (In the same year she founded a Hindu Vedantic Center in California.) The album draws its power from highly contrasted sound worlds. The size of the ensemble ranges from an unaccompanied harp solo ("Wisdom Eye") to a large orchestra with a big band of up to 25 plus a 12-man string section. Alice Coltrane’s main instrument is the electric Wurlitzer organ, whose rasping sound conjures up John Coltrane’s saxophone (especially in the opening number "Spiritual Eternal"). Mostly she improvises modally, sinuously, or with meditative ecstasy – whether in the style of Latin rock ("Los Caballos") or quite without a firm tempo ("Morning Worship" with a tamboura accompaniment). Support comes from such renowned musicians as Charlie Haden (bass), Jerome Richardson (saxophone and flute), Hubert Laws (flute) and Ernie Watts (cor anglais). In the number "Om Supreme" Coltrane switches to a gently swinging Fender Rhodes electric piano, which is joined by a six-voice vocal group. A surprising finale to the album is an orchestral adaptation of an excerpt from Stravinsky’s "Le Sacre du printemps". Here the moments of dissonance and free jazz are far from meditative contemplation.

Vienna 2009; Whizz Vienna, an Austrian musician is nominated for the Amadeus Austrian Music Award in the category 'Album of the year'. Why and how that happened, he is still not sure of to this day. By now, the album in question 'Versager ohne Zukunft', which is produced in collaboration with Kamp, has turned into a classic.

Even though he has released several projects since then, such as the renowned 'Wiener Staub' Beat-LP, it has become quiet around the producer. His studio existence and his musical creation more or less turned into dust.

Darmstadt 2020; during a thorough tidying up of old hard drives a folder labeled 'Whizz Vienna Beatz' experiences a musical renaissance. The dopeness of the material is undeniable to this day and that kind of freshness cannot be just left in the digital wasteland ready to rot.

The search for the missing Whizz Vienna was more challenging than expected due to the fact that he enjoyed his own presence to be buried in the underground. In the end, the hidden asset has been unvcovered, plans have been cultivated and now after a two year waiting time the final product is ready to be launched.

13 long-lost instrumentals, Kamp and Prinz Pi spitting on 2 of them, cuts by DJ Vektor, 1 love for Eva.

Ruff Jam is an exciting new artist that i invited to the label during the first lockdown of 2020, hence the track name being featured. Using traditional methods of production featuring hardware, all of the featured tracks sound authentic to the 90s.

Upcoming new album release from JD Simo entitled 'Mind Control' will be released at the end of October while JD is on tour (9/28 - 11/21 & 1/7/2022 - 1/29/2022 JD Simo... The Chicago-born, now Nashville transplant is like a one-man crusade dedicated to keeping music real, raw, and honest. No matter the setting and no matter his role (whether it’s wingman or bandleader) J.D.’s presence infuses the situation of the moment with the music that’s been fueling him pretty much his whole life, spiced with influences that straddle both decades and dimensions. As a songwriter, guitarist, and producer, he has worked with Jack White, Tommy Emmanuel, Luther Dickinson, Dave Cobb, Blackberry Smoke, and even been a member of Grateful Dead founder Phil Lesh' "Phil & Friends." Now he comes forth with his most unique, original, and rawest effort yet… “Mind Control,” which drops November 5th, 2021. During lockdown in '20, he started cutting tracks in his makeshift studio weekly. Joined by longtime collaborator Adam Abrashoff on drums and longtime friend bassist-producer-engineer Adam Bednarik (Justin Townes Earle), they mused a proverbial soup of shared influences - Hill country trance blues of Junior Kimbrough, RL Burnside, and Asie Payton, hypnotic Afro Beat of Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, psychedelic warps of Captain Beefheart, Funkadelic, and Jimi Hendrix, the old school blues of John Lee Hooker, Earl Hooker, and Lightnin Hopkins and the raw, fuzzy rock of The Stooges and Nirvana. 'Mind Control' is the product of 3 like-minded buddies huddled in a humble setting, making music to make them feel good. The songs' stark, revealing nature is the product of them using the creative process for therapy and enjoyment. Because they had to, for no other reason than they couldn’t not! They love it too much. A positive theme of growth, self-help, and struggles with addiction and mental health lay alongside a haunting, low-down musical landscape. It's raw, funky, and real. Such is life.

Re-release of the third full-length album by the American grindcore legends! True to the American interpretation of Grindcore Terrorizer amalgamate the most forceful elements of Death and Thrash into a true juggernaut of Metal. Since their famed debut “World Downfall” (1989), this beast has been driven by the relentless and precise pounding of Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel), who delivers yet another jaw-dropping barrage. Fans will be delighted to see Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent once more returning to play bass on this album. They will also be glad to hear that excellent singer Wolf aka Anthony Rezhawk (Resistant Culture), who already refined the highly acclaimed second album “Darker Days Ahead” (2006) is again adding his resonant and fierce growls as well. The new line-up is completed by Katina Culture (Resistant Culture), who is replacing the sadly late Jesse Pintado (August 28th, 2006) on guitar.

This is '70s masterpiece out of Austin, Texas is a Holy Grail of the highest order -- the perfect fusion of classic soul and disco. An original copy never sells for less than 4 figures due to rarity, quality and demand. Coveted by Northern Soul, rare disco, and modern soul DJs equally means demand has always been stratospheric.

‘Flicker’ is the second album from Ride guitarist and songwriter Andy Bell. Written almost as a conversation with his teenage self, it follows the triumphant solo debut that was 2020’s ‘The View From Halfway Down’. This 18-track double album finds Andy moving towards classic songwriting, notably on the reflective lead single ‘Something Like Love’, the strident harmonies of ‘World of Echo’, the joyous refracted loops of ‘Jenny Holzer B. Goode’ and the fuzz-laden late-’60s balladeering of ‘Love Is The Frequency’. Stylistically, the four sides of ‘Flicker’ take in everything from modern psychedelia to fingerpicked folk, whimsical baroque pop, and Byrdsian 12-string beauty. It’s a breathtaking array and makes it even more abundantly clear that Andy has entered a purple patch in his songwriting, hitting a new velocity in contrast to his initial inhibitions about becoming a solo artist. He gradually overcame these after the passing of David Bowie in 2016, with the Thin White Duke’s bountiful 50 years of music providing inspiration from beyond the grave. ‘Flicker’ is also an apt description for the genesis of the album. At the start of 2021, Andy returned to the stems of the recording sessions he made at Beady Eye and Oasis bandmate Gem Archer’s North London studio and added fuel to the fire, writing melodies and lyrics and turning them into fully formed songs. The same sessions were also the starting point for ‘The View From Halfway Down’ and this album picks up where that one left off, quite literally, with the very first words being “I was halfway down…”. This is the first of several playful, possibly intentional, references to albums and song titles that litter the record like a musical breadcrumb trail. As much as this is a modern sounding and forward-looking record, it’s also very much about looking back, something that is clear from the first glimpse of the front cover – a previously unseen outtake from Joe Dilworth’s photo sessions for the inner sleeve of Ride’s debut album, ‘Nowhere’. “When I think about ‘Flicker’, I see it as closure,” explains Andy. “Most literally, on a half-finished project from over six years ago, but also on a much bigger timescale. Some of these songs date back to the ’90s and the cognitive dissonance of writing brand new lyrics over songs that are 20-plus years old makes it feel like it is, almost literally, me exchanging ideas with my younger self.” This conversation takes place across ‘Flicker’’s 18 tracks. Essentially it advises us to stop worrying about the future and enjoy each day as it comes, embracing the crushing, unpredictable lows of life as much as the almighty highs of being in love. Some of it remains unspoken, taking place sonically rather than verbally: the album has a reflective, meditative feeling throughout, exploring many aspects of mental health, and the beautiful stillness of first single ‘Something Like Love’ could almost be a musical salve to the heartache 19-year-old Andy poured into ‘Vapour Trail’ in 1990. “The ‘Flicker’ I’m talking about in the lyrics is that flame that makes a person who they are,” explains Andy. “I wanted to find that in myself, so I went back to the teenage me – a technique I learned in therapy and have been doing ever since – and got some advice on how to live and be happy in the 2020s.“‘The View From Halfway Down’ was about turning 50 in a very weird time of introspection. ‘Flicker’ is about gathering the tools to equip myself mentally for life in 2022 and beyond – post-pandemic, post-Brexit, post-truth.”

Compiled by Birmingham Musician and Designer Dave Twist. This Compilation features many well known and completely unknown faces from the scene and some local Heroes such as Nikki Sudden, Stephen Duffy, Jowe Head, Dave Kusworth, Deluxe 2 x LP set Limited to 500 copies only worldwide. In the light of the film King Rocker by Stewart Lee about The Nightingales revised interest in the post punk sound of Birmingham is increasing. Duran Duran’s John Taylor is featured in his first band Dada (with Twist on drums) sounding not a bit like his MTV champions of the 80’s. Some of these tracks were only ever issued on a very small run 7” at the time and some were never issued at all, such as The Hawks (until recently and to great acclaim)

Noon Garden is an exotic psych-pop odyssey from one of the founding members of Flamingods. Drawing on worldly sounds from the likes of Francis Bebey and Dur Dur Band to Shintaro Sakamoto, tearing up the sonic rule book and conjuring up a distant land where you find yourself cutting loose to grooves that meander their way through a wide spectrum of African disco, funk, exotica and psychedelia. Noon Garden has received support from the likes of Clash and The Line Of Best Fit and recent single Decca Divine was playlisted on Amazing Radio. The track also picked up love at DSP playlists including Spotify’s ‘Fresh Finds: Indie’ and Apple’s ‘New in Alternative’. British born with Nigerian & Jamaican heritage, Prest spent his childhood living in Bahrain surrounded by people, like himself, who were all living on an island away from their homeland. Seeing the world from a young age and the experience of 10 years of globe-trotting touring with Flamingods are imprinted on his new project and have been a huge influence on shaping Noon Garden’s tropical adventurism. As a talented multi-instrumentalist Charles has written, self-produced and played all the parts on the single himself. Noon Garden says of the album: "This debut was an experiment to get to know myself better. Taken from the name of an area not too far from my family home in Norwood south London, the literal words ‘Beulah Spa’ conjured up imagery of being a place to contemplate in warmth and complete tranquility. Writing music is a therapeutic process for me and it’s taken about eight years on and off to finish this album by myself, to try understand what it was exactly that I wanted to say lyrically and explore sonically. The album’s lyrics have shape-shifted so much with time but they take a curious look at the human experience; in my case growing up and soaking up a lot of cultures from an early age in the Middle East, the UK and briefly in Singapore. It’s a reflection on what’s past and what’s yet to come, my connection with others over the years and how that inevitably shapes your outlook on what’s around you. All of this told through the lens of psychedelia which has always given me a sense of possibility. Beulah Spa is the first marker of where I’ve gotten to so far in my life, channeling it all into a musical odyssey that lays the foundation for a lot more to come.”

Old school friends and long-time collaborators, Mark Rowland and Paul Webber formed The Volunteered at the tail end of 2019 when they started working on new songs channeling old indie rock heroes such as Built to Spill, Guided By Voices, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Belle and Sebastian. They put out the ‘We Fall Apart’ EP in 2020 as a modest self-release and now, what started as a way to keep busy during lockdown has been expanded into a full-length vinyl and digital album, out on Scratchy Records next February. “We had the vague notion of recording an album at some point in 2020” says Mark “and we definitely intended to play more shows. We were talking to people about joining the band. It was supposed to be a big year for us.” Then the pandemic happened. Mark got COVID and was sick for more than a month, leaving him with breathing issues and a fear that he may not sing again. Stuck indoors with all plans put on ice, Mark and Paul went through their demo recordings to see what they had to work with. They took elements of those recordings, added to them, and started working on some new songs. The process was challenging as Mark was still building up his vocal strength, but they muddled through, working on each song remotely. Along the way, they recruited some friends to guest on the record, including future Volunteered member Elizabeth Sadzik, Detroit-based singer-songwriter Cody Ketchum, René Methner of German indie rock band Para Lia, solo artist Ritch Spence and Simon Bromide. It was Simon, Scratchy Records founder, who persuaded the band to make the new material into a full album having fallen head over heels for the song he guests on, Going to Amsterdam, which is released as a single on January 14th 2022. “I thought Going to Amsterdam would make a great single on Scratchy” he says. "But the more songs I heard, the more I liked, and after talking to Mark it was clear that we could make it into a full album” Mark and Paul recorded three additional songs for the album in 2021. At the same time, the full Volunteered line-up was completed with Sadzik on piano, her husband Jake on bass and Paul Douglas on drums. The sound too was broadening, with more piano being incorporated into its newest songs. The final version of We Fall Apart was completed in Autumn 2021. It’s a varied listen, from the pounding, tuneful fuzz of lead single Going to Amsterdam to the atmospheric heart-string puller The Lights. Everywhere you look there are hooks waiting to pull you in and some great pop songwriting recalling everyone from Buddy Holly and Weezer to The Triffids and Pearl Jam. For fans of: Sparklehorse, Built To Spill, Guided by Voices, Big Star, REM and Neil Young.

New limited pressing on 180g Electric Blue Vinyl. L.A. Witch’s self-titled debut album unfurled like hazy memories of late-night revelries in the city center creeping back in on a hungover Sunday morning. Guitarist/vocalist Sade Sanchez purred and crooned over jangling guitar chords, painting pictures of urban exploits, old American haunts, and private escapades with a master’s austerity. Bassist Irita Pai and drummer Ellie English polished the patina of the band’s vintage sound, adding a full-bodied thump and intoxicating swing to the album’s dusty ballads, ominous invitations, and sultry rock songs. The album had an air of effortlessness like these songs were written into the fabric of the Western landscape by some past generation and conjured into our modern world by three powerful conduits. The band readily admits that L.A. Witch was a casual affair and that the songs came together over the course of several years. That natural flow hit a snag when the band’s popularity grew and they began touring regularly, so a new strategy became necessary for their sophomore album, the swaggering and beguiling Play With Fire

A genre blur of decorative art punk psych overflow, mixed and mastered by KRAMER on “Blessence Blue” Vinyl LP ltd edition of 500. RIYL: WEEN, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Dat Politics, Prince Buster, Captain Beefheart, Deerhoof, Thinking Fellars Union Local 282, Young Marble Giants, Jad Fair. As an energetic force in the downtown New York perfor1mance art noise scene for over ffteen years, Lumberob is releasing his debut solo LP - Language Learner - on Shimmy-Disc. Having collaborated now for over 23 years, Kramer and Lumberob understand how to make rather majestic messes. This music is urgent madness, overfowingly decorative, lusciously spastic, with an unpredictably eclectic sonic vaudeville energy. Lumberob emerged from a year in Costa Rica with a bag full of pandemic recordings. As a rejuvenated yet still scrappy loop artist expanding his sound with synth bass and drum machines, yet still rooted in improvised vocal phrase looping and skanky guitar, Lumberob insists this album Language Learner to be a bold exercise in genre discovery or genre blur, proudly assuming its position in high contrast to other recent gorgeously crafted Shimmy-Disc releases. It is this contrast that’s reminiscent of the wildly divergent and inventive catalog curated by Kramer from decades past. This debut is an odd blend of ingredients, but the concept is relentlessly pure Lumberob. Participants in Costa Rica include David Mendez playing nylon string, Alicia Cigna singing, Ariel Soto playing partial kit and conga, and Juan Jose Lopez playing bongos. Additional sessions in Brooklyn include Tobin Scroggins playing guitar and Becca Stabile singing. Kramer added bits and pieces throughout during his mixing and mastering of the album. Call it Dada Ska - a skanky electro-bounce. This is dance music for working things out. This is workout music for dancing things, and the live show is truly the dafy psychedelic roughneck business.

Curtis Godino’s first album producing for The Midnight Wishers. Mastered by Shimmy-Dic’s Kramer. “Golden Wish” Yellow Vinyl LP ltd edition of 500. RIYL: the Shangri-Las, the Chiffons, the Crystals, the GTOS, Ween. What if a cute girl group scored a hit song about a car crash, then actually died in a car crash, but decades later, David Lynch conjured their spirits for a beach-themed Halloween special? That’s a feeble attempt to describe the fun, spooky universe evoked by musician, songwriter and producer Curtis Godino with his latest project, Curtis Godino Presents the Midnight Wishers. “I’ve always been a fan of girl groups and old generic love songs,” says the Brooklyn-based artist, previously known around town for his psychedelic band Worthless and his ’60s-style light projection shows. “No matter how cheesy, they always get stuck in my head, so I decided I would try to make some of my own, with the help of my friends.” Chief among those friends are the Midnight Wishers: lead vocalist Jin Lee and backing singers Rachel Herman and Jessica McFarland, all of whom Godino recruited for the project. Lee also contributed lyrics, which she tends to recite as often as she sings in a dreamy, earnest voice. The trio are the perfect messengers for Godino’s tunes, visually as well as sonically. In photos, they pose before bubble-gummy backgrounds, playing with a ouija board by candlelight, elemental like a cartoon crime-fighting team with their respective black, red and blonde hair. But make no mistake: This project belongs to Godino, a musical ringmaster in the tradition of Phil Spector or more aptly Shadow Morton, whose noir sensibilities spawned such uncanny pop marvels as the Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the Pack” and “Remember (Walking in the Sand).” In this case, Godino built the wall of sound almost entirely by himself, recording on his eight-track tape machine during the pandemic shutdown. Starting with drum tracks from Andrew Max and Adam Amram, he would add picked bass guitar in the style of L.A. studio legend Carol Kaye, then go bonkers with fuzzy guitars, Farfisa organ, mellotron, analog synthe- sizers, glockenspiel, an arsenal of other percussion instruments and an array of mysterious electronic effects. To fully realize the vision, however, Godino knew he needed more firepower. The Wishers’ multilayered harmonies and other vocal tracks were recorded and engineered by his roommate, Paul Millar, at Millar’s Bug Sound East studio. “I'm sure all those incredible old records were recorded on a four-track or whatever, but I don’t have the same discipline,” says Godino, whose stated goal was to create “songs so sweet they’ll give you a cavity

BING BONG! Nems returns with Congo, his third full-length album and first solo album since releasing Gorilla Monsoon in 2019. The one and only “Mayor of Coney Island” does not disappoint on Congo, spitting his battle tested and witty bars throughout the album. As usual, Nems likes to do the heavy lifting himself, keeping the guest appearances and producers to a minimum on Congo. But fans of Nems will be happy to see that Congo features frequent Nems collaborators UFO Fev and Ill Bill, along with production from Vinny Idol on “Bing Bong”, which has taken the internet by storm and is now the informal theme song of New York City and the Knicks. Initially released on all digital platforms on August 20, 2021, the wait for Congo in vinyl format is over. F*ck Your Life!

CRIMEAPPLE readies another classic by way of his newest album, ’Sancocho,’ with advance single “Throw the Rice” dropping on 11/5. With go-to producer Buck Dudley back in the chair for this track, CRIMEAPPLE invites RLX and Primo Profit to share the mic atop the dark, trippy production and dirty, slamming drums. Upcoming album includes production from Ignorancia Sophisticada, Michaelangelo, Zoomo, Good Food, Brown13, Teyo, and Futurewaves.

BRAND NEW 7” FROM LEED'S FINEST! A taster from their next full-length LP due out later in the year Ever been interrogated by the punk rock police? Are you manufactured by a company? Is your band real or plastic? Have you ever paid a thousand quid for a poster? Can the kids be trusted with rock n roll? Answers on side A

After years spent living on opposite sides of the Atlantic world events threw Laura Mary Carter and Steven Ansell of Blood Red Shoes back together into what has become the must fruitful era of their 17 years together.

“It’s been a loooong time since we both lived in the same city”, explains Steven. “I mean we actually wrote this album in LA at Laura’s place, then came to the UK to record it…and then everything went nuts”.

Realising very quickly that they wouldn’t be able to release the album or tour until the world returned to some kind of normality, the band found their energies quickly spilled over into other projects. Laura-Mary started a podcast, Never Meet Your Idols, with her best friend in LA, interviewing everyone from Zack Snyder to Mark Lanegan to CHVRCHES. It is now about to start its third season. Steven started applying his love of electronic music by writing and producing other alternative artists like Circe, ARXX, Aiko and XCerts, racking up millions of streams in the process.

Having worked together on Laura–Mary’s forthcoming solo mini album Town Called Nothing and restless from the lack of touring, the duo started jamming out in rehearsal rooms, which led to the light-speed writing, recording and release of the impossibly-titled Ø EP in the summer of 2021. Which concludes what the band call an “off year”.

And that brings us back to GHOST ON TAPE. It appears that like David Lynch’s The Lost Highway, nothing is linear in the world of Blood Red Shoes. Written and recorded before their most recent EP, GHOSTS ON TAPE is a huge jump into new terrain for the band. Musically and emotionally their most mature work, it is a complex, imaginative, and very gothic development on their sound. Musically, it leaves almost no trace of their former selves.

If Cannibale's members brought their breakfast back up when talking about 'Not Easy To Cook', their listeners would be surprised. There's a world of difference between the beginning of Cannibale's success story and this second album. The most surprising thing about 'Not Easy To Cook' is the sultriness that emerges. It's hard to sum it up other than by comparing these 10 songs with some pressure cooker in which bits of dancehall, London ska and Hawaiian dub would have cooked together. Here's the small miracle achieved by this LP recorded by the band in its remote French village: sounding French, but Polynesian French. A very psychedelic mixture of cumbia, African rhythms and garage music. Or, if you will, a kind of missing link between Fela Kuti, The Doors and The Seeds!

In 2006, Jimmy Hunt (then a proverbial punk-troubadour usually found in bars) and Ysael Pepin (bassist for Demon's Claws) started to jam here and there in one of the rooms of an apartment located above the late Zoobizarre in Montreal. Brian, Martin, and Dale eventually joined and the quintet recorded their first garage EP in two winter afternoons. Going against the ebb and flow of indie-pop, receiving praise in both languages all over Canada (La Presse, Exclaim!, Voir), Chocolat participated in the Francofolies de Montréal in 2007 and, in 2008, they were one of the first bands signed on a new label named Grosse Boîte, the French section of Dare To Care Records. They went on to release their first album, Piano élégant, which was met with great acclaim. It featured Beatle- esque melodies, a clearer sound and an addictive chanson side. During the two years that followed, between disheveled yet jolly efficient performances, Chocolat strung together shows and insolence, and even performed at the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Then, wanting to try something new, the band decided to take a break in the middle of 2010 and Jimmy Hunt eventually released his first solo album. Jimmy and Ysael kept contact and kept playing together, laying the foundations of an abstract project named Fantôme. Then, at the end of 2013, during the Holidays, while on a break from the tour promoting his second solo album, Maladie d'amour, Jimmy Hunt pitched some ideas on his tablet. The few demos he recorded consisted of linear sequences with drawling riffs interspersed with rhythmic breaks and rudimentary electronic effects. Realizing that Chocolat represented the ideal band to play these, Jimmy got the members together and invited his close friend Emmanuel Ethier (Jimmy Hunt, Cour de pirate) to replace Dale who had left for Europe. After only 3 practices, Jimmy booked the Victor studio in January 2014. For a few days, the guys recorded live and full band. In general, they stuck to the second or third take for each of the tracks. This allowed them to take advantage of the spontaneity of Ysael and Brian's garage games played on the mechanical tracks composed by Jimmy. As spring blossomed and schedules filled up, the guys managed to remotely mix what would become Tss tss, an album recorded between friends, a pop dump of white heat, a discharge of hypnotic rock, and, still under the Grosse Boîte label, an essential tool to hit the roads and travel across Quebec again.

Re-release of the third full-length album by the American grindcore legends! True to the American interpretation of Grindcore Terrorizer amalgamate the most forceful elements of Death and Thrash into a true juggernaut of Metal. Since their famed debut “World Downfall” (1989), this beast has been driven by the relentless and precise pounding of Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel), who delivers yet another jaw-dropping barrage. Fans will be delighted to see Morbid Angel frontman David Vincent once more returning to play bass on this album. They will also be glad to hear that excellent singer Wolf aka Anthony Rezhawk (Resistant Culture), who already refined the highly acclaimed second album “Darker Days Ahead” (2006) is again adding his resonant and fierce growls as well. The new line-up is completed by Katina Culture (Resistant Culture), who is replacing the sadly late Jesse Pintado (August 28th, 2006) on guitar.

Reissue of George Duke's classic 1975 jazz-funk-fusion album 'The Aura
Will Prevail'
With its intensive quartet, this 1975 recording again mirrors how far Duke, by his
own admission, had moved away from the "smug and overly serious jazz
musician" and towards a master of fusion, eager to experiment and add a note of
humour to the music. With Santana drummer Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, bassist
Alphonso "Slim" Johnson, and the Brazilian percussion magician Airto Moriera,
Duke designed stunning scenarios in sound which once more reveals him to be
one of the synthesizer pioneers.
He paints a fantastic morning atmosphere in Dawn; in Floop the Loop Duke
conjures animated, funky tone poems. There is a change of scene as Duke takes
up the role of soulful singer on the smooth ballads For Love and Fools. His
onetime collaboration with the Mothers of Invention rubs off on Duke's
adaptations of Echnidna's Arf and Uncle Remus, and a touch of samba is added
to the relaxed tropical magic of Malibu.

Reissue of George Duke's classic 1973 jazz-funk-fusion album 'The Inner
Source'
In 1971 George Duke, having just recently done his time with the Mothers of
Invention, was engaged by the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Beginning in April of
that year, Duke made two recordings over a short timespan that on their release
in 1973 as a double LP (against the desire of the artists, by the way), would be a
major statement.
On Chapter One of his fusion autobiography, "Solus", Duke, along with the
skeleton crew of bassist John Heard and drummer Dick Berk, tries out the new
compositional philosophy he had absorbed from his work with Adderley. On
Chapter two, "The Inner Source" " Duke lives it up as he shows off his exuberant
experimental synth side and also begins to vary the line-up here as some tracjs
are reinforced with Latin percussion, incisive horn and reed instruments or with
Duke on his first instrument, the trombone. As a curiosity, two basses compete
with each other on "Twenty Five".

Reissue of George Duke's classic 1975 jazz-funk-fusion album 'Feel'
This album with the strange psychedelic sci-fi cover draws a tighter circle around
Duke's fusion language. The keyboard master ventures deep into his synthesizer
laboratory. Their textures become a more essential component of his pieces,
attaining orchestral dimensions, as evidenced in the opener, Funny Funk, with its
smacking, squishing tongue- in- cheek dialogue between the synths. A virtuoso
layering of the keyboards is also central to Cora Joberge, and on Rashid, Duke's
electronic orchestra explodes over the stormy drums of Leon "Ndugu" Chancler.
Duke shows himself to be a singer with a soulful sound. Shortly before this
recording he had shelved his trombone so that he could communicate more
directly with the audience, as can be heard in the hymnal, dreamlike title piece.
The guest list of players make for an especially exciting concoction. No less than
Duke's playing companion Frank Zappa, under the cryptic pseudonym Obdewl'l X,
performs some adventuresome guitar passages on Love and Old Slippers. On the
California- sunshine pop samba, Yana Aminah, we have a surprise visit by
Brazilian Flora Purim, wife of percussionist Airto Moreira, who opens up his bag
of tricks on The Once Over, and plays on three more tracks.

In many ways, this trio recording is a milestone in the career of this young
Californian
Duke unveils more of his early experiments with the ARP synthesizer, as well as a
new creativity on such more conventional keyboards, as the Wurlitzer, Fender
Rhodes, and the clavinet. As a result, Faces in Reflection is characterized by a
wide variety of tonal hues. The journey moves from the explosive The Opening on
to the tender- tinged Capricorn, which Duke had snatched from the Cannonball
Adderley repertoire. Adderley had been the second major player he had worked
with during that early period; Frank Zappa was the first. Two impressionistic solo
intermezzi segue into the funky fusion escapade Psychosomatic Dung, with
superb interplay between drummer Ndugu and bassist John Heard. The title
piece's secretive synth lines are the moments of calm before Duke's passionate
love affair with Brazil on the B side. The most surprising excursion on this side is
the vibrant and rhythmically intricate adaptation of Milton Nascimentos' Maria
Três Filhos, counterbalanced by the synth laboratory of North Beach. Duke
himself cherished the recordings; he stated that, "This was the first LP that really
said what I wanted to say."

Reissue of George Duke's classic 1975 jazz-funk-fusion album 'I Love The
Blues'
On the fourth album of his fusion cycle, George Duke substantially expanded the
number of his colleagues. As before, drummer Leon "Ndugu" Chancler beats as
the heart of the rhythm section, and the Brazilian couple, Airto and Flora are again
on board. The ten tracks perform a stylistic balancing act. The jittery funk of
"Chariot" and the smooth ballad "Someday" show off Duke's soulful vocal flair.
Flora Purim crowns the complex "Look Into Her Eyes" with her spheric sound as
she and guitarist George Johnson take care of business on this stratospheric
piece with its bluesy electric shuffle. With two high- voltage guitarists (Daryl
Stuermer and Byron Miller), "That's What She Said" points to the tie between rock
and funk. The most eye- opening outing occurs with star guitarist Lee Ritenour
stomping on "Rokkinrowl, I Don't Know", and its Hendrix parody. "Sister Sirene"
shows that, naturally, the typical dreamy Duke instrumentals are not left off the
album. An almost animistic soundscape is woven into the fabric of "Mashavu",
and "Giant Child Within Us - Ego" is a small fusion suite encompassing the
spectrum from the classical to the Zappaesque finale. The title piece is indeed a
blues, dished out pure and simple - a far cry from the sounds of the preceding
piece with its mountains of synthesizers. Rather, the sultry delta heat, the
acoustic simplicity and raw truth of the song prevail - the blues.

Da die Scheibe mit 20 Songs mehr cooles Material enthält, als auf eine einzelne CD passen würde, erscheint „Life Below Zero“ als Doppelalbum.
Zudem wird es eine streng limitierte Fanbox geben, die u.a. eine Bonus-CD mit 6 bisher unveröffentlichten Tracks enthält.
Allein in der Dunkelheit, 24/7 nicht das kleinste Licht, ein wenig Nähe oder den Hauch von Wärme. Nur erdrückende Stille, beklemmende Einsamkeit und klirrende Kälte. In „7even Days of Darkness“ bauen sich nach und nach treibende Beats auf und peitschen Dir eiskalt ins Gesicht. Doch Du
trotzt dem scheinbar aussichtslosen Schicksal und entgegnest: „Now I will gather power and bring it to an end.“ Du kämpfst, aber die Kälte und
das Eis scheinen Dich zu überwältigen und in die Knie zu zwingen...Doch dann tauchen plötzlich Dr. Schnee, Der Frost, °Celsius und von Fahrenheit
vor Dir auf und halten Dir den „Mirror“ vor Dein nahezu erstarrtes Gesicht. Mit melodiösen Synthie-Sounds, eindringlichem Gesang und Beats,
zu denen Du einfach tanzen MUSST, tauen sie Deine eingefrorenen Glieder auf und schenken Dir neue Hoffnung. Du erkennst, dass Musik, Liebe
und Freude stärker sind als Dunkelheit und Kälte.
20 Songs. 14 auf Englisch. 6 auf Deutsch. Auf „Life Below Zero“ finden sich so viele deutsche Tracks, wie auf keinem anderen Eisfabrik-Album
zuvor. Die Meister des Future-Pop zeigen mal wieder, wie man innerhalb von Sekunden das Eis bricht und ein wahres Feuerwerk an heißen Beats,
mitreißenden Synthie-Sounds und großartigen Texten auf die Tanzfläche und die Gehörgänge abfeuert.
Gänsehaut und Muskelkater vom Tanzen sind hier gleichermaßen vorprogrammiert und eins ist sicher: bei den ganzen fetten Dance-Tracks wird
so schnell niemandem kalt.

Sieben pragmatisch durchnummerierte Tracks hat Wallner komponiert und produziert, obwohl man Pragmatismus hier vergeblich sucht, denn die niemals überladene Opulenz ist ein fester Bestandteil seiner Musik. "Voices" ist natürlich in erster Linie ein Gitarrenalbum, hält aber nicht stumpf aneinander gereihte Griffbrett-Kabinettstücke parat, sondern folgt einem Narrativ, einer Art undertow unter, zwischen und hinter den Tracks: sie sind ineinander verwoben und miteinander verwandt und erzählen fortlaufend eine zusammenhängende Geschichte. Arpeggierte Synthie-Kaskaden und verdichtetes Riffing liefern hier die Staffelei für episch singende Soli, an denen Wallner hörbar Spaß hat. Allerdings hier wird nicht kopflos gegniedelt, man hört die Arbeit eines erfahrenen Komponisten und mehrere Themen und Motive ziehen sich wie Ariadnefäden durch die Tracks.
"Voices" wird höchsten audiophilen Ansprüchen gerecht und ist wie jede Produktion Wallners demanding listening, reife Kompositionen, in denen sich Herz und Hirn vertragen und ergänzen. Das Album illustriert den Jetzt-Zustand eines Musikers, der sich eine luxuriöse Position erarbeiten konnte, kompromisslos sein zu dürfen. Vielleicht sogar zu müssen. Sieht man sich die rund 26 Jahre seiner Diskographie an, war er das eigentlich schon immer und es sieht nicht so aus, als würde sich das jemals ändern.

Als Gäste sind mit an Bord: Arno Menses (Subsignal), TANYC, Yogi Lang (RPWL) sowie der renommierte Drummer Marco Minnemann.
Neben dem formschönen CD-Digipak wird es eine 180 Gr. Vinyl (Clear Vinyl) mit bedruckten Inner Sleeves geben.

Classic Rock: "…exzellentes musikalisches Gespür für Spannungsbögen, faszinierende Sounds und gekonntes Songwriting. … Dies ist eine Scheibe für Freunde des guten Geschmacks."

Rock It 8.5/10: "Musikalisch bewegt sich auch der Rest der Truppe auf höchstem Niveau, die Produktion ist druckvoll und klar und passt sehr gut ins stimmige Gesamtbild. Eine gelungene Reise durch progressive Musikwelten."

eclipsed 7.5/10: "Mucke für Fans zwischen David Gilmour, Maxxess und Joe Satriani und gerade unterm Kopfhörer ein spannendes audiophiles Erlebnis."

Guitar 5/5: "…spielt der Liebhaber hochwertiger Gitarrensounds, unterstützt durch Marco Minnemann am Schlagzeug, feinsten Prog mit atmosphärischer Dichte, tighten Riffs und sagenhaften Gitarrensoli."

Slam 8/10: "Vielfältig, stimmungsvoll und mit jeder Menge Melodie gerät "Voices" zum überaus gelungenen Werk, das vor allem durch sein farbenprächtiges und intelligentes Songwriting überzeugt."

Rock Hard 7.5/10: "Abwechslungsreichen, angenehm rockigen und zeitlosen Instrumental-Progrock zockt RPWL-Gitarrist KALLE WALLNER auf seinem vierten Soloalbum "Voices" (Gentle Art Of Music/Soulfood)."

Rocks 7/10: "Kalle Wallner, Gitarrist bei RPWL und Blind Ego, hat mit diesem Album ein kraftvolles Statement fast ohne Gesang aufgenommen. Die titellosen, durchnummerierten Tracks basieren vor allem auf massiven Riffs, die die Basis schaffen für stimmungsvolle solistische Ausflüge des Gitarristen. …Voices ist keines dieser aufregenden Gitarrenhexer-Alben, sondern eher lautstarke Kontemplation."

Break Out: "Die Stücke sind sehr spannend aufgebaut und in sich schlüssig. Oder wie es im Presseinfo steht: "reife Kompositionen, in denen sich Herz und Hirn vertragen und ergänzen." Dem ist nichts hinzuzufügen, nur dieses: beide Daumen hoch für dieses starke Soloalbum!"

Myrevelations.de 13/15: "Verdammt starke Platte, Prog, Instrumental- und Gitarrenfans, sowie Post Rock Anhänger werden begeistert sein!"

Darkstars.de 9/10: "…ähnlich wie bei David Gilmour schafft es Kalle Wallner seine Gitarre sprechen zu lassen und den Hörer mit auf eine Reise zu nehmen. Ganz großes Gitarrenkino und mit Marco Minnemann sitzt zudem ein echtes Ass auf dem Schlagzeug Hocker. Ein Album zum Entdecken…"

FFO: Arthur Russell, Stealing Sheep, Neu!, Agar Agar, Galaxians
Holodrum are a new disco-infused synth-pop group, who feature members of Hookworms, Yard Act, Cowtown, Virginia Wing, Drahla and more.

Maybe Holodrum were destined to start at this point. This might be the first time they’ve all officially worked together, but between Emily Garner (vocals), Matthew Benn (synth/bass/production), Jonathan Nash (drums), Jonathan Wilkinson (guitar), Sam Shjipstone (guitar/vocals), Christopher Duffin (sax/synth) and Steve Nuttall (percussion) they’ve shared bands, mixed each other’s records, promoted live shows and made music videos together in and around Leeds. As Holodrum, this is the 7 piece’s debut album, but the interlocking grooves and hot headiness of their repeato-rock-via-CBGBs dopamine hits have in one way or other been fermenting for years.

“When it comes to doing music most bands fall between two extremes of doing it for some goal or as an end to itself” says Shjipstone. “I think Holodrum is about the joy and complexity of living, and I just hope to god everyone gets to have a good time doing it.”

Ultimately the core of the group comes from Shjipstone and his former Hookworms bandmates Benn, Nash and Wilkinson. After their abrupt dissolution in late 2018, the four of them spent six months apart; Benn still had Xam Duo, his ongoing project with Virginia Wing and some-time James Holden & The Animal Spirits live member Duffin, Nash remains vocalist and guitarist of long-running DIY rockers Cowtown and helms his solo project Game_Program; and Shjipstone plays guitar with Yard Act. However, the four of them missed the sixth sense synergy they’d built-up playing together over a decade and soon enough demos were being swapped and new ideas were discussed.

The vision of a large live electronic ensemble formed quickly. Friends were added: Duffin and Nuttall – who was keen to resurrect the double percussion interplay that he and Nash had been exploring as part of motorik trio Nope joined first. Then animator and VIDE0 singer Garner crystallised the line-up by joining on vocals.

“Apart from Emily, all of us had actually played together before in a covers band at a New Year’s Eve party at the Brudenell Social Club a couple of years ago, so we knew we could have fun together” says Benn. “So we set up to be a live party band early on. We wanted lots of people on stage having fun, playing for people that also wanted to have fun. It makes sense we take inspiration from bands like Tom Tom Club and Liquid Liquid; they were trying to help people to party at a point when New York was quite a scary and dangerous place we’re doing the same, albeit in the face of a decaying world and a global pandemic.”

Covid-19 hasn’t given them much opportunity to do that yet, with two fledgling shows in late 2019 to their name before festival appearances at the likes of Bluedot, Sounds From The Other City and Gold Sounds were scuppered last year. However, the 6 tracks on Holodrum crackle with the energy of the dancefloor. Opening cut 'Lemon Chic' described by Garner as her “workout track” starts out sparsely, with tight drum claps and burbling synths holding a teetering suspense before the whole thing’s prised open, allowing beaming saxophone skronk to shine in. Garner’s vocals bob and weave around the syncopations of the track’s building cacophony.

It sets the stall for an album heavy on euphoria, built atop crisp interplaying percussion and acid-flecked grooves. At times Shjipstone provides a raw counterpoint on vocals, while elsewhere - like on the strutting, swirling disco of 'Free Advice' and 'Low Light'’s late night ping pong synths - the pair indulge in playful call and response as the instrumentation builds and contorts around them. 'Stage Echo' provides a respite of sorts halfway through, a swirling, fever dream of a track that peaks with big squelchy frequencies and cavernous reverb, before the album returns to its repetitious exercises in body-moving catharsis underpinned at all times by a relentlessly propulsive rhythm section.

Ltd. Gtf. Silver & Black 3 LP, one side edged.. Leadfinger aus Australien sind eine 2-Gitarren-Rock'n'Roll-Band. Ihre Einflüsse reichen in die Rock- und Punk-Ära der 70er & 80er Jahre, durch die klassischen Stones- und Dylan-Platten der 60er Jahre, den Blues und darüber hinaus. Songwriter /Gitarrist Stewart Cunningham spielte seine Gitarre im Sydney Underground der 1990er Jahre in Rockbands wie Brother Brick, The Yes Men & Asteroid B-612. Cunningham gründete Leadfinger im Jahr 2006 , seit 2008 eine Twin-Gitarren-Rock-n'Roll-Band mit einem 4-köpfigen Line-Up. Nach 5 Alben gingen sie im Oktober 2017 auf ihre erste Europatournee. Die Geschichte von Silver & Black begann nicht lange danach, als der Sänger und Songwriter der Band, Stewart Cunningham, krank wurde und Lungenkrebs diagnostiziert wurde. Nach fast 2 Jahren Behandlung und während der Covid-Lockdowns gelang es der Band, das neue Album aufzunehmen. Silver & Black markiert den letzten Schritt im Triumph über ernsthafte Widrigkeiten. Die Killer-Riffs und Songs des Albums sind über Cunninghams oft reflektierende Textthemen miteinander verbunden und erforschen die Herausforderungen und Erfahrungen des wirklichen Lebens, mit denen sich viele identifizieren werden. Die melodischen Gitarrenlinien von Cunningham und Michael Boyle werden durch Harmoniegesang ergänzt, der das Album weit über die Standard-Rockkost hinausführt. Silver & Black ist ein musikalischer Beweis für die Entschlossenheit und die Widerstandsfähigkeit von Leadfinger und dem Anführer der Band, Stewart Cunningham. Es ist passend, dass es das bisher stärkste und erfolgreichste Album der Band ist.

Almost exactly a year after Tower Block Dreams' Time Is Now debut and the launch of our white label series, the UK-born, Madrid-based producer returns with a club-ready 5 tracker which fuses together the most danceable facets of UKG, grime and breaks.

The opening track "Bare Dubs" pays tribute to UKG's antecedents in pirate radio with sporadic MC vocal samples and a womping bassline. The product: a soundsystem banger with a disjointed, yet fiercely controlled two-step rhythm and grimey, extended basslines a la So Solid Crew and early Scratcha. Flip over the record and the A-side's cold rigour is swapped out for a sultry groove.

Euphoric piano stabs and playful R'n'B vocal chops energise "If You Want The Reload" and video-game-esque bleeps lend "Last One From Me" its blissed-out melody. But don't get too comfortable. The aptly-named "From The Top" sees a return of the opening tracks' grime sensibilities and introduces an FM static atmospheric to take things back to the old school.

Time Is Now White Vol.12 drops 25th February 2022 via Time Is Now.

Soulful drum & bass connoisseur and Goldfat Records head honcho, Mitekiss is ready to make his mark with his highly anticipated second studio album 'Bolivian Hotel Bistro', on Hospital Records. Consisting of 16 delicately crafted masterpieces, expect a fusion of his signature liquid-jazz style with a versatile set of influences spanning house, garage, ambient and minimal tempos, as he brings in a range of exciting new talent including Vonné, Emiko, Duskee, Ruth Corey, B-ahwe, Milo Merah, Pixie Cola and gürl.

Reissue of The Rolf Kühn Group's funky 1975 fusion album 'Total Space',
featuring Joachim Kühn, Philip Catherine, Gerd Dudek, Albert
Mangelsdorff and Daniel Humair
For a German jazz musician to find international recognition as a major player
has been and remains a rarity. Clarinettist Rolf Kühn belongs to this elite class.
No one sounds like him on the clarinet; warm, round and masterful, his tone
remains unmistakable no matter what style he may be playing at any given
moment. His play resonates with a maturity and wisdom gathered from a long
and rich life of musical experiences. At MPS, Rolf Kühn was allowed free rein to
choose the team for the recordings and so he decided to get Wolfgang
Hirschmann on board, one of the most interesting sound engineers in jazz at that
time. Having a free jazz background, Kühn breaks out in a new direction towards
jazz fusion with this album.
"My recordings for the MPS label always benefited from an atmosphere of artistic
freedom, something that I am still thankful for. MPS was the first German record
company that recorded solely jazz and was open for experiments and new fields
of music. For "Total Space" I was allowed to try out new things like having two
drummers, Daniel Humair and Kaspar Winding and to invite completely
freethinking players like Albert Mangelsdorff or Gerd Dudek to the recording." -
Rolf Kühn, 2019

Purer, aggressiver traditioneller Metal, der den Geist von NWOBHM für das 21. Jahrhundert einfängt! Auf ihrem selbstbetitelten Album beleben Vancouvers Maule die Sounds der frühen 1980er mit einem frischen, energiegeladenen Twist und machen es zu einem der aufregendsten Debüts des Jahres! Mehr als vier Jahrzehnte nach ihrer Ankunft inspiriert die New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) weiterhin neue Musiker. Ihre erste Welle trug natürlich dazu bei, Thrash zu kreieren und legte den Grundstein für die europäische und US- Metalszene, die im folgenden Jahrzehnt Gestalt annehmen sollte. Und während Iron Maiden und Saxon als Speerspitzen des Stils auftauchten, etablierten sich auch Bands wie Angel Witch, Blitzkrieg, Diamond Head und Tygers of Pan Tang, die jetzt durch Bands einer weiteren Generation entfernt weiterleben, darunter Vancouvers Maule.
CD & LP (Black Vinyl + Inner Sleeve & Download Card)

"Astreines Futter für diejenigen unter euch, die gerne einen Ausflug zum Keep It True, Headbanger´s Open Air oder Muskelrock machen, erreicht uns diesen Monat (wie so oft) aus Kanada. MAULE konnten schon 2019 mit ihrem "From Hell"-Demo erste Wellen schlagen, jetzt steht der Release der Debüt-Langrille ins Haus. Erfreulicherweise hat sich musikalisch im Vergleich zum ohnehin schon sehr guten Demo nicht allzu viel verändert, MAULE setzen auch drei Jahre später auf Heavy Metal mit starker NWOBHM-Schlagseite. Vor allem Sänger Jakob Weel hat in der Zwischenzeit aber einen ordentlichen Zahn zugelegt, der Mann klingt deutlich versierter, klarer und druckvoller als auf "From Hell". Der Rest der Band tritt derweil gut aufs Gaspedal und klöppelt sich in weiten Zügen mit ordentlich Schmackes durch die neun kurzweiligen Tracks. Sehr schönes Ding!"
(Rock Hard Soundcheck # 3)