Suche:duo j

Part 1 of a two part LP project from Casino Times !
The record Sounds Like: John Carpenter performing a live set at 4AM in a basement club.

Coming off the back of 2021, a year which saw the launch of their new imprint 'What's My Derivative?', Casino Times (Joseph Spencer and Nicholas Church) continue a journey of exploring the unusual spaces between House & Techno, carving out their unique space in the scene which over the last decade has seen them release on many leading record labels.

The duo return to Omena in 2022 after previously releasing two complimentary concept EPs (Decoded / Recoded). This time they take the step up to prepare only their 2nd full-length record 'A Change In Motion'.
An accomplished collection of tracks that are the epitome of their unconstrained style of electronic music, subverting expectations by blending an array of captivating ideas and atmospheres to form a true voyage through sound...

Part 2 of a two part LP project from Casino Times !
The record Sounds Like: John Carpenter performing a live set at 4AM in a basement club.

Coming off the back of 2021, a year which saw the launch of their new imprint 'What's My Derivative?', Casino Times (Joseph Spencer and Nicholas Church) continue a journey of exploring the unusual spaces between House & Techno, carving out their unique space in the scene which over the last decade has seen them release on many leading record labels.

The duo return to Omena in 2022 after previously releasing two complimentary concept EPs (Decoded / Recoded). This time they take the step up to prepare only their 2nd full-length record 'A Change In Motion'.
An accomplished collection of tracks that are the epitome of their unconstrained style of electronic music, ssubverting expectations by blending an array of captivating ideas and atmospheres to form a true voyage through sound...

CYPRESS HILL - 30th ANNIVERSARY CASE BOOK
To commemorate the 30 year Anniversary of Cypress Hill’s debut album Get On Down is proud to present the complete album on 7 inch vinyl singles for the rst time ever housed in a deluxe casebook. LIMITED TO 2000 UNITS WORLDWIDE! The debut album is presented as a set of six 7-Inch vinyl records presented in a Hardcover Casebook which holds all six records in built-in sleeves Full-color 80 page booklet with liner notes by journalist Chris Faraone, complete with photos and lyrics, and more Housed in a premium outer slipcase, debossed with the iconic Cypress Hill logo in metallic red foil. When Cypress Hill came with their debut self-titled album 30 years ago, they made an immediate spark that captivated the Hip Hop audience, critics, and then the world. Led by B-Real with his nasal, singsong delivery, and Sen Dog to play the perfect hypeman, Cypress’ debut fueled tales of revenge, revolution, recreational drug use, gangbanging, and cultural pride. Like Public Enemy before them, the production was also a key factor in what made this debut so groundbreaking. DJ Muggs was able to craft a blueprint that would change Hip Hop production with his innovative stoned-out beats. Records like "How I Could Just Kill a Man", "Pigs", "Stoned is the Way of the Walk" and "Hand on the Pump" made this album an instant classic. Since its release, the album has won acclaim as one of Rolling Stone's Essential Recordings of the 90s and Top 100 Best Rap Albums by The Source Magazine. Journalist and author Chris Faraone highlights the group's relationship in the reissue's liner notes saying, "By the late 80s the undisputed Cypress unit finally formed. B and Sen realized that their diametric styles - the latter's deep wrangle, the formers inimitable high notes - complemented one another righteously. By then Muggs had bangers in the bag, as well as industry experience from a jaunt with the New York duo 7A3. B and Sen waited while Muggs messed with 7A3, and in that time began to build the blueprint for their raucous and weeded no-holds-barred style. Besides getting schooled on industry pitfalls, Muggs had also grown into hip-hop's most formidable young producer, while straddling the bi-coastal gap." Faraone was able to dive in deep with the band for the liner notes, hearing story after story, including the particularly interesting tale of their unlikely 91 radio hit, "How I Could Just Kill A Man". In the B Side wins again story, the group recalls receiving resistance from the label in regards to which single should hit radio first. Initially, the label thought "How I Could Just Kill A Man" was too risky, and even though the single initially "The Phuncky Feel One", one of the album's strongest cuts, as the A-Side, college and commercial mix-show radio couldn't resist the dusted, heavy groove of Kill A Man. The song – which included a catchy, LA drive-by-inspired chorus – ended up as an unlikely, but powerful double A-sided single that even topped the Billboard Rap charts. More singles would follow, including "Hand On The Pump"; "Pigs"; and "Latin Lingo". And by the fall of 1991, the album was a full-blown critics darling. If you are a Cypress Hill fan and 45 collector this limited edition 30 year Anniversary 7” boxset is a must have!

Over the six distinctive tracks on Forbidden Islands, Madrid duo Uanamani define their broad and multi-faceted vision of techno and ambient. The two genres become one in Derk & Iterbio’s hands. Propulsive rhythms surge forward, peak and disintegrate into plumes of heady fog. Float with the weightless two openers, drill deep into dubwise territory with “Punatori,” soar with club cut “Poveglia,” then ride out the smooth descent. Written and produced by Uanamani Mastered at Enisslab Studio in Rome Designed by Natacha Mankowski

Stolen Body Records is thrilled to announce the release of Mexican Doom Metal band Terror Cósmico’s first album in 4 years - Miasma.

Miasma is the fourth album from Mexico City based duo, Terror Cósmico. The record takes a different turn in production from past albums, having a more aggressive tone, having drums and guitar recorded separately in the studio, being able to create an intense and surrounding sound.

Miasma is made up of 8 tracks which deliver a great range of emotions, going through desperation, anguish and desolation mixed with an air of nostalgic mystery.

Recorded in January of 2021 in Testa Studio in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. The sessions held a vibe of doubt and fear to what the pandemic could bring. The album is charged with all the emotions of a very strange moment in our timeline. The artwork was a commissioned task by Portland artist Jason Barnett.
Tracks:

First Word Records is pleased to welcome back Souleance with a brand new single for Summer 2022!

'GUILI GUILI' is a double AA side 7" single, with an additional remix by Art Of Tones on the digital version.

French slang for "tickle", 'GUILI' is an epic disco-funk piece inspired by the likes of Azymuth, Herbie Hancock and Marcos Valle, but incorporated with Souleance's trademark sounds of fuzzy bass-heavy electronica, synths and samples, giving the track a fresh contemporary twist. Meanwhile, the (digital only) Art Of Tones mix ramps up the disco elements heavily, incorporating some vocals, strings and horn stabs to create some sure fire heat for the summertime. The flipside 'TORO' is a much more tweaked-out, synth-heavy bomb, influenced by artists such as Prince, Parliament and French electronic club music. All tracks mark the evolution of the duo into a full live band, whilst remaining true to their sonic mission of producing music crafted especially for the dancefloor.

The band have been performing live at various festivals and venues across Europe, with upcoming appearances scheduled at the Pura Vida Festival, Greece in August and Jazz à Vienne in July.

This two-track vinyl 7" / three-track digi-single is released on First Word Records, worldwide on May 27th 2022. Another essential one for your record bags.

Credits:

Bass guitar, synths and programming by Fulgeance.

Scratches and programming by Soulist.

Wurlitzer, Moog grandmother, ASM Hydra synth & Roland Juno 60 by Vincent Choquet.

Mastered by DJ VAS.

When you drop the needle on Vocal Patterns, you are entering a world that is equal parts suave, smooth, cool, nostalgic, and kitsch. With haunting and beautiful vocals, upbeat numbers, and smooth sounds made for a late 60’s summer holiday, let this cult classic transport you back to a simpler time. Originally released in 1971, Vocal Patterns features compositions by Roger Webb and vocal performances by Barbara Moore. This powerhouse duo has their own recognition outside of library music. Roger Webb worked as a musical director alongside the likes of Rex Harrison and Bette Davis and wrote songs for Shirley Bassey and Johnny Mathis. Barbara Moore, composer of the de Wolfe cult classic “Vocal Shades and Tones”, collaborated with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Dusty Springfield, and Tom Jones.

‘Raiz’, the first release on the OITO//OITO Discos label, draws the musical focus towards the sound archives of Michel Giacometti, a French ethnomusicologist who dedicated his life to studying the oral traditions of Portugal which had become either lost or forgotten, with his collections still exhibited today in the Museum of Portuguese Music in Estoril. As with their previous releases, the duo carefully manage the source material and interweave it with their Acid House undertones, with both the original cuts ‘Ceifeiras’ and ‘A Poda’ doing a beautiful job at merging the powerful vocals with driving bass lines and rhythms. The opener in particular has a deep mysticism to it, the vocals leading the line as razor sharp pads craft a pulse alongside a steady but powerful drum structure. ‘A Poda’ takes things in a trippy-er direction, with the vocals stretched out in that prog house style that keeps the mind ticking over and the body left to its own devices. The breakdowns in this track are very effective, and really portray the soul of the original vocal performance and allow for the listener to connect with the wider feeling being conveyed. On the flip, the duo asked producers Switchdance and Terra Chã to put their spin on ‘Ceifeiras’, and the results only add to the atmosphere. Switchdance takes things down into murky depths, with a low slung beat expertly interspersed with driving bass notes, as sweeping chordal lines meander up above, giving a whole new angle to the original and winning over our hearts. Terra Chã’s version injects some swing into proceedings, with looping chordal stabs pulsating through the middle along with some beautiful melodic additions that exalt and inspire in equal measure.
Balanced, referential, blissful, dynamic. All this, and more, feature heavily on the first edition of OITO//OITO Discos, so why not come along and meander through time and space – it’s worth the trip…

D'Arcangelo is the duo of Marco and Fabrizio D'Arcangelo and Arium is their first release of sublime introspective electronics for A Colourful Storm. Throughout EPs and seminal albums for Rephlex, Nature and Suction Records, D'Arcangelo forged a sleek and sensuous sound alongside their label mates Bochum Welt, Leo Anibaldi and Lory D. Arium is their latest EP, containing new studio productions and a lost gem produced during the Shipwreck era, hinting at the seminal Broken Toys' Corner and Eksel albums. Full-colour sleeve with insert and liner notes by Marco D'Arcangelo.

Emerging from the dark recesses of the Chicago and London underground, in 2000 Omni a.m. relocated to New York. This EP marked their first release in their new surroundings, it's an intense and highly sought after 4 tracker that showcases the duo's continuing originality and guile.

First up 'Smurfette's Big Night Out' is imaginative in it's approach, there's punchy beats and cascading percussion that drive the track along and really deliver the funk. Psychedelic acid touches interweave with haunting pads and a super deep b-line creates a chemistry like no other. Next is 'Buckshot' a more stripped back rolling affair. Undulating synths and swathes of infectious bass build the track throughout, whilst spacious analog delays and dub influenced sonic tricks abound. Over to the flip where 'I On U' is a wonderful floor friendly roller coaster of a ride, intro'd by a super phat kick, there's stuttering snares that jack and swing, whilst warm synths bubble and filter. Lastly 'Sick Sense' sets the controls for deep space, the bold throbbing bass makes it proper heads down groovin' affair, and the expertly programmed spoken word vocals interplay to add intrigue and atmosphere.

New York Sessions is a cherished release from the Omni a.m. catalogue, a classic where all 4 tracks ooze class and character. This EP has certainly stood the test of time and has been lovingly remastered by Curvepusher for today's discerning minds and dance floors, full support already coming from Raresh and SIT.

Relentless techno powerhouses Octave One stride in 2022 with a brand new release that re-affirms their status across two essential tracks. 2021 was another busy year for the Burden Brothers, who re-introduced the world to their Never On Sunday alias. The project first started in the 90s as an outlet for deeper, more introspective sounds and was fittingly brought back last year to great acclaim. The Detroit duo’s Locus of Control series also hit volume number three and the iconic Octave One live show continued to light up clubs everywhere from Barcelona, Paris and Geneva to LA and New York. Despite that, they still had time to cook up more of their famously soulful techno in the studio, the first two tracks of which are presented here.Opener ‘The Blue Drift’ surges ahead on waves of rattling metallic synths. Well swung claps bring that irresistible sense of groove, while twisted melodies add raw dynamics. Add in the heavy underlying bass and you have a classic Octave One track that is both physical yet emotional. On the flip side is ‘It-Just-Is’ a powerful statement of intent. It’s a stripped back track where house and techno meet - there is a seductive slide to the drums and potency in the turbulent synths which bring the energy. The melody is melancholic and as the emotive pads ring out they lodge deep in your brain to make for another standout cut. This vital new release proves Octave One remains right at the forefront of underground music more than 30 years after they started out.

Clear vinyl LP edition of 500 copies. Vacant Gardens is Glenn Donaldson (of The Reds, Pinks and Purples and a hundred others) and Jem Fanvu, collaborating on music and with the latter responsible for vocals and lyrics. The project began with the idea of combining heavy fuzz and slow-mo drum machine beats with Fanvu's gentle almost trad-folk style vocals. Almost all of Donaldson's otherworldly sounds are achieved through layers of guitar fuzz and copious delay, while Fanvu offers an ideal counterpoint, taking the listener on a celestial melancholy trip with her opaque poetry and melodies. So inspired were the duo by this blend of styles, they immediately recorded at least two albums of material, Under the Bloom and Obscene, released in quick succession in 2020 and 2021 in swiftly-disappearing micro editions on the secretive Tall Texan label. With those records close-to-impossible to find at an affordable price, Tough Love are now reissuing both LPs. From Reds Pinks and Purples' Glenn Donaldson, Vacant Gardens is an interstellar recording project that combines celestial, shimmering guitar on the verge of breaking like a massive, emotive wave and an ethereal vocal style from Jem Fanvu (visual artist, Minor Ghost Band also, plus collaborating with Tune-Yards, Cavity Fangs and many more) recalling Hope Sandoval or Liz Fraser that sails in its wake. Simply put, this is some of biggest, heart-tugging guitar music you'll hear in recent times. Sold out at once debut Under The Bloom, is followed now a continuation and development of the group's sound on Obscene: a frayed tapestry of Slowdiving, Flying Saucer Attack guitar noise wall married with an angelic vocal from Fanvu that glitters in counterpoint to the stringed distortion like Hope Sandoval or, in the way it shines bright in the fog, like Jonsi's surfing the surging waves of emotion in early Sigur Ros. Originally released in February on digital formats, Obscene gets a vinyl press and is sounding massive. Vacant Gardens' music suggests oceanic feelings, a hazy intergalactic consicousness that burbles beneath the surface of everything while also touching the visceral points in the human heart that makes groups like Galaxie 500, Yo La Tengo so timeless.

Obscura label head Fedele makes his long awaited return to the imprint for new EP ‘The Awake, Pt.1’, backed by remixes from Extrawelt and Midnight Operator aka Mathew Jonson and Nathan Jonson. Fedele’s penchant for synthesizer techniques and drum machines has caught the ear of global tastemakers, with projects released on the likes of Turbo, Afterlife, and Ellum receiving support from the likes of Maceo Plex, Tiga, Tale of Us, Dixon, John Digweed, Miss Kittin, and DJ Stingray. With sights set towards summer peak, the Italian returns to his Obscura Music imprint with his latest work, The Awake, Pt. 1.

Riot Dance leads the line with crisp kicks on a heady rise to set the groove before an analog-tinged synth line claims the hook. Acidic tones & ethereal stabs offer a generous dose of psychedelia, while the gritty groove ensures the cut’s ability to ignite dance floors. Modular Madness harnesses ominous flavors and a driving bassline that ebbs & flows to keep minds melting. The melodies open into swirling synthetics, with revolving reverberations and rich soundscapes capturing the ear from start to finish.

Storied German duo Extrawelt arrive on remix duty, taking the reins on ‘Riot Dance’ to twist a low- slung groover. They bring the bassline into the foreground, keeping a delightful vibe alive and welcoming a touch of light to the dark underbelly of the original, before diving back into the deep as the track unfolds. Obscura regular Mathew Jonson connects with a producer he knows well – his brother Nathan. Together, they remix ‘Modular Madness’ under their alias Midnight Operator. Picking up the pace, they maintain the acid-laced grit from the original arrangement, while adding serene melodies to the high-end. A balanced rework from two seasoned veterans.

Producer Frank Farian, the man behind Boney M and Milli Vanilli, rolled out his ‘90s equivalent, La Bouche, in 1995. The German based Eurodance duo La Bouche featured vocalist Melanie Thornton and rapper Lane McCray. They gained international success in 1995 when the hit single “Be My Lover” reached the top of the charts. In that same year they released their debut album Sweet Dreams featuring the singles “Fallin’ In Love” and “I Love To Love”.

It's hard to believe it's taken this long for a proper retrospective of legendary Los Angeles collective CVE. "We Represent Billions" is a crucial portrait of one of the West Coast's most low-key influential crews - a hydra-like collective of rappers, producers, designers and engineers who were key members of the Good Life Cafe's open mic scene, going on to inspire artists like Jurassic 5, Kendrick Lamar amongst many other. Initially called Chillin Villain Posse before morphing into Chillin Villain Empire in the late 1980s, they eventually centered around the core trio of Riddlore, NgaFsh and Tray-Loc. The crew were years ahead of their time, self-producing music without samples and pioneering a stream of consciousness lyrics that still sound fresh and innovative. CVE were self-sufficient and motivated from the beginning, named "Chillin Villains" because that's how they were perceived by white America. This social motivation was channeled into their groundbreaking performances at Good Life Cafe, the South Central session that evolved into Project Blowed and later on came to influence LA club night 'Low End Theory'. It was chronicled by Ava Duvernay, herself an MC in short-lived duo Figures of Speech, in her "This is the Life" documentary, where she interviewed CVE alongside Jurassic 5, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude and Busdriver. On "We Represent Billions", we're treated to a snapshot of the CVE sound from 1993-2003, their most prolific era. The retrospective collects music from the handful of albums the crew released on their own Afterlife Recordz label (mostly as limited edition CD-R's) plus many previously unreleased tracks and highlights their untethered eccentric creativity and sheer breadth of influence. Whether twisting twitchy West Coast electro on 'All Over Da Globe' or free associating over horror synths and foley sounds on 'Made in Chillz Ville' there's a sense that their music was just too future for its time. Assembled from heaving industrial samples and graced by back-and-forth tongue twisting flows, 'Thugs and Clips' is as eerie and hard-hitting as anything 2Pac's "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" full-length. Fuzzed-out and unsettling, 'Calistylics' welds an ambient synth loop and bone-rattling percussion to Tricky-esque percussion, while the flickering closer 'Unicycle' is a cross between Dr. Dre's icy G-gunk pressure and Three 6 Mafia's pitch black lo-fi funk. In many ways, 2022 is the perfect time to rediscover this music: an urgent, creative fusion of spine-tingling pre-grime electronic minimalism and mind bending wordplay that still sounds completely idiosyncratic and utterly alien. Tracks: 1 All Over Da Globe 2 Thugs and Clips 3 C.V. Vault 4 Made in Chillz Ville 5 Bring It On 6 Calistylics 7 No Feelins 8 Let's Get It On 9 Today Was A Fucked Up Day 10 Untitled (Freestyle) 11 Unicycle

It's hard to believe it's taken this long for a proper retrospective of legendary Los Angeles collective CVE. "We Represent Billions" is a crucial portrait of one of the West Coast's most low-key influential crews - a hydra-like collective of rappers, producers, designers and engineers who were key members of the Good Life Cafe's open mic scene, going on to inspire artists like Jurassic 5, Kendrick Lamar amongst many other. Initially called Chillin Villain Posse before morphing into Chillin Villain Empire in the late 1980s, they eventually centered around the core trio of Riddlore, NgaFsh and Tray-Loc. The crew were years ahead of their time, self-producing music without samples and pioneering a stream of consciousness lyrics that still sound fresh and innovative. CVE were self-sufficient and motivated from the beginning, named "Chillin Villains" because that's how they were perceived by white America. This social motivation was channeled into their groundbreaking performances at Good Life Cafe, the South Central session that evolved into Project Blowed and later on came to influence LA club night 'Low End Theory'. It was chronicled by Ava Duvernay, herself an MC in short-lived duo Figures of Speech, in her "This is the Life" documentary, where she interviewed CVE alongside Jurassic 5, Freestyle Fellowship, Abstract Rude and Busdriver. On "We Represent Billions", we're treated to a snapshot of the CVE sound from 1993-2003, their most prolific era. The retrospective collects music from the handful of albums the crew released on their own Afterlife Recordz label (mostly as limited edition CD-R's) plus many previously unreleased tracks and highlights their untethered eccentric creativity and sheer breadth of influence. Whether twisting twitchy West Coast electro on 'All Over Da Globe' or free associating over horror synths and foley sounds on 'Made in Chillz Ville' there's a sense that their music was just too future for its time. Assembled from heaving industrial samples and graced by back-and-forth tongue twisting flows, 'Thugs and Clips' is as eerie and hard-hitting as anything 2Pac's "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" full-length. Fuzzed-out and unsettling, 'Calistylics' welds an ambient synth loop and bone-rattling percussion to Tricky-esque percussion, while the flickering closer 'Unicycle' is a cross between Dr. Dre's icy G-gunk pressure and Three 6 Mafia's pitch black lo-fi funk. In many ways, 2022 is the perfect time to rediscover this music: an urgent, creative fusion of spine-tingling pre-grime electronic minimalism and mind bending wordplay that still sounds completely idiosyncratic and utterly alien. Tracks: 1 All Over Da Globe 2 Thugs and Clips 3 C.V. Vault 4 Made in Chillz Ville 5 Bring It On 6 Calistylics 7 No Feelins 8 Let's Get It On 9 Today Was A Fucked Up Day 10 Untitled (Freestyle) 11 Unicycle

The brand new album by rising Australian out-rock duo, Party Dozen. Features guest vocals by Nick Cave. Party Dozen are a duo from Sydney made up of Kirsty Tickle (saxophone) and Jonathan Boulet (percussion and sampler). Since forming in 2017, they have become renowned in Australia for their incendiary live shows, touring and playing with acts such as LIARS, Tropical Fuck Storm and Viagra Boys. Exactly what Party Dozen are is completely up to the listener. Doom. Jazz. Hardcore. Psychedelic. No-wave. Industrial. Although largely instrumental, their sets are punctuated by Kirsty’s unique “singing” style, screaming into the bell of her saxophone which itself goes through a bevy of effects pedals. Intensely independent in everything they do, the duo write, perform and record everything themselves. 2022 will see the return of Party Dozen, first in April with the 7” release, Fat Hans Gone Mad, for the Sub Pop Singles Club, and then in July with their third album, The Real Work, with a new label partner in New York’s Temporary Residence Ltd. The Real Work succeeds in exploring new directions but also features some familiar Party Dozen touches. Perhaps most notable is the first-ever appearance of a guest other than Kirsty or Jonathan on a Party Dozen track, with Nick Cave ad-libbing a very memorable contribution to the album’s second track, “Macca The Mutt.”

After two UK #1 albums, 2 million album sales and an array of international acclaim, you might’ve thought you knew what to expect from Royal Blood. Those preconceptions were shattered when they released ‘Trouble’s Coming’ last summer. Hitting a melting pot of fiery rock riffs and danceable beats, they delivered something fresh, unexpected and yet entirely in tune with what they’d forged their reputation with.
The reaction was phenomenal, with highlights including 20 million streams, a premiere as Annie Mac’s Hottest Record and a run on Radio 1’s A-list and earned alternative radio support and media attention across the globe. In short, Royal Blood are primed to be bigger than ever before. That feat is set to be realised when they release their eagerly anticipated third album ‘Typhoons’ on April 30th via Warner Records.
When Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher sat down to talk about making a new album, they knew what they wanted to achieve. It involved a conscious return to their roots, back when they had made music that was influenced by Daft Punk, Justice, and Philippe Zdar of Cassius. It also called for a similar back-to-basics approach to what had made their self-titled debut album so thrilling, visceral and original.
“We sort of stumbled on this sound, and it was immediately fun to play,” recalls Kerr. “That’s what sparked the creativity on the new album, the chasing of that feeling. It’s weird, though - if you think back to ‘Figure it Out’, it kind of contains the embryo of this album. We realised that we didn’t have to completely destroy what we’d created so far; we just had to shift it, change it. On paper, it’s a small reinvention. But when you hear it, it sounds so fresh.”

Those traits pulsate throughout the new single and title track. Kerr’s spiralling bass riff casts an hypnotic allure as it grows in intensity, while his vocals switch at will between a raw rock roar and a soulful falsetto. It’s underpinned by Thatcher’s thundering beats, his taut rhythms infused with groove-laden hi-hats.



After setting the tone with ‘Trouble’s Coming’, the album opens in breathless, take-no-prisoners style with the fierce metallic grooves of ‘Who Needs Friends’ hitting an early visceral peak. Royal Blood further reference their fresh array of influences by deploying vocodered vocals on ‘Million & One’ before dynamically switching between the biggest contrasts of their sound with ‘Limbo’. Already a fan favourite having been a regular during the duo’s 2019 shows, ‘Boilermaker’ lives up to its reputation and is more than matched by ‘Mad Visions’, which evokes a hyper-aggressive Prince. It ends with a final surprise in the shape of the stark piano ballad ‘All We Have Is Now’, a vulnerable and revealing reminder to live in the moment.

That song’s unguarded sentiments gives the album a redemptive finale. Whether directly or allusively, the album focuses on exploring the flipside of success that they’ve experienced. It comes from the realisation that success is much more complicated than it seems and that having the time to regain perspective is a precious commodity which becomes ever more elusive. The situation called for reflection and change, which Kerr addressed in Las Vegas. He downed an espresso martini and declared it to be his last drink, and soon discovered that his new-found sobriety would have a positive impact upon his creativity and life as a whole.

That new approach manifested itself in the duo’s decision to produce the majority of ‘Typhoons’ themselves. ‘Boilermaker’ was produced by Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, the two bands having first connected when Royal Blood supported them on a huge North American tour. Meanwhile, the multiple Grammy Award winner Paul Epworth produced ‘Who Needs Friends’ and contributed additional production to ‘Trouble’s Coming’.

“Still Lives” is the third solo full length by the Finnish composer Marja Ahti, following a pair of releases on the Hallow Ground imprint. As a collection, it may be seen as a series of studies on the liminality of the listening act and an investigation into the physicality of sound. Ahti forges vivid electroacoustic environments from field recordings, analog synthesizers, acoustic feedback, magnetic tape and digital processing, resulting in a set of articulate, prickly, and surprising compositions. In the artist’s words, “These pieces could be conceived of as vanitas paintings of a kind – selections of mundane or archetypal objects, sounds that have their own distinct qualities, but exist only by virtue of being temporary events. From another angle, one could think of them as shrines – objects assembled and set in a particular relationship to each other, charging each other in their given constellations.” Marja Ahti (b. 1981) is a musician and composer based in Turku, Finland. Originally from Sweden, Ahti has been a part of the Finnish experimental music scene for more than ten years in different constellations. She is currently active in the duo Ahti & Ahti with her partner and as a member of the Himera artist/organizer collective.

Limited White Teal & Beige Vinyl. Spencer Zahn's second record for Cascine emerged from a series of piano sketches born of daily improvisations in Kingston, New York, where he relocated during the pandemic after 14 years in the buzz of Brooklyn. Inspired by the space and pace of upstate life, he explored a more restrained, resonant mode of playing, letting chords delay all the way to silence, until the seeds of songs took shape. Zahn accompanied himself on upright bass, finessing each piece without cluttering it, focusing on the notion of "the instrument in a room. Recruiting long-time collaborator Andy Highmore for piano duties, the duo booked time at Figure 8 Recording in Prospect Heights to craft the lulling, lyrical 12-track suite of Pale Horizon. The tonality of the instruments was central to Zahn's vision, fusing them to feel like a single entity, with upright bass blending in an elegant gradient with the low strings on the piano. An air of Keith Jarrett and Ryuichi Sakamoto hangs over the collection, acoustic and unhurried, stately but subdued, ruminative daydream melodies heard on the breeze in a quiet garden.