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Pressed On White (Lp1) & Red (Lp2) Vinyl. How do you define the music of Mantronix? Is it Hip Hop? Electro? Funk? House? Maybe the answer is all of the above (or is it none of the above?). It is true that Mantronix will be remembered for their multi-faceted sound as well as their ability to bend and blend genres flawlessly into a cohesive musical tapestry, but they will also most importantly they will be remembered as musical innovators and sub- genre pioneers. Kurtis Mantronik and MC Tee formed the group Mantronix In the early 80s. Their Sleeping Bag Records debut: Mantronix: The Album shot to commercial success on the strength of their debut single, "Fresh Is The Word". The influence of this groundbreaking debut is still felt in popular music today, having been sampled by the likes of Beastie Boys, Beck, The Prodigy and more. Kurtis Mantronik was also as dangerous behind the desk as he was behind the boards. Working as A&R for Sleeping Bag while signed to the label, Mantronik also helped recruit, sign, and produce for artists such as T La Rock and Just-Ice. Notable records from this era include, Just Ice's "Cold Gettin' Dumb" and "Back to the Old School" as well as T La Rock's "Breaking Bells (12" Version)". Traffic Entertainment Group in conjunction with Sleeping Bag Records and Warlock Entertainment now presents; Mantronix: King of the Beats, The Anthology 1985-1988. This carefully curated double LP compilation combines the best of Mantronix's work from the early, and arguably, best era of their career into one amazing listening experience. Whether you are an avid Mantronix fan or are looking for a place to start - this is the collection to wrap your ears around.

A1. Mantronix - Needle To The Groove (12” Version) A2. T La Rock - Breaking Bells (12” Version) A3. Just-Ice - Back To The Old School B1. Mantronix - Fresh Is The Word (12” Version) B2. Just-Ice - Turbo Charged B3. T La Rock - Breaking Bells (Dub Version) C1. Mantronix - We Control The Dice C2. Just-Ice - Cold Getting Dumb C3. Just-Ice - Cold Getting Dumb II C4. T La Rock - Bass Machine (12” Version) D1. Mantronix – Bassline D2. Tricky Tee - Johnny The Fox D3. Mantronix - Fresh Is The Word ‘88

Repressed for the first time in 2 years, Note price change. Sermonizing Black Nationalism, Pan-Africanism and the benefits of a healthy and just lifestyle during the height of the Bad Boy/Roc-AFella era of nihilistic excess in the late 90's, Dead Prez also signed to a major label (Loud/Columbia) despite leaning much more towards the burgeoning indie aesthetics of the day. But this was a good thing – using major label muscle to wake up righteous hip-hop fans who might have fallen asleep at the wheel. The group itself – consisting of MCs stic.man and M-1, who produced or co-produced most of the duo’s music – was formed in Tallahassee, Florida in the early 1990's.

By later that decade, the duo had started making significant waves, having their music heard on the soundtracks to “Soul In The Hole” and “Slam,” as well as appearing on albums by Big Pun and The Beatnuts. By 1998, they released their first official single, the serious, stark “Police State,” on Loud, appropriately brought to the label by Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian. After building a solid rep over the next two years with fiery live performances, in 2000 they unleashed their debut album, Let’s Get Free.

The album was a welcome return to provocative and often radically political rhetoric that hearkened back to hip-hop forebears including The Coup, Public Enemy and KRS-One (as well as poetic descendants like the Last Poets and Watts Prophets). Let’s Get Free was critically acclaimed and benefited from multiple singles, including the infectious, thick analog drive of “Hip-Hop” “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop,” with a remix co-produced by a young Kanye West; “Mind Sex” (with Abiodun Oyewole of the Last Poets); and the poignant “I’m An African.”

But the singles weren’t the only worthy songs, as just about every cut here has deeper meaning than most full albums by their early 2000's peers. Highlights: the thought-provoking, anti-drug album opener “Wolves”; “We Want Freedom” “They Schools” and “Propaganda” . All in all, this is one of the more underrated and possibly Top 5 fully-realized political hip-hop albums of all time.

Old Saw, the enigmatic New England collective led by Henry Birdsey (Tongue Depressor), return with their third long-playing record, Dissection Maps. It is not enough to trace the fields. The choreo-cartographic demands the casting of stone, a grassfire, a carnival; something with which to rupture the horizontality of existence and imagine the vertical. Earth is the eighth morning, folded against the week's work. The field is a line drawing of oblivion. The house is a forest in the shape of a womb. America is a quarry in the image of god. (Aidan Patrick Welby – 2024) “The band captures the American stretch, the spaces in-between and the hollowness that haunts us along those routes…fades the radio to static to let the nothingness linger among the soul.” (Raven Sings the Blues) “evokes an ambience of prayer-like solemnity that celebrates something decidedly terrestrial, what the label describes as “a rusted and granular shadow world where the dive bar meets the divine.” It recalls one of those junkyard shrines built by some sincere eccentric, improbably wonderful forms of weathered stone and scrap metal standing like totems to an unrecognised religion rooted in the earth around us.” (Various Small Flames)

For the fourth time now Jaqee introduces herself to the World with her impressive voice and her unique attitude. Born in Kampala, the Capital of Uganda, she began her vagabond like life the moment she was born. During her childhood, she travelled the rural areas of her home country with her parents. This is where she collected her first impressions of the life as a nomad. From birth on, wandering the earth became a part of her destiny. In the early nineties she undertook a huge step and immigrated to Sweden. The City of Gothenburg would become her adopted home from where she was able to access all the different destinies and directions, which were on offer to her. Through all the borders Jaqee crossed, music has always been her steady companion whereas it never was a stereotype thing that let her get down with any special genre, than more like a special feeling. “To do what I want in a particular moment is my motivation. I like to express myself in all kind of sounds.” So above all, she became a true nomad in the world of music. After several successful co-operations with numerous artists, in 2005 Jaqee made an impact with her debut album “Blaqalixious”, which was mainly a Soul and R&B album. “That was my direct contact to the music that a rural community in the Diaspora plays” she explains. But it did not end up there because a nomad like Jaqee does not settle anywhere. After further creative and fruitful collaborations, Jaqee released her second long player “Nouvelle d´ amour” in 2007. This time, the sound was more of a rocking, bluesy vibe. It seemed to be the total opposite to her debut album but for Jaqee it was only the next step on her path in the circle of life. “Everything is possible as long as it is real. I never wonder about things like genre as long as the vibe fits.” One step further on, she encountered the songs of Billie Holiday, which lead to the album “A letter to Billie” recorded together with Bohuslänbigband, a lovely homage to the great American Jazz Singer. Both of her first two albums each received a Swedish Grammy nomination and several appearances in the Swedish national television increased her standing as a passionate and soulful Singer. So Teka, producer and creator of many successful riddims for his co-found German label, Rootdown Records considered her to be part of his new project “Koala Desperados“, which link Caribbean vibes like Cumbia to Reggae, and while working on it a totally new idea was born. Jaqee and Teka decided to combine both their talents into one album. The results of which you can now hear on “Kokoo Girl” a refreshing mix of Old School Reggae sounds from the seventies combined with up-to-date Beats, electronic twists and turns and of course the amazing voice of Jaqee. For her, this means that she has achieved some of her ambitions. “I grew up with African Gospel, in sad and turbulent environment, so for me, this means I grasp and totally understand the reggae and its non ending struggle for the common man.” No sooner said than done and “Kokoo Girl” will become Jaqee’s fourth and newest release. All the paths she followed, countries she crossed and influences she absorbed are a part of this album. She sings with the freedom of spirit of the travelling people. The word “Kokoo” is the only memory that remains everlasting. It is just a word but its impact is so huge that Jaqee does not really like to explain it. “It implies irony and seriousness as well as sarcasm and fun.” It is more than a gimmick. “Kokoo” is a very special feeling and a clear view of the world from an artist who has seen more of it than all the people that have settled down.

"I wish I could turn or turn back" "Sometimes it’s hard to resist the feeling that there was a crucial turn in life out of which everything else flowed. Maybe in our more reasonable frames of mind we can dismiss that thought and take our plans and intentions very seriously. But, there’s often a lurking conviction that, like the oak from the acorn or the movie from its opening scene, it is already all there. In the first moment of Relics of Our Life, anything could happen, anything could come next. But as the suspense is broken with the first notes, the world of the record springs up as both an internal experience and a landscape of which we will learn something, but definitely not everything. The songs induce a swimming sense of cycling repetition and variation where shifting details tilt the ground under us. The round and round doesn’t make us dizzy; like breathing the right way, it makes us both heavier and higher. "Pawliczek’s songs can be located in the company of the greats of Flying Nun Records – maybe the delicacy of The Great Unwashed with the heavy heart of The Verlaines and smartness of The Chills. But, ultimately, his interests are elsewhere – a heart-break song over an earthly lover feels like only the tipping point for longing and devotion that outstrips the personal. In this sense, Popul Vuh for their hymnal geometry and switched-on Palestrina, and Terry Riley for cosmic elation come to mind. The songs have sweeping and cinematic proportions and depths of field constrained by a pop economy love of leanness. "But who’s supplicating whom here? The songs’ devotional quality is not upward to the sacred or even outward to the profane. It’s more like a magnetism between its elements – sounds, voices and rhythms. The track No Talk intones “why don’t you talk to me?” over a driving guitar and one feels visited by some kind of archaic god on whom the tables have been turned, finding himself jealous of our thousand little thoughts. The record finishes with his distorted lilting dance, trying to seduce us with some red red wine that is no one’s blood, but everyone’s favorite drug." -- Karina Gill (Cindy, Flowertown) 2024

“Joe McPhee’s first international release, Black Magic Man, was issued on the newly formed Hat Hut imprint in 1975. It was a watershed moment for the 35-year-old musician. Based in Poughkeepsie, New York, he was too far away from Manhattan to have participated extensively in the Loft Jazz happenings of the decade. European exposure, however, would give McPhee an alternative circuit, something of an escape route from the trappings of American cultural myopia. “In support of the new record for this Swiss label, McPhee invited John Snyder on a European tour in October 1975. Snyder was a synthesizer player with whom McPhee had made the duet LP Pieces Of Light, released a year earlier on CjR. The two musicians developed an extensive repertoire, playing diverse spaces in the Hudson Valley. Geographically close gigs were a plus, since it took extra energy to hoist Snyder’s ARP 2600. “McPhee and Snyder were invited to play at the Willisau Jazz Festival in Switzerland. If you compare this live record with Pieces Of Light, a studio effort, it’s considerably more open. South African drummer Makaya Ntshoko is rolling thunder on the choral ‘Voices,’ shuffling under Snyder’s bubbly beat on ‘Bahamian Folksong.’ It is quite a special combination, enough so that Hat Hut chose to release it as their next LP, Hat Hut B in their alphabetical series. The Willisau Concert represents the sound of Joe McPhee opening up, opening out, expanding his field of operations to include new figures, fresh experiences, new continents of sound.” —John Corbett (excerpt from the liner notes)

"Learn To Die is a bold new step for a group of musicians, artists, and writers that has at least nominally been considered a punk band. A stylistic overhaul. For those who have been following along, it’ll carry some surprises. Slender began over a decade ago as a semi-improvisational cassette recording project, a casual collaboration between a few friends that was initially documented by two self-titled cassette-only releases released in 2014 and 2015 respectively, now both unavailable and out of print. Most fans, however, will know Slender for their two most recent releases, Walled Garden (2017) and Time On Earth (2019), both released on the tastemaking London art-punk label La Vida Es Un Mus. "Their prior work has earned them comparisons to anarcho-punks Crass and The Snipers, lo-fi flagbearers Swell Maps and Pink Reason, and artrockers Cromagnon and Amon Düül. Here, however, such comparisons feel largely unfounded and the band feels somewhat peerless. Moments of artpunk brutalism, lo-fi experimentalism, and kosmiche detours grace the fabric of Learn To Die, but the album reaches for more than pastiche. Teasing the rarified worlds of chamber music and musique concrete, Slender manages something intangible and strange. A vocoded voice intones multi-lingual poems alongside tinny guitars and sampled strings and flutes. Three chord janglepunk anthems arise suddenly out of a cosmic mist crafted by analogue synths reciting the poetry of machines. The album moves in ways reminiscent of works by artists as varied and singular as Nobukazu Takemura, Chuquimamani-Condori, Coil, and Robert Wyatt, but it doesn’t necessarily occupy the same realm as any of them.” – Leah B. Levinson

Jaqee's last album with the promising title "Fly High" leads the inclined listener into a sometimes idiosyncratic fermentation of street-ready R'n'B, pop aesthetics, jazz intellect, world music earthiness, chanting Afro soul and sensitivity and softness of classical music and orchestral warmth, which is defined by Jaqee's voice throughout all tracks, but never overridden. Thilo "Teka" Jacks, who produced "Fly High", is looking for musical salvation and the courage to change things up in order to illustrate unity, also in busy, heated, African sub-currents like High Life, but also in European dancefloor stereotypes and even traces of soca and merengue, all of course always only thought of, because the real main actor is and remains Jaqee's sustained singing, her unique intonation and her voice, which sometimes sounds clear and angry, other times fragile and sensitive - that's the way it should be. Despite or precisely because of this immensely expressive character of the album, it is advisable to listen to the work several times: Jaqee makes music with sophistication and expression and a look that also allows for sheer black music entertainment, "Fly High" proves this with lasting effect. "Fly High" is now available on vinyl for the first time.

Eight years since the breathtaking Somewhere Anywhere EP, The Mad Walls return to re-ignite psych rock with this gorgeous, floatily heavy, effortlessly groovy and sublimely sinuous debut LP. Driven by bone shaking acoustic guitar, visceral drums, wonderfully trippy basslines and the throwaway perfection of Christopher Mercado’s spooked vocals. Pure rock n’ roll yet devoid of cliché. Informed by, but no way in hock to, early MC5, Skip Spence, Sonic Youth, Syd Barrett and Jefferson Airplane when they still all lived together.
Recorded on tape in Mercado’s garage, there’s a DIY heart with epic results across sixteen songs. Only one track over three minutes and some under thirty seconds. “It’s just chatter about life and human feelings. Stylized human expression”. - Is Christopher's self effacing explanation of his mind bending, playful, storytelling. It opens with the walloping drum canter/bass attack of WHO WANTS TO DIE FOR RELIGION. Passes through the furious distorted acoustic guitar solo on I TELL YOU HOW I FEEL. The woozy, elastic time-stretching of COOL TRIPPER. The brief, funky lurch of IN YOUR DREAM YOU ARE NO ONE. The almost lush, cinematic SEVEN DAYS which conjures Serge Gainsbourg by way of Moby Grape. HIP COMMA’s floaty strut and the groovy raga of MAKA THE NATIVE, which has not one but two ‘breath solos’. CLOUDS OF DUST is a skeletal Krautrock fragment and THERE ONLY IS a luminous psych-pop single. Final track APPLES ends the album with a sinewy twelve bar blues and a killer psych guitar break. Bliss.
Somehow the MAD WALLS manage woozily florid and sharp as a blade. Studiedly detailed but effortless. Whip smart and dumb. And as we said at the start - just gorgeous…

Eight years since the breathtaking Somewhere Anywhere EP, The Mad Walls return to re-ignite psych rock with this gorgeous, floatily heavy, effortlessly groovy and sublimely sinuous debut LP. Driven by bone shaking acoustic guitar, visceral drums, wonderfully trippy basslines and the throwaway perfection of Christopher Mercado’s spooked vocals. Pure rock n’ roll yet devoid of cliché. Informed by, but no way in hock to, early MC5, Skip Spence, Sonic Youth, Syd Barrett and Jefferson Airplane when they still all lived together.
Recorded on tape in Mercado’s garage, there’s a DIY heart with epic results across sixteen songs. Only one track over three minutes and some under thirty seconds. “It’s just chatter about life and human feelings. Stylized human expression”. - Is Christopher's self effacing explanation of his mind bending, playful, storytelling. It opens with the walloping drum canter/bass attack of WHO WANTS TO DIE FOR RELIGION. Passes through the furious distorted acoustic guitar solo on I TELL YOU HOW I FEEL. The woozy, elastic time-stretching of COOL TRIPPER. The brief, funky lurch of IN YOUR DREAM YOU ARE NO ONE. The almost lush, cinematic SEVEN DAYS which conjures Serge Gainsbourg by way of Moby Grape. HIP COMMA’s floaty strut and the groovy raga of MAKA THE NATIVE, which has not one but two ‘breath solos’. CLOUDS OF DUST is a skeletal Krautrock fragment and THERE ONLY IS a luminous psych-pop single. Final track APPLES ends the album with a sinewy twelve bar blues and a killer psych guitar break. Bliss.
Somehow the MAD WALLS manage woozily florid and sharp as a blade. Studiedly detailed but effortless. Whip smart and dumb. And as we said at the start - just gorgeous…

Another Interplanetary STAR CREATURE team up for a Chicago Tokyo expedition across a soundscape ranging from bossa nova lounge to pre-vaporwave exotica; new age city pop to minimal library boogie. JUNE CHIKUMA is best known now for her ground breaking Video Game soundtracks throughout the late 1980s and early 90s, most notably the now cult-classic status Bomberman Hero OST for Nintendo. During this same period she produced many recordings for a wide variety of clients including Japanese Public Transit Commercials, Video Game Arcades and VHS Nature Documentaries. STAR CREATURES combed her archives and selected a nice mix of tracks as entry point into her work. These tracks have been rescued from obscurity, remastered and waxed up for contemporary universal enjoyment. 500 Copies. Pressed in Detroit.

"The wash of flangers & shimmery reverb have been the foundation in Cali psych ever since the Byrds went electric. And while that sound might've dropped off occasionally, it never dropped out. The Velvets minimalist stylings were infused into the mix by The Dream Syndicate in the early 80's & thus a game changer was born. Clay Allison, Opal, Green On Red all took their charge from that current. Then the Shoegaze scene of the 90's looked at those bands as vectors, things got a little more drenched, so yet more seeds were sown into the fertile terroir. Cut to current climes & the bay area is teeming with the latest iterations: Children Maybe Later, Now, & Cindy easily come to mind. But curiously the band most steeped in the mohair constitution is April Magazine, who (thus far) have been content in the shadows. Up till now they've seemed like characters plucked out of a Kazuo Ishiguo novel-mysterious & ethereal-but perhaps this pressing of last year's cassette only release will flush them out. 'Wesley's Convertible Tape For The South' shows the band defly balancing all those that have come before them while also incorporating flourishes of Les Rallizes DeNudes, Hallelujahs & Nagisa Ni Te into the pageantry . So in a way, April Magazine is transforming the landscape yet again; denser, fuzzier, lush & wistfully challenging. 'Wesley's Convertible Tape For The South' is the band's 1st vinyl release stateside (an LP of older tracks was released last year via a UK only label) so no import tariffs! What were once whispers are now proclamations. Just because you don't know them doesn't mean you can't love them. So grab a copy & hug it out amongst yourselves." -- Tom Lax (Siltbreeze Records)

Seablite is a four-piece pop band from San Francisco inspired by 80s/90s indie and shoegaze. Seablite was formed in 2016 when Lauren Matsui (vocals / guitar) and Galine Tumasyan (vocals / bass) bonded over a mutual appreciation of early 90's Britpop and UK underground music. The pair began writing songs and soon after Jen Mundy (ex-Wax Idols) joined on second guitar and Andy Pastalaniec (Chime School) would eventually join on drums. They have released an LP (2019’s “Grass Stains and Novocaine”) and 7" single (“Breadcrumbs” c/w “Ink Bleeds”) via Emotional Response Records and a 10" EP (“High-Rise Mannequins” - recorded and produced by Alicia Vanden Heuvel of the Aislers Set) in conjunction with Spain’s Meritorio Records. The band is among San Francisco’s current indie pop renaissance and have opened for the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Charlatans and Ladytron upon their recent Bay Area visits. Seablite has finished their sophomore album, “Lemon Lights” (due out this summer on Mt. St. Mtn). Recorded over the summer of 2022, “Lemon Lights” contains 12 dreamy pop tracks showcasing the group’s continued growth and maturity and marks a strong progression from their debut album. After recording basic bed tracks with Robby Joseph, the band finished overdubs in their practice space and Lauren's apartment. The freedom of home recording allowed them to experiment, resulting in an organic and intuitive manifestation of the band's emotions and creativity - a sonic inkblot of unfiltered pop appreciation. One may hear Manchester undertones on "Hit the Wall" and “Melancholy Molly”, or the feminine noise-pop of Lush on "Pot of Boiling Water" but Seablite are not to be mistaken for anglophile copycats. Seablite incorporates the jangle of their San Francisco “Fog Pop” contemporaries on tracks like “Hold My Kite” and a relentless and driving guitar on “Blink Each Day”, while the wonderfully dark elements on “Monochrome Rainbow” and the wistful closer, “Orbiting My Sleep” give them a wide range of sounds and vibes. Mastered by Mark Gardener of Ride.

"Reissued for the first time on vinyl here’s the second album of Jamaican reggae singer George Faith, originally released on Hollywood records back in 1979.
"Wonderful soul reggae melodies backed by the likes of Sly & Robbie, Aston 'Family Man' Barrett, Tommy McCook, Earl 'Chinna' Smith and more. Produced by the one and only Bunny Lee at Harry J Studios and mixed by Scientist at King Tubby’s Studios!"

A full LP of the legendary Palm wine guitarist SE Rogie's early work. Truly beautiful songs from the 1960's ranging from sweet acoustic solo numbers to blazing full band electric music. SE Rogie had a very long & pioneering career in Sierra Leone. His songs are some of the most beautiful ever - gentle & lilting timeless melodies. One of the greats. A co-release with our friends at the Domino Sound label.

Tiny Habits were formed in Boston, MA by artists Maya Rae, Cinya Khan and Judah Mayowa. The three singer-songwriters met at Berklee College of Music and the band was born at the beginning of 2022.

They started out by sharing covers recorded in the stairwell of their dorm and posting them on social media. Focusing on beautifully intimate three-part harmonies the trio's enticing signature sound, offered exquisite, reimagined versions of songs from across a spectrum of styles and quickly drove them to viral success.

They received recognition and early support from artists as diverse as David Crosby, Marcus Mumford, Phoebe Bridgers, and Noah Kahan. Collaborations include work with Mark Ronson, JP Saxe and Lizzy McAlpine, who they supported on NPR’s Tiny Desk

Their debut EP “Tiny Things” was released in April 2023 and established them as one of “the” bands to watch in the year ahead.

In early 2023, the band opened for Gracie Abrams “Good Riddance Tour” across North America, followed by their own sold-out US “Tiny Tour” At the end of 2023, the trio opened for Noah Kahan on his “Stick Season Tour” across Europe, followed by a sold-out headline show in London. In January 2024, the band rejoined Gracie Abrams, opening for the Australian leg of her “Good Riddance Tour”. This was followed by a sold-out headline show in Melbourne and a performance at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York with Kacey Musgraves. The New Yorker recently wrote a feature piece on the band, coining them “The Prodigies of Harmonies”.

Stag-O-Lee präsentiert hier Teil 7 der äusserst erfolgreichen Trashcan Records Serie, die sich obskuren und vergessenen Vinyl Schätzen aus den 50er und frühen 60er Jahren widmet. Die originalen 45er stammen aus der stattlichen Sammlung von Fedor, einem Sammler und Jäger aus Amsterdam, der sich in den letzten 25 Jahren durch tausende von Kisten mit Gebrauchtvinyl auf Flohmärkten der holländischen Metropole wühlte. Diese Veröffentlichung ist wie gewohnt thematisch gegliedert. Seite 1 ist "Wacky Weirdos" betitelt und durchaus ein Sammelsurium an obskursten Schrägheiten, die einem einerseits ein Lächeln ins Gesicht zaubern und andererseits die Frage aufwirft, was man alles ungestraft auf Kleinvinyl pressen durfte. Seite 2 ist mit "Moody Instros" genau das. Instrumentals zwischen Mod Jazz und Rhythm & Blues, vom Lo-Fi Spuk bis zu sanften Kriechern. Natürlich alles megarar und bis dato auf keiner der zahlreichen anderen Compilations zu finden.

Die US Metal-Legende Warlord wurde im Jahre 1981 von Mark Zonder und William J. Tsamis gegründet. Ein Jahr später, 1982, erschien der Song "Lucifer's Hammer" (basierend auf einem Roman von Larry Niven und Jerry Pournelle) auf der prestigeträchtigen Compilation "Metal Massacre II". Als Resultat unterzeichneten Warlord einen Kontrakt bei Metal Blade Records und nahmen ihre erste Mini-LP auf. "Deliver Us" erblickte 1983 das Licht der Welt und gilt heute als Blaupause des "Epic Metal" (zusammen mit Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol und Brocas Helm gelten Warlord als Erfinder jenes Stils). Nach zwischenzeitlicher Auflösung erschien im Jahre 2002 das starke Comeback-Album "Rising Out Of The Ashes", erst elf Jahre später gefolgt von "The Holy Empire". "The Holy Empire" sollte das letzte Warlord-Studioalbum mit neuem Songmaterial bleiben, denn Bandgründer William J. Tsamis verstarb am 13. Mai 2021 im Alter von nur 60 Jahren. Allerdings erschien danach noch ein weiteres Warlord-Album, nämlich "The Hunt For Damien" im Jahre 2015. Darauf zu hören ist als Sänger Nicholas Leptos (u.a. auch bei Astronomikon, Prodigal Earth, Gangland und Diphteria tätig). Das jetzt erscheinende "Free Spirit Soar", welches auch zwei überarbeitete Nummern von Lordian Guard enthält, ist ein Tribut von Sänger Giles Lavery an das musikalische Erbe von Bill Tsamis. Er wird dabei unterstützt von Mark Zonder (Drums), Jimmy Waldo (Keyboards/Synthesizer), Phillip Bynoe (Bass) sowie Eric Juris (Gitarre). Alle Songs wurden zwischen März und September 2023 aufgenommen.

Giles Lavery, der auch als Produzent fungierte, erklärt die Entstehungsgeschichte des Albums im Detail: "Unser erklärtes Ziel als Band war es, diese Musik für Bill fertigstellen. Und das vorliegende Material erschien uns ohne Frage stark genug, um uns dazu zu inspirieren. Bill ist bei allen Gitarrenparts zu hören, bei denen es uns möglich war, sie von den ursprünglichen Demo-Recordings zu isolieren - ganz so wie die verbliebenen Beatles die Stimme von John Lennon vom einem alten Demo-Tape zu retten in der Lage waren. Der Großteil der Gitarrenpassagen auf "Free Spirit Soar" wird zwar von Eric gespielt, aber die gesamte Musik stammt aus der Feder von Bill. Und wir haben uns wirklich sehr darum bemüht, seine Arrangements möglichst originalgetreu umzusetzen."

Line-up: Giles Lavery - vocals Eric Juris - guitars Philip Bynoe - bass Jimmy Waldo - keys Mark Zonder - drums

Die US Metal-Legende Warlord wurde im Jahre 1981 von Mark Zonder und William J. Tsamis gegründet. Ein Jahr später, 1982, erschien der Song "Lucifer's Hammer" (basierend auf einem Roman von Larry Niven und Jerry Pournelle) auf der prestigeträchtigen Compilation "Metal Massacre II". Als Resultat unterzeichneten Warlord einen Kontrakt bei Metal Blade Records und nahmen ihre erste Mini-LP auf. "Deliver Us" erblickte 1983 das Licht der Welt und gilt heute als Blaupause des "Epic Metal" (zusammen mit Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol und Brocas Helm gelten Warlord als Erfinder jenes Stils). Nach zwischenzeitlicher Auflösung erschien im Jahre 2002 das starke Comeback-Album "Rising Out Of The Ashes", erst elf Jahre später gefolgt von "The Holy Empire". "The Holy Empire" sollte das letzte Warlord-Studioalbum mit neuem Songmaterial bleiben, denn Bandgründer William J. Tsamis verstarb am 13. Mai 2021 im Alter von nur 60 Jahren. Allerdings erschien danach noch ein weiteres Warlord-Album, nämlich "The Hunt For Damien" im Jahre 2015. Darauf zu hören ist als Sänger Nicholas Leptos (u.a. auch bei Astronomikon, Prodigal Earth, Gangland und Diphteria tätig). Das jetzt erscheinende "Free Spirit Soar", welches auch zwei überarbeitete Nummern von Lordian Guard enthält, ist ein Tribut von Sänger Giles Lavery an das musikalische Erbe von Bill Tsamis. Er wird dabei unterstützt von Mark Zonder (Drums), Jimmy Waldo (Keyboards/Synthesizer), Phillip Bynoe (Bass) sowie Eric Juris (Gitarre). Alle Songs wurden zwischen März und September 2023 aufgenommen.

Giles Lavery, der auch als Produzent fungierte, erklärt die Entstehungsgeschichte des Albums im Detail: "Unser erklärtes Ziel als Band war es, diese Musik für Bill fertigstellen. Und das vorliegende Material erschien uns ohne Frage stark genug, um uns dazu zu inspirieren. Bill ist bei allen Gitarrenparts zu hören, bei denen es uns möglich war, sie von den ursprünglichen Demo-Recordings zu isolieren - ganz so wie die verbliebenen Beatles die Stimme von John Lennon vom einem alten Demo-Tape zu retten in der Lage waren. Der Großteil der Gitarrenpassagen auf "Free Spirit Soar" wird zwar von Eric gespielt, aber die gesamte Musik stammt aus der Feder von Bill. Und wir haben uns wirklich sehr darum bemüht, seine Arrangements möglichst originalgetreu umzusetzen."

Line-up: Giles Lavery - vocals Eric Juris - guitars Philip Bynoe - bass Jimmy Waldo - keys Mark Zonder - drums

The new album from Lebanese-American musician Solpara, Melancholy Sabotage, marks his full length debut and return to Nicolas Jaar's Other People label. While it was recorded over Covid lockdowns, Jaar had been talking about wanting to back a Solpara full-length since he put out Swing. The album came to life while Solpara was living alone in a Brooklyn loft, collecting unemployment checks and viewing ample free time as the artist residency he'd dreamed of; he'd previously been forced to make music in odd windows between numerous jobs and the unmerciful pace of city life. Free from obligations, he would wake up early to take Arabic lessons online, read Tracey Thorn's autobiography, and skateboard the deserted streets, then come home and design sounds until he had a track that felt like it needed to be released. While this easy going lifestyle was peaceful in many ways, Solpara found more complex inspiration in the emotion that stemmed from participation in Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, which rocked all of his extended family members in Lebanon.

Melancholy Sabotage explores the theme of sabotaging melancholy. Echoing sounds from the post-punk, trip-hop, and ambient genres, it is about sabotaging the cycle of melancholy and looking at this process without ignoring the sources that put it into motion. It may be compared to a rattling breaking free from retention, reaching states of dreamy euphoria while simultaneously acknowledging the sources of retention, viewed from above. The sources can be personal, political, or socio-economic. They are to be apprehended post-melancholy, after the sabotaging of the initial cycle of melancholy. In other words, it is about transcending melancholy and understanding where it came from with some distance. It may be beautiful and healthy to feel for a while, but how may one sabotage this cycle when it becomes paralyzing? Ultimately, this album is about feeling melancholy but also resisting it and naming the sources that initiated it.

"Time To Hold Better" points to neglect on both personal and group levels. "This Time Last Year" is a personal time capsule. "We Keep Us Safe" is about solidarity, autonomy, and care witnessed within protest groups. "Melancholy Sabotage" is a sonic exploration of the album concept illustrating anger and sadness, but finally, resistance and liberation from these feelings. "Measures" is a more fluid exploration of the latter after the initial storm has passed. "We Don't Owe" points to bigger bodies inflicting harm on populations that we owe nothing to. "Breaking Points" harkens the times that we may lose focus while pushing to transcend melancholy. "Eviction" is about being pushed out of a space unwillingly while simultaneously being forced to move forward.

Melancholy Sabotage pulls from a range of genres, uniting electronic sounds under the same post-punky glow. It pulls from complex, heavy themes including damage and injustice, presenting Solpara's most moving body of work to date. It highlights the poignance that has always been at the heart of his fluid sound, which caters to dancefloors and avant-garde spaces in equal measure. Working with a mix of dissonant guitars, distorted drum machines, and distant, reverb-washed vocals, Melancholy Sabotage is Solpara's uneasiest outing to date. The record pinpoints the duality at the heart of Solpara's sound, which is as plaintive as it is searing.

All Again. That's the title of the upcoming full-length record from Philadelphia's Queen of Jeans. The LP tracks an entire arc that, by the final hazy vibrato wash of "Do It All Again," bleeds back into the ambient first seconds of the record. "Thought I'd call tonight, hear how you're dealing," Miriam Devora sings to a distant lover on opener "All My Friends" in a neon-lit, melancholy tenor, the precise sound of lonesome love. The full band joins her in a beautiful night time sway, but it's still no use: "I got all my friends around, but I'm not home til I'm alone with you."The rest of the record follows this relationship as it tumbles through loneliness and longing, to elation and joy, to pain and anger, and finally to its foggy close, where Devora admits, "If I got to do it all again, I'd find you there like I did back then."Releasing on Memory Music, All Again is principally an enveloping, rich indie-rock record, changing dance partners between cheek-to-cheek '60s pop sweetness, '90s alt-rock dirt, spacious and pained emo, and the songcraft and melodicism of the sharpest acoustic singer-songwriter acts. Devora (vocals, guitar, keys) and Matheson Glass (lead guitar, piano) took extra care this time to create a Queen of Jeans full-length that reflected in sound and structure the emotional depths they were exploring.It's the first time since their 2015 debut, Dig Yourself, that they've had a full band, with drummer Patrick Wall and bassist Andrew Nitz, to build with. Where on releases like 2022's sparkling lockdown-pop Hiding In Place Devora and Glass had gone into producer and mix/master engineer Will Yip's Studio 4 with sketches and worked with Yip to arrange the songs in studio, this time, they went in with a complete vision for the record. That allowed them to use studio time to expand the record's sonic boundaries. "We had a lot more room to play with some of the ear candy we've always wanted to explore and get weirder in the studio," says Glass.Those elements lend a physicality and playfulness to the memory and emotions that unfurl through All Again. "We're trying to tell the story of when you look back at an important relationship," says Glass. "Years go by, and the more you reflect on it, it becomes more warped and the facts become a little bit more murky. We wanted to play with that and get surreal with the story." (Literally: listen for a "monster" voice in the already-released banger "Karaoke.") The record's artwork, conceptualized by Devora, renders this idea with devastating clarity.

January 2023, Dorset. Snow is piled at the door, icy roads are closed, and Emily Cross is in a coffin. Not a setting typical for a rebirth. But for Loma, this is where they bring their band back from the brink. "It's like a demon enters the room, whenever we get together", writer, singer and instrumentalist Cross says of the struggle to bring new Loma music into the world. Following the release of their 2020 second album Don't Shy Away, Loma's three members were cast around the globe and the band-not for the first time-entered a deep sleep. Multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer Dan Duszynski remained in his studio in Don't Shy Away's central Texas heart, but Cross, a UK citizen, moved to Dorset, and writer and instrumentalist Jonathan Meiburg left the US for Germany to research a book. In the pandemic years, even being in the same room was impossible, and attempts to start a new record faltered. The following winter, in an attempt to salvage the record and the band, Cross suggested they regroup in the UK, in the tiny stone house-once a coffin-maker's workshop-where she works as an end-of-life doula. With minimal recording gear and few instruments, Loma turned two whitewashed rooms into a makeshift studio, using a padded coffin as a vocal booth. It was a turning point. They scrapped much of what they'd made, letting a new place set a new course. The one-lane roads, hedgerows and dark skies of Dorset gave the new songs an ineffable but unmistakable Englishness. The band used the ruin of a 12th-century chapel as a reverb chamber-surprising hillwalkers who peeked in to find them singing to no one-and the sounds of Cross's chilly workshop wormed their way into the recording: a leaky pipe, a drummer's brushes on a metal lampshade, the voices left on an ancient answering machine. What emerged was How Will I Live Without A Body?: a gorgeous, unique, and oddly comforting album about partnership, loss, regeneration, and fighting the feeling that we're all in this alone. Many of its songs have a feeling of restless motion; faceless characters drift through meetings and partings, tangling together and slipping away. "I Swallowed A Stone" is like a nightmare with a happy ending; "How It Starts" and "Broken Doorbell" reflect on the challenge (and necessity) of wrestling with agoraphobia. Though the record nods to the trio's separate lives- a German percussion ensemble, a pair of Texan owls, and the surf at Chesil Beach make guest appearances-the core of Loma's sound remains intact: earthy, organic and deeply human, anchored by Cross's cool, clear voice. Loma's previous album, Don't Shy Away, was galvanized by the unexpected encouragement and contributions of Brian Eno. This time, they found inspiration in another hero, Laurie Anderson, who offered a chance to work with an AI trained on her entire body of work. Meiburg sent her a photo from his book-in-progress about the once and future life of Antarctica; Anderson's AI responded with two haunting poems. "We used parts of them in a few songs," he says. "And then Dan noticed that one of its lines, 'How will I live without a body?' would be a perfect name for the album, since we nearly lost sight of each other in the recording process." In the end, Loma's efforts to reconnect with one another are the album's central focus: what do you owe a shared past, when everyone and everything has changed? "Making this record tested us all," says Duszynski. "I think that feeling was alchemized through the music." Alchemized, because How Will I Live Without A Body? is by no means a stressed-out record: an undercurrent of deep calm runs through it. But maybe 'relaxed' isn't the right word. It's more like a feeling of relief, of making it through a tough journey together.

Repress!
Note - Sleeve says contains a bonus CD, these represses do not have a bonus CD, they have a download card.

Hate Your Friends is the 1987 debut album by the Lemonheads, one of only three full-length releases to feature the original band line- up of Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. The album showcases a hardcore-punk-to-pop-rock sound and sensibility as playfully fierce as it is surprising…especially to listeners who know the band only from their better-known major label recordings of the 1990s. The roots of Hate Your Friends begin with the genesis of the band itself: when high school friends Ben Deily and Evan Dando—inspired by a shared love of the 70’s absurdist comedy troupe the Firesign Theatre, literature, and punk rock—began playing their own songs together in 1985. Dando and Deily first started out as a two-piece ensemble: swapping back and forth between a shared Guild guitar (and a crappy amp) and vocal mic, and pounding a drum kit “borrowed” from the high school jazz band. With the addition of classmate and friend Jesse Peretz on bass, the two-man outfit quickly became a power trio. With a handful of original songs, a passionate love for their favourite bands—from Husker-Du, the Replacements, Black Flag and the Germs, to the Saints, Wire and ‘77 UK punk—and a tiny recording budget, the Lemonheads set about their first studio session within days of their high school graduation in June of 1986. During that summer, a significant amount of what would become the band’s debut album was recorded in Brookline, Massachusetts, with Deily and Dando sharing vocal, guitar and drumming duties. Above and beyond bass, Jesse proved pivotal as the band’s manager, booker and tireless promoter—helping arrange for the Lemonheads self-released debut EP, Laughing all the way to the cleaners, later that summer, and shortly thereafter helping establish the relationship with Curtis Casella of TAANG! records that paved the way to full-length LP Hate Your Friends. Finally, with the addition of full-time (and fairly short-lived) drummer Doug Trachten, the last songs of Hate Your Friends were recorded in the winter of 1986-7. BONUS TRACKS: This Fire Records re-issue features bonus tracks including 12 never-before-released live tracks from a 1987 radio session, rare tracks from the early compilation Crawling From Within, and additional tracks not included on the original release of Hate Your Friends (“Buried Alive” and “Gotta Stop”).

Soul Direction are pleased to announce a new member of the Family “Contempo Soul” series. This label will showcase more contemporary sounding soul from independent artists. Our first offering in conjunction with Kevin Edwards III, and with the help of Dave Thorley. The Keved Project (Feat. Delbert Nelson) – “Life Has Been a Thief” / “Spread Love” – SDCO-1001. Edwards was born in Hamtramck, Michigan in 1959. As a young boy listening to Jimi Hendrix play guitar on Band of Gypsies, he knew he wanted to be a guitar player. By 16 Edwards, was playing in a high school band and at local cabarets. In 1979 Edwards played with Sons, a local jazz band. The group played Top 40s in local venues and eventually opened for the nationally renowned group, Brainstorm, which recorded on the CBS label. Sons and Brainstorm merged in 1980. When Brainstorm broke up in the early '80s Edwards freelanced with several local groups. His career took a turn in 1984 when he began writing and recording his own music. Edwards drew from his experiences and the R & B and jazz classics he'd grown up listening to as his inspiration for writing. Two years later in 1986, Edwards expanded his skills even further when he started producing young local talent. He and a partner produced Rhapsody, a rap group that released several singles on the Giant Record Label. The year 1998 saw the beginning of a new era for Edwards when he and long-time friends Darryl Lee and Greg Nance formed Ground Level. Ground Level enjoyed tremendous success, opening for the Isley Brothers, LL Cool J, Roy Ayers, Ronnie Laws and the funk group Slave. The band received accolades and grew in popularity. In 2003 the band changed its name to Level Rizon, signifying its new status and the fact that they are no longer at "ground level." Level Rizon took a year off of performing to produce That Vibe. With That Vibe Edwards feels he has started a whole new genre of music he calls "NuUrban Soul." He describes NuUrban Soul as a unique blend of jazz-fusion and R & B that has not failed to delight audiences of all walks of life. Kevin has performed with the late Michael Henderson (R/B recording artist known for You are my Starship, Sending a Valentine, Wide Receiver) in 2014. Kevin has also has a certificate in Audio Engineering from the Recording Institute of Detroit, Associates of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology from Lawrence Technological University, and Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering Technology from ITT Tech. Kevin built, and operates his own recording studio, and is continuously writing and recording new music..

This epic loot sees the epoch-making score for time-hopping action RPG Last Epoch blessing heavyweight wax.

28 tracks chosen by composer Erik Desiderio have been specially mastered for vinyl and will be pressed onto heavyweight discs. These slip into a deluxe double gatefold sleeve with artwork by the team at Eleventh Hour Games.

Desiderio had to cast his mind through time to soundtrack each of the game’s four different epochs of Eterra, with the music of this release focusing mainly on the brighter Divine Era and the darker, apocalyptic Ruined Era. Most eras of the game have a natural, acoustic sound to them with more traditional instrumentation, while the Ruined Era focuses on warped synthetic and acoustic sounds. Over the course of the game’s Early Access period, the composer was able to gather fan feedback, which in turn helped shape the final score.

Some less well-known instruments and techniques colour the music. The sound of the lute helped capture the beauty of the world, while the scratchy, intense tagelharpa embodied the conflict of a war-torn land. In the Ruined Era, fretless bass guitar and expressive Ebow serve to create a sense of unease, with melodic material returning from earlier eras.

Choral lyrics were sung in Old Norse, in particular on the “Last Epoch Theme” with its stirring refrain “Fyoern Oowled” (trans. “Ancient Era”). Vocalists include Ffion Elisa, Colm McGuiness, Mason Lieberman and Matt Lambert.

“Let us advance our mortal bodies up Where hearts and minds will go Let’s walk, let’s roll.” So sings Madeleine Peyroux on the upbeat title track of her captivating tenth album, Let’s Walk, the acclaimed singer-songwriter’s most assured, courageous work to date. Powered by the distinctive, honeyed croon that delivered her from the Paris streets to concert halls, these ten unabashedly personal songs, all co-written by the versatile Peyroux, deftly interweave jazz, folk, and chamber pop, with themes ranging from the confessional to the political, from whimsy to yearning. In every note, Peyroux digs deep, rendering this exquisite work with the disarming grace and gravitas of an artist in peak form. Let’s Walk was a long time coming, but well worth the wait. Following Peyroux’s 2018 album, Anthem, the enforced isolation of the global pandemic made any real-time community gathering impossible. From a creative standpoint, however, Covid offered Peyroux a silver lining: she seized the opportunity to hunker down with longtime collaborator, multi-instrumentalist Jon Herington (Steely Dan, Lucy Kaplansky). The pair reflected on the seismic era at hand and wrote and re-wrote in what Peyroux calls “a shadow of reckoning.” When multi-Emmy-and-Grammy-winning producer Elliott Scheiner (Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles) heard a sampling of the new material, including “Let’s Walk,” he mandated “no covers” for the album. The longtime studio veteran knew the time was ripe to highlight Peyroux’s incisive, often topical lyrics meshed with Herington’s ear for melody and arrangements.

Mika Miko were a band from Los Angeles from 2003-2010 playing a mix of danceable, post punk and late 70's style power pop and street punk. Formed by sisters Jennifer and Jessie Clavin (who would later form Bleached) with high school friends Michelle Suarez, Jenna Thornhill and drummer Jon Erik Edrosa. After a 7" EP in 2004 (PPM) they signed to Kill Rock Stars in 2006 with new drummer Kate Hall to release "C.Y.S.L.A.B.F." which would see them tour throughout the US, Europe and Japan. Returning to PPM in 2007 to release their "666" EP, and their second and final LP (with another new drummer, Seth Densham) "We Be XUXA" in 2009, they disbanded in 2010. Mika Miko were highly influential and integral to the LA scene in the early and mid aughts surrounding the all ages club The Smell. This limited edition of 300, silk screened cover + poster LP is a "Best Of" compilation of their previous work compiled by the band.

Underground lifer Nick Sakes returns on the debut LP from Upright Forms. The tight-knit Minneapolis trio feels like the culmination of Sakes' varied and prolific career to date, bringing together the unhinged prog-punk ferocity of Dazzling Killmen & Colossamite with the careening chaos of Xaddax and the shout-along hooks and dynamic songcraft of Sicbay. Blurred Wires is skewed yet tuneful, challenging yet compulsively listenable, concise yet brimming with invention. The experience of a lifetime distilled to 33 rotations across a gripping 33 minutes.

Consider “They Kept on Living,” a song that first appeared in an earlier version on the SKiN GRAFT comp Sounds to Make You Shudder!. It starts off with a grinding 7/4 groove, with cryptic lines over scratchy noise-punk chords. After a brief build, the band explodes into a massive chorus, with Sakes shouting the title line against a fist-pumping riff.

The trio sound equally convincing digging into the pummeling aggression of “My Lower Self,” where Sakes’ vocals start off as a feral snarl and then soar triumphantly during the chorus, or the soothing indie-pop hush of the Paster-penned “Drive at Night.”

Various “tug-at-your-heartstrings” touchstones informed “Long Shadow”. Sakes channeled Television Personalities, cult heroes of melodic British post-punk, on “Animositine,” which he accurately labels “our prettiest song.”

Nearly 35 years into his career, Sakes is finding new ways to challenge himself — and in Paster and Westphal, he’s found two musicians who are equally comfortable with both the thorniest and the loveliest manifestations of underground rock. When they reflect on their chemistry, they agree that their openness to collaboration is, as Sakes puts it, “one of our superpowers.”

On Blurred Wires, that superpower yields dynamic, challenging and profoundly memorable results.

Limited Edition MOD Compact Disc in Digipak Lite packaging."

As the summer season approaches, here comes Kito Jempere and Hard Ton with a perfect summer jam! Taken from upcoming fifth Kito Jempere album, ''The Sound of Love'' is a classic early nineties balearic beat ballad - 96 beats per minute of morning bliss, mellow
pads, enigma-esque drums and beautiful vocal drama by one and only Hard Ton.
Besides the title track and a new club driven remix from man-of-the-hour Eden Burns, vinyl is packed with an array of old and new goodies. Much requested Andras remix from 2020 previously available digitally only. Live version of previous Hard Ton collaboration, ''Your
Ghost in Me'', played by 8-piece Kito Jempere Live Band. Plus another two massive and previously ''digital only'' remixes from Eden Burns for all your dance-club needs. And all this comes with a beautiful sleeve from Berlin based photographer Alexey Kiselev.

Everybody's still talking about the good ol 'days! A rough and rugged collection of ol' dirty classics that have inspired swarms of killer beats. A head nod to the sounds of Shaolin, the twelve chambers of Shanghai'd Soul have moved lyrical chefs and production geniuses alike to compose some of their most ominous hip-hop. Gods and Earths a like will appreciate the raw funk and smoother-than-a-Lexus soul that come to gether like Voltron on this special compilation. As sampled b y J. Cole, The Game, Cappadonna, The Avalanches, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke, Anderson.Paak, Loyle Corner, Meek Mill, T.I., Quavo, Danny Brown, and hundreds more.

Everybody's still talking about the good ol 'days! A rough and rugged collection of ol' dirty classics that have inspired swarms of killer beats. A head nod to the sounds of Shaolin, the twelve chambers of Shanghai'd Soul have moved lyrical chefs and production geniuses alike to compose some of their most ominous hip-hop. Gods and Earths a like will appreciate the raw funk and smoother-than-a-Lexus soul that come to gether like Voltron on this special compilation. As sampled b y J. Cole, The Game, Cappadonna, The Avalanches, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke, Anderson.Paak, Loyle Corner, Meek Mill, T.I., Quavo, Danny Brown, and hundreds more.

1993 Chick Corea - the venerated 27-time Grammy winner and National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master - unveiled the second incarnation of the Elektric Band. With the brand new lineup of guitarist Mike Miller, bassist Jimmy Earl and drummer Gary Novak, and saxophonist Eric Marienthtal (the lone holder over from the first iteration of the Elektric Band,) Corea, approached this ambitious outing in the same way he had done everything throughout his career, by pushing the boundaries of what modern jazz is.

With material written with these specific players in mind, Corea gathered this group of remarkably flexible musicians into Mad Hatter Studios in Los Angeles. Recorded almost entirely live in first takes, the album is notable for its “less is more” approach to Corea’s particular style of genre bending composition. Though the focus may have been more on acoustic piano than synths, the same proficiency, spontaneity, impeccable execution and jaw-dropping display of chops that characterize the five first Elektric Band albums applies.

Of special note here is the inclusion of the track “Final Frontier”, originally released exclusively on the Japanese and European editions. This all out burner is the lone tune on the record featuring Corea on a synthesizer.

Written as an answer to “Got A Match” from 1986’s The Chick Corea Elektric Band album, it’s an uptempo showcase for the players to stretch out and the kind of track that exemplifies the jazz fusion that Corea and his groups came to define."

Drag City is excited to present the first ever vinyl pressing of guitarist Lee Underwood"s under-sung 1988 acoustic guitar opus, California Sigh. Guitarist Lee Underwood"s syncretic blend of jazz, folk, and blues was a tremendous force behind Tim Buckley"s genre-stretching late 60s/early 70s music - but his 1988 acoustic guitar opus California Sigh has remained a unsung footnote to his story. Until now! This first time vinyl-edition reveals Lee"s free-floating acoustic moods, with synths and co-production from ambient avatar Steve Roach, as a soulful work of tranquility and transcendence. In the years following the release of California Sigh, Lee wrote and recorded two solo piano CDs, Phantom Light and Gathering Light. Additionally, he wrote Blue Melody: Tim Buckley Remembered, a memoir of their time together, as well as three books of poems, Timewinds (2010), Diamondfire (2016) and Into Light (Poetic Matrix Press, 2021). He continues to live in Northern California.

Blue Smoke Vinyl. To celebrate Minus the Bear's 10th anniversary, Suicide Squeeze will issue the band's earliest recordings on vinyl. "Highly Rened Pirates," is Minus the Bear's rst proper album. Originally released in 2002, this edition is being remastered from the original tapes, for vinyl, by the legendary Bernie Grundman, the Hollywood-based legend behind many of the industry's landmark recordings. The initial pressing will be limited to 2000 copies: 1000 black (180gram), and 1000 `translucent' blue vinyl; each copy comes with a download coupon. A real chance to hear where this sound started...

“On August 5th 1962, after 300 years of British rule, which had soaked the earth of the island in blood, Jamaica was finally independent. The country that the British left behind was certainly a place of widespread poverty and deep inequality, but there seems to have been a real burst of confidence that came with independence. Newsreels of the day show well-dressed crowds reacting with enthusiasm and excitement, and the era found its perfect soundtrack in the boldness and exuberance of ska music, which was erupting all over the island.

This optimistic mood found probably its greatest artistic expression in the music of the Skatalites, who formed in June 1964 as a kind of Jamaican supergroup. Philip “Justin” Yap was a young, upcoming producer who had used members of the Skatalites for his first tunes, recorded either at RJR (Radio Jamaica and Redifussion) or at Federal studios. As Steve Barrow documented in the sleevenotes for Pressure Sounds’ reissue of the classic “Ska-Boo-Da-Ba” album, Justin had also befriended Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, and when Coxsone opened his own Studio One facility in December 1963, Justin immediately switched most of his production work to this new recording room. Studio One opened just in time to catch the formation of the Skatalites, and is where Justin recorded most of his classic Skatalites sides. He also recorded lots of excellent instrumentals with a smaller brass section, still mainly using members of the Skatalites, but crediting instead the composer or arranger of the tune. Combined with Coxsone’s own recordings, these productions for Justin’s Top Deck and Tuneico labels really captured the members of the Skatalites at their magnificent best in the unique atmosphere of Studio One.”

FTB’s 1971 ‘Satori’ reissue: white vinyl edition, get it now!

Originally released in 1971, this album marked a significant milestone as the first Japanese artist's work intentionally tailored for international audiences. It made waves not only in Japan but also in the United States and Canada, where the single "SATORI PART 2" climbed to number 8 on the charts. The album's distinctiveness lies in its infusion of Eastern and Japanese musical elements, a reflection of the growing interest in Oriental philosophy across Europe and America during that time.

In the early '70s, Japan was transitioning from the pop-centric GS genre to a more folk-influenced sound, with rock still finding its niche. Despite this, FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND garnered support for their pioneering sound, both at home and abroad, maintaining their popularity over the years.

Joanna Gemma Auguri releases her new album "Hiraeth" on 28th June via Duchess Box Records Joanna Gemma Auguri is a Berlin musician, songwriter and actress. In the various stages ofher musical solo and band projects, she incorporates influences from folk, ambient andavant-garde music.Being five years old she escaped with her parents from Poland, which was under martial law,and had to learn at an early age what uprooting means. This experience is reflected in her music as an expression of personal sadness, compassion, but also despair about the state of the world.2021 she released her solo debut "11" on her own label Lavender Music. It was mainly characterized by accordion, zitherand her vocals. Her new album "Hiraeth" was recorded at Candy Bomber Studios in Berlin by Ingo Krauss, with a large number of musicians. Besides choir, double bass, lap steel guitar, drums, cello, horns , different organs and keyboards her original instruments accordion and zither still shine through from time to time. Joanna's voice sits unmistakable on top of the majestic,nearly monumental compositions which despite their richness always stay basic and delicate. "Hiraeth" is an untranslatable Welsh word that describes the longing for a home, a place or a feeling that no longer exists or never existed.The album will be released June 2024 on Duchess Box from Berlin.

Repressed mint coloured vinyl for the 10th anniversary of the first Flenser pressing! Double Vinyl-LP including digital download code & comes with a 75-page zine. Layout by Niels Geybels (Agalloch, Planning for Burial), note new price on the mint edition. Long requested CD version back in print, note new price. For fans of Enemies List Home Recordings, Giles Corey, Black Wing, Planning For Burial. In 2008, Have A Nice Life released their now cult classic Deathconsciousness album to a whimper and critical non-interest. Six years after its release the band followed up with 2014's stunner The Unnatural World, and by then Deathconsciousness had become a force of influence and fanatic obsession. Seamlessly blending shoegaze, post punk, new wave, industrial and noise with unparalleled depth and weight, the album was originally released by Enemies List Home Recordings founded by HANL members Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga. The 75-page booklet accompanying the deluxe format of Deathconsciousness details the dark and forgotten history of the Antiochean cult. Blurring the lines between novella, liner notes, and academic text, the zine itself presents an engrossing narrative. The corresponding album is rhythmic, primal and expansive, and is a gloomy-post-punk masterpiece a mediation on death, loss and existence. It feels more fresh and engaging with every listen and has held up as a remarkable piece of art. Fans of Have A Nice Life exhibit both cultic thought and action for good reason it is perhaps a fanbase as dark and mysterious as the Antiochean's, which the album itself revolves around. Quotes : "Deathconsciousness is probably a perfect record" - Last Train To Cool // "A masterpiece of depression" - The Quietus // "85-minute powerhouse of a double-album" - The Needle Drop // "Have a Nice Life's Deathconsciousness could quite possibly move the Earth" - Sputnik Music (5/5 rating)".

With an ageless magnificence and rich musical imagination, Mastodon unleash Leviathan, an unabated testimonial to the band's earthshaking ability to rock. Their thundering musical muscle, talent and vast sea of ideas triumphantly unite on Leviathan, delivering heavy, organic music that melds exhilarating ambitiousness with a well-honed accessibility.

P0lyrhythm returns with his outstanding Detroit Techno EP: Android Dreams, featuring a Remix of Andy Vaz's “Detroit in Me”, originally released in 2011 on his “Straight Vacationing” LP. If you are looking for early Detroit Techno influenced grooves, you're in the right place.

Strictly limited to 250 Copies worldwide (no repress). Grab yours while they last.