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DAWL is one of our new skool producers who is a master of capturing the sound of the early 90’s raves. A genius in the studio who is capable and competent to be able to navigate between genres with skill and finesse.

Returning for his second outing on the Vinyl Fanatiks sister label, Amen Brother, DAWL turns in 4 mega old skool tracks that take you on a trip. Every release we have put out by DAWL sells out (he also released a screaming acid 303 EP for our other label Acid Boom last year) as he has a fanbase that draws in the original ravers along with the younger generation who have embraced this sound with vigour.

Grab a copy, drop it on the deck and go four a journey with a master craftsman!

Pressed on Black & Blue 180g marbled vinyl.

Digging back into the Vinyl Fanatiks catalogue, we travel back to 2019. One of the most popular groups that we release on Vinyl Fanatiks – Mad Dog – which is comprised of Dave Wallace from Aquasky and Shaun O’Hara from Aurora. The repress of this EP was funded by a Kickstarter campaign and each copy was hand stamped and numbered. Due to its popularity, this never went into distribution back then.

Originally released in 1993 on Underdog Recordings out of Bournemouth, this was a big Bukem track from that time, played twice in his Dreamscape New Years Eve set as midnight struck! Created in the Avon Studios in Charminster, Bournemouth, where two thirds of Aquasky lived and Underdog Recordings was based. There was even a pirate radio being broadcast from the attic too! The House Of Rave as we all use to call it.

This studio was also responsible for the Fugitive releases, the early Moving Shadow Aquasky releases as well as the home of Stormtrooper Recordings – a UK Happy Hardcore label featuring The Rebel Alliance (which was also Dave and Shaun!) Who would know Bournemouth was responsible for so much of the UK’s dance history!

Only 140 have been pressed on 180g pink marbled vinyl.

The newly reborn Danish label, tech-nology, is reintroducing itsfirst two releases.
Tech-nology is thrilled to reintroduce the world to the groundbreaking debut releases from 2003.

This was the first release on the label bearing the title "RedSector" and catapulted tech-nology into the music scene with adistinctive blend of warm, raw, and captivating machine funk, fusing elements of techno and electroclash. The title track"Valyom" reach third place on Ricardo Villalobos' chart, while"Echo Dreams" became an enduring electro classic.

Hailing from Belgium, Valyom, also known as Filip Vandendriessche, had already left a strong mark on the music landscape under the moniker DJ Valium. He had previously released with the German label International DJ Gigolo Records and emerged as one of the first Belgian artists to contribute tothe Detroit sound with releases on Teknotika Records.

Filip Vandendriessche has been a fixture on record labels and event flyers since the early '90s when, fueled by his passion for dance music, he co-founded the UFO parties in the western provinces of Belgium. These early gatherings laid the foundation for a global journey that took him to some of the most iconic underground parties labels worldwide.

Tech-nology is proud that Valyom was the first artist to be released on the label.

Red is also the colour of love!

The newly reborn Danish label, tech-nology, is reintroducing its first two releases.

The second release on tech-nology back in 2003 by El Far, alsoknown as Bjorn Svin, stands as a true techno masterpiece andis now rereleased as the label has been relaunched in 2023. Bjorn Svin has taken the lead again, contributing a remix that kick-starts the label in 2023 with TN EDITS 02 Lotte kaersa:"Prov og gor li'som jeg" - played by Luca Bacchetti at Burning Man 2023.

Additionally, the track gained attention on the latest Michael Meyer podcast,

But this is all about the beginning of the label and the beginningon the dancefloor Bjorn Svin was one of the first electronic musician in Denmark spearheaded an uprising Scandinavian rave scene, developinga unique, recognizable sound inspired by Detroit techno and British early IDM pioneers: playful and melodic but simultaneously groovy and entrancing.

In 1997, April Records released Bjorn Svin's debut full-lengthalbum Mer Strom; the opening single became an unofficialanthem for the entire generation of Scandinavian ravers.

Tech-nology captured a mature Bjorn Svin in 2003 and releasedwhat is arguably his best techno track ever produced, featured on this EP that highlights his techno skills under the moniker El Far. This authentic techno experience transports you back to theorigins of electronic dance music, going back to the old abandoned warehouses where social and casual dancing defined the essence of the scene.

Yet, the record captures what it is still all about, the love to themusic, the love on the dancefloor, this is him, her and wet area.

Dez Dare ventures further into the void than ever before on his 4th album and the 1st to be released via God Unknown Records, ‘A Billion Goats. A Billion Sparks. Fin.’. On past records Dare has fought beasts and beats alike, waging a fuzz war and tackling the biggest topics the world has to face; Doom scrolling, capitalist demagogues, a passionate dislike of the beach in summer. On this record he leaves the sardonic frustration behind for sarcastic existentialism, zeroing in on the big philosophical questions, and the pedantic shards of nonsense that make up our existence. Piling up the synths, noise boxes and guitar pedals, Dez set about building a soundscape of noise and ideas around the nature of reality, time, and how we interact with them. From the music you would play in your last moments, to the reverse Darwinism of modern society, to arguing with time itself, and very boring people talking at you, all is covered here for the aspiring existentialist. The self-produced Australian has spent over 3 decades producing music, releasing and touring bands, and doing live sound for z-grade metal bands. Growing up in the coastal town of Geelong (Djilang) in Australia, he was introduced to the DIY punk and rock scene at 15 and this community and the ideas rooted in the underground music scene have guided his output and ethics throughout his career. This year Dez will be joining forces with label titans God Unknown (Cassels / Duke Garwood / James Johnston + Steve Gullick / KLÄMP / Oneida / Oneida / Laura Loriga / Monster Magnet / Wellwater Conspiracy Soundgarden + Monster Magnet) and will be producing a deluxe version of the release that will include a 12 page comic illustrated by long time collaborator Mike Keane. Across the drone of noise and washed out guitars of the final track, ‘A Billion Voices Screaming, Hello Void!’, the chant repeats “We all return to where we begun...” which encapsulates the message that Dare delivers. We are all made from the same stardust and we all return to the universe that spat us out, we just need to enjoy the many shards of nonsense on that swift descent into the void...with wizards painted on the side." MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL "Early 90s-inspired take on DEVO punk... high energy sucker punches on your ear." Weirdo Shrine "Sludgey-grungey-fuzzed psychedelic-noiserock... I like the fact that despite all the edgy complexity, catchy songs emerge again and again."

2024 Repress.

Releases and several side projects and merges those early projects with hi-technology applications available for modern studio engineering. Re-issue from the DUB backcatalog with a remastered cut.

More Than Ten Years Since He First Emerged On Skull Disco, Appleblim Presents His Debut Album. The Label He Co-founded With Shackleton Was The First The World Heard Of His Productions, But Laurie Osborne's Innate Relationship With Electronic Music Culture Reaches Back Much Further Than Those Groundbreaking Early Days Of Dubstep. Early Days Spent Soaking Up Hardcore, Jungle, Techno And Plenty More Besides Were Fundamental Foundations From Which To Spring Into The Then-unknown Realms Of Sub-low Half-step Club Music. At That Time Fwd>> And Dmz Were The Church For This Ritualistic Sound, And Appleblim Was A Regular Fixture At Both.

As Dubstep Matured, Magnified, Mutated And Meandered, So Appleblim Moved Beyond Skull Disco To Explore Different Avenues Of Expression In The New Many- Layered Club Music Landscape. His Own Apple Pips Imprint Was A Natural Vessel On Which To Explore The Emergent Fusions Of Hardcore-derived Sounds And The Us-born House, Techno And Electro, While Labels Such As Aus Music Equally Provided A Home For His Work (often Alongside Komonazmuk). Meanwhile Long-standing Collaborations With Alec Storey (al Tourettes / Second Storey) Finally Manifested In The Hyper-modern Mind-twist Of Also, Captured As An Album On Legendary Rave Label R&s.

More Recently It's Been Possible To Hear Appleblim Delve Into Electro-acoustic And Ambient Production Alongside Bassweight Sounds On Tempa, One Of The Original Bastions Of Dubstep Culture. As The Existing Boundaries Between Genres, Cultures, Eras And Scenes Continue To Dissolve, On His Debut Album Appleblim Offers Up A Fresh Approach That Brings Some Of The Foundational Sound Ethics Of Rave Culture Into A Modern Framework.

Hardcore Breaks Are Still A Regular Sound Source In Contemporary Club Tracks, But On Life In A Laser It's Instantly Apparent That Appleblim Has Moved Beyond Choosing Popular Drum Samples To Truly Tap Into The Elusive Feeling Engendered By The Music Of The Era. It's A Tricky Feat To Manage, But In The Pie-eyed Chords Of ignite', The Subby 808 Tom Basslines On nci' Or The Mr. Fingers Synth Flex On manta Key' The Sonic Finish Sports The Same Understated Grit And Grime That Made Those Early Records So Timeless. There's Still Space For Modernism, Not Least On Snaking 2-step Killer i Think We'll Let The Gas Sort This One Out', But It's Offset By A Layer Of Dust, Not To Mention An Inherent Moodiness That Can't Be Faked.

This Fine Balance Of Rave Romanticism And Future-minded Approaches Binds Together In A Cohesive Conceptual Statement. First And Foremost It's Appleblim's Personal Reflection On The Music That Has Moved Him On Countless Dancefloors Since His First Flirtations With Soundsystem Culture. At The Same Time The Canny Influx Of Modern Ideas Into The Soundworld Of The 90s Genuinely Results In A New Proposition, Making For A Perfect Fit On The Modern-day 'ardcore Fetishists Label Of Choice, Sneaker Social Club. Many May Claim To Draw On Old-skool Influences In Their Modern Trax, But Take One Listen To flows From Within' And You'll Feel The Same Time-slipping Surge Of Future-shock As The Ravers At Lost, Dreamscape, The Dungeons, Clink Street, Blue Note And All Those Other Iconic Spots.

Elite Controller’ c/w ‘Softness on the Other Side’ is the second 7” single containing two of four tracks produced by transcontinental duo ‘Gruuel’, featuring James Vinciguerra and Beau Wanzer, between 2019 and 2023. The duo appear here in an expanded form with third member and Vinciguerra ‘Act Now’ collaborator Tarquin Manek, heard as multi instrumentalist jack-of-all-trades performing guitar, bass guitar, synthesiser and bass clarinet to accompany Wanzer’s hazy drum machine patterns and Vinciguerra’s mutated vocals.

The single is the first release on Elations Recordings’ ‘Deviations’ imprint, focusing on the outer realms of experimentation and fringe expression. Two subterranean, science-non-fiction snapshots capturing the spirit of the forward looking art-experimental groups of the late 1970s and early 1980s that were lumped in with the punk movement.

The a-side ‘Elite Controller’ is the more immediate of the two tracks; a paranoid fever dream of raw, psychedelic guitars underpinned by dub bass and Vinciguerra’s deranged mutant vocals; while the b-side ‘Softness on the Other Side’ takes a more self-reflective turn. A passive, spoken word cautionary telling of the dangers while searching for personal nirvana accompanied by Manek’s tortured bass clarinet impressions. Recommended for fans of Chrome, Tuxedomoon or K. Leimer’s experimental “artificial” band ‘Savant’.

The final volume of this mammoth collection of music from Bristolian electronic music pioneer Krust is finally upon us, and like the previous parts of this collection it boasts an assemblage of music of different energies, vibes and feelings. The music contained within spans decades yet somehow refuses to be locked to one 'era' or 'style'. This is what makes this release unmissable for the hardcore fan, newcomer or completist.

'Irrational Numbers' is a meticulously curated collection of five parts, available on both vinyl and digital formats. The compilation is a treasure trove of hand-picked records and archival gems from Krust's extensive discography, thoughtfully remastered and presented anew for both devoted fans and newcomers.

'Irrational Numbers' features a dizzying array of self-released 12" cuts, exclusive unreleased VIPs and dub-plates, alongside epic major label widescreen classics. It's an unmissable journey through the sonic output of one of the UK's most distinctive and forward-looking producers.

Featured on part 5 are some groundbreaking entries into Krust's massive back catalogue. The live bass driven jazz inflected 'Second Movement' from his acclaimed 'Coded Language' LP jostles alongside the speaker smashing machine funk of 'Break Ya Neck' as well as a couple of more recent productions including the sleek and sinister 'The Portal', which is undeniably the man at his best, in full electronic stealth mode.

For longtime Krust enthusiasts, this project serves as a fond reminder of the boundless creativity and originality that flourished during the early 1990s and beyond. For those new to his work, it presents an enthralling introduction to innovative electronic music that has comfortably set the tone for generations to come. Get ready to experience the evolution of sound and immerse yourself in the visionary artistry of Krust.

With 'Why Don't You Go Home' Fingier produces a monster Rhythm & Blues tune that will take you straight to the King and Federal R&B sound, and for the B side, 'Cocktail De Medianoche' is the perfect mix of Boogaloo and Northern Soul. Percussion, flute and horns will make this a Fingier favourite for lovers of Latin grooves and Uptempo Soul.

Diane Ward is singer from USA, who grew up singing Gospel in her local church. Music was always a big part of her life, and she has always had a deep interest in Rhythm & Blues and Jazz. She lived in Argentina for a couple of years, and one night Kevin saw her perform and instantly her voice blew his mind. In his words:

“She’s a proper R&B singer, she reminded me to Ruth Brown, MaryAnn Fisher or Lula Reed. She has that potent and obscure soundthat took me to those lately 50s early 60s Popcorn tracks”

With two monster tracks, calling this a ‘Double Sider’ wouldn’t be enough, both with that '60s sound we've come to expect from Fingier Records.

Rare as hen's teeth digital dancehall from out of late 80s/early 90s NYC, via Cooly aka Koolindian aka Super Cat's cousin Andrew Maragh, originally released on his own Mad Indian Records - reissued here for Death Is Not The End sub-label 333.

Maragh sang in church choirs and on soundsystems in Jamaica before moving to New York in the 1980s where he quickly became involved on the underground music circuit, taking inspiration from his cousin the legendary Super Cat. "Freedom" was penned while he was incarcerated, and details the unfairness of the judicial system at that time, alongside the heartfelt need to "hustle everyday to make ends meet, whether that's picking up scrap metal or cutting lawns or voicing dubplates, whatever you do to make a dollar", says Maragh.

Having bought an Ampex tape in Manhattan, Maragh headed over to the legendary Philip Smart's HC&F studio on Long Island with the intention of laying down his lyrics on the version to Dennis Brown's "Children of Israel". After hearing the song however, Smart went ahead and built this one-away "Freedom" rhythm on the spot. The track was then carried to Count Shelly's Super Power Records where it was then pressed & distributed as the first and only release on the Mad Indian label around the turn of 1989/1990.

Idriss D welcomes to Memento Records UK electronic mavericks Dark Globe. The famed duo consisting of Pete Diggens and Matt Frost has been releasing influential music for the last 30 years, starting off with industrial noise inspired tunes and later developing their sound into an experimental blend of breakbeats and twisted melodies, in what they call “epic pop”, taking in influences from classical English composers to hip hop grooves. Collaborations with Television’s Tom Verlaine and Boy George add to the magic of their artistic journey.

For this special EP, Idriss D has acquired the licensing rights to Dark Globe’s own Take Me To The Sound: along with the original track, two exclusive remixes are included, one from Howie B. and one by Pete and Matt themselves.

The original version, although hailing directly from the early 90s, boasts timeless vibes and flavours: marching beats, drum rolls and analog squelching synth tones make it as relevant as ever, a sophisticated Electronica piece that would fit perfectly in every club compilation these days.

Howie B’s masterful version flows with a syncopated rhythm and trippy vibe, a stripped down rendition designed for an afterhour party in a dark basement. Dark Globe’s own remix features quieter vocals with reverb splashed over the 303.

. First edition on vinyl, remastered tracks and new artwork along with a 12“ size insert, 2x12“ size poster, sticker and DL-Card. Vocalist Chaka Malik and guitarist Chris Traynor met in the New York hardcore band Burn and began playing together as early as 1992. With an early version of Orange 9mm, the duo released a live EP in 1993. The recording earned the band a contract with East West, and after picking up bassist David Gentile and drummer Matthew Cross, Orange 9mm began recording. Driver Not Included was released in 1994, and the band spent time touring with Helmet before signing with Atlantic the following year. Gentile left later in 1995 and was replaced by Taylor McLam just after recording ended for Tragic, with production by Barkmarket's David Sardy. Tragic was released in 1996; it would be three years before Orange 9mm issued a follow-up, which bore the title of Pretend I'm Human

For the five members of Punchlove - multi-instrumentalists Jillian Olesen, Ethan Williams, Joey Machina, Ian Lange-McPherson, and visual artist Viz Wel - moving into a maze of a house in Brooklyn together was the transition that created the album they had been writing their whole lives. Quietly evolving from a bedroom project to a headlining live phenom, Punchlove has geared up a densely layered bed of emotionally serrated pain-pop songs that coalesce around a digitally-stimulated, emotional brand of modern neoshoegaze. Channels, out March 1st on Kanine Records, is an album of deeply prepared sounds, sharply honed instrumentals, and a band performing them that knows each other all the way through. Having met studying music technology in college, multiple members of Punchlove work mixing live bands at prominent NYC venues and in the studio. Using that expertise, the inhouse production, mixing, and recording is a palpable highlight; mastered by 2000s shoegaze stalwart Kurt Feldman (The Depreciation Guild), the record melds DIY recording and experimental sonic visions with studio quality. Punchlove is dedicated to pushing the envelope of experimental sonic practices in live performances, where they can be seen performing with real-time audio reactive analog visuals, executing real-time sampling and looping, self-mixing onstage, running radios and tape loops through effects, improvising, and playing guitar with everything from double bass bows to vibrators. In their home recording environment, experimentation is at the core of their creative process, where they integrate self-programmed digital signal processing systems, psychoacoustic phenomena, tailored feedback, elements of 3D audio, immersive field recording soundscapes, early electronic instruments, and experimental recording and mixing techniques into the greater backdrop of pop songwriting. FOR FANS OF: Radiohead, Wednesday, Hum, DIIV, my bloody valentine, The Smashing Pumpkins, bdrmm, A Place to Bury Strangers

Donovan’s Original
A Gift From a Flower to a Garden made for a few firsts: the first double LP of Donovan’s
career, one of the first box sets in pop and, most importantly for Donovan himself; the first
pop album for the children of tomorrow.

He resolved to make A Gift From a Flower to a Garden an album of two halves. The first,
Wear Your Love Like Heaven, was intended for his own generation as they started to think
about the kind of world they wanted to leave behind. The second, For Little Ones, was for
the children they had or would have in the years to come. The result was a kaleidoscopic
folk-jazz suite on the power of love, imbued with all the romance and mystery of an Arthur
Rackham illustration for an ancient English fairy tale. The songs, remarkably adventurous
given Donovan was a globally famous singer at his commercial height, combined the
influences he had amassed so far.

There is something about A Gift From a Flower to a Garden that could never be repeated,
though. It is such an innocent evocation of the childlike imagination, so redolent of its time,
yet set apart from it too. All these years later, the peaceful qualities of this pioneering,
enchanting, deeply unusual album feel more valuable than ever.

The state51 Box Set
With authenticity core to the project, The state51 Conspiracy engaged one of the UK’s
leading experts in box set design, Daniel Mason at Something Else, to painstakingly recreate
the box, records and accompanying ephemera. The first challenge was to find the deep blue
leatherette paper the original box set was covered in; a problem since it was no longer in
production. “I knew people who had stacks of it, gathering dust on top shelves, so I bought it
up wherever I could find it,” says Mason. Then came the reproduction of 12 loose leaf lyric
sheets on fine art watercolour paper, each of them featuring a watermark and a fairytale-like
illustration by Donovan’s artist friends Sheena McCall and Mick Taylor. Where, though, to
find the same paper stock? “I found out that it was made at a paper mill in North Wales
called Abbey Mills. Unfortunately the mill dissolved in the early 70s and very little of the
paper remained. However enough paper remained to allow us to produce the numbered
certificate also signed by Donovan that sits within the box.”

Then to the iconic cover image. Donovan and Jimi Hendrix’s personal photographer Karl
Ferris, used infra-red film to achieve the psychedelic effect on the cover, but the original
negatives couldn’t be found. Mason then used digital technology to ramp up the colour levels
on a reproduction from an original copy of the album while allowing it to remain a little bit
faded, as it would be after half a century. The same labour of love and care has gone into
producing all elements of the box; from the rebuilding of the famous front cover font to the
hand-numbered and signed certificate; letterpress printed on the original paper stock of the
1968 UK release lyric sheets.

To cap it all off the original mono master tapes were waiting safely in the EMI Donovan
Archive and transferred from tape to digital by Abbey Road Studios where new lacquers
were cut, ensuring Donovan's favoured mono version of the album would be presented both
physically (and digitally for the very first time) in striking audiophile quality. The final touch to

A pioneer of the home recording movement, Linda Smith released several collections of delicate, bewitching solo music on cassette in the 1980s and 90s. The 2021 release of Till Another Time: 1988-1996, Captured Tracks' compilation of Smith's work, has helped bestow rightful critical acclaim to the ahead-of-her-time artist. Now, Captured Tracks dives deeper into Smith's catalog with the release of two full-length companion albums, Nothing Else Matters and I So Liked Spring, available for the first time on vinyl & streaming formats. Recorded at Smith's home in Baltimore in 1995, Nothing Else Matters chronicles the tension between the mundanity of daily life and the creative impulse: Traffic noises on the charmingly boisterous "Little To Be Won" showcase this levity, as does the addition of playful hand claps and a laugh track to her striking cover of Young Marble Giants' "Salad Days." I So Liked Spring, recorded the following year, saw Smith experimenting with the unique challenge of putting another artist's words to music. She'd come across a biography of the English poet Charlotte Mew and found her wistful poetry rife for musical interpretation. The songs on I So Liked Spring are delightfully unpredictable, full of upbeat melodies and spellbinding vocal harmonies. This is perhaps best showcased on the title track, one of Smith's most popular songs to date, a lovelorn anthem that recalls the airy melodies of early dream pop. Both of these albums showcase the mesmerizing charm of Smith's songwriting, often compared to the likes of the Velvet Underground and Laurie Anderson. Home recording technology has come a long way since Smith first began recording demos on her tape machine, but her influence reverberates through the work of today's bedroom artists. The release of these two essential albums seeks to further illuminate this connection, welcoming a new generation of listeners to the work of this trailblazing artist.

A pioneer of the home recording movement, Linda Smith released several collections of delicate, bewitching solo music on cassette in the 1980s and 90s. The 2021 release of Till Another Time: 1988-1996, Captured Tracks' compilation of Smith's work, has helped bestow rightful critical acclaim to the ahead-of-her-time artist. Now, Captured Tracks dives deeper into Smith's catalog with the release of two full-length companion albums, Nothing Else Matters and I So Liked Spring, available for the first time on vinyl & streaming formats. Recorded at Smith's home in Baltimore in 1995, Nothing Else Matters chronicles the tension between the mundanity of daily life and the creative impulse: Traffic noises on the charmingly boisterous "Little To Be Won" showcase this levity, as does the addition of playful hand claps and a laugh track to her striking cover of Young Marble Giants' "Salad Days." I So Liked Spring, recorded the following year, saw Smith experimenting with the unique challenge of putting another artist's words to music. She'd come across a biography of the English poet Charlotte Mew and found her wistful poetry rife for musical interpretation. The songs on I So Liked Spring are delightfully unpredictable, full of upbeat melodies and spellbinding vocal harmonies. This is perhaps best showcased on the title track, one of Smith's most popular songs to date, a lovelorn anthem that recalls the airy melodies of early dream pop. Both of these albums showcase the mesmerizing charm of Smith's songwriting, often compared to the likes of the Velvet Underground and Laurie Anderson. Home recording technology has come a long way since Smith first began recording demos on her tape machine, but her influence reverberates through the work of today's bedroom artists. The release of these two essential albums seeks to further illuminate this connection, welcoming a new generation of listeners to the work of this trailblazing artist.

Since the early 80's Allan Crockford has been a major figure in Medway's garage rock scene, including playing for The Prisoners, Billy Childish's Thee Headcoats, the original line-up of the James Taylor Quartet, The Solarflares and many more. Since 2010 he has fronted his own band, The Galileo 7, as writer, guitarist, and lead vocalist. Their unique blend of powerful '60s garage rock'n'roll, psychedelic vocal harmonies and quality songwriting has now featured on no less than eight albums. Their ninth, You, Me and Reality, sounds like the work of a seasoned rock 'n' roll band dialling things up one and approaching its zenith. The group performances of the quartet of Allan Crockford, Viv Bonsels, Paul Moss and Mole ooze energy and dynamics - whether it's the garage ramalama of opener 'Can't Go Home', the woozy psychedelics of 'Slow Down', the chipper folk-rock of 'A Simple Man' or the '60s mod-pop stomp of the title track. As with 2019's last album proper, There Is Only Now, all four group members share lead vocal duties, with Viv's contributions adding an affecting indie-pop flavour that coyly suggests new directions. You, Me & Reality largely eschews its predecessor's predilection for ambling unplugged off the beaten path, instead sticking with up-tempo ensemble performances that showcase the players' musical chops and vocal interplay in the kind of warm, fizzy, analogue soundscape that's become a touchstone of many Medway bands.

Black Bones are the Belfast DJ & production duo comprising of Aaron Black & Timmy Stewart, who have been collecting and playing music for decades. They formed Black Bones to put their stamp on the edits & production world as well as play DJ sets together. An initial edit series created seven highly collectible 12''s, securing plays and plaudits from some of the worlds best DJs & record stores. This led to recording DJ mixes for Apiento's Test Pressing, Tim Sweeney's Beats In Space & recording original material for Touch Sensitive, Hoga Nord, Duca Bianco, Optimo Music & Emotional Response.

Now on Mystic Arts 02 Black Bones pay homage to early rave days, illegal parties, pirate radio culture & 90s breakbeat sounds they both still adore. A side, Find The Frequency, is a ghostly ride through breakbeats & warehouse euphoria. While the flip side, Konstant Kollision is otherworldly bass heavy music that takes in post punk & African Head Charge influences amidst washes of dubbed out delay.

Blending sounds of early 70s Funk & Soul, Latin-Jazz, and Afrobeat, Mestizo Beat kicks the year off with a heavy dose of new material. First up is “She’s A Rose b/w Lotsapapa,” their next 45, offering two sides of masterful instrumental soul music written & produced by The Magaña Brothers out of their hillside studio, Spc 166 in Topanga, CA. Side A’s “She’s A Rose” takes us back to the golden years of the Blaxploitation film genre and the soundtracks we have grown to love. This song was inspired by the compositional and orchestral arrangements from the greats, such as Curtis Mayfield’s “Superbad,” Johnnie Pate’s “Shaft in Africa,” and Bobby Womack’s “Across 110 Street.” Featuring Tim Felten of Surefire Soul Ensemble on keys, with horns written and arranged by Jesse Audelo, Mestizo Beat takes the listener on an evolving journey, exploring the mood and cinematic elements of flute, saxophone, and wha’d-out guitar, topped off with a funky drum and percussion break. On the flip, “Lotsapapa” rounds out the B-Side, blending the musical styles of Latin and Nigerian disco-funk into a track that’s perfect for the dancefloor and those late nights out. Written about Bernard “Lotsapapa” Crowe, a notorious drug dealer who survived an attempted murder by Charles Manson, this side is sure to get the body moving with the afro-disco rhythms and chant vocals, dubbed out around a tightly arranged horn section written and arranged by Jesse Audelo and Jason Cressey. “Lotsapapa” features guests Steve Haney from Jungle Fire on Percussion and Cressey of the True Loves on trombone.

With each side highlighting the various talents of the ensemble, Mestizo Beat always stays true to their sound and recording techniques. Both tracks are mixed by Sergio Rios at Killion Sound and are featured on the forthcoming LP, Jaraguá, coming mid-2024.

Drum-machine soul, funk, disco and boogie from Buffalo, NY. Rare 7" singles and previously unreleased tracks presented as a complete album. In the early 70s, Jessie Key and Sylvester Cleary - two passionate idealists living in Buffalo, New York - formed a close friendship based on a mutual mission to better their city. The Attica State Prison Riot of 1971 was a burning memory, and the Arthur vs. Nyquist lawsuit - brought against the City of Buffalo for creating and maintaining a racially segregated school system - was on the docket. Key was once a cotton-laborer in Mississippi, who journeyed north for school where he met his kindred spirit, Cleary. The two struck up an intense friendship, bought a drum machine and recorded their first 45, "A Man," a paean to self-actualization and Black American empowerment, which they custom pressed and issued privately. Dozens of recordings followed over a decade long span, issued on local labels and warehoused on cassette tapes. Perennial optimists, Key & Cleary tried any - perhaps every! - path they could demarcate in hopes of forwarding their agenda of self-effected, positive change. They formed Buffalo’s first minority-owned construction company, opened a health food restaurant in a building previously occupied by a fast food chain, and even concocted a candy bar called "The Buffalo Treat," which they manufactured and sold locally. Eventually they started their own label, Buffalo’s Reflection. On it they released their masterpiece, "What It Takes To Live," a sought-after disco and Northern Soul classic, which previously appeared on Now-Again”s Soul Cal anthology. This album collates the breadth of Key & Cleary’s recordings from 1970 until the mid 1980s, both with songs issued on rare 7" singles and previously unreleased. It presents a conjoined musical vision and tells the story of a duo years ahead of their time, both musically and culturally. Love Is The Way was their ethos - their goal was to enlighten humanity and to bend history in a more loving direction through communion.

Svart Records proudly present Tasavallan Presidentti live at the Ruisrock festival in 1971! Tasavallan Presidentti’s annual performances at Ruisrock in Turku, Finland during the festival’s early years were proof of the band’s rapid ascent from a local band to an internationally renowned group of top musicians. “Pressa” left a lasting mark on many a festivalgoer, and the most optimistic ones were hoping to get these performances on a live album, if recordings existed. They do exist, and what remains on tape of the first ever Ruisrock performance was released on Changing Times and Movements (Svart Records), and the show at Ruisrock 1971 is now coming out on this album. 2LP Transparent Purple Vinyl.

Svart Records proudly present Tasavallan Presidentti live at the Ruisrock festival in 1971! Tasavallan Presidentti’s annual performances at Ruisrock in Turku, Finland during the festival’s early years were proof of the band’s rapid ascent from a local band to an internationally renowned group of top musicians. “Pressa” left a lasting mark on many a festivalgoer, and the most optimistic ones were hoping to get these performances on a live album, if recordings existed. They do exist, and what remains on tape of the first ever Ruisrock performance was released on Changing Times and Movements (Svart Records), and the show at Ruisrock 1971 is now coming out on this album. 2LP Transparent Purple Vinyl.

Elvis Presley was not only the first but also the greatest star of the rock’n’roll era. His energetic, genre-blurring recordings have retained their appeal for more than half a century, and will do so forever. Elvis has often been criticised for the movies he made, particularly later in his Hollywood career where they became formulaic, and he was often typecast in romantic musical dramas. However, the quality of his music is not in question, and after his 1956 cinematic debut featuring the title song Love Me Tender, Loving You followed in 1957. The latter film featured some great rock’n’roll songs, but most notably the sentimental love song Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? Almost seven decades later, the music of his early years, some of the greatest rock’n’roll love songs ever produced, still stands as his monument.

First ever vinyl release of the album recorded in 1969/70 by UK prog-psych band Misty. Including their terrific mod-psych “Hot Cinnamon” 45.

A dazzling fusion of classically-inspired progressive rock and song-based psychedelic pop with an organ-based sound, in the vein of Procol Harum and The Nice.

“In October 1969, King Crimson released their debut, In The Court Of The Crimson King, Pink Floyd unleashed Ummagumma and Led Zeppelin put out their second LP. At the same time, Misty were in London’s Regent Sound Studios recording what turned out to be the only album of their career with producer, Adrian Ibbetson, who had cut his teeth as an engineer working with everyone from the Beatles to the Equals.

After only a handful of gigs, Misty signed a deal with Parlophone and began to gather momentum with the release of Hot Cinnamon. Although they received a lot of airplay, the single failed to chart and the band’s hopes of releasing their debut album were dashed. Reluctantly, Misty went their separate ways and the Here Again master tapes sat gathering dust on a shelf until Gelardi came across the original acetate and decided it was time for the album to finally see the light of day.

Bridging late psych and early prog, songs like Life Has Just Begun, Witness For The Resurrection and the title track were played with a perfect mix of high-flying experimentation and virtuosic musicianship. Blurring the fine lines between rock, jazz, classical and chamber pop, Here Again is a transcendent kaleidoscope of colour that is beyond definition.

Maybe you can tell an album is truly timeless when it takes half a century for it to be properly appreciated. Misty were a rare bird, a brilliant, truly original band who should have left an indelible mark instead of joining what now seems like the never-ending line of half-remembered and long-forgotten flotsam and jetsam of the psychedelic era.

Both the first and the final statement from a group who never really got their chance to be heard, Here Again is a slice of pristine psychedelic pop that so embodies the dizzying energy and the progressive spirit of the time, it’s astonishing that it stays afloat under the weight of its own intentions. But float it does, like mist in the air - a half-forgotten diaphanous dream slowly coming back to you after 50 years of silence.” – Jonathan Wingate

‘THE CONGREGATION - Jazz Alliance International’ compilation is the latest offering from Mono Jazz label. Compiled by Massimiliano ‘Jazzcat’ Conti - a DJ, broadcaster and internationally respected
selector with over 150,000 followers on Mixcloud - and featuring liner notes by Paul Bradshaw (from the iconic ‘Straight no Chaser’ magazine), ‘THE CONGREGATION’ is an innovative, largely
contemporary selection of tracks that they feel is representative of the current era - a true manifesto of the international jazz scene of the present days.

The release was received with great enthusiasm by some of the leading DJs and music critics of the scene – from the UK, to Germany, to Japan – getting early radio support by Patrick Forge (NTS), Colin
Curtis (Hitmix Radio), Kevin Beadle (TWR), Rainer Trüby (Compost Records), Shuya Okino (Kyoto Jazz Massive), Raffaele Costantino (Rai Radio 2), Ilya Rasskazov (Headz.FM), Michael Rütten (Soul Searching), David Patterson (JFSR), Simon Harrison (Basic Soul) & more.

Built around a near mythical, unreleased song by Japanese producer Yellowtail featuring legendary beat generation jazz singer Mark Murphy, the selection of tunes contained in this album ventures far and wide. Soulful offerings by Anthony Joseph and Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation, percussive and spiritual renditions by the likes of Malcolm Strachan, Right Tempo’s own Francesco Sotgiu and Nicola Conte, Latin-flavoured explorations by Mexican giant Tino
Contreras and Acid Jazz’s signed Mama Terra and a hip-hop spiced cut by Portuguese producer Azar Azar are some of the many moods that can be found in ‘THE CONGREGATION’

Best known for his work for legendary Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul (he even designed the enigmatic “bang” in 2021’s labyrinthine ‘Memoria’), Japan’s Koichi Shimizu has been honing a unique musical language since the early ‘90s, where some of his earliest material can be found on a split LP with Yoshiteru Himuro via once-iconic imprint Worm Interface (itself home to music from Autechre side-line Gescom). ‘Imprint’, was initially released quietly back in 2021 and has been remastered for this new edition, removing one track and bumping it up with four more, making it all available on vinyl for the first time.

The album offers a perfect overview of Shimizu’s broad palette, ranging from fine-wrought keys to electronic brutalism and guttural rhythmic pulses, plotted with an underlying narrative cadence that evinces his ability to heighten the impact of moving image, whilst also colouring the imagination with ephemeral sound imagery. His tekkerz are in bracing, anticipatory effect on a retooled, expanded version of his music from ‘Memoria’ within the convulsive, swarming silhouette of ‘Imprint’, and ‘The Path’ finds his aural accompaniment to ‘Uncle Boonmee...’ given room to breathe and develop into an unexpected, OOBE-like experience. In ‘Moth’ he magnifies and anthropomorphises a winged insect with finely chiselled technical nous, and his exquisite arrangement to ‘Faded Sign’ is somehow comparable to the ephemeral emotional register of cinematic collaborations between Ryuichi Sakamoto and Carsten Nicolai.

The Hardcore Vinylists are one of, if not the the biggest groups on facebook catering to Vinyl Djs spinning the classic sounds of early 90s Uk rave and new material made in the old skool style.The Hardcore Vinylists record label showcases new and emerging talent from producers connected to the group and here Zhute fresh from a previous vs Ep with Bino is back with 3breakbeat retro rave tracks with big pianos, big vocals and breakbeats firing off.

Repress!

Mr Bongo are delighted to present an officially licensed re-issue of this underground Japanese rock rarity 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' by Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffaloes. This album has become highly sought-after amongst psych, prog and acid rock collectors and due to the rare nature of original copies they come at a hefty price tag.

The respected Japanese jazz drummer Akira Ishikawa was not messing around when he recorded the 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' album with his band the Count Buffaloes. For this offering, originally released in 1972 on Toshiba Records, Akira Ishikawa takes us on a deep tripped-out journey. 'Uganda (Dawn of Rock)' is a fusion of progressive and psych rock with African percussion workouts, dergy-wah wah blues-funk, and jazzy sensibilities; with different genres morphing and uniting as they progress.

A long way from his funk and afrobeat album 'Back To Rhythm’, re-issued on Mr Bongo in 2019, this record has a darker, deeper, abstract and experimental stoned tone with the listener being pulled into its vortex for the ride. This record doesn’t pull any punches.

For this album, Akira is joined by Hideaki Chihara on bass, guitarist Kimio Mizutani, sounding at times like an early 70s Peter Green, percussionist Larry Sunaga and composer Takeru Muraoka.

The album has become highly sought-after amongst psych, prog and acid rock collectors and due to the rare nature of original copies they come at a hefty price tag.

We are delighted to present an officially licensed re-issue of this underground Japanese rock rarity.

Available in 2 formats: Original LP in Box version & Tip-on Sleeve with OBI version.


• Highly sought-after underground Japanese rock rarity, originally released in 1972.

• Feat. Hideaki Chihara, Kimio Mizutani, Larry Sunaga and Takeru Muraoka.

• Available as the original LP in Box version & Tip-on Sleeve with OBI version.

Part of The Optic Sevens 5.0 Reissue Series.
Limited to 500 copies worldwide. Pressed on Blue Vinyl. Includes poster.
Brand New Remastered Versions.
The June Brides debut single originally released in 1984 on The Pink Label.
Both tracks are from fresh transfers from the master tapes which were then remastered by Jason Mitchell at LOUD Mastering in Taunton in early 2021.
The June Brides are true innovators, hailing from the first wave of British indie, with fans that include Manic Street Preachers (who covered their song “The Instrumental” as a tribute) , Morrissey and Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch.
They have always been regarded as pioneers, and one of the most beloved of the bands that formed the original UK independent music scene, which has since been tagged as C86.

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series) Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records! Iconic musician and singer Ray Charles' classic 1957 album! Includes the hits "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Ain't That Love" and "I Got a Woman" 180-gram 45 RPM double LP Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman Pressed at Quality Record Pressings Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing Hybrid Mono SACD Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman Ray Charles' self-titled 1957 album was one of the first handful of LPs issued by Atlantic (and was later retitled Hallelujah I Love Her So). As AllMusic reviewer Bruce Elder notes, the album is weighted about three to one in favor of Charles' own compositions, with the hits "Hallelujah I Love Her So" and the pounding, soaring "Ain't That Love," which opens the LP, its raison d'etre. Charles does just as well with his interpretations of others' work, most notably the ominous, gospel-focused rendition of "Sinner's Prayer" (which offers a virtuoso piano performance, and comes courtesy of the pen of Charles' former mentor Lowell Fulson) and Henry Glover's wrenching ballad "Drown in My Own Tears," which is topped out on each verse by a gorgeous chorus. "Funny (But I Still Love You)" offers a guitar break played in such an understated fashion that it almost doesn't seem so much a part of R&B as it was usually being offered in 1957 as it does a part of Charles' early career output. The second side of the LP is even better, opening with the title track, a number that is almost too ubiquitous in its various cover versions — the original has a mix of urgency and playfulness that's absolutely bracing, and the album carries this mood forward with "Mess Around," an Ahmet Ertegun-authored piano- and sax-driven romp with Charles at his most ebullient as a singer. "This Little Girl of Mine" offers him in a surprisingly light, almost acrobatic vocal mode, while "Greenbacks" is a knowing, clever cautionary narrative that is almost a throwback to 1940s-style R&B. "Don't You Know" is as salacious a piece of R&B as one was likely to hear in 1957, and "I Got a Woman" closes the record out on a pounding, driving note. All the hallmarks of a top-notch Analogue Productions reissue are here for you to savor: Mastered directly from the original master tape by Bernie Grundman and cut at 45 RPM. Pressed on 180-gram at Quality Record Pressings and RTI, and housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

Released in 1960, Giant Steps was a watershed album for John Coltrane, solidifying the saxophone legend's reputation as one of the most influential and innovative musicians in jazz history, as well as delivering jazz to an increasingly mainstream audience, while garnering significant critical acclaim.

Although this was John Coltrane's debut for Atlantic, he was concurrently performing and recording with Miles Davis. Within the space of less than three weeks, Coltrane would complete his work with Davis and company on another genre-defining disc, Kind of Blue, before commencing his efforts on this one.

Coltrane (tenor sax) is flanked here by essentially two different trios. Recording commenced in early May of 1959 with a pair of sessions that featured Tommy Flanagan (piano) and Art Taylor (drums), as well as Paul Chambers — who was the only bandmember other than Coltrane to have performed on every date. When recording resumed in December of that year, Wynton Kelly (piano) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) were instated — replicating the alternate non-Bill Evans lineup featured on "Freddie the Freeloader" on Kind of Blue, sans Miles Davis of course. At the heart of these recordings, however, is the laser-beam focus of Coltrane's tenor solos.

All seven pieces issued on the original Giant Steps are Coltrane compositions. He was, in essence, beginning to rewrite the jazz canon with material that would be centered on solos — enabling the solo to become infinitely more compelling. This would culminate in a frenetic performance style using melodic phrasing that noted jazz journalist Ira Gitler accurately dubbed "sheets of sound."

The Giant Steps chord progression consists of a distinctive set of chords that create key centers a major third apart. Jazz musicians ever since have used it as a practice piece, its difficult chord changes presenting a "kind of ultimate harmonic challenge", and serving as a gateway into modern jazz improvisation. Several pieces on this album went on to become jazz standards, most prominently "Naima" and "Giant Steps."

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core Collection" calling it "Trane's first genuinely iconic record." In 2003, the album was ranked No. 102 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, 103 in a 2012 revised list, and 232 in a 2020 revised list.

Undeniable music perfection deserves definitive sound and top-notch packaging. This reissue was mastered directly from the original master tape by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound and cut at 45 RPM. Pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Quality Record Pressings, and housed in tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing.

Overall, Giant Steps is not only a critical triumph but also a defining moment in John Coltrane's career. Its innovative compositions, masterful performances, and profound influence on jazz make it an essential entry in Coltrane's discography and a timeless masterpiece in the history of the genre.

Warehouse Find!

A true studio visionary and son of Incognito's Jean-Paul 'Bluey' Maunick, Daniel Maunick virtually grew up behind the mixing desk and worked his way through the scenes of drum n' bass, acid-jazz, disco, samba, deep house and beyond. As Far Out's in-house producer his work is a key component in the consistency and transience of the label's sound, with key albums include Azymuth's Fênix, Marcos Valle's Estatica, Sabrina Malheiros' Dreaming and Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra. His latest credit on the catalogue is the next chapter of his Dokta Venom alias, Moodswings.Each track brings you a visceral dancefloor experience both sonically and structurally. Opener 'See the Sun' evokes an elevated, cloudy ether, with each kick drum another step up to the sky. Title track 'Mood Swings' deploys components of broken beat, garage, house, IDM and boogie, but shrouds them into a hazy deepness, like a dream through Maunick's musical memories. Whilst keeping the same intensity, 'I Owe u Something' ups the tempo and swings the mood. Propulsive percussion blurs the acoustic with the electric, glowing synths and anguished vocals formulate this eruptive full-floor belter that lodges somewhere in between early Pepe Bradock and Azymuth.With a solo album from Azymuth drummer Ivan 'Mamao' Conti, a collaboration between Sean Khan and Hermeto Pascoal, along with a long awaited new record from Sabrina Malheiros, 2017 is set to be an exceptional year for Maunick and Mood Swings is an inspired prelude of things to come.

Anyone who takes their old-skool hip-hop seriously knows Main Source were the real deal, and their 1991 album Breaking Atoms remains one of the greatest albums in the genre. While there was an eventual follow-up in 1994, hip-hop folklore has often spoken of their shelved 1992 LP The Science.

Bar the odd bootleg single or demo here and there, the album has never been heard but now a major missing piece in the story of early 90s rap is being put back into its rightful place, as P-Vine present the first ever release of The Science, cut from the group's own master tapes and guaranteed to be a new favourite for anyone who values the golden age of beats and rhymes.

Autumn 1904 is a post-punk indie-rock band formed in 1982 in Edinburgh, Scotland by Allan Dumbreck (keyboards) and Ross Thom (guitar). The band originally became a five-piece (Billy Bowie – bass, Keith Falconer – drums, Billy Leslie – vocals) but grew to a seven piece in early 1983 (taking on two female backing vocalists, Indira Sharma and Lisa Cameron). Autumn 1904 were part of the DIY indie-rock movement in Edinburgh in the early to mid 1980’s kicked off by The Shop Assistants, they worked alongside The Wild Indians, Finitribe (originally Gallery Macabre) and Goodbye Mr MacKenzie, often performing together or attending each other’s shows.

In February 1984 the band performed at the John Peel Roadshow at Edinburgh University and afterwards were invited to record a BBC Radio 1 session which was broadcast three times on the Peel show. They were immediately courted by 11 major record and publishing companies. In March 1984 their song “I heard Catherine Sing” featured on the Deadbeat magazine compilation album “Deadbeat 1”. Internal tensions and health issues over the summer of 1984 held up development and caused Sharma and Cameron to leave the band.

The band first split in January 1985 with Thom, Bowie and Falconer going on to form The Crows with former members of First Priority, including future Glasgow Cathouse / Garage promoter Donald McLeod MBE. Dumbreck and Leslie reformed the band and performed throughout 1985 sometimes including Shirley Manson, then working with Goodbye Mr MacKenzie and later with Garbage. This line-up lasted until November 1985 when the band split again. Dumbreck went on to work with Scottish groups The Big Dish, Horse and Thrum. Later working extensively in music education setting up the music department at UWS where Jim Prime (Deacon Blue) and Paul McGeechan (Love and Money) became lecturing staff.

The line-up at the time of the Peel session was Dumbreck, Thom, Bowie, Falconer, Leslie and backing vocalists Indira Sharma and Lisa Cameron.

In May 2021, the original five members agreed to re-master / re-record the original material from their studio recordings for release. Work began with producer Liam McCluskey (Gun, King King, Twin Atlantic). Approaching Ian Smith in 2022 at independent record label Last Night from Glasgow for advice, he offered to release the album on the label. The final masters include Tippi from label-mates The Hedrons on vocals and a number of fresh recordings of material written in 1982-83 but never previously recorded.

...Finally repressed! No more words needed... Classic!

The original version of this gorgeous schlager techno track, released in august 2001 on Kompakt's Total 3, would put a smile on a lot of people's faces. Apart from the reworked original version, you'll get two sensational remixes: The one from Frankfurt's high-aesthete, super hipster, club- and label-owner with a three-letter name: Ata. Since the very beginning, his Playhouse label has always been a guarantee for finest German House music. It's his first (!) remix ever and his first studio work since the legendary first Playhouse release 'Holy Garage' in 1993. The 'Playhouse Mix' turns the original version into a mega-hip, late-night monster and reminds a bit of the great Larry Levan and Metro Area's congenious adaption of early-80s disco music. The 'Robert Johnson' club is going down on its knees. Wonderful. The other remix comes from one of Kompakt's in-house pioneers of pop ambient: it's Olaf Dettinger. Who didn't want to miss this chance and has interrupted his creative pause only for doing this wonderful 'Moonlight Mix'. Dettinger's cosy hi-tech sounds and Sonja Luebke's seraphic voice, both singing a duet to the moon. Very, very beautiful, indeed.

DER SMARTE HIT VON JÜRGEN PAAPE MIT REMIXEN VON PLAYHOUSE'S ATA UND DETTINGER. HERRLICH !

2024 Repress

"I've never met Rod Modell (Deepchord) in person, but we have met through music. He found an obscure cassette of Chi music (from '86), sent it to Astral Industries and paved the way for the release (30 years later) of 'The Original Recordings' in 2016. Since then, we've exchanged ideas and good music. I sent Rod a preview of 'The Kallikatsou Recordings' - he really liked it - and here came the idea for a remix of 'Lanterns'. I started working on some random, lo-fi samples from Youtube, using Audacity, perhaps the simplest way of producing loops and samples. It's the only computer based system that feels like the tape recorders I used to work with. I sent the first sketches to Rod on Facebook, but they ended up in the wrong inbox. I forgot about them, but months later he came back saying he loved them. I decided to go back to working on them, maintaining the lo-fi approach. I began manipulating the samples: time-stretching, tempo and pitch-shifting, mixing different layers and adding old-school monophonic old speaker' effects, delays and loops. I used a few field recordings, voices and samples from my early ambient cassettes, and they matched. Ario from Astral Industries got involved and the experiment turned into a plan - a vinyl release - 'Red Lantern at the Kallkatsou''.

Reggae and Jamaican music have long embraced a symbiotic relationship with the movies. Rooting back to the island's golden era, countless arrangements have either been direct covers, or inspired by, the musicality and mood found in both cinema and television. These reinterpretations would become part of the backbone of the instrumental sound that accompanied the Jamaican record industry's acceleration from the mid-60s and beyond. Talented young musicians, rising from Alpha Boys School and the early studios of Coxsone, Duke Reid and others, found a showcase for their unique playing style on hundreds of different recordings, while appealing to the country's own love affair with Westerns, James Bond canon, and other rebellious themes and motifs that were projected from Hollywood during this time.

In this same tradition, in a new interval, arrives the debut release of Anant Pradhan and Larry McDonald, the latter a master percussionist with direct participation in some of Jamaica's earliest recordings. McDonald, although often uncredited, was a legitimate influence in helping to bridge the Afro-Caribbean sound from calypso into ska and later reggae with his iconic style on hand drums and percussion. A kindred spirit of McDonald, despite 50 years separating them, Anant Pradhan is a bonafide member of the next generation. Although this is his first "solo" record, the talented saxophonist has already played on dozens of incredible sessions for the likes of Victor Axelrod, The Inversions, Andy Bassford, Channel Tubes, Ralph Weeks and Combo Lulo. As an official member of the current touring group of the legendary Skatalites, Pradhan has honed his musicianship under some of the greats of reggae music. His particular soulful, instrumental arrangements are an homage to that influential era of Jamaican music. Pradhan and his band's performance retain the skill and innovation of the old vanguard, and like the generations before, capture a magic that may only be possible when cinema goes reggae.

A cult favorite from A Nightmare Before Christmas, Danny Elfman's "Sally's Song" was immortalized in Tim Burton's 1993 classic stop-motion film. It's immediately recognizable in all its haunting charm, and now, Pradhan and McDonald have managed to transform it into an irrefutable reggae classic, reinvented with its melancholic lead sax and bombastic percussion. The prolific Henry Mancini is already entrenched in the Jamaican canon, yet nobody has knowingly attempted to recreate one of his most magical numbers, "Meglio Stasera" aka "It Had Better Be Tonight," that of the riveting one-take scene in 1963's The Pink Panther. The galloping percussion of the original is transposed through a cloud of smoke, slow and low in a roots style at the hands of McDonald. Pradhan's sax leads the way over the locked-in rhythm section, both deep and cheeky all at once. These first two productions of Anant Pradhan and Larry McDonald are a deserving entry into the canon of reggae covers, and are equally adept to be heard on the screen and or at the dance alike.

London band Those Unfortunates release their second album, Welcome to Woodberry Down, on October 27th through Gare Du Nord Records, on LP accompanied by a limited edition photobook.
Welcome to Woodberry Down is a collection of songs about the eponymous housing estate in the London Borough of Hackney. Singer/lyricist Ben Brill’s family were among Woodberry Down’s first residents in 1950. Dubbed the estate of the future, and built on land that had previously been the preserve of the wealthy, Woodberry Down’s social homes were emblematic of a new post war optimism.
Brill’s family called Woodberry Down home for over 50 years, eventually seeing the estate fall into managed decline. Not long after his grandmother’s death in 2006, the bulldozers moved in, and the foundations were laid for a new, privately owned housing development.
Brill started work on this project in 2016. At the time a Hackney resident, he spent countless early mornings walking round the condemned – but still not quite empty - estate, and watching a new version of the future rise in its place. He took photographs, and started writing songs, inspired equally by the liminal spaces he explored, and the utopian ideals of the London County Council planners.

The band will be celebrating the album’s launch with friend Paolo Ruiu at Margate’s Tom Thumb Theatre on October 27th, and London’s Betsey Trotwood on October 28th.

Hellhammer were a metal band from Switzerland that are credited as being pioneers of extreme metal and the black metal genre, along with Venom and Bathory in the early 1980’s.

Formed by Tom G Warrior and Martin Eric Ain (who went on to form Celtic Frost) ‘Apocalyptic Raids’ was originally released in 1984 and is a cult classic that is revered as a hugely influential release, that laid the blueprint for extreme metal as a whole.

The band never performed live while active but in 2019 Tom G Warrior formed ‘Triumph Of Death’ as a tribute to his former band and has been performing their music at festivals globally since.