Search:early b

The debut album of soul singer, Maiiah is also the third full-length by Hamburg collective, Angels of Libra, following on from the success of their collaboration with Irish singer, Nathan Johnston.

Maiiah is a singer with roots in the Balkans but residing in Düsseldorf, the city of the legendary Unique Club and the label of the same name. Soul left its mark on her early on, and when she met Hamburg producer, musician and composer Dennis Rux (Hamburg Spinners/Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Studios) during the pandemic, the two realized they shared a similar musical vision. Their common love of soul music and old rhythm & blues brought them together, and they started recording music together in Hamburg with the Angels of Libra. Lo and behold, their first single together "Obey" got into rotation at tastemaker station Radioeins and confirmed them as a winning team.



Following in the footsteps of many a classic soul tune, second single, "No No No (I'm So Broke)" is a social critique and commentary. In it Maiiah literally wears her heart on her sleeve, as she sings about the back- breaking job she was working at the time and the poor earnings as a hotel service employee.



But naturally life has more to offer than just work and so a large part of the songs on this record revolve around love. Maiiah gives her own spin to the classic "I'm A Good Woman", which the spirited singer has performed live many times. The story goes that the late DJ and Unique Records label owner Henry Storch sent Maiiah the original song by Barbara Lynn to comfort her after a heavy heartbreak. The song thus holds a very important place in Maiiah's heart, and it was released as the third advance single, recorded during her tour with Nathan Johnston at Bekegg Studios in Rastede, Lower Saxony.



With Dennis Rux at her side and the powerful arrangements of the Angels of Libra, Maiiah has found the right partners for her personal debut. On "Kava" & "Plenty of Life", Hamburg's jack-of-all-trades Carsten Meyer aka Erobique is featured as a guest on the keyboards, so here the rhythm section of the Hamburg Spinners comes together again. The love for old soul, rhythm & blues and the analog sound of the sixties is also fully expressed on this album. The longings and deep feelings in Maiiah's lyrics are carefully picked up musically, whether as a classic R&B song as in "Please Come Home" or in boogaloo party mode as in the Croatian-sung "Kava", the fourth single. "Plenty of Life" is a song for self-cheering and a call to open up to the beautiful sides of life despite all adversity. In "I wanna go", on the other hand, Maiiah longs for her Croatian homeland. The crowning finale of the album is the intense "Infinity" about life's phases and the recurring ups and downs as the essence of human existence.



The ingredients of Maiiah and the Angels of Libra's recipe are authentic lyrics, to the point arrangements, tight horns, rousing background vocals and the spirit of the golden age of soul music, as it was shaped by labels like Motown and Stax. Recorded in part with original equipment from the 50s. Producer Dennis Rux says, "We wanted to create a record that people would go dance to at the Komet" (a neighborhood club on St. Pauli in Hamburg, the band's second home). The joint album combines the Hamburg soul of the Angels of Libra with the passion of Maiiah, who can fully live out her temperament on the mic.

Alleviated Records is proud to present the Spoken-Word vibes of Sharpsburg, NC's PICCOLO JT and Chicago's RIO LOVE to some lush Larry Heard grooves. 1969: "recollections about the

NYC social & black music/party scenes on top of a driving afro-tribal groove.."

JUKE JOINTS - LIQUOR HOUSES: "insights on early Southern social & black music/party scenes flowing on a moody deep-soulful music-bed.."

MY COUNTRY: "social questions/observations on a slammin' deep Future-Tech flavored vibe.."

I'M NOT TOUGH BUT I'M TIRED: "social questions/observations on a slammin' deep Future-Ragga/Tech flavored vibe.."

Rhythm Cult's unstoppable momentum continues after achieving consecutive number-one positions across online and physical platforms. RCM019, their most recent release, welcomes the incredibly gifted Chilian producer Dinky into the fold.

Dinky's hypnotic blend of deep house, strong techno, and precise minimalism has earned her a residency at the famed Panorama Bar, in Berlin confirming her position as a unique voice in the electronic industry.



The EP kicks off with the soulful and uplifting "Come Hold Me," a futuristic house anthem that effortlessly fuses tribal rhythms with intricate stuttering synth patterns.
Dinky provides the unmistakable and irresistible vocal hook that suggest this will be a summer anthem in the making. "She's Got Nowhere To Go" follows, riding on an insistent one-note bass line and yet more addictive vocal snips, complemented by disco stabs that complete the party vibe. Dinky's skilful use of stuttering glitches and inventive sample manipulation showcases her love for minimal detail and angular funk.


Finally, dOP turn in not one but two remixes of their unique and unconventional take on house and techno. First, their reinterpretation of "Come Hold Me" takes us on a journey to the deeper realms of house, riding on a low-slung acidic bass groove while enveloping the listener in waves of lush synths, perfect material for warming up dancefloors or setting the mood for the early hours. Then they wrap “She’s Got Nowhere To Go’ around an elastic bass and dosed with warped synth lines to create an irresistibly explosive dancefloor weapon.

The EP exudes sophistication, weaving intricate futuristic house sounds that are imprinted with the influences of Balearic, acid, and deep house. These heaters are undoubtedly set to light up dancefloors throughout the summer season. With this exciting collaboration, Rhythm Cult further cements its position as one of the industry's most cutting-edge labels, and Dinky's addition adds a distinctive dimension to their roster.

Prepare to find yourself absorbed by this exceptional release from two forces shaping the future of electronic music.

Chicago's Magic Touch label gets the Numero treatment. This Windy City Holy-Grail 2-sider featuring early Boogie Rap on the A Side and stone cold rare groove disco killer on the flip. Available on 7" for the first time and housed in Official Magic Touch Double Disco Smash 7" Company Sleeve. One listen and you'll be checking for flights and hotels because Chi-C-A-G-O (Is My Chicago) shows that the Second City produced First Rank funky soul jams.

Born in Roma in 1959, Guiseppe “Peps” Cotumaccio arrived in South Africa when he was two years old. He was the mastermind behind the band “Sweet Reaction”, singing and playing keyboards.

In the early 80’s, the group used to back various artists including one of the South African top singer “Neville Nash”. Both artists were on the same record label: Music Team. Throughout his lengthy career, Peps has collaborated with Johnny Clegg, Ronnie Joyce, Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, P.J. Powers, Mark Alex, Neville Nash, and Mara Louw just to name a few.

The lead singer of the band, Dion Williamson, started performing in Johannesburg’s nightclubs and got quickly very successful, always in demand! People loved his gravel and sensual voice as he used to sing some of Joe Cocker’s popular songs. Unfortunately, during the Apartheid, the South African Government were not allowing black and white audiences, and the band split.

On this BIG5 Boogie#2, Enoch Ndlela produced 2 Modern Soul killer tracks.
Recorded in 1981, "Take it easy", where the music is evidently influenced by Willie Hutch (Easy does it - 1978) offers Dion a way to fully explain himself doing his own version of the tune. And what an explosive result!

On the same side of this 12”, our 2 Frenchies in Cape Town aka Simbad & Fred Spider enjoyed delivering us a fat broken beat version of the track, while the very “En Vogue” Aroop Roy from London turned it into a funky house summer hit.
Side B starts with a superb composition from the band: “African Sunrise” where Dion Williamson is on top, this tune is a bomb!
To finish this E.P, the well-known Kid Fonque from Johannesburg, who freshly moved to London working for the glorious house record label Defected, couldn’t wait to produce a super groove deep house refix. The result is a second essential dancefloor release from Voom Voom Records!

Marco Funari's Music Institute Records follow up on last year's Ciao Lee Tong banger with a re-release of the house classic, Franky E.P. Four raw and unpolished dancefloor pleasers with a snapshot back into the world of early 90's garage house.

New one-off press limited edition transparent green double vinyl edition of Soul
Jazz Records long unavailable Studio One Roots 2, featuring classic tracks recorded
at Studio One.
Studio Roots Vol. 2 delves deep into the vaults of the legendary Jamaican Reggae
label and features rare and classic roots as well as an unprecedented seven
unreleased tracks that up till now had never seen the light of day.
Roots and rastafarian music was being recorded at Studio One by Clement "Sir
Coxsone" Dodd from the early 1960s onwards to the 1990s and this album reflects
the depth and diversity of roots music at the label.
From the slow-ska of Dudley Sibbley, to the deep instrumental jazz cuts of Cedric Im
Brooks over classic roots rhythms such as "Satta Massagana" to Winston Mathews
stunning eerie version of Bob Marley and the Wailers "Sun Is Shining". The Zion All
Stars features the Burro rastafarian drumming of Count Ossie and the Mystic
Revelation of Rastafari.
This album features many of the classic Studio One artists – Willie Williams, Tommy
McCook, Cedric Brooks, The Gladiators, Vin Gordon – as well as many less wellknown artists – all who produced classic roots music under the guidance of producer
Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd and recorded at the legendary Studio One Records.

REPRESSED 2x12" now with bonus download code! Heavy, heavy tunes! Studio One instrumentals are the foundation of Reggae. These rhythm tracks became the basis for all Dancehall as countless artists and producers re-versioned these classic Studio One instrumentals.

REVIEWS: "Sheer volume of output from Studio One is astonishing, combined with the fact that the quality of the recordings never seem to diminish. These instrumentals touch on ska, rocksteady, dub, and begin to hint at the reggae sound of the late '70s. Each instrumental is perfect and has the feel that it could hardly be improved upon. Soul Jazz has once again put together a wonderfully rounded collection of music from Studio One" - All Music.

"I think if a nuclear family could have a soundtrack, ours would be the Soul Jazz comp Studio One: Scorcher. I wouldn't say it's the best record ever made, but if I heard it every single day for the rest of my life, I'd be 100% cool with it." DJ. & "Compilation of essential & rare Studio One instrumentals" - Hard Wax.

"Studio One Scorcher is the latest of these, collecting instrumental tracks spanning the years from the late 60's rocksteady vogue through the onset of dancehall and digital rhythms in the early 80's featuring The Skatalites, trombonist Don Drummond, Pablove Black and others." - Billboard.

Hilary Woods' artistry is one of rare emotive reach. Her minimalist and compositional finesse combine with densely layered atmospheric instrumentation and dreamlike vocals to create music rich with both delicacy and intensity. The Sunday Times hailed her early solo recordings as "a revelation."After the release of two critically acclaimed EPs, Woods spent 2017 writing and recording songs on an eight-track in an abandoned flat she was living in at the time. Layering piano, synth, tape machine, field recordings, vocals, drone, unadorned beats, and old string instruments, these songs culminate in her debut solo LP Colt. Straddling the acoustic and electronic worlds, Colt is an intensely personal journey through grief, abandonment, and mutating love. Woods navigates this journey with a lyrical potency that cuts through stark piano, sensuous synth work, and textural acoustics. Somewhere between Marissa Nadler, Grouper and Julee Cruise, these songs evoke both the anguish of their content and the ecstasy of their craft.

Bastards gained international attention and were the first Finnish hardcore band to tour Europe, yet they still ended up quitting the band in December 1983 after just a few active years. Svart Records have now put together all the recorded material by Bastards. Arctic Hardcore – Complete Studio Recordings & Rare Rehearsal Tapes -box set was done as a tight co-operation between the record company and members of the band. The nearly four-hour long compilation contains 136 songs, of which fifty are never released versions or completely unheard material, until now. The box set also contains a thick booklet with the band’s history, lyrics, complete song details and a lot of photos from the band’s active years. Bastards was one of the first hardcore punk bands coming from Finland in the early 80’s. The band released three albums between 1982-1983: Harhaa (1982, originally only on cassette tape), Järjetön maailma (1983) and Siberian Hardcore (1983). Propaganda Records, the oracle of its time, released the Maailma palaa ja kuolee EP when the band was still active, and some single tracks also appeared on Finnish and international compilations.

Back in the 1990s video games were still largely seen as nerdy: fun, sure, but basically a guilty pleasure that you’d soon grow out of. The release in 1995 of wipE'out'', a lightning-fast, razor-sharp, futuristic racing game that helped to launch the PlayStation in Europe and North America, changed all that. This was a game that looked and sounded both adult and cool, the kind of game you would put on display in your living room, rather than hide away under your bed. Key to this was the fact that wipE'out'' borrowed unashamedly from the clubbing experience and electronic music, in a way that put it at the heart of progressive mid 90s culture. It soon became a phenomenon.

wipE'out'' looked sensational, with Sheffield agency The Designers Republic - known for their work with Warp - creating the visuals, packaging and manual for the game, drawing heavily on the bright colours and excitable geometric shapes of the rave and club flyers of the early 90s.

wipE'out'' also sounded like a new rave dream. The European version of the game included music from The Chemical Brothers, Leftfield and Orbital, the kind of fashionable game syncs that were almost unheard of at the time. Equally striking was the game’s original music, which came from Welsh musician Tim Wright, aka CoLD SToRAGE, by this point already a veteran in the video games world, having worked on the music for Amiga titles such as Lemmings and Shadow of the Beast 2. His music for wipE'out'' was, if anything, even more extreme than the big-name syncs, mixing the accelerated beats of drum & bass with the pure synth rush of trance to make music that sounded as breathlessly exciting as playing the game felt.

These tracks were burned into the brains of millions of gamers; the soundtrack to a generation of late-night anti-gravity racing, as the sun gingerly rose beyond the curtains. But they haven’t, perhaps, quite got the respect they deserve, something that this release will address. In 2023, video game music is finally getting its dues; here, remastered and repackaged –and also remixed by cutting edge producers such as Kode9, μ-Ziq, Brainwaltzera, Simo Cell, Wordcolour, James Shinra, Surgeons Girl and Dattassette– are some of the most important, thrilling, innovative and most fun songs ever committed to game release.

Since the early days of electronic music, white label records have been inextricably linked to DJ culture and the ways in which underground music has been disseminated.

unknown - untitled draws on the white label concept, initially withholding details about the producers behind the tracks and leaving listeners to draw their own conclusions about what they’re hearing. The innovative concept record label is back with its eighth release, delivering an expansive six-track vinyl that pushes the limits of techno as we know it, offering a glimpse into the ever-evolving world of sound design and sonic landscapes. With online personas often eclipsing the focus on music itself, here lies a return to form.

The album is the proverbial musical journey, made to be listened to from beginning to end, then flipped over for another spin.

SONLIFE is an 8 track LP that spans genres from Downtempo to Jazz, and is an amalgamation of live instrumentation, field recordings and samples. A lot of the tracks on the album started out as very simple ideas; repetitive, single, distorted loops - “very odd and rough ideas conjured up in the middle of the night in my early twenties”. He originally imagined the project being an experimental solo project in 2015, trying out new sounds and genres. The tracks were back under wraps for a few years when he took a break from making music, and when he returned, they were all reimagined with a brand new life.

The album has heavy influences from the likes of Massive Attack, “Black Sands”-era Bonobo, Portico Quartet and the more dance orientated musicians such as Overmono and Mount Kimbie.

Lovers Grain and The Quiet feat James Mollison
Piecebypiece features Plumm

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

Here is the much anticipated volume 4 of the HOT SAUCE compilation LPs dedicated to the Trojan related UK labels between 1965 and 1975.

HOT SAUCE VOLUME 4 features outstanding original Rocksteady, Boss Reggae and early Reggae (“Reggay”)
tracks including rare songs, overlooked gems, hidden treasures and a couple of hits.

The record labels showcased on this fourth volume are Amalgamated, Big Shot, Duke, Explosion, Grape, High Note , JJ Records, Treasure Isle and Trojan.

The tracks here have been selected according to their musical interest firstly, their rarity, and their complementarity. These tracks are all outstanding tracks, “killer tracks”, there is no “filler” whatsoever.
The HOT SAUCE series is a musical journey across Trojan and its labels highlighting early Jamaican Reggae’s many diverse musical genres and outstanding artists.

Since the early 70s “Tighten Up” series, no compilations have really explored these labels in depth on vinyl.

Long before Lordi and Nightwish put Finnish metal on the map globally, Waltari were there churning out a curiously engaging concoction of various genres molten into metal. Waltari signed with Roadrunner Records in the early nineties and released Torcha, the first fruit of the co-operation in 1992. Torcha was very well received by the international music press, even though Waltari's iconoclastic habit of breaking all boundaries also annoyed people. Besides heavy metal, speed and thrash, Torcha has acid house, funk and punk, often all in the same song. Previously Torcha has not been widely available on vinyl. There was a very limited poor quality Korean edition in the early nineties, which stuffed the hour-long album on a single LP. The Svart edition has been prepared together with Kärtsy Hatakka, and it spreads the original album on three LP sides and has two bonus tracks on side D.

Aberrant record label puts out cool Asian disco tunes on May 28: “Disco Divas, Funky Queens and Psych Ladies from Asia from the 70s to the early 90s"!

Exotic jewels from Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and South Korea, from Asian Funk to Psych tinged awesomeness, Disco madness and much more.

With a voice of pure gold and a startling sensitivity for heartfelt pop songwriting, on No Reino Dos Afetos (In the Realm of Affections), Berle firmly embraces earnestness, through starry-eyed Brazilian love songs, ambient vignettes, warm, home-cooked beats and gentle strokes of MPB genius.

Maceió, the capital of Brazil’s Alagoas state on its sprawling east-coast, is home to pastel coloured colonial houses, white sand beaches and a brilliant young composer, poet and multi-instrumentalist named Bruno Berle.
With a voice of pure gold and a startling sensitivity for heartfelt pop songwriting, on No Reino Dos Afetos (In the Realm of Affections), Berle firmly embraces earnestness, through starry-eyed Brazilian love songs, ambient vignettes, warm, home-cooked beats and gentle strokes of MPB genius.

“It’s an album that was built from my desire to find beauty”, Berle explains - his simple, graceful words mirroring the graceful simplicity in his music. But amongst the simplicity, the compositions, arrangements and productions on No Reino Dos Afetos tingle with nuance and detail.

On the contemporary R&B inspired lead single “Quero Dizer” - produced by Berle and longtime friend and collaborator Batata Boy - the swirling, lo-fi, kalimba and guitar-fronted beat is turned into a feel-good hit by the ingenuity of Berle’s honey-soaked vocal melody.

Powerfully intimate, “O Nome Do Meu Amor” (My Love’s Name) is a guaranteed tearjerker, with Berle’s stunning voice soaring over gently plucked acoustic guitar and the textural flutter of soft movement, as if we hear him writing the song in the moment.
Drawing upon a close-knit, collaborative scene of Maceió artists and musicians, (of which Berle and Batata Boy are vital members), Berle also recorded some of his friends songs on the album, including João Menezes’ “Até Meu Violao”, the album’s beautifully laid back sunshine soul opener, which has all the charm of early-70s João Donato.

Having cut his teeth in soft-rock group Troco em Bala, and more recently finding himself embedded in both Rio and Sao Paulo’s contemporary music scenes - collaborating with the likes of Ana Frango Eletrico, who took the photo for the album cover - No Reino Dos Afetos is as musically diverse as Bruno himself. It’s hazy indie rock (“É Preciso Ter Amor”), calming ambient and field recording (“Virginia Talk”) as well as Berle’s own take on West African High Life (“Som Nyame”).

Instantly recognisable as a truly special artist, Berle’s character fills every corner of the sound, which is unsurprising considering he played most of the instruments.

Echoes, Spaces, Lines collects Trans-Millenia Consort, Plot Zero, and Spectre, the first three albums by the late West Coast composer, healer, and medium Pauline Anna Strom. Exploring all corners of the multiverse through transpersonal form and freedom, Strom’s first three albums share a singular sensibility, different streams flowing from the same oracular font. Echoes, Spaces, Lines establishes Strom’s rightful place in the canon of great synthesists. Restored and mixed from the original reels by Marta Salogni, newly remastered, and adding Oceans of Tears, a fully realized but previously unreleased album exclusive to this box set, these are the first official reissues and the definitive encapsulation of Pauline Anna Strom’s prolific and visionary early work. These four-disc LP and CD box sets include 12 and 16 page booklet containing liner notes, an unearthed interview with Strom, and unseen ephemera.

Stepping out of the bedroom and into the Real World, Liverpool’s Strawberry Guy headed down to Peter Gabriel’s idyllic Real World Studios with Manchester’s Northern Session Collective in tow and set about trying to soften and expose the bare bones of his two biggest streaming tracks 'F Song' and 'Mrs Magic'.
Stripped of drums & synths, the music is pared down to piano and romantic new strings arrangements, bringing the careful melodies & indrawn lyrics to the fore.
Having recorded the original tracks in his Liverpool bedroom, swapping the originals’ string samples for their real-life counterparts lends the tracks an even more ethereal quality than the self-produced originals. The trip to Real World marks a first foray into studio recording for Strawberry Guy, and a new high-fidelity direction for the project, as he begins the process of making his sophomore album.
The vinyl edition of these new songs is out November 10, and features the two new strings versions along with the originals of both tracks, meaning fans can finally get their hands on a physical version of early single “F Song.”
While the music of Strawberry Guy favours a hermetic, headphones-forward sound lying somewhere between Bryter Layter-era Nick Drake, The Clientele, Slowdive’s Pygmalion, and the psychedelic 70s output of fellow Liverpudlian Paul McCartney, it’s nonetheless become a smash on TikTok and streaming services with a fanatical young and diverse fan base.

What are the differences and similarities between human and artificial sound, between oscillations generated by vocal cords and synthesizer voices, voltage amplified by speakers? On Silencio, his latest album for Tresor Records, Moritz von Oswald works with a 16-voice choir to explore this concept.
Drawing from the ensemble works of long-standing inspirations Edgard Varèse, György Ligeti and Iannis Xenakis, von Oswald and Vocalconsort Berlin delve into the space between sounds, creating a deeply textured collection that shifts between light & ethereal and
dark & dissonant.
As masterfully demonstrated in the early work of von Oswald and Mark Ernestus’ influential Basic Channel project, repetition and reduction are key elements here, much in the tradition of techno and minimalism. The vast dynamism of the human voice adds to the
profound weight of electronics while offering up a rhythmic source and sonic noise palette unexplored in von Oswald’s repertoire. In Silencio, von Oswald dredges a dank murk, pulling clouds over a distant pulse. It hangs, ready to take on new forms.
The compositions were written in von Oswald’s Berlin studio on classic synthesizers, such as the EMS VCS3 & AKS, Prophet V, Oberheim 4-Voice and the Moog Model 15. These abstract recordings were transcribed to sheet music for choir by Berlin-based Finnish composer and pianist, Jarkko Riihimäki and performed by Vocalconsort Berlin in Ölberg church in the city’s Kreuzberg district, only few metres down the road from where Dubplates & Mastering and Hard Wax opened their doors for music enthusiasts for many years so long. The recordings of the choral versions were then incorporated into the synthesized parts of the album and brought into anew electronic context; in Silencio, the focus is not on using one means to imitate the other, but to sonically discuss the tensions and harmonies between the two worlds and create a dialogue between them.
The relationship between von Oswald and Tresor Records goes back thirty years, all the way to Blake Baxter’s Dream Sequence in 1991 - which von Oswald engineered alongside Thomas Fehlmann. The collaboration with Fehlmann lived on, seeing the duo team up as 3MB with Eddie Fowlkes or Juan Atkins. More recently, the Detroit-Berlin connection continued as Juan Atkins & Moritz von Oswald present Borderland.
For von Oswald, Tresor Records and also the participating guest musicians of the choir, this release brings together audiences from other musical areas, cross-pollinating; Silencio is an album that stands for itself beyond the musical genre boundaries.

The late percussionist Milford Graves was one of the most unique artists the world has ever seen. Born in Jamaica, Queens in 1941, he began his career in the early '60s as a part of New York's vibrant Latin jazz scene. His focus quickly turned inward, shifting towards a practice that explored the very nature of self. From his work in the New York Art Quartet and collaborations with Albert Ayler, Sonny Sharrock and more to his important contributions during NYC's loft era – he is, simply put, free jazz royalty.

In April 1966, the duo of Graves and pianist Don Pullen played at Yale University. As John Corbett writes in the liner notes, "This performance was something of a turning point for Graves. Until then he had been working in other people's bands or collective ensembles. He was phenomenally busy. In 1965 alone, he recorded with NYAQ (two LPs), Giuseppi Logan Quartet, Paul Bley Quintet and Lowell Davidson Trio, and he made his first recording released under his own name, Percussion Ensemble. Every one of these is important in its own way, but none of them quite anticipate how radical was the music that he and Pullen would unleash that evening in New Haven."

Originally released on the artists' own Self-Reliance Program label, this legendary one-night performance would be split into two volumes: In Concert At Yale University and Nommo. While rooted in African rhythms, Graves' music has its own sense of time. As the drummer stated in a 1966 DownBeat interview, "Time was always there, and the time I see is not the same as what man says time is. It works by impulsion."

The late percussionist Milford Graves was one of the most unique artists the world has ever seen. Born in Jamaica, Queens in 1941, he began his career in the early '60s as a part of New York's vibrant Latin jazz scene. His focus quickly turned inward, shifting towards a practice that explored the very nature of self. From his work in the New York Art Quartet and collaborations with Albert Ayler, Sonny Sharrock and more to his important contributions during NYC's loft era – he is, simply put, free jazz royalty.

In April 1966, the duo of Graves and pianist Don Pullen played at Yale University. As John Corbett writes in the liner notes, "This performance was something of a turning point for Graves. Until then he had been working in other people's bands or collective ensembles. He was phenomenally busy. In 1965 alone, he recorded with NYAQ (two LPs), Giuseppi Logan Quartet, Paul Bley Quintet and Lowell Davidson Trio, and he made his first recording released under his own name, Percussion Ensemble. Every one of these is important in its own way, but none of them quite anticipate how radical was the music that he and Pullen would unleash that evening in New Haven."

Originally released on the artists' own Self-Reliance Program label, this legendary one-night performance would be split into two volumes: In Concert At Yale University and Nommo. While rooted in African rhythms, Graves' music has its own sense of time. As the drummer stated in a 1966 DownBeat interview, "Time was always there, and the time I see is not the same as what man says time is. It works by impulsion."

By the early '70s, Milford Graves had more or less stopped gigging. Having learned his lesson the hard way in multiple-night runs like a legendary Slugs' residency with Albert Ayler, he knew that the level of energy that he put out during a performance would be difficult to sustain over the long haul. A concert was a kind of absolute ritual for him, after which he would be totally spent, emotionally and physically. Graves rarely left anything on the table. Any musical performance was an opportunity to present an amalgamated version of all the things he had learned. He was an innovator and a teacher at his core, and the concert venue was one of his first classroom settings.

In March 1976, Verna Gillis invited Graves to perform on WBAI's Free Music Store radio show. For the date, he chose to present a trio lineup which he had been occasionally playing – featuring two saxophonists who were dedicated to the drummer's vision. Hugh Glover is almost exclusively known for his work with Graves, while Arthur Doyle would gain exposure later for an obscure record that he made two years later, Alabama Feeling, which would become a highly collectable item among free jazz enthusiasts.

Originally released in 1977, Bäbi remains one of Graves' most seminal recordings. The music played by the trio was ecstatic. Extreme energy music, buoyant and joyful. It relied on Graves' new way of approaching the drum kit, in which he had opened up the bottoms of his skin-slackened toms and eliminated the snare. Graves' art was always unblemished by commercial interests, and this album is its finest mission statement.

Perth-born, Naarm-based duo Special Feelings, aka Naomi Robinson and Poli-Pearl, are stepping up on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section label with their first long player – released on November 10, 2023. Across its 9-tracks, Special Feelings combines the electrically improvisational feel of live performances, with snappy broken beat-esque percussions and house-inspired looping synth hooks. Tapping into the infectious collaborative spirit of Naarm’s jazz community, Special Feelings are joined by a crew of the city’s rising artists.

Early iterations of Special Feelings’ music drew on psychedelic sun-dappled rock, with Naomi playing guitar and singing alongside Poli-Pearl on the drums. Over the years, this has shapeshifted into Naomi on bass and rhythms, with Poli-Pearl helming synths and keys – rooted in the sounds of Perth’s and London’s jazz of the moment, intertwined with Brainfeeder-nodding electronica. Today, Special Feelings’ influences span from the deep grooves of Moodymann to the freewheeling horns of Emma Jean Thackray to the stepping drums of Kaidi Thatham, and beyond.

Both Naomi and Poli-Pearl are self-taught multi- instrumentalists and producers; Naomi got her start playing in high school dream pop bands, before moving to Naarm to immerse herself in its musical communities, and study classical guitar at the University of Melbourne.

The Dam Swindle curated compilation Heist Classics Vol. 02 delivers even more of the label’s biggest hits in a beautiful limited-edition package.

It’s safe to say that in it’s 10 years of existence, Heist Recordings has given us plenty of amazing music and has cemented itself as one of the key labels in today’s house scene. The first 3 compilations of this year have had an amazing response with radio and club tastemakers (re)discovering some of the best music that has come out on Heist. With support from Paul Woolford, Luke Slater, Antal, James Zabiela, Nightmares on Wax, a 10/10 in Faze Mag and various radio plays on BBC R1 with Pete Tong, Annie Mac and more, it’s safe to say that everyone has been loving these releases. Now, Dam Swindle conclude their 10-year anniversary releases with Classics vol. 2: a limited-edition collection with hits from Crackazat, Andy Hart, Kassian, Makèz and Nachtbraker.

The release kicks off with ‘Alfa’: Crackazat’s biggest hit to date (and that’s saying something, coming from a producer that has delivered jam upon jam in his career). It’s a signature Crackazat song with an off-kilter live key loop, shuffling percussion and pumping low end.
Andy Hart’s ‘Epsilon Girls’ was originally released in 2014 and has helped cement the artist and label’s position in the house music landscape. A vintage Barbara St. Clair loop gives the track a lovely human touch, which is countered by layers upon layers of glimmering electronics.

Different Planets is the track that really kickstarted the career of the talented duo Makèz. Released in 2019, the track has everything we’ve come to love from their recognizable sound: lively drums, catchy hooks and warm & jazzy chords. UK duo Kassian are represented on this package with their track ‘8th Movement’. Their sound has progressed towards techno in recent years which has given them support from artists across the board such as Ben UFO, Special Request and many more. Their Heist classic ‘8th Movement’ - still housey in its core - already has hints of their newfound style in its sound design and rolling energy.

We end the record with what might be Nachtbraker’s biggest track of his career: ‘Hamdi’. You’ll find him currently at work with artists such as Shanti Celeste where he recently released his Capichone EP, but the sound he developed in the early part of his career had Heist written all over it. ‘Hamdi’ is a proper anthem, with African drums, an ecstatic vocal sample and a killer groove.

The vinyl release of Heist Classics Vol. 02 is printed on colored 180grams heavyweight vinyl and is limited to 1000 records with a special design by our Art Director Bas Koopmans (Wellness.)

Enjoy the music and play it loud!

Lars & Maarten

"There could barely be a better figurehead for Belgrade's simmering multi-limbed music scene than Jan Nemeèek" The Quietus `Dissolved', a new album by Serbian synthesist and sound designer Jan Nemeèek, began its life cycle in a studio live room. It unpacks the paradigm of the individualistic act of computer music creation, transporting it into the communal setting of a band, its performers contributing elements ranging from prepared piano to Turkish lyre. The album opens with an unexpected falter, a false start that imbues the album with a sense of vulnerability. It's as if the album itself is finding its footing, mirroring the dissonance of an orchestra tuning. This digital ensemble, an assembly of electronic voices, seems to search for its harmony, its discord, its pitch, its timbre - much like a traditional counterpart would. As it unfolds, `Dissolved' further taps into the raw tonalities of partially defunct digital synthesizers, ranging from early 2000s' attempts at neural networks to precursors of oscillator-laden software synthesizers, in order to build its cloud of suspended tension and alternate histories. Through this clash of wistful piano and biting frost of digital pads with the iridescent hum of tube amps, the album reflects New Age tropes through the prism of metal (machine) music. Hailing from Belgrade, Serbia, Jan Nemeèek has been releasing electronic music since 2005, with a particular focus on ambient and bass-heavy electronic compositions. Nemeèek's music is characterized by his use of a wide range of sound generating tools, including neural networks, analog synthesizers, and granular synthesis. His approach to music production allows his work to unfold with patience, influenced by borderline dub sub-bass movements and heavily based on deconstructed recordings. Jan has released several albums, most notably 2014's Fragmented and later Recurrences. Prior to that, he co-founded the Creative Commons-based net label Norbu. `Dissolved' is set to be released on vinyl and digital on 10th November 2023 via Refractions, a new imprint founded by Nemeèek.

ele

On For Annette, singer-songwriter ronja summons forth a certain unbridgeable void within our existence and the acceptance of the deafening silence that comes with it. Weaving the strands of her previous release something about us with multiple openings towards more abstract territory, this 5-track EP marks her debut under the forward-thinking Unguarded label, astutely situating her music well beyond the confines of the genre.

The opening track “Nothing Makes Me Feel” beckons the listener into a discreet moment amid the early light of dawn, commencing with an up-close acoustic guitar, soon to be graced by ronja’s hushed voice, softly whispering, as if to avoid waking someone near. “Just Once”, with its weeping waltz, is about losing one’s place in the world, about choosing the imaginary over the real. Behind the strummed chords hides a soft dither of sine tones that attempts to fill the gap that cannot be filled, only to transform into quavering distortion ever after. Where language may falter, ronja turns to choral-like instrumental pieces (“Light” & “Grass from Below”), characterized by her distinctive and multi-layered flute arrangements. The absence of words here allows for a sensible stage of introspection, a fleeting and diaphanous pause, forging a passage to a more hopeful outlook. Yet, these pieces are not isolated; hints of fluttering air and cavernous depths are subtly alluded to in the earlier, more song-based tracks. In just under 18 minutes running time, the theme of loss, or the anticipation of its arrival, lingers solemnly before transcending intermediate states in “Almost There”.

Admirers of the dreamgaze band Roomer, which made waves in and around the Berlin music scene this past year, might detect faint resemblances. Nonetheless, ronja—a pivotal presence in said band—unveils a distinct effort here, striking subdued but enticing tones, a foreshadowing of what is yet to come from this luminary artist. – Luka Aron

As an important agent of Gothenburg’s underground scene, Dan Johansson has been a member of several experimental harsh noise projects such as Sewer Election, and lo-fi indie folk bands like Enhet För Fri Musik and Amateur Hour. Ordeal is his latest solo output, and might as well be ashes stuck in the blast furnace's edges of his last longing career. Not by means of summing up genres or as a culmination of his musical development, but as a profound music piece weaved in his own household.

With not much more than a synthesizer, Vätterns Pärla is built by trembling, dissonant drones stained in feedback and reverberation, thickly textured by the no-fi quality of the recording, depicting a menacing atmosphere congested with heavy fumes. In Johansson's words, Ordeal "takes inspiration from the early 80’s albums of Maurizio Bianchi, filtered through a Gothenburgian no-fi bleakness. It’s an album for inner voyage, childhood memories, and places that now lost purpose and meaning”.

There's certainly intimacy and nostalgia, yet a claustrophobic, hypnotic ambiance wraps it all up in a contained and narrow space. Emphasis is put on texture rather than on detail, on color rather than on progression, on suspense rather than on conclusion. Tension varies stiffly, sometimes a drone layer dismantles and the mood seems to filter, but ragged edges are never polished. We can feel the walls and the air, which although tarnished, can be breathed in somehow. It's as if waking up in a dark room and having to recognize it with our ears and tact, testing its dimensions and its surface. The stillness in the chamber is like the stillness between gasps of storms.

Without visible stars, an enclosed share of night sky hides a heavy load of industrial debris underwater. These remnants are maybe the pearl regarding the album's title. It all can seem like a dream, a grim mechanical soundscape deafened by hefty, yet sporadic winds. Soil strives to make something grow, but sprouting is kept suspended, held by a dismal presentiment. Long shadows on the ground prove that darkness is about to befall. And as these shadows stretch, almost about to break up in a loud strike, the noise turns white.

Started in the Winter of 2021 and completed in early 2023, “Lights Out On The Shore” is a 12 song cycle written and performed by Scott Reeder, drummer of the band FU MANCHU. Having treaded many stages and studios over the past 22 years laying the foundation for the titans of “fuzz-wah” rock over 5 studio releases and playing live with artists as varied as Orianthi and Social Distortion, Scott has stretched into a melodic heavy and lyrically dense area of songwriting, rich in harmony and memorable riffs. Collaborating with Grammy winning producer/engineer Ryan Mall (Dropkick Murphys, Old Crow Medicine Show/Gaslight Anthem), Reeder played all the instruments on the album and sings all vocals. Fu Manchu bandmate, Bob Balch, contributes lead guitars on all tracks except “Everything But Right” and the album closer, “As She Drifts,” which feature contributions from Mitchell Townsend (Matt Costa/Jack Johnson).

This limited edition 500 unit LP run is pressed on blue/black splatter and includes a full color insert featuring photos taken by Reeder himself. All tracks were mastered specifically for this vinyl release

New Zealand indie trifecta Mermaidens, are set to make a resounding splash in the music scene yet again with the announcement of their fourth self-titled album and release of the project's first single ‘I like to be alone’. The trio, comprising of Gussie Larkin (guitar/vocals), Lily West (bass/vocals), and Abe Hollingsworth (drums), has been on an impressive journey of musical excellence, boasting three critically acclaimed albums, international tours, and a slew of accolades to their name. With a sound that is both bold and adventurous, Mermaidens' music is a testament to their unwavering creativity and relentless work ethic. Their upcoming self-titled album, a product of the band's tireless efforts between 2019 - 2022, promises to be a captivating sonic journey, delving into themes of self-awareness, introspection, long-term love, and even channelling political anger and frustration. Recorded mainly at Surgery Studios in Wellington, with the engineering prowess of Lee Prebble and produced by Samuel Flynn-Scott of The Phoenix Foundation fame, the album also saw the band stepping up their production game with Gussie and Lily working their magic with Protools in their DIY home studios, showcasing their growth and versatility as artists. “Working with Sam has really been a round-trip in our creativity,” as Lily explains, “we grew up listening to Sam’s early records and here we are getting the inside scoop on how to make that kind of magic. Listening to Pegasus today still transports me to a time when I listened to music on a Walkman. In the best possible way - sometimes it felt like we’d added an evil genius to the mix, we’d be working on a song and he’d come in like a mad scientist with fresh ideas to try.” To give fans a taste of the upcoming album's brilliance, Mermaidens have released new single 'I like to be alone.' The song has been part of the band's live repertoire for a while and explores the fulfilling contentment of being alone and the struggle to convey this sentiment to a partner. Its relatable lyrics capture the essence of cherishing solitude while navigating the complexities of human connections. Gussie's candid and honest approach to self-discovery is complemented by the song's, Michel Gondry inspired video, as Gussie explains: “The giant jean pocket and denim world were created by Hannah Webster, a textile designer and illustrator based in Wellington. Hannah took all the wild ideas for props and made them come true! I’m still in awe of how she managed to sew a 6x6 metre backdrop for the denim world out of whatever scraps she could find. The video captures our playfulness and sense of humour, and is a hint of what’s to come for the rest of the music videos. I love the way the story wraps up with the three of us together, literally playing “in the pocket”. Mermaidens' self-titled album will be released on Friday 3 November 2023 and is available for pre-order now. UK listeners will be able to pick up an exclusive Rough Trade vinyl pressing in transparent red, along with an A3 poster and jumbo bumper sticker. Having released their last two albums through iconic local label Flying Nun, Mermaidens will be released independently. Creative control is an important pillar for the band, who are hands on in every facet of their projects. Mermaidens gather their community close via their hugely popular multi-city boutique festival Mermgrown, hosting peers including Womb, Hans Pucket, Vera Ellen (Girl Friday) and Kōtiro from 2021 onwards. They've been invited to share the stage with Death Cab For Cutie, Sleater-Kinney, Gang of Four, Parquet Courts, Lorde and The Veils, and have toured extensively in Europe, the UK, and Australia.

Svart Records are proud to present the vinyl debut of the album '8 Convulsions' (1994) by Crisis (NYC, USA) "I am really glad that Svart are re-releasing 8 Convulsions, so more people can rediscover this wonderful and intriguing heavy music." Michel 'Away' Langevin, Voivod Remastered and repackaged with the vinyl format in mind, the package comes with a large booklet full of lyrics and exclusive photos. This is the first time an album from the NYC cult band's oeuvre is pressed on vinyl. There will also be a CD edition of the remaster. Hailing from the mean streets of NYC in the year 1993, Crisis was a band that defied classification from the very start. During a time when heavy music was dominated by a mostly male presence, founders Afzaal Deen and original drummer Fred Waring envisioned a female-fronted band to run against the grain and destroy expectations. Seeking out a singer with a singular sound and presence, and found their match in groundbreaking vocalist and avant-visual artist Karyn Crisis. Soon after, a newspaper ad for a bass player was answered by Gia Chuan Wang and the original unit was formed. During their first rehearsal, Karyn became so enmeshed and driven by the music that she inadvertently destroyed a microphone stand and threw herself to the floor in an outpouring of unmitigated expression. This was barely a hint at the intensity she would soon bring to the stage and studio. Karyn’s guttural growls and angelic melodic notes meshed perfectly with the mixture of grinding guitar, pounding rhythm and deep bass tones. The underground music scene would now begin to experience the dynamic intensity of this burgeoning powerhouse band in full force. Crisis signed to Too Damn Hype records and released their debut album '8 Convulsions', now being reissued to mark its 30th anniversary. In a time where inclusivity is more crucial than ever, Crisis remains a band as diverse and distinct as the city from which they originally hailed. “The United Nations of Rock” as they’ve been called, continue to break boundaries and crush antiquated archetypes with their unprecedented sound and vision. "One of the most captivating bands I’ve ever experienced in New York City in the early 90s. They had a very unique sound where you couldn’t categorize them though they had elements of metal, punk with a very dark experimental approach, which gave them their unique sound. Just raw and relentless energy." Roy Mayorga, Ministry/Soulfly/Nausea etc 8 Convulsions is available on Svart exclusive blue/red marble vinyl, limited transparent yellow vinyl, classic black vinyl, and CD. Release date October 20th.

Svart Records are proud to present the vinyl debut of the album '8 Convulsions' (1994) by Crisis (NYC, USA) "I am really glad that Svart are re-releasing 8 Convulsions, so more people can rediscover this wonderful and intriguing heavy music." Michel 'Away' Langevin, Voivod Remastered and repackaged with the vinyl format in mind, the package comes with a large booklet full of lyrics and exclusive photos. This is the first time an album from the NYC cult band's oeuvre is pressed on vinyl. There will also be a CD edition of the remaster. Hailing from the mean streets of NYC in the year 1993, Crisis was a band that defied classification from the very start. During a time when heavy music was dominated by a mostly male presence, founders Afzaal Deen and original drummer Fred Waring envisioned a female-fronted band to run against the grain and destroy expectations. Seeking out a singer with a singular sound and presence, and found their match in groundbreaking vocalist and avant-visual artist Karyn Crisis. Soon after, a newspaper ad for a bass player was answered by Gia Chuan Wang and the original unit was formed. During their first rehearsal, Karyn became so enmeshed and driven by the music that she inadvertently destroyed a microphone stand and threw herself to the floor in an outpouring of unmitigated expression. This was barely a hint at the intensity she would soon bring to the stage and studio. Karyn’s guttural growls and angelic melodic notes meshed perfectly with the mixture of grinding guitar, pounding rhythm and deep bass tones. The underground music scene would now begin to experience the dynamic intensity of this burgeoning powerhouse band in full force. Crisis signed to Too Damn Hype records and released their debut album '8 Convulsions', now being reissued to mark its 30th anniversary. In a time where inclusivity is more crucial than ever, Crisis remains a band as diverse and distinct as the city from which they originally hailed. “The United Nations of Rock” as they’ve been called, continue to break boundaries and crush antiquated archetypes with their unprecedented sound and vision. "One of the most captivating bands I’ve ever experienced in New York City in the early 90s. They had a very unique sound where you couldn’t categorize them though they had elements of metal, punk with a very dark experimental approach, which gave them their unique sound. Just raw and relentless energy." Roy Mayorga, Ministry/Soulfly/Nausea etc 8 Convulsions is available on Svart exclusive blue/red marble vinyl, limited transparent yellow vinyl, classic black vinyl, and CD. Release date October 20th.

Those Days Are Gone is Nashville’s emo-punk band Free Throw’s debut, most popular, and fan-beloved album. Free Throw have been making music together for 10 years, and on Oct 13th, 2023, are releasing their fifth studio album to much fan and critical excitement. Those Days Are Gone was the last record that singer Cory Castro and drummer Zach Hall played on together before reuniting for the 2023 record. This 2023 release will surely drive fan excitement for Free Throw’s entire discography, particularly favorite Those Days Are Gone. Free Throw is embarking on a full 30-date US tour in fall 2023, co-headline with Prince Daddy & The Hyena. They are also supporting Hot Mulligan on a 6-date Australia tour in early 2024.

DEVO’s Hardcore documents the group’s beginning as pre-punk outcasts in the fertile Akron, Ohio, underground rock scene. Spawned at the nearby college of Kent State, site of the infamous May 4 Massacre, DEVO formed as a conceptual art project armed with the radical philosophy of de-evolution. Brothers Mothersbaugh (Mark, Bob and Jim) and Brothers Casale (Jerry and Bob) along with drummer Alan Myers soon whipped up an otherworldly brand of “devolved blues” that could hold its own alongside the beatnik groove of 15-60-75 (a.k.a. The Numbers Band) or the primal rock poetry of The Bizarros. Recorded on various four-track machines and in tiny studios, basements and garages between 1974-1977, Hardcore reveals their strikingly clear vision: rock ’n’ roll stripped bare of its collective cool and jerked back into propaganda fit for post-modern man. It’s no surprise that these transmissions would soon catch the eye and ear of Brian Eno, who later produced their landmark 1978 debut album. Noisy synth, strangled guitar chops and a primitive rhythmic thud power the early DEVO sound. Threaded beneath it all are lyrical themes of post-McCarthy paranoia, middle-class ephemera and DEVO’s long-running topic of choice: sex, or lack thereof. Few moments in pop music history can match the grinding, pent-up energy of “Mongoloid” and the spastic bounce and sputter of “Jocko Homo” (two anthems presented in their earlier and superior versions here). Cult favorites like “Mechanical Man” and “Auto-Modown” make Volume 1 essential listening. Superior Viaduct and Booji Boy Records are proud to present DEVO’s Hardcore to a new generation of spuds, lovingly packaged with Moshe Brakha’s stunning cover photography. As David Bowie said in 1977, DEVO is indeed “the band of the future.”

2023 Repress

Official re-mastered limited edition reissue of the mega-rare Blow Up records release of the Italo masterpiece Pink Footpath by Loui$. Originally released in 1985, this gem has become one of the most highly sought after Italo Disco tracks around. On the A side is Magic Dance which is good, but it's the instrumental version of the track Pink Footpath that really gets the disco DJs drooling. With its killer analogue bassline, dreamy soft synths and balearic guitar riffs, it's easy to see why it became such an anthem at the early Ibiza parties as well as a late night favourite in Chicago and New York.

Giorgio Gordano and Giorgio Dolce originally produced ''KKK'' back in 1983, and the track was taken into the hearts of the blossoming Balearic scene hovering around DJ Alfredo at Amnesia. It's as gentle and sweet natured as Italo disco can be, and of course it makes perfect sense that Best Records would dig it out of the archives and give it the shiny new reissue it deserves. The ''Club Mix'' of ''KKK'' is a feast of simple, charming programmed melodies and crisp drum machine rhythms with the innocence of the early 80s in its heart. The ''Dub Mix'' and ''Bonus Beats'' on the flip are handy for the technical DJs out there, but the ''Club Mix'' is where it's at for the lovers.

waveforms is a new label from ASC & Presha, label heads of Spatial/Auxiliary and Samurai Music, focusing on early 90’s jungle. Vinyl releases on 10".

waveforms is a new label from ASC & Presha, label heads of Spatial/Auxiliary and Samurai Music, focusing on early 90’s jungle. Vinyl releases on 10".

Next up on Rocky Hill is a limited edition, vinyl only white label, featuring 2 edits licensed from Terrestrial Funk and Darone Sassounian's compilation from 2021, and two original tracks from LA - based DJ and producer, Lara Sarkissian. The A side (Silk Road Side), features two previous exclusives from Darone's compilation on Terrestrial Funk titled, 'Silk Road: Journey of the Armenian Diaspora (1971 - 1982)'. The two edits on the A side were only available digitally, on CD, and Cassette formats. A1 features an edit of Marten Yorgantz's "Ammenain Serdov De Tout Coeur" from NY-based DJ duo, Fundido. A2 features an edit of Jozeph Sefian's "Karoun E Yegel" from Darone Sassounian. The B Side (Lara Sarkissian Side), features two original tracks sampling duduk (Armenian woodwind), songs - named as Lezginka Dance Scene and Ojakhum Nightmare. The tracks are reworks of the originals from 2016 - 2017, when Sarkissian began the creation of her own unique process of synthesizing duduk as percussion, bass and voice. Both tracks have been used in her early live sets from 2017 - 2018. They're finally available now only on vinyl. This is Rocky Hill.