quête:ech

Der britische Singer-Songwriter James Bay ist nicht zurück zu halten: Am 8. Juli veröffentlicht er sein lang-ersehntes drittes Studioalbum „Leap“ und springt voller Mut ins Kalte.

Mit ganzen zwölf Songs berührt er Herzen weltweit und macht seinem Gold-ausgezeichneten Debütalbum „Chaos and the Calm“ ehrwürdige Konkurrenz. Auch ihn rissen die letzten Jahre mit – persönliche Umstände, die Pandemie, Ängste, Selbstzweifel: Alles Gefühle, die er eigentlich nie so teilen wollte oder konnte waren auf einmal die neue Normalität. Mit „Leap“ wagt er jedoch nun den Absprung und verarbeitet das Geschehene mit motivierenden, hoffnungsvollen und von Liebe geprägten Songs.

Spätestens seit seinem Top 10-Hit „Hold Back The River“ ist James nicht mehr zu unterschätzen und zählt mehrere BRIT Award Auszeichnungen, GRAMMY Nominierungen, sowie den deutschen ECHO-Preis der Kategorie „Best International Newcomer“ zu seinen vielen musikalischen Erfolgen.

2022 setzt er den Hut wieder auf; James Bay ist zurück!

Much of Radio Red, the first full length album Laura Groves has released under her own name, was written, produced and recorded by Groves in her studio, watched over by two radio transmitting towers. “I became very drawn to them and they became like symbols to me; they were always awake, sending their messages, the red lights always came on at night and watched over whatever was going on in my life.” The album deals with themes of communication - missed and intercepted signals, chance meetings, synchronicities, the channels through which we try to express our true feelings, the outside interference that can get in the way and the joy of letting go and allowing the messages to flow freely.

Self-recording and production is a core part of Laura’s songwriting process. “I remember years ago getting hold of some basic recording software and being instantly drawn in. The idea of being able to layer up my voice was a dream, like building an orchestra out of what I had at home.” The passion for home-recording, using the resources available at the time, working through limitations and capturing textures through layering, forms the foundation of Groves’ experimental and off-centre pop music and electrified folk music. The sound world of Radio Red is made up of echoes, and snapshots of half-remembered pop songs, piano ballads, chopped up TV theme tunes, ambient synthesised sounds and electronic music; tuning in between channels without fully belonging to any one of them, with the comfort, familiarity and strangeness that can come with hearing voices on the radio.

Ryan Bingham's new EP “Watch Out For The Wolf” finds the Grammy award-winning artist crafting his most raw and intimate work to date. Written and recorded by Bingham in the wilderness of Montana, the haunting and evocative collection of songs seamlessly intertwine to capture a moment suspended in time, filtered through the stillness and echoes of the desolate surroundings in which they were created. Guided by his signature poetic lyricism and soulful delivery, “Watch Out for The Wolf” is the first project produced, performed, and mixed entirely by Bingham – carving a distinctive space in the singer-songwriter’s ever-evolving catalog.

Immerse yourself in blissed-out melodies, masterful sampling and improvised synthesis in four diverse clubready tracks by Melbourne based producer and live electronic artist Skinny Wizard. With a background in keyboards and improvisation, and a strong career in the Australian live music scene, Skinny Wizard ¦rst emerged in 2019 with a live show featuring a collection of drum machines, sequencers and synthesisers, and quickly became a sought-after live artist and DJ in the Melbourne club scene. "Off Lead EP" showcases his further development in bridging the gap between his unique improvised live sound and studio productions.

'Live at RCB Echo Beach' features performances by Men I Trust and Khruangbin.

Next up on Toolroom’s 4-track vinyl sampler series is another tasty collab from label founder, Mark Knight with legendary House DJ and producer Todd Terry and the Darryl James & David Anthony Project. Diving straight back into that classic 90’s House sound, Mark Knight delivers a taste of his finest production to date after unearthing Todd Terry’s edit of ‘Buddah’ by Darryl James & David Anthony Project, shaping up a seriously killer reworking of this gem fresh for the dance floor in 2023.

Next up, renowned German selector Eddie Thoneick makes a label debut with his club orientated big room weapon ‘Take It Back’. Taking it back straight through to the dance floor, Eddie Thoneick has become a name synonymous with high quality productions, providing remixes for Armand Van Helden, Steve Angello, Bob Sinclar and David Guetta. Eddie’s chunky production style shines through on ‘Take It Back’, offering up a slice of raw Tech House with deep, rumbling bass lines, metallic percussive elements and a resonating hook which will cause uproar in any club its played in.

Up next is another heater from DJ, producer and Toolroom Academy tutor Pete Griffiths who drops what can only be described as a House anthem in the making, with his brand-new track ‘Get Together’. A peak time record that sees Pete Griffiths dive deep into the sound of 90’s nostalgia, dropping a seriously well-produced and classy House banger. Also featuring on the record is American R&B, Gospel vocalist Ann Nesby, formerly the lead vocalist of the Sounds of Blackness ensemble who brings her powerful vocals to the forefront, elevating this release to anthemic status.

Last but not least, Hungarian duo Muzzaik return to the label with StadiumX on their collab track ‘Echoes’. Together, Muzzaik and StadiumX bring their signature sound to Toolroom with ‘Echoes’, a record that’ll command any dance floor it’s dropped on. Featuring a toughened-up groove, rolling bass line, and chopped vocal cuts mixed with just the right amount of edge.

Tom James Scott holds a unique position in experimental music. With a soft brush approach Scott, who currently lives on the North-West coast of England, has explored delicacy in music with a variety of sublime releases on a variety of labels. Predominantly known for gentle investigations of guitar and piano, Scott has shifted to incorporating different technology and tactics over time. All of this, either in performance or recording, is embedded with a spirit that is quintessentially his own. Nightshade is the latest in his expanding catalogue, one which ignites an alarmingly new take on his approach to music. Echo on Water initiates proceedings with the unmistakable sound of tape.

Any instrumentation is buried amongst the woozy sway of the medium itself, with its rough dynamics soon morphing into an overwhelmingly swirling mass of emotionally decayed sound. The movement of matter takes on a haunted shape with sounds looping and falling apart as the physicality of the medium holds it all together. The second track Blue Mist furthers this approach with its smeared haze of gorgeous emotion. This is deep exploration of ideas meeting matter. Wasting Stars takes up the entire flip side with the sound of tape recoiling a bit to allow the delicate glow of instruments to come more to the fore, with gentle effects that weave the musical matter. As a skewered take on Scott’s earlier piano explorations the atmosphere here is a subdued soundscape evoking the spiritual sadness found in the piano works of Gurdjieff/De Hartmann, with a modern lo fi angle.

Nightshade is a deeply effective journey and one of the most exquisite examples of Scott’s delicate approach so far. Two sides of form which inhabit contrasting yet complimentary clouds of sound communicating in an stunning emotional flow. As music with only trace elements of melody, Nightshade is a beautiful take on tools being used to explore paths both highly idiosyncratic, deeply moving and discreetly personal.

Wir schreiben das Jahr 1978: Eine vierköpfige Bande - zwei junge Frauen, zwei junge Männer - Bettina, Renate, Jens und Micha - gründet eine Gruppe und benennt sich nach besagtem Pflaster. Schon bald kleben sich ihre Fans Pflaster auf die Lederjacken, aber ein Sänger fehlt noch. Mit Annette Benjamin, zu deren Vorbildern die Slits, Poly Styrene und X-Ray Spex gehören, ist die Gruppe nun komplett. Sie spielen Gigs, wann und wo sie können Ein antifaschistisches Festival in Berlin, die Wuppertaler Schuppen Börse, das Hamburger "Into The Future"-Festival, und schon bald sind sie bereit, in ihrer Heimatstadt Hannover ein ganzes Dutzend Songs aufzunehmen. Als die Musikindustrie auf den Plan tritt, halten Hans-A-Plast sie mit unverschämten Forderungen in Schach. Veröffentlicht in echter DIY-Manier auf dem von der Band eigens gegründeten Label No Fun". Während Zehntausende immer noch im Sound des Debütalbums schwelgen, geht die 1981 erschienene zweite Scheibe "2" vom 1-2-3-4-Punk zu dissonanten Gitarren, radikalen Rhythmuswechseln und zunehmend avantgardistischen Arrangements über. Anfang 1983 erscheint das dritte und letzte Album "Ausradiert", auf dem Hans-A-Plast noch einmal das tun, was sie am besten können: ignorieren, was vorher war, und eine neue Richtung einschlagen. Die plötzlichen Brüche und nervösen Schauer des zweiten Albums sind verschwunden und weichen einer konventionelleren Songstruktur und einer schärferen Produktion. Wir schreiben das Jahr 2023: Zeit, diese drei Alben wieder zugänglich zu machen!

Wir schreiben das Jahr 1978: Eine vierköpfige Bande - zwei junge Frauen, zwei junge Männer - Bettina, Renate, Jens und Micha - gründet eine Gruppe und benennt sich nach besagtem Pflaster. Schon bald kleben sich ihre Fans Pflaster auf die Lederjacken, aber ein Sänger fehlt noch. Mit Annette Benjamin, zu deren Vorbildern die Slits, Poly Styrene und X-Ray Spex gehören, ist die Gruppe nun komplett. Sie spielen Gigs, wann und wo sie können Ein antifaschistisches Festival in Berlin, die Wuppertaler Schuppen Börse, das Hamburger "Into The Future"-Festival, und schon bald sind sie bereit, in ihrer Heimatstadt Hannover ein ganzes Dutzend Songs aufzunehmen. Als die Musikindustrie auf den Plan tritt, halten Hans-A-Plast sie mit unverschämten Forderungen in Schach. Veröffentlicht in echter DIY-Manier auf dem von der Band eigens gegründeten Label No Fun". Während Zehntausende immer noch im Sound des Debütalbums schwelgen, geht die 1981 erschienene zweite Scheibe "2" vom 1-2-3-4-Punk zu dissonanten Gitarren, radikalen Rhythmuswechseln und zunehmend avantgardistischen Arrangements über. Anfang 1983 erscheint das dritte und letzte Album "Ausradiert", auf dem Hans-A-Plast noch einmal das tun, was sie am besten können: ignorieren, was vorher war, und eine neue Richtung einschlagen. Die plötzlichen Brüche und nervösen Schauer des zweiten Albums sind verschwunden und weichen einer konventionelleren Songstruktur und einer schärferen Produktion. Wir schreiben das Jahr 2023: Zeit, diese drei Alben wieder zugänglich zu machen!

Wir schreiben das Jahr 1978: Eine vierköpfige Bande - zwei junge Frauen, zwei junge Männer - Bettina, Renate, Jens und Micha - gründet eine Gruppe und benennt sich nach besagtem Pflaster. Schon bald kleben sich ihre Fans Pflaster auf die Lederjacken, aber ein Sänger fehlt noch. Mit Annette Benjamin, zu deren Vorbildern die Slits, Poly Styrene und X-Ray Spex gehören, ist die Gruppe nun komplett. Sie spielen Gigs, wann und wo sie können Ein antifaschistisches Festival in Berlin, die Wuppertaler Schuppen Börse, das Hamburger "Into The Future"-Festival, und schon bald sind sie bereit, in ihrer Heimatstadt Hannover ein ganzes Dutzend Songs aufzunehmen. Als die Musikindustrie auf den Plan tritt, halten Hans-A-Plast sie mit unverschämten Forderungen in Schach. Veröffentlicht in echter DIY-Manier auf dem von der Band eigens gegründeten Label No Fun". Während Zehntausende immer noch im Sound des Debütalbums schwelgen, geht die 1981 erschienene zweite Scheibe "2" vom 1-2-3-4-Punk zu dissonanten Gitarren, radikalen Rhythmuswechseln und zunehmend avantgardistischen Arrangements über. Anfang 1983 erscheint das dritte und letzte Album "Ausradiert", auf dem Hans-A-Plast noch einmal das tun, was sie am besten können: ignorieren, was vorher war, und eine neue Richtung einschlagen. Die plötzlichen Brüche und nervösen Schauer des zweiten Albums sind verschwunden und weichen einer konventionelleren Songstruktur und einer schärferen Produktion. Wir schreiben das Jahr 2023: Zeit, diese drei Alben wieder zugänglich zu machen!

No. is the tenth Soft Riot album by Glasgow-based Canadian synth auteur Jack Duckworth (also known as JJD). With origins from the mid-nineties in the vibrant art-punk/hardcore dominating the West Coast American/ Canadian underground at the time, he has clocked in over twenty five years of musical output in various bands and projects.

No. is the logical follow-up to When Push Comes To Shove, released in November 2019 on the Glasgow UK-based label Possession Records, which saw some critical acclaim in the increasingly diverse synthwave scene — a crystallization of the artist’s signature “SynthLord” sound.

With No. things have been shaken up and pushed into new directions. Many different factors came into play, including the conditions of the pandemic lockdowns and an urge for listening to music favourites from beyond his own scene informed developments on this new record. One key feature of these tracks is that under these conditions they were developed as individual pieces — a contrasting approach from previous albums where tracks were written with an album in mind. An evaluation of all of these individual tracks in the summer of 2022 unveiled a common pattern going through these new compositions.

One can still hear any number of echoes of the spirits of original synth artists in his sound, such as Images in Vogue, The Box, Section 25, Thomas Dolby, Skinny Puppy, Chrome, Cabaret Voltaire, Fad Gadget, Japan and Bill Nelson. However, some of Jack’s halcyon punk influences surface as well, taking inspiration from legendary punk/hardcore labels such as Dischord and Gravity, as listening habits over pandemic steered back towards more guitar-based styles. The introduction of expanded production techniques, experiments with vocal styles and tones, and stylistic shifts mark a progression of Soft Riot’s sound. The result is a snarkier, urgent and more playful, with a focus on pure synthpop, new wave, art-punk, proto-EBM as well as grittier synth-punk and post-punk tones.

The variation, energy and tone of this collection of tracks illustrates Soft Riot’s ability to transcend the hallmarks of today’s music environment, which increasingly is fragmenting into smaller and smaller micro-genres. Dry wit and dark humour take the lyrics and the tone of this album on a fun ride through music scenes, dark alleys and inside jokes.

Mercury Prize-nominated Portico Quartet has always been an impossible band to pin down. Sending out echoes of jazz, electronica, ambient music and minimalism, the group created their own singular, cinematic sound over the course of three studio albums, from their 2007 breakthrough 'Knee-Deep in the North Sea', and 2010 John Leckie produced 'Isla', to the self titled record 'Portico Quartet' in 2012. Now rebooted as Portico Quartet after a brief spell as the three-piece Portico, the group are set to release their fourth studio album Art In The Age Of Automation this August on Manchester's forward thinking indy jazz and electronica label Gondwana Records. It's an eagerly anticipated return, with the band teasing both a return to their mesmeric signature sound and fresh new sonic departures in their new music. Featuring the singles Endless and A Luminous Beam.

CRYPTA manifestieren mit Shades of Sorrow ihre herausragende Stellung im Death Metal!

Das brasilianische Death-Metal-Quartett CRYPTA veröffentlicht mit Shades of Sorrow am 4. August 2023 via Napalm Records den Nachfolger seines von Kritiker hoch gelobten 2021er Debüts Echoes of the Soul (#55 der Offiziellen Deutschen Album Charts sowie #15 der US Hard Music Albums und Top New Artist Albums Charts). 2019 von den ehemaligen NERVOSA-Mitgliedern Luana Dametto (Schlagzeug) und Fernanda Lira (Gesang) gegründet, komplettieren die beiden Gitarristinnen Tainá Bergamaschi und Jessica di Falchi die ungestüme Death Metal Macht, die ihrem einzigartigen Sound auf Shades of Sorrow treu bleibt und ihre herausragende Stellung in der Szene mit Album Nummer zwei manifestiert. CRYPTA vereinen selbstbewusst klassischen und modernen Death Metal mit signifikanten Extreme- und Black-MetalElementen und veredeln diese Mischung mit schäumender Energie und unvergleichlichem Charisma.

CRYPTA haben mit Shades of Sorrow ein weiteres, beeindruckendes Death Metal Meisterwerk geschaffen, das die technischen Fähigkeiten und Songwriting-Skills der vier Frauen über 13 Songs hinweg perfekt herausstellt. Aufgenommen wurde das Album im Family Mob Studio, von Daniel Bergstrand (33 Stockholm, Schweden) gemischt und von Jens Bogren im Fascination Street Studio gemastert.

Dot Allison returns with a new solo album, Consciousology. After over a decade away, the former One Dove singer and songwriter broke cover in 2021 with Heart-Shaped Scars and this new album follows just two years later, as she hits a purple patch of songwriting. It’s also her first full release for Sonic Cathedral after contributing to Mark Peters’ acclaimed Red Sunset Dreams last year. Consciousology finds multi-instrumentalist Dot joined by the London Contemporary Orchestra, her new labelmate Andy Bell from Ride, who plays guitar on two tracks, and Hannah Peel, who is responsible for some of the string arrangements with both the LCO and a stellar group of Scottish string players. It expands on the styles and themes of the previous album, all while pushing everything just that little bit further – the songs sound bigger, more avant-garde and experimental and, occasionally, properly out-there and psychedelic. “I wanted to make some albums that felt like a set, exploring love, what lies beyond the visible and how all these aspects dovetail together,” explains Dot. “I see Consciousology a more psych Heart-Shaped Scars with a far fuller, more immersive sound and so, in that sense, it’s a more wayward, bolder, rule-breaking partner.” Right from the eye-catching artwork by PJ Harvey collaborator Maria Mochnacz it definitely does not play it safe. It veers from the techno-played-as-folk of opener ‘Shyness Of Crowns’ and ‘220Hz’ and the Linda Perhacs-meets-The Velvet Underground chug of the first single ‘Unchanged’ to the Mercury Rev-style fantasia of ‘Bleached By The Sun’, the Brian Wilson-esque harmonies of ‘Moon Flowers’ and the kaleidoscopic colour trip of ‘Double Rainbow’. Elsewhere there are echoes of Desertshore-era Nico, Jack Nitzsche’s work with Neil Young, Karen Dalton and Anne Briggs before the relative simplicity of the Tim Hardin-inspired closer ‘Weeping Roses’. It’s a brilliant, breathtaking record.

Four more lively, lovely electro offerings from Plant 43, the second in a limited edition series of EPs focussed on tracks written over the course of the winter of 2022/23. Opener 'Submolecular Shifting' is bright and bubbly, joining the dots between Kraftwerk and Model 500, while 'Eccentric Elliptical Orbit' follows on slower and more grandiose, echoing early New Order's icy cool synth sounds. 'Encased' has a more otherworldly Aphex-like feel, although the juddering, on-off bass keeps it plugged into the dancefloor. 'The Forgotten Storm' closes proceedings, more low key again and graced with ethereal, adding angelic choirs. Energised enough and streamlined enough to be good dancefloor gear, but expertly executed and, as ever, brimming with enough personality to be a decent home listen as well.

Blind Prophet & Ishan Sound come together for their first pan-atlantic collaboration here in what is a fine return to the ZamZam label. The pair first met in Portland in 2019 and so it's good to finally have some sounds to get stuck into from their meeting of minds. 'The Labyrinth' kicks off with hefty and stepping drum rhythms that are overlaid by bright synth lines and mystic flutes. The interloping melodies and a menacing bassline finish it in style. On the flip, things get much more dark with 'Minotaur Dub' which is a shadowy world of refracting drums and oodles of reverb and echo. There is a predatory sense to the rhythm that never lets up as fizzing bass pries every deep into the dead of night.

From teddy grahams to pussy hats, California forest fires to cash cabs, the stuff of American nostalgia and horror adorns a personal reckoning on Christina Schneider’s triumphant third album as Locate S,1. With a name culled from a Daschel Hammitt noir novel, Wicked Jaw pulls from wildly disparate references and textures to survey the history of American pop music. Like Pat Benatar soundtracking an Adam Curtis documentary, the album trades in dramatic juxtapositions across its kaleidoscopic ten tracks. Only Schneider could pull off singing a line like “season finale 2020 death machine” as a soothing lullaby, but jarring contrasts echo the tumultuous personal journey woven throughout. “I was in hell ... and loving it,” Schneider said of her childhood, describing a murky cocktail of sentimentality and despair. “It’s like when you escape the matrix and then you remember your wonderful time in the matrix.” The Athens, Georgia based songwriter, producer, and virtuosic pop connoisseur authored the album over two years while beginning treatment for childhood sexual abuse by a relative. “I was using these songs as an expression valve for all of these

Brand new album from Nine Mile Station.
• With tracks mixed by the late, great and legendary Al
Schmitt whose 23 Grammy's is a record
among producers and engineers.
• One of Schmitt's last before he died in April 2021…
bookended by sessions with Neil Young and Willie
Nelson.
• First vinyl pressing is exclusive as the track ‘She Walks’
was later replaced with ‘Who You Love’, inspired by
the growing hostilities to the LGBTQ community.
Lead singer Will Hawkins discovered NMS guitarist
Fernando Perdomo while watching the awardwinning documentary Echo in the Canyon which featured
Fernando performing with Jakob Dylan, Fiona Apple,
BEck, Brian Wilson, Roger McGuinn, Michelle Phillip and
Neil Young.
Coachella Valley Weekly called the NMS debut album the
“best heartland rock album in 30 years” and
MusicConnection commented on their live show: “Nine
Mile Station is a rockin Americana music band like no
other!