On 12th Feb 2021, Bugzy Malone releases his fifth full length project, ‘The Resurrection’. This body of work is full of hard-won wisdom and undiluted street delivery on an elevated level that sees Bugzy produce his most accomplished work to date. The tracks weave social commentary and personal experience which produces something complex but powerful.
The album is launched with the single Don’t Cry’ ft. Dermot Kennedy. This is an anthem that journey’s Bugzy’s near fatal accident in March, depicting the mental and physical journey Buzgy went through whilst on the ground following the crash. In true King of the North fashion, Bugzy delivers technically perfect verses and showcases the incredible lyrical ability that everyone has come to love of him. This is balanced by Dermot Kennedy’s powerful and gritty chorus
‘Don’t Cry’ ft. Dermot Kennedy follows on from recent release ‘Doe’d Up’ and M.E.N III, the third instalment of ‘of his legendary M.E.N series which debuted at #18 in the singles chart, giving Bugzy his highest single chart position to date.
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Pixey grew up in the sleepy but picturesque village Parbold, Lancashire before moving to Liverpool for school and remaining there to this day. Now signed to Chess Club - a label famed for breaking new talent, where recent exciting signings include AlfieTempleman and Phoebe Green, and past successes include Jungle, Wolf Alice and Easy Life - Pixey is making more waves than ever before. ‘Just Move’ drew attention from BBC Radio 1 DJs Jack Saunders (who made Pixey one of his Next Wave artists) and Huw Stephens amongst many other admirers like Radio X’s John Kennedy who added the band to the X-Posure playlist at the station in October. Pixey has also featured as the cover artist of Spotify’s Indie Brandneu (GER) and Peach editorial playlists, and wasamongst the artists named in major annual tips lists, the Dork HYPE List and the NME 100.
New single ‘Electric Dream’ - with its accompanying video by Thomas Davies - combines cavernous drum machines and dreamy pop melodies with a signature dance stomp. Speaking about new single, Pixey explains: “‘Electric Dream’ was originally written as a piano ballad but after finishing the lyrics I felt the song worked as a dance track. I wrote it to make sense ofbeing locked in with nothing to rely on but technology. The verses are all of my anxieties that come with that - like trying to simulate humanity digitally and what kind of a future that would be - but the choruses are about the imperfections of real life that technology and AI can’t give us.”
Debut EP Free To Live In Colour was written, recorded and produced in Pixey’s bedroom in Liverpool - with additional production added by frequent Gorillaz and Jamie T collaborator James Dring - and draws inspiration from genres like hardcore breakbeat and
dream pop. Pixey says: “I wanted a collection of tracks which gave a quick snapshot into me and my brain - where I’m from, where I want to be and what I’m thinking about. I hope people can take something meaningful from it or simply have a dance.”
Pixey first discovered music as a toddler - she remembers not even being able to walk yet but desperate to sing and dance to Queen - before discovering the likes of Kate Bush, Björk, and George Harrison, whose classic songwriting struck a chord with her in her youth. The catalyst for Pixey’s musical coming of age however, was a near fatal viral illness suffered in early 2016 which hospitalised her, she says: “When I thought I was going to die I thought of all the things I wish I’d done and music was the first thing I thought of. As soon as I started recovering I started learning to record and produce.” She taught herself Ableton production software before mastering guitar and eventually drums and bass after her previous (and current) boyfriend(s) left their instruments lying around to prove she could learn it quicker and play it better.
Once able to carve out her own sound, Pixey turned to The Verve, The Prodigy and De La Soul for sonic inspiration, adding: “I particularly like the idea of using samples/making my own riffs sound like samples which was heavily inspired by the De La Soul album 3 Feet High and Rising. Starting out initially though Grimes was a huge catalyst when I realized she wrote, recorded &produced herself.” Her prolific and unusual songwriting style stems from an original riff or beat, with further layers added as she records and produces, and lyrics being added last - the process taking only a day or two.
With Free To Live In Colour and a whole arsenal of further material being readied on her new label home, Chess Club, Pixey is primed for big things in 2021 and beyond.
- A1: Darker Times
- A2: Monoculture
- A3: Le Grand Guignol
- A4: The Night
- B1: Last Chance
- B2: Together Alone
- B3: Desperate
- B4: Whatever It Takes
- C1: All Out Of Love
- C2: Sensation Nation
- C3: Caligula Syndrome
- C4: On An Up
- D1: Divided Soul
- D2: God Shaped Hole
- D3: Somebody, Somewhere, Sometime
- D4: Dancing Alone
- D5: Perversity
Soft Cell’s 2002 reunion album ‘Cruelty Without Beauty’ is set for reissue in new expanded and remastered 2CD format, as well as being released on vinyl for the very first time.
Long regarded by many fans as an overlooked masterpiece, the album features a lyrical outlook that was as true to Soft Cell’s maturity and perspective back in 2002 as it is relevant and accurate to the world situation in 2020. Harshly honest, fatalistic and bleakly humorous, Cruelty Without Beauty also preserves the band’s highly distinctive and edgy sound, and stands alongside their greatest work.
The new 2020 version includes tracks originally destined for the album, but for various reasons not on the final cut. It also includes brand new 2020 versions of album highlights Monoculture, Together Alone, Darker Times and Last Chance, updated this year by Dave Ball. Also included are a number of unreleased live versions of album tracks, plus rare remixes.
Cruelty WithoutBeauty, Soft Cell’s fourth studio album, and the first since their original split in 1984, happened after Marc Almond and Dave Ball reunited in the studio after Dave’s ‘other’ band The Grid (with Richard Norris). They worked with Marc on some tracks from his 1991 Tenement Symphony album, which eventually opened the door for some live Soft Cell dates and areunion in 2001. As well as this album release in 2002, the band toured thealbum extensively in the UK, and across Europe and the US, including many festival appearances throughout 2002 and 2003.
The album includes the singles Monoculture and a cover of Frankie Valli & The Four Season’s classic The Night, which became the band’s first Top 40 hit since since 1984.
Most recently in 2018, Soft Cell sold out London’s O2 Arena and were the subject of a career retrospective BBC documentary. They have recently signed to BMG and are currently recording a brand-new album, set for release in 2021. Before then, all of their classic Phonogram-era albums will be reissued in new expanded editions via Universal Music.
Marc Almond commented at the time of the album release ‘I always felt it was an unfinished story, and I’m glad we’re able to write another chapter’.
Dave Ball also commented ‘As soon as we work together, we become Soft Cell, you know’. I don’t know what the magic element is, but it just seems to be there’.
Main Source’s paean to the simple pleasures of relaxing with friends is built over two tried-and-tested samples. The dreamy, swoony sounds of Vanessa Kendrick’s timeless ‘90% of Me is You’ is ever-present during this stone-cold classic, while Sister Nancy’s unmistakeable ‘Bam Bam’ lends several elements to the mix. Throw in some Skull Snaps and Sweet Charles and you’ve got the perfect soundtrack for a roll call of Large Professor’s nearest and dearest.
There are plenty of reasons why so many regard ‘Breaking Atoms’ as an all-time classic album, and the sheer variety of singles lifted from it is chief among them. Large Professor was happy to roam over varied topics at a time when many rappers had a manic focus on one thing.
And where better to hang out with friends than at a barbecue? ‘Live at the Barbecue’ is rightly regarded as one of the best posse cuts of all time, and famous for showcasing the debut of one Nasty Nas. While he delivers a dope verse full of quotables over drums from Bob James’ oft-plundered ‘Nautilus’, credit is also due to the other guests. Fatal and Akinyele aren’t disgraced in this company, and Large Professor tops it off with a rare verse of pure brag-rap.
An undisputed entry in the pantheon of head-nod hip-hop, this is its first official UK release, and another debut on 7”.
• Samples Sister Nancy’s unmistakeable ‘Bam Bam’
• Taken from the all-time classic album ‘Breaking Atoms’
• Features the debut of Nas
Main Source’s paean to the simple pleasures of relaxing with friends is built over two tried-and-tested samples. The dreamy, swoony sounds of Vanessa Kendrick’s timeless ‘90% of Me is You’ is ever-present during this stone-cold classic, while Sister Nancy’s unmistakeable ‘Bam Bam’ lends several elements to the mix. Throw in some Skull Snaps and Sweet Charles and you’ve got the perfect soundtrack for a roll call of Large Professor’s nearest and dearest.
There are plenty of reasons why so many regard ‘Breaking Atoms’ as an all-time classic album, and the sheer variety of singles lifted from it is chief among them. Large Professor was happy to roam over varied topics at a time when many rappers had a manic focus on one thing.
And where better to hang out with friends than at a barbecue? ‘Live at the Barbecue’ is rightly regarded as one of the best posse cuts of all time, and famous for showcasing the debut of one Nasty Nas. While he delivers a dope verse full of quotables over drums from Bob James’ oft-plundered ‘Nautilus’, credit is also due to the other guests. Fatal and Akinyele aren’t disgraced in this company, and Large Professor tops it off with a rare verse of pure brag-rap.
An undisputed entry in the pantheon of head-nod hip-hop, this is its first official UK release, and another debut on 7”.
• Samples Sister Nancy’s unmistakeable ‘Bam Bam’
• Taken from the all-time classic album ‘Breaking Atoms’
• Features the debut of Nas
• Limited Edition Purple vinyl
The sixth vinyl release of the Valencian label HC Records is signed by the legendary
brothers John & Paul Healy aka "Somatic Responses" in "Interlinked Ep". To talk about
them is to talk about real heroes of the history of the most personal, raw and abstract
electronic music born in Wales. Active since 1994, to this day they continue experimenting
with all their analogical stuff to compose with tremendous regularity.
The neural connection of wet cable with the Somatic Responses universe begins with "Satin
Armour", a stunning and beautiful electro melodic track surrounded by rough rhythms and
strange atmospheres like a rose protected by steel thorns. Raw, primitive and rough rhythms
are the presentation card of "Snake"; a track with a marked industrial influence where an
avalanche of beams and Martian LFOs, with a marked acid taste, develop along this
primitive discharge of high electric voltage. The mechanical and industrial force hits our
prefrontal cortex in "Interlinked (Cell Mix)", a sonic aggression that combines all the
violence of the Intelligent Hardcore Techno with an avalanche of mysterious and fatalistic
auras coming from a future Cyberpunk.
"Aria" inaugurates the B side of the vinyl in a demonstration of harmonic virtuosity and
synthesizer juggling, seasoned with a whirlwind of accelerated broken rhythms totally
saturated with emotion, passion and hope.
The album's farewell track is "Heading South", a strange emotional trip, with velvety
cadences and dreamy pads seen through a stereogram, a potential anthem.
Four digital bonus tracks complete the journey through the dark future designed by the
Healy brothers:
"Dolaucothiacid v2" is an advanced and sharp experiment in several layers of pressure and
distortion around the amalgam of possibilities of the stacking of corrosive sequences and
abstract structures.
"Automaton Reign" reinvents all the concepts of the most acidic and vengeful Techno
Industrial, a merciless brain-roller. Persistent Illusion infiltrates us in the middle of an epic
and decadent combat of space cruisers where nobody survives, rhythmic rage and metallic
histrionics. We don't abandon the forcefulness or the post-apocalyptic hysteria in "Cell
(Loquelic Mix)" a demolishing closure that connects us fully in the already tangible manmachine
connection.
For this special release, we have collaborated with the Valencian artist Manuel Monzonís,
who has been in charge of creating the cover illustration. A stunning work that perfectly
captures the spirit of this Interlinked EP.
Today internationally renowned composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and visual artist Tim Koh announces the release of his debut solo album ‘In Your Dreams’, set for release on 18 September via Tim Burgess’ O Genesis Recordings. The announce follows the release of recent single ‘Fall Into Your Dream’ in May.
In Your Dreams is Tim’s most straightforward and accessible release to date, and an exciting addition to his body of solo work, which hitherto can broadly be described as experimental noise. The poignant song collection tackles core themes of life’s calamities, broken love, and transitory relationships, yet counterbalances its essential melancholy with a whimsical, upbeat, and playful spirit throughout. While not strictly autobiographical, the songs draw from Tim’s recent personal experiences during his two-year isolation from friends and family, and create a compelling narrative of alienation, loss, and love.
Tim wrote In Your Dreams in Amsterdam, L.A., and London in-between his time touring with Ariel Pink, and subsequently recorded the songs at home in Amsterdam while recovering from a near-fatal 2018 accident. The recurring hospitalizations that Tim has endured in recent years subtly find their way into the album through phone recordings from Tim’s actual hospital stints, underscoring the album’s themes on this highly personal work. In Your Dreams deftly juxtaposes lush, densely layered sounds with stark simplicity through a series of quick turnarounds, creating the captivating feeling of tension and release that characterizes this remarkable song collection.
Guest musicians on In Your Dreams include Chris Cohen on guitar, and drum help from Jay Watson (Tame Impala, Gum) and Josh da Costa (CMON). Adding to the family feel of the album, longtime Ariel Pink and Tim Koh collaborator Jorge Elbrecht performed mixing duties along with mastering by Heba Kadry.
Following on from an excellent debut in 2019, with ‘Karoussel’, Mow Records unveils its second album. A further exploration of label head Mowgan’s penchant for house music and authentic African sounds, ‘Soya’ features percussion and vocals from Solo Sanou, an artist whose roots lie in Burkina Faso - though he’s based in Toulouse, where the album was recorded.
Comprised seven Afro house cuts that utilise organic instrumentation and Solo’s raw, emotive voice, the album is the second installment in a series of five long-players recorded by Mowgan in the space of a year. This new LP goes deep into the heart of Africa’s rich musical culture, delivering contagious rhythms, rousing atmospherics and a pure, organic, unadulterated sound that has been cultivated through electrifying jam sessions at Mowgan’s studio. Also featured on ‘Soya’ are Yoan Hernandez and Yaya Dembele who play guitar, Gauthier Djalate on bass, alongside Mamadou ‘Madou’ Dembele, a multi-instrumentalist who plays flute and ngoni, while also handling backing vocals with Adama Coulibaly aka Demsi and teaming up for a duet with Solo on ‘Badenya’. Another vocalist, Fanta, was intrinsic to this LP. The granddaughter of renowned Malian performer Kandia Kouyaté, Fanta appears on ‘Fatanya’ and is a crucial component of the album’s conception…
The story goes that Mowgan was making an album with Fanta when he realised he needed a percussionist. Fanta brought in Solo Sanou, who was very timid to begin with. Mowgan liked his style and decided to work on some music with Solo separately. As the relationship blossomed, and they recorded more music, Solo brought more and more instruments to Mowgan’s studio. During those sessions Mowgan gently encouraged Solo to try using his voice, eventually he did and, when he heard how good it sounded, ended up singing across the whole LP. So, the beauty of this album, beyond the wonderful instrumentation, is the fact that you’re hearing Solo Sanou sing for the very first time.
With all the songs recorded in his native languages, Bobo and Bambara, ‘Soya’ is an exhilarating blend of electronic production and African influences that emanates a feeling of authenticity throughout. From the opening cut ‘Adamine’, which is about Solo’s first meeting with Mowgan, to ‘Badenya’ which refers to family bonds - “There may be quarrels, but it will never catch fire,” Solo says.
There is social commentary, such as that featured on ‘Fantaya’, which is about poverty - “While some people worry about what they will eat at night, others have fun without worrying about them,” he says.
A soul-nourishing, vibrant and utterly contagious collection of raw, authentic Afro house, ‘Soya’ marks another step forward for Mow Records and a triumph for all the artists involved. Look out for further installments…
The third reference of Nöle's Label BARRO will be out in February 2020.
This time, with a 6 tracks various artists compilation:
The Horrorist, legend amongst lengends, brings us a hypnotic and trippy story very of his style.
Millimetric, one of the highest French Electro's representatives, delights us with a booming dance floor focused track.
VCO a.k.a Artik, Tresor's resident, debuts in the label with his first production.
Exterminador has recently published an EP in Marcel Dettman's new label (Bad Manners) and he has created another dancefloor designed bomb for our reference.
Orlok 101, a regular in BARRO, joins us once again with a track filled with touches of Electro, EBM and the Sound of Valencia.
Least but not last, Nöle, boss of the label, closes the compilation with a hard and speeding electro-techno-rave track.
The previous references have been supported by artists such as Phase Fatale, The Hacker , Lokier, NX1, Unhuman, Alienata, Reka, Years of Denial and more!
Given Jones' rather slack approach to track titles (both being consistent with and sometimes even just supplying them), it's a bit of a relief to realize that two tracks with the same name are indeed related. In the case of "Arab Jerusalem", which makes up nearly half of the newly-released Lalique Gadaffi Handgrenade, that kinship is immediately apparent even though both tracks are clearly their own experiences. Released as the first track on the Minaret-Spearker picture disc 7" in 1996, "Arab Jeruzalem" (spelling also sometimes being fairly slack) is 5:42 of effectively shifting dark ambience, wordless female vocals drifting over the hand percussion, chimes, and static of the track, with eventual conversational loops discussing ... something underneath.
The end of that version is especially striking for the way the woman's wordless singing starts being sampled in such a way that it overlays the whole track (and, slightly, itself). The almost 24-minute "Arab Jerusalem" here might be called the Deer Hunter version of the same story, building with great patience and many more abstract detours towards what now seems like simultaneously an excerpt and, now, a climax.
As with many of Jones' more ambient tracks, the great length just lets it cast its spell more thoroughly and entrancingly. The other three tracks, meanwhile, suggest some of Jones' other work but never evoke them as directly as "Arab Jerusalem". "Jordan River" is nearly as long (a second shy of 20 minutes) but strips out the vocal elements in its predecessor, focusing instead on a more active percussive workout (analogue and digital both) and a river of hiss running down the center of the track. The title track of Lalique Gadaffi Handgrenade might bring to mind the title of "Lalique Gadaffi Jar" from Libya Tour Guide (last reissued by Staalplaat in 2015), but if they're sonically related Jones must have practically melted the other track to get this one.
And the closing "Desert Gulag" (like the title track, a much more manageable length than the first two epic tracks here) bears a slight resemblance to "Negev Gulag" from 1996's Fatah Guerrilla, here what was a piercing, repetitive drone is softened and looped over more of Jones' percussion. The result is a well-rounded release that shows off many aspects of Jones' sound as Muslimgauze, while existing (like many of these DAT tapes do) in conversation with much of his previously released work.
At home, in the islands of Cabo Verde, there was grog, or grogu, a strong sugarcane moonshine not dissimilar to Colombian aguardiente, copiously consumed at Funaná parties. In the diaspora, in Europe, there was leite quente (hot milk). "I can still remember the taste of the first leite quente I drank in Lisbon," says Antonino Furtado Gomes, Pilon's drummer and current band leader.
Synthesize the Soul, Ostinato Records' second compilation, revealed chapter one of the Cabo Verde cultural story in Europe, zooming in on visionaries like Paulino Vieira who made Lisbon the headquarters spearheading the musical revolution taking place within Cape Verdean emigre communities across Europe in the 1980's. Musicians from across the diaspora would eagerly travel to the Portuguese capital to record.
Grupo Pilon represents the second chapter of the Krioulu diaspora story. In smaller pockets, second generation musicians were independently contributing to one of the most lush periods of cultural innovation by immigrants in Europe. In Luxembourg, in 1986, a group of teenagers formed the largely unknown (outside of Cape Verdean circles) but consistently brilliant band named after the blunt instrument used in the islands to pound corn for Cabo Verde's national dish, cachupa.
With only five members, Pilon combined searing estilo Krioulu drumming and the hybrid ColaZouk style with blissful synth work and rugged guitar licks, creating a stripped-down, addictive sound that masterfully straddled two worlds, a seductive electro-Funaná carnival born from the first few sips of hot milk.
The band drew from the inspiring political changes of the day: the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The right to democracy became a constant theme in Pilon's songs.
With access to better opportunities than their parents' generation, Pilon's roster were part time musicians. Music was not part of their academic upbringing nor a full-time gig. Their rhythm and style were wonderfully imperfect, made out of rawer skills and inexperience. Pilon did not follow the templates established by revered Cabo Verde bands. Keyboard player Emilio Borges played off beat and the band preferred arranging their songs to start from the beat normally heard in the middle of a composition rather than the beginning.
These two elements made Pilon's music simple, unique, and inimitable. From 1997-2015, a lack of concerts and professional musicians proved near fatal. Today, Antonino and what remain of the original quintet are slowly piecing back together the puzzle of their once mighty outfit from an unlikely pocket of Europe. In it's heyday in the 90's, Pilon serenaded audiences in Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lisbon, Rotterdam and Frankfurt, securing their reputation as a respected and unifying cultural force.
This LP, drawing from the six most powerful songs from Pilon's three-album catalog, is the serving of still fresh leite quente to spice the summer and maybe even fuel the next generation of musicians in the Krioulu corners of Europe.
iven Jones’ rather slack approach to track titles (both being consistent with and sometimes even just supplying them), it’s a bit of a relief to realize that two tracks with the same name are indeed related. In the case of “Arab Jerusalem”, which makes up nearly half of the newly-released Lalique Gadaffi Handgrenade, that kinship is immediately apparent even though both tracks are clearly their own experiences.
Released as the first track on the Minaret-Spearker picture disc 7” in 1996, “Arab Jeruzalem” (spelling also sometimes being fairly slack) is 5:42 of effectively shifting dark ambience, wordless female vocals drifting over the hand percussion, chimes, and static of the track, with eventual conversational loops discussing... something underneath. The end of that version is especially striking for the way the woman’s wordless singing starts being sampled in such a way that it overlays the whole track (and, slightly, itself). The almost 24-minute “Arab Jerusalem” here might be called the Deer Hunter version of the same story, building with great patience and many more abstract detours towards what now seems like simultaneously an excerpt and, now, a climax. As with many of Jones’ more ambient tracks, the great length just lets it cast its spell more thoroughly and entrancingly.
The other three tracks, meanwhile, suggest some of Jones’ other work but never evoke them as directly as “Arab Jerusalem”. “Jordan River” is nearly as long (a second shy of 20 minutes) but strips out the vocal elements in its predecessor, focusing instead on a more active percussive workout (analogue and digital both) and a river of hiss running down the center of the track. The title track of Lalique Gadaffi Handgrenade might bring to mind the title of “Lalique Gadaffi Jar” from Libya Tour Guide (last reissued by Staalplaat in 2015), but if they’re sonically related Jones must have practically melted the other track to get this one. And the closing “Desert Gulag” (like the title track, a much more manageable length than the first two epic tracks here) bears a slight resemblance to “Negev Gulag” from 1996’s Fatah Guerrilla, here what was a piercing, repetitive drone is softened and looped over more of Jones’ percussion. The result is a well-rounded release that shows off many aspects of Jones’ sound as Muslimgauze, while existing (like many of these DAT tapes do) in conversation with much of his previously released work.
Thousand Knives Of Ryuichi Sakamoto's Landmark First Solo Album From 1978 Issued On The Better Days Label And Featuring The Synth Classics "plastic Bamboo," "end Of Asia" & "thousand Knives" Is Reissued Outside Of Japan For The First Time In Decades.
Wewantsounds is proud to announce the release of Ryuichi Sakamoto's first solo album originally released in 1978 on the soughtafter Better Days label. Sakamoto was a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra at the time but the group hadn't released their first album yet. Featuring Sakamoto on a wide range of synthesizers and keyboards programmed by Hideki Matsutake, and accompanied by a few musicians including Haruomi Hosono and Pecker, "Thousand Knives" was a blueprint for the YMO sound and includes cult classics that were to become live favourites. Save for a small-scale release in 1982, this is the first time the album is being released on vinyl outside of Japan. Remastered from the original tapes by renowned producer and engineer Seigen Ono, the LP edition comes with original artwork including OBI and 4p insert with new introduction by Paul Bowler. 1978 was a key year for Japanese music. Haruomi Hosono, one of the country's most innovative musicians had just formed Yellow Magic Orchestra pursuing the sonic experimentation he had started with his solo album "Paraiso." The album, credited to "Harry Hosono and The Yellow Magic Band," had been recorded between December 77 and January 78 and featured both Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi. Hosono quickly invited both musicians to form YMO but before the group could release their first album, Sakamoto entered the Nippon Columbia studios in April 1978 with a plan. Sakamoto had become an in-demand session musician after studying composition at the Tokyo University of Art and had played in many key albums of the time: Taeko Ohnuki's "Sunshower" and Tatsuro Yamashita "Spacy" to name just two famous albums. This led to an invitation by Hosono to feature on "Paraiso". A penchant for avant-garde and improvisation had gotten Sakamoto interested in Electronic Music early on and with “Thousand Knives”, he decided to get Hideki Matsutake on board as he had mastered the art of synth programming following a stint with Electronic Music pioneer Isao Tomita. “Thousand Knives” took several months to record as Sakamoto would be busy during the day with his session work and would only record at night. Named after Belgian-born poet Henri Michaux’s description of a mescaline experience, the album is a reflection on how synthesizer technology might come to change the face of music. The first side conceived as a long suite opens with the title track and a recitation of the Mao Zedong poem "Jinggang Mountain" filtered through a vocoder, before morphing into a mid-tempo synthpop instrumental. It is followed by "Island Of Woods", a ten minute track buzzing with insect-like synth sounds reminiscent of the tropical exotica of "Femme Fatale" on “Paraiso” (also featuring Sakamoto). Side one ends with "Grasshoppers," a beautiful acoustic piano melody underlined by a subtle synthesizer soundscape. Side two opens with "Das Neue Japanische Elektronische Volkslied," acknowledging the influence of the German sound spearheaded by Kraftwerk. The track features a mid-tempo metronomic beat skilfully intertwined with a Japanese folk sounding melody. The album ends with two catchy uptempo synthpop tunes in the form of "Plastic Bamboo" and "The End Of Asia," which both became staples of YMO’s and Sakamoto's live shows. Although "Thousand Knives" sold modestly upon release, it was hugely influential in setting the agenda for what was to follow. YMO's sound included various influences from its three members but there is no denying “Thousand Knives” paved the way for the group's Computer Music sound. Thousand Knives remains a fascinating insight into the making of a music revolution.
- A1: Coloratura Soprano Singer
- A2: Man Wiithout Larynx
- A3: Buccal Speech
- A4: Parabuccal Speech
- A5: Singing Voice
- A6: Glossopharngeal Speech
- A7: Frogsound
- A8: Esophageal Voice
- B1: Injection--Basic Sound Two Times
- B2: Basic Sound Of The Esophageal Voice
- B3: Basic Sound Of The Esophageal Voice, An Octave Lower
- B4: Esophageal Voice By Telephone
- B5: Singing Voice With Larynxphone
- B6: Pipa Di Tichioni
- B7: Western Electric
The larynx or voice box is a small organ located towards the top of the neck in humans and some other animals. Constructed largely of cartilage, it houses the vocal folds that allow for the manipulation of pitch and volume, which are essential for the phonation of spoken speech. It is also involved in bringing air to the lungs when we breathe and it protects the windpipe when we swallow. However, those unfortunate to experience the potentially fatal malignant tumours of laryngeal cancer will have their larynx removed, resulting in a traumatic loss of speech; thankfully, as this rare record issued by Smithsonian Folkways in 1964 demonstrates, removal of the larynx does not necessarily spell the end of speech for such blighted individuals. Instead, through developments in artificial voice creation, patients could learn to employ modes of vocal communication again. The album was recorded by physician Harm A. Drost at the Phonetic Laboratory of the Ear, Nose and Throat Dept of the University Hospital, Leiden, in the Netherlands, working under the direction of Professor H. A. E. van Dishoeck. As the advances were fairly new and surprisingly varied, Drost felt a phonograph album demonstrating the techniques would be useful for those in the field. The album thus features a narrator explaining aspects of several different techniques, followed by examples of patients employing them. Buccal speech (limited to certain consonants), parabuccal speech (collecting air in a space between the upper jaw and the cheek), glosso-pharyngeal speech (a method deemed obsolete where air is forced between the tongue and the palate), esophageal voice (made by reconditioning one’s esophagus via swallowing, suction or injection), various injection techniques and devices such as the larynxophone, pipa di tichioni and “western electric” are all explored here, along with other aspects of the larynx and its absence. Speech After The Removal Of The Larynx is definitely one of the strangest albums ever given a commercial release!
- A1: Deus Ex Machina
- A2: (Give Me) Paralizer
- A3: Mockba
- A4: Lasergunn
- A5: Body Snatcher
- B1: Kill The Light
- B2: Packman
- B3: Process & Reality
- B4: Sarcofague
- B5: Ritual Dance Movements
- C1: Dance The Algorhythm (Special Club Mix)
- C2: Algorythm (Orchestral Mix)
- C3: Algorhythm (Cocktail Mix)
- C4: Algorhythm (Razormaid Mix)
- D1: Fatal Erection (New Version)
- D2: Scanners (New Version)
- D3: Pas De Deux
- D4: Attenzione Prego!
- D5: Sequence Your Body
- D6: Cradle-Song
The Force Dimension was formed in the late 80’s by René Van Dijck and Tycho de Groot. After some demos and appearances on compilations, the band signed a contract with the Belgian label KK Records. Their self-titled debut was released in 1989 curiously on two different versions, one produced by Luc Van Acker (Revolting Cocks) and the other co-produced by Dirk Ivens (Klinik, Dive). The duo continued developing a very unique sound mixing EBM, industrial and different electronic influences. In 1990 they finished what is considered their definitive work, “Deus Ex Machina”, followed by the mega club-hit “Algorythm”. The band released another single next year, “New Funk”, and after a couple of compilations stopped to work together in 1997. During the next years there were some failed attempts to reunite but it wasn’t until 2013 when The Force Dimension was resurrected by René Van Dijck.
“Deus Ex Machina” is being now re-released on an expanded edition with all original tracks plus some bonus including remixes of “Algorythm”, some rare tracks from old compilations and new versions of the unreleased songs “Fatal Erection” and “Scanners”. Limited edition of 500 copies on double vinyl and gatefold sleeve.
* Another brand-new hot-shot from the ever-active Partial Records label, arriving in the shape of a production from Dreadsquad aka Marek Bogdański, who has been active on the reggae / dub / digital / dancehall scene for almost 20 years, collaborating with the likes of Tenor Fly, U Brown, Ward 21, El Fata, YT, Radikal Guru and more.
* This `real instruments’ steppers riddim features Dub Princess on vocals who although a relative newcomer, has already made her mark over the last few years, with a number of collaborations.
* Mixed in fine style by Dougie Wardrop at Conscious Sounds studio, London.
The now legendary collaboration between producer Terence Fixmer and vocalist Douglas McCarthy continues with a new 4 track E.P. of blistering electronics and intense performance. Long time fans will immediately recognise the strong tradition of EBM that Fixmer/McCarthy have held as their own for 15 years. 'Let It Begin' and 'The Crush' assault the listener with bruising bass lines, heavy insistent drums and mesmorising sound effects. With a Phase Fatale remix bringing a brooding and menacing darkness to any dance floor. The Force Mix of 'The Crush', harks back to the original power, energy and simplicity of how FM fans were first introduced to Terence and Douglas on their 2004 debut album 'Between The Devil'. The brutal love story continues!
Serenace, a mysterious duo based in Chicago and Berlin joins the Shaw Cuts squad with 'The Flying Guillotine' - a weapon shaped like a hat with a blade rim and chain attached.
The weapon serves to brutally quash any defiance against the ironfisted Emperor Yung and his regime. The enforcers are twelve specially trained fighters, The Flying Guillotine squadron. 'Sheltered In Absence', its pushing drums and energetic synth elements, chimes to the cruel deeds of the squadron.
The guard Ma Teng flees when he witnesses the brutality unleashed by the men and the lethal weapon. The raging emperor commands his fighters to capture him, but Ma has disappeared into thin air. - Vitrine', a diverse groove combining swinging percussions and warm melodies circles over head, helping Ma to stay undercover.
The slaughter continues as the squadron relentlessly search for Ma. Ma turns back and confronts the army. Equipped with his own deadly weapon, he joins forces with Kreggo and his - 2in1' remix version, wiping out the squadron one by one.
- Spun Coral' sweeps in, drowning out the sound of guillotines gliding through the air until the last member falls. Silence reigns over the battlefield. But the myth of the fatal weapon remains.




















