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For the second release we have four unreleased tracks made between 1994 to 1996 at Alien Recording studio in London from duo PAN-TONE (Alec Stone & Andy Panayi). Best friends for over 35 years, both had a passion for making their own style of music and getting out it to the people around the world. Sadly passed away, Andy has been a very big font of inspiration for us, we are proud to release these four housey tracks from the past to all of you.

Abstract Sounds, in partnership with Bianchi, present the second instalment of their special collaborative series. This latest immersive minimal house/deep tech project has sought out the creative intellect of artists ChrisOdt, Máté Si, and Nerve Maze, alongside the label head himself, Staniz. Each producer has an instantly recognisable taste in sound, yet they still manage to harmoniously glide together, moulding into a grouping of tracks set to fly.

Staniz is the primary figure behind two of Italy’s most exciting musical projects to emerge over the past few years, Bianchi and Abstract Sounds. The brands support rising Italian talent, whilst stressing the importance of upholding the intrinsic value of art and music, through a preference for physical merchandising, resulting in the flourishing of musician and fan communities alike.

ASBV002 takes us on a comprehensive and fluid journey through aerial chords, scintillating keys, raw, tech-permeated beats, and enthralling, rough textures. This star line-up shows total control and confidence over each composition, letting all the individual sonic elements chosen to shine in their own right with their discerning individuality and signature tonalities. In combination, the works harness an aesthetic full of instrumental flavour, unlikely to be forgotten with time.

FÜR FANS VON: P!nk, Coldplay, aktuelle Muse, Imagine Dragons, Queen POWERIZED ist eine niederländische Rock Band aus Breda und besteht aus Nick Holleman, Thom Schotel und Ralph Adriaansen. Das Trio glänzt auf seine ganz eigene Art und liefert sowohl musikalisch als auch visuell eine abwechslungsreiche und dynamische Show ab. Ein wilder Ritt von unbeschwerten, tanzbaren Symphonien hin zu intimen Intermezzos. Die stimmgewaltige und ausdrucksstarke Darbietung von Frontmann Nick, die
verspielten Collagen aus perkussiven Elementen und dynamischen Rhythmen von Ralph und Thoms Fähigkeit Rhythmus und Melodie spielerisch zu verbinden, zieht die Zuhörer sofort in ihren Bann.

Musikalisch lässt sich POWERIZED am besten als Mittelweg zwischen P!nk, Coldplay, aktuellen Muse, Imagine Dragon mit einem Hauch von Queen beschreiben.

Das selbst produzierte Album BETTER THAN YOU zeigt alle Talente der Band. Die 10 Songs überzeugen mit einzigartigem, überwältigendem Sound mit lyrischer Tiefe und zeigen eindrucksvoll ihre Fähigkeit Dinge miteinander zu verbinden und zu einer Einheit zu verschmelzen. Beginnend mit einer Stimmung oder einer Emotion tauchen sie tief ein, saugen sie auf und machen sie zu POWERIZED. Das Ergebnis ist energiegeladener Pop-Rock der seinesgleichen sucht! Ein distinguierter Sound mit eigener Identität. Wir empfehlen einzusteigen und die wilde Fahrt einfach zu genießen!

Mahti are a Finnish four-piece group presenting a unique mixture of ambient-rock, electronic music and traditional Finnish-Karelian music.

Lengthy semi-improvisational pieces are built on top of complex, hypnotic grooves which are layered with opaque guitars and strangely soothing noise elements. In the heart of it all there's kantele, an ancient Finnish string instrument played by Hannu Saha, who has studied Finnish folk music in theory and practice for nearly five decades.

Multidisciplinary artists Lex Rütten and Jana Kerima Stolzer alias A2iCE & BO3 are the faces behind Paryìa records’ fourth release – further manifesting Paryìa's role as a genre-bending entity while also expanding the artist’s respective portfolio. The debut EP Extracted Soil unites four enthralling tracks with broken beats and evocative percussions as the common denominator, including a remix by Mor Elian. With this release Paryìa brings together sound, art and physical elements, conceptually working around the artist's exhibitions, combining different formats and creating space to break out of conventions and experiment freely.

Dauw presents 'babel', the debut album from Belgian duo ZONDERWERK. The duo’s name means ‘’without work’’, but it also comes from “bijzonder werk”, where bijzonder is particular, special, unique. They like to work with images/paintings that are “bijzondere werken”, odd works.

babel is an ambitious exercise in translating images into sound. babel was initially created for the eponymous theatre piece by architect and artist Steve Salembier. Inspired by the biblical legend, Salembier envisions the legendary city as an abstract, sprawling modern metropolis in continuous flux. Its steel and glass skeleton is a representation of both an accumulation of overlapping contemporary cityscapes and a metaphor for the anonymous repetitiveness of our daily routines mirrored by the architecture. Subway lines, sky scrapers and whirling highways converge into a megalopolis of monstrous proportions. Despite the composition’s initial context as soundtrack for a theatre play, for the band this album is seen as a standalone work, whose complex sonic material can be appreciated without having seen the piece.

Their score focuses on fleshing out the imposing imaginary universe both in terms of scale and meaning. One of their biggest inspirations were Michael Woolf’s photographs, which served as the basis for the original theatre piece. His use of grey and repetition is translated into looped harmonies and fine-grained drones that progressively open up like blooming ice flowers.

With sounds of bells and metal as their primary materials, Carrijn and Sanders build soundscapes that are at once seductive and unsettling. The atmosphere on tracks like “DreamArp4Kort4” make for majestic, mysterious synths conjuring otherworldly visions, while the angelic glockenspiel set against subtle explosions in “VuurFeest” suggest a serene yet potentially dangerous place. Other tracks like “RoomCarousselTapeLoop5” create multi- layered textured drones through the process of tape decay, a commentary on the cannibalistic nature of the city.

Resulting from an arduous improvisational processusingold samplers with elements such as the Beam harp, a self-made metal instrument with piano strings, reel to reel tape recorders, field recordings and violin, babel perfectly captures the oxymoron of the man-made concrete jungle that is at once inhospitable yet endlessly awe-inducing.

ZONDERWERK is a duo consisting of Linde Carrijn and Dijf Sanders who started this project during the pandemic as a way of exploring their relationship as creative partners. Carrijn has a background in acting but recently came more to the fore as composer/performer with original scores for theatre and her other band Brik Tu-Tok founded with multi-disciplinary artist Maxim Storms. Sanders is a composer and gear enthusiast, more well-known for his eclectic works that draw from a wide-array of non-Western music. His milestone-album Moonlit Planetarium paved to way to a broader audience and recognition from major press in Belgium. In 2021, his work as a producer was recognized with a nomination at the Music Industry Awards.

The Hippo Sound System is a collective formed in 2018 by Bristol UK’s notorious ‘samba junglist’ DJ Hiphoppapotamus.
"Origins" is their long-awaited debut album!
Touring the festival scene across the UK and Europe their explosive live performances have earned them a well trusted reputation for blowing up dancefloors, moving feet and uplifting souls! Their tracks have been featured on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 6 by Jeremiah Asiamiah, Don Letts and Craig Charles. Don Letts also included their track “Into The Jungle” on his “Best of 2020” round up.
Fusing their favourite elements of world music and sound system culture, they explore new possibilities between musical cultures, fusing ancestral rhythms with modern dance music.
Percussive rhythms and heavy bass drive this vibe train as this Hippo and his percussionist/production partner, Munki, draw influence from all over, Including Afro/Latin/world music, Jazz, Hip Hop, House, Breaks, Dub, Drum and Bass & Jungle for their productions. The result? A uniquely high energy and psychedelic global bass sound – complete with the flair of live musicians and the exciting builds and drops of bass music!
Passionate about collaboration with both their recordings and performances, they often call
upon guest features from artists such as K.O.G, Franz Von, Simo Lagnawi (Electric Jalaba), MC Spyda, Dr Syntax and many more. With almost no tempo untouched from 70-180BPM, they’re an extremely eclectic and versatile band that can customise sets for most stages and occasions.

"The Concert" is the first discographic collaboration between percussionist Alexandre Babel and visual artist Latifa Echakhch. The record is intimately linked to the eponymous exhibition presented at the Swiss Pavilion during the 59th Venice Art Bienniale.

For her exhibition in the Swiss Pavilion, Latifa Echakhch created an orchestrated and enveloping experience, a rhythmic and spatial proposal that allowed the visitor a complete perception of time and of his own body. What is the origin of rhythm? How does the body perceive time? How does the mind rearrange it? Can we substitute one perception for another, the visual for the sound? Can fragments of memory go back in time and recreate a different story?

Her proposal entered a dialogue with the building around it, designed by Bruno Giacometti. The artist revisited its architectural programme as well as the prototypical progression of these exhibition spaces, originally defined for the display of classical art. She appropriated the entirety of the spaces, simultaneously exploring continuity, movement and sequence. Their relationship to light, and the different sounds that emerge from them. Yet the exhibition was entirely silent and the musical composition "The Concert" functions as its sound rendering, by following a similar path.

This one-sided vinyl is a complementary and inseparable partner piece to the exhibition and its eponymous catalogue, the latter having been published in April 2022 by Sternberg Press. The music features field recordings made at the Swiss Pavilion itself as well as pre-recorded percussion sounds and significant contributions by the Berlin-based musicians Jon Heilbronn, Rebecca Lenton, Theo Nabicht, Nikolaus Schlierf.

The record, available only after the closing of Latifa Echakhch’s exhibition offers a concluding phase to the project. The resonance of its sensory score. It reactivates the experience of the physical journey of the installation, without imposing itself as a transcription or an illustration. Through texture, temporality and its totality, the record stands as a resonance of the rhythms that have structured the pavilion, the harmonies that have composed it and the sounds that have inhabited it.

Latifa Echakhch Lives and works in Vevey, Switzerland. She graduated from the École nationale supérieure d’arts in Cergy-Pontoise and the École nationale des beaux-arts in Lyon. Galleries representing her include kamel mennour (Paris and London), kaufmann repetto (Milan and New York), Dvir Gallery (Tel Aviv/Brussels) and Pace (New York). She took part in the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale Arte in 2011 and was awarded the prix Marcel-Duchamp in 2013 and the Zurich Art Prize in 2015. Through her interdisciplinary installations, Latifa Echakhch is recognized for the fine balance between forcefulness and fragility of her visual language, inserting surrealist and conceptual elements, and her use of symbols that–in her own words–are both "political and poetic".

Alexandre Babel Lives and works in Berlin. He is a drummer, composer, and curator. His projects redefine the boundaries of musical convention, confounding listener expectations in the conquest of new contexts. Babel has been the artistic director of the contemporary percussion group Eklekto 2013–2022. In 2020, the monographic Festival Les Amplitudes in La Chaux-de-Fonds focused on Babel’s compositional and curatorial work. He is a laureate of the Swiss Music Prize from the Federal Office of Culture 2021.

10 Year anniversary reissue of Citizen's debut fan-favorite LP on "Evergreen" vinyl including updated deluxe artwork with die-cut slip-case o-card and new gatefold cover. To celebrate 10 years of YOUTH, Citizen and Run For Cover Records have teamed up to completely update the band's debut LP. Since it's initial release in 2013, the songs that make up Youth's tracklist have been staples in mixtapes, playlists and record collections for listeners chasing what felt like a long-lost feeling in alternative music. YOUTH takes notes from the headbanging tempo of grunge, the hazy reverb of shoegaze, and the catharsis of emo together to make something deeply personal and profound. Songs like opener "Roam the Room" and the anthemic sing-a-long "The Summer" have been soundtracked a thousand stagedives at live shows, while pensive and moody songs like "Figure You Out" and "Sleep" offer brief, downtempo respites with blissful melodies. YOUTH also features Citizen's two most popular songs: "The Night I Drove Alone" builds from a quiet, isolated guitar strum into vocalist & lyricist Mat Kerekes' diary-like confessional, exploding mid-song into a full-band barrage, while "How Does It Feel?" incorporates dreamy shoegaze elements into a somber mid-tempo wall of sound. New additions to the vinyl packaging include a die-cut slip-case cover to hold a new rendition of the album's classic flower text done by artist Mike Adams. Packaging also includes an updated printed inner sleeve with photos from the era as well as lyrics and updated liner notes. This updated version of Citizen's first record pays homage to a landmark record for the band and re-contextualizes it alongside their ever-growing catalog.

Edition OF 500 copies, Comes with insert and download code.

An album that sounds like The Menahan Street Band playing in a tropical jungle, at dawn, right at the point when the first rays of sunlight penetrate the dark depths of the forest. During the 2022 summer of natural disasters, under an unprecedented heatwave, and haunted by news reports of ancient relics, sunken ships, and hunger stones resurfacing as rivers dried-up all-over Europe, Amsterdam based multi-instrumentalist producer Alex Figueira started to hear uncanny metallic vibrations And eerie melodies of untraceable origins, day and night. He recalls nightmares of winged creatures inside timeless structures of Escherian architectures playing cosmic instruments amidst tropical storms
and acid rains. As the visions came more often, his wife reported that he babbled during his sleep about South American demon Yurupari. Soon, Alex found himself in a sleepless state and decided to cleanse the studio, with hallowed rites and
the intense burning of Palo Santo. After almost burning the studio down, he turned to his neighbourhood’s most experienced psychic, seeking answers. He was told there were “cosmic entities” trying to manifest a message “too complex for us to understand in this dimension” and the only way he could find peace was to deliver those messages in a decipherable form. It was then he decided to transmute his hallucinations into music, an all-or-nothing cathartic solution.

Alex entered a feverish dream, fuelled by the kaleidoscopic motion of the cosmos, ancient meteor showers, and visions of forgotten interstellar South American gods. He remembers very little of the work, but the outcome is this record. Entirely composed, recorded, produced, and mixed in a frenetic nine-day studio stint.

How the experts describe it:

”Just when outernational vinyl vampires thought they had it all sewn up, the metronomic makeshift
magician known as Alex Figueira unravels the entire fabric of your record collection to expose a gaping
hole where PUNKUMBIA and Transplant-Tropicalia should be. Reducing an expansive palette of
influences to a recipe that tastes wildly exotic but comfortably over-familiar, Alex’s roles as both
scavenger and chef, bookend a whole ensemble of other highly adept musical personalities in between.
Discover this record NOW, or wait until all your friends (or enemies) recommend it to you later.”
Andy Votel (Finders Keepers)

“Incendiary, lysergic takes on South American and Caribbean music from one of the scene's truly
authentic and eccentric producers. You can always count on Venezuelan-born, Amsterdam-based,
multi-instrumentalist, music-fanatic Alex Figueira to surprise and innovate, whilst consistently keeping it
true and real. The former Fumaça Preta drummer & front-man's debut solo album does not disappoint!”
Miles Cleret (Soundway)

“The one man band Alex Figueira comes through with some major flavors on this one. Cumbia beats and
psychedelic elements with that Latin touch of soul & Funk!”
Kenny Dope (Masters at Work)

“I really respect Alex Figueira’s DIY ethos. From running his own little funky recordstore to running his
own label and making his own music by playing every instrument himself. I was already a fan of the song
“Aprende” which he released on 7 inch and with“Mentallogenic” he takes it a step further in that same
vibe. From songs like “La Culebra” making use of a vocoder in his typical latin sound to songs like
“Serious” playing with rhythmic changes and topping it off with some synth flavors. A lovely and fun
album”.
Antal (Rush Hour).

In the label's own words:

"Kennedy returns to another musical dream state bringing nocturnal visions to life through the power of machines. Including three tracks of borderless Hi Tech Soul music, on this third 12" in the series he widens his sonic scope via elements of Jazz and African rhythms next to his own distinctive take on the original sounds of Detroit.

It's another musical offering that comes from deep within mind, body and soul. Side a sounds like a warm fusion of loose rhythms and glowing synths determined by machines, whereas the b-side is more explicitly human-made with flute recorded live by Amsterdam Jazz man Han Litz, bringing a lightness of touch that imbues the music with hope and optimism. Beneath that, a battery of drums is set free calling up acoustic sounds driving from deep inside in a dense forest.

This third translation of thoughts, sensations and sounds is another emotive coming together of man and machine that will find yourself invited to gaze off into an infinite sonic cosmos."

Limited Edition RED Vinyl – 100 units Hand numbered

Omid's parents were Iranian but he spent his childhood in Putney, London. He grew up listening to rock music, and listed Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young and the Cure among his favourite artists – after Robert Smith became a fan Omid would later remix various Cure songs. He learnt to play guitar and formed a rock band, but after hearing hardcore records played on pirate music stations he began making his own tracks on basic equipment that he had bought. Beginning in 1995, his early house and techno singles were released on his own Alola and Disclosure labels under the names of 16B and Phaser, but they soon attracted the attention of big-name DJs such as Derrick Carter, François Kevorkian and Sasha, and he signed to Sven Väth's Eye Q label to release his debut album Sounds from Another Room in March 1998, which was described by the Independent on Sunday as "avant-garde" and by Muzik as "quite breathtaking".
Although he started out as a producer, Omid gradually moved into DJing, at the request of friends who asked him to play records at parties. He secured a regular spot playing the Elements club night run by Hooj Choons record label boss Red Jerry. In October 2001 Omid released The Witch/Which Equation under the alias of the Sixteen Million Dollar Man.Inspired by Prince initially releasing his Planet Earth album as a covermount with a British newspaper, Omid released his third studio album Like 3 Ears and 1 Eye (Part 1) in a similar manner as a covermount with the November 2007 issue of DJ Mag.
Omid also formed the SOS collective of DJs, consisting of him, Desyn Masiello and Demi. The trio secured a residency at London's Ministry of Sound nightclub, and were asked to produce the club's first mix CD in 2010

SUZI returns after the beautiful EP by Downstairs J with a new power compilation, including contributions by Beta Librae, Flørist, Dashiell, and Alfredo 92. This VA record explores modern takes on tech dimensions driven by catchy grooves.

The record debuts with an essential dancefloor killer by Dashiell, a talented musician based in Naarm/Melbourne. "Beep Beep" has a slick badass attitude driven by its frenetic core melody, accompanied by a spooky cosmic atmosphere, and makes this track an instant hit for dancefloors.

The second contribution, "Listening to the ants," comes from Beta Librae, one of NYC's most unique exports in recent years. Her signature contemporary deep-bleep-groovy sound can also be found in this composition, which has a slow and dubby feel filled with small insect-like details. A perfect symbiosis between organic and digital worlds.

On the flip side, we find "Dot Matrix," a groover by Berlin-based Flørist. Breaky tech-house with MPC-like swingy shakers channeling a balance between minimalistic details and slightly scratchy sound design. The bass-line, one of the key elements here, comes and goes over and over again, creating superb tension from beginning to end.

The final track "Bora" of the record comes from Copenhagen, by Alfredo 92. What makes this track so special is its propulsive drive without any kick drum in it. The association of wind-like groove elements combined with a subtle melody makes this beautifully crafted sonic tempest.

Curation and design by Cleveland. Mastering by Marco Pellegrino at Analog Cut. Distribution & production by One Eye Witness.

After Joao Selva, Dowdelin, The Bongo Hop, Underdog Records continue their exploration of the Black Atlantic with IREKE.Ecstatic brass, 70’s keyboards, elastic guitars, round bass and world percussion: from this sonic heritage, Ireke makes a unique fusion, enhanced by the audacious contribution of his dub science, and a few electronic touches

IREKE

Ireke? Sugar cane in Yoruba. Like her, the duo loves tropical climates and intoxicating rhythms, quick to liberate the bodies gathered on a dancefloor. Afrobeat urgency, funk suppleness, dub alchemy, highlife jubilation: with Tropikadelic, Ireke summons the heritage of the masters and the audacity of machines to give life to new sonic territories. At the crossroads. For the love of groove.

From the West, with their ears to the Black Atlantic, Julien Gervaix and Damien Tes- son are both children of the collective and of improvisation, playgrounds for these complete multi-instrumentalists.

The first one puts his talents of arranger-saxophonist at the service of the Nantes collective Soulshine and of numerous formations - in turn funk or rhythm’n blues - where swinging is the rule.This is notably the case of the afrobeat group Walko, in which Julien Gervaix had the honour of sharing the stage and the studio for several years with Kiala Nzavotunga, guitarist extraordinaire for Fela Kuti and Egypt 80. Meanwhile, Damien Tesson was being trained as a dubmaster-guitarist-arranger at the reggae roots school with the digital option of the Vendée collective Shi Fu Mi Temple.This initiation led Damien Tesson to join, among others, the Nantes-based group BIBA (Bingy Band) and then to collaborate with Jideh High Elements, a key figure on the international dub scene, Roberto Sanchez and the team of his Lone Ark Studio, as well as Sana Bob, a famous reggae singer from Burkina Faso.And then, life being well done, the paths of Julien Gervaix and Damien Tesson ended up crossing within the jazz-funk combo Playtime, before meeting again in the Vendée a few years later.

With an obvious tropism for Afro-Latin grooves, tropical colours, electronic tricks and furious swaying, the two musicians create Ireke like a glass of well arranged rum. Here’s to us, here’s to you! As if guided by the spirit of the plant, Ireke toasts the immense richness of these danceable rhythms, true generators of life, connection and energy.

Like Legba, the Yoruba orisha of intersections and crossroads, Ireke thrives in the between worlds.Aware of the lineage of goldsmiths who preceded them, Ireke

knows his classics and humbly draws inspiration for Tropikadelic from the musical genius of Pat Thomas, Poly-rythmo Orchestra, King Tubby,Tony Allen, Fela Kuti, Maître Gazonga, Ernesto Djédjé or the Vikings of Guadeloupe. Ecstatic brass, 70’s keyboards, elastic guitars, round bass and world percussion: from this sonic heritage, Ireke makes a unique fusion, enhanced by the audacious contribution of his dub science, and a few electronic touches patiently flushed out in the studio - which the duo considers as an instrument in its own right.

Finally, to give voice to his compositions, on Tropikadelic, Ireke calls upon an army of serious enthusiasts, each member of which has come up with his or her own lyrics. Thus, alongside Ireke, we find the groove griot Pat Kalla (“Femme qui Danse”,“Love Is Jokin”), the Franco-Laotian reggaeman Amatah Keo (“Man Bo Diak”), the Vendée- based Agnès Hélène (“Petit à Petit”,“Oh Ma Chérie”) and Charly Sanga (“Bas Les Masques”,“Oh Ma Chérie”), the Burkinabè lion Sana Bob (“Métissage”) as well as the Nantes soulman Jy Cooly (“Kinkeliba”).

For the duo, music is above all a collective practice, an active liberation, a rhythmic approach to letting go, a source of communicative joy... In short, groove is the weap- on! And Ireke knows how to use it.

Beloved Rio de Janeiro veteran producer and live act, Fabio Santanna, brings his heady take on the tropical flavors of modern Brazil on Onda Boa’s second release, a pulsating double-sider that serves as a loving tribute to two giants of Brazilian boogie, Marcos Valle and Lincoln Olivetti. “Ao Som De Marcos Valle" kicks things off with a mix of organic elements layered alongside synths and Rhodes that Master Marcos himself would approve of, with lyrics that slyly reference some of Valle’s most iconic moments from his 80s boogie period. Razor N Tape’s Jkriv turns up the heat even further on his remix, bringing a touch of that NYC fire to the already sultry beaches of Rio.

“Chega Mais Lincoln” on the flip applies the lessons learned from “O Mago do Pop”, Lincoln Olivetti, utilizing sophisticated synth arrangements over a delicious mid-tempo groove and a vocoder calling out in praise… "Lincoln!”. Joutro Mundo’s remix takes things into dubbyer territory with his trademark approach to dance music that carefully balances tropical bliss with swirling, synth-thetic psychedelia, capping off an epic sophomore 12” for the label that manages to occupy the spaces in-between cosmic disco, tropical balearica and modern boogie… and always with that unmistakable Brazilian swing.

I was lucky enough to release Godflesh 'Love is a dog from Hell' on my old label Pathological many moons ago. I was equally lucky to drop JK Flesh 'In Your Pit' on my new label PRESSURE three years ago, and then follow that up with the G36 vs JK Flesh sound clash 'Disintegration Dubs' last year. Justin has consistently handed me pure audio gold, and actually gifted me some of my favourite releases from him full stop, in an incredible career of riches which he has tirelessly. produced since Napalm Death til today. So again, I’m now totally psyched to drop 'Sewer Bait' on my label PRESSURE. The sixth album from JK Flesh, this album is a Slo-mo, Slo-fi, Sewer tech journey into utter gutter level filth. Overdriven, corroded, corrupted and absolutely blasted, it contains so many essential elements of clubland low life, but yet manages to remain beautifully original whilst pushing all levels deep into the red until it hurts in the best possible way. Anyone hooked on Andy Stott's dirtiest works, Porter Ricks deepest explorations or Techno Animal's speaker punishing grooves will find addictive nourishment within these relentlessly distorted heavyweight grooves.... Not so much hard as completely f-ckin brutal, the master stroke from Justin Broadrick however, is takin his raw materials and feeding them militantly into the dub chamber. This is like a wholesale destruction of Techno, 4/4 for people too wasted and strung out to give a f-ck about dancefloors, yet compelling enough and magnetic enough to completely insist upon fully body hypnotism in an undersized room with an oversized rig. The album's title track sounds like Drum & Bass don Digital or the peak of the Metalheadz label dragged down into hell for the ultimate bad rave trip, whilst 'Crawler' could be Killing Joke, jammin with Regis and his aggro allies from Birmingham Techno's underappreciated discography, deep in a warehouse warzone. You don’t have to dig techno to dig this dirt, you just have to enjoy having your head taken off and your body physically punished. If Jeff Mills output had been chopped, screwed and then painfully, slowly crushed, it may resemble the monolithic, psychedelic, crawl of 'Sewer Bait'.” – Kevin Martin

Drop a needle on Psyché's debut double-sider – the debut album is out on May 19th – and you'll see visions, or rather Mediterranean visions, be they of waves of heat shimmering above dunes of sand, or of women dancing around a bonfire on a rocky plain, or of bushy cliffs overlooking emerald-green and turquoise sea. The name Psyché is of course ancient Greek for 'soul' or 'mind',signifying the band's love of psychedelic funk, but also the wide range of Mediterranean influences – from Southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula, and from Anatolia to the Maghreb – that provide an endless source of inspiration for their hypnotic sound and minimalist style.

Psyché members Marcello Giannini (Guru, Nu Genea, Slivovitz), Andrea De Fazio (Parbleu, Nu Genea, Funkin Machine) and Paolo Petrella (Nu Genea) have been active in the Naples music scene for almost two decades, most notably during the first wave of the new Neapolitan Power movement (Slivovitz, Revenaz Quartet). Over the years they have often crossed paths and collaborated on side projects in various genres (math-rock duo Arduo and, more recently, Italo-disco duo Fratelli Malibu), before working together as the rhythm section of Nu Genea's live band. Following their first tour with Nu Genea in 2018, they started Psyché with the intent of exploring more minimalist styles and making musicwith just a few elements.

A unique combination of psychedelia, groove and improvisation, the music of Psyché goes back to the roots of our future; it evokes visions of a mythical past, blending centuries-old music traditions and mixing them with modern genres. Like a warm Mediterranean breeze, it travels across lands, seas and eras, distilling essential rhythms and cosmic pulsations.

"Cumbia Mahàre", on side A of the 7-inch, dives deep into the origins of rhythm, drawing us into the movements of an imaginary ritual dance (the term mahàre was used in Southern Italian dialects to indicate witches). Through the interplay between minimal synths and exhilarating rhythmic patterns of drums, percussion, guitar and bass, Psyché take a fresh and bold approach to contemporary afrobeat and cumbia fusion.

"Ophis", on side B, is a mesmeric blend of African, Balkan and Turkish rhythms and sounds. Ethereal vocalizations and warm, hypnotic bass lines combine with psychedelic riffs and haunting melodies on guitar to evoke ancient cultures whose spiritslithers like a snake across the dunes of a sun-scorched desert.

T4T LUV NRG present the first vinyl release by Gynoid 74, the beloved Glaswegian DJ known also as Miss Cosmix. Label heads Eris Drew & Maya Bouldry-Morrison (Octo Octa) met Gynoid 74 through their work with the queer Shoot Your Shoot event series in Scotland. Gynoid 74 has been DJing for 20 years and has shared her knowledge of DJing and sound with so many artists in Glasgow that she’s truly beloved there for her contributions to the scene. She’s as likely to be DJing as she is to be working sound at a local club or huddled off in her home studio. The three artists all formed an immediate connection because of their mutual love for old school electronics, tape culture, and proper house music. When the label finally heard Gynoid 74’s original music they were blown away. Gynoid 74 tracks are a truly refreshing mix of 12-bit sampling and raw breaks alongside “tracky” house music that could have come from Chicago in the 80s, but didn’t. The songs on the “Shroom E.P.” are elemental and elegant, each one recorded on a limited kit of gear by a special artist who makes timeless music for herself, creating little worlds of her own to exist in.

The vinyl release includes the incredible original artwork of ocypode_quadrata, which beautifully illustrates Gynoid 74 in communication with her snails and mushrooms.

Repress

"Contravention" is the second EP from Yant on Setaoc Mass's SK_eleven imprint. Yant, The Mancunian wonderkid makes the style of techno which is pushing boundaries with each release. This particular EP features four fast paced tracks with distinct personality. Contrasting solid drums, spiralling synths and psychoacoustic elements that makes Yant's sound so distinct and recognizable.

The always superb Sounds Of The City comes through here with some freshness and newness here via their newly minted 'Sounds Of The City, Dark' series. It finds the French outfit Catalogue debuting on the label with a sound that brings a different perspective to the new post-punk movement. Their sound is a mixing pot of an array of different influences and what you get is music that will get you nodding to the grooves while your mind gets lost exploring synthetic elements, angular guitar riffs, robotic rhythms and lovely deep bass.

Rupert Marnie’s debut album “Evocative Rhythm” is a singular object to begin with. Split over two parts, each one working as an individual piece and under seemingly endless configurations when played together on a pair of record players, “Evocative Rhythm” is an elusive piece of musical abstraction you will play a crucial role in shaping, fashioning it as you dabble with it - certainly curious and cautious at first, then manipulating its raw clay more firmly as you envision it with a clearer idea of where to go with it. Or is that just a mirage?
Fruit of geographical meanderings through Hamburg’s tentacular architecture, Rupert Marnie’s maiden full-length effort reflects that of the city’s tonal, rhythmic and harmonic structures in a uniquely vibrant way: dancy and not, ethereal and full-bodied, oneiric and anchored. From field recordings garnered here and there across town, then either truncated, morphed, stretched out beyond recognition via a wide palette of technical means (granular synthesis, time-stretching, use of resonators, delay, reverb, pitch-shifting…), Marnie weaves a narrative that bridges the gap continually betwixt non-formulaic beatless meditation and proper club-focused functionality, plus the countless possible creations that will emerge when combining both sides of the disc to form your own story out the battery of elements at reach.
Evocative Rhythm” is much more than the sum of its parts. A mirage of ambient, techno, electro, whatever style and labels that could be stuck all over it, yet never managing to say a true word of it.

Antwerp synthesist David Edren describes his latest solo collection in conceptual terms: a harmony of space and time, elements and environments, perception and impermanence. Conceived in the morass of 2020, he began envisioning a widescreen suite of electronic compositions connected to the hidden rhythms of what surrounds and affects us.

The 12 tracks of Relativiteit Van de Omgeving trace a chain of miniature terrariums, from misty meadows and moonlit gardens to cosmic vistas of asteroid showers. It’s music both subtle and symphonic, attuned to the sweeping planetary clockwork of water and wind, birds and insects, seeds scattered in soil forever being reborn: “skating the thin ice of ideas, like a heroic water strider.”

Joel Vandroogenbroeck was an arranger, conductor, producer and, above all, a unique multi-instrumentalist in the world of music. The Belgian artist was also famous for being the only permanent member of the group Brainticket and the main promoter of its creativity, often renewed with the contribution of exotic instruments. At the dawn of the Seventies, this versatile musician began a parallel life as a composer of singular music libraries tailored to comment documentary images. “L'Immagine Del Suono” was one of them, originally released by Italy's Flirt Records and now repressed on vinyl
by Musica Per Immagini for the first time. This album circulated, however, unnoticed in a limited number of copies among insiders, only rediscovered later by fans, thus raising Joel Vandroogenbroeck as a real pioneer of ambient and new age music.

It is appropriate to consider the twelve short-lived pieces of L'Immagine Del Suono” as a sort of continuous and visionary experiment, with the addition of electronic gasps, a strong dose of inevitable psychedelia, fragments of synthesized jazz, all coming from experiences both internal and external, hallucinatory and hedonistic. All of this combined creates a mysterious and abstract hybrid. Sonic raw material is sculpted with artisanal care, at times twisted and cryptic, characterized by a transversal irony, to the point that the interference of rock elements in the course of the set divert the listener's attention and momentarily interrupt the flow of consciousness. “L'Immagine Del Suono” is a concentrated example of the avant-garde, free from categorisation of any kind, developed in a non-commercial key and, equally, is drawn from a direct line via what was previously expressed within the folds of the then contemporary works of Brainticket.

ASHRAIN ist eine brandneue Power Metal Band, die vom japanischen Gitarristen und Produzenten Nozomu Wakai (Tommy Aldridge, Paul Shortino und Alcatrazz) gegründet wurde.
Für Ashrain konnte Nozomu hochkarätige Musiker wie Peter Baltes (ex-Accept), Iuri Sanson (Vo, ex-Hibria) und Andy C (Dr, ex-Lords of Black) gewinnen, zusammen haben sie das Debutalbum „Requiem Reloaded“ aufgenommen, ein absolutes Power Metal Meisterwerk mit hohem Tempo, eingängigen Melodien sowie orchestralen Elementen.

"Plastic Music For Deep Thinkers" is a peculiar fusion of electronic music inspired by a cross-section of Warp Records releases, enriched with intelligently used elements of jazz, hip-hop and experiment. This multicolor creates an original mixture with a very emotional expression. Post-hip-hop, irregular beats intertwine with the club pulse and jazz harmonies, and the omnipresent sounds of synthesizers meet organic samples.

"Conceptually, this album is the result of an insight into the current state of the apogee of "plasticity" and confusion of the world, and at the same time its downfall in shape we know it. The title, full of contradictions, speaks of an artificial and exaggerated reality, but also of necessary, deeper reflection on it. Plastic, integrated circuits and synthetic sounds tell the story of human transformation in modern realities."

As the author himself admits with a grain of salt: "This record sounds familiar, but it is similar to nothing - like the reality I observe."
Szymon Burnos is a pianist/keyboardist, composer, producer and improviser. With his eclectic sensitivity he combines various, often extreme, musical worlds and his inclinations and inspirations reach many languages - from electronic music, through jazz, hip-hop, ambient, to avant-garde. He's known mainly for his activities on the Tri-City improvised music scene and from groups such as Algorhythm, delay_ok, Nene Heroine, Tomasz Chyła Quintet or Mu and the Alpaka Records label.

Szymon Burnos is a pianist/keyboardist, composer, producer and improviser. With his eclectic sensitivity he combines various, often extreme, musical worlds and his inclinations and inspirations reach many languages - from electronic music, through jazz, hip-hop, ambient, to avant-garde. He's known mainly for his activities on the Tri-City improvised music scene and from groups such as Algorhythm, delay_ok, Nene Heroine, Tomasz Chyła Quintet or Mu and the Alpaka Records label.

Frech, wild und ohne Kompromisse: THE HELLFREAKS verbinden modernen Metal mit rotzigem PunkEinschlag!
THE HELLFREKS, Ungarns rebellischster Punk/Metal Export, veröffentlichen am 14. April 2023 das neue Album, Pitch Black Sunset, über Napalm Records. Darauf liefert das Quartett aus Budapest eine packende Mischung aus Modern Metal und Post-Hardcore mit einschlägigen Skate Punk Elementen. Die 2009 gegründete Band kann bereits auf eine spannende Diskografie zurückblicken, die unter anderem Highlights wie den Psychobilly-Punk-Hit „Boogie Man“ enthält. THE HELLFREAKS sind in zahlreichen europäischen Ländern aufgetreten und eroberten die US-amerikanischen Bühnen auf ihrer Tournee im Jahr 2015.

Nun setzen sie mit ihrem fünften Album Pitch Black Sunset einen neuen Meilenstein mit ihrer einzigartigen Mischung aus Metal, Post Hardcore und Punk.

Bereits der Album-Opener „Old Tomorrows” ist ein gelungener Kick Off und erstklassiger Repräsentant, der mit groovigen Metalbeats und den intensiven, frechen Screams von Zsuzsa „Shakey Sue” Radnóti unmittelbar ein Ausrufezeichen setzt und die In-Your-Face-Attitüde der Band hervorhebt. THE HELLFREAKS demonstrieren zudem gekonnt ihre Qualität als individuelle Musiker, während sie mühelos schwere Riffs mit starken Beats und aggressiven Shouts verschmelzen lassen. Dabei liefern bittersüße Gesangslinien den perfekten Kontrast. So beweisen THE HELLFREAKS mit Pitch Black Sunset eindeutig, dass sie bereit sind, ihr nächstes Kapitel aufzuschlagen!

"Dance Fever was recorded predominately in London over the course of the pandemic in anticipation of the world’s reopening. It conjures up what Florence missed most in the midst of lockdown -clubs, dancing at festivals, being in the whirl of movement and togetherness -and the hope of reunions to come. It’s the album that brings back the very best of Florence – the festival headlining Boudicca, wielding anthems like a flaming sword.
Just before the pandemic Florence had become fascinated by choreomania, a Renaissance phenomenon in which groups of people - sometimes thousands - danced wildly to the point of exhaustion, collapse and death. The imagery resonated with Florence, who had been touring nonstop for more than a decade, and in lockdown felt oddly prescient.
The image and concept of dance, and choreomania, remained central as Florence wove her own experiences of dance - a discipline she turned to in the early days of sobriety - with the folkloric elements of a moral panic from the Middle Ages. In recent times of torpor and confinement, dance offered propulsion, energy and a way of looking at music more choreographically."

"Plastic Music For Deep Thinkers" is a peculiar fusion of electronic music inspired by a cross-section of Warp Records releases, enriched with intelligently used elements of jazz, hip-hop and experiment. This multicolor creates an original mixture with a very emotional expression. Post-hip-hop, irregular beats intertwine with the club pulse and jazz harmonies, and the omnipresent sounds of synthesizers meet organic samples.

"Conceptually, this album is the result of an insight into the current state of the apogee of "plasticity" and confusion of the world, and at the same time its downfall in shape we know it. The title, full of contradictions, speaks of an artificial and exaggerated reality, but also of necessary, deeper reflection on it. Plastic, integrated circuits and synthetic sounds tell the story of human transformation in modern realities."

As the author himself admits with a grain of salt: "This record sounds familiar, but it is similar to nothing - like the reality I observe."
Szymon Burnos is a pianist/keyboardist, composer, producer and improviser. With his eclectic sensitivity he combines various, often extreme, musical worlds and his inclinations and inspirations reach many languages - from electronic music, through jazz, hip-hop, ambient, to avant-garde. He's known mainly for his activities on the Tri-City improvised music scene and from groups such as Algorhythm, delay_ok, Nene Heroine, Tomasz Chyła Quintet or Mu and the Alpaka Records label.

Szymon Burnos is a pianist/keyboardist, composer, producer and improviser. With his eclectic sensitivity he combines various, often extreme, musical worlds and his inclinations and inspirations reach many languages - from electronic music, through jazz, hip-hop, ambient, to avant-garde. He's known mainly for his activities on the Tri-City improvised music scene and from groups such as Algorhythm, delay_ok, Nene Heroine, Tomasz Chyła Quintet or Mu and the Alpaka Records label.

2023 Repress

Fresh faces are all about crafting and dedication but mostly soul. We are glad to present Chontane's debut on the White series of the label with a timeless record that collects all the great elements of house and techno in one single place, represented in a modern way.

Green Vinyl

Die Londoner Post-Punk-Band Italia 90 veröffentlicht ihr Debütalbum 'Living Human Treasure', nachdem sie sich mit zahlreichen Singles/EPs und Touren im UK und Europa eine treue Fangemeide erspielt hat. Auf dem Album finden sich Tracks aus frühen Tagen ('New Factory', 'Competition') neben neueren Stücken, die der Band eine große Bandbreite an neuen Stilen eröffnen. 'Wir haben bewusst Elemente aus anderen Genres wie New Wave, Goth-Rock, Post-Hardcore, Jazz, Jungle und Ranchera aufgegriffen, die uns inspiriert haben, die wir aber vorher nicht in unsere Musik einfließen lassen haben.'

Mammal Hands announce spell-binding new album 'Gift from the Trees', their fifth studio album, pointing to subtle shifts and exciting new departures for the unique trio
"We're at a point now where playing and writing together can sometimes feel almost telepathic, that as individuals we can tune in to a collective resonance..."
Mammal Hands fifth album 'Gift from the Trees' offers a fresh perspective on the unique trio's singular music. The first to be recorded in a residential studio, the band enjoyed the opportunity to go late into the night searching for a deeper, more organic experience, closer to both their writing process but also their trance-like live performances. While some of the music was pre-composed and had even been performed live, the band also enjoyed the opportunity to improvise ideas in the studio. Drummer Jesse Barrett explains:
We wanted to have a more immersive experience that felt closer to our writing process. One thing that was really important to us was feeling free to jam out ideas as they came to us. We're at a point now where playing and writing together can sometimes feel almost telepathic, that as individuals we can tune in to a collective resonance and just follow that thread where it wants to go. Sometimes it's something as simple as a rhythmic, textural flow, like in Sleeping Bear.
There was also a conscious decision to move away from the sound and ambiance of the recording studio, with the band opting to engineer the record with their go-to live engineer Benjamin Capp before mixing the sessions with Greg Freeman in Berlin. The idea was to try and capture more of the energy of the band's captivating shows, saxophonist Jordan Smart explains:
Considering the group of tracks we had, it made sense to try and capture this process as organically and honestly as possible, and so a change in studio environment felt like the right move to us. Some of the tracks have a raw joy and energy that came with being able to play together again after a long period of time of having been apart, and capture that feeling of just being happy to be in a room with our instruments altogether again.
Whereas for pianist Nick Smart there was also the chance to really go deep into the band's music:
The new studio environment really opened us up to different ways of working and thinking because we could record at any hour of the day or night. I think this allowed us much more freedom to try unusual ideas and push elements of the music to extremes because we had the time to really focus in on the detail and work on things without time pressure. With some tracks, we were trying to find the boundaries of our playing ability and push beyond that point. With others, it was just getting into the right mindset and putting as much energy and emotion into the take as possible.'
The Welsh environment outside the studio doors seeped into the music presented on Gift from the Trees, with two recording sessions (one in winter and one in the spring) bringing different moods: one bleak and wintery, the other more hopeful and bright – an energy that permeates through tracks such as Kernel and Dimu.
Gift from the Trees opens with wonderfully elevating The Spinner which grew from one of Nick's piano parts and was developed and arranged into a complete tune without losing the feeling of constant flow and motion. It is almost like a dance, with the interaction of different melody parts and the doubling of certain parts melding together and fitting into the overall energetic flow, while Jesse's drums are both floating and deeply melodic. Riser aims to capture the band's raw energy and intriguingly is influenced by both breaks and modern drum production but also minimalist classical composition. Nightingale features the band at their most delicate and lyrical – a band favourite it draws heavily on modern folk with a beautifully realised melody that came unforced to pianist Nick Smart before being jammed out together. It was recorded early one morning, bringing an extra light and brightness to this beautiful performance.
Another album highlight is Dimu which utilises one of drummer Jesse Barret's favourite rhythmic devices from the Tabla repertoire and draws inspiration from Indian, Greek and Arabic music as well as modern folk arrangements. Dimu starts with saxophone over a bed of drones and percussion and moves through many different sections that frame and present the melodies in unique ways. The beguiling, intimate Deep within Mountains aims to place you in the room with the band as they play; it was recorded late at night to capture a dreamlike, liminal ambiance. The piano solo really reflects this mood and energy while the tenor is some of the softest and closest on the recording. Elsewhere, the remarkable Labyrinth started with what Nick describes as "some weird recording on my phone from a soundcheck, where Jordan was playing some crazy sounding bass clarinet part and I quickly recorded him", giving birth to a captivating, complex slice of propulsive 'almost' contemporary classical that like so much of the music on Gift from the Trees really couldn't be any other band than Mammal Hands.
Finally, the album draws to a close with the glorious Sleeping Bear, a tune that was wholly improvised in the studio. Nick and Jesse entered a simple but 'weird' locked groove and Jordan improvises melodies over the top. The track came about without any planning or thought; it was one of those special things that came by surprise and the band felt offered the perfect ending to their latest gift to us all: a deeply enthralling album that captures so much of what makes Mammal Hands a special band while mapping out new routes and paths for their beautiful, beguiling music.

Welcome to the "Consume Land Flea Market". This is the atmospheric setting and at the same time the luminous title of the debut album of young producer Noayama. "It centers on the contradiction between turbo-capitalist consumerism and the desire for vintage stuff in all kinds of shapes and colors to escape reality for a bit. I think it's quite a nice and suitable metaphor for the position my generation is in right now" says the 21-year-old producer, musician and interdisciplinary artist.

On about 40 minutes, Noah Berger, who grew up near Munich, spans a wide musical arc with his alter ego Noayama. He combines Hip Hop aesthetics with playful Electronica and acts skillfully in the interstices of Pop. Hints of 70s Funk hedonism, Old-School House vibes and modern J-pop sensibilities can also be found on "Consume Land Flea Market." The binding agent of the album is Noayama's "Punk Attitude" which comes through clearly on his tracks and beats and is an elementary part of his producer DNA. "I just like to drift, it's very central to the way I work" adds Noah.

Just as important for him are intergenerational collaborations, which adorn his debut work in numerous ways. An illustrious round of artists is therefore represented on CLFM. It starts with young female rap artist Maassai from the New York underground scene who can be heard on the pulsating opener "Get You Back". Also from N.Y.C is Hprizm, a member of the legendary avant-garde rap group Anti-Pop Consortium, who is featured on the dark and gritty "I Went Left" and the bouncer "War." Funkstörung is also involved here. Not too much of a coincidence as Noah has been encouraged since his teenage days by his father Michael Fakesch, one half of the Glitch-hop pioneers who became famous in the late 90s. With "The Legendary Godmother of Japanese Electronica" Coppe' on "Majesty" and the German singer-songwriter her tree on the song "Flâner", introverted pieces have also found their place on CLFM. In addition multilingual verses with Silo Inf3rnx from the townships in Gugulethu on "Ingozi" and on top "the homies from the neighborhood" Anothr and Taprikk Sweezee who give the album further facets through their contribution.

Noayama combines elements and working methods of the last five decades in a relaxed manner and bundles them into a genuine piece of work. Emblematic of this approach is the choice of features. So is the gear he uses. He incorporates old synths (Roland Jupiter 8, Nordlead) and drum machines (Roland 808, Roland 909) with playful ease with common software tools. It's also pretty convenient that he's currently studying Digital Arts at the Kunstuni Linz. In fact, his semester project is the visualization of his own album which means that every single track and every interlude gets its own video. Well, Noayama is just a gambler.

„ELEMENT OF CRIME hat es immer schon gegeben; bevor sich die Band vor Jahrzehnten gegründet hat, hat man diese Musik wohl schon in sich drin gehört. Lässigkeit mit Herz, Wippen mit Schnauze,
Unangestrengtheit auf die Spitze getrieben, aber niemals schlampig. ELEMENT OF CRIME ist ein Lebensgefühl, ohne das die Welt weder denk- noch aushaltbar wäre. Jetzt also ein neues Album „MORGENS
UM VIER“. Ich bin da neuerdings auch schon immer wach, nicht: noch, wie früher. Wir sind wohl alle bisschen stiller geworden, in den letzten Jahren: „Wir haben keine Lösung, wir haben Lieder“, ja, muss
man zugeben. Und scheint es nicht vielen, als ob gerade der oder die Liebste eine Axt in den Händen hielte? Fast logisch, dass es die Katze ist, die fragt: „Leute, wo soll das enden?“ Die Katze! Hoffe nur,
jemand hat bald eine Antwort darauf. Bis dahin: Mitwippen, mitsummen, mitleiden, sich nicht erwischen lassen.“
Eva Menasse

"Redefining Element 78" presents a new work by British pianist-composer Rebecca Nash - a distinct musical voice with a deep musical identity. The music emerged following Nash"s encounter with the writings of legendary New York alto saxophonist John O"Gallagher, who joins her on the album, alongside guitarist Jamie Leeming, trumpeter Nick Malcolm, bassist Paul Michael and drummer Matt Fisher. Electronics are provided by Nick Walters and Chris Mapp.

Devon Church ist ein aus Winnipeg, Manitoba, stammender und in New York City lebender Singer-Songwriter. Er war viele Jahre lang Multiinstrumentalist, Co-Autor und Produzent des Dreampop-Duos Exitmusic, dessen Album Passage 2012 bei Secretly Canadian erschien und von Pitchfork als "aufrührerisch, cineastisch und manchmal brillant" beschrieben wurde. 2018, im selben Jahr, in dem Exitmusic ihren Abgesang The Recognitions auf felte veröffentlichte, brachte Church sein Solodebüt We Are Inextricable ebenfalls auf felte heraus, das die texturalen elektronischen Elemente, die er während der Exitmusic-Jahre genutzt hatte, in den Dienst eines Songwriting-Stils stellte, der in der Folk-Rock-Tradition verwurzelt ist. Nachdem Church 2019 in den gesamten USA aufgetreten war (im Vorprogramm von Orville Peck, Adam Green, Kirin J Callinan und Black Marble), machte er sich an die Arbeit, um sein neuestes Werk, Strange Strangers, aufzunehmen, während er in einer Scheune im ländlichen Pennsylvania Zuflucht vor der globalen Pandemie suchte. Das größtenteils selbst produzierte Album klingt, als hätte Eno aus der Apollo-Ära Phil Spector auf halbem Wege zu den Aufnahmen von Death of a Ladies Man die Regler (und die Pistole) entrissen. Die atmosphärischen Elemente von Churchs früheren Produktionen werden auf dem Album sublimiert und in den Dienst von bandgesättigtem Gesang, Combo-Orgeln und Gitarren gestellt. Seine Stimme, die seit seinem Debüt selbstbewusster und zurückhaltender geworden ist, ist immer noch irgendwo zwischen einem lakonischen Lee-Hazelwood und einem rauchigen Tom Waits, aber sie wird bei Stücken wie dem intensiv melodischen und treibenden "Flash of Lightning in a Clear Blue Sky" deutlich ruhiger. Die engelsgleichen Backing Vocals von Churchs Partnerin, der Künstlerin Ada Roth, verleihen dem Bariton des weltmüden Erzählers eine Aura von traumhafter Leichtigkeit. Wenn Roth in gedämpften, an Hope Sandoval erinnernden Tönen in den Vordergrund tritt und einen Text wie "We're so bored of the apocalypse" vorträgt, nehmen die Dinge eine subtil bedrohliche Wendung in Richtung Pop-Surrealismus. Ein Sinn für kosmischen schwarzen Humor hat sich in Churchs Texte eingeschlichen. Strange Strangers leiht sich den Titel von dem Öko-Philosophen Timothy Morton: "The strangeness of strange strangers is itself strange, meaning the more we know about an entity the stranger it becomes."

Nach dreijähriger Abwesenheit meldet sich die Band stärker denn je zurück mit dem neuen Angriff "Showdown".

Dieses Album sprengt alles, was ROTN bisher an musikalischem und künstlerischem Schaffen zu bieten hatte, bei Weitem.
Es vereint in Perfektion alle Elemente, die den Erfolg der Band ausmachen: Abgefahrene Grooves gemischt mit kraftvollen Riffs, unterlegt mit dem bereits bekannten Flow von Vithia, sublimiert durch
Eva-B's epische Soli, und das alles verpackt in ihrem einzigartigen japanischen Shonen-Manga-Universum.

Abgemischt von Johann Meyer (Gojira) und gemastert von Ted Jensen (Sterling Sound), bietet "Showdown" auch eine exzellente Produktion. Die Songs sind so vielschichtig, dass du zum Groove mitspringen, zur Härte headbangen und zu den Hardcore-Breakdowns moshen willst.
Beim Thrash-Riffing zermalmst du dir fast den Nacken, die Refrains singst du reflexartig mit und bei den messerscharfen Soli herrscht Gänsehaut-Alarm.
Wenn es eine Band gibt, die durch ihre Originalität, ihr Universum und ihre Musik hervorsticht, dann sind es zweifellos Rise Of The Northstar.










[j] b5. Rise [???]

Nach dreijähriger Abwesenheit meldet sich die Band stärker denn je zurück mit dem neuen Angriff "Showdown".

Dieses Album sprengt alles, was ROTN bisher an musikalischem und künstlerischem Schaffen zu bieten hatte, bei Weitem.
Es vereint in Perfektion alle Elemente, die den Erfolg der Band ausmachen: Abgefahrene Grooves gemischt mit kraftvollen Riffs, unterlegt mit dem bereits bekannten Flow von Vithia, sublimiert durch
Eva-B's epische Soli, und das alles verpackt in ihrem einzigartigen japanischen Shonen-Manga-Universum.

Abgemischt von Johann Meyer (Gojira) und gemastert von Ted Jensen (Sterling Sound), bietet "Showdown" auch eine exzellente Produktion. Die Songs sind so vielschichtig, dass du zum Groove mitspringen, zur Härte headbangen und zu den Hardcore-Breakdowns moshen willst.
Beim Thrash-Riffing zermalmst du dir fast den Nacken, die Refrains singst du reflexartig mit und bei den messerscharfen Soli herrscht Gänsehaut-Alarm.
Wenn es eine Band gibt, die durch ihre Originalität, ihr Universum und ihre Musik hervorsticht, dann sind es zweifellos Rise Of The Northstar.




















[j] b5. Rise [???]

HEATHEN FORAY haben es sich von Anfang an auf die Fahnen geschrieben, harten Death Metal mit unbeschwerten und eingängigen Melodien zu verbinden, die noch lange im Gedächtnis bleiben. Kombiniert mit Folk-Elementen hat sich diese Herangehensweise ausgezahlt, denn die Band hat sich mit ihren eingängigen Songs und heftigen Riffs eine beachtliche Fangemeinde erspielt.

Während genreähnliche Bands dazu neigen, sich in mittelalterliche Kleidung zu hüllen oder auf der Bühne Wikinger zu spielen, interpretieren HEATHEN FORAY die Verbundenheit mit den heidnischen Bräuchen auf eine moderne Art und Weise

Pressing Info: 180g translucent pink vinyl, limited to 250 copies, download card included. Five years on from their 2018 debut album 'Great Vowel Shift', Lviv, Ukraine-based krautrock outfit Sherpa The Tiger are now returning with their second album, 'Ithkuil, via Fuzz Club Records - with 100% of the profits from the release going to the band to help support them during the war. Where their previous work was centred around vintage synths, minimal ambient and neon-lit kraut-disco grooves, 'Ithkuil' sees Sherpa The Tiger explore more expansive and layered structures and compositions - incorporating intricate guitars, flute, arpeggiators and jazzy piano references, alongside an array of other elements that originate from a broad spectrum of past and present music genres. "This album bears the name of 'Ithkuil' for a reason", the band state: "Like the language we borrowed the title from, the sound of the record has a lot of levels, layers, and orchestral nuances. We consider this album and its pieces a single journey. Every track of the LP works as a mandatory stop for contemplation and reflection that happens on the route of the listener." Sherpa The Tiger began working on the new material in 2019 during their EU live shows in support of 'Great Vowel Shift' and chalk the more textured and cinematic results down to a more collaborative approach. "We wanted to rethink the Krautrock heritage explored on our last album and made a clear stylistic shift that was determined by a totally different approach to our music-making. The tunes on 'Great Vowel Shift' were cooked in a sort of live-looping mode with two musicians jamming. This time, with 'Ithkuil', the process of creation was shared among 4 musicians, and that approach had a great impact on the final result." Several years in the making and now released against a backdrop of war and invasion in their home country, 'Sherpa The Tiger' say that 'Ithkuil' acts as a snapshot of pre-war times: "Since the war caught us in the middle of planning the release as opposed to creating the music itself, the album can be perceived as a wistful reminder of the pre-war life that doesn't seem to be coming back. The life we actually experienced but lost any recollection of and which we are desperately trying to bring back through the music created by the other us now dwelling in an absolutely different reality."