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After his participation in a masterpiece such as Popol Vuh’s Hosianna Mantra, in the early 1980s Klaus Wiese produced a series of seminal works in the field of ambient-drone and healing music. The first of these, Baraka, was released on tape by Acquamarin in 1981, and already contained all the aspects of his future research into the mysticism of sound. Wiese shares the path with other German explorers such as Hamel, Fricke, Micus or Deuter, but he focuses his attention on the most essential nature of sounds, on their acoustic purity, which is always infinite spiral, vortex of frequencies and cosmic bath. It takes only a few means (zither, tampoura, cybals, singing bowls) to reach the absolute through vibration. Like the archaic mood of a great universal harmony, the sound suggests a complete state of otherworldly meditation, an enveloping cloud of peace in the eternity of the present. The musician is only the one who distributes and directs the thickenings of ethereal matter, microtonal agglomerates, cascades of celestial harmonics and emotional floods, petals and stems of devotion.

Baby Series is born as an approach to young artists who propose a new dialogue. Artists little known to the general public that have a lot to contribute.With the musical quality as key factor, Baby Series gives a platform to people with solid projects for the future and that deserve to be heard to express themselves.

Ram Godt is a very versatile Belgian artist when it comes to producing and has a very strong sound. In this EP Ram Godt proposes a first track, "Raised by Goddess", more emotional and uplifting and a second cut, "Godt's Touch", thought in essence to be danced on the dancefloor, quality techno.

It is impossible not to find parallels between the sound of "La Ruta Destroy" and Victor Muerte. The young Valencian presents two somewhat different tracks. The first of these, "Corazón Valiente", with a more raw touch with vocals sung by himself and the second, "El Encuentro", with a more ambiental melody and somehow reminiscent to the trance proposed in past times

2023er Reissue des 2019er Live-Albums der Deutschen Black Metal Institution DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT! Reduziert auf das Wesentliche repräsentiert diese Live-Aufnahme den wahren Charakter und Sound der Band. 80 Minuten voller Live Energie mit Songs aus der kompletten Diskografie, live mitgeschnitten am 14. Oktober 2017 im Lido, Berlin und professionell für Vinyl gemischt und gemastert. 180 Gramm schweres, farbiges Doppel-Vinyl (Transparent Rot mit Schwarz) im Gatefold Cover! Für Fans von Deafheaven, Emperor, Dark Funeral, Wiegedood, Helrunar

A nice collection to relax in a warm and cosy musical atmosphere

“This one might’ve been in us from the start”, says John Hancock. He’s talking about ‘Echos’ - his, Becky Williams, Finn Bjarnson & Ryan Raddon seventh Late Night Alumni longform. Predominantly known for blending electronic and organic elements into their music, the album represents a departure from the band’s largely house-led sound. An all-acoustic affair, in many ways though ‘Echos’ is a natural extension of LNA’s DNA. “Most of our songs”, John continues, “are written in the organic/acoustic realm and then produced with electronic flavours to create our sound. In those intimate song beginnings though, there’s a magic all its own. We’ve long wanted to do an album that captured and augmented that initial intimacy.” Which is indeed what Becky, John, Finn & Ryan have now done. The quartet have dug back into their twenty-year, six-album history and selected eleven tracks that they felt could most benefit from this song-spotlighting treatment. With their original acoustic intros as cues, they’ve taken them to their natural conclusions. A Sliding Doors-type feast for LNA enthusiasts both new and established, or indeed all lovers of downtempo, downtime, live instrumentation-led music, ‘Echos’.

Kiari Kendrell Cephus, known professionally as Offset, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as part of the hip hop group Migos

The live version of French pianist's covers album available for the first time on vinyl

Songs covered along with a couple of originals by the pixies • joy division • arcade fire • nirvana • depeche mode / also included: a new exclusive rework of the pixies 'where is my mind' by the toxic avenger

Japanese Jazz legend Tsuyoshi Yamamoto's new album, A Shade Of
Blue, undoubtedly reflects his love of the piano trio, a group configuration that in jazz history began in the 1940s with Nat King Cole and then was developed in the 50s by innovators like Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, and Bill Evans Yamamoto's highly experienced trio - which has a combined age of 215 years -
features bassist Hiroshi Kagawa and drummer Toshio Osumi.

A Shade Of Blue reveals the three musicians' incredible musical chemistry; listening to the ten tracks they've recorded together, it's as if they breathe, think, and feel as one person; such is the musical empathy between them.

A Shade Of Blue will be released by evosound on MQA-CD, SACD- Hybrid MultiChannel, 180g Double Vinyl LP (audiophile pressing), available on the 27th October 2023.

This music unites our common love for the essence of music, which contains harmonic structures and emotionality without borders." — Musique Infinie

Musique Infinie, the new duo consisting of Noémi Büchi and Feldermelder, is rooted in a shared desire to intertwine two composing veins, and to merge them into a new, massive core. While Büchi combined her background in classical and electro-acoustic music with a bold approach to composition on her highly acclaimed debut album 'Matter' (-OUS, 2022), multi-disciplinary musician and artist Feldermelder has been expanding his artistic practice into unexplored realms for over 20 years. Mutually, they've challenged themselves to fully engage on an artistic exploration aimed at making use of the elementary forces that unfold between them.

Their debut album, simply titled 'I', is a musical hybridization. The compositions make use of simple motives that are radically transformed by expanding them into intricate structures and fantastic layerings. The overcoming of genres with eclectic elements from classical music, jazz, film music and traditional music, combined with the vocabulary of experimental electronic music, complete the vertical plunge into this thickness. The emerging pieces lead into a paradoxical world, both disturbing and euphoric. Pieces that don't give in to calculations and expectations, but progress through ruptures and repetitions. The richness of the compositions and their analog, acoustic and orchestral character reflect the density of the world with its violence, its decadence, its fragility, but also its power, its ingenuity and its beauty.

Composer and sound artist Noémi Büchi creates electronic, symphonic maximalism. Her music is defined by a delicate synthesis of textural rhythms and electroacoustic-orchestral abstraction. She explores the potential of consonance and dissonance, contrasts rhythmic physicality with disruption and playfully emphasizes irregularities, creating an expansive listening experience marked by detail and elevation.

Feldermelder is a polymathic creative whose artistry spans composition, sound design, installation and code. He is co-founder of -OUS Records and an active member of Encor.studio, a collective specialising in creating immersive audio-visual installations. Through his work, he explores the idea of secrecy and its impact on our lives, using music and sound to create a thought-provoking and immersive experience for his audience.

Sound Metaphors Records continues to explore the Italian early 90's techno scene with another re-issue of D.A.T.A.'s precious catalogue. Already 3 decades ago, 4 Italians got together in northern Italy to elaborate this sound, and it's only fair to say it's still timelessly effective, possibly a mixture of pure naivety and/or premeditated distilled club essence, bold and minimal in its use of rhythmic patterns generated by drum machines and samplers of the time. To imagine this music was being made in a time where only petrol company CEO's had cell phones, emails weren't even a thing, let alone social media, a time capsule into a special epoch where "progressive" or "trance" weren't quite established keywords yet. Re-issued with a new remastered face and 2 new remixes from studio guru Anatolian Weapons beautifully adding to this powerful exploration of club oriented electronics.

Tape

Vestigios, Aeondelit’s second full length record after recently releasing an EP of shifting club music influenced by postmodern philosopher Leotard on Tel Aviv’s Sadan records, tells a lucid, captivating story of heritage, transformation, vulnerability and healing. It will be released via Berlin-based art platform and record label Unguarded as a digital and tape release with an artwork created by Petra Hermanova, and will be accompanied by limited textile pieces by Diane Esnault. Aeondelit’s music is strongly influenced by the rocky surrounding of his hometown Manizales and fuses electronic sensibilities, ambient streams and avant-percussive rhythms that build his sound identity. Aeondelit's evocative music has previously been released via the Insurgentes imprint, Vienna-based Ashida Park and was recently featured on the 'Unguarded 2 – Entangled' compilation. Cortés describes the meaning of Vestigios as such: “The memories of past generations: the lives that burn within me, are the pillars of who I am. They constitute longings and traps, sin and strength, the temple that breaks down and rebuilds. The different dimensions of consciousness converge in the mind, which constantly tells us who we are, synthesizing and projecting our contradictions. The pain that comes with getting in touch with our vulnerabilities opens the doors to healing through confrontation. This lays the foundation for a more honest relationship with our past, present and future. 'Vestigios' is the bridge between the temporal and the eternal, the crystallized remnant of pain caused by transformation and recognition of the convulsive underworld of our psyche.” Aeondelit, birth name Sergio Cortés, is a Colombian music producer who explores themes related to technology and human condition in sound. He focuses on the creative use of sample manipulation techniques and digital sound synthesis to deepen the idea of a dialogue between computer and human, and how both influence each other. Deep in Colombia's Andes, surrounded by big mountains and the sacred Nevado del Ruiz, Aeondelit has been forging his own sound identity, exploring the intersection points between sparkly experimental club music and melodic ambient electronic. His first release Editing Destiny on the Colombian label Insurgentes was well received by the public and DJs, named one of the best albums of 2020 on Mixmag. His last release on Sadan Records, Anima Minima, was reviewed and premiered on platforms like DJ Mag, THE BRVTALIST and Orb Mag. He is also the co-founder of the independent record label Nvrclose, where his debut album as Æon Series: Dualidad, was released. About Unguarded: Unguarded is a Berlin based experimental electronic music label and art platform. In 2020 long-term collaborators Tim Roth aka Sin Maldita aka 1k Flowers and Phillipp Hülsenbeck founded Unguarded to foster forward thinking artists with a focus on exploring cross-disciplinary collaboration and embarking on sonic adventures. Unguarded was founded in a time of turmoil and uncertainty for artists and music, trying to keep personal connections alive through shared personal and collective experiences between doom and destruction and glistening hope. Amongst their own contributions, Hülsenbeck and Roth gather a collection of genre-defying works by longtime collaborators as well as artists they bonded with in recent years. Their releases constantly escape from definition but through entangling their unique artistic marks, this diversity remains absorbing and compelling throughout their sprawling sonic miasmas. Combining earth-shattering club cuts, equally elegant and bouncy, Unguarded contributes to and connects the experimental music scene in and outside of Berlin. We invite the curious to a deep, tense but rewarding experience.

Berlin-based artist Avilynn fuses electro, breaks, rave and IDM on modular driven '6' EP for her own Taisha Records this October.

Avilynn has been slowly unveiling releases via her fledgling Taisha imprint, showcasing her unique sound which encapsulates a variety of influences, always laced with a dynamic feel, sonic hypnotism and gritty drive. Following on from 2021's acclaimed 'Five Million Sunsets', Avilynn returns to Taisha Records with her new '6' EP. Blending sonic experiences from the Berlin cityscape and coupling them with provocative and sophisticated instrumentation.

'Air and Bubbles' leads the release and lays down cinematic strings, tension building atmospherics, a vacillating rhythmic groove and murky bass grooves. '66 33'48.8' follows next, coordinates possibly, a hidden destination, a journey complete. This one sees Avilynn shift focus towards textural soundscapes layered with ethereal, billowing voices atop intricate off-kilter drums and swirling synth flutters.

Title-cut '6' then opens the flip-side, embracing a brighter aesthetic with cosseting pads and resonant bubbling synths delicately intertwined with a winding low-end groove and a combination of electronic and acoustic drums to create the composition's bumpy
breaks. 'Fobias' then rounds out the EP, edging back into darker realms bringing crunchy saturated bass stabs and shuffled percussion into the forefront while sweeping strings, intricate melodies and voice-like textures unfurl as the composition progresses.

»In Words« is the first solo album by the Danish musician, composer, and visual artist Alexander Tillegreen. The album represents a series of varied electronic music pieces while also carrying examples of ongoing work with psychoacoustic phenomena. Composed partly of material taken from his artistic practice as an installation artist and his ongoing interdisciplinary artistic research into psychoacoustic phenomena, Tillegreen investigates subjective sonic perception and the negotiation of language. Particularly, these investigations are done through the use of the phantom word illusion, originally discovered by music psychologist Diana Deutsch. Parts of the album were conceived when Tillegreen was the first artist ever in resident at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics. Triggering the brain’s tendency to interpret language-based auditory illusions as meaningful information and as words within the mind of the listener, Tillegreen’s unique sound works unfold like a kaleidoscope of phonetic mirrors which render possibilities to reflect upon the listener’s own psychological and culturally situated linguistic embeddedness. Gender-distorted voice perception, speech and language borders are all challenged and thematized throughout Tillegreen’s work. The listener’s head and bodily movement drastically affect the listening and the word interpretation. Their psychological subconsciousness, recent events, memories, and expectations as well as the listener’s motion in space all become co-creative and co- composing factors in a reactive and choreographic process of listening. The polyrhythmic seriality of spatialized syllabic structures is accompanied by elements of heavy bass drops, high-frequency tensions, undulating synth lines, and hypnotic effects. Some of the many compositional potentials of the phantom word illusions are exercised and unfolded in selected tracks throughout the album. The notion of language borders is approached from an entirely different and even more “anti-logocentric” perspective on the “eponymous” closing track »Assimilate (in Words)«, where the listener experiences the struggle and collapse of interpersonal communication through conversation. Other parts of the album represent more diverse approaches to abstract electronic music. »In Words« morphs soundscapes into glacial, spherical passages of ambient backdrops, while at other times emphasizes raw tectonic blocks of hyper-panning drones that erupt into high-velocity outlets of energetic, granular fields. Tillegreen is alternating between cyclical, minimalist, hypnotic approaches and complex, glitchy polyrhythmic melodic structures that shift and melt into evocative ambiences. The phantom words and the nature of Tillegreen’s musical visions progressively demand more of the listener’s attention and represent the artist’s ongoing artistic work and scientific research into psychoacoustics and language. While »In Words« is a highly conceptual album, the musical bandwidth is extensive.

A blistering advancement of the knife-sharp hooks and urgently efficient post-punk structures that they’ve spent over a decade refining since their formation in 2011, the band’s fourth album – and second on Specialist Subject - emerges from a period of flux for the band’s chief songwriting partnership of Emma Wigham (drums/vocals) and Mark Jasper (guitar/vocals). First came a move north to Yorkshire from their native London. “We had decorated a tiny, rented house in Mytholmroyd” Jasper explains. “We setup a practice room in the top of a mill nearby and tried to write music, which we did amid stress about money, and a fear of having made the wrong decision. We had left our jobs, friends and a nice but absolutely tiny flat in London behind, and moved to a small village in West Yorkshire.” Although they found the location to be beautiful, the transition from city life to rural turned out to be an odd fit – too much so, it turned out. From this relatively short stay in West Yorkshire, however, came a more permanent change as the couple welcomed their first child Ivy into the family. Although, they’re hesitant to put too much of Streams and Waterways influence on the shoulders of their young daughter – she arrived a year and a half into the album’s conception – there’s no denying that its themes of loss, birth, and being part of this eternal, momentary life were brought into sharp focus following their new arrival. “Streams and Waterways is about the struggle of looking at the clock, realising it’s actually going pretty damn fast and knowing that really you have no control over anything” Jasper confirms. Perhaps that explains the way that opener The Valley doesn’t even introduce itself before careering into a full-throttled, three-minute scuzzy rager that would approach the descriptor anthemic had it not been kicked and scuffed along the way; it’s maybe why the wiry, ferocious Choice You Make feels like a charge into a storm despite the uncertainty of what you might find. It’s perhaps why even when Witching Waves allow themselves respite on the pared down Open A Hole, there’s a churning anxiety that lies below the acoustic guitar and harmonising vocals: in many ways musically and thematically Witching Waves are relinquishing the control that’s always been a fixture of their music – with all the thrilling and nervous fallout that comes from that. Although the pair have since returned south (having relocated to Exeter), Streams and Waterways also serves as a document of their foray northwards. The surviving artefact from Jasper’s never-to-be-finished studio that he’d began to build in Yorkshire – following the ending of his London-based Sound Savers studio – the record is also the first to feature current bassist Will Fitzpatrick, who joined initially live on their support tour with Australian punks Camp Cope. Fitzpatrick – a key component of Liverpool’s DIY scene for two decades – quickly became a key part of the writing process. Recording sessions were done during periods of lockdown that allowed congregation, Jasper recalling a still unborn Ivy kicking hard during an early mix playback of It’s A Shame’s layered noise rock assault. “The song was about my past, a much harder time. But my future was egging me on” he says. It’s a neat summation of Streams and Waterways and its representation of the discomfort of life amidst the compulsion to ride on its journey regardless. It’s a record that finds Witching Waves looking into the future more than ever before, but still bristles with the rush of being in the moment – because ultimately, despite what may have happened or may yet come, the band’s strongest trait remains being able to keep you feeling in the present.

Kanaan from Oslo, Norway is back with their 2nd album in 2020. Following the impromptu Odense Sessions with Causa Sui guitarist Jonas Munk released in February, Double Sun is a different beast all together: Treading the same path as their 2018 debut Windborne, Double Sun is a studio effort in the best sense of the word. Perfectly balanced on the edge of dynamic improv, throbbing beats sizzled in scorching fuzz and topped off with deeply layered soundscapes. This album sees Kanaan reach a new plateau. Kanaan presents a unique perspective to psychedelic rock, painting with a wide palette that includes jazz and post-rock. Double Sun devotes as much energy to sonic colour as it does to groove and energy. The spirit of experimentation is everywhere: From the savory, pastoral sounds of opening track Worlds Together, to the soaring exploratory paths of the two-part title track. In the creative process, Kanaan dived deep into the possibilities of the studio, adding intricate layers and twists and turns to these tunes: acoustic guitars, percussions & synthesizers embrace and enhance the Norwegian modern day version of a power-trio.

House of Harm are proud to announce the forthcoming release of their new album Playground, out December 1st, 2023. The new record builds and expands upon the three-piece’s enthralling shadow-pop sound, a mix of midnight atmospherics, 90s era jangle pop, and contagious synth drenched hooks that further elevate the transcendent vocals of lead singer Michael Rocheford. Rounded out by Cooper Leardi (guitar / synths) and Tyler Kershaw (guitar / synth), House of Harm have amassed an impressive following as something of a best kept secret among their growing fanbase, leading to sold out shows on both coasts by the power of word of mouth alone. The band members have been drawn to music for as long as any of them can remember, and the drive to be around like-minded artists and make their own noise drew them all to Boston after high school. There they all quickly enmeshed themselves, playing in other bands before meeting each other. Ever since, House of Harm have been quietly making a name for themselves among music fans with darker pop persuasions via a steady stream of releases in single, ep and album form. That attention to detail and workmanlike approach at the expense of chasing instant gratification seems to be paying dividends after years of steady effort. The journey of their new album Playground saw House of Harm stay true to that ethos. The band painstakingly narrowed the record down to an efficient 10 tracks that they felt made the most sense, both standing on their own as well as fitting into an LP that built a cohesive world for the listener to get lost in. The album’s name also reflects the experimentation and happy accidents that came about during the writing and recording process. On “The Face of Grace” they set out to explore different dynamics by writing a song entirely without drums, but couldn't help themselves from putting emphasis on the song’s 6/8 waltz time signature. “Two Kinds” is another first for House Of Harm in that it’s predominantly driven by acoustic guitar. That aforementioned vulnerability shows up in other areas of the songwriting process as well with “Two Kinds”, one of their most revealing songs to date from a lyrical standpoint, written from a place of reflection and weakness and tackling feelings uneasy to be put on display for public consumption. Taken as a whole, the end result is an album representing a collection of the band’s most raw and expressive songs yet.

Ross Mc Millan Aka Carlos Nilmmns Started His Career Over 10 Years Ago With Skylax Records. From His 1st Ep "Red" It Is a Statement. a Subtle Mix of House, Techno All Embellished With Striking Cinematographic Landscapes. There Followed a Multitude of Releases on Skylax (Blue Ep) but Also Ornaments, 4lux or Even Circus Company. He Has Just Recently Released 2 Fabulous Remixes for the Soul of the Makossa Man Project (Warehouse Classic 5 & 6). and It Is Logically in View of the Incredible Level He Has Reached in the Development of His Remixes That We Offered Him to Make a New Ep. There Is in This New 12 Inch His Very Personal Touch to the Deep and Sensual but Also Latin House Influences That Surely Would Not Have Denied the Maw but Also the Great David Mancuso (The Loft) Who if He Were Still Alive, We Think Would Have Loved This Ep (Rip). Indeed, Ross Also Manages to Integrate Into His Songs Cinematic Landscapes Worthy of Lalo Schifrin of the 1970s While Maintaining a Club Aspect. Latin Tapes Is One of the Most Beautiful House Bangers We've Heard in a Long Time, a Real Ode to Party and Life. No Love Lost Is Eyeing Moodymann, Mcde and the Brilliant and Forgotten Trus'me. Hootenanny Looks Nothing More or Less Than Isaac Hayes From His Blaxploitation Period. Everything Else Is on the Same Level: City of Love, Sunset Over Antoni De Portmany (Balearic Nights) & Life in the Loire. the Real Question Would Be to Know How He Manages to Obtain This Sound So Classy, ​​the Impression That He Is Accompanied Throughout the Ep by the Philadelphia International Rhythm Section (Gamble & Huff) an Orchestra of Seasoned Musicians. Probably One of the Finest House Records (Or Even Just Music) to Be Released This Year by a Talent as Singular as It Is Elusive. This 12 Inch Is a Masterpiece of Elegance and Refinement....

The birth point of ecstasy in British music is usually credited to acid house and the second summer of love: a cemented vision of kids sweating and vibrating in clubs, fields and warehouses in 1988, united by universal empathy and mind-popping sounds. However, in 1981, a couple of young men from Leeds went to New York, discovered the drug in its infancy, fused its’ gritty synth pop to acid house’s squelchy 303 groove and recorded an album: Soft Cell’s Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. The rest, as they say, is history.

Shortly before that Soft Cell’s debut single Memorabilia was born. Originally recorded a decade before the explosion of acid house and rooted in predominantly black NYC, Chicago and Detroit gay clubs, Memorabilia is a seminal early prelude to rave culture. Merging a

strutting disco bass line with a futuristic proto acid-techno beat, Marc Almond has past described Memorabilia as “the first acid house techno record ever”.

Dave Ball remembers: “Memorabilia got to about number 99 in the charts, but the clubs picked up on it. In NME or Sounds they had a chart for the Danceteria in New York, and we were in it. Our label Phonogram saw this and thought: ‘why is this weird little duo from Leeds that no one’s heard of suddenly getting played in one of the hippest clubs in New York?’ So I think they thought: ‘we’ll give them another chance’.”



Berlin’s very own upcomers Wally Funk round off the remix package, upping the original tempo slightly, while combining elements the of original production with the later Non-Stop Ecstatic Dancing version to create a new hybrid, best played extremely loud!

The Touch Infinity project involves the creation of works of art based on Spira and the way it is harmonized in modern art, an action with an emphasis on design and contemporary electronic music. We live in a spiral galaxy. The first sensation that a spiral shape gives is the image of evolution and the will to touch the infinity. Modern technology and binary code give us the ability to touch the infinity. With the use of modern technology, the music will be rendered in addition to vinyl and in shape and color in the form of a spiral ceramic vase.

With the financial support and under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture.

Repress!

Season of Mist is Dead Horse One's second album and the first collaboration with french indie label
Requiem Pour Un Twister (Triptides, Good Morning TV etc.). It's a promising alliance between two of
the best representatives of shoegaze in France. Haling from Valence, the boys managed to impress
Joe Foster of Creation Records who said about their first EP « their music, that spans multiple genres
including Shoegaze and psychedelia, is like an endless extended note, wistful and melancholic....macabre
and beautiful...from which will emerge pop songs ». Mark Gardner of Ride mixed their first effort,
the acclaimed Without Love We Perish and now they're back with Season of Mist produced by the
band helped by John Loring (Fleeting Joys). It's full of catchy hooks, shoegaze and psychedelic anthems
propelled by supersonic guitars that sound like a massive wall of joyful noise. Close your eyes and let
all theses great songs flow in your mind, from season of mist will emerge light.

Temple, Bassey, MacLaine and now, Hurt; in a world of Shirleys, the name Sophia Ruby Katz has chosen for her music is perhaps prophetic as it captures her stunningly emotive vocal approach. And whilst Shirley Hurt might be the perfect nom de plume for the creative Toronto-based artist, it’s her self-titled debut album which positions her as protagonist of her own universe.

Traversing sonic landscapes, Shirley Hurt’s vocals ebb and flow like lyrical Ley lines tracking the contours of her own well-travelled map. By the age of 18, Hurt had travelled extensively, having lived in upwards of 20 different apartments and houses, as a result never really feeling “at home” anywhere. At this age was when Hurt found herself in New York, dipping her toes into various scenes and musical realms. The first and only place she ever felt at home, and a partial home-base for her, she travelled between Toronto and New York until the age of 26.When the project she was working on in New York reached a dead-end she returned West, moving in with musicians Harrison Forman (Hieronymus Harry, Zones) and Patrick Lefler (Roy, Possum). Being surrounded by their improvising at all hours, a new approach emerged. “Harrison is a virtuosic guitar player, and I hadn't picked up a guitar in any serious way since I was 16,” she says, “by osmosis I started playing again for fun.” Without agenda, the process grew organically from there.

Hurt and Forman decided to travel across the US and Canada in a trailer for half a year, with the entire album written in the final months of their trip. Hurt had been writing loose ideas here and there but felt blocked creatively. When the pair reached Berkley, they wound up house-sitting for a tuned-in friend who recommended she pray, in a very direct way, to remove the block. “I took her advice and to my surprise it worked. The album was conceptualized and finished within a couple of months.” Shapeshifting in tone and phrasing, Hurt’s music alchemizes the furthest corners of experimental indie folk, pop, and country into a singular sound with elegant unpredictability.

Whilst Shirley Hurt’s lyrical and structural ideas may have emerged on the road, the album was self-produced and recorded at Joseph Shabason (The War on Drugs)’s Aytche studio in Toronto’s West End. It was engineered by Nathan Vanderwielen and Chris Shannon (Bart), and Hurt enlisted collaborators Jason Bhattacharya, Nick Dourado, Patrick Lefler, and Harrison Forman to hone her vision. “I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with the songs until we returned to Toronto,” she recalls. “Joseph and I had been talking about working together after sending across some demos and Jason happened to recommend his studio at the exact same time, so everything came together naturally at that point.”

Whilst her most recent adventures may have seen Shirley Hurt bound for Texas as an official SXSW artist (hand-picked by Gorilla Vs Bear to perform at their own showcase), she currently resides in her native Canada, more specifically rural Ontario, close to friends and family, and is already working on her second album. The ties to lineage are interwoven in the fabric of the music. Hurt’s mother, artist Leala Hewak, instilled a lust for life and innate value of creativity in her from a young age as she explored the role of gallery owner, vintage jewellery show host, mid-century modern furniture expert, real estate agent, painter. Hurt’s father, a civil litigation lawyer and new-wave obsessed music lover with an extensive vinyl collection, introduced Hurt to a wide-range of artists at a young age such as Nina Hagen, Laurie Anderson, Tom Tom Club, and endless others.

In her video for ‘Problem Child’ Hurt’s grandmother walks her through a generationally revered pie-making process. One would be tempted to hear this, and other songs, as autobiographical. Yet, Hurt’s lyrics are rarely pulled from her relationships or personal history––at least not consciously. Rather, they arise from somewhere less tangible or defined. “Lyrics tend to come to me when I am doing non-musical things - washing dishes, brushing my dogs, walking to the grocery store. I have a lot of voice memos on my phone and half-filled notebooks and when I hear something, I have to stop what I'm doing to get the idea down. Usually it’s bits and pieces. It's rare a full song comes to me in one go, but it's great when they do, and those are often my favourites.”

Carving out a space of her own in an all-encompassing universe, Shirley Hurt is the introduction to a long artistic story, and if the journey so far is anything to go by, it will be stippled with evermore unpredictable chapters.

Drum To Death is a collection of 11 experiments by Peter Kernel and their favourite drummers. Throughout 2020-2023 Peter Kernel invited eleven of their most esteemed drummers to send them rhythms with which they composed these eleven tracks. Each song was written and dedicated to the inherent drummer as an ode of appreciation to the beat creator. These eleven songs come together as a unique collection of an odd collaboration based on appreciation for different styles and people, a microworld made of different feelings, patterns, colours, intentions and attitudes. The album features collaborations with Bernard Trontin (The Young Gods), Cosmic Neman (Zombie Zombie), Beatrice Graf, Domi Chansorn, Ema Matis, Tam Bor, Hugo Panzer, Julian Sartorius, Kevin Shea (Storm & Stress, Lydia Lunch), Simon Berz, Simone Aubert (Hyperculte, Massicot).

Started around a decade ago, "Overcloseness" has been a long time coming. It is Colorist's debut album on paper, but already has a magnum opus feel to it. The beginnings of Colorist lay in the Cologne music community. Being small, it was always influenced by the art and the film scene. (In fact, the label Magazine originates from the same crossing point.) The large cast of guest appearances underlines how much Antonio de Luca and Caroline Kox are in the center of that Cologne community. On "Overcloseness" intimate pieces for one or two instruments alternate with dense choir anthems ("Embody") and tracks built from ultra intense fabrics that conjure up the mediative hardness of Tool ("Blood Markers"). Driven by the otherworldly voice of Koxi and a larger than life bass line by Antonio, the album culminates in the unforgettable "Touch Me". Oscillating between a bad migraine and cathartic hypnosis, Colorist have created a genre defying universe of an album.

„This will not revive your soul, B.“

Celldod, the emperor of Swedish Electronic Body Music, is back on Electronic Emergencies with Pandoras Ask, an immersive 4-track EP. When Pandora opens her box, she completely loses control. Aggressive industrial beats, distorted emotional lyrics and heavy synths are catapulted into the universe. A wall of sounds fills the room and your heart immediately, forcing you to dance. Pure chilling Nordic EBM with a sprinkle of acid and electro. Pandoras Ask comes in a limited edition of 300 hand-numbered copies, with artwork by Anders Karlsson himself. Highly recommended!

Upstate NY heavyweights 38 Spesh and Conway The Machine have joined forces for a collaboration album fans did not see coming. Having recorded with each other for well over a decade, these two lyrical powerhouses' styles mesh effortlessly on this 10-track offering. The soundbeds for the illustrious affair are provided by Spesh himself with the help of a producer he has championed for years, Jimmy Dukes. Instead of continuing to mine the '90s like their contemporaries, the duo bring a sound that calls back to early '00s Hip-Hop. On top of verses that will etch themselves in your mind courtesy of Spesh and Conway, the project includes standout bars and hooks by the likes Lloyd Banks, Pharoahe Monch, Benny The Butcher, Che Noir, ElCamino, and Emanny.

Rochester emo band CARPOOL released their debut album Erotic Nightmare Summer to widespread critical acclaim in 2020, and have now reissued the LP along with their signing announcement to SideOneDummy Records! Pressed on Blood Red and Black Splatter Vinyl! “Erotic Nightmare Summer is a pretty undeniable collection of mathy, anthemic emo/punk – somewhere in the middle of Joyce Manor, Algernon Cadwallader, Cap’n Jazz, Dogleg, etc. If you like any or all of those bands and haven’t heard this yet, that’s worth changing.” —Brooklyn Vegan

2023 Repress!
Since 2009’s critically acclaimed Machine Dreams they have not sat still, touring the globe and making some high profile friends along the way.
No one in their right mind would have expected the future of soul music to come from Gothenburg, Sweden. But there it is in the dreamy, rhythmical, shifting, moody rainbow creature that is Little Dragon. It is easy to see why some of the world’s top musical luminaries are falling over themselves to work with them. Stylishly seductive in their own right, their 2007 selftitled debut was filled with classy songwriting and cool production, with the stunning track ‘Twice’ getting played on Grey’s Anatomy and countless adverts since it’s release. Machine Dreams showed a bouncier side, as they flexed their dancing nous and came up with an album that would turn Prince’s head.
Damon Albarn invited them to collaborate on two tracks for last year’s Gorillaz record Plastic Beach, which became album highlights for the critics with Pitchfork describing the songs ‘Empire Ants’ and ‘To Binge’ as “two of the most arresting things here; they’re airy, elusive and amazingly beautiful”.
Little Dragon started 2011 with a headlining tour of the U.S. and a performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in March, thanks to a recommendation from super-fan Questlove of The Roots. In May, the band appeared on the track ‘Just Don’t’ from Raphael Saadiq’s Stone Rollin’, a record some are already calling the album of the year. Then Big Boi and DJ Shadow called to invite the group to work on new music.

Big Thief's music, rooted in the songs of Adrianne Lenker, paints in vivid tones "the process of harnessing pain, loss, and love, while simultaneously letting go, looking into your own eyes through someone else's, and being okay with the inevitability of death," says Adrianne.

Masterpiece, Big Thief's debut album, is -lled with characters and visceral narratives, songs that pivot in the space of a few words. Adrianne's voice and guitar playing speak of rich emotional territory with grace and insight. In her words, the record tracks "the masterpiece of existence, which is always folding into itself, people attempting to connect, to both shake themselves awake and to shake o­ the numbness of certain points in their life. The interpretations might be impressionistic or surrealistic, but they're grounded in simple things.'

Adrianne met her longtime musical partner, guitarist and singer, Buck Meek, in Brooklyn a few years ago, and they quickly formed a creative bond tempered by the experience of traveling and performing for months on end in old dive bars, yards, barns, and basements together. They recorded a pair of duo albums (A-Sides and B-Sides), and Adrianne showcased her songs on a solo album, Hours Were The Birds.

Now, as a full rock and roll band, with Buck on guitar, Max Oleartchik on bass, and James Krivchenia on drums, they bring a steady wildness, giving the songs an even deeper layer of nostalgia. "These guys feel like a pack of wolves at my back," says Adrianne, "they make the songs howl and bark with a fierce tenderness that gives me courage."
After spending last July in an old house that they turned into a studio on Lake Champlain with producer Andrew Sarlo, the resulting collection soars on what Big Thief fan Sharon Van Etten calls "...a real journey, with intelligent stories and twist-and-turn melodies.

Repress!

Supermercado: a mosaic, tangible, colourful to the point of saturaton, anchored in a very real present.
Behind the metaphor that gives the new album its ttle, Corridor examines modernity, takes on this transitonal transiton by looking at where it went wrong: pushed around by big data, apathy induced by oversaturaton, the speeding up of cycles, efort stripped to its bare minimum, physical detachment.
Afer giving the art-rock and jangle-pop treatment to their frst two eforts Un Magicien en toi and Le Voyage Éternel, Corridor stcks to its signature sound: upfront, dissonant guitars upheld by minimal beats and syncopated bass lines, yet also marks a new directon. Supermercado leans on repeated strong melodies, slow progressions, bolstered by two distnct voices, yielding a more hypnotc, sharper, and strangely, poppier result. Corridor recorded this new record in the hallowed halls of Montreal's Breakglass Studios, with Emmanuel Ethier (Chocolat, Bernhari, Peter Peter) assuming producton dutes.

Detroit music legend, Marcus Malone and Dan Smith of The Noisettes reveal their awesome new collaborative long player, ‘Interstate 75’, on Ramrock Red Records, loaded with 60’s style Rhythm and Blues, old school Soul and back to the future Funk. Across the album there’s 10 incredible songs loaded with finger snapping beats, hip swaying grooves, infectious brass and raw, soul-drenched vocals, all written and performed with the highest level of musicianship. From the empowering opening track, ‘Ain’t No Telling’ to the groovilicious album title ‘Interstate 75’, and the irresistibly funky ‘Other Side Of The River’, this stunning set of work joins the musical dots between 60’s Stax, Motown and Cadet, along with early 70’s Funk of Sly and The Family Stone and Eugene McDaniels, creating an instantaneous authentic classic vibe.

“I’ve got a future Blues classic on my hands with an indefinable time scale – it could’ve been recorded in the mid 70’s and feels like an instant crate diggers delight!” – Jo Wallace (Ramrock Records)

Harp – das gemeinsame Projekt von Tim Smith (ehemaliger Sänger und Songwriter von Midlake) und seiner Frau Kathi Zung – kündigen ihr Debütalbum "Albion" (via Bella Union) an.

"Es ist nicht das Ziel, es ist die Reise", schrieb schon der amerikanische Philosoph Ralph Waldo Emerson. Doch bei Smith scheint das Gegenteil der Fall zu sein. Der Weg zu "Albion" mag lang und kurvenreich gewesen sein, und holprig obendrein, aber die Musik, die Harp geschaffen hat, ist voller schöner Melodien, Dramatik und Details. Die zehn Songs und zwei zur Stimmung passende Instrumentals werden umrahmt von akustischen und elektrischen Gitarren, sanften Keyboardtönen und Smiths besonderer Stimme; mit anderen Worten, die Quintessenz dessen, was die Leute in erster Linie zu seiner Arbeit mit Midlake hingezogen hat.

Auf dem neuen Album ist alles jedoch in etwas dunkleren Tönen gehalten. Es sind Lieder über den Zustand des Menschen, von verlorener und gefundener Liebe, von Angst bis Freude, von Furcht bis Akzeptanz, alles in eine sehr eigene poetischen Sprache verpackt. "Albion" wurde von Smith größtenteils allein zu Hause aufgenommen, mit Gastbeiträgen des ehemaligen Midlake-Bassisten Paul Alexander bei "Silver Wings" und "Throne Of Amber", E-Gitarren von Max Kinghorn-Mills von der Band

Re-Release von One Foot In The Grave, das Album der deutschen Thrash Metal Legende Tankard, das ursprünglich am 2017 über Nuclear Blast Records veröffentlicht wurde. One Foot In The Grave war das dritte Tankard Album für Nuclear Blast. Das Album wird in limitierter Auflage als Gatefold Black/White/Red Splatter LP veröffentlicht.