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Chicago soul girl group the Opals released three exquisite singles on the Okeh label between January 1964 and February 1965, all of them produced by Carl Davis, in addition to which they also recorded background vocals for other artists. When Tony Rounce compiled Kent’s CD of Billy Butler’s Okeh recordings in 2007, unexpectedly found on the master tape transfer of Billy’s ‘Right Track’ were two unidentified female tracks we eventually ascertained were by the Opals.

The uptempo ‘Can’t Give It Up’ is taken at a perfect dance beat for Northern Soul discos. It was written by Billy Butler and Gerald Sims, and likely recorded around the time of the ‘Right Track’ session in 1966. On the flip is the beautiful, mid-tempo ‘End My Suffering’, which bears a resemblance to Marvin Smith’s ‘Time Stopped’, also from 1966 and produced by Carl Davis. This is the first release for both tracks and will appeal to fans of many genres of vintage soul music.

It's only fair - in terms of universal balance - that stratospheric pop success should be countered with some gutter realism.

When you live round the Bitter Ends, a year of enforced curfew is the least of your worries.
That said, it speaks volumes that even the folder marked 'Alternative versions' is light years ahead of most of what passes for dance music in 2021.

Majestic, soaring, sonic sensations.

Dependably unbendable !

As always, limited and LOUD

"To The End" is a tremendous demonstration of power that impressively unites all elements of its predecessors and paints a frightening picture of war, death and destruction at the end of which nothing remains but ashes and the realization of a masterpiece. It is the beginning of a new era. Since early October 2020, smoke is laying over Northampton near London. The machinery is well-oiled, the plan excellent - MEMORIAM have recorded their fourth studio album! The speed the British machinery has been working at since their early days is just enormous and equally amazing. Only back in 2016 the band inaugurated the public about their existence. Since those days the machines never stood still. The British Death Lead Commando caused a big rumble shortly after the first rumors about where the journey would go. "The Hellfire Demos" hit the worldwide scene with their old school Death Metal and left speechlessly torn open mouths which are still raving about the enthusiasm of this achievement today. When "For The Fallen", the debut album, is unleashed on mankind via Nuclear Blast Records in 2017, the impression is even more powerful – Truly an historic act for metal history. But as mentioned, there is no stand still in MEMORIAM. Meanwhile emancipated from other bands, they write their very own piece of history. While the first album was still heavy, oppressive and marked by grief, the second album "The Silent Vigil" (2018) showed a more merciless and aggressive side. The same applies to the third strike "Requiem For Mankind", which stands unmistakably in the short but impressive tradition of all previous MEMORIAM works. After this concentrated Death Metal trilogy, all signs were pointing to upheaval. As if the band wanted to completely break away from their old roots, they looked for a new home and signed a worldwide record deal with the upcoming label Reaper Entertainment Europe. While drummer Andy Whale had to take a forced break due to health reasons, Spike T Smith - a close friend of the band - took over the job in the rhythm section. Nevertheless "To The End" follows the tradition of its predecessors without leaving any doubt that one of the strongest albums of 2021 lurks here. Once again the groove is monstrous, the riffs deadly merciless and the atmosphere oppressive, paralyzing, even overwhelming. Willett's aggressive vocals give the sound the proverbial icing on the cake.

IKOQWE (pronounced ee-kok-weh) is a new project by Batida (aka Pedro Coquen o, the Angola-born, Lisbon-raised artist who ranks among the leading exponents of the new wave of African electronic music), and Luaty Beir o, aka Ikonoklasta, the Angolan rapper turned iconic activist.
IKOQWE’s inspiration comes from old school Hip Hop as much as from traditional Angolan music. The album (entitled ‘The Beginning, the Medium, the End and the Infinite’) includes drum machines, vocals in Angolan slang, Umbundu, Portuguese & English, discussions about neocolonialism, iniquities and falsified history, radio sounds, utopian solutions, and much more.
The album will be preceded by a 3-track digital single, ‘Pele’ (‘Skin’), containing the album version, and remixes by afro house legend Bodhi Sattva and by UK ‘disco noir’ band MADMADMAD. Also check out the music video for ‘Pele’, including some footage from IKOQWE’s first live performance.

Consolidated, the political dance/industrial music band from the early 90ties joined again for a studio session in San Francisco last summer, resulting in a new album. 'We're Already There'. The first release on Consolidated's own label 'The End Of Records'. What else to expect, the new recordings are an innovating mix of industrial, to hip-hop, to rock and funk with mixtures of live instruments and electronics. Topped with left political activism and politically radical lyrics address issues such as America, Covid and ecocide with song The Flood, demand *'Free Music, Stop America'* with Musica Sin Frontieras & welcome guest vocalist GRETA THUNBERG on the track The 'ol Mass Extinction Blues. The album starts in 'traditional Consolidatedgroove' with the song 'Capitalism A.F.', a mix of beats, industrial sounds and hiphop. Followed by funkypop songs, danceable industrial jams, techno beats, reggae and blues influences plus a remarkable noise track. Main musicians are Adam Sherburne (guitar/vocals) and Mark Pistel (synths/beats) backed by Lynn Farmer (Meat Beat Manifesto) on drums, who replaces the original drummer Phil Steir. The complete album is recorded, mixed and mastered by Mark Pistel at 'Room 5' in San Francisco. The cover shows art paintings from Ayelet Hay (front) and William Kendall (back). On 'We're Already There' Consolidated plays more music than ever. "I have zero interest in being in a band, especially my own_" "I had to develop a different way to be involved with music for aesthetic and mental health reasons_" "FREE MUSIC! is not to the detriment of artists, it's literally the end of artists-as anyone perceives them in the last 500 years" -Adam Sherburne - Consolidated are known for their live performances, in which a microphone is passed among audience members to discuss, rebut, argue or elaborate on song topics. Consolidated: Adam Sherburne & Mark Pistel.

The first volume in a two-part collection of pirate radio adverts & idents, taken from recordings of London stations between 1984 & 1993.

Many thanks to Wayne Anthony, Simon Reynolds, Stephen Hebditch & The Pirate Radio Archive.

Industrial heavy hardcore set... The old familly of TNI sound : Braindestruction Recordz, Tabenschlag, Noistorm... Crazy shit really !!!

Thinking about a fox face may give many warm, fuzzy feelings,
but don’t forget that foxes have teeth.While Milwaukee quartet
Fox Face may not bite one’s face, their new album End Of Man
might just melt it off.
Featuring players drawn from various corners of the Brewtown
music scene, Fox Face came together organically ahead of the
recording sessions for their November 2017 debut album, Spoil
+ Destroy. Main songwriter Lindsay DeGroot (The Olives)
started working on her songs with multi-instrumentalist Lydia
Washechek (Static Eyes). Eventually fellow Olives member
Mary Hickey joined up on bass, and the final piece of the band
was found with the addition of drummer Christopher Capelle
(Midwest Beat, Long Line Riders). Spoil + Destroy was one of
the best garage punk albums of 2017-2018, taking on science
deniers, misogynists and other jerks with songs anchored by
fiery guitar playing and rock-solid ensemble playing.
End Of Man bumps up the furious guitar sound of Spoil +
Destroy a few more notches. It’s not hard rock, per se, but the
album’s sound edges in that direction. And one can tell that Fox
Face has been playing together for several years now, because
these recordings are tight AF. There’s no filler or extraneous
padding; the arrangements and playing make for a cohesive
whole, and lyrically the songs are direct and to the point while
still remaining universal enough to be met on personal terms by
the listener.
End Of Man may not be a party record … at least, once letting
the lyrics filter past the lizard brain enjoyment of the blazing
riffs. But art is not supposed to be all fun and games. Standing
up and speaking truth may not be the easiest path for a band or
its listeners, but there is much to be said for catharthis. Anyone
feeling despair and helplessness about the current political and
societal breakdown should find some common ground to rage
along with these new songs from Fox Face.

Southern Lord announce Crush The Machine, the debut EP from West Coast hardcore punk collective D.E.A (Dead End America), formed by the late, great Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford of Poison Idea, with current and former members of Queens Of The Stone Age, Eyehategod, The Accüsed A.D, World Of Lies, Ape Machine, and more.

Captured before Hanford’s passing earlier this year, D.E.A's debut shall be released on 7" and digital EP on 30th October (Non-Returnable) Recording details, liner notes from Mark Lanegan and more info below.

Crush The Machine sees the primary writers, drummer/vocalist Steve Hanford and guitarist Tony Avila (World of Lies, Why Won't You Die, Aborted Cop, Here's Your Warning) joined by lead guitarist Ian Watts (Ape Machine, Minmae) and bassist/vocalist Nick "Rex Everything" Oliveri (Mondo Generator, The Dwarves, ex-Kyuss, ex-Queens Of The Stone Age), with additional lyrics and vocals from Mike IX Williams (Eyehategod, Corrections House, Outlaw Order) and Blaine Cook (The Accüsed A.D, The Fartz, Toe Tag).

"A perfectly appropriate title for this 7 inch EP of jack-hammering, oldschool style hardcore tunes released by Southern Lord, written and played by a rogues gallery of real deal music lifers as a condemnation of the criminal Trump administration and republican party, in the same spirit of those by-gone days when Ronald Reagan or George Bush was the crooked, self-serving president of the crumbling United States empire. Never before has there been a more obvious target, as Donald Trump and his mafia family cabinet rape the country while Rome burns. D.E.A. is Tony Avila, Ian Watts, Nick Oliveri, Mike IX, Blaine Cook and the legendary and beloved, late producer and drummer of Poison Idea, Steve "Thee Slayer Hippy" Hanford. Dying shortly before the completion of this record, it stands as a final testament to his genius, one last hot-wired blast of his epic musical brilliance."

Mark Lanegan
Los Angeles
August, 2020

Limited Vinyl LP edition!

The second volume in a two-part collection of Jamaican doo wop from the late 1950s through to the early 1960 represents a period in which sound systems began to dominate the island, and were starting to step up their rivalry by beginning to record heir own platters rather than rely on imports to gain the competitive edge.

With the uniquely Jamaican ska craze yet to fully catch hold, these tracks are largely imitative of the sounds that had been reaching the island from American shores, albeit peppered with hints of what was to come ~ some of the future stars of ska, rocksteady and reggae are starting to cut their teeth here on these records, providing a unique view into the fledgling industry at a time of creative flux.

• This is Gene’s second studio album released in 1997
• Singles include ‘Where Are They Now?’ (no.22 UK Charts), ‘Speak To Me Someone’ and ‘Fighting Fit’
• Double LP pressed on 180g Heavyweight vinyl, with original artwork,
presented in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves
• Inspired by the songs of The Smiths, The Jam and The Faces, Martin
Rossiter’s literate vocals and Steve Mason’s fluid guitar lines were perfectly complemented by the intuitive rhythm section of Kevin Miles and Matt James. They released four studio albums and a collection of B-sides and radio demos between 1995 and 2001, were named Best New Act at the inaugural NME awards in 1995, and went on to score 10 Top 40 hits.

The specially designed game and accompanying music video pertains to the overall theme of the EP, which shows an absurd society obsessed with social media descending into a dystopian world. It is a paranoid graphic vision, set in Brussels, Strapontin’s hometown, that puts you in control of a role playing game as you march round the city collecting social points with scant regard for others.

Besides being a dancer, performer and on-and-off “Madame pipi”, French-born, Brussels-based Strapontin is also a DJ and producer who mixes up slow and rough techno with thrilling soundtracks and groove driven disco. He has released on Nein and I’m Single amongst others and marks this 10th Hard Fist release in fine style.

Opening up the EP is ‘Nervous Days’, a gallivanting techno-disco groove with rugged loops and jumbled percussion that sounds like a rampage through a cityscape, as per the video. Then comes ‘But The Nice One!’, a stomping and rough and ready ride on lumpy drums and bass that is dark but playful. The quality continues on ‘Miss Mickey the Dumbs’, with some brilliantly heavy and reverberating drums making you jerk your body while sci-fi effects float and drift about up top.

Blindetonation label regular and esteemed modern disco man Thomass Jackson remixes ‘But The Nice One!’ In his capable hands it becomes a melon twisting workout with spangled synth lines, psyched-out synths and percolating drums that are finished with a vulnerable and eerie vocal. Last of all is a Damon Jee remix of ‘Miss Mickey the Dumbs’, His music can be heard on the underground’s most sought-after labels including Roam, Hafendisko, Suara and Sincopat to name just a few. His version is a more direct affair, with searching laser synths and a hypnotic space-techno vibe that carries you off to the stars at increasingly high speeds.

This is a fittingly brilliant EP from the vital Strapontin on ever-excellent Hard Fist.

Remastered / New Cuts

Breakfast jam for those who din't sleep yet. A real morning ambience on the A-side... Melting the oldschool hardcore to the Hardtechno tribe. B-sides stands a more solid hardtek-core. Second venue for this label. And second success !

New label for a Hardacid Techno roller, in a StayUpForever soundslike !
Banging tune !!! Must Have !

The original, the inspirational, the bombastic, the never bettered, the one.
'Don't make me wait' is all of the above and so much more. Classic to the core. Huge earth shattering record right here.
OK, so the scoop, for the uninitiated is this - the Peech Boys were Larry Levan's group, we're talking early 80's NYC here, 1982 to be precise, around the height of the Paradise Garage as Larry was making the transition from superstar DJ to producer. He brought a sparse, dubbed out, narcotic late night feel to the overall sound of this record. This was a short-lived project, but the influence is still felt today, the Peech Boys DNA is inside the veins of modern dance music, as is Larry's. There is no underestimating what an impact this record had. 7+ minutes of electronic bliss, trailblazing stuff, and don't get us started on the dub. Do yourself a favour, BUY this classic if you don't own it already, you'll keep coming back to it time and time again. Guaranteed. This essential 12" is repressed here in it's original 1979 glory, an essential classic that has stood the test of time for the last 30+ years & is now available again, remastered & repressed for 2017 in conjunction with West End Records, NYC.

NYC's legendary West End record label has contributed a fair few classics to the disco cannon and continues to influence dance music today with it's forward looking releases. 'When you touch me' is no exception, recorded and released in the golden year of 1979 and featuring the breathy, sensual vocals of a young Tanaa Gardner who had previously worked as a backing vocalist for numerous other projects until the label released her (other) stone cold solo classic 'Work that body' the same year on 12".
Both cuts featured on her self titled debut LP and boasted the combined production and studio talents of Kenton Nix, Bob Blank and of course - Larry Levan. Now, that's a serious line-up to have behind the boards (& in the clubs!) and of course 'When you touch me' was a classic with it's slow, elongated intro that calls to mind a sleazier version of Donna Summer's 'Love hangover' before launching into a full-on disco assault that you won't forget in a hurry! Yes, the record surprises you, Tanaa leads us into a false sense of a 'slow jam' and then - Boom - We're off!
Backed with the incredible instrumental version the 12" is repressed here in it's original 1979 glory, an essential classic that has stood the test of time for the last 30+ years & is now available again, remastered & repressed for 2017 in conjunction with West End Records, NYC.

Following a high-pressure drop on Sneaker Social Club in 2019, bass-toting instigator Low End Activist steps up with his most expansive release yet.

His sound is a perfect amalgam of elements from the hardcore continuum – at times a dark and malevolent brainstorm of grubby drums dragged through crusty samplers, future-weary textural scrapes, moody splashes of pads and of course bucketloads of crushing subs, lows and low mids all designed to rock you from the waist down. You'll hear spectres of culture past lurking in the shadows – a trip hop skit from a gaunt figure here, a riotous brawl of grime MCs there – and feel the decades of soundsystem absorption seeping off the platters. It's like the LEA reached capacity and these productions were what happened when the sponge got squeezed.

One voice cuts a more prominent figure up front though – the peerless Flowdan, lending some powerful bars to Game Theory. What needs to be said about the Pay As You Go / Roll Deep mastermind you don't already know? His flow is mightier than any sword you care to step with.

Speaking of platters, this particular release marks the first vinyl pressing for Seagrave since the BOA 12" Warp Purpose Vol. 1 back in 2015 (slated for a repress – don't sleep!). It's an occasion worth toasting, building on a powerful and varied catalogue of sub-heavy sonics operating well outside the mainstream in service to naught but the sound, all packaged in a full-colour sleeve. As an expansive double pack of seven sure shots, it's also a fitting document of a subversive operative bringing some devastating angles to the hardcore tradition.

- Oli Warwick.

A collection of Jamaican doo wop & R&B records taken from the late 50s and early 60s. These records represent a period in which soundsystems were just starting to dominate the island, with Duke Reid and Sir Coxsone stepping up their rivalry by beginning to make and release their own records rather than rely on US imports for use in their dances. Many of these records are definitely more-or-less imitations of the American records, as the uniquely Jamaican ska sound was yet to take hold - however many of the future stars of ska, rocksteady and reggae were beginning to cut their teeth in the industry on these records, incl. Jimmy Cliff, Derrick Harriott, Alton Ellis and more, and they provide a unique view into the fledgling independent record industry culture in Jamaica that would prove to be unbelievably proflific and unparalleled for an island of it's size.

Another West-End sure-shot! This sublime piece of early electronic Boogie has always worn it's "classic" badge with a relaxed sense of pride since it's release in 1982, perhaps it's the languid synthed out groove supplied by studio maestros Nick martinelli & David Todd or Brenda Taylor's sublime vocals reminding us all that the game of love is always a 2 way street that are to blame

Whatever it is, this is a solid, classic slice of Disco gold, more on the down to mid-tempo tip but still big enough to keep the dance-floors packed from the Garage to the Loft & beyond with ease! The production simply sounds years ahead of it's time (still does!) & it has the FUNK in bucket-loads, this is as essential as it gets, the real deal. Featured here are all the original mixes that were on the 1982 pressing (Yes! There's a dub mix!).

Re-mastered, re-pressed & re-released for 2015 with all original West End Records label artwork intact. Done in conjunction & with the permission of all right holders.

THE definitive collection of one of dance music's most enduring and infamous left-field anthems, across 2 x 12"s and 1 x bonus 33rpm 7"!

The collaborative team of Arthur Russell and Steve D'Acquisto crafted some of the best wonky disco not disco cuts during their short lifespan and 'Is It All Over My Face' is one of their crowning glories. Collected here, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this gloriously weird record, are all the best versions from then, and now. Even a quick dig in the archive yielded some treats with the male and female acapella appearing for the first time EVER, featuring on a specially 33rpm cut 7" alongside Larry Levan's promo 7" mixes. Also, the instrumental version has never been released before, but it is here for this very special limited package in it's full, unedited glory. This is one for the heads, an essential do-not-miss RSD special edition for those who are still 'love dancin' 4 decades later, housed in a classic special West End disco-bag. Don't sleep!

Produced in collaboration with Sony / Above Board distribution, 2020.