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* Pressed on special RSD color wax.
* Includes bonus limited edition flexi of an ultra rare recording performed by Roky Erickson.
* Pressed at RTI.

Texan Roky Erickson was one of the true mind-blowing pioneers of psychedelic music. The original leader of the Austin-based 13th Floor Elevators formed in 1965, Erickson and band invented a brand new style or rock & roll, one that was slightly unhinged while it explored the consciousness-expanding influence of LSD on music. After three years, the group imploded with mental issues and legal challenges, ending with Erickson being incarcerated for several years in the Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Rusk, Texas. When he was released in the early '70s the musician continued on his own trail, recording songs that had come to him in his far-flung cerebral wanderings. Erickson, who passed away May 31, 2019, is now celebrated on this 12-track tribute to one of the most original rockers ever.

The participants range the whole world of modern music, and each chose one of Erickson's originals to stamp their own imprint on. They include Billy F Gibbons, Lucinda Williams, Mosshart Sexton (a/k/a Alison Mosshart & Charlie Sexton), Neko Case, Mark Lanegan & Lynn Castle, Jeff Tweedy, Margo Price, Gary Clark Jr & Eve Monsees, Ty Segal, Chelsea Wolfe, The Black Angels and Brogan Bentley. The album is co-produced for release by Bill Bentley, executive producer of the 1990 Roky Erickson tribute album Where The Pyramid Meets The Eye on Sire Records, and Matt Sullivan, co-founder/owner of Light in the Attic Records.

The songs range from Erickson's debut iconic original, "You're Gonna Miss Me," recorded when he was a member first in The Spades and then the 13th Floor Elevators during the early '60s in Austin, to some of Erickson's later songs, like "If You Have Ghosts," which heard him exploring some of the outer limits of the human psyche. Each new recording is a stunning modern take on the sound that Roky Erickson gave the world over a half-century of writing, recording and touring. No one has ever equaled those explorations.

This truly is the music of the spheres, as Erickson once sang about his sound, as seen through the eyes and ears of those who are united in their love and respect for a person who dedicated his life to rock & roll. Roky Erickson, through the trials and tribulations of a man both imbued with greatness and haunted by darkness, never quit in his quest to share with others what he heard and saw. As he sang on the 13th Floor Elevators last recording, "May the circle remain unbroken."

The original Rio beach boy returns in style, with a new record of unabashedly feel-good Brazilian party music. Featuring Azymuth bassist Alex Malheiros (responsible for some of Brazil’s all-time funkiest low-end licks), a horn section including Valle’s go-to high-trumpeter Jesse Sadoc, and percussion master Armando Marcal, Sempre has all the masterful composition, exceptional musicality, and forward-thinking ideas you’d expect from the Brazilian titan, and it’s fresher than a fruity caipirinha in the Copacabana sunshine.

Updating Marcos Valle’s seminal boogie-era sound, Sempre spans ecstatic disco, cosmic samba, and late-night jazz-funk, drawing obvious comparisons to some of Valle’s late-seventies and early-eighties output. ‘Estrelar’ (1983), for example, an ode to the joy of exercise, has become one of the biggest Brazilian disco hits of all time. But lyrically the new album is more closely reminiscent of Valle’s progressive early seventies’ releases. Heralding love, tolerance and living in the present, while satirising political corruption, the new release recalls a time in which Valle, together with his brother Paulo Sergio, was writing subtly subversive lyrics in order to bypass the censorship imposed by the military dictatorship, which ruled over Brazil between 1964 and 1985.
The album marries compositional genius with pure pop perfection. From the blistering brass arrangements on up-tempo disco hit ‘Olha Quem ta Chegando’ and the infinitely classy ‘Vou Amanhã Saber’, to the nine-minute synth heavy instrumental funk stepper ‘Odisséia’, which gradually morphs into an interplanetary samba jam, the songs are tightened and given an extra coat of gloss, by London based producer Daniel Maunick (son of Incognito frontman Bluey). More moments of boogie delight come in the form of ‘Minha Roma’ (a musical nod to the famed ‘Estrelar’), and the sunshine anthem title-track ‘Sempre’.

Translating as ‘Ever’, Sempre is a testament to the continual drive for development and reinvention that has defined Marcos Valle’s astounding six-decade career. Ever changing, ever moving forward, he began as one of the second-wave of early bossa nova composers in the sixties, writing the world famous bossa standard ‘Summer Samba (So Nice)’ for his sophomore album ‘Samba 68’. After a brief stint in the States, Valle returned to Brazil, and the early ’70s saw the release of four ground-breaking Valle albums which incorporated progressive rock, psychedelic influences, pop, jazz, soul and cinematic arrangements. These albums would see Valle work alongside a number of hugely influential Brazilian bands, including Milton Nascimento’s backing band Som Imaginaro, the prog-rock band O Terco and jazz funk legends Azymuth. Returning back to the US in ‘75, Valle resided in LA, writing music for the likes of Eumir Deodato, Airto Moreira, Chicago, Sarah Vaughn and Leon Ware, before returning to Brazil once more, where after releasing a handful of hit pop records, he took a hiatus from recording.

Since the mid-nineties, Marcos Valle has been experiencing a renaissance with London based label Far Out Recordings, where his approach to music has remained, as always; decidedly open to new influences, possibilities and technologies. Sempre is Marcos Valle’s fifth album for the label, following 2010’s critically acclaimed Estatica.

Just in time for summer, Sempre is out on Vinyl LP/ CD on 28th June 2019 on Far Out Recordings, and Marcos Valle and band will be touring Europe in May /June (see below for dates).

A Colourful Storm presents Seance, a new set of songs by Maxine Funke.

Following a productive recording period beginning with Silk (2018) and ending with Forest Photographer (2020), Seance marks a remarkable levitation of Funke’s tender, softly spoken songcraft first documented on Lace (2008) and Felt (2012) into new creative heights. Folksong confessionals with the burden of memory. Ghostly confines, murmurs from the cracks. Soil, blood and skin. The beauty and mundanity of the everyday.

The voice of Funke is a distinctive instrument, one which perfectly elucidates her sometimes confessional, at other times deeply inward allusions to love, loss, joy and disquiet. Lyrics grounded in observation and adventure (“Eyeballs, asphalt, grass clippings, peppercorns”) unravel into uneasy truths daubed in self-consciousness and forbidden desire (“I’m not shy / There's just a sparkle in your eye and I don't feel right”). The simplest things can be the most difficult to express.

Opener ’Fairy Baby’ and ‘Homage’ are sensuous and probing, celebrating new beginnings while cautiously closing old chapters. ‘Quiet Shore’, a seven-minute reverie of guitar strum and poetry, conjures spirits long forgotten and shines as Funke’s first solo foray into longform songwriting. A perfect accompaniment to the album’s centrepiece, ‘Lucky Penny’, a euphoric, entrancing rush foreshadowing the delicate dreamspeak still to come.

An assertive, visionary recording by one of New Zealand’s most extraordinary voices, Seance is a lover’s lament, a revealing of self and a secluded wander through fields of enchantment.

Erased Tapes debut. Wait, what? How? Anyone who has seen
the trail blazing sonic pioneer live will know Nils likes to
deadpan a joke. Graz is in fact the first studio album he
recorded for the label back in 2009, that somehow remained a
secret… until now.

Nils Frahm has quietly changed the musical landscape,
reincarnating the centuries old figure of a pianist-composer for a
new generation of music fans. As Nils’ word-of-mouth popularity
grew and grew, so did the pop-culture profile of his instrument. He
founded Piano Day with a team of like-minded friends in 2015 to
help that process, some years releasing an album of piano
recordings to celebrate one of humankind’s greatest inventions.
Graz is one such record; an unheard snapshot of a young Nils
recorded at Mumuth, the University of Music and Performing Arts
Graz, in 2009 as part of the thesis Conversations for Piano and
Room produced by Thomas Geiger, which received an award in
the Classical Surround Recording category at the 127th AES
Convention in New York.
Whilst at the time it was decided to keep the grand piano
recordings from the Graz sessions locked away and instead focus
on his close mic’ed, dampened piano explorations which would
become his acclaimed studio album Felt in 2011, two of the pieces
— most notably Hammers — lived on as part of his live set, and
were expanded on and re-recorded as part of his breakthrough
2013 record Spaces (a collage of field recordings from concerts
which broke the Fourth Wall and included audience coughs). Over
his mercurial career, Nils has pushed and pulled at the boundaries
and parameters of his prolific work like that. He’s physically
changed his piano (the softened prepared strings of Felt) played
with a modified body (Screws recorded with 9 fingers and a broken
thumb) played with scale (Solo recorded on the 3.7 metre high
Klavins M370) and with the different layers of formats (last year’s
Tripping with Nils Frahm nested his studio setup inside a live
performance, concert film and live album). Now with Graz he has
found the final frontier for play: time itself and his own discography.
Graz is a moment of time at the very beginning of Nils’ quiet
revolution. The essential genius is already evident; the harmonic
language of classical, and the immediacy of jazz. Nils seems to
pull down each idea moment by moment, gently, to not scare away
the muse. He describes: “sometimes when you hear a piano, you
might think it’s a conversation between a woman and a man. At
the same time, it can hint at shapes of the universe and describe
how a black hole looks. You can make sounds that have no relation
to anything we can measure.”

For their first new release in twenty years, Toko turn to the talents of their original 'in house' producer Si Brad, who calms and charms with the butter smooth Balearic soul of 'Falling Down'.
Featuring the rich vocals of Azeem, this sublime sundowner takes Curtom Horns on a Moon Safari, a nimble bassline chasing crunchy keys across the horizon before the sublime vocoder soul of the final third transports us from Sheffield to Shibuya. Slow burning, deep and meaningful, 'Falling Down' is your new summer soundtrack.

Balearic trailblazers Psychemagik take the controls for the B side, creating an atmospheric extension which is low slung and laid back but still dressed for dancing. Building a haunting riff into the main refrain, they lead us through nearly 12 minutes of floatation tank funk awash with heart-swelling strings and cascading keys. As the breaks and bass intensify, the track swells into a true end of night anthem for the horizontal dancers.

Welcome home.

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Where We're Calling From
The Liminal Zone: Reflections on Duval Timothy’s Sen Am
Lamin Fofana

Sen Am is an enduring and tender album, rich and beguiling and generous in a quiet way. Over the last few years, I find myself returning to it, listening and absorbing, reflecting on the voices and working through the multiple layers of feelings and themes it announces with confidence and equanimity. Notions of care and contradiction, expressions of joy and desire and the underlying feeling of unease and turmoil; there is an urgent appeal to the listener for generosity, to strengthen our capacity to hear multiple voices simultaneously, to exist in multiple places at once.

Duval Timothy’s music was dropped into our world from another realm sometime in the spring of 2017. We received the call and we answered it. The rhythm and spirit was transmitted via London’s NTS Radio on the Do!! You!!! Breakfast Show with Charlie Bones and a short while later we were listening to the first vinyl edition of Sen Am in our living room in Berlin. The record got a lot of plays (at home and at some shows, before and after performances). It was like sunlight filtering through a cracked window and remaining there for a moment, dancing. Blue music emanating from a liminal zone, an in-between space, somewhere on the outskirts of Freetown, or rural Sierra Leone, or the outer edges of South London, or Bath, UK, or some undisclosed orbit, unfixed location. The music is soaked in diasporic experiences. It refuses to settle but still invites us to enter and stay awhile in that zone, where multiple forms exist (all) together with jazz, hip-hop, various strands of expressive electronics and experimental music all breathing together and moving around. It is a portal to a place of possibilities, a space for building and repairing possible and lost connections. But life in that liminal zone is precarious; it is life under duress; under pressure – not merely the pressure to produce a presentable, categorizable, and salable body of work, but the pressure that compels us to experiment and create new concepts and things that will help us imagine a different existence, a way out of the turbulence.

Freetown is a marvellous and sometimes sad place. It is one of those unmistakable locations inscribed diasporic memory; a place that touches you, a place that holds you and demands you bear witness: witness to pain, poverty, joy and desire. You remember the voices and the eyes of people even in momentary encounters. In Sen Am, you hear not only Duval’s recollections and sounds of Freetown, you hear family and friendship, people coming together and forming bonds, creating surrogate families. Forging community wherever you go is a practice, and community is at the core of this music. It’s in all the voices, from Emmerson and 6pac to Aminata and Aruna. It opens up a space for Black voices, for Sierra Leonean voices, and those voices extend through the succeeding projects, the 2 Sim EP and the album Help, and all that radiates from Duval’s Carrying Colour imprint.

Thank you for the invitation to write about the album Sen Am, on the occasion of its re-release which also coincides with the release of the exquisite double 7” Smɔl Smɔl with cktrl — a wonderful piece which calls on the listener to play both records at the same time to hear the music or play them separately and hear different versions. Duval is strengthening us, encouraging us to feel comfortable with discomfort, with incompleteness, with the hard-to-understand. This is a beautiful thing.

After enduring a year like 2020, no one could have possibly expected Al Jourgensen to stay silent on the maelstrom of the past 12 months. As the mastermind behind pioneering industrial outfit Ministry, Jourgensen has spent the last four decades using music as a megaphone to rally listeners to the fight for equal rights, restoring American liberties, exposing exploitation and putting crooked politicians in their rightful place—set to a background of aggressive riffs, searing vocals and manipulated sounds to drive it home.
As Jourgensen watched the chaos that befell the world during the height of a global pandemic and the tensions rising from one of the most important elections in American history, he seized on the opportunity to write, spending quarantine holed up in his self-built home studio—Scheisse Dog Studio— along with engineer Michael Rozon and girlfriend Liz Walton to create Ministry’s latest masterpiece, Moral Hygiene (out October 1 on Nuclear Blast Records). Anchored by last year’s leadoff track “Alert Level”—which asks listeners to internalize the question “How concerned are you?”—the 10 songs on this upcoming 15th studio album cover the breadth of the current dilemmas facing humanity, while ruminating on the sizable impact of COVID-19, the inevitable effects of climate change, consequences of misinformed conspiracies and the stakes in the fight for racial equality. And most importantly doing so with the lens of what we as a society are going to do about it all.
Moral Hygiene comes on the heels of Ministry’s acclaimed 2018 album AmeriKKKant (hailed by Loudwire as Jourgensen’s own “state of the union” address) that was written as a reaction to Donald J. Trump being elected president—though Jourgensen says this new album is more informational and reflective in tone. “With AmeriKKKant I was in shock that Trump won. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew I had to do something. Because I believe if you are a musician or an artist you should be expressing what’s going on around you through your art. It’s going to happen whether you do it consciously or unconsciously. Moral Hygiene however has progressed even further into a cautionary tale of what will happen if we don’t act. There’s less rage, but there’s more reflection and I bring in some guests to help cement that narrative.”
In addition to recruiting long-time cohort Jello Biafra (Jourgensen’s partner in the side project Lard) for the quirky earworm “Sabotage Is Sex,” other guest appearances include guitarist Billy Morrison (Billy Idol/Royal Machines) on a rendition of The Stooges hit “Search & Destroy.”
Another standout track is “Believe Me,” featuring a throwback vocal style from Jourgensen that harkens back to his singing on Twitch and cult classic “(Every Day Is) Halloween.” The song came out of a jam session with Morrison, Cesar Soto and sampling from Liz Walton, and reminded Jourgensen of his formative days at Chicago Trax Studios where communal ideas were constantly informing early Ministry records. “’Believe Me’ had such an old school vibe I wanted to bring back old school vocals. …It’s funny how things come back to you,” says Jourgensen, also reflecting on Ministry turning 40 in 2021.

With the release of Moral Hygiene, Jourgensen is more positive than before. “This may sound crazy but I’m more hopeful about 2021 than I have been in two decades at least,” he says. “Because I do see things changing; people are starting to see through all the bullshit and want to get back to actual decorum in society. We could just treat each other nicely and be treated nicely in return. I never thought Ministry would be in the position of preaching traditional values, but this is the rebellion now.”

Repress

Orange Vinyl

Music has always played an important role in TV shows. It can create a vibe, tension, a romantic atmosphere or a certain setting in time. With the wide range of shows currently being offered by the growing number of streaming services, their audiences are discovering bands and artists, old and new, more than ever before.

Song Education brings together some of the pivotal songs from these series, with background info on each of these artists for educational purposes. But mostly, for you to enjoy these often re-discovered songs in the most romantic way to experience music: on a beautiful vinyl record.

Song Education is a new compilation that serves to familiarise youth and young adults with popular music from the 60’s through the 90’s. Some of the artists included on this record are Roxy Music, Duran Duran, The Cutting Crew, Elton John, Salt-N-Pepa and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. The album is available on solid red coloured vinyl. The package contains an insert with more information about the featured artists.

This album is released through Vinyl Base, a brand new sublabel by Music On Vinyl that is specifically targeted at youth and young adults.

• “Choctaw Ridge” explores a new country sound, one that emerged at the end of the 60s in the wake of Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Ode To Billie Joe’, a shock number one hit in 1967. When singers like Gentry, Jimmy Webb, Michael Nesmith and Lee Hazlewood moved from the south to Los Angeles to make it in the music business, they were not part of the Nashville in-crowd and they forged a new direction.

• ‘Ode To Billie Joe’ was the tip of the iceberg, and its success helped a bunch of singers and storytellers to emerge over the next three or four years. Some of the tracks on this collection bear that song’s stamp more clearly than others: Sammi Smith’s moody ‘Saunders’ Ferry Lane’ had a similar mystery lyric, and Henson Cargill’s ‘Four Shades Of Love’ is a portmanteau, with one (or possibly two) of the theoretically romantic situations ending in death.

• Suddenly, character sketches of southerners became a lot more rounded – women didn’t have to stay home, or take abuse at the office, and darkness wasn’t only found at the bottom of a bottle. Storytelling is the link between all of the songs on this collection. We have cautionary tales about what could happen to someone who heads for the bright lights and doesn’t make it, ending up in the grasping hands of ‘Mr Walker’ (Billie Joe Spears), or on the ‘Back Side Of Dallas’ (Jeannie C Reilly), or on a mortuary slab in the case of the songwriter with the ‘Fabulous Body And Smile’ (Robert Charles Griggs). And there are stories about wanting to go home – Nat Stuckey’s ‘What Am I Doing In LA?’ and Charlie Rich’s ‘Feel Like Going Home’ – and others from Ed Bruce and Lee Hazlewood, who know that their home isn’t home anymore.

• The tracklist and fulsome sleeve notes have been put together by Bob Stanley (Saint Etienne) and Martin Green (Smashing, The Sound Gallery), who have been collecting these records for decades.

• The voices are resonant and relatable, and the productions take in the best of what pop had to offer in the late 60s and early 70s. Before the factionalism between smooth pop-conscious Nashville and the hedonistic ‘outlaws’ made it look inward again, this was a golden era for an atmospheric, inclusive and progressive country music. It began on the third of June, another sleepy, dusty Delta day.

Boys And Girls released in June 1985 is the sixth solo outing from English singer and songwriter Bryan Ferry it would be both a critical and a commercial smash. A No’1 album in the UK certified Platinum selling over 300,000 copies with two top 40 singles “Slave to Love” one of Ferry’s most popular solo hits and “Don’t Stop the Dance” in the US it would go on to sell over half a million copies certified Gold. An album rich with musical aristocracy The guitar solo at the end of “Slave to Love” featured Neil Hubbard and the album featured other famous guitarists such as the Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler, Pink Floyd’s guitarist David Gilmour, Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers and Bryan Adams’ guitarist Keith Scott. Lovingly Re-Mastered from the original tapes by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios. London. Featuring artwork that has been faithfully restored to reflect its original first press “Boys and Girls” is presented on 180g heavy weight vinyl and is one of those classic albums that would not look out of place in any record collection.

For over 20 years Gosub has brought us his brand of classic electro cuts, so it was really interesting to see his techno mind in action on “Cosmic Cannibals”. Though out this release Gosub drapes soul across the Detroit fueled 808/909 foundation though out this vinyl release.

Starting with “The Depth Charge” a dark dimensional warping bass and a synth that cuts through the darkness sounding like if Charlie Parker designed a synth a definite for repeat. Full 909 in effect on “The Way Home II” with heavy toms an high Ph acid lines provoke the listener to pay further attention to the details in this track.

On the B-Side “The Ratio” which features New York’s Preston Fulwood on vocals and keys brings in the funk infused to Gosub’s more familiar electro beats we find really rewarding. This track is brings the funk and jazz while Preston’s vocals make you want to sing and find your own soul. The ending’s dark vocoder reminds the listener that “This is just your virtual reality”. Preston & Gosub makes you want more of this future sound. Lastly, “Omni Presence” grounds us again with low swung 303 baselines grinding against a straight 4 on the floor beat while supporting synths carry on with their own conversation. Be warned.

We hope you enjoy this analog recording.

This killer limited editon vinyl EP is a collaborative effort between Montreals SENZ Beats & Roughneck Jihad (From Third Sight). SENZ made all the beats and handled the scratch duties. Jihad held down the MC duties on all the tracks and there are no features. All vocals were recorded by Roughneck Jihad at Imhotep's Garden Studios. The cover art is by @misfitsleep and the project was mixed and mastered by Sqreeb.

A DAY IN THE LIFE – is the first chapter of a dedicated series fully curated by Steve Bicknell for KR3.

This bold new work by the veteran English artist provides an insight into the mind of the artist.

Side A features three tracks by The Evader, another face of Steve Bicknell.

An obscure intro leads us straight to the point: 4/4 sounds, repetitive and hypnotic, not afraid to be heavy.

In fact, that’s the point: to take everything that is a burden to us and embrace it. After all, there can be no light without darkness.

On Side B, Steve Bicknell has a killer approach. A parallel rail to Side A, with a more furious, still gloomy attitude. He moves in the same direction but vents different emotions. The sound is harder, rawer, faster and more impetuous. An outro ends the EP, as if to represent a circle closing: The first lap inside A Day in the Life.

GRAZ, das Debüt Album von Nils Frahm. Was, wie bitte? Wer den Klaviervisionär und -virtuosen schon einmal im Konzert erlebt hat, wird bereits wissen, dass Nils auch gelegentlich den einen oder anderen Scherz macht, ohne dabei eine Miene zu verziehen. Die Pointe kommt dieses Mal etwas verzögert: Graz ist tatsächlich das erste Studioalbum, das er schon 2009 für das Londoner Label aufgenommen hat. Nur ist dies irgendwie unter Verschluss geblieben - bis jetzt. Nils Frahm hat in aller Ruhe die gesamte Musikwelt auf den Kopf gestellt; er hat die jahrhundertealte Figur des Pianisten-Komponisten neu definiert, sie ins Jetzt überführt - für eine vollkommen neue Generation. Während seine Musik über Mundpropaganda immer mehr Menschen erreichte und in ihren Bann zog, kehrte auch sein Instrument zurück in den Fokus der Popkultur. Eine Entwicklung, die ihn und einige Gleichgesinnte im Jahr 2015 dazu inspirierte, den jährlichen Piano Day ins Leben zu rufen. Einen neuen Feiertag im Kalender, der eine der größten Erfindungen der Menschheitsgeschichte zelebriert. Mit Aufnahmen, die den Menschen und dieses Instrument in den Mittelpunkt rücken. Graz ist so eine Aufnahme. Eine bislang unveröffentlichte Momentaufnahme eines jungen Nils Frahm, mitgeschnitten im Jahr 2009 im Mumuth, dem Haus für Musik und Musiktheater der Kunstuniversität Graz, als Teil der Abschlussarbeit Conversations for Piano and Room, produziert von Thomas Geiger, der dafür im selben Jahr den 1. Preis in der Kategorie Classical Surround Recording der 127. AES Convention in New York in Empfang nehmen durfte. Zwar wurde damals beschlossen, jene Graz-Sessions am Konzertflügel beiseite zu legen, um sich stattdessen auf die gedämpften, ganz intim klingenden Klavierexperimente zu konzentrieren, die dann 2011 auf seinem gefeierten Studioalbum Felt zu hören waren. Jedoch sollten zwei der Kompositionen - und das gilt ganz besonders für Hammers - in seinen Livekonzerten weiterleben und sich erweitern; neu aufgenommen für Spaces, jenes Album, das ihm 2013 endgültig den Durchbruch bescherte. Graz dokumentiert den Moment, der ganz am Anfang jener wortlosen Revolution steht, die Nils in den Jahren danach auslösen sollte. Sein Genie, die Essenz seiner Handschrift ist schon hier zu erkennen: der harmonische Ausdruck der Klassik, die Unmittelbarkeit des Jazz. Es wirkt so, als würde Nils jede Idee für sich aufgreifen, ganz behutsam, nur auf den Moment konzentriert, um auch ja nicht die Muse wieder zu vertreiben.

Following on from their 'Junction EP' at the tail end of last year, My Nu Leng return to provide a selection of rave-tinged cuts that further cement their status as one of the leaders in the bass music scene. Following a packed-out summer tour diary, the 'Alter EP' consolidates elements from the duo's previous releases and influences into five tracks of low-end damage. Harking back to the pair's underground roots with inspirations from Techno, House and Breakbeat, opener 'Spaced' sets the tone.

Featuring their classic bass growls amongst hardcore pad stabs, an acid-esque synth line and raucous interjections from legendary drum & bass MC GQ, this one's designed to make you move. Takura returns to Maraki on 'Echoes', lending his distinctive vocals over a lethal distorted bassline and uncompromising 2-step beat. 'City Lights' provides momentary respite, a scintillating arpeggio motif over blissful chords and an enchanting vocal hook. My Nu Leng team up with DRS on 'Sinking Sand'. The Mancunian host leads the charge into a warping climax, showcasing his penmanship through relentless triplet flow. 'Signal' closes off the EP in sombre fashion, atmospheric synths and lamenting strings building into an emotive vocal and reflective bassline.

Available on CD and 180gram heavyweight gatefold LP.
Noura Mint Seymali hails from a Moorish musical dynasty in Mauritania, born into a prominent family of griot and choosing from an early age to embrace the artform that is its lifeblood. Yet traditional pedigree has proven but a stepping-stone for the work Noura and her band have embarked upon in recent years, simultaneously popularizing and reimagining Moorish music on the global stage, taking her family's legacy to new heights as arguably Mauritania's most widely exported musical act of all time.
Arbina is Noura Mint Seymali's second international release. Delving deeper into the wellspring of Moorish roots, as is after all the tried and true way of the griot, the album strengthens her core sound, applying a cohesive aesthetic approach to the reinterpretation of Moorish tradition in contemporary context. The band is heard here in full relief, soaring vocals and guitar at the forefront, the mesmerizing sparkle of the ardine, elemental bass lines and propulsive rhythms swirling together to conjure a 360 degree vibe. Arbina refines a sound that the band has gradually intensified over years of touring, aiming to posit a new genre from Mauritania, distinct unto itself, music of the "Azawan."

Supported by guitarist, husband and fellow griot, Jeiche Ould Chighaly, Seymali's tempestuous voice is answered with electrified counterpoint, his quarter-tone rich guitar phraseology flashing out lightning bolt ideas. Heir to the same music culture as Noura, Jeiche intimates the tidinit's (Moorish lute) leading role under the wedding khaima with the gusto of a rock guitar hero. Bassist Ousmane Touré, who has innovated a singular style of Moorish low-end groove over the course of many years, can be heard on this album with greater force and vigor than ever before. Drummer/producer Matthew Tinari drives the ensemble forward with the agility and precision need to make the beats cut.
Many of the songs on Arbina call out to the divine, asking for grace and protection. "Arbina" is a name for God. The album carries a message about reaching beyond oneself to an infinite spiritual source, while learning to take the finite human actions to necessary to affect reality on earth. The concept of sëbeu, or that which a human can do to take positive action on their destiny, is animated throughout.

Lyrically, the Moorish griot tradition is complex and associative. Poetry is held in a continuum between author and audience in which a singer may draw on disparate sources, selecting individual lines here or there for musicality to form a lyrical patchwork expressing larger ideas via association. A griot may relate her own thoughts and poetry, sing poetry written for and about her by a third party, and transmit lines from one party addressing another in the course of a single song. With this ever-fluid narrative voice, stories are told.

A first-time replica re-issue of a highly sought-after, rare Brazilian MPB / Funk nugget from 1974.

Brazilian 7" singles or compacts sometimes get a bit overlooked outside of the world of avid Brazilian collectors and DJs, but here are where some of the most exquisite jewels of Brazil's rich musical tapestry lie.

This release has been a long time in the works, but now finally we are thrilled to present a replica version of one of our favourite Brazilian 7”s - the outstanding 'Morro Do Barraco Sem Água' by Lemos E Debétio (aka Toninho Lemos & Paulo Debétio). Discovering tracks like 'Morro Do Barraco Sem Água' makes you want to go the extra mile. You spend that little bit more time than is rational examining and dusting off a stack of 7”s hunting for an elusive gem, or end up disappearing down an Internet wormhole eating into time you don’t have before you need to be up for work again in the morning. This is a calculated effort, as the reward of the revitalising musical vitamins that you've stumbled upon are the big pay off.

'Morro Do Barraco Sem Água’ was originally released on Odeon Records in 1974, and even though this was a major record label it remains extremely hard to find. From the first moment the needle hits the groove with its guitar and drum break intro you know the song is special. A feel-good addictive melody with fantastic swooping arrangements and a pulsating funk backbeat, which is over all too soon. We hope you enjoy this audio treasure as much as we do!!!

Previously known for his progressive trance works, van Wyk has spent a lot of his time as of late composing for the film industry. In 2013, his solo output switched to more pastoral forms of neo-classical leaning ambient with his first full-length Days You Remember, before moving into more piano-based composition for Attachment (2016) and Opacity (2017).

Threads does reflect some of his previous ambient works; however, the album shows van Wyk composing music for (and of) current times. There is a much-welcomed underlying beauty to Threads, but there are also threads of anxious- ness and unwavering intensity throughout its forty-minute run-time. It's an engaging listen full of texture where each piece takes you on an engrossingly escapist journey.

The International Feel label is back from an extended meditation. Well-rested and with a cornucopia of new ideas and records, IFeel is happy to announce the debut album from Charlie Charlie as the starting shot. „Little Things“ is the brainchild of Gabriella Borbély alias Bella Boo and Jens Resch better known as Chords. Born on a beach in Southern California instead of their hometown Stockholm, it is exactly what you would hope for such a record to be: pop music that is informed by hippie or counter culture and by a Balearic ethos (hence the International Feel address) that is free of blinkered definitions. In equal parts, the duo’s ten songs take the listener through honey dripping r&b, while respelling that certain Californian recording studio sound aesthetic, revisit vintage yacht rock and pop tropes as well as they are reflecting dance music influences in a broken, yet gold framed mirror. Most of all, it’s like a day dream that you don’t want to end. To quote our Italian friends from Edizioni Mondo: good listening experience!

Band info:
Charlie is Gabriella Borbély – also known as Stockholm's deep house virtuoso Bella Boo. Charlie is Jens Resch – also known as prodigious producer/musician Chords. The two Charlies met on a beach in Southern California and immediately decided to write a song together.
That first track was built on the sampled sounds of a rusty drainpipe. Charlie fired up a dusty ARP Odyssey and played a woozy solo over the drainpipe beats, then the other Charlie did the same, using that same legendary 70's analogue synth. When they realized the two separately recorded solos played together in perfect harmony, they knew they had to keep heading down their newly found, shared musical path.
Charlie & Charlie have since continued making music together, describing their common process as liberating, free-flowing, genre-less. "Little Things", their debut album, is made up of tracks recorded in Los Angeles and Stockholm, using that very same ARP as well as pianos, electric guitars and machines like the Prophet 6, the Juno-106 and the Syncussion SY-1. Vocal contributions come from the Charlies themselves as well as friends like Mapei and Julimar Santos.

If Shelter swam through the serene side of the Library experience on GBR016, CV Vision blasts off in the opposite direction, riding an explosion of funk breaks and frazzled synths into the event horizon on his retro-futurist opus ‘Insolita’.

As contemporary life accelerates way past peak-weird, CV Vision leans into uncertainty and leaves Earth in the rear-view. Strung out on Simulacron-3, World On A Wire and Omaggio Ad Einstein, the Berlin-based musician imagines his own Brave New World, an alternate eXistenZ in a secret simulation.

Using the space age obsession of the Italian libraries as a launch pad, Dennis Schulze slathers a sonic storyboard with ferocious percussion, psychedelic fuzz and the pastoral electronics of Germany’s Kosmische movement. But this is less Can, more uncanny - and Schulze perfectly renders the cognitive estrangement of a simulated reality through his adventurous production. The monolithic live drums, recorded in a Neukölln garage on a battered Soviet kit are smeared with tape hiss, compressed to death and fired through LFOs, re-materialising on record in impossible scale. Time slips out of joint under the wow and flutter of the reel to reel, drum computers add digital interference to organic rhythms and the unfaltering slew of the 303 lends the hallucinatory thrill of the club sound system to an already psychedelic affair.

As Schulze’s imagination runs free, we’re taken through epic space battles and narrow escapes, moments of reflection and affection and a final resolution, all expressed through a dexterous control of movement and mood. For every explosion of break-fuelled adrenaline, there’s a cruise into cryo-chamber music and holodeck exotica. For each neck-snapping blast of acid funk, there’s a zero gravity lullaby waiting just around the corner.

So put isolation on ice and surrender to the strange, this is a trip you don’t want to end.

The fourth full length album of Orchestra of Constants Distress Concerns marks the end of a quadruple suite of intense, dissonant, reluctant improvisation.

Looking back on five years of musical summits, which also has resulted in a couple of cassette releases and a live LP from Roadburn festival, one might wonder if these musicians have come to some form of insight.

Riffs seems to have deepened into complete compulsiveness as the rhythm from drummer Anders Bryngelsson (Brainbombs, No Balls) deliver both frustration and caution at the same time. Between the dissonant sounds of Henrik Rylander (Union Carbide Productions, Skull Defekts) and the choleric play style by guitarist Joachim Nordwall (Idealist, Skull Defekts) a way of emotional vacuity is spreading. With the phlegmatic and elemental bass of Henrik Andersson (visual artist) the music of OOCD is a montage of sound-scapes rather than the uniform of compositions.

Rather than seeking a musical presence through improvisation they seem to perform absence and void.

ORCHESTRA OF CONSTANT DISTRESS Are
Joachim Nordwall (The Skull Defekts, iDEAL Recordings) Anders Bryngelsson (Brainbombs, No Balls)
Henrik Rylander (The Skull Defekts, Union Carbide Productions) Henrik Andersson

There’s liberation on the dance floor in the songs of Matthew Urango – glimpses of revolution that glimmer beneath the disco ball. “I want my music to bring people together,” says the Californian pop innovator, best known as Cola Boyy. “Because standing together is our best chance at fighting this shit show.” The shit show in question is a broken, brutal system the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist has witnessed up-close. Urango was born with spina bifida and scoliosis in Oxnard, California: a town in which almost 30,000 are estimated to live in poverty. Prosthetic Boombox, his eagerly awaited debut album, might at first glance seem a joyous confetti-burst of pop eclecticism, engineered to sound like “scanning between stations on a car radio, landing on all these different sounds and styles” as Urango puts it. Dig deeper, though, and you’ll discover a simmering sense of rebellion. “The working class are injured, struggling to pay rent and struggling to put food on the table,” he says. “I want to represent that.” Prosthetic Boombox
achieves that goal in a thrilling flurry of inventive indie, funk and soul: take Urango’s car radio analogy, place it in a time-travelling Delorean with Prince in the passenger seat, and you’re half-way there.

Look no closer than Prosthetic Boombox’s euphoric opener, the Avalanches-assisted ‘Don’t Forget Your Neighbourhood.’ The track – which Urango says mixes “the Beach Boys, French disco, house keys and ragtime piano, kinda like the Cheers soundtrack!” – ends with lyrics urging listeners to “fight for your town with your fist closed, strike it and make it more than just a memory.” It’s a reminder that the working classes need to “turn our fists against our oppressors instead of each other,” he explains. After that emphatic introduction comes a horn-laced funk wig-out titled ‘Mailbox’ – a song that gives Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia a run for its Studio 54-themed money, featuring rising Londoner JGrrey. Elsewhere, ‘Song for the Mister’ ventures into smooth R&B territory, before ‘Roses’ – a collaboration with Myd of Ed Banger fame – offers a bouquet of bustling disco guitars and infinite bisous of Connan Mockasin’s band drops in on the immaculate ‘Go the Mile’. Urango saves his most introspective moment for the album’s starry closer. ‘Kid Born in Space’, a cosmic collaboration with MGMT frontman Andrew VanWyngarden, sees the artist reflect on what he once had to overcome as a disabled person of colour. “I see them looking down on my dreams of being,” he sings tenderly. “I hear them making fun of my voice, but I keep on moving forward, I refuse to live in anyone else’s shadow.” Prosthetic Boombox, on this subject, is more than an album title – it’s a statement of intent.

“The message of my music is that our class is exploited, oppressed and murdered on the daily. That’s not right, and the system that enables that deserves to be wiped off the face of the earth,” he says. “The only way that happens is if we’re united. That’s the point of my music – to relate to people and unite them.” And what unites more than raucous, irresistibly danceable pop? Prosthetic Boombox is a riot of joyous grooves and catchy hooks for good reason. “I want to reach and spread my message to as many people as possible. You can’t do that if you’re some obscure motherfucker, you know?” he laughs. Don’t bet on him being an “obscure motherfucker” for long.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the release legendary singer/ guitarist Thalia Zedek's Been Here and Gone, Thrill Jockey is proud to present the album unlike it has ever been heard before: on vinyl, re-mastered by Sarah Register. Thalia Zedek has been one of the most enduring rock musicians of the past four decades. From her auspicious beginnings in bands Uzi, Live Skull, and Dangerous Birds to her wider recognition in Come, Zedek established herself as a singular voice accruing accolades from critics and contemporaries including J. Mascis, Kurt Cobain, and Bob Mould. Been Here and Gone, her debut solo release originally released on Matador in 2001 on CD, marked a turning point in Zedek's music. As Come was coming to a close, Zedek began exploring writing and performing as a solo artist, eventually backed by violist David Curry, pianist Mel Lederman (both of which went on to perform with Zedek for two decades), as well as former Come bandmates Chris Brokaw and Daniel Coughlin. The idiosyncrasies of her voice were laid bare for the first time, revealing an even greater depth to her unique songwriting. The more spacious and rich arrangements sprawl and whisper with powerful vulnerability. "There was definitely something magical about the making of Been Here and Gone," says Zedek. "I'm not sure if it was because it was made at a studio called Higher Power in a recently desanctified church in Stuyvesant, NY, or if it was because it was the end of a century, not to mention a millennium, the end of a decade of being in Come, the longest running band I'd had up to that point, and the end of 5 years of unhappy breakups and tumultuous relationships in my personal life." The eleven tracks that comprise Been Here and Gone embody that tension of uncertainty with a hopeful edge of renewal. Zedek's indelible resilience lifts even the somberest laments into triumphs. Even on the album's three cover tunes, including a haunting rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Dance Me to the End of Love," Zedek's voice and guitar color every note with raw emotion, making each passing gesture personal. Been Here and Gone channels the thunder and roar of Zedek's past into a fragile magnificence.

'Funny Cow charts the rise to stardom of a female comedienne through the 1970's and 1980's. It is set against the backdrop of
working men's clubs and the stand-up comedy circuit of the North of England. From her troubled childhood to her turbulent adult
relationships, the Funny Cow uses the raw material of her life experiences to bring her unique style of comedy to the stage. A
stand-up comedienne in an all-male world, Funny Cow delivers tragedy and comedy in equal measure. The film stars Maxine Peake,
Paddy Considine, Tony Pitts, Alun Armstrong and Stephen Graham, is directed by Adrian Shergold and produced by Kevin Proctor
and Mark Vennis. Richard Hawley, Corinne Bailey Rae and Ollie Trevers all appear in the film. Richard wrote the title track 'Funny
Cow', 'A Little Bit More' and, with Mark Sheridan, the duet with Corinne Bailey Rae 'I Still Want You'. He also wrote the
instrumentals 'Laundrette Accordian', 'Leaving Mike's House'. 'Walking Round The Bookshop', and 'End Hospital Sequence' and 'End
Sequence', which all feature in the film. Ollie wrote the songs 'Twist It Shake It', 'From Then Til Now', 'Bad But Good' and
'Nightmare In Paradise' and again, all feature in the film.

Clear Vinyl

Hitting us with a double LP of sublime dance music lingering on the border of ambience, Interstate is the alter ego of DJ Swagger. Earlier this year, he graced Shall Not Fade's Time Is Now sub label in collaboration with DJ Aedidias for four feelgood UKG cuts - now returning for the second album in the Seasons Series, expect something a little different. Dominion Swing is his first LP under the Interstate moniker.

The four sides of vinyl hold their fair share of punchy kick drums and funky melodies, though across them is a blissed out ambient softness that comes to the forefront by the end. "Doublet Doureet" is a low end groover driven by skippy percs, the speedy bass melody chilled out with some lingering natural chords. "Second Mass" is futuristic and clean cut, tickling the ear with panning synth stabs and a powerful electro bassline that cuts through the track sharply, giving memories of the dancefloor while perfectly leading into "Habitat" - the sustained ambient shimmer that closes the A side.

Onto the reverse side, "This Rather Than That" and "Misty" are glitchy, playful evening music, "Misty" leaning into a fun organ ditty. The almost imperceptible bassline of "Two To Get Ready" hangs in the air giving it a dub atmosphere.

More genre exploration is to be found on the C side, from the pulsing but delicate house of "Appliance" to the tranquil guitar-lead journey of "Condone The Drama", ending with a return to blissful, oceanic ambience in "Bubblebath".

The closing side of Dominion Swing stays in this vein - blissed out haze is soaked into summer sundowner "Ascension" and its romantic melodies. "Stigma" is built on misty ambient pads but carries a persistent heartbeat rhythm, fading slowly into album closer "Yosemites" tropical field recordings and scattered drum hits.

“I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” The debut LP from Ocean City Maryland’s Jarhead Fertilizer is a hot dose in your veins. Our modern dystopian reality meets a brutal mixture of death and grind with primitive groove with blistering low end. On Product of My Environment, Jarhead Fertilizer makes a simple statement. Death is easy. Life is hard

Hailing from Brownsville, Brooklyn Taphari got his start in the underground queer clubscenes of Bushwick. His live performances are explosive dance parties and an aggressivecall to action. Truly charismatic on stage, music is Taphari's most efficient means ofcommunication. He writes of his struggles as a young loner from the hood seeking asylum inlaughter, queer expression, hip-hop, and the internet. On 'Blind obedience' we find Taphari on a journey of self-actualization, transcending suffering through the power of self-love and authentic musical expression. this hard-hitting,confident debut centers the skilled rapper's syllable hopscotchover mutating beats. staying in a lane he's forged himself, therap alien's rage is explosive out the gate. on lead single "Table42" featuring seasoned rapper pink siifu, taphari sings of lostlove and the end of the world over drum 'N Bass beats. "Backsoon" featuring label mate Benét is a generous breath from thiskinetic collection of bangers.

Mr. Nutz has marked a generation of players with its colorful world and enchanting music. Developed by only three persons in the early 90s and published by Ocean, the game was a worldwide phenomenal success and remains one of the most beloved platform game released on the Snes at the time.

To celebrate the upcoming 30th anniversary of the little squirrel, we have the pleasure to pay a tribute to this jewel made in France with the release of the original soundtrack, newly illustrated by its original creator, Philippe Dessoly!

Mr. Nutz original soundtrack is composed by Raphaël Gesqua and remastered for the vinyl format in this 'Totally Nutz' collector Edition !

Shall Not Fade champions its hometown of Bristol for this next release on the Time Is Now White Label series; Daffy has built a name for himself on the local scene putting out forward-thinking garage on labels to watch like Dim Sum Records and Equal People. This will be his first full vinyl EP and it's not one to miss.

Run Around EP builds up the tension throughout; starting off with "Put Your Feet Up", a ghostly atmospheric piece with a sparse beat, sprinkling of ear candy and crescendo of headsy melodies. The title track oozes a growling bassline beneath staccato vocal snatches - it's a deconstructed style of garage that maintains tension while adding a dreamlike quality. More tension encompasses "Nerves" alongside teases of low end wobbles and harsh breaks that coalesce into a punishing jungle track.

"Lost Again" brings in the B-side with this same energy, an explosion of rolling breaks forming the backbone of this rouch and ready Metalheadz style crowd pleaser, calling out to the rave. "Mishap" serves up ragga vocals, impenetrable sub bass and pouncing two-step ripe for a reload, all rounded off with "Wasp's Nest" - a raucous, no holds barred climax to the EP.

Minimal Force records presents Robert S' final release under this alias. With this 5 track record titled '2009/2021', we celebrate his work over the past 13 years and signify the end of a chapter. His energetic sounds have featured on well established techno labels and we are honoured to be the label he trusted to release his ultimate record.

In celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the release of
legendary singer / guitarist Thalia Zedek’s ‘Been Here
and Gone’, Thrill Jockey are proud to present the
album on vinyl for the very first time, remastered by
Sarah Register.
Thalia Zedek has been one of the most enduring rock
musicians of the past four decades. From her
auspicious beginnings in bands Uzi, Live Skull and
Dangerous Birds to her wider recognition in Come,
Zedek established herself as a singular voice accruing
accolades from critics and contemporaries including J.
Mascis, Kurt Cobain and Bob Mould.
‘Been Here and Gone’, her debut solo release,
originally released on Matador in 2001 on CD, marked
a turning point in Zedek’s music. As Come were
coming to a close, Zedek began exploring writing and
performing as a solo artist, eventually backed by violist
David Curry, pianist Mel Lederman (both went on to
perform with Zedek for two decades), as well as former
Come bandmates Chris Brokaw and Daniel Coughlin.
The idiosyncrasies of her voice were laid bare for the
first time, revealing an even greater depth to her
unique songwriting. The more spacious and rich
arrangements sprawl and whisper with powerful
vulnerability.
Deluxe packaging featuring photos of the recording
session on the inner sleeve. Includes digital download
card.

Rippikoulu's Musta seremonia is both an international cult item and an integral part of the history of Svart Records as well - a reissue of the original 1993 tape was one of the earliest Svart releases back in 2010. Back then, this album was considered as one of the best kept secrets in the Finnish underground metal scene. Four years and one quickly sold out reissue later Rippikoulu's greatness is no longer a secret, and we are happy to bring Musta seremonia back on the market.
Rippikoulu began their musical endeavours back in the late eighties, and like so many of their contemporaries, evolved from primitive punk noise to death metal. However, while many bands played death metal with groovy riffing and overall headbanging attitude, Rippikoulu's choice of style was darker. Their downtuned metal is bleak and nearly unbearably heavy in its execution, dark and soul-searching in its themes, intertwining faster bursts of chaos with slow, doomy passages.
Rippikoulu released the Musta Seremonia demo album on tape in 1993 and then disappeared. They never gained much popularity in their time, but their legacy has steadily grown in time. The album has been carefully remastered from the original DAT master tape, cleaned up and amplified.

Rippikoulu's Musta seremonia is both an international cult item and an integral part of the history of Svart Records as well - a reissue of the original 1993 tape was one of the earliest Svart releases back in 2010. Back then, this album was considered as one of the best kept secrets in the Finnish underground metal scene. Four years and one quickly sold out reissue later Rippikoulu's greatness is no longer a secret, and we are happy to bring Musta seremonia back on the market.
Rippikoulu began their musical endeavours back in the late eighties, and like so many of their contemporaries, evolved from primitive punk noise to death metal. However, while many bands played death metal with groovy riffing and overall headbanging attitude, Rippikoulu's choice of style was darker. Their downtuned metal is bleak and nearly unbearably heavy in its execution, dark and soul-searching in its themes, intertwining faster bursts of chaos with slow, doomy passages.
Rippikoulu released the Musta Seremonia demo album on tape in 1993 and then disappeared. They never gained much popularity in their time, but their legacy has steadily grown in time. The album has been carefully remastered from the original DAT master tape, cleaned up and amplified.

Since making her debut with the 2011 album Weightless, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Becca Stevens has tested the limits of musical identity, mining everything from jazz to Irish folk to indie-rock in her striving for complete and authentic expression. In her latest musical endeavor—the five-track EP WONDERBLOOM and a soon-to-follow full-length of the same name—the North Carolina-bred, Brooklyn-based artist again defies all expectation, this time dreaming up a groove-heavy, dance-ready sound infused with elements of pop and funk and R&B. But despite its brighter textures and uptempo rhythms, WONDERBLOOM finds Stevens achieving a profound complexity in her lyrics, ultimately redefining what’s possible in creating music that elevates and edifies. Centered on the captivating vocal presence she’s showcased as a member of David Crosby’s Lighthouse Band, WONDERBLOOM telegraphs an unabashed joy that Stevens partly attributes to the project’s production. In a bold new turn for her musical career, Stevens co-produced and co-engineered WONDERBLOOM alongside Nic Hard (Snarky Puppy, Ghost-Note, The Church), overseeing every aspect of the recording and claiming a sense of agency that had long eluded her in the studio. “Nic and I were truly working as equals and trusting each other to get the job done, and it was an incredibly empowering experience for me,” she says. In another major departure, Stevens purposely brought a communal sensibility to the making of WONDERBLOOM —an undertaking that resulted in more than 40 musicians contributing to the album, including Vulfpeck guitarist Cory Wong, Jacob Collier, and all of her Lighthouse bandmates (i.e., keyboardist Michelle Willis, Snarky Puppy bandleader Michael League, and David Crosby himself).

From their genesis as members of the Venus club in-house band in the early 70s, Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band were at the forefront of the musical revolution during an era where modern instruments and foreign styles superseded the traditional fare to become the staple sound of Ethiopia. No one would argue that the Walias were the trailblazing powerhouse of modern Ethiopian music. They were the first band to form independently without affiliation to a theatre house, a club or a hotel; unprecedented and risky as they had to raise all funding for expenses by themselves including buying equipment. They were the first to release full instrumental albums, considered to be commercially unviable at the time. They opened their own recording studio, with band members Melake Gebre and Mahmoud Aman doubling as technical buffs during sessions. They were also the first independent band to tour abroad. In short, they were the pioneers every band tried to emulate; some more successfully than others.
Odds are, any Ethiopian over the age of 35 who had access to TV or radio by the early 90s, will instantly recognize the sound of Walias. What is not a given is, how many would actually identify the band itself. Barely a day went by without hearing the Walias either in the background on radio or as an accompaniment to various programs on TV.

This Tezeta album, the band’s second recording, released in 1975, is one of those that have been impossible to find for nearly three decades. Sourced by Awesome Tapes From Africa and expertly remastered by Jessica Thompson, its unique and funky renditions of standards and popular songs of the day are so quintessentially Walias, flavorful and evocative. Hailu's melodic organ, unashamedly front and center in every track, makes even the complex pieces accessible.
Profoundly engaging; it's an immersive trip down memory lane for those of us getting reacquainted with it, while also an enthralling and gratifying experience for fresh ears.

Virtually unknown recording outside Ethiopia.
Documents Mergia & Walias legendary early period.
Follow-up to reissue of hugely popular seminal Ethiopian instrumentals LP Tche Belew (ATFA012)

Cassette-only, released in 1975 on the band’s in-house label to fund their record store.
Beautifully-rendered instrumentals of classic Ethiopian standards.

Dissolution Sessions' is the first release by art punk rockers The Imbeciles since their well received eponymously named debut album earlier this year. The six-track EP
features a new band line up - and a different sound. 'We've slimmed down from a meandering, vegan, six member prog rock combo, to a tight-knit, guitar-led, steakeating 4-piece,' says lead Imbecile, Butch Dante. 'The guitar sound is fuzzy punk beast-master AF, and we like it.'
The band had originally gone into the studio earlier this year to record a radio session for 6Music. That ended up being cancelled because of the pandemic crisis. 'We
were there anyway so we started riffing on some new songs and everything came together real fast,' continues Butch. The result is three new songs and three new
versions of tracks that first appeared on the album. 'The music is still weird; but everything just gets to the point faster,' he adds. "You can hear that energy in 'Yes I
Am'; it's the sound of a band having fun being creative again after a difficult year.'
That particular new track is a Foo fighters/STP/Stooges-style banger, but played on Imbeciles terms - one note leads and guitar scrapes, with off beat stabs and a pop
punk drum track that pulls the whole together. And the overall vibe of the EP is a NSFW hybrid of 1979 London punk (Skids and Ruts), with second guitar stolen from
eighties Echo and Bunnymen and a leavening of Bauhaus art rock.
'Sunday Leaguer' was inspired by Butch's love of English football. The song is both a banging punk celebration of the beautiful game, and a lament to the gaping hole left
in peoples' lives when Coronavirus forced the cancellation of all football in March. As well as the Premier League, MotD and other football staples, the song also
celebrates the unsung legends of amateur Sunday League football. Dante, a Crystal Palace fan, enlists Palace's Holmesdale Fanatics on the track, who are heard chanting
'Eagles', while the video for the song pays tribute to the club's mascot, Keya, who sadly passed away this summer.
Charlie Conkers makes his debut on the EP as the band's drummer. 'He's young, good looking, and talented. It's quite annoying, actually,' Butch says. New lead guitarist
Stan Moseley makes a sideways move into the band from his previous role as The Imbecile's chief engineer and co-producer - the producer role now being occupied by
music legend, Youth, with whom the band has just started working on a new album, to be released in 2021.
'Having Youth involved as producer and co-writer is the most dope thing that has ever happened to the band,' says lead singer and bass player Kip Larson. 'Everyone is in
a super positive, hyper creative place right now and we can't wait to see what we come up with.'
So what about the name, Dissolution Sessions? Was it a nod to the pandemic, or a reference to the band breaking up and reforming again with its new members?
Neither, according to Butch. 'Kip was super hung over at the session. too many Dos Equis, yo. Hence: Dissolution Sessions.'

Spirit Tamer’ is the debut album from Mia Joy available on limited edition
Bright Pink and Classic Black vinyl and compact disc on Fire Talk.
A member of the Chicago Children’s Choir at a young age, the record sees Joy’s
dual backgrounds in music and poetry evolve into a juxtaposition between
soaring emotional synthpop and introspective devotional harmonies.
Past press has referred to Mia’s music as ‘warm, ethereal, endlessly layered,
and beautifully expanding’.
Filled with heady atmospherics and vulnerability that abounds through the
shapeshifting sonic palette, fans of Ana Roxanne or Hand Habits will find much
to love in this painstakingly crafted, endearingly intimate universe.

Composer, multi-instrumentalist, poet, griot, improviser and community
leader William Parker presents a pair of brand new trio albums which further expound on his limitless vision.
One of the iconic and enduring music leaders to emerge in the world over the
last half century, William Parker continues to raise the bar higher.
‘Mayan Space Station’ is his first electric guitar trio album, and features Parker
on bass, alongside Ava Mendoza (electric guitar), and Gerald Cleaver (drums).
Cosmic multi-hued blues, perfect for space and time travel. The unparalleled
rhythmic firmament created by Parker & Cleaver is matched by Mendoza in full
flight. All of the promise imagined by a trio recording of these musicians with
compositions by Parker is delivered to the fullest.
Mendoza’s prodigious talents have illuminated many projects and recordings
as both leader and collaborator over the past decade. As is certainly clear here,
she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the
music. Gerald Cleaver is an exceptionally gifted poet of drum sound who can
play in the deepest of pockets and manifest all manner of sound to perfectly fit
contours within the most open of forms.
Cleaver & Parker have worked closely on numerous projects, notably within the
nonpareil full-improvising trio, Farmers By Nature, together with Craig Taborn.
William Parker is in vibrant grandmaster blossom here on double bass - in both
pizzicato & bow-as-prism modes.
William Parker: bass, compositions,
Ava Mendoza: electric guitar,
Gerald Cleaver: drums