Darkwave artist Harsh Symmetry returns with sophomore album "Imitation" via Fabrika Records. Los Angeles-based musician Julian Sharwarko has swiftly carved out a commanding presence with his darkwave project. Sharwarko's adeptness at bridging the gap between the past and present is palpable, as he seamlessly blends influences from genre titans such as Depeche Mode, The Cure, New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, and Human League, while also incorporating elements from contemporary acts like Twin Tribes and Boy Harsher. Harsh Symmetry's second album, "Imitation," spans the chasm of darkwave and synthpop, a world-weary modern album, warmed by the solid embrace of nostalgia. Astonishingly, the entire album was entirely recorded and performed by Shawarko, in a remarkably quick turnaround from his last year's critically acclaimed debut album, 2022's "Display Model." Releasing a new album every year during the 1980s was par for the course with bands like The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees, as well as other highly prolific bands such as his labelmates Lebanon Hanover, but this level of artistic output is rarely matched today. "A lot of the material was informed by isolation and struggling with the paradox of wanting to be original yet feeling like your entire identity is built on mimicry," he admits. "The album was recorded as I was preparing to move out of the city I grew up in, I guess that kind of nudged me to think about what I'm doing more, and the place my work might have in the world." That mindset led to a pleasant surprise during his recent tour, which he describes as a 'really interesting and exciting experience.' This year, Harsh Symmetry graced the stages of Wave Gotik Treffen and the Grey Scale Festival in Munich, to much audience acclaim, cementing the project's status as an essential artist in the international darkwave scene. Genre: Alternative / Post-punk / Darkwave
Suche:essé
- A1: El Train, Paal Singh - Over You
- A2: Nokiaa, Philanthrope - Friction
- A3: Ben Bada Boom, Plusma - Cabriolet
- A4: Yasper, Sonofmark - Yellowblue
- A5: Evil Needle, Styles Davis - Star Gazing
- A6: Kreatev - Sunset Drive
- A7: Hm Surf, Mama Aiuto - Expeditions
- B1: Chromonicci - Shimmer
- B2: Invention_ - Chance Of Rain
- B3: The Doppelgangaz - Quietude
- B4: Ian Ewing - Hold On
- B5: Drips Zacheer - Carefree
- B6: Masked Man - Lush
- B7: Afroham - Dahri
- C1: Middle School - Delicate Feat Henry Gritton
- C2: Psalm Trees - Honey
- C3: Makzo, Axian, Kydual - Grove
- C4: C Y G N - Warm Heart, Cold Solitude
- C5: Toonorth - Radiant
- C6: Kendall Miles, Enluv - Solar Beam
- C7: Blue Wednesday - Overgrown
- D1: Dotlights - Zen Headbutt
- D2: Swum, Oatmello - Flooded
- D3: Mr Slipz - Bloom
- D4: Illiterate - The Strangest Thing
- D5: When Mountains Move - Perched
- D6: Less People - A Heartfelt Goodbye
- D7: Aso - Sidewalks Feat Iomoo
With over 40 musicians across 28 tracks, Essentials Spring 2023 might be our most treasured one yet. Featuring a who's who of some of our favorite musicians in the community, we present a 2xLP to keep everyone vibrant and alive as the seasons change and days start to warm. Essentials Spring 2023 features recent Chillhop beat tape alumni like El Train, Evil Needle, illiterate, and Mr. Slipz, while also showcasing songs from familiars like Oatmello, SwuM, Toonorth, Blue Wednesday, HM Surf, The Doppelgangaz, and dozens of others.
This album features over 70 minutes of chillhop, jazzhop, lofi hip-hop, downtempo R&B, lounge jazz, soulful beats, boom bap, old school. However you might like to classify this. Study beats? Sure. Beats to go on a road trip to? Absolutely. Gaming beats, coding beats, beats to daydream to? You betcha. The essentials return for 2023, adding to the ever growing collection of limited edition seasonal releases on vinyl!
Absolutely essential funk-fuelled, disco flavoured business from Le'O Roy with ‘Pound For Pound’ on the mighty Golden Flamingo Records. Produced by Bobby Brinson, and P&P’s very own Peter Brown, you’ll struggle to find four and a half more electrifying, feel-good, funk-infused minutes of music than these.
Pound for pound one of the best cuts of this scene, it’s an early ‘80s boogie leaning blend taking the best bits from disco, funk and soul, and adding a heavy dose of NYC spice to the mix. Punchy funk guitar licks, a driving beat laced with hypnotic cowbells and an intoxicating, gritty yet golden dose of vocal power. A rare as hen’s teeth record finally given the official reissue it’s been crying out for.
This session, recorded at Studio Pathé-Magellan October 11 and 14, 1955 in Paris, is the first of three recordings released for the Barclay label between 1955 and 1956.
For his first recording-date in Paris Chet decided to tackle Bob Zieff’s compositions, the same ones that Dick Twardzik had picked up in a hurry at the Alvin Hotel on his way to board the liner Ile-de-France. Violonist Dick Wetmore had just recorded the eight tunes, and Bob Zieff had had just enough time to revise the arrangements. Chet neither a champion sight-reader nor a big fan of rehearsals, hadn’t yet played them in front of an audience. From that first French session only the reel referred to as a ‘production tape’ remains.
This ‘complete Bob Zieff’ gives an impression of unity that wellmatches the suite concept intended by the composer; as for “The Girl From Greenland”, its role comes as a codicil. The record of Chet’s quartet with Twardzik has now appeared in Ben Ratliff’s book “Jazz, a Critic’s Guide to The 100 Most Important Recordings” (The New York Times Essential Library); it’s a fitting mention for an album that was long-unrecognised in the the United States…
Bobby Caldwell's second album, Cat In The Hat, from 1980, is one of his greatest moments and another masterwork of soulful sophistication. Featuring the eternal "Open Your Eyes", brilliantly sampled by J Dilla for Common's "The Light", it's about as essential as records get. Like its eponymous predecessor, it's been out of print for far too long. To finally release the hugely-anticipated reissue is one of our sincerely proudest moments.
Whilst Ned Doheny is known in Japan as "Mr California", native New Yorker Bobby Caldwell has always been "Mr AOR" to his Far-Eastern friends. His distinct charm is an irresistible blend of soul, jazz, and pop influences. He possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances, was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful, sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted.
Right from the off, it's easy to tell that Cat In The Hat is a deeply special record. It's fantastically produced and incredibly well-rounded, carving its own lane with deep soul, warm jazz and a stunning vocal delivery that really helped Bobby reach out to some big new audiences at the time. Goosebumps at the ready for the rolling power-piano funk of "Coming Down From Love", opening up the album with a track as good as anything Steely Dan or The Doobies ever crafted, with a vocal performance from the heavens. Pumping AOR wonder "Wrong Or Right" is up there with the slick, classy rhythms of prime Ned Doheny whilst the cool, skipping soul of guitar-drenched "To Know What You've Got" is a funky ballad par excellence, with elemental traces of "What A Fool Believes". No bad thing. Closing out Side A, the folk-funk of "You Promised Me" is a bright, soulful strut with a wonderful vocal coda that just builds. Sensational.
The delicate bounce and falsetto self-harmonising of "It's Over" offers a truly delightful introduction to Side B, and serves as a great precursor to what follows. Bobby's dynamite "Open Your Eyes" is likely the reason you're all here. As if he needed it, the eternal J Dilla further immortalised Caldwell in the hip-hop canon with his production of Common’s epochal “The Light,” which heavily samples the magical “Open Your Eyes.” On a post paying tribute to Bobby in March 2023, Questlove claimed that he "got word Brother Bobby loved it". Bobby's original has seen new life even more recently from the likes of Dwele and Kendrick Lamar and deservingly so, as its insistent drums and staccato piano created a modern-soul classic. You'd think that would be hard to follow, wouldn't you? Not so, when you're Bobby Caldwell. Indeed, the horn-drenched stepper "Mother Of Creation" is absolutely ace, and, whisper it, possibly the album's finest track, all funky piano and guitars with horn lines to die for. Exquisite ballad "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love" rounds out the album beautifully.
Bobby sadly passed away on 23rd March 2023, after a long struggle with mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, due to an adverse effect from a fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The reissue of Cat In The Hat will be available on vinyl across the globe, ensuring that fans of his incomparable talent - and soul music enthusiasts worldwide - can radiate in the deep beauty of this seminal album. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possibly quality at Record Industry in Holland.
Sly & The Family Stone’s Anthology is an essential collection for any fan of funk, soul, or R&B music. The 1981 compilation album features the band’s greatest hits, including US Billboard chart-topping “Family Affair”, “Everyday People” & “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”.
The music of Sly & The Family Stone has influenced countless artists over the years and this anthology is a testament to their enduring legacy. A compilation album full of infectious grooves, catchy hooks and powerful messages of unity and positivity.
Anthology spans the band’s career, from their early recordings in the mid-1960s to their later hits in the 1970s. This 2LP is available as a limited edition of 3000 individually numbered copies on pink coloured vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve
- 1: I Feel Good, Bad, Fine
- 2: Rockin’ It Our Way
- 3: I’m Startin’ A Band
- 4: On Our Way To The Moon
- 5: Operator
- 6: Funhouse
- 7: Is It All A Dream
- 8: I’m Not Your Cowboy
- 9: What You Don’t Know About The Girl (Live)
- 10: Operator (Live)
- 11: Creeple People (Live)
- 12: Down In Front (Live)
- 13: Too Late For Us Now (Live)
- 14: I’m Not Your Cowboy (Live)
- 15: I’m Startin’ A Band (Instrumental)
- 16: On Our Way To The Moon (Instrumental)
New music from the Jellyfish co-founder Four new tracks on LP, plus four from 2020’s independently released Glamping CD & Digital contain eight bonus tracks, five previously unissued Roger Joseph Manning Jr burst onto the music world’s radar as cofounder of Jellyfish in 1990. After two critically acclaimed and now revered releases, the band parted ways, and Roger began a career that saw him in bands including Imperial Drag, The Moog Cookbook, and TV Eyes, as well as contributing to albums from Beck, Morrissey, Lana Del Rey, Blink 182, Johnny Cash, Adele, and more! He also continued to record as a solo artist, releasing the EP Glamping independently in 2020. That was soon reissued with three live bonus tracks, but neither received a wide release. That brings us to 2023, and Roger is ready to unveil 4 new songs – two co-written with Glamping Chris Price (Emitt Rhodes). Radio Daze / Glamping contains Roger’s four new studio tracks, plus the four from Glamping on LP. The CD and Digital add the three live bonus tracks from Glamping limited edition expanded edition, but three new live tracks and two instrumentals. Radio Daze / Glamping revitalizes the musical landscape of Roger Joseph Manning Jr., making his music available worldwide, on multiple formats, and essential.
[i] 9. What You Don’t Know About The Girl (Live) [Bonus Track]
[j] 10. Operator (Live) [Bonus Track]
[k] 11. Creeple People (Live) [Bonus Track]
[l] 12. Down In Front (Live) [Bonus Track]
[m] 13. Too Late For Us Now (Live) [Bonus Track]
[n] 14. I’m Not Your Cowboy (Live) [Bonus Track]
- 1: Misty
- 2: Lullaby Of Birdland
- 3: They Can't Take That Away From Me
- 4: Embraceable You
- 5: Make Yourself Comfortable
- 6: Cherokee
- 7: I'm Glad There Is You
- 8: Comes Love
- 9: Whatever Lola Wants (Lola Gets)
- 10: Someone To Watch Over Me
- 11: Broken Hearted Melody
- 12: It's Crazy
The unforgettable sound of Sarah Vaughan is captured in this collection of essential recordings. From the swinging hits, "Lullaby Of Birdland" and "It’s Crazy", to her best-loved recordings, including “Misty" and “Broken-Hearted Melody”, this album highlights Vaughan's impeccable phrasing, emotional depth and remarkable range. Whether backed by a trio or a full orchestra, singing hits of the day or jazz standards, every track serves to remind us why Sarah Vaughan is still known as ‘The Divine One’.
Available again this first pressing of this reissue is on neon yellow vinyl. Chapter Music presents a vinyl reissue of Australian post-punk icon David Chesworth's mutant punk-funk second album, 1981's Layer On Layer. After his revered 1979 debut 50 Synthesizer Greats (reissued by Chapter in 2017), David swapped the solo home-recorded synths for something very different - infectious, percussive art-funk weirdness. Aged 21, David recorded nights and weekends at the studio in his university's music department, building Layer On Layer from the ground up, using non-instruments like telephone directories, cardboard boxes and car parts. He created an art-damaged sound world, driven by irresistible rhythms but emphasizing chance and experimentation. Robert Goodge, Chesworth's bandmate in the celebrated Essendon Airport, contributes his trademark cyclical guitar, with Tsk Tsk Tsk's Ralph Traviato on sax and other Tsk members Philip Brophy, Jayne Stevenson and Maria Kozic on backing vocals. Layer On Layer was the beginning of David's investigations into rhythm, and remains one of his most striking works. His 70s/80s records and productions have become sought-after collectors' items and DJ holy grails. Chesworth is now a renowned composer sound artist. For digital bonus tracks, David has revisited Layer On Layer tracks to create mutant DJ versions. Also Available From David Chesworth: 50 Synthesizer Greats LP
The concept behind the debut album by Neapolitan producer Paolo Petrella, (also known for Fratelli Malibu, SuperMegaFuckinMachine, and Nu Genea's live band bass player) is both straightforward and unparalleled. It involves re-imagining Renato Carosone's iconic hits infused with the vibrant essence of Cumbia. An original and fresh perspective of the history of Napoli, re-thinking traditions while blending cultures, like an imaginary colony of South Americans living in Napoli’s fishermen neighborhood of Santa Lucia.
Cumbia Luciana sounds like the manifestation of a dream, as the poem on the liner notes recites:
“It's 3pm in the afternoon, the sea is calm and there are some clouds in the sky from time to time the sounds of mopeds can be heard in the street. A boy is in his bedroom and out of boredom keeps time by tapping his fingers on the bed frame.
He leaves the house for a walk keeping the sea on his side. Rumor has it that ten days ago immigrants arrived from Peru,
the boy walks and listens it's Sunday, day of celebration, it's 3.30pm the boy walks and listens he is interrupted by a whole new sound, never heard before from a window of a ground floor house men are playing, the boy stands under that window for a while”
The early days of "Baltimore Club Music" saw it played at popular venues like Club Fantasy, The Ozone, Hammerjack's, and Paradox. DJs Sean Marshall, Marc Henry, Shawn Caesar (at DJs Outlet in Old Towne Mall), Scottie B and Danny Class (at Inner City Records), Technics (at Music Liberated), DJ Patrick (at Sound of Baltimore), and Diamond K and Kenny B (at Electronics & More) all contributed to the mix of hip-hop, house music and homemade beats that made up this new sound. "Booty Mission" (1992) is a creation of Shawn Caesar and Ty "Flex" James and is considered one of the most influential releases, an essential for any Baltimore Club Music fan. It is sure to remain timeless.
Remastered Reissue des Samplers 'Ariwa Sounds: The Early Sessions' (1984) mit den frühen Produktionen der Reggae/Dub-Legende Mad Professor, aufgenommen zwischen 1979-1981 in seinem Wohnzimmer, kurz bevor die Idee Form annahm, ein Studio und das Ariwa-Label zu gründen. Er lud lokale Musiker zur Zusammenarbeit ein, darunter Errol Sly, Ranking Ann, Sergeant Pepper, Deborah Glasgow, Victor Cross, Sister Audrey und seine Begleitband The Sane Inmates, von denen einige später zu festen Größen ihres jeweiligen Genres wurden. Die LP fängt die rohe Essenz des frühen Sounds von Mad Professor und Ariwa ein.
After a slightly extended break, CEP Records makes its return! This edition features a trance-inspired release by the hero Arman John, accompanied by two incredible remixes from Janis Zielinski and riko.
Kicking off this release is 'Pump That Soundsystem', a genuine trance driver infused with a hint of techno energy. The soulful pitched vocal and distinct chords add a remarkable touch, making this track poised to burn the dancefloor. Within riko's remix of 'Pump That Soundsystem,' he preserves the positive essence of the original track while infusing it with his personal signature. With rhythmic drums, an unceasing bassline, and an infectious melody, he introduces a touch of old-school sound that keeps the groove alive. For the second original piece, Arman John presents 'Like A Salt Shaker.' Powerful bassline rhythms, textured drums and a significant vocal hustle the track with intensity. The soulful synth, making a notable appearance midway, elegantly includes an unprecedented touch of elegance. Bringing the release to a close is Janis Zielinski's remix of 'Like A Salt Shaker'. A dynamic interplay of fresh chords and synths bringing the track into boundless realms. The transformed synth from the original version fosters familiarity and diversity, adding significant drive that impeccably concludes both the track and the entire release.
'Pump That Soundsystem' by Arman John drops via CEP Records on 20th September 2023.
2023 REPRESS
This is just the sort of jam that Best Records Italy love. Asso originally released his slick cover of ''Do It Again'' by Steely Dan back in 1983, and it's a faithful version that simply injects a little disco magic into the impeccably composed bones of the track. It received plenty of play back in the day, and it's highly worthy of its own side of wax now. Meanwhile on the flip, ''Don't Stop'' is an even more essential a slab of club heat, tapping into the heady atmosphere of the Paradise Garage at the time that disco merged with boogie.
- A1: Boku No Kakera (Lp1 Hidari Ude No Yume Japanese Edition)
- A2: Saru To Yuki To Gomi No Kodomo
- A3: Kacha Kucha Nee
- A4: The Garden Of Poppies
- A5: Relache
- B1: Tell 'Em To Me
- B2: Living In The Dark
- B3: Slat Dance
- B4: Venezia
- B5: Saru No Ie
- C1: Boku No Kakera (Lp2 Hidari Ude No Yume Instrumental Mix)
- C2: Saru To Yuki To Gomi No Kodomo
- C3: Kacha Kucha Nee
- C4: The Garden Of Poppies
- C5: Relache
- D1: Tell 'Em To Me
- D2: Living In The Dark
- D3: Slat Dance
- D4: Venezia
- D5: Saru No Ie
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO'S LANDMARK 1981 ALBUM REISSUED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN DECADES OUTSIDE OF JAPAN. THE ALBUM WILL BE REISSUED IN ITS RARE JAPANESE EDITION TOGETHER WITH A 2-LP LIMITED EDITION FEATURING THE ALBUM PLUS A 2ND LP FEATURING ITS NEVER-RELEASED FULL INSTRUMENTAL MIX, ALL REMASTERED BY BERNIE GRUNDMAN.
Wewantsounds is proud to announce the reissue of Ryuichi Sakamoto's third solo album "Hidari Ude No Yume" (Left Handed Dream), originally released in 1981 on the Alfa label. Save for a small-scale Dutch vinyl release in 1981, it is the first time the album's original Japanese edition is released outside of Japan (the European release on Epic Records included significantly different tracks and mixes). Newly remastered from the original tapes by renowned engineer Bernie Grundman, this LP edition comes with original artwork featuring a striking cover shot by famous photographer Masayoshi Sukita (sourced from the original negative), OBI strip and 4-page insert with new introduction by journalist Anton Spice. The album will also be released as a 2-LP limited edition gatefold including the album's full instrumental mix.
Ryuichi Sakamoto's third album, "Hidari Ude No Yume" was recorded at the legendary Alfa Studio 'A' in Tokyo during the Summer of 1981. it came after "B-2 Unit" in 1980 and his debut album "Thousand Knives Of" in 1978, the very year Sakamoto was invited by Haruomi Hosono to join Yellow Magic Orchestra alongside Yukihiro Takahashi. In the process, they became global stars as the group rewrote the rules of electronic pop and toured around the world, yet Sakamoto was keen to remain active as a solo artist.
?In 1981, the musician decided to record an album rooted in Pop, following "B-2 Unit" which had a more of an experimental edge and his landmark electro debut from 1978. For this new album entitled "Hidari Ude No Yume," Sakamoto invited British producer Robin Scott, who had had huge hit with 'Pop Muzik,' to co-produce. They entered the Alfa studio in July 1981, accompanied by a handful of musicians. These included his fellow YMO musicians Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, keyboard programmer extraordinaire Hideki Matsutake who'd been on Sakamoto's first two albums and became YMO's unofficial fourth member, violinist Kaoru Sato, saxophonist Satoshi Nakamura and American guitarist Adrian Belew who'd played with David Bowie, The Talking Heads' "Remain In Light" and more recently, Tom Tom Club’s debut (co-writing 'Genius Of Love').
?Together, they created a fascinating mix of pop, ambient and electronic music with elements of avant garde and traditional Japanese music, the whole firmly rooted in a solid groove. Sakamoto wanted to give the album a spontaneous feel and decided to let ideas flow and evolve organically during the sessions as musicians would develop them together. From the funk of 'Relâché' to the new wave feel of 'Venezia' and the ambient minimalism of 'Slat Dance,' the album is remarkably consistent while displaying a wealth of global influences as shown by the diversity of instruments featured on the credits: Marimba, didgeridu, traditional Japanese instruments such as the Sho and Hichiriki flutes.
?The album was released in Japan in 1981 and Epic Records picked it up for Europe a year later but decided to release it in a significantly altered version. The sequencing was completely reshuffled and two tracks, 'Saru No Ie' and 'Living In The Dark' were completely dropped while three others, ‘Relâché’, ‘Tell 'em To Me’, ‘Venezia’ were heavily remodelled with english lyrics and became 'Just About Enough', 'Once In A Lifetime' and 'The Left Bank'. Last but not least, a new English-sung track, 'The Arrangement,' was added, making the album nine tracks instead of ten for the Japanese edition.
Altogether this International version called "Left-Handed Dream" was a very different album from the Japanese one and although both were successful at the time and further established Ryuichi Sakamoto as a global solo artist, the Japanese edition of "Hidari Ude No Yume" remains largely unknown to international ears.
Wewantsounds is now delighted to release this original Japanese edition for the first time in decades as a single LP together with a 2-LP limited-edition set adding, as a bonus, its fascinating instrumental mix, discovered in the label's vaults a few years ago (Note that 'The Garden Of Poppies', 'Slat Dance' and 'Saru No Ie' are instrumentals but for the consistency of the album we kept them on the Instrumental Mix). "Hidari Ude No Yume" is an essential album in Ryuichi Sakamoto's rich discography. It is now available in its purest original Japanese form.
2023 Repress
Channelling his own explorations in search of the soul inside the machine, VRIL draws from the deep well of his live performances to present his third LP for Delsin, Animist. Inside lie 12 pieces which seem to probe at the unknowable distance between tangible consciousness and the astral plane, imbuing even the most seemingly synthetic of materials with a living essence. Given his illustrious back catalogue, it's no surprise to hear VRIL conjure explicitly electronic music with such loaded emotional impact and seemingly organic animus, but in the process he also toys with the idea of how far the technology's spiritual potential can reach.
- Venice 100720, Hands In Soil
- Mighty Stillness
- Love Dedication (For Annelise
- Flutestargate
- Maha Rose North 102021, Breathwork
- Transcendental Bounce, Run To It
- Taaaud
- Spacial
- Am I Dreaming?
- Etheric Windsurfing, Flips And Twirls
- Boom Bap Spiritual
- Woo, Acknowledgement
- Sandra's Willows
- One For Derf
- Conversations
- Essence, The Mermaids Call
- Eightspace 082222
black 2x12"[27,94 €]
An evolved, ecosystemic love expression of Carlos Niño"s self-described "Spiritual, Improvisational, Space, Collage" expression - (I"m just) Chillin", on Fire is the prolific percussionist/producer"s most singular, intentional work ever, featuring a vibrant and abundant gathering of his "friends" (i.e. the highly skilled and accomplished musicians and improvisers that make up Niño"s extensive network of collaborators)
Ash sind seit 30 Jahren zusammen, aber es waren die zwei Jahre, die sie voneinander getrennt waren, die sie zu ihrem brillanten neuen Album inspirierten. Wie der Rest der Welt wurden auch Tim Wheeler (Gitarre/Gesang), Mark Hamilton (Bass) und Rick McMurray (Schlagzeug) von der Pandemie überrumpelt. Es war nicht nur die erste längere Auszeit, die die Band in ihrer unglaublichen drei Jahrzehnte währenden Karriere hatte, sondern auch die längste Zeit, in der die drei sich nicht gesehen hatten, seit sie sich in der Schule in Downpatrick, Nordirland, erstmals begegnet waren. Tim Wheeler - wie man es von einem der größten Songschreiber seiner Generation erwarten würde - hatte während Ashs Zwangspause weiter Songs geschrieben. Zum Reboot-Camp der Band erschien er bereit zum Loslegen mit einem Rucksack voller Hard-Rock-Hymnen. Und schwere Zeiten verlangen schließlich nach härterer Musik. Das selbst produzierte "Race The Night" - das achte Studioalbum der Band - ist in jeder Hinsicht herausragend. Aufgenommen im Oh Yeah-Studio in Belfast und mit neuem Fokus, kombiniert die Platte die unwiderstehlichen Rock-Riffs von "Meltdown" (2004) mit der melodischen Meisterschaft von "Free All Angels" (2001) - und das alles verpackt mit einem deutlichen Twist ins Jahr 2023. Und mit den fernen Anzeichen eines oft beschworenen Rock-Revivals am Horizont, könnte es das essentielle gitarrenzentrierte, hymnenreiche Album sein, auf das die Welt gewartet hat. Seit Ash als Teenager mit ihrem Nummer-Eins-Debütalbum "1977" aus Downpatrick auftauchten, ist die Band ein vitales, wachsendes Anliegen. Die meisten ihrer Zeitgenossen sind verschwunden oder haben sich zumindest aufgelöst, bevor sie zurückkehrten, aber Ashs Licht leuchtet so hell wie eh und je. Für dieses Album sind sie sogar zu Fierce Panda Records zurückgekehrt, die eine ihrer ersten Aufnahmen, "Punkboy", auf der 1994 erschienenen Crazed And Confused EP veröffentlicht haben.
- A1: Moon To Light (Number Ii) - A 3 22
- A2: Moon To Light (Number Ii) - B 3 30
- A3: Soul Cathedral (Number Ii) - A 3 06
- A4: Soul Cathedral (Number Ii) - B 3 06
- A5: Light In The Rains (Number Ii) - A 1 38
- A6: Light In The Rains (Number Ii) - B 1 32
- B1: Mondial Scoop (Number Ii) 2 03
- B2: Mecanic Bird Song 2 58
- B3: Mephisto Jet (Number Ii) - A 2 19
- B4: Mephisto Jet (Number Ii) - B 2 18
- B5: Mephisto Jet (Number Ii) - C 1 03
- B6: Phasing News - A 2 01
- B7: Phasing News - B 2 56
Volume 2[23,49 €]
European funk fusion of the highest order, Michel Gonet's Phasing News Volume 1 is the essential companion piece to the venerated Volume 2. It's truly a library treasure that every home must own. As Tele Music themselves said, it contains "tense and mysterious underscores in a range of styles"; whilst we don't disagree, we'd add swaggering, orchestral drama-funk-jazz-breaks. Vital.
Opener "Moon To Light (Number II) - A" is a total wonder. It's incredible, and what a way to begin a record. The percussion is electrifying, complimenting the dark, heavy piano, eerie organ work, electric guitar soling and rhythm section brilliance. Part B is virtually identical but without the electric guitar. The slow "Soul Cathedral (Number II) - A" is an ambient spacey synth gem which is both beatless and drenched in phased organ. Pretty captivating. Part B plays it rather straighter, a church organ continuing the same melody and tempo but with less of the swirling synthy effects.
"Light In The Rains (Number II) - A" sounds like something Diamond D would've sampled in the mid-to-late 90s, conjuring as it does that peculiar, creeping Axelrod-funk, all eerie electric guitar and organ, bass and spacey effects. Part B loses the electric guitar and adds brass.
The swirling, dramatic "Mondial Scoop (Number II)" has that urgent News At Ten feel with its prominent timpani drums whilst "Mecanic Bird Song" is a frenetic, abstract track with disorientating keyboard interplay.
*Total highlight* "Mephisto Jet (Number II) - A" rides a slick, proto-hip-hop beat with melodic, warm Rhodes yet, thrillingly, casually ups the drama with strings and timpanis. It then returns to its more mellow state. Ace. Part B adds acidy, phased percussion to create a more hypnotic, tripped out feel to proceedings. Part C is half as long but, pared back to just drums and Rhodes, it's arguably twice-as-nice.
To close, the shuffling, bell-laced urgent jazz of "Phasing News - A" is another highlight, riding a great bassline and augmented by ace drums, organ and electric guitar. Part B is also great, removing the guitar and doubling down on the head-nod funk.
The audio for Phasing News Volume 1 has been remastered by Be With regular Simon Francis, ensuring this release sounds better than ever. Cicely Balston's expert skills have made sure nothing is lost in the cut whilst the original, iconic Tele Music house sleeve has been restored here at Be With HQ as the finishing touch to this long overdue re-issue.




















