Cerca:exile

ae Recordings the infamous sublabel of Thule Records was responsible for some of the finest techno releases from Iceland in the early 2000s. With the motherlabel on full throttle it was ideal to revive the enigmatic junior label as well. The label was known for bringing in fresh winds into the scene and this release doesn't stray away from the concept at all.The veteran Icelandic producer Cold has been missing from the scene since his legendary release Strobe Light Network in 1995 a track that kickstarted the Thule franchise and was at one point the closing track for the epic Love Parade festival in Berlin. After more than 20 years of hiatus, we are happy to announce that he is back and with a vengeance. Exiles EP is a hard-hitter & should be essential for DJs who aren't afraid to venture into the unknown. ae Recordings/Thule Records is considered by many to be a pioneers in the field of dub-influenced techno music and was a starting point for many of Iceland's most renowned electronic musicians"

1983, in the history of synths, is a key year. During the January edition of NAMM (the most important music fair in the US), indeed, MIDI - the standard protocol for electronic instruments interaction - was introduced to the world. Until then, programming and making synths work together was something practiced by a restricted elite of 'wizards", explorers armed with cables and analog patches, who could create new sonic worlds - but totally temporary, not replicable. Real superheroes of sonic synthesis, scientists of filters who, nowadays, are highly considered by musicians all over the world, after decades of forced exile. In Italy, the seeds of this tradition were planted in RAI's Laboratory of Phonology (in Milan), in the middle of the 1950's; later, pioneers like Piero Umiliani, Federico Monti Arduini (aka Il Guardiano Del Faro), Marcello Giombini, Giampiero Boneschi and Fabio Borgazzi (Fabio Fabor) introduced electronic music in pop. Fabor (together with Antonio Arena) is the protagonist of 'Superman", an album of library music released by the World label (owned by Minstrel group) in 1984. Borgazzi, born in 1920, lived through the whole saga of Italian easy listening music (from big orchestras to the digital revolution), always keeping up with the latest styles and trends. So it's not a surprise, here, to see him using a LinnDrum and the first Japanes synths; and it's perfectly natural to find some electro-funk touches

Black Truffle is thrilled to announce Reverse Tree, the new LP from the acclaimed duo of Eyvind Kang and Jessika Kenney, two musicians who have established themselves as powerful voices working at a unique intersection of contemporary composition, improvisation, and Asian traditional music forms. Either individually or as a pair, they have worked in contexts ranging from performances of traditional Persian and Javanese music to collaborations with Sunn O))), but their work together as a duo (documented on The face of the earth and Aestuarium, both released on Ideological Organ/Editions Mego) most clearly represents the central concerns of their diverse practices: a music of the inner life of sound, demanding ritualistic focus and promising heightened sensations.
On Reverse Tree, the duo expand their work together into the realm of the chamber ensemble, presenting two side-long works that feature Kenney's voice and Kang's viola alongside a multitude of other instrumentalists. Kang's Thoughts on Being Exiled to the Frontier, for Lord Wei, inspired by a text by the Tang dynasty poet Hsueh T'ao, features an all-star international ensemble: Kang, Kenney, maverick Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov on violin, Icelandic cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir, and guitarists Oren Ambarchi and Stephen O'Malley. The piece is primarily composed of irregular patterns of pizzicato notes and guitar harmonics, gently falling in and out of sync and providing a subtly unstable support for Kenney's voice, which sings long, wavering tones, at times reminiscent of Michiko Hirayama's classic performances of Scelsi. Drawing on 20th century instrumental techniques, alternate tuning systems, non-western music and the experience of nature (the irregular rhythms of the piece calling to mind nothing so much as drops of rain), the piece opens a space both serene and subtly uneasy.
Kenney's 'Elm features Kenney and vocalist Nova Ruth (of Filastine & Twin Sista) alongside an ensemble of strings and Seattle's Gamelan Pacifica, performing on Javanese instruments tuned to the slendro scale. An uncanny timbre created by bowing the keys of the Gamelan's instruments, supported by bowed harmonics from the strings, is heard consistently throughout the piece. After a long introductory section in which this harmonic cloud slowly descends from shimmering high notes to rumbling bass, the vocalists enter, singing a slow and stately setting of a 19th century Surakarta poem (attributed to Mangkunegara the IV). The melody is sung as a rich and wavering heterophony, with the ensemble sometimes rising up to support individual notes. The poem deals with the idea of a form of knowledge achieved through deeds, as a practice and state of the heart. This is music in slow motion, in which, in Kenney's words,

A. Taiguara - Aquarela De Um País Na Lua
Extremely unique, psychedelic uptempo Brazilian jazz fusion. Flutes, piano and vocal harmonies drift in and out of the mix, creating a lush soundscape.
Taiguara was a prolific and hugely successful singer and songwriter - primarily within pop/MPB - whose career spanned nine albums in the late 60's and 70's. He is also thought to be one of the most censored Brazilian artists and was exiled to London in the 1970's by the Brazilian dictatorship.
'Aquarela' is taken from his most experimental album 'Imyra, Tayra, Ipy' originally released in 1976 on Odeon.

AA. Marisa Rossi - Deixa Eu Te Amar
Killer uptempo psychedelic funk/soul track, highly sought after, originally released on Copaconana 7' in 1970.
Marisa, and the backing track, sound very much like the wonderful 'Doris' whose album 'Did You Give The World Some Love Today Baby' we have previously reissued.
Rossi recorded an album arranged by the legendary Arthur Verocai.

Vactrol Park is an honest outpouring of thematic obsession, a celebration of championed studio components and the mastery of their nuance, an avant garde collaboration between Kyle Martin (Land of Light, Spectral Empire) and Guido Zen (Gamers in Exile, Brain Machine). Simply entitled "I" (the first of a 2 part series), this debut EP opens the door to a world of ebb and flow, layers of oscillation falling in and out of sync, keeping us on the brink of vertigo and, as cliché as it may sound, we find solace in its chaos. This homogeneous release plays with the notions of systems as beautifully symbolized Mario Hugo's capsule of cardiology—yet another visually arresting module in the ESP Institute catalogue. Some music is made for drugs, some is made on drugs, these tracks simply are drugs.

Speedy Ortiz is proud to announce their sophomore album, Foil Deer, which will be released via Carpark Records on April 20th.

'Major Arcana' released in 2013 won them glowing reviews , features and several UK tours (highlights below):

- 4 PAGE NME FEATURE

- 9/10 LEAD REVIEW IN NME: 'One of the reasons 'Major Arcana' works so well is because it's addictive and fun. The guitars and bass sound incredible, like the last Deerhunter album without the Yankee Doodle Dandy'

8/10 Drowned In Sound : ' Speedy Ortiz are way too euphoric and glorious to suffer for their artfulness. Stripping away the frills, at heart Major Arcana is a mournful treasure that asks to be celebrated.'

*NME RADAR FEATURE: 'What's miraculous, though, is that Major Arcana doesn't sound at all self-pitying; it's torrid Slint-meets-Pavement rattle bolsters Sadie's relished words so that yelling along is an exercise in gleefully exorcising your own demons'

8.4 ON PITCHFORK: : 'There's the squalling, guitar-on-guitar carnage of Archers of Loaf, the grungy mysticism of Helium (Dupuis lifted the title Major Arcana from a book she was reading on black magic), and of course the deadpan wit of vintage Liz Phair ('I was never the witch that you made me to be,' Dupuis tells a burnt-out old flame on 'Plough', 'Still you picked a virgin over me').

Standard LP is gatefold, single black LP with chapbook, plus digital download card.
Deluxe LP Is as above but with metallic gold coloured vinyl, and sticker.(200 ONLY FOR UK)
CD comes in digipak with a folded poster approximating the chapbook in the LP.

Speedy Ortiz said they would get the flowers themselves. What a lark! What a plunge!

When considering Massachusetts' Speedy Ortiz, that line from Virginia Woolf comes to mind. Not only for the obvious echoes to DIY, a form and function that's characterized the band's nascency, but in the proto-feminist undertones driving much of their sophomore album, Foil Deer. "I'm not bossy, I'm the boss," Sadie Dupuis sings on "Raising the Skate," invoking in spirit one half of the Carter-Knowles clan and echoing the other's wordplay. And wordplay makes sense, considering Dupuis-the band's songwriter, guitarist, and frontwoman-spent the band's first few years teaching writing at UMass Amherst. She's drawn to the dense complexity of Pynchon, the dreamlike geometry of Bolaño, the confounded yearning of Plath-all attributes you could easily apply to the band's 2013 debut Major Arcana, which fans and press alike have invested with a sense of purpose and merit uncommon in contemporary guitar rock.

The group, including Mike Falcone on drums, Darl Ferm on bass, and new addition Devin McKnight of Grass is Green on guitar, have spent the last year on an almost endless cross-continental touring jag, tagging along with the likes of The Breeders, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, and Thurston Moore. That shift into full-time musicianship brought with it an attendant reordering of priorities when it came to songwriting, and the band members' lives in general. They would get the damn flowers themselves.

Dupuis wrote much of Foil Deer at her mother's home in the Connecticut woods, where the songwriter imposed a self-regulated exile and physical cleansing of sorts, finding that many of the songs came to her while running or swimming alone. "I gave up wasting mental energy on people who didn't have my back," she says. "Listening to our old records, I get the sense I was putting myself in horrible situations just to write sad songs. This music isn't coming from a dark place, and without slipping into self-empowerment jargon, it feels stronger." Many of the songs deal with a similar sense of starting over, editing out the unnecessary drama. "Boys be sensitive and girls be, be aggressive," she sings on "Mister Difficult."

And while their debut album was recorded on the fly, Speedy Ortiz spent almost a month in the studio on Foil Deer. Falcone's drums are taut, mechanistic; Ferm's bass ranges from the aggressive rattle of an AmRep classic to smoother, hip-hop inspired lines. McKnight, meanwhile, lends spacier, textural riffs to complement Dupuis' wiry, melody-driven guitar style. "The demos for our songs have always had tons of small details and production experimentation, but we never had any money to pay for more than a couple days in the studio, so the songs came out very live-sounding and guitar heavy," Dupuis says. It was recorded and mixed at Brooklyn's Rare Book Room with Nicolas Vernhes (Silver Jews, Enon, Deerhunter), with the record mastered by Emily Lazar (Sia, Haim, Beauty Pill), lending a more polished sound and a pop sensibility that will stand out to existing fans and new converts alike. For all the lyrical complexity and guitar-based excursions Speedy Ortiz have built their reputation on to this point, Foil Deer has a sense of light-footed fun. What's the point of doing things yourself if you're not going to enjoy the trip

Standard LP is gatefold, single black LP with chapbook, plus digital download card.
CD comes in digipak with a folded poster approximating the chapbook in the LP.

freshly repressed!
Leisure System, the collective, label and famed Berghain club night of four years standing, is back with their third release from co-founder and resident, Sam Barker. Known for its genre-defiant lineups, Leisure System's quarterly residency has consistently brought together artists with varying styles. Flying Lotus, Autechre, Afrika Hitech, Jackmaster, Surgeon, Jimmy Edgar, Blawan, 808 State, Dopplereffekt, Clark, Machinedrum, Surgeon, Venetian Snares, Objekt and Egyptian Lover have all graced the decks, showing off the collective's commitment to the exploration of new and experimental sounds in EDM. The development of the label, and now this release from Barker, is no exception. After discovering computers and raves in the late '90s, Barker began making tracks at age 13, building up a sizable collection of vintage analogue synths, paving the way for his future solo work and collaborations with artists like Tim Exile, Clark, Shitmat, Scotch Egg, The Field, Leafcutter John and Jimmy Edgar. Shortly after his 2007 move to Berlin, Barker began collaborating with fellow Berghain resident nd_baumecker, resulting in their ongoing project Barker & Baumecker. Their first EP 'Candyflip', was released on Ostgut Ton in 2010, followed up by a live show tour throughout Europe. The duo is currently readying their second EP and have a long player due out in August 2012. For this new solo EP, mastered by electronic music legend Pole, Barker presents a creative three-track lesson in diversity and highlights Leisure System's ever-evolving aural curiosity. The opener and title track 'Like An Animal' is a number that builds and builds, quickly changing course and mutating into a percussive and texturized melting pot of sounds. Up next the hypnotic 'I Feel', which is filled with moody pads and syncopated breakbeat rhythms, paving the way for the mechanical, yet smooth half-step rhythm of 'Hot Lover'. Siimilar to the collective, this offering pushes boundaries and mirrors the progressive ideals of the collective. Just like Leisure System's first two 12's from Pixelord and Eprom in 2011, Barker's 'Like An Animal' EP is a clear statement of the label's simple and distinct commitment : to be a platform for timeless, thrilling and soulful dance music in the fields of house, techno and electronica, disregarding media hype and genre borders. In keeping with this clear sonic manifesto, Leisure System's design aesthetic is equally individual, with all vinyl releases housed in deluxe die-cut jackets.

Der Titel des siebten Studioalbums der kalifornischen Punkrocker bezieht sich auf Mike Ness" doppelte musikalische Heimat. Der Songwriter und Sänger von Social Distortion huldigt auf "Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes" sowohl dem düsteren Amerika eines Hank Williams wie auch dem bluesigen Herumstolzieren der Rolling Stones etwa während der "Exile-On-Mainstreet"-Ära. Altbekannte Einflüsse, die hier jedoch in den Vordergrund treten: "Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes" ist das rockigste und gleichzeitig beseelteste Album der Gruppe, die weltweit über vier Millionen Alben verkaufte. Dennoch finden Fans den typischen Punkrock-Roar in jedem Stück wieder: vom Opener "California (Hustle and Flow)" bis zum düster-rockenden Hank-Williams-Cover "Alone and Forsaken". Aber auch Springsteen- und Tom-Petty-Fans dürften diesen Sound mögen. "Hard Times And Nursery Rhymes" ist das erste Album der Band nach "Sex, Love And Rock "n" Roll" aus dem Jahr 2004. Für Fans von Gaslight Anthem, Rancid, Bad Religion, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen und Tiger Army. Die 2LP hat zwei Bonus-Tracks.