quête:expression

A limited re-release of the very first single created by Virginia Soul Legend, Van Jones. Originally released in 1974, this release celebrates one of the most soulful, heartfelt recordings pressed onto a 7", the first step in Vans career defining his artistry & expression. The original release remains obscure due to the handful of copies known worldwide, now lovingly restored & released exclusively through Symphonical, in direct collaboration with Van Jones & Erwin Epps.

In 2024, the singer and songwriter Oum is celebrating her fifteen-year career, with a live album, recorded in Marrakech, which plunges back into the magic of her three flagship records, here revisited in a different light. This seventh album, named Dakchi, which means "those things", is the opportunity for this daring off-roader to allow herself a suspended moment for a temporary assessment, a return to her roots. Dakchi is the first best-of live album, in which Oum brings together around ten titles from her repertoire woven throughout three albums with identities as singular as they are filled with a common sap: Soul of Morocco (2013), Zarabi (2015) and Daba (2019). It is the expression of typically Moroccan hybridizations - African, Berber and Andalusian - which irrigate the crossbreeding of Oum. It is also joyful and natural fireworks display of polyrhythms which galvanize her music : the Marrakech signature, playful, sunny, festive. Oum slips three unpublished pieces, including the sublime Arabic cover of the legendary bolero "Lagrimas Negras", "Toda la Gente", an introduction to "Mansit", signed by cuban musician Damian Nueva or the delicate "Intidhar", composed by Yacir Rami.

In 2024, the singer and songwriter Oum is celebrating her fifteen-year career, with a live album, recorded in Marrakech, which plunges back into the magic of her three flagship records, here revisited in a different light. This seventh album, named Dakchi, which means "those things", is the opportunity for this daringoff-roader to allowherself a suspended moment for a temporaryassessment, a return to her roots. Dakchi is the first best-of live album, in which Oum brings together around ten titles from her repertoire woven throughout three albums with identities as singular as they are filled with a common sap: Soul of Morocco (2013), Zarabi (2015) and Daba (2019). It is the expression of typically Moroccan hybridizations - African, Berber and Andalusian - which irrigatethe crossbreeding of Oum.It is also joyful and natural fireworks display of polyrhythms which galvanize her music : the Marrakech signature, playful, sunny,festive. Oum slips three unpublished pieces, including the sublime Arabic cover of the legendary bolero "Lagrimas Negras", "Toda a Gente", an introduction to "Mansit", signed by cuban musician Damian Nueva or the delicate "Intidhar", composed by Yacir Rami.

Since more than 40 years, Anne Gillis has discreetly unfolded her proper singular universe without any compromise. She playfully moves with determined restrictions, excavating contrasting forces; sensual and visceral, mechanical and organical, black and white, … She extends this personal expression in her visuals using self-portrait photos, handwritten text and her theatrical performances are equally aligned. Her music can be considered as musique concrète using the tape machine as compositional tool, manipulating her recorded sources, mainly consisting of extended voice and different (instrumental) sounds with addition of electronics and treatments. In both her photography and her music, Anne Gillis works fully analog.

New solo album from Seth Avett of the Avett Brothers (his first in 5 years), featuring songs written by lauded folk singer Greg Brown, whose songs have also been performed and recorded by Joan Baez, Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Carlos Santana, Ani DiFranco, Gillian Welch, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and more. For those who may need reminding, Greg Brown is the ultimate songwriter's songwriter. Over a forty-plus-year career, he's occupied the same rarefied air as Loudon Wainwright III and John Prine - a keen-eyed poet and diarist of the human condition. And he's done it mostly on his own. “This is a man who put forty records out because he had to,” Avett says. “He made his own record label. He played the coffee shops, the bars, the little theaters. He built it. He's a world-class artist who did it all under the radar, which is just mind-blowing to me.” As Avett's new solo record makes clear, this collection is an expression of admiration and gratitude for one of his heroes. But it's also a reflection of his own artistry and ability as an interpreter. Though Brown's songs have been a part of his listening diet for decades, Avett gained a more profound appreciation once he put his own voice behind them. And though on the surface it's a covers record, it dovetails seamlessly with the most recent Avett Brothers album The Third Gleam and Seth's solo outing IV, which find him in equally stripped-down settings exploring the light and shadows of his own personal stories.

My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross, ANOHNI"s sixth studio album, expresses a world view by shape-shifting through a broad range of subject matter. Through a personal lens, ANOHNI addresses loss of loved ones, inequality, alienation, acceptance, cruelty, ecocide, devastation wrought by Abrahamic theologies, Future Feminism, and the possibility that we might yet transform our ways of thinking, our spiritual ideas, our societal structures, and our relationships with the rest of nature. On her first full album since 2016"s HOPELESSNESS, she explains the creative process was painstaking, yet also inspired, joyful, and intimate, a renewal and a renaming of her response to the world as she sees it. "Some of these songs respond to global and environmental concerns first voiced in popular music over 50 years ago." ANOHNI"s approach since her last record has shifted from someone tasked with challenging global denial, to an artist seeking to support others on the front lines. "I learned with HOPELESSNESS that I can provide a soundtrack that might fortify people in their work, in their activism, in their dreaming and decision-making. I can sing of an awareness that makes others feel less alone, people for whom the frank articulation of these frightening times is not a source of discomfort but a cause for identification and relief. On "It Must Change," ANOHNI soulfully describes systems in collapse with a note of compassion for humanity: "The truth is I always thought you were beautiful in your own way // That"s why this is so sad." ANOHNI"s voice is sensual and smoothed, selectively reaching to the edges of what it can contain. "We"re not getting out of here // No one"s getting out of here // This is our world," she murmurs. A portrait of legendary human rights activist Marsha P. Johnson taken by Alvin Baltrop features on the cover, reflecting a 25-year relationship with the memory of Johnson that ANOHNI has held space for in the presentation of her own work. Elsewhere, the album artwork states "IT"S TIME TO FEEL WHAT"S REALLY HAPPENING". In some ways it feels as if she is reaching across her life"s expression, and has found a moment of unique composure, wearing her long exploration of disarming intensity, with the maturity of a painter carefully choosing her colors. "I want the work to be useful, to help others move through these conversations we are now facing, to move with dignity and resilience through this bitter dawning."

This is a repress of Tycho's second release with Ghostly International to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of this masterpiece, while Ghostly International celebrates its 25th year anniversary. For nearly a decade, Tycho has been known as the musical alias of Scott Hansen, but with the release of Awake - his second LP for Ghostly International - the solo project evolved into a three-piece band. Relating closer to post-rock than ambient soundscapes, the record is situated in the present, sounding more like Hansen than drawing from his influences. This is, in many ways, the first true Tycho record. Following 2011's Dive LP, the San Francisco-based designer toured extensively, and with a full band on stage, his sound coalesced into a percussive, organic whole. Zac Brown (guitars, bass) rejoined Scott on the road for this tour, but it was the particular addition of Rory O'Connor's live drumming that ultimately sent Hansen back to the studio with a more precise vision. "After the tour, I decided that I wanted to capture the more energetic, driven sound of the live show on the next album," Hansen recalls. Bringing musicians into Tycho's creative process was a step towards expanding his own songwriting and advancing the project beyond its current sound. In a cabin near Tahoe last winter, Zac and Scott began fleshing out the structure of the new record, but it wasn't until they set up shop in the hills of Santa Cruz with Rory that it all fell into place. "It crystallized the vision of how the drums would come to the forefront on this record," says Hansen. The sound was much more stripped-down and concise with more organic instruments in the fold. Songs like "Montana" and "Awake" are a departure from Tycho's previous material - unique to the group effort poured into the songs on the new record - while "See" and "Dye" echo ideas from previous works, bridging a middle ground between the old and new. Working with Count Eldridge, who also engineered Dive, the team could fixate on the pulses that Tycho might previously layer under synthesizers and exhume them with distinct bass and guitar patterns. Also known for his design work as ISO50, Hansen's visual and sonic efforts have dovetailed throughout the course of his career. "This is the first time in my life I've dropped everything to focus on one artistic pursuit," notes Hansen. Previous Tycho releases came to fruition when an amalgam of songs were nearing completion, but Awake is where music becomes the focus and true expression becomes the result.

Katà Métron is the Greek mythology-inspired collaborative album from Italian ambient auteurs ILUITEQ and Lorenzo Montanà.

For ILUITEQ, Ancient Greek culture, with its myths and philosophy, has strongly influenced their everyday lives and has provided constant inspiration in their musical endeavors. The Greek expression "Katà Métron" means "according to the right measure," representing how human beings should live in harmo- ny with themselves and nature. More often than not, the dominant model is to go beyond our limits, and having a "sense of measure" is not capitalistically profitable as we must nourish our constant desire to always wish for more, not caring for the consequences of such a "bulimic" attitude.

Lorenzo Montanà should need little introduction, with a more than two-decades-long career, a vast body of work on labels such as FAX and Projekt, and highlighting such collaborative partners as Pete Namlook and Alio Die. ILUITEQ approached Montanà as they admired his textural take on ambient. The duo presented the Greek mythology concept in which they might collaborate, and Montanà became instantly inspired to partici- pate. Montanà's contributions to "Katà Métron" shape the sound of ILUITEQ in new, evocative music territo- ries, where meticulously crafted rhythmic patterns and melodic echos blend with the Italian duo's soothing and ethereal ambient soundscapes.

Under the influence of his punk loving father and cabaret / comedy performing mother, Janek moved from singing in his school choir to learning to play drums and piano. Now, as well as producing music under his own name, Janek is also one of the founding members of the Neukolln based outfit Liquid Brain Orchestra, and one half of off-kilter duo Tutu Amuse with guitarist, vocalist and actor Rosa Landers. Janek"s debut solo album "Circle Of Madness" is a record that is best described by himself as a snapshot of "something at some point" and encourages the listener to "stay curious while trying to maintain a balanced and non toxic relationship with perfectionism on this discovery of new land through music, channelling self expression and learning".

As a composer Martijn Comes has a special interest in timbral music and various musical traditions, with an emphasis on the electro-acoustic history. His works for the carillon were performed live at festivals like Le Guess Who and Rewire. He also released several solo-albums and collaborated with a wide range of contemporary artists like Frans de Waard, Lukas Simonis, Nicoleta Chatzopoulou and Hessel Veldman, with whom he co-produced the album EPoX, published by Bedouin Records in 2020.

Veldman is a veteran of the Dutch musical avant-garde and published several legendary cassettes on his label EXART in the early 80’s. His experimental soundscapes are laced with industrial elements, creating a hypnotic, dark undercurrent of sounds. Besides operating under his moniker Y Create, he was a member of the improvisation group Gorgonzola Legs and kept working intensively with Fluxus artist and Dutch underground cult-figure Willem de Ridder. The home-taping era shaped his free approach to music. His diverse musical practices have been traversing several decades by now and he continues to play music according to his own insights and intuitions.

Because of the emotional and poetic weight of the pieces, reverend Tom de Haan was consulted for this collaborative album. It was the start of a musical exploration and a search for peace, balance and above all freedom. Reaching out to a distant world, a place to come to terms with ourselves. A journey full of obstacles and setbacks. Sometimes persistently moving forward, sometimes doubtful. 'Are there Gods among us or inside us?' The music as a manifest, the expression of an inner struggle.

Throughout the chapters of this album layers of sound and distant voices arise and seem to float on the surface before they disappear again. Swaying on the gentle waves, running ashore, we find ourselves in unknown places. Manifest Exodus is an album for deep listening in the vein of Lustmord, Lawrence English or Rafael Anton Irisarri. It contains 4 rich, immersive pieces with austere drones, ambience, intense sonic textures and an incredible sense of detail to create a multi-layered escape to a better world.

Over atmospheric instrumentation expanded by cinematic structure and pacing, Pearlty presents Knifeplay somewhere between dream-pop influenced shoegaze and lofty slowcore, never fully committing to one or the other in its insistence on creating an immersive, organic world. Originally released in 2019, Knifeplay’s vivid debut Pearlty documents songwriter Tj Strohmer’s expressions of early adulthood in what he describes as “the journey from innocence to experience.” Written during a time of immense inspiration, Strohmer was able to peel himself away from detached nihilism, uncovering the physicality and therapeutic powers of songwriting. Newly emboldened by this discovery and the talented community surrounding him, Strohmer channeled this revelation into his work, taking Knifeplay from a bedroom experiment that merely wrote songs to a more substantial project with a purpose. Pearlty’s various climactic passages, like those heard on the impressionist album opener “Tears”, envelop listeners in textured walls of distorted guitar and noisy breakdowns, a distinct hallmark of shoegaze – but Knifeplay’s compositions go far beyond such conventions. Also featured are downtempo compositions – such as the tribute track “Angel” – that call on a range of influences, from grunge to lofi pop, all the way back to slowcore. Layers of Strohmer’s falsetto lilt adorn the songs with another dimension of sentimentality, while rounding out the sonic vastness of the group’s emotionally enrapturing style, lending impressive depth to the band’s debut full-length.

The vinyl is pressed in pink.

Ltd. Pink Coloured 180g Vinyl ( )

In a mesmerizing fusion of two beatsmiths, the renowned Instrumental hip hop virtuosos Thelonious Coltrane and Miller Gold have joined forces to create an unparalleled vinyl release, set to captivate music a¦cionados worldwide. This groundbreaking collaboration seamlessly blends the innovative drumbreaks mastery of Thelonious Coltrane with the synth compositions of Miller Gold. With a collective legacy spanning decades, these two luminaries have rede¦ned the boundaries of instrumental hip hop, in§uencing generations with their distinctive styles. The forthcoming vinyl release promises an immersive journey through the rich tapestry of future sound of instrumental hip hop, offering listeners a transcendent experience that harkens back to the golden age of the genre while pushing the boundaries of contemporary musical expression. From exhilarating improvisations to hauntingly beautiful melodies, each track on the album showcases the unparalleled artistry of Thelonious Coltrane and Miller Gold. Speaking about the collaboration, Thelonious Coltrane expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "Working with Miller has been a true privilege. Our shared passion for music and our deep respect for each other's craft have fueled this collaboration, resulting in something truly special." Speaking about the collaboration, Thelonious Coltrane expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "Working with Miller has been a true joy. Our shared passion for music and our deep respect for each other's craft have fueled this collaboration, resulting in something trulyspecial." The vinyl release is poised to reignite interest in the timeless allure of instrumental hip hop, drawing both seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers alike into its spellbinding embrace. With its evocative melodies and virtuosic performances, this collaboration between Thelonious Coltrane and Miller Gold promises to leave an indelible mark on the landscape of contemporary instrumental hip hop. Stay tuned for anticipated vinyl album

Before coming to Europe, in 1970, pianist Manuel Villarroel was a vet in his native Chilli. A few years later, as leader of the Machi Oul Big Band, he returned to the animal kingdom. A very specific kind of animal, for sure, the Quetzalcoatl, also known as the Feathered Serpent. What is behind this title (also the name of one of the three original compositions on this album released on the Palm label in 1976), is first and foremost a sort of homecoming...

After discovering the jazz of Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Villarroel was taken by the free jazz which was all the rage at the time in America and Europe, and this would inspire the first version of his Machi-Oul, project. This was a septet, with which the pianist would record, in 1971, the tremendous Terremoto (re-released by Souffle Continu FFL085). After this masterstroke Villarroel was invited to record with Perception (Perception & Friends) and with Baikida Carroll (Orange Fish Tears). While these were notable contributions, Villarroel was already looking into other combinations.

“I had to deal personally with my situation as an expatriate, without disavowing it. I tried not to betray my roots, I tried to translate into my music what was essential to me, to reflect my origins – Latin America, its musical and above all human feelings – while remaining faithful to jazz, which is the mode of expression of the musicians in the group”. This then is the ‘homecoming’ we mentioned, which would incite Manuel Villarroel to compose what he would call “structured free music”. In January 1972 the pianist enlarged his formation to reach the size of a real big band: the Septet became the Machi-Oul Big Band. Three years later in January 1975, with producer Jef Gilson at the helm, fifteen musicians including those from the old Septet (Jef Sicard, François and Jean-Louis Méchali, Gérard Coppéré) worked on a rare form of jazz. From togetherness to dissonance, we danse to it “Bolerito” then shake it up on “Leyendas De Nahuelbuta”. As for the concluding serpent, it is a piece which is impossible to pin down: “Quetzalcoat” is as impressive as it is difficult to grasp. To remind ourselves of this, lets listen to it again.

Deer Jade – Jukurpa

Tired of grey skies and long faces? We’ve got a serious dose of musical vitamin D for you! Deer Jade is hailing from the picturesque Lake of Geneva, an area about which the late Jean Paul Belmondo had to say a thing or two. Her infectious smile and uplifting energy behind the decks already made her a household name in clubs and festivals around the globe. This solo debut is an expression of her strong self confidence and in-syncness with the world surrounding her. “Jukurpa” might be just one of the most flamboyant house tunes you’ll come across this year, readymade for swaying to on an early summer morning dancefloor. “Cosmic Dream” is of a more introspective nature, putting gentle psychedelic synth movements to good use. There’s a lot of heart in Deer Jade’s music. We’re happy to give it a home.

David Hasert & Niconé – Wasting My Time With You

Tired of grey skies and long faces? We’ve got a serious dose of musical vitamin D for you! ?This Cologne – Berlin joint venture is shedding rays of sun galore with this lost in reverie deep house jam. Built around a catchy as hell soul vocal and occasional piano outbursts “Wasting My Time With You” will certainly be one of our favorite tunes to waste our time to in 2024.

Deer Jade – Jukurpa

Hast Du genug von grauem Himmel und langen Gesichtern? Wir haben eine ordentliche Dosis musikalisches Vitamin D für Dich! Deer Jade stammt vom pittoresken Genfer See, einer Gegend, über die der unvergessliche Jean Paul Belmondo so einiges zu sagen hatte. Ihr ansteckendes Lächeln und ihre mitreissende Energie hinter den Decks haben sie bereits zum gerne gesehenen Gast in Clubs und auf Festivals rund um den Globus gemacht. Dieses Solo-Debüt ist Ausdruck ihres starken Selbstbewusstseins und ihrer Verbundenheit mit der Welt, die sie umgibt. “Jukurpa” ist vielleicht einer der extravagantesten House-Tunes, die man in diesem Jahr zu hören bekommt, wie geschaffen zum Mitschunkeln an einem frühen Sommermorgen. “Cosmic Dream” ist von eher introspektiver Natur und holt uns mit sanften psychedelischen Synthesizer-Bewegungen ab. In der Musik von Deer Jade steckt eine Menge Herzblut. Wir freuen uns, dass sie es bei uns verschüttet.

David Hasert & Niconé – Wasting My Time With You

Hast Du genug von grauem Himmel und langen Gesichtern? Wir haben eine ordentliche Dosis musikalisches Vitamin D für Dich! Das Köln-Berliner Joint Venture versprüht mit diesem verträumten Deep-House-Jam jede Menge Sonnenstrahlen. ?”Wasting My Time With You” ist mit seinen ?catchy Soul-? Vocals und gelegentlichen Klavier?-?Kaskaden sicherlich einer unserer Lieblingssongs, mit dem wir im Jahr 2024 unsere Zeit verschwenden werden.

Over atmospheric instrumentation expanded by cinematic structure and pacing, Pearlty presents Knifeplay somewhere between dream-pop influenced shoegaze and lofty slowcore, never fully committing to one or the other in its insistence on creating an immersive, organic world. Originally released in 2019, Knifeplay’s vivid debut Pearlty documents songwriter Tj Strohmer’s expressions of early adulthood in what he describes as “the journey from innocence to experience.” Written during a time of immense inspiration, Strohmer was able to peel himself away from detached nihilism, uncovering the physicality and therapeutic powers of songwriting. Newly emboldened by this discovery and the talented community surrounding him, Strohmer channeled this revelation into his work, taking Knifeplay from a bedroom experiment that merely wrote songs to a more substantial project with a purpose. Pearlty’s various climactic passages, like those heard on the impressionist album opener “Tears”, envelop listeners in textured walls of distorted guitar and noisy breakdowns, a distinct hallmark of shoegaze – but Knifeplay’s compositions go far beyond such conventions. Also featured are downtempo compositions – such as the tribute track “Angel” – that call on a range of influences, from grunge to lofi pop, all the way back to slowcore. Layers of Strohmer’s falsetto lilt adorn the songs with another dimension of sentimentality, while rounding out the sonic vastness of the group’s emotionally enrapturing style, lending impressive depth to the band’s debut full-length.

"Pearlty" by Knifeplay includes the following tracks: "Feel U", "Mirage", "Held My Hand", "Lemonhead" and more.

One of New Zealand’s fastest-rising electronic producers, Sanoi aka Jonas Fischer announces the release of his new album, ‘Echoes Of Home’. Rooted in melodic house and techno, the album is a journey through electronic music, one that is as at home on the dancefloor as it is on headphones.  Having previously released on labels such as Bar 25, Stil Vor Talent, Beat & Path, Magician On Duty, Sounds Of Sin and Tube & Berger’s Zehn Records, Loop are proud to present Sanoi’s second full-length. The New Zealand-based, German-born producer has crafted deeply personal electronic music that pushes the boundaries of creativity, skill and production techniques, while influenced by organic deep house and electronic techno from Berlin.  Created at his home in Auckland, and road tested across countless live performances across New Zealand and Australia over the past two years, ‘Echoes Of Home’ sees Sanoi’s songwriting step up to another level. Constantly developing as an artist and finding expression through music are some of the key factors that drive him, whether it be in the studio or behind the decks. His deeply danceable, meticulous though mischievous DJ sets see him move seamlessly across warm, melodic, groove-driven techno and beyond.  Featuring vocals by Beacon Bloom on ‘Silver’.

Die in Montréal lebende schwedische Sängerin und Komponistin hat in den letzten 20 Jahren sechzehn unabhängig produzierte Alben vorzuweisen und ist zahllose Kollaborationen eingegangen. Sie ist eine poetische und kühne Kraft in der Musik, die sich dem Genre entzieht. Ihre Stimme wurde als "eine führende Präsenz" (Exclaim) beschrieben, die "den Unterschied zwischen dem Göttlichen und dem Dämonischen aufspaltet, gekonnt aus den Angeln hebt" (Under The Radar) und "neben den größten Indie-Künstlerinnen steht, die vor nichts Angst haben" (Le Devoir). Aufgewachsen auf einer Insel an der schwedischen Westküste, begann ihre musikalische Laufbahn, als sie 2004 nach Stockholm zog und Mitglied des renommierten Kollektiv-Labels und Veranstaltungsortes Fylkingen wurde (die älteste Organisation in Europa für experimentelle Musik und Kunst, gegründet 1933). Seit ihrem Umzug nach Montréal im Jahr 2012 erstreckt sich ihre Karriere über zwei Jahrzehnte und ist geprägt von einem unerschrockenen Streben nach Originalität, einem unerschöpflichen Wunsch, Genres zu überschreiten, und einem Engagement für künstlerische Zusammenarbeit. Angell verschmilzt musikalische Bereiche von Klassik, Folk, Rock und Pop bis hin zu Jazz, Elektronik, freier Improvisation und Avantgarde. Bekannt ist sie vor allem für ihr unkonventionelles künstlerisches Schaffen mit der gefeierten und für den Polaris nominierten Avant-Rock-Band Thus Owls, die sie seit 2007 gemeinsam mit ihrem Mann Simon Angell leitet. Zu ihren früheren Ensembles gehören das schwedische Vokal-Bass-Duo Josef & Erika und die elektronische Noise-Gruppe The Moth. Zur Unterstützung dieser und anderer Projekte unternahm sie ausgedehnte Welttourneen, bei denen Daníel Bjarnason (Ben Frost, Sigur Rós), Liam O'Neill (SUUNS), Karl Lemieux (Godspeed You! Black Emperor), Lisen Rylander Löve (Midaircondo) und Anders Jormin (ECM) zu ihren zahlreichen Partnern zählten. Ihre unverwechselbare und virtuose Stimme hat Aufnahmen und Live-Auftritte mit einem breiten Spektrum von Künstlern geziert, darunter Loney Dear, Patrick Watson, Leonard Cohen, Kim Myhr, Arve Henriksen, Land Of Kush, Wildbirds and Peacedrums, La Force und The Besnard Lakes, um nur einige zu nennen. Kürzlich gründete Angell zusammen mit Róisín Adams und Peggy Lee das Neue-Musik-Trio Beatings Are In The Body und vollendete ein Solo-Debütalbum mit uneingeschränkter stimmlicher Erkundung und expressionistischen avant-elektronischen Kompositionen, das Anfang 2024 auf Constellation erscheinen soll.

Back in print on vinyl! Deerhoof debuts their new guitarist John Dieterich and achieves widespread critical acclaim for the first time. 2002's Reveille is a defiant expression of artistic rebirth, spilling over with madcap exuberance, apocalyptic imagery, newfound technical confidence belying their no-budget DIY recording methods, and jarring stylistic about-faces in which no two songs sound alike. The contrast of Satomi's ever-catchy, ever-charming melodiousness with John and Greg's noisy, cinematic bombast still has the power to thrill and tickle and upset, more than 20 years after its initial release. Includes reimagined cover art with the faint morning glow the band had always envisioned, pressed on clear sun-colored vinyl. Complete lyrics included for the first time, written by Satomi on the center labels.

Brooklyn-based artist Jonah Parzen-Johnson returns with the new album You're Never Really Alone, out on We Jazz Records, March 8. If you look at the label on the LP containing eight intimate compositions for baritone sax & flute, you will find the words, “we made this together”. At first thought, this simple phrase may seem out of place on a solo record, but just like the compositions on this album, it was carefully crafted to cut to the core of what this music is all about.
In Jonah’s words: “It’s pretty hard to end up at a solo saxophone concert by accident. Odds are pretty good, if you are there, it is because you light up when you experience something new, something experimental. That shared desire connects us, and suddenly, for a night, we are a community. For me, being connected to those spontaneous communities is the best part of being an experimental artist. Everything I make is in service to the cultivation of that community, our community. Without it my music doesn’t exist and because of that I can joyfully say to each person, at every concert, that we made this together.
”You’re Never Really Alone arrives in stark contrast to Parzen-Johnson’s 2020 We Jazz Records solo debut, Imagine Giving Up. Where Imagine Giving Up was celebrated for Parzen-Johnson’s ability to assemble deeply evocative electr acoustic sound worlds, “filling the landscape in one element at a time until a picture emerges that could almost be a full band,” (Wire Magazine, March 2020) You’re Never Really Alone shows us that Jonah can look you in the eye and say “my voice alone is enough”.
Across eight tracks, Parzen-Johnson, a Chicago native, explores the technical limits of his baritone saxophone and flute without ever making the listener feel like he has something to prove. You will find circular breathing, multiphonics, and explosive levels of sound, but more importantly, you will enjoy every moment of musical storytelling and compositional skill. This album is made for repeat listening.
The opening track, “When I Feel Like Myself” is a meditative invocation of self realization. Parzen-Johnson summons three and four note harmonies from his saxophone with deep control, as he gently explores how tension can become its own release. An unadorned melodic thread gently weaves each musical expression to the last, guiding us deeper into an album that simultaneously celebrates the power of one, and the yearning for exploration that unites us all.

Recommended If You Like: OOIOO, Blonde Redhead, Guerilla Toss, Rolling Stones, Liars, Marnie Stern, Yoko Ono, Battles. Clear Sun Vinyl. Reissue of Deerhoof’s 2002 album Reveille. First Deerhoof album with guitarist John Dieterich. Back in print on vinyl! Deerhoof debuts their new guitarist John Dieterich and achieves widespread critical acclaim for the first time. 2002’s Reveille is a defiant expression of artistic rebirth, spilling over with madcap exuberance, apocalyptic imagery, newfound technical confidence belying their no-budget DIY recording methods, and jarring stylistic about-faces in which no two songs sound alike. The contrast of Satomi’s ever-catchy, ever-charming melodiousness with John and Greg’s noisy, cinematic bombast still has the power to thrill and tickle and upset, more than 20 years after its initial release. Includes reimagined cover art with the faint morning glow the band had always envisioned, pressed on clear sun-colored vinyl. Complete lyrics included for the first time, written by Satomi on the center labels.