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Macht Euch bereit, in die dunkle, stürmische Welt von Blutengels brandneuem Meisterwerk „Dämonen:Sturm“ abzutauchen.

Dieses Album zieht uns in die turbulenten Tiefen unserer eigenen „inneren Dämonen“. Nicht die Monster, die wir aus Horrorfilmen kennen, sondern die dunklen Mächte in uns, die unsere Köpfe heimsuchen, uns herausfordern und manchmal sogar brechen. Auf 25 neuen Songs bringt Chris Pohl die starken Emotionen, die mit Depressionen, Angst, Selbstfindung und Verlust verbunden sind, zum Ausdruck, und erschafft ein Album, das zum einen extrem persönlich ist und zum anderen gesellschaftlich starke Resonanz finden wird.

Mit „Dämonen:Sturm“ bleiben Blutengel ihrem unverkennbaren Sound treu und wagen sich gleichzeitig furchtlos auf neues Terrain. Fans werden den epischen, hymnischen Stil in Tracks wie „Tausend Leben“ und „Wir sind der Sturm“ wiedererkennen, aber sie werden auch düstere Nummern wie „Der richtige Weg“ finden, die eine dunkle, eindringliche Atmosphäre schaffen. Auch Balladen finden auf diesem Album wieder ihren gebührenden Platz und haben dabei eine raue, intime Note, da Chris in Tracks wie „Ivory Tower“ und „I Will Surrender“ in der ersten Person schreibt und Einblicke in seine eigenen persönlichen Kämpfe gewährt.

Musikalisch ist „Dämonen:Sturm“ eine abwechslungsreiche Reise von düsteren, stampfenden Rock Beats in „Angst“ zu Retro-Elektro-Sounds in „She Wears Black“. Mit „Bleeding Out“ liefern Blutengel einen unerwarteten Juwel, der die musikalische Bandbreite des neuen Albums erweitert und einen wichtigen Teil des Gesamtkonzepts darstellt. Die Produktion ist bewusst eher rau und „dreckig“ gehalten, was die rohe Energie und Verletzlichkeit in den einzelnen Songs noch verstärkt. Langjährige Fans der Band werden sich außerdem über die eindringlichen Instrumentalstücke des Albums freuen, die das schattenhafte und tiefgreifende Erlebnis von „Dämonen:Sturm“ noch verstärken.

Nach mehr als 20 Jahren ist das gefeierte vierte Album von NIGHTINGALE, "Alive Again", wieder erhältlich, und zwar remastered (CD/LP) von Songwriter/Frontmann/Produzent Dan Swanö (Opeth, Katatonia, Oceans Of Slumber). Ursprünglich nur auf CD im Jahr 2003 veröffentlicht, beginnt mit "Alive Again" die Entwicklung der härteren Rock-Tendenzen von NIGHTINGALE, die eine Brücke zwischen 70er Jahre Rock, AOR, Prog und Metal schlagen. Das internationale Profil der Gruppe führte auch dazu, dass sie ihren Freund Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One) als Gastmusiker für "Falling" gewinnen konnten. "Alive Again" enthält die herausragenden Tracks 'Shadowman', 'The Glory Days', 'Shadowland Serenade' und die 11-minütige Saga 'Eternal'. Die defini-tive Re-Issue Edition von "Alive Again" ist jetzt als Ltd. Digipak 2CD (10 + 20 Bonustracks) mit O-Card und zum ersten Mal über-haupt auf Vinyl, als 180g LP (10 Tracks) erhältlich. Restauriert, erneuert und erweitert, werden die Fans von NIGHTINGALEs brillantem "Alive Again" noch einmal schwärmen.

Seit mehr als einem Jahrzehnt hat sich Serenity In Murder fest in der Melodic-Death-Metal-Szene etabliert und setzt mit ihrem neuesten Meisterwerk
„Timeless Reverie“ erneut Maßstäbe. Nach der gefeierten Veröffentlichung von „Reborn“ im Jahr 2021 verfeinert die japanische Band ihren
charakteristischen Mix aus roher Aggression und symphonischer Eleganz weiter. Das Album durchstreift eine düstere und emotionale Landschaft und
nimmt die Hörer mit auf eine Reise durch Themen wie Zeit, Schicksal, innere Konflikte und persönliche Revolution.
Die Erzählung von Timeless Reverie ist eng mit existenziellen Fragen und der Suche nach Sinn in einer erbarmungslosen Welt verknüpft. Der Titel
selbst, Timeless Reverie, deutet auf eine Meditation über Momente hin, in denen die Zeit scheinbar stillsteht und Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und
Zukunft miteinander verschmelzen. Das Album erforscht die Zerbrechlichkeit des Lebens, die Komplexität menschlicher Emotionen und den ewigen
Kampf zwischen Licht und Dunkelheit.
Musikalisch verbindet das Album nahtlos komplexe Melodien, atmosphärische symphonische Elemente und erdrückende Härte. Mit dem furiosen
Opener God Forsaken setzt Timeless Reverie einen kraftvollen Ton an, der sich durch das gesamte Album zieht. Zugleich bietet es intensive Momente
und melancholische, atmosphärische Passagen, die den Hörer in das Erlebnis eintauchen lassen und jede Ebene aufsaugen, während die Musik in
jeder Note tief nachhallt.

Schwergewichtiger 80er Jahre Dancehall - aufgenommen bei Channel One mit Roots Radics und produziert von Linval Thompson

Over the last ten years, Chris Imler's perhaps not quite as rapid but equally unstoppable rise has coincided with the world's free fall. “The Internet will break my heart” marks the steepest artistic stage to date. We see a man whose entire oeuvre is a late work, at the dizzying heights of his game. “So, the Internet, that's a really hot topic”, I can already hear blasé hisses here and there in the boxes. But the truth is that the topic is annoyingly topical. Because only now is the world wide web unfolding its full disappointing potential. All pipe dreams of an emancipatory power of the digital multitude (remember Negri/Hardt, haha) are as completely extinguished as the Arab Spring was swallowed up by the pre - nuclear winter. While they are capped from above in authoritarian states, social media in the so - called free world are primarily used by lumpen capital to undermine humanistic standards and by the remnants of the left for self - destructive polarization. But the cute animal videos! They too have their dark side, which Imler brings up in the title song: “The animals in the real world are under pressure”. - Jens Friebe

In 2016 an internet user discovered Panchiko’s discarded 2000 demo CD, D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L, in a Nottingham charity shop and posted it to 4chan to intrigue and fanfare. It took four years for Panchiko’s legions of dedicated fans to find the people behind the music as millions of curious listeners were swaying to the band’s adolescent creations. Upon discovering their own virality, the band reformed with original members Andy Wright (keyboardist and producer), Owain Davies (vocalist and guitarist), and Shaun Ferreday (bassist) alongside new members Robert Harris (guitarist) and John Schofield (drummer), toured the world and wrote, recorded, and released their first album in 20+ years, 2023’s Failed At Maths. But after the thrill of the whirlwind came a new question. What comes next when your dreams come true? The answer is Ginkgo, a 13-track project that finds the band making some of their most introspective, cinematic, and moving music yet. “The whole production has gone up ten-fold,” says Wright of the new album.“ Standout track "Shandy in the Graveyard" feat. rapper billy woods sees the band channeling their youth and tapping into the typical audience at Panchiko shows. That youthful spirit can be felt in the song’s sonic world, as its production genre-shifts between trip hop and orchestral folk, creating a fresh juxtaposition of soundscapes. The same wrenching honesty that attracted legions of fans to their teenage demos is the same truthful ethos that keeps them listening to new material like title track, “Ginkgo.” On it, Davies sings “You command the leaves to fall/The Ginkgo bends at will.” A rumination on the limits of control, collaboration, and fate, the song is an apt meditation for a band whose resurgence came about through a mix of luck, artistry, and then clear-eyed energy.

Als Sänger, Songwriter und Komponist verwandelt Emile Mosseri die menschliche Erfahrung in Gesang. Musikalisches Geschichtenerzählen ist sein Lebenselixier - ein Talent, das er mit Songwritern und Regisseuren geteilt hat, indem er Filme wie Minari & The Last Black Man in San Francisco vertonte - und das in letzter Zeit in den Mittelpunkt seiner Arbeit als Künstler gerückt ist. Unterstützt von einer Band, bestehend aus Meg Duffy (Hand Habits), Dougie Stu und Kosta Galanopolous, zog sich Mosseri im Herbst 2023 mit seinem häufigen Kollaborateur, Komponisten und Produzenten Bobby Krlic (Midsommar, The Haxan Cloak) nach Altamira Sound zurück, um das Fundament für sein zweites Album Tryin to be born zu legen. Das Album folgt auf sein Debüt Heaven Hunters und gemeinsame Veröffentlichungen mit Sam Gendel und Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith.

Another Superb Chiaroscuro !!!

Once again :)

The Standard School Broadcast Recordings, einst als lange verschollene (und in den meisten Fällen völlig
unbekannte) Studioaufnahme von John Lee Hooker angesehen, ist die erste kommerzielle Veröffentlichung
einer seltenen, vollständig elektrischen Bluesband-Aufnahme aus dem Jahr 1973. Die Session wurde bei
Coast Recorders in San Francisco direkt auf Band aufgenommen und fängt Hooker in einer turbulenten
und zutiefst transformierenden Zeit seiner Karriere ein, begleitet von seiner zuverlässigen Rhythmusgruppe
aus Bassist Gino Skaggs und Schlagzeuger Ken Swank sowie Hookers Sohn Robert, dem Pianisten.
The Standard School Broadcast, 1928 ins Leben gerufen, war eine mehrfach preisgekrönte Bildungsradioserie, die von Standard Oil (auch bekannt als Esso, später Exxon) gesponsert wurde. Die in San Francisco ansässige Sammlung war auf Musikverständnis und amerikanische Geschichte spezialisiert. Kopien
einiger ihrer Shows wurden auch auf Vinyl-LPs an Schulen verteilt. Ein solches Set mit zehn Alben war
Musikinstrumenten gewidmet, darunter auch der Gitarre. Während andere legendäre Gitarristen dabei
waren: der klassische Virtuose George Sakellariou, die Jazzgiganten Herb Ellis und Joe Pass sowie der
Session-Geselle Chuck Day, war ihre endgültige Auswahl die reine Verkörperung des Herzens und der Seele
der Bluesgitarre: John Lee Hooker.
Die CD enthält außerdem zwei Bonustitel – „Sallie Mae“ und „Instrumental“

In early 2025 the Skids complete BBC Sessions are compiled onto CD by Scottish label Last Night From Glasgow - The double album features the five sessions the Skids recorded for John Peel with the BBC between 1978 and 1980 - The release includes the BBC session recordings of fan favourites The Saints Are Coming, Masquerade and Circus Games - The legendary Scottish punk band remain as influential as ever, even 45 years on. Legendary punk and new wave band Skids formed in Dunfermline in 1977. They rose to fame with 1979 single Into The Valley and 1980 album The Absolute Game. With almost 50 years under their belt the group, led by Richard Jobson, remain as thrilling as ever, as evident with their latest album Destination Dusseldorf in 2023. The Skids continue to boast over 80,000 monthly Spotify listeners and have been featured extensively across media and press throughout their career. In recent years they have partnered with label Last Night From Glasgow to reissue on vinyl albums Scared To Dance and Days In Europa, and release new album Destination Dusseldorf.

China Crisis BBC Sessions have been compiled onto vinyl by Scottish label Last Night From Glasgow, released in early 2025. The release features the band's two John Peel sessions recorded with the BBC in March 1982 and January 1983, now remastered and available on vinyl and CD. The album includes the BBC session recording of hit single Wishful Thinking. The Complete Sessions follows on from recent album China Greatness released in May 2024, a collection of the band's best tracks now newly arranged and mixed. China Crisis remain one of the UK's most beloved pop bands. Formed in Merseyside in 1979, the core duo of Gary Daly and Eddie Lundon remains unchanged 45 years on. They rose to fame in the early 80s with chart success single Christian and single Wishful Thinking, album Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms reached No.21 in the UK album charts in 1982. China Crisis continue to tour extensively and boast over 325,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

Nach mehr als 20 Jahren ist das gefeierte vierte Album von NIGHTINGALE, "Alive Again", wieder erhältlich, und zwar remastered (CD/LP) von Songwriter/Frontmann/Produzent Dan Swanö (Opeth, Katatonia, Oceans Of Slumber). Ursprünglich nur auf CD im Jahr 2003 veröffentlicht, beginnt mit "Alive Again" die Entwicklung der härteren Rock-Tendenzen von NIGHTINGALE, die eine Brücke zwischen 70er Jahre Rock, AOR, Prog und Metal schlagen. Das internationale Profil der Gruppe führte auch dazu, dass sie ihren Freund Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One) als Gastmusiker für "Falling" gewinnen konnten. "Alive Again" enthält die herausragenden Tracks 'Shadowman', 'The Glory Days', 'Shadowland Serenade' und die 11-minütige Saga 'Eternal'. Die defini-tive Re-Issue Edition von "Alive Again" ist jetzt als Ltd. Digipak 2CD (10 + 20 Bonustracks) mit O-Card und zum ersten Mal über-haupt auf Vinyl, als 180g LP (10 Tracks) erhältlich. Restauriert, erneuert und erweitert, werden die Fans von NIGHTINGALEs brillantem "Alive Again" noch einmal schwärmen.

Marilyn Manson"s ninth studio album, "The Pale Emperor", is available as a White 2LP housed in a Gatefold Sleeve and a 12" photo art print. This iconic record marked Manson"s return to the forefront of the music scene with its highest opening week sales since "Eat Me, Drink Me" (2007). Topping Billboard"s Hard Rock Albums chart and achieving chart-topping success throughout Europe, "The Pale Emperor" solidified Manson"s status as a rock icon. Featuring hit singles like "Third Day Of A Seven Day Binge" and "Deep Six," the vinyl edition of "The Pale Emperor" offers a tangible glimpse into Manson"s monumental achievement. This is a must-have for collectors and music enthusiasts alike. Experience the electrifying resurgence of Marilyn Manson"s commercial dominance and relive the unparalleled success of "The Pale Emperor".

2026 Repress

MOLA's music is the unadorned antithesis to a rosy world. She celebrates herself to death, pulls you into her inner chaos and does without the usual romanticising transfiguration of the merciless disorientation that catches up with you on the way home after the last cigarette.

MOLA knows better than anyone that she is a border commuter - and she has never made a secret of it. Perhaps it was fate that the course of events abandoned her shortly after her birth in Erba, Italy, in Germany's most austere metropolis. In Munich, where flying free and falling free are a little more complicated than in the cesspit of Berlin, where one would naturally place Isabella Streifeneder and her music if one didn't know better.

Temporarily reduced to intimacy, then escalating into iconic 80s "Purpel Rain" pathos, MOLA illustrates the emotional chaos that the inner dialogue of left and right brain triggers in her. Unconventional pop music that bundles the nonchalance of great soul anthems, the grace of the Italo-disco of the eighties and the ingenuousness of lascivious hip-hop bangers instead of trying to sound modern by force.

MOLA celebrates defeat, exposes life lies, criticises adulthood, documents radical mood swings. She balances along the abyss in her ball gown, jokes about things you don't joke about, praises and curses intoxication and love - "Vino Bianco no longer tastes like dolce vita, it only tastes like losing".

You can now see MOLA supporting Fatoni, Roy Bianco & the Abbrunzati Boys, Mayberg and Kaffkiez in a flurry of strobe lights after sold-out "nothing breaks me" shows in Munich, Cologne, Berlin & Hamburg. In addition to a festival season that couldn't have been more beautiful, they finally have a big tour of their own coming up for their next album, which will see the light of day in September.

After more than 40 festivals "Snow in Summer" on well-known stages like Lollapalooza Berlin, Rocken am Brocken, Puls Open Air, but also as support for Udo Lindenberg at the Hermann-Hesse-Festival, "Life is Beautiful", the darned second record, sounds almost cynical, ironic or simply naive? In the end, it doesn't matter, because when you are overcome by this spontaneous feeling that is far removed from any rationality, you don't ask any questions. It tastes like the melancholy of a summer in its last breaths, like the last drink of an uncompromisingly insane night.

There is sweating, pogoing and feeling together. Even where it hurts.
You are not just an onlooker or a silent spectator, but part of this empowering feeling of "we".

Mit "Rock "n" Roll Saviour" präsentieren The Deadnotes aus Freiburg ihr neues Studioalbum, das in Deutschland erstmals über Grand Hotel van Cleef erscheint. Darius Lohmüller und Jakob Walheim updaten die audiovisuelle Ästhetik von Künstlern wie Huey Lewis, Tom Petty und dem Rock"n"Roll der 80er-Jahre in unsere moderne Zeit. The Deadnotes begegnen auf dem Album der Härte des Alltags mit einer Romantik, die nicht naiv, aber die sich bewusst ist: Manchmal muss es schlimmer werden, bevor es besser wird. Aber besser wird es!

Patchwork Inc. is a multi genre music collective based in Chicago. Inspired by the intricate and repetitive patterns on a quilt, deep grooves are stitched together with vibrant threads of analog synths, fat bass, Fender Rhodes, and a plethora of percussion to form a uniquely personal piece of art. "Whatever Makes You Happy," comes on like one of those unseasonably warm days in late fall. Flute, synth, and congas flutter like a cool breeze before giving way to a sunny and sultry hook. North Carolina native Taylor Williams brings a D'angeloesque vocal to a Roy Ayers style instrumental resulting in a mosaic of neo-soul and jazz-funk. The record's flipside evokes more of an idyllic fall day. The kind of day where you can throw on your favorite jacket and endlessly stroll down a tree-lined path as amber leaves fall to the ground. Chicago journeyman and musical prodigy Wyatt Waddell effortlessly layers his voice over the backbeat of "Last Forever," resulting in a medium-fidelity banger that could be confused for a I Want You-era Marvin demo.

Ryan Kaiser hat sich mit seinem verträumten, sonnendurchfluteten Polaroid-Pop als Yot Club einen Namen gemacht. Nun liegt eine Nachauflage des limitierten pinkgrünen Vinyls von 2022 mit den beiden frühen EPs "Bipolar" und "Nature Machine" vor, darunter mit Yot Clubs Multimillionen-Streaminghit "YKWIM?".

On "Not Around But Through", Portland-based experimental musician and tape wizard Amulets
 navigates the process of acceptance and the tumultuous journey of looking within. Over the course of 8 tracks he explores the emotional path of moving through rather than circumventing, in the process soundtracking a purposeful desire to face trauma and vulnerability.

Infusing his trademark ambient soundscapes with ambitious blends of post-hardcore, emo, and metal, "Not Around But Through" connects the dots between personal and social dislocation, leaving us with a taste of the fragmented and fallen future we are all steeling ourselves for. Traversing a landscape that varies from gentle and meandering to explosive and cathartic, Amulets uses cinematic tension and relentless attention to detail to construct his sonic apparitions. On "Lifelike" he collaborates with Midwife, incorporating Madeline Johnston's voice into a song that pulsates with post-shoegaze transcendent energy.

Amulets is the solo project of Portland-based audio + visual artist Randall Taylor. Amulets employs handmade cassette tape loops and live processed guitar loops to create live, lush soundscapes and immersive drones. Through the recontextualisation of cassettes, sampling, field recording, and looping, these long-form compositions blur the genres of ambient, drone, noise, and electronic music.

Maud the moth, the solo project of Spanish-born and Scotland-based pianist, singer and songwriter Amaya Lopez-Carromero announces her new album, The Distaff, to be released via The Larvarium (digital +CD) and La Rubia Producciones (vinyl) Amaya has long used the mantle of Maud the moth as an alter-ego, a séance-like conduit to explore themes of rootlessness, identity and trauma. The Distaff in particular refers to the stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning, and an object which has historically been used across multiple cultures as a symbol wielded by the “virtuous woman”, an authoritarian ideal around which much of the trauma surrounding the feminine coalesces. The album takes the form of a sort of self reflective and surreal autobiography. It was in part inspired by the poem of the same name written by the Greek poet Erinna, as she mourns her friend's loss of individuality and agency in exchange for marriage - and therefore safety and acceptance in the eyes of society. The album exists in an ethereal but violent world of aesthetic overlaps where time stands still and fictional and reimagined folk sits at the table with Maud the moth’s usual sonic menagerie. It is the result of a lifetime of obsession with sound and music, where glimpses of musical genre offer insight into Amaya’s artistic interests and her participation in the underground European scene for many years, in bands such as healthyliving. Heavier, darker, and more exposed than any of her previous works it features some highly accomplished artists, such as Seb Rochford (Patti Smith, Polar Bear, Sons of Kemet, Pulled by magnets, etc.) on drums, Alison Chesley (Helen Money) on cello, Fay Guiffo on violin and Scott McLean (Ashenspire, healthyliving, Falloch) on guitar, saxophone and synthesiser. Maud the moth shares the video for "Siphonophores". About the track, Maud the moth says; I wrote "Siphonophores" on guitar, during the first lockdown, a period where I was kind of trapped between an almost empty flat in Edinburgh and Dresden. It was an incredibly harrowing time, but also one of hope and where important new things were being birthed. I felt incredibly sensitive to everything, almost like life was happening in slow motion. I´m not a confident guitarist since I am completely self-taught, but, probably because of this, I feel that this instrument allows me to focus on aspects of the songwriting that I normally overlook when writing on piano, and I think it was a necessary step for this song to exist. Something else which I've been really exploiting lately and features strongly in the album is the percussive capabilities of the piano, and in particular, of the sustain pedal when mic'd up. This can be heard very clearly at the beginning of "Siphonophores". Written and arranged by Amaya, with some contributions in the later role from the aforementioned collaborators, the album presents nine tracks originally written entirely on acoustic piano as accompanied voice pieces, in pure singer-songwriter fashion. The album was co-produced and recorded by Scott and Amaya in different studios across the UK between January and July of 2024, in a process that started shortly after the 2020 pandemic and finished alongside the album recordings in a detailed, organic and at times obsessive process aimed primarily at capturing the natural dynamics and expression of free performance. The Distaff was mixed in its entirety by Scott and mastered at Abbey Road by Alex Wharton (Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine, Aurora, Kathryn Joseph etc.) Despite being born of a very personal point of view, the album lacks a specific narrator and was conceived almost as a sonic trousseau, where the needle point, silks and other family heirlooms have been swapped for out-of-the-corner-of-the-eye memories of rural Spain by the vineyards, family disputes, old tales of wartime pains, generational breaches and finally the conflict of migration and estrangement. The songs paint dystopian pastoral scenes which evolve throughout the span of one fictional day outside of time and coherent locations and where imagination (often the only account surviving from traumatic events and gaslighting) has become indistinguishable from fact. The Distaff attempts to acknowledge past trauma, comprehend and process some of the more difficult aspects which have contributed to our darker self and offer closure and solace through creative catharsis.

Maud the moth, the solo project of Spanish-born and Scotland-based pianist, singer and songwriter Amaya Lopez-Carromero announces her new album, The Distaff, to be released via The Larvarium (digital +CD) and La Rubia Producciones (vinyl) Amaya has long used the mantle of Maud the moth as an alter-ego, a séance-like conduit to explore themes of rootlessness, identity and trauma. The Distaff in particular refers to the stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning, and an object which has historically been used across multiple cultures as a symbol wielded by the “virtuous woman”, an authoritarian ideal around which much of the trauma surrounding the feminine coalesces. The album takes the form of a sort of self reflective and surreal autobiography. It was in part inspired by the poem of the same name written by the Greek poet Erinna, as she mourns her friend's loss of individuality and agency in exchange for marriage - and therefore safety and acceptance in the eyes of society. The album exists in an ethereal but violent world of aesthetic overlaps where time stands still and fictional and reimagined folk sits at the table with Maud the moth’s usual sonic menagerie. It is the result of a lifetime of obsession with sound and music, where glimpses of musical genre offer insight into Amaya’s artistic interests and her participation in the underground European scene for many years, in bands such as healthyliving. Heavier, darker, and more exposed than any of her previous works it features some highly accomplished artists, such as Seb Rochford (Patti Smith, Polar Bear, Sons of Kemet, Pulled by magnets, etc.) on drums, Alison Chesley (Helen Money) on cello, Fay Guiffo on violin and Scott McLean (Ashenspire, healthyliving, Falloch) on guitar, saxophone and synthesiser. Maud the moth shares the video for "Siphonophores". About the track, Maud the moth says; I wrote "Siphonophores" on guitar, during the first lockdown, a period where I was kind of trapped between an almost empty flat in Edinburgh and Dresden. It was an incredibly harrowing time, but also one of hope and where important new things were being birthed. I felt incredibly sensitive to everything, almost like life was happening in slow motion. I´m not a confident guitarist since I am completely self-taught, but, probably because of this, I feel that this instrument allows me to focus on aspects of the songwriting that I normally overlook when writing on piano, and I think it was a necessary step for this song to exist. Something else which I've been really exploiting lately and features strongly in the album is the percussive capabilities of the piano, and in particular, of the sustain pedal when mic'd up. This can be heard very clearly at the beginning of "Siphonophores". Written and arranged by Amaya, with some contributions in the later role from the aforementioned collaborators, the album presents nine tracks originally written entirely on acoustic piano as accompanied voice pieces, in pure singer-songwriter fashion. The album was co-produced and recorded by Scott and Amaya in different studios across the UK between January and July of 2024, in a process that started shortly after the 2020 pandemic and finished alongside the album recordings in a detailed, organic and at times obsessive process aimed primarily at capturing the natural dynamics and expression of free performance. The Distaff was mixed in its entirety by Scott and mastered at Abbey Road by Alex Wharton (Radiohead, My Bloody Valentine, Aurora, Kathryn Joseph etc.) Despite being born of a very personal point of view, the album lacks a specific narrator and was conceived almost as a sonic trousseau, where the needle point, silks and other family heirlooms have been swapped for out-of-the-corner-of-the-eye memories of rural Spain by the vineyards, family disputes, old tales of wartime pains, generational breaches and finally the conflict of migration and estrangement. The songs paint dystopian pastoral scenes which evolve throughout the span of one fictional day outside of time and coherent locations and where imagination (often the only account surviving from traumatic events and gaslighting) has become indistinguishable from fact. The Distaff attempts to acknowledge past trauma, comprehend and process some of the more difficult aspects which have contributed to our darker self and offer closure and solace through creative catharsis.