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The story of six soulmate musicians meeting at the intersection of classical composition, pop, electronic and minimal music begins in 2016 with their celebrated performance at the Cologne Philharmonie. After follow-up performances at the Bundeskunsthalle Bonn as well as the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Gregor Schwellenbach, Daniel Brandt, John Kameel Farah, Paul Frick, Erol Sarp and Kai Schuhmacher made a guest appearance at the invitation of Radio Berlin Brandenburg in the iconic Haus des Rundfunks in Berlin's Westend on February 2, 2019. "Live im Haus des Rundfunks" documents the first half of this evening, in which the individual composer-pianists introduced themselves to the audience in solos, duos and trios. This carefully choreographed set served as an electrifying prelude to the grand finale, the 20-minute collective mantra of Steve Reich's 1973 composition Six Pianos, a studio recording of which has already been released on the 2016 record Steve Reich "Six Pianos" – Terry Riley "Keyboard Study #1" (FILM LP/CD 002).

Im Jahr 2016 beginnt die gemeinsame Geschichte der Pianisten Gregor Schwellenbach, Daniel Brandt, John Kameel Farah, Paul Frick, Erol Sarp und Kai Schuhmacher, sechs seelenverwandten Musikern, die sich zu einem Kollektiv an den Schnittstellen von klassischer Komposition, Pop, Elektronik und Minimal Music zusammengefunden haben. Nach gefeierten Auftritten in der Kölner Philharmonie (mit Hauschka, ohne Kai Schumacher), der Bundeskunsthalle Bonn sowie der Hamburger Elbphilharmonie gastierte das Projekt am Abend des 2. Februar 2019 auf Einladung des RBB im geschichtsträchtigen Haus des Rundfunks im Berliner Westend. Die damals entstandene Aufnahme des Konzerts im Großen Sendesaal bildet die Grundlage der nun vorliegenden Veröffentlichung. “Live im Haus des Rundfunks“ dokumentiert den ersten Teil des Abends, innerhalb dessen sich die einzelnen Pianisten solo, im Duo oder Trio, dem Publikum vorstellen. Dieser Part stellte das Vorspiel zum großen Finale dar, dem 20-minütigen, kollektiven Mantra von Steve Reich’s Komposition Six Pianos aus dem Jahr 1973. Eine Studioaufnahme hiervon wurde bereits auf der 2016 auf FILM erschienenen Schallplatte STEVE REICH "SIX PIANOS" - TERRY RILEY "KEYBOARD STUDY #1" (FILM LP/CD 002) veröffentlicht.

There used to be a time when ring tones were important. You were easily recognizable as one of the few people actually owning one of these new gadgets called ›mobile phone‹ (or ›handy‹ as the Germans say). Later you could make an important distinction by choosing a ›cool‹ ring tone...

In May 2014 the Festival »Doofe Musik« (»Stupid Music - Songs for Dreaming, Sedation and Forgetting«) took place at Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) in Berlin. As part of the »Anthropocene Project« the festival focussed on escapism and the special function of music when retreating from reality. Detlef Diederichsen, curator at HKW, and Holger Schulze, Head of Sound-Studies-Lab Berlin, decided to not only focus on music which music lovers usually hate, e.g. ›Schlager‹, German folk music, Light Jazz, but also on ring tones.

The audio logo of Deutsche Telekom has been part of Germany's mobile phone culture from the very beginning so it acted as a starting point to question the usual concepts for ring tones. Using Christian Kellersmann's idea of the »Pocket Symphony« ten artists were invited to come up with adaptations of Telekom's audio logo. The results were performed for the first time during »Stupid Music« and once again in October of the same year when most of the recordings you can find on the album were made.

As you will hear: The short motif, as simple and unforgettable as it is, is ideal musical material.Everyone knows it, everyone has some sort of connection to it and these ten different versions, these ten different positions, open up the most varied possibilities for associations.

It is time that we take the ring tone seriously again. As the most reduced musical form that is the most-widely available in the whole world it contains enormous and unrealised potential!

Sanam is a free-rock post-folk sextet consisting of Sandy Chamoun, Antonio Hajj Moussa, Farah Kaddour, Anthony Sahyoun, Pascal Semerdjian and Marwan Tohme. The group first formed as part of a performance with Hans Joachim Irmler from the legendary German experimental group Faust, at the Irtijal music festival. Their music and performances are akin to a ritual, a marriage and an exorcism of traditional Egyptian song/Arabic poetry and improvised rock, free jazz and noise. They recorded their first albumAykathani Malakonin a traditional house in the village of Saqi Reshmaya, which was then mixed by Radwan Ghazi Mounmeh (Jersualem In My Heart).

Das Avant-Rock-Sextett aus Beirut verschmilzt auf diesem großartigen Nachfolger seines gefeierten 2023er Debüts "Mais Um" Psych/Kraut, Improv/Skronk, Elektronik, Gothic und Jazzelemente mit traditionellem ägyptischem Gesang und moderner arabischer Poesie. Produziert von Radwan Moumneh (Matana Roberts, Sarah Davachi, Jerusalem In My Heart). Der Titel des zweiten SANAM-Albums ist ebenso vielversprechend wie die Musik der libanesischen Band. "Sametou Sawtan" bedeutet aus dem Arabischen übersetzt "Ich habe eine Stimme gehört". Spukhaft oder spirituell, wie auch immer man die Phrase liest, sie spricht von der Fähigkeit von Klang und Sprache, innezuhalten, Aufmerksamkeit zu stehlen und uns für den Moment zu öffnen. In ähnlicher Weise vermischt die Musik von SANAM zarte Rasereien und feuerverbrannte Balladen, indem sie frei fließende Rock- und Jazzgerüste mit der tief verwurzelten arabischen Tradition verbindet. Sie in vollem Flug zu hören bedeutet, in der Gegenwart gehalten zu werden und sich neu zu orientieren, um einen offenen Horizont zu eröffnen. Die Arbeit an "Sametou Sawtan" begann im Frühjahr 2024. Die ersten Ideen, die in den Tunefork Studios in Beirut entstanden, wurden im April während eines Aufenthalts in Beit Faris, einem mittelalterlichen Haus in der Küstenstadt Byblos, weiter ausgearbeitet. Das Sextett: Sandy Chamoun (Gesang), Antonio Hajj (Bass), Farah Kaddour (Buzuq), Anthony Sahyoun (Gitarre, Synthesizer), Pascal Semerdjian (Schlagzeug) und Marwan Tohme (Gitarren), wurde vom Produzenten Radwan Ghazi Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart) unterstützt. Die letzten beiden Tracks des Albums sind Aufnahmen aus den Beit Faris-Sessions, während der Rest in den La Frette Studios in Paris während der Europareise der Band im Sommer 2024 aufgenommen wurde. Die Platte verarbeitet Gefühle der Distanz und der Entwurzelung. "In den letzten fünf Jahren hatte ich das Gefühl, dass jeder den Libanon verlässt", erklärt Chamoun. "Das Album handelt nicht wortwörtlich davon, sondern von der Vorstellung, dass dich etwas verlässt. Eine Distanz zu den Ereignissen, obwohl du in ihnen lebst, eine Distanz zu deinem Haus, obwohl du in ihm wohnst." Ob in der sehnsüchtigen Ballade "Goblin" oder dem langsam brennenden, autotune-überladenen Freakout von "Habibon", Sametou Sawtan fängt das Streben nach festem Boden in einer Welt ein, die diesen nur selten bieten kann . Das Album hat die hypnotisierende Intensität des SANAM-Live-Erlebnisses, während es der Musik Nuancen, Tiefe und eine enorme dynamische Bandbreite verleiht. Wie bei ihrem Debüt sind die Texte vieler Tracks entliehen, Worte, die in neue Kontexte gestellt werden, um die Gegenwart zu verarbeiten. "Hamam" interpretiert ein ägyptisches Volkslied neu. In "Hadikat Al Ams" treibt der krachende Hardrock-Stampfer den Text des zeitgenössischen libanesischen Schriftstellers Paul Shaoul an. Und sowohl "Sayl Damei" als auch der Titeltrack verwenden Gedichte des iranischen Dichters und bahnbrechenden Mathematikers Omar Khayyam aus dem zwölften Jahrhundert. "Wenn man etwas von Omar liest, fühlt man eine Verbindung zur Gegenwart", sagt Chamoun. "Das Gefühl, dass es keinen klaren Weg gibt." "Sametou Sawtan" enthält auch zwei Lieder mit Chamouns eigenen Texten, darunter den Opener "Harik". Es war die Keimzelle des Albums, geschrieben von Chamoun im Februar 2024, wobei die Band den Track um ihre Worte herum aufbaute. Es beginnt mit einem Schauder, zerfetzter Elektronik und einer keuchenden Stimme, die das Schlagzeug durchdringt, bevor sich die Band zu einem triumphalen Aufstieg aufschwingt. Es geht um Eintauchen in "ein unendliches Feuer", verrät Chamoun. Den Text zu "Tatayoum" schrieb sie allein, bevor sie ihn der Band vorlegte. Er spiegelt eine andere Art von Intensität wider, "eine Schleife, eine Besessenheit", wie sie sagt. Buzuq webt durch schwebende Elektronik und drängende Trommeln, während Chamoun arabische Worte rezitiert, die die Liebe beschreiben. Die unaufhörlichen Energien, die in diesen Tracks erforscht werden, sind nicht unbedingt negativ. Sie vergleicht deren Intensität mit der eines Schriftstellers, der in einem Gedankengang gefangen ist, im Guten wie im Schlechten. "Es geht nicht darum, deprimiert oder traurig zu sein", sagt Chamoun. "Es ist eine Falle, aber sie kann auch magisch sein." "Sametou Sawtan" wurde von Farah Fayyad mit ikonischen Grafiken und Design versehen.

After 17 albums and a prestigious GRAMMY® Awards nomination, Ibrahim Maalouf returns with a new and highly innovative musical project. In terms of philosophical, historical and musical aspects, T.O.M.A, which stands for "Trumpets of Michel Ange", is a great adventure that takes us to a world where folklore and modernity become one. As always, Ibrahim's music strikes the perfect balance between sophistication and approachability, making it both challenging and inviting for a diverse audience. "T.O.M.A” is first and foremost a mixed album, a true blend of influences where the festive and nostalgic East is expressed with a rare freedom.

"T.O.M.A" is also the name of a brand of trumpets created by Ibrahim in collaboration with French manufacturers. It is this unique instrument, invented over half a century ago by his father, that Ibrahim plays on stage, and on which he now educates the new generation of trumpet players.

Last but not least, 'T.O.M.A' is a big celebration that brings together generations, amateurs and professionals alike, along with special guests!

With T.O.M.A, Ibrahim lays the cornerstone of an ambitious life project combining lutherie, French cultural exceptionalism, teaching, albums and live performance, and above all aiming to bring us together around shared values.

Two years since DJ KOCO aka SHIMOKITA curated his sold-out Mr Bongo Brazil 45 boxset, he is back with another Record Store Day special, this time turning his attention to Cuba. Following a meteoric rise to the top, the Japanese DJ / turntablist extraordinaire has won the world over with his unquestionable humility, refreshing positivity, and flawless skills. The DJ’s DJ, it’s as much about taste as it is technicality for one of the world’s best showmen.

When the idea arose for a Cuban Classics 45 Boxset to mark RSD 2026, DJ KOCO was top of the list. With a deep-seated passion for Cuban music, its melting pot of cultures, its focus on rhythm, and its undeniable groove, DJ KOCO presents a selection of his favourite Cuban cuts, as well as two exclusive edits for the boxset.

It kicks off with the Latin funk sounds of Ricardo Eddy Martínez y Expreso Rítmico’s ‘La 132’ from 1978, before rolling into one of two spellbinding Juan Pablo Torres y Algo Nuevo cuts found on the boxset. Elsewhere, you’ll hear Farah María’s slow disco ‘Ámame Y No pienses Mas’, an unusual American-leaning production for Cuba at the time, given the state of US-Cuban political relations in that period. Other highlights include Orquesta Riverside’s ‘En Casa Del Trompo No Bailes’, taken from a rare collectable 7”, channelling a low-slung Latin bounce which explodes into an Afro-Cuban dancer as the track progresses.

In signature style, DJ KOCO has also served up two exclusive edits for the boxset. These include a reworking of the Cuban children's band Grupo Ismaelillo’s quirky ‘Amanecer’, giving it a more DJ-friendly structure. You’ll also find DJ KOCO’s take on FA-5’s much-loved funky dancer ‘Muévete Con Las Fuerzas Del Corazón’ with its heavy b-boy/girl break from 1976.

Testament to Cuba’s vast and vibrant musical landscape, DJ KOCO has cherry-picked some of the finest recordings to emanate from the country, spanning a wide range of styles and rhythms. Yet what ties all the tracks on this boxset together, is a hip hop sensibility and thirst for a breaks-heavy, danceable energy which radiates through DJ KOCO’s masterful DJ sets.

Moumneh (Jerusalem In My Heart) und Oberland (Oiseaux-Tempête) festigen mit diesem Debüt-Studioalbum als Duo ihre langjährige Zusammenarbeit: eine überzeugende Synthese ihrer jeweiligen und gemeinsamen Sensibilität. Durch die Verschmelzung von elektronischen Klängen mit akustischen Instrumenten wie Bouzouki, Rababa, Clarineau und Saxophon, ergänzt durch Moumnehs arabischen Gesang, entsteht ein Album, das von Empörung und Klage über unsere suprematistische und rassistische Gesellschaft geprägt ist. Das Album verbindet vibrierende Elektronik mit akustischen Instrumenten wie Bouzouki, Rababa, Clarineau und Saxophon, gewürzt mit Moumnehs arabischem Gesang, und ist geprägt von Empörung und Klage über unsere supremacistische und genozidale politische Gegenwart. Radwan Ghazi Moumneh und Frédéric D. Oberland wechseln zwischen Sinnlichem und Unterdrücktem und schaffen mit ihrem Debütalbum eine poetische musikalische Verkündigung der verwandelten Realität und sozialen Amnesie. Diese sieben Titel entstanden in zweijähriger Zusammenarbeit und begannen als eine Reihe von Duetten, die Moumneh im Sommer 2023 im Studio Hotel2Tango in Montréal initiierte. Der arabische Titel von Eternal Life No End lässt sich wörtlich mit ,Eine dunkle, verfluchte Nacht, wie die Suchenden selbst" übersetzen. Das Album ist ein Aufschrei inmitten der Ozeane der Ungerechtigkeit, die die SWANA-Region überschwemmen und das Leben und die Visionen der Suchenden selbst heimsuchen. Der arabische Titel von Eternal Life No End lässt sich wörtlich übersetzen mit ,Eine dunkle, verfluchte Nacht, wie die Suchenden selbst" und das Album ist ein Aufschrei inmitten der Ozeane der Ungerechtigkeit, die die SWANA-Region überschwemmen und das Leben und die Visionen großer Bevölkerungsgruppen verfolgen. Wie Dante und Vergil in Dantes ,Inferno" zeichnen die Kompositionen von Oberland und Moumneh einen emotionalen Strudel nach, während Traumzeit in tranceartige Percussion und hypnotische Melodien einfließt und kollektive Dringlichkeiten kanalisiert, die sich durch Radwans Stimme und arabische Texte ziehen. Oberlands Passagen auf dem Saxophon und der Klarinette beschwören schamanische Beschwörungen des Bösen herauf, während Moumnehs Buzuk oft durch elektronische Bearbeitung und Schwärme mit stürmischer Trauer über sich entfaltende Tragödien untermalt wird. Eine Reihe von Instrumenten vervollständigt die Klanglandschaften: Daf (eine Rahmentrommel aus dem Nahen Osten) und Bongos, eine modifizierte elektrische Rababa, bebender Bass und andere synthetische Filigranarbeiten von Oberland. Eine Reihe von Instrumenten vervollständigt die breiteren Klanglandschaften: Daf (eine nahöstliche Rahmentrommel) und Bongos, eine modifizierte elektrische Rababa, bebender Bass und andere synthetische Filigranarbeiten von Oberlands Buchla- und Deckard's Dream-Synthesizern. ,Es ist in gewisser Weise ein Heilungsprozess", sagt Oberland über das Werk. ,Seit Beginn des Völkermords hatte ich eine komplette künstlerische Blockade und war unfähig, das auszudrücken, was die Menschen durchleben", erklärt Moumneh, der schließlich ,die Worte der Opfer" in seine Texte einfließen ließ. ,Es ist in gewisser Weise ein Heilungsprozess", sagt Oberland über das Werk. ,Seit Beginn des Völkermords hatte ich eine völlige künstlerische Blockade und war unfähig, das auszudrücken, was die Menschen durchleben", erklärt Moumneh, der schließlich seine Instrumente und seine Ausrüstung zusammenpackte und im Sommer 2024 nach Paris flog , um mit seinem langjährigen Freund ernsthaft an dem Album zu arbeiten. Die beiden hatten bereits mehrfach zusammengearbeitet, mit Oberlands Hauptband Oiseaux-Tempête und durch Moumnehs Arbeit als Jerusalem In My Heart und als Produzent/Toningenieur bei verschiedenen anderen Projekten. Eternal Life No End baut auf ihrer langjährigen Freundschaft auf, während Oberland und Moumneh auf neue Weise mit Energien und emotionalen Veränderungen umgehen, ihre Sensibilitäten verschmelzen und tiefere Resonanzen entdecken. , Wir haben Tag und Nacht zusammengearbeitet und gemeinsam klare Entscheidungen getroffen", erklärt Oberland. Dennoch übernahm er auch die Führung, um Moumnehs Stimme in diesen Kompositionen zur Geltung zu bringen - vier der sieben Titel des Albums enthalten Gesang. Das Duo tauschte gewissermaßen die Rollen und wagte sich an neue kreative Prozesse, wobei Moumneh offen Anweisungen von Oberland annahm und seine übliche Rolle als Hauptproduzent von Jerusalem In My Heart beiseite ließ. ,Squeal of Swine" und ,Dagger Eyes" eröffnen das Album mit einem doppelten Schlag in die Magengrube, während Handpercussion, tiefe Synth-Klänge und abprallende Buzuq- und Rababa-Klänge die Bühne für Moumnehs klagenden arabischen Gesang bereiten, der ein Meer von Krankheit widerspiegelt, das derzeit den Zustand der Menschheit überschwemmt. Auf dem Instrumentalstück ,A Dream That Never Arrived" verankert ein Lo-Fi-Beat mit Dancehall-Einflüssen überirdische Melodielinien vor dem Hintergrund eines elektroakustischen Sounddesigns in räumlich-zeitlicher Verschiebung. Eternal Life No End wird von einem audiovisuellen Essay zum elektronischen (und vokalen) Song ,The Serpent" begleitet, der von Oberland zusammengestellt und mit einer Super-8-Kamera in Montréal, Paris und Beirut gedreht wurde, einschließlich Aufnahmen von Gaza-Protesten in Paris und von Oberlands Auftritt beim 25-jährigen Jubiläum des Irtijal Festivals in Beirut. Die libanesische Grafikdesignerin, Druckgrafikerin und Kalligraphin Farah Fayyad steuert ein talismanartiges Kunstwerk mit ineinander verschlungenen Schlangen bei, das ebenfalls von diesem zentralen Albumtrack inspiriert ist.

Period Music is a research process involving Susanna Gonzo, Merma Suelo, Tuce Alba, Elizabeth
Gallon Droste, Agnese Menguzzato, and Farah Hazim. The six artists aim to attune to the different
temporalities experienced through our bodies, drawing from multiple meanings of period – from the
menstrual cycle to musical repetitions and astronomical revolutions.

r'tu
A central meaning of the Sanskrit word for ritual, r'tu, is menstruation, the original ritual. The root of
r'tu is in arithmetic and rhythm/.

Period Music has been staying with essential matters on how we listen to time and rhythms in our
bodies and in the world. Questioning the tempo of everyday life in an accelerated system like that of
modern society, the group has opened up co-creation spaces to listen to embodied memories.
Through dialogue, improvisation and jam sessions, the six artists attuned to e ach other’s processes,
composing music, word scores and drawings – ultimately sounding together.

This work embodies other notions of community through archetypes, embracing the impermanence
that reveals the countless rhythms of life. Period Music speaks of friendship and connection, and
invites you to take on a journey of interconnectedness between our rhythms and the broader social
structures influencing our lives.

The project emerges from conversations that began in Berlin in the fall of 2023, including a one-week
residency at Atelier Josepha in Ahrenshoop by the Baltic Sea in April 2024. The first physical iteration
of this project will consist of a book and a vinyl. The album features looping improvisational compositions encoded with messages about multiple temporalities. The accompanying book gathers poetic memories, letters, photographs, symbols, and drawings that emerged during the process

15 years since their fantasy disco scene-defining 1st volume, Johnny Jewel’s IDIB lasso Sally Shapiro, Desire, Farah, Lovelock and the kreme of their field for a 27-song, 2-hour re-up



Where previous volumes took their sweet time to arrive, ‘Volume 4’ graces the ‘floor only two years since the last, and nobody’s complaining. From its slo-mo, dry-iced covers of Jennifer Lopez’ ‘Waiting For Tonight’, Don Henley’s ’Boys of Summer’ and even flipping R.E.M.’s ‘Losing My Religion’, thru to exclusive pearls by our disco queen crush, Sally Shapiro, and Johnny Jewel as Desire, it’s the ideal soundtrack for late summer into silly season.

Known for their exhilarating live-to-record albums such as last year's critically acclaimed Wood Blues and Giant Beauty, سماع Sama'a (Audition) is the first of two releases that will surface after أحمدAhmed’s first studio recording sessions at North London’s The Fish Factory in early 2025.

Since 2014, Ahmed أحمد have excavated and re-imagined the music of Ahmed Abdul-Malik, in an ever ongoing search for future music. Over a decade on, the group were given the opportunity to set up in the studio for the first time and, with the aid of meticulous engineer Benedic Lamdin, سماع Sama'a (Audition) is the quartet's most detailed work to date.

Fastidious fans may recognise the album's tracklisting as that of Ahmed Abdul-Malik’s Jazz Sahara. After his success collaborating with the pianists Thelonious Monk and Randy Weston, Jazz Sahara was the first record Abdul-Malik made as a leader and was released in 1958. It used the flame of late Fifties jazz to light the wick of North African folk music and acted as a reminder of the Arabic origins of jazz, creating a distinct, unique sound that was far beyond its time. In Malik’s Jazz Sahara, there is no piano. The ongoing work of each member of [Ahmed] then is to think differently, to wonder how the music will work and to take a risk on trying it out - an extraordinarily compelling feat of imagination. Using group improvisation strategies and recording in single takes, سماع [Sama'a] (Audition) tackled the full suite of Jazz Sahara in just one session, with ‘Ya Annas [Oh, People’] and ‘Isma'a [Listen’] being previously unrecorded. 'Farah 'Alaiyna’, also released on 2019’s Super Majnoon, sounds unrecognisable - the slow, heady stomp and repeated phrasing of 2019’s embryonic [Ahmed] having been blast furnaced and sped up four-fold. The result is four kaleidoscopic, relative miniatures that move, unfold and re-imagine at a very different scale and proportion than [Ahmed]’s previous records. It’s a dizzying, euphoric music and an extraordinary record of a group moving through space-time like no other.




[b] Isma'a [Listen]
[c] El Haris [Anxious]
[d] Farah 'Alaiyna [Joy Upon Us]


[b] b1 Isma'a [Listen]
[c] c1 El Haris [Anxious]
[d] d1 Farah 'Alaiyna [Joy Upon Us]


[b] b1 | Isma'a [Listen]
[c] c1 | El Haris [Anxious]
[d] d1 | Farah 'Alaiyna [Joy Upon Us]

Recorded in the Oscar Niemeyer Dome in Tripoli, Lebanon, The Dome Sessions captures the distinctive acoustics of this iconic masterpiece.
Designed in 1962, the dome’s architectural and acoustic qualities provide a distinctive reverb and resonance, shaping a project that dissolves the boundaries between sound, space, and memory.
Featuring performances by notable musicians from Lebanon's contemporary experimental scene, the album invites listeners to engage in an immersive auditory journey, exploring the interplay of sound, memory, and space.


[a] Session 1 Sandy Chamoun, Abed Kobeissy, Pascal Semerdjian [Voice, Tanbur, Drums]
[b] Session 2 Makram Aboul Hosn [Double Bass]
[c] Session 3 Abdo Sawma, Anthony Tawil [Percussions]
[d] Session 4 Ghassan Sahhab [Qanun]
[e] Session 5 Wassim Tanios [Duduk, Acoustic Guitar and E-bow]
[f] Session 6 Julia Sabra [Voice, Acoustic Guitar]
[g] Session 7 Farah Kaddour [Buzuq]
[h] Session 8 Marc Ernest [Bassoon]
[i] Session 9 Makram Aboul Hosn [Double Bass]
[j] Session 10 Fayha Choir [Voices]
[k] Session 11 Charbel Haber, Anthony Sahyoun, Fadi Tabbal, Marwan Tohme [Acoustic Guitars and E-Bow]

Since 2006, listeners have been curious about the origin of the label name Italians Do It Better. Some say it's an homage to Italo Disco, others guess it's related to ancestry, but in fact it's a nod to the iconic T-shirt Madonna wears in the "Papa Don't Preach" video circa 1986.
Fast forward to a world pandemic... To encourage creativity & lift spirits, Italians Do It Better President, Megan Louise asked every artist “If you could cover your favourite Madonna song…What would it be?”

As a tribute to their label muse & the impact Madonna’s music has had on the world around us, Italians Do It Better are sharing a compilation of covers simply titled “Italians Do It Better”. One of the tracks (“Lucky Star” by Club Intl) is even produced by Max Kamins, the son of Mark Kamins, the New York DJ who helped break Madonna in the early 1980's. From the experience he says “Dance music was the soundtrack of my early childhood. Working on "Lucky Star" reconnected me not only to my father, but also reminded me that a good song is timeless".

Executive produced by Johnny Jewel, the compilation is a passport to 20 covers from the bedrooms of 19 artists across 10 different countries.

Sanam is a free-rock post-folk sextet consisting of Sandy Chamoun, Antonio Hajj Moussa, Farah Kaddour, Anthony Sahyoun, Pascal Semerdjian and Marwan Tohme. The group first formed as part of a performance with Hans Joachim Irmler from the legendary German experimental group Faust, at the Irtijal music festival. Their music and performances are akin to a ritual, a marriage and an exorcism of traditional Egyptian song/Arabic poetry and improvised rock, free jazz and noise. They recorded their first albumAykathani Malakonin a traditional house in the village of Saqi Reshmaya, which was then mixed by Radwan Ghazi Mounmeh (Jersualem In My Heart).

-3rd album from veteran rap duo Dillon & Batsauce. Dillon on the raps & scratches, Batsauce on the beats. ('On Their Way' - 2018, 'Self Medicated' - 2020).
-Produced entirely by Batsauce, guest features include Grand Puba, Kool Keith, Quelle Chris, Reef the Lost Cauze, Headkrack and Jay Myztroh of Stono Echo.
-Atlanta, GA + Jacksonville, FL album release parties booked for end of July + Northeast Tour Run scheduled for August.
-Batsauce has been producing hip hop and soul for 20+ years with multiple albums on labels BBE (Barely Breaking Even) producing for his wife, soul-singer, Lady Daisey + Galapagos4 where he produced multiple projects for Qwazaar of Typical Cats. He is 1/3 of the group, 'The Smile Rays' (which includes Lady Daisey and Paten Locke). He's also done extensive work with Akrobatik, Mr. Lif and even has multiple songs with George Clinton!
-Dillon is an Atlanta, GA based MC/DJ who has been releasing records for 20 years, 10 of those years was running FULL PLATE, the label he started in 2013 with Paten Locke (RIP). Dillon has worked with many of Hip-Hop's elite from the old school to the true school such as Chuck D, Diamond D, Count Bass D, Kool Keith, Greg Nice, Grand Puba, Homeboy Sandman, J-Live, Quelle Chris, Sadat X, Ras Kass, Stacy Epps, Planet Asia, eLZhi, Slimkid3 of The Pharcyde - and the list goes on!
-Classic black, standard weight vinyl in full-color jacket w/ matte finish. Includes Download Card.
Underground hip-hop veterans, Dillon and Batsauce have been making unorthodox rap music together for nearly 20 years with a simple formula: Batsauce makes the beats, Dillon writes the songs, and whatever happens, happens. After carving out their own lane with a catalog of EPs and LPs over the past 2 decades, the duo has finally slowed down enough to ask themselves, 'What Have We Done'?
Is the title of their latest effort rhetorical or meant to be an actual question? If so, Dillon and Batsauce probably don't want to know the answer. They probably don't want you, the listener, to think too much about it either. Instead, 'What Have We Done' is an invitation to experience the trials and tribulations, the small wins and the big losses of being aging independent artists in an increasingly cut-throat world for music makers.
But Dillon & Batsauce aren't the only ones on this joyride, we also hear from a well-curated crew of characters they've befriended along the way, from bonafide legends like Grand Puba and Kool Keith to modern day rap heroes, Quelle Chris & Reef the Lost Cauze. The end result is a collection of songs that runs the gamut from personal to aspirational to...delusional. Whether it's 'too much' or 'not enough', the answer to the question, 'What Have We Done' remains open to interpretation. Perhaps it’s not a question at all, but merely the naturally visceral reaction when career creators look back at a life lived on the edge.
Track Listing: 1. What Have We Done (Intro) 2. Mind Made 3. Quiet as a Library 4. Eddie Farah 5. Make History 6. Cannonball feat. Grand Puba 7. Banana Peels 8. Accolades feat. Reef the Lost Cauze & Jay Myztroh 9. Wakin' up Hungry feat. Headkrack 10. Goin' Viral 11. Ready on the Left feat. Kool Keith 12. What Are We Doing (Interlude) 13. Watercolors feat. Quelle Chris 14. Speak Easy 15. Isiah Thomas 16. Rock Bottom 17. Yoga Flame

ARIA double-platinum six-piece act, Winston Surfshirt, are releasing their third full-length album, Panna Cotta .

A recipe of collaborative dreams, Panna Cotta sees Winston Surfshirt work with a wish-list of his favourite artists, seeing career-defining partnerships produce 15 tracks of accomplished and star-studded material. As Winston sings and swoons to ideas of love and life, a stand-out lineup of players and musicians step into the Winston universe, including Talib Kweli, Kimbra, Genesis Owusu, Dope Lemon, Young Franco, Ramirez, Devin the Dude, Milan Ring, and more, sending the signature Surfshirt sound into uncharted realms.

Winston says on the forthcoming album: “Panna Cotta is the last dessert on the table, something for everyone to try, a bunch of different ingredients mixed together. I’d say it is my dream album that I wanted to hear Winston Surfshirt make.”

Reissue of the oud / viola virtuoso SIMON SHAHEEN's interpretations of pieces by one of the Middle East's most important 20th Century composers, MOHAMED ABDEL WAHAB. Produced by BILL LASWELL, remastered for vinyl at D&M Berlin.

MOHAMED ABDEL WAHAB (1902-1991) was "a giant in the world of Middle Eastern entertainment" (Al Jadid Magazine) - as singer, actor and composer – and is commonly considered "the father of modern Egyptian song". After a visit to Paris, he revolutionized the film industry by introducing the genre "musical film" to the Arabic world, the movie "The White Rose" in which he starred broke all records and to this day is frequently presented in Cairo's cinemas. But in 1950, WAHAB left the film industry to focus on singing and composing – he wrote over 1800 songs (among others for Umm Kalthoum, an iconic artist in the Arabic music in her own right) that were deeply rooted in classical Arabic music but also laid the foundation for a new era of Egyptian music as WAHAB was open to Western elements such as waltz rhythms or even rock'n'roll in Abdel Halim Hafez's song "Ya Albi Ya Khali". He also composed several national anthems (Tunisia, Oman, Libya, United Arabic Emirates) and re-composed the Egyptian national anthem "Belady Belady Belady", based on the original by Sayed Darwish. WAHAB received several decorations of Arabic states, and at his death in 1991, Egypt honored its famous son with a huge military funeral at the Rabia al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo, the six-horse carriage procession carrying his coffin was actually led by the prime and foreign ministers, followed by the ministers of defense, interior and culture!


SIMON SHAHEEN (born 1955) is the perfect choice for WAHAB's compositions. Born into a family of gifted musicians, he learned playing the oud at the age of 5 and the violin shortly thereafter. He earned degrees in Arabic literature and music performance at the Tel Aviv University, and later pursued further studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and after his emigration to the USA (in 1980) at the Manhattan School of Music and Columbia University. SHAHEEN lives in New York where he founded the Near Eastern Music Ensemble and Qantara, a formation that blends traditional Arabic Music with elements of Jazz and classical music, and he also has been organizing the Annual Arab Festival of Arts called Mahrajan al-Fan since 1994. The same year he received a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts at the White House. Solo albums like Saltanah (Water Lily Acoustics), Turath (CMP) or Taqasim (Lyrichord) underline his importance as one of the most significant Arab musicians, performers, and composers of his generation. His work incorporates and reflects a legacy of Arabic music, while it forges ahead to new frontiers, embracing many different styles in the process. SHAHEEN has participated in many cross-cultural musical projects with artists as diverse as Henry Threadgill, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, or the Jewish klezmer ensemble The Klezmatics, contributed to the soundtracks for The Sheltering Sky and Malcolm X and composed the entire score for the United Nations sponsored documentary, For Everyone Everywhere, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Human Rights Charter. SHAHEENS biggest success was the Qantara album Blue Flame (2001) which has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards.

Besides all his activities as performer, he dedicates a good part of his time to working with schools and universities, including Julliard, Columbia, Cornell, Princeton, Brown, Harvard, Yale, University of California in San Diego, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and many others.
The Music Of Mohamed Abdel Wahab was originally released in 1990 on Axiom, the record label curated by iconic producer and bass player Bill Laswell, and has been carefully remastered for this vinyl reissue at D&M, Berlin.


Press quotes:
"Master oud player and composer Simon Shaheen finds the perfect mix on this collection of Mohammed Abdel Wahab's pieces … seven wonderful interpretations sparkling with oud and strings interplay." Stephen Cook / AllMusic


"Shaheen's violin soars over a slicing string section and a bed of percolating percussion, while accordion, oud, finger cymbals and a chorus of singers weave in and out. Produced with sparkling clarity by Bill Laswell … this record opens a new world of harmonic and melodic possibilities to ears accustomed to Western pop." Greg Kot / Chicago Tribune


Musicians:
Simon Shaheen: Oud, Violin, Viola
Najib Shaheen: Oud
Sheikh Taha: Accordion
Anton Hajjar: Ney
Paula Bing: Flute
Ramzi Bisharat: Tabla
Hanna Mirhige: Mizhar
Michael Baklouk: Daff
Bobby Farah: Sagat
Ibrahim Salman: Quanoun
Artemis Theodos, Gabriel Palka, Nessim Dakwar, Kamil Shajrawi: Violin
Mike Richmond: Double Bass
Michael Finkel, Vladimir Greenberg: Cello
Laura Shaheen, Louise Salman, Maurice Chedid, Nermine Rawi,
Simon Shaheen, Youssef Kassab: Chorus

Belgian label founded by Viernulvier Arts Centre (formerly Vooruit) to release music composed for theatre, dance and performances.

Viernulvier Records‘ first release will be The Shedding of Skin, the debut album from the Belgian-Iraqi Use Knife, set to be released on September 30, 2022.

Use Knife is the music project of Stef Heeren, Kwinten Mordijck and Saif Al-Qaissy, in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Youniss Ahamad. The project first emerged when Stef and Kwinten, both also active members of Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, met Saif during auditions for a dance performance. The musical possibilities that presented themselves gave the gentlemen the drive to start the journey of uniting their Belgian and Iraqi musical backgrounds.

The album’s title, The Shedding of Skin, refers to the human survival instinct, the desire to leave war and disaster behind and build a new life in a completely different environment.

In addition to making music and composing together, Saif, Kwinten and Stef had countless conversations in order to gain insight into each other’s lives. These conversations are reflected in the song lyrics: for one of them, the worst is all behind them and they are focused on a brighter future, while the other is aware of all the privileges he has been given. The need to address this inequality is reflected in the combination of dreamy Arab songs with punky Dadaist touches.

For the recordings of the Arabic percussion, vocals and wind instruments, the band worked together with Joris Caluwaerts (Stuff., Lady Linn, Hydrogen Sea,…) in his Finster Studio. The mastering was done by Frederik Dejongh aka Jerboa Mastering. Youniss Ahamad provided the artwork, Farah Fayyad converted the English album title into Arabic script and Jef Cuypers and Chloé D’hauwe realised the graphic design of the cover.

Cuba: Music and Revolution: Culture Clash in Havana: Experiments in Latin Music 1975-85 Vol. 2 is the new album compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records) that takes off in exactly the same vein as the much-acclaimed Vol. 1 – exploring the many styles that came out of Cuba in the 1970s as Latin and Salsa mixed with heavy doses of Jazz, Funk, and Disco to create some of the most dancefloor-friendly music ever made!

The album comes as a heavyweight 3xLP and deluxe 2xCD set, complete with extensive sleeve notes, and is jam-packed with heavy bass lines, synth and Wah-Wah guitar funk combined with the heavyweight percussion, powerful brass lines and the all-encompassing Latin rhythms of Cuban music known
throughout the world.

Much of the music on this album is featured in the deluxe large format book ‘Cuba: Music and Revolution: Original Cover Art of Cuban Music: Record Sleeve Designs of Revolutionary Cuba 1959-90’, released by Soul Jazz Books and also compiled by Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (Soul Jazz Records),
featuring the music and record designs of Cuba, made in the 30-year period following the Cuban Revolution.

The music on this new album features a host of rarities from legendary Cuban artists such as Los Van Van, alongside Grupo De Experimentación, Farah Maria, Ricardo Eddy Martinez, Juan Pablo Torres, Grupo Sintesis and Orquesta Riverside, most of whose names remain largely unknown outside of Cuba but have long been favourite club tracks and secret-weapons in Gilles Peterson’s record boxes!
The music on this album reflects the most cutting-edge of Cuban groups that were recording in Cuba in the 1970s and 1980s – all searching for a new Cuban identity and new musical forms reflecting both the Afro-Cuban cultural heritage of a nation that gave birth to Latin music and its new position as a socialist state. Most of the music featured on this album has never been heard outside of Cuba.
Both Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker have been involved in Cuban music for more than two decades – Gilles Peterson with his many Havana Cultura projects for his Brownswood label and Stuart Baker with a number of Soul Jazz Records albums recorded in Cuba. This Soul Jazz Records album is released in conjunction with Egrem, the Cuban state record company, and has been put together after the many crate-digging trips that both compilers have made on the streets of Havana and beyond in Cuba stretching over a 20-year period, searching out rare and elusive original Cuban vinyl records

Jazz Sahara is the debut album by double bassist and oud player Ahmed Abdul-Malik featuring performances recorded in late 1958 and originally released on the Riverside label.

Re-mastering by: Cicely Baston at Alchemy/Air Mastering, Lyndhurst Hall, London

A two-LP set on Theresa, Rejoice features Pharoah Sanders in excellent form in 1981. Sanders sounds much more mellow than he had a decade earlier, often improvising in a style similar to late-'50s John Coltrane, particularly on "When Lights Are Low," "Moments Notice," and "Central Park West." The personnel changes on many of the selections and includes such top players as pianists Joe Bonner and John Hicks, bassist Art Davis, drummers Elvin Jones and Billy Higgins, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, trombonist Steve Turre, trumpeter Danny Moore, a harpist, and (on "Origin" and "Central Park West") five vocalists. The music always holds one's interest, making this one of Sanders' better later recordings. Scott Yanow/AMG

COLTRANE'S classic "Moments Notice" is a complete gas! Sanders like Coltrane, pulls and holds attention with his entrances. Bobby Hutcherson's and Hicks solo's are heated and models of vivid imagination. The three put forth some of the very best solo...'s in the entire album.

Then there's the arresting new talent introduced here -GEORGE V JOHNSON JR., whose marvelous lyrics and vocal work are truly auspicious! He sings with James Moody on occassion and is happily remindful of the insistent giftness of the late EDDIE JEFFERSON. Johnson's three stanzers close with "Relax dig the sounds of Coltrane's Music. Coltrane fills your heart with love and harmony. Trane played with magic. Listen to the melodies and you will see momently. When you here the message of his song!". There's no doubt in my mind that henceforth George V Johnson should and will be sought for his own gift to the music. He sang the song for Sanders at the Village Vanguard, and Sanders "felt that George ought to be heard".Thank you, Pharoah Sanders for Sharing.... by Herb Wong

nine-sum sorcery is the debut release of Berlin-based sonic duo LABOUR, the ambitious project led by Farahnaz Hatam and Colin Hacklander gaining a reputation since 2018 for their large-scale works and collaborative pieces in large concert spaces and museums such as Kraftwerk Berlin, Martin Gropius Bau and Kunsthalle Zürich. Since 2020 they are residents on NTS with a monthly show.
Grounded in the rich and enigmatic digital soundworld of LABOUR, nine-sum sorcery features the renowned Kurdish singer, Hani Mojtahedy, a prolific performer and recording artist firmly grounded in the traditional vocal styles of both Kurdistan and Iran.
Following LABOUR’s now legendary closing of Berlin Atonal’s main stage in 2018 with their inaugural work, next time, die consciously (یگناگیب), the duo embarked on a grand journey with Hani Mojtahedy, towards a remarkable synthesis of traditions and practices, uniting computer music and avant-garde sensibilities with traditional vocal practice.
nine-sum sorcery is a long-form piece that unfolds over two sections, A and B, and can be understood as an occult incitation to the dark energies, natural, political and otherwise, that are released when oil is extracted from the ground. This ritual is focused through the enigmatic electronic and percussion composition from LABOUR which alternates between foreground and background for the haunting vocal performance of Mojtahedy, who interprets Kurdish and Persian verses.
This is first release on Studio LABOUR, the new independent label in Berlin that provides a platform for avant-gardists creating works based on sound.
Studio LABOUR seeks to contribute toward spaces of non-conforming social practices and identities, and revisits the nature of work as a potentially transformative activity.
From sound artists to electronic musicians to composers; visual artists to performance artists to critical theorists; the represented artists are united not via discipline or genre, but rather through individuated orientation towards radical perspective that are either based-in or engaged-with sound as a medium, at least in the instance of their release/work with the label.

Strut continues its essential compilation series of Indian Ocean sounds with 'Alefa Madagascar', the first compilation to document the unique culture of salegy, soukous and soul on the island during the '70s and '80s.
'Alefa Madagascar' showcases the rich variety of sounds during this heyday of Malagasy music: Roger Georges' 'Mama' and Jean Kely et Basth's 'Andosy Mora' bring the raw energy of salegy, influential band Los Matadores drop military drums and Hammond soul in the classic 'Andeha Hanarato'; Mahaleo's 'Izahay Mpamita' showcases the band's powerful folk sound, a crucial voice emerging from the Rotaka farmer and student protests of 1972, while Terak'Anosy Group work around a stomping Congolese guitar groove. The era paved the way for many of the household names of Malagasy music today including Jaojoby, D'Gary and Lego.