quête:fear of the known

First official reissue for this roots reggae masterpiece, originally recorded in 1977. The Bushrangers, also known as Clem Bushay All Stars is the house band of producer Clem Bushay. They recorded the ''Stuntman'' album with musicians like Barry McVicker, Bunny McKenzie, Candy McKenzie, Carl Lewis, Dennis Bovell, Desmond Charles, Hughie, Janet Kay, Jimmy Haynes, Jimmy Mack, Jimmy Stratdan, Joseph Charles, Junior Bailey, Junior English, Michael Charles, Stanley, Suzy Browne, Moon Rocks and Zabandis...The album was also produced by Bushay.

Underground Resistance member James Pennington aka Suburban Knight has his first night strike on EPM with Winds of Fear.

Pennington is known for being one of the producers behind the Inner City hit single "Big Fun", as well as his own solo productions for Transmat with "The Art of Stalking" and numerous tracks on U.R, most notably the 'Nocturbulous Behavior' & 'By Night' EPs.

Fellow past U.R members and Detroit legends in their own right Robert Hood & Eddie Fowlkes step up to edit this masterpiece.

Fast-rising pianist and producer Yoni Mayraz presents his debut LP ‘Dybbuk Tse!’ revealing the story of a malicious possession that is taking over one’s body and soul.

Dybbuk, known from Jewish folklore, is a malevolent wandering spirit that enters and possesses the body of a living person. It’s a cursed soul of a dead one that wanders tirelessly for sins committed during their life. The most vulnerable victims are the young and the sinful. Possession can be taken literally or as an analogy to the burden that young people carry generations back, which they have no influence on, and which they have to accept. Dybbuk can only be removed by exorcism. The titular ‘Dybbuk Tse!’ is a command to remove the spirit from the possessed body. The album is a story about possession but also about exorcism through music.

Recorded live with his band in a dusty wooden studio, ‘Dybbuk Tse!’ is indeed experimenting with the ‘darker side of things’, but yet with a somewhat lighthearted approach which is so typical of Yoni’s work. He easily combines jazz with the sound of 90’s New York hip hop and raw old school breakbeat. The album interweaves unique Middle Eastern melodies, sophisticated structures and sounds, and beautifully crafted solos played by some of the promising talents on the scene.

London based Israeli born pianist and producer Yoni Mayraz has set foot in the instrumental music scene with his EP ‘Rough Cuts’ released in 2020. Since then, Yoni and his band have been playing major venues and festivals around the world including the legendary Ronnie Scott’s and The Jazz Cafe, to name a few, bringing raw energy to stage with live versions of the studio materials, and stretching the melodies and structures into a Dancefloor-focused take on jazz.

‘Dybbuk Tse!’ album will be released by Astigmatic Records on LP in regular and limited (B1 poster included) editions, as well as on all streaming platforms.

The 2022 DreamWorks Animation film Puss In Boots: The Last Wish is the sequel to the spin-off film Puss In Boots (2011) and the sixth installment in the Shrek franchise. Directed by Joel Crawford, the film features a voice star cast including Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek Pinault, Florence Pugh, Olivia Coleman, and John Mulaney amongst others. It received an Academy Award-nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. The story follows the daring Puss In Boots, who discovers that his passion for peril and disregard for safety have taken their toll. Puss has burned through eight of his nine lives, though he lost count along the way. Getting those lives back will send Puss in Boots on his grandest quest yet.

Heitor Pereira composed the film's score, who is best known for scoring the Despicable Me franchise. For this specific release, Pereira selected his favourite pieces to be featured. Together with his team, these pieces were mastered to sound as best as possible on vinyl. It features the additional tracks "Fearless Hero (Hero Version)" with Antonio Banderas, "Por Qué te Vas" by Gaby Moreno, "This Is the End" by Dan Navarro & "La Vida Es Una" by KAROL G.

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on orange "Puss" marbled vinyl. This vinyl package includes the map to the "Wishing Star" and a 4-page booklet with liner notes by director Joel Crawford.

Slovenia multimedia, electronic and rock group Borghesia formed back in 1982 from members of an underground theatre group that was known as FV-112/15. They also ran their own alternative club and had an illicit, illegal aesthetic based around anything taboo, banned or prohibited in the country at the time, much like the likes of Front 242 and Nitizer Ebb. Rugged City was an album first released in 1988 and only in Yugoslavia. It collects the best tunes from previous albums Escorts And Models and No Hope No Fear and is a perfect overview of their powerful mutant sound.

Playboy is the third studio album from Adedamola Adefolahan, known professionally as FIreboy DML, and features the hit singles, “Peru (feat. Ed Sheeran),” “Playboy,” & “Bandana (feat. Asake).” Discovered by Nigerian rapper, Olamide, and signed to his label, YBNL Nation, he is without question one of the leading voices in Afrobeats, and is emerging as a truly global superstar in his own right, scoring collaborations with notable megastars, Ed Sheeran (“Peru”) & Madonna (“Frozen Fireboy DML Remix”). At 14 tracks, Playboy sheds light on how life has changed for Fireboy DML in unimaginable ways, and explores a future in which he can pursue his dreams without worry or fear. 2LP pressed on Bone colored vinyl. Music found on LP1 (both sides) & LP2 (side one); LP2 side two is etched with no music.

Sometimes, a change of view can transform a person’s world. On ‘Don’t Come Down’, the artist formerly known as Matt Pond PA can be found with his “shoulder on the concrete” of a pavement, scoping out the world anew. This granular realignment of perspective serves as an open door to the debut album from The Natural Lines. At once clearly Pond’s work yet a huge leap forward in its measured songcraft, melodic immediacy, collaborative detail and wryly questioning lyrics, the result is a gorgeous album of intimate reflections from a relocated, renamed, revivified talent.

Recorded with close collaborators and friends over a period that saw Pond make vital adjustments to his life, its stealth emergence reflects his desire to set a fresh pace for himself and come from somewhere new, somewhere more open.

Now based in Kingston, New York, with his partner and wild dog Willa, Matt explains the album’s gestation thus. “It was something different from the start. I wanted to write as purely as I could. Instead of getting stuck in the ‘tour, write an album, release an album, tour’ cycle, which is not a natural way of writing or living, I wanted to write an album and when it was done I wanted to make sure it was done. I didn’t want this feeling of, ‘Oh, we didn’t have time’, or, ‘I don’t know whether I believe in the songs but it’s coming out anyway.’ I used to be always racing to the finish line, but I’m not anymore.”

For Matt, the call to ring the changes came with the recognition of “a certain nihilism or narcissism” involved in making music. “In some ways, you have to get in your own head and I think I went too far with that, with drinking and shutting people out. In something that I believe is collaborative, it’s not helpful.”

“I quit lying,” he adds. “I checked my harsher tones. I cut my drinking down. I went to therapy and figured out how to stop shouting at cars.”

Car troubles inspire ‘No More Tragedies’, the album’s standout second track, where he wryly details his desire to dampen his twinned impulses to take pictures of license plates blocking his parking space or take bricks to said car windshields. Warming melodies and harmonies soothe his rage, a balance maintained elsewhere on the album.

A need for connection underpins the lilting ‘Alex Bell’, where Matt’s lyrics playfully reference the inventor of the telephone over a plaintive cello and bubbling keyboards – evidence of the album’s carefully nurtured arrangements. With nimble sequencing, ‘My Answer’ follows with a question: do artists really need to get messed-up to create? Matt may not have the answer, he admits, but he articulates the question beautifully, channelling the influence of Blue Öyster Cult’s ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’ into a song of fleet, melodic electric-folk drive.

Featuring 17-year-old MJ Murphy on misty backing vocals, the softly insistent ‘Don’t Come Down’ is an album centrepiece, detailing a need to see things anew. Like The Flaming Lips writing a classicist piano ballad, the twinkling ‘Artificial Moonlight’ finds Matt writing late at night, illuminated by the lights from streetlamps. Finally, ‘Mahwah’ closes the album on a note of arrival. While Matt Pond PA’s albums emerged from the disconnection of touring and living in vans, Pond is now happily – cruel winters aside – ensconced in Kingston. “I have found a place I love. Mercury Rev lives near here. It is a cool place to be, an artistic, mountainous, wild place to live. So – maybe this is it.”

In the case of The Natural Lines, a sense of arrival suggests itself. For Matt, the album follows two decades’ worth of Matt Pond PA records and soundtrack works. In a career he once described as “a series of benign mistakes,” Matt travelled far, moving from his band’s starting point in Philadelphia to Florida, Oakland and beyond while releasing 14 well-received albums. In 2017, he declared his intent to retire the Matt Pond PA name, though it lived on briefly in the reissue of The State Of Gold and EPs such as Free Fall, a tribute to Philadelphia.

Now, the name change honours his collaborators. Among a revolving cast, one constant presence in his work has been Chris Hansen, who plays guitar, bass, keys, saxophone and vocals on The Natural Lines’ debut. Matt’s partner, Anya Marina, contributes vocals. Other band members number Hilary James (cello/vocals), Kyle Kelly-Yahner (drums), Louie Lino (keys), Sarah Hansen (horns), Sean Hansen (drums/bass), Kat Murphy (vocals) and, also on vocals, MJ Murphy, for whom Matt brims with praise: “She can do anything she wants to musically.”

A heartening rebirth for Pond and his friends, the result also pays warming, witty, reflective and infectious testimony to the value of reconfiguring one’s outlook. “Once I took control of my mind, I could see what I wanted to say more clearly,” says Matt. “Instead of random floods of mania and panic, I felt like I was composed and composing. It has become as simple as reading the words of a sentence in the right order. As small as the pause before I hit ‘send’.” A development, you might say, conducted along the most natural of lines.

Over the last half decade, the music collective Constant Smiles has produced a prolific output of acclaimed music, culminating in their forthcoming record Kenneth Anger, masterfully brought to life by engineer Jonathan Schenke (Parquet Courts, Liars, Dougie Pool). The group is known most recently for their much-praised debut album for Sacred Bones records, Paragons, an emotionally resonant offering of indie folk masterpieces that all confront the internal ways we process our struggles with intimacies, addiction and humanity produced by Ben Greenberg. Constant Smiles' primary singer/songwriter Ben Jones uses the creative process as a tool for working through deeply transformative periods in his life. The band's indie folk music lays bare this internal process, but on Kenneth Anger, the music shifts to synth pop and looks externally, examining creativity, community, ritual, and their place in the healing process. Ritual takes a primary role in the eponymous Kenneth Anger. Not only is auteur Kenneth Anger himself known for his sensorial depictions of ritual, Jones often used the films as a silent visual back drop during his song writing sessions, a ritual that grounded the creation of the album. And while the director's use of saturated color inspired the warm `80s synth style production, the director's trailblazing spirit of authenticity also pushed Jones through his most vulnerable expression to date. While the narrative undertones of the songs deal with fear and isolation and anxiety, the songs themselves were created through the healing process of ritual, and enriched with collaboration, community and trust. The resulting music produces a balm that can genuinely recalibrate the nervous system. The listener journeys through the depths of every track while being lifted and guided by the music's transformative, hypnotic power and this illustrates one of the foundational accomplishments of the album. Just as a Kenneth Anger film explores the underbelly of the unconscious through often soothing visuals, Kenneth Anger the album conjures the underworld into a series of synth pop classics.

Record Kicks presents "Yours Truly", the new album by Bordeaux's "Soulboy", Mr. Alexis Evans.

Like fine Red Wine, "Soulboy" Alexis Evans gets better with Age. The best evidence of this is his brand new album "Yours Truly", set for release on February 3rd, 2023 on LP, CD and digital via Milan-based label Record Kicks. Produced and mixed by Louis-Marin Renaud (Lou Doillon, Theo Lawrence, Desmond Myers), "Yours Truly" is the third studio album by Bordeaux-based singer-songwriter Alexis Evans and sees the light 4 years after his previous LP "I've Come A Long Way", defined "Soul album of The Year" by Rolling Stone France. "Yours Truly" consists of 12 brilliantly soulful cuts that take direct inspiration from 60's & 70's classic soul music adding a sound that is firmly rooted in the new millennium.

Anticipated by the first single "Mr Right On Time", the album was recorded between Bordeaux and Nantes during 2021 and beginning of 2022. The idea behind the new album was to find a unique sound, mixing classic 60's & 70's soul music with more contemporary influences such as hip hop beats, jazz, reggae, and Caribbean sounds. To do that, Alexis paired up with producer Louis-Marin Renaud, known for his work with French-English singer, actress and model Lou Doillon and country-soul rising star Theo Lawrence, who took part in the arrangements and mixed the album.

"All instruments were recorded live, some titles were completely live and others got modified, cut, sampled, depending on the tunes in a kind of beatmaking way. It was a very fun and fulfilling project that will sound awesome on stage for sure," explains Alexis.

Lyrically, the album could be described as soulful everyday rhymes. "Love may be the number one subject in soul music and clearly has its place of honor in a few songs ("Close to me", "What is this feeling"), while other songs tend to deal with it in a more cynical but poetic way, for instance on "Mister right on time", in which beauty remains in simplicity," states Mr. Evans. He continues: "Another topic of the album is abandonment ("It matters to me", "The only apple", "Close to the water"). Whether it is the fear of being left behind or the sadness after a loss, this album still bears some traces of lockdown and I was aiming at giving another perspective on different matters, looking at them in a dreamlike way." The themes of the album are reflected in the cover artwork, made by Adrià F Marquès.

Alexis Evans, songwriter with a timeless style based in Bordeaux, France, found the love of music and learnt to play guitar thanks to his father, an English musician. His inspirations range from Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke to David Bowie. At the age of 17 he debuted with his first project "Jumping to the Westside", with which he was awarded the "Cognac Blues Passion" prize and flew to the "International Blues Challenge" in Memphis, Tennessee, where he impressed the American audience even though he was still a teenager. Mr. Evanshas built a household name in the scene as the "enfant prodige of soul" starting with his first album, released in 2015, and consolidated his reputation with his second long play "I've Come a Long Way", released in 2019 on Record Kicks. Rolling Stone France described it as "The Soul album of the year", while Blues & Soul Magazine and BBC 6 defined him as "One of the most exciting additions to the international Soul Scene". Following the release of the album, Alexis toured in France and Europe extensively, stopped only in 2020 by the Pandemic. Thanks to the forced break, Alexis started to lay down the new album, and he's now ready to present the fruit of his hard work: "Yours Truly".

Waxwork Records is proud to present the Us Original Motion Picture Soundtrack featuring a score by composer Michael Abels. Us, released in March 2019, is an original nightmare written, directed and produced by Academy Awardr-winning visionary Jordan Peele (Get Out). Set in present day Santa Cruz on the iconic Northern California coastline, the film, starring Oscarr winner Lupita Nyong'o and Black Panther's Winston Duke, pits an ordinary American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves. A blockbuster that earned raves from critics and audiences alike, Us earned more than $250 million at the worldwide box office to become one the highest grossing R-rated horror films of all time, buoyed by an unexpected and innovative soundtrack and by a groundbreaking, terrifying original score by Abels. Us marks the second collaboration between composer Abels and Peele, who first worked together on Peele's 2017 Oscar-winning horror film, Get Out. For the Us score, Abels explored themes of duality and discord. "Sonically, what defines 'scary' is the unfamiliar," Abels says. "It is the things that we can't place, and that we don't expect, that take us to that place of fear. We wanted to really strike terror into the audience." Central to the score was the opening track, an anthem for the doppelgängers, known in the film as The Tethered. Abels hit on the idea of using choral elements. "Jordan really loves the sounds of voices, and the human voice is an incredibly expressive instrument that anyone can relate to," Abels says. "The anthem sounds a little like a march of people preparing for battle, like an uprising maybe, but the sounds are not in a recognizable language. In other parts of the film there are vocal effects, just these strange sounds. They're designed to really freak people out." Abels featured a 30 person choir, a third of them children, in the "Anthem," and implemented Eastern European instruments, violins, percussion and a virtual instrument called a Propanium drum. "It makes this trashy metal sound, but you can also play melodies on it," Abels said. "The Propanium drum has a sound that's both otherworldly but not electronic or like science fiction. It's a sound you can't quite put your finger on, which is why it works well in this film." Also included on the soundtrack is the 1995 hip-hop hit "I Got 5 On It" by Luniz and the stand-out track "I Like That" by Janelle Monáe. Abels also helped with a new arrangement of the Luniz hit, which is featured on the soundtrack as the 'Tethered Mix from Us'.



































[xi] 35 I GOT 5 ON IT (FEAT. MICHAEL MARSHALL) [TETHERED MIX FROM US] - LUNIZ

Red Vinyl

Breaking from the strange monotony and abnormal norms that took hold during two years of pandemic life, Hammock returns with Love in the Void , an album that looks to the future, seizes the present, and unabashedly relishes the experiences and bonds that bring meaning to our days. Known for crafting orchestral works of stirring cinematic ambience, on Love in the Void the Nashville-based duo of Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson bring guitar-forward, heart-pounding urgency to songs that shout through and shatter the static of complacency. Since forming as Hammock in 2003, Byrd and Thompson have released 14 critically-acclaimed albums, and are renowned for their unique talent for bringing inexpressible emotion to life. The Covid-19 pandemic followed closely after one of Hammock's career-defining works, the Mysterium, Universalis, and Silencia trilogy that chronicled the incomprehensible loss of Byrd's 20-year- old nephew. At their homes and apart, Byrd and Thompson then recorded Elsewhere, an album of shimmering ambience that channeled alienated longing and displacement into avenues that gave way to worlds and possibilities yet realized. Shaken awake and needing to break free of frustrations and longings, Love in the Void pulses with an unbridled spirit for action and experience and a burning desire for connection Across songs that hammer home the keenly felt emotions of life's highs and lows, Byrd and Thompson crest soaring crescendos awash in reverb and delve to keenly felt moments of quiet introspection, with unflinching lyrics on tracks like "Undoing" and "Denial of Endings'' that weigh choices made and circumstances that can't be changed. Lush and dramatic string orchestration from Matt Kidd (Slow Meadow) and emphatic drumming from Jake Finch heighten the stakes in play, and Christine Byrd's (Lumenette) ethereal vocals leave mysteries lingering in the haze. Love in the Void is Hammock's loudest album to date, embracing daring and vulnerability with palpable vitality at its core, and moving into an unknown future without fear.

Wucan is a german rock band from Dresden, who like to describe themselve as Heavy Flute Rock. If one is to dive deeper into the artistic creativity of the group, it becomes obvious, why regular genres won’t fit here. Multifaceted and playful they deliver psychedelic riffs, progressive song structures with folk elements here and there, since their first album. Wucan fears neither the soothing melodies, nor the tougher pace.

Reinventing themselve with every release, the band and it’s singer and multiinstrumentalist Francis tobolsky never looser their distinct features. Ranging from short proto-metal tracks to epic 15 minute tracks like “Wandersmann” of their debut album or „Aging 10 Years in 2 Seconds“ of their 2-LP follow up.

On September 10, 2021 Wucan performed in the well-known Blues Garage in Isernhagen near Hannover. And German radio station Deutschlandfunk recorded the show, the first live album of the band, energetic and pure.

As three souls plunge down from the heavens, death and destruction can be felt hanging in the air like a foul stench. Red clouds swirl around a black sun that never sets and an erratic clock ticks off-tempo, moving faster and slower before rewinding and starting anew.

“Let me paint you a picture…” vocalist Mikey Arthur sings, welcoming listeners with a dramatic opening scene. It takes a skillful guide to navigate the darkest depths of hell. And, as The Gloom In The Corner depict in their second full-length album Trinity, death is merely the beginning of the series of chilling adventures

Purposefully aligning their song count with unlucky number thirteen – a reoccurring symbol in the ever-unfolding Gloom Cinematic Universe or GCU – it comes as little surprise to longtime fans that each of the Australian quartet’s enticing tracks intertwine to form an interlocking tale; this time centered around the appropriately labeled unholy trinity.

Comprised of previously deceased characters Rachel Barker, Ethan Hardy, and Clara Carne, the group’s bloody battle is woven throughout the album as the anti-heroes determinedly claw their way back to Earth from the Rabbit Hole dimension, slashing, shooting, and extinguishing anyone who dares to oppose their quest. Yet, for the Girl of Glass, Ronin, and Queen of Misanthropy, there is clearly more to the story than what can be contained within a single package.

Projecting a wide and complex web of lore, plot twists, and tongue and cheek humor, frontman Mikey Arthur, guitarist Matt Stevens, bassist Paul Musolino, and drummer Nic Haberle, have been producing highly detailed concept releases since their formation. And, consistently filling in more missing pieces of the puzzle with every body of work, the band equate each new record to a fresh season of The Umbrella Academy dropping on the streaming service of your choice. Because, just as a great TV series captivates viewers with its music and storytelling, the quartet’s work provides a complete experience designed to allow fans to check in with their favorite characters, all the while enjoying a cinematic new soundtrack.

For those just joining the GCU, as well as those looking for a quick refresh, 2016 debut album Fear Me introduced listeners to main protagonists Julian “Jay” Hardy, a Section 13 agent consumed by anger over his girlfriend Rachel’s death, and Jay’s gloom (later known as Sherlock Adaliah Bones), a demonic entity who at times takes over Jay’s body as a host vessel. 2017 EP Homecoming tells the tale of Jay’s brother Ethan, a war veteran suffering from PTSD, who upon discovering his brother’s struggle, kills himself as part of a Dante-style rescue mission to bring Rachel back to life. In 2019 EP Flesh and Bones, we’re introduced to Clara Carne, a past witness to one of Jay and Sherlock’s crimes, who instead of taking revenge, began a twisted love story with Sherlock, only to be murdered by his forced hand. And 2020’s Ultima Pluvia EP where we finally learn of Sherlock’s past as an ancient warlord under the tyrannical King Baphicho, and see Sherlock and Jay’s deaths ushered in by Section 13 opponent and New Order leader Elias DeGraver and his gloom Atticus Encey.

After 2016’s Fear Me, the band admit that their original intention was to jump straight into the events of Trinity before pivoting to create Homecoming, Flesh and Bones, and Ultima Pluvia. However, upon reflection, primary storywriter Mikey Arthur believes that pushing the timeline back actually provided greater opportunity for the group to properly flesh out the songs and plotlines for their sophomore studio record.

Indeed, while Trinity re-introduces the three central “heroes” of this new arc, it’s important to understand that while familiar, the characters are not carbon copies of who they were earlier in the story. And neither is the band who brought them to life.

Fully embracing the weird and whacky has never been a struggle for The Gloom In The Corner. Rather, it’s together with this attitude that the group come away with special moments such as the fascinating old and new dynamic between neighboring tracks “Red Clouds” – a song whose initial version predates the formation of The Gloom In The Corner as an official band – and “Gravity” in which a demo intended for future material was adjusted to fit the sonic drop.

Mirroring this evolution in the band’s musical approach, a sense of growth can also be seen projected in the characters and story that the quartet chronicle across the thirteen tracks.

Classifying their individual sound as an intricate form of “cinema or theater-core” due to the depth and breadth of their musical approach, features, samples, symphonic elements, and conceptual nature, The Gloom In The Corner continue to prove that they’re more than just a simple concept band.

In fact, similar to character theme music in movies and video games, the group seamlessly play off their diverse sonic story in a variety of ways. Continuing to breathe new life into older staples from their catalog, the quartet reworked their infamous “Oxymøron” breakdown from Fear Me into an impactful moment in Trinity’s “Nor Hell A Fury” and sprinkled audio easter eggs of this sort all throughout their new music for fans to discover.

Listeners are also brought further into the world of the GCU with the help of what The Gloom In The Corner call their “casting process.” Like picking actors for a musical, the band meticulously selected eleven different vocal features and several additional voice actors to bring the album and characters to life. Described as a 50/50 split between notable talents such as Ryo Kinoshita (Crystal Lake), Joe Badolato (Fit For An Autopsy), and Lauren Babic (Red Handed Denial), as well as talented friends and family like Elijah Witt (Cane Hill) and Mikey’s sister Amelia Duffield, each featured artist brought their own touch and realistic spark to the characters they portrayed.

For in the end, as much as Trinity and it’s cast live within the confines of their own supernatural worlds, themes such as falling out of love (Gatekeeper), battling depression (Obliteration Imminent), and standing behind women’s empowerment (Nor Hell A Fury), are ones that many can relate to or understand. And, while most individuals may avoid drowning their woes by way of transforming into full-on egotistical murderers like the Queen and King of Misanthropy and the gang, The Gloom In The Corner have illustrated that time and time again, life’s a little more fun when you can crack a smile. Taking a page from the trinity’s playbook: try to avoid the end of the world. But if you can’t…at least spend it with a killer soundtrack.

After an exceptionally long year full of personal change and near manic levels of creative activity, Canadian musician Devin Townsend releases his follow up to 2019’s acclaimed ‘Empath’ album. Assembled from a barrage of material written during the pandemic ‘Lightwork’ represents a new level,and has ended up being one of the most accessible, yet ambitious releases of his storied career. A project that has been on Devin’s mind since he was a teen, (and flirted with throughout his career) is a more melodic and direct album with a great producer to help guide the work. Enter Garth Richardson: A Vancouver based producer with a long resume and a friend of Devin’s for many years. And the goal? To provide something beautiful, cathartic, powerful and clear. A sense of optimism and power through what can be commonly known as a ‘depressing period’. Its about strength, love, acceptance, fear, and overcoming together. Guests on the record include friends and stalwarts from his past (Anneke Van Giersbergen, Ché Aimee Dorval, Morgan Agren, Mike Keneally, Steve Vai, Elektra Women’s Choir) as well as some newer friends and faces (Darby Todd, Diego Tejeida, Nathan Navarro, Federico Paulovich, Jonas Hellborg). Available as Ltd Deluxe Orange 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray, Ltd Deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook & Ltd 2CD Digipak – all including the companion album ‘Nightwork’. Also available as standalone Gatefold 2LP+CD, Standard CD Jewelcase & Digital Album.

After an exceptionally long year full of personal change and near manic levels of creative activity, Canadian musician Devin Townsend releases his follow up to 2019’s acclaimed ‘Empath’ album. Assembled from a barrage of material written during the pandemic ‘Lightwork’ represents a new level,and has ended up being one of the most accessible, yet ambitious releases of his storied career. A project that has been on Devin’s mind since he was a teen, (and flirted with throughout his career) is a more melodic and direct album with a great producer to help guide the work. Enter Garth Richardson: A Vancouver based producer with a long resume and a friend of Devin’s for many years. And the goal? To provide something beautiful, cathartic, powerful and clear. A sense of optimism and power through what can be commonly known as a ‘depressing period’. Its about strength, love, acceptance, fear, and overcoming together. Guests on the record include friends and stalwarts from his past (Anneke Van Giersbergen, Ché Aimee Dorval, Morgan Agren, Mike Keneally, Steve Vai, Elektra Women’s Choir) as well as some newer friends and faces (Darby Todd, Diego Tejeida, Nathan Navarro, Federico Paulovich, Jonas Hellborg). Available as Ltd Deluxe Orange 3LP+2CD+Blu-ray, Ltd Deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook & Ltd 2CD Digipak – all including the companion album ‘Nightwork’. Also available as standalone Gatefold 2LP+CD, Standard CD Jewelcase & Digital Album.

New single by Pittsburgh, PA-based band The Commonheart. "They pay soulful tribute to the soul gods without disrespecting their exhumed remains." - No Depression Live and in the studio, the Pittsburgh-based collective is offering feel-good positivity, Golden Rule messaging, and sweat-soaked performances that nimbly ease through blues, vintage soul, and rock. The band is bonded by familial-like ties and a desire to foster spiritual uplift. Among its ranks are female backup singers, drums, bass, guitar, a horn section, and keyboards. Out front is Clinton, a lightning bolt charismatic frontman with dynamically expressive pipes that effortlessly traverse bluesy pleading, and honeyed balladeering. "Hustler" is an anthem for perseverance. Told thru the eyes of a street hustler's mindset; this song offers their interpretation of what it takes to make a living in this world thru the hardest times. The narrative runs parallel for anyone that's finding their way thru life with grit, fearlessness & drive. The new album, produced by Steve Berlin, saxophonist, keyboardist, and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos, entitled 'For Work or Love' will be released on September 16th, 2022.

With a discography held in such high esteem amongst fans of conceptual French pop and soundtrack composition, the likelihood of finding an unturned stone amongst maestro Jean-Claude Vannier’s fertile psychedelic rockery falls somewhere between slim and skeletal. Even the most intrepid explorers of the most fearless and fastidious nature should naturally expect to encounter one or two shadowy characters when braving the oblique corners of the Vannier vault, but few lost souls cast a darker silhouette than the cinematic obscurity known only as La Bête Noire (The Black Beast).

Lost and presumed missing for decades the soundtrack tapes to this lesser-known 1983 French thriller (featuring a cast culled from films such as Alphaville, The Modern Couple and Sweet Movie) captures the revered composer and arranger of Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire De Melody Nelson embarking on a darker exploration of free jazz, frenzied batucadas and cyclic carousel psychedelia. Counting key players of the French jazz scene within its ranks, The Insolitudes group comprises a crack team of Palm/Futura/Actuel/Saravah regulars such as saxophonist Philippe Mate´ (Acting Trio/Mate´-Vallancien/Tacet) alongside drummer Bernard Labat (Mad Ducks) and legendary Arpadys/Voyage rhythm masters Marc Chantereau and Pierre-Alain Dahan (Brutus Drums) all of whom alongside Michel Zanlonghi (Ensemble De Percussion De Paris) make up this thunderous, tumultuous, four-headed rhythm machine bridging an authentic gap between The Jef Gilson Groups and France’s signature “cosmic” revolution. Naturally these previously unheard compositions are spearheaded by lead pianist and composer Vannier and for devotee’s of his 1972 concept album L’Enfant Assassin Des Mouche there is much to admire and cross-reference herein.

Having been the most loyal and long-running guardians of Jean-Claude’s monster archive over the past two decades Finders Keepers Records are proud to present this first catch of newfound vintage Vannier discoveries on this limited and unlikely free jazz 45 single (which should find a perfect home between coveted Euro jazz 7”s by Krzysztof Komeda, Franc¸ois Tusques and Brussels Art Quintet). Almost 15 years since Finders Keepers once liberated the

Groove Armada’s iconic Back To Mine compilation from the Millennium gets a long-awaited re-issue 22 years after its original release. As Groove Armada celebrate 25 years of touring with their final ever world live tour, which includes nine huge dates across the UK, it’s a chance to relive Groove Armada’s eclectic and expert curation.

The album, which was one of the biggest ever selling editions of the Back To Mine Series, will be available on double heavyweight vinyl for the first timers well as a limited collectors edition in Pumpkin orange. This release marks the first of many reissues of iconic Back To Mine titles.

The Groove Armada special edition package features 12 tracks featured on the seminal album in one of the best loved compilation series’. Despite the length in time since its original release, the album remains timeless with an inspired selection ranging from A Tribe Called Quest, Barry White, Tears For Fears to the compilers themselves.

For nearly two decades, Groove Armada have been established as one of the planet's best loved and biggest selling dance acts. As comfortable on the big stages as they are in sweat soaked basements, the boys cross genres and styles with ease. This translates perfectly into their addition of Back To Mine which boldly, yet effortlessly traverses a multitude of sounds that you wouldn’t imagine could be the perfect match. Collectively, the album is colorfully funky, soulful, and incredibly smooth.


From their house to yours, listening pleasure is guaranteed.

· One of the biggest ever selling editions of the Back ToMine series repressed for the first time.

· Groove Armada will be embarking on their final live tour around some of the UK’s most iconic venues in 2022 & several festival appearances.

· Marketing campaign celebrating 25 years of the Back To Mine series and the start of back catalog reissues

· Available on heavyweight double vinyl only, Including collectors coloured orange vinyl edition.

· Features legends such as Barry White, A Tribe Called Quest, Tears For Fears and Groove Armada themselves.

Kari Faux is a multi-faceted artist - rapper, singer, producer, DJ and
clothing designer - from Little Rock, AR - She is known for her bold
fashion and genre-bending music, fusing elements of southern hip-hop,
funk, and alternative soundscapes
Her unique style of rhyming, dashes of sultry vocal harmonizing and confidence
have helped garner a cult following and make her a force amongst the new
generation of hip-hop's most fearless and outspoken female voices. At the start
of her career, Kari's hit 'No Small Talk' was remixed by Childish Gambino and
featured on HBO's Insecure. Since then, she has made an imprint on the music
industry as an independent artist who has released four projects, headlined tours,
opened for acts such as Steve Lacy and Mick Jenkins, and has written or
produced on tracks for artists such as The Internet. Kari Faux's forthcoming
album, Lowkey Superstar Deluxe, drops September 24 and features fellow heavyhitters Smino, J.I.D, Yung Baby Tate, Jazz Cartier and Deante' Hitchcock. Lowkey
Superstar represents a new chapter along Kari Faux's creative journey. What
started as a phrase has turned into two independent albums, a record label,
clothing line and identity representative of Kari's innate superstar qualities mixed
with her lowkey demeanor. The Lowkey Superstar Deluxe album is a sonic
conglomeration of Kari's longtime influences, including funk, alternative, and
southern rap soundscapes and covers a range of topics from self-preservation to
dating to braggadocious raps.

"The letter X marks the spot, crosses over, literally with a cross. It’s the former, the ex-. The ex-lover known simply as “an ex”. Ex- is the latin prefix meaning “out”. Exterior, an exit. Extraordinary. Excellent. It’s exciting. Generation X. X-files. X is the unknown. X is Extreme“

Extreme is Molly Nilsson’s tenth studio album. Recorded in 2019 and throughout the 2020 global pandemic at home in Berlin, Extreme is a departure for Nilsson, an explosion of angry love. It’s an album of anthems for the jilted generation, soaked with joy and offering solace, bristling with distorted, Metal guitars and planet-sized choruses that bring light to the dark centre of the galaxy. It’s an album of the times, by the times and for the people. It’s a record about power. About how to fight it, how to take it and how to share it.

Absolute Power explodes with massive guitars, double kick beats and the instantly iconic line “It’s me versus the black hole at the centre of the galaxy.” Nilsson’s performance itself portrays absolute power in its confidence but the song is a call-to-arms, an entreaty to grasp the here and now, to take the power back. It’s Nilsson pacing the ring and we’re instantly in her corner. Earth Girls takes familiar Molly Nilsson themes - female empowerment and subverting the patriarchy - but casually throws in one of the choruses of her career. “Women have no place in this world” she sings, but it’s the world that isn’t good enough. Stadium-sized but still warmly hazy, Earth Girls has its fists in the air, glorifying in harmony, almost ecstatic in its feeling good. Nilsson’s Springsteen-level conviction and righteousness bleeds through the speaker cones, the cognitive dissonance between the song’s cadences and angry lyrics redolent of Bruce in his prime. Female empowerment isn’t always an angry energy on Extreme, however. On Fearless Like A Child, Nilsson’s anthem to the female body and women’s sovereignty of it, she croons over a mid-80s blue-eyed Soul groove. It sets a nocturnal scene as the narrator surveys her past and her surroundings. Before we’re fully submerged in a dreamlike, Steve McQueen-era Prefab Sprout poem to learning from your mistakes the song erupts into one of those lines only Molly Nilsson can get away with: “I love my womb, come inside I feel so alive” she fervently sings. Against the backdrop of ever-encroaching, conservative rulings on women’s reproductive rights in places like Texas, it’s simultaneously angry and full of love.

Every song on Extreme is a gleaming gem in a pouch of jewels. On Kids Today, Nilsson is the voice of wisdom, archly commenting on the eternal struggle between youth and authority. Wisdom infuses Sweet Smell Of Success with a transcendent love that forgives the narrator’s shortcomings and celebrates the moment, it’s a letter to the author from the author that asks “what is success” and concludes that this is it, this song, this moment. It’s a rare moment of simple reflection that is generous in its insight to Nilsson’s inner life. “Success” is a tool of power and we don’t need it… We need power tools and there are moments on Extreme where it feels like Nilsson is showing us how to find them. It's an open conversation through out Extreme. She’s a warm, comforting presence through out the album and specially on these songs of encouragement, songs perhaps sang to a younger Molly Nilsson or, really, to whomever needs to hear them. “They’ll praise your efforts, they’ll call you slurs a rebel, a master, an amateur / Merely with your own existence, you already offer your resistance.” On Avoid Heaven she’s even more direct, pleading with us to avoid concepts of purity and to embrace the glorious, ebullient, emotional mess we’re often in as a method of upending the power structures who need things to be perfect.

They Will Pay brings back the big, distorted power chords in the form of a agit-punk, pop slammer. Of course, when Molly Nilsson does punk pop we get the catchiest chorus this side of The Bangles or The Nerves. It’s rendered in an off the cuff, throwaway manner that is just perfect in its roughness. However, it’s on Pompeii that Nilsson delivers the album’s epic, emotional heartbreaker. Like 1995 on Nilsson’s album Zenith, or Days Of Dust on Twenty Twenty, the lyrics of Pompeii are heavy with a transcendent sadness, an aching poetry that cuts to the truth of the heart like the best Leonard Cohen lines, though here delivered with an uplifting, life-affirming love. It contains the most personal moments of Extreme, a song lit by the dying embers of romance. Yet it’s here where the alchemy at the base of all Nilsson’s best work is found. Turning small nuggets of personal truth into big, generous universal moments that invite everyone to cry, to love and to fight the power. In an album of jewels, it might be the shining star.

Molly Nilsson’s biggest, boldest and most vital album to date, Extreme is about power. Against the love of power and for the power of love.

While awaiting the release of Dignity Of Labour, The Ex headed back into the studio in early 1983; this time with a new friend – The Mekons' Jon Langford – helping produce.

Originally released in April 1983 (only a month after Dignity Of Labour), Tumult marks a major evolution in Ex-sound. Opener "Bouquet Of Barbed Wire" emerges snarling out of post-punk atmospherics with Terrie Ex's glacial guitar, Bas Masbeck's loping bass and cascading tom-toms from new recruit Sabien Witteman, while "Fear" and "Survival Of The Fattest" bring to bear the rhythmic core of the band, their signature angular style.

Lyrically, the songs on Tumult cycle through a series of familiar concerns: animal rights, squatters, the working class, punk's penchant for radical chic and the creeping fascism of nationalist sentiments. G.W. Sok's voice is squalling and perfectly wry throughout.

Tumult remains a high-water point of early Ex, serving as both developmental guide and way-station. The next 18 months would see the departure of Bas and Witteman and the arrival of long-serving bassist Luc Klaasen and drummer Kat Bornefeld (whose supple rhythms propel the group to this day). The album stands as one of the most compelling and unique documents of early '80s DIY exploration. If Mark E. Smith had only one favorite Dutch punk band, then it would undoubtedly be The Ex.

This first-time vinyl reissue comes with 28" x 39" full-color poster

Having initially met more than a decade ago at a local community radio station, sometimes doing guest slots on each other’s live, improvised noise shows, Cormac Culkeen and Dave Grenon knew they had a mutual interest in working with sonic textures. They listened to each other’s bands for a handful of years, and in 2017, “made good on a threat” that they’d been making for quite a long time: to start a band. At Cormac’s gentle but clear urging—declaring that they’d gone ahead and booked a space in which to record a video—the two wrote their first song, “Sebaldus,” an ambitious 12-minute trip, which also serves as the fireworks finale to their self-titled debut album. With surges of pathos that smooth out into something more soothing in turn, Cormac goes: “The hunter, you’ve seen him / The archer, his arrows are strong / And hunger, you’ve known her / I know the winter is long.” The track is as much about enduring a Canadian winter as it is about the eponymous 8th century hermit, shot through with sublimated desire. As Cormac put it, Joyful Joyful’s songs are “a little bit outside of time.” But while the lyrics beg close, oblique reading unto themselves, there’s also a distinct sense that they’re only one of many more ways that the duo shapes sound. Cormac, whose voice is like a sea with irregular tides, lights up about an idea in traditional sean-nós Irish music that songs already exist and are out there; it’s up to the singer to become the conduit. This belief in music as something to be channelled, and something more than sound, resonates with the singer’s fundamentalist religious past. To paraphrase: lots of group singing, harmonies, no instrumentation, totally unmediated, no priest, congregational—not choral, not a performance, not about talent, the spirit moves through people. “Of course that informs how I think about singing,” Cormac says. So, when they were exiled from the church because of their queerness, they took the music with them, dislocating it from its dogmatic bounds but not from its transcendent potential. This record might be thought of, then, as a kind of queering of sacred, devotional traditions—or at the very least, a space where all of these things can be held at once. Perhaps perceivable by some as contradictions, these intersecting influences create the conditions for an incredibly singular sound. Dave is steady and exploratory in his handling of this multiplicity, arranging sounds as they’re revealed, corralling them, coaxing them into form. “Because Dave is there,” Cormac says, “I get to sing three times higher, and three times lower, and faster, and backwards, and all of these sounds! That are there. They’re all there.” When asked about early musical memories, Cormac recalled an immediate fascination with harmony: from demanding that the first person they ever heard singing it explain what they were doing, to always (still, to this day) singing in harmony with their twin sister around the house, to being part of a children’s choir that sang soprano in Handel’s Messiah—not realizing until they entered the room with all the other ranges that their learned melody was but one part of the whole. Just as tellingly, Dave reflects on his early attraction to “abstraction and becoming abstract,” describing childhood afternoons messing with microphone and speaker feedback loops, producing long, enduring sounds with almost undetectable variations. In a way unique to the coalescing of these two listeners, notions of harmony are central to their output. Dave samples field recordings, old keyboards and synths, and vocal drones, running the live singing through four or five parallel effects chains, sampling and treating everything again in the moment. “Another way to put it is that Cormac’s voice comes into the board and then comes back out shifted, delayed, and shattered; Cormac and I hear it, live with it, and respond,” Dave says. This work is contingent not only on a deep intuition (neither of them read sheet music) of polyphony and due proportion (something St Thomas Aquinas famously listed as an attribute of beauty) but also on their connection to each other and ability to read subtle cues. Dave says they’d hold each other’s hands while performing if it was more convenient to do so, riffing on something else Cormac mentioned about traditional Irish singing: that someone would always hold the singer’s hand, for fear that without a tether to the ground they might find themselves utterly lost, unsure how to return. Joyful Joyful doesn’t shy away from offering such experiences of departure; they’re willing to unsettle their audiences because they themselves are unsettled. Their shared penchant for spooky, heavy music, and self-described “omnivorous” listening practices equip them with an array of sonic concepts that support this effort; Diamanda Galás, The Rankin Family, Pan Sonic, Pauline Oliveros, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Yma Sumac, and Catholic hymnody were just a few that came up. Observing their audience gives them insight about the effect of each song—something they considered while arranging the album. Its arc is marked by soft, sometimes sudden oscillations between cacophony and euphony, day and night (listen for insects), and from sexual, visceral entanglements to more ephemeral, celestial ones. Front to back, it arouses expansion, unraveling. Of lightning, Vicki Kirby writes: “quite curious initiation rites precede these electrical encounters. An intriguing communication, a sort of stuttering chatter between the ground and the sky, appears to anticipate the actual stroke.” By all accounts, something similar seems to happen at Joyful Joyful shows, between those on the stage and those off it, between what’s earthly and what’s beyond. “A lightning bolt is not a straightforward resolution of the buildup of a charge difference between the earth and a cloud … there is, as it were, some kind of nonlocal communication effected between the two,” writes Karen Barad, extrapolating on Kirby’s thought. Cormac acknowledges that while they and Dave play a role in this mysterious charge that comes about, they’re not solely responsible. However ineffable it may be, it’s undoubtedly a form of communion—and a sensuously shocking one at that

For fans of Blue Öyster Cult, Blue Coupe, and Classic Rock! Albert Bouchard is best known as one of the founding members of Blue Öyster Cult. The original band sold millions of albums for Columbia Records with such classic songs as “Don’t Fear the Reaper” and the #1 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart “Burnin’ For You”. As a songwriter, he wrote many BÖC songs including the very popular “Astronomy” (which was covered by Metallica on their 1998’s release Garage Inc) and the live staple “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll”, which he also sang lead vocals. “Imaginos 2 – Bombs Over Germany (minus zero and counting)” sees Albert continuing the Trilogy of Imaginos, a concept album about an alien conspiracy that is brought to fruition during the late 19th and early 20th century through the actions of Imaginos, an agent of evil. The album weaves scripts and poems by the late Sandy Pearlman. It features guests Ross The Boss (Dictators), Joe Cerisano (Silver Condor, TSO), and reunites original Blue Öyster Cult members Eric Bloom, Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser and Joe Bouchard, as well current BOC member Richie Castellano, who all contribute to this latest installment. The album also features reworks of classics like “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll”, “The Red and the Black”, and “Dominance and Submission”. Due to the overwhelming response to Imaginos II, we are now releasing a Double LP gatefold version which includes an extended version of “Independence Day”, plus the bonus “When War Comes (Instrumental Mix)”.

"Worthy re-issue of obscure Trouble in Side, which is a one-off studio project entirely written, sung and arranged by Luigi Della Ragione. "Zulu Rap" represented a surprising alternative to the typical Italo-Disco sound perceived in Naples and around in the early 80s. This little-known production has some interesting arrangements, mostly in the short version, where the drum work out raised below, reminiscent of "Love Hangover" by Diana Ross. Actually at that time the Dance Music Report, in its 'Import' column wrote that the "intro" of the 'Alcoholic Version' was reminiscent of Madonna's "Holiday". while the 'Chinese Version' was inspired by a song from the Tears For Fears. Some of this news may pique the curiosity of DJs and collectors and provide enough motivation for the current reissue which faithfully reproduces the three 1984 versions as well as the original noteworthy cover artwork. If that wasn't enough: the B side of the original record had an extra track not listed, with the hand drums on a slower and unrelated "Zulu Rap" drum beat which is around 120 BPM, while the drums of the bonus track is about 113 BPM. A little more inside info... the beautiful Maria Chiara Perugini (aka Clio) is part of the choir vocals. She was part of the Airport label for the recording of her first solo song "Eyes". A historical re-release"

Vector Music by Suren Seneviratne is a true homage to the Yamaha TG33, a synth that he was hoping to keep forever, or at least a very long time until Covid-19 struck.

During the early months of 2020, Suren, like many other artists, went without work and was forced to sell surplus belongings to help subsidise food, rent and other necessities. Some sneakers and clothes went first but he avoided considering his music gear for as long as possible. As the pandemic continued to cause havoc throughout the year, selling gear was inevitable. The rare Yamaha TG-33 programmable synthesizer module was next.

By bittersweet chance, this was the perfect opportunity to make use of this unsung synthesizer one last time, and to make it count. The synth sold via Twitter and Suren suddenly had a deadline in which to make the most of it in the two days before it would be gone forever and so he decided to record a body of work using only the TG33, to shine a spotlight on its quirks and idiosyncrasies and give it the attention it deserved. This ultimatum proved to be really fruitful and resulted in the recordings that form the eight tracks on this album “Vector Music”; a raw and intimate portrayal of a forgotten digital instrument from the 1990s. The broader collective sentiment of loss, anxiety and seasonal depression during the thick of the pandemic mixed with feelings of uncertainty, distress and fear binded throughout the recording process and became sewn into the very fabric of the music.

The song titles are taken from various stages of sleep: the once instinctive process which, since 2020, was radically altered and experienced a new for millions of people around the globe due to the phenomena known as Pandemic Dreams.

Composed and produced by Suren Seneviratne
Mastered by Luca Sammartin
Original artwork and layout by Marco Ciceri

The Deacon had been in exile from
the following crimes committed
faith and sonic soul saving
using the Holy Ghost as the
weapon of choice.

Last known whereabouts Mt Fuji Japan.
but since then a virus has infected the world
it also has affected the soul in music
and prevented people from gathering,
dancing and living normal everyday lives.

So the deacon returns from exile
to fight and do battle with the faithless,
un soulful sounds created by the fear
of the global pandemic by using
faith,hope and the "Holy Ghost" to
restore the faith and soul in the hearts
and minds of people through music
and bring order back to the global
dance community...

Birthed in the bohemian enclave and epicentre of strange vibrations that is Calderdale in West Yorkshire, Hexen Valley’s story began in summer 2021 when a new formation of Gnod came together in a co-op house at the 200-year-old Nutclough Tavern. As always, the line-up of the collective shifted and morphed to fit circumstances, and soon they embarked on intensive jamming that was eventually captured by Sam Greenwood in Hebden Bridge Underground studios. Inspiration struck not only from the chemistry of the four musicians in this confined room but all around - the band’s Paddy Shine cites the likes of shop noticeboard messages and pub conversations in Hebden as lyrical sparks; channeling by his reckoning the ‘valley fever’ that exists somewhere in the chasms and contrasts between the amazing light and vivacity of the valley summit and the comparative darkness of the towns below. Meanwhile, musical shapes were making themselves known seemingly of their own volition, from ‘Still Running’, which takes shape across a sonic hinterland between Daydream Nation-style kineticism and sludged-out aggression to ‘Bad Apple’ - an entirely spontaneous piece of potent and angular post-punk intensity. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, Lou Reed’s tour-bus favourite ‘Waves Of Fear’ is hammered out with fearsome gusto into a salvo of first-take catharsis and alchemy, fit to transcend all or any oppressive atmospheres that surround.Hexen Valley is the sound of a band whose fearsome intensity is only matched by their evolutionary drive. It’s Gnod at full power, and it’s a haunted place you might struggle to leave

Birthed in the bohemian enclave and epicentre of strange vibrations that is Calderdale in West Yorkshire, Hexen Valley’s story began in summer 2021 when a new formation of Gnod came together in a co-op house at the 200-year-old Nutclough Tavern. As always, the line-up of the collective shifted and morphed to fit circumstances, and soon they embarked on intensive jamming that was eventually captured by Sam Greenwood in Hebden Bridge Underground studios. Inspiration struck not only from the chemistry of the four musicians in this confined room but all around - the band’s Paddy Shine cites the likes of shop noticeboard messages and pub conversations in Hebden as lyrical sparks; channeling by his reckoning the ‘valley fever’ that exists somewhere in the chasms and contrasts between the amazing light and vivacity of the valley summit and the comparative darkness of the towns below. Meanwhile, musical shapes were making themselves known seemingly of their own volition, from ‘Still Running’, which takes shape across a sonic hinterland between Daydream Nation-style kineticism and sludged-out aggression to ‘Bad Apple’ - an entirely spontaneous piece of potent and angular post-punk intensity. Perhaps most surprisingly of all, Lou Reed’s tour-bus favourite ‘Waves Of Fear’ is hammered out with fearsome gusto into a salvo of first-take catharsis and alchemy, fit to transcend all or any oppressive atmospheres that surround.Hexen Valley is the sound of a band whose fearsome intensity is only matched by their evolutionary drive. It’s Gnod at full power, and it’s a haunted place you might struggle to leave

Soft piano notes kiss trippy electronic tones: “Kossaiko”, the only collaborative record that japanese piano player Saiko Tsukamoto and globally known electronic producer Kuniyuki Takahashi ever produced, is an unmissable profound soft classic music burner.

Together they composed and produced an eight-chapter strong deeply absorbing narrative, whose enthralling story arc dives profound into authentic drama zones, that sound like they jumped right out of a Claude Sautet movie.

Originally released in 2007 as cd only, the perfectly put together longplayer now enters the world for the first time in a vinyl edition that is tragically hip. deeply starry-eyed composi-tions full of minimalistic piano melodies that creep, twist, and dance around unobtrusive electronic notes who never call the tune, but always elevate the spectacle into higher elec-tronic spheres.

In the center of each between five- and nine-minutes long composition is the piano play of Saiko, gently hitting the keys, giving space to each note to vibrate in an endless “Pauline Oli-Veros” way, drifting until the very last sound vanish. around them, Kuniyuki plays his charming electronic tricks, opening the space for tones that sometimes pulsate, sometimes flow the ambient way.

Furthermore, occasionally a guitar notes pop up or accordion melodies cover the sorcery with a severely romantic veil.

Modern classical music, that has no fear of electronic meltdowns, that embraces digital tones while staying organic in its very inner circle.

A wise man once said: when words leave off, music begins. Those who fall for the eight poems of Saikoss will lose their speech and in return get pleased all agitations of their soul.

Dutch symphonic metal band Delain released their third studio album We Are the Others in 2012 to positive reviews from music critics. The album title was inspired by the murder of 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster, whose murder was likely a hate crime due to her being part of the goth subculture. The album spawned two single releases: “Get The Devil Out of Me” and the title track, for which the band shot a music video that included many well-known people from the metal scene, including George Oosthoek, Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt and Rob van der Loo. The album features guest contributions by the likes of Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory) and Marko Hietala (Nightwish) and was produced by Jacob Hellner (aka Tripod), who is best known for producing most of Rammstein’s albums.

BIOHAZARD formed in Brooklyn in 1988 and soon after released their first demo. The band consisted of founding members Billy Graziadei (vocals, guitar), Bobby Hambel (lead guitar) and Evan Seinfeld (vocals, bass). After the release of their second demo in 1989, drummer Anthony Meo left the band and drummer Danny Schuler replaced him. BIOHAZARD released their combined the urban sounds of hard-core, metal and rap with scorching lyrics describing the forces at work in our modern urban lives. With an impressive career spanning over 20 years with 10 albums (on both indie and major labels), the band sold over 5 million records. In 1990, Biohazard signed a recording contract with Maze Records. The band's self-titled debut album was poorly promoted by the label and sold approximately 40,000 copies. The album's subject matter revolved around Brooklyn, gang-wars, drugs, and violence.

In 1992, Biohazard signed with Roadrunner Records and released Urban Discipline, which gave the band national and worldwide attention in both the heavy metal and hardcore communities. The video for the song "Punishment" became the most played video in the history of MTV's Headbanger's Ball, and the album sold over one million copies. The band also began opening for larger acts such as Pantera, Suicidal Tendencies, House of Pain, Fishbone, and The Cro-Mags. In 1993, the hardcore rap group Onyx brought on Billy Graziadei for an alternate "Bionyx" version of their hit single "Slam" with Biohazard as their backup band. This led to a collaboration on the title track of the Judgment Night soundtrack. The soundtrack would go on to sell over two million copies in the United States. Months later, the band left Roadrunner Records and signed with Warner Bros. Records Inc. who released their third studio LP, State of the World Address. The album was produced by Ed Stasium in Los Angeles and contained the single "How It Is" featuring Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, for which a video was also shot. During their 1994 tour, the band made an appearance on the second stage at the Monsters of Rock festival held at Castle Donington. State of the World Address went on to sell over one million copies, and Rolling Stone magazine selected the Biohazard logo as the best logo of the year.

This was the last Biohazard album with Bobby Hambel, who left due to differences with the rest of the band. The band recorded their fourth studio album, Mata Leao, as a three piece in 1996. It was produced with the help of Dave Jerden. For the 1996-97 Mata Leao Tour, former Helmet guitarist Rob Echeverria joined the band. The band also played on the Ozzfest mainstage alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, Danzig, Fear Factory, and Sepultura. While touring Europe in support of the Mata Leao album, the band recorded their Hamburg, Germany, show for their first live album, No Holds Barred (Live in Europe), which was released in 1997 through their former label, Roadrunner Records. The band signed to Mercury Records and released their fifth studio album, New World Disorder, in 1999, once again with Ed Stasium as a producer.

The relationship with Mercury Records soured quickly as the band felt betrayed and misunderstood by the label. They severed their ties with the label amidst the merger of Mercury Records, Island Records, Def Jam Records, and Polygram into the Universal Music Group. The following year, Biohazard signed two new record deals with SPV/Steamhammer in Europe and Sanctuary Records for the remainder of the world. Despite the new record deals, the band took some personal time in order to work on other projects. Graziadei and Schuler also collaborated in transforming the band's rehearsal Brooklyn studio into a digital recording studio, known as Rat Piss Studios and soon after changed the name to Underground Sound Studios. Re-investing into the band, Graziadei and Schuler honed their engineering and productions skills while recording and producing local acts and new Biohazard demos. The band then undertook the process of writing, recording, and producing their own music. Their studio work led to the band's sixth studio album, Uncivilization, released in September 2001.
The album featured several guest appearances by members of bands such as Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Pantera, Slipknot, Sepultura, Cypress Hill, Skarhead, and Type O Negative. Shortly after the release of Uncivilization, guitarist Leo Curley left the band and was replaced by former Nucleus member Carmine Vincent, who had previously toured with Biohazard as part of their road crew. The band had to cancel scheduled European festival dates when Carmine Vincent underwent major surgery. The band did manage to find a temporary guitarist, Scott Roberts, formerly of the Cro-Mags and the Spudmonsters, in time to join the Eastpak Resistance Tour with Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Discipline, Death Threat, Born From Pain and All Boro Kings. Biohazard completed their seventh studio album in seventeen days; Kill Or Be Killed was released in 2003. While touring North America with Kittie, Brand New Sin and Eighteen Visions, Biohazard announced that Roberts would remain as their permanent lead guitarist. The tour was curtailed when it was announced that Seinfeld had fallen ill. With more downtime due to Seinfeld's illness, Graziadei and Schuler collaborated to mix Life of Agony's live comeback album, River Runs Again: Live 2003. Once Seinfeld was healthy again, the band toured Japan and North America, headlining over bands such as Hatebreed, Agnostic Front, Throwdown, and Full Blown Chaos.

By the end of 2003, the band had begun recording its eighth studio album, Means To An End. The completed album was lost in a studio disaster, forcing the band to completely re-record the album, which was finally released in August 2005. In October 2004, Graziadei announced that Means To An End had been the final Biohazard album and that he would continue playing with his new band Suicide City as his main focus. One month later, on the Biohazard website, it was announced that there would in fact be a 2005 Biohazard tour. On December 15, 2005, Seinfeld and Graziadei participated in the Roadrunner United conglomerate event at the Nokia Theater in New York for an all-star event. The show opened with Biohazard's "Punishment," performed by Seinfeld, Graziadei, Sepultura's Andreas Kisser, former Fear Factory member Dino Cazares, and Slipknot's Joey Jordison. Graziadei and Schuler relocated their recording studio to South Amboy, New Jersey and renamed it Underground Sound Studios. The studio was renovated to include a live room with 20-foot (6.1 m) ceilings and 4,000 square feet (370 m2) of studio space. After Schuler's departure from the studio business, Graziadei relocated the studio to Los Angeles and changed the name to Firewater Studios. In January 2008, the classic lineup of Evan Seinfeld, Billy Graziadei, Danny Schuler and Bobby Hambel made the announcement that rehearsals had begun for a 2008 summer tour to commemorate the band's 20th anniversary. They toured Australia and New Zealand in April with Chimaira, Throwdown, Bloodsimple and headliners Korn to celebrate their newly declared reunion. The band also took part in Persistence Tour 2009, and announced at one of their shows that they were working on a new record. Biohazard brought in producer Toby Wright to work on the album and after several months at Graziadei's Firewater Studios in Los Angeles, the band completed their recording sessions. In June 2011, Biohazard announced that Evan Seinfeld had quit the band and Scott Roberts returned to replace Seinfeld for two UK dates but no decision regarding a permanent replacement was made. In January 2012, the band decided that Scott Roberts would remain with the band as a permanent member. The new album, Reborn In Defiance, was released worldwide, with the exception of North America, on January 20, 2012 through the Nuclear Blast label. In support of the album, Biohazard embarked on a short co-headlining tour of Europe with Suicidal Tendencies in the latter half of January 2012. After touring the world in support of Reborn in Defiance, the band entered the studio to work on a new release and after a falling out, Roberts departed the band.

Biohazard remains as it’s core founding members of Graziadei, Shuler and Hambel. Graziadei has since ventured off onto a solo career as BillyBio and teamed up with Cypress Hill frontman Sendog to start Powerflo. Both groups are working on their second releases due out late 2021 and early 2022.

Limited Edition Turquoise/ Yellow &White Splatter Colour Vinyl 2LP Set. 1500 Units for UK.

Nina Simone’s story from the late sixties to the nineties can be told through her legendary performances in Montreux. Taking to the Montreux stage for the first time on 16 June 1968 for the festival’s second edition, Simone built a lasting relationship with Montreux Jazz Festival and its Creator and Founder Claude Nobs, which uniqueness, trust and electricity can be clearly felt on the recordings. Simone’s multi-faceted and radical story is laid bare on ‘Nina Simone: The Montreux Years’. From Nina’s glorious and emotional 1968 performance to her fiery and unpredictable concert in 1976, one of the festival’s most remarkable performances ever witnessed, the collection includes recordings from all of her five legendary Montreux concerts – 1968, 1976, 1981, 1987 and 1990.

Featuring rare and previously unreleased material from Claude Nobs’ private collection, Nina Simone devotees worldwide will be thrilled by the inclusion of the powerful I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, poignant and fearless Four Women and Simone’s hauntingly beautiful performance of Ne Me Quitte Pas. A spine-tingling version of Janis Ian’s searing and potent Stars, which Simone covered for the very first time during her 1976 Montreux performance, sits alongside her bold and electrifying re-imagine of Bob Marley’s ballad No Women No Cry in 1990. The collection closes with the encore of Nina Simone’s final Montreux Jazz Festival concert and one of Simone’s most-loved and best-known recordings, the exuberant My Baby Just Cares For Me, showcasing the deep and multidimensional facets of Simone’s life and music.

There’s an ancient Japanese legend in which a horde of demons, ghosts and other terrifying ghouls descend upon the sleeping villages once a year. Known as Hyakki Yagyō, or the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, one version of the tale states that anyone who witnesses this otherworldly procession will die instantly—or be carried off by the creatures of the night. As a result, the villagers hide in their homes, lest they become victims of these supernatural invaders.

Such is the inspiration for the latest album from EARTHLESS. “My son is really into mythical creatures and old folk stories about monsters and ghosts,” bassist Mike Eginton explains. “We came across the ‘Night Parade of One Hundred Demons’ in a book of traditional Japanese ghost stories. I like the idea of people hiding and being able to hear the madness but not see it. It’s the fear of the unknown.”

Whereas 2018’s Black Heaven featured shorter songs and vocals from guitarist Isaiah Mitchell on much of the album—an unprecedented move for the San Diego power trio—their latest is a return to the epic instrumentals EARTHLESS made their unmistakable name on. Night Parade Of One Hundred Demons is comprised of two monster songs—the 41-minute, two-part title track and the 20-minute “Death To The Red Sun.”

The scenario that allowed for this kind of exploration was a stark contrast to that of Black Heaven. At that point, Mitchell was living in the Bay Area, which made it difficult for the band to get together and work on the type of long instrumental pieces they’re known for. But in March 2020, the guitarist moved back to San Diego. More specifically, he moved back the night the pandemic lockdown kicked in. Bad timing, perhaps—or maybe perfect timing.

Plus, they were all on the same page about not wanting to do another record with vocals. “In a way, I think this album was a reaction to our last record,” Eginton says. “Black Heaven was outside our comfort zone. I think it was a good record, but it was challenging to write songs in a more traditional verse-chorus-verse format. This one was more enjoyable. I’m sure we’ll do more vocal tracks in the future, but for the time being I see that album as a one-off.”

Given the record’s inspiration, it should come as no surprise that Night Parade of One Hundred Demons strikes a more sinister tone than the rest of the band’s catalogue. “It definitely has a darker, almost evil kind of vibe compared to stuff we’ve done in the past,” Rubalcaba says. “There’s more paranoia and noise, and some of Isaiah’s whammy-bar stuff kind of reminds me of these Jeff Hanneman moments in Reign In Blood, where it just seems like everything is going to hell. It’s pretty fun.”

Night Parade of One Hundred Demons was recorded in San Diego with Rubalcaba’s childhood friend Ben Moore, who’s worked with everyone from DIAMANDA GALAS and BURT BACHARACH to CEREMONY and HOT SNAKES. When Eginton wasn’t tracking his bass parts, he worked on the album’s incredible sleeve art. “He really dedicated himself to the project,” Rubalcaba says. “He’d be drawing in the studio with, like, a coal-miner’s lamp on his head while we were doing overdubs. He really knocked it out of the park.”

All told, Night Parade of One Hundred Demons isn’t just a return to the band’s traditional format—it’s a return to their very beginnings. “This album actually has the very first Earthless riff in it,” Eginton reveals. “We just recorded it 20 years after we wrote it. But we’re really happy with how this record came out. We feel it might be our finest to date.”

The third entry in Lucy's trio of adventurous full-lengths is visually introduced by artwork of a pearl-bearing shell, designed by Stroboscopic Artefacts' resident visual artist (and Lucy's brother) Ignazio Mortellaro. This drops a subtle hint as to the nature of its contents: just as a pearl slowly forms within its enclosing body in response to organic challenges, Lucy's work is also a kind of crystallization of memory and experience into an artifact of great value.

Listeners to this album will be struck immediately by how different it sounds from past Lucy productions, while still retaining the feel of relentless questing that defined his previous two solo LPs Wordplay for Working Bees and Churches, Schools, and Guns (or, as Lucy himself defines the feeling, the equal valuation of precision and exploration'). Initially feeling like Lucy is guiding his listeners on a slow and slightly apprehensive down-river trip through the Amazon, or some similarly thriving but as-of-yet undiscovered terrain, the album is enriched by several layers of ambience and by the wordless, improvisational (yet still somehow narrative) vocals and flute of Jon Jacobs. Without a doubt, it's an album with an initiatory' atmosphere that listeners should commit themselves to hearing in one sitting, with as little interruption as possible. However, unlike many initiatory rites, this is no arduous ordeal at all: great care has gone into connecting each chapter of the album with the same silver thread of entrancing story-telling. On standout pieces like She-Wolf Night Mourning,' electronic arpeggiation and persistent synthetic flutters perfectly merge with the unique tone colors of resonant acoustic percussion and pensive woodwind. Elsewhere, pieces like A Selfless Act' reconcile technoid pulses with melancholic, yet intoxicating echoes of Mediterranean musical traditions.

Interestingly, many of the tracks on Self-Mythology refer to old legends and well-known fairytales (e.g. the opening track which references Baba Yaga's magical hut), or to more broadly defined states of consciousness ( Samsara,' which features an especially strong, sustained choral interplay between glassy synth sequences and earthy flute sonorities). This is where the album is truly unique and relevant in its ambition. The interplay between the graphic design, the vocal and flute performances of Jacobs, and the sound design chosen by Lucy aims to be an intimate audio autobiography of its creators while also referring back to the stories that have shaped human destiny for millennia. This work is a meditation upon the reciprocity between personal hopes and fears and collective dreams and nightmares, an exploration of the endless interplay between the universal and the deeply individual. It is the tale of that uncanny process by which our own conscious experience draws from the pool of archetypal information, while also contributing to it.

PAURA explores the horror repertoire from the precious CAM Sugar archives taking us on a hypnotic journey into the labyrinths of fear, through the different variations that Italian horror took on from the esoteric and supernatural to the slasher films of the early 1970s; to reinterpretations of Romantic literature and gothic fiction to the splatter films of the ‘80s; and from witchcraft to metropolitan horror. This is not a real “best of” but an eclectic menu full of mysterious voices, childlike lullabies, sweet melodies, obsessive music boxes, obstinate harpsichords, crazy distortions and threatening synthesizers, conceived as a succession of sequences, as if a film edit. The new collection includes some of the most creative music ever written and strives to do justice not only to some of the best known composers in this genre, but also to many great unsung composers: From celebrated composers like Ennio Morricone, Riz Ortolani & Stelvio Cipriani to long-forgotten personalities who fed the industrial backbone of Italian cinema such as Daniele Patucchi, Marcelo Giombini & Berto Pisano. The collection includes 6 previously unreleased tracks plus 3 tracks released on vinyl for the first time and 5 tracks available commercially for the first time (originally released only as a limited promo item).

Georgian DJ and producer Vulkanski returns to BITE with his first full length album Skeptical Answers. Serving as a longtime resident at Tbilisi club KHIDI, he’s also known as one of the key figures pioneering the local electronic music scene. Achi Tabukashvili stands for rich, vibrant techno and grinding, metallic soundscapes that are elegantly arranged through his high fidelity productions and singular dj sets. Vulkanski’s Skeptical Answers traverses over 10 tracks the infinite ranges between tectonic club techno, to UK-inspired IDM and broken beat, while reaching to contemporary weightless and electro territories. Producer Tabukashvili describes and questions a period of a deeper esoteric search through the labyrinth of contemporary viewpoints on instrumental sonics and its unexpected answers. In addition, Vulkanksi is known as one half of duo Greenbeam & Leon who began DJing and performing throughout Georgia in 2002. They notably appeared on Boiler Room in response to the police raids at Bassiani and Cafe Gallery 5 years ago. With Vulkanski’s debut BITE EP Science Gardens in 2018, he illustrated his detailed vision of his own dense soundscape productions culminating in a memorable Berghain debut for label cofounder Phase Fatale’s Ostgut Ton album release party in 2020. Now, Skeptical Answers examines a wider spectrum of sonic possibilities, aimed towards the most daring of dancefloors existing between the liminal bounds of club music and its deconstructions. A dissection of his focused elements in heavy electronics. ALSO INCLUDES DOWNLOAD CODE….

White Marbled Vinyl

Georgian DJ and producer Vulkanski returns to BITE with his first full length album Skeptical Answers. Serving as a longtime resident at Tbilisi club KHIDI, he’s also known as one of the key figures pioneering the local electronic music scene. Achi Tabukashvili stands for rich, vibrant techno and grinding, metallic soundscapes that are elegantly arranged through his high fidelity productions and singular dj sets. Vulkanski’s Skeptical Answers traverses over 10 tracks the infinite ranges between tectonic club techno, to UK-inspired IDM and broken beat, while reaching to contemporary weightless and electro territories. Producer Tabukashvili describes and questions a period of a deeper esoteric search through the labyrinth of contemporary viewpoints on instrumental sonics and its unexpected answers. In addition, Vulkanksi is known as one half of duo Greenbeam & Leon who began DJing and performing throughout Georgia in 2002. They notably appeared on Boiler Room in response to the police raids at Bassiani and Cafe Gallery 5 years ago. With Vulkanski’s debut BITE EP Science Gardens in 2018, he illustrated his detailed vision of his own dense soundscape productions culminating in a memorable Berghain debut for label cofounder Phase Fatale’s Ostgut Ton album release party in 2020. Now, Skeptical Answers examines a wider spectrum of sonic possibilities, aimed towards the most daring of dancefloors existing between the liminal bounds of club music and its deconstructions. A dissection of his focused elements in heavy electronics. ALSO INCLUDES DOWNLOAD CODE….

“While spending time trying to conquer the audio of live-stream
at home performances, I got better acquainted with my friend
Adam McDaniel, an engineer and producer in Asheville, NC.
Adam and I had known each other for years. When the band
was a bit smaller I’d often rent his studio, Drop of Sun, for prerecording / pre tour rehearsals.
 “Summer 2020 was tough for many reasons. But Adam and his
wife Emily opened their home to me and made it a safe space
to create and let go. I had an idea to record some covers and
bring some of the band into the mix, or add other players. I
wanted to record 80’s songs that I’d overheard walking the
aisles at the grocery store, and I needed to laugh and have fun
and be a little less serious about the recording process in
general. I thought about completely changing some of the
songs and turning them inside out.
 “I’d heard ‘Gloria’ by Laura Branigan for the first time at a family
Christmas gathering and I was amazed at all the aunts who got
up to dance. I imagined them all dancing and laughing in slow
motion, and that’s when I got the idea to slow the entire song
down and try it out in this way. I felt that ‘Safety Dance’ by Men
Without Hats could be reinterpreted to be about this time of
quarantine and the fear of being around anyone or having too
much fun. It made me wonder, is it safe to laugh or dance or be
free of it all for just a moment?
 “I know it’s not really in my history to do something unintentional
or just for the hell of it but my connection to these songs is
pretty straightforward, I just wanted to have a little fun and be a
little more spontaneous, and I think I needed to remember that I
could!” - Angel Olsen

“While spending time trying to conquer the audio of live-stream
at home performances, I got better acquainted with my friend
Adam McDaniel, an engineer and producer in Asheville, NC.
Adam and I had known each other for years. When the band
was a bit smaller I’d often rent his studio, Drop of Sun, for prerecording / pre tour rehearsals.
 “Summer 2020 was tough for many reasons. But Adam and his
wife Emily opened their home to me and made it a safe space
to create and let go. I had an idea to record some covers and
bring some of the band into the mix, or add other players. I
wanted to record 80’s songs that I’d overheard walking the
aisles at the grocery store, and I needed to laugh and have fun
and be a little less serious about the recording process in
general. I thought about completely changing some of the
songs and turning them inside out.
 “I’d heard ‘Gloria’ by Laura Branigan for the first time at a family
Christmas gathering and I was amazed at all the aunts who got
up to dance. I imagined them all dancing and laughing in slow
motion, and that’s when I got the idea to slow the entire song
down and try it out in this way. I felt that ‘Safety Dance’ by Men
Without Hats could be reinterpreted to be about this time of
quarantine and the fear of being around anyone or having too
much fun. It made me wonder, is it safe to laugh or dance or be
free of it all for just a moment?
 “I know it’s not really in my history to do something unintentional
or just for the hell of it but my connection to these songs is
pretty straightforward, I just wanted to have a little fun and be a
little more spontaneous, and I think I needed to remember that I
could!” - Angel Olsen

The latest release in the series exploring the musical worlds of Gerry Anderson is the most extensive yet. Space: 1999 ran for two series from 1976 to 1977 and depicted the occupants of Moonbase Alpha and their struggle for survival when, after the explosion of a nuclear waste dump, the Moon is hurtled into space.
The series was the most expensive produced for British television at that time and the most musically diverse of all the shows made by Anderson for ITC. Gerry Anderson’s long-time musical partner in all the previous adventures was Barry Gray and Space: 1999 proved to be the last of their collaborations.
Uncut Magazine referred to Series 1 music as “Pink Floyd without the mythology”. The first recording session for Space: 1999 took place on December 11th 1973 with a 52-piece orchestra performing the opening and closing title music. For the series’ incidental music between 32 and 38 instruments were utilised at any one session, all conducted by Barry Gray. The selections from Year 1 show Gray’s skills in creating a memorable opening theme as well as dramatically evocative cues highlighting the plight of the Alphans as they became known. The Year 1 album also showcases a selection of library cues which featured throughout the series.
Barry Gray was a classically trained composer and a versatile musician and was amongst the first composers to use electronic instruments in music for television. Best known for creating the music for most of the Gerry & Sylvia Anderson television series in the 1960's and 70's (Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, UFO, Space:1999), Barry Gray’s complete musical opus is still not commercially available in its entirety. Fanderson, dedicated to the productions of Gerry Anderson, has gained access to all Barry Gray's original studio tapes and have undertaken a major re-issue project. Together with Fanderson, Silva Screen Records is championing Barry Gray’s incredible musical opus and is releasing the material in a series of physical and digital albums and vinyl records.

In the fleeting moments between the state of being awake and reaching the doors of dreamworld lies a borderland whence comes the mood music of ancient stories told – the celestial unison of three creative souls known as AURI.
Originally born in 2011 from the special connection of Johanna Kurkela, Tuomas Holopainen and Troy Donockley, AURI was first introduced to the world as late as 2018. Now complemented by the dynamic percussive talents of Kai Hahto, the threesome carves fantastical worlds entirely their own.

Comprised by Tuomas’ keys and infinite imagination, Troy’s arsenal of flutes, other folk instruments and magical touch, and Kurkela’s youthful and tender voice full of childlike wonder – fragile and gossamer, yet powerful and moving beyond words – the flow of AURI’s celestial, uplifting mood music captures from the first notes and does not let go.

To its key members AURI is a creative outlet unconfined by the preconceptions caused by their other bands and their respective audiences. Leaning to Celtic folk and cinematic pop yet not shackled by any specific genre, AURI isn’t the kind of music that can be described by words alone. No, an equal effort of the enchanted three, AURI runs a lane of completely their own. Unburdened by anyone’s expectations but their own. This is the sort of music that taps directly into emotions.

Embrace the atmospheric auditory imagery of fantastical valleys of other fairytale dimensions and soon gone fireside bards. Dwell for just a moment in treasuries of dreamlands and ponderings that see mundane things turning into otherworldly miracles.Feel welcomed to embark on endless adventures on long roads untrodden and ships never sailed.
As if frozen in time, you’ll be captivated by heart-burstingly elating fare-thee-wells for those dearly departed.
Hear the soft words that empower those feeling inadequate and reassurance to others fearing death.AURI’s are the keys to a dimension of awe no one else sees. Only theirs to offer are the mystical, soundscapes and ethereal vocals.
Theirs to hold are the magical powers that can melt the steeliest of hearts and make grown men cry. AURI invites the listener along for journeys no other band can provide.

Come, my love – now it‘s calm enough to go.

Birgit Minichmayr captures the imagination and holds centre-stage on
‘As An Unperfect Actor: Nine Sonnets by William Shakespeare’. This
won’t come as a surprise to people in the German-speaking world,
where the Austrian actor is well-known from countless appearances on
TV and a substantial filmography. Perhaps equally unsurprising is the
deep experience she can bring to Shakespeare: as an ensemble
member of the Burgtheater company in Vienna, she has repeatedly lived
out the searingly dramatic lives of the Bard’s characters, notably the
daemonic anger of Lady Macbeth, the sadness of Ophelia and even the
uncomfortable truths of the Fool in King Lear.
What might be more of a surprise, however, is the exhilarating musicality
she shows on this, her first complete album as a vocalist. One could
have predicted the crystal clarity, meaning and intent in her words - the
desolation in her voice in “the very birds are mute... the leaves look pale”
in Sonnet 97, for example. And yet there is more, much more, not least
Minichmayr’s uncannily instinct to find artful and felicitous ways to shape
musical phrases.
Composer/ pianist Bernd Lhotzky has provided a wonderful array of
musical contexts. As Minichmayr says: “He got so deep into the meaning
of each sonnet, his music made it different every time. And we talked a
lot about the colour, the meaning of each poem.” The opening track, ‘My
Mistress’ Eyes (Sonnet 130)’ is a masterfully deft piece of gender-fluid
irony. In the poem, a man is describing possibly the ugliest woman he
has ever seen - while also declaring that she is the one he loves.
Lhotzky gives us an acerbic version in that most male-led of dances, the
tango, complete with bandoneon, in which the words are sung by... a
woman. Minichmayr then gives a masterclass in how to end a song as
she hits, holds and nails the words “false compare” with triumphant
fearlessness.
Throughout the course of the album, we are magically transported to
new musical and emotional places. As Minichmayr says: “Through
singing, through just doing it, I was able to find deep love, or deep
sadness. I was really touched by it.”
One of the secrets to this album’s success is Lhotzky’s wish to find
melodies which have a certain ease and straightforwardness about
them. He says that he approaches all music - whether he is listening to it
or writing it - with one simple and direct question: “What story is this
telling me?” Lhotzky is known for his work in the field of early jazz, but
the range here is far broader, with allusions to such examples of fine
songwriting as Brassens, Robert Plant and James Taylor.
LP pressed on 140g black vinyl.

New York City 4-piece deliver a modern blues rock masterclass on their feisty debut album.

“A timeless classic rock sound that revels in lean riffs and raw emotion.” – Afropunk

In an age where artistic merit is awarded to those who shout the loudest, Dakota Jones pride themselves on an unwavering ability to leave a lasting impression. Spearheaded by Tristan Carter-Jones fierce and unashamedly uncensored songwriting, the band’s fast-growing reputation as formidable live act has stamped Dakota Jones with the hell-hath-no-fury power of Chaka Khan, the wild spontaneity of Janis Joplin, and the honey-dripping sensuality of Marvin Gaye. Their debut album’s message of proud black heritage and triumphant queerness manifests itself in Carter-Jones’ ability to challenge norms of adulthood and femininity as she takes a deep dive into some of life’s most visceral emotions.

Tristan Carter-Jones: “I’m a black, queer woman expressing myself through love and music. Some folks still find that to be a transgressive act in and of itself. I work to fight that idea. I write a lot about my
Continued over…
sexuality and the ways in which I express it. Songs about sex and love bounce back and forth between songs about heartache, hangovers and self-medication, and the pleasure and pain of truly finding yourself. I don’t think we get to hear these things from a woman’s mouth as often as we should.”

Serving as an instant tone setter, the album opens with the line "Stretch marks from growing pains" with Carter-Jones lamenting the woes of adjusting to adulthood on lead single ‘Did It To Myself’ - her husky and commanding vocal instantly asserting its place in the spotlight. The atmosphere soon turns steamy on the flirtatious title track ‘Blacklight,’ whilst fantasising over a modern-day Bonnie & Clyde love affair the funk-laden ‘We Playin Bad Games’ packs a punch with its tale of free spirits entwined in a haze of late-night revelry.

Elsewhere, stories of caustic heartache twist the knife into wounded blues guitar riffs on ‘Like That’ and ‘Black Magic (That Power)’, in which Carter-Jones’s stoical voice never once faulters as she mourns the memories of a previous flame. Personal prayer ‘Lord Please’ recites empowered words of reassurance, and solidarity in the face of injustice erupts into a rallying cry for change on the classic sounding ‘Noise’ – written as a reaction to the 2016 US election. “I woke up after the election feeling pure panic and fear in my body,” remembers Tristan. “I wanted people in a place of privilege to stand up for what I was feeling, stand up for injustice, stand up for all of the things we need to change as a country. I wanted their rage, and I wanted their noise.”

Finally, the band’s tender tropes of togetherness eventually boil into gritty, guitar-slung balladry on hidden bonus track, ‘California,’ where, knees buckling under the weight of past trials and tribulations, Carter-Jones sets out on one final journey of self-discovery, hastily pulling out from reality and leaving only a dust cloud in her wake.

Production comes courtesy of the Grammy-winning John Wooler, ex Virgin Records A+R and founder of the Blues label Pointblank who has worked with everyone from John Lee Hooker and John Hammond to Isaac Hayes and Van Morrison. The album also features a wealth of hugely talented and accomplished musicians, including backing vocalist Kudisan Kai, former backing vocalist for the likes of Elton John, Chaka Khan, Anita Baker, Natalie Cole, Beck, Sting, Mary J. Blige and Jill Scott. Also present; Grammy winning keyboardist Jon Gilutin, who has spent years working with some of the industry’s most respected and iconic artists including Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Lady Gaga, Willie Nelson, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Jackson Browne, Celine Dion, Bonnie Rait and Carole King. You’ll also hear the talents of acclaimed guitarist Michael Toles. Most well-known for being a part of the Stax Records group The Bar Kays, and for his contributions on famous records by Issac Hayes, Al Green, BB King, Johnny Taylor, Rufus Thomas, Albert King to name just a few.

Dakota Jones are a rising funk, soul and blues rock band from Brooklyn, New York City. Comprising of Tristan Carter-Jones (vocals), Scott Kramp (bass) Steve Ross (drums), and acclaimed musician Randy Jacobs (guitar) - former member of Was(Not Was) who has recorded for Seal, Bonnie Raitt, Tears for Fears, Elton John and many others. Though Carter-Jones and Ross first met in 1999 whilst at primary school, the band formed years later following a series of home jam sessions in 2016. The band’s collective alias originates from Carter-Jones’s middle name, ‘Dakota’. Dakota Jones have since released a string of acclaimed singles and EPs as well as received international attention for their track, ‘Have Mercy’ after it featured on Netflix’s 2019 film, Always Be My Maybe starring Ali Wong and Randall Park – and now after years of hard work and determination, the band are finally set to reveal their long awaited debut album. “We’d been regularly releasing EPs, waiting for our chance to come, and wondering what that would look like,” says Carter-Jones. “We didn’t realise until we started making this record that we needed to stop waiting for some break to come along, and just do it ourselves, independently.”

“Black Light really dives into a place of funk soul and everything that comes with it. There’s joy and dancing, sleek guitar licks and funky bass slaps. There’s pain and longing, and there’s the feeling of relief when you come out of that place and find your joy and purpose again. Black Light is my story.”

Dutch symphonic metal band Delain released their third studio album We Are the Others in 2012 to positive reviews from music critics. The album title was inspired by the murder of 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster, whose murder was likely a hate crime due to her being part of the goth subculture. The album spawned two single releases: “Get The Devil Out of Me” and the title track, for which the band shot a music video that included many well-known people from the metal scene, including George Oosthoek, Sharon den Adel, Robert Westerholt and Rob van der Loo. The album features guest contributions by the likes of Burton C. Bell (Fear Factory) and Marko Hietala (Nightwish) and was produced by Jacob Hellner (aka Tripod), who is best known for producing most of Rammstein’s albums.

Orange Vinyl

"Following on our first EP, 'Collisions', we wanted to explore the use of modular synths, and also hardware, in more depth. Exordium was crafted from countless modular jams, passed back and forth between London and Liege, and polished into a piece of work that captures our love for club music, with an experimental edge. We wanted to get out for a moment from the 170 which we are a bit more known for. Hopefully you will enjoy this exploration into our shared sound and influences as much as we enjoyed creating it."
- Fearful & Mtwn

Nina Simone: The Montreux Years is released as part of a brand new Montreux Jazz Festival and BMG collection series “The Montreux Years”. The collections will uncover legendary performances by the world’s most iconic artists alongside rare and never-before-released recordings from the festival’s rich 55-year history, remastered in superlative audio. Each collection will be accompanied by exclusive liner notes and previously unseen photography.

Nina Simone’s story from the late sixties to the nineties can be told through her legendary performances in Montreux. Taking to the Montreux stage for the first time on 16 June 1968 for the festival’s second edition, Simone built a lasting relationship with Montreux Jazz Festival and its Creator and Founder Claude Nobs, which uniqueness, trust and electricity can be clearly felt on the recordings. Simone’s multi-faceted and radical story is laid bare on ‘Nina Simone: The Montreux Years’. From Nina’s glorious and emotional 1968 performance to her fiery and unpredictable concert in 1976, one of the festival’s most remarkable performances ever witnessed, the collection includes recordings from all of her five legendary Montreux concerts – 1968, 1976, 1981, 1987 and 1990.

Featuring rare and previously unreleased material from Claude Nobs’ private collection, Nina Simone devotees worldwide will be thrilled by the inclusion of the powerful I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, poignant and fearless Four Women and Simone’s hauntingly beautiful performance of Ne Me Quitte Pas. A spine-tingling version of Janis Ian’s searing and potent Stars, which Simone covered for the very first time during her 1976 Montreux performance, sits alongside her bold and electrifying re-imagine of Bob Marley’s ballad No Women No Cry in 1990. The collection closes with the encore of Nina Simone’s final Montreux Jazz Festival concert and one of Simone’s most-loved and best-known recordings, the exuberant My Baby Just Cares For Me, showcasing the deep and multidimensional facets of Simone’s life and music.

What future? What futures? When fear substitutes truth / Misinformation obscures reality / And speculation prevails on experience / Brutality seems necessary / And empathy appears naïve.

One. Simple. Direct. Question. Quale Futuro? What Future? Obliterated by a tumultuous year with lingering anxiety, uncertainty and a city ready to break any strand of hope, Qlowski, resorted to what they know best, turning frustration into dreams, stockpiling possibilities, fabricating desire and simply, living. This is Quale Futuro? their debut LP for Maple Death Records



London based twee-punks Qlowski entered the studio in late January 2020, basically before everything. Crammed in a small studio room in Tottenham Hale with producer Lindsay A. Corstorphine (Sauna Youth, Cold Pumas, Middex) they created a striking, full blown manifesto, where their early post-punk nuances are heightened by an extremely poetic and compelling vision that encapsulates words, imagery and noise. Propulsive rhythms, a modern spin on kiwi-pop and a weird combination of dark punk, noise rock and flower pop are still the foundation of their sound but it’s the combination of bandleaders Mickey and Cecilia’s voices that creates an eerie effortless sense of familiarity. It’s no wonder they’ve known each other since they were young kids. ‘A Woman’ shines bright with Cecilia’s intimate and prismatic approach that unites Poly Styrene’s fierce delivery with the ethereal vocal melodramas produced by Joe Meek in the 60s. Mikey’s howl is confrontational and direct, moving from the motto-induced style of Italian new wave art-punks CCCP on ‘Lentil Soup’ to a deep commanding calm steadiness on ‘Lotta Continua’ and frenetic frenzy on ‘To Be True’. The stabilizing presence of Danny and Christian’s rhythm section has freed the band to develop and expand furious kraut-punk assaults like on deep cut ‘The Wanderer’. Les Miserable from London punks Italia 90 lends his snarl on the sci-fi 50s tinged romantic closer ‘In A Cab To Work’.

What future? What futures? When fear substitutes truth / Misinformation obscures reality / And speculation prevails on experience / Brutality seems necessary / And empathy appears naïve.

One. Simple. Direct. Question. Quale Futuro? What Future? Obliterated by a tumultuous year with lingering anxiety, uncertainty and a city ready to break any strand of hope, Qlowski, resorted to what they know best, turning frustration into dreams, stockpiling possibilities, fabricating desire and simply, living. This is Quale Futuro? their debut LP for Maple Death Records



London based twee-punks Qlowski entered the studio in late January 2020, basically before everything. Crammed in a small studio room in Tottenham Hale with producer Lindsay A. Corstorphine (Sauna Youth, Cold Pumas, Middex) they created a striking, full blown manifesto, where their early post-punk nuances are heightened by an extremely poetic and compelling vision that encapsulates words, imagery and noise. Propulsive rhythms, a modern spin on kiwi-pop and a weird combination of dark punk, noise rock and flower pop are still the foundation of their sound but it’s the combination of bandleaders Mickey and Cecilia’s voices that creates an eerie effortless sense of familiarity. It’s no wonder they’ve known each other since they were young kids. ‘A Woman’ shines bright with Cecilia’s intimate and prismatic approach that unites Poly Styrene’s fierce delivery with the ethereal vocal melodramas produced by Joe Meek in the 60s. Mikey’s howl is confrontational and direct, moving from the motto-induced style of Italian new wave art-punks CCCP on ‘Lentil Soup’ to a deep commanding calm steadiness on ‘Lotta Continua’ and frenetic frenzy on ‘To Be True’. The stabilizing presence of Danny and Christian’s rhythm section has freed the band to develop and expand furious kraut-punk assaults like on deep cut ‘The Wanderer’. Les Miserable from London punks Italia 90 lends his snarl on the sci-fi 50s tinged romantic closer ‘In A Cab To Work’.

Backed by members of the David Nance Group, Rosali (Long Hots, Wandering Shade, Monocot) wades through the emotional mire with infectious, earworm melodies led by her luminous voice. With their rich, raw instrumentation, these rock ballads sound like the resilience discovered in facing one’s darkest moments, the assurance of the calm and clarity that comes after the storm. As she sings on the second track, “Bones,” “Through the darkness of the field / I walk through without yielding / To the rest of the feelings / I’m carrying.” With her confident song craft, Rosali illustrates the ability to push through, moving toward something greater without being destroyed by the weight of trauma.

Engineered by James Shroeder and featuring Kevin Donahue (Simon Joyner), James Shroeder (Simon Joyner, DNG, Connor Oberst), David Nance, Noah Sterba, Colin Duckworth, and Daniel Knapp, the album was recorded in ten days and the raw immediacy of the music is palpable across these ten tracks. Added adornment was contributed by Philadelphia's Robbie Bennett (War on Drugs) on organ and keys, and Matt Barrick (The Walkmen, Jonathan Fire Eater, Muzz) makes a percussion cameo on “Whisper,”which was tracked at Philly’s Silent Partner Studio, where No Medium was mixed by Quentin Stoltzfus (Mazarin, Light Heat). The open creative collaboration elevated the songs, resulting in the exciting, vibrant sound of the album.

Rosali wrote the bulk of these songs in January of 2019 while on a self-imposed two week residency in the hills of South Carolina. Alone in an old farmhouse, she experienced supernatural events and faced her own demons in the deepest darkness. Perhaps as a result, there is a boldness that permeates the album, a daring vulnerability in both the lyrical themes and their musical accompaniment. Rosali says, “I approach guitar playing the same intuitive way I sing, which is profoundly spiritual for me. Where words fail, the guitar becomes the conduit for raw feelings, providing a direct connection to them. I’m constantly working on being fearless in my work, which means showing the rough side, the mistakes along with the triumphs.”

While writing No Medium, Rosali was inspired by harmonographs—swinging pendulums that create beautiful illustrations of the mathematics of music—considering how the mind, too, creates images through song. She imagined herself as the swinging pendulum—“a body suspended from a fixed point” (Encyclopedia Britannica), governed by the forces surrounding her. She thought about the pendulum’s relationship to time, movement, and even its use in divination practices. The album’s title, lifted from Charlotte Brontë’s, Jane Eyre, resonated with this vision: “I know no medium: I never in my life have known any medium in my dealings with positive, hard characters, antagonistic to my own, between absolute submission and determined revolt. I have always faithfully observed the one, up to the very moment of bursting, sometimes with volcanic vehemence, into the other.” With the multiple meanings of “medium”—as middle ground, a term for psychics, and as the material of artistic expression—No Medium felt like the appropriate name, describing how the self is shaped by the patterns of life .

The influences for the sound of No Medium reflect this pairing of assured vulnerability, in the stylistic coherence of Bob Dylan’s Desire, the tender delivery in Iain Matthews’ Journey From Gospel Oak, the strut and swagger of Bowie’s Hunky Dory, the ambition and beauty of Gene Clark’s No Other, and the playful catharsis of Harry Nilsson’s Nilsson Schmilsson. The Richard and Linda Thompson-esque album opener “Mouth,” places Rosali within both a physical and emotional space. “East of the river I was travelling on / watch me lie, undone / rest me in a forest, overgrown / until I am free of all that I’ve known,” she sings. There is movement, both within a cityscape, and in her outlook on love. Speaking of her thought process when writing the song, she says, “I imagine confidently walking away from the past, toward a new approach to love and intimacy to achieve a closer relationship with myself.”

In “Pour Over Ice,” Rosali explores her relationship with alcohol and her former reliance upon it as a social lubricant to quell her social anxiety, an energizer to keep moving, a means to cope and self-medicate, and most addictively, to lure out her wild side as a free flowing, good time girl. While drinking helped her through some shitty times, it eventually got the upper hand and became an insatiable hole within. She says, “The ‘you’ in the song is really me, talking to that component of myself struggling with drinking and self-sabotage, caught up in the cycle, and all the bad choices I made.” She sings, “Maybe I didn’t care enough / or can’t remember / chasing small pleasures / making fire from embers.” Rosali wanted her lead guitar on this track to simultaneously sound like a slow motion car crash propelling her through the day, and the sound of a gnawing hunger for something more.

Rosali’s alliance with the Omaha musicians that orbit David Nance Group (including Nance himself) came about while on a Long Hots / DNG tour in the summer of 2019. Great friendships formed and one night after playing in Detroit, Dave suggested they be her backing band. The pairing was effortless and natural, and in November of the same year, they were recording No Medium in a basement in Omaha.

Well known for his tight, aggressively grooving brand of rhythm playing, whether in the service of the Grammy Award-winning band Snarky Puppy, the Fearless Flyers or on his six solo albums, guitarist Mark Lettieri has found the perfect algorithm for the funk.
Merging the influences of ‘70s and ‘80s rhythm and rock guitar icons like Prince and Eddie Van Halen, along with inspiration from George Clinton and P-Funk, Chuckii Booker, Periphery, Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and others. This Fort Worth, Texas resident has been insinuating his razor-sharp licks into the consciousness of funkateers since joining Snarky Puppy in 2008. Created during the pandemic, ‘Deep: The Baritone Sessions Vol. 2’ is a triumph of ingenuity built upon Lettieri’s life-long love of funk and rock and showcases the breadth and depth of Lettieri’s nasty, low-end brand of funk.
The guitarist’s Fearless Flyers bandmate, drummer Nate Smith, is also onboard for this cavalcade of groove, along with Bobby Sparks, Justin Stanton and such guests as vocal sensation Jacob Collier, former Prince drummer TaRon Lockett, Rascal Flatts pedal steel guitarist Travis Toy, French harmonica ace Frédéric Yonnet, Lettuce and former John Scofield drummer Adam Deitch, Ghost-Note drummer Robert “Sput” Searight, Snarky Puppy keyboardist Shaun Martin, tenor saxophonist Keith Anderson, and special guest guitar soloist Steve Lukather.

Both tracks produced by Robin The Fog at The Sticky Shed, Penge during lockdown 2020. Side A features a recording of a wine glass. Side B is created entirely from closed input sounds of the tape machines themselves. One take, no edits, no overdubs, no artificial FX. Mastered by Steven McInerney. A.H.M.F. and long live the Wyrm.

Robin The Fog is a sound designer, radio producer, audio archivist, educator and occasional DJ based in London. His work falls under the broad term "radiophonics" and includes composition, sound installation, field recording and documentary. Best known as founder and chief strategist of "tape loop quintet" Howlround, he also produces work alongside DJ Food and Chris Weaver as The New Obsolescents and with Ken Hollings as The Howling. Originally described as a "second wave hauntologist", his current obsession is attempting to use closed-input feedback loops to create primitive techno, which is quite a long way from where he started. His biggest fear is being swallowed by a python, but living in South London he appreciates the contingency is a remote one.

Raleigh Ritchie releases his highly anticipated second album, ANDY. A twelve track project, Andy sees Bristol born and London-hailing Raleigh holding a colossal magnifying glass to himself. Over the production, for the most part, from long-term collaborator Chris Loco but also, the incredibly talented GRADES on “Time In A Tree” and “27 Club”, Raleigh leaves no stone unturned. The album is a creation of heartbreakingly honest songs that seamlessly fuses sweeping soul and mellow R&B with forward-thinking electronica and gutsy orchestral moments. (Raleigh has become well known for working with the sensational Rosie Danvers and Wired Strings.) This is a truly powerful record, a long-awaited return that packs a poignant punch.

It has been four years since Raleigh aka Jacob Anderson, released his inaugural debut album You’re A Man Now Boy but fans have not been left wanting. When he wasn’t releasing music, performing at his sold out show at Shepherds Bush Empire, or alongside Stormzy in his iconic Glastonbury headline, featuring on Gang Signs & Prayer, Stormzy’s critically acclaimed debut, or acting as Grey Worm in the hit HBO series Game Of Thrones, he was and is “Andy”.

"Over the years, I have had the absolute pleasure of meeting countless wonderful people in every corner of this beautiful planet, and a lot of times these music enthusiasts have expressed a very similar-sounding story. That our presence – whether it be via a studio recording or our ferocious show – is capable of transporting them to a better place and washing away all earthly worries. Doesn't this sound amazing – especially during these challenging times?"
This gentle voice belongs to the vocalist-guitarist Jonne Järvelä, who happens to be the creative force behind the unique Finnish ensemble KORPIKLAANI. Having experienced multiple triumphant years within the inner circle of folk-influenced heavy metal, Jonne now acknowledges his position as one of the most recognisable artists ever coming from the land of a hundred thousand lakes.

KORPIKLAANI – preceded by Jonne's own project SHAMAANI DUO (1993-1997) and the band SHAMAN (1997-2003) – was founded somewhere deep in the primeval northern forests in 2003. Ten celebrated studio albums, numerous world tours and hundreds of millions of digital streams alongside multiple other releases, have established KORPIKLAANI’s status as one of the leaders of innovative heavy music. For their diehard legion of fans, they are known as Folk Metal Superstars.

"I have always been fascinated by ancient Lappish/Samish culture and the infectious melodies of aged folk songs. However, that's only one side of the coin as I have loved rip-roaring metal since I was a frantic kid looking for some rebellious sounds. My butt was kicked by the likes of MOTÖRHEAD, IRON MAIDEN and JUDAS PRIEST", says Jonne.
"Since the early 2000s, KORPIKLAANI has combined these elements as we have tirelessly attempted to pump new life into the ancient tales of joy and heartbreak, and added the enormous energy of current heavy metal into that folk metal melting pot.We have always been on a mission to create something new and unprecedented."

Here and now, KORPIKLAANI’s fearless journey continues on – and this time, the journey is powered by rather serious subject matter. Their eleventh full-length studio record "Jylhä" (which has no direct translation but can be described as majestic, or wild and rugged in a beautiful way) brings all the well-known and essential ingredients to the table: heavy-duty guitar riffing, rhythmic folk melodies and more.

What about the tales of the wilderness then? The fascinating and miscellaneous tales have always been a crucial part of KORPIKLAANI’s journey within the realms of unspoiled Finnish nature, ancient Scandinavian myths, shamanistic voyages and beyond. "Did I already mention that "Jylhä" offers some new angles?", the singer/guitarist laughs. "Well, lyrically, there are definitely some previously unknown passages – such as fables connected to the infamous Lake Bodom murders in Southern Finland in early 1960s."

KORPIKLAANI’s long-time lyricist Tuomas Keskimäki – the renowned Finnish poet and author, comments: "When I am coming up with narratives, interesting wordplays and other ideas for KORPIKLAANI, I often feel like I am diving into some absorbing fantasy world. I would describe this state of mind as some kind of a deep trance", says Keskimäki.
"As a whole textual piece, "Jylhä" is rather widespread. For example, there are stories about the fragility of life, revealed by using nature metaphors. ‘Miero’ is one of these tales: after all, it's a fact that the lifetime of a human being is just one blink of an eye compared to the eternal aeons of the cosmos."
"On the darker side, there are several murder songs - I wasn't really planning these rather untraditional lyrics, they just happened... One of these is ‘Kiuru’, and that story is inspired by a famous Finnish double homicide case, which took place in the small village of Tulilahti in 1959. In these lyrics, the character called Kiuru – Skylark in English – acts as eyewitness and a prophet, but at the same time, this creature also functions as an allegory of many things... All in all, I am really happy with the lyrics and all these new themes!"

When asked about his current sentiment regarding the new KORPIKLAANI opus "Jylhä", the commander of the forest clan sighs and smiles. "Using "Jylhä" as our solid steppingstone, we are able to reach completely new heights. For me, it's crystal clear that KORPIKLANI has never been better."
It is a fitting album for our dark times, summed up well by the song ‘Huolettomat’ (The Careless). It talks about living in the present moment, alongside a story of joy and celebration. Today is today, tomorrow is uncertain.

Niscitam is the debut album by Australian musician and songwriter Blake Scott. Better known as a member of The Peep Tempel, Blake is revered for his character driven lyrics and pointed songwriting, evident across the band’s three critically acclaimed albums.
Written in the months leading up to the birth of his first child and during a period of extended sobriety, Niscitam is a recollection and reflection on dreams, memories and the pressures of everyday existence. Blake partnered with multiinstrumentalist and engineer John Lee to produce the album at Phaedra Studios in Melbourne with musicians Jacey Ashton and Nick Finch.
It remains voluminous and bold in arrangement, whilst taking a more introspective path lyrically. On one hand, the album explores the fear, anxiety, and questions of adequacy ahead of pending parenthood. On the other, it celebrates health & mobility, love & possibility and is an attempt by the artist to reconcile with his past, as well as cultivating a positive and nourishing path forward. The result is an astonishing debut album.

This is the first official issue of the soundtrack from Umberto Lenzi's cult film UN POSTO IDEALE PER UCCIDERE (also known abroad as OASIS OF FEAR and DIRTY PICTURES). Despite being one of the rare instances in which Italian singer-songwriter Bruno Lauzi wrote for film, this stunning work really hits the mark.

The 7-inch features an extended, previously unreleased edit of the super cool 'Babadaba', a contagious samba-jazz cut sung by Lauzi himself along with an unknown female singer – a track that will set your dance floor on fire.

On the flip side you've got 'Incontro', a groovy, jazzy, downtempo track with a fantastic leading flute melody.

Reemerging from the threshold of the cosmic vortex, Black Lodge returns with another sonic artifact that is charged with vigorous chaotic energy, known as EXPERIMENT_ZERO. Accounts of the radiant object's origin are as mysterious as the raw energy that utters from its core. Following a close study, the guardians of the portal suspect that "Experiment Zero" was a primordial experiment rooted in the slam jack pits and DIY warehouse rituals of ages passed. A sonic dialog constructed of various languages, spanning from roots-house jak to bare-knuckled electro are revealed across the artifact - a revolutionary tale that surpasses the constructs of ephemerality, with a refusal to be ignored. Across the release the listener is confronted with fearless acid lines that are underscored by a tone of revolution, and sets the stage for a human voice that switches between modes of a sharp and mutated presence. The power of such sonic objects are both celebrated and rejected by various tribal societies. It is all dependent on the belief structures and traditional histories of its members. Those that belong to the cult of Ron Hardy, Mad Mike Banks, Traxx, and JTC will welcomingly be drenched in its riotous energies. It is for the dedicated, not the light-hearted. After further research it has been discovered that, Experiment Zero is the product of Dona, aka Dj Plant Texture and Mike Tansella Jr. of Son of Traders, both products of the ancient mercantile city of Bari in Southern Italy. Previous works from these artists have been featured on Creme Organization, Gravitational Waves, Unknown to Unknown, and Illian Tapes. All sonic experimentation was recorded in one take to capture the raw energy of instantaneous collaborative sound craft operating in flux. Black Lodge's 4th release is sure to find a space in the music collections of those seeking to travel within the uncanny portals that unforgivingly defy the status quo. Mastered by: Alex J Michalski Label design: Kosmik Pressing: Deepgrooves (NL)

On his third solo album, following the success of "Éternel été", the founder of the electro duo Nôze is exploring, through piano and synths, the encounter between poetry and song. In this new work he has set to music verses by William Shakespeare, Victor Hugo, Pablo Neruda and on three songs, those of the poet Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, a pioneer of romanticism who notably influenced Verlaine and Baudelaire.

But what does this Oh !, giving its title to Ezéchiel Pailhès' third solo album, stand for? Is it an Oh ! of surprise, admiration or pain? "It is rather the Oh ! found in romantic poetry" says the French composer and singer with his deep and sweet voice. "An interjection that refers to a form of lament", even though it can convey other emotions such as complaint, nostalgia, a sad delight or a longed-for solace.

In Tout va bien, his previous album released in 2017, Ezéchiel Pailhès had set two Shakespeare sonnets to music. One of them, "Eternal été" has become a great success, thanks to its lines tinged with spleen and bliss. "Poetry, and its musicality, have always been part of my universe. For this new album, I therefore wanted to explore further the adaptation of poems into songs. "Bien Certain" is, once again, taken from William Shakespeare. "Tu te rappelleras" comes from Pablo Neruda's collection La centaine d'amour. "Oh ! Pourquoi te cacher ?" is from Victor Hugo. As for "Sans l'oublier", "La sincère" and "J'avais froid", they were all written by Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, a 19th century French poetess, still fairly unknown".

With Oh !, Ezechiel Pailhès has become more of a singer than ever before, through seven songs and four instrumental compositions, with intimate and warm modulations, carried by hypnotic piano melodies, instruments with unusual timbre and a subtle electronic production that recalls his past productions with his former duo Nôze.

"I wanted to expand my music further into songs" Ezéchiel adds, "to work more with my voice as a solo instrument and to limit the overlapping of voices and choirs found in my previous records". Produced in his Montreuil home studio, Oh ! is nevertheless imbued with an emotion found in his previous albums, close to 'saudade' or a slight melancholy, sometimes enhanced by chosen texts that evoke the disappointment of love, the longing, the distance between two people, or even men's weakness. "These poems evoke themes that may seem far from the concerns of our times. Yet, they are timeless and eternal; they manage to convey emotions that can often be difficult to say or write."

Among the texts chosen for this new album, the verses of the poet Marceline Desbordes-Valmore (1786-1859) are on a par with William Shakespeare's sonnets or Pablo Neruda's poem found on the same record:

" Sans l'oublier, on peut fuir ce qu'on aime.
On peut bannir son nom de ses discours,
Et, de l'absence implorant le secours,
Se dérober à ce maître suprême,
Sans l'oublier ! "
(…)
" Sans oublier une voix triste et tendre,
Oh ! que de jours j'ai vus naître et finir !
Je la redoute encore dans l'avenir :
C'est une voix que l'on cesse d'entendre,
Sans l'oublier ! "
"Without forgetting, we can run away from what we love.
Banish their name from our conversations,
And, begging the absence for consolation,
Escape the grip of this supreme master,
Without forgetting! "
(…)
"Without forgetting a sad and gentle voice,
Oh, how many days have I seen rise and fall!
And still I fear from the future:
A voice that can no longer be heard,
Without forgetting! "

Although less known today than her male counterparts, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore marked her times and the Romantic movement through the quality of her texts and her formal inventions, which Balzac admired, and whose influence seems to have been decisive on Verlaine and Baudelaire.

"Marceline Desbordes-Valmore's poetry is highly musical," says Ezéchiel with admiration. "Her artistry with rhythm and repetition sounds very good and takes on a new dimension when set to music. She even meant for some of her texts to become songs"

In just a few years and with a handful of releases, the Canadian producer better known as Yves Malone has earned himself a reputation. In The Beginning of Nothing he continues working with many layers of analog synths and a keen sense of drum machines to create atmospheres and textures extracted from late twentieth-century collective fears of a dystopian future. Created as a sort of score to an internal elegy, Yves Malone creates soundtracks of the daily fear, regret, and resignation that is his waking life, an effort to isolate and negate this anxiety, which is a constant and unwanted companion. Sequenced on mostly working vintage gear, The Beginning of Nothing tries to extricate a bit of beauty from a rapidly darkening landscape.

Pedro "Ramayá" Beltrán, born in Patico, a small town in Colombia's Bolívar province, is a maestro of Colombian folkloric music known as the King of the 'caña de millo' flute, although he is also proficient in various percussion instruments as well as the reed instrument known as 'gaita'. He founded La Cumbia Moderna de Soledad in the early 1970's. With this group he set out to "modernize" the folkloric music of his people, adding electric bass and a brass section to

fresh arrangements of cumbias, porros, fandangos, puyas and other costeño genres. "La Clavada" (1979) was La Cumbia Moderna de Soledad's sixth record and first for Codiscos' Costeño imprint.

The LP has many excellent examples of Beltrán's inventive mix of the ancient and the modern, making for a collection of tunes brimming with tradition and yet fearlessly bristling with innovation, not the least of which is 'Crees que soy sexy', with its gaita refrain mimicking the main melody of Rod Stewart's international disco smash 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy'.
The album's title song was a massive hit in Colombia and has become a standard of the genre. Restored to its original glorious sound, this LP is poised to be rediscovered as an innovative yet rootsy gem. Presented in facsimile artwork and pressed on 180g vinyl.

Part of Vampisoul's reissue series of classic LP's from Colombia's Codiscos and it's sublabels such as Zeida, Costeño and Famoso.

Schmer Schmer has been looking for the next Prototype 909 since 1995. While they may never be found, we have instead found a few artists that with the same spirit of adventure have taken electronic music to new frontiers of unimaginable creativity. Primary among them is Lena aka Galcid aka Lenacid.

Lena's electrifying live performances utilizing eurorack modular synths with vintage and modern machines follow three simple 3 rules:

NO PCs, NO Presets, NO Preparation!

She has been called Jeanne d'Arc of modular because her style her appearance and her fearlessness.

For Schmer, Lena has created an EP made for the melting of your mind, if it doesn't first melt your speakers.

Lena uses her electronics in the most effective way possible. The classic acid machines are deployed to establish the themes the modular synths bring in sounds that take these tracks to another level. The eponymous track will hypnotize you into the state of focus necessary to allow you to go deep inside. Then the Acid Police show up! A funky drum machine rocker sure wake you out of your trance. Steel Vein has the intensity to rewire your modular mind. bpmf provides an hard driving aggressive take on Melting to help us turn on the switch.
Legendary DJ and producer Hisashi Saito has been making acid and techno since the early 90s. Using his unique
skills this EP has a rare clarity of sound not often heard on such ambitious recordings. Lenacid “Melting EP” opens up a new frontier for acid, for Schmer and for Lena that you are invited to explore with us this spring.

As Galcid, she has played alongside world renowned artists such as Nina Kraviz, Daniel Miller, Oval, DJ Nobu, Isao Tomita, Takkyu Ishino, Ken Ishii, G-man (LFO) among others. In 2016, she was invited by the Japan Media Art Festival to play at the special exhibition, held at the Eyemyth Media Arts Festival in Mumbai, India. Her 1st album “Hertz" received a worldwide release in digital format on the Detroit Underground label. The release attracted the attention of Karl Hyde (Underworld), Chris Carter (Throbbing Gristle) among other well-known musicians the world over. Shortly thereafter, Galcid played at "Boiler Room Tokyo". In July 2017, she embarked on her first EU tour playing shows in Barcelona, London, and Madrid, after she came back, she participated in Iron Island Festival and Mutek Japan garnering high praise in the media. In December 2017, she was invited to headline Future Mix's 20th Anniversary event and workshop in Shenzhen where she performed and held a talk with techno pioneer Mijk Van Dijk.

‘Verdigris’ the new EP from Japanese artist Atsushi Izumi, is a deep dive into the crevice of the mind. It is an exploration of where fearful emotions lie and confronting them. It is only through this conflict that light can shine through in the end.

The Osaka native has a background in music and sound design and as such found his sound going through a metamorphosis from Drum n Bass to a more experimental sound. His EP ‘Snow’ was released under the subtract imprint last year and saw the initial phase of this transformation. It was followed up by ‘Lansing / Mistrust’ via The Collection Artaud, which continued his growth of using slowed out heavy percussions surrounded by frantic synths and modulations.

Atsushi Izumi’s use of long drawn out hallow synths is like an ominous cemetery at night before these powerful percussions detonate in. He uses heavy spaced out bass drums, either as a single or double beat, which simmer as they echo and roll. They are surrounded by these chaotic, textured synths, which can sound like a cicada, hovering and distorted to give a mechanical effect. It feels like being thrown into the woods late at night, eerie yet calm in the beginning, before extreme panic sets in and you feel like you’re being chased.

Japan witnessed the end of the world up close and it is still reflected in their art and music: it delves into the sadistic and explores deep themes of melancholy and the apocalypse. This is juxtaposed against pure joy and serenity, showing that life is there to be enjoyed and struggles have an end, which is translated quite coherently to this piece.

As an extra bonus to all this, there is a scintillating remix from ANFS. The Greek adds a bit of pace to the track Zeit. He is an artist who enjoys frantic distorted techno and it shows in this cut. He takes the basic elements but whereas the original slowly introduces the percussions, ANFS bangs straight in. It’s structured yet frantic and a massive sound.

‘Verdigris’ is due for release on 17th May 2019 under the mysterious Swiss label Thrènes, that is known for eye-catching signature artwork and a deep and dark techno sound.

With a discography held in such high esteem amongst fans of conceptual French pop and soundtrack composition, the likelihood of finding an unturned stone amongst maestro Jean-Claude Vannier’s fertile psychedelic rockery falls somewhere between slim and skeletal. Even the most intrepid explorers of the most fearless and fastidious nature should naturally expect to encounter one or two shadowy characters when braving the oblique corners of the Vannier vault, but few lost souls cast a darker silhouette than the cinematic obscurity known only as La Bête Noire (The Black Beast).

Lost and presumed missing for decades the soundtrack tapes to this lesser-known 1983 French thriller (featuring a cast culled from films such as Alphaville, The Modern Couple and Sweet Movie) captures the revered composer and arranger of Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire De Melody Nelson embarking on a darker exploration of free jazz, frenzied batucadas and cyclic carousel psychedelia. Counting key players of the French jazz scene within its ranks, The Insolitudes group comprises a crack team of Palm/Futura/Actuel/Saravah regulars such as saxophonist Philippe Mate´ (Acting Trio/Mate´-Vallancien/Tacet) alongside drummer Bernard Labat (Mad Ducks) and legendary Arpadys/Voyage rhythm masters Marc Chantereau and Pierre-Alain Dahan (Brutus Drums) all of whom alongside Michel Zanlonghi (Ensemble De Percussion De Paris) make up this thunderous, tumultuous, four-headed rhythm machine bridging an authentic gap between The Jef Gilson Groups and France’s signature “cosmic” revolution. Naturally these previously unheard compositions are spearheaded by lead pianist and composer Vannier and for devotee’s of his 1972 concept album L’Enfant Assassin Des Mouche there is much to admire and cross-reference herein.

Having been the most loyal and long-running guardians of Jean-Claude’s monster archive over the past two decades Finders Keepers Records are proud to present this first catch of newfound vintage Vannier discoveries on this limited and unlikely free jazz 45 single (which should find a perfect home between coveted Euro jazz 7”s by Krzysztof Komeda, Franc¸ois Tusques and Brussels Art Quintet). Almost 15 years since Finders Keepers once liberated the Mouches it is now time to set free another Black Beast amongst discerning listeners.

On March 15th Erased Tapes presents the invigorating and powerful debut solo album Lines of Sight by Australian-born, Liverpool-based composer, saxophonist and founder of Immix Ensemble, Daniel Thorne. Deeply moving, full of otherworldly beauty and rapture, the album is alive, throbbing like a circulatory system, colourful and glowing. It literally dazzles - effectively capturing what the birth (or death) of a planet might sound like.

In Daniel's own words, 'Thematically, this music was inspired by birds-eye aerial images and the idea of perspective - how something incredibly complex like a river or the surface of the ocean is reduced to a simple line or shape when viewed from the heavens. The line between natural and man-made becomes increasingly blurred.'

Every strand is fresh, vital and purposeful. The description 'seamless' might suggest a smooth, bland fusion, but here elements overlap in intermittent, undulating layers of mesh. Avant-garde, noise, electronics, ecclesiastical, classical, a touch of jazz and traces of Wyatt-style contemporary folk come together, each occupying their own space while acquiescing with the whole.

'Several compositions are derived from ratios and processes, and are highly calculated, while others evolved in a much more organic way. I wanted to create music that blurred lines between acoustic and electronic, organic and synthetic, composition and improvisation.
I've long been a fan of studio-based composition, but have always found the infinite possibilities on offer daunting and, often, a stumbling block. To get around this I set myself a challenge of limiting myself to the physical instruments in my possession - a few different saxophones and a bass synth, with no more than four tracks to record them,' he adds.

Lines of Sight follows Thorne's work as artistic director of the acclaimed, collaboration-focussed group Immix Ensemble. Together with experimental electronic artist Vessel, he co-wrote Transition released on Erased Tapes in 2016, described by BBC Radio 6's Mary Anne Hobbs as 'a remarkable new piece of music'. More recently, he worked with acclaimed modular synth wizard Luke Abbott, to create a four-part suite, which was premiered live in June 2017. Immix Ensemble have also performed special live commissions with Kelly Lee Owens, Dialect, Jane Weaver and Bill Ryder-Jones, among others.

Prior to leaving Australia, Daniel was fortunate to work with some of the country's leading new music ensembles as both a composer and performer, receiving commissions from the TURA New Music Festival and the Australia Council, as well as being appointed as Composer in Residence at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. In the UK he was the recipient of the prestigious Dankworth Prize for Jazz Composition, and also undertook a residency at Metal Liverpool, which provided him with the time and space to create Immix.

As the first track under Thorne's own name, 'Iroise' was recorded for the Erased Tapes 10th anniversary release 1+1=X, alongside works by Nils Frahm, Penguin Cafe, A Winged Victory For The Sullen and Rival Consoles. He also recently remixed Manu Delago, known as the live percussionist for Björk and Ólafur Arnalds. After a first solo performance at Sea Change Festival 2018, the new year will see Daniel tour across Europe, promoting the forthcoming release of Lines of Sight.

Virtuoso compositions, subtle synthetic atmospheres, voices oscillating between pure intentions and dreamlike fantasy, a confusion of feelings and desires, time and space...Garden of Love, the 3rd album by electro duo Scratch Massive makes an impression from the first moments that you hear its enigmatic beauty. Like a ghost train moving along a tightrope - between shadow and light, failure and redemption, violence and melancholy - this fourth studio album reaffirms the Parisian DJ/Producer duo style/vibe with their hybrid sounds and sensory experiences. For 15 years, Maud Geffray and Sebastien Chenut have maintained artistic and aesthetic control as they participated in the 'revolution of the dancefloors'. In the early 2000s, 'Made in France' electro became known for its hedonism and as the savior of an entire techno generation ready to fight (or at least on the dancefloor!) for a future that was increasingly frustrating and hypothetical.


On first glance, Garden of Love, appears to be an invitation to love and peace, however, nothing is ever that simple, as the album cover evokes a multitude of interpretations. The lyrics speak to the depths of the soul, covering a range of emotion from love, emotions, and fears ... Garden of Love is for our hearts and bodies to become receptive again: the disenchanted poetry of the Last Dance, the sumptuous opening track set against a backdrop of electro-pop murmured in the light and shadows as painful caress; the psychedelic scent of Sunken (a duet recorded with the complicit and poisonous voice of Léonie Pernet); and the dark-tech shores of "Fantome X" with the evanescent and hypnotic pop clarity of Feel The Void (both magnified by the vocals of Romain Thominot of the Reims pop band Grindi Manberg). Scratch Massive draws the outline of an electronic music in search of redemption - reinventing their icy grooves and confronting it with a naive elegance and a disillusioned romanticism that embodies our time.

Liška, the Czechoslovakian word for fox. Beguiling in its beauty, cunning in it's charm. Said to be one of the most intelligent animals on the planet its global family consists of thirty-seven varieties; all of them recognised, respected and feared for their persuasive, creative, resourceful and elusive nature. The Liška we will talk about today is no exception to these hereditary rules and within the grooves of this record Finders Keepers present an 'elusive' musical artefact that best exemplifies every facet of this composer's animal namesake.

Had he not been born in the small Bohemian town of Smecno in the early 1920s the story of The Fantastic Mr. Liška might have well taken a different course. Alternatively, fettered by the hampers of communism, this lifelong resident of Czechoslovakia would never quite find his seat at the same table as the likes of John Barry, Ennio Morricone, Michael Nyman and Stanley Myers, nor drop enough phonographic breadcrumbs to track his legacy. But having waited patiently behind the borders of the wider landscapes of international cinema, Liška's musical brood, spanning multiple stylistic decades and generations, has now started to walk proudly amongst his would-be, latter-day compeers. In an era where music lovers have almost become immune to adjectives like 'lost', 'rare' and 'unreleased' in a climate where previously lesser-known off-kilter master composers such as Vannier, Kirchin and Axelrod have become widely revered, it is perhaps the perfect time for discerning listeners to advance above the feeding trough and seek out this truly pioneering and revolutionary Eastern European composer. Rivalled only by the likes of Krzysztof Komeda and Andrzej Korzynski in Poland, alongside Alexandr Gradsky in Russia, and often splitting workloads with fellow Czech composers like Luboš Fišer, Zdenek Liska's filmography of over almost 300 fully formed movie scores virtually eclipses the achievements of these socialist era luminaries. Respected unanimously in both Czech and Slovakian by studio bosses, producers, directors and actors alike Liška is widely known for his ability to take the existing energy in a reel of film and literally change the polarity to suit his own interpretation while maintaining the full support from his 'client' who would in-turn end up working under this composer's creative direction. Not only was Liška a genius of emotive orchestral and coral composition, his grasp on small group arrangements and intimate, minimal scores set him above the competition. By utilising primitive sample techniques by 'looping' a films existing ambient noise, or rearranging found sounds and dialog into subtle melodic arrangements, Liška would independently develop his own techniques which had simultaneously become known in Paris as musique concre`te. It is a direct extension of these experiments that saw Liška also draw parallels with Walter Branchi (Ennio Morricone's main electronic sidekick) in Italy as well as Daphne Oram in the UK, making Liška a relatively untravelled pioneer of early electronic composition and sound design due to his unlikely global environment. Imprisoned, preserved or reserved; time has been kind to Liška's music.

LP,180g, 2018 REISSUE - REMASTERED FROM ORIGINAL TAPES, CAREFULLY REPRODUCED ORIGINAL ART

James Clarke's Mystery Movie was released in 1974 as modern, small group compositions in various moods. Ideally suited to the new Americanised style of T.V. and cinema flm where music is used to create the mood and carry the action'.
So this collection covers a lot of bases, but it does so brilliantly and has absolutely no right to be such a fantastic listen from start to fnish.Mystery Movie is best known for the slick drum breaks underpinning the top-notch jazz-funk chase theme Car Patrol', the fuzz rifng and ARP soloing of The Heavies' and the slow-mo strut of Mystery Moll'. Study In Fear' and Empty Streets' are horror soundtrack fodder of the fnest sort.
However, it's the understated, plaintive pieces that we fnd the most rewarding.
Ambient feels and strung-out fried-folk treats, full of cyclical naïve melodies.
Music that evokes the 'downlifting' Ronnie Lane and Ron Wood instrumentals from their great Mahoney's Last Stand LP, as well as the beautiful soundtrack work of Jack Nitzsche and Ry Cooder. You might also recognise Waiting Game' from being sampled by melodic downbeat masters Express Rising.
Check Relaxed Theme', Quiet Girl', Routine Procedure' and Quietness Sustained' for a melodic, melancholic set, with the last three performed on just acoustic guitar and harp. Gorgeous work.
As with all ten re-issues, the audio for Mystery Movie comes from the original analogue tapes and has been remastered for vinyl by Be With regular Simon Francis. We've taken the same care with the sleeves, handing the reproduction duties over to Richard Robinson, the current custodian of KPM's brand identity.

Zodiak Commune Records proudly presents the fourth release of the White Cyclus serie. We are also proud to spin off this release on our first sublabel called Zodiak Commune Records KORE. This sublabel contains the Acid(core) and Tekno related tracks.

We introduce you to the common player in the scene and founder of Dosis Decibel Records finest Sam. C. He is known for his typical sound of hybrid acid and breakbeats.

Other heavyweights are the members of BangBass and the talented Ling Ling. They know best how to take you on a true KORE-trip!

Sam. C - Ecto
Deep and atmospherical! From the founder of Disis Decibel Records.

Sam. C - Tekno Fear
Acidbreak! From the founder of Disis Decibel Records.

BangBass - Spaghetti Cowboy
You can hear right from the start you are dealing with Acid from BangBass!

BangBass vs Ling Ling - Bang Ling
Energy is building op to the maximum level Acid from the combined forces Italy and Austria.

Dilated Pupils is a collective group of likeminded friends home-based in the Netherlands. When forces are joined in one of their many studios each individual brings his own influences and styles to the table. Together they share a distinct flavor in productions and raw one-take jam sessions created with the use of analogue machines and often recorded on tape. Each of them have their own solo productions as well as other collaborations, but when united as Dilated Pupils they prefer to be known jointly as one entity with their own unique and distinguished sound. Since 2014 the group has developed an interesting and widespread discography with releases on labels such as Fear of Flying, Sol Asylum, Mode of Expression, Tabla, Music is Art, Dorcas, Make Sense and Mayak.

Following 2017's 'Path of Ruin', DJ Richard returns to Dial with his much-anticipated sophomore LP, 'Dies Iræ Xerox'. Undoubtedly one of the most distinctive and fully-formed electronic producers in recent memory, DJ Richard imprinted the sound of a bubbling US underground with his label, White Material, founded in 2012 alongside Young Male. His first solo LP for Dial, 2015's 'Grind', found DJ Richard delicately establishing a discipline between his East Coast noise heritage and a physical, emotive tradition of house music, mastered during an extended stay in Berlin. Now firmly settled once more in his hometown of Providence, 'Dies Iræ Xerox' is a personal and uncompromising journey that finds the Rhode Island native in reflective form, journeying without compromise into both his creative influences and personal psyche. In part adapting its title from the Latin hymn 'Dies irae', otherwise known as 'Day of Wrath', 'Dies Iræ Xerox' melds the physical and psychological aspects of DJ Richard's production ethos in sharper, more widescreen vision than before; the oceanic swells of ambience yet more powerful, and the rigid basslines sharper still. With the chaos of the Berlin club scene an increasingly distant memory, the album is enriched with a contemplative, even brittle tone, as informed by film soundtracks and literature as the pulse of city living. Still, this is new material from DJ Richard, a touring DJ as distinctive as any other to be found behind the decks at some of the world's finest clubs and festivals. On 'Dies Iræ Xerox', the artist finds the space to write 'the records I really want to play', and each suggests a template for genuine dancefloor transcendence, beginning with the electrifying 'Vanguard' . The sludgy yet sophisticated crawl of 'Tunnel Stalker' sets the tone for the menacing yet somehow melancholy EBM of 'In Broad Daylight', while the record draws to a breathless close with the affecting, drum machine lethargy of 'Gate of Roses'. Drawing little distinction between his more physically rousing material and searching soundscapes, 'Dies Iræ Xerox' instead finds a passage of catharsis throughout both. 'Dissolving World', the album's breathtaking centerpiece, is a choral feature hypnotically overwhelmed by walls of electronic feedback, forging a dramatic link between old ways and new. On the bold and near-beatless 'Ancestral Helm' and 'Final Mercy', DJ Richard seems to grant both music and raw emotion the ability to simply float in the air, brilliantly, poignantly unresolved. If 'Grind,' inspired by the weathered coastlines of Rhode Island, was a record concerning "the border between civilization and the ocean," then 'Dies Iræ Xerox' is an unapologetic follow-up concerning that between macabre obsessions and fear of death. Produced during a murky, transitional period, DJ Richard found himself particularly drawn to Medieval European art and mysticism, fascinated by depictions and philosophies of the antichrist and end-times. Greatly influencing the uncompromising, apocalyptic tone of the album, these investigations have created an engaging and personal vision of the 'Day of Wrath.'

- Black and Purple vinyl versions.-LP includes download.
-Son of Blue Note legend Bruce Lundvall.
-12 years since his last record to feature vocals.
Dais Records is proud to unveil the new dark pop masterpiece from artist and composer Tor Lundvall. His first vocal album since 2009's Sleeping and Hiding, and following the release of two instrumental albums and three CD box sets since that time, Tor returns with an album of beautifully intricate sadness and reflection: A Dark Place.Born in 1968 in Wyckoff, NJ, Tor Lundvall is a painter and ambient composer.
The son of Blue Note Records legend Bruce Lundvall, Tor was exposed to artwork, music, and creativity from a young age, and began his professional painting and music output in the late 80s. Widely known for his dark imagery and thoughtful, provocative soundscapes, Tor Lundvall's artwork is all-encompassing. His music, when paired with his paintings, creates a world within which one could easily disappear. An intensely private individual, Tor Lundvall eschews the gallery circuit and live performances for his private studio in Eastern Long Island, NY, preferring to show his artwork privately and focus on studio production and writing without the pressures of the audience and all it encompasses.
Dais Records is honored to provide another glimpse into his world through his recordings. We hope you find it as special and as unforgettable as we do. Artist Statement:It's been twelve years since I recorded my last vocal album, "Sleeping and Hiding" (released in 2009, but recorded in 2005). After completing those sessions, I felt that I had said just about everything I wanted to say lyrically. I wasn't sure if another vocal album would ever materialize, but slowly and surely, new lyrics came with new songs to accompany them. Finding the words to describe this album is almost as difficult as the past couple of years. There is a lot of pain, fear and sadness wrapped into these eight songs. More so than usual, I think. The loss of my father in 2015 and coping with his absence certainly hangs heavily here. I recorded this album at night while I stared out from my bedroom window into the shadows of the garden and the neighbor's house next door. The reflections of the flower lights encircling my bedroom window looked like distant, golden constellations through the glass while I worked. A nice memory. A few of the melodies were inspired by, or constructed around some of my earliest riffs and abandoned sketches, one dating all the way back to 1985. The lyrics to the final track, "The Next World", came to me while swimming alone in the bay one clear October afternoon about five years ago. I originally envisioned a lighter, more optimistic song to accompany my first draft of lyrics, but the piece evolved into a song about final reflections, lost dreams and the terrible sadness of the passing of time.

On 30thMarch, Wah Wah 45s will release ORANGE WHIP, the new album by their latest signing, Honeyfeet. The outfit, who have received praise from the likes of The Guardian, have also set festivals alight up and down the country with their unique melange of sounds.

For the last couple of years the Honeyfeet (who name from a line in the Blues Brothers film) have been a conduit for the ideas and expressions of an exotic mixture of Manchester based musicians. This genre-defying band incorporate styles including jazz, folk and hip hop into their music. Someone once called it Folk-Hop and Barrelhouse-pop, and that's just vague enough to make sense.

The band are fronted by Ríoghnach Connolly - also known for her work with Real World artists Afro Celt Sound System and The Breath - "a remarkable singer and flautist who...can ease from Irish traditional influences to soul" (The Guardian). The line up is completed by Rik Warren (vocals/harmonica), Gus Fairbairn (tenor sax), Biff Roxby (trombone/vocals), Ellis Davies (guitar), Lorien Edwards (bass guitar), John Ellis (keyboards) and David Schlechtriemen (drums).

ORANGE WHIP finds the band at their most incredibly diverse. Opening with recent single Sinner (received radio play from the likes of 6 Music and BBC Manchester), which showcases Ríoghnach's extraordinary agile and emotive voice, the album moves with dizzying swagger on songs covering a wide range of subjects. Quickball tells the story of being so infatuated with someone you want to eat them, while Whatever You Do addresses the fear-mongering of the press over folk-hop and oom-pah, and Demons deals with love and redemption on a blast of harmonica-driven country, sung by Rik Warren.

Rik also takes lead vocal on a re-working of Robert Johnson's Love in Vain, a song showing Honeyfeet's more reflective side, his Skip James-esque drawl bringing an eerie quality to the lyrics about a doomed relationship. The band reshape the progression too, swinging the tune slowly and creating a little underground blues club in the midst of the recording.

Elsewhere the band go all New Orleanian on Colonel Hathi's Trunk Juice, a sinister tale inspired by trombonist Biff Roxby's horn riff recalling one of the elephants of The Jungle Book. Further showcasing their virtuosity, on one of the album's best moments - especially the nuanced vocal performance by Ríoghnach, who was raised on Irish folk - on Hunt and Gather the band do their own take on prog-folk, with a flute and cello melody running alongside a brass counterpoint.

Ríoghnach turns in another incredible vocal on the album's final track - future single Meet Me On The Corner. With a pounding beat, it is one of the album's main highlights. Guitar and brass propels Ríoghnach to sing lyrics that could be straight out of the playground, but suggest something deeper, possibly mystical even, in it's demands for a dalliance on the street. It closes the album on a high note, for a band who have that rare ability to distil all their disparate influences, while always sounding like their unique selves.

ORANGE WHIP heralds the sound of a remarkable band going overground.

The Passage EP brings together two of the chief champions of far reaching sounds in AYBEE, and Lars Bartkuhn. Bartkuhn best known for his work with his iconic (NEEDS) imprint, and AYBEE for his boundary pushing ethos at (Deepblak). A project spawned of mutual love, and respect the two met at an impromptu jam performance at the Xjazz Fest where the seeds were planted for further collaboration. Committed to stretching out beyond tight parameters they sought to capture the spirit of the dance. As "The Astral Walkers" they set out to combine the fearless freedom of the Jazzfunk era with the endless possibilities within electronic music.

The second release of Dilated Pupils on their own platform DPBEATS.! Techy yet classy vibes.! All beats are ready for the club.!

About DP:
Dilated Pupils is a collective group of likeminded friends home-based in the Netherlands. When forces are joined in one of their many studios each individual brings his own influences and styles to the table. Together they share a distinct flavor in productions and raw one-take jam sessions created with the use of analogue machines and often recorded on tape. Each of them have their own solo productions as well as other collaborations, but when united as Dilated Pupils they prefer to be known jointly as one entity with their own unique and distinguished sound. Since 2014 the group has developed an interesting and widespread discography with releases on labels such as Fear of Flying, Sol Asylum, Mode of Expression, Tabla, Music is Art, Dorcas, Make Sense and Mayak

"Alpha percussion", recorded in 1985, is a cult groovy ambient album of acoustic percussion, pleasant to listen to and full of samples and break known very well by Djs and artists likes Danny Brown (which uses a sample in "Really Doe", a song of his latest album on Warp Records).
Giovanni Cristiani is one of the most prepared and complete Italian percussionists. Born in Rome in 1952 he graduated in percussion in young age and began playing professionally in Italy and abroad. In 1979, after years of activity at the side of the most popular jazz musicians, constitutes the Music Workshop A.D.E.L., playing drums and percussion courses. Pentaflowers (BEAT Records sub-label and publisher) asked him to make a solo percussion library music album in full artistic freedom that was pressed in limited edition for insiders; so was born "Alpha Percussion", a gem now finally accessible to all thanks to Mondo Groove label.

Dilated Pupils is a collective group of likeminded friends from the Netherlands each with their own influences and style, whom together have a distinct flavor in productionconsisting of analogue machines, tape noises, and raw one-take jam sessions. Each of them have their own solo productions as well as other collaborations, but when united as Dilated Pupils prefer to be known jointly as one entity with their own unique and distinguished sound.

Since 2014 the group has developed an interesting discography with releases on labels such as Fear of Flying, Sol Asylum, Mode of Expression, Tabla, Music is Art, Dorcas, Make Sense and Mayak.

Now, the group takes the next step and created their own playground ''DPBEATS''.

Be sharp and keep your ears open, because the beats are loaded!''