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New album from South London producer, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Wu-Lu.

Leader of the punk-rap awakening, Wu-Lu pulls inspiration from personal hardship and the underrepresented on his latest for Warp entitled 'LOGGERHEAD'. Miles Romans-Hopcraft based his artistic moniker on the Amharic word for water, “wu-ha”. True to his fluid sound and nature, he decided to change it to something that felt more liquid. He ended up with Wu-Lu, a name he has been using since 2015. His first record GINGA opened the floodgates to a career that would take him to various places, people, and genres. From breaking bones at skateparks as a teenager, to DJing as one of the original members of Touching Bass, and eventually getting signed to Warp in 2021.

As an artist, Wu-Lu seems concerned with feeling and communicating the full spectrum of human emotion. Throughout his varied discography, he touches on disparate themes and sounds, straddling a divide between blissed-out beats and grungy guitar dirges, and often mixing both into one amorphous, unclassifiable sound of his own.

On ‘'LOGGERHEAD'’, Wu-Lu hones his unique sound. On ‘Take Stage’, a despondent spoken word intro opens with sombre strings and underlying bows dragged delicately across them. Then the lights flicker to life on ‘Night Pill’, and the mosh pit with them - the bassline approaches like a hungry shark and the guitars snarl with a homemade 90s grunge energy. This grunge drawl and punk spirit is peppered with dry old-school drum sounds of classic hip-hop, with laid-back beat-oriented tracks are spread amongst those with intermittent growls, scratches, and shrieks. Sonic elements are constantly rearranged and juxtaposed throughout the album, like on ‘South’ where the fluctuating pitch of squealing guitars and screaming vocals is contrasted with the steady flow of Lex Amor.

Listening through the album you are constantly greeted with about-turns, and through the element of surprise and deft use of contrast 'LOGGERHEAD' sits at an exciting point in Wu-Lu’s genre-defying artistry.

Architect by day and musician by night, Jaime Tellado picks up as Skygaze, and returns to the fold of Flumo Recordings with his brand new 12”, the ‘Astral Trip’ EP; combining his knowledge of architecture with a love for sound to construct and merge acid house, broken beat and atmospheric melodicism.

The 'Astral Trip' EP follows releases on Guayaba records, Riverette and Thirty Three Circular. And remixes for Ed is Dead and Contours & Yadava, earning support/plaudits from the likes of Mr. Scruff, Simbad, k15, Andrew Jervis, Gilles Peterson, amongst others.

The common denominator throughout the release is the balance and combination of various elements, exploring a multifaceted contemporary dance sound whilst paying homage to the foundations of the sounds that we listen to today.

‘Minor Mood’ pays tribute to Chicago and Detroit with its high paced house rhythm, acid synths, and piano lines, whilst ‘City Cathedratics’ slows the tempo down to lay the groundwork for a dreamy synth-laden soundscape.

Whilst the majority of the project is a solo exploration in dance music and its multi-layered context and history, the contributions of vocalist Ruben Ondina lift the high-paced, synth house grooves of ‘Gimme Five’ to another level. Meanwhile, the broken beat influence of London is keenly felt on ‘Nigh Heat’ and ‘Wagwan’, their rhythms emphasised further by harmonic and melodic exploration via atmospheric synths, melodic improvisation and irresistible synth bass lines.

Skygaze reconstructs the rhythms and synths into his own fresh and unique package to paint a picture of spiritual wonder, richness and excitement.


DJ Support:

Severino / Horse Meat Disco
Ashley Beedle
Fouk
Just Her
John Digweed
Oliver Dollar


DJ Feedback:

Ashley Beedle - Fantastic EP and difficult to pick one track! 'Wagwan' will be ft. on my April 'Heavy Disco Spectacular' radio show on Worldwide FM.

Michel De Hey - Very nice release

Diynamic / Connaisseur - Very nice cosmic vibes!

Xinobi - serious knowledge of groove on this release.

Lex Ludlow - Super nice!!!

Joshua James - Groove on this...

Just Her - Gimme five is really nice

Fouk - Loving this!

Tom Simpson - some good stuff ....summer is coming.

Junior Simba - peng !

Willie Rosado - nice soulful sound

Less than a year after the well-received release of “Quicksand”, Stand High Records presents “Midnight Rock”. A new fundamentally Roots 7” single, the result of a second collaboration between Joe Yorke, Eeyun Purkins and Stand High Patrol.

This brand new single was mixed the old school way at the Kerwax studio. In a true traditional roots reggae manner, the A side offers Joe Yorke’s vocal version while Pupajim’s “Deejay Style” reply sits on the flip. These two tunes address social divisions in our modern society, which is in contrast with the unity felt and temporarily expressed within the dancehalls. Grooving all together to the rhythm, fuelled and constrained by our individual social condition, as soon as the music ends we remain alone.

On the two sides, the words “Midnight Rock” resonate on a riddim built for soundsystem sessions. “Midnight Rock”, an invitation for all skankers to enjoy the moment and make it last after the lights come on, a call to fight together against what divides us. “Midnight Rock”, time to join the dance. “Midnight Rock”, time to engage in combat.

There’s something mesmerising about the fingertips of Dana Gavanski. Conducting each note with a light gracefulness, they appear to dance whilst aiding their owner in expressing the stories behind each of her lighter-than-air tones. Stories which, on her new album When It Comes, may never have been heard if not for healing ‘lost’ vocal cords and a lesson in taking the rough with the smooth. “In many ways this record feels like it is my first,” Dana tells. “When I could use my voice, I had to focus so there is an urgency and greater emotional trajectory than before… it’s very connected to vocal presence, which extended into an existential questioning of my connection to music. It felt like a battle at times, which I frequently lost.” Arriving where introversion and extroversion meet, When It Comes is Dana’s most vulnerable record to date. A Canadian-Serbian artist unafraid of extremes, she seamlessly blends her love of music from the 50s-70s with mythology.

The first full-length album by Mickey Leigh's Mutated Music. Mickey will be the subject of an upcoming Netflix documentary based on his memoir about growing up as the brother of legendary Joey Ramone.

The Line Is A Curve is about letting go. The core of the record is that the pressures we face do not always have to be heavy burdens, but can be reframed; the more pressure a person is under, the greater the possibility for release.

The album plays like a chronicle of pressures - the mind-numbing pursuit of a comfortable life, the eternal striving for more, the pressures of the city, the country, the times. The pressures of maintaining relationships, of battling illness, addiction, poor mental health, the vacuous life of our online selves. As we move through these chronicles though, the mood brightens. The musicality becomes more expansive as the lyrical horizon broadens and we glimpse coastlines, high streets, scrap yards, train stations in the rain; the entire album begins to let go. We encounter the contributions of artists who I love and admire, guest vocalists and instrumentalists, and so we defeat the sense of isolation felt in the opening track with a sense of deeply connected community. More Pressure, the penultimate song, is the essence of the whole album and the epiphany that leads to Grace, which is a prayer, a surrendering; ‘Please move me, please move through me, please unscrew me, please loosen me up.’ But once we get to the end of Grace, and the album, we loop back to the start – to ‘Kiss off the day with a mute mouth. Pass the commute like I can die faster than you.’ Because no matter how much a person grapples with, realises, deeply understands, about life and their place in it, we still wake up in the morning back to square one. Life isn’t solved the minute you figure something out about it. It’s a daily operation to increase your resilience, cultivate a deeper acceptance, let go of what’s chasing you and lean in to the pressures. It’s cyclical, as I believe all things are. And instead of trying to fight the cycles, this album asks us to surrender to them. To let go.

These general themes, of acceptance, resilience, surrender are also about where I’m at in my personal life, in my journey towards a greater acceptance of myself as an artist and as a human being. Being more honest with the world and my community about who I am and letting go of some heavy heavy shame, which is a glorious thing.

This album has a beautiful heart, there is so much love running through it and I can’t wait for people to experience it.

You might know Bert Dockx from the inimitable alternative jazz-rock-trio Dans Dans; or from his moody, psychedelic rock formation Flying Horseman; or from his more intimate but equally special solo records. In 2019, the ever productive guitarist released an album with Ottla, a jazzy sextet blending different genres, textures and moods in wholly original ways, resulting in long, evocative pieces, brooding with tension and atmosphere. Recently, the band has transformed into a quartet, a tighter unit with a sparser and slightly more electric sound. This new Ottla is playing a mixture of reimagined tracks from the aforementioned album, and several brand new pieces. Ottla's music - like all music for which Dockx is responsible - is imaginative, intense and deeply felt.

In the spring of 2021, actor and writer Josse De Pauw contacted Bert with a question. He wanted to perform work of the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano on stage, texts about the madness of colonialism and slavery, and about the beauty and mystery of the jungle, and asked Dockx to come up with a live soundtrack. Dockx invited two friends from his jazz band Ottla (Thomas Jillings and Louis Evrard) and a fourth musician (bass player Axel Gilain). He composed new material, adapted some existing Ottla pieces and could count on the improvisational talent of his fellow musicians for the rest of the soundtrack. In a handful of rehearsals, an impressive concert was put together that captivated the audience during a short run in August. This live EP contains two pieces recorded on one of these blistering evenings. Side A opens with the authoritarian voice of De Pauw, who recites the Song of the Fire, before making way for a scorching, almost apocalyptic version of 'Stofwolk'. On side B we hear Thomas Jillings perform an impressionist clarinet improvisation while De Pauw conjures up images of the unlimited sea and the winds, ships and slaves, heaven and hell.

‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You’ is a sprawling album exploring the deepest elements and possibilities of Big Thief. To truly dig into all that the music of Adrianne Lenker, Max Oleartchik, Buck Meek and James Krivchenia desired in 2020, the band decided to write and record a rambling account of growth as individuals, musicians and chosen family over four distinct recording sessions.

 In Upstate New York, Topanga Canyon, The Rocky Mountains, and Tucson, Arizona, Big Thief spent five months in creation and came out with 45 completed songs. The most resonant of this material was edited down into the 20 tracks that make up ‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You’, a fluid and adventurous listen.

 The album was produced by drummer James Krivchenia, who initially pitched the recording concept for ‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You’ back in late 2019 with the goal of encapsulating the many different aspects of Adrianne’s songwriting and the band onto a single record.

 The attempt to capture something deeper, wider and full of mystery points to the inherent spirit of Big Thief. Traces of this open-hearted, non-dogmatic faith can be felt through previous albums but here on ‘Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You’ lives the strongest testament to its existence.

After 3 albums based purely on synthesizers, the danish duo take a leap by adding live drums & guitars to their latest album. A natural step, considering that Jakob Skott, one half of the duo, spends his time drumming in Causa Sui, as well as a slew of jazz-infused projects on El Paraiso. All basic tracks were recorded in an improv session at Jonas Munk's studio in Odense, capturing both synths and drums live. The expansion of drums adds a natural 70's groove, maintaining a spontaneous vibe that also soaks into the analogue synths of modular wizard Kristoffer Ovesen. The improvised sessions were later honed, edited & layered, bringing forth the best of both spontaneous ideas, as well a multi-dimensional approach bringing a new depth to Videodrones extensive cinematic undercurrent of sounds. With the addition of echo & reverb drenched guitars, the duo is tapping into sounds in new realms yet strangely familiar. After The Fall may conceptually nod it's head towards a gloomy state of affairs, but akin to the italian post-apocalyptic movies of the 80's, doomsday never felt this heady and funky before.

Twice JUNO-nominated and two-time Polaris Prize listed, Toronto's soul songstress Tanika Charles unveils her album "Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly".

"Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly" is the third studio album from Canadian Soul/R&B powerhouse Tanika Charles and is slated to be released worldwide on Milan-based Record Kicks label on April 08th. Composed and recorded while in and out of lockdowns, "Papillon de Nuit" is an album anchored in growth and maturity. The thematic inspiration came from an unlikely source, a creature that soars after the sun sets, but often goes unnoticed until the light shines on it. It is the "papillon de nuit" to some, but drably referred to as a moth by others, revealing a bias in language alone.

"I always thought it was a strange insect. Once while in Paris, a friend swatted at one and I asked: 'Was that a moth?'. I was told: 'No, that's a papillon de nuit.' I thought that was the most beautiful description for this otherwise overlooked creature. When I later learned of the symbolism associated with it, I felt that really spoke to both my own situation and also what we've all been going through." Production on "Papillon de Nuit" was helmed by a mixture of old and new collaborators. The Safe Spaceship Records production team, consisting of Scott McCannell (Lydia Persaud, Claire Davis), Ben MacDonald and Chino de Villa (re.verse, Jessie Reyez), produced four songs on the album. The group also assisted as session musicians for songs produced by newcomer Todd "HiFiLo" Pentney (Allison Au Quartet, JUNO Award winner). "The Gumption" contributor Kevin Henkel ("Tell Me Something", "Look At Us Now") returned with three compositions, and old friend Jesse Bear (Sean Kingston, Stan Walker) contributed to one song.

Following the success of "Soul Run" (2016/17) and "The Gumption" (2019), Tanika had found a comfortable pace of releasing albums then hitting the road the following year to bring her show to new markets far and wide. So when things changed for all of us, and plans of touring "The Gumption" properly fell through, there was a realization that getting to work on the next project was the healthiest choice to make.

"I was in some dark places. My energy was stagnant and the only reliable constant was this perpetual uncertainty. I had gone from feeling like I was everywhere to only being in one place. From seeing so many new faces, to only my own, in the mirror, everyday and having to face that. Getting back to work on music allowed me to explore these feelings through the format I know best. And I wanted to make sure that when things were ready to resume, I'd be ready with something new for my audience too."

Tanika, who took part in the writing of most of the album, was also assisted by regular co-writer Robert Bolton ("Soul Run", "Remember to Remember") and accomplished solo performer Tafari Anthony (Priyanka, of RuPaul's Drag Race). Featured guests include the multi-disciplinary artist Khari McClelland and rising Toronto rapper, DijahSB. Both Dakarai Morris-James (Joanna Majoko, BeBe Zahara Benet) and Sean "D/SHON" Henderson ("Love Overdue", Serena Ryder) assisted with vocal arrangements across multiple songs.


"I think this album represents my best work to date. And yet, it also represents me coming to terms with who I am as an artist. For the first time I think I've actually accepted my own voice. I can hear beyond the imperfections, and I realized that when paired with the right music, it can sound pretty good. I still have my doubts and my dark places, but a little less of them."

The music of Isaac de Martin, aka IKE, blends jazz and electronic influences into warm, smooth, and often cinematic soundscapes. A certain eclecticism is not surprising considering that the Berlin-based composer, producer and guitarist was born in Italy into a musical family with British roots, studied classical guitar, graduated in jazz and went on to develop his personal style through creative experimentation, live touring and collaborative work with artists from a variety of disciplines and countries.

The Great Escape, his second album under the moniker IKE, is a collection of songs and instrumental pieces that have a common theme: the escape from – or possible antidotes to – our present techno-scientific society. It is an invitation to take courage, look into ourselves, and go back to our inner child, seen as the guardian of a world of freedom, imagination, spontaneity and natural rhythms.

The concept for the album first came to IKE in mid-2019, when he started collaborating with American singer-songwriter and actress Sera Kalo. Not only did Sera's soulful melodies, powerful vocals and heart-felt lyrics beautifully complement IKE's elegant nu jazz compositions, but the songs they penned together unlocked a specific creative vision. IKE went on to explore and capture it over the next year or so, getting on board great musicians from the US, UK, Scandinavia and, of course, Italy.

Recorded in various locations by IKE himself, the album was mixed by Nene Baratto at Big Snuff Studio, Berlin, and mastered by Fabrizio De Carolis at Reference Mastering Studio, Rome. The stunning artwork is by Italian graphic designer Franz Longhi, who, in line with the album's concept, created an analog feel by hand painting on Xeroxed photographs.

2023 Repress

"banging piece of sound art" - The Observer

"...a fascinating piece of Brutalist techno that pivots between crisp machine-like minimalism and granulated noise." - Clash

"A piece of immediately engaging techno it reveals more of itself with each listen." - CMU Daily

Nik Colk Void is well established with her work as one half of Factory Floor, one third of Carter Tutti Void (alongside Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti) and with the late Peter Rehberg as NPVR, but perhaps surprisingly, "Bucked up Space" is her first solo album release.

Void explains, "When Peter Rehberg initially asked me to produce a record for Editions Mego, I didn't feel quite ready and asked if we could make a record together instead. Collaboration is so ingrained into what I do, I only felt ready to make this album after working through ideas live, using the audience in place of the collaborator."

Bucked Up Space combines Void's love of improvisation with the driving force of beat-driven music absorbed from performing in galleries, residencies and clubs across the UK and Europe. She goes on to say, "You find out more about yourself when you explain your ideas to others, and that's how I felt the live performance worked for me."

The process steadily teased out a language and Void employed a variety of tactics in the recording process including a methodical approach of collecting data at her home studio in a manner not dissimilar to keeping a diary. Her microscopic focus on raw instrumental noise, layered and reformulated, resulted in a sound catalogue that Void divided into groups for their tone, density and texture.

These initial pieces were taken to a studio in Margate to put them into a more cohesive compositional context. Something that pragmatically started as cold and detached was given warmth, unity and emotion in the studio. Via improvised repetition co-existing alongside organised production, Void conjures new sonic muscle with tracks such as 'Interruption Is Good' and 'FlatTime'. Initial recordings are rendered into sequences initiating the organic rhythms, triggering awkward jerks of high hats and percussion, or used to activate the margins of post effects detectable in the tracks like 'Demna', 'Big Breather' and 'Oversized'.

Void explains: "It was important to me that the simplicity in the work disguised a lot of complexity, I want this work to be absorbed instinctively."

The sleeve image, a still from We Are City by Brazilian artist Maria de Lima, was chosen to illustrate Bucked Up Space, which Void describes as "a distorted reality, the space that lives at start of an idea, then floats in public view, before returning to inform my understanding of the idea. Once the idea is out in the world, it moves and morphs into something else entirely."

Written, performed and produced by Nik Colk Void, the album was engineered by James Greenwood, mastered by Rashad Becker and tracks 1, 4, 5, 7 and 9 were mixed by Marta Salogni.

Bucked up Space is the result of the ideas and resulting sounds of free exploration morphing into a personal structured album that fearlessly moulds patience, listening and restraint. It's a sharp focussed work embracing collective action through the lens of the self. All this, and also one of the best abstract dance records you will hear in some time!

Loraine James' new ambient-minded alias, Whatever The Weather, follows her 2021 solo LP Reflection (Hyperdub). In contrast to her club music sensibilities, this mode embraces keyboard improvisations and vocal experimentation, foregoing percussive structure in favor of shaping atmosphere and tone. From this divergent headspace emerged new coordinates and climates, a new outlet: Whatever The Weather. A longtime fan of ambient-adjacent Ghostly International artists such as Telefon Tel Aviv (who she'd ask to master the album), HTRK (whose singer Jonnine Standish features on Nothing), and Lusine (whom she remixed at the start of 2021), James saw the label as the ideal home for this eponymous album of airy, transportive tracks as they began to formulate. The titling on Whatever The Weather works in degrees; simple parameters allowing James to focus on the nuances as a mood-builder. Her suspended universe fluctuates; freezing, thawing, swaying and blooming from track to track. James describes her jam-based approach for the sessions as "free-flowing, stopping when I felt like I was done," allowing her subconscious to lead. The improvisations have an intrinsic fluidity to them, akin to sudden weather events passing over a single environment - the location feels fixed while the conditions vary. The album opens at "25°C," a sunshower of soft hums and keys. As the longest piece, it serves to establish stability, the inflection point where any move above or below this temperate breeze breaks the bliss. Given James' proclivity for organized chaos in her production, this scene is fleeting, naturally. From that utopia, we plummet to the most melancholic read on the meter, "0°C," its isolated synth line traversing a hailstorm of steely beats and static. Next, the dial jumps for the propulsive standout "17°C." Like a timelapse of springtime in the city, the single accelerates across a frenzy of frames; car horns, screeching brakes, and crosswalk chatter fill the pauses between rapid jolts of multi-shaped percussion. For portions of the work, James leans neo-classical, rendering pensive vignettes of cascading piano keys and warm delay. "2°C (Intermittent Rain)" ends the A-Side on a short and stormy loop; a resulting sense of reset permeates the B-Side's opener, "10°C." The producer mingles intuitively on echoed organ, locking into and abandoning atypical rhythms that suggest her jazz-oriented interests. "4°C" and "30°C" display the range of James' vocal experiments. The former chops and pitches her voice to a rhythmic, otherworldly effect, the latter reveals James at her most straightforward (she cites Deftones' Chino Moreno and American Football's Mike Kinsella as inspirations), singing tenderly and unobstructed for nearly the duration before beats collide in the climax. Whatever The Weather closes at "36°C," while a sweltering heat by any standards the track eases along comfortably on a chorus of synth waves, acting as an apt bookend for this evocative, sky-tracing collection that started in a similar state. Cyclical, seasonal, and unpredictable, true to its namesake.

Kadi Yombo, published in 1989, is the most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity in Bwiti harp music of the Tsogho people of Gabon. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Papé Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it’s Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music.

Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué. In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight can be punished by exclusion or even execution.

Papé Nziengui has always claimed that he faces such risks because he never felt enslaved to a community that governs his life, that regulates his conduct, that has a right of censorship over his activities. Like Ravi Shankar, the famous sitarist, Papé Nziengui is a man of rupture but also of openness, a transmitter of culture. As proof, he has established himself in Libreville, Gabo’s capital, as the main harpist for sessions and concerts, accompanying the greatest national artists (Akendengué, Rompavè, Annie-Flore Batchiellilys, Les Champs sur la Lowé, etc.) as well as foreign artists (Papa Wemba, Manu Dibango, Kassav', Toups Bebey, etc.). In 1988, he was the first harpist to release an album in the form of a cassette produced by the French Cultural Center (Papé Nziengui, Chants et Musiques Tsogho). At the same time, he created his own group (Bovenga), combining traditional music instruments (musical bow, drums, various percussion instruments, etc.) in the framework of a true national orchestra, which gave the first concert and the first tours of a traditional music that was both modern and dynamic, thus "democratizing" the harp, to the dismay of certain purists.

On the other hand, in modern music, dominated by the logic of profit or even commercialism, artistic creation must often be adjusted for a specific audience based on reason rather than heart. But instead of allowing himself to be distorted, Papé Nziengui has always tried to produce music that is not a caricature, worthy in its expression as in its content, of the sacredness and transcendence of the music of the Origins. This is what makes Nziengui not only the musician, but the man someone whose age hasn’t altered any of his freshness or authenticity

Kadi Yombo, published in 1989, is the most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity in Bwiti harp music of the Tsogho people of Gabon. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Papé Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it’s Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music.

Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué. In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight can be punished by exclusion or even execution.

Papé Nziengui has always claimed that he faces such risks because he never felt enslaved to a community that governs his life, that regulates his conduct, that has a right of censorship over his activities. Like Ravi Shankar, the famous sitarist, Papé Nziengui is a man of rupture but also of openness, a transmitter of culture. As proof, he has established himself in Libreville, Gabo’s capital, as the main harpist for sessions and concerts, accompanying the greatest national artists (Akendengué, Rompavè, Annie-Flore Batchiellilys, Les Champs sur la Lowé, etc.) as well as foreign artists (Papa Wemba, Manu Dibango, Kassav', Toups Bebey, etc.). In 1988, he was the first harpist to release an album in the form of a cassette produced by the French Cultural Center (Papé Nziengui, Chants et Musiques Tsogho). At the same time, he created his own group (Bovenga), combining traditional music instruments (musical bow, drums, various percussion instruments, etc.) in the framework of a true national orchestra, which gave the first concert and the first tours of a traditional music that was both modern and dynamic, thus "democratizing" the harp, to the dismay of certain purists.

On the other hand, in modern music, dominated by the logic of profit or even commercialism, artistic creation must often be adjusted for a specific audience based on reason rather than heart. But instead of allowing himself to be distorted, Papé Nziengui has always tried to produce music that is not a caricature, worthy in its expression as in its content, of the sacredness and transcendence of the music of the Origins. This is what makes Nziengui not only the musician, but the man someone whose age hasn’t altered any of his freshness or authenticity

"Satriani and his touring band, who all recorded remotely in separate areas of the world during lockdown, deliver an album-length journey that never dulls. The Elephants of Mars crackles with an exciting new energy, briskly traveling through stylistic roads that feel freshly updated, viewed through new eyes.
From the gripping, sci-fi madness of “Through A Mother’s Day Darkly,” to the isolation felt in a decaying urban landscape, as depicted in “Sahara,” to the general endorphin levels that peak as the elephants finally roar in the title track, The Elephants of Mars will stampede across your mind, leaving a sonic imprint that doesn’t fade.
Thanks to the pandemic removing all time constraints, The Elephants of Mars truly represents the album that Satriani himself hoped he could deliver with his band. “We did everything. We tried the craziest ideas. And we entertained every notion we had about turning something backwards, upside down, seeing what could happen.”"

"Satriani and his touring band, who all recorded remotely in separate areas of the world during lockdown, deliver an album-length journey that never dulls. The Elephants of Mars crackles with an exciting new energy, briskly traveling through stylistic roads that feel freshly updated, viewed through new eyes.
From the gripping, sci-fi madness of “Through A Mother’s Day Darkly,” to the isolation felt in a decaying urban landscape, as depicted in “Sahara,” to the general endorphin levels that peak as the elephants finally roar in the title track, The Elephants of Mars will stampede across your mind, leaving a sonic imprint that doesn’t fade.
Thanks to the pandemic removing all time constraints, The Elephants of Mars truly represents the album that Satriani himself hoped he could deliver with his band. “We did everything. We tried the craziest ideas. And we entertained every notion we had about turning something backwards, upside down, seeing what could happen.”"

Loraine James' new ambient-minded alias, Whatever The Weather, follows her 2021 solo LP Reflection (Hyperdub). In contrast to her club music sensibilities, this mode embraces keyboard improvisations and vocal experimentation, foregoing percussive structure in favor of shaping atmosphere and tone. From this divergent headspace emerged new coordinates and climates, a new outlet: Whatever The Weather. A longtime fan of ambient-adjacent Ghostly International artists such as Telefon Tel Aviv (who she'd ask to master the album), HTRK (whose singer Jonnine Standish features on Nothing), and Lusine (whom she remixed at the start of 2021), James saw the label as the ideal home for this eponymous album of airy, transportive tracks as they began to formulate. The titling on Whatever The Weather works in degrees; simple parameters allowing James to focus on the nuances as a mood-builder. Her suspended universe fluctuates; freezing, thawing, swaying and blooming from track to track. James describes her jam-based approach for the sessions as "free-flowing, stopping when I felt like I was done," allowing her subconscious to lead. The improvisations have an intrinsic fluidity to them, akin to sudden weather events passing over a single environment - the location feels fixed while the conditions vary. The album opens at "25°C," a sunshower of soft hums and keys. As the longest piece, it serves to establish stability, the inflection point where any move above or below this temperate breeze breaks the bliss. Given James' proclivity for organized chaos in her production, this scene is fleeting, naturally. From that utopia, we plummet to the most melancholic read on the meter, "0°C," its isolated synth line traversing a hailstorm of steely beats and static. Next, the dial jumps for the propulsive standout "17°C." Like a timelapse of springtime in the city, the single accelerates across a frenzy of frames; car horns, screeching brakes, and crosswalk chatter fill the pauses between rapid jolts of multi-shaped percussion. For portions of the work, James leans neo-classical, rendering pensive vignettes of cascading piano keys and warm delay. "2°C (Intermittent Rain)" ends the A-Side on a short and stormy loop; a resulting sense of reset permeates the B-Side's opener, "10°C." The producer mingles intuitively on echoed organ, locking into and abandoning atypical rhythms that suggest her jazz-oriented interests. "4°C" and "30°C" display the range of James' vocal experiments. The former chops and pitches her voice to a rhythmic, otherworldly effect, the latter reveals James at her most straightforward (she cites Deftones' Chino Moreno and American Football's Mike Kinsella as inspirations), singing tenderly and unobstructed for nearly the duration before beats collide in the climax. Whatever The Weather closes at "36°C," while a sweltering heat by any standards the track eases along comfortably on a chorus of synth waves, acting as an apt bookend for this evocative, sky-tracing collection that started in a similar state. Cyclical, seasonal, and unpredictable, true to its namesake.

In literature an unreliable narrator is a narrator that can't be fully trusted, a
character whose credibility for some reason or another has been
compromised
When I chose to use the expression as the title for my new album, I did so
because I felt it resonated with me on a number of different levels.First of all, it
serves as an accurate way of describing my own lyrical universe, which has
always been a mash- up of real- life events and fiction. No one can tell for sure
what is real and what is made up. At times, even I find there can be a fluid
transition between the two poetic worlds. When I look back on my work, it is often
hard to tell where reality and fiction overlap.
Another factor that undoubtably and unavoidably bled into my writing this time,
was that I finished most of the new lyrics in the weeks and days leading up to the
2020 US Presidential election.
More than any time before, we witnessed a toxic political campaign that
consciously sought to mislead people. And any attempt at raising critical
questions and points of view were brutally brushed off and dismissed as fake
news. Several political narratives played out at the same time, all claiming they
exclusively owned THE TRUTH. A game of smoke and mirrors that for a lot of
people made it hard to decide who to believe. Who was the truthful and who was
the unreliable narrator of the political game?

Kadi Yombo, published in 1989, is the most successful album in the quest for a fusion between tradition and modernity in Bwiti harp music of the Tsogho people of Gabon. Combining beating rattles with a layer of synthesizers, Papé Nziengui blends in a contrapuntal dialogue characteristic of harp playing: male song in appeal and female choir in response, male voice of the musical arc and rhythms of female worship. But above all it’s Tsogho ritual music and modern studio orchestration. The result is an initiatory itinerary of 10 musical pieces which are all milestones likely to be simultaneously listened to, danced, meditated on, and soon acclaimed. In the years since, Nziengui has traveled he world from Lagos to Paris, from Tokyo to Cordoba, from Brussels to Mexico City to become a true icon, the emblem of Gabonese music.

Like Bob Dylan, "electrifying" folk and Bob Marley mixing rock with reggae, some purists have criticized Nziengui for having distorted the music of harp by imposing a cross with modern instruments. They even went so far as to claim that Nziengui was just an average harpist covering his shortcomings with stunts that were only good for impressing neophytes; like playing a harp placed upside down behind his back or playing two or three harps simultaneously. Sincere convictions or venomous defamations, in any case, Nziengui never gave in to such attacks, imposing himself on the contrary to pay homage to the elders (Yves Mouenga, Jean Honoré Miabé, Vickoss Ekondo) while instructing the maximum of young people. He is thus the promoter of many young talents, the most prominent of which is certainly his nephew Jean Pierre Mingongué. In a conservative society where the sacred is confused with secrecy, exposing the mysteries of Bwiti in broad daylight can be punished by exclusion or even execution.

Papé Nziengui has always claimed that he faces such risks because he never felt enslaved to a community that governs his life, that regulates his conduct, that has a right of censorship over his activities. Like Ravi Shankar, the famous sitarist, Papé Nziengui is a man of rupture but also of openness, a transmitter of culture. As proof, he has established himself in Libreville, Gabo’s capital, as the main harpist for sessions and concerts, accompanying the greatest national artists (Akendengué, Rompavè, Annie-Flore Batchiellilys, Les Champs sur la Lowé, etc.) as well as foreign artists (Papa Wemba, Manu Dibango, Kassav', Toups Bebey, etc.). In 1988, he was the first harpist to release an album in the form of a cassette produced by the French Cultural Center (Papé Nziengui, Chants et Musiques Tsogho). At the same time, he created his own group (Bovenga), combining traditional music instruments (musical bow, drums, various percussion instruments, etc.) in the framework of a true national orchestra, which gave the first concert and the first tours of a traditional music that was both modern and dynamic, thus "democratizing" the harp, to the dismay of certain purists.

On the other hand, in modern music, dominated by the logic of profit or even commercialism, artistic creation must often be adjusted for a specific audience based on reason rather than heart. But instead of allowing himself to be distorted, Papé Nziengui has always tried to produce music that is not a caricature, worthy in its expression as in its content, of the sacredness and transcendence of the music of the Origins. This is what makes Nziengui not only the musician, but the man someone whose age hasn’t altered any of his freshness or authenticity

Haze - released via Ki Records - is Greek producer and composer, Hior Chronik's latest creation. Aligning with his previous critically acclaimed album, Descent, Haze creates an electro-ambient world which accentuates modern classical minimalism. It is an album which deeply embodies tranquility, fulfilment and meaningful connection, aspirations born out of Hior Chronik's past in Athens, and realised by his relocation near to a forest in Berlin, where he can truly feel at-home, surrounded by the awe-inspiring beauty of nature. Through 15 tracks, Hior Chronik guides his listeners in an immersive journey which features magical soundscapes built using DX7 and Roland synthesizers, beats from the Lofi drum machine and Volca samples. Inspired by the best of his previous work in moody electro soundscapes, alongside his own history as a listener and lover of early 90's electronic music, artists like, Lali Puna, Solvent and Remote Viewer, this album demonstrates a new dimension to Hior Chronik's artistry which exudes light optimism.

The Fall returned to Rough Trade in 1983 to release a pair of singles ("The Man Whose Head Expanded" and "Kicker Conspiracy") and Perverted By Language, their sixth proper studio album. Perverted By Language hints at the band's shift towards a distinctly pop approach, one that they would perfect via their Beggars Banquet output that immediately followed. Yet again, the force and panic of their initial Rough Trade recordings remains the foundation for much of the album. A transitional recording in the absolute best sense, Perverted By Language is The Fall both as they were and as they would become.

The emergence of Brix Smith is often cited as the impetus for The Fall's move toward outward pop, and she first makes her first appearance with the band on Perverted By Language. Nowhere is her presence felt more than on "Hotel Blöedel," where she handles lead vocal duties alongside Mark E. Smith whose mangled violin accompaniment roots the song's cold romanticism in his unmistakable brand of strange. "Garden" provides a new take on The Fall's stretched-out tendencies – using ringing, clean guitars to build a nearly 10-minute epic more subtly than ever before. The opener, "Eat Y'self Fitter," is wholly classic Fall: a playfully circular bass line drives the album's strongest vocal spout, complete with emphatic breaks where Mark E. Smith issues the song's spiteful decree with equal parts glee and scorn.

Very limited new repress coming, note new price. An air of the unsettled is a staple of Robert Lloyd’s career, from The Prefects’s dank dexterity and jittery paranoia of the first Nightingales’ release, Idiot Strength, onward through four decades of top-notch recordings. If the unique persona of Lloyd and crew always came across on their ten albums and countless line-ups, it was largely as an acquired taste of the musical cognoscenti. Labels good and bad seemed to feel, at one point or another, a public duty and a point of pride to release a Nightingales album before returning to the business of business. Four Against Fate is remarkable. It’s the work of what’s now the band’s longest-serving line-up. The instrumental precision of any version of Nightingales has been one of the band’s defining hallmarks, but the psychic interplay of a group can take a few albums to kick in with full majesty - here’s proof of that. The rhythm section of Fliss and Andi functions now on a purely intuitive level. Jim’s work now ranks with that of any guitarist in modern ‘rock’ music, not just in originality, but also across an egalitarian mass of inspiration. Each member sings. Although Robert’s voice functions as the band’s superego, Fliss takes lead in several songs. Few bands today sound as much like a single unit as do Nightingales, but this group has the bonus of a distinct and credible musical language, exemplified by The Desperate Quartet, which comes across as both a medieval war march and the anthem of looming apocalypse. When at the song’s halfway point, American classical musician Clara Kebabian’s violin and Mark Bedford’s (of Madness) double bass overtake the Robert, Fliss, Jim and Andi, it’s a jawdropper of such intense perversity that it alone defies the listener to not play the album again from the start. Not that this album lacks ‘hits’ - The Top Shelf, Everything Everywhere All Of The Time, Devil’s Due and The Other Side are stunners. Robert claims Four Against Fate is the first of his album on which he skips no tracks on playback! Finally, the world has awakened to one of British music’s last treasures. After forty years of new labels, this is the first time Nightingales have released an album on the same label as their last full-length.

Dutch producer returns to Boogie Angst for instrumental sophomore LP

Rotterdam, The Netherlands - Boogie Angst proudly presents Music Ruined My Life, the brand new instrumental LP from Rotterdam-based artist and producer Moods.

Dropping in the wake of front runner singles 'Talk About It,' and 'Music Saved My Life',' the Dutchman's notorious fusion of soul, R&B, and alternative influences takes a whole new dynamic courtesy of his first fully live recorded offering.

Recorded live in the city of Leiden during the peak of the pandemic alongside a full band, the LP taps effortlessly into the balance of soulful and jazz-inspired undertones that have hallmarked the project since breakthrough single 'Love Is Real.' A tastemaker favorite and label staple, the LP shows a more intricate and uncaged spin on the Moods sound, which has been consistently hailed by tastemakers globally and sampled by the likes of Logic.

The supple guitar plucks and resonating brass of 'Deeper Water' sets the LP in motion, building towards the funkier and perkier swells of album cuts such as 'Ecstacy' and 'Push Pull.' Capped by 'Return To 4ever,' a sultry and deeply atmospheric fusion of jazz and contemporary soul sounds, the eight-track endeavour shows that for all his streaming and collaborative success, the rich musicianship of the Moods project has not waivered.

"There really wasn't a huge concept or target for this record, it was more about tapping into the pure joy of making and creating music," he explains. "The pandemic was such a weird time, there was a lot of uncertainty in all aspects of life. So it almost felt like the perfect time to try something new. Having the band together in one room was a real rush, I liked how the record came together and how each artist brought their own energy to the project.

"I enjoy working with vocals, and I think the vocalists I have worked with on projects so far have been amazing. But when you take that element out and focus more on the instrumentation and arrangement, it's a really different experience, and that's something I really enjoyed for Music Ruined My Life.

Moods garnered more than 30m+ streams globally for debut LP Zoom Out, and has continued to leap from strength-to-strength courtesy of his soulful take on the boundaries between electronic and contemporary R&B.

Phantasy are proud to present the vinyl re-issue of Mystery Jets’ seminal 2008 album ’Twenty One’. Produced by Erol Alkan, the beloved LP includes hit singles ‘Young Love’ and ’Two Doors Down'.

The LP is available to pre-order now on deluxe coloured vinyl. The deluxe edition features a bonus disc of previously unreleased demos and rare B-sides.

“Of all the messages we’ve received from our fans over the intervening years, the single question that has come up more than any other, is ‘When will Twenty One will be released on vinyl again?’. Much to our frustration, our response has never been anything more than a helpless, resounding shrug. That is, until now.

The year being 2021, and all the band being firm believers in the powers of numerology, we felt there would be no better time of telling you that for the first time since its release, Twenty One will finally be available to own on vinyl again. As well as reissuing the original album, we have also dug through the archives and compiled a special selection of never-heard-before outtakes, demos and rarities from that era to accompany the deluxe version of the album.

We are delighted to be reissuing the record via Phantasy, the label founded by Erol Alkan, who produced Twenty One and mentored us to make an album we’re still immensely proud of. This is the record you have been asking for, and the one we always wanted you to hear.

Phantasy are proud to present the vinyl re-issue of Mystery Jets’ seminal 2008 album ’Twenty One’. Produced by Erol Alkan, the beloved LP includes hit singles ‘Young Love’ and ’Two Doors Down'.

The LP reissue is available to pre-order now!

“Of all the messages we’ve received from our fans over the intervening years, the single question that has come up more than any other, is ‘When will Twenty One will be released on vinyl again?’. Much to our frustration, our response has never been anything more than a helpless, resounding shrug. That is, until now.

The year being 2021, and all the band being firm believers in the powers of numerology, we felt there would be no better time of telling you that for the first time since its release, Twenty One will finally be available to own on vinyl again. As well as reissuing the original album, we have also dug through the archives and compiled a special selection of never-heard-before outtakes, demos and rarities from that era to accompany the deluxe version of the album.

We are delighted to be reissuing the record via Phantasy, the label founded by Erol Alkan, who produced Twenty One and mentored us to make an album we’re still immensely proud of. This is the record you have been asking for, and the one we always wanted you to hear.

Some sonic communities grow even in isolation, in the lonely obsessive moments in the studio as time melts away. Deep inside the Detroit Underground nests a Berlin underground, chasing those resonant shared sounds. DU Berlin draws together some of that love felt through music in the German capital. It’s not the wild city of reunification or *Berlin Calling* or tourist-style movies or the easyJet set. This is the side of the city that endlessly romances machines for the sheer joy of it, as The Allegorist titles her track, “until dawn.” And with some big names and emerging, ranging from mainstays to veteran agitators, the Berlin DU crew have telegraphed each other through productions and mutual inspiration. The results vibrate and rumble with sympathetic frequencies, but never limited to grayscale or dithered palettes.

DESIGN: Neubau Berlin.

A masterful mix of timeless American soul with vintage 1970s African samples in a most rewarding way – musical traveler Eamon teams with production duo Likeminds for No Matter The Season, his second album for Now-Again. “I’ve been singing since I was a tike, promoters used to call me ‘the boy wonder’, but with this record it felt new, almost like I was singing every note as if my life depended on it,” says Eamon from his home in Southern California, a far cry from his native Staten Island, New York City. But you wouldn’t know his birthplace from the way he sings, especially on No Matter The Season, where Eamon put a new spin on vintage samples from the Now-Again catalog, crafting beats from various African rhythms such as Amanaz’s Zamrock, the Hygrades Nigerian funk, and Ayalew Mesfin’s Ethiopian tezetas. Shortly after the release of his last Now-Again project, Captive Thoughts, he began working with the production duo on two original compositions that appear on No Matter The Season. But as time went on, he came upon the idea of completing the album by sending the duo samples from the Now-Again catalog to work with. Which were expanded upon with a multitude of live instruments. “There was something special about combing through the African records at Now-Again,” Eamon reflects. “I had never heard the variety of funk and soul that existed in places like Lagos and Addis Ababa, it was like a history lesson in Rhythm & Blues. I was hearing the godfathers of the movement here in the US. I wanted to pay my respect to that lineage. Since singing in my father’s doo-wop group as a kid, I’ve always used music from the past to create and express something new in the present. But to be able to do that across continents and get back to the roots…that was really impactful for me.” Likeminds, helmed by Chris Soper and Jesse Singer, two East Coast transplants to LA who are as comfortable chopping up samples on an MPC as they are playing classic instruments, using vintage microphones, or recording to tape, offer up what could be described as a West Coast spin on the revivalist soul sound championed by Daptone Records. “For sure, the album is soaked in an old school feel, but to still tap into the depths of my soul today is always the end goal,” Eamon states. All but two tracks are based on Now-Again samples, using the classic rhythms as accompaniment to showcase Eamon’s emotional singing style that is still as honest and raw as when he was a 16, singing about heartbreak. The end result, No Matter the Season, is a celebration of the musical relationship between Africa and America and the thrilling soul music that relationship has spawned since the 60s and 70s. “My hope is people know that I’m not leaving anything on the table in this chapter of my career,” Eamon reflects. “Only thing I can do is pour my heart out on every single line. Even though I’m writing and screaming to the heavens about my joy, my pain, my love…these are songs for everyone, everywhere, anytime. You’re gonna walk away feeling something. This is why I titled the album No Matter The Season.”

Last October, when Bernard Allison returned to his old haunt of Bessie Blue Studios, Tennessee, to be greeted by fabled producer and career- long collaborator Jim Gaines, it felt like coming home. And when Allison fired up the amps, counted in the band and embarked upon his latest studio album, Highs And Lows, everything felt right with the world. “Just to be able to create music again after the pandemic,” he says of that long-awaited rebirth, “was incredible.”
For 56 years, music has been Bernard Allison’s essence. As the youngest son of the much- missed Chicago bandleader Luther Allison, he was a bluesman from birth. One week after graduating high school, Bernard cut his teeth on the road with Koko Taylor’s Blues Machine lineup – and ended up staying for most of the ’80s. By the close of the decade, however, he assumed a twin identity, leading and
writing for his father’s band, while forging a solo career that exploded in Europe off the back of early albums like The Next Generation (1990), No Mercy (1994) and Funkifino (1995).Now, released in February 2022 on Ruf Records, Highs And Lows sees Bernard acknowledge his lineage through two classic songs by his
father – Gave It All and Now You Got It – while offering nine originals. Try the irresistible groove of Hustler: a funk gem written by Bernard with Andrew Thomas, whose horn-and-harp groove evokes the strut of the title character. Or the masterful Last Night, which shifts tempo from an upbeat chop to a weeping slow- blues, capturing the changing moods of a man chasing his runaround woman. As for the title track, Bernard says it speaks for anyone left bemused by life’s rollercoaster: “It’s a part of life, the ups and downs that everyone deals with.”Right now, with a new album of stellar material to take out on his New Year tour, Bernard Allison is back in the ascendency – and the man can’t wait to return to his natural habitat. “The song So Excited is basically about the excitement of being able to be back on the road again,” he says. “I think everyone can relate to that.”

Stelios Vassiloudis enters an inspiring new phase as he unveils his sophomore LP All Else Fails available March 25th via Balance Music.

Hailing from Athens, Greece, Stelios Vassiloudis poses a triple threat as a composer, producer and DJ. Having been active in the electronic music scene since the early 2000s he has cultivated his own brand of distinctive ambience reflective of his rich and diverse musical background; transcending the dance floor via an emotional narrative of complex soundscapes, intricate harmonies and hypnotic rhythms. Over the past decade Stelios has released music under various other monikers, yet this new endeavour is his most diligent to date - allowing him to rediscover his love for making music during the process, "I'm more hopeful, inspired and determined than ever before."

Ten years on from the release of his debut LP, Stelios' detail-oriented offerings remain incomprehensibly thought-provoking and thorough with this new album. Noticeably dissimilar to any previous efforts, Stelios consciously took a step back from the pressure of maintaining a steadily flowing supply of functional, club-oriented music and as the world stood still amidst the pandemic, he embraced the opportunity to reconnect and express himself with a broader musical vocabulary. He admits that: "with the world around us seemingly on the fast track to Armageddon, the music ended up being very much reflective of the sadness and helplessness I felt."

All Else Fails is a stimulating odyssey to anyone listening. Harmonically dense, arcadian glistens seep throughout the ten tracks, each complementary to the next. Bask in the wistful iridescence and you won't be disappointed.

Stelios carved his way into electronic music by traversing around the globe as a DJ and performer - performing at intimate underground bars in Beirut, festivals in Miami, after-hours in Tokyo, beaches in Goa and mega clubs in Argentina. Having developed a formidable discography on esteemed labels such as Bedrock, Poker Flat, Ovum, Constant Sound and Darkroom Dubs, among others, Stelios' studio prowess and coveted productions cemented his reputation as a versatile and acclaimed artist. His intense passion and drive for innovation in music serves as the fuel to keep him inspired and relevant, qualities that no doubt ensure his reputation as an artist of the highest calibre, will endure.

21-year-old Mikayla Simpson, the artist widely known as Koffee releases her debut album Gifted, a milestone in a brief yet already illustrious career, and with it comes a determination to speak to the times. Koffee is on a mission to bring light and brevity to the stories of now; songs like “Lockdown” expertly articulate the hope many of us have felt during months of isolation (“Where will we go / When di quarantine ting done and everybody touch road,” she sings). The upbeat, punchy rhythms of “Where I’m From” and classic reggae tones of “X10” are her way of scoring the scenes of life. As producer of half of the album’s ten tracks, Koffee crafted the album from bursts of inspiration in hotel rooms whilst on tour and freestyle sessions with her band. It includes collaborations with global renowned producers like JAE5 and Frank Dukes alongside homegrown Jamaican talent such as iotosh, crafting the huge crossover anthems “Pull Up” and “West Indies” along the way.

Previous album released on Dead Oceans. Previous album was a collaboration with Brian Eno. Past press coverage from Pitchfork, SPIN, The Guardian, Drowned in Sound, Dusted, The Quietus, and many more. Since the release of his last album 2017’s Finding Shore, a collaboration with Brian Eno pianist and singer-songwriter Tom Rogerson’s life has undergone a number of dramatic transformations. While writing his new album Retreat to Bliss, Rogerson had a child, lost a parent, and received his own diagnosis of a rare form of blood cancer. The new decade brought him from Berlin to the Suffolk of his childhood, composing profound pieces of minimal songwriting in the church next to his parents’ home. Rogerson studied composition at the Royal Academy of Music under mentors like Harrison Birtwistle, and he made his live debut as an improvising pianist in 2002, before releasing an improvised record with Reid Anderson (Bad Plus) and Mike Lewis (Happy Apple, Bon Iver) in 2004. He formed the band Three Trapped Tigers in 2007, expertly blending elements of electronic, jazz and noise rock into a cohesive whole. The band earned a reputation for innovative live shows and went on to perform and collaborate with artists like Brian Eno, Deftones, and the Dillinger Escape Plan. It was working with Eno, another Suffolk native, that eventually led Rogerson back to his roots and back to a place where he could write Retreat to Bliss, his solo debut album. “All my life, the piano has been my constant companion, my confessor, my best friend, and my worst enemy,” Rogerson explains. “I’ve always written music on and for the piano, but it felt too personal, too private to release.” Indeed, listening to Retreat to Bliss feels almost like eavesdropping, as though you’re crouched in the belfry of a Suffolk church, bearing witness to a form of musical bloodletting. For the first time in his noteworthy career, Rogerson has combined masterful piano playing and subtle electronics with the texture of his own voice, an attempt to express deeply private emotions that were difficult to articulate using instrumental music alone. “The last few years have brought some struggle, some joy, and a lot of change. My response has been to retreat to what I trust the most: the piano, my voice, and the landscape I grew up in. That’s how the album got its title, and how I came to be ready finally to release a solo record.” The eleven tracks that make up Retreat to Bliss were recorded by Leo Abrahams (Brian Eno, David Byrne, Grace Jones) over the course of just a few days, a process that emphasized spontaneity and the artist’s own commitment to improvisation. Secular yet devotional, intensely personal yet profound, the experience of listening to Retreat to Bliss seems to evade characterization. It’s physical and emotional, a glimpse into the mind of an artist who has chosen exposure over withdrawal, who uses his command of the piano to chart an unflinching path forward, never looking back. UK press campaign by Someone Great. Press Quotes "A meeting of minds that is full of rewarding surprises, challenging and surprising one another, and their listeners, with music that feels alive and wondrous…” Pitchfork // "Both mournful and dazzlingly optimistic, a taste of the conflict found so ofen in nature and reflected so elegantly across the course of the record.” The Line of Best Fit // "Many avant-garde instrumental albums exist to craf a mood; Rogerson and Eno merge these moods, sounds and themes together efortlessly and radiantly on Finding Shore” Exclaim // Track List 01 Descent 02 Oath 03 Buried Deep 04 Toumani 05 Drone Finder part 2 06 Chant 07 Rapture 1 08 Open Out Span Wide View 09 A Clearing 10 Retreat To 11 Coda

All Away Lou is the new band from Lou Hanman; a 40 something, queer, English woman living in Philadelphia, PA, still playing punk rock three decades in because it's fun and she needs it! The force behind UK punk favourites Caves & Flamingo 50. Lou emigrated to the US 6 years ago to pursue music full time, touring & recording drums, bass, guitar for the likes of RVIVR, Mikey Erg, Thin Lips, Katie Ellen, Queen of Jeans, Worriers. After a significant songwriting drought, the pandemic and a break from touring gave Lou the space to focus on her own musical output and spend some time recording at Headroom Studios in her current hometown of Philadelphia, PA with Kyle Pulley and Jackie Milestone. While she records everything herself, All Away Lou is very much a band, and an opportunity to get loud, sweaty and rock out as soon as the possibility arises. The name simply comes from never feeling at home, always away. She had felt the culture shock of moving to the states from the UK (especially of the political landscape after November 2016) and a breakup that underpinned the realization that life was not turning out the way she had hoped. Lyrics on the record reflect this point in Lou’s life: the need to return to a feeling of “home” and have the courage to change her mind, take a new path and not settle for things that didn’t feel right. All Away Lou will be taking the album on the road with dates in the UK & Ireland supporting Jeff Rosenstock & Fresh in April 2022.

Nach seinem letzten Album Singularity und der kürzlich erschienenen Piano Versions EP - nicht zu vergessen die Meditations-Stücke aus dem Jahr 2020 - beschreitet Jon mit Music For Psychedelic Therapy, wie der Titel schon vermuten lässt, klanglich und philosophisch einen neuen Weg. MFPT umfasst Jons Reisen durch geografische und kosmologische Spektren und ist eine unnachahmliche und allumfassende Reise an und für sich. Jon Hopkins erklärt: "Like everyone, I went through a lot of intensely heavy stuff in the last year. Somehow this music flowed through me in that time. I honestly have no idea where it came from - the whole creation process happened in something of a trance. I felt driven by a force way beyond myself and it was unforgettable…."

Format: 140G schwarze 2LP im Gatefold Sleeve inklusive Downloadkarte

We finally made it: BEWITH100LP! And what better way for a re-issue label to celebrate such a landmark catalogue number than to give it to a record of new music. We couldn’t resist when the artist is Official Be With Family Member Kenny Dickenson and when the music is his lovely, lovely score to French-Vietnamese artist Mai Hua's 2020 documentary film “Les Rivières”. If you enjoy the more minimal, intimate piano of the likes of Nils Frahm or John Carroll Kirby’s solo work, you’re certain to fall for this beautiful album.

Taking six years to make, Mai’s film explores what happened when she brought her dying grandmother to France, pulling together four generations of women from the same family. Kenny’s score accompanies all the pretty things, sad things, dirty, beautiful, happy, broken and reborn moments of these women’s experiences.

The whole score is built around delicate, sparkling piano motifs. At times they’re joined by cello and complemented with ambient chords and other flourishes. It’s a very particular palette that Kenny and Mai established early on, as Kenny explains: “We had agreed on a particular sonic aesthetic early on in the process - to use specific and relatively minimal instrumentation, reflecting the intimacy of the picture. So piano and cello were quite prominent in instructing a sense of space and immediacy. Until I had to get the junkyard percussion out… ”

When it comes to describing the end results, Kenny’s happy to wear his influences on his sleeve:

“When the director and I sat down for the creative meetings early in the process, we watched ‘Wolf Children’, a Japanese animation film by Mamoru Hosoda. The amazing soundtrack by Masakatsu Takagi was a launching point for me and thereafter I leaned into more modern classical composers - Reich, Sakamoto, Glass as well as Jon Hassell’s Fourth World output. Richard Reed Parry’s ‘Music for Heart and Breath’ was a good early touchstone for me and Mark Hollis’ sparse, considered and deliberate approach was a constant presence. Also labels like Ghostly, ASIP and the ubiquitous Erased Tapes should probably get a nod here too…”

We’d even suggest there’s the occasional Yann Tiersen moment in there too.

Out of sheer necessity the collaboration between Kenny and Mai continued beyond this initial creative direction. With Kenny speaking neither French nor Vietnamese, Mai acted as translator, a process that naturally lead to discussing the film beyond just what was being said in the footage. Mai herself explains just how successful this relationship felt to her: “Music plays a very important role in all my work, particularly in Les Rivières. I cried every time Kenny sent me a new composition. I felt understood in a way that words cannot describe. It was absolutely magical and I am so happy if this music can make your soul vibrate too.”

Kenny composed much of the music in London, at the same time that Mai was shooting and editing. As the film took shape and the music also evolved, another challenge presented itself when Kenny relocated to Los Angeles part way through, resulting in Arnulf Lindners beautiful cello taking on new shapes- multi sampled, played and manipulated by Kenny into new compositions.

What Kenny has put together for the film score release is definitely a “soundtrack LP”, with the music arranged to work as a proper album in its own right that should be listened to from start to finish. Indeed the album also includes a new piece “Pour Marthe” that Kenny composed in memory of Mai’s grandmother who died after the film was finished.

Kenny’s personal highlight is also ours: “When I listen back to the album as a whole now, I never want part II of the Trilogy (Belles Larmes) to end. I have fond memories of recording it and I love how the dynamic of the piece gradually evolves from falling on the ‘1 and the 3’ to the ‘1 and the 2’. It’s so short and sweet, I keep wanting it to last for longer. But it’s kind of perfect as it is.”

Pretty much our sentiment for the album as a whole.

Running a record label means we often get asked advice about pressing a record. In this case the music was too good not to offer to release it ourselves. To Kenny, having the Les Rivières score on vinyl also feels like the final part of the project.

“It’s a beautiful thing to have it on vinyl. It’s quite an intimate soundtrack so there’s something really perfect about being able to listen to it on that format. When I was a kid, my Uncle Pat who used to work at Woolworths would visit and bring random records from their record department over to us. I can remember listening to “Theme From Exodus” by Ernest Gold. I had no idea what it was about but the imagery it conjured up when listening to that record was just mind blowing to me at that age. Soundtracks can have their own life on vinyl I think, and removed from their original context is this unique format for reinvention. So I’m excited that people who haven’t (and have for that matter) seen the film can have that experience.”

This might not be a re-issue, but the Les Rivières film score album has still been given the full Be With treatment. The vinyl has been mastered by Simon Francis (under Kenny’s ever-watchful eye/ear, of course), cut by Pete Norman and pressed at Record Industry. The sleeve follows the film’s poster and other promotional material, including Lucile Gomez’s almost magical illustration.

We’re under no illusions that many people reading this will have seen “Les Rivières”, but that doesn’t really matter when it comes to listening to the score. Just on its own, Kenny’s music still captures the robustness and the delicacy of lives lived.

10th anniversary reissue of this rhythmically churning one-man-band monster of an album, recorded in a single inspired studio session & originally released in 2012 on Editions Mego.

From the original Editions Mego press release:

“For anyone who still associates Oren Ambarchi exclusively with the clipped, bass-heavy tones of solo electric guitar works such as Suspension, this rhythmically churning one-man-band monster of an album-length piece might seem to come out of nowhere. However, listeners who have followed the breadth of his work for the last few years (solo and in projects with collaborators from Jim O’Rourke to Stephen O’Malley and Keith Rowe to Keiji Haino) will have noted how Ambarchi has allowed increasingly clear traces of his enthusiasms as a music listener (for classic rock, minimal techno and 70’s fusion, among other areas) to surface in his performances and recordings, all the time filtering them through his signature long-form structures and psychoacoustic sonics.

Recorded in a single inspired studio session, Sagittarian Domain displaces Ambarchi’s trademark guitar sound from the centre of the mix, its presence felt only as an occasional ghostly reverberated shimmer. Endlessly pulsating guitar and bass lines sit alongside electronic percussion and thundering motorik drumming (familiar from his work with Keiji Haino) at the core of the piece, locking into a voodoo groove like Faust covering a 70’s cop show theme. The work is founded on hypnotic almost-repetition, the accents of the drum hits and interlocking bass and guitar lines shifting almost imperceptibly back and forwards over the beat as they undergo gradual transformations of timbre. Cut-up and phase-shifted strings enter around the half-way mark like an abstracted memory of the eastern-tinged fusion of the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s classic Visions of the Emerald Beyond, before returning for an extended, stark yet affecting come-down coda, equal parts Gavin Bryars and Purple Rain.

While Sagittarian Domain contains traces of a diversity of influences, it mines all of them to uncover something that is clearly an extension of Ambarchi’s own investigations up to this point, exhibiting the same care for micro-detail and surrender to the physicality of sound that are present in all of his work, extending them in new ways to repetition, pulse and rhythm”.

A decade ago, the static signal of “Terminal” booting-up sounded and Galactic Melt launched into the atmosphere for the first time; Seth Haley’s Com Truise project arrived in full. A graphic designer based in New Jersey at the time, Haley found a sound on his synthesizers that sparked an immediate nostalgia response, tapping into classic sci-fi and proto-electro in a way that felt early ‘80s in scope, but also remarkably weird — stutter-step proggy and intoxicatingly psychedelic. Unknowingly he had stepped into a genre prism; suppose we know it now as synth-wave though the tag never landed squarely. To Haley, this was a space to explore and a story to tell, which he’d do across a saga of releases that would resonate with a legion of fans and send the producer touring the world in perpetual orbit. His full-length debut on Ghostly International, Galactic Melt delivered on the promise of Haley’s Cyanide Sisters EP as well as high-profile remixes for Twin Shadow, Neon Indian, and Daft Punk. Bold, imaginative, and unapologetically cosmic, the set occupies a beloved coordinate in the Com Truise catalog, considered the gateway for many. To celebrate its 10th

anniversary, Haley and Ghostly have repressed the long-sold out 2xLP and added five unreleased tracks to the expanded digital edition, giving this classic its due treatment as it passes the milestone.

From the keyed-up, skyscraping machine love of “VHS Sex” and “Cathode Girls” to pulsing cuts like “Air Cal” and “Ether Drift,” the music on Galactic Melt is mathy, forlorn, funky, and mighty in technical ambition. That they’re all noticeably cinematic is, of course, by design. Haley envisioned Galactic Melt as a “sort of film score...from the mind,” chronicling the life and death of Com Truise, the world’s first synthetic/robotic astronaut, from his creation and time on earth to his subsequent mission to a newly discovered galaxy called Wave 1 (released in 2014).

Scott Walker, PJ Harvey, Coil, Matmos, Autechre & Pan Daijing. 180g LP with inner, 12”x24”poster + DL card. The Debut Full-Length By Montréal Producer Kee Avil, The Project Led By Avant/Improv Guitarist Vicky Mettler, Also Known As A Member Of Sam Shalabi’s Land Of Kush And As Co-Founder Of Concrete Sound Montréal. Advance Single “See, My Shadow” Premiered By Mary Ann Hobbs On BBC6 And Picked Up By Music & Riots, Backseat Mafia, Aural Aggravation, Etc In Dec 2021. Kee Avil, a project led by Montréal producer and guitarist Vicky Mettler: a singular expression of fractured dream logic concretized in chiselled postpunk guitar, sinuous low-end electronics, a panoply of organic and digital samples creating alternately twitchy and propulsive rhythm, and the anxious intimacy of her finely wrought lyricism and vocals. Bound by an outstanding production sensibility throughout, Crease unfolds one oblique earworm hook after another, with compositional innovation anchored to an inscrutable and compelling voice across 10 songs of tremendous and imaginative sonic detail. Kee Avil brings a contemporary electroacoustic sensibility to bear on traditions and conventions of pop, postpunk, electronic and sound-art songwriting, where touchstones range from Scott Walker and Coil to Fiona Apple, (early) PJ Harvey and (later) Juana Molina to Eartheater, Pan Daijing and Smerz; or Grouper produced by Autechre. Her unconventional alloys also conjure the guitar-inflected deconstructions of Gastr del Sol and the crystalline micro-worlds of Bjork, Matmos and Rashad Becker. Crease is one of those debut records that excites a wide range of peerless references precisely because it's so compelling in its own idiosyncratic authority, originality and execution. Each song on Crease is its own sculpture, meticulously assembled to resemble disassembly: “each of these worlds was built without consideration for the other; it felt impossible to me, once I would enter the atmosphere of a song, to try to start another until that idea was finished.” The album nonetheless unfolds in impressive holistic integration through a palette of textures and techniques deployed in recurring but continually refracted ways. Alongside her superb austere guitar work stitched into electro-industrial, dark-ambient and minimal-techno soundworlds, it’s her voice and lyrics confidential, hermetic, implacable that provide the galvanizing, always captivating through-line. Her more compositional, exacting, (de)constructed musical identity was first unveiled with the self-titled Kee Avil EP (Black Bough Records) and further honed by pre-pandemic tours sharing stages with Pere Ubu, Marc Ribot and Bill Orcut among others. Woodshedding since then, Crease presents a quantum leap in Kee Avil's exploration of studio-based experimentation, arrangement and production, signaling the arrival of a brilliantly genre-melding, refined and assiduous new voice in avant-garde songcraft.

Nate Scheible's "work of gentle genius" – Fairfax – is arriving on vinyl & all digital services in February 2022. Remastered by Lawrence English and featuring brand new artwork, this edition uncovers a completely new side of the "dreamy and dramatic, meditative and somber" album by the American artist. ~~~

"Few albums have stuck with me like Nate Scheible's Fairfax. In fact, I feel lucky to have had my copy of the original tape to drop into over several years, some heartbreaks, a few streaks of loneliness; when I've not felt terribly well, or couldn't face reflecting for fear of noticing personal decay.

With fresh treatment from mastering maestro, Lawrence English, this new version has brought out fresh new colours in Scheible's elegant composition. The moments of icy isolation are sharper, while the embrace of the album's finale is warmer and heartier than ever. Scheible's found polaroids on the front of the package also fit so aptly that they barely even feel new. The album's allure and message of craving is more powerful than ever.

To anybody who hears this album, she's a great heroine of literature, the voice of Fairfax. Her frank admissions of longing and weakness are infectious cries of hope. She's a powerful woman, unashamed, the innermost voice of reason, grasping the world together selflessly. I wanted to tell her about the times when things weren't so good. I want to tell her now too, just how well things can turn out.

Scheible's beds of oozing and luscious melodies, decaying on reels or tape, flinging out from plucked bass strings, or rising from a struck vibraphone, are a truly loving soundtrack to this mysterious voice found on a tape that came into the artist's possession. The audio letters reveal the woman's story of painful hope and self-gifted redemption, while the click of the saxophone and moan of Scheible's wobbly piano snippets, they sing her – no ~our~ – mood right back to us. Fairfax reminds us that, like the protagonist, we're all gonna do something, ~someday~."
– Tristan Bath

Siavash Amini is a composer from Tehran, Iran. He Has worked with labels like Room40, Hallow Ground, Opal Tapes and Umor Rex for the better half of the past ten years. He has performed at festivals like CTM & MUTEK and many other well known international events. Apart from it Siavash is a co-founder of the “SET experimental art events” and “SETfest” in Tehran, Iran. His work ranges from fragile ambient pieces and brittle IDM (incorporating his distinctive style of atmospheric guitar playing) to noisy drones and bleak modern classical pieces. His compositions have been inspired by films such as Andrei Tarkovsky's The Mirror as well as novels by Dostoyesvky and poems by T.S. Eliot.

Saffronkeira is the Sardinian sound researcher Eugenio Caria being active in the electronic music scene since almost two decades. His most recent work - a cooperation with the Italian jazz trumpet legend Paolo Fresu - earned a lot of praise from the international music press for the pure timelessness of the album.

"Upon hearing a small snippet of sound an image is conjured, not a memory but not unfamiliar. A shell of a memory, thousand events superimposed on each other. While trying to extract points of a narrative to ease the discomfort of this recollection, I try to separate and unfold the image and with it the points of the spectrum which make up the sound, a shell of a narrative. Here is an album based upon an almost entirely imagined/ synthesized happening upon hearing a snippet of sound. It sounded like of a whole story that never happened but yet I felt myself amongst it’s participants, a sound triggering a false memory. Each sound in Eugenio’s collection of sounds and ideas guided me a to a point in the narrative and it’s construction. He had handed me a portals of some kind to a few scenes of the whole narrative. This is the soundtrack for that false memory from all the perspectives I can think of."