Treffen sich ein Ossi, ein Wessi und ein Ösi. Was wie der Beginn eines etwas abgeschmackter Witzes klingen mag, das lässt sich rückblickend wohl ganz ohne Umschweife sagen, stellt sich vielmehr sowohl als der Gründungsmythos wie auch der Auftakt einer der erfolgreichsten und spannendsten Rockbands unserer Zeit dar. Die Rede ist von Kadavar, jener Gruppe, die, 2010 in Berlin gegründet, in den letzten 15 Jahren auf den Plakaten der gigantischsten Rockfestivals der Welt immer höher kletterte und heute in einer Liga spielt mit den größten Größen aus Psychedelic und Stoner Rock. Kadavar stehen nach rauschhaftem Ritt auf Augenhöhe mit jenen Legenden, von denen sie selbst geprägt sind, sind zur Institution geworden. Eine Erfolgsgeschichte, trotz des Niedergangs der Musikindustrie - und daher um so strahlender. These are self-made men.
Die Box, limitiert auf 500 Stück im Handel, enthält das Debüt Album in seiner Original Version mit 6 Songs auf transparent roter 180gr Vinyl.
Die Bonus LP "Demos & Rarities" erscheint als Picture Vinyl, die im Artwork Bilder des Original Master Tapes des Albums nutzt.
Neben den Demo Aufnahmen der Songs "Forgotten Past" und "Black Sun" befindet sich auf der LP auch der Song "Tommorrow's Dead", der zuvor nur auf der Vinyl Compilation "10 Years 8MM Musik" erschienen ist. Der Track "Living In Your Head" war damals B-Seite der Single "Creature of the Demon" und "The Man I Shot" & "Broken Wings" waren Teil des Split Album mit Aqua Nebula Oscillator "White Ring".
Nun werden all diese Songs aus der prägenden Zeit des Debüt Albums erstmals gemeinsam auf Vinyl veröffentlicht.
Die Box, limitiert auf 1000 Stück im Handel, enthält das Debüt Album in seiner Original Version mit 6 Songs auf transparenter 180gr Vinyl.
Die Bonus LP "Demos & Rarities" erscheint als Picture Vinyl, die im Artwork Bilder des Original Master Tapes des Albums nutzt.
Neben den Demo Aufnahmen der Songs "Forgotten Past" und "Black Sun" befindet sich auf der LP auch der Song "Tommorrow's Dead", der zuvor nur auf der Vinyl Compilation "10 Years 8MM Musik" erschienen ist. Der Track "Living In Your Head" war damals B-Seite der Single "Creature of the Demon" und "The Man I Shot" & "Broken Wings" waren Teil des Split Album mit Aqua Nebula Oscillator "White Ring".
Nun werden all diese Songs aus der prägenden Zeit des Debüt Albums erstmals gemeinsam auf Vinyl veröffentlicht.
Das Foto Buch "The Early Days" zeigt eine große Auswahl von Fotos aus der Entstehungszeit der Band und enthält einen Text des Schriftstellers und Musikers Hendrick Otremba.
Auch die Dokumentation "MammutTigerWolf" der Regisseurin Irem Schwarz gibt vorher nie gesehene Einblicke in die Proben, Aufnahmen und Auftritte der Band Kadavar in ihrer Gründungszeit und wurde nie zuvor veröffentlicht.
Die Demo CD als Teil der Box war und ist ein Muss. 2010, Tiger, Lupus und Mammut nehmen ein paar Songs auf, brennen sie auf CD. Im Job-Center in Berlin, unten, in dem kleinen Copyshop, kopieren sie das Cover. Jedem Typen mit langen Haaren, dem sie in dieser Zeit begegnen, drücken sie ein Exemplar in die Hand: die ersten Aufnahmen von Kadavar. Die CD wurde in dieser Form nie neu produziert oder vertrieben.
Nun gibt es für diese Box die CD noch einmal, im Original Artwork. One time only.
Mit diesen Bestandteilen entsteht mit der "Kadavar - The First Album (Ltd. Anniversary Boxset)" eine einzigartige Sammlung an Zeitdokumenten die einen mit in ersten Jahre und die Entstehungsphase des legendären Debüt Albums von Kadavar entführt.
Boxinhalte:
- Debut Album (Gatefold / 180 gr Vinyl / transparent Vinyl)
First Word Records is proud to bring you a double AA side remix single from Takuya Kuroda, featuring brand new mixes from Waajeed and Kaidi Tatham.
Takuya Kuroda is a Kobe-born, Brooklyn-based trumpeter and musician, who was also a longtime player for Akoya Afrobeat as well as DJ Premier’s BADDER ban..
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The name Sleepnet first emerged when UKF premiered a mysterious release named "Angel Blade", following a series of cryptic posts on social media. Now confirmed to be the debut solo project for Noisia's Nik Roos.
The EP, cites Sleepnet, is "inspired by true events", and features the tracks: "Love No More", "Angel Blade", "Void Song" (collaboration with Former), "Unravel", "First Light", "Glass Hearts" (collaboration with IMANU), and "Hindsight" The music explores different stages of loss, grief and rebirth, and some of the tracks contain fragments of sounds and music that were originally intended for Noisia productions over the past two decades, but never used.
"Sleepnet exists because I wanted to have an outlet for my music after Noisia. I want to use that vocabulary to tell a more personal story. I want the music, the whole project, to mean something to me. So I tried to do as much as I could myself. Writing and producing, mixing and mastering, logo design and artwork, even some singing here and there. I am considering knitting the merchandise myself as well :D I worked on this EP from December 2019 to December 2020. Writing it helped me identify and process things I'd been going through: letting go of Noisia, grieving over lost friends, and welcoming my daughter into the world. You can look at it in that light: as a process of grief and rebirth. That's what I hear in it. But the music should speak for itself and it has a magical ability to mean different things to different people. So have a listen yourself, I wonder what you might hear."
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«First Rays Of The New Rising Sun» wurde im April 1997 veröffentlicht und war das erste Album, das unter der direkten Supervision der Familie Hendrix entstand. Mit siebzehn Songs, deren Entstehung von März 1968 bis zu Jimis letzten Sessions in den Electric Lady Studios im August 1970 reicht, markiert das Album das letzte grosse Werk des innovativen Künstlers Jimi Hendrix. Es beinhaltet "Dolly Dagger", "Angel", "Ezy Rider" und "Freedom". Diese Veröffentlichung ist eine neue, komplett analoge Ausgabe, die von Bernie Grundman aus den originalen 1/4"-Mixes gemastert und auf schwarzes 140-Gramm-Vinyl gepresst wurde.
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Tyler Daley, eine Hälfte des Soul/Hip-Hop-Duos Children Of Zeus aus Manchester und Featurepartner von Ghetts, Goldie, Shy FX und Bugzy Malone, kombiniert auf seiner Solo-Debüt-EP "Son Of Zeus" einen frischen kompromisslosen Sound mit einer klaren Fokussierung auf seine Fähigkeiten. Geprägt von seiner Liebe zum Piratenradio und inspiriert von Roots-Reggae, Street-Soul, R&B, aber auch Hip-Hop und UK Rave, beschreibt Daley die 7 Tracks als "gefühlvollen Zeus-Sound, eine Mischung aus staubigem Low-Fi-Soul, Hip-Hop und R&B für anspruchsvolle Stumpfköpfe und Vibes-Seeker."
LP - 180 Gram Vinyl The debut work of Viennese jazz violinist and composer Rudi Berger FIRST STEPFIRST STEP - now on vinyl for the first time since its release in 1985. It is regarded as a historic jazz violin album, affirming Rudi Berger`s pronounced talent as a composer from a young age. Since then he presented his music in jazz clubs, concert halls, and festivals in 29 countries worldwide, has lived in New York and Brazil, collaborated with various famous musicians, contributed to over 200 recordings, including award-winning soundtracks for animation, film, and theater and was named an honorary member of the Chet Baker Foundation. Today he is recognized as one of the most original and influential voices in jazz.
LP - 180 Gram Vinyl / Handnumbered Edition limited to 200 Units / turqoise marble vinyl. The debut work of Viennese jazz violinist and composer Rudi Berger FIRST STEPFIRST STEP - now on vinyl for the first time since its release in 1985. It is regarded as a historic jazz violin album, affirming Rudi Berger`s pronounced talent as a composer from a young age. Since then he presented his music in jazz clubs, concert halls, and festivals in 29 countries worldwide, has lived in New York and Brazil, collaborated with various famous musicians, contributed to over 200 recordings, including award-winning soundtracks for animation, film, and theater and was named an honorary member of the Chet Baker Foundation. Today he is recognized as one of the most original and influential voices in jazz.
Sequel Records was born from an idea of its founder, Mysterious, the label focuses mainly on a techno sound with hypnotic and futuristic nuances. The first release is entrusted to various artists such as Linear System, Mariano Dc, Linear Phase and Translate.
Full color cover and 180g vinyl, limited edition.
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The phrase "Once in a lifetime" is sometimes used carelessly to accentuate the importance of an event. But it was truly a unique occasion when the orchestras of Duke Ellington and Count Basie got together in the studio to record together for the first (and last) time. The Duke Ellington and Count Basie (both playing the piano) orchestras had already been competitors for 25 years but the leaders' mutual admiration (Ellington was one of Basie's main idols) and some brilliant planning made this a very successful and surprisingly uncrowded encounter. The result is almost an embarrassment of riches. Limited edition on solid orange & solid white vinyl. "First Time! The Count Meets The Duke" includes the following tracks: "Take The "A" Train", "Wild Man (Wild Man Moore)", "B D B" and more.
Auf seinem neuen Album präsentiert der französische DJ/Produzent/Multiinstrumentalist Will Galland aka Quiet Dawn eine Reihe von abwechslungsreichen Broken Beat-Varianten mit Gastvocals von Szenekoryphäen wie der legendären Bembe Segue, LyricL und Oliver Night von der CoOp Presents-Crew. Galland ist seit einer Dekade Mitglied der First-Word-Familie, wo er sein breites musikalisches Spektrum von organischem Ambient-Jazz über Lofi-Instrumentals im Dilla-Stil und Kopfnicker-Hip-Hop bis zu Headz und Broken Beat zelebriert.
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First Step Beyond by proto-metal quintet Medusa might have forever shifted the perception of Chicago rock history had it managed to make the leap from tape to its never-realized vinyl pressing. Instead, the conflagation of Sabbath, Hawkwind, and Amon Duul II remained petrified in the Corycian Caverns... otherwise known as the drummer's basement. Self-produced on four track in 1975, this lone transmission from Medusa's repertoire appeared on the extremely mysterious Pepperhead label, whose proprietor allegedly disappeared after a bad trip and was never been seen again. Forged in ceremonial mock-velvet, custom embossed in Gorgon-gold and blood-red, and art directed in accordance with the band's elaborate original stage props and artwork, Numero Group positioned this unreleased opus to finally reach its destination: the stereos of pot-smoking and leather-clad teenagers, young and old.
First Step Beyond by proto-metal quintet Medusa might have forever shifted the perception of Chicago rock history had it managed to make the leap from tape to its never-realized vinyl pressing. Instead, the conflagation of Sabbath, Hawkwind, and Amon Duul II remained petrified in the Corycian Caverns... otherwise known as the drummer's basement. Self-produced on four track in 1975, this lone transmission from Medusa's repertoire appeared on the extremely mysterious Pepperhead label, whose proprietor allegedly disappeared after a bad trip and was never been seen again. Forged in ceremonial mock-velvet, custom embossed in Gorgon-gold and blood-red, and art directed in accordance with the band's elaborate original stage props and artwork, Numero Group positioned this unreleased opus to finally reach its destination: the stereos of pot-smoking and leather-clad teenagers, young and old.
Legendary Swiss punk band from the late 70s - "You can't dispute Liliput's status as pioneers of feminist art-punk - Along with fellow travelers like the Slits and the Raincoats, this (mostly) female Swiss group took advantage of punk's anything-goes attitude and created jittery, spirited pop that was both in step with the times and completely singular. The early material is a riot of exuberant energy, taking stylistic cues from peers like Gang of Four and Wire-- propulsive bass, skittering pop rhythms, slashing guitars-- and adding distinctive overlapping vocal patterns, which are sung, shrieked, and hiccupped in three languages and made- up dadaistic slang. More than 20 years on, it still sounds fresh." - Lisa Gidley
It's five years since we first released Yosi Horikawa's 'Vapor' album. To commemorate the occassion, we're releasing the album on vinyl for the very first time, also including a previously unreleased bonus track, 'Yoggo'.
The devil is in the details. And Yosi Horikawa understands this perhaps better than most musicians from his generation, crafting compositions with broad appeal that also withstand the most intricate scrutiny. Originality has always been a rare currency in the creative arts, and having honed his voice over the years Yosi has plenty of it to give to those willing to listen.
The RBMA graduate has collaborated with artists such as Jesse Boykins III, Dorian Concept & Daisuke Tanabe, performed at Glastonbury, Sónar, Mutek, Dimensions, Low End Theory, Ninja Tune's Solid Steel & Boiler Room, featured in Time Out Tokyo, XLR8R, Dummy & more, and received acclaim and support from the likes of Benji B, Tom Ravenscroft, Fulgeance, DJ Food and Gilles Peterson, with whom he has worked with on several projects since the release of 'Vapor', for Brownswood, Worldwide Festival & Worldwide FM respectively, producing a regular feature, 'Soundscape with Yosi Horikawa'.
Besides writing and producing music, Yosi is a highly skilled sound engineer, working with prestigious architects, fashion brands, and technology firms as well as designing speakers for bars and clubs. He's also composed numerous jingles and theme songs for radio stations to science exhibitions. Such is his diversity and originality, he was the subject of an RBMA film documentary in 2014, 'Layered Memories'.
Following his debut EP on Eklektik Records, two EPs were released on First Word prior to this, his debut album, 'Vapor'. 17 tracks from the Japanese sound designer and producer that weave together diverse field recordings and sample sources, with rhythms and melodies, creating something that defies stylistic boxing. Echoes of dance music, hip hop and musique concrete can all be found amid the sounds of nature and everyday life that underpin the grooves of the music. 'Vapor' is an album in the old-fashioned sense, a tightly-woven sonic journey that benefits from repeat listens.
'Vapor' was named amongst 2013 Albums of the Year lists in Fact Magazine and The Japan Times.
"A sonic masterpiece and an entirely new pathway in to the matrix of emerging electronic creativity. Every piece on the album sounds boundless and full of texture & colour imaginable"
Earmilk: "A serendipitous mishmash of electronic, hip hop beats, and a litany of genres that fall in that spectrum with a liberal dose of acoustic magic
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We are pleased to announce the release of the brand new album from Jimmy Regal and the Royals. First And Last Stop is available on CD, Vinyl, and Digital Download from our Bandcamp Page.
Creating a heady mix of New Orleans and North Mississippi rhythms, blended with their own Thames delta style, and some West African influences thrown in for good measure; the South London blues trio, Jimmy Regal and the Royals have delivered another fine example of blues fusion. An all original release, which successfully demonstrates the band’s ever evolving style, packed with plenty of guest musicians, whilst retaining the spirt of the core band and their individual sound.
”Honor Roll Of Hits” is a 4 way vinyl split featuring 20 hard hitting tracks from the Lövely Records associated bands Sweet Teeth, GASP, First in Line, and Statues. It perfectly sums up the essence of the label and provides a glimpse into the alternative scene of Sweden, offering everything from ´90s inspired alternative rock to highly energetic hardcore punk.
"Honor Roll Of Hits" includes the following tracks: "Mercury", "Burning", "Running", "Move on" and more.
This version of the split album comes as a 1LP on transparent red vinyl.
First Word Records is very proud to present 'The Liminality of Her', a brand new 10-track album from their newest signing, Amanda Whiting; a highly-acclaimed Welsh harpist & composer. A virtuoso in her field, this classically trained musician has quickly established herself as an essential player in the UK jazz scene, carving her own unique sound, following on from the paths forged by Ashby and Coltrane. Amanda recently joined the First Word label roster, via a collaborative project with Don Leisure, 'Beyond The Midnight Sun', as well as a feature on his Welsh Music Prize nominated project 'Shaboo Strikes Back'. She's previously toured extensively with her own band, as well as with Matthew Halsall, Rebecca Vasmant, DJ Yoda and Chip Wickham (who also features on this new project), whilst previously releasing three solo albums on Jazzman Records, and a remix project for Scrimshire's Albert's Favourites imprint. Along the way, there's been a nomination for 'Instrumentalist of the Year'...
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Hooligan (aus Dublin) mit Szene-Veteranen von Angelic Upstairs, Cockney Rejects und UK Subs starteten 2009 und veröffentlichten ihre Songs weltweit nur auf limitierten (ausverkauften) 7inch EP's. Jetzt gibt es zum ersten Mal auf 12"-Vinyl die Retrospektive für Sammler mit allen Hits, limitiert! Ihr Sound ist eine geniale Mischung aus Streetpunk, 77er Punk, Dub/Reggae und beeinflusst von ihren Hauptbands und Klassikern wie The Clash ("Calling Joe Strummer" ist einer der besten Tribute-Songs), Addicts, Pistols bis hin zu Cockney Rejects oder Undertones und vielen mehr. Kein Wunder, denn die Jungs haben ihre Jugend in dieser großartigen Zeit der späten 70er zusammen mit den Bands verbracht und das Cover-Artwork enthält ein Bild von Sänger Dave aus diesem Jahrzehnt. "First offence" enthält 12 Songs, die man sich nicht entgehen lassen sollte, wenn man auf diesen Streetpunksound steht! Vinyl Irish Grün mit Orange, limitiert!
First Word Records is proud to bring you 'The Essance' - the classic debut album by Essa (formerly known as Yungun), originally released in 2004, now released on vinyl & digital for the first time, 20 years on!
A lyricist, lawyer and a Londoner, legendary MC Essa has earned praise over the years from artists such as Nas and Mark Ronson, as well as performing and recording with legends like De La Soul, Wu-Tang Clan, Guru, Slum Village and Pharoahe Monch.
This 15-track album is considered one of the greats to emerge during UK Hip Hop's "golden era"; a vibrant time for the genre when artists such as Ty, Jehst, Roots Manuva, Klashnekoff, Skinnyman, Task Force, Doc Brown and Foreign Beggars were garnering huge fanbases, and an eco-system of shops like Deal Real, club nights like Kung Fu, labels like Lowlife, and stations like Itch FM were prevalent, while BBC 1Xtra was a mere infant.
'The Essance' includes production and features from luminaries such as Harry Love, Mr Thing, Lewis Parker, Kyza, Devise & Ben Grymm, to name a few.
Esteemed author Musa Okwonga says on the reissue liner notes "the most startling thing about 'The Essance' was its range. Yungun (Essa) was one of the few MCs who could perfectly walk the paths of hope and melancholy with equal ease, whose artist name belied the wisdom of his lyrics. Beyond that, his delivery was supremely self-assured, filled with a swagger he could always justify.
Yungun's gifts also extended to the stage, where he was one of the best young actors that many of his contemporaries had seen, and to languages, which saw him writing and rhyming in Spanish with a notable flourish. He was also someone who constantly walked between two worlds, excelling in one of the country's most competitive academic environments during the day and then delivering a soaring radio set by night. Raised in a vibrant vein of North London, endlessly curious about the world around him, Yungun's fine ear for music and passion for the variety of life made him someone who could reach all audiences.
'The Essance' is a beautifully-woven meditation on the human condition, one which takes you from the dancefloor to the summer afternoon barbecue to the bathroom mirror; yet it is also the opening statement of a unique career."
In the words of Essa himself "my key goal for this album was to span so many moods and styles that I couldn't be categorised, leaving me free to then go in whatever direction I chose. I was almost too successful with this – I would later struggle to pin down my own identity, both on and off the mic, as a rapper slash lawyer, of mixed-heritage, blessed to be able to enter many circles but feeling truly at home in none. As I write this, twenty years (plus a marriage and several children) on, I finally feel more at peace with being undefinable, and am getting better at bringing my full, authentic self into as many aspects of life as I can. I am grateful to be able to look both back and forward, with equal passion."
'The Essance' was followed with a collaborative album with DJ Mr Thing ('Grown Man Business'), then some years later on First Word with 'The Misadventures of a Middle Man' in 2014. There's also a forthcoming project in the works, due for release Summer 2024 with all-new material produced by Pitch 92. Both these releases also coincide with the 20th anniversary of the First Word label (named "label of the year" at the 2019 Worldwide Awards).
A timeless piece of work, 'The Essance' is true-skool boom bap through and through that stands up two full decades later, from the ethereal anthem 'Liquid Love', to the uptempo bounce of 'Dancing Shoes', to the grit of 'The Big Idea', to the thought provoking 'What Eye See Pt.2', to bangers like 'Push' or 'Spit Fire', this is an essential addition to the collection of any discerning hip hop head.
'The Essance' is due to be released on vinyl & digital worldwide on February 23rd 2024.
Grilchy Party presents another epic from Da Buze Bruvaz own Clever 1 and mysterious production wizard Lord Beatjitzu. This new adventure follows where the last one, Perverted and Drunken, left off. They have cooked up another album following the footsteps of their classic Perverted and Drunken LP. This new adventure follows where the last one left off. Introducing Master Sip, Legendary Teacher Of Bruce Lo Da First Drunken. It is illuminating one of the many chambers of their Drunken Fly Chi style, the martial arts mind states of Clever 1 and Lord Beatjitzu combining as the "Fly Chi School Of Da Drunken Artz". The duo pops the listener in the face With vicious, bloody Nunchuck Lyrics over high-velocity, swift kick-in-the-chest production. With these seasoned masters of their perspective arts, they form a powerful, unstoppable combo and truly take no prisoners in this Action-Packed sophomore foray. It's a pure Saturday morning Kung Fu sound theater where Wing Chun enters the world of Drunken Fist on Wax. Beware as you enter the Dojo and watch your step!
"10th anniversary product suite for Nick Mulvey’s debut album, ‘First Mind’.“Nick Mulvey’s debut is a charmingly simple and rarely produced album full of beautiful melodies, extensive guitar skills and exotic ryhthms – it feels like the missing soundtrack for the beginning of a perfect summer.” NBHAP
“A total package of pop hooks, instrumental genius and gorgeous rhythms, Mulvey presents us with an intelligent record that demonstrates his passion for sounds outside of insular scenes.” THE LINE OF BEST FIT
“‘First Mind’ is captivating, full of intricacies and influences that should see it celebrated as one of the great albums of 2014.” CLASH"
glass beach's debut album the first glass beach album is the first album from glass beach. That's a good place to start, but the album's plain & descriptive title does little to explain exactly what goes on in the hour-long adventure contained therein.the first glass beach album was initially self-released by the band in Spring 2019, but it's roots date back to as early as 2015 - songwriter & band leader j mclendon started demoing songs for the album when they first moved to Los Angeles & spent three years polishing those first demos into these songs with bassist Jonas Newhouse & drummer William White. On their Bandcamp page, the band describes their sound as the accumulation of jazz, new wave, synth music, and emo distorted through the lens of punk. The songs that make up the first glass beach album are ambitious, theatrical and chaotic. Abandoning genre limitations makes glass beach's talent for songwriting all the more apparent - mathy guitar leads, catchy drum grooves and the constant interplay of horns, synths, and even the intermittent theremin set the perfect scene for j's stunning vocal performance, which can shift from a charming falsetto to the lead of a sing-a-long in an instant.
Written by veteran journalist Shawn Reynaldo, First Floor is a weekly newsletter that focuses on electronic music, along with the culture and industry that surround it. Over the course of just a few years, it’s become one of electronic music’s most influential platforms, routinely putting many of the genre’s thorniest issues under the microscope while reckoning with changes in the culture during a time of profound transformation.
A collection of Reynaldo’s most thought-provoking essays, First Floor Volume 1 provides a nuanced, wide-ranging look at contemporary electronic music culture, with a particular focus on systemic issues that often go undiscussed.
Topics covered included the evolving nature of electronic music fandom and artistry, value shifts brought on by the current changing of the generational guard, the shortcomings of the modern music press and the growing gap between electronic music’s foundational rhetoric and the genre’s present-day norms.
Incorporating both pieces originally published in the newsletter (all of which have been updated) and exclusive new material from Reynaldo himself, the book also features a foreword by veteran artist and 3024 label founder Martyn.
Candy Mountain welcomes Tracing Xircles for the second release on the brand-new studio label ran by Steffi and Virginia. Tracing Xircles is the collaborative venture between Blue Hour and A-JX known for their energetic original blend between Detroit Techno, UK Bass, and IDM.
With their First Contact EP on Candy Mountain they dive even deeper to define this unique sound with 4 beautiful driving abstract yet funky broken dance floor bangers. The EP comes with an amazing remix by UK legend dBridge.
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- New repress Edition - Pressed on Metallic Silver Wax - LP housed in an expanded gatefold jacket - Includes lyric insert and repro archival newspaper fold-out // Reissue of the pioneering group's debut album First Issue. In 1976 Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols set the agenda for punk's year zero with 'Anarchy In The UK', a song that summed up the spirit, sound and attitude of the band in one shocking package. Two years later, the Sex Pistols were in tatters, but Rotten was as unsentimental as you'd hope. He reverted to his real name - John Lydon - and set about forming a band whose very identity kicked against press and media manipulation. Featuring bassist Jah Wobble, drummer Jim Walker and guitarist Keith Levene, his new group were Public Image Limited. The public image would be limited. PiL were a very distinct prospect from the Pistols, founded with a greater thought for rhythm, and with a sound that turned the page from snarling punk to a more experimental sound fusing rock, dance, folk, ballet, pop and dub. But that's not to say Lydon's new outfit lacked vitriol. 'Public Image' hits out against the notorious British tabloid press, who never gave Lydon an easy ride, and against his own Sex Pistols public image - "You only saw me for the clothes I wore". The debut single (and the album that followed) operated as a theme song and a manifesto: "_my entrance/My own creation/My grand finale/My goodbye," as the lyrics had it. It is, essentially, the sound of four people letting loose in a studio - and not caring what anyone else thought.
Swiss Label Black Pattern Records with their 1st year anniversary vinyl release featuring 4 deep houses gems.
Paradise:
Dexter's latest piano house track blends subtle vibes, a house rhythm, and festive charm for a dancefloor bomb that marries lively beats with modern elegance.
Sunday Night:
The boss of Black Pattern Records delivers ‘Sunday Night’ a fast, bewitching groove combining jazz and minimal elements, designed specifically for the club scene.
Showcase:
‘Showcase’ is a genre-blurring odyssey, seamlessly weaving minimal house rhythms and soulful UK garage vibes. Melodic breaks add an emotive layer, creating a hypnotic house anthem.
Shakin’:
Stelvio returns on BPR with ‘Shakin' a floor-to-the-floor house beat featuring a minimal groove, evolving synth, damaging bassline, and a quality vocalist from the funky scene.
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In the last few years we’ve seen French DJ and producer Laroye delivering the goods time after time on respected labels such as Atjazz Recordings, Compost, Makin Moves and Foliage. His latest LP just released on Local Talk has been getting big support picking up plays on Radio 1, 6Music, Worldwide FM as well as spins from Natasha Diggs, Gilles Peterson, Craig Charles, Louie Vega, Honey Dijon to name a few. Freerange is proud to welcome him back for the follow up to 2020’s release Be The Change, presenting you with a killer 4 track EP entitled Uku Dance.
Leading the charge, Laroye is joined by influential Detroit artist, DJ, producer and vocalist Javonntte who has written and recorded a brilliant vocal for a track entitled First Sight. Laroye’s fat beats, jazzy chords and soulful touch make the perfect production for Javonntte’s vocals.
Up next we have the Percussive Dub mix of Uku Dance in which Laroye strips things back to the bare bones making for a serious percussion tool work out to spice up your sets.
On Uku Dance a bass-heavy groove is punctuated with vocal chops and deep Rhodes part which adds a moody, late night touch. Just the kind of soulful, dubby, afro track that will get the house dancers throwing down like their lives depended on it!
Closing out the release you’ll find an instrumental version of First Sight.
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First Word Records are very proud to bring you a new album from Don Leisure with Amanda Whiting. 'Beyond The Midnight Sun' expands upon ground first explored on Don Leisure's track 'All Praises Due', which also featured Amanda (with Angel Bat Dawid), and featured on his previous album 'Shaboo Strikes Back'.
This is a full-length project that these two formidable Welsh artists have collaborated on together. To bring you up to speed, Cardiff DJ and beat-maker Don Leisure has been twice nominated for the Welsh Music Prize, with the afore-mentioned album 'Shaboo Strikes Back', and a previous project, 'Steel Zakusi'.
As well as being 50% of Darkhouse Family with Earl Jeffers, he's released music under various monikers on labels such as Metalheadz, International Anthem, Fat City, Earnest Endeavours, Group BraCil and on Rough Trade with another regular collaborator, Gruff Rhys. Other collabs have included Charlotte Church, Om'Mas Keith, DJ Spinna and First Word label-mate Tyler Daley ...
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Valerie from the Galerie steps back into the low-key, light-dark with another long-playing release for What About Never. An ode to the lost FM waves of talk radio, late-night Quiet Storm jams and WBLS mastermixes, Long Time Listener First Time Caller scans the frequencies between dream house music and midnight blue ambient moods.
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Renowned for his raw, blistering vocals and high-voltage guitar playing, the great Buddy Guy has remained a vital and current musician, moving blues forward without losing sight of its roots. He was a primary influence on blues-rock titans like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, as well as a pioneer of Chicago's fabled West Side sound, and a living link to that city's halcyon days of electric blues. This album presents him singing and playing some of his greatest hits backed by such outstanding figures as Junior Wells, Otis Rush, and Willie Dixon. "Buddy Guy was for me what Elvis was probably like for other people... My course was set, and he was my pilot." - Eric Clapton
Im Jahr 2022 veröffentlichten Bear's Den ihr hochgelobtes viertes Studioalbum "Blue Hours", das in den UK Album Charts auf Platz 6 landete, sowie den Original-Soundtrack für die Apple TV+ Serie Trying, bei dem sie mit Stars wie Maisie Peters und Jade Bird zusammenarbeiteten. 2023 kehrt das Folk-Pop-Duo Bear's Den zurück, um zwei neue EPs zu veröffentlichen: First Loves und White Magnolias.
Bear's Den wurden 2012 in London gegründet und haben sich mit ihren hymnischen Songs eine treue und internationale Fangemeinde erspielt. Mit vier Studioalben sowie einem gemeinsamen Projekt mit dem Komponisten Paul Frith sind sie seit ihrer Gründung regelmäßig in den Charts in Großbritannien und Europa vertreten. Ihr Debütalbum Islands" wurde für den Ivor Novello Award für den besten musikalischen und lyrischen Song nominiert.
Nach Tourneen durch die ganze Welt, bei denen sie in Theatern, Arenen und auf Festivals spielten, kehrten sie 2019 nach der Veröffentlichung ihres dritten Albums "So That You Might Hear Me" zu ihren Ursprüngen zurück, um eine Tournee durch winzige "Highlands and Islands"-Locations in ganz Schottland zu machen und eine begleitende Dokumentation zu drehen. Die Band ist keine Unbekannte im Bereich der Musikdokumentation und spielte neben Ben Howard, Nathaniel Rateliff und The Staves eine wichtige Rolle in dem preisgekrönten Dokumentarfilm Austin To Boston.
First Word Records in collaboration with Heavenly Sweetness proudly bring you a 'Beautiful' new album from the formidably funky French duo, Souleance.
So the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or perhaps in this case, the ear!). How we define beauty varies from person to person. Be it a meal, a landscape, a picture, a record… Appreciating and admiring beauty could be considered an art in itself, and one that Souleance have made a rule of life. This ethic is transposed into their own craft, used as fuel to turn beautiful moments into music.
This 15-track album seeks to convey this through an assortment of sun-saturated grooves of different shapes and sizes. While remaining true to their style of creating cut & paste sound collages and incorporating dusty samples, this album seeks to expand upon their own sonic path. Fulgeance lays down masterful work on keys, beats and bass, with Soulist the driving force behind song composition and percussive scratching. Comb...
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Since forming in early 2021, The Prize have established themselves as one of Melbourne's premier rock and roll outfits, funnelling vocal soaked hooks and harmonies through a three guitar onslaught and a pulsating rhythm section. Their unique blend of power pop and rock and roll has earned new fans and followers from all sides of the globe. The Prize’s debut EP "Wrong Side of Town' sold out on the first day of its release and received high praise from the likes of punk legend, Henry Rollins. The band quickly found itself securing plum support slots for bands like the Sunnyboys, Pavement and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. This culminated in a national tour supporting The Chats in late 2022 that has helped to establish them as a premium live act with the tunes to back it up. To top it all off, The Prize are set to embark on their first international outing in August/September 2023 supporting KGLW and the Murlocs on their European tours with a number of headline dates across Europe and UK. “First Sight”, the much anticipated second release from The Prize will be out just in time for the EU/UK tour via Anti Fade Records and Drunken Sailor from August 18th
Restless Mashaits are based around the core of Jil and Stuf, who released a sizeable amount of nu- roots classics throughout the 90s and 2000's.
* Recently becoming active again, the Mashaits crew come with two prime-cut instrumentals - `Rasta the First’ & `Restless Mashaits’ - in a traditional roots steppers style with horns ablaze, with both tracks complimented by dub mixes courtesy of Russ D of The Disciples.
Germany's DJ bwin returns to First Second Label with a sub heavy offering of experimentational dubstep, bass, techno and trap for the dark smoke filled room in your brain. Moritz Paul aka Leibniz and Alex Hoppe aka CIO known for their label Hundert (alongside Felix Paul) has seen them pushing the boundaries of these sounds and Cell Phone pushes their sound even further with 3 tracks that would give any system a heavy workout.
Accompanied by a blissed out vibration filled remix from Berlin residing Cork born power house ELLLL this puts the icing on the cake for this already wobble heavy 12". The artwork, a combination of photography, paint and textiles is an extract from a cloth print by Irish artist and designer Shauna McGowan.
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First Word Records is very proud to welcome Ruby Wood to the label, with her debut solo EP 'Sincerely'.
Ruby is a vocalist & songwriter hailing from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Her soulful yet distinctive voice has enabled her to front numerous projects; perhaps best known as lead vocalist of the critically acclaimed Submotion Orchestra, since 2009.
She also toured as lead vocalist for Bonobo's live band, for Nubiyan Twist, and with hugely successful 1940's-esque vocal trio, The Sugar Sisters. There have also been features for dance outfits such as GLXY & Franky Wah, additionally to writing & recording for the likes of Krept & Konan, Alfa Mist, Roska, Hemai, Barney Artist and XOA, to name just a few.
In 2021, Ruby was awarded a DYCP Arts Council grant to fund her own creative project, which was taken as an opportunity to go back to the drawing board creatively, spending time working out how her own music would sound and what messages she wanted to convey.
After initial sketches on her Native Instruments Maschine, she began to work with fellow Submotion Orchestra member, Chris 'Fatty' Hargreaves; a long time friend and collaborator, and a revered musician in his own right, with his low-end theory science triumphantly stamped across his other projects, such as Pengshui and Outlook Orchestra. Ruby and Chris began bouncing ideas back and forth, and gradually this solo project started to take shape and form the bulk of this debut EP.
In Ruby's words "After years of working in big projects with lots of people, I often struggled to feel like my voice was being heard. Branching out on my own is an opportunity for me to make music that I would actually listen to myself! This process has been healing for me, and I'm so proud of myself for continuing to learn and develop my craft, whilst learning how to produce songs from scratch.
Becoming a mother also changed me for the better, and provided me with a wealth of experiences and challenges that have gone on to fuel my lyrics. I've grown a lot, and this EP gives a snippet of my life thus far".
'Sincerely' is comprised of five tracks, firmly based in the realms of hip hop soul and neo soul sonically, with an unashamedly '90s R&B vibe throughout. Throughout the EP, Ruby's story tells tales of motherhood, relationships, commitment, independence and inspirations. Further collaborations on the set come from vocalist Isaac Malibu (on 'Mr. Unavailable'), wind player Arran Kent (on 'My Favourite Song'), and assistance on a couple of beats from acclaimed hip hop producer, Pitch 92 and San Diego's Martel Howard, along with more Submotion alumni, Danny Templeman, Dom Howard and Bobby Beddoe and the debut performance from Ruby's daughter, Amber!
A truly triumphant body of work, this is just the start of a new chapter for Ruby Wood.
This Joe Tex’s masterpiece is an ode to the power of Funk. Discover his album through « Loose Caboose », « Finger Popped Myself Into The Poor House » or « He Who Is Without Funk (Cast The First Stone) » !
First Word Records is very proud to welcome the return of the inimitable Kaidi Tatham, with his 5th album for us, entitled 'The Only Way'. Kaidi Tatham is a legendary multi-instrumentalist born in the Midlands and based in Belfast. Established as one of the original creators of the Broken Beat sound, he is a virtuoso on the keys and a true innovator in sound production. A deeply prolific artist, this is Kaidi's 5th solo album under his own name, following on from 'Don't Rush The Process' (2022), 'An Insight To All Minds' (2021), 'It's A World Before You' (2018), and 'In Search Of Hope' (re-pressed in 2020), all released on First Word, along with several EPs from 2017 onwards. 'The Only Way' is the latest chapter in Kaidi's entirely unique explorations into sound. 11 tracks touching on bruk, funk, jazz, mid-tempo hip hop and hyper-energetic Brazilian flavours, all thrown into a melting pot that's difficult to define, but all containing Kaidi's unmistakable sonic signature. The ...
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Written by veteran journalist Shawn Reynaldo, First Floor is a weekly newsletter that focuses on electronic music, along with the culture and industry that surround it. Over the course of just a few years, it’s become one of electronic music’s most influential platforms, routinely putting many of the genre’s thorniest issues under the microscope while reckoning with changes in the culture during a time of profound transformation.
A collection of Reynaldo’s most thought-provoking essays, First Floor Volume 1 provides a nuanced, wide-ranging look at contemporary electronic music culture, with a particular focus on systemic issues that often go undiscussed.
Topics covered included the evolving nature of electronic music fandom and artistry, value shifts brought on by the current changing of the generational guard, the shortcomings of the modern music press and the growing gap between electronic music’s foundational rhetoric and the genre’s present-day norms.
Incorporating both pieces originally published in the newsletter (all of which have been updated) and exclusive new material from Reynaldo himself, the book also features a foreword by veteran artist and 3024 label founder Martyn.
Drittes Studioalbum der amerikanischen Rockband mit 14 Titeln, die den Kern des Sounds von The Strokes zeigen: stakkatoartige, poppige, einprägsame Hooks, die von Julian Casablancas' Stimme begleitet werden. Das 2005 erschienene Album landete auf Platz 1 der UK-Albumcharts und brachte die Hitsingles "Juicebox", "Heart in a Cage" und "You Only Live Once" hervor. Jetzt erhältlich auf Hazy Red Vinyl in limitierter Auflage.
Fresh new artist on the label, who has already established his name on the scene. A slowly cooked and well rounded EP from the dutch artist, where acid and emotion are the key references.
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Power, Pain, Privilege is Specimens fourth album & most personal work to date, it follows up on his collaboration album ‘Intersections’ with Peter Broderick, Benoît Pioulard, Midori Hirano & Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch.
Power, Pain, Privilege is a commissioned piece by London’s Southbank Centre and is an abstract sonic exploration of biracial identity, in its historicity as well as through the lens of Ives’ own personal experience of being British-Jamaican. The album is a departure from his largely ambient work and explores haunted and twisted dancehall rhythms, industrial drones, and spoken word pieces that track a course through painful incidents of imposter syndrome, shame, privilege & racism.
The album opens with a computerised robotic voice reading excerpts of the 1930s Fletcher Report: “an Investigation into the Colour Problem in Liverpool and other ports” a report which heavily stigmatises children and mixed heritage families of African and European origin. It could be deemed the official outset in defining Liverpool's ‘half castes’ as a problem and blight to the “British way of life”. Ives’ states “this track sets the tone to the album, the cold analytical and dehumanising approach to reports like this, whilst over 80 years old set the standard for viewing biracial families and to have used a Human voice to recite these pieces of text would have been to give it too much life”
The album is accompanied by a film directed by the photographer & director Lucie Rox which was live scored at The Southbank Centre in London and in Paris at 3537.
The 1st Album is the gigantic debut studio album by German duo Modern Talking. The album peaked at number one in Germany, spending four weeks atop the chart and 18 weeks within the top 10. It sold more than eight million copies worldwide.
The album spawned two singles, with “You’re My Heart, You’re My Soul” topping the charts in Germany (where it spent four weeks at the top), Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, while charting inside the top five in France, Norway and Sweden. This song has about half a billion views on YouTube.
The 1st Album is available as a limited edition of 2500 individually numbered copies on silver marbled vinyl and includes an insert.
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"Palomino" ist das mit Spannung erwartete neue Album von First Aid Kit, dem von der Kritik gefeierten schwedischen Folk-Duo, bestehend aus den Singer-Songwriterinnen und Schwestern Johanna und Klara Soderberg. Der erste Track des Albums, "Angel", wurde bereits vor der Ankündigung des Albums veröffentlicht. "Palomino" ist ihr 5. Studioalbum, bestehend aus 11 Songs und vom Schweden Daniel Bengtson produziert. « Palomino » est le cinquième album du groupe suédois First Aid Kit. Écrit et enregistré dans leur pays d'origine, la Suède, « Palomino » a été créé pendant cette période sombre de pandémie mondiale, mais s'avère être l'album le plus pop de First Aid Kit à ce jour. Composé de 11 titres, il a été produit par Daniel Bengtson. «C'est le premier album que nous enregistrons en Suède depuis notre premier album « The Big Black & The Blue » il y a 12 ans ! Nous avons travaillé avec le producteur suédois Daniel Bengtson dans son charmant studio Rymden à Stockholm. C'était une expérience super amusante. Nous nous sommes vraiment laissé le temps d'enregistrer, nous ne voulions pas nous précipiter. Les morceaux ont été principalement écrits pendant la pandémie. Durant cette période compliquée, la musique était synonyme d'évasion, une bouffée d'air face à ce qu'il se passait dans le monde. Nous voulions que cet album soit plus optimiste et joyeux que notre album précédent, « Ruins », qui était un album de rupture. Ce nouveau projet est probablement notre album le plus pop à ce jour. Nous avons trouvé de l'inspiration partout - auprès de groupes tels que Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, Tom Petty, T Rex, Elton John, mais aussi Angel Olsen, Whitney et Big Thief.''
Der US-amerikanische Gitarrist Ralph Towner nimmt seit Anfang der 70er Jahre für ECM auf und hat mit seinen Alben ein einzigartiges Gesamtwerk geschaffen. Im Mittelpunkt seines Schaffens stehen seine Soloaufnahmen, von denen die erste, Diary, vor 50 Jahren veröffentlicht wurde. At First Light setzt diese große Tradition fort und schöpft Inspiration aus einer breiten musikalischen Palette. ”Meine Soloaufnahmen haben immer auch eigene Kompositionen enthalten, in denen sich Spuren der vielen Komponisten und Musiker finden, die mich über die Jahre begeistern konnten”, schreibt Towner in dem CD-Begleittext und nennt unter anderem den Einfluss von George Gershwin, John Coltrane, John Dowland und Bill Evans:
”Ich habe das Gefühl, dass At First Light ein gutes Beispiel dafür ist, wie ich diese Vielzahl von Einflüssen in meine persönliche Musik einfließen lasse.” Neben seinen eigenen Stücken spielt Towner auch Hoagy Carmichaels ”Little Old Lady”, Jule Stynes ”Make Someone Happy” und den irischen Traditional ”Danny Boy”. At First Light wurde im Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano, im Februar 2022 aufgenommen und von Manfred Eicher produziert.
First Two Pages of Frankenstein" ist ein spannendes neues Kapitel in der belebten Diskografie der Band. Die 11 Songs wurden von The National in den Long Pond Studios in Upstate New York produziert und beinhalten Gastauftritte von Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers und Sufjan Stevens. Der Nachfolger des 2019 erschienenen "I Am Easy To Find" geriet zunächst ins Stocken als Leadsänger Matt Berninger "eine sehr dunkle Phase durchlebte, in der mir überhaupt keine Texte oder Melodien einfielen, und diese Phase dauerte über ein Jahr. Obwohl wir schon immer ängstlich waren und uns oft stritten, wenn wir an einer Platte arbeiteten, war dies das erste Mal, dass es sich so anfühlte, als ob die Dinge wirklich zu einem Ende gekommen wären". Stattdessen haben es The National "geschafft, wieder zusammenzukommen und alles aus einem anderen Blickwinkel anzugehen, und dadurch sind wir in einer gefühlten neuen Ära für die Band angekommen", so Gitarrist/Pianist Bryce Dessner, zu dessen Bandkollegen auch sein Bruder Aaron (Gitarre/Piano/Bass) sowie die Brüder Scott Devendorf (Bass, Gitarre) und Bryan Devendorf (Schlagzeug) gehören. "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" synthetisiert die neue Chemie in der Band. Entstanden ist ein Album, das eine wunderbare Balance zwischen dem eleganten Sound und den eigenwilligen Impulsen von The National hält. Tracks wie "Grease in Your Hair" und "Ice Machines" wurden 2022 auf Tour gespielt bevor sie aufgenommen wurden, so dass die Band das Material in Echtzeit auf der Bühne während der Konzerte verfeinern konnte. "Für mich hat die Kraft dieser Platte mit der Absicht und der Struktur der Musik zu tun, die auf eine Menge zufälliger Magie trifft", sagt Aaron Dessner.
First Two Pages of Frankenstein" ist ein spannendes neues Kapitel in der belebten Diskografie der Band. Die 11 Songs wurden von The National in den Long Pond Studios in Upstate New York produziert und beinhalten Gastauftritte von Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers und Sufjan Stevens. Der Nachfolger des 2019 erschienenen "I Am Easy To Find" geriet zunächst ins Stocken als Leadsänger Matt Berninger "eine sehr dunkle Phase durchlebte, in der mir überhaupt keine Texte oder Melodien einfielen, und diese Phase dauerte über ein Jahr. Obwohl wir schon immer ängstlich waren und uns oft stritten, wenn wir an einer Platte arbeiteten, war dies das erste Mal, dass es sich so anfühlte, als ob die Dinge wirklich zu einem Ende gekommen wären". Stattdessen haben es The National "geschafft, wieder zusammenzukommen und alles aus einem anderen Blickwinkel anzugehen, und dadurch sind wir in einer gefühlten neuen Ära für die Band angekommen", so Gitarrist/Pianist Bryce Dessner, zu dessen Bandkollegen auch sein Bruder Aaron (Gitarre/Piano/Bass) sowie die Brüder Scott Devendorf (Bass, Gitarre) und Bryan Devendorf (Schlagzeug) gehören. "First Two Pages of Frankenstein" synthetisiert die neue Chemie in der Band. Entstanden ist ein Album, das eine wunderbare Balance zwischen dem eleganten Sound und den eigenwilligen Impulsen von The National hält. Tracks wie "Grease in Your Hair" und "Ice Machines" wurden 2022 auf Tour gespielt bevor sie aufgenommen wurden, so dass die Band das Material in Echtzeit auf der Bühne während der Konzerte verfeinern konnte. "Für mich hat die Kraft dieser Platte mit der Absicht und der Struktur der Musik zu tun, die auf eine Menge zufälliger Magie trifft", sagt Aaron Dessner.
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After almost two years of work, we're glad to invite you to a new journey through the fog of time and enjoy the upcoming reissue of the great Ambient/Folk record from 1984. A well-known to collectors but extremely rare record by Jon Iverson a multi-instrumentalist from Palo Alto and his college friend, mandolinist Tom Walters. They shared a love for singer/songwriter fare and gigged around campus playing covers of Neil Young, CSN, and Loggins/Messina in the late '70s.
"First Collection" was recorded during the Spring of 1984 in a small garage that had been converted to a one-room apartment in the seaside community of Los Osos, California.
With an instrumentation of 12-string guitar, piano, mandolin, analog synthesizers, and sampler, the duo has recorded nine bright, weightless, and diverse compositions where electronic experiments mix with ethnic rhythms, sweeping through inspired folk reminiscent of the work of William Ackerman, John Fahey, Master Wilburn Burchette, and Robbie Basho, to homemade pastoral space folk exuding sophisticated, pale, lunar sonic moods that somehow might remind of the work of Roedelius from the early 80s.
Equipment used for tracking included a rented 1/2" 8-track Otari MX5050 analog tape machine and assorted mics. With only a few thousand albums pressed, First Collection has become a collectable in some circles.
Now, almost forty years later, First Collection has been remixed and remastered from the original 1/2" tapes for this release.
- 2023 Edition - Pressed on Clear Red Wax - LP housed in an expanded Stoughton tip-on gatefold jacket - Includes fold-out poster, sticker and insert, along with a download card for full album, non-album single B-side "The Cowboy Song" and an unedited October 1978 BBC audio interview with John Lydon // Reissue of the pioneering group's debut album First Issue. In 1976 Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols set the agenda for punk's year zero with 'Anarchy In The UK', a song that summed up the spirit, sound and attitude of the band in one shocking package. Two years later, the Sex Pistols were in tatters, but Rotten was as unsentimental as you'd hope. He reverted to his real name - John Lydon - and set about forming a band whose very identity kicked against press and media manipulation. Featuring bassist Jah Wobble, drummer Jim Walker and guitarist Keith Levene, his new group were Public Image Limited. The public image would be limited. PiL were a very distinct prospect from the Pistols, founded with a greater thought for rhythm, and with a sound that turned the page from snarling punk to a more experimental sound fusing rock, dance, folk, ballet, pop and dub. But that's not to say Lydon's new outfit lacked vitriol. 'Public Image' hits out against the notorious British tabloid press, who never gave Lydon an easy ride, and against his own Sex Pistols public image - "You only saw me for the clothes I wore". The debut single (and the album that followed) operated as a theme song and a manifesto: "_my entrance/My own creation/My grand finale/My goodbye," as the lyrics had it. It is, essentially, the sound of four people letting loose in a studio - and not caring what anyone else thought. The album was never officially released in the USA back in the day, its sound considered too un-commercial by major-labels for an American release. First Issue has been lovingly reproduced from the original UK 1978 release and this special reissue also comes with a clutch of post-punk era treasures. The 2023 LP edition includes an expanded gatefold jacket, an archive replica fold-out poster, a PiL sticker, insert, and Download Card for the album, the archival BBC interview, and "The Cowboy Song." All of which were approved and coordinated with John Lydon and his personal management.
First Word Records is extremely proud to welcome the legendary New Sector Movements to the label, and the first new release from this moniker in 15 years! A 5-track EP for 'These Times', comprised of street soul, hip hop, jazz and bruk-tinged vibes.
Founded, headed and produced by DJ & musician IG Culture (CoOp Presents / LCSM), this all-new quasi-group project also features the vocal talents of Allysha Joy, Mike City and Natalie May with additional accompaniment from Wonky Logic, Wayne Francis, Alex Phountzi and the NSM Fusion Starship!
New Sector Movements (aka NSM) were the first out the gate at the dawn of the original broken beat movement, releasing their first single 'Groove Now / New Goya' on the People label in 1997, then releasing several singles and EPs through to the late noughties, and dropping a classic album on Virgin entitled 'Download This'. The previous incarnation featured several other artists from the bruk foundation era, including Kaidi Tatham, Izzy Dunn, Julie Dexter and Eska Mtungwazi amongst others.
Awarded a 'Lifetime Achievement Award' at the 2019 Worldwide Awards, NSM's IG Culture is a hugely pioneering prolific artist in the UK music scene. His catalogue of releases over the years has seen numerous aliases, collaborations, remixes and productions. Appearing on the scene in 1990 as part of Dodge City Productions, to producing several solo albums throughout the noughties, to recent years with his hugely-acclaimed cosmic jazz outfit LCSM (Likwid Continual Space Motion), additionally to co-running the CoOp Presents label, continuing the legacy of the award-winning club night whilst showcasing new artists, IG Culture has been omnipresent at every corner of British black music for three decades deep, influencing many a sound.
This is all additionally to projects like NameBrandSound, Likwid Biskit, Da One Away and Son of Scientist to name just a few. His work has appeared on releases by Roots Manuva, Young Disciples, Les Nubians and Monday Michiru, while remix work over the years has included Gang Starr, Femi Kuti, José James, Miraa May, Slum Village, Digital Underground, Luniz, Naughty By Nature, Airto Moreira & Flora Purim.
As a DJ, he's shut down dances all over the world, recently at places like Fabric, We Out Here festival and Summer Dance Forever in Amsterdam, as well as regularly rocking the airwaves on Worldwide FM and combining the two at BBC 6 Music's All Points East stage in the Summer. IG Culture also founded Selectors Assemble; a collective of forward thinking DJs and producers.
So, as we head towards Winter 2022, New Sector Movements has returned (but don't call it a comeback!). After a turbulent few years in the world, it seemed a poignant moment to reinvigorate the soul, and reflect upon 'These Times'. Here we have five brand new tracks, each illustrating a pertinent mood and attitude representing the current climate. Allysha Joy leads the vocal on EP opener 'These Times', a sumptuous slice of street soul with a deeply infectious horn hook. 'Stand' is next - uptempo boom bap for the dancers, this one featuring the soulful pipes of Mike City. 'Hope' is a midtempo jazz-funk dub again feature vocal licks from Allysha, and introducing the mysterious NSM Fusion Starship into the fold. 'H.E.A.T.' picks up the pace with some infectious jazz-bruk business, this one lead by Natalie May on the vocals, who explains "heat = movement, motion". And finally 'Bless' with closes the set on a four-four riddim with bruk sensibilites, inviting Mike City back with an uplifting vocal requesting we "bless the people just trying to make it".
An essential EP of cross-genre vibes to resonate cross-generations, New Sector Movements do not ramp. IG Culture and crew proceed to give you what you need for 'These Times'.
'These Times' is released on vinyl and digital worldwide via First Word Records late February 2023.
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Vinyl re issue of The Strokes critically acclaimed gold certified third album, ahead of the bands headline performance at All Points East later this year. The album (originally released in December 2005) debuted at number 1 on the UK Official Albums Chart and spawned the singles ‘Juicebox', ’Heart In A Cage’ and ‘You Only Live Once'. A track album pressed on single black vinyl. Marketing activity.
First Terrace Records is happy to present a new album from Bianca Scout, the South London based musician and choreographer. Having, in recent times, worked with luminaries such as Space Afrika, Mika Levi, Klein and Coby Sey, the time is certainly ripe for Scout to present her own vision and to firmly establish her talent among the rich tapestry of her peers.
The record was formed and sculpted from a three day recording session at St Giles Church in Camberwell (shout out Nick the Vic). The airy experiments and embryonic compositions that emerged from these sessions were then transferred from those lofty halls to the intimacy of the bedroom studio where they were twisted, teased, pruned and nurtured into the collection of sublime songs here presented. Scout's innate sense for narrative - and ear for exquisite creakiness - acted the shepherd for every gesture.
Cardinal Fuzz and Centripetal Force (North America) announce First Welcome, the eighth full length album from the ever evolving, veteran psychonauts White Manna. The album is being presented in a 500 copy vinyl pressing and will be made available for preorder on November 12th. The official release date is December 10th. White Manna's longevity as one of the leaders of the modern psychedelic movement is attributed to their willingness to introduce new elements to their sonic repertoire. Initially, these moves were subtle, but as the band has moved on through the years, these moves have become much more pronounced, always leaving listeners wondering what is in store for them as new releases are announced. So, here we are with First Welcome, an album that features warbled country leanings, airy blooms of ambience, and occasional hints of a German yesteryear, all implemented into the band's signature hazy and spacey mosaic of sound. None of these developments are unexpected, as they do build off of their previous album ARC, but here we see the band expand these elements and really make them their own. It should be noted that First Welcome is a product of the COVID era, with much of the recording happening in quarantine or while socially distanced. The band's process relied on communicating via email and sending music files back and forth. For White Manna this made the world of COVID both more fun and challenging, and they used the opportunity to get friends in different places to overdub tracks. Backing vocals and slide guitar were recorded while camping in the Mojave Desert. The saxophone was recorded in Liverpool. England. The trumpet sounds and some of the passages on the Rhodes were laid down in Northern California, and much of the vocals, piano, and synthesizer tracks were recorded in Costa Rica. As a result, the sound of First Welcome is reflective of the circumstances of these contemplative times. White Manna is recommended for listeners of everything from Hawkwind to Harmonia - and everything in between.
'It sounds like Roedelius remixing a Spacemen 3 track'
First Episode’ is the ultimate work of duo Re-Arbeiten, Ziv Matushka and Natalie Bar. Previously displaying their vast array of complexities, this one facades a more introvert and delicate peak into their glitchy IDM-infused language. As often is the case with Matushka’s productions, they manage to speak the most lyrical poetry using the harshest most elaborate grammar, and vice versa at times, a skill that’s reserved only to the true greats.
This is the duo’s first album, and is one of three which will be released in the coming years. Ziv and Natalie sadly passed away in 2020 and this release is very much in their dear memory.
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First Word Records is very proud to present a brand new full-length album from Kaidi Tatham. 'It's A World Before You'.
Following on from two EPs released on First Word last year ('Changing Times' and 'Hard Times'), Kaidi has delivered us thirteen tracks that deftly illustrate his various talents as a multi-instrumentalist.
Kaidi is probably best known for his work with Bugz In The Attic, though his musical contributions over the years have also included Amy Winehouse, Slum Village, Mulatu Astatke, Soul II Soul, Moonchild, Leroy Burgess, Amp Fiddler, Chris Dave, Macy Gray, King Britt, DJ Spinna, Mr Scruff and IG Culture to name but a few! In recent times, he's worked with DJ Jazzy Jeff on a variety of projects, including his most recent album 'M3', touring Europe for Jeff and Will Smith's reunion shows, and on the PLAYlist album 'Chasing Goosebumps', with Glenn Lewis, Stro Elliot (The Roots), Masego, Maimouna Youssef, Rich Medina, Daniel Crawford and more.
All this in addition to heating up dances around Europe with his inimitable DJ sets, and working heavily with First Word label-mate, Eric Lau (who also mixed this album) on a variety of projects, and adding releases to his already impressive catalogue on 2000 Black, Eglo and Theo Parrish's Sound Signature, with regular compadre, Dego (who features on the album's title track).
This album personifies Kaidi's diverse palette of sounds - bar Eric & Dego's features, every piece of music is played by himself. Largely flowing on a broken beat rhythm section, Kaidi effortlessly incorporates washes of afro, latin and funk throughout. From the harmonics of 'Your Dream Don't Mean A Thing', to the breakneck funk of 'Outta Audah', each and every riddim exudes energy. But this isn't simply a bruk record. The album is laced together with downtempo beats and future jazz interludes throughout, and some sweet synth boogie is never very far away, especially on the weighty vibes of 'It's About Who You Know'. To top it all off, there's two delightful nuggets of hip hop soul - Mancunian label-mates, Children of Zeus, feature on the neo-soul vibes of 'Out Here On My Own', and there's a feature from Amir Townes, better known as Uhmeer - an upcoming MC from Philadelphia, and son of one Jazzy Jeff Townes - who rides a sub-heavy, piano-led slice of boom bap, voicing an assortment of characters to tell the tale of 'Cupid'.
'It's A World Before You' is set to cause serious damage to sound-systems over the Summer, and show and prove once again the skills of one of the UK's best unsung musical talents, Kaidi Tatham.
First Word Records is very proud to bring you a brand new album from Takuya Kuroda!
Takuya Kuroda is a highly respected trumpeter and arranger born in Kobe, Japan and based in New York City. 'Midnight Crisp' is Takuya's seventh studio album, entirely self-produced and following 2020's highly acclaimed 'Fly Moon Die Soon', also released on UK label First Word (winner of the Worldwide Award's Label of the Year in 2019). Consisting of six new tracks, this once again sees Takuya displaying his unique hybrid sound, blending soulful jazz, funk, post-bop, fusion and hip hop.
After following the footsteps of his trombonist brother playing in big bands, he relocated to New York to study jazz & contemporary music at The New School in Union Square; a course he graduated from in the mid-noughties. It was here that Takuya met vocalist José James, with whom he worked on the 'Blackmagic' and 'No Beginning No End' projects.
Following graduation, Takuya established himself further in the NYC jazz scene, performing with the likes of Akoya Afrobeat and in recent years with DJ Premier's BADDER band. Premier said "The BADDER Band project was put together by my manager, and an agent I've known since the beginning of my Gang Starr career. He said, 'What if you put a band together that revolved around a trumpet player from Japan named Takuya Kuroda? He's got a hip-hop perspective and respect in the jazz field…"
Takuya Kuroda is already incredibly prolific, releasing six albums in the past decade and fortifying a solid reputation in the global jazz scene. 2011 saw the release of Takuya's independently-produced debut album, 'Edge', followed by 'Bitter and High' the following year and 'Six Aces' on P-Vine in 2013. Takuya was signed to the legendary Blue Note Records in 2014 for his album 'Rising Son', as well as appearing on their 2019 cover versions project, 'Blue Note Voyage'. He released his 5th album 'Zigzagger' on Concord in 2016, which also featured Antibalas on a reimagining of the Donald Byrd classic 'Think Twice'.
His last album was the afore-mentioned 'Fly Moon Die Soon' on First Word, which received plays and support from the likes of Pitchfork, Earmilk, Bandcamp Weekly, Worldwide FM, All About Jazz, Apple Music, Tidal, Stereogum, Treble, Brooklyn Vegan, FIP (France), Tony Minvielle, Jazz FM, Huey Morgan (BBC 6 Music), BBC Radio 3, Novena Carmel, KCRW and tons more DJs, tastemakers, selectors, radio stations, bloggers & magazines.
The new project 'Midnight Crisp' will be released October 21st 2022 on vinyl, CD and digital, worldwide via First Word Records.
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We Out Here is the highly anticipated debut EP from Dublin’s Plus One on First Second Label. The prolific musical polymath lays down 4 sub-wrenching club tracks indebted to hardcore futurism with a canny pop sensibility.
Plus One is an alias of cultishly adored producer Matt Finnegan, a veteran beatsmith behind multiple productions for Irish rapper Kojaque, amongst other impressive credits on an expansive CV. He concurrently eyed up the dancefloor, stocking an impressive hard drive of unreleased club tracks that were subsequently rinsed heavily by the likes of Ben UFO, re:ni and EMA to name but a few.
This is his solo debut proper, and comes impressively fully formed from the off. We Out Here starts the engines with a deliciously sub-y stepper of epic big room potential, with a fittingly large bassline to boot. Hood Up Head Down is suspended in an aqueous ambient-drowned RnB bath before unfurling into lush 2-step in romantic fashion. Kiki bobs assuredly along a breaks-y techno pulse amongst a twinkling twilight melody and an emotive reese-bass stunner of a line. Me concludes the EP on a necessary 160 tip, flexing a modern jungle rinse out with sharp amens and soaring melodic subs to round off this statement of intent. - Nevan Jio
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Welcome to Carsharing Tapes. Welcome to the future.
With "DIURNAL TIDES: First Wave" we're proud to present not only the first release of our new imprint for classic electronic music mixtape culture but also the first ever official gathering of two long standing figures which both have been relentlessly and continuously contributing to the German underground scene for more than two decades now.
And these two are: baze.djunkiii and THE D3VI7.
baze.djunkiii, Hamburg-born and based, officially entered the electronic music scene as a DJ back in 1997 from an angle of being an enthusiastic raver, launched his very own label Intrauterin Recordings in 1999 and - apart from becoming an 24/7 networker, knowledge hub, music blogger etc. - evolved into one of the most versatile underground DJs and purveyor of original DJ culture around whose journey on the decks has taken him all over Germany as well as to Greece and the United States and to countless hours of air time on a plethora of underground radio stations as well.
THE D3VI7, on the other hand, remains an elusive figure. Deeply rooted in electronic music production and the hell'ish jungle of circuit board wiring as well as DAW madness THE D3VI7 is a moniker created by one of the most active, yet probably most underrated figures on the release circuit, a nom de guerre which serves the sole purpose of being able to operate anonymously without any confirmation bias being attached to other musical guises which might, or might have not, been used previously and in earlier stages of a long lasting involvement in music. And btw - this is the first time ever THE D3VI7 agreed to provide an official DJ mix for a mixtape release.
With baze.djunkiii's mix opening the roughly hour long journey of "DIURNAL TIDES: First Wave" on the A-side we're getting a prime example of what original DJ culture is all about as he's taking us on a fascinating journey from deepest underground Electro to screaming, spiralling Acid madness and beyond, digging up most underground vinyl cuts and making proper use of his extensive collection of rare 7" releases - a format that has been criminally overlooked by many DJs but provides a treasure trove of goodness as this mix easily proves.
Turning the tape THE D3VI7 does what THE D3VI7 does best on the flip: Being a force. A dark one. Forging a pounding, most relentless stream of hammering Techno tunes to take out unsuspecting punters on heaving dancefloors one by one THE D3VI7 provides a high octane selection of peak time excess that either thrills or kills - an ode to the power of raw and unpolished Techno madness in its purest form. A power that cannot be contested. Ever.
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ODE TO 97 marks Departure Lounge's second release with two new original tracks with accompanying remixes from industry heavy-weights Tigerskin and I:Cube.
Order DL002 now
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4 Cuts Placed In "A First Quarter", the companion piece to Solos, is the sonic result of a collaboration with artist Lawrence Weiner. As Landry remembers, “I was working for Keith Sonnier at Castelli Gallery and met Lawrence. He asked ‘can you make a video for me?’ So we did "To and Fro..." At some point he was working on "A First Quarter" (1973) and wanted me to do the music. I said ‘I already have the music.’ He said ‘what do you mean?’ I had recorded several pieces with Kurt Munkcasi and walked around the set playing the music on a boom box.”
The set features one solo each by Landry and contrabassist Rusty Gilder, a duo for the tenor saxophones of Landry and Richard Peck, and an ensemble piece for Landry, Peck, Gilder, trumpeter Robert Prado, and drummer David Lee, Jr. Starting the record off is “Requiem for Some,” inspired by Gil Evans’ long, placid tones. The anchor is Lee’s dry cymbal attack and fancy footwork, dancing around overlapping and recombining horns, chords held just shy of splintering. “4th Register” is a grainy delayed solo tenor piece, presaging “Kitchen Solos” from Fifteen Saxophones by several years. “Piece for So” was, according to Landry, “a chance to give Rusty a solo”. Mostly known as an ensemble bassist, Gilder bounced between Lafayette, Charlotte, and New York, leaving a slim recorded legacy. Here, he stretches out for twelve minutes and change – with keen upper register detail and meaty up-tempo walk, he could have been mentioned in the same breath as players like Dave Holland and Barre Phillips. The closing “Duo Vivace” finds Landry and Peck sparring on tenors, the latter holding a melodic line while Landry leans into explosive glossolalia, until both become birds in flight.
Luuk van Dijk has unveiled his hotly-anticipated debut album First Contact, out 11th November on his own Dark Side Of The Sun label. The Dutch DJ and producer’s maiden LP is the end result of a long and intense voyage of discovery.
Years in the making, it’s a project that Luuk can fully stand behind and be proud of. Next to a search for his own identity and his own place in music, it has also become a passage
through time.
By far his largest body of work to date, the 13-track release kicks off with the suitably-titled ‘Cosmiq’, a deep, grooving sonic exploration that immediately sets the tone. “Because of this
track I wanted to make an album to showcase my other kind of music that people won’t maybe expect of me,” Luuk explains.
Next up is the shimmering, ethereal sounds of ‘Love You’, a track that features the irresistible vocals of US singer-songwriter Dawn Richard and will be released as a single in October. “She really brought this track to a whole new level,” says Luuk. “I couldn’t be more happy with the result.”
Further collaborations come in the form of ‘Wolf’, a majestic, strings-led house cut featuring Steve Burton of oneofmanysteves; ‘Master Plug’, a deep, jackin’ number with Chicago artist
Kid Enigma; and the Detroit-indebted ‘Together We Rise’, punctuated by the spiritual vocals of MC Roga. “I tried making a track the way they used to make music,” Luuk says of the latter.
“With as few machines as possible, just a mixer, sampler and some synths.” Additional highlights include the enchanting ‘Let The Bass Kick’, orchestral ‘Lightning
Striking’ and hypnotic ‘Hot Stuff’, before ‘Knowing How To Love’ closes things out on a peculiarly wistful note. “The last track of the album, also a track that started as an interlude and
ended up being a full song,” says Luuk.
“This song basically sums up how I’ve been feeling the years 2020 and 2021, very emotional, sad, but also hopeful. Everything will be alright.”
One of the hottest new names coming out of Amsterdam’s bustling club scene, Luuk van Dijk is currently making waves in international waters with his infectious take on spirited house
music.
He has already released on labels like Hot Creations, Cuttin’ Headz, Solid Grooves Records and Eastenderz have established his name as a house music prodigy.
He launched Dark Side Of The Sun in 2020 with the aim of exploring a broader approach to his signature style.
First Contact represents a vivid sonic snapshot of one of electronic music’s brightest young talents.
Early DJ Support :
Jamie Jones
Marco Faraone
Carl Craig
Yuksek
Sasch BBC
CamelPhat
Paco Osuna
Stacey Pullen
Tocadisco
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Jon Neufeld and Martha Scanlan's unique alchemy on stage began ten
years ago when they first played Portland's Indie Roots festival Pickathon
together - It was an immediate friendship and musical connection that
has only deepened with time and years spent touring festivals and
venues across the country, the sense of adventure and improvisation in
the music becoming more fluid and expansive with each show, each
passing mile
In January 2020, when so much began to shift and live shows ground to a halt,
what began as a loose plan to work on a new record seemed to become a
musical journey of it's own, a necessary sort of refuge. They began passing
songs and ideas back and forth from their respective homes/studios; Martha in
Western Montana and Jon in Portland Oregon, often in the early hours before the
world was awake, often waiting to listen to the track until tape was rolling, almost
as though the improvisational live interaction onstage was occurring over time
and space, in slow motion. The result is a continuing collaborative project in
motion, an unfolding story. Welcome to the first mile-post, "Last Stars First Light"
"Palomino" ist das mit Spannung erwartete neue Album von First Aid Kit, dem von der Kritik gefeierten schwedischen Folk-Duo, bestehend aus den Singer-Songwriterinnen und Schwestern Johanna und Klara Soderberg. Der erste Track des Albums, "Angel", wurde bereits vor der Ankündigung des Albums veröffentlicht. "Palomino" ist ihr 5. Studioalbum, bestehend aus 11 Songs und vom Schweden Daniel Bengtson produziert. « Palomino » est le cinquième album du groupe suédois First Aid Kit. Écrit et enregistré dans leur pays d'origine, la Suède, « Palomino » a été créé pendant cette période sombre de pandémie mondiale, mais s'avère être l'album le plus pop de First Aid Kit à ce jour. Composé de 11 titres, il a été produit par Daniel Bengtson. «C'est le premier album que nous enregistrons en Suède depuis notre premier album « The Big Black & The Blue » il y a 12 ans ! Nous avons travaillé avec le producteur suédois Daniel Bengtson dans son charmant studio Rymden à Stockholm. C'était une expérience super amusante. Nous nous sommes vraiment laissé le temps d'enregistrer, nous ne voulions pas nous précipiter. Les morceaux ont été principalement écrits pendant la pandémie. Durant cette période compliquée, la musique était synonyme d'évasion, une bouffée d'air face à ce qu'il se passait dans le monde. Nous voulions que cet album soit plus optimiste et joyeux que notre album précédent, « Ruins », qui était un album de rupture. Ce nouveau projet est probablement notre album le plus pop à ce jour. Nous avons trouvé de l'inspiration partout - auprès de groupes tels que Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, Tom Petty, T Rex, Elton John, mais aussi Angel Olsen, Whitney et Big Thief.''
New Hampshire born, New Brunswick based, singer-songwriter Jason
Anderson has spent the last five years making Canada home, landing first
in Toronto before settling in Fredericton - The idea of home the places we
come from, the places we return to is a powerful theme throughout his
epic new record First Light
First Light is a compelling, cathartic listen, as Anderson's poetic lyrics and
anthemic melodies make for an inspired fit with producer Thomas Wincek.
Drawing on his All Tiny Creatues project as well as his work with Justin Vernon's
Volcano Choir, Wincek has created a huge sonic backdrop here. Anderson's
expansive narratives and sing-along hooks weave through explosive rockers like
Caps Ridge Line and Still Life, pastoral mood pieces like Looking Glass and
Streetlamps , and haunting ballads like the pensive "Tower in the Fog and
gorgeous closer Halloween. The whole thing feels a bit like indie- folk stadium
rock, as if The Weakerthans were fronted by fellow Canadian Bryan Adams. As
Anderson puts it, € What started as a text exchange between me and Tom about
Joni Mitchell in the 80s turned into something strange and awesome. What's
perhaps most awesome about the project is hearing a bedroom singer-songwriter
pushing themselves in such a fun and unexpected way. First Light is a really
special record.
The story of this album is a story of love and lust - it's a love letter to rock
music - Your first love being the first time you held that instrument or
lover that would propel you into the next chapter
Your first heartbreak. Your first fear. Your first fuck. There's a constant need to
feed the first because all of that unfinished business fuels the second.
But the truth about the first is that it was there all along. These songs were out
there years ago, playing out their melodies to a closeted, jealous, angry Iowa City
gay boy trying to find his way towards freedom. Decades later, No. 2 grabs those
songs down and punches the idea of a first all open. First Love reintroduces No. 2
to us all, driven by the propulsive lyrics of Neil Gust along with the incomparable
Gilly Hanner on bass and the unparalleled Paul Pulvirenti on drums.
Produced by Joanna Bolme (Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks) and mixed by Gary
Jarman (The Cribs) and Tony Lash (Heatmiser). The album was recorded over 3
years in studios and basements across Portland, OR and finished in a boathouse
in Connecticut during Covid. Special guest Rebecca Cole (The Minders, Wild Flag)
shows up on keyboards here and there.
Racing through queer anthems, noir grooves, and more under and over ground
rock references than a Quentin Tarantino movie, First Love bursts with all the
infectious chemistry that made the band so much fun in the first place.
The legendary gig that Joe Strummer, singer from the Punk Rock band 'The Clash' attended and inspired his writing their classic 'White Man In Hammersmith Palais' took place on the 05th June 1977.
At the Hammersmith Palais venue on Shepherd's Bush Road W6, London during the height of Punk Mania. The full line up for the show were all Jamaican artists Dillinger, Leroy Smart, Delroy Wilson (all the first time from Jamaica) and Ken Boothe.
'Ken Boothe for UK pop reggae' who had already scored some hits with 'Everything I own' and 'Crying Over You' in 1974. Joe Strummer was expecting Roots, Rock, Reggae but the Sound System this evening 'Admiral Ken Sound' was playing 'Four Tops all night' as in soul and northern soul that were staple crowd pleasers at the time to warm up the audience, but in Joe's eyes the music should have reflected more Jamaican roots based music. The song also deals with bigger issues of black and white unity, but some people including the Punk Rockers.
'They're all too busy fighting, for a good place under the lighting'. Joe Strummer himself was looking for fun. 'I'm the Whiteman in the Palais....Just Looking for Fun'
The artwork supplied by Punk Artist MAL-ONE has used the two posters that were made for this gig, the reggae promoters 'Star Promotions' poster, that contained a picture of Ken Boothe and the venue's own poster that used text to announce it's line up for that evenings performance. Alongside these lost relics he has also combined the groups own poster for the 'White Man In Hammersmith Palais' single that incorporated the use of rifle target sights, perhaps enhancing the air of violence contained in the songs message.
MAL-ONE has collaged these together joining the two stories as indeed the song lyrics reflected. People often forget that the songs release was in fact as year after the actual gig, we have tied this release to the 40th anniversary of the song's release. Joe Strummer was one of the few voices from the Punk Era that used his lyrics as a weapon to tell the events that were happening around him and their relevance to those times.
The song itsel a Clash Classic and also a Punk Anthem, released on the 16th June 1978. We have compiled this album with songs by these artists, most of which you would have heard that night. As a post script to this story when the Hammersmith Palais sadly closed its doors for the last time after 82 years' service in 1999, the owners thought it fitting to present Joe Strummer with a sign from the venue's entrance. Mr Strummer's understated reply 'I guess I'll have to send a man with a van round to pick it up'.
Hope you Enjoy the set....
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Noah & The Whale were one of the leading protagonists of the small but
perfectly formed indie-folk scene of the early days of the 21st Century
Formed in Twickenham, the five-piece, led by vocalist and guitarist Charlie Fink,
originally boasted Laura Marling in their line- up, before she left to begin her
successful solo career.
Supported by a full-length film, The First Days Of Spring, which appeared a year
after the group's debut, is frequently cited as their crowning achievement.
Exploring the break-up between Fink and Marling, the album has none of the first
album's female voices, and is presented as a narrative of a split. NME said, "They
have done a hell of a lot of growing up. An immense album."
This re-issue is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.
Opening with the buzz of a smartphone on vibrate, First Hate’s sophomore album Cotton Candy launches to life with “Someone New,” a synth-driven statement of intent. The Danish duo’s charged songs are rooted in a recognizable universe, but traverse a wide array of genre experiments and pop detours. Cotton Candy follows the quest of its protagonist stumbling through a crumbling world, winning and losing lovers, swinging from extreme highs to hopeless lows. The title alludes to transience and ecstasy, the surge of a sugar rush before nausea sets in, the way cotton candy dissolves into nothingness leaving only sticky fingers. Throughout, the productions glitter with synthetic detail and hypermodern finesse, effervescent but elusive. “Life is a rollercoaster and we’ve ridden the ups and downs.” During the recording sessions, a collage of Copenhagen musicians flowed through the studio. First Hate is a fixture of the city’s creative community, but ultimately exists in their own sphere, carving a niche as parallel universe pop stars, embracing sweet and bitter, risk and reward: “Sometimes the ones who love you most are the ones who hold you back.” Anton and Joakim grew up in Copenhagen and met when they were 15 through common friends on the street where they lived. “I didn’t enjoy being home so I used to stay at my friend Jakob's basement in an old church on Willemoesgade street,” says Wei. “His mom was the priest. She baptized Anton at age eight during his Jesus phase when he demanded a late baptism from his atheist parents. Jakob was friends with Elias who lived up in Anton’s end and they introduced us to each other. One summer my parents finally married after 20 years of dating. Joakim moved in for two weeks and we accidentally trashed the apartment while they were on their honeymoon. Later on Jakob, Elias, and two other friends, Dan and Johan, formed the band Iceage. Watching our friends’ growing success was a catalyst in creating our own project. At that point everybody in our friend group was making punk music, so the most punk thing we could think to do was start a pop duo.” The First Hate catalog comprises more than nine years of work, including their 2017 cult classic, A Prayer For The Unemployed, a collaborative album Dittes Bog, two EPs and several singles. All of the recordings are self-produced, until they are ready to be finished in the studio. “We have sort of a twin alliance. Like couples finishing each other’s spaghetti at restaurants, we finish each other’s music. Having people enter this sacred mix has been such a pleasure.” On stage Anton and Joakim embody the contrasting yet complimentary energies of yin and yang: Joakim pushing buttons, steering the ship, working synths and samplers with harmonious calm, while Anton’s body bullets around the stage, pounding out his kinetic dance moves. The name Anton means fragile flower, an apt metaphor for his stage presence. A fragile flower shooting through concrete. To behold a performer who consistently delivers such intense live performances is a rare pleasure. “Live means love. When everything is right. When we meet the audience heart to heart. Then the planet spins even faster.” First Hate has performed over a hundred shows across Europe, Asia, the U.S., and Russia, both as headliners and alongside fellow Copenhagen acts Iceage, Lust For Youth, Communions, Soho Rezanejad, Trentemøller and Grand Prix. “We are on a quest of love, yes it’s as cheesy as that.”
Please see below for the next Kalita 12" - Adelle First - Don't Give Up.
A South African Boogie, dancefloor heater reissued on vinyl for the
first time since the original release in 1986.
Kalita are excited to announce the first ever official reissue of Adelle First’s highly sought-after 1986 12” South African boogie single 'Don’t Give Up'!
Originally privately released on infamous South African label Music Team’s imprint Solid Records, the single features both the shorter vocal version and devastating 9-minute long extended ‘Dub Mix’, a true testament to the genius of producer Tom Mkhize. Having recently rocketed in demand,
fuelled by equal measures of quality and scarcity, and with original copies now selling for over £200 on the second-hand market, Kalita now offer this masterpiece to the world once more, sourced from the original analogue master tapes.
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*The very first of it’s kind, My First Book of Drum & Bass is an alphabetical adventure for little ravers and misbehavers! This 32-page illustrated hardback takes readers on an educational journey across airwaves and rumbling dance floors, introducing them to some of the most celebrated artists and icons of the Drum & Bass world along the way. The book features artists such as Andy C, Pendulum, DJ Zinc, Goldie, Calibre, Jenna G, Shy FX, Harriet Jaxxon, and many more. Following the classic ABC format, this hillarious and educational book has had support from many of the biggest artists in the D&B community and has been a huge hit with children and grown ups with a sense of humour alike. It appeals to all ages and to anyone with a love of all things Drum & Bass. The book comes with a variety of free downloads including an Audiobook recorded by award winning MC Harry Shotta.
FEATURES
Andy C, MC Bassman, Brockie, Calibre, Dillinja, MC Eksman, MC Det, MC GQ, Flava D, Goldie, Harriet Jaxxon, Icicle, Jenna G, Kasra, London Elektricity, DJ Marky, Nicky Blackmarket, Optical, Pendulum, The Qemists, Riya, Shy FX, Tali, The upbeats, Voltage, Wilkinson, XOYO, DJ Zinc
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Also, was gibt es wirklich noch über die außergewöhnliche Punk-Supergroup und Coverband Me First und die Gimme Gimmes zu sagen? Nach 7 Studioalben, einer Live-Platte und zu vielen Singles, um sie zu zählen, haben sie so ziemlich jedes Genre unter der Sonne in Angriff genommen. Sei es Motown, Country, Showmelodien, japanischer Pop (gesungen auf Japanisch!), Diese erfahrenen Punkrock-Profis haben bei jeder Gelegenheit auf eine Weise triumphiert, wie es nur die Gimmes konnten.
Me First und die Gimme Gimmes werden 2022 weltweit touren, also schaut sie euch live an. Wenn die Pflicht verlangt, dass einer der Gimmes mit ihrer anderen Band auftritt, können Sie sicher sein, dass ein reisender Gimme einspringen wird. Zu den reisenden Gimmes gehörten: John Reis von Rocket from the Crypt, Johnny "2 Bags" Wickersham von Social Distortion, Jay Bentley von Bad Religion und CJ Ramone von The Ramones, und zuletzt sahen wir UK-Import, Pink von The Damned auf Skins! Du weißt nie, welches mit Stars besetzte Line-up du bekommst, aber du weißt, dass es dich nicht enttäuschen wird.
Just 100 copies pressed – make sure to book your place for this unforgettable journey.
Celebrating our tenth release, First Cut delivers the label’s first split release. Like the arbitrary scheduling of our hometown Dublin’s bus system, it took a while for these tracks to appear – and then they all came at once!
Tr One drops ‘Fold’, a rousing house track, led by insistent piano keys and tough drums, while on ‘Crash2’, Lerosa delivers a wonderfully sub-aquatic electro-techno jam. Bringing the listener back to earth with a driving bass and powerful rhythm is Giles Armstrong’s ‘Deep is For Dopes!’
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Royal Coda is an American rock band based in Sacramento, California, founded by lead guitarist Sergio Medina. They are known for their amalgamation of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and post-hardcore
If you thought the Erupt-ion was over and done with, think again. Another earful of heavy breaks and hardcore junglism have risen from the ashes to keep your residential area vibrating. This time, the ballistics are blasted out by the label's head man, Bullet S.
Bullet uses his EP to tell a story of growing up around urban decay, and claustrophobic city centres. He translates that angst into three tunes' worth of furious beats and staccato riff overload, with the moody aesthetic to boot. This is the first sign of trouble, you cannot ignore it.
Erupt Records was established in 2016 to cover tougher, faster styles of electronic dance music, with a view of openness towards introducing contemporary influences alongside the familiar; Hardcore that reflects today, not yesterday. The objective? Push the boundaries, keep the drums raw, compromise for noone.
Grab the vinyl while you can to get yourself an exclusive bonus track which won't be on any digital releases of this EP, "No Loss".
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Clear Vinyl
Dominique Lawalree (b. 1954) is a composer born and based in Brussels. 'First Meeting is Lawalree's first archival release to date. Culled from four different albums originally self-published on his private label Editions Walrus, circa 1978-1982, this compilation highlights the composer's unique sense of ambient and minimal composition. Originally considered for release on Brian Eno's Obscure Records, Lawalree's music is now no longer hidden.
In this collection the listener finds the sounds of piano, synthesizers, percussion, wurlitzer, organ, and voice, all performed by Lawalree. Using these tools Dominique creates miniature themes that gallop across the speakers in slow motion, stretching our normal sense of dynamics and color, effortlessly widening the stereo plane. On "Musique Satieerique," Dominique pays homage to the influence of Satie with simple repeated piano figures and a lush field of organs and flutes. And on other selections, like "Le Maison Des 5 Elements," he takes a more wistful, ambient approach, layering keyboard lines, and invoking found/tape sounds to create a hypnogogic world of his own. Childlike in its playfulness and surreal to the bone, the music spins like a carrousel placed inside the Rothko Chapel. Lawalree's sense of timbre, tone, and overarching composition is like an impression of a home movie whose charm lies in its knowledge of intimacy, shared by few.' An incantation of innocence.
"a quiet, understated music that is both touching and elegant" - Gavin Bryars
Waltari Mastermind Kärtsy Hatakka veröffentlicht mit HEAD FIRST deren Debutalbum. Der Status des finnischen Crossover-Monsters Waltari ist nicht leugnen, doch nur noch wenige können sich erinnern, dass Kärtsy Hatakka schon damals eine andere Band unter dem Namen HEAD FIRST hatte... die einzige echte Funk-Metal-Band aus Finnland!
In einigen der ersten Waltari Songs war der funkige Einfluss von HEAD FIRSt auch noch deutlich heraus zu hören. Und nun bringt eben diese Band ihr Debüt heraus... nach 30 Jahren des Wartens!
Basierend auf den größten Live-Killern wurde das vorhandene Songmaterial den heutigen Sounderwartungen angepasst. Dazu entstanden auch einige brandneue Stücke.
HEAD FIRST bedeutet Old-School-Funk-Metal mit einer frischen Kante grooviger Beats und mitreißender Energie!!
In 2020, a year shaped by stringent COVID-19 restrictions, many of us paused for thought about our collective futures. For First Light Records, this reflection, plus the support of Sound and Music's Composer-Curator programme, led to the development of Unbuilt Sound, a new series of commissions centred around acoustic ecology; the relationship between listener and environment. The first iteration of the Unbuilt Sound series sees Flora Yin-Wong retreat to an isolated cabin outside Machynlleth, North Wales, to collect the field recordings that provide the basis for her folklore-inspired album, The Sacrifice.
A collage of twisted field recordings, rich waves of synth, and whispered vocals, The Sacrifice oscillates between gentle familiarity and dreamlike distortions, inspiring a folkloric sense of place that extends across time. Softly dissonant drones envelop the sounds of rocks underfoot and rippling pools, a continuous call and response between artist and landscape. These themes are perhaps best captured on 'Willow Bends', which features spoken word written and performed by Berlin's Rachel Lyn. "Ride," she says, "these ancient and contemporary currents, carrying their secrets from up-stream. Wanderwaves, when pebbles skip across the ripples, I reflect upon it, this water mirror..."
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First Word Records is pleased to welcome back Souleance with a brand new single for Summer 2022!
'GUILI GUILI' is a double AA side 7" single, with an additional remix by Art Of Tones on the digital version.
French slang for "tickle", 'GUILI' is an epic disco-funk piece inspired by the likes of Azymuth, Herbie Hancock and Marcos Valle, but incorporated with Souleance's trademark sounds of fuzzy bass-heavy electronica, synths and samples, giving the track a fresh contemporary twist. Meanwhile, the (digital only) Art Of Tones mix ramps up the disco elements heavily, incorporating some vocals, strings and horn stabs to create some sure fire heat for the summertime. The flipside 'TORO' is a much more tweaked-out, synth-heavy bomb, influenced by artists such as Prince, Parliament and French electronic club music. All tracks mark the evolution of the duo into a full live band, whilst remaining true to their sonic mission of producing music crafted especially for the dancefloor.
The band have been performing live at various festivals and venues across Europe, with upcoming appearances scheduled at the Pura Vida Festival, Greece in August and Jazz à Vienne in July.
This two-track vinyl 7" / three-track digi-single is released on First Word Records, worldwide on May 27th 2022. Another essential one for your record bags.
Credits:
Bass guitar, synths and programming by Fulgeance.
Scratches and programming by Soulist.
Wurlitzer, Moog grandmother, ASM Hydra synth & Roland Juno 60 by Vincent Choquet.
Mastered by DJ VAS.
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OFFICIAL RE-ISSUE OF GÖTZ TANGERDING'S BHAKTI JAZZ DEBUT ALBUM !!!
Born in Donauwörth, a small town in Bavaria in 1951, Götz Tangerding studied piano to concert level at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg. In the 1970s he started to make a name for himself on the local Munich jazz scene and traveled through East Europe with drummer Rudi Roth. In 1976 he came to New England Conservatory of Music in Boston to study compositions with George Russell and Jaki Byard with whom he played in the New York Big Band in 1978.
In 1980 he returned to Munich, Germany and founded his formation Bhakti Jazz as well his own record label Bhakti Records. "First Step", recorded at the Loft in Munich on May 1st and 2nd that same year, was the debut album and showcases the huge talent of the young and gifted band leader.
The two best known tracks are probably "Glimpses of Truth" and "Eastern Moods" which have been re-released back to back on 45RPM single by another german reissue label in the late 2000s. However, these are just two out of nine outstanding compositions from the prolific pianist to be found on this album. Tangerding's tasty style of playing, combined with the psychedelic maze created by his fellow band members on flute (Alan Ett), sax (Alan Ett again!), drums (Rudi Roth), and bass (Urs Hämmerli) plus Lisa Dawson's exotic vocal harmonies are sure grab your ear for a mind-blowing experience.
Götz Tangerding, who died much too young early in 1991, left us with dozens of wonderful compositons. "First Step" does not contain a single weak track. It's a true masterpiece and definitely one of the finest independent german jazz albums from the 1980s.
This is the first OFFICIAL RE-ISSUE - limited to 500 (HAND-STAMPED!) COPIES. The record is housed in a HIGH QUALITY TIP-ON record jacket and comes with a FULL ALBUM DOWNLOAD CODE.
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Percussionist Frank Ricotti played in the National Youth Orchestra and was rated the UK’s top vibraphonist during the late 1960s. In 1971, with guitarist Mike de Albuquerque, he cut the multifaceted jazz album, First Wind, which alternated between experimental rock-
influenced jazz and thoughtful adaptations of work by James Taylor, John Sebastian and Melanie Safka, with some surprising blues diversions too, such as Albuquerque’s “Go Out And Get It.” However, Albuquerque soon joined ELO as a bassist, putting an end to the duo.
First Word Records is extremely delighted to present 'Torn : Tonic' — the sophomore album from singer, performer, poet and producer, Allysha Joy.
Delivered unfiltered, straight from the soul, ´Torn : Tonic' pulls us into a 10 track journey that weaves through the multiplicity of letting go, standing tall, and creating space all at once. The album's expansive and vivid exploration of healing examines the power that comes with accepting the complexity of change. Allysha walks listeners through the remedy she finds in sound and emerges empowered to share this healing with others. Deeply moving and lyrically compelling, 'Torn : Tonic' hosts a stellar line-up of artists, creating a world of collective power, growth, and hope.
Allysha Joy is an integral member of the vibrant Melbourne soul & jazz scene, well known for both her solo work and as lead vocalist for 30/70. A uniquely-talented soul, her husky voice, and formidable Fender Rhodes prowess have garnered attentive audiences around the world.
Her 2018 debut album 'Acadie : Raw' was named 'Best Soul Album' at the Music Victoria Awards, featured in Bandcamp's 'Top Soul Albums' of the year and received a nomination for 'Best Jazz Album' at the Worldwide Awards. An incredibly prolific artist, Allysha has released on labels; Rhythm Section, Gondwana, Future Classic, Total Refreshment Centre and now another drop for First Word, after her acclaimed 2020 EP, 'Light It Again'.
Allysha's production on 'Torn : Tonic' effortlessly arches across a sonic palette, comprised of shuffling broken grooves and exquisite celestial melodies. There are healthy swathes of skippy neo-soul boom bap sensibilities, entwined with stark swing-laden electronic percussion, Detroit-esque sun-saturated synths, and Antipodean bruk backbeats. And whilst this project was produced entirely by Joy herself, she is far from alone, inviting in an array of female and non-binary artists to bless assorted tracks with their own unique gifts. Ego Ella May, BINA, Rara Zulu, Belle Bangard and Dancing Water all appear, expanding upon the formulaic roles of featured artists to share the creative space as equal collaborators.
'Torn : Tonic' exudes vibes, from the opening whiplash snare of 'Peace, to the rolling jazz-bruk of lead single 'Let It!', to the sweet soulful sonics of 'Still Dreaming', to the closing triumphant shout of "All Joy!!" on 'G.N.D.', this is a 40-minute opus that will definitely require repeat listening.
Allysha's poetic introspection reveals the album's intention to demand space, purpose, and pleasure. Her words are deliberate and direct to the alarm bells and messages her artistic vision carries. Fluid, cross-genre, and spirited with generational stories embodied, 'Torn : Tonic' sits at the intersection of a feminist manifesto of Joy's momentous leap as an artist, and her exploration of what it means to be human in today's capitalist-driven world.
In Allysha's words, 'Torn : Tonic' is exactly as the name describes. "It is looking directly into the shadow of pain and overcoming it with joy. No love songs! Just social, political, emotional anthems for change! It is the first record I have produced entirely on my own and it feels like that perseverance that I have consistently had to conjure up is embedded in this music, overcoming my own conditioning in a society and industry that constantly tells me I can't, so I must!"
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Music For Nations release - essentially a reissue of the record from last year's ‘Kvitravn’, augmented with livestream audio from their worldwide streaming event last year, housed in limited deluxe packaging. 2CD with 28 double page booklet includes disc 1 – 'Kvitravn' (original album tracklisting) and disc 2 'Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven' (livestream audio featuring tracks from Kvitravn). 2LP set in gatefold sleeve pressed on 180gm vinyl with an 8 page booklet. Specialist promo/marketing activity across all relevant media outlets.
Soaring horns, jangly highlife guitars, Latin-Caribbean polyrhythms and politically-charged lyrics collide in pulsing afrobeat and UK jazz conversation on First Home, the debut album by Leeds-raised 10-piece, TC & The Groove Family, forthcoming this June 2022 on the Gilles Peterson-approved, Bristol based label, Worm Discs.
First Word Records continues its series of special collaborative releases for it's 15th anniversary with an absolutely firing double-header from 14KT and Tall Black Guy.
On this limited 7" vinyl, the two renowned US beat-makers revisit two of their previous First Word singles, turning out flips of each other's tracks, also featuring a multitude of talent, in the form of Moonchild, Muhsinah, Stro Elliot and James Poyser of The Roots.
Following on from the first volume in 14KT's jazz project 'IAMABEENIE', here he flips TBG and Moonchild's collab, 'I Will Never Know', originally from Tall Black Guy's 2017 sophomore album 'Let's Take A Trip'. The original neo-soul bump is transformed into a deliciously epic latin affair, drenched with deep Brazilian vibes throughout - this is one to draw for at those steamy get-downs; a slinky slab of dancefloor fire.
Tall Black Guy returns to First Word for the first time in a minute, and takes on the Muhsinah-lead joint 'The Power Of Same', the lead single from 14KT's 2019 acclaimed album, 'For My Sanity'.
As to be expected, TBG delivers his unmistakable blend of dope dubbed-out spacey soul and boom bap kicks & snares, complete with guitar licks from Stro Elliot, and keys from James Poyser. Two of the dopest producers in the game, this one is completely 1000% essential.
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DJ Chrysalis who has appeared on Public Possession before with contributions to the Chill Pill series now delivers this 5 Track debut EP on the label. When he is not out and about in the Australian outback he works on his ceramics or makes music. The former definitely inform the later as you can hear a clear connection to earth and a strong spiritual vibe in the five songs that put a contemporary touch into an ancient cosmic vision.
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Running Wild were formed in Hamburg in 1976 and have become one of the most vital and influential heavy metal bands to come out of Germany. They are also credited with inventing the now infamous sub-genre, ‘Pirate Metal’ which is so popular today. The band still command a rabid, global fanbase too, the recent Noise reissue series saw all nine chart in the German album charts. To this day they still headline huge indoor shows and headline festivals.
At the tender age of twenty-five, while he was working part-time at an Italian restaurant in Tokyo's Kamata district, Kazuki Tomokawa released his debut record, fittingly titled Finally, His First Album. While he had already penned hundreds of songs, including his first single "Try Saying You're Alive!," written on a long train ride past fields and rice paddies, it was this recording that introduced Japan to one of its most unique musicians of the postwar era. Each track, as record label exec Kiichi Takahara writes in the LP's liner notes (here translated for the first time), is not a song but a "flesh-and-blood human being," birthed by the singer-songwriter and the raw, guttural cries that would become a hallmark of his incomparable sound. 1970s Japan was a time and place marked by a profound desire for authenticity amidst the onset of television and media saturation. Tomokawa arrived on the scene as a musician with "the personality of a hydrogen bomb," to borrow a phrase from his frequent collaborator Toshi Ishizuka. In an unwieldy interview included here, members of the notorious leftist band Zun? Keisatsu (Brain Police) put it bluntly: here was a man surrounded by the "disingenuous," the "wishy-washy," and the "superficial," who was delivering "real life, unvarnished." These songs are lullabies for the lost, staring not into the void but-as the fourth track declares-from inside it. Finally, His First Album is the first of three Tomokawa records to be reissued by Blank Forms Editions in conjunction with the US release of Tomokawa's memoir, Try Saying You're Alive!, the first-ever English translation of his writing. This debut captures the self-assured trademarks that Tomokawa would hone over the course of decades. Multiple tracks are performed in his native Akita dialect, a distinct and highly regional vernacular of northern Japan seldom heard outside the prefecture-and even more rarely heard in music. Tomokawa's lyrics locate profound interiority in the rituals of everyday life, and are sung against sparse folk arrangements of tender, lilting chords-a prelude to the rock and electronic stylings to come in later years. A self-proclaimed "living corpse," Tomokawa wallows, whispers, shouts, and cries, yet still, through his existential doubt, asks to be heard.
1900 to 1930: The Dawn of Dementia; The Oldest Novelty Records of All
Time from Dr Demento.The world famous Dr
Demento's influence on pop culture is undeniable and to commemorate his 50th
anniversary, we celebrate the earliest days of novelty and comedy records.
He is a world- renowned record collector and music historian, whose lifelong
passion for music of all kinds (from Frank Zappa to punk rock and everything in
between) is reflected in his radio show and most importantly, in this unique
collection of rare songs from the early days of records.
Following on from the incredible success of 2020's "Teasin' You Again", we're proud to follow that up with one of Willie Tee's greatest double-siders and one of his very rarest 45s. Welcome to the incredible "First Taste Of Hurt" backed with "I'm Having So Much Fun".
This record was first discovered in Los Angeles in 1976 primarily for "I'm Having So Much Fun" which drew interest from the Northern Soul crowd, but then "First Taste Of Hurt" started catching on in wider circles. These days "First Taste Of Hurt" is the key side with a truly international audience across several scenes. An original Gatur copy of this will set you back £5000 and even the UK Grapevine reissue will cost you the best part of £100 these days. Expect another across-the-board Willie Tee smash which will match perfectly with "Teasin' You Again" and sell to many audiences.
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Micheal “Eyedea” Larsen and Gregory “DJ Abilities” Keltgen first met in the mid-90s and soon began a working relationship that would play a prominent role in the burgeoning Indie-Rap movement of the time. After numerous successes across nearly every notable MC or DJ battle of the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, including HBO’s Blaze Battle, the Rocksteady Anniversary, Scribble Jam, the DMC’s and more, they had already cemented their legacies both as individuals in the battle scene and as the dynamic duo, Eyedea & Abilities, for their live performances and showmanship. However, determined not to be dismissed as one-dimensional, they set out to prove they were to be taken just as seriously at writing and recording. Together, they developed a near symbiotic creative union that produced three albums—First Born; E&A; and By The Throat—before Eyedea tragically passed away in 2010, at the age of 28.
The release of their debut album, First Born, had revealed their talents to be much more versatile and expansive than previously expected. The boastful arrogance and punchlines that had become synonymous with battling were notably scarce on the album. Eyedea chose to tackle subjects that were more conceptual and philosophical in nature, focusing on matters of reality and altered states of perception while pushing his urgent, dense delivery into darker, more abstract terrain. Meanwhile, DJ Abilities was able to craft worlds of depth and emotion, pairing hauntingly suspenseful beats with meticulous turntablism. The resulting album was rich in ambition, ideas and humanity. First Born came at the forefront of an exciting new era of underground hip-hop, delivering messages that emphasized questions over answers, ambiguity over certainty, and self-expression over exploitation, to an audience that was eager to expand their horizons beyond the commercial programming and clichés of the time.
Improvisation and experimentation are at the core of Robocobra
Quartet’s DNA, almost intentionally at odds with their roots as a
post punk band.
Including members with no musical training alongside European
music conservatoire innovators, the result is a groove-driven but
cerebral blast, invoking the likes of Fugazi, Talking Heads and
contemporaries such as Squid and Black Country, New Road.
The eclectic free nature of their live shows allows them to
channel hop from moments of joy and playfulness to periods of
intense fury, creating a unique sound that has earned them
invitations to Montreux Jazz Festival and Latitude.
Robocobra Quartet have a rule: No Guitars Allowed. Their
unique sound, concocted and self-produced in Belfast, Northern
Ireland, sees that ‘middle’ space filled by other instruments such
as saxophones, samplers, keyboards and sound effects,
swirling around the melodic basslines and powerful drum
rhythms which prop up the core of each of their songs.
On top of this music sits a single vocal from behind the drum kit
amid a fury of rhythm, sometimes marrying perfectly with the
pulse of the drums and occasionally at complete odds with it.
Live dates / tour to be announced.
“I genuinely don’t think there is another band like ‘em, anywhere
in these islands” - Tom Robinson
“Free-floating musical explorers” - Hannah Peel
“Fugazi meets Mingus.” - Drowned in Sound
“Exploratory pioneers.” - BBC Radio 3 Late Junction
“A cunning marriage of jazz, spoken word and punk” - The
Quietus
Sounds move across the limits of space and time to leave imprinted in the mind an album of memories full of colors and emotions, a travel journal that from the farthest corners of the world burns every kind of distance and returns through warm and strongly evocative sounds the colors, scents, rhythms, the atmospheres of distant lands. The result is a rich and evocative soundscape, where images become sounds and sounds images, where the elements of nature echo voices of different places and cultures, distant in space but deeply similar and intimately connected.
Imaginária Records has commissioned the refined experience of Giovanni Santucci and LucaEffeSunset a journey through the sounds of the world, which from the enveloping wave motion of the warm Iberian beaches carry us to the crystalline dripping of waters and voices of the Mexican jungle, crossing Balearic rhythms and Brazilian brilliance, letting ourselves be captured by the persuasive voices and the chasing rhythm of the magical formulas of the masciare, ancient mysterious witches of southern Italy. In this journey, which represents the first stage of a wide-ranging project (a trilogy that will take the shape of new musical experiences gathered around the themes of the places first and then of the return), an exciting centrifugal movement that attracts towards a single center: the beating heart of a single Mother Earth; voices, suggestions, rhythms, emotions from the far/near, in order to confirm, together with Raymond Murray Schafer, that in the end "the whole world is sound".
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This reissued standard vinyl edition of Jóhannsson’s brilliant and seven years in the making work 'Last and First Men' is replacing the limited edition box set, that has originally been released with the album. Please note the Blu-Ray and art prints from the limited edition box set are not included. While composing haunting, elegiac concept albums of lost utopias and working for TV and film the Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson was thinking about a project on an even larger scale since 2010 - a multimedia work that would include his own visual concept, direction and music. Based on the cult science fiction novel by Olaf Stapledon, Jóhann Jóhannsson's opus magnum Last and First Men artfully combines music, film and narration from Tilda Swinton, sitting somewhere between fiction and documentary to form a poetic meditation on memory and loss.
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First Word Records is very proud to welcome back Don Leisure, with a brand new 25-track album 'Shaboo Strikes Back'.
Five years have passed since the first 'Shaboo' album was released. A collection of beats and pieces that documented the road trip of Don's youth - hip hop music interspersed with Asian radio station jingles of old, dedicated to Bollywood actor, Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwani - Don Leisure's late uncle.
This album was heralded as "the best album of its kind since J Dilla's 'Donuts'" and deemed "unmissable" by the folks at Piccadilly Records. It also had strong support from BBC 6 Music's Tom Ravenscroft ("very, very good this indeed"), Huey Morgan ("my beat of the week"), Worldwide FM's Lefto ("defo down with this"), Rob Da Bank ("this is wicked") and the likes of Mathieu Schreyer (KCRW, LA), Alex Ruder (KEXP, Seattle), Kid Fonque (5FM, South Africa), Om Unit, Jon1st, Mr Thing, Rob Luis (Tru Thoughts), Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s), Tim Parker (NTS) and tons more from across the globe.
Don Leisure is a DJ and producer based in Cardiff, Wales, sometimes known as one half of Darkhouse Family, along with Earl Jeffers. He's been a prolific beat-maker for many years, releasing under a variety of monikers for labels such as Metalheadz, International Anthem, Fat City, Izwid, Earnest Endeavours and Group BraCil. His most recent release was a remix for Gruff Rhys, which was released on Rough Trade.
In 2020 he was nominated for the Welsh Music Prize for his 'Steel Zakusi' project, and has dropped several releases for First Word, including the acclaimed 2019 'Halal Cool J' album and various Darkhouse Family projects, including collabs with artists as diverse as Charlotte Church, Om'Mas Keith and Children of Zeus's Tyler Daley, additionally to remixes from DJ Spinna and label-mate, Kaidi Tatham. As a DJ he has provided mixes for BBC 6 Music, NTS, Rinse FM, Solid Steel and Boxout FM in India, as well as performing at The Jazz Cafe, Fabric and on Boiler Room.
'Shaboo Strikes Back' is a much-awaited sequel to the 2017 smash, and again features a modest 25 tracks. Psychedelic fuzzy samples and phat beats aplenty, Don Leisure once again takes us on a far-out trip across soundscapes. A real tapestry of flavours, from jazz to reggae, and from the soulful to the spiritual, this time round he's invited a few special guests to join him on his travels - most notably Welsh legend Gruff Rhys provides the vocals on 'Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo)', whilst acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Angel Bat Dawid and Jazzman-signed harpist Amanda Whiting lend their talents to 'All Praises Due'. There is even a special cameo appearance from his young daughter, (aka Shaboo's great-niece!), Naima, on 'Naima's Dream'.
Once again, this is a journey into sound.
'Shaboo Strikes Back' is released on vinyl & digital by First Word Records, March 2022.
Dedicated to Nasser 'Shaboo' Bharwan
x 24: Neon Drizzle (Hotel Shaboo) feat. Gruff Rhys
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First Fragment was founded in 2007 by Phil Tougas (Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, Funebrarum) & brothers Gabriel Brault-Pilon and David AB. From day one, the trio sought to create a brand of extreme technical death metal that combined counterpoint-based riffing, neoclassical lead guitar work, power metal-inspired passages as well as flamenco & swing sections in a desire to branch out and establish their own unique voice in the Quebec scene. Their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut album "Dasein", released through Unique Leader, built upon the foundation established with the band's notorious EP "The Afterthought Ecstasy", self-released in 2010, Dasein was the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work and dedication to their craft. First Fragment have since honed their craft and perfected their sound through expanding upon their extensive musical influences, further blurring the line between flamenco-inspired technical death metal and neoclassical power metal. The result is "Gloire Éternelle" - an ambitious conceptual album that is unmistakably First Fragment, yet at the same time, impossible to categorize and pigeonhole. Boasting baroque-influenced guitar counterpoint, flamenco sections, unique slap-bass-driven swing grooves (which the band trademarked by name as "swingdowns"), face-ripping lead guitar work and bombastic drumming. Add a highly aggressive dual vocal approach and a lyrical approach soaked in abstract poetry (sung all in french), sprinkle with a ton of fretless bass solos and the result is the ultimate shredfest. A word which may be perceived positively or negatively depending of the listener, but nevertheless, a shredfest with soul, memorability, identity, purpose and conviction. For fans of : Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Racer X, Spawn of Possession, Capharnaum, Theory In Practice & Necrophagist
First Fragment was founded in 2007 by Phil Tougas (Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, Funebrarum) & brothers Gabriel Brault-Pilon and David AB. From day one, the trio sought to create a brand of extreme technical death metal that combined counterpoint-based riffing, neoclassical lead guitar work, power metal-inspired passages as well as flamenco & swing sections in a desire to branch out and establish their own unique voice in the Quebec scene. Their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut album "Dasein", released through Unique Leader, built upon the foundation established with the band's notorious EP "The Afterthought Ecstasy", self-released in 2010, Dasein was the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work and dedication to their craft. First Fragment have since honed their craft and perfected their sound through expanding upon their extensive musical influences, further blurring the line between flamenco-inspired technical death metal and neoclassical power metal. The result is "Gloire Éternelle" - an ambitious conceptual album that is unmistakably First Fragment, yet at the same time, impossible to categorize and pigeonhole. Boasting baroque-influenced guitar counterpoint, flamenco sections, unique slap-bass-driven swing grooves (which the band trademarked by name as "swingdowns"), face-ripping lead guitar work and bombastic drumming. Add a highly aggressive dual vocal approach and a lyrical approach soaked in abstract poetry (sung all in french), sprinkle with a ton of fretless bass solos and the result is the ultimate shredfest. A word which may be perceived positively or negatively depending of the listener, but nevertheless, a shredfest with soul, memorability, identity, purpose and conviction. For fans of : Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Racer X, Spawn of Possession, Capharnaum, Theory In Practice & Necrophagist
First Fragment was founded in 2007 by Phil Tougas (Chthe'ilist, Atramentus, Funebrarum) & brothers Gabriel Brault-Pilon and David AB. From day one, the trio sought to create a brand of extreme technical death metal that combined counterpoint-based riffing, neoclassical lead guitar work, power metal-inspired passages as well as flamenco & swing sections in a desire to branch out and establish their own unique voice in the Quebec scene. Their critically-acclaimed 2016 debut album "Dasein", released through Unique Leader, built upon the foundation established with the band's notorious EP "The Afterthought Ecstasy", self-released in 2010, Dasein was the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work and dedication to their craft. First Fragment have since honed their craft and perfected their sound through expanding upon their extensive musical influences, further blurring the line between flamenco-inspired technical death metal and neoclassical power metal. The result is "Gloire Éternelle" - an ambitious conceptual album that is unmistakably First Fragment, yet at the same time, impossible to categorize and pigeonhole. Boasting baroque-influenced guitar counterpoint, flamenco sections, unique slap-bass-driven swing grooves (which the band trademarked by name as "swingdowns"), face-ripping lead guitar work and bombastic drumming. Add a highly aggressive dual vocal approach and a lyrical approach soaked in abstract poetry (sung all in french), sprinkle with a ton of fretless bass solos and the result is the ultimate shredfest. A word which may be perceived positively or negatively depending of the listener, but nevertheless, a shredfest with soul, memorability, identity, purpose and conviction. For fans of : Yngwie Malmsteen, Cacophony, Racer X, Spawn of Possession, Capharnaum, Theory In Practice & Necrophagist
First single in three years from Belfast’s Robocobra Quartet.
For fans of Black Country, New Road, Black Midi, Squid, Fugazi, Dry Cleaning.
“Fugazi meets Mingus.” - Drowned in Sound
“Exploratory pioneers.” - BBC Radio 3 Late Junction
“A cunning marriage of jazz, spoken word and punk” - The Quietus
Improvisation and experimentation is at the core of Robocobra Quartet's DNA, almost intentionally at odds with their roots as a post-punk band. Including members with no musical training alongside
European music conservatoire innovators, the result is a groove-driven but cerebral blast, invoking the likes of Fugazi, Talking Heads and contemporaries such as Squid and Black Country, New Road.
The eclectic free nature of their live shows allows them to channel-hop from moments of joy and playfulness to periods of intense fury, creating a unique sound that has earned them invitations to Montreux Jazz Festival, Latitude and as far out as the Inversia Festival in the polar north of Russia.
Extensive live UK and Europe dates and album launch tour to be announced.
First Word Records is very proud to present you with 'Peace + Harmony'. The first EP from our most recent signing, K S R .
Hailing from Moss Side, Manchester, this young talent has been steadily building a rep for himself over the past few years as one of the UK's most exciting soul vocalists, with his releases encompassing an eclectic assortment of alternative R&B, future soul, hip hop and D&B. Influenced by an array of neo-soul artists, such as D'Angelo and Anderson .Paak, his own soulful style has already seen him tour and collaborate with a number of UK peers; working on projects with label-mates Children of Zeus & Australia's REMi, and supporting the likes of Etta Bond & The Mouse Outfit, as well as performing sell-out headline solo shows in Manchester and London, and playing various festivals across Europe, including the We Out Here festival very recently.
Since he began developing his music in 2017, K S R has had support from the likes of 1Xtra, BBC Radio 1, BBC Introducing, Mixmag, NTS, Reprezent, Unity & Soho Radio, in addition to featuring on a slew of D&B tracks with artists like Lenzman, BCee, Emba & Redeyes. The collab with Emba was recently named a 'Kiss FM Future Selection' courtesy of Hybrid Minds and features have been supported on Spotify's 'New Music Friday' and 'Mandem - Kings' amongst others. His debut release 'Unfiltered' appeared on Polarface Records in 2019, which was followed by single 'Flex With Me' (also produced by Tyler Daley from Children of Zeus) then an independent second EP, 'Take Control', followed in late 2020 (during the pandemic) which amassed over 500k streams. Additionally to the releases, he was recently recruited by Manchester United as part of their 21/22 season kit announcements, as well as working with Nike and Size? on a special MCR-themed Air Force 1 release.
It's now time for a new extended project from Roosevelt Kazaula Sigsbert - better known as K S R . 'Peace + Harmony' is a solid set of alternative R&B, produced by Dom Porter and mixed by Eric Lau. Six tracks in all, including the single, 'Harmless' (which received support from the likes of Mr. Scruff (Worldwide FM), BBC Manchester and Victoria Jane (BBC Radio 1), was 'Track Of The Week' on 1Xtra/BBC Introducing, and saw the video racking up several thousand plays in its first weekend) and follow-up 'CGWY' featuring Children of Zeus on a brand new interpretation of their classic track 'Get What's Yours'. From the intro track 'I Wonder', to the downlow future soul of 'Lily Apart', to the autobiographical vibes of 'Born In '98', to the closing track 'Given Summer', also featuring the vocals of Ayeisha Raquel, each track on the EP is of course laced with Roosevelt's unmistakable silky smooth vocals, and is set to join his already impressive catalogue of underground soul classics such as 'Alien Boo', 'Stylin' and 'New Love'.
K S R says "my third EP, P E A C E + H A R M O N Y is a collection of my thoughts and experiences from my journey throughout the last two years of my life. Lots of aspects of my life changed over 24 months, along with everyone around the globe. When we were thrown into the unknown at the start of 2020, I stepped away from music for a while as I couldn't find any peace in my creativity and needed to evolve. I finally started to feel cohesive with my songwriting and music, and I could feel harmony between myself and my art once again."
'Peace + Harmony' by K S R is released on vinyl & digital on First Word Records, late 2021.
First Word Records is very pleased to welcome back Quiet Dawn with a brand new EP entitled 'Movements'.
Parisian multi-instrumentalist Will Galland has been with First Word since late 2014, providing several releases for us over the years, from his acclaimed debut album 'The First Day' to his last EP release, the organic opus 'Human Being - The Short Story Of The Reed'. Collaborations have included Makaya McCraven, Oddisee, Miles Bonny and First Word crew such as Eric Lau, Bastien Keb and Sarah Williams White, who he teamed up with on his classic remix of the track 'Hum' and most recently on the track 'One By One' which appeared on the compilation EP 'A Family Affair' at the start of 2021.
For his latest project, 'Movements' sits firmly in the realms of broken beat, after being heavily inspired at First Word's infamous 14th birthday party at Total Refreshment Centre, where he played alongside label-mates such as Kaidi Tatham and Children of Zeus. This delectable six-track EP encompasses a series of deeply percussive grooves and squelchy synths. This is a predominantly instrumental affair, though does feature the supremely soulful vocals of Oliver Night on the track 'Change Must Come', following on from Oliver's work with the CoOp Presents crew amongst others.
Quiet Dawn says "after the birth of my son, I took the time to get back to making new music.
And when I started to work on new tracks, I wanted to compose something without concept, unlike my previous records, just because time is precious and I wanted to find pleasure again when I composeand not be fixed to a concept, or a story.
These new tracks are instinctive; made with my main instruments, rhodes & piano, synths, percussions, vocals, bass and guitars. They are naturally oriented towards my big musical crush, BRUK, along with different rhythms, vibes and grooves. For me, it's definitely a record for the dancers. For this reason, the new EP is called 'Movements'. Aside from the dancer's element, the title relates to everything that is happening in the world at the moment, working on this record over the pandemic. Affecting people in all countries, friendship, mutual aid, solidarity and movements in many instances are very important to me, my family and my musical family, First Word.'
The influences on this particular EP come largely from the West London music scene; DKD, Bugz, Neon Phusion, 2000Black, Domu, IG Culture, Jazztronik, MdCL, the First Word fam and many many more artists. There are also heavy vibes inspired by 70's jazz, funk, disco, latin & african music."
'Movements' by Quiet Dawn is released on First Word Records on vinyl & digital in late 2021.
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The recordings of Grant Green are sought after and this
album is no exception. Presenting six quite varied tracks
where the moods and playing styles shift effectively,
supported by Ben Dixon on Drums and Organist Baby
Face Willette it crosses genres from Jazz and Blues to
R'n'B. The critic Dave Hunter retrospectively described
Green's playing as 'lithe and lose', and by 1962 he was
presented with the 'Best New Star' award by the famed
Downbeat Magazine.
First Word Records is very pleased to present a brand new full-length album from Sarah Williams White! Emanating from the "hilly fields of Lewisham" in South London, Sarah Williams White is a singer songwriter, multi-
instrumentalist and producer. Her sound is a unique blend of psych-soul, folktronica and experimental synth-pop.
Sarah released her acclaimed debut album 'Of The New World' on First Word in 2015, which was written, produced and performed by Sarah from her home studio, with the assistance of drummer, engineer & husband, Timmy Rickard. Her projects have seen support from the likes of Lauren Laverne, Tom Ravenscroft, Nemone & Chris Hawkins (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), FIP Radio, Clash & The Guardian, to name a few, and she's toured the UK with Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip and Golden Rules (Lex). There have been additional collaborations with label-mate Quiet Dawn (on the 2021 compilation / EP 'A Family Affair') and with her brother, Paul White - a revered producer in his own right, with credits including Danny Brown and Sudan Archives.
Following a hiatus, Sarah now brings us her sophomore album, 'Unfathomable'. A project that offers up escapism from the mundane, enticing us to connect with our natural planet in this prevalent time, via the eyes of a new mother.
In her words, Sarah states that the album is "about escape. It's about deflating the ego by looking up to the endlessness of outer space, connecting with the greatness of mother nature, and loving how unfathomable the universe and life itself is".
11-tracks in all, including the recent singles 'Nebula', 'Green' and 'Monsters', this opus sees Sarah's buttery lathing of vocals merged with cutting beats and atypical pop sensibilities across the project, again entirely self-produced from home, defining her as one of the UK's most irresistible DIY psych-soul talents.
With a voice reminiscent of Peggy Lee, tapestried harmony akin to Hiatus Kaiyote, beats fit for Little Dragon, and experimental production evocative of Kate Bush, Sarah Williams White's signature genre-defying sound invites us into a world uniquely hers.
'Unfathomable' is released on vinyl and digital in late January 2022.
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On August 27th 2021 The Third Sound released their fifth album ‘First Light’ on Fuzz Club Records and it is now being given a second pressing after selling out upon release the first time aorund. Dealing in a hypnotic blend of neo-psychedelia, post-punk and new wave, The Third Sound is a Berlin-based band led by the Icelandic musician Hákon Aðalsteinsson, who is the guitarist in Brian Jonestown Massacre and formerly played in the cult rock’n’roll outfit Singapore Sling. A mainstay of the European psych underground in his own right, not just through his collaborations with the likes of Anton Newcombe and Tess Parks, The Third Sound has been Hakon’s primary solo endeavor since the release of his self-titled debut on Newcombe’s A Recordings a decade ago. Arriving following 2018’s ‘All Tomorrow’s Shadows’ LP, ‘First Light’ marks an evolution into a brighter and at times uplifting sound. Marrying moments of light and dark, the result is The Third Sound’s most dynamic full-length to date. Talking about the album, Hakon said: “This album is definitely less gloomy than the previous one, although some ghosts from the past are lurking in the background. We always try to make something new on each album and never make the same album over again, but this feels like an even bigger change than usual, especially regarding the mood. Something new is beginning although the past is not forgotten. I think the title, First Light, describes the overall feel of the record pretty well.” ‘First Light’ is the fifth full-length from The Third Sound and arrives off the back of 2018’s ‘All Tomorrow’s Shadows’, 2016’s ‘Gospels of Degeneration’, 2013’s ‘The Third Sound of Destruction and Creation’ and their 2011 self-titled debut. With Hakon Aðalsteinsson leading the group on vocals and guitar, the rest of the band is currently comprised of Robin Hughes (Guitar / Organ), Fred Sunesen (Drums) and Andreas Miranda (Bass). With a number of European tours in tow, the band have previously shared the stage with the likes of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Warlocks, Singapore Sling, Crocodiles, Clinic, Tess Parks and more.
Recorded in Stockholm in 1962, and originally released on Sonet Records, these sessions stand as Ayler's first step into a new sonic world. This was when Ayler was still dealing with classic Jazz standards such as "I'll remember April", M Davis's "Tune Up" and "Rollins Tune", a declared tribute to the older master Sonny Rollins. His already super-strong tenor sax voice dominates a quiet, almost shy, local rhythm section featuring Torbjorn Hultcrant on bass and Sune Spangberg on drums. This was just before stepping into his unique, hyper energetic and ecstatic form of Free Jazz. This was Ayler sowing the seeds of a revolution to come!
While Mötley Crüe legend and Sixx:A.M. mastermind Nikki Sixx takes a view in the rear mirror in his new book 'The First 21' (published in October 2021) 'HITS' sums up the career to date of Sixx:A.M. in a remarkable manner. It contains all the band's hits plus three new and unreleased tracks including the forthcoming single, also entitled 'The First 21'.
Goldfrapp’s fifth studio album, Head First, was originally released on 19 March 2010. The album debuted at number six on the UK Albums Chart, selling 23,000 copies in its first week and went on to sell over 70k units in the UK alone, It featured three singles Rocket, Alive and Believer and received a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Following the reissue series of Black Cherry, Supernature & Seventh Tree by Mute/BM, this is the first time Head First has been reissued and will appear on 140g Transparent Magenta vinyl with an exclusive 12x12 art print in a gatefold sleeve.
"First Noel is a Christmas album including 25 of the greatest classics as well as three exclusive new tracks I composed especially for the very first Christmas of my son, and in honor of my grandma Odette's last one, past year. The Christmas memories I have are full of wonderful moments, so I insisted on recording this album staying true to the magic of these instants.
First thing, I surrounded myself with 3 great friends of mine and long-time collaborators: François Delporte (guitar), Frank Woeste (piano) and Sofi Jeannin (choirmaster). Sofi has selected 8 singers with celestial, sublime voices. We recorded in two magical places: the studio of my friend Armand Amar - where I had the chance to work on my first albums (Babel Studios in Montreuil) - and the Church of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre. The latter being the most ancient church in Paris - only a few meters away from the Notre-Dame Cathedral - has always been at the center of significant moments in our family history in France. My father was a sacristan there in the '60s. It is in the sacristy that he elaborated and worked on his trumpeter career. My aunt Hind - whom I loved - also a pianist, and my beloved grandmother, Odette, both had their funeral in this church. It is also in this same church that I got engaged and married… So many milestones.
After recording many albums, I felt it was the right time for me to share my versions of those great Christmas classics, by giving them a much less childish dimension and a more musical, also spiritual one, but still preserving their subtle and necessary fragility, specific of children's music or of those great classics renowned and sang all over the world. I was hoping that First Noel would not be yet "another" Christmas album, with Frank Sinatra-like crooners and Hollywood-style arrangements. Instead, a simple, humble, instrumental album, in the original meaning, without lyrics, allowing the melody to be at the center of it all. Soothing music to dream, to reunite us, regardless of our mother tongue, our age, our culture and more importantly regardless of our religion.
That is how Odette viewed things, and this is also the way I wish Nael and Lily, my children, would listen to the world."
On “First Flight REDUX,” Dave Harrington takes a scalpel to the multi-tracks of "First Flight" (LP/DL, Algorithm Free) remixing the raw material into something else entirely.
Originally recorded live at Nublu, September 20, 2019, "First Flight" documents the first and (thus far) only meeting of Chris Forsyth, Dave Harrington, Ryan Jewell, and Spencer Zahn as part of Forsyth's residency at the club that month.
Harrington's dub, created in his Los Angeles studio uses the original tracks improvised live by the group and incorporates loops and samples plus a variety of additional keys and synths, bass guitar, percussion, congas, pedal steel, bamboo flute, the Turkish stringed instrument cümbüş, and the North African double reed instrument ghaita, all played by Harrington himself.
While the light of the original performance recognizably shines through the canopy of new sounds in certain places, “First Flight REDUX” is radically reconstructed into something totally NEW. It’s very much its own album, related to and derived from “First Flight,” yes, but venturing into areas unforeseen in the original document, suggesting some kind of a party with “Live/Evil” blasting on one set of speakers,“Midnite Vultures” on another, and a Turkish psych band jamming in between.
Dublin’s Glimmerman impresses with his debut release on First Second Label. 3 subbed-up modern club weapons b/w a remix from the on-form Sputnik One.
Step Mode gets stuck in, pairing twitching junglisms with a feverish techno dancehall pulse. Proper awe-inspired club music for the now. Oxygen Sum is up next, layering submerged sound design with a heaving broken beat-ed thud. A slippery aquatic stepper.
Cutlass is on the flip, an absolute no-nonsense Dubstep wobbler in the finest modern style. Expect rewinds on this one. Our curtain call is with fellow Dubliner Sputnik One, as he remixes Step Mode in his exquisitely supple psychedelic sub-tech style.
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Matt Jones' spark for dance music was ignited in the late 1990s, as a youngster hearing tracks by Fatboy Slim, Basement Jaxx & the Chemical Brothers. A developing interest in electronic music
led him to catch the DJ bug at 16. He soon found his niche within House music, spending every last penny on imported records by House producers such as DJ Sneak, Daft Punk, Erick Morrillo, Todd
Terry & anyone with the right beats. Soon he discovered his preferred style of house music. It all came together after witnessing an
absolutely slamming party courtesy of Chicago House Music legend Derrick Carter. Tough bass lines, Jackin' beats and infectious elodies were all the ingredients necessary. Being somewhat of a gear junkie, he later acquired a sampler in an attempt to push his DJ sets further.
Discovering it was possible to create new music with the sampler, lead him swiftly down the rabbit hole of music production.
Matt Jones' has since gone on to DJ up & down the country & produce a range of material under the House Music umbrella. Music ranging from deep warm up grooves, to Jackin' dance floor cuts,
catering for....
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During the production of two singles (This being the first) unfortunately William Stuckey passed away, below are some words from my partner in the project Brian Sears regarding our work with him pm his LP.
Brian Sears - I'm not one that likes to write but I wanted to say a few things about William Stuckey. William Stuckey passed away last in August 2021 at age 73, and is an artist that I've been working with since last summer. He was a key fixture in the Little Rock music scene and most notably was one of the driving forces behind the legendary True Soul label. Lee Anthony, the owner of True Soul Records, once told me that William Stuckey was the most talented musician he had ever worked with, and if you know anything about that label or Lee Anthony, that's quite a compliment.
When I reached out to William last summer about re-releasing his material, he ignored my calls and messages. Fortunately, I was able to reach his son, Erreyon who was kind enough to listen to me. I've worked a lot of terrible sales gigs in my past and "getting to the point" is sometimes a hard thing to achieve, especially when you're trying to talk about the music business and music that's 50 years old. But the point was simple, his music matters and deserved to be preserved. This resonated with William and Erreyon and they gave Euan Fryer and myself a chance.There was a memorable handoff of the master tapes in a parking lot and from that point forward I knew William Stuckey trusted me. Trust is something he had to do a lot in his life due to the fact that he was visually impaired and I'm thankful he trusted us. As I wrote before, there was a long process of transferring the tapes, but it was successful, and the album has never sounded so good. William had incredible hearing and was able to pick out details most might not detect. He was gifted and that shined through his own playing and voice through copious recordings. Speaking with him after he finally heard the newly remastered album, the way he had intended for it to sound, is something I'll never forget. Moments like that are really the reason why I feel so compelled to work with older musicians that didn't get a fair shake the first time.
Meeting William Stuckey face to face earlier this summer was one of the highlights of my year. We laughed and hung out at his place where he had lived for the past 50 years. I told him his music was internationally known and the re-release was well received. He was humble and felt like a long lost friend that I hadn't seen in a long time. I'll never forget that. I told him I wanted to take some photos, and I'm so glad I did.We had a good time and it was a beautiful summer night and as I left his place his neighbours noticed me walking to my car and wanted to chat, so we talked briefly and it ultimately lead to one of them getting into their car and cranking "The First Time" on the stereo system in their driveway. I wasn't sure if Stuckey could hear it from his house, but part of me knew he probably could and hearing his song echo in the background as I drove off and thinking about Stuckey and the time we shared and his music being appreciated by so many, even in that moment, is a wonderful memory. I'd like to think he was smiling.His music and legacy will live on forever.
Rest in peace to a great one.
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This time you'll find the Wax's #plectrum with the vinyl; a little gadget to stimulate your musical fantasies. (only for the first 200 orders!)
Four years and ten releases later we can say that Apparel Wax -the vinyl-faced hero- has been able to always renew itself and its sound because, as our manifesto says, we try not to submit to any genre. We wanted every release to be the outcome of a long research through uncommon sounds and APLWAX010, yet again, is an unidentified sonic object picked up by our radar. The last one though! We didn't plan it, we just felt like the time has come -eventually- to close this beautiful chapter. More than one factor led us to take this decision: the progressive concern about the planet (therefore the impossibility to keep producing plastic bags and gadgets), the desire to leave at our peak and to invent something new are just two of them. The constant process behind the renewal of our sound -which we embraced ten years ago with the birth of Apparel Music- sometimes passes through hard choices and we need to feel again that sensation of 'void' in order to create something fresh, different, as we did when we started Apparel Wax. We won't drag our masked hero to a point of sonic stagnation. We'd like to send you all a big greeting and a heartfelt thanks for every second of your time spent listening to Apparel Wax, it literally meant the world to us. What was initially just a bold idea became a musical reference point for many people around the world, and we will be forever grateful to y'all because, without you, it would have never been possible. Finally, a huge thanks to all the artists involved in the project. They contributed with their art to a bigger cause, the biggest: music. YOU are the true masked heroes, you are Apparel Wax. As for us, we'll live on and our sound too. Our ideas, our passion and dedication for the one and only thing that really makes us happy will never die. Something new will always come on our end because that's our purpose, our philosophy. Manman, what a journey has been, now on to the next one!
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Jexy brings you two radically new versions of "First Stomp," the voodoo-chanting-mutant-disco smasher from his new LP "Ravines." Crafted with care by the man himself, the A-side features the NYC Mix--a deep n' dubby latin house-influenced builder. On the flip, Jex ups the tempo, the vocal quotient and the 707 snap for a tropical disco singalong.
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![[ K S R ] - Peace + Harmony LP](https://www.deejay.de/images/l/1/2/992312.jpg)
