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Mahne Frame (sprich: mah-nay frame) bringt seinen pan-pazifischen Rave-Pop mit einer abweichend klingenden EP auf seinem neuen Berliner Label Monkeytown Records zurück. Mit der Rückkehr von Tokio in seine winzige Heimatstadt Katoomba kehrt der australische Musiker und Produzent in die Annehmlichkeiten des weiten Raums und der geografischen Isolation zurück. Auf 'I gave my legs to a snake' verlagert er seinen Schwerpunkt von früheren, von Beats geprägten Sprechgesängen zu einem folkloristisch angehauchten Songwriting, das an Yung Leans Hinwendung zu zerbrechlichem Gesang erinnert. Doch Frame folgt nicht den globalisierten Trends des Undergrounds, sondern reagiert auf seine Umgebung: er tauscht den Lärm und die kompakte Mobilität seines Rollers in der dicht besiedelten japanischen Metropole gegen die ungestörten akustischen Erkundungen einer Gitarre in der Abgeschiedenheit des australischen Busches aus.

Following the release of his Running Wild album, Grieves let loose a flurry of new music, surprising and delighting fans with fresh new singles each week. He was able to express his growth and hunger in this new work, as the content and production ranged from light-hearted and jazzy to intense and introspective. After releasing a string of five standalone singles he compiled them all onto one sensational project with three additional unreleased tracks, and introduced it as The Collections of Mr. Nice Guy.

The Collections of Mr. Nice Guy showcased a wide range of Grieves lyrical expression, as well as his production talents. On “Perspective”, Grieves waxes about the hypocritical standards musicians often face, while “Let The Devil In” addresses the demons he grapples with personally, rapping: “That shadow on my shoulder weighs a ton, y’all pretend like my experi- ence with hell was just for fun (nah).” On the lighter side, Grieves invites Chris Webby to trade bars back & forth on “Man Down”, where the pair go on to skewer less-than-stellar MCs holding space in the industry. Meanwhile, “I’ll Be Better” delivers a melan- choly reflection on the tropes of heartbreak, letting go of the old and making room for the new. At once, The Collections of Mr. Nice Guy stands at the intersection of all things fans that have historically drawn fans to Grieves—truthful and relatable lyricism over soulful synths and drums.

C-thru - The Otherworld is a collection of introspective cosmic-leaning dance music that gives a healthy nod to the golden era of trance, ambient, and down- tempo from Austin, Texas based producer Jesse Edwards. Inactive for several years, these 10 tracks mark a new chapter for Jesse Edwards.

Previous works include his well received psychedelic project, Red Morning Chorus, that included Boards of Canada amongst its fans. Edwards began his musical journey in the late 90s playing shoegaze and experimental music with Jessica Bailiff (Kranky). The pair collaborated on several albums together including works with Flying Saucer Attack, His Name is Alive, & Odd Nosdam (Anticon).

2023 markiert den Beginn einer neuen Ära für IN FLAMES mit der Veröffentlichung des vierzehnten Studioalbums Foregone - ein neues Meisterwerk einer Band, deren kreativer Output den Kurs und die Richtung des modernen Metals verändert hat.

Um den Aufwärtstrend fortzusetzen, markiert 2023 auch die Wiederveröffentlichung von vier bahnbrechenden Titeln aus dem umfangreichen Katalog der Band, nämlich A Sense of Purpose (2008) (15th Anniversary Edition inc. The Mirror's Truth EP, die noch nie auf Vinyl erhältlich war), Reroute to Remain (2002), Come Clarity (2006) (mehr als 400.000 verkaufte Exemplare weltweit + Gewinner des schwedischen Grammis-Preises für das beste Hard Rock-Album 2017) und Sounds of a Playground Fading (2011), die alle vergriffen und bei alten und neuen Jesterheads gleichermaßen sehr gefragt waren.

Die Wiederveröffentlichungen von 2023 enthalten alle Original Artworks mit einigen wenigen, sorgfältigen Retuschen. Alle Veröffentlichungen wurden von Justin Shturtz im legendären Sterling Sound Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, speziell für Vinyl neu gemastert. Alle Platten werden auf schweres 180g-Vinyl gepresst und sind mit dem unverkennbaren Jesterhead-Logo auf Seite D (z.B. A Sense of Purpose) versehen.

Der weltweit gefeierte und Grammy-dotierte Electronic-Artist & Produzent Flume veröffentlicht am 17. November seine Rarities-Compilation "Things Don't Always Go the Way You Plan" mit ungehörter Musik aus dem letzten Jahrzehnt auf Vinyl.

Die Musik, die Tracks mit Injury Reserve, Panda Bear und Isabella Manfredi enthält, umfasst Hip-Hop, Pop und Ambient-Beats sowie Produktionen, die für seinen Aufstieg in den frühen 2010er Jahren stehen. Artwork von Jonathan Zawada.

Der weltweit gefeierte und Grammy-dotierte Electronic-Artist & Produzent Flume veröffentlicht am 17. November seine Rarities-Compilation "Arrived Anxious, Left Bored" mit ungehörter Musik aus dem letzten Jahrzehnt auf Vinyl.

Die Musik, die Tracks mit Emile Haynie und Jim-E Stack sowie Flumes erste eigene Vocals auf "All There 1.9 2019 Export Wav" enthält, umfasst Hip-Hop, Pop und Ambient-Beats sowie Produktionen, die für seinen Aufstieg in den frühen 2010er Jahren stehen. Artwork von Jonathan Zawada.

A new release on this label; this time several well known tracks from the past!

Four dazzling, extended engagements with mbalax master-drumming.


The contribution from Holy Tongue is chase-the-devil steppers — thumping, clangorous, reverberating — super-charged with energy and atmosphere. From the off drummer Valentina Magaletti detonates a hard rain of small bombs, rounds of fire, ticking fuses. Musical co-ordinates are somewhere between classic On-U Sound crew like African Head Charge, The Mothmen, and Creation Rebel, and the experimental funk of the Pop Group and 23 Skidoo, at their funkiest. Thrillingly, the two dubs are increasingly deranged.

Adjusting the same wavelengths as her superb Workaround LP, Beatrice Dillon plays spaced-out, abstract synth-work against the bodily physicality of the ancient, shifting mbalax rhythms. The music is poised, mindful, tentative; but also limber, fleet, and magical.

Phantasmagorical and efflorescent, Lamin Fofana’s one-two is simply stunning. Both excursions are wide-open, beautiful, epic, and propulsive — the first mix is banging and headlong, the second more syncopated and serpentine — teeming with freshly sublime, funkdafied updates on Jon Hassell’s Fourth World possible musics.

The two parts of LABOUR’s Etu Keur Gui engage the same sequence of drum patterns (called bakks) from different perspectives. The duo performed portions of this piece at the opening ceremony of the Dakar Biennial in 2022, at the Grand National Theater, with thirty sabar players from the family of Doudou Ndiaye Rose. This Wolof phrase for the inner-court of a home — a meeting-place — doubles here as a metaphor for inner space on a metaphysical level; and Pan Sonic, Muslimgauze, Zoviet France, early Shackleton… all ghost across the threshold.

Known for his viral video series Sexta dos Crias, Ramon Sucesso is a virtuosic DJ who crushes, reimagines, and rearranges songs to such a degree that the original tracks become virtually unrecognisable. He has turned his controller into a particle accelerator, creating firework-like bursts of classic funk carioca samples, his own productions, mainstream tracks, nonsense TikTok sound bites, and tons of his trademark beat bolha. All contained within an unparalleled, mischievously non-linear rhythmic flow.

‘Ramon’s social network profiles are as outrageously unpredictable as his mixes. He posts interactive emoji games, bountiful fast-food feasts with his family, comments about the Flamengo football team, and videos of him playing FIFA. He has a prolifically restless mind, constantly riffing and improvising; he does whatever it takes to get by, to navigate the reality of life in Brazil and overcome the daunting challenges of the music industry.

‘Sexta dos Crias is the culmination of Ramon’s DJ work. A LP that embodies the newest in funk carioca, a faithful transposition of the bailes to vinyl. Ramon has unpretentiously ushered in a new age of experimentation for the genre – making a daring and unprecedented foray into a territory where extreme and radical sounds abound.’

After a short break Samosa Records explodes back on the scene with ‘Earth Wind & Funk’, a deadly four-tracker EP that is sure to get the juices flowing and body moving.

A1 sees New Zealander producer ‘Strange’ make a most welcome return, spinning the funk loom with the ‘Hard Working’ (De Gama Re-Drums). A truly addictive and distinctive bassline sets the pace, tone and feel for this gorgeously constructed track. It has it all; sumptuous vocal, high-end brass and an acid squelch to die for. Dig it, you will.

A2 lands with Frank Virgilio’s ‘Love Is Positivity’ – a melting pot of twisted disco, feel-good scatty rhythm and lifting vocals. The melody is literally dripping with positivity, but also has an almost transcendental vibe secretly going on. The last drops of summer are right here. Enjoy them.

On the B-side, Mosaik Kollektive raise the temperature with the De Gama Re-Drums applied ‘Keep’. A tough, perfectly cooked groove that gets right in your face and makes no apologies for screaming at you. The bass on this unstoppable monster is all-consuming. Rhythm guitar licks blend with soaring strings and that’s the full basket. Sublime meaty goodness.

Closing matters for this incredible EP at B2 is the effervescent Monsieur Van Pratt and Funk De Ibiza. MVP stretches his funky legs to the full here, laying down a solid beat, arpeggio and a bass so tough you could train it to box. Expertly blended with J-pop-esque vocal and shrill church organ. Drop this at midnight and watch the carnage unfold and hands in the air.

Earth, Wind and Funk is the exposure to the elements you absolutely want. A more perfect slice of wax you couldn’t find and one that’s sure to find its way into the record boxes of those who know.

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Proto-house classic 'Nightgruv' gets a re-release and includes a longer unreleased edit!
James Mason is mostly known for his late 70's album 'Rhythm Of Life', which is a soul-jazz classic. Soon after music trends shifted to (electronic) disco and James' music became out of fashion, leaving 'Rhythm Of Life' to be the only album he released to date. The early early 80s saw him have a few studio sessions from which more electronic output like Wuf Ticket's 'The Key (Prelude Records) resulted. James also produced various disco acts like Disco 3, Earl Flint and Brenda Bayton.

Amazing garage punk cult band featured on the "Brazilian Nuggets" Vol 1 and Vol 2 compilations. Recorded in 1968, this EP is almost impossible to find and has never been sold on Discogs. It comes with a 12-page booklet with liner notes, photos and memorabilia. This release is a collaboration between Discos Nada, Fatiado and Munster Records. The Beggers were formed in the industrial ABC Paulista region, the birthplace of the Brazilian punk rock scene. But many years before that, The Beggers were already a kind of proto-punk act, as can be heard on the first track of this 7" record, 'Estes Homens Farrapos', a rather unusual social commentary song in those flower power days. Considered a protest song, it ended up being censored. However, the most psychedelic and experimental track is 'We're Going, to Aid You', a song about a fictional alien invasion. The creepy effects created by the group in the studio can be compared to those by the greatest international bands of the time. The Beggers only had three original compositions and a fourth one was missing to complete the EP. This was how 'We're Going, to Aid You' was eventually created as an experiment in the studio, just to complete the record. With "Metamorfose" banned from the shops, the members of The Beggers were running out of money, and without any gigs they had no other choice but to break up the band shortly after the release of their mighty EP. Bento Araujo (author of the book series Lindo Sonho Delirante) An amazing example of genuine teenage garage rock from 60s Brazil reissued for the first time, as result of a collaboration between Discos Nada, Fatiado and Munster Records.

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Following his first ep for Accidental Jnr in the summer Bambooman is now back with something entirely different. The downtempo experimental designs of the 'Feel EP' give way to his latest offering 'Shudder'. Available on 12' and digital the 4 tracks of Shudder weave through a club music tapestry like a chainsaw through custard. The opening and title track is hard to describe, a mix of off kilter synth stabs and hammering snare that routes you to the floor - it's one of those tracks to whip out of your bag to remind the crowd they have no idea what is coming next. Track 2 'Grasp' with a blissful Detroit groove under deep rich melting chords is a perfect blend of early funk house style and super crisp new production.Side B opens with 'M1' a lazy floor track with washes of bells, static and detuned synth above a bed of solid kick and shuffling bass. Finally 'Kyrian' closes proceedings, another club friendly slice (despite being in a 7/8 time signature), the track could have led the EP in its own right but feels like the perfect bookend with its shifting almost garage like 2-step feel and glancing vocal hook.Bambooman wields refined live recordings, warm exquisite melodies and a silvery vocal into the track's rich musical fabric. It's hard to suppress the emotions with this one' - Boiler Room on 'Feel EP'

Following up their debut full-length on Ty Segall’s God? label, Wand presents their second album, Golem, on In The Red. Recording with Chris Woodhouse at his Hanger studio in Sacramento, Wand summons the dark and heavy power of the riff. Back in September 2013, Wand was quietly dismembered and ritually eaten in the hills near Dodger Stadium. Wand was reborn as “Wand”—an obese organ falsely organized as four overjoyous nerds. Four flesh balloons betting on a few aging amplifiers. Rumor has it they listen to Here Come the Warm Jets on loop all day and plot mail fraud. What’s more, they allegedely stole Dale Crover’s car and sacrificed it to the weather near the Los Angeles County Line. A few things, at least, are certain: Wand hears ghosts. Wand prefers serpents. The Sun is the mother of every fiction. All phenomena will be consumed in alphabetical order, but desire will recirculate ad infinitum. If all else fails, Wand will just devour more hands. Wand is coming your way soon. • Sophomore full-length from California four-piece with connections to Ty Segall, Chad and the Meatbodies

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For those who know, Bambooman is one of the most sought-after, probing, and distinctive voices in UK electronic music right now.

The Yorkshire-born producer's catalogue builds into an aural mosaic, comprising everything from scrunched up hip-hop to techno deviance, all delivered with an impish sense of individuality.
'Whispers' certainly resonates. It's a lengthy, bucolic work, an album of great breadth but also one of sustained mood – think those hazy summer evenings when shadows stretch out across the road, and autumn lingers around the corner.

This new album has a dusty, organic, and decidedly personal feel, much more at home with Jon Hassel's 'fourth world' aesthetic than the club.

The results are also imbued with an incredible sense of mystery, with Bambooman's productions frequently being shot through with a hallucinatory sense of the uncanny. Entirely self-composed, 'Whispers' utilises "lots of field recordings that I've collected over the last few years, while within the tracks you can find lots of the instruments, percussion, bells and whistles that have been gathered throughout my life."

In certain ways 'Whispers' is entirely autobiographical: Bambooman reaches back to his varied alter egos, to the ambient releases, art commissions, and soundtrack projects that litter his discography. The cover art was even pieced together by Oliver Pitt – of Glasgow group Golden Teacher – who was an early ally in the producer's sonic quest.

Stylistically 'Whispers' veers from avant hip-hop of Flying Lotus to the theoried composition of Terry Riley, from the future-forward percussive energy of Battles to the ever-evolving electronics of Mark Pritchard. It's a record marks by a fiercely independent spirit, but also by a close-knit cast of collaborators.

King Kashmere takes a starring turn, following the pair's collision on the recent 'SUPERGOD' EP.

Each vocal is recorded, chopped up and then spliced across the album, with Elsa Hewitt also making a number of appearances and re-appearances.
credits

The official new edition from this rare and great Afrobeat & Soukous masterpiece from Nigeria !

"Vibro Success Intercontinental Orchestra was an extraordinary group from the Central African Republic, founded by the sax player Rodolphe 'Beckers' Bekpa, also known as Master Békers, in the late 60's. The band achieved surprising domestic success after Beckers introduced the first drums to the Congolese Rumba rhythm. His innovation proved to be wildly popular so they were hired as the resident band of “ciel d’Afrique au Km5”, a night club in Bangui. The club was renowned as the temple of the Olympic Réal football team's fans and that visibility propelled them into becoming the official national orchestra.

1970 marked beginning of the band's international fame . Their fame spread beyond national borders until they became so popular that invitations began to arrive from nearby countries like Cameroon and Chad, the former of which the band would then tour that same year. The success of their performances prompted a further tour in 1972. According to Rodolphe Bépka, the audience enthusiasm Vibro encountered was bewildering. "We filled the old military stadium in Yaoundé in 1970, in 1972 the new Amadou Haïdjo stadium ... We are running with great success in the cities.” Their popularity was also growing in Chad, where they would tour several times through the early and mid 70's.

Towards the end of 1976, Vibro Success decided to take their music global and introduce Central African music to listeners worldwide. It worked. The turning point came in Nigeria. There the group achieved extraordinary success, with live performances followed by contracts with local labels like Scottie and Ben/Clover resulting in hit releases. Most of their LP's were originally released on this later label, Ben Limited, owned by Ben Okonkwo.

Ben, also known as Clover Sounds, brought a great number of the biggest bands from the country to market, bands like The Apostles, Akwassa,The Doves, Aktion, The Visitors, Mansion, Folk 77 and many others. Nearly all those groups started their recording careers in the label's studios based in the commercial heart of Aba, Abia State, one of Southeastern Nigeria’s largest cities. Aba at that time was a flourishing city, an important crossroads of people and culture with an intensive and active and cutting edge live music and nightlife.

But after that golden era the group began to lose its popularity. In the 1980's they returned to Bangui and resumed their old-time gigs in dance halls there - only to realize that their music didn't have the appeal it used to. Making matters worse, the domestic economic downturn accelerated, forcing the orchestra to slowly end its activities . Vibro Succès Intercontinental Orchestra disappeared at the end of the 80s and most of its members died in the 90s.

We discovered this LP during our first trip to Nigeria in 2016. While traveling in the east to meet up with a musician, we stopped for a night in a village. As often happens in Nigeria, information has a way of traveling fast. The news that a couple of white guys looking for records had arrived in the village the day before spread like light. When we awoke, we found a couple of elderly music lovers in the hall of our hotel with a little pile of records for sale. The nice cover of the “Drunkard” album was right on top!

At first we thought it was just another really good soukous album made by Vibro Success but after we heard “Drunkard” - we knew we had stumbled onto something very special. That was the “easy” part. Soon after, we had the idea of reissuing this LP and that was a bit harder. There were no credits on the cover and not much information about Vibro Succès. We started to ask to our friends to ask around, see if somebody knew them or the producer. That's when sadly we discovered that Ben Okonkwo had passed. So with no leads to follow and seemingly without any possibility of making progress on the matter, we "gave up" and returned to Italy.

A couple years later, in the summer of 2019, we found ourselves again in Aba. This time we had the chance to meet Nnamdi Okonkwo, the eldest son of the late Ben Okonkwo. After Nnamdi's mother and family agreed, he was glad to cooperate with us for the re-release of this special album."

Telephone Explosion proudly presents the self-titled debut LP from Toronto’s UH HUH, out physically and digitally on April 14, 2023. The album features eight tracks of dub-damaged art rock which conjure a potent vision of spaced-out 1980s post-punks feeding their angular rhythms and bass-heavy grooves through layer upon layer of grime-spattered spring reverb.

There is a palpable sense of discovery and exploration throughout UH HUH’s 37 heady minutes. Elastic basslines and serpentine guitar phrases throb and glide, cutting through dubwise reverberations like hands moving through an opaque cloud of reefer smoke.

Formerly known as Teenanger, the reconfigured (and reinvigorated) group’s newfound sense of sonic identity is put on display the moment the door kicks open. The percolating spaciousness of opener “Somewhere Beyond” is followed by the cyclical grooves of “Redemption Pause.” Vocalists Christopher Swimmings and Melissa Ball each take respective turns at lead vocal duties, showcasing their contrasting yet complimentary styles.

“Babylon”, a slab of overcast, loping funk features both singers on the same track, alternating between Swimmings’ stoned syncopation and Ball’s saccharine melancholy. This juxtaposition leans against a backdrop of reverb-soaked drums, watery guitar chords and rippling trumpet.

The slinking, fractured grooves of “Rain (In The Afternoon)” and “Citrus Song” call to mind the deranged minimal dub-wave of Naffi or Vivien Goldman. Both songs feature lyrical content heavily inspired by the Florida swamplands, although the aural landscape on these tracks is decidedly more brutalist than Boca Raton. Two of the songs included here are reworkings of previously released Teenanger numbers. “Blinds Drawn” is reduced to its core elements of bottom-heavy rhythm, spliced guitar shanks and Swimmings’ murmured ruminations. “Good, You”, on the other hand, is completely re-imagined as a blissed-out melt of opiated bossa nova.

After countless hours of experimentation during the album’s recording sessions at Toronto’s Studio Z, the band decided to send their drum machines, snare drums and percussion through an obscure 1960’s Japanese Guyatone guitar amp with a notoriously ecstatic spring reverb sound. The result was immediately inspiring.

The dank, busted and clanking tones produced by the Guyatone evoke a muggy, humid atmosphere that mimics the photo on UH HUH’s cover. The process of re-amping is literally the means through which UH HUH found the sound of this record. UH HUH is a record that asks more questions than it does provide answers. This is searching music that requires that the listener lean into it, the more time you spend in between the beats, bars, notes contained within, the more vivid the picture becomes.

Hailed as the ‘Godmother of rock ‘n’ roll,’ the pioneering singer and guitarist Sister Rosetta Tharpe was the first major gospel star, her skills on electric guitar and blend of the sacred and secular a major influence on Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Elvis, as well as Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Jeff Beck. She began recording in the 1930s and Gospel Train, her first for Mercury, was a dynamite comeback, recorded in 1956 with quartet the Harmonizing Four, its popularity leading to a four-month UK tour. It’s a killer set from start to finish and required listening for lovers of rock, blues, and gospel. Get it and be awed!

Texan country blues legend Lightnin’ Hopkins was a fingerpicking genius with a mournful voice who, after a spell in prison, first came to prominence through recordings for Aladdin and Gold Star in the late 1940s. Somehow, by the mid-1950s, his star had waned, but when Samuel Charters appeared at his one-room Houston apartment with a bottle of gin, Hopkins agreed to cut ten unaccompanied songs for Folkways, the resultant Lightnin’ a pivotal success that reignited his career, sparking the blues revival in the process. Full of haunting loneliness, despair, sly innuendo and doses of good humour, this must-have LP is absolutely brilliant!

Recorded in the 1982. Roots Radics backing in a dancehall style with the drums and bass of style scott and errol flabba holt on extended 12" mixes. Produced by Jah Thomas at Channel One Studio.

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At one time participating in ground-breaking medical scientific research, in another a relentless road-trip, hoovering up rare records and tapes, in the nooks and crannies of France, Algeria, or any country that he happens to land in. And then there’s his long standing show for Rinse France.

Following his slamming mix for the Japan Blues show on NTS last year, he kindly offered up a selection for Japan Blues’ first tape release. Algeria is the focus of this tape, taking a brief dip into Sameer’s broad collection, coinciding with his research for his documentary film about the social history of Rai music, "Rai is not Dead" for Arte.

Words from the Hadj: “The medehates are traditional vocal formations of women from western Algeria. Their main role is to give some compliments to the future wife during a wedding, and pray to all the saints through long songs which could last for hours, until reaching a sort of transcendental state amplified by looped percussions, traditional flute, and violon notes. Exclusively for women, no men (including young boys) admitted. This ceremonial tradition gave an intimate space for women to speak out about taboo topics like men-women relationships, love, sins like alcohol consumption etc. Since then, some of them started freely to mention all of that in this small circle and some of them have been recorded live for release on 7″. I picked up a few from my collection in order to make this mix. They represent one of the most powerful and wildest roots of the raw traditional form of rai which appeared in the 50/60s in Algeri

On "Hy!", industry newcomer A.L. Viktor combines experimental song structures, electro acoustics, and 4th world-infused sound design to create a unique blend of rhythm-driven electronics, psychedelic ambient, and archaic percussion jams.

Delicate melodies collide with primitive drum work outs - An audio version of a bull in a ceramics shop.

Written, recorded & produced in Berlin, Wedding in 2022, mastered by The Cologne Wizard,
recorded on Studer A80 Mastering Recorder

Repetitive actions, looping in your head forever. Forever? Never. Zero is endless. All flowers and fades. No permanence is ours. We are a wave, that flows to fit. And yet, “Music for a film”, a cassette tape by Swedish artists Sofie Herner aka Leda, inheres the power for perpetuity. A circulating dreamland, built on loop pedals, guitar, and tape manipulation.

The Malmö based artist, who is already famed in the global experimental, improvisational, lo-fi noise underworld for her own musical creations as well as being part of bands and projects like Enhet För Fri Musik, Källarbarnen, or Neutral, brings music made for the film “Dödfött“ - an interactive flick by director Niklas Hansson about failed online karate and caducity, screened with a stage art performance at Hypnos Theatre, Malmö, in early autumn 2022. Cinematic sounds for all the Velvets, that never awaken from their first DIY Super 8 dream.

Colorful, yet monochrome electrified and acoustic guitar melodies, monotonous, working like drones, getting all stranded in the zones. Six minimal compositions. Full of plenty, always friendly. Heavy, calm, dreamy, shredding, scratching, created for the woman of the world. And all other creatures, that seek features in unbroken repetition. As nobody keeps any of what he has, one day the eternal veil of forgetfulness will warp us all. Until that hour we dance in circles. Making karate moves, sidestepping caducity, reenacting ourselves, endless at the edges, through night and day, craving form that binds. As form is emptiness, emptiness is form itself. Welcome to the world of Leda, riff, 7/4, loop, the young, the middle aged, the old…

Tape is hand-stamped along the top, in printed card housing, with

#40 ON ROLLING STONE'S 500 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME: ANTICIPATES LATE 1960S TURBULENCE VIA PROPHETIC SONGS AND DARK THEMES
1/4" / 15 IPS analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe



Any discussion about the finest psychedelic rock record ever recorded is incomplete if it doesn't grant consideration to Love's Forever Changes. Ranked by Rolling Stone as the 40th greatest album ever made, and named by Mojo the second-greatest psychedelic set in history, the effort is an internationally recognized seminal work of art. Transcending language and convention, its magnitude and magnificence need to be heard again and again. For here is an effort whose mind-boggling acoustic complexities and kaleidoscopic nuances are tailored for high-fidelity playback.

Nearly unlimited headroom, vast instrumental separation, transparent clarity, artifact-free atmospherics, and faithful balances appear out of jet-black backgrounds. Turn it up as loud as you want; the sole limitation will be your system's potential.

Commercially ignored upon release in November 1967, Forever Changes confronts the alienation, paranoia, violence, and strife that would soon plague the countercultural movement and send the Summer of Love into a tailspin. Apart from its lyrical themes and prescient malaise, the record's enduring nature equally owes to intertwined arrangements sewn together with Latin guitar-picked lines, finessed folk harmonies, mariachi-inspired horn charts, and subdued strings.

The seemingly opposing combination – ominous, dark reflections situated amidst lush, light melodic beds – affords Forever Changes a distinguished tension of claustrophobia and openness, dourness and ecstasy, ugliness and elegance enjoyed by no other record in the rock canon. Much of the contrast owes to leader Arthur Lee's mental state and pertinent observations. Lee, whose suppressed romanticism often surfaces even amidst the blackest shadows and most cynical moments, believed he would soon die, and hence channeled everything from lasting hopes to acid-addled decay to the chilling testimony of a Vietnam veteran in his narratives.

Alternatively sad and beautiful, the album-opening and flamenco-inspired "Alone Again Or" establishes the mood for what follows. Vocals overlap and soar; tempos rise and fall; surrealism trades places with reality.Forever Changes thrives both because of and in spite of a surfeit of labyrinthine chords and difficult notes that never repeat. Its ambitious construction almost forced the already fractured band to cede responsibilities to session musicians, which appear on two tracks. The quintet's resolve to not only complete the album, but to do so with such poignancy and curiosity, further enhances Forever Changes' standing.

No wonder that, in the twilight of his troubled career, Lee performed the record in its entirely during concerts met with overwhelming critical acclaim. It was, and will always be, a personal manifesto of timeless relevance and appeal.

SOURCED FROM THE ORIGINAL MASTER TAPES: 2LP SET PRESENTS 1991 ALBUM IN 45RPM SPEED FOR FIRST TIME.

PCM Digital Master to Analog Console to Lathe.

Dire Straits never made a big to-do about its final run. In classic understated British fashion, the band simply let its music speak for itself. And how. Originally released in September 1991, On Every Street became the group’s swan song – a lasting testament to the influence, musicianship, and integrity of an ensemble whose merit has never been tainted by cash-grab reunions or farewell treks. It remains an essential part of the Dire Straits catalog and a blueprint of the distinctive U.K. roots rock the collective played for its 15-year career.

Sourced from the original master tapes, housed in gatefold packaging, and pressed at RTI, Mobile Fidelity’s 180g 45RPM 2LP set of On Every Street presents the album like it has always been meant to be experienced: in reference-grade audiophile sound. Recorded at AIR Studios in London and produced by Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler, it features all of the band’s sonic hallmarks – wide instrumental separation, visceral textures, seemingly limitless air, broad soundstages, atmospherics that you can almost reach out and feel. Each element is made more vibrant, physical, and lifelike on this collectible reissue, which marks the first time this 60-minute work has been available at 45RPM speed.

Afforded generous groove space and black backgrounds, the songs from On Every Street burst with nuanced details and vibrant colors. Dire Straits’ playing appears to float, their intricate performances organized amid hypnotic, fluid, three-dimensional arrangements. Mobile Fidelity’s definitive-sounding set also brings into transparent view Knopfler’s finely sculpted guitar lines, expressive tones, and laid-back vocals – as well as the balanced accompaniment from his band mates. Here’s a record on which you can hear the full blossom and decay of individual notes, and imagine the size and shape of the studio. It is in every regard a demonstration disc. And it happens to be filled with timeless fare.

Remarkably, On Every Street almost never came to light. Dire Straits initially dissolved in September 1988 after touring behind its blockbuster Brothers in Arms and suffering the departure of two members. At the time, Knopfler professed his desire to work on solo material; bassist John Illsley also explored side projects. But Knopfler’s decision in 1989 to form the country-leaning Notting Hillbillies reignited a spark to reconvene his primary band and craft a fresh batch of songs. Six years removed from Brothers in Arms, Knopfler, Illsley, keyboardist Alan Clark, and keyboardist Guy Fletcher teamed with A-list session pros – steel guitarist Paul Franklin, percussionist Danny Cummings, saxophonist Chris White, guitarist Phil Palmer included – to create what still stands as an unforgettable farewell.

The platinum record brings the band full circle in that it returns Dire Straits to a quartet formation; finds the group refreshingly out of step with the era’s prevailing trends; and sees Knopfler and Co. knocking out song after song with the deceptive ease of a punter tossing back a pint at a pub. That subtle cool, clever poise, and innate control – signature traits that no other band ever matched – dominate On Every Street. Knopfler’s clean, virtuosic six-string escapades unfurl with dizzying melodicism and economical efficiency. Led by his winding fills and focused solos, Dire Straits traverse a hybrid landscape of rock, jazz, country, boogie, blues, and pop strains with near-faultless prowess.

More than any other entry in the group’s oeuvre, On Every Street welcomes quick detours down back alleys and into the depths of human souls. What makes it more brilliant is its staunch refusal to cater to commercial expectations or take advantage of prior successes; every passage feels true, every measure echoed in the service of song. It’s evident in the humorous satire of “Heavy Fuel,” closeted desperation of the witty “Calling Elvis,” and shake-and-bake bounce of “The Bug.” It pours from the album’s darker corners, as on the high-and-lonesome melancholy of the title track and bruised emotionalism of “When It Comes to You.”

Hinting at the open-minded approaches and boundless curiosity he’d embrace as a solo artist, Knopfler doesn’t limit himself when it comes to style or subject matter. Look no further than “You and Your Friend,” a shuffle whose all-inclusive lyrics encourage an array of interpretative meanings. Another of the album’s deep cuts, “Iron Hand,” comes on as one of the band’s most memorable moments – the narrative addressing the abuses of power at the 1984 Battle of Orgreave during the U.K. miners’ strike. Given cinematic heft by the expert production, the true-fiction account puts into perspective the richness, poetry, and depth of On Every Street.

“Every victory has a taste that’s bittersweet,” sings Knopfler on the title track. At least that bittersweetness seldom sounded so damn good on record.

Trailblazing instrumental synth pop experiments created to soundtrack Japan’s booming 1980s cartoon and comic industries. The brightly futuristic instrumentals on this collection reflect the mindset of composers and musicians who believed in a technological future where everything was possible.

In the late 1980s Japan experienced a brief but heady period where societal changes combined with new-found wealth to open up a world of possibilities. A huge influx of cash - artificially created by slashed interest rates after an agreement with the US to weaken the dollar relative to the yen - resulted in the inflation of real estate and stock market at a rapid pace. While the economic bubble it created was unprecedented and impossible to sustain, for a while money was in plentiful supply.

The musical genre City Pop reflected the aspirations of the country’s booming leisure class. Video games flourished with Nintendo's 1983 launch of their Family Computer (or FamiCom). Studio Ghibli was founded 1985 to later became one of the most famous and respected animation studios in the world, and Anime and Manga were established as major forms of entertainment for all generations of the Japanese public.

Music was no mere footnote to the anime and manga boom: the two forms of media often went hand in hand, and not simply through the presence of background melodies. With generous budgets available, even two-dimensional static manga comics could be released with an accompanying soundtrack of original music known as an ‘Image Album’.

Composer and arranger Kazuhiko Izu was one such beneficiary of this open budget approach. Written to accompany artist Katsuhiro Otomo’s manga comic Domu, the composer and arranger took advantage of the world-leading (and wallet-busting) Japanese synthesiser technology available at King Records’ fully equipped studio. Featured on this compilation, A3: Act 2 Scene 26 reflected the story’s sci fi themes with a blazingly futuristic yet warmly funky slice of synth pop that presents a joyful celebration of synthesisers and their seemingly endless possibilities.

Kan Ogasawara was another composer who made early mastery of the litany of synthesisers, drum machines and sequencers that had become available. Two tracks written to accompany the 1985 period manga Yume No Ishibumi are featured here; Honowo’s experimental electronic textures add spice to a jaunty electro pop melody that recalls the Rah band’s 1983 hit Messages From Stars; the jazz-tinged Utage rounds out Ogasawara’s shimmering synth textures with beautifully crafted backing from legendary musicians Yuji Toriyama (guitar), Pecker (percussion) and Jun Fukamachi (piano).

Before becoming one of the pioneers of Japanese Kankyo Ongaku (Ambient Music), Takashi Kokubo worked on the proto techno track Kiki (Jungle At Night). It was put together for the 1984 anime film Shonen Keniya (Kenya Boy) using some of the most expensive music technologies available at the time. This Africa-Inspired dance track offers a contemporary parallel to the early techno music that young Detroit based producers were then creating using cheap Japanese Roland drum machines and synthesisers.

This is the first compilation of Japanese anime and manga soundtracks curated by Kay Suzuki and Rintaro Sekizuka from Vinyl Delivery Service (a Tokyo based online record shop which also operates in East London's renowned wine and hifi shop Idle Moments). With a cover by artist Kazuki Takakura and two pages of liner notes, this vinyl only compilation of music never before released outside of Japan, captures a vital aural snapshot of an era whose forward-thinking sounds went hand in hand with cutting edge technology.

Showcasing CLT DRP’s unique position at the cutting edge of electronic, noise-infused music, Nothing Clever, Just Feelings seamlessly merges various genres to create a unique sound that is both exhilarating and reflective. Focused on themes of queerness and heartbreak, each track explores the raw emotions that come along with these lived experiences, delivering a personal and poignant message at every turn—newfound feminism in vulnerability and gender fluidity; newfound femininity in humour and the fear of being alone.

Lyra Valenza set the tone for their first full-length album ‘Low Gear No Pressure’ with an idyllic ambience, which then tumbles into feisty, heartfelt dance workouts. Across eight tracks, the Danish duo explore the pixellated euphoria of their previous ‘Scan, Deliver’ and ‘Nightshade Edition’ EPs with a more focused sensitivity. At the start of 2020, Lyra Valenza had been freshly nominated by music platform SHAPE. With the pandemic in hand, however, plans changed: instead of playing a slew of festivals, the duo spent weeks in a summer house in rural Sjælland, right at Denmark’s North Eastern coast, making early versions of the tracks in this album. ‘Low Gear No Pressure’ refers to the unusual calmness of that time, away from music industry stress and burnout; inspired by friendship. More than previous EPs, the album is shaped by the duo’s live set, which they’ve been performing in Denmark and Europe for many years now. The album breezes through different modes with confidence and ease, tracks morphing fluidly into one another to create a cohesive listening experience. A cool, expansive breakbeat on track two, ‘True Computer’, hints at the psychoactive journey to follow. ‘Truthwork’ plays with arps over a half time groove: subtle synths which reach their final form in ‘Joy Divided’. These agile swells and drops recall peers-in-precision Minor Science and 96 Back. On the flip, ‘Gameshow’ looks back over one shoulder to eurodance, while ‘Life on the Line’ goes out to the soulful junglists, but with a touches of trance in the samplework. On ‘Who Might Win’, the album’s ecstatic hyperactiveness melts into a slo-mo heartbeat, reminding us there’s a chillout room somewhere in the building. And just when we think it’s time to go home, the album gifts us with “one more tune”, and the soaring pop vocals of featured artist Saltmother on ‘Stretch Your Arms’.

Seven suites of deep and sprawling sonic meditations built around ‘call and response’ improv sessions between Randy Raine-Reusch and Michael Red.

Slow and tempered recordings of Asian flutes, African harps, temple gongs and a myriad of obscure instruments from Randy Raine-Reusch's deep collection mutate and ebb into swirling gossamers of tone. Sonic incantations stretched and magnified further by Red's Sends. An otherworldly play between light and shadow worlds; at times idyllic and light-filled, at times dark and eerie– all engrossing. Dream-reality reconciliations weave between the spectral world of Michael Red's sound processes and the direct physicality of Raine-Reusch's playing. The tension across the pieces builds between the live playing and processing techniques, dutifully revealing a growing familiarity with collective transcendence through sound (bigger than the sum of its parts). Real-time interactive dream music.

Initially realized over the course of a few days in Randy’s instrument museum in Vancouver BC December, 2014 'ERAS' is made up of processed, and sometimes multi tracked, improvisations between Randy and Michael. Through these sessions Randy would choose instruments he sensed possibilities within, and Michael then revealed and sculpted these possibilities. Both resonating, sensing sonic structures, environmental nuances, and further worlds in each other’s art, all within the moment. Being present for each other, they acted on instinct, trusting a first thought, trusting each other; committing, responding to that commitment, then mutating and letting go. Always moving forward, synthesizing and letting the living moment lead the way.

The recordings were left to distill and mature for many years before the composers felt it was ready. With minimal judicious edits and a very light dusting of FXs, both careful to preserve the direct and intuitive process that permeates the recording, ERAS now emerges.

Wrestling Music is Kean Kavanagh's most intriguing work to date, illustrating his vulnerabilities and contextualising his journey from hopelessness to vindication. Speaking on the EP, Kean explains that, “In May 2022 I suffered a vocal injury which meant that for the majority of the last year, I haven’t been able to sing or record. While I’ve been working on a lot of different music and writing a lot of songs, it has been heartbreaking and depressing at times to not be able to realise their full potential and to sing them how I hear them. On the 1st of May 2023, I wrote and recorded “The Magic” at home in Portlaoise and it helped me to embrace whatever the last year was and point me in a direction to go towards. It felt important to me and I didn’t want to just sit on it, so I gathered some instrumentals I had and worked quickly to create this EP, the Wrestling Music EP, as a timestamp of this period of my life and the loops of arrogance, introversion and acceptance that I’ve been spinning.”

Co-founder, producer and A&R of Irish Label Soft Boy Records, Kean Kavanagh is a story-teller with a strong imagination who set out his stall as both a singer-songwriter and world creator in 2020, with the release of his acclaimed project Dog Person. In what turned out to be a big year for him, 2020 also saw Kean make an appearance on the Everything Is Recorded project FRIDAY FOREVER, (curated by Richard Russell of XL Recordings) alongside Aitch, Flohio, Maria Somerville, Ghostface Killah and others, aligning himself with a tastemaker and a hotly tipped selection of musical peers.

Milton Nascimento was the king of Brazilian music in the 1980s. His musical universe singular, although generations of vocalists and instrumentalists have honored the master by interpreting his work.  On Steen Rasmussen's new album listeners are in for far more than just ordinary interpretations. This album is an extraordinary example of how music from two continents can merge into a noble work.  Vocalist Josefine Cronholm has a gift for imbuing material with a naturally soft Swedish sensualism that lifts the lyrics and lets them fly differently than on Nascimento's original recordings.  A limited edition 180g Vinyl release. With Fredrik Damsgaard - double bass & Hoffner bass; Anders Banke - tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet & alto flute; Celso De Almeida - drums & perc

Analogue Productions (Atlantic 75 Series)
Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!
The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway — Genesis' gold-selling sixth studio album!
180-gram 45 RPM 4LP
Mastered directly from the original master tape by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Pressed at Quality Record Pressings and RTI
Tip-on old style gatefold double pocket jackets with film lamination by Stoughton Printing

Genesis' sixth studio album was released as a double album in November 1974 by Charisma Records and is the last to feature original frontman Peter Gabriel. The group's longest album to date, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway peaked at No. 10 on the U.K. Albums Chart and No. 41 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S..

The album is a concept album and tells the surreal story, devised by Gabriel, of a young Puerto Rican named Rael who embarks on a journey through a series of strange and bizarre events in New York City.

Musically, the album is a departure from the band's previous works, incorporating a wide range of styles including progressive rock, art rock, funk, and jazz fusion. The album features complex rhythms, intricate melodies, and dense layers of instrumentation, showcasing the band's virtuosic musicianship.

The album is notable for its use of storytelling, with each track contributing to the larger narrative of Rael's journey. The lyrics are often cryptic and abstract, and the album's surreal imagery has been interpreted in a variety of ways by listeners and critics.

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway gained acclaim in the years after its release, reaching gold certification for sales in the U.K. and U.S.. In 1978, Nick Kent wrote for NME that it "had a compelling appeal that often transcended the hoary weightiness of the mammoth concept that held the equally mammoth four sides of vinyl together." In a special edition of Q and Mojo magazines titled Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, The Lamb ranked at No. 14 in its 40 Cosmic Rock Albums list. The album came third in a list of the 10 best concept albums by Uncut magazine, where it was described as an "impressionistic, intense album" and "pure theatre (in a good way) and still Gabriel's best work." A Rolling Stone poll to rank readers' favourite progressive rock albums of all time placed The Lamb fifth in the list.

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is widely regarded as one of Genesis's most important and influential works, inspiring generations of progressive rock musicians.

This is the soundtrack to flipping through the filing cabinet at the mortuary in Return of the Living Dead. You are running out of time before ending up on the slab yourself at the end of a bad day at work. Wash away the blues with a pint and 12 tracks clocking in at just under 14 minutes whilst Stiff Meds take you on a journey to see the many faces of death. Starting in 2019, Stiff Meds arose from the grand tradition of fast as fuck music that has always been at the centre of UKHC from Napalm Death to Voorhees. Taking that history, along with some more US influences such as No Comment and Infest, vocalist Seth marries that with tales of the macabre as metaphors for daily life. Each song contains more riffs than most brains can compute in real time and is a testament to the skill level of the band. Not surprisingly they have grown a reputation as a ferocious live machine that blasts through 20+ songs with ease and without stops with wild crowd reactions to match. If you don’t believe us, then check out the Live at the Mersey Shore Set as an exclusive special feature of the physical vinyl release of Tales from the Slab. Don’t delay, it’s time to pick up your prescription. Check them out on tour in Europe, November-December 2023.

When Billy Eckstine’s band dissolved in the mid-1940s, adventurous drummer Art Blakey spent two years in Africa, where he briefly converted to Islam; back in New York, he gigged with Miles and Monk, before fronting his own Jazz Messengers. 1957’s Orgy In Rhythm drew on the sounds of North Africa and the Middle East, Blakey’s unfettered drumming accompanied by Latin percussionists such as Potato Valdez and Evilio Quintero, with Herbie Mann on flute. The musical arrangement is stunning, at times melodic or primordially rhythmic, but never short of pure brilliance. Overall, an excellent and astounding release!

James Ray kickstarted his career as a teenager in 1959 after he left Washington DC for New York, but debut single ‘Make Her Mine’ flopped. Two years later, songwriter Rudy Clark discovered Ray and got him signed to the Caprice label, the resultant ‘If You Gotta Make A Fool Of Somebody’ a top-30 hit that the Beatles covered in early live sets. Ray’s self-titled debut album had that hit and the equally appealing follow-up, ‘Itty Bitty Pieces,’ as well as ‘I’ve Got My Mind Set On You,’ later successfully covered by George Harrison. An overdose would tragically cut short Ray’s career, this sole LP a testament to his enduring talent.