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Steve O'Sullivan's Mosaic label is back with a second volume of its dubs series, this time on nice yellow vinyl with Sub Basics and Fletcher given one side each to shine. Sub Basics goes first with 'Mediterranean', a lovely liquid dub with bottomless depths and perfectly smooth, frictionless drums. Lovely soft melodies drift in and out as the echoing hits and icy hi-hats help oil this most heady of grooves. On the flip, Fletcher offers up 'Sludge' which is a little more tense and menacing, with darker bass and more texture as well as distant groaning pads that keep you guessing and on edge.

Fletcher heads up the Social Currency label but you may also know him from his superb work with Mosaic boss Steve O'Sullivan. It's no wonder then that he calls up his dub techno buddy for the second outing here. They kick off with 'Flutter' which is a minimal dub masterpiece with light and airy synths, yep, fluttering up top above rooted, rolling drums. Fletcher then goes it alone for 'From A Different Place' which is a little more anxious in its loops but still has gorgeous melodies streaming through the mix. 'This Day Has Been Too' is another fine solo cut that explores insular and inward moods with great deftness.

Mit ”Would You Still Love Me If You Really Knew Me?” veröffentlicht LQBTQ+-Ikone FLETCHER ihr
bisher persönlichstes Album – eine intime Reise durch Selbstzweifel, Mut und emotionale Heilung. Entstanden in der Reflexion auf eine zerrissene Tour-Erfahrung und den inneren Druck, zeigt sie sich so verletzlich wie nie. Produziert von Jennifer Decilveo, verbindet das Album Balladen mit tiefem Storytelling.

Last year's superb Pura Lempuyang album has been pulled apart and served up on a couple of separate 12"s and this is the second one. It comes on limited turquoise vinyl and offers four cuts of stylish deep dub and techno. Fletcher's 'It's A Virtue' goes first with taught, twanging bass and grubby basslines then Mike Schommer's 'Kingmaker' offers liquid dub funk with watery pads and hissing static. Nicolas Barnes picks it up a little with a darker but still warm dub techno roller in 'Sonic Dial' and Redrop's 'Genesis' is the more driving of the lot but again exists right on the ocean floor.

Darrow Fletcher Personally Attended Kent's 30 Years In Business Birthday And No Track Was More Popular Than The Featured One, Backed With Richard Temple's Aimed At The Younger Converts To The Strange World Of Northern Soul

We have released two Darrow Fletcher CD on Kent but he has never had a vinyl LP of his own - of any description.

This compilation concentrates on his Chicago years, though it adds a rare demo, ‘Hope For Love’, only previously available on a “Masterpieces” Kent CD. Also, we have included his one-off late-70s version of fellow Chicago-born writers Grey & Hanks’ ‘No Limit’, also originally a “Masterpieces” track and a now-deleted Kent Select 45; these fetch £100+ on some sales lists.

The mid-60s sides speak for themselves. He began his career with the acclaimed soul blast of ‘The Pain Gets A Little Deeper’ (an Elton John favourite of the time!) and followed up with dancefloor classics ‘My Young Misery’, ‘What Good Am I Without You’, ‘Infatuation’ and ‘Gotta Draw The Line’.

As was common in those days, the hip dance sides were coupled with tender ballads such as ‘Sitting There That Night’, ‘Little Girl’ and ‘My Judgement Day’. Those were particularly well received in his Chicago homebase and have been admired by slow-groove scenes like Lowriders in Los Angeles ever since.

Darrow’s late 60s recordings, though recorded in Chicago, were issued on Los Angeles labels controlled by Universal. By 1971 his producer - stepfather Johnnie Haygood - had reverted to using his own Chicago imprint Genna for the last recording.

'Hope For Love' erschien auf einem einmaligen Masterband, das mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Grapevine Records an Ace ging. Darrows Originalaufnahme des Gray & Hanks-Songs "No Limit" wurde 2012 von Kent auf CD und als Single veröffentlicht. Die limitierte Auflage war schnell ausverkauft, und der aktuelle Preis liegt bei über 100 £. Die B-Seite 'No Limit' wurde 1979 auch von Jean Terrell und Breakwater aufgenommen und veröffentlicht.

To celebrate its fifteenth anniversary, Gondwana Records proudly announces a highly limited edition series of exclusive coloured vinyl pressings by label peers Matthew Halsall, Portico Quartet and Hania Rani plus newcomers Jasmine Myra and Svaneborg Kardyb and catalogue favourites from GoGo Penguin and Caoilfhionn Rose.

• Darrow Fletcher’s belated success in Europe - from the 70s onwards, but particularly in this century - has been very rewarding from him; he has been thrilled by the interest and admiration for his past work. These are two of his revered Jacklyn label sides; Jacklyn being owned by his father, who named the imprint after Darrow’s sister.

• This Repro coupling will be welcomed by collectors who cannot afford the high price of the originals – many of which are often found in poor condition as they were played the hell out of in 1960s Chicago.

‘JUSTIN TIME’ is the first Vinyl LP compilation by Children’s favourite, Justin Fletcher.
Justin Fletcher has starred in the hit CBBC shows Mr. Tumble, Gigglebiz, Justin’s House, Fun Song Factory,
Something Special and the GiggleQuiz comedy observational panel show for the pre-school audience.
Justin is a multiple BAFTA Children's’ Award winner, received an MBE in 2008, regularly tours with a live sell out live
Christmas show, has his own monthly magazine, and is the voice in numerous blockbuster film animations including
the four Shaun The Sheep movies!
This 12” Vinyl LP Picture Disc features his best known songs on Side One, with Side Two is jam-packed with sing-along nursery rhymes.

A welcome vinyl issue for Matthew Halsall's 2012 masterpiece, Fletcher Moss Park, specially re-mastered for this limited edition release.

Released to critical acclaim and arguably Halsall's most complete recording Fletcher Moss Park is inspired by one of Manchester's most beautiful places. A rambling, multi-tiered park of walkways and dreamy gardens that offers the contemplative Halsall a place of peace and respite from the city, a meditative space to think and write in. The stillness and beauty of the surroundings have steeped into his beautiful compositions for this album. Elegant and sincere, Halsall's compositions draw on his love of spiritual jazz, modern dance music and favour an earthy honestly and direct communication over tricksy arrangements and it is this deceptively simple openness that gives his music such a unique flavor.

Featuring saxophonist Nat Birchall, harpist Rachael Gladwin, pianist Adam Fairhall & Taz Modi, bassist Gavin Barras and drummers Gaz Hughes & Luke Flowers plus a string quartet.

Two classic sides from the Michigan soul singer
with a stash of soul goodies in his repertoire.
 The original pressing of ‘What Good Am I Without
You’ from 1967 on Jacklyn Records goes for just
over £200 and one listen explains why.
 Featuring an emotional, heart-wrenching vocal
soaked with flying strings over an impulsive
rhythm, it’s a lovelorn anthem; an emotional
rollercoaster.
 Backed with ‘That Certain Little Something’ from
the Groovy label 12 months earlier.
 A funky guitar-led scorcher with a bluesy brass
break and a spin and drop chorus aided by a
rampaging drummer.
 Two must-have sides from Fletcher, a child
prodigy, who found success in Chicago in the mid-
1960s which led to shows with Stevie Wonder and
BB King, among others.

The full-length debut from Bendigo Fletcher, Fits of Laughter is a collection of moments both enchanted and mundane, sorrowful and ecstatic: basking in the beauty of a glorious lightning storm, waking with a strand of your beloved’s hair happily caught in your mouth, drinking malt liquor while bingeing “The X-Files” on a lonesome Saturday night. As lead songwriter for the Louisville, KY-based band, frontman Ryan Anderson crafts the patchwork poetry of his lyrics by serenely observing the world around him, often while working his grocery-store day job or walking aimlessly in nature (a practice partly borrowed from the late poet Mary Oliver). When matched with Bendigo Fletcher’s gorgeously jangly collision of country and folk-rock and dreamy psychedelia, the result is a batch of story-songs graced with so much raw humanity, wildly offbeat humor, and a transcendent sense of wonder.

True to its spirit of purposeful wandering, Fits of Laughter unfolds in a wayward yet lushly detailed sound, embroidered with everything from crystalline harmonies to blistering guitar riffs to heady drum-machine beats. For help in forging the album’s ragged elegance, Bendigo Fletcher worked with producer Ken Coomer (the original drummer for Wilco and Uncle Tupelo), whom Anderson met in a flash of strange serendipity. Soon after he’d connected with Coomer via phone and bonded over a shared affection for Pink Floyd’s Obscured by Clouds, the band headed to Nashville to record in Coomer’s garage studio, laying down the album’s eight songs in nine frenetic days.

In keeping with the regional perspective that defines much of folk and country music, Fits of Laughter ponders certain paradoxes inherent in the band’s homeland. “In Kentucky there’s a long-running frustration of tradition and stubbornness versus progress,” says Anderson. “On one side you’re looking at things like the coal industry or Mitch McConnell, but then there’s also a feeling of togetherness and a fuck-the-man attitude and a loving desire for everyone to be left alone.” Referring to Fits of Laughter as a coming-of-age album, Anderson also examines a more internal conflict throughout the songs, including his choice to abandon his medical-school aspirations in favor of pursuing a career in music. “The title’s really about the spectrum of emotions I’ve felt on the way to finding what makes me feel like I’m living truthfully, rather than holding onto what I think other people’s expectations are of me,” he says. “It’s a phrase that bridges all of those emotions—everything from joy to hysteria.”

2023 Repress orange vinyl

Stay Up Forever Records back on it! The Entrepreneurs vs. Trip Hazard. Banging! Do You Like Drugs

Tauche ein ins Herz des Londoner West Ends mit Paddington The Musical – Original Cast Recording, das
all die Wärme, Magie und den liebenswerten Humor von Paddingtons neuem Abenteuer einfängt. Inspiriert
von Michael Bonds zeitlosen Geschichten und den preisgekrönten STUDIOCANAL-Filmen präsentiert das
Musical neue Songs und Liedtexte von Tom Fletcher, ein Buch von Jessica Swale und die Regie von Luke
Sheppard.
Von mitreißenden Ensemble-Nummern bis hin zu gefühlvollen Balladen feiert der Soundtrack Familie, Freundschaft und die Suche nach dem eigenen Platz in der Welt. Begleite Paddington und die Browns durch
spannende Momente, herzliche Begegnungen - und natürlich ganz viel Marmelade.
Mit dem gesamten West-End-Ensemble aufgenommen, bringt dieses Album den Charme der Windsor Gardens direkt zu dir nach Hause. Erhältlich auf CD und als Sammler-Vinyl ist es ein freudiges Erinnerungsstück
für Fans jeden Alters - der perfekte Begleiter für Londons liebenswertesten Bären.

Paul Weller meldet sich mit Find El Dorado zurück – einem neuen, sehr persönlichen Album voller Neuinterpretationen, das am 25. Juli erscheint. Inspiriert von einer lebenslangen Leidenschaft fürs Musikhören greift Weller auf Songs zurück, die ihn schon seit Jahren begleiten – nun gedacht, neu gehört, neu gefühlt. „Das sind Lieder, die ich schon lange mit mir herumtrage“, sagt er. „Im Laufe der Zeit haben sie sich verändert. Und jetzt schien mir die Zeit gekommen, sie mit anderen zu teilen.“
Die Veröffentlichung markiert gleichzeitig ein neues Kapitel in Wellers beeindruckender Karriere. Als prägende Figur der britischen Musik – mit rund 11 Millionen verkauften Alben allein in Großbritannien – kehrt Weller zu Parlophone Records zurück, dem Label, das seine von der Kritik gefeierten Alben zwischen 2015 und 2019 betreut hat.


Find El Dorado ist weit mehr als ein klassisches Coveralbum – es ist eine emotionale Landkarte seiner musikalischen DNA. Von der sanften Melancholie in Ray Davies’ „Nobody’s Fool“ bis zum flirrenden Schmerz von „El Dorado“: Diese Songs haben Wellers Innenleben geformt – und finden nun ihren Weg zurück nach außen. Mit intimen Arrangements und starken Kollaborationen – darunter Hannah Peel, Declan O’Rourke, Robert Plant, Seckou Keita, Amelia Coburn und Noel Gallagher – öffnet Weller die Tür zu seiner ganz persönlichen Songwelt.

Sounds Of The Universe | The 12" Singles, a deluxe collector's
edition box set, contains seven 12" vinyl discs presenting
singles--including Wrong, Peace, the double A-side Fragile
Tension/Hole To Feed--alongside B-sides, remixes, dub
versions and other recordings contemporaneous to Depeche
Mode's 12th studio album, Sounds Of The Universe, originally
released by Mute Records in April 2009.
Sounds Of The Universe | The 12" Singles offers a full range of
ear-grabbing mixes--radio, club, dub and more--of Depeche
Mode originals with three discs (Discs Two, Four and Seven)
newly compiled for this collection, bringing together B-sides
and mixes first released across CD and maxi-singles
contemporaneous to the album's release.
When it came time to record the Sounds Of The Universe
album, DM's classic core (Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andrew
Fletcher) returned to the studio to make their second album
with producer Ben Hillier, whose intuitive contributions to
their previous studio album, 2005's Playing The Angel, had
created new sonic possibilities for the band expanding
Depeche Mode's vision and repertoire while continuing their
tradition of issuing monumental 12“ singles.

Legendary 12 Tribes instrumental tune here, this is the alternate dubplate version with added instrumentation and different arrangement & mix. 12 Tribes musical director Pablove Black was the maestro of so much great music in the 1970s, from Studio 1 to the sessions for various producers operating in the 12 Tribes milieu at the time, such as his great work for Carl Fletcher's Uprising label that we've issued much of. As with the original 45 release of this tune, this is a 2 part instrumental spread over both sides.

Heavenly return! As fiercely independent as any punk band, but as sweetly melodic as any chart-topping act, Heavenly combine sharp-edged lyrics with shamelessly joyful pop music. The band comprises original members Amelia Fletcher, Peter Momtchiloff, Cathy Rogers and Rob Pursey, who are now joined on drums by Ian Button. An important element of the Heavenly story was the loss of Mathew Fletcher, who took his own life just before the fourth album was released. It took Amelia, Peter, Cathy and Rob a long time to get over the loss; maybe it took even longer to find a drummer as good as Ian. 'Highway To Heavenly' shares its musical recipe with the band's first four albums, all of which were released in the 1990s at a time when sensitive indie types in the UK were sheltering from the prevailing macho-rock storm under the Sarah Records umbrella, and when women in the US were starting to find their Riot Grrrl voices in the small town of Olympia, where labels like K and Kill Rock Stars were designing a new creative space. The new songs are full of anger, of grief, of empathy, of love, and set themselves in opposition to the resurgence of the cold 'masculine energy' that is making the world a miserable, aggressive place today. It's all pop here, but Highway To Heavenly has a huge range of tones and moods. Heavenly have recently enjoyed a huge resurgence of interest from a younger generation of fans, who have cottoned on to Heavenly's music, but also embraced the band's inclusive version of feminism. The new Heavenly have played a number of sell-out shows in the past couple of years, where older fans have mingled with new devotees. Still our love is Heavenly!

Federsen’s Alt/Dub imprint returns with its second instalment of its Artist Series featuring Forward Memory, Thomas + James, Gradient and Beppu.

Federsen, known for his deep Dub Techno sound, launched his label Alt Dub in 2024. The imprint focuses on warm and spacious dub aesthetics, carrying the torch for Dub Techno’s origins. Since its debut release in early 2024, Alt Dub has expanded with collaborations and artist series featuring names like cv313 and Fletcher, establishing itself as a forward- thinking force in modern Dub Techno.

Forward Memory’s ‘Scholz’s Star’ leads the release, laying down organic percussion and twitchy, oscillating synth grooves alongside, subtly evolving textural components and evolving bottom end swells.

Glaswegian duo Thomas + James follow next with ‘Chosen Colour’, a deep immersive journey fuelled by billowing ethereal pads, bumpy bass stabs and a raw, reduced rhythm section.

Respected Dub Techno artist Gradient follows next on the flip side with ‘Vibes Realm’, delivering his signature floaty style via shimmering dub stabs, crisp drums and a swaying bottom end drive.

Beppu’s ‘Conversions’ then concludes the EP, shifting gears once again as spiralling dub echoes, hissy atmospherics and wide bass intertwines with delayed, broken rhythms.

Project Pat, the older brother of Three 6 Mafia’s Juicy J, is a legend in the Memphis rap scene. He began rapping in the 90s with Killa Klan Kaze and released several independent mixtapes. In 1999 he released his debut album Ghetty Green via Hypnotize Minds/Loud Records. In December of 2000, he released a new single and video “Chickenhead” which blew up on the charts and led to the release of his second album Mista Don’t Play: Everythangs Working. Mista Don’t Play produced by Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul and Juicy J was certified Gold a mere two months after its release.

A mythical tune for all serious digital reggae collectors, finally reissued. The obscure Junior Khadaffy (various spellings!) released only a handful of tunes in the mid-late '80s, but all are fantastic. This one was cut for E&F Studios in the Bronx, ran by the late artist I-Plee. Stereo Fletcher happens to be family to I-Plee, producing several records by the artist for his own labels. But the works went both ways, and Stereo produced this one for release on E&F's in-house label. Slick but killer digital reggae, this one has always reminded us of the production style of Little Kirk's "Weed Them Out", a fantastic arrangement, great vocals and a complex head-nodding rhythm. The original press is extremely rare and the tune is simply too good to remain that way, so here it is, top top top shelf '80s digital, now available for all.

For most members of the band it's the best album. But, tragically, the release of Operation Heavenly in 1996 was overshadowed by the sudden death of drummer Mathew Fletcher. The promotional tour was cancelled, the surviving members of the band went into emotional hibernation and no-one could bring themselves to celebrate these vibrant, upbeat songs. So, this release by Skep Wax Records, nearly thirty years on, is more like an album launch than a re-issue. Time has healed most wounds, and the songs on Operation Heavenly feel like they can finally emerge onto the stage, with Mathew's spirit very much alive: his effervescent witty drumming sounding as fresh now as it did then. These tracks are gleeful, melodic, sophisticated and knowing. The tough riot grrrl edge that Heavenly had developed a year before with seminal singles P.U.N.K. Girl and Atta Girl, has been blended with a deliberate quantity of Britpop styling. Heavenly were clearly listening to what was going on, liked the energy, but didn't necessarily feel the need to join in. Some of the tracks (eg Ben Sherman) are as jaunty as early Blur, but the lyrics, mocking a narcissistic boyfriend for his obsession with hair, clothes and his own erections, show that Heavenly didn't need or want to be part of the la - or even ladette - herd. Operation Heavenly was the band's first release on a label other than Sarah Records. Matt Haynes and Clare Wadd had brought that exceptional label to a deliberate and dramatic end. The liaison with US punk label K Records continued - as did the duets with Calvin Johnson: Pet Monkey is a moving duet between a growling Calvin Johnson and a sweet-voiced Cathy Rogers, as they dramatize another complex, maybe doomed relationship, with another self-centred boy finding himself frustrated by a girl who won't take any shit. But in the UK, Heavenly needed to find a new home - and Wiija Records were welcoming hosts, ushering the band into a brasher, less cloistered world: the production on this album is brighter than before, the artwork is colourful and upbeat. With tracks as catchy and as complete as Fat Lenny, Trophy Girlfriend and Space Manatee there was an expectation that Heavenly might finally emerge from the indiepop shadows and trouble the charts. And who knows if this might have happened. Mathew was lost before the album was released, and the band had no choice but to bring things to an end. This reissue also contains two tracks that appeared on the B side of the 7" single of Space Manatee. They are both cover versions, and along with Serge Gainsbourg's Nous Ne Sommes Pas Des Anges on the main album, these vivacious assaults on Art School by The Jam and You Tore Me Down by The Flamin' Groovies show that the band, briefly in its prime, could happily embrace any variant of pop music and make it something Heavenly.

After lot of Skep Waxing Amelie and Rob and Cathy, Ian and Peter are back for indie good! It's been a long time coming but influential jangle guitarpop band Heavenly are releasing a brand new 7" single, with a full album to follow in February 2026. Portland Town is as effervescent a pop song as any of Heavenly's past recordings, with duelling vocals from Amelia and Cathy; looping, twanging, `how-did-he-do-that' guitar escapades from Peter, and a super-catchy melody. As so often with Heavenly, though, the lyrics have real bite. The song embraces those who find themselves on the margins of a hostile world where maleness, straightness and conformity are in the ascendant. So why Portland? It has always been a sanctuary - one of those places where difference is celebrated, a place where, as the song puts it, anyone can fit in. The flip is a cover version of a much-loved Only Ones song, `Someone Who Cares'. Heavenly are: Amelia Fletcher (guitar, vocals), Cathy Rogers (guitar, vocals), Rob Pursey (bass), Peter Momtchiloff (guitar), Ian Button (drums)

The 14th release on Ohm Series features tracks by Bluetrain aka Steve O'Sullivan, Fletcher, Rai Scott and Anthony Georges Patrice!
This is one of the strongest releases so far on the series, curated again by label boss Bjarnar Jónsson aka OHM.
Don't miss!

2025 is a special Britpop anniversary year, and Swansea Sound are keen to celebrate this summer’s coming together of every single music-lover in the UK with the release of their new single Oasis v Blur.
The song probably sounds more like The Fall getting into bed with The Sweet, but that’s just the way it turned out.
The B side, Pacio’r Fan, is about a journey back to a remembered teenage time, when idealism still burned and the world was full of potential. It is a wistful song, but it’s hopeful too: the idealistic flame is still there if you seek it out.
The release date of Oasis v Blur coincides with Swansea Sound’s live performance at the reasonably-priced Skep Wax Weekender, alongside label-mates including Sassyhiya, The Gentle Spring, Jeanines and Heavenly.
Swansea Sound have released two albums, several singles and have recorded live radio sessions for BBC6Music and WFMU (New York). They are Hue Williams and Amelia Fletcher (who both sang in The Pooh Sticks), Rob Pursey (in Heavenly with Amelia), Bob Collins (of The Dentists), Ian Button (The Night Mail, Papernut Cambridge, Death In Vegas ) and artist Catrin James (The Loves).

Portland Town is as effervescent a pop song as any of Heavenly’s past recordings, with duelling vocals from Amelia and Cathy; looping, twanging, ‘how-did-he-do-that’ guitar escapades from Peter, and a super-catchy melody. As so often with Heavenly, though, the lyrics have real bite.
The song embraces those who find themselves on the margins of a hostile world where maleness, straightness and conformity are in the ascendant. So why Portland? It has always been a sanctuary – one of those places where difference is celebrated, a place where, as the song puts it, anyone can fit in.
The B side is a cover version of a much-loved Only Ones song, ‘Someone Who Cares’.
Heavenly celebrate the release of Portland Town with a show at Islington Assembly Hall, London on 19th July, as part of the Skep Wax Weekender.
Heavenly are: Amelia Fletcher (guitar, vocals), Cathy Rogers (guitar, vocals), Rob Pursey (bass), Peter Momtchiloff (guitar), Ian Button (drums)

Carrying on the long tradition of sentimental jangle pop songwriters, Lightheaded distil decades of lovelorn tunes into sounds for modern softies. They have the sunshine sparkle of The Left Banke and Margo Guryan, the C86 charm of Dolly Mixture and Would-Be-Goods, and the cinematic swell of Belle & Sebastian and Camera Obscura. Formed on the shore of New Jersey in 2017 by Cynthia Rittenbach and Stephen Stec, Lightheaded took time to hone their sound with a rotating crew of drummers, guitarists and backup vocalists. They found a community of like-minded bands in a vast but tight-knit international indie pop scene, which eventually led them to the iconic California label Slumberland Records. Their debut cassette EP Good Good Great!, a collection of five perfect pop songs, landed in 2023, followed by the full-length Combustible Gems in 2024. A European tour and gigs opening for bands like Heavenly, The Softies and The Ladybug Transistor rounded out their breakout year. Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming is their most collaborative and earnest release to date. A side of five brand new songs is combined with the five tracks from Good Good Great!, now available on vinyl for the first time. Recorded bi-coastally with Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor) and Alicia Vanden Heuvel (The Aislers Set, Poundsign) and drenched in lush reverb on tape by Fred Thomas (Saturday Looks Good to Me), the new songs are rendered in a dreamy soft focus that perfectly suits their starry-eyed themes. Adding to all the fun are the cameos and contributions from the new generation of New York indie pop goodness, featuring members of Starcleaner Reunion and Trinket, pushing the songs on this record to a high point in the young band's discography. There is something unusual about this band - something truly special.

16-track greatest hits compilation by the legendary rock group. The album features some of the band's most popular songs, including “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)”, “Time”, “Money”, “Comfortably Numb”, and many more. Features original artwork, art directed by the late Storm Thorgerson.

2025 Record Store Day title - now available for general sale. A selection of top quality tracks from some of reggae’s legendary singers backed by some of the best musicians - Tyrone Taylor, Joseph Cotton, Errol Dunkley, Gregory Isaacs,Frederica Tibbs, J Nile featuring his son J Nile, Cornell Campbell, Jimmy James (of Jimmy James and the Vagabonds fame, one of the first Jamaican recording artists), Winston Reedy (Mr Dim The Lights – lovers rock king) , The Heptones - top Jamaican group who recorded countless hits for Studio One, and BB Seaton (one of Jamaicas best songwriters). Recorded at the Room in the Sky Studio, Tuff Gong Jamaica, Music Lab Jamaica, and Ariwa,. Musiciams: Sly Dunbar, , Winston Horseman Williams, Michael ""Megahbass"" Fletcher, Flabba Holt, Alan Weekes, Vin Gordon,,Noel Fish Salmon, ,Ashanti Selah, Bongo Herman.

2025 Record Store Day title - now available for general sale. A very special album to mark Room In The Sky’s 200th physical release. A selection of beautiful instrumental tracks, and featuring some of the best reggae musicians: Vin Gordon who basically played 90% of all the reggae hit horn lines , from Studio One to Bob Marley & the Wailers; Ernest Ranglin top jazz/reggae guitarist, now 93 yrs old and still playing, he produced the first Jamaican number 1 record “My Boy Lollipop” for Island Records; Dean Fraser, the number 1 Jamaican sax player; The Megahband - Michael Fletcher and Alborosies’ riddim section; Sly Dunbar the greatest reggae drummer; Alan Weekes - UK jazz reggae guitarist who played on most of UK reggae created in the late 70s, and 80s, and produced Carrol Thompson’s Hopelessly in Love LP; Jackie Mittoo responsible for 80% of all the biggest reggae riddims.

Federsen’s Alt Dub continues with its third release this May, the ‘Artist Series’ focused VA features cuts from cv313, Taction, Hidden Sequence and Fletcher.

Based out of San Francisco, Federsen and his Alt Dub imprint are known as purveyors of all things raw and intricate in the world of Dub Techno, holding the beacon and championing the sound, introducing new artists and featuring highly respected figures from the scene also. This new various artist package promotes exactly that.

Taking the lead is the widely revered cv313, the Detroit based dub powerhouse delivers his signature sound with ‘Spectral Vector’ via hazy field recordings, textural noise, modulating percussion and spiralling dub echoes all subtly nuanced throughout its nine minute duration. Sydney’s Taction then offers up ‘Caesious’, employing trickling water sounds, ethereal, expansive pads, pulsating subs and reduced percussion.

Opening the B-Side is Hidden Sequence’s ‘Azteca’, picking up the energy levels courtesy of swinging organic percussion, bubbling echoes, reverberated stab sequencing and oscillating resonant synth flutters. Fletcher’s ‘A Distant Place’ then rounds out the release, an eight and a half minute excursion through soft, dream like chimes, twitchy synth tones, a heavily swung rhythm section and subtly nuanced structure.

The Catenary Wires are a group comprising Amelia Fletcher, Rob Pursey and Ian Button. Their critically acclaimed third album ‘Birling Gap’ was released in 2021. Since then, they have been focusing on their other bands, playing around the world with Heavenly (stars of the 90s indiepop scene) and Swansea Sound.
A couple of years ago, word reached Rob and Amelia that Brian had been spotted wearing a Heavenly t-shirt at one of his shows, and was a big fan of their music. Given that they, in turn, were fans of Brian’s poetry, introductions were made, friendships were formed, and ‘Sounds Made By Humans’ took shape.
The album isn’t a set of readings with musical backdrops: it’s a collection of songs, where words and music have become completely intertwined. There are verses, and there are choruses. There is no ‘riffing’, no improvisation. In many ways, Brian’s poems are already like pop songs: brief, direct, and witty; sometimes poignant, sometimes biting and political; but always economical, and always accessible.
Rob took thirteen of Brian’s poems and created melodies and arrangements, which are then played by a full band, with Ian Button on drums and Fay Hallam on keyboard. Sometimes the words of the poems are sung by Amelia or Rob. Sometimes they are spoken by Brian. Sometimes both these things happen at once. This is a pop record where the poetry and the music are equal partners: sounds made by humans in perfect artistic alignment.
Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires will be performing at selected UK venues in November 2025.

Remastered Reissue von Lucianos Album "Moving Up" (1993), das im gleichen Jahr wie sein Debüt "Shake It Up Tonight" erschien und den jungen Künstler direkt in den Mainstream katapultierte. Produziert von Philipp "Fatis" Burrell (XTERMINATOR), wartete "Moving Up" mit einer erstklassigen Besetzung mit u.a. Dean Frazer, Winston-Bo Pee Bowen, Christopher "Lurch" Birch, Fire House Crew, Michael Fletcher und Sly & Robbie auf. Wie alle neu aufgelegten Klassikeralben des RAS-Katalogs wurden auch diese LP/CD-Formate remastert, um diese ersten Neuauflagen seit 1993 zu einem echten Leckerbissen für alle Reggae-Fans zu machen. Die Original-LP erschien damals nur auf Jamaika und war extrem rar.

Northern soul is in the news again, as once more this most resilient of dance floor cults is discovered by a new generation. For four decades now Ace Records has been a natural home for the music and using that experience we are bringing you our first ever all classics collection of some of the scene's greatest hits. All on one LP.

The recordings featured on this release are tried and tested, often in the hot forge of the scene's earliest day, when new discoveries were coming thick and fast, and only the strong survived. These did.

So we have 14 tracks which filled floors in Wigan, Blackpool, Cleethorpes, London's 100 Club and many other legendary venues. From West Coast Mirwood and Kent/ Modern label classics by Jackie Lee, Bobby Garrett, Mary Love and Danny Monday, to the big City Chicago soul of Darrow Fletcher via the super rare recordings by Rita & The Tiaras and Little Ann, which are now accepted standards of the scene.

This is an album for the beginner, those who want to know what all the fuss is about, or those older hands who just want to relive some exceptional memories.

Inspiriert vom Leben und Mythos des Schauspielers Dennis Hopper haben Mike Scott und The Waterboys - die schottische Rockband bekannt für ihre Hits 'The Whole Of The Moon' und 'The Big Music' - dieses umfangreiche Album als Hommage an eine der faszinierendsten Persönlichkeiten der amerikanischen Popkultur geschaffen. Das Album mit ausschließlich eigenen Songs ist sehr konzeptionell angelegt und bringt hochkarätige Künstler wie Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple und Steve Earle zusammen, um Hoppers Leben musikalisch zu durchdringen, einschließlich eines Songs für jede seiner Ehefrauen.

- Die Verpackung enthält Fotos aus dem Archiv von Dennis Hopper

- Ltd. Col. 2LP: (Psychedelic Waves Colored Vinyl in Gatefold-Hülle mit bedruckten Innentaschen)

Inspiriert vom Leben und Mythos des Schauspielers Dennis Hopper haben Mike Scott und The Waterboys - die schottische Rockband bekannt für ihre Hits 'The Whole Of The Moon' und 'The Big Music' - dieses umfangreiche Album als Hommage an eine der faszinierendsten Persönlichkeiten der amerikanischen Popkultur geschaffen. Das Album mit ausschließlich eigenen Songs ist sehr konzeptionell angelegt und bringt hochkarätige Künstler wie Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple und Steve Earle zusammen, um Hoppers Leben musikalisch zu durchdringen, einschließlich eines Songs für jede seiner Ehefrauen.

- Die Verpackung enthält Fotos aus dem Archiv von Dennis Hopper

- Col. 2LP: (Burnt Colored Vinyl in Gatefold-Hülle mit bedruckten Innentaschen)

When The World Was One is something of a companion piece to Matthew Halsall’s 2012 album Fletcher Moss Park (much of the music was written at the same time) but draws more explicitly on Halsall’s love of spiritual jazz and Eastern music as well as his own studies in meditation and travels in Japan. Beautifully recorded at Hasall’s favourite studio, 80 Hertz in Manchester, and engineered by Brendan Williams and George Atkins it features the recording debut of Halsall’s large ensemble, The Gondwana Orchestra, which utilises the exotic flavours of harp, koto and bansuri flute and Eastern scales to create a global palate for Halsall’s life-affirming sounds.

Retro Soul entstand zu einem Zeitpunkt, als Soulmusik ihren Höhepunkt erreichte. Damals waren die Pioniere der 60er Jahre so weit gereift, dass sie die Erfahrungen des letzten Jahrzehnts nutzen konnten, um eine unglaubliche Fusion zu schaffen, die R&B, Gospel, Funk und Jazz mischte, sie mit anspruchsvollen Arrangements ausstattete, die es den Zuhörern ermöglichten, in ihrer Tiefe zu schwelgen und zu ihrem Beat zu tanzen. Die 12 Titel auf 'This Is Retro Soul' sind ein Einstieg in diese mythische Welt, die Bilder von Schlaghosen, Halston-Kleidern, Cadillacs und Frisuren mit Umfang von Raumhelmen heraufbeschwört. Doch die Musik folgt keinen simplen Klischees, egal ob sie von internationalen Superstars wie Isaac Hayes und Millie Jackson, oder Kulthelden wie George Jackson bzw. Darrow Fletcher stammt. Auch hier klassisch, schwarzes Vinyl!

It is summer dawn . . . and you are alone. Here is music for your strange mood. The piano starts the first track, slow tempo beat, a strict beat, a swinging beat. Lillemor—here minor harmonies give the tune a rural, romantic feeling of some place in Spain or France. The tempo changes to medium fast—the flute solos. Light phrasing contrasts beautifully to the earthy, swinging beat of the rhythm section and the repeating piano figures. The trombone adds a new color, a counterpoint of sound and phrasing, backed by the pulsating beat of this wonderful rhythm and the driving piano. Summer dawn . . . This music has more to offer, because it shows the personality of Sahib Shihab at its best. Sahib is a universal musician who reflects musical experiences in jazz since the end of the thirties. He lived through the important periods of modern jazz with his heart and mind wide open toward everything that was good music, regardless of being termed "Mainstream", "Bop", "Cool", "Westcoast", "Eastcoast", "Hard Bop'', et cetera. When you listen closely to his music, you will find traces of all these, but they are immersed in his deep musicianship and his true jazz personality. Sahib Shihab's background reads like the record of a master of advanced studies. Furthermore he played and collaborated with the coolest jazz musician of that period. Above all let's name Budd Johnson, Theolonius Monk, Tadd Dameron, Milt Jackson, Dizzy Gillespie, Illinois Jaquet, Elmer Snowden, Luther Henderson, Larry Noble, Fletcher Henderson, Roy Eldridge. In his early professional years, Sahib was heard mostly on alto sax; later, more often on baritone sax and flute. Today, his name is inseparably connected with these two instruments. The unity of his jazz performances is not alone bound up with the com¬positions and the arrangements of Sahib Shihab, though in their understated simplicity they have a melodic beauty that is seldom found in jazz of today. The rhythmical subtleties add to the overall qualities of being relaxed vehicles for free-blowing, but there is an immediacy that you hear and feel every moment when listening which defies analysis. The playing of the rhythm section helps greatly to promote the sense of flux and contrasting constant renewal that makes listening to this record so invigorating an experience. Well, this is no surprise, with Kenny Clarke as the nucleus of the rhythm group. Kenny 'Klook' Clarke is a major figure and contributor in jazz, one of the founders of modern jazz, and is ranked as one of the all-time great drummers. He influenced a whole generation of musicians with his playing, though living in Paris since the middle of the fifties somewhat dimmed his name to the general American public. Nevertheless, his name alone will assure a connoisseur to expect top class musical experiences. Talking of the rhythm section we have to name Jimmy Woode's bass, which together with Kenny's drumming, is the driving force for the group and the reliable harmonic anchor for the improvisors. By the way, Jimmy has been with the Duke quite a while, and this alone is an award for extraordinary craftsmanship and artistry. The good sounding rhythm with its full-bodied color is also a result of the added bongos of Joe Harris, who manages to stay out of the way of the players—a quality not often found with drummers—but his playing is felt through the set. There are two members of the group not yet mentioned. Two Europeans, pianist-composer-arranger Francy Boland from Belgium, and trombonist Ake Persson from Sweden. Francy Boland this time is a sideman, though normally he is a leader of recording sessions, both as composer-arranger and as musical director of the band. In the fifties he was in the States writing arrangements for different name-bands, such as Basie and Goodman. In Europe, he is famous for his swinging modern big band arrangements; and his inventiveness as a writer is reflected in his piano playing. He has the talent of using the right dynamic approach every moment, thus making his playing helpful to soloists and interesting for listeners as well. Ake Persson has been Scandinavia's out-standing trombone player for about ten years. There are only a few trombonists in Europe who might match his talents at times, but they lack the consistency of his playing. He is impressive, whether playing in a big band, or whether main soloist in his own small groups. American musicians love the sound of his slide trombone and his easily flowing romantic improvisations, so he often joins American name-bands as they travel in Europe. The music speaks alone . . . , we said it before. You have your soul to feel the beauty, to follow lines and structure, and to enjoy the spiritual excitement. Whether you enjoy the flowing, easy sounding theme of "Please Don't Leave Me", or the climaxing piano solo in the same piece—the bass solo in "Waltz For Seth" or the swinging baritone sax—listen to the first bars of this solo and pay attention to Kenny. Whether you listen to "Campi's Idea", (named after Gigi Campi, the well known Cologne jazz enthusiast who organized this recording) with the romantic flute solo of Sahib, the interesting tempo changes, the piano comping, the moving trombone solo; or to the up-tempo "Herr Fixit", with the cooking Kenny and humorous, driving flute solo, you know that these six musicians where in the right mood, in the right stimulating surroundings to feel what we all feel when it's: SUMMER DAWN.

"Brendan Croker was an English musician, who recorded albums under his own name and with the occasional backing band; The Five O'Clock Shadows. This album is recorded together with his band where he is joined by Eric Clapton, Tanita Tikaram, Mark Knopfler, Guy Fletcher and many fantastic other guest performers. The album was produced by John Porter, who also worked with The Smiths, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Ryan Adams among others. Brendan Croker And The 5' O'Clock Shadows is available as a 35th anniversary edition of 500 copies on translucent red coloured vinyl and includes an insert. "

After the roaring X5NRG Ep released a year ago, with a driving remix from Losoul, AGP heads back to his own imprint for a new EP set to drop on Ausblick in June 2024.
A1: "Everything From Uptown" sets the tone with its sundowner House vibes, boasting a powerful punch, a deep jazz bassline, and emotionally charged chords that promise to win your heart from start to finish.
B1: Prepare to embark on a journey of reinterpretation with Altitude (aka Matt Thibideau) at the helm. This track offers a fresh perspective on A1, a bold re- appropriation that delves even deeper into the heart of the original piece, offering a mesmerizing sonic experience.
B2: Rounding off the release is a summer anthem like no other : Cocktail De L'eau. Smooth and effortlessly cool, this track has already garnered early support from
industry heavyweights Ohm and Steve O'Sullivan, making it a must-have addition to any playlist

Supported by : Ohm, Steve O'Sullivan, Thor, Fletcher, Costin Rp, Philipp Priebe, Anton Kubikov, TM Shuffle, Gabriel Belabbas, Laurent Garnier.

Great modern roots tune from Frankie Diamond of Still Cool, with rhythm by his long time collaborators Carl "Stereo" Fletcher and Pablove Black. The vocal saw very limited release on JA 45 back in the late 00's, the version side is now released for the first time ever.

'One Deep River' is Mark's sixth consecutive studio album to be recorded at his British Grove Studios and his first since 2018's 'Down The Road Wherever.' When Covid restrictions eased, Mark reconvened at BG with longtime band members and collaborators such as Guy Fletcher, Danny Cummings, Richard Bennett, Glenn Worf, Jim Cox and others, with the addition of first-time contributor Greg Leisz on pedal and lap steel and acoustic guitar.

Says Mark of the new album, which he co-produced with longtime confidant Fletcher: "It was back to the old-fashioned idea of a band making a record together in the room, which maybe in the more youth-oriented side of the industry has become quite rare, because everyone uses loads of technology. We do too, but what we do is we combine the old and the new. If it works, I use it.

"With these songs, you can see them coming together very quickly, with a band like this. You're in a game where you're making the thing and it's happening whether you like it or not. You could push the pace, but I try and give myself a little bit more breathing room. The fatal thing a lot of the time would be to want to rush everything. Something creative always happens by not panicking."

Of the track 'Ahead Of The Game,' Mark adds: "That all goes back to bands playing live. In some way, I was thinking about Nashville, because when I first went out there, it must have been in the early '80s and all the bands in the bars downtown were playing the hits. And that's fine. What I was trying to say is that's an achievement to actually get to a place where you've got employment, and you've got yourself a gig. I mean, statistically, what are the odds of making it? If you stopped to think about that, you'd hardly take a step further, would you?"

'One Deep River' is Mark's sixth consecutive studio album to be recorded at his British Grove Studios and his first since 2018's 'Down The Road Wherever.' When Covid restrictions eased, Mark reconvened at BG with longtime band members and collaborators such as Guy Fletcher, Danny Cummings, Richard Bennett, Glenn Worf, Jim Cox and others, with the addition of first-time contributor Greg Leisz on pedal and lap steel and acoustic guitar.

Says Mark of the new album, which he co-produced with longtime confidant Fletcher: "It was back to the old-fashioned idea of a band making a record together in the room, which maybe in the more youth-oriented side of the industry has become quite rare, because everyone uses loads of technology. We do too, but what we do is we combine the old and the new. If it works, I use it.

"With these songs, you can see them coming together very quickly, with a band like this. You're in a game where you're making the thing and it's happening whether you like it or not. You could push the pace, but I try and give myself a little bit more breathing room. The fatal thing a lot of the time would be to want to rush everything. Something creative always happens by not panicking."

Of the track 'Ahead Of The Game,' Mark adds: "That all goes back to bands playing live. In some way, I was thinking about Nashville, because when I first went out there, it must have been in the early '80s and all the bands in the bars downtown were playing the hits. And that's fine. What I was trying to say is that's an achievement to actually get to a place where you've got employment, and you've got yourself a gig. I mean, statistically, what are the odds of making it? If you stopped to think about that, you'd hardly take a step further, would you?"

'This Is Mod' ist Teil einer neuen Serie, die sich an Vinylkäufer richtet, die eine genrespezifische Compilation suchen. Kuratiert von Dean Rudland, der auch die Liner Notes schrieb, führt 'This Is Mod' in die dunklen Keller von Soho, wo jeder die schicksten Klamotten trägt und zu den feinsten, tanzbarsten Klängen aus dem schwarzen Amerika tanzt. Soul, R&B und ein Hauch Jazz sind an der Tagesordnung. In den Grooves finden wir düsteren Southern Soul von Clarence Carter und Jimmy Hughes, den Sound von Memphis mit freundlicher Genehmigung von James Carr, Danny White und Timmy Thomas sowie R&B von Lowell Fulsom und Richard Berry. Dazu Northern Soul, unter anderem von Mary Love und Darrow Fletcher. Klassisch, schwarzes Vinyl!

Locked Down And Stripped Back Volume Two features home recordings of Wedding Present classics along with a previously unreleased song: 'That Would Only Happen In A Movie'. The first volume in the series came about when David Gedge's annual festival At The Edge Of The Sea went 'virtual' in 2020 and the band recorded semi-acoustic versions of songs to be streamed. An album of the tracks was compiled and released due to popular demand. The same thing happened the following year and so Volume Two features tracks initially recorded for 2021's online festival. There's a bevy of guest stars on this second album! Jon Stewart of Platinum-album-selling Sleeper fame reprises his new role as Wedding Present guitarist but is joined here by some Wedding Present members of old. Peter Solowka, from the band's first line-up appears on 'Nobody's Twisting Your Arm' playing his second instrument, the accordion, while Hit Parade guitarist Paul Dorrington contributes to a re-working of the Top 30 single 'Blue Eyes'. Long-time Wedding Present bass player Terry de Castro returns to infuse the album with her own unique style, while current Wedding Present bass player Melanie Howard takes over the lead vocal duties on a beautiful version of 1986's 'At The Edge Of The Sea'. Last, but certainly not least, Amelia Fletcher - backing vocalist on George Best and Bizarro - also returns to the party! As on the first volume, each musician recorded and filmed their parts at home and, as before, it is fascinating to see how stripped-back arrangements bring out different aspects of these brilliant songs.

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.

This is a charity recording of Mark Knopfler's instrumental "Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)", produced in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America. The recording features today's biggest and best-known guitarists, accompanied by an all-star band. Artists: Joan Armatrading, Jeff Beck, Richard Bennett, Joe Bonamassa, Joe Brown, James Burton, Jonathan Cain, Paul Carrack, Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder, Jim Cox, Steve Cropper, Danny Cummings, Duane Eddy, Sam Fender, Guy Fletcher, Peter Frampton, Audley Freed, Vince Gill, David Gilmour, Buddy Guy, Tony Iommi, John Jorgenson, Mark Knopfler, Joan Jett, Albert Lee, Greg Leisz, Hank Marvin, Brian May, Robbie McIntosh, John McLaughlin, Orianthi, Nile Rodgers, Mike Rutherford, Joe Satriani, John Sebastian, Connor Selby, Slash, Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and Zak Starkey, Sting, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Ian Thomas, Pete Townshend, Keith Urban, Steve Vai, Waddy Wachtel, Joe Louis Walker, Joe Walsh, Ronnie Wood, Glenn Worf and Zucchero.

Atlanta's original Eccentric Soul labels, Jesse Jones' Tragar & N ote concerns captured critical regional R&B, soul, and funk from 1968-1976. Compiling 34 tracks and sprawled across two LPs, this 15 year anniversary deluxe edition appears on vinyl for the first time. Featuring rareas- hens-teeth 45s by Eula Cooper, Tee Fletcher, Richard Cook, Frankie & Robert, Tokay Lewis, Nathan Wilkes, Chuck Wilder, Bill Wright, Sonia Ross, Sandy Gaye, Four Tracks, Young Divines, and several others we can't fit on a h ype sticker.

Hotlanta Orange Marble Color Vinyl.
Atlanta's original Eccentric Soul labels, Jesse Jones' Tragar & N ote concerns captured critical regional R&B, soul, and funk from 1968-1976. Compiling 34 tracks and sprawled across two LPs, this 15 year anniversary deluxe edition appears on vinyl for the first time. Featuring rareas- hens-teeth 45s by Eula Cooper, Tee Fletcher, Richard Cook, Frankie & Robert, Tokay Lewis, Nathan Wilkes, Chuck Wilder, Bill Wright, Sonia Ross, Sandy Gaye, Four Tracks, Young Divines, and several others we can't fit on a h ype sticker.

The Decline And Fall Of Heavenly’ Gets Re-Issued On Vinyl. Skep Wax Records are re-issuing all four Heavenly albums over a two year period, and this is the third instalment, following on from ‘Heavenly vs Satan’ and ‘Le Jardin De Heavenly’. Each LP includes relevant single releases as additional tracks, a 7” booklet with lyrics, pictures, and new sleeve notes by the members of the band. Altogether, the four albums will amount to a thorough collection of the band’s recorded output. Heavenly will be playing gigs in various countries in 2024. The third Heavenly album will be re-released by Skep Wax Records on Friday 2nd February. The re-release will also include all five tracks from the Atta Girl and P.U.N.K Girl 7” singles. The Atta Girl and P.U.N.K. Girl singles were released in 1993; album The Decline and Fall of Heavenly came soon after in 1994: collectively they show a band that is rapidly expanding its scope. The album veers confidently from high speed indiepunk (Me And My Madness) to cool surf instrumental (Sacramento) and back again to the sweetest indiepop (Itchy Chin). Meanwhile, the singles, which include the band’s most celebrated tune - P.U.N.K Girl – demonstrates how much confidence Heavenly were deriving from their involvement in the nascent Riot Grrrl scene. All the anger is there, the politics are direct and crystal clear – yet the whole thing is still delivered with the sweetest pop melodies. It’s like being punched and kissed at the same time. The three releases also show how Heavenly had come to feel equally at home in the UK and in the US. The album maybe feels more British, as demonstrated by the Old World irony of the ‘Decline and Fall’ title. At Heavenly gigs in the UK, often playing with other bands on the increasingly influential Sarah Records, audiences were getting bigger, while the bands were finding a sweet spot where anti-corporate understatement and a dismissive attitude to an increasingly misogynist UK Press was no barrier to success. P.U.N.K Girl and Atta Girl on the other hand, are more gleeful, more headlong, and somehow feel more American: they are carried along by the excitement and adrenaline of having found another spiritual home - the indiepunk Riot Grrrl scene that was focussed on Olympia, WA, the HQ of Heavenly’s US label K Records. (K released P.U.N.K Girl and Atta Girl together on one 10” EP.) Amelia Fletcher and Cathy Rogers were now confidently sharing vocals, sometimes harmonising, sometimes taking it in turns, sometimes singing over each other. Peter (guitar) Mathew (drums) and Rob (bass) had become adept at changing gear from ornate pop to full-on punk, unafraid of genre rules and increasingly happy to make up their own version of what pop music should sound like. The more delicate, more decorative arrangements of Heavenly’s first two albums had been left behind. The band – or more accurately, the women in the band – were still dogged by accusations of being too fey, too ‘twee’: not ROCK enough. But, as the chorus of Atta Girl makes clear, any attempts to define Heavenly by their ‘cuteness’ now received an unambiguous response: ‘Fuck you, no way!’ The fourth and final Heavenly album ‘Operation Heavenly’ will be released later in 2024. Heavenly were: Amelia Fletcher (guitar, vocals), Cathy Rogers (guitar, vocals), Rob Pursey (bass), Peter Momtchiloff (guitar), Mathew Fletcher (drums).

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.

In February 1942, having fled persecution but lost all hope in the world,
the Jewish Austrian writer Stefan Zweig and his second wife Lotte took
their own lives in the Brazilian city Petropolis
There is a photo of both of them in bed, dead but still holding hands, that has
haunted Robert Rotifer for a long time.
This is Robert Rotifer's 11th record and his first new music since 2019. Having
since worked with Helen McCookerybook, Louis Philippe & The Night Mail, Andre
Heller, Fay Hallam, Swansea Sound and more alongside his day job as a journalist
and broadcaster, in the summer of 2022 Rotifer set to work on this new set of
songs, calling on friends and collaborators to contribute. Guests include,Ian
Button on drums, Fay Hallam on keys, Helen McCookerybook and Kenji Kitahama
on added backing vocals, plus contributions from Amelia Fletcher, and Austrian
musicians Ernst Molden and Paul Pfleger, uniting the two separate musical
worlds Rotifer has been moving in since leaving Vienna for the UK some 26 years
ago.

it 'Loving You' zollt die mit einem Grammy ausgezeichnete Sängerin, Songwriterin und Multiinstrumentalistin Amanda Shires einer Frau Respekt, die für sie Inspiration und Wegbereiterin war und der sie laut eigener Aussage viel verdankt.

Bobbie Nelsons musikalische Karriere reicht bis in die 1940er Jahre zurück. Als begnadete Pianistin spielte sie in Kirchen, Revival Tents, Konzertsälen und Honky-Tonks und schloss sich schließlich in den frühen 70er Jahren der Family Band ihres Bruders Willie Nelson an. Shires und Nelson taten sich 2021 zusammen, um in den Arlyn Studios in Austin, Texas, Aufnahmen zu machen - eine Einrichtung, die von Nelsons Sohn Freddy Fletcher mitgeleitet und betrieben wird. Das Album 'Loving You' enthält Songs, die Nelson und Shires ihr Leben lang begleitet haben, sowie Nelsons eigenes elegantes Solo-Piano-Titelstück.

Ein Cover-Album der besonderen Art.

You heard them first on Brown Acid “The Thirteenth Trip”. We are very excited to present to you the full unreleased recordings from this amazing band from Detroit. Master Danse was formed in late 1973 in Detroit, Michigan when drummer Tom Riss and bassist Cary Fletcher, formerly of the Detroit band Licking Stick, went looking for a new guitarist/lead vocalist and jammed with John Giaier, who had most recently played in the band Crawdad. The three musicians hit it off immediately, and a new power hard rock trio was born. In 1973, Detroit was clearly “Rock City”, featuring such local icons as Bob Seger, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk Railroad, Ted Nugent, and Mitch Ryder, and the high energy punch of Master Danse reflected this proud heritage. Unfortunately, this union would only last one year, and by the end of 1974 the power rock trio known as Master Danse had disbanded. What was left for posterity were only two live reel to reel recordings and one promo 45 single. Some forty-seven years later, the 45 found its way onto the internet and a small cult following of audiophiles was born, people who appreciate the raw power and high energy of early ‘70s rock. Bands like Master Danse and others from this era were riding the wave of transition from the pop rock sound of the ‘60s to an edgier sound that would eventually lead to metal and punk music. With the help of modern-day tape restoration techniques, the two live recordings were restored, and together with the 45, the best versions of the eight songs that have survived the decades are featured on this album. Although recorded live forty-eight years ago on a two-track stereo tape recorder, you can still feel the power of Giaier’s Marshall stack, Fletcher’s twin Acoustic 360 amps, and the relentless attack of Riss’ Ludwig drums. So, sit back and enjoy. Rock on!

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.

Red Vinyl

180 g, Side D etched, matte UV Poster, Trifold Jacket, red foil debossed "D"&"M", Poster

"Memento Mori" stellt Depeche Modes insgesamt 15. Studioalbum dar, während Gahan und Gore nach dem tragischen Tod von Bandmitgründer Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher im Jahr 2022 den ersten Longplayer in zweiköpfiger Besetzung vorlegen. Produziert von James Ford mit Unterstützung von Marta Salogni reifte "Memento Mori" während der Frühphase der weltweiten Covid-Pandemie heran; eine Periode, die auch einen thematischen Einfluss auf die Songs hatte. Die 12 Albumtracks schlagen die Brücke zwischen einer Vielzahl von Stimmungen und musikalischen Texturen - angefangen beim bedrohlichen Opener bis zur Auflösung am Schluss spannt sich das Gefühlsspektrum von Paranoia und Besessenheit bis hin zu psychischer Befreiung und Freude sowie zahllosen emotionalen Zwischentönen. Mit der Single "Ghosts Again" geht der Albumveröffentlichung von "Memento Mori" ein eindrucksvoller Vorbote voraus. Der Song stellt schon jetzt nicht weniger als einen lupenreinen Depeche Mode-Klassiker dar: Dave Gahans bilderstarke Lyrics wie "wasted feelings, broken meanings... a place to hide the tears we cry" verbinden sich über einem erhebenden, optimistischen Groove mit einer hypnotischen Gitarrenfigur von Martin Gore. "Für mich fängt `Ghosts Again` das perfekte Gleichgewicht zwischen Melancholie und Freude ein", so Gahan. "Es kommt nicht allzu oft vor, dass wir einen Song aufnehmen, den ich mir nicht nur immer und immer wieder anhören kann - ich freue mich auch riesig, ihn mit der Welt teilen zu dürfen", ergänzt Gore.

180 g, Side D etched, matte UV Poster, Trifold Jacket, red foil debossed "D"&"M", Poster

"Memento Mori" stellt Depeche Modes insgesamt 15. Studioalbum dar, während Gahan und Gore nach dem tragischen Tod von Bandmitgründer Andrew "Fletch" Fletcher im Jahr 2022 den ersten Longplayer in zweiköpfiger Besetzung vorlegen. Produziert von James Ford mit Unterstützung von Marta Salogni reifte "Memento Mori" während der Frühphase der weltweiten Covid-Pandemie heran; eine Periode, die auch einen thematischen Einfluss auf die Songs hatte. Die 12 Albumtracks schlagen die Brücke zwischen einer Vielzahl von Stimmungen und musikalischen Texturen - angefangen beim bedrohlichen Opener bis zur Auflösung am Schluss spannt sich das Gefühlsspektrum von Paranoia und Besessenheit bis hin zu psychischer Befreiung und Freude sowie zahllosen emotionalen Zwischentönen. Mit der Single "Ghosts Again" geht der Albumveröffentlichung von "Memento Mori" ein eindrucksvoller Vorbote voraus. Der Song stellt schon jetzt nicht weniger als einen lupenreinen Depeche Mode-Klassiker dar: Dave Gahans bilderstarke Lyrics wie "wasted feelings, broken meanings... a place to hide the tears we cry" verbinden sich über einem erhebenden, optimistischen Groove mit einer hypnotischen Gitarrenfigur von Martin Gore. "Für mich fängt `Ghosts Again` das perfekte Gleichgewicht zwischen Melancholie und Freude ein", so Gahan. "Es kommt nicht allzu oft vor, dass wir einen Song aufnehmen, den ich mir nicht nur immer und immer wieder anhören kann - ich freue mich auch riesig, ihn mit der Welt teilen zu dürfen", ergänzt Gore.

Art Blakey was an exceptional musician, but not only because he succeeded in recruiting the best players to join his Messengers. He also had the skill to blaze new trails through forms of jazz that continuously evolved. Beginning in the Forties with the big bands of Fletcher Henderson and Billy Eckstine, he went on to play with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie… And then Blakey met up with Horace Silver in the mid-Fifties to found the Jazz Messengers. It was with this band that Blakey would open his arms to all the best young musicians of this generation: he nurtured the likes of Hank Mobley, Jackie McLean, Lee Morgan,

Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard and many others. The first two sides of this album give an all too brief illustration of this aspect of the drummer, while sides three and four feature the inventiveness and rhythmical sense of a great percussionist who never renounced his African origins.

Seit Veröffentlichung einer ersten Single via Soundcloud in 2013 zählt sie in Großbritannien zu den meistbeachteten Newcomern: Holly "Låpsley" Fletcher. Ihre so eigenwillig wie traumwandlerisch arrangierte Musik zwischen Pop und schwebender Elektronik wird von den einschlägigen Gazetten sowie Radio-Stars wie BBC-DJ Zane Lowe über alle Maßen gelobt. Eine Berücksichtigung in der international renommierten "BBC Sound-Poll" ist da ganz folgerichtig. Mit ihrer ebenso verführerischen wie zerbrechlichen Stimme versteht es Låpsley auch live, restlos zu verzaubern - sei es auf der Glastonbury-"BBC Introducing"-Bühne, beim Reeperbahnfestival oder in Clubshows. Nach der 2015er-Single "Hurt Me", die sich in den deutschen Airplaycharts gut platzieren konnte, kommt pünktlich zum Jahresbeginn 2016 auch endlich ihr Debütalbum in die Läden. Produktionshilfe für "Long Way Home" leistete Rodaidh McDonald (Adele, The xx, Damon Albarn, Savages). Zwei Songs wurden mit Paul O'Duffy aufgenommen. Die erste Single-Auskopplung, "Love Is Blind", ist ein weiterer Fingerzeig dafür, dass Låpsleys Debüt eine neue Qualität an Tiefe und Wahrhaftigkeit in den elektronischen Pop einbringt.

HEAVENLY ALBUMS TO BE RE-ISSUED ON VINYL - STARTING WITH ‘HEAVENLY vs SATAN’. Heavenly released four albums in the early 1990s. Skep Wax Records are going to re-issue all four of them over a two year period. Classic black vinyl. The albums will include a 7” booklet with lyrics and new sleeve notes by the members of the band. Heavenly were one of the pioneers of indiepop. Formed from the smouldering ashes of Talulah Gosh, they took all that energy and attitude and used it to fuel catchy, infectious pop melodies. The influence of 60s girl groups was never far from the surface. This was girl-pop, but with the girls in control. Loved by many but derided as ‘twee’ by some, Heavenly ignored the increasingly macho environment of the contemporary UK scene and forged a separate path, along with other bands on the Sarah Records label. Later, having co-released their albums on K Records in Olympia, Heavenly toured the US, hooking up with bands in the embryonic riot grrrl scene. Heavenly’s quiet feminism became louder and more articulate, and the hostility of the UK music press became irrelevant. Heavenly came to an abrupt and tragic end when drummer Mathew Fletcher took his own life in 1996. After a year’s hiatus, the group reformed as the short-lived Marine Research, before going their separate ways musically. Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey currently play in The Catenary Wires and Swansea Sound. Peter Momtchiloff plays in Would-Be-Goods and Tufthunter. HEAVENLY vs SATAN – THE FIRST LP. Recorded in the Oxfordshire countryside, the first Heavenly album was a bid to make a pure pop record. The punk noise of Talulah Gosh had exploded and expired. Amelia had had a go at making a disco hit (‘Can You Keep A Secret’, subsequently released on Fierce Recordings), which was fun, but wasn’t going to trouble the charts. Unbothered by critical or popular reactions, the new band decided to immerse themselves in the creation of a sweet, tuneful pop record. It’s true that the punk influences aren’t hard to discern (Mathew’s favourite band was The Ramones), but it’s Pete’s elegant guitar and Amelia’s melodies and multi-layered harmonies that win out on these recordings. The eight-track album was released as CD, LP and cassette by Sarah Records. Subsequent versions included a Danceteria LP and cassette (France), a Quattro CD (Japan) and a CD by K Records (US). These versions included various additional tracks from early 7” releases. The Skep Wax re-issue of ‘Heavenly vs Satan’ includes Heavenly’s first two Sarah Records singles – ‘I Fell In Love Last Night/Over And Over’ and ‘Our Love Is Heavenly/Wrap My Arms Around Him’. The vinyl reissue of second album ‘Le Jardin de Heavenly’ will follow in early summer 2023. ‘The Decline and Fall of Heavenly’ and ‘Operation Heavenly’ will arrive in 2024. Tracklisting 1 Cool Guitar Boy 2 Boyfriend Stays The Same 3 Lemonhead Boy 4 Shallow 5 Wish Me Gone 6 Don’t Be Fooled 7 It’s You 8 Stop Before You Say It 9 I Fell In Love Last Night 10 Over And Over 11 Our Love Is Heavenly 12 Wrap My Arms Around Him

14 track vinyl version of the 2012 CD compilation. Pressed on pale blue vinyl, with printed lyric inner sleeve. First time on vinyl. Includes poster and postcard.
A swish compilation LP featuring fourteen of the most memorable songs in the career of the top notch indie band THE HIT PARADE.
Entitled ‘PICK OF THE POPS (VOL1)’ the LP collects together the most poignant moments in the career of THE HIT PARADE, and includes their thoughtful recording for Sarah Records “In Gunnersbury Park”, their tubthumping single for Minty Fresh USA “Hitomi” as well as other cuts, both cheerful and desolate in style, that feature CATH CARROLL (Factory Records), AMELIA FLETCHER (Heavenly and Talulah Gosh) and HARVEY WILLIAMS (Another Sunny Day and The Field Mice).
THE HIT PARADE was formed by JULIAN HENRY with his school friends MATT MOFFATT and RAYMOND WATTS in 1984 when they released their first single ‘Forever’ on JSH RECORDS. Since then they’ve clung to the sensibilities of pure pop and have become a curiosity item with their retro attitudes and songs about dead writers, disused swimming pools and failed love affairs.
Their early vinyl singles were lauded by John Peel, the NME and Melody Maker, the now defunct weekly paper that published JULIAN HENRY’S writing. In the 1990s the band toured alongside Edwyn Collins, The Milkshakes and Sarah Records notables, and signed to Japanese and US labels, releasing a sequence of albums that have since become collectible.

Scopitones will release Locked Down And Stripped Back Volume Two by The Wedding Present on 1 July 2022. The album will also be released on vinyl only in North America by HHBTM Records. Locked Down And Stripped Back Volume Two features home recordings of Wedding Present classics along with a previously unreleased song: ‘That Would Only Happen In A Movie’. The first volume in the series came about when David Gedge’s annual festival At The Edge Of The Sea went ‘virtual’ in 2020 and the band recorded semi-acoustic versions of songs to be streamed. An album of the tracks was compiled and released due to popular demand. The same thing happened the following year and so Volume Two features tracks initially recorded for 2021’s online festival. There’s a bevy of guest stars on this second album! Jon Stewart of Platinum-album-selling Sleeper fame reprises his new role as Wedding Present guitarist but is joined here by some Wedding Present members of old. Peter Solowka, from the band’s first line-up appears on ‘Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm’ playing his second instrument, the accordion, while Hit Parade guitarist Paul Dorrington contributes to a re-working of the Top 30 single ‘Blue Eyes’. Long-time Wedding Present bass player Terry de Castro returns to infuse the album with her own unique style, while current Wedding Present bass player Melanie Howard takes over the lead vocal duties on a beautiful version of 1986’s ‘At The Edge Of The Sea’. Last, but certainly not least, Amelia Fletcher – backing vocalist on George Best and Bizarro – also returns to the party! As on the first volume, each musician recorded and filmed their parts at home and, as before, it is fascinating to see how stripped-back arrangements bring out different aspects of these brilliant songs. Track-listing Brassneck / No / Careless / Nobody’s Twisting Your Arm / What Have I Said Now? / Perfect Blue / Everyone Thinks He Looks Daft / That Would Only Happen In A Movie / At The Edge Of The Sea / Blue Eyes / Dare / Octopussy

Voodoo Nation is the band's third studio album and fourth in total
following West of Flushing, South of Frisco (2016), Californisoul (2017),
live album Road Chronicles: Live (2019).
The album starts with the track "Money", which is about greed
"Greed alone is not the problem, it's greed and the lack of respect for everybody
else", producer Fabrizio Grossi explains. The 8- minute "Devil at the Doorstep"
features Eric Gales – whose own recent album Crown was a #1 Blues Billboard
hit. The song is a studio representation of what happens when they play live with
Gales.
SSBM underline problems faced by musicians on "Coming Thru" and "Get It Done"
- the latter features Los Angeles based virtuoso Josh Smith. "Do It Again" is
another firecracker that rounds off the theme and features Ana Popovic, which is
about "the happiness and blessing of being able to do what you love."
Young Harlem blues- sensation King Solomon Hicks takes on lead vocals and
guitar on the call to arms "You and Me." The bands trademark soulful blues sound
can be heard beautifully on "I Will Let It Go," featuring Kirk Fletcher, and the
sumptuous "Is It All" featuring the legendary Joe Louis Walker, which sees him
and Kris Barras trade vocals on the stunning soul ballad. The title track locks in
the feeling of general discontent in society.
Supersonic Blues Machine reflect how they see the world through their lens and
never far is a message of hope and the album closes with the inspirational
country blues "All Our Love" featuring Blackberry Smoke's Charlie Starr

After John Squire left The Stone Roses, he formed The Seahorses in
1996 together with Stuart Fletcher, Chris Helme and Andy Watts. The year after they released their debut album Do It Yourself, which was produced by Tony Visconti. Visconti had his first hit with T. Rex’ “Ride A White Swan” and was involved in many David Bowie productions.

The album was well received and entered the UK Album Charts at
#2 and received a Platinum status. It featured three popular singles: “Love Is The Law”, “Blinded By The Sun” and “Love Me And Leave Me”. The latter was Liam Gallagher’s first song writing credit. Their success resulted in support slots with The Rolling Stones, U2 and Oasis. Unfortunately, The Seahorses aborded the recordings of their follow-up album to split up due to musical differences.

Do It Yourself is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022 and includes an insert.

Art Blakey is one of the greatest jazz drummers and first made name for himself in the 1940s when working with bebop musicians Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker and Fletcher Henderson. In the mid-1950s, he then formed The Jazz Messengers together with Horace Silver, which quickly became known as an incubator for young talent. 35 years after forming The Jazz Messengers, Blakey entered his final year still at it. Due to the many promising young players around the time, he expended the collective from its usual quintet or sextet into a septet for this fine recording session. Because Blakey constantly persuaded his musicians to write music, The Jazz Messengers stayed young in spirit, just like its leader.

Chippin’ In is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on red coloured vinyl and includes an insert with upcoming titles from the Timeless Records 45th Anniversary Jazz Series.

Matthew Halsall unveils new band and announces 'Salute to the Sun'

his new album on Gondwana Records

Limited edition Double Clear vinyl, printed on reverse board with Gold foil artwork plus double printed reverse board inner sleeves including download code. Cover Artwork by Daniel Halsall with design and layout by Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic.

Comes packaged in a resealable, re-usable Polypropylene anti-static, acid-free, crystal clear sleeve for maximum protection.

Composer, trumpeter, producer, DJ and founder of Gondwana Records, Matthew Halsall has always worn many hats. But at the heart of everything that he does Halsall is first and foremost an artist and a musician. A trumpeter whose unflashy, soulful playing radiates a thoughtful beauty and a composer and band-leader who has created his own rich sound world. A sound that draws on the heritage of British jazz, the spiritual jazz of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, as well as world music and electronica influences, and even modern art and architecture, to create something uniquely his own. A music that is rooted in Northern England but draws on global inspirations.

Salute to the Sun is his first album as a leader since Into Forever (2015) and marks the debut of his new band. A hand-picked ensemble featuring some of Manchester's finest young musicians: Matt Cliffe flute & saxophone, Maddie Herbert harp, Liviu Gheorghe piano, Alan Taylor drums and Jack McCarthy percussion as well as long-time Halsall collaborator, bassist, Gavin Barras who has been at the heart of Halsall's bands for over a decade. For Matthew it was important to have a band based locally and able, pre-Covid, to meet and play each week, and who also performed a sold-out monthly basement session at Yes in Manchester. The album draws energy from these sessions and inspiration from themes and ideas that have inspired Halsall through the years (on albums such as Oneness, Fletcher Moss Park and When the World Was One) ideas of ecology, the environment and harmony with nature.

"I feel Salute to the Sun is a positive earthy album. I wanted to create something playful but also quite primitive, earthy and organic that connected to the sounds in nature. I was listening to lush ambient field recordings of tropical environments such as jungles and rainforests and found myself drawn to percussive atmospheric sounds which replicated what I was hearing (bells / shakers / chimes / rain sticks) and I started to experiment with more wooden percussive instruments such as kalimba and marimba".

Salute to the Sun features lush wholly improvised tunes inspired by ambient rainforest and jungle field recordings, deeply soulful tunes built around hypnotic harp and kalimba patterns, deep Strata-East inspired spiritual jazz grooves and some of Halsall's most beautiful playing and inspiring healing melodies yet recorded.

The album was recorded at the band's weekly sessions, using Halsall's own recording set-up, giving the recordings a relaxed vibe and unforced energy that really lets the music breath. The album is also very much a family affair as Halsall's brother Daniel Halsall, artistic director of Gondwana Records, was an important presence at the sessions and co-produced the album. It is also his memorable artwork that adorns the cover of Salute to the Sun, an album beautifully designed by legendary designer Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic, who also created the covers for the recent archival releases Oneness, Sending My Love and Colour Yes and is one of Halsall's favourite designers. Together Daniel Halsall and Ian Anderson have designed all of Matthew's seven albums to date, so it felt extra-special to bring them together for, Salute to the Sun, an album that Halsall was determined to present in the very best way possible. The album was mixed with another long-time collaborator, George Atkins at 80 Hertz in Manchester, who works tirelessly with Halsall to perfect the sound and was mastered by noted engineer Peter Beckmann who brings an added depth to the sound specially around the bass notes as well as Halsall's trumpet. The magnificent double vinyl was cut as a Half Speed master by Barry Grint at Alchemy Mastering for the best possible analogue experience.

The result is arguably Halsall's most beautiful and complete recording to date, playful, charming and imbued with the warmth of the sun and the energy of life.

In an age of never-ending genre caveats, there’s something refreshing in a band simply referring to themselves as a rock band, plain and simple. Lonely Pirate Committee define themselves in such a way, and while their music encompasses a number of different strands and influences, they like the openness of that descriptor, the space it leaves for exploration and experimentation.

Moving through various iterations over the years, Lonely Pirate Committee remains in 2021 as the musical project of childhood friends Pearce Gronek and Fletcher Barton. Together, the pair has guided the band’s studio work, before bringing varying members to flesh out LPC’s high-volume and high-intensity live performances that juxtapose the more mellow and laid-back sound that mostly defines their recordings to date, save for the band’s occasional moments of skewed eccentricity.

Formed in Cleveland, the pair work both together and apart, splitting the band’s songwriting down the middle, working on their ideas at home before bringing them together under one defined vision. In early 2020 LPC released their second album, Everyday Ordinary, and it showcased a more refined version of the band than what had come before, the pair’s songwriting drifting into creative and hazy new textures across the album’s ten songs.

In early 2022, Lonely Pirate Committee release their first new work since those album sessions in the form of a brand new 7” single for Saddle Creek’s Document series. Formed of two new tracks, both recorded in late 2020, the release is led by “He Was in the Father”, a song which should be seen as a caricature of Middle-American suburbia; a white picket fence daydream through a shadowy lens. The track began simply as a sonic experiment but soon evolved into the full song we hear today – albeit one shaped by AI. “The track is partially written using AI music generation technology, in direct collaboration with the human composer,” the band explain.

With their first few releases, Swansea Sound made clear they are not too fond of the big corporations that dominate social media and the internet. The message of the Christmas single they recorded for the Snowflakes Christmas Singles Club is no different. The indie pop punk of ‘Merry Christmas To Me’ holds up a mirror to all the Scrooges of this world, who see Christmas as the perfect way to make even more money than they already have, usually at the expense of others. On the B-side of the 7”, the band turn the opening track of Cheap Trick’s 2017 Christmas album ‘Christmas Christmas’ into an indie song, keep the catchiness of the original and spice it up with some extra punch in both music and message, using some of the most influential companies on the internet as an inspiration. The record comes on white vinyl and is limited to 300 copies.

Swansea Sound reunites Hue Williams (who lives in Swansea) and Amelia Fletcher of the legendary indie band Pooh Sticks. They are joined by guitarist/bassist and main songwriter Rob Pursey (who was with Amelia in Talulah Gosh, Heavenly, Marine Research, Tender Trap and currently in the Catenary Wires) and drummer Ian Button (Thrashing Doves, Death In Vegas and also part of Catenary Wires). Swansea Sound, that came into being during the 2020 lockdown, was named after a radio station (that still exists, but now uses a different name) and set out to play fast, loud and political indie pop punk. The band debuted in 2020 with the 2 track cassette single ‘Angry Girl’ b/w ‘Corporate Indie Band’ on the small Swansea based DIY cassette label Lavender Sweep and followed it up early 2021 with a 7” ‘Indies Of The World’, a call for indie labels to unite, that was released on four different indie labels working together. In between Swansea Sound released a very limited lathe cut 7”, ‘I Sold My Soul On Ebay’, of which the only copy for sale was sold in January of this year on... Ebay. In November the band will release their debut album, ‘'Live At The Rum Puncheon', again on several different labels.

This year, Fat Possum celebrates the 10th anniversary of Youth Lagoon's debut album 'The Year of Hibernation.' 45rpm Double Cream Color Vinyl will include the album as well as 3 bonus songs. The artwork will be expanded into a gatefold vinyl with updated artwork and printed inner sleeves by Collin Fletcher.

LP is limited to 1000 copies, black vinyl. Swansea Sound started in the middle of lockdown. They realised that fast, loud, joyous, angry indie-pop punk was the answer to being stuck indoors. Who needs introspection? Hue Williams is reunited with Pooh Sticks partner Amelia Fletcher (ex- Talulah Gosh, Heavenly). Rob Pursey (also ex-Heavenly) and Ian Button (Wreckless Eric’s live collaborator) provide the noise. Swansea Sound are the fast, acerbic and joyous past, present and future of indie. Four of the tracks were released as singles, all of them now impossible to obtain. ‘Corporate Indie Band’ was a limited edition cassette, ‘I Sold My Soul on eBay’ was a one-off lathe cut that got auctioned on eBay (with a £400 winning bid), ‘Indies of the World’ was a 7” inch single that briefly hit the UK physical charts, but immediately sold out and plummeted back out again. And then there was ‘Swansea Sound’: a requiem for a lost radio station; an anti-corporate lament - another limited edition cassette single. First track Rock N Roll Void gives a three minute revision session, just in case you’ve forgotten about The Ramones, The Kinks, The Buzzcocks and the brief explosion of indie noise pollution of 1986. Some of the songs are reflexive – ‘Swansea Sound’ and ‘The Pooh Sticks’. (Who else was going to write a tribute to The Pooh Sticks?) Others are searching for hope in the digital desert – ‘Let It Happen’, ‘I’m OK When You’re Around’, ‘Pasadena’, ‘Angry Girl’. ‘Je Ne Sais Quoi’ is pure pop throwaway fun. The others songs are dead catchy too, they just happen to express a sickness and a contempt for the state of things. ‘Corporate Indie Band’ is about a group who have mortgaged their creativity to a major label and sold their identities to an online marketing team of public schoolboys. Freedom of Speech takes a look at three contemporary ‘alternative’ music stars and considers how they’ve responded to BLM, the pandemic and the rise of right-wing populism. ‘Like self-serving arseholes’, is the unfortunate answer. (You won’t struggle to work out who the three ‘alternative’ stars are.) Swansea Sound took their name from a well-loved local radio station when it was given a corporate makeover in 2020. They even used the radio station’s abandoned logo. Like the indiepunk pop songs, something modern acidic and angry has taken up residence in a familiar, borrowed frame. You can throw yourself around to Swansea Sound like it’s 1986, but if you catch the lyrics you’ll remember you’re in 2021. (Sorry about that.) The Rum Puncheon, a notorious pub in Swansea, closed down decades ago.

"Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cinderella” album features the original cast recording of the highly anticipated new theatre production, plus special guests. First original material to be released by Andrew Lloyd Webber in five years
The new musical “Cinderella”, a reinvention of classic fairytale created with “Killing Eve” writer and star of “The Crown” Emerald Fennell, and double Oscar nominee, David Zippel. Cinderella is to be played by Carrie Hope Fletcher, who starred in Heathers, The Addams Family, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Mary Poppins, and most recently Les Miserables. She is also a bestselling author and social media personality. The full album of Cinderella, recorded earlier this year during lockdown, features a unique combination of cast members and guest artists"

Over the course of four albums, Manchester based trumpeter, composer, arranger and band-leader Matthew Halsall has carved out a niche for himself on the UK music scene as one of it's brightest talents. His languid, soulful music has won friends from Jamie Cullum and Gilles Peterson to Jazz FM and Mojo as well as an ever-growing international following. His label Gondwana Records is home to GoGo Penguin and his own albums have found Halsall exploring the modal jazz of John and Alice Coltrane, paying tribute to the hard bop of the late '50s and early '60s or most recently on Fletcher Moss Park drawing on Eastern influences in his most personal statement yet. His latest album When The World Was One is something of a companion piece to Fletcher Moss Park (much of the music was written at the same time) but draws more explicitly on Halsall's love of spiritual jazz and Eastern music as well as his own studies in meditation and travels in Japan. Beautifully recorded at Hasall's favourite studio, 80 Hertz in Manchester, and engineered by Brendan Williams and George Atkins it features the recording debut of Halsall's large ensemble, The Gondwana Orchestra, which utilises the exotic flavours of harp, koto and bansuri flute and Eastern scales to create a global palate for Halsall's life-affirming sounds.

The Gondwana Orchestra features long time collaborators Nat Birchall, saxophone, Gavin Barras, bass and Rachael Gladwin, harp as well as Taz Modi on piano. Modi who also plays with Halsall in their more electronic trio shares his passion for spiritual jazz and plays the music with real feeling while the role of the harp here is to bring a touch of 'magical reality' a floating dreaminess that is a vital part of Halsall's elegiac and beautiful music. The drummer Luke Flowers is perhaps best known as part of Cinematic Orchestra, and Halsall describes him as 'one of the best drummers in the world' and hails him for 'playing the music exactly as I heard it in my head', Keiko Kitamura is a Japanese Koto player who is becoming an increasingly important part of the Gondwana Orchestra, her role is similar to Gladwin's in that the koto helps free up the music while also bringing a real sound of the East. Finally, flautist Lisa Mallett brings a love of Indian music to the orchestra, much travelled on the continent she brings all of her knowledge and experience to play offering a unique texture to Halsall's dreamy melodies.

The album opens with the title track, When The World Was One, an expansive ascending tune that nods to Art Blakey and McCoy Tyner and draws the listener in before giving way to the dreamy, meditative A Far Away Place which features great work from Gladwin on harp and draws on Eastern influences alongside the music of Alice Coltrane and Yusef Lateef. Falling Water which features the beautiful soprano of Nat Birchall nods to classic spiritual jazz as well, but mixes in the more contemporary influences of Nostalgia 77 and Cinematic Orchestra, while the hard-driving Patterns conjures an up-lifting celebratory vibe with fine work from pianist Modi to set the mood. The beautiful Kiyomizu-Dera is inspired by Halsall's travels in Japan and in particular his visit to the Buddhist temple of the same name. Likewise Sagano Bamboo Forest is named for another place that left a deep imprint on Halsall and aims to capture his feelings as he worked through the vast maze of bamboo trees. Finally the album closes with the self-explanatory Tribute To Alice Coltrane a grooving tribute to one of Halsall's key influences. Driven by a powerful bass line and featuring wonderful work from Mallet on bansuri flute and harpist Gladwin, the band all really find their way into Halsall's groove before the leader plays a beautiful wistful solo of his own and it is the oneness of the Gondwana Orchestra that makes it such a powerful vehicle for Halsall's music as the leader takes you on his very own journey through his musical and spiritual world.

• Originally released in 1972 this is a rare LP originally released on Invictus, Hotwax label. This
release is so obscure there is little information about them online.
• This is a vocal, soul classic that features the masterful title track ‘Come On Back’ and the
monster club cut ‘Lets Change The Subject’
• Line-up includes Lorenzo Hines (lead tenor), James Isom (second tenor), Earl Jones
(baritone), and Fletcher Lee (bass)
• Reissued on 180gm heavyweight classic black vinyl

Late November will see Tact Recordings vinyl only sub-label Tactics return with 'Vol.4', a various artists package featuring Jor-El aka Joel Alter, Imugem Orihasam and Benjamin Brunn.

Tactics was launched in late 2017 by co-founders of the imprint Yard One with their 'Vol.2' EP, following on from the 'Vol.1' various artists EP released on the main imprint Tact Recordings back in 2012. Since its inception last year and it's two releases so far from founders Yard One and Fletcher, the label has garnered the attention of DJ's like Varhat, Roger Gerressen, Raresh, Malin Genie and Andrey Pushkarev to name a few. Here though we see the imprint welcome some of it's favourite artists from over the year onto the roster, namely Echocord artist Jor-El aka Joel Alter, Ilian Tape's Imumgem Orihasam and Smallville regular Benjamin Brunn. Leading on the package is Sweden's Jor-El with 'Remember Tomorrow', a gritty dance floor workout fuelled by dusty drums, fluttering stab sequences and sweeping synth strings before Japanese producer Imugem Orihasam edges into dub territory with a cinematic two minute soundscape opening the composition before weighty drums, swirling pads and dubbed out metallic chimes dynamically unfold throughout.

Hamburg's Benjamin Brunn then closes the package with 'ResoPlanet', as always delivering smooth, understated electronic music via wandering ethereal pads, resonant bleeps and bumpy, off-kilter 808 drums.