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Following in the footsteps of the pathbreaking Minna Miteru compilation of Japanese indie music, Morr Music and Alien Transistor have again joined forces to release The Fruit Of Errata, a compilation introducing the world to the intimate DIY pop of yumbo. Led by songwriter, pianist, and occasional vocalist Koji Shibuya, the Japanese band has released four albums since forming in 1998. This compilation draws fifteen songs (eighteen on vinyl) from those albums, and some ancillary releases, to uncover a biographical narrative of yumbo, showing how Shibuya’s songwriting, and the group’s limber, sensitive playing, has developed over the decades. It also places them squarely within a tradition of home-spun but ambitious Japanese pop that takes in Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Tenniscoats, Nagisa Ni Te, Yuzo Iwata, Kazumi Nikaido and more.

yumbo is very much the vision of Shibuya, an amiable iconoclast whose songs seem informed by some of his early listening – there’s the playful seriousness of Maher Shalal Hash Baz’s Tori Kudo here, an avowed long-time hero for Shibuya, but also the flexibility of freely improvised music. You can also hear Shibuya’s fondness for Mayo Thompson and The Red Crayola in both the idiosyncracies of the writing and the egalitarian looseness of the playing. Shibuya also carries those energies into the group’s membership – there are fantastic stories of him having a conversation at a record shop, or overhearing someone speaking, and asking the person in question to join yumbo as one of their various singers. He seems open to chance as a driving force, as a way to make space for unexpected possibilities to blossom.

The great achievement of yumbo and Shibuya, though, is translating all of this into beautiful, unpredictable pop songs. There’s a gorgeous soul-inflected lilt to “A House” that makes it delightfully affecting; the swaying brass on “Storm” propels its melody to a moody, dreamlike conclusion; the nakedness of “The Sweetest Mass” is slightly reminiscent of Carla Bley’s more pop-focused writing, crossed with the classicism of the songs that spilled from the Brill Building in the ‘60s. Throughout, Shibuya renders pop a deeply personal experience; you can hear musings here on friendship, family, intimacy, the complexity of relationships, mortality, and imbalances of power. These musings are also shadowed by real-life events: the effects and impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 are captured in songs like “Umbrella People” from Onibi.

Throughout the performances on The Fruit Of Errata, Shibuya and the group play with tenderness; they also often draw on other players to flesh out the music even further, two such guests being the aforementioned Tori Kudo (on “Umbrella People”) and Olympia, Washington’s LAKE (on “The Devil Song”). Community-minded and generous in approach, the writing of Shibuya and the music of yumbo is never less than lovely, and The Fruit Of Errata is a welcome introduction to their world. Open and gentle, confident and generous, these pop songs are filled with charm and spirit.

RED FANG return with their highly anticipated new album, Arrows! Their first album in five years, everyone's favorite beer-crushing, zombie-killing, air-guitar-contest-judging metal heroes are back in action, doing what they do best- AND MORE. “This record feels more like Murder The Mountains to me than any record we’ve done before or since,” bassist/vocalist Aaron Beam ventures. “It doesn’t sound like that record, but Murder the Mountains was us doing whatever the fuck we wanted, and that’s what this is, too.” Arrows was recorded at Halfling Studios in the band’s hometown of Portland, OR, with longtime collaborator Chris Funk, producer of Murder The Mountains and 2013’s Whales and Leeches. “Chris is a major influencer as far as the weird ambient stuff in between the songs and the creepy incidental noises within the songs,“ guitarist Bryan Giles points out. “I think he definitely creates an added layer of atmosphere that we wouldn’t have otherwise.” Arrows is also a proper title track, which is new territory for the band. “This is the first time we’ve named an album after a song that’s actually on the album,” Beam explains. “We have other albums that are named after songs of ours that are not on those albums. So this time we’re really fucking with you because we didn’t fuck with you.” Similarly, fans might not believe what the song “Arrows” is partially about. “If you’re confused by some of the lyrics to the song, that makes sense,” Beam explains. “But it makes reference to meditation. I started meditating six years ago, but I can only do it when I’m not feeling too anxious. So, when I don’t need it, that’s when I can do it.” Elsewhere, “Fonzi Scheme” was named after legendary Happy Days cool guy Arthur Fonzarelli—if only because it’s in the key of his famous catchphrase, “Aaay.” Producer Chris Funk came up with the idea of bringing in string players from the Portland Cello Project to class up the track. Meanwhile, the opening riff of closer “Funeral Coach” was written 11 years ago. But it took until recently for the song to blossom into its full double-entendre glory. “I was driving around and I saw a hearse that said ‘funeral coach services’ on the back,” Beam explains. “So the first thing that popped into my head was a dude with a headset and a clipboard going, ‘Alright, dudes—more tears! Five minutes in is when the tears are critical, or no one’s gonna believe that anyone cares that this person died.’” In a nod to tradition, Arrows will be available in formats that include all the drums, bass, guitars and vocals. But it could’ve gone another way. “Our original idea was to release the album with no vocals or guitar solos,” Beam explains. “If you want the guitar solos, it’s an extra five bucks. If you want the vocals, it’s an extra ten bucks. So basically people should feel lucky that we didn’t do that. You get to buy the whole thing altogether.” RED FANG think of it as a generous display of gratitude toward their fans. “Yeah,” says Sherman, “Thank you for buying our album, you lucky bastards.”

Produced by Shane Fontayne and originally released in 2016 and is now available via Proper on Vinyl and CD, this is Nash’s first solo record of new music since 2002s Songs For Survivors.
The first single This Path Tonight is one of reflection and transition of a singersongwriter whose career (The Hollies, Crosby Stills & Nash, Crosby Stills Nash & Young) has spanned more than five decades and counting.
Graham Nash is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriter Hall of Fame Inductee, GRAMMY Award winner, and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.)
”What a pleasure it was recording this album,” says Nash. ”Shane and I had written 20 songs in a month and recorded them in eight days. The music has a different feel to my earlier albums although I hear echoes of each one. This journey of mine was one of self-discovery, of intense creation, of absolute passion.”

The new album American Quilt from Paula Cole. American Quilt, out May 21st, is the fondue of Cole’s melting pot, blending a variety of genres that include jazz, folk, and country. Cole takes on classics like “Black Mountain Blues,” “Nobody Knows You (When You’re Down and Out),” and “What a Wonderful World,” creating a patchwork of American music. The album also includes one original song, “Hidden in Plain Sight,” which is about quilts women made that provided clues to slaves in the Underground Railroad.

Kurt Wagner's signature brittle baritone is back, but that doesn't mean we're going to get a nostalgic Alt Country album. Showtunes is a continuation of Lambchop's explorations of new sound worlds and opens up another chapter. Each track is an exciting journey with an uncertain destination.

With Showtunes, as he has done so many times throughout his varied and fascinating career, Kurt in late 2019 was experimenting with something new. He took simple guitar tracks and converted them into midi piano tracks. It was a revelation that from those

conversions he was able to manipulate each note and add, subtract, arrange the chords and melody into a form that didn't have any of the limitations he had with his previous methods of writing with a guitar.

Removing these limitations led to a surprising new sound, something akin to showtunes but with edges sanded down and viewed through Kurt's own specific lens. it's a genre he was none too fond of with the exceptions of a few Great American Songbook type of stuff or some of the works of artists like Tom Waits, early Randy Newman or even Gershwin or Carmichael. “I’d always wanted to make songs with a similar feel but my skills were limited until now” says Wagner.

After spending some time on the Adriatic coast of Croatia, Fred wrote his 2018 album Long Way Home. Barbarella was one of the songs on the album. It was inspired by a morning set he did at Barbarellas, the infamous outdoor venue in Tisno. The kitsch disco vibes are also a wink to the cult B-movie of the same name. But it was the 7am in Tisno mix, featured on the alternate version of the album No Way Home that made the song popular.

While there was no plan to release it as a single, Fred had the idea to contact I:Cube, one of his all-time favourite producers, to see If he would be interested in remixing it. The process took a little while but thanks to confinement, with more available time in the studio, the I:Cube Parisian Sleeze Version was born. Taking only a few elements from the original, he completely rearranged the track into a modern disco classic as only the Cube can do. This is one of those cuts that gets better every time you hear it.

On the B-side, Fred’s Slow Down 2021 Version expands on the Balearic vibe at a slower tempo. Sounding a little bit like Sade on acid, with added samples from the 1968 Jane Fonda movie.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is a 2020 American musical comedy film directed by David Dobkin and written by Will Ferrell and Andrew Steele. The film follows Icelandic singers Lars Erickssong and Sigrit Ericksdóttir (Ferrell and Rachel McAdams) as they are given the chance to represent their country at the Eurovision Song Contest. Pierce Brosnan, Dan Stevens, and Demi Lovato also star.

“Volcano Man” was the first song released from the album and features vocals from Will Ferrell and Swedish singer Molly Sandén (credited as My Marianne). Towards the middle of the film, as the characters of Lars and Sigrit get fully immersed in the Eurovision magic, the audience is treated to a “Song-A-Long”: producers mash-up iconic pop classics into a celebratory party anthem. Cher transitions into Madonna, which transitions into homages to the aforementioned ABBA and Celine Dion, capped off with a little bit of The Black Eyed Peas. The cherries on top are vocal cameos from former Eurovision champions: Conchita Wurst, Netta, Jamala, Loreen, and Alexander Rybak. The album also features the cult hit “Jaja Ding Dong”, also performed by Ferrell and Sandén.

After NEF's album in 2019, Ici Bientôt is happy to present today the reissue of Comme Au Moulin by Nyssa Musique.

Paris 1985... ‘Extra-European’ Traditions meet Jazz and Minimal Music. An unusual array of instruments turn music into a dialogue. For a unique record ... vivid, full of texture, somewhere between Midori Takada, Don Cherry and Jon Hassell.

Beginning of the eighties, 5 musicians rehearse in a contemporary dance class hall, upstairs from the ‘’New Morning", renowned Music venue in Paris. Nyssa Musique is born. Passionate for a long time about traditional music, like those of the Middle East, India and East Asia, but also about African traditions, they throw a bridge between Jazz and ‘Extra-European’ traditions, resulting in what would be called "Spiritual Jazz" today, a little bit in the style of Don Cherry's Organic Music or Pharoah Sanders. With the notable difference, however, that their creations are strongly infused by contemporary classical and repetitive music, notably Steve Reich's work with whom they share a great interest for the traditional cultures of Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and its gamelans.

In the original group we have Armand Amar, Ballet Music composer and John Boswell. Both specialists of traditional hand percussion which they had been studying for a long time in India and the Middle East, they are also very fond of synthesizers. Three other talented musicians quickly join them: Jean-François Roger, percussionist, marimba and vibraphone specialist, Henri Tournier, multi-flutist and Renaud Garcia-Fons, double bass player, who has a passion for the Middle East and has developed a virtuosic play of the bow, reminding that of Cecil Mc Bee.

Each of them enriches the ensemble with their personality, originality and musical generosity. The rehearsal hall is rapidly invaded by the phenomenal instrumentarium put together by Armand Amar. A great opportunity for the musicians, for the dancers, to have access to an endless choice of instruments, offering infinite possibilities for mixing different colors and timbres. Their sense for being a group and their great capacity for improvising culminates, in 1986, in the composition of their first and only album Comme au Moulin (« As by the windmill"), testimony of years of creating without hidden agenda.

Authentic, free and vibrant, still today, this album has no real equivalent. Even though it recalls the Fourth World current by its combination of traditional instruments with a subtle use of synthesizers, Comme au moulin gives more space to improvisation. It may also recall those of Midori Takada, less the New Age esthetics. An album that should delight as well lovers of "Love Supreme" by John Coltrane, of "Vernal Equinox" by Jon Hassell, as those of Moondog, an artist who, like them, invented a music based on the use of untypical percussions, at the confluence of 'Extra-European' traditions, Jazz and Classical, all together complex and hypnotic.

Zaumne's new album titled Élévation is a multifaceted yet subtle work, an abstract collage that is equally entrancing and immersive. Quoting passages from Baudelaire’s “Flowers of Evil”, the Polish musician promises to elevate the soul and consciousness “Beyond the sun / Beyond the ether”. Yet simultaneously, the artist wants us to stay where we are and focus on the immediate surroundings in search of our personal attachment to the world.

Initially recorded for the WET (Weird Erotic Tension) online community the four pieces are an exploration of erotic aspects of the environment and uncanny intimacy with other beings and objects that dwell in our nearest proximity. Just like on previous releases for labels like Czaszka Rec. or Perfect Aesthetics, on Élévation Zaumne maintains his interest in emotional aspects of sound and internet culture – he builds his compositions from fragments of ASMR-whispered poetry, samples of natural phenomena and field recordings from his family home and its environ.

What starts as an escapist exercise driven by uneasiness and ennui becomes an individual healing process, in which the subject rediscovers the strangely intimate relationship with the world and opens up to almost magical methods of communicating with other beings. ASMR samples and sounds of the artist touching, playing with and exciting different objects are an experiment in establishing contact with the non-human realm and a method of attuning the body and the mind to the reality in which everything is interconnected.

Zaumne tests Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance” through radical, sensual intimacy with what’s near, finding a glimpse of the absolute in his own room, again quoting Baudelaire: “To a child who is fond of maps and engravings / The universe is the size of his immense hunger”.

Zaumne is the moniker of Polish musician Mateusz Olszewski. In the past few years, he has released music on labels like Magia, Perfect Aesthetics, BAS or Czaszka Rec. Élévation, released by Mondoj and initially commissioned by WET, is his first vinyl release. Blending elements of genres like ambient, dub, minimalism and tape music with ASMR samples, field recordings and spoken word, he creates work with deep emotional focus and impact.

As long-time fans of this sublime four-track compacto 7" by the illustrious Brazilian duo Luli Lucinha e O Bando, we have floated the idea of re-issuing this beauty for several years now. So finally, the time feels right to release this beloved gem back into the world.

Originally issued on Som Livre ‎Records in Brazil in 1972, this rarity has long been lost to only but the most hardened Brazilian record collectors and those lucky few who own an original copy. The four genre-defying compositions blend elements of psychedelic rock, MPB and folk, and are glued together by the synergy of Luli and Lucinha's vocals and the outstanding arrangements by Zé Rodrix. Whether it be the lost Brazilian-psych anthem of 'Flor Lilás’, or the tripped out folk-funk of 'Dourado Da Manhã’, the EP oozes magic and brilliance. The record also features the Brazilian percussionist, Alyrio Lima, who later became a member of the iconic Weather Report.

Luli (Heloisa Orosco Borges da Fonseca) and Lucinha's (Lucia Helena Carvalho e Silva) records have become extremely sought-after in recent years. Their inclusion on John Gómez's superb 2017 'Outro Tempo' compilation helped spread the gospel about their beautiful folky, MPB, private press albums from the late '70s and '80s. Prior to their musical partnership back in 1965, Luli released a heavenly Bossa Nova 7" nugget entailed 'Baleiro' and a self-titled solo album on Philips Records, which are now also highly-prized by collectors.

Here at Mr Bongo we feel Luli and Lucinha's names should be more widely recognised and break out of their cult artist status. They should be rated up there amongst some of the progressive, left-field greats of Brazilian music of their era. Sadly Luli passed away in 2018, but left behind an inspiring musical legacy for us all to savour.

2LP Set With 19 Classic Tracks From One Of The Most Beloved Singers Of All Time In One Of The Greatest Soul Acts.
Gladys Knight & the Pips remain, without doubt, one of the greatest acts of the soul era. With powerful lead vocals supported by ultra-smooth harmonies delivering a catalogue of hits, their mark on the charts alone is impressive enough. Add in their remarkable fashions, memorable choreography & collaborations with some of the greatest songwriters of all time, and you have the
definition of iconic artist right there.
Breaking through in the late 50’s on Jackie Wilson’s Brunswick label, first serious chart success came soon after signing to Buddah in 1973 and the release of a Jim Weatherly number, ‘Where Peaceful Waters Flow’. Their second release for Buddah took them into the pop stratosphere. ‘Midnight Train to Georgia’ - another Weatherly composition - landed them a US No.1 and UK No.10 hit.
And then classic hit after classic hit flowed. ‘Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me’ (Weatherly), ‘Baby Don’t change Your Mind’ (Van McCoy), ‘Make Yours a Happy Home’ (Curtis Mayfield), ‘Baby, Baby Don’t Waste My Time’ and ‘Bourgie’ Bourgie’’ (both Ashford & Simpson) all feature here among many others as a slice of the group’s huge repertoire.
After the group amicably disbanded in 1989 Gladys continued to record and
perform, including her joining the select band of superstars to have performed
a James Bond theme, with her unmistakable ‘Licence to Kill’. Still performing
solo to this day, “The Georgia-born ‘Empress of Soul’ reigns supreme,” wrote
The Times of Gladys as recently as 2019. But it will be group’s golden era from
the early-70’s to the mid-80s catalogued here that Gladys Knight & the Pips will
always be most fondly, and recognisably remembered.

HIGHLIGHTS "A Buenaventura" is surely one of Julian y su Combo's best albums, a sought-after collector's record that is also popular with tropical DJs. We have added two bonus tracks from 1976, 'Salsa y bembé' and 'Colorin colorao' that were originally a 45 single, resulting a winning combination of familiar and obscure tunes of rich sonic variety. Presented in its original artwork and pressed on 180g vinyl. Recommended by DJ Bongohead of Peace & Rhythm DESCRIPTION During a 20-year period Julián Y Su Combo released 8 LPs on almost as many different companies and "A Buenaventura" was their only record with Medellín-based label Indústria Fonográfica Metrópoli (later reissued by INS on their Fabuloso imprint as "Descarga Salsa Y Boogaloo"). Julián Angulo described the combo's sound as afroantillano, combining Cuban, New Y ork Latin, and Puerto Rican elements with Colombia's own tropical costeño traditions. The group's swinging, jazzy arrangements were distinguished by Angulo's prominent rhythm guitar, a hot rhythm section, and the potent brass lineup of two saxophones and a trumpet (much like Cortijo Y Su Combo) but with the occasional addition of a clarinet or flute (for extra Cuban flavor). Singer José Arboleda lends an earthy, joyful Afro-Colombian sound to the vocals and the entire unit is held together by a combination of his fantastic voice and super-tight, swinging ensemble playing with the occasional expert instrumental solo at just the right interval. "A Buenaventura" is a sought-after collector's record that is popular with DJs not only for the power ('salsa brava' all the way) and diversity of its sound (with hot dance genres that range from guaracha, son montuno and guaguancó to boogaloo and descarga, as well as cumbia and currulao) but also for how well it was arranged, engineered and recorded, making it both a pleasurable listening experience and a dance floor killer. Though the credits do not list a year, most likely it was released in the late 1960s or early 1970s and then pick up again with INS in 1975. In addition to several tasty originals by Julián and other Colombian composers, there are also covers of Cuban classics as well as the funky boogaloo anthem 'Palo de mango' by New York's Eddie Palmieri (with lyrics by the Puerto Rican sonero Cheo Feliciano).

'Dark Hands, Thunderbolts' is Devon punk-roots trail-blazers, Crazy Arm's fourth album for Xtra Mile Recordings, and comes cold on the calves of 2013's 'The Southern Wild'. A return to the rowdy guitars, epic choruses and Americana twang of their first two albums, this collection of songs finds the band in a reflective but no less indignant mood. Despite spending only three weeks in the studio, it took the band four years to complete. 1ST SINGLE: Brave Starts Here - 20th November 2020 The lead track from the album, 'Brave Starts Here', will be available to stream/download from 20th November (with an accompanying video from film-maker, Russell Cleave). Rigorously road-tested, 'Brave Starts Here' is a breathless ode to heartbreak, loneliness, ageing and self-determination, occupying that sweet spot between bluegrass and punk rock. It's also a tribute to their good friends and label-mates, Larry & His Flask. 2ND SINGLE: The Golden Hind - 11th December 2020 Second single to be lifted from the album and is an acerbic take on the band’s Brexit majority hometown. Punk rock riffola, Appalachian harmonies, syncopated rhythms and anthemic singalongs. 3RD SINGLE: Fear Up - 15th January 2021 The third single out before the album’s release ‘Fear Up’ betrays the band's oft-mentioned fondness for Ennio Morricone, Murder By Death and Constantines with a strong cinematic influence fused with their trademark riffs and choruses. FOCUS TRACK FOR ALBUM RELEASE: Blessed & Cursed - 29th January 2021

'Dark Hands, Thunderbolts' is Devon punk-roots trail-blazers, Crazy Arm's fourth album for Xtra Mile Recordings, and comes cold on the calves of 2013's 'The Southern Wild'. A return to the rowdy guitars, epic choruses and Americana twang of their first two albums, this collection of songs finds the band in a reflective but no less indignant mood. Despite spending only three weeks in the studio, it took the band four years to complete. 1ST SINGLE: Brave Starts Here - 20th November 2020 The lead track from the album, 'Brave Starts Here', will be available to stream/download from 20th November (with an accompanying video from film-maker, Russell Cleave). Rigorously road-tested, 'Brave Starts Here' is a breathless ode to heartbreak, loneliness, ageing and self-determination, occupying that sweet spot between bluegrass and punk rock. It's also a tribute to their good friends and label-mates, Larry & His Flask. 2ND SINGLE: The Golden Hind - 11th December 2020 Second single to be lifted from the album and is an acerbic take on the band’s Brexit majority hometown. Punk rock riffola, Appalachian harmonies, syncopated rhythms and anthemic singalongs. 3RD SINGLE: Fear Up - 15th January 2021 The third single out before the album’s release ‘Fear Up’ betrays the band's oft-mentioned fondness for Ennio Morricone, Murder By Death and Constantines with a strong cinematic influence fused with their trademark riffs and choruses. FOCUS TRACK FOR ALBUM RELEASE: Blessed & Cursed - 29th January 2021

A cheeky riff on the Beatles’ White Album, Cleaners From Venus frontman Martin Newell’s second solo album from 1995 is a sophisticated follow-up to the critically-acclaimed The Greatest Living Englishman. Produced by él Records fixture Louis Philippe and featuring XTC’s Dave Gregory on guitar, it’s a vivid snapshot of Newell’s life with a French chanson-inspired ease.

A longtime fan of French music, Newell sought a Gallic quality on this record - with the vocal riding at the top of the mix, rather than blurred under indie rock guitars, as was common at the time. Philippe was happy to oblige. The effect is a clarity of both form and content - on “Arcadian Boys,” Newell’s impassioned voice careens over a heartbreaking string quartet (arranged by Philippe himself) as he wonders what’s become of those “too late for the sun.” It’s a much more emotional take on the song than the guitar-laden, uptempo version that appears on the Cleaners From Venus’ My Back Wages. But The Off White Album doesn’t dwell too long in solemnity - it’s still a Martin Newell record, after all. His classic wit is on full display, whether he’s putting an irreverent spin on the Smiths (“Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others”) or fondly warning a neighbor to “watch your chemicals, girl” (“The Girls In The Flat Upstairs”).

A rich cast of characters make up The Off White Album, via both the process of its recording and the subjects of its songs. It’s a record born on the road, inspired by Newell’s experiences travelling through Europe and Asia the year of its inception. Perhaps the clearest portrait that emerges as the album draws to a close, however, is one of Newell himself: as poet, coffee shop customer, bandleader, lover and neighbor. By his own admission, The Off White Album is “a more intimate portrait of my life at that time than I’d intended.”

THE EYE OF TIME ist das Solo-Projekt des französischen Musikers Marc Euvrie. Wesentlich geprägt wurde Euvries musikalische Entwicklung durch die DIY-Punk und Hardcore-Szene Frankreichs, obwohl er ebenso eine klassische Musikausbildung genossen hat. Mit 9 Jahren begann er Klavier zu spielen, komponierte mit 15 erste eigene Stücke und studierte später Cello am Konservatorium. Inspiriert durch Claude Debussy, Philip Glass, Eric Chopin, J.S. Bach, Michael Nyman als auch Godspeed You Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion oder Portishead, fing Euvrie an, seine ganz persönliche Reflektion des komplexen Weltgeschehens in Musik zu übersetzen. Acoustic II ist das sechste Studio Album von Marc Euvrie, und sein zweites, das sich komplett auf Klavier & Cello konzentriert. Über den Entwicklungsprozess seines neuen Albums sagt Euvrie: "Klavier und Cello nahmen in den letzten Jahren einen immer wichtigeren Stellenwert in meinem kreativen Prozess ein. Nach Acoustic (2014) stieg in mir das Bedürfnis nach weiteren Akustik-Songs."

 At the start of 2020, before the world turned to ash, several US publications began running glowing reviews of ‘Speed Kills’, the breakneck debut album from Chubby & The Gang, a West London punk troupe comprised of members of various bands associated with The New Wave of British Hardcore, among them Violent Reaction, Abolition, Big Cheese and more.

 At the time, the band - helmed by local electrician Charlie Manning - had developed a cult following in the UK, largely rooted in the cross-pollinating nature of the punk scene, select shows including dates with Sheer Mag and an impending, lastminute US run with Royal Hounds.

 ‘Speed Kills’, produced by Jonah Falco of Fucked Up, would go on to be called “the best punk-pop LP in recent memory” by Paste Magazine, a debut that “comes alive with liberating energy” in an 8.0 review from Pitchfork and full of “massive barroom gang choruses, power chords at breakneck tempos,
rock spelled R-A-W-K and visceral gratification” as Stereogum put it. Impressive going for a band at the time with no publicist, no big budget label backing and no industry clout, per se, beyond increasingly fervent underground support.

 Following the quietly blossoming success of ‘Speed Kills’, Chubby & The Gang now find a new home on Partisan Records (IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Laura Marling, Fela Kuti) who have reissued the album in remastered form with the unreleased cut ‘Union Dues’ included to boot and with new music on the horizon.

Alto saxophonist, composer and producer Logan Richardson’s career has been marked by his deep engagement with the Black American improvised music tradition as much as by his fearlessly open-minded embrace of the contemporary sounds of the global diaspora and his keen gaze towards the future.
‘AfroFuturism’ (his fifth solo album) synthesises all those elements together into a stunningly audacious statement that is epic in its scope while providing a deep, intimately personal view into its creator’s inner life.
The core of the album is a series of towering alt-rock/trap/wonky beat soundscapes created Logan’s extensive range of keyboards, synthesizers and programming along with the latest iteration of his Blues People band - Igor Osypov
on guitar and Peter Schlamb on vibes and keys, with Dominique Sanders on bass and sharing production duties, and the thunderously virtuosic drumming of Ryan J. Lee and Corey Fonville rounding out the rhythm team.
Logan intersperses these with an array of diverse sonic interludes, scraps of found audio, unexpected, limpid pools of introspective strings performed by Ezgi Karakus and quiet glades of hushed balladry from long-time collaborator, vocalist Laura Taglialatela. Over all, his unmistakable keening voice on alto sax provides the constant narrative thread. “I was trying to get back deeper to the core of my artistic voice: using fresh production processes to mix in my interconnected influences and all the sounds I hear, while trying to find a sense of roots.”
As one of today’s most singular voices in contemporary music, with AfroFuturism Richardson delivers not only a hugely impressive statement, but one with a direct and urgent message for the future that is rooted in his own and the larger contemporary Black American state of affairs, while reminding us of his musical unpredictability. One can only imagine what he’ll do next.

WRWTFWW Records is beaucoup happy to announce the official reissue of Pierre Barouh's hard-to-describe-but-easy-to-enjoy French flair meets Japanese avant-garde lost treasure of experimental-electronic-chanson-pop with a new-wave-minimal-bossa touch, Le Pollen. Originally recorded July 1982 at Nippon Columbia Studio in Tokyo and composed, arranged, and played by a who's who of Japan's most groundbreaking musicians of the 80s, the album comes as a LP with bonus 7inch, housed in a heavy sleeve displaying two immaculate photos of Barouh and holding a printed lyrics insert.

A free-spirited world traveler with an incredible ear for music, Paris-born singer and activist Pierre Barouh introduced the sounds of Brazil (and more) to Europe and pushed the envelope with his pio-neering label Saravah, home of adventurous innovators Brigitte Fontaine, Areski, Jacques Higelin, Naná Vasconcelos, and Roland Bocquet's Catharsis among many others. His bohemian border-free vision of modern chanson, blending musical tradition from various parts of the globe with forward-looking artistry, resonated particularly well in Japan, where the scene spearheaded by Yellow Magic Orchestra fell in love with everything Barouh.

And so one day in 1981, Pierre Barouh received an invitation from a Japanese label to come record an album in Tokyo. Not one to turn down an escapade around the world, the French visionary jumped on a plane and landed in a studio surrounded with a dream line-up of musicians: Yukihiro Takahashi (who had named his solo debut Saravah! after Barouh's imprint) and Ryuichi Sakamoto of YMO, Yasuaki Shimizu and his Mariah bandmates Masanori Sasaji and Hideo Yamaki, members of the Moonriders, Motohiko Hamase, Mitsuru Sawamura of Interior, Kazuhiko Katoh and the list goes on. Also participating in the making of the album were longtime collaborator Francis Laï and the mys-terious and beautiful David Sylvian.

The result is Le Pollen, a sincere and affectionate mix of nouveau chanson, techno-pop, post-punk, jazz, bossa, ambient, and minimalism. And probably something else entirely. Honestly impossible to classify in a particular genre, Pierre Barouh's fascinating cosmopolitan music melting pot is, above all, a reassuring ode to humanity, where friendship, exchange, and collaborative creativity breeze freely. Making music together. It's all love.

Pierre Barouh sadly passed away in December 2016, leaving behind a monumental legacy of music and art for us to cherish, and a life philosophy that's well worth considering:

La vie, qu'elle soit longue ou brève
Moi, tous mes rêves
Je les prends toujours au sérieux
Quand l'utopie brise les chaînes
C'est l'oxygène,
De ceux qui sont restés curieux

Life, be it long or brief
Me, all my dreams
I always take them seriously
When utopia breaks the chains
It's the oxygen,
Of those who've remained curious

From the song "L'Autre Rive" on Le Pollen.