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Limited Edition - Transparent Blue Vinyl

‘Cranes In The Sky,’ was originally written by Beyonce’s baby sister Solange alongside Raphael Saadiq, for her album back in 2016 that was cited by Rolling Stone as one of the most important 500 records of all time. The words exploring a fearless journey inward, pulling up the root of a problem, and the first glimpse of blue sky after the storm has passed.

Fast forward to 2022 - Ross Allen and Andy Thompson’s Foundation Music Productions enlist the expertise of Baltimore club legend, Dj Oji, together with Tracy Hamlin (Pieces Of A Dream), to take Solange’s breakout delivery to the dancefloor. Soulful vocals will heal you, while the mid-tempo moments will mellow the masses, and UK Funky grooves will keep the shuffle moving along way into the early hours. Three remixes come in the form of the ethereal DJ Pope Funkhut Reprise, a signature Joe Goddard groover and the Star One. KDA. Meltdown Dub.


Press:

Gazza Premiere

House Salad Music Premiere

Madoras Premiere

Music Is 4 Lovers Review

Le Visiteur Review

Hot House Picks

Faith In The Defected Basement - Livestream play


DJ Feedback:

FRANCOIS K
Yes! I played the vocal version the other day again.

KAI ALCE
Dope re-interpretation from Baltimore stalwarts OJI, POPE & Tracy!

GREG WILSON
What's not to like? Love the orig Solange jam!

DANNY KRIVIT
Nice, I like a lot of DJ Oji.

SOUL CLAP/ ELI GOLDSTEIN
Fire right here

DAZ I KUE/ BUGZ IN THE ATTIC
Yea I love this one…cool vibes.

THATMANMONKZ
Oh yeah, love the Solange original, and I’m a big Oji fan! That reprise version might come in very useful for the right set!

TERRY FARLEY/ FAITH
Got to be contender for single of the month with that story x

HOT TODDY
Simply beautiful.

CRAIG SMITH/ 6TH BOROUGH PROJECT
Loved the original of this from Solange a few years back, this is a real nice interpretation of it. Liking the reprise and Dub, handy tools

CHARLES WEBSTER
Nice soulful groover. Like this.

FISH GOO DEEP/ GREG DOWLING
Lovely re imagining of one of my favourite tracks of all time

FRANK BOOKER
Love this package. Reprise mix is the one for me. Very cool!

NICK V/ LA MONA
Thanks a lot I actually prefer the dub version :)

JIMPSTER/ FREERANGE
Killer groove on this and really nice to hear a housed up version of Cranes which is such a stunning song in it’s OG form. Def something I’d like to play out.

FELIX JOY/ SWU.FM
Yes ! I flippin love a good reprise mix and this one is doing it for me. Love the original version by Solange and this is a really great rework!

STEVE PARRY / FOR SASHA
Really Smoove love it.

GROOVE ARMADA/ TOM FINDLAY
THIS IS LOVELY!!

RALPH SESSION/ HALF ASSED RECORDS
Wow the dubstrumental really gives it new life.

QUENTIN HARRIS
I love this package.

GRAME PARK/ THE HACIENDA
This is tremendous

HECTOR ROMERO/ DEF MIX
Good to see this one got picked up. I’ve played this a few times since 2018 but will get it back in rotation. Glad to see this song is getting some traction. I look forward to the unreleased versions.

ANDY BUCHAN
What a sun-dappled slice of beauty! Full support on this, what a gorgeous EP. And those drums are ace, really propulsive.

DANIELLE MOORE/ CRAZY P
Yeah I really like this. I mean I love the original but theres something quite interesting about this. Nice yeah x

MARC MEISNERE/ SOL POWER SOUND
Yes please! Can’t wait to play this one!

STEFANO TUCCI/ HELL YEAH
This is one of the best best vocal of recent times, I love It, the crescendo towards half of the track is nothing but gorgeous!

TREVOR FING/ GRAFITTI KINGS
Love these remixes.

MAX P/ HELL YEAH
Yeah, full pack is what I needed !

HORSE MEAT DISCO/ SEVERINO
Really into this!

SEAN JOHNSTON/ ALFOS
I wouldn't play it, but it's a beautiful piece of work

GRAEME PARK/ THE HACIENDA
I’m gonna enjoy playing this its lovely.

NICK V/ LA MONA
Thanks a lot I actually prefer the dub version :)

TREVOR FUNG/ GRAFITTI KINGS
Love this !!

QUENTIN HARRIS
Being a fan of the Original I love everything about this.

ALAN DIXON/ MIDNIGHT MAGIC
Killer!!!!

DAVE JARVIS/ FAITH
This is amazing! Absolutely love xx

NICK V/ LA MONA
This is a fantastic track!

MAX P/ HELL YEAH
Oh yeaahhhh

RICK GILL/ OUTLAWS YACHT CLUB
Beautiful soulful house. Quality production and top draw vocals.

MICKEY JUKES/ 1BTN
Ooof! Such a strong record to step to but i love this. Classy production, vocals are killer. All round winner!

TOMMY TURBO JAZZ/ JAXX MEDICINE
I was a fan of the OG but I really needed this cut!!

RUSSELL FORMAN/ PIKES/ HARRYS KEBABS
This is great .... I'm writing an article on the Coney Island Boardwalk house parties atm.

JIM LISTER/ 1BTN
Loving the reprise and the dub!I'm a big fan of the Solange original, so it's nice to hear a new angle on it

CHRIS DE BEURRE/ THE EAGLE
Gorgeous vocal! And such a deep production - really like this! Infectious x

DAIRMONT/ ROOM WITH A VIEW
Amazing track. Loving it!

STEVE PARRY/ FOR SASHA
Beautiful super smooth.

LES CROASDAILE/ FREIGHT ISLAND
Tune this, reminds of Southport weekender!

Piano, synthesizer enthusiast, composer, and arranger, Eric Borders aka Captain Supernova, makes first release under new moniker, E. Lundquist. Pushing the boundaries of funk fusion, it’s as much 70s library music, as it is Pink Floyd and The Flaming Lips at times. It often feels as if the planet is going to unfold.

Borders, born and raised on the westside of Los Angeles, is known for his cinematic and cosmic compositions that push jazz into a different time and space. ‘Multiple Images’, the debut release as E. Lundquist, is the composer's first attempt at making a Library Style record. A genre that lends itself well to the Sci-Fi and Jazz Fusion vibes that Borders has been known for in the past. The music often plays as if it is the soundtrack to something happening both simultaneously in and out of this universe.

“As we finished the record it sort of evolved from a library piece into a full fledged album with a mix of different inspirations from blaxploitation, 70s funk, soundtrack, themes, cinematic, and contemporary jazz-funk. It only felt right to break away from the fictional character and give this music a composer name as if you read it on the back of a KPM record. Then E. Lundquist was born.”

The new name pays homage to old family bloodlines, and is the last name of his biological grandfather. While Eric Borders was his given name, Borders has no actual blood relation to his family, it was the name his father had adopted from his Step-grandfather. The name of the album “Multiple Images” is an ode to one of Lundquist’s favorite Library tracks by Brian Bennett “Images”.

After an excursion through deeply introspective sonic lands, Subtil is back to their usual club-oriented business, introducing Romanian artist Leanca for a two-track EP of minimal-leaning yet distinct moods.

The A-Side "Bra Manika" is a straight-to-the-point albeit hypnotizing dancefloor tune where the groove is king. Its leading hook revolves around a wonky bassline and a handful of quirky synth stabs, coupled with a trippy vocal sample that creates the perfect atmosphere for dancing hypnotism. The B-Side "I Know You", which carries the name of the EP, explores a much darker and experimental vibe while retaining the same rolling groove from the flipside of the EP. Synth noises are replaced by authentic sampled sounds, programmed in detail, giving it an almost cinematic touch.

All rise for Skeleton King. The Bristol based producer lines up his Lobster Theremin debut with Deep Into The Night four tracks that highlight the emotional nuances of the skeletal sound.

Skeleton King has a knack for the large; be it lairy, UKG basslines or lo-fi alternative pop there’s a quiet confidence in his ability to jump between genres so effortlessly. ‘Anxiety’ begins as a half-time, bass-driven stepper and finishes on some sort of ragga-dub tip, and those horns! Clearly inspired by the producer's time in Bristol it’s an instant rave starter.

‘Deep Into The Night’ combines the producer's love for breaks and garage on a wubbed-out, atmospheric 2-step before ‘Of Course, All The Time’ pursues the cinematic on a marching, ancestral rhythm.

We finish on ‘There’s Something About You Boy’; wriggling synths, malfunctioning electronics and wifey riddim pitched vocals creating a pop-driven euphoria amongst the UK energy. A massive EP from a super exciting UK emerger.

For the eleventh release on their main catalogue Haven are excited to invite French king of spooky crunched-up rollers and Wrongnotes member Draugr to the label for the first time, alongside some half-time madness from Headless Horseman on the remix.

The A1 gets us moving with Gjöll, where creepy atmospheres, disembodied vocal hits and noisey drum rhythms crash together in a concoction of hard techno destruction. The A2 continues this formula in Völva, with rolling synth lines and demonic ambient textures leading in to an infernal animalistic wail breaking in to the mix following the breakdown.

The B1 continues the destruction on the flip with Vigrid - a hectic drum rhythm work out buttressed with spiky metallic patterns and further ghoulish sound design and sampling. Headless Horseman closes out the record with his remix of Gjöll, transforming it into sinister half-time stepper ripe with droning atmospheres and powerful drum hits to finalise another offering of club ready mania from Haven.

Over the past few years, Luca Binatti released a steady stream of quality EPs that showcased a remarkable talent with a clear understanding of what makes dance music unique. Also known for his guise as D:fferent Place, where house music is the main topic, Luca's boldest experiments belong under the Pressure Point project.

Pressure Point's debut on Pluie/Noir is no different — a collection of four ultra-personal tracks drenched in honest emotion and playful psychedelia. And it sounds as human as it sounds outer-worldly. Inspired by music genres unrestricted by the club ecosystems, "Ghost on Tape" features compositions that span from deeply spacial house to low-swung finely-detailed minimal.

Cover artwork features a stunning painting by the exquisite London-based artist David Surman. "Mask of a King / Midas" is inspired by Agamemnon's mask found in ancient Mycenae and Picasso's last self-portraits, furthering the emotional impact of the release as a whole. Limited pressing.

First vinyl issue from this french label, artisan of the Eurotrance revival. Compilation of contemporary producers' works, deeply rooted in the 00's.

Played by Ellen Allien, Nina Kraviz, in among others.


Thanks to a perfect balance between a good dose of madness and genius, Union Trance Mission has become the playground of some of the rising talents of the european rave scene in a few years.

Launched in 2018 by DJ Reiz & Tonni 3000 with the desire to take the techno scene off-balance, UTM quickly laid the foundations of an hybrid style where oldschool vibes perfectly combine with contemporary sounds. A colorful and formidable cocktail of efficiency, where techno blithely rubs shoulders with nostalgic trance synthesizers.

After a couple of years of digital releases (singles, EP and compilations), UTM decides to take another step by releasing its first 2x12", gathering the residents DJ Reiz, Tonni 3000, Red Scan and Walfroy on one hand, and the guest artists Pawlowski, Jaëss, Tranceman2000 and Alpha Tracks on another hand, in a wish of being eclectic and exploring Trance music in all its forms.

Disco King Dr Packer steps up to the plate for M2MR, this time utilising his precise production mastery for one hell of a groovy soulful disco jam 'Get Some Soul' complete with a pumping piano house remix from Perth duo, Cup & String.

Squelching bass, scintillating piano and organ ecstasy and choice vocal samples combine for this uplifting cut. On the flip, Cup & String take it late night, club-ready, adding a slice of Gil to the mix, dialling the lights down low and focusing the remix around those killer piano stabs and bumping beat.

Italian Duo Souldynamic have been turning the heat up considerably over the last couple of years. Releasing a steady stream of original track, remixes and their well loved disco reworks they have popped up on some of the most respected labels out there from King Street and Tribe to BBE. Consequently their remixes have adorned the releases of some of the most legendary performers from across the electronic scene including Louie Vega and Dennis Ferrer.
Their latest release the ‘West Side of Afrika’ EP see’s them land on the irrepressible Samosa Records. They are having a glorious couple of years with one sell out chart topping release after another so it’s a well made match.

Comprising four tracks of afro centric house music it’s a wonderfully warm and inviting release if you love your percussive African disco.

Lead track Guinée fuses easy going percussion with an effervescent bassline and a wonderfully expressive vocal. It’s a track which is easy to get lost in, one for those communal loved up dancefloor moments.

Faranah is a more laid back affair again leading off with layers of percussion its swirling dual vocals and brass stabs give it tons of feel-good zest

Over on the flip Bamako is the deepest cut on the release. It’s pounding bassline cuts through the speakers, creating immeasurable straight to the dancefloor energy. Wonderfully succinct playing and a ridiculously hooky vocal top matters off perfectly..

Final track Beyla is the perfect way to see the release out. Energetic brass stabs power the track. Couple those with some brilliant looped up percussion and it’s a track which will fit a variety of situations from the more laid back to the peak time. Indeed the percussive break down midway through is worth buying two copies for.

Another powerful release from the Samosa stable!

Soul Jazz Records' are releasing their long-out-of-print album 'Hustle! Reggae Disco' in a new expanded 2017 edition which now features five extra tracks. This ground-breaking album features non-stop killer reggae versions of original funk and soul classics in a disco style. Reggae disco updates of seminal classics by Anita Ward ('Ring
My Bell'), Chaka Khan ('I'm Every Woman'), Michael Jackson 'Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough,' Sugarhill Gang ('Rappers Delight' here performed by Derrick Laro and Trinity for producer Joe Gibbs) and more, all showing the hidden but inseparable link between the dance floors of New York, Kingston and London.

New bonus tracks to this collection include Derrick Harriott's funky take on Eddie Drennon's 'Do It Nice and Easy', the classic disco reggae of Risco Connection's take on McFadden and Whitehead's 'Ain't No Stopping Us Now' and the London rare groove lovers rock take on Barbara Acklin's soul classic 'Am I The Same Girl'.
'Hustle! Reggae Disco' has been one of Soul Jazz Records' best-selling releases since its first release 15 years ago (and subsequently featured heavily in the early Grand Theft Auto games!). This new edition comes complete fully re-mastered and with all original titles plus new tracks. This new expanded edition now comes a triple album (+ download code), CD and digital album.

'The effect of American R&B and soul music on Jamaican reggae is well documented, but the story doesn't stop there, for disco (and more so now for rap and hip-hop) have also been subsumed into the reggae mix, and while one might suspect that the resulting hybrid would die of its own implausibility, the feral mix of disco with reggae rhythms is so darn infectious that it hardly matters. Once you take your brain out of the frame and just let your feet go, this collection is a dancer's delight all done up in full-blown disco style, but with huge dub-style rhythm tracks ... if you're looking for an impossibly infectious dance collection, this is
it.' All Music

Back in stock!!


Reissue of this HEAVY Ghana disco / rap / boogie tune..., BIIG one!! Comes with a instrumental cover version by Welsh group Drymbago on the flip..

Soundway Records reissues Free Youth’s long sought-after 1985 single “We Can Move”, their only release - fully restored, remastered and available for the first time on digital and 12” vinyl. “We Can Move” is the first known iteration of Ghanaian hip hop, emerging at the dawn of ‘hip-life’ (hip hop meets highlife).

Free Youth comprised three main members: Terry “Sir Robot” Bright, Lenny “Nii Addy” Dimple, and Abednego “King Abed” Ayim Bright. In the early 80s they began performing in clubs and parties across Accra, with friends and other dancers occasionally joining them on stage – including Reggie Rockstone, who later went on to find commercial success.

In 1985, the band were approached by a producer and invited to record at a local studio. Without having written down any music, Terry, Lenny and Abed sang the parts and beatboxed the rhythms to the session musicians prior to recording. Out of this session came “We Can Move”, a blend of hip-hop and Afro-funk with a proto disco-boogie beat, punchy trumpet riffs and melodic rapping.
Included in the Soundway reissue is an exclusive instrumental cover version of “We Can Move” from Welsh ensemble Drymbago. This replaces the original B side track “Freedom Video Centre”, which was an advertising jingle for a business associated with their former producer.

Comet presents the first release from its new Disco Highlife series, featuring remastered originals by Ghanaian legends Ebo Taylor & Pat Thomas and disco reedits by LeonxLeon and Leo Nanjo.

Founder of Comet Records, Eric Trosset, started working with those great heroes of West African music, back in 2010. Taking on the role of manager/publisher, Comet teamed up with Strut Records
and musician/producer Ben Abarbanel Wolff to revive Ebo Taylor‘s international career with a string of album releases: Love & Death, Appia Kwa Bridge and Life Stories. In 2014, he collaborated with
Pat Thomas & The Kwashibu Area Band on a new album, gathering together the old ‘pals’ (Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Tony Allen) in producer Kwame Yeboah’s studio in Accra.

It is with great pleasure that Comet launches this new series. Let's make this beautiful and timeless music the soundtrack to an unforgettable summer!

On side A, comes “Enye Woa” by Pat Thomas, originally released in 1988 on Nakase Records and taken from the album Me Do Wiase. It’s killer disco cut, and as innovative a piece of highlife as it
was 30 years ago. Paris-based producer LeonxLeon has been cooking up songs in his Parisian home-studio since 2013. He did a remarkable remix of Cerrone's "Funk Makossa" and more recently released his new Rokanbo EP on Cracki Records. His remix of “Enye Woa” is a classy modern disco cut with funky bass and spacey synths.

On side B is “Atwer Abroba” by Ebo Taylor, a stand out up-tempo track from the album Twer Nyame, originally released in 1978 on Philips West African Records. Tokyo-based multi
instrumentalist/producer/arranger Leo Nanjo formed the first Japanese afrobeat group, Kingdom
Afrorocks. Since the band broke up in 2014, Leo has been producing and arranging music with various collaborations, such as DJ Muro, Pushim and Misia. This is a trippy afro-futurist, broken
beat reedit with highlife grooves flying to deep space

Andrej Lasic (Laseech) is an artist, producer and audio engineer from Štinjan, Pula, Croatia. More intrigued with underground music he started producing music and in 2016 he released his first EP "Grotlo" on Hand Job Recordings and first single "Soulgroove" on famous King Street Sounds.

In 2018 he released his first vinyl single "Remember" on famous Australian deep house label Red Ember Records and singed his first remix for Jan Kincl & Regis Kattie's song 'Florette' on PDV records.
His work support and play world known artists such as Laurent Garnier, Kai Alce, Chez Damier, Scott Grooves, Gari Romalis, Dermarkus Lewis, Mike Huckaby and many more..
By now he had the chance to play on illectricity festival, Slurp! festival, Dimensions and Outlook festival and many other venues and clubs in the region, such as Klub K4 in Ljubljana, Hartera in Rijeka, Podmornica in Zagreb and many more..

From Jazzy, Funky and Soulful to Raw, Groovy, Deep and Acid, Andrej Laseech is considerate to be one of finest Croatian artists from the new generation. 'Can't Get This Feeling' EP represents a deep and meaningful connection between soul, jazz and that classic deep house sound, but also a connection between two artists and friends Andrej Laseech and Jasmina Makota. Syncopated groove, loving jazzy chords with Jasmina's beautiful voice and heart touching lyrics makes this EP a wonderful love story.

Percussionist Jamie Muir was a member of King Crimson during the recording of Larks' Tongues In Aspic, in 1973. Staying less than a year with Robert Fripp, the Scot had already cut his teeth with another master guitarist, Derek Bailey, as part of the Music Improvisation Company, along with Evan Parker, Hugh Davies and Christine Jeffrey, whose eponymous 1970 album was one of the first releases on ECM. Muir and Bailey recorded Dart Drug eleven years later, in 1981.There's no shortage of great percussionists in the brief history of free improvised music but on the strength of Dart Drug alone Jamie Muir deserves a place at High Table. Unlike for example Han Bennink and John Stevens, though, you can't hear echoes of any particular jazz drummer in Muir's playing, even if he has expressed appreciation for Milford Graves (who himself sounded like nobody else who'd come before him).What on earth did Muir's kit consist of Some instruments are clearly identifiable (bells, gongs, chimes, woodblocks); others could be... well, anything. Old suitcases thwacked with rolled up newspapers Tin cans and hubcaps inside a washing machine Who cares It sounds terrific - but if you're the kind of person who faints at the sound of nails scraping a blackboard, you might want to nip out and put the kettle on towards the end of the title track.Dart Drug is consistently thrilling, and often very amusing - but it's certainly not easy listening. In music we talk about playing with other musicians, whereas in sport you play against another opponent (or with your team against another team). Why not play against in music, too That's precisely what happens very often in improvised music, and Bailey was particularly good at it. How can a humble acoustic guitar hope to compete with a Muir in full flight Sometimes Bailey's content to sit on those open strings, teasing out yet another exquisite Webernian constellation of ringing harmonics and wait for the dust to settle in Muir's junkyard, but elsewhere he sets off into uncharted territory himself.'The way to discover the undiscovered in performing terms is to immediately reject all situations as you identify them (the cloud of unknowing) - which is to give music a future.' Bailey evidently concurred with this spoken statement by Muir, including it in his book Improvisation.Derek Bailey is no longer with us, of course, and Muir gave up performing music back in 1989. All the more reason for seeking out this magnificent, wild album.

Authentic Kingston heat, straight from 1987. Recorded at Dynamic Sounds and produced on the Apple Tree label, Michael Headley’s unruly “Tom Sawyer” captures that raw late-80s digi energy straight from the source. Fully restored and officially reissued for the first time since its original pressing. A raw and rebellious cut from Jamaica’s digital dawn, unmistakable Kingston grit.

Wieder da in neuer Vinylfarbe: Violet Cloudburst Acid King ist zurück, eine der ersten Bands des Stoner/Doom-Genres und Schöpfer einiger der monolithischsten Riffs und schwersten Klänge, die es je gab! Acid King sind Königinnen des Stoner Doom und Beyond Vision ist ihr erstes neues Album seit Middle Of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere von 2015. Aufgenommen mit dem langjährigen Produzenten Billy Anderson (The Melvins, Sleep, Neurosis), fließen die Songs des Albums ineinander, ohne Anfang oder Ende, angetrieben von einem wogenden, lysergischen Puls, der den gewundenen Pfad der interplanetarischen Existenz nachzeichnet und den Hörer dorthin bringt, wohin er gehen möchte. Beyond Vision" begann als Experiment und wurde zum Weg in eine silberne Zukunft, welche nicht mehr nur doomladen sondern auch psychedelic ist. Es markiert den Beginn einer neuen Ära für die Band, welche einst die Vorlage für donnernden, swingenden Doom geschaffen hat, als sie ihren Status mit bahnbrechenden Alben wie Zoroaster und Busse Woods zementierten. Digipack noch erhältlich! "Judging by the sound of expansive lead single 'Beyond Vision,' fans are in for a helluva trip with this collection... taps into the hazy, muffled churn that Acid King helped pioneer, but there's an added dose of trippiness in the way the specter-like vocals float in the mix, and the dual guitar/bass solo that closes out the tune 'Beyond Vision' is more bluesy than bashing." _ Revolver Mag, 2023

Songs for Satan ist ein ikonoklastischer Meilenstein, der die Erde zum Beben bringt und unsere bildlichen Fundamente erschüttert - ein fuzz-getränkter Knall verstärkter Ketzerei!Songs for Satan ist ein Moment der kritischen Masse für DOPELORD aus Warschau, Polen. Ein Hauch von Teufelsanbetung in den Riffing-Gefilden ist nichts Neues, und obwohl sie nicht die erste Band sind, die sich offen zu diesem Motiv bekennt, ist ihre verstärkte Ketzerei einzigartig triumphal, ihre von Fuzz durchtränkte Apostasie echt und glorreich. Songs for Satan zeigt, dass die Band die schwerfällige Schwerfälligkeit und die silbernen Hooks gleichermaßen beherrscht und die jahrzehntelange Unterdrückung des polnischen Katholizismus als lyrischen Treibstoff nutzt. Tracks wie "Satan's Call", "The Chosen One", "One Billion Skulls" und "Worms" widersetzen sich der kulturellen Vorherrschaft der Kirche und schaffen es gleichzeitig, ansteckend singbar zu sein. Songs for Satan, das an Electric Wizard, Windhand, Beelzebong und Acid King erinnert, ist DOPELORDs Höhepunkt, ein ikonoklastischer Meilenstein, der die Erde erschüttert und unsere bildlichen Grundlagen erschüttert. DOPELORD ist das Pendant zu ELECTRIC WIZARD und bietet massiven, mitreißenden Stoner Doom für Fans von ACID KING, MONOLORD und BONGZILLA. Limitierte dunkel-gelbe Vinyl-LP!

Kicking off the collection, we have POISON IDEA performing their first ever gig as a high-velocity punk band on New Years Eve 1980 – truly an incredible find. “We put our gear in shopping carts and pushed it to the venue” Jerry recalls as well as the reaction from Portland’s first wave of hardcore kids, “They only had 30 seconds in a song to throw each other around and pogo, so they’d go for it. It came naturally, like the music possessed them”. The embryonic versions presented here of future POISON IDEA classics like “Give It Up” and “Castration” are played in a more quirky and herky-jerky manner than how they would appear three years later on their debut seven-inch EP, Pick Your King. This recording also holds the most unfiltered display of Germs vocalist Darby Crash’s influence on Jerry. “His voice gave me the license to go” states Jerry. “You didn’t have to be a trained singer. Just open up your soul and scream”.

The remainder of this release is culled from a recording done in June of 1981 at a birthday party for Kim Kincaid, vocalist for local punk group, Neo Boys. The event was held at the short-lived but groundbreaking punk venue for Portland, Clockwork Joe’s. “Clockwork Joe’s was like Peter Pan’s island of lost boys” Lang recollects, “There was a lot of booze, a lot of drugs and a lot of young kids”. Hearing this ferocious, tightly-wound set, one can only imagine the sweaty debauchery that occurred that night, especially during the pounding rendition of “Underage” presented here, yet another future Pick Your King track.

The album is all acoustic and dedicated to John Lee Hooker with the line, "In Memory of John Lee Hooker. You are missed."

Not known for his acoustic work, Buddy Guy unplugs on Blues Singer for a rare album-length excursion into folk blues. The guitarist gets down and dirty with 12 tracks that sound like they were recorded after hours in his living room or on his back porch.

Guy’s stinging leads are still evident as is his emotive voice, but both are less flamboyant in the unplugged setting. Accompanied by spare stand-up bass and brushed drums, Guy sounds nearly supernatural on covers from Skip James ("Hard Time Killing Floor"), Johnny Shines ("Moanin’ and Groanin’"), Son House ("Louise McGhee"), and John Lee Hooker ("Sally Mae") among others. It’s a low-key, low-down affair made for late nights, rainy days, and the saddest of moods.

Buddy Guy is just as convincing here, arguably more so, as on his barnstorming electric albums, making Blues Singer one of the bravest and most poignant albums in his catalogue.

Blues Singer is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on red vinyl and includes a 4-page booklet.