We're glad to be back with the third instalment of our new series of DJ and Artist curated 12" mini compilations: Melodies Record Club.
Following Ben UFO and Four Tet's selections last year, Hunee helms volume three which includes three tracks this time including music from Digital Justice, Dorothy Ashby and Frantz Tuernal. Available early November in loud 12" format.
In his own words: " These three distinct pieces of music tap into different layers of my memory. One being part of the imagination, the other two rooted in the memories of a special morning in the woods of Houghton (and other times and places). On one side we have a beatless ecstatic piece of electronic music by Digital Justice called Theme From 'It's All Gone Pearshaped'. Originally released in 1994 on Rob Gretton's (ex-manager of Joy Division and New Order) label Robs Records, Pearshaped is a 13 minute live jam from two friends messing around in a loft studio full of synths, inadvertently creating magic that can "take many shapes and forms in the hands of a DJ and the movement of a dance floor, whilst its harmonic counterpoint shines through the wildest mixes and combinations"
On the flip, we have Dorothy Ashby's spiritual piece featuring Koto and spoken word "For Some We Loved" from her classic album "The Rubáiyát Of Dorothy Ashby" originally released in 1970 on Cadet and Frantz Tuernal's "Koultans" originally released in 1986 by l'AMEP (Association Martiniquaise d'Enseignement Populaire) which was also a school in Martinique. "After dancing to a set from Cedric Woo at an intimate, after-closing dance party at Brilliant Corners called "Freedom Suite" which completely re-calibrated my sense of experiencing and dancing to music, I went home and immediately searched through my collection for music to listen to and potentially play with these new found sensitivities - the very physical experience of music, the pulling force pushing one into the transcendence of time and space. Dorothy Ashby's "For Some We Loved"immediately took me back to that feeling and opened up in front of me an otherworldly-world through it's free flowing polyrhythms and sparkling Koto playing. I have yet to play my own "Freedom Suite"night, but I hope when that moment comes, I can give back what I have received back then, and "For Some We Loved"is a first step in trying just that.""I have been shown Frantz Tuernal's privately pressed 12"containing "Koultans" by my trusted music friend Nicolas Skliris from Paris a few years ago. An unlikely piece of music (a Zouk song with flamenco-inspired guitar playing) from Martinique that was both a highlight back at Giant Steps when I played the song 3 times in a row in the early morning, and a few weeks later in the woods of Houghton where a few thousand dancers were deeply moved to its melody, when the sun came up in the morning and started descending upon the lake behind the DJ booth, bathing the smiles upon the dancers faces with its reflection."
Hunee's instalment is out early November in loud 12" format, and the first press comes with a folded A2 insert with words from and about the Artists. Graphic design by Atelier ChoqueLeGoff, illustration and animation by Nevil Bernard and for the audiophiles out there, remastered and cut at half speed by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios!
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Following their debut Glastonbury Festival performance, Broadside Hacks in collaboration with British Underground today announce the UK premiere of The Broadside Hack; a new documentary telling the story of the young vanguard of UK artists sharing radical interpretations, proto-feminist narratives and queer histories through the lens of British traditional folk song. An accompanying live album of the songs performed in the film will also be released in December on LP and digitally. Having enjoyed its US premiere at SXSW in March, The Broadside Hack is a short music documentary produced by British Underground, created with the aid of a grant from Arts Council England and PRS Foundation. Directed by Crispin Parry and filmed by The Northern Cowboys, It explores the influence of traditional folk songs on a new generation of musicians, filmed just as the UK was emerging from the dark days of the pandemic. The documentary was made in collaboration with music collective Broadside Hacks and features influential artists and groups from the new folk scene, including Rough Trade signees caroline, former Goat Girl bassist Naima Bock, whose acclaimed album Giant Palm was released on Sub Pop earlier this year, Shovel Dance Collective, Thyrsis, Broadside Hacks and Boss Morris. Discovering a fresh vitality in the tunes and new histories in the stories they tell, the film includes conversations, dances and intimate performances filmed at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire between 17th and 19th August 2021. The live concert and screening of The Broadside Hack arguably marks the close of the first chapter in the story of the UK’s new folk scene; a story in which Broadside Hacks has been central. Initially formed as a folk night, the pandemic forced it to change its shape, morphing into a collective of young, like-minded musicians who met to play folk music in South London. “An adventurous exploration of traditional music by the young and folk curious” - The Times // “All your favourite players in one Sunday League team” - Loud And Quiet // "The band play old folk songs, those so old their authors have been lost in time, and inject in them such life, depth and emotion that it's extremely affecting" - The Quietus // Side 1 A1 Boss Morris - Up The Hill A2 Interview Shovel Dance Collective - ‘A Collective Authoring of History’ A3 Shovel Dance Collective - The Bold Fisherman / My Husband Has No Courage In Him A4 [Interview] Thyrsis - ‘Collaboration Across Space and Time’ A5 Thyrsis - Single Sailor A6 [Interview] Naima Bock (Broadside Hacks) - ‘Retracing Beginnings’ A7 Broadside Hacks - Gently Johnny. Side 2 B1 Shovel Dance Collective - Merrily Kissed the Quaker B2 [Interview] Shovel Dance Collective - ‘Queering Folk Songs of the Past’ B3 Thyrsis - Godstow Bridge B4 [Interview] Naima Bock (Broadside Hacks) - ‘The Broadside Hacks Folk Club’ B5 Broadside Hacks - Rain and Snow B6 Boss Morris - Young Collins
Recorded in St. James Norlands church in London in November 1968 and first released in the following year, this work stands as the first solo bass album in the history of Jazz and improvised music. Born in 1934 in San Francisco, Barre Phillips is one the most influential bassists of his generation. In his long career Phillips has played and recorded with almost everyone in the world of Jazz and beyond, a long list of forward thinking music icons including Don Ellis, Bobby Hutcherson, Dave Holland, Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, John Surman, Paul Bley, Evan Parker just to name a few! Originally recorded as part of a 3 hours session this solo tour-de force expresses the true essence of a genius. A multifaceted, kaleidoscopic journey through a myriad of melodic, rhythmic, fretted and bowed lines. In other words: a true master class and a seminal statement from one of the greatest figures in creative music!
"...Not just an improviser of the highest order; but a true sound sculptor capable of drawing from his instrument such a vast array of shapes and colours that his creation is almost a form of visual art for the ears." Jazzwise
- A1: Mirror (Feat Josue Thomas)
- A2: Lava (Feat Ua)
- A3: The Battle Part 1 (Feat. Emilie Chick)
- A4: Sumimasen Suite Part 1(Feat. Emily Capell & Rebel Dread)
- A5: We Need Power Part 1 (Feat. Josh Milan)
- B1: I'm Thinking, I'm Spacing(Feat Afrika Bambaataa)
- B2: Outer Space (Feat Dj Krush)
- B3: Galactic Beats Part 1
- B4: Hear, There (Feat Kan Takagi & Reck)
- B5: New Beginning
Japanese street music icon, Yasushi Ide released new album featuring Don Letts, Josh Milan, Jeff Mills, DJ Krush and more.
"This is a sound track for rude, underground adults! Amazing mixture of reggae, dub, funk, jazz, rock, afro, house. Masterpiece that goes beyond genres of music created by great producer, Yasushi Ide who has relentless motivation and global network of talents." - Shuya Okino (Kyoto Jazz Massive / Kyoto Jazz Sextet)
"Great album! It is amazing to finish such a big project involved many collaborators at this high quality only in a year and 4 months. The magic of Cosmic Suite is there are variety of styles, and it makes you feel deep and spiritual at one point, but at the same time you can feel relaxed. Also, I have to say that the sound quality is great. It sounds very clear and it can only be done with top level recording and mixing professionals." - Ken Ishii
Yasushi Ide is the Japanese street icon. In the 90's he was called "the Guru of Shibuya-kei" which was the movement of Shibuya style of eclectic pop by the artists such as Cornelius, Pizzcato Five, or Original Love who is once again recognized in City Pop revival of recent years. (Yasushi Ide was a manager of Original Love, and also Kenji Ozawa)
Through his works, he has been creating the global network of musicians such as Josh Milan of the Blaze, house music icon, Don Letts, the pioneer of connecting punk rock with reggae, and Jeff Mills, Detroit techno legend, and released a great amount of hi-quality music on his label, Grand Gallery.
The Cosmic Suite project started in 2020, during the pandemic. It started as a project to reconstruct the parts of music Jeff Mills created for Chieko Kinbara, a violinist which Mills produced. However, it turned out to be 36min of spaced themed original track = Cosmic Suite.
(There are few phrases of Jeff Mills music left in the final version) This masterpiece created a buzz in the music scene in Japan and overseas, and became Yasushi Ide's new beginning.
In June, 2022, Ide released "Cosmic Suite 2". Originally, Cosmic Suite was an instrumental. "Cosmic Suite" is the reconstruction of "Cosmic Suite 2" with the element of vocals. In this project, Don Letts, Josh Milan, DJ Krush are featured as guest musicians. Moreover, drums of Tony Allen, the legendary Afrobeat drummer, and Style Scott, a drummer known for his works in early days of ON-U label, and Gota Yashiki, a Japanese drummer known for his works with Soul II Soul are featured in this album. Also, Japanese brightest talents such as Kan Takagi of Major Force, Kaoru Inoue aka Chari Chari, Tomoyuki Tanaka aka Fantastic Plastic Machine and Calm are featured as artists and engineers. This is the true dream team of the Japanese underground music scene.
The artwork is done by Josue Thomas, the founder of popular fashion brand, Gallery Dept. He is also featured as poetry reading artist in track 1 of "Cosmic Suite 2." Ide and him collaborates in various projects under the concept of "Universal Music Connection."
Yasushi Ide's also well received as a dub artist. (beside his wide range of musical styles)
His dub cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine (Space Dub Mix)" is selected for "Late Night Tales mixed by Don Letts" in 2021.
Highlight of "Cosmic 2" is the unique dub sound in tracks such as "Lava" feat. UA, the Japanese singer often described as "Japanese Bjork", and "Sumimasen Suite" feat. Rebel Dread (= Don Letts).
Tokyo is the melting pot of street music from all around the World such as Dub, Jazz, House, Hip Hop, Afrobeat, Punk rock, Techno,,, You can see the influence of all spectrums of rebel music in this album. This unique avant-garde music can only be created by Yasushi Ide, who has been heavily involved in this truly unique music scene for a long time.
Terapia Records is thrilled to introduce you the very first release of its catalogue, a stunning LP by the two founders Luca and Michele (aka Complementary Minds) called Butch Haynes introduces Complementary Minds Vol. 1. The newborn label launches its ambitious, yet very much considered project, after the debut of one of the two head-honchos Luca Ferrara aka Butch Haynes on Apparel Music and Sistrum Recordings. He metaphorically introduces the first LP by the Milan born and bred duo, who share a deep love for music and a great productive connection. They deliver a brilliant eleven-track album, full of diversified sonic influences and quite representative of their bright talent. The record, which will be presented to you both on vinyl and digital, starts with a couple of masterly produced beats (Fantastic/Teacher Carey), both with an analogous mellow, warm energy, some brilliantly crafted bass-lines and a substantial harmonic presence. The album keeps rolling with the Deep feeling of Flower Diva: its soulful, skilfully arranged vocals and the dreamy synthetic chords help the pair to perpetuate this passionate, balmy vibe. Insomnia ends the first quartet of sexy tunes with some seductive improvised spacey key stabs and its delicate pensive chords while Q Orchestra (the lost tape mix) speeds up the heartbeat and leads to the closing track of the A side, Bebi: a gorgeous groovy interlude. B side kicks off in style with the slightly darker feel of Myers Boogie Man where the pitched sampled vocals, the solid rhythm section, a profound array of sonic details and a marvellous warm synth melody towards the end of the track make it a true ghetto hit! Right On, with its broken-beat and a radiant harmonic progression, Contact 911 with its tight kick-snare connection and some far-out, whimsical chord evolution and G Buster with its irresistible slightly acid driving force, pave the way for the grand finale where Maam, a proper club banger, ends this amazing LP in epic fashion. Butch Haynes introduces Complementary Minds Vol. 1. is such a cohesive, yet incredibly diversified album and their authors, Luca Ferrara and Michele Fallabrino, achieve the challenging task of telling their sonic story with a flawless work. What a way to start Terapia Records’ experience.
To confuse parts for the whole is inevitable with Palm. Drummer Hugo Stanley, bassist Gerasimos Livitsanos and guitarists/vocalists/high school sweethearts Eve Alpert and Kasra Kurt started making music together as teenagers, and spent much of their twenties in the kind of proximity unusual for adults, outside of touring bands and the International Space Station. For a number of years the band consumed the lives of its members to a point of exhaustion: “To be honest I think we got a little burnt out. There were times where it wasn’t clear if we’d make another record,” says Alpert. It was only after multiple freak injuries followed by a pandemic, forced a pause - from touring but also from writing, rehearsing, even seeing each other- that the four were able to regroup and see a way forward again.
On their latest effort, Nicks and Grazes, Palm embrace discordance to dazzling effect. “We wanted to reconcile two potentially opposing aesthetics,” Kurt says. “To capture the spontaneous, free energy of our live shows while integrating elements from the traditionally gridded palette of electronic music.” In order to avoid what Kurt refers to as “Palm goes electro,” the musicians spent years educating themselves on the ins and outs of production by learning Ableton while also experimenting with “the percussive, textural, and gestural potential” of their instruments. To this end, the band continued the age-old tradition of instrument-preparation, augmenting guitars with drumsticks, metal rods and, at the suggestion of Charles Bullen (This Heat, Lifetones), coiling rubber-coated gardening wire around the strings. The unruliness of the prepared guitar on songs like “Mirror Mirror” and “Eager Copy” contrasts with the steadfast reproducibility of the album’s electronic elements.
While Palm cite Japanese pop music, dub, and footwork as influences on this album’s sonic palette, they found themselves returning time and again to the artists who inspired them to start the group over a decade ago. “When we were first starting out as a band, we bonded over an appreciation of heavy, aggressive, noisy music,” Alpert reflects. “We wrote parts that were just straight-up metal.” Kurt adds, “I found myself rediscovering and re–falling in love with the visceral, jagged quality of guitars in the music of Glenn Branca, The Fall, Beefheart, and Sonic Youth, all important early Palm influences.” Returning to the fundamentals gave Palm a strong foundation upon which they could experiment freely, resulting in their most ambitious and revelatory album to date.
Detroit based 3-piece combining a blend of industrial, deathrock, drum machines, gothic elements, soundtrack scapes, spaghetti western guitars and a thick, rumbling bass tone. Features new mixes by Adam Stilson, mastering by Rafael Anton Irisarri and a re-imagining of the original artwork by Chris Samuels. The vinyl & CD packaging includes a 12-page booklet of photos, lyrics and images from the original release date, (2012/2013). The story of Ritual Howls begins in a southwest Detroit basement in the early winter of 2012. Singer/guitarist Paul Bancell had been writing and performing solo as well as in several bands and was looking for collaborators for a new project. Ben Saginaw (bass) and Chris Samuels (synths, drums, drum machines) were acquatances that became natural fits. With the help of a friend (Jeff Navarre), they recorded their first full-length in Ben's art studio using a laptop. Paul tracked vocals at home in his bedroom and, not wanting to relinquish control, mixed and mastered the album himself. A formidable introduction to the band's haunting, cinematic blend of twangy industrial rock, their self-titled album established the band as a unique force in the landscape of dark music, both past and present. Separated by a decade, four LPs, two EPs later, Ritual Howls is an impressively cohesive first effort and testament to the band's vision that, even in its infancy, forged a distinct sound that has only matured with perfection over time. Past support from outlets like Stereogum, FACT, Tiny Mix Tapes, Self-Titled, Paste, Post-Punk, CVLT Nation + more. Track listing: 01. The Year Of Fear 02. Cemetery Guards 03. Keep Those Stones Up 04. L’Atalante 05. Rosabelle Believe 06. Anchorites 07. Hell Fuck 08. The Mark 09. Sacred Awe
Kings Bell, first made available to the world on CD and digital on November 1, 2011, is now being released on a 12" vinyl courtesy of Before Zero Records. This LP joined the best of St Croix with the best of Jamaica: an amazing lineup of players spearheaded by the venerable Jamaican production maestro Andrew "Bassie" Campbell. The result of this collaboration is Kings Bell – a modern roots masterpiece. As Vaughn Benjamin's first-ever full-length collaboration with a Jamaican producer, Kings Bell was a historic release and features some of the greatest musicians the genre has ever seen including Leroy "Horsemouth" Wallace, Earl "Chinna" Smith, Squidley Cole, Mikey "Boo" Richards and Sticky Thompson.
The driving musical force behind the album, producer and bassist Andrew "Bassie" Campbell has crafted beautiful rhythms that truly compliment the deep lyrics of Vaughn Benjamin. The power and authenticity of Andrew Bassie's productions stand out from the mass of slickly-produced modern roots coming out of Jamaica today. Much of the music was recorded organically in Jamaica at Tuff Gong Studio, with additional overdubs, vocal recording and mixing completed at I Grade's studio in St. Croix. The result is a collection of songs that capture not only the essence of classic roots from the hands and minds of some of the individuals who have literally helped build the genre, but also the urgency and innovation of the present time. In more than seventy albums and in over twenty years of Midnite music nothing like this cross-fertilization of Jamaican classic roots tradition mixed with St. Croix's own deep roots tradition has ever happened, making "Kings Bell" a glowing highlight in the expansive catalogue of Vaughn Benjamin. A catalogue born from a non-stop movement in pursuit of progressing his craft and delivering his message to the world. One of Benjamin's most fruitful stops along his journey was with I Grade Records, headed by producer/engineer/multi-instrumentalist Laurent "Tippy I" Alfred, regarded by many as some of the finest work of his career.
Die "Blue Record" EP enthält 5 Songs: die beeindruckenden Akustikversionen von drei Songs des 2013er Albums ,II" sowie zwei fantastische Coverversionen, "Swing Lo Magellan" (DIRTY PROJECTORS) und "Puttin It Down" (BECK). "Ich habe erst im letzten Jahr damit angefangen, Akustikgitarre zu spielen. Die Idee, dass eine Gitarre Sound in Elektrizität übersetzt und es dann richtig laut wird, mochte ich schon immer. Ich dachte, dass die Akustikgitarre vielleicht ein bisschen zu niedlich für mich ist. Doch nachdem uns einige Gelegenheiten geboten wurden, Akustiksets zu spielen, um die neue Platte zu promoten, habe ich beschlossen, das Ganze als Herausforderung zu betrachten und zu versuchen, akustisch zu spielen und dabei nicht langweilig zu klingen. Schließlich fand ich es schon immer toll, wie Arthur Lee akustisch spielt und fragte mich, ob ich das wohl überzeugend hinbekommen könnte. So wurde ich praktisch durch ein paar Radiosessions dazu gezwungen, mir die Akustikgitarre anzueignen und beschloss, ein paar Songs akustisch aufzunehmen und zu veröffentlichen, weil den Leuten das anscheinend gefiel. Alles wurde in meinem Keller mit nur einem Mikro direkt auf Band aufgenommen." - Ruban Nielson, UNKNOWN MORTAL ORCHESTRA ENG "I only started playing the acoustic guitar last year. I'd always preferred the idea that the guitar converts a sound into voltage and then becomes really loud. I thought the acoustic guitar was a little bit too twee for me or something. But after being offered some opportunities to play various acoustic sessions to promote the new record, in situations where it wasn't possible to record the whole band, I decided to treat it like a challenge to try and play acoustic and not have it be lame. After all I was really into Arthur Lee's ability with an acoustic and started wondering if I could make it sound convincing. Anyway, after being somewhat forced to develop some skill on the acoustic through these various radio sessions and things like that I decided to record some songs acoustically and release them since people seemed to be liking the way I was doing it. Everything was recorded straight to tape in my basement with a one mic set up." - RUBAN NIELSON, UMO
[a] 01. SWIM AND SLEEP (LIKE A SHARK) [ACOUSTIC VERSION]
[b] 02. FADED IN THE MORNING [ACOUSTIC VERSION]
[c] 03. SO GOOD AT BEING IN TROUBLE [ACOUSTIC VERSION]
Compilation of our favorite Arvo Pärt pieces. All sparse and beautiful arrangements. Some solo piano pieces, some duets with piano, violin cello and viola and one string quartet. The pieces on this record are all unique to the style of Arvo Pärt - deceptively simple compositions that force you to live in the moment you are listening to them. A Pärt quote from the back of the record - "You can kill people with sound. And if you can kill, then maybe there is also the sound that is opposite of killing. And the distance between these two points is very big. And you are free -- you can choose. In art everything is possible, but everything is not necessary."
This record comes in a beautiful "tip on" old school cover with metallic gold foil and features an incredible painting from the 16th century manuscript Kometenbuch.
Swaddled in a blanket of Dolce Vita strings and
voices, Baker delivers here a struggling beauty
through his timeless childlike and choirboy vocals.
4 pretty and decadent ballads, impossibly pretty,
built over three forces: Baker’s trumpet, exotic
vocal imprint and Ennio Morricone satin cinematic
score. Romantic, intriguing and seductive, this
unique Chet Baker set will make you fall in love
just like a tourist visiting Italy’s renewed beauty.
Manasyt vs Sam Lowry. A clash, mashup and/ or battle between two minds yet one and the same face. Hailing from the twilight zone, Bulgaria. The currently Xiamen, China, based Petar Tassev has joined the forces of his alter ego's on this 9 tracker. A side 4 celestial and daring Electro tracks followed by the more eerie B side. An experimental, future horror movie-like sound. Thrilling in all the right ways!
No nonsense, no faking, no timewasters: the raw classic techno energy of Nuno dos Santos and Cosmic Force's Ultrastation project continues to tear holes in the space time continuum with their latest EP - 'Red Skies'. Hot on the heels of 'Stellar Logic' on Nuno's Something Happening Somewhere label earlier this year comes another uncompromising selection as the pair of Utrechtian veterans link up and tear down on Deeptrax offshoot label Tech UM. 'Sonorous' sets the pace with its outstanding sense of pounding, gritty momentum. The sound of 35 years of warehouses melting under sheer bass heat, it's a savage statement piece that's backed up by three more undiluted techno treats. 'Muladhara' realigns our chakras with its earthy stomp, hopeful arpeggio and relentless energy, 'Blood Flow' takes on a little more industrial charm as it rattles away, twisting and turning with a subtle sense of psychedelia while 'Lake Falls' brings the EP to a euphoric Detroitian finale that's characterised by shimmering synths and some epic dynamics.
A NEED FOR SPEED, A NEED FOR ACTION.
ANFS BECOMES BOY TZORTZ.
A NECESSARY CHANGE IN A TIME THAT THE WORLD CHANGED AROUND US.
UNEXPECTEDLY. WITH FORCE.
RIOT OF LIFE.
A YOUNG PRINCE IN HIS ARMA THAT IS RIDING WITH DEVASTATING SPEED TOWARDS THE ETERNITY.
FOLLOWING THE PATH TO HIS DESTINY.
AND THROUGH CHAOS HE BRINGS ORDER.
THIS IS HIS KARMA.
4 SINISTER CUTS OF PURE MEGACITY ENERGY FROM ONE OF THE BEST IN THE GAME.
ENOUGH SAID.
Die Originalbesetzung von Black Ox Orkestar ist nach einer 15-jährigen Pause wieder zusammen. Die aus der fruchtbaren Montréaler Post-Punk-Agit-Prop-Szene der frühen 2000er Jahre hervorgegangene Band besteht aus Scott Gilmore, Jessica Moss und Thierry Amar von Thee Silver Mt. Zion (Amar komponiert und spielt auch weiterhin Bass für Godspeed You! Black Emperor) und Gabriel Levine von Sackville. Black Ox Orkestar haben Mitte der 2000er Jahre zwei gefeierte Alben mit aufgewühltem akustischem Avant-Folk veröffentlicht, auf denen sie osteuropäische und nordafrikanische Folklore durch die Linse einer düsteren, resonanten Indie-Rock-Sensibilität erforschten und Interpretationen von Instrumentalstücken aus verschiedenen jüdischen, rumänischen und arabischen Traditionen den Originalen gegenüberstellten. Auch dank Gilmores politisch aufgeladenem jiddischen Gesang sind diese frühen Alben für eine neue Generation von Musikern und Fans der jiddischen, Klezmer- und jüdischen Diaspora-Musik zu Meilensteinen geworden. Das von Greg Norman (Jason Molina, Nina Nastasia, Electrical Audio) hervorragend produzierte Album Everything Returns macht genau da weiter, wo die Band aufgehört hat: ein einschneidend atmosphärisches, melancholisches und doch entschlossenes Album einzigartiger moderner jüdischer Folkmusik, bei dem Klavier, Geige, Kontrabass, Klarinette und Cymbalom die Kerninstrumentierung bilden und die Gesangsstücke hauptsächlich auf Jiddisch gesungen werden. ENG Everything Returns reunites the original Black Ox Orkestar lineup following a 15-year hiatus. Arising from the fertile Montréal post-punk agit-prop scene of the early 2000s, the band comprises Scott Gilmore, Jessica Moss and Thierry Amar of Thee Silver Mt. Zion (Amar also continues to compose and play bass for Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and Gabriel Levine of Sackville. Black Ox made two acclaimed albums of roiling acoustic avant-folk in the mid-2000s, exploring Eastern European and North African folkways through the lens of a gritty, resonant indie rock sensibility, juxtaposing interpretations of instrumentals from various Jewish, Romani and Arabic traditions with originals led by Gilmore's politically-charged Yiddish vocals. These early albums have since become lodestars for many among a new generation of Yiddish, Klezmer and radical Jewish diasporic music practitioners and fans. First revealing its resurrection in February 2022 with a surprise flexi 7" single issued by left journal Jewish Currents as a gift to its thousands of subscribers, Black Ox has indeed fully and fruitfully reunited. Exquisitely recorded by Greg Norman (Jason Molina, Nina Nastasia, Electrical Audio), Everything Returns picks up right where the band left off: an incisively atmospheric, melancholic yet resolute album of uniquely modern Jewish folk music, with piano, violin, upright bass, clarinet and cymbalom making up the core instrumentation, and the vocal tunes sung primarily in Yiddish, alongside album centerpiece "Viderkol" and closer "Lamed-Vovnik" where English also features. This is not fusion music, but diaspora music: a cross-cultural call and response of musical lexicons, emerging from the history of Jewish persecution and displacement, the musicology of 19th century repertoire from Jewish shtetls , the improvisational traditions of nusakh in Jewish music and taqsim in Arabic music, and a wider polyglot dialogue of Jewish, Slavic, Arabic, and Central Asian musical traditions. Lyrically and stylistically, Everything Returns connects key current issues_from refugees forced to leave their homes, to the return of fascism and exclusionary nationalism_with the legacy of modernist Yiddish poetry and song. The new Black Ox Orkestar album is a sublime, poetic, politically-informed statement of re-energized diasporic musical intent, where Gilmore's voice and the band's simmering arrangements conjure an ardent, doleful balladry that echoes the sound and sensibility of artists like Tindersticks, The National, Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. Everything Returns is a haunting, richly textured, darkly sparkling song cycle at once from a vanished world and very much of our time and place. Thanks for listening.
Emerging from the forced exile of 2020-2021, Barton found himself with a large number of songs. Taking inspiration from the line of English singer-songwriters that runs from Nick Drake through Lloyd Cole to Pete Doherty and beyond, he chose 10 that lent themselves to an indie-folk aesthetic and began work on the new album, “Manchester Sun”.
Ever the storyteller, Barton weaves tales of first kisses, of soldiers trying in vain to remember their hometown, of missed opportunities and unreliable childhood memories. He casts Orson Wells as a modern day dictator, perched on high in a carousel, and tells the story of the spray-painted marriage proposal that appeared overnight on a motorway bridge 50 miles from London.
Manchester Sun was recorded in England with Barton playing most of the instruments himself, moving through guitar, bass, drums, percussion and Hammond organ during an intensive week-long session in the peaceful, rural setting of Echo Studios. The album places Barton and his acoustic guitar centrestage, with additional contributions from long time collaborators
RIYL: A Hawk And A Hacksaw, Leonard Cohen, Daniel Kahn, Xylouris White, Arooj Aftab, Tindersticks, Nick Cave, Alasdair Roberts, Geoff Berner, The Klezmatics. Deluxe 180gLP with 350gsm Arktika jacket/inner + 36”x12” art/lyrics fold-out + DL. CD in gatefold jacket + art/lyrics fold-out. Recorded by Greg Norman (Jason Molina, Nina Nastasia, Electrical Audio). Everything Returns reunites the original Black Ox Orkestar lineup following a 15-year hiatus. Arising from the fertile Montréal post-punk agit-prop scene of the early 2000s, the band comprises Scott Gilmore, Jessica Moss and Thierry Amar of Thee Silver Mt. Zion (Amar also continues to compose and play bass for Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and Gabriel Levine of Sackville. Black Ox made two acclaimed albums of roiling acoustic avant-folk in the mid-2000s, exploring Eastern European and North African folkways through the lens of a gritty, resonant indie rock sensibility, juxtaposing interpretations of instrumentals from various Jewish, Romani and Arabic traditions with originals led by Gilmore’s politically-charged Yiddish vocals. These early albums have since become lodestars for many among a new generation of Yiddish, Klezmer and radical Jewish diasporic music practitioners and fans. First revealing its resurrection in February 2022 with a surprise flexi 7” single issued by left journal Jewish Currents as a gift to its thousands of subscribers, Black Ox has indeed fully and fruitfully reunited. Exquisitely recorded by Greg Norman (Jason Molina, Nina Nastasia, Electrical Audio), Everything Returns picks up right where the band left off: an incisively atmospheric, melancholic yet resolute album of uniquely modern Jewish folk music, with piano, violin, upright bass, clarinet and cymbalom making up the core instrumentation, and the vocal tunes sung primarily in Yiddish, alongside album centerpiece “Viderkol” and closer “Lamed-Vovnik” where English also features. This is not fusion music, but diaspora music: a cross-cultural call and response of musical lexicons, emerging from the history of Jewish persecution and displacement, the musicology of 19th century repertoire from Jewish shtetls, the improvisational traditions of nusakh in Jewish music and taqsim in Arabic music, and a wider polyglot dialogue of Jewish, Slavic, Arabic, and Central Asian musical traditions. Lyrically and stylistically, Everything Returns connects key current issues from refugees forced to leave their homes, to the return of fascism and exclusionary nationalism—with the legacy of modernist Yiddish poetry and song. The new Black Ox Orkestar album is a sublime, poetic, politically-informed statement of re-energized diasporic musical intent, where Gilmore’s voice and the band’s simmering arrangements conjure an ardent, doleful balladry that echoes the sound and sensibility of artists like Tindersticks, The National, Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen. Everything Returns is a haunting, richly textured, darkly sparkling song cycle at once from a vanished world and very much of our time and place. Tracklist: 1 Tish Nign 2 Perpetual Peace 3 Oysgeforn / Bessarabia Hora 4 Mizrakh Mi Ma’arav 5 Skotschne 6 Viderkol (Echo) 7 Epigenetik 8 Moldovan Zhok 9 Lamed-Vovnik
Over the last two years, the Innate and We’re Going Deep labels – run by friends Owain K and Placid respectively – have become must-check imprints for those seeking brand-new, timeless-sounding electro, deep house, acid and techno. Now the pair are joining forces on a new collaborative venture that looks to the past for inspiration: InnDeep.
Focused on unearthing and showcasing slept-on gems from across the deep spectrum, the reissue-focused label will have an emphasis on UK producers and imprints whose work in the ‘90s and 2000s has arguably been criminally overlooked.
To kick things off, they’re taking a deep dive into the back catalogue of Headspace Recordings and Emoticon co-founder Tom Churchill, a Welsh producer whose trademark take on deep house achieved cult status in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The Personal Interpretation EP was first released on Headspace way back in 1997, and dates back to a time when Tom was the very definition of a bedroom producer. He created the EP’s three tracks while still a teenager and mixed them down using the same pair of headphones he used for DJing.
Now painstakingly remastered, the EP sounds every bit as immersive and intergalactic as it did at the tail end of the last millennium. On the EP-opening title track, Churchill builds a sturdy, chunky groove out of clicking, hissing and metallic percussive elements and a wonderfully deep, tactile bassline, over which gorgeous chords, melodic motifs and eyes-closed vocal snippets stretch out as if reclining in the afternoon sun.
Churchill opts for a deeper, Detroit-influenced sound on ‘First Principles’, with undulating electronics and a raw analogue bassline working in unison with ghostly chords and deep space melodies, while ‘Crossed Wires’ is a tispy, off-kilter epic – all breathless drum machine rhythms, pots-and-pans percussion, woozy chords and weighty sub-bass. It provides a fittingly energetic, out-there end to a long-overlooked EP that remains as fresh now as it did back in 1997.
For their sixth instalment, Lowlife Cartel follow up to their last two compilations (“Pimps Improvisations” in 2018 and “Omnia Vanitas” in 2020) with a new six-track VA named “Kodoku”; a vortical release, both bold and forward-looking, while fully geared for the club environment. Taking its title from a poisonous magic from the medieval Japanese era obtained by placing several venomous insects in a jar and letting them kill one another until only one survives, “Kodoku” - which interestingly also translates as “solitude” - features a cast of producers old and new to the fold including Saverio Celestri, the faceless △, Prince de Takicardie, Tundramane & Ko$te, Solar Alliance and Shampoo.
A staple element of the Lowlife Cartel bunch, Saverio Celestri paves the way and dishes out one of his signature jagged, EBM-informed weapons in “Sundays”. Through this hotchpotch of acid-steeped bass entangled with a frantic newbeat-ish swing and razor-sharp synthwaves, the Italian producer shows off the raw and playful facets of his craft to optimal effect. Unknown contributor △ clocks in with “Crachats de Lune”, a proper ominous banger going straight for the jugular with its clever mix of dusty, drum-laden churn, processed vox stabs and sci-fi-indebted laser bursts flashing by unrelentingly. Tailored for hi-octane action at the defunct Boccaccio or Hacienda, Prince de Takicardie “Jam’on’Acid (House Mix)” blows the winds of euphoria across the club like it was done in 1995. Vibing to a pulsating mix of rabid snares, 303-vehicled charges and mangled vocal samples on a classic free rave tip, throwback material that packs a punch.
Flip it over and here is North-American duo Tundramane & Ko$te shifting the scope to Memphis chopped-and-screwed in true hardcore fashion. Straight-out aggression, “Brick To The Face” lives up to its title, so expect leaving the place with a few teeth out your mouth and a good concussion, though more side effects could appear over repeated listens. A radical U-turn from the previous, Ute.- related triplet Solar Alliance - alias Ekkel, Oprofessionell and Mikkel Rev - bring their dashing trance touch to the comp with “Quest for Kiba”, an uptemp maelstrom for the senses, swirling and whirling up until space and time make no damn sense any more. Topping off that versatile tour de force, Japanese producer Shampoo adds his delectably sensuous spin on the record with the lush, sample-heavy lo-fi appeal of “四季ノ歌”. Unpolished feelgood vibes, sun- streaked soulfulness and deft-handed MPC wizardry are on the menu for this ultimate ride and jolly finale.
(Hardway Brothers, Break Mode, Justin Robertson, Mr BC mixes)
The Brightonian Balaeric scene is very much in the spotlight here as South Coast label Higher Love Recordings join forces with Perry Granville, aka Hotel Pellirocco's Dave Sibley, for six sizzling bits of wonky dance floor action. Tow of the tunes have been released digitally before but here they get polished up and pressed to wax alongside a couple of remixes. 'Sailing Ships' is a textural, dark and heavy chugger that Hardway Brothers flip into way more dubbed out and spacious. Then come four versions of 'New Arp' - the acid-laced Break Mode remix, an icy electro original, a mind-melting Justin Robertson Deadstock 33s remix and a biker disco bumper from Mr BC.




















