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遠き火、遠き雲 (Tōki Hi, Tōki Kumo / A Distant Fire, A Distant Cloud) is the second collaboration by Tomoyoshi Date and Stijn Hüwels. The album was commissioned by Laaps.

Tomoyoshi Date and Stijn Hüwels met for the first time in 2015 in Tokyo, being introduced to each other by Chihei Hatakeyama. That same evening, they recorded what would later become Hochu-Ekki-Tou, their first album, released on Home Normal in 2019. For "Tōki hi, tōki kumo", they teamed up again to create a slow and bright album, using field recordings, processed guitar, piano and synth. The title refers to a poem by Tadahito Ichinoseko, recited by the poet on the album as well.

Tomoyoshi Date creates acoustic and organic sounds with a little touch of digital processing. He began to create electronic music in 1998. In 2003, he forms the group Opitope with Chihei Hatakeyama (released by SPEKK), in 2012 the group ILLUHA with Corey Fuller (released by 12k), and the group Melodia with Federico Durand (Home Normal). His solo albums were released from Flyrec (2009, Japan) and Own Records (2011, Luxembourg). Also he worked as emergency doctor until 2014, and started his ambient oriental medical clinic "Tsuyukusa Clinic" in Tokyo since 2014. Tomoyoshi currently resides in Narita, close to Tokyo.

Stijn Hüwels has a profound fascination for minimalism. He's using mainly layers of processed guitar and field recordings. He released on Dauw, mAtter, Eilean Rec., Home Normal, White Paddy Mountain and Slowcraft/Lifelines. He released albums in collaboration with Chihei Hatakeyama, Norihito Suda, An Moku and Ian Hawgood. Together with James Murray he forms Silent Vigils. Stijn lives and works in Leuven and Brussels, Belgium. He's also curating Slaapwel Records since 2014, a label dedicated to music to fall asleep with.

Lee 'Scratch' Perry's Black Ark Studio opened its doors in 1974. Situated in his backyard at 5 Washington Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica. Using only basic
equipment, a Teac Four-Track Recorder, a Sound craft mixing desk, an Echoplex delay unit and later adding a Phaser effects unit that he used in conjunction with his Roland RE201 Space Echo. He managed mixing down the tracks from Four track to Two track to make his distinctive whirling sound that sets apart the Black Ark Sound from the other Jamaican Studios.

Born Rainford Hugh Perry, 28 March 1936, Hanover, Jamaica. He began his career at the grand age of 16, working for Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd’s sound
system, rising quickly to the position of record scout and organising recording sessions during his 3-year period 1963-1966. Restlessness and unsatisfied with credit he felt due to him he moved on to work with Producers J.J. Johnson and Clancy Eccles, the latter of which would help him set up his ‘Upsetter’ label in 1968, which would see his first of many recordings telling the injustices done to him by previous employers. ‘The Upsetter’ track itself pointed at Mr Dodd but reflected to Perry when he inherited it as a nick name alongside many others during the course of his career, including ‘Scratch’, again taken from one of his recordings ‘Chicken Scratch’ recorded in 1965/1966. Perrys work in 1968 with producer Joe Gibbs was fruitful and resulted in many successful releases, but again feeling a lack of credit and itchy feet, it was time to move on. Still not having a studio of his own, Perry recorded at the various Kingston establishments at the time, Randy’s Studio 17 on North Parade, Dynamics on Bell Road and Harry J’s on Roosevelt Avenue where the bulk of the aforementioned recordings with The Wailers were carried out. His dream was always to build his own studio and not to have to work to the constraints of the other studios and producers.

On opening the Black Ark studios, the hits seemed to come immediately. Firstly with Junior Byles' 'Curly Locks' and in 1975 the massive crossover hit Susan Cadogans' 'Hurt So Good' that reached No 4 in the UK charts.1976 saw Island Records releasing Perrys vast output, timeless material like the Heptones 'Party Time', Max Romeo's 'War Inna Babylon' Bob Marley and the Wailers 'Jah Live', 'Punky Reggae Party' and Junior Murvins 'Police and Thieves' to name but a few.But sometimes missing out on a few classics like Perrys own 'Roast Fish, Collie Weed & Corn Bread' and possibly one of the best reggae albums of all time The Congos 'Heart of the Congos'. Dub releases like 'Revolution Dub' (1975) showed a way forward for his production skills in this formidable arena. Having his own studio allowed him to build up a vast catalogue of tracks to work on. We have culled together some lost productions that Lee Perry carried out with singer Mike Brookes, a fine singer, arranger from that special time in the Black Arks history. Sounding like Junior Marvin in parts and Max Romeo in others but still carrying a distinctive Falsetto voice. Some classic tracks as you can see recorded with the cream of musicians at Lee Perrys disposal. Mr Perry works his magic that gives these songs that distinctive feel that his output.
carried around the mid 1970's.

So we hope you enjoy some more lost treasures from the Black Ark that we feel should be added to that mighty cannon of material that still sound so fresh and strong today.

Spoken word version of Steve Von Till's first poetry book. Limited, one-sided + etched.
Intimate voice recordings with hallucinatory textures and treatments.
Harvestman: 23 Poems Poems & Collected lyrics received wide acclaim establishing Von Till as a poet in his own right.
Side B LP etching artwork by Matzatl
Features stunning linocut artwork by Matzatl on the cover.
In 2020 Steve Von Till published his first book of poetry, Harvestman: 23 Untitled Poems and Collected Lyrics. Published by the University of South Dakota’s Astrophil Press, the book established Von Till as a formidable and thoughtful author of verse—a fact that Neurosis fans knew all along, but the wider world was only just becoming aware of.
“There is a depth of hope, acceptance and loss that permeates these poems,” Joseph Haeger said in his review for The Inlander. “Like any great piece of art, Harvestman contains multitudes, and that’s exactly what I was hoping for when I cracked it open. Von Till has already established himself as a great musician, and he’s about to put his stake into the ground proving himself to be a damn good writer.”
For 2021, Von Till has reimagined Harvestman in a new format, delivering an intimate and captivating reading of the collection with sound enhancements. “Being a constant sound-seeker, I thought it would be more interesting to have some textures and treatments to break up the intimate voice recordings,” Von Till says of his decision to add some atmosphere to the spoken-word version of Harvestman. “The background sounds used on some of the tracks were pieces related to No Wilderness Deep Enough that were either not used or repurposed to interweave further connections between my artistic output at this time of my life.”

Repress

Punctual like a Swiss watch, Driftmachine presents a new album that once again astounds and delights. We know their trademark: solid mechanical percussions, forceful bass and melodies systematically built around circular patterns. "Spume & Recollection" is the sixth Umor Rex album by the Berlin duo, and what better way to celebrate the label's 15th anniversary than with a new record from the masters of labyrinthine cables and patches. Regarding "Nocturnes" (UR 2014), their debut album, we described their sound as precise and symmetrical, identical concrete blocks mounted and articulated in a random order. Their already obsessive style continued to evolve with their third record, "Colliding Contours" (UR 2016), now pushing further into abstract dub, ultra-tense grooves, and even more kinetic loops, moving further away from conventional musical structures. Between these two albums they released the remarkable "Eis Heauton" (UR 2015), a kind of hypnotic experiment informed by shadowy atmospheres, chance, and an intuitive dialogue with their musical machines, a unique situation in which they acted as bemused observers in hunt for epiphanies, resulting in an exquisite amalgamation of lucid dream-logic and mechanical precision. A one-of-a-kind soundtrack for minute and wordless scenes unfolding in pitch-black back alleys and hidden, alchemical basements. A similar map was explored with "Shunter" (UR 2018), a superb secret meeting between avant-garde phantasmagoria and concrete experimentation. "Radiations" (UR 2017) offered B-sides and bonus tracks, in addition to collaborations with Shackleton and The Sight Below, a kind of preamble that united Driftmachine’s different expressions and leanings.

When Andreas Gerth and Florian Zimmer come up with new material, one listens with high expectation. Looking back on their discography, one could safely anticipate a high quality album densely layered with their familiar leitmotifs. And yet, "Spume & Recollection" takes us by surprise and finds a new way to transfix. Fresh methods and ideas are introduced to their dynamics and formula. Yes, of course, you can still expect a healthy dose of kosmische, which is one of the dominant features in Driftmachine’s DNA; but this is now entwined with novel materials, semi-material patterns of alien code stretching over exhilaratingly tense and detailed grooves, clouds of gas shifting on top of deep dub architecture and blocking out the sun for prismatic effect. Even more of a surprise is the immediate, streamlined nature of these tracks, making "Spume & Recollection" their most accessible record and, perhaps, the most addictive (and this without sacrificing the essential mystery and strangeness at the core of Driftmachine’s sound).

We have previously described their work as post-industrial-dub; right now, we might just call it hypno-music for man and machine to dance and dream together. "Spume & Recollection" takes this concept as far as it can go without breaking, and finds some strange new feelings, and weirdly danceable grooves, to shed some light on this dark and dazzling ride.

All songs written & produced by Andreas Gerth & Florian Zimmer in Berlin Mastered by John Tejada Artwork & Photos by Daniel Castrejón

Dr. Feelgood’s best-of - ‘Singles (The U.A. Years)’ - is to be remanufactured and reissued on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1989.

Released on 11 June, ‘Singles - The U.A. Years’ is a celebration of 26 tracks of Dr. Feelgood at their absolute peak. Having formed in 1971 in Essex, founding members Lee Brilleaux (singer), John B. Sparks (Sparko) on bass guitar, John Martin (The Big Figure) on drums and guitarist Wilko Johnson, whose iconic and renowned choppy style of playing saw the band build huge notoriety in London’s live music scene resulting in a record deal with US Artists in 1974.

Standard version on black vinyl. 2LP in gatefold sleeve with liner notes. Utopic Cities is an eclectic selection of forward-thinking jazz from the Belgian underground, including the left-field fusion of Marc Moulin's Placebo, Koen De Bruyne, Solis Lacus and more.

Standard version on black vinyl. 2LP in gatefold sleeve with liner notes. Utopic Cities is an eclectic selection of forward-thinking jazz from the Belgian underground, including the left-field fusion of Marc Moulin's Placebo, Koen De Bruyne, Solis Lacus and more.

It goes without saying that we are devoted disciples of JESSE HECTOR. We already have both HELTER SKELTER and HAMMERSMITH GORILLAS in our catalog. This album gathers Jesse Hector wild 90s recordings, which were an unbelievable return to form after a decade away from the music biz. Jesse hadn’t lost a step and was backed most-ably by the gents in both THE SOUND and later THE GATECRASHERS. Jesse has graciously offered us three unreleased songs that have never appeared anywhere before. Hail Rock n Roll! Hail Jesse Hector!

Bamboozle is the third album by Dutch blues rock group Livin’ Blues. Formed in The Hague in the late 1960’s, Livin’ Blues are widely considered to be one of the best blues acts from the Netherlands. Bamboozle was produced by Jaap Eggermont, who was the drummer for fellow The Hague band Golden Earring. The album contains the band’s biggest hit: “L.B. Boogie”.

Available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on white vinyl.

In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead” is UNANIMATED’s debut album which was released in 1993 on no Fashion Records. After numerous bootleg versions and countless mistakes in either the tracklisting or the layout, it is the first time that this classic piece of Swedish Black/Death Metal history is available in its full glory, but with a fresh remastering by Patrick Engel (Asphyx, Candlemass, Darkthrone) and extensive liner-notes by Chris Dick (Decibel Magazine, US). The vinyl comes in a Ltd. Triple Gatefold 2LP with an Etching on Side D (Coverartwork of “Fire Storm”) and 4-pages LP-Booklet. This format also includes a cover of the Venom classic “Buried Alive”, which was only available on the original pressing of “In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead” (1993

The conclusive chapter of the two part EP series by DISTANT, which started with 'Dawn of Corruption' in October 2020, was follwed by 'Dusk of Anguish' in March 2020 and is now full embodied in its final form with AEONS OF OBLIVION. Taking the material from both EPs, arranged in the order of the lore accompanying the project - a hellish hour of punishing Downtempo Deathcore.

The conclusive chapter of the two part EP series by DISTANT, which started with 'Dawn of Corruption' in October 2020, was follwed by 'Dusk of Anguish' in March 2020 and is now full embodied in its final form with AEONS OF OBLIVION. Taking the material from both EPs, arranged in the order of the lore accompanying the project - a hellish hour of punishing Downtempo Deathcore.

Almost all records are a snapshot, a musical ribbon bow that documents a very specific moment in time or simply ties-off everything up to that point. Indigo De Souza’s I Love My Mom, her debut LP initially released in 2018, was the latter; a collection of the best songs she’d written in the few years that preceded it, recorded quickly and breathlessly and thrown out into the world.

Consisting of ten songs, I Love My Mom feels both raw and unabashed. Indigo pulled a band together for the first time, and was quickly encouraged to commit her songs to tape. Recorded at her friend’s house, they played almost everything live in just a few days, and released the record naturally, with little fanfare. That the record quickly took on a life of its own, deeply resonating with those who heard it, is a testament to Indigo’s songwriting which took inspiration from the unique worlds created by Arthur Russel, Sparklehorse, The Microphones, as well as contemporaries such as LVL UP and Happyness.

Two of the songs have racked up more than a million streams each on Spotify: “Take O Ur Pants” and “How I Get Myself Killed.” The former balances an often breezy lead vocal with gnarly undercurrents of guitar before the whole thing lets rip in its punchy chorus, while the latter, the album’s opening track, finds a different mood entirely, a slacker rock gem that repeats its chorus as a chest-beating mantra. Elsewhere, “Good Heart” furthers the dichotomy which sits at the record’s core, each moment of quiet introspection soon met by a cacophonous burst of energy.

Marillion’s Trailblazing 1999 ‘Marillion.’ Now Available On
Kscope On Vinyl Marillion formed in 1979 and have since sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Rightly regarded as legends of progressive rock, the band have continued to evolve and have been keen to embrace the possibilities of the internet, using innovative ways to interact with listeners resulting in an incredibly loyal legion of fans around the world.
One early example of this type of forward-thinking online fan-engagement was seen in 1999’s Marillion, which was one of these first internet-based promotions whereby the band asked for fans to send them passport pictures of themselves, resulting in 732 pictures being used to make up the artwork for the slipcase for the record.
With most of the album featuring mixing from Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree and the band taking care of the remaining songs, this was the bands last album of the ‘90’s, but just the beginning of a more direct relationship with fans which has since developed and grown.

Very limited LP on Cream / Blue twist vinyl. Emma Houton is a timeless, celestial voice from New York City. We felt an urgency to share this incredibly calming product of Lockdown with the wider world, Trapped Animal Records. // "her ambient soundscapes brim with escapism _and enchantment" Highclouds Magazine // "a truly bewitching, gorgeous sonic tapestry." Beats Per Minute // Composed after ethnographic study into her Irish folk song roots, and recorded as part of her senior thesis in experimental electronic music, Emma originally wrote The Bath as a piece for eight voices to be performed live. Due to the COVID pandemic, she ended up recording all eight parts alone in her childhood bedroom, mixing and producing it herself. On recording the piece, Emma says: "When composing the album I had an interest in recreating the feelings I had hearing folk tales as a kid. We had a giant book of Irish folk tales my grandmother gave me, and I was both fascinated and scared shitless by them! I intended this to be a live performance initially and so the whole album is scored. I write most of my music by constructing layered loops of my voice using a loop pedal and then singing a melody line over them, and I was trying to translate that practice into a live performance in which each "loop" is sung and repeated, creating the effect of looping without actually recording loops. I was hoping to create something where voice is used as an instrument, rather than standing apart from instruments as it often does I took source material from hymns and traditional folk songs, with the lyrics centering on water-related themes like drowning, baptism, and purification, which I tried to reflect in the sonic environment of the piece through enveloping delays, cavernous reverb, and a general sense of being completely immersed in sound. The concept for the piece in its live form is much more of a production than the album itself, which became more of a "how do I record something written for an ensemble alone with an SM58?" project, and I've figured out how to perform these pieces solo with the loop pedal, in a very coming-full-circle turn." Emma found her way to Trapped Animal Records after a quirk in the Bandcamp algorithm led her to listen to - her now label mate - Maija Sofia's similarly named debut "Bath Time". Signed within a fortnight of making contact with the label at the end of 2020, during a bleak winter, the label quickly ploughed ahead to schedule release of "The Bath". Label partner Kerry Devine says "there was a feeling of urgency to share this incredibly calming product of Lockdown with the wider world, we felt compelled".

Mind Maintenance is the new duo consisting of Joshua Abrams (Natural Information Society) and Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground Duo, Chad Taylor Trio). This is where the music begins, but Mind Maintenance can't be described simply as a summation of its parts and players. When you put on the sound, you'll know what we're saying - you'll notice how immediate and meditative it is; how simple, how "in the room," and how the natural buzz of each instrument sits remarkably well against the other. The percussive qualities of the guimbri and the mbira, so raw and unadorned individually, form with their shared resonance a soothing, sonorous whole. It's not about world music, it's not about jazz. It's about mind maintenance. The songs of Mind Maintenance exist in a zone somewhere between composition and improv. Based in melodies that unspool over time, they benefit from Chad and Joshua's intimately enmeshed sensibility and the intensity with which they listen to each other. Chad and Joshua have been playing together forever - or, if you need to think of it more tangibly, since around 1994. Based on our research, the pairing of guimbri and mbira is more than unusual - it appears to be without precedent! This is incredible if it's true, but more important to the music of Mind Maintenance is the shared ground of inspiration that both instruments occupy. Mind Maintenance pursue their inspirations on these instruments down similarly transformative paths. If some part of the 21st century isn't focused on destruction, but instead, locating a place where our traditions can work together in new ways to entertain and even ensure well-being, then that's just one more incentive for all of us to consider Mind Maintenance.

Premieres from Data Transmission and Bolting Bits. Early support from Hospital, Huey Morgan, Rupture, Fanu, Rob Luis, Anthony Kasper (Fokuz), Red Rack'em, Bandcamp Weekly, etc.

150 copies pressed on 180 gram vinyl. Picture shows the HF021VFELT edition which comes with 'Nuthin' But a Jungle Thang' die-cut felt sleeve insert (in assorted colours), with Heard and Felt embroidered fabric tag. HF021V edition is the same 180g vinyl without the felt sleeve insert.

With music from Jonny Faith's recent Night Lights EP appearing in Grand Theft Auto and best of 2020 lists including Gilles Peterson's, you might think Jonny would continue to mine his take on hip hop and broken beat. Well, all in good time. He's been ready to enter the jungle for 20 years, and he's not waiting any longer.

Now based in Melbourne, Jonny first got involved in music in Edinburgh as a DJ and turntablist in the 90s, getting hooked on jungle, drum & bass, hip hop and the hybrids of these championed by the Mo'Wax label. Formative experiences included hearing DJ Hype spinning in Newcastle, seeing the Roni Size/Reprazent live show with two drummers and hanging out at cult Edinburgh club night Manga, where residents G-Mac and DJ Kid hosted the likes of Marky, Grooverider and J Majik.

Jonny was keen to start making his own sounds, signing up for an electronic music production course. But it wasn't quite what he was after.

'The course turned out to be more house-oriented,' Jonny recalls. 'Sampling wasn't on the curriculum, and the students weren't allowed to touch the Akai S900, the sampler used in lots of the early jungle classics.'

When Jonny did start releasing his own productions a few years later, he was starting to explore the experimental beat scene around the time Flying Lotus and Hudson Mohawke (another Scottish turntablist) were starting to make their mark.

Jonny continued to widen his sonic palette, adding elements of dub, jazz, funk, electronica and broken beat, and picking up fans like Radio Nova Paris, KCRW, Vice and Clash Magazine along the way. But he's never been more than one degree of separation from his jungle/D&B roots. He continued to buy and play the music, did the odd D&B remix and snuck sonic elements and techniques into his tracks at various tempos. Over the years his releases have shared labels with the likes of Peshay, Om Unit, Drumagick, Reso, Kid Drama and Danny Scrilla.

Now, more than 20 years after those early experiences in Edinburgh, Jonny unveils his first jungle/D&B EP, On Lock. And it sounds like he's been making this music the whole time. In a way, he has.

The single 'Open My Eyes' bursts out the gate, chopping not only the breaks and the soul for a tune that sounds like Amerie's '1 Thing', or some Just Blaze chipmunk soul, reimagined for the 174 BPM crew. Jonny started this one as a hip hop beat for a live routine on his MPC, but it only really came together when he reframed the groove around a D&B rhythm. Next up, Jonny tries a similar trick on his own boom bap tune 'Stay in Your Lane' from the 'Night Lights' EP. His new Step Off Mix totally recontextualises US MC Lady K's slinky soulful rap and hooks with a tough and funky junglist groove. One for fans of the old Roni Size/Bahamadia collab. 'Create' then spaces things out just a touch, with atmospheric but propulsive drumfunk. Vinyl bonus track 'Nuthin' But a Jungle Thang' layers cascading amen breaks, timestretched vocals and a massive double bass-line over the wah guitars and synth whistling of a G-funk era classic.

With early support for Jonny Faith's take on jungle/D&B coming from Hospital Records, Rupture (Rinse FM) and Fanu (Metalheadz), Jonny is ready to be welcomed (back) into the scene.


b A2: Stay in Your Lane (Jonny Faith Step Off Mix) feat. Lady K

More a family than a band, BANDA MAJE formed in a home studio in the historic district of Salerno, in Southern Italy, on the initiative of Peppe Maiellano (composer and keyboards) and Tonico Settanta (producer, rapper and DJ). The collective has an ever-changing number of members, all of whom – a bit like the lively port city they are from – exist at the crossroads between Italian melodies and imported genres like funk, soul and disco.

Released by Four Flies Records, a label specializing in vintage Italian soundtracks and brand new productions with a strong cinematic feel, Banda Maje's debut album "Ufo Bar" transports you to an imagined version of Salerno that combines local tradition and 70s pop and film culture.

Listening to the album's eight funk- and soul- infused tracks also means seeing stories unfold in the streets of this re-imagined city: from the jubilant uprising organised by the women from the Rione Fornelle neighborhood in "Fornellesse", to the cigarette smuggling story in "P' ciel, p' mar, p' terr"; from the distinctly southern Italian pucundria (bittersweet melancholy) in "Sunday Embarcadero", to the saga of provincial nightlife in "Living Disco Club".

While the LP's Side A is sunny and cheerful, its Side B is more nostalgic, almost nocturnal, with bittersweet vibes in "2010" and new wave-influenced synths in "Ago". This variety of moods reflects the emotional depth behind the music of Banda Maje: "We want to leave a trace of what we experience: the narrow little streets brimming with life; our love for Neapolitan music, for Italian soundtracks from the 70s, for B-movies and the saga of cigarette smugglers; our passion for vinyls and cassette mixtapes, not to mention second-hand love affairs and dusty afternoons spent watching third-division football."

Suburban Base and Marvellous Cain assemble once again to bring a huge 4 track EP of Original Jungle material.
Marvellous Cain, a producer synonymous with Jungle/DnB and best known for the massive tunes 'The Hitman' and 'Dub Plate Style' has remained a staple in every Junglist DJ's box for over 25 years. His legendary guest appearances on Kool London and his live shows at Boomtown Festival and the Kingston Carnival brought him enough attention to warrant a remix of Bob Marley's 'Jammin' alongside General Levy.

Now Suburban Base is proud to present 'The Dubplate EP', which brings four of the most requested and rarest unreleased Marvellous Cain ‘dubplate only’ tracks together in a single release.

Opening with the never before released VIP remix of 'Dubplate Style' which has only appeared in certain A-List DJ's sets, the EP brings absolute heat from start to finish.

The super rare unreleased gem 'Snapper' brings more fire, with chopped Amen's and deep subs. Only ever promo’d and withdrawn means that its one of the most sought after tracks in Drum & Bass and Jungle, and where those handful of copies have resurfaced they’ve traded for up to £150 on discogs

'Killer' with its familiar ragga influences was again never given a full release only appearing as an album exclusive on the 1995 Telepathy Dub Plate Special project.
And completing the package is 'Giness Punch' which only appeared as bonus tracks of the CD version of Marvellous Cains 1994 album and never got released on the vinyl format of that album.

All of these tracks remained on dubplate and despite the huge demand for a full release remained exclusive to their project usages. None of these mythical tracks have ever had a digital release or full vinyl release… until now… from the vaults of Suburban Base we bring them all together on this killer EP from Marvellous Cain

Marvellous Cain's 'Dubplate EP' will be released on vinyl & digital formats on the 21st May 21 .

Fort Romeau provides Phantasy with a none-more-timely rave opus in the form of FWD NRG. Unleashing an unexpected, accelerated side of his immaculate studio experiments, FWD NRG is also remixed with blistering results by AceMo.

Immediately engulfing dancers in breakneck kicks, trancing synths and driven by a vampish melody, FWD NRG’s intent is rich in vintage rave texture, dusty and almost warped. This expertly controlled chaos builds to an epic wormhole of a breakdown, dissolving time and space until dancers find their minds transported to a field near Frankfurt, circa 1994.

FWD NRG could well be the maxim of New York’s AceMo, the prolific New York producer who has earned a deserved reputation as one of electronic music’s most inventive and versatile figures. His monumental ‘N Is For Nrg’ remix locates a menacing undertone in Fort Romeau’s original production, spinning off and hitting even tougher with vast rave stabs and gloriously frenetic arrangements.

palms palms, also known as lampsey lamps, has been making music ever since he felt like it. He creates melodies for both terrestrial and extraterrestrial forms of life, including plants, earthworms, lydgae and amyopi.

May 28 will see prolific Japanese vibraphonist, multi-percussionist and composer Masayoshi Fujita mark a new sonic direction with his forthcoming album Bird Ambience on Erased Tapes.

Bird Ambience brings several fresh changes for the artist. Until now, Fujita would separate his acoustic solo recordings from the electronic dub under his El Fog alias and experimental improvisations with contemporaries such as Jan Jelinek, Bird Ambience sees him unite all of these different sides to his work for the first time, into one singular vision. He also makes a lateral leap from his signature instrument the vibraphone, on which he created his acclaimed triptych Stories (2012), Apologues (2015) and Book of Life (2018), to the marimba, which takes centre stage on his new album alongside drums, percussion, synths, effectors and tape recorder.

“The way of playing the marimba is similar to the vibraphone, so it was kind of a natural development for me and easier to start with, yet it sounds very different”, explains Masayoshi. “The marimba bars are made with wood and it has a wider range than the vibraphone, which gives me a bigger sound palette with more possibilities. I play the instrument with bows and mallets, and sometimes manipulate it with effects.”

Bird Ambience also marks his liberation from fastidious preparation for past solo releases to new endeavours in improvisation. “I prioritised trying to capture the wonder which happens during those occasional magic improv moments. Sometimes the mic-ing and placement of instruments was pretty rough; things weren’t perfect and everything was done quickly, but it turned out as the final recording. Overall when I
couldn’t decide between two takes, I told myself to go with the first”, Masayoshi recalls.

Arranged with a perfect Kanso-like balance, the unhurried pace of Bird Ambience allows each sound and phrase enough time to be mindfully absorbed and savoured. This subtle but affective work carries ethereal remnants of Midori Takada’s minimalism, the static atmospheres of Mika Vainio, To Rococo Rot’s organics and the bucolic electronics of Minotaur Shock. Fujita vaporises contemporary and classical, ambient and dismantled dub, controlled noise and fragments of jazz into an atmospheric, static mist, which he skilfully coerces into new forms.

After 13 years in Berlin, Masayoshi recently relocated to a new home and studio in the rural Japanese mountain village of Kami-cho, Hyogo, following his life-long dream of creating music in nature. Even though the album was entirely recorded in Germany before he left, it has this palpable sense of reverie found in the natural world. From there we can only imagine the kind of impact his new life in rural West Japan will have on future works.

Incredible Bongo Band was formed by MGM A&R Michael Viner in 1972 to record the soundtrack to a now virtually anonymous B-Movie entitled 'The Thing With Two Heads'. "The IBB" transformed from a loose studio collective to an instrumental pop covers consortium, interpreting classics of the day in their inimitable percussive fashion. Viner recorded them at MGM studios during downtime, assembling line-ups from whichever musicians were available at the time, leading to a unique blend of multi-talented musicians that included Jim Gordon, King Errisson, Jerry Scheff, and Perry Botkin Jr. The full bands' line-up is shrouded in mystery, but their legacy is undeniable. They spawned cult-classic records that would become a goldmine for hip hop breaks and attain sampling immortality.

'Apache', which was written and made famous by the British band The Shadows, is legendary in the worlds of dance music and hip hop. It was a staple for DJs such as Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash as they invented their world-shaking take on the art of DJing at the Bronx block parties of the ‘70s. Over the years it has become a hip hop and breakers anthem and is revered as 'the break' of all time (at least in the top three) with the rhythms of this LP even helping to coin the term 'breakbeat'.

“Bongo Rock” is significant, for being one of the musical cornerstones of rap ... it is certainly one of the most sampled LP’s in history, if not the most sampled. Almost every history-minded hip-hop DJ has a copy, and the first few bars of “Apache,” can send crowds into overdrive.” According to Kool Herc, the stylistic pioneer many people consider to be the father of hip-hop music, the Bongo’s “Apache” is “the national anthem of hip-hop.” NY Times.

Sampled over 600 times, including... Nas, Beastie Boys, Moby, Mick Jagger, Kanye West, Sugarhill Gang, Jay-Z, Aphex Twin, DJ Shadow, Massive Attack, Ultramagnetic MC’s, Unkle, LL Cool J, 2 Live Crew, 4 Hero, Fatboy Slim, to name a few…

The real story of “The IBB” is far greater than the recordings themselves and ultimately shows how a distinctly powerful musical performance can get the recognition it deserves, no matter how anonymous its origins.

Coinciding with the release of the Curtis Vodka EP on Mutual Intentions, Kurtiss moves from the fringes of the dance floor to the centre of the DJ booth with this lively three-track tool for the same label. The mysterious artist pays tribute to House music's origins as he takes his style of Hi-Def House music into peak time.

Shimmering hi-hats, deep basslines and staccato keys explode on "Every Woman loves Acid" where a disembodied vocal and squelching 303 go line for line in a psychedelic call and response. The obvious Larry Heard tribute, hastens the step of the Chicago classic "Can You Feel It" to accommodate an impatient dance floor, while Sadé croons over a skipping bass line for a live remix of "Never Thought."

Kurtiss homes his efforts in on the groove for this outing in a fitting selection for the whitelabel format. Alongside the official EP, this ushers in a new era for Kurtiss' music, sealing his future in wax, and bringing his music to a bigger audience through the Mutual Intentions franchise.

Kurtiss is a sporadic figure on the House music scene with eccentric habits, whose music is a rarified sonic experience for those who seek it out. Finally, this package re-constitutes the artist's presence in a physical format that will indefinitely become a future apogee on his and the label's discography.

Athlete Whippet join the Toy Tonics family! The London/Berlin-based duo make a sound that is based on futuristic breakbeats combined with deep, jazz chord progressions and a kind of funk that sounds more like it was made in 2100 then in a year behind us. Definitely not a retro record the Vesta EP is further proof that the connection between London and Berlin that has been build by several Toy Tonics artists (Cody Currie the latest in the gang) is becoming a strong one. The combination of the Berlin dancefloor sound and the UK jazz fusion soul is changing the scene and creating new moods. Neo soul and house, broken beats and disco.. there are lot of things happening in that new world and Athlete Whippet could be a strong player in that new sound.

The 2 guys already achieved great support by UK radio DJs such as Annie Mac and Jamz Supernova for their their first collaborative EP Touch (with Metronomy’s Olugbenga), followed by their 2020 solo EP 'Your Love Is Lifting Me', an ode to compassion and solidarity, and remixes for labels including Rhythm Section.

‘Vesta’ is not just the title track of the EP but also the name of the South London Road where they shared an apartment, built a studio in their living room, and put together the first ideas for this EP.

Both Robin and Avi come from a live performance background, played in bands since their early teenage years before they met studying music at Goldsmiths in London. You can hear a playful live quality throughout the EP. It’s not your average house productions with the usual formalistic patterns, but a very original, very fresh style - hard to copy (but easy to dance to).

Now based between Berlin and London, they collaborate with their friend, Athens-born, Berlin-based artist Aphty Khéa on Yesterday and Can’t Make My Mind Up.

Avi and Robin their label squareglass and a London-residency inviting guests such as Seb Wildblood, Will Saul, Asquith, Anu and also have a monthly show on Rinse FM.

“In some respects, Trust is a simultaneous documentation of progression and regression. A homecoming of sorts, influenced by the interim where we developed our skills as producers and our skills as artists. Armlock, as a vehicle, seems like returning full circle to where we started.”

Trust, out June 2, 2021, is the debut release of Australian duo, Armlock. It’s a nuanced record that explores trials felt in personal growth, from resentment to submission to complacency. A quiet, thrashing gem of songcraft, the record makes as much use of the intimate, empty space as it does of its layered, heavy instrumentals. Each one of these songs conjures a summer storm of internal conflict, with the angst and uncertainty that comes with realizing that you’re finished growing, and rather than feeling a sense of ease you’re left restless and discontented.

Multi-instrumentalists Simon Lam and Hamish Mitchell met studying jazz together at Monash University in Melbourne. While rehearsing standards for a small ensemble in 2010, the two discovered their mutual hatred of the genre, opting to explore experimental, song-based electronic music. Alongside Solitaire Recordings owner, Dan Rutman, they went on to form the group I’lls, releasing four records in five years, and, later, the two went on to form Couture. Simultaneously, Lam (along with his cousin Chloe Kaul) found success with the synthpop group Kllo, amassing over 100 million streams on Spotify and critical acclaim from Pitchfork, The Guardian, GQ, NME, NYLON, and Stereogum. Lam’s solo project Nearly Oratorio (also on Solitaire Recordings) has achieved acclaim in its own right, as has Mitchell’s work as a producer and designer for artists like Jack Grace.

With their first release as Armlock, the duo maintains the depths of I’lls’ electronic soundscapes but brings the warmth of analogue instruments with Lam’s clear, disillusioned singing up front. He sounds both heartfelt and dejected in equal measure, with a dispassionate coolness that synergizes with the vulnerability of his lyrics. Live, the duo are backed by a reel-to-reel tape, with Mitchell on guitar and Lam singing, bridging their electronic past and indie present.

The inaugural release on Love Vinyl Records, the rising Hoxton record emporium, is the seminal 70s soul classic by Eugene Record with 'Overdose Of Joy.' This is the first time that the full length album version has been available on 7" vinyl. On the flip is the uplifting 'I Want To Be With You' which is taken from Eugene's second album 'Trying to Get To You' and again is the first time that the full length album version is available on 7" vinyl. Eugene Record was a former lead singer with The Chi-Lites, rare original Warner Brothers pressings of his debut solo single 'Overdose Of Joy' exchanging hands for upwards of £80.

*2022 2LP Version *

Seven years after the classic ‘Theater of a Confused Mind’ (as Population One), Detroit techno phenomenon Terrence Dixon is back on Rush Hour with a new album, this time under his own name.

It would be a massive understatement to say we’re proud of this one. After all our whole operation was named after one of Dixon’s early tracks (‘Rush Hour’ originally appeared on a double EP called ‘Hippnotic Culture’ on fellow Detroit legend Claude Young’s Utensil Records in 1995) and ‘Reporting from Detroit’ again finds the maestro in outstanding form.

‘Reporting from Detroit’ is another prime example of the distinctly unique sound language Dixon has developed over the last three decades - defiant, forward-thinking afrofuturist techno that could only have been made in the Motor City.

But this is not just mere Detroit techno - it’s a sound language that’s unique to Dixon. An instantly recognizable high-octane sonic language fueled by frantic funk that’s constantly pushing the boundaries of machine music without ever losing the connection to the magic of the Detroit streets at night.

James are proud to announce the release of their new album All The Colours Of You. Their 16th studio album will be released on 4th June with the title track available today (1st March) across all DSPs. All The Colours Of You follows the release of LIVE In Extraordinary Times, a live recorded version of their last studio album Living In Extraordinary Times, which peaked at #1 in the midweeks.

The album will be their first on a new record label, Virgin Music Label & Artists Services (formerly known as Caroline International), and at their new publishing home Kobalt Music, both of which they recently signed to, reinforcing the endless and restless ambition they have as they approach their fourth decade as a band.

Recorded in part before the Covid pandemic struck, the album was produced by the Grammy award-winning Jacknife Lee (Taylor Swift, U2, REM’s, Snow Patrol, The Killers). On production duties with James for the first time, he bought a fresh approach to their sound, working remotely from his studio, reimagining their early demos, and capturing the band in all their virtual glory.

The result is a record with the most arena ready tracks of their 38-year career, the sound of one of Britain’s best bands, deconstructed and reassembled by one of the world’s most renowned producers.

It’s not easy to summarize any band whose career has stretched over two decades. In the case of Growing, though, it’s all in the name: since 2001, the core duo of Kevin Doria and Joe DeNardo have been making vibrating, explorative experimental music that is in a forever state of evolution. In that time, they have amassed a hard-to-define and influential body of work, and Diptych sees the band operating at the height of their “big amp ambient” powers.

Diptych is a masterclass in slowly undulating ambient drift, and quite possibly the definitive headphone album of the year. Guitars that sound like organs pointed at the heavens are cut with subtly damaged electronic moves, the end result being a record that is at once ecstatic, transportive and gritty.

Ambient and new age music have become part of the larger indie vocabulary. Things were different over twenty years ago in the Olympia, Washington punk community where Doria and DeNardo got their start. Both veterans of aggressive music by the time the band began, Growing emerged like a rainbow at the other end of the heavy music tunnel: loud as ever, but with a sonic and aesthetic position that ran counter to punk rock norms.

Created over the past year and a half, Diptych extrapolates on Growing’s formative drone-based work, showing a unit in full control of a language that they have built and reconfigured over time. The music here continues to be an intuitive outgrowth of a friendship that started in late-90s Olympia and still bears fruit today—even as each member lives in a different city.

Echocord revisits Mathimidori’s ‘Akebono’ LP with remixes from Deadbeat, FDF, Rod Modell and Quantec. Late 2020 saw the release of Mathimidori’s ‘Akebono’ on the Echocord imprint, the ten track collection saw the Mathias Kaden alias deliver a number of collaboration and original productions exploring the realms of dub and the guise’s underlying Japanese influences. Here the label revisits the project with an all star cast of remixes in the dub techno world. Stepping up to the plate first is Deadbeat with his ‘Dub’ take on Maiia’, the Montreal based artist shifts focus to tumbling dub echoes, hazy noise sweeps and jittery hi-hats throughout before the ‘FDF Reshape’ of ‘Soso’ lays down a gyrating drum groove atop expansive reggae vocal shots and an ethereal, billowing atmosphere. Deepchord’s Rod Modell deliver his first ‘Version’ of ‘Ork’ next, as expected the pioneering dub techno artist offers up a typically classy interpretation fuelled by hypnotic, chanting voices, the originals fluttering chords and a pulsating low-end drive. Quantec takes on ‘Akari’ next for a refined and reduced offering, laying down minimalistic percussion and subtly nuanced chords before Modell’s ‘Dub’ take on ‘Ork’ completes the release, as the name would suggest adding a more hypnotic and dubbed out aesthetic to things to contrasting his former remix.
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First-ever career-spanning retrospective (1956–1980) – 5 CDs with repertoire from the Riverside, Fantasy, Verve, and Warner years. Includes the previously unreleased concert ‘On A Friday Evening’ recorded live at Oil Can Harry’s in Vancouver, BC on June 20, 1975, featuring Jazz legends Eddie Gomez on bass and Eliot Zigmund on drums. Craft Recordings proudly honors the pioneering jazz artist Bill Evans, and his enduring musical contributions, with two new titles. The first—a deluxe, five-CD box set and digital album, titled Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans: A Career Retrospective (1956–1980)—marks the first-ever career-spanning collection of music from the pianist, featuring over 60 tracks that spotlight Evans’ exceptional work as a leader and co-leader. The expansive set also includes a previously unreleased live performance from 1975, captured at Oil Can Harry’s in Vancouver, B.C. This recently unearthed concert recording will also be issued as a standalone album titled On a Friday Evening, which will be available on 2-LP, CD and digital formats, including hi-res 192/24 and 96/24.

With Bending the Golden Hour, the third album from Memphis, Tennessee’s Aquarian Blood, husband and wife team J.B. Horrell (Ex-Cult) and Laurel Horrell (formerly of the Nots) continue the gorgeously stripped-down and atmospheric direction set on their critically acclaimed previous effort A Love That Leads to War.

While Aquarian Blood has roots as a chaotic punk rock six-piece, the band shifted gears after two raucous cassette-only releases on ZAP Cassettes, a pair of seven-inches, and 2017’s Last Nite in Paradise, released on Goner Records. After drummer Bill Curry broke his arm, the Horrells redefined

Aquarian Blood, reemerging in early 2018 as the more intimate, mostly acoustic balladeers behind the staccato, fever dream sound of A Love That Leads to War. Like its immediate predecessor, Bending the Golden Hour was recorded at the Horrell's Midtown Memphis home. The band turned over 43 tracks to Goner co-owner Zac Ives, who handpicked 17 songs for the album.

The final result is shimmering and hopeful; as beautiful and sparse as a Rockwell Kent snowscape. Bending the Golden Hour begins ominously with “Channeling,” which sounds like an outtake from Paul Giovanni’s soundtrack to 1973’s pagan nightmare The Wicker Man. Then the band upshifts for “Time in the Rain,” a sweet duet set to a rigid snare beat. From there, Aquarian Blood zigs to country and zags to psychedelic folk, brooding on one song and soothing listeners with the next. And while the music, feel, and experience is different, Aquarian Blood naturally brings to mind some legendary musical partnerships: Richard and Linda Thompson, Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris; not to mention similarly-bent-but-beautiful luminaries like Roy Harper, Pentangle circa 1967 -1973, and Jackson C. Frank.

There’s a big middle ground, like folk-psych, or weirder country music,” he says, reeling off names like Skip Spence and Syd Barrett as stepping stones between the genres of punk and folk.

Inspirations for Bending the Golden Hour come from myriad sources that document the milestones and minutiae in a family’s full life. Some lyrics name a time or a place; others reflect the fleeting moments that elapse unnoticed. “Come Home,” which is sung by J.B. and his daughter Ava, was written the day Ava got her driver’s license. “Ava took the car out by herself afterwards, and I wrote the song immediately—she sang her part when she got home that evening,” J.B. recalls. Whether or not the listener knows the backstory, the song rings sentimental, with subtle, supportive instrumentation that underscores guitar and vocals. The bewitching “Rope and Hair,” on the other hand, is less sketched out, with lyrics that are simply a recitation of the talismen found on a silver sabertooth charm that J.B. purchased for Laurel at a Latin strip mall in southeast Memphis. That’s all to be said. “Sometimes when you know too much about what the song is about, it takes away the magic,” says J.B. “Alabama Daughter,” says Laurel, is about a place where a childhood friend lived called Castleberry Holler. “It was really rural, just a lot of shacks without electricity—the kind of place you didn’t go to unless you were invited,” she says. “Probable Gods” is a hazy reflection on the struggle of such a strange year. “It’s been very cathartic to put all of this into words and not have it live

Ulna’s OEA is a “bar-rock getting sober record.“ The first full length solo record of Ulna, aka Adam Schubert of Cafe Racer, OEA is an ode to reinvention. Along with the release comes a rebranding--formerly Ruins, Schubert’s new pseudonym ULNA is a reference to a pivotal moment in his childhood. At the age of 14, Schubert shattered the bone on the inside of his forearm in a skating accident, and took up the guitar. “That’s what made me serious about playing music,” says Schubert.

This name change also accompanied Schubert’s shift towards sobriety--OEA was created right as Schubert reconfigured his life without drugs or alcohol. With the exception of the final track, “Dead Friends,” the whole album was written while in a recovery program. “You have to reinvent your whole personality, you have to be a different person,” says Schubert.”Who am I if I’m not the crazy drunk dude who’s doing drugs in the bathroom?”

OEA is an intensely personal record, in subject matter but also quite literally--Schubert plays every instrument, though the record feels far from a home-demo, recorded and mastered by Robby Hanes at Strange Magic Recording in Chicago’s Logan Square. Schubert’s songs are ambling and full of picked guitar and retro harmonies, a stylistic sensibility he attributes to a love for the Beatles and “acoustic rock with a weird punk edge,” a-la Big Thief and Kurt Vile. Though instrumentally sunny, his vocals hint at something else - there’s an underlying ache. OEA is an easy listen, but with a depth of emotion that demands listeners’ attention.

OEA explores the range of emotions experienced in the transition to sobriety, from fear to backslide to self doubt. At first listen, “Turn The Record On” feels almost like a love song, with a chorus of “turn the record on/ you’re my favorite song,” but in actuality the song is the story of an empty encounter rather than romance. “It’s kind of about this sad hookup with someone else who is equal in your addiction, you’re just using each other because you don’t want to be alone in your using,” says Schubert. “We both have this problem and we can have fun in it together because we both understand. They know the score.”

While “Turn The Record On” speaks to a moment of shared addiction, other tracks examine what comes after sobriety. “And I took the pill like I should / and I stayed clean just like I said I would,” begins “Last Song,” which Schubert cites as one of the hardest tracks to write. “I got sober and I take medication and - I’m doing all this stuff now but nothing’s changed,” says Schubert. “ I think that’s pretty common in people who get sober. I did all this stuff and now what?”

The penultimate track on the album, “Last Song” fades into a noisy interlude that gives listeners the feeling of motion, like entering a tunnel and emerging into a quieter, lo-fi recording, the closing track “Dead Friends.” The only non-studio track, “Dead Friends” was recorded in Schubert’s home, and carries with it a warm intimacy. “I wanted it to sound like you’re outside somewhere, you're walking, and you step inside somewhere that feels safe,” says Schubert.

This closing track embodies the mood of OEA- warm but with a melancholy edge, like coming in from the cold but still feeling a lingering chill. It’s an album that feels comfortable and cohesive--though individual tracks stand alone, OEA works best when listened through start to finish. It’s a record to put on while cooking dinner and let sink in.

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.

- Available for the First Time on Vinyl - Deluxe Old Style Tip-On Gatefold Packaging with 180 Gram - "Yellow Raincoat with Blood Red Splatter" Colored Vinyl - Insert with Liner Notes and Original 1976 Recording Session photography // Waxwork Records is thrilled to present the debut release of ALICE, SWEET ALICE Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Stephen Lawrence. Alice, Sweet Alice is a 1976 American Slasher-Horror film directed by Alfred Sole and starring Brooke Shields in her film debut. Set in 1961 New Jersey, the film focuses on a troubled adolescent girl who becomes the suspect in the brutal murder of her younger sister at her first communion, as well as in a series of unsolved stabbings that follow. In the years since its release, Alice, Sweet Alice has gained a cult following and is considered a contemporary classic of the slasher sub-genre in critical circles. It has also been the focus of scholarship in the areas of horror film studies, particularly regarding its depictions of Roman Catholicism, child emotional neglect, and the disintegration of the American nuclear family. The film's chilling score was composed by Stephen Lawrence. Lawrence is an American composer that has scored more than 300 songs and musical cues for Sesame Street, resulting in three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition. The music of Alice, Sweet Alice features heavy usage of dissonant strings, repetitive keys, church organ, and motifs that segue from eerily mischievous and playful to dread-inducing and utterly haunting. Available for the very first time in any format, the complete soundtrack to Alice, Sweet Alice comes available on 180 gram "Yellow Rain Coat with Blood Red Splatter", deluxe packaging with new artwork by Steven Reeves, old-style tip-on gatefold jackets, a heavyweight insert, exclusive composer liner notes, and original recording session photography.

Marcus Schmickler's music is designed for multi-channel sound projections and references German electronic music tradition, spectral music, experimentalism as well as 1990s club music. His artistic practice explores avant-garde trajectories in electronic music composition, formal systems, sonification and psychoacoustics. EMEGO 296 features two new major works from this audacious sound explorer.

Sky Dice / Mapping the Studio premiered at Donaueschinger Tage fur Neue Musik 10.20.2018 having being commissioned by SWR and realized at the Experimentalstudio (EXP) in Freiburg. This is a work for ARP 2500, Publison DHM89B, Publison Infernal Machine and Computer. Taking cues from Bruce Nauman's Mapping the Studio I (Fat Chance John Cage) (2001) the piece draws a fragmented acoustic map of the SWR facility itself; the studio serves as a source-model for the sonic display of historical signal flow graphs. Various acoustic and psychoacoustic effects come into play including the Larsen effect, as well as Style Transfer and Topological Sonification. The result is a daring and dizzying display of disorientating audio. Sound moves in most unusual ways, rising and falling simultaneously, appearing and disappearing like apparitions, nothing here behaves in expected ways. To paraphrase Albert Einstein's now famous quote regarding quantum mechanics, this is spooky audio at a distance.

Fortuna Ribbon is a selection of sonic material that emerged from a research based on how DPOAEs (Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emission) can be designed in the context of musical frameworks, augmenting the compositional pallets in regard to spatial hearing. In this manifestation, the materials are presented without context. The resulting emissions from the ear that are excited in varying ways from the 6 examples on display here. Playback in undisturbed acoustic environments is recommended at >82 dB/A.

Schmickler's ongoing investigation of sound matter conjures impossible audio that delight's in the extremity of form and resulting effects on the listener. Schmickler's audio invocations explore the capabilities of contemporary technology resulting in dizzying new worlds of sound.

Thanks to the Experimentalstudio crew, Detlef Heusinger, Björn Gottstein, Julian Rohrhuber and Peter Rehberg.

The award-winning storytellers at DONTNOD invite you on another twisting adventure with Twin Mirror.

In this psychological thriller, Sam Higgs is coming back to Basswood, his childhood town, to attend his best friend’s funeral. It quickly becomes obvious that this little West Virginian city holds numerous dark secrets. The former investigative journalist will employ his deductive skills to uncover the mysteries surrounding the city and its inhabitants. Confronted with his past, Sam will be torn between his quest for truth and his desire to reconnect with loved ones. Who can he really trust?

Twin Mirror™ is available on PlayStation®4 (PlayStation®Store), Xbox One™ (Microsoft®Store), PC (on Epic Games Store) and compatible with PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.

David Wingo got his start composing music for films on David Gordon Green's debut 2000 feature GEORGE WASHINGTON and since that time he has worked with Green on a majority of his films, including collaborations with the band Explosions In The Sky on PRINCE AVALANCHE and MANGLEHORN. In 2010 he scored Jeff Nichols' TAKE SHELTER and has since scored all of Nichols' films, including MUD, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, and the Academy Award-nominated LOVING. 2018 saw Wingo moving into television, providing the score for both Showtime's KIDDING and HBO's Emmy Award-winning BARRY, for which he received an Emmy Nomination in 2019 for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.

Death Waltz Recording Co. is thrilled to bring you BenDavid Grabinski's directorial debut Happily on vinyl. Happily is a dark, twisted romantic comedy full of surprises (and one dead body). It's the kind of film you do not want to read reviews on as you should go in with no spoilers and fresh eyes.

Spot varnish gatefold sleeve with liner notes by writer/director BenDavid Grabinski & composer Joseph Trapanese and featuring a download of the entire score, plus nine bonus cuts not on the physical format.

BenDavid Grabinski (Are You Afraid Of The Dark?) pulled in a stellar cast, including Joel McHale, Natalie Morales, Kerry Bishe & Natalie Zea, who are having fun with his script full of intriguing turns and snappy dialogue.

Joseph Trapanese's score (Tron: Legacy, Straight Outta Compton) is a moody, mysterious piece of work, full of space, quiet, contemplative moments but with an unnerving sense of dread below the surface that gives just the right amount of unease whilst listening.

Composed by Joseph Trapenese
Artwork by We Buy Your Kids
Manufactured in the Czech Republic

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.”

In the last ten years Jon has carved out a niche as a recording artist and live performer supporting such acts as Damien Rice, Brian May, Seal and Dionne Warwick whom he supported at the Albert Hall. His songs and distinctive voice can be heard across films and TV both here and in America. In the UK he has appeared on the iconic Later With Jools Holland TV show and as part of the BBC’s coverage of Glastonbury. When not working on his own material Jon has written songs for Petula Clarke, Engelbert Humperdinck and Record producer Guy Chambers. “…meanwhile” is Jon’s new album, packed with radio friendly hits (CD format released 21/05)

Kolonel Djafaar’s ‘Cold Heat’ packs a mighty punch, combining the irresistible charm of Ethio jazz and psych rock with the power of a big band brass section, that has made them a formidable live force across Belgium. As they come into their own cinematic sound, now is the time for them to be enjoyed more widely, thanks to masters of exotic groove, Batov Records.

Kolonel Djafaar’s debut release for Batov is an all-killer-no-filler EP. On "Bactrian Camel’’ the four-man brass section picks up a thundering groove, only for the organ-led rhythm section to answer with their own snaking retort. Joris Wendelen’s electric guitar riffing adds a further Middle Eastern flavour to the stew. Written by trombonist Willem De Mol, who delivered the song after two months alone in Russia, "Lamentation" continues the Ethio vibe with a little
Latin panache. The brass-led tone here is mysterious, the melody lingers. An almost surf-esque guitar solo transports the listener before the main groove on organ and brass recalibrates us to the solid rhythm.

Comparable to, but distinct from, The Budos Band and The Comet is Coming, the low-slung sounds of "Recording 68" in particular reveal Kolonel Djafaar coming into their own. The tempo drops, emphasizing the depth of the groove. The EP is appropriately closed in cinematic style on "The Heist". The pace picks up. Drums of death, in the mode of DJ Shadow or Unkle, hold up the distorted synths and that sharpest of horn sections. A song ready for the dirtiest of chase scenes. "Cold Heat" is suitably titled. Fast or slow, killer grooves that will take no prisoners. A taste of Kolonel Djafaar’s power on stage and the clearest picture yet of their direction in sound.

Tangerine Dream have been a fundamental influence on electronic music since Edgar Froese founded the band in West Berlin, 1967. Providing the groundwork for multiple electronic music genres including ambient and electronica, inspiring musicians & other art forms.
The group have also received seven Grammy nominations, written over 100 studio albums & were led by Froese, who developed an instantly recognisable synth-based instrumental music based on a meditative musical experience that came to prominence in the 70’s and 80’s.
‘Chandra: The Phantom Ferry Part 1’ told the story based on a manuscript found in 1977 in a military camp in Greenland. This is the continuation of the Chandra Story, exciting and unique music developed from a mysterious unusual story, completely composed & performed by Edgar Froese.
Presented on vinyl for the first time, the album has been lovingly remastered by Harald Pairits especially for vinyl and repackaged using the original design in association with Bianca Froese-Acquaye.

The second solo album on Jazzland (and fourth in total) by Tortusa, a NorwegianAmerican electronic musician and producer from Stavanger, Norway. The album has
taken three years to create, and features
contributions from some of Norway’s finest musicians, including three of his idols:
Arve Henriksen, Eivind Aarset and Erland Dahlen.
‘Bre’ is composed of ambient experimental music heavily inspired by nature, and takes
the listener on an emotional journey. Tortusa paints with sounds, and the music inspires
inner visualisation of the story he tells through his weaving and blending of abstract sonic
material.
The sampling of acoustic instruments forms the foundation of the album. Tortusa takes
essentially familiar instrumental sounds, and warps, mangles, distorts and modulates
them, defamiliarising them, repositioning them both in the context of themselves and
other sounds, creating a new sonic vocabulary that is neither exclusively organic nor synthetic, but is an aesthetically balanced combination of both.
This process is the source of the album’s originality and distinction from more conventional approaches to sampling and synthesis. Tortusa composes his music with an array
of hardware and software samplers, that are then fed into various effects or effects chains
for further manipulations. His draws inspiration from producers like Biosphere, Flying Lotus, Teebs, and Nils Frahm. Field recordings are an important part of the production and
lend additional dimensions to the music and extend the textures and moods.

Demon Records presents the narrated TV soundtrack of a partially ‘lost’ six-part adventure set in a
future Ice Age, starring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor.
The Doctor and his friends land on Earth in the future, and find it in the grip of a new Ice Age.
They join a team of scientists struggling to hold back the huge glaciers that threaten all human
life. A giant creature is discovered inside the ice and quickly comes to monstrous life – it’s an Ice
Warriors from Mars! It intends to find its crashed spaceship, where a whole crew of Warriors is
waiting to be revived…
Presented across a trio of 140g Molten Ice vinyl discs, this 1967 TV soundtrack – only four
episodes of which survive as film recordings - is narrated by Frazer Hines, who co-stars as the
Doctor’s companion Jamie, with Deborah Watling as Victoria. The guest cast includes Bernard
Bresslaw as the Ice Warrior Varga, Peter Barkworth as Leader Clent, and Peter Sallis as Penley.
Incidental music is by Dudley Simpson, and the familiar strains of the Doctor Who theme are
courtesy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
The coloured LPs are presented in fully illustrated sleeves which, when assembled together, form
the cover image. Original episode billings, and full cast and credits, are included.
Dummedy-dum, Dummedy-dum, Dummedy-dum, Dum-dum…

• First formed in the 1990s in Manchester, Audioweb were signed to U2’s Mother Records label
• ‘Fireworks City’ is the bands second and final album originally released in 1998
• First time this album has been released on vinyl
• Highlights include the singles ‘Policeman Skank (The Story Of My Life)’ which reached #21 in
the UK charts and ‘Get Out of Here’
• Pressed on 180g heavyweight red vinyl with original artwork and printed inner sleeve

• Formed in 1993 the British based trio was lead by Isabel Monteiro (writer, vocalist and bassist)
and her smoky haunting voice
• ‘Song For The Jet Set’ was originally released in 2001 and this is the first time it is released on
vinyl
• 12 tracks including the singles ‘Baby Don’t Hurt Yourself’ and ‘Song For The Lonely’
• Pressed on 180g heavyweight clear vinyl with original artwork and printed inner sleeve

"Can you say it again" is the result of a multidisciplinary project between pieter dudal and brussels based photographer marlies van wielendaele. the latter offered a series of pictures taken on one of her trips to india with the initial aim of combining these with sounds recorded during the same trip. while working with these images and sounds, dudal found himself more and more alienating from the source material. the context in which these has been registered was unknown to him and made it almost impossible to create a set of new meanings within the Indian context surrounding the source material.

Hence, he radically erased and deleted all recordings he had and started all over again. instead of trying to understand the image and making connections with the sound material, dudal relied on the technique of free association to create his own narratives linked to the images. these small stories formed the basis to envision music and resulted in this album which heavily relies on tapeloops and piano recordings.

Dudal is the moniker of Belgian based musician pieter dudal. in 2014 he founded dauw, a label with a strong focus on the interaction between music and visual art. Beside running the label, he also makes music and has released his first ep in 2014 while individual tracks appeared on several compilations.

LP edition of the sold out CD/Pamphlet from 2016. The score by Schmid, reading by Landry, and edited/produced by McCann. Includes a big poster of The St. Francis List.

Emily Martin and Derek Baron on St. Francis (Feb. 2021):

What does it mean to pray? To address someone, to plead for something, to welcome humiliation and failure: Please, let me forget about the China Chalet parties, please let there be no countries and no war, please let me love you. Is prayer iteration, or just repetition: My god, my god, my god, my god… To know spleen you just have to be down to be humiliated. But do we know for sure that we are miserable? How do we know?

This is how it has to go. We listened to this for the first time together in May 2017, while driving from Chicago to New York along the I-80 in Pennsylvania, stopping at the rest area that I later mistook for the famous picture of American “culture.” We stayed at a hotel and may have ordered a pizza. Content first, then, content again. Went inside and drank wine in relative silence, burping. Recognizing the sacredness in the plot of Friends. A choral melisma representative of holy Joy.

The dreams of moving through a convoluted space of passages, staircases, open courtyards, rooms just glimpsed past a door. It doesn’t seem possible that you can get from one place to the next but according to the logic of the dream you do. I think this has to do with how each little unit of ‘content’ happens at a different distance from your ear. The holiness of the periphery. That you can catch a shard of history if you only find the right distance to stand from the painting.

But prayer is also like the magic language we were talking about — faith that words do something more than just mean — they have the capacity to effect change in the world, and not just in the like, “words change ppl’s minds” kind of way, but in that the words themselves actually have agency. Form: sing-along.

HIGHLIGHTS An emblematic figure of the Brazilian avant-garde and a key part of the cultural climate that made the rise of tropicália possible, Walter Smetak was a Swiss musician and inventor of instruments who developed his career in Brazil. "Smetak" (1974), his debut album, was produced by Caetano Veloso and Roberto Santana, and had the support of Gilberto Gil. It sums up a personal universe that combines Afro-Brazilian ritual traditions, theosophy, microtonal studies, collective improvisation and the use of unconventional musical instruments. Liner notes by Caetano Veloso. DESCRIPTION Walter Smetak was a Swiss cellist, composer, inventor of musical instruments, sculptor and writer who developed his career in Salvador, Brazil, and became an emblematic figure of the Bahian avant-garde and a key part of the cultural climate that made the rise of tropicália possible. Since 1969, he has carried out various workshops of experimental music at University of Bahia. His music was materialized in two albums: "Smetak" (1974) and "Interregno" (1980). "Smetak" was produced by Caetano Veloso and Roberto Santana, with the support of Gilberto Gil. There he unfolded a radical sound universe, based on the investigation of Afro-Brazilian ritualistic traditions, microtonality studies and collective improvisational open processes, always under the influence of theosophy, which he discovered in Brazil, and which allowed him to generate a symbolism represented in the construction of his own unconventional instruments, many of them of a sculptural nature, made with unusual materials such as PVC pipes, pumpkins and polystyrene foam, which he called plásticas sonoras. Around 150 instruments were created by Smetak, many of them in a surrealist style. They have been exhibited on various occasions in museums and galleries. His music was often based on graphic scores, many of them of great beauty. In addition to Smetak, Caetano Veloso and Roberto Santana, musicians such as Gereba, Tuzé Abreu, Djalma Correa, Capenga, among others, participated in the recording of this album. The author of one of the most important studies on Smetak, Marco Scarassatti, has written on the work of the Swiss-Brazilian artist: "His original and metaphysical work goes beyond any mysticism created around his figure. He investigated the relationship between sound and light, space and form, microtonality, collective improvisation, as a sound alchemist, a multimedia and unplugged prophet-visionary. While transforming matter, Smetak transformed himself and many of those around him." This reissue reproduces the much sought after original 1974 edition, published by Phillips. It includes the catalog of instruments used, adds a brochure with new photos and presents the remastered audio. The liner notes were written by Caetano Veloso. This project is part of Incidencias Sonoras: COINCIDENCIA experimental music & sound art platform, by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.

Psionic is pleased to present a true pioneer of NYC’s underground, Reade Truth. True to his name and true to the game, he delivers “Very Likely (U Will Like Me),” three emotively expressive cuts expertly revealing the artist at his fundamental core. “Close Call, Unknown Bass,” ushers in a myriad of tough, analog percussion, pacey bass, and plenty of modulated acid to set the floor ablaze. “Very Likely (U Will Like Me)” is refreshingly assertive with its impenitent bass, overdriven percussion, and unrelenting synths. “Unknown Tomb, Ancient Race,” adopts a more cerebral approach, opting for mechanical bass, mind-bending synths, and stripped-back percussion. Together, they form an uncompromised creation without reservation, an embodiment of what Truth does best.

May 28 will see prolific Japanese vibraphonist, multi-percussionist and composer Masayoshi Fujita mark a new sonic direction with his forthcoming album Bird Ambience on Erased Tapes.

Bird Ambience brings several fresh changes for the artist. Until now, Fujita would separate his acoustic solo recordings from the electronic dub under his El Fog alias and experimental improvisations with contemporaries such as Jan Jelinek, Bird Ambience sees him unite all of these different sides to his work for the first time, into one singular vision. He also makes a lateral leap from his signature instrument the vibraphone, on which he created his acclaimed triptych Stories (2012), Apologues (2015) and Book of Life (2018), to the marimba, which takes centre stage on his new album alongside drums, percussion, synths, effectors and tape recorder.

“The way of playing the marimba is similar to the vibraphone, so it was kind of a natural development for me and easier to start with, yet it sounds very different”, explains Masayoshi. “The marimba bars are made with wood and it has a wider range than the vibraphone, which gives me a bigger sound palette with more possibilities. I play the instrument with bows and mallets, and sometimes manipulate it with effects.”

Bird Ambience also marks his liberation from fastidious preparation for past solo releases to new endeavours in improvisation. “I prioritised trying to capture the wonder which happens during those occasional magic improv moments. Sometimes the mic-ing and placement of instruments was pretty rough; things weren’t perfect and everything was done quickly, but it turned out as the final recording. Overall when I
couldn’t decide between two takes, I told myself to go with the first”, Masayoshi recalls.

Arranged with a perfect Kanso-like balance, the unhurried pace of Bird Ambience allows each sound and phrase enough time to be mindfully absorbed and savoured. This subtle but affective work carries ethereal remnants of Midori Takada’s minimalism, the static atmospheres of Mika Vainio, To Rococo Rot’s organics and the bucolic electronics of Minotaur Shock. Fujita vaporises contemporary and classical, ambient and dismantled dub, controlled noise and fragments of jazz into an atmospheric, static mist, which he skilfully coerces into new forms.

After 13 years in Berlin, Masayoshi recently relocated to a new home and studio in the rural Japanese mountain village of Kami-cho, Hyogo, following his life-long dream of creating music in nature. Even though the album was entirely recorded in Germany before he left, it has this palpable sense of reverie found in the natural world. From there we can only imagine the kind of impact his new life in rural West Japan will have on future works.

Unknown recording outside Ethiopia which documents Mergia Hailu & The Walias legendary early period. Beautifully-rendered instrumentals of classic Ethiopian standards, "Tezeta"is the follow-up reissue of the hugely popular seminal Ethiopian instrumentals LP "Tche Belew" (ATFA012). It was a Cassette-only release in 1975 on the band's in-house label, to fund their record store. From their genesis as members of the Venus club in-house band in the early 70s, Hailu Mergia and the Walias Band were at the forefront of the musical revolution during an era where modern instruments and foreign styles superseded the traditional fare to become the staple sound of Ethiopia. No one would argue that the Walias were the trailblazing powerhouse of modern Ethiopian music. They were the first band to form independently without affiliation to a theatre house, a club or a hotel; unprecedented and risky as they had to raise all funding for expenses by themselves including buying equipment. They were the first to release full instrumental albums, considered to be commercially unviable at the time. They opened their own recording studio, with band members Melake Gebre and Mahmoud Aman doubling as technical buffs during sessions. They were also the first independent band to tour abroad. In short, they were the pioneers every band tried to emulate; some more successfully than others. Odds are, any Ethiopian over the age of 35 who had access to TV or radio by the early 90s, will instantly recognize the sound of Walias. What is not a given is, how many would actually identify the band itself. Barely a day went by without hearing the Walias either in the background on radio or as an accompaniment to various programs on TV. This Tezeta album, the band's second recording, released in 1975, is one of those that have been impossible to find for nearly three decades. Sourced by Awesome Tapes From Africa and expertly remastered by Jessica Thompson, its unique and funky renditions of standards and popular songs of the day are so quintessentially Walias, flavorful and evocative. Hailu's melodic organ, unashamedly front and center in every track, makes even the complex pieces accessible. Profoundly engaging; it's an immersive trip down memory lane for those of us getting reacquainted with it, while also an enthralling and gratifying experience for fresh ears.

The rich sounds of Maloya and Séga music, originating from the Réunion island (as well as Mauritius and Seychelles for Séga), have recently been brought to the ears of the Northern hemisphere's music lovers. Hailing from the French Alps, where Réunion-natives and young "metropolitan" French youngsters have been sharing parties, food and music for years, Les Pythons De La Fournaise are a flavoursome electric "Séga" band and they have already put out a couple of albums over the last decade.

This time, they are interpreting Séga and Maloya songs under the form of a - nearly – all-acoustic orchestra : "L'Orchestre Du Piton" !

This Long-Player has got a particular sound and character, starting with a powerful four-woman choir (often sung in unison, in accordance with the Maloya tradition). The "lead" is a different singer on almost every song, which brings a variety of tone and vocal texture to the album.

Instead of keys, organ or synth, Les Pythons went for accordion ; they also brought into the studio an array of percussion, ranging from classic bongos and bells to typical instruments of the Indian Ocean : theKayamb, the Pikeur, the Sati and most notably the Roulèr– the king of them all, majestic barrel-shelled bass drum.

On songs like "Anon Manz Demiel" (Let's go and eat honey), two crazy electric guitars with intertwined riffs add a fresh element to the sound – somewhat echoeing with Esquivel's exotica and Congolese rumba at the same time !

And the most unusual fact on this record : there is no bass guitar. Perhaps the band had a statement to make; in our modern music culture where bass plays a central role, they prove that one can move to other sounds – and appreciate the more organic deepness of percussion.

Whether or not you look into the meaning of the songs (mostly from the Réunion repertoire with a couple of Mauritian exceptions and one original "Pythons" composition), you will feel the mood of the Creole lyrics – a deep love story in "Maloya Tantine", an hymn to slowness and indolence in "Tou Dou", a clumsy chat-up scene in "Malbaraise"...

And overall, a joyful, fresh and sparkly energy emanates from this "Orchestre" sound, from this exceptionally talented crew. Oté !

Cousins Gilberto and Karin Rodriguez have been steadily synthesizing a unique type of musical and cultural fusion together as Almas Fronterizas. Blending their lived experiences in Mexico City, Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area with a musical lineage paying homage to their Indigenous roots, they've created a representative musical offering, a modern day psychedelic sonic painting of analog blues, rock, and brown-eyed soul.

The group's first several releases, via their own imprint Discos Pistolas y Saguaros, solidified their space in a wide encompassing and constant changing West Coast music scene, yet stood out with an experimental freedom and independent hustle that found kindred spirits in New York City record label Names You Can Trust.

Now, after a suitable time marinating together with NYCT, a natural continuation of the group's ethos is presented in the form of two new songs on 7-inch vinyl. Featuring a third cousin in Carlos Rodriguez on trumpet, plus percussive powerhouse Ahkeel Mestayer on timbales, conga and maracas, Brian Tuley on flute, Devin Hollister on bass and horn arrangements by La Doña's Cecilia Peña-Govea, the tracks were recorded in Berkeley by Mike Walti and mixed down in Brooklyn for a true coast to coast collaboration. Out in the front, Gilberto's vocals drive drop-top down, wide open and honest in melancholic blue notes, whether he's motoring down the highway over northern soul-with-a-hook A-side, "Cruel Desperation," or cruising on the avenue in the slow-motion B-side ballad burner, "Linda Morenita," it's another showcase of the tremendous range of style and engaging expression that this group can hit.

The group Magizter formed in Malmö, Sweden in the early 90s, and mainly consisted of former members of the Hungarian industrial band Das Kapital, of which some managed to flee to Sweden from the communist regime before the fall of the Soviet Union.

Gyula Szilagyi, who was the first to make his escape via train through Berlin in 1987, recalls: “it was a few weeks before mandatory military service would begin, and our passports should have been turned over to the authorities”. Risking deportation and prison, he was granted asylum in Sweden after some months in Stockholm.

Szilagyi and the rest of the band were all part of the underground scene in Budapest, of which some had been under surveillance by the secret police since their teens. It was a tight knit community where anti-communist and illegal literature was distributed, and many bands shared mutual members.

The track “Das Kapital” was produced in Malmö in 1993 by Szilagyi and fellow Magizter member Zoltan Lengyel, in a home studio overlooking the Möllevång Square, were Szilagyi had moved after some years working at the glass factory in Orrefors. He had managed to save a few performances by Das Kapital recorded on cassette, of which one served as sample material for the Magizter track; an homage of sorts to a group involuntarily disbanded.

The cassette sampled here was recorded in 1986 during a live concert at the university-affiliated venue Ráday Klub, where Das Kapital performed alongside the British industrial act Left Hand Right Hand (who had formed from the Sheffield band Zahgurim).

On the eve in question, Szilagyi remarks: “we used a guitar that we had made ourselves to resemble a Kalachnikov rifle. During the concert at Ráday Klub the guitar was destroyed using a drill machine. It made a powerful sound effect”

A remix of the remix is offered by Vienna-based Heap, who with his own productions as well as his work with the Neubau label is building a bridge towards the new era of European industrial music.

Renowned Jazz musician Ulf Kleiner lands on Ian Pooley’s Pooled Music this April with ‘Tubes’Grande’ featuring three remixes from the label boss.

A long term collaborator of Pooley, lending rich keyboard work to the legendary producer’s records over the years, Ulf Kleiner is better known outside of electronic music. Taken from his 2020 LP, ‘Pianoskop’, ’Tubes Grande’ is a light but immersive piece of acoustic modern Jazz that, at just 3.36 minutes, begs repeat listens. Pooley’s interpretations, a ‘Main Version’, ‘Dub’ and ‘Analog Piano Dub Mix’ lead Kleiner’s work to the dancefloor in distinct ways, showing off the producers deft touch and studio experience across the package. From the decidedly organic, mid-paced house of the ‘Analog Piano Dub’ to the dense, electronic melodies of the ‘Main Version’ to the blissed out ‘Ian Pooley Dub’ this Pooley in the form of his career.

It’s a given that timing is everything in music – most obviously in terms of composition and production but often just as much in regard to conception and release – the latter two doubly poignantly so in the case of this massive DOOM vs The Sugarcubes mash-up LP from turntablist and producer Krash Slaughta.

Which is why the tale of this project’s gestation is perhaps what should be told about it before anything else.

Begun last August and finished on 25 October, the album started life as an idea born from a casual listen to final Sugarcubes album Stick Around For Joy that Krash had bought a copy of years before in a charity shop. Contemplating the cover art while listening to the LP and the track Hit in particular, it came to him that here might be the musical basis for a concept LP in the grand tradition of the hip-hop mash-up album. Thus the project was born, becoming something of an obsession as lockdown restrictions recommenced through a sanity-testing autumn. As it developed, the provisional title of Stick Around For DOOM morphed into Sugar Coated DOOM and Brighton artists Leigh Pearce and Rob Crespo were roped in to create the artwork. So pleased was Krash with the results that he decided to self-finance the pressing of the LP to vinyl which in turn would allow him to send a copy to DOOM in the most fitting format. On that basis, along with his dad’s advice that if you want something done properly; do it yourself’, he initiated the process for a limited press run as soon as the project wrapped and telephoned his dad (who’d been shielding and who he hadn’t seen for months) to say he’d done precisely that. In a tragic twist, this turned out to be their last ever conversation, for Krash’s dad died suddenly the next day. Two months later of course, while waiting for the Covid-slowed vinyl pressing process to complete, came a further tragic twist as the world received the delayed news that DOOM himself had also passed away back in October – in the event, only five days after Krash’s father. So it’s no understatement to say that Sugar Coated DOOM carries significant emotional resonance for its maker, forever linked as it will be to the deaths of two of his personal heroes.

Which brings us to the content. The album contains seven vocal tracks, with an alternate version of one and instrumental versions of five of the seven across two sides of an album with the music, track names, LP title and cover art mashing up musical, lyrical/ textual and visual elements of The Sugar Cubes’ Stick Around For Joy with DOOM acapellas, track names and references. Listeners won’t need long to appreciate that Krash Slaughta was right to be proud of his creation, almost certainly correct in thinking DOOM would dig it and no doubt The Sugarcubes too. Also, who would have thought The Sugarcubes had so much potential for beat-mining? But then seeing potential in the unexpected was always a vital skill from the golden era of sampling in hip-hop and those who follow in the tradition. The first track proper, for example, swipes Madlib’s lo-fi beat from underneath the vocals for Figaro and replaces it with the looped and beefed-up opening bars of the Cubes’ I’m Hungry. The result is a natural fit. But then the blending of elements in every track on this release provides evidence of the effort and love put into its creation, reinvigorating DOOM’s classic vocals while re-purposing The Sugarcubes in a manner that will delight. Indeed, if you’d didn’t know the work of Bjork’s former band, you’d be unlikely to pin an early 90s alt-rock LP as the sample source. I imagine listeners will have a hard time picking a favourite too. Perhaps Hit It (based on the track which triggered the project idea in the first) which splices the Bond-theme-ish Hit with My Favourite Ladies might prove the most popular, or the monkey’s favourite, Nurse Chong, which blends Happy Nurse with Raedawn (named for Tommy Chong’s daughter) from Viktor Vaughn LP Vaudeville Villain. Whichever one punters pick though, anyone who hears anything off this will know it’s one to rank alongside your other favourite hip-hop mash-up albums. And who knows – perhaps even Mr Daniel Dumile himself might have considered it a not unfitting epitaph.

The trio of fiddle player Erlend Apneseth with guitarist Stephan Meidell and drummer Oyvind Hegg-Lunde follows up their Nordic Prize-nominated album of 2019, ‘Salika, Molika’, with a remarkable suite of tunes inspired by the rhythms and physicality of the human body in motion.
Originally commissioned by FRIKAR Dance Company to accompany the performance of a new work, ‘Skaut’, dealing with the covering of the body in different cultures, the music of ‘Lokk’ takes the trio further than ever before into completely fresh areas of electro-acoustic improvisation.
The sounds of their original instruments are integrated with electronic beats and treated textures to form a kind of enhanced digital-folk style whose influences stretch from traditional south Asian ragas to contemporary dance culture from around the globe.
The result is intense, and intensely rhythmic, music where the normally separate realms of the cerebral and the corporeal can appear to fuse into one irresistible groove.
As the trio rocks on - in a dream of perfect interplay between instruments and players, soloists and ensemble - deep, trembling sub-bass intersects with ethereal ambient soundscapes. Elsewhere, the twittering of birdsong - from both real bird-calls and the uncanny imitation of them by Apneseth’s Hardanger fiddle - meets archival recordings of Norwegian herdswomen.
“Our musical idea for this project was to unite different extremes, connections that felt “forbidden” in one form or another”, says Stephan Meidell. “For example, by using the sampled recording of traditional herd-calling, blended together with aesthetics from more contemporary music styles. This exploration has led us further into a rhythmic and danceable landscape than in previous releases. We also wanted to use this opportunity to deliberately make more dance-related music. As regards the original commission, were pretty free to do what we wanted, but there was one specific dance in mind, ‘Valdresspringar’, for which Erlend wrote the melody. It’s a traditional, asymmetrical dance and has a very particular form. The melody is on the track called ‘Springar’, which we then messed around with.”
This “messing around with” element is key to the sound of ‘Lokk’, whose playful experimentation over the nine separate tracks creates a beguiling, constantly surprising sense of adventure and intrigue that both draws the listener in, and then keeps them on their toes as to where the next stage of the journey will take them. It also becomes inescapably obvious that this is a group of three equals.
The contributions of Stephan Meidell and Oyvind Hegg-Lunde, as musicians, co-composers and producers, appear every bit as important as that of Erlend Apneseth, who performs superbly throughout. “Even though the trio carries Erlend’s name, it’s a band in every sense of the word”, says Stephan Meidell. “We make the music together, where everyone brings their ideas and we build on each other’s input and output. This is not our “coming out” as a band, but the group is sometimes interpreted as having a hierarchical structure, as a soloist and accompaniment.”
As is evident from the trio’s live performances, where each member seamlessly integrates the acoustic and the electronic elements in their respective sounds through constant monitoring and tweaking, Apneseth, Meidell and Hegg-Lunde are also pioneers,
creating real-time effects that in the past were only available through post-production or the intervention of a sympathetic engineer and a truck-load of kit. ‘Lokk’ translates this fleet-footed improvisational approach, and the players’ lightning-speed reaction times, back into the environment of the recording studio, where the music composed for the original FRIKAR dance piece was further embellished and adapted. Played live, it will continue to change again, as improvised music always does.

Batov's Middle Eastern Grooves series has a new, funky, double-sided 7" addition titled ‘Big Baglama’ by Satellites: a fun release that gives vintage Turkish beats a new spin.

‘Big Baglama’ is a beautiful instrumental piece that captures the sound of an acoustic diwan saz - known as a baglama - integrating it in a series of riffs connected by a funky groove. The baglama gives off a fresh and lively feeling, despite the vintage flavour provided via the spacey synth and rippling drums. This track channels the energy and style of old school fuzzy vibe of Arif Sag’s saz recording of the ’70s but makes it new and entertaining to the ear, pulling the listener in for a fun ride.

The B-side ‘Deli Deli’ opens with a groovy bass riff and ululating synth, followed by a nifty melodic lead on the baglama and then Yuli’s enchanting vocals. The song is a new interpretation of an old piece by beloved 70’s Turkish folk singer Sakir Öner. This new version differs from the original in the more bright and poppy feel, conveyed by the 6/8 rhythm, and the addition of a whole new section by the band.

Satellites are another exciting act from the celebrated Tel Aviv music scene, and here at Batov Records we love them! Formed earlier this year, the group comprises talented vocalist Yuli Shafriri on the synth; Itamar Klüger on the baglama & bouzouki; Ariel Harrosh on the bass and Azriel ‘Raz’ Man on the drums. The band plays anything from Anatolian rock to vintage psych and spacey grooves. Satellites describe their sound as retro-fresh psych à la Turk, a musical "laboratory" lost somewhere between the mysterious alleys of 70’s Istanbul and the scorching sun and crystal blue sea of Jaffa-Tel Aviv, 2020.

Billy Harper is one of the great tenor saxophonists in the post-Coltrane mold. Originally from Houston, TX and with a degree from the venerable University of North Texas College of Music, Harper emerged on the New York City jazz scene in the late 1960s performing with Art Blakey, Max Roach, Lee Morgan and others. Known for his soulful and propulsive tone, Harper was already a highly regarded and prolific session man before the release of his debut album as a leader on the cult favorite Strata-East label in 1973.

Recorded in 1975, Black Saint was the second album for Billy Harper as bandleader and is the most acclaimed and fully realized of his long career. The inaugural release of the Italian label Black Saint – to which the album lent its name – is comprised entirely of Harper compositions; the peaceful and subdued opener “Dance, Eternal Spirits, Dance!,” the swinging and fiery “Croquet Ballet” and the side-long epic “Call Of The Wild And Peaceful Heart.” Harper’s group features trumpeter Virgil Jones - a graduate of Roland Kirk’s mid-60s groups and session player for McCoy Tyner, Charles Tolliver and others - along with Joe Bonner on piano, David Friesen on bass and Malcom Pinson on drums.

Black Saint is too melodic and swinging to be free jazz but too forward-thinking to be described as modal post-bop; Harper’s advanced compositional sense and galvanic tenor work make this an album of pure fire music. This is a beautiful album back into print on its original format for the first time in over 40 years.

Moving into 2021 Pure Space is excited to deliver another year of Australian electronic music. Lately we’ve found therapy through regular body movement to help us see that better days are ahead. We hope you feel this too with this new release…

For our first release of the year, Melbourne’s Third Space captures his most club-focussed exploration to date. It offers a broad path which melts genres, instead showing us an alternate domain.

Having started his own label ‘Nice Setting’ in 2020 and self-releasing an album and an EP, Third Space has established his sound of complex undulating rhythms. For his release on Pure Space, ‘Pattern of Spring’ continues this exploration of dramatic structures with continually shifting timbres - morphing them as they progress through energies, rumbles, and struck surfaces.

The two A-side tracks are powerful displays of organic instrumentation with fluttering pads and subtle resonations. An upbeat tempo and abright atmosphere underpins the opening side, anchored by dnb leaning programming and off-kilter polymetric rhythms.

‘170 Shitshow’ showcases complex percussion underwritten by a formidable resonating karplus-strong section throughout the track. Whilst ‘Pulsing Delay Mod’ builds upon this notion of polymetric rhythms continually at play with one another, it offers a crisp and menacing drum pattern pulsating amongst metallic timbres.

Flipping to the B-sides; ‘Cyclical Pan Workout’ reflects an unruly and evolving atmosphere, anchored by a wonderfully cerebral drum pattern and delicate pad toward the close.

The final track ‘Nonlinear (For Pillows)’ offers re-contextualised melodies and percussion, providing a sense of closure and sonic bookending by linking tones and timbres referenced throughout the EP into a pillow like state.

Louisahhh releases her debut LP The Practice of Freedom, via HE.SHE.THEY. The Practice of Freedom heralds the evolution of Louisahhh as she delivers her most exposing work yet, conceived as an exploration of the unorthodox archetype of “feminist submissive,” based on the mantra “sin is not being true to yourself.” Like her uncompromising musical heroes Karen O, Siouxsie Sioux and Shirley Manson before her, Louisahhh’s bold, raw, anti-establishment message on The Practice of Freedom will mark her as punk’s essential new heroine at the forefront of the new dawn of musical feminism.

The Practice of Freedom was born from experiences of loss and love, told through a journey of brutally beautiful electronics, electro and techno colliding with industrial, rock and alternative sounds. On the polysexual polymath label HE.SHE.THEY.’s inaugural album release, Louisahhh captures a record of our times, covering themes ranging from eroticism and empowerment to addiction and apocalypse, and influences ranging from Nine Inch Nails to Patti Smith to Judith Butler. The album, produced by American musician, music video director and photographer Vice Cooler, hears ideas and lyrics by Louisahhh re-contextualised into revolutionary experimental sounds, formed through the pair’s shared love of American alternative rock. Louisahhh’s music fights for and provides a voice for others, rooted equally in the intensity of the dancefloor and the mosh pit.

The Boy With No Name - angelehnt an den kurzzeitigen Spitznamen des Sohnes von Travis’ Frontmann
Fran Healy - wird zum ersten Mal in seiner ursprünglichen Form auf Vinyl wiederveröffentlicht.
2007, zehn Jahre nach der Veröffentlichung ihres Debütalbums hatten sich Travis auf ihrem 5. Studioalbum
der Welt der Beziehungen zugewandt, wobei sich insbesondere ”My Eyes” auf Fran Healy’s neugeborenen
Sohn bezog. Das von Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Beck, Paul McCartney) und Brian Eno produzierte Album
bezeichnete Fran später als ”our most eclectic album”. Es enthielt den UK Top 10 Hit ”Closer” und schaffte
es in die Top 5 der UK-Charts. Von der BBC wurde es als das Werk einer Band gelobt, die es sich leisten
kann, Risiken einzugehen”.
Das Album erscheint als 2LP mit Gatefold-Hülle, bedruckter Innenhülle und Bonus 7”.

Mondo and Vinyl Films are proud to present the premiere, expanded edition of the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's essential, genre defining 1989 debut film SAY ANYTHING…

Containing the original soundtrack album, plus an entire additional disc of music - featuring demos written and recorded for the film, previously unreleased in any form - including long-lost demo recordings of the "Joe Lies" songs, as performed by Nancy Wilson for Lili Taylor.

Featuring a 16-page booklet, containing never before seen photos and liner notes with the film's writer/director Cameron Crowe, stars John Cusack, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor and composer Nancy Wilson and more!

Spindle Ensemble’s highly anticipated sophomore album is scheduled for a release on Thursday 27th May 2021 on vinyl, CD and digital download via Hidden Notes Records. The vinyl version will be accompanied by a special 12 page booklet which also includes liner notes written by celebrated DJ and Broadcaster Nick Luscombe (BBC3’s Late Junction/Musicity/Flomotion Radio).

In conjunction with the announcement a brand new single Caligo - with B side Menilmontant - was released via Bandcamp on Friday 5th February 2021 together with a unique music video that combines super 8 footage and scratched 16mm film visual artist Narna Hue (watch the video below).

A special socially distanced album launch concert is due to take place at St George’s Bristol on Thursday 27th May depending on COVID guidelines and restrictions at that time.

Since their formation in Bristol in 2016 contemporary chamber quartet Spindle Ensemble led by composer and pianist Daniel Inzani (Yola, Alabaster dePlume, Tezeta) which also features tuned percussionist Harriet Riley (Charles Hazelwood’s Paraorchestra, Bristol Symphony Orchestra), cellist Jo Silverston (Mesadorm) and violinist Caelia Lunniss (Edward Penfold) have garnered much praise for their innovative take on contemporary classical music, rooted in spontaneity and improvisation performed with deft musicianship and unique instrumental pairing all resulting in truly captivating sonic soundscapes.

Equally at home performing in concert halls such as the Union Chapel, Southbank Centre, Bristol Beacon, St George’s Bristol and festivals including Shambala and Hidden Notes to churches, art centres, record shops and independent venues across the UK they continue to bring their music to a diverse and ever growing audience.

Listeners may hear influences from composers such as Satie, Pärt, Ravel, Reich, Glass and Moondog in their music but might also find the soundtracks of Morricone and the minimalist aesthetics of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra nestled alongside the more experimental leanings of groups such as Rachel’s, Esmerine, Bell Orchestre and Amiina.

The quartet’s forthcoming album Inkling was recorded at various venues across Bristol, capturing their performances as unique 3D sound images enabling the listener to hear each instruments position mimicking the audible experience as a live audience member. Unlike their debut BEA, some of the compositions on Inkling also features a collection of guest musicians expanding their sound to an orchestral scale, featuring the addition of brass and percussion instruments.

In September 2019 the group released a double A-side single of Chase and Okemah Sundown from the album with accompanying videos by acclaimed Director/Cinematographer Fred Reed and stop-motion animator Marie Lechevallier.

Spindle Ensemble’s highly anticipated sophomore album is scheduled for a release on Thursday 27th May 2021 on vinyl, CD and digital download via Hidden Notes Records. The vinyl version will be accompanied by a special 12 page booklet which also includes liner notes written by celebrated DJ and Broadcaster Nick Luscombe (BBC3’s Late Junction/Musicity/Flomotion Radio).

In conjunction with the announcement a brand new single Caligo - with B side Menilmontant - was released via Bandcamp on Friday 5th February 2021 together with a unique music video that combines super 8 footage and scratched 16mm film visual artist Narna Hue (watch the video below).

A special socially distanced album launch concert is due to take place at St George’s Bristol on Thursday 27th May depending on COVID guidelines and restrictions at that time.

Since their formation in Bristol in 2016 contemporary chamber quartet Spindle Ensemble led by composer and pianist Daniel Inzani (Yola, Alabaster dePlume, Tezeta) which also features tuned percussionist Harriet Riley (Charles Hazelwood’s Paraorchestra, Bristol Symphony Orchestra), cellist Jo Silverston (Mesadorm) and violinist Caelia Lunniss (Edward Penfold) have garnered much praise for their innovative take on contemporary classical music, rooted in spontaneity and improvisation performed with deft musicianship and unique instrumental pairing all resulting in truly captivating sonic soundscapes.

Equally at home performing in concert halls such as the Union Chapel, Southbank Centre, Bristol Beacon, St George’s Bristol and festivals including Shambala and Hidden Notes to churches, art centres, record shops and independent venues across the UK they continue to bring their music to a diverse and ever growing audience.

Listeners may hear influences from composers such as Satie, Pärt, Ravel, Reich, Glass and Moondog in their music but might also find the soundtracks of Morricone and the minimalist aesthetics of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra nestled alongside the more experimental leanings of groups such as Rachel’s, Esmerine, Bell Orchestre and Amiina.

The quartet’s forthcoming album Inkling was recorded at various venues across Bristol, capturing their performances as unique 3D sound images enabling the listener to hear each instruments position mimicking the audible experience as a live audience member. Unlike their debut BEA, some of the compositions on Inkling also features a collection of guest musicians expanding their sound to an orchestral scale, featuring the addition of brass and percussion instruments.

In September 2019 the group released a double A-side single of Chase and Okemah Sundown from the album with accompanying videos by acclaimed Director/Cinematographer Fred Reed and stop-motion animator Marie Lechevallier.

Helsinki-based US bassist Nathan Francis steps up as a bandleader with his debut project Nathan Francis Quartet. Together with a grade-A cast of Finnish musicians, the four-piece presents some of Nathan's favorite tunes from the standard repertoire (J.Hicks, C. McBee & J. Coltrane) as well as original compositions from members of the group. As Nathan puts it, "in terms of compositions, the group acts somewhat like a collective. We play compositions of each member but with an energy and interpretation that belongs completely to the moment."

Francis' debut album features the Finnish jazz legend Eero Koivistoinen on tenor saxophone. "Eero has given immensely to the jazz scene here in Finland and abroad. He carries a sound that is so deep and intense. I feel he is the perfect fit for this band", the young bassist explains. Koivistoinen has also composed two songs for the album, the soulful opening track Minor Solution and the bluesy track entitled Late Show. Markus Niittynen plays the piano and drummer Aleksi Heinola mans the drum seat. The former has also composed the album's third track Crystal Clear and the latter is well known as the inspired leader of his own quintet.

Now settled in Helsinki, and matriculating at the Sibelius Academy, Nathan is ready to release his debut LP. Nathan's primary wish was to form a "cross generational band as a tribute to his musical ancestors", a testament to the character of this young jazz musician. In his own words, Nathan says "meeting Finnish jazz legend, Eero
Koivistoinen, sealed the deal", and this eloquent musical project came to its fruition at the studios of the Sibelius Academy.

Repress on purple vinyl!

Batov's Middle Eastern Grooves series has a new, funky, double-sided 7" addition titled ‘Big Baglama’ by Satellites: a fun release that gives vintage Turkish beats a new spin.

‘Big Baglama’ is a beautiful instrumental piece that captures the sound of an acoustic diwan saz - known as a baglama - integrating it in a series of riffs connected by a funky groove. The baglama gives off a fresh and lively feeling, despite the vintage flavour provided via the spacey synth and rippling drums. This track channels the energy and style of old school fuzzy vibe of Arif Sag’s saz recording of the ’70s but makes it new and entertaining to the ear, pulling the listener in for a fun ride.

The B-side ‘Deli Deli’ opens with a groovy bass riff and ululating synth, followed by a nifty melodic lead on the baglama and then Yuli’s enchanting vocals. The song is a new interpretation of an old piece by beloved 70’s Turkish folk singer Sakir Öner. This new version differs from the original in the more bright and poppy feel, conveyed by the 6/8 rhythm, and the addition of a whole new section by the band.

Satellites are another exciting act from the celebrated Tel Aviv music scene, and here at Batov Records we love them! Formed earlier this year, the group comprises talented vocalist Yuli Shafriri on the synth; Itamar Klüger on the baglama & bouzouki; Ariel Harrosh on the bass and Azriel ‘Raz’ Man on the drums. The band plays anything from Anatolian rock to vintage psych and spacey grooves. Satellites describe their sound as retro-fresh psych à la Turk, a musical "laboratory" lost somewhere between the mysterious alleys of 70’s Istanbul and the scorching sun and crystal blue sea of Jaffa-Tel Aviv, 2020.

Freshly started label blickwinkel (Dauw sister label) announces the release "Balts" by Schreel Van De Velde. It’s the first outing of the duo Lucas Schreel and Casper Van De Velde under this new moniker and can be seen as the follow-up album of Schreel's acclaimed debut album which was released last year.

As the album titles suggest, love in all its glory formed a major inspiration in the making of this album. The duo, however, didn’t restrain themselves to a sole conceptualization of this theme but instead explored it more widely and free. The result is a consistent collection of compositions reflecting on human encounters, relationships, sexuality and more. It’s love and broken love. It’s attraction and repulsion.

With Balts, the duo created a set of animal miniatures evoking feelings of melancholy while also joy and happiness have their place. Given the instrumental nature of the songs, the music remains kind of mythical and never really shows its true meaning. As such, these little miniatures form the duo’s own unique wildlife and is open for the listeners interpretation and own narrative. Dolfijn is the first single from the album and will be released on all digital platforms alongside a video by Jelle Martens.

Lucas Schreel is a classically trained guitarist based in Brussels. His first solo album We're Never Afraid of Getting Up Every Morning was released through Sentimental Records in 2020 and was well-received both in written-press (Humo, Enola & Indiestyle) and radio (Duyster, Radio 1 & Klara). Besides his solo work, Schreel is also a member of the lo-fi indierockband Kloothommel.
Acclaimed Brussels percussionist Casper Van De Velde made quite a name for himself through his bands like SCHNTZL, Bombataz, Donder among others. His work received prices at International Jazz Contest d’Avignon and Storm! Contest (Jazzlab). Casper is currently also a member of the recently formed An Pierlé Quartet.

Blickwinkel is a freshly born label based in Ghent and Brussels. It’s founded by Pieter Dudal (Dauw) and visual artist Jelle Martens (Nicolas Jaar, Vinyl on Demand, W.E.R.F.). After working in the music scene separately for almost a decade, they found common ground in both their admiration for sound, image and especially its dialogue. Unfettered by place or genre.

Kscope Re-Issue Of The Classic ‘Radiation’ Featuring 2013 Mixes, 2 x LP 140Gram Vinyl in a Gatefold sleeve. The CD edition will include both the original 1998 version and the 2013 mixes, whilst the LP edition will host the 2013 mixes with an etched D-side
Marillion formed in 1979 and have since sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Rightly regarded as legends of progressive rock, the band have continued to evolve and have been keen to embrace the possibilities of the internet, using innovative ways to interact with listeners resulting in an incredibly loyal legion of fans around the world.
‘Radiation’ was the band’s tenth studio album and debuted in the top 40 in the UK when it was originally released in 1998. The album saw the band abandon the acoustic approach of ‘This Strange Engine’ and instead revisit a heavier sound previously found on ‘Afraid Of Sunlight’. This change in sound as well as the experimentation with different instrument tones and vocal effects and samples led to a more pop sound than that previously heard from the group.
The album was subsequently remixed and remastered by Michael Hunter in 2013. Kscope are now pleased to present a reissue of this highly regarded album on LP.

Known for the soulful jazz-grooves of their self-titled 2020 debut album, Matti Klein’s Soul Trio actually began as an idea rather than a group.
However, in early 2018 three master musicians met in Berlin’s Lovelite Studio with producer/engineer Jochen Str h (Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, Pat Thomas, Jimi Tenor) and recorded a set of well-planned and even better executed live sessions, each finding their desired space live and direct, locking into the immediacy of the groove. ‘Soul Trio Live On Tape’ contains these very first sessions of the Matti Klein Soul Trio and comprises new arrangements of songs that had primarily been composed for Klein’s band Mo’ Blow; favourites already back then, timeless classics now thanks to these exciting ‘deep-fried contemporary soul jazz’ versions.
Their leader, known for his work as musical director for the Brazilian superstar Ed Motta as well as Mo ‘Blow, can be heard on Wurlitzer and Rhodes Bass; Lars Zander (The Ruffcats, El Cartel, Lucasonic, STEREOFYSH) not only proves he is the most soulful tenor saxophonist in Berlin, but also why he has earned kudos for a bass clarinet sound that is enhanced with analog tape delays, Wah-Wah and Harmonizer-sweetenings; and drummer Andr Seidel also shows his chops, incorporating elements of rock, hip-hop, odd meter fusion and the sound of New Orleans into his own unique groove jazz style.
As for the music, ‘Rocket Swing’ is a tenor sax feature in which a hip-hop vibe meets a jazzy fifth fall, while ‘Ray’ (dedicated to Mr. Charles) is a Meters-inspired shuffle in 7/8 time. ‘No Particular Way’ showcases the funky side of the band, with singer Pat Appleton in top form over a wonderfully creaky Rhodes bass. ‘Sunsqueezed’ is created in a wide compositional arc, evoking a ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds during a long and grey 10-month Berlin winter, giving hope for the next two months.
‘Eleven Feels Like Heaven’ is a joyful, uproarious gospel blues with a brilliant odd meter drum solo. ‘Grandpa’s Fairytale’ is a hitherto unreleased piece that is dedicated to the bandleader’s grandfather, a former school headmaster who loved to read him stories and is a Wurlitzer-warmth meets bass clarinet groove in an atypical dynamic arc. Summarising their efforts, Klein states somewhat cryptically that “the band rolls in a warm, soft couch whenever there is a risk of having to sit between the chairs.”
Initially available as a limited fan item only at live shows, this document is now being released officially with the addition of ‘Grandpa’s Fairytale’. It is a journey through time, absolutely contemporary and yet wonderfully back to the future.

1985 duo album form vibraphone player Walt Dickerson and bassist
Richard Davis, this beautifully atmospheric LP was recorded in
New York in 1977.
“Music of extreme sophistication yet perfect lucidity...A Zen-like tranquillity pervades this album of duets with another virtuoso Richard Davis.”
- R.W. Melody Maker
“Quite an achievement, balancing fantasy and friction with grace as a fulcrum... calm, lucid, colourful, and captivating.” - Art Lange, Coda

Ratsnake aka Gesloten Cirkel presents ?Just A Genesis? on the Place No Blame label. An conscious, meditative presentation of single take recordings from recent years. A sequence showcasing the development of techniques and styles that have been touched on and explored through other projects and releases. For the artist and label, this collection of songs represent a timeline of actions and reactions, transforming dusty old memories into perceptible realities in their own right. At its core, this album explores the confines between society and alchemy, and they form part of an ongoing research into the science of idea generation and external reflection. Recommended!

If you collect vintage 70's soul-jazz vinyl, there is a good chance that you already own a record that features the amazing vocal talents of Dee Dee Bridgewater. Whether it be Roy Ayers, Norman Connors, Billy Parker or Carlos Garnett - Dee Dee is the glue that fuses these artists together. Although best known for her jazz work, Dee Dee has had a wonderfully rich and varied career encompassing soul, musicals, gospel, and underground disco from the 70's to the present day. She is still active as a vocalist, composer, and producer and remains one of our favourite vocalists at Mr Bongo HQ. We take things back to the early years of Dee Dee's career with her debut album 'Afro Blue'. Recorded in Tokyo in 1974, the album was released exclusively in Japan via two different Japanese labels (Trio Records in 1974 and All Art in 1985 respectively). Each release had unique cover art and we have opted to present the album in its original 1974 form.

'Afro Blue' features an exquisite collaboration of American and Japanese musicians, such as Cecil & Ron Bridgewater, Motohiko Hino and producer Takao Ishizuka. The result is a sublime deep soul-jazz masterpiece with timeless versions of 'People Make The World Go Round', 'Love From The Sun', and 'Afro Blue'. It is arguably one of the finest albums in its genre. This record has long been a sought-after item for DJs and collectors alike, so we are delighted to finally make this wonderful music from an understated great available to all.

For Jayda G, joy is a state of mind. Whether she transmits it through her upbeat productions or magnetic energy at the decks, the Canadian-born DJ and producer, real name Jayda Guy, is a beacon of empathy on the dancefloor. It's no surprise, then, that Jayda G's DJ-Kicks mix captures the buoyant spirit of the music that has influenced her most. "DJ-Kicks has been a personal goal of mine for a really long time. I've been a fan for decades now. I remember there was one mix by Chromeo and it had some French disco on it that always stood out in my mind," she remembers. Clocking in at just over an hour, Guy's mixtakes you on a journey that moves through loved classics and new bubblers. The mix contains Jayda's Brand new single "All I Need", the follow up to Grammy Nominated breakthrough single "Both Of Us", a slinky house tune co-produced with James Ford that fizzes with shimmering energy. A rallying cry for kinship and understanding, Guy's insouciant vocals insist "all I need is you to hear me", gliding across the perfectly swung house beat. "Because the mix was made during the pandemic, I thought, 'What music makes me happy?' I want people to feel like they know me. I wanted it to be approachable, still honouring the disco and soul music that I love. I hope that translates in some shape or form."

TRANSPARENT ORANGE VINYL

For Jayda G, joy is a state of mind. Whether she transmits it through her upbeat productions or magnetic energy at the decks, the Canadian-born DJ and producer, real name Jayda Guy, is a beacon of empathy on the dancefloor. It's no surprise, then, that Jayda G's DJ-Kicks mix captures the buoyant spirit of the music that has influenced her most. "DJ-Kicks has been a personal goal of mine for a really long time. I've been a fan for decades now. I remember there was one mix by Chromeo and it had some French disco on it that always stood out in my mind," she remembers. Clocking in at just over an hour, Guy's mixtakes you on a journey that moves through loved classics and new bubblers. The mix contains Jayda's Brand new single "All I Need", the follow up to Grammy Nominated breakthrough single "Both Of Us", a slinky house tune co-produced with James Ford that fizzes with shimmering energy. A rallying cry for kinship and understanding, Guy's insouciant vocals insist "all I need is you to hear me", gliding across the perfectly swung house beat. "Because the mix was made during the pandemic, I thought, 'What music makes me happy?' I want people to feel like they know me. I wanted it to be approachable, still honouring the disco and soul music that I love. I hope that translates in some shape or form."

Silent Room, the duo formed by Enzo Carniel and Filippo Vignato is a conversation.
Between the piano of the first and the trombone of the second, two living forces of the
European jazz scene; between France and Italy; between acoustics and electronics. A
patient dialogue initiated on the benches of the conservatory in Paris, which was nourished
by the music of German trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff (to whom the duo paid homage for a
concert at the Cité des Arts in 2014), musical moments shared as a group (Enzo Carniel's
sextet at the Jazz à la Villette festival in particular) and in pairs - for numerous concerts
given on both sides of the Alps - before perfecting their common grammar, giving birth to
their own repertoire, creating their own space.

This first album, Aria, released on the Franco-Japanese label MENACE, was recorded in the
setting of the Villa Cicaletto in Tuscany, whose Silent Room the duo made their own in
September 2019. Carniel had just released Wallsdown, the third elegiac disc of his House of
Echo project (Jazz & People, 2020) and Vignato of an intense live duo recorded with
American cellist Hank Roberts (Ghost Dance, on CamJazz in 2019).

The album is carried by simple melodies, tenuous threads on which the two improvisers who
have slowly got to know each other crisscross and let their voices express themselves. Aria
can refer to the opening of Bach's Goldberg variations, to sung opera arias, but above all to
any expressive melody that develops the imagination. Aria is also the air in Italian: the air
that comes from the breath, the air that fills the room, the air that vibrates and is transformed
into sound. The repertoire is therefore this collection of Arias composed by Enzo Carniel and
Filippo Vignato.

If the duo advocates with this album its jazz heritage - that of improvisation and
conversation, of freedom and virtuosity - and claims to be Carla and Paul Bley, Keith Jarrett,
Gary Valente, Albert Mangelsdorff, Ornette Coleman or John Surman; it also explores the
contemporary colors of electronic music, ambient and Japanese minimalism. The use of the
prepared piano, Fender Rhodes and synthesizers colors the sound space of the acoustic
piano and trombone. The eponymous composition that opens the album in acoustic, closes
it in an electronic version, illuminating the path of the duo between the two universes.

In the almost plant-like composition "In All Nilautpaula", Enzo Carniel evokes the water lily
(in Sanskrit) coming to purify the water around him. On "Babele", Filippo Vignato invokes the
great question of language: thanks to Arias, and therefore melodies, language becomes
universal through music, and only the sensory experience counts.

Born from Carniel and Vignato's desire to create a sound space that would be filled with as
many melodies as silence, a place for listening, dialogue and meditation, Aria is one of those
rare records that contain entire worlds.

Drab Majesty's first ever release was the 2012 self-released cassette tape "Unarian Dances". Originally limited to 100 copies, tracks from this tape would eventually make their way onto the Completely Careless CD collection as bonus cuts. Now, along with the "Unknown to the I" 12" also released on March 26, these songs are finally made available on vinyl in 45 RPM 12" format, bringing all early Drab Majesty material from the Careless era (2012-2015) to vinyl. Mastered by Josh Bonati with beautiful new packaging by Nathaniel Young.



Drab Majesty is the project of Deb DeMure, the androgynous alter-ego of L.A.- based musician Andrew Clinco and partner Mona D. With its combination of reverb-drenched guitars, synth bass lines, commanding vocals, and rhythmic drum machine beats, this project is a stark departure from Clinco’s previous stints as drummer in Marriages and Black Mare. Dubbed “Tragic Wave” and “Mid-Fi” by DeMure, Drab Majesty eloquently blends classic 80s New Wave and hints of early 4AD with a futuristic originality.



Atalented multi-instrumentalist, DeMure composes all of the elements of DrabMajesty. However, rather than taking personal credit for the music, DeMure insists that the inspiration for the songs is received from an other-worldly source and that Deb is merely a vessel through which outside ideas flow inward. But Drab Majesty is more than just a musical project — it’s a methodical experiment in the identity of creativity. The character Deb DeMure is an enigma that eludes all expectations of gender and ego. When DeMure’s imposing 6’ 4” figure assumes the stage, Deb’s playful, harlequin-esque appearance, tempered by an ominous body language, and clashing with the dreamy, ethereal melodies comes across as a web of contrasts. The result is a perfect balance between seemingly conflicting messages, between the high and the low, the drab and the divine.

Five years after the release of ‘Pressure Loss’ the modern master of electronic minimalism Nicola Ratti returns to Where To Now? in collaboration with Japanese MC ‘MA’, for a suite of submerged, outsider Trip-Hop.

‘Shinkai’ meets at the crossroads of the gloomy sonic snapshot world of Tricky, the South London DIY avant pop bloom of Curl/Mica Levi, the outer fringes of Hip-Hop heralded by the Anticon crew, and the deep textured minimalism of Machinfabriek.

‘Shinkai’ heralds the first time Nicola Ratti has worked with a vocalist, and MA’s unique brand of ritualistic vocal methods and experimental approaches to intonation and inflexion only enhances Ratti’s otherworldly soundscapes. The depth of meaning behind MA’s lyrics further expands this sprawling sound world, revealing a twisted beauty, a deep insight into the melancholic world MA reflects upon within his abstract wordplay – on ‘Suiso’ MA laments above Ratti’s mourning electronics….

“A ship with the wind in the sails erased a path to the skies.

Gone forever,
In sandy finality,
A scene never to be repeated,
Never to be understood.

Never to hatch,
Dreams of never continuing beyond the crossroads
A painting dissipates as the allure runs dry
Without consulting the dusk, dawn never arrives.

Agonising over the silence brought on by a stumble,
Attacked from all angles until I find my ground once more.
What comes next does not matter - just as long as it comes.
A not-so-distant-future, born from certain uncertainty.

Let me face it with wavering reservations,
Bury me in it
My sins left unanswered
Cover the snow on which it falls.

An unthawing aquarium.
An unanswering aquarium.

Hiding, evolving, recollecting, transferring,
A precarious contradiction befalls.
Timeframes cut, edited and replaced with resentment
The ritual aesthetics of a secret ceremony.

The thoughts of once again,
Fills me with dread and rage.
Painted in blood.

Alas, it was fun...”

On the surface this is an unlikely (yet inspired) collaboration – MA has been a part of the Tokyo Hip-Hop underground for many years, over which time he has stylistically leapt into noisier, more experimental territories. We have Rabih Beaini to thank for shining a light on MA’s talents, with the 2019 LP ‘AMA’ being released on Morphine records, and Beaini opening new doors for experimentation and collaboration.

‘Shinkai’ was composed and recorded between January and April 2020. The pair had met a couple of times in Japan first and then in Europe, undertaking a live collaborative experiment combining sounds and words that had not been designed to be performed together, ‘Shinkai’ reflects the fluidity of this encounter and is in essence a consequence of it.

Ratti assigns the following poetic grounding to the intentions and thematic form of the album – “Shinkai means deep sea, a place most of us will never see except on the surface. The sea depths do not belong to us, they are not places for us, we do not know them and they disturb us, they are a material that we can look at without seeing. I have always thought that height, verticality in general, was not a familiar dimension except in relation to our physicality. The horizon reassures us, the depth disturbs us. The Italian language is written and read horizontally, from left to right, the Japanese language can be written vertically and read from right to left. Does the horizon still reassure us?”