quête:freedom call

Strolling through the world by Biboul Darouiche & The Bantu Jazz Connection marks the first vinyl release on Crispy Water and is a vibrant fusion of African rhythms, jazz improvisation, and soulful storytelling, blending ancestral rhythm with contemporary jazz expression. Recorded with an ensemble of outstanding musicians, the album moves effortlessly between groove, spirit, and freedom — connecting continents through sound.

BIBOUL DAROUICHE is a singer, percussionist, composer and head of the ensemble. By playing the conga, djembe, calimba and - the African treetrunk drum (also called nkul or tam-tam, which by the way should not be missing at any concert!) Darouiche brings a very special color to his music. He works mainly in Europe, but his engagements also take him to the Middle East, the countries of the CIS, Brazil and the USA. Since1995 he has been a member of Klaus Doldinger's Passport. He has also worked with musicians such as Al Di Meola, Pee Wee Ellis, Roy Ayers, Graham Haynes, Paquito D'Rivera and the Jazz Baltica Ensemble.

The Austrian multi-instrumentalist and producer MICHAEL HORNEK, who is part of the permanent cast of Klaus Doldinger's Passport as a keyboardist, plays keyboards, percussion and sings. His free-jazzy percussive playing inspires every listener. Hornek's keyboard skills can be heard on over 750 music productions, and the trend is of course increasing!

Mauritian bassist LINLEY MARTHE is one of the world's best bassists. He was a long time permanent member of the band Joe Zawinul Syndicate,worked with musicians like Dave Liebmann, Richard Galliano, Omar Hakimand many more. Zawinul said of Linley Marthe in an interview: “Linley is a phenomenon. I don't know if anyone can match him in terms of bass playing."

ROGER BIWANDU, french musician born and raised in Bordeaux/France, with roots from Congo (DRC) is an artist resident at l'Apollo bar in Bordeaux since june 1997, he plays there one time per month. He played with a lot of great musicians all over the world, with some heavy weights too, like Joe Zawinul, Salif Keita, Marcus Miller, Lee Ritenour, John Beasley, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Franck McComb, to name a few.

Wild by nature, the Does of the Florian Pellissier Quintet could never be contained in a creative pen that would have forced them never to cross potential geographical limits. Travelers, spending their energy without restraint to let the hard bop of their jazz wander and export itself wherever the groove guided them, they went as far as Africa or South America, from the Cape of Good Hope to Rio. Rio, precisely where, for their last appearance, exposure to a brief electric current had carried them into outer space. A revelation.


Furious strides, exhausting gambols, the Does had done so much that they could not escape the obvious call of calm and serenity. Freed from distances, and after a stop in Colombia to mingle with the crowd at the Barranquilla carnival, it was California and its Pacific coast they reached, to rest before the peaceful immensity of the ocean.


One hundred sixty-five million square kilometers, an infinite expanse to contemplate in order to fling wide open the gates to an even vaster space. A spiritual domain conducive to the search for new sounds. That of the open sea, where measuring miles is neither relevant nor meaningful, and where the only compass becomes the musical tracks the Does follow.


Beneath their coppery hooves, to the crystalline sound of the Fender Rhodes and the sweep of electric layers, the path to take revealed itself in this meditative and abstract realm they had never before explored. Invited to join the purely organic textures, the synthetic notes distilled a few aromas of sweetness into an album of ten tracks, where the FPQ abandoned written scores on some pieces in order to be guided only by the inspiration born of a newfound freedom.


Blue when they began their journey five albums ago, their coat has now taken on the colors that illuminate the Pacific coast. That moment when, as you gaze at the horizon swallowing the sun, only glowing shades filter through—reddish, orange, violet.


Departing without haste or frenzy from one of the shores bordering the ocean, the voices of Archie Shepp, Iggy Pop, and DjeuhDjoah still resonating in their antlers, the Does may now be on the opposite shore. Carried all the way to the Japanese coast by Hokusai’s wave…

Wild by nature, the Does of the Florian Pellissier Quintet could never be contained in a creative pen that would have forced them never to cross potential geographical limits. Travelers, spending their energy without restraint to let the hard bop of their jazz wander and export itself wherever the groove guided them, they went as far as Africa or South America, from the Cape of Good Hope to Rio. Rio, precisely where, for their last appearance, exposure to a brief electric current had carried them into outer space. A revelation.
Furious strides, exhausting gambols, the Does had done so much that they could not escape the obvious call of calm and serenity. Freed from distances, and after a stop in Colombia to mingle with the crowd at the Barranquilla carnival, it was California and its Pacific coast they reached, to rest before the peaceful immensity of the ocean.
One hundred sixty-five million square kilometers, an infinite expanse to contemplate in order to fling wide open the gates to an even vaster space. A spiritual domain conducive to the search for new sounds. That of the open sea, where measuring miles is neither relevant nor meaningful, and where the only compass becomes the musical tracks the Does follow.
Beneath their coppery hooves, to the crystalline sound of the Fender Rhodes and the sweep of electric layers, the path to take revealed itself in this meditative and abstract realm they had never before explored. Invited to join the purely organic textures, the synthetic notes distilled a few aromas of sweetness into an album of ten tracks, where the FPQ abandoned written scores on some pieces in order to be guided only by the inspiration born of a newfound freedom.
Blue when they began their journey five albums ago, their coat has now taken on the colors that illuminate the Pacific coast. That moment when, as you gaze at the horizon swallowing the sun, only glowing shades filter through—reddish, orange, violet.
Departing without haste or frenzy from one of the shores bordering the ocean, the voices of Archie Shepp, Iggy Pop, and DjeuhDjoah still resonating in their antlers, the Does may now be on the opposite shore. Carried all the way to the Japanese coast by Hokusai’s wave…

Going through his music files from the past fifteen years, LFU found some unfinished and long forgotten projects. One particular track caught his attention, made by former 'Pantoffeldiertjes' VJ Bas Klompmaker, now known as Pantov. This track, called 'WannaBe', was remixed at some time by LKRT and LFU, but was never finetuned and stayed on the shelf for a long time. When you listen to the original 'Pantov - WannaBe' theme, it feels like you get caught in a magic spell. A boost of freedom and positive energy flows from the speakers straight into your brain. Pantov & Casa Meganika polished up the original track, while LKRT and LFU re-created the remixes. You simply cannot sit still when listening to LFU's catchy and mesmerizing punchy breakbeat remixes: a 7inchMix and a full version boasting even more breakbeats (how many breaks do you want?). The LKRT RMX has a trippy progressive - four to the floor - energetic feel: keep moving straight ahead!

Drummer and NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart releases his first live album, MULTIDIRECTIONAL, with his longtime all-star quartet featuring saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, and bassist Ben Street. --- Legendary drummer Billy Hart credits the great Rashied Ali for introducing him to the term “multidirectional” – a descriptor for the elusive, daring approach to the kit that Hart and others of his generation had developed intuitively in response to the increasing freedom and exploration of the era’s jazz experimentation. “Rashied Ali told me that ‘multidirectional’ was what John Coltrane called this freeform feel, where conventional structure was abandoned and the rhythms could cut in any direction,” he writes in Oceans of Time: The Musical Autobiography of Billy Hart, his captivating new memoir. Hart had begun to explore that style under the influence of Coltrane’s pioneering work, first venturing into the terrain while playing with Pharoah Sanders at the famed East Village club Slugs’. More than half a century later, Hart has refined and evolved the approach into a singular percussive voice of unparalleled elegance, finesse, and intricacy – as exemplified on MULTIDIRECTIONAL, the first live recording by his longstanding quartet featuring tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, pianist Ethan Iverson, and bassist Ben Street.

Los Angeles-based producer and composer Hayes Bradley returns with his most ambitious work yet, Audience, out now via StrataSonic Records. A departure from his years composing for film and fashion, the 14-track album marks a return to his dancefloor roots by melding breakbeats, trip-hop, and ambient textures into something both nostalgic and forward-thinking.

After two beatless, melodic LPs on Secular Sabbath, Bradley arrives at Los Angeles’ StrataSonic—an independent label celebrated for prioritizing artistic freedom—with Audience, a record defined by moody, churning breaks and rich soundscapes. Across the album, he merges the emotional depth of his scoring work with the kinetic energy of underground dance music, crafting a deeply-layed and adventurous project that exists beyond trends while highlighting his versatility as both producer and performer.

The album features collaborations with Luna on the ethereal “Dear Treasure” (accompanied by a music video with collaborator and partner Luna Blaise) Amtrac on “Be Right With You,” and Oxis on “Wishes,” alongside a range of instrumental cuts that highlight Bradley’s approach to rhythm and sound design.

At its core, Audience is an exploration of embracing personal and musical chaos. Bradley channels moments of anxiety, uncertainty, and raw emotion into tracks that are unpredictable and immersive. The album reflects his philosophy of leaning into disorder—turning moments of anxiety, unpredictability, and chaos into kinetic music that moves both body and mind.

„Good things take time“; this saying fits perfect for the new and fifth studio album „High On Fire“ of the inernational Classic Hard Rock group SAINTED SINNERS, featuring vocalist Jack Meile (Tygers Of Pan Tang), founding member and guitar player Frank Pané (Bonfire), Ernesto Ghezzi (Gotthard) on Keyboards, Samy Saemann (ex-Fredom Call) on bass and Berci Hirleman on drums. With almost three years in the making, the band returns with their newest collection of songs under the bands own motto: The Essence of Rock’n’Roll. „High On Fire“ delivers a feeling of good time Rock’n’Roll vibes! Let‘s forget and escape from all the bad things in life and enjoy life to the fullest with freedom of expression and a overall positive attitude. With „High On Fire“ you should feel uplifted by music. The album features ten new tracks, including a surprise The Who cover-version, done in the SAINTED SINNERS style!

Valby Vokalgruppe was initiated in 2008 by Anja Jacobsen, the Danish collective’s current line-cup is completed by Lil Lacy, Sonja LaBianca, Cæcilie Trier and Laura Marie Madsen. The group has written and performed a large number of cross-aesthetic pieces over the years, including an album Bah New Era released in 2012 on Eget Værelse.

Sharpened to its core, the group dives deep into rhythmical architectures built almost solely from the voice - think Platonic solids reimagined as sound objects. Think trance without electronics. These new compositions are compressed, sparkling forms — vocal geometries that spin, collide, and dissolve through repetition. From inside the circle: radical precision, soft dissonance, and playful intuition guide the way. The group explores the voice not as melody alone, but as material — vibrating, modulating, refracting.

Solids For Voices transcends into deep concentration calling for a clear state of mind, in recognition of an increasingly fragmented and incoherent reality. Valby Vokalgruppe endeavours a total absorption into the voice, the rhythm and the trance.

When Straight Ahead hit the shelves in 1974, it marked another bold chapter for Brian Auger’s Oblivion Express. The band—Steve Ferrone on drums, Barry Dean on bass, Jack Mills on guitar, and Lennox Langton on congas— was firing on all cylinders, pushing jazz fusion into fresh, uncharted territory.

Critics took notice, with Billboard praising the album as “excellent in development and inventiveness, ” and it found its way onto multiple charts at once.

The journey begins with “Beginning Again, ” a lively opener built on Langton’s congas and Ferrone’s muscular groove. Auger’s electric piano sparkles here, immediately setting the album’s adventurous tone. Then comes their take on Wes Montgomery’s “Bumpin’ On Sunset. ” Darker in mood and drenched in atmosphere, Auger stretches out into improvisation while still honoring Montgomery’s spirit. The interpretation struck such a chord that, years later, Wes’s widow wrote to Auger to tell him it was her husband’s favorite version of his much-loved tune.

The title track, “Straight Ahead, ” shifts gears into funk, showcasing the group’s ability to slide effortlessly between genres. “Change” pushes further, blending rock’s raw energy with jazz’s improvisational freedom, driven by Auger’s command of the Hammond organ. To close, “You’ll Stay in My Heart” brings the tempo down with a tender, soulful ballad—an intimate ending to an album full of bold explorations.

At the time, reviewers hailed the record as a gem. One called it “a minor masterpiece of incredibly engaging and melodic keyboard-centric jazz-rock fusion. ” Another singled out “Bumpin’ On Sunset” as “the best reason to own this recording.”

Half a century later, Straight Ahead still resonates. It captures that fertile moment in the 1970s when jazz, rock, and funk were colliding, and artists like Auger were busy redrawing the map. To this day, it stands as proof of Auger’s fearless curiosity and his knack for breaking boundaries—music that looked forward then, and still feels ahead of its time now.

System Olympia presents a bold, cinematic compilation that redefines the sound of sensuality. Love Language is an
18-track double-vinyl release pressed on deluxe heavyweight black vinyl.
It’s accompanied by a provocative, limited-edition 24-page fanzine, exclusive to 18+ audiences.
This is not just a compilation, Love Language is a manifesto. A carefully curated sonic journey through eroticism, artistic rebellion,
and liberation, it spans nearly five decades of music and features exclusive edits and rare gems that illuminate System Olympia’s
radical aesthetic vision.

****
Since her emergence on the electronic underground, System Olympia has carved out a distinct, sensual sonic universe, equal parts
vulnerable and defiant. With Love Language, she presents her most audacious project to date: a compilation rooted in what she
calls The Aesthetics of Sexual Desire in Sound.

It’s a daring declaration that desire is more than a feeling - it’s a language. Across 20 tracks, including her own sultry opener “The
Heat Of The Night (feat. REINEN)” and a rare System Olympia edit of Working Men’s Club’s “Ploys”, this compilation speaks in
rhythms and textures that evoke longing, intimacy, and ecstatic release.
This is not a traditional compilation. System Olympia’s sequencing is cinematic and deliberate. Every track a scene in a film that exists
only in the listener’s imagination. From the retro-futurist seduction of Flavia Fortunato’s Italo gem “Se Tu Vuoi” to the deep, extended
tension of Musclecars’ “Running Out of Time,” each piece plays its part in an arc of anticipation, climax, and reflection.Uniting artists as diverse as Daniele Baldelli, Piero Umiliani, and DJ Rocca, Love Language refuses boundaries of genre, era, or
expectation. It dances between vintage Italo-disco, dreamy electronica, sweaty club tracks, and avant-garde jazz, forming a rich
tapestry of sound and sensation.

System Olympia explains, “This is music for lovers, outsiders, and dreamers. It's a rebellion made of velvet and
basslines.

The accompanying 24-page fanzine insert, restricted to adults, further deepens the narrative, with erotic visual fragments and
poetic texts that amplify the compilation’s raw, sensual energy. A tangible extension of the music’s spirit, the zine invites listeners to
step into Olympia’s world and engage their senses fully.

As much a provocation as it is a celebration, Love Language is a deeply personal curation and a radical act of creative freedom. It
champions eroticism as art, desire as dialogue, and music as a liberatory force.

a A1. System Olympia - The Heat Of The Night (feat. REINEN) 3:44
b A2. Flavia Fortunato - Se Tu Vuoi 3:38
c A3. See Thru Hands - Hot City 3:57
[d] A4. Daniele Baldelli, Francesca Amati - Inner Light [4:43]
[e] A5. Ruins - Sexual Desire [3:14]
[f] B1. Midnight Magic - Beam Me Up (Eli's Mix) [5:13]
[g] B2. musclecars - Running Out Of Time [5:10]
[h] B3. Working Men's Club - Ploys (System Olympia Edit) [4:56]
[i] B4. Royalty - Heart Strings [5:05]
[j] C1. Dirty Art Club - Daysleeper [3:45]
[k] C2. Admiral - Soho Girl [4:14]
[l] C3. Tom Sharkett & Raf Rundell - Where's It All Go? [3:41]
[m] C4. Gina Calabrese - Nobody Lives Forever [4:40]
[n] D1. Romolo Grano, Gianni Oddi & Edda Dell'Orso - Kilimangiaro [3:55]
[o] D2. LNDFK - Hana-bi [1:55]
[p] D3. Fitness Forever - Vederti Distante [2:47]

[a] A1. System Olympia - The Heat Of The Night (feat. REINEN) [3:44]
[b] A2. Flavia Fortunato - Se Tu Vuoi [3:38]
[c] A3. See Thru Hands - Hot City [3:57]
[d] A4. Daniele Baldelli, Francesca Amati - Inner Light [4:43]
[e] A5. Ruins - Sexual Desire [3:14]
[f] B1. Midnight Magic - Beam Me Up (Eli's Mix) [5:13]
[g] B2. musclecars - Running Out Of Time [5:10]
[h] B3. Working Men's Club - Ploys (System Olympia Edit) [4:56]
[i] B4. Royalty - Heart Strings [5:05]
[j] C1. Dirty Art Club - Daysleeper [3:45]
[k] C2. Admiral - Soho Girl [4:14]
[l] C3. Tom Sharkett & Raf Rundell - Where's It All Go? [3:41]
[m] C4. Gina Calabrese - Nobody Lives Forever [4:40]
[n] D1. Romolo Grano, Gianni Oddi & Edda Dell'Orso - Kilimangiaro [3:55]
[o] D2. LNDFK - Hana-bi [1:55]
[p] D3. Fitness Forever - Vederti Distante [2:47]

[a] A1. System Olympia - The Heat Of The Night (feat. REINEN) [3:44]
[b] A2. Flavia Fortunato - Se Tu Vuoi [3:38]
[c] A3. See Thru Hands - Hot City [3:57]
[d] A4. Daniele Baldelli, Francesca Amati - Inner Light [4:43]
[e] A5. Ruins - Sexual Desire [3:14]
[f] B1. Midnight Magic - Beam Me Up (Eli's Mix) [5:13]
[g] B2. musclecars - Running Out Of Time [5:10]
[h] B3. Working Men's Club - Ploys (System Olympia Edit) [4:56]
[i] B4. Royalty - Heart Strings [5:05]
[j] C1. Dirty Art Club - Daysleeper [3:45]
[k] C2. Admiral - Soho Girl [4:14]
[l] C3. Tom Sharkett & Raf Rundell - Where's It All Go? [3:41]
[m] C4. Gina Calabrese - Nobody Lives Forever [4:40]
[n] D1. Romolo Grano, Gianni Oddi & Edda Dell'Orso - Kilimangiaro [3:55]
[o] D2. LNDFK - Hana-bi [1:55]
[p] D3. Fitness Forever - Vederti Distante [2:47]

[a] A1. System Olympia - The Heat Of The Night (feat. REINEN) [3:44]
[b] A2. Flavia Fortunato - Se Tu Vuoi [3:38]
[c] A3. See Thru Hands - Hot City [3:57]
[d] A4. Daniele Baldelli, Francesca Amati - Inner Light [4:43]
[e] A5. Ruins - Sexual Desire [3:14]
[f] B1. Midnight Magic - Beam Me Up (Eli's Mix) [5:13]
[g] B2. musclecars - Running Out Of Time [5:10]
[h] B3. Working Men's Club - Ploys (System Olympia Edit) [4:56]
[i] B4. Royalty - Heart Strings [5:05]
[j] C1. Dirty Art Club - Daysleeper [3:45]
[k] C2. Admiral - Soho Girl [4:14]
[l] C3. Tom Sharkett & Raf Rundell - Where's It All Go? [3:41]
[m] C4. Gina Calabrese - Nobody Lives Forever [4:40]
[n] D1. Romolo Grano, Gianni Oddi & Edda Dell'Orso - Kilimangiaro [3:55]
[o] D2. LNDFK - Hana-bi [1:55]
[p] D3. Fitness Forever - Vederti Distante [2:47]

Los Angeles-based duo LUCKYANDLOVE are back with their third album, evoking a new sense of art school originality, following their critically acclaimed “Transitions” album. The duo defines 'Humaura' as the atmosphere that emanates from the feelings of the human spirit void of technological control.

Blending raw analog synth sounds with driving punctuated percussion and punchy analogue bass, LUCKYANDLOVE’s music is shaped by the embers of Siouxsie and The Banshees and Bauhaus, resonant spectres carry over from synth-laden galaxies, where the needle hits the vinyl groove and Doc Martens marched to basement dance floors.

LUCKYANDLOVE is the raw sonic experiment of Loren Luck and April Love, whose music transcends genres. Their live analogue synth beats, Moog instrumentation and beautiful, harmonic vocals trigger an immediate download of fuzzy sunset synthgaze, blue-black neon darkwave, and tigerprint electro punk.

“‘Humaura’ is an action-packed, cinematic, entertaining and soulful electro-dance record full of fresh air and wide-open roads where there is more freedom to party, to be in nature, and to be our wild selves,” says April Love.

Fusing together pulsating molten kicks, abrasive fuzz-laden analog synths and sensual vocals, the anti-tech angst anthem ‘I Am Human’ is a call to take back our lives, underlining the need to reconnect with being Human before it’s too late. ‘Lonely at Night’ is a "last call" bar track about the desperate, frantic desire for human connection, building from a haunting sense of isolation to a fast-paced, climactic reunion with a crush. Elsewhere, this album features enchanting lyrics rooted in emotions from melancholy and sorrowful glom to a state of blissful trance.

This album was recorded, mixed and mastered for digital release by Grammy award-winning engineer Be Hussey (Modern English, Twin Tribes, Boy Harsher) at Balboa Studio and Catwater for the digital music, and mastered for vinyl and lathe-cut by Grammy-nominated engineer Nicholas Townsend (Weezer, Grimes) at Townsend Mastering.

Their 'Lucky + Love' and 'Transitions' albums having earning them a global fan following, US and UK tours, multiple tracks featured in the indie hit film 'Tiger Within' (Ed Asner's final performance), and wide acclaim, noting their “soulful, synthesized sound" (LA Weekly), “spectral synths and dazed-dreamy feeling” (Big Takeover Magazine), not to mention their "uncompromising and inventive sonic experiment” (The Spill Magazine) and sound that “oscillates between the asphalt synth streets & interstellar outer realms” (Impose Magazine).

LUCKYANDLOVE’s visceral, dark electro-pop appeal continues to stretch through time and space. Praise for the album’s lead track ‘I am Human’ have poured in from over a dozen countries. ‘Humaura’ promises to cement the duo’s reputation as one of America’s most vivacious electronic / synthwave acts, positioning them firmly within the lineage of artists like Phantogram, Ladytron, The Soft Moon, Twin Tribes and ACTORS.


‘Humaura’ Press:

“...In contrast to its synth-laden darkwave and electropunk sound, the song presents lyrical themes of championing the human spirit and emotions over the technological void" ~ Regen Magazine

“Moog textures and distorted synth tones weaving together like electric currents. An industrial edge that carries a dreamy undercurrent, nodding to darkwave, punk rock and post-punk influences without sounding dated" ~ Myth of Rock

"Every second and note is a meld of lava-esque incitement and beguiling melodic fixation and a breath to unpredictability and stirring fuzz hued uniqueness… a thrilling encounter" ~ The Ringmaster Review

"Layers fall into place and give rise to soaring vocals. The beautiful timbre of her voice sits over the landscapes of sound and reveal poignant lines that hit home." ~ Sound Read Six

OOOOH! by Alex Bad Baby Lukashevsky with Cocoa Corner (2025)

Celebrated veteran of Toronto’s music scene, known for his boundary-pushing approach to folk and avant-garde music, twists rock music into strange and brilliant new shapes with the help of young jazz players, U.S. Girls, and his own immensely talented son.



OOOOH! is hard on the outside and soft on the inside. Made in the spirit of unity,
humanity, and poetry — disobediently renouncing the glory of personal triumph for the
generosity of an honest experiment. On the last track of the album you’ll hear “Or do you only ever never want to make a single enemy? / That’s not freedom or humility / It’s nothing, honestly.” Oooh, that's a bad baby!

A celebrated Toronto songwriter and performer, Alex Lukashevsky has always been disobedient. Which simply means, nothing is off the table when he’s looking for his
poetic voice; when trying to find the realest I of the teller. As he sings on the lead track “that musician that’s dead” The musician is radical/ it’s the world that’s demented/ listening with their eyes, the music looks dented/ they’re over-represented.
OOOOH! was recorded in January 2024 at Sound Department in Toronto, engineered by Patrick Lefler (ROY), mixed by Grammy-nominated producer Matt Smith. All the songs were tracked live off the floor in two days, with one extra day for recording vocals, to keep the recording fully alive and breathing. As leader of Deep Dark United, as a solo performer, and a sideman in Brodie Wests’ Eucalyptus and Luka Kuplowsky’s Ryokan Band, Alex has been an outsized influence on the Toronto music scene that spawned acts like Broken Social Scene and Owen Pallett. (Pallett, who has toured with Lukashevsky, went so far as to record an entire album’s worth of Alex’s songs, backed
by a full orchestra.)

Lukashevsky has approached each of his albums and projects as something completely new, using only the musical boundaries he creates with each song. Even when he
has recorded songs with nothing but his voice and his own acoustic guitar accompaniment, the results are never “stripped down” or “back to basics,”
Gong! How do you get to heaven / have fun! have fun!
It’s cool to approach music as a game of “spot the influence”; Burt Bacharach-meets-Black Flag; Lana Del Rey-meets-LCD Soundsystem etc. Glorified mash-ups are promising because of their conversational nature. But they can turn us into hyperboreans; blowing cold air beyond ourselves while doing what we can to remain warm. To devise a game or a narrative is to have a winner and a loser, but we all know that just as you win/ so you lose. And does anything really change? Alex Lukashevsky and Cocoa Corner are more at ease drawing blind contours or playing an old game like consequences. They let things add up without knowing particularly how. Cognition is recognition.

Lukashevsky, in addition to writing all the songs, plays guitar and sings on OOOOH!, doing both in ways that are soulful and spikey at the same time. Joining him on guitar and vocals is his oldest child, Charlie Lukashevsky, who, at 23, is already a talented performer and songwriter in his own right. Cocoa Corner also includes Aidan McConnell, an in-demand drummer and composer, Jack Johnston, a jazz bassist and Barry Harris acolyte, and percussionist Evan Cartwright (The Weather Station, U.S. Girls, Cola, Tasseomancy), who plays steel pan and marching drum.

Working with his son and with other younger musicians is central to the album’s
unpredictable aesthetic. It reinvigorated the sound in unexpected ways. Lukashevsky says, “I had to reconsider my own instincts. I had to deal with being 99 years old.”
In addition to these performers, the album includes a tasty contribution from Meg
Remy, the visionary musician and producer who is the leader of the critically acclaimed
project U.S. Girls. Remy duets with Lukashevsky on the imagistic and sprawling album
closer “things keep happening.”
About that album title: OOOOH! is taken straight from “that musician that’s dead” an
arch and unhinged comment on the exertion required to navigate a lifetime of music making.
Lukashevsky’s delivery of that one emotive word is a kind of cultural posture, but also a
hundred percent primitive expression. The impact is never less than visceral. His vocal
delivery ranges through rich baritone blues to keening falsettos to a kind of sprechstimme that periodically steps out from the music to grab the listener’s shirt. He
doesn’t sound too nice, but he is sincere. When life gives you lemons lament.
For OOOOH! his first official full-length album since 2012’s Too Late Blues, (a collection of knotty-yet-effervescent tunes built upon the enchantingly serpentine harmonies of Lukashevsky and his vocal collaborators, Felicity Williams (Bahamas, Bernice) and Daniela Gesundheit (Snowblink, HYDRA)), Alex has once again broken apart and rebuilt his own approach to music. Or rather (because that sounds too over-determined), he
has allowed his music to build itself into strange new shapes that only fleetingly and
coincidentally, but happily, resemble anything that might be called rock and roll. There is some editorializing within the song’s lyrics— Lukashevsky even cheekily contributes to the “spot the influence” game with the line “Muddy Waters, Rite of Spring!” a funny preemptive strike against anyone already reaching for some variation of avant-blues to describe what the song is up to here. In fact there are many names checked on this record (literally and in spirit); they are the lily pads that trace the path of this expression! Palestrina, Peter Pears and Benjamin Brittain, Andrés Segovia, Stravinsky, Lotte Lenya, Alice Coltrane, Skip James, Chuck Berry, D’Gary, Betty Carter, Mukhtiyar Ali, Chuck D, Yoko Ono, Hailu Mergia, David Bowie, Jane Siberry. rhythm is a skeleton mansion / haunted by melody / feckless prodigy / the world is under a spell / cast by some demon angel / Practice day and night / Try as hard as hell / no one can sing that well Musicians are often worried by the way in which they are prepared to fail rather
than how they would like to succeed; it’s such a deep concern that it tempers their creativity and shackles their process. Current cultural proclivities, tend to comfort a certain kind of artistic failure and abnegate another kind. How many testimonials, full of heartfelt care and investment, have you heard for Taylor Swift, and yet a craftsman like Chris Weisman is often dismissed easily as though he’s doing something anti-social. what’s throwing itself in my ears and my eyes / arrogant devil ad hominem christ.
The music you will hear on this recording veers off in multiple directions at once,
and features a rock and roll spirit with a divergent heart. This is no sclerotic clomp of the Average Rock Song, but in fact a flood of humanity in all its darkness and moodiness and unpredictability. If most performers make songs that are like sports cars or pickup trucks to drive around, Lukashevsky has built something more akin to a rowboat in a tree: it’s weird and beautiful.

23 Live-Tracks von der gefeierten Luck and Strange Tour auf 4 LPs in 2 Doppel-Gatefolds und Schuber. Enthält ein 24-seitiges Booklet mit Fotos von der Tour. Produziert von Charlie Andrew und David Gilmour.

Die Tour begleitete Gilmours fünftes Soloalbum Luck And Strange, das #1 in Großbritannien, Deutschland (seine erste #1 dort), Polen, den Niederlanden, Tschechien, der Schweiz, Portugal und Österreich erreichte.

Die Shows begannen mit zwei ausverkauften Warm-up-Shows im Brighton Centre, bevor sie für sechs ausverkaufte Abende in den Circus Maximus in Rom umzogen, gefolgt von der gleichen Anzahl in der Londoner Royal Albert Hall, bevor sie für ausverkaufte Abende im Intuit Dome und der Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in die USA zogen und mit fünf ausverkauften Abenden im Madison Square Garden in New York endeten.

Alle dreiundzwanzig Termine waren ausverkauft, und da keine neuen Shows in Sicht sind, sind »The Luck And Strange Concerts« die beste und einzige Möglichkeit, den Meister seiner Kunst auf der Bühne zu erleben.

After their first joint recording experience in 2022, in which they dedicated a monograph to the Beatles, revisiting their great classics,
Sarah Jane Morris, a British jazz, rock, and R&B singer and songwriter, and the Solis String Quartet, a Neapolitan string quartet with
extensive concert and recording experience, are embarking on a new album. This time, it's not a monograph, but a tribute to a series
of artists who have left an indelible mark on the universal music world with their art and unique lifestyle. The project is titled "The 27
Club," a reference to those artists who, despite not choosing to belong to any elite circle, were united by the fate of having left this
world too soon, at just 27 years old. Among them are great names such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy
Winehouse, and Otis Redding. Despite their differences, these artists share a charisma and a passion for music that has made them
immortal. Their musical legacy continues to celebrate their memory and inspire new generations. The album is a tribute to these timeless
artists, whose songs remain timeless and continue to move. Forever Young.
"After our first recording collaboration with Sarah Jane Morris in 2022, in which we dedicated a monograph to the Beatles, revisiting
their great classics, we decided to take on a new challenge, no longer a monograph but a work dedicated to a series of artists who have
unmistakably marked the universal musical world with their art and their very particular lifestyle! We called it "Forever Young" and it
tells the story of the "Club of 27" in music; an imaginary, dark and very elitist circle in which artists of the caliber of Jimi Hendrix, Janis
Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Otis Redding found themselves enrolled, certainly unwillingly and without their
knowledge, after death snatched them from success on the threshold of twenty-seven, only to restore them, almost as compensation,
to immortal glory, just a stone's throw from legend. Musically speaking, thanks to the overflowing evocative power of Sarah Jane Morris's
voice, it was both fascinating and stimulating for us to try to restore It integrates the idea and mood that permeated and still live on in
these compositions, the rhythm, the melody, and the lyricism, in an original reinterpretation that accompanies the listener in the rediscovery of these masterpieces! Solis String Quartet
"Greatly talented creative people often die young, like Keats, Mozart, Schubert, Raphael, and the Brontë sisters. We tend to think of
them in two ways: we wonder what they might have accomplished had they lived longer. However, more positively, we can appreciate
their youthful talents as impervious to the passage of time, their brilliance preserved in their eternal youth. They will remain forever
young." Sarah Jane Morris

Wrong Filament embodies Robert Piotrowicz's creation of fictional traditional music - not studied but invented, a utopian and oniric construct that becomes tangible in sound. These imagined traditions act as communal forces of music-making, resisting dominant structures of power.

The album unfolds in six dense compositions built on rhythm, repetition and minimal melodic gestures that draw on archetypal patterns of Eastern European traditions. Entirely synthetic yet strikingly instrumental in character, they develop as autonomous sound events, expanding into multi-part forms that evoke the physicality of ensemble performance - as if played by an imagined community of musicians.

Rather than reconstruction, Piotrowicz invents forged dances - a pre-techno of sorts, where complex meters and dense textures point to a parallel history of collective sound beyond industrial uniformity. They imagine a utopian and fictional genealogy of collective sound: one where industrial modernity yields to more unstable, communal energies.

This is celebratory music with invocatory charge: calls to dance, echoes of ceremony, microtonal melodies shaped by emotional weight, and traces of Eastern ornamentation stretched through synthetic means. Wrong Filament sacralises performance through sound alone, spinning a world where spectres of collective experience vibrate against the limits of rupture and resistance.

These pieces confront the traces of violence inscribed in body and memory, yet also affirm freedom, emancipation and integration. They manifest celebration, identity and resistance while opening a path toward liberation and shared needs that exceed social, private and intimate categories.

Fabio Nobile is a drummer and multi-instrumentalist who has been active on the music scene for over 25 years. Today, his musical
exploration draws from the deep roots of Afro traditions and the expressive freedom of jazz—two musical cultures that are an integral
part of his identity.
Sankofa Soul is a musical project born from the encounter between jazz, African traditions, and the search for a profound connection
between past and present. The term “Sankofa” comes from the Akan language (spoken in Ghana) and means “to go back and fetch what
is good” —an invitation to look to the past to better understand the future.
In an era where music is evolving at a rapid pace, Sankofa Soul looks to a rich and multifaceted cultural heritage, while also embracing a
modern voice—a universal call to reconnect with our European origins through the lens of African legacy.
Each track on Sankofa Soul reflects Fabio Nobile’s experiences, studies, and roots, forming a dialogue between past and present, the
sacred and the profane, individuality and community.
Sankofa Soul is a heartfelt tribute to West Africa, with a special focus on Nigeria.
Zuma Rock leads us into the rich and ever-changing soundscape of West Africa—a space where tradition meets innovation, and rhythm
tells stories older than words. Here, the legacy of Fela Kuti’s Afrobeat pulses through every beat, anchoring the music in political fire and
deep ancestral roots. At the same time, the unmistakable horn section weaves a vibrant fusion of Afro-Funk and Jazz. In Zuma Rock, we
enter a dialogue between past and present—a musical return to the source.
And then appears Kalakuta Republic, a heartfelt homage to the self-declared commune that was home to the legendary Fela Kuti—a
reminder not to forget the rebellious spirit of the Kalakuta Republic. This track gives voice to the very essence of Afro-jazz, wrapped in a
hypnotic 12/8 rhythm that echoes ancient African traditions. Its immersive pulse blends seamlessly with jazz’s boundless expressive
freedom, creating a vibrant, compelling dialogue suspended between ancestral roots and modernity.
Landed in Lagos and I Read the Stars naturally embrace the distinctive sound of Manu Dibango, while Say Your Prayer Now reminds us
how the evolution of Jamaican reggae—and its cultural and musical foundations—remains deeply linked to Mother Africa.
This is Sankofa: the soul’s journey back to the past to move forward.

Originally released in 2023. Combining the mutant funk-punk looping of Battles and Tortoise with a cinematic wall of sound akin to that of post-rock titans Russian Circles, NYOS continue to contrast their outstanding compositional complexity with live improvisations. First explored on the 2022 LP `Celebration', this newfound call and response creative freedom on `Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever' sees NYOS reach new heights of playful chaos and uninhibited, soaring joy. Already renowned for their inimitable control over layers of looped guitars and polyrhythmic percussion, `Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever' sees Brooke and Kainulainen contrast their formidable precision with the chaotic potential of free-jazz inspired, call and response improvisation. Not only is this one-take compositional approach further testament to the astounding musical bond the friends share, it represents an exciting new chapter in NYOS' sonic evolution that can be felt on this record as much as it can be heard.

Originally released in 2023. Combining the mutant funk-punk looping of Battles and Tortoise with a cinematic wall of sound akin to that of post-rock titans Russian Circles, NYOS continue to contrast their outstanding compositional complexity with live improvisations. First explored on the 2022 LP `Celebration', this newfound call and response creative freedom on `Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever' sees NYOS reach new heights of playful chaos and uninhibited, soaring joy. Already renowned for their inimitable control over layers of looped guitars and polyrhythmic percussion, `Waterfall Cave Fantasy, Forever' sees Brooke and Kainulainen contrast their formidable precision with the chaotic potential of free-jazz inspired, call and response improvisation. Not only is this one-take compositional approach further testament to the astounding musical bond the friends share, it represents an exciting new chapter in NYOS' sonic evolution that can be felt on this record as much as it can be heard.

Drummer-composer Tom Skinner announces Kaleidoscopic Visions, his second solo album, out 26th September 2025 via Brownswood Recordings and International Anthem

Kaleidoscopic Visions unfolds across two distinct sonic landscapes. Side A presents entirely instrumental compositions performed by Skinner's live Bishara band—bassist Tom Herbert, cellist Kareem Dayes, and Robert Stillman and Chelsea Carmichael on various woodwinds and reeds—with electric guitar on two tracks courtesy of Portishead's Adrian Utley. A drummer-composer bringing his wealth of experience to bear on the role of bandleader, Skinner composed primarily on guitar, embracing the freedom that came with writing on his secondary instrument.
These compositions include "Auster," dedicated to late novelist Paul Auster, and "Margaret Anne," which honours Skinner's mother Anne Shasby, a former classical concert pianist prodigy who abandoned her own promising career in the face of systemic misogyny, only to impart on her son what Skinner calls "the gift of music."

Skinner’s musical world opens further on Side B, where a collection of poised vocal collaborations stretch out from jazz and improvisation towards a more dream-like, soulful sound. The centerpiece is "The Maxim," a ten-minute collaboration with Grammy Award-winning Meshell Ndegeocello, a dubby, spacious meditation on life and death, delivered with a free-spirited grace. For Skinner, working with Ndegeocello—whom he first saw at Glastonbury as a teenager in 1994—represents a full-circle moment, indicative of the indirect paths and inspirational detours that have shaped his life.
The album goes on to feature South Carolina-based singer Contour (Khari Lucas) who appears on the low-lit soul ballad ‘Logue’, and closes with ‘See How They Run’, featuring London keyboardist-vocalist Yaffra (Jonathan Geyevu). It is the album’s most overtly lyrical track, an articulate exposition of jazz-inflected spoken word that speaks not only to the genre-fluid nature of the music but the breadth of Skinner’s palette.
This should come as no surprise. On Kaleidoscopic Visions, one of London’s most vital musical figures gives us a sparkling glimpse of the multi-coloured lens through which his unique sound is now refracting.