Buscar:g connection

Very limited vinyl pressing, 500 copies in a full colour single outer sleeve and full colour printed lyric inner sleeve, housing black and white smoke effect vinyl. Two albums in and London’s Grave Lines, purveyors of ‘heavy gloom’ have already carved a unique niche in the myriad spheres of heavy music. Their first album ‘Welcome To Nothing’ set the tone for their distinct take on doom metal, which was broadened even further with album two ‘Fed Into The Nihilist Engine’. An epic feast of hard ‘n’ heavy riffs coupled with brooding sadness interspersed with thoughtful transcendent moments of introspection. Never a band to rely solely on trotting out those ‘doom metal’ tropes, the band began to weave in gothic and experimental elements into their music, to delve deeper into the dark shadows of the psyche. Now with their third album ‘Communion’ Grave Lines continue their exploration into the ugliness of the human condition, at the same time becoming a band that truly defies any pigeonhole. Continuing to hone and evolve their collective vision and aided by the masterful production of Andy Hawkins at The Nave Studios, 'Communion' sees Grave Lines creep further into the various corners of their sound. In a nutshell ‘Communion’ is a violent descent of bile-soaked intensity spiralling between filth laden swagger, and fragile mournful lament. The album delves into the internal aloneness of existence and the failings of the human connection. Owing as much to Bauhaus and Killing Joke as it does to Black Sabbath or Neurosis, there are moments of gut wrenching doomed up heaviness and bellowing noise rock, contrasting with ambient gothic passages and a thoughtful melancholy, to a create a powerful new chapter in their ceaseless journey through the gloom. The seven tracks act as distinctly separate representations of the album, each individually mirroring the remoteness of human consciousness. Opening track 'Gordian' doesn't waste any time, a burst of feedback kicks you straight into a filthy low slung punked up stomp before the band switch mood to drop off into a doom abyss, singer Jake raging at the void. 'Argyraphaga' continues the pummelling groove, gradually descending into nihilistic sludge. In direct contrast the sprawling atmosphere of 'Lyceanid' travels through the darkness. Jake’s vocals harnessing the spirits of Scott Walker and Mark Lanegan in equal measure. The rest of the band (on top form throughout) focus the dynamics over eleven enthralling minutes, as the song builds and builds to a towering crescendo before finishing with a plaintive acoustic coda. This is pure Grave Lines’. An immersive blend of darkness and light. 'Tachinid' is a violent palette cleanser, harsh industrial synths astride a hateful droning spoken word sermon. 'Carcini' is soaring melancholic doom, with the band at their most melodic whilst still able to crush the listener. Broodsac, with its circular riffs, is all gothic post punk noise rock meets fuzz fat riffs, and album closer ‘Sinensis’ offers a final delicate, melancholy moment of calm before launching into an industrial charged grind into oblivion. Grave Lines’ fusion of elements makes them one of the most powerful and mesmerising bands inhabiting the heavy music world at the moment, and with ‘Communion’ they have crafted an album that encapsulates their distinctive dynamic perfectly. ‘COMMUNION’ will be released in deluxe black and white smoke effect vinyl, housed in a full colour single sleeve with download included, CD and all digital platforms

For Fans Of… Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, The Faces, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Buddy Miles, The Meters, Father John Misty. "I just wanted to be honest about everything, from my musical influences to my story," muses Neal Francis. After years of dishonest living - consumed by drugs, alcohol, and addiction - such sincerity is jarring from the 30-year-old Chicago-based musician. Liberated from a self-destructive past and born anew in sobriety, Francis has captured an inspired collection of songs steeped in New Orleans rhythms, Chicago blues, and early 70s rock n' roll. There is a deep connection between Francis's childhood - his obsession with boogie woogie piano, his father's gift of a dusty Dr. John LP - and the songs he's created. The result is an astonishing collection of material without parallel in the contemporary funk and soul scene. The influences are unmistakable: the vocal stylings of Allen Toussaint and Leon Russell; the second line rhythms of The Meters and Dr. John; the barroom rock 'n' roll of The Rolling Stones; the gospel soul of Billy Preston; the roots music of The Band. Francis pays tribute to the masters but has his own story to tell: "It's the life I've lived so far." After playing his first live show in November 2018, Francis was signed by veteran agents Joshua Knight and Phil Egenthal of Paradigm Talent Agency. 2019 brought a North American tour supporting Australian band The Cat Empire as well as radio play on KEXP, KCRW's The Morning Becomes Eclectic, and BBC Radio 6. Francis and his four-piece band performed at festivals such as Summer Camp and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and shared the stage with The Meters and Lee Fields & The Expressions. Francis continues to tour relentlessly to promote his own music. "I'm doing this to fulfill a drive within myself, but also to pay tribute to the gifts I've been given. And it comes from a place of immense gratitude. I've been given so much in my life, especially in the last two years, that this feels like a bonus." Also Available From Neal Francis: These Are The Days 7”.

A bona fide legend of the acid jazz / jazz funk scene, James Taylor returns with a stunning new James Taylor Quartet orchestral record MAN IN THE HOT SEAT. A sonic collossus of a record, particularly when listening on vinyl, it ties together the effortless melodic funk of the quartet, the fullness of sound that only an orchestra can bring, with James’ love of classic film soundtracks. Created and recorded with the musicianship and production mastery we have come to expect from JTQ this is undoubtedly one of the best sounding records you’ll hear in 2022.

“Follow Your Heart is all about resilience, connection and joy. How we reunite with our souls, our power, our love’s and our heart as we go through the greatest challenges our world has seen. I wanted to make a record that was uplifting and vulnerable. These songs have all been written during the pandemic, a time in which I lost my father to Covid, lost my job (as a touring musician), and leaned on my wife, family and friends and found a closeness with them that I never knew before. I laughed louder, played harder, cried deeper and danced with more freedom than I’ve ever felt during this crazy time - this music reflects it all. While I will never be grateful to the pandemic that has taken many friends and relatives from my life, I am deeply indebted for the time it has given me to reflect, re-connect with my calling and re-envision the musical soundscape of my life’s journey and find the light in a way that’s brighter than ever!!!” -- Michael Franti

Belgian instrumentalists Glass Museum have found the perfect balance between piano and drums, where jazz and electronics collide, uniting the surgical precision of the best contemporary jazz, à la Gogo Penguin and Badbadnotgood, with the electronic influences of Jon Hopkins or Floating Points.

In motion since 2016, the duo consisting of keyboardist Antoine Flipo and drummer Martin Grégoire, have a rich history written around a powerful connection to duality. From the initial impact of the 'Deux' EP in 2018, to the synthetic and organic textures of the critically acclaimed 2020 album 'Reykjavik', Glass Museum has found its balance in symmetry.

Released 29th April via the groove-obsessed Sdban Ultra label, 'Reflet' was born out of a desire for freedom, a wish to innovate and travel differently. This new piece stands out as an artistic climax crafted at the crossroads of time and genres, an electronic proposition wrought by two brave hearts, tempered by the organic reflections delivered through computer free melodies. An album which places the human at the core of its compositions and in order to return to a more instinctive and instantaneous means of creation, the duo retreated to a secret location in one of the most remote parts of the Ardennes. It's there, in the shade of spruces, that the album was first born.

Extremely cinematographic, 'Reflet' delivers a panoramic view point: jazz, breakbeat, minimal techno and deep house, collide on neo classical grounds. From the dynamic instrumentation of album opener 'Caillebotis' to the absorbing oscillations of 'Shiitake' and grand gestures of the album title track, 'Reflet' is an odyssey running through troubled times, an ode to night time, to life, dreams and to all rhythms that convey emotions beyond words. Like its immersive creative process, the album offers a counterpoint and, above all, endless perspectives. Elsewhere, the pulsing, melodic 'Auburn' and entrancing electronic textures of 'Opal Sequences' continue the exploration before the strutting 'Kendama' showcases the electronic sensibilities that are buried within their productions.

Shining as a true instrumental tour de force, 'Reflet' also takes inspiration from the progress of the Ohme Collective. At the crossroads of art disciplines, science, new technologies and societal challenges, this creative community draws the future of visual arts and created the album artwork for this resolutely futuristic album.

Having initially won the opportunity to perform at the Dour Festival, Tournai back in 2016, Glass Museum have picked up a series of awards and distinctions back home in their homeland and they now find themselves dining at the top table of Europe's contemporary music scene. The international music scene opened itself to the band once again in 2019, with the duo performing at Elb Jazz in Hamburg, the legendary Ancienne Belgique in Brussels and the Iceland Airwaves Festival, Reykjavik.

In 2020, Glass Museum distinguished themselves by remixing a track for electronic artist, Rone. Having recently received a César Award for his soundtrack to the Jacques Audiard film, Les Olympiades, the French producer called on the Brussels duo's know-how - a mark of confidence which once again underlines the international reach of Glass Museum. Germany, Iceland, Turkey, Romania, Greece, France or Czech Republic have already approved Glass Museum's singular recipe.

The second 7" in the Konduko series reissues this mega-rarity, Noel Williams aka King Sporty's own version of Bob Marley's Concrete Jungle. The connection between Marley and Williams was long-standing, both living in the tenements of West Kingston and gaining their musical foundations as part of the Studio One, that would reach fruition when they later co-wrote Buffalo Soldier together.

Clement Dodd's organisation was more than a label, running a sound system, studio, pressing plant and its own distribution. As Deejay on the system and later releasing his debut single on the label, William's learnt his craft, taking this knowledge to Miami and replicating much - expanding the Konduko label to encompass studio, plant and distribution.

First recorded with Lee Perry, Marley's 1971 original was famously rerecorded for The Wailers move to Island Records and their 1973 album, Catch A Fire. Here, a rare Williams' vocal is backed with horns atop a reggae-funk groove. The songs message of struggle is universal and everlasting, even with a touch of Miami swing.

This is backed by Young Girl, a single in its own right, from the same period. A rocksteady, breakbeat shuffle bely the songs roots in late 60s soul, with a powerful counterpoint vocal from wife and partner, Betty Wright. A collector's item itself, together they are essential.

It is to the detriment of our understanding of musicality that we mostly measure it by the capacity to produce, and much less by the capacity to receive some sort of acoustic information or event. The virtuosity of listening, of understanding the sonic situation and its potential, is, however, that which defines one's capacity to interact – with other musicians, with the audience, and with the environment. This could also be taken to mean that an ethical act is implied in the situation of listening – the decision to relate, to be attentive to, to actively position oneself in relation to what is heard.

Rarely is this capacity so thoroughly pronounced and ethically conscious as in the case of Manja Ristić, the Belgrade-born and Royal Academy of Music-schooled musician, composer, sound and multimedia artist (the list could go on), who currently lives on the island of Korčula in the Croatian part of the Adriatic. Ristić’s recent, field recording-based work, is indeed all about attentiveness, most of all towards the environment and the acoustic traces of the endangered ecological layers of her old-new Mediterranean surroundings. With that in mind, it is indeed no wonder that her newest album draws from Milton’s Paradise Lost, which could easily be the anti-slogan of the endangered Croatian coast, eaten up by the pressures of touristification and the usurpation and privatization of once common space. More precisely, the album is inspired by one of the fifty Gustave Doré illustrations of Milton’s epic, Him, fast sleeping, soon he found, In labyrinth of many a round, self-rolled, from which it draws its title. The verses and the scene are from Book IX, and depict the moment Satan inhabits the Serpent, the beginning of his subversion of God’s autocratic rule, as some interpretations would have it.

For Ristić, the actual Paradise she introduces us to is in a state of imbalance – the idyllic soundscapes of her island surroundings overlain with sonic anxiety, such as on the album’s first track, The Flies, with its unrelenting, nervous buzzing evoking the ominous Biblical entity of Beelzebub, or The Lord of the Flies. The next track, Whales, which beautifully utilizes archival whale recordings, could also be taken to establish an intertextual relation to Milton through Melville, whose Moby Dick was strongly influenced by Paradise Lost. The middle track of the album, dedicated to the Croatian-American painter and muralist Maksimilijan Vanka, uses to great, unsettling effect what to my ears sounds like a buried hydrophone, a technique often employed by Ristić in her work, giving us a rough, grinding impression of water beating the pebbles over a high-pitched drone. But perhaps the most ominous, pessimistic image is painted in The Flag Pole, in which the symbol of revolutionary victory (I’m thinking of the Yugoslav modernist Tin Ujević and his proto-avant-garde sonnet Farewell from 1914) becomes a source of terrifying sonic unease, as we are listening to the incessant sound of its rope hitting the metal pole. However, with Dlana Night comes relief – the drones become airier, calmer; there is a distant notion of people, dogs, everyday life, all shrouded in the calming sound of the crickets on the island of Silba. Ristić, ultimately, serves us some hope on this wonderful new album, showing us that something has been lost, but that something can also be gained through the thoughtful attention with which she listens to the world around her.

„My recording techniques all boil down to one thing – intuition. I do not use expensive or highly sensitive equipment nor do I employ special techniques. On the contrary, I believe that the information regarding a space or an object can be recorded well enough on an average device. My personal guideline when recording sound is the positioning of myself as the listening medium, active and with the intention of establishing a connection that is sometimes intellectual, sometimes conceptual, and sometimes phenomenological.” - Manja Ristić, in an interview for Kulturpunkt.hr

The Chromophore volume 2 is finally here. Slowly cooked during the past years and well rounded, following the formula of the first one: family members plus a couple of legends. Slow Life reprazent!

Joining the dots between Brazilian musical culture and the sonic melting pot that is New York City, Saidera are a trio on the rise. They’ve already released a pair of critically acclaimed, carnival-ready singles on Brooklyn’s Let’s Play House label and are now ready to make their debut on Leng Records.

The band’s roots can be traced back to a trip that Lemonade band member Alex Pasternak made to Brazil in 2014. While DJing at a house party in the bohemian Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood of Sta Teresa, Pasternak was left gobsmacked when a mysterious local singer/sambista Vadinho Freire, grabbed the mic and started freestyling lyrics and melodies over his set. Realising their instinctive musical connection, Pasternak and Freire decided to work together on some music, with New Yorker Le Chev joining them to complete the Saidera trio.

Now based in Rio and California, the group’s sun-soaked sound – which they describe as “samba disco-Afro melody” – is a cross-cultural stew in which infectious Brazilian percussion, colourful synth sounds, glistening guitars and celebratory vocals combine to create magical, life-affirming musical moments.

‘Luzes Da Cidade’, their first outing on Leng, encapsulates all that’s good about the Saidera sound and the trio’s approach to music. The song is about identity and connection and in its original form is languid, loved-up and joyous, with acoustic and electric guitars, Portuguese vocals and Korey Riker’s gently breezy flute solos rising above a squelchy synth bassline and energetic, sweat-soaked samba drums.

The song’s main mix comes accompanied by a wonderful instrumental pass featuring more extensive solos by Riker, and Saidera’s own remix of ‘Luzes Da Cidade’ – an extra-percussive, breakbeat-tinged fusion of hazy deep house, energetic samba and sunset-ready synth-disco that will delight DJs and dancers alike.

To round off the EP, Saidera has delivered a brand new “Uprockin Dub” of debut single ‘Deixa Tudo Fluir’, this time with female vocals from Irina Bertolucci taking the lead. Brilliantly kaleidoscopic sonically, with dub delay-laden vocals, guitars and flutes, it’s a superb, life-affirming Balearic reggae interpretation of a now familiar favourite. If you’re not singing along with the chorus after your first listen, we’d be very surprised.

High Focus Records are proud to present the latest collaboration from Verb T & Illinformed. ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ both continues and completes the trilogy that began back in 2015, with ‘The Man with the Foggy Eyes’, before broadening the horizons with last year’s release ‘The Land of the Foggy Skies’. This final chapter returns to the same conceptual landscape as its predecessors, but also sees Verb T & Illinformed returning to a more classic approach to album making. In spite of its concept, the Foggy Trilogy is something of a personal outpouring for Verb T, with the original aim being to vicariously discuss the trials and tribulations that play a part in his life, including his struggles with chronic illness and the feeling of alienation from leaving his hometown, while also reflecting on the state of the world as a whole. Their approach to making the album meant taking it back to the most natural form, where the idea for the track would be outlined, Illinformed would make the beat, Verb T would write to it and then they would tweak and adjust accordingly. The result is 19 of the most finely crafted tracks to emerge from the UK shores this year. As with the previous albums, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ finds Illinformed moving away from the more rugged sound that has shrouded the British scene over the last few months, thanks to his collaborations with the likes of Datkid and Wish Master, instead providing Verb T with an arguably more mellow backdrop. From the string and piano driven introduction on ‘Legacy’, to the blissful head-nod vibes of the closing track, ‘Blind Faith’, the union between beats and rhymes sits at the perfect level. The album also boasts one of the most impressive guestlists of the year, one that is very much a product of both players’ worlds. Thanks to Illinformed’s Bristol connection, there are features from the likes of Res One, Datkid, Leaf Dog, Smellington Piff and Chillman, as well as some locally sourced cuts from DJ Rogue. While on Verb T’s side of the fence, we have features from Rye Shabby and Moreone, along with a collaboration that reignites the same creative spark he found in his early days, as King Kashmere steps into the booth on Feeling Strange. All in all, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ does exactly what it sets out to do, by drawing the trilogy to a close while also providing insights into Verb T’s personal world and the world at large. The fact that it also happens to be one of the strongest rap albums of the year is the icing on the cake

High Focus Records are proud to present the latest collaboration from Verb T & Illinformed. ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ both continues and completes the trilogy that began back in 2015, with ‘The Man with the Foggy Eyes’, before broadening the horizons with last year’s release ‘The Land of the Foggy Skies’. This final chapter returns to the same conceptual landscape as its predecessors, but also sees Verb T & Illinformed returning to a more classic approach to album making. In spite of its concept, the Foggy Trilogy is something of a personal outpouring for Verb T, with the original aim being to vicariously discuss the trials and tribulations that play a part in his life, including his struggles with chronic illness and the feeling of alienation from leaving his hometown, while also reflecting on the state of the world as a whole. Their approach to making the album meant taking it back to the most natural form, where the idea for the track would be outlined, Illinformed would make the beat, Verb T would write to it and then they would tweak and adjust accordingly. The result is 19 of the most finely crafted tracks to emerge from the UK shores this year. As with the previous albums, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ finds Illinformed moving away from the more rugged sound that has shrouded the British scene over the last few months, thanks to his collaborations with the likes of Datkid and Wish Master, instead providing Verb T with an arguably more mellow backdrop. From the string and piano driven introduction on ‘Legacy’, to the blissful head-nod vibes of the closing track, ‘Blind Faith’, the union between beats and rhymes sits at the perfect level. The album also boasts one of the most impressive guestlists of the year, one that is very much a product of both players’ worlds. Thanks to Illinformed’s Bristol connection, there are features from the likes of Res One, Datkid, Leaf Dog, Smellington Piff and Chillman, as well as some locally sourced cuts from DJ Rogue. While on Verb T’s side of the fence, we have features from Rye Shabby and Moreone, along with a collaboration that reignites the same creative spark he found in his early days, as King Kashmere steps into the booth on Feeling Strange. All in all, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ does exactly what it sets out to do, by drawing the trilogy to a close while also providing insights into Verb T’s personal world and the world at large. The fact that it also happens to be one of the strongest rap albums of the year is the icing on the cake

High Focus Records are proud to present the latest collaboration from Verb T & Illinformed. ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ both continues and completes the trilogy that began back in 2015, with ‘The Man with the Foggy Eyes’, before broadening the horizons with last year’s release ‘The Land of the Foggy Skies’. This final chapter returns to the same conceptual landscape as its predecessors, but also sees Verb T & Illinformed returning to a more classic approach to album making. In spite of its concept, the Foggy Trilogy is something of a personal outpouring for Verb T, with the original aim being to vicariously discuss the trials and tribulations that play a part in his life, including his struggles with chronic illness and the feeling of alienation from leaving his hometown, while also reflecting on the state of the world as a whole. Their approach to making the album meant taking it back to the most natural form, where the idea for the track would be outlined, Illinformed would make the beat, Verb T would write to it and then they would tweak and adjust accordingly. The result is 19 of the most finely crafted tracks to emerge from the UK shores this year. As with the previous albums, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ finds Illinformed moving away from the more rugged sound that has shrouded the British scene over the last few months, thanks to his collaborations with the likes of Datkid and Wish Master, instead providing Verb T with an arguably more mellow backdrop. From the string and piano driven introduction on ‘Legacy’, to the blissful head-nod vibes of the closing track, ‘Blind Faith’, the union between beats and rhymes sits at the perfect level. The album also boasts one of the most impressive guestlists of the year, one that is very much a product of both players’ worlds. Thanks to Illinformed’s Bristol connection, there are features from the likes of Res One, Datkid, Leaf Dog, Smellington Piff and Chillman, as well as some locally sourced cuts from DJ Rogue. While on Verb T’s side of the fence, we have features from Rye Shabby and Moreone, along with a collaboration that reignites the same creative spark he found in his early days, as King Kashmere steps into the booth on Feeling Strange. All in all, ‘Stranded in Foggy Times’ does exactly what it sets out to do, by drawing the trilogy to a close while also providing insights into Verb T’s personal world and the world at large. The fact that it also happens to be one of the strongest rap albums of the year is the icing on the cake

THE NOW LEGENDARY 1985 UK TV SPECIAL CELEBRATING THE 30TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THEWORLD-RENOWNED TRACK IS BACK ON VINYL.
Written in October 1955 & released in January 1956, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’
was an instant classic earning a place in the history books when it
became the first million-seller to crossover from the Country chart to the
Pop & R&B listings
Swiftly covered by Elvis Presley & later The Beatles, the song remains a
Rock’n’Roll anthem. Fitting then that Carl Perkins, the man who wrote & first
performed ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, should be accorded a television special to
celebrate its 30th anniversary. On 21st October 1985 at London’s Limehouse
Studios a superstar cast of friends & fans joined Carl Perkins to record a TV
special celebrating his career & the classic songs that he had recorded during it.
Perkins was joined on stage by George Harrison & Eric Clapton along with other
stars including Dave Edmunds, Slim Jim Phantom & Lee (Stray Cats) Rocker plus
Earl Slick & singer Rosanne Cash, daughter of the legendary Johnny Cash.
George Harrison struck up a lasting friendship with Perkins & much of the
continued interest in the programme lies in the prominent role played by Harrison.
The former Beatle takes lead vocal on several tracks as well as playing guitar &
having a great time. The Beatles connection is even stronger in that Harrison is
joined by former colleague Ringo Starr with the show representing their first
reunion gig since the mid-1970’s.
This album captures the concert & the All- Star band performing Perkins’ finest
songs including ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, ‘That’s Alright Mama’ & ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’
Going On’. CARL PERKINS & FRIENDS FEATURING GEORGE HARRISON, ERIC
CLAPTON & MORE AVAILABLE VIA MADFISH.

Shrouded in mystery, abstracted by endearment and drenched in tone,
bigLOVE are set to make their presence known to the wider world on May
27 with their debut album, titled Crusaders of Joy, via Church Road
Records.Across the anonymous project’s four song inaugural release,
bigLOVE marries atmospheric sludge and themes of eternally
unconditional devotion in the name of all that is to be cherished in this
waking world of ours
bigLOVE establishes their vision of the genre on highlight tracks Harnessing the
Nectar from the Queen Bee and At One With - with both songs wielding Thouesque lead guitar lines and all the sonic weight of Alice In Chains’ doomier cuts.
Vocally, bigLOVE counterbalances the saccharine nature of their melodies with
corrosive and hymnal omnipotence.In an effort to eliminate unnecessary selfscrutiny and create instinctively, bigLOVE recorded Crusaders of Joy as it was
being written - with the release's final takes being recorded moments after each
part was finalised in the writing. Recorded between 2019 and 2020 before being
mastered by UK audio savant Lewis Johns at The Ranch, Crusaders of Joy
possesses a preternatural warmth in it’s production that beguiles as well as
engulfs. The debut full length is adroitly tied together thematically by Maria
Nemm’s (Holy Fawn, Slow Crush, Anthetic) album cover photography, adding
another dimension to bigLOVE’s enigma of obscurity and ubiquity.In the context
of the modern age paradox of instantaneous connection and spiritual disconnect,
Crusaders of Joy triumphs in it’s harnessing of love as philosophy, as it
spiritualizes sludge and doom metal’s sonic weight to transcendental heights.
Across the vast ocean of time, love remains at the core of all it is to be human.

Tartelet are proud to introduce the blissful, psychedelic electronic soul sound of ABUNAI on his sophomore album Chrysalis out May

20th. Across 11 songs the Oakland, CA-based multi- instrumentalist lays down a dreamlike style which should chimewith fans of Tame Impala, Khruangbin and James Blake alike. As well as the sun-soaked surrounding of his Californian home, ABUNAI’s family connection to Hawaii casts its influence over an album which has all the makings of a crossover success. Look no further than early support from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Don Letts, and Wayne Snow for further proof this album is set to blow up.

“My sound is definitely influenced by the live music I grew up with in the Bay Area,” says ABUNAI. “There's plenty of musical legacy here, including the '60s psychedelic and counterculture movements, the '90s rave scene, and the hyphy movement. "I'm always trying to connect the dots and blend all of my influences.

Chrysalis was, like so many recent albums, a project made largely in isolation during the pandemic, although ABUNAI did reach out to close collaborators Gravity and Raquel Marie to contribute some guest vocals, Kevin Farzad from Sure Sure for the acoustic drum parts and a few additional production touches from Tartelet regulars Glenn Astro and Max Graef. He bills the songs as an exercise in therapeutic self-care through lockdown as much as a balm for others. “It's music for healing,” ABUNAI explains, “for the listener to be able to marinate in the slow tempos, the dreamy textures, the swirling vocals, and the lush synthesizers. It’s very much about growth, re-emergence, and dreaming of a better future.”

As well as dealing in ear-catching pop melodies and sweet vocals, there’s an underlying theme of the ocean, which stems from his coastal surroundings and his family roots in the Pacific. “I think the album is aquatic,” he reflects, “and it feels like a voyage to me, or like a long shower, being reborn in the water. I played the album for my grandpa, who's a veteran sailor and pilot from Hawaii, and he said it was the perfect music to play when you're sailing on the open ocean at sunset.” Cast in nostalgic, soft-focus tones and endlessly soothing for the soul, Chrysalis is your new favourite record for tender moments, hazy days and starry-eyed reveries alike.

New Dj Fett Burger & Jayda G record on the also new label Freak Out Cult. Norway-Berlin-Vancouver connection with house, disco, italo, medieval styled tracks.

3 Electro Knights are cybernetic synthesizer group from London playing science fiction music for the 21st century. The 4 track Red Admiral EP is their first proper release following a very limited lathe cut single which was available through Norman Records and Rough Trade in very small quantities and sold out immediately, and a limited cassette album, Sketches For Another Future. The single I Move In Another Dimension was described by Rough Trade as “Electro sqwonk and clatter meet Patti Smith style beat poetry on this unbelievably scarce 7”. Destroy/Exist wrote of their cassette album Sketches For Another Future: “Through krautrock, psychedelic, synthpunk, and modern electronica passages, 3 Electro Knights fully realize their analog electronic sound, exposing their warm connection with their synths.”

The trio meld the ‘live-improvisation allied with editing approach’ of Krautrock legends Can to contemporary outboard synth music. Influences and inspiration include Tangerine Dream, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Derrick May, Vangelis, Craven Faults. 3 Electro Knights are Daren Pickles (Supercharger, bushpilot), Nik Clifford (Jesus Licks, bushpilot) and Ross Holloway (bushpilot). The next EP will follow soon and is called Rave One. Red Admiral EP 1. Red Admiral 2. Hidden Intent 2 3. Why Don't You Cry For Me 4. Apparently Peaceful

He might be vocalist in bands such as Brighton-based progressive act Diagonal and psychedelic outfit Baron, but when it comes to his solo work Alex Crispin has typically worked in more wordless fields. Last year the songwriter, vocalist and producer released a triptych of ambient albums, consisting of two older albums in 'Idle Worship' and 'Open Submission', as well as new meditative work in 'Resubmergency'. On his new self-titled album, however, Crispin re-emerges from the cavernous soundscapes to – for the first time – put his vocal and song writing stamp on a record under his own name. “I personally find it easier to create more guarded, moody music, but I was at a point where I wanted to embrace a more universal, intimate and open side to what I might say” Crispin says. “Over time I’d got over certain blocks or preoccupations and so wanted to create something accessible and open hearted, which became a big driver for this record.” Pointedly self-titled to reflect the newfound confidence in his song writing away from the collective of a band, the album’s nine tracks are a warm embrace amidst troubled times. Musically there’s nods to everything from tropicalia and Brazilian MPB, to 80’s dusk pop balladeers The Blue Nile and Paul Simon’s explorations into African music. Lyrically aware of the snowballing turbulence that surrounds us, Crispin in reaction tries to see hope and looks around at the relationships and connections in his life that provide him strength. He opens 'Invisible (To Us)' with the words “Before the world did end, there was just one moment when, everybody thought there might be time, to look around again, to laugh to cry to sing.” Elsewhere, 'Listen & Learn' strikes at the heart of other underlying themes of the record, of the rarity of people opening up, taking on new ideas and allowing change. It’s accompanied with a rich, maximal sound palette of flute and sax that play around each other as Crispin’s vocal chips in with gentle encouragement. “One of the main markers on the album that I was aware of from the start, was to let myself express joy and positivity in the music” he says. “I have come to greatly prize the power of accessibility and universality over artistic 'coolness or trend', much in the same way that so often for me, the greatest pieces of art humans make nowadays are things like Pixar movies, with their combination of undeniable human talent and craft, alongside genuinely moving and accessible themes.” Indeed, there is a cinematic feel to much of Crispin’s own music, something brought over from his ambient creations – although his self-titled album possesses a panorama all of its own. Something like 'When I Reach The Ocean' has a hazy, pastoral feel to it like something out of the Canterbury Folk scene; there’s space between the notes though, which in turn pushes the track out to a greater expanse than the comparatively soft-edged and modest sound palette used to create it. Similarly, the likes of 'Effert' revel in the space afforded to them - in the case of the aforementioned in particular, Crispin lets his voice take a back seat and creates an open wash of sound that he allows the guitar to probe and explore within. “In making any music I am definitely conscious of trying to put in only what is effective” Crispin says. “It is so easy to clutter tracks without realising it, just having the ability to add stuff can just become addictive as it’s so easy to do with recording setups now.” The album started coming together at the end of 2020, with Crispin getting most of the songs to a concrete state, before starting recording in May 2021 with Diagonal bandmates Luke Foster (drums) and Daniel Pomlett (Bass), who put down rhythm tracks. Jazz saxophonist Rob Milne then added parts which would become the glue that held the whole organic aesthetic of the album together. There’s no doubt that lockdown played a part in proceedings, with a kind of forced focus resulting in a need for joyful expression. However, Crispin and his partner also suffered a bereavement which led to her travelling for large periods of time. “It was a very intense and difficult time and I think some of the intensity of emotion of that situation coupled with being alone must have inevitably contributed to the work itself” he says. It's perhaps why when even in moments of sheer happiness, such as the 'Sabu’s' breezily euphoric opener, Crispin ponders: “No-one really cares beyond this moment, and even when it's here, it's never here”. It’s the first of several bittersweet moments on the record that give the album its weight. On this new LP, Crispin recognises that sadness doesn’t mean throwing out hope, and that even in moments of joy there’s still a path ahead of you to take.

Something's happening in country music. Newer artists and younger audiences are embracing instrumentation, vocal stylings and song structures long thought drowned in the ocean of slick, snap-track productions. Not easily dismissed as merely regional or a novelty throwback, the trend could be on its way to full-blown movement. If so, Kimberly Kelly's Show Dog Nashville debut album may prove to be the clarion call. Either way ... she's not asking. I'll Tell You What's Gonna Happen is more than her (abbreviated) album title, more than a reference to her connection with a Country Music Hall of Famer, and much more than a historical footnote. Rather, it's a statement of musical confidence earned the only way that happens: talent, work ethic, experience, vulnerability, and courage. For Kelly, it's all of a piece. "I like to think of it as a sub-genre of country music called 'country music,'" she says with a wink. A native of Lorena, Texas, Kelly has multiple connections to the Nashville industry. She has also been unafraid to defy convention. "This is not my first rodeo," she says of her label debut. "I worked really hard in Texas before I came to Nashville. I wrote songs, put out records, did a radio tour, and played every weekend while earning a Master's degree. They say don't have a 'plan B,' but I watched my mom struggle to get that next level of pay. My mom earned her bachelor's degree when she was 60, so school was important to me to know I could take care of myself.

(Incl. Nick Holder & AceMo Remixes)

BURNING HEAT is a potent tincture, a focused distillation now years in the making. Carefully chosen from over 20 new productions and extensively play-tested at parties across New Orleans and beyond, BURNING HEAT is the latest collaborative effort by locals Quickweave (Jalen Dilosa) and Redance (David Yaconi); a split EP forthcoming on Hiatt dB’s New Orleans-based Mystery Zone Records July 1st 2022.

The 180-gram 12 inch features 2 tracks from each artist along with a pair of remixes split evenly between the “WHITE HOT” and “RED HOT” sides courtesy of Toronto’s Nick Holder and NYC’s AceMo, respectively. Its sound draws inspiration from the lessor-dug House stylings of the early 00s. With BURNING HEAT, Quickweave and Redance have repositioned the era’s lush textures and sensual atmosphere against heavier rhythms and more circular, hypnotic arrangements. The result? Deep club workouts focused on fostering connection, joy and romance on the dancefloor.

These hard-hitting, DJ-friendly productions were made in part to power the duo’s post-lockdown come-back party venture, Mercy. Early demos and updated edits became part of the sound of our collective reconnection as lockdowns relaxed and infection numbers fell in Summer 2021. On BURNING HEAT you’ll hear late-night New Orleans in the dead of Summer – warm and inviting club cuts to soundtrack a low-lit, neighborhood backroom disco-dive. Polished from a trove of DJ tools made for the artists’ personal sets, this selection features nothing but guaranteed party-starters, vetted both in the studio and behind the booth.