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For any other artist, an album like Asher White’s Love Aggregates might come out of a conscious push to treat no idea as off-limits, to make something bold and new. Jubilant art-funk about cocaine addiction—absolutely. Swooning orchestral pop about Jerry Garcia—why not? Rippling electronic noise, jazzy brushed drums, an elderly motorcyclist with dementia, a profoundly emotional bass solo—put them all in one song. There are threadbare folk tunes, glammed-up power-pop bangers, “Sir Duke” horn charts, Morton Feldman string arrangements, layers of guitar feedback like violins made of liquid chrome. Yes, for another artist, Love Aggregates might be the most adventurous album in their catalog. For Asher White, it’s what passes for settling down.

White is 25 years old and has been making records—writing, recording, producing, and playing almost everything herself—for over a decade. She’d released two dozen of them on Bandcamp before catching the indie-rock industry’s attention with 2024’s Home Constellation Study and last year’s 8 Tips for Full Catastrophe Living. The latter album’s dizzy eclecticism and formidable craft landed her on Rolling Stone’s Future 25 list with the likes of xaviersobased and Oklou, along with a slew of other accolades. That came as something of a surprise to White, who didn’t craft the chaotic 8 Tips with a breakthrough in mind. Love Aggregates feels like a chance, for one of the most thrilling musical talents of her generation, at a more deliberate introduction.

She wrote and recorded her new album while her previous one was gathering
momentum, tinkering in the DIY recording studio where she always works, acutely conscious now that people would be listening to whatever she came up with. At around the same time, her years-long romantic relationship ended in a flurry of betrayal and addiction, her first experience of devastating heartbreak. Even so, Love Aggregates is not a bitter album about wallowing or seething, but instead making use of those impulses as raw materials in work that transcends the specificity of its origins, fashioning them into something surprising and new.

In 2021, Golden Earring announced their parting after more than 60-years as a group. This meant that their last live show, held at the Rotterdam Ahoy on 16th November 2019, was also their final performance as a band. With this knowledge, the excellent audio recordings of this tremendous concert were unshelved in close cooperation with the band and John Sonneveld – the band’s long-time technical assistant and producer. The result: You Know We Love You!

It's the ultimate goodbye of this legendary Dutch rock band and available as a limited edition of 500 individually numbered copies on transparent vinyl. This 3LP is packlaged in a deluxe trifold sleeve featuring a collage of photos that fans of Golden Earring submitted, plus a 4-page booklet including a replica of the original concert poster.

Magi Merlin’s debut LP, POWER HOUSE, is a high-production, 12-track masterclass in modern pop - an infectious, high-energy record that feels deceptively familiar at first touch, yet every time you reach for a comparison, you realize it doesn't quite fit; a one-of-one project that remains as polished as it is daring.
Conceptually, POWER HOUSE is an exploration of the internal architecture we all inhabit, housing the conflicting rooms of anger, fear, vanity, and ultimately, a reclaimed sense of power. Where Magi Merlin’s previous work, Gone Girl, was a study of external strength, this new era is an ode to the realization that inner work is the only true outer work. With a perspective that is both empathetic and furious, and a grow-as-you-go philosophy, she proves that real change starts small but sounds massiv

Limited purple vinyl. KICKIN VALENTINA return with a sensational new full-length album, "Anthems From The Underground", set for worldwide release in August 2026. The highly-anticipated record will be released via Mighty Music and delivers a crushing, no-compromise statement of modern underground hard rock. Formed in 2013, Kickin Valentina quickly built momentum in the U.S. and internationally, first signing with Atlanta indie label Highway 9 Records before moving to Mighty Music in 2015. Since then, the band has released a steady run of acclaimed records including "Super Atomic", "Imaginary Creatures", "Revenge of Rock", "Star Spangled Fist Fight", and "Raw Trax, B-Sides and Bootlegs", as well as the EP "Chaos in Copenhagen", earning a strong reputation for raw, high-energy rock'n'roll rooted in a take-it-or-leave-it attitude.

* Another UK roots classic from the Universal Roots archives gets a much-needed reissue, with vocals coming from the consistently reliable Sister Rasheda, with the Disciples on production duties.

Heights Of Fire” by Capleton is being released as an LP via Diggers Factory and presents a brand-new album produced by Evidence Music. The release once again puts Capleton’s distinctive voice front and centre, while also speaking to collectors who value a high-quality pressing.

Musically, “Heights Of Fire” blends classic reggae foundations with modern production elements; weighty bass foundations, precise drums, and organic arrangements carry the messages. Guest appearances by Damian Marley and Stephen Marley, along with collaborations with Derrick Sound, Little Lion Sound, Eesah, Mista Savona, Mixing Finga, and L’Entourloop, provide sonic variety and international influences. Lyrically, the tracks revolve around spirituality, resistance, and personal reflection, which Capleton delivers with emphatic rhetoric.

Key characteristics of the LP include its distinct production signature and the collaboration with established reggae heavyweights, which give the album both depth and a contemporary freshness. The arrangements move between dense roots passages and airy choruses, making the record resonate with both traditional listeners and a younger audience. The release on Diggers Factory also underscores the clear collector focus of the physical rollout.

Released in 1993 and never reissued on vinyl since, this album was recorded at Music Works Recording Studio, which was renamed that same year Anchor Recording Studio, well known among reggae enthusiasts. It was produced by Doctor Dread and mixed at the prestigious Lion & Fox Recording Studio, the American base of the RAS Records label.

The line-up is impeccable, featuring of course Flabba Holt on bass, Tee Bird on keyboards, Dwight Pinkney on guitar, and Sky Juice on percussion—in short, the full Roots Radics line-up.

As usual, Skelly, Wiss, and Apple take turns singing lead while the other two enhance the vocals with high-pitched melodic harmonies.

In a Roots Rock Reggae vein, this album is a cornerstone of the group’s discography, presented to you remastered, with a sound it had never been given before. The 180g vinyl pressing, glossy finish, and 350g sleeve make it a choice piece for all lovers of quality Roots reggae.

New album by acclaimed Nigerian ambient producer / sound designer Ibukun Sunday, interweaving Africanised rhythm with lush and elegant synthesis.

Illusive Bristolian beatmaker Claude Cooper returns with a visceral blast of psychedelic-hip-hop, enlisting IDLES frontman Joe Talbot and BEAK> bassist Billy Fuller for ‘Perfect Execution’, a limited edition 7" single in aid of War Child UK.

Claude Cooper has found a kindred spirit in Joe Talbot. The IDLES frontman has long worn his hip-hop influences as openly as his post-punk ones, and on ‘Perfect Execution’ that affinity finds its fullest expression yet. Cooper's raw, dissonant production collides with Talbot's breathless, confrontational lyricism in a track that draws its lineage from Public Enemy as readily as it does from Bristol's own bruised musical history.

The lyrics pull no punches. Talbot inhabits a landscape of public spectacle and private suffering, circling images of crowds, chains, hanging and the hollow comfort of slogans. The repeated refrain of “No pain no gain” hits differently when set against the track's subject matter, its bludgeoning repetition somewhere between protest chant and bitter irony.

Joe says, “It’s an honour to work with some beautiful Bristol heads on this track for Warchild. All is love”.

Eighteen months on from the runaway success of The Only Place I Know — the debut that crashed in at #1 on the ARIA charts and #2 on the ARIA Vinyl Chart — Lake Macquarie's Surf Trash are back, and they're not watering it down. Their sophomore album No Chaser lands neat, on the rocks, no apologies: ten tracks of melodic surf-pop-punk hammered out by a band that has clearly spent the last year sharpening every edge.

It's a record you can hear the kilometres in. Between The Only Place I Know and now, Andrew Scott, Lachlan Jackson, Patrick Russell and Nick Scott have torn through a sold-out national run, criss-crossed the UK and Europe, and made a habit of leaving rooms louder than they found them. No Chaser carries the dust from all of it — bigger choruses, leaner production, a touch more bruise underneath the gloss. There's still that windows-down, salt-on-the-windscreen feel that made the debut impossible to ignore, but it's wired into songs that swing harder and cut deeper. Less wistful afternoon, more last-light drive home with the volume creeping up.

The four-piece make melodic surf-pop-punk that sounds great turned up loud — driving in your mate's car on the way back to the beach. Their debut, The Fire Note wrote, "delivers a dynamic debut… blending raw energy, introspective depth, and timeless indie rock flair." Manchester World called their first show on UK soil "epic… high energy and great song after great song," and the live reputation has only grown since: a band that's earned every inch of the ceiling it now hits.

No Chaser is the sound of them no longer waiting for permission. Singalong harmonies, fast tempo changes, good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll with a sense of urgency.

BABON is a psychedelic instrumental band from Indonesia, formed in 2023 by Wahyudi T. Raupp, Rayi Raditia, and guitarist Rori Jiwa Putra. Their music blends traditional Indonesian genres such as Keroncong and Dangdut with global influences like Middle Eastern grooves, Latin rhythms, Spaghetti Western motifs, and Afro-funk, creating a sound they call "Tropical Desert" music. Their debut album, Tropical Desert, follows the 2024 release of the singles "Desert Rose" and "TNT" on London-based label Batov Records. Beyond their genre-bending sound, BABON is deeply rooted in environmental advocacy, using instrumental music and visual storytelling to address ecological issues. They are currently producing a live session featuring four tracks from the album, set against cinematic footage highlighting Indonesia's natural landscapes and environmental challenges.

BABON's distinctive sound has earned them strong international recognition, with radio play from major stations including BBC Radio 3 and Soho Radio (UK), RBB Radioeins and Byte FM (Germany), CBC Radio One (Canada), Triple R and 2SER (Australia), and WYEP and KALX (USA). Their 7-inch vinyl release was nearly sold out, further signaling their growing global appeal. The album's cover and packaging were created by Indonesian retro surrealist Christian Candra, contributing to the band's cohesive artistic vision. BABON is represented worldwide by PR and radio agency Only Good Stuff, helping to amplify their message and music to audiences across the globe.

After a career spanning over thirty five years, from UK underground upstarts and outliers, to major success on the international stage - including tours with UK icons Iron Maiden and genre legends Dio - My Dying Bride have themselves become a firmly established pillar of metal history with a refined and influential brand of Death/Doom metal. With enduring popularity across subsequent decades, My Dying Bride remains a productive and captivating vessel for tragedy and despair, with their studio output spanning fourteen full-length albums to date.

As part of the “Peaceville Three”, along with fellow countrymen Paradise Lost and Anathema, My Dying Bride truly became a primary force in highlighting Britain as an epicentre of this Doom revolution of the time, creating a highly distinguishable sound assisted by the inclusion of violin & a more poetic approach to the delivery of morbid and salacious topics, lending an additional air of eccentricity and eloquence to the darkness.

Anthology of Sombre Reflections is an expansive and comprehensive collection of the early and much-celebrated works of the Doom Gods, from the formative deathly rawness of the revered Towards the Sinister demo, ‘God is Alone’ 7” tracks and subsequent debut album, As the Flower Withers, through to the gothic-tinged funereal seductive delights of 1996’s highlight, Like Gods of the Sun.

With the addition of all-time genre classic opuses Turn Loose the Swans, and The Angel and the Dark River also representing My Dying Bride’s much-loved early to 90’s period, the band’s three cult EPs are also featured in this deluxe eight-vinyl boxset, with each record presented on 180gm heavyweight black vinyl. The four studio albums themselves have also been treated to new half-speed masters courtesy of Air Studios.

Accompanying the audio is a 48-page book featuring photographs and artwork, plus new interviews with Andrew Craighan and Aaron Stainthorpe exploring some of the influences and thought-processes behind the creation of such cherished works of the 90s, as well as reflections of their output over this period.

Anthology of Sombre Reflections also contains 2 large posters depicting the Turn Loose the Swans CD artwork image, plus the original poster included in As the Flower Withers. A selection of photo prints of the band from this era are also included.

Andy Bell, Erasure-Frontmann und Electro-Pop-Legende, veröffentlicht mit "Extended Blue" sein Solo-Debütalbum "Electric Blue" (2005) als limitierte Deluxe-Edition auf dreifarbig-blauem Vinyl neu. "Electric Blue" - samt den Duetten mit Claudia Brücken (xPropaganda) und Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters) - wurde gemeinsam mit Manhattan Clique geschrieben und produziert, einem Duo, das zwei Jahrzehnte lang die Welt der Pop-Dance-Club-Remixe dominierte und mit Weltstars (Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, OneRepublic, Moby) und wegweisenden Electronic-Acts (The Human League, Soft Cell, OMD, The B-52s und natürlich Erasure) zusammenarbeitete.

Die Deluxe-3LP enthält zudem sämtliche Bonustracks & B-Seiten der "Electric Blue"-Sessions erstmals auf Vinyl. Das Deluxe-Booklet kommt mit ausführlichen Liner Notes des Classic Pop-Autors John Earls samt Interviews mit Andy Bell und den Manhatten Clique-Produzenten Philip Larsen & Chris Smith, sowie unveröffentlichten Fotos aus der 2005er Session mit dem renommierten britischen Fotografen Tim Flach. Bei Erasure- und Electro-Pop-Fans zählt "Electric Blue" weithin als 'verlorenes Juwel', da kurz nach Veröffentlichung das damalige Label Sanctuary Records zusammenbrach und dieses herausragende Album sein Potential nicht vollständig ausschöpfen konnte.

Eine streng limitierte Erstauflage der 3LP enthält zusätzlich die CD "Extended Blue" mit dem identischen Tracklisting des Vinylformats.beitete.

Ândy Bell, Erasure-Frontmann und Electro-Pop-Legende, veröffentlicht mit "Extended Blue" sein Solo-Debütalbum "Electric Blue" (2005) als limitierte Deluxe-Edition auf dreifarbig-blauem Vinyl neu. "Electric Blue" - samt den Duetten mit Claudia Brücken (xPropaganda) und Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters) - wurde gemeinsam mit Manhattan Clique geschrieben und produziert, einem Duo, das zwei Jahrzehnte lang die Welt der Pop-Dance-Club-Remixe dominierte und mit Weltstars (Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, OneRepublic, Moby) und wegweisenden Electronic-Acts (The Human League, Soft Cell, OMD, The B-52s und natürlich Erasure) zusammenarbeitete.

Ein authentischer Geschichtenerzähler der heutigen Indie-Rock-Szene ist der in Tampa geborene und in New Orleans lebende Singer/Songwriter Thomas Dollbaum, und ,Birds of Paradise" ist sein bisher kraftvollstes und dynamischstes Werk. Nach seinen von Kritikern hochgelobten Alben "Wellswood" (Big Legal Mess, 2022) und "Drive All Night EP" (Dear Life Records, 2025) ist "Birds of Paradise" ein Abschiedsbrief an verlorene Liebste und sein früheres Ich. In diesen Songs sucht Dollbaum nach Akzeptanz an vergänglichen Zwischenorten: in den Kiefernwäldern Floridas, auf Nebenstraßen, die zur 1-95 führen, wo Vögel über das Wasser fliegen. Und obwohl die Geister seiner Alt-Country-Vorgänger Townes und Molina definitiv präsent sind, tritt Dollbaum auf Birds of Paradise aus ihrem Schatten heraus - er winkt der Vergangenheit zu und klingt dabei umso mehr wie er selbst. Dieser Moment - dieses Album - ist längst überfällig. Die Aufnahmen zu Dollbaums beiden vorherigen Veröffentlichungen hatten aufgrund von Umständen, die außerhalb seiner Kontrolle lagen, viel zu lange gedauert, was ihn frustriert zurückließ. Nachdem er acht Jahre lang von zu Hause weg war, war der Ort, den er verlassen hatte, nicht mehr der Ort, an den er sich erinnerte, und die Unveränderlichkeit der Natur fühlte sich wie eine Konstante an, über die er schreiben wollte. Mit einem Gefühl der Unmittelbarkeit schrieb er ,Birds of Paradise" in drei Monaten. Er rief die Musiker an, denen er am meisten vertraute und die er am meisten bewunderte - Nick Corson, Josh Halper und Jake Lenderman - und bat sie, sich mit ihm bei Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi, mit dem Produzenten/Toningenieur Clay Jones zu treffen. Sie lernten das Album in vier Tagen ein und nahmen es auf, wobei sie einen Blitz in einer Flasche einfingen, eine klangliche Offenbarung, auf die Dollbaums Songwriting schon immer gewartet hatte. Mit der Hilfe von Lenderman, Halper, Corson und Jones ist ,Birds of Paradise" Dollbaums hart erkämpfter Durchbruch. Lebendig und nachhallend wie Gedichte und Kurzgeschichten, die man nicht vergessen kann: Kojoten heulen, Vögel fliegen nach Süden, Kinder jagen Kaninchen durch das Zuckerrohr und Zigaretten kosten vier Dollar pro Packung. Birds of Paradise erinnert uns daran, woher wir kommen - an die Dinge in uns, die wir vergessen haben - wir brauchten nur Dollbaum, um uns das zu zeigen. So blickt man ohne Angst oder Scham zurück. So sieht Authentizität aus.

(2LP, limited black vinyl repress) After last year's extroverted and funky album "Be Who You Wanna Be," Stef Kamil Carlens presents a more introspective double album recorded with Nel Ponsaers and Rahmat Emonds.


Featuring 14 songs—some of his own compositions and very surprising covers or reinterpretations—this album emphasizes lyrics, vocals, and a band sound primarily driven by acoustic instruments. Once again, it stands as a key addition to the already very eclectic catalog of one of Belgium’s most versatile and productive artists. Stef Kamil Carlens & The Poem will tour starting in October 2025.

* From the Hydroponics’ Growing Room studio comes a dub remix of Yabby You / King Tubby’s `Beware’ / `God is Watching You’.

* While keeping faithful to the original, these cuts come with some dangerous sub-bass.

* Produced by Dougie Wardrop and originally released circa 1996, this reissue is backed with a previously unreleased dub mix.

Piece of Me, das zweite Album von Lady Wray, ist so etwas wie eine Heimkehr für Nicole. Während ihr Solo-Debüt Queen Alone aus dem Jahr 2016 mehr in Richtung Soul und R&B mit einem Hauch von HipHop tendierte, ändert sich dies bei diesem Album. Es ist immer noch R&B mit den Texturen von analogem Soul, doch zeichnet sich ein starker HipHop-Einfluss ab, der Nicoles Schaffen für die Zukunft definieren wird. Boom-Bap-Drums und deepe Basslines stehen im Vordergrund und bilden den perfekten Hintergrund für Lady Wray, die sich auf ihrer bisher persönlichsten Sammlung von Songs mit dem Guten, dem Schlechten, dem Schwierigen und dem Freudvollen auseinandersetzt. Der Titelsong Piece of Me, der seit seiner Veröffentlichung 2019 bereits zum Klassiker geworden ist, handelt von den Menschen in deinem Leben, die mehr brauchen, als du zu geben bereit bist. Dieses Stück und die B-Seite der 7" Come On In waren die ersten Songs, die für dieses Album aufgenommen wurden - als Nicole im achten Monat schwanger mit ihrer Tochter war. Ihre Stimme ist so kraftvoll, so rau bei diesen ersten Songs, erstaunlich, wenn man sich vor Augen führt, wie sie aufgenommen wurden. Und noch verrückter ist es, zu wissen, dass sie sie alle in einem einzigen Take aufgenommen hat. Ihr langjährige Mitstreiter und Produzent Leon Michels entwirft das musikalische Fundament gekonnt zurückhaltend, um Lady Wray ausreichend Raum zu geben. Während die energiegeladenen Songs Under The Sun und Through It All mit Sicherheit zu Hits werden, die Lady Wray wieder mit ihrer R&B-Fangemeinde aus den 90ern connecten, zeigt Where Were You, wie ihre Jugendjahre wirklich waren. in dem poetischen und kraftvollen Beauty In The Fire setzt sich Nicole mit den Spannungen zwischen den Ethnien in Amerika auseinander und lässt sich im Showstopper Thank You stark von ihrem Glauben und ihrempfindet und in Joy & Pain feiert sie die Höhen und Tiefen des Lebens. Im Jahr 2021 ist es eher selten, ein eklektisches und doch zusammenhängendes Album ohne ,Ausreißer" zu hören - aber genau das ist Piece Of Me. Die bewährte Chemie zwischen Lady Wray und Leon Michels hat unbestreitbar das nächste Level erreicht, dieses Album ist ein Zeugnis ihrer Entschlossenheit und Hingabe.

Big Crown Records is proud to present the debut full length offering from Les Imprimés, Rêverie. The stirring and ethereal sounds of Les Imprimés have been making fans of anyone who hears them since their first 7" single hit the speakers. Morten Martens is the man behind the band. Born, raised, and working in Kristiansand, Norway, he keeps a low prole while making his heart felt, highly infectious, and unique music. This album is a long time coming for Martens and it is sure to make him a name to be reckoned with. The first thing you notice listening to Les Imprimés is the high level of musician-ship. Martens plays nearly every instrument on the recordings and handles the production and arranging. He has been making records for decades, winning a Spellemann Award (aka, the Norwegian Grammy) in 2006 for producing a HipHop album as well as getting nominations across three other genres. While awards and accolades speak to the level of his talent, this new album really shows who he is an artist on his own terms. Moving away from being a hired gun on the touring scene naturally led him to start doing more studio work. Slowly collecting gear and getting more experi-ence behind the boards he built his own studio on the island of Odderoya and was making a living playing with and recording other people's music. As the story goes, after those sessions would end he would work on his own project into the wee hours of the night. From these late night sessions, Les Imprimés was born and Rêverie began to take shape. However, "it wasn't until COVID, when things locked down, that I was really able to nd the time to focus on Les Imprimés" Morten says about creating and leading his own solo project. "It was a scary time. But I knew I had to do something with it." He took the sum of his inuences, combined them with his own vibe and got busy writing the music, playing the instruments, and singing the songs. "It's soul music, but I don't exactly have the soul voice," Morten explains humbly. "But I do it my own way, in a way that's mine. "It is his sound, his fingerprint, his sensibility, that makes his music hard to put in a box. The album showcases both Martens' range and his ability to make a cohesive album. The lead single "Falling Away" starts with a raw drum break and turns into a lushly arranged tune that paints the picture of love when it slips away. On "Still Here" he professes his resilience through life's twists and turns over a thundering track that puts a new spin on the B side ballad genre. Songs like "You" and "Our Love" mix tones from 60s and 70s Soul with arrangement nods to Doo Wop records while Martens' lyrics and delivery leave you singing the melodies long after they finish. "Love & Flowers" finds Martens in a moment of clarity with a song that ts the niche sub genre of happy break up tunes, the four on the floor track will move the dancefloor or while the message will resonate with anyone who put too much effort into the wrong situation in their lives. However, it is songs like "Muse" and "Chess" that really encapsulate the uniqueness of Les Imprimés as they push the boundaries of genre, one a profession of love for music and the other a cover of an electronic record respectively. Martens' lyrics, emotion, and delivery truly make the whole thing come together and stand out from any of his peers. There's an infectiousness and a pop sensibility in the writing that is done with the utmost class and taste giving Les Imprimés the rare quality of immediate attraction that only deepens the more you listen.

Big Crown Records ist stolz darauf, "Perak", das Debütalbum von Thee Marloes, zu präsentieren. Wenn man Thee Marloes zum ersten Mal hört, mag einem ihr spezieller Soul-Sound vertraut vorkommen. Da sind die wuchtigen Trommeln, eine sanfte Gitarre und eine schöne Stimme, die über unerwiderte Liebe und die Komplikationen in Herzensangelegenheiten singt. Aber dann ist da etwas unbestreitbar anderes an Thee Marloes und ihrer Musik, etwas Neues und Unverwechselbares. Die meisten, die mit Soulmusik vertraut sind, haben wahrscheinlich noch nie etwas aus Surabaya, Indonesien, gehört - dem Ort, den Thee Marloes ihre Heimat nennen. Thee Marloes, das sind Natassya Sianturi (Gesang und Keyboard), Tommy Satwick (Schlagzeug) und Sinatrya ("Raka") Dharaka (Gitarre und Produktion). Ihr Sound hat die universelle Anziehungskraft von Soul, Jazz und Pop, aber mit einem ganz eigenen Ansatz, der auf ihre lokale Kultur und ihren globalen Einfluss zurückzuführen ist. Die erste Auskopplung von "Perak" ist "Midnight Hotline", die heiße A-Seite ihrer Debüt-7" auf Big Crown. Eine druckvolle Dancefloor-Nummer mit einem ansteckenden Refrain, vibrierendem Piano und jazzigen Gitarrenlicks. Die B-Seite "Beri Cinta Waktu" ist auch auf dem Album und hat alles, was eine beliebte Soul-Ballade ausmacht, aber der Text ist auf Indonesisch. Unabhängig von der Sprachbarriere ist das Gefühl in ihrer Musik spürbar, was dazu beiträgt, dass ihre Songs nachvollziehbar sind und ans Herz gehen. "I Know" ist ein Mid-Tempo-Song, der davon handelt, wie man den Schleier der Lügen von einer Liebesaffäre, die auf Falschheit beruht, wegzieht. "Not Today" gehört zu den groovigsten Wohlfühlsongs, die man an einem Sonntagmorgen spielen kann. Natassya erinnert uns daran, uns selbst Raum zu geben, ganz gleich, was das Leben uns vor die Füße wirft. "Mungkin Saja" zieht das Tempo mit einem weiteren Dancefloor-Smoker wieder an, während Thee Marloes mit "True Love" in die gefühlvolle Seite des Jazz eintauchen, mit einer Beat-Ballade, die eine Tarantino-Tanzszene untermalen könnte. "Over" beginnt mit einem schweren Drum-Break und entwickelt sich zu einem epischen Arrangement, das in Schichten wunderschöner Melodien getränkt ist und das Chaos einer Liebesaffäre, die abrupt endet, perfekt einfängt. "Perak" ist eine Reise aus dem Herzen Surabayas in den Geist des Soul-Sounds. Es geht darum, einen Raum zu schaffen, wo keiner war, und es zu tun, weil man es liebt. Man spürt den Spaß, den Thee Marloes haben, ihre Musik zu machen, vom Songwriting und Aufnehmen bis hin zu den Auftritten vor Publikum. "Wir wollen das, was wir leben, mit anderen teilen", sagt Natassya. Egal, welche Sprache man spricht oder aus welcher Kultur man kommt, die Musik und die Energie von Thee Marloes sind so charmant, dass wir sie alle noch jahrelang in der Nähe des Plattenspielers haben werden.

God Bless The Band is released on 28th August 2026. God Bless The Band celebrates an incredible two decades of Courteeners, featuring tracks from their seven studio albums - St. Jude (2008), Falcon (2010), Anna (2013), Concrete Love (2014), Mapping the Rendezvous (2016), More. Again. Forever. (2020) and Pink Cactus Cafe (2024) - along with two brand new tracks ‘The Luckiest Man Alive’ and ‘Plus One Forever’ produced by Liam Fray and James Skelly. Formats include heavyweight black 2LP and CD plus retail exclusive Crystal Clear 2LP.

Some people change your life in every way that a life can be changed. David Lynch is one of those people. When Alicia Witt first worked with him at age 7 in his classic Dune (1984) she had no idea what he meant to anyone as a filmmaker, nor that she would work with him 3 more times over the course of his life and that he would become one of her greatest influences. She only knew that she had found a kindred spirit and that she loved him. Between Heaven & Earth is a tribute to his energy, his legacy, and most of all, his love. When Alicia attended his memorial gathering shortly after his passing in 2025, she was struck by the depth of the relationships in that space. The knowing that if you were loved by David, you stayed loved. As those in the room spoke of their shared experience that David was still among them - directing from beyond - Alicia became ever more aware that she was being encouraged to create an album from this space of eternal unconditional love. ‘Use my name,’ David whispered. And so it was. Produced by renowned producer and singer-songwriter Joe Henry (Emmylou Harris; Milk Carton Kids; Bonnie Raitt; Rodney Crowell), this album was recorded live in studio in 5 days in New York City in January 2026. Alicia Witt on piano and vocals, accompanied by a band of 5 musicians, take you on a sonic journey that could never be recreated, channeling the energy that was brought together in this moment to honor the immeasurable effect that David Lynch had and still has on the world. He was palpably present in every moment of the making of this album. The 13 songs that were chosen reflect everything Alicia feels she learned about love from David - the acceptance, the insistent optimism, the curiosity, and the permanence. The final song, The Director, recounts messages he has sent to her from beyond over the year since he passed away.

South Coast artist Howman lands back on DNO Records for his second outing, ‘Trap Eastwood’. First introducing his heavyweight fusion of rock, hip-hop, dubstep and electronica via his outstanding 2023 debut, ‘Moon Operator’, the multi-instrumentalist and producer returns with a refined palette. Still bearing the first class musicality, rich layering and imaginative sonics that we’ve come to expect, the new EP is more stylistically focused than its predecessor. This time, Howman homes in on a spot somewhere in the 140/dubstep/trap sphere, decorating it with digital fizz, alien bleeps, snarling bass, and the signature gruff twang of guitar that makes his music feel deeply personal and eternally human.

The title track is perhaps the most prominent example of the latter, where Howman’s Western-esque riff conjures up the tension before a duel at high noon, while the bend and wobble of each string shapes the movement of the track like the curves of a rattlesnake.
But it’s a constant from the start, like on opener ‘Strip Search’, with its cinematic guitar intro, and combination of repetitive keys, earnest strings and bear-hug bass that nods to classic hip-hop.
Or closer ‘Fatigue’, where the layers of stuttering plucks, emotive melody and scratchy slide noises form a downtrodden soundscape plagued by police sirens and punctured by “Champion Sound” snippets.
On ‘Navigator’, Howman’s approach is more subtle: fluttering strums and a simple bassline creating a brooding, enigmatic vibe in stark contrast to the urgent, alarm-like stabs which first grip the attention.

Throughout there is an overriding sense of the unknown. ‘No Spring’ weaves drawn-out flute notes, tinkling percussion, super-massive 808 lows and spurts of breakbeat into a twisting, winding thing that wants to lure and enchant. While ‘Frosty’ is as ice cold as its name suggests, murderous bass meeting a spidery piano melody in dread-inducing matrimony — along with snatched words from some familiar faces outside a Berlin edition of THE MINE.

Produced between 2022 and 2025 across various locations, influenced by Howman having to move into more solo live performance (as opposed to his previous band setups), and miraculously surviving a catastrophic data loss incident, the EP is a snapshot of disruption focused into creative cohesion. We’ve been told, however, that it’s not a new direction or a sign of things to come, which only serves to make his next release that much more enticing, that much more of a mystery.

Rhythms of postmodern realism at the very bottom of the DNO.

I Must Be Dreaming ist das erste neue Album von Alabama Shakes seit mehr als einem Jahrzehnt. Das
Album knüpft an die ungezügelte Erkundungslust des 2015 erschienenen Albums Sound & Color an und
erweitert sie, wobei es sich einer viszeral aufgeladenen Form des psychedelischen Soul zuwendet.
Produziert wurde das Album von Alabama Shakes gemeinsam mit ihrem langjährigen Kollaborateur Shawn
Everett. Es entstand in Nashvilles Sound Emporium Studios und im Blackbird Studio. Während das Album die für die Band charakteristische Intensität bewahrt, bewegen sich seine Songs häufig in üppigere und
entrücktere Klanglandschaften hinein und offenbaren dabei eine präzisere Beherrschung von Atmosphäre
und Raum.

Obwohl der Bariton Johnny Hartman bereits in den 1940er Jahren mit den Orchestern von Earl Hines
und Dizzy Gillespie sowie mit dem Pianisten Erroll Garner aufgetreten war, erlangte er erst 1963 durch das
brillante gemeinsame Album mit John Coltrane große Bekanntheit. Bob Thiele produzierte für Impulse!
Records anschließend noch zwei Soloalben mit dem Crooner, die seine samtige Stimme und seine subtile
Phrasierung in den Vordergrund stellten. “The Voice That Is!” entstand bei zwei Studiosessions unter
der Regie des Arrangeurs Bob Hammer. Am 22. September 1964 nahm Hartman mit einem Quartett um
den Pianisten Hank Jones jazzige Versionen von Standards auf. Zwei Tage später kehrte er mit einem
interessant besetzten größeren Ensemble ins Studio zurück, um Nummern aus populären Musicals und
Filmen einzusingen, denen mit Perkussion, Marimba, zwei Gitarren und Flöte ein lateinamerikanisches Flair
eingehaucht wurde.

Nach 13 Jahren Album-Pause kehrten die Beginner 2016 mit Advanced Chemistry zurück. Das erste
gemeinsame Studioalbum von Eizi Eiz, Denyo und DJ Mad seit Blast Action Heroes markierte die erfolgreiche Rückkehr einer der prägendsten Gruppen des deutschen Hip-Hop. Benannt als Hommage an die
wegweisende Heidelberger Hip-Hop-Crew gleichen Namens, verbindet das Album den klassischen BeginnerSound mit zeitgemäßen Produktionen und neuen Einflüssen.
10 Jahre nach Veröffentlichung des Albums erscheint Advanced Chemistry als exklusive Doppel-Vinyl auf
farbigem Vinyl: LP 1 in Blau, LP 2 in Rosa.

The Fall war eine englische Post-Punk-Band, die 1976 in Manchester gegründet wurde. Die Band existierte seither in wechselnden Besetzungen fort und war im Wesentlichen um ihren Gründer und einziges konstantes Mitglied, den verstorbenen Mark E. Smith, aufgebaut. Obwohl die Gruppe anfangs der Punk-Bewegung der späten 1970er Jahre zugeordnet wurde, durchlief ihre Musik im Laufe der Jahre etliche stilistische Wandlungen; sie zeichnet sich jedoch häufig durch einen rauen, gitarrenlastigen Sound sowie den wiederholten Einsatz von Repetitionen aus und wird stets von Smiths unverwechselbarem Gesang und oft kryptischen Texten getragen.

Die Band ist bekannt für ihre enorme Produktivität: Sie veröffentlichte über 25 Studioalben – eine Zahl, die sich mehr als verdreifacht, wenn man Live-Alben und sonstige Veröffentlichungen hinzurechnet. Über eine Handvoll kleinerer Hit-Singles in den späten 1980er Jahren hinaus blieb ihnen ein breiter kommerzieller Erfolg zwar verwehrt, doch konnten sie sich eine treue Fangemeinde mit Kultstatus bewahren. Die Band pflegte über lange Zeit eine enge Verbindung zu dem BBC-DJ John Peel, der sie bereits früh in ihrer Karriere nachdrücklich unterstützte und The Fall als seine Lieblingsband bezeichnete – mit der berühmten Begründung: „Sie sind immer anders; sie sind immer gleich.“

Die britischen Alternativ- und Progressive-Rocker von The Pineapple Thief melden sich 2016 mit einem neuen Album zurück. »Your Wilderness« heißt der Nachfolger von »Magnolia« aus dem Jahr 2014.

Mit gerade einmal acht Songs handelt es sich dabei auf den ersten Blick fast schon um ein Minialbum. Bei näherem Hinsehen bzw. Hinhören stellt man aber fest, dass alle Songs zwischen 3:46 und 9:52 Minuten liegen, was eine Durchschnittslänge von rund 5 Minuten pro Song macht. Hier kommt also niemand zu kurz.

Im Gegensatz zu früheren Alben haben sich The Pineapple Thief für »Your Wilderness« zum ersten Mal einen ganzen Haufen illustrer Gäste eingeladen.

Zunächst einmal ist Schlagzeuger Gavin Harrison mit von der Partie, der dem einen oder anderen bereits durch seine Mitgliedschaft bei der Band Porcupine Tree bekannt sein dürfte. Für einige Klarinettenparts stand zudem niemand Geringeres als John Helliwell von Supertramp zur Verfügung. Geoffrey Richardson von den legendären Caravan steuerte unterdessen das Streichquartett bei, das auf dem Album zu hören ist. An der Gitarre unterstützte Darran Charles von Godsticks. Zu guter Letzt sorgte ein vierköpfiger Chor für die Backgroundgesänge.

Produziert wurde »Your Wilderness« komplett in Eigenregie der Band, mit Ausnahme der Drumparts, die Harrison in seinem eigenen Studio einspielte.

Mit »No Man’s Land« haben The Pineapple Thief auch bereits die erste Single des neuen Albums vorgestellt. Und die lässt erahnen, dass die Band sich trotz neuem Personal musikalisch treu bleibt – zur Freude vieler Fans.

Swiss hard rock veterans Shakra return with renewed fire and unstoppable energy on *Just Live Loud*, their explosive new studio album and the band’s very first release through Frontiers Music Srl. Fueled by massive riffs, soaring melodies, and the unmistakable chemistry that has defined Shakra for decades, the album captures the spirit of classic European hard rock while pushing the band into a heavier, more modern sonic territory. Produced with a raw yet polished approach, *Just Live Loud* delivers a powerful mix of thunderous anthems, emotionally charged ballads, and adrenaline-fueled rockers designed for both festival stages and late-night highway drives. From razor-sharp guitar work and pounding rhythms to towering vocal hooks, every track reflects the band’s commitment to authenticity, passion, and pure rock’n’roll attitude. Lyrically, the album celebrates resilience, freedom, brotherhood, and the determination to live life at full volume — themes that resonate deeply with the band’s own journey through the international hard rock scene. *Just Live Loud* also marks an exciting new chapter for Shakra, combining the experience and songwriting strength of their legacy years with a fresh creative momentum that feels more vital than ever. With this landmark release, Shakra reaffirm their status as one of Switzerland’s premier hard rock exports and prove that true melodic heavy rock is alive, loud, and ready to conquer a new generation of fans.

Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions in 1993, & with each subsequent release, Sigh grew to become one of the country’s greatest & most revered metal exports. With a journey through the strange & the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed with the stellar 2022 album, ‘Shiki’. 2025 also saw Sigh remaking their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album for a release on Peaceville as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw The World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’.

With the ongoing early line-up of Mirai Kawashima, Shinichi Ishikawa, & Satoshi Fujinami, ‘Scenario IV: Dread Dreams’ was the band’s fourth studio album, originally surfacing in 1999. This was also notably the final title in partnership with Sigh’s then-label, Cacophonous Records. Delving evermore into the experimental side of music to conjure an interlinked gallery of twisted soundscapes; ‘Dread Dreams’ became more of a journey into the realm of psychedelia & rock over black metal, with this Zappa-inspired odyssey acting as somewhat of a direct pre-cursor to what was to follow with the celebrated ‘Imaginary Sonicscape’ opus.

‘Dread Dreams’ was once more recorded at Shinjuku On Air Studio with J. Yamada, with a selection of guests including Damian Montgomery of Ritual Carnage lending lyrics plus guest vocals, along with King Fowley (Deceased), & Killjoy (Necrophagia) supplying additional song lyrics. Cover art came courtesy of renowned artist Joe Petagno (Motörhead, Autopsy).

Continuing with Peaceville’s re-issues of Sigh’s classic works, this edition of ‘Dread Dreams’ contains a new master created by Patrick Engel at Temple of Disharmony.

The release also includes a new interview with main-man Mirai Kawashima conducted by Dayal Patterson of Cult Never Dies, with his thoughts, influences & reflections on the album & its challenges.

Mariá Portugal has been active in the music scenes of Brazil and Europe as a drummer, composer, singer, and music producer. After graduating in composition, she has focused her research on free improvisation and its possible intersections with popular song. This exploration resulted in her acclaimed album EROSÃO (2021) and in the formation of two groups: the EROSÃO Septet and the EROSÃO Percussion Trio, both based in Germany.

She is also a member of the group Quartabê and has toured and recorded around the world with various artists, moving between pop, free jazz, free improvisation, and Brazilian popular music. She has performed and recorded with artists such as Elza Soares, Anthony Braxton, Joe McPhee, Fred Frith, and Tomeka Reid. She is a member of Fire! Orchestra, Fire! Trio, Endless Breakfast and MONSTER.

In 2020, Portugal was the 13th Improviser in Residence at the Moers Festival. As a curator, she has participated in the Soundtrips-NRW in Duisburg and currently coordinates the concert series “TOMA CHOCOLATE!” in Berlin, besides being the guest curator for this year's unlimited Wels festival. She also composes music for dance, theater, and film, including the award-winning soundtrack for the film “1976”, which earned her the Chilean Film Academy Award in 2025. She was nominated for the 2025 and 2026 German Jazz Prize in the drums and percussion category.
Emilio Gordoa is a Mexican sound artist, percussionist, and composer whose work focuses on sound and performance as primary means of expresion. Based in Berlin since 2012, he has been an active contributor to the city’s Echtzeitmusik scene and is involved in the international avant-garde music community.

His projects include solo and ensemble performances, sound installations, and compositions for film, theater and dance. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Jérôme Noetinger, Ingrid Schomliner, Yuko Kaseki, Burkhard Beins, Don Malfon, John Butcher and Sabiene Vogel. Gordoa’s approach combines experimental percussive techniques with electronic elements, leading to invitations to perform at events such as the Moers Festival, Meakusma Festival in Belgium, A’larme!, and Maerzmusik in Berlin.

He founded WildSonico, a platform for experimental music, and has been part of artist residencies at institutions like the Akademie der Künste and Kunststiftung NRW. He also worked as the Improviser in Residence for the Moers Festival. His discography includes albums such as Substantial Myths (2022), Balderi Variations (2019), and GRIFF (2021), which reflect his ongoing engagement with music. His work has been supported by organizations such as the Goethe-Institut, Musikfonds e.V., and INM - initiative neue musik berlin, and he has received recognition, including an Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica.

Burkhard Beins was born in 1964 in Lower Saxony and has been living in Berlin since 1995. He is considered a stylistically influential percussionist as a composer/performer, due to his individually developed playing techniques. Additionally, he works with analog synthesizers and live electronics, plays electric bass, and has created various sound installations.

He collaborates as a soloist, as well as with artists such as Chris Abrahams, Keith Rowe, Sven-Åke Johansson, Axel Dörner, Andrea Neumann, and many others. He is also a member of several ensembles including Sawt Out, Activity Center, Polwechsel, The Sealed Knot, Zone Null, Perlonex, Trio Sowari, Vertigo Transport, the NoWave/Krautrock band Slurge, and the Berlin Splitter Orchestra.

Since the late 1980s, he has performed concerts and participated in international festivals for experimental and contemporary music across Europe, America, Asia, and Australia. He has released more than 70 CDs and LPs in collaboration with various artists.

Burkhard Beins has been an Artist-In-Residence at the Künstlerhäuser Worpswede (2009), EMS Stockholm (2014), Muong Studios, Hoa Binh/Vietnam (2015), the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Captiva/Florida (2017), as well as at DAR, Drsukininkai/Lithuania (2018), and the Agosto Foundation, Prague (2019).

Buckshot returns with The Package, his latest solo album and his first to be entirely self-produced. The Brooklyn legend handles every beat himself this time, with features from General Steele of Smif-N-Wessun bringing the Boot Camp Clik brotherhood full circle.
Co-founder of Duck Down Music with Drew "Dru-Ha" Friedman, Buckshot has spent over three decades building one of hip-hop's most respected independent labels while staying prolific on the mic: a solo studio album, three with producer 9th Wonder, one with KRS-One, four with Black Moon, and four with the Boot Camp Clik. He's the voice behind "Straight from Crooklyn, better known as Brooklyn," a line that still echoes through the culture, prominently featured on two Crooklyn Dodgers tracks.

Recorded in Waterloo, Iowa and produced by Michael Cutsforth , the album blends iconic blues storytelling with soulful, lived- in delivery, performed with clarity, conviction, and heart. Burt - long celebrated for his ability to captivate audiences with a raw, acoustic roots style and winner of the International Blues Challenge for solo artist - returns to the core of what makes his music resonate so deeply. After releasing three studio albums with full- band arraignments, This Trip marks a conscious shift toward intimacy and honesty. Burt brings the immediacy of his live performances into the studio, stripping back instrumentation to place the listener directly in the room with the storyteller. The result is a warm, immersive listening experience where every lyric lands with intention and every pause carries meaning - an album that invites you to slow down, lean in, and truly listen. Lyrically, This Trip reflects on life in all its chapters, exploring love, loss, hurt, fear, joy, and the moments that define who we become. These are songs shaped by experience and delivered with empathy, offering comfort as much as truth. Listening to Kevin Burt feels less like consuming music and more like sharing space- it's reflective, grounding, and quietly transformative. This Trip isn't just an album you hear; it's one you feel, and one you'll want to return to again and again.

That sound reaches a new height with her fourth solo record, Fireflies. Recorded with producer Tony Braunagel in Nicole's hometown of Kansas City, it's not just a record about roots -- it's about the growth that occurs when reflection, resilience, and real artistry all combine. From nostalgic tracks like "Take Me Back" (featuring North Mississippi Allstars' Luther Dickinson) to empowered anthems like "Gaslight" and "Tug of War," Fireflies burns bright, deepening Danielle Nicole's exploration into soul, R&B, and the rich tapestry of American roots music.

They're leaders of a new generation of songwriters who honour the genre's history while pushing its boundaries, too - musicians who treat bluegrass not as a tradition, but as a living, breathing language. That language evolves and expands with Appalachian Smoke , an album that combines the live- wire energy of the band's concerts with the bold, wide-open exploration of the recording studio. Produced by six- time Grammy winner Vance Powell , Appalachian Smoke came together during a whirlwind era that found Mountain Grass Unit hitting the highway, transforming their grassroots audience into a national following. For years, they'd squeeze their concerts into the narrow margins of long weekends and summertime breaks. When college graduation spilled the musicians out into the real world in 2025, Mountain Grass Unit committed fully to the road, selling out more than 30 shows that year and winning the International Bluegrass Music Association's Momentum Artist of the Year award.

As guitarist, songwriter, producer and engineer - not just for the iconic Stax record label but on a forest of sessions and solo releases - the Tennessee soul man was the DNA that coursed through the post- war era. Little did we know this towering figure had one last ace to play in his lifetime, with Watching The Tide gathering A-list names including Eric Clapton, Brian May, Ronnie Wood and Billy Gibbons for 12 brand- new songs that Cropper ranked amongst the best of his career. "I know this record provided great joy to Steve in the last year of his life," says project leader Jon Tiven. "And I'm so glad he was able to have one last great creative burst...

Callisto celebrates 20 years of Noir with a vinyl reissue out in September Finnish post-metal outift Callisto are celebrating the critically acclaimed 2006 album Noir with its 20th anniversary vinyl reissue released by Svart Records in September. Founded in Kokkola in 2001, but already established in Turku early on, Callisto has been laying low in recent years. However, the band's versatile and nuanced metal achieved international popularity in the early 2000s. Their second full-length album, Noir, released in 2006, is a significant cornerstone of Callisto's career. – Noir is the album we have probably received the most feedback about over the years, the band admits. – People make and send covers of Noir songs to us and the album is usually the first thing that comes up in conversation when you come across people who have some experience, memory or opinion about Callisto's active years. Noir's production and recording process was also difficult in its own way, so it's already a reason to celebrate that it ultimately became an album that strongly defined the band's early years, the band continues. Noir has the menace and progressive edge of doom metal; the album is lively, looks forward darkly, moves from whispers to screams and ends with massive, powerful energy.

celebrating the critically acclaimed 2006 album Noir with its 20th anniversary vinyl reissue released by Svart Records in September. Founded in Kokkola in 2001, but already established in Turku early on, Callisto has been laying low in recent years. However, the band's versatile and nuanced metal achieved international popularity in the early 2000s. Their second full-length album, Noir, released in 2006, is a significant cornerstone of Callisto's career. – Noir is the album we have probably received the most feedback about over the years, the band admits. – People make and send covers of Noir songs to us and the album is usually the first thing that comes up in conversation when you come across people who have some experience, memory or opinion about Callisto's active years. Noir's production and recording process was also difficult in its own way, so it's already a reason to celebrate that it ultimately became an album that strongly defined the band's early years, the band continues. Noir has the menace and progressive edge of doom metal; the album is lively, looks forward darkly, moves from whispers to screams and ends with massive, powerful energy.

The compositions recorded here are a product of work with computers in synthetic speech, song and vocal sounds and were created between 1972 and 1975. The music was realized on two different computer music systems and takes advantage of, and attempts to extend and explore their features. The system employed to realize speech songs was created at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for research in synthetic speech and speech communication. Since the system was not designed for musical purposes, its limitations were severe and its musical use a great (and often rewarding) challenge. The system used for In Celebration and The Story of Our Lives was designed with the expressed purpose of creating synthetic musical voices, and was therefore much better suited to the task at hand. As with any high technology project, there was extensive collaboration in the production of the works.

The works on this disk are called computer music because the sounds were created numerically in a computer before reaching magnetic tape and loudspeakers. The computer did not compose the music. However, it was only used as a sound synthesis and analysis medium. In order to hear the sounds which are represented in the computer as successions of numbers it was necessary to attach a digital-to-analogue converter to the computer. The converter transformed the succession of numbers into a fluctuating voltage which was recorded directly on to audio tape.

The technique used to create the synthetic voices is called speech synthesis-by-analysis. For this method of speech synthesis, only those words, phrases and sentences which have been spoken into the computer previously (via an analogue-to-digital converter) may be synthesized. First the digitally-recorded speech is analyzed by programs which extract the attributes (parameters) of the speech for short time segments (.01 sec.). From these parameters the speech may be recreated in a form which resembles the original recording very closely. But for musical purposes the parameters are most often altered before synthesis. It is possible, for example, to change the natural pitch contour of the speech into a melodic line or to change the speech speed without altering the natural pitch level.

The variety of musical patterns which may be created from the analytic parameters is limited only by the composer's imagination. Most of the speech sounds on the recording were created by changing the pitch and duration attributes of the original on resynthesis, but for a few, the resonances (the formants) of the speech were altered as well. The voice of the book in The Story of Our Lives was created by replacing the program which simulates the sound of the human vocal cords with one consisting of 64 sine tones glissandoing at different rates. All the textures in which more than one voice is heard were obtained by mixing the synthetic voices together digitally.

A boundary-pushing musician and multi-media artist from Brooklyn, New York, Frances Chang disrupts accepted reality through her unique and enchanting compositions. Chang’s songs are an exercise in communication, probing the tension between idiosyncratic personal experience and the drive to understand, and be understood, through a collective language.
For “I can feel the waves,” Chang’s new single and debut on RVNG Intl., a piano-centric melody is ornamented with primitive electronics and poetic vocals. The track boldly demonstrates Chang’s strength for unconventional yet contagious songwriting, and pioneers a genre the artist refers to as “slacker prog”: roomy and playful, offbeat and occasionally jarring, brimming with spiritual and emotional resonance.
The b-side, “Marry,” is a rollicking yet laid-back composition, with undaunted wobbly kicks bubbling under pianistic textures until a dialogue, acted out between Chang and Sylvia Gorelick, takes the foreground in the final moments of the track. As the instrumental carries its freewheeling pulse forward, the conversation, inspired by films like Kenneth Lonergan’s Margaret and Catherine Breillat’s Fat Girl!, along with Broken Social Scene’s “Anthems for a Seventeen-Year Old Girl,” turns toward the relationship between internal subjectivity and the external necessity of “staying small.”
Where is Frances headed from here? A piano is at the center, synths and strings swelling around its shoulders. A little less tension, a lot more production. Some shadows will be encountered, some forgotten skeletons unearthed. Music excavated from the subtler, deeper layers of cerebral and shared experiences. Music that is truly its own.