Search:good call

After the release of the charts hitter “Don’t Need Your Love” earlier this year it’s now time to follow up with the last two songs out of the reel to reel tape
recorded by The Words at Talun & Trc Studios in Indianapolis in 1982. I feel I really need to explain what went on with the original recordings though. Please be
patient and ber with me. A magnetic tape recorder is made basically by two parts, one electronic and one mechanical. I’ll leave the electronics out of this as it
has no relevance here, to talk about what occurred with the mechanical, specifically with the “heads”, which are the most important part of the recording
action. They are components to be treated with great care, especially when they need to be cleaned; their good condition strictly depends on the functioning
of the entire recorder and - in part - also on the life of the tape. In this case the tape was found god knows where and played again exactly 40 years after the
recording session, on a reeltape player which had good part the “heads” very damaged. The artists themselves transferred it on digital doing it with what they
had on hand, that is basically nothing. It resulted in a stereo soundfile which had the right channel completely flat. Basically the music could be heard on the
left ear only, full of that noise only a cheap and malfunctioning Akai could provide. It took a hell of a restoration to make this second release possible and we
hope you will appreciate the undertaking well beyond the music, that is awesome on its own. Thanks to the first release we think you already know a lot about
Herman Slaughter and The Words of Wisdom. For those who are new to these artists, this awesome band started earning some good popularity at the
crossing of the seventies and eighties. Stable artists at the legendary Lamp - the so called “Naptown’s Motown” - these guys were part of the sparkling funk
soul scene of Indianapolis alongside the likes of The Vanguards and The Fabulous Souls. Support The Words of Wisdom and bring home one of the last slices
of original soul from Napptown’s legacy

- North American version on CLEAR vinyl (2XLP) - Limited DOUBLE 180g Vinyl Edition (500 copies) with obi strip - Rare Dutch studio recordings, one of Art's last sessions before he passed away - Comes with insert/liner notes // Art Blakey (1919-1990) actually needs little introduction, the American Jazz drummer and bandleader made a name for himself in the 1940s & 1950s playing with contemporaries such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. He is often considered to have been Thelonious Monk's most empathetic drummer (he played on both Monk's first recording session in 1947 and his final one in 1971). In the decades that followed Blakey recorded for all THE labels that mattered in the field of jazz (Columbia, Blue Note, Atlantic, RCA, Impulse!, Riverside, Prestige, Verve, etc.). His collaborations were numerous and include working with equally legendary artists such as Sonny Rollins, Max Roach, Chet Baker, John Coltrane_.and countless others.Art Blakey was a major figure and a pioneer for modern jazz, he assumed an aggressive swing drumming style early on in his career and is known as one of the inventors of the modern bebop style of drumming. His signature polyrhythmic style was amazing, exuding power and originality, creating a dark cymbal sound punctuated by frequent loud snare and bass drum accents in triplets or cross-rhythms. A loud and domineering drummer_but Blakey also listened and responded to the others in the band. He was an original, an important drummer you'd hear_and would recognize immediately.Art Blakey was inducted into the Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame (1981), the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame (1991), the Grammy Hall of Fame (1998 and 2001) and was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 2005. He was sampled and remixed by renowned acts such as Raekwon, Black Eyed Peas, A Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, Buscemi, KRS-One and Madlib.In the mid-1950s he and Horace Silver formed `The Jazz Messengers': a group that Blakey would perform and record with for the next 35 years. Originally formed as a collective of contemporaries_but over the years the band became known as an incubator for young talent that included artists such as Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Cedar Walton, Chuck Mangione, John Hicks_and MANY others. Art Blakey went on to record dozens of albums with a constantly changing group of Jazz Messengers. Blakey's final performances were in July 1990. He died on October 16 of lung cancer. The legacy of Art Blakey and his band is not only the music they produced, but also the opportunities they provided for several generations of jazz musicians.Released on the legendary Dutch jazz label Timeless Records and one of his final recordings_on the album we are presenting you today (Chippin' In) you'll find ten sublime tracks recorded at Rudy van Gelder's Recording Studio in February 1990. Art Blakey passed away just 8 months after these tracks were cut and you can't hear any signs of him slowing down at all. For these specific recordings, The Jazz Messengers were expanded from its usual quintet or sextet into a septet and they showcase their energetic signature sound with remarkable style, musical knowledge, a dash of good humor and camaraderie you'd expect from a world class band who have entertained, thrilled and amazed for almost five decades. The line-up on these fantastic sessions includes non-other than Essiet Okon, Geoff Keezer, Dale Barlow, Javon Jackson, Frank Lacy, Steve Davis and Brian Lynch_impressive to say the least!Chippin' In sounds as successful, young and vibrant as ever! Expect supercharged hard bop with striking notes, no-holds-barred musicianship, high swinging solos, screaming choruses and plenty of solid virtuosity to spare. This electrifying set of tracks contains both originals and several eclectic versions of standards_making this release a bonafide hit and a must have for any self-respecting jazz fan or collector.

Black Truffle is pleased to present Sylva Sylvarum, an epic new work from Ora Clementi, the collaborative project of crys cole and James Rushford. Primarily conceived and recorded over several months together in Melbourne, Sylva Sylvarum is a stunning step forward from the mumbled, creaking sound world of the duo’s debut, Cover You Will Softer Me (Penultimate Press, 2014). From the opening ‘Peach of Immortality’, which takes an unpredictable journey from layers of chiming bells, vocal harmonies and lush synth pads to a desolate landscape of half-animal, half-digital wooshes and cries, it is immediately clear that cole and Rushford are working here with an entirely unique sound palette. Throughout the record’s four sides, we hear a large array of carefully detailed synthesizer sounds (many of them recorded at the remarkable Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio), sparse drum machine hits, wind instruments and field recordings of animals, often with a twistedly late 80s/early 90s flavour that at various points calls up New Age references, Robert Ashley’s later operas or the thinned-out textures of early digital GRM.

Threaded through this distinctive array of sounds are the two musicians’ voices, sometimes singing, sometimes speaking through varying degrees of manipulation. A guiding thread through the pair’s collaboration, beginning with their initial experiments with lip-readings, the presence of these two voices – cole’s crisp and sibilant, Rushford’s rich and low – reinforces the sense that the music is immersed in itself, less performed by two people than occurring between them. On Sylva Sylvarum, these voices first come to the forefront on the third piece, ‘Dialogue Between a Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller and a Genoese Sea Captain’, where in unison they intone fragments of a description of an imaginary space taken from a 17th century utopian text. The two voices resurface periodically thereafter, most stunningly in the unexpected turn into cushiony dream pop on ‘Magic Mountain’. At other points, the subtle manipulation of pitch and intonation in the close-miked vocal performances filters the recitations through a fog of abstraction that climaxes with the almost incomprehensible alternating syllables of the side-long closer ‘Forest of Materials’. Like the album’s title, these textual elements are drawn from various literary descriptions of utopias, a theme that also informed the pair’s musical approach. Far from anything dryly illustrative, utopia figures into Sylva Sylvarum as an invitation to inhabit otherworldly spaces that, like the empirical details that proliferate in these literary utopias, are grounded in mundane reality but shot through with the eldritch. Admirably framed by the abstracted digital topographies of Sabrina Ratté’s artwork, the uncanny sweep of the album’s fifteen pieces is expansive enough to take in stretches of crackling austerity, warped microtonal keyboard etudes and moments of stunning beauty, the latter most strikingly when cole and Rushford are joined by Callum G’Froerer on trumpet and Joe O’Connor on trombone for a series of dream-like moments moving from growling overtones to poignant lyricism.

Presented in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with stunning artwork by Sabrina Ratté and pressed on mint green vinyl. Mixed and mastered by Joe Talia at Good Mixture, Berlin.

Limited Edition Classic LPs - 180g Virgin Vinyl -Audiophile Pressing Gerry Mulligan, Baritone Sax; Thelonious Monk, Piano; Wilbur Ware, Bass; Shadow Wilson, drums. New York, August 1957. Produced by Orrin Keepnews. Thelonious Monk was a creator in the true sense of the word. The current LP includes one of his rare albums that could fit within the standard formula of “jazz star 1 meets jazz star 2”. The pianist seldom shared the bill with other stars or accepted playing second fiddle to anyone. Two rare exceptions include his two 1950 sides backing singer Frankie Passions (“Especially to You” and “Nobody Knows”), and his 1950 studio session backing Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. But Monk is the leader on most of his recordings, and in a way, he was also the leading voice on this meeting with Gerry Mulligan. Most of the tunes played here are compositions by Monk, with the exception of the standard “Sweet and Lovely” - a favourite of Monk’s, who recorded it dozens of times - and Charlie Shavers’ “Undecided”, which could well have been Gerry’s only call for the evening. Although it remains clearly recognizable, the latter tune was slightly modified here, retitled “Decidedly” and attributed to Mulligan himself. No other recording of “Undecided” by Monk is known to exist. “’Round Midnight” was a Mulligan request for the session, as he wanted to record the song with its composer. It is clearly one of the best tracks of the whole album. However, the fact that no new compositions by Monk were recorded on this date seems to indicate that Monk always preferred to make his own albums and didn’t dedicate too much time to such experiments as Mulligan Meets Monk, which he may have regarded as a “commercial” venture. 4.5 Stars - Down Beat “The minutes of this meeting are very interesting indeed. They begin with a lyrical “’Round Midnight” and continue through Monk’s brittle “I Mean You”. In between, there are stretches of good to excellent Mulligan, brilliant Ware, and good to excellent Monk.” (Dom Cerulli)







g b4 | Straight, No Chaser [Alternate Version]

A limited edition of 500 copies on white vinyl. First ever reissue of Alternative TV's "Action Time Vision", compiled in 1980 and featuring the group's 7"es from 1977 to 1979. Including bonus track "You Bastard" and new liner notes by ATV singer Mark Perry, the founding editor of punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue.

What Mark Perry says:
"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Punk turned my world upside down! In July 1976, after hearing and seeing the Ramones, I went from just another music fan, avid reader of the NME and Melody Maker, to become editor of punk's premier fanzine, Sniffin' Glue. It was almost an instant success and by December 1976, through our no nonsense approach, our position as the 'punk Bible' was assured. But it was never enough for me. As I saw the initial punk explosion subside into a succession of third-rate copycats, I wanted to have a go myself.

My first attempt at forming a band was in late '76. We called ourselves the 'New Beatles' and it ended after a couple of rehearsals. It wasn't until I met guitarist Alex Fergusson, a mate of Sounds writer Sandy Robertson, in early 1977, that I started putting together some more interesting ideas for a band. I worked on a bunch of lyrics and, pretty quickly, Alex had put tunes to them. Eventually calling ourselves Alternative TV, we had our first rehearsals at Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Studios in March '77.

That initial line-up was just me singing and Alex on guitar, with Genesis P-Orridge helping out on some bass and drums. We did ask Gen to join fulltime, but he decided against it and stuck with Throbbing Gristle. After more rehearsals, we played our first gig at the Nottingham Punk Festival in May 1977, joined by Mick Smith on bass and John Towe (ex-Generation X) on drums.

I started thinking about doing a record almost from the start because, by this time, I was running the Step Forward record label with Miles Copeland, who was also to become the band's manager. It seemed like a natural move to put out my own record, but it instead ended up on Deptford Fun City, another of Miles' labels. Before that actually happened, we made a slight detour by recording a demo for EMI. They didn't want to sign us, but we did end up with the tapes…"

Demon Records presents Distortion: Live, the fourth and final edition in a series of expansive vinyl box sets chronicling the solo career of legendary American musician Bob Mould.
Bob Mould’s career began in 1979 with the iconic underground punk group Hüsker Dü before forming the beloved alternative rock band Sugar and releasing numerous critically acclaimed solo albums. The final volume in the series features 8LPs of live recordings from across Mould’s solo career.
8 LPs including –
• 4 live albums – Live At The Cabaret Metro, 1989 (first time on vinyl), The Joke Is Always On Us, Sometimes, LiveDog98 (first time on vinyl), and Live At ATP 2008 (first time on vinyl)
• Each album is presented with brand new artwork designed by illustrator Simon Marchner and pressed on 140g clear vinyl
with unique splatter effects
• Bonus LP Distortion Plus: Live which features live rarities including B-sides and stand-out tracks from the Circle Of Friends concert film
• Mastered by Jeff Lipton and Maria Rice at Peerless Mastering in Boston Plus -
• A 28-page companion booklet featuring: a new and exclusive foreword by Bob Mould; an interview conducted by journalist Keith
Cameron; an exclusive testimonial from Bully’s Alicia Bognanno; rare photographs and memorabilia

In view of the immense Black Lives Matter mobilisation in reaction to the murder of George Floyd and the comparatively meagre societal reaction to the attack in Hanau, the question arises: How come our society does not show the same empathy and solidarity towards its own fellow citizens with Kurdish, Turkish, Bulgarian, Bosnian, Afghan migrant backgrounds or members of the Roma and Sinti?

How limited is our postcolonial discourse if we are unable to address the racist exploitation of those who repair our cars, deliver our parcels or harvest our asparagus?

It’s all a sham. Shake it off like a biometric photograph. Shake off that false consciousness. The Black Diaspora is a transatlantic lie invented by music curators and journalists. Embrace this nuanced return to structures and superstructures, to articulations and historical constellations as analytical tools.

Allow me to dampen your expectations. This is not the sound of decolonisation. This is no compilation of BLM protest songs. This is no celebration of Black emancipatory struggles. You will not be able to play this at your hip post-pandemic house party. This will not go down well with your woke friends. This is music for the square in the room. For that reluctant BAME/Person of Color repelled by your fetishisation of the African-American experience.

This is music for gated communities. This is Fehler Kuti singing of class relations, not of identities and positionalities. This is Fehler Kuti resisting.

Listen to these songs of infrastructure and appraisal of the welfare state. Join me in mourning the broken promises of prosperity for all. Send that “Ausländer“ of your mind to heaven. Colonialism fucked you up. Platform Capitalism is keeping you in chains. Are we to unionise all human and non-human workers at Amazon? Will modernity always have that "forever nigger“? What about those dispossessed field hands harvesting your asparagus?

All is lost. The system is rigged. Because all histories, gestures and identities have been absorbed into this late capitalist apparatus we call diversity. It can integrate anything and anyone. It made me. It is the price of the ticket. And it is unable to challenge its own premise of an atomised society. As if you and I had so little in common.

They will try and help you. They will build a museum for your history and a scholarship program for your future. I warn you. Don‘t let them give you a name. Resist appellation. Don’t get that German passport. Don‘t eat asparagus.

Fehler Kuti, Spring 2021

All songs by Julian Warner. Produced by Markus Acher and Tobias Siegert.

Markus Acher – drums, percussion, backing vocals Micha Acher – sousaphone, trumpet Cico Beck – synthesizer Jenny Bohn – backing vocals Pacifico Boy – vocals Katja Kobolt – spoken word Theresa Loibl – bass clarinet, backing vocals Sascha Schwegeler – steeldrum, kalimba, percussion, backing vocals Tobias Siegert – bass, synthesizers, percussion, backing vocals Julian Warner – piano, memotron, vocals

recorded and mixed by Tobias Siegert at Minga Records, july – december 2020 mastered by Moritz Illner at Duophonic

Cover art and photography by Andreas Neumeister. Layout by Sascha Schwegeler.

Fehler Kuti “Professional People” is part of the same multiverse as “The History of the Federal Republic of Germany as told by Fehler Kuti und die Polizei”. A production by Julian Warner. In cooperation with Münchner Kammerspiele. Funded by the Department of Arts and Culture of the City of Munich. Released by Alien Transistor.

Good things come to those who wait! A commonplace that is also true in the case of Perel’s Running Back debut. Ever since „Die Dimension“ appeared on DFA, our own CEO couldn’t wait for a call from the lady herself. Star is the consequence of said call and not only that.
Picturing Perel’s development as a recording artist on the one hand and the hardships everyone had to experience since the world has been changed by a pandemic on the other, making it - in her word words - „an EP about crossing the „physical distance between the people I miss and love“. Opening with the riveting vocals of Star („This song is literally a love song for my people“), the three pieces also show Perel's growing versatility as a producer. The tried and tested neon disco lights interchange with darker tones, uplifting and affirmative moments (Tour De Perel) rotate with contemplative and pondering intervals (Internal Monologue). Yet, by no means Perel is whistling a sad tune. Her melodies are as always deep, distinguishable and delightful to dance to. Wherever that may be.

It’s testament to the man they call Medlar, that you never quite know what you might get with one of his releases. WOLF Music family since the early days, his latest mini-LP on the label is no exception. Seven cuts that prove this man can do anything, taking you on an otherworldly, island tour.

First stop, ‘Aerial’, channelling that inner Wally Badarou for a cosmic, sand-stomping chuggathon, heavy on the juiced-up basslines, tripped out synth wizardry and space delay goodness. Your pace quickens, ‘Iguanadon’ rattles the world around you, shamanic echoes swirling through your skull as that acidic stab hypnotises you into a stupor.

Out the other side, you stumble across an ‘Elephant Bingo’. Cup of tea, track three. Slap bass, bongos and synth stabs lifting the spirits.

Back on the beach you drift off into a slice of sleazed up Balearic business, turning the funk dial all the way up to 11 via ‘ELV’. Suddenly things take a trippier turn. Are you dreaming? ‘CR78-108’ booms in the background, pure jungle-tinged, digi dubwise movements.

A few stiff drinks and you’re on your feet again. ‘Phoenix Lights’ New York house stylings pump you with life, even if your hazy brain is still hearing wild echoes all over the place.

How did you end up here, 10 hours later? One too many ‘Sin Prisa’ homebrews no doubt, yet you’re still stompin through, granted it’s of the slow-mo, acid-laced variety though.

What was in that welcome drink Medlar handed you at the start? Who knows, who cares when you get that kinda bang for your buck.

The 71st release on International Feel is not only the wake-up-call from the label’s well-deserved lull, but also the constitution of Charlie Charlie.Consisting of Gabriella Borbély alias Bella Boo and Jens Resch better known as Chords, their genesis didn’t happen in their home port Stockholm, but on a beach in Southern California – and the music kid of gives it away, too. „Save Us“ takes a sun bath in pop melodies with infectious vocals of Mapei and a cabriolet ride on the proverbial highway, while „Charly“ is its instrumental counterpart that would sound good on any beach on this planet and was to be expected on a label like International Feel. Balearic on a meta-level and soon to be experienced in full album mode. Hey Charlie!

Lisa Milberg and Jon Bergström started their band Miljon over a pitcher of margarita in Mexico City and have since kept busy writing gorgeous little pop-songs in makeshift studios in and around their hometown of Stockholm, Sweden – mostly in their bedrooms and various cabins in various woods surrounding the city, never staying too far from the pine trees.
Having assembled a collection of 13 pieces of proper flaskpost-disko, these demos were passed on to Studio Barnhus’ in-house mixmaster Matt Karmil, who worked his studio magic on the recordings, turning them into a seductively warm and spacious debut album. “Until then, our only expenditures for the album were wine bottles and taxis”, says the band.
This isn’t the first time Miljon has teamed up with Studio Barnhus, the ever-explorative Stockholm dance label. The band collaborated with Barnhus co-founder Axel Boman on the wistful piano-house ballad “Forgot About You” in 2018 (“a summer anthem … a marvel of simplicity” - Pitchfork) and the label’s core personnel are all regulars at Arranging Things, the design store (“Stockholm’s coolest” - Vogue) that Lisa runs with another friend.
Going further back, Miljon isn’t the first musical project of neither Lisa’s nor Jon’s – the former enjoyed her fair share of 00's indie rock success as drummer and eventually lead singer of The Concretes, while Jon has earned a reputation as the hardest working man in several Swedish music scenes, bringing energy and expertise to punk stages around the country as well as Stockholm’s electronic underground.
With Miljon, the two friends make sure to keep it short and sweet, happily celebrating imperfections. “We believe in ‘first thought, best thought’ and try to work on the songs as little as possible, instead trusting a good melody and a nice vibe, not overthinking it. We dare you to find a bridge on this album!”
With “Don’t They Know”, the duo presents not only 13 beautiful songs (perfect for shower-humming, living roomshuffling and warm summer night boombox-blasting alike) but also an album that turns into something grander than the sum of its parts.
“We made it because it’s the kind of album we’ve been wanting to hear ourselves. It’s all quite song-centric these days and it feels rare to find a whole album to step into and stay inside, you know? We hear great songs all the time, but we wanted an album that was its own little universe, with its own mayor, own happy hour, its own yard sales and extramarital affairs.”
“Don’t They Know” is released through Studio Barnhus as a vinyl LP June 18.

Released in 2000, this debut and only album from Lucy Pearl an R&B super-group put together by former Tony! Toni! Tone! member Raphael Saadiq, boasting Dawn Robinson from En Vogue and Hip Hop innovator Ali Shaheed Muhammed from A tribe called Quest as additional members, set the tone for neo-soul’s evolution in the new decade. With additional collaborators Snoop Dogg and Q tip also featuring on the album, it is no surprise that Lucy Pearl went on to sell over 1 million copies worldwide and is still revered today, 21 years later as one of the greatest R&B albums from the early 00’s.

Released for the first time on pearl white vinyl, this edition allows a new generation to discover this classic album from RnB’s golden age.

This was the ardent wish of thousands of fans calling out to Andi Deris, Michael Kiske, Michael Weikath, Kai Hansen, Markus Grosskopf, Sascha Gerstner and Dani Löble during the PUMPKINS UNITED WORLD TOUR - and their dream has come true! With the upcoming album, simply titled HELLOWEEN, the band opens a new chapter after 35 years of a glorious career. The future of one of the most influential German metal bands from now on will feature three singers. Originally planned for the live performances only, it was the birth of a unique seven piece metal alliance.

Dani Löble: ”This record is the coronation of the PUMPKINS UNITED journey! Still today I am fascinated by the different character traits and facets of the HELLOWEEN history. As an example I’d like to point out the legendary voices of Michi, Andi and Kai. To enjoy them now together on one record, under one flag is the ultimate HELLOWEEN experience”. It is therefore not surprising that the pre-release single SKYFALL, a 12 minute epos written by Kai Hansen, has the long yearned “Keeper-vibe” - even if the long player can by no means be limited to it. SKYFALL implies the musical arch which will be loved by fans of every era. This first album of a new age is taking the fans from unforgettable memories of the fifteen studio records and four live CD’s to new adventures. SKYFALL begins with a bang. The epic track describes an alien landing on earth and a dramatic chase while Kiske, Deris and Hansen duel with each other in a breathtaking manner and create a vocal broadband adventure. Produced by Martin Häusler, it is the most elaborate video clip in the history of the band; shown with 3-D animation and having a cinematic look, this video is a real high-end experience.

”FEAR OF THE FALLEN” – the second single is a fast paced, melodic track done the way only Deris can do it. ”I had so much fun not only writing a song for my voice but also for one of the greatest singers out there. I always have an extremely broad smile on my face when I hear Michi singing my melodies“, says Deris and Kiske adds: ”The whole process, including the spirit, was just ideal. If I had the feeling that one of the parts would not be really fitting, I asked Andi if he would sing it and vice versa. There was no competition whatsoever – what counted was what is best for the respective song. I am thankful to be (again) a part of this crazy family. I love them all”. Along with massive album tracks such as HELLOWEEN classic and album opener “OUT FOR THE GLORY“, the epic “DOWN IN THE DUMPS”, both written by Weikath, the power metal shouter “MASS POLLUTION“ by Deris and Grosskopf’s scuff proof rocker “INDESTRUCTIBLE“ (which could be an analogy towards the unbreakable career of the band), the album release is flanked by the ‘party-track‘ of the record, “BEST TIME“. Lyrically the song by Sascha Gerstner reminds of the good old days, musically it´s convincing with confident HELLOWEEN style guitar harmonies and a chorus that stays in your long-term memory after hearing it for the first time.

“HELLOWEEN“ offers a complete metal universe within 12 songs. The base of this milestone album was already erected in the studio: using the original drum kit of Ingo Schwichtenberg, the recording was done with the same modulators at the Hamburg HOME studios where back then ”Master Of The Rings“, ”The Time Of The Oath“ and ”Better Than Raw“ were recorded. Completely analog and under the eyes of long term producer Charlie Bauerfeind and co-producer Dennis Ward, the UNITED impact travelled to New York and got the final mix in the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Rammstein).

Returnee Kai Hansen reflects: ”Being in the studio with my old companions after 30 years was very emotional for me. But at the same time it was a completely different experience with the ‘new‘ boys. The collaboration of different songwriters and strong characters made the album very special: a unique mix with reminiscences from all chapters of the band’s history. HELLOWEEN is a big part of my life and I am looking forward to celebrating the songs live for and with our fans“! From another perspective Markus Grosskopf agrees: ”For me, being one of the last “survivors” who played every note from the beginning, it was a fantastic experience and a very emotional process. I think everyone can hear it on this album. I love it“. When it came to capturing the larger-than-life emotions in the artwork, it quickly became clear that it was only possible as a handmade painting on which the important topics of the band's history are processed. The work of Berlin based artist Eliran Kantor has achieved this and visually underscores the fact that the band cherishes all parts of their history. With all this brand new material an album has been created, an album that is set apart from the digital mainstream and showing the essence of the band was never more solid. This is the beginning of something big – here comes HELLOWEEN!

This was the ardent wish of thousands of fans calling out to Andi Deris, Michael Kiske, Michael Weikath, Kai Hansen, Markus Grosskopf, Sascha Gerstner and Dani Löble during the PUMPKINS UNITED WORLD TOUR - and their dream has come true! With the upcoming album, simply titled HELLOWEEN, the band opens a new chapter after 35 years of a glorious career. The future of one of the most influential German metal bands from now on will feature three singers. Originally planned for the live performances only, it was the birth of a unique seven piece metal alliance.

Dani Löble: ”This record is the coronation of the PUMPKINS UNITED journey! Still today I am fascinated by the different character traits and facets of the HELLOWEEN history. As an example I’d like to point out the legendary voices of Michi, Andi and Kai. To enjoy them now together on one record, under one flag is the ultimate HELLOWEEN experience”. It is therefore not surprising that the pre-release single SKYFALL, a 12 minute epos written by Kai Hansen, has the long yearned “Keeper-vibe” - even if the long player can by no means be limited to it. SKYFALL implies the musical arch which will be loved by fans of every era. This first album of a new age is taking the fans from unforgettable memories of the fifteen studio records and four live CD’s to new adventures. SKYFALL begins with a bang. The epic track describes an alien landing on earth and a dramatic chase while Kiske, Deris and Hansen duel with each other in a breathtaking manner and create a vocal broadband adventure. Produced by Martin Häusler, it is the most elaborate video clip in the history of the band; shown with 3-D animation and having a cinematic look, this video is a real high-end experience.

”FEAR OF THE FALLEN” – the second single is a fast paced, melodic track done the way only Deris can do it. ”I had so much fun not only writing a song for my voice but also for one of the greatest singers out there. I always have an extremely broad smile on my face when I hear Michi singing my melodies“, says Deris and Kiske adds: ”The whole process, including the spirit, was just ideal. If I had the feeling that one of the parts would not be really fitting, I asked Andi if he would sing it and vice versa. There was no competition whatsoever – what counted was what is best for the respective song. I am thankful to be (again) a part of this crazy family. I love them all”. Along with massive album tracks such as HELLOWEEN classic and album opener “OUT FOR THE GLORY“, the epic “DOWN IN THE DUMPS”, both written by Weikath, the power metal shouter “MASS POLLUTION“ by Deris and Grosskopf’s scuff proof rocker “INDESTRUCTIBLE“ (which could be an analogy towards the unbreakable career of the band), the album release is flanked by the ‘party-track‘ of the record, “BEST TIME“. Lyrically the song by Sascha Gerstner reminds of the good old days, musically it´s convincing with confident HELLOWEEN style guitar harmonies and a chorus that stays in your long-term memory after hearing it for the first time.

“HELLOWEEN“ offers a complete metal universe within 12 songs. The base of this milestone album was already erected in the studio: using the original drum kit of Ingo Schwichtenberg, the recording was done with the same modulators at the Hamburg HOME studios where back then ”Master Of The Rings“, ”The Time Of The Oath“ and ”Better Than Raw“ were recorded. Completely analog and under the eyes of long term producer Charlie Bauerfeind and co-producer Dennis Ward, the UNITED impact travelled to New York and got the final mix in the Valhalla Studios of Ronald Prent (Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Rammstein).

Returnee Kai Hansen reflects: ”Being in the studio with my old companions after 30 years was very emotional for me. But at the same time it was a completely different experience with the ‘new‘ boys. The collaboration of different songwriters and strong characters made the album very special: a unique mix with reminiscences from all chapters of the band’s history. HELLOWEEN is a big part of my life and I am looking forward to celebrating the songs live for and with our fans“! From another perspective Markus Grosskopf agrees: ”For me, being one of the last “survivors” who played every note from the beginning, it was a fantastic experience and a very emotional process. I think everyone can hear it on this album. I love it“. When it came to capturing the larger-than-life emotions in the artwork, it quickly became clear that it was only possible as a handmade painting on which the important topics of the band's history are processed. The work of Berlin based artist Eliran Kantor has achieved this and visually underscores the fact that the band cherishes all parts of their history. With all this brand new material an album has been created, an album that is set apart from the digital mainstream and showing the essence of the band was never more solid. This is the beginning of something big – here comes HELLOWEEN!

Wenn eine Band sich von ihrem langjährigen Klangbild löst und - wieder einmal - häutet, kann sie heute alles Mögliche sein. Großes Orchester oder Laptop-Projekt. Das Skizzenhafte kann neben dem Ausgefeilten stehen. Das Beeindruckende neben dem Unscheinbaren. Das Aufwändige neben dem Simplen. Die Frage ist nur: Will man das überhaupt? Und wenn ja: Zieht man das durch? Auf ihrem neunten Album "Talks Of Paradise" präsentieren Slut sich in einem ungewohnten und neuen Soundgewand. Die Gitarrenwände haben sie ersetzt, das Klanggewitter neu gedacht. Stattdessen gibt es analoge elektronische Töne, eine tiefe Transparenz und einige beinahe minimalistische Skizzen. Den hymnischen Indie-Sound ihrer früheren Alben gibt es immer noch. Das hört man unter anderem auf der Vorab-Single "For The Soul There Is No Hospital". Es geht aber nicht darum, zwanghaft etwas Neues zu versuchen. Oder um den Zweikampf Synthie vs. Gitarre. Vielmehr um das Abschalten von Automatismen. Um eine Suche nach dem Momentum. Auch wenn dabei anfangs ein Mosaik aus vermeintlich widersprüchlichen Eindrücken entsteht. Slut ist etwas bemerkenswertes gelungen: Eine etablierte Band aus Leuten und Freunden, die sich schon sehr lange kennen, hat sich entschieden etwas wirklich Neues zu wagen. Und das auf der gesamten Strecke. Tell your friends!

ith canceled shows, closed venues and lost incomes, the pandemic was bad news for many music artists. But it wasn't only bad news in 2020, as many artists used their struggle to do what they do best during difficult times: create great music. This is why N.E.W.S. Records, a record company based in Ghent releases 'Bad News. Good News.'. A limited edition vinyl record with great songs that couldn't be played live because of the pandemic. The record itself is made from the ashes of newspapers and magazines containing the bad news that hit the music industry in 2020 (and prevented artists from performing live). As proof that great music always survives bad news, no matter how desperate things can get. To create the records, N.E.W.S. Records worked with And Vinyly, a UK-based company specialized in pressing vinyl records with ashes.

Many artists collaborated on the project and shared their insight on how the bad news happening in the music world influenced their music, like Johannes Genard, lead singer of School is Cool: "The one good thing about bad times is that they open new perspectives on things you've grown accustomed to, and that is exactly our core business as artists: comforting during challenging times; challenging during comfortable times and finding new ways to look at old things."

The compilation contains some exclusives like the Brihang & Compact Disk Dummies 'Steentje / I Remember' mash up, recorded live for 'Week van de Belgische Muziek' and Sam De Nef's cover of the belpop classic 'Satelliet Suzy' recorded for StuBru.

A musical omnibus, ‘The Best of Lily Konigsberg Right Now’ is the
first widely distributed Lily Konigsberg physical release, as well as
the first vinyl treatment for EPs ‘Good Time Now’ and ‘4 Picture
Tear’.
The collection loosely parallels the melancholic narrative behind
the latter, where a mental break triggered Konigsberg’s
depersonalized sense of her past self. Of the ‘4 Picture Tear’ EP
Konigsberg says, “I would look at this photo booth picture I took
with Matt Norman and cry because I thought I was looking at the
person I used to be in that picture and that that person was gone.”
In retrospect, these EPs feel like distinctive vignettes of
Konigsberg’s progression as a songwriter, each version of her
past self-tethered by an invisible thread to the present through
musical alliances and fervent introspection.
‘Owe Me’, a song Konigsberg never felt fit on any of her previous
releases, now serves as an opening curtain call. “Thank you all for
coming to my show,” Konigsberg says to an invisible audience’s
applause, “If you didn’t know, now you certainly know.” It’s a
transportive moment that combines Konigsberg’s patient steps into
the underground pop limelight with her exceptional ability to
connect with a diverse and talented cohort of creatives.
One third of egalitarian art-punk outfit Palberta, the Brooklyn-born
and-based Lily Konigsberg has occupied her time with music since
her early childhood. “Basically I was born and immediately started
wanting to be a rock star,” she says.
“Even before she became a fixture of the New York underground,
Lily Konigsberg was staking out her place in local music.” -
Pitchfork (Rising Artist, 2020)
“A crisp, catchy, and concise bit of 90s-indebted indie rock” -
Stereogum
“The freewheeling, flitting melodies underline the precision of
Konigsberg’s songwriting: She knows what she wants to say and
she is methodical about how much to reveal.” - Pitchfork
“Warm and direct but tough to grasp, untraceable” - Tiny Mix
Tapes

Following a limited 7” vinyl release of SunPalace edits in 2020, BBE Music finally delivers the full-length versions of Moodymann and Kenny Dope’s ‘Rude Movements’ remixes, alongside brand new interpretations by François K, Frankie Feliciano and OPOLOPO, plus a special edit by Phil Asher.
François Kevorkian needs no introduction to fans of House and electronic music. Featuring keys by Eric Kupper, his ‘SATS Dub’ and ‘TradMix’ versions of ‘Rude Movements’ are simply classic works, summoning House music’s golden era forward in time, to the here and now.
Bonus spaced-out ‘Flerken Space Bubbles’ and beat-less ‘Atmosphere’ revisions are also included in the digital version: both invaluable tools for DJs. Ricanstruction label founder and
long-time champion of the good groove, Frankie Feliciano delivers a slick and faithful update of ‘Rude Movements’, with a slight Latin soul twist. Swedish mix-king OPOLOPO turns in a typically live-sounding, funky and dancefloor-ready jam (ready whenever the dancefloor is,
anyway) The full, extended version of Moodymann’s remix retains the original ‘jammed’ feel of Rude Movements, adding stellar flute, sax and piano solos to that hypnotic vibe. Kenny Dope’s Afro-Latin inspired ‘Dancefloor Powder’ version is joined this time by a rough’n’ready, street tough ‘O'Gutta’ mix; calling all b-boys and b-girls! For the expanded digital package, we are also including a special edit by our sorely missed brother Phil Asher, created for his
own DJ sets and now available to all.
Made famous by David Mancuso at his New York Loft Parties, ‘Rude Movements’ was an obscure Brit-funk b-side recorded in the home studio of Mike Collins. The track’s unique sound, coupled with pristine sonics and production values caught the audiophile ears of
Mancuso, and the rest is history. Soon the track found its way into the hands of Loft Party denizens Larry Levan, Nicky Siano, Frankie Knuckles and Danny Krivit and continues to influence House and electronic producers through to this day.

From the moment she began writing her new album, Japanese
Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner knew that she wanted to call it
‘Jubilee’. After all, a jubilee is a celebration of the passage of time
- a festival to usher in the hope of a new era in brilliant technicolor.
Zauner’s first two albums garnered acclaim for the way they
grappled with anguish; ‘Psychopomp’ was written as her mother
underwent cancer treatment, while ‘Soft Sounds From Another
Planet’ took the grief she held from her mother’s death and used it
as a conduit to explore the cosmos.
Now, at the start of a new decade, Japanese Breakfast is ready to
fight for happiness, an all-too-scarce resource in our seemingly
crumbling world.
‘Jubilee’ finds Michelle Zauner embracing ambition and, with it, her
boldest ideas and songs yet. Inspired by records like Bjork’s
‘Homogenic’, Zauner delivers bigness throughout - big ideas, big
textures, colours, sounds and feelings. At a time when virtually
everything feels extreme, ‘Jubilee’ sets its sights on maximal joy,
imagination and exhilaration. It is, in Michelle Zauner’s words, “a
record about fighting to feel. I wanted to re-experience the pure,
unadulterated joy of creation… The songs are about recalling the
optimism of youth and applying it to adulthood. They’re about
making difficult choices, fighting ignominious impulses and
honoring commitments, confronting the constant struggle we have
with ourselves to be better people.”
Throughout ‘Jubilee’, Zauner pours her own life into the universe
of each song to tell real stories and allowing those universes, in
turn, to fill in the details. Joy, change, evolution - these things take
real time and real effort. And Japanese Breakfast is here for it.
Available on clear with yellow swirl coloured vinyl.

When most musicians reach a career milestone they take it on tour. Texas, whose debut album turned 30 last year, had bigger ambitions. Rather than simply perform their old songs, the Scots set out to meet their old selves – the wide-eyed kids who made Southside, their two million-selling, Top 3 debut, and the band who bounced back eight years later with the six times platinum White On Blonde.
The vaults at Universal were raided for recording sessions for both albums, stored on tape and DAT and never digitised. Top of Texas’ list was their first, failed attempt at I Don’t Want A Lover, scuppered by Chic bassist Bernard Edwards.
“Just after we signed, we were in the studio with Bernard and Chic’s drummer Tony Thompson,” recalls guitarist Johnny McElhone. “Bernard got coked up and ended up running away to Mexico before Sharleen even started her vocals. But that’s a whole other story.”
Late in 2018, the aborted version was found, alongside several songs recorded during different sessions which didn’t make their debut. The biggest revelation, however, was a 15-strong batch of tracks from the White On Blonde sessions which both Johnny and Sharleen Spiteri had forgotten existed.
“When we made that album, no one in Britain gave a shit about Texas,” says Sharleen. “We were still doing really well in Europe, but here we couldn’t get arrested.
“No one at our label was asking to hear any music or pushing us, so we just kept writing and recording and trying out new stuff until we felt the record was ready. Hence we ended up with a lot more material than usual.”
So good were the songs that Texas initially planned to release them as a ‘lost’ album, possibly to be called Blonde On White. But working with their old recordings inspired them to start writing new songs.
“Tweaking the old stuff was so much fun,” says Sharleen. “It felt like us, now, collaborating with ourselves of 25 years ago. It was amazing to go back there – my voice was so young! – and to hear how much energy and passion we had. We were fighting for our careers at the time, trying to prove that Texas were still relevant.
“Our excitement at finding this treasure trove of songs collided with our excitement from back then and, unplanned, new songs started coming. You could say we were inspired by ourselves, if that didn’t make us sound insanely big-headed.”
Hi, Texas’ tenth album, is the result of that bonkers journey back but has its eyes firmly fixed on the future. The title track and sensational first single aptly fuses the two. A brand new collaboration with Wu Tang Clan, it finds a soulful Sharleen nestled next to boisterous raps from RZA and Ghostface Killah over a cinematic backdrop of lush beats and acoustic guitar.

Divided into two worlds Life? A long narrow path. Anything else? Yes: people and music. That's it, but still. It couldn't get any more narrow than for Ozan Ata Canani.

I've been asking myself all these years: what has he done to deserve that his art is so ignored? The young Ata was a prodigy on the bağlama, the Anatolian long- necked lute. So good that the great Aşik Mahzuni Şerif took him on tour. At that time Ata was just thirteen. Ata's father was suspicious and forbade him to play music.

In the late seventies, the young adult Ata wrote the first song cycle of Anatolian music in German. He wanted to arrive, live in Germany and communicate with the majority society. He wanted to make audible what was going wrong. The lament was only eclipsed by Ata's infectious optimism. His music is a journey that takes its listeners along. He was obviously ahead of his time, because no one wanted to publish these songs. They found no lobby. Not even the utopias of the German counterculture of the sixties did include the so-called guest workers and their art and culture - which is why Ata's parents' generation did not find a connection in the country. Most of them wanted to return home after their work was done. So what was the point of building bridges to the land of the oral cavity surveyors and the screaming foremen? The Anatolian people of Germany had created their own great structure of music dissemination. They were not dependent on the radio and the department stores. They had their own shops, everywhere. Unnoticed by the German music industry and the local media, companies like Türküola in Cologne or Uzelli in Frankfurt turned over millions of records every year. Türküola is the most successful independent label in post-war history. The records and cassettes, later CDs, went over the counters in their own shops, in greengrocers' markets and at electronics hawkers near railway stations.

Hella Love, the Hardly Art debut from Marinero, is an album about closing a chapter. It’s Jess Sylvester’s grand farewell, and love letter to his hometown and the place he grew up, The San Francisco Bay Area, before relocating to Los Angeles after finishing his debut release. Using the moniker Marinero (which means “sailor” in Spanish), Jess Sylvester was drawn to this name as a means to honor his parent’s stories -- his father, a sailor, and mother, a Mexican-American who grew up in San Francisco. This record blends many worlds from beginning to end, and as you go deeper it hits harder. It’s his goodbye to The Bay. Pulling sonic influences from classic Latin American groups and international composers from the 60’s & 70’s: Los Terricolas, Ennio Morricone, Esquivel, Carole King and, Serge Gainsbourg Hella Love finds Sylvester fusing classical arrangements with a variety of different genres, evoking a sonic nostalgia blended with other contemporary artists like Chicano Batman, Connan Mockasin, and Chris Cohen. The album was written, played, and produced by Jess Sylvester with help from Bay Area engineer Jason Kick (Mild High Club’s Skiptracing) at Tunnel Vision and Santo Recording in Oakland, California. On the standout single “Nuestra Victoria,” Sylvester shares “It’s my way of talking about gentrification in SF, or specifically the Mission where my mom and family grew up. The song is about a bakery, or panaderia called La Victoria, and was a place where my mother and tias went growing up, a place I also went to that is no longer there.” It was one of the oldest Mexican-American businesses in SF and I wanted to honor it”. “Through the Fog” highlights Sylvester’s exploration of his influences from the Tropicalia movement, weaving bossa rhythms with lush percussion and orchestration. Using SF’s infamous fog as a metaphor for “tough times”, Sylvester expands that it is a dedication to his friends and family who have helped him get through substance abuse issues, heartbreak, and other painful experiences. “There are a few easter eggs in the lyrics for Bay Area folks or people who have followed my music in the past but it’s mostly about getting through something difficult with the love and support from the homies and fam.” The album’s title track, “Hella Love,” summarizes both of his parent’s stories of how they ended up in the bay. The first verse is about his father’s voyage out west as a sailor during the late ’60s while the second verse follows his mother’s experience moving to The Mission District when she was a young girl.


It’s difficult to classify or generalize about Marinero’s music or identity. To him, it’s important to let his music do the talking. “I’m Chicanx, a bay native, biracial, and I’ve luckily gotten to travel and spend time in Mexico and I feel like my personality and specific musical tastes come through on this album. More than these generalizations we often make, I’m just a human who can both fear and love, and I’m just hoping to connect with others to share optimism and experience joy and laughter, even if for a moment.” Lean your ear to the ground because Jess Sylvester has been many things and will continue to share his journey. It is clear this gifted creator has more to say.
-Luz Elena Mendoza

Originally released as a 12” single in 1982, ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’ was the final record from Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist and producer Freddie Thompson’s Panaché band. Built around a fully cleared sampled bassline from ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’ plays out like a summertime stroll through New York in the early 80s. The streets are full of excitement, but as the lyrics, written by vocalist Denise Williams (not to be confused with Deniece Williams of ‘Let’s Hear It For The Boy’ fame) make it clear, they’re dangerous as well.

Thirty-nine years later, Isle of Jura is proud to present the first official 12” reissue of ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’. A cult classic from the disco-rap era, the reissue includes the original vocal and instrumental versions of ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’ plus a Jura Soundsystem special version with additional live percussion.

Originally made up of Freddie, his wife, the singer Debra Thompson and keyboardist Douglas Glover, Panaché formed at the behest of a local disco DJ, Carl Nelson. In the wake of Chic’s early singles, Carl felt a French name would give Freddie a competitive edge. “He explained it to us that it was a French word for style and elegance. Panaché, a step above chic,” Freddie reflects.

Business minded, Freddie formed his own label, Roché Records and joined SIRMA - The Small Independent Music Manufacturers Association. “It was very hard for the independent manufacturers to get airplay and distribution at the time, so we all came together,” he remembers. Through SIRMA, Freddie met Joe and Sylvia Robinson from Sugar Hill Records, who several years later, let him sample ‘The Message’ for ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’.

In 1979, Panaché scored some radioplay when they covered ‘Not On The Outside’ by ‘60s D.C R&B group The Moments. Emboldened, they brought onboard backing vocalists and recorded their only album. This Is Panache saw the band blurring the boundaries between soul, jazz-funk and disco and become a sought after collectible.

By 1982, Debra had stepped back, and one of Panaché’s backing singers was center stage, Denise Williams. “Denise was good with writing poetry,” says Freddie. "She had one called ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’. It was about the unrest that was going on in the city at the time. I thought I could do something with that.”

After releasing ‘Every Brother Ain’t A Brother’ in 1982, Panaché quietly moved from center stage to behind the scenes. Over the last thirty-nine years, Freddie has continued to work in the music industry as a session musician and producer. “As soon as we stopped trying to become stars as Panaché, we became busy working in the industry,” Freddie laughs.

The third installment of Numero’s ode to lowrider souldies, Rust Side Story compiles highly sought after sweet soul singles from the Buck Eye State. Prepare for a low and slow ride from Youngstown to Dayton, Cleveland to Columbus, Toledo to Cincinnati, all soundtracked with silky falsettos and dreamy harmonies

‘This Is Telex’ is a brand-new compilation collecting 14
tracks from the innovative Belgium trio, covering their
career from formation in 1978 up to the final album in
2006.

This compilation includes the hit single ‘Moskow
Diskow’ as well as their Eurovision Song Contest
entry, aptly called ‘Euro-vision’.
There are also two wonderful and previously
unreleased tracks unearthed from the Telex archive, a
cover of The Beatles’ ‘Dear Prudence’ and a
reinterpretation of a Sonny & Cher track called ‘The
Beat Goes On/Off’.

All the tracks were newly mixed and remastered from
the original tapes by band members Dan Lacksman
and Michel Moers, keeping all the tracks in the spirit of
the originals but adding a freshness to them.
This compilation sets the way for a comprehensive
reissue campaign of the entire Telex catalogue.
CD in card pack with 12-page booklet.

Coloured vinyl 2LP (side A/B is shrimp pink vinyl, side
C/D fern green vinyl) housed in a gatefold cover with
printed inner sleeves with notes by David Stubbs, plus
digital download code.

Tape packaged in pink case with a green shell, plus
digital download code.

Global pop sensation Ava Max—who has already accumulated more than 4 billion career streams—has released her highly-anticipated debut album Heaven & Hell. The record features eight new tracks alongside her previously released hit singles “Sweet But Psycho,” “Who’s Laughing Now,” “So Am I,” “Salt” and “Kings & Queens,” the latter of which spent five weeks at #1 on European airplay and is currently #21 on Top 40 radio.

“Heaven & Hell represents light and dark, good and evil, and the devil and angel on your shoulder,” said Ava on the meaning behind the album. “I’m discussing the dualities of the challenges we face each day. Some songs have darkness; other songs are more positive. Heaven & Hell is the middle ground.”

Ava has also revealed the video for her track “Naked,” which was directed by Hannah Lux Davis (Ariana Grande, Halsey, Doja Cat).

“It’s about the real emotions we go through,” said Ava on the meaning behind the track. “If you don’t know my mind, soul, and heart, you’ll never know me by seeing me naked. We are more than our physical bodies. That’s what I wanted to show.”

A truly international artist, Ava sealed her pop superstar status with the blockbuster success of the RIAA 3x-platinum certified hit, “Sweet but Psycho.” Currently boasting over 2 billion global streams and counting, “Sweet But Psycho” was named among the New York Times’ “54 Best Songs of 2019,” spent three weeks in the top 10 of Billboard’s “Hot 100,” peaked at #3 at US Pop Radio and earned Ava her first-ever Teen Choice Awards nomination for “Choice Pop Song.” The song was joined by an official video that has more than 600 million views on YouTube.

Produced by GRAMMY® Award-winning super-producer Cirkut (Maroon 5, Miley Cyrus, The Weeknd) and co-written with Madison Love (Camila Cabello), “Sweet But Psycho” hit #1 on both Spotify’s “United States Viral 50” and Billboard’s “Dance Club Songs” while becoming one of “The Top Most-Shazamed Songs of 2019.” The song’s stateside success followed the track’s remarkable popularity abroad, including four consecutive weeks atop the UK Singles Chart and #1 rankings on charts in nearly 20 countries.

Dubbed an “Artist You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone, Ava has been feted with a wide range of media attention including high profile features in Vanity Fair, Billboard, FORBES, PAPER, and more. The pop star first took over TV with performances of “Sweet but Psycho” on CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden, NBC’s TODAY, and the Ellen DeGeneres Show, as well as a summer performance of her RIAA-certified gold single “So Am I,” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live. Ava became one of 2019’s most honored performers, including “Best New Artist” nominations at both the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards. The latter was highlighted by both Ava’s first-ever win for “Best Push Artist” and show-stopping live performances of both “Torn” and “Sweet But Psycho,” streaming now.

Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) - the latest offering of Tom Petty music, curated with help from his loving family, bandmates and collaborators - will be released on April 16 via Warner Records. The tracks, which were previously released on the limited-edition Super Deluxe version of 2020’s Wildflowers & All The Rest, will now be available on standalone CD & vinyl and digitally for the first time.



The first track to be released is “You Saw Me Comin’,” a previously unreleased song and recording from 1992 and the final track on the collection, which will be premiering alongside a video directed by Joel Kazuo Knoernschild and Katie Malia. Reflecting upon recording “You Saw Me Comin’” for Wildflowers, Heartbreaker Benmont Tench notes, “There’s this kind of longing in the song, in the way that he wrote the chord structure, the melody and the lyrics. It’s wistful, and it would have been the perfect way to end the disc.”



Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) follows Wildflowers & All The Rest which was hailed by Rolling Stone as “the definitive artistic statement that newly illuminates one of the most fruitful, inspired periods of the American legend’s career,” and by Variety, who called it “the best and most justified boxed set of this kind since the Beatles’ White Album compendium.” In fact, the songs on Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) first initiated the estate’s discovery and curation process for the larger project.



Finding Wildflowers (Alternate Versions) features 16 studio recordings of alternate takes, long cuts and jam versions of Wildflowers songs as Tom, band members and co-producer Rick Rubin worked to finalize the album in 1994. The release offers fans further deep access into the writing and recording of Wildflowers, as well as realizing the full vision of the project as Tom had always intended.



The collection was produced by Tom’s longtime engineer and co-producer Ryan Ulyate who listened to 245 reels of 24-track tape, revealing Tom and his collaborators’ evolutionary process and finding the group willing to do whatever it took to discover the essence and magic in the material.

This is Gianni and Erika third album, after two works released by Voodoo Rhythm Records and produced by Jim Diamond, musician and producer for two iconic bands from Detroit, The Dirtbombs and The White Stripes.

The record features former Screaming Trees vocalist - and acclaimed solo artist - Mark Lanegan and Chilean multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes (Queens Of The Stone Age, Spinnerette, Ten Commandos, The Desert Sessions).

“The title track of the new album was born during our last day of re-cordings” - says Gianni Blacula and Switchblade Erika.. “Alain is an enthusiast of strings instruments, and on the last day he arrived at the studio with a Neapolitan mandola he bought in the historical centre of Naples. We were astonished about how a traditional instrument as the mandola can get a rock sound, so we followed up went to the recording room. Alain at the mandola and vocals and us on guitar and drums. There was suddenly the right atmosphere that to Alain reminded “ the Desert Sessions” , so much that the song came out at the first take. Then Alain wrote the lyrics and the last line “Beast Must Regret Nothing” affected us , we have chosen it as the title of the album because it totally reflects his mood, and it does taste of Devils!”

Gianni and Erika got in touch with Alain for the first time in September 2019, during a Spanish tour, while they were looking for inspirations for their new record.

In the same moment Alain was on a European tour which ended in Italy. The collaboration was born in a spontaneous way, for a mutual esteem between the Devils and the famous producer and musician. The album have been recorded in Naples, Italy, with a two weeks session in a historic studio equipped with a large tracking room with truly unique acoustics. Alain actively collaborated in the production of the album taking part to creative process and helping them with the arrangements.


The Devils formed in Naples in 2015 and their first two albums “Sin,You Sinners!” in 2016 and “Iron Butt” in 2017 were produced by Jim Diamond (The White Stripes, The Sonics and the Dirtbombs), pub-lished by Voodoo Rhythm Records. From 2016 the duo constantly tour, and has played everywhere doing over 400 shows between Europe and Canada. The Devils are the sound of desolation and chaos; their style is primitive, filled with sex, sin and rock’n’roll. They are wild, loud and sexy.

The name of the band was chosen has tribute to the movie “The Devils” by Ken Russell and they have been on tour with Jon Spencer, The Sonics, Boss Hog and The Monsters, and has open act around Europe for Mudhoney, Nashville Pussy, Guitar Wolf, Kid Congo and many more.

Wah Wah 45s make a welcome return to the world of re-issues. Having started out over two decades ago releasing dance floor funk from Benny Poole, Cheyenne Fowler and The Googie Rene Combo, and later re-releasing obscure Kompa-funk from Haitian pianist Henri Pierre Noel, they now turn their attention to an overlooked early 90s acoustic soul gem.

About thirty years ago, music teacher and budding producer Alex Boyesen found himself working as part of the Haringey Music Workshop - a community programme and outreach project funded by the local council in Haringey, North London (coincidentally the area in which the Wah Wah head office is now based!).

"Anyone could come and get lessons for free - ranging from piano, sax, guitar, drums, bass, singing and workshops including choral, jazz band and more." Alex Boyesen

It was during that time that Alex came across a young Sam Edwards.

"One day I went into one of the rehearsal rooms and there, by herself, was this girl playing a piano and singing. It was the most incredible voice I had ever heard."

Before long, the pair were playing all over London as a duo with Alex on guitar and Sam on vocals.

"Sam had never had professional training, she was simply an utter natural."

The Haringey Music workshop was connected with other projects in the borough, in particular a community project called the Selby Centre. Here they ran training programs for young people and one of these was a music business course. The idea was that they found an artist, recorded them and then promoted them. One way or the other they ended up picking Alex and Sam to be on their roster.

"My good friend Nixon Rosembert was brought in to oversee the recordings and they hired the Islington Music Workshop to do the recording. We got musicians from the Haringey Music Workshop to play on the sessions and spent a day recording two songs -American CarsandLife. The training workshop had created a label called Progression Music and out the record went."

Three decades later and out of the blue Alex started to get interest again in the record he'd almost forgotten about all those years ago. It had become something of a sought after gem on Discogs, and there seemed to be an interest in that 'acoustic soul' sound once again.

"I got three people asking if they could re-release it and finally here we are with Wah Wah 45s doing the business after all these years."

It was Hospital Records and Wah Wah 45s founder, Chris Goss, who first brought the idea of releasing this record to the table.

"This is a really special record for me, picked up 30 years ago, from a young James Lavelle at Honest Jon's in Ladbroke Grove. Sam Edwards would go on to perform and write songs with North London's Izit, the acid jazz collective fronted by Tony Colman - with whom I have built a music company, these past 25 years. Alex Boyeson worked with Tony at the Haringey Arts Project, who produced a one-off vinyl release of Alex's two compositions back in 1991. Thanks to Alex and Tony, we have been able to clean-up the original audio, uncover photos and lyric sheets to present, with real love and affection, these two lost gems from a bygone era." Chris Goss, Feb 2021.

The project was then expanded by Dom Servini, who got heavy disco legend Ashley Beedle and co-label owner and erstwhile producer Adam Scrimshire in to take on remix duties.

"When approached by Dom Servini to reworkAmerican CarsI had no idea about the history of the original song. After a good listen myself and studio partner Darren Morris set to work and all I can say that it was a lovely experience keeping the vibe of the original but giving it a spaced out feel in true Afrikanz On Marz fashion." Ashley Beedle, Feb 2021.

"Remixing without multi-tracks always brings a bunch of challenges, getting the balance between the bass and drums in the original and what you want to do with your own version. The song really dictates certain things to you.

But it was such a pleasure to explore that with this beautiful song and vocal performance. So many ways to approach it. I just wanted to draw out more of the melancholy in the original and make it an absorbing experience." Adam Scrimshire, Feb 2021.

Perhaps the last word should be given to Alex himself, who's very much enjoying the new lease of life that his music with Sam is getting.

"As I write this we are trying to locate her, she's somewhere singing something, that's all she ever did. Thanks for being part of my life Sam and I am so glad that this small bit of that time is being remembered." Alex Boyesen, Feb 2021.

Ryley Walker currently resides in New York City. But his latest LP is a Chicago record in spirit. The masterful Course In Fable, the songwriter’s fi@h solo effort,
draws from the deep well of that city’s ferCle 1990s scene, when bands like Tortoise, The Sea and Cake and Gastr del Sol were reshaping the underground,
mixing and matching indie rock, jazz, prog and beyond.
Walker spent his formaCve years in Chicago, absorbing those heady sounds and finding ways to make them his own. Even though he emerged at first in folkrock
troubadour mode, it makes sense that he’s arrived at this point; each LP has grown more intricate and assured, his influences disClling into something
original and unusual. To put it simply: Course In Fable is Walker’s best record yet, full of acCve imaginaCon and endless possibiliCes.
Last October, Ryley went straight to one of the primary architects of the Chicago sound to make the LP. John McEn:re, Course In Fable’s producer/engineer/
mixer, can rightly be called a legend for his work with Tortoise, Stereolab, The Red Krayola, Jim O’Rourke and countless others over a prolific career that now
spans more than three decades. Seeing his name in an album’s liners is preVy much a trademark of quality.
Another Windy City exile, McEnCre is based on the west coast these days, working out of the Portland, OR studio he’s dubbed Soma West. On the seven songs
here, he delivers the signature shimmering and prisCne sonics he’s become known for over the years. But McEnCre was also inCmately involved with Course
In Fable’s overall creaCve process. “I told him to take the mixes and have at it,” Walker says.
The result is a rich, immersive affair — a headphones record if ever there was one. Course In Fable’s songs are twisty, labyrinthine things, stuffed full of ideas
(Walker half-jokingly calls it his “prog record”). But no maVer how complex it gets, the album is never overwhelmingly busy. Wiry guitars melt into gorgeous
string secCons (arranged by Douglas Jenkins of the Portland Cello Project). Tricky Cme signatures abound but feel as natural as can be. Melodies o@en dri@ in
unexpected direcCons but remain downright hummable. Like Walker’s beloved Genesis, the pop element is never too far from the surface even when shit
gets weird. (And speaking of weird, Ryley says that in addiCon to Genesis, much of the album’s inspiraCon comes from “Australian extreme scooter riders on
YouTube and balding gear heads on Craigslist.” Go figure.)
To help put together these various puzzle pieces, Ryley assembled a band made up of several longCme collaborators. Bill MacKay (another Chicago mainstay)
and Walker have made two excellent instrumental duo records of interlocking guitars and warm give-and-take — a rapport very much in evidence
throughout Course In Fable. The freakishly talented drummer Ryan Jewell has performed with Walker for years now in a variety of seangs, from
straighborward song-centric sets to blown-out improv extravaganzas. Bassist Andrew ScoJ Young (Tiger Hatchery, Health&Beauty) has logged many miles on
tour with Walker; he and Jewell are frequently astonishing, a buoyant-but-always-locked-in rhythm secCon, able to navigate someCmes dizzying turnarounds
with apparent ease. Listening to the interplay between Walker and these musicians and you might be fooled into thinking they’d spent a year roadtesCng
Course In Fable’s songs. But it all came together relaCvely fast, thanks to demos, rehearsals and the kind of musical empathy that comes from years of
playing together.
Beneath the wondrous interplay, you’ll find some of Walker’s most personal – if sCll typically crypCc — lyrics, hinCng at some of the trials the songwriter has
been dealing with in recent years. Balanced with necessary doses of dark humor and oddball poetry, Course In Fable feels most of all like a life-affirming
record, fresh air in the lungs, sun on your skin. “Fuck me, I’m alive,” Ryley sings at one point, a moment of both disbelief and pure joy.
Walker has released his albums on a who’s-who of independent labels over the past decade — Tompkins Square, Dead Oceans, Thrill Jockey and Drag City
among them. This Cme around, he’s doing it DIY-style, puang Course In Fable out on his own Husky Pants imprint. You’re in good hands. This is an album that
sounds great (mastered by Greg Calbi), looks great (artwork by Jenny Nelson and design by Michael Vallera). It probably even smells great. Whether you’ve
been onboard since the beginning or are new to the Ryley Walker universe, you’re in for a treat.

“After all is said and done, after 30 years, after a
pandemic which shattered the world, after
thousands of kilometres travelled and many more
thousands of notes played and sung, what
remains?
“A deep love and respect for great music and the
greatness in music, a deep love for the humanity
that is brought to life by it, a deep appreciation for
the gift of friendship and for the power and
resonance that brought and kept us together all
these years, and for that curiosity and passion, that
meticulous quest to unveil the deepest mysteries
of music, that drives us always onwards.
“Finally, we’ve given it a name: ‘Afterallogy’.” - Noa
LP pressed on 180g vinyl.

"Flowers Bloom, Butterflies Come" is the result of a dialog between the stunning Japanese photographer and artist Miho Kajioka and the wonderful UK musicians and composers Ian Hawgood and Craig Tattersall (The Humble Bee), initiated by IIKKI, between August 2019 and January 2021.

Born in the United Kingdom, Ian Hawgood spent most of his adult life living in Japan, Italy and Poland. Currently he calls Peacehaven (on the south coast, near Brighton) his home. Since 2009, he’s well-known with his work as the curator of the Home Normal label. He makes music using an array of reel-to-reel and tape machines in his studio by the sea, where he also master works for many labels and artists alike. You could often catch him on the coast with his faithful Nagra recorder, hydrophone and field microphones. These days his focus of music is on decayed ambient works using old synths and reels mostly, alongside his childhood piano. (site)

Craig Tattersall is a former member of The Remote Viewer and Famous Boyfriend bandmate Andrew Johnson. Tattersall's music can be found these days more often under his alias The Humble Bee; as a founder member of The Boats; and in his collaborative works with the likes of Bill Seaman in The Seaman And The Tattered Sail. He has run the wonderful label Cotton Goods from 2008 to 2015 and since 2009 he has recorded 12 albums on his moniker The Humble Bee.

Miho Kajioka (b. 1973, Japan, lives in Kyoto) is an artist and a photographer since 2011. Kajioka’s work has been exhibited in Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, the USA, Germany, Belgium, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Kajioka’s latest book ‘so it goes’ won Prix Nadar in October 2019. "Kajioka's artistic practice is in principal snapshot based; she carries her camera everywhere and intuitively takes photos of whatever she finds interesting. These collected images serve as the basic material for her work in the darkroom where she creates her poetic and suggestive image-objects through elaborate, alternative printing methods. Kajioka regards herself more as a painter/drawer than as a photographer. She feels that photographic techniques help her to create works that fully express her artistic vision. Her images evoke a sense of mystery in her constant search for beauty. The focused, creative and respectful way in which she uses the medium of photography to creating her works seems to fit in the tradition of Japanese art that is characterized by the specifically Japanese sense of beauty, wabi sabi. (…) According to her, photography captures moments and freezes them; printing impressions is like playing with the sense of time and getting lost in its timeline." (Ibasho Gallery)

2LP on crystal clear vinyl. In these trying times, where intimacy and closeness are fraught with danger, Dans Dans (Dance Dance) brings you the sound of connection, communication, passion and togetherness.

In these trying times, where intimacy and closeness are fraught with danger, Dans Dans (Dance Dance) brings you the sound of connection, communication, passion and togetherness.

Dans Dans unites the talents of three of Belgium's most prolific music makers in Bert Dockx (Flying Horseman), Fred 'Lyenn' Jacques (Lyenn, Lanegan band) and Steven Cassiers (Dez Mona, DAAU). An utterly unique musical collective, the trio are set to release new album 'Zink' on the 23rd April via Ghent based independent, Unday Records.
From jazz, psychedelic blues and ecstatic noir soundtracks to spacey rock 'n' roll, Dans Dans cut their teeth on the cool jazz cafe scene in Flanders, Brussels with their sensational live performances and have since gone on to become a mainstay on the flourishing Belgian musical landscape.

Releasing their self-produced, eponymous debut album back in 2012, their highly distinctive, intuitive mix of musical styles and their ever-imaginative live shows caught the attention of discerning music lovers, journalists and promoters. A relatively unknown tour de force outside the Benelux region, Dans Dans have built a solid fan base since their inception with limited edition runs of early releases becoming collector's items among vinyl enthusiasts.

Well-received appearances at Cactus Festival, North Sea Jazz and Pukkelpop, as well as Gent Jazz, Ljubljana Jazz and Jazz Middelheim have confirmed their reputation as one of the most unique and exciting bands to come out of Belgium. In recent years, the group has been touring throughout Europe, garnering enthusiastic reactions beyond the Belgian borders as well. There's a case to be made that Dans Dans even played a key role in breaking down the wall between the Belgian jazz scene and the pop/rock circuit (years before pop journalists began referring to a New Wave of Belgian Jazz).

Opening with the moody noir rhythms of 'Cinder Bay', Dans Dans look to construct their own musical universe across 'Zink'. 'Naiad' unfolds into a devastating explosion of heavy feedback and wild, crashing drums before subtle electronica and baroque art-rock collide on 'Anemone' giving a good indication of Dans Dans' eclecticism. There's unquestionably a deep, underlying filmic beauty to the music, an evolving darkness and a perpetual sense of dread and paranoia. Elsewhere, 'Ravine' is intoxicating, provocative and uncompromising while the beatific 'Shell Star' is an infectious exploration of hypnotic grooves, atmospheric sounds and mind-bending melodies.

Producer Christine Verschorren (Philippe Catherine, Ivan Paduart) accentuates the music's wondrous fluidity throughout 'Zink'; the intriguing interplay; the subtle ties; the deep layering. Musical styles and influences are being blended organically and sublimated into what can only be called Dans Dans-music. "This is no fusion, no rock or jazz or ambient. This is the sound of the searching, intuitive human; of a timeless, mysterious dream; of the heart, the gut and the soul," says Dockx.

Kink Gong is back with his unique take and re-interpretation of the music he’s been recording and documenting for years in the South East Asian highlands.

Zomia Vol.1 takes the conceptual idea of ZOMIA, proposed by James C Scott in The Art of Not Being Governed, an Anarchist History of Upland South East Asia, to construct its very own mythological soundscape inspired by a semi-utopic region where state rules don’t apply. Zomia might be (almost) gone but Kink Gong is keen keep its spirit alive by releasing a series of albums celebrating the region’s quasi mythological features.

‘’Zomia is an idea, a concept that, not so long ago, there were two very distinct worlds in southeast Asia, the valley VS highland/hinterland, the civilisation VS the primitive, paddy rice VS slash and burn agriculture, Buddhism VS Animism, fixed territory VS movement/migration, written system VS oral culture, the state VS anarchy, property VS squat, controlled population VS autonomy, bricks VS bamboo and wood and, at my level museumified traditional mainstream music VS real emotions/songs of devastated lives and/or gongs ceremonies with buffalo sacrifices, extreme heat in the valleys VS shade in the jungle. I could go on and on but let’s not forget that ZOMIA is disappearing fast, if not altogether already. How many of the people I’ve recorded are still alive?

As you might know, before composing new music from my own ZOMIAN experience (from 2001 to 2014 in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and China) I had to find those musicians, be able to communicate with them, record them as good as I could with very limited finances and gradually release a collection of 160 CDrs. It is very important for me to make sure you to listen to the fantastic original recordings before or after you’ve listened to this experimental reconstruction I called ZOMIA!

Expect more volumes to come, this is my biggest source of inspiration, and the reason why I’ve been involved for years in constructing a mythological experimental musical ZOMIAN soundscape.’’
Laurent Jeanneau, Berlin 2020

Built on a foundation of authenticity, passion and innovation, Archie Lee Hooker & The Coast to Coast Blues Band is a spearheading group that has established itself in the world of music. Formedby Archie Lee Hooker, the nephew of John Lee Hooker, Archie and his leading handpicked team arehighly recognised for creating compelling, soul-enriching productions that leave their audienceswanting more.
Archie was born on Christmas Day of 1949 in Lambert, Mississippi, just 20 miles from thecrossroads where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul to the devil. He was the son of a sharecropper, and up until age thirteen, that was the life he was accustomed to. That all changed when he headed up north and found himself standing in the big city of Memphis,Tennessee.
The paved roads and city lights felt like a new world to Archie, one that was filled with opportunities. Inspired by the Memphis music scene, it didn’t take long for Archie to begin singing with his first gospel group called The Marvellous Five. However, December of 1989 was when hispassion for Blues started to surface. During this time, Archie lived with his uncle, John Lee (the Boogieman himself) until his death in 2001. Being surrounded by him and other committed, talented, and influencing musicians is what became the catalyst for Archie to crave sharing his own life experiences through music and leave his lasting impression.
Though Archie left for France in 2011 to join Carl Wyatt & The Delta Voodoo Kings to tour Europe, he eventually chose to seek the right musicians to have on his side. He wanted a team that resembled family, chemistry, and a bond unlike any other. Once he found them, Archie founded the Archie Lee Hooker & The Coast to Coast Blues Band, which was specially named after the late John Lee’s Coast to Coast Blues Band. Since then, the crew has done nothing but thrive and impress.
They released their first album called ‘Chilling’ under the French label Dixiefrog in 2018, which received a 5-star review in Rolling Stone Magazine. Fast forward to today, they have recorded a new 12 song CD called ‘Living in a Memory’, and this all-original playlist of storytelling art is set to be released through Dixiefrog worldwide on April 16th, 2021. In the end, every song and performance that Archie Lee Hooker & The Coast to Coast Blues Band creates paints an incredible picture that inevitably provokes uplifting emotional influences and invested attraction.
They are entirely passionate about delivering remarkable music, and continuously provide fully authentic productions that have shaped them to become what they are today. With their immense drive and determination, it is exciting to see what they will launch next.

One Night in Miami is a 2020 American drama film directed by Regina King (in her feature directorial debut), from a screenplay by Kemp Powers, based on his stage play of the same name.

It had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on September 7, 2020 and was the first film directed by an African-American woman to be selected in the festival’s history. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews, with critics praising King’s direction, the performances and the writing.

It is scheduled to be released in a limited release on December 25, 2020, followed by digital streaming on Prime Video on January 15, 2021

On one incredible night in 1964, four icons of sports, music, and pop culture gather to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. When underdog Cassius Clay, soon to be called Muhammed Ali, (Eli Goree), defeats heavy weight champion Sonny Liston at the Miami Convention Hall, Clay memorialized the event with three of his friends: Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge).

Based on the award winning play of the same name, One Night In Miami is a fictional account of the actual night that these formidable figures spent together in the hotel. It looks at the struggles these men faced and the vital role they each played in the civil rights movement and cultural upheaval of the 1960s.

More than 40 years later, their conversations on racial injustice, religion, and personal responsibility still resonate.

To mark his highly anticipated album announcement, Saint Raymond releases a fresh IG track titled Solid Gold. "Solid gold is about trying to rekindle the spark and make things work because you know that there is something special in the relationship and it’s worth fighting for. It’s about knowing that all of the good things override the negatives." - Callum (Saint Raymond) Saint Raymonds follow up to the UK top 10 album 'Young Blood', will be titled 'We Forgot We Were Dreaming' and is out on April 16th 2021. It will be followed by a run of warm up shows in April 2021 and full tour in Nov 2021.

After the conclusion of the successful “Vampirate” trilogy (2015’s Courting the Widow, 2017’s The Bride Said No, and 2019’s The Regal Bastard), vocalist Nad Sylvan was considering a different approach for his next project. The new album, “Spiritus Mundi”, centers around the poems coming from Nobel Prize winning William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), who Sylvan calls ‘one of the finest poets to come out of Ireland.’ Not having to write the lyrics himself this time gave Nad the opportunity to solely focus on the music. And being off the road due to the pandemic allowed for more time to mix and perfect every aspect. The result is a collection that Sylvan calls his best work. The album marks a shift musically from Sylvan’s previous outing focusing more on the lyrics and vocals in tandem with gorgeous orchestration and timely melodies. Sylvan has always managed to cull together a notable cast of guest musicians for his album and this album follows suit. Tony Levin contributes his unique skills on bass to 4 tracks, while Jonas Reingold is also present on bass for one track. For drums, Sylvan targeted The Flower Kings drummer Mirkko DeMaio. And of course, Steve Hackett makes an appearance on one track titled “To a Child Dancing in the Wind.” Nad himself concludes: “I'm so excited about this release. Anyone whio has heard it just loves it. They think that this is my best album and I tend to agree. It’s a bit different than what I’ve done before and that’s a good thing.”

• From the mid-‘50s through to the early ‘70s, Jackie Wilson was a consistent hit-maker and master showman, known as one of the most dynamic singers in American R&B. Jackie Wilson has a dazzling record of 54 US Hot 100 and 49 R&B singles chart entries
• ‘Nobody But You’ is the final studio album by the soul great and is the first vinyl reissue of the 1976 album
• Highlights include ‘Don’t Burn No Bridges’
• Pressed on 140g black vinyl with original artwork and printed inner sleeve