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NIGHTMARE VACATION vinyl will be released on 27th August via Atlantic Records/Sugar Trap. The genre-defying album features 16 captivating tracks, each showcasing Rico’s out-of-this-world energy and rockstar delivery, complimented by production from the likes of CashMoneyAP, Buddah Bless, Dylan Brady (100 Gecs) and more.

“I feel like this album proved to me that no matter what I’m going through, I can still make powerful music. All of these songs that I ever made were always about power, always about making you feel powerful. Sometimes you give so much power you feel powerless…I just tried to put all the emotions, and the happiness, and the crazy feelings y’all make me feel in this music and give it right back to you to consume and get your power up. So this is a soundtrack to getting back on your shit!” – Rico Nasty

NIGHTMARE VACATION has already drawn early acclaim via a number of international and domestic press looks, ranging from NME, WAVE and CRACK to Rolling Stone, The New York Times, W Mag and more. The album – which includes features from such luminaries as Trippie Redd and Aminé and production also by Take A Daytrip (Lil Nas X, Sheck Wes, Kid Cudi), Avedon (Roddy Ricch, Chloe x Halle), GRAMMY® Award-nominee Tay Keith (Travis Scott, BlocBoy JB, Drake) and longtime collaborator Kenny Beats – is highlighted by the singles, “IPHONE,” “Own It,” “Don’t Like Me (Feat. Don Toliver & Gucci Mane),” and “OHFR?,”.

NIGHMARE VACTION further follows the release of ANGER MANAGEMENT, a collaborative project with longtime producer Kenny Beats which followed the duo’s work together on Rico’s breakthrough 2018 Atlantic Records/Sugar Trap label debut, NASTY.















[o] 15. Smack A Bitch (feat. ppcocaine, Sukihana & Rubi Rose) [Remix]

• Although the album was produced by David Tickle, Belinda’s sole album for the Chrysalis label in 1996
saw her re-united with the writers of her biggest chart successes, Rick Nowels, Ellen Shipley and fellow
Go-Go Charlotte Caffey. Nowels’ “In Too Deep” reached # 6 and Roxette’s Per Gessle’s “Always
Breaking My Heart” was another Top 10 hit. “Love In The Key Of C” followed them into the charts,
while the fourth hit “California” features backing vocals from none other than Brian Wilson.
• The two bonus LPs feature seventeen tracks: non-album B-sides, including covers of “Jealous Guy” and
“The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan”, plus “I Won’t Say I’m In Love” – Belinda’s contribution to the soundtrack
of the Disney film “Hercules”, a cover of the Sex Pistols’ “Submission” recorded with Radiator for a
compilation album, plus live and acoustic versions of her earlier hits, and three very rare remixes.
• This anniversary box set contains three LPs pressed on 180g vinyl, in individual outer and inner sleeves,
plus a 12 x 12 booklet, all in a lift-off lid box.


















r d1. Remember September JPO Club Pipes
s d2. Remember September [Beam’s Club Mix]
[t] d3. Remember September [Beam’s Vocal Mix]
[u] e1. Big Scary Animal [live]
[v] e2. I Get Weak [live]
[w] e3. Leave A Light On [live]
[x] e4. Live Your Life Be Free [live]
[y] f1. In Too Deep [live]
[live]
[xa] f3. In Too Deep [acoustic live version]
[xb] f4. Circle In The Sand [acoustic live version]

An ecletic musical representation of infamous Rotterdam Jazzclub BIRD with well-known and lesser-known Dutch artists from the black music spectrum, varying from Jazz, soul, hip-hop to electronic music. Compiled by BIRD musical curators Philip Powel and Guido van Dieren.

From the cosmos of Stretford on the outer realms of Manchester comes the kaleidoscope view of the world according to Psychederek and it's an explosive trip of shoe gaze soaked balearica.

Lead track Screamadereka heads straight into orbit from the get go with a stop off to thank the likes of The Cocteau Twins & Death In Vegas for their influence along the way. Huge drums, spaced out synths, warped guitars & a fully charged love in style vocal all wrapped up in a mushroom flavoured microdot with a pretty empowering finale.

I'm Alright steps up the ante a bit more and goes all Tomorrow Never Knows on us but with added warehouse acid squelch & rasps throbbing out from a beat that is broken (but not break beat!) whilst still retaining the psychedelic tendencies of its predecessor.

Sean Johnston steps off the ALFOS rocket ship and joins forces with Duncan Gray for their Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Disco Dub take of Screamadereka and the result is a hive of cosmic mutant disco brilliance whilst Manchester's finest 6 piece See Thru Hands turn I'm Alright into bombastic focused UKG style wig out duet complete with new vocal takes by DNCN for seriously wonky floors & like minded souls.


Includes beautiful insert artwork by Emma Evans

For his first release with Artificial Dance, Black Merlin aka George Thompson takes a departure from the hard-wearing techno and intricate field recording work that he has come to be known for. Scape One is a fifteen-minute psychedelic diversion recorded in one continuous live session. While the track’s sonic characteristics may echo dance music from the turn of the millennium, its pulsating rhythm is more suggestive of the slowly evolving landscapes seen outside of a train window as opposed to raves from the late ‘90s.

Appearing on the B-side is Gordon Pohl’s remix of Scape One. Like its source material, this track is long and subtle in the way it develops over time, but Pohl dissects the most salient elements of the original to construct a new rhythmic urgency. The high frequency accent that guides the remix does so at a speed that recalls the rotations of Brion Gysin’s stroboscopic Dream Machine, which taps into your brain’s alpha waves, aiding drug-free hallucinations.

Pohl and Thompson are frequent collaborators and release music together as Karamika. While Scape One is not a collaboration in the strict sense, there is plenty of crossover in the working methodology of the two musicians, especially when it comes to constructing uncomplicated arrangements.

The repetitive nature of their respective tracks locks the listener into a contradictory sensation of travelling whilst staying seemingly motionless. This sensation is not altogether uncommon, but in this instance it’s not quotidian either. The result is a record that unravels slowly, leaving space for the listener to home in on all the available information and, in the process, discover elements that can be just as unnerving as they are satisfying.

A new project by Dicky Trisco and JKriv, Sentimental Animals is a celebration of dancing, late night antics, and musical togetherness.

This offering of all-original disco features lead singer of Brooklyn disco outfit Escort belting her heart out, and Robin Lee of Faze Action showing his muso side on guitar, bass and keys duties. Art of Tones gets down and dirty on the flip side with a rolling and raucous funk remix.

Incl Daniel Avery Remix

A pivotal figure amid London’s queer club continuum, Joshua James follows up an iconic trilogy of releases on Phantasy with a powerful swerve into pure techno with ‘Amber Rush’, complete with a remix by close friend and Phantasy labelmate, Daniel Avery.

Crackling with energy, its pendulous drums reminiscent of The Chemical Brothers in their Battle Weapon mode, ‘Amber Rush’ matches the thunder-dome ready scope of a big-room anthem with waves of psychedelic texture. The result is guaranteed rapid-fire synapse tickling within even the best (or worst) adjusted of dedicated rave brains.

Avery’s metallic-tinted reimagining subtly shifts the aesthetic of ‘Amber Rush’, gliding out of the strobe and into the fog. Wisely following the course of undulating euphoria mapped out by James, Avery transforms acid tension into graceful heights and somehow deeper plunges, ultimately settling on a killer groove.

Alex Nemec (Mirabilis Label Boss / Tronic / Bush Records) & Nik Feral (Dynamic Reflection / Stahlplatten) gave us the labels best selling release of 2020 and so we follow up with a all star remix EP featuring Barem (Minus / Sci+Tec), Simon Baker (Get Physical / Cocoon / Rekids), Iain Taylor (Dirtybird / Balance / Rejekt Music Boss) alongside a previously unreleased rework of original track Ultra from last year’s release.

Early DJ support from Apollonia, Marco Carola, Davide Squillace, Butch, Cristian Varela, Tim Green, Michel De Hey, Tomasz Guiddo, Anderson Noise, Dave Angel with radio plays from Kiss FM, Ibiza Radio 1, Ibiza Global Radio, Ibiza Sonica Radio, Warm FM, Eldarado FM, Dance TV, Dancetrippin TV, Pioneer DJ Radio, Datatransmission Radio and Digitally Imported Radio Belgium.

The new school meets the old school. Riding those crystal-clear waves off the back of their standout EP for WOLF Music, New Zealand duo Manuel Darquart double down with this 10-inch remix package containing a classic reworking from the master of dream house, Don Carlos and a sleazed up street soul workout from themselves.

No introduction is needed when you see Don Carlos’ name in the mix. A legend of the Italian dream house movement that has influenced so much of what we’ve heard since, not least the productions of the Manuel Darquart guys. A dream (house) matchup some might say.

Step one, Carlos sprinkles his magic on ‘Keep It DXy’ switching up the drum programming and adding those Balearic flurries that add a considered dose of dreaminess to whatever he touches, think summery sweeping strings and echoing synth stabs.

On the flip the Manuel D guys go full sleaze, weak at the knees for their ‘Sleazy Sunday Mix’. Imagine a street soul, Balearic lovechild and you’re on the right track. Start suppin’ a margarita and you’re getting closer. Sun-lounger on the sand, Adriatic in front of you, last night’s euphoria still a buzz in the brain and you’ve hit the spot.

JJ DOOM is the artist name for producer/vocalist Jneiro Jarel and British-born, mask-wearing maverick DOOM (AKA MF Doom).The nine track EP features tracks from the expanded Butter Edition of the duos debut album 'Key To The Kuffs' including DOOM collaborations with Clams Casino, BBNG, Del The Funky Homosapien, Beck, Thom Yorke & Johnny Greenwood. Originally released in 2014 as a limited edition picture disc, now available in 180g black vinyl.

"On paper, a full collaborative album from NYC's notorious rap villain DOOM and space age production from Jneiro Jarel can't fail. In practice it's even better. DOOM is in the form of his life here." Mojo
"No less quotable than he was in '99... heavy on the diabolical brainiac grifter guise that's fueled his post-KMD creativity for some 15 years, balancing knowledge and absurdity like a master." Pitchfork
"... it's poetry. The way he freeforms his verses and puts it all together, I don't think anyone else quite does it like that... GUV'NOR was my single of 2012. It's genius, that tune." Thom Yorke, Dazed

Horse Meat Disco deliver the latest single from their acclaimed debut album ‘Love & Dancing’, this time made in collaboration with NYC group The Phenomenal Handclap Band. ‘Sanctuary’ sees the quartet at their disco dancefloor-ready best, as The Phenomenal Handclap Band provide a dose of deliciously cool nonchalance. Fuelled by hefty analogue muscle, funky guitar riffs, 70s synthesizers and glowy vocals ‘Sanctuary’ makes for an irresistible modern disco number. Ray Mang makes an appropriate remixer for the package, his amalgamative style of boogie, disco, dub and house a perfect fit for Horse Meat Disco and The Phenomenal Handclap Band’s collaboration, providing both a remix and Dubstrumental for the package. ‘Sanctuary’ is an unmissable release for any modern day, discerning disco listener that you’ll want to hear again and again.

Repress

Tiga's drops BUGATTI. Another irresistible one-liner on the dance-floor that can't be missed or forgotten.

So much sex and attitude, so few elements. A staccato kick-snare rhythm, a robo-funk synth line, a futuristic pad, a detuned ride, a cheeky vocal hook and a one-note acid line that brings it all together. That's it. All you need if you know what you're doing and have an experienced pair of Canadian Electro-godfather balls intact. Tiga has made a career out of being catchy: from Sunglasses to Mind Dimension, from Plush to Pleasure From the Bass, from You Gonna Want Me to Let's Go Dancing. How does he do it

It's his ability to drop a clever turn of phrase that separates him from the pack, but the strength and character of his production choices keep things clear of kitsch and make him a perennially hot-tipped cool-commodity everywhere from the great American EDM stage to the hallowed-haus of Panorama's deep underground credibility. His career is like a Veyron - stable AND insane.

So listen to it, get it stuck in your head. This track is crazy dope, it doesn't sound like anyone else, and it's the most hip-hop thing all you house DJs are likely to fit into your sets this weekend so go on, get loose and take it for a ride.

This is what Tiga had to say about the Vinyl-Only remixes 12" :

For this, my most personal record, i hand selected remixers of the highest order. Cliff Lothar, absolute legend, and current king of the enigma groove, delivers an absolute masterpiece. It's seriously a 10 on 10, and I never say that. Vinyl only bitches. Perth Drug Legend, somebody else who I kinda know and yet totally don't know (or I guess I just thought I knew) slams the 'gatti with raw tribal funk: again suitable for a warehouse or a particularly forward-thinking car dealership. Rebolledo, one of the few men i actually trust, comes in with a slightly electrofied extended party mix. God I'm happy. Full disclosure: there were a few people who did remixes that were rejected. I will reveal their names publicly in good time. Good day. T.

After featuring on the label with a contribution to Erell Ranson’s “Hand In Hand” Remix EP in 2018, SUED co-operator SW. punches back in on KOC with a hectic six-track sonic journey by way of inaugural transmission.

Crest-surfing the margins betwixt abstract beat-making, hardware experimentation and further explosive club-ready wares, the German producer breaks the trip in with the tropical hot "ariaJA" - reeling out a savvy mashup of animalian field recording, spaced-out FXs and loopy elastic bounce.

Cranking up the heat, a notch further, "moonNEWsoon" pulls out a hot mix of muscle-aching breaks, jackin' n’ smackin' toms and iridescent synth stabs, all coated with a thick sauce of mind-boggling machine stunts. Trading its gridlocked intro for an aqueously luxuriant design throughout, gOiOsee has us deep-diving in an all-blue scenario where each element finds itself draped in richly-hued envelopes.

Flip sides and here comes the further shape-shifting, non-formulaic "mASsLESS", which invites us to see straight through glassy cascades of skittish snares, gummy synth arpeggios and futuristic chimes as an Eden of AI-rendered birdsongs and forgotten melodies come to life before our eyes.

Back to a more dynamic mindset, “justMUST4y brings lush flights of altered piano chords and pop-informed harmonics face to face with a gritty, metronomic drum work to weave another singularly off-kilter epic SW. holds the secret of, right before "VFXpeaksTWIN" wraps it all up in a soul-invigorating, Twin Peaks-scented and horizon-broadening ambient finale.

 On ‘Phantom Rhythm’, Gong Gong Gong’s raucous debut, the
minimalist Beijing duo created a drummer-less sound that was
more than the sum of its parts, inspired by back-porch blues,
Sahelian guitar music, New York no-wave, Cantonese lion
dance percussion and, seemingly most incongruously, techno.
 With ‘Phantom Rhythm Remixed’, Gong Gong Gong bring to life
a concept they’ve planned since the release of their acclaimed
first album, curating their favourite China-connected electronic
music producers to remix ‘Phantom Rhythm’ in its entirety.
 The globe-spanning collaboration features Yu Su (Vancouver /
Kaifeng), Zaliva-D, Simon Frank, Howie Lee (Beijing), Mong
Tong, Scattered Purgatory (Taipei), Knopha (Xiamen), Wu
Zhuoling (Chengdu), Angel Wei (Copenhagen) and P.E.
(Brooklyn).
 The album traces a common thread, organically expanding the
palette of Gong Gong Gong into ambient club tracks, thumping
dance music, cinematic soundscapes and doomy, bit-crushed
psych.
 Gong Gong Gong are the duo of Tom Ng and Joshua Frank.
Formed in 2015 in Beijing, China, they make music from the
sparest of means: one guitar and one bass, interweaving riffs to
create forward-charging, drumerless grooves. Their inspirations
extend from Bo Diddley to African and Southeast Asian folk
music, psychedelic drone and the structures of electronic music.
 “A couple of misfits and a brash bouquet of sound” - Pitchfork
 “Spare and savage” - The New Yorker
 “String-focused, hypnotic, spitfire tracks” - Stereogum
 “A rare kind of intimacy you don’t often find with driving,
ramshackle funk” - Loud And Quiet
 “Depending on your ear, the Beijing-based guitar-and-bass duo
could sound like The Feelies’ stuttering post-punk, Bo Diddley’s
rock and roll boogie or Tinariwen’s droning desert blues” - NPR

Marillion released its studio album debut, Script for a Jester’s Tear, in March 1983. The record was certified platinum in the band’s native U.K. where it reached number seven on the Albums Chart and spawned two Top 40 singles: He Knows You Know (#35) and Garden Party (#16).

Originally produced by Nick Tauber, Script for a Jester’s Tear is the only Marillion album to feature Fish (vocals), Steve Rothery (guitar), Pete Trewavas (bass), Mark Kelly (keyboards) and Mick Pointer (drums). Script For A Jester’s Tear (2020 Stereo Remix) opens with a newly remixed stereo version of Script for a Jester’s Tear by Andy Bradfield and Avril Mackintosh and features the singles Garden Party and He Knows You Know.

MAT is proud to announce the forthcoming release of ‘The Side I Never See’, by Hugh Small & Brian Allen Simon. Hugh forms half of Scottish post-punk duo Vazz, whose work was the subject of a recent retrospective by Belgian label Stroom. Brian is known best for his solo project Anenon, under which name he has released four full length albums and multiple remixes for artists including Ryuichi Sakamoto.

An improvised recording of Brian playing over the Vazz piece ‘Kazimierz’ catalysed this long-distance collaboration; 2000 feet up a mountain in Andalucia, Hugh heard the recording on a broadcast of Brian’s dublab LA radio show. Immediately taken in by Brian’s playing, the pair soon established contact and began discussing the possibility of working to create something new together.

The rest, as they say, is history: the results are fully realised in ‘The Side I Never See’, a shimmering suite of ten compositions for piano, soprano saxophone, synthesizer and guitar. In Hughs words… ‘so, what is it? It’s Ambient-Punk, Abstract-Jazz, Disaffected-Classical, it’s whatever the fuck you want it to be!’ :-)

‘The Side I Never See’ will be released on Melody As Truth in early August 2021, as always on vinyl and digital. Mastered by Stephan Mathieu, Artwork by Michael Willis.

Pop royalty the Pet Shop Boys have done an epic 12 minute HI-NRG remix of Paul Weller’s recent album track “Cosmic Fringes”.
The Pet Shop Boy Triad Remix is a thumping fuzzing disco banger featuring the dulcet tones of Neil Tennant as well as Paul’s original vocals.
And if that’s not enough, there’s another remix by Primal Scream’s guitarist-in-chief Andrew Innes. Giving Paul’s vocals a distorted sound, this sensory assault is layered with thumping chimes and a searing 4/4 doof for the dancefloor.

Hell Yeah's debut Buena Onda compilation proved hugely successful. It also kept people drenched in exotic dance floor sounds while the pandemic has kept everyone apart. Now the Berlin-based party is back and on a mission to redefine what Balearic means with a first-ever vinyl-only sampler featuring exclusive, unreleased tunes and remixes compiled by Marco Gallerani and Gallo from brothers around the world.

The a-side is all about new kids on the block: Australian cyborg disco don Kayroy appeared on the label in 2020 with his Imaginary Expeditions EP and now links with his friend Jaspar Robinson, a dreamer with his head amongst the stars. He provides the vocals which speak of an astronaut lost in space and aching for a missing loved one while sombre chords and downbeat bass make for a beautifully longing groove. It's a blue-eyed Balearic classic. The up-and-coming Italian Feel Fly of labels like Internasjonal then goes widescreen with his 'Esperanto.' The chords shimmer, the baseline percolates and the guitar riffs arc up to the heavens for some late-night intergalactic bliss.

The flip side features more mature and established artists: label regular Max Essa offers a remix of The Vendetta Suite 'Neon Secrets,' which has naive Eastern melodies and rueful 80s chords with a subtle new age feel that dumps you right on the beach at sundown. Last of all come Chris Coco and Micko Roche with true-school Balearic classic complete with cicada-like shakers, mellifluous Spanish guitar licks, flutes and soft, frothy, rolling beats that break like waves on a sun-kissed Mediterranean coastline.

Balearic Beats 2021 Sampler 1 offers something for every hour of the day, making this a perfectly functional 12" for the modern Balearic DJ.

Support by Prins Thomas, Calm, Chris Coco, Andy Wilson (Ibiza Sonica), Pete Gooding, Severino (Horse Meat disco), Will Nicol, Phil Cooper, Leo Mas, Mike Salta, Balearic For You, Jon Sa trinxa

We are happy to introduce our next artists at artreform. Roy Brizman, together with Guy presents their debut release at the imprint. This vinyl is complimented by the version from Romanian remixer Priku.

Please, enjoy your vinyl together with us!

Dead Nature, the solo project of former Spring King singer and prolific producer (The Big Moon, Calva Louise, Circa Waves, Dream Nails, Genghar, Police Car Collective) Tarek Musa, is announcing the release of debut album Watch Me Break Apart, and sharing the video for new single “Hurricane”. It follows the boisterous, sky-high indie-pop dramatics of recent single “Red Clouds”, which drew support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Clash, DIY, Dork, The Line of Best Fit, NME, The Independent, and The i Paper.

Producer and songwriter Tarek Musa has for a long time placed himself at the centre of other artists’ worlds, helping to hone sounds and build scenes through his production work for artists such as The Big Moon, Genghar, and Dream Nails, Calva Louise, Police Car Collective - as well as providing remixes for the likes of Circa Waves. As BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders noted recently on-air, "we owe a lot to him out here... he's putting the passion from Spring King into the future of the alternative music that we love." With Dead Nature, Musa allows himself to step back from his role as architect for others and set about pursuing his own creative impulses.

Throughout Watch Me Break Apart, internal anxieties are made external, and re-purposed into a carnival of multi-coloured, fuzzed-up indie-pop. The strain of social media and a whirlwind news-cycle compound on the album’s cartwheeling title track, pairing thoughts of sleepless nights with isolated imagery (“A car waits at the lights, no one’s in the driver’s seat / In the ocean stands a tree”). "50 Foot Wall" and the paradoxically light-hearted "Hurricane" were both written against the backdrop of a growing climate crisis, and "Ladlands" zeroes in on social and political struggle, the rate at which change is happening, and the reality-warping nature of the echo-chamber.

Guro Gikling from All We Are sings backing vocals across the whole album, except for Hurricane which Jess Allanic from Calva Louise appears on.

Dead Nature, the solo project of former Spring King singer and prolific producer (The Big Moon, Calva Louise, Circa Waves, Dream Nails, Genghar, Police Car Collective) Tarek Musa, is announcing the release of debut album Watch Me Break Apart, and sharing the video for new single “Hurricane”. It follows the boisterous, sky-high indie-pop dramatics of recent single “Red Clouds”, which drew support from BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, Clash, DIY, Dork, The Line of Best Fit, NME, The Independent, and The i Paper.

Producer and songwriter Tarek Musa has for a long time placed himself at the centre of other artists’ worlds, helping to hone sounds and build scenes through his production work for artists such as The Big Moon, Genghar, and Dream Nails, Calva Louise, Police Car Collective - as well as providing remixes for the likes of Circa Waves. As BBC Radio 1's Jack Saunders noted recently on-air, "we owe a lot to him out here... he's putting the passion from Spring King into the future of the alternative music that we love." With Dead Nature, Musa allows himself to step back from his role as architect for others and set about pursuing his own creative impulses.

Throughout Watch Me Break Apart, internal anxieties are made external, and re-purposed into a carnival of multi-coloured, fuzzed-up indie-pop. The strain of social media and a whirlwind news-cycle compound on the album’s cartwheeling title track, pairing thoughts of sleepless nights with isolated imagery (“A car waits at the lights, no one’s in the driver’s seat / In the ocean stands a tree”). "50 Foot Wall" and the paradoxically light-hearted "Hurricane" were both written against the backdrop of a growing climate crisis, and "Ladlands" zeroes in on social and political struggle, the rate at which change is happening, and the reality-warping nature of the echo-chamber.

Guro Gikling from All We Are sings backing vocals across the whole album, except for Hurricane which Jess Allanic from Calva Louise appears on.

Emotional Rescue and HMV Record Shop (Japan) team up to present six limited edition 7"s of DISCO REGGAE LOVERS music. Featuring Sugar Minnott, Dambala, One Blood, 101 Band, Red Cloud and here to start, for the first time ever as a single, Ernest Ranglin's, cover of The Dramatics R&B classic, In The Rain.

A defining guitarist and composer in the development of Jamaican music, Ranglin's career spanned mento to reggae, playing on the groundbreaking recording of My Boy Lollipop itself, before going on to work with the likes of the Skatalies, Jimmy Cliff and Bob Marley.

Moving to Florida in 1982, he teamed up with Noel Williams to mix the bass heavy sound the producer was famous for with Ranglin's unique playing. Featuring a who's who of the Miami scene including Bobby Caldwell, Timmy Thomas, Betty Wright and Williams himself, In The Rain continued the link between R&B and reggae to sweet perfection.

To accompany, for half this series, a modern producer offers their own remix. Here Nik Weston, DJ, promoter and owner of the respected Mukatsuku label, releasing afro, jazz dance and more and with a long standing association with Japan, presents here an instrumental dub - letting the groove roll and Ranglin's ubiquitous playing to shine."

Clear Vinyl

Freddy Fresh is a legend. Period. From a plethora of 12“es on labels like Nu Groove, Drop Bass Network, Forced Nostalgia, Spaziotempo, Lone Romantic or Toolbox Killers to albums on 90s scene mainstays like Harthouse, Anodyne or Eye Q to countless releases on his own imprints like Howlin Records, Analog Records USA and Electric Music Foundation. From remixes for the likes of GusGus, Heaven 17, Kitachi, Steve Stoll, Frankie Bones and many more to hitting the UK Top 40 with the massive BigBeat smasher „Badder Badder Schwing“
produced alongside Fatboy Slim. The man has done it all. Nearly.
And therefore Intrauterin Recordings is proud to present the first ever Drum'n'Bass release in the more than 30 year spanning career of the one and only Freddy Fresh!
With „333“ Freddy Fresh is going down a twisted, hard stepping and yet positive alley of what the man himself refers to as Modular Drum'n'Bass that is unmistakably cooked up live and direct in his Minneapolis-based studio. Expect a whirlwind of swirls, swooshes, bleeps and FX alongside raw junglistic beats and the most positive Synth bass motif you've heard in a long while.
Yet the singles' main dancefloor smash is to be found on the flip side. „Watch It Go Roun Roun“ is a raw classic, a heavy original JumpUp banger driven by a killer vocal performance by Mike Gates a.k.a. Mikey Dredd. Likely better known to many for his Techno productions on labels like Kanzleramt, Creation Rebel or Howlin Records rather than for his MC skills this is the very first time Mikey Dredd's secret love for taking up the microphone as a proper Jungle / Drum'n'Bass MC is officially recognized and revealed on wax as a late tribute to and
honoration of a large scale talent which passed away way too soon in 2019. Lighter crew!
Initial pressing will be limited to 225 copies on 7“ whitelabel vinyl. Hand-stamped with stickered cover.


b B1: Watch It Go Roun Roun featuring Mikey Dredd

guccihighwaters is the artistic persona of 21 year -old artist/producer Morgan Murphy. Since his debut single in 2017, Murphy has exploded in the cloud rap community and his music has been streamed over 200 Million times. His new album, joke's on you, is his debut for Epitaph Records and will be his first available on vinyl. guccihighwaters is the keystone to the label's dedication to this sound that we feel is the future of Alternative music. Spending his formative years growing up in rural Ireland, Murphy was shy and when his family returned to their native New York, that shy 15 year-old turned to bedroom production and starting making his own beats. He began to indulge his musical vision by exploring community on the internet, finding a place to belong that he had not found prior. As a singer, Murphy was a bit of an outsider to the Soundcloud rap world he'd begun to orbit. "I was grouped in because of the time and place and platform," he says. His use of original piano with a classic touch and his angelic singing gave him an original voice with?in the scene's crowded world. Even if he wanted to blend in, he didn't know how. With Jokes On You, he says, "basically my goal was to make it sound like me." Some members of that community, like Powfu and nothing,nowhere, feature on the album, adding their voices to Murphy's signature sound. guccihighwaters is a top digital artist in the Indie Pop/Cloud Rap space, releasing his music on vinyl for the first time. Album features include lo-fi sensation powfu, top emo-rapper Convolk and popular alt-hip-hop artist nothing, nowhere. For Fans of powfu, Lil Peep, nothing, nowhere and Lund.

Old 97s are an American alternative country rock band from Dallas, TX, fronted by lead vocalist and primary songwriter, Rhett Miller. Formed in 1993, they have since released twelve studio albums, two full EPs, and have one live album. Starting out as a popular bar band before being spotted by Bloodshed Records, they are pioneers of the alt-country movement during the mid-to-late 90s. Their Bloodshot debut LP brought them to the attention of Elektra Records, who hoped that alt-country could be a new post-grunge trend.

In 2005, Blender magazine ranked the band’s then most successful single, 1999’s “Murder (Or a Heart Attack),” as the 176th greatest song “since you were born.” Their music has been featured in a number of film and TV series, including The Break Up, Clay Pigeons, Slither, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, Ed, Scrubs, Veronica Mars and Scorpion. Old 97s recorded three albums for Elektra, before moving on to New West and ATO Records subsequently.

Their fourth studio album, Fight Songs was recorded at Kingsway in New Orleans and released on April 27, 1999. The album is more-slick and pop-oriented than their previous efforts. For the release of this deluxe worldwide debut on vinyl, ROG had six-time Grammy® award-winning producer and engineer, Vance Powell, remix the 12-track album as the band originally intended; stripping off the slick 1990s-style production and sheen that helped the album get on the radio in 1999. With the assistance from the band we are also able to offer previously unreleased 1998 pre-production demos on a 3rd LP that helps to round out the complete story of this classic 1990’s alternative country record.

This LP finally brings a Clipping fan-favorite, 2016's Wriggle, onto vinyl in an improved, expanded version that features new art, previously unreleased remixes, and a track that's exclusive to the vinyl format. The original, digital-only Wriggle EP was six tracks that weren't finished in time to make it onto the group's 2014 Sub Pop debut, CLPPNG. For "Shooter," Clipping recorded themselves firing fifteen different guns, the sounds of which exclusively constituted the beat's drums, augmented only by a synthesized tone-row. The verses referenced the well-worn technique of "hashtag rap," but instead of using it to boast about the rapper's personal wealth and masculine prowess, Clipping put forth imagistic narratives of three violent encounters. True to much of the group's music, "Shooter" was an attempt to reframe a familiar style and test the limits of its formal capabilities. "Hot Fuck No Love" contains what might be the most explicit verse to date from Clipping's favorite New Jersey rapper Cakes Da Killa. The EP's title track, "Wriggle," was built around a sample of the influential power-electronics song "Wriggle Like a Fucking Eel" by Whitehouse, transforming William Bennett's torturous imperative into a instructional dance-floor banger. "Wriggle" and "Shooter" have become classic Clipping tracks and staples of their live show. With this vinyl edition, Clipping fans old and new - and there are many new fans thanks to their breakout 2020 album, Visions of Bodies Being Burned, and Daveed Diggs' thriving acting career - get the vinyl version of Wriggle they've been clamouring for.

Etruria Beat founder Luca Agnelli unveils his long-awaited debut album, ‘Source Drops’ – presenting a ten-track journey through techno and beyond.
A name at the centre of Italy’s rich house and techno scene for over a decade, Etruria Beat head-honcho Luca Agnelli continues to showcase his talent as a leading DJ, producer and label boss on the international stage. With releases via a host of globally renowned labels, plus standout remixes including Moby’s iconic ‘Porcelain’, the Tuscany native’s reputation has seen him become of the genre’s leading artists when combining energetic, entrancing productions throughout his powerful DJ sets. Yet, the core of his work has always found a perfect home on his own Etruria Beat imprint, with July now welcoming the arrival of his highly-anticipated debut album ‘Source Drops’ – an in-depth musical story presenting growth, development, self-reflection and raw emotions via a collection of ten tracks ranging from powerful peak-time anthems through to EBM influenced cuts and slower, hypnotic productions.
“This is the journey that traces my musical evolution of the last 20 years, discovering more conceptual, deeper musical territories; taking inspiration from what influenced me in my career as a DJ and from my continuous research without musical barriers. A journey always in equilibrium, at times dark and sharp, solar and fluid, that develops a different creative vision in each track trying to convey my most intimate and strongest emotions". – Luca Agnelli
Opening via the slow-blooming builds and atmospheric and waves of ‘Black Mirror’, before diving into the heady and menacing tones of ‘Mutant Circle’, the ten-track project quickly showcases a wide-reaching range of influences and nuances central to Agnelli’s development as an artist over his career. Productions such as ‘Balance’ and ‘Oxigen’ contrast with one another whilst bringing space to proceedings, guided by breaks-influenced percussion, minimal arrangements and warping leads, whilst the driving ‘Resistance’ harnesses classic techno tendencies to provide an energetic and lively, snaking journey through rich soundscapes.
Title cut ‘Source Drops’ brings that trademark Luca Agnelli energy to the heart of the project, merging scintillating melodies, acid-tinged stabs and icy hats to unveil a high-octane ride into the peak-time, whilst ‘Raw Surface’ keeps the tempo high with sweeping leads, oscillating basslines and resonant lasers. Next, ‘Omega’ spirals into an off- kilter ride through glitchy echoed vocals, crunchy percussion and rumbling low-ends, with the epic ‘Losing Control’ welcoming an infectious lead melody at its core guided by punchy kicks and slick drum licks. To close, the package veers to an eerie yet ethereal close as hazy, celestial vocal chants meet panning sirens and swooping electronics – punctuating an expansive and diverse offering from the Italian favourite and shaping up an impressive debut LP in the process.

After completing their acclaimed folk-rock trilogy in 1979, Jethro Tull returned a year later with A, an album that introduced a different sound and a new line-up. Originally intended as a solo record by the band’s founder Ian Anderson, the album’s single-letter title refers to the studio tapes, which were marked “A” for Anderson. When the album was finished, the group’s label Chrysalis insisted that it be credited to Jethro Tull, even though only two members from the band’s previous incarnation were featured: Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre. Despite that, the album and subsequent tour were well-received by fans around the world.

Back in April, Rhino released ‘A’ (A La Mode) (The 40th Anniversary Edition), a new 3CD/3DVD set to mark the album’s anniversary. Featuring on this album anniversary set, we will release the 1LP breakout of the original album ‘A’, newly mixed by Steven Wilson.

Produced by Anderson and Robin Black, A was recorded in London during the summer of 1980 at Maison Rouge Mobile and Maison Rouge Studios. Along with Anderson and Barre, the band also featured Dave Pegg (bass, mandolin) and Mark Craney (drums), along with guest performer Eddie Jobson – a Roxy Music alumnus – on keyboard, synthesizer and electric violin.

After completing their acclaimed folk-rock trilogy in 1979, Jethro Tull returned a year later with A, an album that introduced a different sound and a new line-up. Originally intended as a solo record by the band’s founder Ian Anderson, the album’s single-letter title refers to the studio tapes, which were marked “A” for Anderson. When the album was finished, the group’s label Chrysalis insisted that it be credited to Jethro Tull, even though only two members from the band’s previous incarnation were featured: Anderson and guitarist Martin Barre. Despite that, the album and subsequent tour were well-received by fans around the world.

Back in April, Rhino released ‘A’ (A La Mode) (The 40th Anniversary Edition), a new 3CD/3DVD set to mark the album’s anniversary. Featuring on this album anniversary set, we will release the 1LP breakout of the original album ‘A’, newly mixed by Steven Wilson.

Produced by Anderson and Robin Black, A was recorded in London during the summer of 1980 at Maison Rouge Mobile and Maison Rouge Studios. Along with Anderson and Barre, the band also featured Dave Pegg (bass, mandolin) and Mark Craney (drums), along with guest performer Eddie Jobson – a Roxy Music alumnus – on keyboard, synthesizer and electric violin.

This LP finally brings a Clipping fan-favorite, 2016's Wriggle, onto vinyl in an improved, expanded version that features new art, previously unreleased remixes, and a track that's exclusive to the vinyl format. The original, digital-only Wriggle EP was six tracks that weren't finished in time to make it onto the group's 2014 Sub Pop debut, CLPPNG. For "Shooter," Clipping recorded themselves firing fifteen different guns, the sounds of which exclusively constituted the beat's drums, augmented only by a synthesized tone-row. The verses referenced the well-worn technique of "hashtag rap," but instead of using it to boast about the rapper's personal wealth and masculine prowess, Clipping put forth imagistic narratives of three violent encounters. True to much of the group's music, "Shooter" was an attempt to reframe a familiar style and test the limits of its formal capabilities. "Hot Fuck No Love" contains what might be the most explicit verse to date from Clipping's favorite New Jersey rapper Cakes Da Killa. The EP's title track, "Wriggle," was built around a sample of the influential power-electronics song "Wriggle Like a Fucking Eel" by Whitehouse, transforming William Bennett's torturous imperative into a instructional dance-floor banger. "Wriggle" and "Shooter" have become classic Clipping tracks and staples of their live show. With this vinyl edition, Clipping fans old and new - and there are many new fans thanks to their breakout 2020 album, Visions of Bodies Being Burned, and Daveed Diggs' thriving acting career - get the vinyl version of Wriggle they've been clamouring for.

Fantas is the epic opening track on Caterina Barbieri’s acclaimed 2019 release Ecstatic Computation. The original Fantas laid out a magical path of patterns leading the listener on a journey into the sound itself. Fantas Variations maps out eight new potentials sprung from this initial path as constructed by a diverse mix of artists lending to a wide spectrum of new works extrapolated from the original work. For this project Barbieri invited friends and long time collaborators from a variety of musical backgrounds to create a more sustainable and inclusive landscape in terms of stylistic, geographical, gender and generational balance. The results are a diverse array of approaches and instrumentation which blur the boundaries between the acoustic and electronic.

Fantas Variations embraces a platform for mutual exchange and support between like-minded artists, where active and collective re-imagination is prioritised over the traditional model of remixes, which is often strategic, functional and more passive.

Longtime friend and collaborator Kali Malone rearranged Fantas to a slowed-down, austere and eerie version for two Organs. Evelyn Saylor created a piece for a vocal ensemble consisting of her, Lyra Pramuk, Stine Janvin and Annie Garlid, joining forces to express the choral, psychedelic and vitalistic nature of the piece. Barbieri’s former guitar professor at the Conservatory in Bologna, Walter Zanetti, composes Fantas for electric guitar, by translating every single gesture of the original electronic piece into a personal, nuanced and detailed interpretation. Bendik Giske’s reinterpretation for Saxophone and Voice captures the atmospheric essence of Fantas and its psychic meteorology. Longtime collaborator and along with Barbieri the other half of the outfit Punctum, Carlo Maria, resynthesizes Fantas for TR808 and MC202, bringing a more club-oriented dimension of the piece to life whilst unveiling the sonic continuum between rhythm and pitch through a sensitive timbral approach. Jay Mitta’s Singeli reinterpretation of Fantas transpires with pitched-up percussion and turbo-fast polyrhythmic patterns unleashing the frenetic, shifting, transformative matter within the piece to a higher plain of euphoric dance. Baseck’s variation is a rave fantasia, where the prismatic trance of the original is channeled into fierce, uncompromising hardcore, whilst Kara-Lis Coverdale’s take is a phantasmagoria for piano that gently, yet inexorably, captures the relentlessness chimerical qualities of the original, unveiling its spectral backbone.

Evelyn Saylor (feat. Lyra Pramuk, Annie Garlid & Stine Janvin) - Fantas Variation for Voices (7’38’’)
Composed by Evelyn Saylor. Performed by Evelyn Saylor, Lyra Pramuk, Stine Janvin and Annie Garlid. Recording, mix and additional production by Bridget Ferrill at Real Surreal Studio, Berlin 2021.

Bendik Giske - Fantas for Saxophone and Voice (7'31'')
Adapted and performed by Bendik Giske. Recorded, mixed, and produced by Bendik Giske in Funkhaus, Berlin 2020.

Kali Malone - Fantas for two Organs (10'21'')
Arranged for The Utopa Baroque Organ, The Sauer Organ and tuned sine waves. Recorded by Benny Nilsen at Orgelpark, Amsterdam 2020.

Walter Zanetti - Fantas for Electric Guitar (7'27'')
Recorded by Walter Zanetti, Bologna 2020.

Jay Mitta - Singeli Fantas (12'03'')
Recorded by Jay Mitta in Sisso Studios, Dar Es Salaam 2020.

Baseck - Fantas Hardcore (4'44'')
Mixed by Anthony Baldino, Los Angeles 2020.

Carlo Maria - Fantas resynthesized for 808 and 202 (4'29'')
Recorded by Carlo Maria, Milano 2020.

Kara-Lis Coverdale - Fantas Morbida (3'04'')
Performed, recorded and mixed at The Shop in Valens, Ontario by Kara-Lis Coverdale, January 2021. Engineering assistance from Robert Coverdale and Adam Feingold.

‘ACR:EPC’ is the second of a trilogy of EPs by A
Certain Ratio.
‘ACR:EPC’ is dedicated to Andrew Weatherall.
All four tracks on ‘ACR:EPC’ are collaborations.
‘Emperor Machine’ is a collaboration with Andy
Meecham, also known as Emperor Machine.
‘YOYOGRIP’ is a collaboration with Maria Uzor
from Sink Ya Teeth and Jacknife Lee and ‘Music
Control’ is a collaboration with Chris Massey who
remixed ‘Dirty Boy’ in 2019. The track ‘The
Guv’nor’ is inspired by longtime ACR friend
Andrew Weatherall and is a collaboration in spirit.
The EP follows the band’s highly acclaimed album
‘ACR Loco’ and ahead of a nationwide tour.
12” pressed on cornflour blue vinyl with digital
download code.

Leng Records has long had close ties with the underground music scene in San Francisco, with low-slung dub disco and psychedelic disco outfit 40 Thieves releasing their acclaimed album The Sky Is Yours on the imprint way back in 2014. Now Leng has turned to another stalwart of the Bay Area scene, Cole Odin, on a single that’s every bit as trippy and engrossing as you’d expect from one of San Francisco’s most frequently overlooked talents. Cole made his Leng debut earlier in the year, contributing the electro-influenced track ‘Numbers Game’ to the label’s 10th anniversary compilation. On ‘Little Boxes’, he’s joined by good friend Eddie C, a much-loved disco and house producer from Canada best known for his releases on Endless Flight and Red Motorbike. The pair recorded the track while Eddie was staying with Cole in San Francisco last year.



In keeping with the low-slung, hallucinatory sound that has always been a big feature of the San Franciscan scene, ‘Little Boxes’ is a trippy, mind-altering affair in which waves of sitar sounds, cosmic synths, effects-laden guitars and kaleidoscopic electronics rise above a weighty punk-funk bassline and crunchy, snare-heavy beats. It has serious dancefloor chops but is also atmospheric and immersive: perfect 5am music for Bay Area beach parties and mushrooms-fuelled forest raves.



Fittingly, it’s 40 Thieves who provide the accompanying remix, a 10-minute epic created with the assistance of Adonis and Rodney from the psych rock band ‘Guavatron’ for additional synths and the guitars. Beginning with tabla-style percussion, swirling chords, psychedelic guitar licks and mystical sitar sounds, the remix builds in waves, with looser drums and even weightier bass propelling the track forwards at a metronomic and hypnotic pace. By the time the eyes-closed guitar solos drop two thirds of the way through, you’ll be tripping hard and reaching for the lasers. It’s a genuinely stunning remix of a genuinely intoxicating, mind-mangling track.

On his new album "Famous Last Songs Vol. 1" Westbam presents himself as a brilliant curator of his own music. With unerring instinct, the legendary techno DJ and producer succeeds together with guests such as Dieter Meier (Yello), Inga Humpe (2raumwohnnung) and Jon Marsh (The Beloved) in paying homage to the spirit of the Eighties and making the ultimate statement about the current time: music for the club in your head.

The triple threat production force of Holland-Dozier-Holland put their special touch on Freda Payne - The Unhooked Generation for Invictus back in 1969. Much loved in the sampling world for its killer guitar hook intro, most famously used in JVC Force - Strong Island, this Tom Moulton remix has never been pressed as a single before.

The Turbo Guidance quest keeps going on. Our musical roughnecks decided to seek help from a wizard. They needed to empower their earing sense and their dancing skills like mutant elves. Luckily the mighty Mali-I was living in the nearby forest and had something special to share...

In his hightower, it took Mali-I years to find and cook secretly the delicate mixture. It's forbidden to name the ingredients, but once you taste it you immediately feel the bouncy chords and dub delays rising. Play the mighty sound of the "Fallow Tales" and enter into the blue magic power. Full versatility to expand your mind and to reach a parallel astral plane. Exactly what our heroes need to face the coming storm. Next step is going to be darker...

*Sprinkle your ears with the red powder to increase the musical experience*

Vinyl sweetly pressed in 400 limited copies (no repress business) with a riso insert printed in two colors (blue and black) on a Munchen Pure Rough paper 150g/m2 (at Studio Fidele, Paris).

Stix Records, a sub-label of Favorite Recordings, is back with some heavy dub cuts from label regular Mato with its usual special skills as a tailor of reggae music.

On Side A, Mato focuses on the infamous "Summer Madness", originally composed by Kool & The Gang. Providing a fresh dub rework, the song will make you dream of hot wet summer nights, gently rocked by beautiful guitar melodies and sweet Fender Rhodes chords. Just a perfect match for all forthcoming summers of love!

On Side B, Mato takes care of "Use Me", originally composed by Bill Withers on his Still Bill album. Expect funky and bouncy clavinets and a nice melodica line for this rework of a timeless classic. As Mato once said, "Play it loud and burn a chalice!"

Starting his reggae production career in 2006, Thomas Blanchot (aka Mato) has released music through various projects on EDR Records, Big Singles or Makasound ... In the meantime he developed a real trademark, taking over classics French, Hip-Hop, or Pop song, into roots reggae-dub new versions. Besides, since 2010, Mato has built a solid reputation thanks to his hot remixes of Hip-Hop classics on Stix Records.

This album of rarities was curated by Andrew Brooksbank and Stephen Webbon with Peter Murphy's guidance. It contains 10 rare tracks that are demo versions, remixes and edits. A1: Final Solution (Club Mix 2) A2: The Light Pours Out Of Me (Original Version) A3: Tale Of The Tongue (Single Edit) A4: I've Got A Miniature Secret Camera A5: Strange Kind Of Love (Remix Edit Version) B1: Cool Cool Breeze B2: The Sweetest Drop (Rave Edit) B3: Groovy Place B4: Wish B5: Jemal (Version 2)

Transmeridian is the first album from Departure Lounge (ex-Bella Union) in 19 years. It features all four original members plus a guest appearance from legendary REM guitarist, Peter Buck, one of many long-standing admirers of a band that embodied a lost age of reflective, experimental pop music coming to the fore at the turn of the Millennium alongside The Beta Band, Tunng, Boards Of Canada and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci.

The surprise new album, named after the defunct ‘golden age of aviation’ cargo airline for which singer/guitarist Tim Keegan’s dad was chief pilot, is released on Violette Records (formed by Michael Head (Shack, The Pale Fountains) and Matt Lockett ) on digital and vinyl formats on Fri 26 March 2021.
Originally scooped up by Simon Raymonde’s Bella Union label (labelmates with John Grant’s Czars) following the self-funded release of their debut album Out Of Here (1999), Departure Lounge’s sophomore outing, Too Late To Die Young (2002) was equally acclaimed and was honoured as the first ever Album Of The Week on the emergent BBC 6 Music. The band toured extensively in the UK, Europe and the US, including outings with The Go-Betweens, Morcheeba, Paul Heaton and Robyn Hitchcock, peers whose stylistic contrasts reflect the eclectic nature of Departure Lounge themselves.

Calling a halt in late 2002, citing family and geographical reasons (drummer Lindsay lives in Nashville, where their second album Jetlag Dreams (2001) was recorded), the four members remained firm friends and occasional collaborators, before reuniting in late 2019 for shows at The Green Door Store, Brighton and The Lexington, London, ostensibly to support the digital reissues of their first three cult-classic albums. With no plans other than to make some new music, the next day they set off for Middle Farm Studios, Devon.
Tim Keegan (vocals/guitar), Chris Anderson (lead guitars/keyboards/bass), Lindsay Jamieson(drums/keyboards) and Jake Kyle (bass/guitar/drums) channelled their evident joy at being back together into a complete 13-track album, largely conceived and recorded in just one 24-hour session in the company of studio owner and co-producer, Peter Miles. Ranging from soulful Americana to piano and mellotron-fuelled melancholia via pastoral musings on the nature of post-youth and eerie Spaghetti Western-tinged instrumentals, the next leg on the Departure Lounge journey is a multi-mood expression of pure artistic freedom.
The ‘leak’ of instrumental track Al Aire Libre (remixed by Parisian groovemeister Kid Loco) in October 2020 gave little away as to what fans could expect from a new Departure Lounge record, the track going gracefully everywhere and nowhere on a whistled Latino breeze. First single proper, Mercury In Retrograde, covered in the twinkling lights of a music box Casio CZ101 melody, turned the clock back - this was an old live favourite that never got past the studio door. Unfinished business brought to a happy conclusion, the single returned Keegan’s honest and distinctive lyrical voice back to British music at just the time listeners needed it.
It was an emotional thread, rather than one musical style, which gave the first three Departure Lounge albums their coherence. The songs told the story of the band. Transmeridian has the same sense of deeply connected musical energy. The purring, campfire acoustica of Timber and So Long bear no obvious resemblance to the ethereal, end-of-the-evening, piano-led interlude Paging Marco Polo, whilst the quasi-glam stomp of Mr Friendly would normally have no business sharing space with the strange, spacey Gurnard Pines (named after an abandoned holiday camp on the Isle Of Wight). Yet the journey’s ebb and flow, accelerations and pauses make for compelling, grown-up listening. Australia, showcasing the chiming Rickenbacker 12-string of Athens, GA’s finest guitar slinger, leaves no doubt that Departure Lounge’s pop sensibilities also remain solidly intact.
These four friends from different musical backgrounds came together originally with the stated aim of ‘creating music to soothe the troubled soul’. Citing their love of (and placing on record their debt to) influences including Robert Wyatt, Nick Drake, Talk Talk, Lou Reed, Arvo Pärt and Cocteau Twins, the band’s diversity of taste is reflected in the music they create.
Transmeridian is only the second full-length LP released by Violette Records, formed by Michael Head (Shack, The Pale Fountains) and Matt Lockett as a platform for Head’s work and developing into a respected independent label as well as multi-disciplinary event organiser, drawing in outsiders working in music, literature, art and design. The label continues to host live events whenever possible and recently initiated an ELP (halfway between and EP and an LP) vinyl series, putting out acclaimed releases by The Pistachio Kid and Studio Electrophonique.