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Some 30 years after first putting on a slab of vinyl in front of an audience Belgian DJ mainstay Red D presents his debut album called ‘Fantasize Then Realize’ under his Red Basics guise. An experienced and versatile DJ if ever there is one, it was logical that his album takes in a wealth of influences from around the house and techno block and features some of his best musical friends and inspirations. From his ‘go to’ singer Lady Linn, to his musical friend and partner in FCL San Soda via Belgian stronghold Lefto, to his Detroit buddy Reggie Dokes: these are the people Red D has been working with and learning from for years on end.

The music ranges from the dreamy beatless title track to the sleazy spoken word ‘Just Like Hercules’ up to the Larry Heard-inspired deepness ‘Compelled’ and including the melancholy of ‘The Larkin’.

Locked down during the first months of the Covid 19 madness Red D had no more ‘I’m too busy to get into the studio’ excuses and all the inspiration gathered during the countless hours of DJ’ing and listening to records in the last 30 years simply poured out. Making track after track was daily (and nightly) business and after a while the idea of a full album simply came naturally. The next lockdowns were spent fine-tuning the tracks, coming up with lyrics and finalizing the tracklist.

The result is ‘Fantasize Then Realize’, Red D’s debut album and a testament to his sound and attitude.



DJ FEEDBACK:

Mousse T:”22 Shoulders, hell yeah!”
Laurent Garnier: “Thanks a lot for these tracks. There’s some lovelyyyyyyy deeeeeepness in there. Love it.”
Levon Vincent: “I gave the LP a listen, nice one! I thought ‘Devious Monday’ was captivating and I liked the work with Classy Lassy as well. Congrats!”
Ka§par:"When a guys knows what he's doing, it sounds like it's real. Great tracks, loving it more and more the further we go."
Roberto Rodriguez: "Classy album! Red D quality!"
Nacho Marco: "Loving it, hard to pick a favorite. Thanks!!"
Kong: "Big up Bart, well done. Belgium = house = Red D!!"
Melon: "House music represent! Love it, feel it & gonna drop it. Great stuff :)"
Simon Caldwell: "Some really special house music on this album. Many thanks!!"
OOFT!: "Yes! This sounds amazing! Authentic underground house music just the way I like it :)"
Massimiliano Pagliara: "Nice tunes!"
Tomaz: "We all knew Bart knows where it's at but this is ridiculously good. Hard to pick a fave. The collabs are great, so are the ‘solo’ tracks. I picked the single with Lien as fave because that'll hopefully draw the deserved attention to the rest of the album. Top marks !"
Juliano: "Congrats for your album Bart ! love the deepness of the tracks and the authenticity you brought. Thank you"
Harri: "Liking these a lot, will play and support."
Alex Barck: "That's a great piece of work"
Quintessentials: "All around fantastic album! Congrats!"
Lauer: "Respect, amigo!"
Darko Esser: "Beautiful album, congrats mate great work!"

Welcome to the third part of the TELE MUSIC saga, the label founded by Roger Tokarz. He deeply marked the era with his audacity and his vision of music on film. This irresistible new selection tells the story from 1968 to 1985 of a prolific label that sometimes produced ten albums a year, and which delighted many French and foreign film directors who, to 'flavour' their films, drew on this sumptuous catalogue.
In this volume 3 TELE MUSIC, we have highlighted legendary artists who have left an indelible mark on the history of the music bookshop and on the history of music in general:

• Janko Nilovic (also known as Yanko Nilovic, Anady Loore, E. Orti or Alan Blackwell),
• Jean-Jacques Debout with his irresistible “Mitsuko” released in 1967 and re-released in 1969 on “Music Bazaar”, • Bernard Lubat, the impressive percussionist, vibraphonist, multi-instrumentalist and very good “scator” (Bernard played in the Doubles Six with Quincy Jones and Eddy Louiss),
• Gabriel Yared, the man with a hundred film scores. Arranger and composer for Johnny Hallyday and Charles Aznavour, among others!
• Hervé Roy conductor and writer for Nancy Holloway,
• George Chatelain, pianist, guitarist, clarinettist, founder of the famous studio “CBE” created in 1966 with his sister Janine Bisson and his high school friend Bernard Estardy.

All these composers were renowned for their acute sense of composition, arrangement, conducting and inter- pretation, and in their own way left their mark on many sound recordings of musical illustration "made in France!
CBE, the Chatelain, Bisson and Estardy studio is located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Still in operation and run by Julie Estardy, it has been receiving major artists for over half a century. It is a place of reference. At the time: Johnny Hallyday, Claude François, Sheila, Carlos, Françoise Hardy, Nino Ferrer recorded their hits there.
Now it's the turn of Sebastien Tellier, Bertrand Burgalat, Keziah Jones, Tony Allen, Jeff Miles to name but a few. CBE and its giant Bernard Estardy put TELE MUSIC in the best conditions to produce an atypical and powerful sound.
Bernard Estardy had a custom- built mixing console built by his German friend Gunther Loof, offering the perfect tool for recording 4 and then 32-track Arp 2000, Moog, Korg, Prophet synthesizers and all acoustic instruments. The field of experi- mentation was limitless.
Until now, the titles of this collection were only available in vinyl format, via rare and expensive prints that collectors sell for a high price on dedicated websites. This volume 3 gives you access to the "crème de la crème" of the legendary repertoire made in France!

Renaldo Domino
Chicago Soul Legend
Born March 27th 1950) from “The Valley” around 49th & Forestville.
He was nicknamed Domino because his voice was sweet as sugar, Domino being an American sugar brand name.
Renaldo Domino blasted onto the fertile Chicago soul scene of the late 60's with a voice as sweet as sugar and deep grooves that sound just as fresh five decades later. Releasing singles on Mercury subsidiaries Smash and Blue Rock, and later Twinight records, Renaldo’s all-too-brief career has still managed to leave an impact to all those lucky enough to hear it.
He had a relatively short recording career releasing only 7 singles between 1967-1971. His first 45 was recorded whilst he was still attending high school on a tiny label Arnell on a low budget.
The Arnell 45 did well enough for him to get signed to Smash (a Mercury subsidiary) where he released two 45s, re-recording 'I'm Hip To Your Game' for his second Smash single, as it's a different version to the one released on Arnell. His third 45 was released on another Mercury subsidiary, the now revived Blue Rock which had been 'suspended' since 1966 and reacivated in 1968. The records sold reasonably well locally but Dominio left to join Twinight, feeling that his material wasn't being promoted by Mercury, where he released a further three singles between 1969-71. Twinight released him in 1971 and despite trying to get another recording contract he was unsuccessful and left the music business to pursue another career.
He was managed by William Sandy Johnson who also managed LaShawn Collins and Wendy Woods who recorded on Johnson's Sincere label, the only 2 releases on the label. He also wrote Renaldo Domino's first 4 A sides: 'I'm Getting Nearer To Your Love', 'Just Say The Word', 'Not Too Cool To Cry', 'Let Me Come Within'. In addition he wrote 'Do It Now' for Wendy Woods and the flip to LaShawn Collin's classic 'What You Gonna Do Now', 'Girl Chooses The Boy'.
Renaldo returned to the spotlight in 2007 when the Chicago reissue powerhouse Numero Group put him on the cover of their deluxe box set Eccentric Soul: Twinight's Lunar Rotation (which included other greats Syl Johnson, The Notations, and many more). Renaldo’s performing career began to flourish once again with shows around country.
In early 2019 Renaldo teamed up with producer Jeremy Kay and arranger JB Flatt and set out to record new tracks that would live up to Renaldo’s great early records. Assembling a crack team of Brooklyn’s best they pulled out all the stops, creating a mix between the lush arrangements of Chicago’s early soul style and the hard-hitting beat of current Brooklyn soul. The new single “No Laggin’ & Draggin’” / “Give Up The Love”, released Feb 2020, is now available on Colemine Records.
Backed by The Heavy Sounds, Renaldo’s live performances continue to deliver with passion and precision, making new fans young and old.

​

Studio One was founded by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd1 in 1954, and the first recordings were cut in 1963 on Brentford Road in Kingston.12 Amongst its earliest records were "Easy Snappin" by Theophilus Beckford, backed by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, and "This Man is Back" by trombonist Don Drummond. Dodd had previously issued music on a series of other labels, including World Disc, and had run Sir Coxsone the Downbeat, one of the largest and most reputable sound systems in the Kingston ghettos.
In the early 1960s, the house band providing backing for the vocalists were the Skatalites[3] (1964–65), whose members (including Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo, Lester Sterling and Lloyd Brevett) were recruited from the Kingston jazz scene by Dodd. The Skatalites split up in 1965 after Drummond was jailed for murder, and Dodd formed new house band the Soul Brothers (1965–66), later named the Soul Vendors (1967) and Sound Dimension (1967-). From 1965 to 1968 they played 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 5 days a week, 12 rhythms a day (about 60 rhythms a week) with Jackie Mittoo as music director, Brian Atkinson (1965–1968) on bass, Hux Brown on guitar, Harry Haughton (guitar), Joe Isaacs on drums (1966–1968), Denzel Laing on percussion, and on horns (some initially and some throughout): Roland Alphonso, Dennis 'Ska' Campbell, Bobby Ellis, Lester Sterling, among others on horns during the era of Rock Steady. Headley Bennett, Ernest Ranglin, Vin Gordon and Leroy Sibbles were included among a fluid line-up, to record tracks directed by Jackie Mittoo at Studio One from 1966-1968.
During the night hours at Studio One from 1965-1968, singers like Bob Marley, Burning Spear, The Heptones, The Ethiopians, Ken Boothe, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bunny Wailer[4] and Johnny Nash, among others, would put on headphones to sing lyrics to original tracks recorded by the Soul Brothers earlier each day. These seminal recordings included "Real Rock" (by Sound Dimension), "Heavy Rock", "Jamaica Underground", "Wakie Wakie", "Lemon Tree", "Hot Shot", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Dancing Mood", and "Creation Rebel".
Jackie Mittoo, Joe Isaacs, and Brian Atkinson left Studio One in 1968, recorded drums and bass for Desmond Dekker's and Toots' biggest hits at other Kingston studios, then moved to Canada. Hux Brown stayed in Jamaica to record on the soundtrack The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall, and toured in Nigeria with Toots and the Maytals and Fela Kuti. The Soul Brothers (a.k.a. Sound Dimension) formed the basis of reggae music in the late 1960s, being versioned and re-versioned time after time over decades by musicians like Shaggy, Sean Paul, Snoop Lion, The Clash, String Cheese Incident, UB40, Sublime, and countless other Billboard originals and remakes trying to emulate their original Rock Steady sound at Coxsone's Studio One.
The label and studio were closed when Dodd relocated to New York City in the 1980s.

Prayer returns to Hooversound once again creating a melting pot of his influences. From classical, to jungle and breaks to ambient, Prayer has doubled down on his refusal to be pigeonholed into a stereotype.

#HOO11/06 is a release combining this EP with his previous release on Hoover - putting it on vinyl form for the first time!

Prayer has always been one to push hard on the emotional front, and definitely brings this energy to this release. Having recorded original piano music from the age of 16, he’s been able to create a distinctive sound that still yet blows expectations out of the park, with previous releases on Grade 10 and Black Acre as well as debuting on Hooversound in 2021.

This EP continues in a run of amazing releases from Hooversound Recordings - the London-based label founded by NAINA and SHERELLE in 2020 - including the likes of Chrissy, Mani Festo, Special Request x Tim Reaper and Sinistarr to name a few.

Studio One was founded by Clement "Coxsone" Dodd1 in 1954, and the first recordings were cut in 1963 on Brentford Road in Kingston.[1][2] Amongst its earliest records were "Easy Snappin" by Theophilus Beckford, backed by Clue J & His Blues Blasters, and "This Man is Back" by trombonist Don Drummond. Dodd had previously issued music on a series of other labels, including World Disc, and had run Sir Coxsone the Downbeat, one
of the largest and most reputable sound systems in the Kingston ghettos.
In the early 1960s, the house band providing backing for the vocalists were the Skatalites[3] (1964–65), whose members (including Roland Alphonso, Don Drummond, Tommy McCook, Jackie Mittoo, Lester Sterling and Lloyd Brevett) were recruited from the Kingston jazz scene by Dodd. The Skatalites split up in 1965 after Drummond was jailed for murder, and Dodd formed new house band the Soul Brothers (1965–66), later named the Soul Vendors (1967) and Sound Dimension (1967-). From 1965 to 1968 they played 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 5 days a week, 12 rhythms a day (about 60 rhythms a week) with Jackie Mittoo as music director, Brian Atkinson (1965–1968) on bass, Hux Brown on guitar, Harry Haughton (guitar), Joe Isaacs on drums (1966–1968), Denzel Laing on percussion, and on horns (some initially and some throughout): Roland Alphonso, Dennis 'Ska' Campbell, Bobby Ellis, Lester Sterling, among others on horns during the era of Rock Steady. Headley Bennett, Ernest Ranglin, Vin Gordon and Leroy Sibbles were included among a fluid line-up, to record tracks directed by Jackie Mittoo at Studio One from 1966-1968.
During the night hours at Studio One from 1965-1968, singers like Bob Marley, Burning Spear, The Heptones, The Ethiopians, Ken Boothe, Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths, Judy Mowatt, Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bunny Wailer[4] and Johnny Nash, among others, would put on headphones to sing lyrics to original tracks recorded by the Soul Brothers earlier each day. These seminal recordings included "Real Rock" (by Sound Dimension), "Heavy Rock", "Jamaica Underground", "Wakie Wakie", "Lemon Tree", "Hot Shot", "I'm Still In Love With You", "Dancing Mood", and "Creation Rebel".
Jackie Mittoo, Joe Isaacs, and Brian Atkinson left Studio One in 1968, recorded drums and bass for Desmond Dekker's and Toots' biggest hits at other Kingston studios, then moved to Canada. Hux Brown stayed in Jamaica to record on the soundtrack The Harder They Come, The Harder They Fall, and toured in Nigeria with Toots and the Maytals and Fela Kuti. The Soul Brothers (a.k.a. Sound Dimension) formed the basis of reggae music in the late 1960s, being versioned and re-versioned time after time over decades by musicians like Shaggy, Sean Paul, Snoop Lion, The Clash, String Cheese Incident, UB40, Sublime, and countless other Billboard originals and remakes trying to emulate their original Rock Steady sound at Coxsone's Studio One.

Doomsday Outlaw return with their third studio album Damaged Goods, set for release on 3rd February 2023 via Republic of Music.

As Doomsday Outlaw began work on this album, they knew they wanted to step up to the next level and deliver on the promise of their previous albums, keeping the heaviness and the soulful vocals, and turbo-charging it all with some retro rock feelgood vibes.

Channelling Skynyrd, Aerosmith and The Faces through their signature heavy blues stomp, the band worked to expand their signature sound.

Working with Chris D’Adda at Vale Studios (Temples, Deaf Havana) and Dave Draper (The Wildhearts), to put them through their paces, the band have pulled together their best work yet.

Lyrically, the album is a very personal insight into vocalist Phil Poole’s life and motivations. Speaking about Damaged Goods, vocalist Phil Poole said: "This album is a continuation of the stories of my life – played out for all to see, filled with heartbreak and redemption. My own version of therapy, Damaged Goods is the latest chapter in my life."

Bassist Indy added: “It’s been a hard slog these last couple of years with Covid cutting short our European adventures, and generally waiting for live music to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, but these new tunes have kept us going. The excellent response we’ve had to playing the songs live has been great to see, and we can’t wait to get everything out there for people to hear.”

Doomsday Outlaw return with their third studio album Damaged Goods, set for release on 3rd February 2023 via Republic of Music.

As Doomsday Outlaw began work on this album, they knew they wanted to step up to the next level and deliver on the promise of their previous albums, keeping the heaviness and the soulful vocals, and turbo-charging it all with some retro rock feelgood vibes.

Channelling Skynyrd, Aerosmith and The Faces through their signature heavy blues stomp, the band worked to expand their signature sound.

Working with Chris D’Adda at Vale Studios (Temples, Deaf Havana) and Dave Draper (The Wildhearts), to put them through their paces, the band have pulled together their best work yet.

Lyrically, the album is a very personal insight into vocalist Phil Poole’s life and motivations. Speaking about Damaged Goods, vocalist Phil Poole said: "This album is a continuation of the stories of my life – played out for all to see, filled with heartbreak and redemption. My own version of therapy, Damaged Goods is the latest chapter in my life."

Bassist Indy added: “It’s been a hard slog these last couple of years with Covid cutting short our European adventures, and generally waiting for live music to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, but these new tunes have kept us going. The excellent response we’ve had to playing the songs live has been great to see, and we can’t wait to get everything out there for people to hear.”

WRWTFWW Records is deeply honored to announce the release of Chu Ishikawa & Der Eisenrost’s soundtrack for experimental action drama Tokyo Fist, released in 1995 and directed by legendary director/producer/writer Shin’ya Tsukamoto (Tetsuo: The Iron Man and its sequels, Bullet Ballet, Hiroki The Goblin, Nightmare Detective). Previously only published on CD in Japan, the cult movie soundtrack is available on vinyl for the first time ever and housed in a heavy 350gsm sleeve.
The Tokyo Fist soundtrack gorgeously blends explosive industrial music, heavy percussion, martial rhythms and noise experimentations with contemplative ambient and emotion-filled synth soundscapes, perfectly encapsulating the nihilistic pain felt by the characters of the movie and the brutally visceral rebirth they go through. Ishikawa and Der Eisenrost’s compositions hit hard, sometimes truly terrorizing, sometimes heart-gripping in gloomy and bewitching ways. This is no holds barred music, a venture into the darkest yet most strangely beautiful corners of the human mind (and heart).
The late great Chu Ishikawa was one of the innovators of the industrial and experimental scene in Japan and has collaborated with Shin’ya Tsukamoto on numerous movies. He also worked extensively with Takashi Miike, another visionary filmmaker from his home country. Ishikawa was the leader of groundbreaking Industrial-Metal-Percussion unit Der Eisenrost whose live performances around Japan left an indelible mark on the genre’s history.
This new project by WRWTFWW Records follows previous Japanese soundtracks from the catalogue: Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor 2, Evil Dead Trap…and more to come.

When the 60’s turned into the 70’s there was a musical crossroads. The American blues had had it’s run with teens on both sides of the Atlantic long enough so that the blues-offspring named rock’n’roll had to expand or die. It did not die, it expanded in all kinds of directions! And right there in the crossroads between blues-based rock and all the world’s other sub-genres of rock, something happened to the blues. The format got experimented with, expanded and almost made unrecognizable. But at the same time the roots to the original ’real’ blues was never lost. Where Peter Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970 with the track «Green Manalishi», where Johnny Winter stretched his musical legs, where ZZ Top bought Marshall full stacks and shot from the hip, and last but not least where the legend himself, Muddy Waters, stretched the limits of that was ’legal’ with the album «Electric Mud». And not to forget Jimi Hendrix, Free, Canned Heat and the rest of the gang from the Woodstock-era. The result was a highly electric musical revolution, where e.g. the newly born genre hard rock walked hand in hand with traditional delta blues. It is out from this musical mud The Devil and the Almighty Blues have found their inspiration. Formed in 2010, their music is slow, heavy, melodic and raw, all without losing the almighty blues out of sight. Filled with a profound love for the old heroes of the blues walking hand in hand with rock, metal, country and last but not least punk.

When the 60’s turned into the 70’s there was a musical crossroads. The American blues had had it’s run with teens on both sides of the Atlantic long enough so that the blues-offspring named rock’n’roll had to expand or die. It did not die, it expanded in all kinds of directions! And right there in the crossroads between blues-based rock and all the world’s other sub-genres of rock, something happened to the blues. The format got experimented with, expanded and almost made unrecognizable. But at the same time the roots to the original ’real’ blues was never lost. Where Peter Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970 with the track «Green Manalishi», where Johnny Winter stretched his musical legs, where ZZ Top bought Marshall full stacks and shot from the hip, and last but not least where the legend himself, Muddy Waters, stretched the limits of that was ’legal’ with the album «Electric Mud». And not to forget Jimi Hendrix, Free, Canned Heat and the rest of the gang from the Woodstock-era. The result was a highly electric musical revolution, where e.g. the newly born genre hard rock walked hand in hand with traditional delta blues. It is out from this musical mud The Devil and the Almighty Blues have found their inspiration. Formed in 2010, their music is slow, heavy, melodic and raw, all without losing the almighty blues out of sight. Filled with a profound love for the old heroes of the blues walking hand in hand with rock, metal, country and last but not least punk.

Formed in Louisville, KY in 1991, Falling Forward was a band made up of childhood friends Benjamin Clark, Gary Bell, Jonathan Mobley, Ben Lord, and Chris Higdon. Started in their early teens, the band released a handful of recordings on a few different labels (Noble Recordings, Initial Records, and Doghouse Records) before disbanding in 1995. Higdon, Mobley, and Lord would immediately regroup as the renowned atmospheric post-hardcore band, Elliott. Falling Forward's first 7" was originally released as the first (and only) title on local Louisville imprint, Noble Recordings, in a scarcely limited edition of 500. Shortly thereafter, they signed to rising Detroit-turned-Louisville label, Initial Records, for their lone full-length album, Hand Me Down. Founding member Benjamin Clark then left, replaced by Endpoint's Pat McClimans. In 1995, as their popularity and influence were peaking across the United States, Falling Forward released two final singles: an acoustic split 7" with fellow Louisvillians, Metroschifter; and a self-titled 7" EP on the prolific Midwestern indie label, Doghouse Records. All of those releases are long out-of-print, and Falling Forward's entire catalog has remained unavailable in any format for over 20 years. Let These Days Pass: The Complete Anthology 1991-1995 documents the entire recorded history of a young band who met in their pre-teens, wore their hearts on their collective sleeves, and incidentally inspired and influenced thousands of kids and dozens of bands (most notably Thursday) across the world with their unique union of chunky, metallic riffs, pop-punk-inspired hooks, and startlingly infectious, Sunny Day Real Estate-inspired melodicism. Restored and remastered from the original master tapes by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (The Promise Ring, Converge), Let These Days Pass is packaged in all-new artwork culled from elements of the band's history, and includes a 20-page full-color booklet of rare and unpublished photos, fliers, and lyrics.

Poolblood, the musical nom-de-plume of Toronto's Maryam Said, is an
ethereal spirit of punk rock, swirling and dancing in the air with a
collection of gorgeously orchestrated bedroom pop music
Raised in a religious household at arm's length from popular music, they
nonetheless found themselves drawn in by the music of Yusuf Islam (Cat
Stevens), who left an indelible imprint on their relationship to music and
songwriting. The results of their upbringing "time spent practicing chords in guitar
class, learning about hardcore from friends after school and honing their
songwriting as an early teen "is a winding path of melody, making stops along the
way to dabble in everything from noise rock to lush and gorgeous pop hooks.
poolblood is a pastiche of genres and styles working in blended harmony.
poolblood understands the tender urgency in crafting stories around deep and
abiding intimacies, romantic and platonic, that run so far below the surface they
become the root of everything that grows on the surface. These stories have
come together to create the ethereal bedroom pop songs on their debut LP
"mole" out on Next Door Records.
It is fitting that on an album so much centered around the connectivity of deep
and abiding friendships that "mole" is awash with collaborators, each bringing
their own unique talent and skill into the mix. Louie Short and Shamir Bailey
worked with Maryam as producers on the project, and played on a number of
tracks in addition to a cadre of musicians filtering in and out of each song.
Not afraid of letting their sly sense of humor bleed through the layers, poolblood's
"mole" is rife with humor and wonder, dancing playfully along. Pressed on Aubade
Blue Color vinyl.

The Locket is the coming together of two masters of their craft to create something hopeful in a time of unrest. Its title track refers to memories of happier times: “we fill a locket with memories we protect, and don’t forget to keep it round your neck.” It’s a reminder to focus on positivity in the face of adversity. A collaborative project designed to be enjoyed together. A celebration of music, unity and looking ahead. It couldn’t have come at a better time. The Locket features ten tracks cut from sessions that span over eighteen months. It’s sunshine-dappled, psych-tinged, hip-hop flavoured, leftfield pop. Samples and beats, bars and this unique sort of retro futurism that zips from sepia-tinged to full technicolour almost as fast as Barney’s flow. So many reference points that burst at the seams trying to pick a genre. Perhaps most importantly, it’s an utterly joyful listen from start to finish; invaluable in a time when everyone is hard-pressed to find ways to brighten their days.

Following a first successful 2020 instalment and a contribution to our VA series, Blame The Mono are back on the Taapion mothership to deliver their second household EP. This 4-tracker stays true to the beloved influences of the duo by showcasing multiple genres and heavily using vocals, while keeping a dancefloor-focused essence. ''Sustain The Rigour'' translates the hard disciplined work Blame The Mono put in the studio switching over the techno recipe while keeping its original ingredients. Throughout the coldwave sonic explorations of Forlorn, endless vocal looping drive of Front Left Rodeo, bombastic Moog bassline of Conepusher or the spaced -out garagey vocal chops of Caledonian Woofers, this EP keeps both pace and inventivity rigorously high.

Glasgow's First Lady of Jazz Carol Kidd, whose string of successful Linn recordings in the 1980's have made her a staple of international audiophile artists, returns with an all-new collection of delectable jazz and pop standards delivered in her inimitably smooth and heartfelt style.

Kidd has always been an artist celebrated for her cool, controlled phrasing and easy-going balladry, and her lovely new recording, BOTH SIDES NOW, is replete with her trademark inflection and warmth spread over classic songs by everyone from Rodgers & Hammerstein, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell, and Richard Thompson. A songwriter of note, Kidd herself contributes two new tracks co-authored with Chris Anthony.

Impex's exclusive 180-gram 33 rpm LP, mastered by the superlative Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, features brilliantly detailed mid-tones, effortlessly stable bottom end, and crisp overtones. RTI's peerless pressing brings it all together for your listening pleasure.

Carol Kidd is an international award winning singer. She has been named 'Best Vocalist' at the British Jazz Awards on four occasions and was appointed MBE for Services to Jazz. In 2006, Carol was a winner of the prestigious Nordoff-Robbins Tartan Clef Music Award and in 2017 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Scottish Jazz Awards. Renowned for her impeccable phrasing and delivery along with an unforgettable ability to breathe fresh life into any jazz standard, Carol has cut a distinctive path through the Great American Songbook throughout her career with orchestral and trio backing, as well as performing as a unique and intimate duo with guitarist Nigel Clark.

A long line of admirers has included Tony Bennett, Vic Damone and Frank Sinatra, who invited her to open for him at a stadium concert where he remarked that, "Carol Kidd is the best kept secret of British jazz." After a sensational performance at the Tribute to Johnny Mercer show at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, Sir Michael Parkinson observed from the stage that "If there is a better jazz singer out there I have yet to hear them!" Luminaries who have performed alongside Carol as her guests include George Shearing, Georgie Fame, Annie Ross, Benny Carter, Joe Temperley, Bobby Watson and Martin Taylor.

Following a battle with cancer, Carol returned to the stage triumphant in the summer of 2013 to give a powerful, emotional performance at the Glasgow Jazz Festival. In the wake of this homecoming, it is impossible to deny that Kidd is one of the most remarkable artists and performers of our time.

Prolific Japanese producer T5UMUT5UMU has built up a reputation in the last few years for his ability not just to recreate club styles but to flip them into almost unrecognizable dancefloor hybrids. "Asyl" follows a blistering run of Bandcamp releases where T5UMUT5UMU has melted together gqom and techno, deconstructed grime and welded dubstep to traditional music from Japan and India. Here, he's operating completely off the grid, pulling raw materials from across the globe and hammering them into confounding shapes and patterns. On its surface, 'Fireball' sounds like a liquid metal approximation of South African gqom, but move in closer and you can make out dubstep bass squelches, trap hats, and industrial techno jet propulsion filling in the gaps with rubberized mortar. 'Desert' is the EP's most lightheaded cut, a psychedelic percussive spiral that curves micro-tuned mbira clangs around bee sting bass, aerated noise blasts and sub-aqueous kicks. It's a hard track to place, but fits in somewhere between Donato Dozzy, Menzi and 33EMYBW, all shifting rhythms and precision-edited sound design. 'Sea of Trees' retains this momentum, pushing the tempo and interspersing woodblock vibrations with syncopated bass drums and goosebump-inducing synths, while closer 'Bottomless Valley' shifts back into a gqom framework, shuffling the expected pulse with a powerful dembow swing, half step subs and Indian-inspired rattles. "Asyl" is a varied but shockingly coherent statement from an enigmatic producer who refuses to confine himself to a single path, and at a time when "cross-genre" is the norm rather than the exception, it's refreshing to witness a producer who's unafraid to truly make stylistic left-turns, rather than simply mash together top-level aesthetics.

For the second chapter in Vala series two Swedish natives have been invited to give their brumal take on the label’s output. On the A-side Härdstedt leaves no much to question with a subtly psychedelic roller “Esrange” whereas Arkajo provides a groovy remix of that particular track with a spice of familiar drum programming trickery. Both staying legitimately true to their own recognizable sound. On the B-side Kaspiann continues from where Vala 1 was left to and provides two wintry sea inspired tracks to leave room for the next chapter in series of unfolding surprises.