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'I heard about Seif Abu Bakr and The Scorpions maybe 3-4 years ago. Their album 'Jazz, Jazz Jazz' ended up on my radar because of an eBay auction with the bids eventually rising daily up to a staggering 1000$. The music is a unique combination of incredible horn arrangements powerfully performed, a vigorous drummer contributing a funky backbone and Seif's vocals uniting those elements. The results range from instrumental tracks awaking memories of 1970s crime thriller soundtracks to more Sudanese-rooted tracks, a lot of them modernized versions traditional rhythms of the diverse regions of Sudan and even an excursion into Colgolese Soukouss.
I went for my second trip to Sudan in December 2018 and after doing some research on the first trip my local colleagues Larissa and Yassir had managed to reach Amir, The Scorpions band leader and he was happy to meet. We got together with him in a Cafe right at the Nile in Omdurman. It was a happy occasion for everyone. He told us stories about him meeting Jimmy Cliff and Lewis Armstrong when they visited Sudan and how he and his band mates from The Scorpions played extensively in Kuwait, both in club residencies as well as for television. Amir brought tons of incredible photos illustrating not only the bands history but the vivid cultural live in the many music clubs in Khartoum of the 1970s. During this decade up until 1983 the capital was home to a huge number of clubs, bards and concert halls. This scene started to perish after president Nimeiry's turn away from his socialist policies, that he was widely associated with in the first decade of his rule, towards the implementation of Sharia law in 1983. During the first decade of his rule he had actively supported various artists of the Jazz scene, taking some of them on trips throughout Africa. The 1989 coup of Bashir and his generals then caused the final blow to a once thriving scene. Both of these political events within 6 years lead to significant drawbacks for the Sudanese jazz scene resulting into hardly no gig opportunities left and parties and concerts being critically observed. A number of musicians faced prosecution, most of the time for their political views; some left Sudan for good. Music never completely vanished from public life and even the regime kept selected artists close, but for a majority of those bands affiliated to the jazz scene life and making ends became a lot harder. The Scorpions dissolved as a group around the same time.
The re-release was produced with a clean copy of the vinyl version as a source. The original reel tape of the album stayed with Saif Abu Bakr along with another reel with other recordings that were never released. Unfortunately it was lost when Saif Abu Bakr had to flee to Kuwait temporarily during the second gulf war when Iraq raided Kuwait. Vinyl version comes with extensive booklets with photos, interviews, liner notes. The vinyl version also has a DLL code.

12” transparent red vinyl - limited to 500 copies. File under: Indie, Folk, Antifolk, GER/FR. In West Africa, where the only water you can find is in the Ocean, Stanley Brinks & Freschard put on their best carnival costumes to get to the bottom of every bottle of rum they could find. They found a lot. Iron Eye is an irresistibly charming collection of late night tales, woozy ballads and uptempo sing-alongs. Clemence Freschard’s beautiful vocal tones lend this a rich, French indiepop/chanteuse vibe, complemented by Stan’s wistful timbre and characteristic warm instrumentation. Stanley Brinks is renowned for his unique anti-folk style: both playful and suggestive, insightful and entertaining. Brinks was born in Paris, France, in 1973. He studied a bit of biology and worked as a nurse for a while. Half Swedish, half Moroccan, strongly inclined to travel the world, he soon began spending most of his life on the road and developed a strong relationship with New York. By the late 90s he’d become a full time singer-songwriter – André Herman Düne – as part of three piece indie-rock band, Herman Düne alongside his brother, David-Ivar. Several albums and Peel sessions later and after a decade of touring Europe, mostly with American songwriters such as Jeffrey Lewis, Calvin Johnson and early Arcade Fire he settled in Berlin. The early carnival music of Trinidad became a passion, and in the early 21st century he became the unquestioned master of European calypso, changing his name to Stanley Brinks. Under this moniker he has recorded well in excess of 100 albums, collaborated with the New York Antifolk scene on numerous occasions, recorded and toured with traditional Norwegian musicians, and played a lot with The Wave Pictures.

Dead Times is Lee Buford (The Body, Sightless Pit, Manslaughter 777) and Steven Vallot (Muslin). The duo originally began working together in 2008 while living together in Providence DIY space The Sickle, and releasing the early records from The Body and The Assembly of Light Choir on their short-lived Aum War label. They quickly achieved cult status with just two limited releases. Those releases have become highly coveted rarities for The Body fans and those familiar with the world of Providence, Rhode Island"s legendary DIY scene, which gave rise to artists like Lightning Bolt and Black Dice. Emerging over a decade later, Dead Times connects the threads of the untethered extremes of their origins to the mastery of production, composition, and structure each member has cultivated in their time apart. On their debut self-titled full-length, Dead Times present a kind of mesmeric dread, a world of desperate beauty wrapped in sonic venom. Buford and Vallot each bring wells of experience and new skill to Dead Times since their days living together in dilapidated warehouses. The duo"s shared history remains an essential element to their chemistry, but each has sharpened their craft to harness that raw creativity into music that is fearless, poignant and undeniably unique. A band"s band, but not for long. Dead Times, the duo"s first album, is staggering in its ambitions and exquisite in its execution. Lee Buford is known for his prolific work in acts including The Body, Sightless Pit, Everyone Asked About You, and more, alongside numerous collaborations with the likes of Full Of Hell, BIG|BRAVE, Thou, OAA, and Siege Engine. Steven Vallot is known for his collaborative work both musically, and artistically, with artists such as Krieg, The Body, Whitehorse, and Drew McDowall.

The Titillators became a band in 2018 and emerge from a bold
compulsion: to sound completely unlike any other musical group in
existence
On their third album to date, That's The Night , it's clearer than ever that they've
been successful in this endeavour.
It's a tuneful, mainly instrumental batch of bent exotica played by a group of
some of Toronto's most inventive and highly regarded musicians. And while
listeners will catch aural whiffs of jazz, pop, soul, electronica, and free
improvisation there's something irrefutably singular about their output.
They're led by Ryan Driver, whom you may know from his solo recordings on Tin
Angel, from groups such as Eucalyptus, and from his frequent collaborations with
Eric Chenaux. Driver provides the compositions and plays street sweeper bristle
bass, an instrument of his own devising consisting of a small tine of metal
plucked on top of an amplifed cigar box.
The ubiquitous and multitalented Thom Gill's whistling often plays a
disconcerting lead role, while both he and acclaimed jazz pianist Tania Gill play
synths. Meanwhile the trifecta of percussionists Phil Melanson, D. Alex Meeks,
and Nick Fraser offer rhythmic interplay with one crucial caveat: none of them are
permitted to play any component of a standard drum kit.
PR will be dealt with in-house at Tin Angel.
Limited edition of 300 copies on 180gram Atlantic Pearl Blue Vinyl + OBI strip

Eins ist schon lange klar: U.D.O. machen keine halben Sachen und haben auch nach über 35 Jahren Bandgeschichte kein Stück Kraft verloren! Durch hunderte von Shows weltweit - bis hin in die entlegendsten Gebiete Russlands oder Südamerikas - und einer Diskografie von über 20 Alben, hat die Band jedes Mal bewiesen, dass sie nicht nur in den nationalen, sondern internationalen Metalolymp gehören. Alben wie „Steelfactory“, „Man And Machine“ oder „Animal House“ sind zeitlose Alben - präzise, druckvoll, eingängig und kraftgeladen. Fast jedes Album schaffte es in die deutschen Albumcharts mit der ein oder anderen Platzierung in den Top 10! Nicht umsonst sind nationale und internationale, prominente Kollegen wie Doro oder Lordi Anhänger und Unterstützer von U.D.O.'s Musik.
Keine Frage, dass man dem Propheten des deutschen Metal einen weiteren Tribut zollen muss und die Highlights dieser erfolgreichen Karriere auf einem Tonträger zusammenfasst. Insgesamt 33 Tracks von Alben wie Mastercutor, Holy, Solid oder Game Over gepaart nostalgischen Fotos machen nicht nur für alte Fans der Band diese Compilation zu einem Muss im Platteschrank.

Knifeplay's sophomore full-length, and first ever studio album Animal
Drowning is a sprawling landscape of shoegaze and lofty slowcore
The album finds the band in a blend of folk instruments, walls of distortion,
orchestral strings and delicate vocals, all carefully organized by Philadelphia
engineer/ producer Jeff Zeigler, known for his work with Nothing, Kurt Vile, and
more.
Though their sonic palette is vast, Knifeplay craft a cohesive aesthetic to carry
frontman TJ Strohmer's thematically heavy songwriting, which touches on loss of
all kinds against the backdrop of a nihilistic world. These songs cry out with
urgency no matter their ever-varied tempo and dynamic, each painting a unique
vignette of tragedy. Yet the band's dense, meticulously composed
instrumentation exudes beauty, creating a lightness to balance the subject
matter.
With Animal Drowning, Knifeplay goes deeper into the sonic experimentation and
brutally honest lyricism so beloved on their early bedroom recordings, creating an
enrapturing experience that deftly builds on previous work.

Heart's Ann Wilson is releasing a new record with Tripsitter, 'Another
Door'
Prior to starting the 2023 tour, Ann Wilson and her band Tripsitter finished
'Another Door', a record of all-original material, which marks the first time since
the '70s that Ann has written a full- length album collectively with a band.
Tripsitter features Tony Lucido (bass), Ryan Wariner (guitars), Sean T. Lane
(drums), and Paul Moak (guitars and keyboards). Tom Bukovac (guitars) was also
a primary contributor.
ANOTHER DOOR marks the first time in her career where Ann was the sole lyricist
and her presence on a record has never been greater. Ann says, "This is an
exciting time in my creative life; so much new and fresh to remind me of why I
love my calling!"
The cover for 'Another Door' was created by Storm Studio which began in the
early 1990s with Storm Thorgerson, Peter Curzon, Rupert Truman, and Dan
Abbott. Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell co- founded Hipgnosis, who
between 1968 and 1983 created artwork for the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin,
Paul McCartney & Wings, 10cc, AC/DC, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, and many others.
Following Storm's passing in 2013 Aubrey Powell has worked closely with Storm
Studio on numerous projects since.
** Widely praised as one of the greatest singers in the history of Rock, Ann's
extraordinarily powerful voice has been sending chills down her audience's
collective spine for over five decades, earning record sales of more than 35
million, an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award.
** "Barracuda," "Crazy On You," and "Magic Man" are among the many songs she's
written that now reside in the pantheon of Rock's greatest hits. "This Is Now" from
ANOTHER DOOR plays seamlessly alongside the classics in her current live set.
** Last year Ann sang with Disturbed's frontman David Draiman on the duet,
"Don't Tell Me," from their recently released DIVISIVE album, and lent her voice to
Dolly Parton's forthcoming rock record "Rock Star." Ann Wilson defies genre!!

When the two brothers Alex and Mikael Lachan grew up in the small town of
Finspang, music was the highway and the world was the destination.
Playing together in the basement every day since they were kids, they formed a
bond that would translate into an explosive live show years later. The rejuvenated
band hammers out a sound that is energetic enough to sustain a live show
revolution, talented enough to keep your attention and welcoming enough to let
your voice sing the anthemic choruses like there was no tomorrow.
Over the span of their career they have released three full length albums (soon to
be four), two EPs and multiple digital singles. They have toured Europe many
times and played with bands such as Millencolin, Street Dogs, Asta Kask and
received praise from bands such as Dropkick Murphys for their heart-and-soulpacked melodic punk rock.
Now in 2023 they are back with a brand new full length album called Wanderlust
& Hardships. Recorded with the acclaimed producer Niels Nielsen, known for his
work with In Flames, Dead Soul, Ghost, and MCC, the album showcases the
band's signature sound that blends hard- hitting instrumentals with anthemic
lyrics. Fans can expect a celebratory and energetic tone that is sure to get them
involved.

Bloodred Hourglass, das Finland’s Powerhouse des Melodic Modern Metal’s, wollen mit ihrem neuen Album “How’s The Heart?” die Musikwelt wieder einmal in ihren Bann ziehen.
Sie sind bekannt für ihre Melodic und Death Metal Einflüsse und haben sich längst einen Namen in der Metal-Szene gemacht. “How’s The Heart?” wird zweifelsfrei eine der einflussreichsten Veröffentlichungen der bisherigen Band Historie und zeigt eine beeindruckende Entwicklung dieses Musikgespanns. Einmal mehr stellen die Jungs aus Finnland ihr musikalisches Können unter Beweis und nehmen ihre Fans mit auf eine Reise voller Energie und der klassischen Bloodred Hourglass-Brutalität.
“How’s The Heart?” leitet seine Hörer außerdem durch die verschiedenen Phasen von Trauer und Wut, und bricht mit einem perfekten Mix aus Aggression und Charme jegliche Genre-Grenzen. Ein dynamischer, moderner Sound, der aber weiterhin an die traditionellen Nordischen Wurzeln der Band anknüpft.
Die BRHG-typischen Riffs, aggressiven Drums, vielseitigen Vocals, Synths und Refrains mit Ohrwurm-Garantie dieses Albums wurden gemixt und gemastert von Dan Braunstein (Spiritbox, Veil Of Maya, Dayseeker).

Teichmann + Söhne’s »Flows« is not so much the result of a collaborative process as it is a process in itself. Over the course of nine pieces, the Gebrüder Teichmann—Andi and Hannes—and their father Uli repeatedly find common ground between the very different musical styles, sound aesthetics, and subcultural codes they have internalised throughout their lives. The source material out of which the album evolved was culled from several recordings of rehearsal sessions in preparation for the trio’s concerts that took place between the years 2012 and 2022. The three added only a few overdubs to those recordings but edited them rigorously to both preserve and transform the spirit of their unlikely collaboration. The combination of Uli’s background as a versatile jazz artist and multi-instrumentalist with his sons’ penchant for dub techniques, modular synthesis, and live sampling as well as their interest in electronic dance music take on ever-different shapes. »Flows,« released on the occasion of Uli’s 80th birthday, is as joyful, lively and free-spirited as its makers.

It took the three musicians decades to get together to jam. Uli and Lu, the mother of Andi and Hannes, ran the legendary Jazzclub Kneiting between 1978 and 1983 while he also made a name for himself as a musician who, besides jazz, is knowledgeable in a plethora of music styles from all over the world and has an instrument collection to match. Naturally, Andi and Hannes rebelled against this versatility by opting for simplicity. Already as pre-teens, they formed a punk band and once they got a whiff of the burgeoning techno scene, strayed even further from their father’s path. They eventually moved from their native Regensburg to Berlin where they made a name for themselves with a slew of releases on seminal labels like Disko B or Kompakt before starting to more regularly collaborate with musicians from the realms of Contemporary Music, Improv, and Sound Art. Even after Uli had finally contributed some saxophone licks to the brother’s 2011 »They Made Us Do It« LP, it indeed needed someone else to make them do it, i.e. finally get together to reconcile their musical differences in a creative way.

Finding out that the three had never performed together, Yoichi Osaki from Berlin’s iconic Miss Hecker venue, a focal point of the city’s so-called Echtzeitmusik (real-time music) and Improv scene, scheduled them to play their first concert on April 1, 2012. Even though the date was chosen deliberately, things got serious very quickly and this first joint concert proved to be the first of many. It also laid the foundation for »Flows« since the three would start recording their rehearsals. Revisiting the roughly 90 recordings, some of which clock in at a full hour, after ten years of playing with each other then started what Hannes describes as a »form-finding process.« It was a holistic one and involved all three of them, extending also to their choice of cover artwork, a piece created by Lu, who died in 2016 and to whom the album is dedicated. For the collage, she had used photos of the place where it all began, Regensburg, and the river that flows through it, the Danube. This made the piece, coincidentally created around the time Teichmann + Söhne started playing their first concerts together, correlate perfectly with the working process of the three musicians on a visual level.

Similarly, Teichmann + Söhne can be thought of as a human-musical collage. It is a meeting of three different musicians who all have in common that they have occupied alternative spaces and perfected a variety of musical styles and subcultural codes throughout their lives. When those flow into each other, this necessarily creates something that is as unique as the nine tracks collected on this album. While it is mostly Uli who takes the lead on pieces like the appropriately titled »Im Zwischen« (»In the Inbetween«), the brothers respond by live sampling his playing, thus serving as a creative interface between acoustic sounds and electronic responses. This in turn provides a framework in which Uli can improvise on a variety of acoustic instruments like the saxophone and the clarinet as well as a mandolin and glockenspiel or even percussion. This indeed makes their music flow—across different generations, between different musical ideas and genres, into previously uncharted territory.

Since its release in 2013, Nick Lowe’s holiday album Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family has been critically lauded for “the retro-reinvention of the Christmas album” (Uncut) and was heralded by TIME and Rolling Stone as one of the greatest holiday records of all time. Featuring original tunes by St. Nick himself, such as the witty “Christmas at the Airport” and tender “I Was Born in Bethlehem,” to reimagined covers like an ironically bombastic, swinging rendition of “Silent Night” and the rearranging of
Wizzard’s “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day” and Roger Miller’s “Old Toy Trains.”

Some of Lowe’s collaborators and admirers make songwriting appearances on the album as well, including the Ron Sexsmith-penned “Hooves on the Roof” and Lowe’s co-write with his former Little Village bandmate Ry Cooder on “A Dollar Short of Happy.” Rolling Stone said it best that an album like Quality Street is “worthy of your holiday bonus.” For the album’s 10th anniversary, Quality Street is being reissued on red color vinyl and includes a bonus 45 single of Nick Lowe’s covers of “Winter Wonderland” and “Let It
Snow.” Nick’s longtime tourmates Los Straitjackets are his backing band on both tracks and this marks the first time that either song is available on vinyl. The 10th anniversary LP is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide.

Repress!

Last year's release of "The Midlands Roots Explosion Volume One", saw the culmination of many years work spent tracking down artists and tapes to shine a light on one of England's greatest, yet most overlooked musical scenes, the home grown take on reggae that briefly flourished from the mid-seventies and had almost disappeared little more than a decade later.

Volume Two starts off in exactly the same way as its predecessor with Handsworth's biggest musical exports, the legendary Steel Pulse and "Bun Dem produced by the legendary Dennis Bovell. Our first act new to the series are Natural Mystique with their 1982 single "Generals" whilst tracks 3, 4 and 5 round off the missing A and B sides from some of the most popular artists we included last time with Iganda's "Mark Of Slavery", Carnastoan's "Sweet Melody" and yet another Generals, this one from Musical Youth featuring the same line up that caused so much surprise and positive feedback with their inclusion on Volume One.

"Africans" from Bass Dance featuring a second appearance from former Steel Pulse guitarist/vocalist Basil Gabbidon, is the first of four previously unreleased tracks. The other three that we've managed to track down on long forgotten tapes, are Leicester's Groundation with "Rebel" recorded a few years before "Fa Ward" which we included last time, "Cannot Take It Away", another lost gem from Handsworth's Mystic Foundation and "Equalisation" another lost slice of early eighties roots from Wolverhampton's Capital Letters.
The late Linton Haughton is another new name with his scarce Shield label 12" cut "Hustling Man". Also making their first appearances, are Afrikan Star with "Run And Hide" originally issued in 1980 on Black Vinyl Records and from the Crucial Music stable, Sledge Hammer with "Ruled By The Stone" released as a 7" single on the Crucial Music Inc. label. The remaining three tracks are provided by label favourites and key players in the Birmingham scene, Black Symbol, Sceptre and Eclipse and showcase songs from the individual albums we've previously released by each band.
British roots reggae at its finest.

Fresh from supporting Blur at Wembley Stadium this summer, Sleaford Mods are getting set for some of their biggest ever UK and Europe dates this autumn with the release of new six track EP, More UK GRIM, on 20 October. Recorded at the same time as their acclaimed 2023 album, UK GRIM, the freshly released songs not only continue Andrew Fearn and Jason Williamson's current dancefloor dominance, but with a mix of insight and wit, outrage and compassion, they critique and celebrate our turbulent times.à Lead single Big Pharma, shares a 'take no prisoners' lyrical approach with the band's recent album as it casts a doubtful eye down the 'truther' wormhole, although entwined around a slinky bass riff the track confirms the two-piece at their most dexterous musically. Big Pharma, which sets the tone for the More UK GRIM EP, is accompanied by a sharply satirical animated video directed by Sean Sears, who has applied his distinctive, stylised 2D vision to examining the consequences of a health 'philosophy' that prizes drinking urine over carefully researched medical treatments.à "Big Pharma was written in the opening chapters of autumn 2022 when Covid kicked in again. It carries a lot of the normal Sleaford Mods absurdism but also looks at the ongoing fascination with trying to find truths in information wholly pushed by very questionable people," explains Jason Williamson. Alongside the lead single, the More UK GRIM EP also features Under The Rules, Old Nottz, PO Crazeh and My 18hr Girdle, all previously unavailable.

Appleton, Wisconsin’s Dusk may seem to have fallen from the sky. Surrounded by a music climate of destination festivals and instagram celebrity, they’ve remained reclusive, yet focused on the proverbial
carrot on the end of the stick that’s hard for so many working musicians to define. For the past four years, they’ve maintained a steady schedule of recording and “hitting the dirt,” as they say: spending weeks on the road playing dives and basements. The group was conceived in 2014 as a casual recording project between vocalist and bassist Amos Pitsch and drummer Colin Wilde. Amos had just
completed recording Predatory Headlights, the critically acclaimed double album by his other group, Tenement, and with the new found down time, he and Colin arranged their own versions of vintage
soul songs. The intention was to treat the project like a revolving door for collaborators, but soon the permanent additions of vocalist/pianist Julia Blair, lead guitarist Tyler Ditter, and Ryley Crowe on pedal steel, rhythm guitar, and vocal duties would cement the band into a connsistent rock and roll ensemble; informed by soul music, country, jazz, and beyond.

Experimental Rock / Abstract Hip-Hop / Post Industrial music Pascal Bouaziz used to be the singer and leader of French rock band Mendelson, and "Bruit Noir" (Black Noise) is his side project. This is a completely new venture, a departure from everything he's done over the last 20 years, bringing together hard-hitting lyrics and biting sounds. Boaziz has improvised lyrics over music by drummer Jean-Michel Pirès, who has played with Bed and Married Monk, a blend of the stripped-down clarity of Pérec's A Man Asleep and the stormy punk of Suicide. Crossing the boundaries of the politically incorrect, Bruit Noir offers a raw, hard-hitting album, where the sincerity of the words blends with the intensity of the compositions.

Vinyl re-issue of the 2017 album. Norwegian power trio Bokassa fuse riffs and grooves into a hook-laden Molotov Rocktail of punk, hardcore, metal, and rock. In 2019 they were handpicked by Lars Ulrich to support Metallica alongside Ghost on their summer stadium tour all over Europe, UK and Russia. The legendary drummer hailed them as "his favourite new band" and described them as "Insanely fucking cool" after hearing the trio's first album Divide & Conquer.

Divide & Conquer is Bokassas self-released debut full length. A noisy no comprimise of an album that made it onto Metal Hammer UK´s list over the best debut of 2017, was called one of the most important Norwegian albums of the 2010s by Gaffa, and of course attracted drummer Lars Ulrich who invited the ba

Vinyl re-issue of the 2017 album. Norwegian power trio Bokassa fuse riffs and grooves into a hook-laden Molotov Rocktail of punk, hardcore, metal, and rock. In 2019 they were handpicked by Lars Ulrich to support Metallica alongside Ghost on their summer stadium tour all over Europe, UK and Russia. The legendary drummer hailed them as "his favourite new band" and described them as "Insanely fucking cool" after hearing the trio's first album Divide & Conquer.

Divide & Conquer is Bokassas self-released debut full length. A noisy no comprimise of an album that made it onto Metal Hammer UK´s list over the best debut of 2017, was called one of the most important Norwegian albums of the 2010s by Gaffa, and of course attracted drummer Lars Ulrich who invited the ba

In his childhood home among the Bavarian Alps, where the loudest sounds were the ringing of church bells and the mooing of cows, he discovered the power of music via his sister's collection of rock records: Jimi Hendrix, The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana. Improvised music and the double bass were revelations that spurred his next voyages of discovery - first to the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich, then north to the Jazz Institute in Berlin, then across the ocean to New York at the Manhattan School Of Music. Since returning to Berlin, he has released two acclaimed albums as part of the band SCOPES. Now we are invited to join him for Journey, his debut album as a leader & composer. With him is a select crew of his peers from among the brightest young stars of the thriving Berlin scene - Ben Kraef on tenor sax, Carl Morgan on guitar, Simon Seidl on piano and drummer Fabian Rosch - Tom has embarked on a fascinating journey of musical exploration; producing a superb culmination of all he has learned along the way and venturing to another level.

Channeling the speed of youth and the heaviness of a fleshy, lived life in equal proportion, Upchuck’s second LP, Bite the Hand That Feeds, is a Trojan Horse par excellence, craftily smuggling in waves of sentimental emotion and clever pop songwriting under a veil of pulsing rhythms and scorching riffs. What binds Upchuck together is a purity of intention, an organic loyalty to a thick knot of uncalculated friendships, struggles, and desires. These are songs about the joy of continuing to live, songs that find each other in the rush of a crushing reality, propelling the listener onward towards a collective release, however brief it may last. Themes of surviving through the night, youth-blinded love, cheap champagne soaked back-alley parties, and chaotic street protests are subsumed under a single unifying thread: the needs we have for one another, our shared hunger for connection. In a world saturated with arbitrary rules and paper-thin moralism, Upchuck offer free¬dom through sensation, a type of unserious transcendence found through the swirl of bodies melting into one another in the passion of dance. With Bite the Hand That Feeds, Upchuck isn’t trying to tell anyone how to live. Rather, they are simply trying to find a way to make life more worth living for both themselves and their friends—if the music compels you to move, you might as well consider yourself their friend too. Shortly after the release of their debut album Sense Yourself, Upchuck absconded to Southern California to record Bite the Hand That Feeds, enlisting the production talents of Ty Segall and the airy reprieve of his secluded Topanga Canyon home studio. Upchuck credits Segall, who recorded the entire record live to tape over the span of five days, with helping to elevate the arrangements of their second record to bold new heights—fans of Segall’s extensive catalog will undoubtedly recognize the shadow of his creative touch in Bite the Hand That Feeds’ commanding, layered drum polyrhythms, tasteful use of oddball effects, and fuzzed out, every-guitar-pushed-into-the-red ethos. All the same, final credit for Upchuck’s evolution from Sense Yourself to Bite the Hand That Feeds must be paid to the band itself. Following the release of their debut LP, Upchuck embarked upon a break-neck string of live shows, touring alongside the likes of Segall’s Fuzz, Amyl and the Sniffers, Negative Approach, OFF!, and Sub¬humans. The razor tight focus of Bite the Hand That Feeds was forged in the fire of these live shows, speaking directly to the power of their in-person presence—these are songs meant to be heard pressed up against a barricade, blasted through dimed guitar amps placed so close to your ears that you can practically reach out and touch them. In its totality, Bite the Hand That Feeds offers a sonic portrait of what it feels like to be young and caught up in the thrill of it all, coursing between ripping dance grooves and thundering dirges, anti-self-serious crowd anthems and charming pop hooks.

These two tracks from Mike Bandoni and Chip Wickham have been a long time coming. These two stable mates from the 'Craig Charles Fantasy Funk Band' have been discussing a collaboration for years and now; it's finally in the bag! Mike brings his trademark killer funky Drums (Recorded by the legendary Malcolm Catto), Percussion, Rhodes, Bass and vintage Guitar vibes to the party whilst Chip delivers some sublime and highly complimentary work on sax and flute. Infinity Pool sounds like a long lost Bobbi Humphrey meets Bob James composition with the flute taking centre stage underpinned by what can only be described as mammoth funk grooves on every other instrument. A true modern Jazz Funk classic with just a fraction more Funk than Jazz! Get It! is a cool number with a phenomenally infectious groove and a hook that stays in the brain for days! Think early Kool & The Gang. You'll be humming these hooks day and night! Chip again raises the bar further with some sublime flute and ...