Buscar:his trio

Pressed on heavy-weight 3xLP 180g curaçao vinyl GIANTS is an ambitious video game concept album, meticulously crafted over six years by Tokyo-based record label Brave Wave Productions under the direction of Mohammed Taher. The colossal 98-minute album showcases the talents of legendary composers known for their iconic work on series like Mega Man, Ninja Gaiden, Panzer Dragoon, Sonic the Hedgehog, Final Fantasy, among others. The album is a rich tapestry of new, gameinspired compositions from these celebrated artists, paired with innovative remixes from their classic catalogue as reimagined by their contemporaries. A highlight of the album is its emphasis on collaboration, exemplified by original tracks like Ultramarine_the first collaborative effort from Mega Man 2's Takashi Tateishi with Mega Man 3's Harumi Fujita and Sonic Mania's Tee Lopes. Another standout track, Ronin, marks a historic reunion for the Ninja Gaiden composer trio_Keiji Yamagishi, Ryuichi Nitta, and Kaori Nakabai_collaborating for the first time since their work on the NES Ninja Gaiden titles. The collaborative spirit extends to the remixes as well, such as Final Fantasy series composer Yoshitaka Suzuki's cinematic reimagining of Mega Man 2's Wily Stage, featuring Bayonetta co-composer Takahiro Izutani on acoustic guitars and producing, as well as Celeste composer Lena Raine's tranquil rendition of Panzer Dragoon Saga's Art Thou the Holy One, crafted in harmony with original composer Saori Kobayashi. GIANTS transcends traditional boundaries, featuring a diverse array of genres and styles brought to life by over two dozen talented musicians, making it a celebratory anthology of game music's rich history and evolution, led by Brave Wave's in-house rock band Super Strikers and a legion of legendary game composers.

Are you a mannequin in the eyes of your beloved? Does your partner compare your relationship to a factory that emits plumes of smoke? Are you in love with a seductive and destructive Credit Default Swap? Someone who sucks you in with skyrocketing short term erotic returns - only to ghost you until you crash so hard that you end up broke(n) in your own bed? Do you pay $300 an hour out of pocket to a psychiatrist who promises to help you strike a deal with a difcult parent - one that will produce more stable long term returns on your psychic investments? If so, then you, my friend, may be drowning in the sea of Love in the Time of Capital. It's where everyone would love to drown. It's a new album from John Davis of The Folk Implosion that fnds him backed with confdence by Eli Moore and Andrew Dorsett of the indie pop band Lake. It was recorded by Nich Wilbur at the Unknown, a cavernous recording studio in Anacortes, WA that has been a favorite destination for indie rockers around the nation. Ben Brodin recorded Megan Siebe playing strings on two tracks at his Hidden Branch studio in Omaha, and the album was mixed by Scott Solter in Durham NC. Arrangements are based on the classic power pop trio of drums, bass and electric guitar. Those elements are tastefully embellished with organs and pianos that call to mind records by classic rock bands like Tom Petty's Heartbreakers. That is, if the Heartbreakers were fltered through the Northwestern International Pop Underground tradition, and cast a critical eye on how commodity culture shapes the way we think of ourselves and our intimate relationships. The album also features four ballads, three drum and electric guitar free, for all you late night introspective heads.

Mr. B recorded by Chet Baker with his trio, is considered one of the best from that period. Baker plays compositions from “Dolphin Dance” (Herbie Hancock), “Strollin” (Horace Silver) and “In Your Own Sweet Way” (Dave Brubeck). The sadness of the songs is felt throughout, in a lazy sometimes slow and sluggish tempo. The album includes two bonus tracks “White Blues” and “Father X-mas” and band members include Michel Graillier (piano) and Ricardo Del Fra (bass). Mr. B celebrates its 40th anniversary and is available as a limited edition on translucent blue coloured vinyl. The album sleeve contains liner notes by Wim van Eyle.

To this day, jazz pianists are influenced by Bill Evans by his use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and his trademark rhythmically independent, “singing” melodic lines. Evans gained his first spotlight when joining Miles Davis’ sextet during the time Kind of Blue was recorded. After leaving the sextet, Evans began his career as bandleader, which he finished in his last trio with Marc Johnson on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums. This trio recorded The Brilliant in 1980 live at the Keystone Jazzclub, San Francisco, just before Evans’ passing. The Brilliant is available on black vinyl.

Marking its first decade of activity, Blume returns with the first ever vinyl reissue of the seminal “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media”, from 1977, the third and final instalment in a suite of releases that includes James Tenney’s “Postal Pieces” and Ben Vida’s “Vocal Trio”. Unquestionably among the most important collections of experimental music to emerge during the 20th Century, “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” is the original feminist presentation in its context, releasing the work of Johanna M. Beyer, Annea Lockwood, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, Megan Roberts, Ruth Anderson, and Laurie Anderson under its collective banner. Includes newly commissioned liner notes by Jennifer Lucy Allen and Bradford Bailey.

Since its founding back in 2014, Blume has carved a unique place in cultural landscape, issuing free standing works, spanning the historical and contemporary, that represent singular gestures of creativity within the field of experimental sound. Joining their broad efforts in building networks of context and understanding that already includes the efforts of efforts of Werner Durand, Sarah Hennies, Bruce Nauman, John Butcher, Jocy de Oliveira, Mary Jane Leach, Valentina Magaletti, Alvin Curran, Julius Eastman, Alvin Lucier, and others, Blume delivers their third release in their first suite of releases for 2024, the fist ever vinyl reissue of the seminal “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” compilation, originally issued by Thomas Buckner's 1750 Arch Records in 1977. Out of print for decades on vinyl and arguably the most important feminist statement in the history of experimental music, illuminating the work of Johanna M. Beyer, Annea Lockwood, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, Megan Robert, Ruth Anderson, and Laurie Anderson - in a number of cases representing their recording debuts - during a crucial moment in the history of experimental music. Blume’s brand new edition - complete with newly commissioned liner notes by Jennifer Lucy Allen and Bradford Bailey, as well as reproducing Charles Amirkhanian’s original accompanying text - radically shifts perceptions of the past and present day with its truly revolutionary sounds.

Issued by Thomas Buckner's 1750 Arch Records in 1977, and out of print nearly the entire time since, “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” can be understood within two simple frameworks. On one hand, it is an astounding document of the landscape of experimental music toward the end of the 1970s. On the other, it is a historically significant feminist statement, being the first collection of experimental music entirely dedicated to female composers, a number of whom were grossly under-celebrated at the time, but have since gone on to be regarded as among the most important composers of their generation.

The eight pieces gathered by “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” - Johanna M. Beyer’s “Music of the Spheres”, Annea Lockwood’s “World Rhythms”, Pauline Oliveros’ “Bye Bye Butterfly”, Laurie Spiegel’s “Appalachian Grove I”, Megan Roberts’ “I Could Sit Here All Day”, Ruth Anderson’s “Points”, and Laurie Anderson’s “New York Social Life” and “Time To Go (For Diego)” - might be regarded as the first cohesive vision of alternate proximity or expression of experimental music to what has always been a frustratingly male dominated environment, and to the tropes, temperaments, and sensibilities that have been historically perceived to define it. It is an expanded vision of truth. While the presence of feminine sensibilities and temperaments in experimental music, however they may present themselves, were anything but new in 1977, “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” was the first opportunity, beyond the temporal limitations of live performance, to view them collectively, rather than as individualised expressions within a larger body of similar gestures (as was the case of Oliveros’ inclusion in Odyssey’s 1967 “New Sounds In Electronic Music” and “Extended Voices” compilations) where they might be confused for something else; to regard and celebrate a radical notion of feminine sonority for its unique characteristics and through its interrelations.

While its historical significance and groundbreaking nature can not be debated in its totality, nearly half a century on “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” remains compelling in both its musicality and the palpable sense of its lasting influence. Every composition across the album’s two sides is not only engrossing and deeply compelling - feeling as fresh and relevant as the day it was laid to tape - but clearly tangible in their lasting influence. Viewed in context, the album’s eight works feel like breath of fresh air when compared to much of what came before, and laid the groundwork for much of what was to come, introducing a new, often more holistic temperament and more sensitive and inclusive sensibility into the landscape of experimental music.

Particularly in the case of Annea Lockwood, Pauline Oliveros, Laurie Spiegel, Ruth Anderson, and Laurie Anderson, it's hard to throw ourselves back in time and imagine a moment when these composers rested in a fairly marginalised corner of the creative landscape. Blume’s brand new edition of “New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media” - complete with newly commissioned liner notes by Jennifer Lucy Allen and Bradford Bailey, as well as reproducing Charles Amirkhanian’s original accompanying text - brings us back to this confounding moment and points us toward a crucial moment of change set forth by these incredible composers and their sounds. Absolutely seminal and not to be missed.

YESYESPEAKERSYES is the first vinyl release of the remarkable collaboration between Chicago foot-work founder Kavain Wayne Space (aka RPBoo) and London duo experiment XT (drummer Paul Abbott and saxophonist Seymour Wright). The trio’s synthesis of rhythms, sounds, strategies, technologies and traditions collapse genre, distance, boundaries and preconceptions into a total, and totally unique, brain-body music.

Its two 15-minute vinyl sides are cut from a 60-minute live set at Cafe OTO, London on Friday 8th October, 2021 also available as digital download. This was the fourth meeting of the trio followed, instead of being followed by*, an RPBoo DJ set.

Each time the trio play it pushes further into new technical, emotional and creative space. The collaboration needs ears, instruments, imaginations and bodies to be used in new ways. This need is transformative. Together they – and we – learn. This unique trio combination is rooted in deep conceptual foundations, that push into real and imaginary spaces of innovation and learning in a creative practice of 'interruption' far beyond genres or what is supposed to be. And what emerges each time is a trio technology - a total dance technology for any and all bodies.

Kavain, Paul and Seymour share a fascination with the musical history of Chicago – a source of which is of continual nourishment to their ongoing practice. While Kavain’s pioneering footwork work develops the rhythmic structures of Chicago house and the samples, grooves and melodies of 60’s/70’s Chicago soul, disco and R&B, Seymour and Paul share a fascination with these musics, and bring to this lineage a long-term engagement with Chicago’s jazz traditions, from Baby Dodds to the AACM through their unique prism of club, dance, free-jazz and improvised club structures, technologies and musics.

The LP was expertly mixed by Billy Steiger and mastered by Amir Shoat. Every purchase comes with a bonus download of the full, unedited live set from Cafe OTO.

The album includes artwork by Benedict Drew and text by Edward George.

2024 Repress

180 Gram, Tip On Sleeve RSD version of this classic. One of the rarer records of the mythical Strata East albums is finally reissued for the first time on Heavenly Sweetness!
The recording of Earth Blossom, the John Betsch Societys one and only album, seems something of an enigma nowadays. For even though Nashville is clearly one of the towns in the US with the highest number of recording studios, who would have thought that the capital of country music would give birth to one of the forgotten masterpieces of 1970s spiritual jazz. The path leading to the album starts in 1963 when John Betsch, originally from Jacksonville in Florida, arrives in Nashville to study at Frisk University. He is a young drummer and joins Bob Holmes trio. Holmes is one of the towns major jazz organists and pianists; he becomes Betschs mentor and, over the space of two years, John will play alternately with him and with the trumpeter Louis Smiths group. However, in 1965, John leaves town to go to the prestigious Berkeley University in Boston and do a two-year course along with his fellow debutants with names like John Abercrombie, Ernie Watts and Alan Broadbent. Two years later, he is invited by a pianist friend, Billy Chilf, to join the legendary singer/songwriter Tim Hardins group. Just after Woodstock, John Betsch and Tim record a psychedelic album Columbia will never release together with the members of the future group Oregon: Colin Walcott, Glen Moore, Paul McCandles and his friend Billy Chilf. But he soon leaves this group to return to Nashville where he hooks up again with his friend Bob Holmes. Two years later, he is accepted on Archie Shepp and Max Roachs famous course at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMASS) and for the next four years he participates in this collective of intellectuals and musicians under the aegis of the two masters.
During this period he returns to Nashville to form his Society whose music is obviously influenced by the Afrocentric ideas of the UMASS student and political movement. However, the album, recorded in one day and in one take, also bears the hallmark of their generations psychedelic experiences, and in the themes and playing of the musicians we can hear a less violent form of music than the radical free jazz of New York or Chicago. Nature and environmental themes are the inspiration behind tracks touched by the spirit of Coltrane but also of Flower Power.

After Amherst, John Betsch joins Marion Browns group in 1976, leaves Tennessee for good and makes his home in New York over the next ten years or so. He plays and records with Dollar Brand, Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre and many others, before heading off to France. He has lived in Paris for the last twenty years and played in Steve Lacy, Mal Waldron and Archie Shepp bands, as well as forming groups of his own. He now lives in Paris and plays with many musicians/bands.

Archeo Recordings' rewarding relationship with Tony Esposito continues on AR027, as the label provide a remastered reissue of his transcendent fusion-pop masterpiece "Pagaia" alongside a trio of brand new reworks from Perugia's mighty Feel Fly. Whether you're looking for cosmic house, mellow acid, trancey techno or dubby downbeat, these remixes have you covered, and the original remains a true work of art. Available in all good record stores on 12th July as a 50 copy super limited edition on Solid Blue Vinyl (including gadget scarf) and limited black vinyl edition.
50 copy Solid Blue Vinyl Edition (including gadget scarf), and also limited black vinyl run "Pagaia" hails from the Neapolitan percussionist's 1982 LP Tamburo, his first release for the brilliant Bubble imprint. Though the album delights and excites from start to finish, dancing through jazz-funk, Mediterranean pop, slow disco and smooth fusion, it's "Pagaia" which is first among equals. Esposito's nuanced hand drums lay the foundation for Claudio Pizzale, Sara Borsarini and Simona Pirone's wordless vocals, a life affirming chorus which carries us onto the swell of bass, piano and horns which drive the track through four and a half minutes of emotional release. Emphatic and expressive, the track transports the listener into a state of body moving rapture, all driven by Tony's rhythmic fluency. The song found its way into Italian living rooms over the credits of TV show Domenica In, and found its way into club culture thanks to fanatical support from the likes of Daniele Baldelli, who even included it on his first official Cosmic compilation.
Following a string of essential releases for the likes of Internasjonal, International Feel and New Interplanetary Melodies, Daniele Tomassini, better known as Feel Fly, now joins the Archeo family with a trio of contemporary club translations of the killer "Pagaia". The Perugian's "Cosmical Remix" extends that familiar introduction into a deep and DJ-friendly blend of drum and voice, awash with airy reverb and augmented by additional percussion, building through the original piano and bass into the churn of a dance floor wormhole. Driven by an unstoppable sequencer throb, the interpretation skirts the dark side of space before landing in the light of the miracle, those heavenly vocals and lush keys leading the way. The "Instrumental Cosmical Remix", not entirely instrumental, but utterly cosmical nonetheless, sees Daniele serve a tense and tracky arrangement of his first rework, perfect for deep space exploration. Stripped of the joyful exuberance of the original, this variation is a complex blend of shadowy trance idents and the mature techno we'd expect from the likes of François K. Not content with soundtracking either side of the peaktime, Feel Fly serves up a third version, following the Compass Point through a musical map of club-dub to turn out an immersive interpolation of deep bass, spring reverb and stabbing keys that sits perfectly beside the Rhythm & Sound catalogue. Each interpretation is an emphatic demonstration of Tomassini's musical talent, production prowess, and stylistic range, and furthermore a fitting tribute to the lasting genius of Esposito's original.

The Brazilian composer, pianist and producer, Mário Castro Neves and his group, Samba S. A.'s self-titled album from 1967 is oozing with class. It possesses that archetypal 60's bossa nova, jazz, samba sound. We’d place it up there with Sergio Mendes at his finest, Tambo Trio or Milton Banana. It’s a breezy ride that touches on easy listening at times, but it holds it together with a cool swagger. Biba and Thaís Do Amaral's vocals are on point, with a relaxed delivery that compliments the tracks with the sublime beauty à la vocal groups such as Quarteto Em Cy, who Biba also sang with, as well as with Antonio Adolfo's e A Brazuca. Also appearing on the record is bassist extraordinaire, Novelli who worked with Milton Nascimento, Nelson Angelo E Joyce, Airto, and many of the greats of Brazilian music of the time.

The album has long been a favourite with DJs and collectors over the years, with songs selected for compilations by Gilles Peterson and Nicola Conte. One of the centrepieces of the album, 'Candomblé’, has been sampled by Cut Chemist on his track 'Povo De Santo'. The song 'Naña' is punchy and light with dancefloor-jazz appeal. The gloriously catchy 'Vem Balançar' is a brilliant bossa shuffler. A superb listen throughout, the album sticks to a framework but delivers in spades.

Though released on the major-label RCA Victor, original copies are elusive, sought-after items with a price tag to match. For this reissue, we have opted for the Mono master, mirroring the original 1967 Brazilian pressing. Instantly familiar, the album has a welcoming feeling of nostalgia and is something that stays with you from the first listen.

Acid Jazz's announcement of the 30th anniversary 2LP remastered edition of Mother Earth's The People Tree is a momentous occasion for fans of acid jazz and soul music alike. Originally released in 1994, this album holds a significant place in the genre's history, blending elements of soul, funk, and folk-tinged rock from the 70s with a modern twist. The special edition reissue boasts the original album, along with three previously unreleased tracks and six making their vinyl debut. Remastered from the original analogue recordings, this release promises to breathe new life into the beloved classic. Featuring guest appearances from iconic artists like Paul Weller, Dee C Lee and Simon Bartholomew of Brand New Heavies, The People Tree is a testament to the collaborative spirit of the acid jazz scene. Notable bonus tracks include the previously unreleased alternative version of 'Apple Green,' an alternate take on 'Illusions,' and the title track itself. First-time vinyl cuts offer fresh perspectives on tracks like 'Jesse' and 'Slide Sweet Baby,' adding depth to the listening experience. The album's presentation is equally impressive, with a beautiful 'wide-spine' layout, printed inner sleeves, and insightful notes from label-founder Eddie Piller, accompanied by unseen photos from the original cover shoot. Overall, this anniversary edition of The People Tree is a album worth your time as it often selected for one of the best examples in the genre.

Pleasure Planet’s kaleidoscopic debut album has been a long time coming, but good things come to those who wait. Developed over years of late-night studio improvisations, ‘Pleasure Planet’ is an affectionate and colorful patchwork of the New York City-based trio’s knotted influences that’s suspended between the rave and the chill-out room, weaving glistening pads and chunky basslines into vocal earworms and warm, saturated rhythmic cycles. Bandmates Andrew Potter, Kim Ann Foxman and Brian Hersey enter into a lysergic dialog with their discrete personal musical histories, drawing inspiration from vintage EBM, ambient music and heady early ’90s West Coast rave sounds and launching these classic elements into a transcendent new sonic universe.

Celebrated DJ and producer Foxman was a lead singer of Hercules and Love Affair when she first ran into DC rave veteran Potter, and the two rapidly realized their musical interests overlapped. So when Potter was recording with his studiomate Hersey, a NYC underground club scene mainstay, and they needed to bring in a vocalist, the choice was simple. Working together was a refreshing, freeing experience for the three seasoned artists, and the more they experimented, the closer they became; Foxman ended up moving into the studio, and Pleasure Planet was manifested into existence. “We’re like family,” says Potter. “We’re always on the same page – we couldn’t make this music solo.”

For Foxman, the open-ended jam sessions provided her with a chance to try something new, a few steps from the dancefloor-forward DJ tracks she’s best known for producing. And as the trio pooled their adolescent rave memories, reflecting on them with more mature ears, they began to develop the signature sound that was first heard on the Throne Of Blood-released ‘Animals’ 12″. Pleasure Planet aren’t trying to re-capture the past, but suggest a poetic contemplation that layers their recollections and musical obsessions into a hypnotic sci-fi dream. Harnessing a self-described “Aladdin’s cave” of analog and digital gear that help galvanize the timeline, they bridge the gap between avant-pop and icy bleep techno, curving suggestive words through lattices of tightly-engineered electronics.

On ‘Endless’, Foxman’s voice is echoed into a glistening haze that hovers around ethereal pads and tense, electroid pulses. Slow-moving and evocative, it’s a track that capture the open endedness of post-rave euphoria, touching the afterparty but moving far beyond the material world. She’s more recognizable on ‘Alien’, the album’s most upfront track, singing in a glassy, upper-register coo over urgent bass bumps, taut guitars and florid electronic atmospheres. “Are you an alien, or are you an angel?” she asks, fractalizing the borders between genres. And the band’s sense of cosmic togetherness bubbles to the surface on ‘Saved by the Bells’, a meditative after-hours experiment that diminishes the pulsing beats for a moment to bring out a spectrum of interconnected, serpentine melodies.

Modular bleeps and echoing percussion anchor the swooning ‘Planet Love’, one of Pleasure Planet’s most recent compositions and one of the album’s most outwardly psychedelic cuts, while the urgent and anthemic ‘Go With Madness’ steps back towards the main stage, evaporating Foxman’s memorable calls into a thumping procession of analog drums and squelchy, acidic bass tweaks. But they save the best for last, tugging at the heartstrings with ‘Remember (In Dreams)’, a giddy spiral of blipping synth arpeggios and haunting, reverberated chorals. It’s the perfect way to conclude an album that cryptically gestures towards the vulnerability of friendship, celebrating the shared experiences that result in some of the most meaningful memories of all.

Tiny Habits were formed in Boston, MA by artists Maya Rae, Cinya Khan and Judah Mayowa. The three singer-songwriters met at Berklee College of Music and the band was born at the beginning of 2022.

They started out by sharing covers recorded in the stairwell of their dorm and posting them on social media. Focusing on beautifully intimate three-part harmonies the trio's enticing signature sound, offered exquisite, reimagined versions of songs from across a spectrum of styles and quickly drove them to viral success. They received recognition and early support from artists as diverse as David Crosby, Marcus Mumford, Phoebe Bridgers, and Noah Kahan. Collaborations include work with Mark Ronson, JP Saxe and Lizzy McAlpine, who they supported on NPR’s Tiny Desk

Their debut EP “Tiny Things” was released in April 2023 and established them as one of “the” bands to watch in the year ahead.

In early 2023, the band opened for Gracie Abrams “Good Riddance Tour” across North America, followed by their own sold-out US “Tiny Tour”

At the end of 2023, the trio opened for Noah Kahan on his “Stick Season Tour” across Europe, followed by a sold-out headline show in London. In January 2024, the band rejoined Gracie Abrams, opening for the Australian leg of her “Good Riddance Tour”. This was followed by a sold-out headline show in Melbourne and a performance at the Minetta Lane Theatre in New York with Kacey Musgraves. The New Yorker recently wrote a feature piece on the band, coining them “The Prodigies of Harmonies”.

2024 Repress

Alarico returns to Mutual Rytm with his 'Drops Of You' EP, packed with his mind-bending signature rhythms while focussing on a more minimal and atemporal approach than before.

Milan-based artist Alarico has firmly arrived on the world stage in recent years. Taking cues from the harder realms of techno of the 90s, he adds his own quirky rhythms and quickened sense of groove to showcase his modern take on the genre. Building on material dropping via his own Katana Records, with high-profile support from bigname DJs across the scene, he breaks new ground again here on this compelling new EP as he returns to SHDW's label Mutual Rytm with 'Drops Of You'.

Excellent opener '0 Kelvin' races out of the blocks with wiry synths and percussion that sounds like knives being sharpened, all over tight, punchy techno drums. 'One More' then gets more twisted with freaky synth line scurrying about the mix while hammering hits and bouncy drum programming races onwards into an unknown future.

'Asma' slips into a deeper but no less impactful groove - the tightly coiled drum funk is overlaid with soulful vocal whispers and militant snares that cannot fail to sweep dancers away. Next, the slick 'Sunburn' keeps the pace high and is another warp-speed techno excursion with bold drum patterns and dry hi-hats cutting up the beats. It's a fulsome sound fleshed out with great synth detail and euphoric vocal cries, before closer 'Drops Of You' layers broken beats, vocal snippets and psychedelic synth colours into an intense and emotional workout.

Alongside the vinyl cuts, three digital-only offerings are also loaded into this one as a trio of treats in the form of 'Sino', 'What For' and 'Erased', with each track harnessing pacy, energetic rhythms, a mix of bright and murky sonics, and tunnelling grooves crafted for maximum impact.

Alarico 'Drops Of You' drops via Mutual Rytm on 8th September 2023

Remastered edition on 180 grams double vinyl of 'Euskal Herria Jamaika Clash', released by Talka Records & Films in 2006. To the 12 tracks that appeared in the original CD edition we have added 5 remixes made by producers as renowned as Xabi Pery, Rob Smith, Neil Perch, Peter Rose or Nebukhednezzar and Daniel Díaz. DESCRIPTION "On the wall of the toilet a freshly made graffiti, "Get out of the ghetto, organize the hate", reminded me of the rage we owe to this society. However, I was also at ease, savoring our Original Soundtrack: "ROOTS, ROCK, RAP, REGGAE". This phrase belongs to the song "B.S.O." from the album "Gure Jarrera" by Negu Gorriak. For music fans, the real ones, the ones who spend their fingers searching for rare vinyls in second-hand shops, there are records that have a special meaning. That record has special meaning for me for several reasons, but one of them is singular: it has helped me to discover a multitude of music. It turns out that the credits of that album were full of fundamental names in rock, hardcore, funk, Hip Hop, soul, ska, Latin music... a good guide for the young man of musical discoveries that I was fifteen years ago. But there was also that song, "B.S.O.", with the word "REGGAE" at the end of the chorus. A genre that I had never paid much attention to and that since then, slowly, I have been tasting... from classic figures to new trends, from Jamaican reference records to admirable peninsular formations (Basque Dub Foundation, Lone Ark or The Starlites). A few years ago I had the opportunity to interview Fermín Muguruza and in one of his answers he said: "It's clear that the basis of reggae is going to remain firm, because it's been a constant since Kortatu's first album. Reggae will be there in any of its expressions or derivations, of which there are already many". And it's true. Going through Fermín Muguruza's discography, and his groups, forwards or backwards, we come across reggae in different doses, proportions and orientations, but it has been present in all his albums. And in his "solo" stage, in a more prominent way. Now he releases "Euskal Herria Jamaica Clash", a coherent link in his chain of albums, where he accentuates that proportion of reggae, looking more than ever at the classic conception of the genre, but with some mestizo nuances present (rock strength, some Hip Hop drums or the sound of the trikitixa). The album has been recorded in Jamaica and has featured some renowned figures from those lands: U-Roy, Luciano, Lisa Dainjah, Masta Blasta, Yacine, Toots and the I-Threes (the usual female vocal trio in Bob Marley's albums, to which Rita Marley belongs). The new album offers twelve tracks, where, apart from reggae, one can also feel the optimism of the new lights that illuminate the future of the Basque Country ("Euskal Herria Jamaika Clash")... an optimism that is intertwined with descriptions of local customs ("Azoka Eguna"), rebellious spirit ("Mongolian Barbecue", "Basque Xamuraia", "La Fille Du Quartier Populaire"), songs of hope ("Yalah Yalah Ramallah"), a snapshot of a symbolic triumph ("Beamon Jauzia"), criticisms of alienation ("Askatasun Parabolika"), to the dictatorship of the empire ("Plastic Turkey"), a poetic air of rest on music and feelings ("Baxua eta Lurra"), a final instrumental ("Le Mouv Dub") and a luminous and hopeful revision in reggae key of an old song by Kortatu ("La línea del frente"). "Euskal Herria Jamaika Clash. The soundtrack of the present: DREAMS, HOPE, ROOTS, REGGAE." FM-Hop (2006)

Ex-Here We Go Magic frontman Luke Temple emerges with a new project, Luke Temple and The Cascading Moms. Debut album, Certain Limitations. Lauded for his contributions to Here We Go Magic and Art Feynman, Luke Temple brings his signature off-kilter grooves and melodies to his new project's debut album Certain Limitations. The trio's sound takes influence from the likes of Dire Straits and The Velvet Underground, weaving together intricate guitar work, and a propulsive rhythm section, with a touch of jazz sensibility that recalls the ECM catalog. A product of serendipity, The Cascading Moms were formed when in need of a band for an upcoming show, Temple brought together Kosta Galanopolous, a collaborator from his Art Feynman project, and Stuart, a musician he already knew in LA. When these three came together to rehearse, a spark ignited, revealing a creative connection that transcended that first show that brought them together. The album's lead single, "I Can Dream," originally appeared on Art Feynman's Half Price At 3:30. However, aer reworking it with the Cascading Moms, the song took on a new life. This reinvention exemplifies Certain Limitations' core concept: a collection of songs honed and reshaped through the improvisations and collaborative spirit of three musicians creating and exploring a new sonic world.

Oscar Peterson's Frank Sinatra tribute features his trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen. The renditions are all under four minutes and are highlighted by "Come Dance with Me," "Just in Time," "I Get a Kick Out of You," and "How About You?" This is one of OscarPeterson's most essential dates — swinging and enjoyable. This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.

Der italienische Pianist Giovanni Guidi widmet sich auf A New Day wieder gänzlich dem frei fließende Zusammenspiel mit seinen Kollegen Thomas Morgan und João Lobo – die musikalische Partnerschaft des Trios reicht inzwischen bereits über ein Jahrzehnt zurück – und baut dabei die instrumentale Bandbreite der Gruppe mit der idiosynkratrischen Tenorstimme des amerikanischen axofonisten James Brandon Lewis aus, der hier sein ECM-Debüt gibt. Mit Brandon Lewis erweitern sich nicht nur die Möglichkeiten des Ensembles,
es erschließen sich auch neue Idiome und frische Perspektiven, die von nuancierter Kommunikation und Lewis’ unverkennbarem, selbstbewusstem Ton gezeichnet sind. Das Album wurde im August 2023 in den Studios La Buissonne, Südfrankreich, aufgenommen und von Manfred Eicher produziert.

Valley of Rain was Tucson’s Giant Sand’s debut album recorded in 1983, and eventually released by 1985. It included Howe Gelb on vocals, guitar and Winston Watson on drums for most of it, Tommy Larkins on drums for some of it and Scott Garber on fretless bass for all of it. At the time of the recording, Howe was unacquainted with the possibilities of tube (valve) amps and had recorded most of the album with a Roland JC120 at the miraculous 8 track facilities of The Control Center in Korea Town, Los Angeles by Ricky “Mix” Novak. This impromptu recording had occurred because the band refused to cancel their first Los Angeles live gig, at Madame Wong’s, when the band (Giant Sandworms) had broken up days before in Tucson. Instead, Howe headed out anyway with Scott, the newest member who’d only been in the band for about a year, after band mainstays Billy Sed and Dave Seger reasonably decided ‘enough was enough’ following a rough and tenuous year spent in the lower east side of NYC attempting to further the band circa 1981/82. Tucsonan Winston Watson, (who would go on to tour with Bob Dylan in the 90s, as well as Alice Cooper, Warren Zevon etc ) was already living in Los Angeles and was brave/kind enough to jump in for the live date with no rehearsal. The result was so sparked with adrenalin, that the trio set up an impromptu studio session the next day to attempt to capture the sonic thrust on tape. The total cost of the day and a half recording was $400 including one 1” reel of 30 minute tape. When Enigma Records offered to release the album they requested another 15 minutes of music to make it a full LP. Ron Goudie was then called in to oversee the extra recordings at a Venice, CA studio called Mad Dog with Eric Westfall engineering. Tommy Larkins, who had been on the previous country punk album of Howe’s “The Band of ... Blacky Ranchette” came in to drum for those last 3 songs. It was there when Howe borrowed an amp that had been stored at the studio did he discover the bolster of a tube amp and his world changed. The amp was a slightly modified Fender Twin Reverb owned by Robbie Krieger of The Doors. 30 some years later, now that the band had been put to sleep indefinitely, those very first songs had begun creeping into the last Giant Sand tours. It somehow seemed appropriate to give them another shot with the proper amp just to see what they could’ve been. What made the idea more approachable was the availability of both original drummers living back in Tucson. The first attempt came last summer with both Winston & Tommy and Thøger Lund on bass, as well as the 2 newest members, 29 year old Gabriel Sullivan and 23 year old Annie Dolan on double neck guitars. The sound was insane. The funny part was Gabriel, who engineered and mixed the session, gave it an intentional 80s production sound. Howe later explained to Gabe he had been at war with that production trend since those first original recordings. So they all tried it again at Christmas time, this time with a newly discovered Fender 30 amp that had only been in production from 1980 – 1983. This new re-recording of that first album now sounds like it should’ve sounded. It was re-done for $400 and the same day and a half session time as the original. Scott Garber even drove up from Austin TX with his fretless to play so that the album is literally the originally line up for at least half of the songs. And yes, no pedal boards were used too. The band intends to tour this summer playing only those Valley of Rain songs. Giant Sand Returns To Valley Of Rain.

Repress!

KMD (Kausing Much Damage, or a positive Kause in a Much Damaged society) was a Hip Hop group in the early 90s perhaps best known for launching the career of acclaimed MC/Producer MF Doom (known during his KMD tenure as Zev Love X). After guesting on 3rd Bass' "The Gas Face," the trio (Zev, brother Subroc, and Onyx) released the acclaimed and overlooked "Mr. Hood" full-length. Their political outlook was similar to the group Brand Nubian, who guested on Hood; however, the style was more comical and included a great deal of clips from old children's recordings, mostly notably a sample of the Seaseme Street character Bert on the single "Who Me" This is the official Elektra Records/Traffic Entertainment Group re-release with original artwork and track listing in it's entirety. Cutting edge, ahead of it's time production and skits from KMD and Stimulated Dummies (John Gamble and Mr. Dante Ross). Features the singles "Peachfuzz", "Who Me" and "Nitty Gritty" (feat. Brand Nubian). This is one Rap album that is not to be missed.

First vinyl edition pressed on Cirrostratus Cloud colored vinyl and includes a "Footlong" OBI.

Underground lifer Nick Sakes returns on the debut LP from Upright Forms. The tight-knit Minneapolis trio feels like the culmination of Sakes' varied and prolific career to date, bringing together the unhinged prog-punk ferocity of Dazzling Killmen & Colossamite with the careening chaos of Xaddax and the shout-along hooks and dynamic songcraft of Sicbay. Blurred Wires is skewed yet tuneful, challenging yet compulsively listenable, concise yet brimming with invention. The experience of a lifetime distilled to 33 rotations across a gripping 33 minutes.

Consider "They Kept on Living," a song that first appeared in an earlier version on the SKiN GRAFT comp Sounds to Make You Shudder!. It starts off with a grinding 7/4 groove, with cryptic lines over scratchy noise-punk chords. After a brief build, the band explodes into a massive chorus, with Sakes shouting the title line against a fist-pumping riff.

The trio sound equally convincing digging into the pummeling aggression of "My Lower Self," where Sakes' vocals start off as a feral snarl and then soar triumphantly during the chorus, or the soothing indie-pop hush of the Paster-penned "Drive at Night."

Various "tug-at-your-heartstrings" touchstones informed "Long Shadow". Sakes channeled Television Personalities, cult heroes of melodic British post-punk, on "Animositine," which he accurately labels "our prettiest song."

Nearly 35 years into his career, Sakes is finding new ways to challenge himself -- and in Paster and Westphal, he's found two musicians who are equally comfortable with both the thorniest and the loveliest manifestations of underground rock. When they reflect on their chemistry, they agree that their openness to collaboration is, as Sakes puts it, "one of our superpowers."

On Blurred Wires, that superpower yields dynamic, challenging and profoundly memorable results.