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4 track 12", with Jah Mega over the "Little Way Different" riddim, with Sister Jahian voicing The Gladiators' "Jah Works", pecked by the Peckings crew on the flip.

One of the disco underground's crown jewels has an unknown history courtesy of the holy grailsters themselves. Not only do you get the promotional long version, but two unreleased mixes containing a disco dub and an instrumental from the same studio sessions captured on tape. Colored Vinyl

Features Unreleased Studio Sessions, Alternate Versions, Live Recordings, Rarities, And 36-Page Book With New Photos & An Extensive Conversation Between Joni & Cameron Crowe

Sourced From Original Stereo Reels, Nagra Film Recordings, Multi-track Tapes, Radio Airchecks & Cassette Tapes

Throughout the latter half of the seventies, Joni continued to creatively break ground with her fearless and fluid exploration of jazz. Rather than tread the same path, she challenged and reinvented her style with a folk fusion like no other. Ascending to an unrivaled sonic peak, this innovative sound took shape across the gold-certified HEJIRA 1976, the gold-certified double-LP DON JUAN’S RECKLESS DAUGHTER [1977], her collaboration with Charles Mingus entitled MINGUS [1979], and live album SHADOWS AND LIGHT [1980]. Channeling the thrill and excitement of these records, she delves even further into this season on JONI MITCHELL ARCHIVES, VOL. 4: THE ASYLUM YEARS (1976-1980), due October 4th.

Available as a 6CD, 4LP (featuring Joni's personal favorites from the 6CD set), and digitally, this comprehensive and essential set spans one of the most prolific periods of her storied career. It boasts powerful live tracks from her time in Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue during 1975 and 1976 Tour of the United States. It pulls back the curtain on the music by showcasing early recordings and alternate takes from the respective sessions for HEJIRA, DON JUAN’S RECKLESS DAUGHTER, and MINGUS. It covers the Bread & Roses Festival as well as the Anti-Nuclear Rally. Finally, VOL. 4 chronicles her 1979 tour, even showcasing two tracks from that year’s Tour Rehearsals. Not to mention, it showcases her versatility and adaptability, housing collaborations with everyone from Herbie Hancock and Jaco Pastorious to Wayne Shorter and Pat Metheny.

Vol. 4 culls the previously-unissued material from original stereo reels, cassette tapes, CD-Rs, and even a radio broadcast. Newly mixed tracks came from multi-track tapes, while a handful of hi-res digital tracks have been sourced from the Bob Dylan Archives.

Each version includes a book with never-before-seen photos and liner notes comprising a deep dive discussion between Mitchell and longtime friend Cameron Crowe. As part of their candid conversation, she shares intimate anecdotes, memories, and stories from that five-year creative run.

‘What makes Sex Swing so powerful is that they transcend the limitations of rock music. Their sound is so full of possibilities, violence, sexuality, sacrifice, even religion. If there was a future to look forward to for heavy guitar music, this is it’ The Quietus The locals call it Sop Ruak – eighty thousand square miles of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine. “It really is an endless seam of activity,” Sex Swing frontman Dan Chandler explains of Golden Triangle – both the title of their new album and the region between Myanmar, Thailand and Laos that inspired it. To know this contradictory corner of the world is to understand fully why the cult-beloved noise-rock artisans turned to it when writing their hotly-anticipated third full-length. The real-life Golden Triangle is a groundswell of both natural wonder and drug production, and who combines beauty and narcotic brutality better than Sex Swing? For a decade now, this
collective of revered UK underground musicians, comprising members of Earth, Mugstar, The Keep and Jaaw, have been pulling audiences into drug- like slipstreams with their alchemy of pummelling rhythms, towering guitars, and unrelenting saxophone through which glimmers of light occasionally pierce through. No wonder their Golden Triangle is an album telling distortion-shrouded tales from one of the most storied, enigmatic places on the planet, with enough invention within to fill eighty thousand miles and more.
Where does this violent, hypnotic aural travelogue take you within the Sop Ruak? The seven tracks that make up The Golden Triangle see the band – completed by bassist Jason Stoll, drummer Stuart Bell, guitarist Jodie Cox, synthesist/guitarist Oli Knowles and saxophonist Colin Webster – adventure first to ‘The Confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers,’ full of shimmering orchestration and feather-light ambience. Then come stops in ‘Myawaddy’, named after a small town embroiled in bloodshed on the border of Myanmar
and Thailand, and ‘Boten, Route 13’ – sparked by stories of a seemingly endless stretch of road from Laos into China. Before long, listeners are plunged into ‘Hpakant’, one of the album’s most invigorating and singular moments, lyrically inspired by a jade mine in Myanmar, where the spoils of forced labour are exchanged for prostitution and methanphetamine. The result is a mesmerising slow-burn of sax, snaking rhythms and sinister spoken word courtesy of the Scottish-born Bruce McClure, who “took the theme and turned it into a sci-fi story of exploitation and vice,” explains the frontman. It’s a track that, like the rest of Golden Triangle, underlines the evolution Sex Swing have undertaken since forming in 2014. From the raw and primitive sounds of the self-titled debut full-length, followed up by the coruscatingType II in 2020. Sex Swing’s third effort retains those early primitive elements and adds layers of structure and complexity. Golden Triangle initial formation was that of programmed beats and bedroom recordings shared electronically in the height of the pandemic. Those ideas were then completed during intensive writing sessions at a secluded farm in Oxfordshire.
Album credits consist of recording by Stanley Gravett at Holy Mountain Studios in Hackney, mixing by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse, mastering from James Plotkin, and the continued aesthetic collaboration with artist Alex Bunn. Golden Triangle bristles with a rawness familiar to fans of the British sonic punishers, but adds new elements indicative of a group never resting on their laurels or sitting in one place. Why would they, after all? There’s an entire world of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine out there to be explored. The Golden Triangle, it seems, is just the beginning.

‘What makes Sex Swing so powerful is that they transcend the limitations of rock music. Their sound is so full of possibilities, violence, sexuality, sacrifice, even religion. If there was a future to look forward to for heavy guitar music, this is it’ The Quietus The locals call it Sop Ruak – eighty thousand square miles of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine. “It really is an endless seam of activity,” Sex Swing frontman Dan Chandler explains of Golden Triangle – both the title of their new album and the region between Myanmar, Thailand and Laos that inspired it. To know this contradictory corner of the world is to understand fully why the cult-beloved noise-rock artisans turned to it when writing their hotly-anticipated third full-length. The real-life Golden Triangle is a groundswell of both natural wonder and drug production, and who combines beauty and narcotic brutality better than Sex Swing? For a decade now, this
collective of revered UK underground musicians, comprising members of Earth, Mugstar, The Keep and Jaaw, have been pulling audiences into drug- like slipstreams with their alchemy of pummelling rhythms, towering guitars, and unrelenting saxophone through which glimmers of light occasionally pierce through. No wonder their Golden Triangle is an album telling distortion-shrouded tales from one of the most storied, enigmatic places on the planet, with enough invention within to fill eighty thousand miles and more.
Where does this violent, hypnotic aural travelogue take you within the Sop Ruak? The seven tracks that make up The Golden Triangle see the band – completed by bassist Jason Stoll, drummer Stuart Bell, guitarist Jodie Cox, synthesist/guitarist Oli Knowles and saxophonist Colin Webster – adventure first to ‘The Confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers,’ full of shimmering orchestration and feather-light ambience. Then come stops in ‘Myawaddy’, named after a small town embroiled in bloodshed on the border of Myanmar
and Thailand, and ‘Boten, Route 13’ – sparked by stories of a seemingly endless stretch of road from Laos into China. Before long, listeners are plunged into ‘Hpakant’, one of the album’s most invigorating and singular moments, lyrically inspired by a jade mine in Myanmar, where the spoils of forced labour are exchanged for prostitution and methanphetamine. The result is a mesmerising slow-burn of sax, snaking rhythms and sinister spoken word courtesy of the Scottish-born Bruce McClure, who “took the theme and turned it into a sci-fi story of exploitation and vice,” explains the frontman. It’s a track that, like the rest of Golden Triangle, underlines the evolution Sex Swing have undertaken since forming in 2014. From the raw and primitive sounds of the self-titled debut full-length, followed up by the coruscatingType II in 2020. Sex Swing’s third effort retains those early primitive elements and adds layers of structure and complexity. Golden Triangle initial formation was that of programmed beats and bedroom recordings shared electronically in the height of the pandemic. Those ideas were then completed during intensive writing sessions at a secluded farm in Oxfordshire.
Album credits consist of recording by Stanley Gravett at Holy Mountain Studios in Hackney, mixing by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse, mastering from James Plotkin, and the continued aesthetic collaboration with artist Alex Bunn. Golden Triangle bristles with a rawness familiar to fans of the British sonic punishers, but adds new elements indicative of a group never resting on their laurels or sitting in one place. Why would they, after all? There’s an entire world of mountains and mystery and unholy medicine out there to be explored. The Golden Triangle, it seems, is just the beginning.

"A group of tried-and-true musicians got together and found the sort of camaraderie and kinship you typically only find once in a lifetime. They didn’t overthink it. They didn’t waste a second. They simply left their blood, sweat, and tears on tape—like they’ve always done. For as much as Better Lovers represents the union of former Every Time I Die members Jordan Buckley guitar,Steve Micciche [bass], and Clayton “Goose” Holyoak [drums] with The Dillinger Escape Plan and Killer Be Killed frontman Greg Puciato [vocals],and musician (Fit For An Autopsy/END) and GRAMMY® Award-winning producer, Will Putney [guitar], it really cements the bond of five friends around a shared vision. That vision is as uncompromising, unapologetic, and undeniable as anything they’ve individually done, yet it’s refined by experience and a commitment to a future together. They’re in it for the long haul... “To me, this band is refreshing,” exclaims Jordan. “Looking back, I’m so happy everything got me to where I am. The pandemic and the last few years made me hungrier and more grateful. This isn’t a hobby. This isn’t temporary. This is the next evolution for each of us. Greg and Will rejuvenated me and made me even more confident.



Now, everybody needs to know we’re a wild animal that just broke out of the zoo—there’s no trying to put it back in the cage.” “Better Lovers definitely feels like its own thing,” states Greg. “I’m in so many lanes right now, so it was important that one lane didn’t step on another. However, nothing I’m doing is this vicious. This is full-on scathing. It’s been really fun. I forgot how much I liked that.” As the story goes, Jordan ended up back in Buffalo, NY, jamming in a basement rehearsal spot with Steve and Goose during the winter of 2022. After working with Will on the last two Every Time I Die records, they shared a handful of early demos with him to produce. As the year progressed, Jordan caught Greg on the road with Jerry Cantrell in Las Vegas, mentioning the new music. Once ideas solidified, he shared them with the vocalist who replied at 3am one night in December. “The text said, ‘Let’s give these motherfuckers what they want’,”chuckles Jordan. “I went to bed smiling and laughing. There is no one like Greg on stage, off stage, or over text. Once I told Will, he was like, ‘Can I play?’ We said, ‘Of course!’ That’s how it was born.” “Once I pick up the scent, I’ll go for the kill,” smiles Greg. “We’ve all hung out, gotten to know each other, and it’s all fire now. Everyone has already been through shit. You know yourself better. Your ego isn’t as big as it used to be. You can share your opinions. It’s a cool dynamic.” Fittingly, they introduce this era with the single “30 Under 13.” A seasick guitar groove bleeds into an incisive riff punctuated by Greg’s vitriolic and venomous screams, “Hold onto me, try to let go of me, let go of what you’ll never be. ”This barrage unpredictably subsides on a haunting clean vocal, only to ramp back up into a pit-splitting thrash crescendo and rapid-fire solo played at warp speed. “We always try to up our game,” notes Jordan. “This is the next step for all of us. There’s just constant forward motion, and we don’t want to compromise that. We want to keep going. We’re doing a lot of shit we haven’t done before in Better Lovers. I’m not going to spoil it for you, but get ready.” “For some reason, this song got me,” recalls Greg. “Once that happens, you have the toe of the dinosaur skeleton in the dirt. You start brushing it away, and soon you have a fucking T-Rex.” The name might give you a hint of what’s coming—or it might not. So, what does the future hold for Better Lovers? Well, it’s entirely in their control. Expect a lot of touring. Expect more music. Expect these five guys to leave a trail of destruction in their wake—really would you want anything less? “We feel like we’re going to explode if we sit around any longer,” Jordan leaves off. “This is my life’s work. I learned all of my lessons, passed all of the tests, and took all of the right turns and the wrong turns. It turns out what I thought were wrong turns got me here, and that’s all that matters. I have no regrets. I know this is what I’m supposed to be doing.” “I just want you to view this on its own merits,” Greg concludes. “I hope it reaches some new people. For me, the enjoyment is making the music and putting it out. The second it’s released, I don’t look back. You drop the bomb and keep flying the plane. You don’t circle back to see how much destruction you cause. You keep moving, which is what we’re going to do.” "

Sasu Ripatti presents the fourth volume in his "Dancefloor Classics" series with five 10" releases coming throughout 2023. Music for imaginary dancefloors, released on Ripatti's own label "Rajaton".

”Look up, into the light” she said, while the camera shutter clicked. ”Like this? Does it look holy?” His neck felt stiff. Her reply: ”Yes, just like that. What do you mean holy? Like religious? ”No, more like trying to look very far, somewhere beyond what we can see.” ”Okay, stand still, I’m going to come close to you now. The light hits your face great.” click, click, click.

He noticed her fingernails. They were not polished. Natural. Even somewhat rugged, as if something wore out the fingers slightly. What had these hands held besides the camera? What made the edges of her fingernails drift off?

He thought it’s weird to look straight into the camera. The photographer had closed her left eye, the one not looking into the lens. Then it opened, she looked up, perusing the surroundings, then she closed her eye again, then looked up, closed, looking up, very quickly. It all seemed very professional. Maybe she calculated the light, making sure it’s close to perfect. ”What will these photos look like?” – the thought popped into his head briefly. It was liberating to think it wouldn’t matter.

”What’s that song playing?” he asked. ”Wait a sec, Ol’ Dirty Bastard?” she replied. ”Oh yeah, right. But the sample?” ”Hey, could you look up again, like that. No, lower.”

New directions: ”Look out from the window, turn left.” ”My left or yours?” ”Yours, I always try to think from the direction of my model.” How professional! This is a good shoot, so natural. Should I worry about how the photos look like? No, I don’t want to. His thoughts bounced around. What would the story be like? It’s a big newspaper, everyone will read it. Maybe someone drinks coffee and eats a stroopwafel while they do it. Will they place the waffle on top of the mug for a brief while, so that it gets hot and the syrup melts a little? Then it feels wet, and you can bend the cookie.

She broke his train of thought off midway through: ”Now turn right, but look left, and slightly up, but don’t turn your face right.” ”Umm, like this? Sounds like a set of pilates instructions.” she laughed ”You do pilates?” ”Yeah, it’s hard sometimes. Have you tried?” ”No”, she said. ”I’m not good for sports that are done in groups.” ”Yeah, but in pilates you can just be inside your mind, drowning in your private thoughts.”

”What are you thinking in pilates?” she asked, taking more photos. ”Well, mostly just which way is right. And which left.” click, click.

Q&A with Sasu Ripatti:

1) Tell us something about the EP series ”Dancefloor Classics”, what’s the idea and what can we expect?

I’ve been slowly writing these sort of dance music pieces and finally curated them together for a conceptual release. I like to create music for a dancefloor that exists only in my imagination and doesn’t try to suck up to the standardized reality.

2) Your vinyl format is 10” which is quite special (as opposed to LP / 12”). Why did you choose it?

It’s my favourite format, absolutely. The size is perfect, and you can make it sound really good @ 45 rpm. And you still can make great artwork.

3) You seem interested in sampling/repurposing, what does it mean to you as an artist to approach something already existing from a new angle? How does the source material inform you about the approach to take?

I guess i could flip it around and just say I’ve outgrown synths or electronic sounds to a great extend, and having gotten rid off all my synths already good while ago I’ve used samples as my main source material a lot. It’s obvious on this series that i’ve sampled existing music, but I also sample instruments and things in the studio and resample my own library that I have built over the years, it’s quite large. To me the end result matters, not so much how I get there. Once I have something on my keyboard and play around, it’s all an instrument, though with sampling other music it becomes a really interesting and complex one as you’re possibly playing rhythm, but also harmonic content and maybe hooks or whatever, all at once.
I never sample premeditadedly, like listening to records and looking for that mindblowing 3 sec part. I just throw the cards in the air and see what lands where, just full intuition and hopefully zero mind involved, playing tons of stuff, trying things, just recording hours of stuff. Then comes the interesting part to listen to hours of mostly crazy stuff and finding that mindblowing 3 sec part.

4) What is your relationship with the dancefloor (conceptually and/or in experiences / as a performer)?

Very complicated. I have never really felt comfortable on a dancefloor but have always wanted to. There’s something in club music, in theory, that really speaks to me. It has never really materialized for me – speaking mainly from a performer’s point of view who goes to check on a dancefloor for a moment after a concert. I never have DJ’d or felt much interest towards it. But again, I love the idea and concept of DJing. As well as producing music for imaginary DJs. Lately, as in the past 10+ years, I haven’t even performed in any sort of club spaces. So my relationship to the dancefloor is quite removed and reduced, but there’s quite a bit of passion and interest left.

All tracks composed and produced by Sasu Ripatti.
Artwork & photography by Marc Hohmann.
Mastering by Stephan Mathieu for Schwebung Mastering.
Vinyl cut by SST Brueggemann.
Publishing by WARP Music Ltd.

Sasu Ripatti presents the fifth and last volume in his "Dancefloor Classics" series. Music for imaginary dancefloors, released on Ripatti's own label "Rajaton".

--

”Look up, into the light” she said, while the camera shutter clicked. ”Like this? Does it look holy?” His neck felt stiff. Her reply: ”Yes, just like that. What do you mean holy? Like religious? ”No, more like trying to look very far, somewhere beyond what we can see.” ”Okay, stand still, I’m going to come close to you now. The light hits your face great.” click, click, click.
He noticed her fingernails. They were not polished. Natural. Even somewhat rugged, as if something wore out the fingers slightly. What had these hands held besides the camera? What made the edges of her fingernails drift off?
He thought it’s weird to look straight into the camera. The photographer had closed her left eye, the one not looking into the lens. Then it opened, she looked up, perusing the surroundings, then she closed her eye again, then looked up, closed, looking up, very quickly. It all seemed very professional. Maybe she calculated the light, making sure it’s close to perfect. ”What will these photos look like?” – the thought popped into his head briefly. It was liberating to think it wouldn’t matter.
”What’s that song playing?” he asked. ”Wait a sec, Ol’ Dirty Bastard?” she replied. ”Oh yeah, right. But the sample?” ”Hey, could you look up again, like that. No, lower.”
New directions: ”Look out from the window, turn left.” ”My left or yours?” ”Yours, I always try to think from the direction of my model.” How professional! This is a good shoot, so natural. Should I worry about how the photos look like? No, I don’t want to. His thoughts bounced around. What would the story be like? It’s a big newspaper, everyone will read it. Maybe someone drinks coffee and eats a stroopwafel while they do it. Will they place the waffle on top of the mug for a brief while, so that it gets hot and the syrup melts a little? Then it feels wet, and you can bend the cookie.
She broke his train of thought off midway through: ”Now turn right, but look left, and slightly up, but don’t turn your face right.” ”Umm, like this? Sounds like a set of pilates instructions.” she laughed ”You do pilates?” ”Yeah, it’s hard sometimes. Have you tried?” ”No”, she said. ”I’m not good for sports that are done in groups.” ”Yeah, but in pilates you can just be inside your mind, drowning in your private thoughts.”
”What are you thinking in pilates?” she asked, taking more photos. ”Well, mostly just which way is right. And which left.” click, click.

With THEE CHURCH OV ACID HOUSE's third EP, the miracle is now complete, the trinity has come full circle, the triptych is complete, the church has fully handed over the Holy Spirit to its disciples. For this celebration, apostles such as Glow, Tyson and Elektra, as well as the church leaders of THEE CHURCH OV ACID HOUSE themselves, come together again to celebrate a Dionysian Bachanal.

It starts with Glow's ‘Acid House Planet’, an epic-ambient call to the gods at the foot of the Acid House Olympus.

And the next track on the EP, ‘Coming Home’, a no less epic house tune that calls the children of faith home to the church with the vocoder voice of the gods, shows that they listen to their disciples.

‘Mitzubishi’ by Tyson celebrates the holy sacrament of acid painting in chords that melt on the tongue like a lollipop over a ritual beat.

This is followed by Elektra, which has already provided highlights on the previous EPs. And this time too, her hypnotic acid anthem worms its way deep into the ear canals and brains of the trance-listening worshippers.

Shortly before the end, the church leaders return to deliver an abstract breakbeat hymn with ‘Waves Ov Power’, which, surrounded by numerous sample memories of house history, sings of the pure power of the acid ecstasy techno religion.

Finally, THEE CHURCH OV ACID HOUSE disciples are dismissed from the service with a powerful hymn of distorted bass drums, namely Random Noise Generator's ‘SM 58’ in the T.C.O.A.H. Schranz remix - a track that will give the inspired followers of the CHURCH OV ACID HOUSE enough strength to spread the happy acid message throughout the land.
Amen.

New album of Housse de Racket member Pierre III - previously seen on Ed Banger.

Throughout my musical journey, electronic music was always a discreet companion, like that cousin who's not so close, but always fun to hang with.

So I put aside my beloved guitar aside for a while, knelt to the Roland Holy Trinity 303, 808, 909, and focused on rhythm, repetition, loops, four on the floor and the search for trance. By the way, the evocative working title for the album was ‘body music.'

Which is ironic because I haven't clubbed less than these last few years. So this music is more like a fantasy, a personal interpretation.

Thinking outside the box, leaving my comfort zone, felt like a producer's challenge, a game. We ‘play’ music. But don’t get me wrong, I play very seriously. I’m not a content creator, I am a musician.

You’ll hear many influences on this record, from Chicago House to Homework-era Daft, Talking Heads, ESG, early 90’s Dance Music… Club music for indie heads I guess.

I don’t want to sound self indulgent, but I love this record very much and I really loved doing it. Music is about pleasure and pleasure is a success in itself.

So please, step into my ‘Discotheque’.

"Women + Country is the second studio album by singer-songwriter Jakob Dylan, son of the legendary Bob Dylan and frontman of The Wallflowers. The album is released in 2010 and produced by T Bone Burnett. T Bone, who has known Dylan since he was a kid, suggested the two make an album together after the singer played him the song “Nothing But The Whole Wide World"". Dylan recorded the album in less than a week in Los Angeles, with T Bone’s crack backing band, which includes Marc Ribot (a frequent collaborator with Tom Waits) on guitar and David Mansfield on fiddle and mandolin.

Women + Country is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on ash grey coloured vinyl and includes an insert with lyrics

Confirmed feature article in Electronic Sound Magazine and other media. “There’s A Rhinoceros In The Mega Church” is their debut LP released on Sound Records. U.S.E. (also often expressed as Unicorn Ship Explosion, but feel free to interpret this yourself), are unfortunately two boys known to their mums as Rob & Sash. Since we last saw Rob he has been working really hard as a multi-instrumentalist. He’s almost mastered the drums (he’s even been to jazz school), and he’s near to the final chapter of piano lessons. He’s really talented. He has his own music studio where he produces & writes music for the likes of, The Staves, Holysseus Fly & other fantastic acts that are well worth a listen if you have the time. Sash (or Sasha) is a great guy. Everyone loves working with him. He’s an average musician with big ideas, which is why he uses modular synths. He has written much music for many artists you’ve probably not heard of and has collaborated with some musicians you’ve definitely heard of. He sometimes works as a sound designer for some fashion brands you can’t afford, but you wouldn’t want to wear them anyway (so don’t feel bad for not being successful enough to spend £400 on a t-shirt). Sometimes a really cool woman called, Agnieszka Szczotka, collaborates with these two loveable boys. She is a performance artist of great skill. She studied art at the Royal Academy and chose to abandon her supreme painting and sculpture skills to dedicate her life to confrontational live performance art. Big respect. Together they are Unicorn Ship Explosion (not yet known as U.S.E. as it hasn’t caught on yet). It’s a creative attempt to be in the present and not overwork music as is often the norm these days.As a result an exciting new genre is emerging from this album. The genre hasn’t a name yet, but what is certain is that A.I. can’t recreate it, and wouldn’t want to either. Let’s be human together and accept and appreciate we can’t always be great. Enjoy the good moments with the bad. And together, yes together, you the reader and us(e) your new best friends, shall show A.I. that humanity is beautiful.

High Roller Records, black vinyl, ltd 200, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, reissue 2024, remastered by Patrick W. Engel/ Temple of Disharmony, best sounding version ever

High Roller Records, black vinyl, ltd 200, 425gsm heavy cardboard cover, insert, reissue 2024, remastered by Patrick W. Engel/ Temple of Disharmony, best sounding version ever

Defined by a riveting array of Caribbean rhythms, Etienne Charles's first album featuring his big band arrangements is a personal triumph, but Creole Orchestra is also part of a much larger Story. Drawing on material from several different commissions and projects, the album encompasses the key players from Charles's band Creole Soul and features special guest vocalists Rene Marie and Brandon Rose, plus DJ Logic (turntables).

Apocalyptic, blasphemous death metal.

Ever been hit in the face with a wooden plank stuffed with rusty nails? Me neither, but I imagine the effect would be something like the sensation of having Montreal five-piece Puffer blasted into your eardrums. Put simply, this is the midpoint between hardcore and dirty ol’ rock’n’roll - part Poison Idea going dumpster-diving outside the garages of Melbourne’s punk scene, part Fucked Up playing their X records on a rotary sander. They’re equally at home with a pacy blur of riffs as they are going for a four-to-the-floor stomp; either way, the ragged larynx sits perfectly astride the roar, while the guitars go full Bob Stinson at his too-drunk-to-fuck-up best. You can practically hear the leather jackets creaking between phrases. This is music to move to. So what better place to start with this band than an LP compiling their must-have demo from 2022 and the remarkably excellent self-titled EP that followed in 2023? Originally released by New York’s increasingly-essential hc label Roachleg Records, these two highly digestible bursts of punk’n’roll complement each other perfectly. Whether you get your giddy thrills from the raw-as-hell likes of opener ‘Suffering’, or from the non-more-anthemic, holy-shit-I-need-to-bang-my-skull-against-the-wall double whammy of ‘Sister Marie’ and ‘Hard Way To Go’, you are guaranteed to find something to love here. You could always try hitting yourself with that plank, but you’ll probably find you return to this more often. Drunken Sailor delivers the goods again. Get the fuck involved.

Emmy-winning composers Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein, best known as the duo behind the score for Netflix’s 'Stranger Thing', have composed the original score for 'The Retaliators' (made by Better Noise Films). The revenge-driven horror thriller is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an audience score of 89% and stars Michael Lombardi (FX’s Rescue Me, the Deuce) and Marc Menchaca (Ozark, Black Mirror), alongside featured appearances from a who’s who of modern active rock chart-leading musicians including Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Ivan Moody and Zoltan Bathory (Five Finger Death Punch, plus Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach).

Opium Warlords' sixth album "Strength!" out on Svart Records in September 2024! Opium Warlords, led by Sami Albert ”Witchfinder” Hynninen (Reverend Bizarre, The Puritan, The Candles Burning Blue), return with their sixth album Strength! It is a versatile but tight combination of pussy techno, sludge, industrial pop, hardcore punk, drone, shamanistic pulse, noise, heavy metal, old school gothic rock and march music. It is a take on European rhythmic patterns: stagnant factory beat – no groove, no swing, just a rhythm of industrialism that pierces through different genres and styles. Comparing to the dark and oppressive Nembutal (2020), Strength! is significantly more light-hearted, with its postmodern lyrics emitting from sources such as shampoo bottles and television UFO series to the Pan-Europa myth or morbid lore of death-hungry Transylvanian Iron Guard. However, the sting of irony and sarcasm is balanced with more serious subjects: Strength! is a hate/love letter to Europe and a self-reflection on Machiavellian and Nietzschean philosophies of strength and elitism. True to the band’s soul everything is covered with pure toxic misanthropy. Strength! 2LP/digital/2CD will be released 13th of September on Svart Records. Album’s first outtake, Erotomania, is out right now via digital services worldwide.

Opium Warlords' sixth album "Strength!" out on Svart Records in September 2024! Opium Warlords, led by Sami Albert ”Witchfinder” Hynninen (Reverend Bizarre, The Puritan, The Candles Burning Blue), return with their sixth album Strength! It is a versatile but tight combination of pussy techno, sludge, industrial pop, hardcore punk, drone, shamanistic pulse, noise, heavy metal, old school gothic rock and march music. It is a take on European rhythmic patterns: stagnant factory beat – no groove, no swing, just a rhythm of industrialism that pierces through different genres and styles. Comparing to the dark and oppressive Nembutal (2020), Strength! is significantly more light-hearted, with its postmodern lyrics emitting from sources such as shampoo bottles and television UFO series to the Pan-Europa myth or morbid lore of death-hungry Transylvanian Iron Guard. However, the sting of irony and sarcasm is balanced with more serious subjects: Strength! is a hate/love letter to Europe and a self-reflection on Machiavellian and Nietzschean philosophies of strength and elitism. True to the band’s soul everything is covered with pure toxic misanthropy. Strength! 2LP/digital/2CD will be released 13th of September on Svart Records. Album’s first outtake, Erotomania, is out right now via digital services worldwide.

Three Quarter Skies – the new band formed by Simon Scott from Slowdive – release their
debut album Fade In on September 6. It was recorded by Simon and mixed with the help
of elusive Flying Saucer Attack mainman Dave Pearce.
The eight-track album includes the singles ‘Crows’ and ‘Leave A Light On’, a Nick Drake
cover and brand-new versions of ‘Holy Water’ and ‘Pieces Of Roslin’, which was originally
released on last year’s introductory EP, Universal Flames. While that grew out of a semiimprovised live recording, the new album is as focused as it is ferocious; a cohesive body
of work that came together after a fertile creative period following the death of Simon’s
mother earlier this year.

The Funeral Portrait stands to represent the outcasts from all walks of life. The misunderstood, the weird, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, marginalised or otherwise given an unfair hand in life. To offer a sense of community, a place to belong and a space where they can feel safe and accepted for their differences. The band members all grew up as 'the weird kid' who was saved by music and alternative culture, so they now feel obligated to return this favour to the younger generation. This message is shouted to the masses through their over-the-top theatrics and dramatic, almost blown out presentation. The Funeral Portrait believes in the power of Devotion to their Music and to their unwavering fanbase, The Coffin Crew. The ritual is beginning and they want everyone involved. Join them to share your devoutness; excuses for not attending are forbidden.

The Funeral Portrait stands to represent the outcasts from all walks of life. The misunderstood, the weird, neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, marginalised or otherwise given an unfair hand in life. To offer a sense of community, a place to belong and a space where they can feel safe and accepted for their differences. The band members all grew up as 'the weird kid' who was saved by music and alternative culture, so they now feel obligated to return this favour to the younger generation. This message is shouted to the masses through their over-the-top theatrics and dramatic, almost blown out presentation. The Funeral Portrait believes in the power of Devotion to their Music and to their unwavering fanbase, The Coffin Crew. The ritual is beginning and they want everyone involved. Join them to share your devoutness; excuses for not attending are forbidden.

Back in circulation after over a decade, Jahtari's seminal "Jahtarian Dubbers Vol. 1 EP" receives the long-awaited reissue treatment, reviving the raw, 8-bit-infused dub vibes that defined a new era of digital roots music.

Originally released in 2008 and quickly disappearing into dub obscurity, this heavyweight 12" returns with four essential cuts that perfectly encapsulate the Jahtari sound—where chiptune meets the echo chamber.

The EP kicks off with Blaze Dem's "Roots Defender", a hypnotic concotion of deep basslines and eerie samples from a Swedish cult ritual, setting a heavy tone right from the start. disrupt's cinematic "Kozure Okami" follows, channeling Black Ark vibes through 8-bit synth explorations.

On the flip, John Frum delivers the hauntingly beautiful "January Dub", while Rootah's slomo slammer "Holy Mount Part 2" closes the EP with Lynchian, echo-soaked vibrations that linger long after the needle lifts.

Timeless tracks, mastered by CGB-1 at D&M in Berlin for maximum impact. Pivotal piece of Dub music!

Emotional Response returns with a second volume of its All Trades compilation which is named after its own NTS show. It is just as vast both in terms of style but also the eras it spans with a mix of dub, new wave, slow motion electronics and plenty in between. Tolouse Low Trax kicks off with the filthy dirty and seriously heavy dub glitch of 'Ossia' to provide an early highlight before the likes of Al Wootton get percussive and tribal with 'Altai' and HLM38 channels some African Head Charge on another devastating dub cut. Later on, London's Good Block brings a little more light and sunshine with their lovely 'Strong Relax.'

DJ Feedback

Vladimir Ivkovic (Offen):
"I don’t like it, I love it!"

DJ Gibl’r (Versatile):
"A trip through so many electronic styles, much of which has been featured on my Rinse show and DJ sets beyond. "

Valentina Magaletti (CZN / Holy Tongue / Tomaga / Vanishing Twin):
"Delighted to be part of the Emotional Response 10th birthday celebrations and what an amazing selection."

Lovefingers (ESP Institute):
"Always an inspiration, Emotional Response has weaved a long, wide road this past decade and the All Trades compilations are the zenith of that music journey. "

Lena Wilikins (Salon Des Amateurs):
"Great to see so many artists that have represented our scene for the past years, including D�sseldorf luminary Stefan, aka While My Sequencer Gently Bleeps."

Sean Johnston (A Love From Outer Space / Hardway Bros):
"The perfect music to listen to before or after the party. Bravo! "

Trevor Jackson (Output / NTS):
"Congratulations on 10 years anniversay Emotional Response. This compilation covers a lot of bases perfectly."

The core members of Jaubi are true masters of their craft, coming from a rich lineage of accomplished musicians. Kashif Ali Dhani is a classically trained tabla master from the Punjab gharana, and is the accompanist of choice on the local scene for some of Pakistan's great classical vocalists and instrumentalists, as well as in Europe and the USA. Zohaib Hassan Khan is a 7th generation sarangi master, who has performed globally, and is one of only 3 professional sarangi players left in Pakistan. Multi-instrumentalist, composer and Jaubi bandleader Ali Riaz Baqar aka Ila Zair began his musical journey as a hip-hop enthusiast, evolving into a jazz guitarist following the exposure to the genre’s rich sampling culture. He then became a disciple of the Senia-Shahjahanpur gharana, a lineage of musicians specialising in the sarod. His playing now focuses on merging North Indian classical music with modern jazz harmony on a traditional, unaltered 6-string electric guitar.

The collaborative relationship between the core group and wider collaborators dates back to April 2019, when 22a label founder and multi-instrumentalist Tenderlonious and EABS/Bloto keyboard and synth maestro Marek ‘Latarnik’ Pędziwiatr travelled to Lahore, Pakistan to take part in some improvised recording sessions with Jaubi. Nothing whatsoever was written down during the recording sessions – no sheet music, no song titles. It was sincere, bottled lightning. All egos were left behind, with hearts and souls being opened and poured into the music. The result has been described as spiritual jazz-fusion meets psychedelic Hindustani classical with nods to golden era hip hop.

An adventurous and absorbing record ‘A Sound Heart’ is the next chapter for Jaubi, both sonically and spiritually. The title is inspired from a verse in the Holy Qu’ran (26:89), where one comes to God with a spiritual or sound heart (Qalb) which is sincere, without doubts and free of materialistic attachments. Importantly it refers to a state where the heart is spiritually healthy and content with only God. A Sound Heart’s basis is goodness, rooted in love. In this case, it is the love for one’s creator. The album also acts as a tribute to fallen heroes, paying respect to the greatness that has come before, casting new light via cross-cultural collaboration and improvisation.

Throughout this incredible journey, meditative ragas blend with Herbie Hancock-esque motifs, joined by lament-filled contemporary melodies intertwining with the intricate sounds of the sarangi and earthy layering of the tabla. A true masterpiece of composition from start to finish.

The boys are seated under the shade of a family tree that bears its fruit on the branches of Kings of Leon & the Black Crowes; deeply rooted in an unwavering respect for Lynyrd Skynyrd & Led Zeppelin. Founded as an edgy, hard rock band in 2018, Mojo Thunder have built up a rabid fanbase in the time since with its enthralling live shows and down-to-earth humility. During that time the band has become one of the most entertaining new acts to emerge from Kentucky -- a state otherwise known for its bluegrass and country music. On the album's 10 tracks, the band explores everything from the dark side of activism ("Holy Ghost") and civil rights ("Memphis") to the healing power of a live concert experience ("Greetings from Western Art") and the feeling of not being enough ("Step by Step"). A definitive journey of growth, the project sees the band as their most authentic selves yet as they push themselves -- and their listeners -- to be the best versions of themselves. Mojo Thunder's sophomore effort, The Infinite Hope will please fans of rock music as they return to some familiar sounds while also ambitiously reaching for new heights.

Als eine der originellsten, vielschichtigsten und innovativsten Krautrock-Bands verschmelzen Embryo traditionelle ethnische Musik mit ihrem eigenen jazzigen Space-Rock-Stil. Im Laufe ihrer jahrzehntelangen Existenz hat die Gruppe die ganze Welt bereist, mit Hunderten von verschiedenen Musikern gespielt und Dutzende von Platten veröffentlicht. Auf beinahe jedem Album findet man unterschiedliche Besetzungen und Stilrichtungen. "Rocksession" ist ein weiteres Embryo-Album mit Material, das während der Sessions zwischen 1971 und 1972 aufgenommen wurde. Eigentlich wollte die Band diese Songs schon 1972 veröffentlichen. Aber Embryos damaliges Label United Artists war nicht so begeistert, also nahmen sie zuerst "Father, Son & Holy Ghosts" auf, um die Songs aus den vorherigen Sessions dann für "Rocksessions" sowie "Steig aus" zu verwenden. Die Besetzung (Dave King (b), Christian Burchard (dr), Jimmy Jackson (organ), Mal Waldron (e-piano) auf diesen beiden Alben ist fast identisch, mit dem Unterschied, dass Sigi Schwab von Roman Bunka bei "Steig Aus" an der Gitarre ersetzt wurde. "Rocksessions" war das erste Embryo-Album auf Brain, ein sehr vielseitiges Werk, das tief im typischen Jazzrock der Krautrock-Ära verwurzelt ist.

Pinwheel Dewdrop / Blue Vinyl, limited to 200 copies. BANE's legendary album "Don't Wait Up" is getting the deluxe treatment from End Hits Records for its 10th anniversary! Released in the spring of 2014 as End Hits No. 10, it marked the beginning of the end for the iconic hardcore band. Initially, the band intended to record a final 7" to support a two-year-long farewell tour around the globe. However, they were eventually convinced by the label to record and release a full album instead. Upon release, "Don't Wait Up" was an instant success among supporters and critics alike. BANE embarked on a successful final tour and then called it quits. "Don't Wait Up" became a holy grail for vinyl collectors in the meantime. But the stars aligned, and much to the delight of hardcore enthusiasts around the world, the band came back together to tour again. To celebrate this landmark release and the return of BANE as a live band, End Hits Records is releasing an extraordinarily packed re-release of this classic album. The packaging features a deluxe gatefold sleeve with die cuts and is enhanced with layers of glow-in-the-dark lacquer. The ultra-limited anniversary reissue is available now from End Hits Records.

The UK’s first and only emo band Los Campesinos! return with their highly-anticipated seventh album, All Hell. It is perhaps their most ambitious and assured album yet, whilst simultaneously recalling everything we’ve come to love about LC! over their faultless discography. Recorded between October 2023 and February 2024, it is the first album to be wholly self-produced by band member Tom Bromley (having co-produced previous albums Sick Scenes and NO BLUES). The album is also self-released on the band’s own Heart Swells record label.

In the band’s words All Hell is an album about…

Drinking for fun and drinking for misery // adult acne // adult friendship // football // death and dying // love and sex // late-stage capitalism // Orpheus // day dreaming // night terrors // the heart as an organ and as a burden // suburban boredom // Tears of the Kingdom // the punks on the playlist // increments of time // climate apocalypse // the moon the moon the moon ///

Los Campesinos! have become one of the most important and influential cult acts in the UK since they formed in the mid-2000s. Starting out in the Cardiff indie scene and soundtracking Budweiser adverts, the seven-piece’s musical evolution since then has been slow, steady and remarkable. From the frenzied chaos of debut album Hold On Now, Youngster… (2008) through 2010 breakthrough Romance is Boring and the self-mythologising of latter day highlights NO BLUES (2013) and Sick Scenes (2017), their discography is an interconnected web of niche references, big swings and unflinching honesty.

Making self-professed sleeper hits for weeping dipshits, they’re as influenced by The Beautiful South as they are US emo, with emotional intensity and connection always at the core. Their lyrics are a treasure trove of football references, tales of romantic woe and painfully frank exorcisms, which have been tattooed across hundreds of fans’ bodies and served as comfort and insight during that break-up you had (there’s a reason the band’s tagline is “your ex-girlfriend’s favourite band”).

Now with the release of All Hell, Los Camp! approach their third decade as a band more brilliant, more potent and more vital than ever.

"South Wales' Top 10 rockers Scarlet Rebels return with the follow-up to their #7 UK Top 40 Album 'See Through Blue'. Boasting an eye-popping album cover by Boomtown Festival poster designer Holy Moly, it certainly lives up to its name and perfectly illustrates the band's message of unity – i.e. 'Where The Colours Meet’.
Armed with the crack production team of Colin Richardson and Chris Clancy, 'Where The Colours Meet' sees the band radically expand their sonic palette, bringing in lush instrumentation, piano, keyboards and large drum sounds to channel the best of 80s rock. It’s an album full of fluid guitar lines, tasteful leads and irresistible choruses but with a contemporary full-on sound - imagine a modern-day U2 meets Bruce Springsteen!"

Biomes are little worlds of organic relationships, full of struggles, symbiosis, and sheer obsolete noise. In "De Silenti Natura," Henrique Vaz is meticulously crafting synthetic auditory biomes, sprouting from their own fuzzy logic. Unfolding across two distinct acts, the Brazilian artist interprets and replicates the complex, often ambiguous sounds of (un)natural environments, creating imaginary systems to inhabit over two sides of tape. The soundscape of the first side and title track is entirely algorithmically synthesized, with no samples used, leveraging Supercollider for real-time sound generation. The environment thus built is a flourishing one, seemingly unable to escape its own grandeur as insect-like buzzing and crackles expands into mountain ranges and forests of erupting sonorous drama. The second side introduces 'hydrophone' water synthesizers, submerged in a goldfish bowl to interface with the unfurling waves of electronic chords, creating a unique blend of damp and unwieldy sloshing movements, prismatically scattered into a luscious soundscape, and resembling everything from the bridge of a starship to the echoed drip-drip of stalactites.

Both sides of the album slowly unwrap and uncrinkle, revealing layers of hisses, distant digital choirs, warm enveloping chords, and juddering bleeps. Despite their unwieldy and strange nature, myriad elements convey a familiar sense of environment, flitting between the blossoming of new (manmade) life and the doom and destruction of the (real) world.

As the ringing of bells (fully synthetic; no samples were used) hove into view during the closing movement of side one, a simulacrum cacophony of voices is ushered in. It’s a reminder of the holy nature of sound itself, beamed into our heads intangibly. The flipside’s water ritual, frantically dunking ‘water synthesizers’ to birth swooping melodies and yawning tones, is jabbing at sleeping giants. It’s pushing and pulling the stars in the night sky into place. It’s both a simple act of beautiful creation, and a storm in a teacup.

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.

Since surfacing into the Scandinavian synth-pop scene 16 years ago, Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Hutchinson Berg aka KITE have steadily grown from local icons to a global phenomenon, yet until now they've never released a full-length studio album. VII breaks the ice, collecting 14 of the duo's deepest and most dynamic anthems into a stormy saga of immersive, apocalyptic emotion. Sourced from a series of six 7-inch singles released over the past half-decade, the collection persuasively showcases KITE's distinctly cinematic strain of Swedish darkwave in all its glory and desolation. Stenemo and Berg had both logged time in other bands before joining forces in the mid-aughts, although their unique chemistry became apparent immediately. After forming in Malmö, Sweden, they soon relocated to Stockholm, further refining their fusion of brooding synths, booming rhythm, and vocal theatrics over a string of celebrated, numbered EPs (named I through VI). Despite their rising profile, KITE then and now have largely refrained from publicity, allowing their music to speak for itself - which it clearly has, as KITE's live performances have become the stuff of legend, prompting frequent festival invitations, international tours, and limited engagements on prestigious stages (recently at the Royal Swedish Opera, and Dalhalla, the former limestone quarry turned open air amphitheater, to name a few). VII offers a compendium of KITE's potent recent discography, including collaborations with Blanck Mass, Anna von Hausswolff, and Henric de la Cour. From yearning dystopian pop ("Hand Out The Drugs," "Bowie `95"), to widescreen existential balladry ("Tranas Stenslanda," "Glassy Eyes"), and sleek New Romantica ("Remember Me," "Teenage Bliss"), KITE's wavelength is one of soaring heights and abysmal depths, anguish and ecstasy, pouring one's burning, battered heart into the here and now. Their years of visceral commitment and artistic integrity have been hard fought and hard won; it bleeds between the words and melodies in one holy moment after another: "I switch my ways / To seize the day / To face my life / Not fade to gray."

Since surfacing into the Scandinavian synth-pop scene 16 years ago, Nicklas Stenemo and Christian Hutchinson Berg aka KITE have steadily grown from local icons to a global phenomenon, yet until now they've never released a full-length studio album. VII breaks the ice, collecting 14 of the duo's deepest and most dynamic anthems into a stormy saga of immersive, apocalyptic emotion. Sourced from a series of six 7-inch singles released over the past half-decade, the collection persuasively showcases KITE's distinctly cinematic strain of Swedish darkwave in all its glory and desolation. Stenemo and Berg had both logged time in other bands before joining forces in the mid-aughts, although their unique chemistry became apparent immediately. After forming in Malmö, Sweden, they soon relocated to Stockholm, further refining their fusion of brooding synths, booming rhythm, and vocal theatrics over a string of celebrated, numbered EPs (named I through VI). Despite their rising profile, KITE then and now have largely refrained from publicity, allowing their music to speak for itself - which it clearly has, as KITE's live performances have become the stuff of legend, prompting frequent festival invitations, international tours, and limited engagements on prestigious stages (recently at the Royal Swedish Opera, and Dalhalla, the former limestone quarry turned open air amphitheater, to name a few). VII offers a compendium of KITE's potent recent discography, including collaborations with Blanck Mass, Anna von Hausswolff, and Henric de la Cour. From yearning dystopian pop ("Hand Out The Drugs," "Bowie `95"), to widescreen existential balladry ("Tranas Stenslanda," "Glassy Eyes"), and sleek New Romantica ("Remember Me," "Teenage Bliss"), KITE's wavelength is one of soaring heights and abysmal depths, anguish and ecstasy, pouring one's burning, battered heart into the here and now. Their years of visceral commitment and artistic integrity have been hard fought and hard won; it bleeds between the words and melodies in one holy moment after another: "I switch my ways / To seize the day / To face my life / Not fade to gray."

In the early 1990s gangsta rap was becoming more popular. KRS-One took to the mic and continued to write socially conscious raps resulting in the hard-hitting 1992 album Sex And Violence which would be the fifth and final studio album under the Boogie Down Productions name. Produced by KRS-One, Pal Joey, Kenny Parker, D-Square, and Prince Paul, the album explores the darkest sides of the American urban landscape and psyche, with KRS as narrator, detailing all sides of the matrix. While singles like the alarming drum-driven "Duck Down" and the funky-as-hell "We In There" got most of the attention in ‘92, the deeper sequence reveals plenty of additional gems: the history lesson of the dark and dusty "Drug Dealer"; "Ruff Ruff", with scowling MC favorite Freddie Foxxx (aka Bumpy Knuckles); the grooving "Questions and Answers," and the frantic record industry track "How Not To Get Jerked." The album kicks off with an intro skit featuring KRS-One as a DJ in panic needing vinyl which at the time was a dying format while cassettes and CDs became the dominant format. Thirty-two years later vinyl DJs and Hip-Hop vinyl collectors no longer need to panic. Get On Down in partnership with Sony Music's CERTIFIED is proud to bring back to vinyl this underrated gem in the BDP catalog. Featuring one of the dopest album covers by American artist Robert Williams, Sex and Violence is pressed on colored vinyl and packaged in a gatefold jacket with full lyrics.

2024 Repress

Finders Keepers invite you to witness the incredible first ever Buchla synthesiser concerts/demonstrations providing a distinctive feminine alternative to The Silver Apples Of The Moon if they had ever been presented in phonographic form. This is history in the remaking.

This spring Finders Keepers Records are proud to release an archival project that not only redefines musical history but boasts genuine claim to the overused buzzwords such as pioneering, maverick, experimental, groundbreaking and esoteric, while questioning social politics and the evolution of music technology as we've come to understand it. To describe this records as a game-changer is an understatement. This record represents a musical revolution, a scientific benchmark and a trophy in the cabinet of counter culture creativity. This record is a triumphant yardstick in the synthesiser space race and the untold story of the first woman on the proverbial moon. While pondering the early accolades of this record it's daunting to learn that this record was in fact not a record at all... It was a manifesto and a gateway to a new world, that somehow never quite opened. If the unfamiliar, modernistic, melodic, pulses, tones and harmonics found on this 1975 live presentation/grant application/educational demonstration had been placed in a phonographic context alongside the promoted work of Morton Subotnick, Walter Carlos or Tomita then the name Suzanne Ciani and her influence would have already radically changed the shape, sound and gender of our record collections. Hopefully there is still chance.

In short, Suzanne was a self-imposed twenty-year-old employee of the Buchla modular synthesiser company, San Francisco's neck and neck contender to New York's Moog. Buchla was run by a community of festival freaks and academic acid eaters whose roots in new age lifestyles and the reinvention of art and music replaced the business acumen enjoyed by its likeminded East Coasters. In the eyes of the consumer the creative refusal to adopt rudimentary facets like a piano keyboard controller rendered the Buchla synthesiser the more obscure stubborn sister of the synth marathon, steering these incredible units away from the mainstream into the homes and studios of free music aficionados, art house composers and die-hard revolutionaries. Championed and semi-showcased by composer Morton Subotnick on his albums The Bull and Silver Apples Of The Moon, Buchla's versatility began to open the minds of a new generation, but the high-end design features and no-compromise modus operandi was often confused with incompatibility and, in the pulsating shadow of Moog's marketing, the revolution would not be televised nor patronised. Suzanne Ciani, as one of the very few female composers on the frontline (and also providing the back line) did not lose faith.

These concerts' are the epitome of rare music technology historic documents, performed by a real musician whose skills and academic education in classical composition already outweighed her male synthesiser contemporaries of twice her age. At the very start of her fragile career these recordings are nothing short of sacrificial ode to her mentor and machine, sonic pickets of the revolution and love letters to an absolutely genuine vision of and 'alternative' musical future. In denouncing her own precocious polymathmatic past in a bid to persuade the world to sing from a new hymn sheet, Suzanne Ciani created a bi-product of never before heard music that would render the pigeon holes ambient' and futuristic' utterly inadequate. Providing nothing short of an entirely different feminine take on the experimental records' of Morton Subotnick and proving to a small, judgmental audience and jury the true versatility of one of the most radical and idiosyncratic musical instruments of the 20th century. These recordings have not been heard since then.

The importance of these genuinely lost pieces of electronic musics puzzle almost eclipses the glaring detail of Suzanne's gender as a distinct minority in an almost exclusively male dominated, faceless, coldly scientific landscape. Those familiar with Suzanne's work, a vast vault of previously unpublished non-records', will already know how the creative politics in her art of being' simultaneously reshaped the worlds of synth design, advertising and film composition before anyone had even dropped a stylus in her groove. Needless to say this record, finally commanding the archival format of choice, courtesy of the Ciani and Finders Keepers longstanding unison, was not the last first' with which this hugely important composer would gift society, and the future of a wide range of exciting evolving creative disciplines.

You have found a holy grail of electronic music and a female musical pioneer who was too proactive to take the trophies. With the light of Buchla and Ciani's initial flame Finders Keepers continues to take a torch through the vaults of this lesser-celebrated music legacy shining a beam on these non-records' that evaded the limelight for almost half a century. You can't write history when you are too busy making it. With fresh ink in the bottomless well, let's start at the beginning. Again. You, are invited!

A holy grail for fans of French boogie, early hip hop, Arabic funk and Balearic bops,"Ettika" has been seriously sought after since Vidal Benjamin found it in the 1€ bin back in 2006. Teasing the ears of the underground via Vidal's 'Balearic Nightmare' mix for Noncollective, copies of the original were soon snapped up completely, and the later adopters were sated by a Blackdisco edit from Alexis Le-Tan (himself gifted Vidal's second copy), which is now also rare as hen's teeth. The fervour for the track is easy to understand. Underpinned by an endlessly buoyant bass groove, chanted female vocals dart out the speakers like a post- modern mantra while synth vamps flare in stuttering stereo.

Middle-Eastern motifs add an air of mystery, but this truly belongs in a dance floor utopia. That the track was the product of a 'back-to-work' scheme aimed at unemployed immigrant youth in Rouen only adds to the appeal. Led by teacher Bernard Guégan, a quartet of students delivered lyrics in French and Arabic inspired by their rejection letters, serving a little social commentary and a lot of funk. If you're mad on Ahmed Fakroun and Shams Dinn, or even those folks in the Bush of Ghosts, then this is a must have for you.

Archeology isn't just about excavation, there should be interpretation too, and in this case it comes from Italian duo Hear & Now and Leeds' The Veteran Delinquents. The former furnish the 12" with two radical takes, the dreamy downtempo stroll of their French Remix - all unhurried percussion, Gilmour-riffing and coastal élan - and the peaktime pump of their Arab Remix, which transports the original vocal into a land of desert new beat and Balearic trance with a little space left for some frazzled fretwork. If you've followed their work with Claremont you know the quality on show.

The Veteran Delinquents, the collaborative vehicle of Leeds stalwarts Craig Christon and Tim Hutton, condense a lifetime of club experiences into their remix, establishing the infectious groove of the original before subverting with chugging bass and winking acid, all augmented with their own slick synth work. The original was an all time classic at Craig's Joe's Bakery nights way back when, and this new interpretation is both respectful and revolutionary.

Selector Series are back with more holy grail goodness, this time in the form of early 80’s boogie from Detroit.

Gene Dunlap was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. He began his music career at age four when his father taught him to play the drums, honing his craft at Detroit Mumford High School. He went onto perform with Roy Ayers before releasing two solo albums in 1981, It’s Just The Way I Feel & Party In Me.

Party In Me, the title track from the LP backed with Take My Love was only released as a 12” promo in 1981. Now rare & in demand, if a copy can be found on the second hand market it will set buyers back more than £100.

Remastered using the original tapes and reissued for the first time since it’s release 43 years ago, fans can finally own a slice of classic boogie from the master drummer.

2024 Reissue

Dark Entries celebrates its 15th anniversary by returning to where it all started, our initial darkest entry: Eleven Pond’s masterpiece Bas Relief, an ultra-obscure album from 1986 that would become a definitive dark pop holy grail. Eleven Pond was James Tabbi (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jeff Gallea (drum machine, synthesizer, vocals), Jack Schaeffer (guitar) and Dan Brumley (synthesizer, samples, vocoder, melodica). They met in Rochester, NY, while attending art school, brought together by their shared love of 4AD and Factory Records. Taking cues from acts like Joy Division, Fad Gadget, and For Against, Eleven Pond’s infectious basslines, churning guitar riffs, and atmospheric synths will charm all fans of moody music. But what really makes Bas Relief shine is the timeless songwriting on classics like “Tear and Cinnamon”, “Portugal”, and the anthemic “Watching Trees.”

With only 500 copies in it’s initial release, Bas Relief resurfaces with a fresh remaster that corrects a pitch shift from previous reissues. Each copy is housed in a screen printed jacket, like the 1986 edition, and includes a lyric sheet, two postcards and a bookmark. Bas Relief is a true lost relic of the cold 80’s and an essential piece Dark Entries history.

"Includes the DIO titles:

DONINGTON ’83 & DONINGTON ’87 (both on 2LP 180g Vinyl with etching on Side D) and the Limited Edition Picture Disc DOUBLE DOSE OF DONINGTON ’83 & ’87"

Continue As Amery is the debut album by Montreal-based artist Amery. Formerly recording under the moniker Alpen Glow, Continue As Amery sees the songwriter step out into a bold, colourful world full of pop hooks, snagging feelings of abandon and the mornings after. Amery Sandford began releasing as Alpen Glow in 2020 after years playing in punk groups in Newfoundland and as half of Montreal pop duo Born At Midnite (Arbutus). Recorded in Montreal by David Carriere (TOPS, Marci), Patrick Holland, and Kristian North, Continue As Amery is a blast of melodic joie de vivre. On her debut Sandford brings her punk and DIY credentials into sharp focus on 8 perfect pop odes to city living, making mistakes and figuring it out as you go along. Suffuse with powerful imagery and an almost uncanny talent at spinning out hooks brimming with humour and spirit, Amery’s soundworld is informed by friendship, experience and by her day job as a renowned illustrator and visual artist. Beginning Alpen Glow in a spirit of fun and now shedding the alias, Amery’s ready to hotwire the nite. Each song is rich with story. Mountain FM, named for the radio station in Sandford’s home town in the mountains of Alberta, launches into a tale of speeding, blasting the radio too loud, the giddy burning of rubber with no care in the world to slow you down. Featuring live band members Sarah Harris, Jack Bielli, and Frank Climenhage, the singer bristles to get out of her stifling hometown while lamenting the wide eyed adventurer who left for the big city. On Hotwire The Nite, Amery is out on the town, with imagery loaded with the night’s promise. Amery sings “Black candle / Dripping intel / Dagger hanging by an emerald handle / Holy roller that I just can’t have without my hand on an old flame,” diving in and out of fantasy and desire over a pulsating banger. Moments like these feel like a thesis on aural pleasure, with the production sleek and silky playfulness persisting throughout. Spirit Is Broken is a pep talk the artist is giving herself in the mirror. Only Amery could write something so joyous and harmonically glorious while singing about low ebbs. Every line shines with humour, the chorus starting with an exasperated “oh my god, alright” and the refrain nailing the bittersweet feeling of enjoying feeling down. It’s a mood continued on slow groover Ennui, a melter striking out at being stuck; same parties, same faces, daring to dream beyond. As an illustrator and visual artist, Sandford’s images detail dancing instrument-clad animals, party scenes that nod to historical image making heavy hitters like Hieronymus Bosch and Ludwig Bemelmans. On Miracles, Amery deals in bold pop production and her yearning to escape into fantasy, given wings by Korgs and drum machines. On Rocker Blues, originally by French artist FR David, Amery brings the heavy with synth-guitar and an undeniable chorus. C9 is in some ways the album’s centrepiece, a mid tempo funk jam and duet with Montreal stalwart Fireball Kid, it’s the party just out of reach on the horizon. The thing about Cloud 9 is that on the comedown you might get a hella lot of rain. The world Amery builds is intoxicating, rich and most importantly open for anyone to fall into. To be continued…

The UK’s first and only emo band Los Campesinos! return with their highly-anticipated seventh album, All Hell. It is perhaps their most ambitious and assured album yet, whilst simultaneously recalling everything we’ve come to love about LC! over their faultless discography. Recorded between October 2023 and February 2024, it is the first album to be wholly self-produced by band member Tom Bromley (having co-produced previous albums Sick Scenes and NO BLUES). The album is also self-released on the band’s own Heart Swells record label.

In the band’s words All Hell is an album about…

Drinking for fun and drinking for misery // adult acne // adult friendship // football // death and dying // love and sex // late-stage capitalism // Orpheus // day dreaming // night terrors // the heart as an organ and as a burden // suburban boredom // Tears of the Kingdom // the punks on the playlist // increments of time // climate apocalypse // the moon the moon the moon ///

Los Campesinos! have become one of the most important and influential cult acts in the UK since they formed in the mid-2000s. Starting out in the Cardiff indie scene and soundtracking Budweiser adverts, the seven-piece’s musical evolution since then has been slow, steady and remarkable. From the frenzied chaos of debut album Hold On Now, Youngster… (2008) through 2010 breakthrough Romance is Boring and the self-mythologising of latter day highlights NO BLUES (2013) and Sick Scenes (2017), their discography is an interconnected web of niche references, big swings and unflinching honesty.

Making self-professed sleeper hits for weeping dipshits, they’re as influenced by The Beautiful South as they are US emo, with emotional intensity and connection always at the core. Their lyrics are a treasure trove of football references, tales of romantic woe and painfully frank exorcisms, which have been tattooed across hundreds of fans’ bodies and served as comfort and insight during that break-up you had (there’s a reason the band’s tagline is “your ex-girlfriend’s favourite band”).

Now with the release of All Hell, Los Camp! approach their third decade as a band more brilliant, more potent and more vital than ever.

LINGUA IGNOTA, the solo project of multidisciplinary artist Kristin Hayter, takes a radical, unflinching approach to themes of violence and vengeance in ways that are moving, brutal, and harrowing. Her music is intentionally situated at specific and strange intersections, incorporating elements of power electronics, death industrial, and black metal alongside baroque classical, spiritual minimalism and folk. Relentless intensity and soaring dramatic arcs are informed by Hayter's background in classical music, and the major sonic locus of the project is her voice, a dynamic entity that rushes from unhinged screaming to lilting soprano to angular belting with an artistry and ferocity that has drawn comparisons to Diamanda Galas. She is notorious for confrontational live performances that can leave an audience breathless or in tears. Hayter began classical training at the age of ten with intent to pursue an operatic conservatory track. Instead she developed an interdisciplinary fine arts practice at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She continued with graduate work at Brown University, producing a controversial thesis titled BURN EVERYTHING TRUST NO ONE KILL YOURSELF. LINGUA IGNOTA was born out of this thesis which re-contextualized misogynist content as biblically vitriolic anthems for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. A survivor herself, Hayter seeks to give a singularly aggressive voice to the unheard, silenced, and dismissed.

Inspired by the Buddhist sutras, Blitzen Trapper’s radiant new album, 100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions, offers a captivating take on rebirth and transcendence, navigating its way through the space beyond dreams and reality, beyond gods and mortals, beyond life and death. The songs here are as sincere as they are surreal, rooted in rich character studies and deep reflection, and the production is intoxicating to match, blending lo-fi intimacy and trippy psychedelia into a mesmerizing swirl of analog and electronic sounds. Add it all together and you’ve got a gorgeous collection of stripped-down bedroom folk wrapped in lush layers of synthesizers and washed out electric guitars, a poignant, expansive exploration of perception and purpose that manages to look both forwards and backwards all at once. This LP is pressed on clear blue vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Launched roughly two decades ago in Portland, OR, Blitzen Trapper broke out internationally with 2008’s Furr, which cemented their status at the forefront of the modern indie folk revival. Rolling Stone hailed the band’s “hazy, psychedelic Americana,” while NPR praised their “explosive live performances and infectious roots-rock swagger.” Dates with Fleet Foxes, Wilco, and Dawes followed, as did festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk, and Coachella, among others. The band would go on to release six more similarly lauded studio albums, culminating with 2020’s Holy Smokes Future Jokes, which Mojo proclaimed “sounds like the Beatles at Big Pink.”

Julian Cope's second album of 1984 - Never re-pressed in its original format, this re-issue faithfully replicates the original Mercury Records UK release with poster, and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl. Fried is one of Julian Cope's boldest. It made many think that after a while teetering on the edge, Julian Cope had finally tipped over into an artistic madness, amplified by his wearing a turtle shell and staring at a toy van on a landscaped spoil tip in Warwickshire on the album's sleeve. Opening track Reynard The Fox added to it all, a six-minute psychedelic garage rock tour-de-force, breaking down to a Cope monologue where he gravely intones English folk tales from his vantage point, referring also to an onstage stomach-slashing incident from 1983. Sunspots, the sole single taken from the album, is one of his greatest recordings in a career that spans over 40 years. Fried is up there with some of the very best works of the singular British eccentric.

Enjoy The Ride Records proudly presents the Don't Fall In Love With Yourself Soundtrack.

Don't Fall in Love with Yourself is a documentary that explores the life of enigmatic musician and artist, Justin Pearson (The Locust, Swing Kids, Dead Cross, Planet B, Head Wound City, Deaf Club). From childhood tragedy to his rise in the San Diego punk scene, Don't Fall in Love with Yourself takes an in-depth look at a career made of blood, sweat, and spit.

Much of the footage has been sourced from dozens of VHS & Mini-DV tapes recorded over the past three decades. With never-before-seen footage of one of the most interesting and unique musical movements in recent memory. Interviews include Justin Pearson, Dave Lombardo, Eric Paul, Gabe Serbian, Jason Pettigrew, Travis Ryan, Jeremy Bolm, Jon Syverson, Molly Neuman, and more.

Don't Fall in Love with Yourself includes tracks from throughout Justin Pearson's career plus previously unreleased score music by Luke Hensgaw (Planet B), Alex Edkins (Metz) and Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck). It features music by The Locust, Swing Kids, Struggle, Crimson Curse, Retox, Planet B, and Justin Pearson/Gabe Serbian. Remastered by Dave Marino for vinyl.

Don't Fall in Love with Yourself is housed in an embossed silver foil laminated jacket, which includes a full-color double-sided insert.

‘Blind On A Galloping Horse’ serves as David Holmes’ first solo album since 2008’s ‘The Holy Pictures’.  A 14-track interrogation of the last decade, time spent watching a decaying, fraying Britain visibly buckling in real time while tending to his own battles with mental health. Holmes’ soundtrack to this inquiry is at times claustrophobic, often euphoric, driven by the rattle and snap of analogue drum machines, wild oscillations of droning analogue synths and the voice of Raven Violet, which beguiles and commands in a way that could part oceans.  On this album, there are songs of hope for an age of uncertainty; love songs to leap the barricades to and, on ‘Necessary Genius’, a comprehensive roll call of the great and good - those ‘dreamers, misfits, radicals, outcasts’ that we’ve lost and just a few who’ve managed to cling on in the churn of the 21st century. And there are elegiac electronics evocative of an endless Europe where pulsating, crackling rhythm tracks fuse with dreamlike textures and the underground pulse of psychedelic therapy to form something unique that feels nothing less than radical.  CD in 4pp digisleeve with 8pp booklet.  Double vinyl in 300gsm gatefold sleeve with reverse side print and 180gsm reverse side print inner sleeves.

‘Blind On A Galloping Horse’ serves as David Holmes’ first solo album since 2008’s ‘The Holy Pictures’.  A 14-track interrogation of the last decade, time spent watching a decaying, fraying Britain visibly buckling in real time while tending to his own battles with mental health. Holmes’ soundtrack to this inquiry is at times claustrophobic, often euphoric, driven by the rattle and snap of analogue drum machines, wild oscillations of droning analogue synths and the voice of Raven Violet, which beguiles and commands in a way that could part oceans.  On this album, there are songs of hope for an age of uncertainty; love songs to leap the barricades to and, on ‘Necessary Genius’, a comprehensive roll call of the great and good - those ‘dreamers, misfits, radicals, outcasts’ that we’ve lost and just a few who’ve managed to cling on in the churn of the 21st century. And there are elegiac electronics evocative of an endless Europe where pulsating, crackling rhythm tracks fuse with dreamlike textures and the underground pulse of psychedelic therapy to form something unique that feels nothing less than radical.  CD in 4pp digisleeve with 8pp booklet.  Double vinyl in 300gsm gatefold sleeve with reverse side print and 180gsm reverse side print inner sleeves.

‘Blind On A Galloping Horse’ serves as David Holmes’ first solo album since 2008’s ‘The Holy Pictures’.  A 14-track interrogation of the last decade, time spent watching a decaying, fraying Britain visibly buckling in real time while tending to his own battles with mental health. Holmes’ soundtrack to this inquiry is at times claustrophobic, often euphoric, driven by the rattle and snap of analogue drum machines, wild oscillations of droning analogue synths and the voice of Raven Violet, which beguiles and commands in a way that could part oceans.  On this album, there are songs of hope for an age of uncertainty; love songs to leap the barricades to and, on ‘Necessary Genius’, a comprehensive roll call of the great and good - those ‘dreamers, misfits, radicals, outcasts’ that we’ve lost and just a few who’ve managed to cling on in the churn of the 21st century. And there are elegiac electronics evocative of an endless Europe where pulsating, crackling rhythm tracks fuse with dreamlike textures and the underground pulse of psychedelic therapy to form something unique that feels nothing less than radical.  CD in 4pp digisleeve with 8pp booklet.  Double vinyl in 300gsm gatefold sleeve with reverse side print and 180gsm reverse side print inner sleeves.

There's not much to add, two of the greatest Heavy Psych bands of the scene join the forces to give birth to an incredible Split Album. Packed with 32 minutes of the highest quality heavy rock you can find out there; a joint venture which can happen only once every 100 years!! Heavy Psych king-pioneers Nebula bring to life three brand new songs, recorded expressly for this incredible project. Three new gems which follow their latest "Holy Shit" and "Transmission_." Black Rainbows add in three songs of their own, handpicked from the recording session of their latest success "Superskull", released back in 2023. Delivering two Stoner in-your-face Heavy Fuzz pieces and one Heavy Space tune to celebrate this awesome collaboration!! The cover art pairs perfectly with the vision and vibe of the album and is credited to the mighty Simon Berndt.

Yellow vinyl, limited to 400 copies. There's not much to add, two of the greatest Heavy Psych bands of the scene join the forces to give birth to an incredible Split Album. Packed with 32 minutes of the highest quality heavy rock you can find out there; a joint venture which can happen only once every 100 years!! Heavy Psych king-pioneers Nebula bring to life three brand new songs, recorded expressly for this incredible project. Three new gems which follow their latest "Holy Shit" and "Transmission_." Black Rainbows add in three songs of their own, handpicked from the recording session of their latest success "Superskull", released back in 2023. Delivering two Stoner in-your-face Heavy Fuzz pieces and one Heavy Space tune to celebrate this awesome collaboration!! The cover art pairs perfectly with the vision and vibe of the album and is credited to the mighty Simon Berndt.

Die US Metal-Legende Warlord wurde im Jahre 1981 von Mark Zonder und William J. Tsamis gegründet. Ein Jahr später, 1982, erschien der Song "Lucifer's Hammer" (basierend auf einem Roman von Larry Niven und Jerry Pournelle) auf der prestigeträchtigen Compilation "Metal Massacre II". Als Resultat unterzeichneten Warlord einen Kontrakt bei Metal Blade Records und nahmen ihre erste Mini-LP auf. "Deliver Us" erblickte 1983 das Licht der Welt und gilt heute als Blaupause des "Epic Metal" (zusammen mit Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol und Brocas Helm gelten Warlord als Erfinder jenes Stils). Nach zwischenzeitlicher Auflösung erschien im Jahre 2002 das starke Comeback-Album "Rising Out Of The Ashes", erst elf Jahre später gefolgt von "The Holy Empire". "The Holy Empire" sollte das letzte Warlord-Studioalbum mit neuem Songmaterial bleiben, denn Bandgründer William J. Tsamis verstarb am 13. Mai 2021 im Alter von nur 60 Jahren. Allerdings erschien danach noch ein weiteres Warlord-Album, nämlich "The Hunt For Damien" im Jahre 2015. Darauf zu hören ist als Sänger Nicholas Leptos (u.a. auch bei Astronomikon, Prodigal Earth, Gangland und Diphteria tätig). Das jetzt erscheinende "Free Spirit Soar", welches auch zwei überarbeitete Nummern von Lordian Guard enthält, ist ein Tribut von Sänger Giles Lavery an das musikalische Erbe von Bill Tsamis. Er wird dabei unterstützt von Mark Zonder (Drums), Jimmy Waldo (Keyboards/Synthesizer), Phillip Bynoe (Bass) sowie Eric Juris (Gitarre). Alle Songs wurden zwischen März und September 2023 aufgenommen.

Giles Lavery, der auch als Produzent fungierte, erklärt die Entstehungsgeschichte des Albums im Detail: "Unser erklärtes Ziel als Band war es, diese Musik für Bill fertigstellen. Und das vorliegende Material erschien uns ohne Frage stark genug, um uns dazu zu inspirieren. Bill ist bei allen Gitarrenparts zu hören, bei denen es uns möglich war, sie von den ursprünglichen Demo-Recordings zu isolieren - ganz so wie die verbliebenen Beatles die Stimme von John Lennon vom einem alten Demo-Tape zu retten in der Lage waren. Der Großteil der Gitarrenpassagen auf "Free Spirit Soar" wird zwar von Eric gespielt, aber die gesamte Musik stammt aus der Feder von Bill. Und wir haben uns wirklich sehr darum bemüht, seine Arrangements möglichst originalgetreu umzusetzen."

Line-up: Giles Lavery - vocals Eric Juris - guitars Philip Bynoe - bass Jimmy Waldo - keys Mark Zonder - drums

Die US Metal-Legende Warlord wurde im Jahre 1981 von Mark Zonder und William J. Tsamis gegründet. Ein Jahr später, 1982, erschien der Song "Lucifer's Hammer" (basierend auf einem Roman von Larry Niven und Jerry Pournelle) auf der prestigeträchtigen Compilation "Metal Massacre II". Als Resultat unterzeichneten Warlord einen Kontrakt bei Metal Blade Records und nahmen ihre erste Mini-LP auf. "Deliver Us" erblickte 1983 das Licht der Welt und gilt heute als Blaupause des "Epic Metal" (zusammen mit Manilla Road, Cirith Ungol und Brocas Helm gelten Warlord als Erfinder jenes Stils). Nach zwischenzeitlicher Auflösung erschien im Jahre 2002 das starke Comeback-Album "Rising Out Of The Ashes", erst elf Jahre später gefolgt von "The Holy Empire". "The Holy Empire" sollte das letzte Warlord-Studioalbum mit neuem Songmaterial bleiben, denn Bandgründer William J. Tsamis verstarb am 13. Mai 2021 im Alter von nur 60 Jahren. Allerdings erschien danach noch ein weiteres Warlord-Album, nämlich "The Hunt For Damien" im Jahre 2015. Darauf zu hören ist als Sänger Nicholas Leptos (u.a. auch bei Astronomikon, Prodigal Earth, Gangland und Diphteria tätig). Das jetzt erscheinende "Free Spirit Soar", welches auch zwei überarbeitete Nummern von Lordian Guard enthält, ist ein Tribut von Sänger Giles Lavery an das musikalische Erbe von Bill Tsamis. Er wird dabei unterstützt von Mark Zonder (Drums), Jimmy Waldo (Keyboards/Synthesizer), Phillip Bynoe (Bass) sowie Eric Juris (Gitarre). Alle Songs wurden zwischen März und September 2023 aufgenommen.

Giles Lavery, der auch als Produzent fungierte, erklärt die Entstehungsgeschichte des Albums im Detail: "Unser erklärtes Ziel als Band war es, diese Musik für Bill fertigstellen. Und das vorliegende Material erschien uns ohne Frage stark genug, um uns dazu zu inspirieren. Bill ist bei allen Gitarrenparts zu hören, bei denen es uns möglich war, sie von den ursprünglichen Demo-Recordings zu isolieren - ganz so wie die verbliebenen Beatles die Stimme von John Lennon vom einem alten Demo-Tape zu retten in der Lage waren. Der Großteil der Gitarrenpassagen auf "Free Spirit Soar" wird zwar von Eric gespielt, aber die gesamte Musik stammt aus der Feder von Bill. Und wir haben uns wirklich sehr darum bemüht, seine Arrangements möglichst originalgetreu umzusetzen."

Line-up: Giles Lavery - vocals Eric Juris - guitars Philip Bynoe - bass Jimmy Waldo - keys Mark Zonder - drums

A Gilles Peterson-approved deep jazz-rap classic.

2024 first time vinyl release, 140g double vinyl, remastered audio with restored artwork.

Limited and Non-Returnable.

Holy grail hip-hop alert! Superstar Quamallah's Invisible Man was never released on wax so, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of this astounding record, we present the first ever vinyl edition. A stunning record which gained accolades upon its initial release, such as a prominent feature on Gilles Peterson's renowned Best Of 2009 show, it's one of the most essential jazz rap albums of all time.

Deep jazz rap on that mellow-melodic tip, Invisible Man is an unforgettable album with nothing but dope beats and dope bars. There's a strong chance this album has passed you by but we truly believe it to be a lost hip-hop masterpiece. It supremely captures the essence of a golden age classic without being slavish to the past. No, this ain't some facile throwback rap. It's a fresh and deeply soulful, original album shot through straight from the heart. Perfect to chill to, Invisible Man is profoundly jazz-oriented and captures with simplicity and sincerity the essence of hip-hop circa 1983-1994. It sounds like vibing with your nearest, dearest and oldest friends on a long hot summer night as the tantalising thought that anything is possible fills the air. You know what, we can just call this "magic hour rap" and we think you'll know what we mean. It's just beautiful. Just Listen.

Brooklyn-born, California-based emcee, DJ, and producer Superstar Quamallah was active in the West Coast underground scene throughout the 90s and recorded extensively with such revered names as Defari and Tajai. His parents were some serious artistic heavyweights, too; his father was soul organist Big John Patton, a giant in the jazz world known for his releases on Blue Note whilst his mother was an active designer. However, he remains relatively unknown. Invisible Man, named ostensibly after the classic Ralph Ellison novel, could also refer to how he is viewed by the public at large. With close affiliations to the Hieroglyphics, Dilated Peoples and Likwit crew, his debut EP "Don't Call Me John" arrived in 1999 on ABB Records, after which he took a sabbatical from recording which included graduate school, travelling, teaching at Inglewood High and eventually a professorship of African Studies at Berkeley.

With a laidback flow and deep, relaxing presence on the mic, Superstar Quamallah is equal parts Big Daddy Kane, Rakim and Guru. Invisible Man is refined, soulful, feel-good hip-hop of the old school. Its wise, spiritual and literate sound, combined with the summertime vibes projected by the smooth beats and the nostalgia-inducing samples and vocal scratches, created jazzy boom-bap rap reminiscent of prime De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr.

Irresistibly bouncing opener "You Need Knowledge" loops sparkling pianos, horns and a nagging whistle refrain with scratched vocal refrains from Slick Rick, Mobb Deep and Guru. The super-smooth head-nod classic "88 Soul" also utilises a beautifully swelling piano line and dusty breaks whilst Quamé reminisces about his childhood in NYC. Deeply moving, the silky, sultry "Black Shakespeare" is built around an elegant piano loop and goes hard on the superman lover tip whilst "For My People...It's Spiritual" is transcendental rap in conversation with Rakim and older gods. The "Moment Of Truth"-sampling "Lonely At The Top" is striking for its undiluted boom-bap stylings and the staccato flute-hop of "Just Listen" is riddled with soulful refinement. The deeply-affecting, wistful-yet-triumphant bells and horn-drenched single "California Dreamin'" is top-tier rap of unimpeachable quality. What a flow!

Another highlight is the rich melodic piano-rap of "Purity", a beautiful ode to the foundations of rap and those keeping the culture authentically alive. Beautifully played instruments and spiritual jazz samples elevate the deep thinking present on "Kunta Kente" whilst the darker jazz-tinged battle-rap of "93 Shit" goes super hard both in a lyrical sense and with its no-holds drum punches. The breezy Rhodes and string loops that serve as the sonic backdrop to the slinky jazz rap of "We Got Plots" are just gorgeous as our hero evokes Common's "I Used To Love H.E.R." with a head-spinning tale of crime, deception and double crossing. And some twist! "Do Win-Dis" has a tense crime-funk backing and rolling beats which complement Quamé's flow perfectly before the record is rounded out by the tough yet jazzy brilliance of rap confessional "Hope She Remembers Me". Just sensational.

Upon its original release, Quamallah himself declared: "My favorite time period for Hip Hop music was definitely between 1983 and 1994 with 1988 and 1993 being two years that standout as extremely impressive years musically and culturally. The fashion, slang, movies, TV shows and vibe during those years was incredible. While totally submerged in the feelings and music of that entire time period, I went to work on Invisible Man and I am excited for people to hear the result! It is an album that I would want to hear from some of my favorite artists of the past and present today. This is not a RETRO trip for me; this is me at my best lyrically and spiritually using the accessories of the 80s and 90s to fuel me. I am a 88 soul as the song states!"

This album goes deep. It goes all in. When Invisible Man first came out it had a real hold on us here at Be With HQ. We couldn't stop listening to it. We'd venture to say it's one of the top 25 rap records of the 2000s. In the years since its release, it has remained a criminally underrated record, an increasingly hidden gem. We sincerely hope this first time double LP release will go some way to correct this.

It's been mastered for vinyl by Simon Francis, cut by Cicely Balston and pressed at Record Industry. Finally available on the format it should always have been on, it must never be rendered invisible again.

Rock n Roll Star! zeichnet Bowies Weg zu Ziggy Stardust nach. Angefangen bei frühen Demos für zu Hause, über Radiosessions und Live-Auftritte bis hin zu Session-Aufnahmen, Outtakes und alternativen Versionen von den Aufnahmen zum Album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust ROCK 'N' ROLL STAR! enthält 29 unveröffentlichte Tracks, darunter frühe Songwriting-Demos, Aufnahmen von Davids Band The Arnold Corns, Proben in Bowies damaligem Zuhause Haddon Hall, BBC-Sessions, Singles, Live-Auftritte sowie Outtakes und alternative Versionen von den Original-Aufnahmesessions des Albums, die vom ursprünglichen Album-Produzenten Ken Scott neu gemischt wurden. Zu den unveröffentlichten Highlights gehören eine alternative Version von "Lady Stardust", eine ungehörte Version des Deep-Cut-Klassikers "Shadow Man" und eine Up-Tempo-Aufnahme von The Who's "I Can't Explain", die er später verlangsamt und für das PIN-UPS-Album gecovert hat. Die reine Audio-Blu-Ray enthält das definitive Remaster des Original-Ziggy Stardust-Albums aus dem Jahr 2012 in 96kHz/24bit PCM Stereo, das Album und zusätzliche Mixe aus dem Jahr 2003 in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sowie die Singles, Outtakes und alternative Versionen in 96kHz/24bit PCM Stereo. Die Blu-Ray enthält außerdem eine Version des ZIGGY STARDUST-Albums namens WAITING IN THE SKY (BEFORE THE STARMAN CAME TO EARTH), die von Trident Studio-Bändern vom 15. Dezember 1971 stammt und eine alternative Reihenfolge sowie vier Songs enthält, die es nicht auf das endgültige Album geschafft haben. Diese wird auch als limitierte Vinyl-LP am 20. April 2024 zum Record Store Day erhältlich sein. Außerdem gibt es eine 1-LP-Version von ROCK 'N' ROLL STAR! mit den alternativen Aufnahmen und Abmischungen.

History Of Modern is the band's first record since 1996's Universal. Andy McCluskey has described it as their "best album since Architecture and Morality - high praise indeed.

All artwork for the release has been designed by OMD's longtime cohort Peter Saville.


This autumn also sees OMD embark on the 'History of Modern' tour, with the classic line up of Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Martin Cooper and Malcolm Holmes. The dates will see a mix of new songs with classic hits.

LEE MOSES is a cult figure amongst rare funk and deep soul collectors with his lone album, Time And Place, the holy grail of his brief but majestic recording legacy. Despite working with the likes of Eddie Billups, King Hannibal, Freddie Terrell, Barbara Hall and Gladys Knight & The Pips, he remains obscure and yet revered. He recorded just eight singles over a period of eight years and scratched a living playing the bars and R&B clubs in Atlanta. “Bad Girl” is a funk/soul masterpiece that is heavily in demand around the world as the three million views on YouTube lays testament. It was recorded in New York in 1967 and is produced by the legendary Johnny Brantley who captures the very soul of Moses in every tortured second of this 5-minute opus that stretches over both sides of the 45.

Die japanische Postrock-Band MONO meldet sich mit "OATH" zurück, ihrem zwölften Album, diesmal mit genreübergreifender klassischer Orchestrierung und den typischen transzendentalen Gitarren-Klängen einer Karriere, die sich seit vier Jahrzehnte erstreckt. "Was tun wir hier?" Das Jahr 2020 hat das, was einst die Quintessenz des nächtlichen Kiffer-Existenzialismus war, zu einem täglichen Mantra für fast alle Menschen auf diesem Planeten gemacht. Was machen wir mit unserer begrenzten Zeit in diesem Leben? Was ist unser Ziel? Was sollten wir tun? In den letzten 25 Jahren haben MONO Themen wie die Beziehung zwischen Dunkelheit und Licht, Hoffnung im Angesicht der Katastrophe und die Dualität von Geburt und Tod erforscht. Auf ihrem 12. Album, OATH, denken sie über die Zeit nach, die das Leben ausmacht, und darüber, wie man das Beste aus dieser Zeit macht. Aufgenommen und abgemischt mit ihrem langjährigen Freund und Produzenten Steve Albini, beginnt OATH wie ein Sonnenaufgang mit einem langsam aufsteigenden Orchester und Bläsern, wobei sich die gesamte Band Zeit nimmt, die Atmosphäre zu genießen, bevor sie sich dem Glanz anschließt. Während der gesamten 71-minütigen Laufzeit des Albums meditiert MONO auf vielfältige Weise über das Thema Zeit und Leben. Die gemächliche Entwicklung eines Songs, die ein Markenzeichen von MONOs Katalog ist, ist von einer Eleganz durchdrungen, die OATH zu neuen Höhen erhebt. MONO haben sich selbst mit einer universell nachvollziehbaren existenziellen Untersuchung herausgefordert und mit OATH geantwortet, einem Album, das eher wohlwollende Reflexion als flüchtige Erholung bietet. "We live with a vow that hasn't changed since we were children. Hear the wind sing. We are part of the universe. We already know what we should do and what the most important thing in life is." - Takaakira `Taka' Goto, MONO

Die japanische Postrock-Band MONO meldet sich mit "OATH" zurück, ihrem zwölften Album, diesmal mit genreübergreifender klassischer Orchestrierung und den typischen transzendentalen Gitarren-Klängen einer Karriere, die sich seit vier Jahrzehnte erstreckt. "Was tun wir hier?" Das Jahr 2020 hat das, was einst die Quintessenz des nächtlichen Kiffer-Existenzialismus war, zu einem täglichen Mantra für fast alle Menschen auf diesem Planeten gemacht. Was machen wir mit unserer begrenzten Zeit in diesem Leben? Was ist unser Ziel? Was sollten wir tun? In den letzten 25 Jahren haben MONO Themen wie die Beziehung zwischen Dunkelheit und Licht, Hoffnung im Angesicht der Katastrophe und die Dualität von Geburt und Tod erforscht. Auf ihrem 12. Album, OATH, denken sie über die Zeit nach, die das Leben ausmacht, und darüber, wie man das Beste aus dieser Zeit macht. Aufgenommen und abgemischt mit ihrem langjährigen Freund und Produzenten Steve Albini, beginnt OATH wie ein Sonnenaufgang mit einem langsam aufsteigenden Orchester und Bläsern, wobei sich die gesamte Band Zeit nimmt, die Atmosphäre zu genießen, bevor sie sich dem Glanz anschließt. Während der gesamten 71-minütigen Laufzeit des Albums meditiert MONO auf vielfältige Weise über das Thema Zeit und Leben. Die gemächliche Entwicklung eines Songs, die ein Markenzeichen von MONOs Katalog ist, ist von einer Eleganz durchdrungen, die OATH zu neuen Höhen erhebt. MONO haben sich selbst mit einer universell nachvollziehbaren existenziellen Untersuchung herausgefordert und mit OATH geantwortet, einem Album, das eher wohlwollende Reflexion als flüchtige Erholung bietet. "We live with a vow that hasn't changed since we were children. Hear the wind sing. We are part of the universe. We already know what we should do and what the most important thing in life is." - Takaakira `Taka' Goto, MONO

Atmosphärische Klanglandschaften und intime Texte haben die Londoner Postpunk Bands Ende der 2000er Jahre in die Herzen unzähliger Fans gespielt. PIAS veröffentlicht jetzt das legendäre White Lies Album 'Ritual' (2011) als Deluxe 2LP neu. Die Doppel-Vinyl enthält Live-Versionen der wichtigsten Albumtracks sowie brandneue Linernotes, Notizen und seltene Bilder.

Atmosphärische Klanglandschaften und intime Texte haben die Londoner Postpunk Bands Ende der 2000er Jahre in die Herzen unzähliger Fans gespielt. PIAS veröffentlicht jetzt das legendäre White Lies Album 'Ritual' (2011) als Ltd. Green Coloured LP neu.
Ltd. Col. LP: (Green Vinyl)

Bergen, Norway- Blood Command have announced their new studio album, "World Domination"(Produced by Yngve Andersen) to be released on the 29th September 2023 through Hassle and Loyal Blood Records. Alongside the announcement is the third and title track single, another self-proclaimed "loser anthem, that tells the sad story of never being good enough for the person of your dreams"

Whilst early singles have cradled audiences with their ethereal death pop sound, make no mistake, the album "World Domination" is 20 rapid bursts of every side the band has to offer. Infectious grooves, blast beats, singer Nikki Brumen’s powerful screams and riot grrrl chanting, techno interludes and that delicate side which lulls you into a false sense of security before ripping into the listener once more.

The record dives into unrequited love, the hatred of the unjust, the power of faith and the darkness of the abyss and never giving up on trying to climb out of it.

"Like various underground religious groups throughout history, Blood Command’s ever growing following, The Awaketeam, is rising around the globe, and we are not stopping until World Domination. So keep your eyes peeled for purple shrouds, three stripes and black and white sneakers."

This is Blood Command at its most interesting. Come and be a part of the movement.

The first thing that strikes you is the rhythm. The Gossip have been making punks dance since they debuted 5 years ago, long before dance punk existed. Soulful and jagged, you can hear everything from Dischord to Motown in Brace's playing. Now, with the addition of new drummer Hannah Blilie (Shoplifting, ex-Chromatics) they have a new thundering beat for the kids to dance to on the corners and in the clubs. The next thing that smacks you is Beth's voice, all the guttural blues of the South is in that inimitable instrument. It resonates with the confidence that is in her lyrics asking people to hold on just a little bit longer, re-assuring the youth that there are others out there, and spitting in the face of all who say otherwise! "Standing in the Way of Control", their third album, was recorded by Guy Picciotto (Fugazi) at Seattle's Bear Creek. From heartbreakers like "Coal to Diamonds" to the anthemic title track, released as a single with a Le Tigre remix, the band is unafraid to put it all out there and take their audience to new places. This is the sound of a band destroying and surpassing all expectations placed on them.

Plasma Color Vinyl. 'The way Bloomsday's Iris James Garrison writes songs feels like somewhere between a mirror and a memory. Spacious, full-bodied folk songs, they are an ode to things that are good no matter how small; they sometimes feel like the ghost of a Mary Oliver poem. Bloomsday's new record, 'Heart of the Artichoke', is a relic of unfettered creativity and community. They recount the miracles of the mundane, the memories that become sacred, an ode to all that is holy: nightswimming, songs plucked from the ether, the ways friendship can endure. Like earlier Bloomsday songs, the work here is threaded with warmth; it's simmering, crisp and deeply human, an encapsulation of the present moment. Recorded across 10 days in June 2023 in upstate New York at duo Babehoven's studio and co-produced by Babehoven's Ryan Albert, with mixing by Henry Stoehr of Slow Pulp. The record was built out with a wideranging group of collaborators, including inventive drumming from Andrew Stevens (Lomelda, Hovvdy), Alex Harwood, Richard Orofino, Babehoven's Maya Bon, Hannah Pruzinsky (h.pruz, Sister.), and Chris Daley. It was an insulated and collaborative experience: all family dinners on the back porch, bonfires, feeling a full sense of joy, of friendship, of purity in the artistic self. Collaboration is an integral part of Bloomsday's musical process. Garrison is malleable in the studio, their songwriting generous and spacious. But in listening to the record, there's a sense that Garrison leaves room for the players, for the listener; for songs to find the shapes they're meant to take. Garrison's role as maestro is crucial, singular - it's a collaborative, exploratory spirit harnessed by Garrison's intuition, and by an honest commitment to carve out creative space for play, to delve into what's known - or pushing past that, into unknown. "The ghosts of the past still come up and haunt me," Garrison says, "but I sit in what I have and see it. All of these songs are about loved ones, about personal struggles with getting out of my head and being present." Heart of the Artichoke was written from a healed, matured place - written in a moment of safety from chaos. It's a prayer for the present, an appreciation of tenderness and what happens once we give ourselves the space to really see, and really feel - becoming free and whole - an ode to the way healing allows us to bloom.

'The way Bloomsday's Iris James Garrison writes songs feels like somewhere between a mirror and a memory. Spacious, full-bodied folk songs, they are an ode to things that are good no matter how small; they sometimes feel like the ghost of a Mary Oliver poem. Bloomsday's new record, 'Heart of the Artichoke', is a relic of unfettered creativity and community. They recount the miracles of the mundane, the memories that become sacred, an ode to all that is holy: nightswimming, songs plucked from the ether, the ways friendship can endure. Like earlier Bloomsday songs, the work here is threaded with warmth; it's simmering, crisp and deeply human, an encapsulation of the present moment. Recorded across 10 days in June 2023 in upstate New York at duo Babehoven's studio and co-produced by Babehoven's Ryan Albert, with mixing by Henry Stoehr of Slow Pulp. The record was built out with a wideranging group of collaborators, including inventive drumming from Andrew Stevens (Lomelda, Hovvdy), Alex Harwood, Richard Orofino, Babehoven's Maya Bon, Hannah Pruzinsky (h.pruz, Sister.), and Chris Daley. It was an insulated and collaborative experience: all family dinners on the back porch, bonfires, feeling a full sense of joy, of friendship, of purity in the artistic self. Collaboration is an integral part of Bloomsday's musical process. Garrison is malleable in the studio, their songwriting generous and spacious. But in listening to the record, there's a sense that Garrison leaves room for the players, for the listener; for songs to find the shapes they're meant to take. Garrison's role as maestro is crucial, singular - it's a collaborative, exploratory spirit harnessed by Garrison's intuition, and by an honest commitment to carve out creative space for play, to delve into what's known - or pushing past that, into unknown. "The ghosts of the past still come up and haunt me," Garrison says, "but I sit in what I have and see it. All of these songs are about loved ones, about personal struggles with getting out of my head and being present." Heart of the Artichoke was written from a healed, matured place - written in a moment of safety from chaos. It's a prayer for the present, an appreciation of tenderness and what happens once we give ourselves the space to really see, and really feel - becoming free and whole - an ode to the way healing allows us to bloom.

Blue Vinyl - After releasing two brilliant albums in 1986 (Born Sandy Devotional and In The Pines, which both were critically acclaimed), The Triffids were finally snapped up by a major label, Island. The Triffids set out to make their most epic sounding album yet, working again with producer Gil Norton (known for his for with Pixies, Echo and The Bunnymen and many others). The result was Calenture, one of the best albums made by anyone, ever! Abandoning the lo-fi sound of their last album, In The Pines, and instead returning and expanding on the lush and majestic sound heard on Born Sandy Devotional, Calenture captures The Triffids on their creative peak, and is also probably their most accessible album, since it really has no weak songs.

Die italienische Symphonic-Power-Metal-Institution RHAPSODY OF FIRE kehrt mit einem ihrer bisher besten Werke zurück, einem weiteren Teil ihrer epischen Nephilim-Saga, die 2019 mit "The Eighth Mountain" ihren Anfang nahm. Ihr neues Epos heißt: "Challenge The Wind"!
Fragt man einen Power Metal-Fan, so wird er feststellen, dass RHAPSODY OF FIRE in 30 Jahren nicht nur ein Genre geprägt, sondern sich auch als Band weiterentwickelt und ein Vermächtnis als die unangefochtenen Könige des Symphonic Power Metal geschaffen haben.
Nach Klassikern wie Legendary Tales (1997), Symphony Of Enchanted Lands (1998) oder Dawn Of Victory (2000) zeigen RHAPSODY OF FIRE einmal mehr, was sie am besten können: Epische Orchesterarrangements, bombastische Chöre, schnelle und melodische Gitarren und eine packende Story, die dieses Werk an Symphonic-Power-Finesse zusammenhält. Für den letzten Schliff haben sich RHAPSDOY OF FIRE einmal mehr an einen der renommiertesten Tontechniker der Metal-Szene gewandt: Sebastian "Seeb" Levermann von Orden Ogan.
Mach dich bereit für "Challenge the Wind"!

Luka Kuplowskys Stimme ist ein Paradoxon - manchmal klingt sie zu leise, um eingefangen zu werden, als würde sie sich in Rauch auflösen, und im nächsten Moment ist sie so groß wie der Himmel. Es ist eine Stimme, die das Ohr beugt, um zuzuhören, und deren Musik einen einzigartigen Raum für poetische Sprache und improvisatorische Verspieltheit schafft. In den vier Jahren nach "Stardust" von 2020, einem reichhaltigen, jenseitigen Album mit Pop- und Jazzromantik, hat Kuplowsky den Umfang seiner Kreativität durch eine Reihe von Singles und Kollaborationen, die sich mit Ambient-Elektronik, Avant-Pop und psychedelischer Tropicalia befassen, still und leise erweitert. Auf seiner neuen Doppel-LP "How Can I Possibly Sleep When There Is Music" erweitert Kuplowsky sein Interesse an Improvisations-Ensembles und Live-Aufnahmen. Die siebenköpfige Band (Alex Lukashevsky, Anh Phung, Evan Cartwright, Felicity Williams, Josh Cole und Phillipe Melanson) schafft einen einzigartigen Sound aus Weite, Experimentierfreude und ungezügelter Ausdruckskraft, der Traditionen von Jazz, Folk und Blues durchquert. Konzipiert als eine Platte von Adaptionen und Antworten "auf ein Jahrtausend Poesie", vereint das Album die Poesie von Ryōkan Taigu, Bohdan Ihor Antonych, Maria Rainer Rilke, Yosana Akiko, Du Fu, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, W.W.E Ross, Li Bai und La Fontaine und stellt sie in ein dynamisches Umfeld ekstatischen und fantasievollen Ausdrucks. Die neue LP wurde von dem bekannten Produzenten und Songwriter Sandro Perri aus Toronto produziert und vereint internationale literarische und musikalische Einflüsse mit hyperlokalen Toronto-Touchstones zu einem wunderschönen, ausufernden Album voller meditativer und freilaufender Klangabenteuer. In seiner Heimatstadt Toronto ist Kuplowsky nach wie vor ein aktives Mitglied der Jazzund Songwriter-Gemeinschaft. Er organisiert und spielt regelmäßig mit der eklektischen Tribute-Gruppe The Holy Oak Family Singers und arbeitet mit Ian Daniel Kehoe in ihrem Avant-Pop-Duo Ingredient".

A holy grail for fans of French boogie, early hip hop, Arabic funk and Balearic bops,"Ettika" has been seriously sought after since Vidal Benjamin found it in the 1€ bin back in 2006. Teasing the ears of the underground via Vidal's 'Balearic Nightmare' mix for Noncollective, copies of the original were soon snapped up completely, and the later adopters were sated by a Blackdisco edit from Alexis Le-Tan (himself gifted Vidal's second copy), which is now also rare as hen's teeth. The fervour for the track is easy to understand. Underpinned by an endlessly buoyant bass groove, chanted female vocals dart out the speakers like a post- modern mantra while synth vamps flare in stuttering stereo.

Middle-Eastern motifs add an air of mystery, but this truly belongs in a dance floor utopia. That the track was the product of a 'back-to-work' scheme aimed at unemployed immigrant youth in Rouen only adds to the appeal. Led by teacher Bernard Guégan, a quartet of students delivered lyrics in French and Arabic inspired by their rejection letters, serving a little social commentary and a lot of funk. If you're mad on Ahmed Fakroun and Shams Dinn, or even those folks in the Bush of Ghosts, then this is a must have for you.

Archeology isn't just about excavation, there should be interpretation too, and in this case it comes from Italian duo Hear & Now and Leeds' The Veteran Delinquents. The former furnish the 12" with two radical takes, the dreamy downtempo stroll of their French Remix - all unhurried percussion, Gilmour-riffing and coastal élan - and the peaktime pump of their Arab Remix, which transports the original vocal into a land of desert new beat and Balearic trance with a little space left for some frazzled fretwork. If you've followed their work with Claremont you know the quality on show.

The Veteran Delinquents, the collaborative vehicle of Leeds stalwarts Craig Christon and Tim Hutton, condense a lifetime of club experiences into their remix, establishing the infectious groove of the original before subverting with chugging bass and winking acid, all augmented with their own slick synth work. The original was an all time classic at Craig's Joe's Bakery nights way back when, and this new interpretation is both respectful and revolutionary.

"Couldn't find any acoustic covers of these two masterpieces by Gigi Masin from 1989, so decided to give it a go with one of my biggest local musical idols, Olli Aarni who I am proud to call my friend. I consider the original tracks quite holy, so it took me years of courage to ask Olli to record these with me. Never had any goal to release these in any professional way, we just had an idea, for fun, to salute the golden era of YouTube when people made these poorly recorded acoustic YouTube covers. Thanks Pete & Janne for making the record happen and thank you Gigi Masin for the incredible music!"

DJ and producer David Holmes is welcomed to the Late Night Tales fraternity with an evocative collection of personal songs and music, peppered with exclusive new material and rare gems. By now, I think we all know David Holmes, right There's acid house Holmes, with bone-rattling Chicago jams and Detroit destroyers, break-digger Holmes responsible for the grittily shaking 'Let's Get Killed' and seminal Essential Mix compilation (which brought Sixto Rodriguez to people's attention, and then there's soundtrack Holmes. His most enduring and vital source of musical inspiration - cinema - plugged into David's rst solo record 'This Film's Crap, Let's Slash the Seats' and inspired 2000's 'Bow Down to the Exit Sign', created as the soundtrack to a not-yet-made movie. Ofcial soundtracks have been bountiful, including scores for Soderbergh's Out Of Sight and Ocean's trilogy, '71, Hunger and Good Vibrations. In a series of personal songs sung by himself, David's last solo album 'The Holy Pictures' explored inuences of La Düsseldorf, The Jesus and Mary Chain and early Brian Eno. His Unloved collaboration with Keefus Ciancia and Jade Vincent then took us on a musical journey full of raw 60s pop-noir, psychedelia and French Ye Ye with a contemporary twist. Somehow he's also found time to produce records by Primal Scream and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Unsurprisingly, for someone au fait with matters cinematic, this Late Night Tales conjures up its own mindmovies. It's not only packed with the judiciously selected nuggets for which his mixes are noted but also stuffed with original material, including collaborations with BP Fallon and Jon Hopkins and an amazing new reading of 10cc's 'I'm Not In Love' by Holmes-produced Song Sung. In fact, there's a Celtic thread running through the whole journey with Stephen Rea's reading of an extract from Seamus Heaney's AENEID BOOK VI - Elsewhere Anchises. Among the other gems included here are David Crosby's lush 'Orleans', Buddy Holly's celestial 'Love Is Strange' and the Children Of Sunshine's 'It's A Long Way To Heaven'. David Holmes loves music. It's a way of expressing the sometimes inexpressible or the inconsolable, a questing desire to nd out just what is over the next hill. It's no surprise to learn he's a keen walker. Always on the move, headphones on, lost in some reverie or piece of music, the soundtrack to his life, the stuff that feeds his imagination. I walk a lot. It's amazing for listening to music: your phone or your emails aren't going and you're just in the forest listening to music. It's so intimate. Anyway, I was listening to the KLF's Chill Out album, which still sounds amazing, but it triggered an idea with concrete sounds through travelling and movement. And one of the things I was trying to do was to use this idea not just break up the moods but also as a metaphor for moving through life and arriving in different destinations or arriving at different stages in different parts of your life. Memory, Love, Living, Family, Friendship, Healing, Death and The Afterworld are some of the themes I wanted to explore within this record. Although these strong themes and tracks are personal to me, I also wanted it to be a great listen that was unpredictable yet had a seamless ow - a journey that was personal to me yet to the listener a great compilation of music that they may or may not have heard before. I hope I've succeeded in the later.' David Holmes 2016

The current lineup of New Haven's long running Mountain Movers (guitarist/vocalist Dan Greene, bassist Rick Omonte, guitarist Kr yssi Battalene, & drummer Ross Menze) have been playing together for over a decade now, making their recorded debut on a slew of singles released from 2011-2013, but it wasn't until 2015's "Death Magic" (released on New Haven label Safety Meeting) that the potential of that iteration of the group became clear; Mountain Movers are a force of nature. The camaraderie & sensitivity to each others playing has only grown over time, cr ystallizing on the group's trio of albums for Trouble In Mind; 2017's eponymous "Mountain Movers" served as a reintroduction of the group to a larger audience, while 2018's "Pink Skies" raged like a group confident in its strengths, and 2020's prescient "World What World" - written & recorded before the world shut down - slightly shifted focus away from the jams & back toward the weight of guitarist/songwriter Dan Greene's poetic tales of magical realism. The band's ninth album "Walking After Dark" finds a happy medium between both aspects of the band's strengths; Greene's lyrical compositions and the group's long-form improvised jams. To those that are tuned in, that feeling of communion is evident in the Movers' playing. The members swap & cycle effortlessly through instruments without missing a beat, utilizing the downtime of lockdown to write & record every jam in their practice space. Those piles of tapes would eventually get edited & sequenced into "Walking After Dark", a tour-de-force double-album that balances fried, stony brilliance with outré excursions of experimental serenity. Consider the opening track "Bodega On My Mind" that ambles in like a road-worn traveller, its lysergic folk strums peppered with acidic lead lines from Battalene's Telecaster, eventually giving way to "The Sun Shines On The Moon, where the group's sizzling guitars are buoyed by Omonte's pillowy bass & Menze's percussion. From there on out, tracks like "Factory Dream" give the listener a taste of The Movers' modus operandi here; a mixture of (more) traditional song craft interspersed between long-form, improvised pieces of modern psychedelia. The group shuffles through instruments; synths, drum machines, auto-harp, various forms of percussion (and whatever else was laying around) as well as the trad guitar/bass/drums configuration to craft a suite of songs that - while not necessarily similar in composition - feel unified in their overall sonic scope. Tracks like the 14-minute "Reclamation Yard", whose deep-space electronic pulse is juxtaposed against side C opener "See The City "s persistent acoustic strum that showcase similar ideas of the `spirituality ' of losing ones self in repetition, but executed differently. In many ways "Walking After Dark"s duality feels like a merger of "On The Beach"-era Neil Young & the collective freak-outs of Amon Düül, taking inspiration in the `incorporeality ' of free music and lacing it with Greene's hazy, haunting lyricism and is an exciting step forward for a band that's already a few steps ahead. "Walking After Dark" is released on black double-vinyl in a full color gatefold jacket & includes an insert with artwork & lyrics by member Dan Greene.

Suffering can be a borderline experience, opening doors to the divine. Canadian black-metal-outfit GIVRE has dedicated its fourth album to this concept, well known throughout Christian history: On "Le Cloitre" (engl. "The Cloister") the band continues its exploration of the atoning side of pain and the austere aspects of faith through music that goes all the way from elegiac elegance to disturbing outbursts. Even the band deals with Christianity, through a historic lense, they should not be understood as religious band in any way!

The group was founded back in 2010 in Rouyn-Noranda by David Caron-Proulx (Composition, guitars, keys), Jean-Lou David (research, vocals), and Mathieu Garon (bass) when they were just 16 years old. They self-produced a demo album, then moved away from their hometowns. David is now a composer for film and mixed media and Jean-Lou is a writer and historian. In October 2020, ten years after their first collaborative endeavors, they reunited and recorded two more albums: "Le Pressoir mystique" and "Destin Messianique".

The creation of "Le Cloitre" was a lengthy process. While most recordings were made right after "Destin Messianique" in 2021, extensive work was done over an extended period of time to add layers and perfect the album's concept. Each of the six songs corresponds to a holy woman from Christian history. The lyrics are taken directly from their writings or hagiography (an idealized biography), delving into their connection to the divine through suffering. The words are sometimes rearranged, but they are all direct citations without anything new added to them, from the symbolic poetry of Hildegard Von Bingen (1098-1179) to the disturbing and factual depictions of Marthe Robin (1902-1981).

The compositions vary to reflect these different perspectives: sometimes dark and eerie, other times blissful or sorrowful. Therefore, a crucial addition to the album's atmosphere was the inclusion of female vocal performances. Additionally, samples from the French film "Le dialogue des Carmelites" from 1959 are incorporated. Excerpts of a piece by Hildegard von Bingen are used in the song dedicated to her. The album was recorded in the band members'home studios. Mixing and mastering were done by long-time-collaborator Gael Poisson-Lemay (Gris, Sombre Forets, Miserere Luminis), who also contributed guitars to the song about Marthe Robin. Vinyl mastering was done by Greg Chandler (Esoteric) at Priory Recording Studios.

She Told Me Where to Go by Old Man Luedecke, released 24 May 2024, includes the following tracks: "Going on the Mountain", "The Raven and the Dove", "My Status is the Baddest ", "Misfits in Old Clothes" and more.

This version of She Told Me Where to Go comes as a 1xCD in a(n) Digipak packaging.

On a holy roll after the success of their stunning 2023 LP IV: Sacrament, Lancastrian heavy metal apostles Wytch Hazel here ally themselves with the underground pomp wizardry of Phantom Spell for an addictively flippable split seven-inch.). On the flipside, Phantom Spell explore more cryptic vistas with Palantíri, a song about Tolkien’s crystal balls, nailing the arcane, otherworldly vibe of those early
NWOBHM pioneers who used keyboards to project a heightened level of mystical drama.

Inspired by the Buddhist sutras, Blitzen Trapper’s radiant new album, 100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions, offers a captivating take on rebirth and transcendence, navigating its way through the space beyond dreams and reality, beyond gods and mortals, beyond life and death. The songs here are as sincere as they are surreal, rooted in rich character studies and deep reflection, and the production is intoxicating to match, blending lo-fi intimacy and trippy psychedelia into a mesmerizing swirl of analog and electronic sounds. Add it all together and you’ve got a gorgeous collection of stripped-down bedroom folk wrapped in lush layers of synthesizers and washed out electric guitars, a poignant, expansive exploration of perception and purpose that manages to look both forwards and backwards all at once. This LP is pressed on clear blue vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Launched roughly two decades ago in Portland, OR, Blitzen Trapper broke out internationally with 2008’s Furr, which cemented their status at the forefront of the modern indie folk revival. Rolling Stone hailed the band’s “hazy, psychedelic Americana,” while NPR praised their “explosive live performances and infectious roots-rock swagger.” Dates with Fleet Foxes, Wilco, and Dawes followed, as did festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk, and Coachella, among others. The band would go on to release six more similarly lauded studio albums, culminating with 2020’s Holy Smokes Future Jokes, which Mojo proclaimed “sounds like the Beatles at Big Pink.”

100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions by Blitzen Trapper, released 17 May 2024, includes the following tracks: "Cosmic Backseat Education", "Cheap Fantastical Takedown", "Planetarium", "Long Game" and more.

Inspired by the Buddhist sutras, Blitzen Trapper’s radiant new album, 100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions, offers a captivating take on rebirth and transcendence, navigating its way through the space beyond dreams and reality, beyond gods and mortals, beyond life and death. The songs here are as sincere as they are surreal, rooted in rich character studies and deep reflection, and the production is intoxicating to match, blending lo-fi intimacy and trippy psychedelia into a mesmerizing swirl of analog and electronic sounds. Add it all together and you’ve got a gorgeous collection of stripped-down bedroom folk wrapped in lush layers of synthesizers and washed out electric guitars, a poignant, expansive exploration of perception and purpose that manages to look both forwards and backwards all at once. This LP is pressed on clear blue vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. Launched roughly two decades ago in Portland, OR, Blitzen Trapper broke out internationally with 2008’s Furr, which cemented their status at the forefront of the modern indie folk revival. Rolling Stone hailed the band’s “hazy, psychedelic Americana,” while NPR praised their “explosive live performances and infectious roots-rock swagger.” Dates with Fleet Foxes, Wilco, and Dawes followed, as did festival appearances at Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Newport Folk, and Coachella, among others. The band would go on to release six more similarly lauded studio albums, culminating with 2020’s Holy Smokes Future Jokes, which Mojo proclaimed “sounds like the Beatles at Big Pink.”

100's of 1000's, Millions of Billions by Blitzen Trapper, released 17 May 2024, includes the following tracks: "Cosmic Backseat Education", "Cheap Fantastical Takedown", "Planetarium", "Long Game" and more.