A hot lime green Vinyl on Dental Records!
Formed in late 2019 following the dissolution of The Strypes – Cavan, Ireland’s
The Zen Arcade have adopted an independent approach that extends far beyond their musical output. Now via their own Dental Records they release the new EP ‘High Fidelity’; including the brand new single ‘High Fidelity’ alongside last year’s debut single ‘Don’t Say A Wo rd ’ , and an exclusive episode of their own podcast – ‘Higher Fidelity’.
quête:hot x
Searing white-hot guitar riff, tough, danceable junkshop glam inspired melody and rhythmic drive glazed with lush, dreamy three part harmony. The band's album, shows what could easily be a contradiction of influences as diverse as Slade, Rubettes, Ramones, Bangles, Berry and the Beatles with increasing nerve and nuance.
Maxed out and burning hot nasty, Electric Rag brings together the electric organs, electronics and alto sax of Jean-Luc Guionnet, with the closely amplified drums and percussion of Will Guthrie. After years of playing together in the minimalist pointillist free jazz noise core trio ‘The Ames Room’ (with Clayton Thomas on bass) Electric Rag offers up another point of view on a musical history of nearly 15 years of playing together. The 8 titles of Electric Rag draw on their various experience in electronic music, free improvisation and experimental sound research, however the music is deeply rooted in their love of jazz, in its most potent, aggressive and antisocial form.
‘Fascinating, historically important and previously publicly unheard recordings of the great Irish author and playwright Brendan Behan.
These tapes became the source for his book Confessions of an Irish Rebel, posthumously published in 1965 following his tragic death the year before. They were recorded by his friend and confidante Rae Jeffs in the Chelsea Hotel, NYC in 1960.
Tranferred for the first time from the original 1/4” tapes, with a sleeve made from another unseen artefact from Jeffs' archive - a postcard from Brendan to Rae.’
2021 sees the release of the long-awaited third album from Pola & Bryson - ‘Beneath the Surface’. Since their debut release in 2015, Pola & Bryson have transitioned from the exciting ones to watch to the unquestionable leaders of new school liquid drum and bass, grabbing the attention of the scene's greats in the process.
“Masterful production and musicality throughout, I love that the album has been made just as much for the home listener as for the clubs. For me, these guys are leading the new wave of liquid drum & bass.” Sub Focus
As digital streaming services continue to dominate as the primary source of music consumption, the wildly contested ‘death of the album’ debate continues to burn throughout the industry. To counteract the current trend of single tracks and playlist placements, Pola & Bryson wanted to experiment with a concept album.
“We envisioned a landscape to act as inspiration to us whilst writing this album. The landscape is made up of 4 distinct sections, each representing a different emotional state. The first being Shinrinyoku (a Japanese term for forest bathing), represented by a dense, peaceful forest environment. Mangata (loosely translates to moon river) takes you to the edges of a cold, misty lake which eventually leads you to Toska, representing a dark and endless cave. All transpiring with Yuugen, a vast and epic mountain range. The album, paired with bespoke animated visuals, paints the perfect reflection of the journey.” - Pola & Bryson
‘Beneath the Surface’ features collaborations with the drum and bass scene's hottest vocal talents, with each being selected to effortlessly meld with the respective soundscapes. After previously working with both Lauren Archer and Ruth Royall with beguiling success, Pola & Bryson knew that they wanted to send some ideas to both artists. This resulted in the creation of two beautifully blissful tracks ‘Under’ and ‘Friend’, which became the first two singles to be released from the album. While Solah and Kojo were specifically picked with their tracks in mind, Manchester favourite Strategy’s appearance on the release was an altogether more organic stroke of serendipity. The duo were unsure whether 'Anaesthetist' was going to make the cut as an instrumental, and were floating the idea of working with a vocalist when Strategy messaged them seemingly out of the blue. They knew in an instant that his sound was the perfect fit for the track.
Over the last five years, Pola & Bryson have steadily ascended from promising newcomers to well-respected leaders of the next liquid generation. The London based pair’s production credentials are now so well-respected that they have recently been commissioned for huge remix projects for Sub Focus x Wilkinson and Camo & Krooked and released a collaborative EP with Brazil’s legendary DJ Marky. Since their debut album ‘This Time Last Year’ on Soulvent Records and then 2018’s award-nominated Shogun Audio LP “Lost in Thought'', punters and peers have been on tenterhooks, anticipating what the duo would bring to the plate next. Effortlessly living up to its hype, anyone who journeys through the ever-changing soundscapes of ‘Beneath the Surface’ will be immersed into a new world of sonic expression.
- A1: Not The Forgiving Type (2 00)
- A2: That Fortress Is The Worstest (Bakaneko) (1 17)
- A3: That Fortress Is The Worstest (Akkoro Kamui) (1 19)
- A4: That Fortress Is The Worstest (Mizuchi & Dodomeki) (1 08)
- A5: Nobody's Getting In (0 48)
- A6: The Forgiving Type (1 54)
- A7: Flu-Ouise (0 50)
- A8: Beyond The Sea (3 06)
- A9: Witchy Witchy (0 35)
- A10: Here Comes The Meat Plane (0 57)
- A11: The Briefest Of Glances (1 45)
- A12: You've Got The Guts (1 47)
- A13: You Can't Spell Christmas Without Us (1 19)
- A14: Watching You From A Distant Place (0 40)
- A15: Sky Kiss (Intro) (0 32)
- A16: Sky Kiss (Extended) (2 19)
- A17: Cat Trainin' (1 01)
- A18: Chunky Blast Offs (0 53)
- A19: Dad-Chelor Party (0 46)
- A20: Tuscaloosa Twister (0 41)
- B1: Meat Man (1 02)
- B2: Street Life (0 55)
- B3: Winthorpe Manor (0 45)
- B4: Attention Humans Of America (0 52)
- B7: Fortress Of Inzanity (1 35)
- B8: Let My People Rock (Part 2) (0 55)
- B9: Roll A Rock To Rock & Roll (0 52)
- B10: Don't Rock In, Rock Out (0 49)
- B11: (I've Had) The Time Of My Life (3 03)
- B12: Mombo (0 35)
- B13: I Sure Would Like A Mom (2 03)
- B14: Hot Pants Rain Dance (2 52)
- B15: I Want To Take You Higher (1 10)
- B16: Sexy Little Tiger (0 43)
- B17: Playdates (1 03)
- B18: Who's A Fun Mom On Halloween? (1 39)
- B19: Bad At Being A Nun (1 15)
- B20: Give It To Teddy (1 12)
- C1: Christmas Of My Dreams (1 31)
- C2: Teddy's Bleaken Story (1 01)
- C3: The Bleaken (1 30)
- C4: Art Song (1 36)
- C5: O Christmas Tree (0 40)
- C6: The Bleaken (Reprise) (0 55)
- C7: Do You Hear What I Hear? (1 37)
- C8: Twinkly Lights (2 27)
- C9: Girl Power Jam (0 59)
- C10: Ga Ga (0 57)
- C11: Makin' It By Hand (1 00)
- C12: Bfot On The Kiss Spot (0 54)
- B5: General Inzanity (Intro) (1 19)
- C13: See Something Sing Something (0 51)
- C14: Sleepovers (0 45)
- C15: Best Couple Friends (0 43)
- C16: Weasel Weasel (0 57)
- C17: Happy Birthday We Forgot (1 07)
- C18: Sugar Cookies (1 25)
- C19: Bat Out Of Hell (1 20)
- C20: Mommies Are The Best (0 40)
- C21: Burobu (0 47)
- C22: This Wedding Is My Warzone (1 16)
- D1: Napkining (0 39)
- D2: Gumboy (0 32)
- D3: Friend Zone (1 34)
- D4: Hate The Way I Love You (2 06)
- D5: No Pants In Space (1 44)
- D6: The Right Number Of Boys (1 32)
- D7: Wheelie Mammoth (1 20)
- D8: Quarter Assin' (0 39)
- D9: Business Monster (0 53)
- D10: Trick Or Treat, Sticky Sweets (0 34)
- D11: None Of Your Business (1 03)
- D12: Let's Swap Eyes So We Can Empathize (0 51)
- D13: Radar Love (0 46)
- D14: Saving The Bird (1 23)
- D15: Alone (1 19)
- D16: Rollin' With Me (0 48)
- B6: Let My People Rock (Part 1) (1 31)
- D17: Doot Doo I Love You (1 02)
- D18: Snowballs & Sledding (0 44)
- D19: Hey Ange (0 42)
- D20: Bruce The Goose (1 06)
- D21: Pesto In My Pants (0 43)
- D22: Nothing Makes Me Happy (1 42)
- D23: Nothing Makes Me Happier (1 22)
- D24: How Many Sandwiches Can You Name? (0 41)
- D25: Bioluminescence (0 45)
- D26: Puppet Battle (0 58)
- D27: Regular Fries (Cruel To Be Kind) (1 04)
- D28: Cake (0 47)
The second volume of music from the hit Fox TV show ‘Bob’s Burgers’. The Emmywinning, top-rated show was named one of the 60 Greatest TV Cartoons of All Time
by TV Guide.
In addition to the show’s cast, the album features high-profile guests including Adam
Driver, Tiffany Haddish, Jenny Slate, Daveed Diggs, Max Greenfield, Toddrick Hall,
Aparna Nancherla and Matt Berninger (of the National).
The ‘Bob’s Burgers’ audience is wide-ranging: strong performance with 15-25 year
olds, median viewing age of 37, 35 share among males 35-54 and a 16 share of
females in the same group.
Campaign will include promotion from the cast and show production team.
‘The Bob’s Burgers Music Album Vol. 2’ includes nearly every single musical morsel
from Seasons 7 through 9.
This 90-song smorgasbord will feature the Belcher family - Bob (H. Jon Benjamin),
Linda (John Roberts), Tina (Dan Mintz), Gene (Eugene Mirman) and Louise (Kristen
Schaal) - as well as the show’s numerous recurring and special guests.
For fans of the show, enjoying the music of Bob’s Burgers on its own is both an
irresistible to-go bag and ultimately a world unto itself. Lose yourself in the strangely
epic disco celebration ‘Hot Pants Rain Dance’, sing along with the musical theatre
gem ‘The Wedding Is My Warzone’, or do whatever you’re gonna do to ‘Sexy Little
Tiger’ but don’t miss ‘The Bob’s Burgers Music Album Vol. 2’.
Spaniard Cuartero debuts on LOCUS as he drops his slick four-track ‘Wasp’ EP this September.
A mainstay within Spain’s house music scene over the past decade, Malaga’s Cuartero remains one of the most consistent and well-supported names on the circuit. With releases via the likes of Hot Creations, Desolat and Saved, his recent material has seen a deeper and more minimal emphasis placed on his work, dropping material via Eastenderz, Constant Black and Djebali, plus his own Cuartero Concept imprint. Up next, September welcomes the addition of a new label to his catalogue as he makes his first appearance on LOCUS, delivering a quartet of crisp cuts in the form of his ‘Wasp’ EP.
The lively ‘Eucalyptus’ opens proceedings as swirling pads and rugged kicks bounce atop of nimble basslines, while ‘Assault’ employs rubbery, elastic bass alongside bright vocal interjections and sharp drum licks. On the flip, ‘Bagonda’ welcomes a deeper, warping journey through skipping hats, rich chords, and glitched vocals, before closing the show via the off-kilter and scattered yet impactful sonics of title cut ‘Wasp’.
The Daddies of riff, of shuffle, of southern swing, oozing back beat and
funky chicken, all true ‘Sons of Memphis’, these six experienced performers, in the pure Stax/Atlantic style, roll out a profound Deep Soul, carried
by a hot and groovy base, a V8 sounding drumbeat, a haunting trombone,
a charismatic and powerful vocals, a Hammond Leslie roaring in unison
with the spring reverb guitar and its sixties tremolo.
With their Zoot suits, black and white Derbys, dark glasses, this Take 6 knows
the songs, history and all the tricks of the soulman’s trade, with that little extra, the irresistible French touch blazoned by their Pyrenean roots in the B arn
region.
This energetic combination is an incredible firework display on stage, and with
them the Deep Soul remains what it must always be... A music of hope! A
shared experience! The ultimate music of the soul!
Besides being the best band name in the world,
illuminati hotties is also the moniker of the Los
Angeles-based songwriter and producer Sarah
Tudzin, who releases her new album and
Hopeless debut, ‘Let Me Do One More’.
Hotties’ previous two albums were critically
acclaimed, landing on many end of year lists, and
this one is proving to be no different. ‘Let Me Do
One More’’s pre-release single
‘MMMOOOAAAAYAYA’ (pronounced ‘MOO’) has
already generated a good amount of buzz with its
humour filled, D’Angelo-inspired music video and it
landed Pitchfork’s Best New Track upon release.
Bigger, more fun, and crazier than ever, ‘Let Me Do
One More’ features guest appearances by Buck
Meek and Alex Menne of Great Grandpa and will
scratch the unending itch of indieheads
everywhere.
For fans of Waxahatchee, Hope Along, Charly
Bliss.
LP pressed on neon yellow vinyl.
The new instrumental project of guitarist Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy / Modest Mouse / All Smiles / Grace Meridian,) and songwriter/composer Jacob Snider, Small Isles inhabits a rare hypnotic twilight between motion picture music and incandescent cosmic folk.
At once a love letter to film soundtracks and a meditative balm for our troubled times, ‘The Valley, The Mountains, The Sea’ was recorded by Fairchild on a bare-bones mobile rig while on tour with Modest Mouse. It was recorded in the cracks of time between soundchecks and performances, from city to city, in darkened hotel rooms and over-lit backstage dressing rooms, giving the album a sense of intimacy, of stolen time and weary after-show solitude.
- A1: Claptone - Zero
- A2: Earth N Days - I Wanna Know
- A3: Matt Samuels, Ridney & Errol Reid - Now That We Found Love
- A4: Gettoblaster - H O U S E (Feat Missy)
- A5: David Morales, Dj Spen & Carla Prather - I Got The Love
- B1: Jodie Harsh - My House
- B2: Future Kings Vs Moya - Something New
- B3: Pansil - Read My Mind (Get Out My Head) (Get Out My Head)
- B4: Mike La Funk & Kelsey Gill - Back To You
- B5: Ben Rainey & Lewis Roper - Rapture (Feat Lauren Carter)
- C1: Kideko - Feel It (Feat Sain-Lee)
- C2: Sammy Porter & George Mensah - Ain't Nobody Else (Feat Charlotte - Secondcity Remix)
- C3: Md Jones - Tear It Up
- C4: Joey Mccrilley - Come Together (Danny Rhys Remix)
- C5: Dosem - Right Time (Mark Knight Remix)
- D1: Eat More Cake - Heat Of The Night (Tcts Remix)
- D2: Request Line - Have We Met
- D3: Chicane - 8 (Circle) (Circle)
- D4: Ellie Sax - Don't Lie To Me (Ridney Remix)
- D5: Amarnu & Shazz Man - Lonely Clouds
The popular #Ibiza compilation series returns on July 2nd with its fifth installment, #Ibiza 2021. The album brings together tracks and remixes from some of the world’s biggest names in dance music, including Claptone, Chicane, Sammy Porter, David Morales, Secondcity and Mark Knight. The collection also presents the hottest breakout tracks set to grace the island this year, including Gettoblaster’s recent Beatport number 1 ‘H O U S E’, and Jodie Harsh’s current UK radio hit ‘My House’. Radio promo: Jodie Harsh - My House: Playlisted on BBC Radio 1 (B-List) / No.1 in UK Upfront Club Chart. Other promo: Claptone - Zero: One of the biggest DJ names in Ibiza with his Masquerade parties at Pacha, Claptone moves up to No.41 in this year’s Top 100 DJ’s global rank. Zero is the first single from his upcoming third album.
Already renowned for a ball-tearing live show, The Sniffers
made their international debut as one of the hottest tipped
acts at The Great Escape in 2018. Soon afterwards, they
signed deals with both Rough Trade Records and ATO
Records, made a massively hyped appearance at SXSW,
and finally released their self-titled debut album in 2019,
landing them an ARIA (Australian Recording Industry
Association) Award for Best Rock Album, capping off a wild
year for the lunatic, likeable punks.
Late in 2020, Amyl and The Sniffers went into the studio with
producer Dan Luscombe to record their sophomore album,
‘Comfort To Me’. Written over a long year of lockdown, the
album was influenced by and expanded on a heavier pool of
references - old-school rock’n’roll (AC/DC, Rose Tattoo,
Motörhead and Wendy O Williams), modern hardcore
(Warthog and Power Trip) and the steady homeland heroes
(Coloured Balls and Cosmic Psychos).
Lyrically, the album was influenced by Taylor’s rap idols and
countless garage bands and, in her words, “I had all this
energy inside of me and nowhere to put it, because I couldn’t
perform, and it had a hectic effect on my brain. My brain
evolved and warped and my way of thinking about the world
completely changed.”
Seventeen songs were recorded in the ‘Comfort To Me’
sessions and the top thirteen made the cut. They were mixed
long distance by Nick Launay (Nick Cave, IDLES, Yeah Yeah
Yeahs) and mastered by Bernie Grundman (Michael
Jackson, Prince, Dr Dre).
‘Comfort To Me’ demonstrates the same irrepressible smarts,
integrity and fearless candour as their debut but, as you’d
expect of any young band five years on, their sound has
evolved - in Amy’s words, it’s “raw self-expression, defiant
energy and unapologetic vulnerability.”
- A1: The Diabolical Liberties - Everything Is Possible Until It's Not
- A2: The Diabolical Liberties - Birds Of Paradise
- A3: The Diabolical Liberties - Getting Off The World
- A4: The Diabolical Liberties - Mostly Indoors
- A5: The Diabolical Liberties - Herman Chugs On
- A6: The Diabolical Liberties - Pacify My Night Bus
- B1: Edrix Puzzle - Rise To Eris
- B2: Edrix Puzzle - Lapetus
- B3: Edrix Puzzle - Eris Fall
On The Corner Records are proud to reveal the second instalment of their newly forged ‘Double Drop’ series, pairing together two EP’s from two different members of the OTC family, delivering a cosmically twinned, action packed slab of wax.
Label boss Pete OtC developed this series to introduce record players around the world to new artists coming through On The Corner’s region of the solar system. With Vinyl manufacture in pandemic pandemonium and questionable environmental impacts of the efficacy of Disco 12”s it seemed like a prime time to get laying the OTC family’s sonic landscapes onto highly collectible long playing EP pairings, with no represses and no compromise on the artwork, each side sporting a 20+ minute audio journey.
On the A-Side, and hot on the heels of the ‘Dub Protection & The Sportswear Mystics’ cassette, The Diabolical Liberties present their ‘Birds Of Paradise’ EP. This EP all but sold-out and follows the dynamite success of the Duo’s debut long player “High Protection & The Sportswear Mystics” and it’s follow-up hype cassette of dubbed out versions (as well as a series of self-released and long sold-out white
labels that included collaborations with Nyasha (a moniker of Nubya Garcia) and a super limited On The Corner 10” dubplate.)
Beggars Arkive announce the LP reissue of Gary Numan’s
fifth album, ‘Warriors’, on orange vinyl. Originally released
in 1983 and co-produced with Bill Nelson, the album
continues Numan’s ambient-funk experimentations.
“I still like a lot of the ‘Warriors’ stuff and Bill Nelson did a
lot of very inventive things on it which, because of our
differences, I failed to appreciate at the time. I think the
Mad Max image convinced a lot of people, the press
especially, that it was a sci-fi album. Much of it though was
actually quite autobiographical. Even songs like ‘The
Iceman Comes’ and ‘This Prison Moon’ were more to do
with what I was going through than anything sci-fi. Lyrically
I was already becoming overly focused on the career
struggle. ‘Warriors’ was written, in the main, in a hotel
room in Jersey. My girlfriend had just left me, I’d been
evicted from the house I was living in and I felt pretty much
alone in more ways than one. Despite its surface gloss of
futurism it was really very inward looking. To me the image
was meant to represent someone fighting for survival as
much as anything” - Gary Numan
The achievements over his four-decade career (and
counting) are remarkable for someone who never made
any concessions to mainstream success. Seven Top 10
singles, including ‘Are ‘Friends’ Electric?’ and the debut
solo hit ‘Cars’; seven Top 10 albums, three of which
topped the charts; and huge critical acclaim, most notably
with the Inspiration Award at the prestigious Ivor Novellos.
In a career that spans over forty years, the music evolves
and the themes change. But fans remain fascinated by
Numan for the v
Who could forget the BAMs, the BLAMs, and the BAOMMs?!
Ubisoft, Microids and Laced Records have conspired to bring the fabulously percussion-heavy music of XIII to vinyl.
Based on the graphic novel by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance, the 2003 cult first-person shooter adopted a cel-shaded look and visual onomatopoeia to set it apart. Mixing action, stealth, and exploration, XIII is chock full of conspiracy, assassination, and plot twists.
French composer Lionel Gaget created a superb spy-jazz soundtrack that fuses John Barry’s ‘60s James Bond musical blueprint with David Holmes’ Ocean’s Eleven instrumental funk. The 11 specially remastered tracks on the LP — featured in both the 2003 and 2020 versions of the game — are stuffed full of first-class percussion, deep bass and subtle jazz stings.
The audiophile-quality, heavyweight 180g black and white LP will be housed in a deluxe card sleeve.
- 1: Favorite Flavor
- 2: Sunshine
- 3: Much Better
- 4: Dance With The Devil (Feat Kt Tunstall)
- 5: Love Yourself
- 6: 85 Trips
- 7: Start Again (Feat Frank Turner)
- 8: Times Are Changing
- 9: Hotel Deville
- 10: Love Bites
- 11: Bad Things (Feat Sleeper)
- 12: Overthink Everything
- 13: Something To Leave The House For
- 14: See You Later
Keeping the faith and facing the future, Times Are Changing puts a full stop on pandemic talk for unstoppable indie-pop four-piece Lottery Winners, as the four-piece release the fizzing anthem into a newly optimistic world. The first single from their newly
announced, upcoming, second studio album, Something To Leave The House For, the band has penned the soundtrack to hugging old friends, the rebirth of live music and those summer festivals just around the around the corner.
For front man and songwriter, Thom Rylance, working through the darkness of Covid meant surviving Covid, tying the threads of an unravelling mental state into a new body of work now emerging as bright, arms-aloft bursts of positivity. His famed ‘note to self’, the emotive An Open Letter To Creatives and the band’s sensational, viral collaboration with Nickelback with the Rock Star Sea Shanty were just two moments of levity in a time dominated by the dark clouds forming overhead. Now he and the band are moving on and moving up.
“If something so bleak and harrowing can hit us all, totally out of the blue, and change our lives, then by definition that must mean that something beautiful can too.” says bassist and vocalist, Katie Lloyd (bass and vocals) as Lottery Winners start the next leg of their adventure with Times Are Changing, reflective, ready to party and no less ambitious than before.
Their mammoth, 14-track new album, Something To Leave The House For, follows their 2020, self-titled UK Album Chart Top 30 debut with a Fri 24 September 2021 release via Modern Sky UK, promises to document the tumultuous times and the path back from despair. In true Lottery Winners style, every truth and life lesson is dressed in glass-half-full, wildly optimistic, radio-friendly pop, hip-swinging beats and bittersweet tenderness.
Originally released in the early 1980s this reissue features the Belgian
electronic artist Benjamin Lew along with Steven Brown, the front man of
US band Tuxedomoon.
With his small analog synthesizer, Benjamin had a unique talent for creating
magical, evocative and poetic atmospheres. “Douzieme Journee” takes the listener on a journey through alien landscapes, which has elicited comparisons to
the music of Jon Hassell and Brian Eno.
“An album of mesmerising strangeness, an exotic, surreal trip. Elusive and fascinating” - New Musical Express, 1983
Effortlessly hopscotching between vintage acid and 80s Rn’B, insouciant Francophone pop and twinkling electro house, Lou Hayter has delivered something at once utterly unique and defiantly timeless with her much anticipated debut solo LP, released on Skint Records. It has been a long time coming for London native Hayter, who first made her mark professionally as keyboardist for New Young Pony Club, one of THE bands at the epicentre of the white hot day-glo nu rave scene alongside the likes of the Klaxons and Test Icicles in 2006. But, to fully place her debut album in context, it is necessary to rewind a little bit – to the very beginning in fact, with Hayter growing up on a diet of Bowie, Prince, Human League and Jellybean-era Madonna while concomitantly learning classical piano from the age of five. The flames of this deliciously varied musical palette were further stoked by trips to record shops in Soho with her brother (Soul Jazz was a particular obsession), but it was while studying in Cambridge that the match was well and truly struck – she used her student grant to buy a set of Technics and started putting on club nights, before moving to London and working at Trevor Jackson’s seminal Output Recordings, placing Hayter smack bang in the middle of all the action, with disco punk fever hitting full force and bands like the Rapture and LCD Soundsystem first breaking out.
The hugely successful, Mercury-nominated New Young Pony Club followed shortly after, but it’s through her subsequent output that she started to distil and refine her idiosyncratic tastes. And certainly, you can hear hints of both the New Sins, the 80’s New Wave duo she formed with Nick Phillips, and Tomorrow’s World, the swooning Gallic pop act she fronts alongside Air’s JB Dunckel, in her remarkable debut. Full to bursting with evocative electro-soul love letters to her home town of London alongside addictive disco torch ballads, it’s like Kylie meeting Mr Fingers or, Jam & Lewis producing Jane Birkin – something beautiful and melancholic yet sharply modern and new. From the warm, woozy, lysergic harmonies of opener “Cherry on Top”, which sound like a beloved old cassette unravelling, to the fizzy, infectious “Cold Feet”, which calls to mind Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam at their most heartworn, taken in toto the album perfectly nails the essence of gorgeously nostalgic synth-pop with a twist; crisp, stylish and sophisticated music which heralds the next chapter of Lou Hayter quite nicely, actually. Her retro-futuristic results will give 2021 the pop fix it so desperately needs.
Andy Compton is undisputedly one of the hardest working producers in dance music. With over 40 albums and 150 EPs released either solo or as part of deep house legends The Rurals, the Bristol-based producer just can't stop creating profoundly funky and vibey music that works on loose-limbed dancefloors, beach bars and shag carpets alike.
He has appeared regularly on quality labels as diverse as Lumberjacks In Hell, Hed Kandi, LARGE and naturally, his own vital imprint Peng.
Andy's latest long player for Tangential Music is a collaboration with LA artists Irantzu Pujadas and Brad Kent under the name Blue Dream.
Aptly titled: 'A Trip To LA' the album is a deliciously louche and laidback twelve tracker of pure LA heat. The project began as many great ones do, without a plan. Visiting Brad's studio to check out his huge vintage analogue synth collection in search of new sounds for The Rurals, they got to thinking...and jamming. With Brad on the dusty old drum machines, Irantzu on the microphone and Andy in synthesiser heaven, Blue Dream was born.
Their first and equally good album 'California Dreaming' was released on Peng in early 2019 and now we are here with a second round of perfectly realised dream-like grooves. Think of the sun-facing vibes of Shuggie Otis, Eddie Chacon, Bobby Caldwell or Roy Ayers at his most relaxed and add a passionate knowledge and experienced grasp of electronic forms. They make this seem easy goddammit.
'I Wanted To See You' sounds like Khruangbin with a 303, 'You Want Me Back' with its mid-tempo shuffling groove, saucy squidge bass line and seductive soul house vocal is pure daytime at Houghton Festival happiness, like Crazy P in the hot tub.
At no point are we required to sweat. Lie down if you must, stand up and sway if you're ready. This could be lovers music or just for you alone. Irantzu's vocals throughout are whispers and purrs, evocations of humid love drenched in reverb and easy living. Sunset music.
The singles 'I Wanna Go Home' and 'Sandwich Dub' don't deviate far from the endless feeling of hazy cinematic sunshine, one a sultry plea for intimacy, the other a heavily dubbed-out slice of musique française amour.
'Trip To LA' with a vocal more than suggestive of the Balearic classic 'Sueno Latino', spare guitar chords and a prodding repetitive bass line creates a feeling of slinky bliss.
Every track is full of sensual melodies and the space required to be truly funky. Press play and invite a bit of California magic in...




















