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Thantifaxaths zweites Album Hive Mind Narcosis ist nicht nur ein großer Sprung für die Band, sondern auch für den zeitgenössischen Extrem-Metal insgesamt. Von den ersten Tönen an entsteht ein Gefühl der Transzendenz jenseits des Genres und der Szene.Früher als Avantgarde Black Metal bezeichnet, übertrifft Thantifaxath solche banalen Presse-Etiketten und zaubert stattdessen ein ausladendes, disharmonisches und bewusstseinsveränderndes Gebräu hervor, das niemals nur Black, Thrash, Death oder Doom Metal Psychedelia ist.

Vollständig von der Band selbst produziert, haben Thantifaxath ihren Sound auf erdrückende Perfektion zugeschnitten - eine Produktion, die so gewaltig ist, dass der Hörer sich bis zum bitteren Ende nicht zu bewegen wagt. Genau wie die Musik ist auch Hive Mind Narcosis eine lyrische Mischung aus zwei gegensätzlichen Idealen: "Das Album besteht aus zwei Ebenen, die im Gegensatz zueinander stehen. Auf der einen Ebene gibt es einen starken Widerstand gegen etwas, und auf der anderen gibt es eine totale Akzeptanz derselben Sache. Darüber hinaus überlassen wir es der eigenen Interpretation."

In der Karriere jeder wirklich bahnbrechenden Band gibt es einen Moment, in dem sie sich von der Masse abhebt und eine Insel wird. Für Thantifaxath ist Hive Mind Narcosis ein solches Album. Dieser unheilige kanadische Gral des zeitgenössischen Black Metal wird über Dark Descent Records veröffentlicht.
Das Cover von Hive Mind Necrosis zeigt das Gemälde "Hexenflug" (1798) von Francisco Goya, eine Lizenz des Museo Nacional del Prado.

What’s Mu about? Mu is about everything: Songs about heartbreak and parting share the album with songs marvelling at the scale of the universe. Mu is a concept from Zen and Chan Buddhism that means: “nothingness” and also, “pure awareness.” The awareness at the source of all things. In Hannah’s words: “There is so much life in every moment. Endless patterns, algorithms and instances repeating and changing and adapting. Spiralling outwards from the source. What source? The source.” In search of the source, Hannah has composed and arranged an undefinable, cinematic album that leads the listener on a winding path through her imagination. Sonically as well as thematically, Mu is an album of extremes and lofty ambitions. Fragile and delicate vocal and violin textures contrast with crunchy noisescapes and brooding synthesizers. Hannah’s commanding voice shares the spotlight with a string section and is backed by spacious production featuring many acoustic instruments. Sonically, producer Nick Herrera has brought a reassuring chunkiness to this unplugged palette, in particular the head nodding drums that anchor Hannah’s celestial musings. Like a film soundtrack or a symphony Mu is best listened to and understood as a whole - it circles back to themes and refrains and re-examines them. Sometimes a song is a song, sometimes it’s a soundscape dreaming of a song. “When making this album, I had a specific concept for how I wanted the music to sound. I don’t mean in terms of genre… it was more of a visceral, sensory concept which I knew I could only realise by allowing myself to experiment and create simultaneously, believing in my rough ideas enough to grow them, to weave them into stories. I began allowing myself to enter and remain in a very heightened state of awareness, which is a state I have continued to pursue and learnt to enjoy ever since. I let my mind dissolve into blackness each day. From there the most wonderful colours can appear. I have decided to call the album “Mu” to signify the empty chasm I allowed to hold within me whilst these songs were born.”

Vinyl is available in two versions - classic black or various color limited "Indie Shop Edition".

Both versions have 180g record and printed inner sleeve.

The idea for "PORTRETY" was simple - to invite esteemed drummers to record a song that will be signed with their name. There was no musical framework - they could invite guests or record everything themselves - no need to necessarily use drums. This is how the first PORTRAITS in 2019 were created, and now we present their next installment.


" 'Part two' seems to suggest a series, so just as with the bad joke from four years ago, I'll lead with the short, age old adage: "10 musicians and a drummer". Admittedly, it is rudimentary and unfunny, however, it is significant: It's easy to forget an instrumentalist's other specialities, but here, the drummers don't let themselves to be forgotten.

This series - the brainchild of Marcin "Groh" Grośkiewicz - is composed of up-close portraits. A task which not only shifts accents, but also changes the lives of those normally considered the unsung heroes of the background. One of the tracks from "Portraits" was picked for an advertising campaign for a well known smartphone producer, others topped industry charts and inspired new bands where drums were in the spotlight.

Part two brings us eight drummers who are among the most multifaceted musicians on the Polish music scene. What are they doing here? Teo Olter tells a complex story, asking in the very title, where he is going? Wiktoria Jakubowska, known for backing big stars, shines through with her own composition. Miłosz Pękala - an interpreter of avant-garde composers and an academic lecturer - thoroughly entertains. Famous from Immortal Onion, Wojtek Warmijak energetically explores high tempos, while Wojtek Sobura - those slower, patiently sculpting a club beat with sonoristic* abstraction. Macio Moretti surprises, as expected, stylistically moving towards his hero: Zappa. Tymoteusz Papior impresses, effortlessly juggling accents and chopping time signatures. And Inferno, despite being associated with the group Behemoth, shows he can do it… drum-less. Some invite other musicians, but they always remain - as their studies or professional experience taught them to be - the musician with the widest set (be it drums or skills) on the team.

So, how does the second part of the series compliment the first? It further completes the gallery of collector's cards with Polish Percussion's superheroes and heroines. Each a different personality and an individual set of features. But does it satisfy? Strikingly.

Enough, I won't drum it into you."

Vinyl is available in two versions - classic black or various color limited "Indie Shop Edition".

Both versions have 180g record and printed inner sleeve.

The idea for "PORTRETY" was simple - to invite esteemed drummers to record a song that will be signed with their name. There was no musical framework - they could invite guests or record everything themselves - no need to necessarily use drums. This is how the first PORTRAITS in 2019 were created, and now we present their next installment.


" 'Part two' seems to suggest a series, so just as with the bad joke from four years ago, I'll lead with the short, age old adage: "10 musicians and a drummer". Admittedly, it is rudimentary and unfunny, however, it is significant: It's easy to forget an instrumentalist's other specialities, but here, the drummers don't let themselves to be forgotten.

This series - the brainchild of Marcin "Groh" Grośkiewicz - is composed of up-close portraits. A task which not only shifts accents, but also changes the lives of those normally considered the unsung heroes of the background. One of the tracks from "Portraits" was picked for an advertising campaign for a well known smartphone producer, others topped industry charts and inspired new bands where drums were in the spotlight.

Part two brings us eight drummers who are among the most multifaceted musicians on the Polish music scene. What are they doing here? Teo Olter tells a complex story, asking in the very title, where he is going? Wiktoria Jakubowska, known for backing big stars, shines through with her own composition. Miłosz Pękala - an interpreter of avant-garde composers and an academic lecturer - thoroughly entertains. Famous from Immortal Onion, Wojtek Warmijak energetically explores high tempos, while Wojtek Sobura - those slower, patiently sculpting a club beat with sonoristic* abstraction. Macio Moretti surprises, as expected, stylistically moving towards his hero: Zappa. Tymoteusz Papior impresses, effortlessly juggling accents and chopping time signatures. And Inferno, despite being associated with the group Behemoth, shows he can do it… drum-less. Some invite other musicians, but they always remain - as their studies or professional experience taught them to be - the musician with the widest set (be it drums or skills) on the team.

So, how does the second part of the series compliment the first? It further completes the gallery of collector's cards with Polish Percussion's superheroes and heroines. Each a different personality and an individual set of features. But does it satisfy? Strikingly.

Enough, I won't drum it into you."

Returning after three years, the husband and wife duo of Alexi Erenkov and Alison Alderdiceaka. The Saxophones have announced the arrival of their third album, To Be A Cloud, for 2nd June 2023. Out today is the first single to be taken from it, Desert Flower, featuring a video directed by Rainbow Tunnel. "Alison wants me to try therapy, "says Alexi. “She’s a therapist herself, but I’ve never been to one. The idea of going makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t like being vulnerable in front of strangers. So, instead of confronting my discomfort, I look for an easier path. It’s never easier and it’s always unsatisfying or destructive. “Desert Flower” is about avoidance and fear impeding personal growth and the deepening of relationships. The album itself was recorded at Phil Elverum’s (The Microphones, Mount Eerie) Unknown Studio in Anacortes, WA last autumn. A former Catholic church where the pair lived during 24/7 recording sessions, time was no object as they experimented and developed the sound of the record. Its magical setting and ample space provided natural acoustics for Alexi’s arresting vocals which were recorded live to 24-track tape, suspending them in an ambiguous historical and chronological context between analogue and digital. Enhanced by Alison’s percussion alongside the bass and keys of Richard Laws, together they made the most of the studio’s many instruments which fill out and bookend their exploration of the billions of years of evolution that have led to this moment in time.

Ultramarine are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1989 by Ian Cooper and Paul Hammond.

Cooper and Hammond first worked together in the band A Primary Industry during the mid-1980s. Following the split of that band, they formed Ultramarine and released their debut album 'Folk' in April 1990 on seminal Belgian label Les Disques du Crépuscule. The duo found critical acclaim with their second long player, 'Every Man And Woman Is A Star', initially released in 1991. Over the next decade or so, they recorded two John Peel sessions, collaborated with Robert Wyatt, toured the States with Orbital, then Europe with Björk. After a hiatus, they began recording again in Ian's home studio, overlooking the Blackwater Estuary in Essex.

The moods and movements of this English estuary can be heard running through the duo's stunning and deeply intriguing new album 'Send and Return'.

Flowing and mutating as it transitions from an Essex river into the open sea, the Blackwater Estuary, north of London, inspired this beguiling collection of hypnotic jazz, itching electronica and softly dazzling ambient shapes.

For the 6-track album, Paul and Ian hired a Thames sailing barge moored on the estuary for one day and recorded below deck in the ship's downstairs wooden saloon; the idea was originally inspired by seeing Robin Williamson of The Incredible String Band perform on a similar barge.

The duo were joined by jazz musician Greg Heath and accomplished percussionist Ric Elsworth for the day, who added stunning saxophones, alto flute, percussion and vibraphone to the mix. It's a contemplative, ambient record with gentle jazz inflections and softly pulsing electronica.

Erik K Skodvin's alter persona “Svarte Greiner” re-appears with another chapter in his “zen music for disturbed souls” series, channeling both spiritual distress and meditation in a live recording from the bunkers of a bombed out brewery.

The first piece, entitled “Devolving Trust” is recorded live in the bunkers of Schneider Brewery in Berlin, 2018. Erik explains : “I was invited to use the vast old cellars located underneath the site for a performance / installation. Wet and hollow with a dark past and long reverb, it was a perfect location to channel a cello and electro-acoustic improvisation in the spirit of my two long-form, meditative albums Black Tie & Moss Garden. As a 30 minute piece, it was left looping in the room for hours after it ended as an echo of the performance, allowing people to walk around and soak up the sounds and empty hallways alone.

I am usually not into the idea of releasing a live recording, as there are so many factors that are lost in the translation from being present and listening to it in another space. The eyes, ears and body can often see beyond small mistakes once a live performance unfolds in front of you. The details are usually lost in translating it to a pure recording. I made an exception for this as I feel it translates the live feeling in a way I like. Very personal and full of small mistakes it creates its own life. Also, as an improvisation, I am very happy with it, and have been listening to it on and off since a few years. With this in mind I decided I want it to be another document in my ongoing series of longform, atmospheric pieces following the aforementioned two albums.

The second track simply called “Devolve” is mostly constructed out of fragments from the performance as a sort of minimal, reversed echo, further tunnelling into the unknown. These pieces has given me calmness, reflection and escape from the madness escalating outside of our doors. I hope it can do the same for you”.

An explorative sonic landscape with the beautifully eclectic sounds of drum and bass at its core, Sustance’s debut album is every bit as thought-out, polished, and innovative as we’ve come to expect from one of drum and bass’ brightest prospects.

Having grown up listening to seminal Shogun albums like Spectrasoul's 'Delay No More' and Icicle's 'Under The Ice', ‘Perceived Connections’ acts as a full circle moment for the producer, who now finds himself following in the footsteps of the artists who profoundly influenced his approach to creating music.

Written between London and Berlin across a twelve-month period, 'Perceived Connections' encapsulates both of the alluring sides of Sustance's sound. In the same fashion that the album's writing process pivoted between two capital cities, Sustance's debut album presents both deep and expressive tracks such as 'I Want You' and 'Sweet Relief', as well as showcasing heavy, sound system-destroying tunes like 'Undercurrent' and 'Ten Ton’.

“The album title comes from the Zen idea that everyone perceives the world through their own perspective. Two people can listen to a record side by side and have totally different experiences. I really liked that idea as music is inherently so subjective. Sustance

Accompanying Sustance on this LP voyage is a plethora of D&B’s hottest talent, with Pola & Bryson, Visages, Flowdan, Strategy, Duskee, T-Man, Catching Cairo & Zara Kershaw all sprinkling their own flavours across the album.

Traversing an array of sounds, styles, and genres throughout, 'Perceived Connections' is nothing short of an exceptional extended body of work from a producer whose razor-tight approach to music has seen him emerge with one of the crispest and most captivating sonic palettes in drum and bass music.

Pinky Perzelle, aka Sonny Rooney's debut 'No Games' featuring Eda Eren, is a true labour of love and an ode to his total passion and dedication to multi instrumental record creation without compromise. Almost every instrument was recorded and played by Perzelle at his home studio. Featuring the utterly unique, impassioned and reassuring vocals of British-Turkish artist, Eda Eren, and additional drums from world renowned Malcolm Catto (The Heliocentrics). The lead track is a timeless, heartfelt, funk-ladened portal into a world reminiscent of a cinematic movie scene or an undiscovered gem from another era all-together. The hypnotic 'Remix' from Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold aka Gerry Rooney & Joel Martin, introduces subtle electronica and dubbed out instrumentation. A true lesson in after hours, left-field Balearica. Pinky's own 'Electronic Mix' references early house music and broken-beat electronic drums. Showing yet another side of Perzelle's approach to music making.

DJ Feedback

Gilles Peterson:
"Great stuff! Loving the Turkish twist on No Games. Whoooop!"

Dj Harvey:
"Definitely a jam I’ll play in Ibiza for my summer season!"

Francios K:
"I have the Original Mix and love it!"

Tim Sweeney (Beats in space):
"Great job with this. Definitely supporting! Added to BIS playlist."

Colleen Cosmo Murphy (WWFM):
"Now here’s a great new song. A debut song from Pinky Perzelle aka Sonny Rooney. Also a great remix from Velvet Season & The Hearts Of Gold!"

Charlie Bones (Do You):
"Dangerously sexy."

Apiento (Test Pressing):
"A killer song put together with an overall vision from someone that knows where they want to be. An artist to watch. Respect."

Nancy Noise:
"I haven’t stopped listening to it! I mean it! Well done!"

Laurent Garnier:
"Playlisting Original Mix on PBB Radio. Thanks a lot!"

Luke Howard (Horse Meat Disco):
"Bravo, great job. Keep up the good work. Always happy to hear real music with new melodies and ideas!"

Leo Mas:
"Pinky’s Electronic Mix’ is great! Great job, bravo!"

Ashley Beedle:
"I’ll be putting this in August’s show. Sounds wicked."

Jonny Rock:
"This is great! Intense emotion dancefloor bomb! Big up the Perzelle."

Mehmet Aslan:
"Nice ones, I like! Added to Spotify ‘Track ID’s’ playlist."

CC Disco:
"Sick release! Was not what I was expecting. Even better!"

Patrizio Cavaliere (Mixmag Asia):
"A sublime statement of intent."

Mattias Petersson debuts on the Swiss label Hallow Ground with »Triangular Progressions,« a suite in nine parts written entirely in the SuperCollider environment using additive synthesis. The starting point for the evocative piece is a magic number triangle that Petersson invented during his early composition studies and which has been an obsession of the artist for over twenty years, previously forming the foundation of many other of his works. By exploring the harmonic progressions found hiding within the triangle, »Triangular Progressions« at once emits a sense of introspective calm that fosters deep listening and evokes a whole spectrum of emotions, mediating between the abstract and the visceral.

The Stockholm-based Petersson, also known under the moniker Codespira1 and for his long-term collaboration with violinist George Kentros as There Are No More Four Seasons, has been active as a composer of computer music as well as an artist in the realms of live coding and modular synthesis for over two decades. Originally trained as a classical pianist, he also holds a diploma in electro-acoustic composition from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he currently works as an associate professor. Besides his activities as a musician and teacher, Petersson is pursuing a PhD in composition at the Luleå University of Technology. Researching modular systems comprising both human and non-human modules, he is part of the GEMM))) Gesture Embodiment and Machines in Music cluster.

»Triangular Progressions« can be considered a perfect synthesis of Petersson’s academic interests and aesthetic ideas, combining a mathematical approach with artistic rigour. The magic number triangle highlights the beauty of symmetrical properties. By exploring its idiosyncrasies, the composer manages to translate them into engaging sounds. The lush melodies and harmonies of the music at times call to mind the intimate organ and drone works by label mates Kali Malone and Maria W Horn while also maintaining a unique signature sound. The addition of pure sinusoidal waves enables a deep listening exploration of the counterpoint between melodic and harmonic rhythms, chord structures and spectral harmonies that Petersson extrapolates from those magic numbers.

With this release TAL delves deep into the very beginnings of Düsseldorf's post punk scene of the early 1980s. STUMM was the duo of Detlef Funder and Bernd Sevens who both would become pivotal figures in the tape underground movement of West-Germany, when they launched the SDV label in 1986. Individually they went on to produce boundary defying works as Konrad Kraft and Seventh Day respectively.

The material on this album was recorded by Funder and Sevens quite casually in 1980 in a rehearsal studio in the centre of Düsseldorf. Right from the beginning the two young musicians incorporated the atmosphere of the space in order to document the process of their sound experiments on a 4-track tape machine. For those recording sessions, which are now released for the first time ever on vinyl and download, Funder and Sevens managed to get their hands on a very rudimentary set of equipment consisting of merely a Korg MS 20 synth, a Roland CR 78 drum machine, a few electronic effects and a drum kit. The urgent and rough sound of the recordings imbues their production with a characteristic and era-specific edge that's hard to imitate today. Spontaneity and understatement were key elements in the brief creative period of STUMM. The recordings still have a uniquely dizzying quality and are somewhat of a basic blueprint for a lot of industrial/techno and post punk which was about to loom in all corners of the world. These tracks are also a testament to the vivid spark of a period in time that would soon be radically changed through the rise of digital technology.

Bernd Sevens: “Around 1980 there was a great musical awakening. Punk, New Wave, Industrial and of course Dub Reggae -- the electronic music blew us away. Everything we heard influenced us. Back then, cassette tapes were cheap and easily available. We could record our ideas on the spot and then copy and distribute the tapes. That's how it started. Giving it a go, experimenting, trial and error. The music you hear on the record was spontaneous and had no concept. Our collaboration was also not intended to be a permanent project. You could say we were dilettantes setting out on our journey, making it up as we went along. It felt like a beginning.”

»Picture a Frame,« the debut album by the Belgian composer Elisabeth Klinck, was born out of strict isolation and is nonetheless a result of a collaborative process that saw her working closely with artist Oscar Claus. Enriching her compositions for violin with electronic soundscapes and field recordings from their surroundings, the two entered an artistic dialogue that took place inside its own idiosyncratic space outside of conventional time. It is an intimate record in which Klinck’s expressive playing that incorporates unconventional techniques forms the basis of something much bigger: an invitation to inhabit a specific space at a specific time together with the two of them.

For an entire week in the spring of 2021, Klinck and Claus stayed at an abandoned monastery surrounded by beautiful gardens, but with no power or running water. The intention was to record some of Klinck’s musical ideas on violin, experiment with electronics and acoustic spaces and to get to know each other on a musical level. This proved to be an inspiring and deeply moving process—and the starting point for more. In the winter of that year, the duo set out to the Spanish Pyrenees to build a DIY studio in a small village on a mountain top and record the eight pieces that form »Picture a Frame.« The idea of losing track of time and space is a theme that found its way in these recordings. The two spent their days and nights reading, walking, talking, cooking and taking care of the animals living there but also experimenting with sound, improvising together and making field recordings.

This deep focus on being present in the moment, listening to the world around them and each other resulted in a holistic experience that was translated into music and sound. Klinck and Claus understand this album as a collage, an attempt to evoke the implicit, an essay that suggests a time and space, and a gentle collision between two people that deeply resonate with one another. It’s impossible to argue with that, and even harder not to be drawn into it.

Bowling out of Offenbach with a swing in his step, Dogpatrol returns for round three on Sneaker Social packing another four-strong payload of mutant rave clout. If you caught the previous missives then you should have some idea of where he's coming from, getting freaky with rave signifiers and laying down ear-snagging swerves to juice up the dance good and proper.

On this latest release we dip-dive into the grime-licked garage-tech shuffle of 'Non PGR' only for the script to get flipped at the mid-section in favour of diced up Think breaks. The pressure doesn't ease once Nasty King Kurl comes on board for a rolling remix strapped to a disgustingly massive kick drum impulse.

'Sassafras' takes a leaner approach to bleepy breakbeat contortions on the B side, holding down the arrangement and letting the track rip when everyone's wound up and hungry. NKK returns again to partner up with our resident Dog for the collab joint 'Creepin', chopping out the RnB samples and whipping up square wave synth flurries shouting out that overlooked substrata of dubstep - the Purple sound. It's a cheeky hint at the deep-level affinity for all rave gear which powers this EP, another sure step on from your favourite canine soundsystem practitioner.

‘Before the Odysee, there was the Iliad; a tale of the golden age of heroes and warriors.'

The idea behind the new Iliads series is to return to the sound of the golden age of Jungle/Drum & Bass, and more specifically the original ‘heroes’ of the Odysee label.
This first in the series pays homage to the style of music heard in the Oblivion releases that Source Direct delivered through Bassment Phil’s Street Beats imprint between 1995 & 1996.

Forbidden Affections is a classic Deep Amen track, made with tracks like Sands Of Time and Secret Liaison very much in mind. Right from the onset where the pads are given plenty of time and space to draw you in, it is completely faithful to that mid-90’s SD style. All the trademark break switches and deep 909 sub lines are present, and the palette of sounds are all drawn from those same sources that first inspired the SD sound (as such it is Atmospheric Jungle with a strong Techno persuasion). The finishing touches come from the achingly gorgeous female vocal ad-libs that were also such a trademark of the early, more atmospheric SD tracks.

Hidden Rooms is perhaps even more authentically SD, especially with its focus on arrangement, and the way it uses the selection of samples that are once more drawn from those same Deep Techno sources. The interaction between the rolling curls and cuts of the Apache at the start, and the crisp injection of the Think breaks at the drop comes straight out of the early SD portfolio. The bass drops down super deep underneath the drum work, punctuated by exposed electro hits and well-chosen samples. It is the haunting keys nearly 4 minutes in however that give this track the authentic SD twist more than anything, calling tracks like Fabric Of Space and Made Up Sound very much to mind.

Drifting Through is the final track of the E.P. with its beautifully sharp rolling Hotpants/Worm combination. This track leaves plenty of space; dubbed out to just breaks and bass for much of the duration, with the occasional injection of an obscure electronic sample, or the sweet vocal ad- libs to hold the tune together. Further down the track there is a touch of the Jazz influence as the Rhodes chords add an extra level of harmonic warmth.

Look out for Volume II where we will be returning to the distinctive flavours of the original Mirage releases on Odysee!

Although its name comes from the literal translation of the Korean term - which could mean anything from fanciful daydreams to nightmarish terrors, but always alluding to the idea that they are nonsensical, unrealistic, or simply silly - Lucy Liyou's sophomore album instead takes seriously these questions of why we dream what we dream, what slumber offers us that sober reality fails to, and
which forgotten desires dare only emerge as our bodies go to rest. RIYL: Elysia Crampton, Eiko Ishibashi, Mariah Carey, Valerio Tricolor (Tour Sketch), Perfume Genius.

"As I write these notes sitting on my balcony in July 2022, it has been more than 9 years since the release of my debut album and more than 11years since it was recorded, the time since has been a personally tumultuous period of twists and turns - retreat, reflection, realization, reassessment, therapy, triumph, trial and error - entangled in a decade-long creative block that had me questioning whether
I would ever be able to compose again and though I felt there was so much I wanted and needed to say, I felt I had lost my voice, or perhaps never had one in the first place. A constant knot had grown tighter and tighter within me over time, but I did not understand what had created it or how it might be undone. In 2018, shaken awake by the collision of two transients, I suddenly saw in a new light old
patterns whose familiar presences I realized I had felt for much of my life, but had until then never seen for what they were. Following a third, I finally found the humility to surrender, and as I began re- examining and confronting myself, I slowly started to discover new answers - and new questions to ask.

Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened, and the world stopped. Like so many of us caught in the new eerie calm, I retreated into inner spaces. I began revisiting sketches of ideas I had accumulated over the years, and finally, very, very slowly, new music started to come. " - Jussi Reijonen.

"Electrifying and deeply resonant, monumental and profoundly personal, Reijonen's five- movement suite is a beautifully crafted, remarkable journey of sound and emotion performed by a knockout nine-piece ensemble." - Monarch

"He's written one hell of a piece." - The Arts Fuse

"On this remarkable and ambitious new recording, Reijonen delivers an epic transcultural suite that feels as deeply personal as it is expansive and farreaching." - All About Jazz "a remarkable sophomore album" -The Boston Globe

"This is an album meticulously pulled together into a dense fabric of diverse musical threads. It merits repeated listening; with each fresh listen, the richness of Reijonen's intercultural vocabulary becomes more apparent." London Jazz News

"Even in our present jazz moment, when the art form is worldwide and vital, albums that come as complete surprises are relatively rare. Three seconds Kolme Toista is a stunner." Jazz Times

"Three seconds Kolme Toista is spellbinding from beginning to end, and full of virtuoso performances." All About Jazz

After the pandemic hit, and the people of the world grew wary and
suspicious of one another, Iguana Death Cult, one of Europe's most
exciting rock exports, became more than just a band to its members--it became therapy - "I think for the first ten times we went to jam," says guitarist/vocalist Tobias Opschoor, speaking about the making of the new album Echo Palace, "we just drank wine and talked about it for hours--and then were like, 'OK, I have to go because I have to work tomorrow.

Taking place at frontman Jeroen Reek's apartment in Rotterdam, these
gatherings slowly shifted from talking about this surreal chapter of their lives--the days of quiet streets and cramped buildings--to making music about it.
Armed with the talents of Justin Boer on bass and Arjen van Opstal on drums, and tapping the keys work Jimmy de Kok for the first time on album, the band took their trademark melodic garage-rock style and expanded it to make it vibier and looser, with each member contributing ideas to develop the sound palette in full. When it came time to record the album, the band headed to PAF Studio in
Rotterdam, and subsequently it was mixed by Joo- Joo Ashworth (Sasami, Dummy) at Studio 22 in Los Angeles and mastered by Dave Cooley (Tame Impala, Yves Tumor).

The album is a big swing, stretching Iguana Death Cult beyond its garage rock origins and taking them to a new realm. The end result of Echo Palace is an appropriately worldly album from a group breaking past the confines of its home country.

"Dutch band Iguana Death Cult's rip- roaring melodies are built to jettison far beyond their homebase of Rotterdam." - FADER

"Frenetic, intense sonic assaults, they turn psych punk into astonishingly concise three-dimensional documents." - CLASH

* 300 COPIES FOR UK/EU* With a friendship stretching back nearly 20 years, it strangely ended up being a couple of childhood photographs that finally brought Ben Chasny and Rick Tomlinson together as collaborators. Both have rich musical backgrounds: Chasny being a member of the psych-rock outfit Comets on Fire but probably best known for his solo project, Six Organs of Admittance, while Tomlinson has released numerous records as Voice of the Seven Woods/Thunders and under his own name. “A mutual acquaintance, Jamie Tugwell, took me to go see Rick play live around 2005,” remembers Chasny. “Jamie kept saying how Rick was sort of an ornery fellow and that I would like him a lot. He was right. I loved his guitar playing right away, which seemed so far from what a lot of players were doing. We had drinks and hit it off. We remained friends over the years.” Chasny became a regular visitor to Tomlinson when on tour in the UK and one particular stay unearthed something serendipitous that would kickstart the making of a joint album. “I was staying at Rick’s house after a show and I looked over and saw a photo of him in a Halloween costume as a box of matches,” Chasny recalls. “It cracked me up because I have a similar photo of me as a robot and I tried to explain to him how it matched his photo.” About 6 months later Chasny found it and sent it to Tomlinson to show him the uncanny likeness of their childhood outfits. “Pretty soon after that we realized we needed to do a duo record and have those photos be on the cover,” says Chasny. “The entire record comes from the photos on the cover.” Tomlinson adds: “It was a pretty odd coincidence. Even down to us both standing on flags with a conifer behind us. We obviously had no option but to use these for the sleeve.” Recorded at Tomlinson’s house in Todmorden over three days one June, initially the pair didn’t quite know where they wanted to go with their musical direction. Tomlinson kept pulling out super rare records from his vast collection for inspiration and they sat and listened to the solo piano recordings of Popol Vuh’s Florian Fricke but they knew they needed to land on something that was intrinsically them. “We knew we wanted to do a record together but we weren’t sure what direction to take,” says Chasny. “When we first sat down to work out some ideas it was pretty much just us getting down to finally having a guitar showdown where each of us tried to outdo each other with flashy moves and ridiculous riffs and playing. After we got that out of our system, we were able to settle down and concentrate on a mood for the record to focus on.” The result is 6 instrumental tracks that capture beautifully fluid and interlocking guitars played with deft grace and skill but also a subtle looseness. On the 9 minute-plus ‘Wait For Low Tide’, the sparse and spacious back and forth playing becomes utterly hypnotic, neatly capturing the kind of natural and intuitive playing that can only come from music made between friends who understand the crucialness of leaving space for one another. While acoustic guitars are the primary means of expression on the record - from the soothing and gentle ‘i’ to the intricate playing of ‘Waking of Insects’ - the pair delve into ambient drone tape loop territory on the humming 16 minute ‘Paths of Ocean Currents and Wind Belts’, which further adds to the deeply textural, spacious and immersive feel of the album. All the tracks were recorded in one take, with the titles all stemming from translations from the Chinese book, The Dream Pool Essays, and then mixed in London at Jimmy Robertson's SNAFU studio, with additional mixing and mastering from Andrew Liles. The laid back, breezy and spontaneous approach to making this record is one that was reflective of the pair’s friendship and camaraderie, with their relationship ultimately driving the tone and feel of the finished album. “We hiked around the countryside, climbed into church bell towers, drank delicious beer in the middle of sunny afternoons, and had fantastic dinners,” says Chasny of the three-day recording period. “I think all of that wound up in the music. I really had the best time in the world.

A cult icon on the international film scene, Japanese actress Meiko Kaji, born in Tokyo, has been put into the spotlight internationally by Quentin Tarantino when he heavily based his Kill Bill film on the 1973 revenge genre film 'Lady Snowblood,' one of Kaji's most famous films. By the time she appeared in it, she had already made almost fifty feature films (she began her career in 1965) among which the cult 'Stray Cat Rock' and 'Female Prisoner Scorpion' film series and she was one of the most famous exploitation actresses in Japan doubling as a sex symbol. This gave the studios the idea of getting her to start a singing career and release music closely associated with the films she starred in often singing the theme songs. Thus she began releasing records at the dawn of the 70s, recording several 7" singles and five albums for Teichiku which have become sought-after and almost as cult as her films.
Drawing on her film roles, the music on these albums were an uber-cool mix of kayokyoku (Japanese Pop), traditional Enka Music, Acid Folk and Funky beats arranged by the best producers of the time in a cinematic way that could sound like Ennio Morricone or Jean-Claude Vannier. that explosive cocktail is featured in full blow on the first album from the Meiko Kaji reissue program, 'Hajiki Uta' released by Teichiku in 1973.
The album featured two film songs, namely 'Urami Bushi' used for the film series "Female Prisoner Scorpion" and 'Onna No Jumon' featured in the film 'Female Prisoner Scorpion - Jailhouse 41,' which have been composed by Shunsuke Kikuchi who also composed the score for these films. At first Kaji was unsure of her singing talents as told to Hashim Bharoocha in an interview but she quickly rose to the challenge: "I told Shunsuke Kikuchi that I couldn’t imagine myself singing the songs. He said I could ignore the melody that he wrote, and just sing it the way I wanted to. That really lifted the pressure off my shoulders, and I decided to sing the song as the character in the film. The director was also happy with that idea.”
The rest of the album follows the same pattern with atmospheric songs such as "Onna Hagure Uta" or "Onna Somuki Uta" displaying Meiko's sombre singing over a superb slow-burning groove, which precedes the funkier "Hitori Kaze" featuring a wah wah guitar, a breakbeat-like rhythm section and slick string arrangement, shaping the unique Meiko Kaji signature sound.
Wewantsounds is delighted to reissue "Hajiki Uta" and the rest of Meiko Kaji superb early 70s albums for the first time in fifty years in their glorious original Japanese artwork, with remastered audio, cementing further the actress' reputation as a true international pop culture icon.