Search:im not you

Be With present the first ever reissue of the ultra rare double pack DJ promo of Malcolm McLaren & Bootzilla Orchestra's "Call A Wave". Originally slipping out in 1989 to a select few, there were rumoured to be only ever 300 copies pressed. Indeed, the entire package never got a proper release and now goes for a small fortune.

Say what? Bootsy Collins, Jeff Beck and Malcolm McLaren, all in one band, composing over a Barry White sample? And that's just the original. But you can forget about that for now. Here we have the incredibly sought-after "DFC Dance Mix", mixed by Massimino Lippoli of Morenas / Sueño Latino fame for the legendary DFC Italy. It's a throbbing, vital, dramatic slice of dreamy ambient house. A deep, entrancing track that's both blissful and dancefloor dynamite. It features the iconic, disaffected female vocal chopped up over elegant piano snatches, Beck's ace guitar stylings over rolling, heavy drums and a killer, hypnotic bassline with sparkling harp coming and going. It's exotic, otherworldly and brimming with that very special late 80s/early 90s Mediterranean vibe. Yes, it's Balearic, it's House. Above all else, it's a pure uncut slice of halcyon summer days, pressed on wax.

But on side B we also have the mesmeric "Breakdown Mix", again mixed by DFC Italy. For some, *this* is the mix to have - and who are we to argue? This time, the vocals are treated so they're uttered backwards, contributing to the wonderfully disorienting magic of this particular mix.

And how could we forget the equally iconic "Orbital Mix"? Not by the actual group Orbital, but courtesy of S'Express's Mark Moore & William Orbit, no less. A brilliant, beautiful remix that's perhaps more musical. They make more obvious use of the sample from the original Barry White track ("I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby") that Malcolm was inspired by. Flip over to Side D to find the duo's uber-horizontal "Return To The Deep Ambient Mix", a floaty, beatless gem that'll leave you swooning.

To round out this quite astonishing package, the "New Age Mix", again coming from the DFC Italy camp, elegantly sends us off into the cosmos with minimal percussion and maximum vibes.

Every mix on this DJ double pack is truly killer. Simon Francis remastered the original audio for this release and Cicely Balston's precise cut for Alchemy at AIR Studios ensures this 2x12" well and truly pumps. The immaculate Record Industry pressing will ensure this incredibly sought-after masterpiece finds a home in many more DJ boxes this and every summer. For the artwork, we've recreated the original DJ promo, a plain white gatefold sleeve complete with the iconic burnt orange hype sticker. Hold tight. Roof down, tops off.

The electric eels were the first punk band, full stop. They may not have “started” the genre, but they were the first to tick all the boxes. The eels rejected every 1970s rock convention—professionalism, virtuosity, subject matter, image. Dave E.’s caustic vocals, complete with an aggressive lisp and a head full of snot, would become de rigeur a few years after the group disbanded. Meanwhile, the songs’ focus on car crashes, suicide, neuroses, and generally hating people were as far out of the mainstream as possible. The two eels tracks that do approach the subject of romance couch it in terms of not really caring that much about it (“Jaguar Ride”) or placing it in the context of a grisly murder (“Silver Daggers”). Also consider John Morton’s signature guitar sound, a nails-on-chalkboard tone with brutally free soloing inspired more by Albert Ayler than the blues or aspirations to technical facility. Ditto Dave E.’s clarinet playing and affection for lawnmowers and vacuums during live performance. They were notoriously violent not only among themselves, but towards audiences, police, and anyone unfortunate enough to be around them when things went south. Then of course there are the leather jackets, the clothing festooned with rat traps or safety pins. And no bass player, why bother. There is simply no other “proto” band to have had all these pieces in place circa 1973- 1975. Yet it is a mistake to consider the eels exclusively in such a context. Yes, the eels could and did shock anyone who encountered them, but they also had great songs. While both Dave and John were visionary writers, they also had rhythm guitarist Brian McMahon, a melody and riff machine who wrote many of the band’s signature songs. And they were no one-trick pony. Although much of the band’s material is appropriately high-energy, there is also the downer eels—morbid, harmonically risky, and in full existential crisis. Although it’s not a focus of this compilation, the eels also had a penchant for completely free improvisation. Over the last forty plus years, there have been several electric eels compilations. Spin Age Blasters is quite simply the best one ever assembled, every single key track is here in its best version, properly mastered by John Golden, and sequenced with an eye towards both flow between tracks as well as individation between sides. A true monster of an album.

If your brain has a shortlist of bands that instantly evoke New Wave, Suburban Lawns deserve a slot right next to the likes of Devo, Talking Heads and the B-52’s. After putting out two singles on their own Suburban Industrial imprint, the Lawns signed to I.R.S. Records and released their debut LP in 1981. While the band gained cult status thanks in part to a Jonathan Demme-produced music video which aired on Saturday Night Live, their self-titled album would sadly be the five-piece’s only full-length statement. Suburban Lawns’ asymmetrical aesthetic is personified by co-vocalist Su Tissue, whose mesmerizing stage persona was at once childlike and terrifying. Her unique style embodies the awkward/arty female singer of the Reagan era, while the group’s male vocals—courtesy of Frankie Ennui, Vex Billingsgate and John McBurney—maintain the satirical themes of Southern California’s postwar mirage of limitless sprawl. Suburban Lawns’ catchiness can be attributed to their drum-tight performance and taut songwriting. Listen to the vocal trade-offs on “Anything,” which could have easily come out on any purely Punk label from LA at the time, while Tissue’s deadpan delivery on “Janitor” glides into the best art-warble this side of Lene Lovich, broaching the possibility of nuclear annihilation with a murmured “Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom.” From a West Coast scene dominated by 7-inch singles and EPs, the Suburban Lawns’ lone LP remains in a class with precious few. It’s not surprising that they found acceptance in the Hollywood punk scene, despite their Long Beach roots, and would influence other bands such as Minutemen. This is not a disc that will get parked in your collection hoping to get pulled once in a while; this is a record you will play.

Carl Finlow keeps on keepin' on. Not only is Finlow one of the most respected names in electro, a producer who boasts a sprawling catalogue that takes in a wide variety of aliases, but he's also spent recent years establishing himself as a mainstay for Sheffield's Central Processing Unit label. Soft Robotics, the new EP from Finlow's Silicon Scally project, is the fifth Silicon Scally release in five years to boast one of CPU's instantly-recognisable black-and-white covers.

The reason that Silicon Scally and CPU keep linking up is simple; they're a perfect fit for one another. Central Processing Unit has established itself as a haven for post-Drexciya producers since launching in 2012, and there are few artists better than Finlow at building on the Detroit group's sound. The union bears fruit once more on Soft Robotics, an EP of lithe machine-funk jams that will both do damage in the dance and also reward more concentrated home listening.

Things begin at a steadier speed than one might expect. Rather than barrelling off with the kind of sinewy roller one associates with the CPU name, Soft Robotics' title-track takes things at mid-pace. The groove reveals itself without hurry, Silicon Scally adding or subtracting elements - twitchy modular loops, pensive pads, the occasional blurt of low-end - atop the chugging bass/drums groove. It's a track which wins you over with guile rather than force.

As the name of subsequent cut 'Jitters' intimates, this one picks things up a little after 'Soft Robotics'. The tempo is higher here, the central beat more nervy. At their cores, though, 'Jitters' and 'Soft Robotics' are kindred spirits. Here, another slyly insistent bit of drum programming comes swirled up with all sorts of extraterrestrial tones, from little nuggets of melody supplied by the keys to electrifying synth stabs and percussive squelches.

Things limber up further still on first B-side 'Spin Ratio'. The track's 808 kicks are punchier than those of the A-side jams, and there's a dizziness to the bass tone which gives 'Spin Ratio' an intriguingly off-kilter feel. Atop the booming beat we find ourselves hypnotised by cells of melody and harmony interlocking or moving apart - particularly the staccato module at the track's heart. Sure enough, 'Spin Ratio' is the Soft Robotics joint which cleaves closest to Drexciya, invoking other Detroit disciples like Jensen Interceptor in the process.

After Soft Robotics picks up speed in the middle, closer 'Super Fluid Tones' brings us back to where we started. This track returns to the more measured delivery of the record's opener - there's a steady pulse to the drums, and once again Silicon Scally packs the mix with so many intriguing whizzes, bangs, blips and blurts that it's impossible not be won over by this tune's construction. 'Soft Robotics' and 'Super Fluid Tones' bookend Soft Robotics very nicely, and Silicon Scally's smart pacing gives the EP a lovely ebb and flow.

The ever-excellent Carl Finlow drops a Silicon Scally release via Central Processing Unit for the fifth year running. Like its predecessors, Soft Robotics is an excellent and deftly-crafted collection of modern machine-funk.

RIYL: Drexciya, Jensen Interceptor, Fleck E.S.C., The Advent

Lori McKenna titled her album 1988 after the year she married her husband, Gene, yet the 10 songs within also serve as a love letter to lifelong friendships, people she’s lost, and her family. Recorded with producer Dave Cobb in Savannah, Georgia, 1988 naturally has its nostalgic moments, even if not every ending is a happy one. With more of an electric edge than her past projects, 1988 feels in step with classic ‘90s albums by Sheryl Crow or Gin Blossoms, where the lyrics pulled you in as much as the melody or production. Playing together on acoustic guitars while facing one another in the studio, McKenna and Cobb tracked the album live, giving it a feeling of immediacy and authenticity.

Swami John Reis celebrates his 100th year in rock ’n’ roll with a brand new band and record! “Ride The Wild Night” is neither completely similar nor dissimilar to his previous bands (Hot Snakes, Night Marchers, The Sultans, Rocket From The Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, etc).

Yet the sound is immediately familiar and assuring (like an old friend you lost touch with that comes back into your life only to ask to borrow money).

The music is an amalgam of ’60s folk-punk, ’70s punk-punk and pre-Vietnam War rock ’n’ roll, filtered through the Reis’ unregistered, trademark sensibilities. “I wanted to celebrate some of my favorite rock n roll in its transitional periods. Flaming Groovies, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Kinks, The Saints and others created some of the most exciting recordings while also connecting the musical past to its future. That really appeals to me”.

Although titled a “solo” record it is predominantly in name only. The record is built on stentorian bedrock of savage drumming by J. Sinclair K. of Hot Snakes and the pounding acoustic piano of Joe Guevara. Also adding their expertise to the mix is Chris Prescott (Pinback) Gar Wood (Hot Snakes), Glen Galloway (Truman’s Water), Jacob Turnbloom (Mrs. Magician) and Jordan Clark (PLOSIVS). With this backing, Swami John Reis finalizes it with his throaty basso and weaponizes the files with roaring electric guitars, rapid acoustic guitar strum and bass.

Hear his defiant, croak-howl in what might be his most autobiographical work yet. “All of these stories are real. They just might not be completely true.” Reis adds, ”The words come from what I overhear through my fence, what I see across the street, pictures I see in my head, experiences that I can’t forget or am grateful to remember.” If there is a loose theme throughout the record he offers, “Musically and lyrically there is a motivation to surrender to a restless and impulsive spirit that can only be satisfied by breaking things. Creating rubble for better or worse. “

Music critics and fans alike have long referred to Reis’s signature voice as “The Velvet Yawn” and never has that description been more apt. “Ride The Wild Night” was recorded by Reis at City Of Refuge (Night Marchers, Black Lips, The Spits) and mixed by Ben Moore (Hot Snakes, Diamanda Galas) at Singing Serpent.

Betty Davis was a musical maverick with vision. Image, substance, sex, and grit combined with a badass band that could deliver the funk bed backbone to the sultry music between the sheets. After cutting two notorious discs for the Just Sunshine label (Betty Davis and They Say I’m Different), and Nasty Gal for Island Records, Davis went to work on her most personal and expressive record yet. After capturing 10 hard-hitting tracks in 1976 at the remote Studio In The Country (Louisiana), a creative difference with her then label caused the platter to be unexpectedly shelved. Davis would cut one final album and soon retreat from the music business, completely disappearing from the public eye.

Is It Love Or Desire is a little-known gem in the Davis catalog. Mastered from the original tapes, and untouched for over 30 years, this release features detailed liner notes, the originally intended artwork housed in a lavishly packaged digipak, rare photos, archival material, and recent interviews with Davis and her skin-tight band Funk House.

Never bootlegged, never released, never heard until now, the secret story of this lost album will finally enter the history books and cement this bold soul sisters contributions to music and popular culture. Its time to get down…

There's something intangible about Celeste, the Soundcarriers’ second album, originally released in 2010. It has a light, lucid quality, almost like driving exhausted through a strange city at night. Freeflowing yet tethered, dreamy yet attacking, the band continue the fight to reconcile competing impulses. Various threads just about keep the shimmering tapestry from tearing. Haunting folk melodies underpinned by rhythmic static and the physicality of the totally analogue recording and mixing, baroque keyboard counterpoints and sweeping arrangements. The opener “Last Broadcast” seems to encapsulate this but it's almost as if the album gets the angst out of its system with this track and is free to explore the quieter, less crowded back streets. After the smoke of “Last Broadcast” has cleared, the twisting road takes in the soft introspection of “Hideaway” and “Morning Haze”, both tracks morphing into heavy psyche grooves or the eastern tinged psyche funk of “Signals” and “Rise And Fall”. Or takes another turn with the tightly arranged opening segment of “Long Highway”. Somehow it still manages to fit in ‘60s pop gems like “There Only Once”. An album to really lose yourself in, yet more concise than the sprawling Harmonium and more relaxed and freeflowing than the nervy rush of Entropicalia, Celeste could be arguably their most indispensable album and not to damn it with faint praise, their most listenable.

I Am Not There Anymore folgt auf das 2017 erschienene Music For The Age Of Miracles (das nach einer siebenjährigen Pause der Band erschien), wobei die neuen Aufnahmen 2019 begannen und stückweise bis 2022 fortgesetzt wurden - zum Teil wegen der Pandemie, aber auch, weil die Band den Raum für Experimente haben wollte. "Wir haben uns schon immer für andere Musik als Gitarrenmusik interessiert", sagt Sänger, Texter und Gitarrist Alasdair MacLean. Diesmal hat er - zusammen mit dem Bassisten James Hornsey und dem Schlagzeuger Mark Keen - Elemente des Post-Bop-Jazz, der zeitgenössischen Klassik und der elektronischen Musik einbezogen. MacLean meint: "Nichts von alledem war in der Lage, seinen Weg in unseren Sound zu finden, außer auf die beiläufigste Art und Weise, in der schwächsten Ausprägung." I Am Not There Anymore bestätigt die Stellung von The Clientele unter den großen Stilisten der Popmusik, indem es geschickt von Bild zu Bild, von Stimmung zu Stimmung wechselt, und zwar auf eine Weise, die sich sowohl neu als auch klassisch anfühlt, während The Clientele als Band in neue klangliche Gefilde vorstoßen. Im Laufe der 32-jährigen Karriere von The Clientele haben Kritiker und Fans ihre Lieder mit Worten wie "ätherisch", "schimmernd", "dunstig", "hübsch" und "zerbrechlich" beschrieben. Alasdair MacLean, hat seine eigene Interpretation der Wirkung, die seine Musik erzeugt. "Es ist das Gefühl, nicht da zu sein", sagt er. "Was wirklich in allen Clientele-Platten steckt, ist das Gefühl, nicht in dem Moment zu sein, in dem man sich befindet." I Am Not There Anymore evoziert regelmäßig das, was MacLean "das Gefühl, nicht real zu sein" nennt. Viele der Songs wurden von MacLeans Erinnerungen an den Frühsommer 1997 inspiriert, als seine Mutter starb.

I Am Not There Anymore folgt auf das 2017 erschienene Music For The Age Of Miracles (das nach einer siebenjährigen Pause der Band erschien), wobei die neuen Aufnahmen 2019 begannen und stückweise bis 2022 fortgesetzt wurden - zum Teil wegen der Pandemie, aber auch, weil die Band den Raum für Experimente haben wollte. "Wir haben uns schon immer für andere Musik als Gitarrenmusik interessiert", sagt Sänger, Texter und Gitarrist Alasdair MacLean. Diesmal hat er - zusammen mit dem Bassisten James Hornsey und dem Schlagzeuger Mark Keen - Elemente des Post-Bop-Jazz, der zeitgenössischen Klassik und der elektronischen Musik einbezogen. MacLean meint: "Nichts von alledem war in der Lage, seinen Weg in unseren Sound zu finden, außer auf die beiläufigste Art und Weise, in der schwächsten Ausprägung." I Am Not There Anymore bestätigt die Stellung von The Clientele unter den großen Stilisten der Popmusik, indem es geschickt von Bild zu Bild, von Stimmung zu Stimmung wechselt, und zwar auf eine Weise, die sich sowohl neu als auch klassisch anfühlt, während The Clientele als Band in neue klangliche Gefilde vorstoßen. Im Laufe der 32-jährigen Karriere von The Clientele haben Kritiker und Fans ihre Lieder mit Worten wie "ätherisch", "schimmernd", "dunstig", "hübsch" und "zerbrechlich" beschrieben. Alasdair MacLean, hat seine eigene Interpretation der Wirkung, die seine Musik erzeugt. "Es ist das Gefühl, nicht da zu sein", sagt er. "Was wirklich in allen Clientele-Platten steckt, ist das Gefühl, nicht in dem Moment zu sein, in dem man sich befindet." I Am Not There Anymore evoziert regelmäßig das, was MacLean "das Gefühl, nicht real zu sein" nennt. Viele der Songs wurden von MacLeans Erinnerungen an den Frühsommer 1997 inspiriert, als seine Mutter starb.

Ursprünglich im September 2002 zum ersten Mal veröffentlicht, bekommt „Forty Licks“ noch einmal die Aufmerksamkeit, die es verdient: Die Kollektion von 40 der bekanntesten Songs der Stones wird nun zum ersten Mal sowohl digital als auch auf Vinyl veröffentlicht!

Ab dem 26. Juli – Mick’s 80. Geburtstag – kann man im Streaming in das Album reinhören und ab dem 28. Juli findet die 4LP als limitierte 180g Schwarze Vinyl ihren Weg in die The Rolling Stones Sammlung.
Die damalige Veröffentlichung des Albums markierte das 40-jährige Jubiläum der Band und den Start ihrer erfolgreichen „Licks“-Tour. Teil der zweieinhalb Stunden langen Tracklist sind unter anderem Songs wie „Satisfaction“, „Miss You“, „Paint It, Black“, „Get Off Of My Cloud“ und „Angie“. Diese Kollektion sollte also in keiner Fansammlung fehlen!

Soul music originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 50s and 60s. Having its roots in African American gospel music and rhythm & blues, it became popular for dancing and listening with prominent record labels as Motown, Atlantic and Stax.

On this 2LP compilation classic soul songs by Curtis Mayfield, Marlene Shaw, Bill Withers, and Aretha Franklin are paired with funky soul stompers by James Brown, Sly & The Family Stone, The Isley Brothers, and poetic soul by Gil Scott-Heron, Marvin Gaye, The Impressions and many more influential artists and groups.

Soul Collected is available as a limited edition of 2000 individually numbered copies on yellow (LP2) and orange (LP2) coloured vinyl and includes an insert.

First time on vinyl ever, remastered in 2023. Zeke- Live Tracks Uncensored LP. This LP shows Zeke live ... raw, wild, untamed and uncensored. If you’ve seen Zeke before, you know that these guys can be a total beast on stage. This LP offers a bunch of killer live recordings to make it sound like the band is playing in your kitchen: loud, fast and furious. You know that Zeke are the real purveyors of speed rock and roll and that can’t be better heard than here. The LP includes some of their best songs including tracks from ‘Super Sound Racing’, ‘Flat Tracker’, ‘Kicked in the Teeth’, ‘Dirty Sanchez’ and ‘Death Alley’ recorded in different venues from Seattle to Las Vegas to Minneapolis. One of the other special treats this LP offers is it includes two very rare studio tracks that are pretty hard to find. 26 tracks in all with top notch production. Genre: Alternative / Rock n Roll / Pun

First time on vinyl ever, remastered in 2023. Zeke- Live Tracks Uncensored LP. This LP shows Zeke live ... raw, wild, untamed and uncensored. If you’ve seen Zeke before, you know that these guys can be a total beast on stage. This LP offers a bunch of killer live recordings to make it sound like the band is playing in your kitchen: loud, fast and furious. You know that Zeke are the real purveyors of speed rock and roll and that can’t be better heard than here. The LP includes some of their best songs including tracks from ‘Super Sound Racing’, ‘Flat Tracker’, ‘Kicked in the Teeth’, ‘Dirty Sanchez’ and ‘Death Alley’ recorded in different venues from Seattle to Las Vegas to Minneapolis. One of the other special treats this LP offers is it includes two very rare studio tracks that are pretty hard to find. 26 tracks in all with top notch production. Genre: Alternative / Rock n Roll / Pun

In an era defined by futility, isolation, and precarity, it can be difficult to envision a utopia. But on Skeleten’s thrilling, immersive debut album, Under Utopia, the Sydney musician dares to imagine new ways of being that are not characterized by doom or despair. Across eleven tracks of free-flowing, transcendent, and often euphoric electronic music, Skeleten praises the power of comradery and community; while dreaming of a future that is joyously boundless. 



Skeleten, real name Russell Fitzgibbon, has always been fascinated by the ideas of utopias. He’s thought a lot about how the concept has shifted and morphed throughout history, and how the goal post for a utopia is always moving further and further away. “We're more familiar with the idea of a dystopia in the modern world - that's more close to our consciousness. I think on this album I wanted to explore the importance of imaging and embodying a new world.”

Written before and during the pandemic, the album was born out of a desire to connect with others and to shake the mantle of introspection that had been placed on his previous works. From the opening notes of the otherworldly album opener “Generator”, it's clear that this record prioritises immediate pleasures without forgoing intimacy. The lyrics are also more explicit, reaching outward with inviting choruses and mantra-like melodies. “I think the album came out of the experience of feeling this great desire to reconnect and dreaming of the power of community,” says the musician.

This is especially present in lead single ‘Sharing The Fire’, a song that crackles with optimism. A sprawling dance track with pulsating synths and Fitzgibbon’s gentle, warm vocals, the song is about futures that are full of brightness and bliss. As the artist repeats in the song’s chorus: “for all that you know, summer could be around the corner.” The song is about an “almost frustrated desire to connect with more people and feel that sense of community through shared goals.” The accompanying video clip, shot on 35mm, is similarly invested in ideas of companionship and gathering. Shot in a clinical, drab office space, friends and revelers fill the space with warmth and energy.

Elsewhere, this invocation of paradise is infused in the stripped-back, singular title track “Under Utopia”. The song was significant to Fitzgibbon, as it allowed him to gather all his thoughts and ideas about his new music under one message. “It’s something I wrote when I had this collection of songs and wanted to give it a single voice, which was about seeing the world entirely new, full of hope and beauty, and all of us underneath pushing it upwards.” 

An antidote for gloom presented in Under Utopia is the transformative power of love. There’s “Heart Full Of Tenderness”, a woozy, languorous love song, awash with cloudy vocals and glistening synths; the truncated beats and hypnotic pleading of “Territory Day” and “Right Here It’s Only Love” which explores the icier and ambient side of R’n’B.


Another hallmark that characterizes Under Utopia is Fitzgibbon’s airy and spacious mix, which gives his songs room to sprawl out and simmer; as well as allowing his calming baritone to come to the fore. This is notable in the contemplative, synth-laden “Colour Room”, the funk-tinged “Walking On Your Name,” the previously released “No Drones in the Afterlife,” and the beloved early single “Mirrored,” which speaks of finding yourself through a connection to those around you.

Fitzgibbon has been enmeshed in the Sydney music scene for years. Skeleten emerged out of a need to experiment and make music without worrying about the outcome. “It was just me making music that felt right, and very much focusing on this kind of meditative aspect of exploring without any goal,” says Fitzgibbon. But as the project has evolved, the artist has gained clarity on what he hopes his music will achieve: bringing people together, and creating an atmosphere of elation. Or as Fitzgibbon puts it on Under Utopia’s hallucinatory album closer “We’re gonna get everything we need in the world.”

Extreme is an American rock band, headed by frontmen Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt, that reached the height of their popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s. III sides to Every Story was released in September 1992 and the first single from the album was "Rest In Peace". The album is structured as a concept album in three sections labeled as “sides” — a play on the notion of “different sides to a story” and that of “sides” of a vinyl album. The sides, mentioned in the song “Cupid's Dead” as “three sides to every story” are named “Yours”, “Mine” and “The Truth”, and each features a distinct musical style and lyrical imagery.

GER Als Night Beats erschafft der in Texas geborene und in LA lebende Künstler Danny Lee Blackwell Musik, wie man ein Puzzle zusammensetzen könnte. Der psychedelische Autorenfilmer aus dem Westen baut sein Werk aus einem Moment, einer Initialzündung, auf, die bestimmte Kriterien erfüllen muss: Sie muss ihm Gänsehaut bereiten. Wenn dieses Gefühl eintritt, verfolgt Blackwell die Idee unermüdlich, bis er einen neuen Song hat; wenn nicht, geht er zum nächsten Moment über, immer auf der Suche nach dem perfekten Molekül eines Songs. Auf seinem sechsten Night Beats-Album "Rajan" zeigt sich der Songwriter von seiner besten Seite und erschafft Werke, die mit fesselnden Melodien und hypnotischen Rhythmen glänzen, aber auch durch subtile handwerkliche Entscheidungen unterstrichen werden, die nur nach unzähligen Stunden im Studio erreicht werden können. Blackwell erschafft ein Werk, das irgendwo zwischen Spaghetti-Western-Filmmusik und Psych-Pop-Opus angesiedelt ist, ein karrierebestimmendes Album, das viel über Danny Lee Blackwells künstlerische Philosophie verrät und gleichzeitig den so wichtigen Hauch des Geheimnisvollen bewahrt. Exklusiv für den Indie-Handel, todesrote LP, handnummeriert mit Poster und DLC.


ENG As Night Beats, Texas-born, LA-based artist Danny Lee Blackwell creates music like one might assemble a puzzle. The Western psychedelic auteur builds his work from one moment, an initial spark, that must fit a certain criteria: it must give him goosebumps. If that sensation arrives, Blackwell will pursue the idea relentlessly until he has a new song; if not, he moves onto the next moment, constantly looking for the perfect molecule of a song. On his sixth Night Beats album, 'Rajan', the songwriter is at his strongest, creating works that shine with captivating melodies and hypnotic rhythms, but are underscored by subtle choices of craftsmanship that can only be achieved after countless hours in the studio. Blackwell creates a work that lands somewhere between Spaghetti Western film score and psych-pop opus, a career-defining album that reveals much about Danny Lee Blackwell's artistic philosophy while keeping that ever crucial air of mystery intact. Indies only LP on 180g 'Dying Red Giant' coloured vinyl, limited to 350 hand-numbered copies, fold-out art poster, download card included.

Colloboh (a portmanteau of Collins Oboh) is a Nigerian-born, Los Angeles-based experimental producer and composer who has spent the past several years cultivating genre-spanning modular wizardry. A self-taught synthesist, Colloboh’s DIY recording diaries (still archived on Instagram) quickly amassed a dedicated online following, eventually catching the eye of Leaving Records founder, MatthewDavid, who wasted no time tapping the then-twenty-six-year-old to perform at the monthly Leaving showcase, Listen to Music Outside In The Daylight Under a Tree. In 2021, Colloboh permanently relocated to Los Angeles from Baltimore, dedicating himself to music full-time, and quickly becoming a fixture of the city’s vibrant experimental scene. Whereas Colloboh’s debut EP Entity Relation (released that same year) dove headlong into club beats, Saana Sahel, out May 5th 2023 on Leaving Records, showcases the breadth of the fledgeling composer’s ambitions. The EP’s title, Saana Sahel, refers to a land of Colloboh’s pure imagining—an untouched utopia spanning lush coastlines and sweeping deserts. Beginning with the stately “Acid Sunrise” (like a Phillip Glass rave comedown), the EP functions as an atlas of sorts, mapping the region’s varied environments and moods. And varied indeed—across these six tracks there lie ecstatic jazz freakouts, samba shuffles, guest vocals from (seemingly) the very Seraphim, and interpolations of Debussy and Gabriel Faure. The breadth of sounds conjured here is a testament not only to Colloboh’s eclectic roster of influences, but also the period of deep and challenging personal growth that immediately preceded the EP’s composition. The construction of Saana Sahel (both the imagined locale and the release) served as a spiritual lode star, a place to which Colloboh could retreat for energetic restoration. Ever-generous, Colloboh has charted these expeditions for us in song, and now we may all draw sustenance and inspiration from the wellsprings of this rich land.

Nach 42 Jahren im Metal-Business kommt Grave Diggers Front-Ikone Chris Boltendahl mit seinem ersten Soloalbum - "Reborn In Flames". Unter dem Banner von Chris Boltendahls STEELHAMMER konnte Chris eine illustre Zunft erstklassiger Musiker für dieses Werk gewinnen. An der Gitarre ist kein Geringerer als der Ex-Orden Ogan-Gitarrenzauberer Tobias Kersting zu finden. Mit ihm hat Chris alle 10 Tracks auf "Reborn in Flames" geschrieben. Komplettiert wird das Line-Up durch Lars Schneider am Bass (ex Orden Ogan) und Patrick Klose am Schlagzeug (Iron Savior). "Reborn in Flames" strotzt nur so vor klassischen Power-Metal-Riffs- eine glühende Mischung aus "Grave Digger meets Metal Church. Von Heavy-Metal-Steamern à la "Reborn in Flames", "Fire Angel" oder "Beyond the Black Soul" bis hin zu den Groove-Monstern "Gods of Steel, Out of the Ruins oder The Hammer that kills" hört man auf dem Album alles, was das Metalherz begehrt. Das Album endet mit der Coverversion des Klassikers "Beds are burning" von Midnight Oil. Tobias Kersting veredelt das Album mit filigranen Power-Metal-Riffs und Weltklasse-Soli, während Lars Schneider und Patrick Klose dem Duo Kersting/Boltendahl die nötige Basis liefern. Die unverkennbare Stimme der Totengräber-Legende regiert... "Reborn in Flames" ist ein Feuerwerk an Metal für jeden Headbanger, der klassischen Metal liebt... Mit "Reborn in Flames" schaffen die vier Musiker ein eigenständiges, frisches und hochklassiges Power-Metal-Debütalbum. Wie Ozzy sagte: "Let the madness begin"

Nach 42 Jahren im Metal-Business kommt Grave Diggers Front-Ikone Chris Boltendahl mit seinem ersten Soloalbum - "Reborn In Flames". Unter dem Banner von Chris Boltendahls STEELHAMMER konnte Chris eine illustre Zunft erstklassiger Musiker für dieses Werk gewinnen. An der Gitarre ist kein Geringerer als der Ex-Orden Ogan-Gitarrenzauberer Tobias Kersting zu finden. Mit ihm hat Chris alle 10 Tracks auf "Reborn in Flames" geschrieben. Komplettiert wird das Line-Up durch Lars Schneider am Bass (ex Orden Ogan) und Patrick Klose am Schlagzeug (Iron Savior). "Reborn in Flames" strotzt nur so vor klassischen Power-Metal-Riffs- eine glühende Mischung aus "Grave Digger meets Metal Church. Von Heavy-Metal-Steamern à la "Reborn in Flames", "Fire Angel" oder "Beyond the Black Soul" bis hin zu den Groove-Monstern "Gods of Steel, Out of the Ruins oder The Hammer that kills" hört man auf dem Album alles, was das Metalherz begehrt. Das Album endet mit der Coverversion des Klassikers "Beds are burning" von Midnight Oil. Tobias Kersting veredelt das Album mit filigranen Power-Metal-Riffs und Weltklasse-Soli, während Lars Schneider und Patrick Klose dem Duo Kersting/Boltendahl die nötige Basis liefern. Die unverkennbare Stimme der Totengräber-Legende regiert... "Reborn in Flames" ist ein Feuerwerk an Metal für jeden Headbanger, der klassischen Metal liebt... Mit "Reborn in Flames" schaffen die vier Musiker ein eigenständiges, frisches und hochklassiges Power-Metal-Debütalbum. Wie Ozzy sagte: "Let the madness begin"

Nach 42 Jahren im Metal-Business kommt Grave Diggers Front-Ikone Chris Boltendahl mit seinem ersten Soloalbum - "Reborn In Flames". Unter dem Banner von Chris Boltendahls STEELHAMMER konnte Chris eine illustre Zunft erstklassiger Musiker für dieses Werk gewinnen. An der Gitarre ist kein Geringerer als der Ex-Orden Ogan-Gitarrenzauberer Tobias Kersting zu finden. Mit ihm hat Chris alle 10 Tracks auf "Reborn in Flames" geschrieben. Komplettiert wird das Line-Up durch Lars Schneider am Bass (ex Orden Ogan) und Patrick Klose am Schlagzeug (Iron Savior). "Reborn in Flames" strotzt nur so vor klassischen Power-Metal-Riffs- eine glühende Mischung aus "Grave Digger meets Metal Church. Von Heavy-Metal-Steamern à la "Reborn in Flames", "Fire Angel" oder "Beyond the Black Soul" bis hin zu den Groove-Monstern "Gods of Steel, Out of the Ruins oder The Hammer that kills" hört man auf dem Album alles, was das Metalherz begehrt. Das Album endet mit der Coverversion des Klassikers "Beds are burning" von Midnight Oil. Tobias Kersting veredelt das Album mit filigranen Power-Metal-Riffs und Weltklasse-Soli, während Lars Schneider und Patrick Klose dem Duo Kersting/Boltendahl die nötige Basis liefern. Die unverkennbare Stimme der Totengräber-Legende regiert... "Reborn in Flames" ist ein Feuerwerk an Metal für jeden Headbanger, der klassischen Metal liebt... Mit "Reborn in Flames" schaffen die vier Musiker ein eigenständiges, frisches und hochklassiges Power-Metal-Debütalbum. Wie Ozzy sagte: "Let the madness begin"

Nach 42 Jahren im Metal-Business kommt Grave Diggers Front-Ikone Chris Boltendahl mit seinem ersten Soloalbum - "Reborn In Flames". Unter dem Banner von Chris Boltendahls STEELHAMMER konnte Chris eine illustre Zunft erstklassiger Musiker für dieses Werk gewinnen. An der Gitarre ist kein Geringerer als der Ex-Orden Ogan-Gitarrenzauberer Tobias Kersting zu finden. Mit ihm hat Chris alle 10 Tracks auf "Reborn in Flames" geschrieben. Komplettiert wird das Line-Up durch Lars Schneider am Bass (ex Orden Ogan) und Patrick Klose am Schlagzeug (Iron Savior). "Reborn in Flames" strotzt nur so vor klassischen Power-Metal-Riffs- eine glühende Mischung aus "Grave Digger meets Metal Church. Von Heavy-Metal-Steamern à la "Reborn in Flames", "Fire Angel" oder "Beyond the Black Soul" bis hin zu den Groove-Monstern "Gods of Steel, Out of the Ruins oder The Hammer that kills" hört man auf dem Album alles, was das Metalherz begehrt. Das Album endet mit der Coverversion des Klassikers "Beds are burning" von Midnight Oil. Tobias Kersting veredelt das Album mit filigranen Power-Metal-Riffs und Weltklasse-Soli, während Lars Schneider und Patrick Klose dem Duo Kersting/Boltendahl die nötige Basis liefern. Die unverkennbare Stimme der Totengräber-Legende regiert... "Reborn in Flames" ist ein Feuerwerk an Metal für jeden Headbanger, der klassischen Metal liebt... Mit "Reborn in Flames" schaffen die vier Musiker ein eigenständiges, frisches und hochklassiges Power-Metal-Debütalbum. Wie Ozzy sagte: "Let the madness begin"

Irish DJ and producer, Ben Prophet, has caught the attention of some of the electronic scene’s most influential names in recent years. Currently residing in the underground music hub of Newcastle, his dark and exhilarating tracks have proven to captivate dancefloors. Now the artist is set to embark on his most monumental release to date, with the four track EP ‘From Dusk’. Staying distinctly true to himself, the EP channels Prophet’s love for bassline, electronica, and techno, whilst placing a key focus on mechanical vocals that add a mind-bending element that listeners can get lost in. ‘From Dusk’ will be released to the world via HAAi and Alice Pelly’s Radical New Theory label, a proven base for projecting emerging talent.

‘From Dusk’ is an EP that serves as a bold declaration. Prophet was determined to take listeners on a journey across the four tracks. Never resting on his laurels, the artist ventured into many corners of the dance world, whilst maintaining a core signature sound. Opener ‘Telepathy’ Sees Prophet build an emphatic, heavy hitting techno track, centring around a manipulated spoken-word vocal. It’s a sound that holds nothing back and is showcased again on ‘Down The Rabbit Hole’. Equally dark in its design, Prophet once more places distorted vocals at the forefront, this time displaying an industrial take on breakbeat. On the flip side, we see ‘Ocarina’ and title track ‘From Dusk’ turn the dark energy on its head with a distinctly melodic approach which adds a touch of psychedelia and high emotion to the EP. What’s clear is there’s something on ‘From Dusk’ for anyone that loves club music.

Speaking on the release, Prophet states:“HAAi has been one of the biggest inspirations for my sound, so to have become friends and to release my music on her label Radical New Theory is a massive moment for me. I’ve taken a different approach on each track, but each has my signature sound and is ready for the dance floor.”

HAAi also offers an insight into why she wanted to release ‘From Dusk’ on Radical New Theory: “Ben Prophet’s tracks have such a driving force and a dark energy to them, which is so powerful in the club. I’m extremely excited to get this record out in the world.”

Prophet’s previous releases ‘Hyper Funk EP’ and ‘King Of Rock’ on Chapeau music and Happy Wax Records respectively reached dancefloors across the world with regular plays from the likes of Mall Grab, Skream and VTSS. His gritty and energetic productions are born for the peak-time dance floor where its power creates intoxicating effects. No longer a hidden gem of the North East, the artist's music has gathered serious momentum and ‘From Dusk’ might well be the record that makes Ben Prophet a household name.

‘From Dusk’ is the third release on Radical New Theory, a label created in 2020 by HAAi and Alice Pelly which aims to shine a light on unique emerging talent, and the inevitable stars of tomorrow. Last year the label released LUXE’s debut ‘Belonging EP’ which was championed by MaryAnn Hobbs on BBC 6Music, and the artist has since gone on to tour across Europe. Whilst Ozzy, who released the labels first record ‘Een’, has since released on Barnt’s Schalen imprint. Radical New Theory was born out of a love for the craft of dance music and the careful consideration of what they release ensures the highest standards. A safe space for emerging talent, be sure to keep your eyes out for what comes next from the label

Western Massachusetts band Landowner play abrasively clean minimalist-punk. Singer Dan Shaw began Landowner in 2016, writing and recording Impressive Almanac with a practice amp and a laptop drum machine. Those available tools would inform the band’s unapologetic sound—clean, confrontational, and absurdly stark. With a stated goal to sound like “Antelope playing Discharge”, Landowner’s diamond hard structures, repetitious instrumentals and caricatured hardcore make space for lyrics that reflect on the global systems our lives are tangled in and the dark absurdities we take for granted.

Landowner’s fourth Born Yesterday full length Escape the Compound focuses on the powerful grips manipulators and reality-deniers have on their victims, examining the social, political and interpersonal damage of cult-like influence and control. “A lot of the lyrics focus on cult manipulators and narcissists: falling victim to their toxic dynamics, and the difficulty of escaping their grip” says Shaw. From climate change deniers and conspiracy theorists to deceptive narcissists and actual cult leaders, Landowner explores the ubiquity of modern unreality through evocative imagery and a keen sense of awareness. The band’s plain instrumentation sheds and subverts hardcore punk’s noisy veil in favor of a direct, unswerving examination of these themes.

Written and recorded following the release of 2020’s Consultant, Escape the Compound finds Landowner leaning into the studio through deeper experimentation with a wider palette of sounds. The group’s lineup of Josh Owsley (bass), Elliot Hughes (guitar), Jeff Gilmartin (guitar), Josh Daniel (drums) and Dan Shaw played often since coming together in 2017. But with pandemic restrictions in place, the making of Escape the Compound became a much more insular pursuit, one where the mixing and mastering process helped turn the band’s most varied batch of material into a cohesive, thematic collection of songs.

Album opener “Witch Museum” is a collage of dark Massachusetts historical imagery. The song evokes a kind of cult dynamic travelling like a shadow through time, where dark absurdities are taken for granted, toxic behaviours are excused, and normalcy begins to shift. The line “Gail's behaviour has changed” casts fictional “Gail” as the dark manipulator, whose whim we’re at the mercy of. She sheds her toxic behaviour and the crisis finally ends - “and peace returns to the Commonwealth”- an absurdity, given that cult leaders and narcissists rarely seem to change.

By considering the past, Landowner sheds light on the present. The band challenges egomaniacs reluctant to accept an uncomfortable reality with both cynicism and concern. The literal landowner described in “Heat Stroke” collapses in exhaustion, cooked by a suffocating bass line and sizzling hi-hats. “You'd rather die of heat stroke than to let anybody see you change your mind,” Shaw gasps, later pleading with the character in “Floodwatch” to “please reconsider” their brazen stubbornness as they plunge through the rising waters of a flooded road.

The character in “Swimmer of Note” refuses to admit their miscalculations, instead doubling down on an ever-growing and increasingly-unsteady tower of lies. The sneering “Damning Evidence” sets a scene all too familiar: a smoking gun scenario with zero consequences. Shaw’s exaggerated vocal refrains and sarcastic inflections mock false hope: “how will they be expected to keep their minds intact, at the shock of simply hearing such damning evidence?”

“Beyond the Darkened Library” creaks open a secret passageway into a dimly lit, endless labyrinth of conspiracy theories, in which the character becomes hopelessly lost. “Aftermath” sounds the alarms: “stare so long that you start getting used to it; one glance says you should never get used to it.” The pair of “Tactics” tracks express what Shaw calls “an interpersonal microcosm of the album’s themes.”

Perhaps the most ambitious arc on Escape the Compound loosely begins with the title track. The subject in “Escape the Compound” gradually recognizes their own victimhood and plans a calculated flight from the “captivating shepherd” – hop the fence, flee, and regain autonomy. As the narrator escapes their stifling and abusive cult microcosm, a much grander existential timeline begins to appear. “Thousands of Years in Fast Forward” narrates a psychedelic surrender to the shared human experience through space and time, an ego-death adjacent to our ancestry, our own existence, and the before and after. “At the site of the crater, molecular hands unclasp molecular hands as you lose conditioning,” Shaw sings on the title track, “Your grandmother's garden. Your grandmother's kitchen. Your grandmother's primordial ocean.” It’s a profound actualizing glimpse into a true, forgotten reality and a startling reconnection with the self.

Western Massachusetts band Landowner play abrasively clean minimalist-punk. Singer Dan Shaw began Landowner in 2016, writing and recording Impressive Almanac with a practice amp and a laptop drum machine. Those available tools would inform the band’s unapologetic sound—clean, confrontational, and absurdly stark. With a stated goal to sound like “Antelope playing Discharge”, Landowner’s diamond hard structures, repetitious instrumentals and caricatured hardcore make space for lyrics that reflect on the global systems our lives are tangled in and the dark absurdities we take for granted.

Landowner’s fourth Born Yesterday full length Escape the Compound focuses on the powerful grips manipulators and reality-deniers have on their victims, examining the social, political and interpersonal damage of cult-like influence and control. “A lot of the lyrics focus on cult manipulators and narcissists: falling victim to their toxic dynamics, and the difficulty of escaping their grip” says Shaw. From climate change deniers and conspiracy theorists to deceptive narcissists and actual cult leaders, Landowner explores the ubiquity of modern unreality through evocative imagery and a keen sense of awareness. The band’s plain instrumentation sheds and subverts hardcore punk’s noisy veil in favor of a direct, unswerving examination of these themes.

Written and recorded following the release of 2020’s Consultant, Escape the Compound finds Landowner leaning into the studio through deeper experimentation with a wider palette of sounds. The group’s lineup of Josh Owsley (bass), Elliot Hughes (guitar), Jeff Gilmartin (guitar), Josh Daniel (drums) and Dan Shaw played often since coming together in 2017. But with pandemic restrictions in place, the making of Escape the Compound became a much more insular pursuit, one where the mixing and mastering process helped turn the band’s most varied batch of material into a cohesive, thematic collection of songs.

Album opener “Witch Museum” is a collage of dark Massachusetts historical imagery. The song evokes a kind of cult dynamic traveling like a shadow through time, where dark absurdities are taken for granted, toxic behaviors are excused, and normalcy begins to shift. The line “Gail's behavior has changed” casts fictional “Gail” as the dark manipulator, whose whim we’re at the mercy of. She sheds her toxic behavior and the crisis finally ends - “and peace returns to the Commonwealth”- an absurdity, given that cult leaders and narcissists rarely seem to change.

By considering the past, Landowner sheds light on the present. The band challenges egomaniacs reluctant to accept an uncomfortable reality with both cynicism and concern. The literal landowner described in “Heat Stroke” collapses in exhaustion, cooked by a suffocating bass line and sizzling hi-hats. “You'd rather die of heat stroke than to let anybody see you change your mind,” Shaw gasps, later pleading with the character in “Floodwatch” to “please reconsider” their brazen stubbornness as they plunge through the rising waters of a flooded road.

The character in “Swimmer of Note” refuses to admit their miscalculations, instead doubling down on an ever-growing and increasingly-unsteady tower of lies. The sneering “Damning Evidence” sets a scene all too familiar: a smoking gun scenario with zero consequences. Shaw’s exaggerated vocal refrains and sarcastic inflections mock false hope: “how will they be expected to keep their minds intact, at the shock of simply hearing such damning evidence?”

“Beyond the Darkened Library” creaks open a secret passageway into a dimly lit, endless labyrinth of conspiracy theories, in which the character becomes hopelessly lost. “Aftermath” sounds the alarms: “stare so long that you start getting used to it; one glance says you should never get used to it.” The pair of “Tactics” tracks express what Shaw calls “an interpersonal microcosm of the album’s themes.”

Perhaps the most ambitious arc on Escape the Compound loosely begins with the title track. The subject in “Escape the Compound” gradually recognizes their own victimhood and plans a calculated flight from the “captivating shepherd” – hop the fence, flee, and regain autonomy. As the narrator escapes their stifling and abusive cult microcosm, a much grander existential timeline begins to appear. “Thousands of Years in Fast Forward” narrates a psychedelic surrender to the shared human experience through space and time, an ego-death adjacent to our ancestry, our own existence, and the before and after. “At the site of the crater, molecular hands unclasp molecular hands as you lose conditioning,” Shaw sings on the title track, “Your grandmother's garden. Your grandmother's kitchen. Your grandmother's primordial ocean.” It’s a profound actualizing glimpse into a true, forgotten reality and a startling reconnection with the self.

Futurismo are proud to present a first time reissue of the killer 1985 album: Just A Million Dreams by the uncompromising Alan Vega.

The remastered version of this LP comes with two unreleased bonus tracks produced by Liz Lamere and Jared Artaud of The Vacant Lots. It is packaged in a gloss laminated sleeve with a huge fold-out poster and contains new liner notes by Henry Rollins.

Presented in a remastered deluxe vinyl package, Just A Million Dreams, produced by Ric Ocasek and Chris Lord-Alge, takes Vega on an expedition into new territory. As an artist Vega had a crucial drive, but having a hit record was never a motive, neither was pandering to expectations, which is why Just a Million Dreams is perhaps a perfect statement for that moment, bettering the then bastions of MTV rock without even trying, an exercise in subversion that still has Vega’s unique artistry at its core. Would you expect anything less from one half of NYC legends Suicide? Perhaps not, but the hows and whys to Vega landing himself in such a mainstream position are perhaps just as fascinating as the record itself.

Here Alan Vega’s vocals sound better than ever, full of emotion and brooding honesty. Lyrics painting images of dystopian love might be a sideways move away from the intense nihilism of his past, but it’s still the real deal. Alan Vega could not be anything else. Listen to tracks like ‘Creation’ and you still get that raw emotion he spent his career honing. Set against the grandeur of mid 80’s production: big processed drums, runaway guitar solos, we get a rare peak into what Vega would sound like if he was allowed to be a rock star drenched in the sonic excesses of the era. It was a brave and unfairly misunderstood move, but the components come together to form an incredible anti-commercial, commercial album. Just A Million Dreams is the sound of Alan Vega taking on the 1980’s and winning.

With help of the official Vega Vault, two never before heard tracks have been unearthed from the 1985 JAMD recording sessions and brought to life by long time collaborator Liz Lamere and Jared Artaud of The Vacant Lots, adding a new insight to the recordings. Henry Rollins also lends a new written perspective, making this release a vital addition to the collections of Alan Vega and Suicide fans. It has been said that Alan Vega is forever, his unwavering artistic approach can be witnessed throughout his career, whether as part of Suicide or as a solo songwriter, poet or sculptor. Just a Million Dreams is just another example

Can't Touch Us Now ist das elfte und jüngste Studioalbum der britischen Ska-Pop-Legenden Madness.

Ursprünglich im Oktober 2016 veröffentlicht, markiert es die Rückkehr von Gründungsmitglied Mark Bedford und ist das letzte ihrer Alben, auf dem die gesamte Originalbesetzung vertreten ist. Das Album kam bei Fans und Kritikern gleichermaßen gut an und beinhaltete die Klassiker-Single "Mr Apples", die ein fester Bestandteil des Live-Sets der Band geworden ist. Für diese spezielle Neuauflage wurde das Album auf schwerem Doppelvinyl gepresst, in einer Gatefold-Verpackung präsentiert und enthält brandneue exklusive Liner Notes mit Interviews mit den Bandmitgliedern Suggs, Mike Barson, Chrissyboy Foreman und Lee Thompson.

Malmo-based producer Sacred Grove takes care of the second release of French label Parodia.

Taking his name from an important feature of mythological landscapes, Sacred grove music is like a hole in our dimension, a moment of levitation where everything stops for a minute.
« Through the Mire » is a fantastic 4 track EP of untouchable, fascinating sounds of dance music, taking influences in early deep house and twisting it in a very unique way.

Enter the trip with the EP opener « Dusk » , a mysterious track full of hazy pads and stabs blending together to make you enter into an imaginary forest. Subtle and classy, « Dawn » is the second track of the record, 9 minutes of introspective sounds yet dancable, with an unstoppable groove. If you're not already tripping, your mind is a about to hallucinate with the third track Neusea (Delay mix), the most impactful track of the record, with a laidback peak time roller keeping the same cinematic atmosphere as the other tracks.

Last but not least, B2 track « Loverz » is like reaching the Sacred Grove that you were looking for when you entered this forest, and finally your mind is going in a total trance.

When Transform-I was released in 2009, Bristol’s Dubkasm were unmistakably prominent on the reggae scene but it is this LP - their tenth release - that put them on the map and cemented their status as outernational roots innovators and one of the most creative outfits in reggae. By 2006, Jah Shaka had been rinsing their percussive vocoder smash ‘Zulu Dawn’ (track 15) at the end of every dance for close to three years. Dubplates from the LP became firm favourites on some of the greatest soundsystems in the world, including Aba Shanti-I, Iration Steppas, and Channel One.
DJ Stryda and producer Digistep’s reputation grew still further when the pair managed to get an extremely rare vocal from the legendary Dub Judah, who at the time had not voiced a tune for many years. The resulting 7”, ‘From the Foundation’ (track 2) was the first tune to be released from Transform-I, an album which took the music world by storm with its singular blend of a deep, conscious roots reggae sound with instrumentation that drew on Digistep’s Brazilian heritage.

As the great DJ and journalist Steve Barker said in his rave Wire magazine review of the initial release, ‘Like many innovations heard for the first time, you wonder why this has not been done before’. Indeed, the LP’s blend of percussion instruments like zabumba, cavaquinho, and cuica with an absolutely stellar cast of vocalists including Tenastelin, Christine Miller, and Ras B, with a pre-Reggae Reggae Sauce fame Levi Roots recording from his living room, became timeless the moment it was released. Barker praised the album for being ‘more orthodox than expected’, by which I think he meant that the album is a completely authentic roots record, rather than an attempt to mix musical flavours to conceal a lack of ideas. Instead, ideas flew back and forth across the Atlantic, as basic tracks were laid in the Dubkasm Studio (then in Brazil, now in England) and overdubs and vocals were recorded in London, Nottingham, Bristol and Norway, with the final mixes being done at the Daddy Roots studio in Bristol. The combination is seamless both because Digistep grew up with Brazilian music, courtesy of his father, and because Dubkasm have lived and breathed reggae since their formation in 1994 – just go and listen to early releases like ‘Chemical Reaction Dub’ (1996) or ‘Hornsman Trod’ (2003) and you’ll hear heavyweight productions with a Rasta ethos immersed in U.K. soundsystem culture.

Since the album’s release, Dubkasm have gone from strength to strength and collaborated with a dazzling array of artists. Transform-I was remixed by some of Bristol’s best electronica producers in 2010, and 2013’s 12” ‘Victory’ became a huge soundsystem hit around the world, before being voiced by two of the greatest singers of all time, Luciano and Turbulence, and being remixed the following year by one of the world’s finest dubstep producers, Mala (who in 2016 released his own project fusing Latin music with electronic bass – the excellent Mala in Cuba).
The first project of its kind, beautifully reissued in its original format by Dubquake (the outfit behind France’s incredible OBF Soundsystem), Transform-I is the LP that launched Dubkasm on their current trajectory and has truly lived up to its name.

Repress!

Funkiwala Records presents the third in the series of "Lokkhi Terra meets"albums, with the London fusionistas creating another unique sound-clash, this time with ex-Fela Kuti keyboardist and legendary UK Afro-beat ambassador Dele Sosimi, and members of his critically acclaimed Afro-beat Orchestra.

This particular collaboration has been bubbling away for a few years now, teasing audience expectations with a handful of sold out shows each year in between both bands busy schedules.
Featuring the two pianos of Kishon Khan and Dele Sosimi – Cuban percussionists/vocalists Geraldo De Armas (Yoruba Andabo), Oreste Noda (Ariwo), Javier Camilo (Ibrahim Ferrer) - a horn section led by Justin Thurgur (Bellowhead) featuring Yelfris Valdes (Sierra Maestra) and Graeme Flowers (Kyle Eastwood) to name a few – this is an All-star cast.

Kishon Khan's Lokkhi Terra have over a number of years now been quietly establishing themselves as one of London's more unusual heavyweight outfits, described as "Stunning Headliners… A majestic multi-cultural blend of sounds… effortlessly builds bridges between rolling Indian raga rhythms, Afro-Cuban grooves, Acid Jazz/funk and free flowing improvisation" (Timeout London). Included amongst the band members are London's top Cuban musicians, adding their infectious rich musical history to the city's melting pot.
When the band wanted to explore Cuban links with another of their favourite traditions, Afrobeat, who better to bring in then one of the Afrobeat originators – maestro Dele Sosimi – "Sosimi creates some of the most bewitching grooves in modern African music" E Jazz News.
Bringing together two Yoruba speaking musics - with different accents, from different sides of the Atlantic - Havana meets Lagos in London – A Cuban-Afrobeat-Experience. CUBAFROBEAT.

All About Jazz 4star review

A younger version of London's Grand Union Orchestra, founded by world-jazz pioneer Tony Haynes in 1982, Lokkhi Terra was put together by keyboard player Kishon Khan in 2005. Both ensembles have made a specialism of jazz / South Asian fusion, with Lokkhi Terra also giving as much attention to music from Cuba, where Bangladeshi-born, London-based Khan lived for a while in the early 2000s.

Cubafrobeat, as the title foretells, is a blend of Cuban dance music and Nigerian / Yoruban Afrobeat—a fusion rendered seamless by the synergies existing between Afro-Cuban and Yoruban music, language and mythology. The album is Lokkhi Terra's third and partners the band with the keyboard player and vocalist Dele Sosimi .

A young-going-on-child-prodigy member of Fela Kuti's Egypt 80, Sosimi went on to become musical director of Femi Kuti's Positive Force, before relocating to London and setting up Dele Sosimi's Afrobeat Orchestra, the finest Afrobeat band outside Nigeria, bar none, now with a string of consistently engaging albums under its belt. Cubafrobeat features Sosimi as lead vocalist on all four tracks, and on Fender Rhodes on two of them. His singing plays a prominent role in the Afrobeat Orchestra, but, such is the whirlwind impact of the band in full instrumental flight, that Sosimi is often thought of first and foremost for his keyboard and arranging talents. That may change by the time 2018 is over. Cubafrobeat is the third album in as many months to feature Sosimi as guest vocalist, spotlighting the gravitas, air of mystery, intimacy and ferocity his voice can bring to an occasion.

The first of these albums was the genre-bending spiritual-jazz band Emanative's Earth (Jazzman). One of the stand-out tracks, "Ìyáàmi," features Sosimi making obeisance to the titular Mother Goddesses of the Yoruba spirit worlds. His raw and intense invocations carry the track for nine mesmerising minutes. Otherwordly is not the half of it. Next up was dub / reggae / jazz band Soothsayers' Tradition (Wah Wah 45s), which featured Sosimi as lead vocalist on the compelling "Sleepwalking (Black Man's Cry)." Earth and Tradition are both outstanding albums and have previously been reviewed here.

Cubafrobeat is a total stonking blinder, too. It is an effectively nuanced affair, opening with the fiery "Afro Sambroso" and closing with the relatively reflective "Rumbafro." Sosimi's vocals light up the music, as do the several solos from trumpeters Graeme Flowers and Yelfris Valdes Espinosa and trombonist Justin Thurgur (a member of both Lokkhi Terra and the Afrobeat Orchestra). Sosimi and Kishon Khan's intertwining Fender Rhodes solos on "Cubafro" are also a delight, as is the drum and percussion section throughout.

The sound of summer, for sure, Cubafrobeat has enough depth and variety to make it something for all seasons.

Songlines 4star review

Lokkhi Terra are one of London's most authentic groups. They are a Latin-flavoured collective whose keyboard player and bandleader Kishon Khan segues from percussive montunos to complex Bengali rhythms and back, with jazz chops sparking funky and outward-looking fusions. Their collaboration with Dele Sosimi, Britain's foremost Afrobeat ambassador, has been bubbling for a while; here four tracks at ten minutes see musical conversations that never lose their sense of flow. An extensive line-up of stellar players, including trumpeter Yelfris Valdés, conguero Oreste Noda and trombonist Justin Thurgur, highlights the genre-crossing potential of world traditions. Opener 'Afro Sambroso' showcases batá drums from Gerardo de Armas Sarria before the track links Cuban grooves with Afrobeat. 'Timbafro' crackles and sways via Khan's organ, Sosimi's vocals and Oscar Martinez's timbales. 'Cubafro' features dazzling interplay between Khan, Sosimi and Javier Camillo's Spanish-language vocals. 'Rumbafro' is all rumba choruses, Yoruba vocals and Afrobeat horns. Rooted in their sources, but with musical threads intertwining, separating and reconfiguring – with grooves at a premium – this is a fusion lover's dream

Shapes of Rhythm is proud to present the self-titled debut LP of Turkish psychedelic pop from MLDVA & Çınar Timur. This record is a celebration of the classic music and culture typically of the 70s and 80s, but which also leans into western jazz funk and soul jazz moments. If you're into the Turkish music legends of the 70s and 80s such as Barış Manço and more recently Altın Gün or Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, you've come to the right place.

MLDVA were formed in Krakow, Poland in 2013 as a DJ and production outfit. Under the influence of Greek and Turkish folk and psych-rock music they began to transform into a band, taking up instruments including the Saz which is one of the most recognisable trademarks of the Turkish sound. Two years later in 2015 they invited Turkish instrumentalist Çınar Timur to join them and this completes the line up on their debut. This electric album is packed with excellently-recorded expansive tracks which are full of energy, psychedelic deep grooves, hard-hitting breakbeats and everything else you'd expect with classic Turkish sounds.

The instrumental double-header of Neşat Erkaş' Zülüf Dökülmüş Yüze, moving into the time-honoured traditional Kozan Dağıis the perfect opening track. The introduction is an overture of sorts with two minutes of Çınar Timur's pondering guitar. This tees up the record perfectly before heading into a break-beat driven workout with the band matching Çınar's evocative and energetic riffing. The result is a tight sound and a heavy groove that sets the tone for what's to come.

With the band unveiled, Sarı Çizmeli Mehmet Ağa, written by Barış Manço (a legend in Turkish popular music), hits a relaxed, deeper and more psychedelic groove, dominated by Wojciech Długosz's dreamy Rhodes piano, set against choppy wah-wah guitar licks that characterize that classic electric Turkish pop sound. We're introduced to Ulaş Çıbuk's vocals for the first time, telling the historic tale of a charitable village lord Mehmet Ağa from 19c Anatolia known for his generosity. He shared his fortune with people inneed and as a result, died penniless. This track also features the unique sound of Çınar's Mictrotonal electric guitar.

Bir Adım Öte is MLDVA & Çınar Timur's magnificent mellow moment, marking the halfway point in their debut. The group shows that it's not all about the frenetic in a nod to western Soul-Jazz constructs. They showcase restraint, emotion and that joy in repetition of a wonderful guitar refrain. Not content with holding this down, Wojciech Długosz's Rhodes solo steps into a world that's US-influenced Soul jazzand is a lesson in reduction and feeling. Çınar Timur then takes a solo turn, keeping it western-influenced with an on the spot improvisation. When the three minutes of solos are over, we're brought back out of thedream and towards the East again.

Adımız Miskindir Bizim kicks off like a hip hop/funk crossover tune, until the chord changes muscle in, to remind you where you are in the world. As with other tracks on the debut, the tune is marked by recurring motifs, this time from Çınar's microtonal electric guitar. We've more solo Rhodes action, thist ime busier and more urgent. The lyrics–originally written by Yunus Emre – criticizevalues such as holding grudges that destroy ideas of love, friendship and peace among people which causes hostility. Adımız Miskindir Bizim concludes with an uplifting vocal vamp which switches it up unlike any of thetracks on the LP.

In Fesupanallah– made most popular by Erkin Koray – Ulaş Çıbuk sings about the simple subject ofbeing patient with never ending problems in life, and trying to find a solution for them. This cut takes a rhythmical side-step to the rest of the album. The kick drum maps out a solid four-four, but the vocals and guitar lines move around it to impose Fesupanallah as being the record's most traditionally Turkish-sounding cut.

The album's closing track Ölüm Allah'ın Emri (another Manço classic) was recorded live in the band's more familiar surroundings of Krakow's Cheder Cafe during 2020's Jewish Culture Festival. The lyrics tell the tale of someone who has accepted death but cannot accept the separation that comes with it. We open with a dreamy, psychedelic mood before progressing into a heavy-riffing rock feeling with probing synths. Ulaş delivers his vocals over the top of a stripped back, shuffling groove. As the track progresses towards a frenetic conclusion, drummer Szymon Piotrowski cuts loose, combining with Grzegorz Dąbek's synth lines.

MLDVA & Çınar Timur's debut LP is not the sound of a band starting out. Taking time to hone their craft and let influences across the global spectrum of music mature, this is the result of years of jamming, gigging and collaborating. Now, after prestigious festival appearances and their place on Saz Power – an essential modern Turkish music compilation – they're making a lasting contribution to a rich, time-honored culture. MLDVA & Çınar Timur releases Friday 30 June 2023 on limited edition vinyl LP and digital download/streaming services on Shapes of Rhythm. Global distribution by Kudos Records.

Five years after the release of ‘Luyando’, Zimbabwe’s most celebrated music export returns with their long-awaited follow-up album ‘Tusona: Tracings in the Sand’. The six musicians from Victoria Falls are refining their unique sound: infectious Afro grooves deeply connected to Zimbabwe’s cultural DNA. ‘Tusana’ is their most danceable album to date, a DIY production recorded in Zimbabwe. It features horns by Ghanaian highlife outfit Santrofi.

Every Sunday, there is a gathering in the sweltering heat on grounds of an old local beer hall in the Chinotimba township in Mosi-o-Tunya (Victoria Falls). Entertainment is provided by various traditional groups including the Luvale Makisi masquerade. It is a day full of singing, drumming, dancing and storytelling. Mokoomba’s lead vocalist Mathias Muzaza can often be found here singing with a voice both soaring and vulnerable. In the course of the afternoon the other band members - guitarist Trustworth Samende, bass player Abundance Mutori, keyboard player Phathisani Moyo, percussionist Miti Mugande and drummer Ndaba Coster Moyo - often join in with singing. The drum driven song “Bakalubale” featured on their new album invites you to this gathering.

Mokoomba recorded ‘Tusona: Tracings in the Sand’, the follow-up album to ‘Luyando’ (2017, Outhere), in Zimbabwe during the pandemic. Instead of working with outside producers like Manou Gallo or Steve Dyer as they have in the past, this album was entirely recorded in a DIY fashion by Mokoomba. The collective from Zimbabwe put in all the experiences made over the previous years and have forged their music into a unique Zimbabwean sound. On popular demand from their fans in Zimbabwe they have even re-recorded three songs from their last more acoustic album ‘Luyando’ turning them into dancehall bangers (featured on the CD and digital versions of the album). In short, this album is more Mokoomba than any of the ones before.

On the album Mokoomba are singing about love, loss, courage in a changing society. The first single “Nzara Hapana” means “no money” in Shona. The song talks about a man who wants to ensure the future of his wife and family and is trying to protect them against the greed of his relatives. The danceable up-tempo song “Nyansola” praises the goddess of harvest and asks her for rain. “Makisi” is sung in Luvale. It celebrates the beauty of the initiation ceremony for which the whole community comes together. “Manina” is a song about losing a loved one. It was written during the pandemic and features the young singer Ulethu from Harare. Mokoomba sing in many different local languages. Their songs are in Tonga, Luvale, Shona, Nyanja and even Lingala used in “Makolo” when they team up with Congolese singer Desolo B. (The album also features horns by Nobert Wonkyi Arthur (trumpet), Bernard Gyamfi (trombone) and Emmanuel Arthur (sax) from Ghanaian highlife outfit Santrofi.)

The title of the album is a nod towards their immense respect for tradition. ‘Tusona’ refers to an ancient system of signs and symbols, drawn in the sand and used for instruction during initiation ceremonies by the Luvale in Southern Africa. Another important part of the Mukanda initiation ceremony is the incredible Makisi masquerade. Since 2008 the Makisi dances are on the UNESCO list of intangible heritage. The Makisi are masked characters, representing the spirit of deceased ancestors. During the yearly initiation ceremony the Makisi return to the living world to teach the young children to become responsible adults among the Lubale people of Southern Africa. In the last decade the interest - especially among the young people – has faded and the Makisi dances have nearly died out.

“Our inspiration comes from these gatherings”, Trustworth Samende explains, “from listening to and playing pure traditional music with everyone in the township. We then add influences from music that we listened to in our homes growing up and the sounds we experience travelling around the world.” It is the connection with the cultures around them that gives Mokoomba’s music its spiritual power. When you hear Mathias Muzaza singing and you watch closely, you will see the music carrying him away to a different sphere, a place where he is singing with the ancestors. Only a split second later though Trust Samende’s sparkling guitar riffs kick in, blending Congolese influences from neighbouring Kasai with Zamrock and Mbira inspired Chimurenga music, making you want to hit the dancefloor. It is this unique blend of local musical styles with contemporary dance music that is at the heart of Mokoomba’s music. The strong reference to tradition is also reflected in the cover illustration by young Zimbabwean visual artist Lomedy Mhako.

It has been nearly 10 years since this young energetic band from Zimbabwe has exploded onto the international music scene. Since then they have shared their music with fans all over the world: Mokoomba have performed in over 40 countries, rocking audiences in places like Roskilde festival (Denmark), WOMAD festival (UK), Sziget festival (Hungary), SXSW (USA), Apollo Theatre (New York) to name but a few.

Like anywhere in the world Africa’s musical output has become more and more producer based. Mokoomba are the living proof that Africa’s great guitar band heritage is well alive and ready to set any dancefloor on fire. Most important though is that deep below the surface of Mokoomba’s sound - flowing like the Zambezi River - you can still hear the heartbeat and the rhythm of a community connected by its music. Like ‘Tusona’, it is a source of rejuvenation, resilience and strength in these changing times. May the tracings in the sand not fade.

After the release of 2001's 'Fuck Art', The Dirty Nil jammed in their practice space for weeks, not overthinking anything or taking any external input. They didn’t sweat the small details or fret over transitions and arrangements. Less second guessing, more reckless abandon. It’s the same approach to rock they’ve taken since they were kids. “We had the best time pulling these songs together. It made me feel like a teenager in my parents’ basement again,” Bentham says. What came out was the appropriately titled Free Rein to Passions. Their youthful rock-worship approach is immediately apparent on the album’s opener “Celebration,” which cuts in via a chugging metal riff, a subtle ode to one of the Nil’s influences, Power Trip’s late frontman Riley Gale. From there, the band indulges their loudest, gnarliest inclinations, making casual nods to their more chaotic favorites, including everything from the Jesus Lizard to the Blood Brothers. And on the album’s catchiest single, “Nicer Guy,” the Nil reminds listeners that they also still wield the power to stitch a perfect, infectious pop hook into their rock fabric. Free Rein to Passions keeps things simple lyrically as well, and doesn’t get bogged down with overly complicated messaging. Nothing overwrought, nothing didactic. Just songs about working soul-sucking jobs, shredding on guitar, and striving to be a kinder person. “The only real central theme of the album is an acknowledgment of the crazy circumstances that we all occupy at this point in time, and being nice,” Bentham stresses. “It’s about being nice to everyone around you, and enjoying your silly little life and not getting too smashed down by prevailing negativity in the air.”

S Transporter is Izaak S and Ryan Spencer, a pan-American duo of exact origins unknown. With roots spanning from Detroit to San Francisco, the project is somewhere around four years old, though no one remembers exactly when it started. The songs were initially demoed in Ryan's bedroom and promptly forgotten about in the chaotic whirl of both members’ efforts in other music projects, DJing, and party-throwing ventures until Ryan played them at his weekly, Monday Is The New Monday (co-founded with PGS' Ben & Zach). Immediately, the songs burst with new life into our ears, and we excitedly requested to hear more. In a tale every creative can relate to, Ryan simply didn't know if they were any good. We found them extraordinary.

What followed were several months of additional recording sessions in a collective effort to finalize the tracks, done at Ryan's apartment in Southwest Detroit, Izaak's in SF, and the Portage Garage in Hamtramck. Bay area DIY underground luminary Anya Ghiorzi joined the group and contributed her vocal talents to the songs, which began to exhibit a sound representative of the genre-collisions featured at MITNM– from krautrock and boogie to trance, acid, and house– in a way other PGS releases have hinted at, but have not fully expressed until now.

S Transporter is the name of the EP, the project, and all four songs. A maximalist sound with a minimalist presentation, naming the songs - so many years after their inception - would, perhaps, take away from the feeling that struck all three of us the first time we heard them on a club-grade sound system.

Izaak S and Anya Ghiorzi are San Francisco residents, musicians, and DJs in the Loveshadow dance collective.

Ryan Spencer is a Detroit resident, DJ, co-founder of Monday Is The New Monday, and is a member of Freakish Pleasures.

"S Transporter 1"
Uptempo, backspin-laden electro/acid with a winding 303 bassline that reveals itself slowly over the pulsing breakbeat backbone. Immersive, haunting and enchanting.

"S Transporter 2"
Downtempo electro. Slap bass. Heavy boogie. Sensual vocals reminiscent of early Chris N Cosey carry you through this industrial funk heater. Heavy synth lines and rhythmic grooving guitar that is club-ready for dance floors of all kinds.

"S Transporter 3"
A fast paced, percussion forward adventure with balaphone melodies and bending synth pads. Spoken words guide the journey, arriving at a movement inducing Juno ascension that dances into a calm end.

"S Transporter 4"
Encompassing the seemingly disjointed, individualistic styles of S Transporter 1-3, ‘4’ combines elements of the entire release into one final gesture. ‘4’ could be Byrne/Eno ("Regiment"), but it's something else - the product of decades of dance music history, distilled by two musicians & DJs into one song.

credits
releases July 19, 2019

PGS 010
S Transporter
"S Transporter"
EP

2015-2019
Written, Mixed and Produced by Izaak S & Ryan Spencer
Vocals by Anya
Bass on “2” by Lucas De Leon Turner
Percussion & additional production on "3" by Shigeto
Percussion on “3” by Julian Spradlin

Mastered by Josh Bonati at Bonati Mastering
Recorded at Izaak's apartment in San Francisco, Ryan's apartment in Southwest Detroit and the Portage Garage
Records Pressed at Archer Record Pressing, Detroit, MI
Design by Will
MMXVIX

First ever commercial releases of New Orleans’ legend Alvin Batiste’s Spiritual Jazz albums created with the college band he instructed and led in Baton Rouge - Goes To Africa With Love and Live at The 1971 American College Jazz Festival Originally given away as souvenirs at Southern University, these albums contains deep Batiste originals and, on Live, are paired with excellent John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard covers. They are some of the most sought after albums of Americas 70s jazz underground. Each album contains extensive booklet detailing Batiste’s life and his time spent honing and recording this remarkable band of young students. That one of the great Spiritual Jazz albums of the era could be found in duplicate New Orleans thrift store in the 1980s goes a long way in illustrating the lack of acclaim this special and overlooked album maintained, even in a city where the Batiste name is musical royalty. The Southern University albums Alvin Batiste offered the world were novelies, not worthy of serious consideration, a moment captured, but not necessarily worthy of being collected or preserved by anyone not immediately involved in its creation. That changes now. With the release of the two Southern University albums, Now-Again continues a conversation begun with the late Kashmere Stage Band director Conrad O. Johnson and the issue of his high school students’ music as Texas Thunder Soul, and the continued belief that beautiful music created by youth - even under the most adverse circumstances - can always inspire us.

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: One of the most innovative groups popular music has ever known, the band that instigated a musical revolution! Black and white, male, and female, SLY & THE FAMILY STONE were the first- and still the most significant - integrated combo in the history of popular music.

Founded in November 1966 by Sly Stone by merging The Stoners with his brother Freddie’s Stone Souls, this new sound was a unique and unprecedented fusion of Soul, Funk, Rock, R&B and Psychedelia. Sly himself was a master musician who wrote, arranged, and produced all the group’s material, fashioning ingenious musical arrangements with a blend of syncopated rhythm, pop melody, lowdown funk and unorthodox harmony.

And he chose the best players in the San Francisco Bay Area to implement this outrageous musical vision. With the compilation STONE SOUL we are focusing upon their rarely heard roots and the earliest examples of the style that would take the music world by storm. This fascinating set includes the complete recordings of FREDDIE AND THE STONE SOULS, early solo experiments by SLY and ROSE STONE, the very first SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE studio session that predates their signing with Epic Records, and the tremendous 1968 demo ‘Man Does Not Live’. Also featured are the gospel sounds of THE HEAVENLY TONES, whose members would provide vocal backgrounds on multiple Family Stone albums and later become known as Little Sister.

So Ride the Rhythm and let the music take your mind

SLY & THE FAMILY STONE: One of the most innovative groups popular music has ever known, the band that instigated a musical revolution! Black and white, male, and female, SLY & THE FAMILY STONE were the first- and still the most significant - integrated combo in the history of popular music.

Founded in November 1966 by Sly Stone by merging The Stoners with his brother Freddie’s Stone Souls, this new sound was a unique and unprecedented fusion of Soul, Funk, Rock, R&B and Psychedelia. Sly himself was a master musician who wrote, arranged, and produced all the group’s material, fashioning ingenious musical arrangements with a blend of syncopated rhythm, pop melody, lowdown funk and unorthodox harmony.

And he chose the best players in the San Francisco Bay Area to implement this outrageous musical vision. With the compilation STONE SOUL we are focusing upon their rarely heard roots and the earliest examples of the style that would take the music world by storm. This fascinating set includes the complete recordings of FREDDIE AND THE STONE SOULS, early solo experiments by SLY and ROSE STONE, the very first SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE studio session that predates their signing with Epic Records, and the tremendous 1968 demo ‘Man Does Not Live’. Also featured are the gospel sounds of THE HEAVENLY TONES, whose members would provide vocal backgrounds on multiple Family Stone albums and later become known as Little Sister.

So Ride the Rhythm and let the music take your mind

Supermodels ist eine Platte, in der man sich selbst wiedererkennen kann, egal wie alt man ist oder wo man steht. Clauds fesselndes und ergreifendes zweites Album ist ein selbstbewusstes Tagebuch über das Quecksilber des Lebens und der Liebe in den frühen 20ern, ob es nun die Selbstzweifel sind, die sich durch die Songs schleichen, oder der Ort des Kompromisses, den sie zu finden versuchen. Es ist eine exakte Karte der emotionalen und logistischen Wechselfälle, denen sie in ihren frühen 20ern begegnet sind. Risse in Romanzen und Freundschaften, der Druck der Plattenkarriere, die Verluste des Erwachsenwerdens: Jeder dieser 13 Songs ist ein weiterer artikulierter Tagebucheintrag, der ohne Rücksicht auf das Genre und mit der Achterbahn der Gefühle zusammengefügt wurde, die jedem Stück eine so spezifische Schwere verleiht. Für Claud sind dies vertraute Themen, die zum Teil das gleiche Terrain abdecken wie Super Monster von 2021. Aber die Ideen haben ein neues Selbstvertrauen, das sich in Strukturen und Hooks ausdrückt, die nicht zweideutig sind, wenn sie sich von stirnrunzelndem Folk über ungestümen Pop bis hin zu verdrehten Klavierkuriositäten bewegen. Während Supermodels größtenteils im Schlafzimmer ihrer Kindheit entstanden ist, wurde dieses Album an einem eigenen Ort aufgenommen und von einem Team von Vertrauten und Mitarbeitern zu prächtigen Produktionen ausgebaut. Supermodels hat seinen Namen aus dem Albumsong „Screwdriver“. „You caught me looking at photographs of supermodels“, singen sie, wobei sich ihre Stimme langsam über die elegische Zeile erhebt, die auf dem kaputten Klavier geschrieben wurde. "Trying not to cry when I look back at myself". Es ist ein erschütternder Moment, eine Erinnerung daran, wie wir alle daran arbeiten, uns nicht mehr als minderwertig und nicht gleichwertig zu sehen, um ein Dutzend verschiedener Unsicherheiten zu überwinden, die wir in den tiefsten Nischen unserer Fassade zu speichern versuchen. Aber Claud verbirgt bei Supermodels nichts. Es sind Kerne der Verzweiflung, der Erlösung und letztlich der Einsicht, die uns daran erinnern, dass wir weder die Ersten noch die Letzten sind, die sich diesem Blues stellen und weitermachen.

Supermodels ist eine Platte, in der man sich selbst wiedererkennen kann, egal wie alt man ist oder wo man steht. Clauds fesselndes und ergreifendes zweites Album ist ein selbstbewusstes Tagebuch über das Quecksilber des Lebens und der Liebe in den frühen 20ern, ob es nun die Selbstzweifel sind, die sich durch die Songs schleichen, oder der Ort des Kompromisses, den sie zu finden versuchen. Es ist eine exakte Karte der emotionalen und logistischen Wechselfälle, denen sie in ihren frühen 20ern begegnet sind. Risse in Romanzen und Freundschaften, der Druck der Plattenkarriere, die Verluste des Erwachsenwerdens: Jeder dieser 13 Songs ist ein weiterer artikulierter Tagebucheintrag, der ohne Rücksicht auf das Genre und mit der Achterbahn der Gefühle zusammengefügt wurde, die jedem Stück eine so spezifische Schwere verleiht. Für Claud sind dies vertraute Themen, die zum Teil das gleiche Terrain abdecken wie Super Monster von 2021. Aber die Ideen haben ein neues Selbstvertrauen, das sich in Strukturen und Hooks ausdrückt, die nicht zweideutig sind, wenn sie sich von stirnrunzelndem Folk über ungestümen Pop bis hin zu verdrehten Klavierkuriositäten bewegen. Während Supermodels größtenteils im Schlafzimmer ihrer Kindheit entstanden ist, wurde dieses Album an einem eigenen Ort aufgenommen und von einem Team von Vertrauten und Mitarbeitern zu prächtigen Produktionen ausgebaut. Supermodels hat seinen Namen aus dem Albumsong „Screwdriver“. „You caught me looking at photographs of supermodels“, singen sie, wobei sich ihre Stimme langsam über die elegische Zeile erhebt, die auf dem kaputten Klavier geschrieben wurde. "Trying not to cry when I look back at myself". Es ist ein erschütternder Moment, eine Erinnerung daran, wie wir alle daran arbeiten, uns nicht mehr als minderwertig und nicht gleichwertig zu sehen, um ein Dutzend verschiedener Unsicherheiten zu überwinden, die wir in den tiefsten Nischen unserer Fassade zu speichern versuchen. Aber Claud verbirgt bei Supermodels nichts. Es sind Kerne der Verzweiflung, der Erlösung und letztlich der Einsicht, die uns daran erinnern, dass wir weder die Ersten noch die Letzten sind, die sich diesem Blues stellen und weitermachen.

Supermodels ist eine Platte, in der man sich selbst wiedererkennen kann, egal wie alt man ist oder wo man steht. Clauds fesselndes und ergreifendes zweites Album ist ein selbstbewusstes Tagebuch über das Quecksilber des Lebens und der Liebe in den frühen 20ern, ob es nun die Selbstzweifel sind, die sich durch die Songs schleichen, oder der Ort des Kompromisses, den sie zu finden versuchen. Es ist eine exakte Karte der emotionalen und logistischen Wechselfälle, denen sie in ihren frühen 20ern begegnet sind. Risse in Romanzen und Freundschaften, der Druck der Plattenkarriere, die Verluste des Erwachsenwerdens: Jeder dieser 13 Songs ist ein weiterer artikulierter Tagebucheintrag, der ohne Rücksicht auf das Genre und mit der Achterbahn der Gefühle zusammengefügt wurde, die jedem Stück eine so spezifische Schwere verleiht. Für Claud sind dies vertraute Themen, die zum Teil das gleiche Terrain abdecken wie Super Monster von 2021. Aber die Ideen haben ein neues Selbstvertrauen, das sich in Strukturen und Hooks ausdrückt, die nicht zweideutig sind, wenn sie sich von stirnrunzelndem Folk über ungestümen Pop bis hin zu verdrehten Klavierkuriositäten bewegen. Während Supermodels größtenteils im Schlafzimmer ihrer Kindheit entstanden ist, wurde dieses Album an einem eigenen Ort aufgenommen und von einem Team von Vertrauten und Mitarbeitern zu prächtigen Produktionen ausgebaut. Supermodels hat seinen Namen aus dem Albumsong „Screwdriver“. „You caught me looking at photographs of supermodels“, singen sie, wobei sich ihre Stimme langsam über die elegische Zeile erhebt, die auf dem kaputten Klavier geschrieben wurde. "Trying not to cry when I look back at myself". Es ist ein erschütternder Moment, eine Erinnerung daran, wie wir alle daran arbeiten, uns nicht mehr als minderwertig und nicht gleichwertig zu sehen, um ein Dutzend verschiedener Unsicherheiten zu überwinden, die wir in den tiefsten Nischen unserer Fassade zu speichern versuchen. Aber Claud verbirgt bei Supermodels nichts. Es sind Kerne der Verzweiflung, der Erlösung und letztlich der Einsicht, die uns daran erinnern, dass wir weder die Ersten noch die Letzten sind, die sich diesem Blues stellen und weitermachen.