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Since the release of their debut studio album Do Hollywood (on 4AD) in 2016, The Lemon Twigs_the New York City rock band fronted by brothers Brian (27) and Michael D'Addario (25)_have waved the same revivalist torch as Alex Chilton and his Big Star crew, working to prove that archaic music from the `60s and `70s can still be relevant in digital world. Alongside peers like Foxygen and Drugdealer, The Lemon Twigs have explicitly documented a synchronistic blend of contemporary narrative motifs, old-school recording techniques, and flawless, consistent attitudes collaged from various crucial stages of rock 'n' roll. After a whirlwind 2023, the D'Addarios are continuing the momentum of their own evolving vision and voice, distilling a history lesson of baroque and power pop into A Dream Is All We Know (out May 3 on Captured Tracks). Garnering the top-to-bottom critical acclaim the brothers have long deserved, their 2023 LP Everything Harmony was spearheaded by an impressive string of singles, including "Corner Of My Eye" and "Any Time of Day." It was the kind of record that put all of Brian and Michael's talents on display, be it the former's multi-instrumentalist gifts or the latter's boyish, explosive pop-rock charisma and eye for engineering and vocal layering. But A Dream Is All We Know is not the acoustic, nylon string-based project that Everything Harmony was. Instead, it's a return to the form the Lemon Twigs first introduced on Do Hollywood_an electric guitar-centric, anthemic assemblage of, really, everything the band does great. These two companion records are an immediate example of a band capitalizing on their fire-in-the-belly appetite to make tunes that boast ubiquitous chemistry. A Dream Is All We Know is grandiose yet grounded; meticulous, yet wild and glowing. Made with analog precision, the album was finished in the immediate months after the band completed Everything Harmony during a vibrant, prolific period split between three studios on separate coasts. A Dream Is All We Know is a profoundly dense and charged album, rife with string arrangements and a sonic thesis statement that has quaked through phases of glam, conceptualism, baroque, and Mustang-loud, stone-cold rock `n' roll for more than half-a-century. A Dream Is All We Know sounds like it's lived a thousand lives already.

A tribute to one of the greatest songwriters & artists of our time! Features newly recorded covers from Keith Richards, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Rufus Wainwright, Lucinda Williams, Maxim Ludwig & Angel Olsen, Rickie Lee Jones, Mary Gauthier, Bobby Rush, Automatic, The Afghan Whigs, and Rosanne Cash. Special Record Store Day Edition pressed on Silver Nugget vinyl and housed in a silver laminated jacket Booklet features liner notes by compilation producer & former Lou Reed publicist Bill Bentley, featuring photos by Mick Rock and Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. "To me, Lou stood out. The real deal! Something important to American music and to ALL MUSIC! I miss him and his dog." - Keith Richards "Lou seemed fearless to me, like he'd rather die than be a people-pleaser. I took inspiration from that." - Rosanne Cash "Lou Reed is my earliest influence, my introduction to punk rock, and the soundtrack to the beginning of my romance with Maxim." - Angel Olsen "Lou Reed has been gone now for many years. He's one of the few people whom I miss as much now as when he left. There are so many instances where I wonder what he would say or what he would think. His general aura would always lend something really unique to the room. Thank God he left his great music and recordings. His personality is sorely missed. Love you, Lou." - Rufus Wainwright // It goes without saying that the legendary Lou Reed was a true rock 'n' roll pioneer. From The Velvet Underground's debut in 1967 all the way through the end of his days, Reed sang truth from his heart. He lived life to the limit-and then some. The Power of the Heart is a tribute to Reed's freedom of expression with covers spanning his ground-breaking years with the Velvets into his majestic solo career. Each track is a glorious extension of the Rock 'n' Roll Animal's soul, ever adventurous and avant-garde. The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed kicks off with a legend in his own right, Keith Richards, reimagining the Velvets' classic, "I'm Waiting for the Man." Richards' rendition instantly invites you on board this unforgettable ride. In stark contrast, "Perfect Day" is somehow even more melancholy than the original given the Rufus Wainwright treatment, featuring sparse fingerpicking and gentle harmonies. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts deliver a version of "I'm So Free" that would have even Lou rockin' in his grave. It's thrilling to hear these songs reinterpreted and sung by such heavyweights; you can even hear as Lucinda Williams channels the spirit of Lou with her take on "Legendary Hearts." Other notable tracks include a punk-drunk, loved-up duet by real-life lovers Angel Olsen & Maxim Ludwig with "I Can't Stand It," and Rickie Lee Jones' reimagining of "Walk on the Wild Side," both whimsical and enticing with her whispery vocals, stripped-down percussion, and a piano fit for a late-night lounge. This tribute album truly defies genre, but its throughline, in the end, is its heart: a deeply thoughtful collection of songs that shaped a generation, each paying homage to a man whose body of work still sings.

Fünf Jahre nach Jessica Pratt's 2019 erschienenen Durchbruch-Album "Quiet Signs", taucht sie mit neuen Ambitionen und neuen Parametern für ihre Musik wieder auf. Für ihr neues, viertes Album "Here in the Pitch" arbeitete sie erneut in Gary's Electric Studio in Brooklyn und mit ihrem bewährten Team: Multi-Instrumentalist/Engineer Al Carlson und Keyboarder Matt McDermott.

Zusätzlich holte sie sich das Rhythmus-Duo Spencer Zahn und Mauro Refosco (David Byrne, Atoms for Peace) an die Seite, weitere Beiträge auf dem Album kommen von Ryley Walker, Peter Mudge (Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar) und Alex Goldberg. Die Musik ist intim und emotional, wie es die Fans erwarten und die Texte sind ein impressionistischer Lobgesang auf die Unwägbarkeiten des Ehrgeizes. In den letzten 12 Jahren hat sich die verehrte Künstlerin aus Los Angeles zu einer der einzigartigsten Songwriterinnen ihrer Generation entwickelt. Vor allem durch die mystische, schwer fassbare Mischung aus ihrer zarten Akustikgitarre und ihrem atemberaubenden Gesang. Für "Here in the Pitch" schwebte Jessica Pratt eine größere Bandbreite an Einflüssen vor - große Panoramaklänge, die an den Ozean und Kalifornien denken lassen - und in diesen neun Songs werden Pauken, Glockenspiel, Baritonsaxophon und Flöte mit robusten Gesangsarrangements überlagert, die eine triumphale Stimmung erzeugen, selbst wenn die Texte auf Verwüstung hindeuten. Diese breitere Produktionspalette wird sofort beim eindringlichen Album-Opener und der ersten Single "Life Is" deutlich. Ein Schlagzeugwirbel erinnert an den großen, orchestralen Stil von 60er-Jahre-Pop-Hits wie "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" von den Walker Brothers.

Today, the Toronto-born-and-raised singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Charlotte Day Wilson announces her highly-anticipated sophomore album Cyan Blue out May 3rd via Stone Woman Music / XL Recordings Along with the announcement of her new album comes the release of first single, "I Don"t Love You", a stark and devastatingly beautiful confessional, highlighting Wilson"s immaculate production skills and chill inducing vocals laid atop smooth groove piano chords and soft drums. The track also arrives with a visual directed by Dani Aphrodite featuring layered low fi footage of the artist and producer performing at home, living every day life and having moments of solitude in her car, a theme that comes up throughout the album. Cyan Blue finds Wilson crafting a smoothly woven cyan tapestry of her eternal influences; thumping gospel piano, warm soul basslines, atmospheric electronics, and penetrating R&B melodies. Yet, it possesses a sense of vastness that rings in a new era for Wilson, one in which she"s embracing collaboration and newfound creative openness tinged with wistfulness and yearning and a reflection on youthful innocence. "I want to look through the unjaded eyes of my younger self again," Wilson explains of making Cyan Blue. "Before there wasn"t as much baggage, before so much life was lived. But I also wish that my younger self could see where I am now. It would be nice to be able to impart some of the wisdom and clarity that I have now onto her." Working with producers like Leon Thomas (SZA, Ariana Grande, Post Malone), and Jack Rochon (HE.R, Daniel Caesar), Cyan Blue demonstrates Wilson"s sonic expertise while also showcasing the next evolution of her time-bending songwriting. Through 13 hypnotizing tracks, she continues to use music as a vessel for unpacking relationships, which in turn allows her to meet and understand herself in life-spanning, panoramic focus. But, on Cyan Blue, she challenged herself to kick her perfectionist tendencies. "Before, I was extremely intentional about creating music with a strong foundation, a bed of artistic integrity," Wilson reflects. "But that was a bit stifling, like, "Let me just make a great piece of art that will stand the test of time, no pressure." Now, I think I"m getting out of this frozen state of needing everything to be perfect. I"m more interested in capturing feelings in the moment as they happen and leaving them in that moment." While this is only her second album, Wilson"s influence in music has made a major mainstream impact. Wilson broke out in 2016 with her critically acclaimed EP, CDW, followed by 2018"s Stone Woman and made her debut studio album an official coming out moment in 2021 with the critically acclaimed, self-released Alpha. Over the past decade, she"s been sampled by Drake, John Mayer, and James Blake, while Patti Smith has recently praised and covered Wilson"s 2016 breakout single "Work." Additionally, she"s collaborated with artists like Kaytranada, BADBADNOTGOOD, and SG Lewis, demonstrating that there"s no sound Wilson can"t adapt to and sprinkle her cyan-colored magic over.

This is the most ambitious project of Tim Garland's stellar career, with a celebration of Lighthouse Trio's 20th Anniversary (Gwilym Simcock and Asaf Sirkis), along with a stunning display of Tim's prowess as a composer and arranger with the Britten Sinfonia, featuring violinist Thomas Gould, along with trumpet ace Yazz Ahmed performing as a special guest on one track. Tim describes the project: “That Moment of Departure, from the known, the notated, towards something new is a shout of fearless freedom. The compositions on this album all have crucial and varied relationship*s with improvised music, from string orchestra to intimate trio, and completely free-form music. Classical influences and visual art have informed me, as much as my jazz heart. The series of paintings called ‘Sail To Hope’, by Esra Kizir Gokcen, provide a backbone of inspiration for the first disc’s music. The subject of journeying into the unknown, as well as the influence of Turkish rhythms, create the background atmosphere whilst maintaining the spaciousness and freedom for the jazz soloists.”

SlapFunk return to the world of phonographic recordings with a mini album split into two ep’s from the highly regarded Tommy Vicari Jnr.

Hailing from the steel city of Sheffield he forged a new bond with the label after a standout DJ set at one of the famous SlapFunk parties and then delivered 8 solid tracks to work the speaker stacks.

Even with a minimal approach to the main ingredients in the productions, the results have been creating maximum impact on the dance floor, fully road tested at some of the best parties and festivals. Deep,moody, glitched out grooves collide with warehouse box jams that will soon get you throwing some serious shapes.

We are thrilled to have such a talent appear on our label and are very excited to present to you this dynamite double disc release. soft pads that will make you close your eyes and dive into intense reflections.

Rico Puestel always has a surprise in store: #technohasleftthebuilding ain't finished yet! We've come a long way baby... The original recording sessions has been more extensive than previously known of, based on the incentive question: If Techno has left the building, what is actually left of it?

In the aftermath of it all, Rico Puestel bounces back to the true-bred heart of Techno and its traits that really made him fall in love with it in the first place. He initially kept these additional and special tracks to himself throughout the first album part, but the time has come to deliver them subsequently now.

Literally point by point, Rico Puestel designes a mesmerizing trip into the greater depths of early club nights, thinking of a world without any trials and tribulations of smartphones or the internet - just dancing and loosing oneself in the magic of the the 4/4-impulse and a tapestry of sound woven around our being.

In times, when people felt as a unit-of-one movement on the dancefloor, with Techno being its undeniable soundtrack and moment of truth, diversity was no issue, so #technohasleftthebuilding's aftermath also dives into the realms of Trance and beyond, because way back: Techno was just Techno and it's all about the music in the end.

Starting with a warning from a dystopian point in time, this further album part is an admonition and a refined view back from outside the building...

Bobby Hutcherson’s 1968 album Total Eclipse was the vibraphonist’s first recording to feature saxophonist Harold Land who would become a key collaborator for years to come. Rounding out the band were pianist Chick Corea, bassist Reggie Johnson, and drummer Joe Chambers on this impassioned post-bop set. This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI, and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.

About S. Raekwon & Steven "Steven is the sound of me holding a mirror up to and critically reflecting on who I am: the good, the bad, the ugly. It's about trying to understand the multitudes within me." - S. Raekwon Steven Raekwon Reynolds performs as S. Raekwon, but his second LP is simply called Steven. Across ten tracks of furious and subtly strumming guitars, plodding bass riffs, and whispering revelations, S. Raekwon's newest album strips back sonic and personal layers to present his most vulnerable, yet authentic self. Born in Buffalo and now based in the East Village of New York City, Steven wrote, produced, engineered, and mixed everything on the record, in addition to playing every instrument except the drums. He packed up a rental car with all his gear and returned to his fiancée's parents' home in Southern Illinois, where they rode out the pandemic and where he recorded half of Where I'm at Now. The house proved to be a nontraditional recording space, but one that provided plenty of physical space as well as spiritual room for experimentation. Steven and drummer Mario Malachi, longtime friends since their days at college in Cleveland, Ohio, spent a week in July 2023 transforming the living room into a makeshift studio, rearranging furniture, sitting face-to-face in front of a mic, and taping songs in single takes. It was a new way of working together, with no demoing or pre-production; Mario hadn't even heard the songs before getting there, which created a sense of spontaneity and improvisation. Where his debut explored his past - longing for a connection to his father and the Black side of his family and wrestling with his identity while being raised in a household by a single, white mother - Steven looks inward. Steven is loosely structured in three parts: Part 1 is fast and energetic, exploring the concepts of rage, anger, jealousy. Part 2 is slow and dynamic, with themes of ugliness, disappointment, embarrassment. Part 3 is something gentler, a moment of contentment and clarity. Steven is a portrait of strengths and weaknesses, flaws and fulfillments.

Limted version on 2LP transparent violet vinyl in gatefold sleeve, 300 copies! ‘Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent.



'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' is back with volume 3 and still doing what it does best: putting you in the front row of what the thriving Belgian jazz scene currently has to offer and revealing a melting pot of the musical talent coming out one of the smallest countries in Europe. Never change a winning team they say, so we're happy to have Belgian DJ and eclectic connoisseur Lefto on board again.

Although you expect thecompilation to be talking jazz, volume 3 explores a broader array of styles, genres, and sounds than ever before, arriving at a point where the 'young cats' of today don't bother no more. It may focus on the Belgian scene, but let's face it, seeing the influences, this one could be compiled from all over the world. From the empowering and bittersweet voices of Oriana Ikomo and Adja, over the more acoustic-electronic productions of Moodprint, Ciao Kennedy, Kassius and echofarmer. It's even expanding the Jazz Cats universe to dub and bass-heavy tracks with Kin Gajo and Le Ministère, Ethio-jazz from Azmari, while sending you back to earth with bodies' swirling sax and drums. That saxophone still rings in your ears when you end up in the orbit of the march-like drums of Bodem, Orson Claeys' piano testing your ability to follow him, slamming the breaks to go smooth cruisin' with HONEY (Morricone meets Khruangbin, anyone?), to crashing in a raging tempo on that last track of Bruno x Soet x Moene. And there you are, back with us.



2018's 'Lefto presents Jazz Cats' included tracks from some of Belgium's biggest hitters, including Black Flower, STUFF. De Beren Gieren and Glass Museum who have all gone on to receive global acclaim. The album was given the accolade of 'Album of the Week' on Worldwide FM and also received further radio support from Jazz FM in addition to numerous glowing reviews. The 2022 follow-up 'Jazz Cats volume 2' paved the way for a new generation inspired by its peers, entering another era of very talented individuals and collectives. Maybe even more so than 4 years before. It uncovered a beautiful balance of more established but also obscure musicians and artists. Opening up to electronics and dance, enter bands like ECHT!, Stellar Legions and TUKAN. Thrilling innovative soundscape grooves and jazz fusion with Bandler Ching and L?p?GangGang, not to forget about the weaving musical odyssey that is M.CHUZI. In addition, there's the balanced unease of One Frame Movement, the laidback 'acoustic electronica' of Boombox Experiments, the classic funky jazz stylings of Cargo Mas and cinematic The Brums, all of these have set volume 2 on the map as an essential release for any jazzhead with a passion for new sounds.

Tastemaker, selector, curator, DJ and producer, these words often get mentioned when Lefto's name pops up in discussions. And rightly so. If you've ever had the pleasure to listen to one of his incredible Boiler Room sets or one of his many radio shows, you'll know why. Famed for his gloriously eclectic taste on the decks, he switches effortlessly between hip hop, funk, breaks, neck-snapping beats, future bass, South-American influences, bruk riddims, some wild African rhythms and of course, jazz.

Growing up as a child, his father would have the sounds of jazz flowing through the speakers. Which led him to bars around town to hear the latest jazz ensembles. Falling in love with the genre, he would later refine his knack for record digging and fine ear for music working at Belgium's legendary Music Mania record store in his hometown Brussels. Which makes that Lefto is consistently a couple steps ahead. He doesn't wait for the next thing to land in his lap, but actively seeking it out.

Lefto on Jazz Cats volume 3:
"Another release in less than two years! I am very impressed by the amount of creative "jazz" talent we've managed to compile over the last couple of years. Thanks to the internet, young musicians find inspiration from around the globe and incorporate diverse influences into their work. Given the history and heritage of jazz in this country, it has managed to create a healthy jazz scene supported by festivals, venues, press, and labels. Therefore, I am very proud to present to you the thirdinstallment of Jazz Cats. This compilation is dedicated to the young and hardworking musicians who are the present and the future of Belgium's jazz scene."

Third Child album Soul Murder released for the first time on vinyl and digipak. Combine the heavy emotion of the blues, the tone and raw power of hard rock, the finesse of soul and a twist of 60's psychedelia. It will give you a visceral musical experience that plays directly to your being. That is CHILD. Living for their art, the pubs, the booze, the endless highways and the blues is what makes this band who they are. Child are a must see for those who are worshippers at "the electric church". The freedom and power of a live performance is important to CHILD in their approach to music, endeavouring to never perform the same way twice. They look forward to once again bringing this to the world on their continued search for sonic paradise. Since the release of their runaway self-titled debut in 2014, Child have continued to develop their unique brand of heavy blues through constant writing and extensive national/international touring. The band released the follow-up 'Blueside' in December 2016, which builds on this foundation to deliver a disc of pure sonic expression whilst following in the long tradition of the blues. 2018 saw the release of Child's first EP, simply titled 'I'. Recorded live to tape, 'I' is a glimpse into the boundless directions that could be taken on upcoming releases.

Blood red vinyl, limited to 350 copies. Third Child album Soul Murder released for the first time on vinyl and digipak. Combine the heavy emotion of the blues, the tone and raw power of hard rock, the finesse of soul and a twist of 60's psychedelia. It will give you a visceral musical experience that plays directly to your being. That is CHILD. Living for their art, the pubs, the booze, the endless highways and the blues is what makes this band who they are. Child are a must see for those who are worshippers at "the electric church". The freedom and power of a live performance is important to CHILD in their approach to music, endeavouring to never perform the same way twice. They look forward to once again bringing this to the world on their continued search for sonic paradise. Since the release of their runaway self-titled debut in 2014, Child have continued to develop their unique brand of heavy blues through constant writing and extensive national/international touring. The band released the follow-up 'Blueside' in December 2016, which builds on this foundation to deliver a disc of pure sonic expression whilst following in the long tradition of the blues. 2018 saw the release of Child's first EP, simply titled 'I'. Recorded live to tape, 'I' is a glimpse into the boundless directions that could be taken on upcoming releases.

Firnis DC lands on Perko’s FELT imprint with Firnis der Civilisation, an eponymous collection of 9 tracks that transmit the enigmatic meditations of its author; discordant trudges of twilight romanticism from pastures far beyond.

The uncommon threads that bind FELT intersect neatly at Firnis DC. Their previous outings as тпсб, for Blackest Ever Black, Climate of Fear and AD93, and a pair of The News Cycle releases, were cult hits of uncanny ambient techno and jungle volleys interpreted through lenses of outsider electronics. A snug fit, in other words, for Perko’s unpredictable stable.

On Firnis der Civilisation, we find things paired back further than before. Its 9 tracks play out like beatless symphonies of wayward folk music who’s basement transmissions have been intercepted from the ether; a stirring limbo of grotty emotions that inspire and conflict in equal measure. Tracks offer brief portals into zones of sampladelic oddities, haunted vocals and scatty euphoria that is collectively driven by an (un)willingness to straddle familiar pastures. By the time you reach its finale gut-punch of Dreifach Fiktierung’s twitching breakcore and Innozenz Jahr funk rollage, you are offered a light at the end of a rather odd tunnel that you never quite understood how you got there in the first place.

In 1984, Jasper Van’t Hof, a prominent European jazz pianist, propelled to fame with the energetic ‘Pili Pili’ a 15-minute trance collaboration with Guinea's Isaac Tagul Group. Inspired by a fiery red pepperoni, the track sold over 100,000 copies, leading the group to adopt the name Pili Pili, becoming a hit in the club and disco scene.

Pili Pili's musical roots trace back to Van’t Hof's 1982-83 tour in Central Africa, where he discovered a love for African music. The band embraced authenticity by collaborating with diverse African musicians from Mali, Congo, Senegal, and Guinea. In 2000, Van’t Hof initiat-ed a project with the young Zulu choir Phikelela Sakhu-la from Durban, South Africa.
Pili Pili's style, described as experimental fusion, blends intricate African rhythms with jazz, fusion, funk, and dance. Van’t Hof emphasized the importance of groove over complex solos, stating that intellectual approaches are lost in their music.

The band's performances, marked by their energetic fusion of jazz and African rhythms, gained acclaim across Europe. Regular tours and festival appearances, such as the Jazz Festival of Montreux, solidified Pili Pili's reputation as an excellent live band. Reviews praised the band's dynamic and explosive music, turn-ing every performance into a rhythmic and fiery expe-rience.

Who is Leon Dinero? From whence did he come? The soulful singer dropped his first single this past June, tearing up a ska version of Lee Fields & Sugarman 3's classic "Lover Like Me". Backed by The Frightnrs, and with Victor Axelrod in the producer's chair Leon returns with "If You Ask Me", a gorgeous piece of wax that draws inspiration from the deep vaults of Jamaican Rocksteady.

Originally penned for The Frightnrs' debut long player but never tracked as such, this version showcases Dinero's timeless vocal delivery - his voice etched with honey-dipped imperfections that call to mind the classic vocals of Alton Ellis and Hopeton Lewis. Gracing the flip-side is"Bandits", a lyrical takedown of the continuing gentrification of New York City that rides the A-Side's instrumental in pure Jamaican DJ style. Vocal duties for this stellar side are brought to you by Screechy Dan, who's often described as the glue that holds the NYC reggae community together.

Beyond his classic tunes like"Pose Off" and "Big Bills", Screechy has nurtured generations of young artists, sound systems and selectors, forging deep ties that bind Jamaica to New York and veteran artists to the new school. Victor Axelrod expertly handles the production by employing the rhythmic powerhouse that is The Frightnrs to help mine the sweetness of rock steady for the A-side whilst tempering it with the drum and bass toughness of classic rub-a-dub for the flip. We're looking forward to much more to come from this extraordinary group of musicians!

An unreleased gem from the Come Around and Love Me sessions, "Here to Stay" is a gorgeously breezy ballad that will most definitely appeal to fans of the sweet soul output from our Penrose imprint.

The opening line of Emily Dickinson’s short poem ‘‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers’ inspired the central image of Emily Barker’s new single ‘Feathered Thing’, written while she navigated cumulative grief.

When Barker was first introduced to producer Luke Potashnick (Gabrielle Aplin, Jack Savoretti, Katie Melua) in May 2022, she brought with her a full album’s worth of songs. But after visiting Potashnick’s storied studio, The Wool Hall and hearing his ambitious production ideas, she was inspired to write one more song.

“I also needed to process some heavy news” she comments. Barker and her husband Lukas Drinkwater had been trying to start a family. Following a couple of failed IVF cycles (and other “starts that we’d lost”), they investigated adoption and had decided to relocate to Australia to be closer to Barker’s family.

“It felt like we couldn’t work out what we wanted, but we finally reached a point where we both felt at peace with not having kids,” Barker recalls. “It had been an incredibly intense time, coinciding with a house move and the pandemic.”

And then Barker found she was pregnant. “We’d done all these things to try to make it happen, and then it happened naturally (and against all biological odds). Having previously navigated losses throughout our pregnancy journey, we now had to get our heads around what having this new person in our lives might look like - emotionally and practically.”

Soon after work began on the album, Barker had a miscarriage.

“Songwriting has always been a way of processing throughout my life.” Barker reveals how the new song came quickly as she sat at her piano at home. She shared an early version with Potashnick and remembers him politely asking, “Do you mind telling me what this is about?”

“I think I’d left it too abstract, initially,” she reflects. “It was difficult to open up about the miscarriage, but Luke was very supportive and encouraged me to dig a little deeper without necessarily being specific. I revisited the lyrics, and the result is much stronger.”

“I went to the burnt-out woods/ A tourist with some damaged goods/ Remembered how the trees withstood fires before…”

“The opening line is a metaphor for knowing that I’ll get through this,” Barker clarifies. “It’s about recovery and hope, allowing yourself both the space to grieve and permission to move on”. But Barker’s optimism is never misplaced – she knows the imprint of imagined futures and lost children are carried in hearts and minds forever:

“It’s so hard to let go, wanted to know wanted to know you …”

“I think that it's important to share and normalise these stories, which are all too common, yet not openly spoken about. People hide their pain and don’t want to burden friends and family. I think behind all this anguish, there’s a deep, often untold story.”

Now that Barker is settled back in Western Australia, she’s embracing being an auntie. “I’ve got three younger siblings over here who I’m close to, and they all have kids,” she enthuses. “I look after my brother's kids, aged two and five, one morning a week.”

Recorded - along with the entirety of the new album - at The Wool Hall, ‘Feathered Thing’ begins gently, with oscillating piano and distant drums, until the arrangement gradually transforms into an instrumental dervish of vibrant strings, bass drones and cymbal crashes. Throughout, Barker’s vocals float tantalisingly like a slipstreaming feather.

Watch the video, filmed at The Wool Hall here. The Wool Hall is a studio in Beckington, Somerset, set up by Tears for Fears in the 1980s and used by artists including The Smiths, Pretenders, Joni Mitchell and many more.

Emily Barker is an award-winning singer-songwriter, best known as the writer and performer of the theme to the hugely successful BBC crime drama ‘Wallander’ starring Kenneth Branagh.

Her last album, 2020's ‘A Dark Murmuration of Words’, was produced by Greg Freeman and recorded at StudiOwz, a converted chapel in the Welsh countryside. Lyrically probing, by turns both dark and optimistic, Barker searches for meaning through the deafening clamour of fake news and algorithmically filtered conversation, delivering a timely exploration of the grand themes of our age. It garnered widespread acclaim, with Uncut calling it “…a kind of Australian equivalent of PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake”.

Barker has released music and toured as a solo artist as well as with various bands and collaborations, most notably her long association with Frank Turner, and has written for TV and film, including composing the soundtrack for Jake Gavin’s lauded debut feature ‘Hector’ starring Peter Mullan and Keith Allen.

‘Fragile as Humans’ is scheduled for release on May 3rd 2024 through Everyone Sang/Kartel Music Group. The album will also feature earlier singles: the vast, cinematic ‘Wild to be Sharing This Moment’ and the meditative, crestfallen ‘Loneliness’.

180g Hyperspace Coloured Vinyl
2-LP Holland
Popular / Original Soundtrack
High Quality, Gatefold Sleeve, Insert, Coloured Vinyl

LORD$'s debut album 'Speed It Up' is out on April 26 via Tricatel. LORD$ is a 5-piece band steeped in references ranging from US rap to 70s soft rock, skateboarding to video games, with Rémi Klein on keyboards and vocals, Jay Adams on bass, Zablon on guitar and vocals, Bastien Bonnefont on drums and Gary Haguenauer on guitar.

These formidable instrumentalists have given a handful of concerts, notably at the Petite Halle de la Villette in Paris, one of the hotbeds of the French jazz revival. The group also competed in the prestigious Tiny Desk series of intimate concerts, delivering a performance that impressed American public radio station NPR

I Know I'm Funny haha is Webster's most realized manifestation yet of this emotional and musical alchemy. Continuing to bloom from her 2019 breakthrough and Secretly Canadian debut Atlanta Millionaires Club, Webster's sound draws as much from the lap-steel singer-songwriter pop of the 1970s and teardrop country tunes as it does from the audacious personalities of her city's rap and R&B community. The album began for Webster with the stirring ballad "In a Good Way," as in "You make me want to cry in a good way"_an instantclassic Faye Webster one-liner. It's beguilingly simple, the kind of melody and arrangement that seem to have existed forever. A sense of relief charges the neo-psychedelic pop of "Cheers," where Webster experiments with an overdriven guitar tone. She also collaborated, on "Overslept," with the Japanese artist Mei Ehara, who she calls the biggest influence on her new music. Webster's music is full of personality. Many of her songs contain bits of girl-group-esque talk-singing, which color her atypical storysongs. Webster says she's in a growth mindset, pushing herself to learn more, to be more vulnerable. "Growth is really important to me," she says. "I hope people will relate to my songs, and not just be like `this is a good record' but `this makes me feel something. This is making me think differently, this is making me question things.' I told myself a few years ago that I was going to be more honest in my songwriting, that honesty is the best route to take with music. If I have a voice and people are listening to me, I'm not going to waste it."

A resident of Berlin's long-running Gegen, a multifaceted queer techno and performance art event, Samantha Togni has seen her profile rising with appearances on Mixmag's Lab series in London and a heavy release schedule on established and upcoming labels: Stay Up Forever, Noise Manifesto, her own Boudica, and others, quickly accumulating a significant discography since her 2019 debut. Her latest is the Lunaversal EP on Rant & Rave, representing another edgy release from upcoming female techno talent. It leads off with the title track, not exactly as cosmic as implied with buried, indecipherable vocals and buzzsaw synth riffs seesawing between intermittent breakdowns which only serve to increase tension 'Minor Goddess' takes an old school rave approach with abrasive, rising stabs and dissected vocals against a hammering framework of kicks and crushing bass pressure. With its lilting ambient chopped vocal samples slightly counterbalancing the surging forward motion of the rhythm, 'Pit of Truth' hits deeper, but the pit in the title obviously leans more towards dungeon or grave. 'Jesters Have a Heart Too' rubs unstable synth sweeps against blasts of industrial noise and jackhammer percussion, reaching peak intensity in its brutally chopped final run.

One of the most important progenitors of the Louisville scene, a soulful take on an urgent garage punk sound, Babylon Dance Band released very little during their incarnation. These two tracks ‘Someday’ and ‘Rubbertown’ made up their second single, released well after they broke up in late 1981.

The Bolshoi released three albums during their existence, but they also recorded a fourth album that was never officially released during their tenure. Provisionally titled Country Life, it was released in 2015 as part of a limited 5-CD box set. We are excited to now release it on vinyl for the first time. The album is double colored orange and green vinyl. Country Life consists of demos recorded for the album, and many of these only survived on reference cassettes but were digitally restored. We are especially thrilled that Trevor Tanner has recorded a brand new acoustic reimagining of the song "Dolores Jones" made specifically for this release. The Bolshoi were different. Their songs were dark and subversive, sufficient evidence for many critics to corral them under the "Gothic" banner at the time of their debut - but they really only "flirted" with Goth. They oozed dark, pensive lyrics supported with inventive pop-goth guitar making them nearly impossible to categorize.

DUBFIRE INVITES CHRIS LIEBING, TRUNCATE, CARL CRAIG, DRUMCELL, NADIA STRUIWIGH & MORE TO HIS REMIX ALBUM
EVOLV is a visionary window into the mind of Dubfire, the journey of the ‘hybrid’ being and its evolution. Last year in October, an 11-track debut album was released on his long-standing SCI+TEC imprint. And now, just over a year later, Grammy award winning producer Dubfire returns to that sonic discourse, drafting in an impressive array of names to re-interpret the material, and accompanied by Dubfire's new audio-visual EVOLV show which picked up where the critically acclaimed electronic performance experience HYBRID had left off.
The eclectic package will include such notables as Glaskin, Arjun Vagale, Nadia Struiwigh, Mathimidori (dub alias of Mathias Kaden), Maral, Decka, DEAS, Carl Craig, Truncate, Drumcell, Chris Liebing, and Luke Slater as L.B. Dub Corp who have all given the original music in their own unique style.
With a career spanning over 3 decades, Dubfire has achieved global success as an artist with relentless drive, talent, and intuition. Pioneering commercial notoriety came initially as one half of the Grammy Award-winning (2001) duo Deep Dish, before embarking on a truly groundbreaking solo career in 2007. A career filled with timeless tracks include his early works, ‘RibCage’ (2007), ‘Emissions' (2007), ‘Roadkill’ (2007) and the highly acclaimed ‘Grindhouse’ (2009) remix from Radio Slave which led to a host of other notable projects over the years.
Collaborative work highlights include projects with Miss Kitten, Luke Slater, Flug, and Oliver Huntemann, as well as co-producing two songs on Underworld’s Barking album. A true artist, he has always been heavily invested in exploring performance technology, unveiled to wide praise with his HYBRID live show. A two-year world tour commenced in 2015 and was followed by his retrospective album, A Decade Of Dubfire (2017), a celebration of his immense output during the first 10 years of solo artist stardom. EVOLV is Dubfire’s debut solo artist album.

The Cat's Miaow return to World Of Echo with Skipping Stones: The Cassette Years '92-'93, their second compilation for the imprint, and the fourth in a loosely defined series of reissues associated with the group (also including The Shapiros' Gone By Fall: The Collected Works of The Shapiros and Hydroplane's Selected Songs 1997-2003). It's a smart selection of songs by one of Australia's finest independent pop music groups, whose initial run, across the nineties, was as mysterious as it was bewitching. A generous double album featuring thirty-five songs drawn from The Cat's Miaow's history, Skipping Stones lets listeners in on a bunch more secrets. The four cassettes that Skipping Stones draws from - Little Baby Sour Puss, Pet Sounds (both 1992), From My Window, and How Did Everything Get So Fucked Up (both 1993) - were released or assisted by Toytown, a Melbourne cassette label of rare taste, savvy and intelligence. Diving into that two-year period, Skipping Stones is full of surprises, rich with unexpected and inspired detours, while reminding everyone just how clear and distinct The Cat's Miaow's music was from the very start. Looking in from the outside, they always felt like a group that knew just what they were doing, but intuitive as they are, they weren't forcing anything: these songs always sound exactly what they need to be, rough edges, playful moments and all. The Cat's Miaow may have been bedroom dreamers, but their songs were richly informed, with the sweetest of girl-pop moves sashaying into walls of tremolo-d and distorted guitar, jangling six strings tangling with melodic bass that's pure Peter Hook/Naomi Yang, while the gentle trickle of a drum machine or the earthy twitch of brushes on drum skins provided the spine for Kerrie's and Bart's lovely, unforced singing. This double LP on World Of Echo feels like the very core of the thing - some of the most heartbreakingly beautiful, effortlessly lush and deeply moving pop music you're likely to hear. RIYL: Hydroplane, The Cannanes, Magnetic Fields, Belle and Sebastian, Jesus and Mary Chain

Scriabin · Scarlatti creates a dreamlike meditation in which the boundaries between pieces, eras and states of mind fade away. Asal’s full performance of the Sonata is framed by a selection of Scriabin’s etudes and preludes, six sonatas by Scarlatti and two improvisatory Transitions by the pianist himself. Julius Asal chose two different Steinways for the recording, one for its sumptuous dark sonorities, the other for its clear, crisp sound. “These miniatures by Scriabin and Scarlatti are like mythical creatures from another dimension, with their own character, their own life, their own past, present and future.” Everything’s possible in a dream”, says the 27-year-old artist, who has a rare talent for innovative programme curation. “Even seemingly different materials from different times and with different densities can merge and create a new substance that’s never existed before.

Ineinander verwobene Hammondorgel-Riffs, schwere E-Gitarren und melodische Basslinien machen Nucleus zu einem besonderen Erlebnis - die ungewöhnlichen Taktarten machen es zu einer akustischen Lobotomie! Gepresst auf weißem Vinyl! Die Ursprünge von Nucleus liegen in der Torontoer Combo The Lords Of London aus den späten 60er Jahren. Sie waren eine beliebte Live-Attraktion und traten bei der Canadian National Exhibition neben The Guess Who und Kensington Market sowie US-Bands wie Moby Grape auf. Obwohl sie kleinere kanadische Hits hatten, gelang ihnen der Durchbruch in den USA nicht, und im September 1968 entwickelten sie sich zu einer anderen Art von Band. Sie änderten ihren Namen in Nucleus und nahmen in tagelangen Proben einen jazzigeren, improvisierteren Ansatz auf, um ihre einzige LP mit ausschließlich eigenen Songs aufzunehmen. Ihr Sound reicht vom verrückten "Jenny Wakes Up" bis zum intensiven "Communication". Das Album wurde im April 1969 veröffentlicht (die Veröffentlichung wurde kurzzeitig durch eine "technische Komplikation" verzögert, wie Billboard es nannte) und erregte beträchtliches Kultinteresse, wobei die Single-Version von "Communication" im Untergrund viel gespielt wurde.

Steph Richards has already made quite a name for herself in the worlds of avant garde music and creative jazz - She has recorded for Relative Pitch and Northern Spy, worked with Laurie Anderson, Anthony Braxton and Ravi Coltrane and studied with Wadada Leo Smith - As co-producer of the FONT Music Festival, Richards worked for years alongside fellow trumpeter Dave Douglas. Her records have been praised for displaying her evident virtuosity and inventiveness, the New York Times calling Richards "boldly inventive." NPR's Nate Chinen says Richards is "ingenious" and Downbeat insisted that she is "the latest figure of note" in jazz while All About Jazz cuts to the chase, saying simply, that Richards "kicks ass." It's an impressive history and litany of praise for a young trumpeter, but with her latest full-length for Northern Spy, Power Vibe, Richards pushes even further, marrying avant garde and cinematic moods with a kind of infectious and patently pleasing tunefulness that is certain to expand her dedicated audience even further. The addition of "sensory electronics" -- subtle but compelling textures and tactile rhythms which are physically triggered by drum-mounted sensors -- compels fascination here, interweaving a kind of aural hyper-lucidity throughout the record. Though boldly original, this music strides surefootedly alongside the work of contemporaries like Nicole Mitchell and Rob Mazurek and the late jaimie branch

"In a small room, tilt’s sound rings out like one big voice. Composed of vocalist Isabel Crespo Pardo, vocalist/bassist Carmen Quill, and trombonist/vocalist Kalia Vandever, the Brooklyn-based group writes intricate, viscerally affecting art-pop compositions that blend carefully interwoven motifs with improvisation. Their melodies are chiseled at extremes, vacillating between the angular and the achingly lyrical. All three members are accomplished artists and composers in their own right, coming from strong backgrounds in the jazz world, and featured alongside artists such as Harry Styles, Mary Halvorson, Dave Douglas, Matthew Barney and more. Their stunning debut LP "Something We Once Knew" is in its own class—a record that teaches us how to listen to it as it progresses. Recorded live in the studio without overdubs, its songs chart troubled and surreal journeys toward understanding or acceptance, passing through mystical corners of its members’ singular musical vocabularies. In these pieces, Quill and Vandever move fluidly between handling melodies with their voices and their instruments, harmonizing closely with Pardo’s melismatic lines. Though the band often works in carefully coordinated group gestures, some of the sharpest moments of catharsis on the record come during virtuosic passages highlighting individual members. Often, Crespo steps into the foreground of pieces, their unfettered vocal phrasing and unorthodox technical approaches investing the lyrics with additional layers of meaning. The music on "Something We Once Knew" might be most readily categorized as jazz, but it is hard to focus on anything but its sui generis aspects and its emotional charge."

A leading Norwegian bassist for over 30 years, ECM legend Arild Andersen forges promising relation-ships with two rising stars - Daniel Sommer (drums) and Rob Luft (guitar) in an expansive, playful exploration of song and collective improvisation. As Time Passes " is set to release on April 26th on April Records. Led by Sommer, the release signifies the first chapter of the drummers much much-anticipated Nordic trilogy on April Records, aiming to capture and document Nordic improvisation and composition across three carefully curated ensembles. Bassist Arild Andersens storied career stretches back to the 1970"s as one of ECM s first recording artists, collaborating with household names of the genre including Jan Garbarek, Don Cherry, Bill Frisell, John Taylor, Sonny Rollins, Chick Corea, and the list goes on. Welcoming the opportunity to work with and nurture younger artists, the ensemble was born when Daniel Sommer selected Andersen for a project during his studies at the Danish National Academy of Music. Later, impressed by Luft s performances in Ireland and Norway, Andersen suggested expanding the pair into a trio. A transcendent musical voyage, As Time Passes " blurs the lines of conventional trio roles, and celebrates the evolution of jazz as a fluid, versatile form of expression. By providing each musician the freedom of becoming a key contributor in the melodic discourse, the trio channels the spirit of jazz veterans such as the Bill Evans Trio and free free-jazz ensemble Air, while echoing the sounds and innovations of pan pan-European contemporary jazz. Mixing pensive rubato ambience with energetic grooves, instrumental dexterity, a modern ECM ECM-esque sound and folk undertones, the record s compositional clarity combined with the spontaneity of a live performance flows across and between genres, borders and generations alike. Luft s intricately over-dubbed layers of acoustic guitars, vast reverbs, and contrapuntal melodies expand the sound of the three piece into an immersive world of textures. Rendered in the stark beauty of Andersen"s bass lines, the nuanced strokes of Sommer"s drums, and capped with the lush, expansive timbres of Luft"s guitar, "As Time Passes" is a testament to enduring and ever ever-evolving wonder of Jazz.

Leading Danish trombonist Lis Wessberg is grounded by the concept that a strong melody, and a rich sound are the two most important elements in composition and performance.A continuation of the refined contemporary answer to the"Cool Jazz" sound she"s been cultivating for the past 30 years, her sophomore album"Twain Walking" is set to release on April 12th onApril Records. With more than50 album credits to her name, and having performed and toured with renowned artists including Marilyn Mazur, Fredrik Lundin, Joyce Moreno, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Ernie Wilkins Almost Big Band feat. Randy Brecker, and more, 2021 saw the release of her debut album "Yellow Maps"to critical acclaim from all around Europe. Diving deep into the personal exploration of her creative roots, "Twain Walking"hails from the warm vitality of New Orleans jazz, to the reflective hum of the ECM sound, and the boundary pushing songwriting of Radiohead. With a respectful nod to her influences such as Miles Davis, Curtis Fuller, Danish Erling Kroner, and Palle Mikkelborg, Wessberg operates within thetraditions they established. However, resisting producing a mere echo of the past, she cultivates her owndistinctaesthetic inspired in equal parts by her heroes as well as contemporary zeitgeist. Led by Wessberg"s dynamic trombone playing, her breathlike approach to the instrument mimics a lamenting human voice singing intricately lyrical melodies. Rock inspired drum grooves, thick synth timbres, and cavernous reverbs craft an expansive and dream-like contemporary soundworld in which Wessberg"s thoughtfully crafted compositions can unfold. From spacious,Nordic ballads todance floor psychedelia, the ensemble tackle all ten varied compositions with confidence, maturity, and a dedicated sense of self-expression. Featuring Estonian rising star Karmen Roivassepp on vocals, her effortless soloisticcontributions explore lyrical themes of recognising the beauty in love in life, elevating the record"s melancholic and reflective tone.

Lauded experimental death metal band Dååth has emerged from its 13-year hiatus with a new album, The Deceivers, at once a devastating reminder and giant leap forward that showcases the technical wizardry and brutal intensity that the Atlanta, Georgia-bred band is capable of. After 12 years on hiatus, Dååth found their ideal new home at Metal Blade, signing to the label and wasting no time creating new music, cover songs (Death’s “The Philosopher” and Morbid Angel’s “Where the Slime Live”) and reissuing previous albums. The first new song from the revitalized Dååth, “No Rest No End” (released ahead of the album in February, 2023), features guest solos by Spiro Dussias and now-Daath member Trujillo, who impressed Levi so much while guesting on the track that he was invited to join the band. Metal Injection called the song “massive,” with Sean Z. saying, “The first time I heard 'No Rest No End' in demo form, I was blown away! I immediately knew exactly what I wanted to do vocally. The words practically flew off the page. During every step of the creation process, the song was an obvious masterpiece.” The band began their journey in 1999 and stayed busy for just over a decade before its 2011 hiatus. In that time, Dååth released four studio albums—2004’s Futility, The Hinderers in 2007, The Concealers in 2009, and their self-titled LP in 2010. Tours with Cattle Decapitation, Dark Funeral, Cynic, Nile, Slayer, Dragonforce, Goatwhore, Chimaira, Dying Fetus, and Devildriver followed. Dååth also landed a coveted spot on Ozzfest playing before tens of thousands of fans in outdoor amphitheaters across the US, in addition to the infamous and long-running metal tour Summer Slaughter. Levi believes this is the most focused and deadly version of Dååth to date, and is excited about what’s in store. “The chemistry is great, because we can talk about stuff that would normally be uncomfortable for a lot of musicians to do without causing problems,” he says. He’s lived a lot of life since the band went away over a decade ago and admits that his mindset is very different now than it was during the original run. “We're taking this to its full potential, letting nothing and nobody stand in our way,” Levi concludes. “If you're not going all out, what's the point?"

"Star Wars Stories is a collection of the most famous melodies & fan favourite tracks from the recent Star Wars Universe including The Mandalorian, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Rogue One. This compilation features main themes, epic orchestral tracks and emotional songs, paying tribute to the originals John Williams, Ludwig Göransson, John Powell, Anthony Williams & Michael Giacchino. This project is a follow-up to the 2019 release Music From The Star Wars Saga – the essential collection, a compilation of music from the Star Wars films. Included are the most famous melodies & fan favourite tracks from the hugely popular tv series, paying tribute to Ludwig Göranssons’ work. This includes musical highlights from the series ranging from the infamous main theme to epic orchestral tracks & character pieces for Boba Fett & Luke Skywalker. From Solo: A Star Wars Story, this tribute to John Williams & John Powell’s 2018 album features action-loaded orchestral musical highlights from the film and themes for the beloved characters Han Solo and Chewbacca. Star Wars Stories is available as a limited edition of 1000 individually numbered copies on ""Hyperspace"" coloured vinyl. This 2LP-set is housed in a gatefold sleeve, includes an insert, and features secret inscriptions in the run-out grooves.
"

Star Wars Stories by Various Artists, released 2 May 2024, includes the following tracks: "Luke Skywalker Hallway Theme", "End Theme", "Flying With Chewie", "The Adventures Of Han" and more.

This version of Star Wars Stories comes as a 2xLP in a(n) Gatefold Sleeve packaging. This release comes with (a) Insert(s).

The vinyl is pressed as a marble, blue & white & black disc. Another vinyl is pressed as a marble, blue & white & black disc.

Terzo is the third album by Il Sogno Del Marinaio, the avant-rock trio formed by legendary bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, Firehose, Stooges), cult Italian experimentalist Stefano Pilia (Massimo Volume, In Zaire, Afterhours, Rokia Traore) and drummer Paolo Mongardi (Zeus, Fuzz Orchestra, Fulkanelli). This new batch of recordings is an incredible document of a band that’s creating their own path, ascending to new heights while bending the traditional
rock format.

Recorded at Casa Hanzo in San Pedro (US) and completed at Blindsun in Bologna (IT) the album features collaborations with Ramon Moro on trumpet and Petra Haden on vocals. Mixed beautifully by thighpaulsandra (Coil, UUUU, Spiritualized) and mastered by Giovanni
Versari with artwork by Michelangelo Setola. Terzo is the sound of a band that’s completely confident in their chops, their past suggesting that new possibilities have now been found and that the only territory that needs exploring is free-spirited, magical, restless and uncompromising. “Il Sogno Del Marinaio’s strength is in its effortless balance between Watt’s formidable past and his still potent future.” - Pitchfork.

This record is part of "Be The Change", a project conceived and developed by Rude Cares, aiming at raising awareness towards climate change and environmental impact within the Music Community. We envision a global economy that uses business as a force for good.

And we are on a mission to make our Earth a better place through music! We’ve selected Artists who share this vision, and we designed exclusive and limited ecofriendly variants of one of their records to offer to fans globally.

For each release, a donation to Green Future Project will be made, and 100 new trees will be planted. 2 LP Printed on eco-friendly LP, sustainable production process. Hand-numbered. Exclusive
gatefold w/ varnish inserts. INDIE ONLY!

Pieces of debris washed up on a coastline shrouded in mist. Gratification comes from an eternal search for solace. Locked away at the top of a lighthouse somewhere on an unnamed isle, Grady Steele broadcasts to those within the beacon’s reach. A soundsystem built of driftwood and salvaged car stereos is pieced together with precision and laboriously dragged to the top of the obelisk. A timeless fugue state spent playing arpeggios on a Spanish guitar, the PA system ebbing out phasing loops across benevolent waters. Layering, occasionally faulting, stopping, recording, starting again. The phosphorescent glow atop the obelisk is ever-present.

Perhaps the first release on Archaic Vaults to feature (at least prominent) use of the guitar, these six compositions feel sketch-like and yet burned into the retina, like that of a passing car’s headlights leaving an impressionistic imprint of the source material. To mention this is Grady Steele’s debut release is not to imply he is new to working with sound, having been the proprietor of one of London’s most important soundsystems for the last decade. An obsession with fidelity can be heard and and at times deliberately perverted amongst the body of work. The warm and melancholic tones of the Spanish guitar evident in almost all songs are juxtaposed with various collaged material, including what sounds like hastily captured iPhone recordings and drum machines neglected at the back of the studio, dragged out for one or two stubborn, lurching takes and then once more committed to storage. The 90s voice-imitator pads glowing with undulance are reminiscent of John T. Gast’s early studio takes, and the synergy and precision in guitar layering could lend a clue as to what Fuck Buttons would have sounded like had they sold off their studio equipment for a couple of wooden 12-stringers. Stare long enough at those Windows 95 screensaver-esque rolling hills, and one might witness some miniscule movement in the growth.

Music composed and arranged by Grady Steele Painting by Antoine Larrera Mastered by Owen Pratt Design by Severin Black

Spoonfed Hybrid, the duo of Ian Masters (Pale Saints) and Chris Trout (A.C. Temple), released their one and only album on 4AD imprint, Guernica, in November 1993. Self-titled, this now-cult release has fans constantly asking for it to be reissued. For its 30th anniversary, 4AD are giving it the expanded treatment, re-releasing the album with a bonus disc of singles, demos and rarities. Beautifully designed, the original artwork has been expanded to now include comprehensive song notes.

The Path is the latest album from Belbury Poly (aka Ghost Box records founder Jim Jupp). This time round Jupp has recruited a full band roster to expand his own unique electronica. He is joined by occasional Belbury Poly collaborator Christopher Budd on Bass and Guitar, Jesse Chandler (of Midlake, Mercury Rev & Pneumatic Tubes) on flute, clarinet and keyboards, Max Saidi on drums plus narration from author and poet, Justin Hopper.

Musically it takes as its starting point a particular moment of early 1970s British film soundtracks by the likes of Roy Budd and Roger Webb; a soundworld of easy-going jazz and funky rhythms gently coloured with pastoral strings and flutes. The Path, however, is unmoored from time or place thanks to Hopper’s narrative style, Chandler’s rustic flutes and keys, Budd’s soulful psychedelic guitars and Jupp’s production and electronics. The co-writers were all chosen for their unique abilities and an
intuitive understanding of the ongoing Belbury Poly project. The spoken word elements form a loose, open-ended narrative; very much an album with spoken word rather than a spoken word album.

The Band and Album Recording:
Christopher Budd: Electric Bass, Double Bass, Guitars, Electric Sitar
Jesse Chandler: Piano, Synths, Mellotron, Flute, Clarinet
Justin Hopper: Narration
Jim Jupp: Electric Piano, Synths, Mellotron, Percussion, Sound Effects
Max Saidi: Drums, Percussion

The project came together over two years, beginning with a conversation between Hopper and Jupp during a walk on the Sussex South Downs. Originally, it was to tell the tale of an American academic unravelling while adrift in an alienating English landscape. From the beginning, the pair wanted on a narration integrated lyrically into the piece, rather than dropped on top. The words gradually became more film-noir and open to interpretation; occasionally a little tongue-in-cheek. The final
texts explore a folklore of alienation; the way we impact the landscape and it impacts us.

Belbury Poly:
Jim Jupp has released EPs, singles and seven albums on Ghost Box as Belbury Poly. It’s generally a solo project, but he calls on a floating roster of like-minded musicians to extend the sound beyond studio based electronica. He is also one half of The Belbury Circle along with Cate Brooks (of The Advisory Circle) - occasional collaborators with John Foxx. He has recorded library tracks for KPM, BMG and Lo-Editions. He’s remixed tracks for several artists including Beautify Junkyards,
John Foxx and Bill Ryder-Jones (The Coral) and co-written a song with Paul Weller for his 2020 album On Sunset.

Pull the Rope, the new record by Ibibio Sound Machine, casts the Eno Williams and Max Grunhard-led outfit in a new light. The hope, joy, and sexiness of their music remain, but, further honing the edge of their acclaimed 2022 album Electricity, the connection they aim to foster has shifted venues from the sunny buoyancy of a sunlit festival to a sweat-soaked, all-night dance club. Williams and Grunhard attribute this shift to a matter of collaborators, recording Pull the Rope with Sheffield-based producer Ross Orton (Arctic Monkeys, M.I.A.) over the course of two weeks. The way the pair wrote songs changed significantly_rather than Eno penning lyrics to music generated by Max and company's jamming, Orton started with Eno and Max writing together before adding the band. With less time in the studio and a new way of considering how they built songs, the duo found making decisions about Pull the Rope's sound quicker and more instinctual than before. "Ross is from Sheffield, which has an edgier, more industrial vibe than London," Grunhard explains. "He hears things differently than us, is more grounded in rave and grungier sounds, and knew when to add drums or push the instrumentation more. It was very different for us, but it lends itself to where Ibibio Sound Machine is going." In melding their songwriting process, Grunhard and Williams have, impossibly, pulled the trick of making Ibibio Sound Machine a tighter band than ever before, building out from their core in a way that highlights the electrifying group of musicians they play with. Rather than recording with the full band in the room, Pull the Rope was sculpted, elements added and shaped by Grunhard, Williams, and Orton along the way. As a result, Pull the Rope is a nimble, sleek machine that's thrilling from the first note of the opening title track, Eno's otherworldly voice and PK Ambrose's throbbing bass driving through a kaleidoscopic array of house, post-punk, funk, Afrobeat and disco, bangers and ballads, making an argument for unity that begins on the dancefloor. "We are the places we grew up, the places we've been, and the people we've met along the way," Williams says. "Hopping around the globe, we've found that people are fundamentally the same_they're people. Opposing sides push and pull, but there is an alternative to war, violence, and suffering." Lead single "Got to Be Who U Are" literally globetrots, name checking locales across the world that would feel disparate were it not for how well-traveled they are. Eno growing up in the musical melting pot of the Ibibio region of Nigeria and Max being a conservatory-trained musician from Australia, one could call their meeting in London and formation of Ibibio Sound Machine predestined. "Mama Say" and "Let My Yes Be Yes" touch themes of female empowerment. They're indicative of the band's depth as they push further into the electronic; "Mama Say" hits notes of electropop while "Let My Yes Be Yes" fuses electro to Afrobeat. Ibibio Sound Machine have always imbued their music with political consciousness, and the light that shines through in Williams' vocals and voice has never felt more necessary. The sound of Pull the Rope, then, is hope in darkness, bliss in spite of bleakness. Once again, Ibibio Sound Machine are here to provide the soundtrack to the best night of your life, and the better world to come.