quête:in da place

The Dead South grow more adventurous and assured with each new album. For their fourth full-length record, they brought producer Jimmy Nutt to Mexico City, where they recorded 13 songs full of plot twists, family trees, grudges, insurance scams, bacon, burials, banjo riffs and more. The Dead South flawlessly execute banjo rolls and lightning fast mandolin tremolos, 3-part harmonies and songs of classic themes -murder ballads, disloyalty, ghosts and the like, with a wink and a smile. Where Bluegrass meets Bach meets Billy Talent, for fans of Frank Sinatra and Tool alike, you"ll find The Dead South"s "Chains & Stakes". "Chains & Stakes" is truly a "Dead South" collection in the balance of darkness and levity that has come to define their unmistakable style.

The Dead South grow more adventurous and assured with each new album. For their fourth full-length record, they brought producer Jimmy Nutt to Mexico City, where they recorded 13 songs full of plot twists, family trees, grudges, insurance scams, bacon, burials, banjo riffs and more. The Dead South flawlessly execute banjo rolls and lightning fast mandolin tremolos, 3-part harmonies and songs of classic themes -murder ballads, disloyalty, ghosts and the like, with a wink and a smile. Where Bluegrass meets Bach meets Billy Talent, for fans of Frank Sinatra and Tool alike, you"ll find The Dead South"s "Chains & Stakes". "Chains & Stakes" is truly a "Dead South" collection in the balance of darkness and levity that has come to define their unmistakable style.

The Dead South grow more adventurous and assured with each new album. For their fourth full-length record, they brought producer Jimmy Nutt to Mexico City, where they recorded 13 songs full of plot twists, family trees, grudges, insurance scams, bacon, burials, banjo riffs and more. The Dead South flawlessly execute banjo rolls and lightning fast mandolin tremolos, 3-part harmonies and songs of classic themes -murder ballads, disloyalty, ghosts and the like, with a wink and a smile. Where Bluegrass meets Bach meets Billy Talent, for fans of Frank Sinatra and Tool alike, you’ll find The Dead South’s Chains & Stakes. Chains & Stakes is truly a “Dead South” collection in the balance of darkness and levity that has come to define their unmistakable style.

Optimo (Espacio) started life as a weekly club night. It was born at The Sub Club in Glasgow on a wet, windy, wintry November Sunday night in 1997. Run by JD Twitch and partner in crime Jonnie Wilkes. Optimo was a reaction against what felt like an increasingly conservative musical soundtrack in clubs here at that time. Clubland felt as if it had become very bland and a bit too serious; it was the era of the dawn of the Superstar DJ. Clubs often felt like bastions of male energy. It seemed dance music and culture was going somewhere far, far away from where it was meant to be. The notion of fun had got lost.

It was no longer the world they had devoted ten years of their lives to already, and lots of their friends felt the same. When the opportunity came up to do a Sunday night at The Sub Club it felt like the perfect opportunity to rip it all up and start again. So they did. There was nothing in the city (or possibly anywhere) like it. As the club believed wholeheartedly in what they were doing, there was no pressure from The Sub Club to fill the club. So, they embraced the freedom. Groups of people who had never been in the same room at the same time before came together. A community of kindred spirits started to emerge.

Word spread, slowly. Lots of people checked it out. Many loved it, some hated it. The core of the Optimo idea was to embrace music they loved that might work on the dancefloor from whatever era or genre they thought felt right. It might not seem very radical now but at that time it was revolutionary.

After about a year and a half, the club went from having 100 people attending most nights to suddenly one week having 500 people turn up. It was very weird. It was as if a collective light bulb went off in people’s heads in Glasgow. From that week on, until the very last weekly Sunday night at the Sub Club, in 2010, over a decade later, it was packed.

There were 550 Sunday Optimo nights. A LOT of music was played. So, what was the music? People often find it hard to pin down exactly what Optimo is. This has been a positive but also a negative as we live in a world where people want easily defined “brand identities”. The simplest definition of the music played is “music for dancing”, which of course is a very broad definition. Even better than trying to define it in words, we have these 2 volumes of music that give a hint of what that might be.

This is not a “Best of Optimo” or a “Greatest Hits of Optimo” compilation. For people who come to, or used to come to the nights there are of course “Greatest Hits”. But, over such a long timespan they are “hits” belonging to a certain moment in time and space. Someone who came to Optimo in 1997 would have a completely different notion of the big tracks at the club to someone coming in 2003, or 2010, or today. This compilation is just a snap shot missing several genres that might make up the DNA of Optimo. There is though a broad sweep through lots of music Optimo loves, that they believe is amazing. Music that they know will rock a dancefloor, that they have played between 1997 and 2023. Of course Optimo nights were not all about rocking the dancefloor. The first hour was always a time for them to play music they loved that often was far removed from the dance. Side 1, Volume 1 of this compilation is the kind of music one might hear at the very start of an Optimo night.

Optimo have always loved a good slogan. The most long lived, and fitting Optimo slogan is "We Love Your Ears", which is in essence what it is all about to them.

Roberto Agosta, or just Agosta as he likes to be called, is a Sicilian DJ and producer from Catania active all along the eastern coast of Sicily, a place that proved to be a soulful place and a training ground for a long career, making him an excellent music selector and a reference point in the spread of alternative music.

A soundtrack music enthusiast since he was a child, now a vinyl "serial gathere", Agosta has always put his vast knowledge at the service of a very personal sound that sums many different music styles and contaminations, simple and profound but straightforward and direct at the same time.

Agosta’s eponymous album, released on LP, CD and digital formats, was conceived during the Covid-19 lockdown, thanks to the precious collaboration of friend DJ and producer Massimo Napoli aka Galathea, with whom Roberto has already started another project called AN-AN that will produce a new record for Space Echo at the end of 2022.

This record highlights a typical chill-out aesthetic, thanks to its trip-hop and ambient rhythms and atmospheres, while a deeper exploration reveals the psychedelic essence of the entire work, a daring and exciting journey in the most primitive Sicily, and the energy that sustains all of its ten tracks.

Much of their author and his lifestyle - mainly based on meditation, the search for spiritual elevation, the relationship with nature and the regaining of contact with those particular places and with the people who live there - is revealed by those tracks that constitute a soundtrack for this spiritual but also extremely physical journey.

The song titles are, in fact, intrinsically linked to Roberto’s real life: the Gorna and Ilice mountains at the foot of Etna, the Carricante vineyard and its excellent wine, Unna, Three Chestnuts, Varanni, Don Alfio, Lady G. Each of them represents a pleasant and dreamlike narration and the escape from the complex dynamics of a city like Catania, among echoes of the most dreamy Pink Floyd, the softer side of ’70s krautrock, but also the Massive Attack and Tricky’s Bristol scene.
There’s also an excellent choice of synthesizers and overdubbed guitars, thanks to the talent of the multifaceted musician and producer Salvo Bruno Dub, and of Manuela Amalfitano, Loredana Poidomani and Deran Obika’s voices.

Agosta is an introspective, deep work with a cinematic vocation, perfectly rooted in the territory where it took shape, among sunny landscapes, lush with vegetation but also deserted and arid lands. From Sicily to the cosmos... enjoy!

Dazzle rolled deep. Very deep. In the 1980s, it wasn't unusual for the Milwaukee-based group to show up at various Midwest night clubs in a caravan of 30-40 cars and vans. Their live following was hard won over a career that spanned 20+ years, many line up changes, and a handful of project names. Friends, family, and fans made the journey with them weekend after weekend, a testimony to both the musical prowess of the group and the tight-knit community that they emerged from.

Donald Smith, band leader, was there the whole time - joined by many of his siblings and friends - first as founder of the Ghetto Players, a early 70's nine-piece which also included siblings Michael, Ronald, and Charles. They played hard funk in the style of early Kool and the Gang, and although they sadly left no recordings, the strength of their live act managed to catch the eye of local Milwaukee R&B music entrepreneur Cobie Joe Payne. Cobie had made a couple of records locally in the early/mid 70s as a singer, including the impossibly weird and amazing rare afro-blues-funk 45 "Sweet Thing", but had never enjoyed national success. When the Ghetto Players disbanded in the early-mid 70s, Donald soon put together a new group, C on the Funk (the 'C' referring to lead vocalist and sibling Charles), under Payne's tutelage. Sister Lorrie Smith came in as the drummer, the line-up being fleshed out by brothers David and Melvin Johnson, and friend Robert Mitchell. After a few years as a strictly live attraction, they drove to Chicago and produced a single, "In the Disco" / "A Place" for Payne's small record label Sweet Thang Records in 1980. Lacking the financial backing needed to supply the local R&B disk jockey's "promotional fees" , this single sadly languished in obscurity, gathering dust inside the local tavern jukeboxes and manilla promo envelopes that comprised Payne's DIY distribution network.

C on the Funk were traveling the Mid West extensively at this point, and making some important friends on the road. Ike Wiley Jr. of the Dazz Band/Kinsman Dazz took particular interest and the band was re-christened Dazzle, partially as a tie-in with Dazz, partially to embrace the new sounds that would distinguish the 70s disco scene from what record collectors and DJs would now refer to as the "Boogie" era. There no doubt was a stigma attached to the word "Disco" as the eighties began, and as we see in this collection C On the Funk's "In the Disco" is remixed and transformed into the psychedelic synth instrumental of Dazzle's "Disco's Out", a title which embodies both the next-step approach Smith and company were pushing for, and humorously comments on the state of black dance music in the early 1980s. The Dazzle recording, done in Chicago in 1982, updated the sound and featured an expanded line up, most notably a second synth player (Charles Washington), and a percussionist/second lead vocalist (Greg McDonald). The added synth textures and deep percussive grooves give the Dazzle recordings an elegant late night vibe that resonate just as well in a good pair of headphones as they do on the dance floor. The trance inducing cough syrup-warble of "Explain" may best exemplify this here. Sadly, a pressing flaw in the 12" halted production and promotion, and the EP and the songs within were lost to the ages. The group, having done a much better line in the live music business, followed that path instead all the way to the early 90s. --bio provided by andy noble

"A true heiress of the rich musical history of her native New Orleans, Britti is an arresting new voice in her triumphant debut, titled straightforwardly, Hello, I’m Britti. Inspired by musical luminaries from Diana Ross to Dolly Parton, and influenced by contemporary legends from Beyoncé to Sade, the album is one of immense gravity and a personal love letter to the place she calls home. Co-written and produced by Dan Auerbach, who flexes his signature ability to uplift genuine raw artistry, the album is a heartfelt confession that frames a window into Britti's soul, revealing her true spirit: fresh and wondrous, with a levee-like hold on her own heritage.
Similar Artists & Influences: Sade, Jill Scott, Solange, Corrine Bailey Rae, Erykah Badu, Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Valerie June, Norah Jones, Lauren Hill, Biig Piig, Orion Sun
“Britti's lush debut is an invitation to a stoned soul picnic somewhere between New Orleans and Nashville, a porch hang on a hazy summer afternoon, and a late-night slow dance party, all at once. Recommended if you dig: Diana in ’71, Dolly in ’78, Sade in ’86, Erykah in ’97” - Dan Auerbach, Producer "

toechter is an all-female trio operating from Berlin. toechter’s 2nd full-length album »Epic Wonder« sees its classically trained members blend elaborate string arrangements with ethereal indie pop and delicate rhythms. Katrine Grarup Elbo, Lisa Marie Vogel and Marie-Claire Schlameus exclusively use analogue sound sources (such as violin, viola, cello, and their voices), which were then electronically processed.

Named after the Greek god of the wind, toechters 2022 album »Zephyr« exhaled deeply with concurrently invigorating and confusing sounds. »Epic Wonder«, their second album, was created in the spring and summer of 2023. Playing with forms and contours, the music sounds like the awakening of something new. One seems to be listening to an ongoing conversation, an exchange about what music could be, where it wants to go and how it contributes to our view of life. It all rests on a simple premise:

»Every sound you hear in our universe comes from us. The string trio is the core of toechter, the starting point of all our work.«

Those looking for new worlds of sound can find them in the work of this classically- trained musicians. Whether they add voices or percussive instruments, sample the sounds, or manipulate them electronically; ultimately they are exploring the string trio's place in a world shaped by the digital.

»Prelude« opens the album, seemingly a conversation, yet not only between humans. We catch the word ›love‹ which soon morphs into pure sound images, while a violin theme tentatively takes over. Is it the dawning of a new day? The chorus of sound transforms into a fascinating rhythmic figure, creating a club-like experience that fades out in delicate structures. A perpetual transformation.

According to toechter, »Epic Wonder« is all about making connections. Connections between people, animals, plants, fungi, rocks, soils, oceans, ice caps, stars, and planets. One imagines oneself in a folk-pop song of the 60s, or even blown around by Morricone's desert wind:

»The world as we see it is in desperate need for a deeper understanding; for compassion, for empathy. We have to understand that we are all part of the same organism. Epic Wonder is a dream, a wish, a longing for kinship between all species that share the world - all that is alive.«

The acoustic throbbing and knocking in »Sea Of Serenity« makes you think of encounters with mythical creatures or planetary oceanography; and out of the mechanically clacking groove of »Shift Souls« a gentle, but steady movement awakens with voices that seem to sound from the depths of the sea. Everything is in flux, floating in and out of dimensions and elements.

The album ends with »Mercury«, spherically elegant and almost science fiction-like. Here, a pizzicato melody leads us back to the baroque, simultaneously representing a detail of intertwined sonic worlds, while the steady, housy baseline develops its driving theme.

»Creating the music for the album, we allowed ourselves to waft away with the aspiration that connections are possible. Sometimes dwelling on subtle, yet marveling phenomena like the evening fog covering a valley on Midsummer, sometimes on grandiose splendors like the genesis of mountains or the birth of a child - letting interactions and encounters with other beings float through the musical universe as drips of emotional perceptivity.«

For the visual manifestation of »Epic Wonder«, toechter has engaged with Finish up-and-coming lens-based artist Aino Kontinen. Her work will grace both the cover art of the album and accompany the first single and video as an ephemeral tale in motion.

Craig Clouse has devoted the past several decades to exploring a wide range of avant-garde avenues for his brainchild Shit & Shine. The monolithic riffs of raw and powerful psych'n'roll hysteria, the freeform dance miasma, sub-heavy electronica and the blissful stupidity crafted for ecstatic ascension: all perfectly-placed in the idiosyncratic world of Shit & Shine. There's also fertile soil for twisted noises in their lowest form, often obscured by groovier comrades in S&S releases yet vitally important for the substance of Clouse's compositional carcass and OOH-sounds has given him the required space to stretch out his longtime interest in developing loose structures and crackling landscapes to transcend his rhythmic comfort zone.

Making an enthusiastic transgression into noisy tones, "Joy Of Joys" has a friendly way of presenting difficult material. The rough and ready cheapo electronics sparkle in full electrifying mode, welding an ascetic gamut of aural hypnotics with a wormhole of uncompromising loop brut. Clanks, bangs, twangs and creeping, ragged globs of sound bloom on the bones of repetition to focus on the swinging stream of dirty anarchy. Stepping out of any context and genre disciplines, S&S finds new sonic trajectories in "Joy Of Joys" which perfectly sit in-between a wobbly cabal of international sub-underground acts: the idiot-avant strategies of LAFMS, early Mego bad digitalia, no-brow enthusiasm of Wolf Eyes family, micro-DIY ethos of Chocolate Monk and the sheer hellish nonsense of US noise circa '00s.

Clouse was already established as a landscape painter with a series of faux naïf paintings charmingly accompanying his releases. With his heart full of passion for abstract minimalism, he continued these narrative forms but was always in search of the confidence to paint non-figurative art. The first step into the chaotic abyss is coming from his sonic side by abandoning the beat and riff layers of his previous works to complete nakedness and reductionist courage. At once Clouse makes an evolutionary lurch into extremes as well as taking us back to basic forms in "Joy Of Joys". He creates an entire new parallel world to Shit & Shine with his maverick imagination presenting us with one of the most mutant releases to bear his name. Arthur Kuzmin

The Bony King of Nowhere is the artistic alias of Belgian artist Bram Vanparys. He made a mark in 2018 with the release of his critically acclaimed album Silent Days. The record received consistent 4- and 5-star press reviews and was hailed as his best album to date. It also earned Vanparys a Music Industry Award (BE) for 'best author-composer'. Silent Days revealed the full potential of the singer-songwriter and his commitment to never repeat himself and keep surpassing his creative abilities.

The new album, entitled Everybody Knows, has been a long time coming, partly due to Vanparys' aforementioned pledge to artistic evolution. The first two tracks he unveiled give a definite hint of what to expect from this album. 'Are You Still Alive' and 'Almost Invisible' carry the quality mark, known colour scheme and scent of The Bony King of Nowhere, but add many more hues and details. The new record showcases the new league Vanparys is playing in. Themes like rusted patterns in society, the obedience of the everyday man, the structural false ignorance of big shots, the toxicity of online communication and other very recognisable but not always pleasant subjects. Inspired by the observations of many sociologists, Vanparys dissects our society, the loneliest ever. This album is not just disconcerting though, in its strength lies a sense of hope and vigour.

The first singles promise a new album with lots of punch and energy, while Vanparys is unveiling the complete complexion of his voice whilst remaining vulnerable and honest. On the album, he is accompanied by multi-talent guitarist Vitja Pauwels (Naima Joris), pianist Hendrik Lasure (Tamino, Bombataz), drummer Simon Segers (Sylvie Kreusch, Stadt) and bass player Jasper Hautekiet.

While the songwriting legends, particularly Neil Young and Bob Dylan, have always kept Bram company, his latest compositions also draw inspiration from more contemporary artists. The influence of PJ Harvey, Blur and Nick Cave are unmistakable when you listen to his music. While staying true to his heartfelt songwriting style and captivating voice, The Bony King Of Nowhere embarks on a journey into uncharted musical and thematic realms.

The last time this band was on tour in support of 'Silent Days', they took a big leap forward while touring 75 shows across renowned venues and festivals in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and France, with a packed Ancienne Belgique in Brussels as one of the highlights. Now the five-man-band, consisting of Jasper Hautekiet, Simon Segers, Thijs Troch (Nordmann), Gertjan Van Hellemont (Douglas Firs), will start this tour with shows in Ekko, Utrecht on March 6 and Ancienne Belgique, Brussels on March 8.4

The Bony King of Nowhere is the artistic alias of Belgian artist Bram Vanparys. He made a mark in 2018 with the release of his critically acclaimed album Silent Days. The record received consistent 4- and 5-star press reviews and was hailed as his best album to date. It also earned Vanparys a Music Industry Award (BE) for 'best author-composer'. Silent Days revealed the full potential of the singer-songwriter and his commitment to never repeat himself and keep surpassing his creative abilities.

The new album, entitled Everybody Knows, has been a long time coming, partly due to Vanparys' aforementioned pledge to artistic evolution. The first two tracks he unveiled give a definite hint of what to expect from this album. 'Are You Still Alive' and 'Almost Invisible' carry the quality mark, known colour scheme and scent of The Bony King of Nowhere, but add many more hues and details. The new record showcases the new league Vanparys is playing in. Themes like rusted patterns in society, the obedience of the everyday man, the structural false ignorance of big shots, the toxicity of online communication and other very recognisable but not always pleasant subjects. Inspired by the observations of many sociologists, Vanparys dissects our society, the loneliest ever. This album is not just disconcerting though, in its strength lies a sense of hope and vigour.

The first singles promise a new album with lots of punch and energy, while Vanparys is unveiling the complete complexion of his voice whilst remaining vulnerable and honest. On the album, he is accompanied by multi-talent guitarist Vitja Pauwels (Naima Joris), pianist Hendrik Lasure (Tamino, Bombataz), drummer Simon Segers (Sylvie Kreusch, Stadt) and bass player Jasper Hautekiet.

While the songwriting legends, particularly Neil Young and Bob Dylan, have always kept Bram company, his latest compositions also draw inspiration from more contemporary artists. The influence of PJ Harvey, Blur and Nick Cave are unmistakable when you listen to his music. While staying true to his heartfelt songwriting style and captivating voice, The Bony King Of Nowhere embarks on a journey into uncharted musical and thematic realms.

The last time this band was on tour in support of 'Silent Days', they took a big leap forward while touring 75 shows across renowned venues and festivals in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and France, with a packed Ancienne Belgique in Brussels as one of the highlights. Now the five-man-band, consisting of Jasper Hautekiet, Simon Segers, Thijs Troch (Nordmann), Gertjan Van Hellemont (Douglas Firs), will start this tour with shows in Ekko, Utrecht on March 6 and Ancienne Belgique, Brussels on March 8.4

You’d think a guy like Butch Walker (producer/ writer for such artists as Pink, Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, Weezer, Green Day, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift) wouldn’t be particularly unlucky in love, but on Readysexgo the torture never stops, as Butch recounts one failed affair after another in exquisitely painful detail. All set to Marvelous 3’s never less than hooky power pop/glam metal stylings, often placed in seamless segues from one song to another...Readysexgo is the catchy soundtrack to the love life of a hopeless but somewhat embittered romantic. We worked with the band to create a special Expanded Edition for the album’s first-ever vinyl release at music retail, adding the non-LP side “Fastboat” plus two covers from the album sessions, one of Naked Eyes’ “Always Something There to Remind Me,” and one of Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ in the Years,” which ended up in the Jim Carrey flick Me, Myself and Irene. And after looking at the red, white, and blue artwork (faithfully reproduced here on a gatefold album jacket with lyrics), we figured if you blend those all together, you get purple, so purple vinyl it is for this 2-LP set!

"Along with Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, Fear helped define the sound and style of L.A. hardcore. Even though they formed during the first wave of punk in 1977, they didn’t put out an album until five years later, titled The Record. They used their music to piss off everyone around them, and they achieved that goal with flying colors on this debut album. It remains a punk classic to this day and Record Collector’s Mark Rigby called it “probably the most exciting and impressive, one-dimensional, ill-mannered, distasteful, odious ‘hate’ record ever made.” The album only spawned one single, “I Love Livin in the City”, but includes many more gems, including “We Destroy the Family”, “Let’s Have a War”, and “Beef Boloney”. The Record is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on translucent magenta coloured vinyl."

"He’ll always be a man of his people, but Jamie Webster’s message has cut through hearts all over the land since the folk troubadour’s debut album ‘We Get By’ in 2020. The songwriting may have evolved from those defiant early days on the acoustic guitar, but the hard-hitting storytelling that made his name remains as he continues to give a voice to the masses through towering anthems to hold close through uncertain times.
Though born from frustration and adversity, Webster's music has always managed to encapsulate a sense of unity and togetherness through tough times. Take the breakthrough single ‘Weekend In Paradise’ which distills a living for the weekend ideology of the working classes. An anthem just about everyone working nine to five can relate to, the flagship single speaks volumes of the journey so far as it surpasses 20 million streams on Spotify alone. His second album ‘Moments’ charted in the Official UK Album Chart #3, Indie Chart #2, Official Vinyl Chart #2, Scottish Album Chart #2. The scale of public support for the songs of singular, life-as-he-sees-it-singing, aspirational indie voice of Jamie Webster looks set to reach new heights as he announces the release of his third album, 10 For The People, on Fri 2 February 2024 with Modern Sky UK. While working confidently towards his third Top Ten album chart finish early next year, Webster’s Pied Piper-pull is set to draw a previously unimaginable 40,000 fans to one place as he also announces a HUGE outdoor headline show at Sefton Park, Liverpool on Fri 12 July 2024. "

"He’ll always be a man of his people, but Jamie Webster’s message has cut through hearts all over the land since the folk troubadour’s debut album ‘We Get By’ in 2020. The songwriting may have evolved from those defiant early days on the acoustic guitar, but the hard-hitting storytelling that made his name remains as he continues to give a voice to the masses through towering anthems to hold close through uncertain times.
Though born from frustration and adversity, Webster's music has always managed to encapsulate a sense of unity and togetherness through tough times. Take the breakthrough single ‘Weekend In Paradise’ which distills a living for the weekend ideology of the working classes. An anthem just about everyone working nine to five can relate to, the flagship single speaks volumes of the journey so far as it surpasses 20 million streams on Spotify alone. His second album ‘Moments’ charted in the Official UK Album Chart #3, Indie Chart #2, Official Vinyl Chart #2, Scottish Album Chart #2. The scale of public support for the songs of singular, life-as-he-sees-it-singing, aspirational indie voice of Jamie Webster looks set to reach new heights as he announces the release of his third album, 10 For The People, on Fri 2 February 2024 with Modern Sky UK. While working confidently towards his third Top Ten album chart finish early next year, Webster’s Pied Piper-pull is set to draw a previously unimaginable 40,000 fans to one place as he also announces a HUGE outdoor headline show at Sefton Park, Liverpool on Fri 12 July 2024. "

What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP recorded by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple, and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, "J's week beats your year." What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. "When I'm writing for the band," he says, "I'm always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I'm thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it's just what happened." Two guest musicians are playing this time out; Western Mass local Ken Mauri (of the B52s) plays piano on several tracks. Since J himself has some experience with keys, when asked why he needed a hired gun, he says, "Ken is great, and he plays all the keys. I tried playing some keyboards on the first Fog album, but I'm really only comfortable playing the white notes, so it's kind of limiting. laughs Nowadays, I could just turn the pitch on a mini Mellotron to play different sounds, but black keys just seem hard. For whatever reason, I just like banging on the white ones. Seems like it's harder to figure out how to stretch your fingers around the other ones." Mauri has no such qualms and plays all the keys very damn well. He sounds especially great on "I Can't Find You," where he is Jack Nitzsche to J's Neil Young, creating one of the album's loveliest tunes. The other guest musician, Matthew "Doc" Dunn, is also prominent on this track. Dunn's steel guitar manages to both widen and soften the musical edges of the music, giving it a full classicist profile. Dunn is an Ontario-based polymath who J met through Matt Valentine. After J played on Doc's great 2022 Sub Pop single, "Your Feel," he figured it was time for payback. Both Dunn and Mauri add beautifully to the songs here, helping to transform them from acoustic sketches into full-blown post-core power ballads. What Do We Do Now is the finest set of solo tunes J has yet penned, and the way they're presented is just about perfect. Asked if he would be touring to support the album, J says he'll be doing some weekend dates, but he probably won't be putting a band together. And I'm sure these songs will sound great solo and acoustic, but the arrangements on this album are truly great and put a cool, different spin on Mascis' instantly Recognizable approach to making music. So, what do we do now? Not sure. But apparently, what J does is to make one of his most killer records ever. Hats off to him. - Byron Coley

What Do We Do Now is the fifth solo studio LP recorded by J Mascis since 1996. This is obviously not a very aggressive release schedule, but when you figure in the live albums, guest spots, and records done with his various other bands (Dinosaur Jr., The Fog, Heavy Blanket, Witch, Sweet Apple, and so on), well, to paraphrase Lou Reed, "J's week beats your year." What Do We Do Now began to come together during the waning days of the Pandemic. Utilizing his own Bisquiteen Studio, J started working on writing a series of tunes on acoustic with a different dynamic than the stuff he creates for Dino. "When I'm writing for the band," he says, "I'm always trying to think of doing things Lou and Murph would fit into. For myself, I'm thinking more about what I can do with just an acoustic guitar, even for the leads. Of course, this time, I added full drums and electric leads, although the rhythm parts are still all acoustic. Usually, I try to do the solo stuff more simply so I can play it by myself, but I really wanted to add the drums. Once that started, everything else just fell into place. So it ended up sounding a lot more like a band record. I dunno why I did that exactly, but it's just what happened." Two guest musicians are playing this time out; Western Mass local Ken Mauri (of the B52s) plays piano on several tracks. Since J himself has some experience with keys, when asked why he needed a hired gun, he says, "Ken is great, and he plays all the keys. I tried playing some keyboards on the first Fog album, but I'm really only comfortable playing the white notes, so it's kind of limiting. laughs Nowadays, I could just turn the pitch on a mini Mellotron to play different sounds, but black keys just seem hard. For whatever reason, I just like banging on the white ones. Seems like it's harder to figure out how to stretch your fingers around the other ones." Mauri has no such qualms and plays all the keys very damn well. He sounds especially great on "I Can't Find You," where he is Jack Nitzsche to J's Neil Young, creating one of the album's loveliest tunes. The other guest musician, Matthew "Doc" Dunn, is also prominent on this track. Dunn's steel guitar manages to both widen and soften the musical edges of the music, giving it a full classicist profile. Dunn is an Ontario-based polymath who J met through Matt Valentine. After J played on Doc's great 2022 Sub Pop single, "Your Feel," he figured it was time for payback. Both Dunn and Mauri add beautifully to the songs here, helping to transform them from acoustic sketches into full-blown post-core power ballads. What Do We Do Now is the finest set of solo tunes J has yet penned, and the way they're presented is just about perfect. Asked if he would be touring to support the album, J says he'll be doing some weekend dates, but he probably won't be putting a band together. And I'm sure these songs will sound great solo and acoustic, but the arrangements on this album are truly great and put a cool, different spin on Mascis' instantly Recognizable approach to making music. So, what do we do now? Not sure. But apparently, what J does is to make one of his most killer records ever. Hats off to him. - Byron Coley

Industrial/metal/glam outfit Orgy was the first act signed by Korn’s Jonathan Davis to his Elementree imprint, and the move paid off right away with their 1998 debut, which went Top 30 and scored a huge hit with its cover of New Order’s “Blue Monday.” Somehow, though, this enduring late-‘90s favorite has eluded a vinyl release...till now! With the full cooperation of the band, we’ve had it remastered for vinyl (by Mike Milchner of Sonic Vision) and placed this platter inside a beautiful gatefold jacket. Clear with red and yellow swirl pressing!

"Candyass" by Orgy includes the following tracks: "Dissention", "Fetish", "Blue Monday", "All the Same" and more.

This version of the album comes as in a Gatefold Sleeve packaging.

The LP is pressed on transparent, red & yellow vinyl!

Baxter Dury’s neues und siebtes Studioalbum heißt 'I Thought I Was Better Than You' (über Heavenly Recordings).

Mit ordentlich Selbstironie und Sprachakrobatik malt der Musiker und Schriftsteller eine wilde Collage aus schrägen Träumen und Szenen, in der Baxter mit seinem Erwachsenwerden abrechnet. Doch anstatt nur mit einem Baseballschläger blindlings auf seine Vergangenheit einzuschlagen, spricht er offen über den giftigen Cocktail, in unglückliche Umstände hineingeboren zu werden, ohne richtige Strukturen oder Verantwortungsgefühl, und schwankt dabei zwischen “Fuck you Leon…/ You stole the sunglasses and I got busted” und dem Wunsch nach “Porridge in the morning and be normal”.

Mit kaum funktionierenden Maschinen arbeitete Baxter alleine in seinem Wohnzimmer an groben Demos, die er Produzent Paul White (Danny Brown, Obonjayer, Charli XCX) übergab, der sie in wiederum in seinem Wohnzimmer mit etwas besserem Equipment zum Leben erweckte.

Auf der ersten Single 'Aylesbury Boy' erzählt Dury von “Day Ghosts” und Personen, die lieber durch die Straßen streifen und die Schule meiden, aber auch enttäuschten Erwachsenen, die genau diese Entscheidungen bereuen. In Kombination mit dem swingenden Westcoast-angehauchten Hip-Hop-Beat und Spoken-Word-Elementen ergibt sich dabei eine besondere Kombination aus Humor und Mitgefühl, die Baxters gezeichnete Bilder begleitet. “This song is about coming from one place and arriving at another without fitting in to either, and I think of these people like characters from Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away.”

Batov Records' Middle Eastern Grooves 45s series welcomes the latest addition to its eclectic roster - a two-track EP from Eje Eje, the psych and funk inspired project from Şatellites band leader and producer, Itamar Kluger. Featuring the tracks "That Rainy Down" and "Coral Sex," the EP showcases Eje Eje's unique blend of Middle Eastern melodies, soulful grooves, and psychedelic sounds.

On the A-side "That Rainy Down," The electro baglama player takes the lead, building and building as if, “he is pushing himself to his limit”, says Itamar, “seeking catharsis as he walks to the edge of the cliff with confidence”, whilst the a baladi rhythm plays like an immense march of drummers. On the B-side we find the funkier "Coral Sex", which according to Itamar tells a story of a drunk tramp bothering the refined and self-important occupants of an exclusive hotel lobby. Reflecting this friction, the track juxtaposes a silky and sophisticated R&B sound, with loosely, pr even drunkenly, played take on rebetiko, a traditional Greek music associated with the poorest of city dwellers, played on a long-necked Greek lute known as a bouzouki.

As each track develops, new layers are revealed, inviting the listener to delve deeper. The effect is intentional. As Itamar says, "there is this kind of music that hooks you in a different way every time you hear it, different places in the songs lighting up in different colors, like slowly revealed layers. In our (Eje Eje) case, it is just such a hazed blend. It could make a very specific atmosphere, color a very specific movie scene that is lost in time or yet to be directed, or a very specific moment with your headphones on a long bus to the desert."

Itamar Kluger is best known for his work with the Şatellites, a six-piece band whose blend of Turkish folk and psych with funk and disco won them champions and listeners across the globe, from KEXP in Seattle to BBC Radio 6 Music, and FIP in France.

Eje Eje’s first 45 promises to be at least as quirky and original, if not more so, since the project is even more unshackled from traditional concepts of a band.