Search:inspired records

C.Z. debuts on LA's Evar Records with the uncompromising Heat Index EP.

The Los Angeles-based producer, beatmaker and DJ sets a course through IDM, techno, jungle and trance to deliver five frenetic, emotionally-charged dancefloor cuts.

Over the course of an intensely productive career, Colby Zinser (aka C.Z.) has made music spanning genres like pop, rap, hardcore and jungle. As well as releasing music as C.Z., he's operated multiple aliases, including the prolific Ice Underlord. Drawing from a longstanding fascination with breaks, trance and the IDM of artists like Warp Records' Clark, he's developed his own rich and eclectic style of club music - a sound that crystalized on his 2020 debut album Hyperfocus.

C.Z. emerged from 2020 armed with a mass of new dancefloor tracks, freshly inspired to make club music a central focus, after years of smuggling techno, trance and breaks elements into the rap beats he was making for others. As he explains: 'It's great to come back to music and just make what I love, I don't want to be someone else's secret weapon, I want to be my own.' Heat Index refuses to toe a line, steering skillfully through genres and setting a tone that oscillates between club-fuelled euphoria, heartbreak and the looming threat of planetary crisis.

Opener 'Midnight' rattles along at a breathless 160 BPM, transporting you to a breakdown in the middle of a pounding hard trance set. Within a minute the rushing neon trance synths collide with huge, sub destroying kicks. The title track 'Heat Index' follows, with brooding pads bolted onto a tight breakbeat, leaving space open for the razor sharp, searching synth line.

Moving rapidly through the gears, 'Hurricane' is an aptly titled exercise in precision programmed classic jungle breaks, carried forward by bubbling earworm melodies. 'Retrograde' shifts the focus again - a pitch-black, dark, fast and seething techno track ripe for warehouses and dungeons, before 'Radial Lens', a melodic, anthemic set-closer built on a muscular, downtempo break.

C.Z.'s first appearance on Evar Records, the LA label founded in 2020 by Trickfinger and Aura T-09, follows a series of hard-hitting releases from Speed Dealer Moms, Limewax and Kilbourne, all artists who like C.Z., are able to traverse twisted electronica, club music and pure abstraction with ease. 'I want to help encourage a more open electronic music space, less pretentious, and encompassing all genres.' C.Z. says. 'It's an important goal of mine, and one the label shares.' Heat Index is a wide-ranging EP from a versatile producer, and a celebration of unfettered expression, for minds and dancefloors free from inhibition or genre restriction.

A variety of ambient and experimental cuts to be found here. A re-release of sorts, all original tracks were done by Enitokwa (Takashi Hasegawa) as rehearsal for a live performance at Tokyo - Batofar Festival in Paris in 2001 and were released on a limited CDR "promo." in 2002. All 8 tracks were recorded and mixed live in one sitting, and have been remastered, given names and pressed on heavy vinyl with a beautiful cover design by Berlin artist Nik Patrick.

The sample sources were largely inspired by records that Takashi listened to in High School - and feature two hugely well known British hands (one of whom have just reformed and have a new album out…), some old Jazz, Bossa Nova and Hawaiian records, as well as samples from ambient legends Deep Forest and Brian Eno. The result is an earthly nostalgic feel with deep moods to match the times we are living in.

The first track ‘Pop’ bursts into life with an etherial presence. ‘Ssab’ and ‘Chinese Girl Goes to Hawaiii’ have a rather filmic quality to them, whilst ‘Resonating’ seems to float over the wreckage of human activity, a post apocalyptic vision of Planet Earth. ‘Liquid Sky’ is a minimal groove which could be a sonic report from an eerie space station, which is itself a remix of Dub Sonic aka Takehito Nakazeto’s ‘Donigma Dub’.

‘Hope on Hop’ will appeal to today’s generation with its Techno and D’n’B influences, and features voices taken from Wim Wender’s ‘Paris Texas’. Track 7, ‘Mingos’ turns Gal Costa’s voice into a soaring atmospheric haze of digital memory, and the track ‘Holy Spiral’ is a combination of this one and ‘Resonating’, an ascendent 12 minute march to the release’s final close.



Takashi Hasegawa is a respected DJ, producer and live performer who plays live electronic and DJ sets regularly today in venues and festivals across Japan. He has been producing house, techno, experimental and ambient music since the 90’s - spending some of that time in the United States, including working in the music scene in the New York, before returning to Japan working as a sound engineer, A&R and producer for the famous Tokyo-based record label Club Yellow. Now based in Osaka-Fukuoka, Takashi’s music is still resonating with fellow music lovers around the world.



Now, 20 years on from its creation, this music is rediscovered and given a wider audience. The sound on ’Re-Promo’ interestingly gives an insight into the music Enitokwa is currently working on - reflecting the cyclical nature of creative output - and represents a slight departure from the swirling delicate ambient textures that you can hear in o.n.s.a and on the intricate and more musical 2069, released in 2017 and 2016 respectively.



Each track has a video accompaniment to be released in various media outlets, the label head Tom Ransom having partnered with diverse artists in Colombia, Denmark, Japan, Poland, France, Britain and China to create a wide range of visual outputs.



The release also sees two digital only remixes, one coming from London and Wigan’s enigmatic Isherwood (Edward Regan), and the other from Mat Fink - a unique DJ and up and coming producer raised in Pittsburgh and Berlin. Watch out for these…



Machines used:



Yamaha SU700

Sequential Circuits Pro One

Roland TR909

Roland TR808,

TC Electric D-Two

MAM RS3

Pedals



Remastering and additional audio treatment by Kabamix (LMD) on Dec.4.2017.

Dedicated to Takehito Nakazato (SONIC PLATE)

Ereb Altor always promises one thing with each release: Epic, Folk-blended Metal inspired by the Norse legends. “Vargtimman” shakes things up again with a true and sincere Pagan theme in its lyrics and art. Each song delivers majestic riffs and some of the best vocal work from the band. Sharp Heavy Metal riffs, Nordic melodies, catchy choruses and pounding drums burst set the tone for the rest of the album. While it does retain the Norse mythological themes in its lyrics, it’s probably the most emotionally song collection that Ereb Altor has released. Aside from the well sung lyrics, both in a harsher blackened voice and incredible epic clean singing, Epic riffs ring throughout the whole album to give it the titanic feeling this juggernaut deserves. Ereb Altor’s songwriting style is their biggest strength, they write killer songs, memorable songs. When they break away and get into some real shredding they even add to the incredible strong atmosphere. This is by far the best composed and therefor mature Ereb Altor album in their already impressive career, thanks to its added keyboards, good blend of epic and more traditional riffs, and the vocals being arguably the best ever laced

Tartan hit the ground running with this full throttle double header from a mystery producer. One side sees a slice of peak-time Bollywood Business guaranteed to raise the roof of your nearest discotheque, with the flip a Detroit inspired number with big organs, floating strings and splashy rides, think classic DJ Rolando / Carl Craig.

The ambient / cross-genres label Concentric Records launches its first solo release as a special edition LP written and composed by the celebrated and influential techno / experimental producer Tobias. It is the first strictly-ambient solo album of Berlin's Tobias. aka Tobias Freund.

Entitled Hall Ov Fame, the 42min. full length album is a rare ambient journey into a sonic world that is full of narrative and cinematic imagination, blurring boundaries between perceived and staged reality, past and future memory.

“I have movies in my head” describes Tobias Freund the source that inspired his new album to fill it with a fantastic life of its very own. Consequently, each of the eight tracks represents a scene out of a fictitious short film, some of them with a claustrophobic and tense atmosphere while others appear light and hopeful on the screen of imagination. What they have in common is an adventurous spirit that is inherent in and played out by three main characters: repetitive electronic and acoustic patterns, voices from far away and field recordings of obscured origin. All the episodes combined introduce this “Hall Ov Fame” as a psyche-cinematic event which resonates with “ambience in its natural shades” to evoke the whole range of sensations that make a proper, suspenseful mind movie.

Tobias. (Freund) is long established as an influential artist and has - since the early 1990s - been working as a professional producer, sound engineer, label owner and strictly live musician. The Berghain resident constantly keeps exploring the vast synth-driven Techno, Experimental and Ambient territories on journeys in-between genres, both as a live act and on his countless releases.
Besides his early solo projects (such as Pink Elln, Metazone or Phobia) he’s also been collaborating with Dandy Jack (as Sieg Über Die Sonne), Ricardo Villalobos (as Odd Machine), Max Loderbauer (as NSI.), Valentina Berthelon (as Recent Arts) and AtomTM to only name a few. With his vast experience, diverse output and interests, Tobias. doesn’t tire to actively push against existing boundaries and explore new areas of electronic music. By this he stands in a long tradition of electronic music, scrutinizing the self while reaching out towards the unknown, approaching sound with an appetite for the new, in the tradition of true innovators.

Hall Ov Fame follows a compilation in three parts that introduced Concentric Records’ roster and exploratory sonic realm over the past year and half, featuring unique and wide-ranging works by (in order of appearance) Pole, Daniela Huerta feat. Cornelia Thonhauser, Samuel Rohrer, Vladislav Delay, Jake Muir, Hotel Neon, Soundwalk Collective, Etapp Kyle, Tragic Selector (Daisuke Tadokoro & Terre Thaemlitz), Kareem Lotfy, Christina Vantzou, Jana Winderen, Echium, Max Loderbauer, William Selman, Petre Inspirescu, Supply, The Waves, HOLOVR, ASWA.

Written and Produced by Tobias Freund at Non Standard Studios, Berlin. Mastered by Tobias Freund. Lacquer Cut by Mike Grinser. Cover Image: TV Caption of Marcello Mastroianni in 'La Città delle Donne' by Federico Fellini, 1980. Artwork by Blackbirds Inc.

Vice Squad are a UK Punk Rock band who’s first single releases included the classic ‘Last Rockers’ 7” in 1981. This was followed by the landmark albums ‘No Cause For Concern’ in the same year and ‘Stand Strong Stand Proud’ in 1982 which were both released on EMI. Since then Vice Squad have delivered short sharp songs with incisive political lyrics and a dash of humour spat out over a thunderous rhythm and machine gun Rock ’n’ Roll guitars. Their latest releases are the EPs 'Born In A War' and 'Ignored To Death V2' taken from the forthcoming album ‘Battle of Britain’ set for release on their own Last Rockers label in May 2020. The band have become 100% DIY since forming Last Rockers Records in 2009. In keeping with the DIY ethic the previous albums were recorded in the band’s own ‘Sci Fidelity’ studio South London and the new album ‘Battle of Britain’ continues this with the band maintaining full artistic control with the benefit of global distribution via Cargo. Their last album ‘ Cardboard Country’ was launched on the back of a very successful Pledge campaign raising funds for the Shelter homeless charity in line with the album title which was inspired by 'Cardboard City', the name given to the settlement of homeless people living in cardboard boxes near London's Waterloo station. Vice Squad is fronted by raucous voiced singer/guitarist Beki Bondage who was famed for being a teenage champion of Animal rights long before the current popularity of veganism. Vice squad’s song ’Humane’ was one of the first ever Animal Rights songs. Beki has been featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such at Melody Maker, NME, Sounds, Record Mirror and Smash Hits. After a hiatus, Beki formed a new version of Vice Squad in 1997 featuring longstanding members of her post VS outfit The Bombshells and they have released several quality albums of powerful punk songs that have been very well received across the world. Vice Squad are considered one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time, paving the way for other female Punk and Rock singers and influencing male performers such as Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame who was introduced to Vice Squad via his sister’s record collection. The first rule of Punk is there are no rules and Vice Squad ably illustrate this with ‘Battle of Britain’. Written, Recorded and Mixed by Beki Bond and Paul Rooney in their home studio. The 13 track album opens with the blistering ‘Ruination’ which cuts through the bullshit of small time promoters and blaggers with consummate swagger and melody while ‘I Dare To Breathe’ is an amphetamine driven anthem to paranoia. ‘When You Were 17’ is almost-tender and tells of first tattoos and under age booze whilst the more chilling ‘Ignored To Death’ rails against isolation and homelessness. The explosive ‘Born In A War’ rages along like a missile ravaging a third world country and warns ‘See how they treat refugees? That’s how they’ll treat you and me’. Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ reworked with a pulsating industrial bass segues into title track, 'Battle Of Britain' where Beki's vocals soar like a Spitfire over the crunching de-tuned riff and spit fury over the hypocrisy of putting war memorials before people. The dystopian ‘Poverty Face’ hits you with the opening line ‘Disinheriting the meek, slyly killing off the weak’ and is counter balanced by the more upbeat ‘How The Other Half Lives’. ‘No Evil’ is a relentless attack on the normalisation of the suffering and death of billions of animals for the meat industry. Battle of Britain's hard hitting collection of anger and riffage pulls no punches in covering topics from austerity and factory farming to the pernicious influence of the Mainstream Media - ‘Led by lies lambs to the slaughter, tax exiles say who you vote for’. Brexit, fake patriotism and cognitive dissonance all get a good kicking too. The penultimate track, 'You Can’t Fool All Of The People' mixes baritone guitar with violin and Celtic rhythms climaxing in an epic James Bondesque heavy guitar/orchestral blend and breaks every rule in the Punk Police hand book whilst pleading for unity against a rigged political system. ‘Pulling Teeth’ with its ominous riff and hilariously frustrated lyrics ‘Dithering jibbering solid as jam, is it fair I’m both the woman and the man’ closes the album in manic style

Vice Squad are a UK Punk Rock band who’s first single releases included the classic ‘Last Rockers’ 7” in 1981. This was followed by the landmark albums ‘No Cause For Concern’ in the same year and ‘Stand Strong Stand Proud’ in 1982 which were both released on EMI. Since then Vice Squad have delivered short sharp songs with incisive political lyrics and a dash of humour spat out over a thunderous rhythm and machine gun Rock ’n’ Roll guitars. Their latest releases are the EPs 'Born In A War' and 'Ignored To Death V2' taken from the forthcoming album ‘Battle of Britain’ set for release on their own Last Rockers label in May 2020. The band have become 100% DIY since forming Last Rockers Records in 2009. In keeping with the DIY ethic the previous albums were recorded in the band’s own ‘Sci Fidelity’ studio South London and the new album ‘Battle of Britain’ continues this with the band maintaining full artistic control with the benefit of global distribution via Cargo. Their last album ‘ Cardboard Country’ was launched on the back of a very successful Pledge campaign raising funds for the Shelter homeless charity in line with the album title which was inspired by 'Cardboard City', the name given to the settlement of homeless people living in cardboard boxes near London's Waterloo station. Vice Squad is fronted by raucous voiced singer/guitarist Beki Bondage who was famed for being a teenage champion of Animal rights long before the current popularity of veganism. Vice squad’s song ’Humane’ was one of the first ever Animal Rights songs. Beki has been featured on the front cover of a number of influential music tabloids such at Melody Maker, NME, Sounds, Record Mirror and Smash Hits. After a hiatus, Beki formed a new version of Vice Squad in 1997 featuring longstanding members of her post VS outfit The Bombshells and they have released several quality albums of powerful punk songs that have been very well received across the world. Vice Squad are considered one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time, paving the way for other female Punk and Rock singers and influencing male performers such as Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame who was introduced to Vice Squad via his sister’s record collection. The first rule of Punk is there are no rules and Vice Squad ably illustrate this with ‘Battle of Britain’. Written, Recorded and Mixed by Beki Bond and Paul Rooney in their home studio. The 13 track album opens with the blistering ‘Ruination’ which cuts through the bullshit of small time promoters and blaggers with consummate swagger and melody while ‘I Dare To Breathe’ is an amphetamine driven anthem to paranoia. ‘When You Were 17’ is almost-tender and tells of first tattoos and under age booze whilst the more chilling ‘Ignored To Death’ rails against isolation and homelessness. The explosive ‘Born In A War’ rages along like a missile ravaging a third world country and warns ‘See how they treat refugees? That’s how they’ll treat you and me’. Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ reworked with a pulsating industrial bass segues into title track, 'Battle Of Britain' where Beki's vocals soar like a Spitfire over the crunching de-tuned riff and spit fury over the hypocrisy of putting war memorials before people. The dystopian ‘Poverty Face’ hits you with the opening line ‘Disinheriting the meek, slyly killing off the weak’ and is counter balanced by the more upbeat ‘How The Other Half Lives’. ‘No Evil’ is a relentless attack on the normalisation of the suffering and death of billions of animals for the meat industry. Battle of Britain's hard hitting collection of anger and riffage pulls no punches in covering topics from austerity and factory farming to the pernicious influence of the Mainstream Media - ‘Led by lies lambs to the slaughter, tax exiles say who you vote for’. Brexit, fake patriotism and cognitive dissonance all get a good kicking too. The penultimate track, 'You Can’t Fool All Of The People' mixes baritone guitar with violin and Celtic rhythms climaxing in an epic James Bondesque heavy guitar/orchestral blend and breaks every rule in the Punk Police hand book whilst pleading for unity against a rigged political system. ‘Pulling Teeth’ with its ominous riff and hilariously frustrated lyrics ‘Dithering jibbering solid as jam, is it fair I’m both the woman and the man’ closes the album in manic style

Years & Years has today announced details of brand new album, ‘Night Call’, which will see a release on Polydor Records on January 7th. Olly further introduces the record today with a brand new track, the pulsating ‘Crave’, and its incredible video featuring some of the cast of ‘It’s A Sin’ (Omari Douglas, Nathaniel Hall, David Carlisle) plus the likes of Munroe Bergdof. The record-breaking show won Best New Drama at the National Television Awards earlier this month, continuing a phenomenal year for Olly (which has also seen the release of first single ‘Starstruck’, its rework with Kylie, and a show-stopping performance of ‘It’s A Sin’ alongside Elton John at the BRIT Awards).

A daring dance track about leaning into submission to the point of embracing it, ‘Crave’ – says Olly – “is a playful way of inhabiting the deranged sexual energy I’ve always wanted. In the past I felt like I’ve been dominated by toxic relationships, and I felt like it would be fun to turn it on its head.” Consider this a risqué cut of kinked-up, club-ready pop, and Olly Alexander using his platform to push the boundaries of mainstream superstardom.

From its iconic artwork to its euphoric, rejuvenated sound, ‘Night Call’ is a thrilling new chapter for Years & Years. Inspired as much by pioneering figures like Sylvester as it is French House, at the centre of the record is that mermaid of a muse: a beautiful icon luring men to their death, on an album partly about those searching for love (or a lover) but ultimately finding power in themselves. Embodying the new perspective of a character – like Ritchie in ‘It’s A Sin’ - also deeply influenced Olly’s songwriting, with songs that blur the line between fantasy and reality but are bound together by their explorations of queer life. Hedonistic and escapist, ‘Night Call’ captures that joy and anticipation of going out precisely because, says Olly, “I was writing from a fantastical space, stuck in the same four walls. I wanted to have as much pleasure as possible in the music.”

As Years & Years, Olly Alexander has become one of the world’s most trailblazing modern pop stars. Across two hugely successful albums to date, the singer, actor, fashion icon and cultural vanguard has earned 5 Brit Award nominations, surpassed 4.4 billion global streams, and played triumphant homecoming shows at London’s O2 and Wembley Arenas. Along the way, Olly has also become a fearless, once-in-a-generation voice on important discussions around mental health, and issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community - all of which, in its own way, has taken him to ‘Night Call’, and the most essential Years & Years album to date.

After the release of their first album, Il Est Vilaine ask to artists and friends to deliver a series of high-flying remixes: Tolouse Low Trax, Krikor, Khidja, Marvin & Guy, Golden Bug, Rubin Steiner, C.A.R…
Tolouse Low Trax opens the ball with a destructured version of Yvré- L'évêque while keeping the darkness of the track. We can hear a nod to the track "Holland Tunnel Dive" anthem of the Salon des Amateurs.
For the eponymous track Khidja were inspired by the sounds of the land of the rising sun which is a good thing to accompany the song of Narumi Hedgehog! A bright version and influenced by YMO's era Sakamato.
Golden Bug & In Field proposes an alternative just as trippy as the original version of Marilyn Drum, a trip between neighborhood hospitals and crazy guru.
Another version of Yvré-l'Evêque this time Krikor takes care of it and takes out his sampler for a digi-dancehall version that only he has the secret, Faya !
Rubin Steiner delivers a version back to the roots of Bar à Gwin mixing deep house texture and 80's-NY-hip-hop/electro.
The two Italians of Marvin & Guy bring out the hits, the guitars and the arpeggios for an epic version of Mystères de Lorient.
To close the album, we find Narumi Hérisson at the controls of her piano for a dreamy and sensitive version of Phare Ouest where her voice and that of Yula Kasp are mixed in the greatest harmony!

Sheila was reborn in Detroit as one of George Clinton's fiercely funky Brides of Funkenstein. More than simple sex appeal and sass, Sheila sang on the seminalNever Buy Texas from a Cowboyas well as P-Funk hits like "Atomic Dog," making a name for herself alongside P-Funk collective greats. After this mothership connection, Sheila toured with Rick James in 1981 as an original Mary Jane Girl, wrote for Clinton's solo records in the mid '80s and even made a soul connection with Bruce Willis -- who inspired the singer to do her own thing. She then departed the P-Funk stratosphere for another planetary dimension, recording with Aurra, Civil Attack and Public Enemy.

"Attitude" and "Keep On Doing" presents Sheila doing what she does best raw funk and soul

Sheila in featured article: Wax Poetics issue #2 (due out in September)

Member of Brides Of Funkenstein, Parliament/Funkadelic, George Clinton, Aurra, Civil Attack

Limited pressing of 300 copies

45rpm 7" record in Silk-Screened Jacket

Spiralling through the space-time continuum, Alberta Balsam's debut EP amalgamates clipped breakbeat with lithe IDM and sawtooth electro. Inspired by the visionary author Ursula K. Le Guin, the vinyl is presented by Dekmantel Records together with a transcendental sci-fi narrative. Printed on a poster-inlay designed by British artist Alex Morgan, the story tells of a quest for survival on a planet ravaged by ecological collapse.

In a bid to rescue all lifeforms from impending destruction, a lone holobot frantically consults her neurobiological interface. Humans can no longer subsist on Earth: waterways are contaminated, and the unbreathable atmosphere has taken on a toxic purple, almost holographic hue. Faced with environmental apocalypse, she turns skyward, to take root among the stars. With nods to the utopian futurism, attunement to nature and alien visions of pioneering electronic artists such as Drexciya and Delia Derbyshire, Alberta transmutes a synergy that's entirely her own. Higher Dreams journeys elsewhere on a passage that's equal parts intergalactic and introspective, questioning how, on the brink of the abyss, we can find hope.

Blasting off the A-side with 'Atuan Tombs' – a reference to Le Guin's masterful Tales From Earthsea series – a cyborg voice narrates plundering through the skeletal remains of an urban landscape. Hollowed out kick-drums thunder in 'Cascade;' glitched-out beats that shatter into incandescent, intricate melodies. On the B-side, the titular track crescendos, it’s biblical vocals conveying the gravitas of an approaching dystopia. Yet Higher Dreams is far from doom-inducing – the EP closes off with ‘Suspended in the Manifold,' the vibrant Roland TR-808 rhythm fuelled by the colossal power of a solar flare.

Renowned for her live hardware-based sets, Alberta flexes her immeasurable skill as a tech-savvy producer adept at constructing danceable, yet simultaneously lush and expansive interludes. Having trained as an epidemiologist, the theme of care reverberates through her music. Crucially, she regards dance as medicine – a primordial remedy to sustain our interconnected existence.

Mammoth WVH is the debut, self-titled album of Mammoth WVH – the band created by Wolfgang Van Halen. This collection includes the chart topping and now Grammy nominated "Distance” as well as “Don’t Back Down,” “Epiphany,” “Mammoth” and more.

This stunning debut is one of hands down one of our highlights of the year and is still available on a lovely Black Ice Transluscent vinyl.

Wolf began to embrace his voice, inspired by everyone from his father, to bands like AC/DC, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails, TOOL, and Jimmy Eat World. In addition to writing and singing every song on the self-title debut album, remarkably Wolfgang plays every instrument.

Mammoth WVH will be touring Europe extensively in 2022 supporting Scorpions in Germany and headlining shows in Paris, London or Zurich.

Originally released in 2005 on Cooper's Hipshot Cd-r label, and reissued here for the first time on vinyl, Spirit Songs deserves to be regarded as a true rediscovered gem, remixed and remastered by Mike Copper himself!

Spirit Songs comes as a highly organic form of Ambient-Folk-Blues with Cooper reordering material to create an immersive listening experience. A stream of cut-up lyrics inspired by Thomas Pynchon's writing slide across multiple electronic layers and masterfully fingerpicked acoustic guitars combining into a moving tide. This is deeply inspired music from a unique artist: Mike Cooper the so called "icon of post-everything music” a true sound explorer constantly pushing the boundaries of genres and styles, Folk, Blues, Free Improv, Exotica, Ambient, Electronica...

"Spirit Songs.. a glorious marriage of all three of Cooper's previous musical strategies; creating a stunning hybrid. The album contains 10 songs performed on finger-picked acoustic and electric lap steel guitar,
often looped and treated in real time, with Cooper singing lyrics in a quietly meandering, semi-improvisatory manner that recalls a more polished Jandek. The style of songwriting is immediately recognizable as blues, but an intuitive, idiosyncratic form of folk-blues, with Cooper narrating laments over matters personal and global, gentle universalisms that double as political messages. All of this occurs over a loose rhythmic framework provided by various noisy loops, with cracks, scratches and pops, echoes and distortions skipping out from every refrain. It's a gentle cacophony with subtle undercurrents of beauty and sadness, effortlessly nostalgic but still very rooted in the now. I think that Mike Cooper can genuinely call this style his own; I've never heard anything remotely like it, and it works beautifully, highlighting both song and singer, as well as the happy accidents resulting from the intersection of structure and chaos."- Pitchfork Review.

Repress!

‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’, the new studio album from Damon Albarn, is released by new label home Transgressive
Records.




‘The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows’ was originally
intended as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland.
This last year has seen Albarn return to the music in lockdown and
develop the work to 11 tracks which further explore themes of fragility,
loss, emergence and rebirth. The result is a panoramic collection of
songs with Albarn as storyteller. The album title is taken from a John
Clare poem Love and Memory.


The deluxe version of the album takes the form of a casebound book
with additional photography, original scanned lyrics and artwork from
Damon, alongside a clear vinyl version of the album and a bonus 7”
featuring an exclusive song from the recording sessions, plus a high
quality digital download. Also available on black vinyl and cassette.
A recent special Globe Theatre performance in London sold out
immediately and was streamed globally to 72 countries around the world and received rave reviews across the board.

Following the critical acclaim of the 2020 compilation Pyramid Pieces, The Roundtable return with a second offering of modernist jazz from Australia. Another vital document further examining the nation's jazz scene during the late 1960s and 70s. A fertile period that witnessed the birth of an independent movement and the development of a distinct Australian jazz sound. While continuing to focus on the modal forms explored in Volume 1, this second edition shifts direction slightly, this time also surveying other post-bop modes representative of the scene including soul jazz, avant-garde ballet music and Eric Dolphy-inspired free jazz.

Again featuring tracks from the esteemed independent imprints Jazznote and 44 Records, the collection also offers never before published pieces from less obvious Australian jazz groups. Compositions by internationally renowned musicians including Bob Bertles (Nucleus/Neil Ardley), Bruce Cale (The Spontaneous Music Ensemble/Prince Lasha) and Allan Zavod (Frank Zappa) alongside pillars of the local scene, Charlie Munro and Ted Vining plus the lesser-known yet formidable free jazz unit 'Out To Lunch'. Pyramid Pieces 2 is another timely insight into the evolution of the incredible yet obscured Australian modern jazz movement.

A compilation of Australian modern jazz. 1969-1980
Rare modal, soul-jazz and free jazz from artists including The Charlie Munro Trio, Bob Bertles Moontrane, The Bruce Cale Quintet and The Ted Vining Trio.
Tip-on sleeve featuring artwork from renowned Australian modernist painter James Meldrum.

When Berus debuted in January 2021 on Kommerz Records with his “Voyage EP”, he had no idea how precise the title would be for the coming months. A little over a year before the release of “Voyage” the Berlin based multi-instrumentalist and producer had taken his focus away from his, more than a decade lasting, house and techno career towards a new sound, inspired from neo soul and hip-hop. Whilst his electronic projects found home on Kerri Chandler's Madhouse Recordings and DVS1’s infamous Mistress and gained his moniker Frag Maddin worldwide attention, it was part of his progress to focus on himself and Berus, his real name. He took this step not knowing it would lead him into a dark journey of self revelation, identity finding and for the foremost new hope: blue hope.
Berus was born to a Zaza family in Kurdistan, which eventually migrated to Germany escaping prosecution and discrimination of the nationalist regime in Turkey. The family settled in Hamburg and Berus grew up to be a New Release Information
musician. He played the drums, formed teen punk bands and started producing at an early age experimenting and shaping his future as an artist.
Since the beginning of his career Berus releases can be seen like a diary, always expressing his very personal state at the time. For the work on “Blue Hope” two main topics fall into the production of the album: love relationships and seeking identity.
There is a blue melancholy and reflection leading through the album. On “Talk to Me (Karþýlýklý)” Berus opens up about his feelings of true love and the need to set free when they are not answered. Whilst the incredible Mulay who is featured on “Holy Waters” answers with her female perspective. And there is hope. The hope (“Dream On”) and fears (“Being Alive” feat. Sedric Perry) of a young migrant generation. “Blue Hope'' is a coming of age story that’s relatable and yet unique, honest but vulnerable and for the foremost: 100% Berus.
The album is a neatly curated mixtape and delivers a wide range of styles like the jiggy sounding Mike Nasa on “On Me” all the way to “Wholesome” on which Barne delivers a John Mayer-esque performance.
On “Blue Hope” Berus gathered a mixture of old friends and new talent around him to produce the record. The outcome is an LP referencing different influences without the use of any samples.

Salute to the Sun: Live at Halleì St Peter's documents a very special concert recorded at the iconic Manchester venue during lockdown.

Released in November 2020, Matthew's Halsall's Salute to the Sun was the trumpeter's first album since 2015's Into Forever, and marked the debut of his new band. A hand-picked ensemble featuring some of Manchester's finest young musicians. The album drew it's energy from the band's weekly sessions and was inspired by Halsall's love of nature. Lush and spiritual it received universal praise, but Halsall and his band were frustrated that they were unable to share their beautiful new sound live with an audience.



On November 25th 2020, Halsall took his band into the iconic Manchester venue, Hallé St Peter's, for a concert recording in aid of the charity Mind, that was streamed on January 21st 2021 to a global audience in the thousands. The concert was also recorded for posterity.



"When we recorded Salute to the Sun, I wanted to create something playful but also quite earthy and organic that connected to the sounds in nature. It seemed to strike a chord with people and I was blown away by the response to the album. Our concert film, recorded at the height of last winter's lockdown was a special moment for us all and I feel that the concert recording captured something beautiful that we wanted to share".



Salute to the Sun: Live at Halleì St Peter's features Matthew Halsall– trumpet, Matt Cliffe- flute & saxophone, Maddie Herbert– harp, Gavin Barras– bass, Liviu Gheorghe– piano, Alan Taylor– drums and Jack McCarthy- percussion



The recording has been mixed by Matthew Halsall and George Atkins at 80 Hertz and is mastered by Peter Beckmann at Technology Works. The vinyl was cut at Calyx in Berlin and the album is pressed at Optimal in Germany. It is presented in the form of a limited edition 2LP set with artwork by legendary designer Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic.



Spread over three sides of the vinyl LP for maximum fidelity the fourth side of the LP (side D) features an etching of Daniel Halsall's now iconic artwork for the album Salute to the Sun and copies are strictly limited with just 3000 available in total. The album will also be available for download and on streaming platforms.

Rough Trade Records announce the release of the
15th Anniversary edition of The Long Blondes’
debut album, the acclaimed ‘Someone To Drive
You Home’.
 The home of a host of indie disco classics with its
noir atmospheres and vivid storytelling - qualities
that saw the record inspire recent, generationcapturing movie ‘Giddy Stratospheres’ which takes
its name from The Long Blondes’ iconic single -
the Sheffield band’s first album managed that rare
trick of capturing the 2000s zeitgeist while leaving
a timeless artistic mark for the ages.
 Initially inspired by the frisson of the indie disco -
now, fittingly, a classic of low lit dancefloors
everywhere - ‘Giddy Stratospheres’ is The Long
Blondes’ sophisticated calling card. A swirl of
razor-sharp guitars and vivid storytelling, waltzing
melodies and burning vocals, the Sheffield band’s
2000s single fizzes with dancing, desire and the
most stylish sing-a-long you’ll ever hear.
 The Anniversary edition of ‘Someone To Drive You
Home’, which was originally released in November
2006 and was produced by Pulp member Steve
Mackey, comes as a gatefold double LP, pressed
on to red and yellow vinyl to mirror the album’s
artwork - a picture of actress Faye Dunaway
painted by frontwoman Kate Jackson. The edition
features the original record, plus 11 additional
tracks that the band used on B-sides.

Nate Smith Recruits Special Guests Vernon Reid, Brittany Howard, Kokayi, Joel Ross, Michael Mayo, Stokley, AmmaWhatt and Regina Carter for Kinfolk 2, the successor to his Grammy-nominated debut.
Kinfolk 2: See the Birds is the highly anticipated follow-up to the 2017 Grammy-nominated album Kinfolk: Postcards From Everywhere. Featuring the diverse and all-star talents of Brittany Howard, AmmaWhatt, Joel Ross, Kokayi, Michael Mayo, Regina Carter, Stokley and Vernon Reid, Kinfolk 2: See the Birds is the inspired and emphatic album that exemplifies Nate's artistry as one of the most exciting, dynamic and innovative drummer-composers of his generation, adept across multi-genres and styles. Taking inspiration from his teenage years spent absorbing the diverse and eclectic riches of Prince, Michael Jackson and Living Colour. Kinfolk 2: See the Birds is a multi-faceted jewel and is set to be one of the most significant albums of 2021. Nate is one of the most important artists in the progressive jazz world (Kamasi Washington, Makaya McCraven, Shabaka Hutchings, Robert Glasper, and Nate Smith) He's a torchbearer of progressive music / "one of the faces of progressive jazz" His profile / reach is significantly larger than that of his peers (larger than most successful pop/mainstream artists too) Nate accesses wider audiences by seamlessly operating in the jazz and mainstream/pop worlds. Nate operates in a unique space within the progressive world because of his drumming, his collaborations with Brittany Howard and the Fearless Flyers (Vulfpeck spinoff), his recording work with famed producers Dave Cobb and Mike Elizando, and his talent as a composer/arranger/producer. He also brings a "grown" R&B element to his music the Makaya, for example, does not. Nate Smith is an icon. He represents where jazz as a genre is going and is easily one of the most important artists you can cover in 2021/2022.