expected to be published on 03 Nov 2023
Search:it is
TaxiCab Verses, Is What You Make It, is a project that was created by Athens musician, Jim Wilson. It’s an international collaborative project between TaxiCab Verses (a name inspired by the phrases
covering the backs of taxis Jim observed during his travels in Ghana) and Ghana’s Kofi Atentenben and the Warriors. The 10-track album is named Is What You Make It, and according to Flagpole Magazine it's "aggressive and propulsive, even on tracks lesser musicians would let devolve into simple swing patterns (like the darkly jazz-tinged “Step By Step”)...my only regret is that I didn’t write about it the moment it came out. It’s righteously excellent." Overall, 22 musicians contributed to this between Athens and West Africa. TaxiCab Verses was originally released on CD only in 2012 and became a sort of hidden gem of Athens. The album was mastered by Greg Calbi (Bob Dylan, Drive-By Truckers, Paul Simon, The National) and was produced by Drew Vandenberg (Faye Webster, S.G. Goodman).
Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers also had a big role in the creation of this album. He says that he is "so filled with love and pride for what Jim, Drew and all of those amazing musicians from two continents have created. Kudos to George Fontaine and the Strolling Bones Records folks for spotlighting this amazing chapter of Athens music history (and beyond) and finally making this record available for the whole world to hear."
expected to be published on 20 Oct 2023
expected to be published on 14 Oct 2023
In the midst of all saturation and all great music that is been released these days Terrell returns with his first debut album, 7 tracks that can Voyage from House to a new type of "New Wave" of Electronic music, the warming leads and the unusual percussions, conveying Innovation and a new sound aesthetic
Last delivered 3 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Previously unreleased live soundboard recordings from this groovy group from the '60s San Francisco Bay Area scene. Along with The Sopwith Camel, The Beau Brummels, The Mystery Trend, The Great Society, Jefferson Airplane, The Warlocks and The Grateful Dead, The Final Solution were part of the first wave of San Francisco rock bands having formed in 1965. They were very popular all over the Bay Area and appear on countless early posters of the period, but they never released anything. If you dig The Great Society and The Warlocks 'Emergency Crew' demos, this is for you!
expected to be published on 03 Oct 2023
expected to be published on 30 Sep 2023
Joshua Ray Walker announces NEW RECORD “What Is It Even?” - lending his signature alt-country style to iconic pop songs - paying homage to female-identified powerhouse vocalists and their influence on global culture. Launching with his reimagination of Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You,” Walker pushes himself and his band to respectfully and artfully build a bridge between two seemingly polar styles of music. What Is It Even? Album Rollout 6/2 - “What Is It Even?” Preorder launch & IG1 “Cuz I love You” 7/7 - "Linger" 8/4 - “What Is It Even?” Street Date The catalyst of Joshua Ray Walker’s new album, What Is It Even?, was sparked on the patio of the Tulsa, Oklahoma music venue and dive bar Mercury Lounge, a fitting origin story for any country record. But this is far from an ordinary country record. It was on that Tulsa patio, deep into tour, when Walker and drummer Trey Pendergrass were half joking about what their gospel jump blues version of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” would sound like, wondering “what if the Blues Brothers covered a Whitney Houston song?” At that point, it was still unclear how the Dallas native would follow up his trio of critically acclaimed, interconnected albums, all of which were packed tight with character-driven songs that put multiple national-tours worth of crowds on the precipice of staining their shirts with either beers or tears, depending on the song. The third of the trio, See You Next Time, led to Walker appearing on The Tonight Show and CBS Saturday Morning, brought with it performances at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and Gruene Hall in Texas, landed him on Rolling Stone’s “Best of 2021” list, and prompted SPIN to call him “one of country’s most exciting storytellers.” Those stories about dive bar dwellers running out of last chances made listeners feel a gauntlet of emotions. What Is It Even?, a 10-track covers album consisting of songs made famous by female pop acts, produced with John Pedigo and arranged alongside his touring band of Pendergrass, bassist Billy Bones, and pedal-steel player Adam Kurtz, was born out of wanting to make people feel joy.
expected to be published on 04 Aug 2023
Betty Davis was a musical maverick with vision. Image, substance, sex, and grit combined with a badass band that could deliver the funk bed backbone to the sultry music between the sheets. After cutting two notorious discs for the Just Sunshine label (Betty Davis and They Say I’m Different), and Nasty Gal for Island Records, Davis went to work on her most personal and expressive record yet. After capturing 10 hard-hitting tracks in 1976 at the remote Studio In The Country (Louisiana), a creative difference with her then label caused the platter to be unexpectedly shelved. Davis would cut one final album and soon retreat from the music business, completely disappearing from the public eye.
Is It Love Or Desire is a little-known gem in the Davis catalog. Mastered from the original tapes, and untouched for over 30 years, this release features detailed liner notes, the originally intended artwork housed in a lavishly packaged digipak, rare photos, archival material, and recent interviews with Davis and her skin-tight band Funk House.
Never bootlegged, never released, never heard until now, the secret story of this lost album will finally enter the history books and cement this bold soul sisters contributions to music and popular culture. Its time to get down…
expected to be published on 31 Jul 2023
- A1: Could Not Make It Up
- A2: Walking Backwards
- A3: Days Of Lantana
- A4: Life In The Time Of Captivity
- A5: Moonraker
- A6: Richmond Avenue
- A7: Interim Of Sense
- A8: Total Eclipse
- A9: Spirit
- A10: Little Plant
Blue Vinyl[31,30 €]
BRIT Award & Ivor Novello Award Gewinner Ben Howard veröffentlichte bereits die erste Single „Couldn’t Make It Up” aus seinem kommenden Album “Is It?”. Nun legt er mit seiner zweiten Single „Walking Backwards“ nach und bietet seinen Fans damit einen weiteren vielversprechenden Vorgeschmack auf sein bald erscheinendes Album.
„Is It?“ wird sein fünftes Studioalbum sein, welches insgesamt 10 Songs umfasst. Es entstand in der Zeit, als der Brite ganz unerwartet zwei kleine Schlaganfälle erlitt. Ben Howard selbst beschreibt diese Zeit als „verwirrend“. Diese Verwirrung schlägt sich in den unterschiedlichen Nuancen nieder, die auf dem Album zu finden sind.
Howard sagt dazu: ”Ich fand es unmöglich, nicht über die Absurdität nachzudenken, dass man mit einem winzigen Klumpen alle Fähigkeiten verlieren kann. Das hat sich wirklich in das Schreiben der Platte eingebrannt”. Der englische Singer-Songwriter kann bis heute beeindruckende 800 Millionen Streams (über alle DSPs) verzeichnen. Ben wird diesen Sommer auf mehreren Festivals in der EU und Großbritannien auftreten und hat kürzlich seine großen Shows im Londoner Alexandra Palace Park für Juli angekündigt. Im Juli dieses
Jahres wird er außerdem auch drei Shows in Berlin, Hamburg und München spielen.
expected to be published on 16 Jun 2023
BRIT Award & Ivor Novello Award Gewinner Ben Howard veröffentlichte bereits die erste Single „Couldn’t Make It Up” aus seinem kommenden Album “Is It?”. Nun legt er mit seiner zweiten Single „Walking Backwards“ nach und bietet seinen Fans damit einen weiteren vielversprechenden Vorgeschmack auf sein bald erscheinendes Album.
„Is It?“ wird sein fünftes Studioalbum sein, welches insgesamt 10 Songs umfasst. Es entstand in der Zeit, als der Brite ganz unerwartet zwei kleine Schlaganfälle erlitt. Ben Howard selbst beschreibt diese Zeit als „verwirrend“. Diese Verwirrung schlägt sich in den unterschiedlichen Nuancen nieder, die auf dem Album zu finden sind.
Howard sagt dazu: ”Ich fand es unmöglich, nicht über die Absurdität nachzudenken, dass man mit einem winzigen Klumpen alle Fähigkeiten verlieren kann. Das hat sich wirklich in das Schreiben der Platte eingebrannt”. Der englische Singer-Songwriter kann bis heute beeindruckende 800 Millionen Streams (über alle DSPs) verzeichnen. Ben wird diesen Sommer auf mehreren Festivals in der EU und Großbritannien auftreten und hat kürzlich seine großen Shows im Londoner Alexandra Palace Park für Juli angekündigt. Im Juli dieses
Jahres wird er außerdem auch drei Shows in Berlin, Hamburg und München spielen.
expected to be published on 16 Jun 2023
Ibiza legend and all round well respected industry man Chris Coco is back with more of his seaside sounds. This time his Mediterranean magic is cast over 'La Guitarra' which as the title hints has Flamenco style acoustics with tropical house drums and heartfelt synths. There is a pair backed and delicious dub also, and then modern disco don Rune Lindbaek comes through with a mesmeric take that is laidback and lush in its design. Last of all is Daniel Braca with a Deep In Brooklyn remix thing brings some fine Latin house styles.
Last delivered 2 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
2LP Black Vinyl[41,13 €]
7" Red Picture Vinyl[13,87 €]
7" Yellow Picture Vinyl[13,87 €]
7" Green Picture Vinyl[13,87 €]
7" Blue Picture Vinyl[13,87 €]
ABBA feiern das 50-jährige Jubiläum ihres Debütalbums Ring Ring mit einer neuen Kollektion von Vinylprodukten. Das 2LP-Format besteht aus 180g schwerem schwarzem Vinyl in einer Klapphülle mit Obi-Streifen und Echtheitszertifikat. Das Album ist in hochwertiger Half-Speed-Audioqualität erhältlich, gemastert von Miles Showell in Abbey Road. Die 7ff Picture Discs ”He Is Your Brother / Santa Rosa”, ”People Need Love / Merry-Go-Round”, ”Ring Ring (Englisch) / She’s My Kind of Girl”, ”Ring Ring (Schwedisch) / Åh, vilka tider”, ”Love Isn’t Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough) / I Am Just A Girl” zeigen klassische Bilder der Band aus der ursprünglichen Ära und enthalten jeweils einen B-Seiten-Begleittrack.
Das Album ist nun als Ltd. 2LP und jeweils als Ltd. 7” Picture Vinyl erhältlich.
expected to be published on 19 May 2023
Essex-based trio Statues have made their presence felt with a string of impressive singles for a variety of labels from Sweden's Lovely and Plastic Idol in the US. Here they offer up their timely summer breezer 'Clear Skies' with crystal cleat synth lines evocative of John Carpenter or Tangerine Dream powered by a simple but effective groove. Coyote Ambient are the first of two guests invited to remix it, and theirs is more of a classic 90s chillout reworking, while Vendetta Suite combine a similar vibe with some soaring solar guitars and live drums. Another original from Statues, 'The Creek ', completes the package, with arpeggios melded with organic voices and guitars.
Last delivered 3 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Last delivered 4 months ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
expected to be published on 13 Mar 2023
HouseElectronicaNu DiscoBalearicAmbient
Always fun house craftsman Ali Renault secured another big tune with his 'Piano For The People' which is a chuggy groover that locks you in with its rich atmospheres. Now it gets offered up with remixes from, firstly, Aikhi, who flip it with laidback downtempo drums and some classic and well known chords. Calm then brings his Mellow Acid Dub to sink you in even further and last of all Double Geography bring some more crunchy drum textures and psyched-out synth sounds with echoing vocals and dark, late night sense of mischief.
Last delivered 3 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Is It Balearic finally offer up four cuts from Coyote's fantastic The Mystery Light album. First up is Dan Lissvik on the remix of 'Simpsons Sky' with its loose-limbed Balearic drum funk and tropical synth work. Then come Reverso 68 who layer in some superb arpeggiators for the silky piano sounds of sunset gem 'Copacetic.' Japanese downtempo boss Calm brings his signature mellow acid lushness to 'Outsider' and last of all Chris Massey reworks Coyote's 'Cami Sa Valeta' which was a tribute to Tony Pike. Here it is a go-slow, blissed out and cosmic star-gazer.
Last delivered 3 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Last year's 'Will We Ever Dance Again' 12" was a big one for Coyote who now follow it up and impress once more. First up they do so on 'Baka Re-Rub' by paying their respects to the iconic Jon da Silva remix of The FADS track. It's steamy, tropical, full of loose drum energy and jangling synths that lightened up any club. On the flip you find 'No Entry' which is a big house anthem plenty of classic tops, uplifting arpeggios and pianos, and dramatic strings next to big acid lines. It's an all out, hands in the air gem that brings the good times.
Last delivered 3 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
When Durand Jones & The Indications debut album was released they didn't have "buzz". They didn't have a following. They didn't have the measured flash of more polished operations. But as the final mixes spun off of the master reel, Colemine knew what they did have was one remarkable soul record. To everyone's delight, the record was a smash and their no-frills LP continues to fly off the shelves and Colemine released a 45 featuring cuts from the debut album. The politically poignant and fiercely funky "Make A Change" is backed with the lowrider anthem "Is It Any Wonder" featuring drummer Aaron Frazer's silvery falsetto.
Last delivered 3 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Hot on the heels of the sold-out limited ep Was It Ever Real?, The Soft Pink Truth releases a super catchy, sexy contemporary disco banger Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This?, Throughout the ten songs of the album, the provocation to go "deeper" prompts promiscuous moves across the genres of disco, minimalism, ambient, and jazz, sliding onto and off of the dancefloor, sweeping higher and lower on the scale of frequencies, engaging both philosophical texts re-set as pop lyrics and wordless glossolalia. Throughout, Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This? aims for a kind of psychedelic poolside take on disco, using the steady 120 bpm rhythmic chassis of the music as a launchpad for reverie rather than big room EDM bluster. Sidestepping retro kitsch but paying homage to highly personal interpretations of disco such as Arthur Russell, Don Ray, Dr. Buzzard"s Original Savannah Band, and Mandré, or the jazz-funk of Creed Taylor and CTI Records. Its emphasis on slowly morphing deep house grooves will also appeal to fans of DJ Sprinkles, Moodymann, and Theo Parrish. At once catchy and spacey, poppy and perverse, Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This? shows a restless musician trying to square the circle of dance music and meditation, repetition, and change.
Last delivered 3 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Hot on the heels of the sold-out limited ep Was It Ever Real?, The Soft Pink Truth releases a super catchy, sexy contemporary disco banger Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This?, Throughout the ten songs of the album, the provocation to go "deeper" prompts promiscuous moves across the genres of disco, minimalism, ambient, and jazz, sliding onto and off of the dancefloor, sweeping higher and lower on the scale of frequencies, engaging both philosophical texts re-set as pop lyrics and wordless glossolalia. Throughout, Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This? aims for a kind of psychedelic poolside take on disco, using the steady 120 bpm rhythmic chassis of the music as a launchpad for reverie rather than big room EDM bluster. Sidestepping retro kitsch but paying homage to highly personal interpretations of disco such as Arthur Russell, Don Ray, Dr. Buzzard"s Original Savannah Band, and Mandré, or the jazz-funk of Creed Taylor and CTI Records. Its emphasis on slowly morphing deep house grooves will also appeal to fans of DJ Sprinkles, Moodymann, and Theo Parrish. At once catchy and spacey, poppy and perverse, Is It Going To Get Any Deeper Than This? shows a restless musician trying to square the circle of dance music and meditation, repetition, and change.
Last delivered 3 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Grey Vinyl[24,79 €]
Experimental post-punk outfit GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS are set to release the eagerly anticipated follow-up to 2020’s incendiary debut, ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’. Entitled ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ and available this coming October 14th via the band’s own label Own It/Cargo Records, its mix of fractured guitar, crushing drums and bass, intense vocals and lyrical content - create as challenging a record as you will hear this year. Formed in 2016, GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS are John Linger (bass / vocals), Jim Cubitt (guitar / keys) and Nicole Pinto (drums). The trio’s double a-sided debut single ‘The Mound’/’Disappear’ came out in the early part of 2017, and since then they have established themselves as the most forward thinking, viscerally challenging band around with unmissable live shows that continue to excite and astound in equal measure. Recorded last year amidst the uncertainty of continuous lockdowns as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ is far darker in content than its predecessor. Mainly exploring internal and mental struggles as opposed to external current affairs, it focuses on the claustrophobia of emotional anguish and continues to bravely delve into previously un-ventured topics. Featuring frequent collaborators funkcutter and Stanley Bad on horns and violin, respectively, two songs also see Eleni Poulou, ex-The Fall, on keyboards. The album was mixed by long-term collaborator Max Walker and features stunning landscape photography by Bea Dewhurst. The album was mastered in France by Ayumu Matsuo. Sonically atramentous and less one dimensional than the band’s debut, ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ takes its cues from ‘Join Hands’ era Siouxsie & The Banshees, Brainiac and Crass’ ‘Christ The Album’, among others. From the first crackle of electricity on the opening track, to the heart wrenching taped voice-recording on the final outro, this LP triumphantly retains every ounce of intensity and vitality that makes Girls In Synthesis the most captivating band to emerge from the UK DIY underground in recent years. Listeners will find ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ a challenging, yet ultimately cathartic listen. Prepare yourselves for a sonic cleansing, Girls In Synthesis style. Side A 1- It’s All Beginning To Change 2- Watch With Mother 3- Total Control 4- Swallowed Pill 5- Screaming
6- My Husband Side B 1- Cottage Industry 2- Not As I Do 3- Lacking Bite 4- Your Prayers Have Changed 5- To A Fault
expected to be published on 30 Oct 2022
Black Vinyl[24,79 €]
Experimental post-punk outfit GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS are set to release the eagerly anticipated follow-up to 2020’s incendiary debut, ‘Now Here’s An Echo From Your Future’. Entitled ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ and available this coming October 14th via the band’s own label Own It/Cargo Records, its mix of fractured guitar, crushing drums and bass, intense vocals and lyrical content - create as challenging a record as you will hear this year. Formed in 2016, GIRLS IN SYNTHESIS are John Linger (bass / vocals), Jim Cubitt (guitar / keys) and Nicole Pinto (drums). The trio’s double a-sided debut single ‘The Mound’/’Disappear’ came out in the early part of 2017, and since then they have established themselves as the most forward thinking, viscerally challenging band around with unmissable live shows that continue to excite and astound in equal measure. Recorded last year amidst the uncertainty of continuous lockdowns as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ is far darker in content than its predecessor. Mainly exploring internal and mental struggles as opposed to external current affairs, it focuses on the claustrophobia of emotional anguish and continues to bravely delve into previously un-ventured topics. Featuring frequent collaborators funkcutter and Stanley Bad on horns and violin, respectively, two songs also see Eleni Poulou, ex-The Fall, on keyboards. The album was mixed by long-term collaborator Max Walker and features stunning landscape photography by Bea Dewhurst. The album was mastered in France by Ayumu Matsuo. Sonically atramentous and less one dimensional than the band’s debut, ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ takes its cues from ‘Join Hands’ era Siouxsie & The Banshees, Brainiac and Crass’ ‘Christ The Album’, among others. From the first crackle of electricity on the opening track, to the heart wrenching taped voice-recording on the final outro, this LP triumphantly retains every ounce of intensity and vitality that makes Girls In Synthesis the most captivating band to emerge from the UK DIY underground in recent years. Listeners will find ‘The Rest Is Distraction’ a challenging, yet ultimately cathartic listen. Prepare yourselves for a sonic cleansing, Girls In Synthesis style. Side A 1- It’s All Beginning To Change 2- Watch With Mother 3- Total Control 4- Swallowed Pill 5- Screaming
6- My Husband Side B 1- Cottage Industry 2- Not As I Do 3- Lacking Bite 4- Your Prayers Have Changed 5- To A Fault
expected to be published on 30 Oct 2022
When Cypress Hill came with their debut self-titled album 30 years ago, they made an immediate spark that captivated the Hip Hop audience, critics, and then the world. Led by B-Real with his nasal, singsong delivery, and Sen Dog to play the perfect hypeman, Cypress’ debut fueled tales of revenge, revolution, recreational drug use, gangbanging, and cultural pride. Like Public Enemy before them, the production was also a key factor in what made this debut so groundbreaking. DJ Muggs was able to craft a blueprint that would change Hip Hop production with his innovative stoned-out beats. Cuts like "How I Could Just Kill a Man", "Pigs", "Stoned is the Way of the Walk" and "Hand on the Pump" made Cypress Hill an instant classic. Since its release, the album has won acclaim as one of Rolling Stone's Essential Recordings of the 90s and Top 100 Best Rap Albums by The Source Magazine.
expected to be published on 30 Oct 2022
expected to be published on 15 Jul 2022
- A1: Bessie Smith - I Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl
- A2: Sister Rosetta Tharpe - I Want A Tall Skinny Papa
- A3: Julia Lee - King Size Papa
- A4: Lillie Mae Kirkman - He's Just My Size
- A5: Sippie Wallace - A Man For Every Day In The Week
- A6: Lil Johnson - Sam The Hot Dog
- A7: Bessie Smith - Nobody In Town Can Bake A Sweet Jelly Roll Like Mine
- B1: 8 Lil Johnson - Hot Nuts (Get 'Em From The Peanut Man) (Get 'Em From The Peanut Man)
- B2: Sister Rosetta Tharpe - Rock Me
- B3: Sippie Wallace - I'm A Mighty Tight Woman
- B4: Victoria Spivey - Garter Snake Blues
- B5: Albinia Jones - What's The Matter With Me?
- B6: Julia Lee - Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got
- B7: Lucille Bogan - Shave'em Dry (version 2)
expected to be published on 15 Jun 2022
- A1: Jules Wells - Breathe
- A2: ModelSon - Cyprination
- B1: Loloman - Liberation
- B2: G-Prod - Something About You
- C1: Alex Noto - Gravitational Forces
- C2: Laurent Chanal - Another Day
- D1: Xaric - Domingo
- D2: Bene Luxe & Christophe Bailleau - Ereignis Zweihundert
- E1: Arocas - Supernova
- E2: Franck Bouly - Highlighter (Second Coming)
- F1: Traffic Beats - Bom Dia
- F2: Fred H - Chi-Town Flavours
- G1: Mazi & Duriez - This is Not A Follow-Up (Laurent Maldo Remix)
- G2: JiHell - Chance
- H1: Arno Gonzalez feat. Desprès - The Nice View (David Duriez's Wonder Emporium Remix)
Last delivered 4 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
HouseDeepBalearicHip-HopDownbeat
Sean Johnston has put together some righteous compadres to form a new project - The Summerisle Six. Featuring Jo Bartlett (Yellow Moon Band) on vocals, Andy Bell (Oasis and Ride amongst others) & Duncan Gray on guitars, Kev Sharkey (That Petrol Emotion, The Undertones, Elvis Costello to name a few) on percussion, Mick Somerset Ward on Sax (Clock DVA, Was Not Was, Crooked Man). This Is Something is a driving pop groover reminiscent of a late 80's early 90's Indie Dance anthem. The Dub mix invites the OG mix to ALFOS, turns the lights off and presses the smoke button for a chuggy heartwarming trip across the dance floor. There are no words to describe Rico Connings mix other than to say this 10 min journey has to be heard to be believed. A genuine Balearic gem.
Last delivered 21 months ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
"This Is What It Feels Like’ is the latest 12-track project from ethereal singer/songwriter, Gracie Abrams.
Since making her debut with “Mean It” in October 2019, Gracie Abrams has emerged as one of the most compelling songwriters of her generation, earning the admiration of such likeminded artists as Lorde, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo. A consummate songwriter who names Joni Mitchell as her most formative influence, she penned her first song at the age of eight, then went on to amass a devoted following on the strength of her emotionally intimate lyrics and DIY sensibilities. She is praised her “painfully honest tales of heartbreak draped in delicate melodies that carry much more intrigue than the usual run-of-the-mill singer-songwriter."
expected to be published on 15 Apr 2022
Ten years into his role as poster boy for pop soul and peak-hour R&B, Syl Johnson did an unlikely about-face and cut the most inspiring and powerful song he'd ever touch. Issued on 45 in September of 1969, "Is It Because I'm Black" struck an immediate chord within the black community, forcing the song up the charts by sheer volume of call-in requests. It would be Syl's biggest hit for Twinight, climbing as high as #11 on the Billboard R&B chart during its 14-week stay, marking the defining moment of what had become more than just an occupation. Syl had his hands on a career and worked tirelessly rehearsing his next opus, an album of songs reflective of the changing times. With "Is It Because I'm Black" still bolding the pages of Billboard, the coming LP's title appeared to Syl plain as day _ or, in this case, black as night. Issued in April 1970 _ a full 13 months before Marvin Gaye's What's Going On _ Is It Because I'm Black can rightly be called the first black concept album, a distinction few give it credit for. But that factoid, whatever its meaning then or now, failed to inspire music buyers: Johnson's record never got a whiff of the two million copies Gaye's did in its first year of availability. Syl lays the blame squarely on the record's lack of marketability to a white audience. The album's cover didn't exactly move units either. Photographer Jerry Griffith dragged Syl to a burned-out building on 43rd Street to shoot the back cover image, and he finger-painted the iconic title over a stock photo of an eroding brick wall. The title track, coupled with the politically charged "I'm Talking About Freedom" and ghetto conscious "Concrete Reservation" sealed the album's cool reception as the work of an "angry black man." Which is unfortunate, as "Together Forever," "Come Together," and "Black Balloons" are positively uplifting, forming their own pot of gold at the end of a grayscale rainbow. The album's closer burns the brightest. "Right On" devolves into a full-on party track, ending with Syl riffing on the line "I'm gonna keep on doing my thing," as if to answer his critics before their needles reached the run-out groove.
Last delivered 4 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Originally released in 1986, the debut album by My Dad
Is Dead is remarkable not only for its strong and varied
material, but also how the aesthetic of MDID’s music was
fully formed and instantly recognizable from the git-go.
Here are the open modal guitar tunings, the primitive
drum machine paired with live drums, the complete
rejection of the pentatonic scale and related 1970s guitar
techniques, and the dry, journalistic language that brings a
distanced, subdued pathos to the harrowing characters and
their situations.
Few artists who traffic in the darker realms of the human
condition do so without some degree of melodrama; Mark
Edwards’s penchant for understatement and distance
brings even more gravity and impact to these songs of lost
souls in a dying city. All these qualities would become
hallmarks of the My Dad Is Dead sound for years to come.
Like Edwards’s next few albums, ...And He’s Not Gonna
Take It Anymore was performed and written entirely by
himself, which only deepens the feeling of isolation that
permeates the album.
This 2021 reissue was remastered by John Golden Sr.
and is a huge sonic improvement over the original pressing
and early ’90s European editions. Best of all, it includes
an entire bonus LP of rare 1985 recordings that were only
issued on cassette at the time. These are raw, primitive
4-track recordings that ooze with post-industrial Cleveland
malaise. They include nine previously unnreleased songs,
and early versions of four songs that were re-recorded for
the album. Fans are certain to find some new favorites here.
expected to be published on 04 Feb 2022
The new album by the Peruvian-born / Berlin-based experimental artist Ale Hop was conceived in a context of immobility and provides six sonic vignettes that wonder about location, circularity, rootedness and experience. In collaboration with Ana Quiroga,
Concepcion Huerta, Daniela Huerta, Elsa M'balla, Felicity Magan, Fil Uno, Ignacio Briceño, KMRU, Manongo Mujica, Moises Horta, Nicole L'huillier, Raul Jardín, Sukitoa Onamau, Tomas Tello.
Following her explorations on music's inherent fixation to geographic space and time, be it through the longing of home ("Apophenia" 2019) or scientific magnification of invisible worlds ("The Life of Insects" 2020), Berlin-based Peruvian-born experimental composer Ale Hop's fourth album, "Why Is It They Say a City Like Any City?", was conceived in a context of immobility. During the lockdown
months, she started a process of remote collaboration, by sending messages, posted from various cities along a South American trip, to thirteen musicians from around the world. She journaled her impressions upon these places to an intimate fictional character while reflecting on matters of time,
sound, space, cosmology and colonial memory. The thirteen musicians dialogued with this voice by taking upon the challenge of responding to the messages with sound collaborations.
Field recordings, mouth drumming, drone cellos, electronic loops, arrhythmic rhythms and voices came back from this experiment. Ale assembled them, by layering, twisting and turning, into sonic vignettes that wonder about location, circularity, rootedness and experience, making it the first time she's set her guitar aside. Expect no answers to the album's title question, but an innermost psychedelic rumination.
"Despite the technological resources that appear to dilute distances, the simulation of closeness mirrored on the digital space is an emptied body, a state of precarity, a flat surface; unable to withhold an experience of exchange," Ale states. "So, I began this project by asking myself, how can we escape from the reduced experience of the virtual? The idea behind this experiment was that my messages and the places they describe could drive the composition, be a catalyzer, a
score. Thus, to use geography as a tool to remember and imagine, to allow new soundscapes to emerge."
"Memory, diffuse and divergent, sometimes reaches out to the future in its search for form, taking shape from the reflections and echoes that come back … like throwing a rock in a pond and having a rock thrown back at you."
Last delivered 4 years ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Rare recordings featuring Carla J Easton & friends with guests Duglas T
Stewart (BMX Bandits) and Eugene Kelly (Vaselines) - This album was
shelved and never saw the light of day but now, for the frst time ever,
these recordings are re-mastered and presented to you on vinyl.In 2011,
Carla J Easton fnished her MFA at Glasgow School of Art armed with a
batch of newly written songs and wanted to start a band - Calling on longtime collaborator Sita Pieraccini and childhood friend Debs Smith, fat
rehearsals ensued and a frst gig was booked at The Arches in Glasgow
Aptly, the night the would debut as TeenCanteen was called The Love Club. Not
long after, Emma Kullander would join the ranks and the 4 headlined Henry's
Cellar Bar in Edinburgh. Through word of mouth, the place was packed. With only
5 songs to their name, a tentative version of All The Lovers by Kylie Minogue was
thrown in as a last minute encore before the band delved into replaying their song
Friends.Studio time was booked at the fedgling 45 A Side in Glasgow resulting in
the recording of How We Met (Cherry Pie), You're So Analog, Under My Cover and
Friends.Calling on mentors from the Glasgow music scene – Duglas T. Stewart
(BMX Bandits) and Eugene Kelly (The Vaselines) turned up to be part of this
session. Duglas, joining TeenCanteen on a heart rendering duet for the song
Under My Cover, and Eugene, providing a blistering electric guitar solo on You're
So Analog.Hearing themselves on record for the frst time, and with Easton's
repertoire for songs growing more, they quickly returned to the studio for another
weekend.Recording the songs Atlas, Fireworks (which would go on to be covered
by BMX Bandits on their album BMX Bandits in Space), It could Be Beautiful and
One More Night, TeenCanteen were ready to release into the world with an
album's world of recorded material.
This is the sound of four friends making music together, learning as they go. At
its core are the luscious three- part harmonies TeenCanteen would go on to
develop further and be known for.
It's not perfect. It's not polished. It's the sound of something new.
It was the precursor to the glorious full pop sound the band would introduce to
the world when their debut album Say It All With A Kiss was released on Last
Night From Glasgow.This is how it starts.
expected to be published on 14 Jan 2022
Coyote drop their 7th album The Mystery Light.A double 12 LP. Copacetic is a mellow disco shuffler. Don’t Run It Extra Ordinary is a percussive soft acid groove lamenting the material world. Woosh is Coyotes personal understated reflective tribute to Pete Woosh. Simpsons Sky has touches of Krautrocker about it. Fridays Child hits peak Balearic retro poolside euro chug. Mint Tea is the post breakfast view over the shimmering ocean. Bougainvillea is a moment of calm. Cami de Sa Veleta is an homage to a fav Ibiza road trip for lunch and music. The Outsider is an uplifting reminder to all that you don’t have to play the game and to always remember the Guv
Last delivered 4 years ago
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Bakey has been smashing out hit after hit this year, sharing beats cooked up with his brother, Breaka and collabing with Bristol head Sam Binga. The young producer comes back to Time Is Now, following up the best-seller Take It Further EP from last year with a tasty five tracker of UKG experimentation.
Title track, "Bring It Back", uses a playful sound palette of 00s grime that swirls into a hardcore onslaught of breaks, bassline and screeching ruffage, kicking of the record with a statement. Manchester vocalist Slay joins the party on "Vibing Season", building up in long
atmospheric chords before Slay's bars spiral into play, pacey, dirty and clever over explosive glitches and ear candy pops. Bringing it right back down to minimalism with sparing two-step, "No Name Groove" features Kasia's soulful piano echoing throughout with call-and-response sampling, a classy take on early garage tracks.
On "Reduced Vision", otherworldly sub bass chases down vocal stabs, rumbling underneath this expansive heads down number. "Poison Dart" rounds off the instant hit EP with sirens, dnb tension and ragga mc lines.
Last delivered 10 months ago
available to reorder, subject to availability
Last delivered 4 years ago
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Main Phase returns for a second full-length EP on Shall Not Fade's hugely successful sublabel, the bass-oriented Time Is Now. The Copenhagen native is fresh from an appearance on Danish leftfield label Petrola 80 and can otherwise be found heading ATW records with another Time Is Now regular, Interplanetary Criminal. He serves up a tasting menu of the most quintessential sounds in UKG across Buss It EP.
The title track is understated, sparse but tense using sparing Ragga vox that build to a crescendo, wobbling over into "Our Style" - expect space age FX drawn out over mutant inflections in another textbook eyes down cut. Cheeky bassline garage energy is brought in "Creepin", while teasing breaks and dirty south hip-hop in the vocals.
Looking to the infamous early years of garage on the B-side, "Freaky" channels those classic Ghost releases in its sub-heavy intent, spicy snare and catchy vocal hooks. The EP is closed out with the expansive, gut-wrenching wobbles of "Misdemeanour", accentuated with a highly intricate two-step rhythm.
Last delivered 3 years ago
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Scottish producer Gavin Sutherland revives his Other Lands alias with a collection of tracks that were crafted between 1997 and 2012, and were transferred straight from the original cassette.
"What Year Is It? Who Is The President?", is Sutherlands' first full offering with PULP. After multiple remixes for the label (under his Fudge Fingas alias), the release schedule for the Other Lands guise has picked up in the last few months. This resurgence of previously unreleased material will add to Sutherland's elaborate catalog, and confirm that even bits that never saw a release at the time, are sounding relevant and superbly produced.
"What Year Is It? Who Is The President?" (PULP13) starts with "The Caged Bird", which is a synth laden, lush sounding cut that is built around a playful bass sound and beautifully orchestrated chords. The drums are swinging as ever, and the hypnotic character of the lead is present throughout.
"Kaleidoscope" is a venture into the otherworldly. Deep splashes of synth and fx come together effortlessly to create an almost meditative state. The musicality of it all is remarkable, and hard to capture in a few words. The rhythm section is always the backbone, but the fx are equally as important. Fans of Sutherland's work will surely recognize and appreciate the ambiance that is set in Kaleidoscope.
The flipside starts with "It's Something Else". The main lead is indeed something refreshing. In a sense, it's reminiscent of a guitar, but it's clearly not that. The dance floor nature of everything else is supporting the wildness of the lead. Altogether this is something to space out to. On a dance floor, at home or perhaps even during a run.
The final track on the B-side is called "Mind Like A Steel Trap". This sample heavy, hazy sounding piece of beauty is blending soulful flutes, drums and the catchphrase of the song - no more mind games - together with an astonishing ease
Last delivered 4 years ago
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Richard Marks
LOVE IS GONE (Alt. Version) DON’T TAKE IT OUT ON ME (Alt. Version) / I CAN’T STAND (Being Alone With
Atlanta soul music hero, RICHARD MARKS, released an impeccable run of 45s, mainly on tiny, local labels. Thanks to many years of work, Eothen Alapatt at Now-Again and Georgia soul authority Brian Poust researched, rescued and released the late great man’s entire works from the Marks family. We have specially selected the two alternate versions of his solitary Shout 45, fitting neatly on one side, backed with his final release: the hideously obscure 80s ballad I CAN’T STAND (Being Alone Without You)
Last delivered 5 years ago
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Corvair is what happens when you trap two Scorpio songwriters in a house together. Comprised of a Portland-based husband / wife duo of two seasoned musicians (Brian Naubert and Heather Larimer), Corvair’s debut album charts a starcrossed love story over three decades, five cities, and six continents. Spanning from atmospheric pop to jangly confessional, 70s AM to 90s FM, this work is laden with stunning turns of phrase and prodigious melodies, two voices leaping to meet in the ether. Corvair’s debut album was largely created during the COVID pandemic shut-down of Spring 2020. It includes work with drummer Eric Eagle (Jesse Sykes, Wayne Horvitz) and Engineer Martin Feveyear (Brandi Carlile, Mark Lanegan, Mudhoney), who also mixed the record. Larimer explains, “Being stuck in a house together with very little outside influence made us more emotionally raw, definitely weirder, and also more patient and intricate in developing the songs. And because we were in a bubble, cooking dinners from paranoidly-disinfected groceries and listening to old records, really disparate references from some of our favorite music ended up colliding in odd ways--an emotional Judas Priest bridge, an anthemic Pixies outro, a spacey keyboard sound from Steve Miller, Jeff Lynne's acoustic guitar tone, a Carpenters-style lush harmony. I think it's a wonderfully weird record, but also very in-your-face pop because what else are you going to do when the world feels like it's ending?" Separately, Naubert and Larimer have created or appeared on more than 20 records. Heather’s musical mainstay was the garage pop band Eux Autres, broadly hailed as a “veritable cult classic” band, radio-debuted by the legendary John Peel, and featured in many shows, movies and commercials. Brian is a longtime fixture of the Northwest rock community, having played in vital bands such as Tube Top, Pop Sickle, and the critically-lauded Ruston Mire, since 1993. More recently, Brian released his first solo record, Hoffabus and a record with the NW Supergroup, The Service Providers. Naubert and Larimer’s decades of separate music making have finally combined, culminating in this tour de force from two formidable songwriters. Corvair sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard and everything you’ve always loved.
Press quotes: “Smart, infectious, jangly pop.” Everett True // “An irresistible set of bouncy indie-pop tinged with surf music and ‘60s girl groups, contrasted with the band’s often-biting lyrics.” KEXP.org // “One of the more exciting independent releases of the year...a veritable cult classic.” Under The Radar // “Three chord garage pop that hangs on a raunchy guitar line and crisp production from Janet Weiss (Sleater-Kinney, Quasi).” MAGNET Magazine // Brian Naubert - vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion. Heather Larimer - vocals, keyboards, percussion.
expected to be published on 05 Mar 2021




































