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Pixel Prison is a deeply introspective album that explores the themes of societal division and the struggle for unity. Rising Tide combines the best elements of Roots Reggae, Jazz, Rhythm & Blues and adds deep meditative Dub into their music. Incorporating sounds from across the musical landscape and rooted with hard-hitting conscious lyrics, the band has tapped into another deep well of inspiration for their sophomore release!

“We’re excited to share ‘Pixel Prison’ with our global following,” says Rising Tide founder Marcus Urani. “This album is a reflection of our commitment to using music as a tool for positive change, and we hope our fans will join us on this journey.”

Black Truffle is thrilled to present a previously unheard performance by rudra veena master Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, recorded in the North Indian city of Vrindavan at the Druhpad Samaroh festival in 1982. Z.M. Dagar was a nineteenth-generation descendant of the Dagar family of musicians, famed for their profoundly meditative approach to the tradition of Hindustani court music. Perhaps the most revered members of the family were the brothers Mohinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar, who played a key role in reawakening interest in dhrupad in the mid-20th century. The great exponents of the tradition from whom Z.M. Dagar descended were all singers, and dhrupad is essentially vocal music. However, as Z.M. Dagar explained, the veena family of instruments plays an important role in the education and practice of dhrupad singers, especially as an aid to mastering the fine microtonal nuances of pitch essential to the genre. Introduced as a child by his father to the rudra veena, a large and low-pitched veena amplified by two enormous gourds, Z.M. Dagar became the first modern dhrupad musician to perform with it as an instrumental soloist, giving his first recital at the age of 16. Devoted to the instrument throughout his life, he made innovations to its design and materials, as well as introducing novel techniques (such as playing without the use of the traditional wire plectrum, resulting in the remarkable warmth of his tone). In the great Dagar family tradition, his approach to the various ragas that make up the dhrupad repertoire was stately, slow, and considered, with a great emphasis on the alap, the heavily improvised exposition section. True to form, in this recording of Dagar performing the night raga Yaman Kalyan, the alap section stretches out to more than forty minutes of slow-motion bliss, a frozen tanpura drone hovering above Dagar’s gracefully bent notes and elegantly twisting phrases. In the alap’s first half, Dagar’s figures are so intently focused on the lower reaches of the rudra veena’s range that they register more as shudders and moans than melodic patterns. As the performance continues, he slowly climbs in pitch, though continuing with the same intent focus on the articulation of single notes and subtle microtonal variations. This leads to the jod section of the performance, which, though still accompanied only by the tanpura, gradually takes on a more rhythmic character. Developing almost imperceptibly over the course of nearly thirty minutes, the jod moves from the stillness of the opening alap to a rapid pulse that announces the closing section of the piece, where Dagar is joined by Shrikant Mishra on the pakhawaj (a double headed hand drum). Where many performers use the final section of the raga as an exercise in unrestrained virtuosity, Dagar and Mishra subtly weave a web of finely shifting accents and hypnotic melodic variations, bringing the recording to a fitting conclusion while remaining within the meditative space occupied by the performance as a whole. Adorned with beautiful archival photographs of Dagar taken by Swedish percussion legend Bengt Berger and accompanied by detailed notes from Bradford Bailey, Vrindavan 1982 is a stunning document of music unmatched in its patient focus and mysterious emotional depth. .

“A piece of music never truly comes to An end. Revisiting a theme illustrates this idea that life goes on.” These are the words of Wayne Shorter, uttered in 2018 upon the release of Emanon, his final opus. On this record, the octogenarian uses dusky hues to shade in the passions of his youth - drawing and science-fiction, as well as the causes he has defended all his life - the fight against ecological upheaval and structural racism. This sentiment did not fail to resonate with Julien Lourau, who has reached a stage in life where he has begun to look back over certain pages written by the man he has always considered one of the masters of his trade. Five years later, this Parisian native has also chosen to revisit his glory days, offering reworked versions of specific tracks composed by his titular elder throughout the 80s. “When I play this music, I find myself back in my teenage bedroom. These are my standards, and they remind me of autumn in Rambouillet.” At that time, after practising his scales, Julien would also play Dungeons & dragons, and immerse himself in SF as well as heroic fantasy - epic influences which are not without a certain connection to the dreamworlds Shorter conjured up, as another fan of landscapes beyond the grasp of reality.

This album features four themes taken from Atlantis, which came out in 1985, and two from Joy Ryder, released three years later. To these, he has added a composition penned at around the same time for Sportin’ Life, the penultimate LP by Weather Report. This is rounded off by a tune taken

from Native Dancer, the record which, ten years earlier, in 1975, brought together this saxophonist who learnt his trade alongside Art Blakey, before joining Miles’ second quintet, and Brazilian Milton Nascimento.

“Between Native Dancer and Atlantis, Shorter did not release anything under his own name, but he took the time and care to really perfect his writing. Upon his return, he injected a very Brazilian form of subtlety into his compositions, especially rhythmically. And from a harmonic point of view, these themes are extremely sophisticated, and reveal truly singular colours. In fact, he decided to display the score as if it constituted the liner notes of Atlantis.”

Julien Lourau is a fan of every Wayne Shorter era, from his Blue Note days, where Mr Gone defined the bases of a truly unique repertoire, all the way to his final quartet - a reference like no other. He decided to focus on this “highly electric” period, which is not necessarily Shorter’s best known, nor his most widely appreciated - despite being a unanimous reference, Shorter has nonetheless never had a direct descendent. In Lourau’s line of sight there lies a desire to focus on typically South American tonic accents which characterise this repertoire, twinned with the ambition to switch up their actual sound “by attempting to open up onto a production highly influenced by eighties fusion". However, he admits that modifying the structures of these most unique of worlds constituted a fresh challenge. “There’s this labyrinthine harmonic system where you’ve no idea how it holds together, but where it’s actually impossible to touch the slightest element without the whole edifice wavering. It is in fact a very difficult thing to achieve!”

In order to successfully transcribe all this creativity free of obstacles, Julien Lourau once again called upon the help of Mathieu Debordes. From January 2023 onwards, Mathieu endeavoured to break down all the musical elements, on paper, before creating any actual music. The record was therefore constructed on the faith of these scores, without necessarily transiting through a creative residency - just two live gigs, to make sure the setup worked. Besides Mathieu Debordes and his synthesisers, Julien Lourau has assembled an ad hoc team by his side. On the bass, according to the track, we can hear erstwhile companion Sylvain Daniel or a new acolyte on the fretless bass, Joan Eche Puig.

Stéphane Edouard, on percussion, even dives headfirst into an unlikely proto-rap of sorts, on Pearl On The Half Shell (where, on the original version, Bobby McFerrin adjusted his interventions in a rather madcap style). Aesthete and drummer Jim Hart as well as pianist Leo Jassef also figure on this release - both were present on previous project devoted to label

CTI. “At sixteen, I wanted to sound like Michael Brecker rather than Ben Webster - that was equated with modernity in those days”, adds Julien with a smile, as for him, all this rings out a little like a logical next step, a joyful immersion into the fountain of youth. And if, for this record, he plays the soprano more than ever, the saxophone Shorter set in his sights on, he never tries to replicate an unattainable ideal note by note. What would be the point?

“Wayne Shorter is not just a saxophonist’s saxophonist. In fact, I don’t know a single person who has risen to challenge of his solos. I have not done it myself either, but on the other hand, I have retained a lot of his phraseology. His way of approaching the instrument reveals a more evanescent language, a work on colour and shape. Keeping this in mind has allowed me to gravitate towards certain elements, that in hindsight, I find echoes of in my work, even in Groove Gang.” Shorter etches out these phrases, creating a groove within which Lourau had traced subtle punctuation, managing, from a highly written base, to create fresh apertures, promises of a great escape. Emblematic of this standpoint, his regal version of Ponte de Areia, originally a wonderful dialogue between Milton Nascimento and Wayne Shorter. Here, the Frenchman takes liberties with the original melodies, without ever growing distant from the original spirit, extending one section with delicacy, offering a rubato development and then a groove “like a little suite”. Julien Lourau also renews with an accomplice from last century, Magic Malik, who lends his high-pitched vocals to the track. Though they had not recorded together for more than twenty years, the two of them got on as if they had only ceased collaborating yesterday, everything flowed naturally. The track was wrapped up in just one take, much like other themes, such as opener Who Goes There where the flautist deploys smooth, enchanted and smoky wisps.

Fundamentally, reflecting of the sleeve which features a child playing with a ball, image that could symbolise the sun just as much as the moon, Julien Lourau manages to translate the ambiguous candour which characterizes Shorter’s work - solar and crepuscular at the same time, that of a visionary and poet definitively situated outside of all chronology, but with whom Julien shares surprising and ‘timely’ coincidences. Shorter was born August 25, 1933, the same day as Julien’s father, “if we take time zones into account”, and who died on Lourau’s birthday, March 2, 2023. Should we take this as a random fact? Or could we not see here the sign of a destiny connecting the agnostic Frenchman to the man who, as a fervent Buddhist, believed in the transmission of his spiritual flow ?

Perth-born, Naarm-based duo Special Feelings, aka Naomi Robinson and Poli-Pearl, are stepping up on Bradley Zero’s Rhythm Section label with their first long player – released on November 10, 2023. Across its 9-tracks, Special Feelings combines the electrically improvisational feel of live performances, with snappy broken beat-esque percussions and house-inspired looping synth hooks. Tapping into the infectious collaborative spirit of Naarm’s jazz community, Special Feelings are joined by a crew of the city’s rising artists.

Early iterations of Special Feelings’ music drew on psychedelic sun-dappled rock, with Naomi playing guitar and singing alongside Poli-Pearl on the drums. Over the years, this has shapeshifted into Naomi on bass and rhythms, with Poli-Pearl helming synths and keys – rooted in the sounds of Perth’s and London’s jazz of the moment, intertwined with Brainfeeder-nodding electronica. Today, Special Feelings’ influences span from the deep grooves of Moodymann to the freewheeling horns of Emma Jean Thackray to the stepping drums of Kaidi Thatham, and beyond.

Both Naomi and Poli-Pearl are self-taught multi- instrumentalists and producers; Naomi got her start playing in high school dream pop bands, before moving to Naarm to immerse herself in its musical communities, and study classical guitar at the University of Melbourne.

LP - 180 Gram Grey Marble Vinyl / Handnumbered Edition limited to 300 Units Prodigious multi-instrumentalist Nate Wood joins the indefatigably creative partnership forged in New York City by Gilad Hekselman and Will Vinson. Urban Myth is a powerful, diverse but unified set of recordings that combines elements of jazz with pop accessibility and the directness and honesty of folk and delivers a new surprise at every turn. The Jazz Mann gave Trio Grande four stars and wrote about them "The sound of three huge individual talents coming together to create something that is even greater than the sum of its parts."

TVAM announces ‘Costasol’, his new EP for Invada Records. The 10” EP is pressed on translucent blue vinyl, and housed in a reverse board, spined sleeve.  TVAM returns to the sun lounger to deliver a horizontal view from the pool of self-reflection. Joe Oxley, aka TVAM, offers, “‘Costasol’ began life as two atmospheric interludes that I wrote for my last album, ‘High Art Lite’. Over time these ideas took on a life of their own and demanded that I take another look at them. I slowly began putting the pieces together and ended up with a track which became much more than the sum of its parts.” The resultant ‘Costasol’ is a song about longing, loss and regret wrapped-up in heatwave bass and shimmering guitars, all perfectly enhanced by Mona’s dreamlike vocal.  TVAM self-released his much-acclaimed debut, ‘Psychic Data’, in the Autumn of 2018. Something of a cult-classic, the album joined the dots between Suicide’s deconstructed rock ’n’ roll, Boards of Canada’s irresistible nostalgia and My Bloody Valentine’s infinite noise. ‘High Art Lite’, released in October 2022, took a different tilt to its predecessor by emphasising the immediate and the personal. The colours were blown-out and the brightness was cranked up.  It’s in this world where TVAM’s new ‘Costasol’ EP exists. Full of colour and noise, with a vibrant, distorted palette. Though the title track may find a home at some poolside retreat, the subsequent tracks return to TVAM’s claustrophobic realm. ‘Ephemerol’ evokes its own mutant groove, part ‘Midnite Vultures’ Beck, part ‘Pretty Hate Machine’ Nine Inch Nails, with ‘Heart Attack’ and ‘VHF’ rounding off this bold, bright, brief encounter.  Radio - BBC 6 Music Lauren Laverne, New Music Fix, Emily Pilbeam, Amazing Radio B-List.  Tourdates - October 22 SWN Festival Cardiff, November 11 Hebden Bridge Trades Club, 18 What Music? Liverpool.

The Moon Also Rises gathers songs that Johnny and Robert have written together since finishing their first joint album, Lost In The Cedar Wood (2021). At its heart are the oldest themes of all: death and renewal, darkness and light. The first five tracks are songs of burial, shadows and memory, while the final four are songs of awakening, light and love. The album turns around a central song, ‘The Sun Also Rises’, which stands with a foot in both dark and light. * Johnny Flynn's sixth album, and the second co-written with his friend Robert Macfarlane. Out 10th November 2023 on Transgressive * Gathers songs that Johnny and Robert have written together since finishing their first joint album, Lost In The Cedar Wood (2021). At its heart are the oldest themes of all: death and renewal, darkness and light. The first five tracks are songs of burial, shadows and memory, while the final four are songs of awakening, light and love. The album turns around a central song, 'The Sun Also Rises', which stands with a foot in both dark and light * Fuses poetry, story, landscape, history, nature and myth into a series of rich, strange songlines that criss-cross time and place, joining winter to spring, ancient to present and birth to death. As the Sun sets, so the Moon rises as its echo; as one light dies, another, altogether different light is born * Partly recorded in an old Methodist chapel -now the home of Johnny and Rob's friends, Cosmo and Flora Sheldrake * Produced by Charlie Andrew (Alt-J, Marika Hackman)

Hark! Joel Paterson returns to your holiday turntable with "The More The Merrier" (Hi-Fi Christmas Guitar Vol. 2). The guitar wizard from Chicago slides down your chimney once again with this latest program of instrumental gems. Recorded in lifelike "holiday-phonic" high fidelity, these 14 selections are a study in artistry and sound. "The More The Merrier" is a companion piece to the perennial fan-favorite, "Hi-Fi Christmas Guitar". No mere sequel, this new album will soon join its predecessor as an integral part of your holiday gatherings for years to come. This is music to please guitarists, carolers, and hi-fi enthusiasts alike. Limited "Ruby Red" colored vinyl.

Lady Wray released her Piece Of Me album. A deeply personal record that takes on the good and the bad in life from deception and abuse to the joys of motherhood and long awaited professional triumph. The accolades the album has received since its release speak volumes. From performing on The Stephen Colbert Show to selling out multiple US tours to cleaning up in the best of 2022 lists to crushing an NPR Tiny Desk on the 1 year anniversary of the album, Piece Of Me continues to prove itself a timeless classic. In March of 2023, Lady Wray had Ghostface Killah join her on the "Piece Of Me" remix and had Pete Rock lend his legendary remixing skills to "Joy & Pain". Now it's a Big Crown family affair as Les Imprimés lends his production prowess to a remix for "Come On In" and Surprise Chef take the warm weather anthem "Under The Sun" and give it their unorthodox Jazz / Funk treatment. Both of these remixes put brand new energy on the originals that will hold us over while Lady Wray is finishing her new album with El Michels Affair.

180g virgin vinyl limited edition, the complete album + 1 bonus track Big Bill Broonzy was among the finest and most influential of the pre-World War II Chicago bluesmen, bringing the blues to new levels of sophistication. A finger picker and singer without compare, Broonzy combined ragtime and hokum blues with elements of folk, country, and urban sounds in his songs. Big Bill's Blues consists of ten solo recordings made in February 1956 at Philips' studios in Baarn, Holland. Includes the classic "Key to the Highway.

D'Angelo is an American R&B and neo soul singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. His debut solo album, Brown Sugar, released in July 1995, received rave reviews and was certified Platinum in the US. Following this, D'Angelo embarked on a hiatus before releasing Voodoo in January 2000 which debuted at number one, its lead single "Untitled (How Does It Feel)", was a smash on the R&B charts and won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal; likewise, Voodoo won for Best R&B Album. Both albums are pressed as 180g heavyweight LPs and include an audio download voucher.

Lonefront's new label Uncoiled returns with a four track offering featuring two collaborations with Dallas-based producer Decoder. The joint tracks are bookended by explorations in spectral tonality and employ subtle stereo-phonics with euclidean modulations to deliver a techno purity redux. Within, Decoder takes the lead on 'Null' a spacious yet jacking groove fit for peak-time. '56' defies Colundi convention with a monotonic motif before yielding with soft, undulating drones and harmonically-rich stabs.

After holding down a residency at Berlin’s Club der Visionaere for over a decade with their Perfumed Freedom events, dynamic duo Foehn & Jerome look to launch an exciting new record label under the same name. The Berlin based Austrian’s have teamed up for the inaugural release, wandering between tripped out minimalistic vibes with tinges of house textures spread across the record. This is “The Frisbee Of No Return”.

Join Foehn & Jerome as they evolve the Perfumed Freedom journey with their unrivalled chemistry, giving themselves and dedicated artists a platform to express themselves in the years to come.

Assegai is an instrumental rock outfit consisting of saxophone, bass, guitar, and drums. Each member of the group brings a variety of musical influences to the eclectic entanglement that is Assegai’s distinct sound. No matter where you place yourself musically you will always find something to grab your attention in their odd type of instrumental rock. The album Water Worlds and Dry Spells is the product of a mutual pile of ideas; written sketches, memorized conversations, and cell phone recordings which were all collected in a joint cloud folder, and eventually laid the foundation of the compositions. Continuing from their 2020 album Kraal and their 2022 album 53, this release is a further development of the unity that the band have found themselves in, where jazz phrases fuse with krautrock repetition, traditional folk themes, and polyrhythmic structures. The compositions on Water Worlds and Dry Spells showcase the intensity that the band has cultivated during the last couple of years of live performances. On Water World and Dry Spells Assegai acts as the perfect live band for a future abandoned water world

Obliques and Atmospheric are very happy to present their new album “Golden Apples of the Sun”. It is the result of a close cooperation between Suzanne Ciani and Jonathan Fitoussi. The American electronic music pioneer (5 time Grammy award-nominated) has joined the French composer to sign a four-hand album around mythical synthesizers like Buchla, Moog and Ems...

Mainly recorded in California, facing the Pacific Ocean, the white sound of synthesizers mixes constantly with the sound of the waves and wind.The music generated is directly blended with the surrounding elements of nature.It is both organic and live, hypnotic and rhythmical, powerful and dreamlike.

Suzanne is a five-time Grammy award-nominated composer, electronic music pioneer, and neo-classical recording artist who has released over 20 solo albums. Her work has been featured in films, games, and countless commercials as well. She was inducted into the first class of Keyboard Magazine's Hall of Fame alongside other synthluminaries. Most recently, she is the recipient of the Independent Icon Award from A2IM. Suzanne has provided the voice and sounds for Bally's groundbreaking "Xenon" pinball machine, created Coca-Cola’s pop-and-pour sound, designed logos for Fortune 500 companies, and carved out a niche as one of the most creatively successful female composers in the world.

Is it really possible to create without making references? Feeling inspired without being inspired from the outer space ? With this disc, Tushen Raï comes to reconnect with his first passion, collecting records and falling in love with pieces that have unfairly fallen into oblivion, left behind, lost in the meanders of the musical hyper productivity of the 80s and 90s.

As a tribute to these unlucky melodies : he samples, he reinvents, he reconstructs. Not in the hope of giving them a second life, and without the pretention of changing their destiny. But simply to cherish them, to show them his love and his respect for what they are.
As a geographical snub, Tushen Raï chose to invite his neighbors, both producers and friends, to join forces on this trip through Peru, Finland, Italy and France. A singular record like an ode to curiosity, thought under the sign of sharing and respect.

Repress!

Debut single by 'TURBO Q 3000', a project by Turbo Sonidero (Grupo Jejeje / Kumbia Net) & Principe Q (Kumbia All Stars / Royal Highness)

Turbo Sonidero is a music producer and record collector from San Jose, CA who blends Cumbia Sonidera (sound system) with Rap. He is a co-founder of Grupo Jejeje and also the-founder of Kumbia Net/Kumbia Obscura, a collective that promotes new and up-and-coming cumbia producers from Mexico and beyond. Turbo Sonidero is a pioneer who continues to lead the reemergence of cumbia globally. He has been featured in Vogue MX, The New Yorker, Fader, Vice MX, Afropop Worldwide, KQED, and XLR8R, among others.

Music producer/DJ Svani Quintanilla (aka Principe Q) is noted as the creator of "Screwmbia", pioneered by his duo Royal Highness (with DJ King Louie). "Screwmbia" is his modern take on cumbia, blending trap drums with slowed down cumbia rhythms. Bringing cumbia in to the modern times is an homage to his aunt, Selena Quintanilla-Perez, who also did so in the 80's and 90's. He is the oldest son of Kumbia All Star founder A.B. Quintanilla III and has recently joined the band as a percussionist.

Limited to 500 7" copies
Exclusive artwork by Jaime Ruelas

Kalita are proud to present the first ever reissue of Papa Yankson’s highly sought-after 1989 disco-infused highlife masterpiece 'Party Time'! Showcasing the late Ghanaian superstar at his very best, ‘Party Time’ encapsulates the blending of deep, rhythmic West African highlife with synthesizers and electronic styles that had exploded during the decade. Now, thirty-five years after initial release, and with original copies having reached grail status on the second-hand collector’s scene, Kalita brings this phenomenal record back to life, with extensive liner notes detailing Papa Yankson’s musical career.

A recipient of the Grand Medal of Ghana for his contribution to Ghanaian music, Papa Yankson was a key member of C.K. Mann’s Carousel Seven outfit during the 1970s, releasing joint albums together on the infamous Essiebons label to great success.

However, it was at the end of the following decade that Papa released ‘Party Time’, highlighting his forward-thinking musical style with its numerous hypnotic and driving up-tempo disco-soaked highlife cuts. Originally released in a small run on the short-lived Marriot Promotion label, the album features the standouts ‘Wonma Yenko Po’ and ‘Mumumde’, each showcasing deep highlife melodies, heavy drum patterns and phenomenal horn performances from the ingenious Sammy Lartey Jr on saxophone and Nana Asare on trumpet to boot.

With original copies selling for eye-watering amounts on the rare occasion that they come up for sale, the time is ripe for Kalita to celebrate this true Ghanaian 80’s grail, accompanied by liner notes and never-before-seen contemporary photos of Papa Yankson.

It has been five long years since the Brazilian power metal kings Angra released their last album "Ømni". was released. Now the band is finally back with new music and once again proves their exceptional position as unique as unique bands in the genre.
Angra's unmistakable sound - the fusion of classic-virtuosic power metal with progressive with progressive elements and rhythms - comes to its perfect perfect development and makes "Cycles Of Pain" a highlight for every a highlight for every fan of sophisticated,
first-class metal.
The long-standing line-up of the band, which was founded in 1991, is joined has been joined since 2013 by the former Rhapsody of Fire singer Fabio Lione, who again delivers an incredible performance. incredible performance. Mix and mastering of "Cycles Of Pain" were once again done by Dennis Ward (Helloween, Magnum, Firewind).