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The Karnak saga continues with the innovative sound of Rakim Under making waves with four electric tracks. Leek Fel Masry? is born, it is your time Rakim, the new messiah is spreading his word!

Fontaines D.C. kündigen heute ihr mit Spannung erwartetes viertes Album “ROMANCE“ an. “ROMANCE“, das am 23. August über XL Recordings veröffentlicht wird, ist das erste Album der Band mit dem Produzenten James Ford und ohne Zweifel ihr bisher ehrgeizigstes, einfallsreichstes und klanglich abenteuerlichstes Album. Es knüpft an den Erfolg des 2022 erschienenen Albums “Skinty Fia“ an, das in Großbritannien und Irland Platz #1 der Albumcharts erreichte und der Band eine Reihe von Auszeichnungen einbrachte, darunter "International Group of the Year" bei den BRIT Awards 2023. Die explosive Leadsingle "Starburster" läutet die jüngste kreative (R)Evolution von Fontaines D.C. ein. Inspiriert von einer Panikattacke, die Leadsänger Grian Chatten im Londoner Bahnhof St. Pancras erlitt, wird der Song immer wieder durch scharfes und wildes Einatmen unterbrochen. Der treibende Beat und der unerbittliche Text stellen die Selbstzerstörung als Fantasie dar, bevor es einen kurzen Moment ernüchternder Klarheit gibt, wenn das Schlagzeug aussetzt und Chatten vom spuckenden, fast rappenden Gesang beinah in einen Psalm übergeht, dessen Bariton voll und verträumt ist. Begleitet wird der Song von einem filmischen Musikvideo von Regisseur Aube Perrie (Megan Thee Stallion, Harry Styles, The Hives), das die kathartische Intensität des Songs auf brillante Weise einfängt.

You Never End is the third album from Valentina Magaletti, Tom Halstead and Joe Andrews (Moin) out via AD 93 on the 25th October. Its title alone expresses the teetering and shifting nature of both the album and band. This record marks the Moin’s shift into a new phase with vocal collaborations across the album from Olan Monk, james K, Coby Sey and Sophia Al-Maria.

The album’s collaborators all have voices that are alluring in their own right whilst hard to pin down: from james K’s ethereal, reverb drenched vocals, Coby Sey’s words that bounce and echo across London’s concrete streets and Olan Monk’s emotive songwriting, while artist Sophie Al-Maria’s voice and thoughts are known to stretch across her multidisciplinary practice as an artist, filmmaker and writer. The unique mystique of each collaborator is maintained throughout the record while simultaneously opening Moin up to new possibilities, in a gentle shifting alchemy.

Continuing their enigmatic re-configuring of the traditional band, Moin use a mix of conventional and unique production and compositional techniques. Subtly re-framing the current conversation about what band in 2024 needs to be, Moin walk the line between what's reassuringly familiar and what's unsettling and inquisitive. You Never End is a more sensitive record in sentiment, it re-contextualises grunge, shoegaze and indie rock with a weirdly comforting melancholy while still sounding direct and alive.

Showing Moin at their most accessible, the vocal collaborations bring the most articulate moments and lucid emotion while still remaining uniquely within Moin's established world. Alongside this, the record fine tunes the elements of electronic production that have always been a feature of the band's unique sound in a deeply subtle way. Elements are simpler and more direct, offering robust functional support as well as textural and emotional resonance. Together they show the potential for both practices to intertwine.

You Never End is both produced and mixed by Tom and Joe, demonstrating the extended range of control the pair have over the band's sound, and their ability to truly hold together Moin’s intricate world.

Interpol feiert den 20. Jahrestag der Veröffentlichung ihres Kultalbums "Antics", das ursprünglich am 27. September 2004 veröffentlicht wurde. Das zweite Studio-Album der US-Amerikaner festigte Interpols Position als eine der einflussreichsten Bands ihrer Generation. Interpol erlangte mit ihrer einzigartigen Mischung aus Post-Punk, Shoegaze und Dark-Wave-Einflüssen schnell große Bekanntheit. Die düsteren und atmosphärischen Klanglandschaften in "Antics" vereint mit Frontmann Paul Banks unverkennbarer Stimme, brachten darunter Single-Klassiker "Slow Hands", "Evil" und "C"mere" hervor. Zur Feier des 20. Jubiläums von "Antics" veröffentlichen Interpol gemeinsam mit Matador Records eine erweiterte digitale Neuauflage. Diese enthält eine neue B-Seite "Direction" und eine bisher unveröffentlichte komplette Live-Aufnahme des legendären Auftritts der Band 2005 im Palacio de los Deportes in Mexiko-City. In diesem Herbst wird die Band auf Tournee durch die USA, Großbritannien, Irland und der EU gehen. In Deutschland wird man sie an den folgenden Terminen sehen können.

Intrinsic Rhythm is happy to announce a new EP "Is This The End" by label owner and Irish artist Tr One.

The title takes influence on the struggle provided by modern day electronic music and the thoughts on continuing and this EP tries to provide solace in the love and richness that techno and house sounds particularly deeper strains can provide.

The record kicks off with "Conversion" which is an ode to higher tempo Detroit and European techno by working an uplifting string pattern alongside an offbeat loop and MPC workout.

Next up is "Is This Love" where a whimsical vocal sample is built around an acid and bass undercurrent combined with an emotional chord structure.

Starting off the B side is "Sunrise On Juliet" which is an electro and ghettotech influenced rhodes driven house track which takes the listener on a funk driven journey.

Next is "Steroid" where classic Detroit sounds meets UK influenced house music driven by a hypnotic string and bass pattern.

Finally "Phone Voice" finishes the EP with a murky and hypnotic 909 driven house track which aims to transport the listener to a dream like state.

Limited to 125 vinyl copies with no repress"

Keeping the vault classic spirit alive, SFR Records is proud to present Julio J’s Rhythm Vault. We kick offthe series release with four tracks from the Vault on Vinyl 12” available now.

When the quartet of Luke Martin, Gabriel Salomon, Klaus Janek and Andy Graydon gathered to record an afternoon of sessions in Andy's studio, it was both the result of years of cultivation and an afterthought. Klaus and Andy had been long-time, and now long-distance, collaborators since their shared years in Berlin. That city was also where Andy was introduced to Gabriel at one of his solo performances by their mutual friend, the painter Paul McDevitt. Years passed, and cities. After meeting and working together in Boston, Luke and Andy both found themselves transplanted to Minneapolis. And by happenstance Gabriel arrived a few years later. A new conversation was just starting to emerge when Klaus announced his arrival, stopping by on a North American tour. Suddenly the four got a chance to listen and play together performing on a bill at a local gallery, in one configuration or another, for the first time. Packing up after that show, Klaus leaned over to ask, "isn't there a moment we could meet again, to play?"

Nothing was expected, and so anything was possible. The circumstances lent their gathering an impromptu but grounded feeling, a unique mix of chance encounter and reunion. As befits an opening encounter, the focus was as often on listening to the unfolding sonic conversation as it was on making a recording. Everyone seemed to intuit the direction despite not knowing where they were headed. The four faced each other in a loose circle surrounded by speakers and microphones pointed haphazardly, as likely to catch the dog padding around curiously as the bowing of strings or rattling of a cymbal. The permissive spirit of the day was declared early, just before rolling, when Gabriel asked if we should close the studio windows or leave them open. "You know what my answer is," replied Luke. If it's in the nature of a recording to become fixed, to be bottled up, let us at least leave open the windows to hear what might be coming next.

As with most things, this project started with a conversation in the pub between me and Martin.

As we discussed what J-Walk and BiD could do next we chatted about our mutual love of DIY, Post Punk, Reggae, Digital & Dub, how about using that feel as an initial jump off on the next thing and see how you get on? I suggested.
As is his way Martin considered the suggestion, then promptly disappeared, 6 weeks later something landed in my inbox, it was titled Broken Beauty and the music contained embraced all those symbiotic ideals and culture.
Nailed it!
Recorded entirely in Stockport using a mixed kit bag of cheap forgotten keyboards, guitar, bass and effects pedals, this LP takes the J-Walk aesthetic and applies the wider palette of these influences to create something unique, those past and present influences forged together to bring you something truly DIY - instructions below.
How To Make Such A Thing...

Deactivate social media. Ignore the internet, don't answer text messages, avoid other music, the telly and other people. This is a process where it's only you in the room with whatever's in your mind. You will be there for some time and the loneliness can hurt a little.

Forget any predetermined ideas. Forget everything you've ever done before. This is an opportunity to start from scratch, but with years of accumulated knowledge and craftsmanship. Trust yourself.
Be scared. Be excited about not knowing what will happen and what will result.

Don't use midi sequencing, virtual instruments or samples. Just plug a toy instrument into an amp, press a rhythm and play around to see what happens. If it sounds good and fresh then record it. Plug a bass in to jam around and you'll soon hear and feel what sits in the pocket of the beat. Record it as it is. Dirty is real and good. Cleanliness equals sterility. Loop the bassline. Plug a guitar in and do the same.

Don't think when doing any of this. Just experiment with interest and curiosity and the music will take care of itself. You will now have a groove which is also about half a song minimum. Play some keys from the toys on top of what you have. Put 'em through effects pedals. Again, don't overthink it and don't try to get it clean. Add sound effects in right and random places.

There you go. Something you've never made before. But more importantly, it's something you've never heard before.

You don't have to die to be reincarnated.

BROKEN BEAUTY...You can't be either without also having been the other.

Repress!

"Without pausing for breath and hot on the heels of their exhilarating debut album 5, the elusive Sault return with their sophomore full length titled 7. The signature hybrid of funk, dance, post-punk, soul and disco is front and centre once again, confidently delivered with their typical fearless nature. If 5 had you out of your seat, 7 will have you dancing in the streets....Spread the word, Sault are back at it!"

Dean Josiah Cover aka Inflo has been composing for Michael Kiwanuka, The Kooks, Tom Odell, The Jungle and Little Simz

Christmas Time with the Judds is the fourth studio album by country duo the Judds. Now available on Opaque White Vinyl; originally released on September 29, 1987 by Curb Records/RCA Records. It was produced by Brent Maher who had produced the first three Judds albums. Christmas Time was the duo's first collection of Christmas music released in a full-length album and includes the standout recordings of "What Child Is This" and "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" as well as the original recording of "Who Is This Babe" which was composed by Don Potter.

Phenomenal ambient explorations from the talented French electronic producer

Music taken from the artistic performance led by visual artists Mark Pozlep and Maxime Berthou.
The new compositions by French electronic producer Julien Jabre illustrate the stunning visuals of the Franco-Slovenian duo.
Julien Jabre’s Soutien De Famille sees him exploring the subtle gaps and nuances of his past work, crafting ten tracks of low-lit ambient textures and non-percussive rhythms.
A deeply introspective listening experience, Soutien De Famille unfolds at times like the breathless pause before a storm’s fury, and at others like the serene hush of meditative calm, where time itself lingers in a quiet wave.
It's as if Julien Jabre’s compositions whisper the promise of clarity after chaos where every note breathes reflection into the vast expanse of possibility.

Limited Edition - 300 copies.

Auf dieser Tribute-Compilation finden sich Interpretationen von Margo-Guryan-Songs von TOPS, Rahill, Clairo, June McDoom, MUNYA und Kainalu, Frankie Cosmos und Good Morning, Kate Bollinger, Pearl & The Oysters, Bedouine und Sylvie, Empress Of, Barrie, und Margo Price. Die meisten unserer Geschichten über Kultmusiker, die ein oder zwei Alben machen und dann zu verschwinden scheinen, sind von Trauer, Verzweiflung und ausgefranstem Ehrgeiz umrahmt. Nicht so bei Margo Guryan, einer begeisterten Jazz-Ausnahmeerscheinung, die Popmusik verachtete, bis sie 1966 „God Only Knows“ hörte, das ihr ein Fenster zu den Wundern öffnete, die diese Musik-Form enthalten konnte. Nur zwei Jahre später veröffentlichte sie auf dem Album „Take a Picture“ ihre eigenen kleinen Popsinfonien und erntete dafür großes Lob und hohe Erwartungen. Aber da sie sich bereits von dem Posaunisten Bob Brookmeyer hatte scheiden lassen, lehnte sie es ab, ein Musikerleben zu führen und auf Tournee zu gehen oder auch nur darüber zu sprechen. Ihre Zurückhaltung führte dazu, dass „Take a Picture“ bald in den Regalen der Discounter und letztlich in den Mülleimern landete. Sie schrieb weiterhin Songs und nahm noch jahrelang auf, arbeitete sogar mit der Band von Neil Diamond zusammen, aber meistens schien sie mit ihrem relativ privaten Leben zufrieden zu sein. Wie es sich für eine so atemberaubende und subtile Musik gehört, erlebte die 2021 verstorbene Guryan in den letzten sechs Jahrzehnten mehrere Wiederauferstehungen. Und jetzt geschieht es wieder: Kurz nachdem ihre fast geflüsterte und liebeskranke Hymne „Why Do I Cry“ sie 2021, im selben Jahr, in dem sie starb, zum TikTok-Star machte, startete die Numero Group eine Wiederveröffentlichungskampagne, aus der 2024 das hochgelobte Set „Words and Music“ hervorging. Und jetzt haben ein Dutzend Künstler - von denen keiner geboren war, als „Take a Picture“ entstand - das gesamte Album (plus einen Bonustrack) für „Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan“ neu interpretiert. Empress Of, Margo Price, Clairo, June McDoom: Sie alle bestätigen Guryans Schärfe als Songwriterin und die Brillanz eines Albums, das den Werbezyklus, den Guryan vor so langer Zeit ablehnte, bei weitem übertroffen hat. Guryan wurde in einer weitläufigen Familie in Far Rockaway geboren, als der Ort noch größtenteils von Bäumen umrahmt war. Während ihres Kompositionsstudiums an der Boston University stolperte Guryan in einen Auftritt als Pianistin zwischen den Konzerten des Miles Davis Quintet, unterschrieb einen Vertrag als Songwriterin bei Atlantic Records und verpatzte eine Session mit Nesuhi Ertegun. Aber sie war nicht darauf aus, ein Gesangsstar zu werden. 1959 ging sie an die Lenox School of Jazz in den Berkshires, um für Ornette Coleman und Don Cherry zu schreiben, die Aufmerksamkeit des Dozenten Max Roach zu gewinnen und in Gunther Schuller einen langjährigen Mentor und Freund zu finden. Sie wurde eine versierte Texterin und schrieb nicht nur für Coleman und Nancy Harrow, sondern auch für Harry Belafonte und Gary MacFarland. Aber es war die spätere Begegnung mit den Beach Boys, die Guryan die Tür zu „Take a Picture“ und einer Reihe anderer großartiger Songs öffnete, von denen viele auf „Words and Music“ erschienen sind. „Take a Picture“ ist eine ausgefeilte Bestandsaufnahme der Romantik und Unentschlossenheit der Mittzwanziger, vom koketten Treiben in „Sunday Morning“ und der Verliebtheit in „Can You Tell“ bis zur verzweifelten Hilflosigkeit in „What Can I Give You“. Ihre ewig weiche Stimme, ihre kühne Songkunst und ihre völlige Offenheit: Guryan machte 1968 und darüber hinaus gewagte Musik, egal wie sanft sich diese Klänge zu bewegen schienen. „Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan“ unterstreicht die Stärke von Guryans Liedern, indem es einem Dutzend verschiedener Künstler erlaubt, sie auf ihre eigene Reise mitzunehmen. Im Laufe der letzten Jahrzehnte ist immer deutlicher geworden, wie gut Guryan war, wie stabil ihre Lieder inmitten der wechselnden Geschmacksrichtungen. „Like Someone I Know: A Celebration of Margo Guryan“ ist eine absolute Bestätigung, ein Zeugnis für die anhaltende Relevanz und Brillanz von Guryans Arbeit. Ein Teil des Erlöses dieses Albums wird für die Bereitstellung von und den Einsatz für erschwingliche reproduktive Gesundheitsdienste gespendet.

Originally released as a nine-track LP on Bobbito Garcia’s legendary Fondle 'Em Records in 1996, the Juggaknots’ debut made a massive impact and it remains one of the most revered and groundbreaking releases of the ‘90s independent hip-hop scene.

Ahead of their time, the sibling trio of Breeze Brewin, Queen Herawin and Buddy Slim deftly combine their knack for braggadocio, humor and social commentary with thick, low-end heavy beats for their inaugural effort. It’s an album that helped lay the bedrock for what would become the alternative hip-hop subgenre that thrives today.

Re:Release presents their original debut LP in a whole new light with 11 additional tracks comprising re-mastered music and three bonus mixes. This special edition 2XLP is presented in an alternate cover, gatefold jacket with a six panel insert that contains full album liners, song lyrics, and a forward by Bobbito García a.ka. Kool Bob Love.

In a world of division, BEÃTFÓØT’s delayed second album is as an invitation to unite at a utopian celebration of life. Originally scheduled for release in October 2023 but postponed due to the ongoing Israel/Palestine war, the intrinsically-political ‘TOO CUTE’ has taken on more prominence than the Tel Aviv duo of Udi Naor and Adi Bronicki could have imagined.
“It's more urgent than ever for us to share this now, even though the album has been ready for a while,” says producer Naor. “BEÃTFÓØT are against any war, and believe that people should talk and not use violence - never,” he adds vehemently. “We feel the pain of Palestinians and Israeli loss of life, and are devastated by it. We hope the war will be finished soon and that peace and prosperity will come soon for both sides.”
While both Naor and vocalist Bronicki have been active in protests, charity work and community efforts over the past year - explicitly against the current government in Israel - such values of peace, acceptance, coexistence, inclusiveness and anti-hate from all sides are further instilled in the songs that form ‘TOO CUTE’.
“We're really trying to highlight that there are people here working tirelessly for a brighter future for our ill kids and our neighbour’s kids,” adds Naor, who is also co-founder of techno duo Red Axes. Having had to flee the country with his family, it’s through music that Naor and Bronicki have found hope.
In light of such conflict, the multi-layered yet sonically-bonkers record also enables escapism, which is needed more now than ever. Following their self-titled 2021 debut (released on DJ Tennis’ label Life and Death), ‘TOO CUTE’ is a refreshingly-ridiculous dark-rave rollercoaster which careers between hard-dance, big-beat, post-punk, techno, hyperpop, country and everything in between.
Things blast off at breakneck speed with the chaotic title track’s hyperpop snares, instantly-catchy lyrics (which feel ominously striking considering the war) and a stadium-ready chorus that erupts into rolling breakbeats, punishing EDM and even a nod to The Bloodhound Gang’s ‘The Magic Touch’. Somehow, we’re just three minutes into the record.
The tongue-in-cheek ‘HEART OF LEAD (TAKE IT OFF)’ still bangs despite its silliness, like if Kero Kero Bonito got in the studio with will.i.am. Later, ‘LEO’S SONG (THE SOCIAL MEDIA GUY)’s wittily satirical one-liners - “I just wanna get high with AI” - come thick and fast amid a barrage of glitches and guitars. ‘SUKC MY DIKC !!!’, meanwhile, pairs flute with pulsing hardstyle beats.
While their first record’s experimental explosion captured the pure carnage and energy of the BEÃTFÓØT universe in a conceptual fashion (though remaining polished in its own way), album two is primed to connect with a bigger audience thanks to its pop melodies, structures and songwriting.

Much of ‘TOO CUTE’ was written while the duo toured Europe for the first time, with rough sketches of tracks created in the moment during their incendiary live shows, and then recorded in planes and cars.
If their first record was a case of testing the vibes, album two is more assured and confident within their sonic world. “In the first album, we stepped into the club, metaphorically, and started making eye contact with everyone to figure out the energy,” Bronicki says. “But, this time round, I already had an idea of the story that I wanted to tell to these random people.”
And what is that story? “Radical silliness, or radical fun – that’s the essence of BEÃTFÓØT,” Naor confirms. “What we really want to do is goof around and have fun, and that brings out something very profound and honest,” he explains. A sense of nostalgic freedom is also at the album’s core, thanks to the removal of adult predetermined social constructs that decide how people should behave or look. “There’s a very honest and positive energy in holding onto your childlike wonder and trying to explore that with others,” Bronicki suggests, adding that “the adult world can be so wrong and angering”.
She feels this relates to both the album’s lyrics and the artistic state of mind that the duo always work to: “the goal is to feed a really thought-out and profound idea, but through a playful spoon,” she says. With this in mind, the recurring theme of ‘TOO CUTE’ stems from the duo’s “radical and lived experience of existing in a place that holds a lot of guilt and fear – because death is so imminent and prevalent in a very confronting way”. This is clearly represented on ‘FOOTYLICIOU$’, on which Bronicki screams “someone’s gonna die tonight!” before emphatically shouting “NOT ME!”
The album title is BEÃTFÓØT’s response to that: “We want to be a celebration of life, and that applies to all lives, of all backgrounds, including animals… that’s our guiding light,” Bronicki says.
“We create in the context of living in a country where the current government’s anti-democratic measures are limiting who is included in the celebration of life. Because different people are always being pushed out and excluded: whether it’s queers, Palestinians or people from different religions.”
BEÃTFÓØT - who have found a home among the LGBTQIA+ community - are fighting back against oppression. “We want everybody to come to the party and celebrate life together,” says Naor, setting out his and Bronicki’s mission… “and our goal is to widen that party as wide as it can go.”




c MANIAC ft. Princess Rani

e WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL MY LIFE ft. Bugle Boy



c MANIAC ft. Princess Rani

[e] WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL MY LIFE [ft. Bugle Boy]



[c] MANIAC [ft. Princess Rani]

[e] WHERE HAVE I BEEN ALL MY LIFE [ft. Bugle Boy]

"SKANLESS SUMMER: 80Z BABYZ (RE-ROCK EDITION)" takes you on a nostalgic yet groundbreaking musical journey, masterfully curated by the LA up-and-coming star T.F. In this innovative album, T.F. seamlessly fuses the raw energy of 80s hip-hop with contemporary beats, re-rocked by Local Astronauts, redefining the very essence of rap music and featuring guest appearances by Larry June, Jay Worthy, Flee Lord, Tiona Deniece and more!

"‘I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You’ runs the stylistic gambit without feeling Franklin is doing things just for show. The album isn’t trying to function as a resumé of her skills. Genre shifts feel organic and natural. “Don’t Let Me Lose This Dream” is built on a bossa nova groove, while “Do Right Woman Do Right Man” has a little country ballad flavor. “Dr Feelgood (Love Is A Serious Business)”—one of four songs penned by Franklin herself—is a bluesy belter. She might have been Queen of the genre, but pigeonholing Franklin in soul is like calling Sugar Ray Leonard just a welterweight. She could shuffle through styles as smooth as velvet. Everything is stamped with her own distinct character."

Spyro Gyra, a jazz fusion band from Buffalo, NY formed in 1974 and created the framework for contemporary jazz in the 80s and 90s. Celebrating this milestone 50th anniversary of the band's formation, comes Jubilee, a new collection featuring 16 songs that capture the band's ever-expanding palette in its first decade of recording (1978-87) and includes fan favorites "Shaker Song", "Morning Dance" which have had chart success in multiple countries plus tracks the band continues to perform across the globe.

The new LP and CD contains never before seen photos from the band's early days and more recent world tours, liner notes from veteran music journalist Jonathan Widran and a newly recorded song, "50/50" - a riff on the title of the band's 1997 release 20/20, which marked 20 years and 20 albums.

When the then 21-year old Mac DeMarco released his debut Rock and Roll Night Club 12" just a short while ago in the Spring of 2012, it was accompanied by a barrage of bizarrely funny promo videos, wildly unhinged live performances and a not-so-subtle disparate range of promo photos. The glam facade was purely that, an image that was manufactured for fun to confuse the stiff and compartmentalizing world of indie music journalists. But it wasn't all a jest, as that EP covered a whole range of music styles that were latent in the ex-Makeout Videotape frontman's already impressive slough of cassette-only releases. The sincere and warm Mac who sang "Only You" was the same lipstick-wearing sleazoid that crooned "Baby's Wearing Blue Jeans" and that suited him and his listeners just fine. Now, all of six months later, Mac is back with his first proper full length, Mac DeMarco 2. As opposed to RNRNC, "2" is a concerted effort to produce a cohesive work that showcases Mac's natural ability as a songwriter, singer and producer. With a new arsenal of recording gear, the fidelity has substantially improved without compromising the immediacy and organic quality of his prior releases under any monicker. The results are immediately rewarding, from the warm "Cooking Up Something Good" to the heartfelt "My Kind of Woman." It's obvious Mac is presenting himself musically in the most sincere way possible, no matter what happens in his wild videos or live shows. "Freaking out the Neighborhood," Mac's apologetic ode to his loved ones about such public behavior, shows that Mac DeMarco is still with us, coming along for the ride, getting everyone else in trouble. Even so, the maturation process of Mac DeMarco, recording artist, is in full swing. He did, after all, turn 22 this April.

Before you ancients out there turn your heads and scoff at the premise of a twenty-something rock-and-roll goofball calling himself an old-anything, consider this: Mac DeMarco has spent the better part of his time thus far writing, recording, and releasing an album of his own music pretty much every calendar flip. This Old Dog makes for his fifth in just over half a decade_bringing the total to 3 LPs and 2 EPs. According to the DMV, DeMarco is 26. But in working-dog years, ol' Mac here could easily qualify for social security. To stay gold, turns out all he needed was some new tricks. It was a little space_in time, location, and method_that inspired DeMarco while making the record. Moving from his isolated Queens home to a house in Los Angeles helped give the somewhat transient Canada-native a base, and a few more months on his calendar to create did their job as well. Arriving in California with a grip of demos he'd written in New York, he realized after a few months of setting up his new shop_complete with a few new toys_that the gap was giving him perspective (insert tooth joke here). Right off the bat, from the pops and clicks of the CR-78 drum machine and acoustic strums on the album-opening "My Old Man," the synth-drenched beauty of the second track, "This Old Dog," it's clear that DeMarco's bag is filled with new tricks indeed. This Old Dog is rooted more in a synth-base than any of his previous releases, but he is careful not to let that tactic overshadow the other instruments and overall "unplugged" mood of the work: "This is my acoustic album, but it's not really an acoustic album at all. That's just what it feels like, mostly," says DeMarco. Despite the changes considered during the creation of This Old Dog, Mac DeMarco's mid-twenties masterpiece, it's clear that the engine that motors him is in no danger of slowing down.

Nachdem sich die ungewöhnliche Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem John Coltrane Quartett und Johnny Hartman überraschend als Riesenerfolg erwiesen hatte, produzierte Bob Thiele mit dem auf Balladen spezialisierten Baritonsänger zwei Soloalben für Impulse! Records. Auf “I Just Dropped By To Say Hello” ist
Hartman - unterstützt von einer sechsköpfigen All-Star-Besetzung - mit einem Repertoire zu hören, das
ihm auf den Leib, oder besser: die samtige Stimme geschneidert schien.

PRESENTED FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON VINYL AS A DOUBLE LP IN A GOLD VINYL PRESSING WITH A FOLD-OUT INSERT

As music fans know, James Brown wasn't just the greatest funk and soul singer the world has ever seen - he was also a musical visionary and businessman, who surrounded himself with geniuses who made him better and pushed him further. From horn masters Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis to vocalists Lyn Collins and Bobby Byrd, Brown was a musical A & R master, restless and always looking for the next big thing. Most times, that would manifest in the latest James Brown smash under his own name. But not always. His stable of talent was overflowing in the 60s and 70s, and, thankfully, the tape machine in his studio was always rolling. Originally released in 1988, during the era of hip-hop's golden age of sampling, it's no surprise that just about every note heard in this incredible collection has been used on not one, but multiple rap classics. Which, at the time, was proof of Brown's (and his crew's) staying power. But we are over three decades beyond those days now, and it has lost none of its musical potency. Diving deeper into the vaults than the also-incredible Part 1 of the Funky People series, there is not a weak track in the bunch. Moving beyond well-known JBs cuts, things get interesting from the get-go with Bobby Byrd's monumental groove "I Know You Got Soul". Hank Ballard and Marva Whitney also enter the fray, leading the way to Myra Barnes's emotional and powerful "Message From The Soul Sisters (Parts 1 & 2)" and Lyn Collins's slow, smoldering cover of Isaac Haye's "Do Your Thing." Politics even get the funky soul treatment, with Fred Wesley & The JBs "You Can Have Watergate But Gimme Some Bucks And I'll Be Straight" and "I'm Paying Taxes, But What Am I Buying?" And it should not be overlooked that Maceo & The Macks instrumental workout "Soul Power ‘74" even features a proto-sampling snippet from MLK’s I’ve Been To The Mountaintop speech from 1968. This is another amazing collection of James Brown's funky friends, without one second of filler, brought to you as a glorious 2-LP gatefold by your friends at Get On Down.

For fans of The Stray Cats, Brian Setzer, Swing and Big Band! The Brian Setzer Orchestra (sometimes known by its initials BSO) is a swing and jump blues band formed in 1992 by Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer. In 1994 they released their debut album which was followed up in 1996 with Guitar Slinger. In 1998, for their breakout album The Dirty Boogie, the group covered Louis Prima's "Jump, Jive an' Wail", which originally appeared on Prima's 1957 album The Wildest!. The BSO's follow up single, appearing on the album Vavoom!, was "Gettin' in the Mood." Now get Guitar Slinger from the Brian Setzer Orchestra for the first time on vinyl since 1996. Remastered on 180g vinyl in an amazing limited- edition color. There are only 700 of the Silver Melt. Guitar Slinger is the second release from the Brian Setzer Orchestra and where the band really started to come together. The album leads off with "The House Is Rockin'" and features the Brian Setzer/Joe Strummer (The Clash) penned tracks "Ghost Radio" and "Sammy Davis City". There are 12 tracks in all, and it clocks in at just over 43 minutes. This is the first in a series of three reissues coming from Deko Entertainment with The Dirty Boogie scheduled to also hit by the end of 2024, with Vavoom! to follow in early 2025.

Ltd White Vinyl, DL card. 1992's 'Untitled' brought the band's third album that re-cemented the duo once again as the progenitors of the "lo-fi" genre. This breakthrough set transitioned "The Trux" into a never ending all-inclusive rotating cast of musicians. Continuing Fire Records' series of classic remastered albums from Royal Trux, 'Untitled' is released on white vinyl and features updated monochrome and silver artwork. As unpredictable as ever, Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema shook off the next level layering and noise of 'Twin Infinitives' to embrace the history of rock 'n' roll in all its deformed grandeur. Utilizing their ever present mind set of macro-inclusivity, they allowed the subconscious "radio stations" of their lives to infiltrate, lead, and dictate. Culling from their collective minds and memories twisted tunes that touched them. After the blood rush of their much-hailed avant-garde masterpiece 'Twin Infinitives' (1988), this eight-song opus added to the lo-fi genre that originated on 'Twin Infinitives'. On 'Untitled' Hagerty uses his 5-string blues roots and hails rock's twisted potential, while Herrema slurs and snarls in ecstasy. They sound like they're locked in a fourth-floor boudoir at the Chelsea Hotel; bottles clink, an album clicks on its run-out groove, the band plays on. In the mix are the characters and casualties of the 90s, a roll call of swaggering misfits. These aren't superficial sketches, the Trux cut much deeper than that_ "'Junkie Nurse' isn't just about addiction; it's about the twisted hope that even the most broken people can somehow mend others, even when they're falling apart themselves." Jennifer Herrema, Royal Trux. With 'Untitled' Royal Trux justifiably increased their coterie of convicted followers, becoming the cult heroes for a transgressive generation, and the Rosetta Stone for male/female duos (ie:The White Stripes, The Kills etc... ) over the years inspiring everyone from The Silver Jews (David Berman) & Sonic Youth through to melodic blue-eyed soulsters like Hot Chip - "I urge and encourage you to enter the harmolodic multiverse of their music." Alexis Taylor, Hot Chip. "Royal Trux were nothing if not fearless." Pitchfork.

Alkalino's follow up to the 2021 release of the second installment of the Make Up series comes with all original production from the man himself.

The first comes as the thumping tribal vibe sounds of "get ready' with the second on the A-side is a banger with 'Heavy as stone' with it's lush vocals that would work in any set. On the flip, 'Jack area' is classic sounding body jacking music that'll make you do just that. jack your body. and rounding out the ep is the gritty bass of 'reproduction'. This latest installment from Alkalino is a true testiment that he is a true master of making you dance.

The Rills haben sicherlich ein oder zwei Häute abgestreift, um diesen Punkt am Vorabend ihres spritzigen Debütalbums zu erreichen. Produziert von Dave McCracken (Indie-Mastermind hinter Ian Brown, dEUS, The Rifles), nehmen diese drei jungen Freunde auf "Don't Be A Stranger" die ungenutzte Energie, die sie zu viralen Sensationen und Lieblingen der Grassroots-Szene gemacht hat, und verwandeln sie in etwas Überlegteres, Vollständigeres und Herzlicheres.

- "The Rills sind eine Mischung aus einer Northern Oasis inspirierten und einer trendy Post-Punk-Band aus London. Damit schafften sie es nicht nur mit ihrer Musik, sondern auch über Tiktok zu begeistern." - Budde Talent Agency (Tourveranstalter)

Remastered Deluxe-Format zum 25-jährigen Jubiläum des legendären Debütalbums der US-Indie-Band American Football. Die Band brillierte mit einem Slowcore-Sound zwischen Math- und Post-Rock, löste sich aber kurz danach auf, um sich mit einer Reissue dieser LP 2014 wieder zu vereinen. Im Zuge der zweiten Emo-Welle entfaltete das Album eine ungeahnte Wirkung: Für Pitchfork "beste Neuauflage" und "einflussreichstes Album des Genres", für den Rolling Stone #6 der "40 besten Emo-Alben aller Zeiten". Das neue Format ist remastert und erscheint auf silberfarbigem Doppelvinyl mit 24-seitigem Booklet und Download-Card im Gatefold-Sleeve mit neuem Artwork in Silberfolienprägung.

The Twilight Sad feiern das 15-jährige Jubiläum ihres zweiten Studioalbums 'Forget The Night Ahead' mit einer sehnsüchtig erwarteten Vinyl-Wiederveröffentlichung, die eine neue Variante des Originalartworks enthält.

'Forget The Night Ahead' ist ein noch düstereres Werk als sein gefeierter Vorgänger 'Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters', wobei James Grahams unheimliches Talent für beunruhigende Lyrics, die er mit seiner ureigenen kaledonischen Stimme vorträgt, weiterhin gut zur Geltung kommt.

Produziert von Gitarrist Andy MacFarlane und aufgenommen und abgemischt von Paul Savage in den Chem19 Studios in Schottland, enthält das Album die Singles 'I Became a Prostitute', 'Seven Years of Letters' und 'The Room'.

- Ltd. 2LP: (Schwarzes Vinyl)

The Twilight Sad feiern das 10-jährige Jubiläum ihres gefeierten vierten Studioalbums 'Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave' mit einer speziellen, limitierten 'Demos'-Version.

'Nobody Wants To Be Here And Nobody Wants To Leave - Demos' enthält ein komplettes Album mit Demotracks und den ursprünglichen Arbeitstiteln, die in Vorbereitung auf die offizielle Version des Albums aufgenommen wurden.

- Ltd. LP: (Schwarzes Vinyl)

Die Pop-Punk-Band State Champ kündigt ihr fünftes Album an:
Das sebstbetitelte Album State Champs sprudelt mit der Energie von The Finer Things (2013), Around the World and Back (2015) und Living Proof
(2018). Es baut auf der Grundlage von Kings of the New Age (2022) auf. Das geliebte Post-Pandemic-Album bewies, dass die Band überleben wird.
State Champs lässt sie nun aufblühen.
Songs wie „Silver Cloud“, „Clueless“, „Sobering“, „Tight Grip“, „I Still Want To“ und „Golden Years“ explodieren mit energiegeladener,
leidenschaftlicher und klug konstruierter Präzision. Obwohl die Produktion groß, fett und ausgefeilt ist, klingt sie dennoch wie eine Band, die
zusammen in einem Raum sitzt oder die Bühne teilt.

Area Silenzio is eat-girls" debut record and it is both haunted and haunting. For the past four years, the French trio have been crafting their songs into little self-contained worlds with the patience of entomologists, taking them out all over the country and Europe to confront them with the wilderness of a live audience. The ten resulting tracks are a collection of electronic madrigals, groove-driven songs played on a mischievous multi-speed Victrola, ranging from languid dub drips to full-on drum machine cavalcades. Their live performances have that same ghostly, ephemeral quality. There is something other-worldy about the three of them, a suggestion of telepathy, their three voices blending together or going their separate ways like a flock of starlings. They secured opening slots with artists as different as Thalia Zedek, Exek and The Young Gods, just to name a few. It is the elusive essence of their music that allows them to feel at ease pretty much anywhere they find themselves: part no-wave disco rhythms, part post-punk throbbing basses, folk tunes and synthesizers in equal measures, with a perpetual attention to hooks and melodies. The album was self-recorded, a necessary measure to protect the delicate nature of the inner landscapes painted by the band. In this case "delicate" does not mean "soft" by any means: the industrial disco inferno of "A Kin", the ritualistic kraut stampede of "Para Los Pies Cansados" and the bubbly post-funk rhythms of "Trauschaft" will leave you gasping for air once you come out on the other side. "On a Crooked Swing", the opener, is all arpeggiated bass and stumbling kicks. "Unison" will dip you into a hallucinatory river where nothing is what it seems to be and rescue you at the very last second. "Canine", the first single off the record, will gently but firmly reach for your jugular with its vulpine Farfisa and deceptively nonchalant drum beat. The vocal polyphonies on "3 Omens" sound like a field recording of traditional music from a tiny country that has yet to be discovered. eat-girls exist on a slightly different plane from ours, where everything is teeming with secrets and hidden life. Area Silenzio is a precious polaroid shot from that world, or, as Tom Verlaine would have it, "a souvenir from a dream".

Area Silenzio is eat-girls" debut record and it is both haunted and haunting. For the past four years, the French trio have been crafting their songs into little self-contained worlds with the patience of entomologists, taking them out all over the country and Europe to confront them with the wilderness of a live audience. The ten resulting tracks are a collection of electronic madrigals, groove-driven songs played on a mischievous multi-speed Victrola, ranging from languid dub drips to full-on drum machine cavalcades. Their live performances have that same ghostly, ephemeral quality. There is something other-worldy about the three of them, a suggestion of telepathy, their three voices blending together or going their separate ways like a flock of starlings. They secured opening slots with artists as different as Thalia Zedek, Exek and The Young Gods, just to name a few. It is the elusive essence of their music that allows them to feel at ease pretty much anywhere they find themselves: part no-wave disco rhythms, part post-punk throbbing basses, folk tunes and synthesizers in equal measures, with a perpetual attention to hooks and melodies. The album was self-recorded, a necessary measure to protect the delicate nature of the inner landscapes painted by the band. In this case "delicate" does not mean "soft" by any means: the industrial disco inferno of "A Kin", the ritualistic kraut stampede of "Para Los Pies Cansados" and the bubbly post-funk rhythms of "Trauschaft" will leave you gasping for air once you come out on the other side. "On a Crooked Swing", the opener, is all arpeggiated bass and stumbling kicks. "Unison" will dip you into a hallucinatory river where nothing is what it seems to be and rescue you at the very last second. "Canine", the first single off the record, will gently but firmly reach for your jugular with its vulpine Farfisa and deceptively nonchalant drum beat. The vocal polyphonies on "3 Omens" sound like a field recording of traditional music from a tiny country that has yet to be discovered. eat-girls exist on a slightly different plane from ours, where everything is teeming with secrets and hidden life. Area Silenzio is a precious polaroid shot from that world, or, as Tom Verlaine would have it, "a souvenir from a dream".

The seeds of composer Rafael Anton Irisarri’s latest LP were first planted during his 2016 tour in Italy, months before that Autumn’s unexpected presidential election. The linguistic glitch of an innocuous diner in Milan named “il Mito Americano” – meant as “The American Dream” but translated literally to English as “The American Myth” – sparked a series of ideas, both conceptual and musical.

Amid the chaos of 2020, while exploring the stark world of brutalist architecture and inspired by the false fronts of Potemkin villages, a vision started to take shape: FAÇADISMS. Composed over three years, it’s a late capitalist lament of simmering electric despondency.

Irisarri’s obsession with repeating motifs mirrors the cyclical nature of our tumultuous political history. The album’s eight tracks heave and storm like a tempest being drained of its rage. This is the sound of majestic dissipation, of morning afters, fashioned from a mournful haze with cavernous guitars and granular twilight. A euphony of a receding tide as one sifts through the remnants of what remains: dust, delusion, and memory.

Opening with the somber gauze of “Broken Intensification," FAÇADISMS moves fluidly between moments of absence and abandon. Ashen swaths of electronics billow above smoldering embers of melody, guitar, and scattered streaks of processed strings and voice, as on the rapturous doom of “Control Your Soul's Desire for Freedom,” featuring Julia Kent on cello and Hannah Elizabeth Cox on vocals. "The impoverished peoples of the Americas have known all along that 'freedom' is a cruel illusion crafted by the elites, akin to Potemkin's fake villages designed to impress Catherine the Great," Irisarri indicates. "FAÇADISMS illustrates a twisted inversion where the rulers deceive their subjects with illusions of safety, democracy, and free speech to create a grotesque mirage of control over their own lives.”

Elsewhere, Irisarri leans into passages of hushed oblivion (“Hollow,” “Dispersion of Belief”), while ragged drones rumble and disintegrate into wind-battered ambient wreckage. One has the sense that it’s all too late. The hour of fury has passed. The beauty has come and gone. Irisarri’s muse has become the crack in the façade of the unraveling myth.

The record closes with a climax of grand departure. Co-written with Kenyan sound artist KMRU, “Red Moon Tide” surges from flickering elegy to celestial disquiet, roiling waves of hymnal descent, and bristling noise. The effect is unsettling and unmooring: a soundtrack for the soul leaving the body, only to discover a void. It’s the sound of the center not holding, of shared illusions being dissolved in a tunnel of white light.

The cover photograph captures a profound sense of desolation. Taken in the historic shanty town of La Perla, Puerto Rico, where Irisarri spent his childhood, brutal colonial mysteries are lost to time. A skeletal concrete structure decays against an expansive blue horizon. Only the shadow of its shell ripples on the empty sea.

Has the American myth finally run its course?

The seeds of composer Rafael Anton Irisarri’s latest LP were first planted during his 2016 tour in Italy, months before that Autumn’s unexpected presidential election. The linguistic glitch of an innocuous diner in Milan named “il Mito Americano” – meant as “The American Dream” but translated literally to English as “The American Myth” – sparked a series of ideas, both conceptual and musical.

Amid the chaos of 2020, while exploring the stark world of brutalist architecture and inspired by the false fronts of Potemkin villages, a vision started to take shape: FAÇADISMS. Composed over three years, it’s a late capitalist lament of simmering electric despondency.

Irisarri’s obsession with repeating motifs mirrors the cyclical nature of our tumultuous political history. The album’s eight tracks heave and storm like a tempest being drained of its rage. This is the sound of majestic dissipation, of morning afters, fashioned from a mournful haze with cavernous guitars and granular twilight. A euphony of a receding tide as one sifts through the remnants of what remains: dust, delusion, and memory.

Opening with the somber gauze of “Broken Intensification," FAÇADISMS moves fluidly between moments of absence and abandon. Ashen swaths of electronics billow above smoldering embers of melody, guitar, and scattered streaks of processed strings and voice, as on the rapturous doom of “Control Your Soul's Desire for Freedom,” featuring Julia Kent on cello and Hannah Elizabeth Cox on vocals. "The impoverished peoples of the Americas have known all along that 'freedom' is a cruel illusion crafted by the elites, akin to Potemkin's fake villages designed to impress Catherine the Great," Irisarri indicates. "FAÇADISMS illustrates a twisted inversion where the rulers deceive their subjects with illusions of safety, democracy, and free speech to create a grotesque mirage of control over their own lives.”

Elsewhere, Irisarri leans into passages of hushed oblivion (“Hollow,” “Dispersion of Belief”), while ragged drones rumble and disintegrate into wind-battered ambient wreckage. One has the sense that it’s all too late. The hour of fury has passed. The beauty has come and gone. Irisarri’s muse has become the crack in the façade of the unraveling myth.

The record closes with a climax of grand departure. Co-written with Kenyan sound artist KMRU, “Red Moon Tide” surges from flickering elegy to celestial disquiet, roiling waves of hymnal descent, and bristling noise. The effect is unsettling and unmooring: a soundtrack for the soul leaving the body, only to discover a void. It’s the sound of the center not holding, of shared illusions being dissolved in a tunnel of white light.

The cover photograph captures a profound sense of desolation. Taken in the historic shanty town of La Perla, Puerto Rico, where Irisarri spent his childhood, brutal colonial mysteries are lost to time. A skeletal concrete structure decays against an expansive blue horizon. Only the shadow of its shell ripples on the empty sea.

Has the American myth finally run its course?

The seeds of composer Rafael Anton Irisarri’s latest LP were first planted during his 2016 tour in Italy, months before that Autumn’s unexpected presidential election. The linguistic glitch of an innocuous diner in Milan named “il Mito Americano” – meant as “The American Dream” but translated literally to English as “The American Myth” – sparked a series of ideas, both conceptual and musical.

Amid the chaos of 2020, while exploring the stark world of brutalist architecture and inspired by the false fronts of Potemkin villages, a vision started to take shape: FAÇADISMS. Composed over three years, it’s a late capitalist lament of simmering electric despondency.

Irisarri’s obsession with repeating motifs mirrors the cyclical nature of our tumultuous political history. The album’s eight tracks heave and storm like a tempest being drained of its rage. This is the sound of majestic dissipation, of morning afters, fashioned from a mournful haze with cavernous guitars and granular twilight. A euphony of a receding tide as one sifts through the remnants of what remains: dust, delusion, and memory.

Opening with the somber gauze of “Broken Intensification," FAÇADISMS moves fluidly between moments of absence and abandon. Ashen swaths of electronics billow above smoldering embers of melody, guitar, and scattered streaks of processed strings and voice, as on the rapturous doom of “Control Your Soul's Desire for Freedom,” featuring Julia Kent on cello and Hannah Elizabeth Cox on vocals. "The impoverished peoples of the Americas have known all along that 'freedom' is a cruel illusion crafted by the elites, akin to Potemkin's fake villages designed to impress Catherine the Great," Irisarri indicates. "FAÇADISMS illustrates a twisted inversion where the rulers deceive their subjects with illusions of safety, democracy, and free speech to create a grotesque mirage of control over their own lives.”

Elsewhere, Irisarri leans into passages of hushed oblivion (“Hollow,” “Dispersion of Belief”), while ragged drones rumble and disintegrate into wind-battered ambient wreckage. One has the sense that it’s all too late. The hour of fury has passed. The beauty has come and gone. Irisarri’s muse has become the crack in the façade of the unraveling myth.

The record closes with a climax of grand departure. Co-written with Kenyan sound artist KMRU, “Red Moon Tide” surges from flickering elegy to celestial disquiet, roiling waves of hymnal descent, and bristling noise. The effect is unsettling and unmooring: a soundtrack for the soul leaving the body, only to discover a void. It’s the sound of the center not holding, of shared illusions being dissolved in a tunnel of white light.

The cover photograph captures a profound sense of desolation. Taken in the historic shanty town of La Perla, Puerto Rico, where Irisarri spent his childhood, brutal colonial mysteries are lost to time. A skeletal concrete structure decays against an expansive blue horizon. Only the shadow of its shell ripples on the empty sea.

Has the American myth finally run its course?

Sdban Records präsentiert unveröffentlichte Radioaufnahmen
von 1967 des serbischen Jazztrompeters, Komponisten und
Bandleaders Dusko Goykovich (1931-2023). Zu diesem
Zeitpunkt hatte er sich endgültig als einer der profiliertesten
Jazzkünstler Europas etabliert.
Goykovich wurde in Jajce, Bosnien und Herzegowina, damals
Teil des Königreichs Jugoslawien, geboren. Er studierte von
1948 bis 1953 an der Belgrader Musikakademie, spielte
Trompete in Dixieland-Bands und trat im Alter von 18 Jahren
der Big Band von Radio Belgrad bei. Nach seinem Umzug
nach Frankfurt 1956 etablierte er sich in der westdeutschen
Jazzszene, wo er mit Kurt Edelhagen und Kenny Clarke &
Francy Boland spielte. Mitte der 60er Jahre kehrte Goykovich
nach einem USA-Aufenthal nach Europa zurück und stellte der
Welt bald seinen innovativen Balkan-Jazz-Sound mit Swinging
Macedonia (1966) vor, einem Album, das durch
melancholische Melodien und anspruchsvolle Rhythmen
gekennzeichnet war.

The Outer Edge is excited to announce the release of an intense and previously undiscovered funk rap / boogie single, featuring two tracks recorded in 1986.

While researching for his book on 80s funk music in Germany, DJ Scientist explored bands from Bavaria that collaborated with GIs. One of these bands is Grand Slam, a group that remains active to this day. The band’s leader, Toby Mayerl, lived near a US Army base in Amberg, where he fell in love with funk after hearing Roger Troutman and Zapp. He soon became part of two groups: Total Control and Grand Slam.

Originally led by guitarist Harry Zawrel, Grand Slam had a “European” funk sound similar to Talking Heads or Level 42. However, in 1985, Mayerl took over the band and merged it with Total Control, a mixed group that included African-American soldiers. From that point on, they shifted towards a heavier funk and soul sound, continuing to work with musicians from the GI community. By late 1986, they had enough material to record their debut album, Make My Day. Although published by the independent label Kerston, the album was only available on cassette, primarily sold at their concerts in early 1987.

DJ Scientist managed to track down an original copy of this ultra-rare tape in the MUZ archive in Nuremberg. "What I heard blew my mind," he said. "The cassette featured seven raw, well-produced funk and soul jams with fantastic arrangements and vocals." As an old-school funk and disco rap collector, he was immediately captivated by the track "Goin' Out," which features GI rapper Calvin E. Flagg. This song evokes the energy of early recorded rap singles from labels like Enjoy or Sugar Hill Records.

On Side B, the second track from the unheard debut album, ‘Don’t Let You Down,’ offers another glimpse of what we've been missing. This uptempo boogie-funk track features lead vocals by Aletha Mcbryde, Calvin E. Flagg, and Oliver Allwardt, along with thrilling synths and a lively brass section - perfect for turning up the volume.
Both tracks have been remastered from the original master tapes, which Toby Mayerl fortunately still had in his archive. The artwork for the release is inspired by original band posters, with the Grand Slam logo taking cues from Bootsy's Rubber Band’s Body Slam! cover from 1982. This limited vinyl pressing is capped at just 350 copies.

Joel Sarakula's new album "Soft Focus" is a mid-career album spanning his many influences and genres including Soft-Rock, Funk and Indie Pop, all brought under the umbrella of his gentle gaze and a 'soft' aesthetic. "Soft Focus" is also the name of a photographic technique born out of a spherical abberation of the lens where the image is a bit blurry and undefined: it's both flattering and forgiving on the subject. It's an apt title. As a lifetime wearer of (vintage) glasses, Sarakula knows a lot about spherical abberations. Perhaps he produced these songs with his glasses off as these are abstract and warm vignettes, never overstaying their welcome and for this reason Sarakula manages to feature twelve new tracks on "Soft Focus".

Highlights include one of the two Shawn Lee produced tracks "I'll Get By Without You", the rockier, iberic beat of "King Of Spain", the soulful affirmation of "Back For Your Love" and the psychedelic-tinged "Bird Of Paradise" and "Microdosing". This is a lovingly crafted album, well polished and it feels like the culmination of Sarakula's adventures in soulful soft-rock and his defining statement in the genre. While comparisons will be made with contemporary projects like Shawn Lee's Young Gun Silver Fox, Drugdealer, Benny Sings and Prep, echoes of soft-rock icons Ned Doheny, Boz Scaggs, Todd Rundgren and Michael Franks also ripple gently through the album.

Imagine if Ray Manzarek was the frontman for the Bee Gees... It's a neat visual introduction to Joel Sarakula, a UK-based Australian artist who writes, produces and sings Soulful Pop, gazing out at a contemporary world through vintage glasses, vintage threads and long blond hair. His music is informed by a rich, 1970s-inspired palette, drawing on soft-rock, funk and disco influences: sunny, uptempo jams for darker times. Self-aware that he looks and occasionally sounds like the love child of Ray Manzarek and the Gibb brothers, his self-deprecating sense of humour is always there just below the fringe.

Born in Sydney, based in UK and international in outlook Sarakula is a songwriter who has travelled the world in search of his muse, experiencing everything from being a victim of Caribbean carjackings to performing in the remote fishing villages of Norway before finally establishing his career in the UK and Europe. Since then he has released albums such as "Island Time" (2023), "Companionship" (2020), "Love Club" (2018) and "The Imposter" (2015) that have racked up plays on rotation across national UK and European radio and got him noticed in The New York Times, The Independent (UK), The Irish Times, Rolling Stone Germany, El Pais (Spain) and Sydney Morning Herald. It's- been a long road finding his current cult status starting out at the piano from a young age in suburban Sydney, writing and singing songs by the time he was a teenager and onstage by fifteen years old playing jazz standards in his local golf club. "I came from humble beginnings, it's best not to mention" as he sings in his 70s boogie influenced song "I'm Still Winning". Joel Sarakula is a fixture on the festival and club circuit having previously performed at SXSW, Primavera Sound and Glastonbury festivals. Ever the internationalist, he tours with pickup bands sourced from each territory he plays in: a Barcelona band for Spain, a Berlin band for Germany and so forth. This cross-cultural exchange is another echo of the 1970s when world travelling soul and pop artists from the US did the same and guarantees that his live shows remain fresh, exciting and absolutely contemporary.