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"This Is A Photograph", MORBYs siebtes Album, ist ein Loblied auf die Americana, das Leben und Tod und Blut auf der Leinwand zum Ausdruck bringt. Der kreativ gestärkte Songwriter hat es geschafft, seine besten Songs, seine besten Gesangsleistungen, seine prägnantesten Texte und seine üppigsten Arrangements auf "This Is A Photograph" zu vereinen. Dies ist zweifellos sein bisheriges Hauptwerk. Die Geschichte beginnt im Januar 2020, als MORBY im Keller seines Elternhauses in Kansas City geistesabwesend in einer Kiste mit alten Familienfotos blättert. Nur Stunden zuvor war sein Vater bei einem Familienessen vor seinen Augen zusammengebrochen und musste ins Krankenhaus gebracht werden. In dieser Nacht spürte MORBY noch immer den Schock und die Angst, die ihm in den Knochen steckten. Also sah er sich die Bilder an, bis ihm eines davon ins Auge sprang: sein Vater als junger Mann, stolz und stark und voller Selbstvertrauen, der mit freiem Oberkörper auf einer Wiese posiert. "In the photo he looks young and full of confidence, puffing his chest out at the camera as if he were looking for a fight," erklärt MORBY. "It was not lost on me that this was the same chest, just hours before, I had seen the ambulance put a stethoscope against as he lay on the kitchen floor of my sisters house." Während sein Vater wieder zu Kräften kam, grübelte er über diese Gedanken nach. Und dann machte er sich auf den Weg nach Memphis. Er zog in das Peabody Hotel und verbrachte seine Tage damit, den Träumern, die er bewunderte, Tribut zu zollen und sich vor ihnen zu verneigen; er ging hinunter zum Ufer des Mississippi, zu der Stelle, an der JEFF BUCKLEY sein Ende fand. Er schlenderte durch das Viertel, in dem JAY REATARD seinen letzten Tag verbrachte, und fuhr dann am Stax-Zelt vorbei, um seine Stimmung kurz aufzuheitern. Dann fuhr er an Graceland vorbei, bevor er den Highway 61 überquerte und die Geister zu sich rufen ließ, um seine eigenen Träume zu gestalten. Abends kehrte er in sein Zimmer zurück und hielt seine Ideen auf einem behelfsmäßigen Aufnahmegerät fest, das nur aus seiner Gitarre und einem Mikrofon bestand. Die schwermütigen Songs, die zu all dem passen, was er gesehen hatte, sprudelten nur so aus ihm heraus. Wiederum leitete Sam Cohen (der "Singing Saw" und "Oh My God" produziert hatte) das Projekt. Sie begannen in Cohens Studio im Bundesstaat New York, das sich noch im Bau befand, zusammen mit dem Schlagzeuger Nick Kinsey, und arbeiteten langsam an den Songs, da die Reise der Aufnahme der Start-Stopp-Qualität von 2021 selbst entsprach, mit magischen Momenten, die in die prekären Navigationen eingestreut waren. Mit der Zeit füllte sich die Besetzung. Der ehemalige Tournee-Pianist Oliver Hill sowie seine Mutter Meg und seine Schwester Charlotte sorgten für die Streicher. Die Tourneeleute Cochemea Gastelum (Saxophon), Jared Samuel (Orgel) und Alecia Chakour (Gesang, Tamburin) stießen zu den Sessions hinzu, ebenso wie Eric Johnson (Banjo). Und neue Mitstreiter*innen wie Schlagzeuger Josh Jaeger (Schlagzeug, Perkussion), Brandee Younger (Harfe), Makaya McCraven (Schlagzeug), Cassandra Jenkins (Gesang) und sogar Tim Heidecker und Alia Shawkat (die schrägen Lacher auf "Rock Bottom") fügten sich in das entstehende Bild ein. Und passenderweise fanden die letzten Sessions live in Memphis in Sam Philips Recording Co. statt, das von seinem Sohn Jerry Philips geleitet wird und das Erbe des ursprünglichen Sun Records Studios fortführt.

"This Is A Photograph", MORBYs siebtes Album, ist ein Loblied auf die Americana, das Leben und Tod und Blut auf der Leinwand zum Ausdruck bringt. Der kreativ gestärkte Songwriter hat es geschafft, seine besten Songs, seine besten Gesangsleistungen, seine prägnantesten Texte und seine üppigsten Arrangements auf "This Is A Photograph" zu vereinen. Dies ist zweifellos sein bisheriges Hauptwerk. Die Geschichte beginnt im Januar 2020, als MORBY im Keller seines Elternhauses in Kansas City geistesabwesend in einer Kiste mit alten Familienfotos blättert. Nur Stunden zuvor war sein Vater bei einem Familienessen vor seinen Augen zusammengebrochen und musste ins Krankenhaus gebracht werden. In dieser Nacht spürte MORBY noch immer den Schock und die Angst, die ihm in den Knochen steckten. Also sah er sich die Bilder an, bis ihm eines davon ins Auge sprang: sein Vater als junger Mann, stolz und stark und voller Selbstvertrauen, der mit freiem Oberkörper auf einer Wiese posiert. "In the photo he looks young and full of confidence, puffing his chest out at the camera as if he were looking for a fight," erklärt MORBY. "It was not lost on me that this was the same chest, just hours before, I had seen the ambulance put a stethoscope against as he lay on the kitchen floor of my sisters house." Während sein Vater wieder zu Kräften kam, grübelte er über diese Gedanken nach. Und dann machte er sich auf den Weg nach Memphis. Er zog in das Peabody Hotel und verbrachte seine Tage damit, den Träumern, die er bewunderte, Tribut zu zollen und sich vor ihnen zu verneigen; er ging hinunter zum Ufer des Mississippi, zu der Stelle, an der JEFF BUCKLEY sein Ende fand. Er schlenderte durch das Viertel, in dem JAY REATARD seinen letzten Tag verbrachte, und fuhr dann am Stax-Zelt vorbei, um seine Stimmung kurz aufzuheitern. Dann fuhr er an Graceland vorbei, bevor er den Highway 61 überquerte und die Geister zu sich rufen ließ, um seine eigenen Träume zu gestalten. Abends kehrte er in sein Zimmer zurück und hielt seine Ideen auf einem behelfsmäßigen Aufnahmegerät fest, das nur aus seiner Gitarre und einem Mikrofon bestand. Die schwermütigen Songs, die zu all dem passen, was er gesehen hatte, sprudelten nur so aus ihm heraus. Wiederum leitete Sam Cohen (der "Singing Saw" und "Oh My God" produziert hatte) das Projekt. Sie begannen in Cohens Studio im Bundesstaat New York, das sich noch im Bau befand, zusammen mit dem Schlagzeuger Nick Kinsey, und arbeiteten langsam an den Songs, da die Reise der Aufnahme der Start-Stopp-Qualität von 2021 selbst entsprach, mit magischen Momenten, die in die prekären Navigationen eingestreut waren. Mit der Zeit füllte sich die Besetzung. Der ehemalige Tournee-Pianist Oliver Hill sowie seine Mutter Meg und seine Schwester Charlotte sorgten für die Streicher. Die Tourneeleute Cochemea Gastelum (Saxophon), Jared Samuel (Orgel) und Alecia Chakour (Gesang, Tamburin) stießen zu den Sessions hinzu, ebenso wie Eric Johnson (Banjo). Und neue Mitstreiter*innen wie Schlagzeuger Josh Jaeger (Schlagzeug, Perkussion), Brandee Younger (Harfe), Makaya McCraven (Schlagzeug), Cassandra Jenkins (Gesang) und sogar Tim Heidecker und Alia Shawkat (die schrägen Lacher auf "Rock Bottom") fügten sich in das entstehende Bild ein. Und passenderweise fanden die letzten Sessions live in Memphis in Sam Philips Recording Co. statt, das von seinem Sohn Jerry Philips geleitet wird und das Erbe des ursprünglichen Sun Records Studios fortführt.

In the 1970s, Kazuki Tomokawa catapulted into Tokyo's avant-garde scene with his cathartic and utterly electrifying performances. Straight from the Throat, Tomokawa's second album, released in July 1976 by Harvest Records, finds the musician in his truest form: as the "screaming philosopher" he would come to be called-cynical but fair, cheeky and melancholic, and looking at the world with truth-seeking eyes. In Straight from the Throat, Tomokawa shrieks and shouts and wallows with ritualistic abandon-his avant-folk stylings are cosmic and, at times, well to ground-shaking rock. He speaks of adolescence, passing hearses, and wedding chapel cars in a poem to his younger brother, Tomoharu, and watches ice melt on the Mitane River with spring's turn. Tomokawa's sound is, as Kiichi Takahara would later dub it, "I-music": revelatory and deeply intimate songs that turn to the everyday and the interior. They are portraits of a man in search of meaning, who is taking stubborn control of his life by doing so. As he croons in "The Spring Is Here Again Song," "I'll drink till I've had my fill / And fall in love until I die."

Music for Arp 2500 synthesizer
Recorded at Willem Twee Studios 's-Hertogenbosch in 2019/2021

Stasis covers a range from my first encounter with this synthesizer to performances where I have grown more accustomed to it. Each piece developed its own structure whilst playing and exploring the instrument. During later visits to the studio, I expanded the spectrum on tracks II an VIII with two ARP 2600s and an analog tape machine. Stasis grew into a document where I aimed for the music to feel close, stripped to its essentials and saved from the whims of editing and vast processing.

Isabelle Duthoit – clarinet, voice
Franz Hautzinger – quarter-tone trumpet
Hamid Drake – percussion, frame drum, voice
Michael Zerang – percussion, frame drum

Two duos firmly anchored in improvised music - Duthoit/Hautzinger and Drake/Zerang - explore what ritual music can mean in the present time. They moan and groan, sigh and sing in the jungle of their soul. Melodies between tradition and contemporary music in all their extremes ventures forward into a poetry full of sound noises. Recorded live at Artacts, Alte Gerberei, St.Johann, March 7th2020.

Hinter CoreLeoni verbirgt sich Namensgeber und Saitenhexer Leo Leoni, Hauptamtlich in Lohn und Brot bei den Schweizer Hard Rock Giganten von Gotthard.

»Core« steht dabei für dessen musikalischen Wurzeln, seine Leidenschaft für kraftvollen Hard Rock sowie den frühen Sound von Gotthard auf deren ersten drei Studioalben. Speziell dem Debüt aus dem Jahre 1992 wollte der Tessiner Tribut zollen und rief mit befreundeten Musiker, wie Igor Gianola (ex-U.D.O.) sowie Frontmann Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG) eben Coreleoni ins Leben, die auf den ersten beiden Alben »The Greatest Hits Part 1« sowie »II« vor allem den härteren Gotthard Klassikern neues Leben einhauchten.
Auf ihrem kommenden, dritten Album stehen vorwiegend brandneue Eigenkompositionen im Vordergrund und sollen Coreleoni endgültig als eigenständige Rockformation etablieren. Sein Debüt darauf gibt der gebürtige Albanier Eugent Bushpepa (exˇSunrise, Darkology), der Leoni anno 2018 als Teilnehmer beim Eurovision Song Contest in Lissabon (Song »Mila«) auffiel, wo er den siebten Platz belegte.

»Er ist ein großartiger Sänger und ein wahnsinnig toller Mensch. Er hat unfassbar viel Seele und Emotion in seiner Stimme und seiner Weise, Musik zu machen. Das fasziniert mich sehr und ich hoffe, euch da draußen ebenso«, adelt Leoni seinen neuen Vokalisten.

Hinter CoreLeoni verbirgt sich Namensgeber und Saitenhexer Leo Leoni, Hauptamtlich in Lohn und Brot bei den Schweizer Hard Rock Giganten von Gotthard.

»Core« steht dabei für dessen musikalischen Wurzeln, seine Leidenschaft für kraftvollen Hard Rock sowie den frühen Sound von Gotthard auf deren ersten drei Studioalben. Speziell dem Debüt aus dem Jahre 1992 wollte der Tessiner Tribut zollen und rief mit befreundeten Musiker, wie Igor Gianola (ex-U.D.O.) sowie Frontmann Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG) eben Coreleoni ins Leben, die auf den ersten beiden Alben »The Greatest Hits Part 1« sowie »II« vor allem den härteren Gotthard Klassikern neues Leben einhauchten.
Auf ihrem kommenden, dritten Album stehen vorwiegend brandneue Eigenkompositionen im Vordergrund und sollen Coreleoni endgültig als eigenständige Rockformation etablieren. Sein Debüt darauf gibt der gebürtige Albanier Eugent Bushpepa (exˇSunrise, Darkology), der Leoni anno 2018 als Teilnehmer beim Eurovision Song Contest in Lissabon (Song »Mila«) auffiel, wo er den siebten Platz belegte.

»Er ist ein großartiger Sänger und ein wahnsinnig toller Mensch. Er hat unfassbar viel Seele und Emotion in seiner Stimme und seiner Weise, Musik zu machen. Das fasziniert mich sehr und ich hoffe, euch da draußen ebenso«, adelt Leoni seinen neuen Vokalisten.

Hinter CoreLeoni verbirgt sich Namensgeber und Saitenhexer Leo Leoni, Hauptamtlich in Lohn und Brot bei den Schweizer Hard Rock Giganten von Gotthard.

»Core« steht dabei für dessen musikalischen Wurzeln, seine Leidenschaft für kraftvollen Hard Rock sowie den frühen Sound von Gotthard auf deren ersten drei Studioalben. Speziell dem Debüt aus dem Jahre 1992 wollte der Tessiner Tribut zollen und rief mit befreundeten Musiker, wie Igor Gianola (ex-U.D.O.) sowie Frontmann Ronnie Romero (Rainbow, MSG) eben Coreleoni ins Leben, die auf den ersten beiden Alben »The Greatest Hits Part 1« sowie »II« vor allem den härteren Gotthard Klassikern neues Leben einhauchten.
Auf ihrem kommenden, dritten Album stehen vorwiegend brandneue Eigenkompositionen im Vordergrund und sollen Coreleoni endgültig als eigenständige Rockformation etablieren. Sein Debüt darauf gibt der gebürtige Albanier Eugent Bushpepa (exˇSunrise, Darkology), der Leoni anno 2018 als Teilnehmer beim Eurovision Song Contest in Lissabon (Song »Mila«) auffiel, wo er den siebten Platz belegte.

»Er ist ein großartiger Sänger und ein wahnsinnig toller Mensch. Er hat unfassbar viel Seele und Emotion in seiner Stimme und seiner Weise, Musik zu machen. Das fasziniert mich sehr und ich hoffe, euch da draußen ebenso«, adelt Leoni seinen neuen Vokalisten.

Available on vinyl for the first time! -Limited to just 500 records worldwide, this 2XLP is a must have production tool for producers and deejays. -Included are one shot drum tools, loops, song starters, guitar chords, and melodic chops.

DJ Nu-Mark is pleased to present his Creme De La Crate sample pack on vinyl for the first time. This dynamic collection offers the rusty grit and groove of classic funk and soul records at your fingertips without the sticky licensing issues.

The featured drum breaks and one shots were captured through Nu-Mark’s array of vintage ‘60s preamps, compressors and microphones. There’s also complete drum loops and fills provided by J-Zone, Aaron Steele and Jon Radford, as well as an abundance of melodic content thrown into the mix. From Nu-Mark’s own inspiring ‘Song Starters’ to guitar chords, bass guitar lines, tonewheel organ licks and electric piano recorded by Dan Ubick.

Whether you’re looking to create some classic hip-hop, or add some additional energy to your production arsenal regardless of your preferred genre, there’s endless creative paths locked away in this diverse pack. As Nu says; “Enjoy and stretch out! Remember, nobody can replicate you so unlock and reveal your core since ultimately your art will live in perpetuity.”

After releasing two EPs from rising talent MOY, Batrachian’s journey through mystical synths, breakbeat and electro rhythms, and ear-worm melodies continues in the capable hands of Bristol-based Jack Wiles. On Wiles’ debut EP, ’Too Real Eyez’ is a slow-burning spiral of acidic frequencies and tough breaks with a killer vocal snippet, while ‘Bientam’ is a rolling junglist piece driven by chopped drums, meandering bass and an intricate bell melody: the perfect mix of rhythmic heft and IDM intrigue. ‘Slowrush’ matches offbeat electro drums with a bittersweet synth part, and finally, Wiles remixes MOY’s ‘Echolab’ (recently released on the EMOTEC label) into an early Warp-style acidic masterpiece.

The summer starts beating to our doors and now that the nightmare of the pandemic (looks like) is coming to an end, mysterious dj and producer Hal Incandenza has taken over the control of MM Discos in order to get the things warmer and rock the dance-floors and festivals around the world.

Besides his amazing skills as producer, Henry Saiz the man behind the project of Hal Incandenza, has also made his path in music as songwriter, musician, graphic designer and dj.

This time introduces us to "Incivitas", a killer track that oscillates between House and Nu-Disco ready to dinamite the peak time of the most selected clubs. Hypnotic, selvatic and very wild.

Things turn even wilder with "Ceremony", highly influenced by the legacy of Daft Punk while Marvin & Guy closes the EP with an epic italo-dance version of "Invicitas", if you wonder why the duo from Parma are one of the fitter guys when it comes to burn down the house, just have a listen.
Bomba EP!!

Part of IF Music founder Jean-Claude’s ever expanding ‘YOU NEED THIS!’ series of compilation albums, the London record shop impresario and DJ takes us on another scintillating musical journey, this time exploring the catalogue of German jazz imprint, Enja Records. Like Jean-Claude’s ‘Journey Into Deep Jazz’ series on BBE Music and his 2017 exploration of Black Saint & Soul Note Records before it, ‘IF MUSIC PRESENTS YOU NEED THIS!: AN INTRODUCTION TO ENJA RECORDS’ provides another impeccably curated and programmed selection of music, assembled by simply one of the most knowledgeable and passionate vinyl specialists in the business. Featuring performances by John Stubblefield, Bobby Hutcherson, Harold Land, Don Cherry, Cecil McBee and Pharoah Sanders collaborator Marvin Hannibal Peterson to name but a few, this collection provides a great jumping-off point for Enja’s rich and diverse back catalogue. Founded in 1971 by Munich natives and jazz obsessives Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber, in its heyday Enja released albums by Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus, Tommy Flanagan and John Scofield, as well as Kenny Barron, Chet Baker, Abbey Lincoln, Bea Benjamin, Freddie Hubbard, to name but a few. Having firmly established itself as “a bastion of all things deep in jazz” as Jean-Claude neatly sums up, Enja also went on to issue early World Music projects from Abdullah Ibrahim, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Mahmoud Turkmani and many others, and it remains active to this day. “There is no doubt that to the uninitiated, a compilation introducing such an esteemed archive is well overdue” says Jean-Claude. “As with previous albums curated by us, this is just a soupçon of this label’s vast back catalogue, which we hope will lead the listener to discover new music and to search out more from this criminally underrated, class act.”

Tracklisting

The British shoegaze pop band Engineers was formed in London in
2003 by Mark Peters, Simon Phipps, Andrew Sweeney and Dan MacBean. MacBean is also known as the guitarist in The Shining. After being signed to Echo Records, the band released their self- titled debut album in 2005. The album features the acclaimed tracks “Home”, “Forgiveness” and “Waved On”. The latter was produced by Tim Holmes, who worked with The Chemical Brothers, Primal Scream and multiple albums for Death In Vegas.

Engineers is available as a limited edition of 1500 individually numbered copies on white coloured vinyl, housed in a gatefold sleeve.

Communion, the debut album by Sister Ray, is a raw, meticulously-crafted portrait of momentous, ordinary moments; experiences that define your past, and instruct how you move through the world. The record is anchored by guitar melodies that bear an undercurrent of turmoil, and echoes with the wisdom of hard-won lessons. It’s a break-up album invested in exploring the motivations behind actions, rather than attempting moral judgment. Out May 6 via Royal Mountain Records.

Die aufstrebende Indie-Künstlerin Lisa Wanloo ist in den letzten Jahren durch eine Zeit der Einkehr und der Klarheit gegangen. Furchtlos erforscht sie ihre Gefühle und drückt sie in schnörkelloser Musik auf eine Weise aus, die nur wenige ZuhörerInnen ungerührt zurücklassen wird. Wanloo entwirft in ihren Liedern eine große, dunkle Szenerie, gepaart mit etwas Zerbrechlichem, das auf wunderschöne Weise im Inneren stochert. Beeinflusst von den dunklen Spielarten der Americana- und Singer-Songwriter-Tradition sowie ihrer lebenslangen Liebe zur Grungemusik, schreibt Wanloo ihre Musik aus tiefstem Herzen heraus. Das erinnert von der Herangehensweise wie auch in der Umsetzung an die großen Angel Olsen und Sharon Van Etten. Lisa Wanloo aus Hönö in den Göteborger Schären hat erst spät mit dem Musizieren begonnen. Ihre 2018 veröffentlichte Drei-Track-Single präsentierte ihre ersten je geschriebenen Songs; damals noch in einer eher traditionellen Singer-Songwriter-Form. Anschließend begab sie sich auf die Suche nach ihrem individuellen Ausdruck und nun ist sie bereit, ihr Debütalbum "Shadows" zu veröffentlichen. Das Reeperbahn Festival, auf dem Lisa Wanloo 2021 zu Gast war, schreibt von einer "unwahrscheinlichen Ausdruckskraft" der Sängerin. Auch wenn der Grundtenor stets von einer sinnlichen Dunkelheit geprägt werde, so könne ihre Musik doch Hoffnung in trostlosen Lebensmomenten spenden. Wanloo sei eine "junge Künstlerin von unschätzbarem Wert für die Gegenwart".

Two fantastic previously unreleased tracks from Norman Feels from the Just Sunshine Stabl

Mt Joy's climb into the musical stratosphere owes a great deal to their
highly energetic and passionate live performances
They've sold out room after room across the country, have toured with arena acts
like The Lumineers, among many others, and fans the world over flock to their
shows. So when the coronavirus pandemic sidelined the touring industry, Mt. Joy
felt the effects in a significant way. Fast forward to May 22, 2021: artists and fans
alike are finally emerging, and Mt. Joy steps on the stage at Red Rocks
Amphitheatre, playing the biggest show on record since live music began to open
back up. Live At Red Rocks showcases the band's spirited performance in front of
the sold- out Colorado crowd, and the energy felt from the audience's thrill of
experiencing live music again is unmistakable, even through the air waves

A turning point for the band: Savatage's 1989 studio album exploring the
more progressive sound.
Even the album's regal front cover demonstrated the band's continued
musical evolution.To quote producer Paul O'Neill: "Savatage was
graduating from being a heavy metal band to becoming more than a
heavy metal band
On Mountain King, we had toyed with a little bit of more symphonic, progressive
side, but we hadn't taken it as deep as we did on Gutter."
Mastered for vinyl and reissued with the original cover design, enhanced artwork
including a 12pages LP booklet with extensive liner notes by Clay Marshall, the
album will become available as a 180g Black Vinyl Gatefold Edition and as a
Strictly Limited Heavyweight Collector's LP Edition on Silver Vinyl which includes
an exclusive '89 poster replica and an exclusive 10" Vinyl Single featuring the
songs "Thorazine Shuffle" (Side A) and a 1990 live version of "When The Crowds
Are Gone" (Side B).
"It's a very versatile album. It shows all sides of the band, and where we were
going with our songwriting. Working with Paul there were no limitations, we were
no longer just a heavy metal band, we now were a band ready to explore and
grow, as the follow up album "Streets" clearly shows. "Gutter Ballet" remains in
my top 3 favorite Savatage LP's." (Jon Oliva)

A turning point for the band: Savatage's 1989 studio album exploring the
more progressive sound.
Even the album's regal front cover demonstrated the band's continued
musical evolution.To quote producer Paul O'Neill: "Savatage was
graduating from being a heavy metal band to becoming more than a
heavy metal band
On Mountain King, we had toyed with a little bit of more symphonic, progressive
side, but we hadn't taken it as deep as we did on Gutter."
Mastered for vinyl and reissued with the original cover design, enhanced artwork
including a 12pages LP booklet with extensive liner notes by Clay Marshall, the
album will become available as a 180g Black Vinyl Gatefold Edition and as a
Strictly Limited Heavyweight Collector's LP Edition on Silver Vinyl which includes
an exclusive '89 poster replica and an exclusive 10" Vinyl Single featuring the
songs "Thorazine Shuffle" (Side A) and a 1990 live version of "When The Crowds
Are Gone" (Side B).
"It's a very versatile album. It shows all sides of the band, and where we were
going with our songwriting. Working with Paul there were no limitations, we were
no longer just a heavy metal band, we now were a band ready to explore and
grow, as the follow up album "Streets" clearly shows. "Gutter Ballet" remains in
my top 3 favorite Savatage LP's." (Jon Oliva)

The Cycle is the fifth album by Mourning A BLKstar - It's the Clevelandbased collective's masterwork -- a double LP spanning 20 songs and
three singers, touching on neo-soul, hip-hop, and the cosmic expanse in
between/beyond
It is a humble addition to the long legacy of James Baldwin's adage of the artist
as witness. It is their song cycle, written in a time that just may need a song or
two in support of and in love and power to the living. Pressed on Neon Yellow
Color Vinyl

This first-ever vinyl reissue, remastered from the original analog tapes, includes a gatefold jacket and inner sleeve with restored, new, and alternate art and photos by Terry and Jo Harvey Allen; an insert with lyrics, original notes, and Terry’s letter to H.C. Westermann about the songs; and a high-res download code. Deluxe CD edition features a trifold jacket and inner sleeve. Recorded exactly two years after acclaimed visual artist and songwriter Terry Allen’s masterpiece Lubbock (on everything), the feral follow-up Smokin the Dummy is less conceptually focused but more sonically and stylistically unified than its predecessor it’s also rougher and rowdier, wilder and more wired, and altogether more menacingly rock and roll. Following the 1973 Whitney Biennial, in which songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen and fellow iconic artist Horace Clifford “Cliff” Westermann both exhibited, Allen maintained a lively long-distance correspondence and exchange of artworks and music with Westermann, whose singular and highly influential art he admired enormously. In a February 1981 letter to his friend and mentor, written shortly after the late 1980 release of his third album Smokin the Dummy, while he and his family were living in Fresno, California, Terry explains the genesis of the album title: Westermann died shortly after receiving this letter, enclosed with a Smokin the Dummy LP, the minimalist black jacket of which Allen suggested that Cliff fold into a jaunty cardboard hat if he didn’t like the music. That response was unlikely, since Westermann loved Terry’s music, calling his debut record Juarez (1975) “the finest, most honest and heartfelt piece of music I ever heard.” The Panhandle Mystery Band had only recently coalesced during those 1978 Lubbock sessions, Lloyd Maines’s first foray into production. Through 1979, they honed their sound and tightened their arrangements with a series of periodic performances beyond Allen’s regular art-world circuit, including memorable record release concerts in Lubbock, Chicago, L.A., and Kansas City. Terry sought to harness the high-octane power of this now well-oiled collective engine to overdrive his songs into rawer and rockier off-road territory. His first album to share top billing with the Panhandle Mystery Band, Dummy documents a ferocious new band in fully telepathic, tornado-fueled flight, refining its caliber, increasing its range, and never looking down. Alongside the stalwart Maines brothers co-producer, guitarist, and all-rounder Lloyd, bassist Kenny, and drummer Donnie and mainstay Richard Bowden (who here contributes not only fiddle but also mandolin, cello, and “truck noise theory,” the big-rig doppler effect of Lloyd’s steel on “Roll Truck Roll”), new addition Jesse Taylor supplies blistering lead guitar, on loan from Joe Ely (who plays harmonica here). Jesse’s kinetic blues lines and penchant for extreme volume were instrumental in pushing these recordings into brisker tempos and tougher attitudes. Terry was feverish for several studio days, suffering from a bad flu and sweating through his clothes, which partially explains the literally febrile edge to his performances, rendered largely in a perma-growl. (By this point, he was regularly breaking piano pedals with his heavy-booted stomp.) Like the album title itself, the songs on Smokin the Dummy ring various demented bells. The tracks rifle through Terry’s assorted Obsessions especially the potential energy and escape of the open road, elevated here to an ecstatic, prayerful pitch and are populated by a cast of crooked characters: truckers, truck-stop waitresses, convicts, cokeheads, speed freaks, greasers, holy rollers, rodeo riders, dancehall cheaters, and sacrificial prairie dogs, sinners seeking some small reprieve, any fugitive moment of grace. A reigning deity of a certain kind of country music since the mid-70s. – The New York Times // The kind of singular American artist who expresses the fundamental weirdness of his country. – The Wire

RIYL: David Byrne, Guy Clark, Bob Dylan, The Flatlanders, Randy Newman, John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Townes Van Zandt. The first-ever vinyl reissue of Allen’s manifold, moving fourth album, remastered from the original analog tapes. Deluxe LP edition features 140g virgin vinyl; a gatefold jacket, inner sleeve with restored, new, and alternate art and photos by Terry and Jo Harvey Allen and friends, insert with lyrics and original notes & DL. Deluxe CD edition features a trifold jacket & inner sleeve. On his manifold fourth album, acclaimed songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen contemplates kinship the ways sex and violence stitch and sever the ties of family, faith, and society with skewering satire and affection alike. Bloodlines compiles thematically related but disparate recordings from miscellaneous sources both theatrical and historical: two songs written for plays; two full-band reprises of selections from Juarez; the irreverent hellfire-hitchhiker-on-highway ballad “Gimme a Ride to Heaven Boy” (featuring Joe Ely); and the poignant eponymous ode to the arteries of ancestry and landscape (the debut recording of eight year-old Natalie Maines, later covered by Lucinda Williams). Since 1970, when they met in Allen’s studio in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, one of songwriter and visual artist Terry Allen’s great foils and friends was the sometimes cantankerous but always brilliant art critic and writer Dave Hickey, with whom he sparred on topics musical, visual, and beyond (and to whom this reissue is dedicated in memoriam, in the wake of his passing in 2021.) Hickey, a fellow Texan paddling against the currents of the hermetic New York centric art world, was an accomplished songwriter in his own right, and he and Terry pushed each other to refine their respective practices. In 1983, the two were thick as thieves brothers in blood and Hickey’s wry but big-hearted presence haunts the history and periphery of Bloodlines, the album Terry released in June of that year. Hickey’s commercial doubts notwithstanding, critical recognition was not in short demand. In a 1984 review of Bloodlines, the L.A. Herald Examiner called Allen “one of the most compelling American songwriters working today … making the most unique art-pop of our time,” elsewhere comparing him not only to Moon Mullican and Jerry Lee Lewis, but also to the Velvet Underground and Philip Glass (probably the first time that unlikely quartet ever appeared together in one sentence). In 1983, against all odds, such sentiments were growing in underground prominence, as Allen’s records gained a fanatical word-of-mouth following they weren’t easy to find in those days. Recorded piecemeal at Caldwell Studios in Lubbock, in sessions spanning August 1982 through January 1983, Terry self-released it, like all his previous records, on his own Fate Records imprint. Despite his frustration with the protracted timeline and some anxiety about the correspondingly higher budget, the production on Bloodlines courtesy, once again, of master guitarist Lloyd Maines is slicker, cleaner, and more dynamic than prior efforts, and it reached a broader audience than ever before. UK label Making Waves reissued it in 1985, facilitating semi-reliable European distribution for the first time as well as a 1986 UK tour, on which the great BJ Cole filled in for Lloyd on pedal steel. No veteran country songwriter sounds more attuned to the national mood. His songs still feel like little guidebooks for staring down a harsh universe. – The Washington Post // It has always been a fool’s errand to frame Allen in terms of other artists there was nobody like him before he showed up, and the subsequent 40 years have been equally light on plausible peers. Uncut

Ex RSD LP on transparent red vinyl, gatefold sleeve with lyric inner sleeve and DL card. Final copies now reduced to £7.99. The tracks on this album have never been officially released before now. The eight songs on this album were recorded in 1978 on a 2-track stereo Revox A77 tape recorder. The recordings are unashamedly analogue, using one microphone and guitars plugged directly into the tape recorder. Bouncing down tracks irreversibly as they went on, forced to make creative decisions that could not be undone. Some hard choices had to be made with the mix, but with no record company meant no record company agenda. TV Smith & Richard Strange could write and record whatever they wanted – and did! It has been an enormous pleasure to rediscover these recordings, the result of a friendship of two artists emerging from broken bands and each about to embark on a lifelong adventure in words and music. TV SMITH - I wasn’t having a lot of fun in 1978 when Richard asked me to collaborate on a song he was writing called “Summer Fun.” I was in the final stages of songwriting for the second Adverts album “Cast Of Thousands,” a project that already seemed doomed to failure given an unenthusiastic record company, a band in the throes of falling apart, and a dwindling audience - but my creative juices were in full flow and I was ready for something different. I already knew Richard, of course, from the Doctors Of Madness, who I’d followed in the years before punk when I was still living in Devon and they were one of the few bands to come and play in the area. I considered them a warped poetic glam band with gothic leanings, and was slightly surprised when the song I’d been invited to work on turned out to be a kind of California surf pastiche. But I was game to get involved, and after we’d finished it and ventured forward with regular writing and recording sessions over the following weeks it soon became clear that “Summer Fun” was just a gateway drug, and the songs that were emerging from our combined forces were going to quickly become much deeper and much darker // RICHARD STRANGE - Watching the remnants of a musical dream being swept away by the juggernaut of corporate punk rock in 1976, I felt a combination of jealousy and resentment towards many of the key players who had been responsible for our demise. The Sex Pistols had supported my band Doctors of Madness early in their career and nicked not only our future but £12.00 from a pair of trousers in our dressing room in Middlesbrough Town Hall! The Jam, who supported us over four shows at London’s fabled Marquee Club, were how I imagined The Who would be if they’d joined the Young Conservatives. Warsaw, our go-to support band in Manchester, had just changed their name to Joy Division, and Johnny and the Self-Abusers, our Scottish flag wavers, had become Simple Minds. All were being feted by the all-powerful music press, while we were being buried. But there was one punk band for whom I never had anything but the greatest affection…The Adverts.

Cocteau Twins, Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Julia Holter, DIIV, Washed Out, Broadcast, Insides, Beach House, Drug Store Romeos. Introducing Beneather, a BAFTA-nominated composer from North London obsessively crafting sad, lo-fi, cinematic, ambient scandi-dreampop submerged in gently fuzzy tape loops. Much like the paintings of Gerhard Richter or a heavy mist rolling through a familiar landscape, the debut long player from Beneather obscures and blurs ten beautiful tracks beneath washes of cinematic, ambient scandi-dreampop – details emerge and fade, voices ooze and flow, tunes soothe and unnerve, metronomic beats click and swing. It would not be out of place on a David Lynch or Jim Jarmusch soundtrack. Inspired by the likes of Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, Hammock, Grouper, Low, GAS, Huerco S., Emeralds, Jenny Holzer, William Basinski & ABBA!! Beneather is the solo project of Lewis Young - composer and collaborator in The Leaf Library, drone pop from north London. As a composer, Lewis recently scored the British short ‘Lucky Break’ which found its way into the BAFTAs short list only to narrowly miss out on the gong. Lewis is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, designer and filmmaker currently living in Walthamstow, London. He started as a guitarist in noughties math-rockers Tea with the Queen, shifting to bass for multi-harmonied Naomi Hates Humans before returning to thumping roots as drummer for The Leaf Library. Objects Forever - the imprint label created by The Leaf Library - has provided Lewis with the vehicle to jump back into experimental song craft, inspiring the genesis of Beneather. “I just needed to make a project which spoke to all the aspects of music I’ve loved creating as a multi-instrumentalist. Plugging things into things to make satisfying little electronic loops, then layering extremely minimal bass and guitar lines with a lo-fi aesthetic. Melinda and I spent a few days in the studio - picking out objects, patterns… items that could inspire a thread of instinctive wordless melody. I took that expressionism and sliced it to pieces, rearranging it into ambient vocal hooks.” Beneather is an exercise in hypnotic simplicity. Experimental, dream-like music built on layers of scratchy electronic tape loops, chiming spacious guitars and abstract pulsing vocals. These cinematic songs combine Grouper's wistful deviations with the warm fuzz of Jefre Cantu-Ledesma, the nocturnal hum of Emeralds, the crackling collapse of William Basinski and Low's glacial pop melancholy. Outside of compositions for film, TV and Podcasts - Lewis plays with the indie drone-pop band The Leaf Library, featuring Matt Ashton from John Peel faves Saloon (“World-weary yet innocent, blissful dream-pop” - UNCUT - 8/10). Lewis has supported the likes of Lali Puna, Joanna Newsom, Lætitia Sadier & Alexis Taylor.

New Heavy Sounds is proud to present the new album by Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard. now known simply as MWWB. There has been some speculation amongst fan circles that the final part of the trilogy of albums that preceded this, marked the end of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard’s five-year mission. Not so. We can categorically confirm that having officially slimmed their name down to the acronym, MWWB are continuing their voyage through the far reaches of the galaxy. The first phase of that journey is their new album ‘The Harvest’. ‘The Harvest’ is the band’s fourth album, and of course it is a record shot through with the trademark heavy MWWB sound, and their unique blend of metal and shoegaze. However it also sees the band adding more experimentation, a progressive approach, and going a bit more left field conceptually. To some extent, it shares similarities with Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’. Not only by having the mix of experimentation and melodicism as that seminal record, but also in the way that it has been engineered and constructed as a seamless piece. Nine tracks flowing into one another. Space age riff monsters segueing into shorter musical interludes, where John Carpenter, rubs shoulders with Pink Floyd and a maelstrom of moog and mellotron. There are surprises, and of course a bucketload of heavy shit. With ‘The Harvest’ MWWB have refined and honed their sound, it’s a carefully crafted distillation of ideas, written, conceived and sequenced to be listened to in its entirety (preferably in one sitting). MWWB have always loved film scores and this new album is in many ways, the soundtrack to a film. MWWB provides the musical narrative (the song titles also provide a pointer) and the listener's imagination does the rest. ‘Oblok Magellana’ and its spooky atmospherics set the scene. before things really kick in with the riffs of title track ‘The Harvest’. A grooving Sabbathian chug intro’s Jessica Ball, who at the top of her game throughout. Her voice simultaneously sweet yet dark; almost neofolk; which when put against those riffs, is always a startling juxtaposition, nevertheless it perfectly crystallises MWWB’s distinctive dynamic. ‘Interstellar Wrecking’ is a succinctly crafted nugget of John Carpenter-esque drama, you can imagine the thundering mothership forging its way through the universe on some nameless quest before encountering ‘Logic Bomb’ and its fat fuzzed-up ride through light and shade guitar/vocal interplay. Ball’s voice soaring and shimmering throughout. ‘Betrayal’ gives a nod to Pink Floyd’s ‘On The Run’ but with its freaky spoken word and four on the floor kick it’s almost a dance track, yet there’s no incongruity here. ‘Altamira’ is epic MWWB, adding large doses of psych into a melodic concoction of dreampop and metal. Ball’s vocals here are many layered and textured effortlessly gliding through the weight of the backing. ‘Let’s Send The Bastards Whence They Came’ is another little gem. A plaintive repeating synth figure that builds with bass, drums, mellotrons and synths into ‘Strontium’ which rounds off the album’s ‘heavy’ numbers, a blend of monster grooves, and Ball’s swooning vocals. Finally, and outstandingly, Jessica strips things back to a distorted guitar and voice on ‘Moonrise’. Shorn of the layers of fuzz, it is a simple, beautiful and fitting catharsis to an epic voyage. MWWB are a thrilling proposition. They demonstrate that you can seamlessly mix crushing power, experimentation and delicate vulnerability into something that transcends any genre.

Stunning second album from Royal Headache and 2015's underground pop sensation. Royal Headache's follow-up, retains that swagger, pop hooks and grace but adds extra romance and instant appeal. The amount of emotion and range of Shogun's vocals and the whip-smart counterpoint provided by the band - drummer Shortty, guitarist Law, and bassist Joe - present a dash through decades of pop history, recombining not just the music but all of the feelings of pain and joy elicited from audiences, supercharged and ready to explode once more. Shogun's voice and lyrics aren't so much a secret weapon in Royal Headache's arsenal as they are the front line, happiness and hurt soaring above the songs, driving home all the feelings within. For fans of the Buzzcocks, The Strokes first album, Marked Men and The Undertones.

Strut present the first ever reissue of an essential lost classic from the Black Fire catalogue, Wayne Davis’ powerful self-titled gospel-soul album from 1976.

An accomplished vocalist and keyboard player, Davis had studied in Washington D.C. and had worked with Roberta Flack and she subsequently secured him a recording deal with Atlantic Records; he released the 'A View From Another Place' album in 1973 and Roberta contributed electric piano to one of the tracks. Davis was the dropped from the label and his subsequent album was released by Jimmy Gray on Black Fire. Produced by Jimmy Watkins and Bias Studios manager, Bob Dawson, the album line-up featured the celebrated poet and flautist Wanda Robinson and the horn section from legendary D.C. go-go pioneers Experience Unlimited. Wayne later returned the favour, appearing as a vocalist on Experience Unlimited’s seminal 'Free Yourself' album.

This first international reissue of the album features new sleeve notes including band member interviews and original illustrated artwork by Muzi Branch. Audio was transferred from the original tapes by the album’s engineer, Bob Dawson, and was remastered by The Carvery.

• First international reissue of Wayne Davis’ album from 1976

"I wrote the album in a tiny apartment, at a time when everything felt big and overwhelming," says poet and songwriter Jenny Berkel about her new album, "These Are the Sounds Left From Leaving"

She was living in a brownstone walk-up full of radiant light and the ever-present soundscape of a leaky bath faucet. It was a sudden move at the time - a spontaneous departure from touring, bustling city life, being many things to many people'that landed Jenny in a space of self- imposed stillness. "The songs themselves are a study of proximity, bringing big fears into small spaces," says Jenny, reflecting on the album. "They're intimate examinations of a world that often overwhelms." The album features contributions from critically acclaimed folk duo Kacy & Clayton, and string arrangements by Colin Nealis (Andy Shauf) - the record was co- produced by Jenny alongside Dan Edmonds and Ryan Boldt (The Deep Dark Woods). Warm and dark, soft with stabs of madness, "These Are the Sounds Left From Leaving" is a cohesive collection of spare songs that bloom
lushly with detail. Whether you're reading Jenny's poetry or listening to her songs, you'll experience her drawing layers of far- reaching concern into particular moments, like concentric waves rippling inward toward a lone cast stone. "These Are the Sounds Left From Leaving" showcases the perspective of a unique storytelling artist, with an evocative practice that hinges powerful narratives on the intricacies of a multifaceted musicality. A songwriter immersed in poetry, a poet immersed in music'her work in all its forms is an invitation into a world of relatable introspection, in which even absences can be sculpted into vividly memorable verse.

In the tsunami of American bands formed after the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, many made records, some had hits, and some even had sustained success like their idols - But there were just as many who carved out a niche in their local scenes, yet never made it to vinyl and faded into memory

Such was the case with Violent River ' until now.Packaging: 7" Vinyl Gold vinyl

'I've been obsessed with western swing since I was a kid, and it's always
been an influence, but my records in the past have ranged from bluegrass
to hard country to folk, So I've never fully explored it' - So says genrebusting Fargo-born, Austin- incubated, Nashville resident Brennen Leigh,
whose new collaboration with the kings of modern-day western swing,
Asleep at the Wheel, Obsessed With The West, is a showcase not just for
the Bob Wills fans, but for anyone who's ever curled up with Loretta Lynn,
Hank Sr, Cindy Walker, Billie Holiday, or Willie Nelson
On twelve all original songs, Leigh's supple winking voice and multi- instrument
fluency, her interplay with Ray Benson, and the undeniable chops of the Wheel
serve up a treat on Leigh's seventh album. With cameos from Emily Gimble and
Katie Shore, and all the players getting their moments in the sun, Leigh - a twotime winner of the Texas Music Awards Best Female Vocalist award -
demonstrates on the terrific jump 40's rhythm and blues, 'Comin' in Hot' and the
lonesome cowboy musing of 'Riding Off Onto Sunset Boulevard' why Rodney
Crowell and Lee Ann Womack have recorded her songs. Obsessed With The West
is a celebration of music for music's sake in 2022, not just an exercise in looking
back on times gone by.

28. Januar 2022 – Gut drei Jahre nach seinem letzten Album erfreut Michael Bublé seine weltweite Fangemeinde mit der Ankündigung eines neuen Werkes: „HIGHER“ wird am 25. März 2022 über Warner Records / Reprise Records erscheinen und ist das insgesamt 11. Studioalbum des mehrfachen Grammy-Gewinners, vielfachen Juno-Preisträgers und weltweiten Multiplatin-Superstars. Die erste Single „I’ll Never Not Love You“ erscheint bereits heute und zeigt den Kanadier stimmlich und kreativ in Bestform. Der neue Track wurde von Greg Wells und Bob Rock zusammen mit Allen Chang, Jason „Spicy G“ Goldman und Sir Paul McCartney produziert.

Zu den Highlights des Albums gehören ein magisches Duett mit Willie Nelson für dessen Song „Crazy“, Bublés gefühlvoll gesungene Interpretation von Sir Paul McCartneys Song „My Valentine“ (produziert von McCartney) und der Bob-Dylan-Klassiker „Make You Feel My Love“, außerdem die drei von Bublé neu geschriebenen Titel, zu denen auch die erste Single „I'll Never Not Love You“ zählt. Absolut gelungen sind auch Bublés Interpretation des Sam-Cooke-Klassikers „Bring It On Home To Me”, „You're The First, The Last, My Everything” und das beschwingte „A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square". Den Abschluss des Albums bildet eine dramatische und atemberaubende Version von „Smile“, bei der Bublé von einem Gospelchor begleitet wird.

Bublé kommentiert: „Ich habe mich diesmal komplett geöffnet, um neue Dinge auszuprobieren. Ich wühlte mich tief in die Materie ein, umgeben von einigen der großartigsten musikalischen Vordenker, die wir auf diesem Planeten haben – Menschen mit einer gigantischen Vorstellungskraft. Ob ich mich mit Ryan Tedder und Greg Wells für Songwriting-Sessions zusammensetzte, mit meinem Kumpel Bob Rock drei Songs an einem Tag aufnahm – zusammen mit 40 fantastischen Studiomusikern, die seit 15 Monaten nicht mehr musiziert hatten –, oder einfach nur in Unterwäsche lachend und weinend durch mein Homestudio tanzte, weil ein Song genau richtig klang – jeder Moment fühlte sich magisch an. Als hätte sich das Universum verbündet, um mich nach 20 erstaunlichen Jahren genau an diesen Punkt zu bringen. Ich war noch nie so aus dem Häuschen, nachdem ich ein Album fertiggestellt hatte.“

„Michael Bublé ist ein großartiger Tanzpartner“, kommentiert Greg Wells. „Er zollt mir viel Anerkennung, doch der wahre Respekt gebührt ihm – dafür, dass er das Vertrauen hatte, mit einem neuen Team zu arbeiten. Er ist ein phänomenaler Hitmaker.“

Bublés langjähriger Produzent Bob Rock sagt: „Ich habe Michael noch nie so fokussiert und inspiriert erlebt. Er hatte eine ganz bestimmte Vorstellung von dem Album, das er machen wollte, eine klar umrissene Vision. Als wir uns ans Werk machten, hängte er sich bei jedem Song so lange rein, bis er so klang, wie er ihn in seinem Kopf hörte.“

Vor vielen Jahren entdeckte ein damals vierjähriger Michael Bublé im heimischen Elternhaus in Burnaby, Kanada seine Liebe zum Singen – und ließ sie seitdem nie mehr los. Sein selbstbetiteltes Debütalbum bei Reprise Records erschien 2005, gefolgt von einer Serie an Multiplatin- und #1-Erfolgen, darunter „Call Me Irresponsible“, „Crazy Love“, „To Be Loved“ und „Christmas“. Sein letztes Album „Love“ (2018) erreichte u.a. Platz 1 in den USA und UK und Platz 6 in Deutschland. Im Laufe seiner erstaunlichen Karriere hat Bublé über 75 Millionen Alben verkauft, sein Weihnachtsalbum wird auch zehn Jahre nach der ursprünglichen Veröffentlichung weiterhin millionenfach gekauft und gestreamt und seine Stimme ist der Inbegriff von Weihnachtszeit. Auch live hat Bublé in den letzten Jahrzehnten herausragende Erfolge gefeiert und ausverkaufte Shows in über 30 Ländern gespielt. Seine jüngste Tournee „An Evening With Michael Bublé“ (2019 bis 2022) wurde von über einer Million Fans auf der ganzen Welt besucht. Michael liebt Eishockey, Fantasy Football, TikTok und – na klar – Singen. Er ist der stolze Vater von Noah, Eli und Vida.

Far from the twin epicenters of New York and Miami, Carlos Ruiz and his Ebirac label were both feeling and generating the aftershocks of the mid-'70s salsa boom. Holed up in their own bustling Puerto Rican community center on Chicago's west side, these third coast salseros plied their trade outside the hot lights, cutting their teeth in city parks, VFW halls, and Holiday Inn rec rooms. Nearly 50 records survive in the wake of orquestas La Justicia, La Solucion, and Tipica Leal '79, the most impassioned, singular moments of which are compiled here.

R.A.J.S. i.e. 'Rivers Area Juke Squad', though this one's this time not really from Chicago, but from The Hague/La Haia. Bouncin' and droppin' 'Juke'-style ghetto-tech bass music with some really authentic 'Latino' edge, surrounded by the sounds of the city streets...'The Squad' contains 2 Mc's: Mc Ravelo & Mc Electronic B, while their producer Kipkillah takes care of both the 'man-beating' and the 'beating-tracks'.

Giacomo D’Attorre – lead singer of Clever Square – has been through a lot of late. With his band. In his personal life. Even just with the state of the world. This fire has fuelled Clever Square’s new record Secret Alliance, eleven tracks that explore feelings of frustration, disillusionment, and disconnection, and chronicle what it’s like to be swept along by a world that “gets noisier everyday”. The record was inspired by a creeping realisation; of coming change, and a sense that D’Attorre was “losing contact with who I was before, for the good and the bad.” New needs and desires surfaced; old ones disappeared. Thus he began writing around ideas of rethinking yourself, and “acquiring a new conscience of mutation”. The darker realms of science fiction informed much of D’Attorre’s thinking here; Philip K Dick, Ray Bradbury – ‘Mr. & Mrs. K’ was inspired by The Martian Chronicles – and Flannery O’Connor, whose The Violent Bear It Away proved particularly inspiring. All of this is perfectly framed by Clever Square’s shuffling, quirky indie, and cute melodies. Soft and worn around the edges, like the perfect flannel shirt, there’s a gentle, shambling quality to the music; “blue collar”, D’Attorre calls it. Guitar lines gently bloom, Fender Rhodes organ is sprinkled throughout, and the acoustic strumming sounds easy and unhurried. From the relaxed bustle and acoustic picking of ‘Hail The Proper Karl’, to the joyous, bouncy ‘Little Flaws’; from the stripped back melancholy of ‘Obsolete Epsilons’ to the arena-ready vibes of indie classic ‘Golden Wires’, D’Attorre has crafted a spell-binding, mesmerizing set of songs that delight on first listen and reward deeper inspection. “It’s a hymn to privacy, to the joys of secrecy, and solitude,” he says of Secret Alliance. That he wraps such heartfelt, profound topics in gloriously laid-back indie adds to the charm, and cements Clever Square’s status as one of Italy’s finest contemporary bands. The world might seem increasingly complex and be spinning ever faster, but Secret Alliance slows it down just enough to savour the scenery and think about charting a path back to something a little more manageable.

Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalia is back with her third studio album and one that is a hugely conceptual and experimental affair. She herself describes it as "her most personal and confessional album" and that is embodied by the lead single, 'Saoko', which celebrates transformation and change. It is an album of pop leaning, reggeaton inspired sounds and plenty of nods to dembow, champeta, flamenco, bachata, hip-hop and piano melodies. The artist's own fierceness and unapologetically brave attitude helps make this the force that it is.

Penguin Cafe's A Matter of Life album is 10 years old in 2022 so gets this loving assembled anniversary reissue on clear wax via Erased Tapes. This was their debut album after the band was formed by composer Arthur Jeffes to commemorate his late father's own avant-pop project, Penguin Cafe Orchestra. It has been remastered for this edition and has an all new recording of the lead single 'Harry Piers.' It is a joyous record that is run through with British charm and pastoral feels. Tracks like 'Finland' are beautifully melancholic.

Very limited vinyl pressing, 500 copies in a gatefold sleeve, a printed inner housing white and marbling effect vinyl with full download included. CD in a 4 panel digipack with a 4 page booklet. New Heavy Sounds is very proud to bring you Moongazer, the 2nd album by the 4 piece stoner rock powerhouse from Italy, TENEBRA. The band had already made waves on the scene with their debut album ‘Gen Nero’ before delivering ‘What We Do is Sacred’ their debut EP for New Heavy Sounds last year, 3 killer tracks that were but a taster of things to come. Moongazer takes the story a stage further with 9 slabs of crushing fuzzed up grooves, fuelled by 70’s proto metal, hard rock, punk, psych-blues and noise, loaded with great riffs and melody and topped off by gutsy soulful vocals. Musically, you could say that TENEBRA occupy similar musical terrain to bands such as Graveyard, Witchcraft, Kadaver and other bands of that ilk, but TENEBRA are very much their own beast. They have all the chops of course, but are musically less slavish, often adding a twist that keeps the songs fresh and now. There’s also very little reliance on Sabbath-isms (apart from one cheeky nod) and though occult rock is also part of the vibe, the music steers well clear of the cliches. In fact the band bring a clutch of left field influences into their melting pot as well, from June of 44 and Love Battery to the Misfits and the psych grunge of Screaming Trees. Of the 4 members, Claudio (bass), Emilio (guitar) and Mesca (drums) came from the hardcore and post-hardcore squat scene that gathered around Bologna, whereas their formidable vocalist Silvia (the youngest of the crew) is immersed in the underground rock of the '60s and' 70s. When you hear her sing you’ll know where she’s coming from as she has one helluva rock voice, laced with whiskey, smoke, grit, late nights and a whole lotta soul. Think Maggie Bell meets Betty Davis with a smattering of Gillan, and you'll be in the right ballpark. So what you get with ‘Moongazer’ is a band revelling in the spirit of 70’s rock rather than recreating it. ‘Heavy Crusher’ lulls you with its dreamy intro, but it’s not long before the riffs hit with Silvia in full effect. This pretty much sets the tone for the record, coiling proto metal riffs, executed with gusto and joie de vivre. And as with every track on this album, Silvia belts it out like she absolutely means it man. ‘Cracked Path’ continues the journey and ups the heavy fuzz a notch or 2. First heard on ‘What We Do Is Sacred’ (full length album version). ‘Black Lace’ is a brooding beast, epic and melodic, almost a ballad, with a heap of soul lurking within, courtesy of Silvia’s mighty voice. ‘Carry My Load’ keeps the brooding vibe going till the loping off kilter killer riffs kick in. This is definitely Silvia at her most Gillan-esque. ‘Winds Of Change’ does just that, dial things down to bluesy, almost psych feel, with dreamy solos and a hooky guitar break. ‘Stranded’ is a full on stoner rocker as is ‘Space Child’ with its short homage to the dark lords, there’s even a a sax solo. Never one’s to just play it straight these guys. ‘Dark And Distant Sky’ is pure proto metal, a la Bloodrock or Grand Funk, it truly rips, and once again, it’s construction veers it away from anything approaching what you’d expect. ‘Moon Maiden’ is the album’s closer, featuring Gary Lee Conner (no less) of the aforementioned grunge legends Screaming Trees, guesting on guitar. It’s a fitting and epic closer, by turns hard ‘n’ heavy, psychedelic and chock full of great ideas. MOONGAZER is without doubt an accomplished sophomore release that deserves to be heard and appreciated, purely because, though it may appear to reside in the world of stoner, it is so much more.

Brand new studio album by The William Loveday Intention as part of their “career in a year”! “The cover pic is from a visit I made with my son and friends to the artist Giovanni Segantini's hut in the High Alps sometime around 2016. Segantini (1858-1899), was an illiterate and stateless artist famous for his paintings made in the Engadin. The title track is about living your life through someone else's YouTube channel: a blow by blow account of how their life in the frozen north is more, picturesque, sensitive, fun, enlightened and artistic than yours could ever be. 'Stood Upon a Chair' is about the villain Jessie James, but without the romance part that is usually added to such tales. 'You Gotta Move', a Mississippi Fred McDowell cover, is one of the best recordings we've ever made. Here I’m accompanied by my wife Julie and my friend Dave Tattersall who plays electric slide guitar. A true gem which should make someone, somewhere, rich and famous. (Or at least make Mick Jagger blush with shame.) Topping it all off we hit a couple of old Headcoats numbers with added verses that reveal the hidden depth behind those impeccable pop songs.” - WILLIAM LOVEDAY 2022