‘SON’ was recorded in London and Freetown between 2019-21. Inspired by the pair’s shared love of choral music, it began as an experiment to explore playing with the voice in more creative ways, using layered vocals as an instrument following piano harmony, arrangement and sampling.
The project started in London with the title track and became a story about a world in which we hide our true ‘colours’ in order to fit in. A mother tells her son that he needs to fit in to survive before realising that she is following the same tropes passed on to her as a child. Following this realisation she encourages her son to protect his dreams and not to listen to anybody telling him he can’t be whatever he chooses.
Rosie joined Duval for a week in Freetown in February 2020 where they wrote the rest of the project, bringing friends Daniel Koroma, Kandeh Bangura, Valentine Coker, Chino Greene and Tom Herbert in for musical contributions;
“We were interested in bringing our surroundings into the recordings; leaving doors open, recording in different spaces and locations, inviting the listener to experience the life that was going on around us whilst capturing the process”.
Full-colour inner sleeve
Illustrations by Duval Timothy
Insert of a specially commission Julianknxx poem
Shrink-wrapped
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xe m1 Karn Evil 9 1st Impression, Pt. 2 (Live at the Albert Hall) [2017 - Remaster]
[xf] m2 Tarkus (I. Eruption II. Stones of Years III. Iconoclast) [Live at the Albert Hall] [2017 - Remaster]
[xg] m3 Knife Edge (Live at the Albert Hall) [2017 - Remaster]
[xh] n1 Paper Blood (Live at the Albert Hall) [2017 - Remaster]
[xi] n2 Romeo and Juliet (Live at the Albert Hall) [2017 - Remaster]
[xj] n3 Creole Dance (Live at the Albert Hall) [2017 - Remaster]
[xk] n4 Still... You Turn Me on (Live at the Albert Hall) [2017 - Remaster]
[xl] n5 Lucky Man (Live at the Albert Hall) [2017 - Remaster]
[xm] o1 Black Moon (Live at the Albert Hall) [2017 - Remaster]
[xn] o2 Pirates (Live at the Albert Hall) [2017 - Remaster]
[xo] p1 Finale (Medley) [I. Fanfare for the Common Man II. America III. Rondo] [Live at the Albert Hall] [20
Trees Speak is an experimental rock band that transcend mainstream influences by incorporating elements of Avant-garde, Neo-psychedelic, Minimalism, art and electronic - along with violin-bowed guitar, Theremin and a glut of effects pedals, and it's an ear-bending rush of lush soundscapes.
Trees Speak - as much a sound laboratory as a rock and roll band - is the musical venture of acclaimed visual artist and musician Daniel Martin Diaz (formerly of Blind Divine and Crystal Radio). For the debut double-LP Trees Speak is joined by Michael Glidewell (Black Sun Ensemble), Gabriel Sullivan (XIXA, Giant Sand), Connor Gallaher (Myrrors & Cobra Family Picnic), Damian Diaz (Human Error), and Julius Schlosburg (Jeron White Acoustic Trio). The studio itself should also take top billing, because in the tradition of krautrockers Can and Bitches Brew-era Miles Davis, the band takes its winding, incandescent motoric rock and roll improvisations and edits them into coherent compositions using the mixing desk after recording. And that's where the sound lab half of the equation appears. The end result is flowing and droning ambient proto-punk reminiscent of fellow travelers NEU!, Stereolab,
- Joshua Levine
Our intention is to create music with an unrehearsed minimalist approach performing simple beats, riffs, and sequences that take one inward. We attempt to create a sonic environment to set one's mind free and to become aware of the nuances of tone, melody, and structure. We organize our recording equipment with the same approach, in a transparent manner. Our recorded performances are never rehearsed. Our belief is that a brilliant rehearsal is a lost opportunity to capture a magical moment. We are chasing the mystery of music and tone. We let the musical performance sculpt its own destiny and create imperfect perfection. Our tool of creation is the anxiety one feels when they are unrehearsed or prepared for a performance. We believe this approach brings us closer to the authentic self. The result is genuine music without an agenda that captures the unfiltered spirit.
- Trees Speak
The music was recorded live in one room with no overdubs or repairs, only using edits to create arrangements. All tracks were written over a 5 day period at Sacred Machine Studio and Dust & Stone Studio.
Domination Campaign was started in Hobart Tasmania in late 2019 by Psycroptic vocalist Jason Peppiatt as a solo studio project. Jason began work in Crawlspace studios in December 2019 with fellow Psycroptic band mate and studio engineer Joe Haley. Once recording began Joe was recruited to also play drums on the album and the duo had their sights set on recording an over the top, heavy, straight down the line, crushing old school death metal album. Nothing fancy or technical just big simple heavy riffs and massive mid paced drum beats. Lyrical topics are loosely based on events of various wars in history. Their debut album ‘Onward to glory’ was completed in July 2020 with all recording, mixing and mastering done by Joe Haley and album art done by Jason Peppiatt
Heavy Psych Sounds Records is really proud to present the Psychedelic-Space split of the century! "The Intergalactic Connection - Exploring The Sideral Remote Hyperspace" it's a split album that came from deep deep space! Here Giöbia meets The Cosmic Dead, two of the best modern space-rock bands you can find. The Italian quartet come with 3 incredible songs, while the Scottish guys deliver a 19 minute long suite. This piece of psychedelic journey is a travel inside the universe, 4 tracks full of heavy psych and space rock riffs that will bring you into a psychedlic vortex with no way out! A must-have for all the space travelers. Fans of Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, UFO and Gong will be more than enthusiastic ...It's a Space Ritual journey!
Half red/half blue Vinyl. Limited to 350 copies. Heavy Psych Sounds Records is really proud to present the Psychedelic-Space split of the century! "The Intergalactic Connection - Exploring The Sideral Remote Hyperspace" it's a split album that came from deep deep space! Here Giöbia meets The Cosmic Dead, two of the best modern space-rock bands you can find. The Italian quartet come with 3 incredible songs, while the Scottish guys deliver a 19 minute long suite. This piece of psychedelic journey is a travel inside the universe, 4 tracks full of heavy psych and space rock riffs that will bring you into a psychedlic vortex with no way out! A must-have for all the space travelers. Fans of Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, UFO and Gong will be more than enthusiastic ...It's a Space Ritual journey!
These are two groovy before unheard tunes recorded at an actual live performance at Beach Bum Burt’s in Redondo Beach, California July 23rd, 1978 remastered recently at Cannonball studios in Italy.
Ira Raibon is the musical genius behind the “Indiana Funk” wrote songs for The Vanguards, The Fabulous Souls & many more, member of The General Soul Assembly and Fabulous Souls and has been a Newport Beach/Irvine/South Orange County, USA, resident music teacher/writer/performer over decades.
Both tunes are previously unreleased and now made available for the first time on a highly limited vinyl 45, so be quick to grab yours.
Belinda Carlisle has chosen a selection of her recordings for this special limited edition release.
• The songs are all taken from her albums “Heaven On Earth”, “Live Your Life Be Free” and “Real”.
• Also featured is a brand new 2021 recording, Belinda’s fabulous version of The Youngbloods’ 1966 appeal for
unity, “Get Together”, recorded in Los Angeles in July 2021 with producer Gabe Lopez.
Cardinal Fuzz and Feeding Tube Records are at long last ecstatic to bring to you for your listening pleasure “Nudity - Is God’s Creation” 2xLP . A retrospective release of recordings dating from 2005 to 2010 of orgasmic interstellar mayhem . Reissued and for the first time available domestically in the USA
In 2004, a commune named NUDITY, formed by four travellers from the astral plane, appeared in Olympia, Washington. The founding members were Dave HARVEY (guitar) and Jon Quitty QUITTNER (bass - though Josh Haynes of the mighty guitar fuzz scorchers Feral Ohms plays bass on the majority of the tracks featured here), both of whom were former guitarists of Tight Bros From Way Back When and Eryn ROSS (drums) from Growling, A couple of self-distributed Cdrs and a 12” on Discourage were a visual akin to coloured liquid sloshing around on a transparency machine and were a pure drip feed for psych /kraut and Jap Rock fiends around the world as Julian Cope and Terrascope raved about them. Alas for whatever reason no full length LP arrived from the original line up - something that at last has been rectified as now all these tracks have been brought together (along with some unreleased gems and a couple of live bonus download tracks). The sonic ear candy contained within the 4 sides of vinyl presented here go From Detroit fuzz blazing face melters to acid trippin' head swirling raga’s via The Flower Travelin’ Band and Hawkwind. Nudity were the masters and for those that missed out the first time this double album was released - Don't make the same mistake a second time.
Terrascope gushed about Nudity - "This is seriously fucking good; one of those quite literally extra-ordinary LPs that come along every once in a while which you just know instinctively are going to be dug out and played, sniffed and caressed for years"
Belinda Carlisle has chosen a selection of her recordings for this special limited edition release.
• The songs are all taken from her albums “Heaven On Earth”, “Live Your Life Be Free” and “Real”.
• Also featured is a brand new 2021 recording, Belinda’s fabulous version of The Youngbloods’ 1966 appeal for
unity, “Get Together”, recorded in Los Angeles in July 2021 with producer Gabe Lopez.
Steve Lacy (July 23, 1934 – June 4, 2004) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer recognized as one of the important players of soprano saxophone. Lacy worked extensively in experimental jazz and to a lesser extent in free improvisation, but his music was typically melodic and tightly-structured. Lacy also became a highly distinctive composer, with compositions often built out of little more than a single questioning phrase, repeated several times. In 1977 he released a one-off record titled "Straws" for the Italian Cramps Records label, as the 6th volume of the DIVerso series (which included, among others, Demetrio Stratos' solo albums) dedicated to contemporary avant-garde composers. "Straws" is now made available again on Dialogo in a faithful reproduction of the original gatefold cover artwork and inner sleeve.
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Roy Woods' Exis EP, originally released in 2015. This 6-track EP features the smash singles “Drama” featuring Drake, and “Get You Good”
Exis (stylized as EXIS) is the debut EP by Canadian recording artist Roy Woods. It was originally released on July 31, 2015, by OVO Sound and Warner Bros. Records. The EP's sole guest appearance comes from Canadian rapper and label-mate Drake. The official cover of Exis contains a picture of a white sketched tree with a blue background (representing "night time") and also the yellow moon. The back cover reveals the track list on one side of the moon
Marc Romboy presents his upcoming album "Voyage de la planète' his first solo full-length production in over eight years. Released on his newly launched Hyperharmonic label, Voyage de la Plantète signifies an exciting new chapter for Marc as he experiments with his sound - pushing the boundaries between classical and electronic music to create both an emotional and atmospheric experience.
The first impression of this new sound can be heard on album opener forerunner 10" "Monde futuriste" (February 17th 2017) which blends together beautiful strings and soft flittering synths. "Jules Verne" named after the French science fiction writer, combines echoing arpeggios and a subtle woodwind harmony to create a cosmic soundscape. Whilst "Atome de danse", "Symphonie oblique" and "La machine du temps" use elegant strings to further enhance an unearthly effect, title track "Voyage de la planète" mixes the two mediums together with fluttering synths and somber strings before "La lune et l'étolie" builds introduces the bustling sound of the piano to create an upbeat melody.
Whilst there is a strong classical influence, there are tracks on the album that reference Marc's electronic background. This can be heard in
"L'univers étrange", which has an ambient sound, whilst pitched-down chords take "L'universe parallèle" to a dark and moody space.
"Phénix" is a bass-driven track, layered with crashing synths, taking the journey to a high before the celestial experience draws to a close on an uplifting note with "Nocturne" a laid-back soothing track that exudes optimism and wonderment.
Inspired by a concert with the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra where he performed Claude Debussy works in a contemporary way, "Voyage de la planète' signifies the start of a new chapter for Marc Romboy. Combining the strange, fascinating sounds of electronic music with the sublime beauty of classical music to create an extraordinary sonic experience for the listener.
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Der Titel des zweiten Soloalbums der Chastity Belt-Sängerin Julia Shapiro ist eine Zustandsbeschreibung. Wie jeder Mensch mit einem Puls auf dieser Erde fühlte sich das Jahr 2020 für Shapiro mehr als einmal völlig zorked an. Im März 2020 beschloss Shapiro die spätwinterliche Tristesse Seattles gegen den immerwährenden Sonnenschein von Los Angeles einzutauschen. Also packte sie ihre Sachen, nur um dann in der Stadt der scheinbar endlosen Möglichkeiten kurz nach ihrer Ankunft pandemiebedingt nahezu in die totale Isolation gezwungen zu werden. Da sie nirgendwo hin konnte und nichts zu tun hatte, begann sie neue Songs zu schreiben, deren Grundstimmung ihre damalige Gemütslage perfekt einfangen. Auf ihrem zweiten Album beschreibt Shapiro Los Angeles als eine in Zeitlupe dahinschmelzende Einöde. Als einen Ort, an dem sie mit Geistern und seltsamen Gestalten kommuniziert. Oder wie sie es ausdrückt: "It takes you on a wild ride. There's weird shit in it." "Zorked" wurde von Shapiros Mitbewohnerin Melina Duterte (JAY SOM) mitproduziert, die ihr Haus während des Lockdowns in ein praktikables Heimstudio verwandelte. Die durchaus noisigen Aufnahmen verliefen zum Glück unproblematisch, da ihr einziger Nachbar in Hörweite das ganze Jahr 2020 damit verbrachte, über zehn Stunden am Tag Karaoke zu singen. Auf Dutertes Drängen, entschloss sich Shapiro auch die neuen Songs weniger nach ihrem ersten Soloalbum "Perfect Version" oder nach Chastity Belt klingen zu lassen. Stattdessen sprang sie auf dem Höhepunkt ihrer Unsicherheit und ihres Unbehagens auf der Suche nach etwas Neuem ins kalte Wasser - und fand Kraft in schweren Shoegaze-Klängen.
Gazelle Twin’s incredible electronic score to horror
film ‘Nocturne’, released as part of Amazon’s
‘Welcome To The Blumhouse’ series.
The score is pressed on clear vinyl and housed in
a deluxe spined sleeve with digital download card
included.
“The director wanted there to be a strong
appearance of feminine rage featuring heavily in
the score, building around the classical pieces,”
says Gazelle Twin. “She wanted to use some of
my existing tracks, ‘Unflesh’ and ‘Belly Of The
Beast’, in a couple of scenes, so I took leave from
the vocal style of ‘Unflesh’, which has a lot of
strong chest singing inspired by Bulgarian
Folksong.
“It became a motif that the music editor, Shie
Rozow, weaved throughout the film for those
especially fierce moments. Then there’s the ‘dread
drones’ that haunt the whole score, getting more
and more intense.”
Keaton Henson’s ‘Fragments EP’ was made as a
companion piece to last year’s ‘Monument’ album,
written and recorded at the same time.
‘Monument’ is a fragile, meditative and emotional
unravelling of grief in the aftermath of losing his
father, and for all its hushed acoustics, ‘Monument’
cocooned its emotion in some beautifully tender
melodies and acute observations. It’s a warm and
relatable listen.
On ‘Fragments EP’, whilst the lyrical themes and
subjects may stray from ‘Monument’’s poignant
subject matter, in its sound and atmosphere, it
feels suitably entwined.
The eight tracks that form the EP orbit a sweeping
kaleidoscope of sonic shapes, shades and
textures. Keaton’s voice offers lyrics in an almost
frozen romanticism. It’s a voice that sounds rooted
in turmoil but also of strength. A happy sadness.
Bleakly beautiful.
Julien Baker shares a mic from across the ocean
in Australia on ‘Marionette’. A songwriter of due
reverence herself, Baker and Keaton share an
affinity with the power of hushed words, fizzing
melodies and an innate wisdom.
‘Fragments EP’ and ‘Monument’ are two fine
bodies of work by this singular, unique British
artist, and two empathetic records of sorrow and
strength.
Originally from Limerick, O’Brien’s work captures the everyday and the inbetween in a way that transcends any genre label. Writing from her own observations, O’Brien’s influences can be found in the realism of Mark E. Smith of The Fall, Patti Smith and The Slits, and the works of literary icons such Frank O’Hara, W.B. Yeats, Joan Didion and Albert Camus. Releases to date have drawn admiration from British and American outlets and radio stations as diverse as The FADER, Stereogum, The Guardian, Loud And Quiet, The Quietus, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music, and more.
Speaking about the new single, O’Brien explains: “‘Most Modern Painting’ is about the creation and maintenance of ‘the self’ - the most epic task we are faced with in our lives. I wanted to work with structure in an unconventional way, linking the movements together using various voices from the narrative. The lyrics are voiced through a dialogue between the conscious and unconscious, through dream recall, memory, the individual and the ego.”
The accompanying music video for ‘Most Modern Painting’ was shot in a film-like manner on 16mm. Directed by Saskia Dixie, the movements are intrinsically linked to the lyrics; the choreography incorporates physical theatre, dance and elements of daily gestures and habits.
The chorus line on ‘Most Modern Painting’ birthed the title for the EP ‘Drowning In Blessings’ - “The more I said it, the more it meant. It’s an image which I find really cathartic; seeing the weight or build up of things as possibilities and opportunities instead of bearing their burdens. I approached the set of songs on the EP like a short album so the body of work feels full and tells a substantial story. Tracks allude and refer to one another and provide clues and hints to the future and to the past. It’s not only about language and music - it’s about energy, spaces, leaving room for other people to get in.”
A multifaceted artist, O’Brien’s writing has also been published by the esteemed London Magazine whose alumni include T.S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath and William Burroughs. Her unique fusion of spoken lyrics and art rock has piqued the attention of luminaries of both fields, seeing her perform with John Cooper Clarke and The Brian Jonestown Massacre at sold out theatres across the U.K. Playing live with her band and collaborators; Julian Hanson (guitar) and Oscar Robertson (drums), Sinead O’Brien’s transfixing performances are placing her at the forefront of a resurgent wave of independent British and Irish talent.
Following the release of Twisted Heads comes Slacker’s most complete work to date. The artist's debut LP - What Would I Do With Saturn - arrives on Lobster Theremin on Friday 2nd July and demonstrates Slacker’s killer ear for capturing the cross-sections that exist within UK sound; floating between the artist's drum & bass upbringing and introspective, world-building electronica.
“The main idea was to think 'what would an outside observer to our planet think when looking down at this moment in time, what does the moon think when looking down on us?'” he says. “It was a way of me both building another world whilst also expressing the strife of the world that we were living in. I was lucky enough to be quite secluded in the first lockdown around a lot of nature, but then feeling the isolation ten-fold as I was so far away from civilisation. I think that the album has this schism represented in it with the more classically "nice" tracks standing next to the more aggressive and expressive tracks; it is both an escape and capturing of the world we live in.”
Designed to have inward-gazing and aggressive tracks side by side - to represent the day to day mood swings that only extensive isolation can bring - the record is a tripped-out voyage through rich, flora-drenched ecosystems and Halo ring worlds. A cathartic release to heavy isolation, the album opens with ‘deep in the forest, a sacred pool’ - angelic tones and tranquil chords symbolising a melting in the ocean, the contemplative silence that comes when one puts their head beneath water, shutting out the outside world.
‘As I Fear The Ground Opening’ represents the anxious rush when the bubbles start to rush and your time of total freedom reaches its inevitable end; it’s frantic drum patterns scoring an intense scene, trancey atmospherics enticing you to keep turning the corner. ‘Unturned’ continues down the cinematic route, before the B-side introduces Slacker’s breaks heritage: ‘One Hundred Ideas’ sounding reminiscent of the fire wave of experimental, stripped-back percussion currently championed by the likes of Al Wooton and his TRULE label; green fields, optimism and wicked breaks.
‘My Own Moon’ channels open-the-clubs energy with a percussive melter, before completing the B-side with a call to arms on ‘The New Face of England’; it’s trap-techno energy encapsulating the anger and frustration felt in the face of rising English nationalism.
Staying true to the testament of his most complete work to date, Slacker relentlessly switches up his sonic palette in pursuit of differing - yet uniquely connected - experiences, entering future-electro territory on the C-side; ‘Nothing Is Enough’ giving off Tron Legacy largeness - temporarily paused by the emo-ambience of ‘the myth of visibility’ - before ‘Void Hopping’ crashes back down to earth with that rough-edged, raw aesthetic that has become so synonymous with the Slacker name.
The climatic D-side provides the most mixed bag yet; ‘Prisoner Of War’ opening an unmarked door as we venture further into the UK’s underground; the smells and sights of a packed-out jungle rave being expressed through ripples, blares and vaporous breaks, while the nostalgia inspired ‘Summer Of ‘18’ - featuring Guy Liner - offers a synthy, nu-disco vibe that manages to incorporate the emotional aesthetic that has been built throughout the album.
‘let these waves wash upon’ you draw the curtains as we take a deep breath to venture back into a scary world that lies beyond the door. A world of dreams, fears, love and sadness. Optimism, hopelessness, anxiety and inspiration. The world is opening up, and Slacker’s rise is imminent.
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Lu's Jukebox is a six-volume series of mostly full-band performances recorded live at Ray Kennedy's Room & Board Studio in Nashville, TN. Each volume features a themed set of songs by other artists curated by the multi-Grammy award winner, Lucinda Williams. The series aired as ticketed shows through Mandolin in late 2020 with a portion of ticket sales benefitting independent music venues struggling to get by through the pandemic. Like thousands of artists, Williams cut her teeth and developed her craft by playing in small, medium and large clubs throughout the country, and the world. These venues are vital to the development of artists and their music. Williams has never forgotten her roots, and often performs special shows in some of her favorite halls. This year, the Lu's Jukebox series will be made widely available on vinyl and CD. Volume 2, Southern Soul: From Memphis to Muscle Shoals, features covers of Al Green, Percy Sledge, Bobbie Gentry, Ann Peebles, Tony Joe White & more. It is scheduled for a July 9th, 2021 release.
Lu's Jukebox is a six-volume series of mostly full-band performances recorded live at Ray Kennedy's Room & Board Studio in Nashville, TN. Each volume features a themed set of songs by other artists curated by the multi-Grammy award winner, Lucinda Williams. The series aired as ticketed shows through Mandolin in late 2020 with a portion of ticket sales benefitting independent music venues struggling to get by through the pandemic. Like thousands of artists, Williams cut her teeth and developed her craft by playing in small, medium and large clubs throughout the country, and the world. These venues are vital to the development of artists and their music. Williams has never forgotten her roots, and often performs special shows in some of her favorite halls. This year, the Lu's Jukebox series will be made widely available on vinyl and CD. Volume 2, Southern Soul: From Memphis to Muscle Shoals, features covers of Al Green, Percy Sledge, Bobbie Gentry, Ann Peebles, Tony Joe White & more. It is scheduled for a July 9th, 2021 release.
An energetic blend of NEW WAVE and HEAVY PROGRESSIVE ROCK, Four Stroke Baron aspires to bring forth a lively and refreshing new voice to the music scene. The group manages to craft massive and immersive soundscapes juxtaposed over catchy, pop-like song structures. It is this penchant for blending familiar sounds and styles into something altogether new that has allowed the band to undergo a dramatic metamorphosis from its founding members improvising in a shed outside of Reno, Nevada, to preparing for the debut of their second full-length album, “Planet Silver Screen,” on Prosthetic Records.
Lou Reed’s fiftieth solo album features many of his biggest hits - "Dirty Blvd" which went #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks upon release in 1989. It features Reed musing on everything from AIDS, urban blight, racism, AIDS, child abuse, Jesse Jackson, Donald Trump, the environment and other societal ills, delivered with humour and empathy.
Making her stage debut in April 2019 and selling out her first
headline show at London’s prestigious Southbank Centre less
than a year later, A.A. Williams hit the ground running. Similarly,
the acclaim for her performances and her music has been
unanimous from the start. After one self-titled EP and a
collaboration with Japanese post-rockers MONO, the Londonbased singer songwriter signed to Bella Union and released her
stunning debut album, ‘Forever Blue’, in July 2020.
That Southbank show would prove to be the last time she would
take to the stage for a long while as the world struggled to cope
with unforeseen and extreme challenges. Never a musician to sit
still, the classically trained multi-instrumentalist focused her
creativity on arranging - firstly, by stripping back to the most
delicate bones on her ‘Songs from Isolation’ covers record and
now with a complete reimagining of her own material as the four
songs from her debut EP become ‘arco’.
Not many musicians have the ability - or indeed bravery - to
rework a collection of their own full band ‘rock’ songs into a stringand-voice arrangement. A.A. Williams, however, is not like many
musicians and the minimalism of Arvo Pärt and Gorecki has long
since sat beside Vaughan Williams' folk-inspired classical work as
important influences on her music. Indeed, the intention with the
EP was for Williams to challenge herself by not retaining guitars
and drums, meaning ‘arco’ had to be truly reimagined with a full
string ensemble.
As Williams describes it: “The main focus of the arrangements is
trying to maintain the authenticity of the original songs that, whilst
embodying some of the more familiar elements of the full-band
settings, draws focus on the voice.”
Conducting the ensemble of string musicians in the studio, A.A.
Williams has evolved her own compositions with new
instrumentation and arrangements, encapsulating the singular
vision of a unique artist.
12” pressed on 140g ‘Galaxy White Purple’ vinyl with signed
12”x12” print and digital download code.
Listening to the story of Canadian duo cleopatrick is a bit like hearing the plot of the best, most righteously validating coming-of-age film never made. Two friends meet aged four in Hicksville, Nowheretown (real name: Cobourg, Ontario, population 19,000), grow up completely inseparable, form a band and, against numerous obstacles, blossom into a genuine, global underground sensation. There are heroes and villains, highs and lows and, crucially, some of the most poetic plot twists that could seem almost too perfect, were they not completely true. Take the story of 2017 breakthrough track ‘hometown’ for example. “It’s one of the craziest, most ironic things that’s ever happened,” begins vocalist and guitarist Luke Gruntz. “I was going to college because I was too scared to put all my chips in the band pile, and that’s what ‘hometown’ is about: it’s a song about feeling like we’re doing all this stuff and we’re working so hard and we’re just never going to be heard. It’s literally a song about people probably never hearing our songs. And then by some act of the universe, that song ended up unlocking all the doors for us.” Today, cleopatrick has logged 77 million streams and counting - all from an increasingly dedicated fanbase who’ve found the duo, completed by drummer Ian Fraser, their own way: no major label, no big budget, just two best pals knuckling down, cementing a unique sonic alchemy and filling a space of honest, empathetic yet undeniably heavy-hitting rock music that they’d been searching for themselves for years. Between multiple sold out tours in Canada, the US and the UK/EU and appearances at Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and Reading/Leeds, the pair have been crafting BUMMER: a debut album that sees cleopatrick harness all the magic they’ve been brewing over their two-decade friendship and funnel it into a record that aims to reinvigorate the rock landscape from the ground up. Taking the ethos of their New Rock Mafia collective - a group of friends and fellow bands, united in making a more inclusive, equality-driven space in rock music - and imbuing it with the sonic ambition and ferocity of a record designed to be played hard and loud, it’s an album about two friends, who’ve been with each other since the formative first steps that adorn ‘BUMMER’’s heartwarming cover image and made something that’s a testament to the power of sticking to your guns.
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Coldplay release their ninth studio album on October 15th. Music Of The Spheres features 12 new tracks including recent no. 12 single Higher Power - the band’s highest charting single in seven years, which has currently spent 10 weeks in the UK top 30, amassing over 170m global streams to date, including 40m+ video views.
Launched alongside the album announcement is Overtura (Music Of The Spheres Album Trailer) a spectacular audio-visual journey through the album’s planetary artwork with short clips of the album’s twelve tracks.
This is followed on Friday 23 July, by the release of the album closer Coloratura – not a “single”, but an epic, 10-minute+ piano-led anthem! A new single is released in September.
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Crepuscule presents a brand new collaborative project by Julie Campbell (aka LoneLady), Stephen Mallinder (Wrangler, Cabaret Voltaire) and Benge (Wrangler, John Foxx). Titled Clinker, the first 800 copies of the 6 track mini album have been pressed in turquoise vinyl.
‘The project began a couple of years ago,’ explains Julie. ‘Benge had these great sketches that were beats and synth patterns, so those were the starting point. I really went to town adding lots of guitar layers and experimenting with different sounds. On some tracks the guitar is deft and rhythmic, as if mimicking sequencer patterns. On others it’s a deconstructed noise-based approach - scratching strings, making fitful, heavy chunks, howls and scrapings of noise and texture.’
Due to competing solo commitments for all 3 members the tracks disappeared into hard drive exile for a couple of years. Julie continues: ‘Last year we revisited the mixes and Stephen added his trademark mysterious and menacing vocals. Now we find ourselves with a finished piece of work. I thought of the name Clinker as I love its meaning: 'stony residue from burnt coal'. This seemed liked an apt description of both industrial and creative processes, and a nice nod to the industrial North of England.’
Stand-out tracks include Camouflage and Condition Collapsing. ‘I’d forgotten how liberating it is to play bass guitar on something,’ enthuses Mal. ‘It compliments Julie’s beautifully angular guitar, and Benge and me ripping up live percussion onto the sound of machines… As a collection of tracks these benefited from a lengthy gestation, as they follow no particular trend and were allowed to twist and turn to develop a life of their own. After successive cycles we suddenly drew it all together so the tracks have a sense of completion and identity.’
‘The real fun for me was during the mixing process when Mal and I looked at each other as the rawness of the tracks hit us on the big studio monitors,’ adds Benge. ‘We knew we had something untameable, and wanted to preserve that feeling of edgy rawness in the mixes.’
The cover image is by Julie Campbell, with overall design by Twilight. The vinyl edition comes with a digital copy (MP3).
Featuring an impressive list of collaborators, including Ty Segall and
members of Woods, Cibo Matto, Sharon Van Etten’s band, Wand,
Heatwarmer, Mega Bog and Bonnie “Prince” Billy, ‘Geist’ is the
follow-up to Shannon Lay’s 2019 Sub Pop debut, ‘August’, which
featured friends and collaborators Ty Segal (whose band Shannon
played in) and Mikal Cronin.
‘Geist’ feels like a window - or a mirror - into possibilities of the self
and beyond. Shannon Lay’s new album is tender intensity, placeless
and ethereal. It exists in the chasms of the present -- a world
populated by shadow selves, spiritual awakenings, déjà vu and past
lives. “Something sleeps inside us,” Lay insists on the opening track,
and that’s the guiding philosophy throughout. A winding, golden,
delicate thread of intuition that explores the unknown, the possibility.
Its title, ‘Geist’, the German word for spirit, is rife with an otherworldly
presence, the suggestion of another. The promise that you are never
alone.
Lay tracked vocals and guitar at Jarvis Tavinere of Woods’ studio,
then sent the songs out to multi-instrumentalists Ben Boye (Bonnie
“Prince” Billy, Ty Segall) in Los Angeles and Devin Hoff (Sharon Van
Etten, Cibo Matto) in New York; trusting their musical instincts and
intuition. She then sent those recordings to Sofia Arreguin (Wand)
and Aaron Otheim (Heatwarmer, Mega Bog) for additional keys, while
Ty Segall contributed a guitar solo on ‘Shores’.
As a whole, ‘Geist’ is both esoteric and accessible. Songs range from
a concise, pared-back cover of Syd Barrett’s tilt-a-whirl-esque ‘Late
Night’, to the meditative, Dune-inspired ‘Rare to Wake’, to the mostly
a-cappella ‘Awaken and Allow’, which channels Lay’s deep Irish
roots, a moment of reflection, before a drop happens - its intensity
mirroring the anticipation and anxiety that come with taking the first
step to accepting change for yourself. And the title track ‘Geist’, a
song about the power living in all of us, is a love song to the
possibility of healing, an ode to falling into the arms of what you’re
becoming. It’s a glimpse into the parts of yourself you have yet to
meet.
Initial copies of the LP pressed on Sun Yellow coloured vinyl.
Joan Baez – a singer, activist and pacificist committed to the struggle against all segregation – recorded her first album in 1959 at the age of eighteen. The titles on these four sides are taken from the first four records she made, and they all reflected the position she took in the folk movement that was then emerging, together with her militant support of minority groups.
It would be sixty years before she said farewell to the stage, in July 2019 at the Montreux jazz Festival, after a sixty-year career of unrivalled quality that actively showed her sincere commitment to social and political causes. The grace in her exceptional voice, her kindness and admirable personality – and her determination – earned her an exceptional place in the history of popular music, as well as in the hearts of an ever-increasing audience.
Imagine Andrew Weatherall producing Pere Ubu. The 7” Taki Chrome / Strummer Maxxx single by Pink Skull released on Höga Nord Rekords give a hint of how such a collaboration would sound. Mid seventies kraut rock á la “Neu 75” meet leftfield and sophisticated punk. The record has an organic warmth to it yet the excessive use of electronics: most instruments on the tracks are synthesizers and drum machines – all Moog, Korg and whatnot.
In the warmth of the Pink Skull-sound you suddenly get a wash of cold, hard rain from all directions. These elements of surprise create edges in the round soundscape and brings chaos to the mix. This is of course all part of Julian Grefes (founder of Pink Skull) plan.
Pink Skull propels you out of the quarantine like a shiny metal free bird released from its rusty cage.
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Forty years ago, on July 8th and 9th in 1981, a group formed by the splintering of some of Bristol’s essential post punk bands, entered the hallowed studio at Berry Street in London to record their debut single. What would emerge was not only an exuberant post funk classic on the A-side, but also a wildly influential dub workout on the flipside, whose reverberations can still be heard today. Both songs have proven essential in very different ways.
A focal point for the unique punk-funk that was coming together in Bristol as the bridge from the 70s to the 80s arrived, Maximum Joy was formed by Glaxo Babies multi-instrumentalist Tony Wrafter and 18 year old vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Janine Rainforth. Soon they drafted in additional Glaxo Babies in the form of drummer Charlie Llewellin and bassist Dan Catsis, along with guitarist John Waddington, fresh from The Pop Group. The group set about making a one-of-a-kind mix of funk, punk, pop, jazz, dub, soul, afrobeat and reggae; creating a brilliant charge of danceable tunes wrapped around elastic basslines and complex percussion, punctuated by melodic horns and stabs of guitar, all of it highlighting Rainforth’s naturally enthusiastic vocal style.
Bursting at the seams, “Stretch” feels like it can barely be contained within the studio walls. Rainforth delivers a vocal performance that can only be found within the freedom of someone recording their first ever single. I’m not lying when I say there isn’t another song that sounds quite like it. The group’s love of funk is evident on “Stretch”, but the heavy influence of dub and reggae from their surroundings shapes the moody skitter of “Silent Street”. Here, the sing song vocals seem to drift across the heavy late night air. The two songs are wildly different, yet both could only have come from this key collection of players. Paired with the likes of The Pop Group, The Slits, The Raincoats and the On-U-Sound collective, Maximum Joy still stands out as a unique voice in the movement.
Y Records head Dick O’Dell would join the sessions and give the release a warm home in the UK while legendary 99 Records in New York took on the US release since Maximum Joy made perfect sense being equal parts ESG and Liquid Liquid. This 12” has been a staple for DJ’s in the know since day one.
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Whiskey Disco returns with another brilliant EP by Australian producer Kayroy, known for creating new intersections between edits, reworks, and originals that the label is known for.
A driving, tension-heavy original A-side reminiscent of early Sound Stream, complimented by two wonderfully selected reworks - a smartly tightened up beautiful instrumental gem originally by Japanese guitarist & composer, Shigeru Suzuki, and an almost necessary revision of euro-disco genius Alec Costandinos’s opus "Romeo & Juliet".
A wide ranging and fantastic record all around.
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A Wide ranging, eclectic and progressive musical outlook has always been the Lack of Afro approach. His latest material follows suit as he harnesses disparate musical styles ranging from funk, soul and hip-hop to create a contemporary yet vintage musical escapade of superb songs.
On his 4th studio album for Freestyle Records, the influences, sounds and musical textures are more eclectic than ever. Below, Adam talks us through some of the his favourite moments on 'Music For Adverts'.
First out of the box is the steaming funk killer Freedom: This time around I knew I didn't want an intro or a skit to start the album - I needed a strong, heavy opener - I had the melody for the chorus floating around in my head. It was then just a case of working with Jack Tyson - Charles on the rest of it and getting the vibe that the song required.
Long time Lack Of Afro collaborator Herbal T features on Brown Sugar: I had an idea of doing a disco track with an emcee on it, which you don't really hear often. This is actually the first time I've sung on a Lack of Afro track, adding my backing vocal warblings on the choruses! Special shout to George Cooper for the howlin' Hammond solo at the end too.
Of the gritty instrumental No Guts, No Glory Adam explains: I wanted to include 3 instrumentals as I always have a soft spot for them & it's what people know me for. The 'choir' was recorded by layering up my own voice in different octaves, nothing is auto-tuned, its all real. The studio allows me to do stuff like that but I could never sing live - I'll leave that to the proper vocalists.
'Proper vocalist' Jack Tyson - Charles again features on The Gypsy, which as Adam explains uses the classic song format to great effect: One of my favourite LOA tunes to date, Its in keeping with the album mission statement of wanting to write 'proper songs' instead of just grooves.
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The popular #Ibiza compilation series returns on July 2nd with its fifth installment, #Ibiza 2021. The album brings together tracks and remixes from some of the world’s biggest names in dance music, including Claptone, Chicane, Sammy Porter, David Morales, Secondcity and Mark Knight. The collection also presents the hottest breakout tracks set to grace the island this year, including Gettoblaster’s recent Beatport number 1 ‘H O U S E’, and Jodie Harsh’s current UK radio hit ‘My House’. Radio promo: Jodie Harsh - My House: Playlisted on BBC Radio 1 (B-List) / No.1 in UK Upfront Club Chart. Other promo: Claptone - Zero: One of the biggest DJ names in Ibiza with his Masquerade parties at Pacha, Claptone moves up to No.41 in this year’s Top 100 DJ’s global rank. Zero is the first single from his upcoming third album.
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'EPM20 – EP 2’ turns the spotlight on electro. For this special EP, we’ve gathered brand new tracks by The Advent & Zein Ferreira, Carl Finlow, Detroit’s Filthiest and Modulator a.k.a. Freddie Fresh. As all good electro-heads will know, The Advent (Cisco Ferreira) is as renowned for electro as he is for techno. On ‘Strangeform’ he works alongside his son and rising talent, Zein to turn in pure electro-funk that’s blistering to the last beat. Another absolute master of the scene is Carl Finlow who brings deep bass notes, carefully crafted melody and his meticulous production skills to ‘Optogenetic’. Detroit’s Filthiest has been wowing listeners with his work for labels like Casa Voyager, Bass Agenda, Philthtrax and his own MCEC. His track ‘Werewolf’ is the electro monster the title suggests – dark and tough Detroit-electro book-ended with a playful vocal. The EP closes with the legendary, Freddie Fresh who after three decades is a genuine virtuoso. Under his Modulator guise he layers beautiful retro synth stylings and sci-fi atmospherics on ‘ProMars’. The third EP featuring four house tracks will follow in July, with the ‘EPM20’ compilation after the summer.
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Early support by: Laurent Garnier, AME, Marco Bailey, Jennifer Cardini, Terrence Fixmer, Kyle Geiger, Marcel Dettmann, Apparat, Richie Hawtin, Vril, Charlotte De Witte, Sasha, Benjamin Demage any many more..
Fresh off of a remix for Grimes’ “My Name is Dark”, producer Julien Bracht has been powering through CV19 studio seclusion on full-power, with a distinct vision for brighter days ahead. Bracht’s new album, “Now Forever One,” an emblem of dark analog synthwave, is set to drop June 11. Bracht’s first solo album under his own namesake is cut with surgical precision for the shoegazing astral sound travellers who long to break out of their pandemic quarantines, and reconvene for techno-induced ascension. The album’s first single, “Melancholia,” and it’s accompanying video, is already breaking hearts and charts. An exquisite sonic hybrid of communal revelry and profound introspection, “Now Forever One,” focuses Bracht’s multilayered craftsmanship on resolving this era’s angst with sensory exploration and optimism.
As a lifelong drummer, Bracht’s insatiable musical energy lead him to bang out his first 3 EPs within one year of first being signed in 2011-12. In 2015 he founded the band Lea Porcelain with Markus Nikolaus in London. Their hypnotic post-rock debut release in 2017, “Hymns to the Night,” gained instant acclaim from UK tastemakers Lauren Laverne, Steve Lamacq and Zane Lowe, to name a few. The lads broke back onto the international stage with dates on several major festivals around Europe, including the Leeds/Reading Festival, Great Escape Brighton and Latitude. Rich output combined with the inclusion of live drums in his solo live sets quickly gained Bracht recognition and slots on the global tour circuit.
“Now Forever One” forges Julien Bracht’s transition from techno djing, while continuing the explorations of texture and timbre over functional song structures from Lea Porcelain, to a more open-ended search for the aural sublime — the substrate on which music, life and light glide to create momentary nodes of meaning in an increasingly meaningless sociopolitical atmosphere. These are crucial themes to Bracht’s process and approach. “The intention in my music is to strengthen people’s awareness and minds… I want us all to gather in spirit and stick together.”
The album exemplifies Bracht’s hunt for elemental juxtaposition with the warm Prophet 6’s sawtooth howls and bright pads against chillingly indifferent pulsing basslines and percussion. Clocking in at just under 65 minutes, “Now Forever One’s” tracks are sequenced to take the listener through the full emotional arch of a 15-hour rave, with an emphasis on those moments of collective epiphany where heaving techno floors become the perfect microcosm for an idealistic and interconnected future. Interspersed with improvisational one-takes, the album submerges the listener in polyrhythmic meditations, of which “Streets” and “Nocturne” are standout examples, and soars on the vaulted synth melodies of future dance floor favourites “Melancholia” and “Dreams of Euphoria.” Sascha Ring of Apparat & Moderat puts it perfectly: “I played “Melancholia” the night I got it at Mutek Festival in Mexico City, and instantly knew it’ll shine on a big floor at the right time. It’s just the right balance of majestic melodic deepness.” The sounds are both triumphant and exploratory.
Greater than the sum of its parts, Bracht’s latest release hints at the artist’s emerging potential for nailing our moment’s zeitgeist; learning to live smaller while constantly seeking higher heights. Inhabiting the fertile ground between solitary rumination and dance-floor convenance, the launch of “Now Forever One’s” lunar expedition into the techno oblivion of pandemic lockdown is oddly fitting.
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Originally released in the US on 17th July 2021 as part of RSD, now available to all. Black Vinyl with a poster included. Recorded Live At Grimey's Record Store in East Nashville, TN, Kip Moore performs new takes on tracks from his critically-praised album Wild World. “There is nothing like that feeling of going to your local record store and hand-picking out vinyls for your collection,” shared Moore. “It’s really important that we preserve the local independent record stores in our communities and Record Store Day is a really great way to help continue to raise awareness, even more so during these times. Grimey’s is a Nashville staple and to get to perform some songs from the new record there is something I’m looking forward to sharing.”
