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Inspired by the soundtrack from the motion picture American Graffiti, this 3LP collection captures the sound of late night cruising, jukebox romance and early rock ’n’ roll rebellion. Spanning doo wop, rockabilly and classic pop, the set brings together era defining hits from the mid 1950s to early 1960s, featuring timeless favourites by Chuck Berry, The Beach Boys, Dion, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, The Platters and many more. Pressed across three vividly coloured vinyl records, red, blue and yellow, this set is both a nostalgic listening experience and a striking collector’s piece, celebrating the golden age of American rock and pop in authentic style.

Vanguard captures the iconic Bristol Sound.

The early days of the iconic Bristol Sound are captured in a new album including an exclusive re-release of the very first track from Massive Attack and tracks from Smith & Mighty, Purple Penguin and more.

The curated tracks are also linked in that all were originally released with bespoke original covers from legendary Bristol street artists, including Banksy and Will Barras, tying its release toVanguard’s current exhibition Bristol Street Art: The Evolution of a Global Movement at M Shed, Bristol, running until October.
Compiled by DJ Boca 45 (Scott Hendy), Vanguard brings together the seminal tracks that defined the rebellious era which saw the birth of the Bristol Sound for the first time. Featured tracks include an exclusive re-release of Any Love - the first ever track by Massive Attack released on Massive Attack Records in 1988, Smith & Mighty’s breakout hit Walk On, Purple Penguin’s downtempo classic Memphis and other trip hop classics.

The LP celebrates the globally recognised Bristol Sound whose experimental breakbeat rhythms and influence still dominate the scene today. Along with classic tracks from the ‘90’s into the ‘00’s and beyond, the album uncovers lesser known cuts by some of Bristol’s pioneering musicians such as One Cut and West Country hip hop’s finest Aspects.

The explosion of the Bristol Sound coincided with the boom in UK street art which led to fruitful collaborations between artists and musicians. Finding inspiration in each other’s work, street artists frequently designed rave posters, logos and cover art while DJs provided the beats to accompany street artists’ clandestine painting.
Vanguard The Album pays homage to these relationships with a beautifully put together gatefold LP featuring iconic cover art designed by some of the biggest names in street art such as Inkie, Dicy, Will Barras and Nick Walker. These early works capture the boisterous energy of the era and confirm Bristol’s status as an extraordinary cultural melting pot.

The double vinyl record also features extensive sleeve notes written by Bristolian writer and curator Jamie Hombre as he reflects on these ground breaking cover art collaborations.

Black Ark Vol. 2 is another piece of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s limitless musical puzzle. It’s a bedrock of deep and heavy rhythms recorded around Jamaica =just before the demise of Perry’s famed Black Ark Studio. Black Ark Vol. 2 is the follow up album to the acclaimed Black Ark In Dub that unsurprisingly for an Upsetter release, took a different path. More vocal oriented, the album features extended dubwise cuts of (former wife and co-producer) Carol Cole’s ‘Ethiopia’, The Originals ‘Got To Be Irie’, Junior Byles ‘Mumbling & Grumbling and The Inamans remake of the Bee Gees hit ‘How Deep Is your Love’, along with an alternate take of the Silvertones roots classic ‘Give Thanks’ with flute overdub and a couple of solid covers from Third World lead vocalist Bunny Rugs. Originally released in 1981 the hard to find Black Ark Vol. 2 remains a frozen sonic timepiece, captured at the beginning of the end of one era and poised at the start of another.

A strange confluence of sound that sounds part Krautrock synth label Brain records, part Hyperdub.   Techno haze and synth wormholes with spectacular sound design that has banged at Berghain and soundtracked winter night drives.

Greenspan is known mainly for his work with Junior Boys and Jessy Lanza and Taraval is a longtime touring member of Caribou, but both have released several 12' and EPs of electronic exploration over the past few years. 

Inspired by synthesizer minimalists like JD Emmanuel, Cluster and John Carpenter, the two attempted to create a type of dance music with hardware that was indebted to their influences but did not feel intrinsically retrogressive. The idea was to make a type of raw synthesizer and drum machine music that could be listened to beside the hypermodern techno of Pearson Sound or Actress.  

The cover art is a tribute to a mysterious mural that looms over the Hamilton Ontario area where the album was recorded.
Each of the five tracks on the EP were edited down from much longer recording jams which were done with hardware sequencers in real time. The recording was done completely off the floor with no overdubs or added material after the fact. As this release might appeal to synthesizer hobbyists and enthusiasts it seemed appropriate to compile a list of the instruments used in the original recordings. they are as follows: Arp Odyssey  Pioneer Toraiz SP 16 Eurorack Modular System Roland JX8P DSI Tempest Simmons SDS8 Roland SH101 Roland Jupiter 6 Yamaha CS50 Oberheim OBXA