This anthology of Los Wembler's allows us to appreciate the legacy of the iconic group from Iquitos, the most important city in the Peruvian Amazon which is only accessible by air or river, and their key role in the creation and revival of Amazonian cumbia. Los Wembler's emerged as a family band in the late 1960s in the Belén district of Iquitos and are regarded as pioneers of electric guitar-driven Amazonian cumbia from Perú. The selection of songs that make up this compilation dates from the period between 1972 and 1980, at the peak of the band's career. Songs such as 'Sonido amazónico' or 'La danza del petrolero' have become highly influential classics of the genre. Most of these tracks are reissued here for the first time after remaining unavailable for decades. "Selva" includes an insert with liner notes and photos. Pressed on 180g vinyl.
wieder lieferbar Wer ist Angela Aux, die mit langen blonden Haaren, Bart und sanften Songs am Rande des Nervenzusammenbruchs die Münchner Szene mit einer Eigenwilligkeit bezirzt, der man sich schwer entziehen kann? Süddeutsche Zeitung Das ist die Geschichte eines unwahrscheinlichen Tonträgers mit einem unwahrscheinlichen Cover. Und sie beginnt am Meer. Am Atlantik genauer, der kühl flirrt und von dessen Wellenkämmen es im Gegenlicht neoprenschwarze Silhouetten in die Gischt spült. "Easy Tunas", Etüden im Fallenlassen. Sommer 2020. Kurzer Logout vom Lockdown. Hier am Meer in Südfrankreich blödeln Florian Kreier (Angela Aux, Aloa Input) und Leo Hopfinger (Das Hobos) mit Gitarren in jener verdröhnten Surfcamp-Melancholie aus Salz, Gras und Abendsonne. Eine Woche Künstler-Residency am Ozean. Ein Konzert, viel Freizeit. 28 Songs nehmen die beiden in diesen Tagen auf. 28 Songs, ohne Auftrag in den Sand gejammt. Ein Soundtrack der Sorglosigkeit, der später - völlig unerwartet -zu musikalischer Hyaluronsäure mutiert . Als Straffungsmittel in der Sorgenfaltenzeit. Aber der Reihe nach: "Es gibt Dinge" taufen die zwei diesen, am Ende auf elf Stücke kondensierten Surfcamp-Impressionismus. Die Songs - zart hingetupfte Fantasien über diese südfranzösische Surfer-Parallelwelt. Über die "Wanna be hippies", die "Fishermen", das "Surfer Girl". Aber natürlich ist das kein Surf-Album. Die Wellenreiterhofidylle ist nur Ausgangspunkt für Exkursionen, die explizit das finden wollen, wonach sie nicht suchen.
For the first time ever, the only full-length album by Spanish soul and garage legends Z-66 is being reissued. Z-66's signature blend of powerful soul, psychedelia, and pop-clearly influenced by bands like The Move, Stones, Vanilla Fudge, and Blood, Sweat & Tears delivers a bold, modern sound that remains fresh and compelling. Unlike other Spanish bands of the time, Los Z-66 enjoyed unique conditions that allowed their sound to stand out as one of the most advanced on the local scene in the late 1960s. As was the case with many other groups, their repertoire for entertaining discotheques had to include the hits of the moment and was not always open to the songs of the most daring international bands, which was the sound that most stimulated the musicians. In the case of Los Z-66, being based in Mallorca meant they had privileged access to hard to-find records, imported by foreign tourists, and to a much more modern atmosphere than in other parts of the country. Songs in Italian and French soon gave way to English hits by the Animals, the Stones, and the Beatles. But it was the offer received from Mike Jeffries, manager of Jimi Hendrix, the Animals, and others, to serve as the house band at the newly opened club Sgt. Pepper's that allowed the group to raise their live performances to a level rarely seen in these parts... They even soon incorporated the distorted sound of fuzz into their guitar when they received a fuzz face pedal as a gift from Jimi Hendrix himself, who was invited to play at the club's opening! Their excellent blend of stunning soul, psychedelia, and pop became their hallmark, not only in the band's concerts but also in the handful of singles and EPs they released on the Regal label. We are now re-releasing for the first time their only full-length album, originally published in 1969, which is actually a compilation of songs previously released in 45 rpm format, complete with two bonus tracks not included on the original LP plus a booklet with liner notes and rare photos.
Based in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, Dark Circles Recordings has
rediscovered and is reissuing an album originally recorded and released in 2008 by
Dog Soup, a then London-based quartet that played a handful of gigs and recorded
just one exemplary album before, seemingly, disappearing. Fragments, that album, is
a crucial chapter in the British jazz story that can now be told again.
The brainchild of trumpeter and composer Robbie Robson, Dog Soup was briefly part
of the Loop Collective, a group of musicians founded in London in 2005. Dog Soup
cut one mesmerising album of rhythmic shapes and melodic colours that still
sounds fresh, exciting and dynamic 17 years later. An intoxicating mix of composed
and freely improvised playing, Fragments keeps the listener guessing just where the
music is coming from.
Released in 2008, Fragments just preceded the revitalised British jazz scene and slipped
under the radar of even the most ardent aficionados, becoming a lost classic—until Dark
Circles Recordings recognised its brilliance 17 years later and persuaded Robson to reissue
it.
'...prefigures the post-rock into jazz trajectory which Chicago's International Anthem label would later inscribe so joyfully'
* * * * Mojo
'...original, free and dramatic...'
The Guardian
British South African composer & producer Galina Juritz presents 'One Weird Trick', her debut solo album on London's home for interdisciplinary oddballs, Kit Records.
As a classically trained violinist, Galina has worked in bands and ensembles such as ShhArt Ensemble, Inclementine, and in various combinations featuring leading musicians from Cape Town and Johannesburg's classical and jazz scenes.
Galina composed the music for Madness: Songs Of Hope and Despair, a cantata made in collaboration with Dizu Plaatjies, with a libretto by psychiatrist Dr Sean Baumann. Madness debuted at the World Psychiatry International Congress in 2016, and had a two week run at Cape Town's Baxter Theatre in 2017. As a composer she writes frequently for film, animation and ensemble.
She has collaborated with the likes of composer Neo Muyanga, Mr Beatnick, Cara Stacey, Kelpe, Juliana Venter, Violeta Garcia, Kit Records head Richard Greenan & more. Galina has been remixed by the likes of Photay, Memotone and Tom Skinner (Sons of Kemet, The Smile).
'One Weird Trick' is the culmination of her solo material. Still rooted in the ornate, technical world of string composition and arrangement, the album is stubbornly unclassifiable.
Opening with time-dilated ambient ('Leaves') before segueing into rippling, florid techno ('Skeleton and Tiger fighting'), Galina twists again and again, shifting gears through stoned, jazz-inflected r'n'b ('Things I Know to be True'), string-led widescreen songcraft ('Come Back') and orchestral minimalism for standing on vast shorelines ('Time Split at the Seams of Your Departure [everything is now before and after]').
On the B side, Galina flexes her composition chops with the storming jazz of 'Spirit Level', recorded by Cape Town-based musicians Buddy Wells, Andrew Lilley, Jonno Sweetman & Stephen de Souza. Galina is then joined by the Stockholm Sax Quartet on 'In Rebellion of Time', a stately Reichian revelation that moves from solemn ballet to ecstatic multiharmonic denouement. To close, Galina retrieves oozing electronics and smeared journal entries from the guts of a black hole - a fitting conclusion to a truly unique, unpredictable, delightful, sad, infectious, and bizarre record.
Influences / sounds like: Louis Cole, Matthew Herbert, Darkside, Thundercat, Eiko Ishibashi, ECM, Oliver Coates.
'One Weird Trick' is out 7th November 2025 via Kit Records, available on vinyl & digital formats.
Kit Records will throw an album launch party at Servant Jazz Quarters in Dalston, London on 30th October 2025. Tickets TBC.
[g] 07: Time Split at the Seams of Your Departure (Everything Is Now Before and After) [feat. sir kay]
Dan Bean is one half of The Transcendence Orchestra, alongside Anthony Child (aka Surgeon). Together they've released three albums on Editions Mego as well as an album on their own Old Technology imprint. Dan has also previously released a solo EP on Eyeless Records.
This debut solo album is deliberately composed and performed using only two instruments: a Roland TB-303 and a bass guitar. The point of this constraint was to try to force the creation of unexpected sounds from two very familiar bass instruments. The eight pieces gathered here succeed in doing so, featuring searing textures, unexpected melodic progressions and trance inducing repetitions. At times tender, these tracks remind us that even the most familiar or even overused instruments and ideas can be subverted and refreshed.
The Eves celebrate the first anniversary of their acclaimed EP Both Sides with
a special vinyl edition to be released in November 2025
Produced and co-written with Dan Gautreau (Alicia Keys, Paolo Nutini) Both Sides was
released only on CD and digital in 2024. The new vinyl edition of the EP features a
previously unreleased bonus track The Silence produced by Mark Morrow (wrest,
Swim School). Title track Both Sides features prolific drummer and percussionist Ash
Soan (Snow Patrol, Tori Amos, Del Amitri). The EP showcases the duo's distinctive
songwriting style that encompasses smooth vocal harmonies and thoughtful
production, culminating in a fresh yet timeless sound that delivers their signature
blend of melodic pop.
The Eves have been played across BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Introducing.
Their song Brand New Day has over 137k streams on Spotify and spent 5 weeks on
the BBC Radio 2 playlist. It was also made 'Single of the Week' on BBC Radio Scotland,
played on Bauer Media's Forth 1 radio station, reached No. 6 and No. 15 in the iTunes
pop charts and iTunes main download chart respectively, charted in the Amazon 'New
Hot Releases' UK Chart, and made an impressive debut in the UK Official Charts
Company download and single charts in the top 65. The song also features on an
episode of 'The Kardashians' on Disney Plus and Hulu across America.
'Big Love' was adopted as the official anthem for Scottish Women's Football for the
2022/2023 League Season, and was the pair's first release as a co-write, written with
Jim Duguid (Paolo Nutini) and producer Lewis Gardiner (Ellie Goulding, Nick Jonas).
The track was also featured on BBC Scotland's most popular football show 'Off the
Ball' with Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove.
The pair are seasoned performers having opened for major artists at sold out shows
including Belinda Carlisle, Sister Sledge and The Shires. They've toured extensively
with Skerryvore and Horse across the UK, opened for Callum Beattie, and have
performed at festivals including TRSNMT, Country to Country, Edge Fest, Tiree
Festival, Moonbeams and Fringe by the Sea, sharing stages with Wet Wet Wet, Sophie
Ellis-Bextor, Gabrielle, Tony Hadley and Heather Small.
Other highlights include performing at the Guinness Six Nations rugby for Scotland v
Wales at BT Murrayfield, recording a live session for BBC Scotland's 'The Quay
Sessions', and several TV appearances on BBC Scotland's 'The Edit' on national TV
and BBC i-Player and STV's 'What's On' and 'The Braw and the Brave' chat show.
"The five-year anniversary release of Orion Sun’s Hold Space For Me, pressed on tangerine vinyl. Her story, that of an early 20s woman of color dealing with and learning about life's obstacles and celebrations, is understood best through her song lyrics; citing J Dilla, Nancy Wilson, Jodeci, Kirk Franklin, Hazel Scott and Digable Planets as just some of her many influences. She's a career artist with a long road ahead and her sound defies trends; capitalizing on a velvety and familiar voice with timeless jazz / folk / R&B instrumentals.
“...a pinch-yourself song that steps lightly with the thrill of a love seemingly too good to be true (and the fear that it might be)” – Philadelphia Inquirer on “Ne Me Quitte Pas”
“stark and lightly poetic.” – Pitchfork
“A smooth, serene downbeat groove and a blissed vocal finds Orion Sun singing about sudden and deep connection — “It feels so good to know ya” — and despite the sadness implied in the title, the outlook is positive and pure.” – WXPN/The Key on “Ne Me Quitte Pas”
“While the track shares the same title as covers done by Nina Simone, Regina Spektor, and Wyclef Jean, she presents a completely different vibe, slowing down a flipped sample with smooth guitar loops and resonating drums. Still, with all of the stellar instrumentation, the 23-year-old’s voice cuts through as poignant as ever.” – Refinery 29 on ”Ne Me Quitte Pas”"
Mit »Live at the S. E.R. P.E. N.T. Festival« bringt Slash die Liebe zum Blues und seine eigenen musikalischen Wurzeln zurück in den Vordergrund. Dieses Livealbum fängt den elektrisierenden Auftritt vom 17. Juli 2024 im Mission Ballroom in Colorado ein.
Auf Tour im Rahmen des S. E.R. P.E. N.T. Festivals liefert Slash gemeinsam mit seinem Ensemble »Slash's Blues Ball« ein einzigartiges Set, das den Legenden des Rock und Blues Tribut zollt. Es enthält Blues-Klassiker und Rock-Standards wie »Parchman Farm Blues« (Bukka White), »Killing Floor« (Howlin' Wolf), »Oh Well« (Fleetwood Mac), »Papa Was a Rolling Stone« (The Undisputed Truth), »Stone Free« (Jimi Hendrix) oder »The Pusher« (Hoyt Axton).
• Ein elektrisierendes Livealbum mit Slash in Topform
• Mit 15 legendären Blues-Klassikern wie »Parchman Farm Blues« (Bukka White), »Oh Well« (Fleetwood Mac), »Papa Was a Rolling Stone« (The Undisputed Truth), »Stone Free« (Jimi Hendrix) uvm.
• Mit dem legendären »Slash's Blues Ball« Ensemble
• Hochwertiges Packaging mit aufwendig gestaltetem Artwork und exklusiven Fotos
Am 12. und 13. Oktober 2024 gaben American Football zwei ausverkaufte Konzerte im El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles als Teil ihrer Tour zum 25. Jubiläum ihres selbstbetitelten Debütalbums. Mit Gastauftritten von Ethel Cain und M.A.G.S. wurden diese besonderen Konzerte für das erste und einzige Live-Album der Band aufgezeichnet. Zeitgleich erscheint gemeinsam mit Prophet Media und Regisseur Steph Rinzler ein abendfüllender Konzertfilm mit Interviews. Sowohl der Film als auch das Album fangen das Erbe und die unerwartet anhaltende Stärke einer Band ein, die ein Genre mitgeprägt hat.
Nachdem American Football 1999 während des Studiums in aller Stille ihr Debütalbum veröffentlichten, lösten sie sich auf, um sich anderen Projekten zu widmen. 15 Jahre später kehrte die Band jedoch mit einer Fangemeinde zurück, die in der Underground-Emo-Szene stetig gewachsen war. Das Album landete später auf #6 der Rolling Stone-Liste "40 Greatest Emo Albums Of All Time", während Pitchfork der Deluxe-Neuauflage den Titel "Best New Reissue" verlieh und die LP als "einflussreichstes Album des Genres" bezeichnete.
A hiatus is nothing but the reconsideration of fundamental values and interests.
Simple Times is back with “A Thin Line Between Dreams & Nightmares” EP, an emotional deep dive into the world of Progressive Trance, House & Electro. Aiming to follow the principles of stereo and raw, uncompressed music, this EP offers a fresh take on vintage music and the early culture of raves, dancing, and dance music.
Acclaimed electronic musicians, producers and sound architects Max Cooper and Rob Clouth team up for a new collaborative EP; a dark, playful four-track dive into ambient, breakbeat and techno’s subconscious flow, featuring a standout vocal performance from South London rapper FLOHIO.
Recorded over a series of spontaneous London sessions, “8 Billion Realities” channels years of creative exchange between two of the genre’s most quietly innovative artists and is a result of a decision between the longtime friends to refrain from conceptual overthinking in favour of instinct and joy.
As long-time admirers of each other’s audio/visual work, Cooper and Clouth collaborated in London together after both emerging from intense, idea-heavy album cycles. What followed was a series of exploratory sessions, half-improvised, half-built around half-formed thoughts.
The result is a club-ready EP that feels alive and human: imperfect and hypnotically rich.
“Rob Clouth has been one of my favourite electronic music producers since I first heard his work in 2011,” says Cooper. “His work is more full of ideas and structure than anyone else.” “We were both coming from extensive conceptual studio albums and both in the mood for simplifying things and having some fun with the music, so that’s what we did”.
For Clouth, no stranger to Max Coopers Mesh label having previously released an array of EP’s plus his 2020 debut album “Zero Point” this record marks a new chapter, both creatively and personally.“Something pretty new for me is collaborating,” he says. “You kind of have to when to stop, because if you develop an idea all the way to its endpoint, the other person has nowhere to jump in.”
The first “A Moment Set Aside” began as a break from another idea, a live, unplanned improvisation based around arps and ambience. “The track was written in about as long as it took to play it,” says Cooper. “It was pulled from a 1 hour recording session, more or less as you hear it… the energy and excitement grew as the unplanned moment bore some magic.”
“The lesson being that sometimes it’s helpful to set aside a moment without forcing results, and let the subconscious have something to say.” What followed was darker, heavier. “Asymptote” is detuned techno. Subversive and euphoric in its descent. “We found a sort of brain mangling, half consonant, half wandering detuned techno pulse, which we started chatting about being a sort of pit of spiralling body parts we were falling into,” says Cooper. “It was a lot of fun to work on and let loose with bigger kicks than I usually ever get to unleash.”
Then came “8 Billion Realities”, featuring a standout rap performance from FLOHIO; an emerging figure in the UK grime and rap scene. The track was inspired by conversations about algorithmic echo chambers and hyper-personalised online worlds. Frantic, direct, and South London to the core, FLOHIO brings this tension to life. Her sharp, intense flow cuts through distortion and rhythm, landing the track somewhere between chaos and control instantly making it one of the most striking moments in either artist’s catalogue. “A different reality for all 8 billion of us,” says Cooper. “We weren’t sure if it would work… but there was something about the energy of the percussive idea and the story which felt like it might fit.” “Then FLOHIO had a play with it and straight off the bat absolutely killed it, not just with the lyrics and energy, but the harmonising too, it was a beautiful process.”
The final piece on the EP “Candeleda” originated from Clouth’s solo experiments with a live rig made entirely of vocals and keys, using his self-developed “cheatbox” system. “He put forward a beautiful stumbling melodic sequence which we bounced back and forth adding harmonies and synth layers,” says Cooper. “It rounds off a collection covering some of the breadth of music that we both love.”
Sex Tags UFO presents the second instalment of the non stop ongoing HOUSE music collaboration between the Burger man and DJ Sommer! Music created as house music as a FEELING!
Another four track EP smashing out some fine underground house music, all with the mix of DJ Sommers studio skills and old-school hardware approach, and the Burger man's wonky touch! The almost weekly live session recorded in DJ Sommer's studio, then arranged and mixed at Casa de Fett bare some fruits, and here is their first record!
The first track on this EP, a deep and mellow house groover, with some trippy beats and percussion that keeps it moving. Deep pad, with a light and engaging melody on top. A real house groover to start the night.
The second cut, the energy shifts! A power infused feel good house track with spacey elements, timeless and simple 909 kick, a catchy bass line, swinging hi-hats for the groove, a strong classic snap. Added with some keyboard infused organ melody, and a 303 bass line. Sparkled with some synth EFX to give it a feeling of Galaxy!
One the flip side we go back to the depth. A deep tribalistic and dubbed out house track. Simple by all means. A moving and grooving beat added with a simple but catchy pad that brings everything together! Simple, pure and groovy!
The last tune on the EP, another uplifting energy driven house track! Classic US house style, with the driving, and swinging beats to make you move. With an uplifting organ pad, and some additional party oriented flute action! A real underground party smasher!
Just as previous time, versatile, simple, raw dance floor oriented HOUSE EP made in and for the underground!
Enjoy!
Fides Records celebrates ten years of independent sound and vision with the monumental 41-track release “FIDES X – 10 Years of Fides”. The first 12” FIDESX 1, set to release on 24th October sets the tone for the seven-part vinyl journey, opening with a powerful statement of intent.
UFO95 introduces “After Light Comes Shadow”, a bleep-infused 4/4 cut whose broken accents unfold into layers of cinematic tension. Z.I.P.P.O and Claudio PRC follow with “Marte Rosso”, a poetic excursion across Martian landscapes shaped by evolving pads and hypnotic grooves. D-Leria’s “Underwater” plunges deeper still, driven by relentless modular propulsion and immersive aquatic textures.
The B-side expands the spectrum. Stephanie Sykes & Dyad contribute an untitled roller infused with spiritual intensity and organ-like resonance, while BIMOL’s “Fragmento en La” twists cinematic atmospheres and industrial edges into broken rhythms guided by a haunting Spanish vocal. Bringing the record to a close, Decoder delivers “We Keep Lying To Ourselves”—a slow-burning, 808-driven piece of subtle progression and timeless elegance
Alina Kalancea's Impedance is an entirely instrumental album spanning four sides, contains powerful rhythmic sequences, heart-beating frequencies and hypnotic loops that are paradoxically encapsulated in carefully crafted compositions which are full of secret passages and hidden doors. Kalancea's work creates ungraspable sonic experiences, which overtakes you, immersing its listeners in powerful and mind-altering soundscapes. There's no quick payoff on Impedance. This is the sound of new, patient electronic music, full of depth and substance.
Alina Kalancea is a Romanian sound artist and composer based in Modena, Italy. She has studied sound design and synthesis with Enrico Cossimi and collaborated with producer Alex Gamez, and artists Julia Kent and Raven Bush. Highly recommended to fans of Eleh, Caterina Barbieri, Shasta Cults, Jessica Ekomane, Eliane Radigue, and Alessandro Cortini. Packaged in a deluxe, heavy duty tip-on gatefold sleeves printed by Stoughton; cut by Golden Mastering and pressed at RTI.
In May, fans were treated to the first new music from Trentemøller since 2022. A new single, "A Different Light," showcased a stunning blend of prismatic space rock and folk. For anyone wondering if it foreshadowed the release of a full-length, Dreamweaver will drop in September, on Friday the 13th.
Featuring 10 tracks that traverse Trentemøller's many musical strengths, Dreamweaver also represents an obvious artistic leap, treading new ground while retaining the overall plot. Tracks featuring vocals come courtesy of of Iceland's Disa, who has been in Trentemøller's fold since the Memoria tour.
Dreamweaver's nylon string-led opening track, and first single from the album, "A Different Light," contains many of Trentemøller's trademarks: exploring dichotomies, musical shadowplay, Nordic frigidity, and warm waves. It opens the door for the steady, hypnotic "Nightfall," with its tetherless vocal, wistful guitars, and early morning desert chill. The third track in the opening trifecta, "Dreamweavers" finds its footing with a percussive soft trot, which starts after what feels like a shortwave radio scan in search of the right chords, eventually dialing in a weightless voice. Ostensibly keeping a ruminative pace with the previous two tracks, the song and, by extension, album soon opens up as the rest of the elements drop into place with a grand, luxurious burst.
Dreamweaver is about to enter its next phase. With the hatch blown off of the portal, the noisy "I Give My Tears," driven by its glissed and fuzzy bass line, pours into the void. It's followed by its sibling, the most chaotic track on Dreamweaver, "Behind My Eyes." Arriving as a piece of noise rock pandemonium, "Behind My Eyes," can't be contained in its plush vault. A whip-crack snare and convulsing guitars smash against each other in the song's verse chamber. The tension builds, as the particles collide, pushing past the point of critical mass, kicking off the chain reaction which is the chorus. At times it harkens back to the proto-gaze tracks that gave birth to dream pop, at others it newly defines what that is. There's no time to contemplate it, though, as the song disintegrates in a microphonic feedback instant.
A respite follows with the somnambulistic pair of "Hollow" and "Empty Beaches." Then, a moment of intensity returns as the soaring textures and tribal drum bursts of "In A Storm" take control, before being taken out with the ambient slo-core of "Winter's Ghost" and "Closure." This diptych wraps up an album which certainly feels on-script for Trentemøller, but is also much more psychedelic than previous offerings.
Dreamweaver will be released on Trentemøller's own In My Room label. It is an exceedingly immersive experience, bound to release any dormant hallucinations you may be harboring.
C"mon Tigre announces their new instrumental project,Instrumental Ensemble - Soundtrack for Imaginary Movie Vol 1. This album oï¬Çers an alternate view of cinematic music: a soundtrack composed for a fictional film using a challenging and inventive method.This project investigates an alternative approach in which music shapes and guides visual storytelling. It"s the first in a series of albums dedicated to as-yet-unmade films, enabling listeners to explore music as a key component in cinematic narrative. The original story that inspired this music was created in partnership with a large language model, which was taught and instructed in substance and style to best fit the project"s artistic concept. C"mon Tigre works with AI to achieve collaborative harmony while contemplating on the unavoidable future ahead. Each track on the album depicts a scene, delivering stories about humans jugglingpersonal issues and contacts with advanced technology. The end result is a story told by sound and text, designed to immerse listeners in a multisensory universe
Repress!
200 COPIES ONLY
Nils Frahm has unexpectedly confirmed details of a new collection of solo piano music, his first album since 2022’s three-hour Music For Animals. Day will be released by LEITER on March 1st, 2024, and it will be available on limited edition vinyl as well as via all digital platforms. Recorded in the summer of 2022 in complete solitude and away from his studio at Berlin’s famed Funkhaus complex, it is preceded by a single, ‘Butter Notes’, out on January 19. Day may come as a surprise to those who, over the last decade, have watched Frahm shift slowly away from the piano compositions with which he first made his name in favour of a nonetheless still-distinctive approach that’s considerably more instrumentally complex and intricately arranged. In addition, in 2021, having spent the early part of the pandemic arranging his archives, he released the 80 minute, 23-track Old Friends New Friends, a compilation of previously unreleased piano music intended to enable him to ”start over” with a clean slate. Judging from the extended, ambient nature of Music For Animals, it proved a successful gambit, but Frahm has never been able to resist returning to his first love, and those who enjoyed earlier acclaimed albums like The Bells, Felt and Screws will once again revel in Day’s familiar, personal style. Day, which contains six tracks, three over the six-minute mark, is the first in a pair of albums Frahm has lined up for 2024. In keeping with their nature, however, he won’t be making a song and dance about the release. Instead, he’ll resume his ongoing world tour, which has already included fifteen sold-out dates at Berlin’s Funkhaus as well as a show at Athen’s Acropolis. It will continue with shows all over the world, among them several sold-out dates at London’s Barbican in July 2024, where he previously curated a weekend of music, film and art, Possibly Colliding, in 2016. The album is best enjoyed in the manner in which it was recorded, in the intimacy of a peaceful, cosy room. There are muffled pedal creaks on the cyclical, quietly jazzy ‘You Name It’ and, during the palliative ripples of ‘Butter Notes’’ arpeggios, the sound of dogs barking in the streets outside. The compassionate, hesitant ‘Tuesdays’ and emotionally ambiguous ‘Towards Zero’ linger with the poignant persistence of Harold Budd’s earliest work, while ‘Hands On’ is a sometimes brighter, airier tune that sets its own, deliberate pace, and, as he has on occasions before, ‘Changes’ sees Frahm employing elements of his instrument’s construction in a ‘prepared piano’ fashion. Characterised by its confidential mood, Day confirms that, while Frahm is arguably now best known for elaborate, celebratory concerts calling upon an arsenal of pianos, organs, keyboards, synths, even a glass harmonica, he’s still a prolific master of affecting simplicity, tenderness and romance.
