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‘Cinnamon Sea’ is the perfect introduction to one of the most mysterious, ever-morphing underground bands from New Zealand. The Garbage and the Flowers make their long awaited return with another psychedelic masterpiece from the band that gave us 1997's cult dreampop gem 'Eyes Rind As If Beggars'. A hybrid fusion of the Velvets, Elephant 6 and any God-fearing stoned strummers you can think of, with a nod to Charlie Manson’s bedside balladry to boot. On their return, the band hone their songcraft with tracks like ‘Eye Know Who You Are’, a tantalising piece of Mazzy Star on steroids, a spiralling sonic rumble, that reaches a miasmic high on every hummed chorus. It opens the Pandora’s box of this release, a sleight of ear collection of five songs from this cosmology-observing Australia-based outfit. Tracks like ‘Red Star’ exist in a land where sound levels are destroyed by savage birds. ‘On The Radio’ trips into an untuned lagoon. There’s a quasi-religious zeal to proceedings, a nod to Sterling Morrison’s Velvet strum elsewhere, everything that would have been key to the Elephant 6 conglomerate not so long ago, maybe, if you can even imagine, My Bloody Valentine unplugged. ‘Cinnamon Sea’ was recorded in an abandoned courthouse in Freyerstown, a ghostly village in Victoria’s Goldfields in Southeast Australia, where you’re more likely to meet giant grey kangaroos bounding on its dusty main street than tottering prospectors these days. It unravels with claustrophobic glee as we traverse the structured climes of exemplary songwriting seasoned with the salt of improvisation. This from a band who previously released an album famously dubbed ‘Stoned Rehearsal’. It closes with the track ‘Jacob B’, a melancholy tale that’s a hybrid of Manson’s troubled tunes and the psychedelic folk songs of Quicksilver’s Dino Valente. File under: outsider music for insiders. “By some measure Wellington's most brilliant pop band, The Garbage & The Flowers are classic underground rock'n'roll with a hazy ramshackle sound pockmarked by bursts of genius.” Forced Exposure

RATA NEGRA from Madrid deliver twelve songs of dark, crude and moody punk on their debut LP. Formed of members from JUANITA Y LOS FEOS and LA URSS this power trio have distilled the negativity and uncertainly of the young Spanish generation and transformed it into perfectly crafted punk songs. Sharply turning snaps of daily life into melodic anthems for a doomed generation, musically RATA NEGRA fence between dark melodic OC punk a la RIKK AGNEW solo debut album and Spanish Punk ’83 via KGB/ VULPESS. Imagine the non keyboard tracks of Yugoslavian KAOS mixed with LA’S X melody, add to it a layer of distortion and a dose of vital desperation and you get close to RATA NEGRA’s sound. Oído Absoluto comes housed in a reverse board sleeve with printed inner. Both designed by guitarist Fa of Croke Studio and it is released as a collaboration between Beat Generation in Madrid and La Vida Es Un Mus Discos in Hackney.

Many will know Bernie Marsden for being a founder member of Whitesnake, one of the biggest rock bands of all time, and writing the iconic global smash, “Here I Go Again”.Since leaving Whitesnake almost 40 years ago, Bernie has forged an impressive solo career. He is acclaimed as one of the premier British blues guitarists. He has written and recorded with some of the biggest names in the industry, composed music for film & TV, forged a successful career as an author, and amassed a priceless collection of guitars. Most recently, Bernie partnered with Joe Bonamassa to write half of his hit album, Royal Tea. Rewind to Summer 2018… Bernie was invited to join Billy Gibbons on stage, when he said “Bernie, wouldn’t it be great if we could all record the songs we grew up with as we learned to play the guitar?” Rather than suffer the usual fate of great ideas that are left to litter the dressing room floor, Bernie immediately set about making a list, and the “Inspirations” Series was born. KINGS” is the first album of Bernie Marsden’s “Inspirations”. Featuring 10 songs that were originally recorded by Albert, B.B. & Freddie King, and recorded in a studio in Oxfordshire with a band that just locked into a groove, “KINGS” is chock full of blues and soul. Two Bernie Marsden penned instrumentals inspired by The Kings appear as the final two tracks on the album. Features appeared / appearing in Blues Matters, Classic Rock, Fireworks, Rock Hard (Germany), Sweden Rock, Rock N Reel magazines, with great reviews given by most of the premier UK Rock, Blues and Guitar publications around the release of “KINGS”. Radio support at Planet Rock, The Max, Radio Caroline and was IBBA’s #4 most played album in 2021.

The Qualitons are one of the few internationally known and critically acclaimed bands Hungary has had to offer in recent years.

They played at numerous festivals across Europe and the USA, performed a live session at legendary indie station KEXP and have released a total of four albums.

Their latest (and last) LP called Kexek is a beautiful and respectful tribute to the music of KEX, one of the most legendary, interesting, and tragic bands of Hungarian music history.
Their avant-garde performances were ahead of their time (especially in communist Hungary) and resulted in brutal repression from the authorities.

They could release only one official single before they were literally smashed by the police, to save his life, key figure Janos Baksa-Soos even had to flee the country.

The concept of the Kexek album was simple: each member of The Qualitons picked one KEX song which they had full creative control over, they re-arranged, mixed them individually and then recorded the tracks together.
What came out of this process is a unique, yet consistent mix of folk, psychedelic, and progressive funk-rock that gets more exciting with each listen.

The LP is limited to 500 copies worldwide.

Thomas Leer and Robert Rental’s ‘The Bridge’ is re-issued on vinyl for the first time since its original release in 1979, and on CD for the first time since 1992. With Robert unfortunately passing away in 2000, this record, Leer and Rental’s one and only album together, stands alone in capturing the duo’s pioneering capabilities.

 ‘The Bridge’ was originally released on Throbbing Gristle’s Industrial Records label in 1979 and is considered to be an early electronic avant-garde synth-pop masterpiece, seeing the likes of John Foxx, Propaganda, Art of Noise and ABC citing the pair as key influences.

 The release of this album aligns with the longawaited London debut of the exhibition ‘From The Port To The Bridge’ which will be held at The Horse Hospital in central London from 21st January until 10th February 2022. The exhibition, which was previously shown in Greenock in 2018, shares the story behind Thomas Leer and Robert Rental and the making of the album.

White vinyl LP includes sleeve notes and high definition audio download code.

Pachakuti is a musician and producer with family roots in Colombia. He plays keys, tenor saxophone and clarinet. While living and working in Berlin, he draws inspiration from the natural world, investigative travels, and ancestral traditions of Latin America and beyond. His expressive and rhythmical playing and his instantaneous compositions are directed at the human core, arousing subtle experiences. While not being conformed to one style, it always invokes a sense of liveliness and depth to be delved in. young.vishnu is a producer and DJ. He has studied philosophy and music in Hildesheim, Germany, which heavily influenced his views on meaning and mythology in music. In his DJ sets he selects and plays classic and contemporary Funk, Soul and Afrobeat. His practice as a DJ informs his work behind the boards directly, adding also more organic grooves and broader spectrum of musical styles to his in Hip-Hop based production. If you had to put one single tag on their forthcoming album Dédalo, the best choice would be Jazz. That being said, Pachakuti and young.vishnu's sound worlds might be better described in their own words: "We just make music and try to incorporate what we love about it". They are musical freethinkers with shared interests in eastern philosophy and botany who interweave Hip-Hop, Latin and Funk with musical storytelling and world mythology. Undoubtedly, their most ambitious work to date, Dédalo (Spanish synonym for labyrinth), recorded and produced over the course of a year, shows Pachakuti & young.vishnu's ambitions and growth. Where their debut work Semilla (2020) centered around the image of the seed, Dédalo takes on the entire garden. Besides playing multiple instruments by themselves, Pachakuti & young.vishnu invited a growing group of befriended musicians into the studio, including percussionist maestro Eric Owusu (Pat Thomas, Ebo Taylor, Jembaa Groove) and drummer Leon Raum (Bokoya, Wyl), as well as Brazilian newcomer vocalist Laíz, and members of their former band project Soularkestra. The 16 recorded songs, ranging from 1:19 to 14:58 minutes, take you on an emotionally honest, metaphoric journey through the maze of human existence, of modern society and mythic poetry. The mostly instrumental tracks build on expressive melodies, layered rhythms, and a wide range of musical instruments, merging the sounds of Jazz with the classical word of orchestras and choirs, and urban soundscapes with traditional instruments such as the Andean Kena and Charango, the Colombian Gaita and Marimba de Chonta, and an Indian harmonium. The Album thus weaves together past and future, and diverse cultural threads, sounds and ideas in an act of cultural appreciation and global conscience. Mixed and mastered by Roe Beardie at The Brewery Studios, Berlin. The album artwork itself merges the visionary art of Mexican painter Sergio Chávez Hollar with an original artwork-inlay of Brazilian artist Laíz and the work of Carsten Pölking of the Nima Compositions Archive.

Dédalo will be available digitally and on double-vinyl with inside-out print cover and colored inlay with credits and painting by Laís De Mello Barbero.

Created in the middle of the pandemic this album celebrates the magic that happens when 4 very uniquely gifted, but very complementary, instrumentalists come together for a jam session. From hazy guitars & warm keys over to funky beats & psychedelic grooves to ease you into an album that circumnavigates 360 degrees of soulful music.
Adding some garnish to this rhythmic stew are an impressive
collection of special guests: Olivier St. Louis, Nneka, Lui Hill,
J.Lamotta, Bowie & Flo Mega.

The KBCS represent the musical coming together of four very uniquely gifted, but very complementary, instrumentalists from Hamburg, Germany. Color Box, their sophomore LP, happened almost by accident, born as it was out of a series of freestyle jams.
The album kicks off with three instrumental openers - the first of which, Popsicles, is best described by the band them- selves as “a late summer teenage adventure”. Hazy guitars and warm keys playfully amuse each other over a solid, funky beat on what is an evocative and vivid introduction to this talented foursome. It’s followed by Whistleblowers, a sweet and somewhat whimsical piece where another sturdy bottom end allows keys and strings to enjoy some lively interplay, and Jolly Tumbleweed which, with its optimistic yet melancholic feel, completes the trio of warm, hazy psychedelic grooves to ease you into an album that circumnavigates 360
degrees of soulful music.
Adding some garnish to this rhythmic stew are an impressive collection of special guests. Berlin based, and internationally adored vocalist Olivier St.
Louis sprinkles a little Cali sweetness with the head nodding Pockets - one of the most immediate and soulful cuts on the album. A guaranteed ear worm, bringing a little sunshine to the winter months to come.
Elsewhere, multi-talented Nigerian singer Nneka lends her distinctive voice to the very succinct but powerful Afro-soul of Ndidi; the enigmatic Lui Hill lays his soul bare with honesty and candor on the alluring Albatross; Tel Aviv born J. Lamotta gives The Center a somewhat delicate and fragile dimension that plays perfectly alongside graceful guitars and contrasts with a sturdy backbeat of bass and drum; and Viviane Ann, AKA Bowie, smooths out the rough edges on the very radio friendly Wasting All Your Lovin’.
This is indeed music from the heart; a document of their coming together; and music that needs to be heard live!

Your Old Droog is back with the new album, TIME. It features appearances by MF DOOM, Aesop Rock, Mick Jenkins, Elzhi, Blu, and Wiki. As the title indicates, the project is the culmination of years of work. "This is basically my debut album," Droog explains. "Some of this material was recorded back in 2017, but I suppose the universe felt it would make more sense if it was released at another point in the future. Hence the name, TIME." Featuring production by Quelle Chris, 88 Keys, Edan, Mono En Stereo, and more, TIME= was a surprise release on digital outlets, and is now available on vinyl for the first time:

Graham Nash: Live is the unique project arriving on May 6, on which Nash revisits his first two classic solo albums, Songs For Beginners and Wild Tales, recorded live in concert The live albums were recorded in 2019, each in their entirety with their songs in familiar sequence. Nash was joined on stage by a seven- piece band led by his
longtime collaborators, Shane Fontayne (guitar and vocals) and Todd Caldwell (keyboards and vocals), The album was mixed by Grammy Award® winner Kevin Killen and mastered by Grammy Award® winner Bob Ludwig.

An extraordinary Grammy Award® winning renaissance artist – and selfdescribed "simple man" - Nash was inducted twice into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, for his work with CSN and his work as a solo artist, beginning with these two landmark albums, Songs For Beginners and Wild Tales.

Nash's lifelong commitment to his work is unwavering. His inspiration is simple: "All the things we stood for, that love is better than hatred, that peace is better than war, that we have to take care of our fellow human beings, because that's all we have on this planet - those things are still true today. I need to know that I've brought something into the world that was positive and not negative."

Following Pre-Choreographed released in April 2020 where he mixed his classical pieces with electronic sounds and started developing the relationship between dance and music, Japanese pianist Koki Nakano is back with Oceanic Feeling. The music deals with his inability to fully live in this so-called oceanic feeling, capturing thus the composer's longing, frustration and ultimately search for harmony within his own limitations. He composed much of Oceanic Feeling while watching dancers move to what he played and the album's singles come accompanied by mesmerizing videos featuring renowned choreographers and performers such as Tess Voelker and Marion Motin. Musically speaking, Nakano is constantly moving through the grey area between intellect and instinct on Oceanic Feeling. Tracks oftentimes feel simple, and in that simplicity, genuinely touching. Yet behind every piano key is a complex, layered recording system developed by the artist himself that gives sounds a unique depth. Oceanic Feeling is an impressive avantgarde journey that moves and stirs without ever losing balance.

RIYL: Guided by Voices, Pavement, The Clean, XTC, Flying Nun. The title of The Stroppies' newest LP, Levity, serves as a creative statement of intent and an acknowledgment of the dichotomy between the music they have made and the conditions in which they were produced. For a group that started over an initial idea to "create open ended music, quickly and haphazardly”, the logistical challenges of creating their second album in the midst of a pandemic, in a city that endured the longest lockdown in the world, created a need to redefine process. Levity, The Stroppies strongest creative statement to date, is the result of this new approach to creative process. Playful yet focused, but broader in scope and experimentation than previous efforts, the ten songs that comprise Levity continue the band's exploration of the pop song as both foil for experimentation and conduit for personal reflection. Whereas the group's debut LP Whoosh! demonstrated their ability to craft clean, concise jangle pop, Levity takes a different route by utilizing a darker pallet of sounds to create its impressionistic whole. Fuzz and distortion are employed to add weight to songs built on tape loops and Motorik drum patterns. Warbling synthesisers and modulated keys add new moods and dimensions to The Stroppies unique brand of pop classicism. Thematically, the band continues their exploration of the personal refracted through the lens of the absurd, though this time around the music feels a few shades darker, a somewhat inevitable consequence of the collective trauma of the past 24 months. While the narrative around the 'lockdown record' is increasingly commonplace, there are unavoidable realities involved in making creative decisions under such circumstances that can't be overlooked, especially for a band that thrives on collaboration. "The restrictions around COVID really informed the way we made the record', says Angus Lord, the band's co-founder and guitarist. "It meant that there was a lot less opportunity to meet and build ideas collaboratively, which is how we’ve worked in the past. Instead, ideas were developed in isolation, then shared digitally, developing slowly over correspondence and only bearing fruit when we were able to be in a room together. I think this had a big effect on the songwriting and execution.” This process even extended to the studio, where The Stroppies found a kindred spirit in John Lee of Phaedra Studios, who mixed the record in isolation, somehow managing to synthesise the band's pop sensibilities with their penchant for studio experimentation. Furthermore, the addition of new member Zoe Monk, known for playing in a diverse array of Melbourne acts (Eggy, Thibault, The Opals) contributed both synthesiser experimentation and rock solid rhythm guitar, a huge addition to the band's developing sound, an infectious combination of the off-kilter 90s US underground, British artpunk ala Wire and a more than generous love of classic Pop songwriting. The Stroppies have managed to craft a record of weight and substance. Through Levity the Stroppies have, at least temporarily, found their feet amongst the chaos

RIYL: Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Leonard Cohen, Iggy Pop, Radiohead & Tom Waits. "If you have never heard the Doctors of Madness, you should. Musically they are the Velvet Underground, New York Dolls with shades of glam, hippie, prog and punk all rolled into one, yet are still totally original. Vastly underrated, they should have been huge. Pure genius" Vic Reeves…. The DOM are “the missing link between David Bowie & The Sex Pistols” (The Guardian May 2017). Exploding onto the music scene in 1975 with their theatrical, William Burroughs-inspired Sci-fi nightmare, they were misunderstood by many, but those who knew understood the importance of the band’s dangerous, uncompromising approach to lyrics, to music and to performance. Among the many fans of the band were acts as diverse as The Damned, Vic Reeves, Joe Elliott of Def Leppard, Spiritualized, Julian Cope, The Adverts, The Skids and Simple Minds. The Sex Pistols supported them, so did The Jam & Joy Division. They were the first to combine the avant-garde approach of The Velvet Underground with a distinctly European aesthetic. The blue hair, exotic stage-names, the lyrical themes of urban decay, political propaganda, mind control and madness were all taken up by the punk bands who followed in their wake. The DOM were trailblazers, pioneers, adventurers…pushing the boundaries of rock music and theatre to see how far it would go before it bust. What happened after them was due, in no small part, to what they achieved in 3 short years. They may not have been Jesus Christ, but they were, arguably, John the Baptist!!! Now, 40 years after they imploded, they are back…with an album seething with lyrical anger and passion. It is the most potent and incisive musical dissection of modern life and contemporary politics released the decade. With tracks titles like “So Many ways To Hurt You”, “Sour Hour”, “Make It Stop!” and the ground-breaking sonic assault of the title track “Dark Times”, Richard “Kid” Strange proves once again that he has his finger firmly on the pulse of our times, just as he had when he founded the band in 1974. Produced by John Leckie (Radiohead, Stone Roses, Pink Floyd), the new album, Dark Times, features contributions from Joe Elliott (Def Leppard), Sarah Jane Morris (Communards), Terry Edwards (PJ Harvey, Nick Cave etc), Steve ‘Boltz’ Bolton (The Who, Scott Walker) and the young protest singer Lily Bud, alongside the current thrilling and thunderous DOM rhythm section of Susumu Ukei (bass guitar) & Mackii Ukei (drums) of the Japanese extreme glam-metal band Sister Paul, and Dylan O Bates (violin and keyboards). Julian Cope, another rock star who, like Strange, found the confines of music too tight for his ambition, his energy and his imagination, was blown away when he first heard the songs, declaring, “These Dark Times are enormously informing: the RULES OF THE FUTURE are indeed being forged right now”. Top producer Martyn Ware (Human League/Heaven 17) said the album “…reminds me of Iggy Pop’s Kill City album – love it.” and Biba Kopf (The Wire) declared, “Still listening to new DOM album with immense interest and pleasure”. The first single, Make It Stop!, is an impassioned howl against the global drift to right wing extremism and persecution of minorities, and is already a live showstopper for the band. It features the thrilling cross-generational combination of Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott and Lily Bud on backing vocals. In the period since the last DOM gig in 1978, Richard has written a memoir, collaborated on a cantata with internationally celebrated composer Gavin Bryars, worked as an actor on films with Tim Burton, Martin Scorsese, Harmony Korine & Jack Nicholson, toured the world in a Russian version of Hamlet with James Nesbitt as his grave-digging co-star, played Glastonbury, sung baritone in the British premiere of Frank Zappa’s200 Motels at the Royal Festival Hall, directed a multi-media evening celebrating the life and work of William Burroughs, won Best Art Film Prize at the Portobello Film Festival last year, had his own live talk show, worked with Tom Waits and Marianne Faithfull on the William Burroughs/Robert Wilson stage play The Black Rider, curated events for the Tate Gallery, and sung Walt Disney songs with Jarvis Cocker.

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.

Tinnitus Tonight is the latest & sneakiest full-measure serving from LARS FINBERG, world-class bon vivant and prolific Panic Rock artiste. Why so sneaky? Here’s the dirt: Finberg developed a nerve rash leading up his 2017 tootle, the TY SEGALL-assisted Moonlight Over Bakersfield. Rather than blindly leap from the comfy zone, he tip-toed in secret to a friendly but far-flung (cough*Sacramento*cough) studio to capture a reserve of slanted tunes with a proven-effective team of buds. Those comrades – the glorious LAUREN MARIE MIKUS on keys, frequent collaborator & forever-gent KAANAN TUPPER on drums and, at the controls and elsewhere, the indestructible CHRIS WOODHOUSE – all fostered a supportive framework that first allowed Finberg to “think” beyond THE INTELLIGENCE, gearing him up for a life in the spotlight (or moonlight, as it were). So yes indeed: what appears to be an adventurous follow-up also doubles as a prequel. Keep accurate score or you’re dusted. The core of Tinnitus Tonight centers on an assemblage of Finberg’s most golden riffs – trash-coustic but driftwood-smooth, naughty and infinite, all of ‘em bangers and/or buggers. Tunes sprout and move matador-like until an inevitable goring. The past-it grunt that kicks off “Burger Queen” prompts a mimed chef’s kiss. “My Prison” and “The Doors” are quintessential, truly distilled Finberg moments, compounding his trademark acerbic, out-for-blood wit with these absurdly cool, whip-crack guitars. The massively impressive “Public Admirer” is unequivocally the loudest, most damaged blurt from this doggie in at least a decade. In total, Tinnitus Tonight is a wonderful and welcome reminder that our guy is a very real rouser and a vital, unique purveyor of artful aggression, playful and powerful. Finberg beams really fuckin’ brightly under his own name, perhaps more so than with any group orchestration he happens to be braising with. Do these higher personal stakes call for a dastardlier delivery? Maybe this permeating 2020 End Times feeling prohibits the normal corralling of the subconscious mind? Whatever the answers are, you will find them here.
"The gift Lars Finberg has to disfigure rock riffs into minor chord marvels should serve as a glowing example for those who feel the need to pick up a guitar and make some noise to share with the world. Using the conventional tools of rock and roll flavored with a mix of garage punk, post punk, synth punk and mutant surf, Mr. Finberg, with seemingly effortless cool, has crafted or contributed to countless albums with bands like The Intelligence, Puberty, Rubber Blanket, A Frames and more, all with a magnetic pull and genius lyrics that stand out from the indie rock heap and reveal an exceptionally creative mind that’s actually done its homework." - Noise For Zeros

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

LIMITED EDITION ON CLEAR BLUE VINYL of Radio Moscow's debut
album produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys

RIYL: Guided by Voices, Pavement, The Clean, XTC, Flying Nun. The title of The Stroppies' newest LP, Levity, serves as a creative statement of intent and an acknowledgment of the dichotomy between the music they have made and the conditions in which they were produced. Levity, The Stroppies strongest creative statement to date, is the result of this new approach to creative process. Playful yet focused, but broader in scope and experimentation than previous efforts, the ten songs that comprise Levity continue the band's exploration of the pop song as both foil for experimentation and conduit for personal reflection. Whereas the group's debut LP Whoosh! demonstrated their ability to craft clean, concise jangle pop, Levity takes a different route by utilizing a darker pallet of sounds to create its impressionistic whole. Fuzz and distortion are employed to add weight to songs built on tape loops and Motorik drum patterns. Warbling synthesisers and modulated keys add new moods and dimensions to The Stroppies unique brand of pop classicism. Thematically, the band continues their exploration of the personal refracted through the lens of the absurd, though this time around the music feels a few shades darker, a somewhat inevitable consequence of the collective trauma of the past 24 months. While the narrative around the 'lockdown record' is increasingly commonplace, there are unavoidable realities involved in making creative decisions under such circumstances that can't be overlooked, especially for a band that thrives on collaboration. "The restrictions around COVID really informed the way we made the record', says Angus Lord, the band's co-founder and guitarist. "It meant that there was a lot less opportunity to meet and build ideas collaboratively, which is how we've worked in the past. Instead, ideas were developed in isolation, then shared digitally, developing slowly over correspondence and only bearing fruit when we were able to be in a room together. I think this had a big effect on the songwriting and execution." This process even extended to the studio, where The Stroppies found a kindred spirit in John Lee of Phaedra Studios, who mixed the record in isolation, somehow managing to synthesise the band's pop sensibilities with their penchant for studio experimentation. Furthermore, the addition of new member Zoe Monk, known for playing in a diverse array of Melbourne acts (Eggy, Thibault, The Opals) contributed both synthesiser experimentation and rock solid rhythm guitar, a huge addition to the band's developing sound, an infectious combination of the off-kilter 90s US underground, British artpunk ala Wire and a more than generous love of classic Pop songwriting. The Stroppies have managed to craft a record of weight and substance. Through Levity the Stroppies have, at least temporarily, found their feet amongst the chaos.

Warm Currency is a new project by Sydney-based friends, artists and musician’s MP Hopkins and Mary MacDougall. Mary began working with MP Hopkins and Christopher Schueler in 2008 as Vincent Over the Sink morphed into The Bowles. ‘Returns’ was recorded in Mary's home during 2020-2021 and is their first release since 2012's The Bowles EP (Kye). Quietly intense folk music, song-poems, and concrète collages built from seemingly simple and delicate arrangements for guitar, keyboards, voice and tape. Recommended if you like Flaming Tunes, Nico, Alistair Galbraith, The Garbage and the Flowers.

New limited pressing on Zombie Green Vinyl. Suck My Shirt is the fourth studio album by the Atlanta-based all-female punk rock band The Coathangers. It was released in 2014. Mark Deming of AllMusic writes, 'their approach to songcraft has matured and tightened up quite a bit, and the departure of keyboard player Candice Jones has turned this group into a leaner and meaner three piece. "It's a balance between overthinking and just going for it," guitarist Crook Kid (Julia Kugel) says of their songwriting strategy. It's a duality immediately apparent with the album opener "Follow Me." It's a classic Coathangers tune with Stephanie Luke's raspy vocals belted out over their signature ragged garage-rock. . But the chorus opens into one of the most accessible hooks in the band's canon, just before segueing into the next verse with a squall of violent dissonant guitar.

Heist welcomes, late 80’s DMC World DJ Championship contender, Techno veteran, and house royalty Orlando Voorn to the label
with his ‘Heist Mastercuts’ EP.

Orlando Voorn is a man who needs little introduction. He’s played a pivotal role in the development of the electronic music scene in the Netherlands, as well as in the USA where he now lives. With countless aliases, he has released everything from old school hiphop to sample heavy breaks, to banging Detroit techno to soulful house music. His recent outings as ‘Frequency’ on Clone, as well as his latest EP on our sublabel Transient Nature, are proof that even after 30+ years, the man is still very much on top of his game.

The Heist Mastercuts EP sees Orlando dig deep in his archive for some of his undercover hits from the nineties that have been remastered for
this EP. On top of that, he delivers a new track in the form of soulful house bomb “Be with you.”

“Be with you” starts off with a hazy groove and distant pads. The steady beat and funky electronic chops set a steady foundation for a rush-inducing string sample that works together with looping diva vocals for maximum dancefloor excitement. No heavy drumrolls, FX or other tools necessary here: It’s clever sampling and Orlando’s soulful touch that make this track tick.

Next up is the vinyl only track “Love Feelings” – originally released in ’96 on Urban Sounds of Amsterdam-. Think 130+ BPM vintage house grooves with hazy pads and you’ll get an idea of what’s coming. Love Feelings is an up-tempo dreamhouse track that, even though it’s almost 25 years old, still ticks all the boxes of a contemporary festival groover.

On the B-side you’ll find 2 versions of “Tenderness”: The original mix and the Late nite dub, both originally released on Clubstitute records back in ’95. The original has a 90’s garage groove with male vocal chops, old school house keys and strings. The late night dub is exactly that: a dreamy ethereal deephouse groove with warm synth hits, introverted percussion some very on point sax loops.

The Heist Mastercuts EP is the first EP of Orlando Voorn on Heist Recordings but considering the connection we’ve built with him over the last year and having heard the music he’s shared with us, we’re sure you’ll see much more of him on Heist in the future.


Yours sincerely,

Maarten & Lars

LNDFK (aka Linda Feki) presents her ground-breaking debut album, "Kuni" on Brooklyn-based Bastard Jazz Recordings. Undeniably on the rise after her 2019 breakout performance at Primavera Sound, LNDFK has already caught the attention of Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Clash Magazine, Noisey, and Brooklyn Vegan (among many others) while being championed by the likes of Gilles Peterson, Tom Ravenscroft, and Jamz Supernova & landing spots on tastemaker playlists like Spotify's "Pollen" and "Fresh Finds."

"Kuni" is a spellbinding exploration of dichotomies: Love & Death (Eros & Thanatos), Flower & Fire, Delicacy & Violence, Poetry & Realism, Purification & Destruction. These opposites are reified in the 10-track LPs multifarious and multifaceted sounds, elegantly meandering through a variety of styles and genres, spearheaded by Linda and features the production wizardry of Darrio Bassolino who co-wrote the album.

"Kuni" opens with "Hana-bi," an ambient instrumental piece that sets the tone for the album. Inspired by the Takeshi Kitano 1997 film of the same name – particularly Joe Hisaishi's stunning soundtrack, as well as Kitano's paintings which appear in the film. "Hana-bi" expresses the dialoguing opposites of flowers and fire, the first of many dichotomous representations throughout the album. "Takeshi" acts as an extension and to "Hana-bi," albeit one of opposing sound, with its driving, highly syncopated drums (which reappear throughout "Kuni") – à la Karriem Riggins, Questlove, or Yussef Dayes – frenetic bass line, and jazz chords. Linda's sultry voice is interspersed, initially jumping around in scat fashion, being triggered as if a sample, before her lyrics come in; her vocals are used like an additional instrument, adding to the song's rich texture. "Kuni" truly hits its stride with the next song, "Smoke – a moon or a button" (its title lifted from the 1959 book by Ruth Krauss and Remy Charlip), which is structured like a jazz standard yet flows into neo-soul territory sonically with those prodigious drums a highlight once again.

LNDFK touches on experimental hip hop in two songs on the record (both of which were released as singles in 2021): "Don't Know I'm Dead or Not (feat. Chester Watson)" – track #4 – and "How Do We Know We're Alive (feat. Pink Siifu)" – track #9. Although they embrace a more hip hop-leaning sound, these songs by no means shy away from the exploratory theme, and feature two of the alt-rap scenes rising stars with Chester Watson and Pink Siifu who offer provocatively impressing verses, combining dense word play with unconventional flows. While these tracks may first appear to be outliers on the album, they are undeniably in tune with "Kuni's" message and sonic palette, acting as testaments to LNDFK's willingness to explore and experiment.

Meanwhile, "Ku" – the third and last single before the album release – furthers the pre-established future soul sound while meandering through nu jazz and left-field electronic. Inspired by the graphic novel and film, "Sin City," and its female assassin protagonist Miho, "Ku" is a musical interpretation of Miho's story, incorporating both her beauty – the first half of the song – and murderous tendencies – the second half – to create a stunning juxtaposition, culminating in an ambient finale that suggests the character's vulnerability and inner peace. The song gracefully bridges the gap between Hiatus Kaiyote-esque songwriting, Dilla's rhythmic syncopation, and Thundercat's instrumental prowess (LNDFK has shared a stage Brainfeeder labelmate Kamasi Washington).

Mixed in throughout "Kuni" are a series of instrumental pieces that function as something akin to an interlude. The aforementioned intro, "Hana-bi," and the album closer "se mi stacco da te, mi strappo tutto:" act as bookends, while "Om" indicates the half-way mark, and "Ktm" sees Jason Lindner add his sound the album. These tracks are the ambient foundation of "Kuni," representing the thematic duality of the work. Clocking in at only 24 minutes, "Kuni" packs an astonishingly diverse array of sounds, styles, and themes, all while showcasing virtuosic musicianship and instrumental prowess.

Appearing on "Hana-bi" and "Ktm," renowned international artists Asa-Chang and Jason Lindner add an additional perspective to "Kuni": Asa-Chang on "Hana-bi," and Jason Lindner on "Ktm." Asa-Chang - famously of the Japanese avant-garde group Asa-Chang & Junray - provides vocals and percussion to an alternate version of the instrumental opener, while the acclaimed keyboardist Jason Lindner offers his synth expertise on "Ktm." These features highlight the spirit of collaboration found in LNDFK's music, always willing to try out new ways of working.

LNDFK is a singer and songwriter, born of two cultures – an Italian mother and Arab father. She grew up in Naples, away from her father, the Sahara, her homeland and traditions, which has helped nourish the desire to rediscover – through art – an engagement to her roots. Her music melts with jazz, neo-soul and hip-hop influences, filtered through her experiences and sensibility.

Her first EP, "Lust Blue," was composed with the artistic production of Dario Bass and released by Feelin' Music; after that she released several singles that saw international radio support (BBC, NTS, Wordwide FM) and gained a massive audience on digital platforms. Together with her band, she toured around Europe, performing alongside such notable artists as Kamasi Washington and Mndsgn, among others. Most recently she toured Italy, and performed at Primavera Sound Festival 2019 in Barcelona.

"Kuni," is due out on NYC label Bastard Jazz Recordings in February, 2022, while the vinyl LP will follow shortly after.

Vordergrundmusik’s Rittik Wystup returns with a slightly-so avant-garde collage of Piano and Beats. Little melodies awake spuriously, welcoming Spring; they interplay with sizzling cymbals and flamboyant drums. The usage of wind is the carrier throughout the record, just as coastlines bring a strong breeze of cool or warm air.

The overture "Rhythm of the Wind" opens a space of gusts and drafts which circle the EP’s leitmotif. Shifting keys only slightly, it’s a calm prelude to the following track.

"Drums in the Deep" tells the story of a drifting wanderer, voiced by Stepan Terteryan, at the shore of Armenia’s Lake Sevan. His poem can be heard throughout the track, mumbling away as he feels the ground beneath him shaken by roaming bears.

"Three Droplets in Space" presents falling water drops, lifted by a steady, sharp beat. As they approach a large pool, they increase in size and weight, becoming more round and abundant. A gnarly FM bass and frozen hi-hats make way for the passage through the thickening air, blitzing the little leitmotif here and there.

Staying in key, "I Exhale" whispers an ascending piano phrase into the air, which upon reaching for the sky reforms into an unwavering, repeated, slightly melancholic expression. A homage to a valley of bells and chimes, it bursts and blasts into tiny fractions before it evaporates.

Traditional drums and plucked strings progress through "Might y Mist". Before they lose themselves in a faraway landscape, feet stomp and heads bob. As they meld into a fog, carrying debris of the wanderer’s voice and his melody, they spread like a mist: over the water’s surface.

Finally, Timo Maas drops a hefty and punchy remix of "Drums in the Deep". He picks up on the poem and its inclinations but keeps the dancefloor in mind when shattering glassy bits over distorted fragments of the melody. A splendid pumpy finisher to a fairly eccentric EP.

Just over a decade ago, Japanese indie-pop duo Tenniscoats recorded »Papa's Ear« (2012) and »Tan-Tan Therapy« (2007), two albums made with musical and production help from Swedish post-rock/folk trio Tape. Originally released on Häpna, they are beautiful documents of the exploratory music made by a close-knit collective of musicians, fully at ease with each other, playing songs written by Tenniscoats and arranging them in gentle and generous ways. Released during a particularly productive time for Tenniscoats – during the late ‘00s and early ‘10s, they would also collaborate with Jad Fair, The Pastels, Secai and Pastacas – they have, however, never been available on vinyl. In collaboration with Alien Transistor, Morr Music is now reissuing these albums both digitally and on double vinyl, with extra tracks.

This reissue mini-series starts with »Papa’s Ear«. The second album from this expanded line-up of Tenniscoats, you can hear the musicians are immediately comfortable in each other’s presence, and they’ve almost intuitively understood what they can offer to one another. Saya and Ueno of Tenniscoats bring their magical, gentle folk-pop sensibility, and their winning way with straightforward, yet lush melodies. Johan Berthling, along with fellow Tape member Tomas Hallonsten, plus guests Fredrik Ljungkvist, Lars Skoglund, Andreas Söderstrom and Andreas Werlin, all generous and creative presences in the Swedish jazz underground, shades in the songs with endlessly inventive arrangements, highlighting the warmth and curiosity at the core of the Tenniscoats’ aesthetic – sometimes taking the songs in unexpected directions, other times pillowing the melodies with the softest of brushstrokes and the kindest of tones.

»Papa’s Ear« includes some of Tenniscoats’ most memorable songs. »Papaya« is a lustrous dreamland of a song, with the Swedish musicians singing ‘pa-pa-ya’ as an enchanted tattoo, while Saya’s piano and melodica clank and huff out, further expanding the song’s horizon. It’s followed by the spindly and mysterious »Sappolondon«, where drums and double-bass shuffle and pulse under weeping accordion and bittersweet clarinet. Saya’s voice sighs into the frame while the musicians breathe lungfuls of sweet drones and flick glittering countermelodies across the song’s surface. It reminds a little of the wild kindness of Movietone, or the regal charm of Carla Bley’s compositions.

Elsewhere, you can hear Tape and their friends embracing the freedom offered by the songs of Tenniscoats: see, for example, the glistening electronics in »På floden«, like a keyboard conducting a music box on a distant planet; or the descending phrase for winds on »Sabaku«, dovetailing beautifully into a creek of moon-lit texturology. The double-LP ends with two extra tracks, drawn from the 2008 Tenniscoats/Tape split single, also released by Häpna., »Lutie Lutie« is a sweet delight, driven by a clacking drum machine, the Tenniscoats duo joined by Hallonsten on glockenspiel and synthesizer, and special guest, Japanese indie-pop legend Kazumi Nikaido, as choir. »Come Maddalena« rounds off the set, a brooding cover of an Ennio Morricone tune, the music by Tape, the vocals by Tenniscoats and Nikaido. Open-hearted and full of puckish spirit, »Papa’s Ear« is an album of great tenderness and warm friendship.

Cologne-based, multi-instrumentalist and creative jazz powerhouse
Gianni Brezzo presents his full-length LP “Tutto Passa,” arriving via
Berlin’s Jakarta Records May 5th.
Gianni Brezzo is the jazz affiliated band / studio project headed by
Cologne-based producer & creative maestro Marvin Horsch, whose diverse musical profile is reflected both in his scene-hopping as well as his creative output. Besides producing cologne bands like Keshavara, Woman and Xul Zolar, Gianni has released a number of EP and LP’s since 2017, culminating most recently with “The Awakening” EP in 2021 on Jakarta Records. While Gianni’s works are usually instrumental only, “The Awakening” featured vocal appearances from Berlin/Tel Aviv based singer / producer J.Lamotta and soul singer Otis Junior from Louisville, Kentucky. Gianni’s tracks have consistently placed on Editorial Lists including Spotify’s “State Of Jazz” and “Café / Croissant”, and most recently was synced in an episode of Gossip Girl for HBO US.

Gianni’s new LP, “Tutto Passa” is a meditation around Marvin’s relationship to Italian culture, accompanied by research into Italian composers of the 60’s / 70’s such as Piero Umiliani, Stelvio Cipriani, Piero Piccioni and Armando Trovajoli to more recent work by Sven Wunder. Sonically rich, the album rides a sonic wave similar to some Matthew Halsall, Surprise Chef, El Michels Affair and BadBadNotGood all rolled into one beautifully luscious work. Jakarta is ecstatic to share such a career-defining work, arriving May 6th, 2022.

The albums 1st single, “Il Sole” will be released Wednesday, March 2nd with the LP pre-order announcement that Friday, March 4th to capitalize on Bandcamp Friday. The track is a perfect sonic voyage that encapsulates the growth of Gianni’s sound and gives a sonic peak into the LP. Subtle, yet lush layers of synths, horns, keys and strong, beat-driven percussion all ebb and flow together, bringing to mind the finest Library Themes of Umiliani, Sven Wunder, Janko Nilovic and others. Visualizer accompaniments for all singles provided by Robert Winter and his DIE OTTOS crew that perfectly captures the sonic mood.

The LP’s 2nd single, “Capture This,” will be released March 30th and is a splash of pure, groovy, jazz-funk. Instantly catchy, the track will have you imagining yourself in a movie that perfectly captures the musical themes: playful flutes, crisp, fluid guitar riffs, heart-pulling strings, all held together by a strong, swingin’ drum groove.

The third single is the stunning, swirling, thematic track “Rising Of My
Mind.” Careful layers of harmonized brass, flutes, percussion ebb & flow, bubbling up to the acoustic surface like sonic ripples effortlessly bursting from Gianni’s auditory palette. Only reaching the tracks full crescendo more than 2 minutes in, “Rising Of My Mind” is on that finest jazz tip, raising Gianni’s musical caliber into the skies.

Focus track is the effortlessly smooth, soulful jazz-funk piece, “Torino.” Certified fresh, the progression gives you that euphoric, elated feeling, like you’re finally arrived at that special place you never knew existed, but were always meant to find.

“Tutto Passa” is a project with a variety of moods ranging from Arthur
Verocai and David Axelrod inspired arrangements to lush, thematic jazz progressions with a swingin’ percussive edge. It’s a timeless release, one that would sit just as well in 1972 as it does in 2022, and one that, as Gianni says:
“…reflects exactly the feeling I had last year when I was in Italy with my own family. As a musician, I was looking for the challenge of a more orchestral approach on this album, which I hoped to achieve with my arsenal from the Cologne jazz scene and the support of musicians from around the world.”
Besides online promotion from the label and artist profiles, the album will further be promoted by external agencies within the US, UK & Italy

Protean producer Jaymie Silk returns to Shall Not Fade with an intensely club-driven LP. On "The Rise & Fall Of Jaymie Silk & Rave Culture" a range of vocal samples tell a story over assertive rhythms that switch rapidly so that hard-hitting acid becomes breaks before melting into sleazy, low-end bass techno. Strap in!

It"s not easy to anticipate how any release from the Paris-based Jaymie Silk will sound. A self-proclaimed musical nomad and a real jack-of-all-trades, his artistic identity is defined by its undefinability. With this release - a follow-up from "The Legend of Jack Johnson" EP released on Shall Not Fade last year - Jaymie references the kaleidoscope of sounds which inspired him to make music in the first place.

Sampling an iconic Malcolm X speech, the force of which is bolstered by giant synth swells and clattering percussion, "Freedom For Everybody" places the album in the context of diaspora and resistance - themes that run ever-present through Jaymie's music. With "The Heat", he pays tribute to late '80s dance music, with a classic Lyn Collins drum break sample and diva-esque vocals. The hard-hitting acid-tinged techno of "Start Swinging" sees the album at its most assertive before "Bad B" takes things camper with deep bass pulses and
pitched-shifted vocals which affirm "I'm a bad bitch, yeah you heard about me". "Cats Love Drums" offers another direction completely with polyrhythmic percussion and real meow's before the two closing tracks leave a taste of sentimentality, with a major-key vocal melody and a giddy 150BPM pulse ("Waiting For The Day") and an intimate slow burner ("Take Time To Breathe").

The Rise & Fall Of Jaymie Silk & Rave Culture LP drops 6th May via Shall Not Fade.

It is no surprise that the most populated Serpente record to date is also his most vibrant and emancipated. With collaborations from Maxwell Sterling, Kelly Jayne Jones, Pedro Sousa, Vasco Alves and Gabriel Ferrandini, “Dias da Aranha” is a leap from previous releases like “Parada” and “Fé/Vazio”, both on Ecstatic.
 
If you’re keeping in touch with Portuguese electronic music, then Bruno Silva’s music should be no stranger to you. If you’ve also been keeping tabs on his evolution throughout our catalogue, you’ll notice how mature and resolved his sounds feels in “Dias da Aranha”. There’s no restrain here, the beats evolve in a self-confident way and the way it assembles and incorporates other people's sounds is a bliss. Go straight to the last track, “Ritos de Poeira”, and listen to how organic everything feels, the endless rhythm and how Pedro Sousa’s saxophone is incorporated as a beautiful hopeful lament. Just put it on repeat. Bliss.
 
We have never heard Bruno – as Serpente or Ondness – so sure of himself. Escapism is very present in his music. In the past the idea of searching for it was key, in “Dias da Aranha” he lives in it. It is daring and luminous, streaming a continuous beam of bright ideas, making sure that they find the right course on their own (“Meio Ondness”). It never stops, keeps evolving, getting better and finding ways to surprise the listener. In some moments you can listen to the music breathing. Or sense some kind of field recordings shape. It doesn’t rely anymore on the idea of music as a work in progress. This is evolution. Welcome to the Serpente Era.

JOYFULTALK returns with its third album for Constellation; another vibrantly divergent stylistic take on the analog materiality and sensibility of electronic composer-producer Jay Crocker, whose previous two records forged trance-inducing polyrhythmic intricacy, each from a distinct angle and sound palette, each enlisting a single instrumental collaborator. Familiar Science rallies contributions from a larger cast of musicians into a looser, cosmic recombinant combo_still shot through with JOYFULTALK's singular mixing desk kinetics, but this time deep-diving into gnarled and twisted, spliced and diced out-jazz. Crocker draws inspiration from 1980s M-Base music and Ornette Coleman's harmolodic funk period, while his own prior history as an improv guitarist also resurfaces for the first time in many years_an element in this polyvalent artist's chemistry set that hasn't appeared prominently in his own music for over a decade. Familiar Science finds Crocker folding time (as lockdown will do), immersed in his present-day kaleidoscope of solitary art and music practices in rural Nova Scotia, while channeling his former life as a bustling jazz collaborator in Calgary, Alberta. Building outwards from roiling resampled acoustic drums, Crocker extracted additional sonic and rhythmic textures, then formed the head of each song using dusted-off archival recordings and his own bass, keys and midi sequencing. Albertan percussionists Eric Hamelin (Ghostkeeper, Chad Vangaalen) and Chris Dadge (Lab Coast, Alvvays) provided improvised drum tracks to be chopped and harvested; Nova Scotia-based Nicola Miller (Ryan Driver, Doug Tielli) laid down resplendent excursions on saxophone and flute; Crocker's own dexterous guitar appears on several cuts. Familiar Science also poignantly features samples from live recordings by the late Calgary saxophonisticonoclast Dan Meichel, catalysing some of the album's heaviest contortions. Crocker weaves all these raw materials into exuberant compositions that blur the line between sizzling corporeal combo and sampledelic futurist jamz, variously conjuring (leftfield) Flying Lotus, (later) Tortoise, BADBADNOTGOOD and Squarepusher's Music Is Rotted One Note. The rubbery hyper-compression of boom-bap opener "Body Stone" initiates the séance, and the album offers a panoply of skittering grooves and soaring melodic pathways thereafter, through quags of heady jazz alternately streaked with dayglo delirium and other more vaporous states of revelry. Crocker's own wordless stacked vocals are the giddy secret sauce on several cuts, and his lead guitar work (in kinship with the lean progressions of Mary Halvorson or Jeff Parker) features on "Take It To The Grave", "Stop Freaking Out!" and the album's title track. More honeyed passages on songs like "Blissed For A Minute" and "Ballad In 9" center around Miller's bouyant alto sax and flute. Familiar Science is a rousing feast of noise-tinged polychrome electronic avant-jazz: richly harmolodic compositions teeming with intersecting textures and turbulences; exploratory, exhilarated and indeed joyful.

HIGHLIGHTS: 1984 Brazilian electro funk/early rap by Sao Paulo crew Electric Boogies, recorded under the influence of New York's B-Boy culture and local artists like Black Juniors, Villa Box_ First time vinyl reissue. DETAILS: Following the success of the early Brazilian rap artists Black Juniors, Villa Box, Buffalo Girls_ Electric Boogies emerged out of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as a crew devoted to breakdancing under the influence of New York's B-Boy culture. They would record "Break Mandrake" in 1984, originally released on RGE Records. This single has two fabulous electro-funk tracks, side A is vocal and on the flipside we find the instrumental version with some extra keys that give it a more jazzy touch. DJ Irai Campos would provide the scratches while the arrangements and keyboards were credited to Eduardo Assad, who also worked with Black Juniors, Sasha and others.

EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF SIGH'S EARLY DEMOS, EP's & RARITIES,
PRESENTED ON DOUBLE CD FORMAT - INCLUDES INTERVIEW & LINER
NOTES COURTESY OF MAINMAN MIRAI KAWASHIMA ON THE
FORMATIVE YEARS OF THE JAPANESE LEGENDS.Cult Japanese black
metal legends Sigh formed in 1989/90, featuring mainman Mirai
Kawashima, Satoshi Fujinami & Kazuki Ozeki
Following initial demos, Shinichi Ishikawa was brought into the band, & Kazuki
removed from the line- up. It was following this shift that the band set about
recording the masterpiece debut 'Scorn Defeat' for Euronymous' Deathlike Silence
Productions, going on to become one of the country's greatest & most revered
metal exports. With a journey through the strange & the psychedelic,
incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & experimentation throughout
their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field.
However, at its core, Sigh has always remained true to its roots of old school
metal. 'Eastern Darkness' contains a comprehensive collection of Sigh's early rare
works showing their swift musical evolution as well as the strong utilisation of
keyboards in their compositional process throughout. The collection includes the
band's legendary demo tapes, 'Desolation', & 'Tragedies', plus their EP's & rarities,
as well as contributions to various compilation releases in the mid 1990's.
Considering Sigh's well- known regard for UK legends Venom throughout their
career, 'Eastern Darkness' also contains the band's own tribute to the 1980's black
metal pioneers, in the form of tribute 'To Hell & Back', originally released on tape
in 1995.
This edition of 'Eastern Darkness' is presented on double disc CD format &
includes a 12- page booklet featuring an interview with Mirai Kawashima about
the early years of the band, along with his recollections of the origins of each title
contained within the release, three decades on from Sigh's formation.

20 Jahre nach Erscheinen ihrer Debütsingle 'Very Loud', wendet sich das sechste Album der in Stockholm ansässigen Band bestehend aus Sänger Adam Olenius, Gitarrist Carl von Arbin, Bassist Ted Malmros und Keyboarderin Bebban Stenborg Themen wie seelischer Unruhe und Älterwerden sowie der Zerbrechlichkeit der Liebe mit einem unerschrockenen Realismus zu, der nur erhellt werden kann von den himmlischen Melodien und einem Sound, der wärmer nicht sein könnte.

Produziert von Peter Bjorn und Johns Björn Yttling (Lykke Li, Franz Ferdinand, Primal Scream usw.), der auch die Produktion ihres gefeierten zweiten Albums 'Our Ill Wills' mit Indie-Hits wie 'Tonight I Have To Leave It' und 'Impossible' übersah, markiert House eine bewusste Abkehr von der gewaltigen und üppigen Atmosphäre von Ease My Mind aus dem Jahr 2017. So entschied sich die Band, die Songs diesmal live aufzunehmen und machte sich dabei einen Post-Punk-inspirierten Minimalismus zu eigen, der die rohen Emotionen eines jeden Songs noch verstärkte. Die überschwängliche Energie, für die sich die Band bei Headliner-Tourneen rund um die Welt, als Support von The Strokes und Depeche Mode und auf großen Festivals wie Coachella einen Namen gemacht hat, bleibt so auch auf Band greifbar.

Ferocious JP / US free jazz bomb. A rare meeting between the NYC free jazz scene and the Japanese free music scene. Old-style Gatefold LP, with rare photographs & liner notes by Alan Cummings.

Following hot on the heels of the first, mid-sixties generation of Japanese free jazz players like Kaoru Abe, Masayuki Takayanagi, Yōsuke Yamashita, Motoharu Yoshizawa, etc., an exciting second wave of younger players began to emerge in the seventies. Two of its leading members were the saxophonist Kazutoki Umezu and multi-instrumentalist Yoriyuki Harada. Both were post-war babies and immigrants to the city, Umezu from Sendai in the north and Harada from Shimane in the west. They first met as students in the clarinet department at the Kunitachi College of Music, a well-known conservatory in western Tokyo. Harada was already securing sideman gigs on bass with professional jazz groups and was active in student politics, making good use of his connections to set up jazz concerts on campus. It was around this time that the two began to play together in an improvised duo, with Umezu on clarinet and bass clarinet and Harada on piano. They also experimented with graphic scores and prepared piano.

These experiments eventually led to the creation of a trio, with a high-school student called Tetsuya Morimura on drums, that they decided to name Seikatsu Kōjyō Iinkai (Lifestyle Improvement Committee) in joking reference to the Marxist discourse of the student radicals of the time. Around 1973, Umezu and Harada decided to call it a day and go their separate ways. Umezu began playing with the Toshinori Kondo Unit and Harada with the Tadashi Yoshida Quintet. In 1974 Harada formed his own trio and began to play at jazz coffeehouses across Japan.

Then, in September 1974 Umezu travelled alone to New York, where he set about building connections with the loft jazz scene in the city. It was a fortuitous moment to arrive in New York. Rents were cheap in the Lower East Side, possibilities for squatting existed, so many musicians and artists had moved to the area. Umezu soon became known on the scene as Kappo and he started to make connections with some of the young musicians like David Murray, Arthur Blythe, and Oliver Lake. He recalls making the rounds of the lofts every evening, checking out the performances, and getting the chance to sit in with many groups including Juma Sultan’s Aboriginal Music Society and trumpeter Ted Daniel’s orchestra.

Things were going so well that Umezu wrote to Harada and invited him to come to New York. He accepted and arrived in the city in July 1975. Harada and Umezu took the opportunity to resume their artistic collaboration. Their first concert together in over two years took place on July 20th at another loft, Sunrise Studios at 122 2nd Avenue. Umezu remembers Sunrise as an unusually sunny loft with the rarest of things, a grand piano. He invited along Ahmed Abdullah, a trumpeter he had got to know while playing with Ted Daniel. Abdullah led his own group and was a long-term Sun Ra sideman. William Parker, one of the key figures in the loft jazz scene of the period, was on bass. Abdullah also brought along Rashid Sinan on drums. Sinan drummed in Abdullah’s units throughout the seventies, but he had also played on Frank Lowe’s immortal Black Beings album and collaborated with Arthur Doyle, playing on Doyle’s Alabama Feeling album. By all accounts the evening was a huge success, with speed and dynamism of Harada’s piano playing gaining him lots of support.

Since they had managed to save some money from their day jobs, Umezu and Harada decided to set up a recording session with the same line-up on August 11 at Studio We, where there was a well-equipped studio on the third floor. Umezu recalls the session as follows, Of course, we recorded our performances in one take, with zero retakes as far as I remember. On all the tracks we recorded, we moved as one unit, sharp and fast. That was the nature of Lifestyle Improvement Committee, New York Branch.

Umezu and Harada would later become known for the elements of parody and entertainment that they brought to their music, a freewheeling blend of pastiche, humour and on-stage performativity that paralleled the approaches of the Art Ensemble, Sun Ra, and Holland’s ICP. But here, on their first recordings, the humour element is not yet present. Instead, there is a febrile sense of joy in creation and connection. On the Umezu-penned “Kim”, for example, Harada opens the piece with a speedy exploration of the full-range of the keyboard, hitting hard on the bass keys to create a rhythmic bed out of which patterns begin to emerge. Umezu enters at a much slower pace, longer held notes that at first float weightlessly over the urgency of the piano before they begin in splinter and accelerate. When Parker and Sinan kick in, it’s a rollicking tempo with Parker plucking deep and hard and the left-handed Sinan skittering hard across the topside of his kit. Abdullah kicks in a glorious solo twelve minutes in, bright and breathy at once. The piece slows and grows more spacious towards the end, giving Parker a chance to showcase some arco work that shades beautifully into the air against Abdullah’s trumpet.

Anfisa Letyago has established herself as one of techno's key players. An intrepid selector with a positive attitude, and an infectious smile, the Napoli based starlet has been making seismic waves within the industry for several years. Her own imprint - N:S:DA has been a home for her own dark-brooding style of techno, but it welcomes a brand new project to kick off 2022, with the first of 3 remix packs featuring a host of very special artists and artwork designed exclusively by Sergio Fermariello.

DJ Rush, a master of hard techno and wicked percussive elements, he's committed himself to the art of rhythm and drums. A Chi-town hero whose music transcends continental boundaries now takes his hand to "Rising Sun". Staunch and unrelenting, the barrage of bass drums keeps momentum at a hauntingly steady pace through the entirety of the track. A true drum-machine wizard who said "It was a pleasure to put my stamp on Anfisa's release. I felt her vibe and wanted to keep the traditional feel to the song but give it that Rush bump".

Adiel has graced the stages of some of the industry's most accredited venues, Panorama Bar, Dekmantel, DC10 and Concrete. She continues to bring her unique take on techno and doesn't disappoint with her kaleidoscopic iteration of "Orizzonte". Renowned for her ability to manipulate crowds with her mind-bending DJ sets and mosaic-like track selection, Adiel twists the original mix into a living techno organism of sorts, evolving and shifting through a deep palette of atmospheric sounds and vocal cuts. "It was a lot of fun to remix 'Orizzonte', it's maybe one of my best remixes and I am really happy about it" - adds Adiel.

Boston 168 leads us deep into an acid laboratory for this reinterpretation of "Gravity", masters of sound design and reformation of classic drum machines like the Roland 909, 808 and 707, the psychedelic and twisting nature of this Italian duo's tracks is unmatched. Currently residing in one of techno's capital party cities - Tbilisi, the pair hold down a residency at the legendary Khidi. "Gravity is the track that inspired us the most with its deep vocal, so we merged this with our cosmic sound" add the duo.

Very few producers have rode the pinnacles of techno as it unfolds through the decades, Chris Liebing is one such figurehead. Revered for his energetic, seize-the-moment style of DJing and music production Liebing is forever finding new ways to innovate within the booth. "Remixing 'Not There' was a huge pleasure, and the production process was very organic. I tried to take it in a little less melodic direction by just hinting it in the break". Says Chris Liebing.

This Germanic trailblazer continues to ignite dancefloors internationally between running his label CLR and juggling family life. Liebing steps up to the plate with his own take on "Not There" to conclude the pack. Instantly drawing your attention with his trademark grit laden kick drums and sweeping dubbed-out vocal shots, along with a hypnotic and body-jolting start to a literal Pandora's box of remix material.

"Someone like Anfisa, with such a high spirit and a smile that lights up any room deserves to have that same representation to her music. Good music will always put a smile on your face" adds DJ Rush.

New York-based duo Bottler, Pat Butler and Phil Shore, are the vanguard of their own distinctly eclectic sound. Raw, emotive, bold and highly creative, the duo has successfully carved out their own path with a series of EPs that represent the broad scope of their production prowess. Over the last five years Bottler have been working on their debut album, ‘Journey Work’, a milestone achievement that marks a pivotal moment in their music career. The LP is a distillation of the duo’s multifaceted upbringing, blending a variety of styles together bound together by an overarching attitude and approach that embraces creative freedom and self-acceptance.



Pat and Phil are childhood friends whose bond is akin to that of blood relatives. Their parents are best friends and they grew up side by side, developing their deep love for music together; sharing discoveries and inspirations, learning to play and perform, and nurturing their creativity together. Now formally ordained as Bottler, they channel their eclectic tastes into a sound that encapsulates the love and trust that forms the foundation of the friendship. The duo blends a myriad of styles to create songs that emanate warmth, joy, sorrow, pain and the full spectrum of human emotion.



The album title, like their music, is open to interpretation. The duo reveals themes related to chronicling life’s many ups and downs, the deep preparation that must be taken ahead of a spiritual ceremony or psychedelic experience, and, simply, the journey taken during the conception and creation of an album. A quote from Walt Whitman also partly inspired the title; “every leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars”. However, the intention behind the title is to allow for ambiguity, giving the listener an opportunity to write their own narrative.



Across 11 cuts Bottler illustrate their distinct take on electronic music, weaving in elements of indie, pop, rock, house and techno with confidence and panache. ‘Journey Work’ starts at ‘Home’, a song that is fizzing with positive energy, Pat’s vocals welcoming the listener to the start of this meandering audio adventure.

‘Chrysalis’ opens with delicate piano keys that guide us into a bombastic bassline and energising drum beats. As it progresses, scintillating layers of synth and strings are added, creating a highly affecting, uplifting atmosphere.



‘Melatonin’ follows up next, merging heartfelt vocal delivery with a sombre instrumental, and a stirring guitar riff. A glorious demonstration of Bottler’s songwriting capabilities, which are also evident on ‘Vinyl’, an uptempo dance number with an unbelievably catchy chorus. Here we see the duo channel their experience of playing in multi-member bands, as the breaks and arrangement feel perfectly suited to a festival-sized crowd.



On ‘Tacoma’, Pat and Phil channel their appreciation of house and techno into a haunting cut that utilises reverse strings and extended vocal refrains to chilling effect. A heady club track for the twilight hours. ‘Meds’ incorporates muted singing, mystical pad work and a mesmerising riff to produce a captivating slice of uncomplicated dance music.



This is followed by ‘Hot Water’, which feels like a trip to a Californian beach, circa 1965. The vocals drift over a bouncing bassline with a complementary guitar riff. ‘Mako’ features Samurai Velvet singing about fireflies and afterlife in a wonderfully heartrending manner, Bottler’s instrumental keeping things simple, yet highly effective.



We head back underground with ‘Weed’, a dense, gloomy cut with inspired use of chopped up vocal clips, stuttered throughout, alongside a mean bassline. ‘You’re Old’ is the soundtrack to an explosion of festival euphoria, dancing shoulder to shoulder with your best friends, forgetting all your troubles and living in the moment. An anthemic song that transposes Bottler’s idiosyncratic style onto the pop blueprint. Finally, ‘Cicada Rhythm’ closes the LP with a pensive, yet joyful feeling. A chunky bassline is juxtaposed with Pat’s angelic vocals cascading over the top. A hint of tribalism comes through, as we approach the end of the Journey Work…



Five years in the making, fuelled by the desire to express their deep love for music of all varieties, Journey Work is symbolic of the long road it takes to accept oneself and be comfortable expressing one’s truth. Diverse, dynamic and daring with a rawness and honesty that is rare to find, the album marks a triumphant debut for Bottler and one that crystalises their unique identity.

Australia-born Los Angeles-based artist Luke C. presents ‘T.O.M.B.’, his debut solo release on his newly minted label Velvet Bikini.

The seven-track album is a gauzy, starry-eyed style of ambient electronics, embedded with melancholia and a touch of otherworldly psychedelia. A soundtrack to a generation lost, endlessly searching the streets of a sun-drenched, neon-lit city. ‘T.O.M.B.’ will be pressed on limited-edition vinyl.

The bulk of T.O.M.B. was recorded at Luke C.’s home studio in LA over the last 12 months and put together with various sources—MicroKorg, voice, sampled records, treated field recordings, resampled synths—to create the noir-ish atmosphere present across the LP, one that takes the listener through the depths of the psyche and the neon-lit corners of the city in which it was recorded.

Iranian-American artist Kamran Sadeghi mastered the entirety of the LP, known for his recent album on Richard Chartier’s LINE imprint and his work as a key member of Soundwalk Collective.

Rare 1966 Brazilian album with a jazz/bossa nova take on songs by the Beatles, all served up with plenty of great keyboard work from the legendary Manfredo Fest who would later become member of the Sergio Mendes band. The songs are all played with imaginative scents that really take them from their roots as pop songs and open them up as groovers filled with keyboard improvisations. First time vinyl reissue. DESCRIPTION Rare 1966 Brazilian LP with a jazz/bossa nova take on songs by the Beatles performed by the very talented Manfredo Fest and his trio. It was originally released right after their classic 1965 RGE album and has a very similar jazz-based sound. Manfredo Fest was part of the gathering of Brazilian musicians of the late-'50s who were developing the bossa nova movement, and he made a number of trio recordings in that vein from 1961 to 1966. After emigrating to Minneapolis in 1967, Fest moved to Los Angeles where he served as keyboardist and arranger for Bossa Rio and toured with Sergio Mendes. This recording is all instrumental, strongly jazz-based, with piano as the main solo instrument, soaring over the top of some tight, crackling rhythms! The songs are all played with imaginative scents that really take them from their roots as pop songs and open them up as groovers filled with keyboard improvisations. A nice slice of how the bossa nova sound was evolving in its homeland as well as the international impact the Beatles were having on countries outside of the U.S., England, Japan, and Germany. First time vinyl reissue.

Released as a limited edition for Record Store Day in 2019, the original mono mix of Pink Floyd’s A Saucerful of Secrets has been remastered by James Guthrie, Joel Plante, and Bernie Grundman from the 1968 analog tapes. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl, it will be presented inside a reproduction of the original LP sleeve.

With classics like "Set the Controls For The Heart Of The Sun", "Remember a Day" and "Jugband Blues", A Saucerful Of Secrets is the only album to feature the five band members: Roger Waters on bass and vocals, Richard Wright on keyboards and vocals, Nick Mason on drums, Syd Barrett and David Gilmour on guitar and vocals.

Philadelphia’s DEVIL MASTER’s roots in ritual magick have never been more prominent than on their highly anticipated new album Ecstasies Of Never Ending Night. Recorded live to analog tape by Pete DeBoer (Blood Incantation, Spectral Voice), Ecstasies expands on the warped riffing and dark atmospheres that have already propelled DEVIL MASTER as one of the underground’s most unique and unfettered bands. From the band’s blackened punk maelstrom of “Acid Black Mass” to the spiraling death rock of “Abyss In Vision” and the layers of refined atmosphere on the closer “Never Ending Night”, lead guitarist Darkest Prince of All Rebellion shines across a collection of fiery, tumultuous riffs - Lyrically, vocalist Disembody Through Unparalleled Pleasure laces Ecstasies with life-affirming blasphemy and existential dread. Ecstasies of Never Ending Night witnesses DEVIL MASTER at its core. Vocalist Disembody Through Unparalleled Pleasure has assumed the role of bassist, strengthening the songwriting alongside Darkest Prince and founding member/rhythm guitarist Infernal Moonlight Apparition. Fresh blood was required and found in drummer/keyboardist Festering Terror in Deepest Catacomb (a.k.a. Chris Ulsh of Power Trip and Iron Age). Ecstasies of Never Ending Night proves to be a crucial addition to the pantheon of evil satanic metal. In the end, magick reigns!

Radio: Total Rock Radio, Primordial Radio, HRH Radio & regional Rock Shows. Press: Metal Hammer, ZT, Kerrang! on-line, Fistful Of Metal, Record Collector, Classic Rock, Power Play, HRH Mag. Online: Facebook ads, Youtube pre-roll ads, Instagram ads and banner ads on key Metal sites. 150K label database mailing. Advertising: Metal Hammer, ZT.

"Blossoms fourth studio album Ribbon Around The Bomb, is released on the 29th April. The band have also shared the title track from the album and its accompanying video, directed by Edwin Burdis, Arctic Monkeys’ Creative Director, who worked on the band’s Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino and AM albums.

Ribbon Around The Bomb is the first new music from Blossoms since their ‘vibrant single’ (NME) Care For, which was released in 2021. Care For gained great support from radio, with the track being playlisted and made the ‘Hottest Record’ by Radio 1, as well as getting on the B-List with Radio 2. The track was also added to key streaming playlists, including Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday’, ‘All New All Now’ and ‘The Indie List’. Standard CD, Limited Edition Deluxe CD - 2CD including Live From Sefton 2nd CD. Spined outersleeve, 24-page booklet, sticker. 2CD Live At Sefton Park, Limited Edition Standard vinyl"