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Lost soul phenomenon Lewis Taylor's Numb finally arrives on double vinyl! One of UK soul’s most fascinating artists, most enigmatic figures and most under-appreciated talents, Andrew Lewis Taylor is a prodigious multi-instrumentalist and eclectic polymath. He enjoys a fiercely loyal following which, over the years, has included celebrity champions like Bowie, Elton and D'Angelo. Numb is Taylor's sixth album, initially released on his own label Slow Reality (an anagram of his name) and licensed to Be With for this long-awaited physical edition. It captures Taylor's wholly unique, intoxicating take on lush, late-night psychedelic soul music.
Lewis wrote and recorded these 10 brand new tracks after a 17 year break from making music, although the album came together over a two-year period. The years away have done nothing to dull Taylor's unique musical vision. He still astounds. The lyrical themes, however, have shifted. Understandably, more than a decade and a half of soul searching and unflinching self-examination cannot fail to influence this most honest of songwriters, and boy does it show. Numb marks a return to the darker, more mysterious side of his output: "Brian Wilson-channels-Smokey Robinson atmospheres", as Mojo put it recently.
After playing a rapturously received gig at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC in 2006, Lewis unceremoniously walked away from music and disappeared completely. An interview in 2016 shed light on some of the reasons for Taylor’s withdrawal from the business, but there was no hint of a return anytime soon. Then in June 2021, news emerged out of the blue that he was readying new music alongside Sabina Smyth with whom he had worked first time around.
On Numb, Lewis deftly balances stark, soul-bearing lyrics with moody mid-tempo pop-soul sheen. He deals candidly with depression, mental turmoil, even thoughts of suicide - clearly more personal than Taylor's earlier songs. The music is rich, warm and layered, with infectious melodies and hooks that stick with you. A true grower of an LP, it really does reward repeated listens. As Jim Irvin in Mojo reflected, "despite the depths these plumb, it's a curiously uplifting experience, unfurling like a concept album about life's challenges with an optimistic beauty at its heart."
Triumphant dubwise horns ring out yet, almost instantly, “Final Hour” takes on a dark, downbeat vibe. With lyrics that confront (and, seemingly, confound) death head-on, Lewis ensures the groove is still there, the beats still swing and your head still nods, strings glissade. Woven around delicate yet insistent piano and subtle strings over a killer bassline, the title track “Numb” is a good example of the lyrical themes throughout the album. As Taylor reflects, "So removed I feel no pain / And for all I know I could be having the time of my life" with a coda that feels very much in conversation with Brian Wilson's finest harmonies. "Feels So Good" is sophisticated 90s-sounding soul of the highest order. The music and vocals feel simultaneously optimistic and despondent. Downlifting. A neat trick, and one Lewis has been so adept at over the years. "Apathy" is a mini-epic, a symphonic-soul gem which builds and glides and, eventually, soars. “Worried Mind" is another slow-builder, creeping out the gate in a sketchy, discordant fashion before climbing to half-crescendo but never quite breaking free of its disorientating restraint.
The brighter "Please" presents a more hopeful mood, with the refrain "I still believe" ringing out as Lewis harmonises with himself. "Brave Heart" quietly struts from step one, as Lewis's falsetto swaggers over a downtempo backdrop with ace echoey drums, beautiful strings and serene electric guitar. Closing out Side C, "Is It Cool" answers its own (non-) question with a spellbinding five and a half minutes of swoonsome deep soul that oscillates between a restrained, barely-there backdrop and a lushly full musical accompaniment of acoustic and electric guitar and organ over bass and slick drums. The penultimate track "Nearer" is a magical, soul-stirring ballad in which Lewis sings of reaching a sweet salvation and achieving a peace of mind. If the hairs on the back of your neck aren't standing up by the midway point, you might need to check your pulse. Album closer and true tear-jerker "Being Broken" places Lewis's gorgeous voice high in the mix and the wordless falsetto and melodies invite you to ponder what Pet Sounds might sound like if it were refashioned as a dubby 21st Century electronic soul album. Astonishing.
Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering spreads out the ten tracks over a double LP so, as ever, nothing is compromised. And as usual, the records have been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. Turn it up and let the Lewis Taylor sound envelop you.
- A1: Madman (4 22)
- A2: Keep Right On (5 30)
- A3: Reconsider (3 51)
- B1: When Will I Ever Learn 2 (3 44)
- B2: Out Of My Head Is The Way I Feel (3 05)
- B3: Carried Away (3 32)
- C1: Stoned Part 2 (4 13)
- C2: Positively Beautiful 2 (4 09)
- C3: Throw Me A Line (3 42)
- D1: Shame 2 (3 34)
- D2: Won’t Fade Away (4 05)
- D3: Keep On Keeping On (4 47)
Part 1[30,21 €]
Stoned Part II is Lewis Taylor's pure, perfect dance-pop album. His second self-released album and fourth album proper, it initially appeared on his own label Slow Reality in 2004. It's been licensed to Be With for this long-awaited double LP release, its first ever vinyl edition. Gravely misunderstood at the time by hardcore fans and the music press alike, it has aged quite magnificently. An experiment in the sounds of contemporary pop and dance music, Lewis's wonky take on funky pop would annihilate anything kicking around the charts, then or now. If only it were given half a chance.
Stoned Part II is brimming with Lewis's trademark soul, his singing as beautiful as ever, but the rhythms throughout are more upbeat, the overall sound a more smooth and slicker dance-funk presentation. Roughly half the tracks are absolutely essential, fascinating re-workings of tracks from the eternal Stoned Part 1, as Lewis explains: "When we were doing Stoned we were trying different approaches with everything so we ended up with more than one version of nearly all the songs which left us with more than an album's worth of material. There was a lot of really cool house tunes around at the time which we were both really into and that shaped the sound and production, some songs more directly than others." Amen to that.
The swoonsome, string-drenched opener "Madman" is quite the departure, a bleepy, bumping soulful disco-house record with a bassline to die for. Is there anything he can't do? It's followed by another huge dancefloor stomper, "Keep Right On" again riding another killer bassline over funky drums and featuring Lewis's dazzling vocals. There's no let-up with the sparkling "Reconsider" which sounds an awful lot like Daft Punk meets Nile Rodgers (prescient as ever, our Lewis). The wide-eyed French filtered house vibe is to the fore here, and how this wasn't picked up by someone like Kylie and taken wholesale to the top of the charts is something we'll never understand.
Opening the B-Side, "When Will I Ever Learn 2" really slaps, presenting a breezier, more upbeat funk take on the brilliant original and incorporating "From The Day We Met" from Stoned Part I. "Out Of My Head Is The Way I Feel" is absolutely fantastic and one of Lewis's very best songs. The vocals, self-harmonising and virtuoso playing are next level. To close out the side, "Carried Away" is a real standout, Lewis's gorgeous falsetto riding a quasi D&B groove to begin with before adorning a more classically funky 2-step rhythm. The marriage of undulating synths and guitars is stunning, giving way to Lewis indulging his goosebump-inducing Brian Wilson harmonies.
The funky, Rhythm King drum machine soul of "Stoned Part 2" refashions the original in the style of an unearthed Sly Stone classic, circa There's A Riot Going On. Yes, it's that good. On we then glide to "Positively Beautiful 2" which, if it's even possible, manages to be better than the original. The epic, orchestral opening truly captivates before Lewis truly gets down with kaleidoscopic dancefloor-slaying Philly soul-funk. It's surely tracks like this which help explain why he was soon to be tapped up by Dangermouse and Cee-Lo for the musical director role with Gnarls Barkley. "Throw Me A Line" closes out the side
"Shame 2" is a blissful, restrained version of the massive original, without the crazy psych-soul wig-out. Definitely more radio-friendly, that's for sure. The gorgeous mellow vibe continues with "Won't Fade Away", featuring more Beach Boys harmonies over a barely-there pulse (a version of which later pops up in an altered state on The Lost Album). The album bows out with - you guessed it - a psych-soul wig-out! "Keep On Keeping On", a real highlight, opens with looped sampled drums a la Massive Attack and Lewis's multi-layered self-harmonising again very much high in the mix. It amps up gradually to feature vocals dripping with tune and bite before screaming guitars and crashing drums really blast this whole set into the stratosphere.
Simon Francis’s vinyl mastering, approved by Lewis himself, presents the twelve tracks over a double LP so it sounds exactly as it should. The records have been cut by Cicely Balston at Air Studios and pressed at Record Industry. Allow Lewis Taylor to get you Stoned, Part II.
Hannah Aldridge wuchs an den schlammigen Ufern Alabamas auf, ihre Songs halten ein empfindliches Gleichgewicht zwischen Rebellion und Selbstfindung. Wer den Bible Belt kennt, hört die vertraute Stimme eines alten Freundes, alle anderen lernen die dunkle Seite des Südens kennen, den Kampf, der Vergangenheit zu entkommen und eine Zukunft zu schmieden. 'Dream Of America' bewegt sich auf einem schmalen Grat zwischen freundlichem Americana-Charme und dem rohen, hypnotischen und gelegentlich elektronischen Stil dessen, was man Noir-Indie-Pop nennt. Es ist Musik für diejenigen, die sich ihren Dämonen stellen, ohne an sie gebunden zu bleiben.
Für Fifth Angel-Fans oder Fans von melodischem Power Metal ist dieses Album einfach ein Muss. Die Texte und Themen der letzten Trilogie der Fifth Angel-Alben werden zu einem doppelten Konzeptalbum verwoben, das sich in die Reihe von Helloweens "Keeper of the Seven Keys", Pink Floyds "The Wall" oder Queensryches "Operation Mindcrime" einreiht: "When Angels Kill" ist ein Paradebeispiel für "All Killer No Filler" US Metal. Jeder Song ist ein eigenständiges Werk, und die Doppelvinyl-, CD- und Digitalversionen sind fast siebzig Minuten lang. Fifth Angel melden sich nach ihrem gefeierten "The Third Secret" (2018) mit einem Paukenschlag zurück, der herausragende Tracks wie "When Angels Kill", "On Wings of Steel", "We Are Immortal", "Resist The Tyrant" und "Empire of Hate" zu bieten hat.
Extrem melodischer, eingängiger und makelloser Metal für Fans von Queensryche, Judas Priest und Metal Church ist, was FIFTH ANGEL auf dem Titeltrack ihres vierten Werks "When Angels Kill" liefern. Obwohl die Band in den 80er Jahren gegründet wurde, ist Retro nicht das, was diese Jungs wollen. Das hier ist zeitloser, kraftvoller Metal in seiner besten Form!
High Roller Records, reissue 2022, black vinyl, ltd 200, lyric sheet, poster, restored original artwork, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony
High Roller Records, reissue 2022, black vinyl, ltd 200, lyric sheet, poster, restored original artwork, mastered for vinyl by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony
Cinthie joins the Heist fam with an EP full of lush, epic house music with 3 originals and a St. David remix.
Cinthie is the kind of artist who seems to be everywhere all at once. In the past years, we’ve seen her compile a lush DJ Kicks compilation, release numerous EP’s on labels such as Aus music, run one of Berlin’s finest record stores (Elevate Records), tour the world fiercely, and create an all-new live show. Her EP for Heist has been in the works for a long, long time and it’s an absolute pleasure to finally present the ‘Music for Discotheques’ EP. Spoiler alert: It’s a no holds-back, ‘all killers, no fillers’ record. Just the way we like it.
In classic Cinthie fashion, this EP has the Berlin-based artist explore various sides of house music, starting with the vocal cut ‘Won’t u take me’. Lush pads, shuffling snares and a dreamy female vocal work together to bring a warm and classy house track with a clear nod to 90’s US house, but with its feet firmly rooted in the present.
Piano heaven takes you on an Italo-meets-deephouse excursion straight into…Drum roll…: Piano heaven. A driving 909 groove and a deceptively simple bass form the foundation of the track, but it’s the keys (and strings) that bring this track to its full peak-time potential. The energy in this track is of the ‘hands-in-the-air / screaming-out-loud’ type and it has already become one of the biggest tracks in Cinthie’s live-show.
On the flip, Cinthie explores the pacier electronic side of the dance spectrum, with the footwork inspired jam ‘Masterplan’. Think classic 808’s, loopy synths and a cheeky spoken word piece that lifts the song to a level where it’s extremely danceable and quite simply put; really fun.
The final track of the EP is the expertly crafted remix by Italian house maestro St. David; an artist Cinthie has always been a big fan of. He’s made a dazzling rework of ‘Piano Heaven’: A deep and driving deephouse version that’s layered in sweeps, fx and bleeps for an altogether mesmerizing effect.
We’re thrilled that we can share Cinthie’s music on the label and have her join the family after having played so many shows together and having spoken about doing something together for such a long time. As always, play it loud and dance, dance, dance!
Yours Sincerely,
Maarten & Lars
$oul $old $eparately marks Freddie’s first major label album debut. Gibbs joined Warner Records shortly after releasing his collaborative album with Alchemist titled Alfredo.
‘Too Much (feat Moneybagg Yo)’ is the first track to be released from the upcoming album and the next track to follow will be ‘Dark Hearted’ which was written in collaboration with British Singer/Songwriter James Blake.
There is a whole thematic world around this album which features Freddie as the head of the $$$ Hotel and Casino which is heard on the album via interludes.
More on Freddie
Freddie Gibbs has become one of hip-hop’s most important, inimitable, and influential voices via his quotable wordplay, versatile songs, and unflinching honesty. Since 2004, the uncompromising Indiana-raised rapper has built a diehard global fan base and regularly attracted tastemaker adoration. His discography includes 20-plus mixtapes, eight EPs, four official solo albums, and four top-billed collaborative records.
Teaming up with Warner Records in 2020, his momentum only accelerated six months later as The Alchemist-assisted Alfredo drew the same enthusiasm, landing a 2021 GRAMMY nomination for Best Rap Album and hitting #4 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart. Freddie Gibbs has collaborated with everyone from Pusha T, Killer Mike, Anderson .Paak, and Yasiin Bey to Tyler, The Creator, Gucci Mane, A$AP Ferg, Jay Rock, and Young Thug, in addition to contributing music to blockbuster video game franchises, such as Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, and NBA2K.
High Roller Records, reissue 2023, black vinyl, ltd 250, insert
High Roller Records, reissue 2023, white w/ yellow & red "fire splatter"vinyl, ltd 250, insert
- A1: Lynyrd Skynyrd – The Seasons (4.09)
- A2: Barefoot Jerry – Smokies (2.14)
- A3: Joe South – Hush (3.47)
- A4: Bobbie Gentry – Papa, Won’t You Let Me Go To Town With You (2.34)
- A5: Area Code 615 – Stone Fox Chase (3.17)
- A6: Cher – I Walk On Guilded Splinters (2.32)
- B1: Cowboy – Please Be With Me (3.48)
- B2: The Allman Brothers – Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More (3.40)
- B3: Link Wray – Be What You Want To (4.29)
- B4: Boz Scaggs – I’ll Be Long Gone (4.08)
- B5: Lynyrd Skynyrd – Comin’ Home (5.29)
- C1: Bobbie Gentry – Seasons Come, Seasons Go (2.52)
- C2: Leon Russell – Out In The Woods (3.37)
- C3: Tony Joe White – Polk Salad Annie (3.42)
- C4: Barefoot Jerry – Come To Me Tonight (4.43)
- C5: Dan Penn – If Love Was Money (3.29)
- C6: Linda Ronstadt – I Won’t Be Hangin’ ‘Round (2.59)
- D1: Waylon Jennings – Big D (2.30)
- D2: Big Star – Thirteen (2.37)
- D3: Bobbie Gentry – Mississippi Delta (3.06)
- D4: Travis Wammack – I Forgot To Remember To Forget (2.54)
- D5: Johnny Cash & June Carter – If I Were A Carpenter (3.01)
- D6: Billy Vera – I’m Leavin’ Here Tomorrow, Mama (4.13)
Black Vinyl[29,62 €]
Long out of print (10 years!), this new edition of Soul Jazz Records' classic Delta Swamp Rock, features a killer all-star line-up of seminal artists who all first blended rock, soul and country together to create a stunning new sound of southern American music in the 1970s.
Featuring the Allman Brothers, Dan Penn, Leon Russell, Tony Joe White, Johnny Cash, Bobbie Gentry, Big Star, Link Wray, Area Code 615 and loads more!
This album comes as a superb limited-edition gold vinyl double vinyl release complete with extensive original sleevenotes, interviews and exclusive photography, all spread over a 12-page full-size magazine and two bespoke inner sleeves. The works!
Delta Swamp Rock is an interstate southern road-trip through the United States of America where country, rock and soul met at the crossroads - an exploration of the musical and cultural links between the cities of Memphis, Muscle Shoals and Nashville in the 1960s and 70s.
At the start of the 1970s, a new type of music emerged out of the southern states of Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and Florida. Southern rock, the creation of young blue-collar white Americans, blended rock, soul, country and blues music together to present a new vision of the south – a post-civil rights southern identity complete with a celebration of the regions natural landscape and its way of life.
The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd epitomised the definitive southern rock groups – a mixture of blues-rock and country with a southern rebelliousness and attitude. Unfortunately both The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd were to be struck by tragedy, which would affect the movement’s rise and fall.
The backstory to southern rock is the fact that a number of the people involved in its creation had been central to the production of southern soul music in the 1960s mainly in Memphis, Tennessee, and the small town of Muscle Shoals (population around 10,000) deep within the bible-belt, liquor-free, deeply segregated state of Alabama, creating 100s of R&B hits on an almost daily basis.
Here in Muscle Shoals, with its proximity to Memphis and Nashville, an all-white group of in-house musicians, (famously referred to by Lynyrd Skynyrd in the song ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ as the ‘Swampers’), created countless classic soul records for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Clarence Carter and more during the 1960s.
This album charts the rise and fall of southern rock from its funky swamp roots in southern soul to its phenomenal success in the first-half of the 1970s, including its influence on Nashville’s ‘outlaw’ country and tracing it right back to the arrival of rock and roll in the 1950s - the first meeting of black and white American music at the crossroads.
- 1: Kick In The Teeth
- 2: Who Do You Wanna Be?
- 3: Hot (Don't Date A Musician)
- 4: Social Lubrication
- 5: Mascara
- 6: Leech
- 7: I Want You
- 8: Curious
- 9: Honestly
- 10: Orbit
Dream Wife melden sich in elektrisierender Form mit dem komplett selbstgeschriebenen und -produzierten Album 'Social Lubrication' zurück. Der einzige äußere Einfluss sind die Schwergewicht-Mixer Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, Depeche Mode) und Caesar Edmunds (Wet Leg, Beach House). Auf dem aufrührerischen Werk greift das Trio wieder große Themen auf seine charakteristisch-unverfrorene Art an, verschmelzt das Politische mit dem Verspielten und versteckt entscheidende Messages in heißen Hymnen übers Rumknutschen, Spaß haben und neugierig bleiben.
'Social Lubrication', in den Worten der Band, ist: 'Hyper-lustvoller Rock'n'Roll mit einem politischen Schlag, der die Alchemie der Anziehung, der Lust am Leben erforscht, die Gemeinschaft umarmt und das Patriarchat herausfordert. Mit einer gesunden Portion Verspieltheit und Spaß.'
'Dream Wife just want to dismantle the patriarchy. The UK art punks make music that’s roiling with feminist rage and Spice Girls attitude.' - Rolling Stone
Fronted by former South London lovers rock vocal harmony group, Alpha (sisters Jackie & Jean Heron and Marlene Richardson), Take Three was the brain-child of writer/producer trio "S.H.E." - Steve Sinclair, Peter Hinds & Kevin Ellis.
Meeting each other at The Factory community centre in Paddington (now known as the Yaa Asantewa centre and in the last few years, The Yaa Centre) Steve & Kevin began a partnership writing and directing their own theatre productions as part of The Black Theatre Co-Op, which called the centre home at the time. When a song they had written together for one of their productions received praise and plaudits, the path toward writing and producing records began, bringing in more seasoned hand Peter Hinds - formerly a member of key brit funk groups Light of the World and Beggar & Co, and player with Incognito, Imagination & Loose Ends - to complete the circle.
Following on from Freestyle's reissue of the group's first single around this time last year, in the form of 1983's Tonight's the Night, we decided to drop another killer 12" from the Take Three vaults - this time it's their last single released as Take Three in 1985. Can't Get Enough (of Your Love) was originally licensed out to, and released by Andy Sojka's seminal Elite label. It features two super extended mixes - the A side's "Soul mix" showcases the girls's harmonies pinned down by a big & heavy synth bass groove before moving into boogie-dub territory, while the B side "Reggae mix" introduces an ofbeat skank heightening the vocal stylings' lovers-esque tendancies.
The HAVEN white label series is back after a year's break with the fifth instalment of the infamous Sardonic Tonality compilation series - this time with three newcomers to the imprint and one existing label artist visiting the series for the first time.
The A1 kicks off the record with Otautahi (Christchurch) local techno legend Keanu Raves - a regular DJ at HAVEN events in their hometown. Booming kicks, rolling percussion, and emotive synth work come together in this perfect dance-floor killer that's already been making the rounds at Aotearoa warehouse raves and outdoor parties. Following up is Valerie Ace on the A2 with a tripped-out slab of techno weight. Eerie synth textures, creeping vocal whispers and pounding drum rhythms combine in another delight for all club creatures from the promising German producer.
On the flip French production demon Draugr revisits the label again following on from his Nine Nights EP at the end of 2021. Menacing melodies, charging drum work and ominous atmospheres pour out of yet another industrial-tinged mammoth from the Parisian nightmare weaver. Ending the record is the label debut of Berlin-based Puerto Rican heavyweight Xiorro. Off-beat bass, hypnotic percussions, and grungy synth blasts close out the compilation with another certified club weapon.
Red Vinyl[17,23 €]
3 killerz. A side playing 33 and the flip 45 with a massive collab between Xtech and Protokick, Bass Freetekno, Dj friendly and supra dancefloor. Big !




















