Suche:know how

Dutch indie band from the south of Holland. Produced by Grammy-nominated British producer and mixer Christopher Elms (Björk, Ben Howard and A Blaze of Feather) as well as mastered by Tim Debney who worked with Thom Yorke, Mumford & Sons, Bastille and Keane, among others, and provided the mastering for the Bond tune by Billie Eilish.

Soul Jazz Records’ Holy Church of the Ecstatic Soul: Gospel, Funk and Soul at the Crossroads 1971-83 draws upon the extensive links between black American gospel music and soul music, showing how the sensibilities of gospel artists such as Shirley Caeser, Dorothy Norwood, Andrae Crouch and others crossed over into secular soul music during this period.

The album was first available as a (sold out) ltd.edn. coloured vinyl for RSD23 and is now available as a black double vinyl + download edition and also for the first time on CD.

Many of the most successful soul artists - from Aretha Franklin to Al Green, The Staple Singers to Sam Cooke - all drew upon their upbringing in the church for their musical inspiration. This album discusses how important the links between the black church and soul music were in creating soul music and spotlights some of the many important (and also little-known) gospel artists who walked this line between sacred music and soul, funk and disco in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Holy Church of the Ecstatic Soul shows how sacred gospel music was at home with Stevie Wonder, Blaxploitation-style funk and produced music celebrated both in New York’s underground discos (The Paradise Garage, Studio 54, etc) and later sampled by the likes of Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg and Mary J Bilge.

Johnnie Taylor was an accomplished soul artist despite having little instrumental skill and he rarely wrote any of his own material. He was known variously as the ‘Blues Wailer’ and the ‘Philosopher Of Soul’ and recorded over 30 albums and 120 singles throughout a career that cemented his status as one of the leading male soul vocalists during the late sixties and throughout the seventies.

He started his recording career mid-50s with the doo-wop group The Five Echoes and gospel groups The Highway Q.C.’s and then in 1957, The Soul Stirrers, replacing Sam Cooke who had left the group for a solo career. Taylor followed that path a few years later signing for Cooke’s SAR label. and had a minor hit in 1962 with “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day”.

in 1964 he moved to Stax Records where he started as a blues artist enjoying many fruitful years, most notably with “Who’s Making Love” selling more than a million copies. Following the unfortunate demise of Stax in 1976 he moved to Columbia Records where he went platinum with the hit “Disco Lady” (ironically not a disco track at all) and the album from which it came ‘Eargasm’ (1976) was a commercial peak he would never scale again. However, he continued with many collectable releases before moving to Beverly Glen Music in the early eighties and then Malaco Records in 1984, where his style became the more soul-blues based sound that was synonymous with the label. He remained with them until he died of a heart attack in Dallas aged 66 in 2000.

“Let’s Get Back On” Track comes from the CD ‘Gotta Get The Groove Back’ (1999) produced (and co-written with Charlie Brooks) by Frederick Knight, who also used the same backing track some 7 years later with his production of the David Sea track “Stay In My Arms” which was a modern soul favourite and will help to register the significance of this earlier production. It is now available as a vinyl release for the first time. It was taken from his final album although Malaco released ‘There’s No Good In Goodbye’ posthumously in 2003.
Robert Calvin Brooks, known professionally as Bobby “Blue” Bland spent his early career in Memphis, developing a sound that mixed gospel with blues and R&B and was known as the ‘Lion Of The Blues ‘and the ‘Sinatra Of The Blues’. His father abandoned the family not long after his birth and he acquired his name from his stepfather, Leroy Bland. His formative musical years were centered around the Beale Street scene and he was scouted by Ike Turner for Modern Records.

His progress was interrupted by a two year stint in the US Army and when he returned to Memphis he signed for Duke Records, run by Don Robey. Bland was illiterate and Robey helped him sign his contract which only gave him half a cent per record sold instead of the industry standard of 2 cents. He had his first hit in 1957 and continued a successful run of R&B chart entries without breaking through into the mainstream markets and was ranked number 13 of the all time chart-topping artists in Joel Whitburn’s “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995”.

Duke Records sold out to ABC and with them he managed to return to the R&B charts but he still couldn’t succeed in the pop charts. In 1985 Bland signed for Malaco who were specialists in the Southern black music sound and he recorded many albums and toured for them, frequently with B.B. King, and was inducted into the ‘Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame’ in 1992.

Whilst “Heart Open Up Again” was a vinyl release in 1985 it was not chosen to be the single release from the Tommy Couch & Wolf Stephenson produced album Members Only (1985). This beautiful ballad, penned by George Jackson/Robert Miller/Michael Wooten, was never before released as a single and is a fabulous pairing with the topside – two of the best from two of the all-time greats.

We are thrilled to kick off our label endeavors with one of the rarest and simultaneously best-recorded independently released German new wave singles in history: "Jede Nacht derselbe Traum" ("The Same Dream Every Night") by Total.

Back in late 1983, Total found themselves in a pivotal rendezvous with CBS Records in a Frankfurt hotel lobby. The entire band was present, along with the esteemed NDW manager Jim Rakete, who had played a role in launching Nena to national and international stardom. Also in attendance were the A&R representatives from CBS. It was on this day that Total was presented with the opportunity to ink an album deal with CBS. However, since they had only recorded the titular song thus far, negotiations hit a snag. CBS insisted on a full album rather than a standalone single.
Ultimately, the band decided to independently issue a limited 7" run of "Jede Nacht derselbe Traum" under Günther Mannschreck's Schreckschuss label in January 1984. These vinyl copies became the band's currency for pursuing record deals and promotional prospects. However, despite the potential to achieve commercial success and garner radio airplay, the song and the "Total" project gradually waned from the music landscape. Regrettably, only a few vinyl copies have managed to endure over time. This NDW "holy grail" may have prompted a fair share of dreams for serious vinyl collectors, as to this day, not a single physical copy has been put up for sale on platforms like eBay or Discogs. Interestingly, Maisenbacher has even fielded an offer of over 400 Euros for an original copy, although he regretfully couldn't fulfill the request due to possessing just a single copy himself.

The song itself is a fusion of diverse musical styles. Crafted using the Oberheim OB8 system, complete with the DMX drum machine and a bassline woven from a Jupiter 8 keyboard, it carried a groove reminiscent of New York's electro hip-hop sound in "The Message," setting it apart from typical German new wave productions. Additionally, a Korg Polysix was integrated, and guitar effects were layered to finalize the infectious synth-pop instrumental. Newcomer to the band, Andrea Ströbel, laid down a flawless vocal layer that steered the song towards a straightforward NDW direction, giving it a resonance that surely resonated with mainstream and radio audiences. To complete a B-side for the original vinyl single, the legendary state-of-the-art L480 Lexicon reverb was used. In the more experimental "Maxi Mix," now known as the "Dub Mix," Mannschreck expertly manipulated the machine. The outcome stands as a historical example of incredible studio craftsmanship and the cutting-edge techniques of the 80s.
For the new 12" release, Mannschreck unearthed an alternative mix of the song on the original tapes, featuring a distinct introduction, break, and exciting edits. In addition, DJ Friction, who contributed to the transfer and mastering for the release, treated us to a superb edit that cleverly melds all versions of the song while incorporating a few extra bassline groove elements.

The captivating reissue cover spotlights vocalist Andrea Ströbel, who gazes with determination. A hand reaches out to grab her shirt, attempting to pull her down. Symbolizing the song's theme, it embodies the unsettling dream conveyed by the lyrics-yet she steadfastly resists.

In summary, we are elated to present a significant gem for vinyl enthusiasts: a splendid mid-tempo tune that dances on the boundary of synth-pop, new wave and electro. The new 12" single underwent meticulous mastering, and the outcome is nothing short of astounding, surpassing the sonic quality of the original pressing.

We are thrilled to kick off our label endeavors with one of the rarest and simultaneously best-recorded independently released German new wave singles in history: "Jede Nacht derselbe Traum" ("The Same Dream Every Night") by Total.

Back in late 1983, Total found themselves in a pivotal rendezvous with CBS Records in a Frankfurt hotel lobby. The entire band was present, along with the esteemed NDW manager Jim Rakete, who had played a role in launching Nena to national and international stardom. Also in attendance were the A&R representatives from CBS. It was on this day that Total was presented with the opportunity to ink an album deal with CBS. However, since they had only recorded the titular song thus far, negotiations hit a snag. CBS insisted on a full album rather than a standalone single.
Ultimately, the band decided to independently issue a limited 7" run of "Jede Nacht derselbe Traum" under Günther Mannschreck's Schreckschuss label in January 1984. These vinyl copies became the band's currency for pursuing record deals and promotional prospects. However, despite the potential to achieve commercial success and garner radio airplay, the song and the "Total" project gradually waned from the music landscape. Regrettably, only a few vinyl copies have managed to endure over time. This NDW "holy grail" may have prompted a fair share of dreams for serious vinyl collectors, as to this day, not a single physical copy has been put up for sale on platforms like eBay or Discogs. Interestingly, Maisenbacher has even fielded an offer of over 400 Euros for an original copy, although he regretfully couldn't fulfill the request due to possessing just a single copy himself.

The song itself is a fusion of diverse musical styles. Crafted using the Oberheim OB8 system, complete with the DMX drum machine and a bassline woven from a Jupiter 8 keyboard, it carried a groove reminiscent of New York's electro hip-hop sound in "The Message," setting it apart from typical German new wave productions. Additionally, a Korg Polysix was integrated, and guitar effects were layered to finalize the infectious synth-pop instrumental. Newcomer to the band, Andrea Ströbel, laid down a flawless vocal layer that steered the song towards a straightforward NDW direction, giving it a resonance that surely resonated with mainstream and radio audiences. To complete a B-side for the original vinyl single, the legendary state-of-the-art L480 Lexicon reverb was used. In the more experimental "Maxi Mix," now known as the "Dub Mix," Mannschreck expertly manipulated the machine. The outcome stands as a historical example of incredible studio craftsmanship and the cutting-edge techniques of the 80s.
For the new 12" release, Mannschreck unearthed an alternative mix of the song on the original tapes, featuring a distinct introduction, break, and exciting edits. In addition, DJ Friction, who contributed to the transfer and mastering for the release, treated us to a superb edit that cleverly melds all versions of the song while incorporating a few extra bassline groove elements.

The captivating reissue cover spotlights vocalist Andrea Ströbel, who gazes with determination. A hand reaches out to grab her shirt, attempting to pull her down. Symbolizing the song's theme, it embodies the unsettling dream conveyed by the lyrics-yet she steadfastly resists.

In summary, we are elated to present a significant gem for vinyl enthusiasts: a splendid mid-tempo tune that dances on the boundary of synth-pop, new wave and electro. The new 12" single underwent meticulous mastering, and the outcome is nothing short of astounding, surpassing the sonic quality of the original pressing.

Even as a little boy, Johnny Cash has a feeling he was going to be famous one day. It wasn’t the kind of premonition he could go about telling people. They’d have thought dreams of fame and riches pretty far removed from the Cash’s barely-productive 40-acre cotton farm in Arkansas. Especially since Johnny had no idea how he was going to make his mark.

Johnny left the farm to go into the Air Force — and in his travels he acquired first, a wife — and secondly, a guitar. Assigned to Germany and forced to leave his wife behind, Johnny found a faithful companion in his guitar. The boys in his barracks seem to like his “pickin’ and singin'” and gradually the plan for a career began to take shape. He would be a singer — a country singer.

When he got back from service, Johnny was not so modest about his plans for the future. He let his Memphis friends know he was going to be a singer — a good singer, a famous singer — a singer who would revolutionize country music. No matter how long it took — he was determined!

As it happened, Lady Luck inclined her face toward Johnny almost immediately. His releases on the Sun label were instantly acclaimed, and in 1956, one year after Johnny Cash launched his recording career, he was named the most promising country and western artist of the year in four separate polls.

After the success of “I Walk the Line” as a simultaneous C & W and popular hit, it was indicated the course Johnny’s career should take. Though always identifying himself as a singer for the country fans — a favorite entertainer on the Grand Ole Opry — Johnny Cash with “Ballad of a Teen-Age Queen” came to be a top selling artist in the pop recording field.

Almost reluctantly, Johnny evolved a pop-county style in arrangement and instrumentation, evident in such hits as “Guess Things Happen That Way” and “The Ways of a Woman in Love” to supply the demand for Cash records by fans of both types of music. It is ironic that Johnny Cash caused more of a revolution in pop music than in country music, as was his aim, by being one of the first C & W artists exposed on national “general entertainment” TV shows; and the first C & W artist to capture the LP market with one great release (Sun 1220).

Johnny Cash — in his voice, looks and demeanor — carries a certain aura of “specialness.” He is a very dramatic figure — tall, muscular, with blue-black hair. He looks the part of a folk singer — a 20th century wandering minstrel. And his fatalistic style, both in composing and singing, has a quality of monotone, but of “emotional monotone” that defies analysis, but which is genuinely powerful.

Johnny Cash is one of those persons endowed with an exceptional talent which has to express itself. And being expressed, his talent has been uniquely recognized and applauded by many loyal fans, who will enjoy this reminiscent album of the songs which to date are landmarks in the career of the one and only Johnny Cash.

Cybotron has re-emerged in our contemporary cybercultural age when artifactual futures begin a transition into a new era of "Meta".

By combining their knowledge of philosophy, science fiction, and mechanical engineering, at a time when electronic instrument companies were only just beginning to distribute their products to the masses, two prosumer audio technicians named Juan Atkins and Rik Davis were able to re-engineer Cybotron – a combination of the words “Cyborg” and “Cyclotron” (an atomic particle accelerator) – to be used as a home studio performance music that would change the course of independently produced and distributed electronic music.

Dissolving the boundary between singer, songwriter, and producer, Juan Atkins named Cybotron’s future forward funkadelic sound “techno” in reference to Alvin Toffler’s concept of unlikely “techno rebels” against technocracy. Techno is music that sounds like technology, and its purpose was to help society survive our collision with a universally felt “future shock” by inserting an audio virus into the cultural matrix.

Techno’s blueprint spread across the Detroit-Berlin Axis between Metroplex and Tresor. As human society began its transition from a post-industrial to an information-based market economy, Cybotron enabled a thorough system override of the human senses towards a tangible man-machine hybridity and showed the world how to channel their emotions and imaginations into new sound technologies and create new ‘sonic’ spatialities where listeners can transport themselves out of the physical world into the future. The cover of their debut album Enter (1983) transmitted a fragmented view of a body in motion being digitized mid-stride, dissolving physical and virtual reality into sonic fiction.

Today, the man-machine hybridity of Cybotron is still the truest form of techno, coevolving in conversation with the technological music they created and inspired. The latest data disk marks a new chapter that reflects a techgnostic musical expression of the knowledge acquired during their decades-long hiatus. Unlike the dance music industrial replications of the Model 500 formula, acknowledging the content marketing expectations that segments music into specific, sellable genres, this techno music is self-aware. Cybotron processes dance music tropes spawned from its very own blueprint with a meta-tactical precision out of sync with our current rave new world.

Cybotron’s return demonstrates a studied engagement with what techno was and should be with a peerless update of Juan Atkins’ initial inventive idea of do-it-yourself electrically reengineered music xeroxed onto both sides of the 12” – uploaded directly into the alleys of your mind.
- The Rhythmanalyst

Having been deck slaying as near their London headquarters as Germany and as far as Canada, goth techno prodigy Lesser Of is steadily approaching double digit release count. With an established residence at queer x trans focused, revolutionary event series Subverted, their efforts have been welcomed to a formidable list of industrial electronic labels and remixed by a tidy sum of high profile scene icons.

Here at Depth.Request our sonars are attuned to emanant potential, and so we conscript Lesser Of to hammer out our fourth acetate offering to date. To this, harsh noise and drone music inspirations are declared, alongside an artistic secret of the trade: lights-off sessions in live room of a recording studio vibrating with the pulse of a bass guitar ran through a freeze pedal were what begot the tracks, and they are well intent on assaulting your headphones with noise. Reeko on the remix - yes, this record fucks.

Prolonged, ominous intro? Nah. Have a face full of Crude Manifestation Of Power instead, as an insatiable, 10-minute long opener braces your ears for a week of ringing with a sonic equivalent of metallic thrashing one could expect from being a sinful, rave-lusting scoundrel. On title-diverting continuation Within My Fragility the words "strength in fragility" are truly alliterated as the pace, abrasiveness and intensity of pummelling are all ramped up fiercely, with linear open hats thrown against them from time to time for good measure. Having reached 140 BPM and concrete mean, Masked proceeds in a well anticipated ra(n)ge: infernal atmosphere, sandy hats and layered tectonic tremors achieved with increasingly undefined low end consisting of a rumble line and rolling kick morphing into abrasive haze. Winding the tempo back a notch, a halftimearranged contemplation Our Descent grows in direct, hyperborean vector: glassy drones and sharp syncopulsation first - atonal reverberations, distorted arpeggios and punchy stabs endwise. Reeko's analog reinvention of Masked convolves the drum structure by borrowing from breakbeat narratives and authorizes the dystopian ambiance to rise and fall on more gradual, panning, confined terms; adding, however, more disorder to the mix with spectrum slicing, high-range chaos.

As you would have learned to expect from Depth.Request, Within My Fragility EP is not an easy listening five-tracker. If by the end of it you find yourself feeling as if you just stepped out of a pounding warehouse at 3AM and you don't know what day it is, you wouldn't have been experiencing this mindspace alone.

A resurgent Dog Meat Records is thrilled and proud to release a new album by a resurgent rock'n'roller and an old friend, PAT TODD and his band THE RANKOUTSIDERS. The seventh album by LA's finest rock'n'roll band comes some 36 years after the label's first dalliances with Pat, back when he fronted the legendary Lazy Cowgirls. The new album shows that Pat has lost none of his spark, that his voice and songwriting have only gotten stronger, and that he's got another killer band behind him, one that mixes classic '70s punk rock roots with country, blues and rock'n'roll in a manner that sits somewhere between Exile on Main Street and LAMF. The new album is highlighted as usual by Pat Todd's fantastic songs. A prolific writer with an eye on life in the margins - whether they be in small towns or the big sprawling city he has called home for 40 years - Todd routinely hits the mark where youth and the advancement of age find common ground in alienation and wilfulness. Pat knows that rock’n’roll is not necessarily a young person's game, and nor is it a glamourous one; the name he gave this band accurately points to where he and they are coming from. New originals like 'All We Have To Show', the horn-riffing rocker 'Living In A World of Hurt' and the raucous country-folk punker 'Goodbye to the World' are up there with anything he has ever written, and the Rankoutsiders play them even better than ever. Indeed, a couple of choice covers - a version of 'Hi Ho Silver Lining', sung by guitarist Nick Alexander and cut before Jeff Beck's unfortunate passing, and a version of David Johansen's old heartbreaker 'Donna' cut before word of Martin Scorsese’s Johansen documentary got out - shows by comparison to the original versions just how well these guys can crank it out. *** For over 20 years - from the early 80s to the early 00’s- Pat Todd fronted the undisputed Los Angeles roots-punk kings: THE LAZY COWGIRLS. Having landed in LA from the mid-west-meets-the south outpost of Vincennes, Indiana early in the decade, the Cowgirls sparked a new LA punk scene; their live album Radio Cowgirl was the first release on scene prime mover SFTRI -and ultimately inspired a resurgence of classic 1976 Ramones/Saints/ Heartbreakers-style punk that stretched across the US into Europe, Japan and elsewhere, inspiring bands like the New Bomb Turks, Oblivions, Teengenerate, Onyas and countless others. THE LAZY COWGIRLS were but a memory in 2006 when PAT TODD and the RANKOUTSIDERS’ 28 song double-disc debut, The Outskirts of Your Heart was released. Where most bands would have exhausted their creative gas to fumes with such an ambitious first release, this was only the beginning for the RANKOUTSIDERS. Prior to the new album Sons of the City Ditch, the RANKOUTSIDERS have released six full-length albums (yes, some are double discs) and over a dozen singles and EPs and have more releases queued up. Each and every one of them is a testament to Pat’s personal vision of raw, high energy rock’n’roll infused with elements of country and rhythm & blues, and documentary proof that the RANKOUTSIDERS are one of the hottest rock'n'roll bands on the planet. Indeed, it must be said the RANKOUTSIDERS truly are a band: energetically flanking Pat stage left is long-time guitarist and vocalist Kevin Keller; to the right is guitarist and founding member, Nick Alexander- the cool, calm and collected eye of the storm; bassist Steven Vigh holds the lower frequencies in check with steadfast authority, pushing the chorus to the next harmonic level, while drummer Walt Phelan drives the engine hard while keeping the band on the rails.

A resurgent Dog Meat Records is thrilled and proud to release a new album by a resurgent rock'n'roller and an old friend, PAT TODD and his band THE RANKOUTSIDERS. The seventh album by LA's finest rock'n'roll band comes some 36 years after the label's first dalliances with Pat, back when he fronted the legendary Lazy Cowgirls. The new album shows that Pat has lost none of his spark, that his voice and songwriting have only gotten stronger, and that he's got another killer band behind him, one that mixes classic '70s punk rock roots with country, blues and rock'n'roll in a manner that sits somewhere between Exile on Main Street and LAMF. The new album is highlighted as usual by Pat Todd's fantastic songs. A prolific writer with an eye on life in the margins - whether they be in small towns or the big sprawling city he has called home for 40 years - Todd routinely hits the mark where youth and the advancement of age find common ground in alienation and wilfulness. Pat knows that rock’n’roll is not necessarily a young person's game, and nor is it a glamourous one; the name he gave this band accurately points to where he and they are coming from. New originals like 'All We Have To Show', the horn-riffing rocker 'Living In A World of Hurt' and the raucous country-folk punker 'Goodbye to the World' are up there with anything he has ever written, and the Rankoutsiders play them even better than ever. Indeed, a couple of choice covers - a version of 'Hi Ho Silver Lining', sung by guitarist Nick Alexander and cut before Jeff Beck's unfortunate passing, and a version of David Johansen's old heartbreaker 'Donna' cut before word of Martin Scorsese’s Johansen documentary got out - shows by comparison to the original versions just how well these guys can crank it out. *** For over 20 years - from the early 80s to the early 00’s- Pat Todd fronted the undisputed Los Angeles roots-punk kings: THE LAZY COWGIRLS. Having landed in LA from the mid-west-meets-the south outpost of Vincennes, Indiana early in the decade, the Cowgirls sparked a new LA punk scene; their live album Radio Cowgirl was the first release on scene prime mover SFTRI -and ultimately inspired a resurgence of classic 1976 Ramones/Saints/ Heartbreakers-style punk that stretched across the US into Europe, Japan and elsewhere, inspiring bands like the New Bomb Turks, Oblivions, Teengenerate, Onyas and countless others. THE LAZY COWGIRLS were but a memory in 2006 when PAT TODD and the RANKOUTSIDERS’ 28 song double-disc debut, The Outskirts of Your Heart was released. Where most bands would have exhausted their creative gas to fumes with such an ambitious first release, this was only the beginning for the RANKOUTSIDERS. Prior to the new album Sons of the City Ditch, the RANKOUTSIDERS have released six full-length albums (yes, some are double discs) and over a dozen singles and EPs and have more releases queued up. Each and every one of them is a testament to Pat’s personal vision of raw, high energy rock’n’roll infused with elements of country and rhythm & blues, and documentary proof that the RANKOUTSIDERS are one of the hottest rock'n'roll bands on the planet. Indeed, it must be said the RANKOUTSIDERS truly are a band: energetically flanking Pat stage left is long-time guitarist and vocalist Kevin Keller; to the right is guitarist and founding member, Nick Alexander- the cool, calm and collected eye of the storm; bassist Steven Vigh holds the lower frequencies in check with steadfast authority, pushing the chorus to the next harmonic level, while drummer Walt Phelan drives the engine hard while keeping the band on the rails.

This is the first official reissue of The Candles Burning Blue’s highly appraised cult album Pearls Given To The Swine. For two decades the original CD pressing has been sought after but nearly impossible to find. Known for their violent and chaotic gigs, The Candles Burning Blue were an unconventional Gothic Rock band. Instead of romantic beauty they dealt with the harsher aspects of the darkness oozing from their own troubled lives. Even though they only released two CD-r, a split 7” and one full album, their impact on the Finnish Goth underground was a lasting one. Pearls Given To The Swine was recorded in 2000 and released in 2001 on CD, with only 500 official copies pressed. Some years later new copies appeared from shady sources, but basically the album disappeared from the face of the Earth. In 2001 the band started to work on the second album Pleasure Dome and also had some material recorded for the projected third album Abhorrence, but ceased to exist before any of this material was released. Until now. This reissue has a full length bonus disc consisting of these songs. The Candles Burning Blue had its roots firmly in Gothic Rock as performed by bands like Bauhaus, Christian Death, Virgin Prunes and The Cure, but they mixed in elements of experimentalism and art rock. Pearls Given To The Swine is a lost and found classic of Finnish Gothic Rock, and a fine example of Finnish dark culture around the turn of the millennium. Members went on to play in bands like Reverend Bizarre, The Puritan, Werwolf Lodge and Opium Warlords, but never reunited.

It features a collection of Finbar's own compositions and four well known traditional songs; Kitty, The Rocks Of Bawn, Slieve Gallen Braes and The Parting Glass. Finbar brings his own unique style to these classic Irish songs, using his romantic eloquent voice to evoke ages past. Music's Door is Finbar's ode to music, but there is a poignancy to it as well, in September 2022, he recorded this duet with his friend, 'Jump The Gun' singer Roy Taylor to raise awareness for MND which Roy was suffering from. Sadly he died in June 2023.

September Said Goodbye is an emotional cry for a lost loved one in the 9/11 tragedy. The mood takes an upbeat turn with Wild Horses, a joyful and carefree instrumental, and Blue Jewel In The Sky, a song Finbar released in 2020 with his daughter Aine Furey, alerting us to the impending horrors of climate change. Finbar draws inspiration from the world around him. His passion for music and the plight of the underdog has always underscored his work. He has honed a talent for finding the soul of a person, a place or a time through his music. 'Moments In Time' reflects the artist looking back at the vagaries of life, completing the album with the timeless The Parting Glass.

However, he is also looking forward, emboldened by his music he embraces and celebrates life, and most of all, love.

Includes an alternate take of 'Looking Good tonight ' appearing for the first time ever on vinyl.

"Blues for a Reason stands out from much of the work of the period." - The Penguin Guide to Jazz

"It's strange to think that two of the greatest stars of "cool jazz," Chet Baker and Warne Mash, would never record together, given that they were nearly the same age, and that they both rose to fame in Los Angeles around the same period.

However, that would have been the case if Gerry Teekens, founder of the Criss Cross label, had never had the bright idea of bringing them together in 1984.

Surprisingly, they would end up cutting their only collaborative album, Blues for a Reason, in Monster, The Netherlands!" - **** AllMusic

Stone cold lovers rock classic. Japanese pressing

Lucky number 17? You better believe it. We here at Brown Acid have been scouring the highways and byways of America for even more hidden stashes of psych/garage/proto-punk madness from the so-called Aquarian Age. There’s no flower power here, though—just acid casualties, rock stompers and major freakouts. As always, the songs have been officially licensed, and all the artists get paid. Kicking off this trip, Grapple’s “Ethereal Genesis” is a heavy psych gem from 1969 written by J. Bruce Svoboda, a.k.a. Jay Bruce, formerly of The Hangmen and The Five Canadians (who were actually the same San Antonio band). The latter’s 1966 garage favorite “Writing on the Wall” has been endlessly covered, but Grapple were never heard from again. With a guitar riff that blatantly rips off Sabbath’s “Black Sabbath,” Image’s mostly instrumental lysergic obscurity “Witchcraft ’71” (originally unveiled that very year) also boasts a horror-movie organ intro, a voodoo drum break and some championship chanting. Private press heads might recall late Image drummer John Beke from his ’80s reemergence with country rockers Crossfyre. Stone Hedge were a seven-piece rock band out of Michigan with a penchant for Creedence and anthropomorphism. “Smokey Bear” is their 1972 tribute to the official mascot of the U.S. Forest Services—not to mention the A side of their sole single—and it recalls the kind of organ-drenched swamp jam that soundtracked many a Burt Reynolds flick back in the day. If you think being a Southern rock band from Milwaukee doesn’t make much sense, that’s probably why Crossfire changed their sound along with their name—to Bad Boy—after signing with United Artists. Bad Boy’s severely underappreciated second album, Back To Back, is a 1978 hard rock jewel, but you can hear their boogie-woogie roots on this rare 1975 single. With a band name like Primevil and song title like “Too Dead To Live,” you probably expect some gnarly proto-metal riffage. Instead, you a get a harmonica-drenched, soul-infused rock rave-up from 1972. Primevil would release their sole LP two years later: Entitled Smokin’ Bats at Campton’s, it’s a reference to their trusty singer, harp player (and bat smoker?), Dave Campton. Brown Acid regulars already know Pegasus from their appearance with “The Sorcerer” on our Seventh Trip. “Ready to Rave” is the flipside to that 1972 single, in which they explain how they like their whiskey cold and their women hot. It’s another killer glimpse of what might have been if these one-and-done Baltimore hard rockers had been able to keep it together. One of two obscure singles released by Texas musician Bobby Mabe in 1969 (the other appears under the name The Outcasts), “I’m Lonely” delivers a heavy dose of vocal soul to the otherwise psych-garage presentation. Fans of fellow Houstonians the Moving Sidewalks—whom Bobby and his Outcasts may well have gigged with—will especially dig this one. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, may not be known as a cultural mecca, but they did give us Truth & Janey. This deadly hard rock trio delivered their holy grail full-length, No Rest for the Wicked, back in 1976. “Around and Around” is a Chuck Berry cover that originally appeared on a 1973 single the band released under the earlier name Truth. Originally released in 1973, “High School Letter” is the debut single from San Diego rock squad Glory. This infectious bonehead cruncher features future Beat Farmer Jerry Raney and the original rhythm section of Iron Butterfly in bassist Greg Willis and drummer Jack Pinney. Glory is what they got up to after their former bandmates left for L.A.’s garden of Eden. “Jack the Ripper” is a mercilessly bootlegged Cleveland classic from 1978 with a serrated punk edge and vocals that recall Mick Blood of Aussie savages the Lime Spiders. Or maybe it’s the other way around—the Lime Spiders formed the year after Strychnine carved off this lethal paean to the infamous Whitechapel slasher of olde.

SG is none other than Andrew Pekler returning to faitiche with an album of sentimental guitar escapism. For Lovers Only / Rain Suite features ten tracks made using only an electric guitar and a handful of effects pedals (plus some additional recordings of rain) and finds Pekler once again attempting to reconicile his tendencies towards kitsch, experimentation and minimalism.

What does Pekler's pseudonym SG stand for? Sentimental Guitar? Sound Gallery? Shy Guy? Sad Gnosis? Saudade Glamour? Soft Goth? We don't know, but we asked notorious Chicago romantic Sam Prekop for his take on the album – his reply:

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It’s a wonder where the rivers go and far, how fast or slow.

Just seconds to remember, who can forget, when you are lost.

I think to recount every step, in both hands, eyes open, the clouds unfold, one two three. Every other step, just as well.

Where the moss is soft, you know strong. How many hours, days? I could have been careful, did I forget?

Never mind. Waking up, in these arms, where the rivers go, slow. One two three, one two three.

Repress of classic first LP by MF DOOM's first group KMD! KMD (Kausing Much Damage, or a positive Kause in a Much Damaged society) was a Hip Hop group in the early 90s perhaps best known for launching the career of acclaimed MC/Producer MF DOOM (known during his KMD tenure as Zev Love X). After guesting on 3rd Bass’ “The Gas Face,” the trio (Zev, brother Subroc, and Onyx) released the acclaimed and overlooked “Mr. Hood” full-length. Their political outlook was similar to the group Brand Nubian, who guested on Hood; however, the style was more comical and included a great deal of clips from old children’s recordings, mostly notably a sample of the Seaseme Street character Bert on the single “Who Me?” This is the official Elektra Records/Traffic Entertainment Group re-release with original artwork and track listing in it’s entirety. Cutting edge, ahead of it’s time production and skits from KMD and Stimulated Dummies (John Gamble and Mr. Dante Ross). Features the singles “Peachfuzz”, “Who Me?” and “Nitty Gritty” (feat. Brand Nubian). This is one Rap album that is not to be missed.

It is with great fanfare that we proudly announce the return of the esteemed improvisational chainsaw blues trio Young James Long. Young James Long formed in Dallas in 2003 with a weekly residency at a local (and appropriately named) dive bar called Muddy Waters. PW Long (guitar, vocals) and Kirkland James (guitar) had known each other socially since the 90s when Long was fronting Quarterstick Records’ Mule, and James was playing with Tenderloin. Long would go onto make a series of incredible solo records under his own name and that of PW Long’s Reelfoot and James would play with Alejandro Escovedo (among many others) before their paths finally crossed again. They recruited Taylor Young (Hi-Fi Drowning, Young Heart Attack, The Polyphonic Spree) on drums and a raw, blues-punk-rock-and-roll band emerged fully formed, songs flying out of them with enthusiasm and ease. They recorded the You Ain’t Know The Man EP with their friend (and eventual Grammy winner) Stuart Sikes not long after. The EP came out via Southern Records in 2007, and thanks to the tasteful ears of the people this side of the pond, a European tour followed. If you saw that tour, you’ll agree that it felt like the band were really hitting their stride. However, here we are in 2023, so what happened? Answer: geography - the age-old enemy of creativity. One member left Texas and the others (being the extremely able and skilled musicians that they are) were perpetually wooed away to play in other bands. Everyone’s got bills to pay, right? And with that, things just kind of fizzled out. Long even insists he quit playing music around 2010. One of the most recognisable voices in underground music: out of the game. Incredible. Inconceivable.
Then, last year we at Wrong Speed got an email asking if we’d be interested in some new music Young James Long had been working on. We thought it might be a joke. They sent some mixes through, and it became very quickly apparent that it was anything but. Turns out the trio had started chatting about music again in 2020 (before the world had other plans) and had finally made their first full-length album Orogeny in the summer of 2021. Orogeny sounds live and thrillingly immediate, as though all obstacles between their delivery and your ears have been removed and discarded as irrelevant. There is no filler, no treading of water at any point. Amps buzz, songs teeter on the edge of collapse, you feel like you’re sitting in the middle of the band as they play and it’s a pretty sweet place to be. The album contains a whopping 17 songs, most under 2 minutes long. They don’t want to waste your time, or most importantly (after sixteen years away), theirs. If you’re familiar with Long’s previous bands, you’ll know he has a rare gift for pairing extreme volume with extreme tenderness and it’s thrilling to find that gift present and correct after over a decade away. And that voice – holy shit, that voice. He can go from a Beefheart howl to the sweetest country baritone in the space of a single line. In James and Young he’s found the perfect foils, a power trio of instinctive and soulful musicians able to conjure shining gems of magic out of the grit and the dirt. Young James Long is risen from the ashes – it’s a miracle!

By now everyone should know, John Carpenter is not only a celebrated filmmaker but also a musical maestro whose soundtracks have become syn - onymous with the genres of horror, suspense, and science fiction. His innate talent for composition and his deep understanding of how music can elevate storytelling have left an indelible mark on the world of cinema, and a haunt - ing presence in people's record collections. Anthology II continues the celebration of his compositional genius via an ex - cellently sequenced collection of some of his most iconic pieces of music from his extensive filmography, all newly recorded with his musical collaborators Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter . The compilation opens with "Chariots of Pumpkins" from Halloween III that perfectly captures the eerie essence of the cult classic film with its pulsating synths and haunting melodies. The listener is engulfed by a sense of unease and anticipation, before being thrust into "69th St. Bridge" from Escape From New York , a dynamic track that encapsulates the futuristic and gritty nature of the film via the use of throbbing bass lines, driving rhythms, and electronic textures. The record has also an isolating tone as it skulks through ambient leaning tracks such as "Fuchs" and "To Mac's Shack" from The Thing, and "Walk to the Lighthouse" from The Fog, all of which display a slower tempo, foreboding undertones and an ethereal atmosphere that feels like a distant whisper. All of which has been cautiously laid in preparation to the grand finale. The iconic and instantly recognizable "Laurie's Theme" from the original Halloween . Its simple yet menacing piano melody which has become synonymous with the horror genre, concludes the album by striking fear into the hearts of listeners. These tracks represent just a fraction of John Carpenter 's impressive musical repertoire. With each haunting note and pulsating beat, his soundtracks continue to resonate with audiences, forever etching his name in the annals of film music history.

By now everyone should know, John Carpenter is not only a celebrated filmmaker but also a musical maestro whose soundtracks have become syn - onymous with the genres of horror, suspense, and science fiction. His innate talent for composition and his deep understanding of how music can elevate storytelling have left an indelible mark on the world of cinema, and a haunt - ing presence in people's record collections. Anthology II continues the celebration of his compositional genius via an ex - cellently sequenced collection of some of his most iconic pieces of music from his extensive filmography, all newly recorded with his musical collaborators Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter . The compilation opens with "Chariots of Pumpkins" from Halloween III that perfectly captures the eerie essence of the cult classic film with its pulsating synths and haunting melodies. The listener is engulfed by a sense of unease and anticipation, before being thrust into "69th St. Bridge" from Escape From New York , a dynamic track that encapsulates the futuristic and gritty nature of the film via the use of throbbing bass lines, driving rhythms, and electronic textures. The record has also an isolating tone as it skulks through ambient leaning tracks such as "Fuchs" and "To Mac's Shack" from The Thing, and "Walk to the Lighthouse" from The Fog, all of which display a slower tempo, foreboding undertones and an ethereal atmosphere that feels like a distant whisper. All of which has been cautiously laid in preparation to the grand finale. The iconic and instantly recognizable "Laurie's Theme" from the original Halloween . Its simple yet menacing piano melody which has become synonymous with the horror genre, concludes the album by striking fear into the hearts of listeners. These tracks represent just a fraction of John Carpenter 's impressive musical repertoire. With each haunting note and pulsating beat, his soundtracks continue to resonate with audiences, forever etching his name in the annals of film music history.