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Jorja Smith is officially back. Further to making a recent return to the musical sphere with her singles ‘Try Me’ and ‘Little Things’, today she has confirmed the details of her highly anticipated second album,
‘falling or flying’, set for release globally on September 29th 2023 via FAMM and available to pre-order now - here.
Alongside the announcement, Jorja has also unveiled the album's poignant artwork; a stunning portrait of her, shot on film by the prestigious British photographer, Liz Johnson Artur. In addition, Jorja has also announced a series of UK live shows in September, commemorating the release of the album. Further details below.
Through her new record, Jorja has delivered an undeniable modern classic, effortlessly condensing any number of disparate styles and genres into music which thrillingly broaches any gap between Jazz, Soul, R&B and Funky House. A bold, brave nd courageous leap forward from her critically acclaimed debut album ‘Lost and Found’ -
‘falling or flying’ is an album that speaks to the musical and emotional era where Jorja is now, and how she got here. It isn’t so much an exploration of how she’s found herself but more a statement that she has arrived, and that her understanding of her life, her relationships, and her feelings, have deepened, matured and crystallised as she
enters her twenty six year. ‘And despite it all,’ she says, ‘it's definitely a journey I've just started. That's what's crazy. It's only just begun.’
Sonically, this album, a no-skips body of work, isn’t like anything you’ve heard before. It sits masterfully in this same space of excitement, self-exploration and self-assertion that Jorja does. Compromised of deep, thumping drums, racing basslines, irresistible hooks and distinctive beats, ‘falling or flying’ runs at the same pace that Jorja’s mind does. ‘I don't slow down enough’ she says. ‘This album is like my brain. There’s always so much going on but each
song is definitely a standstill moment.’
Much of the creative energy that shaped the album emerged from studio sessions with the producer duo DAMEDAME* back in her hometown of Walsall, where, to Jorja, the heart is. The album is both a sonic and an emotional tour of where she’s been, and what she’s been about, in the two years since she dropped her latest offering, ‘Be Right Back’. ‘It touches on breakups, relationships with my friends, relationships with old friends,
relationships with myself.’ She says. ‘It's definitely about a lot of relationships, but every song I write I can sing it to myself.’
Of the many British voices in music today, Jorja is among the most commanding, writing at a pitch of intensity and urgency that few can match. Over the past five and half years, since the release of her debut album ‘Lost & Found’, she has been celebrated unanimously across the world for her evocative song-writing, powerful delivery, pure emotion and unbridled talent as a young woman navigating her way through life and in 2021 was the year Jorja’s hiatus from music was broken. Enter ‘Be Right Back’, the holding space between the sensation that was ‘Lost & Found’, and ‘falling or flying’. ‘Be Right Back’ was born from playing, jamming, freestyling, and sounding out what Jorja had been on the edge of expressing all her life. It was a project entirely for her fans. “Be Right Back did exactly what I wanted it to do. It was a little waiting room so people knew I was coming back.”
And come back she has - entering a chapter of her return to music that’s certain to draw in and intoxicate Jorja’s fans and new listeners alike. And what has changed for her, in the five years since ‘Lost & Found’ dominated the charts and the soundscape? “I like this world that I've just come into. And I’m still figuring things out. Always
figuring things out.” Jorja says. “This is the first time I’m putting stuff out there that I can connect with right now.” Over the last few years, it’s been a reflective and transformative step into her mid twenties for her. She’s been able to step into herself and evolve as a songwriter and a woman despite an ever-changing musical landscape.
While she recognises that the global pandemic has been completely devastating, she acknowledges that it allowed her to stay still, to come more into herself, and to be more in control of the person she is, and of her musical output. Like some of the legendary musicians that came before her, Jorja is looking at the chaos and disorder in the
world right now with resourceful, refined eyes, and she sees the glorious opportunity and enormous responsibility that affords. The net result is that while ‘falling or flying' sounds very much like Jorja Smith, it sounds like no Jorja Smith album you have ever heard before. ‘falling or flying’- released on September 29th

Impii Hora ist das Debütalbum des dänischen Musikers Michael Schøn Poulsen (geboren am 1. April 1975). Er ist der Leadsänger, Rhythmusgitarrist und Hauptsongschreiber der Rockband Volbeat. Asinhell ist eine Band, kein Nebenprojekt. Vor Volbeat hieß Michaels Metalband Dominus, mit Morten Toft Hansen, ebenfalls aus Ringsted, am Schlagzeug. Michael war Dominus' Leadsänger, Booker, Manager und Buchhalter. Als Poulsen Songs für das Volbeat-Album 2021, Servant of the Mind, zusammenstellte, schrieb er eine Reihe von Death-Metal-Riffs. Als er mit dem Volbeat-Album fertig war, begann er, Songs für seine neue Death-Metal-Band Asinhell zu schreiben, deren Debütalbum Impii Hora (lateinisch für Ungodly Hour) eine Hommage an Poulsens Lieblingsgruppen der alten Schule ist. Die Songs basieren auf krachenden Riffs, sind jedoch mit starken Gitarrenhooks und Shout-Along-Refrains versehen. "Bands wie Death, Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Autopsy, Dismember, Grave, Mercyful Fate, Possessed und andere Bands der alten Schule sind der Grund, warum wir das überhaupt machen können", sagt Poulsen. Obwohl er stolz darauf ist, seine Einflüsse auf seinen Ärmeln zu tragen, hat Asinhell seine eigene Identität entwickelt. "Bei Asinhell habe ich versucht, Songs ohne Regeln zu schreiben, aber weil ich so sehr daran gewöhnt war, mit Volbeat zu schreiben, konnte ich nicht wirklich verhindern, dass ich Bridges, Hooks oder eine bestimmte Art von Refrains schrieb", sagt er. "Ich denke, die Kombination aus Old-School-Death-Metal-Riffs mit ein wenig Struktur macht die Songs wirklich stark."

Impii Hora ist das Debütalbum des dänischen Musikers Michael Schøn Poulsen (geboren am 1. April 1975). Er ist der Leadsänger, Rhythmusgitarrist und Hauptsongschreiber der Rockband Volbeat. Asinhell ist eine Band, kein Nebenprojekt. Vor Volbeat hieß Michaels Metalband Dominus, mit Morten Toft Hansen, ebenfalls aus Ringsted, am Schlagzeug. Michael war Dominus' Leadsänger, Booker, Manager und Buchhalter. Als Poulsen Songs für das Volbeat-Album 2021, Servant of the Mind, zusammenstellte, schrieb er eine Reihe von Death-Metal-Riffs. Als er mit dem Volbeat-Album fertig war, begann er, Songs für seine neue Death-Metal-Band Asinhell zu schreiben, deren Debütalbum Impii Hora (lateinisch für Ungodly Hour) eine Hommage an Poulsens Lieblingsgruppen der alten Schule ist. Die Songs basieren auf krachenden Riffs, sind jedoch mit starken Gitarrenhooks und Shout-Along-Refrains versehen. "Bands wie Death, Entombed, Bolt Thrower, Autopsy, Dismember, Grave, Mercyful Fate, Possessed und andere Bands der alten Schule sind der Grund, warum wir das überhaupt machen können", sagt Poulsen. Obwohl er stolz darauf ist, seine Einflüsse auf seinen Ärmeln zu tragen, hat Asinhell seine eigene Identität entwickelt. "Bei Asinhell habe ich versucht, Songs ohne Regeln zu schreiben, aber weil ich so sehr daran gewöhnt war, mit Volbeat zu schreiben, konnte ich nicht wirklich verhindern, dass ich Bridges, Hooks oder eine bestimmte Art von Refrains schrieb", sagt er. "Ich denke, die Kombination aus Old-School-Death-Metal-Riffs mit ein wenig Struktur macht die Songs wirklich stark."

Occasionally, you find music outside the commercial mainstream, outside of everything – the music of visionaries, eccentrics, inventors, loners, the keepers of secrets, the path-finders. Moondog, Daphne Oram, Harry Partch are from this mould. And so too is Lori Vambe.

New on Strut, the first ever reissue of Vambe’s privately pressed original albums from 1982, Drumland Dreamland and Drumgita Solo. A self-taught drummer, inventor, and sonic experimentalist, Lori Vambe is a unique figure in British music. Creator of his own instrument, the drumgita (pronounced ‘drum-guitar’) or string-drum, Vambe intended to create a kind of music that had never been made in order to pursue access to the fourth dimension.

Vambe was born in Harare, Zimbabwe and his father, Lawrence Vambe, was a noted Zimbabwean journalist and author. Moving to London in 1959, Vambe immersed himself in the Brixton squat movement of the early 1970s, teaching himself to drum and creating a short-lived performance group, The Healing Drums of Brixton (Vambe, the sculptor Alexander Sokolov and outsider musician Michael O’Shea). Vambe later had a dream-vision involving a feeling of ecstasy while playing an unknown instrument that extended from his own umbilical cord; the instrument would manifest itself as the drumgita. In 1982, he privately produced a pair of home recordings, the diptych set Drumgita Solo and Drumland Dreamland, releasing them on his own label Drumony. On these records, he rejected any commercial aesthetic and employed tape effects, temporal shifts, reversed sound and overdubbing to investigate space-time and access the fourth dimension. Combining layered drums with the rhythmic throb of the drumgita and, on Drumland Dreamland, an improvised piano performance by Brazilian concert pianist Rafael Dos Santos, the albums are both hypnotic and perturbing.



Both albums were cut at Portland Studios by Chas Chandler and stand as a concealed monument of Black British experimental music. 500 copies of each record were originally pressed, and both were released together. The albums were never performed live.



For this first ever reissue of Drumland Drumland and Drumgita Solo, Strut presents the two albums in their original artwork, housed in a deluxe slipcase including an additional 8-page 12”-sized booklet featuring unseen photos, liner notes and an interview with Lori Vambe by The Wire magazine writer Francis Gooding. Both albums are fully remastered by The Carvery.

Welcome to the majestic world of Arodasio, a fictional floating island that finds its home in Dosi & Wishes and Dreams’ latest collaborative album. Though few tread here, the music recounts stories of the city’s former glory - soul-lifting piano melodies, cinematic drums and exotic ambience drift from far away in the distance, beckoning. Will you be the first to step foot on its land?

This new double LP version restores the track “Deep Sky Objects” to the original running order of the album as it was left off of the original single LP version due to side length restraints. This is the first time this album has been available on vinyl in almost two decades, and the first time the Drop EP has been available in any format since original release in 1994.

At the same time, Kranky is making the CD version available once again for the first time in many years, with the Drop EP tracks also included.

The debut album from New York City’s Bowery Electric was released by Kranky in late summer 1995 after they came to the label’s attention via their self-released 2x7-inch Drop EP from the year previous. The first in a trio of albums released by the core duo of Lawrence Chandler and Martha Schwendener finds them in their most raw form.

“The perfect realization of their aesthetic, each word and chord tuned and focused for maximum impact.” — Pitchfork

“Genuinely hypnotic.” —The Wire

The EP also includes a remix of the popular single ‘SAMO’, which
spent four weeks on the BBC 6 Music playlist, accompanied by an
animated lyric video paying homage to the graffiti tag it was named
after by Al Diaz and American artist and wunderkind, Jean-Michel
Basquiat. The final track on the EP is a remix of ‘Waiting on a Train’,
presenting a new and special version of the original song, with the
presence of featuring artists Ellen Beth Abdi and Chunky remaining
strong.

Formed in 1978 with a core line-up of Jez Kerr, Martin Moscrop and
Donald Johnson, A Certain Ratio emerged from the hallowed grounds
of the late 1970s punk scene, and from that day on they’ve moved
forwards with gleeful disregard for the boundaries of style and genre,
their eye fixed firmly on constant progression.

Martina Berther and Philipp Schlotter are prolific in their respective ways, having been active in pop and jazz music, respectively, as well as playing in bands and exploring the outer fringes of sound art or composing music for film. Their first joint album »Matt« was recorded over the course of four days in a church in the Swiss village after which the album was named. Berther and Schlotter worked with the buildingʼs organ as well as synthesizers and electric bass to follow an experimental approach that oscillated between composition and free improvisation. The five pieces, recorded directly to tape by Flo Götte without any additional overdubs, are characterised by an intimacy and rawness that calls to mind the introspective atmosphere of Hallow Ground label mateʼs FUJI||||||||||TA or mastering engineer Lawrence Englishʼs latest album for the Swiss label. »Matt« is the result of two versatile composers and musicians executing minimalist ideas by giving them plenty of space to unfold.

The album opens with »Unruhe,« a composition that is based on the twelve-tone technique. Using a stopwatch to ensure the adherence to the pre-determined temporal intervals between the individual notes, Berther and Schlotter used the church organ and synthesizers for an ominous piece that traverses different moods and levels of intensity throughout its 14-minute run time. »LFO1« and »LFO2« are different variations of the same concept: Based on a synthesizer preset and structured by an organ drone, two tone generators slowly fall silent, resulting in elegiac pieces that call to mind the work of Éliane Radigue. »Frachter« and »Gallia« put more emphasis on percussive elements. Again working with organ as well as Bertherʼs prepared electric bass, this improvisation comprises interlocking textures that sound almost menacing on »Frachter,« while they create a very different atmosphere on »Gallia.« These notable discrepancies in sound and mood are even more astonishing if you consider that the two pieces are based on the exact same recording, played at different speeds.

As two variations on the same idea with very different results, these two pieces perfectly represent how the duo effectively creates emotionally affective sound worlds with very few means. Berther and Schlotterʼs conceptual minimalism yields rewarding, multi-faceted aesthetic results. »Matt« is an intimate album, marked by a sense of vividness and spontaneity, but also the product of compositional conciseness.

A superb and under-recognized recording, Crisis is one-third of a trilogy of extraordinary albums -- the others being Broken Shadows and Science Fiction -- by Coleman's small groups of the late '60s and early '70s. A rendition of the piece "Broken Shadows" itself, a dirge of astonishing beauty second only to his "Lonely Woman," opens the live performance and offers solos of deep and poignant probity from Coleman and tenorist Dewey Redman, whose earthy growled tones counterbalanced the leader's so well for so long. Crisis somehow lacks the reputation of the revolutionary Coleman albums from early in his career, but on purely musical grounds it ranks among his most satisfying works.

Artistry was Sirone's first album as a leader, recorded in 1978, just after the split of the Revolutionary Ensemble. Artistry has an Atypical combination of instruments, bass, cello , flute and percussion and delivers aplenty. Listen and you will know. Sirone ( Norris Jones) had an enormously prolific career as a bassist, both as a member of the Revolutionary Ensemble and playing with many of the best musicians of the 20th century - from Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, Gato Barbieri, Noah Howard, William Parker, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Sonny Sharrock,Marion Brown ... and the list goes on.

played on
NTS radio
bbc radio 3 LATE JUCTION
LAST FM
radio peng

Artistry was Sirone's first album as a leader, recorded in 1978, just after the split of the Revolutionary Ensemble. Artistry has an Atypical combination of instruments, bass, cello , flute and percussion and delivers aplenty. Listen and you will know. Sirone ( Norris Jones) had an enormously prolific career as a bassist, both as a member of the Revolutionary Ensemble and playing with many of the best musicians of the 20th century - from Pharoah Sanders, Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, Gato Barbieri, Noah Howard, William Parker, Cecil Taylor, Sun Ra, Sonny Sharrock,Marion Brown ... and the list goes on.

played on
NTS radio
bbc radio 3 LATE JUCTION
LAST FM
radio peng

Jorja Smith is officially back. Further to making a recent return to the musical sphere with her singles ‘Try Me’ and ‘Little Things’, today she has confirmed the details of her highly anticipated second album, ‘falling or flying’, set for release globally on September 29th 2023 via FAMM and available to pre-order now - here.

Alongside the announcement, Jorja has also unveiled the album's poignant artwork; a stunning portrait of her, shot on film by the prestigious British photographer, Liz Johnson Artur. In addition, Jorja has also announced a series of UK live shows in September, commemorating the release of the album. Further details below.

Through her new record, Jorja has delivered an undeniable modern classic, effortlessly condensing any number of disparate styles and genres into music which thrillingly broaches any gap between Jazz, Soul, R&B and Funky House. A bold, brave and courageous leap forward from her critically acclaimed debut album ‘Lost and Found’ - ‘falling or flying’ is an album that speaks to the musical and emotional era where Jorja is now, and how she got here. It isn’t so much an exploration of how she’s found herself but more a statement that she has arrived, and that her understanding of her life, her relationships, and her feelings, have deepened, matured and crystallised as she enters her twenty six year. ‘And despite it all,’ she says, ‘it's definitely a journey I've just started. That's what's crazy.

It's only just begun.’ Sonically, this album, a no-skips body of work, isn’t like anything you’ve heard before. It sits masterfully in this same space of excitement, self-exploration and self-assertion that Jorja does. Compromised of deep, thumping drums, racing basslines, irresistible hooks and distinctive beats, ‘falling or flying’ runs at the same pace that Jorja’s mind does. ‘I don't slow down enough’ she says. ‘This album is like my brain. There’s always so much going on but each song is definitely a standstill moment.’

Much of the creative energy that shaped the album emerged from studio sessions with the producer duo DAMEDAME* back in her hometown of Walsall, where, to Jorja, the heart is. The album is both a sonic and an emotional tour of where she’s been, and what she’s been about, in the two years since she dropped her latest offering, ‘Be Right Back’. ‘It touches on breakups, relationships with my friends, relationships with old friends, relationships with myself.’ She says. ‘It's definitely about a lot of relationships, but every song I write I can sing it to myself.’

Of the many British voices in music today, Jorja is among the most commanding, writing at a pitch of intensity and urgency that few can match. Over the past five and half years, since the release of her debut album ‘Lost & Found’, she has been celebrated unanimously across the world for her evocative song-writing, powerful delivery, pure emotion and unbridled talent as a young woman navigating her way through life and in 2021 was the year Jorja’s hiatus from music was broken. Enter ‘Be Right Back’, the holding space between the sensation that was ‘Lost & Found’, and ‘falling or flying’. ‘Be Right Back’ was born from playing, jamming, freestyling, and sounding out what Jorja had been on the edge of expressing all her life. It was a project entirely for her fans. “Be Right Back did exactly what I wanted it to do. It was a little waiting room so people knew I was coming back.”

And come back she has - entering a chapter of her return to music that’s certain to draw in and intoxicate Jorja’s fans and new listeners alike. And what has changed for her, in the five years since ‘Lost & Found’ dominated the charts and the soundscape? “I like this world that I've just come into. And I’m still figuring things out. Always figuring things out.” Jorja says. “This is the first time I’m putting stuff out there that I can connect with right now.” Over the last few years, it’s been a reflective and transformative step into her mid twenties for her.

She’s been able to step into herself and evolve as a songwriter and a woman despite an ever-changing musical landscape.

While she recognises that the global pandemic has been completely devastating, she acknowledges that it allowed her to stay still, to come more into herself, and to be more in control of the person she is, and of her musical output. Like some of the legendary musicians that came before her, Jorja is looking at the chaos and disorder in the world right now with resourceful, refined eyes, and she sees the glorious opportunity and enormous responsibility that affords. The net result is that while ‘falling or flying' sounds very much like Jorja Smith, it sounds like no Jorja Smith album you have ever heard before.

‘falling or flying’- released on September 29th

Classic Jazz Album from 1978.
Featuring an all-star line-up.
First ever vinyl reissue since 1986.
Released for the first time in the UK & North America.
180g BLACK vinyl limited to 500 copies (w/obi strip).

Curtis Fuller (December 15, 1932 – May 8, 2021) was an American jazz trombonist best known for being a member of several legendary jazz outfits, his impressive catalog of solo albums and a contributor to many classic jazz recordings.

Fuller was born in Detroit and lost both his parents at a very young age. He spent several years in an orphanage run by Jesuits where he developed a passion for jazz after one of the nuns there took him to see his first live performance. Curtis attended public school in his hometown (together with Donald Byrd and Milt Jackson) where he took up the trombone at the age of sixteen.

Curtis Fuller was a well-respected member of iconic outfits such as Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Art Farmer’s Tentet, The Benny Golson Quintet and Eastern Rebellion. The list of his collaborations is impressive to say the least, Mr. Fuller recorded and performed with greats such as Quincy Jones, John Coltrane, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, Roland Kirk Rashaan, Miles Davis…and many others.

Fuller was granted an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music in 1999 and eight years later he was honored as a NEA Jazz Master. Curtis Fuller’s performances were included on classic recordings released by prominent labels from the likes of Blue Note, Savoy, Prestige, Strata-East, Muse, Verve and Impulse!

On the album we are presenting you today: Four On The Outside (Recorded in 1978 at the famous New York CI Recording Studio and released on Timeless Records the same year) the listener is treated to six majestic tracks of the highest caliber and features a remarkable outing of advanced musicianship by jazz-giants in their prime, delivering an inspirational gem of an album.

The all-star line-up includes Pepper Adams (Oliver Nelson, Lalo Schifrin, Herbie Hancock) on saxophone, Dennis Irwin (The Jazz Messengers, Chet Baker) on bass and James Williams (Calvin Keys, Thelonious Monk) on piano.

Four On The Outside shows off Fuller’s mastery of the Trombone and this delightful set features him in a front line with Pepper Adams delivering a unique trombone-baritone saxophone combination (few others have followed this intriguing coupling). Curtis Fuller plays from the heart and is on top of his game. Expect sharp and elegant original compositions, machine gun-like spurts, angular boppish lines and top rhythm section work that never gets in the way of the horns spreading their wings. All of the above makes this record a must have for any self-respecting jazz fan or collector!

Swiss-born pianist Camille-Alban Spreng, who has resided in Brussels for over a decade, has been active since 2010 in a diverse range of bands and projects within jazz, improvised (electronic) music, art performance and theater. He can be seen on stages all over Europe and trained at various conservatories with renowned players such as Emil Spanyi (HEMU, Lausanne), Eric Legnini and Kris Defoort (CRB, KCB, Brussels).
Together with his regular band ODIL, he has already released two records: 'Something' (QFTF Records - 2016) and 'RESON' (QFTQ Records - 2019), with the collaboration of Leïla Martial, and Valentin Ceccaldi on the latter album. ODIL operates from Brussels but, with in its ranks a pivotal figure with Swiss roots, a French drummer and an Irish saxophonist, is a band with international allure. Nina Kortekaas' unique voice is also an absolute asset.

His third album, titled "Unheimlich," will be released on W.E.R.F. records, one of Belgium's finest jazz not jazz labels. The new album sprung from Camille-Alban's fondness for Allen Ginsberg and the beatnik movement. Poems by Ginsberg are provided with music, notably "Pull My Daisy" (co-written by Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady at the time) and "White Shroud," with the approval of the rights holders/heirs.

The lyrics that Camille-Alban himself wrote for the album exude the same beatnik vibe. In that sense, the new work is also an homage to Allen Ginsberg. "I love his way of writing: it's funny, twisted, quirky ánd spiritual," Camille-Alban said. "I couldn't think of a better title for the new album. 'Unheimlich' doesn't translate. The black cat in the lobby of a creepy hotel in 'The Matrix,' I think of that image, that atmosphere."
ODIL's music has a narrative character and in terms of form, the compositions are not ordinary. Impro plays a role and the music is unmistakably characterized by a contemporary jazz aesthetic but at their core the compositions are also songs, a unique feature. 'Unheimlich' is a jazz album that can be listened to just as well as a pop rock album.

Electronic are proud to announce the release of ‘Get the Message: The Best Of Electronic’ on vinyl for the first time, available via Warner Music on 29th September.

First released in 2006, ‘Get the Message: The Best Of Electronic’ is the career spanning collection from the Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner band who released a string of critically acclaimed hits including their debut single ‘Getting Away With It’, ‘Get The Message’ ‘Disappointed’ and ‘Feel Every Beat’.

This compilation captures the very essence of their groundbreaking sound, blending Marr’s distinctive guitar work with Sumner’s vocals and guest features from Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant (Getting Away With It, Disappointed) and Kraftwerk’s Karl Bartos (For You, Imitation Of Life).

Das neue Studioalbum TIMBRE des portugiesischen Singer-Songwriters Salvador Sobral enthält elf neue Originalsongs.

Sobrals Musik führt uns auf einzigartige und vielfältige Reise von Jazz inspirierten Eigenkompositionen über Pop und Rock zum melodischen Sound des Brasilianischen Bossa Novas.

Salvador Sobral: "Der Name TIMBRE entstand aus zwei Hauptgründen. Der erste - und vielleicht offensichtlichste - ist, dass ich in diesem Leben in erster Linie Sänger bin, ein Performer, und was mich am meisten definiert und auszeichnet, ist meine Stimme, mein Timbre. Der zweite Grund ist, dass ich mich für das Konzept der Klangfarbe als Farbe interessiere, die Farbe der Stimme, die Farbe
der Instrumente. Das Album wird wie eine bunte Palette von Klangfarben sein, die Klarheit erzeugen.

Ah! Und es gibt noch einen dritten Grund für den Titel des Albums: Das Wort ?timbre? wird in vielen lateinischen und germanischen Sprachen verwendet. Es wird gleich buchstabiert und bedeutet dasselbe. Das Konzept von TIMBRE scheint also universell zu sein, und wir können uns alle darauf verständigen."

Fusion's Border Town is an obscure late Sixties bluesy psychedelic record. The sound is best described as a cross between Creedence Clearwater Revival and Circus Maximus with a touch of Ry Cooder (Cooder does perform a guest role on this album). It contains some full on rural spiked blues rockers with Ry Cooder's slide guitar taking center stage. The album contains the fan-favorite tracks "Time Of The Ostrich Head", "News Of Selena" & "Erebus".

This rare psychedelic nugget is available as a limited edition of 750 individually numbered copies on turquoise coloured vinyl.

Although both tracks are credited to Joe Gibbs, many believe the A side “People Grudgeful” was sung by The Ethiopians whilst the B side “Pan Ya Machete” was performed by The Pioneers.

“Grudgeful” though does not really sound like The Ethiopians and according to Trojan, both sides were performed by The Pioneers.

Which makes sense for several reasons. Firstly, the sound of the song is indeed more reminiscent of the Pioneers/Joe Gibbs work of that time.

In fact The Ethiopians did not record with Joe Gibbs, with the exception of The Ring which was released in 1972, four years later,

while the Pioneers were routinely involved with Gibbs in 1968.

Last but not least, The Ethiopians had no beef with Lee Scratch Perry whilst The Pioneers songs were clearly incriminated by Scratch in his hit song “People Funny Boy”.

His jaw- dropping, natural sounding, and unschooled skill on acoustic guitar, matched with an authentic 'Belfast Blues' voice, drew comparisons to John Martyn and Rory Gallagher, with nods to Van Morrison and Foy Vance. In addition to being an acoustic guitar star, Dom is equally adept on electric guitar, showcasing his talents with his power trio.

Dom has won a handful of European and UK Blues Music Awards. His sophomore studio album, 'A Savage Life' received rave reviews with Rock and Blues Muse declaring, "Dom Martin is the next rising star in the global roots scene.

Jump aboard now before he passes you by." Blues in Britain declared that Dom was "A rare talent of such sheer genius," and Classic Rock effused, "The Belfast guitarist is a sprawling talent."

His latest effort,' Buried in the Hail 'was co- produced by Grammy nominated producers Chris O'Brien & Graham Murphy. The album takes the listener on a very personal journey. "Unhinged" is all anger and fury, sparks and smoke and flames, from screaming amps. Taking a positive turn is "Daylight I Will Find", a song about life's challenges and how through self- love, one can find the answers. The sole cover on the album is a broken down, heartbroken version of "Crazy".

Hovvdy's sophomore album, Cranberry, expands on a familiar texture, building off 2017 debute Taster's minimal complexity and covering new ground

You are about to embark on a new intergalactic journey into black space, fuelled by funk, powered by computers. Soul Jazz Records" new second collection of twisted hyperspace electro/funk "Space Funk 2: Afro Futurist Electro Funk in Space 1976-84", continues its intergalactic journey. Featuring rare and off-the-wall space funk and electro rarities and obscurities, all released on small independent USA record labels in the late 1970s and 1980s. Artists on this release include Alien Starr, Bobby Demo, Maggatron, Mid-City Crew, Tribe, Junie, Rich Cason and the Galactic Orchestra and many more intergalactic space warriors! This is space age bionic funk, programmed to make you dance!!!

Released in 1998, THE CHRISTMAS ATTIC earned double-platinum certification and continues to captivate audiences with fan favorites like “Music Box Blues,” “Boughs Of Holly,” and “Ghosts Of Christmas Eve.” The album also introduced “Christmas Canon,” which has become one of the band’s most popular songs and a modern holiday classic. THE CHRISTMAS ATTIC tells the heartwarming tale of a little girl’s magical night spent in an attic filled with yuletide memories, accompanied by spellbinding guitar solos and soaring choral vocals set against a rock orchestral backdrop. The record serves as the second installment in TSO’s celebrated Christmas trilogy, which also includes Christmas Eve and Other Stories (1996) and The Lost Christmas Eve (2004).

TSO was conceived by the group’s late founder, composer, and lyricist Paul O’Neill. His ambitious vision was to create a progressive rock band that combined rock opera and classical rock with a dazzling live show that featured lights, lasers, and pyrotechnics. In the 1980s and 1990s, O’Neill produced several albums for the influential heavy metal band Savatage, which is how he connected with longtime collaborators Jon Oliva (vocals), Al Pitrelli (guitar), and Robert Kinkel (keyboards/producer).

With more than 10 million albums sold, TSO has inspired generations of fans to rediscover the multi-dimensional art form of rock opera. Since its touring debut in 1999, the band has emerged as one of the world’s top live acts, performing for over 10 million people across the globe, selling more than $280 million worth of tickets, and donating $11 million to charity.

Released in 1998, THE CHRISTMAS ATTIC earned double-platinum certification and continues to captivate audiences with fan favorites like “Music Box Blues,” “Boughs Of Holly,” and “Ghosts Of Christmas Eve.” The album also introduced “Christmas Canon,” which has become one of the band’s most popular songs and a modern holiday classic. THE CHRISTMAS ATTIC tells the heartwarming tale of a little girl’s magical night spent in an attic filled with yuletide memories, accompanied by spellbinding guitar solos and soaring choral vocals set against a rock orchestral backdrop. The record serves as the second installment in TSO’s celebrated Christmas trilogy, which also includes Christmas Eve and Other Stories (1996) and The Lost Christmas Eve (2004).

TSO was conceived by the group’s late founder, composer, and lyricist Paul O’Neill. His ambitious vision was to create a progressive rock band that combined rock opera and classical rock with a dazzling live show that featured lights, lasers, and pyrotechnics. In the 1980s and 1990s, O’Neill produced several albums for the influential heavy metal band Savatage, which is how he connected with longtime collaborators Jon Oliva (vocals), Al Pitrelli (guitar), and Robert Kinkel (keyboards/producer).

With more than 10 million albums sold, TSO has inspired generations of fans to rediscover the multi-dimensional art form of rock opera. Since its touring debut in 1999, the band has emerged as one of the world’s top live acts, performing for over 10 million people across the globe, selling more than $280 million worth of tickets, and donating $11 million to charity.

Deluxxe is a new post punk/new wave band from Buffalo, NY.

It was formed by Mason and Greg, and later completed with Nick, Bailey and Mackenzie, sharing members of Oi and hardcore bands such as Violent Way, Bad Blood and Exhibition. Their punk background can be heard in the music, but it’s the love for new wave, post punk, darkwave, and goth that led to creation of their debut record “If You Were Me”. Written in the cold winters of Buffalo, you can almost feel the harshness of the weather affecting the sounds that propagate from these grooves. Icy and frostbitten but somehow still relevantly civic and urban.

The Chameleons and The Sound are two main references here, but that whole cold dimension is rocked by a strong pop vein reminiscent of After The Snow-era Modern English and occasionally enhanced by an hoarseness typical of a young Paul Weller. Passionate lyricism proper of Echo And The Bunnymen and hopeless romanticism à la Sad Lovers And Giants get balanced by a sharp songwriting which keeps everything in perfect order, giving you exactly what you need, nothing more and nothing less.

You can tell some skinheads are involved here because the outcome is so tidy and neat, without losing one inch of atmosphere or enchantment. If you are wondering how something that was invented forty years ago can still sound, literally, fresh and cool, look no further because what this band delivers lives just up to its name.

Em Records Japan present a unique slice of late 70s/early 80s recordings from Brenda Ray; post-punk with a reggae influence, slathered with analogue dub and topped with sweet vocals. Ray was originally showcased on Em Records' release, Walatta. These much earlier Merseyside recordings are warm hearted, open, fresh and slyly experimental.

The thirteen tracks - originally released on vinyl and cassette by Ray and her musical friends under the monikers of Naffi/Naffi Sandwich - were recorded in a simple home-made studio. Naffi created a musical world of their own, though comparisons could be made to Young Marble Giants, Marine Girls and The Slits.

D'Ya Hear Me! is a wide-ranging release, with lovely vocal tracks, warm dubs and pleasingly odd instrumentals, all knitted together with a special trans-Atlantic rhythmic sense. Two songs of note to fans of Walatta are "Moonbeams" and "Everyday Just Another Dream", are earlier incarnations of "Starlight" and "Another Dream". Comes with rare photos and liner notes by Brenda Ray.

The only album to soundtrack both late-'70s Minneapolis lounges and a Travis Scott x Dior fashion show. Recorded in a host of living rooms with only a Fender Rhodes piano, a Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, and Senrick's wide-eyed, 20-year-old voice, the 1977 LP disappeared into the wild and joined the Wendigo in Minnesota lore. A provocative mix of marina soul, easy listening, and loner folk, Dreamin' is a sanguine sliver of the American private mind garden. Harsh winters coupled with a relative lack of interest amongst siblings allowed Chuck Senrick years of unfettered access to the family piano in their Farmington, Minnesota, home. Learning both by ear and by instruction, Senrick began gigging professionally at age 15, joining John Zimmer and the CR4 for a weekly rundown of Allman Brothers, Blind Faith, and Cream covers at the Sea Girt Inn in Lake Orchard. Tapping into James Taylor's pop-chart achievements in songwriting and enunciation, Senrick composed the bulk of the songs featured on Dreamin' before graduating from Farmington High School. At 20, Senrick migrated 30 miles north to the Twin Cities to pursue music full-time. Using borrowed equipment and borrowed living rooms, a string of informal recording sessions generated the quarter-inch tape for Dreamin'. "I didn't know how to do it," Senrick says about producing an album. "I just knew it could be done." Constructed with vocals, Fender Rhodes, and an assortment of rhythm presets on his Donca Matic Mini Pops drum machine, a mere 200 copies of the private-press masterpiece were stamped and sleeved and sold hand-to-hand at performances. Chuck's wife Lesli illustrated the album cover_a pen-to-paper portrait of her husband against the backdrop of the Minneapolis Skyline, she and their newborn son situated on a nearby knoll. Any plans for a re-press were quashed when producer Bruce W. Hansen lost the reels during a messy divorce. "I was a kid with big ideas and not much hope to do anything but play," Senrick said of the Dreamin' era. "It still amazes me that people are interested in it."

Heavenly Recordings release the next two volumes in their series of remixed classics and unreleased versions. ‘Heavenly Remixes 7 & 8’ sees the label going back into the archive, as well as picking off some more recent remixes, and both albums primarily feature either previously unreleased versions or re-workings available for the first time on vinyl and CD.

Heavenly have always seen immense value in the remix, a value way beyond what it might bring commercially. Since their first release in 1990 (where Andrew Weatherall overhauled a one-off single by club kids Sly and Lovechild) Heavenly remixes have been carefully curated and treated as a key part of the A&R process. It’s an opportunity to view an artist through a different prism, to play out a musical ‘what if’ scenario. It’s the kind of exploration that’s happened consistently through the thirty plus years the label has released music.



The ‘Heavenly remixes’ series continues to showcase the very best remixes, versions, meditations, re-rubs and dubs from all around the world of artists right across the roster of the country’s most exciting record label. In most cases, the albums offer the first physical release for a remix, elevating them from streaming playlists to their rightful, spiritual home on super heavy vinyl (or shiny, super-packed compact disc).



‘Heavenly remixes 7’ heads to Belfast, where David Holmes - a producer who first appeared on Heavenly in 1994 amping up the acid on Saint Etienne’s ‘Like A Motorway’ - appears as solo artist and as one third of Unloved, who get a lift right to the heart of a Vauxhall sweatbox by Horse Meat Disco. It draws a line between Amsterdam and Frankfurt as Ludwig A.F. amps up the electronics on Pip Blom’s ‘Keep It Together’. It stops off in a south London studio where super producer Dan Carey plays the desk with Toy, then relocates LA psych rock band Fever The Ghost to an Ibizan shoreline as the sun sets on the horizon. It cements Sheffield’s reputation as the home of modern British techno with the return of true originators Forgemasters. And it pitches up in front of a renegade soundsystem late night at Glastonbury as Erol Alkan’s mighty rework of Con Man gets its third rewind of the night.



‘Heavenly remixes 8’ opens with Space Afrika’s lush, ambient reimagining of the Orielles’ ‘BEAM/S’ before Justin Robertson stretches Amber Arcades’ ‘Turning Light’ into eight minutes of electronic dub. Elsewhere, Baxter Dury’s peerless ‘Miami’ becomes a string-laden electro skank in the hands of French producer Pilooski; Edinburgh’s bedroom techno genius Eyes of Others’ ‘Safehouse’ turns into an East End bathhouse courtesy of disco deviants Decius; Ashley Beedle’s Black Science Orchestra turns Unloved’s heartworn torch song into seven minutes of glimmering dreamlike percussive house and Katy J. Pearson’s freak flag is flown high thanks to The Umlauts’ throbbing filtered electro mix. It ends similarly to how it began as TONE takes

Fran Lobo’s ‘All I Want’ on a gorgeous slow motion spacewalk.

Ed Sheeran’s brand-new album Autumn Variations will be available for pre-order on the 24th August at 5pm before a worldwide release on the 29th September. It will be available to stream on all platforms as well as purchase physically as a CD or various limited Vinyl editions.

Ed Sheeran is an era-defining artist who has sold over 52 million albums and 150 million singles across the world. Through his fusion of thought-provoking songwriting, universal pop and multi-genre influence, his rich tapestry is not only perfectly suited to his audience but it’s something that transcends generations.

Since surfacing on the UK circuit in 2010 with his ‘No.5 Collaborations Project’ – an eight-track EP featuring his favourite grime artists of the time – the Suffolk-raised recording artist has resonated with fans across the world through his peerless songcraft and versatility. And now, with six consecutive UK No.1 albums to his name – ‘+’ (2011), ‘x’ (2014), ‘÷’ (2017), ‘No.6 Collaborations Project’ (2019), ‘=’ (2021) and ‘-‘ (2023) – Sheeran continues to reaffirm his status as one of the most in-demand pop stars on the planet.

Prior to the release of ‘=’ (October 2021) – an album that’s now surpassed five million global sales - Sheeran secured two UK No.1 singles in the UK with ‘Bad Habits’ and ‘Shivers’, which sat atop the UK’s Official Singles Chart for a combined total of 15 weeks. Moreover, the LP saw him take home 2 x EMA’s for ‘Best Artist’ and ‘Best Song’; an American Music Award for ‘Favourite Male Pop Artist’; British GQ’s ‘Solo Artist of the Year’; 4 x Los40 Awards; a BRIT Award for ‘Songwriter of the Year’ alongside a nomination for ‘Song of the Year’ at the 2022 GRAMMY’s.

Sheeran’s most recent album, Subtract, secured Ed his sixth No.1 album. Produced by Aaron Dessner, the album was anchored in his love of singer/songwriter compositions and written against a backdrop of personal grief and hope. Ed’s most critically-acclaimed album to date, it housed the heart wrenching UK No.1 single ‘Eyes Closed’ – a song about his late friend, Jamal Edwards.

But it’s not just his recorded music that’s seen the former Glastonbury headliner become one of the sought-after artists of the 21st century. Possessing a mystical ability to turn 90,000 capacity venues into the pub back-rooms that he first started playing in, Ed made history in 2015 after becoming the first-ever artist to play Wembley Stadium solo - without a band, just with his guitar and loop pedal - over three, consecutive sold out nights. Move forward to the summer of 2019 and Ed would re-enter history books after the completion of his mammoth two-year Divide tour, officially becoming the most-attended tour of all time after it culminated with special homecoming shows in Ipswich, Suffolk. Beginning last summer, Ed is currently travelling the world on his ‘+ - = ÷ x Tour’ (pronounced ‘The Mathematics Tour’), which saw him return to Wembley Stadium for a five-night run last June.

Ed Sheeran, who was awarded an MBE for his services to music and charity in 2017, is the proud recipient of 1 x IFPI Award (best-selling global artist of 2017); 4 x Grammys; 4 x Ivor Novello’s; 7 x BRIT Awards (including two consecutive wins for ‘Global Success’ in 2018 and 2019); 7 x Billboard Awards + more. Moreover, to this day, his blockbusting third studio album ‘÷’ remains the fastest-selling album, ever, by a male artist in the UK, while the LP’s lead single, ‘Shape of You’, maintains its status as the most-streamed song in Spotify’s history.

At the end of 2019, Sheeran was presented with the Official Chart Company’s first-ever ‘No.1 Artist of the Decade’ award following a host of accomplishments in his native UK including the most No.1’s across the UK’s Official Singles and Albums chart from the years 2010-2019. Most recently, Ed scored two more feats with the OCC after becoming the first British Solo Artist to claim 52 weeks – an entire year – at No.1 on the Official UK Singles Chart, with only Elvis Presley and The Beatles achieving more overall weeks at the top, as well as becoming the first-ever artist with four albums spending an entire year or more in the UK Top 10.

Bar Musica's fourth EP is a fascinating one from Jesse Marcell with a remix by Pier Bucci. El Calvario De Los Indecisos opens up with intense minimal sounds, relentless drum and bass loops tying your mind in knots. All manner of dark and grubby sounds and effects scuttle across the groove and make this a late night head wrecker.

Pier Bucci then steps up to smooth things out and layer in some more soft and soulful late night chords. It flip the cut into a more dreamy number for trance inducing late night sets.

Last of all, Marcell offers La Fe' with it's high tempo drums, pressurised kicks and sweeping sense of minimal tech funk really getting you deep in the groove. This is a superb offering from this vital label.

Infekto aka Rico Tubbs aka Riku Pentti is a Finnish producer, from the city of Tampere. A long time figurehead of the Finnish dance scene, he first started releasing music under Infekto on Aquasky’s Passenger label in 2002, later launching his Rico Tubbs pseudonym on Jay Cunning’s Menu Music. And prior to all of that, he was part of the Mombfunk MC’s… you remember… Freestyler!

Here he goes back to his original musical love, hardcore rave. Four total destroyers that brings the warehouse feel… uplifting melodies with heavy bass and beats.

Teaming up with The Ragga Twins on one of the tracks and bringing in the heavy remix pressure from the one and only Marc Mac from Reinforced aka Manix and one half of 4-Hero. On top of that Nervous & Anxious also delivery a kickout punch with their remix, keeping things on that Finnish tip!

Pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl and presented in a Amen Brother housebag with a black inner sleeve.

UK house icon Mr. G makes his FUSE debut alongside longtime friend and collaborator Duncan Forbes, with the two partnering for their excellent ‘Time To Dip’ EP.

An artist truly regarded as one of UK house music’s greats, Colin McBean, aka Mr. G, stands today as an individual at the pinnacle of the genre as his trademark sound and legendary live sets continue to tantalise crowds across the globe. A special guest at FUSE’s final show at London’s iconic Printworks in March, the event that went on to influence the EP’s curation, the UK mainstay heads to Enzo Siragusa’s globally renowned imprint for the very first time this September as he delivers his ‘Time To Dip’ EP alongside longstanding friend and regular collaborator, Duncan Forbes. Friends for many years, having known one another since Forbes’ Animated project, their collaborations on Phoenix G and 49North and recent LP have seen the duo uncover a selection of high- quality cuts from across the house spectrum - and here they showcase their innate chemistry across four tracks loaded with quality.

“Gotta say, this EP really is born outta standing on the stage before my set at FUSE at Printworks and listening to what was being played. When I got back I said to D that I wanted do something based around what I had heard, never really thinking Enzo or FUSE would get it, but how wrong we were. It’s another fab meeting of minds with D, which makes this joint EP so different yet special... I feel it covers many different bases and tempos, a real gem. Looking forward to see what folk make of it.” - Mr. G.

Title track ‘Time To Dip’ is classy house music that packs a punch typical of that trademark sound we’ve come to know and love. It’s heavy and tough yet stripped back and unquestionably dancefloor focused, all softened by hooky female vocals and hazy textures. Duncan’s ‘Sherbert Dip’ mix highlights the vocal and brings it to the fore as shuffling drums and sweeping melodies build around the elements. The flip welcomes ‘All Night’, a delightfully vibrant track pairing rich rhodes, swirling leads and sharp hats with an abundance of subtle jazzy textures, before Forbes’ ‘In The Zone’ remix delivers an immersive, heady and dubby late-night voyage for a mesmerising final ride.

Alinka Returns to Rekids with her latest EP ‘I’m Your Ghost’

Following the relaunch of her label Twirl alongside Shaun J. Wright, Alinka now brings her brand new EP' I'm Your Ghost' to Radio Slave's Rekids. Having made frequent appearances within its catalogue, her 'I'm Your Ghost' EP sees the Ukranian-born, Chicago-raised and Berlin-residing producer return with four eclectic and club-orientated house tracks. These will sit amongst her previous releases on Permanent Vacation, Needwant, HE.SHE.THEY and Crosstown Rebels.

'Teachers' is the first cut presented on 'I'm Your Ghost' with its sharp percussive layers building towards the well-honed grooves in its composition. Title-track 'I'm Your Ghost' punches through next with weighty, wobbling subs placed against a catchy lead. 'I Still Believe' is featured with rising chord progressions and pounding kicks as '909 Lives' draws the EP to a close with an intricate mix of synths and striding drum work, paying homage to its title. It’s a package highlighting why Alinka is on an unstoppable rise, with support from some of the biggest names across house music.

Tibi Dabo unveils his long-awaited full-length ‘Vista’ on Crosstown Rebels this September, with the kaleidoscopic nine-track album showcasing his diverse and rich sound palette.

Born in Barcelona, DJ, producer, and musician Tibi Dabo has proven himself adept at mixing the classic and the cutting-edge. From his early days touring Europe and the US with a band in which he plays the drums, the foundation for his experimentation for his work within the electronic sphere, he has since grown to become an exciting and much-loved DJ and producer, adding to his growing reputation as a Crosstown Rebels favourite. Stepping things up once more, his spirited new album ‘Vista’ is a perfect fusion of futuristic synths and compelling house grooves, all of which are masterfully designed and full of character. Following three well-received singles across the summer, the full-length is a complete sonic statement that explores deep house, leftfield sonics and widescreen cosmic vistas.

Opener ‘Water Is’ layers up fresh sound sources and playful melodies on nimble basslines that soon make you move. ‘Somewhere Beach’ is then a silky groove layered up with diffuse pads and aching synths that convey real romance, while ‘Licht’ is another masterful display of original drum programming with bursts of cosmic synth and elastic bass. ‘Useless Ideas’ then gets deeper on more low-key drums and bass. Instead, the focus is on the deft percussion and well-treated vocals that swirl and smudge around the mix to a woozy late-night effect.

The elegant ‘Mundo’ channels the machine soul of early Detroit techno, before ‘Mangabeira Manifesto’ featuring Dudu Bongo layers up wonky drums and bass with curling, soft acid sounds and a playful vocal line. ‘Triple Frontier’ picks up the pace and heads out on a high-speed cosmic house journey, all before ‘Overture’, another far-sighted astral trip with starry melodies and rich, rubbery bass, closes the package in fine style.

An expressive and adventurous yet coherent long player with a range of moods, feelings and grooves taking you to all corners of the house world, ‘Vista’ showcases Dabo’s most in-depth project to date and an album which provides the perfect platform for him to display his rich sonic universe.

The 3rd release on the Sydney/Eora based imprint Natural-High brings 2 varying techno cuts from Neotex. The A-side is on a deep tip and the B-side is heavier gear for the later hours.

Releasing Italian soundtrack gems on 7" has become a mission for Four Flies! This time the label went back to Franco Prosperi's 1972 film Un uomo dalla pelle dura (known in English as either The Boxer or Ripped-Off) and hand-picked two tracks that were included not in the (now uber-rare) original OST album released on Pegaso/RCA, but in the (even rarer) library album Meedley (sic) released by Carlo Pes a couple of years later, where, needless to say, he was accompanied by his legendary quartet I Marc 4, whose recognizable sound permeates both tunes on this 7".

Side A contains "The Riff", a stupendous acoustic-guitar-and-drums break that was later sampled by DJ-producer Nicola Conte for his debut album Jet Sounds (2000). In contrast, side B veers into fancy poolside cocktail party territory with "Bossa Party", a relaxing, bossa nova-infused jazz tune woven by Carlo Pes' electric guitar lines and Antonello Vannucchi's piano phrasing.

It's a limited edition so don't sleep on it!

Pressed On Clear Vinyl! To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of UGK's first album, Get On Down goes the extra mile, presenting it for the first time ever on vinyl. AND 2LP clear vinyl at that, giving the strutting, funky grooves the chance to really stretch out on your system. Back in 1992, Southern hip-hop was still proving to the world that it could sustain a fan base that was chiefly raised on rap from New York and LA. The Geto Boys and 2 Live Crew had made strong cases by the earliest '90s, and Pimp C and Bun B were ready to make their own. Most of the trunk-bumping bass comes from drum programs and basic sampling on these tunes - in later years they would build their sound into something even fuller and deeper. Self-produced with additional work from Houston locals Bernie Bismark and Shetoro Henderson, the tracks here are minimal, slow and menacing, which matched their lyrical approach quite nicely. You can hear the beginnings of the group's true greatness in these early lyrical workouts - several taken from the regional cassette-only EP The Southern Way that got them signed to Jive - with tales of street hustles, relationships and self-reliance in a world stacked against them. They may have been done early-on, but that doesn't mean they aren't crucial to UGK's legacy - cases in point being the three singles: Something Good', a charismatic update to Bill Withers' Use Me Up', and Pocket Full Of Stones' (the latter featured on the Menace II Society soundtrack). Beyond the singles, deeper cuts like I'm So Bad,' Feels Like I'm The One Who's Doin' Dope' and Cramping My Style' made it clear to the world that this crew had the attitude and charisma to make even bigger waves in the years to come.

The latest EP from Drab Majesty marks the start of a stirring new chapter in the band's majestic legacy. Written during a 2021 retreat to the remote coastal Oregon town of Yachats, Deb Demure leaned into the neo- psychedelic resonance of a uniquely bowl - shaped 12 -string Ovation acoustic/electric guitar. After early morning hikes in the rain, Deb would record ambient guitar experiments the rest of the day, tapping into "flow states," letting the sound lead the way. These sessions were then refined or recreated, and later elevated further with key collaborations by Rachel Goswell (Slowdive), Justin Meldal Johnson (Beck, M83, Air), and Ben Greenberg (Uniform, Circular Ruin Studio). An Object In Motion is true to its title, capturing the chrysalis moment of an artist evolving, reborn and untet hered, silhouetted against an open horizon. "Cape Perpetua" kicks off the collection's divergent palette: sparkling acoustic fingerpicking refracted through delay, equal parts raga and reverie. Melodies and moods congeal and dissipate, at the threshold of rustic American primitivism, brooding neo-folk, and pastoral melancholia. "The Skin And The Glove" deploys jangle to different effect baggy, soaring, grey skied kaleidoscopic pop in the spirit of Stone Roses, Primal Scream, and The Glove. Rachel Goswell lends her iconic freefall voice to The Cure - esque ballad, "Vanity," infusing poetic gravity to the doomed refrain: "If the valve breaks / then the earth quakes / and history finds a way / to put you in your place." "Yield To Force", the closing track of the EP, may be the most anomalous offering of the set. A 15 minute instrumental odyssey of cyclical strings, ominous slide guitar, and simmering synthesizer, the piece sways and spirals like a long zoom into distant storm clouds. Demure finesses the guitar with a restless but regal grandeur, unfolding a panorama of peaks, shadows, and plateaus. It's music both intuitive and prophetic, tracing the slow swing of pendulums across an endless plain. Taken as a whole, An Object In Motion presents a showcase of potential futures from Drab's evolving domain, their sound poised to bloom at the precipice of transformation.

Fachwerk boss Mike Denhert rolls up on TECH-UM 006 with for another heavy selection of intuitive techno jams on his 'TESTET' EP. With the focus squarely on the dance floor the Berlin-born wizard's latest creations makes for another unique voyage into cutting edge techno. Kostik with its dark wall of sound opens the release sporting an gargantuan bassline and metronomic percussion that resonates through the speakers. Freakin' Me offers a slow and low machine funk strut, with its heads-down groove and sassy vocal chops. On the flip Mike hits out hard with Mino. A heady concoction that's one part Chicago, one part Detroit, one part Berlin, coming together to create the perfect party piece. Dehnert then closes with one final gem. Sampling a broken escalator from a NYC train station, he engineers layer upon layer of mechanical madness. Creative clanging. Welding sounds and strikes like a vibrating visionary, he presents a final silvery sonic sensation.