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Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly was the one and only full-length album by experimental post-punk innovators, Moss Icon . Recorded in 1988, Lyburnum would not be released until 1993 - several years after Moss Icon 's demise. Originally released on Vermiforn - the esoteric noise label founded by Sam McPheeters of Born Against - the vision that Moss Icon 's Tonie Joy had for Lyburnum failed to manifest in its finished product. Of the process of preparing Lyburnum for its eventual release, Joy recalls, "My creative mind was well into its next chapter, onto an apocalyptic order referring to Joy's post- Moss Icon band, Universal Order of Armageddon . Getting Lyburnum to look like what I envisioned in my mind became an uphill battle that involved misplaced photos, misunderstood instructions by the printer, increasing apathy, and lack of advanced printing knowledge (on my part), amongst many other technical and creative issues. With a deadline near it ended up being an it-is-what-it-is situation. Some corrections were attempted for the second pressing the following year, but a further lack of coordination between various parties saw it losing even more of the original vision." Despite these challenges and shortcomings, Lyburnum Wits End Liberation was instantly cherished as a feral masterpiece - a singular entity that would become a defining influence on post-hardcore and emo in the 1990s and beyond. Nothing before sounded like this, and nothing since has quite captured the same mysterious fury. Now, finally, Moss Icon 's seminal Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly LP will be released exactly as it was always intended to look, sound, and feel. The artwork has been fully restored, and includes previously unpublished photos that were inadvertently missing from the original release. Brilliantly remastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, the vinyl has been newly cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, and pressed onto audiophile-grade vinyl at Record Technology Inc.

Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly was the one and only full-length album by experimental post-punk innovators, Moss Icon. Recorded in 1988, Lyburnum would not be released until 1993 several years after Moss Icon’s demise.

Originally released on Vermiforn – the esoteric noise label founded by Sam McPheeters of Born Against – the vision that Moss Icon’s Tonie Joy had for Lyburnum failed to manifest in its finished product. Of the process of preparing Lyburnum for its eventual release, Joy recalls, “My creative mind was well into its next chapter, onto an apocalyptic order referring to Joy’s post-Moss Icon band, Universal Order of Armageddon.

Getting Lyburnum to look like what I envisioned in my mind became an uphill battle that involved misplaced photos, misunderstood instructions by the printer, increasing apathy, and lack of advanced printing knowledge (on my part), amongst many other technical and creative issues.

With a deadline near it ended up being an it-is-what-it-is situation. Some corrections were attempted for the second pressing the following year, but a further lack of coordination between various parties saw it losing even more of the original vision.”

Despite these challenges and shortcomings, Lyburnum Wits End Liberation was instantly cherished as a feral masterpiece a singular entity that would become a defining influence on post-hardcore and emo in the 1990s and beyond.

Nothing before sounded like this, and nothing since has quite captured the same mysterious fury. Now, finally, Moss Icon’s seminal Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly LP will be released exactly as it was always intended to look, sound, and feel. The artwork has been fully restored and includes previously unpublished photos that were inadvertently missing from the original release.

Brilliantly remastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, the vinyl has been newly cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, and pressed onto audiophile-grade vinyl at Record Technology Inc.

Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly was the one and only full-length album by experimental post-punk innovators, Moss Icon. Recorded in 1988, Lyburnum would not be released until 1993 several years after Moss Icon’s demise.

Originally released on Vermiforn – the esoteric noise label founded by Sam McPheeters of Born Against – the vision that Moss Icon’s Tonie Joy had for Lyburnum failed to manifest in its finished product. Of the process of preparing Lyburnum for its eventual release, Joy recalls, “My creative mind was well into its next chapter, onto an apocalyptic order referring to Joy’s post-Moss Icon band, Universal Order of Armageddon.

Getting Lyburnum to look like what I envisioned in my mind became an uphill battle that involved misplaced photos, misunderstood instructions by the printer, increasing apathy, and lack of advanced printing knowledge (on my part), amongst many other technical and creative issues.

With a deadline near it ended up being an it-is-what-it-is situation. Some corrections were attempted for the second pressing the following year, but a further lack of coordination between various parties saw it losing even more of the original vision.”

Despite these challenges and shortcomings, Lyburnum Wits End Liberation was instantly cherished as a feral masterpiece a singular entity that would become a defining influence on post-hardcore and emo in the 1990s and beyond.

Nothing before sounded like this, and nothing since has quite captured the same mysterious fury. Now, finally, Moss Icon’s seminal Lyburnum Wits End Liberation Fly LP will be released exactly as it was always intended to look, sound, and feel. The artwork has been fully restored and includes previously unpublished photos that were inadvertently missing from the original release.

Brilliantly remastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music, the vinyl has been newly cut by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service, and pressed onto audiophile-grade vinyl at Record Technology Inc.

The axolotl is a species of salamander native to Mexico, living in a state of larva and having the capacity to regenerate damaged organs. This brief introduction doesn’t tell us if the axolotl sings. But, for the one that concerns us here: yes indeed.

In Paris, at the end of the 1970s, Etienne Brunet and Marc Dufourd would improvise regularly, inspired by some other saxophone-guitar duos: Claude Bernard-Raymond Boni firstly, then Evan Parker-Derek Bailey. When Jacques Oger (a saxophonist whom Brunet had met at a workshop given by Steve Lacy at the Châteauvallon festival in 1977) joined the duo Brunet-Dufourd, Axolotl was born.

Iconoclastic, the trio was bound to please Jac Berrocal, and he proposed to record their first album on the label ‘D’avantage’. In spring 1981 three days were just enough for Oger (tenor and barytone saxophones), Brunet (alto saxophone, bass clarinet and ‘things’) and Dufourd (electric guitar) to complete Axolotl, the first album by a group which would record ... two.

If there was a collective of iconoclasts, the trio would be there with some relatives: Alterations, Fred Frith, John Zorn, the ROVA Saxophone Quartet... and then because we mention a collective, Axolotl steps (considerably) beyond the domain of free improvisation to lean towards jazz (“Illusion”, “Paris, froissé”), No Wave (“Ombre pilée”, “Trottoirs défunts”), contemporary (“Oreiller”, “D’autres seuls”), and even what we could call ... acid fun (“Dehors”).

Above all, Axolotl wanted to really get to grips with sound via an expression as direct as it was liberating, as can be heard on “Ozone, flocon, torsion”, producing a noise that, even today pierces the brain. All we can hope is that now, thanks to this wonderful reissue, listeners will be able, like the axolotl, of regeneration.

Relentless raver and emerging artist from the Rinse France roster of captivating talent, RONI launches her imprint Nehza Records with a five-track EP titled ‘Slowing’ by Bordeaux-based Neida . Marking the debut release on the label, Neida is the first producer to bring RONI’s fantasy-led vision to life.

‘Slowing’ is a cross-pollination of breaks, acid, jungle and bass which nods to the sound of the underground UK rave scene circa 1990. An era that RONI closely aligns with in terms of sound, art and the sense of liberation synonymous with 90s club culture, Neida nails this aesthetic throughout the EP. ‘Bull’ sets a powerful tone as the opening track, packed with punchy drums layered below an orchestral-like vocal before ‘DSO’ burbles through with squelchy synthwork over a 4/4 beat — a clear hint of that UK rave sound simmering under the surface. Garnering his appreciation for reggae and Rasta dialect, Neida’s rework of a vocal derived from reggae artist Don Carlos is masterfully blended into this 6-minute churner.

Over on the B-side, ‘Guess Who’ burns slowly with downtempo breaks and mesmerising chords; you can almost smell an imaginary forest as the track unravels, creating an image of tripping in nature. ‘WHT’ rumbles through with a mellow introduction before going full-whack into barreling drums and clap-heavy percussion, illustrating Neida’s ability to dip into experimental textures that nod to complex rhythm patterns rather than club-cut melodies. ‘For All The Time Sake’ closes the EP with an acid bassline and bright, crisp percussion ending the EP on a significantly vibrant note to mark the first stepping stone of RONI’s record label. ‘Slowing’ is a spiralling myriad of bright atmospheres and escapism, likely to be one of many sonic trademarks on Nehza Records.

Ability for the impossible.

Ukrainian folk instruments dissolve into abstract psychoactive sounds from the improvisational universe. The meditative engine of multi-instrumental music drives the magical means of influencing perception. This is the sonic amulet, which is decorated with radiant tones and the colorful ceremonial musical outline. Mythological music is spirited by epic historical times and ideas of freedom, dignity, and bravery. The acquired knowledge of ancient generations is infused into the present tense and crystallized into the art of liberation.

Transform pain into gratitude, fear into love, rage into action, self-importance into empathy, fatigue into inner peace, anxiety into courage, and hatred into strength. Say "no" to darkness and direct the light on it, disagree to compromise with yourself, create on the destroyed, free yourself from stipulations, believe in wonders, burn and resurrect free. Always remember your own path to walk. And plant the blossoming cherry tree in the funnel from the bomb on the heart.

Dedicated to free Ukraine.

Emotion Hospice is the debut LP by New York-based sound artist and writer Chaperone on Bedouin Records. Combining layers of doom electronics, dystopian ambient, and manipulated tape loops, Emotion Hospice reflects both the artist's suffering and recovery from addiction, as well as Philadelphia's history of socio-economic decay and misanthropy.

Emotion Hospice was recorded from 2016 to 2019, when Chaperone's David Coccagna lived and worked in his hometown of Philadelphia, a city notoriously known for its poverty, redlined city divisions, and fascist policing tactics. While exploring the sound of the city and the effects of its political and social climate, Coccagna also struggled with and managed to overcome a severe addiction to alcohol, tying further the misaligned nature of the self to the maladjusted world he grew up in that is reflected in the record itself.

Sonic thrills and their destruction is present throughout the record, as Coccagna experiments with the brutal manipulation of bossa nova, varying styles of jazz, hip hop, and rap, using 4-Track tape loops, shortwave radio frequencies, various apps on his iPad, and open source audio editing software. With Emotion Hospice, Chaperone liberates the inherent darkness of the cheerful and poppy music that he samples and transforms it into an extensive, doomy sound of a future that is dystopian, maladroit, suffering, but hopeful about human beings. The album was written and recorded entirely by Coccagna aside from the track featuring New York rapper and producer Andre Altrez, whose establishment of Girard Hall in Philadelphia was a beacon of DIY ethos that became legendary in the city in its own right.

Chaperone's Emotion Hospice is his first release on Bedouin Records. His cassette release Dead Pitbulls Slung On Tired Shoulders was his first outing for Bedouin's now defunct sub-label Bastakiya Tapes in 2017. This initial tape was the catalyst to a working relationship between Coccagna and label operator Salem Rashid as collaborators and colleagues.

green transparent vinyl

FÜR FANS VON: Steel Panther, Mötley Crüe, Poison, The New Roses, Kissin' Dynamite, H.E.A.T.
Am 17. März 2023 veröffentlichen die 80er-Hair-Metaller John Diva & The Rockets Of Love ihr drittes Album „The Big Easy“. Während die Band auf
ihrer zweiten Platte „American Amadeus“ noch die Grenzen des Glam Metal auslotete, kehren die fünf Musiker auf Album Nummer drei zu dem
zurück, was sie am besten können: gradlinigem, erfrischendem Rock mit markanten Riffs, harten Beats, vielschichtigen Texten und einem Frontmann
in Bestform. Keine Schnörkel, kein Bullshit, sondern Stadionhymnen für die ganz große Bühne. Wir haben darauf gewartet und endlich ist es so weit:
JOHN DIVA is back! „Remember 80-something — we never seemed to miss a thing“. Schon die ersten Zeilen des neuen John-Diva-Songs „Back In The
Days“ vermitteln, für welches Gefühl die Band steht. Spandex-Hosen, jugendlicher Leichtsinn, Partystimmung und volle Batterien im Walkman: John
Diva & The Rockets Of Love holen die sorglosen Momente der 80er in die Gegenwart und lassen sie klingen wie den neuen heißen Scheiß. Und
können wir nicht alle ein bisschen Sorglosigkeit gebrauchen? John Diva & The Rockets Of Love stehen für fette Partys, leidenschaftliche
Bühnenshows, aber auch für liberale Botschaften in ihren Lyrics. Bullshit? Fehlanzeige. So erteilen die fünf Musiker dem Genre-üblichen Sexismus in
ihren Texten eine klare Abfuhr, zum Beispiel in Songs wie „Boys Don’t Play With Dolls“. „Bei uns ist jeder willkommen und wird wertgeschätzt“, stellt
Frontmann John Diva klar. Gut so. Denn wir können wohl alle ein bisschen Sorglosigkeit gebrauchen.

Dark and cerebral Acid Techno doesn't come better than on Hive, and this EP demonstrates why. Chris Liberator & Sam DFL present the fifth instalment of their ACID TECHNO IN THE MODERN ERA series, and it is a 4 track masterclass in twisted 303's and driving beats. Watch out for the 4th track, a stomping old school 303/909 workout that bleeds acid and stomps like a motherf-ker!

Record Kicks celebrates its 20th Anniversary with a limited edition "Rare Box Set" consisting of ten 45 vinyl with the very best of the label's catalogue.

2023 is a special year for Record Kicks: the Milan-based independent label turns 20 years old. In order to celebrate this great achievement, Record Kicks is proud to announce the release of a limited edition "Rare Box Set", coming out on March 3rd and containing 20 tracks on 10 "rare" 45 vinyl that retrace the story of these past 20 years of Record Kicks. The boxset is limited to 500 copies worldwide and it will also be released on digital format on that same day, March 3rd. The artwork by Japanese artist Ruminz is an homage to Afro-American culture. Of the 20 tracks on the "Rare Boxset", 11 tracks are previously unreleased on 45 vinyl, while 9 are reissues of mega in-demand gems.

Among the tracks released for the first time on 45, you'll find label's Funk & Soul heavyweights such as "Easy To Come Home" by Sydney funk maestros Dojo Cuts, "Your Love is Mine" by British funk band The New Mastersounds feat Corinne Bailey Rae and remixed by Nostalgia 77, "50 Foot Woman" by Hannah Williams & The Affirmations, "Soul Connection" by The Diplomats of Solid Sound and "Soul of My Life" by The Tibbs. For the first time on 45 vinyl, there are also two singles from the masters of Cinematic funk Calibro 35: "Stainless Steel" from their legendary album "Traitors" and "Ungwana Bay Launch Complex" from "S.P.A.C.E.", The Diasonics with "Andromeda", taken from their debut album "Origin Of Forms", and Whatitdo Archive Group's "Blood Chief" from the band's album "The Black Stone Affair".

On the reissue's front, among the rare tracks that by popular demand finally see the light again on 45 vinyl we find: the afrofunk cover of The Artic Monkeys' "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" by Baby Charles, JB's classic "Soul Power" by Kokolo remixed by Lack Of Afro, The Bluebeaters with "Catch That Teardrop" and "Toxic (One Drop Version)" singles, northern soul floorshaker "I'm a Good Woman" by Hannah Williams & The Tastemakers and deep funk stormer "I'm Not Your Regular Woman" by Marta Ren & The Groovelvets.

The "Rare Box Set" is just the first of many upcoming initiatives that will be revealed during the year to celebrate the Milan's label 20th anniversary. Side by side with similar imprints like Daptone, Big Crown, Colemine or Timmion Records, under its motto "The explosive sound from Today's scene", Milan-based record label and music publishing Record Kicks has been pitching the contemporary funk & soul scene since 2003. With over 250 releases under the belt, the label has released bands from all over the globe and earned support of VIP fans such as rap superstars Jay-Z, Tyler The Creator and Dr. Dre, who took inspiration from the label's catalogue by sampling it.








g g1: The New Mastersounds - Your Love Is Mine (Nostalgia 77 Remix) feat. Corinne Bailey Rae

As Deutsche Grammophon celebrates its 125th birthday this year 2023, the Yellow Label marks the occasion by releasing a selection of vinyl LPs for the first time ever.
Nadine Sierra’s childhood intuition – that she was born to sing opera – has proved correct in every way and is reflected in the title of her second solo album for DG. The dramatic presence, searing passion and technical brilliance for which the American lyric soprano regularly scores rave reviews are captured in Made for Opera, which trains the spotlight on three of the most demanding roles in the repertoire – Verdi’s Violetta, Donizetti’s Lucia and Gounod’s Juliette. Recorded with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai and Capella Cracoviensis under Riccardo Frizza, the album not only reflects Nadine Sierra’s command of bel canto technique and rich range of vocal colours, but also documents her insights into the psychology of the ill-starred heroines of La traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor and Roméo et Juliette.

Wipe your blade clean. The bloodline of Eastern European kosmische and groundbreaking, grinding cinematic psych rock finally emerges from fifty years of forbidden forestland to fill your thirsty grails. Poland’s prime progressive provocateurs Żuławski and Korzyński finally expose the jagged roots of Possession and The Silver Globe and give the devil his due via this historical vinyl release.

If an opening strapline that reads “Forget everything that you thought you knew about the history of psychedelic rock and horror movies” appeals to you, then further potentially hyperbolic phrases like “Lost Grail” and “Banned Forever” will surely clinch the deal, leaving the hugely significant wider context of this dream come true release surplus to requirement. But as we hope you have come to expect from Finders Keepers releases “The devil is in the detail” and the fact that any mention of the perpetually elusive original master tapes to a 1972 project entitled Diabeł and the phrase “Holy Grail” have become synonymously associated only adds the twisted irony that surrounds this genuine masterpiece of both aforementioned fields.

For those fastidious enough to pursue the hunt, these unearthed recordings represent the crowning glory of the lifelong unison of Maestro Andrzej Żuławski and filmmaker Andrzej Korzyński, two genuine mavericks of Polish experimental cinema who challenged artistic and societal norms, on both sides of a politically restricted regime and on an international artistic stage, without compromise. Friends since childhood, Korzyński and Żuławski may have become divided by limelight and geography (Żuławski the intrepid emigre), but they remained united in their kaleidoscopic creative vision, resulting in a fractured stream of troublesome and mind-bending golden era collaborations such as Possession, The Silver Globe, and Third Part Of The Night. This long-awaited liberation of the psychedelic masterpiece known as Diabeł finally completes the duo’s full vista with what many consider the most vital piece of the prism.

Crackled radio-like transmissions from Norway's rural hinterland. Juni Habel's fragile finger-picked lullabies warm themselves by the open fire with her rich intimate voice atop twinkling arrangements and strange percussive instrumentation. Like glowing embers in the dark, these songs are odes to life and death, the beauty of belonging and human kinship with nature.
Push open the door of the old school house in the remote flatlands of Southern Norway that Juni Habel shares with her close-knit family and climb the stairs; you’ll find yourself in a former classroom – the home of her new album Carvings. A songbook of life’s lessons offering an expansive perspective as it navigates personal shadows between darkness and light.
“I knew I wanted to write from a larger perspective. I wanted to write about the course of nature, and the people in it - life and death, beauty and tragedy.” Juni says, “loss - the search for the dead - grasping to find the words, and liberation of giving that up. I also wanted to explore my own kinship with nature - a sense of belonging, and notice what is around with gratitude and zest for life.”
This unyielding spirit of family and nature is etched into Carvings’ unschooled approach. With beauty in mock-simplicity and radiating humanity like the music of Tia Blake, Julie Byrne or Myriam Gendron, Juni’s songwriting unfolds on her own terms, and is the sound of facing whatever mother nature decides will find its way to the top of the list.
Recorded between the classroom (‘big hall’), the hallway on the 2nd floor, and her bedroom with simple gear and vocals laid down in a single take. Co-producer, musician and singer Stian Skaaden, became her melodic confidant and experimental co-conspirator halving the burden by building the album’s layers through blowing a pipe, playing bow on the banjo, bottles or glockenspiel. “With this album I wanted to lean deeper into the process. The title Carvings illustrates thoroughness. It was a vulnerable project, to strive for creating something truly beautiful, to pour my soul into it,” she says.
Uninhibited by the possibility of ‘mistakes’ and jamming until she struck gold, Juni confidently discovered the truest expression of herself. “It takes courage to do things ‘wrong’ with uncertainty, record lyrics which are strange but feel right, on crappy mics, it can be good to fumble a bit,” Juni says before tellingly, “the joy of playing is quite fragile. I have to protect it. You can't use your head, you have to be inside the song.”

2023 Repress

* Nothing Lasts But Nothing Is Lost was the 3rd incredible installation of the Shpongle epic released in 2005 on Twisted Records. Now remastered for 2019.
It proved to be yet another masterclass in the psychedelic fusion of the worlds between musical genre and sonic geometry.
Simon Posford & Raja Ram interweave an impossible myriad of melodies on guitars, vocals, oud and horns with hifidelic sounds of masterfully manipulated glitchy synths and Raja’s inimitable Flute and otherworldly vocal mutations to create these majestic musical soundtracks.

The album famously features 20 tracks (which on vinyl appear as 8 separate tracks) designed so that every one flows seamlessly into another, continuously evolving like a musical hologram. Each new sonic world reflecting a psychedelic spectrum of the uniquely altered states of audio reality that Shpongle are renowned for.

With every track opening doors to new musical vistas, we are blessed to witness the ever changing sonic scenery that constantly shapeshifts in tone, timbre, tempo and time signature.

Opening with kaleidoscopic mandalas of a mythical music box that morphs into psychedelic funk on “Botanical Dimensions”, we know when Raj’s twisted vocal breaks that we are deeply in “Outer Shpongolia”. The diversity of musical sound surfing is unparalleled, touching on both established and newly invented genres such as latin glitch funk, arabic trance, psyfidelic dub, psychedelic samba massive with massive brass band riffs in “The Stamen of The Shamen” and even snake charmer techno- breaks on “Turn Up the Silence”. Nothing Lasts But Nothing Is Lost effortlessly and seamlessly emerges from one to the next and is a musical journey of such gargantuan portions that they barely fit into a 1 hour epic audio adventure!
On the third fantastical instalment of the Shpongle story, Raja & Simon tickle the synapses and kicking up the dust as evolutionary psychedelic textures and other worldly spaces meld with an irrepressible 4 to the floor of the Kickdrum liberally sprinkled throughout the album.

The mystical maestros undeniably delivered another astounding audio adventure, flipping the sonic switch for tripping without a hitch and earning its rightful place of any psychedelic connoisseur. 

”Look up, into the light” she said, while the camera shutter clicked. ”Like this? Does it look holy?” His neck felt stiff. Her reply: ”Yes, just like that. What do you mean holy? Like religious? ”No, more like trying to look very far, somewhere beyond what we can see.” ”Okay, stand still, I’m going to come close to you now. The light hits your face great.” *click, click, click.

He noticed her fingernails. They were not polished. Natural. Even somewhat rugged, as if something wore out the fingers slightly. What had these hands held besides the camera? What made the edges of her fingernails drift off?

He thought it’s weird to look straight into the camera. The photographer had closed her left eye, the one not looking into the lens. Then it opened, she looked up, perusing the surroundings, then she closed her eye again, then looked up, closed, looking up, very quickly. It all seemed very professional. Maybe she calculated the light, making sure it’s close to perfect. ”What will these photos look like?” – the thought popped into his head briefly. It was liberating to think it wouldn’t matter.

”What’s that song playing?” he asked. ”Wait a sec, Ol’ Dirty Bastard?” she replied. ”Oh yeah, right. But the sample?” ”Hey, could you look up again, like that. No, lower.”

New directions: ”Look out from the window, turn left.” ”My left or yours?” ”Yours, I always try to think from the direction of my model.” How professional! This is a good shoot, so natural. Should I worry about how the photos look like? No, I don’t want to. His thoughts bounced around. What would the story be like? It’s a big newspaper, everyone will read it. Maybe someone drinks coffee and eats a stroopwafel while they do it. Will they place the waffle on top of the mug for a brief while, so that it gets hot and the syrup melts a little? Then it feels wet, and you can bend the cookie.

She broke his train of thought off midway through: ”Now turn right, but look left, and slightly up, but don’t turn your face right.” ”Umm, like this? Sounds like a set of pilates instructions.” she laughed ”You do pilates?” ”Yeah, it’s hard sometimes. Have you tried?” ”No”, she said. ”I’m not good for sports that are done in groups.” ”Yeah, but in pilates you can just be inside your mind, drowning in your private thoughts.”

”What are you thinking in pilates?” she asked, taking more photos. ”Well, mostly just which way is right. And which left.” *click, click.

Canto Ostinato is the new volume of classical minimalism from musician and producer Erik Hall. Written for four pianos in 1979 by Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt, the piece is freshly framed as an intimate, hour-long solo performance consisting of multitracked grand pianos, electric piano, and organ. Modern yet warm, ethereal yet tangible, Hall's Canto Ostinato expertly bridges a revered piece of meditative concert repertoire with a tactile and highly personal studio setting. Chicago-born and Michigan-based, Erik Hall is known as a multi-instrumental pillar for the groups NOMO, Wild Belle, and his own songwriting moniker In Tall Buildings. He has composed music for feature films, and as a producer/engineer he has shaped records for Natalie Bergman and Western Vinyl labelmates Lean Year. In a 2020 creative pivot, he chose to reinvent composer Steve Reich's monumental contemporary classical masterpiece Music for 18 Musicians as a solo undertaking, applying the piece's score to the familiar keyboards, guitars, and synthesizers in his studio. "At the time I think I was working through my identity as a musician and an artist," Hall explains, "and on a level there was some sort of exorcism of a long held pop spirit." The album was celebrated for being "freshly thrilling" and "legible in history but assertive of the moment" (Pitchfork) and "beguiling, meditational, and magical" (Electronic Sound). It won the 2021 Libera Award for Best Classical Record, and it quickly joined the canon of the piece's quintessential recordings. "There is a pseudo-meditational benefit to working on a longform piece that's built on repetition," Hall says. "Every stage- from internalizing the music, to executing the performance, to editing and mixing the record- requires deep and sustained presence of mind. I've always been drawn to a hallucinatory combination of harmony and repetition, and I found the entire process addictive." An apt second chapter, Canto Ostinato is inherently vast, and its score gives great creative license to the performer. Comprising 106 sections, complete freedom is given to repeat each one as many or as few times as desired. Additional leeway is given with regard to dynamics, articulation, and even instrumentation. On the heels of his previous, rather maximal arrangement, Hall chose to limit this album's palette to three foundational keyboards of his studio: a 1962 Hammond M-101 organ, a 1978 Rhodes Mark I electric piano, and his family-heirloom 1910 Steinway grand piano. "This particular piece brought the added challenge of rekindling my dexterity as a pianist, something I haven't maintained in earnest since I was a teenager," he admits. The ensuing five-note rhythmic motif- the piece's primary building block- is steady and workmanlike, forgoing virtuosic flare for depth, texture, and resonance, and eventually giving way to the stunning gratification of a gorgeously lyrical left turn. As with Music for 18 Musicians, Hall employed no loops nor quantization nor any programmed or sequenced instruments of any kind. Every part was performed live in a room and captured with microphones, one at a time, each informed by, and reacting to the last. In this way the record breathes with interplay and an organic humanity, complete with flaws, noise, and the faint sound of turning pages. The recording quality is nonetheless toneful and saturated, characteristic of Hall's production style and straying from the usual transparency of classical albums by using gear with tubes, transformers, and various stages of compression in the signal path. Always there is unmistakable realism and the feeling of being present in the room, sitting among the keys, hammers, and tines. Ten Holt said: "Time, patience and discipline are the prerequisites for making a genetic code productive." His landmark composition provides Hall once again with a wondrous space in which to reverently embody this sentiment and deftly convey the elegant beauty of this music.

KARMATÜRJI - das ist eine Kollaboration zwischen den Musikern Petra Nachtmanova und Ceyhun Kaya und der DJ-Ikone DJIpek Ipekcioglu. Entstanden ist dabei ein elektronisches, mehrsprachiges Album - eine erstaunliche und seltene Mischung, die Türkisch, Polnisch, Englisch und Deutsch miteinander verbindet. Getragen von den Beats und der klaren, beeindruckenden Stimme von Petra Nachtmanova kommt es einem immer wieder so vor, als würden sich die Sprachgrenzen völlig auflösen und wir könnten verstehen, über jede Sprachbarriere hinweg. In den Songs geht es um den Alltag des 21.Jahrhunderts, um nostalgische Sehnsucht nach erträumten Heimatländern, die dann ja letztlich in dieser Form gar nicht existieren, und natürlich geht es immer wieder um die Liebe. Karmatürji lassen dabei musikalisch ganz bewusst anatolische und osteuropäische Lieder einfließen, verwenden immer mal wieder Volksmusik-Instrumente, um daraus dann einen vollen elektronischen Pop-Sound zu kreieren. Kurz & knapp könnte man sagen KARMATÜRJI ist ein elektronisches Projekt in verschiedenen Sprachen mit Rückgriffen auf anatolische und osteuropäische Volkslieder. Was dabei rauskommt ist ein deeper, tanzbarer und internationaler Elektro-Pop-Sound.

Bukahara veröffentlichen mit 'Tales of the Tides' die bislang besten Songs ihrer Karriere!

Das neue, im Februar erscheinende Album der größten unbekannten Band Deutschlands basiert auf sehnsuchtsvoller Rootsmusik und ist geprägt von einem postmigrantischen, grenzüberschreitenden und freiheitlichen Selbstverständnis. Damit gehen Bukahara jetzt in die größten Hallen.

Darum geht es auf 'Tales of The Tides', dem wunderbaren neuen Album der Global-Folkband Bukahara: unser gestörtes Verhältnis zur Natur und untereinander, die Agonie und den Zynismus, vor allem aber um den unbeirrbaren Glauben an Veränderung und Menschlichkeit, an eine liberale Mehrheitsgesellschaft und internationale Solidarität.

Die Lieder, die Soufian Zoghlami zu diesen Themen geschrieben hat, sind ihrerseits freiheitlich und international, vor allem aber sind es die bislang besten Songs dieser Karriere. Die Musik von Bukahara ist auch auf 'Tales of The Tides' immer noch durchdrungen von nordafrikanischen Einflüssen ebenso wie von Balkan-, Klezmer- und arabischen Akzenten. Ihre sich aus diesen Einflüssen ergebende Musik haben Bukahara indes zu einer Folk-Internationale gebündelt, die aktuell niemand so spielt wie sie.

Auf 'Tales of The Tides' türmt sich diese Folk-Internationale zu einer Flut der ganz anderen Art auf: Ja, dieses Album beschreibt einen Flutzyklus. Aber einen lichtdurchfluteten, in dem Liebe, Verständnis, Menschlichkeit und Wärme zählen. Und Hoffnung, die ganz besonders. Themen, mit denen die größte unbekannte Band Deutschlands eigentlich in jedes Radio und jede Zeitung gehört.

Red Vinyl

Bukahara veröffentlichen mit 'Tales of the Tides' die bislang besten Songs ihrer Karriere!

Das neue, im Februar erscheinende Album der größten unbekannten Band Deutschlands basiert auf sehnsuchtsvoller Rootsmusik und ist geprägt von einem postmigrantischen, grenzüberschreitenden und freiheitlichen Selbstverständnis. Damit gehen Bukahara jetzt in die größten Hallen.

Darum geht es auf 'Tales of The Tides', dem wunderbaren neuen Album der Global-Folkband Bukahara: unser gestörtes Verhältnis zur Natur und untereinander, die Agonie und den Zynismus, vor allem aber um den unbeirrbaren Glauben an Veränderung und Menschlichkeit, an eine liberale Mehrheitsgesellschaft und internationale Solidarität.

Die Lieder, die Soufian Zoghlami zu diesen Themen geschrieben hat, sind ihrerseits freiheitlich und international, vor allem aber sind es die bislang besten Songs dieser Karriere. Die Musik von Bukahara ist auch auf 'Tales of The Tides' immer noch durchdrungen von nordafrikanischen Einflüssen ebenso wie von Balkan-, Klezmer- und arabischen Akzenten. Ihre sich aus diesen Einflüssen ergebende Musik haben Bukahara indes zu einer Folk-Internationale gebündelt, die aktuell niemand so spielt wie sie.

Auf 'Tales of The Tides' türmt sich diese Folk-Internationale zu einer Flut der ganz anderen Art auf: Ja, dieses Album beschreibt einen Flutzyklus. Aber einen lichtdurchfluteten, in dem Liebe, Verständnis, Menschlichkeit und Wärme zählen. Und Hoffnung, die ganz besonders. Themen, mit denen die größte unbekannte Band Deutschlands eigentlich in jedes Radio und jede Zeitung gehört.