Search:lik

In the 1971 counterculture comedy You Gotta Walk It Like You Talk It, Zalman King tries to find the meaning of life, with Richard Pryor and Robert Downey Jr among the cameos; who better to cut the soundtrack than Steely Dan? Except that the Dan had not officially formed yet! With typical tongue-in-cheek touches, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker rise to the challenge, with fellow Dan guitarist Denny Diaz and drummer John Discepolo of previous vehicle, Jay & the Americans; if you’re a Steely Dan fan, you really need to check out this one-off soundtrack, cut just before they upset the rock applecart with Can’t Buy A Thrill.

Born Samantha Owens in Liverpool, Jones began her recording career in The Vernon Girls, a female singing group affiliated with the Vernon Football Pools company; they created a popular Beatles tribute album in 1964 with producer Charles Blackwell, who launched Jones’ solo career that same year. Blackwell producer a debut solo LP for Ascot in 1968; two years later, Larry Page released sophomore set A Girl Named Sam, with Austrian wunderkind Mark Wirtz casting her in the broad realm of pop, though most of the songs describe romantic failures. The album thus has a tongue-in-cheek cover of Burt Bacharach’s “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” and credible renditions of Aretha’s “You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman” and Jackie DeShannon’s “Put A Little Love In Your Heart.”

Limited green vinyl 180gr press with one bonus track for RSD 2020.

2025 Repress

Operation Sole like the summer, hopefully, imminent; “Operazione Sole” like the 1967 song by Peppino Di Capri, considered, perhaps wrongly, the first ska in Italy, but certainly the first to talk about Jamaica and upbeat rhythms.
The record you have in your hand is intended to be a testimony to how much the sounds born in Kingston between the '60s and '70s had a significant influence on local pop.
With the first explosion of reggae in England between 1968 and 1970, as well as with the rise of Bob Marley to a worldwide cult phenomenon, parallel to the all-English phenomenon of Two Tone and the ska revival, Italy, always attracted by the new trends not only English, he certainly couldn't stay on the sidelines.
Therefore these innovative and unknown upbeat sounds, derived from the blues of the 1950s and mixed with a Caribbean sauce, have also taken hold in the Bel Paese.
It began as early as 1959 with the song “Nessuno” by Mina, considered to all intents and purposes a Jamaican shuffle, to arrive in a few years at blue-beat (I4 di Lucca, Claudio Casavecchi) and ska (Margherita, Peppino Di Capri , Silvano Silvi, Renzo and Virginia) and be exposed to the first reggae (for example Jo Fedeli and his Italian version of “Israelites” by Desmond Dekker). Thus, we quickly reach the end of the decade of the economic boom and the culture, styles, references change: everything becomes more busy (on a cultural, artistic and political level).
After a stalemate phase that lasted more than five years, Bob Marley's reggae (considered a sort of new Messiah) conquers the planet, including Italy: the producers and artists, even at a high level, for a few years do not remain at all indifferent to this novelty and decide to introduce the "upbeat", primarily reggae, into the various pop repertoires: well-known names such as
Loredana Bertè, Mario Lavezzi, Rino Gaetano, Ivano Fossati, Ilona Staller, Adriano Celentano, Edoardo Bennato throw themselves headlong into new sonic adventures, in a pioneering way, but often with excellent results.
The "Operazione Sole" collection wants to take the credit, instead, of proposing and discovering lesser-known artists (with the exception of Gino Santercole, former associate and relative of Il Molleggiato), often real meteors in the Italian musical panorama, who have tried to achieve (or achieve again) success by adapting the pop that was so popular in those years to the new black sounds prevailing in the West.
We are in the early 80s and we range from the most classic reggae, to Italo-disco contaminated by dub up to the true Neapolitan style which, on more than one occasion, in its being endemically "black" and full of groove, has wrung out the watch out for agreements made in Kingston and London.
“Operation Sun”: a pleasant philological work, but surrounded by an equally pleasant aura of disengagement.

* Another portion of dub plate pressure from Partial Records from UK dub stalwart’s Centry and Manasseh.
* `Foot Pedal Dub’ and `Basement Dub’ are both in-demand previously unreleased raw instrumental dub tunes from 1991 which gained sound system play from the likes of Aba Shanti.
* `Old King Cole’ from 1992 is a blazing horns instrumental followed by the dub cut `Old King Dub’, both of which appear here on vinyl for the first time.
* 300 copies only

Triple edition, packaged in thick PVC cover with a foldable double sided poster and download card.

Celebrating the 20 year anniversary of highly revered Jazz collective, Build An Ark from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2003 and releasing albums between 2004 and 2010, the Carlos Niño co-ordinated project included contributions from luminaries such Phil Ranelin, Big Black, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, Adam Rudolph, Derf Reklaw (R.I.P.), Dexter Story, Dwight Trible, Gaby Hernandez, Mia Doi Todd, Munyungo Jackson, Nate Morgan (R.I.P.) Waberi Jordan, Avotcja & many more.

This set was compiled by band leader Carlos Niño with recordings from 2001 to 2008 that have previously been released on Kindred Spirits.

Gilles Peterson says "It's a beauty!"

First ever reissue of this excellent self-titled South African jazz album by Spirits Rejoice.
Check out tracks like 'Woza Uzo Kudanisa Nathi' or 'Papa's Funk' !

The 1970s is regarded as a period of experimentation, boundary-breaking and hybridization in modern music and this spirit certainly informed the mushrooming of ideas that occurred in South African jazz during this time. In the shadow of more commercial township jive and soul, South African jazz evolved on the fringe, nurtured by passionate and enterprising independent producers who courted the interest of the mainstream with enchanting concoctions of jazz with folk, rock, soul and funk.

With a lineup hailing from far flung regions of South Africa, the mercurial sound of Spirits Rejoice and its willingness to weave a patchwork of different influences into its recordings is not hard to account for. More difficult to reconcile is that the band didn’t manage to level up to the status enjoyed by its peers in larger music markets abroad. Nevertheless, Spirits Rejoice has maintained its revered status in the collective memory of South African jazz for over four decades and their recorded artifacts return in the 2020s with the group’s vitality and energy undiminished.

When the world's chatter is hushed to a whisper and emptiness replaces clutter, time falls away completely, exposing a vast, open canvas for the imagination fill with reflection, contemplation and abstraction. On their first collaborative album, released via Caterina Barbieri's light-year's label, Grand River and Abul Mogard gaze longingly into the abyss, capturing atemporality, splendour and tranquility with confident, impressionistic sonic strokes. Dynamic and poignant, 'In uno spazio immenso' balances on a knife-edge between booming, operatic grandeur and soft-focus simplicity, casting as much light on the subtle outlines and illusory rhythms as it does its dense, almost overpowering textures.

Berlin-based Dutch-Italian composer and sound designer Aimée Portioli, aka Grand River, has been evolving her unique musical language since she released 'Crescente' on Donato Dozzy and Neel's Spazio Disponibile imprint in 2017. A trained linguist, she uses her instrumentation and advanced processes to challenge cultural perceptions, portraying emotions and moods rather than fixed, visual images. Abul Mogard meanwhile is just one of veteran Italian producer Guido Zen's many aliases, and over a series of acclaimed albums for labels like Ecstatic, Houndstooth and VCO, he's muddled fiction with stark reality, shaking kosmische synth fantasies into post-industrial ambience and blissful shoegaze memories.

The Belgian producer delivers emotion driven melodic soundscapes across three originals.

DIM KELLY returns to Lee Burridge’s All Day I Dream imprint to release his three track Homily EP. On the heels of three acclaimed EPs released on the label - Nocturna Animal in 2021, Mangrove in 2022, and Pianologic in 2023, in 2024 DIM KELLY is back once again, delivering his signature melodic sensibilities that have become a consistent fixture of the All Day I Dream catalog. When DIM KELLY recently performed at the All Day I Dream of Summer Shimmer party at the Brooklyn Mirage on June 2, unreleased tracks played from the Homily EP created some of the most unforgettable moments of the show.

Following his tenure fronting British psychedelic rock act The Web, who cut a couple of likeable albums featuring his bluesy, soulful lead, US-born vocalist Mississippi John L. Watson went solo, working with Pete Wingfield on his 1970 debut, White Hot Blue Black. Superior sophomore set Let’s Straighten It Out was released on Bob Kingston’s Spark label in 1975 and credited to John L. Watson and White Mouse, with Watson headed in a funk direction; along with the potent title track, there’s a fine cut of Gwen McCrae’s ‘Rockin’ Chair,’ making the set a sure-fire winner for Watson fans and lovers of British funk and soul.

English blues outfit Tramp had a fleeting existence in the late 60s and early 70s—here today, gone tomorrow. Based around former John Dummer Blues Band vocalist/ guitarist Dave Kelly and sister Jo Ann on harmonies and occasional lead, the group got a boost from Fleetwood Mac mainstays Mick Fleetwood, Danny Kirwan, and Bob Brunning, as well as former Savoy Blues keyboardist, Bob Hall. If not quite as compelling as their 1969 debut, this 1974 LP has the hallmark touches that made the Mac leaders of the British blues scene. Fleetwood Mac devotees and British blues lover, get stuck in!

From the deep confines of the universe, we receive emissions of HC Records’ 21st release - Those Dark Whims by UHF, the production duo and Gladio Operations label heads José Castillo and David Aragón. An exciting digital LP from which a selection of tracks have been extracted for vinyl along with remixes by two label regulars, Estrato Aurora and The Lost Boys.

Skynet Was Shy opens both the LP and the vinyl, a hypnotic starting point in which the most vibrant and crystalline electro fuses with acid sequences to generate a state of pure trance, complimented and driven by spiralling sequences and mantra-like vocals. The second track on the LP and A2 on the vinyl is The Lost Boys' remix of Skynet Was Shy. A rough and sharp reinterpretation where the use of 303 sequences continues but focuses on more of a physical than a mental dance.

Hanging Baskets reactivates the state of infinite mental suspension that underlies this powerful and bold composition with deft and minimalistic use of elements: sharp broken rhythms, a dense melodic environment but with occasional moments of pure light and a new vocal message that ignites in our minds.

The B-side kicks off with Estrato Aurora's remix of Day Dream, which as usual in the work of the acclaimed Valencian producer, extends the original version to 8 minutes, giving it an unusual emotionality created by an amalgam of sound textures that interweave multiple pads, mutant melodies and pulsating percussion. Closing the vinyl, UHF's machines join forces with the lyrics of another electro heavyweight in Protestas En Las Redes Feat. Dark Vektor, a combative discourse in which the powerful and robotic vocal message of the Terrassan producer ascend alongside the futuristic melodies, extra-dimensional violins, spatial arpeggios, and metallic rhythms of the Madrid duo.

For the fourth time now Jaqee introduces herself to the World with her impressive voice and her unique attitude. Born in Kampala, the Capital of Uganda, she began her vagabond like life the moment she was born. During her childhood, she travelled the rural areas of her home country with her parents. This is where she collected her first impressions of the life as a nomad. From birth on, wandering the earth became a part of her destiny. In the early nineties she undertook a huge step and immigrated to Sweden. The City of Gothenburg would become her adopted home from where she was able to access all the different destinies and directions, which were on offer to her. Through all the borders Jaqee crossed, music has always been her steady companion whereas it never was a stereotype thing that let her get down with any special genre, than more like a special feeling. “To do what I want in a particular moment is my motivation. I like to express myself in all kind of sounds.” So above all, she became a true nomad in the world of music. After several successful co-operations with numerous artists, in 2005 Jaqee made an impact with her debut album “Blaqalixious”, which was mainly a Soul and R&B album. “That was my direct contact to the music that a rural community in the Diaspora plays” she explains. But it did not end up there because a nomad like Jaqee does not settle anywhere. After further creative and fruitful collaborations, Jaqee released her second long player “Nouvelle d´ amour” in 2007. This time, the sound was more of a rocking, bluesy vibe. It seemed to be the total opposite to her debut album but for Jaqee it was only the next step on her path in the circle of life. “Everything is possible as long as it is real. I never wonder about things like genre as long as the vibe fits.” One step further on, she encountered the songs of Billie Holiday, which lead to the album “A letter to Billie” recorded together with Bohuslänbigband, a lovely homage to the great American Jazz Singer. Both of her first two albums each received a Swedish Grammy nomination and several appearances in the Swedish national television increased her standing as a passionate and soulful Singer. So Teka, producer and creator of many successful riddims for his co-found German label, Rootdown Records considered her to be part of his new project “Koala Desperados“, which link Caribbean vibes like Cumbia to Reggae, and while working on it a totally new idea was born. Jaqee and Teka decided to combine both their talents into one album. The results of which you can now hear on “Kokoo Girl” a refreshing mix of Old School Reggae sounds from the seventies combined with up-to-date Beats, electronic twists and turns and of course the amazing voice of Jaqee. For her, this means that she has achieved some of her ambitions. “I grew up with African Gospel, in sad and turbulent environment, so for me, this means I grasp and totally understand the reggae and its non ending struggle for the common man.” No sooner said than done and “Kokoo Girl” will become Jaqee’s fourth and newest release. All the paths she followed, countries she crossed and influences she absorbed are a part of this album. She sings with the freedom of spirit of the travelling people. The word “Kokoo” is the only memory that remains everlasting. It is just a word but its impact is so huge that Jaqee does not really like to explain it. “It implies irony and seriousness as well as sarcasm and fun.” It is more than a gimmick. “Kokoo” is a very special feeling and a clear view of the world from an artist who has seen more of it than all the people that have settled down.

"I wish I could turn or turn back" "Sometimes it’s hard to resist the feeling that there was a crucial turn in life out of which everything else flowed. Maybe in our more reasonable frames of mind we can dismiss that thought and take our plans and intentions very seriously. But, there’s often a lurking conviction that, like the oak from the acorn or the movie from its opening scene, it is already all there. In the first moment of Relics of Our Life, anything could happen, anything could come next. But as the suspense is broken with the first notes, the world of the record springs up as both an internal experience and a landscape of which we will learn something, but definitely not everything. The songs induce a swimming sense of cycling repetition and variation where shifting details tilt the ground under us. The round and round doesn’t make us dizzy; like breathing the right way, it makes us both heavier and higher. "Pawliczek’s songs can be located in the company of the greats of Flying Nun Records – maybe the delicacy of The Great Unwashed with the heavy heart of The Verlaines and smartness of The Chills. But, ultimately, his interests are elsewhere – a heart-break song over an earthly lover feels like only the tipping point for longing and devotion that outstrips the personal. In this sense, Popul Vuh for their hymnal geometry and switched-on Palestrina, and Terry Riley for cosmic elation come to mind. The songs have sweeping and cinematic proportions and depths of field constrained by a pop economy love of leanness. "But who’s supplicating whom here? The songs’ devotional quality is not upward to the sacred or even outward to the profane. It’s more like a magnetism between its elements – sounds, voices and rhythms. The track No Talk intones “why don’t you talk to me?” over a driving guitar and one feels visited by some kind of archaic god on whom the tables have been turned, finding himself jealous of our thousand little thoughts. The record finishes with his distorted lilting dance, trying to seduce us with some red red wine that is no one’s blood, but everyone’s favorite drug." -- Karina Gill (Cindy, Flowertown) 2024

Jaqee – is rhythm and life ”Places becoming journeys in themselves… Different places where I have lived and learned, places that have made my heart beat, the emotional realms that I have experienced. This is where it all starts, every time. Where I am is where it happens, because I am, there. Here.” She sings. She laughs! And she cries, too. Jaqee cannot tell when music and singing became her life, it has ”just always been there, in my head” she says. Now with the fourth album she has taken a closer look at herself, from every possible angle. No hiding. Different phases, different sides of her personality and musical creativity are all there. All as one. ”I am a diaspora kid, I fell in love with all kinds of music, I let myself embrace it all, because good music, is good music. All the way from Uganda at age 13 to the new home and culture in Sweden, then leaving Sweden as an adult for Berlin – has made me the Jaqee that I am”, says the Ugandan /Swedish artist who also received a Swedish Grammy nomination for her past work. Being on the move is without a doubt an important part of her life. “For me travelling is about being exposed to different perceptions, situations, cultures and extreme emotions, it has always made me grow. How many times have I not thought that: I wouldn’t have experienced this or that, if hadn’t been here. I love that feeling!” Jaqee’s music reflects this constant movement and progress. The album is inspired by places like Berlin, South Africa and Jamaica. The trip to Jamaica resulted in the only collaboration track on “Yes I am” recorded in Kingston with reggae artist Anthony B. Teka, the “Kokoo Girl” and “Yes I am” Producer says: ”This time around, like on the last album, we have worked with our colleagues in different countries. Musicians we love and musicians that are inspiring like Martin Hederos (The Soundtrack of our lives) who arranged the strings on the album. We also had New York drummer Daru Jones of Rusic Records play on some tracks. All these talents enhance the idea and expression that we wanted for “Yes I am”. With the album done, it is again time to hit the road and tour for Jaqee. “Getting out there and meeting the crowd is a high. We laugh, we dance and we get loud together. This is the best part of working with music – having a good time together. Music is a universal language.” On composing music, she admits that this time, more than ever, the words matter. Newly found motherhood has made this album in particular a significant legacy. Every song has a life punctuation of its own she has not limited herself by thinking in genres. Making the tone very straightforward. “The melodies and lyrics are closely intertwined, how I sing a word makes all the difference. Even though I love word play, it has to be very clear. Since I am not educated in reading music, I instead visualize and hear it, it seems to be the way my system works. It is all about rhythm and life, it is “YES I AM“.

Old Saw, the enigmatic New England collective led by Henry Birdsey (Tongue Depressor), return with their third long-playing record, Dissection Maps. It is not enough to trace the fields. The choreo-cartographic demands the casting of stone, a grassfire, a carnival; something with which to rupture the horizontality of existence and imagine the vertical. Earth is the eighth morning, folded against the week's work. The field is a line drawing of oblivion. The house is a forest in the shape of a womb. America is a quarry in the image of god. (Aidan Patrick Welby – 2024) “The band captures the American stretch, the spaces in-between and the hollowness that haunts us along those routes…fades the radio to static to let the nothingness linger among the soul.” (Raven Sings the Blues) “evokes an ambience of prayer-like solemnity that celebrates something decidedly terrestrial, what the label describes as “a rusted and granular shadow world where the dive bar meets the divine.” It recalls one of those junkyard shrines built by some sincere eccentric, improbably wonderful forms of weathered stone and scrap metal standing like totems to an unrecognised religion rooted in the earth around us.” (Various Small Flames)

Pressed On White (Lp1) & Red (Lp2) Vinyl. How do you define the music of Mantronix? Is it Hip Hop? Electro? Funk? House? Maybe the answer is all of the above (or is it none of the above?). It is true that Mantronix will be remembered for their multi-faceted sound as well as their ability to bend and blend genres flawlessly into a cohesive musical tapestry, but they will also most importantly they will be remembered as musical innovators and sub- genre pioneers. Kurtis Mantronik and MC Tee formed the group Mantronix In the early 80s. Their Sleeping Bag Records debut: Mantronix: The Album shot to commercial success on the strength of their debut single, "Fresh Is The Word". The influence of this groundbreaking debut is still felt in popular music today, having been sampled by the likes of Beastie Boys, Beck, The Prodigy and more. Kurtis Mantronik was also as dangerous behind the desk as he was behind the boards. Working as A&R for Sleeping Bag while signed to the label, Mantronik also helped recruit, sign, and produce for artists such as T La Rock and Just-Ice. Notable records from this era include, Just Ice's "Cold Gettin' Dumb" and "Back to the Old School" as well as T La Rock's "Breaking Bells (12" Version)". Traffic Entertainment Group in conjunction with Sleeping Bag Records and Warlock Entertainment now presents; Mantronix: King of the Beats, The Anthology 1985-1988. This carefully curated double LP compilation combines the best of Mantronix's work from the early, and arguably, best era of their career into one amazing listening experience. Whether you are an avid Mantronix fan or are looking for a place to start - this is the collection to wrap your ears around.

A1. Mantronix - Needle To The Groove (12” Version) A2. T La Rock - Breaking Bells (12” Version) A3. Just-Ice - Back To The Old School B1. Mantronix - Fresh Is The Word (12” Version) B2. Just-Ice - Turbo Charged B3. T La Rock - Breaking Bells (Dub Version) C1. Mantronix - We Control The Dice C2. Just-Ice - Cold Getting Dumb C3. Just-Ice - Cold Getting Dumb II C4. T La Rock - Bass Machine (12” Version) D1. Mantronix – Bassline D2. Tricky Tee - Johnny The Fox D3. Mantronix - Fresh Is The Word ‘88

Although For The Longest Time She Has Been A Chicago Resident, Ruby Andrews's Wonderfully Dramatic Vocals Sounds Like Straight From The Deep South Of The Usa. Actually, That Is Where She Was Born In Hollandale, Mississippi, In 1947. She Recorded At Least Six Albums That Are Each Highly Treasured By Soul And Funk Fans All Over The World. Black Ruby, The Brilliant Second Lp From This Marvelous Soulsinger First Appeared On The Zodiac Label In 1972. Just One Minor Nationally Charted Hit Came Off The Lp. But As A Whole It Is Even More Revered Than Her Hit-laden Predecessor Among Soul Aficionado's. It's Considered An Exemplary Classic Of A Deep- And Chicago-soul Album. The Music Has Re-appeared Some Times In One Form Or Another But The Lp Was Never Before Fully Reissued On High Quality Vinyl! Everland Is Thus Very Proud To Re-present The Black Ruby Album In Closest To Original Format With That Beautifully Designed And Shiny Psychedelic Album Cover. A True Gem Indeed.

Repress!

The neo-soul movement of the late 1990s, which fused classic soul sounds with contemporary elements, heralded the arrival of some of the greatest R&B recordings of the decade. Albums like Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo's Brown Sugar, and Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite were all born of this trend, while artists such as Mos Def, The Roots, and Common whole-heartedly embraced the sound, creating some of their most timeless material in the process.

These are some of neo-soul's great successes, but a slew of underground acts were what set the initial blueprint for their more pop-friendly acquaintances to follow. Acts such as R&B duo Groove Theory. The New York pair, consisting of singer/songwriter Amel Larrieux, and producer Bryce Wilson, (A veteran of the legendary 80's electronic group Mantronix) helped set the tone for neo-soul via their lone studio release, the self-titled Groove Theory.

The nearly hour-long record features 14 tracks of Wilson's smooth soul arrangements and atmospherics merged with golden era boom-bap beats, and Larrieux's siren-quality vocals, inspired equally by a combination of Native Tongues, peak Marvin Gaye, Joan Armatrading, Soul II Soul, as well as elements of breakbeat, jazz fusion, and even trip hop. It's a definitive, but often overlooked classic of the 1990s, which helped expand contemporary R&B's sound, render Billboard hits out the tracks "Tell Me", "Keep Tryin'", and "Baby Luv", and even found the time for a Todd Rundgren cover.

On the cusp of Groove Theory's 25th anniversary, Get On Down is proud to bring you this vinyl reissue of an underrated 90s gem. The original record has never been re-released on wax since it's 1995 debut, but is now presented here with fully remastered audio, and bundled in a full-color insert sleeve with complete lyrics and liner notes.

Repressed for the first time in 2 years, Note price change. Sermonizing Black Nationalism, Pan-Africanism and the benefits of a healthy and just lifestyle during the height of the Bad Boy/Roc-AFella era of nihilistic excess in the late 90's, Dead Prez also signed to a major label (Loud/Columbia) despite leaning much more towards the burgeoning indie aesthetics of the day. But this was a good thing – using major label muscle to wake up righteous hip-hop fans who might have fallen asleep at the wheel. The group itself – consisting of MCs stic.man and M-1, who produced or co-produced most of the duo’s music – was formed in Tallahassee, Florida in the early 1990's.

By later that decade, the duo had started making significant waves, having their music heard on the soundtracks to “Soul In The Hole” and “Slam,” as well as appearing on albums by Big Pun and The Beatnuts. By 1998, they released their first official single, the serious, stark “Police State,” on Loud, appropriately brought to the label by Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian. After building a solid rep over the next two years with fiery live performances, in 2000 they unleashed their debut album, Let’s Get Free.

The album was a welcome return to provocative and often radically political rhetoric that hearkened back to hip-hop forebears including The Coup, Public Enemy and KRS-One (as well as poetic descendants like the Last Poets and Watts Prophets). Let’s Get Free was critically acclaimed and benefited from multiple singles, including the infectious, thick analog drive of “Hip-Hop” “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop,” with a remix co-produced by a young Kanye West; “Mind Sex” (with Abiodun Oyewole of the Last Poets); and the poignant “I’m An African.”

But the singles weren’t the only worthy songs, as just about every cut here has deeper meaning than most full albums by their early 2000's peers. Highlights: the thought-provoking, anti-drug album opener “Wolves”; “We Want Freedom” “They Schools” and “Propaganda” . All in all, this is one of the more underrated and possibly Top 5 fully-realized political hip-hop albums of all time.

"The wash of flangers & shimmery reverb have been the foundation in Cali psych ever since the Byrds went electric. And while that sound might've dropped off occasionally, it never dropped out. The Velvets minimalist stylings were infused into the mix by The Dream Syndicate in the early 80's & thus a game changer was born. Clay Allison, Opal, Green On Red all took their charge from that current. Then the Shoegaze scene of the 90's looked at those bands as vectors, things got a little more drenched, so yet more seeds were sown into the fertile terroir. Cut to current climes & the bay area is teeming with the latest iterations: Children Maybe Later, Now, & Cindy easily come to mind. But curiously the band most steeped in the mohair constitution is April Magazine, who (thus far) have been content in the shadows. Up till now they've seemed like characters plucked out of a Kazuo Ishiguo novel-mysterious & ethereal-but perhaps this pressing of last year's cassette only release will flush them out. 'Wesley's Convertible Tape For The South' shows the band defly balancing all those that have come before them while also incorporating flourishes of Les Rallizes DeNudes, Hallelujahs & Nagisa Ni Te into the pageantry . So in a way, April Magazine is transforming the landscape yet again; denser, fuzzier, lush & wistfully challenging. 'Wesley's Convertible Tape For The South' is the band's 1st vinyl release stateside (an LP of older tracks was released last year via a UK only label) so no import tariffs! What were once whispers are now proclamations. Just because you don't know them doesn't mean you can't love them. So grab a copy & hug it out amongst yourselves." -- Tom Lax (Siltbreeze Records)

Nick Garrie was an unknown backpacker until his music was discovered in the late ’60s while busking in the South of France. Recognising his talent, work on a collection of recordings followed which would culminate in his legendary debut album The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas. Set to be released in 1969 on the influential French label Disc’Az, however due to the suicide of the label’s founder, Lucien Morisse, shortly before the album’s release date, only about 100 copies of this psych pop/soft rock masterpiece came into circulation. It became a cult album in the truest sense and was finally reissued almost 40 years later. With the death of Morisse, Nick took some time away from recording only to return under an alias, writing with Oscar and Golden Globe winning composer Francis Lai. His directory of credits only grew as he worked with Paul Samwell-Smith (The Yardbirds), Alun Davies (Cat Stevens’ Band), drummer Gerry Conway and Leonard Cohen. Nick Garrie grew his audience in Europe, penning an album that would top the charts in Spain. In 2005 the album The Nightmare of J.B Stanislas was reissued, achieving critical acclaim from The Independent, BBC & Record Collector. Nick’s resurgence combined with fascination of his back story led to a new generation of music fans and musicians appreciating Garrie’s work. In this tim he was collaborated with the likes of Duglas T. Stewart (BMX Bandits) Norman Blake and Francis McDonald (Teenage Fanclub) and Gary Olson (The Ladybug Transistor). Now, for the first time ever, the classic title track is to be released as a 7” single. It is also the first ever vinyl release of Nick’s work on a UK label. The B side is a song close to Nick’s heart Around the World. This track was also written in the ’60s but had never been recorded before. It was recorded at Nick’s home in late 2023 with the help of fellow 9X9 recording artist Jamie Whelligan and musician/producer Nick Frater.

Jaqee's last album with the promising title "Fly High" leads the inclined listener into a sometimes idiosyncratic fermentation of street-ready R'n'B, pop aesthetics, jazz intellect, world music earthiness, chanting Afro soul and sensitivity and softness of classical music and orchestral warmth, which is defined by Jaqee's voice throughout all tracks, but never overridden. Thilo "Teka" Jacks, who produced "Fly High", is looking for musical salvation and the courage to change things up in order to illustrate unity, also in busy, heated, African sub-currents like High Life, but also in European dancefloor stereotypes and even traces of soca and merengue, all of course always only thought of, because the real main actor is and remains Jaqee's sustained singing, her unique intonation and her voice, which sometimes sounds clear and angry, other times fragile and sensitive - that's the way it should be. Despite or precisely because of this immensely expressive character of the album, it is advisable to listen to the work several times: Jaqee makes music with sophistication and expression and a look that also allows for sheer black music entertainment, "Fly High" proves this with lasting effect. "Fly High" is now available on vinyl for the first time.

Seablite is a four-piece pop band from San Francisco inspired by 80s/90s indie and shoegaze. Seablite was formed in 2016 when Lauren Matsui (vocals / guitar) and Galine Tumasyan (vocals / bass) bonded over a mutual appreciation of early 90's Britpop and UK underground music. The pair began writing songs and soon after Jen Mundy (ex-Wax Idols) joined on second guitar and Andy Pastalaniec (Chime School) would eventually join on drums. They have released an LP (2019’s “Grass Stains and Novocaine”) and 7" single (“Breadcrumbs” c/w “Ink Bleeds”) via Emotional Response Records and a 10" EP (“High-Rise Mannequins” - recorded and produced by Alicia Vanden Heuvel of the Aislers Set) in conjunction with Spain’s Meritorio Records. The band is among San Francisco’s current indie pop renaissance and have opened for the likes of Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Charlatans and Ladytron upon their recent Bay Area visits. Seablite has finished their sophomore album, “Lemon Lights” (due out this summer on Mt. St. Mtn). Recorded over the summer of 2022, “Lemon Lights” contains 12 dreamy pop tracks showcasing the group’s continued growth and maturity and marks a strong progression from their debut album. After recording basic bed tracks with Robby Joseph, the band finished overdubs in their practice space and Lauren's apartment. The freedom of home recording allowed them to experiment, resulting in an organic and intuitive manifestation of the band's emotions and creativity - a sonic inkblot of unfiltered pop appreciation. One may hear Manchester undertones on "Hit the Wall" and “Melancholy Molly”, or the feminine noise-pop of Lush on "Pot of Boiling Water" but Seablite are not to be mistaken for anglophile copycats. Seablite incorporates the jangle of their San Francisco “Fog Pop” contemporaries on tracks like “Hold My Kite” and a relentless and driving guitar on “Blink Each Day”, while the wonderfully dark elements on “Monochrome Rainbow” and the wistful closer, “Orbiting My Sleep” give them a wide range of sounds and vibes. Mastered by Mark Gardener of Ride.

"Reissued for the first time on vinyl here’s the second album of Jamaican reggae singer George Faith, originally released on Hollywood records back in 1979.
"Wonderful soul reggae melodies backed by the likes of Sly & Robbie, Aston 'Family Man' Barrett, Tommy McCook, Earl 'Chinna' Smith and more. Produced by the one and only Bunny Lee at Harry J Studios and mixed by Scientist at King Tubby’s Studios!"

Through the folded sky to America

Ten albums in three years. That's still the cosmic mission of the Berlin post-kraut trio YELKA with Daniel Meteo, Christian Obermaier, and the namesake Yelka Wehmeier.

With the album "For," there was a Label change. After releasing three albums in 2023 with Maurice Summen, head of Fun In The Church they passed the label responsibilities to Karaoke Kalk. Karaoke Kalk is a friendly label founded in Cologne known for establishing the Berlin post-wende scene (fall of the wall scene).

The trio's fourth album was also created with Arne Berger at Popschutz Studio, and the team is definitely well-rehearsed. Instead of recording the planned tracks, the band decided to improvise the session, and all tracks, except for the krauty Doors cover "The Crystal Ship," were created in 5 days in the studio, mostly on the first or second take, but with significantly more overdubs - keyboards, backing vocals, second and third guitars, percussion, and piano. The sound of "For" has become warmer, and the album begins with a kind of 60s-Kinks feeling. Overall, the current record has become much more exuberant - like Alice in Wonderland, YELKA seem to want to restore innocence to things in the opener "Smile (Into Skies)," resulting in an uplifting hiking song for experimental outdoor bohemians.

The follow-up piece "The Boar" speaks to everyone from the north, south, west, and east and here YELKA encounter a horde of wild boars on their travels, before the vocals become hardly understandable and ghostly spooled in reverse, suddenly sounding like Damo Suzuki from CAN at the height of Tago-Mago times.

Finally, YELKA‘s "Crystal Ship," simply sails away with the wild boars into remote 4D worlds between the Cocteau Twins and X-Mal Deutschland.

In the first instrumental of the album "Is this enough?", the band reverse tracks like Jimi Hendrix in his Electric Ladyland, and we dive deeper and deeper into the endless sky until YELKA finally arrive on newly trodden sound paths with "MM" to their beginnings on their debut album "Nowhere Jive." At the popular intersection of post-rock and jazz, where guest singer Bela Hagel also likes to linger for a moment: "Sie wissen" (They know), he knows that too! Surely Rolf-Ulrich Kaiser would have had a lot of fun with his shamanistic singing on his "Kosmische Kuriere" label. The guitars sound like a desert, and the reverb reminds us of the expansive space in the opening track "Skies."

Finally, we land in Amerika, or rather, YELKA ponder the melancholic question of whether anyone still wants to travel to America with them, to the land of unlimited possibilities, the haven for artist souls all over the world. "Do you wanna dance?" Yelka Wehmeier finally asks, while a chorus in the best Sun Ra manner mantra-like repeats "Cold dogs, cool cats." The whole band sings. Everything sounds good.

Two years after the release of the Polarius EP Inner Voices Of A Clown, Danny Wolfers returns to Altered Circuits, this time under his best-known alias Legowelt, for Ruins Of Cracktopolis: a collection of "hymns to survive the dystopian circus of today's techno scene" in the artist's own words. On Do You Know Who You Never Be, a short staccato lead and dark chords revolve around a monolithic kick drum pattern that takes care of the cadence and bass. A mysterious vocoder and a laser sequence that gets torn and twisted to the max join, but the track never loses its steady pace - it gets help from shakers so much mixed to the front they could be lifted from a B'more track.

Amidst the effervescing 303 lines and bold drum sequences of In A Trance Dance All Night" Wolfers finds a canvas for a stretched synthesizer jam with eighties breaking allure. This melody, together with the pads and vocal, are drenched in reverb - they float like mist ascending from the The Hague dunes. Throughout Ruins Of Cracktopolis, more vintage Dutch West Coast, the hiss-laden broken beat that guides the bass sequences and ominous blippy synth patterns switches to a 4/4 structure and back. These make for captivating shifts in pace while the minor progressions continue unfolding. Like Twin Peaks targets prime energy once the arpeggiator sequence present from the start lowers an octave. The track runs smooth like a pomade slick-back; it's only tempered slightly when the crunchy kick and tom change place for a moody chord sequence break. Even if these four tracks target the club, they are equally suited for - quoting Wolfers again - "leisurely home listening". Their greatest strengths are, as so often, their melodic aspects.

The artist is known to be a synthesizer aficionado, but his unique personal touch immediately shines through no matter which gear he works with. The machines never seem to dominate the composing process; quite the opposite: it's as if he isn't programming or registering as much as trying to teach them his take on electronic music.

Nothing Makes Sense Without It, the seminal sophomore LP by Kind of Like Spitting, is finalyl getting the deluxe reissue that it deserves.. The group's second album, originally released in 2000, is a heartbreakingly tender effort, with songwriter Ben Barnett's signature, sullen voice aching across twelve slow-burners. Now, 24 years after its original vinyl pressing, the album has been reissued as a deluxe 2xLP featuring an entire extra LP of demos and unreleased tracks. Whether you're replacing your worn out original pressing or just discovering Nothing Makes Sense Without It, this reissue is a must have for both longtime die-hards or any fan of the music of Kind of Like Spitting's northwest indie contemporaries like Death Cab For Cutie, Pedro The Lion and Elliott Smith.

SABÏRE has now returned in 2024 with a 15 track epic, self-styled "half-concept" album, "Jätt", 5 years in the making. SABÏRE began at the tail end of 2010 as an idea to have a band that played simply what came naturally on guitar to Scarlett Monastyrski with no set genre or category. Simply the natural music. Shortly thereafter, the concept grew to accompany that sound with a big show and distinctive stylisation. The biting and sharp sound production, along with their personal lyrics, birthed for them a label for their music: ACID METAL. Not to be confused with the mind altering substance, Acid Metal took its name from the concentrated corrosive fluid not unlike the blood of the Xenomorph in the Alien films. The instruments are awash with acidic modulation, "like a drop of acid in the dark." The lyrics all hold a tinge of biting realism that once realised by the listener, stings them like a droplet of acid resting upon their skin. To take their metaphor further, their distinctive production style let's stand apart from the rest of the "modern" sound that degrades the potentcy of many new bands. They call it "brick culture," because it all sounds the same. Concentrated acid burns all the way through anything solid leaving a hot trail behind it, like the band continues to do so with garnering the attention of the world of heavy music. Band leader Scarlett Monastyrski comments : " 'Jätt' is meant to be THE sound of SABÏRE. A monolith to what we stand for artistically. We wanted this album to be its own art piece rather than simply a collection of arbitrary songs, a really 'blue' coloured sound. The physical copies hold beautifully styled texts detailing the concept for those chosen songs, as well as small epistles to accompany each track," says . “ 'Jätt' is a “blue” sounding album; the colour. You may understand that more when listening to the album yourself. The cover of 'Jätt', “Dante and Virgil in the Ninth Circle of Hell” - Gustav Doré, 1861, could be seen through a symbolic lense in which the listener is symbolised as Dante, the artist as Virgil, and the bodies locked within the ice of frozen lake as the music surrounding them; we as the artist are shepherding the listener through the mire. This could be perceived like this, or you may just see it as an attractive album cover. “ "We put our heart and soul into this one and can't wait to give our Wild Ones and Acid Fiends what they've been so patiently waiting for

January 2023, Dorset. Snow is piled at the door, icy roads are closed, and Emily Cross is in a coffin. Not a setting typical for a rebirth. But for Loma, this is where they bring their band back from the brink. "It's like a demon enters the room, whenever we get together", writer, singer and instrumentalist Cross says of the struggle to bring new Loma music into the world. Following the release of their 2020 second album Don't Shy Away, Loma's three members were cast around the globe and the band-not for the first time-entered a deep sleep. Multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer Dan Duszynski remained in his studio in Don't Shy Away's central Texas heart, but Cross, a UK citizen, moved to Dorset, and writer and instrumentalist Jonathan Meiburg left the US for Germany to research a book. In the pandemic years, even being in the same room was impossible, and attempts to start a new record faltered. The following winter, in an attempt to salvage the record and the band, Cross suggested they regroup in the UK, in the tiny stone house-once a coffin-maker's workshop-where she works as an end-of-life doula. With minimal recording gear and few instruments, Loma turned two whitewashed rooms into a makeshift studio, using a padded coffin as a vocal booth. It was a turning point. They scrapped much of what they'd made, letting a new place set a new course. The one-lane roads, hedgerows and dark skies of Dorset gave the new songs an ineffable but unmistakable Englishness. The band used the ruin of a 12th-century chapel as a reverb chamber-surprising hillwalkers who peeked in to find them singing to no one-and the sounds of Cross's chilly workshop wormed their way into the recording: a leaky pipe, a drummer's brushes on a metal lampshade, the voices left on an ancient answering machine. What emerged was How Will I Live Without A Body?: a gorgeous, unique, and oddly comforting album about partnership, loss, regeneration, and fighting the feeling that we're all in this alone. Many of its songs have a feeling of restless motion; faceless characters drift through meetings and partings, tangling together and slipping away. "I Swallowed A Stone" is like a nightmare with a happy ending; "How It Starts" and "Broken Doorbell" reflect on the challenge (and necessity) of wrestling with agoraphobia. Though the record nods to the trio's separate lives- a German percussion ensemble, a pair of Texan owls, and the surf at Chesil Beach make guest appearances-the core of Loma's sound remains intact: earthy, organic and deeply human, anchored by Cross's cool, clear voice. Loma's previous album, Don't Shy Away, was galvanized by the unexpected encouragement and contributions of Brian Eno. This time, they found inspiration in another hero, Laurie Anderson, who offered a chance to work with an AI trained on her entire body of work. Meiburg sent her a photo from his book-in-progress about the once and future life of Antarctica; Anderson's AI responded with two haunting poems. "We used parts of them in a few songs," he says. "And then Dan noticed that one of its lines, 'How will I live without a body?' would be a perfect name for the album, since we nearly lost sight of each other in the recording process." In the end, Loma's efforts to reconnect with one another are the album's central focus: what do you owe a shared past, when everyone and everything has changed? "Making this record tested us all," says Duszynski. "I think that feeling was alchemized through the music." Alchemized, because How Will I Live Without A Body? is by no means a stressed-out record: an undercurrent of deep calm runs through it. But maybe 'relaxed' isn't the right word. It's more like a feeling of relief, of making it through a tough journey together.

Cleveland death metal legends-in-waiting 200 Stab Wounds have returned with Manual Manic Procedures, a superlative sophomore effort that follows 2021’s Slave to the Scalpel, their tour de force debut. The new album is a brutal slab of old school death metal with a contemporary edge. Not for the faint-hearted, Manual Manic Procedures may well be the album that puts classic gore-themed ferocity back into the metal community’s collective consciousness. The band's debut, "Slave to the Scalpel" saw 200 Stab Wounds insinuate themselves into the minds of extreme metal fans, leading to praise from Pitchfork for their “unpretentious brilliance, pitch-black sense of humor” and an “aesthetic that’s built around a chugging, groovy riff that stomps down a path of destruction.” Manual Manic Procedures sees the band upping the ante both musically and lyrically. Ultimately, for 200 Stab Wounds, it’s all about creating art that they enjoy. “I know that if we like it, our fans will like it,” says Buhl. “That's really all that matters to us. And if we keep touring, it's just gonna get bigger and bigger. Then everyone's happy, far as I'm concerned.” The songs on Manual Manic Procedures are not safe for work – perhaps unsafe most anywhere. But that’s its dark charm in a world where even heavy music can play it too safely. 200 Stab Wounds have crafted Manual Manic Procedures for themselves and like-minded brethren: thrill-seekers, carnage cravers, horror fans, and aficionados of the most extreme metal. Above all, 200SW created a future death metal classic.

Cleveland death metal legends-in-waiting 200 Stab Wounds have returned with Manual Manic Procedures, a superlative sophomore effort that follows 2021’s Slave to the Scalpel, their tour de force debut. The new album is a brutal slab of old school death metal with a contemporary edge. Not for the faint-hearted, Manual Manic Procedures may well be the album that puts classic gore-themed ferocity back into the metal community’s collective consciousness. The band's debut, "Slave to the Scalpel" saw 200 Stab Wounds insinuate themselves into the minds of extreme metal fans, leading to praise from Pitchfork for their “unpretentious brilliance, pitch-black sense of humor” and an “aesthetic that’s built around a chugging, groovy riff that stomps down a path of destruction.” Manual Manic Procedures sees the band upping the ante both musically and lyrically. Ultimately, for 200 Stab Wounds, it’s all about creating art that they enjoy. “I know that if we like it, our fans will like it,” says Buhl. “That's really all that matters to us. And if we keep touring, it's just gonna get bigger and bigger. Then everyone's happy, far as I'm concerned.” The songs on Manual Manic Procedures are not safe for work – perhaps unsafe most anywhere. But that’s its dark charm in a world where even heavy music can play it too safely. 200 Stab Wounds have crafted Manual Manic Procedures for themselves and like-minded brethren: thrill-seekers, carnage cravers, horror fans, and aficionados of the most extreme metal. Above all, 200SW created a future death metal classic.

The long running vessel for Cameron Stallones' psychedelic excursions, Sun Araw, returns to Discrepant after last year's split with Tarzana via Keroxen sister label (KRXN033).
Without much precedent in his own - already wide-ranging - back-catalog, 'Cetacean  Sensation' discards the dubby vibes, psych-rock sunburnt jams, tropical visions, or stalking sensibilities of such classic efforts as 'On Patrol' or 'Ancient Romans' towards a deeply focused and vivid solitary approach, while still retaining this Sun Araw blissed out escapist feeling.
Composed of hydrophone recordings of whales and dolphins sourced during a summer in Galicia, 'Cetacean Sensation' paints an impressionistic and sensory floating canvas that expertly escapes both academic-like documentarian purposes and any new-age spa vibrations one could associate with such subject matter. Processing those raw recordings into alluring collages that flow gracefully between moments of clear eco-location  and submerged impressions of wildlife social dynamics. By the third track - Dance of the Minke - we're introduced to this ringing MIDI tone that evokes a CD-ROM era of mystic educational programs and click-and-deploy strategies  that still feel very much like an unfulfilled future, conjured again by 'Spider Crab Elegy's sparse keyboard pads and sound effects that give way to this properly elegiac tentative melody. 'The Spider Crab Point' ends the album on a more uneasy vibe, with synth tones pointing towards no particular direction, confounding and strangely inviting at the same time. As sensations often do.
Music written and produced by Cameron Stallones using hydrophones and digital synthesisRecorded in 2019 in Galicia, ES
Mastering by Rashad Becker

If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't listen to records. I very rarely listen to jazz records because they all do the same thing. I only listen to original musicians like Ahmad Jamal and Duke Ellington, musicians like Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane." A true icon, Miles Davis left an indelible mark on the genre through his recordings. "The Miles Style" is a compilation of his masterpieces, the timeless quality of the album and Miles Davis' ability to reshape jazz make it a classic

Everybody's still talking about the good ol 'days! A rough and rugged collection of ol' dirty classics that have inspired swarms of killer beats. A head nod to the sounds of Shaolin, the twelve chambers of Shanghai'd Soul have moved lyrical chefs and production geniuses alike to compose some of their most ominous hip-hop. Gods and Earths a like will appreciate the raw funk and smoother-than-a-Lexus soul that come to gether like Voltron on this special compilation. As sampled b y J. Cole, The Game, Cappadonna, The Avalanches, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke, Anderson.Paak, Loyle Corner, Meek Mill, T.I., Quavo, Danny Brown, and hundreds more.

Everybody's still talking about the good ol 'days! A rough and rugged collection of ol' dirty classics that have inspired swarms of killer beats. A head nod to the sounds of Shaolin, the twelve chambers of Shanghai'd Soul have moved lyrical chefs and production geniuses alike to compose some of their most ominous hip-hop. Gods and Earths a like will appreciate the raw funk and smoother-than-a-Lexus soul that come to gether like Voltron on this special compilation. As sampled b y J. Cole, The Game, Cappadonna, The Avalanches, Kanye West, Hudson Mohawke, Anderson.Paak, Loyle Corner, Meek Mill, T.I., Quavo, Danny Brown, and hundreds more.

All Again. That's the title of the upcoming full-length record from Philadelphia's Queen of Jeans. The LP tracks an entire arc that, by the final hazy vibrato wash of "Do It All Again," bleeds back into the ambient first seconds of the record. "Thought I'd call tonight, hear how you're dealing," Miriam Devora sings to a distant lover on opener "All My Friends" in a neon-lit, melancholy tenor, the precise sound of lonesome love. The full band joins her in a beautiful night time sway, but it's still no use: "I got all my friends around, but I'm not home til I'm alone with you."The rest of the record follows this relationship as it tumbles through loneliness and longing, to elation and joy, to pain and anger, and finally to its foggy close, where Devora admits, "If I got to do it all again, I'd find you there like I did back then."Releasing on Memory Music, All Again is principally an enveloping, rich indie-rock record, changing dance partners between cheek-to-cheek '60s pop sweetness, '90s alt-rock dirt, spacious and pained emo, and the songcraft and melodicism of the sharpest acoustic singer-songwriter acts. Devora (vocals, guitar, keys) and Matheson Glass (lead guitar, piano) took extra care this time to create a Queen of Jeans full-length that reflected in sound and structure the emotional depths they were exploring.It's the first time since their 2015 debut, Dig Yourself, that they've had a full band, with drummer Patrick Wall and bassist Andrew Nitz, to build with. Where on releases like 2022's sparkling lockdown-pop Hiding In Place Devora and Glass had gone into producer and mix/master engineer Will Yip's Studio 4 with sketches and worked with Yip to arrange the songs in studio, this time, they went in with a complete vision for the record. That allowed them to use studio time to expand the record's sonic boundaries. "We had a lot more room to play with some of the ear candy we've always wanted to explore and get weirder in the studio," says Glass.Those elements lend a physicality and playfulness to the memory and emotions that unfurl through All Again. "We're trying to tell the story of when you look back at an important relationship," says Glass. "Years go by, and the more you reflect on it, it becomes more warped and the facts become a little bit more murky. We wanted to play with that and get surreal with the story." (Literally: listen for a "monster" voice in the already-released banger "Karaoke.") The record's artwork, conceptualized by Devora, renders this idea with devastating clarity.

Step into the unknown with URN's latest masterpiece, 'Surprise Me.' In this kaleidoscope of sound, genres intertwine like threads in a tapestry of boundless creativity. Led by the enigmatic Jakub Volovar, each track is a journey into the depths of emotion and imagination.


From haunting melodies to pulsating rhythms, 'Surprise Me' defies classification, inviting listeners on a sonic adventure through uncharted territory. Like a meticulously crafted collage, it weaves together elements of jazz, trap, and beyond with effortless grace.

While a sense of doom lingers in the shadows, it never overwhelms; instead, it adds depth and texture to an already mesmerizing landscape. With 'Surprise Me,' URN proves once again that true art knows no boundaries.

Like an unsent love letter to a psychedelic London where everyone is trying to find their way to a secret Television Personalities gig, Cuneiform Tabs emerge with an astounding debut of lo-fi pop and DIY experimentation. A hazy collage of joyful heartaches, twisted children's TV themes and sing-song melodies, the album echoes the sounds of '60s AM radio from a dozen narrow alleyways to the North.

Over 18 months, the Tabs' Matt Bieyle and Sterling Mackinnon traded 4-track tapes between the Bay Area and the UK. While they previously played together in indie band Violent Change, the duo's physical distance and their songwriting process of building, blurring and distorting across the Atlantic would create something no one saw coming. Grabbing any instruments at their disposal and splitting vocal duties, Bieyle and Mackinnon pushed their Tascam to its limit to make glittering, odd-shaped gems.

There is an insular feel to Cuneiform Tabs, suited for late nights after the entire city has stumbled into dreamtime or lazy afternoons when you can't quite recall where you need to be, but you know you won't make it there on time. It's like a pirate radio show where Bob Pollard alternates Swell Maps and Cleaners From Venus records while randomly unplugging various bits of gear and reading passages from a book on R.D. Laing.

Originally released in a hyper-limited artist edition, W.25TH / Superior Viaduct is thrilled to bring this kaleidoscopic LP to a wider audience.

Repress!
Note - Sleeve says contains a bonus CD, these represses do not have a bonus CD, they have a download card.

Hate Your Friends is the 1987 debut album by the Lemonheads, one of only three full-length releases to feature the original band line- up of Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. The album showcases a hardcore-punk-to-pop-rock sound and sensibility as playfully fierce as it is surprising…especially to listeners who know the band only from their better-known major label recordings of the 1990s. The roots of Hate Your Friends begin with the genesis of the band itself: when high school friends Ben Deily and Evan Dando—inspired by a shared love of the 70’s absurdist comedy troupe the Firesign Theatre, literature, and punk rock—began playing their own songs together in 1985. Dando and Deily first started out as a two-piece ensemble: swapping back and forth between a shared Guild guitar (and a crappy amp) and vocal mic, and pounding a drum kit “borrowed” from the high school jazz band. With the addition of classmate and friend Jesse Peretz on bass, the two-man outfit quickly became a power trio. With a handful of original songs, a passionate love for their favourite bands—from Husker-Du, the Replacements, Black Flag and the Germs, to the Saints, Wire and ‘77 UK punk—and a tiny recording budget, the Lemonheads set about their first studio session within days of their high school graduation in June of 1986. During that summer, a significant amount of what would become the band’s debut album was recorded in Brookline, Massachusetts, with Deily and Dando sharing vocal, guitar and drumming duties. Above and beyond bass, Jesse proved pivotal as the band’s manager, booker and tireless promoter—helping arrange for the Lemonheads self-released debut EP, Laughing all the way to the cleaners, later that summer, and shortly thereafter helping establish the relationship with Curtis Casella of TAANG! records that paved the way to full-length LP Hate Your Friends. Finally, with the addition of full-time (and fairly short-lived) drummer Doug Trachten, the last songs of Hate Your Friends were recorded in the winter of 1986-7. BONUS TRACKS: This Fire Records re-issue features bonus tracks including 12 never-before-released live tracks from a 1987 radio session, rare tracks from the early compilation Crawling From Within, and additional tracks not included on the original release of Hate Your Friends (“Buried Alive” and “Gotta Stop”).

Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders' score to the zom-rom-com Warm Bodies faced a tall order: their music had to balance genuinely scary moments, romantic moments, bits of comic relief, and convey the quiet despair of a post-apocalyptic world. The duo delivers on all counts: highlights include the quirky, wittily named "Music for Airports," the strangely poignant "Zombie Bros," tense cues such as "Run for It," and hopeful tracks like "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." Elsewhere, "Admission to Dream" and "Looking for Julie/Balcony Serenade" add more depth and atmosphere to the proceedings . Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders have collaborated in creating numerous soundtracks, including that of The Hurt Locker, for which they received an Oscar nomination for the best soundtrack in 2010.

Gabriel Birnbaum cuts straight to the spiritual essence of the characters he inhabits, painting affecting and lovingly drawn scenes bolstered by cathartic hooks. Like one of his own espoused patron saints, Paul Simon, Birnbaum sets new challenges for himself with each recording, honing the nuts and bolts of his songcra and pinpointing unexpected new aesthetic contexts for it. The lush and psychedelic folk-rock songs on his new album Patron Saint of Tireless Losers confidently cut to the essence of his artistry, highlighting a mature narrative voice, and a consistently surprising musical syntax. As much as anything Birmbaum has put into the world, it's a tour de force that thrives on both self-assuredness and restlessness_marks of a crucial and constantly evolving artist whose work it's impossible to turn away from once you tap into its frequency.

The new album from Lebanese-American musician Solpara, Melancholy Sabotage, marks his full length debut and return to Nicolas Jaar's Other People label. While it was recorded over Covid lockdowns, Jaar had been talking about wanting to back a Solpara full-length since he put out Swing. The album came to life while Solpara was living alone in a Brooklyn loft, collecting unemployment checks and viewing ample free time as the artist residency he'd dreamed of; he'd previously been forced to make music in odd windows between numerous jobs and the unmerciful pace of city life. Free from obligations, he would wake up early to take Arabic lessons online, read Tracey Thorn's autobiography, and skateboard the deserted streets, then come home and design sounds until he had a track that felt like it needed to be released. While this easy going lifestyle was peaceful in many ways, Solpara found more complex inspiration in the emotion that stemmed from participation in Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, which rocked all of his extended family members in Lebanon.

Melancholy Sabotage explores the theme of sabotaging melancholy. Echoing sounds from the post-punk, trip-hop, and ambient genres, it is about sabotaging the cycle of melancholy and looking at this process without ignoring the sources that put it into motion. It may be compared to a rattling breaking free from retention, reaching states of dreamy euphoria while simultaneously acknowledging the sources of retention, viewed from above. The sources can be personal, political, or socio-economic. They are to be apprehended post-melancholy, after the sabotaging of the initial cycle of melancholy. In other words, it is about transcending melancholy and understanding where it came from with some distance. It may be beautiful and healthy to feel for a while, but how may one sabotage this cycle when it becomes paralyzing? Ultimately, this album is about feeling melancholy but also resisting it and naming the sources that initiated it.

"Time To Hold Better" points to neglect on both personal and group levels. "This Time Last Year" is a personal time capsule. "We Keep Us Safe" is about solidarity, autonomy, and care witnessed within protest groups. "Melancholy Sabotage" is a sonic exploration of the album concept illustrating anger and sadness, but finally, resistance and liberation from these feelings. "Measures" is a more fluid exploration of the latter after the initial storm has passed. "We Don't Owe" points to bigger bodies inflicting harm on populations that we owe nothing to. "Breaking Points" harkens the times that we may lose focus while pushing to transcend melancholy. "Eviction" is about being pushed out of a space unwillingly while simultaneously being forced to move forward.

Melancholy Sabotage pulls from a range of genres, uniting electronic sounds under the same post-punky glow. It pulls from complex, heavy themes including damage and injustice, presenting Solpara's most moving body of work to date. It highlights the poignance that has always been at the heart of his fluid sound, which caters to dancefloors and avant-garde spaces in equal measure. Working with a mix of dissonant guitars, distorted drum machines, and distant, reverb-washed vocals, Melancholy Sabotage is Solpara's uneasiest outing to date. The record pinpoints the duality at the heart of Solpara's sound, which is as plaintive as it is searing.

“More than ever, people need to hear songwriters talk about their lives. We don’t always have to search for monster hits. We can just write about our lives and maybe that might actually work. That’s what this record is a lot of. A lot of massive songs, but also a lot of me just writing authentically and honestly about my life. Flyin symbolizes the next phase of my career. I feel like I'm flying into this chapter where I’m the best version of myself that I've ever been. Y’all better catch-up or you’re getting left behind. I’m on fire!”

HOMESHAKE ist das Projekt des kanadischen Home-Producers Peter Sagar, dessen Sound halluzinatorisch und herzzerreißend in seinen Schreien nach Verbindung ist, strukturiert, tiefgründig, auf einzigartige Weise seine vielfältigen Einflüsse würdigend. "Horsie", das siebte HOMESHAKE-Album und das zweite in 2024, vertieft Sagars Beziehung zu Einsamkeit und Angst und untersucht diese Themen im Kontext von Live-Auftritten. Die 12 Songs verwenden von Künstlern wie Four Tet und My Bloody Valentine beeinflusste Texturen, die rhythmischen Formen von D’Angelo und Sade sowie Ambient Americana-Momente im Stile Ry Cooders.
Following March's CD Wallet, HOMESHAKE presents his second album of 2024, Horsie. Written and recorded at his home studio in Toronto, it explores Sagar’s complicated feelings about returning to live performance. Deepening his relationship to loneliness and anxiety, the record examines those themes in the context of touring.

Horsie employs various textures influenced by artists like Four Tet and My Bloody Valentine, the rhythmic forms of D’Angelo and Sade, and moments of ambient Americana found in the works of Ry Cooder. The cornerstone pieces of gear used were an Ensoniq EPS and Roland Juno 60, though the album also employs a great deal of electric guitar, along with his beloved SP-404. He maintains a philosophy of “less is more,” finding the simplest route from one point to another.

HOMESHAKE, the musical project of Peter Sagar, is an expression of adjustment and contortion within the world as he experiences it and the sounds he wants to hear in it. Hallucinatory and heartbreaking in its cries for connection, Sagar’s sound is often imitated but has proven to be entirely his own; textural and profound, uniquely honoring his diverse influences but adrift within its own transportive imagination.

"Toujours l'été" is the very first Les Négresses Vertes Best Of on Vinyl. 12 classic track on white vinyl edition fairly priced , from" Sous le soleil de Bodéga", "Voilà l'été" to "Zobi La mouche " and Massive Attack's cult remix of "Face à la mer " .
Les Négresses Vertes are a cult french alternative band formed in 1987 with a unique sound. The original line up was a group of 9 friends, some of them never played music before : we can say they very quickly improved . They can be best described as a fusion of world music and alternative rock. Their particular music influences were Raï, Mediterrean music and French café / chanson française up to lyrics. They were in the same time a big band & a rock band with tremendous concerts throughout the UK & Europe . After two first and cult albums "Mlah" & "Famille Nombreuse" and the death of the former charismatic singer Helno, the band decided to keep on playing with Stéphane Mellino & (Matias) Canavese replacing Helno as the main songwriters & singers. After "Zig-Zague" & "Trabendo" albums, they disbanded in 2001.
Following a few live reunions , Stéphane & Iza Mellino ,original members, reformed the live band in 2018 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of cult debut album "Mlah" with an intensive French tour. They have kept playing since and will be back onstage from late spring 2024 for a 30 dates new tour visiting a few countries and very likely to be extended in 2025. Longue vie aux Négresses Vertes

Flunk's third ordinary album 'Personal Stereo' was released in 2007.

The album "Personal Stereo" is similar to the first two ("For Sleepyheads Only" (2002) and "Morning Star" (2004)) in that it is centered around Anja's elf-like vocals over Ulf's programmed electronica and Jo's layers of guitars and other stringed instruments. And even if uplifting melancholy is still the Flunk trademark, and Anja sings more beautifully than ever, "Personal Stereo" is in some ways darker than its predecessors. But it also sees a return to the debut album notion of cutting and pasting from the last 30 years of popular music, sometimes in an obvious way (as on the title track and "Change My Ways"), other times as more obscure nods to Flunk heroes. One of them, cult favorite Daniel Johnston, contributes with vocals on "Haldi".

As usual, Flunk's "budget pop" is recorded and produced in its entirety in bedrooms in two different apartments in Oslo, at Ulf's and Jo's.

The album has not been available on vinyl. Until now! It will be printed in a limited run of 200 copies.

On February 28th 2020 NEAERA released their 7th album – it was their self-titled comeback record after a 7-year-hiatus - which caught everyone by surprise. Despite having been very well perceived the pandemic impeded the band’s long awaited and already scheduled return to the live stages. On February 29th 2020, NEAERA played a successful and sold out release show in the band’s hometown, but it remained the only show for the record in years since Wacken, the Impericon festivals and other shows had to be postponed until further notice which was a huge setback for the ambitious quintet. Sebastian Heldt (drums), Tobias Buck (guitar) and Stefan Keller (guitar) used the unfortunate state of the pandemic and the impossibility to play live shows to create something new. Together with Marcus Bischoff of German metalcore institution Heaven Shall Burn and old friend Tristan Hachmeister they unearthed a black metal project by the name of OUR LOSS IS TOTAL and released the bleak full-length record “I” end of 2022 through the project’s own label. After that release, the NEAERA band members decided it was time write new material. The band wanted to go back to an old school approach, like in the old days, when they wrote the songs together in their little rehearsal room in their hometown of Münster, North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. The band started the writing process in September 2021, skipped the first material and then started with a new approach to a more free and less comfortable style, trying to leave old boundaries behind. By 2022, NEAERA played the postponed Wacken Open Air show – which was an overwhelming experience – and asked Janosch Rathmer (drummer of long-time friends and post rock institution Long Distance Calling) to record the band’s new album ALL IS DUST. The mixing and mastering was skilfully handled by Kristian Kohle at Kohlekeller Studios (Powerwolf, Aborted, Electric Callboy) who adorned the songs with the exact right powerful yet organic sound. In terms of lyrics, NEAERA shifted their approach a little bit and put the individual and its survival and well-being center stage – beside lyrics that deal with global or social clamour; a shift that can be called pandemic infused. 2024 marks the 20th band anniversary and is the perfect timing to release the eighth studio album, ALL IS DUST. Nothing can stop the band this year with two video clips at hand and prestigious summer festivals confirmed such as Summer Breeze, Reload and Vainstream Rockfest, the latter being the album release show in front of 20,000 people!

“Black Magic Man is arguably the pivotal Joe McPhee release. It bridged the span between the regional and the international, bypassing the national altogether. “Recorded in the same sessions that produced Nation Time, Black Magic Man consists of music not chosen for that LP. Like its much-feted sister, technically it falls under the domain of CjR, Craig Johnson’s herculean effort in support of McPhee. An erstwhile painter, Johnson became a self-taught audio engineer, acquiring equipment expressly to document McPhee’s music. In December 1970, five years after Johnson and McPhee had met, they recorded two days of activity —a concert followed by an additional day of recordings—at Vassar College where McPhee was teaching in the Black Studies department. About half of the material was used to make Nation Time. While they had planned to issue a follow-up, the money wasn’t there, so the tapes sat dormant. “Fast-forward five years—Werner X. Uehlinger, a Swiss businessman who worked for Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, contacted Johnson while on a trip to the US, and over dinner with McPhee, they discussed putting out some of the unused tracks from the Nation Time sessions. With this casual encounter in 1975, Hat Hut Records was inaugurated. The new label’s maiden release was Black Magic Man, dubbed Hat Hut A, the first in what would become Hat Hut’s letter series. Along the way, the series would feature seven Joe McPhee records, including the first four in a row.” —John Corbett (excerpt from the liner notes)

Kaipa sind zurück! Im Sommer 1964 begann die musikalische Karriere von Hans Lundin, als er Mitglied seiner ersten Band als Organist und Sänger wurde. Er sagt, dass die folgenden Jahre "die beste Ausbildung waren, die ich je bekommen konnte". Neun Jahre später, 1973, gründete er die Gruppe KAIPA. Jetzt, 60 Jahre nach Beginn seiner Karriere, sind er und seine aktuellen Bandkollegen Per Nilsson, Jonas Reingold, Darby Todd, Patrik Lundström & Aleena Gibson stolz darauf, die Veröffentlichung von Kaipas 15. Studioalbum "Sommargryningsljus" (Summer Dawn Light) anzukündigen. "Eine flüsternde Morgendämmerung, die Sonne ist auf dem Weg, um einen brandneuen Tag aus den Schatten der Nacht zu eröffnen", heißt es zu Beginn des Songs "Songs in Our Hands". Das Thema der Morgendämmerung lag Hans Lundin in seinem Songwriting schon immer sehr am Herzen. Auf seinem selbstbetitelten Debütalbum, das 1975, also vor 49 Jahren, erschien, schrieb er darüber in dem Lied "Se var morgon gry". Auch in den Liedern "Dagens port" und "Visa i sommaren" auf den folgenden Alben kehrte er zu diesem Thema zurück. Mit dem neuen Album schließt er den Kreis und kehrt dorthin zurück, wo alles begann. "Sommargryningsljus" enthält acht Stücke, die eine nächtliche Reise von der Abenddämmerung bis zum Morgengrauen darstellen, wobei die ersten beiden Stücke die Dämmerung und die letzten beiden die Morgendämmerung repräsentieren. Diese nächtliche Odyssee kann als Metapher für den Zustand zwischen Tod und Wiedergeburt oder als Allegorie des Lebens in umgekehrter Reihenfolge betrachtet werden.

French saxophonist Musina Ebobissé unveils ARMAUN, his third release under the Blendreed name. ARMAUN – Ambient Resistance Music Against Urban Noise – takes a stand against the interference of invasive irritants with sublime slow motion music. Its four pieces evoke an ecstatic peace, allowing both artist and listener to breathe deeply. As the compositions unfold, each exhalation resonates at the frequency of the human mind in repose.

Layers of treated and reverberant saxophone fuse into a hypnagogic whole, as elongated melodies interact with their own fragmented and transformed echoes. In a semi dream state, existence is experienced at a languid pace, as each phrase decays into a haze of crosscurrents.

If ARMAUN recalls the fourth world music of Jon Hassell and Eno, it equally finds oblique kinship with André 3000's "New Blue Sun". Likewise, it shares essential DNA with vaporwave and the tape-loop experiments of Terry Riley. Conceived as a confluence of acoustic and electronic elements, Blendreed explores the intersection of jazz, ambient, post-rock and experimental music.

This is work of exquisite beauty with a direct function. It provides an antidote to the bombardment of our senses. After unhooking your mind from temporal entanglements, ARMAUN will absorb your soul.

Formed by drummer Bill Curtis in 1970 the Fatback Band signed to Perception Records who issued this debut album in America in 1972.

Recorded at Blue Rock Studio in New York, “Let’s Do It Again” featuring the soon to be patented Fatback sound, the album included originals like ‘Street Dance’ – that became a Billboard R&B hit in 1973 – ‘Free Form’, ‘Take A Ride (On The Soul Train)’ , ‘Give Me One More Chance’, ‘Goin’ To See My Baby’ and the title track. There were also cover versions of Jimmy Webb’s ‘Wichita Lineman’, David Gates ‘Baby I’m A Want You’ and the evergreen ‘Green Green Grass Of Home’.

“Let’s Do It Again” has been out of print for many years and Ace are delighted to be reissuing it on vinyl – with the full cooperation of Fatback founder Bill Curtis.

These two Leon Thomas cuts have become increasingly sought after by DJs in recent years. So, we’re delighted to pair both full-length versions on this 33rpm 7”.

For his 1973 Flying Dutchman LP “Full Circle” Thomas teamed up with top New York session players like Pee Wee Ellis, Joe Farrell and Neal Creque. The latter composed the apocalyptic funky jazz of ‘It’s My Life I’m Fighting For’. Running for ten minutes it’s a classic.

Thomas and Creque also wrote the dramatic five minute long ‘Shape Your Mind To Die’ which, fuelled by Pee Wee Ellis’ amazing soprano saxophone, appeared on Thomas’ previous album “Blues And The Soulful Truth” in 1972.

Mit einer Mischung aus klassischem Südstaaten-Rock und modernem Country macht Kyle Daniel Blue-Collar-Musik für Rockclubs, Honky-Tonks und alles, was dazwischen liegt. Nach hunderten Live-Shows veröffentlicht Daniel via Snakefarm ein hymnisches Debütalbum, das bis zum Rand gefüllt ist mit Gibson-Grit, Telecaster-Twang und der hart erkämpften Unverwüstlichkeit eines Straßenkämpfers, der jahrelang sein Lehrgeld bezahlt hat.

Immerse yourself in the immersive world of Succession like never before with the Official Soundtrack on vinyl. Discover the soundscape that accompanies the gripping drama of the Roy family's power struggles, brought to life through a selection of tracks that capture the essence of the acclaimed series.

Featuring both original compositions and carefully selected classics, the Succession vinyl soundtrack offers an emotional journey through the highs and lows of the Roy dynasty. From moments of intense family conflict to triumphs of corporate conquest, each track takes you deeper into the heart of the story, making it a must-have for fans and collectors alike.

Treat yourself to the luxurious experience of vinyl and enhance your listening sessions with the rich, warm tones that only analogue audio can offer. Add the Succession vinyl soundtrack to your collection today and immerse yourself in the world of power, wealth and family intrigue

An exercise in control of auditory limitations and possibilities, GAEL redefines techno production with their comprehension of cold atmospherics and meticulous world building. Exemplified in their first solo EP ‘Frozen White Horse’ released on BITE Records, fervent, hurtling drums are underpinned by hopeful euphorics and circulating, breathy cybernetics. A culmination of sophisticated sonic dialects reared from the intersections of soundscaping and electronic music, the berlin-based DJ/Producer from Dagestan (by-way-of Kyiv and Odesa) commits their practice to the inclusivity of borderless, capricious and emotive dance- floor synergy. This energy was previously captured on BITE last year with their appearances on the Shedding Skin VA and The Soft Moon’s Exister Remixed. GAEL’s harmonic and organic approach to techno production echoes the heartbeat of dancefloor resistance,captivating audiences across venues from Berlin’s Berghain to Kyiv’s ∄ as a resident at the queer event series XITb. Delivering thunderous feeling through experimental sounds and masterful pacing, the 4-track-EP blurs the margins of moody techno exploration with remarkable attitude and a foreboding sense of uphill struggle. For the opening title track, a procession of stacked chords,synths and snares are met with a cyclone of galloping percussion building to maximum intensity until dispersing into echoey chimes. As the listener is able to catch their breath, the second track ‘prpttcxsstnc’ reignites - this time with trepidatious yet ethereal vibration, as the track continues to inject GAEL’s post-punk style of galvanised energy, rich layered drums maintain the undercurrent of resolute chaos into the following track ‘there is nothing left’. Sombre track titles are off-set by triumphant vigour for the third instalment, pushing through gale force drums and the clanging zaps and bleeps of electronic debris. Concluding with the final cacophony of collaged beats and drums, bellowing siren-like cold wails meld with GAEL’s calamity crescendo of crashing cymbals, the procession of rapturous drums slipping into a distant echo of warped hollow gleams.

"Multiplatinum hitmakers Fastball are remembering it's okay to have hits. Reflecting on their meteoric rise with chart-topping debut “The Way,” guitarist/vocalist Miles Zuniga wryly remarks, “I like to say that ‘The Way’ gave us the freedom to continue doing what we do.”

And what Fastball does is write hits. Their latest, Sonic Ranch, produced by David Garza (Fiona Apple) and John Fields (Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus), is ten sing-along gems, combining pop smarts & the wisdom of 30 years together."

B-side features “Torii Gates” on vinyl for the first time ever due to fan demand.

Acclaimed by outlets like Aquarium Drunkard and NPR, who praised his, “Cosmic country with a gentle sweetness, reminiscent of Beachwood Sparks and Silver Jews at their twangiest.”

His rhythm section is drummer Dana Buoy (Akron/Family) and bassist Alex Chapman and enlists pedal steel player Connor Gallaher (Anna St. Louis, Lana Del Rey) to flesh out the songs.

2024 festival plays at Treefort, Kilkenny Roots, Otis Mountain Get Down, and west coast summer tour.

Publicity campaign by Riot Act Media

Recent touring with William Tyler, Fruit Bats, and more.

RIYL: JJ Cale, Mapache, William Tyler, Steve Gunn, Rose City Band, Amen Dunes, Jake Xerxes Fussell, SUSS, North Americans, Chuck Johnson

Underground lifer Nick Sakes returns on the debut LP from Upright Forms. The tight-knit Minneapolis trio feels like the culmination of Sakes' varied and prolific career to date, bringing together the unhinged prog-punk ferocity of Dazzling Killmen & Colossamite with the careening chaos of Xaddax and the shout-along hooks and dynamic songcraft of Sicbay. Blurred Wires is skewed yet tuneful, challenging yet compulsively listenable, concise yet brimming with invention. The experience of a lifetime distilled to 33 rotations across a gripping 33 minutes.

Consider “They Kept on Living,” a song that first appeared in an earlier version on the SKiN GRAFT comp Sounds to Make You Shudder!. It starts off with a grinding 7/4 groove, with cryptic lines over scratchy noise-punk chords. After a brief build, the band explodes into a massive chorus, with Sakes shouting the title line against a fist-pumping riff.

The trio sound equally convincing digging into the pummeling aggression of “My Lower Self,” where Sakes’ vocals start off as a feral snarl and then soar triumphantly during the chorus, or the soothing indie-pop hush of the Paster-penned “Drive at Night.”

Various “tug-at-your-heartstrings” touchstones informed “Long Shadow”. Sakes channeled Television Personalities, cult heroes of melodic British post-punk, on “Animositine,” which he accurately labels “our prettiest song.”

Nearly 35 years into his career, Sakes is finding new ways to challenge himself — and in Paster and Westphal, he’s found two musicians who are equally comfortable with both the thorniest and the loveliest manifestations of underground rock. When they reflect on their chemistry, they agree that their openness to collaboration is, as Sakes puts it, “one of our superpowers.”

On Blurred Wires, that superpower yields dynamic, challenging and profoundly memorable results.

Limited Edition MOD Compact Disc in Digipak Lite packaging."

Seven years after its last LP, the Del McCoury Band returns to take on the challenge with Songs of Love and Life. A glorious 13-song collection, the album follows 2021’s celebrated release, Almost Proud, and once again features Del touching down on a diverse set of tracks--vintage and contemporary--as he and his crackerjack Band nod to icons Kenny Rogers, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley, as well as welcome next-generation talent, Molly Tuttle, to the party.

Produced by Del and his son, Ronnie, Songs of Love and Life showcases one of the greatest storytellers in music, delivering another rousing assembly of absorbing, compelling, and unforgettable tales.

Still, even among the pantheon of music’s finest artists, Del McCoury stands uniquely apart. From the nascent sound of bluegrass that charmed hardscrabble hillbilly honkytonks, rural schoolhouse stages, and the crowning glory of the Grand Ole Opry to the present-day culture-buzz of viral reels and digital streams, from Bill Monroe to Billy Strings, it is Del who’s the living link. And, like any genuine national treasure, the gifts keep coming.

With beauty and precision, Del and the boys bring home another endearing album of traditional bluegrass music. Brimming with hot licks, classic songcraft, and Del’s matchless vocal delivery, the Del McCoury Band and its latest, Songs of Love and Life, once again raise the gold-bar standard of bluegrass yet another notch. This is a baker’s dozen from a bushel; the best songs Del’s selected from the bounty to meet his latest challenge. “I get a big feeling of accomplishment when I get a new record out,” says the 85-year-old legend. “I never get tired of it.”"

Fourteen new and previously unreleased tracks from some of the most exciting current bands from Seattle, Washington's vibrant alternative-rock underworld.
Continuing in the spirit of regional compilation albums like 1988's Sub Pop 200, "From Far It All Seems Small" serves as a snapshot of the contemporary Seattle scene.

"From Far It All Seems Small" jumps off the speakers with an onslaught of fuzz and an abundance of hooks. You might find yourself flipping the sleeve over, expecting to see a release date from the 1990's, but no, these are Seattle's finest here and now! - Jackson Long (KEXP, HMS Studio)

A wonderful document of the current moment of Seattle indie. - Ole Johnson (Painter Man Records)

A collection of songs that will get stuck in your head by Seattle's best alt-rockers. - Ellen Rumel (PNW music photographer)"

Sid Spada unveils his first project, STELLAGONY, a unique musical adventure. After several collaborative projects, the Geneva rapper withdrew to craft nine tracks. Nine unique pieces in the sonic puzzle that contemporary rap has become.

STELLAGONY is a chronicle of adolescence, its wanderings, its parties, its excesses, and a certain form of self-destruction. Entering a new phase of his life, Sid Spada scrutinizes his last ten years to narrate his mental and artistic evolution. This project is like a window to the past that allows its author to step back and embrace the future possibilities serenely.

This artistic maturity forged during long months in the studio opens a new era. Each track, shaped by RougeHotel's production (Stranacorpus), who co-signs all the instrumentals of the project, serves as a sonic exploration rather than following fleeting trends.



The album's atmosphere dances between melancholy and the fantasy permitted by hyperpop, drawing from Latin and club sounds. A skillful balance between dark emotions and avant-garde energy is established.

STELLAGONY, produced by Sid Spada's label iuven, is set for release in the spring on Les Disques Magnétiques, a Geneva-based label affiliated with Bongo Joe Records.

Lenticular Sleeve / White Vinyl. When Jack Tatum began work on Life of Pause, his third full-length to date, he had lofty ambitions: Don't just write another album; create another world. One with enough detail and texture and dimension that a listener could step inside, explore, and inhabit it as they see fit. "I desperately wanted for this to be the kind of record that would displace me," he says. "I'm terrified by the idea of being any one thing, or being of any one genre. And whether or not I accomplish that, I know that my only hope of getting there is to constantly reinvent. That reinvention doesn't need to be drastic, but every new record has to have its own identity, and it has to have a separate set of goals from what came before." What came before: a rightfully acclaimed, much beloved display of singular pop craftsmanship. Tatum's dreamy, unexpected 2010 debut, Gemini, was written while he was still a student at Virginia Tech University. Its equally disarming follow-up, 2012's Nocturne, marked the first time he'd been able to bring his bedroom recordings into a studio, to be performed and fully realized with the help of other musicians. There has been a set of wonderfully expansive EPs in between_each hinting at new directions and punctuating previous ideas_but with Life of Pause, Tatum delivers what he describes as his most "honest" and "mature" work yet, an exquisitely arranged and beautifully recorded collection of songs that marry the immediate with the indefinable. "I allowed myself to go down every route I could imagine even if it ended up not working for me," he says. "I owe it to myself to take as many risks as possible. Songs are songs and you have to allow yourself to be open to everything." After a prolonged period of writing and experimentation, recording took place over several weeks in both Los Angeles and Stockholm, with producer Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Beachwood Sparks) helping Tatum in his search for a more natural and organically textured sound. In Sweden, in a studio once owned by ABBA, they enlisted Peter, Bjorn and John drummer John Ericsson and fellow Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra veteran Pelle Jacobsson, to contribute drums and marimba. In California, at Monahan's home, Tatum collaborated with Medicine guitarist Brad Laner and a crew of saxophonists. From the hypnotic polyrhythms of "Reichpop" to the sugary howl of "Japanese Alice" to the hallucinogenic R&B of "A Woman's Wisdom," the result is a complete, fully immersive listening environment. "I just kept things really simple, writing as ideas came to me," he says. "There's definitely a different kind of `self' in the picture this time around. There's no real love lost, it's much more a record of coming to terms and defining what it is that you have_your place, your relationships. I view every record as an opportunity to write better songs. At the end of the day it still sounds like me, just new."

Gambian kora virtuoso Dawda Jobarteh and Danish master drummer Stefan Pasborg join forces to release their exhilarating live album, "Live In Turku"Turku". A captivating fusion of traditional West African sounds and contemporary improvisation. Jobarteh was born and raised in Brikama, Gambia into a musical legacy - his uncle and grandfather before him are recognized as great masters of the kora. Initially learning calabash and all other kinds of percussion at the feet of his uncle, it wasn t until Dawda s travels to Denmark that he picked up the 2121-stringed kora. He s since gone on to tour worldwide with the famous Pierre Dorge & New Jungle Orchestra and release five albums under his own name to rave reviews from leading magazines such as Songlines. Stefan Pasborg, godson and protege of famous Danish drummer Alex Riel, is a world class drummer with a deep understanding of African music few western musicians possess, evidenced by his many collaborations with the likes of Morocco s Majid Bekkas and their joint project Magic Spirit Quartet, as well as Danish trio Ibrahim Electric. Drawing on their rich musical backgrounds and extensive experience, Jobarteh and Pasborg deliver an electrifying performance that transcends borders and genres. Recorded during a mesmerizing live set at a festival in Turku, Finland in April of 2023, the album captures the essence of their collaborative spirit and explorative energy. A followup to their landmark 2016 release "DUO"", at the heart of "Live In lies a deep connection between two extraordinary musicians. Jobarteh brings his soul soul-stirring melodies and innovative approach to the traditional instrument - going electric and drawing from the explosive energy of Jimi Hendrix in jangling improvisations soaked in psychedelic futurism. Meanwhile, Pasborg, renowned for his dynamic drumming style and eclectic musical palette sits somewhere between Art Blakey, Mitch Mitchell and John Bonham, providing a rhythmic foundation that propels the music to new heights. The album"s repertoire spans a diverse range of influences, from traditional West African rhythms to contemporary jazz and beyond. Tracks such as " first recorded in 1979 by a band of Ornette Coleman alumni, pay homage to the Jazz s origins in African music, while originals like "Communication of a Kind" showcase the duo"s improvisational prowess and boundless creativity.

"Timeless Times," the first solo album from Detroit’s Brian Kage, is a masterful blend of classic house rhythms with the distinct edge of Detroit techno. Through this ambitious 19-track collection, Kage weaves a sonic tapestry through emotional landscapes, marked by ambient, and personal nostalgic vignettes that evoke a sense of timeless musical exploration.


Although this is Brian’s first solo album, he was not alone on this adventure. With “Timeless Times,” you will hear some exciting collaborations between Kage and legends like Mr. V, Milton Jackson, Jon Dixon, OB Ignitt, Luke Hess, Taho, Mesha Monique, RBJ, and many more surprises. Set to be released in early May 2024 on Brian's own label, Michigander, "Timeless Times" is not just an album; it's an auditory experience that encapsulates the very spirit of Detroit's electronic music scene along with his rich set of experiences throughout the beautiful state of Michigan.

Hailing from France with Moluccan roots and now based in Amsterdam, Pala.G effortlessly blends global musical influences into his own unique sound, moving free like the waves that guided his ancestors halfway across the globe. Now with his debut on Jiwa Jiwa Records.

In SOMETIMES Pala.G infuses contemporary R&B with psych elements, delivering hazy vocals, and introspective lyrics wrapped in feel-good melodies, leaving you grasping for the repeat button on this soul not soul anthem that's an earworm for every season.

DON'T ASK !!! offers an off-kilter slow jam experience like no other, with sparse drums, smooth guitar licks, and distorted vocals creating a hypnotic atmosphere for your mind to wander.

The record comes in a hand stamped sleeve in different colors,representing the Moluccan sea, its beaches, and jungles, and the blood and spirit of their ancestors.

Music From Memory is pleased to announce the upcoming release of ‘Salt And Sugar Look The Same’, a collaborative album from Tim Koh and Sun An.

Tim Koh is an American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist born and raised in Los Angeles. He has been touring, releasing music and showing art works internationally for nearly two decades. Sun An is a Southern California-based graphic designer, art director, and sound designer who has self-released music since 2012.

‘Salt And Sugar Look The Same’ plays somewhat like a dreamlike collage; across 18 short compositions, finger-picked guitars melt with electronics and warped samples to create a form of American Primitivism bent and refracted through Tim and Sun’s unique lens.

Their collaborative journey unfolded gradually, exchanging snippets via email over the span of a year or so, Sun in LA and Tim in Berlin. Amidst personal struggles and uncertainties, the act of recording and composing became a refuge, a safe space where they could navigate life's complexities together. Though they didn't converse much, mostly just sending music, their musical dialogue spoke volumes, shaping a narrative that evolved naturally over time. As they shared their musical ideas, they discovered a profound sense of connection and understanding with one another. The music became a conduit for healing, bridging the gaps between them and offering comfort in times of need.

Their musical influences and backgrounds anchored them. From reminiscing about past scenes to exploring cultural intricacies of being Korean American in Los Angeles, infused with a natural sense of shared identity, their collaboration reflected a mergence of old and new memories into a hallucinatory, dream-like experience. Across the 18 compositions that make up the album, incense emerges as a poignant motif, symbolizing the passage of time. Each incense stick becomes a vessel carrying the essence of moments gone by, while the holder becomes the custodian of these ephemeral memories.

‘Salt And Sugar Look The Same’ invites the listener on a boundary-transcending journey of introspection, joy, and pain, creating an experience that lingers long after the last note fades.

Sleeve art by Brian DeGraw, design by David McFarline.

Placid aka Paul Wise is chief in command at ‘We’re Going Deep’ – an expanding online community and record label, born from lifelong affair with the many shades of electronic rhythm and obsession for collecting records since 1988. He’s spent the last 3 decades moving heads and feet at venues, parties and fields across the UK and beyond.
On a mission to share and release new music via his label, you’ll find only the best in Acid, Electro, IDM, Techno and Deep House for the dance floor, front room or your headphones making the cut. For the 10th and final edition of his much prized various artist series, he unearths more machine fuelled magic: offering another set of equally excellent music from stellar talent.
Starting the dance, Dutch maestro Boris Bunnik dons his Versalife mantle to opens with ‘Skirmish 101’. Setting the machines to cycle, Bunnik fires a hefty slab of bass to bring down the walls whilst pristine robot like rhythms set your body in motion, all enveloped with sparse synthesis and shimmering effects. Crashing the joint with ‘Acid Baby’ - The Acid Pimp drops a no holds barred, riotous 303 workout that’s nothing short of a tour de force in exorcising the power of Roland’s most celebrated silver box. Putting pedal to the metal with drums and reverb, a smiley face or grimace is guaranteed!
Longtime collaborators Jamie Anderson & Owain K reset the dial on the flip with ‘Basement Dub’, a house paced workout that glides at a steady pace. Evoking the spirit of Mood II Swing whilst immersed in the depths of an underwater realm. Ending on the upbeat note of Konerytmi’s ‘Aamunkoitto’, the Finnish producer reflects a breezy disposition with a joyful melody, step-to electro beat and rolling acid bassline – all perfectly balanced to keep your calm and head out in the right direction, a great way to sign off on this highly collectable series.

Dj Pippi & Willie Graff present their sophomore LP Universal Language, continuing their pioneering experiments with the Balearic sound.
This duo of Ibizan royalty began their collaboration 17 years ago, connecting through a special enthusiasm for the freedom and diversity of Balearic music. Odd singles here and there found their way to the labels such as Compost, Leng and Archipelago but not until 2022’s Follow Your Dreams (Music For Dreams) did a longer release see light of day.

Now following up that celebrated debut, Pippi and Graff present a fresh batch of soulful, luxurious and highly original Balearica. Twelve tracks escort us through the duo’s manifold styles, modulated with subtle layers of eloquent instrumentation and effervescent synths.
Starting with the nebulous Latin-flavoured drama of ‘Un Buen Sueno’ featuring vocalist Carmen Cano. On through ‘N’Goni’, a luscious synth-chugger laden with the effortless artistry of guitarist Mikkel Nordsø.
There’s the shaded machine funk of ‘Golden Hour’, which introduces vocalist Jade PraiZe; the impossibly infectious sun-drenched house cut ‘Soul Free’; the beatless bliss of ‘Harmonized’; the downtempo exotica of ‘Let Me Show You’; the Balearic bossa of ‘Faz Favor’; or the timeless easy-breezy nothing-but-good-times title track.

"Although life is hyper-individualised, you rarely go about it alone. This rings especially for RADIOHOP, the 4-man band drawing in everything that derives from Jazz. Aptly titled, ‘All We Do’ sees the band culminating each member’s journey through life as a performer and music head, into one entity. It is a collection of various musical feelings; drawn from all of the widely diverse musical environments they are surrounded by. Their early explorations in Hip-Hop laid the foundation RADIOHOP jetted from. All We Do ventures into Soul, Funk, Jazz, Broken Beat, Brazilian harmony, Fusion and other genres that they see connections with. It engenders a journey through the peaks and troughs of a modern musical spectrum and is an undeniable act of successfully approaching a contemporary Jazz album.

Together, they drew on Jazz as a concept existing outside the walls of formality. In addition to sessions and gigs with like-minded musicians, they explored the Amsterdam nightlife and genre-bending concerts for inspiration. This 3.5-year exploration brought them unconventional writing, producing and performing experiences resulting in All We Do being as much a presentation of the people accompanying them on this exploration, as it is about the journey itself.

RADIOHOP are constantly surrounded by other musicians and creatives from all different genres, disciplines, and spaces. The album is a celebration of the creative, and the ecosystem they operate in. The band likes to root that in the philosophy of Hip-Hop: spoken word, rap, vocals, lyrics, flute solos, photography, digital art, graphic design, tagging and poetry all congregate on the limited vinyl, as they truly believe art should not see any material boundaries. All We Do appreciates the art and the artist's creative endeavour. RADIOHOP gladly shares that with others in a holistic creation that is this album."

Baby Blue & Halloween Orange Vinyl. In their decade-plus together, the four-piece_Julia Shapiro (guitar, vocals), Lydia Lund (guitar, vocals), Gretchen Grimm (drums, vocals), and Annie Truscott (bass, vocals)_have created a resonant body of work. Live Laugh Love is a natural continuation. Against the bizarre backdrop of the past few years, Chastity Belt remained a supportive space for the members to grow and experiment, drawing on the ingredients most essential to their process since the beginning: authenticity and levity. Recorded over three sessions in as many years (January 2020, November 2021 and 2022), the focus became more about enjoying their time together in the studio than making it feel like work. Their ease and familiarity with engineer Samur Khouja in LA, who also recorded their last album, made for a particularly enjoyable process. Once completed, they returned to renowned engineer Heba Kadry who mastered the album.Album opener "Hollow" sets the tone with a gently driving rhythm while guitar layers stream like sun rays through an open car window. A warmth radiates through Shapiro's voice, even while grappling with feeling lost and stuck. "The older I get," Shapiro says of the lyrics, "the more I realize that I might just always feel this way, and it's more about sitting with the feeling and accepting it, rather than trying to fight it." That wisdom seems to anchor Live Laugh Love. Chastity Belt has never shied from navigating the spectrum of difficult emotions, and an existential thread weaves throughout the subject matter. And yet the songs feel more grounded than ever; there's a sense of quiet confidence and self-assurance that comes with being less numb and more present. Facing discomfort takes more fortitude, after all.Live Laugh Love finds the members in their prime as musicians. Their parts trace intricate patterns over one another, but there's room to breathe between the layers. Everyone contributes to the writing, sometimes switching instruments, and for the first time, all four members sing a song. It's never been more apparent that they are creative siblings, cut from the same belt. "We've been playing music with each other for over a decade," says Shapiro, "so it really does feel like we're all fluent in the same language, and a lot of it just happens naturally.""Laugh" seeks in the balm of friendship, aware of the anticipatory nostalgia that hits during a good time that you're already missing before it's gone; the heavier guitar tones on "Chemtrails" streak ominous chord progressions over Grimm's precision timekeeping, lamenting memories that won't fade easily. During a transitional time, Truscott came across a note in their phone that read, "it's not hard all day, just sometimes," which inspired a poignant line in the chorus of "Kool-Aid," their first song as lead vocalist on a Chastity Belt recording. Another standout, "I-90 Bridge" shines with a silvery melody that soars as Lund belts one of the most resounding moments on the album: "Tell your girlfriend she's got nothing to fear/I'm set in my head/My body's a different story." The track "Blue" saunters nonchalantly with a wink; you can almost hear Shapiro's smile as she sings "Faking it big time/So I can hit my stride/Man, it feels good to be alive," channeling early Chastity Belt channeling early '90s before channeling the late Elliott Smith in a spiral of distortion and insight: "Don't get upset about it/It's gonna pass/Tell all your friends about it/They're gonna laugh.""We have such a strong sense of each other's musical inclinations" says Lund. "I think this allows for a lot of playfulness_we can kinda surprise each other, like a good punchline would."

LP im Klappcover! Es war der Abstand - der zeitliche, räumliche und methodische - der Mac DeMarco zu "This Old Dog", dem ersten Longplayer seit "Salad Days" von 2014, inspirierte. Mit einer Handvoll Demos in der Tasche, die er in New York geschrieben hatte, zog er von Queens nach Los Angeles und realisierte nach ein paar Monaten in der neuen Heimat, dass dieser Abstand ihm neue Perspektiven eröffnete. Mac DeMarco sagt: "I demoed a full album, and as I was moving to the West Coast I thought I'd get to finishing it quick. But then I realized that moving to a new city, and starting a new life takes time. Usually I just write, record, and put it out; no problem. But this time, I wrote them and they sat. When that happens, you really get to know the songs. It was a different vibe." Mit dem Poppen und Klicken der CR-78 und dem akustischen Geklimper des Album-Opener "My Old Man" sowie dem von Synthesizern durchzogenen zweiten Song "This Old Dog" wird schnell klar, dass Mac DeMarco diesmal tief in die Trickkiste gegriffen hat. Auf "This Old Dog" sind die Synthesizer stärker verwurzelt als auf seinen bisherigen Releases, aber trotzdem achtet DeMarco sorgfältig darauf, dass diese den Rest der Instrumente und den "unplugged"-Eindruck des Albums nicht überschatten. Oder wie er erklärt: "This is my acoustic album, but it's not really an acoustic album at all. That's just what it feels like, mostly. I'm Italian, so I guess this is an Italian rock record." ENG Gatefold LP! This Old Dog by Mac DeMarco (A.K.A. 26-year old McBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco) is his third album and first full-length since 2014's Salad Days. The album opener "My Old Man" and title track "This Old Dog" show a new sonic direction and a glimpse into the very personal nature of this record. It was a little space-in time, location (he moved from Queens to Los Angeles), and method-that inspired DeMarco while making This Old Dog. Arriving in California with a grip of demos he'd written in New York, he realized after a few months of setting up his new shop that the gap was giving him perspective. DeMarco says, "I demoed a full album, and as I was moving to the West Coast I thought I'd get to finishing it quickly. But then I realized that moving to a new city, and starting a new life takes time. Usually I just write, record, and put it out; no problem. But this time, I wrote them and they sat. When that happens, you really get to know the songs. It was a different vibe." DeMarco wrote some demos for "This Old Dog" on an acoustic guitar, an eye-opening method for him. "The majority of this album is acoustic guitar, synthesizer, some drum machine, and one song is electric guitar. So this is a new thing for me." And right from the offset, from the pops and clicks of the CR-78 and acoustic strums on the album-opening "My Old Man," and the synth-drenched beauty of the second track, "This Old Dog," it's clear that DeMarco's bag is filled with new tricks indeed. This Old Dog is rooted more in a synth-base than any of his previous releases, but he is careful not to let that tactic overshadow the other instruments and overall "unplugged" mood of the work. "This is my acoustic album, but it's not really an acoustic album at all. That's just what it feels like, mostly. I'm Italian, so I guess this is an Italian rock record."

What might appear to be the most unlikely collaboration of 2024 proves also to be one of the most invigorating listens of the year! Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance are in full aural/metaphysical alignment in their mutual effort to become Jinxed By Being. On first listen, it becomes immediately clear that this fusion of Shackleton"s bass heavy cosmic dread and Six Organs" ritual folksong makes total sense. Longtime listeners know that both Shackleton and Six Organs of Admittance have been unafraid to pursue their muse into any and all encroaching depth of darkness or outer boundary of potential dissonance - in fact, that has always been their default mode, finding more of resonance way out there in the process. They also share that ol" maverick psychedelic ritual transcendental music vibe, don"t they? And a fascination with repetition and cycles. And a mutual inspiration drawn from alternative tunings and literature...all this considered, it"s been basically inevitable that Ben Chasny and Sam Shackleton would work together. It took a while for them to find each other-and once they did, it was almost eerie, how preordained it felt. When the music started coming, though-that"s when it got really eerie. The mood rises from the music like smoke, a sure signal of total integration. Jinxed by Being finds Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance delighting in their synthesis. Reveling in the unique sonic textures found in the collage, they launch small details that unfold into a massive space and often multiply into lines of dimensional space, crossing the stereo spectrum with enervating motility. Here lies all the proof you need against the danger of categorizing by perceived genre rather than intention-encounters like Shackleton & Six Organs of Admittance might never have found the linear space in which they sit next to each other, beyond alphabets and other institutional organizing principles. Rearrange your libraries-or you might miss getting Jinxed By Being.

Ltd. Purple & Black Splatter Vinyl. It's been four years since Zach Saginaw, aka Shigeto, returned home to Michigan from a stint in Brooklyn, NY, and since then, the multi-faceted musician has become a part of the fabric of Detroit's music scene. While always having a personal approach to his projects, Saginaw's influences for his third album, The New Monday are more about the community of Detroit than anything else. Named after a weekly DJ event called Monday is the New Monday that Saginaw does at the unassuming Motor City Wine with a group of friends, The New Monday is the result of Saginaw diving into the city's deep record culture, where there legacy of artist's of the past help Saginaw embrace his own contributions. "It's focused on a couple things and they all kind of come together to represent dierent things," explains Saginaw. "My time back in Detroit, back living in Michigan and spending time with a lot of kind of original people who have always been here, learning from them, hearing stories from them, being influenced by them, and inspired by them." While, in the past, projects like Lineage or No Better Time Than Now were rooted in strong personal messages, family and relationships respectively, The New Monday represents a communal eort where solidarity is the key. Going for a simplified approach of just trying to make good tracks, The New Monday is diverse in its styles leaning more into a dance music direction - new ground for a Shigeto project. A new air of confidence in Saginaw has expanded his horizons since his return to Detroit, but traces of his past work will continue to be present. "I don't want people to think I'm leaving anything," says Saginaw. "I'm still me. It's a result of me being immersed in the culture, and inevitably making music that is influenced by that culture whether it be house, techno, jazz, rap. It doesn't matter. It's all coming from what I love about Michigan." While The New Monday still features the jazz textures long associated with Shigeto projects, the varied elements that make up the album cohesively come together to show the distinct inspiration that Saginaw has drew from since his return home to Detroit. Like on "Barry White", which features Detroit hip-hop artist ZelooperZ (a member of Danny Brown's Bruiser Brigade crew who Saginaw also has a side project with called ZGTO), Saginaw captures everything he's been doing all on one track. As much as it's hip-hop influenced, it's a mutant that encompasses elements of dance music, jazz, and ambient sounds. Throughout The New Monday, Saginaw poignantly references the musical influences that have either always been with him or newly discovered. It is Saginaw's interpretation of Detroit's rich culture of innovative artistry, but done so with respect for the history and to contribute, not disrupt. "I think over the past four years, I can confidently say that I found my place here," describes Saginaw. "I'm happy here and I feel that I have the respect from the people I need respect from, that I want respect from. It's all of the result of embracing it and embracing, not Detroit, but embracing community, embracing family,








f A2D (FT. ZEELOOPERZ & SILAS GREEN) AAPV






f A2D (FT. ZEELOOPERZ & SILAS GREEN) [AAPV]

Warehouse Find!

Marking the first chapter of Hospital Records’ 2020 story is the return of their flagship compilation series, ‘Sick Music 2020’. Loaded with 25 brand new tracks from the world of drum & bass, ranging from fresh original productions to exclusive new remixes and future classics from the Hospital Records family and some very special guests. The album kicks off the year with first-class sonics from the likes of London Elektricity, Kings Of The Rollers, S.P.Y, Grafix, Inja, Fred V, Unglued, Urbandawn, DRS & Dynamite, Kanine and more.

Riccardi Schola is back with Double A-sider 7“ Single. Both songs are like a private press Italo Disco single from the 80s with a new influence in a rough production. The first song „Mistake Disco“ is with the Italian singer Giada Pesce who also works with Riccardi on his debut „On my mind“ on Bordello A Parigi. The second song „M’hai preo il cuore“ is a lovely ballad sung by the Italian singer Giulia aka GGG (her DJ name) with Riccardi on back vocals.

Both songs spread the pure love to the early Italo Disco. Enjoy and listen and dance!

Hardway Bros teams up with Beth Cassidy on Rekids for a timeless ode to the legendary Murk Records The release includes a ‘coral way’ dub mix and a remix by Erol Alkan and Richard Norris’ Beyond The Wizards Sleeve.

Sean Johnston is the man behind Hardway Bros, an alias well known for wobbly, downtempo, and synth-laced disco jams which have appeared on the likes of Is it Balearic? Whiskey Pickle, and Throne of Blood over the last decade. On this single, which is a love letter to legendary early 90s label Murk Records, Johnston links with vocalist Beth Cassidy, known for her work as part of Manchester’s Sea Fever and Section 25.

Hardway Bros’ wonderful 'Murky' is deep and sensual house music. The vocal brings sultry charm, unfolding in soulful style over whimsical ambient pads and chunky drums. It oozes with character and harks back to actual songwriting of days gone by.

Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve is an alias of dance music pioneers Erol Alkan and Richard Norris. It was established to bring psyched-out, acid touches to the dance floor and has resulted in a critically acclaimed album on Alkan’s Phantasy Sound and much more. Their excellent Re-Animation is eight minutes of drawn-out disco chug, loose grooves and masterful chord work. Up last is a Coral Way dub that strips things back to the beats, layers in plenty of cosmic FX, and lets your imagination run wild on the tripped-out synth leads that pan between the stars.

It’s fair to say Wallace is one of those rare producers that has already amassed quite the reputable back catalog in a very short space of time. Let alone in 2023 having already released two albums and a handful of Eps with labels such as Rhythm Section, Mule Musiq and CWPT, he’s become a go-to producer for many DJs. To some it may seem like he’s at the beginning of his career but Wallace has been producing for over 10 years refining his sound.

On Loop label boss Moxie has been an early supporter of his, not only championing him in her DJ sets but also having him feature heavily on her NTS show. The pair are thrilled to be finally putting this release out into the world, showcasing why Wallace really is, the real deal.

The whole EP is filled with tons of percussion and rhythm, pulling the listener in. Tanzanite & M’bira in particular are undeniable groovers. Red Velvet on the other hand is something you might expect to hear played at 5am Fabric room 1, whilst Violet is a treat only for the vinyl heads and shows off how versatile Wallace really is as a producer, offering something on a slower tip.

Speaking of the release, Wallace says:

The A-side of Tanzanite is inspired by time spent in Africa when I was young. My dad used to make animal programmes & one time I tagged along for his jaunt around South Africa and Namibia. The 'M'bira' track uses the instrument of the same name which he picked up, when out there & the title track is inspired by a gem stone park we visited in Cape Town. The B-side takes inspiration from recent clubbing experiences. In this way, the EP is juxtaposed from the joyous, open air, playfulness of the A to the moodier, darker feel of the B.

*Early support coming in from Liv Wutang, Yu Su, Erol Alkan, Dr Banana, Kamma, Bradley Zero, Richard Sen, Axel Boman, Tom Ravenscoft, Dar Disku & more..

Essex-based Nasty Rhythm is a raver from the good old days who turned his hand to making music a few years back during UKs lockdowns, causing a minor sensation on youtube after uploading his very first track. The raving spirit shines through brightly here, capturing the vibe of 1992 hardcore like lightning in a bottle on the 2 original A side tracks. Backed with pumped up remixes from The DJ Producer and Rognvald the whole EP provides a breakneck trip along the hardcore continuum.